Gaming - Page 152

Amidst the buzz from May the Fourth, Andor Season 2, and Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith returning to theatres, there's been a brief uptick in player counts for EA's Star Wars: Battlefront 2.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2, widely remembered for its controversial launch, has re-attracted a small core of players to the title. As of May 11, 2025, the game peaked at 5,942 players on SteamDB. The highest on PC since January 2021, when the Celebration Edition of the game released on Steam with 10,849 players.

Battlefront 2 received its last update five years ago with the Battle of Scarif, which was added to the game in April 2020. The game was initially slated to operate on a live service model, but the game's aggressive microtransactions and "pride and accomplishment" caused irreparable damage to the game's reputation.

Moon Studios, the developers behind the acclaimed Ori series, is facing financial difficulties as it prepares to release its latest ARPG, No Rest for the Wicked.

As outlined in a recent forum post, Moon Studios has been struggling to cover development costs due to negative reviews affecting sales. Studio head Thomas Mahler highlighted, "in people's mind, there's always some big publisher in the background who'll cover costs". However, in the case of Moon Studios, negotiations with its former publisher saw the team go fully independent in March 2025 - leaving the studio without a financial backer.

No Rest for the Wicked launched in early access on April 19, 2025. The game accumulated just under 15,000 reviews, with a 69% positive rating in its first week. Many players praised the game's art style and cinematic presentation, but criticisms mounted due to the game's "needless" difficulty, performance issues, and general frustrations around the experience.

It's been a while since Kingdom Come: Deliverance II's last major content update, Hardcore Mode, arrived on April 13. The team at Warhorse Studios has been cooking up something big, and we can confirm that the game's first DLC, Brushes with Death, will be launching May 15.

As shared on X, the new DLC starts when Henry encounters a mysterious painter tied up in the woods. From there, the story unravels, centered around "a skull, a secret, and a painter with a past."

Warhorse Studios has been tight-lipped about the story in Brushes with Death, leaving us only with a summary of how the story begins. The DLC, bound to contain twists and turns, is the game's first major story expansion. It follows several updates in March and April, including barber mode and hardcore mode, which were released as free DLC. The remaining roadmap, which includes Brushes With Death, and Legacy of the Forge DLC, now focuses on paid expansion content.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has gone on sale for the first time, with a 15% discount available until the game's first DLC, Brushes with Death, releases May 15.

As highlighted in a recent news bulletin, the current Steam sale is the first time Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has been discounted. Players can jump into the standard edition for $50.99, saving $9.00 on Steam. The Gold Edition, which includes the gallant Huntsman's Kit, three upcoming expansions, and Shields of Seasons Passing, is available at $67.99 - down from $79.99 USD.

Since the game's first DLC, Brushes with Death, is slated to release on May 15, the sale encourages players to "get a head start" before the new in-game content drops. The new DLC content begins when Henry encounters a mysterious painter tied up to a post in the woods, after which the story centered around "a skull, a secret, and the past" unravels.

Arrowhead Game Studios has officially announced Masters of Ceremony - the latest royalty-themed Warbond arriving in Helldivers II on May 15.

As detailed in a recent blog post, Masters of Ceremony mobilizes the Federation's "most regal-looking troops yet." The content pack has a distinctly royal theme, from the musket-style R-2 Amendment to the elegant CQC-2 sabre.

As part of the premium pack, players can access the 'Parade Commander' and 'Honorary Guard' armor sets, which draw inspiration from old-school military uniforms. The bundle also comes with its own strategem, booster, and unique throwable - and, of course, stylish capes to match.

Star Wars: The Old Republic's Game Update 7.7, "Dynamic Worlds", is now available for testing on the game's public test server (PTS). The update adds a swath of new content, including dynamic encounters, character modernization, storyline advancements, and more - and is expected to arrive between late May and early June.

