World of Warcraft: Forever is riding high thanks to its popular beta and upcoming launch, but retail WoW's Midnight expansion feels like it's in a state of crisis by comparison.

The two different versions of WoW couldn't be in more different places. Forever seems to be extremely popular, with Blizzard developers commenting how its beta is breaking records. Blizzard itself has also been more communicative regarding Forever than ever before, with weekly podcasts diving into community topics, forum posts addressing various issues, and frequent updates addressing balance problems and bugs.

Midnight seems to be in the opposite corner. Its latest content update, patch 12.1.5, went live October 13. In addition to new story quests that continue the expansion's main narrative, it added a new single-boss raid and a long-teased mega delve (officially called a labyrinth) that gives solo-focused players an almost raid-like experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phxy5Gat_Gs

Unfortunately, the patch was released in a bug-riddled state. The Kindo'jan labyrinth, arguably the patch's biggest feature, saw players running into issue after issue. Some players complained about not earning credit for boss kills and being unable to collect rewards. One particularly nasty bug had players falling through the floor of the labyrinth's final boss arena, making it so the labyrinth couldn't be completed. Other players cited issues with delve companion Valeera dying too quickly or failing to do proper boss mechanics.

Many of the most glaring bugs (like falling through the floor) were fixed in a hotfix deployed on October 16, but labyrinths still have a major issue: no save points. When Blizzard first detailed labyrinths, it implied players would be able to start one, make some progress, and come back to finish it at a later time. Blizzard's exact wording was that players would be able to "venture through them in a single epic session or tackle them piece by piece over time, progressing at your own pace." 

That currently isn't true, as the labyrinth has no checkpoints and must be completed in a single session. Labyrinths taking at least an hour or so to complete, combined with various bugs preventing progress and no way to save and come back to them later, is making for an incredibly frustrating experience. It's unclear if the lack of checkpoints is a bug, an unannounced change on Blizzard's part, or just some kind of oversight, but it's not a great debut for Midnight's newest feature.

Story spoilers for WoW: Midnight patch 12.1.5 below.

Bugs and issues surrounding labyrinths are just one part of why patch 12.1.5 has proven unpopular. The patch is also catching flak for its story, specifically how it killed off a major character unceremoniously. Liadrin, a blood elf paladin and one of the main characters players have interacted with over the course of Midnight, dies facing off against Kithix, the resurrected Old God general that serves at the patch's new raid encounter. 

However, she doesn't die in any kind of epic or heroic way. Instead, judging from the post-raid cinematic, she dies from what seems to be exhaustion, having wielded the power of the light too strongly in the battle against Kithix. After Kithix's defeat, Liadrin utters "Darkness will never prevail" before crumpling to the ground and dying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9SH-vKAy1Y

WoW is not a stranger to having major characters die. It famously happened with Varyian Wrynn, the leader of the Alliance, during the start of the game's Legion expansion. But unlike Varyian's epic death, Liadrin's feels anticlimactic. The fact that it occurs during a .5 patch that feels disconnected to the game's larger narrative makes the story beat feel unnecessary. 

Adding salt to the wound is that her death looks to be in service of a recurring and unpopular trend in recent WoW storylines where old rivalries and feuds between factions are easily reconciled. In Liadrin's case, her death brings together the blood elves and the Amani trolls, though Blizzard does make a point in a post-raid quest to emphasise the two groups are not allies despite now being at peace. Blizzard may have said its putting the "war" back in Warcraft during BlizzCon 2026, but all of its recent story beats have seen ancient enemies coming together and cooperating, and Liadrin's death only serves to reinforce that.

This isn't the first time a .5 patch has been met with negative reception from WoW's players. It was only back in April that Blizzard released patch 12.0.5 in an extremely buggy state. Player outcry saw Blizzard go as far to issue a public apology, stating it was "taking lessons learned from this launch to help ensure this doesn't happen again," and that "we will do better." Flash forward six months later, and it doesn't seem like much has changed.

That puts Midnight in a weird place overall. Blizzard barely talked about modern WoW at this year's BlizzCon. It teased Midnight's final content patch that will see players finally confront Xal'atath once and for all, but didn't share more details about what to expect from the game's next expansion, The Last Titan, despite it being slated to release next year. 

Instead, Blizzard put almost all its emphasis on WoW: Forever, a new, WoW Classic-inspired version of Blizzard's MMORPG that adds new content and visual upgrades to the old-school version of Azeroth. In an interview with GameSpot, Blizzard shared more details on what to expect from WoW: Forever's future and its endgame. WoW: Forever launches November 4.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 releases this week, and with gaming consoles and capable PC rigs now more expensive than ever, you might be wondering if there is another way to play.

Thankfully, there is, but there are a few things you need to know before jumping in.

How to play MW4 without a console or PC

With Game Pass:

Modern Warfare 4 is not included with Xbox Game Pass this year, but if you're a subscriber you can leverage the "stream your own game" program to play it that way, after purchasing it outright.

This isn't locked away to any specific tier of Game Pass, either. You can subscribe to Game Pass Essential, Premium, or Ultimate to stream MW4.

MW4 launches on October 23.

With GeForce Now:

Nvidia's streaming service, GeForce Now, will be another way to play Modern Warfare 4 without any expensive hardware like a new console or high-end PC. Or at least we think so. Nvidia hasn't outright confirmed this, but people are playing the campaign early access via GeForce Now, so it stands to reason that it will be officially supported at launch for everyone.

After buying the game outright, you'll be able to stream MW4 on GeForce Now by subscribing to one of the platform's membership tiers.

GeForce Now has multiple tiers, including a free ad-supported membership. There are also $10/month and $20/month tiers with no ads and higher-fidelity experiences. There are also day passes available.

For more, check out the GeForce Now website.

Pros and cons of streaming

Before subscribing to Game Pass or GeForce Now, people should know that playing a twitch shooter like Modern Warfare 4 over the internet might not always be the perfect experience. After all, a cloud service works best with a strong and stable connection, and that's not always a guarantee. However, many people report good experiences, and as always, your mileage may vary.

Something else to consider is that, starting in November, Microsoft will implement caps on how many hours people can stream via Game Pass before they must pay more to keep playing.

The benefits of streaming are pretty obvious: You don't need any expensive hardware. This is because a game is streamed on high-end hardware and beamed to your screen, whatever that may be. You will still need a controller or a keyboard and mouse setup, but you might have those things already, and if you don't, they cost significantly less than a new console or a powerful PC.

Why are consoles and PCs so expensive today?

The Xbox Series X|S and PS5 consoles were released in 2020, but today, six years later, they are more expensive than ever. Historically, console prices come down instead of going up. So what's driving the price increases? The AI-fueled demand for components and memory is to blame, as is the war in Iran that's driving up oil prices. There are numerous other macroeconomic factors at play, too, including tariffs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FatSqS3VYY

Companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo want to keep making money in this environment. Instead of eating the costs (while they make huge profits and collect tariff refunds), they are charging people more to maintain their margins.

The Switch 2 is among the cheapest ways to play MW4 this year, with that console starting at $500 (up from $450 at launch). The PS5 now starts at $600 (up from $400 at launch) and the latest Xbox consoles are more expensive, too. The Series S now goes for $500 (was $300) and Series X for $750 ($500 at launch). In short, you're in for major sticker shock if you're buying a new console.

For PC players, it's more expensive than ever to build a capable rig, but your price will vary depending on the setup you want, preconfigured or made yourself.

For more, check out GameSpot's Modern Warfare 4 campaign review, and keep checking back for more coverage on DMZ and multiplayer when the game goes live on October 23.

British actor Rahul Kohli (Saros, Midnight Mass) has a pitch for a new L.A. Noire game, and it sounds pretty great. Speaking to BAFTA Games, Kohli said he would like to see the franchise return with a spinoff that takes players through different time periods, as a cop, as they investigate different crimes.

One such setting could be Victorian England, with a storyline focused on hunting down Jack the Ripper, Kohli said. Another could take players to the '80s in California as they pursue the Night Stalker, the actor added.

"We could jump around and be a cop in different times. I would be down for that," Kohli said. "I loved it. I adored L.A. Noire."

Mad Men's Aaron Staton as Cole Phelps in L.A. Noire.

In particular, Kohli said he was a big fan of developer Team Bondi's facial-capture system which created lifelike expressions in the game, down to granular details like how a person’s eyebrows might move.

In a game where players had to read people's facial expressions, this was a big deal, and one can only imagine how much further the technology could go today. However, Kohli said he wants a new L.A. Noire game with the same tech and the same engine.

"I want that. I don't want an improvement to it. That was part of the charm," he said.

https://twitter.com/BAFTAGames/status/2112216181440745623

L.A. Noire was released in 2011. It never got a sequel, and its developer, Team Bondi, later disbanded. A virtual reality game, L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files, was released in 2017.

Earlier this year, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said the company was looking at future projects in all of its franchises, and that includes L.A. Noire.

Back in 2012, Rockstar said a sequel to L.A. Noire was a “possibility.” At the time, the developer said, “We don’t always rush to make sequels, but that does not mean we won’t get to them eventually. We have so many games we want to make, and the issue is always one of bandwidth and timing.”

