Gaming - Page 52

A new report has cited an email sent by Sony Interactive Entertainment that informs the publication that Sony will be phasing out the "PlayStation Network" and "PSN" branding that is associated with the PlayStation platform.

The email reveals that Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), the parent company of PlayStation, has decided to sunset the PSN and PlayStation Network branding in favor of something else, what that something else is was never mentioned in the email. However, we know that SIE will be dropping the PSN and PlayStation Network branding by September 2026, and the decision to drop the branding is so SIE can "properly capture the breadth of our evolving digital services."

Unfortunately, the email didn't reveal what SIE will be rebranding the PSN to, or when they will be announcing the new branding. But what we do know is that "PSN" and "PlayStation Network" will be phased out of all SIE assets by September, meaning within the next six months we should hear an announcement about a new name for the PlayStation Network.

Starfield is coming to PlayStation 5 on April 7, Bethesda has officially announced.

After three years, it's finally happening: Starfield is arriving on PS5 in a few weeks, and Bethesda has prepped for the game's take-off on PlayStation with a bunch of new content.

Starfield will release on PS5 alongside two big updates. The first is a free update called Free Lanes, a "game-wide evolution touching everything from space travel and late game content and progression to gear and ship customization and outpost building." Free Lanes adds free-roam flying in space, pets, new X-Tech upgrade systems, and even Starfield's own version of bobbleheads. The second is a $10 paid story DLC called Terran Armada, which adds the new Incursions system, a new companion, and focuses on rebellious humans trying to reclaim planets and systems using robotic soldiers.

The gaming community is currently dealing with the latest generation of Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), announced by NVIDIA at GTC 2026.

DLSS 5 introduces generative AI into the upscaling technology, meaning frames within a game are analyzed, then enhanced by building and harvesting data from the native frames, and finally outsourced to a generative AI model. The technology was demonstrated through a selection of videos and images that showcased titles such as Starfield, Resident Evil: Requiem, and others, with upscaling enabled and disabled.

The reaction from the gaming community has been nothing short of controversial, as a large swath of gamers are criticizing the technology for encroaching on the developer's original artistic intentions for the title, despite NVIDIA explaining, albeit, buried in an FAQ, that developers will have access to a range of tools to customize and tweak the various aspects of DLSS 5's enhancement, including its intensity.

Crimson Desert, the new highly anticipated open-world RPG title from Pearl Abyss is about to launch, and analysts have already predicted the title has pulled in an astonishing $20 million in pre-orders.

The estimation comes from analytics firm Alinea Analytics, which wrote in the latest newsletter that on Steam alone Crimson Desert has already hit 400,000 copies sold, which equates to approximately $20 million in revenue. Notably, 10% of those sales occurred in just a 24 hour window, which is quite impressive when considering Crimson Desert was experiencing performance concerns from gamers on how it would perform on lower-end PC hardware, and base versions of the current-generation consoles.

The newsletter goes on to write that Crimson Desert is already set up to have a bigger launch than Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Crimson Desert is teeing up to be one of the biggest launches of 2026, and depending on the state it arrives in, hopefully, absent of any performance problems, it very well could be a contender for 2026's Game of the Year. As for those concerned about performance, PlayStation Japan recently released a 20-minute gameplay video of Crimson Desert running on the base PlayStation 5. If you are interested in that video, check it out above.

Embark Studios, the developers behind the hit title Arc Raiders has "agreed to part ways" with the co-founder of the studio and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Rob Runesson after sexual misconduct allegations were made public.

The studio behind Arc Raiders said the decision was "mutual" and that Runesson will step down from his position as COO. As for the allegations, they first surfaced about a month ago on a The Finals streamer's livestream, where they were read. Notably, the accuser remained anonymous. However, the allegations were later shared across several The Finals social communities and viewed by IGN.

According to a report, the anonymous individual claims they were in contact with a popular female streamer of The Finals, who allegedly told this anonymous individual they were engaging in a frequent romantic and sexual relationship with Runesson. Furthermore, the allegations state the female streamer became uncomfortable with the frequency with which Runesson wanted to engage in sexual conversations and favors, along with the potential of there being a conflict given that Runesson was promoting her streams.

The studio behind the flash-in-the-pan title, Highguard, is seemingly about to close its doors, as its LinkedIn page and official website have been taken down.

