In the kart-racing genre, Mario Kart's reigns supreme. But the social media team behind Garfield Kart: Furious Racing and Garfield Kart 2: All You Can Drift didn't miss a chance to dunk on Nintendo's decision to sunset Mario Kart Tour this fall.

On X, the official account for Garfield Kart declared its superiority to Mario Kart because it "will not randomly kill your game license."

https://twitter.com/GarfieldKartX/status/2074947859644809275

While the Garfield Kart games are far behind Mario Kart in terms of popularity, the title characters do share a connection on the big screen. Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt is the voice of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and its sequel, while also portraying Garfield in the most recent animated film. That's about as close as these two franchises will come to a crossover short of another Smash Bros. sequel that may seek lasagna-craving felines for its roster.

Mario Kart Tour will be shut down on September 29, seven years after Nintendo began its push into mobile. Most of Nintendo's other mobile games from that era have also shut down, with a few exceptions including Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Pikmin Bloom.

On consoles, Mario Kart World is currently the best-selling game on Switch 2, and it dropped a new update earlier this month. Two additional Knockout Tour routes were included in that update, with at least six more routes slated to be added in future updates.

Since news broke of Microsoft's recent round of mass layoffs--which affected 1,600 people immediately and will reach double that number over the next year--a number of reports have claimed that mass approvals of foreign-worker visas were behind the decision. Now, Microsoft communications lead Frank X. Shaw has refuted what he calls "bad information."

In a Twitter post, Shaw said that while there are Microsoft workers using H-1B visas, they are "not specific to Xbox and represent a small percentage of Microsoft's overall workforce. And the majority of the roles impacted were not American roles."

https://twitter.com/fxshaw/status/2075637298046374135

"Recent workforce changes were made to restructure the Xbox business because it is not healthy. They were not made to replace employees with foreign workers," Shaw said.

Shaw's comments come after multiple conservative news outlets pointed out that Microsoft was approved for more than 2,200 H-1B visas this year. Fox News was told by Microsoft prior to publishing its story that H-1B employees were also among those affected by the layoffs.

The recent Xbox layoffs are among the biggest we've ever seen in the gaming industry. Alongside losing roughly 20% of the Xbox workforce, Microsoft also made the decision to separate from five studios. Two of these--Double Fine and Compulsion Games--will return to operating as independent studios. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, meanwhile, are being sold to a currently unknown buyer, and Microsoft is currently reviewing options with Arkane for its sale or separation.

The studios that remain operational were still heavily impacted by the layoffs, however. Among the worst-hit, at least that we know of, was id Software, which lost roughly half its headcount just as it launched the latest Doom: The Dark Ages expansion.

Zeverland, the upcoming open-world zombie sim for PC, plays a lot like DayZ, but the team at Quantum Quirks has announced a major shift in the game's design following a closed alpha test. According to the studio, players wanted the PvPvE game to be an entirely cooperative PvE experience instead, so much so that the team is meeting the community's requests and turning Zeverland into exactly that. "You talked. We listened," the studio said on the Zeverland Steam page.

"We've decided to shift Zeverland from a pure [massive multiplayer online game] into a [buy-to-play], survival-crafting, co-op PvE game [...] After hearing from our community, we've confirmed: Zeverland is doubling down on cooperative PvE. Survive together. Build together. Explore together--not harm each other."

While such a change will fundamentally reshape the game's gameplay, Quantum Quirks isn't changing what most people call out when they first see Zeverland in action. The game's chibi-like art style is very eye-catching for a zombie survival sim, and it's not going anywhere. I've not seen a zombie game that looks like this before, though when I participated in the playtest recently, I came around to it quickly. While much of the game feels reminiscent of the games it's borrowing from, its standout aesthetic is a nice touch.

More than that, what I enjoyed most about my time with Zeverland is how much more forgiving it felt. As much as I love it, I've never quite gotten good at DayZ. I've never joined a particular server and really built on my progression for many hours at a time. I've always jumped into one that's open, messed about for some time, and probably eventually died from blood loss, starvation, or a player who wanted to loot my pockets. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hJ2YPMt38E

My early impression of Zeverland is that it'll be a bit less grueling for newcomers. In addition to the game switching to PvE, my hands-on time revealed that bicycles are abundant for easier, faster travel, and even cars often worked right away--so long as they had gas.

Beyond that, it has many of the key qualities I look for in games like it. The world is huge and desolate. Combat is nerve-racking, demanding I carefully avoid even just some scratches from the undead. Looting is exciting and instructive; I was constantly finding new crafting recipes and items that suggested there is a lot to learn, just in an environment that is not immediately, unrelentingly hostile the way I'm used to.

