Gaming - Page 42

Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma is taking aim at Game Pass' rising fees, saying that gamers need more affordable and flexible options.

A newly leaked internal memo shows that Game Pass is top of mind for Xbox's fresh-faced CEO. The division changed leadership after Phil Spencer retired, with Sharma then taking the helm and bringing a new emboldened and energetic spirit to Xbox. After revealing the next-gen Project Helix hybrid PC console, Sharma is now scrutinizing the multi-tier Game Pass model, especially the costly $30/month Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

In the memo, which was acquired by The Verge, the new Xbox CEO acknowledges that Game Pass is too costly for gamers and unwieldy for Microsoft, leading to a very inflexible and rigid model. Sharma says that Game Pass hasn't reached its final form yet.

New evidence shows that ShinyHunters has put a $200K asking price on Rockstar Games' data, but the information has been marked as "non-material" by the studio and may not be important or negatively affect Rockstar's business.

A bit ago, Rockstar Games was hacked, but not in the same way as the 2022 instance that saw GTA 6 assets spilling onto the internet. Rockstar has fortified their security since the famous GTA 6 leak, and this time around the hackers were only able to access unspecified metrics data. The hackers, a group named ShinyHunters, originally indicated that this info could be related to more sensitive metrics, however Rockstar has since confirmed the leak in an attempt to respond to the situation while assuaging fans--and investors--that nothing critical was stolen.

Now it appears that ShinyHunters has attached a sale value to Rockstar's data. New reports from Dark Web Informer indicate that the hackers are attempting to sell the data for $200,000, however this info remains unverified, with one independent security researcher claiming that the account is misinformed.

Danish gamer Mongo TV has gone viral for playing Red Dead Redemption 2 at cripplingly-slow frame rates, showing sheer dedication and patience in experiencing Rockstar's magnum opus.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is largely regarded as one of the best video games ever made, but what about playing at 4FPS? The game can be quite demanding and push hardware to its limits, but some tech is just too old to belt out the game's complex physics and high-resolution asset geometry. In other words, if you try to run a game like RDR2 on a woefully under-specced PC...you might run into some pretty frustrating gameplay.

Reddit spotted an older YouTuber named Mongo TV who has been chronicling his gameplay in RDR2 on a very underwhelming machine, leading to instances where the game drops to single-digit frame rates. The streamer's PC is quite old, featuring an Intel i5-8300H CPU with 4 cores and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050ti graphics card with just 4GB of VRAM. RDR2's minimum PC specs require double that VRAM, with Rockstar calling for 8GB of memory.

Over the past few years, Roblox has come under heavy criticism, facing lawsuits from governments and families around the world alleging that the platform does not do enough to protect children from harmful content and communication with older users. The company's most recent effort was an age verification system aimed at limiting contact between adults and children under 16. Now it is going a step further.

Starting in mid-May, Roblox will age-segment its massive library of games and push users into one of three account types. Users aged 5 to 9 will be assigned a Roblox Kids account. Those aged 9 to 15 will be assigned a Roblox Select account, and anyone 16 and older will receive a standard Roblox account. The same age-check technology used for chat access will now assign users to their respective account type.

Each account type aligns with the platform's existing content maturity labels (Minimal, Mild, Moderate, or Restricted). Roblox Kids account holders will have access to games rated Minimal or Mild, with chat turned off by default. The only way a Kids account user can chat with another person is if a parent manually selects approved individuals their child is allowed to communicate with.

UPDATE: Bethesda has responded to Starfield's issues on PS5, saying that they have identified "a small number of causes" and plan to roll out a new hotfix coming this week.

Starfield just released on PlayStation 5, but in somewhat predictable Bethesda fashion, the game is having some performance issues leading to crashing, FPS stutters, and even infinite loading screens.

All signs show that Starfield is doing well on PS5, having broken into the top 10 best-sellers (right now Starfield is #6 on the US PlayStation Store's top sellers list). What's not so great are the reports of widespread crashing and big frame rate drops, even on PS5 Pro.

Rumors are swirling that Xbox is set to host a small show next week, with industry insiders NateTheHate and Windows Central's senior editor, Jez Corden, both discussing it.

