Gaming - Page 155

The release of the Nintendo Switch 2 is still a month away, and we are beginning to hear how big third-party titles will be arriving on Nintendo's next-generation console.

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws is headed to the Nintendo Switch 2 and now we are hearing through retailers the game will be arriving in the form of a Game Key card, and not a physical cartridge that contains the entire game. In fact, the physical cartridge in the Star Wars Outlaws box won't contain any data at all, with players being required to perform a "full download" of the title via the internet to access the game.

For those who don't know, the Switch 2 is ushering in a new way for third-party publishers to get their games on the new system, called Game Key Cards. These cards, while physical, will not contain any of the game files on the card itself. Instead, they will act as an activation key for the respective game. Once the game is activated, it will begin downloading. Why has Nintendo gone this route? Multiple reasons. The first is to enable publishers to save on buying expensive high-capacity game cartridges, which may not be entirely filled by the game that is loaded onto them.

Earlier today, Microsoft announced that Gears of War: Reloaded, a remaster of the first game in the series, is coming to consoles and PCs, including the PlayStation 5. Naturally, the media (including one of our stories) has focused on Microsoft bringing one of its biggest 'exclusives' to PlayStation consoles and how Gears of War paves the way for Halo to cross over into the land of Sony hardware.

However, one part of the announcement is interesting and indicative of Microsoft's new direction for its Xbox gaming business. Per the headline over at Xbox Wire, "Gears of War: Reloaded Comes to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, PlayStation 5 and Steam in Summer 2025." Microsoft now refers to a Windows 11 PC, the Xbox App, and PC Game Pass as the 'Xbox PC' platform.

This could be chalked up to marketing, which ties into the company's recent everything in an Xbox campaign. Still, it does signal that this is how Microsoft will refer to its various Xbox gaming platforms going forward. Xbox Series X|S for consoles, Xbox Cloud Gaming for streaming on multiple devices, and Xbox PC for playing games via the Xbox App or PC Game Pass on a Windows PC, laptop, or gaming handheld.

Ubisoft has shared the latest patch notes for Assassins Creed: Shadows Title Update 1.0.4, which introduces some new story content, improvements to the in-game codex, and a long list of bug fixes for the title.

The update comes as part of the game's year 1 roadmap, with 1.0.4 releasing as planned in early May.

As posted to the game's official subreddit, the update's headliner is the story DLC "The Works of Luis Frost," which throws gamers into an encounter with Luis Frois, providing players with a chance to "help an old friend." The mission will be available by heading to Azuchi, where Luis can be located south of the Merchants' Quarters. The quest becomes available after players complete Yasuke's "The Path He Walks."

The first entry to Halo Infinite's Summer Update series, Operation: Last Stand, is set to launch tomorrow, adding 'the Mutilator', new game modes, and a fresh battle pass. Halo Studios' second update in the 3-part series, Operation: Legacy, sets its sights on Halo 3 - in a content update that throws things back to 2007.

Halo Infinite was criticized for a lack of in-game content in the year following its late 2021 launch. Since then, Halo Studios has been making up for lost time, starting with the game's Winter Update in 2022, which introduced Forge, campaign co-op, and a custom game browser. There have been 18 updates to Halo Infinite since Winter 2022, and the recent shift from seasons to the shorter 'Operations' format has lessened the wait times for new content.

As teased in the latest community live stream, Operation: Legacy is themed around Halo 3. The studio teased some brief snippets of what's in store for the retro update, starting with Halo 3's EOD armor, which was a campaign reward for completing various Halo 3 missions on legendary difficulty.

Nintendo is suing accessory-maker Genki for alleged trademark infringement.

On May 2, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Human Things, Inc in the Central District courts of California (Nintendo of America Inc. v. Human Things, Inc., 2:25-cv-03960, link). In the complaint, Nintendo alleges, in part, that Genki had used Switch branding in an unauthorized way that confused consumers and potentially damaged Nintendo in numerous ways.

At CES 2025, Genki sparked tons of headlines by showing off its new products on a dummy Switch 2. Genki had said that the mock-up was based on a real Switch 2 system, and affirmed that their accessories would fit the new handheld. Nintendo caught wind of this and shut the rumor down quickly.

