Gaming

Blizzard's StarCraft is an iconic PC gaming franchise, a real-time strategy series that helped birth modern-day esports while still delivering cinematic single-player campaigns. It's also a PC gaming franchise that has been missing for years, and one that has seen multiple rumors and even announcements of third-person and even first-person shooter spin-offs - the most well-known being StarCraft Ghost from the Nintendo GameCube era.

In 2024, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier reported that the developer was working on a new first-person shooter set in the StarCraft universe, with Far Cry veteran Dan Hay at the helm. This project is apparently still in development and could receive a major reveal at BlizzCon 2026 later this year.

In addition, in 2025, we learned that Blizzard was partnering with Nexon (owner of Arc Raiders studio Embark) to create a new StarCraft game for the Southeast Asian market, which, at the time, we assumed would be a successor to StarCraft and StarCraft II's iconic RTS multiplayer. Well, fast-forward to today, and a new report from Korean site dnews (via ResetEra) claims that this, too, is also going to be a shooter.

With Tero Virtala being ousted on the heels of FBC Firebreak's bad sales performance, Remedy Entertainment has appointed a new CEO who has made a commitment to keeping Remedy's signature style intact.

Remedy has appointed a new CEO, Jean-Charles Gaudechon, to lead the studio. Gaudechon has had a long history in the video games industry, spending over a decade handling high-level exec functions at EA's international divisions--distribution, publishing, live services, etc.

In the announcement, Gaudechon made interesting remarks on Remedy's creative operations, outright pledging to essentially shield the studio's artists and developers using good business savvy. This is important, because Remedy still plans to self-publish new games, and that can be risky.

Ghost of Yotei proves that PlayStation users still show up for exclusive content, with the game generating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue in Sony's Holiday 2025 period.

Sucker Punch's new standalone sequel Ghost of Yotei is a big hit for PlayStation. In Sony's latest Q3'25 results, company management specifically mentioned Atsu's new adventure was a big driver for earnings in the quarter.

Sony's own sales data takes this even further. Back in November, just a month after release, Sony had confirmed Ghost of Yotei hit 3.3 million sales. Sony also confirms that it sold 13.2 million first-party games total during the entire quarter. This means that Ghost of Yotei made up over 25% of total PlayStation first-party games sold in Q3'25.

Discord today announced new age-restriction protocols in a bid to keep teen users more safe on the platform, including requiring some users to prove their age via ID or facial scan in order to get access to certain areas.

Discord is one of the most influential communication platforms on the planet, and has become the de-facto place to talk about--and promote--the billion-dollar video games industry, among many others. It's also where communities thrive, allowing users to engage in a forum-like environment with the added bonus of real-time chatting. With swelling engagement and adoption, Discord is eyeing a public offering, and making some transformations.

One of the biggest changes is that users may now have to prove their age in order to access Discord in its totality: "Beginning with a phased global rollout to new and existing users in early March, users may be required to engage in an age-verification process to change certain settings or access sensitive content. This includes age-restricted channels, servers, or commands and select message requests."

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox will reportedly run a full version of Windows 11 alongside its Xbox "mode" with a console-like UI, be found in different shapes, sizes, and power, and run the likes of both Steam and the Epic Games Store... all rumored for 2027.

In a new report from Windows Central, the next-gen Xbox will come in all shapes and sizes, and its 2027 rumored launch is the "best case scenario". The outlet reports: "Turn your next-gen Xbox into a streaming PC, coding station, music production studio, or whatever else. The difference here is that the Gen-10 Xbox "PC" will also run all of your current Xbox games, in addition to games from Windows 11 PC stores like Steam".

Windows Central also reports that Microsoft is working with OEMs like ASUS and others to build a "variety of options for next-gen Xbox gamers across a range of price points, like the two Xbox Ally models". The outlet was also told that Microsoft is still forging ahead with its first-party Xbox handheld, even "if the traditional Xbox console is the focus for now".

Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass has evolved since its inception, delivering day-one access to first-party releases and major third-party titles across consoles and PC. However, the surprise, seemingly sudden 50% price increase for the premium Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier in October 2025 caused significant backlash, diminishing Game Pass's overall value proposition in gamers' eyes.

As far as Xbox's first-party lineup is concerned, 2026 is going to be a banner year thanks to Forza Horizon 6, Fable, Gears of War E-Day, Halo: Campaign Evolved, the next Call of Duty, and more. According to a new report from The Verge's Tom Warren, Microsoft is planning further changes to the Xbox Game Pass tier structure in 2026, though there probably won't be another significant price increase.

That said, it's probably not great news for those with a PC Game Pass subscription. Citing sources familiar with Microsoft's plans, the company appears to be looking to merge the Xbox Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass Tiers, which would presumably remove access to the biggest day-one game releases for PC gamers in favor of a more streamlined set of offerings.

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, also known as Strix Halo, is a beast of an APU. It combines a 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 CPU with a max boost clock speed of 5.1 GHz, Radeon 8060S Graphics, a powerful NPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory. The upcoming AYANEO NEXT 2, which is the company's impressive next-gen PC gaming handheld, is set to include a flagship Strix Halo model with an MSRP of $4299.

The company is expecting to launch its Indiegogo campaign for the AYANEO NEXT 2 next week, and with pricing and specs for the various models confirmed, the AYANEO NEXT 2 flagship model sports the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory, and 2TB of PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD storage. Although the retail price is listed at $4299, the 'Early Bird Price' for this model will be $3499.

For those wanting an AYANEO NEXT 2 with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, the more sensible option appears to be the version with 64GB of memory and 1TB of storage, which has an 'Early Bird Price' of $2299 and an MSRP of $2699. Either way, you're looking at a lot of money for a PC gaming handheld with RTX 4060-level performance, with the inflated pricing most likely due to the current DRAM crisis.

The latest PlayStation 6, codenamed 'Orion,' and the upcoming next-generation PlayStation handheld, codenamed 'Canis,' have more hardware details revealed by renowned leaker KeplerL2. Posting on the NeoGAF discussion boards, KeplerL2 notes that the PlayStation 6's current spec should include 30GB of GDDR7 memory in a clamshell configuration, with 3GB modules.

In addition to its capacity, assuming a memory speed of 32 Gbps, the PlayStation 6's 30GB of memory could use a 160-bit bus for a total memory bandwidth of 640 GB/s. Compared to the baseline PlayStation 5's 16GB of GDDR6 at 448.0 GB/s, that's a 42% increase in bandwidth. Compared to the PlayStation 5 Pro, it's a more modest 11% increase in bandwidth; however, the capacity increase to 30GB is sizeable compared to current-gen hardware.

And with several leaks and rumors pointing to Sony also releasing a new portable PlayStation gaming handheld with custom hardware, KeplerL2 notes that the handheld will ship with 24GB of memory, reportedly utilizing LPDDR5X modules.

Sony doesn't believe that AI, generative or otherwise, will replace actual creatives in animation or games production.

Sony executive management once again comments about the use of artificial intelligence in content production, saying that AI is another utility or tool that a professional creator would have in their toolbelt--so to speak. In a recent Q&A with investors as part of Sony's Q3'25 earnings report, company CFO Lin Tao delves further into how Sony sees AI and how the group is using the tech to possibly help streamline and innovate things like game development.

We've already reported on the Sony CFO's first comments on AI, about how Sony wants its workers to use AI and how the group is prepared to disrupt how it makes games if it can help the PlayStation business. Tao says that Sony intends to use AI to accelerate and enable creators rather than replace them.

Arc Raiders has been a hugely profitable game for Embark Studios, but we can't be sure just how much the developer's take actually is.

With over 12 million sales across all platforms, PvPvE extraction shooter Arc Raiders is one of the most popular games on the market right now. The game sells for $40 per copy, and direct math says Arc Raiders could have made up to $496 million, or half a billion, from launch until January 2026 (this doesn't account for returns, charge-backs, and key resellers).