The swirling of an Xbox Developer Showcase next week began when Corden said on a podcast that Xbox fans might want to tune into what will be announced next week at a "little show", and that Metro fans will specifically want to tune in as the show will feature the next Metro title, Metro 2039.

For those who don't know, Metro 2039 is pegged to be the next mainline Metro game following Metro Awakening in 2024. Nate also claimed Sony was planning to host a State of Play event on April 16, which he reiterated in his post about the Microsoft broadcast, stating he was not able to confirm it was factual information, only something he had heard. The rumors of the next Metro game follow a recent data leak revealing a shelved version of the fourth Metro game, which 4A Games reportedly canceled in 2022.

Following leaks and rumors, 4A Games has officially announced the existence of Metro 2039 and confirmed a premiere date for their new mainline sequel.

It's been no secret that a new Metro game is in development--we've known about the project for over half a decade, but 4A Games has been markedly silent about the new game...until now. The studio today revealed that Metro 2039 will be the next game in the series, with a big unveiling on April 16, 2026 at 10AM PST, 7PM CEST, 8PM EST during an Xbox showcase.

The developers have also launched a Metro 2039 website with newsletter sign-ups and promos, including an early giveaway that could secure a free copy of the game.

Developers have decided it's time for Wolf from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to put down the sword and pick up the skateboard in what is now called Jet Set Sekiro.

In what looks like a hilarious secret level a player could unlock in an old PS2-era game, Jet Set Sekiro is actually a mod designed by The Sekiro Resurrection, a group of developers that have decided to turn their attention to transforming Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice into a Tony Hawk Pro Skater-style experience. Players who download the mod will be able to perform a trick with the skateboard, which also deflects projectiles in a 360-degree radius around the player, and if used in the air, will deal more damage, plus get a higher score. Yes, there is a score tracker.

There is also a button for Kicking, which is used to maintain high speed, and the modders recommend keeping it high as fast movement and tricks "will dominate." Additionally, there is a jump button; when performed at high speed, it will "give a huge 360 lunge," but players will need to be careful, as Wolf will "eat dirt" if he flies too high. There is also a brake button that lets players quickly stop all momentum and turn quickly. The brake button, when used in conjunction with the jump button, enables a short hop that can clear small gaps or perform a quick trick to deflect an incoming projectile.

Over the weekend, the gaming industry stirred with rumors that Playground Games' highly anticipated reboot of the Fable franchise would be delayed until 2027.

The Fable reboot was showcased at the Xbox Developer Direct in January this year, and during the showcase, the developers announced that the title was planned for release in Autumn 2026. However, rumors from a known gaming industry insider, Jeff Grubb, say that internally Fable has been "pushed" and that its release date is closer to December this year, making it a "prime candidate" for a 2027 release window.

Additionally, Grubb said that Playground Games is concerned about the release of Fable being snuffed out by Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 6, which is why the purported discussion is about a delay into 2027. Notably, Fable was originally scheduled to launch in 2025, but Playground requested more time with the title for further polishing, resulting in the current Autumn 2026 release. Given Fable's history with delays, it wouldn't be totally surprising, and considering the title has been in development for many years, a few months wouldn't be a particularly long wait.

Naughty Dog has reportedly begun production on a new Uncharted game, marking a moment in the franchise that hasn't been touched by the developer in nearly 10 years.

The information comes from leaker Alir, who has gained some traction in the gaming space for recent, accurate leaks. According to Alir, Naughty Dog is currently a two-project studio, with the first being the upcoming Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet slated for release sometime in 2027, and, reportedly, a new mainline Uncharted game.

The last mainline Uncharted game was Uncharted: The Lost Legacy in 2017, and unfortunately, the leaker didn't provide any more details on the new title, such as whether Nathan Drake will be the main protagonist, when it will be revealed, or if it will even be a PlayStation 5 title, or would be slated for the PlayStation 6. These rumors follow Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson, who said on the publication's podcast that Naughty Dog was doing "some planning of an Uncharted 5" before the COVID-19 pandemic.

A notorious hacking group called ShinyHunters has posted a ransom note for data acquired from Rockstar Games, writing to the Grand Theft Auto 6 developer, "Pay or leak."