As outlined in a recent developer livestream, Update 7.7 focuses on adding new dynamic encounters to the game. In SWTOR, dynamic encounters are a new type of "scheduled, timed quests" that range from humorous to exciting. For example, carrying baby Tauntauns up a hill, helping a Gonk droid with advertising, or launching Gamorreans into a Sarlacc pit.

"Dynamic Worlds" adds new encounters to Tython, Korriban, Ord Mantell, Hutta, Dromund Kass, Coruscant, and Ilum. Allowing players to engage with a variety of new, timed quests on some of the game's major planets. Broadsword specifies that dynamic content "changes, depending on where your character is in the story," and advises testers to experiment across the game's many different eras.

Sony is rumored to be cooking up its next-gen PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaling technology, ready for its PS5 Pro console, and I will continue to say: perfect for Grand Theft Auto 6.

In a new video from leaker Moore's Law is Dead, we're hearing that the new PSSR 2 upscaler might not actually be branded PSSR -- or branded at all -- but the leaker says that PSSR requires a base resolution of 864p (1536 x 864) and is then upscaled using AI to 4K on the PS5 Pro.

Sony reportedly wants to nail down 4K 120FPS (locked) and even 8K 60FPS with PSSR support, with MLID noting that if game developers can get their game running on the PS5 Pro running well at 4K at even 55-60FPS, then PSSR will let developers get to 70-80FPS (noting that it doesn't get you to 100FPS).

We're one day into the large-scale beta for Dune: Awakening. During which, select players have had a chance to test and submit feedback ahead of the game's June 10 launch. Funcom has since opened the beta to include all players with pre-orders, who can now play the game for the remainder of the May 9-12 period.

As detailed in a blog post, Funcom has been "working with Steam on a solution.", regarding the request for beta access among pre-order users. Now, players who own or decide to pre-own Dune Awakening should see a Beta Weekend product in their Steam Library. The team highlights that you may need to restart your Steam Client to see the Dune: Awakening beta pop up.

The game, which operates on a mixture of the live service and paid DLC model, has three pre-order editions that players can purchase. The $49.99 standard edition includes the Tarrarium of Muad'Dib, a Sunset Dye Global Swatch, and 5 days early access. The Deluxe Edition at $69.99, includes all of the above, as well as the Sardaukar Bator Armor and the game's Season Pass. The $89.99 Ultimate Edition includes the above, in addition to the Digital Artbook, Digital Soundtrack, a Stillsuit based on the film, and more in-game items.

There are a couple of new freebies on the Epic Games Store, and one of them is an innovative twist on a real-time strategy game where you construct, and live or die, based on how many words per minute you can rack up on your keyboard.

Touch Type Tale lets you build stuff, expand your territory, guide your armies around (outflanking your opponents and such), or you may even find yourself defending against a siege - all of which is facilitated by typing words as swiftly as you can manage.

You can check out the trailer for Touch Type Tale above to get a taste of what's in store. There are five difficulty levels, and should you want a language-related spin, you can type words in, say, French instead of English.

DOOM: The Dark Ages has introduced a mech suit to make destroying the armies of Hell just that much more blood-soaked and enjoyable.

The embargo for DOOM: The Dark Ages has lifted, meaning the reviews have gone live, and those who obtained a copy of the game early can publish their thoughts. I was lucky enough to be one of those people, and below are my thoughts on the mech gameplay. The unveiling of the mech suit in the several trailers released by Bethesda attracted quite a "wow" moment from fans, as players are now able to jump into a huge Slayer-esque mech suit to take on several what would be considered end-game-level bosses in previous games.

The gear-up for the mech was awesome, with the Slayer having to connect to the mech via a neuralink to synchronize his body movements with the mech's arms and legs. After that, the blood and glory began. Players are able to take on massive demons in hand-to-hand combat, and with enough combos can unleash a stomp attack, stunning surrounding enemies. It isn't all just hand-to-hand combat, as you are eventually given a railgun to mow enemies down from afar.

Bethesda and id Software have dropped the embargo for the highly anticipated DOOM: The Dark Ages, the prequel to DOOM (2016), which puts players back into the blood-soaked hands of the Slayer, but something is different.

