Kratos' story isn't over yet, as God of War developer Sony Santa Monica announced that the main face of the franchise will lead a new game, following the launch of God of War Laufey in February 2027. Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, Santa Monica Studio head of creative Cory Barlog briefly announced a new Kratos-led game that will connect directly to next year's new God of War adventure that stars his deceased wife, Faye.

"Everything we are doing in the Faye game is a continuation of what came before and to set up and expand what comes next," Barlog said (via IGN). "Faye is--while it's a different thing--it's still part of the larger tapestry of what we truly really want to explore, all of these different characters in there. But there's always going to be Kratos games, like, throughout the whole history. We're super excited about that."

Beyond that, Barlog and the rest of the studio are keeping details on the next God of War game tightly under wraps, with no mention of when it's expected to arrive, when it's set, and its lead platform. It's a busy time right now for the franchise, as in addition to the release of the metroidvania-inspired spin-off Sons of Sparta earlier this year, God of War fans can expect to see what Faye got up to in the afterlife when God of War Laufey launches next year, and a remake of the original God of War trilogy is also in development.

For now, the focus is on God of War Laufey, which was officially revealed during the State of Play livestream in June with a dedicated 20-minute gameplay preview.

The God of War Laufey release date has been announced and, much like we anticipated, you won't have to wait too long before you can play Faye's story.

At San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Sony Santa Monica Studios officially announced that the God of War Laufey release date will be 16 February, 2027.

https://twitter.com/SonySantaMonica/status/2080831512820519253

Game director Cory Barlog also announced that the game will ship with physical discs. That announcement comes just weeks after Sony announced that it would be halting the production of physical discs entirely from 2028.

The release date announcement wasn't the only surprise, as Barlog also confirmed that the next God of War game will put players back in the boots of Kratos.

According to IGN, he said, "Everything we are doing in the Faye game is a continuation of what came before and to set up and expand what comes next. Phranque has been around since the beginning. It's interesting to see how to build this world out. Everything in the game is setting up for something so amazing."

While there are many theories about what, or who, Phranque could be, it sounds like we'll have plenty of time to get familiar with him throughout the future of God of War.

God of War Laufey was originally revealed with 20 minutes of gameplay during a Sony State of Play broadcast in June 2026. The game looked pretty polished then, so it's unsurprising that its release date is just seven short months away.

It also means that February 2027 is looking pretty stacked now, with God of War Laufey, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Persona 4 Revival, Fable, and Metro 2039 all slated to release within two weeks of one another.

Jimothy, the short-spined raccoon who has captured the hearts of the internet, is coming to World of Warcraft.

Over the past few weeks, Jimothy the raccoon has gone absolutely viral, as Seattle locals share images and videos of the animal celebrity going about his daily life. He's hard to miss, as his unique spinal condition gives him a noticeably shortened torso and neck that makes him look like a goblin in raccoon form. 

Naturally, as Jimothy's popularity skyrocketed, so too did the brands begin to take notice, World of Warcraft included. Blizzard was quick to post a mock-up showing what Jimothy might look like in WoW, and the response was "overwhelming," according to Blizzard. Players desperately wanted Jimothy to be a real in-game companion. Now, that's becoming a reality.

https://twitter.com/Warcraft/status/2078495010475966556?s=20

Blizzard has now announced it managed  to "squeeze in" a functional version of the real-life cryptid as part of the MMO's upcoming 12.1 Curse of Ula'tek update. Jimothy will be an earnable pet companion players can acquire in-game, though Blizzard hasn't yet detailed what players will need to do to call Jimothy their own.

"Currently, Jimothy is being tested for visual and functional effects and is targeted to go live when Curse of Ula'tek launches," Blizzard said. "As always with in-development content, that may shift, but the team is excited to share their own version with the intention of making him an earnable companion pet for the community."

https://bsky.app/profile/worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/post/3mreamx2rw223

That's great timing, because patch 12.1 is the same patch that will see Blizzard add the ability for players to place pets from their collection in their virtual homes. By placing down a pet bed decor item, players can then assign a pet to that pet, with the system allowing for up to 10 pets inside and five pets outside. Indoor pets can be set to remain stationary or allowed to roam, while outdoor pets can only be set to stationary. 

While most pets will work with this new system, there are a few that can't. It seems safe to assume Jimothy will work with housing, though Blizzard has not explicitly confirmed it.

