A Nintendo Direct presentation set to fully unveil the upcoming Switch 2 is right around the corner, and potential details regarding what Nintendo could announce at the event are continuing to come in at a steady clip.Leaker NateTheHate has, for instance, claimed that Nintendo is set to add GameCube games to the Nintendo Switch Online library in the not-too-distant future. Speaking during a recent episode of his podcast, the leaker stated that Nintendo will begin adding GameCube titles to the subscription service at some point within the Nintendo Switch 2s launch year.Interestingly, the leaker suggests that GameCube games could also be available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers on the Switch 1, not just on the upcoming next-gen console. Whatisntmentioned what its pricing structure will be. Presumably, it will be offered with a new and separate tier, similar to what Nintendo has done in the past with N64, Genesis, and Game Boy Advance titles, which are available only with Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct will be roughly an hour long. Nintendo will also showcase new gameplay footage for several titles on Treehouse: Live events scheduled for April 3 and April 4.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be fully unveiled on April 2 with a 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation, but theres plenty more that were going to see in the days ahead. Nintendo has Treehouse: Live streams scheduled for April 3 and 4 where it intends to show new gameplay footage for undisclosed titles, and it seems both streams are going to be quite meaty.On its recently-launched Nintendo Today! app, Nintendo has revealed that the Treehouse livestream scheduled for April 3 will be four hours long, running from 10 AM to 2 PM Eastern. Meanwhile, the following days livestream will be three hours long, kicking off at 10 AM Eastern and scheduled to run until 1 PM.With seven hours of livestreaming scheduled across two days, clearly, Nintendo has plenty of Switch 2 titles that it intends to show off. Will we seea newMario? The nextMario Kart?Metroid Prime 4? Maybe, hopefully, at long last,Hollow Knight: Silksong? Thankfully, well find out soon enough. Stay tuned for more updates.

Soulslike action RPG fans have another promising release to look forward to in the coming months in the form ofWuchang: Fallen Feather,and more details continue to emerge on the title. For instance, we now know how long the game is going to be- and its going to be quite substantial.In a recent interview with GamingBolt, developer Lenzee Games revealed that a playthrough ofWuchang: Fallen Featherswill be about 40-60 hours long on average. On top of that, the game will also promise plenty of replay value with multiple endings- more than three, to be precise, and each completely different from the others.The side quests will affect the main story, the developer said. Currently, there are more than three endings, and they are completely different endings, indicating the completely different fates of Wuchang.Wuchang: Fallen Feathersis due out sometime this Summer for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and will also be available via Game Pass, though a specific release date is currently unknown. Our full interview with Leenzee Games will be live soon, so stay tuned for that.

Unsurprisingly,Assassins Creed Shadowsis a huge hit. The open world action RPG launched in late March and, within a little over a week, had crossed three million players across all platforms. That continues to reflect in the games sales data.Taking to BlueSky, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella recently revealed that in the week of its release,Assassins Creed Shadowswas the best-selling game in the United States in terms of dollar sales. It is, in fact, already one of the top five best-selling games of the year in the US so far. The open world action RPG enjoyed the second-biggest launch for a game in 2025, behind onlyMonster Hunter Wilds.Assassins Creed Shadowsalso had the biggest physical launch of the year in the UK, and reportedly Ubisofts second-biggest launch of all time, second only to Assassins Creed Valhalla.Assassins Creed Shadowsis available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Read our review of the game through here.Assassin's Creed: Shadows was the best-selling game of the week in the US and already ranks among the top 5 best-selling games YTD (dollars, w/e Mar 22, 2025).Only Monster Hunter: Wilds reached higher week 1 dollar sales in 2025 so far.Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2025-03-31T14:49:02.545Z

March had its fair share of releases and new titles, but April is a whole other beast in quantity and quality. Remasters, ports, long-awaited sequels, exclusives, at least one incredible-looking RPG theres a lot to look forward to. Check out the 15 biggest games launching in April 2025.Days Gone RemasteredAfter years of asking for a sequel, Days Gone fans have been rewarded witha PS5 remaster. Thankfully, Days Gone Remastered, out on April 25th features some notable new content like Horde Assault, where Deacon must survive against larger, more challenging hordes. Enemies become more difficult as time passes, and you can even control brand-new characters to survive for as long as possible.You also have Speedrun and Permadeath modes with graphical improvements, reduced loading times and DualSense support. PS4 owners can upgrade to the remaster for $10, and all content will be available for PC players via the Broken Roads DLC at launch.Forza Horizon 5 (PS5)For a long time (over three years, in fact), the de facto racing experience on PS5 has been Gran Turismo 7. However, its finally getting some real competition when Playground Games Forza Horizon 5 launches on April 25th. Its the first title in the franchise to debut on a Sony console and, more importantly, one of the very best with its incredible open world, stunning visuals, hundreds of cars, and a litany of features.Best of all, a new update, Horizon Realms, goes live the same day, offering up 11 returning tracks, the new Stadium Track, over 60 Accolades, new cars, and much more.The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (PC)Just when you thought it was over, somehow, The Last of Us returns, right on time for season 2 of the TV series. Its the PS5 remaster debuting for PC on April 3rd, and alongside all the platform-specific features like support for Ultrawide displays, DLSS and FSR, theres some brand new content in No Return. The rogue-like mode will receive two new characters and four new maps to go with the previously included Lost Levels, developer commentary, Guitar Free Play and more.South of MidnightWith a story seeped in Deep South mythology and stop-motion-like visuals for its cutscenes, South of Midnight is an unexpectedly endearing new title from Compulsion Games. Launching on April 8th for Xbox Series X/S and PC, its about Hazel who becomes a Weaver after her hometown is wrecked by a hurricane. From interacting with giant fish and crocodiles to mending spiritual bonds, she seeks her own place in the universe while dealing with tragedy. With about 15 to 25 hours of gameplay, South of Midnight could be one of the more underrated titles of the year.Commandos: OriginsJack OHara and his legendary Commandos return, albeit in a prequel that explores their origins. Launching on April 9th for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, players will embark on over ten missions throughout World War 2, combining their squads strengths to succeed. Go alone or with a friend in split-screen or online co-op, and experiment with different approaches to succeed, be it stealth, subterfuge or chaos.Descenders NextAn extreme-sports-meets-rogue-like title is already fairly unorthodox, but RageSquid is taking the formula even further with Descenders Next. You can still play solo or with up to other players and find the best way to reach the bottom of the mountain as quickly as possible. Its an instinctual joy, and there are new clothes and boards to unlock, a new soundtrack, and much more to dive into when it launches on April 9th.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33Sandfall Interactives homage to real-time parrying and dodging and an imaginative fantasy world. Suffice it to say that it looks like a winner ahead of its launch on April 24th with its 30+ hour main story, gorgeous visuals and an all-star cast.Fatal Fury: City of the WolvesA sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves wasnt on every fighting game fans wishlist for 2025, but here we are. Launching on April 24th for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC, City of the Wolves sees several returning fighters, some newcomers, and even a few debuts by Fatal Fury legends. With rollback netcode, cross-play, a new RPG-like single-player mode and the REV System for new tactics, it could take the community by storm.MotoGP 25As little as the franchise evolves year after year, you have to give credit to Milestones MotoGP franchise for its consistency. The latest title, MotoGP 25, launches on April 30th and offers new Race Off Disciplines for its modes, a new Arcade Experience, improved adaptive difficulty, and cross-play. Its coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.Steel SeedClose to the Sun developer, Storm in a Teacup is going in a completely different direction with its next title, Steel Seed. As Zoe, players traverse a mysterious facility in a post-apocalyptic world, dealing with hordes of unwelcoming machines. Mixing platforming and puzzles with combat and light stealth, Steel Seed launches on April 10th for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.Bionic BaySpeaking of platformers, Bionic Bay, slated for last month, arrives on April 17th for PS5 and PC. The biomechanical setting and premise are still intriguing, however, and having the ability to flip environments, and manipulate physics to traverse obstacles looks cool. And for those who really want to test their platforming skills, an Online Mode with events and leaderboards is also included.Tempest RisingIf youve been feeling the lack of any Command and Conquer-like titles over the past several years, Slipgate Ironworks Tempest Rising may help. Its out on April 24th for PC, offering two playable factions with unique units, two campaigns, online multiplayer, custom games, and the base-building real-time strategy you know and love.Forever SkiesA survival crafting game in a post-apocalyptic setting may not inspire the most interest, but Forever Skies offers some intriguing spins on the formula. Instead of exploring the dust-covered Earth on foot, youre venturing through the skies on an airship, gathering resources to upgrade it from various skyscrapers and structures. What awaits on the surface? Youll have to find out when Forever Skies exits early access and launches on April 14th for PS5 and PC.Crashlands 2The sequel to Butterscotch Shenanigans survival crafting classic finally arrives on April 10th and sees Flux Dabes returning to Woanope to reunite with her buddies. Things quickly go wrong though, and after yet another crash landing, she embarks on a journey to find out whats happening while combating dangerous creatures, unlocking upgrades, and more. With vastly improved visuals, new recipes, and more, Crashlands 2 could be the perfect cozy crafting sim for fans when it launches on PC, iOS, and Android.Monaco 2Speaking of a long-awaited sequel to a classic title, Monaco 2 also launches on April 10th for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Much like the original, youre still conducting heists alone or with up to three other players but there are new characters and playstyles and Blueprint Mode for finer planning. Whether youre in it for the zany yet stylish campaign or the long haul with its procedurally generated levels, Monaco 2 should be a worthy follow-up.