Recently, a rumor emerged that a new L.A. Noire game is now in the works, and it will have players collecting clues to try to find the Zodiac Killer.

Saros is a phenomenal sci-fi shooter, and it currently stands as my favorite game of 2026. If you've been waiting for the right time to play it--or to play it again--then developer Housemarque has some good news. The new Zenith update is now available for free, adding a boss rush and difficulty options that should appeal to both newcomers and seasoned veterans.

First up, the boss rush. Dubbed "Overlord Rush," the mode comes with its own dedicated leaderboards and tasks you with taking out a series of the game's bosses. Rather than starting on the first boss and fighting uninterrupted to the very end, they're divided into separate "sets" that each contain three fights. Overlord Rush is available via the Primary robot in the main hub area.

https://youtu.be/X3SsUZ1SFy4

The new settings and difficulty modifiers, meanwhile, allow you to both reduce and increase the game's challenge, customizing it to fit your preferences. The "Slow Game Speed" setting lets you slow down the entire game so you have more time to react to projectiles, and you can tweak exactly how much it slows down and even if you want it to turn on automatically when combat starts. An "Auto-fire" setting also eliminates the need to actually pull the trigger when you aim, which can be handy when you're primarily focused on dodging incoming attacks. You can think of it almost like a Vampire Survivors-style tool.

Carcosan Modifiers were already in the game at launch, giving you the choice to make the game easier or harder--or a mix of both in different parts of the game--but a whole bunch more were added with Zenith. New Protection modifiers include a "Corruption Melee Enhancement," as outlined on the PlayStation Blog, which gives your melee attacks more power if you acquire Corruption, which is typically not a good thing to have.

Trial Modifiers, meanwhile, make the game more challenging, and when combined with the new ultra-hard endgame Eclipse Layers, you'll be able to put all your skills to the test.

Saros is available exclusively on PS5. In our Saros review, Richard Wakeling called it an "incredible game that does more than just refine what worked before."

Star Wars has had no shortage of breakout alien stars over the decades--from Chewbacca in the original trilogy to Grogu from The Mandalorian--but in Star Wars: Galactic Racer, that honor belongs to Biddy Blas. Who is Biddy Blas? A hotshot racer in the game, with an ego the size of a Death Star and a voice that sounds like a TIE Fighter fueled by nightmares—that's who Biddy Blas is. And in real life, the man behind the voice is none other than indie UK wrestler and actor Richard Summers-Calvert, who is down to "scrib doon" some autographs from fans.

Performing under the name "The Spectacular Tw*t" Charles Crowley, Summers-Calvert has popped up in multiple pro wrestling promotions, including a recent appearance in Ring of Honor. The actor and wrestler says he's been humbled by Biddy Blas's popularity since he was introduced in Star Wars: Galactic Racer.

"I could tell Biddy Blas was gonna be popular early on," Summers-Calvert said to Soundsphere. "Then I woke up the next day and he'd blown up a bit, and then the next day it kind of dawned on me that this isn’t normal."

https://www.instagram.com/p/DemxqBbp7DO/

Since then, Summers-Calvert says he has received a ton of messages, mentions, and even "Biddy Blas thirst traps" online. For the role, Summers-Calvert recalled that the audition called for a small man who was constantly on the edge and overcompensating, which convinced the pro wrestler to raise his pitch. The game directors liked it, but the role wasn't easy--especially when he had to perform his lines in the Star Wars language of Huttese. "I keep seeing online people talking about like cuteness aggression, and they love him so much they want to throw him at the wall," Summers-Calvert added.

The popularity of Biddy Blas has only grown in recent weeks, as the character has been referenced in numerous memes and even by sports teams, like the Pittsburgh Steelers:

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/2111957158267138184

For pro wrestling fans, it's another example of how the theatrical side of sports entertainment has naturally connected with video games. Roman Reigns, who plays Akuma in the new Street Fighter movie, recently commented on the power of video games and how performers prefer to spend their downtime between shows with a console. Other wrestlers like Kenny Omega have also incorporated video games into their movesets and personas, referencing their favorite titles as signature attacks in the ring. At this rate, don't be too surprised if a Wrestler starts hitting his opponents with the "Scrib Doon" finisher.

If you haven't checked it out yet, Star Wars: Galactic Racer is now available for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. It's pretty great, blending Burnout- and Wipeout-inspired speed with a well-designed roguelite core that makes every race feel challenging and dangerous.

This year has seen the launch of two Star Wars games, with each one offering a new take on a galaxy far (far!) away. Bit Reactors' Star Wars Zero Company puts its best XCOM foot forward with an aggressive take on turn-based tactics, while Fuse Games' Star Wars Galactic Racer has been hailed for its superb roguelite racing, slick presentation, and the delightful Biddy Blas. Both games have been well received by critics and fans alike, and Lucasfilm Games has been paying attention to the success these independent studios have achieved.

"It very much is part of the strategy," Lucasfilm Games VP Douglas Reilly said to The Game Business Show. "Obviously, huge AAA games like Battlefront are always going to be an essential part of the strategy. But one of the great things about Star Wars is it has all kinds of other opportunities to tell stories in different genres. The goal has been to find the best partner to bring that experience to life inside the galaxy far, far away. And it doesn’t have to always be AAA; sometimes it can be AA, and it’s really about the experience that we’re delivering and the fantasy we’re fulfilling."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA3BrR245mo&pp=0gcJCUMMAYcqIYzv

Reilly added that Lucasfilm Games wants to be more flexible in choosing who it partners with to create more Star Wars titles, and some of those studios will "surprise" people when they're eventually revealed. As Reilly put it, Lucasfilm Games isn't looking for a "top five publisher," but rather teams that can meet their expectations for a high-quality title.

Even if the developer hasn't established a track record yet, having experienced members on staff can help. Fuse Games is a good example: it was founded by former Criterion Games developers who worked on EA's Burnout and Need for Speed series, as well as the two Star Wars: Battlefront games at the publisher.

That's not to say that AAA Star Wars games can't be successful, as the Battlefront series has been hugely popular--controversial lootboxes and all--and as of 2019, they'd sold through 33 million units combined.

Konami has also experienced success in recent years by entrusting the Silent Hill franchise to developers outside of its corporate borders. Between Bloober Team, NeoBards Entertainment, and Screen Burn Interactive, Silent Hill has been on a hot streak over the last couple of years.

As for future Star Wars games, one of the biggest ones in development is the single-player RPG Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic. Like Zero Company and Galactic Racers, it's being produced by a brand-new developer, Arcanaut Studios, under the direction of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect veteran Casey Hudson.

Liquid Swords, the Swedish developer behind the crime game Samson, is closing up shop. Founder Christofer Sundberg confirmed this after bankruptcy reports emerged, stating directly, "Liquid Swords is closing."

Samson launched on PC in April, but the console edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S that released in September "did far better," Sundberg said. However, he admitted that, "It wasn't enough to save the studio."

At the same time, Samson might have a future after Liquid Swords closes up shop, the executive said.

https://twitter.com/CHSundberg/status/2112186074734752089

"I’m proud of our team and what we built. We’re discussing continued support for Samson. We make mistakes, we learn, we rise, we move on. I never give up. More soon," he wrote.

According to a report, all 27 employees at Liquid Swords are being let go as part of the bankruptcy process. Workers reported not getting paid for two months, but those salaries will be covered by local laws in Sweden.

Liquid Swords described itself as a "zero-nonsense" game studio. Sundberg said, "Game development has become so full of distractions that affect quality and motivation." He said his ambition was to "change that" with Liquid Swords through eliminating crunch and "useless" meetings, and not taking on an "unnecessary stakeholders."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B2_jeY0eXQ

In the end, this plan did not work out, and Samson will be Liquid Swords' one and only release.

Sundberg co-founded Just Cause studio Avalanche and spent more than a decade there before leaving to start Liquid Swords. Sundberg is known for his hot takes on the gaming industry, including a very bleak outlook on the state of gaming today.

Battlefield Studios has released a statement regarding Battlefield 6 after players came together to point out oddities and irregularities with some of the game's newest cosmetics, leading many to openly wonder whether they were the result of generative AI.

The developer’s statement admits mistakes with some of the newly released cosmetics, but it did not say whether genAI played a role.

Battlefield Studios said it's aware of the "conversation, memes, and candid feedback" about some of Battlefield 6's new skins and cosmetic items. In particular, fans pointed out that a McNeil skin says "SECUTY" on the shoulder instead of "SECURITY." Battlefield Studios is planning to release an update to address this with the Season 5, Phase 2 patch in November.

https://twitter.com/BattlefieldInte/status/2110081537882341869

"However, we recognize that letting a known visual error go live without quick acknowledgement creates confusion and erodes trust. We are reviewing how we communicate known visual bugs so you aren’t left wondering whether something was intentional or overlooked," the developer said.

Battlefield Studios went on to say it takes pride in "the craft of our world and our gear," and acknowledged that this item missed the mark and does not reflect the developer's own quality standards.

