Gaming - Page 179

The first Battlefield Labs playtest will kick off this week according to the latest reports, where "concepts and mechanics" will be tested this Friday, March 7.

In a new report from Insider Gaming, we're learning that this playtest will be the first in EA's brand new Battlefield Labs program, announced earlier this year. The first playtest is scheduled for March 7 and will take place for around two hours and be played on the PC.

In an email sent to Battlefield Labs participants, the playtest is in a "closed test environment" (CTE) and that recording, streaming, and talking about the game are strictly prohibited.

Football Manager may get its own subscription model, and could be the latest series to follow the franchise-as-a-service business model.

Today, SEGA published the translations of its recent Q&A session in a Q3 earnings call with Japanese investors. Included in the documents is a confirmation that SEGA is exploring the idea of a subscription for Football Manager. This move looks to be directly inspired by fan feedback and could be welcome news to the millions of people who play the best-selling sports franchise every year.

SEGA recently made the tough decision to cancel Football Manager 25 as part of its restructuring plan for European teams. SEGA incurred a write-down expense of around $26.7 million due to FM25's cancellation. The developers at Sports Interactive also faced technical issues with the game that reinforced the decision.

The Gears of War Collection has reportedly been added to the PlayStation Store backend, but the listing states the game doesn't feature multiplayer.

The rumor comes from Detective Seeds, who is typically known for sharing game deals, but recently posted a claim on X that the Gears of War Collection is slated for launch in mid-August, and it will be PS5 Pro enhanced. Notably, Seeds states he was informed by his unnamed source the GoW Collection won't have multiplayer PVP, and will be a campaign focus release.

Seeds followed up with another post that states the game has been loaded onto the PlayStation storefront on the backend side and "It shows 1 player and does not show support for additional players. I asked about co-op, but no clarification on that yet."

A well-known Call of Duty leaker has released some details on the upcoming Call of Duty title scheduled to release sometime in 2026, and according to the leaker, some big changes are on the way.

Call of Duty leaker The Ghost of Hope took to X to share some "exclusive" details about Call of Duty 2026, with the post stating the new game is "Modern Warfare IV" and is currently in development for the next generation Xbox console, which, if true, pigeon holes the release date for the next Xbox to at least be in 2026.

As for more Call of Duty details, Ghost writes that if Call of Duty: Warzone doesn't cause players to return through the Verdansk update, there won't be a Warzone 3. Additionally, the engine for Call of Duty 2026 is reportedly being overhauled to address problems identified in Modern Warfare II, such as "visual clutter."

The rumors were true; Activision was secretly developing a remaster of the cult classic Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 has been confirmed, along with its release date.

It seemed like the game was all but confirmed by the developers and Activision after rumors began swirling and intentional teasers were dropped. Professional skateboarder Tyshawn Jones kicked the excitement into high gear after he appeared on The Breakfast Club and said he was in a new Tony Hawk remaster and that this title would be released soon. Shortly after that interview, a mysterious date appeared within the Call of Duty Black Ops 6 map Grind, and then the same date appeared on the official Tony Hawk game website.

That date has finally rolled around, and we have got the announcement everyone was expecting, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 is coming, and it will be released on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 (PlayStation 5), PS4 (PlayStation 4), Nintendo Switch, Battle.net, and PC (Steam) on July 11, 2025. In the above official reveal trailer we get a quick look at the graphical improvements that have been made over the first game, along with a teaser of new "legendary parks," more skaters, and "gnarlier tricks".

The Russo brothers, directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, are stepping deeper into gaming with the help of Fortnite's former creative lead, Donald Mustard. While their main focus is on building original IPs, they've made it clear that a new Avengers game isn't off the table.

In a recent interview with Variety, Joe Russo was asked whether AGBO - their production company - would consider developing games based on Avengers: Doomsday or their upcoming Amazon series Citadel. "We would definitely be open to it," he said, while emphasizing that AGBO's bigger priority is creating large-scale franchises from the ground up.

AGBO has already begun expanding into the gaming space, recently announcing The Electric State: Kid Cosmo, a mobile game that ties into their upcoming Netflix film. But the real shift comes with Donald Mustard - one of the key figures behind Fortnite - joining AGBO to help shape its interactive storytelling efforts.

Sony has just opened up the PlayStation Beta Program, giving players a chance to sign up for early access to upcoming games, system updates, and new features. Instead of juggling multiple beta sign-ups across different platforms, Sony has streamlined everything into one place, making it easier for players to test-drive new PlayStation experiences before they launch.

As detailed in the PlayStation Blog, the program is free to join, and once registered, players can be considered for a range of betas across PS5 and PC games, PlayStation system updates, PlayStation App features, and user experience changes on PlayStation.com. If selected, you'll receive an invite and can decide whether to participate.