Doom isnt typically an experience you associate the word large with. Replayable, yes. Rife with secrets, definitely. Rip and tear? Until it is done. But classic Doom, Doom 2, and even Doom 64 are considerably well-paced romps of brutality. Even DOOM (2016) feels easily digestible in that regard its not impossible to finish its story within two evenings and have your feel of demonic deconstruction.DOOM Eternal changed that, which was apparent in how long your average stage (and encounter) could take to complete, depending on your mastery of the mechanics and knowledge of where to go. A higher skill ceiling is nothing to fuss about, but id Software went further by stuffing the title with all the lore and world-building it could muster.You could get by with a glance at the Slayers Testaments in 2016, but Eternal demanded you understand the gravity, the weight of the conflict and its players. Suffice it to say that there is so much going on in the DOOM universe beyond the copious amounts of demonic disembowelment.Both parts of its DLC are their own full-fledged game in terms of content and complexity; everything combined makes for one of the biggest first-person shooter campaigns ever. On average, HowLongToBeat estimates that the entire main story of Eternal and its DLC could take 24 hours to complete. Completionists could easily hit 41 hours if they aim for everything (and you should, since theres a wealth of content and secrets to discover).Why does any of this matter? Because when I tell you that DOOM: The Dark Ages is shaping up to be the biggest, and perhaps even the greatest DOOM yet, its magnitude is apparent.First is the setting. The Dark Ages addresses an essential component of the Slayers story namely, what happened before the events of DOOM (2016). While id Software hasnt confirmed whether well experience every little detail the Doom Marines arrival in Argent Dnur, his joining the Night Sentinels, and eventually becoming the only thing that demons fear it promises that fans will witness the Slayers creation and turns the tide of the war.For some perspective, the battles described in Argent Dnur arent the skirmishes seen in DOOM (2016) or DOOM Eternal. These are full-fledged warzones, where the Sentinels face off against hordes of demons. No, the Slayer isnt suddenly going all Battlefield, but its worth appreciating how much larger the conflicts are, both in scale and importance. Youre controlling a brutal weapon of war, but youre still fighting in the same war, which means levels to your delivery of death.Weve already seen that with the new dragon mount and Atlan mech. id has already confirmed that these arent specific set pieces youll control for brief moments but are fully fleshed out with their own mechanics. Dogfights with demonic forces and landing in structures to clear out foes before jumping back into the fray seem to be the order of the day. As for the Atlan, youll go toe-to-toe with giant demons in kaiju-like battles of a scale unlike any seen thus far. Whether youre a fan of Pacific Rim, Power Rangers or SHOGO: Mobile Armor Division (rest in peace, Monolith), this alone could be worth the price of admission.But thats only the tip of the iceberg. Several weapons like the Shotgun and Super Shotgun return in classic fashion, but almost everything else has been revamped from top-to-bottom. Then you have the new guns like the Skull Crusher, which uses skulls as ammo and grinds them into shards to launch at enemies, outright eviscerating them up close.Meanwhile, the Railspike is perfect for Half-Life fans who miss the crossbow, allowing them to pin enemies into walls and provide some much-needed home dcor for Hell. Then you have the new melee weapons like the flail, mace and gauntlet or the Shield Saw, which allows for parrying and throwing at enemies like a buzzsaw.And while the acrobatics of DOOM Eternal made for some fun times, The Dark Ages is aiming for a heavier, meaner Slayer. One more grounded and powerful, built like a tank (with Frank Millers The Dark Knight cited as an inspiration). Yet it also brings us back to the era of classic Doom with its boots-on-the-ground approach. The action will be unrelentingly furious, though, with even more demons to battle than ever before.But above all else, id Software promises this to be the biggest campaign its ever made by a good bit. Director Hugo Martin said its really long, with an extensive amount of side content to discover. I think its gonna be mostly about secret hunting. If you explore all the secrets and youre a completionist, youre certainly gonna make it a much larger experience for yourself. He also hypes the levels as the largest spaces weve ever made.However, they arent going to be too long, with the team referring to an hour as the sweet spot to ensure they dont overstay their welcome. Even if youre not going out of your way to discover everything, this is a massive campaign delivering tons of variety. One example provided by Martin to EDGE is how you could begin in a dungeon-like space which transitions in the second half of the level into a more open-ended portion.Further sealing the deal is the lack of multiplayer and while that translates to fewer marketing blurbs compared to DOOM (2016) or Eternal, it also means id Software could devote all its attention to the campaign. As executive producer Marty Stratton explained, We know that our campaigns are to a great extent what people come to the modern DOOM games to play, so we decided to put all of our efforts behind that and really create the biggest and best DOOM game weve ever made.Scrapping multiplayer also means the studio can focus on features like the dragon mount and Atlan mech. I dont know about you but those are some pretty nice compromises after everything weve seen thus far.What truly sells this for me is id Software understanding that bigger doesnt automatically equal better. It isnt trying to create these large meandering levels just to drag on the campaign or add as much content as possible to ensure you get your $70 worth. The pacing, the level of polish, the emphasis on story-telling and its importance (especially for such a critical juncture of the Slayers life) the team is focusing on these things to provide the best possible experience for fans.DOOM: The Dark Ages launches on May 15th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC alongside Game Pass. And as I look back on the series and how far its come with its scale, fidelity, and the sheer amount of secrets and variety of demons to stomp, it really does feel like a culmination of everything thus far. The best of the old and new, but elevated to new heights and begging for players to fully uncover its depths.Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