Above is the game's opening cinematic, which shows many of the scenes we have seen in the few trailers id Software and Bethesda have published leading up to the game's release. From the cinematic, we get some much-needed context about where the battle we saw in the trailers, who is involved, and what the demons are after.

The cinematic doesn't spoil much of the story at all, and more so, sets up the story for what players are about to experience. So, I wouldn't consider this a spoiler but a teaser. However, for those wishing to avoid spoilers entirely, stop reading now.

The embargo for DOOM: The Dark Ages has officially lifted, giving us a look at the new blood-soaked DOOM game by Bethesda and id Software. Below are a selection of 4K screenshots to show off its glory.

I was lucky enough to snag an early copy of DOOM: The Dark Ages and have been diving into the action for the past couple of days. What can I say about it? Well, it's exactly what you would expect if you are a DOOM fan. It's adrenaline-pumping, fast-paced, glorious, graphically impressive, and, of course, an absolute slaughter. I haven't come across a game that makes you feel more like a badass than DOOM, as both the good guys and the bad guys (demons) fear the Slayer - and for good reason.

Taking control of an unstoppable force such as the Slayer and being pitted against the armies of Hell as the only savior is an undeniably enticing premise. It's you versus them. Equipped with a variety of weapons, and this time around, a shield that works like Thor's hammer, which eventually gets upgraded with blades, players will feel like a force to be reckoned with. DOOM: The Dark Ages releases on PS5, Xbox, and PC on May 15. Check out some of the action below in the screenshots, and if you are interested in some Mech gameplay or the opening cinematic, they are both linked below.

Mafia: The Old Country is set to arrive on August 8 and we've just been treated to the PC hardware requirements.

Check out the specs your gaming PC will need below, as shared via the game's Steam page (hat tip to Wccftech). Overall, it's not too demanding, except for recommending that you have 32GB of system RAM.

Of course, recommending 32GB of RAM is becoming more commonplace in PC gaming these days, and the minimum spec still lets you get away with 16GB. (Which really is the bare minimum for contemporary gaming - when it comes to a new rig, everyone should be shooting for 32GB in terms of future-proofing at this point).

AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.5.1 is here, and if you're a Radeon gamer planning on picking up DOOM: The Dark Ages, make sure you update as it adds day one support for the highly anticipated game. This is also a big one for RDNA 4 owners with a Radeon RX 9070 or Radeon RX 9070 XT, as FSR 4 support has also been added to seven new games.

Alongside DOOM: The Dark Ages, which launches next week, the latest driver for Radeon graphics adds support for F1 25, the latest annual entry in Codemasters and EA's Formula 1 racing series, due to arrive at the end of the month.

Titles getting FSR 4 support, AMD's latest AI-powered version of FSR exclusive to the Radeon RX 9000 Series, include some major titles like Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, Frostpunk 2, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and The Finals. FSR 4 significantly improves over FSR 3.1 and rivals DLSS 3 regarding image quality.

Mafia, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia II, and Mafia III are now all playable on GeForce NOW, NVIDIA's streaming service, where you can game on a cloud-based GeForce RTX 4080. This announcement arrives alongside the latest gameplay trailer for Mafia: The Old Country, which is set to launch on April 8, 2025, on PC (Steam). As part of the big mafioso library of games coming to GeForce NOW, Mafia: The Old Country is set to arrive on the service on day one.

This is a cool addition because it includes over two decades of games in a long-running series, with the original Mafia dating back to 2002. To put that into context, this is the year when Microsoft pushed its brand-new Windows XP operating system while most of us were still running Windows 98. It's also the year of the GeForce 4 series of graphics cards. For its time, the original Mafia was considered one of the most visually impressive games ever made, thanks to its digital recreation of a bustling fictional New York-inspired Empire Bay set in the 1930s.