Gears of War, one of the seminal franchises that helped shape the identity of Xbox, is now crossing over to PlayStation.

It's happening: Gears of War is coming to PlayStation. Today, Microsoft and Sony announced Gears of War: Reloaded, a new remaster of the 2006 original third-person shooter. Gears Reloaded is coming August 26, 2025 and will be sold for $39.99 on a veritable laundry list of platforms, including PlayStation 5.

The Gears franchise helped establish the Xbox brand during the platform-defining Xbox 360 era, and was a premiere Xbox exclusive series of games for nearly 20 years. Gears breaking platform exclusivity isn't exactly a surprise, as Xbox CEO Phil Spencer has said that no first-party games are off limits for cross-overs. The plan has apparently worked quite well, with Xbox earnings rising and first-party Xbox games topping PlayStation's charts.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has now sold more than 3 million copies in its first 3 months on the market, developer Warhorse has announced.

Recently revealed sales figures show that KCD2 is a big success for independent developer Warhorse Studios. The Prague-based group has sold 3 million copies of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 on all platforms in just 3 months, with the game also seeing high acclaim from players. The sequel currently sits at an 88 Metacritic rating and is in the running for game of the year.

"Over 3 million Henrys setting out on their adventures - and leaving their mark on Bohemia. Thank you for every quest completed, every battle fought, and every story written!" Warhorse writes on Twitter.

Oblivion Remastered was the most-downloaded game on the PlayStation Store in the US in April 2025, Sony reveals in a PlayStation Blog post. But that's not the only Xbox game on the PS Store's top downloads list.

Sony today published the list of the most-downloaded games on the PlayStation Store across North America and Europe for the month of April 2025. The results are interesting to say the least, underlining Microsoft's cross-platform success. The rankings show that not only did Oblivion Remastered hit #1 on the PS5's top downloads section, but first-party Xbox games also comprised 4 out of the top 10 slots in North America (Oblivion Remastered, Minecraft, Forza Horizon 5, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6).

Xbox had an even bigger impact on the PS Store's European charts, with 5 out of the top 10 most-downloaded PlayStation 5 games being first-party Xbox games (Forza Horizon 5, Oblivion Remastered, Minecraft, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Call of Duty Black Ops 6).

GTA 6's delay will provide some breathing room for other games targeting a Fall 2025 release date, and one analyst says that GTA 6 would have 'devoured' billions of dollars in spending had it launched during its original planned release date.

Rockstar recently delayed Grand Theft Auto 6 to 2026, but had the game met its original 2025 launch, it was expected to be such a big deal that it would uplift the collective games industry. GTA V was the largest entertainment property launch in history with $1 billion earned in 3 days of sales. GTA 6 is expected to be even bigger--so big that it could eclipse a multitude of other games that unfortunately release alongside it.

We've seen analyst make predictions on GTA 6's breakout sales, and now Epyllion CEO Matthew Ball recently weighed in on the other side of the coin--what happens to the games that would've launched near GTA 6? "For the rest of the market, GTA's delay provides much needed - though only temporary - oxygen. The title was expected to devour billions of dollars in consumer spend."

It was only immediately after the release of the original Nintendo Switch that rumors began flying around about the successor console, but now we have confirmation on when Nintendo began work on that console.

In new court documents between Nintendo and accessory company Genki, it's stated there were only two years between the release of the original Nintendo Switch and work beginning on the successor console, which is now officially called the Nintendo Switch 2. The documents state that Nintendo began planning the Nintendo Switch 2 shortly after the release of the original Switch, with "formal hardware development beginning around 2019."

The Nintendo Switch 2 wouldn't be officially announced by Nintendo until January 2025, marking six years of silent development on the console, which provides significant performance improvements compared to the original Switch. While Nintendo didn't officially recognize the Switch 2 in any capacity, throughout that time, numerous rumors swirled about its performance capabilities, display size, functionality, etc.

The release of Oblivion Remastered has taken over the internet, with numerous social media platforms being flooded with images and videos of the remastered nearly 20-year-old game.