While Monster Hunter Wilds is a commercial and critical success for Capcom, technical issues continue to nag players, like PC optimization. Director Yuya Tokuda acknowledged this in the latest Directors Letter and confirmed reduced VRAM usage and an upgrade to DirectStorage, which should improve stability.These will go live with Title Update 1 on April 3rd, but the team continues to identify stability issues and make improvements where possible, especially on the Steam version. This will be an ongoing process, where well aim to make continual steps forward in this area and respond to critical issues.Of course, it also wants to improve the overall technical experience for all platforms. Perhaps this could lead to further improvements for Xbox Series X/S and PS5 (which arent the best-looking versions by a long shot). The developer also plans to take a wider look at overall gameplay flow, which encompasses a range of things, such as the in-game economy, balance and other areas.Finally, the May end update will add a list of captured endemic life, thus making it easier to spot any missing entries. Layered weapons are also returning, finally allowing players to change the appearance of the Artian weapons to match their fashion. Theres no time frame aside from future update, so stay tuned for more details.Monster Hunter Wilds is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It sold over 10 million copies in its first month. Check out our review here.

As Nintendo is getting ready to officially reveal more details about its upcoming console, the Switch 2, more rumours surrounding the console have been popping up. The Famiboards forums recently saw a post by user LiC indicating that Nintendo also has a pro controller for the Switch 2 in the works.A patent application spotted by LiC gives us more details on what seems to be a pro controller. Sporting the label BEE-008, the device seemingly has support for Bluetooth and NFC, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. This would indicate that the version of Bluetooth being used by the controller will be at least 5.2 in order to support LE Audio.The presence of the headphone jack would lend further credence to previous rumours indicating that Nintendo would be baking online voice chat directly into the Switch 2s operating system, rather than relying on a smartphone app for voice chat as the company currently does for the original Switch.Rumours about the voice chat on the Switch 2 came about thanks to a patent application spotted back in March. Part of the patent also indicated support for proximity-based voice chat. This would essentially mean that, in multiplayer, players that are closer would sound louder and clearer than those further away in the games world.While Nintendo will be giving us more details on the Switch 2 during a dedicated Direct slated for tomorrow, there have also been rumours about the companys plans for video game releases. One rumour from March indicated that Nintendo has a three-phase plan for games on the Switch 2.Where the original Switch saw a mix of third-party and first-party releases during launch, with the Switch 2, Nintendo reportedly wants to first focus on first-party releases during the launch window. A second and third phase, set for later in the year, will likely involve more third party releases.Lending more credence to this release plan, according to WCCFTech, developers part of studios under the Embracer Group have also not yet gotten their hands on a development kit for the Switch 2.As for when the console itself will launch, a more recent rumour indicates that the Switch 2 will start becoming available for pre-order starting on April 9. This comes from internal documents and emails from a US retailer.When it comes to how much the Switch 2 will cost, analysts believes that Nintendo doesnt want to alienate the fans it got from the original Switch. To hang on to the audience, SuperData Research co-founder Joost van Dreunen said that Nintendo will likely price the Switch 2 at $399. According to van Dreunen, this price point would allow Nintendo to also compete with handheld gaming systems like the Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally.van Dreunen also believes that the decision to include backwards compatibility in the Switch 2 with games for the original Switch came about because Nintendo wanted to focus on platform longevity.For Nintendo, the Switchs eight-year tenure aligns with industry-wide trends toward digital monetization reducing dependency on hardware refresh cycles, notes van Dreunen. Nintendos strategic focus on backward compatibility for Switch 2 suggests the company views platform longevity as core to maintaining its efficient capital deployment model. Rather than cyclical hardware releases driving growth, the emphasis has shifted to maximizing software revenue and digital engagement across extended platform lifecycles.As we get closer to the official Switch 2 Direct, check out our thoughts on what would be the right pricing for the console.

The long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 Direct is tomorrow, April 2nd, at 6 AM PT. Nintendo of America has confirmed in a new tweet that it will be approximately 60 minutes long.Though touted to provide a closer look at the console, the company could very well announce a release date and pricing. Rumors indicate that pre-orders will begin on April 9th, with the Switch 2 allegedly launching in June. If the release date is near enough, Nintendo could also showcase some launch titles.These could include the next Mario Kart, which seemingly offers larger tracks and more racers. Other titles are more challenging to predict, but Microsoft may finally confirm several of its first-party titles, like Starfield, Diablo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and more for the Switch 2.And who knows? Maybe Team Cherrys Hollow Knight: Silksong will finally appear and receive a release date. We can always hope. Stay tuned for more details at tomorrows Direct.Join us tomorrow, April 2nd, at 6 a.m. PT for a closer look at #NintendoSwitch2! The #NintendoDirect: Nintendo Switch 2 4.2.2025 livestream will be approximately 60 minutes long.Watch it here: https://t.co/Rw1wnp5Xbr pic.twitter.com/eF7jJ2dDxj Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 1, 2025

Asus has released a new promotional video that is seemingly teasing a new handheld gaming system. In the teaser, which you can check out below, a robot getting ready to have some upgrades installed.Things seem to go wrong (or right), however, because an ROG controller along with an ROG Ally also fall into the upgrade booth along with the robot. While we dont get a clear view of the result, since it is shrouded in quite a bit of fog, we are able to see a display flanked by asymmetrically-placed analogue sticks, as well as the ABXY face buttons shown on the display for a second.While the video is quite obviously hinting towards a new iteration of the Asus ROG Ally, Microsoft also seems to have taken notice of the video. In a post on social media platform X, the official Xbox account responded to the video with the side-eye monkey meme. While nothing has been confirmed so far, it is likely that the new ROG Ally will also be running on Windows, and Microsoft may have even helped develop the system.A report from back in March indicated that Microsoft has been working with another company for a third-party Xbox-based handheld gaming system. While neither Asus nor Microsoft have confirmed anything so far, the interaction X might indicate that the next ROG handheld system might be the first shot at an Xbox handheld that everyone has been waiting for.According to the reports, the Xbox-based gaming system is being designed with Xbox design sensibilities. This also means the inclusion of a dedicated Xbox Guide button, as well as support for the Windows Store and Game Pass in some way.Microsoft has not been shy about its aspirations to tap into the handheld gaming market following the success of products like the Linux-based Steam Deck and the Windows-based Asus ROG Ally. Back in January, Microsofts vice president of Next Generation Jason Ronald spoke about the company wanting to bridge the gap between Xbox and Windows for a handheld gaming system.I would say its bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together, because we have spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but its really locked to the console, Ronald said. What were doing is were really focused on how do we bring those experiences for both players and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem.For Microsoft, this also means streamlining the experience by making Windows more intuitive to use on a handheld system. Ronald believes that this means designing the system to be closer to a console than a gaming PC.Were focused on really simplifying that and making it much more like a console experience, he explained. Our goal is to put the player and their library at the center of the experience and not all the [Windows] work that you have to do today.As for Microsoft itself, the company is rumoured to be working on its own handheld gaming system internally. These rumours indicate that Microsoft is looking at 2027 as its launch window. What this means for the lifecycle of its Xbox Series X/S consoles, however, is currently unknown.pic.twitter.com/ONZpeEmNka Xbox (@Xbox) March 31, 2025

