Gaming

GameStop has uniquely insulated its business against disruptions in the retail software sales chain by necessity, and Sony's recent business decision to cut physical PlayStation game disc production has no real effect on GameStop's operations, current CEO Ryan Cohen says.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen wants to buy eBay for $56 billion and create an ultra-synergized e-commerce marketplace. The idea is to combine the strengths of eBay and GameStop together to sell games, collectibles, merch, and even establish an in-game digital store.

With GameStop having moved away from actual game software sales some time ago, instead embracing the highly-profitable world of collectibles like Funko Pops and Magic and Pokemon cards, Sony's recent decision to kill off PlayStation game discs won't cause anything but small chip damage to GameStop's armor rating. The retailer once relied on second-hand game sales to stay afloat, but those days are long gone.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen explains why he wants to buy eBay in basic terms, and shares a vision for what could end up being a digital microtransaction depot for in-game items should GameStop and eBay join forces.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen discussed his unsolicited $56 billion buyout offer for eBay. Cohen believes there are enormous synergies between the two companies in terms of e-commerce, but the CEO also mentioned plans for an in-game digital marketplace if eBay is purchased.

Exact details of what it is Cohen was referring to remain unknown, but it's possible he is referring to GameStop's current store where it sells codes for digital games directly to consumers.

Exclusives are back at Xbox, but will big heavy-hitters like Elder Scrolls and Fallout be among them? Bethesda isn't ready to say just yet.

Xbox is embracing exclusive games to add more value to the core Xbox brand--console and Windows. Microsoft's current exclusive strategy includes two games, and the lineup seems to lack the must-have starpower required to really make a difference...however that could change if high-profile games like The Elder Scrolls VI or even Fallout 5 are made exclusive. Or, perhaps, a Fallout spin-off?

While nothing has been confirmed, Bethesda just released a new studio update that briefly discussed future games. The group says that four new Fallout games are in development, including Fallout 5, remasters of both Fallout 3 and New Vegas, and a joint collaboration project with Obsidian. Then in a recent interview with Windows Central, Bethesda's Todd Howard was asked about TESVI and FO5 going Xbox exclusive, and he replied that it was too early to comment.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has obliterated launch expectations, reportedly doubling the Steam sales of Shadows on its first day, marking a tremendous success for the title.

According to the latest Alinea Analytics report, the game sold 701,000 copies on Steam in 24 hours, generating $35 million in gross revenue, which outpaces Shadows' launch day revenue by 2.35 times. Additionally, the report states Black Flag Resynced also pulled in nearly $1 million from its day-one DLC, while hitting a peak concurrent player count of 416,000 on Steam. As for specifics, Steam day-one sales for Black Flag Resynced generated $22.4 million, which is far more than Shadows' $9.5 million day-one Steam revenue.

The success of Black Flag Resynced compared to Shadows highlights a growing fatigue with Ubisoft's latest entries in the Assassin's Creed franchise, with many critics pointing to invasive and unnecessary cosmetics in a single-player game, repetitive gameplay, lackluster campaigns, and a general sense the franchise has strayed far and wide from its roots.

Bethesda has released a large studio update that confirms the status of the group following mass layoffs at Xbox, outlining various new projects in development.

Xbox's latest layoffs have cast doubt on what's next for various studios. Bethesda has issued an update that confirms its slate of games, including mainline games like Fallout 5, The Elder Scrolls VI, as well as remasters. The studio confirms that The Elder Scrolls VI is the top priority, and that Fallout 5 is in pre-production phases, with both games sharing the common Creation Engine 3 technology.

Remasters of Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 3 are also confirmed, as well as official acknowledgement of a new Fallout game with Obsidian: "We're happy to confirm [our longtime friends at Obsidian Entertainment] are working with us on a new Fallout project."

The last time we heard about GameStop, the CEO was attempting to buy eBay by selling items on eBay after the online marketplace asked how the CEO was going to afford the acquisition, and now GameStop has officially partnered with Uber Eats to deliver new video games, consoles, accessories, and collectibles to customers nationwide. So, in theory, you will be able to order Grand Theft Auto 6 and pizza in the same cart when the game releases this November, and get both dropped off for an epic night.

The collaboration brings the world's top physical gaming retailer into the delivery space, allowing consumers to order directly through the Uber Eats app from participating GameStop locations. The move expands GameStop's reach beyond physical stores and into the digital retail ecosystem, a space the company should have adopted many years ago.