WoW's Curse of Ula'tek update still doesn't have an exact release date, but it's expected to be in the next few weeks. In addition to Jimothy, the update will introduce a whole host of new content, including a new zone, raid, dungeon, and delves. It will also add new housing features like blueprints as well as Discord and guild chat integration, and improvements to the game's ping system and cooldown manager. If a recent datamine is to be believed, the epilogue for the update may even reveal villain Xal'atath's true plans.

The newest trailer for the upcoming Resident Evil movie from Weapons director Zach Cregger has arrived, and the version of the trailer posted on the PlayStation YouTube page is full of jokes and references to Sony's controversial decision to end support for physical game discs in 2028.

The movie, which hails from Sony Pictures, doesn't have a heck of a lot to do with the PlayStation brand outside of the Sony connection, but since it was posted on PlayStation's YouTube page, people took the opportunity, and creatively, to boot, to voice their displeasure about the discs situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7SwoJsSb7w&rco=1

The video has nearly 2,000 comments at press time. Some of the top-ranked comments read, "He's transporting the last physical game copy in existence" and "I cannot wait to get the physical version of this." Other top comments say, "Luckily, there was an old typewriter upstairs, and he was able to save" and "Leon... where are the physical discs?"

Another comment reads, "I love using my PlayStation 5 as a Blu-ray player," while another states, "This movie looks like it's going to get physical."

Sony's decision to end support for physical PlayStation game discs might make business sense, but it's not sitting well with fans. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed a petition calling on Sony to change course, but experts believe Sony will no go back on its decision.

While Sony itself will stop supporting game discs in 2028, other companies are getting started sooner. Rockstar Games, for example, is charging $80 for GTA 6 and not releasing it on a disc. There will be physical boxes of the game sold at retail, but they only include a code, not a game disc. Even that code may not be worth anything forever, as people in Japan need to redeem it within 170 days.

As for the Resident Evil movie, the film arrives in theaters on September 18. It's coming to market behind a lot of hype, considering Cregger's last two movies, Barbarian and Weapons, were big hits.

A Blizzard employee who used developer tools to allegedly help a group of friends complete a challenging Mythic+ dungeon in World of Warcraft is no longer with the company, Blizzard has confirmed.

Earlier this week, a thread on Reddit called attention to a suspicious Mythic+ 23 dungeon run. A simple look at the key in question on Warcraftlogs, a site players use to track dungeon and raid performance, showed the dungeon shouldn't have been completed in time, as after the final boss the group still needed to kill more enemies from earlier in the dungeon.

However, by some miracle, the key was cleared in its final moments with a spell titled "Area Death (TEST)" that instantly killed all the remaining enemies.

https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/1v2xfpr/blizzard_gm_death_touching_mobs_in_m23_for_their/

As you can probably assume, that's not a spell players have access to. It immediately became clear that if the log was legitimate and not edited in any way, a Blizzard employee, possibly a gamemaster (or GM for short), helped this particular Mythic+ dungeon group. Since high-level Mythic+ is competitive, with special titles, rewards, and bragging rights reserved for the highest-rated players, a major cheating scandal like this was rightfully cause for concern among the WoW community. 

Word quickly spread about the incident, and it wasn't long before a streamer by the name Yumytv aired an interview in which they reportedly talked to one member of the nefarious dungeon group in question. One of the group members claimed they called upon a GM friend who they were in voice chat with as an act of desperation upon realizing they weren't going to clear the key in time.

"I go to my GM friend and say 'can you do me a solid bro, can you please just one shot?" he said.

They continued by stating they "meant no harm" from it and if Blizzard wanted to revoke anything earned from the key, they were completely fine with it.

"I didn't expect him to do it," he said of their Blizzard employee friend. "In hindsight, he shouldn't have done it. He was just doing me a solid."

Blizzard, however, did find harm in it. After stating earlier in the week it was investigating the incident, it has now announced the Blizzard employee in question is no longer with the company and that it is taking action against the players involved as well.

"It has always been the case that a small number of Blizzard employees can use developer tools and spells on live servers: This lets us test and make urgent fixes to the live game when they're needed," Blizzard stated in a forum post. "Every use of these internal spells and commands on live realms is logged and shared with our Platform Security team to help ensure that the occasional use of this access is warranted. The use of development tools for anything other than development work is against company policy. It's because of the process we have in place around use of these tools that we're confident this incident was isolated to one individual."

Blizzard went on to thank the WoW community for their concern and response when it came to ensuring WoW's competitive integrity.

"We're grateful for the way we work alongside you all to protect the game and each other," Blizzard said.