Pocketpair, the studio behind Palworld, has revealed through a recent interview that the game development industry doesnt seem to have any money going around at the moment. Speaking to GamesRadar at GDC 2025, Pocketpair communications director and publishing manager John Buckley spoke about the studio getting pitches from other development teams after the release of Palworld.No one has money at the moment. Minutes, thats not even a joke; minutes after Palworld released and that started to happen, people were sending us pitches even though we werent a publisher, said Buckley. I think there was just this desperate, you know, we need money thats going on right now, and a lot of people contacted us.To our surprise, it wasnt just little two-man teams or something, continued Buckley. Some really big names contacted us, you know, AAA, AA, premium indies, all these contacts.Pocketpair had announced that it would be publishing games back in January. As part of this move, the company is helping Tales of Kenzera: Zau developer Surgent Studios with an unannounced new horror game. Buckley spoke about how the company had begun to hear out studio pitches as it was getting its publishing arm ready.We started meeting these people very early last year, listening to ideas, explained Buckley. And we were very honest. We said, hey, were not publishers or anything, but well listen. And we talked about it a lot internally. What can we do? What can we not do?We want to help cool indies get made. We want to help cool, premium indie, kind of AAs get made.Not many details about the first title with Surgent Studios have been revealed so far, except for the fact that it will be a horror game. Studio founder Abubakar Salim (also the voice of Bayek in Assassins Creed Origins), spoke about the opportunity his studio was getting through Pocketpair.We noticed a pattern in the entertainment industry, and Pocketpair has given us the opportunity to make a horror game about it, said Salim. Both Surgent and Pocketpair are well versed in taking risks. This game will be short and weird, and we think players will be interested in what we have to say.Buckley had spoken about the studios publishing arm being created in order to help more indie studios get their games made back in January. Taking to social media, Buckley commented on how quickly game pitches started coming in after the publishing arm was announced. He also spoke about wanting to give smaller studios financial independence to make their games.We give you money. You make the game, posted Buckley. If you want help with marketing or something well help out, but otherwise do whatever you want. Were giving devs the financial freedom to make games they want so they DONT have to get wrapped up in stinky rule makers and bullies.Pocketpair has been able to kickstart its publishing arm in a bid to help smaller developers thanks to the massive success seen by its game Palworld. According to a report from back in February, Palworld has been played by more than 32 million players so far. For context, the game was developed on a budget of $6.7 million.

Tomorrows Nintendo Switch 2 Direct promises to be an event to remember. Running for 60 minutes, it will showcase the upcoming console and its features, but what about the games?If there was any doubt regarding potential announcements, Nintendo has announced the return of Treehouse: Live for April 3rd and 4th. Each day at 7 AM PT, it will showcase hands-on gameplay of Nintendo Switch 2 titles.Well likely see the next Mario Kart in action, but what about other titles? Could Nintendo showcase titles like Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which has all but confirmed that its coming to the Switch 2? Maybe highlight select enhanced Switch titles running at higher resolutions with better performance? Will there be something, anything, for Hollow Knight: Silksong?Time will tell, but if nothing else, fans will have something to look forward to other than trailers. The Switch 2 Direct starts at 6 AM PT on April 2nd.Join us on April 3rd and April 4th at 7 a.m. PT each day for a Nintendo Treehouse: Live | Nintendo Switch 2 presentation featuring hands-on gameplay of #NintendoSwitch2 games! pic.twitter.com/gsi0MqyZyZ Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 1, 2025

Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy developer Eidos Montreal has announced a round of layoffs. Taking to LinkedIn, the company has confirmed that it is letting go of 75 of its employees. In the post, the company said that the decision for layoffs was made because it couldnt reallocate the staff members to other parts of the studio.Today, we informed our studio staff that we are going to let go up to 75 valuable members, as one of our mandates is coming to an end, posted the studio on LinkedIn. It is not a reflection of their dedication or skills, but unfortunately, we dont have the capacity to entirely reallocate them to our other ongoing projects and services.These very talented, highly experienced experts are going to enter the employment market, and we are working to support them through this transition.The studio has maintained that it will be continuing work on its ongoing projects despite the layoffs, however. Eidos-Montral stays committed to deliver its other projects currently in development, it posted.This round of layoffs follows a similar one from little over a year ago. Back in January 2024, Eidos had announced that it was laying off 97 employees from teams across development, support services, and administration.The global economic context, the challenges of our industry and the comprehensive restructuring announced by Embracer have finally impacted our studio, said the studio in its announcement back then. The difficult decision has been made to let go 97 people from development teams, administration, and support services.While it is currently unknown what the studio might be working on, we got confirmation back in June 2024 that it was helping out Microsofts first party developer Playground Games in developing Fable.Were so excited to be supporting the development of Fable, posted the studio on social media. Its been a blast collaborating with the talent team at [Playground Games] to craft an unforgettable adventure.Rumours from back in November 2022 also indicated that Eidos Montreal might be working on a new game in the Deus Ex franchise. This, however, has not yet been confirmed. Another project that was rumoured to have been in the works was a Stranger Things-inspired game that has reportedly been cancelled.

With the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct creeping up on us along with the rumoured June launch window, rumours about the development kit for the new console have started popping up. A recent rumour revolves around the Switch 2s speculated support for 4K output. Developers have seemingly revealed that the devkit for the Switch 2 doesnt have support for 4K.In a recent episode of the Insider Gaming Weekly podcast, Tom Henderson has said that developers during GDC 2025 told him about the capabilities of the devkits. In these conversation, one developer revealed the lack of 4K output.I heard this from one developer at GDC and also heard it separately in an email, but the dev kits, or some of the dev kits, dont have a 4K output, said Henderson in the podcast.While the lack of 4K output for a development kit isnt too big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, it does indicate that the Switch 2 wont be able to run at such a high resolution natively. Rather, the console will likely make use of some form of AI-based image upscaling in the vein of Nvidias DLSS.This rumoured technology was first spotted back in January thanks to a patent application. According to this, the Switch 2 will feature separate internal hardware to run a neural net. This chip, developed by Nvidia, is expected to be capable of being able to upscale images from 540p to 1080p, as an example.One of the uses of this upscaling technology seemingly revolves around reducing a games overall size. Through this, Nintendo could have the game take up less space on the hardware since the console wont need high-resolution textures that tend to be massive in storage terms, instead relying on image upscaling technology.An example given for this application of the upscaling technology was that, where a game with 4K textures packaged into it might weigh in at around 60 GB, a game featuring texture sizes more suited to 1080p gaming will have a smaller footprint of around 20 GB. The AI-based upscaler can then be used to output the 1080p versions textures all the way up to 4K. This would also allow games to fit inside of Nintendos Switch Carts, which typically have a storage capacity of up to 32 GB.Other rumours from back in January gave us an indication of what kind of horsepower we can expect from the Switch 2. According to these rumours, the GPU on the Switch 2 will clock in at 561 MHz while the console is in handheld mode, translating to around 1.71 TFLOPS (trillion floating point operations per second). Docking the Switch 2 will give it a considerable boost, clocking up at 1,000 MHz, coming in at around 3.1 TFLOPS.The Nintendo Switch 2 is rumoured to be running on an Nvidia Tegra 239 SoC (system on chip). While not quite as strong as the hardware we see in current-gen consoles, let alone modern PCs, the hardware will still end up being a considerable upgrade over the original Switch.

