These Phantom Blade Zero tips will give you a helping hand if you've just started the wuxia adventure through the Wulin, as there's a lot to learn and master. As a fast-paced action game with all sorts of weapons to wield, you need to learn how to use them all effectively, be that through deft parrying and weapon switching and just knowing how best to upgrade them and sort your build. And then there's plenty to do in each region of the game too, from pages to collect and quests to complete. With that all that in mind, here are 12 Phantom Blade Zero tips for new players just getting into it.

1. Learn how to parry

Parrying is an essential mechanic in Phantom Blade Zero, so my number one tip is to learn how it works as soon as possible – it's the same in most other games in that you want to press the button (L1 on PS5) just before an enemy attack hits you. Thankfully, it's pretty forgiving, with most enemy attacks having plenty of parry-able frames and most of Soul's attacks and combos being easily interrupted to parry. Just don't try and parry red-flash attacks as these can only be dodged!

When bosses use long attack combos, blocking by holding the button instead will do you just fine. But a perfect parry against a blue-flash attack deals substantial Guard Break damage, massively draining an adversary's Sha-Chi to stagger them faster. Nailing parries makes boss fights much easier!

2. Interact with everything in sight

Phantom Blade Zero features all sorts of collectibles and interactables around the world, from things like book pages to gather and bloody writing on walls to read. It's worth engaging with all of these as you're rewarded with Remnant Dust (the game's main currency) for doing so. Admittedly, not loads of the stuff, but it all adds up, helping you afford crucial weapon upgrades or work towards new Abilities.

3. Explore each area thoroughly before moving onto the next one

While you can freely travel between regions using Bells, I found that it's best to ensure you've done as much as possible before leaving a region. Try and find things like keys before heading off as they're usually not too far from the thing they unlock, such as the Phantom Blade Zero cell key. There are also quests you can fail by leaving them too long, such as the 'A Healer's Mercy' quest in the Crimson Forest, which will lock you out of getting a reward.

4. Don't spend loads of Remnant Dust on upgrade materials

By rinsing each area as I went, I also found that I had plenty of upgrade materials for my weapons and Phantom Edges. That also meant I rarely felt compelled to buy materials from the shop while resting at a Bell and I recommend similarly restraining yourself so that you don't waste your Remnant Dust. And it's not like selling materials is especially lucrative either, so save your materials for when you need them and keep your Remnant Dust for other upgrades.

5. Be prepared to backtrack

While I strongly recommend mopping up quests and investigating secrets as you go, you also need to recognize that there are lots of things you just won't be able to do until you come back several hours later. Conveniently, many of these things are marked on the map with a red icon that turns green when you have the thing you need. As an example, very early on you'll find obstacles that can only be dealt with using a specific Phantom Edge that you won't get for another few hours after a boss fight (and this happens a lot throughout the game), and there's also an optional puppet boss found in a rift that is extremely difficult to fight, so you'll need to come back later when you're stronger.

Furthermore, lots of quests in Phantom Blade Zero follow a Dark Souls/Elden Ring format in that you do a few objectives and then then the quest will effectively go cold and continue elsewhere, such as the Phantom Blade Zero Flesh Lily quest. This is often in an entirely different region, so some side quests are long term adventures that you complete alongside the main quest.

6. Switch weapons in combat often to keep your Sha-Chi up

Phantom Blade Zero teaches you this very early but I need to reinforce how important it is. Quickly tapping the button (D-Pad Left on PS5) to switch to your other equipped weapon will instantly refill your Sha-Chi, potentially saving you from a Guard Break after facing an onslaught of enemy attacks or letting you keep up a relentless combo of Sha-Chi attacks of your own. Importantly, there is a cooldown timer for switching – a very short one when you switch once but then a much longer one if you switch again – but you can reduce it with certain Abilities.

To keep your Sha-Chi up, you also need to avoid boss attacks that can instantly drain all your Sha-Chi. Rather than being telegraphed with a blue or red flash, your screen will turn black and white very briefly instead, indicating that you need to dodge out the way. Getting hit, by one of these leaves you highly vulnerable to fatal follow-up attacks.

7. And you should change your weapons outside of combat too

Phantom Blade Zero gives you new weapons, whether they're regular armaments or special Phantom Edges, at a fairly regular pace and most of them steadily improve upon ones you already have. It's therefore a good idea to be adjusting your build often, using the best weapons you have available to you and then choosing appropriate Accessories top round things out.

This also encourages you experiment with all the weapons you get to find what you like. It might be that you find a new favorite or really don't get on with a particular weapon, even if it has slightly better stats compared to what you were using before. In which case, there's no real harm in using what you know and upgrading it until you find something you definitely prefer.

8. Upgrade only the weapons you're currently using

Speaking of upgrades, Phantom Blade Zero has a slightly complicated but very convenient weapon upgrade system in that you can revert any weapon back to level 1 at any time, refunding all spent upgrade materials. And you should revert every weapon back to level 1 when you stop using it to ensure you're not wasting upgrade materials on useless gear. This means you can maximize the power of your current weapons, and you'll often be left with plenty of spare Remnant Dust that you can spend on Soul's Abilities or shop items instead.

9. Ensure your build is made to exploit boss weaknesses

If a boss keeps killing you, spending some time adjusting your build at a nearby bell before rushing back in, especially if they have obvious unique mechanics or weaknesses that can be exploited. For example, if a boss has a blue shield bar over their Sha-Chi bar, you should increase your shield-breaking power – I recommend wearing the Shieldbreaker Talisman and using the Dread Axe Phantom Edge. Similarly, fleshy enemies can also suffer bleed damage, so you might want to use the Jagged Steel sword to exploit that, but puppets and other foes will be immune to this effect.

Generally, you should be thoroughly reading about what each weapon does, as each one has its own special attacks and tricks, with more to unlock as they level up. Combining these appropriately is how you'll get the most damage out any weapon, so it pays to know how they work and the sorts of enemies they're best for.

10. The Wooden Sanguine sword is pretty good

It sounds absurd that a wooden sword could be so good in Phantom Blade Zero but with the best Guard Break power in the early-game, it's well worth using Wooden Sanguine, particularly against bosses. When a boss goes on the offensive, draw the wooden sword and parry as best as you can to deal high damage to their Sha-Chi bar for an easy stagger. At this point, switch to your other weapon and go nuts until the boss's Sha-Chi bar regenerates.

In general, I strongly recommend aiming to maximize your Guard-Breaking power and anything that reduces enemy Sha-Chi for boss fights, and this sword is another tool in your arsenal you can use to help with this. Once an enemy's guard is broken, you can unleash a high-damage Power Surge (L2 on PS5), assuming you have a Sha-Chi Essence to spend.

11. Get Boundless Capacity as soon as you can

It's the second Ability in the top row and costs 10,000 Remnant Dust. Unlocking it gives you a third accessory slot, which is well worth getting as early as possible as Accessories can provide some potent buffs for Soul. Having as many as possible is never a bad thing. There are even more Boundless Capacity upgrades to get across the Ability tree in Phantom Blade Zero too, maxing out at six accessory slots.

12. A stealth approach can be very efficient

The stealth system in Phantom Blade Zero isn't especially deep which means it's sometimes easy to forget it even exists like I did, but it's well worth exploiting to make combat encounters easier. Approach an enemy from behind without them moving to attack and you can perform a high-damage assassination which often results in an instant kill on weaker foes. Best of all, if there are multiple enemies close together, a quick-time event will pop up, letting you chain your assassination to thin the crowd. So, spending a little time sneaking can make fights much quicker and easier overall.

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Finding a Phantom Blade Zero Flesh Lily is one of the first tasks you'll get in the game if you speak to Yu'er out in the Weeping Creek Valley. She says she needs one to make a medicine that can help her sick father but has had no luck – naturally, that's where you come in. The problem is that there is only one Flesh Lily in this region, you can't get it for at least another couple more hours of playing, and it requires you to defeat a boss first. If you're dead set on finding this Flesh Lily in Phantom Blade Zero to help Yu'er, here's where you need to look.

Phantom Blade Zero Flesh Lily location

You can find a Flesh Lily in the boss fight arena for Hua, Deadly Betrothed. This boss is found near the Valley Sha-Chi Tower, which is towards the end of the Weeping Creek Valley region – you'll reach the tower just by progressing the story, but Hua is not found on the main path.

To get to Hua, Deadly Betrothed, start at the Valley Sha-Chi Tower 1st Floor Bell and run to the opposite side of the tower, bearing right. You'll come across a large hole in the floor with a wooden slide. Ride the slide down and, once you've killed all the enemies at the bottom, take the path covered in red flowers and candles to your left.

To get the Flesh Lily you must defeat Hua first (unfortunately, you can't just grab the lily and dip) which is quite a tricky early-game boss fight. My advice is to avoid the red flowers as much as possible and use this as an opportunity to practise parrying and dodging, particularly to avoid her brutal grab attack.

Once Hua is defeated, grab the Twin Flesh Lilies blooming from the corpse in front of her dresser and then use the nearby Flesh Lily Fields Bell to fast travel back to the Outpost Bell. Speak to nearby Yu'er and hand over the Flesh Lilies. Since she needs only one, she'll insist you keep the other. There are no other rewards for helping Yu'er at this stage, but there's more to the Flesh Lily quest that comes much later in the game.

You should also look out for the Phantom Blade Zero cell key while exploring. Why not also read my Phantom Blade Zero tips to help you at this early stage of the game.

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The Phantom Blade Zero cell key is the first key you can find in the game, letting you unlock a jail cell just outside the Weeping Creek Valley outpost. If you're being thorough in your exploration, you should find it reasonably easily but it's very easy to miss if you’re just focused on the main quest. And while the reward inside the cell isn't especially exciting, it's nevertheless useful and is worth backtracking for. So, here's how you get the cell key in Phantom Blade Zero.

Phantom Blade Zero Cell Key location

To get the cell key, head through the outpost, passing Forge and the Outpost Bell, until you go through a wooden doorway at the top of some steps and find a glowing red shrine.

From just before the shrine, follow the path to the right that goes uphill and you'll reach a wooden shack. Head inside the main room of the shack, then head right, climb through the window, and go up the stairs. You'll find the cell key on the ground next to a dead guy.

Now head back to the cell outside the outpost and interact with the door. Soul will automatically use the key, letting you grab a Blackstone Fragment within. Unfortunately, that's all there is to get and this fragment doesn't do anything on its own as you need a total of four fragments to create a full Blackstone. However, doing so permanently increases your Attack and Guard Break by 10%, so gathering these fragments is well worth it!

While you're in the Weeping Creek Valley, look out for the Phantom Blade Zero Flesh Lily quest too, and make sure you check out my Phantom Blade Zero tips!

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The Phantom Blade Zero Gentle Thief's questions will be practically unanswerable to you unless you paid close attention to a note penned by the Nimble Thief. Since the Gentle Thief can't read, it's your job to prove to him that you saw the Nimble Thief in his dying moments (if you have the note, it actually means you were the one who killed him) by correctly answering three questions about his life for the Honor Among Thieves quest. So, here's how you answer these questions three in Phantom Blade Zero.

All Phantom Blade Zero Gentle Thief questions and answers

All the answers to the Gentle Thief's questions in Phantom Blade Zero can be found in the 'Blood Letter from the Nimble Thief' page in the Wulin Tales book, which you should have as the Honor Among Thieves won't begin without you getting it by killing the Nimble Thief near the Outlaw Trap bell. But I've laid them all out here so that you don't have to go looking – and if you get any wrong, you can just try again by speaking to the Gentle Thief:

1. "What did he do at thirteen that he never stopped bragging about?": Stole a landowner's jade belt.
2. "The hairpin that doomed him for life. Do you know what its head looked like?": Butterfly.
3. "Do you know what became of that poor family's child?": The letter never said. His fate is unknown.

Get all three of these correct and the Gentle Thief will be satisfied that you are being honest and that the letter from the Nimble Thief is in fact real. In return, the Gentle Thief will give you the Silent Wrap Accessory, which reduces noise from footsteps and assassinations by 40%.

While stealth isn't all that important in this game, I did mention in my Phantom Blade Zero tips that stealth can be useful for efficiently bringing down groups of enemies, so this is ideal if you want to lean into that playstyle.

If you still need to clear up some quests in the Weeping Creek Valley, make sure you find the Phantom Blade Zero cell key and the Phantom Blade Zero Flesh Lily.

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The closure of RPG royalty BioWare came as a shock to just about everyone when it was announced last week, but one of the founders of the studio says the writing was on the wall from the moment parent company Electronic Arts was bought out by the Saudi-led Public Investment Fund (PFP).

"I think it was the final nail in the coffin," he tells 80LV. "I think that was the crux of it in a sense. Once again it's a completely different company now."

The Saudi government is known for brutal human rights violations and has a particularly grim track record on LGBTQ+ rights. Mass Effect 5 developers were reportedly told to tone down inclusivity after the Saudi buyout, and in August, multiple members of EA staff anonymously told Game Developer they feared the Saudi government would start policing their games to better align with policy. Mass Effect, and BioWare more broadly, is known for LGBTQ+ representation, so you can see why concerns bubbled immediately following the PFP's acquisition of EA.

Zeschuk left BioWare and retired from the gaming industry in 2012 alongside fellow co-founder Ray Muzyka, which means he hasn't had inside knowledge for a long time now, but he expects EA to prioritize sports games and "maybe Battlefield."

"Everything else is kind of extraneous I suspect," he says. "BioWare makes these kind of unusual games that take a long time and they're complicated and so it's easier just to pump out sports games every year and that's a better business model in some ways."

Hearing that from the co-founder of BioWare will obviously sting for RPG fans, but there's still hope for beloved franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age as there's a chance EA sells the rights to another developer. On the other hand, a former Mass Effect developer recently cast doubt on that idea and said EA rarely ever sells the rights to IP it owns. At least Ultima Online will soon be back in the hands of its original creator.

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My favorite part of every Grand Theft Auto game is discovering Rockstar's carefully curated music selection, and from what we've heard so far the GTA 6 soundtrack is fully packed with earworms. I'm a classic rock guy, and ever since the extended look dropped I've had Cliff Richard's Devil Woman playing on repeat. Despite the new wave of attention pointed at his music, however, Richard himself apparently still doesn't know what GTA 6 actually is.

