Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's PS4 and PS5 port just got some backend updates as Activision works to "improve match security" amid reports of a hacker on the loose altering players' accounts.

Over the last few days, multiple players reported running into a hacker in their multiplayer lobbies who maxed out their accounts, even setting them to Prestige levels that don't actually exist. Some also reported experiencing game crashes after this, preventing them from playing. Thankfully, it's not taken too long for the devs to get on the case.

"We've released backend updates to improve match security as we review accounts with incorrect Prestige levels," a tweet from the official Call of Duty Updates account today reads.

Players are warned that they might "briefly see an account ban notice when they're removed from a match or session so our systems can correctly apply updated account data," but it doesn't necessarily mean they've actually been banned – it's just a "byproduct of legacy systems used by older titles," it adds.

"If you're able to reconnect after receiving this notice, your account has been processed successfully and no further action is required," it continues. "If you're unable to reconnect, your account has been identified for enforcement based on evidence of intentionally obtaining unauthorized Prestige levels or other violations of our Terms of Service, including account manipulation."

In theory, then, anyone who was randomly targeted by the hacker won't see any negative consequences, but it might be a different story if the account manipulation was intentional.

Based on the responses to the tweet, this process seemingly hasn't been entirely successful – some folks are reporting that no changes have been made to their affected accounts at all. Others are also irritated that they already reset their stats themselves after getting hacked – they're apparently back to square one with no way to get themselves back to their progress before having their accounts manipulated.

Perhaps most concerning is that the post doesn't mention any action being taken against those responsible for the hacks in the first place, raising the question of whether Activision is actually dealing with the root issue, which isn't exactly inspiring confidence in players that the situation is resolved.

Activision seemingly didn't bother fixing a 15-year-old Call of Duty: Black Ops exploit for its new port, modder says, but it's now investigating the leftover PS3 issue.

A now infamous hacker is reportedly going around Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 lobbies and bricking players' accounts in the game's new PlayStation ports.

Activision recently ported the first two Call of Duty: Black Ops games to PS4 and PS5 consoles, but the original games' vulnerable infrastructure seems to have been unchanged, which already led to years-old exploits remaining intact.

Things have gotten slightly worse in Black Ops 2's multiplayer, as a hacker who goes by the name 'C Isn't Sharp?' has been showing up in lobbies and messing with other people's accounts in various ways. Streamer TimTheTatMan fell victim to the hacker, who pushed his account to Level 55 and Prestige 16 - a Prestige level that doesn't even exist in the game proper. (Good spot, IGN.)

Some players have reported that being hacked has also left them unable play online matches at all since the game apparently keeps crashing thereafter. Certain players also claim their progress in other areas of the game have been reset after a chance run in with the hacker.

Right now, the only apparent fix is to look out for C Isn't Sharp's bright green name in lobbies and immediately close the game to stop your account from being altered. Hopping out of the lobby seemingly doesn't stop your stats from messing up, no matter how quick you are.

15-year-old exploits and now a boogeyman hacker haven't done much to turn public opinion around on the new Black Ops port, which were already getting side-eyed thanks to their $40 price tags - no to mention the $30 extra that it'll cost you for the map packs.

Despite all the commotion, Call of Duty is doing what Call of Duty always does: sell. Last month, both Black Ops games landed within the best-selling PlayStation games chart in the US.

Activision admits Call of Duty matchmaking used to be better, updates Black Ops 7 with a new system inspired by "classic games" like Black Ops 1 and 2

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey player count soared for the first time in years since Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey adaptation released earlier this month, according to data gathered by Alinea Analytics.

Alinea head of market analysis Rhys Elliott explains in a new post on Substack that, once The Odyssey zapped onto IMAX screens on July 17, "the cultural spillover into games was immediate." 10 days later, Ubisoft's 2018 ancient Greek adventure Assassin's Creed: Odyssey had nearly doubled its active player count, swelling from an approximate total of 122,000 players to 233,000 across platforms.

"That's a 90% surge in engagement," says Elliott, "at 1.8x the game's pre-film July baseline." But unlike the Greeks as they piled into their Trojan horse, most recent Assassin's Creed: Odyssey players are unwilling to risk more than a boring afternoon. Only 26% of the action RPG's new recruits came from Steam, while PlayStation players went off like a car alarm up 94% to 114,000 daily active users, and Xbox boomed plus-134% from 36,000 to 84,000 active users.

Probably, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey's luck on console came from PS Plus and Game Pass subscribers – even with Game Pass currently limping toward death. Elliott says, "Lapsed fans jumped straight back in, while new players found a 60+ hour Greek epic waiting inside a subscription they already pay for."

Though, Nolan's The Odyssey also blessed Ubisoft's Odyssey with some fresh sales. "Software sales moved modestly at around 400K copies year-to-date," Elliott says, but the real news "is pure player engagement. The film didn't make millions buy an eight-year-old game, but it got a massive cohort playing it again. That data gives Ubisoft great ammunition for an eventual AC Odyssey Resynced."

The developer's recent Black Flag Resynced has been a gargantuan financial success for Ubisoft, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it capitalize further on Nolan fever – if it stops laying off devs long enough to do so.

Ubisoft had a very on-brand problem with Assassin's Creed Odyssey: there weren't many tall buildings in Ancient Greece even though it's a "climbing-frame game."

Final Fantasy 14 is no horror game, standing as the MMORPG gem of Square Enix's beloved JRPG series – but it sure does have its spooky moments.

If you know the lore behind the Palace of the Dead, you're probably familiar with how creepy Final Fantasy 14 can get – but its environments and atmosphere are arguably not very eerie, even in Deep Dungeons with heart-wrenching backstories like PotD… most of them, anyway.

One Warrior of Light has discovered an area that almost feels like it should be out-of-bounds in the North Horn of the Occult Crescent, and it's spine-chilling.

I think I found one of the creepiest place SE did in a while. [Spoiler:7.55] from r/ffxiv

"I think I found one of the creepiest places SE did in a while," they write, sharing screenshots of their discovery over on Reddit. The spot comes from the MMO's recent Patch 7.55, and appears after players go through a foggy Silent Hill-esque hole in the wall – yes, hole.

"Was wandering in Occult Crescent North Horn and found a hole in the wall and got a big chill in the spine seeing this," as the poster reports.

"Reminded me of some Creepypasta Backrooms shenanigans," they add – and, yeah, I can certainly see why.

Everything is paint-white, floating against a pitch-black background. There are crawling arms reaching for nothing, forming freaky arches. Enemies prowl the strange area in the Occult Crescent, too, which commenters note are formidable foes.

"I visited there today too, and let's just say it's really risky," as one reply reads. "All enemies are rank 40+," the person responding notes – but there are "four silver chests and a survey point inside" to make it worth it.

Amusingly, Square Enix has chimed in with its own amusing comment on the matter as well, writing in its own post, "If you're not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you'll end up in the…"

It's a silly little reference to the Backrooms, but I love it.

Will I explore the area for myself? Honestly, I'm not sure I can be bothered tackling the normal part of the Occult Crescent – but the new Phantom weapon does beckon…

Final Fantasy 14 is great and all, but Yoshi-P would "tackle completely new game designs and values" if he were to make another MMO.

My local game store is closing down. News of its closure was, ruefully, the thing that motivated me to pay one last overdue visit. I picked over its second-hand PS4 games like a vulture, while the last remaining, slightly-mishapen Bowser plushie stared at me with accusatory eyes that seemed to ask: why are you only visiting this place now that it is dying?

Despite growing up spending all my pocket money on second hand video game cartridges and discs, doing this now – after years spent buying digitally – feels forced, like a consolatory pat on physical media's coffin. A defeated admission that we had it better then.

There’s a desperation to it, isn’t there? Clinging onto hard copies as if they’re tiny mountain grips that will keep games tangible in an inevitable digital landslide. The pursuit of permanence now appears futile, like trying to fix a chain on a snowflake.

But it was us who moved toward digital gaming willingly. We chose to make full game sales "around 80%" digital on PlayStation and "over 90%" digital on Xbox according to games analyst Daniel Ahmad. We demonstrated that we no longer need game discs or the stores that sell them. And yet the impending loss of physical games and game stores feels like a step forward for tech that’s dragging us along with it in surrender.

The cost of convenience

When it comes to video games, I’d give anything to go back to the physical world. My shelves are bare. I buy my games from a machine. Two clicks of a button and voila, the game is downloading. It’s a transaction that bears no humanity or shared sense of occasion, especially when compared to buying a game in the 00’s.

Looking back on memories of visiting my local game store brings a sharp awareness of what we have sacrificed for convenience. The thrill of finding a game you wanted for ages on the shelf and soaking in every detail of the box art. The lively in-store conversations debating which game titles were superior that month. Discovering new games through staff recommendations, or making new friends with other customers when you both reach for the only second hand copy of PaRappa the Rapper in the bargain bin.

Back then, going to the video game store for a new game was a quest in itself. A journey that required enough initiative and determination to traipse into every second hand game store in town, in pursuit of the cheapest copy of Shadow of the Colossus. That effort meant something, as did holding the game in your hands for the first time. It felt like a reward that has been earned.

When I was a teen, the clerks working in video game stores were the first adults I met who took games seriously. They didn’t scoff at them or admonish them as a waste of time. They were like guiding figures, chatting to them in the store and hearing their recommendations for other games was validating. Maybe I wasn’t so weird for being way more interested in video games than TV or movies, like the other grown ups in my life at the time would have me believe.

I remember my first midnight in-store game release, queueing up in the brisk cold on 11/11/11 to get my hands on a copy of Skyrim. Talking excitedly with other gamers while we waited in line. It felt like a magical shared experience where the game store became a safe haven for an othered passion.

Downloading a game, on the other hand, offers no human interaction. No shared excitement. Just another numbingly convenient, instantly gratifying, solitary moment between me and my machine.

This is why Sony killing PlayStation discs is not just "the latest attack on our diminishing rights" – it’s an erosion of the choice to live in an offline world.

Choice paralysis

When discs die, so do the stores that sell them. As does the shared human interaction and sense of occasion of buying a physical game in real life. We’re going to miss these moments when the next game like Hollow Knight Silksong releases and immediately crashes the Steam and Nintendo eShop, or a PSN outage removes access to our libraries and all we can do is wait, helplessly dependent on digital.

I understand that technically, digital distribution of video games is an improvement in terms of accessibility, production costs, waste management, and availability. But emotionally, it feels like a downgrade.

It might seem silly to feel attached to old gaming discs and the stores that sell them, but these plastic cases are a physical representation of the digital worlds that moved me. Gazing at their box art is like staring at an old photo, it has the power to unlock a million memories. It makes an experience that has only ever existed on a screen feel a little more grounded in reality.

In the 00’s, a screen was once a source of escape from everything. But now that everything is confined to the screen, the escape route has become a claustrophobic tunnel with no end in sight. Collectively, we all chose the digital future. So why didn't it feel like a choice?

Perhaps because PlayStation removing the option to physically own a game is not something we would ever actually choose. Yes, it's the sensible course of business action when you look at the stats of digital vs. physical sales. But in a disc-less world we are unable to trade or resell, unable to borrow from a friend, unable to buy a game in a real life store and own it for life.

We have been railroaded on to the digital path, where all roads lead to reliance on publisher-owned storefronts.