Mafia: Definitive Edition, which was released in 2020, is an impressive, built-from-the-ground-up faithful remake of the original Mafia, so it's great to see both versions of the game supported on GeForce NOW.

Although Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed to May 26, 2026, the next entry in publisher 2K's other organized crime series is set to launch on August 8, 2025. Alongside the release date announcement for Mafia: The Old Country, which is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, a new gameplay trailer showcases its "focused, linear" cinematic action.

The latest entry in the popular and long-running Mafia series is set in 1900s Sicily. Players take on the role of Enzo Favara as he "works his way up Don Torrisi's crime family." The trailer showcases several cinematic and gameplay elements snippets, including sections where Enzo is on horseback, driving a car, exploring ruins, and fighting through a lavish estate.

Although confirmation that the game will be linear might be a little confusing, even though Mafia has traditionally been compared to Rockstar's GTA series, most entries have been linear experiences set in open environments with minimal side activities. The vast locales are merely backdrops for the action.

Nintendo expects the Switch to become its new best-selling system of all time by March 2026.

The Nintendo DS' reign is about to end. That's according to Nintendo, whose latest hardware sales forecast shows the Switch 1 could outpace the legendary dual-screen handheld by early next year.

According to Nintendo's latest FY25 report, the Switch 1 family of consoles (launch model, Lite, OLED) has shipped a combined 152.12 million units globally. Nintendo actually expects to ship another 4.5 million Switch 1 consoles throughout the new Fiscal Year 2026 period (which began on April 1, 2025 and ends March 31, 2026). That would put the Switch's total shipments at 156.62 million compared to the Nintendo DS' longstanding 154.02 million.

The current global tariff war will eat into Nintendo's bottom line and shave off hundreds of millions of dollars in net profit, company president Shuntaro Furukawa tells investors and media.

Tariffs have impacted Nintendo's Fiscal Year 2026 outlook. The Japanese games-maker expects its new Switch 2 platform to be a hit, with forecasts at 15 million systems shipped and 45 million games sold. Nintendo forecasts net sales to spike by +63% year-over-year to 1.9 trillion yen (about $13 billion in today's forex rates), and if achieved, this would be a new all-time earnings record.

Unfortunately, Nintendo's FY26 profit forecast isn't as optimistic, with a small +7.6% increase from FY25's results to deliver 300 billion yen (about $2 billion). This is on the lower end of Nintendo's annual profits made during the Switch 1's lifecycle.

Nintendo has carefully laid out its annual earnings forecast with only the current tariffs in mind, and if the economic landscape changes too much, Nintendo says it is prepared to consider a price hike.

Today, Nintendo published its Fiscal Year 2025 results online, complete with Switch 2 sales predictions, and held a press briefing for Japanese media to discuss the numbers. Nintendo's forecast, which calls for 1.9 trillion yen in net sales ($13 billion), is modeled after the current tariff structure.

If tariffs were to dramatically shift upwards, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told reporters that the company is prepared to raise prices of its products to compensate. Nintendo has maintained the Switch 2's $450 price in the United States despite impact from tariffs, but that may change depending on market trends. Nintendo had already raised prices of its games to $80 for the new Switch 2 generation.

Nintendo's newly published Switch 2 sales forecast is conservative and reserved compared to analyst expectations.

Nintendo expects the Switch 2 to sell 15 million units in about 10 months, making it the fastest-selling console ever. This milestone is impressive on paper, but comparing the forecast with historical results shows that the Switch 2 would only beat the Switch 1's first-year sales by some 130,000 units (with 2 months to spare).

Analysts like Niko Partners director of research and insights Daniel Ahmad says that this estimate is an example of Nintendo holding back and being reserved, which is typical of the company. Niko Partners had the Switch 2 shipping 14.5 million consoles in just a six-month period (by the end of December 2025). Nintendo's 15 million Switch 2 estimate is sizable 10-month period ranging from June 2025 - March 2025, and in Niko's forecast, the Switch 2 would hit 14.5 million with an entire extra 3-month quarter to spare.