The original Halo might not be the only entry in the series to get a full redo, with the secret ending of Halo: Campaign Evolved giving a wink and a nod to fans by hinting at a Halo 2 remake.

Spoilers for Halo: Campaign Evolved (and the 2001 original) follow.

Completing the campaign on Legendary difficulty adds a light-hearted sequence featuring Sergeant Johnson, who is relaxing on a makeshift beach chair on the shore while somehow viewing the original Legendary joke ending from Halo: Combat Evolved.

After realizing that the eponymous Halo is exploding (spoilers for the 2001 original, I guess), Johnson gets picked up by a Pelican, but not before turning to the camera, breaking the fourth wall, and declaring: "See you in the sequel." I don't know exactly why, but that final shot made it seem like "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was about to blare in the background to cap off the scene.

https://youtu.be/vbk_a53lAZo?si=sDO0jjJZBHrvmw77&t=158

Leakers have previously claimed that remakes of Halo 2 and 3--albeit, without multiplayer--are in active development. A report in May from Rebs Gaming purported that the two remakes are moving forward "regardless of how well Campaign Evolved does." Halo 2 got a remaster in the form of Halo 2 Anniversary, which was part of 2014's Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Campaign Evolved is the first title from the rebranded Halo Studios. It's also believed by Rebs Gaming that the studio is building a Halo live-service game. It's easy to imagine Halo Studios working on a model similar to Capcom and the Resident Evil series, alternating between remakes and new titles.

Whether that's the case or not, Halo: Campaign Evolved at least serves as proof of concept on what the franchise could look like going forward. GameSpot's Halo: Campaign Evolved review said that it "feels like the new gold standard for playing through the first Halo." The game releases on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on July 28, but those who bought the premium edition were granted access starting yesterday (though Xbox and PC players ran into some snags).

Halo Games, Ranked – The Best Halo FPS Games View Images

We're about four months from the launch of the biggest game of the year: Grand Theft Auto 6. The hype is no doubt through the roof, but if you're in Japan, you'll need to turn that excitement into immediate action because you'll have a limited amount of time to redeem the code that comes in the game box.

As outlined in a June 24 FAQ on Rockstar Games' support page, Japanese gamers will have 170 days to use the code, or it'll expire. The official wording is as follows:

Product codes in Japan will expire 170 days after the issuance date, which is the launch date (November 19, 2026), due to regional regulations.

This means that, from the time you buy the game, you'll have just shy of six months to redeem the code if you live in Japan. Otherwise, like opened condiments and pantry-stored brown rice, your code will go bad and straight-up expire. It's not necessarily shocking, since most digital codes don't tend to be redeemable forever, but it is odd that Japan is the only region with this sort of stipulation thus far.

170 days isn't even that long, either! Here are some other things that are about as long as or last longer than six months:

• This Redditor's sobriety from three years ago. (Congratulations, BTW.)
• The tourist season, as seasonal resort locations tend to open their doors for about five or six months.
• Academic school years in certain parts of the United States.
• This random TikTok, which is apparently 170 days of Thanksgiving.
• Honey (because it outlasts everything).
• Cockroaches (because they can outlast just about everything).
• Welsh actor Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins' sanity after 170 days in quarantine.
• Renowned environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk stayed in Ladakh jail for only 170 days in 2025.
• If your passport has less than six months of validity, some foreign nations may deny your entry.
• Butter, which can last up to six months in the freezer.
• Bleach essentially becomes water if it sits in your home for six months. (Please don't drink it, I beg of you.)

I could go on. Again, this only applies to Japan (for now), but it's funny to think of GTA 6 as having a best-before date. We've reached out to Rockstar for clarification and will update this post if and when we get a response.

Anyway, Grand Theft Auto 6 may be just a code in a box, but you may have noticed that it isn't launching on PC. This is customary for Rockstar Games, and one former employee explained that the console-first approach allowed the team to produce a far better PC port. The lack of a PC release probably won't impact the sales of the game, as predictors suggest that the highly anticipated crime could generate between $3.3 billion and $5.2 billion in global sales after its first week.

No one really loves Sony's decision to kill physical PlayStation discs in January 2028, but there is data that backs up the company's plan. Sega's president understands the choice and the numbers, but he says the company remains committed to producing physical media despite the push to an all-digital future.

In a recent interview with Famitsu (that was translated by Eurogamer), Sega president Shuji Utsumi spoke about how the company needs to be "more digitally conscious and become more global." For Sega, "digitalization" is an important part of the company's business going forward.