"I was told this happened!" Richard recently told The Times (via IGN). "My nephew, who has two boys, said they came screaming to him, 'Dad, it’s Uncle Cliff!' They didn’t realise I could sing like that. The show is a game show, isn’t it, really? One of the biggest on TV?"

Richard was an influential figure in the early days of British rock and roll, and he's remained an active artist well into the '20s, though his popularity never reached the same global heights that it did in the UK. Still, getting a prominent spot in what's likely to be the biggest video game release of all time does wonders in reaching a new generation of fans, and Richard can appreciate that part of it, at least.

"People will no longer just say, 'Oh, Cliff Richard is from the past,'" he adds. "Because I am, but that past is what makes everything what it is today." Past or present, Devil Woman remains an absolute banger.

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2014's Alien: Isolation remains one of the scariest, most anxiety inducing games I've ever played, in large part because of its intelligent, highly adaptive Xenomorph, which pursues you relentlessly in the cramped corridors of the main campaign. The thought of an even smarter, more aggressive stalker in Alien: Isolation 2 has haunted me since the sequel was announced a few months back, and now that assumption has been explicitly confirmed in detail by some of the lead developers working on the game. Yes, it's true, Alien: Isolation 2's Xenomorph will make the first game's alien seem like child's play, according to the developers.

One of the sequel's big evolutions from the first game are new outdoor environments. The first Alien: Isolation takes place entirely from within the Sevastopol space station, but the sequel will have some outdoor sequences where weather events like rain and hail will present their own unique challenges. And yes, the alien will follow you outside too and utilize changes in weather to its advantage.

According to art director Ana Sopikova, you'll be tangling with the Xenomorph in outside areas that are "maybe 10 times bigger" than the claustrophobic Sevastopol Station. That's not a huge surprise given the space station's intentionally tight explorable rooms, but I am anxiously curious to see how the Xenomorph moves in more open environments. "Now, it will be even more intelligent, it will react to the player better, it will react to all the new items, gadgets, and tools," says Sopikova.

Expanding on that, lead game designer James Green says "the creature's not going to stop hunting you when you go outdoors. It will use the fact that exteriors are exposed to hunt you more aggressively. It will use weather to hide its movements. It will have new things it can learn over the original game. It will change its behavior each encounter, so that every time you face the alien you can't just use the tricks you used the last time, whether that's interiors or exteriors."

I have a thoroughly documented affliction that compels me to play extremely scary games despite being a total wimp, but I genuinely wonder if the Alien: Isolation 2 devs are considering whether a game can be scary or stressful to a degree that might alienate some players (a former Creative Assembly writer has said the studio worried the first game was "too scary.") Capcom brought a perfect balance with Resident Evil Requiem's Grace and Leon sections, alternating breathless horror for cathartic action at just the right moments, whereas Resident Evil 7 is a little too much for me sometimes.

If Alien: Isolation 2 is as relentlessly tense as the first game but with an even more clever Xenomorph, I can't imagine I'll be able to play for longer than an hour-or-so at a time without a break. At the same time, it's really hard as a horror head to complain about a game being too scary, but I suppose I just did, preemptively anyway.

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Recent moves from Epic Games, comments from its ever-chatty CEO Tim Sweeney, and scrutiny of Valve's handling of AI-reliant games has left many people revisiting a timeless question in PC gaming: can anyone, anywhere, ever beat Steam at its own game?

I brought this question to Emmanuel Rosier, director of market intelligence at research and analyst firm Newzoo. In the past few weeks, we've seen more developers dissect and debate Valve's chokehold on PC gaming – how Valve got to this position, how Steam's dominance affects game devs and players, and the feasibility of Steam becoming a meaningfully smaller portion of the market.

Alternatives to Steam obviously exist. GOG is a great source for specific games, Rosier notes the success of many "local launchers" in Asia, Battle.net is selling The Witcher now, Itch.io is like a big box of chocolates, and, well, the Epic Games Store is vibe coded. But nobody really threatens Steam as the market leader. Can it be done?

"Steam is difficult to avoid, I would say, at this point in time," Rosier reasons. He says "this is kind of a pendulum" that has swung back and forth, and we've currently caught PC gaming in a very Steam time in its life.

"10 or 20 years ago, the big publishers decided to have their own platform distribution on PC, and then they almost all went back to Steam," Rosier adds. The likes of EA and Ubisoft all came crawling back, and even Blizzard has Overwatch on Steam now. "So yeah, for me it's a pendulum, and I don't see, right now, the big publishers moving back to, 'Yeah, we're gonna get out of Steam, we're only gonna do our platform.' I don't see that happening at this moment."

One big question here, Rosier notes, is Microsoft and Xbox Project Helix. Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard and, through it, Battle.net, and its next console is positioned as a PC hybrid. You can play PC games on Helix, but can you run Steam? The shape of Microsoft's ecosystem is still unclear.

The irony is that Steam's dominance is, itself, a big part of Steam's dominance: it's a compounding function of investment and familiarity. You can reasonably argue that unseating Steam gets harder every year. I'm reminded of Phil Spencer admitting that Xbox lost the "worst generation to lose" to PlayStation, allowing tons of people to build up digital libraries on somebody else's platform, thus making it much harder to get them to move.

Recently, we've seen people say that even if a functionally better version of Steam appeared tomorrow offering improved revenue split for developers and enhanced features for players, a lot of people would still be reluctant to try it because they are used to Steam and it's where they keep all their stuff.

"I think the strength of the Steam store at this moment is more on networking in the sense that you have your friends there, you have all your library there, and that's kind of difficult to come in and say, 'OK, now start purchasing my game on another platform,'" Rosier explains. "That's difficult, because initially it creates some friction for the players. So any competitor to Steam needs to come with something that is going to make it a better experience than Steam. Otherwise, it's very difficult to get the player to migrate."

In some ways, this makes it Valve's game to lose. Unless Steam blinks, it'll be hard to pull one over on it. And Valve has a secret weapon that has (perhaps not coincidentally) been out of reach of almost every Steam competitor throughout history: it's privately owned.

By avoiding the pressures inevitably placed on publicly traded companies beholden to shareholder value and growth expectations, Steam has been able to prioritize the user experience while retaining talent, and it still makes so much money per employee that it embarrasses many of the biggest public tech companies on Earth. Taking a 30% cut (on a small sliding scale) of all sales on the platform will do that. Whether Steam actually earns that cut through support and features beyond access to Steam users, and whether all or at least lower-revenue games should receive a more generous rate to help devs, is the subject of heated debate. But there's no doubt that the model works.

"As long as Valve is independent and not a publicly traded company, they probably have a certain ambition, but not an extraordinary ambition," Rosier says. "So I think they can still decide to make some decisions that are player-first, and that helps, right? To get the goodwill from the players."

I mentioned the argument most recently made by former Epic Games animation programmer Kiaran Ritchie, who, not uncommonly, suggests Steam is so entrenched that it's functionally impossible for Valve to lose in a way that matters unless it makes a massive mistake first.

"That seems [like] a good perspective," Rosier agrees.

Valve says devs can fight AI clones on Steam by not "relying on a single mechanic that someone can easily copy," and report extortion to law enforcement while you're at it

While it might feel like Phantom Blade Zero and developer S-Game sprang up out of nowhere, the new action game's legacy stretches back decades – all the way to an indie game built in RPG Maker as a hobby. We haven't even hit the Phantom Blade Zero release time and analysts suspect that it's already sailed past 1 million copies sold, so it's safe to say this is a major glow-up.

"Twenty years ago, while I was still a student, I completed my first indie game, Rainblood: Town of Death," creative director and S-Games CEO "Soulframe" Liang says in a message to fans ahead of Phantom Blade Zero's launch. "It was a hobby project made with RPG Maker. With the limited skills I had at the time, I built the fantasy world I had imagined: the Phantom World, rooted in traditional Chinese wuxia but infused with elements such as body modification, parallel world, and more."

Liang has previously described Phantom Blade Zero as a "spiritual rebirth" of Rainblood, and it's easy to see the parallels, even if the scope of the new game is absolutely massive. The original Rainblood: Town of Death – which is still available for $7 on GamersGate – is far more impressive than the typical RPG Maker game, with a unique art style that has the vibe of a long-lost anime.

"Back then, I had no idea where my life or career would lead," Liang continues. "Making games had simply been a source of comfort while I studied abroad, but before I knew it, it had become one of the most important parts of my life."

Rainblood eventually spawned a franchise with some 20 million fans, though many of the games have never been released outside of China. Phantom Blade Zero is taking the center of a far more global stage, and it seems S-Games is going all in on this specific title.

Liang says the team canceled its other projects and "kept expanding the scale of production" for Phantom Blade Zero. "Making games is not always a rational pursuit," he admits. "Sometimes, it is passion and a little madness that give a game its richest flavor."

It seems like the dedication is going to pay off. Our Phantom Blade Zero review calls it "a GOTY contender with combat that looks as good as it feels," and the early Metacritic score puts it as one of the top action games of 2026 – a year which, I've gotta note, is filled with incredible entries in that genre.

Not a bad outcome from such humble beginnings. "Its roots lie in the indie game I created during my student years, at a time of hardship and uncertainty," Liang concludes. "But it also holds everything we have been able to give."

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World of Warcraft: Forever is a brand new entry point to the 22-year-old, beloved MMORPG, but it skipping Xbox despite Microsoft's ownership of the studio, not to mention seamless game pad support, feels like a missed opportunity.

We raised this in a recent conversation with Blizzard for our World of Warcraft: Forever Big Preview, and the answer we got seems to strongly suggest the studio has console plans for its newest MMO. "Play it wherever you want, and at some point on whatever you want," series executive producer and VP Holly Longdale tells us. "But the first leg of that journey is getting game pad working really well with World of Warcraft. We thought Forever was the perfect place to start.

"And, you know, looking at where things are going when we hear about [Xbox] Project Helix, etc., I think platforms will be a bit more ubiquitous. I mean, honestly, we just want to be able to play it anywhere."

Longdale then points to instances of people getting World of Warcraft: Forever to run on handhelds like the ROG Ally X and even a modded Nintendo DS as proof that when she says "anywhere," she really means it.

"I think just doing some of the work on game pad is going to give players a lot of flexibility that goes beyond consoles," she says.

Of course, this messaging from Blizzard echoes Xbox's "play anywhere" program, which lets you play Xbox games on console, PC, and handheld without having to buy them separately. The big question with any Xbox-owned title, World of Warcraft: Forever included, is whether it'll eventually come to competing platforms like PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch 2, but that feels like a question for a later date as it's yet to even be confirmed for Xbox yet.

After 20 hours with World of Warcraft: Forever, I'm convinced it gives old-school fans nearly everything they could want

Denis Dyack – founder of Silicon Knights and current CEO of Apocalypse Studios – says that AAA publishers' use of Early Access is shifting player expectations and making it harder for independent teams.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Dyack says that one of the big challenges of the current gaming landscape is that anyone, even "giant publishers with insane amounts of money, manpower, and resources," are able to use Early Access programs. Specifically, he cites developers releasing a "polished product" and using the Early Access standing as "a marketing beat," the problem being that the quality of these titles, in turn, will lead gamers "expecting a near-perfect game," which Dyack asserts "defeats the purpose of Early Access, which is a collaborative development process based on player feedback."

"AAA publishers are abusing Early Access, skewing player expectations in such a way that it heavily disadvantages smaller independent developers," Dyack continues, citing Subnautica 2 and Path of Exile as examples of titles that used the program "drastically changing the landscape and players' expectations." With Apocalypse Studios' Deadhaus Sonata, he says the team hit "significant barriers to entry" which in turn "significantly reduced" their market impact.

Ethan McKinnon – creative director at Apocalypse Studios – adds "Players naturally compare everything in the same marketplace, so smaller teams are being held to a much higher standard than they were in the past." He advises potential developers to "treat Early Access like a real launch, because players do."

Anthony Gallegos, creative director of Subnautica 2 said there was "no decision to make," when it came to launching the sequel in Early Access like its predecessor. "Participating in Early Access means we can still pivot and change the game in meaningful ways that simply launching a complete experience and hoping we got it right wouldn't allow," Gallegos says, calling Early Access "core to our DNA now."

Dyack adds that Early Access allows developers to bypass "risk-averse, paint-by-numbers design" and it "was intended to give the studio the runway to experiment with unconventional, systemic concepts that traditional publishers would reject." Deadhaus Sonata launched with performance issues, with Dyack calling the launch "demoralising," however, negative reactions have "been motivation enough to really rebuild the game from the ground up."

If you're someone who did partake in Subnautica 2's Early Access launch, check out our guides on how to get the Bioscanner in Subnautica 2 or how to craft Subnautica 2 ingots if you need some help.

In news I can't imagine Sony will be pleased about, the PS4 dashboard – complete with a number of working games – has now been ported to Roblox, and even an apparent takedown hasn't been enough to stop it.

As highlighted by content creator KreekCraft, the "PlayStation Experience" Roblox game offered exactly what its name suggested, with a full boot-up screen and working home menu containing a number of playable games, including Five Nights at Freddy's, Undertale, The Simpsons Hit & Run, and even Roblox itself. Eurogamer reports that it tried the Roblox game's version of Hit & Run, and describes it as mostly identical to the original release.

I'm sure you'll not be surprised to hear that it didn't take long for the PlayStation Experience to get taken down, but the lead of developer Redwing Works isn't backing down so easily. "Welp, I like to be transparent, HATE that the other game got taken down, so we will stand RIGHT behind the line. HERE IS THE GAME!!!!!" the dev, who goes by Robin, writes, sharing what (based on footage online) appears to be a replica of the original PlayStation experience, only this time called "Rostation Experience."

The game's description doesn't make any reference to AI being used to make the Play- sorry, Rostation Experience, but vibe-coded PC ports and recompilations sure are everywhere these days – just look at the viral Bloodborne: The Hunter's Dream project that listed AI bot Claude as one of the contributors. Needless to say, a lot of reactions online assume that the controversial tech was used here, too.