The hacking group posted an update on April 11 claiming it had infiltrated Rockstar Games and other companies, including Hallmark Cards, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and McGraw-Hill. ShinyHunters reported that Rockstar Games' cloud platform, Snowflake, had been compromised, a claim backed by a Snowflake statement confirming that it had detected unusual activity in a small number of Snowflake customer accounts linked to third-party integrations.

Snowflake wrote that it immediately launched an investigation, and out of an abundance of caution, it locked down potentially impacted customer accounts. Furthermore, Snowflake said it has contacted impacted customers and provided advice on how to further protect their accounts. Additionally, Snowflake confirmed that the third-party integration was with the analytics firm Anodot, for which reports indicate that ShinyHunters stole an authentication tokens from Anodot, which was then used to attack Snowflake customers.

There are rumors and rumblings that Microsoft could pull Call of Duty from Game Pass, potentially nixing day-and-date releases or removing the series from the service altogether.

Call of Duty might get pulled from Game Pass at some point, possibly in a bid to lower the price of the service. During a recent video, Windows Central reporter Jez Corden mentioned that he's heard talk of Call of Duty being removed from the high-margin service. This could theoretically hit two birds with one stone: reducing Game Pass Ultimate's price while preserving the full value of Call of Duty game sales.

"If they take Call of Duty out of Game Pass this year, which is a possibility from what I've heard. I think it'll kind of reveal some of the cracks in the strategy...but I don't know," Corden, who closely monitors the goings-on within Xbox and Microsoft, said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Various global PlayStation Store pre-order rankings show strong demand for new titles, including IO Interactive's anticipated 007: First Light prequel, as well as Capcom's new IP Pragmata and Skybound's Invincible VS.

Sony's PlayStation Store pre-order charts show that gamers are willing to bite on a handful of new games, including Capcom's fresh android action game, Pragmata, and the suave 007 First Light. This article will take a look at the top 24 pre-order standings across 7 markets for today, April 12, 2026 to give an idea of the current demand for upcoming titles. The markets include the US, Canada, the UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Since every market and geography has its own tastes, the charts are varied and different from region to region, however there are some commonalities: the new 007 First Light James Bond game shows up in the top 5 in all tracked regions, indicating high interest for the game. Capcom's Pragmata also shows up on multiple top spots of the list, including regions like Hong Kong, Japan, and surprisingly, Saudi Arabia, which is said to be MENA's biggest market for PlayStation consoles.

When game publishers first began adopting Denuvo, many assumed it marked the end of piracy. And for a while, that was the case. Until recently, when a cracked copy of Capcom's Resident Evil: Requiem surfaced just days after launch. The hypervisor-based crack became so widespread that Denuvo's parent company, Irdeto, began working on countermeasures.

And just as the company is trying to quell that fire, a bombshell has dropped. A fully cracked version of Resident Evil: Requiem has now been released with DRM completely disabled. On Reddit, user voices38 revealed the crack, making it the first 2026 Denuvo game to be stripped of its anti-tamper protection. Alongside Doom: The Dark Ages, Requiem has joined a small but growing list of titles where Denuvo has been removed.

Unlike the hypervisor-bypass method, voices38 used the old-school approach to strip all Denuvo code. Previously, that process would take months or prove impossible altogether, but a game only 40 days old being cracked this way suggests that recent Denuvo implementations could soon be stripped cleanly and quickly. Voices38 has reportedly been building toolkits for contemporary Denuvo for some time, and it apparently took only two weeks to pull off the feat once everything was in place.

Early reports said that Rockstar Games was hacked, and that the cyber pirates would hold sensitive financial data for ransom until April 14. Now Rockstar steps in to clarify what actually happened.

Rockstar Games has been hit by a data breach, but critical info, like GTA 6's source code for example, is safe. The studio today confirmed that unauthorized bad actors were able to infiltrate and acquire data as a result of a third-party breach, yet nothing important or sensitive was accessed.

"We can confirm that a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed in connection with a third-party data breach. This incident has no impact on our organization or our players," Rockstar Games said in a statement to Kotaku.

Pete Hines delivers a candid and rare look at the goings-on within Bethesda before his departure, hinting that turmoil may have happened following Microsoft's acquisition of the company.