"Seeing visual oddities slip through is frustrating for everyone. We are currently examining our internal processes and workflows to pinpoint how these issues occurred and to see how we can tighten our quality control process going forward," the developer said.

Battlefield Studios also addressed the Midnight Mirage skin design that gives the character five pistols--you can see this below.

The developer said this was an intentional creative choice to reflect the "over-the-top action movie tropes" where soldiers inexplicably always seem to have another weapon strapped to their gear.

"That said, we understand how this could look unintentional when released alongside other cosmetic anomalies. As we continue to try out new ideas to see what interests the community, you help us continue to evolve our cosmetics in Battlefield. Thank you for your continued feedback and support," the studio said.

https://twitter.com/BattlefieldInte/status/2110053463916683767

When Battlefield 6 launched in 2025, people immediately spotted what they thought were AI-created assets, and Battlefield Studios never denied this. The higher-ups at Battlefield Studios are big believers in AI for game development.

While Battlefield Studios may not have acknowledged using AI for in-game assets in Battlefield 6, Activision freely admits to using the technology to create some of its own assets, including with the upcoming Modern Warfare 4.

Brandon Stirrup, who works on the business strategy team at Microsoft for Xbox, said recently that companies using AI in 2026 in their workflows is standard practice across numerous industries, including gaming. He said gamers express "negative sentiment" about it, so developers don't always freely admit to using the tech. "Everyone else accepts reality," he said.

https://twitter.com/brandonstirrup/status/2111972632115708231 https://twitter.com/brandonstirrup/status/2111991783785644420

In other Battlefield 6 news, the game was recently added to Xbox Game Pass, and it's marked down on all platforms to celebrate the recent Season 5 launch.

YouTube star Mr. Beast, who has more than 500 million subscribers on that platform alone, is publishing a Call of Duty video today, October 19, to mark the release of Modern Warfare 4. He teased the video online, saying it's going to be "one of the biggest COD videos of all time."

He also pointed out how he started his YouTube career by posting Call of Duty videos, so it's a full-circle moment for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV5vKAAkQkQ&t=1s

The video appears to be focused around MW4's updated DMZ mode, as a title screen in the video references something called "Escape from DMZ." A safe bet would be that Mr. Beast is conducting a competition where participants have to ... escape from DMZ, but in real life.

Other creators who took part have begun to post their own teasers. Check back later today when the video arrives.

https://twitter.com/snowbikemike/status/2111959642700239092

Modern Warfare 4 releases on October 23, but if you preorder the game, you can play the campaign right now or the DMZ mode on October 20. The timing of the Mr. Beast video, coming one day before early access begins, is likely not random.

DMZ looks to be updated and improved in some big ways for MW4, featuring deeper progression and more ways to play. Multiplayer looks solid, too, and the campaign is receiving high marks as it wraps up the current storyline.

After more than a decade of development, developer Steph Thirion's chill sci-fi game has a release date of locked in. GameSpot can exclusively reveal that Faraway will launch on November 5 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch consoles.

See on Steam

Designed to be a tour of the cosmos that you can play with just one button, Faraway was first announced all the way back in 2010, and it follows a shooting star on its journey across the cosmos.  Billed as an endless procedurally generated arcade game, the goal is to create constellations on your trek across the stars, using their gravity to slingshot your way to new destinations and keep your cosmic traveler fueled up for the trials that lie ahead of it.

Every run starts from zero, while the universe around you is generated in real time based on your overall performance. As you become more skilled, you'll pick up speed, points, and travel to increasingly difficult regions of the universe. The game also includes 16 handcrafted puzzle stages where you'll have to think out of the galactic box, and it's aiming to be a relaxing mix of discovery, replayability, and long-term mastery.

Faraway is being published by Annapurna Interactive, a company that has made a name for itself by focusing on games with a strong artistic vision. It also published Road Trip earlier this month (a road trip and redemption driving game), and last month saw the release of the critically acclaimed Silent Hill: Townfall. Looking ahead, the label will also publish games like the fantasy adventure Demi and the Fractured Dream, the stylish hidden-object game Uncanyon, and the action-RPG We Kill Monsters.

It's that time of month when Xbox updates the Game Pass library, and, as usual, a few more games are leaving the subscription service in a few weeks. On October 31, you can say goodbye to 8 more games, including a few LucasArts classics, a diggy-diggy blast of co-op fun, and one of the biggest Lego Star Wars games of all time.

With Double Fine no longer part of the Xbox Game Studios family, it looks like two of the studio's best remasters will be leaving soon. The remastered editions of Full Throttle and Day of the Tentacle are on their way out, so if you haven't checked out these classic '90s point-and-click adventures, now is a great time to do so. Each one features high-resolution artwork and remastered audio.

You'll also want to grab the action-packed co-op shooter Deep Rock Galactic, the strategic RPG Wartales, and the PvPvE multiplayer shooter Wildgate, which fuses ship-to-ship combat with fast-paced action.

Dead Static Drive is a hidden gem best described as Grand Theft Cthulhu, while Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris is a top-notch co-op game that lets even more players join the intrepid archaeologist on her expeditions.

Finally, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is a massive game that covers all nine movies in the classic sci-fi series, and like a bucket of Lego, it can keep you entertained for hours.

Leaving Xbox Game Pass on October 31 Full Throttle Remastered

• Dead Static Drive
• Wildgate
• Deep Rock Galactic
• Day of the Tentacle Remastered
• Wartales
• Full Throttle Remastered
• Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris

As a reminder, you can save 20% on these games if you decide to buy them before they leave Game Pass.

At the start of the month, nine games left Xbox Game Pass, with the critically acclaimed Expedition 33: Clair Obscur as the biggest departure. Other notable exits included The Casting of Frank Stone, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Donut County, and Evil West.

Horror games live or die by their scares and tension. If the player isn’t uncomfortable guiding a character through dreadful situations, well, you may as well be playing an action-adventure game (don’t mention the first Uncharted’s final act, please). Tenebris Somnia blends the discomfort of retro horror with live-action sequences that will make your goosebumps bump, and you can get it cheaper than ever right now.

As the best horror games continue to push for more realistic visuals and immersive experiences, Tenebris Somnia’s twist on the genre combines old-school cool with movie-like cutscenes. It’s both jarring and original, and that’s exactly what makes for excellent horror. I want to be constantly surprised, and Tenebris Somnia makes its pixelated 2D threats even more menacing when you see live-action versions of the monsters.

Inspired by classics that scared us silly, like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Tenebris Somnia has a deceptively simple premise. You play as Julia, who finds herself in a parallel universe while visiting her ex-boyfriend and is relentlessly hunted by nightmares that, well, aren’t exactly figments of her imagination. (To be honest, visiting an ex sounds like a nightmarish experience on its own. Ba-dum, tsss.)

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

Co-created by Andrés Borghi and Tobías Rusjan with Saibot Studios, and published by New Blood Interactive, the studio behind Ultrakill, Blood West, and Gloomwood, Tenebris Somnia’s style is fittingly inspired by past eras of console gaming. Its pixelated visuals make the switch to live-action cutscenes even more unsettling. It’s almost like Clock Tower, but if it randomly turned into a movie at any second. No, I’m not shaking; you are.

If you’re looking to rewind to those retro vibes while adding something new to your scary movie marathon this spooky season, you can grab a Steam key for Tenebris Somnia for just $18.24 / £13.13 at Fanatical. That makes it a tempting way to experience a brand-new and genuinely unusual horror game for less. Not bad, unless, of course, you don’t like losing sleep.

Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. This story was created in collaboration with Fanatical’s deals team.

After years of development and perhaps more hype than for any game, GTA 6 is set for release on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Predicting that it will be an enormous success commercially is perhaps one of the safest bets anyone could make.

But just how big will the launch be? And what records could GTA 6 beat if it delivers?

Lucia and Jason in GTA 6. The records

The last GTA game, 2013's GTA 5, was a huge hit right out of the gate. It brought in $800 million in revenue over its first 24 hours and $1 billion in its first three days. Even a decade later, the game remains a sales juggernaut, eclipsing 230 million copies sold and counting.

Rockstar's latest game, 2018's Red Dead Redemption II, launched with $725 million in revenue over its opening weekend. It's gone on to sell more than 87 million copies, making it one of the top five best-selling games ever.

Outside of Rockstar, Bethesda's 2015 RPG Fallout 4 had a gigantic launch, shipping 12 million copies for launch day alone, generating sales in excess of $750 million.

So to sum up, here are the records that GTA 6 is expected to surpass:

• GTA 5: $800 million in 24 hours and $1 billion in three days
• Red Dead Redemption II: $725 million over its first weekend
• Fallout 4: $750 million on launch day

GTA 6 has enormous shoes to fill to match and surpass Rockstar's previous games and Fallout 4. But if Sensor Tower's data that projects 25 million preorders by launch is correct--or even close--then it should have no problem beating GTA 5's initial sales.

One thing working in GTA 6's favor when it comes to comparisons to past games is that GTA 6 has a higher selling price. The base game goes for $80, compared to the $60 that GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption II launched at years ago.