"When it comes to titles we call 'full games' for consoles and PCs, we believe that a digital shift is crucial," Utsumi told Famitsu. "Of course, consoles are important, but the proportion of people who play on PCs is steadily increasing. Even in areas where consoles are not widely available, there are many people who say, 'I can play it on PC.' In order to cultivate that market, we believe it is important to strengthen our digitalization."

In admitting that an all-digital future is seemingly inevitable, Utsumi acknowledged that physical media is still a vital aspect of the games industry and something he hopes Sega can balance.

"We were originally a platform provider, and of course, we still value the culture of physical media," Utsumi continued. "Rather than completely abandoning that, we are currently challenging ourselves to shift so that we can think about and act on the important aspects of digital media in parallel."

This is a somewhat stark contrast to what Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently said about Sony's decision. In a recent VGC interview, Guillemot remarked that the end of PlayStation disc production won't "disturb" the industry too much.

The industry this decision will impact, though, is brick-and-mortar stores. Although GameStop's Ryan Cohen isn't concerned with the impact of Sony sunsetting physical PlayStation discs, an analyst believes game retail stores are doomed. The decision has riled up hundreds of thousands of people to sign a petition urging Sony to reverse course.

Out of nowhere, the second major Tomb Raider game, Catalyst from developer Crystal Dynamics, has been stealthily delayed by Amazon Game Studios.

In a lengthy interview with The Game Business on July 23, Amazon Games' boss Jeff Gattis sneakily mentioned that Tomb Raider Catalyst would duck its 2027 release window, instead releasing in 2028.

"We have announced the two Tomb Raider titles," Gattis said. "[Legacy of] Atlantis comes February 12 next year, and then we'll follow on in 2028 with the next one. We’re excited about those. There are some other AAA things that are in various stages of discussion right now."

It appears that the reason for this delay, at least according to Gattis, is to allow Amazon Games Studios to focus on bolstering its streaming service, Luna. That way, when Catalyst does come out, people will associate Luna with Tomb Raider.

"Ultimately, we want to build an identity with Luna, where we have a content portfolio that resonates with people, where they think, 'Oh gosh, that's the place that has Tomb Raider, and maybe Bond, and they have these other things,'" Gattis said. "And that takes time to go build. But, for us to be the platform we want to be, and the one we believe we can be, you very much have to have original content."

Catalyst's delay follows the recent news that the other major Tomb Raider game, Legacy of Atlantis (which is a remake of the OG Tomb Raider game), was pushed to 2027. Both projects are being developed by Crystal Dynamics, with Flying Wild Hog co-developing Legacy of Atlantis.

The fourteenth entry in the Tomb Raider franchise, Catalyst is a sequel to 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld and follows Lara Croft as she navigates the aftermath of a mythical cataclysm. Again, Crystal Dynamics is developing the game, but the team suffered its fourth round of layoffs in the past year in March 2026.

Sony's PlaYStation Network is experiencing network issues currently. The official PlayStation Status page notes that, "All services are experiencing issues."

This includes account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Video, PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Direct.

The website Downdetector notes that the PSN issues have been ongoing for hours already. People are reporting issues with logging in, launching games, and connecting to servers.

Oof.

Whenever the PSN goes down, it's unfortunate, but the timing is especially tough for people wanting to try the Marvel Tokon multiplayer beta that started today, July 24.

"We're aware that some PlayStation players are experiencing login and network issues. Our team is actively investigating the problem and working to identify the cause. We'll share updates as soon as we have more information," the developers wrote.

On the PlayStation Status page, Sony wrote, "We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience."

There's undeniable hype and chatter for filmmaker Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie, but one talking point from fans concerns the evident differences in setting between the adaptation and the Resident Evil 2 game, despite the film "living in the world" of that game. But Cregger hasn't been shy to address these creative changes, and he candidly spoke about why his movie is set in the present day with a snowy backdrop.

Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con (per DiscussingFilm), Cregger reminded fans that he "took liberties to tell a story [he] wanted to tell and make a movie look the way [he] wanted to look." While the Raccoon City outbreak depicted in Resident Evil 2 and 3 takes place in September 1998, Cregger's film depicts characters using contemporary iPhones and sets the outbreak during wintry weather.

"I am not doing exactly a one-to-one Resident Evil 2 adaptation," Cregger said. "There are differences between the movie and the game." He added that the snow is an aesthetic choice, and he "looks really f**king cool to have a horror movie set in the snow."

