EA managed to act a little morose earlier this year when it forced Battlefield 6 studios into "realignment" and laid off workers, but it seems CEO Andrew Wilson is doing fine. The executive made 305-times the average EA employee's salary in fiscal year 2026.

The publisher explains, in a newly amended annual report (thanks, Eurogamer), that "the annual total compensation of our median employee was $126,612," while "the annual total compensation of Mr. Wilson, was $38,649,984."

That's $8,120,149 more than Wilson made in fiscal year 2025, though the boss' base salary remained at a humble $1.3 million. Ultimately, the "Compensation Actually Paid" to Wilson, which EA describes on page 31, totaled $77,231,168. So "the ratio of these amounts is 305 to 1," EA says of the $38.6 million figure, but the full picture is even more sobering.

Additionally, the publisher notes on page 29 of its financial report, Wilson could be eligible for an additional estimate of $125 million under any "qualifying termination," which includes firing "in connection with a change in control." EA has no doubt strategically baked in this "'double-trigger' severance" benefit, as the publisher calls it.

A team of investors under Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and the investment firm led by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Affinity Partners, currently stands to acquire EA in a $55 billion deal recently approved by the European Commission. That $125 million could be very useful for Wilson if things dramatically change for him during or after the merger.

It also sounds like Wilson was recently allowed to fly around in the company plane for fun: "In fiscal year 2026, Mr. Wilson was permitted to use corporate aircraft for personal travel, subject to a 75-hour cap," writes EA. So that's nice for him, too.

Meanwhile, many laid off Battlefield 6 developers are probably still looking for work after, EA admits again, delivering a "high-quality launch" that "achieved meeting all milestones." It's a shame they didn't benefit from that launch. Andrew Wilson, however, is still doing fine.

Dragon Age veteran says a series comeback would be difficult with EA's "frightening" graveyard of dormant IP: "I suspect that it wouldn't happen."

Mumpitz Games just released Sir, We Have an Orc Problem on Steam. It's a classic little tower defense game about placing upgrading turrets then watching them chew through an army of green monsters. It is also the 15th best-selling game on Steam at the time of writing, and has generated over $360,000 in revenue for its two devs since its July 28 launch – a stunning example of how quick, fun ideas can explode on Steam and potentially change the lives of creators.

In a lengthy post-mortem shared to the gamedev subreddit, Mumpitz co-lead KaTeKaPe (who I'm going to call Kape) explains that the team shrunk from three people to two after the November 2025 release of Tiny Auto Knights, the studio's first Steam release. Importantly, Kape and their partner had both been "programming for over 10 years and more than half of that time professionally in the games industry," so they had plenty of experience.

Tiny Auto Knights took about a year and a half to make and, with Steam, publisher, and other cuts removed, netted the team around $30,000 after nine months. "So around $7k per year per dev. Not that great. After that game we decided to split up and we continued with only two devs," Kape explains.

Sir, We Have an Orc Problem is doing a bit better. "We made $361,657 gross revenue in the first 24 hours after releasing our 4 month game," Kape's post exclaims.

It's reviewing well on Steam, too: 89% positive after 550 reviews. It probably helps that it's only $10, or $9 with the 10% launch discount.

The game's impressive physics add a lot to the tower defense formula. Orcs clog up map choke points like a river of green, perfect for deployed abilities like bombing runs to blow thousands of 'em to smithereens.

"All of those numbers are still a bit unbelievable and we will surely need some more days to realize what actually just happened," they add.

"There was definitely some luck involved, but I strongly believe that there is a golden era for indie games right now," Kape continues, echoing the likes of Steam sleuth Chris Zukowski. "There are so many devs that just make a fun little game and somehow it sells exceptionally well. You just have to put your game out (social media, playtests, whatever) and let people see and play it. If there's some 'magic' to it, you will know immediately. And if there isn't, you have to decide if you want to finish the game because you personally like it or if you want to move on to something else."

Kape says the main inspiration for Sir, We Have an Orc Problem was another incremental tower defense game called Outhold, which, like Mumpitz' latest, has reviewed very well on Steam. The idea was to take a "very early, very ugly physics based tower defense prototype" and crank it to 11 with tech that allows for roughly a bazillion enemies on-screen.

The team showed off prototypes for the idea in social media posts, and soon "people were begging us for a Steam page so they can wishlist the game." The Steam page for Sir, We Have an Orc Problem went up April 9, and after some cheap promotion and Steam Next Fest demo success, ended up with quite the queue.

"We didn't spend any money on marketing, other than $200 for the Best Indie Games showcase," Kape clarifies.

Amusingly, Kape responded to a Reddit comment calling the game "an amazing example of how a gamedev with no 'artistic' ability can still make a really successful game if the gameplay shines," but not wanting to outright say "your game looks bad."

"It kinda looks bad to be honest," Kape reckons. "Maybe we can make it a bit prettier soon."

Steam indie hit Meccha Chameleon made more money than any other PC game last month apart from Fortnite, according to new data.

Since he's the guy who created the original concept for Fallout and led the first RPG's development, it's reasonable to put some weight on what Tim Cain thinks is most interesting about the series. In a new video, he revisits an old sentiment of his that Fallout is about exploring "the ethics of a post-nuclear world."

"There's a famous quote of mine – I even looked it up because I said it once, like 25 years ago. 'My idea is to explore more of the ethics of a post-nuclear world, not to make a better plasma gun,'" Cain says in a new YouTube video. That quote, in fact, dates back to a 2002 chat with Fallout fansite Duck and Cover, published when the original Fallout 3 – which is better known as Van Buren, and which Cain was not directly involved with – was still in development.

The older, crankier portions of the Fallout fanbase have regularly revisited that quote as a way to dunk on the Bethesda era of the series, but Cain himself is more interested in using it to explain why he likes post-apocalyptic settings so much.

"People have trotted that out for all kinds of things they want to support," he explains, "but what I was saying there is the ultimate reason I liked [the post-apocalypse] and why I liked making Fallout was this absence of authority, allowing you to explore morality. It wasn't so we could make cool plasma weapons and power armor and all that – although that's cool. But that wasn't the reason. If Fallout's a cake, that stuff is the icing."

The gooey cake at the heart of Fallout is, instead, "that gray morality stuff," Cain argues. "You will run around the world and you see some people trying to do good and rebuild civilization. You will find other people being really bad and killing people and raiding settlements and saying, 'We're just trying to survive.' Sometimes they're not even pretending to do that. They're bad. They know it. They don't care. They don't want to work."

That's the world as it exists in the game, "but to the player," Cain says, "I've always wanted the game to ask, 'What will you do? Okay, here you are, blank slate player. What are you going to do? How are you going to behave when no one tells you what to do? Are you going to be a good person or are you going to be a bad person?'"

While Cain says "I love the Ultima series," one of the cornerstones of RPG design, those games "expect you to be good. Fallout has no such expectation. It's an entirely different kind of game." The post-apocalyptic setting offers a world without any kind of moral authority – whether legal, cultural, or religious – and lets you make your choices as you will.

That impetus to let players do what they want is why Fallout has a series of slides at the end showing the consequences of your actions over the course of the game. "We created them and put them in because, when the game ended, we wanted the player to know we watched you," Cain says. "The designers anticipated some of the horrific stuff you did, and here are some slides explaining all the horrible stuff that resulted from your actions. And good stuff, but also bad stuff."

For Cain, that lack of moral judgment is essential. "I love gray morality," he concludes. "I love it. It makes people self-reflect. Something a lot of people don't do. I mean, just look at politics or online. I love that about the game. It also makes people want to replay, which is a big part of Fallout. Replay, make a new character, act differently."

Certainly, our list of the best Fallout games can generate no controversy.

Peter Parker got new threads in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 recently. One inspired by new Marvel movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the other drawing from the wallcrawler's appearance in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, and the latter's art style doesn't sit quite right with Insomniac's aesthetic.

As with other suits that have distinct aesthetics, the Marvel Tokon costume retains the particular coloring of the game it's drawing from. This gives it a bright, cel-shaded glow amid the realism of Insomniac's vision of New York City. And in cutscenes and transitions featuring Peter and Miles, there's a bit of a color clash.

"God this shit looks so fuckin goofy," says one Twitter user, sharing screenshots of Peter, unmasked in the Tokon suit. His regular, adult face looks photoshopped onto the cartoony body, and it's made worse in moments where he appears to have a serious or glum expression.

They follow this up with a clip of Peter and Miles heading off on a mission, and in the video, Peter puts on his regular mask, which looks even more jarring atop his newer get-up. The game switches to the Tokon mask afterward, but it's hilarious to see in motion.

"For some reason it reminds me of Spy Kids," says one reply, referencing the heavy use of CGI in those films. "It's like if Nintendo were forced to have actor face-scans in their games," another says.

Spider-Man 2 already has a few suits that contrast with the game's generally realistic aesthetic – notably the Into the Spiderverse suits, which by default even cut the frame rate of Spidey's animations to make them look in line with the animated film. It's still a visual clash, but at least we get some absurd visuals to laugh at – win-win, honestly.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day box office predictions are in – and it could make Marvel history

In Project Zomboid, it's rare to go out with a bang. Most of my characters in the zombie survival RPG have died with terminally short notice, be it a car crash, a bite I didn't notice until getting home, or a cooking mishap with comically flammable chicken (a story for another time).

But with the game's upcoming Build 42 finally launching this week – adding animals, basements, and more than I can mention in one breath – developer The Indie Stone has confirmed that saves will not carry over, spelling an end to the survivor I've kept alive in the update's beta branch. So why not go out in style?

Rather than go gently into that good branch, my friends and I were intent on giving our latest run a worthy send-off. Which was, unanimously, shorthand for driving into Louisville and taking as many zombies down with us as possible.

Highway to hell

This run in Project Zomboid has been unlike any other. For starters, my friend group survived an in-game month – no small feat, given we hid rotten worms in each other's beds and nearly burned down Rosewood with a stray molotov cocktail. But with our save based on an earlier version of Build 42's beta, it also offered a great taste of the update to come.

The rural town of Muldraugh has been my preferred starting point for over a decade. But a lot has changed. Cortman Medical, for example, has been transformed from a one-floor clinic to a fenced property, the clinic tucked to the side of a far larger mansion. The police station now spans multiple floors, including a basement with an evidence room and a morgue. Speaking of basements, we found our earliest ammo supplies in a doomsday prepper's basement – alongside several unlabeled tins of food that nobody was brave enough to eat.

But chief among the changes are animals. After finding a small farm on the outskirts of Muldraugh, we hunkered down with plans to build for long-term survival. There were already cows and chickens there when we arrived, and with animals being fairly intuitive to manage, we soon had a steady supply of eggs and milk, as well as a livestock trailer to rescue sheep and pigs from neighboring farms. Cortman became our armory, a nearby mechanic was restored to keep our cars in good condition, and when I wasn't picking corn or foraging for farming supplies, I was searching for basements to marvel at.

With so much to do, I didn't notice the passing of milestones we'd usually celebrate: a week without dying, or our first out-of-town supply run. Zomboid tends to slow down for me once my base is barricaded up and its cupboards stuffed with supplies, but in Build 42's beta it seemed there was as much ahead as behind. New skills like blacksmithing and woodwork promised plenty still to do once loot dried up, while huge chunks of the map remained unexplored.

But last week (July 24) The Indie Stone announced that Build 42 was coming to the main branch of Project Zomboid on July 29 – launching as an official update for those who weren't already braving its beta. Furthermore, the stable version will include additions not seen in its beta, including big overhauls for many towns. Knowing we'd jump into the flashier build as soon as it was available, we agreed that a guns-blazing trip into Louisville – an overrun city to the southwest – would be a fitting send-off for our latest adventure.

And it was! It took most of a day to drive from Muldraugh to Louisville, as the roads were choked with wrecked cars that made driving in a three-van convoy difficult. We stopped twice: first at a military checkpoint isolating Louisville from the rest of the state, where we had to leave our vehicles and fight through a horde to remove barricades from the roads, and again at the city's outskirts to sleep. The next day we travelled into Louisville proper, cutting loose from the cautious playstyle that Project Zomboid usually mandates to create as much chaos as possible – stuffing microwaves with metal cutlery to start fires, using emergency vehicle sirens to draw out hordes, and generally being post-apocalyptic nuisances.

When the inevitable happened, it was quick and bloody. Zombies chased me into a supply closet, and only after closing the door into pitch blackness did I realize it was occupied. Those last moments were lit by the muzzle flash of my panicked shots – say what you will about being eaten alive, at least Build 42's lighting overhaul makes it look good. My friends didn't fare any better, with one killed trying to rescue me and another while climbing a fence.

Sure, letting the save falter naturally would have given our characters a peaceful send-off. But loading into Project Zomboid, you're always given the same crystal-clear message. "This is how you died," not how you lived happily-ever-after. Build 42 certainly offers more reasons to live (and I can't wait to dig into them properly as the update is out now), but for these hardy survivors there are no nice farms upstate – only fire, dark closets, and lots of gnashing teeth.

Introducing my friends to Project Zomboid ended in disaster, but it's given me a newfound appreciation for the best zombie survival sim around

Anime-inspired co-op title Orbitals has confirmed all of the different ways you'll be able to play the Switch 2 game in co-op, with a free friend's pass confirmed for launch.

Orbitals is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year for many, and despite September getting ready to be the pre-GTA 6 armageddon where every game under the sun is releasing, it's certainly one of the standouts. The anime-style adventure looks so visually striking it was immediately on my radar, but with it being co-op, it throws into question how I'll be playing it. Thankfully developer Shapefarm has laid everything out.

Over on Twitter, the official Orbitals account reveals all the myriad ways you'll be able to experience this co-op focused adventure. First, and most obviously, you'll be able to play Orbitals in couch co-op with you and whoever is within your immediate vicinity. But even if your co-op partner is away or… not wanting to play on the same console, for whatever reason, Shapefarm's new game has you covered.

GameShare is available both locally and through Nintendo Switch Online, allowing someone to join the person who bought the game via the power of wireless communications. However, the local play version has the added benefit of allowing players on the original Nintendo Switch to join you via GameShare co-op.

Meanwhile, if you're dedicated to making sure the GameChat button on your Switch 2 is never pressed, there is another way to let your friends play for free. Just like the Hazelight co-op games that inspired it (although given that Orbitals co-director Jakob Lundgren worked on those, maybe that isn't the right word), Orbitals will let the second player download a "Global Friend's Pass" to join you, right from launch. Plus, if you're unsure, the friend pass app will feature a local co-op demo to allow you to dip your toes in space.

If you've already pre-ordered your copy of Orbitals, check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases to aid you on your upcoming anime co-op adventure.

A few years after its last price increase, the price of Project Zomboid is going up, but it's still fair for what you're getting as far as the developers are concerned.

This news is part of the latest patch notes for the hugely popular zombie survival game. "As with the launch of Build 41, there will be a rise in price for Project Zomboid alongside the release of Build 42," developer The Indie Stone writes. "Although not one that many would consider a huge one."

Before Build 42, owning the game would cost you $19.99/£16.75, and now it'll run you $24.99/£22.49. Not huge, but still enough to be noticeable. As mentioned, the last time the price tag changed was after Build 41 went live in 2022.

The jump was around the same, going from $14.99 to $19.99. In both instances, updates brought substantial upgrades to the experience.

This time around, the map is effectively being doubled through new locations and areas, and there are new features like collapsible fencing. $5 increments every four years or so seems like a reasonable cadence for keeping a game like this ticking over while the team focuses on making it bigger and better after a staggering 13 years in Steam early access.

It's not like the industry is getting any easier for indie studios. "The game will continue to be what we consider to be reasonably priced and good value for the gameplay available," The Indie Stone adds. "This change will apply across storefronts and regions once 42.20 launches to Stable."

The new price is now standard on Steam. If this feels a bit much for you, Project Zomboid is regularly on sale through events on Valve's store.

"I haven't slept in 48 hours": Devs spent 9 years, starting in "my parents' basement," making a Nier Automata-esque action game with the most anime plot imaginable.

Pokemon Pokopia Bubbly Basin's release date is August 5, 2026, with Part 2 due to launch before the end of the year. The latest trailer for Pokopia's Expansion Pass shows off some new Pokemon and a new underwater town. Details about the second part of the DLC have also been announced, and we'll soon be able to get drip for Ditto and the other Pokemon residents.

Starting from August 5, all Pokopia players will be able to learn the Dive skill from Manaphy and start to fully explore and build on areas that are underwater. However, if you purchase the Expansion Pass, you'll also gain access to a new town called Bubbly Basin on this day, as long as you've reached Environment Level 5 in Bleak Beach.