Of course, $60 in 2013 dollars equates to about $85 today when factoring in inflation. But even inflation-adjusted figures would likely show that GTA 6 has a bigger launch, if it becomes the hit everyone expects it to. And when Take-Two inevitably shares GTA 6 sales data, you can bet the company will present the data is the absolute best possible light, whatever language and specifics it takes to get there.

The numbers so far

Officially, neither Rockstar nor parent company Take-Two have shared any numbers at all about preorders or sales projections since preorders opened in June. Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said it would not be prudent to disclose preorder figures because they could be misleading. His argument was that, technically speaking, GTA 6 has not sold a single copy yet, as, in theory, every preordered copy of the game could be returned. That's silly, of course; it sounds more like Zelnick is staying true to his mantra of never declaring success before it occurs.

Whatever the case, Zelnick said GTA 6 preorders "vastly" surpassed international expectations, but he did not say what those expectations were or "whether they mean anything" anyway.

Zelnick said sharing real, raw data for GTA 6 preorders could mislead investors, so Take-Two is not going to do so.

“I’ve reminded people that we simply don’t know the demand curve because it’s just never happened before,” Zelnick said. “Given that, we think the raw numbers could potentially be misleading in a direction we wouldn’t feel good about.”

Speaking during Take-Two’s latest earnings call, Zelnick said of GTA 6’s preorder numbers, “No one’s ever seen anything like this before at Take-Two, or in the industry.” He added: “To be clear, we haven’t sold one unit yet. You can cancel a preorder.”

$2 billion by launch?

The research firm Sensor Tower has a "GTA 6 Sales Tracker" site that shows estimates for GTA 6 preorders, displaying 6.08 million through October 13, and that apparently includes any returned/refunded copies. The group estimates that this works out to $594 million in revenue so far, with a split of 74% for PlayStation 5 and 26% for Xbox Series X|S.

Sensor Tower's Karl Kontus said in an interview that reorders for GTA 6 could be in the area of 25 million when the game releases, which would amount to “unprecedented preorder performance.”

At 25 million, that would work out to about $2 billion in revenue, which would cover the game's development budget and the majority of the marketing spend, he said. Kontus went on to say that he expects the majority of GTA 6 preorders to come in the last week or so before launch, as the hype peaks. Currently, the preorder split is skewing toward the $100 edition, Sensor Tower said, but that makes sense since people who preorder early are probably more on the enthusiast side. At launch, Sensor Tower said it expects about a 50/50 split between the $80 and $100 editions for preorder numbers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klc0fQmAL6k

Launch is only the beginning

GTA 6 is being marketed as a single-player experience that will be available on console exclusively. That may be true for now, but everyone expects Rockstar to release the next evolution of GTA Online for GTA 6, and eventually bring the game to PC. A recent report said the PC edition could launch sooner than expected.

The investment company Jeffries released a note recently that says Take-Two's stock is currently trading at a discount at about $200/share today, October 16, and could jump to $300/share. The company is bullish on Take-Two not just because GTA 6 is expected to be a huge hit, but also because the next version of GTA Online will represent another revenue vector, and the expected PC edition will create another selling cycle.

A scene from GTA 6.

These are not wild predictions. After all, GTA Online, to this day, continues to bring in steady revenue for Take-Two through its various microtransactions and the GTA+ subscription service. It's only reasonable to assume Rockstar would further flesh out GTA Online for GTA 6 and create even more ways for people to spend time (and money) in the world. As for the PC edition, it makes a lot of sense that it would drive people to pick up the game there if that's their preferred platform, and they could be double-dippers, further enriching Take-Two in the process.

A different console market

GTA 5 launched at the very tail end of the PS3 and Xbox 360 console lifecycles, which created a unique situation that no doubt increased the game's sales potential. Those consoles combined for an install base of more than 150 million units, so Rockstar had an enormous market to sell into. And as stated above, it sold fantastically in this environment.

Rockstar launched the game for those platforms, but then also brought it to PS4 and Xbox One, and then to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in the years that followed, with new improvements along the way. People didn't need to pay again, as free upgrades were offered in some situations, but it can be safely assumed many people double-dipped.

GTA 6 is launching in a very different world for the console market, as the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are today more expensive than ever due to tariffs, the AI-fueled demand for memory and components, the war in Iran, and various other global macroeconomic factors driving up prices. The PS5 has sold more than 95 million units, and it's estimated that Xbox Series X|S is about a third of that, so there are probably more than 120 million combined units out there.

What about the long run?

If GTA 6 does outperform GTA 5 at launch, that doesn't necessarily it will be able to catch up to GTA 5 over the long haul. GTA 5 has sold more than 230 million copies, and it benefitted from the unique setup mentioned above. The game also debuted prior to the live-service black hole that exists today, with games like Fortnite and Roblox sucking up time and money from the market.

While there has been talk of the PS6 and Project Helix family of devices from Xbox, reports have suggested those platforms could be delayed due to the complexities and headaches related to the current environment mentioned above. Whenever the next PlayStation and Xbox consoles are available, though, it's a safe bet we'll see GTA 6 ported to them at some point.

As for the massive market that is the Switch 2, GTA 6 has not been announced for Nintendo's platform. It may not be ruled out, however, as Rockstar reportedly conducted tests for this--but that's all they could be. Nintendo of America's president told fans to ask Rockstar about GTA 6 for Switch 2.

Another issue at play for GTA 6 is that console generations are much longer than before, due to the market factors described above. So while Rockstar was able to migrate GTA 5 to new platforms every couple of years, and reap the benefits, that could be a more challenging proposition going forward.

Despite these possible headwinds, I am betting that the next evolution of GTA Online is a bonafide juggernaut that will outshine the main game in the fullness of time. For one, I expect Rockstar to heavily lean into user-generated content and provide a generally bigger and deeper world for GTA Online that gives players more things to do and more reasons to stay. In turn, this could create more opportunities for Rockstar to monetize and create its own kind of metaverse. Here's to hoping Rockstar divulges the goods on GTA Online 2.0 soon.

GTA 6 is a must-have game for many people, but for those people on the fence who don't already own a console or want a new one, putting up $600 for a base PS5 or $500 for a Series S might lead to serious sticker shock.

Keep checking back with GameSpot for more on GTA 6 in the days and weeks ahead.

World of Warcraft: Forever's beta will be free for a limited time next week, giving players who want to check out the new version of Blizzard's old-school MMORPG but don't want to pay $60 for beta access a chance to see what all the hype is about. 

Blizzard announced a WoW: Forever stress test will begin October 19 at 2 PM PT/ 5 PM ET, with no WoW subscription or beta access needed to play. The goal is to put the game's servers through their paces ahead of launch.

"This is a highly valuable event, since you'll participate in our discovering of issues that would have otherwise happened on launch day," Blizzard said in a post announcing the stress test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvueCoFTkCk&t

To install the test, players will need the Battle.net launcher installed and an account. After selecting WoW: Forever from the list of games, players can select to install the stress test under the "Game Version" drop-down menu.

There is, however, a catch. The stress test will only run for a "few hours," according to Blizzard. Exactly how long the test will last is still unclear. Blizzard said the test window "may end earlier or run later as needed." During the time that the stress test is live, the game's closed beta will be offline, but will return following the conclusion of the test. All characters made during the stress test will be deleted once the test is over.

It's not much, but for those who wanted to at least dabble in WoW: Forever without having to buy the $60 Skyborne Epic Pack for a beta code, the stress test will at least let curious players dip their toes in.

Even the beta itself won't be around for much longer. It will run until October 21, after which it will shut down and characters will be deleted to make way for early name reservations for the full game on October 27. WoW: Forever launches the following week on November 4. 

All indicators so far point towards WoW: Forever's beta being a massive success. Multiple Blizzard developers have commented on how the game's popularity has already broken records, signaling launch could be huge.

The beta hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows, however. Multiple controversies have riled up the WoW community over the course of the beta, revealing WoW: Forever has a streamer problem. Illicit gold-buying scandals in the beta have pushed Blizzard to crack down on the practice harder than ever before (going so far as to add new in-game restrictions and warnings). Meanwhile, one controversial streamer is looking to create the biggest WoW guild ever seen and dominate the game's sole PvP server, much to the annoyance of regular players.

In a recent interview with GameSpot, Blizzard shared more details about WoW: Forever's future, and how it's trying to "push the envelope" on what players expect.

Before caffeinating yourself in the morning, the Fellow Espresso Series 1 machine can actually run 1993's Doom on its small, circular screen. Reddit user FullExtraction showed off the classic FPS, utilizing the brew button to run and steam button to shoot. The scroll wheel on the device turns Doomguy either left or right. 