But will the Rostation Experience last any longer than its predecessor? A line in the 'new' game's description appears to make an attempt to throw a safety net under it: "RoStation is an original fan project and isn't affiliated with any console maker." Something tells me that wouldn't stop Sony – or, for that matter, any of the devs behind the games that have been copied into the Roblox project – being upset about its existence, though.

Epic wants to pay you $50,000 to vibe code an AI slop game.

Amid reports that developers putting their games on Steam have received extortion emails from generative AI users seeking protection payments by threatening to release cloned games, Valve business team members advised devs to prioritize depth of originality to fight copycats and encouraged them to contact other authorities in extreme cases.

Valve businessmen Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson attended a recent Korean games event, as Inven Global reports. (A disclaimer on the outlet's story reads: "Originally written in Korean, this article was translated with AI assistance and edited by a native English-speaking editor. Every translation is reviewed by our editorial team before publication.")

Giardino fielded the claims of extortion by users weaponizing AI, acknowledging that folks at Valve are looking to solve the problem that gen AI has created for Steam, but stressing that it's not looking to police games or tools.

He says this event marked the first time he'd heard of AI lookalike makers threatening actual game developers. "If you don't pay, we'll clone your game with AI and release it first," one attending dev said of these bad actors.

To combat copycats in general – which aren't new, Giardino notes, even if we see more of them thanks to AI tools – he reckons devs should focus on making their game the best version available, and something that's difficult to clone to begin with.

"Rather than relying on a single mechanic that someone can easily copy, you need to keep growing your game by adding features, personality, and creativity that stem from your own perspective," he says.

When would-be copycats go beyond stealing ideas and begin making tangible threats, Giardino says you can and should still contact Valve as "we want to look into them further and help in whatever way we can," but you should also consider other authorities. Inven Global paraphrases Giardino's comments as suggesting "such extortion is closer to an issue for law enforcement agencies rather than a game platform to solve." Indeed, there's a big difference between somebody making a Vampire Survivors-like, somebody copying assets and titles wholesale, and some AI slop merchant reportedly demanding protection money from devs.

"Valve has held gaming back for years," Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney proclaims in his latest jab against Steam.

The GTA 6 release is quickly approaching, and it's set to be one of the biggest video game releases of all time – so big, in fact, that analysts say nearly one in three gamers is looking to indulge in Rockstar's long-awaited sixth Grand Theft Auto entry.

That's a hefty figure… one that comes straight from global market research and consumer behavior advisor Circana, along with commentary from veteran analyst and company lead Mat Piscatella.

To be more precise, it's 29% – a good 29% of gamers in the United States, both on console and PC, intend to purchase GTA 6. This number marks Rockstar's game as the most-ever anticipated video game release in Circana's tracking history.

"Grand Theft Auto 6 represents a rare cultural and commercial moment for the video game industry," Piscatella writes. "Players have been waiting 13 years for a sequel to Grand Theft Auto 5, and demand is expected to extend beyond software sales to include consoles, accessories, and gaming subscriptions as consumers prepare for launch."

It's wild to think about, really. GTA 6 won't just sell a plethora of game copies, either. It'll also sell consoles.

"Many consumers who have yet to upgrade to a current-generation console may choose to purchase a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series specifically to play the title," as Piscatella notes – and this applies to folks who otherwise game on PC, too, as Rockstar won't be releasing GTA 6 on computer storefronts just yet.

Put simply, it'll spur a whole lot of buying and consuming, both in the software and hardware department.

"As retailers prepare for Black Friday and holiday season demand, Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a major driver of software sales, hardware upgrades, and gaming-related tech purchases throughout the fourth quarter," Piscatella concludes. "Its anticipation and popularity reinforces the growing influence of video games on the broader entertainment and consumer technology markets." Boy, does it.

Interestingly, as huge and influential as GTA 6 evidently is, Piscatella recently said that devs shouldn't "fear" launching around Rockstar's behemoth, since many people "are going to want to play other things," too.

I suppose he's not wrong on that end either, though – there's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, for instance, and a handful of other nice November releases to look forward to.

But, admittedly, GTA 6 is the November release, as it stands now. Managing to draw nearly one in three gamers, whether primarily on console or PC, is no small feat, after all – especially when you consider how big the American market is in particular.

Former GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption 2 designer says layoffs at Rockstar aren't the real danger – "The question is whether you can meet the expectations"

Here we are, a decade removed from the controversial launch of No Man's Sky, and developer Hello Games is still finding ways to improve its increasingly beloved space sandbox. No Man's Sky update 7.10, Forsaken, has just landed, marking the game's fifth major update in 2026 alone, and it makes good on a teaser that's haunted fans since well before launch.

Yes, you can now "fly directly to neighboring stars for the first time," as the trailer for Forsaken explains. Nearby stars will appear as brighter spots in the sky, and you can simply point your ship toward one to see the system's name and get a button prompt to warp to it. Previously, you had to open the galaxy map in order to chart your course to a new star system.

The ability to just warp directly to new star systems was seemingly teased at the end of the infamous E3 2014 trailer for No Man's Sky – the one that appeared at PlayStation's press conference and set impossibly high expectations for the game. That trailer also teased co-op, a feature that would be added to the game years after launch, and it seems the studio's commitment to making good on the game's pre-release promise is still going strong.

Of course, seamless warping is just one small part of the Forsaken update. You can check out the full patch notes for all the details, but other major additions include new Forsaken traders offering corvette modules in exchange for rare goods, an immersive HUD mode, and some Halloween-appropriate new spooky biological samples to seek out.

Arguably the biggest news, however, is that No Man's Sky is now available on mobile, which the devs once considered a "seemingly impossible technical challenge." The mobile version is well under 5GB, which is all the more impressive given just how big the game has gotten in the decade since its launch.

These are the best space games you can play today.

I loved my dozens of hours hands-on with World of Warcraft Forever so much that I'm itching to dive into the full game. As a long term World of Warcraft veteran (a polite way of calling myself old), I've seen the game go through a lot of changes and iterations, and I'm confident WoW: Forever is shaping up to be the best new version yet. It feels good to return to something so familiar yet somehow so fresh.

Right now, World of Warcraft's community is split between the 'main' experience (also known as Retail by its players) and World of Warcraft Classic – the version for those who preferred the less cluttered earlier days of the game, and my personal favorite option. WoW: Forever is taking the nostalgia of WoW Classic with many of the quality of life additions that Retail brings, and it looks to be an incredibly compelling combination. There's a lot to love here, but I've picked out the eight things that are the true highlights of WoW: Forever and exactly why the legendary MMO is going nowhere any time soon. If you haven't played for a while and you're on the fence ahead of the game's launch on November 4, these eight factors could be exactly what swing you back in favor.

8. Crafters feel like they're playing a new game

Love to make your own equipment and items? WoW: Forever has made that so much more fun. There are a huge number of new crafted items, but they're also far more relevant again. One standout feature is being able to place campfires down and share buffs with anyone who joins you. It creates a sense of community which is something Forever is really pushing. It's actually worth taking a moment to sit down with others, shoot the breeze, and just take a moment to relax in-game. Those buffs can boost your stats making leveling afterwards simpler so it's a win-win situation.

7. It's combining nostalgia with a hefty dash of innovation

You know what the first thing I did in WoW: Forever beta was? I rolled a Night Elf Hunter and checked out Teldrassil, the opening zone for Night Elves. Something I've done over dozens of times since the original's beta in 2004. That's the beauty of Forever. You can just enjoy the nostalgia of the original while also taking in the quality of life improvements that have been much needed in recent years. Or you can roll a Skyborne character and feel like you're playing a whole new game. Variety is the spice of life, but so is comfort and feeling like you're in your happy place. Forever merges those two feelings well so you won't want to leave.

6. There are over 1,000 new quests to explore

World of Warcraft has always needed more quests. Right from the start, this was quickly realized by the development team. Fortunately, we have another 1,000 or more to try out. Some are small, some are big, all are an utter delight to see. During my time with the beta, I found a lot of the new quests bridge knowledge gaps. Some encourage you to learn trade skills or entice you into moving onto a new zone, others might kit you out with new gear which make a significant difference to your progress and leveling experience. You can feel the dots being connected properly with certain areas feeling more well rounded than before.

5. WoW: Forever servers are incredibly simple to understand

MMO veterans of all kinds know the frustration of discovering their friends are all on different servers and they have to commit to one, potentially missing out on some extra social time and definitely requiring them to pick which friends to play with. Servers have been significantly simplified with WoW: Forever. There are no more realms to pick from. Instead, you pick a rule set. Want the standard experience? Pick Normal. If you want PvP, there's a PvP server, while roleplayers can stick to the RP server. Hardcore with its permadeath mode will be added later in the game's lifespan. It's a small sounding step, but one that's just made everyone's life easier. Make sure to choose Alliance or Horde, though. That isn't changing.

4. There are new race/class combos to entice you

WoW: Forever adds a new race with the Skyborne elves packing in a huge new starting zone, but I think the more interesting addition is the new race/class combos. You can now play as an Undead Paladin or an Orc Mage. You can also roll a Human Hunter, Gnome Priest, or Dwarf Shaman. These are all much-requested combinations which expand the variety for both Horde and Alliance, and prove to be a lot of fun too. Undead Paladin is my personal highlight because it's such a quirky mix. It's another example of something about Forever which is going to mean you stick around it for a long time to come.

3. The game looks beautiful all over again

Bounced off World of Warcraft because it never looked pretty enough? That changes with WoW: Forever. It isn't the perfect visual upgrade, but there are some great improvements here. Notably, lighting, fog, and water are all far better looking than ever before. I remember when the game looked beautiful, but it's been a while. It's lovely to see Forever bring back those visual delights. Seeing shadows reflect the day and night cycle, and the water glistening is yet to get old. Zephras Isle, the Skyborne starting zone, looks particularly luscious.

2. There's a huge amount of variety for WoW fans now

There's a WoW for everyone at this point. At heart, these may all have overlapping qualities but it's fantastic value for money given one subscription pays for all modes. There's Retail, and Forever, but also Classic with its wide number of types. You can play pure Classic with its level cap of 60 (something I suspect will be now in direct competition with Forever), Classic Anniversary which unlocks expansion packs sequentially, and then there's Classic Hardcore for those who want to suffer permadeath. (I'm that person, it's me.) With Forever, there's now something for every mood which conveys the sense that WoW will never truly die.

1. It'll make you talk to people

Remember when MMOs required you to talk with strangers? And actually team up with them to achieve things? Over the years, World of Warcraft has become more antisocial. In Retail, it's very easy to hit the level cap without ever speaking to someone if you don't want to. That has benefits, but isn't really in-keeping with the MMO spirit. WoW: Forever gives you a reason to talk. It can still be soloed, so you're not dependent on others, but there's a noticeable shift towards encouraging you to converse with others, team up for more than just dungeons or raids, and actually get to know people. It's a delight to see, and something I hope will last.

Check out our best open world games, best RPGs rankings, and our games like World of Warcraft recommendations for more to play now, and keep an eye on our upcoming RPGs calendar for what's on the horizon!

When does the Fortnite Treasure Hunters mini-season start is a question we now know the answer to, as it will get underway on November 1, 2026. The tagline for the fresh season is "The greatest adventure of all time" and you can expect things to get switched up, with a new map to explore, fresh faces to meet, and no doubt some updated mechanics to get to grips with.

Epic aren't known for resting on their laurels and are always planning the next stage of development in Fortnite, so there will certainly be more changes brought in during the course of the upcoming season and beyond. If you're looking ahead to the Fortnite Treasure Hunters mini-season and are wondering what changes it may bring us, then here's everything we know about it so far.

What will be the biggest changes made for the Fortnite Treasure Hunters mini-season?

Although Epic haven't officially confirmed much more than the name and tagline for the Fortnite Treasure Hunters mini-season, they have also released a number of teasers which give us a good idea of what's to come. The season is going to be themed around anime pirates, with One Piece being confirmed as a significant part of that.

As rounded up by HYPEX, we've so far seen that One Piece characters Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Ace, and Buggy will all feature, alongside A$AP Rocky, Charlotte, Cuddle Team Leader, Hatsune Miku, Hope, Jonesy, Kasane Teto, Lil Uzi Vert, and Oscar as part of a stacked line up!

There are also going to be six distinct pirate crews in Treasure Hunters, featuring Jones & Hope, Straw Hat Crew (One Piece), A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, Kasane Teto & Hatsune Miku, plus a 6th unknown crew – perhaps that one will be ours? It's likely you'll be battling against these crews to secure the loot, as was revealed during the teaser – "You won't be the only one drawn to these shores. Hope you're ready for reality's greatest treasure hunt."

We've also got an early look at the Fortnite Treasure Hunters mini-season map in the post above, showing a more compact island with plenty of POIs within close proximity to each other. There are also lots of bays for ships to dock in, which ties to the overall piracy and treasure hunting theme.

How much will the Fortnite Treasure Hunters Battle Pass cost?

Fortnite is free to play, but buying the Battle Pass will get you lots of additional rewards. The Fortnite Treasure Hunters Battle Pass will be available for 800 V-Bucks, which means it will still be enough to purchase the smallest V-Bucks bundle in the Fortnite store, priced at $8.99 / £6.99 to get 800 V-Bucks. By completing the Battle Pass you can earn 800 V-Bucks back through unlocks, but you can no longer collect additional V-Bucks above that.

Usually it's possible to get a head start by buying the Battle Bundle upgrade, which would get you to Tier 25 on the Battle Pass instantly – however with this being a short mini-season, the pass may be smaller so this could work differently. Doing so previously would cost you 2,600 V-Bucks, which you can get for $22.99 / £17.49. You can also sign up to the Fortnite Crew subscription service, which costs $11.99 / £9.99 per month but gives you access to all of the Fortnite Passes including the Battle Pass, as well as awarding a bonus 800 V-Bucks every month and other exclusive rewards.

If you don't want to spend any money, you can always try to get free Fortnite V-Bucks for the Fortnite Treasure Hunters Battle Pass, but don't fall for online scams! If you choose to save up some V-Bucks, remember that you only need 800 of them to unlock the next Fortnite Battle Pass starting in November 2026.