I fear we are passing a point of no return in the games industry. I keep asking myself the same question, one which also rattled through my brain when I stared at the “closing down sale” poster in my local game store: What can I do?

Can the world where we walk into a game store, talk to staff and buy a new game on disc still be saved? Or is it time to let go of those we're still holding onto? Maybe we can't stop the industry from changing, but we can support real game discs and real game stores before the choice disappears entirely.

Escape to a simpler time with the best PS2 games ever

After Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it's hard to imagine the series' future – or a comeback of its past RPGs in the form of remakes. That doesn't mean a return of the original entries is entirely impossible, though. Trent Oster, BioWare co-founder and RPG veteran, believes as much, anyway.

In a new online post, the industry legend, who now serves as the CEO of Beamdog, writes, "I've seen a fair bit of chatter about the impossibility of remastering Dragon Age. I like to think of myself as someone who talks a bit, but more often lets my work speak for me. In my opinion, it is possible, but in no means a trivial exercise."

In other words, remasters or remakes could happen – but that doesn't mean that they will, or that they'd be a simple feat for developers. Oster's opinion has quite the foundation, too.

As he says, "Having led the development of both of the engines that were smashed together to make DA:O and DA:2, I have a unique perspective on the tech under the hood." So, if any dev out there knows how possible it is (and if it's possible at all), it's probably him.

Not everyone agrees with Oster about the possibility, though – or, at the least, they're not sure that remakes or remasters are in the cards right now.

Mark Darrah, who co-directed Dragon Age: Origins and directed its sequel, thinks we shouldn't expect a remaster of the original trilogy like Mass Effect's own even if one would sell "super well." According to him, "basically no one at BioWare" now knows how Dragon Age and its engine work anymore.

Darrah also isn't certain about a series comeback of any sort for Dragon Age, saying, "I suspect that it wouldn't happen" as publisher EA "owns a frightening number of IPs that are dormant" already.

I suppose that checks out, considering the likes of American McGee's Alice, Mirror's Edge, SimCity, Spore, Titanfall, and… I could go on. It's sad to think about, of course, but it definitely doesn't inspire any hope for BioWare's RPGs.

Although I would love to see Oster's thought that "it is possible" ring true and remasters or remakes come to light, I'm not sure I'll hold my breath.

Dragon Age and BioWare veteran says games could learn a thing or two from how the movie business makes money.

Deltarune just got its v0.0.253 patch, which is its final planned update before the release of Chapter 6. It includes a number of bug fixes, including softlocks, and the option to make one of Chapter 5's most challenging bosses easier or harder.

The latest patch focuses on a number of bug fixes, particularly those related to softlocks that occur when you disconnect your headphones in certain parts of the game. Bugs where consumed items are no longer replenished and crashes when specific actions are performed have also been fixed.

However, the change that players are most excited – and angered – by is the change to Chapter 5's Shadow Crystal Boss. This is a challenging optional boss hidden within the chapter that now has three difficulty options. If they defeat you, then a Pink Bomb will spawn outside the arena and you can activate it to make the fight "Nicer or Meaner."

Choosing to make the fight Nicer will show you where certain attacks are targeting, and they will take a little longer before they hit, giving you more time to react. If you choose Meaner, then the boss will deal 25% more damage, and some attacks will be slightly faster.

Minor spoilers for the Chapter 5 Shadow Crystal boss ahead.

The patch notes include a cheeky line teasing that "girls like it when you are better at dodging danmaku." This is actually a hint about the changes to the post-fight cutscene when you defeat Pink at the different difficulty settings. If you defeat her Meaner form, she will reward Kris with a flurry of kisses. However, if you choose the Nicer option, she'll taunt you by poking her tongue out.

These differing cutscenes won't meaningfully change your playthrough, so choose the difficulty you're most comfortable with. However, if winning kisses from your pixel pink waifu are important to you, there's a challenging road ahead.

Deltarune Chapter 5 update stops flirting from freezing the game and makes the final boss easier if you suck.

Sony's decision to end physical disc production for new games on PlayStation consoles in 2028 isn't exactly popular among consumers – but that doesn't mean the company thinks it's making the wrong choice.

The end of physical media as we know it is quite the hot topic, with game preservation experts predicting it'll all just lead to more piracy and folks within the industry speaking out against companies' move toward digital-only gaming. Lords of the Fallen 2 publisher Marek Tyminski, for example, stated that Sony's choice to axe discs and the fact that GTA 6 is going disc-free itself "feels unfair to studios still backing physical" – so, yeah.

However, Sony appears to be unwavering in its decision. Following its quarterly financial conference during an earnings call Q&A (as transcribed by Investing), Sony chief financial officer Lin Tao implies as much.

The "biggest" reason? "The digitalization of contents overall has been progressing. That's the big factor. It's not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of contents – digitalization is progressing." I immediately think of DVDs, personally.

According to Tao, Sony considered its decision for quite some time.

"When we think about the future – and we put in a lot of thought and time, we cautiously considered this – we came to this conclusion: we're going to cautiously move this forward. To this decision, we have received various opinions; people have strong views, and we understand that the community has put forth those views to us. Games are loved by many people."

That's perhaps an understatement – and, unsurprisingly, the nostalgia factor doesn't help. "It's a form of entertainment that's loved by people," as Tao says, "it's connected to people's fond memories in many cases."

And, although Sony isn't backing down on going disc-free, the executive explains that it's not a cut-and-dried process. "We understand those emotions. We want to consider that," she admits. "And in the future digital ecosystem, how do we engage the gamers is something that we would like to continue to explore."

I do wonder what that means – but, again, it's probably not what most gamers want to hear. It's not an admission of Sony taking its choice back and opting to support physical media… and "future digital ecosystem" is admittedly a tough quote to swallow as a longtime game collector myself.

Plus, Sony goes on to say it doesn't "see that there will be any negative impact on our business."

I'm choosing to remain hopeful that we'll still see discs and game cards in the future in some capacity – even if I'm holding on to a dying form of media here. A girl can dream, right?

Here's why we think PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not.

The Last of Us Part 2 modders are looking to do what Naughty Dog sadly couldn't and finally come out with a worthy successor to The Last of Us Factions, the first game's surprisingly thrilling multiplayer mode.

The Last of Us Factions launched in an era where single-player games regularly came out with supplementary online modes that mostly felt like afterthoughts, but Factions' tense scrambles and meta progression made it a fan-favorite regardless – so much so that Naughty Dog eventually started working on a standalone follow-up called The Last of Us Online, which fell victim to PlayStation's flailing live-service plans.

Modder Speclizer isn't letting the dream of The Last of Us Online die so easily, though. Work on a multiplayer mod for The Last of Us Part 2 began at the start of the year, and the team recently "hit quite a big milestone" to get competitive 4v4 matches working ahead of the project's planned launch in September (thanks, PC Gamer). The mod previously only supported 1v1 and then 2v2 games.

The modder has been pretty open about the mod's progress for months now. As recently as last week, they were "looking to implement Naughty Dog level animation sync" and were exploring how the studio pulled it off in Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us Factions.

There's no telling how feature-full or beefed up the mod will be come September, but it's shaping up to be a really ambitious fan-made outing based on the info that's already public. Leaderboards are in, there's a map based on the sequel's Seraphite Forest area, the mod's pause menu is a replica of the original Factions one, and there's even a matchmaking system.

Basically, the mod has a couple months to go and already looks like it's a full-fledged, competent online translation of a famously single-player series, using the basic bones and assets and animations from The Last of Us Part 2. We might never find out what Naughty Dog had in store with The Last of Us Online, but PC players can get finally get a taste of the series' multiplayer action, at least.

The Last of Us Online was "the best multiplayer game" many Naughty Dog devs had "ever played," ex game director says.

Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida has big plans for the MMO with its new expansion Evercold – but if he were to work on a separate online game, he might take a bit of a different path than he has with the Square Enix gem.

The beloved lead reveals as much in a new interview with GamesRadar+, first explaining how, for Evercold, he "chose to steer FF14 towards 'change' in pursuit of creating even more enjoyment and evolving further. I felt that, in terms of mindset and time, we were prepared to update the gaming experience to be more enjoyable and comfortable for our players and their lifestyles."

That aligns well with what's to come. After all, there are job changes and tweaks to years-old systems underway with the expansion – changes that I personally can't wait to give a go myself (begone, tomestone hell).

It's not easy to make said changes, though.

"Making sudden changes to try and keep up with that pace can be harmful to our operations, like how making sharp turns while driving fast tends to lead to accidents," as Yoshi-P puts it. "Making these judgment calls is a constant part of overseeing FF14."

That's not to say he'd be making the same calls if he started from the ground up on a brand-new MMO, however. "Incidentally," the Final Fantasy 14 head admits, "if I were to develop a new online live service title from scratch, I'd be challenging myself to tackle completely new game designs and values."

That's certainly got me interested, to say the least.

Now, this obviously isn't an admission of any huge new project or anything like that – but I do wonder what Yoshi-P means here. After all, we're talking about the man who managed to pick the original Final Fantasy 14's pieces out of the ashes and transform them into a rebirth for the MMO with A Realm Reborn.

It's not as though that's a small feat, and the game is still pressing on as one of the genre's greatest to date.

I suppose it'll all remain speculation… unless Yoshi-P ever does give something new a go – although judging by what he's said before regarding working on Final Fantasy for at least another decade, I doubt it's something we'd see anytime soon. But, hey, I'm not complaining.

Final Fantasy 14, Monster Hunter, and Animal Crossing top new survey of games Japanese players have spent the most time on and I can't say I'm surprised.

A nationwide survey asking Japanese players which games they've spent the most time in is both super surprising and exactly what you'd expect. Massive evergreen giants such as Final Fantasy 14 and Animal Crossing New Horizons topping the list was definitely predictable, but I'm also kind of stunned to see a rogue PSP Monster Hunter game come dangerously close to the top spot.

A new survey of 5,400 people published in Famitsu magazine (shared online by Genki) has now revealed a list of the 20 most time-consuming games people in Japan have lost hours, days, or even months to. Most of the list won't surprise you – heck, there's a good chance you've also enjoyed some of them for ages – but there's also a few strays that'll definitely make you blink too hard.

Here's the full list in order:

1. Final Fantasy 14
2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G
3. Final Fantasy 11
4. Animal Crossing New Horizons
5. Dragon Quest 10 Online
6. Minecraft
7. Apex Legends
8. Final Fantasy 7
9. Splatoon 2
10. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
11. Genshin Impact
12. Monster Hunter World
13. Fortnite
14. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
15. Splatoon 3
16. Ragnarok Online
17. Fate/ Grand Order
18. Granblue Fantasy
19. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
20. Dragon Quest 3

Three Final Fantasies, a bunch of gachas, a handful of open-world RPGs, and a couple live-service shooters? Yeah, that checks out pretty perfectly.

In particular, critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 coming out on top is perhaps the most predictable outcome of all. You could squash a couple already-mammoth single-player RPGs together, and they still wouldn't match up to the quality content on offer in Square Enix's seemingly immortal online world, which is only gearing up to get even bigger with next year's Evercold expansion.

What's more interesting are the few surprises here. Take Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, a PSP game that's far from the series' most popular entry but still managed to secure a second place finish. Curiously, there's no Pokemon representation here at all, and only four games on the list come from publishers based in the USA: Fortnite, Minecraft, Apex Legends, and good old Skyrim.