The removal of both the Wildlight Entertainment website and the studio's LinkedIn account comes after mass layoffs at the developer last month, following the tragic launch of Highguard. For those who don't know, Highguard was championed by Geoff Keighley at The Game Awards 2025, where the presenter left the unveiling until the very end of the show, specifically in the spot traditionally taken by big AAA titles teasing fans about an upcoming release. However, the response to The Game Awards trailer was lukewarm at best, and that was followed by a release just over a month later.

Initially, the developers of Highguard wanted to replicate Apex Legends' success, as the team behind the title consisted of many veteran game developers from Respawn Entertainment, the studio that created EA's hit battle royale. However, within weeks of Highguard launching, the studio was forced to let go of as many as 100 employees, leaving less than 20 staff to salvage the remainder of the title. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier penned a report outlining the factors that led to Highguard's failure.

In a recent interview, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has discussed the rising concern of generative AI tools being used to develop games, and how that relates to the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI.

Zelnick sat down with The Game Business where he was asked about his thoughts on generative AI tools making their way into the video game industry. According to Zelnick, these GenAI tools are nothing but that, tools, and that developers should approach them as such. Zelnick further explained that while these tools are useful they aren't a one-click solution to creating a good game.

The CEO of the company that publishes the Grand Theft Auto franchise added that he was "stunned" by the market's reaction to these new GenAI tools being unveiled, presumably NVIDIA's recent unveiling of DLSS 5, which has caused a defiant reaction from many within the gaming community and industry.

A pre-release version of Death Stranding 2 on PC has appeared on torrent websites just days before the game is released on platforms such as Steam.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is set to release on PC on March 20, and the game is now available to preload on Steam. That has seemingly resulted in a pre-release version of the game ending up on torrenting websites, as a user has presumably decrypted the preload files.

However, according to a piracy-focused subreddit, the leak came via Steam, via an unencrypted version of the game files that was made available by accident. It's not known exactly how long the files were left unencrypted, but it was apparently long enough for a user to download the 113GB and reupload it as a single package.

Sony has announced a new PlayStation Portal system software update that is headed out to the public on March 18, and the headlining feature of the update is a new 1080p High Quality mode for both Remote Play and Cloud Streaming.

PlayStation has announced the new system update in a blog post where it wrote that this mode will be running at a higher bitrate than the existing 1080p Standard mode, which means more data is being streamed to the device, translating to a sharper and cleaner image. That is if your internet connection can handle it (at least 5 Mbps download is required, but Sony recommends 15 Mbps). Players will be able to enable the new mode by heading to Quick Menu > Max Resolution > 1080p High Quality, and then restart the Remote Play or Cloud Streaming session.

In addition to the new streaming mode, the system update will come with a bunch of quality-of-life changes, designed to reduce friction as much as possible on the PlayStation Portal. For example, PlayStation says bundle pages will now let users choose a specific game when selecting "Stream," while game invites will appear as clearer on-screen notifications during supported cloud sessions. Furthermore, trophy pop-ups now show the trophy name and image more prominently, while Platinum trophies will be getting a dedicated animation.

Microsoft's announcement and confirmation that its upcoming Xbox Project Helix console will support both Xbox and PC games raises more questions than it answers. Like, whether Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions of games will shift to PC versions on Project Helix, and how exactly it will offer a closed, console-like experience like Valve's SteamOS while still allowing access to third-party apps and competing storefronts like Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.

Based on a recent update to the Xbox app on PC, spotted by the team at Pure Xbox using a recent preview build, it looks like we'll see new features hit Windows 11 and devices like the ROG Xbox Ally as 'early versions' of what's in store with Project Helix. And with that context, even though it's a feature that's been part of Steam for years, the Xbox app now lets users add any third-party game or executable to their library for quick, easy access.

The process is simple: click on the '+' symbol in the 'My Library' section of the app, select the game or app, and then add it. From there, you can alter the name and even change the icon. Because it supports native Windows programs as well as games, this could be the first version of a Project Helix feature that integrates third-party software into the Xbox full-screen console experience.

In a new post on Sony's official PlayStation Blog, Kojima Productions' Jay Boor has outlined what to expect with the PC version of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which is set to launch at the end of this week. In addition to a new "to the wilder" mode coming to the PS5 version of the game, we've also got details of the ray-tracing support for "high-end PC hardware."