Alongside the underwater city, the DLC will include the new watermelon food type and bubble machines. Surf will also gain a power-up thanks to the new smoothie recipes. Pokemon also promises us that we'll be able to build a Sharpedo submarine to enable further exploration. While the trailer is short, we get a glimpse at eight upcoming Pokemon: Popplio, Carvanha, Corsola, Corphish, Chinchoi, Mudkip, Buizel, and Manaphy.

Part 2 of the DLC won't feature a new area, but we know a little more about what it includes. Ditto always had access to different outfits, but later this year you'll be able to match outfits with your monster pals. Speaking of furry friends, more will visit Pokopia in the second part, though only Snubbull has been revealed so far.

The final part of the DLC will launch next year and feature the pass's second new town; however, that's all the details we have for now. Pokemon Pokopia's Expansion Pass isn't available for purchase yet, and we probably won't find out the price until it launches next week.

Pokemon Pokopia was bioengineered to be the "best selling spin-off" according to Koei Tecmo CEO, but he had no "real expectations" for the cozy game until it became an international hit

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has been a massive (and much-needed) success for Ubisoft, even if that hasn't stopped the publisher from laying off a number of its devs. Looking at the player reactions, it's evident longtime fans of the series were ready for a return to the series' pre-RPG roots.

Understanding where open-world games are right now is impossible without studying what happened in the early 2010s. Skyrim proved density trumps raw size and that immersive sim elements are the key to immortality. GTA 5 became a new gold standard for modern-day sandboxes that many studios still haven't reached before GTA 6 arrives. Assassin's Creed, meanwhile, toyed with a bit of everything and began rowing towards beautiful worlds of deceptive depth and excess.

Even as someone who loves to get lost even in the largest of Ubisoft's sprawling maps, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced feels like the most satisfying and leanest the series has been in a very long time. Mind you, clearing its upgrade of a pirate-infested Caribbean still takes tens and tens of hours, but coming from behemoths like Crimson Desert – which are obsessed with stuffing as many mechanics and systems as possible into a disjointed package – Edward Kenway's seafaring adventure hits a sweet spot I think we didn't fully appreciate back in 2013.

Land ahead

Assassin's Creed Black Flag's biggest trick when it came to its scope was – and still is, despite Resynced's notable additions – that most of its Caribbean map is just water. It sounds obvious, but even with points of interest emerging from time to time and entire fleets of Spaniards and Englishmen hunting down pirates, the vast majority of the map isn't the icon-filled nightmare we started getting with Assassin's Creed Unity. Even clearing Black Flag's biggest towns, such as Havana, doesn't take too long.

By building the game around the core premise of a pirate simulator and raiding forts and small outposts in remote isles during most secondary tasks, "cities" (they aren't big) are more of a fancy set dressing for a handful of shops and key locations. Of course, they're still fun to traverse and are put to good use by scripted story missions, yet they were far from becoming "black holes" surrounded by even more content grind. I must underline Black Flag Resynced isn't a small or mid-sized game, but I recommend booting up one of its later relatives, such as Odyssey, and comparing how each of them uses its square kilometers.

Less obvious (at least at first) is the fact you can't really fully explore any chunk of land bigger than an islet with a hidden treasure and two turtles. Assassin's Creed hadn't yet reached the "you can climb anything and walk in any direction" approach that made the rebooted saga so sprawling. Dense walls of vegetation and rocky formations are used to "enclose" handcrafted areas that are rarely bigger than they need to be. Stunning vistas abound, but they're no more than that: pretty backgrounds to look at. You can't climb every mountain. Sorry, Todd Howard.

True freedom

Even rebuilt in 2026, Black Flag avoids becoming an endless expanse as gargantuan and playful as Tears of the Kingdom or a Bethesda-style simulation like the upcoming Fable. It also escapes the gravitational pull of last year's Assassin's Creed Shadows, a lovely but eventually tiring Japan-set action RPG that feels like the end of an era. It's an interesting result, and with some remaining traits – such as the lingering deluge of cosmetics – still around, it almost feels like both developers and executives fighting against their worst impulses in an attempt to chart the series' future.

There's a way to make ridiculously detailed open worlds engaging – Rockstar Games and Bethesda Game Studios figured that out ages ago – but Ubisoft isn't interested in following those schools of design. As gorgeous and well-researched as these historical romps are, Assassin's Creed exists in a different sphere, one that's concerned with more immediate thrills and "snackable" stealth action. At some point, probably influenced by entirely different mainstream hits, it moved away from that in an attempt to produce massive games for everyone. As a proud Origins truther, I've been okay with those, but like many others, I've had my fill and would like to go back.

Of course, we still don't know how Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe will implement these learnings while also serving as the next big blockbuster for Ubisoft. Success aside, Black Flag Resynced is more of an experiment – but it's safe to say we'll be getting more remakes that could be more transformative. In any case, the larger message is clear: We still like to get lost in open worlds, we just don't want them to become second lives.

A sequel to Chinese Soulslike RPG Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is in the works at new studio Indolphinity, founded by Wuchang director Xia Siyuan after he was reportedly fired from the original, seemingly defunct team at series creator Leenzee Games.

Wuchang publisher 505 Games, which will return to publish Wuchang 2 (or whatever it ends up being called), announced the news in a joint press release with Indolphinity, officially dubbed Chengdu Recursive Dolphin Technology Co.

That press release reiterates, in case you missed it, that Digital Bros, the parent to 505 Games, acquired the IP rights to Wuchang in April 2026. This would've been on the heels of reports that the Leenzee Games Wuchang team had been dissolved after refusing a pivot to support work, not long after Siyuan's alleged firing earlier in the year.

This whole mess followed a significant retcon to Wuchang, evidently prompted by widespread backlash from Chinese fans angry over the game's portrayal of some historically significant people and characters, which also dramatically lowered the game's Steam review score.

"Under the agreement, Indolphinity will lead the creative development of the sequel, while 505 Games will fund and publish the game globally," that press release reads. Additionally, a new Digital Bros subsidiary will be established in Chengdu, China to "further support development and publishing activities."

In a Twitter statement, 505 Games confirms "the Wuchang sequel has officially entered its preparation phase," indicating it won't actually be released for several years. With Indolphinity also likely wrestling with the groundwork of forming a new studio – which, if we're lucky, will include rehiring a lot of the original staff from Leenzee – I'd say even a 2029 release date is generous. But a real future for Wuchang is exciting news nevertheless.

"Wuchang: Fallen Feathers attracted more than 131,000 concurrent players on Steam at launch and reached 5 million players worldwide across PC and console platforms, establishing itself as one of the most successful Action RPG Soulslike titles in its category," 505 Games says.

Digital Bros co-founder Raffi Galante seems to quietly hit on Wuchang's troubled launch in a comment: "From the outset, our priority has been to safeguard and amplify the original creative vision, while equipping the development team with the resources and publishing expertise needed to succeed worldwide. We are committed to preserving the cultural authenticity of the IP, keeping its creative heart in China while bringing the world of WUCHANG to players across the globe."

We've also heard directly from Siyuan, who sounds keen to get back in the saddle.

"We listen closely to the real voices of players and the community, and we remain firmly devoted to our original creative aspirations and cultural foundations, striving to answer everyone's long-standing expectations with more polished quality and a more complete experience," Siyuan says. "Wuchang's story is far from over. Together, Indolphinity and 505 Games set out on a new journey, unfolding an entirely new chapter of Wuchang's story that is deeply rooted in the Eastern soil."

Wuchang reviewed lower than the likes of Lies of P or The First Berserker: Khazan, but it had its devotees and made a name for itself with stunning visual direction, smart iterations on Soulslike-standard systems, a compelling setting, and generally sharp, always flashy combat. I would call it an annoying game that I enjoyed and finished despite some frustrations with encounter design and game balance. Our Wuchang: Fallen Feathers review awarded it 3.5 stars.

Soulslike devs accidentally make a powerful case for discs: PS5-exclusive physical edition sells out as Sony moves to end physical editions.

While Hideo Kojima is best known for Metal Gear and Death Stranding these days, his older catalog includes many more cult classics – including graphic adventure games like Snatcher and Policenauts. As the latter game turns 32, the beloved director is taking the opportunity to remember just how long he had to wait to finally create it.

"I first came up with the concept [for Policenauts] when I was 26, right after the release of Metal Gear 2," Kojima says in a tweet. That'd be in 1990, which is a year Kojima has already spoken of as a tumultuous time in his own career. Metal Gear 2 was itself delayed so Kojima could help fix an "emergency situation" on an RPG spin-off of Snatcher, and it seems his role didn't stop shuffling once the stealth-action game was out.

"After that, I was transferred to a planning-focused department" at Konami, Kojima explains. "The following year, I moved to the Technical Research Institute. Then the PC Engine version of SNATCHER interrupted things, and the PC-9821 version [of Policenauts] was released when I was 30."

While Snatcher was released in English on the Sega CD (a release that now often commands $1,000 or more on the secondhand market), Policenauts was never officially released outside of Japan. Kojima apparently agrees with one fan saying that "it's a shame most people can’t play it without emulators and the translation patch," since he's retweeted the sentiment.

Many of Kojima's early games are locked up in some sort of limbo or other, as the publishing rights seem to remain with Konami. Kojima and Konami had a famously messy breakup after the launch of Metal Gear Solid 5, and while Metal Gear itself has proven a lasting enough brand for Konami to invest in various remakes and remasters, the likes of Policenauts and Snatcher are seemingly too niche to get the same treatment.

There are plenty of upcoming Hideo Kojima games keeping the director busy.

The Mass Effect Legendary Edition in 2021 provided the perfect modern way to enjoy BioWare's beloved sci-fi trilogy. Sadly, it's unlikely we'll ever see the first three Dragon Age games get the same treatment, according to Mark Darrah, who co-directed the first game and directed the second.

That's not for want of trying either, as Darrah tells FRVR there was an internal campaign to re-release the original Dragon Age installments, but logistics just weren't in anyone's favor. "I think what you want is a Champion’s Edition," he says.

"My plan was like, we're going to do a 'Champion’s Trilogy,'" he recalls. "These are three games with three different important figures. And we're going to group them in, collect them together [...], we're going to retroactively turn it into a trilogy."

The term Champion's Edition stems from Street Fighter; the re-release of the second installment, Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition, is the third most successful arcade game ever. On its face, packaging Dragon Age Origins, 2, and Inquisition together seems like a sound idea, but there are a lot of technical hurdles.

The first two use the Eclipse Engine, while the third was developed using Frostbite, and they don't feed into each other as directly as the Mass Effect games. The Mass Effect trilogy was made using the Unreal Engine for all three installments, and each sequel was built to incorporate your character from its predecessor.

Dragon Age 2 allows you to do that directly from Origins, but to do it for Inquisition, you had to upload your save to an outside app. It's cumbersome, and even if BioWare or parent company EA wanted to make this happen, finding support would be hard because the underlying tech is outdated within the industry.

"There is basically no one at BioWare anymore that understands the Aurora Engine [the basis for Eclipse]," Darrah says. "There's basically no one outside of BioWare anymore that understands the Aurora engine. So unlike Mass Effect, which is Unreal, there are basically no companies that could help you."

It doesn't help that the last game in the series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, performed underwhelmingly in terms of sales following a turbulent, decade-long development cycle. There won't be much impetus to invest in the franchise right now, no matter how strong the case might be for nostalgia. A shame, because after Baldur's Gate 3, there are generations of fans who'd probably love these fantasy RPGs.

Darrah thinks so, too. "Could a Dragon Age remaster sell really well? Yeah," he says. "I think it sells super well because even at the time, Dragon Age Origins wasn't the most attractive game. There's a lot you could do there to make it [...] a lot better looking."

Dragon Age veteran says a series comeback would be difficult with EA's "frightening" graveyard of dormant IP: "I suspect that it wouldn't happen."

The recent Xbox outage preventing some players from accessing their physical games should not have happened according to chief technology officer Scott Van Vliet, who says the company is looking into this part of the outages.

We had a nice reminder of why the all-digital future is looking bright over the last week, as we saw a PlayStation outage which prevented people from playing the shiny new Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls beta, and then a nice little Xbox outage because you wouldn't want to be left out no matter which console you play on. Obviously none of this was supposed to happen, but while the digital game issues were inevitable, Xbox owners found that some physical games were also rendered unplayable.

Van Vliet acknowledged the outage earlier this week, pledging "we'll do better" so that similar future failings "can't ruin your night again." However, he's now spoken about the elephant in the room – that even the physical media wasn't safe. Speaking to The Verge, Van Vliet says "we're looking into reports" and that "disc-based entitlement checks should not prevent players from accessing their games and this is by design."

Given that Xbox consoles install the game to your hard drive now regardless of whether it is physical or digital – with the disc itself acting as a way of proving to the console that you do in fact own the game – there is a digital element to it, but Van Vliet says "offline mode is also designed to rely on those saved entitlements," and that a fix to prevent this happening is coming in a future update.

Granted, this is only going to get worse in an era of Nintendo's Game-Key Cards and the Xbox-released physical copies that are basically the same thing. But at least we get the benefits of an all-digital future like no early retailer price-cuts and the ability for publishers to revoke your game license whenever!

Xbox is reportedly testing a feature to digitize physical game collections as PlayStation decides to phase out discs.

The Legend of Zelda was inspired by old-school Western RPGs, which weren't popular in Japan at the time. Taking inspiration from these foreign '80s PC games, and wanting to create a non-linear title that could use a save system, Nintendo fellow Shigeru Miyamoto came up with the idea for Link's adventure in Hyrule.

In an interview with Famitsu, that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Miyamoto talks about Nintendo's inspiration for both The Legend of Zelda and the Famicom Disc System. An add-on for Japan's version of the NES, the Famicom, the Disc System could play games that required more data via rewritable floppy discs. However, the hardware sadly never made its way over to the West.

When talking about the early days of the NES, Miyamoto says: "We had arcade-style games and sports games, but in order to capture the interest of a large number of people, we had to create new types of games. We wanted to make a different style of game where you don't continue linearly towards the goal."

At that time, many games focused on high scores and didn't require players to save their progress. In longer games like Super Mario Bros., there were systems in place that let you return to certain checkpoints. Password systems and level selects are common examples, but they could be hidden perks like Mario's warp pipes.

Miyamoto had dreams of creating a game for Nintendo with the ability to save baked into the cart or floppy disc. "We wanted a game where the main character was the focus, and we also wanted to utilize save data," Miyamoto says. "With this challenge in mind we made the [Famicom] Disc System. It was after this that we started to think about game design."

Since the early '80s, vast RPGs like the Wizardry series were popular in the West, but Japanese players were focused on games developed within the domestic market. "At that time, RPGs on PC were catching on abroad, but they weren't widespread at all in Japan," Miyamoto says. "Nintendo leveraged the technology it had developed up until that point, and gathered the most interesting elements [of these games] to recreate them for the Famicom.

"That's how I came up with a similar game design for The Legend of Zelda," he concludes.

After 16 months, Zelda Ocarina of Time expert completes a hitless, totally randomized run of the game: "I genuinely didn't think it was gonna happen."

While the first two Plague Tale games had a lead character in Amicia de Rune, she wouldn't have got far without support. The friends and family she drew into her orbit not only filled in gaps in her skillset, they also underlined that she was a single element in a wider social drama. It's an analogy of sorts for these games as a whole. Examine their mechanics and systems closely and you'll note that the pieces are mostly standard-issue, albeit well-crafted, third-person stealth-adventure fare. But they are part of something bigger, slotting together with plot, script, location design, music and more to produce a harmonious ensemble.

Now here's Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy – a slightly unwieldy title which aims to emphasise that this is more spinoff than direct followup. With Amicia's tale told, we're given a new charge in the form of Sophia (one of the companion characters in A Plague Tale: Requiem) and sent back along the timeline to 1333, 15 years prior to the events of the previous games. As we sit down to play through a full chapter of Resonance we're thus faced with a change of personality, time and backstory, but most of all, it transpires, a change in how we play a Plague Tale game. With all these shifts, can everything still pull in the same direction?

Into the Macula

As far as the setting goes, the change could have been much more pronounced. The dark, mystical power known as the Macula that afflicted Amicia's brother Hugo and brought forth millions of ravenous rats exists everywhere in this universe, so plague tales could potentially pop up in any time and place. Indeed, a teaser at the end of Requiem suggested the possibility of a modern-day treatment of the fiction. Was there ever a plan to make that game instead? Asobo studio head and Resonance creative director David Dedeine responds with a simple "no" – the aim was merely to emphasise the transhistorical nature of the Macula. Not that he rules out a more future-facing project. "We hope one day we will do A Plague Tale 3," he says, underlining that Resonance is more sidestep than continuation. "And it might be the case that we see how the Macula would express itself in a contemporary world."