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/2080477872934854745?s=20

These statements are consistent with what Cregger has been saying about his film for the past couple of years--he's previously talked about how his film is "following the rules" of the Resident Evil world while wanting to create an original story in that universe. The latest Resident Evil trailer certainly shows the writer-director's love for the series, with numerous easter eggs and moments that tonally fit with the Resident Evil games.

The original Resident Evil 2 takes place in 1998 because, well, it released in 1998. It was a present-day setting at the time, and Cregger has chosen to set his film, which premieres September 18 this year, in our present day. Series purists might disagree, but Cregger is arguing that he'd rather capture the spirit of a Resident Evil game in a movie rather than creating a story completely subservient to lore.

"If the barrier of entry is whether I do a one-for-one port, then I guess in that regard, I have failed," Cregger said at San Diego Comic-Con. "But I think the movie is stronger for it."

Best Resident Evil Games, Ranked View Images

The launch of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has proven that there's still a strong appetite for video game remakes, and at 3.5 million sales and counting, Ubisoft's new game is off to a smashing start. That's not too bad, and if you look at the numbers, the Black Flag remake is already one of the best games in this category of the current generation. It still has a long, long way to go before it can dethrone the current king of remakes, as 2023's Resident Evil 4 is still a sales juggernaut.

According to new data by Alinea Analytics, the Resident Evil 4 remake has reached lifetime sales of 16.8 million units across PC and console so far. One thing to note is that the game has lifetime sales of 13.6 million units as of March 31, 2026, according to Capcom, and it hasn't updated those figures yet. If Resident Evil 4 has sold another 3 million units in the last couple of months, then that would make it the company's fifth-best-selling game of all time, leaping over the lifetime sales of Resident Evil Village (14.90 million) and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (16 million). We've reached out to Alinea Analytics for clarification on the figure and will update as soon as we hear back.

The remake gold rush has a clear champion.

As for the rest of the list, the other entrants all boast impressive numbers of their own. Alinea counted games released for the current console generation--starting on November 10--and its data covers overall estimates of copies sold across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. In the number two spot is Ark: Survival Ascended, the 2023 remake of 2015's Ark: Survival Evolved, with 7 million units sold so far. Steam is where the lion's share of the sales came from (3.9 million), followed by PlayStation (2.1 million) and Xbox (1 million).

The Last of Us Part 1 took third place with 6.3 million lifetime sales, which is pretty high considering that it was only available on PS5 and PC. Oblivion Remastered generated 4.5 million lifetime sales, Dead Space reached 4.3 million units sold, and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth sits at 4.2 million units sold since it launched in early 2024. Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake rounds out the list at 3.2 million lifetime sales, but since Ubisoft revealed the Black Flag remake sales numbers this week, it looks like the Ubisoft game has already outperformed it and in record time.

Not even sales chart success could save Dead Space  Dead Space

Sadly, while Dead Space occupies a prime spot on the list, it wasn't enough to save the franchise from going on hiatus. The sci-fi horror series is reportedly on ice at EA, and there are no plans for a new sequel, remake, or even reboot of the IP in the future. Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield revealed last year that he's attempted to revive the series at EA with pitches that he claimed would save the company tens of millions if they greenlit it, but so far, there has been nothing but radio silence regarding its future. Schofield also recently announced that he is retiring from day-to-day game development.

Remakes are more valuable than you think Silent Hill 2

Alinea noted that while remakes have been around for decades, in recent years, they've become a vital part of the video game industry for many publishers. "The way I see it, it's a direct response to the AAA market's woes," Alinea's Rhys Elliott wrote. "A brand-new IP is a six-to-eight-year gamble with no guaranteed audience, the riskiest bet on the board at the worst possible time to be making those bets. A high-fidelity remake is different, with a proven design blueprint, a built-in fanbase, and a much shorter, cheaper production cycle. So the budget gatekeepers aren't gambling on whether people want the thing--the demand’s proven. AKA, less risk."

As Elliot noted, constantly remaking games is not a sound business strategy. Capcom appears to have cracked the right approach, as it uses remakes to help make the production of new games less risky, resulting in critically acclaimed titles like Pragmata. A remake is seen as a dependable source of revenue that also keeps an IP relevant, giving a publisher the space it needs to work on a new project. 

Mario and The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto has also spoken about remakes, defending them as a way to connect with new audiences.