There's also a wider-angle video of Doom working on the espresso machine, via custom firmware. The game looks pretty smooth in the snippet, showcasing a solid frame rate. Out of the box, that circular screen provides a user interface to choose what drink you're making--such as an americano, cappuccino, or even a straight shot of espresso. It will provide text directions as well as a timer for extraction, too. Or, apparently, you can blast some demons. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1x79c1q/yes_itrunsdoom_fellowes1/?solution=8902c77b28c56b408902c77b28c56b40&js_challenge=1&jsc_token=2824be10929bdc604753c70a67a1c33158037e61e2abdf23ade535fe55d21d18&jsc_orig_r=&share_id=ui9ELfiTwjxjO8TqG2sE1&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

This espresso machine joins a long, long list of devices, games, and even potatoes that can run Doom. For instance, we saw how an Anker smart-charging station could play the game without any hardware modifications last year.  Then, there's someone that modified a freakin' pregnancy test and got the FPS working on it. Last but not least, one of the biggest video games in Fortnite can run Doom, too. 

Doom: The Dark Ages is the latest entry in the storied shooter series, arriving in May 2025. Earlier this year, the game got an expansion called Revelations. However, shortly afterward, developer id Software was hit with mass layoffs. That obviously could affect future plans for the studio, which reportedly was working on a co-op Doom experience as well as a Perfect Dark project.

A remaster of 2004's Shrek 2: The Game is on the way, according to an Xbox.com listing that seems to have been published too soon.

The page for the unannounced game--which has since been removed--says the remaster will feature better textures, enhanced UI, and 4K resolution.

Like the original PS2, Xbox, and GameCube game, the remaster lets you play solo or in co-op with up to three friends, locally or online. The playable characters include Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey, among others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hICuo4Yfp5E

In addition to the updated graphics, the Shrek 2 remaster includes a new Photo Mode and Cheat Mode. The original was published by Activision, but Aspyr Media is bringing this game to market. That company was also behind the recent The Lord of the Rings re-releases.

A glorious scene from the Shrek 2 remaster.

The Xbox page for the Shrek 2 remaster does not list a release date or a price. The game is expected to come to PlayStation as well, and Switch wouldn't be a surprise either. Aspyr should release it on November 19 to go up against GTA 6 in a heavyweight battle for the ages.

This game may have leaked through Xbox, but the official Shrek account posted a compilation of Shrek video game footage with the caption, "Only real gamers played Shrek," and many think it's connected to the Shrek 2 remaster. The compilation includes the OG Shrek 2 game, along with numerous others, including Shrek Smash N' Crash Racing and Shrek Super Party, the latter of which is one of Obsession star Inde Navarrette's favorite games.

https://twitter.com/Shrek/status/2111140541396369879

It's already been a big year for Shrek in gaming, as Shrek recently came to Ubisoft's fighting game Brawlhalla and FIFA Heroes.

The original Shrek movie returned to theaters earlier this year to mark the franchise’s 25th anniversary. The long-awaited fifth movie, Shrek 5, is set for release in Summer 2027.

The Shrek movie franchise is a juggernaut, with its four main installments collectively grossing $3 billion, and that does not even count the Puss in the Boots spin-offs. In addition to Shrek 5, DreamWorks is producing a Donkey movie for 2028, with Eddie Murphy coming back to voice Donkey once again.

Beyond the movies, there are Shrek-themed attractions at Universal Studios theme parks, including the new kids-themed resort in Texas, while many fantastic Shrek memes have helped to keep Shrek popular and relevant for the past 25 years.

World of Warcraft: Forever's beta is set to end in just a few days on October 21, but that hasn't stopped Blizzard from making some major changes to the game's various racial abilities.

Unlike in the modern version of WoW, where racial abilities are so minor that they mostly feel cosmetic, racial abilities in WoW Classic (and now in Forever) are a big part of why players choose to play a particular race. Some races synergise better with certain classes or playstyles. Others even benefit more from using specific types of weapons. 

Or at least they used to. In Forever's latest beta update, developer Blizzard has overhauled many of the MMO's racial abilities to remove weapon-specific buffs and improve some abilities that were seen as lackluster by the community. 

The removal of weapon-based passives for humans, dwarves, and orcs is a significant change. Orcs used to favor axes, humans swords and maces, and dwarves guns. In WoW Classic, that meant an increased weapon skill when using those weapons, resulting in a better chance to hit and increased damage. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miSndSl23bI

That changed for WoW: Forever's beta. Blizzard kept some of the weapon-specific flavor, but instead of weapon skill, pivoted to critical-strike chance. Now with this latest update, those bonuses no longer require players of a certain race to wield a specific weapon type to gain those passive benefits. Orcs simply gain a 1% increase to crit chance, humans gain a 2% increase to crit chance, and dwarves deal 2% increased critical damage and healing at all times.

It's a major departure, but feels like it will ultimately allow for more freedom when it comes to using a variety of weapons. Those weren't the only racial ability changes though. Blizzard also updated tauren's new Plainsrunning ability and dwarves' Find Treasure. 

Both of these left something to be desired. Plainsrunning, which granted a stacking movement speed buff for tauren while on foot, was useful early on while leveling but felt like it would largely become irrelevant once players earned their first mount. For dwarves, being able to locate chests using their Find Treasure passive was nice, but hardly a reason to choose them over another race like humans, which generally have stronger racial abilities overall. 

Blizzard has improved Plainsrunning to also grant a 3% mounted movement speed buff that can stack with other mount buffs, making the passive useful post-level 40. Tauren additionally received a decreased cooldown for their herb-gathering Cultivation skill and their area-of-effect stun, War Stomp. As for dwarves, Find Treasure now grants a chance to find additional items in chests, which is certainly appealing given how important gold is in this version of Blizzard's MMO.

Skyborne racial abilities, the newest playable race added in WoW: Forever, have also received some welcome improvements, with an increased Haste bonus (to 3% from 1%), and the ability to cast Skysight and Read Leyline while moving. More leylines, which Skyborne use for some of their racial abilities, have been added to Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, giving Skyborne more chances to renew their buffs. 

Undead, gnomes, trolls, and night elves have seen changes, too. For undead, their Forever-exclusive Touch of the Grave passive has been adjusted to have a more consistent proc chance and cooldown. Gnomes' Eureka passive now is an eight-second buff with no charges. Changes to night elves and trolls are relatively minor. Trolls received an increase to health regeneration from their Regeneration passive. Meanwhile, the night elf movement speed passive Quickness now stacks with other movement speed buffs.

Not all the racial ability changes have been buffs. A few were nerfs, particularly for orcs. Their Blood Fury racial, which grants increased attack and spell power, has had its cooldown increased by an entire minute, and their Shatter Curse passive has made it so it now dispels Curses and Banes rather than granting full immunity. The amount of magic damage reduction from Shatter Curse was also lowered from a massive 15% to just 5%. 

All together, they represent some of the biggest racial ability changes in the game's history, and could be a big factor in deciding what race to play when WoW: Forever launches November 4. You can read the full patch notes below, which include some signficant class changes as well.

In an interview with GameSpot, Blizzard revealed how it's trying to "push the envelope" with the amount of new content in Forever as well as discussed its plans for endgame and what to expect post launch.

WoW: Forever Beta Patch Notes

Bug Fixes

• Resolved an issue with extra bright fog at lower shadow settings.
• Fixed an issue allowing Horde players to gain Kirin Tor reputation.
• Creatures will now properly regenerate health when out of combat.
• Fixed an issue with various Horde characters holding the Night Watchman’s Torch.
• Fixed an issue with various drink tooltips that were not displaying the correct amount of total Mana regeneration.

Changes and Updates

• Added a new tutorial experience for new players.
• Improved control over Lighting ‘Bloom Intensity’ in options to be a slider that has moved to the ‘Advanced’ graphics section.
• Added ‘Auto Attack/Auto Shot’ setting. If enabled, Hunters will automatically switch between auto attack and auto shot. This is now also supported for gamepad.
• Racial abilities have been updated.
  • Tauren
    • Endurance: Now grants 2% increased critical damage and healing (was 1% hit chance).Plainsrunning: Also grants 3% increased mounted movement speed. This increase stacks with other mounted movement speed increases.Plainsrunning now requires the Tauren to move a minimum distance per second to keep the effect.
      • Developers’ notes: Stutter-stepping is no longer sufficient to maintain the effect. This minimum does make some allowance for movement speed penalties.
      Cultivation: Cooldown reduced to 15 minutes (was 60 minutes).War Stomp: Cooldown reduced to 90 seconds (was 2 minutes).
  • Dwarf
  • Mace Specialization: Replaced with Earth Fury: 2% increased critical damage and healing.
  • Find Treasure: Now also grants a chance to find additional items in most chests.
  • Skyborne
  • Wind Blessed: Haste bonus increased to 3% (was 1%).
  • Skysight: Now castable while moving.
  • Read Leyline: Now castable while moving. Minimum duration increased to 30 seconds (was 20 seconds).
  • Walk on Air: Cooldown reduced to 90 seconds (was 2 minutes).
  • Increased the number of spawn locations of Elemental Convergences and Leylines in most Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor zones.
  • Human
    • Sword Specialization: Replaced with Ruthless: 2% increased critical strike chance.
  • Orc
    • Axe Specialization: Replaced with Savage: 1% increased critical strike chance.
    • Blood Fury: Cooldown increased to 3 minutes (was 2 minutes).
    • Shatter Curse: Now dispels Curses and Banes (was granting immunity). Magic damage taken reduced by 5% (was 15%).
  • Undead
  • Touch of the Grave: Proc chance and cooldown adjusted to make benefit more consistent. Improvements made to visuals.
  • Undead will no longer have Will of the Forsaken available to them while under the effects of Scatter Shot.
  • Touch of the Dead now has a 30% chance to activate for casters and a 20% chance to activate for Paladins/Rogues/Warriors, as well as a 25 second internal cooldown.
  • Touch of the Dead no longer scales with Shadow increases on the target or the caster.
  • Touch of the Dead no longer suffers from a decreased multiplier when a lower ranked spell is used.
    • Developers’ notes: This shouldn’t have been in place because it’s a racial, not a Class spell or ability.
  • Gnome
    • Eureka!: Now an 8 second buff with no charges. Same effect on damage and ability costs. Now also benefits Power Word: Shield.
    • Eureka cannot correctly be used while in stealth or invisibility.
• Night Elf
  • Quickness: Movement speed increase now stacks with other movement speed increases.
  • Night Elves no longer display their shields while in Wisp Form.
• Troll
  • Regeneration: Health regeneration bonuses increased to 20% (was 10%).