For now, though, we're planted firmly in medieval Europe, albeit no longer trudging around French forts, farmland and battlefields. Sophia, a life-hardened smuggler and pirate when we met her in Requiem, is in her early 20s here, yet already far from wet behind the ears. With a protégé named Leni in tow, she's on the run from the Venetian army, which has decimated the gang of plunderers she belongs to. Sophia is also bothered by visions relating to the Minotaur of Greek legend, which has led her to the island that was, supposedly, its place of residence. Much of the game will unfold here, it seems, giving it a tighter focus, although it's certainly not a monotonous location. Playing through what will be the fourth chapter in the final game, we wind our way through an enormous ruin, where Sophia and Leni must work through 'trials' left for visitors many hundreds of years before. Fortunately, Sophia has a curious metal orb which acts as a key of sorts to unlock various doors and mechanisms.

If this sounds like the plot of an Indiana Jones film, this chapter of Resonance does have something of that feel. There are even moments that recall The Last Crusade as we consult a diary containing sketches that point to clues in the environment. In game terms, this means a departure from Innocence and Requiem's sneaking and crafting routines that riffed on The Last Of Us, bringing us closer to the kind of adventure you might stumble across in Uncharted or Tomb Raider. It's a concerted change, with a character who's also more comfortable crossing cutlasses than skulking in shadows. "As a starting point, we wanted to move on from the pure stealth gameplay," Dedeine says. "What we have tried to do is really shift into something more action-driven." It's a different challenge in terms of expressing the overall Plague Tale DNA, he adds, in which the interactive elements become one with the narrative direction. "The dynamics between the characters cannot be the same, so you need to find different types of layers of story."

Once we've picked our way into the ruins, a cycle of puzzles, combat and exploration begins in earnest. If we stand in the rays of sunlight that beam through portholes in the great domed roofs, our orb refracts the light to reveal hidden painted symbols like a UV torch. It then acts as an interface when we insert it into a dais with a dial to input our findings. If these trials are largely matters of observation, others demand nerves of steel. Deeper into the level we find that the ancient trial-setters were particularly fond of spike traps, which still function rather too well for comfort. One trek across a long, pressure-padded floor with only a single safe path is surprisingly tense, the orb illuminating the correct route, except where your light source is blotted out by obstacles, leaving you to memorise a section and step forward blindly. The instant, fatal punishment for a mistake is liable to make you jump, infecting your next attempt with a touch of doubt.

Not all chapters will be stacked with puzzles and traps like this, explains lead level designer Valérian Robert. They're there because it's designed to be a trial, and "it has to be brutal, so you can die in a lot of different ways". It's a sign that, as in previous games, the makers of Resonance are working hard to marry action and tone. While progress isn't truly difficult, by the end of the chapter we're having to put some thought into solutions, and being impaled is a real possibility. Nor are Sophia and Leni quick to give up clues with their chatter, although they may chime in eventually. "We didn't want to backseat players," Robert says. "We wanted players to think by themselves, and maybe if they find it a bit too hard, they can have some help." Action-adventure games of this type can become boring if you don't have to do a great deal, Dedeine adds: "We realised pretty fast that when it was like this, you don't feel like you are [on] an actual adventure. The story and the background and the graphics are not enough to give you the breadth of the adventure."

Combat follows a similar ethos. Before we get into the level proper, we're offered a tutorial to bring us up to speed regarding what's expected, which thrusts us into some close-quarters duels. Sophia's weapon of choice is a scimitar, but using it is not merely a case of hacking enemies into submission. Landing successive blows sends enemies into a stun state – the ideal opportunity to pull off a charged dagger strike that will finish weaker ones or bite a chunk out of the life bars of those with stronger constitutions. Guarding and dodging are important for working openings, and the quickest route to a stun is to pull off a parry. There's some colour-coding here as well – yellow-tinged attacks can be parried but not blocked, while red ones must be dodged. Sophia's grapnel, meanwhile, is especially handy for yanking archers from elevated platforms or reeling in foes, while a hefty boot sends most assailants staggering.

With Venetian soldiers soon teeming around the ruins (to a man, they have English accents), it's not long before our first real fight – a quick and vicious affair. Well-practised thanks to her bandit background, Sophia fights like a cornered tiger as enemies gather around her. Her sword swings mean business, while incidental actions are pleasingly direct – a bottle on the ground can be grabbed and spiked at a soldier's head with a single button press. At the same time, she's far from invincible, and death can follow swiftly if you lose the duck-and-jab rhythm or get caught off guard by yellow or red attacks.

As with the puzzles, Dedeine tells us, "when you act correctly, it's easy, but if you are doing it wrong, you can be killed brutally, because that's the tone of the Plague Tale games in general." By the end of the chapter, we're asked to link all we've been taught together and, indeed, the speed with which you can end a group of soldiers is highly satisfying, but it's hardly guaranteed as you juggle several enemies at once. Pulling an archer down is easier said than done when there's a mob around you, especially when its leader is built like an ox and on a rampage with a heavy club.

Ancient combat

If not exactly realistic, there's a palpable sense of weight and aggression to these encounters. That could be crucial in order to maintain the thrill of fighting throughout the game, since the mechanics won't increase in intricacy a great deal. With a title of this scope, Dedeine says, "you don't have the space and the time to make a very deep combat game. We wanted to be sophisticated enough to be interesting and rewarding, but not too complex either in terms of skill or in terms of RPG [elements]." Still, we can expect Sophia to learn techniques that take her beyond brawling. "We introduce at specific moments some sort of supernatural powers," Dedeine says, avoiding any specifics. But even here, Sophia won't become a superhero. "We would have broken the universe's rules if we had gone too far," Dedeine says. "We had to find the right balance between what could be believable and the fun of killing five or six soldiers," Robert adds. "I think we nailed it."

Together, the combat, puzzles and traps, along with some light exploration and relic finding, are already a pleasing combination. The new direction clearly works. Still, once again, there is nothing revolutionary here – somewhat reductively, we might call it Tomb Raider meets God Of War in the Middle Ages. Some puzzles, such as a series involving rotating mirrors reflecting beams of light, could generously be called classics of the form, while responding to flashes of red and yellow in combat is hardly new territory. That's in addition to common genre tropes such as wall sidling, zip-lining and navigating crumbling platforms as we spelunk deeper into the ruins. In this sense, Resonance shares the family trait of leaning on tried-and-tested formulae. As ever with Plague Tale, though, that is literally only part of the story. The combat and puzzles are one arm of a narrative experience, selected to feel at home within this adventure. Around them is a suite of artistic flourishes that elevates the journey.

One thing that catches our attention as we push through the ancient construct is its scale. At one point we step into a huge amphitheatre whose central stage is sunk down perhaps hundreds of metres below. Within it stands a kaiju-sized sculpture of a proud soldier. With the wear and tear on this place, we're sometimes poking about where nobody intended us to go, ducking through cracks to get behind the scenes, only to emerge again facing another implausible feat of engineering. "The scale of the structures was one of the pillars [we decided on] at the very beginning of development," Robert says. "We wanted to demonstrate this whole civilisation, and how big and extraordinary it was. We wanted players to experience this kind of shock when they see the gigantic statues." The intention becomes clear as the level culminates around an enormous effigy of the Minotaur itself, its arms animated by unseen mechanisms as you solve the puzzle around it.

More subtly impressive is Sophia herself, in many ways the polar opposite as a character of Amicia's naïvete, vulnerability and sense of privilege. Dedeine: "When we created her in Requiem, I think the team fell in love with her initially, and it was obvious for us to push her further. Based on her past and the level of involvement she had, she was the perfect character to start the new approach." In the ruins, she is keen to push forward, as awestruck as we are, and even a little blasé about the danger. She's also well prepared for a scrap and not averse to using deadly force. "The biggest difference is Amicia was forced to confront violence to protect herself and her brother," says lead writer Carol-Ann Bañuls, "but Sophia was born into it." In terms of writing the character as a protagonist, there was already plenty to work with from Requiem, Bañuls continues: "We knew she was in control of her emotions [and] strong, so we just had to follow the thread of her story to understand where she came from. She kind of talked by herself. She was so well written in Requiem, it was the easiest thing to do in Resonance."

With Sophia – at least, when she's partnered by Leni – Resonance takes on a different tone to that of Amicia and Hugo's traumatic expeditions. There has always been back-and-forth conversation between characters in these games, but here it feels lighter as the women comment on mosaics and statues and the mechanisms they find. "In this level, Sophia and Leni are still discovering the island, so we wanted to keep [their perspective] close to the player's, this sense of discovery," Bañuls says. It reinforces the sense that we're involved in an Uncharted-style adventure, as the pair approach combat with something close to arrogance and aren't exactly wracked with guilt about offing their opponents.

We shouldn't expect this levity to carry right through the tale, however. One of the reasons for taking this spinoff approach to the new game, Dedeine says, is that the team wanted "to breathe a little bit" after the grime and darkness of Requiem. And yet the shadows couldn't be kept at bay for long. "The lore of the Macula – and appetite in the team for all the drama – actually came back into the story during development." Our demo chapter is one of the lightest tonally in the game, he adds, "but there are levels which are even darker, I would say, than the ones in Requiem. So we have more contrast." Despite their humorous banter early on, then, Sophia and Leni are no Nathan Drake and Sully, which suggests there are further layers to unveil. "[Sophia] is the kind of character you admire for her strength," Bañuls says, "but you fall in love with her when you start to see the cracks in the armour."

Balancing all these elements has been a challenge for Resonance's developers, it seems, with combat and traversal and character personalities and relationships all needing to meld together. "There is a lot of back and forth between the writing and the design as a whole," Robert says, even for the chapter we play, which he explains has undergone the least alteration from the original plan. For example, the introduction of music to a level may give an area a different flavour, so the dialogue needs to be changed to adapt. "We write with the controller in our hands at all times," Bañuls says. "You just have to replay and replay the map." As experienced as Asobo may have become in making these games, then, not everything can be predicted. "Sometimes you have a good surprise," Dedeine says. "Sometimes there are things that everyone was happy with and finally it doesn't work. You need to remove them."

Towards the end of our demo, it's Leni who feels that something isn't working, not least with Sophia herself. In a cutscene, Sophia is spellbound by a bizarre vision that almost leads to her stepping off a precipice, but Leni pulls her back at the last second. And, after a few too many deadly traps, the reality of their predicament starts to kick in, Leni wondering what on earth Sophia has dragged her into. Yet she doesn't know the half of it, and perhaps nor do we, as things are about to get stranger still. In another vision we segue back to ancient Greece and suddenly we're in control of none other than Minotaur slayer Theseus, about to enter a combat trial where we must fend off fellow soldiers in a free-for-all until it's time to begin some kind of ceremony.

When we ask about the ancient Greek part of the tale, our interviewees think for a while to decide what they're allowed to say at this stage – clearly this side of the game is crucial to the story's box of secrets. "With the Greek mythology, what motivated us to go in this direction was the fact that the story of the Minotaur and the mythology was the perfect setting for us to offer a new experience to the player," Bañuls finally says diplomatically. As for how closely they've followed the original myth, that's somewhat comparable to how they treated the real Great Plague in Innocence and Requiem. "We revisited the mythology and what was grounded in the reality," Dedeine says. "Why this myth has been told to the people, and what the reality was behind it." Artistic licence will be involved too, especially in linking the past back to Sophia. "What I can say is that the title of the game is connected to that," Dedeine offers. "There is a resonance between the main character and Theseus, and that's what the story will unveil."

Something else remains a mystery at this point, but here Dedeine can set us straight. "There are no rats," he announces. "Let's break [the news]. There are no rats in Resonance. They are gone." This feels like a shift away from one of the series' signature features, but it's easy to appreciate the rationale. "At the end of Requiem, we did lots of gameplay with the rats," Dedeine says, "and at some point, when you know that you are at the end of a mechanic, you need to stop it. Otherwise we would have bored everyone." There were never going to be rats in Resonance, then, and it does feel as though they belong with Amicia and her style of play. The presence of the Macula will be felt in another form, Dedeine teases, which he can't reveal yet. "There is another expression of what the rats were in Requiem and Innocence, and it's something different. Light and shadow are [still] important because it's the lore, but there is something, I would say, more interactive and interesting than what the rats were doing in terms of gameplay."

We can only guess for now, but whatever it is, we're optimistic based on what we've seen, heard and done in Resonance. For all the change, it is still all about the ensemble of features, all supporting one another, aiming to produce more than the sum of their parts. And in the spirit of celebrating the support acts, as we complete the final trial in our demo and Sophia and Leni head deeper into the ruin for more, we'll leave the last words to our companion. "The second trial. Let's hope it's as easy as the first," she quips sarcastically, recognising the difficulties they've overcome. Yes, and as enjoyable, too.

Want more creepy adventures? Check out our best horror games recommendations!

It's finally happening. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake series is coming to Final Fantasy 14.

Over the last decade, its addition felt like a question of when rather than if. Final Fantasy 14 is designed, in part, to be a theme park that pays tribute to the wider series, with references and nods aplenty. We've seen plenty of crossovers over the years – from Final Fantasy 16 and Nier to other franchises like Monster Hunter – and Final Fantasy 14's own producer and director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida has spoken about the possibility before, saying the timing needed to be right.

So how did it finally happen, and why now, exactly? Speaking to Final Fantasy 7 Revelation boss Naoki Hamaguchi at Final Fantasy 14's Berlin leg of Fan Fest, it's one of the first questions I ask.

Hamaguchi tells me that discussions kicked off about a year ago during a conversation with Yoshi-P about the release dates for Evercold and Revelation, and it all went from there.

"Is there something we can do to use the fact that they're close together to bring some energy to the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole?" Hamaguchi tells us of the question he and Yoshi-P pondered. "That's really how things started."

Have you heard of . . .

Fast forward to today, and we have a better idea of what that collaboration looks like. Final Fantasy 14 is getting a Final Fantasy 7-themed raid called Beyond the Lifestream that involves the supervision of veterans of the OG JRPG – that being, writer Kazushige Nojima and the man responsible for Cloud's look, Tetsuya Nomura. Amusingly, Final Fantasy 14's version of the Gold Saucer is getting a revamp to look more like it does in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, complete with a typing game that'll get an FF7 theme to start.

Speaking to his own role in the collaboration, Hamaguchi says that, similar to Yoshi-P, he's there to guide the team's excitement into something realistic and achievable. "We have to be really careful that it's not impacting the [Final Fantasy] 14 patch release schedule," he says, "because then we're putting the cart before the horse."

As for what a successful collaboration looks like, Hamaguchi says Final Fantasy 7 fans jumping into Final Fantasy 14 and becoming Warriors of Light would be great, especially if Evercold and the crossover brought some of that momentum to the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation itself. "I suppose the ultimate aim is to see that throughline of excitement and enjoyment," Hamaguchi adds.

There's certainly a solid sense of anticipation around both games already. Final Fantasy 14's Evercold reveal has certainly left some of the MMO heads on this very website feeling hopeful, and Hamaguchi tells me it's been "really wonderful" to see players pick up Final Fantasy Remake and Rebirth on PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2 following the reveal of Revelation.

Duty complete

Of course, excitement can lead to additional pressure. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is the final entry in a trilogy that essentially splits one game into three. While I enjoyed what Rebirth offers in terms of combat and the open world, I ask Hamaguchi how the team is freshening up the game, especially in light of his recent comments about open-world fatigue.

Hamaguchi tells me there are two ways in which they're doing that. The first is adding a greater sense of exploration to the world map. Pointing to the Grasslands in Final Fantasy Rebirth, Hamaguchi says it's very large and expansive, but also very "flat."

The remedy is more verticality. Hamaguchi can't reveal everything, though he does say you can dive into the map from the Highwind, and your chocobo will also be able to fly, which Hamaguchi hopes will make "certain parts less frustrating."

Another way the Final Fantasy 7 Revelation team is keeping things fresh is by making sure the "goal and reward" of side content is clearer, especially following feedback from Rebirth.

"One of the things I think people got a little bit tired of – or maybe that's when they stepped away from the game – was on the world map, there is a lot of content," Hamaguchi says. "And sometimes you'd get rewards like materia if you finish that content. But for those people who just wanted to get those materia or rewards, they might feel like they have to do certain mini-games, even if they don't really want to."

To remedy this, Hamaguchi says that content in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will match the reward to what you're doing – rewards that'll aid you in battle will be achieved through battle, a new Queen's Blood card will be earned through Queen's Blood, and so on. The hope is that the clarity will allow players to ignore the content they don't want to engage with.

Finding the right FITS

When it comes to combat, one of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's standout new features is the FITS system – that being, Function Integrated Tactical Suitwear. It essentially acts as a new job system that allows the likes of Cloud and Tifa to play as something like a Black Mage as opposed to the brawlers people might typically typecast them as.