According to the press release, customers can now choose between immediate or scheduled delivery, with products ranging from the latest game titles to high-end hardware. The partnership is a clear attempt to digitize GameStop's presence in a market that is moving away from physical media, and, in all honesty, it's an effort to prevent the retailer from being phased out altogether.

ZeniMax Online Studios is undergoing a leadership overhaul as part of Microsoft's broader Xbox restructuring, which confirmed that 1,600 jobs will be immediately let go, and as many as 6,400 across Microsoft's entire workforce, equating to approximately 2.1% of all Microsoft employees.

Studio head Joe Burba and three other senior leaders are exiting the company, according to recent reports. The cuts, revealed in a WARN notice, include 379 roles eliminated in Maryland, with more than 200 from ZeniMax Online Studios alone, including positions such as Studio Head, Studio Operations Director, Studio Game Director, Studio Art Director, and various other C-level positions. Burba, who took over the studio alongside ESO executive producer Susan Kath, game director Rich Lambert, and production director Ala Diaz, will be departing.

The leadership transition is expected to take "a few months," with Josh Henderson taking over as head of ZeniMax Online Studios, who was previously head of business operations, and Nick Giacomini, who was promoted to Game Director last August, will be taking on a larger role. The news of executives departing, along with a selection of employees, has raised concerns about the continued growth of Elder Scrolls Online, a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) that maintains its player base through constant content updates.

Steam has generated an estimated $11 billion in the first six months of 2026, which is more money than the platform made in the entire year of 2017.

New data estimates from Alinea Analytics put a number on Valve's successful PC games storefront. According to the firm's latest estimates, Steam could have made up to $11.1 billion in gross sales revenue throughout the first half of the year. This milestone could make 2026 a record-breaking year for PC gaming. One important thing to remember is that this is the total sum of all the earnings and sales from games and content on Steam--it doesn't just represent Valve's cut, but the whole pie.

"Steam's full-year revenue has climbed from around $5.5B in 2017 to roughly $20B in 2025," Alinea's Rhys Elliott said in the coverage. The FTC v Microsoft trial from 2023 also revealed that Valve's Steam storefront was estimated to have made $7 billion in 2021, illustrating a major boost to sales over nearly 10 years.

A couple of days ago, we got word that Valve was reportedly ceasing production of replacement parts for the original Steam Deck LCD gaming handhelds, which are no longer being produced in favor of the refreshed OLED models. This was based on a response from the hardware repair specialists at iFixit, who had received a customer request stating that Valve was sunsetting the availability of replacement batteries for the device.

The firm expanded on the response by adding that it was looking at and testing alternatives due to Valve no longer supplying replacement batteries, which led to stories like ours popping up online, and a consensus among the PC gaming community that dropping repair support so soon for the Steam Deck LCD handheld was not a consumer-friendly or PC gamer-friendly move from Valve. One of the reasons why batteries currently need to be sourced directly from Valve comes down to "special calibration not publicly available."

Well, it turns out that the sunsetting is no longer happening or was never really a thing, as iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens has taken to the social media platform X to confirm that, "Valve has reached out and is sending us a new batch of Steam Deck LCD batteries."

With PlayStation announcing the end of physical disc production for new games in January 2028, game ownership and physical media have become hot topics. However, one PC gamer on Reddit isn't ready to let go of physical media just yet, turning old 2.5-inch SSDs into custom Steam game cartridges complete with printed cover art and 3D-printed cases.

Reddit user Jibril-sama shared the setup online, where it has since picked up over 17,000 upvotes. The games are installed onto individual 128GB SATA SSDs, each dressed up to look like a game cartridge. When one is plugged into a SATA dock, a script automatically navigates Steam to the game's page and offers the option to launch it automatically as well. The SSDs were picked up for around $7 to $8 each, making this an affordable flex as much as a practical one.

The system runs on Linux, using a udev rule to detect when an SSD is connected and triggering a systemd daemon that finds and executes the launch script. Jibril-sama notes that it should be replicable on Windows as well, though without the seamless auto-navigate and auto-launch functionality that Linux enables.

When Nintendo released the highly anticipated Switch 2 last year, its official dock brought a few welcome upgrades, including a built-in LAN port and an active cooling fan. However, one thing it lacked was backward compatibility with the original Switch. Now, a Nintendo patent filed in China and spotted by Nintendo Patents Watch on Bluesky describes a universal dock designed to work with both the original Switch and the Switch 2.