Classes

· Wands now require you to stand still for 0.5 seconds before shooting, matching early versions of World of Warcraft.

• Druid
  • Fixed an issue where high ranks of Rejuvenation were preventing other Druids from applying Rejuvenation to the target.
  • Omen of Clarity: Fixed a bug where this could be triggered by Faerie Fire while in Cat Form, Bear Form, or Dire Bear Form. Since Faerie Fire costs no resources in those forms, it cannot trigger Omen of Clarity.
  • Faerie Fire: Now generates threat while in Bear Form or Dire Bear Form (instead of just initiating combat at 0 threat).
  • Fixed an issue allowing multiple Faerie Fire debuffs to be active on a target.
  • Shred (Rank 1) is now learned at level 20 (was 22). It was possible to get Shredding Attacks before knowing Shred or Lacerate
  • Fixed an issue where Heart of the Wild, Feral Swiftness, Thick Hide, and Leader of the Pack were not applying correctly to characters when they logged in.
  • Balance
    • Multiple instances of Insect Swarm will no longer continue to reduce the target’s hit chance.
    • Moonkin Aura now only increases Spell Critical Strike chance, and is Raid wide.
  • Feral
    • Leader of the Pack now only increases Melee and Ranged Critical Strike chance, and is Raid wide.
    • The flat damage on Shred’s tooltip will now correctly scale with the % damage increase of the Savage Fury talent.
      • Developers’ notes: This was just a visual bug. The damage is unchanged.
    • Furor now allows the player to retain the Energy they had when they were last in Cat Form even if they go into Bear or Dire Bear Form.
      • Developers’ notes: Bear and Dire Bear Form still prevent Energy regeneration.
• Hunter
  • Auto Shot now requires you to stand still for 0.5 seconds before shooting, matching early versions of World of Warcraft.
    • Developers’ notes: Your character will still fire Auto Shot while casting spells like Aimed Shot or Sniper Shot.
  • Arrows should now be visible when a character has their bow drawn back.
  • Pets now correctly benefit from Expertise.
  • The Hunter’s Fire traps now correctly scale with Attack Power.
  • The Hunter may now correctly have 1 active Fire Trap and 1 active Ice Trap (was 1 Trap among all types).
  • Pets
    • Fixed an issue where pets were only ever inheriting the player’s Melee Critical Strike chance instead of whichever is higher, melee or ranged.
    • Dismember (Crocolisk)
      • Healing reduction reduced to 25% (was 50%).
      • Duration reduced to 6 seconds (was 10 seconds).
      • Cooldown increased to 15 seconds (was 6 seconds).
    • Sonic Blast (Bat)
      • Cast speed reduction reduced to 30% (was 60%).
      • Duration reduced to 20 seconds (was 30 seconds).
      • Cooldown increased to 60 seconds (was 30 seconds).
    • Mine! (Bird of Prey)
      • Duration reduced to 3 seconds (was 4 seconds).
      • Cooldown increased to 90 seconds (was 60 seconds).
  • Beast Mastery
    • Summon Hawk will now correctly cause the Hawk to spawn at the target the spell was cast on.
    • Summon Hawk will now stick your Hawk to the target that it was summoned on.
    • Fixed an issue causing the Improved Mend Pet talent to increase the Mana cost of Mend Pet instead of decrease.
  • Marksmanship
    • Trueshot Aura is now Raid wide.
    • Fixed an issue where Sniper Shot was not benefitting from a few Marksmanship talents.
  • Survival
    • Strider Kick can now be used while disarmed or while no weapon is equipped in your Main Hand.
    • Resourcefulness now correctly reduces the Mana cost of Strider Kick.
    • Resourcefulness now correctly activates when landing a critical strike, but it has been changed to only activating on melee and ranged ability critical strikes to prevent spamming.
      • Developers’ notes: Is not activated by Traps.
    • Updated the tooltip for Predator’s Edge changed to better convey that it only increases the critical strike damage of your abilities.
• Mage
  • Frost Blast: This new spell is learned at level 24. It deals damage and slows the target’s movement by 40%. It has a 1.5 second cast time, and is affected by all talents that affect Frostbolt.
    • Developers’ notes: The purpose of this spell is to provide the functionality formerly granted by Rank 1 Frostbolt despite the penalization of “down-ranking”. It does have a higher Mana cost and deals a little more damage as well.
  • Arcane
    • Fixed an issue where Presence of Mind would not be consumed by spell casts.
    • Fixed an issue where Missile Barrage could reduce the cost and duration of a second Arcane Missiles cast.
    • Missile Barrage: This talent has moved to the first row and become a 2-point talent. It now also grants a chance for Arcane Missiles hits to trigger Missile Barrage.
    • Arcane Blast: Redesigned. This spell is now a 1.5 second cast, and each time it is cast it grants the casting Mage 15% of their Intellect as additional Spell Damage. This effect also increases the cost of Arcane Blast as before and still stacks to 4 times. However, the effect now lasts 15 seconds from when it is first applied, instead of just until the next spell cast. Mana cost unchanged, but damage done and Spell Damage coefficients both reduced 40%.
    • Arcane Wrath: New 16-point gold medal talent. This new spell deals base damage similar to Fireball, with a 3.5 second cast, but also deals damage as if the Mage had additional Spell Power equal to 5% of the Mage’s maximum Mana. 6 second cooldown.
  • Fire
    • Heating Up is no longer consumed if the Mage also had Presence of Mind active for the Pyroblast cast. Heating up also always gains an additional charge each time the Mage casts Fire Blast. This does mean Fire Blast critical strikes generate 2 charges.
    • Wake of Fire: Talent reverted back to Improved Fire Blast and no longer grants a bonus when the Mage kills a target. It also now increases the range of Fireblast by 8/15 yards.
    • Critical Mass: Mages can now spend up to 5 points in this talent for 10% total critical strike increase.
    • Fire Power: Redesigned. Now only 3 talent points. Increases damage done by Fire spells by 1/2/3% per the Mage’s Fire effects on the target, up to a maximum increase of 12%. Spells that mix multiple schools of magic do not grant this bonus.
      • Developers’ notes: Specifically, the effects which can grant increased Fire damage from this talent are Ignite, Improved Scorch, Fireball, and Pyroblast, and Impact. Frostfire Bolt does not grant the damage increase but can benefit from it.
    • Frost Channeling now correctly reduces the Mage’s threat.
    • Fixed an issue where Ice Block was too transparent.
    • Fixed various issues around Clearcasting. Clearingcast now correctly does not roll for every target struck by a spell. Clearcasting no longer has a chance to activate off of Dampen Magic and Amplify Magic. Clearcasting no longer has a chance to be activated by abilities cast when not in combat.
  • Frost
    • Fixed an issue preventing Frostbite and Fingers of Frost from activating from your Ice Armor and Frost Armor spells.
    • Ice Lance damage against Frozen targets changed to a 200% increase (Was 300%).
    • Cone of Cold: Movement speed of the first 4 targets hit is decreased by an additional 10% and the slow lasts an additional 3 seconds on those targets.
      • Developers’ notes: The ability of this spell to control massive number of targets was the primary reason it was previously reduced in effectiveness and duration. It feels reasonable to let it retain this level of power when used against 4 or fewer targets.
    • Winter’s Chill: Redesigned. No longer increases critical strike chance. Instead, it causes Cone of Cold to deal 40% increase damage per stack of Winter’s Chill on the target, consumed by next Cone of Cold.
    • Slightly changed the positioning of the spell visual for Cone of Cold.
    • New spell Frost Blast. 1.5 second cast. Deals low frost damage. Slows/chills. Benefits from talents that benefit Frostbolt.
    • Winter’s Chill change to: Gives your Frostbolt, Frost Blast, and Fingers of Frost empowered Ice Lance spells a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to apply Winter’s Chill, increasing the target’s damage taken from your next Cone of Cold by 5% and it gains an additional 7% of your spell damage, stacking up to 5 times.
• Paladin
  • Seal of Fury is no longer overwritten by Power Word: Shield.
  • Blessing of Salvation and Greater Blessing of Salvation have been replaced with Salvation and Mass Salvation. These are applied in the same manner as the blessings were, but are not exclusive with blessings.
  • Paladins now also learn Revoke when Salvation is learned. Revoke removes target party or raid member’s Salvation or Mass Salvation.
    • Developers’ notes: This is to restore the functionality of giving the Paladin more finesse and control over who has Salvation active and who doesn’t.