Despite the visual flair of a new outfit, Hamaguchi says the biggest influence on the new feature was the job system as a Final Fantasy staple overall, though he can't say there was "zero influence" taken from the likes of Final Fantasy X-2 or Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13.

The new feature hasn't been without its troubles, though, as Hamaguchi jokes that adding the FITS system reminded him about "how hard it is to develop games these days."

"When you look at some of the early Final Fantasy games that have job systems, you could put a lot in there," Hamaguchi says. And while the developers behind ongoing games like Final Fantasy 14 have done "fantastic work" in adding a variety of classes over the years, bringing something like 20-30 classes to a standalone title at launch would be "insanely difficult."

Hamaguchi also jokes that, while there are many open-world games out there, few allow your party to follow you around. "Even though we only have four FITS, we have a lot of characters, so it was quite a lot of work."

Another thing that makes Final Fantasy 7 Revelation stand out from the other two installments is a proper endgame. While players seeking a challenge in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth are typically directed towards playing NewGame+, Revelation brings the challenge to your first playthrough, ready to tackle once you're powerful enough to do so.

Being the third entry in a trilogy, I ask Hamaguchi how the team is using that to shape how it's approaching the endgame and anticipated moments like fighting superbosses like Ruby and Emerald Weapon.

"Obviously, what we're making is an RPG," Hamaguchi answers. "And I think one of the things that's fun about RPGs is having the characters you've leveled, you've customized, and you've brought them up where they are, and using them to overcome difficult situations.

"So, say you had this fight against a Weapon, a giant enemy, or something that's really exciting or cool. And you go into it, and it's just a completely new mechanic or mini-game. I think there are quite a few players who would come away from that feeling quite disappointed that it wasn't a reflection of the effort that they put into building something up to that point.

"But the general goal for our team when we're thinking about making these Weapon fights is that we want to have the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series combat system at the base. What we've been building up over these three games. Perhaps there'll be some extra gadgets, some other things adding something new and unique to the Weapon battle, but we want to have that foundation there as well.

"So there may be some mini-games involved in parts of them, say at the beginning of one of the fights or something like that, to mix things up a little bit. But the core battle is really focused on the characters that you have come through the rest of the game with as an RPG."

On the case

While there are plenty of exciting developments within Final Fantasy 7 Revelation itself, those unfolding outside of the game and Square Enix are difficult to ignore. As Final Fantasy 7 Revelation nears completion, one of the more prominent conversations currently occurring across the industry is about physical media. Rockstar made headlines when it was revealed that GTA 6 would be a code-in-a-box at launch, though Sony's call to end PlayStation disc production in 2028 has swiftly dwarfed that in online chatter.

Given some of the conversations I've seen in Final Fantasy 7's fandom about whether Revelation will release on a physical disc, I ask Hamaguchi for his thoughts on the topic and whether there's any news he can share.

Hamaguchi starts by saying that some of his thoughts have been touched upon as part of Nintendo Switch 2's game-key cards – you can read about that here, as part of an interview we did with Hamaguchi last year. He then says that, as a developer and as a fan, it seems to be the trend that we're shifting away from physical to digital.

When it comes to his personal feelings, though, Hamaguchi says he's a fan of physical media, and events like Final Fantasy 14 Fen Fest are one of the many reasons why.

"I really think that people bringing up things, asking for autographs – I think that's lovely," he tells us. "I think it's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that. I want that to remain."

As for his personal prediction of where things go from here, Hamaguchi says he feels that "there will always be some kind of physical or packaged edition, even if download codes become the main way that games work."

"I feel like there will always be something," Hamaguchi says, "and I hope there will be."

Looking ahead to Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Hamaguchi says the team is "still having internal discussions on what the exact SKU product lineup is going to be," so he can't say anything "definitive" at the time of writing. That said, he is trying his best to "allow us to have some kind of physical edition."

"Obviously, say, if you're talking to Nintendo, there's considerations about the storage limits on key cards and things like that, and then other platforms about how much you can put onto a disc," Hamaguchi explains. "Each platform and first-party have their own specific rules and regulations that we need to take into account, and think about what format is actually going to be best for the game.

"These are the discussions that we're having at this point in time. I do hope that we'll be able to come up with something that is as close as possible as to what players and fans are going to want, but you'll have to look forward to future announcements for that."

Given that Final Fantasy 7 marked the series' debut on disc, it's certainly odd to think of a different FF7 game going without. That said, Final Fantasy 7 launched on disc because the cartridge was no longer the best format for the game, and these days, given Square Enix's own strategy pivot, that would mean making the game as accessible as possible across multiple platforms. As the industry settles into a way of working that's more about getting the most out of average hardware rather than pushing hardware's limits further, it'll be interesting to see what compromises Final Fantasy 7 Revelation can manage.

Still, I remain cautiously optimistic for what Final Fantasy 7 Revelation brings. Rebirth improved on Remake in a big way that has me curious to see what part three of the trilogy has in store, and everything we've seen and heard so far hits the right notes.

"I want this guy to make Final Fantasy 17": Yoshi-P embarrasses Final Fantasy 7 Remake lead with the "highest praise you can get" from players live on stage at FF14 Fan Fest.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation launches early in 2027, a year ahead of the planned end of physical PlayStation discs. But given the broader shift the industry is making toward digital games – GTA 6 is certainly the most prominent example – you'd be forgiven for wondering if the final part of the remake trilogy is going to be part of that all-digital future that so many of us are dreading.

While Square Enix has not yet made the final decision on whether Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will launch on a disc, director Naoki Hamaguchi tells GamesRadar+ that he's actively pushing for it. In an interview at the recent Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival in Berlin, he explains the challenges facing physical media these days.

"We're still having internal discussions on what the exact SKU product lineup is going to be for Revelation," Hamaguchi explains, "so I can't say anything particularly definitive at this point in time. But I am working to make the arrangements to allow us to have some kind of physical edition."

That's the most concrete bit of the answer, but Hamaguchi also offered some of his philosophy on physical media during our interview. "I do feel, as a developer and as a fan, that the general trend is for things to shift away from physical towards downloadable games," he says.

"But that's obviously talking about the trend. Personally, here at something like Fan Fest or at community events for games that I've worked on, I really think that people bringing up things, asking for autographs – I think that's lovely. I think it's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that. I want that to remain."

For his part, Hamaguchi believes that even if we lose proper game discs, he feels like "like there will always be some kind of physical or packaged edition." Hamaguchi suggests, "Maybe you'll have a box with the code inside it, or maybe key cards like Nintendo's doing, or a boot disc or something. I feel like there'll always be something, and I hope there will be."

The Final Fantasy 7 remake series, of course, hearkens back to the PS1 era, where the idea of a game coming on not just one disc but several felt like an indicator of an epic adventure. Final Fantasy 7 Remake itself came on multiple discs when it launched on PS4, just as Rebirth did on its PS5 launch. While many publishers are content to offer discs with basic installers for meaty games, forcing you to download the rest online, the FF7 remake trilogy has, so far, gone above and beyond to give disc fans a premium experience.

"Obviously, say, if you're talking to Nintendo, there's considerations about the storage limits on key cards and things like that, and then other platforms about how much you can put onto a disc," Hamaguchi explains. "Each platform and first-party have their own specific rules and regulations that we need to take into account, and think about what format is actually going to be best for the game. These are the discussions that we're having at this point in time. I do hope that we'll be able to come up with something that is as close as possible as to what players and fans are going to want, but you'll have to look forward to future announcements for that."

But Hamaguchi knows how fans are going to react if he tells a media outlet like us that he wants to release Revelation in a physical format. "If you publish this, and then we announce all the products later and there is no physical edition, then they're going to rip me to pieces," he says with a laugh.

Naoki Hamaguchi talks Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Final Fantasy 14, and physical media plans: "It's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that."

There's a long-running joke about finding really valuable stuff squirreled away at your grandparents' house, but for one Pokemon cards fan, that's actually come true – and the value of what they uncovered is probably around six figures.

In a post on reddit, InkedSketch describes how "Grandma [had] been asking us to come find her Pokemon cards for years." What they didn't expect was just how valuable this collection was. Once it'd all been gathered together, they found dozens of booster packs from the game's launch worth hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars, incredibly rare sealed 'Fossil' box sets, and even a bunch of high-value toys like a pristine, still in-packaging Pokedex.

"She told us she had some packs from along time ago, and that she had a few 'sharjarzds.'" InkedSketch writes in their post. "We finally decided to look for them at the end of last year. She's in her 80s and has been recently talking about them more, we just thought it was like our own trashed pokemon/yugioh collection that was leftover from when we were super young."

Turns out, not so much. Even a quick glance reveals over 70 sealed 'Fossil' booster packs which are worth hundreds of dollars each on the likes of eBay, three sealed Fossil boxes that clock in at $7K+ individually on some price tracking sites, and 60 original booster packs from the game's launch. I quickly checked PriceCharting and these earn anywhere between a couple of hundred dollars to several thousand depending on their grading.

If that was it, grandma would still be sitting on a goldmine... but we're not finished yet. The haul includes everything from original theme decks and starter sets to individual cards too. I count three holo Charizards, a shiny Gyrados, Raichu, multiple shiny Zapdos, and more. There are even a couple of Mew cards in a binder.

Grandma been asking us to come find her Pokemon cards for years (Update) from r/PokemonTCG

The haul goes far beyond Pokemon cards, too; there are also action figures, the sealed '90s Pokedex toy I mentioned from before, a themed mini skateboard (remember those?), and even a still-in-packaging interactive Poke Ball game that really brought me back to my childhood. It's enough to ilicite an "oh damn" at the very least.

The fan community is suitably stunned. "Literal treasure trove," FisherKelTath00 replies with 2.1K upvotes. "Seriously this is prolly like $250k in product. That’s a ROUGH estimate too," War-Daddie adds.

Some in the comments are even suggesting that this estimate is too modest. "Sincere lowball estimate I think," lucky_719 writes. "The one shadowless Charizard can go for five figures alone if it's in decent shape. The 1st edition fossil booster boxes go for $15-$30k each and the lady has 3."

Either way, it's one hell of a haul that would probably make me evolve into "Nervous Wreck" with a special "breakdown" attack if I found it - this is a literal fortune.

What would you do if you stumbled upon that kinda stash at your grandparents' house? Let me know in the comments below.

For recommendations on what to play next, don't miss the best card games. As for what's happening in the community right now, the war on Pokemon resellers now includes facial recognition checks in some stores in Japan.

• See today's best Pokemon card prices at Amazon

In what's becoming another strong year for Capcom, Pragmata stands out as a notable success. So much so, the third-person shooter is likely set for another installment, according to a higher-up at the long-running developer and publisher.

The company's first-quarter profits actually came in above estimates, according to a report from Bloomberg, and Pragmata was a strong contributor in that regard. The sci-fi adventure has sold over two-and-a-half million copies so far, an impressive turnaround for a game that only came out in April and isn't based on any existing properties.

Capcom corporate office Yoshikazu Shimauchi – the company's head of finance, accounting, IT, and the PR and IR division – mentions that Pragmata actually exceeded expectations, which isn't something you hear very often in this industry. As such, Bloomberg reports that Shimauchi stated that the possibility of a sequel is high, lining up with Capcom's previous comments about turning the game into a series.

Shimauchi puts Pragmata's sales reception down to a strong marketing campaign and having a distinctive protagonist in Diana, the female android you have to protect as part of the main narrative. It always helps to have a good face for your release, especially if it's slightly odd or creepy.

As a horror fan, it doesn't hurt that Diana immediately made me think of M3GAN, the killer android who became a slasher icon in 2013. I actually thought screenshots of Pragmata were a M3GAN-themed mod for something at first glance, before learning it was its own game. Such curiosity was enough to push me to add the project to my wishlist.

The ending leaves room for another installment, and the baseline concept – futuristic super-soldier protecting a small robot – is something that could be replicated in various scenarios ad infinitum. Wherever Pragmata 2 goes, there's clearly an audience ready to play it.

Bayonetta creator says Capcom might be thriving thanks to a constant push to create new IP like Pragmata.

The director of JRPG-inspired GOTY sensation Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 says he prefers linear stories to the sprawling open narratives of Baldur's Gate, Fallout, and Skyrim.

Speaking to Automaton Media, Expedition 33 director Guillaume Broche admits that "'RPG' is a very big term" that includes a wide variety of games, but says that when he considers Western RPGs, he thinks "more of games like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, or Skyrim, where the character you play changes the story and you kind of become the protagonist yourself."

In those games, "you make choices that affect how other characters react and how the story's ending plays out." As a general rule, "Western RPGs let you make your own story." But in Japanese RPGs, he says, "the story being told is quite linear," and that's something Broche prefers.

"You get a protagonist, you get the characters," he explains. "I feel like it allows you to tell a stronger story and make more memorable characters." It's a fair assessment of the games he cites – Tav, the Dragonborn, and Fallout 3's Lone Wanderer are all fairly blank slates when compared to Maelle, Gustave, and Verso.

That focus on player choice and character agency, Broche says, is the main distinguishing factor between JPRGs and their Western counterparts; "there are a lot of very good Western RPGs where you feel like you are directing the story yourself because of the choices you get to make. In JRPGs, you do get some smaller choices, but in general, the story is linear, the ending is the ending, and the beginning is the beginning, from A to Z. I feel like that's the main distinguishing factor."

After Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Sandfall Interactive is "going to go a bit crazy" with its next game: "We want to let ourselves dream again and be creative."

Two friends playing Baldur's Gate 3 have been massacring their way through the RPG, and their antics have now been spotted by Larian boss Swen Vincke who seemingly approves of the death and destruction.

A Baldur's Gate 3 player who goes by the name matt on Twitter posted about how he and a friend had been more hostile than helpful in their current playthrough of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG. Rather than trying to complete quests and gather a party of merry men, matt has been murdering everyone he meets and stuffing their bodies into a chest at camp.

Matt attached an image to his tweet that shows hundreds of bodies dumped in the chest, with a disturbingly small scrollbar at the side showing there are many more inside. He even claims that his game lags every time he opens the chest, thanks to the sheer number of corpses entombed there. Worse still, the pair are still in the game's first act.

The friends' antics have caught the eye of Larian Studios' CEO Swen Vincke, who seemingly approves of the needless death and destruction of his game's many lovingly crafted characters. In fact, he thinks their murderous playthrough is worthy of a reward.

The studio's founder writes, "we should've made that an achievement – real funny."

Given the sheer number of characters that would need to be slain in order to claim this achievement, we're pretty glad this wasn't implemented.

Baldur's Gate 4 should just be an "oversized expansion pack for Baldur's Gate 3," BioWare veteran says: "Get Larian to agree to license out the Divinity Engine."

Pocketpair has just released the v1.0.2 patch for its creature collecting survival crafting game Palworld. The patch mostly focuses on bug fixes and performance issues, including some major disconnection issues that affected players taking on the Panthalus boss fight together.

Palworld escaped early access at the beginning of July, but as with all modern games, there are still a few bugs that need ironing out. Luckily for fans of the collecting and crafting game, it's not anything too serious, but Pocketpair is still updating the game to give everyone the best experience.

The v1.0.2 patch fixes a number of bugs including a softlock that occurred when dialogue was skipped as The First Islander and Captured Adventurer missions were fading out. The Predator Hunter achievement and achievements related to collecting Pal Effigies have been fixed on all platforms, and some Lifmunk Effigy achievement bugs have been ironed out on Xbox.

There are also some updates to control options that make it easier to select key bindings and carry over previous settings. A number of graphical issues based on The World Tree area have also been fixed so things shouldn't get as visually funky in this region.

Possibly the biggest changes for players involve two of the game's boss fights. The tower boss Victor & Shadowbeak would sometimes disappear completely after they teleported, and now they should remain part of the battle no matter which spell they use. Some people playing in co-op also got booted out when fighting Panthalus, while some folks' games crashed completely, but you can now take it on in your friend's world without fear of ejection.

Palworld's v1.0.2 patch is live now so you can already dive in and reap the benefits.

Yes, the Palworld devs see your cursed NSFW mods: "I don't think this is official."

One of the biggest highlights of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is finally out this week, is Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) web-slinging capabilities. Spidey is swinging ninjas and Hulks around like he entered a cheat code this time around, which makes sense now that Tom Holland himself revealed the Insomniac Spider-Man games have heavily influenced how his wall-crawling alter-ego fights in the new movie. The game series has also proved to be a nice bit of therapy during his globe-trotting stint promoting the film.

“I was actually playing the game last night,” Holland confessed to IGN while attending the premiere. “I couldn’t sleep last night; I was so excited about today. I was trying to figure out what I was gonna do, and I was like, ‘I’ll just throw the game on and have some fun.’”

When it comes to taking tips from Insominiac’s Spidey, though, Holland revealed that a lot of how his Spidey ends his fights was influenced by the PlayStation franchise. “For me, a lot of those finishing moves, a lot of our stuff was influenced by that stuff.”