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold changes housing for the better, Yoshi-P says, and World of Warcraft's "amazing" take on the MMO staple has "been a good source of research."

Early this month, PlayStation briefly edged out Xbox in the race for most figurative rakes stepped on by announcing the end of physical game production in 2028, and a prominent industry analyst says there are more risks for Sony to worry about than its current PR crisis.

"PlayStation going digital in 2028 is more of a stopgap than a strategy, I reckon," says Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliott on Twitter. "This is short-term margin harvesting during a rough period. It's PlayStation buying time. The bet is that today's cost squeeze is a phase and not a permanent state.

"Hopefully, the component crisis eases once the AI-datacentre gold rush stops devouring the world's memory and storage supply, hardware gets cheaper to make again, and the macro picture (interest rates, cost-of-living pressure on discretionary spend) softens."

It's possible, argues Elliott, that Sony's decision to phase out game discs could help PlayStation offset elevated hardware costs in the short term and leave it with a record of healthier margins and growth if and when things go back to normal. The big guess is whether the ongoing memory shortage driving exorbitant hardware manufacturing costs is the new normal, and even if it isn't, whether it's worth potentially pricing out a reliable market segment for short-term stability.

In Elliott's words, PlayStation's strategy is "a bridge across the bad years," and there's always a risk "that the bridge doesn't reach anywhere better," implying the possibility that hardware prices will never go back down to where they were. But there's another risk to Sony's decision: "Budget-conscious and younger players enter the console ecosystem through cheap pre-owned discs, then get locked in by buying digital DLC, subscribing to PS Plus, and building a friend list they won't walk away from.

"Killing physical media boards up one of the cheapest doorways into PlayStation," Elliott says. "In a gen where consoles cost $700+ and games hit $80, kicking down the cheap ladder accelerates audience split. Outside of the sports games, casuals and youngsters will drift off to mobile, PC, and free-to-play even faster."

In Elliott's estimation, PlayStation is ditching discs under pressure by "component inflation, ballooning AAA budgets, flat install bases, and post-pandemic readjustment," but it could prove to be "short-sighted" if the price of making consoles comes back down and PlayStation is left with a fractured install base. And if prices don't come down, "it looks like managed decline," he says.

"Either way, it is a lever pulled under heavy pressure. And it's a new base line in a world where the number needs to keep going up."

Trying to find a good deal on Saros has made me angrier about PlayStation killing discs – it's anti-consumer and will price gamers out of our hobby

August 4, 2026: I checked in-game for new Be The Final Boss codes and added the latest promo to our list.

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

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

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

All Be the Final Boss codes

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

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

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

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

How to redeem Be the Final Boss codes

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

Expired Be the Final Boss codes

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

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

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

A new promotion from Sony spotlighting its LX3 vinyl record turntable sparked renewed backlash from PlayStation fans frustrated and disappointed with the company's move to end physical media on the games side.

In January 2028, Sony will end support and manufacturing for physical copies for all new PlayStation games. Yet the love of physical media is alive and well in a new post from the company, which, like everything else Sony posts right now, has become a lightning rod for criticism.

"Rediscover the warmth, detail, and ritual of vinyl with the LX3 Turntable," Sony implores. "Drop the needle, press play, and enjoy music the way it was meant to be heard."

The responses to the post are about what you'd expect. Game preservation group Does It Play? writes, "Apparently, physical media is worth supporting even if it is a small niche. PS games are much bigger than vinyl. Yet for some reason, they feel the need to kill gaming culture for profit. Shame!"

"If you can do physical for music, you can do it for games," replies another user.

"So physical media is cool again... as long as it isn't game discs?" says a third.

Noted PlayStation and FromSoftware sleuth Lance McDonald sums it up with his reply: "Ahahahahahhaahahhaahahahhaahhahahaahhahaha."

The irony is that the mounting support for vinyl records and waning support for physical games are largely driven by similar factors but to different ends, even though a non-trivial number of consumers in both spaces love physical media.

A larger and larger percentage of game sales are digital following overwhelming audience migration, and Sony stands to make a lot more money per sale off digital copies. Ending physical PlayStation games will also drive more users to its in-house store, furthering its control over the sales pipeline.

The market for vinyl records, meanwhile, has shown impressive recovery and growth in the past five years or so, and music companies and artists love to sell their stuff physically because a single record sale is worth about a zillion plays on digital services like Spotify.

The mediums are distinct and their markets are wrestling with different forces, but there's something to be said for just how music, so thoroughly digitally commodified, got into the position that actual record sales are now treated as an oasis.

Pertinently, vinyl records are still supported by a relatively small but enthusiastic market that's willing to pay for something refreshingly tangible – exactly the sort of audience that, many experts have argued, physical games could sustain if supported. As someone who owns a lot of video game vinyl, specifically, I'm comfortably in this camp.

But demonstrably, Sony doesn't see that audience as relevant enough to outweigh the potential gains of a digital-only future, which absolutely, positively will not lead to enormous knock-on effects or access issues.

Ubisoft CEO says ditching physical games "helped" PC gaming, and PlayStation ending discs won't "disturb" the industry much anyway.

These Anime Astral Simulator codes grant some essential rewards, including potions for boosting your power, luck, and more. With your stats buffed, you can then defeat bosses more quickly, thus earning more rewards, eventually leading you to new worlds, new pets, and new bosses.

What's more, Anime Astral Simulator is one of the rare Roblox experiences that's pretty much entirely free-to-play, allowing you to swap the in-game shop currency from Robux to F2P Tickets, a ton of which you can get by redeeming these rewards - so let's get to it.

Plus, there are even more rewards to be had with our list of Roblox promo codes, granting avatar items and more for use across experiences.

All Anime Astral Simulator codes

These are the Anime Astral Simulator codes you can redeem right now:

• UPDATE8 - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• COMMANDMENTS - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• LIONKINGDOM - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion
• FIXEDRANKS - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion
• UPDATE8FIXES - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• UPDATE7.5 - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• AUTOCOLLECTFINGER - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• GATESNOTCLOSINGANYMORE - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• !FIXEDABUG! - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• UPDATE7 - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• CURSEDRUSH - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• KINGOFCURSES - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• UPDATE7FIXES 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• FIXEDINDEX - 200 F2P Tickets, 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion new!
• YETANOTHERFIXSHUTDOWNOPTIMIZATIONS - 1x Damage II Potion, 1x Luck II Potion, 1x Power II Potion, 1x XP II Potion, 1x Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets new!
• PROMOTION - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• TOMBRAID - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• 10KLIKESALREADY - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• LIKES5K - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• 5MVISITSINGAME - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• VISITSASTRAL10M - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• 10KFAVORITESINTHEGAME - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• ASTRAL20KFAVORITES - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• UPD6.2FIXES - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE6.2 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• FIXEDWHITEBEARDQUEST - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE6.1 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• KIEVOLUTION - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE6EXTRAFIXES - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• 2MVISITSNEW - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• LIKES3KNEW - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• 30KACTIVE - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• 20KACTIVE - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• 7.5KFAVORITES - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• !ASTRAL40KCCU! - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 250x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE6RELEASE - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE6FIXES - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• FIXEDAVATAR - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• SKILLTREE - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE5.5 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE5 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• DUNGEONS - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• PETPASSIVES - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 100 Pet Passive Tokens, 150x F2P Tickets
• MINIUPDATE4.75 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• DIVINEPASSIVES - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE4.5 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• SUMMERMOUNT - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 250x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE4 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 250x F2P Tickets
• TRIALMEDIUM - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 250x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE3.5 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 250x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE2.5 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• MOUNTS - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• TRACKER - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• BATTLEPASS - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE2 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE1.5 - 1 Damage II Potion, 1 Luck II Potion, 1 Power II Potion, 1 XP II Potion, 1 Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• UPDATE1 - 1 Damage I Potion, 1 Luck I Potion, 1 Power I Potion, 1 XP I Potion, 1 Yen I Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• NPCNERF - 1x Damage II Potion, 1x Luck II Potion, 1x Power II Potion, 1x XP II Potion, 1x Yen II Potion, 200x F2P Tickets
• EXCHANGE - 1x Damage I Potion, 1x Luck I Potion, 1x Power I Potion, 1x XP I Potion, 1x Yen I Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• RELEASE - 1x Damage II Potion, 1x Luck II Potion, 1x Power II Potion, 1x XP II Potion, 1x Yen II Potion, 1x Damage I Potion, 1x Luck I Potion, 1x Power I Potion, 1x XP I Potion, 1x Yen I Potion, 250x F2P Tickets

As the list above shows, Anime Astral Simulator codes are incredibly generous - and they also last a long time, too. Each code grants not just one reward, but usually one of each potion at either level 1 or 2 and a stack of F2P Tickets, which can be exchanged for anything in the shop - simply toggle the currency type at the top of the shop window from Robux to Tickets. Occasionally, you'll also get some Pet Tickets to redeem for useful passive buddies.

How to redeem Anime Astral Simulator codes

To redeem Anime Astral Simulator codes, click on the Menu button in the top right-hand corner of the screen, then select Codes from the drop-down list. You can then pop your code into the box and hit Reedem [sic] to fill your inventory with loot.

Anime Astral Simulator codes aren't case-sensitive, so you only have to worry about getting the spelling right. That said, I'd still recommend just copying and pasting from our list above.

Expired Anime Astral Simulator codes

• 18MVISITS - 1x Damage II Potion, 1x Luck II Potion, 1x Power II Potion, 1x XP II Potion, 1x Yen II Potion, 250x F2P Tickets
• 35KLIKES - 1x Damage II Potion, 1x Luck II Potion, 1x Power II Potion, 1x XP II Potion, 1x Yen II Potion, 150x F2P Tickets
• BACKTOASTRAL - 1x Damage II Potion, 1x Luck II Potion, 1x Power II Potion, 1x XP II Potion, 1x Yen II Potion, 1 Drop II Potion, 5,000x F2P Tickets

Anime Astral Simulator codes do seem to last some time, with even some very old codes still available to redeem right now. However, as the list above shows, some have expired, so you should redeem valid codes as soon as possible just in case.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Careful what you wish for, Final Fantasy fans. Potential future remakes of other games in the series would probably require even more individual parts than the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy – at least, if they were remade in that same style – according to Final Fantasy 14's Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida.

The MMORPG's director said as much during a panel at Fan Fest Berlin – with Final Fantasy 7 Remake lead Naoki Hamaguchi also in attendance – warning folks that the wait for an entire remake of Final Fantasy 6, for example, would be even more painfully long than what we've become accustomed to.

"Of course I understand the feelings of the players, but you gotta think about it," Yoshi-P says, per a translator, of fan requests for future series remakes. "Look at Final Fantasy 6, it's such an incredibly huge game. The scale is just immense."

But the same argument is true for other games in the series, like Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 9, he adds: "So, of course, now because you are working on the Final Fantasy 7 series, I do get that people would be asking for remakes of other titles. But if we did remake those other titles, we'd probably end up having to release them in four or maybe even five installments."

Final Fantasy games used to be absolutely huge in their scope because the developers couldn't render everything in excruciating detail as they can now – nor did they need to. Final Fantasy 6 was able to fit 14 playable characters, a huge world map that dramatically changes throughout the adventure, and countless epic fights onto a humble SNES cartridge. You can imagine how doing all of that in a game with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's production value would be tricky.