Another year, another gradual step up for graphics and engine tech. In 2025 we may start to see the full utilization of the ninth console generations performative capabilities. Studio Asobi confirmed that last years Astro Bot used the full processing power of the PS5, but that was something of an outlier though we may see more of that this year. Theres little doubt that developers are honing in on the deeper capabilities of engine tech as well, with Unreal Engine 5 rolling along in its third year of release. Here are 15 graphically stunning Unreal Engine 5 games to look forward to in 2025.Burning Sword Death SunI always appreciate a game that knows exactly what it is and doesnt shy away from it. Thats Burning Sword Death Sun, a game about a leader of a martial sect emerging from hell itself to assert dominance across a fictional China through the use of his flaming sword and lighting-fast fist strikes. Im not exaggerating in the least either. And then theres the unapologetic soulslike gameplay with a hack and slash spin to make things quick and frenetic. Unreal Engine 5 is used to good effect when it comes to the gorgeous vistas, swaying grass, and rich color usage, though the facial textures still need some time in the oven. Burning Sword Death Sun has a release window of Q2 2025 and the demo is currently playable on Steam right now, so check it out if you enjoy challenging action combat.

Development on The Witcher 4 is going full steam ahead in its development right now. In a recent episode of CD Projekt REDs AnsweRED podcast, senior communication manager Pawe Burza, along with game director Sebastian Kalemba, environment art director Micha Janiszewski and engineering production manager Jan Hermanowicz have spoken about how the studio is trying to make the games world as immersive as possible.According to the team, a lot of the games development work is focused on making its world a believable one with various aspects like worldbuilding. Hermanowicz spoke about how the environment, the characters, and the way that everything is laid out on the level itself. He continued, Everything needs to be consistent.It is important for us for the player to get the world [as] believable as possible, Janiszewski said.We have a huge team that is taking care of the believability, because, like you were saying, even the line of the trees need to be specifically created, he continued. So we have some tools that they are supporting us, and we are building inside of our worldbuilding team, tools that will make our work a little bit faster, and a little bit more, I would say easier, to populate the whole world.This focus on making the world of The Witcher 4 a believable one for players matches the statements of Kalemba from back in January. In an interview, Kalemba said that the studio wants every NPC in The Witcher 4 to look like they have lives of their own.We have this rule to make every single [The Witcher 4] NPC looking like theyre living, with their own story, Kalemba said. Were definitely pushing the quality of NPC the way they look, their behavior, their facial performance as much as possible because we want to make an even more immersive experience than we used to, the director added. We are trying to push the bar here.Narrative director Phillipp Weber had also spoken about CD Projekt RED prioritising an immersive world for The Witcher 4 back in December. He mentioned that, while the upcoming games map will be big, it doesnt necessarily need to be bigger than what we saw in The Witcher 3. Instead, the studio wants to make the games world denser, more immersive, and more systematic.While the studio is hard at work on the game, it had confirmed last month that fans of the franchise shouldnt hold their breaths for a release soon. Back in March, the studio revealed through its quarterly fiscal briefing that The Witcher 4 will only be released in 2027 at the earliest.We are not going to announce the precise launch date for the game yet, said CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz. All we could share now to give more visibility to investors is that the game will not be launched within the time frame of the first target for the incentive program, which ends December 31, 2026.The Witcher 4 is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out its original announcement trailer from back in December where we also learned that Ciri will be taking over from Geralt as the protagonist of the game.

Leaks have repeatedly claimed that Square Enix is actively working on a remake of Final Fantasy 9,and it seems the company may be preparing to begin talking about the long-rumoured project in an official capacity.Final Fantasy 9is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year (July 7 being its original Japanese launch date), and Square Enix has launched a website to commemorate the same. Interestingly, on the website, the company also says it is preparing various projects to celebrate the classic RPGs release.Earlier this year, prominent leaker NateTheHate claimedFinal Fantasy 9 Remakewas in active development, and could be targeting a 2026 release. Whether that means we can expect an announcement anytime soon remains to be seen. A Nintendo Switch 2-focused Direct is scheduled for later this week- perhaps well hear something then? We can keep our fingers crossed, if nothing else. Stay tuned for more updates.

Theres plenty to look forward to forThe Last of Usfans in the coming weeks, with the second season of HBOs adaptation set to premiere on April 13, andThe Last of Us Part 2 RemasteredsPC launch set to precede it later this week. Ahead of that launch, Naughty Dog has confirmed another crucial tidbit.Taking to Twitter, Naughty Dog announced thatThe Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredwill be officially Steam Deck Verified on launch, which means the game is fully optimized for the portable device. Many guessed (or hoped, at least) that this would be the case, especially after the action-adventure titles PC requirements were revealed earlier this month, but its good to have confirmation, at the very least.The Last of Us Part 2 Remasteredlaunches for PC on April 3. It will also feature new content for the roguelike mode No Return, which will also be released for free for the games PS5 version on the same day.The Last of Us Part II Remastered for PC is officially Steam Deck Verified ahead of its release on April 3! Pre-purchase now: https://t.co/p2tDhmSdGa pic.twitter.com/3AnnTIvE3G Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) March 31, 2025

Nintendo and Sony Pictures have remained awfully tight-lipped about their planned live action Legend of Zeldafilm since announcing it in late 2023, but new details seem to have emerged nonetheless.Production Line a production tracking website operated by the Film and Television Industry Alliance reports that production on a planned trilogy of live actionThe Legend of Zeldafilms is set to begin later this year. The three movies will seemingly be produced together, with production scheduled to run from November 2025 to April 2026.Interestingly, a brief narrative summary of the project is also provided, suggesting that the movies story will feature a number of elements that series fans will find familiar, including the Triforce, dungeons, and more.The summary reads, The Legend of Zelda follows Link, a young warrior destined to protect the magical kingdom of Hyrule from the forces of darkness. The land is under threat from Ganon, a ruthless warlord who seeks the Triforcean ancient relic said to grant limitless power. To stop him, Link must embark on a perilous journey, battling monstrous creatures, exploring treacherous dungeons, and solving intricate puzzles to uncover sacred artifacts that can aid him in his quest.The Legend of Zeldamovie is being directed by Wes Bell (Maze Runner, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) with series creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad (Spider-Man, Venom, X-Men, Uncharted) serving as producers. As Nintendo recently announced, the movie will release worldwide on March 26, 2027.

Frogwares is busy with The Sinking City 2, but it has a surprise for fans of the original a full remaster on Unreal Engine 5. The Sinking City Remastered will be coming to PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, with console owners of the first game receiving a free upgrade.A trailer isnt available, but you can check out various screenshots below. On top of all the benefits from the jump to Unreal Engine 5, The Sinking City Remastered will feature enhanced locations with more details and objects, 4K textures, better reflections, and support for DLSS, FSR and TSR. And, of course, theres a Photo Mode to help players capture all this beauty.Theres no release date, but stay tuned for official gameplay of the remaster in the coming months. As for The Sinking City 2, it has four days remaining on its Kickstarter and amassed nearly $473,000 in crowd-funding, over four times the original goal.