Holland wasn’t the only gamer taking notes from the video game series, either. Director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that a lot of the stunt team were trying to bring some of Spidey’s thwipping, flipping button combo moves to life in the new movie.

“A lot of the action designers and stunt people we had were huge gamers,” revealed Cretton. “They were able to experience things in those games that made them excited, and they would just screengrab the moves they really liked and bring them into the writers’ room and show it to me. And then we’d be like, ‘Yeah, that’s sick. Let’s try to figure out how to do that for real.’”

If you’ve got the game, you can have a crack at reenacting some of these fights yourself now that the Brand New Day suit has been added to the webhead's wardrobe in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in theaters on July 29 in the UK, and July 31 in the US. For more, check out our Spider-Man: Brand New Day review.

The facelessness of the internet can sometimes give the false impression of anonymity, but time and time again, social media has proven that the thing you think is only going to be viewed by your mom and that one co-worker who still engages with your posts even though you haven't spoken in seven years, might be picked up by a news organization or reposted by a celebrity. In that moment, you're either incredibly proud or ashamed depending on what you posted.

I can only imagine it's a mixture of those feelings being felt by a pair of Palworld modders right now, who shared some downright filthy modded content to social media only to be retweeted by Mr. Palworld himself, Pocketpair publishing chief John Buckley.

I'll start by sharing the much tamer of the two mods Buckley retweeted this week, because the next one is considerably less safe for work. The first piece of modded footage, from Palworld creator Reldrik, features a heavily tweaked Sekhmet pal dancing seductively behind, uh, Master Chief from Halo and one of the machines from Ultrakill, which Palworld collaborated with last year. I have no idea what to make of any of it, and apparently neither does Buckley. But who cares? Games are about having fun, and you don't need to know what's going on to have fun.

Now, again, this next image, shared by tuna_fan68, is much weirder. The Palworld screenshot shows an even more gratuitously modded version of Lovander than the well-endowed Sekhmet just above, and with even more revealing attire. This version of Lovander is one you'd usually view behind the curtain of an incognito browser tab, but here it's been shown to the masses thanks in large part to Buckley himself, which is just a wild fact to have to type out. As for the nearly naked avatar sitting in a questionable position and staring at Lovander from an uncomfortably close distance, well, I did tell you this was NSFW.

"I could be wrong…but I don’t think this is official…" Buckley says in response to this... this thing.

As fun as all of this is, let this also be a cautionary tale of the potential virality of your stupidest shitposts. As a respectable public figure myself, I know I have a cache of banger tweets that will remain permanently saved as drafts for that very reason, even if none of them would get you in trouble at work.

The Japanese Patent Office has officially had enough of Nintendo, rejecting a patent attached to the Palworld lawsuit with "rarely seen" sass

The famous Jimothy from Seattle has accepted yet another brand deal. The wild raccoon seemingly suffering from a spinal deformity is being added to Guild Wars 2, in part because the woman who turned the poor creature into a viral sensation named Jimothy is married to an ArenaNet developer.

Kiana Hall posted the hairy dumpling on Instagram two weeks ago, writing in her caption that she and her spouse were "graced with the presence of Jimothy" as he galloped in front of them with the graceless abandon of a bowling ball, proud and round in his toddling. Since then, young Jimothy – his neighbors in Seattle determine him to be around a year old, and I'm guessing maybe a Pisces – has appeared in Skyrim and Stardew Valley mods, and he received an official stat block in Dungeons & Dragons.

Now, ArenaNet shares in a press release, Jimothy will make a sanctioned visit to Guild Wars 2 in August. The developer explains, "An ArenaNet developer's spouse recorded and uploaded a video of an oddly-shaped raccoon in their Seattle backyard. Now, after capturing the world's attention, it's scurrying into Guild Wars 2."

ArenaNet explains in more depth on LinkedIn that, "Bringing a little piece of Jimothy into Tyria felt like a fitting way to honor a story that connected so many people. Starting Aug. 11, track him down in Guild Wars 2 to unlock a Jimothy mini of your own."

"And while we love Jimothy's real-world origin story," the developer says responsibly, "we'd also like to remind everyone that wildlife is best appreciated from a safe and respectful distance. If you're looking to get up close to Jimothy, the in-game version is definitely the safer option." I'm in the mood for a little spaghetti and raccoon meatball, so don't mind if I do.

Guild Wars 3 may have cracked the MMO code for tired millennials.

In 2017, Dischan Media, long known for visual novel-y bits like Juniper's Knot, hatched a game idea: what if paramilitary magical girls saved the world from alien invaders? Presumably after declining an anime offer from Studio Trigger, work on the game that would become Mahou Arms began, with lead dev Softmode saying, in a recent Reddit post, that the project dates back to "my parents' basement." Today, after about six years in early access, it's finally, properly out on Steam with version 1.0, and boy does it look cool.

Work on Mahou Arms began in the same year that Nier: Automata was released, and that's either a massive coincidence or a strong sign of the sort of character action DNA that was folded in over the years.

This is a third-person action game about two magical girls slicing, dicing, and otherwise beating the daylights out of "an unknown force invading Earth." Like Nier, it folds in a surprising mix of gameplay gimmicks and perspectives, including a strategy game-esque battlefield view.

Melee combat is the meat of the game, with tag-team combos filling a Devil May Cry-style meter to an SSS-grade climax. And if you loved Nier: Automata but were pining to woo 2B, A2, or 9S, you'll be thrilled to hear update 1.0 added romance side quests to Mahou Arms.

"The story has a beginning and end, there's 6-10 hours of not-procedural gameplay, and not a single pixel of generated art, audio, narrative, or code," explains Softmode. "Core dev team of two with contractors for music, sound, voice acting and occasional assets when we can afford it. I haven't slept in 48 hours. I don't know when I'll be able to sleep."

The first bite is with the eye, and my eyes are feasting. Mahou Arms mixes minimalist 3D models and environments with lavish 2D animation to delightful effect. With retro anime vibes paired with the somber piano soundtrack accompanying every trailer I've seen, it all feels laser-targeted at me.

Barring some 1.0 launch wobbles that are purportedly being addressed, Mahou Arms has reviewed pretty well on Steam, sitting at 78% positive lifetime after 542 reviews. "If you have been playing Mahou Arms already, we strongly recommend starting a new game to experience the full story, since more content has been added and changes made to earlier levels," the devs say.

The new open-world RPG climbing Steam is the biggest surprise since Crimson Desert: huge, pretty, and only $30.

MajinPhil jokingly describes himself as your "friendly neighbourhood masochist" on his YouTube page, and looking at his history of challenge runs, it's easy to see why. He 100%ed The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask without taking a single hit in 2024, and then beat a completely randomized version of the game hitless in 2025. The next logical step, it seems, was doing the same with an Ocarina of Time randomizer.

Randomizers are mods that shuffle the locations of enemies and items within a game. They offer a challenge similar to speedrunning, where a player's knowledge and mastery of a classic game is put to the test – in this case, it's just tested in a completely different way with every run. Typically, a randomizer has some built-in safeguards to keep the game from being completely unwinnable, but beyond that, it's all fair game.

MajinPhil's Ocarina of Time randomizer challenge, which he'd been streaming on Twitch for 16 months, had some additional parameters, too. Most notable is the fact that he could only take a single hit before dying – and he's not allowed to block. Taking a single hit from any enemy, even when MajinPhil is behind a shield, is an instant death that also deletes the save file.

So you might start to see why this challenge ended up taking 135 attempts across 16 months. But hey, the winning run, which kicked off last week, had an auspicious start. "I'm calling it now: this is going to be a banger," MajinPhil said near the start of run 135. "I'm manifesting a banger here. Manifesting a banger. 135? That's some good shit."

There are some tricks in MajinPhil's favor here, like the fact that he can save and quit at any time to get out of a bad situation – the caveat being, of course, that he has to run all the way back to wherever he saved, past loads of respawned enemies, every time the game restarts.

If you want some examples of just how devious this can be, MajinPhil's previous run ended when an invisible enemy appeared with a rare glitch, present even in the original game, that rendered it briefly invulnerable. You'd think that the multiple Iron Knuckles that appeared in the very first dungeon of run 135 might've been similarly dangerous, but MajinPhil bypassed them without much trouble.

Once he finally reached the threshold of the final boss fight, MajinPhil took a moment on stream to get up, pace around the room, and collect himself. "For anyone saying I'm being dramatic, I promise you I'm not," he explains. "I've been doing this challenge since March of 2025. This is the first time I've ever gotten this far."

Experienced Ocarina of Time players will know that the scariest part of the final few fights is the back-and-forth with Ganondorf, where you bounce a ball of magic back at the boss like it's a tennis match. At one point, there's a rally that stretches on for an absolutely absurd 18 swings. MajinPhil laments that as "bullshit" – but a type of bullshit he manages to clear, just before clearing the castle escape and dealing the final blow to Ganon.

By the time the ending starts to play, MajinPhil sounds like he's on the verge of hyperventilating. "My head's freaking out," he tells his viewers. "I'm freaking out, man. I can't believe I beat it. It's actually so much more intense than Majora's Mask. This feels so much more intense. The wind-down is like… I can't explain how I feel. The feeling of all that anxiety from the beginning of the stream, like it was two hours of anxiety – two and a half hours of anxiety – all released when that final Ganon hit [was] hit."

After 16 months of trying, "I genuinely didn't think it was gonna happen," MajinPhil admits, and says "that was the hardest thing I've ever done, gaming-wise." The scariest part? Now, I reckon, he's gonna have to try and figure out an even harder challenge.

Shigeru Miyamoto admits Nintendo's been pumping out "a lot of remakes" as Ocarina of Time approaches, but says most people stopped playing the original games within 5 years anyway.

Bethesda keeps saying The Elder Scrolls 6 production is going well, which is reassuring, but it doesn't make the clock tick any faster. So one fan decided to be productive with their waiting room boredom and started creating their own indie version of a The Elder Scrolls game – The Indie Scrolls.

The, apparently, solo developer has been tracking their development progress since March 13 across social media, announcing their intentions via Twitter post: "Day 1 making my own TES until TES 6 goes out!" The developer has now reached Day 116 of The Indie Scrolls in Unreal Engine 5, and the pixel art fan game is looking lovely with evocative character design and an array of fantasy creatures.

"I have great plans that involve an Empress, an Evil mage and time travels (maybe)," The Indie Scrolls shares in a Twitter reply. "I don't have a strictly roadmap, but at the moment I'm doing all the characters and base systems/mechanics!"

Some of the characters The Indie Scrolls has shared so far includes an irate, gold-finned mermaid, a gladiator "Dogman" that attempts to strike the player with his leather bull whip, and an armored skeleton that topples into a heap of yellow bones once defeated. The enemies with more flesh on them, instead, collapse in what looks like a spill of bloody barbecue sauce.

It's clear The Indie Scrolls is in its earliest stages of existence – remember, it's only Day 116. But I'm glad to see evidence of its developer maintaining the balance between silly make-believe and real high fantasy that Bethesda's genuine Elder Scrolls games handle so well.

"The goal here is to make a modern TES in terms of system and mechanics, but with an old school graphics," says The Indie Scrolls on Twitter. Great, now we have to wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 and this inspired fan game.

The Elder Scrolls 6 development roadmap is unaffected by Xbox's mass layoffs, Bethesda says, despite devs' fears of delays and crunch.

One-man band Justin Jager of studio Extrude made and, on July 27, shipped a video game: zombie survival game The Left Behind. "It did not go as I hoped for," the dev explains in a Steam post which went up as the game was pelted with user reviews averaging just 17% positive, earning it the dreaded red review text: "Very Negative."

"It's clear from your feedback that I didn't deliver the zombie survival experience you were expecting, as reflected in the 17% review score on Steam," Jager agrees. "There is a lot of feedback in those reviews that I take with me. I learned a lot yesterday and take all that experience with me."

The Steam reviews for The Left Behind are an unmitigated takedown, and I say that not to pick on the game, but to highlight one example of the negative extreme for Steam launches – though really, most Steam games don't get anywhere – and a frankly fascinating design oversight.

User complaints include inexplicable performance issues, clunky combat, awkward movement, graphical errors, connection problems, flawed AI translations, confusing menus – the works.

Addressing this feedback, Jager says an incoming update will add "important bug fixes," a proper map, miscellaneous improvements and updates, and, most surprisingly, "save story progression."

Yes, as many incredulous reviews also pointed out, this "solo and co-op" survival game does not currently have a save function. You just have to start over whenever you boot it up. The map thing I can understand. Sometimes you forget to add salt to your broth. But a save function? Surely that's like forgetting to add water.

"I've made some design choices that in hindsight were not the best choice," Jager reflects in a Twitter post, explaining that a traditional map was left out to make physical, in-universe maps more valuable for exploration. But clearly that didn't work for players.

"Same goes for the save system," he adds. "I was [too] much focused on the horde mode in that case. Which does not need a save system. The story mode does. Also [too] focused on the permadeath feature, which still needs a save system."

In a Steam discussion response, Jager agrees, "I think it was a better choice to release this in early access. Now it's time for me to update the game and communicate the journey the right way so people know that updates are coming."

Steam expert points to the games you never see quietly "making hundreds of thousands of dollars for small devs" as a key sign "Steam is doing okay."

Double Fine, the beloved studio responsible for games like Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, and Costume Quest, laid off 23 people today. The news comes as the studio goes independent after years of Xbox ownership.

"Today, Double Fine Productions let go of 23 members of its staff," the company says in a social media post attributed to founder Tim Schafer. "As a small, tightly knit team, these actions are not taken lightly. Only the survival of our studio would ever make us consider such a painful action. Our transition to becoming an independent company means becoming a size that we can sustain."

According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Double Fine employed "around 90 people" before today's layoffs, so roughly a quarter of the studio is now gone. Among those affected is Ben Johnson, a game designer on Kiln who posted about the layoffs on Bluesky just ahead of the news being publicly reported.

Layoffs hit Double Fine today, and I'm sorry to report that I was one of the ones hit. If you need a game designer with tech chops and 2+ decades of experience, here I am.

— @gamedesignerben.bsky.social (@gamedesignerben.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-28T19:26:08.426Z

"The people we are losing were all important," Schafer's message concludes. "They all made an impact on our games and culture, and they will be missed. We are committed to supporting each affected person as best as we can, and we thank them for their hard work and commitment to the creative spirit we cherish here at Double Fine."

Schafer founded Double Fine after departing LucasArts in 2000. The studio's always been known for creative games that develop cult followings, but even darlings like Psychonauts and Brutal Legend never became breakout hits. Microsoft acquired Double Fine in 2019 as part of Xbox's massive studio-buying spree. Under Xbox, Double Fine published Psychonauts 2, Keeper, and Kiln.

In a statement to GamesRadar+, an Xbox spokesperson clarifies: "Double Fine fully returned to independent management earlier this week, with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. As they begin their next chapter as an independent studio, we look forward to seeing what they create next."

Amid Xbox's big restructuring, which will cause 3,200 employees to lose their jobs, Double Fine was named as one of the four studios set to go independent. But it seems the path of independence isn't without consequences, either.

After "incomprehensible" Xbox layoffs, id Software producer says worker-owned studios are "the only path forward."

We won't see a new game from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 studio Sandfall Interactive for a few years, it seems, but the studio's leaders are confident it will be something "a bit crazy."

Speaking with Automaton, Sandfall CEO Guillaume Broche reexamines the studio's plans for its next game – only its second release after the breakout success of Expedition 33, which was largely made by a team of junior staff.

"It's too early to say anything precise, but we had a lot of fun creating Expedition 33, and it's a game that we all love internally, so we want to find this flame, this passion again for the next project," Broche says.

"Expedition 33 was quite a long project too. Especially for me, it was six years. For Tom it was five and a half, and for most of the other members it was between four and five years. That's also why we want to let ourselves dream again and be creative again. We're going to go a bit crazy."

Don't interpret that craziness as a massively inflated scope, however. Broche affirms that Sandfall wants to stay small. Currently, the studio has around 26 people, which he calls "more than enough" for pre-production on the next game. If they cracked open the Expedition 33 war chest and hired a ton of people to make a gigantic game, Broche reckons they'd lose part of the team's charm.

"If we know we can't do everything, we have to focus on what matters, and I think that philosophy is what made Expedition 33 what it is," he says. "It feels very focused, everything has a purpose, and everything is made for a reason. It doesn’t feel like something too big for its own good."

Earlier this year, Broche commented on the second album syndrome facing whatever game follows Expedition 33. Unbothered by sales comparisons or critical expectations, he said "we're just going to do what we love again" as "we didn't make the first game to please anyone" and that worked out pretty alright.