Ahead of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Hamaguchi himself made clear that a hypothetical remake of Final Fantasy 6 would be in better hands with another developer anyway. He seems more keen on doing something new after Revelation ships.

At Fan Fest, Hamaguchi explained that he felt incredibly lucky that so many developers stayed together for all three games in the FF7 Remake trilogy, back to back. "That's why I can't just sit here and go, 'Yeah, yeah, I'll remake [FF6],' because it's not quite that easy."

Perhaps the way forward for Final Fantasy remakes is the upcoming Final Fantasy Resonance, a gorgeous pixel art game with turn-based combat, rather than the giant world of the FF7 Remake games.

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold changes housing for the better, Yoshi-P says, and World of Warcraft's "amazing" take on the MMO staple has "been a good source of research."

The Final Fantasy 14 fandom quickly became enamoured by a chunky new boss that came alongside a patch 7.5 dungeon: Chort, a big boy who loves to roll around and wear a permanently hungry grin on his face. The critically-acclaimed MMORPG's director, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, doesn't quite get the hype, though.

"Honestly speaking, I just don't know why this is such a thing," Yoshi-P quips during a Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest panel in Berlin, attended by GamesRadar+. He might not be a huge fan of the rotund icon, but he couldn't exactly ignore the topic in a room full of fans who were asking about Chort.

"I am really glad to hear that Chort is so well received," Yoshi-P adds, per a translator. "But honestly speaking, I just couldn't really understand what is the appeal [or] point of Chort. Of course, we do understand that he's very popular, and there have been many memes. But really, I just couldn't understand, like, just why?"

Yoshi-P's not totally against seeing the good in Chort - he is human, after all, and I'm sure his heart hasn't been totally frozen over. "I mean, this is some huge hunky guy, and then suddenly, well, he's standing there and then he rolls," he continues, inching closer to a eureka moment. "So from that perspective, I can kind of understand." Hook, line, sinker.

Whether he gets the online hype or not, Yoshi-P did tell fans to continue coming together online and talking about the things they enjoy about the game. If nothing else, the devs love to see it: "When these kinds of things happen and the player community picks up on it on social media, and they combine various things, they create their own memes... it's really great for us to see as well because we are involved in creating this entertainment.

"So, if people in the community also find some unexpected sets or point of appeal in any content that we produce moving forward, do make your voices heard because the development team is looking at all of the responses on social media, and we very much do enjoy looking at them, and we do have smirks on our faces when things like this happen."

Long live Chort, then, even if his chances of becoming a minion just became less likely. We'll never forget you, big man.

Elsewhere at Fan Fest, Square Enix revealed that the Bastion is Final Fantasy 14's first new job coming with the Evercold expansion. The game's also getting a very exciting crossover raid series with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.

Final Fantasy 14 reportedly tops 1 million active players for the first time in over a year as fans prepare for the Evercold expansion

As Sony inches ever closer to a future where it permanently halts the production of PlayStation discs and as GTA 6 prepares to ship without a true physical version at all, Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto co-founder, Dan Houser, has some thoughts about the physical versus digital games debate.

The former GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 lead developer - who also had a hand in several more Rockstar classics - was recently asked about the topic at San Diego Comic-Con 2026. His thoughts? Houser isn't personally enthusiastic about physical games shipping on discs, but he doesn't see why companies should stop making them altogether.

"I don't know that I care, but if people want that, I think companies should provide it," Houser tells IGN in an interview at SDCC. "But I don't know that I personally care."

He also acknowledges that people sure are critical of digital games, but from a developer's perspective, "the ability to update and fix problems in games has been really useful for the quality of games."

The future of physical games are on a lot of peoples' minds right now after PlayStation announced plans to axe PlayStation disc production starting in 2028. That means new games that come out past that point won't get true physical editions on PlayStation hardware - it also means your ability to lend, borrow, sell, and truly own the games you pay for is seriously constricted. An ironic demonstration of how our all-digital future could go very wrong happened this week, when The PlayStation Network almost went down and stopped waves of people from downloading or even playing their digital library.

Also speaking to IGN, former Rockstar veteran Lazlow Jones chimed in, too: "We all have that sort of feeling when you get that copy, and you put the disc in the console, but I also have to say I really like being at the airport and going, 'Oh, cool. I can download some quick games to my Steam Deck for this 12-hour flight.'"

Jones and Houser are now both working at Absurd Ventures, a company making multiple multimedia projects, including an upcoming AAA open-world game and a new comic book. Jones says that's "a different creative process but also just really fulfilling to have a physical thing you can say, 'Look. We made a thing.'"

"I love physical media," Houser adds.

PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not

Sony's Playstation Store and PlayStation Network are down for many users, making purchases and some games and features unavailable.

PlayStation status detector reports "all services are experiencing issues" for both the US and UK. The issues began around 10:19am EST, according to a footnote in the status detector. Ol' reliable, Downdetector, shows the same.

When Sony says all services, it means it. On every platform, from PS Vita to PS5, the ability to purchase, download, browse, search, or redeem games is looking wobbly. Sign in, account details, PlayStation video apps, gaming trophies and widgets, and, perhaps most obviously, streaming may also be affected.

GamesRadar+ UK staff have ran run issues of our own, though some US writers have lucked into functionality. I was somehow able to claim and start a download for Crosscode, one of this month's PS Plus freebies, and a game everyone should play.

"You might have difficulty getting products on the PlayStation Store," Sony's official disclaimer reads. "We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience."

This, of course, comes on the heels of the news that Sony will end support for physical PlayStation games in January 2028. Among the many, many concerns around the move, an especially relevant one is the fragile nature of all-digital platforms and how outages or connectivity issues can obstruct access to games.

Provided there's no login wall – another wonderful tripping hazard of modern gaming, most recently demonstrated by Halo: Campaign Evolved – the only way a server crash will break a physical game is if that server stack lands on the disc and shatters it. But digital games are beholden to their platform holders, and those platform holders are powerless before the ruler of ethereal spaghetti code, culprit of all technical issues.

All PS5 error codes explained, with fixes and solutions

Oblivion Remastered and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have been found dead in a puddle of T-virus – the Resident Evil 4 remake from 2023 has sold 16.8 million copies across all platforms, and games industry researcher Alinea Analytics infers that makes it the best-selling remake of this console generation.

"It’s also among the most successful single-player horror games in history," says market analysis lead Rhys Elliott in a Substack breakdown of the best-selling game remakes and remasters since 2020, "generating $560M in gross revenue for Capcom so far across the three platforms, split 53.1% PlayStation, 34.1% Steam, and 12.8% Xbox." Resident Evil 4 remake's competition comes nowhere close.

In terms of total copies sold, Resident Evil 4 is followed by 2023 remaster Ark: Survival Ascended, which moved a total of 7 million copies. The Last of Us Part 1 remake sits behind it with 6.3 million sold, while Oblivion Remastered, the Dead Space remake, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lag in the race with a total of 4.5, 4.3, and 4.2 million copies sold, respectively.

Bloober's Silent Hill 2 remake from 2024 is the worst best-seller according to Alinea, with a total of 3.2 million copies sold – though, as a huge fan, I'm at least placated by the suggestion that millions of people have now been exposed to buff Pyramid Head.

Elliot suggests, out of all these still very popular titles, Resident Evil 4 might have been especially suited to the new, industry-wide hobby of swanky remakes because "it's revered enough to guarantee demand and old enough that the remake feels new."

But the obvious flaw with this conclusion is that it applies to multiple titles in Alinea's collection of best-selling remakes. Silent Hill 2, for example, is even older than Resident Evil 4 and similarly revered, while Oblivion released around the same time as Resident Evil 4 and seemed to sell at a similar pace; contemporaneous reports estimate Resident Evil 4 sold 3 million copies within a year from launch, while Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said in 2025 that Oblivion Remastered outsold the original game's first 15 months on the market, which likely also existed in the realm of 3 million (2006 reports say Oblivion had already sold 1.7 copies by the end of its first week).

So what's really so special about the Resident Evil 4 remake? Well, Capcom's sales – you can currently purchase the game on Steam for $9.99 instead of $39.99, whereas Silent Hill 2 is currently $27.99 on sale, and Oblivion is an unrepentant $49.99. Elliott says, "Steam's share of total Resident Evil 4 revenue has grown from 28.0% in launch week to 34.1% today. There’s that Capcom catalogue flywheel again – a game earning a bigger slice of its lifetime revenue years after release, at the low end of the price curve (in markets consoles barely reach)."

Then, there's the irresistible charms of a formative game like Resident Evil 4. It has something for every player – revolutionary third-person shooting, a girl named Ashley, and parasites that look like someone sneezed on the floor. I, personally, couldn't imagine wanting anything more.

Only 7 PlayStation games have sold over 100,000 physical copies in the US this year, says analyst, as commenters demand discs without buying them.

Hideo Kojima still wants to go to space, but for now he's going to keep making games, and he says that's a good thing.

Metal Gear Solid creator Kojima really hasn't kept it quiet that one day he wants to go to space, so much so that Valve boss Gabe Newell tried to set Kojima up with a tour of SpaceX. Over on Twitter, Kojima recently posted a video of his comments during a panel at Il Cinema in Piazza – a film festival in Rome – where he explains (translated by Genki_JPN) his current thoughts about his space travel aspirations.

"I want to share this with all of you: We all want to make our dreams come true, right?" he begins. And obviously he isn't talking about his dreams with "voluptuous nude women," reanimated "decomposing bodies," and a very impolite coach, as he explains, "I want to go to space and I want to make a movie." However, he adds, "it wouldn't be good if those dreams just came true."

"That's because dreams are goals," Kojima explains, "The idea is to achieve the second, third, and fourth dreams along the way before reaching your ultimate dream." He adds that "for the time being, I think I'll keep on making games without going to space."

I would say perhaps he can go to space once he retires from creating games (although he said he has no plans to retire). However, at that same event, he also said he wants to die in a movie theater, preferably just after the trailers, so unless they build theaters in space, he's probably going to have to come back to Earth at some point.

The original Metal Gear Solid is free to play on Steam this weekend as Konami gears up for Master Collection Volume 2.

Former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, has no idea why PlayStation hasn't released a PS5 or PC version of Bloodborne, and as a mega fan, he personally hopes that a port, remaster, or even a special edition is on the horizon.

While speaking about Bloodborne during his keynote speech at the Computer Entertainment Developers Conference, that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Yoshida expresses his disbelief at Sony's decision to keep his favorite Soulslike as a PS4 exclusive.

"This game [Bloodborne] has a lot of fans all over the world, and it still doesn't have a PS5 version," Yoshida says. "PlayStation's first-party team is releasing a ton of remasters, so why don't they release this one? There's no PC release.

"I am often asked why these haven't been released, but it's a complete mystery. Maybe they'll come out in the future. Maybe they won't. Maybe they'll make a special edition. Maybe they won't. As a huge fan, I hope it will come out."

Yoshida also boasts about his Bloodborne platinum trophy, though he complained about some of its more challenging bosses. He also jokingly called the "highlight of his career" defeating hell beast Watchdog of the Old Lords live on stage.

During the speech, he talks about almost 30 games he helped shape during his time at PlayStation, starting with Crash Bandicoot all the way through to Ghost of Tsushima and his work promoting indie games.