This will be part of a new graphics mode that goes beyond the 'Very High' graphics settings and includes ray-traced reflections and ambient occlusion to enhance the game's presentation and image fidelity. Ray-traced ambient occlusion is one of those subtle but meaningful upgrades that enhances the detail between objects, which in turn makes everything in the world look more grounded and realistic.

That said, ray-tracing in Death Stranding 2 is entirely optional and not a part of the recommended specs or required to "enjoy the game as intended." With the Sony first-party studio Nixxes Software handling development of the PC version, it's set to launch with a wide range of PC-friendly features, including native support for NVIDIA's DLSS, AMD's FSR, and Intel's XeSS for super-resolution/upscaling and frame generation.

Bethesda's new Creation Engine is helping speed up development for Elder Scrolls 6 thanks to upgraded pipeline efficiencies and other major technical tweaks.

Bethesda is back in the news again, and Todd Howard is on a fresh press junket to discuss Starfield's new PS5 release. As these things typically go, Howard was asked about Elder Scrolls 6, and while he doesn't really confirm much regarding the game, he does say that the next-gen Creation Engine 3 is making a big difference in how the game is being made.

In a recent interview with IGN, Howard says that Creation Engine 3 allows the team to make more stable builds that can be consistently tested--which is a critical part of any game's development. A sizable portion of how games are made comes from the back-and-forth between creators and testers.

Bethesda knows that its game updates will break your mods, so it does its due diligence and tries to give modders ample time to prepare.

When Bethesda re-releases a game, it's usually great for the company but not so great for PC gamers--the new versions often break the customized versions of the game that have been tailor-made with mods. Interestingly enough, Bethesda's Todd Howard says that the studio is thoughtful about new game updates like Fallout 4 Anniversary--the studio knows the updates will break existing mods that rely on script extenders, so the devs try to mitigate that friction by giving script extender creators early access to new Fallout and Elder Scrolls builds.

In a recent interview with Mortismal Gaming about Bethesda and the future of Starfield, company mastermind Todd Howard briefly discussed the topic of new releases breaking old mods, especially script extenders like FOSE and SKSE that have to also be updated with the latest build. If you've ever wondered how these programs update so fast in tandem with releases, it appears that Bethesda "tries to" give the creators early access to specific game builds so the extenders can be as readily updated.

Saudi Arabia now has over $1 billion of Capcom stock, adding to its expanding pool of billion-dollar gaming investments.

With all of its myriad gaming investments, Saudi Arabia might be considered the next Tencent. Through various companies like the Savvy Games Group, the country has made several multi-billion dollar stakes in some of the biggest games companies on the planet, including Nintendo, Grand Theft Auto parent Take-Two Interactive, and even Capcom.

These investments are steadily growing. It's now been revealed that Saudi investment firm EGDC has bought 5% more of Capcom stock, worth around $600 million. The Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC) is owned by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

IO Interactive, the developers behind the iconic Hitman franchise and recent publishers of Build a Rocket Boy's MindsEye, have announced they are no longer engaging in a partnership with Build a Rocket Boy.

In a new blog post, it was announced that IOI Partners and Build a Rocket Boy have now concluded their publishing collaboration for MindsEye, which ended on March 16, 2026. The blog post states that Build a Rocket Boy will now take on sole publishing responsibilities for the title moving forward. Additionally, the publisher explains that, due to the partnership ending, the Hitman mission announced in June 2025, planned as a crossover event, will no longer be released.

IO Interactive goes on to write that Build a Rocket Boy will continue working with partners in the future, and that both IOI Partners and Build a Rocket Boy recognize the anticipation the announced collaboration generated among the community. The severing of IO Interactive from Build a Rocket Boy comes only weeks after the CEO claimed to have overwhelming evidence of corporate sabotage and espionage that influenced the release of MindsEye. Meanwhile, the developers of the title attributed its failure to leadership issues, mismanagement, and rushed development.

UPDATE:Krafton has issued the following response to the court's ruling:

The Krafton-Subnautica 2 lawsuit has reached a conclusion, and the courts are ruling in favor of the developers, reinstating fired CEO Ted Gill to lead Unknown Worlds.

Good news for Subnautica 2 fans: The original dev leadership team is returning to guide the game's ongoing early access development. A bit of catch-up around the case: Subnautica 2's dev team was close to hitting a performance target that would require Krafton to pay out a $250 million bonus. Krafton allegedly asked ChatGPT on how to get out of paying the fee. Krafton shook up the team leading the project, leading three devs--CEO Ted Gill, co-founder Max McGuire, and game director Charlie Cleveland--to sue Krafton.