And that's everything we know about the Fortnite Treasure Hunters mini-season for now, but keep checking back and we'll have more details as soon as they're revealed!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Resident Evil series executive producer Jun Takeuchi says the series' overarching storyline could end within the next 10 years.

Speaking to Yahoo Japan (via machine translation), Takeuchi notes that with the upcoming Resident Evil Veronica, he thinks players will understand just how significant the game is to the plot of the series, as opposed to dismissing it as a side story.

This is in part due to some of the altered parts of the story featured in the remake; and while the Resident Evil remakes have generally been changing aspects as they go along, it's in service of eventually combining these remade classics with the most recent games in the series.

Takeuchi notes that even though the series overall plot was very much not planned from the start, and instead expanded as Capcom went along. On top of that, when planning for the Resident Evil 2 remake began, Capcom envisioned a 10-year plan for the storyline, with him teasing that there's a reason behind the order of the remakes – presumably why Capcom skipped to Resident Evil 4 when Code: Veronica and Zero were next in line.

With the release of Resident Evil: Requiem earlier this year, Takeuchi believes the first 10 years of Capcom's plan have come to an end and that, over the next 10 years, the series' conclusion will likely arrive.

However, he teases there will be multiple titles before then at least. Requiem's storyline did deal with an aging Leon and featured Grace Ashcroft as a potential character to carry on the series, so the seeds have definitely been planted. At least, with the story ending, Capcom will finally have to put Jill and Claire in a new game for once… Right?

You can check out our Resident Evil Requiem review if you're yet to play the horror game yourself, or our guide to Resident Evil Requiem's safe codes to help you through it.

Obtaining the MW4 Nuke killstreak is one of the game's more challenging goals, as it has been in series games before this one. It's a great way to show off your skills to both your team and opponents, and each year the hardiest of players fight to get the world's first nuke.

While that claim may have long gone for 2026's Modern Warfare 4, you can still work towards getting unlocking the nuke killstreak yourself, and the first step to that is knowing the conditions you actually have to meet. This killstreak cannot be unlocked by reaching any level and can never be equipped to your class. Instead, it can only ever be obtained by meeting certain match killstreak requirements, as you'll see below.

How to get the Nuke killstreak in MW4

To get the Nuke killstreak in MW4 2026, you need to get a 30 kills in a row without dying. You can die in the match, but your streak will start back at zero each time you do, and killstreak kills do not count, so you'll want to equip the best MW4 weapons you can.

This means that any kills you might get with the Wheelson, Heavy Artillery, or Gunship, for example, do not count towards your nuke - only those achieved with your primary or secondary weapon, melee weapon, or lethal throwables qualify. Get 30 of those in a row without dying though, and you'll get a notification on the middle of your screen that you can trigger the nuke.

To launch your Nuke, you might find you have to wait a few moments. Then press '4' on keyboard on right on your D-pad on any controller. You don't have to launch the Nuke right away, so you may as well see how many more kills you can get in first.

The nuke can be obtained in all multiplayer modes that allow for 30 or more kills in a row, so the likes of Search and Destroy aren't included.

If you can do this, then you're also well on your way to getting some of the best mastery camos in MW4 too, which is another great way to show off your skill.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

There's some good news and some bad news for Witchbrook fans today. Chucklefish's long-awaited magical school RPG finally has a release date set for next January… but that's also a delay from what was previously announced.

Witchbrook – a cozy life sim with Stardew Valley-esque visuals set in a seaside town with a magical college – was first teased over 10 years ago, if you can believe it, but it's felt tantalizingly close for the last couple of years thanks to some unfortunate delays. It was originally planned to arrive sometime during winter 2025, but got pushed back to 2026, and, well… it's now missed out on that window, too.

As announced during today's Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Witchbrook is now set to arrive on January 28, 2027. In addition to launching on PC, Xbox, Switch, and Switch 2 as previously revealed in a blog post shared on Steam, Chucklefish now confirms that Witchbrook will also arrive on PS5 at the same time as the other platforms, so no one is missing out at launch.

This blog post also confirms the US pricing for Witchbrook. It'll be $24.99 at launch, and Chucklefish also notes that physical copies – both standard and collector's editions – will be coming, too, but not until after the digital release. This is "to avoid impacting the release schedule, and to ensure they’re truly special for physical media collectors," the devs say.

"We have poured detail and care into every pixel, to create a truly handcrafted experience," the blog post says. "We can't wait to open Witchbrook College's grand doors to new students in January, and introduce you to the town and people of Mossport.

"Thank you for all of your support and patience, especially within the last year, while we took the additional time to make a game we're truly proud of. We hope you'll enjoy immersing yourself in our magical pixel art world as much as we've enjoyed making it."

That pair of aforementioned delays may have some feeling wary about getting too excited about the new date, but with an actual date listed this time rather than a more vague release window, it feels a lot more likely that this will be Witchbrook's final delay. Hopefully, anyway.

Witchbrook's taken 10 years because "Harry Potter meets Stardew Valley" got old and the devs wanted time to make "something more unique."

There's a new World of Warcraft launching next week, and it's not just another expansion. World of Warcraft: Forever is a new pillar for the universe that proves why the series always remains one of the best MMORPGs in the packed genre. Returning to the culture of collaboration and connection that helped define the earliest years of the epic online RPG, it's built with innovation at its heart to make the old feel new again – new graphics, better UI, an expansion's worth of new content including nine new dungeons, two new raids, new zones, talents, and systems.

The launch is imminent, and the WoW: Forever beta has already racked up huge player numbers as lapsed fans return, vanilla players get a dose of nostalgia, and newcomers are finally tempted to experience the magic. In that wake, I caught up with Holly Longdale, executive producer & vice president for World of Warcraft, and Clay Stone, associate production director, to talk about the response to the beta, community expectations, and adding long-awaited controller support.

"There may never be another time where we're standing up on a BlizzCon stage announcing a brand new World of Warcraft and having a response like this. So, trying to take it all in, it's been amazing," says Stone. Join us below as Longdale and Stone take me through everything we need to know before the big Wow: Forever launch next week.

7. The beta was a monumental success…

Holly Longdale tells me that World of Warcraft: Forever had been under consideration for "quite some time." The community spent years asking for 'Classic Plus' and all that time Blizzard was quietly listening, gathering the data and insights it needed to turn a wild idea into a reality. Longdale says the development teams working across World of Warcraft knew that there was a "clear opportunity here", but nothing could have prepared them for such a rapturous response to the beta.

"With every single day that passed, we thought, 'OK, it'll calm down now – it'll be fine.' And then it just kept getting bigger. I'll call it a spark, but I'm not going to call it a lightning strike – just so I don't jinx anything," she laughs. "It was only a beta, but people were treating it like it's live. So we've been kind of hanging on by our fingernails to make sure that we do everything that we can to keep moving things in the right direction in preparation for launch."

Longdale adds: "This is one of those times where, when you've found a spark, you follow it through and see what lights up – and then you adjust afterwards."

6. …but Blizzard is still ready for anything come November 4

"I'm not sure we can fully predict in either direction what launch will be like. It's an interesting time, and we have our heads on a swivel!" says Longdale, speaking to whether a popular beta guarantees a successful launch. Still, multiple increases to the population cap of the beta servers (as well as a public stress test) have given Blizzard a lot of data and feedback to work with in the final days before release.

"From a live-ops management standpoint, you obviously hope that players will treat a beta like a full launch – but you don't even dream that something like that is actually possible. But our players did do that, and they've been playing it in a way that reflects that as well, which is super exciting," says Clay Stone. "Seeing the data and the response… we are just trying to take it all in as much as possible."

Blizzard is preparing final tweaks; tinkering with the balance of the 1-60 leveling journey, and trying to meet the community in the middle on controversial changes to Racial Abilities and Traits. The question now is whether it can get those servers ready for an onslaught of new players wanting to see what all the fuss is about and returning adventurers looking to recapture some of that vanilla nostalgia.

5. Forever complements the existing WoW offering

You'd think that Blizzard had seen it all through 22 years of supporting World of Warcraft, but the franchise has arrived at an unfamiliar crossroads. The WorldSoul Saga was announced in 2023, a multi-expansion effort for retail that delivered more content, faster than ever before, and is set to resolve in 2027 following the release of The Last Titan. WoW Classic reached divisive territory following the decision to push beyond Wrath of the Lich King and into Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria. And then there's Forever. Is there a risk that the playerbase could fracture?

"We don't know what's going to happen," says Clay Stone, "but we're excited to see how players move around. We expect that some players love their homes where they are, and that some players will find their way to Forever. It's going to be an interesting journey for us, for sure."

That's certainly one way of putting it, although Stone is emphatic with his belief that World of Warcraft remains flexible enough to thrive under changing tides of player behaviour and interests. "Forever is a powerful new pillar within our ongoing World of Warcraft ecosystem," he adds.

4. Year one, forever

Speaking of that ecosystem, it's good for you to understand what's available if you're thinking of returning to World of Warcraft right now. Let's start with the 'retail' experience, which Clay describes as continuing to "chart a course as [a] best-in-class modern MMO." Then there's Classic, which has seen Blizzard "revisit classic experiences as players remember them." Where, then, does Forever fit?

"We think that it'll fit perfectly within the ecosystem, alongside Classic and the modern game, by providing something for players that we are otherwise not providing. And that's this forever home in a vanilla-inspired space that'll chart its own course in the future with new content being added over time as we exist in essentially this year one of World of Warcraft, forever," says Stone. "Or at least as long as players want to go on this journey with us."

Holly Longdale adds: "We have modeled out every possible scenario we can think of about what will happen to our retail audience, what happens to our Classic audience, and what the Forever audience will be."

3. Reasons to explore again

World of Warcraft: Forever strikes a wondrous balance between celebrating the legacy of the past and innovating just enough to make the MMO feel fresh for 2026 and beyond. As someone who was there for vanilla (and who has dipped into every expansion since) it's fun to see Blizzard embrace some of the friction that was inherent to the game in its early years.

Forever is far slower and more contemplative than the contemporary version of WoW. Clay Stone says that the team has gone to great lengths to "preserve meaningful friction" wherever possible as it returns the focus to discovery, exploration, and social connection. "Players are coming in and discovering this slower-paced game, where they have to run places and party up with other players to see all the content. They are responding positively to that, so I think it speaks to this desire in players – whether they are old or new to WoW – for this style of game again."

One interesting example of this is how stripping flying mounts (first introduced in the Burning Crusade expansion) out of the game will alter your relationship with the world itself. "We say that Azeroth is the main character. And when you're flying over it, essentially bypassing the progression of content across the world itself, it loses something," says Holly Longdale, who adds that getting players back out into Azeroth and discovering its mysteries (both old and new) together is a big part of the Forever appeal. "The audience that Forever is focused on, the players who will go into the corners of the world, look behind every rock, and into every cave, we want to encourage that!"

2. Evolving a timeless world

World of Warcraft: Forever may be firmly rooted in the 2004-2006 era of the MMO's history, but there's a spirit of innovation inherent to its design that surprised me. New races and class combinations, the introduction of campsites to encourage social connection, and revamped visual fidelity are some of the highlights – although the real efforts to evolve a timeless world focused fully on how Blizzard is building beyond the content that was present in vanilla.

"Part of the design ethos for Forever, and the community's desire for 'Classic Plus', is that we never went through the Dark Portal. I'm not saying that this couldn't ever happen, but we do place these boundaries on what it is that we're building because it provides us with structure around what this game is versus what it's not," says Clay Stone. "When we think about Azeroth, and we think about all the places we haven't gone in the world, there is so much for us to play with."

Blizzard is pursuing 'horizontal-progression' in Forever. There's a fixed level 60 cap, so the focus will instead be on world and system growth. How Azeroth develops is all part of the fun. "I think there are other places in Azeroth, besides Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, that we could potentially go one day, and there's so much excitement about that," he says. "There's ways for us to build the world out – think back to the vanilla version of the continents, there's a lot of unused space that was never filled in."

1. World of Warcraft on Xbox? Gamepad support goes "beyond consoles"

One of the biggest surprises of the World of Warcraft: Forever beta was the introduction of native-support for controllers. WoW has always been designed with mouse and keyboard being the primary points of interaction with the world of Azeroth, so it was pretty surprising to discover that controller mapping not only works but is actually a pretty wonderful way to experience Warcraft. As is (it must be said) playing Forever in bed on a ROG XBOX Ally X.

Having an entire playerbase start from scratch – levelling from one to 60, together and forever – is an exceptionally rare occurrence in the realm of MMORPGs, and one that can never be repeated. So I put it to Holly Longdale: Is World of Warcraft: Forever launching as a PC-exclusive a missed opportunity?

"What you just described is really what we're after. Play it wherever you want and, at some point, on whatever you want. But the first leg of that journey is getting gamepads working really well with World of Warcraft, and we thought Forever was the perfect place to start. Looking at where things are going when we hear about Project Helix et cetera, I think platforms will be a bit more ubiquitous," says Longdale. "Honestly, we just want to be able to play it anywhere. We've seen people getting it working on the ROG Ally X…"

"Someone modded a Nintendo DS!" Stone adds.

"I think just doing some of the work we're doing on gamepad [support] is going to give players a lot of flexibility that I think goes beyond consoles," says Longdale.

There's a whole gaming world out there (some involving war). Check out our best open world games and best RPGs rankings for more to play now, and keep an eye on our upcoming RPGs calendar for what's on the horizon!

Following the closure of BioWare and cancellation of Mass Effect 5 after the EA buyout, the RPG that never came to be has been heavy on fans' minds – and former developers' own, too.

Behind the scenes, though, things with the next Mass Effect were on shaky ground for some time, reportedly, as the massive $55 billion EA buyout by Saudi Arabia's private investment fund, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and private equity fund Silver Lake fell into place.

The acquisition allegedly spurred various changes in BioWare devs' plans, especially in how potentially sensitive topics were handled.

For example, BioWare's inclusivity – something the studio has been well-known for since its old RPGs, from the original Dragon Age to Mass Effect – and outspoken support for marginalized communities.