"I should have listened properly to Miyazaki": Ex PlayStation boss admits giving FromSoftware "the lowest number possible" for physical copies of Demon's Souls after getting stuck in its "demanding" starting area.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All Shindo Life codes

The following Shindo Life codes can be redeemed for rewards:

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

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

How to redeem Shindo Life codes

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

Expired Shindo Life codes

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

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

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

They don't make 'em like they used to, but this week, Season 5 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will introduce an updated matchmaking system that's more in line with how they used to make 'em.

In a new tweet, the official Call of Duty Twitter account reflects, "Over the past year, we've continued to learn a lot about Multiplayer matchmaking through player data and community feedback."

This comes on the heels of the recent PS4 and PS5 release of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2, which has finally given the latest PlayStation consoles official versions of the first two games in this sub-series. Their release also stoked discussion of how Black Ops used to feel (spoilers: sometimes full of cheaters).

"We're also excited to see all the recent love for Black Ops and Black Ops II, which reinforced that there are many elements of those experiences that players appreciate," Activision agrees. "Starting this week with Season 05, we're updating Black Ops Classic, Quick Play, and Party Games in Black Ops 7 with a new matchmaking system inspired by those classic games."

With this change, the exact vibe of which will warrant some hands-on testing in the days ahead, Black Ops 7 will "continue to offer" modern Open playlists, and Activision says "we'll also include Open playlist options in the upcoming Modern Warfare 4 Beta." But if you're an older Call of Duty fan who maintains that the newer games have lost a little something, you may be in better company than you realized.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 expands Ricochet anti-cheat to combat exploits in Ranked after banning over 263,000 cheaters already this year.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anime Expedition codes will give you a significant head start in this tower defense experience, where you summon units from across the world of anime. Once you've assembled your team, you can process on your own or with friends to fight off enemies and continue your journey.

Initially the developers were particularly generous with Anime Expedition codes, with plenty of promos available to stock up on Equipment and Stat Locks and Rerolls to modify units, along with Trait Crystals and Gems to spend in this Roblox experience, though these have recently dried up. To prepare for your travels, these are the codes for Anime Expeditions and how to redeem them.

If you're looking for general promos that can be used in all of your experiences, then we've got the current Roblox promo codes covered.

All Anime Expeditions codes

The following Anime Expeditions codes can be claimed right now:

• No active codes

As you can see, there are currently no codes available for Anime Expeditions to be claimed, but these usually add up to a significant number of crystals, rerolls, locks, and gems. More should be added soon though, and if you stack all of these rewards up when available then you'll be in a solid position to make good progress.

How to redeem Anime Expeditions codes

To redeem Anime Expeditions codes, you just need to tap the (...) icon at the top of the screen, then choose Redeem Codes from the menu that pops up. This will then take you to the Codes screen, where you can use the Enter Code... text box to type in a promo before using the Redeem Code button to claim your reward. The good news is that codes for Anime Expeditions are not case-sensitive, so as long as you use the correct spelling it doesn't matter about capitalization.

Expired Anime Expeditions codes

• AnotherRestart – 50x Trait Crystals
• 400mvisits – 50x Trait Crystals, 30x Equipment Rerolls, 30x Stat Rerolls
• 200klikes – 50x Trait Crystals, 30x Equipment Rerolls, 30x Stat Rerolls
• 300mvisits – 50x Trait Crystals, 30x Equipment Rerolls, 30x Stat Rerolls
• 250kCCU – 100x Trait Crystals
• 300kCCU – 100x Trait Crystals, 1,500x Villain Coins
• 200mvisits – 50x Trait Crystals, 15x Stat Locks, 15x Stat Rerolls
• VillainInvasion – 50x Trait Crystals, 1,000x Villain Coins
• releasetournamentsorry – 50x Trait Crystals, 15x Stat Locks, 15x Stat Rerolls
• sorryforlongmaintenance – 50x Trait Crystals, 15x Stat Locks, 15x Stat Rerolls
• wfade – 50x Trait Crystals, 25x Equipment Rerolls, 25x Stat Rerolls, 2,500x Gems
• 1MGROUP! – 50x Trait Crystals, 25x Equipment Rerolls, 25x Stat Locks, 25x Stat Rerolls, 5,000x Gems
• WanderingFix – 10x Trait Crystals
• HAPPYBDAYCOOP – 10x Trait Crystals
• 100mvisits – 50x Trait Crystals, 25x Equipment Rerolls, 25x Stat Locks, 25x Stat Rerolls, 5,000x Gems
• AE#1 – 5x Equipment Locks, 5x Equipment Rerolls, 5x Stat Locks, 5x Stat Rerolls, 1,000x Gems
• RELEASE – 100x Trait Crystals, 2,500x Gems
• EXPEDITIONS – 30x Equipment Locks, 30x Equipment Rerolls
• 100K! – 50x Trait Crystals, 20x Stat Locks, 20x Stat Rerolls, 2,500x Gems
• 30KLIKES! – 2,500x Gems

There are already plenty of expired Anime Expeditions codes, highlighting that they don't seem to be sticking around for too long once they've been announced. As always, make sure you claim all of the active codes as soon as you can, so you don't miss out on any rewards.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Disgaea series creator and former president of Nippon Ichi Software, Sohei Niikawa, has spoken out against Sony's decision to kill discs for new PlayStation games from 2028, saying the company "may as well go all the way" and "eliminate the hardware too."

Sony's controversial announcement earlier this month has sparked outrage across the games industry, with everyone from players to devs raising concerns about the future of physical media, game preservation, ownership, and more. I'm honestly struggling to think of a single person I've seen in favor of the decision, and Niikawa certainly isn't one of them.

In an interview with Noisy Pixel at Anime Expo 2026, Niikawa explains that he thinks "physical editions of games are very important." For a start, he begins, there's the collectible aspect: "For fans, being able to keep a game they love as an object can have a great deal of value. It becomes a memory or a keepsake connected to something that matters to them," he says.

That point is clearly fresh on his mind given his attendance at Anime Expo. "They can also bring that physical game to an event like this and ask someone to sign it," he continues. "Afterward, they can take it home, display it, and decorate their room with it. Physical games are important because they can carry that kind of meaning."

Niikawa notes that he can understand Sony's decision "from a purely business perspective," but thinks that "the executives who decided it have probably never experienced" a fan approaching them to sign a physical game at an event. He adds: "I don't think they understand the feelings of those fans, and they may never have considered what physical editions mean to the people who value them."

As for the future of physical games, Niikawa sounds almost defeated as he suggests that, without physical games, there's little point in having consoles in the first place. "If they're going to go as far as eliminating physical packages, they may as well eliminate the hardware too," he says. "A television would be enough. Why would you need the console? If you're going to get rid of physical games, you may as well go all the way."

It's fair to say that with the likes of cloud gaming, there's a genuine possibility of that being the case going forward. Xbox may have shoved its odd "this is an Xbox" marketing under the rug, but Game Pass Ultimate's cloud functionality really can let a lot of devices function like a console, albeit with limitations like the constant internet connection requirement and smaller choice of games. Sony is delving more into cloud gaming now, too – following an update last year, you no longer need to own a PS5 in order to use the PlayStation Portal.

Is this a future people would actually want, though? I suspect not – the backlash over the disc situation has been bad enough. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima previously said that the concept of a digital-only future where media can suddenly become inaccessible is "frightening."

As PlayStation kills discs, Nier Automata creator Yoko Taro is "saddened by the loss of physical media" and despairs over "the future" of games: "That's just the way things are going."

DBD Chaos Shuffle, along with 2v8, is one of the most prominent limited-time modes added to the horror game. It only comes around occasionally, so I for one am always looking forward to the next iteration of the LTM.

By randomizing your perk loadout in every match, you never know what's going to happen - especially since the other four players also have random perks, too. Not only is this just a recipe for fun, but it's also a great way to learn some of the more obscure perks you might not use much or even own, so here's when DBD Chaos Shuffle returns next.

When is DBD Chaos Shuffle back?

DBD Chaos Shuffle returns from Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 8AM PDT / 11AM EDT / 4PM BST, and end at the same time on Tuesday, August 4, when it will be replaced by the Lights Out modifier.

This is just a short period of one week, so make sure you don't miss the return of Dead by Daylight Chaos Shuffle. The reason this event is so short is that it makes up just one third of the Summer of Screams, with Chaos Shuffle, Lights Out, and DBD's 2v8 mode each making a return for one week only.

As I've mentioned above, Chaos Shuffle randomly selects your four perks, but you can still choose your item, add-ons, and Offering. You won't know what your perks are until you load into the game, so I recommend using the first few seconds of the match, before play begins, to read your perk descriptions. You can do this by entering the menu and hovering your mouse or controller cursor over each perk. You can look at these at any time, but you will be out of commission while you do so.

This latest Chaos Shuffle event comes ahead of the next DBD update, which is coming soon, boasting heaps of thrilling new content, so redeem the latest DBD codes to ensure you're stocked up on Bloodpoints to spend on the next new character.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Konami has revealed the performance targets for Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 2, and 4K 60fps Metal Gear Solid 4 is finally within reach, even if Switch 1 users are getting shortchanged again.

Konami released details about both Metal Gear Solid 4 and Peace Walker's performance on its website. It's mostly as you would expect based on the previous game: Xbox Series X, PS5, and PC will be running at 4K 60fps; Switch 2 and Xbox Series S will be 1440/60 – with 1080/60fps in MGS4's handheld mode and for both on Peace Walker for Switch 2.

Once again, the original Nintendo Switch is stuck with 1080/30fps in docked and 720/30fps in handheld. That includes Peace Walker – a 2010 PSP game that ran at 60fps when its HD edition was released on 2005's Xbox 360.

Metal Gear Solid 4 at 60fps was already revealed a few months back with the first gameplay of the re-release. On Switch 2, the game has selectable image modes between "Adjusted and Original," with the handheld mode only getting Original. Presumably, one of these matches the other platforms, with a slightly more inconsistent framerate.

Funnily enough, Metal Gear Solid 4 was always capable of 60fps, but getting it to run as such on PS3 was only possible in really specific circumstances, and most of the time you'd be dealing with sub-30fps in action scenes. But having the game run at a stable 60fps will be a game-changer.

Peace Walker, on the other hand, has a number of different resolution and upscaling options. Konami also released a video showing off the "High Resolution" mode for the game's hand-drawn cutscenes, with the new version having a much clearer image compared to the somewhat blurry original.

While Metal Gear Solid 4's big return is the clear star of the show here, I'm hoping to see Peace Walker's stock rise with this re-release, so people can finally see it for being one of the best Metal Gear Solid games… perhaps even better than MGS4 some may say.

After almost 25 years, Metal Gear Solid 2 players are still finding secrets: "This is the kind of stuff somebody posts on an online forum in 2005 and no one believes it"

Cyberpunk 2077 is a six-year-old game at this point, but the open-world RPG probably still offers even its most committed players more tucked-away secrets to discover, according to CD Projekt Red associate game director Paweł Sasko.

Responding to a fan on Twitter who hadn't yet realized they could creep through Cyberpunk musician Kerry Eurodyne's laptop and read his aspirations about being painted nude, Sasko says, "Part of our design philosophy is to provide the player with optional ways to explore the depth of the design and narrative."

"In Cyberpunk those are emails, files, shards with additional articles and books," Sasko continues, "all telling the story of the place, characters and completing their arc."

Kerry's hilltop mansion Villa Eurodyne is particularly crammed with detail, as Sasko says, "This whole villa was designed and implemented by me, and I have hidden a lot in this space."