While the recently-released Assassins Creed Shadows had seen several delays, its developers apparently used the extra time to add more polish to the game. Speaking to GamesRadar, creative director Jonathan Dumont spoke about how the studio didnt actually make any fundamental changes to Assassins Creed Shadows in the wake of feedback from Star Wars Outlaws.Not really, said Dumont when asked if the delays were because of the feedback from Star Wars Outlaws. We were basically trying to make the most polished game that we [can]. He went on to say that the delays were because, our game was there, so just making sure that we dont have bugs and that the experience is clean for people.While Ubisoft didnt make any sweeping changes to Assassins Creed Shadows after the game got delayed, Dumont did say that a few things were added to the games narrative here and there. These additions typically came in the form of the developers realising that, in a particular scene, this is a place where we could reinforce the relationship.We had a few already, and people love those things, he continued. So alright, lets try to get a little bit more in there.Dumont saw the games release date being delayed a couple of times as opportunities for the studio to further polish the game before it hit store shelves. Its kind of cool also that we were close to launch, and then we get this extra time to do the things that typically youre doing at the end, he said.Since it finally came out on March 20, Assassins Creed Shadows has been doing quite well for Ubisoft. The company revealed last week that more than 3 million players had played Assassins Creed Shadows. The company also revealed that the title ranked second in highest day one sales revenue in the franchise, and that it was the biggest day one performer for Ubisoft on PlayStations digital store. In total, more than 40 million hours had been spent by people playing Assassins Creed Shadows.This milestone followed similar ones from day one of the games release. In less than a day, Assassins Creed Shadows had already crossed more than a million players. It 2 million players just a couple of days later. The game even went on to overtake the Steam concurrent player count for the incredibly popular Assassins Creed Odyssey.While the studio behind Assassins Creed Shadows has been enjoying the successful launch, it has still continued working on updates for the title. Just last week, Assassins Creed Shadows got an update that brought with it some stabilisation fixes across all platforms, as well as fixes for crashes caused by the games Photo mode on the PC and PS5 versions.Assassins Creed Shadows is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, check out our review. And if youre curious about the best open-world game set in Japan right now, heres how it stacks up against Ghost of Tsushima and Rise of the Ronin.

Developer MercurySteam has released a new trailer for its upcoming 3D action-adventure game Blades of Fire. The trailer, that you can check out below, offers up 5 minutes of gameplay, letting us see what the general minute-to-minute gameplay of the title will look like.Right from the start, the trailer reveals that players will have the ability to switch between three weapons at any given time. All three weapons were crafted by the player themselves, and will feature different properties as well as unique move sets. This ability to switch weapons on the fly also comes in handy quite early in the trailer, when the players sword ends up breaking.The trailer also puts quite a bit of emphasis on the player picking the right kind of weapon depending on the combat situation. Since each weapon will have different properties, ranging from the more refined slashes and thrusts of a sword to the wide-arcing swings of a Warhammer.Aside from the core combat, the trailer also lets us get a glimpse of its lush world. The trailer takes part in what appears to be a forested area, with several paths available for players to take thanks to cliffs and ravines. Ultimately, the trailer ends when the protagonist finds a Forgers Anvil, which seems to act as a checkpoint and fast-travel point for players to use down the line.Blades of Fire was unveiled back in February. Developed by the studio behind Metroid Dread, the game is currently in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The PC version of the game will be available exclusively through Epic Games Store when it comes out on May 22.Lead game designer Joan Amat revealed details about how the main progression systems of Blades of Fire will work earlier this month. Writing about how the studio doesnt want players to turn into magical gods by the end of the game, Amat revealed that progression in Blades of Fire will revolve around players forging and using their own weapons.You definitely cant turn Aran into a magic god at the end of Blades of Fire, right? There are lots of spectacular things that you could do, have your weapon shoot fireballs or other things that are really spectacular, said Amat. This is not our aim! Our aim is to make everything really important.When it comes to the Forge system itself, Blades of Fire will allow players to craft almost infinite combinations of weapons, depending on the parts they choose.[Historical YouTubers] are talking about edges; theyre talking about balance, the center of mass, grips and handling, and edge alignment. Theyre not talking about agility, strength, stamina, intelligence, and dexterity, right? Those are not the stats, explained Amat.When we moved from the stats combo into a challenge mentality, balance became so much easier. We only really need to make sure that the enemy is strong against some things and weak against some other things. There are all these other great RPGs that are about power complexity. Thats not what this game is about.For more details on Blades of Fire, check out how the game is going to be strongly narrative-driven, and how the curiosity of players will drive them to uncovering more of the story by themselves.

There are dozens of weapons to be found and used in Atomfall, spread across three major groupsmelee, ranged, and throwable. While many of the ranged weapons are merely quality-tier variants of the same selection of guns, there are also some unique weapons of note.This guide is a selection of the best weapons and where they can be found, as well as how to go about upgrading them in Atomfall.Modified JM-3SkethermoorSecluded Cave41.2E, 79.4NHead into the door barring this cave and bear left and left again when you reach the water-filled section. Squeeze through the gap and find the Modified JM-3 lying on the ground to the right of the corpse here. This semi-automatic rifle does high damage at a very high rate of fire with high accuracy. As a unique weapon, it cannot be upgraded with the Gunsmith skill, but with those stats it doesnt really need to be anyway.Terrier .22 RifleSlatten Dale27E, 75NAmong the dilapidated ruins in this area, look for the building with the attached water mill. To the left of its entrance, next to the yellowed wooden crate, is a crawl space into the building next door. Enter it, and find the Terrier .22 Rifle propped up against a stool in a side room to the left of the tripwire. Some Outlaws may also be carrying this. This Rusty variant is a bolt-action, single-shot rifle that does low damage, but has high accuracy.Enfield LMGSkethermoorSkethermoor CampArmoury39.5E, 71.4NReport to Grand Sims in order to be able to enter Skethermoor Prison. Next, collect the Armoury Key lying on the desk in Access Control at 41.0E, 71.3N. Head to the Armoury and use the key on the card reader to unlock the doors. Enter and turn left into the caged area to find the Enfield LMG held upright in a gun rack. This Stock variant is an automatic light machine gun that does high damage, but with low accuracy and a high recoil.Cricket BatSlatten DaleWyndham VillageWyndham Hardware Village ShopEither loot it off of Outlaws in Slatten Dale, or purchase it from Morris Wick at the Wyndham Hardware Village Shop. This large melee weapon has an average attack speed, but does high damage, outpacing the ponderous Mace and Axe.BowCheck out at 16 minutes in the video below to find the location of the trader.Casterfell WoodsTrader CampRumoured Location Billy Gorse21.5E, 89.6NBarter for the Bow as well as some Arrows with Billy Gorse at the rumoured location of his Trader Camp. Can also be looted from enemies, such as those located in Casterfell Woods at 19.9E, 84.2N. This ranged weapon is silent but deadly, doing high damage, and mastery of it can be improved through acquiring the Bow Mastery Manual and unlocking its skillsBow Focus, Draw Control, and Draw Speed.How To Upgrade WeaponsUpgrading weapons requires the Gunsmith skill which is unlocked by acquiring the Crafting Manual. This skill manual can either be extorted from Morris Wick, or found within the Data Store Delta Store Room inside The Interchange. The Gunsmith skill itself will require 7 Training Stimulants to unlock.Non-unique ranged weapons come in three quality tiersRusty, Stock, and Pristine. In order to upgrade a weapon through tiers, you need 2 counts of the same weapon from the same quality tier. The crafting recipe for the upgraded tier is automatically unlocked the first time you acquire the lower tier weapon.Aside from the weapons themselves, you will require certain crafting ingredientsGun Oil and Scrapin varying quantities based on the weapon itself.Those are some of the best weapons and their locations in Atomfall.