An unnamed dev who was working on Mass Effect: Universe, as the in-progress fifth entry was titled, explains as much in a statement to BFM (as translated from French via machine using both DeepL and Google).

"I think the video proposals we presented to the new management weren't convincing," he alleges. "Especially since BioWare is known for its inclusive stories, which didn't help dispel the skepticism."

This "skepticism," as the dev goes on to describe, supposedly led to EA having devs remove a flag "too similar to the LGBTQIA+ flag" from one of the presented videos, "so as not to cause offense" with its inclusion.

It's a difficult thought to stomach, especially when, as the anonymous dev puts it, you consider BioWare's history as a strong supporter of folks whose voices aren't as well-heard by the public, but it's sadly not all that surprising.

I'm instantly reminded of The Sims series myself, and how covers had to be changed for Saudi Arabian audiences so as to not include any LGBTQIA+ representation.

People were worrying about what the buyout might mean in that sense while it was underway, too, with EA staff sharing how they feared the new Saudi Arabian owners would police their games and how "projects just won't get signed because they don't align explicitly with what the Saudi government wants."

None of the process has been easy or simple, to say the least, and the future continues to remain uncertain.

Here's hoping that everyone from BioWare is able to land on their feet following the studio's closure – and that somehow, some way, the Save Mass Effect movement results in change.

The leaked Mass Effect 5 trailer is being re-released by a veteran BioWare composer: "I want it to properly represent my musical vision"

GTA 5 and San Andreas' leading men have given some advice to the new GTA 6 leads as the game is poised to change their lives forever.

In the pantheon of iconic gaming protagonists, there are many superpowered beings, creatures, chosen ones, and heroes. But GTA, as a series, has managed to create a number of gaming icons who are just guys. Sure, they can take a lot of damage, survive massive car crashes, and survive a blimp crash as long as Davey is in the vicinity, but for all intents and purposes they are just guys. And yet, you can't go a week without seeing CJ saying "Aw shit, here we go again." So the role of a GTA protagonist is a big space to fill, and one that our currently officially unknown (but fans have likely figured it out) leads of GTA 6 will have to learn firsthand in about a month's time.

Speaking to All Out Gaming at MCM Comic Con, Ned Luke, Shawn Fonteno, and Steven Ogg – GTA 5's Michael, Franklin, and Trevor, respectively – and Young Maylay – GTA San Andreas' Carl 'CJ' Johnson – were asked what their advice is for the upcoming duo of GTA leads. "Have fun," Luke says, while Maylay imparts, "get ready." Fonteno says, "just listen to Rockstar," adding, "they're going to lead you in the right direction," while taking a page out of his cousin's book, saying, "get ready" and that "it's a ride that they're going to be on for a while."

Maylay also warned the trio that "my game was 20 years ago. So when [GTA] 6 comes out, you guys will be in my position." He explains that everyone lining up to meet him at Comic Con are "the OG's," recalling, "You got the guys with the gray hair coming in saying, 'Hey, man, you're the guy CJ,'" Maylay adds, "you're going to grow with your fanbase."

However, despite the different generations of gamers having played different GTA entries, Maylay notes, "It's not like everything's gonna get shut down from you guys, because I wasn't shut down because of you guys."

GTA: Vice City's writing was "awful," Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says, but acting icon Ray Liotta "made it sound good"

As Final Fantasy Resonance has a strong start, and, like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, proves what an appetite JRPG fans have for turn-based games, one analyst suggests that Square Enix "knows what it's missed out on" after its "move towards more action-oriented Final Fantasy titles."

Square Enix's new turn-based, HD-2D release launched last week and quickly dethroned Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as the series' single-player games' highest concurrent player peak on Steam. And, as you might expect, that's translated to a lot of money for Square Enix, too.

According to Alinea Analytics analyst Rhys Elliott, Resonance has now sold 400k copies across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, bringing in $20 million in revenue. That's obviously rather a lot, and Elliott suggests it reflects what JRPG fans actually want and that Square Enix is catering to it. It's also worth keeping in mind that this doesn't include what the game made on the Nintendo Switch 2.

"Given the strong positive reaction to – and early sales of – Resonance and last year's Expedition 33 (which is tracking way better than recent Final Fantasy games), it's clear that Square Enix has left a significant chunk of JRPG players behind during their move towards more action-oriented Final Fantasy titles," he suggests.

"While Square chased more Western trends, a Western company swept in and released Expedition 33, a game JRPG fans wanted for decades and even won game of the year at The Game Awards," he continues. "Square knows this, knows what it's missed out on, and it's seen Capcom succeed on Steam with its legacy franchises where Square Enix has arguably floundered."

Obviously, that isn't to say that Final Fantasy Resonance was made in response to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, as it was in the works well before Sandfall's reveal, let alone its wildly successful launch last year. However, the timing of another turn-based RPG gaining so much traction can't be ignored, and Elliott suggests that Square Enix may consider altering its strategy going forward.

"I can see Square Enix going down a new route, with many diverging paths, for Final Fantasy," he explains. "They've already outlined their plans to go fully multiplatform, smartly moving away from timed PlayStation exclusivity.

"I can also see the company balancing its MMO, high-fidelity remakes, and big-budget mainline Final Fantasy titles with more of these smaller 2D-HD original pixel games alongside the 2D-HD remakes," he continues. "There's still a gap for a turn-based JRPG big-budget Final Fantasy, though, and all the signals are pointing Square Enix in that direction. Just a matter of time, I reckon."

It's not just Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall that the analyst suggests Square Enix takes notes from, though. After a particularly stellar year with the likes of Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword – showcasing success with new IP and old favorites alike – Elliott adds: "I'd take even more cues from Capcom, if I were them."

Final Fantasy 14 devs say Evercold's new Evolved mode isn't massive power creep: "If you don't want to change, you don't have to."

Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with me, and you will see why Nemesis is the best horror board game to be playing this Halloween…

That rhyme kinda got away from me there at the end, but the point stands; Nemesis rules, and Halloween is the perfect time for you to grab some friends and dive into its claustrophobic, alien-infested corridors.

Horror is a difficult thing to nail for even the best board games. As a setting, it's perfect, and there are loads of spooky-themed games out there. Betrayal at House on the Hill, Arkham Horror, Horrified… the list goes on, but none of these games are particularly scary. It's tough to inject fear into a board game when it's essentially a group of friends sitting around a table, chatting and having a good time. As a result, most horror board games are more akin to interactive Scooby-Doo episodes than a starring role in a slasher flick.

The exception, though, is Nemesis.

For the uninitiated, Nemesis is Alien. Oh sure, all the names have been changed, and the copyright logos have been sanded off, but it's Alien. You and your buddies are trapped on a rickety spaceship with extraterrestrial monstrosities that want to bite your face off or implant an embryo in your chest, and you have to work together to survive the nightmare.

So what makes Nemesis scarier than other games? The brutal difficulty, for one thing. I've died an order of magnitude more times than I've survived playing Nemesis, and it's the fear of getting your ticket punched that drives the terror.

There is also a masterful tension curve in Nemesis that builds slowly as the game goes on. At the start, players all wake up from their hibernation pods with no idea what's going on. There's a corpse on the floor, and — thanks to a convenient bit of hypersleep-induced amnesia — no memory of the ship's layout, resulting in some clumsy exploration to figure out the ship's randomized configuration. As you explore, you'll make noise, which will eventually draw out the Xenomorphs Intruders.

The Intruders are savage, and fighting should really be a last resort. Your odds improve dramatically if you have help from the other players, but you can't always rely on that. See, I said you all have to "work together" earlier, but that cooperation comes with an asterisk.

You see, every player has hidden objectives when the game starts, and while most of them are pretty chill, some of the corporate objectives require a tiny amount of betraying your teammates and leaving them for dead. This creates a wonderful sense of paranoia amongst the group; will Sarah really come to my aid? Did Steve really fix the engines like he said he did? Why is Dave smuggling an intruder egg around under his jacket?

Your death in Nemesis will usually come at the hands of salivating monsters popping out of the vents or the ramshackle spaceship exploding, but never forget that people are the real monsters. I've been abandoned, blown up, locked in a burning room, and sent into deep space, and I will forget none of these betrayals. Payback is coming, my friends, in this round of the next.

There are actually three different versions of Nemesis at this point: Nemesis, Nemesis: Lockdown, and Nemesis: Retaliation. There is also a Legacy version on the way, and I cannot wait for that.

Nemesis: Lockdown is set on a secret research base, and Nemesis: Retaliation is the Aliens to the original's Alien, with players taking on the role of a crack squad of marines.

They're all different flavors of the same experience, and while I'd recommend the OG Nemesis, it can be tough to find, so the best Nemesis to play is the one that you can get your hands on.

Whichever version you do end up playing, though, you'll have an amazing time. Nemesis is a real story-generating machine and the perfect way to spend a spooky Halloween evening with your friends.

• See the latest deals on horror board games at Amazon

Anime Ball Duels codes are a great way to boost your ball inventory, enabling you to spin the Wheel of Fortune for balls, gems, or coins. You can also get thousands more coins by redeeming these promos, which can then be spent at your favorite Gacha machine, while you'll need gems for limited time rolls.

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If you're after some more general avatar rewards to use in all of your experiences, then we've got the current Roblox promo codes covered too.

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Since most Anime Ball Duels codes reward players with wheel spins, it's worth bearing in mind that you have to like the game and join the King Games TD community on Roblox to be able to use the wheel itself. Once you've done that though, these codes will give you plenty of chances to roll for more balls.

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Lots of Anime Ball Duels codes have expired at this point, with active code sure to follow in time. These promos tend to last for varying amounts of time, with some expiring quicker than others, so its best to redeem codes as soon as you see them.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Phantom Blade Zero has likely sold over one million pre-release copies, according to estimates from the market research firm Alinea Analytics.

The Wuxia action RPG Phantom Blade Zero is set to release in under 24 hours, and with one of the best Metacritic scores of the year – including a four-and-a-half stars out of five in our Phantom Blade Zero review – it's shaping up to be a big release that most will want to pick up before GTA 6 takes over the world in a few weeks' time. Although you'll want to make sure you have the hard drive space since the developers suggest having 300GB free for the install process.

Rhys Elliott – head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics – posted a newsletter with sales details ahead of the RPG's release tomorrow. According to their estimates, Phantom Blade Zero has already sold 850,000 copies across Steam and PS5 – with 80,000 being sold after the review embargo lifted earlier this week. On top of that, Elliott notes that "A significant number of Phantom Blade Zero copies" will have been sold on Tencent and WeGame, so "It’ll be WELL past 1M at this point."

Phantom Blade Zero is developed by Chinese dev S-Game, and it has seemingly done very well in its home country – much like the support Chinese gamers gave to Black Myth: Wukong in 2024. Elliott also notes that 62.5% of copies sold so far have been in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, accounting for 75.9% of Steam sales and 24.9% of PlayStation sales.

However, Elliott insists, "It won't hit the highs of Black Myth's insane sales, but it'll sell a lot of copies this year in a crowded market." Earlier this year, reports emerged that Black Myth: Wukong has sold over 30 million copies since its launch in 2024, making it one of the 50 best-selling games of all time. On top of that, it picked up Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards 2024, and nabbed Game of the Year nominations at The Game Awards, D.I.C.E Awards and GDC Awards.

The Golden Joystick Awards 2026 are open, with Phantom Blade Zero as one of the nominees, so vote for your own Ultimate Game of the Year now.

Cyberpunk 2077 just saw the release of update 2.5, a patch that accompanied the Edgerunners 2 debut on Netflix – and one that CD Projekt Red hoped would be very special.

Paweł Sasko, who is now working as Cyberpunk 2 associate director, reveals as much in an entry on the studio's official blog, explaining that the developers wanted the connection between all of Cyberpunk's media to feel "consistent" – which, yes, means Edgerunners and Cyberpunk 2077, as it "has always worked best when you can feel it's one consistent universe, a nexus of stories told from different perspectives."

He continues, referencing characters from both the RPG and its animated Netflix series: "V, Johnny, David, Lucy, the characters from our comics and now the new crew from Edgerunners 2 all experience the same world, but they see something different in it. I wanted the game to acknowledge that connection directly."

Not only that, but CD Projekt Red – and especially Sasko – wanted that acknowledgement to be great.

So great, in fact, that it (in the form of update 2.5, of course) would outshine the patch that accompanied the first season of Edgerunners four years back.

In Sasko's own words, "I wanted to create an update for the game that will be much more meaningful than the one we created for Edgerunners in 2022." That "one," as he says, was 1.6 – a patch aptly dubbed the Edgerunners Update, adding transmogs, cross-progression, and more.

This time around, update 2.5 has brought a new quest to the RPG that acts as a prequel to Edgerunners 2.

"Players will unlock a new quest that takes place before the events of the show, following the last job of Team King. It introduces King, Meshuga, Miguel, and Emily, and takes players into a part of Night City they have never properly explored before," Sasko describes – and, again, consistency between the show and game was key.

"From the beginning, believability and immersion were the most important for me. If these characters exist both in the game and in the show, they should feel like the same people," as he concludes. "That is why it was incredibly important to get the same voice actors from Edgerunners 2 into Cyberpunk 2077."

And so they did just that – and I'd argue that it's worked out quite nicely for CD Projekt Red, too.

Following Edgerunners 2 and update 2.5, the RPG did hit its highest Steam player count in three years, after all. It serves as a testament to the ever-growing quality of Cyberpunk 2077, I'd say, and, yes, how good the collaborative patch has been this time around.

CD Projekt Red just can't stop updating Cyberpunk 2077: "This world keeps giving us reasons to return to it."

Amid layoffs at EA, with the closure of Mass Effect and Dragon Age studio BioWare announced only last week, it's far from surprising to hear that morale at the publisher is reportedly "terrible."

That's according to anonymous sources speaking to Vertical Slice, who say the layoff process at the publisher is "wildly disruptive" and emotionally "weird" due to an apparent "secrecy" around it that sometimes leaves employees unaware who's been affected until after their co-workers' public LinkedIn posts.