The surprise launch of Oblivion Remastered following Bethesda's live stream confirming the title existed sent shockwaves through the gaming industry, with hundreds of thousands of players flocking to clients and services to get a taste of "new" Elder Scrolls magic. Despite being available on Game Pass for considerably less, Oblivion Remastered has still managed to top Steam charts, with the title reaching an all-time peak of 216,784 players, and a hovering 24-hour peak of approximately 140,000 concurrent players.

Now, we are beginning to hear about sales. According to Circana's Mat Piscatella, data for the week ending April 26 indicates Oblivion Remastered is the third best-selling game of 2025, behind Monster Hunter: Wilds and Assassin's Creed: Shadows. For the week it has been out, Oblivion Remastered was the best-selling title that week. These accolades are hardly surprising, as Bethesda confirmed Oblivion Remastered had already amassed more than 4 million players.

The Assassin's Creed franchise was kicked off with Altaïr, but you could argue Assassin's Creed didn't become a household name until Assassin's Creed II, when players took control of Ezio Auditore.

Assassin's Creed II debuted in 2009, and since then, Ezio Auditore has been renowned as one of, if not the most iconic protagonists of the Assassin's Creed franchise, arguably being the springboard the franchise needed to get to where it is today. And now he is coming back, unfortunately, not in a mainline Assassin's Creed game, but in another title where he will be joined by the two main protagonists from Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Kassandra and Alexios.

The title is called Reverse: 1999, and the collaboration is a franchise-first for Assassin's Creed, with the three main protagonists of the mainline Assassin's Creed games being added into the turn-based RPG that has amassed a staggering 30 million players since it launched in October 2023. Here's how it's going to work. The collaboration will be split into two phases, with the first being in Renaissance Florence, the location where players first met Ezio Auditore in 2009, and the second will be Ancient Greece for Alexios and Kassandra.

Limited-timed modes, or LTMs, are headed to Call of Duty, and while fans of the franchise may be excited to hear of periodically switching gamemodes, they may not be as thrilled to learn they will be placed behind the Battle Pass paywall.

That is according to serial leaker TheGhostofHope, known for their accurate Call of Duty leaks. According to Hope, Call of Duty is revising its Battle Pass strategy and including LTMs within the upcoming Call of Duty game, but to make the Battle Pass that much more enticing for players these LTMs will be locked behind the paywall, meaning players wanting to enjoy them will need to fork out $20 to $30 for the Battle Pass to be granted access.

If these rumors pan out to be true it will undoubtedly cause an uproar among the community of players, who are already battling with rumors that the next Call of Duty will be one of Xbox's first $80 games. For those who are out of the loop, Xbox recently announced it was increasing the price of its first party titles from the marketwide standard of $70 to $80, citing the current economic climate amid the newly implemented US export tariffs.

Pre-orders for Ghost of Yōtei opened three days ago, during which the $69.99 Standard Edition, $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition, and the whopping $249.99 Collector's Edition went live. Since then, fans have been quick to jump on the anticipated title, topping the charts in over a dozen major regions.

As shared by ZubyTech, Ghost of Yōtei currently holds the #1 pre-order spot across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. The full list of countries, as sighted on the PlayStation Store, includes:

The game, which has been in development since 2020's Ghost of Tsushima, introduces a new protagonist, Atsu - who seeks vengeance across the northern regions of Japan. Set 300 years after its predecessor, the game aims to explore feudal Japan, specifically in the early Edo period.

It hasn't taken long for modders to unify around Oblivion: Remastered. Despite the absence of official mod tools, the team from Skyrim Together has done it again, introducing a new "soapstone" mechanic that allows players to leave messages similar to Dark Souls and Death Stranding.

Ghosts of Tamriel, which released May 1, allows players to "Share wisdom in game with other players via interactable messages and pay respect to adventurers who sadly died". The mod requires an online connection to share messages, and operates by allowing you to type up messages, which appear in the world as floating blue stones.