Meanwhile, last year saw dozens of familiar IP dominate the JRPG genre. The top-rated games--according to GameSpot's sister site Metacritic--were remakes and remasters, with only a handful of original IP like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker emerging to earn critical acclaim.

The 30 Best Video Game Remakes View Images

Alan Ritchson, known for his role as Aquaman on Smallville and Jack Reacher on Reacher, has revealed that Call of Duty is his favorite video game and that he would be interested in appearing in the upcoming Call of Duty movie.

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Richtson said video game adaptations "scare me a little bit" because "so few work." He's right that video game movies have a spotty track record when it comes to critical and commercial success, with many notable flops, like 2024's Borderlands. There have been huge hits, too, including The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Five Nights at Freddy's, and Minecraft.

"I think the ones that work are the ones that are made directly for kids. Minecraft is a good example. If you make it for kids first, or it's fun... or self-aware, they tend to work. But ones that take themselves too seriously ... [shrugs]. It has to know what it is and it has to be ready to have a good time," he explained.

Alan Ritchson and his muscles in a scene from Reacher.

Asked if he would be up for a role in the Call of Duty movie, he said, "I do love Call of Duty, man... if the story is right."

He also advocated for the Call of Duty movie to feature Zombies, which he said are the best part of the Call of Duty series.

The Call of Duty movie is set in the Modern Warfare universe, which is not normally associated with the franchise's Zombies mode. But in Hollywood, anything is possible.

https://twitter.com/Logan_Taaffe_/status/2080401000675029023

The Call of Duty movie has no confirmed casting yet, but we do know it's going to be directed by Lone Survivor's Peter Berg, with Sicario's Taylor Sheridan writing. Paramount is producing the movie.

As for the Call of Duty game series, Modern Warfare 4 is the next entry in the series and it's coming this October. A free multiplayer beta takes place in August.

Video games are the hot new thing in Hollywood AKA the next content library to mine for ideas and stories. Atari has announced a 10-movie deal with Jurassic World and The Odyssey studio Universal to adapt some of the company's legendary video game properties for the big screen.

Announced at San Diego Comic-Con, Atari has partnered with Entertainment 360 to make a deal with Universal Pictures to give the movie studio the option to develop 10 Atari games into films. Not all of them are expected to go forward, as is often the case with development deals in Hollywood.

According to Deadline, Universal has, however, already bought the first project from the 10-movie deal and hired Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe to write and produce.

What this movie is, however, remains a mystery, but Deadline said it's an "original spec" from Reilly. He is a former Universal executive who switched to screenwriting and producing. Hampe, meanwhile, was a producer on 2019's Hellboy and also worked on Jungle Cruise.

The 10-movie deal includes the following Atari properties:

• Asteroids
• Adventure
• Berzerk
• Breakout
• Centipede
• Crystal Castles
• Millipede
• Missile Command
• Pong
• Yars' Revenge

Atari CEO and chairman Wade Rosen said, "We are excited to work with Universal and Entertainment 360 to bring the spirit of our iconic brand and games to a new medium.”

There are 50+ video game movies currently at various stages of production in Hollywood. In terms of movies that are definitely coming out, Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie arrives in September, followed by Street Fighter in October.

Zach Cregger, the director of the upcoming Resident Evil movie, appeared at San Diego Comic-Con this week, where he revealed that the movie's star, Austin Abrams, nearly died filming a scene that ended up in the movie. The Resident Evil franchise has a history with this kind of thing, as a member of the production crew on Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was killed from injuries he sustained during an on-set accident.

At Comic-Con, Slash Film reported that Cregger said there is a scene in the movie where Abrams' character, the medical courier Bryan, is running through a street, with zombies leaping from the tops of buildings at him. Cregger wanted to film this sequence practically instead of using CGI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNd1gb19A-c

To film the scene, the production team created 150-pound "body-sized blood bags" that were dropped from cranes to create the effect. One of the blood bags came close to striking Abrams, and Cregger said, "It would've killed him."

"If he had been one step to the right, he would've died," he said.

This shot--teased in the new trailer above--made it into the final cut of Resident Evil, "so it's f**king worth it," Cregger said.

"That's what's so great about making movies is you have this scene, you have this amazing idea in your head, and then you just have all these people help you realize that idea and immortalize it on the screen," he said. "And there's a real sense of teamwork and accomplishment. I'm very proud of this movie. I feel like I grew a lot making it, just as a filmmaker."

The Resident Evil movie comes to theaters on September 18. Cregger says the story is akin to The Lord of the Rings.