The First Berserker: Khazan has dozens of weapons to choose from, split over three distinct weapon categoriesDual Wield, Greatswords, and Spears. These broad categories also define the potential to level their associated Skill Trees, which unlock a variety of moves and abilities. Weapons can be standalone, or part of a set. Since all weapons within a given category do the same damage numbers when at the same quality and level, the only real distinction is going to be any special attributes a weapon may have.This guide has a small selection of some of the best weapons based on their fixed attribute, and their locations in The First Berserker: Khazan.Dual WieldFallen Guardians Dual WieldThis Dual Wield from the Fallen Guardian Set allows you to learn Ruthless: Blast to enhance the Ruthless: Strength skill from the Dual Wield Skill Tree. After slaying an enemy with Ruthless, you can continue your frenzied attack automatically onto the next nearest enemy.Various random pieces of the Fallen Guardian Set will drop from both Volbaino in Charnak Mountain Range Regions Phraugh Village, and Specter of Bhangau in Bhangau Residence, a sub-location also within Phraugh Village.Beastslayers Dual WieldPart of the Beastslayer Set, this Dual Wield unlocks the skill Phantom: Shadow Sword Dance from the Dual Wield Skill Tree, and enhances the Phantom: Sword Dance Spirit Skill. The Phantom will appear and strike at the enemy every time you brink guard correctly, and occasionally when you take damage as well.Various random pieces of the Beastslayer Set will drop from Shactuka in Linon Mine, a location in the Pell Los Plateau region.Bloodthirsty Fiends Dual WieldThis Dual Wield Bloodthirsty Fiend Set piece allows you to learn the skill Phantom: Bloody Sword Dance from the Dual Wield Skill Tree, which improves upon the standard Phantom: Sword Dance skill. With most attacks, there is a chance for a phantom to appear, and which will attack your adversaries right along with you.Various random pieces of the Bloodthirsty Fiend Set will drop from Skalpel in Vaisar Gate, a location in the Heart of Pell Los Region.GreatswordSoul-Cleaving GreatswordFrom the Soul Eater Set, wielding this Greatsword will boost damage by 3% for 3 minutes each time you slay an enemy. While miniscule initially, it does stack up to ten times, for a total increase of 30% attack damage.Various random pieces of the Soul Eater Set will drop from both the Blade Phantom boss in Charnak Mountain Range Regions Stormpass, and Keshta the Unyielding.Fugitive Mages GreatswordThis Fugitive Mage Set piece unlocks the Scorching Earth Spirit Skill in the Greatsword Skill Tree. This move begins with a small explosion and follows up with a massive arc of a swipe with the Greatsword. Consumes a hefty 5 Spirit each time.Various random pieces of the Fugitive Mage Set will drop from Bellerian in Rephalan Mountains, a location in the Heart of Pell Los Region.Neglected GreatswordThis Greatsword from the Ashen Wolf Set allows you to learn Titanic Descent: Eruption from the Greatsword Skill Tree, and adds to the Titanic Descent: Explosion skill. Using Titanic Descent to successfully strike at a target will cause an eruption of energy that does area of effect damage to nearby enemies.Various random pieces of the Ashen Wolf Set will drop from Yetuga in Mount Heinmach, a location in the Charnak Mountain Range Region.SpearNameless Mercenarys SpearFrom the Mercenary Set, this Spear unlocks the Spirit Skill Buster Spear in the Spear Skill Tree. This powerful attack begins with you leaping up in place and hurling your spear at an enemy from range. Aside from the base 2 Spirit consumed, it can be further charged with an extra 1 Spirit to significantly boost the damage and range of the skill.Various pieces of the Mercenary Set will drop from random enemies..Formless Warriors SpearThis Deep Shadow Set Spear unlocks the Assault: Skyfall skill that improves upon Assault: Descent from the Spear Skill Tree. After leaping into the air, Khazan will descend into a shockwave attack with a fairly wide area of effect, and consumes 1 spirit.Various pieces of the Deep Shadow Set will drop from random enemies..Crushed Dreams SpearFrom the Crushed Dreams Set, this Spear will boost brink guard damage by 4% for 10 seconds at a time. While quite a short duration, it does stack up to five times, for a total increase of 20% brink guard damage.Various random pieces of the Crushed Dreams Set will drop from both Elamein in El Ravaca Village, and Remnant of Elamein in Darion Castle.Those are some of the most powerful skills to be unlocked through weapons in The First Berserker: Khazan.

With a little over a week having passed since the release of Assassins Creed Shadows, creative director Jonathan Dumont has revealed that the games development team is looking into ways to offer players more challenging experiences. Speaking to GamesRadar at GDC 2025, Dumont said that player feedback about wanting harder difficulty options isnt falling on deaf ears.According to Dumont, the team working on updates for Assassins Creed Shadows is always listening and monitoring what players are doing, in order to bring out timely bug fixes and other potential features down the line.Dumont also spoke about how the studio is actively looking at ways at making even a tougher difficulty for some of our players. While he didnt go into detail about what this harder difficulty would entail, it would be an interesting exercise, considering the hybrid mix of RPG and stealth gameplay that Assassins Creed Shadows provides.How challenging do you want it, asked Dumont. But were looking at these things and monitoring what people say about the game.He also spoke the variety in feedback that Ubisoft has been getting for Assassins Creed Shadows, and how the development team cant take every suggestion into account for future updates.Obviously, we cant do everything, but there are things that were going to be actioning on, and just for the next updates, there are quite a bit of bug fixes and little feature enhancement stuff that is coming in, said Dumont. I cant just make a list. Theres quite a bit of it. So the team is always working to improve the game, and hopefully, people will be able to see the difference when theyre playing Shadows in the upcoming months.Assassins Creed Shadows hit PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 20. Leading up to its release, however, there was quite a bit of uncertainty about the game because of its release date getting constantly delayed. In another interview, Dumont revealed that the development team actually used the delays to further polish up Assassins Creed Shadows.Not really, responded Dumont when asked if the reception of Star Wars Outlaws had anything to do with the games myriad delays. We were basically trying to make the most polished game that we [can]. He went on to say that the delays were because, our game was there, so just making sure that we dont have bugs and that the experience is clean for people.Dumont also spoke about a few additions the team was able to make to Assassins Creed Shadows thanks to its delays, including additional character moments that further help develop relationships. Its kind of cool also that we were close to launch, and then we get this extra time to do the things that typically youre doing at the end, he said.For more details on Assassins Creed Shadows, check out our review. And as for why it might be so popular, check out our thoughts. In the meantime, also take a look at our guide about the best legendary gear sets from the game and where you can find them.