Sandfall staff have said as much since the end of the GOTY season that saw Expedition 33 showered in trophies. COO and production director François Meurisse likewise said the team's next game will just focus on "what we think is cool," not what's expected to perform or, as writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen put it, "please a lot of people."

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads call PlayStation killing discs a "sad decision" after buying boxed copies of their own RPG – "For us, physical was something special."

Video games can transport you across kingdoms and dimensions, so developer Rockstar was bold in deciding to set its 2006 open-world drama Bully in a New England boarding school. 20 years later, there still isn't anything quite like it.

Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser tells IGN during a San Diego Comic-Con interview, "The team did an amazing job bringing [Bully] together, and it's a game that's unlike any other games out there."

"You know," Houser added, "I think people are always looking for games that play like normal games, but with different tone and different setting. And Bully really found that." The teen angst simulator puts faith in its moody protagonist Jimmy, whose normal-ness sets him apart from other AAA game heroes. As him, you try winning over each of Bullworth Academy's stereotypical cliques – Jocks, Nerds, Greasers – while dodging adults, drinking soda, and Rated T smooching the NPC of your choice. It's a classroom daydream where you outrun the hall monitor and become a John Hughes hero.

Naturally, players got happily lost in it. Our contemporaneous GamesRadar+ review calls it a "cavalcade of favors, beatdowns, vandalism, minor theft, humiliation, blackmail, make-outs and a whole lot of sticking it to The Man." Basically, it's awesome.

Though, Bully was controversial ahead of its release as parents panicked about the name "Bully" (our review references this by calling Bully either "the ruin of Western civilization or a Catcher in the Rye for the videogame generation"). Rockstar wasn't worried about what was ultimately an anti-bullying statement as Houser pulled freely from his childhood memories while working on the game's story. That grubby authenticity ultimately helped make Bully a popular, empathetic open-world game people could really see themselves in, and it prevented Bully from being another great game overshadowed by moral panic – which is what happened to the other 2006, boarding school nightmare Rule of Rose.

"I think people love open-world games anyway – particularly, ones that are made with integrity," Houser tells IGN about Bully. "We've got amazing art direction from [former Rockstar lead] Steven Olds, you've got incredible music, you've got some really memorable characters, and it's a unique setting. It came together really well."

Find out where Bully falls on our ranked list of the 25 best Rockstar games of all time.

The industry is still reeling from Sony's announcement that it's ending physical disc production for PlayStation consoles in 2028. There's been a lot of pushback, and now the developers behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have added their two cents, lamenting the choice as a reductive one for the medium.

"Personally, I find it super sad because I really like video game stores," Guillaume Broche, creative director on Clair Obscur, tells Automaton. "And even if nowadays, I play mainly on PC myself, we have a lot of people on the team who play on PS5 and love to collect physical discs. I think it's part of the beauty of art too – that it's something tangible."

He concedes that in terms of business, he "can understand why it may make sense," but "it's a sad decision" for the overall creativity of the industry. Tom Guillermin, co–founder and CTO of studio Sandfall Interactive, revealed actually doing a physical run for Clair Obscur was something the team had to push for.

"A physical release adds more constraints because you have to account for the production time of the physical items, and you also earn less money per copy," he explains. "But for us, physical was something special. We also felt that the game could be special to players."

Doing a physical run is an increasingly large labor of love. The ubiquity of digital storefronts is pushing game discs into being a more niche interest similar to vinyl, except people aren't really buying game discs. Still, discs are important because they're timeless and collectible, and it feels better to have a game you love in your own two hands.

I've bought several games I love more than once because I got the physical version after playing the digital one. Nobody can turn the servers off on the disc I own, and I like having it on display.

"So even though it made things harder and meant less money per unit, it was important for us to provide players who want to have the physical game in their hands with an option," Guillermin says. "Because that's what we value as players too."

He's not kidding on that last part, because once Clair Obscur was on actual store shelves, Sandfall literally went out and bought it. "After launch, we went to a video game store to buy our own game. Just as a gesture," Broche recalls.

"Another strong memory I have is when someone from Japan sent me a picture [of our game] from a video game store, in Akihabara I think, in Japanese writing and all," he remembers. "I felt like a kid when I saw it. I was like 'Yeah, it's real!' It starts feeling real when you see it in stores."

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs were told that "no one" would like one of the RPG's best systems before it launched, lead says: "We didn't care"

Resident Evil 2 is now the series' best-selling game, while a new sales milestone sees the Capcom horror series pass Final Fantasy.

In Capcom's latest earnings report, the company announced that Resident Evil 2 – that being the 2019 remake, not the 1998 original with the same name – has sold an extra 1.42 million copies since the last report, sending the game to lifetime sales of 19.75 million copies. And despite Capcom's decision to split every different version of a game into different parts of its platinum titles page making it seem like this happened long ago, Resident Evil 5 has finally been dethroned (via DuskGolem).

Between the original Xbox 360 and PS3 game, its Gold Edition, the PS4 and Xbox One re-release, and Switch editions of Capcom's divisive horror title, Resident Evil 5 had sold 19.01 million copies the last time Capcom detailed its sales in an earnings report earlier this year.

However, Resident Evil 2's spot at the top is definitely under threat as Resident Evil 4 remake is already at 16.04 Million copies sold despite 2's four-year headstart. Not to mention Resident Evil 4 sold 2.43 million copies in the last three months, which is over 1 million more than 2 sold. Resident Evil Requiem is also killing it as it sold a further 1.14 million in the last three months, and with momentum like that and big sales down the line, it also has a chance to make it to the top.

Capcom also confirmed that the Resident Evil series as a whole has sold 213 million copies since it debuted 30 years ago. That means it has surpassed Final Fantasy, which Square Enix claimed had sold 212 million as of last month. This means that Resident Evil is the ninth best-selling game franchise of all-time, and the biggest-selling Japanese game series not published by Nintendo, and with sales like Mario and Pokemon have, I'm afraid that's probably the closest it will get.

"Resident not-Evil" is Resident Evil 2 director's joke cozy life sim pitch starring a retired Leon Kennedy fishing, baking, and "inviting his old friends over for barbecues"

Halo's greatest strength is simplicity. Super-soldier protagonist Master Chief is an immovable object, the Covenant's alien invaders an unstoppable force, and hitting them together like action figures has created 25 years of entertaining FPS hijinks. Returning to the first game via Halo: Campaign Evolved, little has changed – even when it has.

The remake features a prologue from developer Halo Studios, with three all-new missions that see Chief tear through a Covenant ship before the events of the original game. The prologue is Halo Studios' first original creation since the studio's rebrand from 343 Industries in 2024, which means we're effectively getting a glimpse into the series' future while fresher players are given the perfect introduction to Master Chief and Halo's setting.

Shipping it

Aboard the Covenant's vessel, you're thrown straight into the carnage. It's an excellent setting for an FPS, particularly one of Halo's straightforwardness. Squeezed into the ship are cramped service corridors, grand halls, and even a domed Earth-like desert biome – all unmistakably alien, but designed with perfunctory violence. Ornate balconies can be a vantage point for Jackal snipers or a haven for Chief to blast Brutes from a distance, and every door is a potential entry-point for more aliens – and just about the only place you can create a chokepoint, if you're quick enough to frag a gaggle of Grunts before they can disperse. Even in a linear shooting gallery like this, I always feel moments away from being overrun on all sides.

The developer also recognizes the importance of Master Chief's momentum, which is something I clocked while playing the original game's remade levels. Standing still is a surefire way of being pelted with grenades, leaving you to push forward as your only option – if only to pluck a plasma rifle from a dead brute, as limited ammo makes every weapon a disposable tool. I'm pinballed from gun to gun, drawn further out of position until I look back and realize I've completed most of the prologue this way. The original Halo campaigns were defined by their breathlessness, and it's bracing to see Halo Studios lean into the same dynamic so effectively.

As someone who has lapsed from the series since the Xbox 360 days, the new prologue also serves as a nice way into Halo at its simplest. A Star Wars-style crawl establishes humanity's war against the Covenant, while Master Chief is endearingly portrayed as both stoic hero and tongue-in-cheek action film caricature. "Chief – you ever get tired of being the strong, almost-silent type?", he's asked during a lull between shootouts. Long pause. "No."

By remaking the first Halo after a major development overhaul, Halo Studios seems to be looking back to find its way forward. Its originality in the prologue shows the developer certainly has the shooter chops to carry Halo forward – five minutes with the CE Magnum is enough to confirm that – but the bigger question is how this action will be framed going forward. Does the prologue's claustrophobic structure mean we'll see more traditional shooter levels in future Halo games, or will they build upon Halo Infinite's open-world experimentation?

Whatever the answer, I just hope the next game from Halo Studios is wholly original. After all: what's Halo if not moving forward?

Not sure where to start? Here's how to play the Halo games in order

Making a massive RPG like The Blood of Dawnwalker requires striking a balance between understanding that such projects require time and investment, and not letting financial targets distract from the creative vision. In fact, as far the game's director is concerned, worrying about money is a surefire way for a release to flounder.

In an interview with Radio Times (below), Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of The Blood of Dawnwalker and co-founder of studio Rebel Wolves (and a CD Projekt Red veteran who directed The Witcher 3), explains his perspective on sales targets. "We don't want to measure our games in millions of sales," he says.

"I mean, you need to have money, of course, to create the next part," he continues. "But we want to create those challenges in front of us to fulfil our artistic and creative needs."

The real goal is to garner a positive reception from the game's fanbase. "I would prefer to measure the game in the opinions of fans," Tomaskiewicz adds, "and the energy when they like the game. If possible, maybe some awards for us, which will be achievements for us as artists."

Strong aspirations, but good principles upon which to build a game. The Blood of Dawnwalker's an ambitious debut; a horror RPG set in the 14th century where a half-human, half-vampire has 30 days to save his family. It's high-concept, and stands out as a result.

In Tomaskiewicz's mind, "the sales are secondary," because he has a core belief that, "if the game is good there will be the sales," and if you're worried about shifting copies from the jump, your project is doomed. "If you are thinking about sales as you create the game, when you try to make the game to match the sales, it will fail at the start," he says, definitively.

Given that Tomaskiewicz directed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, he's got on the ground experience shipping a large game while maintaining the team's creative integrity. Geralt's last big adventure is testament to the notion that people gravitate to good games if the execution is there.

We have just over a month to wait before we find out if The Blood of Dawnwalker will be another hit. Regardless, the real reward will be seeing who actually connects with the ideas Rebel Wolves is putting out there.

Former Witcher 3 devs "can't" and "don't want to challenge" bigger games and companies with new RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, and staying smaller let them "focus on the player's agency."

Danganronpa's creator Kazutaka Kodaka has said that a sequel to the high school killing game was initially turned down following the original game's poor release sales. The writer even considered quitting his job, until the opportunity arose to keep working on the series.

Posting on Twitter, and as translated by GamesRadar+, Kodaka recalls how studio Spike Chunsoft – then known as Spike – turned down a Danganronpa sequel when the first game didn't make much money. The visual novel was originally a PlayStation Portable exclusive and so it was reportedly difficult for it to make its development budget back.

"After Danganronpa launched it didn't generate much revenue, so at that time we were told something like, 'we're not making 2,'" Kodaka says. "The team was assigned to different projects and they were spread out across the company."

Kodaka had previously worked on existing series like Clock Tower, Dragon Ball, and Detective Conan, and was eager to continue working on his own games. "My eyes were opened to the joy of working on something original and I didn't want to work on another project," he says. "I couldn't decide what to do and even considered quitting, but then I heard talk of a Danganronpa Zero light novel, so I went straight to my boss. That's how I continued working on the series."

Working on Danganronpa's prequel novel gave the series' first game time to generate more sales, and the beloved sequel was finally greenlit. "Danganronpa was selling steadily and at some point there was talk of making a second game," Kodaka says. "As I was writing Danganronpa Zero, I revisited [the series'] vague setting, so the foundation of the second game's story was easy to craft."

Kodaka continues to say he went from the "gloomy, claustrophobic" atmosphere of the first game to "shonen manga-esque steamy plotlines" for the second, before going into the weeds about how each murder mystery was crafted. Despite the fact that Danganronpa 2 almost never existed, it's many fans' favorite entry in the series, and will receive its own alternative timeline in Danganronpa 2x2 in 2027.

Danganronpa creator's massive tactical RPG has secretly been two games all along, which, y'know, makes sense considering the enormity of 100 routes.

Euphoria star Hunter Schafer has revealed she's recently performed in mocap for Hideo Kojima's upcoming horror game OD.

Despite knowing about the upcoming Hideo Kojima games for a while now, we really don't know all that much about either of them. We do know that horror title OD will be first up to the plate, with the game being announced at The Game Awards 2023, but – despite a very naked gameplay leak a year before the game was announced – Kojima claimed his studio was just beginning to work on OD last year. We did get our second trailer last year, while Kojima is hyping it up as a game that goes "beyond the limit of 'scariness."

Well, we now have a slight update on the production of OD, as Schafer – when speaking to IGN at SDCC 2026 – says working OD "was a lot of fun" and that she "just did mocap not too long ago."

Schafer also says "that was my first experience doing motion capture," adding that she loves "how much imagination is involved in filming something like that." She notes: "I just think Hideo's a genius and so lovely to work with"

Beyond that, Schafer speaks about the games she's been playing, calling The Last of Us Part 2 "life-changing," and revealing she has recently played Journey, which she describes as "really simple and gorgeous."

For comparison, Death Stranding 2 motion capture was completed in May 2024, and took just over a year to release from that point. So, come time for The Game Awards this year, I'd suspect (or hope) we might find out a bit more about OD, and have a better idea of what it is and when it's releasing.

Hideo Kojima isn't planning to blast off to space yet because he doesn't want to rush to his "ultimate dream," so he'll "keep on making games" for now.

If you're looking to play the Halo games in order, I've brought together this handy guide to break it all down for you.

Here, you can find all of the major Halo games and some off-shoots compiled below in two different orders. Starting with the release date order first, you can find a list that gives you an overview of the series as it originally launched, from its beginnings in 2001, right up to the latest new game in 2026 with the arrival of the remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved (which you can find out more about in our Halo: Campaign Evolved review).

For those of you looking to explore the series in narrative order, I've also detailed how to play the Halo games chronologically, with overviews of where each entry sits in the Halo timeline and if or how the events of the games connect story wise. Of course, alternatively, you can also explore the series by checking out our ranking of the best Halo games if you're after the highlights, too. But for an overview of how to play the Halo games in order, read on.

How to play the Halo games in release order

If you want to play the Halo games in release order, you can find a helpful list breaking down all of the games (including some major spin-offs) below, with the original launch years they came out in.

• Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
• Halo 2 (2004)
• Halo 3 (2007)
• Halo Wars (2009)
• Halo 3: ODST (2009)
• Halo Reach (2010)
• Halo 4 (2012)
• Halo: Spartan Assault (2013)
• Halo: Spartan Strike (2015)
• Halo 5: Guardians (2015)
• Halo Wars 2 (2017)
• Halo Infinite (2021)
• Halo: Campaign Evolved (2026)

How to play the Halo games in chronological order

If you're instead looking to play the Halo games in chronological order, the list looks quite different. While, for example, Halo: Combat Evolved was technically the very first Halo game to release, later Halo games take you to earlier points in the Halo timeline of events. So, if you're looking to experience the narrative of the series chronologically, I'll break it down for you here.

With both a list so you can see the order at a glance, as well as a more detailed overview of the timeframes and how it ties into the overall narrative, you'll also find current platforms listed where you can still play these today.

• Halo Wars
• Halo: Campaign Evolved (prologue missions)
• Halo: Reach
• Halo: Combat Evolved
• Halo 2
• Halo 3: ODST
• Halo 3
• Halo: Spartan Assault
• Halo 4
• Halo Spartan: Strike
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars 2
• Halo Infinite

1. Halo Wars (2531)

Halo Wars is the first real-time strategy game set in the Halo universe, and it's also technically the first game in the series narratively speaking. With the events of Halo Wars taking place some 21 years before Halo: Combat Evolved (and, of course, its remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved).

Taking place in the year 2531 during the tail-end of the Harvest campaign – which revolved around trying to reclaim the colonist world of Harvest that's been ravaged by the alien Covenant empire (who are determined to destroy humanity). You play as one of various leaders and take command of either UNSC military units who are part of the Red Team, or the Covenant, and get thrown into the conflict. The parasitic threat known as The Flood also factors into the campaign.

2. Halo: Campaign Evolved (2551 - Prologue missions)

For the most part, Halo: Campaign Evolved serves as a shiny new remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, but there are some new bonus prequel missions introduced that place it earlier in the timeline narratively.