It's also recently been confirmed that Arc Raiders is a highly profitable game. There's reports that Arc Raiders had a budget of $75 million, and Embark won't confirm this number, but studio CEO Patrick Soderlund tells IGN that it's "not far off" and is a "ballpark" figure. In that same interview, Soderlund comments on the game's profitability and what it means for the people who made Arc Raiders.

Sony CFO Lin Tao indicates that the company is prepared to disrupt how its first-party developers make video games if it means being able to innovate and streamline content production while keeping costs managed.

Sony is going all-in on artificial intelligence, at least when it comes to game dev. In a recent Q&A with investors, Sony executives were asked about the use of AI in game development, a query that was likely spurred on by Google's new Genie AI tool. Sony Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao assures investors that AI is being used for game dev at PlayStation, yet the tech is still early and experimental.

"There is high affinity between AI and game and animation. In the long-term, I think, it's a very positive thing and there will be more content. But many areas will be impacted, especially how we develop and produce. So I think that this process, from idea to game, will be changing. But it's still too early to say what the impact will be, and how that will impact costs," Tao said in Sony's Q3'25 webcast.

Valve has recently updated Deadlock with some mentions of "HLX" inside of it, with HLX rumored as the codename of Half-Life 3, providing us with some more hopium fuel that it's on its way this year.

One of the biggest sources of Valve projects -- Gabe Follower -- confirmed on X that Valve's latest update for Deadlock includes mentions of the HLX project, who added that "HLX survived Valve's winter break".

One of the replies on the post said: "Gabe, i think that its getting to a point that HLX isnt half life X or 3. I think its just a new addition onto games that could be for moderation, making the games better, or something else completley. Stop giving us hopium that eventually turns into despairium. Thanks".

Blizzard isn't done with Diablo 2, and plans to launch new content for D2 Resurrected as part of the franchise's big 30th anniversary.

2026 marks 30 years of Blizzard's demonic dungeon-delving franchise, and to celebrate, the developers plan to refresh Diablo 2, Diablo IV, and Diablo Immortal with new content. There's no official details on what Blizzard has planned for Diablo 2--it could be a batch of new runewords or items, but something like a new paid expansion seems a bit iffy given the work involved.

Blizzard will reveal the new D2 update as part of the Diablo 30th anniversary stream, which goes live on February 11. The studio explains: "Join us at 2 p.m., February 11 to watch our Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight to witness a deep dive of what's next for Diablo II: Resurrected. As we head into Diablo's 30th year, there's a lot we want to share with you, and more to come."

Wolfenstein 3 is still a dream project for MachineGames, the modern stewards of the franchise, but the studio still won't announce any concrete details.

Bethesda has seen success with its modern reinvigoration of the classic Wolfenstein franchise, with the series having expanded across two mainline games, standalone DLC, and the experimental co-op spin-off Youngblood. Since 2019, though, the series has been on ice while MachineGames worked on their big-budget Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game.

Now that Indy's mainline adventure is wrapped up, it seems like a good time for MachineGames to tackle Wolfenstein 3. The group just recently expanded, opening another studio in Sweden that's just hours away from HQ. So what's next? Wolfenstein 3? More Indiana Jones? Studio leadership continues to tease a third BJ Blazkowicz adventure but won't make a commitment just yet.

Nintendo sounds like it is prepared to take a reduction in hardware profitability if it means growing the Switch 2's installed base.

After the failure of the Wii U, Nintendo came up with an aggressive plan to pursue hardware profitability, leading to the Switch handheld-hybrid releasing for $299 way back in 2017. The Switch was sold at a profit on day one, and since then, Nintendo's business has prioritized hardware profitability wherever possible. While Nintendo still plans to pursue this plan, the company may run out of wiggle room due to ongoing component shortages that threaten to drive up manufacturing costs, leading to a regression back to the semi-subsidized model where software helping offset the higher hardware production costs.