With Death Stranding 2: On the Beach coming up this Summer, Kojima Productions has announced a new milestone for its predecessor. Its crossed 20 million players after launching worldwide in 2019, up from the 19 million+ announced last November.However, sales numbers have yet to be updated since the five million+ announced in 2021 for PS4 and PC. The action-adventure title has also been released for PS5, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Xbox Series X/S and joined subscription services like Game Pass (which it left in 2023) and PlayStation Plus Extra.As for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, it launches on June 26th exclusively for PS5. Pre-orders are open, with the Digital Deluxe Edition providing 48 hours of advanced access. Kojima Productions latest story trailer showcased several new features like sandstorms, new tools and extensive combat. Check out our feature for five things should know or learn more about what makes it so visually arresting.DEATH STRANDING has surpassed 20 million players worldwide!To everyone who built bridges, paved roads, and delivered cargoheres a massive Like! All your connections made this incredible milestone possible. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who has played. KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS en (@en.bsky.kojimaproductions.jp) 2025-03-31T10:01:47.963Z

Developer Infuse Studio and publisher Silver Lining Interactive have announced that Spirit of the North 2 will be coming to PC (via Steam), PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 8. The release date was announced alongside a new trailer, which you can check out below.Along with the games release date, the Signature Edition of Spirit of the North 2 was also unveiled. Slated for release on PC and PS5, Spirit of the North 2 Signature Edition will be a physical release of the game that also includes a host of physical goodies.Spirit of the North 2 Signature Edition will include the game itself, a signed, full-colour art and lore booklet, two embroidered patches, four metal character pins, two art cards, and two mystical Runescript cards. All of this, along with a copy of the game, will be packed into an oversized collectors box that features exclusive cover art made for the Signature Edition.The Signature Edition will be available exclusively from Silver Lining Direct, and is priced at 64.99 for either the PC or the PS5 version. The standard edition of Spirit of the North 2 is priced at 24.99 on PC and 34.99 on PS5.Spirit of the North 2 was announced all the way back in October 2023. In the game, players take on the role of a fox that is on a journey through a ruined world to try and restore the guardian beasts. Along the way, the fox, accompanied by a raven, will have to deal with the dark shaman Grimnir.The core gameplay in Spirit of the North 2 will feature quite a bit of exploration. Through this, players will also be able to upgrade their abilities by finding magical runes hidden all over the world. There will also be quite a bit of side content in the form of optional challenges and secrets that players can find.The original announcement trailer gave us a look at the kinds of environments that players will get to explore throughout the world, ranging from labyrinthine ruins, snow-capped mountains, and dark and dank crypts. While not too much in the form of more details have been revealed for Spirit of the North 2, the developers at Infuse Studios have said that players will have to deal with enemies through puzzle-based encounters.In Spirit of the North 2, players will be able to explore the untamed Northern Isles where they will be able to uncover ancient mysteries and even get new abilities as they cleanse the land around them of its corruption. The studio has stated that it will take players more than 16 hours to finish the main story of Spirit of the North 2. It is unknown whether that play time also includes optional content that players can discover.As its name might imply, Spirit of the North 2 is a sequel. Its predecessor, aptly dubbed Spirit of the North, was released back in November 2019 on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. For more details, check out our review of the PS4 version of the title.

While French studio Sandfall Interactive had revealed some of its inspirations behind the gameplay of upcoming turn-based RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 earlier this month, it turns out that the inspirations go even deeper. Speaking to Giant Bomb, creative director Guillaume Broche has revealed that, among other things, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was also inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli.When asked about the studio behind inspired by Japanese culture and its media, Broche revealed that the studio had seen Studio Ghiblis movies probably 25 times. Broche also said that that the games composer, Lorien Testard, was also inspired by the music from the movies like Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kikis Delivery Service, which was composed by Joe Hisaishi.When it comes to the art style of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Broche also spoke about how the developers wanted to capture the sense of adventure and wonder that is often present in the works of Studio Ghibli. He brings up movies like Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle as examples of the sense of wonder that the studio is going for.Our director is not huge on Japanese culture, so every time we discuss this its like he brings his own, more Western influence, said Broche. And I try to bring him more like Eastern influences, and it creates like this kind of weird mix that we have.Sandfall Interactive co-founder and game producer Franois Meurisse previously spoke about some of the gameplay inspirations for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Among many other things, the RPG is seemingly inspired by games like the classic turn-based Final Fantasy, with Meurisse specifically naming Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9 and 10. There are also influences from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, especially when it comes to defensive options since players will be able to parry attacks with properly-timed button presses.Those are big childhood games for Guillaume [Broche], our game director, Meurisse said, talking about Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, and 10. He wanted to have like kind of feeling that he imagined would have remained in modern Final Fantasy-like games, if they had kept doing turn-based stuff. But he mixed also lots of different inspirations. Definitely Final Fantasy and JRPGs are the preeminent gameplay heritage we have. The defense system is more inspired by Sekiro and From Software games. It has this kind of rhythm element and a more real-time component in it. More skill-based.Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is slated for release on April 24. The game will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It is turning out to be a highly-anticipated title, with the studio revealing that it had crossed the one million wishlists milestone earlier today.The release date of the game is also more or less set in stone at this point, since the studio had announced just last week that it had gone gold. For more details about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, check out one of its more recent character trailers that focused on the mage Lune.

April has its share of big releases, yet Sandfall Interactives Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the more intriguing. It went gold recently, and in a new tweet, the developer announced that it crossed one million wishlists.How this will translate into sales is unknown, but it reflects some anticipation for the turn-based RPG. Launching on April 24th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is about an expedition setting out to slay the Paintress. After an incident results in the deaths of many in the group, its up to Gustave, Maelle, Lune, and Sciel to carry out the mission.The English voice cast features heavy hitters like Ben Starr, Charlie Cox, Jennifer English, and Andy Serkis. However, Expedition 33 also promises over 30 hours of gameplay with about as much side content and a combat system with parrying mechanics inspired by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Check out the latest character trailer and stay tuned for more updates.Weve officially surpassed ONE MILLION wishlists!Were absolutely blown away by your support. Thank you all for being part of this journey.With you by our side, The Paintress doesnt stand a chance.Tomorrow comes. pic.twitter.com/YWW3EF40kR Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (@expedition33) March 29, 2025

Rebellion Developments and XR Games have announced that VR shooter Zombie Army VR will be coming to PlayStation VR2, SteamVR, Meta Quest 2, and Meta Quest 3 on May 22. The game, priced at $29.99, is now available for pre-orders across all of the platforms.Zombie Army VR is a continuation of the story set forth by the Zombie Army franchise. In the game, players take on the role of a Deadhunter tasked with taking down zombie war criminals. Players will have to take on undead hordes near the bombed-out city of Nuremberg, and in the process, help Deadhunter leader Hermann Wolff find his family.As the games own store description puts it, the story of Zombie Army VR will ultimately revolve around bringing peace back to Europe, which still remains ravaged by war and zombies even after the death of Zombie Hitler.In Zombie Army VR, players will be able to make use both of their hands for an immersive experience. The use of both hands carries over to a number of gameplay options, including aiming down a guns sights, dual-wielding pistols and submachine guns, and even reloading when you run out of bullets.Among the vast arsenal players will have access to in Zombie Army VR are various kinds of sniper rifles, submachine guns, pistols, and other tools. All of these will be based on real-world World War 2 weaponry. Players will also be able to get their hands on upgrade kits to further make their guns more powerful, as well as earn experience to level up in order to get better accuracy.The traditional X-ray Kill Cams from the Zombie Army series will also be returning in Zombie Army VR, along with the kind of gameplay that fans of the series expect. Check out the trailer below for more details.The most recent title in the franchise was Zombie Army 4: Dead War, which was originally released back in 2020 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The game has since also been brought over to the Nintendo Switch. For PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players, Zombie Army 4: Dead War also got updated to make use of the most powerful hardware on current-gen consoles, allowing for better frame rates and higher resolutions.Check out our review of Zombie Army 4: Dead War from back in 2020 for more details.