Taking place a year before the main story of Campaign Evolved (and Combat Evolved) and prior to Halo: Reach, these Operation Meteorite missions explore a self-contained story featuring Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson teaming up to infiltrate and investigate a Covenant research vessel above the colony of Promise. It mostly establishes that Chief and Johnson were best pals before the events of Halo 1, but also introduces a new Prophet character, who may be more important in the inevitable Halo 2 remake.

So, if you do want to play the Halo games in order, it could be worth tucking into Campaign Evolved over Combat Evolved, or play it before you play the original if you're keen to try both. However, you won't be missing much by skipping these prequel missions and going straight to the next game.

3. Halo: Reach (2552)

Halo: Reach brings forward the Halo timeline from Wars, but is still a precursor to Halo: Combat Evolved. And rather than being an RTS like Wars, it's an FPS like the majority of the series.

Taking place a few weeks before the events of Combat Evolved in the year 2552, the game explores the Fall of Reach, a key human colony planet that served as one of the last bastions of military strength against the Covenant.

The campaign sees you playing as super solider Spartan B312 (aka Noble Six), a member of the elite Noble Team, who are sent to look into a distress beacon on the planet. It soon becomes apparent that the Covenant are on Reach and you'll get swept up in countless battles against the alien invaders as they continue their devastation from the Harvest campaign. Reach's ending then almost immediately leads into the start of Halo: Combat Evolved.

4. Halo: Combat Evolved (2552)

The FPS that kicked off the Halo Series, Combat Evolved (and its 2026 remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved), bring the events forward from Halo: Reach some weeks later. Still set within the same year of 2552, Combat Evolved follows Spartan John-117, better known as Master Chief, who begins the game in cryo sleep aboard the UNSC ship Pillar of Autumn after the Fall of Reach.

The Pillar of Autumn is quickly overrun by the pursuing Covenant, and Captain Jacob Keyes charges Master Chief with protecting the ship's AI Cortana from falling into the hands of alien forces. But after you crash onto an ancient, mysterious ringworld (aka a Halo) known as Installation 04, you'll soon find yourself fighting back against the Covenant forces that revere it and uncovering its true purpose.

5. Halo 2 (2552)

Also taking place in the year 2552, Halo 2 unfolds following the events of Combat Evolved. But rather than solely focusing on Master Chief, Halo 2 also explores a Sangheili warrior called Thel 'Vadam who holds the title of The Arbiter.

Playing as both characters at different points in the narrative (before their plotlines eventually converge), the game sees the Human-Covenant war escalate, with the aliens now invading Earth. Master Chief starts the fight aboard Cairo Station before eventually battling through the city of New Mombasa, which sets up what's to come in Halo 3: ODST. Meanwhile, the Arbiter contends with The Flood on another Halo known as Installation 05.

6. Halo 3: ODST (2552)

Halo 3: ODST actually takes place during Halo 2 and acts as a prequel of sorts to Halo 3. Taking on the role of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper called Rookie, you set out to find out the motivations behind the Covenant's attack and invasion of the city of New Mombasa on Earth.

Shaking up the combat, ODST introduces some stealth as you try to survive against the overwhelming enemy forces. Structurally, it's also quite different to other games, featuring some open world exploration as you explore the ruined streets of New Mombasa at night looking for clues as to where your missing squad mates are, which lead into more linear missions that show the chaos of the Covenant's invasion. Overall, it builds up a more complete picture of the Battle for Earth prior to the events of Halo 3.

7. Halo 3 (2552)

Halo 3 then sees out the year 2552 with the return of Master Chief, who's back in the leading role. The Arbiter also makes another appearance, although now he's only playable in co-op multiplayer. Set a few weeks after the events of Halo 2, the third entry follows on from ODST to bring the original Halo trilogy to a close.

After crash landing into an African jungle, Master Chief sets out to finally finish the long fight against the Covenant. As you battle against enemy forces, you also work to uncover a secret that could turn the tide of the fight. But along the way, you'll also have to contend with the threat of The Flood, too. With Halo 3 officially wrapping up the Human-Covenant War, the game ends with Master Chief entering cryo sleep on the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn ship – which is left adrift in space – to await rescue.

8. Halo: Spartan Assault (2554)

Set between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4 in the year 2554, Halo: Spartan Assault is an off-shoot entry in the series that plays as a twin-stick, top-down arcade-y shooter rather than the mainstay FPS format of the core trilogy. Originally released on PC and mobile before coming to Xbox 360 and Xbox One, it features over 30 campaign missions.

Its concept revolves around a training simulation tool for Spartans. As you try to progress your career as a prospective Spartan, you'll be drawn into key battles that take place within the timeline. As the games go, this is one of those off-shoot you don't really need to play to follow the overarching narrative of the main series.

9. Halo 4 (2557)

Picking up where Halo 3 left off, Halo 4 takes place less than a handful of years later, and follows Master Chief as he's awakened by Cortana on the Forward Unto Dawn ship – which is still adrift. Cortana, now several years old, is starting to suffer from rampancy, making her unstable.

The duo eventually find themselves on the Forerunner world known as Requiem, where soon enough, he finds himself facing the Covenant and another threat in the Forerunners (another advanced alien species) with the mighty Didact as their commander.

10. Halo Spartan: Strike (2557)

Just like Halo Spartan: Assault, Halo Spartan: Strike is another off-shoot twin-stick shooter set in the Halo universe. Narratively speaking, it does jump a little in terms of the timeline, with it including events that took place in 2552, but it's technically set in the year 2557. As another smaller experience that doesn't hold as much weight as the mainline games, this is another one you could miss without much trouble.

But if you want to experience it, this is where it sits within the timeline of events, and it kind of mirrors the concept of Assault in that it's another series of missions centered around a tactical simulation training tool that was originally developed for mobile.

11. Halo 5: Guardians (2558)

Halo 5: Guardians takes place in the year 2558 after the events of Halo 4, and puts you in the role of both Spartan Jameson Locke, who's a part of ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence), and Master Chief. When series hero Master Chief goes AWOL after going after Cortana with his Blue Team Spartan allies, you as Locke set out to bring him back with Fireteam Osiris.

Playing as both characters at different points throughout the campaign, our original Halo 5: Guardians review picked at its story, which doesn't feel as cohesive or impactful as its predecessor, with much of its events feeling more inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

12. Halo Wars 2 (2559)

Just like the first Halo Wars game, Halo Wars 2 takes the series back to the realms of strategy and sees the Spartan Red Team awaken from cryo sleep 28 years after the events of the first Wars game. Set in the year 2559, it takes place in the timeline following the events of Halo 5 and sees you play as a leader of your choice as you command your own army and take on a new threat in the Banished, a Brute-led faction born out of the Covenant.

With the option to play as either humanity, or the Banished in the story, you build up bases, take charge of troops and vehicles, and navigate battles in missions centered around the Ark – a Forerunner installation first seen in Halo 3

13. Halo Infinite (2560)

As the most recent game to release in the Halo series (outside of the Campaign Evolved Remake), Halo Infinite is also the latest entry in the timeline, with events unfolding in the year 2560. Taking place roughly 18 months after the events of Halo 5: Guardians, Infinite sees you assume the role of Master Chief as the war against the alien Banished faction has effectively been lost.

With Halo Infinite being set on a Halo ring known as Installation 07 (Zeta Halo) which is coming back online and poses another threat, Master Chief works to shut down the Halo. Cortana's actions from Halo 5 are largely glossed over and, while she features in the story, Master Chief instead finds himself paired with a new AI known as The Weapon. If you want a more in-depth explanation of the storyline, you can check out our Halo Infinite story explainer.

Looking for more recommendations? Check out our pick of the best FPS games.

A big change is happening at Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast. John Hight, current president of the company, is leaving his position soon, and the process of finding his replacement has already begun.

As revealed in a filing for the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Hight is stepping down on September 1. This comes just two years after he took on the role, in August 2024, and a tenure where he oversaw some contentious strategizing.

He's overseen the transition to D&D 5.5 edition and put a big emphasis on the Universes Beyond initiative, helping launch crossover after crossover within Magic: The Gathering. Although some of these partnerships were well-received, like The Lord of the Rings, the general push for novelty isn't completely beloved within the wider community.

Wizards has been aware of this, but believes it's better to lean into evolving the card game rather than backing away. "Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it's just not going back in," Mark Rosewater, head designer on Magic: The Gathering, wrote on a personal blog earlier this month.

"Whether you like or dislike Universe Beyond, it has fundamentally changed the nature of what the game is," he added. "It’s taking the game to a whole new level, in both scope and awareness, much like Commander forever changed how people saw and interacted with the game."

Hight brought a lot of experience with fantasy IP, since he moved over to Wizards from Blizzard, where he served as general manager of Warcraft for over a decade. According to comments provided to GamesIndustry.biz, Hight will continue with Wizards in an "advisory capacity," and the search for his successor is now ongoing.

"There is no change to the strength of the Wizards business," says the statement. "Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons continue to perform incredibly well, consistent with our most recent earnings release, and our upcoming 2027 video game slate, including Exodus and Warlock remains on track."

That last line stands out too, since Hasbro reported a $56 million loss on canceled games just recently. Warlock and Exodus represent a considerably trimmed down slate of releases from the corporation, amid growing uncertainty about its investments in the industry.

Skyrim and Stardew Valley mods weren't enough: rotund icon Jimothy the viral raccoon invades D&D as a Wizards-approved "cryptid" who is "hurling garbage and making friends."

Capcom is shouting out Pragmata's sales success as a big reason why the company's year-on-year profits have increased.

In the company's latest earnings report, Capcom notes an 83% increase in net sales year-on-year, and noting: "Unit sales of all-new IP Pragmata and catalog titles performed well, driving revenue and profit up."

Capcom confirms that – as of June 30, 2026 – Pragmata has sold over 2.5 million copies since it was released back in April 2026, while Resident Evil Requiem sold a further 1.14 million since sales were last reported, bringing the latest game in the series up to eight million copies sold. This mixed with strong sales for older Resident Evil titles, bringing the series to 213 million copies sold, and making it the best-selling Japanese game series not published by Nintendo or Sony.

In a press release, Capcom once again singles out Pragmata as a key factor in this increase in sales, saying: "Digital Contents business drove earnings with 23.81 million units in total sales volume, which exceeded sales of 14.16 million units for the same period of the previous fiscal year. This included sales of all-new IP PRAGMATA, which surpassed 2.5 million units worldwide following a positive launch reception due to increased brand awareness achieved through robust promotional activities."

Since launch, Capcom hasn't exactly kept its cards close to its chest regarding how it feels about Pragmata. It confirmed that it will consider "developing it into a series," after Pragmata hit two million copies within its first month and says it will continue making new IP. The push for new IP is something Devil May Cry and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya credits Capcom's success with, while Pragmata director Yonghee Cho told us in May that he would "of course" love to make a sequel to the game.

In a games industry dominated by safe bets, Capcom keeps getting weird with it.

Wingspan Pocket is like one of the apex predators it depicts; it swoops in, claws outstretched, and carries you away before you even know what's hit you. I love the original version, but after getting my hands on this travel-sized follow-up… well, a new board game rules the roost in this house.

Based on the mega-popular Wingspan, this smaller, nimbler variant is designed to be played in just 25 minutes or so. Because it's made up of cards and a few tokens, it also requires much less real estate. (The original board game had some spectacular plumage, but it ate up table space like a gannet.) However, the most crucial difference with Wingspan Pocket is that it's so much easier to play… but is arguably just as fun. I spend a lot of time testing the best board games so would like to think I've got a good idea of what works, and I've got a very good feeling from this. My family enjoys Winspan but can feel overwhelmed by it if we haven't played for a while, so I appreciate that this one streamlines the system into something much more manageable.

You're still collecting birds here, but you don't need an entire menagerie; you just have to get six. Once half a dozen are arranged in a flock on the table, that's it – game over. Players then get another turn until everyone has had an equal number of goes, and you tally up your score. This means you can be done in a fraction of the time.

The way you get birds is the same too, but has been similarly tidied up. Rather than relying on dice rolls to earn resources, each bird card has a random resource symbol printed on the back. These are laid out in a row of four decks you can draw from each turn, and they'll be used to pay for any feathered friends you'd like in your flock. It's so much more deliberate than the original, because even though you're still at the mercy of chance based on what's at the top of each deck, there are always four to choose from at any given time. Plus, there seem to be a lot of 'double' resources available, with certain bird abilities allowing you to swap or ignore specific values. Canny players have options as a result.

The key is when to strike. Actually, that's true of everything about Wingspan Pocket. You have limited space for birds so must balance how many points they'll earn you at the end with their abilities. In addition, those abilities can only be used when the bird card is locked into your flock… so get ready to make some tough, quick-fire decisions on what to use, and when. Should you deploy something that allows you to use a resource in place of anything else, even though the bird itself earns you fewer points when all is said and done? Or are you better off going for a bird with a higher score, but less interesting abilities? I've only just started scratching the surface of this board game, and there's already a lot to consider.

This extends to the fact that your match draws to a close when anyone has added six birds to their flock. It adds a ticking clock to proceedings, because you don't want to be caught out by the endgame without having done everything you want… and by the same token, it adds pressure to keep an eye on what your foes are doing in case they're planning to end the game early to stop you in your tracks.

Even if it all goes awry, this only adds to the "one more match" element of Wingspan Pocket. There's always some new tactic or approach you'll want to try, and that's catnip to me. I can see it being a great travel board game as a direct result, because it'll keep you amused across many evenings of play on vacation.

It reminds me of Catan On the Road, which sunk its hooks into me nice and early too. Both condense their inspiration into something much more bitesize, all without losing what made the originals special.

Just proceed with caution, though; if you're anything like me, Wingspan Pocket may sweep you off your feet too.

For something else to play on the go, don't miss the best card games. As for something you can enjoy with your loved ones, be sure to check out our guide to the best family board games.

• Browse today's best discounts on board games at Amazon

Xbox chief technology officer Scott Van Vliet has commented on the outages that hit consoles yesterday, and has pledged to investigate the issues.

Following a PlayStation outage – which lined up quite nicely with the launch of the Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls beta, and was a lovely bit of synergy with Sony's pledge to go all-digital – Xbox players got to experience the same this week. The outage lasted several hours and prevented Xbox players from accessing their profiles. Crucially, it also stopped them from finding games in the Xbox store, accessing their digital games, and even some physical ones (presumably those which effectively work as a Game-Key Card), which is the cherry on top of the push for digital games.

Van Vliet has taken to Twitter following the resolution of the outage, saying, "this is an unacceptable situation, and we must do better to support you." He adds: "Over the coming weeks, you'll hear more from me about our services, our platform, and the work we're doing to make Xbox better. And that starts with some transparency about this incident."

He explains that the outage was due to the failure of a licensing service outside Xbox that the console relies on, which in turn caused the issues. Once the outage was noticed, the team "declared a major incident" and began work on sorting it.

"We're running a full post-incident review," Van Vliet says, adding that "I care less about the one-line root cause and more about the real questions: why a failure in one service was able to take down this much, why recovery took as long as it did, and what we change so a single point of failure can't ruin your night again." Crucially, he pledges: "We'll do better."

Still, the timing of these outages feel like they came at the right time. Players are still very unhappy about the prospect of an all-digital future following Sony's announcement, and there are fears that Project Helix will also not be supporting physical games. So hopefully, these events serve as a wake-up call to Sony and Microsoft.

Xbox is reportedly testing a feature to digitize physical game collections as PlayStation decides to phase out discs.

The Halo Campaign Evolved Terminals can all be obtained with some thorough searching, but plenty of them are very easy to miss – and don't think your knowledge of the Terminal locations in Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary will help, as they're in completely different places now.

Unlike the Skulls, Terminals don't make any noise besides some bleeps and bloops that are only audible when you're very close. Also unlike the Skulls, there are only 13 of them – that's one per Halo Campaign Evolved level – so finding and activating them all for some unlockable lore entries isn’t too much of a chore. To help you find every Terminal in Halo Campaign Evolved, I've laid out all 13 locations below.

Halo Campaign Evolved Pillar of Autumn Terminal

From Rally Point Charlie, when going through the upper cryo room with the cracked windows.

This is the room where Cortana says, "it looks like the Covenant wanted to catch you napping". Proceed through the next door, then immediately turn left to find another open door leading into a small room with red lights and lots of screens everywhere. The Pillar of Autumn Terminal in Halo Campaign Evolved is at the far end, which unlocks the Approach entry.

Halo Campaign Evolved Halo Terminal

From Rally Point Bravo, as you drive into the "this cave is not a natural formation" Forerunner tunnel.

Drive through the tunnel until you reach the straight section with two small bumps in the road and a large window on your right. Hop out your Warthog, then jump through the window and carefully drop down to the ledge directly below. You'll find the Halo Terminal, Forgotten, down there.