In a recent Q&A with investors, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa remarks on the Switch 2 pricing situation, saying that there are no immediate plans to raise consumer pricing. Furukawa says that many options will be explored insofar as maintaining profitability, but years 2 and 3 are the Switch 2's primary growth points and Nintendo wants to try to boost sales and fill out the system's installed base as much as possible throughout this time.

Nintendo has no short- or medium-term plans to raise prices on the Switch 2 console, despite the ongoing component shortages that threaten to drive up production costs.

AI datacenters are eating up all the RAM, leading to component shortages for consumer devices like video game consoles. The shortages have driven up costs; new reports indicate that Nintendo is now paying up to 40% more for chips like RAM and storage for its Switch and Switch 2 consoles. Nintendo has already raised the price of devices in its previous Switch generation--this usually happens the other way around, with costs driving down over time--and analysts believe a Switch 2 price hike is also coming in 2026.

Yet if this price hike is coming, Nintendo isn't ready to talk about it. In a recent Q&A with investors, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa says that the shortages haven't impacted or lowered Switch 2 sales profitability through Q3'26, a period which the company made nearly $1 billion in operating profit.

Although we didn't get a GeForce RTX 50 SUPER Series refresh announcement at CES 2026, and the current memory crisis is looking to delay that until next year, there was still plenty of goodness for GeForce RTX gamers at the show. Namely, the announcement of DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution (powered by a second-gen Transformer model), Multi Frame Generation 6X, and Dynamic Multi Frame Generation.

With DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution now available for all GeForce RTX gamers to enable via the NVIDIA App, it significantly improves DLSS's image quality. Some of the improvements are impressive, and as we went hands-on with the full DLSS 4.5 suite at CES, we're expecting to be equally impressed when DLSS 4.5's Dynamic Multi Frame Generation launches in April 2026.

This release date or window comes from German outlet Hardware Luxx, which recently went hands-on with DLSS 4.5 at an event in Munich. According to the report, NVIDIA plans to release Multi Frame Generation 6X and Dynamic Multi Frame Generation in April, and it's the Dynamic portion that's the one to get excited about.

Koei Tecmo's Nioh 3 is out this week and is one of the first major single-player releases of the year. The latest installment in the samurai action RPG sees players explore "various historical turbulent periods in Japanese history" as they take on monstrous yokai in a large open world.

Nioh 3 makes its PC debut with support for DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation for GeForce RTX 50 Series owners, with all RTX gamers getting the benefit of DLSS Super Resolution. The 17-minute gameplay above showcases the game's dark tone and fast-paced combat in detail, but there's also a playable demo you can check out right now.

The next title getting DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation support this week is Sea of Remnants from NetEase Games and Joker Studio. With players taking control of a puppet-like sailor in a vibrant, stylized world, this ocean adventure RPG looks absolutely massive, with a vast open world, naval combat, and a cast of 300+ characters, including a dynamic crew that you can recruit.

AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su recently said that the semi-custom SoC in development for Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console is "progressing well to support a launch in 2027".

During AMD's recent Q4 2025 earnings call, Su said: "For 2026, we expect semi-custom SoC annual revenue to decline by a significant double-digit percentage as we enter the seventh year of what has been a very strong console cycle. From a product standpoint, Valve is on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year. And development of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027".

We've had plenty of detail on the custom Magnus APU that AMD is crafting for the next-gen Xbox from leaker Moore's Law is Dead, who says that the next-gen Xbox will feature a huge 68 CUs of RDNA 5 GPU power, which means the new Xbox has more RDNA 5 CUs than the PlayStation 6 which reportedly has 52-54 CUs of RDNA 5.

NVIDIA has announced that GeForce Now is six-years-old, and the "party's just getting started" apparently.

The service has seen over a billion hours of streaming since the turn of the decade, NVIDIA boasted in its latest weekly blog post for GFN Thursday.

Highlights in terms of fresh additions for GeForce Now include Delta Force, a tactical shooter with an extraction mode and a large-scale battle mode (warfare).