The layoff process itself has also been described as "very impersonal," with multiple affected employees apparently invited to Zoom meetings with the chat disabled and other participants hidden, leaving them unable to ask questions or communicate with their co-workers.

Needless to say, it's understandable that the vibe internally is apparently very poor right now. "Morale has been terrible," one anonymous source says. "The line we kept hearing is 'do less, better' but it just felt like we were doing the same amount with less people. Upper management was very excited about Claude and the possibilities of [generative] AI, much to the chagrin of my team."

Execs at the publisher have been described as out-of-touch with both game development and their employees, and – speaking of AI – that's apparently being pushed, too, with managers apparently telling their employees that "'this is the future, you have to get onboard.'" Even if AI tools aren't currently being mandated, one source alleges that "they'll make it impossible or very difficult for you to do your job without [them]."

Of course, this latest wave of layoffs follows EA going private. The $55 billion acquisition by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake closed back in August, but as soon as plans were announced last year, EA employees expressed concerns about potential layoffs. EA took on $20 billion in debt as part of the deal, and shortly after the acquisition closed, the publisher reportedly told investors that it planned to cut a whopping $700 million in annual costs, of which $170 million was set to be "organizational efficiencies," which didn't bode well.

Even though things had been looking bad for some time, though, that doesn't make the reality any less upsetting or disappointing.

One anonymous source notes that the email sent out to employees about the organizational changes sounded like it was "written by a robot," which they say "best sums up EA." They continue: "A cold dead place that's slowly decaying as leadership pilfers every last cent, leaving the rest of us to worry about how we feed our families."

"EA never actually sells anything," former Mass Effect 5 dev says – so don't expect the RPG to be saved as "they just shut things down and sit on their licenses."

Valve's latest Steam Next Fest has been plagued by games using AI, drawing the attention of former developers like Chet Faliszek, who says the storefront is now "overwhelmed by slop" – but what do current folks at the company think?

Well, they're unsurprisingly aware of the AI-fueled issue, at least, as Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson from Valve's Steam Business Team reveal during the Steam Indie Connect event in South Korea (as per Inven Global).

Giardino first explains that Valve doesn't want to control what tools – in this case, generative AI – devs can use. "We don't want to be gatekeepers telling developers which tools they should or shouldn't use," he says.

According to him, that should be up to the devs themselves, and clones have existed for a long time – much longer than the AI problem, but AI has accelerated the debacle.

Giardino's solution is simple: "Rather than relying on a single mechanic that someone can easily copy, you need to keep growing your game by adding features, personality, and creativity that stem from your own perspective." It's far easier said than done, however.

When asked specifically about Steam Next Fest and how it's been flooded by such AI copies, Wilkinson chimes in, stating that most of the coverage surrounding the clones was across the first couple of days of the event, before more "personalized" recommendations made the front page.

He describes how Steam Next Fest is a bit random at first in an attempt to prevent abuse of the system from folks looking to gain immediate visibility. And, although the current model highlights some questionable titles at first, it supposedly makes things more "fair" overall.

"We recognize that the trade-off is some low-quality games get exposed," Wilkinson admits. "We are fully aware of the situation, and a significant number of people are thinking about how to solve this problem."

Giardino says the sheer scale nowadays doesn't help, either. Steam Next Fest isn't as small as it once was.

A few years ago, he recalls how he had to convince devs to participate in the event, telling them, "There are only 50 or 100 games, so you should definitely join." Now, it's a case of "the pendulum swinging to the opposite side."

Plus, "success" feels different for every dev in terms of wishlist numbers and the like following Steam Next Fest. "As platform operators, we can't define what success means for an individual game."

That might be a thousand wishlists, or it might be 50 thousand. What Valve can control, though is the quality of the system – and, again, they know about its most pressing issues, like the AI situation, but they don't want to "limit" any devs. "We don't think we're perfect and there's plenty of room for improvement. Rather than limiting developer access, making Steam a smarter and more dynamic platform is the starting point of our philosophy," says Giardino.

So, what is the solution then? I'm honestly not sure myself, but I also don't think cracking down on gen AI use would be "limiting" devs. For the time being, at least Steam enforces AI disclosures on any game that employs the controversial technology.

"Steam's required AI disclosure is the right move": Devs say gen AI should be called out in games and support Valve's store mandate.

The whole Early Access release model has a lot of pros and cons to consider, and some argue that the system is prone to abuse by developers and publishers for all sorts of reasons, but at least for Valheim developer Iron Gate, it was essential.

Talking to GamesIndustry, Iron Gate CEO Richard Svensson says Valheim wouldn't have been nearly as successful as it has been without Steam Early Access. "Even if we had an enormous budget and worked on the game in secret for five years up until the launch, we never would have been able to reach the amount of people that we have." says Svensson.

"Having the game out there and being able to work with the live community is really the only way that Valheim would have ever reached the success it has."

While Svensson sees Valheim's Early Access launch as crucial to the game's success, it was only ever released as an Early Access game because Svensson "couldn't afford to keep working on it" and Early Access appeared to be "the only reasonable solution at the time." Obviously, that gamble paid off massively as Valheim is now an undeniable juggernaut of the survival genre with 17 million copies sold as of its 1.0 launch in September 2026.

Still, Valheim was in Early Access for more than five years, which is quite a bit longer than the average 21 months most games take before their 1.0 updates (according to GameDiscoverCo data cited by GI). Svensson says that's because the scope of the project continues to increase every time a new update is released.

"We have also always tried to keep the team relatively small, but even so, the production scale now is gigantic compared to what it was at the time of the Early Access release," he says. "Back then, when we made a new biome, it was basically the same thing with a new coat of paint, but today it's just so much more.

"It's not just about content anymore, and that's what made the development time longer than we first expected."

For my money, Iron Gate and Valheim are perfect examples of Early Access done right. Right from the start, the game was extremely polished and felt representative of the core gameplay loop that still compels me to play to this day – there's just a lot more of it, and with an even higher level of polish. I never felt like I was being duped and communication has always been on point, which can't be said for a lot of other Early Access games that needn't be mentioned here.

Tiny Swedish town flexes its survival game royalty by enshrining Valheim, Raft, and V Rising into its roads

GTA 6 developers at Rockstar Games will begin the vote on the studio's proposed union right as the new Grand Theft Auto lets players start pre-loading the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

News of the impending Rockstar union vote comes from Aftermath, which shared a statement from the Independent Workers' union of Great Britain (IWGB), a labor union with widespread reach including a significant presence in games. IWGB has helped Rockstar developers organize their own studio union to bargain for benefits, rights, and protections.

The voting period will run from November 12 through November 26. GTA 6 launches Thursday, November 19, and pre-loading for the hotly anticipated game starts a week earlier. Rumors indicate GTA 6 is a 210GB download on PS5, so pre-loading ought to come in handy.

While the most-anticipated game of all time is devoured by millions players, many of the people who made it will be charting the future of their workplace. If the vote clears, Rockstar will officially be unionized, which would be a major step forward for the already humming labor push in the broader games industry. Just this month, D&D and Magic The Gathering developers unionized.

IWGB Game Workers shared Aftermath's story online. The agreement, if passed, will "grant workers a say over issues including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working, and generative AI policies," the union reiterates.

"The terms of the recognition deal, agreed upon by workers and management, would give workers a say over topics including pay and bonuses, overtime, redundancies, flexible working arrangements, and generative AI policies," a press release reads (thanks, Rock Paper Shotgun).

Shanti Easton-Steel, a committee member for the Rockstar Game Workers Union, discussed what's being voted on: "When management choices are kept hidden, we can’t properly address issues like the gender pay gap, the uneven and ever-changing policies on overtime pay, or the concerns many co-workers hold around job security post-release."

"This is our moment to secure a window onto the decisions that shape our lives, and a seat at the table to improve them. I’m immensely proud of the games Rockstar gives its fans – I want to be equally proud of the voice Rockstar gives its staff," Easton-Steel adds.

This vote follows a messy and ongoing legal dispute over Rockstar staff, including many unionizing staff, who were fired for allegedly leaking "confidential information." Rockstar has repeatedly denied claims of union busting.

Rockstar also has a documented history of crunch, a term often used in game development to describe extended periods of heavy, often under-compensated, and quietly (or loudly) mandated overtime during production – the exact sort of thing that game unions have worked to prevent or control.

Rockstar devs allege crunch is so common at the GTA 6 studio that it's "built into" contracts and you have to "opt out" of it.

It's been almost six years since the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077, and in that time developer CD Projekt Red has been tirelessly updating the game initially with a flurry of bug fixes and performance patches, and then later with substantial content additions culminating in the Phantom Liberty expansion from 2023. And yet, even as the game's legacy has firmly been cemented as a generational RPG far removed from its half-baked launch state, it has another huge update, 2.5, which just came out last week.

The 2.5 update adds a new quest that serves as a prequel story to Cyberpunk Edgerunners 2 on Netflix, as well as mod support for consoles, dual-wielding for pistols and revolvers, a new City Tours feature that gives you a guided look at Night City, new clothing sets, a new radio station, and more. It's a genuinely massive update to an already sprawling open-world adventure that's long since redeemed itself, and all CDPR has to say for itself is that it simply can't turn down an opportunity for a new update even as it works on a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel and a bunch of other new games.

In an official CDPR blog post, associate game director Paweł Sasko says the combined new features in Cyberpunk 2077 2.5 serve one goal to "make Night City richer, more coherent, and more believable, for our players," and that's why it was made.

"That is ultimately why we are updating Cyberpunk 2077 again," says Sasko. "This world keeps giving us reasons to return to it. Edgerunners 2 adds another perspective, 2.5 brings that perspective into the game, and at the same time gives players more ways to make Night City their own. For me, that is what a shared universe should feel like. Different stories, different people, different media, but one city that remembers all of them. And I hope players enjoy returning to it."

With a list of upcoming CDPR games that includes the new Witcher 3 DLC, The Witcher 4, a remake of The Witcher 1, the aforementioned sequel codenamed Project Orion, a new original IP codenamed Hadar, and probably more I'm forgetting about, I'm just surprised there's still budget and resources for more Cyberpunk 2077. I'm also very much not complaining about that.

CD Projekt Red has "hired so many modders" that Cyberpunk 2 co-lead says "I think half of the quest team is all former modders"

Like rubbing salt into the wound, the abrupt closure of beloved RPG studio BioWare means we now know more about Mass Effect 5 than we probably would've otherwise, which stings even harder knowing the game's now canceled. Based on a leaked trailer, it's likely the game was to be titled Mass Effect: Universe, and it seems it would've paired up returning party member Liara T'Soni with a new human hero in place of longtime protagonist Shepard. Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all is that the trailer said the game was "coming soon."

I suppose if you're someone willing to call a glass with two drops of water in it 'half full', you could argue the existence of the trailer is a tiny, barely glimmering silver lining amid the tragedy of it all, and adding just the faintest shimmer to that miniscule upside is a new tweet from veteran BioWare composer Sam Hulick, who scored the original Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. In the tweet, Hulick says he plans to "release the re-scored Mass Effect Universe trailer for N7 Day."

N7 Day is an annual celebration of all things Mass Effect, and had EA not shut the doors on BioWare, there's a good chance we would've seen or heard something new about Mass Effect 5, potentially even the leaked trailer. But anyway, it happens on November 7, which Hulick admits is "a little tight" as he's also working on a pitch for an unrelated new game, but "I'll see what I can do," he says. "I don't wanna rush it, and I want it to properly represent my musical vision for MEU."

While you might think Hulick's endorsement of the leaked trailer substantiates its legitimacy somewhat, he's a freelance composer and was never officially hired on as a BioWare employee, so he probably didn't have a whole lot of insight into the next game's development. In fact, the legendary composer behind Journey, Austin Wintory, who just released 20 minutes of music he wrote in an unofficial capacity for Mass Effect 5, recently said "no one" had yet been hired to score the sequel. Still, more moody sci-fi music from a pair of renowned composers is never a bad thing, especially as we lie face down in a puddle of tears in the wake of BioWare's untimely end.

"EA never actually sells anything," former Mass Effect 5 dev says – so don't expect the RPG to be saved as "they just shut things down and sit on their licenses"

GTA 6 download size clocks in at 210GB on PS5, according to PlayStation Store sleuth PlayStation Game Size.

In a brief Twitter post, the PGS account, known for reasonably reliably sharing details on upcoming PlayStation games, notes the reported GTA 6 GB size.

Unsurprisingly, this would make GTA 6 significantly larger than GTA 5, which comes in at 105GB on PC. In fairness, GTA 5 did come out several empires ago; a more recent comparison would be Red Dead Redemption 2, which is 150GB on PC. There's also the question of GTA 5 versus GTA Online as storage hogs.

This figure is obviously unconfirmed, and it's also worth noting that download sizes and install sizes can differ, as can PS5 and Xbox Series X game file sizes, though only slightly. When we inevitably get a GTA 6 PC port, its impact on your drive may also be meaningfully different.

For example, the base PS5 sizes for GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 are actually closer to 100 - 110GB, with physical and digital versions reflecting different downloads.

As a reminder, GTA 6 pre-loading opens on November 12, a week ahead of the game's November 19 launch. If GTA 6 is actually in the range of 200GB or more, a lot of people will want to get that download started early. You'll assuredly still need to go through some sort of day-one update come November 19, but pre-loading can save you a lot of valuable time that could be spent playing GTA 6.

GTA 6 exclusive leads Edge 430 – check out the 16-page cover feature that includes interviews with Rockstar, bespoke screenshots, and more this week

Palworld developer Pocketpair may be in the midst of a legal battle with Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, but that's apparently not putting it off from the idea of bringing its hit survival game to Switch 2.

Pokemon and Nintendo filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair over two years ago now, but even last year, prior to the Switch 2's launch, Pocketpair communications lead and publishing manager John "Bucky" Buckley said that porting Palworld to the platform was "100% worth considering" as long as the console was "beefy enough" to handle it.

And now, speaking in a new interview with VGC, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe says "of course" he still sees this idea as a real possibility. "First of all, I should say that we think the Switch 2 is a really amazing platform, not just for games globally, but especially here in Japan and for the Japanese games industry," he begins.