“Bryan is very much an everyman who happens to be burdened with this kind of sacred mission that’s going to take him into the heart of everything. It’s kind of like Frodo going into Mordor,” he said.

For more, check out GameSpot's breakdown of the latest terrifying new trailer for the Resident Evil movie.

EA looks like it'll be aiming to extract extra cash from consumers, as not only will the company be offering $70 standard and $100 "Ultimate" editions of its soccer game EA Sports FC 27, it'll also be selling a $150 "Ultimate Plus" version.

To put this into perspective, EA already sells an MVP bundle of its football games for the same price, but you're getting both Madden NFL, College Football, and deluxe edition perks in that package. In comparison, the Ultimate Plus edition of EA Sports FC 27 is a single game that includes a sizable amount of DLC, such as four premium season passes, 10,000 FC Points--the game's premium currency--spread across several months, player boosts, a Hall of FUT Player Pick, and more.

The other big draw is that this version of the game allows you to start playing seven days early, a perk that we're seeing pop up more often in video games lately. Halo: Campaign Evolved players who purchased the $70 Premium edition currently have early access to the game ahead of its official release on July 28, but a launch issue prevented them from hopping in ahead of schedule.

It's also worth noting that the EA Sports FC games have drawn heavy criticism over the years for how progression has been hidden behind paywalls, while other parts of the game have also been called out for overt pay-to-win gameplay mechanics. These ideas made their way into EA Sports College Football, resulting in everyone being pissed off. EA eventually removed the controversial microtransaction system, but there are still plenty of microtransactions for the popular Ultimate Team mode.

There are also fears that these gameplay systems could become more prevalent if the sale of EA goes through. The company is aiming to sell itself to a group of investors led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and the $55 billion deal will see the company burdened with billions in debt--debt that could require it to make some massive cuts to its portfolio of game studios.

Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot believes that Sony's plan to kill PS5 game disc production in January 2028 could have some benefits for the gaming industry. Speaking during a recent investor Q&A, Guillemot expressed his opinion that the PS5 console market could emulate PC gaming--which has been an overwhelmingly digital-only scene since the rise of Steam--and hardware costs could come down as a result.

"What we saw on the PC is that it helped to grow the market," Guillemot said (via VGC). "There's also some pressure for the future on the cost of machines, and being able to be only digital will help to have a more accessible machine, I would say. "There are pluses and minuses, but we think it will not disturb too much the industry."

https://youtu.be/4FatSqS3VYY

Sony's rationale for ending game disc production is that it's following market trends and consumer preferences, as the majority of PS5 game purchases are currently digital. New data suggests that physical game sales are weaker than ever, as only two PlayStation games sold more than 10,000 physical units in the US for the week that ended on July 11, 2026. Throughout 2026, only seven games have sold more than 100,000 physical units so far.

That's still a sizable number of people who purchase physical games every year, but even with its social media channels under siege from consumers demanding that Sony reverse course on its decision, it looks unlikely that the company will budge. Sony--and third-party studios--simply earn more from digital sales, especially with first-party games where it won't be required to pay any retailer fees or handle the financial cost of pressing discs, packaging, and distribution.

With spending on new physical games having been in decline since 2009, the numbers are clearly in Sony's favor as the majority of consumers prefer the convenience of digital games. Guillemot's other point of hardware being more accessible looks unlikely, however, as the current RAMageddon that has seen component prices skyrocket means that the next PlayStation console could cost north of $1,000.

The new season of Batman: The Caped Crusader kicks off on July 31, and anyone looking to join the world's greatest detective in solving some mysteries can also jump into a new game launching the same day. Amazon Luna and Warner Bros. have announced Batman: Caped Crusader - Chronicles, which will be available for Amazon Prime members through the Luna library of streaming games at no extra cost. Amazon also revealed today that Luna will be rolling out to Prime Video on Fire TVs in the US and UK, and the games can be streamed directly from these devices. You can use a controller or a smartphone, making it easier to access games from a single app.

Set in the continuity of Caped Crusader, the co-op party game supports up to four players as they join a special Gotham City Police Department task force and join Batman's inner circle. Alongside Detective Montoya, there'll be 11 episodic missions featuring a mix of sleuthing and minigames. Several of the crimes will also see Batman villains like Babyface, Scarecrow, Dollmaker, and the Joker step into the spotlight. Additionally, Hamish Linklater and Michelle C. Bonilla will reprise their roles as Batman and Montoya, respectively, to create a link between the game and the animated series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F22Gqk_ylNM

The first season of Batman: The Caped Crusader launched in 2024, and unlike other Dark Knight shows, it's set during the 1940s. Using a film noir-inspired setting, the series follows a young but capable Bruce Wayne as he establishes Batman as a force for good, even if the GCPD views him as a dangerous vigilante. Season One included new takes on Batman villains like the Penguin, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, and Gentleman Ghost. Another big departure from older animated series was the focus on Batman's skills as a detective, with many episodes featuring mysteries that only he could solve.