Some intriguing threads leave you with nothing once they're pulled – like the "random locked room" fans assumed Kerry had designated as a sex-murder dungeon, but noclip-ing into it revealed a much less fascinating, empty room. Other times, you might discover – as one fan on Reddit did – that there are two corpses facedown in the dirt outside of Kerry's villa, and this is what happens to you after you try to steal one of Kerry's guitars; a datashard near the thieving pair reveals their thwarted, deadly plan.

Cyberpunk 2077 fans are good about sharing their in-game finds as they stumble upon them, though Sasko does not not say that there are more Villa Eurodyne mysteries to unearth. So who knows – even after six years, Cyberpunk 2077 and its sleazy mansions might have more for you to learn, if you look hard enough.

Cyberpunk 2077 is a better role-playing game than The Witcher 3.

Despite being a bit of a terrible deal, the PS4 and PS5 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 both charted among the most played games on PlayStation in the US last week.

Earlier this month, Activision released the rumored Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 ports on PS4 and PS5. And despite being the highlight of the franchise for many people, these ports haven't exactly gone down well with fans.

First off, unless you have PlayStation Plus to take advantage of a limited-time discount, both games are $40 each, and $30 on top of that for the DLC map packs, which fragments the player base between those who do and don't have DLC… the already fragmented player base, as there's no crossplay between PS4 and PS5.

And on top of that, the game swiftly became rife with cheaters – presumably due to the fact that 15-year-old exploits haven't been fixed – making the online just a bit of a miserable experience.

Circana Player Engagement Tracker - US Top 10 Titles by Total Weekly Active Users (Not Concurrent) - W/E Jul 11, 2026- Call of Duty: Black Ops I & II debut in top 10 on PlayStation- Palworld jumps from 57th on Steam a week ago to 2nd with v1.0 official launch

— @matpiscatella.bsky.social (@matpiscatella.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-21T14:54:39.588Z

And yet, the nostalgia for these two games has proven potent, as thanks to Circana's Mat Piscatella, we know that both games debuted in the top 10 most played games on PlayStation in the US. Black Ops came in at ninth place, with only Madden NFL 26 behind it in the top 10, while Minecraft and Marvel Rivals came in eighth and seventh before Black Ops 2 appeared at number six. However, the regular old Call of Duty (the app that encompasses the likes of Warzone) came in fourth, giving Activision's shooter three spots in the top 10.

Predictably, the top 10 outside of these two games is filled with titles that were also in last week's ranking, with Fortnite, NBA 2K26, and Roblox holding the same top three spots. As for last week's big release, Assassin's Creed Black Flag: Resynced, the chart notes that it launched within the top 30 on PlayStation. So nostalgia is potent, but maybe for some things more than others.

Here are the 10 best Call of Duty games of all-time.

A game publisher has spoken out about Sony's plan to kill off physical games, saying it's still valuable to reach certain audiences.

You know the story by now: Rockstar Games opened the floodgates by announcing that GTA 6 will only release digitally – well, technically there will be a physical version, but it's a code in a box, so I'm not counting it – and then shortly after, Sony announced it will stop making disks in 2028. This caused massive outrage from players, with the latest Marvel's Wolverine trailer – and most trailers on the PlayStation YouTube channel – being bombarded with comments demanding Sony change course.

Speaking to Game File, founder and CEO of publisher Serenity Forge, Zhenghua Yang explains, "For us, physical publishing has actually never just been another sales channel" and that the disk releases are "actually an important part of our mission to bring meaningful games to as many people as possible globally."

Serenity Forge has published a number of iconic indie titles like Lisa, Doki Doki Literature Club, and Slay the Princess over the years. Yang adds, "Physical games help us reach audiences that digital often can’t," explaining, "They can be discovered in retail stores like Walmart/GameStop/etc, given as gifts, distributed to places with limited internet access, and preserved as lasting works of art."

However, Yang stresses the importance of digital games too, saying, "Digital distribution has made games more accessible, and it's been one of the biggest drivers of growth for our industry."

However, he doesn't see it as a 'one or the other' situation, adding, "We see physical and digital as complementary rather than competing" and that a combo of the two helps games reach the "widest possible audience."

Yang adds, "Every platform holder has to make long-term decisions based on manufacturing costs, logistics, consumer behavior" and says he has "no doubt Sony evaluated all of those factors carefully."

Industry analyst Mat Piscatella also revealed that in 2026, only seven games on PlayStation have sold more than 100,000 physical copies in the US this year, suggesting that, unfortunately – despite the massive online outrage – people aren't putting their money where their mouth is.

Despite Sony's decision likely having massive effects on the industry, Yang says the company's mission statement hasn't changed: "Our responsibility can really only be to adapt, continue serving our players, and keep finding new ways to make meaningful interactive art accessible to the widest possible audience."

PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not

PlayStation fans continue to demand physical game discs from the company after it announced it would stop making them in 2028, but actual sales numbers gathered by Circana industry analyst Mat Piscatella suggest that – as much as I hate saying this – Sony might be right.

People are not buying physical games, though the 12,000 wailing comments under the latest Marvel's Wolverine trailer might confuse you into thinking you fell asleep and woke up in a physical media Eden. But – I'm consoling my tired, creaking DVD shelf as I say this – we are not in Eden, as Piscatella reveals only seven PlayStation games have sold more than 100,000 physical copies in the US this year.

"2 PlayStation video games sold more than 10k physical units in the US during week ending July 11, 2026," the analyst shares on Bluesky, "7 have sold more than 100k physical units year-to-date." Global estimates from earlier this month by Alinea Analytics suggest EA Sports FC 26, Resident Evil Requiem, and 007 First Light might be among those seven games, as each saw at least 12% of their millions of international sales derive from physical games. In Requiem's case, a hefty 27.8% of its 3.5 million copies sold are estimated to have come from physical discs.

Those are not small numbers. But they're not big for PlayStation, either, especially when considering the fact that Piscatella's data comes from "all games, all pubs, all PS platforms," he explains.

Things used to look very different for all games, all pubs, all platforms. According to a wedge-shaped chart Piscatella posted on Bluesky in June, US consumer spending on physical games went on a sleigh ride downhill from $11.5 billion in 2009 to $1.6 billion in 2026. We're still nurturing a capital-B Billion, but that wad of cash is a much smaller prize for Sony than it's used to.

Piscatella predicted this summer, "More than half of all Xbox Series consoles in the US don't have a physical drive, while over a quarter of PS5's are the same. We likely have less than a decade left of physical software."

Now, PlayStation is fulfilling the prophecy. Piscatella says about players' recent outrage, "Commenting is cool, use your voice and all that. But commenting is cheap." So, remember, if you really do care about physical discs, buy them.

Sony's attack on physical goods spreads to Crunchyroll as it adds a $14 subscription requirement just to access new store "experience."

Nier series director Yoko Taro has expressed his concerns over the decline of physical video games, after Nintendo started to replace some Switch 2 cartridges with Game-Key Cards, and PlayStation announced plans to end physical disc production for new games in 2028.

Following up from a tweet in which he showcases his physical copy of Hi-Fi Rush, the legendary game designer writes about how he is "saddened" by the loss of physical games. Yoko thought that publishers would continue to distribute games physically in some form, but now believes the industry is going in a different direction.

As translated by GamesRadar+, Yoko says: "Personally, I'm saddened by the loss of physical media, but that's just the way things are going." He goes on to explain that he never thought physical media would be phased out completely.

"As keeping control of physical distribution has its advantages compared to just releasing games on Steam etc, I thought that in the future, even if digital game downloads were pushed, there would still be expensive limited editions (like what we see with CDs). Seems I was wrong," he writes.

He continues by talking about Nintendo's controversial Game-Key Cards, which the company has been offering as a replacement for some physical releases. Rather than having the data for the purchased game on the cartridge, Game-Key Cards allow players to download the digital game once they are inserted into the Switch 2.

"Switch 2 keycards are more confusing than normal ROMs," Yoko says. "And they're specified with a huge label on the cover of the box like 'THIS IS A KEY CARD.' I guess that's just the future…"

It seems as though like many players, Yoko has resigned himself to a future without physical games despite how unpopular Sony's announcement has been.

As PlayStation declares nobody wants physical discs anymore, Gen Z is helping fuel a 16% surge in US music CD sales.

Final Fantasy 10's developers chose to move away from sci-fi after finding out that The Lord of the Rings was being adapted into a big-screen trilogy, and hoping they could be a part of the "next big global trend."

Square Enix is now celebrating 25 years since the original Final Fantasy 10 first launched, and in an effort to stop fans crumbling into dust, the company released an interview between Takashi Tokita (of Chrono Trigger and Parasite Eve fame) and series producer Yoshinori Kitase about the iconic game's production.

While Final Fantasy frequently flips between the sci-fi and fantasy genres, Final Fantasy 10 was originally supposed to follow on from Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 8's more tech-forward approach. According to Kitase, that quickly changed.

"During development, we initially took a more sci-fi approach at first, but when we thought about what would be trending in Hollywood around the time of FF10's release, we learned that The Lord of the Rings was in production," Kitase explains. "So we thought fantasy was going to be the next big global trend, and that was one of the reasons we decided to go with fantasy rather than sci-fi."

The timing worked out perfectly, too. Final Fantasy 10 began development in 1999 and came out in 2001, just a few short months before The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone made waves in theatres.

Yuna's pilgrimage and Frodo's trek aren't too dissimilar when you take a step back, either. Both are tragic characters carrying a literal burden too heavy for anyone else, tasked with saving the world from a calamity that'll likely kill them in the process. But Final Fantasy 10's sci-fi routes still show up here and there in the final game, as well.

"It began with Mr. [Kazushige] Nojima wanting to explore a fantasy atmosphere that wasn't rooted in medieval Europe, but instead drew from more Eastern influences, since both FF7 and FF8 had maintained a sci-fi tone," Kitase adds.

Japanese gamers vote Final Fantasy 10 the most tear jerking JRPG of all time, but it seems the emotional appeal of Western indies like Undertale and Omori is universal

Final Fantasy 14's planned mobile port – a release that Square Enix hoped for the world to see after its launch in China – is now off the table entirely, apparently.

In case you're out of the loop on Final Fantasy 14 Mobile, it first kicked off years ago when "a small team of die-hard" fans proposed the idea to MMO director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida, "armed with a 100-page proposal" – a proposal that interested the lead, to say the least.

It's largely been off the radar since its announcement and development at Tencent, however, with little news popping up about it aside from its release last summer in China. Now, sadly, it seems it won't be coming out anywhere else – even though the rest of the world was set to see Final Fantasy 14 Mobile sometime after that initial region-exclusive release. And, to top the disappointing news off, the Chinese edition is going offline as well.

Square Enix confirms as much in a new announcement on the canceled project's official website, first looking back at the mobile port's June 2025 launch in China.

"On the launch day of Final Fantasy 14 Mobile (Chinese Edition) in the Chinese mainland, we said, 'Resonate with the Light, and blaze as one,' and promised that the adventure had just begun. Over this time, it is you who have truly brought 'Mobile Eorzea' to life. Every suggestion you shared on gameplay, experiences, and features guided us to build the game world."

It's heartwarming to hear, but it wasn't enough to save the port, it seems.

"Today, however, we must regretfully share an important announcement. Due to adjustments in business operations and changes in the market environment, Tencent and Square Enix have, through amicable negotiation, decided to terminate the licensing agreement for Final Fantasy 14 Mobile (Chinese Edition)."