"It's been an incredible platform. If there's ever a future where we have the opportunity to discuss or consider bringing Palworld to the Switch platform in some way, then we'd love to have those conversations."

He's clearly not just saying that, either. After all, Pocketpair launched another of its games, the roguelike tower defense and card game title Overdungeon, on Switch at the start of last year, so the lawsuit isn't making it avoid Nintendo's platforms entirely.

Of course, the situation may be a tad more complicated when it comes to the idea of porting the very game at the center of the ongoing lawsuit, but Pocketpair and its boss at the very least aren't personally opposed, despite the circumstances. Perhaps when the lawsuit has been resolved – one way or another – we could finally see Palworld on the platform. After all, it's certainly "beefy" enough to support the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, and Elden Ring.

Palworld Side By Side is update 1.1 in a fancy hat, Pocketpair dev clarifies, not a new game or a "massive update."

The Phantom Blade Zero release time is imminent, with the game coming out on October 29 in most parts of the world with a global simultaneous release. But that means you need to be aware of when it'll be available in your region as, for example, you might be staying up very late if you want to play at launch in Europe or waiting to play this evening if you're in the US. It's quite confusing, so I've explained everything you need to know about the launch times for Phantom Blade Zero below, as well as some pre-loading details.

Phantom Blade Zero release date, time, and platforms

Phantom Blade Zero launches on PS5 and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store at 10AM Beijing Time on October 29. That works out as the following times around the world:

• US Pacific: 7PM PDT on October 28
• US Eastern: 10PM EDT on October 28
• UK: 2AM GMT on October 29
• Europe: 3AM CET on October 29
• Eastern Australia: 1PM AEDT on October 29
• New Zealand: 3PM NZDT on October 29

It's also worth mentioning that pre-loading for Phantom Blade Zero is available now on all platforms, letting you get the game ready on your PC or PS5 ahead of launch if you've pre-ordered. I highly recommend that you pre-install the game too as it's massive – the devs recommend 300GB of disk space on PC as Phantom Blade Zero is about 150GB. I've been playing on PS5 already and it's around the 130GB mark there, so get some space cleared in the meantime. And just in case you're holding out for a Phantom Blade Zero PS5 physical copy – a dying breed – developer S-Game announced there will be a physical release in 2027.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Aptly named dressmaking sim Dressmaker was an unexpectedly massive success for developer Cozy Lives, led by married duo Sabrina Becker and Jonathan Hau-Yoon. With 17,530 user reviews averaging 98% positive about a month after release, and over 15,000 average concurrent players still keeping it in Steam's top 100 even as a small single-player game, Dressmaker is a hit by every metric. On top of the game being extremely absorbing and satisfying, Becker reckons this was partly down to appealing to an undeserved group in games: women.

"We were definitely targeting women from the get-go," Becker tells me. "The fact that we have gotten so many men interested as well is just a great bonus. But women are such an underserved market in video games, even though women love video games. I think people sort of assume that women don't play games because they don't like them, but women just don't play games because there aren't games that are geared towards what they're interested in."

There's a surprisingly large population of women, not just young girls, on game platforms like Roblox engaging with "these dress-up games," Becker observes, "even though they don't have the best experience, because they are really craving that type of gameplay and there's nowhere else that offers it. That was one of the inspirations in making Dressmaker. If that's what they want, we can give that to them."

The top-rated Steam reviews for Dressmaker bear this out. A self-describer nursing home caretaker writes, "Dressmaker team, please know that you have created something extremely special here. You have given old ladies with arthritis the gift of dressmaking again. You have inspired me to get out my sewing machine again. And our experiences are only a drop in the ocean; you have touched so many lives with this game."

Another Steam reviewer discusses their mother's history as a seamstress. "My mom saw me playing the game, and she was interested!" they say. "She's never really shown interest in my games beyond a curiosity of what I was doing, but with Dressmaker? She wants to play it! She actually wants to play it!!!!! I connected with this game because of my mother and the love of dressmaking she gave me, and now I can connect this game with my mother because of the very same love. She may never seriously play another videogame but Dressmaker has given us something to play together, and that means a lot to me."

Becker, who worked in fashion before the chronic illness Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) forced her to change her career, says it was a no-brainer. "It just seemed like if we were going to make a game about making dresses, which is a stereotypically feminine interest, we should definitely make it very feminine and target it towards women," she adds.

Dressmaker resonates so strongly partly because Becker is in a similar place as those Steam reviewers. "I was pursuing costume design," she explains. "I've been really passionate about sewing and clothing since I was a kid. My mom taught me how to sew, and she was a designer, so it's very much a thing that has been a part of my life.

"And then when I was diagnosed with EDS and I became very ill, I was unable to pursue that and engage with that passion, so I just sort of shelved it and focused on the things that I could do and that I could engage with. Over time, I slowly built my health back up again, and that lined up perfectly with when Jonathan wanted to pursue making Dressmaker at the studio."

After the huge launch, Hau-Yoon says, "Sabrina's over the moon. I'm kind of overwhelmed. I feel as if I was prepared to work up to shipping the game and then also patch things afterward, and I wasn't really prepared for the very large flood of players and media attention and whatnot."

"I'm just so happy that so many people love the game," Becker adds.

Dressmaker isn't even really finished. Cozy Lives actually expected the game to have a bigger audience on mobile and Nintendo Switch, and it will eventually be ported to other platforms. Iterating and updating on PC is just easier with less platform certification to clear, so Dressmaker started on Steam. With such a massive audience already showing up, there are definitely plans for major updates in the future. I asked for a teaser on one, and Becker mentioned an online feature that lets players vote on their favorite dress designs.

"We love this game so much, and it was always our hope that we would be able to continue working on it and build on it," Becker says. "There are so many things that we would love to bring to the game and the world, so we're really enthusiastic now that we have the opportunity to do that."

"The Dressmaker that was launched was very much, 'This is the best we can do when we are time and budget-constrained,'" says Hau-Yoon. "There are a bunch of things that we really wanted to get into the game that we didn't get to, so now we have time to do this backlog of things, which is really exciting."

New Steam indie hit reaches crucial cozy game milestone: fans wondering if they're "even playing the same" thing as geniuses make it all from the Mona Lisa to Pokemon in dress form

Hasbro has named Dan Ayoub as new president of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Digital Games, leading Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and future games like Exodus and Warlock.

In a press release, Hasbro confirms that Ayoub was "selected after a rigorous search that evaluated dozens of internal and external candidates." Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks says, "He understands what our games mean to the people who play them and what it takes to build great teams and experiences." Previous president John Hight announced he was stepping down earlier this year.

Wizards of the Coast currently has two major games in production with sci-fi RPG Exodus at Archetype Entertainment and third-person action game Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons at Invoke Studios.

Ayoub has been in the games industry for 25 years, with his credits including producer roles at Ubisoft and EA, an 11 year stint at Microsoft as the studio head of Halo developer 343 Industries, as well as vice president and general manager of Certain Affinity. He joined Wizards of the Coast in 2022, and was senior vice president of digital games and Dungeons & Dragons before this promotion.

Ayoub says, "I'm honored to lead Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Digital Games, and grateful to Chris and the leadership team for this opportunity." He adds, "Magic and D&D have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and the teams behind them are among the best in the world," and pledges, "We'll put fans first, respect the artists and creators who make these worlds come alive, and set an ambitious course for growth across tabletop and digital."

Of course, this comes weeks after the D&D and Magic The Gathering developers unionized, claiming that Wizards of the Coast is pushing "adoption of LLMs and generative AI," with the company not voluntarily recognizing the union efforts by its October 13th deadline.

D&D Star Wars is giving me Andor vibes with promises to let you "fly daring missions" and fight the Empire as a secret Rebel team.

It's no secret that Final Fantasy 14 is scrapping its infamous two-minute meta and adopting an entirely new job system, Evolved, come Evercold this winter – but just how different will that system play, and how much more damage will it allow for?

As a hardcore raider myself, one thing about Evercold has been heavy on my mind since the expansion's reveal at Fan Fest this summer: the introduction of the Reborn and Evolved job systems, with the latter being entirely new to the MMO.

The reason it's been heavy on my mind is simple – Square Enix implied that the Evolved system, which rearranges our class skills into a simpler, neater format, hotbar-wise, will let us deal more damage.

Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, localization lead, lays out the differences between the Reborn system – which is essentially what we're playing with now – and Evolved in a new interview with content creators Sarah Jane, Kwisty, and Pezz on YouTube, though, and I'm slightly less concerned now... I think.

He describes a bit of what we already know (e.g. the fact that Evercold's debut jobs, the Bastion and mystery DPS, won't have a Reborn mode) first, assuring fans, "If you don't want to change, you don't have to."

The thing is, though, those of us who engage in Ultimates and other "hard" content might feel the need to if the Reborn mode – the original system – is capable of less damage… right?

Well, according to Fox, not exactly: "I don't think it's like, 'Okay, this Evolved mode is going to do 50% more damage.' I think it's going to be very negligible."
That's a relief – right? And, it all boils down to how different the Reborn and Evolved systems are.

"I think it's just because the modes are so different and some of the skill rotations are going to be so different that damage will be dealt in different ways," as Fox states. "That might end up affecting" damage throughout a fight, but it shouldn't matter in terms of ability to clear and all that.

"It's not going to be something that's going to be a deal breaker," as Square Enix wants "to keep it as small as possible." But it was "unavoidable" altogether, as the modes can't play the same way – unavoidable, but again, negligible.

I doubt that Fox's words are enough to satisfy most raiders, however, sadly, knowing how highly regarded parses are (and likely always will be). Should the Evolved version of one's abilities allow for even the slightest, ittiest-bittiest boost in damage, they'll probably opt to abandon the trusty ol' Reborn mode – ask me how I know.

I'm not sure what I'll choose myself just yet, as an Astrologian. I'll have to wait and see what the promised healer changes will look like before I do – keeping tanks alive, damage dealers buffed, and DOTs up is tricky enough as it is.

Final Fantasy 14 players get 1 free day of game time after Square Enix lifts the MMO's PHP lockdown

Weapon manuals in MW4 DMZ are some of the most important loot items you can find, as these are blueprints that effectively allow you to craft and buy new weapons from the gunsmith back in your base. Effectively, finding manuals for your guns means that you'll have an increasingly large pool of weapons to build and craft while at your base, but finding manuals isn't easy to do. If you want help, then here are the best Weapon Manual locations to farm.

Where to find Weapon Manuals in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ

While nowhere in MW4 DMZ is guaranteed to have a Weapon Manual (you're playing against the odds in a constant game of randomization) there are certain locations and containers that have a higher chance of dropping weapon manuals. For the best chance, you should examine the following when in DMZ:

• Military Containers. These include military style crates and lockers, basically anything associated with the army. As you might expect, you can find these more frequently in compound and military areas.
• Safes. These appear in all kinds of areas, though infrequently. Unlike other types of containers, they take longer to open, as your Operator has to hack them. Check the image above for an example of what safes in MW4 look like.
• Weapons lockers and armories. These rooms reliably require keys to open and are found all around the map. Keys are found randomly or as mission rewards. Read their description to find the locked room they open.
• Police Stations. Many have reported having good luck finding manuals in the MW4 DMZ Police Stations, of which there are 5 around the map. Check out our guide on where those are.
• Red and Yellow Zones. Though higher danger, these map areas also tend to have better loot as a result, especially if you can brave the nuclear reactor in the Northeast of the map.

Keep in mind that weapon manuals can be found anywhere, you just have a better chance of finding them in the locations marked above. I discovered one inside a discarded jacket on the train that circles the map!

Once you have a manual, you need to safely extract with it in your inventory. Once you're back in your base, it will automatically be converted to a weapon recipe (it only works for the player that's holding it, not everybody in your squad).

Once converted, you'll be able to buy that weapon from the Gunsmith permanently, though it will cost you money nonetheless, with that cost increasing depending on how many attachments and additional elements you choose to craft it with.

If you're on a crafting kick, make sure you know where to find the MW4 DMZ comms modules and MW4 DMZ power regulators!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Pearl Abyss PR and marketing director Will Powers has detailed some of the new features coming to Crimson Desert's Charting the Unknown DLC in more detail.

In an appearance on Dropped Frames, Powers confirms that to access the story content added in Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown, you'll need to have completed the main story of the base game too. Powers explains, "the story content specifically, it takes place after the main game."

However, he assures that you don't need to have done that to explore the new open-world areas throughout the DLC (although you will have to have established the Greymane camp in Chapter 3 to access that part).

Powers explains that the new DLC features storylines for Damiane, Oongka, and Kliff, and while "you didn't really get to explore a lot of their backstory [and] a lot of their motivations during the main game," Charting the Unknown is "effectively an epilogue for all three characters." He notes that the trio is not traveling together, with the DLC exploring what each of them is doing in the world following the story's conclusion.

Another major aspect of the DLC content is the new romance options, something which Powers says "we wanted to bring it in a meaningful way." He explains, "That was something that we were really thoughtful about how we wanted to implement it because there's been a pretty dramatic shift from how we portrayed the main characters – Damiane, Oongka, and Kliff – from launch until now. And how you could use them within side missions."

On top of that, Powers dropped a number of details, such as the Charting the Unknown DLC's storyline was written by the team behind the Crimson Desert: Enhanced Edition update, which overhauled the game's storyline, as well as teasing some of the things and areas you can come across through the underwater exploration. Basically, much like the original game, it sounds like Crimson Desert: Charting the Unknown is going to be huge.

Crimson Desert reviewed worse with critics than players because critics didn't have enough time to play the game, suggests CEO at the company that gave critics less time

The comms module in MW4 DMZ is a piece of epic loot that’s given players a headache, as it’s hard to find randomly during missions and is required to unlock the ‘Uncommon Ingredient Printing’ upgrade. The good news is that several locations can provide the epic drops that you’re looking for, and they’re not particularly well-guarded ones.

Best comms module location in DMZ

Comms modules are found inside computers (regular ones) typically located on the top floor of buildings occupied by NK forces, who have turned them into improvised bases of sorts.