For PC players, this means potential access to upcoming PlayStation ports and software updates, along with early hands-on time with PlayStation's evolving ecosystem. It's also another sign that Sony is doubling down on its PC audience, with more titles making the jump from console to desktop.

Starting today, GTA 5 PC players can access the next-gen enhancements introduced in Grand Theft Auto 5: Expanded & Enhanced for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, which launched in 2022. This free update brings improved graphics options, AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS support, enhanced audio, and various gameplay and technical upgrades to bring GTA 5 into the modern era.

With this update, the previous version of the game - now called Grand Theft Auto 5 Legacy - will be removed from digital storefronts and replaced by the Enhanced Edition. Players can still access the old version through the game's launcher, though there's little reason to do so unless their hardware struggles to run the upgraded edition.

Some of the most significant improvements include ray-traced shadows and reflections, which were first introduced on consoles. PC players will also get exclusive visual upgrades such as ambient occlusion and global illumination, along with improved support for higher resolutions, aspect ratios, and frame rates. While Rockstar plans to introduce frame generation support for both AMD and NVIDIA hardware in the future, players can now take advantage of AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS. Those with SSDs and DirectStorage will also see noticeably faster load times.

Ubisoft has reset the development of a new Far Cry extraction shooter, sources tell Insider Gaming.

Reports indicate that Ubisoft has rebooted an in-development Far Cry game. The project is codenamed Maverick, and was supposed to be included as a multiplayer mode within Far Cry 7 but it ended up growing and changing over time to become its own game. Maverick is intended to be a resource-driven, competitive multiplayer extraction shooter.

The extent of Maverick's reboot remain unknown, but the move comes at a turbulent time for Ubisoft. Ubisoft Montreal is currently working on the mainline Far Cry 7 game, codenamed Blackbird.

MercurySteam's new third-person action game, Blades of Fire, has had its official PC system requirements released, where we're learning we'll need an RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XTX for upscaled 4K 60FPS on Ultra settings.

Blades of Fire at a minimum for 1080p on High settings with FSR on Performance mode for 60FPS is an Intel Core i7-11700KF or AMD Ryzen 5 5800X processor, with 16GB of RAM and either an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. Things are a little higher for High settings at 1440p with FSR on Balanced mode, the CPU requirements remain unchanged, but the GPU requirements are up to the GTX 1080 Ti or RX 6700 XT.

Cranking the game to 4K on High settings with FSR on Balanced the CPU requirements are still unchanged, with the GPU requirements increased to the RTX 4070 SUPER or RX 6800 XT, while the same 4K resolution but at Ultra settings and FSR on Quality mode, hitting 60FPS will require the RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XTX for Blades of Fire.

Microsoft's next Xbox console could release sometime in 2026 with Call of Duty at or near the system's launch.

New reports suggest that the next-gen Xbox console and Xbox Series successor hardware could be out by 2026. Sources have told credible leaker TheGhostOfHope that next year's Call of Duty game is being developed on devkits for Microsoft's Gen 10 Xbox, potentially indicating that the new Xbox could see a release in 2026. Documents from the FTC v Microsoft trial show that Microsoft expects Sony to release a PlayStation 6 in 2028.

Not much is known about the next Xbox, but Microsoft has repeatedly confirmed a new console is on the way despite the lack of hardware growth at the company. We've postulated that the future of Xbox hardware could be fragmented, meaning we could see some sort of handheld Xbox system accompanying a new console.

Cyberpunk 2077 already looks good in stock form with all its ray tracing and path tracing goodness, but with the new DreamPunk 3.0 mod it looks like a photo-realistic, truly next-generation game running in 8K. Check it out:

The new version of the DreamPunk mod introduces new features and improvements, including Dynamic Contrast and Realistic Cloud Lighting, improved weather conditions for even more realistic weather effects, remade core LUT for higher dynamic range, more realistic sunlight, and oh-so-much more.

Cyberpunk 2077's new DreamPunk 3.0 mod also includes new graphics configuration improvements that work better with NVIDIAD's new DLSS 4 upscaling technology, and the improved technologies and features inside of the new Blackwell-based GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs.

Sony's new Future Immersive Entertainment technology is just a concept design, but it could pave the way for next-gen arcade gaming.

Always keen on experimenting and designing, Sony has put together a unique sensory experience set in the worlds of the mega-hit Last of Us video game series. It's called a Future Immersive Entertainment concept, and it essentially combines a ton of different technologies to give players a super-immersive gameplay experience sans headset or console. All you need is a new prototype R&D controller specially made by Sony.

Sony has packed in high-end OLED display tech alongside booming audio to bring the grisly world of The Last of Us to life, but that's not enough: Sony wants you to feel like you're actually there. That's why the experience, which is essentially a stage with screens in a semicircle wall on one side, is packed with scent dispensers that change up smells based on what's happening. As a 90s kid who grew up when Universal Studios was new, I can only imagine the scents involved.

Rainbow Six Siege will soon become a DX12 game on PC, Ubisoft today announced.