The game will go offline in China on September 30 this year – and, once again, will not be coming overseas.

As Square Enix states, "To everyone who has been looking forward to the global version, we also offer our sincere apologies for being unable to meet your expectations" – which, you know, makes it pretty clear this is indeed the end end of Final Fantasy 14 Mobile.

Unfortunately, it's not the first Square Enix or Final Fantasy title on mobile devices to bite the dust. The Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles remaster went down last year.

Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis is also shutting down after three years, much to fans' dismay. At least we've got Evercold to look forward to, I suppose – and, you know, the Nintendo Switch 2 port, which arrives next month with a free trial.

It's disappointing to learn that the MMO seemingly won't ever be available to play via our mobile phones, but perhaps it's for the best. I'm not sure I can imagine tackling a Savage on my Samsung Galaxy, honestly.

Final Fantasy 14 hit with yet another stalking mod, not even 2 weeks after the MMO's last one shut down.

After almost three weeks of community outcry, Blizzard is modifying the drop rates for Mythics in Diablo 4 Season 14. Players had been finding it tough to get Unique Mythics, to the point where many couldn't find any despite farming specifically for them, and now hotfixes are being rolled out to take the edge off.

"We've heard your feedback on Season of Death Awakening, including Mythic unique drop rates, equip limits, and more," Dan Tanguay, the design director of live service for Diablo 4, says on the official Blizzard forums, as relayed by Marcus 'Marcoose' Kretz, senior community manager for the Diablo series.

"In a patch releasing today, we're increasing the drop rate for Mythics from the Corrupted Reaper boss fight and removing equip limits for Mythic Uniques," he writes. "Additionally, in a patch coming next week, we're adding Superior Lair Keys to the Glints of Hope repeatable cache and increasing the Mythic Tribute drop rates in the Undercity."

How much the drop rate for the Corrupted Reaper battle increases will need to be tested, but seeing as numerous players have gotten exactly zero uniques from that encounter, things can really only go up. Letting people equip more than one is helpful as well – you can only have one crafted Mythic at a time currently, significantly reducing the options for any given build.

His post was made on July 16, yesterday at time of writing, meaning it should be live and available to you whenever you boot up Diablo 4 next. A fan on Reddit amusingly told others they can now "re-install Diablo 4," since a few had commented they were ostensibly avoiding this season due to what was happening with Mythics.

The second patch Tanguay mentioned should massage out further problems, too. "Seasons are where we experiment with new ideas and push Diablo 4 in new directions," he finishes. "Not every idea lands exactly as intended, but we’ll continue listening to your feedback, addressing what’s not working, and applying those lessons to future seasonal updates."

Diablo 4's Overwatch crossover skins have been revealed and they are completely cursed: "Mercy looks like a 90-year-old grandma."

Rockstar Games' open worlds are humungous affairs full of things to buy, shoot, collect, rob, and do. Although with games as lush and extravagant as Red Dead Redemption and GTA 5, it might surprise you to learn that Rockstar Games is actually quite restrained, and the developer cuts a lot of content before passing the finish line.

That's according to former GTA 5 producer John Ricchio, who recently told Kiwi Talkz about how the Grand Theft Auto developer trims the fat on its mammoth games. "There was so much stuff in GTA, particularly GTA 5 – oh my god, there was so much stuff that was like done," he says in the interview. "Like, minigames that were completely done and ready to go, except for like animation, right?"

Minigames were allegedly binned because "the animation team were getting destroyed," and there was "so much animation work to do to bring everything to the same level" in a game as large as GTA 5 "that we had to cut stuff that was otherwise completely done." There simply wasn't enough time on the calendar to have everything meet the same level of quality.

Ricchio was often told by fellow developers that sweeping cuts are just "'a thing that happens, you know, because the game is so big – GTAs are always gigantic.'" Rockstar leaders wouldn't hesitate to bin larger parts of the game, either: "They'll throw out entire levels and they'll throw out entire things because they don't have enough resources to get everything to the same level."

Major cuts were sometimes "hard to deal with" for the dedicated developers who had been working on features or levels or minigames for a "really long time," especially when everyone on the team was happy with the cut work. "It wasn't like they went into DLC or anything… They just disappeared," Ricchio adds.

But he also acknowledges that such cuts are part of working under a "large production" like Rockstar Games, and it's sometimes for the best. "Every decision can't be made by everyone," he says, and when a developer's headcount stretches as wide as Rockstar's, there'll inevitably be decisions that not everyone will agree on.

According to another ex-developer, an entire single-player Agent Trevor DLC was abruptly scrapped after the dizzying success of GTA Online. Rockstar Universe also lists all of the games' supposed cut content, mostly based on glimpses of features from old trailers that never made it into the finished product.

GTA 5 is still selling millions a year, letting Rockstar do whatever it wants with GTA 6: analyst estimates 1.8 million just on PS5 in 2026.

The Iconic Mythics saga in Diablo 4 just won't end, and as Blizzard continues to step on rakes to the wide ridicule of the game's most hardcore fans, the devs have announced that they're looking into how to escape the rake field they now seem to permanently reside in. In less hyperbolic terms – yes, they know Iconic Mythics aren't dropping, and yes, they're trying to figure out a solution.

A recent update was meant to actually get Iconic Mythics dropping again, as the patch notes promised that Blizzard had "increased the chance of naturally dropped Mythics being an Iconic Mythic." By all accounts, however, they're still effectively impossible to farm.

"Clearly the patch failed," as one irate post on the official message board put it. "Iconic mythics were supposed to start dropping. Now the community has collectively wasted millions of lair keys for no chance at iconic mythics still. Remove the crafted tag from AT LEAST the iconic mythics at blacksmith. They got nerfed with patch anyway. I just wasted 70 Lair keys on Grigoire for ZERO mythics of ANY kind."

In response to that message, a Blizzard community manager promises that "this is being looked into, as well as other issues surrounding mythics." The CM has, in fact, repeated that sentiment several times in response to other, similar messages over the past few days. But if you're looking for concrete details about what's changing and when, the devs have not provided them just yet.

Outrage over the state of mythic items across the game has been ongoing since before Season 14 hit the PTR at the start of June, and while Blizzard has offered various olive branches to the community and implemented changes to the system, it seems that there's still work to be done.

Diablo 4 streamer spends "20 hours non-stop" farming bosses for the ARPG's rarest items, doesn't get a single one: "Don't try this at home."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stop us if you've heard this before, folks, but the Final Fantasy 14 community is grappling with yet another stalking mod… you know, not even two whole weeks after the last one was on the chopping block.

In case you missed it, Memoria – a plug-in that, put simply, allowed for in-game tracking of players' entire history – went down earlier this month following a plethora of complaints from concerned Final Fantasy 14 fans. Its creator assured "the service is now closed, and all collected player data has been permanently deleted," but people were understandably still upset… both by its existence and the lack of action Square Enix took about it.

Now, some 13 or so days later, a new plug-in fans fear can enable stalking and harrassment has entered the limelight – and it's safe to say that it, coupled with the timing of its arrival, is not going over well with fans.

A worried player first pointed EchoVault, the add-on in question, out on Reddit a few days ago, explaining that, much like Memoria and Playerscope (another controversial mod), it can track player data… but that's not all.

Playerscope is back, and Alt Tracking is still very much possible from r/ffxiv

Allegedly, the creator behind EchoVault is the same creator who made Memoria. As the fan who notes the new plug-in claims, "The domain for both websites is the same, and on his 'shutdown message' for Memoria, he felt the need to put this line here."

The alleged line? "Every echo finds its vault, in time." Oof. The evidence is quite damning, if true – although it's worth noting that this line is missing from a different screenshot of the statement that was circulating earlier in the month. Either way, it doesn't seem like Square Enix is catching onto it.

Players have likely filed various reports since the callout post, seeing as the fan who made it provided feedback links for the MMO's developers, and hundreds of people interacted with it – but we've seen no word from Square Enix since, and the plug-in is still up as per its website (and boy, is it something).

On top of this, the person behind the Reddit thread has returned today with a new update on how the mod "just got worse."

EchoVault (Playerscope clone) just got worse, now tracks you automatically through Player Search from r/ffxiv

As per their findings, EchoVault "just pushed an update that further automates the process by using Player Search." In short, the plug-in can run player searches for users while they idle, "cycling jobs to discover more characters across your world." I… yeah.

And, "once again," the fan bringing all of this to light begs fellow Warriors of Light to report the add-on to Square Enix. Not everyone is convinced it'll help, though.

One commenter writes, "Unfortunately, from all appearances, Square just doesn't seem to care." Another adds, "Mods are cooked."

From issues with the built-in blacklist system and complaints about it not being protective enough of users, to contention stemming from such questionable plug-ins that enable harassment, this isn't the first (or last, let's be real) time that the topic of stalking will come up in the Final Fantasy 14 community.

As a longtime fan of the MMO myself, it feels like a broken record – and while Square Enix does step in sometimes, it's evident that it's not enough. Here's hoping things change for the better… and that every third-party tool that can't be used for nefarious purposes doesn't suffer for it.

World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 fans can now earn up to $15,000 in scholarship money by tackling achievements with a less than "1% global completion rate."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The day I never thought I'd witness is near – EA is finally introducing an autosave feature to The Sims 4… you know, a good 12 years after its 2014 launch.

How many Sims have I lost to random crashes? How many houses have perished before my eyes due to buggy shutdowns? Too many to count, I'd say – and sure, I could've been more vigilant about saving, but The Sims 4 has needed an autosave feature for well over a decade now.

Some of the best Sims 4 mods (I'm looking at you, MC Command Center) have tried to rectify the issue, but EA hadn't officially addressed it… until now. On July 21, the studio is finally adding an autosave ("AutoSave," as EA calls it) option to the life sim – but that's not all.

As outlined in its latest Laundry List of upcoming fixes, EA says, "This month we're introducing a new AutoSave to The Sims 4, and rolling out Memory Boost to Mac and console players to improve overall performance for more Simmers."

The team is also looking to target "the top-reported issues from players via EA Forums."

The autosave feature is undeniably the most eye-catching tidbit here, though. So… how will it work, exactly? "Quietly in the background, automatically creating save points at key moments while you play," apparently.

"You can customize when AutoSave happens in Game Save Settings, with options like saving after traveling between lots, after a period of playtime, or at important gameplay milestones."

There's another option for Simmers who hate themselves (I kid, I kid). "If you'd rather stay in control, Save Reminders like the friendly (or slightly grumpy) gnome notification… can prompt you to create a manual save at the frequency you choose. Together, these features help reduce the risk of lost progress while giving you the flexibility to save the way you want."

Not bad, EA. Not bad at all. It just took, erm, 12 years.

EA goes into some of its other big tweaks, too, like the Memory Boost system that "improves how The Sims 4 manages memory while you play, helping deliver a smoother experience with reduced lag, improved frame rates and responsiveness, shorter loading times, and a lower risk of memory-related crashes."

It sounds like, all in all, The Sims 4 will crash less – and when it does crash, it'll be far less painful thanks to autosaving.

I don't know about you all, but I think this is a step in the right direction – even if it's coming a bit late to The Sims 4. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some mods to delete…

The Sims 4's microtransaction Marketplace has officially shown me the door after 24 years of Simming.