  • Judgement of Righteousness and Judgement of Fury now have the correct spell power coefficients for instant cast spells.
  • Fixed an issue causing Seal of Righteousness to gain almost twice as much benefit from Spell Damage than intended.
  • Fixed an issue where Judgement of Righteousness had an incorrect Spell Damage coefficient.
  • Consecration’s Spell Power Coefficient per tick has been changed to 0.042 (was 0.095).
  • Righteous Fury’s Holy damage threat generation increased to 90% (was 60%).
  • Seal of Fury Rank 3 is now correctly available for training at level 26 (was incorrectly level 25).
  • Holy
    • Fixed an issue where using a focus macro to cast Light’s Vigil was causing it to not go onto the appropriate target.
    • Fixed an issue causing Infusion of Light to grant Holy Shock 50% increased damage against enemies.
  • Protection
    • Shield Specialization Mana restored to the Paladin lowered to 4% with a 3 second internal cooldown (was 6% with a 3 second internal cooldown).
    • Reckoning: This talent has been adjusted so you gain a charge of Reckoning each time it triggers. Your next melee swing (auto attack) will trigger all accumulated charges for 1 extra attack each. You may have a maximum of 4 charges.
      • This restores the Classic Era functionality of storing up to 4 charges and delays all the triggers until your next swing so that it does not cause the auto attack timer to be reset by instant attacks.
  • Retribution
    • Champion of the Light now increases your spell damage by 10/20/30% of your Intellect (was 20/40/60%).
    • Sanctified Judgement’s Mana restore effect no longer generates threat.
• Priest
  • Fixed an issue where high ranks of Renew were preventing other Priests from applying Renew to the target.
  • Fixed an issue causing Holy Fire Rank 5 periodic damage to be higher than Rank 6.
  • Power Word: Shield will now correctly tell the player they can’t replace a Power Word: Shield on a target if the Power Word: Shield they have is stronger.
  • Fixed an issue where casting Power Word: Shield would say SHIELDED twice in your scrolling combat text.
  • Devouring Plague cooldown reduced to 24 seconds (was 1 minute).
  • Shadow Word: Death cooldown increased to 18 seconds (was 12 seconds).
  • Fixed an issue where casting Mind Vision would cause the target to stand up and interrupt drinks.
  • Discipline
    • Inner Focus will now correctly only be used on a single spell, even if you spell queue another spell into Penance’s channel.
    • Added to the tooltip for Divine Aegis explicitly that it is activated by Non-Periodic critical heals.
    • Added to the tooltip for Divine Aegis what the maximum value for the shield is.
    • Power in Light now increases Smite and Penance if the target is afflicted by Holy Fire or Shadow Word Pain.
    • Silence Resolve threat reduction now applies to all spells.
    • Mental Strength moved to Row 2 from Row 4 and changed to increase your intellect by 2/4/6/8/10%.
    • Improved Power Word: Shield moved to Row 3 from Row 2.
    • Twin Disciplines now correctly benefits Shadow Word: Death, Mind Flay, Starshards and Penance.
  • Shadow
    • Fixed an issue where Shadow Word: Death was not benefitting from Shadowform’s increase to critical strike damage.
    • Fixed an issue where Devouring Contagion was causing the bounced Devouring Plague to cost Mana, perform a cast animation, and put the caster’s Devouring Plague back on full cooldown.
    • Changed Vampiric Embrace so that it can’t be resisted.
    • Vampiric Embrace cooldown reduced to 30 seconds (was 1 minute).
    • Improved Fade removed.
    • Shadow Infinity removed.
    • Improved Mind Blast moved from Row 3 to Row 2.
    • New talent (Row 4): Dark Inspiration – Your Mind Blast and fully channeled Mind Flay causes Dark Inspiration, increasing yours and your party’s Spirit by 3/6/9/12/15% for 10 seconds.
    • Improved Mind Flay changes to: Each instance of damage of Mind Flay deals 10/20% more damage than its previous instance of damage.
    • Devouring Contagion now spreads to 2 targets.
    • Fixed an issue with Shadow Weaving’s Tooltip. It now correctly states that it causes the target to take increased damage from you.
• Rogue
  • Rogue Poisons will no longer incorrectly activate against targets that are attacking them.
  • Sap no longer has a chance to activate weapon procs.
  • Fixed an issue where Rogues could swap specializations to keep their energy full.
  • Assassination
    • Cold Blood is now correctly consumed when Mutilate lands a critical strike.
• Shaman
  • Fixed an issue where Totemic Recall cost 70 silver on the trainer instead of 22 silver, as intended.
  • Grounding Totem is now correctly destroyed after redirecting a spell.
  • Windfury Weapon’s attacks now appear as White hits in the scrolling combat text.
  • Grace of Air Totem is no longer exclusive with Windfury Totem and Flametongue Totem.
    • Windfury Totem and Flametongue Totem retain their exclusivity.
  • Grace of Air Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, Windfury Totem, and Flametongue Totem are now Raid wide.
  • Chain Lightning: Mana cost reduced by approximately 35% on all four ranks.
  • Fire Nova’s Spell Power Coefficient has been changed to 0.143 (was 0.214).
  • Fire Nova’s base damage has been significantly reduced.
  • Fire Nova’s mana cost has been significantly reduced.
  • Flametongue Totem and Windfury Totem now correctly only affect players.
  • Added a little green to the visual of Chain Heal without overpowering the original effect.
  • Elemental
    • Your Clearcasting from the Elemental Focus talent will no longer have a way to be spent on the same Fire Nova that activates it.
    • Elemental Mastery: This talent has returned as the new 31-point gold medal talent. Reduces the cast time of Lightning Bolt and Lava Burst by 0.5 seconds and removes the cooldown from Chain Lightning for 15 seconds. 3-minute CD. Lava Burst is pre-requisite.
    • Lava Burst: Moved from the 7th row to the 5th row as the 21-point gold medal talent. New rank 4 added and ranks reflowed. No longer has any pre-requisite.
    • Elemental Fury: Now has Lightning Overload as pre-requisite.
    • Lightning Overload: Now has Elemental Alacrity as pre-requisite.
    • Elemental Alacrity: Moved from 3rd row to 2nd row.
    • Elemental Warding: Moved from 2nd row to 3rd row.
    • Call of Thunder: Talent removed.
    • Earthbound: Moved to 4th row as the 16-point gold medal talent.
    • Elemental Reach: Now also reduces the cooldown on Totemic Projection by 10/20 seconds.
    • Call of Flame: Now also extends duration of Flame Shock by 3/6/9 seconds.
    • Column Arrangement: Many talents moved to make room for other talents and their connections.
    • Clearcasting will no longer be consumed by Lightning Overload activations.
    • Fire Nova’s tooltip now correctly increases when placing talents into Trial By Fire (the talent formerly known as Improved Fire Nova).
  • Enhancement
    • Your Stormstrike debuff is no longer consumed if your spell does not land.
    • Fixed an issue where Stormstrike could be consumed by other players or pets that weren’t the casting Shaman.
    • Stormstrike’s cost changed to 8% of Base Mana (was 125 Mana at all points in the game).
  • Restoration
    • Added an additional Rank of Mana Tide Totem that is learned at level 38, so now you have ranks at level 25, 38, 48, 58 (was levels 25, 48, 58).
    • The Restorative Totems talent now correctly increases the effect of the entirety of Healing Stream totem (was the base value).
    • Tidal Focus and Totemic Focus have swapped locations. Tidal Focus is now in the 1st row, and Totemic Focus is now in the 2nd row.
    • Water Shield: Can now trigger from any critical spell cast by the Shaman (was only critical heals).
• Warlock
  • Fixed an issue where Summon Incubus was available to summon at no Soul Shard cost with the Reagent Economy Legacy Perk.
  • Fixed an issue allowing multiple Cure of Recklessness debuffs to be active on a target.
  • Affliction
    • Malediction replaced with Grim Reach, which increases the range of your Affliction spells by 10/20%.
    • Shadow Mastery changed to increasing your Shadow spell damage by 2/4/6/8/10% (Was 1/2/3/4/5%).
  • Demonology
    • Fixed an issue where you couldn’t cast Soul Link on your pet.
  • Destruction
    • Destructive Reach changed to Increases the range of your Destruction spells by 10/20%.
• Warrior
  • Battle Shout is now Raid wide.
  • Slam is no longer subject to spell pushback.
  • Fixed an issue where Overpower was not able to activate vs. significantly lower level enemies.
  • Arms
    • Fixed an issue where Weaponmaster’s Sword Specialization could be activated by Shield Bash and Shield Slam.
  • Fury
    • Lingering Rage no longer stops the player’s Health Regeneration after combat.
    • Fixed an issue where Improved Berserker Rage was not removing Movement Impairing Effects.