Ubisoft needs a win, and its hail mary game plan includes a big overhaul of Rainbow Six Siege. The shooter is entering its 10th year on the market with no sequel in sight, with the teams instead focusing on continually updating the game over time. Now the tactical FPS is getting its biggest upgrade yet with Rainbow Six Siege X, a major refresh that Ubisoft says will deliver the "biggest transformation in the game's history."

Devs are paving the way for R6 Siege X by switching over fully to DirectX 12, meaning video cards running DX11 won't be able to run the game after the move. The decision has been criticized due to Ubisoft's DX12 implementation in R6 that has led to stuttering issues and ~8% frame drops from DX11. Ubisoft affirms that a lot of the DX12 issues have been ironed out thanks to player feedback and testing.

Shortly after shutting down a studio, laying off workers across Western studios, and cancelling a handful of projects, billion-dollar games titan NetEase tells investors that it's committed to supporting "master creators" in its quest for overseas game releases.

Little over a week ago, Bloomberg ran a story on NetEase that painted a turbulent picture at the Chinese firm. NetEase has reportedly cancelled a dozen or so games at the whims of its CEO, and there's been the layoffs at Western game dev units (including the Marvel Rivals team in the West). NetEase had also shut down Ouka Studios shortly after the team released the recent Visions of Mana remake.

Now we have more comments from management on this topic. In a Q4 2024 earnings call, company VP of corporate development Bill Pang says that support for overseas projects is important and something NetEase will continue to do.

Samsung highlights the possibilities for its foldable OLED technology with a PC gaming handheld that closes like a book.

Samsung is demoing an interesting tech concept at its MWC 2025 booth: it's a device that's part of the firm's new Flex Gaming line, and it's basically a Steam Deck that can fold in half. It's important to note that this isn't a consumer-facing bit of hardware, more of something that Samsung put together to illustrate what OEMs could do with its foldable displays.

What's interesting about the Flex--apart from the obvious bendable screen--is how the joysticks can remain upright even when the device is shut. Users wouldn't have to deal with a half-joystick circle-pad like the 3DS, or some sort of innovative new restrictive design--the basic analog-style joysticks have been allocated for size.

NetEase is ready to support Marvel Rivals for the long run as the company simultaneously shutters studios and cancels other projects.

Gaming's new live service darling Marvel Rivals is doing incredibly well right now with over 40 million players to date. The game isn't without controversy though: despite the F2P shooter's mega success, NetEase laid off the Western team that worked on Marvel Rivals as part of its new restructuring plan (this same plan also saw NetEase cutting back investments in fledgling game studios and projects).

Now we have comments from NetEase on Marvel Rivals' performance and what's to come. The game has done so well that the billion-dollar Chinese games giant is ready to support Marvel Rivals for a full decade. Crossover events and promos are also coming, but we're not sure exactly what this means--will Rivals become the next Fortnite, or will the crossovers be in-universe?

Rockstar Games has added a 13th group to its worldwide support studio ahead of Grand Theft Auto 6's expected Fall 2025 release.

Today, Rockstar Games announced that it has acquired Video Games Deluxe, a long-time collaborator that has assisted development on a number of projects. The Pyrmont, Sydney-based studio will now become Rockstar Australia, and the 13th company in a regional webwork that spans everywhere from India to Toronto.

Rockstar Australia could end up being a smaller team, at least at the start: LinkedIn estimates that Video Game Deluxe has 2-10 employees. The studio had previously worked alongside Rockstar on games like the LA Noire VR release and even helped optimize the new GTA trilogy for mobiles and consoles--the latter of which received some hefty visual tweaks and improvements.

Activision is making a new Guitar Hero game...for mobile.

It looks like a new Guitar Hero game is in the works, but it's not the one that we were all hoping for. Instead, it's Guitar Hero Mobile. Things get even tougher for Activision when the accidental leak came from its own Instagram account, and the advertisement uses AI (as a reminder, Activision is a multi-billion dollar video games publisher that made $7.5 billion in 2022).

"Play your way - Guitar Hero goes mobile," the ad reads. Activision had published the post 2 days ago and it's riddled with comments about the AI usage.

Steam has set a new multi-million user milestone, ending its first quarter with 40 million+ concurrent users.

PC gaming is on the rise and Valve's digital storefront continues breaking new records. Earlier today around 8:30AM EST, Steam broke 40 million concurrent users for the first time in history. The exact count is 40.26 million by Valve's official Steam Charts, and 40.27 million by SteamDB.

It's worth noting that the vast majority of these users weren't actually playing games. Out of the estimated 40.27 million accounts that were logged into and using Steam at once, only 12.8 million of them, or about 31%, were playing a video game at the time. It's hard to say what the others were doing but they could be buying games and/or content. Nonetheless, these are incredible numbers and Valve also set a new all-time concurrent in-game player peak as well.