The dock would detect which system it is connected to and change its output accordingly. With a Switch 2 inserted, it would operate at USB 3.0 speeds, output video at up to 4K, and run the internal fan at a higher RPM to handle the console's greater thermal requirements. Drop in an original Switch instead, and the dock scales back to USB 2.0, caps video output at 1080p, and spins the fan at a lower speed.

The two systems handle power delivery differently: the original Switch is rated at a maximum of 18W, while the Switch 2 is rated at 60W, though it typically draws far less in practice. A dock that intelligently manages both would reduce clutter and make multi-console households considerably less annoying to deal with.

In a big surprise to no one, it turns out EA wants studios to design games around ads from day one, because of course it does. In an interview with The Game Business, EA's head of advertising, Alexander Dao, said developers should start factoring in-game ads into a title's design from the earliest stages of development, rather than bolting them on after launch.

When asked directly whether studios should be planning for ads during production, Dao called it a massive opportunity, not just for EA, but for the wider industry. He also pushed back on Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick's stance that interstitial ads have no place in $80 games, arguing that ads can work in any title regardless of price.

None of this should shock anyone who has watched EA operate for the last decade. This is a company that pioneered stadium billboard ads in its sports titles years ago, slapped ads into Battlefield 4 loading screens, and turned Star Wars: Battlefront II into a case study lawmakers still cite when talking about predatory monetization. Calling it an "opportunity" is corporate-speak for finding new ways to squeeze money out of a purchase that gamers already paid for.

If you know David Jaffe, you know how outspoken he can be, and he just published one of his more introspective takes yet. In a new video, the original God of War director argues that the AAA industry spent two decades chasing prestige as a storytelling medium, and that this chase is a big part of why studios are shutting down and projects are getting axed today.

His reasoning is somewhat personal, too. He says that after the first God of War hit in 2005, he became "the flavor of the year," courted by agents who wanted to sign him. Looking back, he calls that entire chapter, the PS2 through PS4 era AAA gaming, a delusion built on the idea that games needed to be cinematic to be taken seriously. He's careful to say the games from that stretch were genuinely great as products; he's just skeptical that the story was ever the reason they worked, a notably different tone from him defending Starfield's narrative last year.

Recent bestseller lists are dominated by mechanics-driven, multiplayer-heavy titles, not narrative epics. He points to where the audience spends its time now: Roblox, Call of Duty, Fortnite, the "virtual skate parks" of gaming rather than anything resembling a linear story.

The RPCS3 team has hit another compatibility milestone, and this one's a big deal for anyone who grew up with a PS3. The open source emulator now lists 75% of its tracked library, 2,681 out of 3,559 games, as "Playable." That's up from 70% back in January, so the project added roughly five percentage points of coverage in about six months.

"Playable" in RPCS3's own terms means a game can be finished start to finish with acceptable performance and no game-breaking glitches. It doesn't promise a flawless run. Some titles in that tier still have minor graphical hiccups or audio quirks, but nothing that stops you from reaching the credits.

While that is great news, not everything has cleared the bar yet. The Last of Us, God of War III, and Metal Gear Solid 4 are still stuck in the "In-Game" category, meaning they load and run but hit serious glitches or performance issues severe enough to block a full playthrough. It makes sense that Sony's biggest, most demanding PS3 exclusives are the last ones to fall in line, since those are the games that pushed the Cell architecture hardest in the first place.

When Sony announced that the PlayStation 5 would adopt liquid metal as part of its cooling solution, the consensus was positive: it's the sort of cutting-edge thermal solution you'd expect on a high-end piece of hardware. Unfortunately, the result wasn't entirely successful, with several instances of inconsistent heat transfer, overheating, and even leaks.

Some of the blame for this has been attributed to those who kept their consoles in a vertical orientation, with Sony going so far as to make revisions to mitigate the risk of liquid metal issues with the PlayStation 5 Slim and Pro refreshes. According to a new patent and a new report over at Tech4Gamers, Sony is ditching liquid metal for a new advanced cooling system for the PlayStation 6 that will support both horizontal and vertical orientations.