Gamepad Support

• Added a swing timer to the center reticle.
• Added bindings to enable and disable Voice Channel Transcription via the Chat Channels menu.
• Ensured your own fishing bobber is always targetable.
• Fixed using ground-targeted items. Using them a second time will now confirm the placement.
• Fixed an issue causing the gamepad action bar to be invisible upon relogging after creating and selecting a custom Edit Mode layout.
• Fixed an issue causing the cast bar to not be properly customizable with Edit Mode.
• Fixed an issue making it difficult to activate actions using the class-specific flyouts.
• Fixed an issue with quest reward selection that prevented completion of certain quests.
• Fixed an issue where quests offered by interactive objects or other non-character quest givers could not be turned in with a gamepad.
• Made the “Press and Hold Casting” setting compatible with gamepad.
• Updated the Trade confirmation dialog to be usable with a gamepad.
• Updated the Guild & Communities dialogs to be usable with a gamepad.
• Updated the Chat Channels menu to be usable with a gamepad.
• Updated the Transmog frame to be useable with a gamepad.

Items

• Mystic Mushroom now correctly increases Spirit.
• The Insight enchant now correctly increases Spirit.
• Morbent’s Bane no longer causes other nearby players to play visual effects.
• Scrolls now incur a global cooldown when used.
• Many items created by professions have had their vendor sell price reduced.
• Draught of Predatory Senses is now a Potion, on the Combat Potion cooldown, and had its duration reduced to fit within this design space.

Legacy System

• Fixed an issue where Bartering was discounting training and repairing.
• Visually moved the Master Chef and Luremaster perks 1 row to the left.
  • Developers’ notes: They were already available with only 5 points committed, so this is only a visual change.
• The Quick and the Dead should now affect more Priest spells.

Quests

• General
  • Fixed several quest items that were multi-drop and should not be.
• Ashenvale
• There are more Bloodtooth Guards available during the quest “Raene’s Cleansing”
• Dalaran
  • Members of the Horde are no longer welcome in Dalaran under any circumstances and will be attacked on sight. This does not affect access to the City of Dalaran dungeon, but the Horde questline to obtain the Dalaran Sewer Key no longer grants unrestricted access to the city in the open world.
• Darkshore
  • Fixed an issue where many of the furbolg camps would not grant credit for the quest “How Big a Threat?”
  • The quest “For Love Eternal” can now be turned in to Cerellian Whiteclaw at all times.
  • “Body and Heart”: Cenarion Moondust is no longer used up when you sprinkle it on the stone, so if you need to try again, you can come back later and use it again to re-summon Lunaclaw.
• Mulgore
  • The Novice Warriors will no longer flag players for PvP during the quest “Sparring Match”.
• Stormwind
• “The Attack!” is no longer an escort quest and is now shareable, even while the event is active. Speak to Tyrion to begin the event if it is not active.
• Teldrassil
  • Lord Melenas no longer evades at low health during the quest “Twisted Hatred”.
• Wetlands
  • Several areas have had their respawn rates increased and evened out, including Dragonmaw Orcs, Gnolls, and Incendicite Ore.
• Zephras Isle
  • Addressed an issue that could prevent players from using Halaan’s Gift to scry on the anchors of Zephras and progress the quest “The Anchors of Zephras.”

Player versus Player

• Battleground Marks of Honor now stack up to 30 (was 20).

User Interface

• Unit Frames display has been updated.
• Minimap header display has been updated.
• Spells with different rankings now behaves as a single entry in the Cooldown Manager.
• Auction House now displays a column for equippable level.
• Auction House will now properly display equipment stats from items with suffixes (example: “___ of the Monkey”).
• Added detailed Scrolling Combat Text options under Options > Gameplay > Combat > Scrolling Combat Text for Self > Text on Me/Text on Target.
• Searching for “Threat” will now pull up the Aggro Display option.
• To reduce Nameplate clutter, the distance visibility for Nameplates for enemies and NPCs above and below the player have been adjusted. Your current target’s nameplate is not affected.
• Restored level-up messages showing stat increases and talent points gained.
• In-game Tutorials have been updated.
• If party members are different character levels, the Looking For Group UI will now properly update the eligibility statuses of the dungeon list.
• Group Finder checkbox “Show All Level Ranges” will properly update the dungeon list.
• Fixed an issue where art assets were running amok on the Professions UI panel.
• Who List search now supports subzones (example: characters in Northshire Valley will show up in both queries “/who northshire” and “/who elwynn”).
• Players can no longer accept the ‘refresh world’ prompt while in combat.

I was already looking forward to upcoming tactics game Australia Did It, but now I've got another reason to do so: a hilariously expanded new name.

In a fun turn of events, designer Rami Ismail has revealed a new subtitle has officially been adopted. Back in August, he posted a suggestion about the name that had been made as part of a localization report that turned out to be incredible.

"One localisation report for Australia Did It returned with a note that the game's title won't work in their territory & suggested to instead use 'Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defence Business' and now I want that, like, globally," he wrote at the time.

He subsequently asked fans to express their support for the name, in the hopes he could use it to convince publisher Mystic Forge to actually adopt the subtitle. And with this week's announcement of a release date, the news was confirmed, and the game will officially be called Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defense Business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBFlZ8MmbFA

The original, subtitle-less name was certainly memorable. Despite a sea of games coming out at all times that seek to push everything more than five seconds old out of my brain, it was the rare game whose name actually stuck in my head since it first caught my eye last year. That said, there is something about the combination of proper hyphenation and the almost-sarcastic precision of this new subtitle that I just love.

Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defense Business (sorry, I just wanted to write it again) releases on Steam on November 10. A demo is still available, and I highly recommend it--the game has a fun blend of genres going on. To simply call it a roguelite tactics game sells it short from what I've played. Half of the game sees you defending a base in the style of tower defense, while the other has you managing units who defend your train once it finally gets on the move. What I enjoyed most, though, is a fun system that lets you combine distinct units in order to create new ones that blend their abilities together. (There's a great dash of manipulating enemy and unit positioning, too, which I'm always a sucker for.)

We'll see next month if the quality of the demo can sustain itself in the long haul, but whatever the case, at least it'll do so with a kickass name.

It's a big day for Call of Duty, as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's campaign is playable beginning today, October 16, for people who preorder the game.

The campaign is available to preload now, but doesn't unlock until 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. You can play early across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.

Developer Infinity Ward issued a statement, asking people to please not spoil the story. "We've one one ask. Let everyone experience it for themselves. Keep the campaign spoilers under wraps," Infinity Ward said. "Time to go dark."

A scene from MW4's campaign.

MW4 is expected to wrap up the current Modern Warfare storyline that began with 2019's Modern Warfare. Activision boss Tyler Bahl told The Game Business that MW4 is the "epic conclusion of the recent series of Modern Warfare."

"It’s not that some characters and pieces can’t live on beyond this and be reinvented. But we’re excited by closing this chapter and launching a new one," he said. "Where we go with future games, we have to innovate."

To that end, Bahl also confirmed that a new sub-franchise for Call of Duty is in the works after years of Modern Warfare and Black Ops games.

MW4 officially launches on October 23, but the early access doesn't end with campaign, as the new version of DMZ unlocks on October 20 for people who preordered the game. Multiplayer won't be available until October 23.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is already one of the best role-playing games of the year, but developer Rebel Wolves is preparing a big update that should make it even better. Like all good things in life, it starts with getting to pet a dog.

Update 1.1, which is scheduled to arrive next week, brings a number of new features to the game, including the ability to pet both dogs and cats via the game's directional system, which is currently only used for combat. It will also feature a new Story difficulty setting that provides "additional combat assist," new subtitle settings across all lines of dialogue, and most crucially, an item called Draught of Mind Rebirth.

The Draught of Mind Rebirth will allow you to forget all the skills and abilities you've acquired across the Swordmastery, Witchcraft, and Vampirism trees. Not only will this give you the chance to reallocate your points in a way that best fits your playstyle--it will also give you back the time associated with those skills. That means you'll have the chance to complete extra missions if you happen to find yourself impeded with Dawnwalker's 30-day limit. However, we don't find the system to be restrictive as it currently stands.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Update 1.1

Alongside the new features, Update 1.1. will also feature some tweaks to existing systems. These include an update to the FrameGen system, improvements to the camera, better Shadowstep and Planeshift abilities, and the removal of censorship of blood in the Japanese version. It will also include combat improvements that should make it easier to correctly target your enemy of choice--currently, it's a little finicky because of the direction-based system which prioritizes you blocking incoming attacks--regardless of who's trying to strike you--over you focusing in on a particular enemy.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. In our review, Phil Hornshaw said, "The Blood of Dawnwalker is the kind of RPG that feels great to get lost in, that digs into your mind and stays there, and which is worth scouring and savoring."