The past couple of weeks have been undeniably difficult for the video game industry, with Microsoft's plan to cut 3,200 employees at Xbox affecting various in-progress titles and studios – one of which is id Software, the team behind Doom.

In fact, id Software producer Andrew Willis has spoken at length about the layoffs and their impact across the board. A few days ago, he called them "incomprehensible," saying that small worker-owned studios are "the only path forward" from here.

Since then, he's continued to share his thoughts over on LinkedIn, writing, "The games industry must change if it is going to create art and franchises that have long-term sustainable value."

As the producer states, "Right now, it feels like the monopolies that control it are simply trying to extract as much goodwill and value (that took decades to build) as they can with little concern for the diminishing returns it's leading to. This is what happens when the people who control it (most Ivy League MBAs) do not play games, have never shipped a game, and fundamentally do not understand the industry they manage."

Willis then says, "You'll never get another WoW or Morrowind in the current climate" – a statement I can't help but feel rings especially true right now.

It's difficult to imagine such impactful games releasing when so many developers are struggling to mitigate the blow that widespread layoffs are leaving in their wake… and according to the producer, a lot of the issues stem from improper management.

"One thing that drives me nuts while watching the games industry be mismanaged is how everyone is looking for these massive 10x returns but is so focused on short-term growth that they essentially kill the goose before it can start laying eggs," as he explains.

"Disbanding and destroying a team after just one commercial letdown… makes it so you won't ever have a group that learns from their mistakes and perfects their next attempt (see Helldivers 2)."

With such quick trigger-pulling, Willis says studios will "never get that breakout success" they're after.

"These people would've turned down funding for George Lucas, Walt Disney, etc., and they wonder why they can't establish another colossal IP that pays dividends for decades. It's mind-boggling. There is lots wrong with the game industry, but I believe that one of the main things is that the people who manage it today have no idea how it actually works and refuse to learn or listen to the people that do."

The producer cites how wild it is to see spending on hardware and software go up, but layoffs never settling.

"It's really amazing how demand and consumer spending on video games continues to increase year over year, and yet the supply side continues to be extremely volatile for employees," he describes. "The failure to connect these two sides in a way that creates sustainable growth points to a direct failure of executive leadership – the consequences of which are only suffered by workers."

Willis signs off with one final thought: "The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that the executive management class that controls the video game industry is so severely inept that they have somehow failed everyone all at once in every aspect – the shareholders, the consumers, the employees, and anyone who cares about games. They tried to sacrifice quality for profit, and they didn't even manage to generate the latter. Abysmal choices."

I'm inclined to agree with Willis on his point about a "breakout success" in this climate – it feels near impossible. Here's hoping the industry is able to heal a bit over time, and that we see less news regarding mass layoffs, too.

Layoffs might offer "better short-term financial results," late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted in 2013, but "employees who fear that they may be laid off" will never produce the same results

Tales of series lead Yusuke Tomizawa has apologized for the long wait for a new mainline entry in the series.

Bandai Namco's Tales of series has been one of the most consistent RPG series of all time since it kicked off with 1995's Tales of Phantasia. Since then, the series has been an annual release, with occasional one- or two-year gaps. The wait between 2016's Tales of Berseria and 2021's Tales of Arise was the longest in the series history; however, Arise was at least announced in 2019. Come September, it'll have been five years since Arise was released, without any word of what the next game in the series will be.

While the series has been getting consistent releases over the last year and a half thanks to the Tales Remaster Project, which has seen Graces f, Xillia, and Berseria all remastered (with Eternia's remaster releasing this October), Tomizawa, general producer of the series, acknowledged the long wait in an interview with Famitsu (translated by Automaton).

Tomizawa says that one challenge the series faces is the lack of ways for players to get acquainted with older titles in the series, which spurred the remaster project. However, he notes that a new entry living up to expectations is "absolutely essential" and, unfortunately, that, mixed with the ever-increasing development time for AAA games, can be to blame for the long wait.

"The bar has risen when it comes to the scale of development and other factors, and to be honest, we’ve kept players waiting for quite long," Tomizawa explains. He adds, "While we haven’t been able to share concrete information yet, we are continuing to work on it while thinking of the series’ future."

Final Fantasy 14 and 16 director and longtime Square Enix developer Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida said earlier this year that the long wait times between entries in the JRPG series has made it somewhat harder for younger players to engage with the series. The first 10 years of Final Fantasy had seven mainline entries released, while 1999-2002 had four mainline entries released in back-to-back years. In comparison, the last 10 years have had two mainline entries.

JRPG fans crushed again as latest Tales announcement turns out to be another bust: "The way they hype things up is just terrible"

World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 players can finally earn some cash by playing their beloved respective MMOs and put it towards a real-life degree – but it's not as easy as it may sound.

The University of Silicon Valley in California has quite an offer on the table for a few very lucky select students (10-15 annually, apparently) – the Max Achievement Scholarship, as the educational institution outlines on its official website.

If you've not heard of it before, it gives folks a chance to score up to $15,000 in scholarship money… but it's far simpler said than actually done. It isn't only a matter of playing games, you see.

As the university explains, "The Max Achievement Scholarship recognizes students who have demonstrated extraordinary mastery, persistence, and systems thinking through the completion of rare and demanding achievements in digital gaming environments."

Yes, that means that aspiring players need to get to grindin' in their game of choice. We're talking "ultra-rare accomplishments" for the "Legendary Tier" of awards.

Many of these, as the University of Silicon Valley describes, require "500+ hours of sustained mastery across complex systems (typically <1% global completion rate)." For example, World of Warcraft players need to have Loremaster unlocked, all 13 professions maxed, and 25+ Exalted reputations, plus the Keystone Master achievement.

As for Final Fantasy 14 players, the requirements are higher than the in-game requirements to become a Mentor.

I know, I know, those aren't exactly ridiculously high themselves – but the university's are. Players need all 20 combat jobs and eight crafter/gatherer jobs at level 100 (the game's max level), plus all role quests and "all 12 extreme trials cleared," although it's not specified which ones.

I'm assuming Dawntrail's trials… and then some? The bottom line is that this scholarship money isn't easily obtainable, regardless.

MMOs aren't the only games up for the cash, either – heck, there's everything from Minecraft to Dark Souls (good luck with that one). You can even apply as a general PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X|S gamer, but you'll need platinums and perfect games galore.

Put simply, there's no quick way to have a go at the Max Achievement Scholarship money. If you think you might qualify, though, the university is accepting submissions now.

Multiple achievements may be submitted, too – but "achievements earned via modded, private, or emulated servers are not eligible." So, if you're a World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy 14 (or insert another game name here) stan, shoot your shot.

Blizzard knows World of Warcraft's removal of raid add-ons is "controversial," but the MMO's lead says its new UI "has been successful so far"

After nearly a year since it first released on current gen consoles, Techland has announced the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Dying Light: The Beast are cancelled.

Over on Twitter, the official Dying Light account posted a message announcing the cancellation. "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision that Dying Light: The Beast will no longer be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One." Techland explains "Dying Light: The Beast was built from the ground up to take full advantage of current-generation hardware. Its open world, advanced visuals, and fluid combat and traversal all depend on processing power and memory that previous-generation consoles simply cannot provide."

The post continues, "As development progressed, it became clear that bringing the game to those platforms would require compromises that would prevent us from delivering the experience we set out to create." Adding, "This was not a matter of choosing to leave those platforms behind. Rather, it reflected the technical realities of development and our commitment to delivering the best possible experience."

While the fact that we're talking about almost 13 year old consoles makes this not much of a surprise, Dying Light 2 – which The Beast started out as DLC for before being spun off into a full game – ran pretty well on those consoles when it was released back in 2022. However, we are talking about 13 year old consoles, and while the PS4 has had an especially long tail considering we're almost at the end of the PS5's life, it's probably safe to expect that most new games won't be coming to the platform anymore. Techland adds, "We know many of you were looking forward to playing on PS4 or Xbox One, and we are truly sorry for the disappointment this causes."

Dying Light The Beast is "very strong proof" that slowing down and focusing on the core details works, former series lead says: "We learned that quality beats quantity"

Things aren't going well for the new ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops and its follow-up on PlayStation 4 and 5. Mere days after launch, players found the lobbies to be absolutely riddled with cheaters, to the point that the FPS is basically unplayable, prompting Activision to take drastic action.

These versions of Black Ops 1 and 2 launched on July 9, and it wasn't long before reports emerged of fans having a frustrating time due to hacks and exploits. Not just your routine exploits either, custom lobbies have made it so that you can jump to the top level by grenading yourself right as a match starts.

This is leading to entire teams blowing themselves up, giving the opposition the win by default. What fun, eh? Who needs bullets and guns and actually playing the game properly? Seeing this rather large wildfire of issues, Activision quickly shut everything down by flat-out disabling certain playlists for the time being.

The publisher announced this on the Call of Duty Updates Twitter account on July 13. Since then, the "first phase" of hotfixes have been rolled out. Playlists have gotten a server-side fix, and anyone lumbered with negative XP has now been reset to level 20 for regular progression.

That second one is due to a bizarre hack on the first Black Ops. Killing someone in a round of Domination where a player is already at the top level will either catapult you to level 50, or take away the same amount of experience from overall score, putting you in minus figures and locking you out of playing altogether because the game reads you as less than level 1.

I'm not a gambling man anyway, but I definitely wouldn't be taking that risk. Activision had made it clear the multiplayer infrastructure is built on new servers, to prevent age old glitches and issues re-emerging. Sadly, hackers have only gotten worse in the 16 years since the first Black Ops, and the fact these re-releases are coming at a $40 premium just makes this all the more irritating.

"Call of Duty is bigger than the Marvel Cinematic Universe": New Xbox CEO brags as more of its games turn to film and TV

Clean the Squishies codes can be used to get a boost in this tidying simulator, as you try to put your local squishy shop back in order. There are cute collectibles all over the floor that need returning to their correct shelves, so work alone or with friends to complete the cleanup.

The initial Clean the Squishies codes provide you with Squishies, which is also the in-game currency used to purchase upgrades. Using it you can unlock Trails and Auras to equip on your character, which boost the cash and Squishies you earn while cleaning up in this Roblox experience. If you're ready to sort, then here are the codes for Clean the Squishies and how to redeem them.

If you'd prefer more general promos that apply across every experience, then take a look at the current Roblox promo codes.

All Clean the Squishies codes

The following Clean the Squishies codes are currently available:

• UPDATE3 – 1,100 Squishies new! (currently not working)
• WELCOME – 100 Squishies new!
• SQUISHY – 250 Squishies new!
• UPDATE1 – 1,000 Squishies

There are currently a few codes for Clean the Squishies that can be claimed, despite them being a relatively new addition to the experience. They all provide the Squishies currency for in-game purchases, to help get you up and running.

How to redeem Clean the Squishies codes

To redeem Clean the Squishies codes, all you have to do is hit the Cog icon at the top of the screen to open up the Settings menu. This has a code... text box at the bottom, so type in a promo and then tap the Redeem button to collect your reward. Codes for Clean the Squishies aren't case-sensitive, so it doesn't matter how you enter them as long as the correct spelling is used.

Expired Clean the Squishies codes

• No expired codes

As they are a recent addition to the experience, there are currently no expired Clean the Squishies codes to be aware of. However, these situations don't tend to last for long, so make sure you've claimed any active codes before they get moved down here.

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