Halo Campaign Evolved Truth and Reconciliation Terminal

From Rally Point Charlie, as you make your way to the brig to find Captain Keyes after clearing out the ship's command room.

After navigating several corridors after the command room, you'll eventually arrive at a large room with several doors around the perimeter. Go through the one immediately on the right as you enter and you'll find yourself in one of the prison rooms. Use the central console to deactivate the forcefields and then head inside the cell almost opposite the console to find the Truth and Reconciliation Terminal and get the Inquisitor lore entry.

Halo Campaign Evolved Silent Cartographer Terminal

From Rally Point Bravo, just after you shut down the security system.

From the security system console, turn around and head to the outer walkway of this area and look for the extended platform. The Status Update Terminal is behind a small Forerunner structure with two pointy bits.

Halo Campaign Evolved Assault on the Control Room Terminal

From Rally Point Charlie, after you've gone up the ice cave.

When you emerge into the canyon from the ice cave, follow the path to the right, then go through the doorway in the central rock formation on your left.

Head through the door and follow the corridor until you reach a large, empty central rooms. From here, go up the ramp that leads onto a balcony, then look to your right once you get onto the balcony. You'll find the Terminal for Assault on the Control Room, Tangent 1, tucked in the corner.

Halo Campaign Evolved 343 Guilty Spark Terminal

From Rally Point Bravo, after backtracking partway through the Forerunner facility while fighting the Flood.

You'll eventually reach a point on your journey through this facility where you have to go through a door with two large, pale symbols on either side.

Head through and turn left to find a cluster of dead marines and all their gear. From here take the next right to go down a dark corridor where you'll find the Halo Campaign Evolved 343 Guilty Spark Terminal – Tangent 2, which carries on from the last one.

Halo Campaign Evolved The Library Terminal

From Rally Point Bravo, after 343 Guilty Spark opens a large door and you're presented with two consoles, with a prompt directing you to the one on the right.

Ignore the objective and activate the console on the left to open a doorway on the left.

Head through and then go through the small hole in the Flood-infested wall. This will lead you into a small room featuring a dead marine and the Library Terminal, which rounds out the Tangent series into a trilogy.

Halo Campaign Evolved Two Betrayals Terminal

From Rally Point Alpha, right after destroying all the attacking Sentinels.

Rather than heading out the door straight ahead, head right and run around the ring walkway instead. You'll run into the Two Betrayals Terminal here, unlocking the Alone entry.

Halo Campaign Evolved Keyes Terminal

From Rally Point Charlie, when trying to ascend to a higher deck in the shuttle bay.

After dropping off to the ground floor of the shuttle bay, follow the objective marker through the door then right and up the inclined corridor – there are always Flood enemies and two Hunters in here. When you get to the first junction halfway up the corridor, turn left then left again to find the Terminal for Keyes in Halo Campaign Evolved.

Halo Campaign Evolved The Maw Terminal

From Rally Point Alpha, after clearing out the mess hall room.

From the entrance to the mess hall, bear right and you'll find the Arrival Terminal in a nook on top of some UNSC boxes.

Halo Campaign Evolved Boarding Action Terminal

From Rally Point Delta, after you've taken the gravity lift upwards to head for the Triumph of Tolerance's upper decks.

This grav lift will put you right in front of the corridor and doorway you’re meant to go through for the final combat encounter of the mission, but the terminal is behind you. Turn to face the opposite direction and then go through the door on the right to find the Heavy Burden Terminal.

Halo Campaign Evolved The Most Dangerous Game Terminal

Rally Point Charlie, after rescuing the marines from the brig.

Fight through the rest of the ship following the objective markers until you reach a room with several windows on the left that let you see many sarcophagus-like devices in a large room. Instead of going through the next door, head through the one on the right and you'll find a storage room full of UNSC gear, including the Halo Campaign Evolved Terminal for this mission, Penitent Report.

Halo Campaign Evolved Heavy Burden Terminal

From Rally Point Bravo, immediately after the cutscene where Chief and Johnson get the starholo data.

At the start of this Rally Point, you'll be facing a pair of doors on the far side of this room on the ground floor. Go through either of them to reach another pair of doors. Go through either of those doors to get inside a Covenant armory, then go through the next door to reach a relatively small storage room. The Terminal for Heavy Burden is hidden behind the Covenant equipment on the left.

These Terminals are just one of the many Halo Campaign Evolved changes compared to the original. Bear in mind that finding them all is also going to add a fairly significant amount of time to how long it takes you to beat Halo Campaign Evolved too.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

There's a new Spidey film coming out this week, and what better way to celebrate than with an update to Marvel's Spider-Man 2? Two costumes have been added to the game, and there's some added support for upscaling.

Of the two suits that are now in Peter Parker's closest, the first is the Fresh Start get-up, taking heavy inspiration from Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the latest movie featuring the wallcrawler. This is another take on the classic, iconic Spider-Man look, and I'm not complaining because it's still extremely pleasing to the eye.

The second costume actually comes from another game, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. This one's got a more contemporary sci-fi edge, with white accessories and a larger spider emblem on the chest. It maintains the slightly cel-shaded aesthetic from Fighting Souls as well. I do love when Insomniac incorporates different aesthetics for the suits, the resulting effect is always impressive.

In the replies on Twitter, Insomniac clarifies that these are completely free of charge. You need only start up the game, let it auto-update, and you'll have access to both of these as part of your wardrobe. Since Brand New Day opens tomorrow, July 29, the timing is perfect to see it, then settle into swinging around New York City in the same threads as our cinematic Peter.

Besides these ensembles, support has been added for both Enhanced PSSR on PS5 Pro and Power Saver mode. The former, if you're unaware, is an AI upscaling feature on the system. Your mileage may vary depending on how much you like what changes it makes, but it's good to have options for your crime-fighting escapades.

Now then, I have side-quests to complete. And by side-quests, I mean taking dozens of cool pictures with these two suits I can hopefully sell to The Daily Bugle.

After keeping the secret for over a year, Sadie Sink's Marvel character is spoiled at the Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiere.

These Be the Final Boss codes are the best way to boost your Soul resources for getting new Units, but you can also get Luck Potions, Spins, and more. If you want to survive as many waves as possible, you're going to need to decent team of units to defend your base from incoming swathes of, I guess, 'heroes'.

Units aren't the only thing at your disposal in this Roblox experience. Unlike a tower defence game, you too can fight - you are the final boss, after all. Buy weapons with Coins and forge armor from Forge Stones, all of which you can also get with the Be the Final Boss codes below, so let's get to them.

But quickly, I'll also just mention that there are plenty of other Roblox promo codes available, too, for use across all your favorite experiences.

All Be the Final Boss codes

These are the current Be the Final Boss codes you can redeem right now:

• RAIDTHECASTLE - 6 Uncommon Fusion Shards and 3 Forge Stones (NEW)
• ARMYOFBOSSES - 15 Uncommon Fusion Shards and 2 Spin Tickets
• CLAIMTHETHRONE - 125 Souls and 2 Forge Stones
• BOSSMODEON - 6k Coins and 2 Forge Stones
• ULTTHEBOSS - 1 Health Booster, 1 Attack Booster, and 5 Spin Tickets
• SLAYDEMHEROES - 100 Souls
• BIGBOSSMAN - 2.5k Coins
• FINALBOSS4LIFE - 2 Epic Fusion Shards and 2 Spin Tickets
• BIGTHRONEKING - 10 Uncommon Fusion Shards and a Spin Ticket
• BOSSMAN3000 - 5 Rare Fusion Shards, 1 Luck Booster
• CANTKILLABOSS - Soul Booster, 5 Fusion Shards, and 3 Spin Tickets
• UNSTOPPABLEBOSS - Coin Booster, 5,000x Coins
• BETHEBOSS - Free Coins

Be the Final Boss codes reward you with a range of rewards, including Spin Tickets, Coins, and Fusion Shards. This gives you a few different ways to obtain new Units to defend your base, as well as various boosters and buffs.

These promos aren't case sensitive, but you could simply copy and paste the codes from above to avoid any mishaps.

How to redeem Be the Final Boss codes

To redeem Be the Final Boss codes, you just need to hit the Settings cog button in the top left-hand corner of the screen and scroll to the bottom of the settings page. Enter you code into the box, hit Redeem, and enjoy your rewards.

Expired Be the Final Boss codes

• There are currently no expired Be the Final Boss codes.

No Be the Final Boss codes have expired yet, but I'll move them down here when they do to save you the time and disappointment of entering invalid codes.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

You simply will not believe this: Arc Raiders is messing with the matchmaking again. In its latest update, developer Embark Studios says it's reinforcing a previous change that received positive feedback from players, and this time, it's spelling it out loud and clear.

"The matchmaking changes follow on from earlier matchmaking improvements made on May 20, which reduced the matchmaking impact of defensive actions," Embark explains.

That May update made it clear that "defending yourself is no longer treated the same as starting a fight" in terms of your behavior tracking. Embark finally, properly pulled back the curtain on the matchmaking algorithm in that same update, explaining just how Arc Raiders uses PvP aggression to group like-minded players.

Today, the studio says it's going even further. "Following positive player feedback on those earlier adjustments, this will now be extended so that only the PvP fights players choose to initiate will impact their playstyle estimate, while defensive actions will have no influence at all on playstyle estimate," Embark explains.

"The team will continue to collect and monitor player feedback throughout the trial period. More information, including a player survey to share feedback, can be found in the patch notes here."

Every day, we inch closer to an Arc Raiders PvE mode – which is technically already available in the Chinese branch of the game.

Just last week, Embark revealed yet another change in a similar vein. The idea with that experiment was to better optimize matchmaking for playstyle and team size, meaning friendly players would be more likely to find each other, and duos would be less likely to run into trios.

"When Arc Raiders was at its peak," Embark was burning 30 terabytes of data per day tracking every single bullet fired: "We want to know who shot first."

Star Wars Zero Company, the upcoming strategy game from a studio of former XCOM leads, has always been billed as exactly that: a turn-based tactics game livened up by the soap operatic flair of the Star Wars universe. Still, as with XCOM, there are bound to be various RPG elements specifically in its progression and class systems, but narratively, mostly everything's going to be on rails, studio Bit Reactor has confirmed.

As spotted by PC Gamer, the studio recently hosted a Discord Q&A and answered some key questions about Star Wars Zero Company, including whether there will be branching paths and romance options. No and no was the answer, more or less.

"There aren't any romance systems or branching paths," reads the studio's response. "While we are excited about pushing the genre forward with a more cinematic approach, this is still a turn-based tactics game at its heart where adept skill and strategy are needed to overcome tense combat challenges."

The developer did specify that there will be "story moments that can alter based on who you have in your squad, but the overall story is a linear one from beginning to end." And speaking of which, that ending "will be largely the same for everyone."

Again, this isn't a massive surprise given Bit Reactor's pedigree, and as a big XCOM fan I'm actually encouraged to hear the former devs are doubling down on what they do best. After all, RPG fans already have a feast on the horizon with the Knights of the Old Republic remake, although to be fair it's been a hot minute since we've seen or heard anything about that game.

Here are the best Star Wars games to play right now.

It was looking like open-world RPG DragonSword: Awakening might not come out at all after publisher legal issues and a last-minute delay, but against pretty steep odds, it's landed on Steam to strong early responses, sitting at 90% positive after more than 4,600 reviews since its July 22 debut.

DragonSword: Awakening has drawn heavy comparisons to Genshin Impact for its look, feel, and former gacha DNA, but as an RPG that purposefully avoided gacha baggage in favor of a normal, premium pricing model, it might be closer to something like Granblue Fantasy: Relink. Here we have an action RPG that demonstrates how much more fun gacha games would be if they weren't gacha games.

After a complicated development process that, as Automaton reports, saw former publisher Webzen, accused of failing to fulfill its own obligations, sue developer Hound13 over a contract dispute, the devs had some fires to put out. An FAQ posted on Steam in April reveals the discussions orbiting the game. "Is it a gacha game?" it reads. Nope! "Isn't this an MMORPG?" Also no: "It is a single-player RPG focused on story and exploration in an open world." (Some of the confusion seems to have come from perceived connections to Dragon Nest, an old MMO.)

Things were shaky right up until launch. On July 22, Hound13 producer JYJ penned an apologetic Steam post announcing an 11th-hour delay. "The app review currently in progress on Steam has not yet been completed, and we are unable to release the game at the scheduled time," they wrote. "In our eagerness to bring the game to you as soon as possible, we did not sufficiently account for Steam's review timeline — and as a result, we have failed to keep our promise to you."

But here we are. The game is real, out, and, according to thousands of people on Steam, pretty darn good. SteamDB charts reveal a rare trend. DragonSword: Awakening is not only trending in genre feeds on Steam despite any sort of discount, it's also hitting new concurrent player highs every day. It surely helps that the game is only $30 at full price and, judging from user reports and the system requirements, will run reasonably well on most machines.

Flashes of Crimson Desert are seen in DragonSword: Awakening's 'more is more' approach to open-world game design. 19 playable heroes! Mounts! Cooking and costumes and dungeons and flying and underwater temples! A little voice in my mind is slightly put off by the obviousness – what I might snootily call the loud, high-contrast, Unreal Engine 5-dipped inelegance – of DragonSword: Awakening, but I react to character-heavy action RPGs roughly the way that cats react to autofeeder alarms, and this one does look mighty fun in motion.

"Everything you wished Genshin was, but better!" writes Steam reviewer AvionLight.

"More games should go from the gambling/gacha model back to this," agrees xame.

"This game is like a fusion of Genshin Impact and Dragon's Dogma and its so damn good. 30 bucks is a steal for this game," reckons King Goyim, with 47 hours logged already.

"I've been begging for a non-gacha gacha game for years now, I am morally obligated to buy this game and say something nice about it," adds iliveinabag, who hopefully didn't wind up living in a bag due to excessive gacha spending.

Dutifully following Crimson Desert's footsteps, DragonSword: Awakening even brought its own gen AI disclosure to the table. Hound13 says, "Generative AI was not used to create any in-game content resources. AI was utilized solely for the translation of certain in-game dialogue and external content, such as our Steam page and community posts."

An animator at Ghost of Yotei studio Sucker Punch just released his own action RPG on Steam, and he can't believe its success: "36,000 COPIES SOLD IN 24 HOURS."

Original Baldur's Gate programmer and former Dragon Age producer at BioWare Mark Darrah has a worthwhile plan for bringing the hypothetical Baldur's Gate 4 into reality. All you need to do is convince 2023's Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian to hand over the keys to its proprietary Divinity Engine.

Darrah tells FRVR in a new interview that he imagines Baldur's Gate 4 as "an oversized expansion pack for Baldur's Gate 3," and he recommends someone "get Larian to agree to license out the Divinity Engine." But that seems unlikely to happen soon.

Larian CEO Swen Vincke wants nothing to do with Baldur's Gate right now. Or, really, ever. He said definitively in 2024, "We're not going to make new expansions which everybody is expecting. We're not going to make Baldur's Gate 4 which everybody is expecting us to do. We're going to move on."

So, Dungeons & Dragons IP parent company Hasbro started steering, asking former BioWare lead James Ohlen to create Baldur's Gate 4. While initially horrified at the prospect, Ohlen wondered if Hasbro could get Larian to license out its recent Divinity Engine 4.0, which Baldur's Gate 3 uses, but he became certain he wouldn't know what to do with it, anyway.

Ohlen said, "Swen's always going to be the master of building those kinds of things. It's really hard to take him off that throne."

Even if a confident knave wanted to knock Vincke off his pedestal, Larian has seemingly grown quite protective of its Divinity Engine. Originally, Larian created the Divinity Engine while working on Divinity: Original Sin in 2014, and the developer soon released a toolkit to the people and even made official tutorials for modders on how to use it. The same is not true for 4.0, which Larian is holding close, though plenty of Baldur's Gate 3 fans wish it wasn't.

Darrah recognizes one possibility: "Someone new comes along and they do not understand that scaffolding, they do not have many, many, many, many years building this kind of RPG, likely. I mean, maybe bring on Owlcat or someone like that… but you're going to get that same kind of thing."

But the Dragon Age vet isn't completely deterred. He still believes in the idea of a Baldur's Gate 3 expansion. To Hasbro, he says, "If you really want to make Baldur’s Gate 4 that's actually probably the way to go."

"The alternative," he continues, "is you go and say, 'Okay, we're going to call it Baldur's Gate 4. We're going to buy everyone asbestos pantsuits and we're going to just put the spurs to it and go way out here and we're going to do something really different."

The other alternative, I think, is that Baldur's Gate 4 won't exist for a long, long time.

"Of course" Baldur's Gate 4 is going to happen, Wizards of the Coast boss says, but that's not the D&D game Star Wars Jedi and God of War 3's director is working on.