Crimson Desert is a new, hotly anticipated open-world action RPG from Pearl Abyss, the studio behind Black Desert Online, and it's currently shaping up to be one of the biggest fantasy releases of 2026.

Pearl Abyss originally intended Crimson Desert as a prequel to Black Desert Online, but it eventually evolved into a fully standalone, single-player experience with a far stronger focus on narrative and cinematic storytelling. While there are many aspects of Crimson Desert to get excited about, many players are excited about the graphical experience the game will deliver in an open-world action RPG, especially since the tech experts over at Digital Foundry said the title running on a PS5 Pro delivered a "phenomenal experience".

Now, PlayStation Japan has released a 20-minute gameplay video of Crimson Desert running on a base PlayStation 5. However, the video has a maximum resolution of 1080p at 30FPS, making it extremely difficult to get a good sense of the graphical fidelity that PS5 players will experience. Crimson Desert is set for release on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on March 19, 2026. If you are interested in checking out the PC specifications for the title, visit its Steam listing here.

Nintendo has released a new update for both the original Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2, and while Switch 1 owners aren't getting many new features, Nintendo has silently rolled out "Handheld Boost Mode" for Switch 2 gamers.

According to the patch notes, which detail Version 22.0.0, released on March 16, 2026, Switch 2 owners will be able to enjoy a bunch of new quality of life changes, along with "Handheld Boost Mode," which enables Switch 1 games to run as if they are in TV mode on the Switch 2 while in handheld mode.

The original Switch 1 has a 720p display, while the Switch 2 has a 1080p display, meaning Switch 2 owners should get a noticeable graphical upgrade in backward-compatible Switch 1 titles when Handheld Boost Mode is enabled. Moreover, this graphical improvement should also be noticed in titles that haven't received a dedicated Switch 2 upgrade, as it's simply a raw resolution increase. Then, once or if those titles receive a dedicated Switch 2 upgrade, they will look even better again.

NVIDIA unveiled DLSS 5 at GTC 2026, and the new technology has been met with immense pushback from gamers, who are concerned their video games will be poisoned with "AI slop" currently taking over numerous social media platforms.

DLSS 5 is on its way to release sometime in Fall 2026, and during the announcement, NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang described this next generation of DLSS as the "GPT moment for graphics," a reference to the release of the first AI model. In its announcement of DLSS 5, NVIDIA states that the next-generation AI upscaler will be able to "bridge the divide between rendering and reality" by analyzing light sources, characters, hair, shadows, skin, and other aspects of a single frame.

Then, DLSS 5 processes real-time game data and produces an image that, in some cases, such as the one NVIDIA used to demonstrate the technology, can change an image's appearance almost entirely. The discrepancy between the original image and the result when DLSS 5 is turned on is evident in many of the examples NVIDIA showed, producing a result that is stunningly different, which has sparked a steadfast, defiant stance by gamers against the technology's adoption.

Rumors of CD Projekt Red quietly working on a new Witcher 3 DLC have heated up once again, which is great for any fans of the iconic RPG that were a little dismayed at the idea CD Projekt Red was working on a new Witcher 3 DLC as the developer just confirmed it isn't working on something "secret" for Cyberpunk 2077. The thought being, "If they aren't working on something secret for Cyberpunk 2077, why would they be working on something for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt".

The rumors of the new DLC for Wild Hunt pointed to CD Projekt Red expanding on the region Velen, and the DLC would focus on bridging the gap between the events at the end of The Witcher 3 and the beginning of The Witcher 4. The idea generally sat well with many Witcher 3 fans, including myself, as what better way to get excited for The Witcher 4 than to dive back into the incredible world of The Witcher 3 to do a short-story-length piece of content that leads you right into the new game?

It would get long-time Witcher 3 fans opening up one of their favorite games again, reigniting their love for it, and then, that translates into purchase of The Witcher 4, or, at least that's what CD Projekt Red would be hoping. Now, a Polish analyst has penned a new report that claims they anticipate CD Projekt Red will release this rumored DLC sometime in September 2026, as they want to get it out before the release of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI, which is teed up to be one of, if not the biggest launch in gaming history.