Bethesda has changed considerably over the years, especially after Microsoft's $7.5 billion buyout following the passing of ZeniMax chief Robert Altman. Microsoft bought the studio in 2020, and after that, things became a bit frictional and confusing within the group, especially concerning Microsoft's flip-flop plans on exclusivity. This, and potential schisms with Game Pass, may have led to the departure of one of Bethesda's most well-known and dedicated executives, Pete Hines.

In a recent interview with Kirk McKeand's new Firezide Chat newsletter, Bethesda's former VP of marketing Pete Hines explained why he left the studio after 24 years. In a nutshell, Hines says that Bethesda is now a part of something that just didn't feel right to Hines--it wasn't authentic or genuine anymore.

Pearl Abyss outlines a roadmap of new updates coming to Crimson Desert, driven by a mix of fan feedback and the studio's ultimate vision for the game.

Crimson Desert continues to evolve based on what players actually want to see in the game. Pearl Abyss has steadily changed and morphed their first-ever AAA singleplayer game with a stream of new updates, and now the devs have outlined a preview list of new content and changes that are coming with future updates.

In fact, Pearl Abyss just released a new Crimson Desert 1.03 patch that actually includes some of the changes on the preview list, such as new skills for Damiane and Oongka and being able to hide weapons and shields equipped on Kliff's back. The rapid pace of Pearl Abyss's updates feels unprecedented in the AAA gaming space--the studio put out the preview list only yesterday and already put out a patch the next day.

Fortnite might finally be hitting a wall in terms of expansion and engagement, and new reports from Bloomberg say that the Disney x Epic partnership will lead to 2 more titles--including an extraction shooter similar to Arc Raiders.

Disney has big plans for Fortnite, having invested a whopping $1.5 billion into Epic Games to fund a vast array of new experiences. At the time, Disney said the team-up would lead to "transformational new games and entertainment universe."

Now thanks to reports from Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio, fans have an idea on what new games will come from the Epic x Disney partnership. Sources tell D'Anastasio that there are at least three games in development, and the first game will be an extraction shooter similar to Nexon's mega-hit Arc Raiders, featuring Disney characters instead of grizzled Arc hunters.

With the latest Intel Arc driver update released a few days ago, Crimson Desert finally started launching on Intel Arc GPUs, though with visible artifacts on faces and corrupted terrain, making it playable at best. Before that, the game launched on March 19 without Arc support, with Pearl Abyss advising affected users to seek refunds. It was a rough start for Intel Arc and handheld owners who were missing out entirely.

Now, three weeks after launch, Patch 1.03.00 has officially added Intel Arc GPU support on PC. In the Graphics & Settings section of the release notes, the dev team has confirmed the addition and noted that the experience should continue to improve through ongoing optimizations in future updates. The patch also adds Intel XeSS 3.0 and XeSS Frame Generation as upscaling options to the game.

Pearl Abyss has already flagged known issues for Arc-A series cards in the patch notes. According to the developers, Arc-A series users may encounter no display output with XeSS 3.0 or XeSS Frame Generation enabled, A770 owners can still hit crashes when using XeSS, and A750 users may still experience crashes in Hernand city.

Rockstar Games is hiring four Creator Platform positions, and there's speculation that these new jobs could help establish a UGC framework for GTA 6, possibly a SixM infrastructure or maybe even official user-generated content that's available in the retail build of the game.

A bit ago, Rockstar Games bought Cfx.re, the team behind popular roleplay and creator communities FiveM and RedM. Then the Cfx Marketplace was established, which is a store that sells in-game user-generated content like custom skins and scripts for real money--these creations are compatible with the special role-playing versions of Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V on PC.

Cfx is a "community-driven modification framework" that essentially sits on top of the base versions of Rockstar's titles. It's a kind of compatibility layer that enables custom modding, but in a way that Rockstar and Take-Two approve of. The idea here is to create a sanctioned environment that's separate from the official games, including a separate instance of GTA Online, where gamers can engage with custom content and buy it in a digital marketplace, creating a user-generated content economy for Rockstar's GTA V and RDR2. While this strategy still uses UGC, different than something like Roblox, which is entirely built on user-created games. Rockstar's strategy is kind of a side thing that lives and operates alongside their official game servers.