For Season Two, Batman will take on several familiar foes for the first time, including the Riddler, Mad Hatter--and after being briefly teased at the end of Season One--the Joker. Amazon's game isn't the only new project featuring Batman, as a new fighting game called DCKO was also announced this week. The mobile game features a roster of DC Universe characters slugging it out.

On top of that, the new Lego Batman game is also an unexpected treat and the Arkham sequel that you've been waiting for.

Shawn Layden may not be at Sony anymore, but the former PlayStation boss has a lot of thoughts about the company, its games, and the industry as a whole. Specifically, he'd love to see a return to the PS1- and PS2-era of games, and he has a (somewhat vague) plan to achieve it.

In a July 23 interview with Eurogamer, Layden spoke at length about how unsustainable the current model of game development is. He discussed the untenable ballooning budgets of recent years, how niche gaming is compared to the universality of movies and music, and how the current structures just don't hold up.

Tucked into the interview was a mention of PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games.

"The problem we see there is the current model incentivises or almost dictates that to get funding--certainly in the triple-digit million era--you better be a sequel or you better be based on something like Lord of the Rings, or you had better be 'it's just like Grand Theft Auto but…,' he said, "So we make all those kinds of games, we fund those kinds of games. But the quirky kind of stuff you saw on PS1 and PS2, we don't see so much."

Layden admitted that the PS1 and PS2 had such "wacky" games because the incentives were different at the time and players weren't so siloed in their communities (re: more willing to try new experiences because gaming was still so new). Someone so steeped in Call of Duty may not play a Skate, or someone wrapped up in Halo may not give a Lies of P a try. But for Layden, that's the exact problem he hopes to solve with his plan.

"We keep making more of the same thing; bad habits are hard to stop," he said. "That's why I'm trying to put together a publishing concern that will address that underserved AA market, not only from the consumers I believe it can appeal to, but the developers who want to go back there."

A "publishing concern" certainly sounds like vague corporate gobbledygook. Maybe it is! Layden didn't expand any further on it with Eurogamer, but the theory is that he could be hinting at some sort of investment strategy to give AA studios--think of a developer like Asobo Studio (A Plague Tale: Requiem) or Questline (Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon)--a chance at survival in what's becoming a succeed-or-die industry.

He also touched on how much shorter games of that era used to be. Friends of his, according to Eurogamer, told him that they "miss the days" of finishing a game. That's something he'd love to bring back: the ease with which it is to beat a game (because now, games these days feel like 1000-hour affairs or even second jobs).

"Let's go back to understanding not only 'What did you want to build?' but 'Who are we building it for?'" he continued. "When the average gamer was between 16 and 24, you are time-rich and money-poor; but if you're between 28 and 32, you may not be money-rich, but you're definitely time-poor. So let's keep that in mind, folks."

Hours before launching, the official Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game account on X announced that the Xbox edition of the title isn't coming out today, July 23, as planned. Instead, it's now releasing on Xbox Series X|S sometime before September 3 because of "unforeseen circumstances on a backend feature." It's quite the last-moment delay, especially considering not even 24 hours ago the same account was promoting the game's launch. That's rough, buddy. 

The bad news doesn't stop with Xbox players, either. Cross-play isn't available on Switch yet, and the only localization option on the hybrid system is English currently. Meanwhile, the Deluxe Edition is also missing in action on Switch. All of these issues will be addressed at some point, though there isn't any sort of timeline officially revealed yet. 

https://twitter.com/avatar_fighters/status/2080094735314677888

It's odd that these speedbumps weren't addressed earlier from Paramount Games for Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, especially considering it's a real treat for fans. The title seems to really nail the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. 

Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is out on PC and PS5, alongside just the Standard Edition on Switch. The regular version of the title costs $30, while the Deluxe Edition retails for $50 and includes the Year 1 pass plus a digital art book. The DLC will introduce Iroh, Ty Lee, Lin Beifong, Bolin, and a voted-in fifth character. A Switch 2 version of the title is also in the works.

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