Deadtown is your safest bet, as it’s a low-danger area that’s easy to navigate and clear even if you’re going solo. It must be noted you’re looking for the taller buildings closer to the river, and not the more “regular town” zone near them. I’ve marked the location in the screenshot above. But here’s the type of building that we need to get into:

Once inside these buildings – which are hard to miss due to the massive power cables on the outside and inside – make your way to the top floors and look for computers to loot. As you can see in the screenshot below, the epic-rarity comms module isn’t guaranteed, but there are more than enough PCs to loot in the area.

How to craft comms modules in DMZ

You can also craft comms modules in DMZ after unlocking the ‘Epic Ingredient Printing’ upgrade, which requires 100K in cash, 10 binding catalysts, 10 printed circuit boards, and 5 military composites. This isn’t easy early on, but it’s the best farming option when you level up and have bigger fish to fry.

After doing so, the comms module can be crafted repeatedly with the 3D printer for 100 electronics and 3 CPUs (also found in computers).

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

The latest issue of Edge magazine is out this week, and it isn't one to miss for GTA 6 fans.

As part of Edge 430, the team has paid Rockstar a visit at its Edinburgh HQ to talk all things GTA 6. The issue's huge 16-page cover story features exclusive interviews and imagery detailing the most ambitious project in Rockstar’s history, wrapped up with a special gatefold cover showcasing artwork of lead characters Jason and Lucia.

Check out the sneak peek below:

The new issue of Edge magazine will go on sale October 29, but the good news doesn't stop there. To coincide with the release, the full feature will be released for you to read online for free right here on GamesRadar+. Just follow the link provided on the day.

Those of you in the UK can get a collector's edition for free, plus 13 issues of Edge at 38% off the newsstand price, by subscribing at the link. You'll need to be quick, though, as that's while stocks last.

Outside the UK, new annual subs will be sent a free digital edition of the complete special GTA 6 issue. If you're interested, you can subscribe here.

The GTA 6-led version of Edge is the latest slice of new information we're getting in the build-up to the long-awaited launch next month. That all truly kicked off with GTA 6's extended look on Netflix at the end of August, though we've had plenty since to tease what's on the way.

GTA 6 is due to release November 19, 2026.

The Welcome to Paradise quest in Cyberpunk 2077 has players follow a guided tour around the city in order to track down a revolutionary called Haze, all at the request of her concerned sister Aera. This takes you through a variety of locations with a recording of Night City founder Richard Night explaining a skewed history of the metropolis, and Haze providing her own contrary take against him. If you want to find out how to start the quest and what rewards there might be, here's what you need to know.

Want some more help with the 2.5 update? Find out how to dual wield in Cyberpunk 2077, or all the best Cyberpunk 2077 mods you can now get on console!

How to start the Welcome to Paradise quest in Cyberpunk 2077

To get the Welcome to Paradise quest, all you need to do is complete the Heist mission and reach 15 Street Cred. On having done this, after some time you'll get a message from a new character called Aera who will ask you to find her sister Haze, who's stolen some sort of chip from somebody and hasn't been seen since. If you accept this minor job, you'll be able to play it through whenever you're ready.

Full walkthrough for Welcome to Paradise in Cyberpunk 2077

Much of the Welcome to Paradise quest is very straightforward - going to marked locations and interacting with terminals - but there's a few points where it can get tricky. We'll take you through the whole thing below and mark out the areas that involve more challenge, so you're ready for everything.

1. After getting the call, head to the marked location in Kabuki. Scan for the metal sheet to the East that covers the sewer pipe (shown above) and pull it away to reveal a Shard called "NC Revitalization Project - Identity Cache". Slot it to start the guided tour program.
2. Head to the Night Corporation Tower and listen to the first step of the guided tour, including the drone tour, then do the same thing at the Memorial Park, Arasaka Memorial, and City Hall.

3. The next tour step is the Biotechnica Flats, though some people will be obstructing the way to the terminal (you can move them non-violently with a 17 Body Dialogue Check).
4. Head to the NCART station for another tour. Afterwards, go into your inventory and decrypt the shard for new information (see below).

5. The next stop at the Dam is blocked off by 6th Street Enemies who you'll need to clear out (they're easy to ambush from above if you fast travel to the nearest location).
6. Head to the Medical Center back in the city. This time Haze will tell you that she's being trailed by a car. Open the Shard you decrypted in stage 4 again to find out more about the car and figure out who's following her.

7. Head to Kabuki for the final leg of the tour and the last of Richard Night. Haze will drop a clue that mentions a bridge nearby.
8. Head to the marked location, and look at the beach below you and to the right to see several Militech soldiers (see below).
9. Defeat the soldiers and you'll discover Haze's body, along with a Shard containing evidence of her killer. At this point you need to meet with Aera again to conclude the quest and tell her what you've discovered.

Should you give Aera the Shard?

There's no difference in reward depending on whether you give Aera the Shard or not, as you'll get 1,050 EDs, and the same XP and Street Cred bonuses either way. All it changes is your final interaction with her:

• If you give Aera the Shard: She's grateful for your help, but obviously angered at Haze's death and clearly plotting some sort of revenge, or at least to carry on her sister's crusade in some way.
• If you don't give Aera the Shard: She's angry at you for not giving her the ammunition she needs to hurt Haze's murderers, but the implication is that it keeps her safer not to have such explosive information on her.

There doesn't appear to be any follow-up to this quest later on, such as a moment where we discover that Aera successfully struck a blow against Night Corp or was killed in her quest for vengeance.

To unlock Witcher themed gear and even a fantasy sword, check out how to complete the Cyberpunk 2077 Ariadne side quest, or get loot linked to the Edgerunners show in the Cyberpunk 2077 Clampdown quest!

© GamesRadar+. not to be reproduced without permission.

The power regulator in DMZ is a tricky thing to find. As an epic ingredient, its rarity is relatively high, and you aren’t even guaranteed drops in the correct locations, but below I'll show you where I've had more luck finding it than anywhere else. And, if you want to make advanced gear and equipment like night vision googles and railgun sentries, you're going to need to find a few.

Best power regulator location in DMZ

Though it’s been reported power regulators can also spawn in other heavily guarded spots of the DMZ map, your best bet is to go into the Haneul Nuclear Reactor, as marked above.

This is a high-risk/level zone full of armoured NPC enemies on top of the expected high levels of radiation, so it’s highly encouraged that you gear up accordingly and bring hazmat suits, gas masks, and radiation blockers to make the incursion easier.

That said, you can also rush into the ruined buildings and reactors to look for red containers (though power regulators can also spawn in other ones) and get out before the radiation becomes too much to endure. Again, the power regulator is a randomised piece of epic loot, so there are no guaranteed drops or specific containers, but I can tell you this is the best power regulator farming location I’ve found so far.

How to craft power regulators in DMZ

Alternatively, there’s a way to make power regulators without leaving the safety of the base of operations. DMZ players “only” need to grind towards the ‘Epic Ingredient Printing’ upgrade, which requires 100K in cash, 10 binding catalysts, 10 printed circuit boards, and 5 military composites. This may take a good while, so it’s not a simple early-game objective, but we’d say it’s worth investing in to make late-game grinds a bit softer.

After doing so, the power regulator can be crafted repeatedly with the 3D printer for 100 electronics and 3 printed circuit boards.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Although World of Warcraft: Forever is still in Beta, racial abilities and traits have been a hot topic in the WoW community since, well, forever – and Blizzard's recent update to them is no different, adding fuel to the seemingly eternal fire.

Every race has its own unique abilities, known as "racials" for short. For instance, modifiers to damage and the like. Folks are never quite happy with how they play out, though, it seems, with players on both sides expressing discontent in some way or another – but Blizzard's well aware.

That's why, as per the developer's official forums, the studio is opting to shuffle them around a bit while prioritizing "racial identity."

"Some players have expressed that some of the new racial traits feel too generic, while others have raised concerns that some are objectively stronger than others," the devs write. "In taking a final pass on these, we've prioritized racial identity, which means that some races will naturally be slightly more effective than others at certain combat roles."

And, uh, it's safe to say that this "natural" effectiveness isn't going over well with fans.

The changes, as Blizzard lists them out, affect Humans, Dwarves, Tauren, Orcs, and the Skyborne. Some of them see buffs moving from one to the other, like the Tauren losing its 1% hit chance modifier but Humans gaining it – and that's where the drama starts. Players see this as a slight against the Horde faction.

Over on Reddit, you can find them saying as much, with one comment reading, "Why even play Horde at this point?"

Another fan adds, "LMAO the bias by these devs is unbelievable. They take 1% hit away from Tauren and give it to Dwarves. What a joke." Right underneath, somebody else says, "Blizzard has no idea what they are doing with these racials" – and I see a good few replies echoing this sentiment.

It's not just there, either. A different thread sums up the entire issue as a "favoritism" problem from the World of Warcraft studio. "Racials are NOT fine," it reads. "The favoritism towards alliance is getting ridiculous…"

It's important to note that not everyone agrees here, however. I see plenty of people arguing that this isn't a matter of "favoritism" but rather what Blizzard itself explains – that some races are more well-equipped for certain forms of combat and the like. As one player puts it, "Alliance has always been the better PvE side," while the Horde is superior in PvP.

Others simply state that they feel it's fair as this is "how Alliance felt for 20 years," clapping back that Blizzard previously favored the Horde.

Honestly, my head hurts just reading back and forth between the discussions, but I understand both sides. It's tough to strike a proper balance that'll please everyone, though. I'm happy with what Final Fantasy 14 did… you know, making the racial buffs and whatnot essentially obsolete.

I doubt that'll ever happen in World of Warcraft, of course, but it'll be interesting to see how this conversation develops as WoW: Forever releases into the wild early next month – and how Blizzard chooses to react in regards to updates, too.

Despite controversy, World of Warcraft: Forever's $30 Skyborne race is one of the Beta's most popular among both Horde and Alliance players

Radio towers in MW4 DMZ are found all over the map, and one of the earliest missions tasks you with placing transmitters on top of two different radio towers. This is part of the ‘Underground’ chapter, which eventually asks you to complete the ‘Triangulation’ order in Call of Duty. It’s an easy one, but here’s what you should look for.

Radio tower locations in DMZ

There are several radio towers in the MW4 DMZ map, and they’re typically unguarded (unless you run into random patrols), so it’s just a matter of spotting the nearest ones so you don’t have to trek across the map to complete the ‘Triangulation’ order.

The map above has three different ones marked in a part of the map that’s not, at least based on my experience, very dangerous. You’re free to look for other ones, but these three are close to each other and easy to reach regardless of your starting location. You can see them from afar, and they’re hard to miss.

How to place transmitters on radio towers in DMZ

The game doesn’t explain how to actually use the transmitters on the towers very well, but it’s a simple process. First, just approach a radio tower of your choice and climb up. Make sure to face the correct side of the ladder.

Keep climbing until you can’t go any higher. At this point, face one of the metal poles that define the structure of the tower at the top. A prompt will allow you to place a transmitter, and a “transmitter” item isn’t required. Repeat this on a different tower to place the second transmitter.

After placing two transmitters on two different towers, you’ll need to head over to the top of La Grand Vie in Songdo Wharf (use the map), a named location to the east of Hajin, and do this one more time.

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A new Nintendo Indie World showcase will air on Wednesday, October 28, the company announced today.

First revealed in the Nintendo Today app (and still unmentioned on Nintendo socials), the latest Indie World showcase is currently thin on details. The lineup for these indie events is always a mystery, but it's also set to be a fairly short show, running for around 15 minutes. We also know that the show will start at 10am ET / 2pm GMT (due to the current time change gap).

Compared to traditional Nintendo Direct shows, Indie World showcases are obviously light on Nintendo IP, though the likes of Cadence of Hyrule, a rare collaboration with indie hit Crypt of the NecroDancer, means we can never truly rule out some kind of crossover.

But, as ever, the focus is on third-party games from smaller developers. I suspect many people will also be focusing on the DLC for Hollow Knight: Silksong, Sea of Sorrow, as Silksong itself had a major Nintendo showcase presence in the past and, even post-release, Silksong fans can't resist a desperate theory.

Of course, it's not been that long since the last 'full' Nintendo Direct, either. Last month's showcase revealed Metroid Ravenous for the first time along with Kirby and the World Beyond, the former being set to arrive in January, and the latter (Kirby's first open world game) scheduled for Spring 2027. The day before it, we were also treated to a totally separate Zelda Direct, showcasing footage from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake which is set to arrive on Switch 2 next week.

Be sure to keep up with our roundup of new games coming this year and beyond to see what releases are on the horizon.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is once again taking aim at Steam on Twitter, this time talking about Steamworks.

In case you haven't noticed, Epic Games CEO doesn't particularly care for Valve, having supported a lawsuit against the company, complained about Steam AI disclosures, and taken shots at Gabe Newell following the Steam Deck price hike.

Just recently, Epic proudly claimed it had "vibe coded the Epic Games Launcher to be faster than the other guy," following its "huge pivot" into "maximum AI acceleration" (although Steam had already launched a faster update the day prior).

And now, the latest episode has been sparked by former principal animation programmer at Epic Games, Kiaran Ritchie, who laments Valve's 30% on Twitter, saying "It's really sad that the games industry is drained by a 30% tax on gross revenue." Following that, he adds, "you could vibe code a Steam alternative in a week," noting that "Steam's only remaining value is its network."

Enter Sweeney, who eventually adds, "Valve has held gaming back for years by locking developers’ PC games into Steamworks’ social walled garden," noting that "players can’t talk to other players on iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, or even other PC stores."

This, naturally, has a community note attached, with proof on the Steamworks website, showing that you can use Steam Datagram Relay (which Valve describes as its "virtual private gaming network") on other platforms if your game launches on Steam.

You can feel however you want about Valve's 30% cut on games or it pretty much owning the market as far as PC gaming platforms go. But to assert that it's "held gaming back" when the Steam Deck and Steam Machine have been spearheads of gaming on Linux over the years, thanks to Proton – not to mention being among the most significant players in the rise of digital games – is certainly a take.

"Little Tim is so obsessed with Gabe" – Ex-Valve dev not impressed by Epic's updated Steam rival or Tim Sweeney's latest dig at Gabe Newell