Messages left behind will display your character's name, in addition to your message of choice. The blue lodestones that appear, while perhaps not an obvious choice for Oblivion, add a nice level of interactivity in the game world. Players can warn each other of deadly bosses, share observations about the game world, or simply bask in some friendly banter.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 players are racking up the number of in-game items they have stolen, with developer Warhorse Studios putting the playerbase on blast by revealing a hilarious statistic.

Warhorse Studios is currently celebrating Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 reaching three million copies sold within just three months of being released, with the developer recently taking to the social media platform X to share some interesting statistics about what players are doing within the open-world RPG. Warhorse reveals that players have killed 489,136,12 humans, with the three most-used weapons being the long sword with 207 million kills, the normal sword 102 million, and 40 million dagger kills.

As for enemies being killed at range, Warhorse has revealed 55,088,512 enemies have been killed at range, with 19.8 million with a bow, 6.2 million with a pistole, and 29.1 million with a crossbow. Notably, 1 in 7 ranged kills are headshots. Here's where it gets funny. Warhorse reveals players have picked a total of 194,719,132 locks, with a staggering 38.51 billion items stolen valued at 2.43 trillion Groschen. Players have also pickpocketed 132.31 million items for a total value of 107.94 billion Groschen.

Halo Studios has confirmed that Operation: Last Stand, the first of three planned summer updates for Halo Infinite, is launching May 6.

As revealed in a community live stream, the latest update follows the Operation format introduced in Winter 2024. Halo Infinite's "Operations" are essentially limited-time battle passes, ranging from 20 to 50 tiers, offering cosmetic rewards and new content for players jumping into the game.

Among the headline additions is the Mutilator, a "double-barreled powerhouse" of a shotgun that sports a gravity hammer at the end. It allows players to fire shell-by-shell, utilize an alt-fire that fires off both shells simultaneously, and devastate enemies with its melee attack.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has mentioned its next-gen Unreal Engine 6 technology, saying it is still 2-3 years away from seeding out UE6 previews to game developers.

In the latest episode of the Lex Friedman podcast, Epic CEO Tim Seeney said that the company is currently cooking up its next-gen Unreal Engine 6 technology, and that it will unify the parallel development threads the developer is currently working on. We should expect plenty of upgrades under the hood of UE6, with a big upgrade to multi-threaded performance and removing core limitations that have been inside Unreal Engine for multiple generations now.

I can see a world where Unreal Engine 6 is shown off in a big new Fortnite 2.0 update, as well as UE6-powered games of the future on next-gen console platforms like Sony's next-generation PlayStation 6 console that should be available by the time Unreal Engine 6 hits the market.

Nintendo first introduced the new $80 baseline standard for AAA video games, and Microsoft followed with its own price hike. But is this sustainable, and which companies can pull it off? One analyst weighs in.

Back in 2020, the 9th console generation kicked off with a price jump. Games had been $60 for decades, but in 2020, a consortium of major publishers and platform-holders started charging $70 for games. Now less than five years later, game prices are increasing yet again from $70 to $80, with "economic conditions" (i.e. a volatile combination of inflation and tariffs) being the justification.

There's some skepticism that gamers will bite on $80 games, but Circana analyst Mat Piscatella notes that consumers are already paying more than $80 for the deluxe editions of games--some of which cost up to $100 and offer 3-4 days early access. Other companies and publishers may not be able to sell their games at $80, Piscatella says, likely due to demand and high competition from other high-profile $80 games.

The gaming industry is steadily pushing toward a digital-only landscape, and while that reality is still many years away, it's undeniable that's where it's heading. However, until that day comes when we can't go out and buy physical copies of our beloved games, there will be massive physical sale success stories, and one of the most recent ones was Black Myth: Wukong.

Black Myth: Wukong was a massive success when it launched digitally before getting a physical release. By that time, it was already a massive commercial success, and now, according to its physical publisher, PM Studios, the release of the game physically has not only proven successful for the creators of the game but also the businesses selling it.

PM Studios CEO Mike Yum spoke with The Gamer and said that even now, the physical sales of the game are "healthy," with Yum adding that he received many calls during Christmas and after New Year's thanking the publisher as the physical release of Black Myth: Wukong "saved their business."