The design appears to be a proprietary solution that includes advanced heat pipes with tapered sections to enhance efficiency and facilitate fluid or liquid cooling. It appears to be a vaporization-based cooling system with a more traditional, water-like liquid, and it's designed to work effectively regardless of the console's orientation.

Glen Schofield, the creator of Dead Space and co-founder of Sledgehammer Games, has announced his retirement from the games industry after 35 years. The news came in an emotional LinkedIn video in which Schofield thanked his family, colleagues, fans, and the studios that gave him the freedom to make the games he made.

"After 35 years of making games and directing them, running teams, it's time for me to officially retire from day-to-day work," Schofield said. "I had a front row seat to one of the greatest creative explosions in history."

Schofield's career reads like a timeline of some of the most influential games of the past three decades. He started as an artist before working his way up to VP at Crystal Dynamics, where he worked on the Gex series and the Legacy of Kain series. From there, he moved to EA's Visceral Games, where he was given the creative freedom to build something entirely new.

Assassin's Creed Hexe still hasn't been officially revealed, but a DLC for the game seems to have already leaked. While yes, the official reveal is supposedly coming soon, getting information about an expansion pack before the main game is quite peculiar, to say the least.

The find comes from RogueTx, the same Ubisoft insider we have closely tracked throughout Hexe's rocky development. The leaker says a datamined string from the game's source code reads "Season_Pass_Wuerzburg_Expansion," pointing to a post-launch expansion set in Wurzburg, a real city in Bavaria.

If accurate, that would mean Ubisoft is already building out post-launch content for a game it hasn't even announced yet, similar to how Assassin's Creed Shadows got story expansions rather than pure cosmetic add-ons.

A new industry report out of Japan claims that every single online game company surveyed is now using generative AI tools in some way. That's not a typo. Zero percent said no when they were inquired about AI use in their development pipelines.

The number comes from JOGA, the Japan Online Game Association, which has tracked the domestic online game market since 2004. Its newly published JOGA Online Game Market Research Report 2026 covers 2025 data, and the AI section is the one worth talking about.

According to a preview shared by Famitsu, 100% of surveyed companies said they use generative AI tools somewhere in their business, with Google's Gemini the most common pick at 94%, followed by Anthropic's Claude at 84% and GitHub Copilot at 76%.

PS5 emulation on PC has hit a new milestone, as the open source KytyPS5 emulator can now load Grand Theft Auto V far enough to reach the game's in-game menus and settings screen.

Additionally, Quake II Remastered has been shown reaching actual gameplay, marking a significant step toward achieving full 60FPS emulation. Unfortunately, neither of these games are playable from start to finish in their current state. Quake II reportedly runs at around 7 frames per second with visible graphical glitches, and GTA V's campaign and GTA Online remain totally inaccessible. So, not exactly a gripping gaming experience in either title. However, getting a commercial 3D PlayStation 5 title to boot this far is a significant technical milestone, and nothing to be ignored.

KytyPS5 is a Windows-only compatibility layer, and its GitHub page warns that compatibility is limited and changing rapidly as contributions pour in. Version 0.0.3, the latest build, focuses on backend and compatibility work rather than polished gameplay, which is critical for smooth gameplay in the future. For those wondering, the latest version introduced faster virtual memory allocation for quicker load times, a new shader-binding system, AMPR optimizations, Pthread fixes, and updated LibUlt ABIs, along with a refreshed GUI.

Late last year, Valve confirmed that it was discontinuing the original Steam Deck LCD model that debuted in 2022 by stating that it was no longer producing the model and "Once sold out, it will no longer be available." As for the reasoning, many have chalked it up to the rise in component costs making it no longer feasible to produce a more affordable variant compared to the Steam Deck OLED refresh, alongside the difficulty in repairing the original model - specifically in relation to its battery.

Cut to July 2026, and the online hardware repair specialists at iFixit have confirmed that Valve has now quietly discontinued the production of Steam Deck LCD replacement parts, namely the battery. Responding to a Reddit post from a user looking to replace the battery in a heavily used 2022 Steam Deck LCD handheld, iFixit confirms it can no longer obtain replacement parts for the original Steam Deck.

"It's not that we're choosing not to stock these anymore," the post from an iFixit representative reads. "Unfortunately, Valve is just starting to sunset these parts." On the plus side, as iFixit is all about offering users a way to repair tech of all shapes and sizes, the company is looking at alternatives. It is "actively evaluating aftermarket options," so hopefully there's a workaround.