It's not a zombie game for kids; don't get me wrong. You might think the aesthetic and the game's more welcoming early hours mean it's going for a younger audience, but I don't think it is. It's still checking many of the same gameplay boxes that a game like Project Zomboid or State of Decay also target. It's just that it feels like the on-ramp to learning how to play Zeverland won't be nearly as treacherous as some of its inspirations have proven to be. 

I never get tired of playing the best zombie games. I'd likely have sunk some hours into Zeverland even with its previous PvPvE focus to see if it belongs in that conversation, but I definitely prefer the game's North Star now being PvE, and I'm looking forward to diving back into the game when its renewed focus is ready to see for myself.

The Rolling Stones, one of the most legendary rock bands of all time, are coming to Roblox. The band is launching an "immersive" new game inside Roblox today, July 10, but it's only going to be around for a short time.

The Stones are coming to Roblox's The Block virtual venue starting today and ending on July 17. The in-game event will feature "classic hits" and new songs from the band's Foreign Tongues album, which released on July 10.

As for the game, players are called on to work together to "save rock history" by defeating a mysterious force known as The Man, who went back in time to destroy rock and roll. "Stop The Man and bring back The Rolling Stones for the biggest music event ever," reads a line from the game's description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiKjPE0xBY4

In the game, players will "progress through decades representing the band's eras" as they seek out and destroy "crystals" while famous Stones song play.

Finding and shattering the crystals "powers up a massive tongue-and-lips that releases a surge of rock and roll energy to disrupt each decade and unlock the next--culminating in a globally shared interactive performance that evolves based on community participation."

The Stones are just the latest rock band or musical artist to appear in Roblox, following Lil Nas X and Twenty One Pilots.

It's been tough times for Roblox Corp. of late, as the company's share price is down 30% this year. The dropoff is due in part to ongoing concerns about child safety, prompting lawsuits and other negative press. In response, Roblox rolled out new protections and other significant changes.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced launched on July 9, and the swashbuckling pirate adventure game got off to a great start. Vantage Studios, the new company in charge of the Assassin's Creed brand, announced today that Resynced sold more than 2 million copies in its first 24 hours. It hasn't been a total success story, however, and the negativity surrounding the game pertains to the usual culprit: microtransactions.

Beyond the strong sales and player numbers, Resynced is scoring well with critics, sitting at an impressive 84 on GameSpot sister site Metacritic. It's the most celebrated Assassin's Creed game since 2013 based on Metacritic scores.

The game also reached 99,451 concurrent players on Steam in the first day, setting a record for an Assassin's Creed game on Steam.

Resynced is off to a good start.

It hasn't been completely smooth sailing for Resynced, however, as players have taken issue with how there is $85's worth of microtransactions for the $60 game.

In a post on Steam, Ubisoft said it's aware of the feedback and "reading all of it." The studio said the add-on content that people can buy is "entirely optional." None of the extra content is a "requirement to enjoy or complete the game."

Eight out of the nine microtransaction items for Resynced are $10 cosmetic packs, including one that gives you a bright blue monkey with glowing eyes. There is also a $5 "Map Pack" that does not include any new maps, but instead gives players a special spyglass they can use to reveal collectibles that players would otherwise need to seek out and find on their own.

Ubisoft's games, including the Assassin's Creed series, are known for extensive microtransaction offerings. Numerous other publishers utilize microtransactions as well, and another recent high-profile example is CFB 27, which is pissing everyone off with its microtransactions.

GameSpot's Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced review scored the game a 7/10. Reviewer Jordan Ramee said the game "goes beyond the scope of a traditional remaster and adjusts the content of Black Flag to make improvements to the experience." At the same time, Ramee said the remake "creates problems the original Black Flag didn't have."

Ubisoft has been undergoing a cost-cutting program in recent times, and this also impacted dozens of developers who worked on Resynced, according to Insider Gaming.

For more, check out the story below:

• Black Flag Resynced Hides Its Connection To Assassin’s Creed Shadows, And That’s A Shame

  

After years of development and multiple delays, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6 is finally launching on November 19, and you can now actually preorder the game. The $80 game arrives on November 19, but you can actually preload it a week earlier, which is nice for the countless people who no doubt want to begin playing the second they can.

Here's everything you need to know about GTA 6 preloading.

GTA 6 preload schedule

GTA 6 players who preorder a digital copy of GTA 6 can begin preloading on November 12. This is to "ensure they are able to play at launch," Rockstar said.

GTA 6 is not going to be released on a disc, but Rockstar is still selling physical copies of the game at retailers with a code in the box.

The game's physical edition will be available to buy on November 12 "to support preloading," Rockstar said. So if you walk into a GameStop or Walmart on November 12 and see a copy of GTA 6 on the shelves to buy, you can do so, but the game itself won't unlock until November 19.

GTA 6 will arrive in November. The file size

GTA 6's file size has not been disclosed as of yet, but many are expecting it to be huge. GTA 5's file size varies by platform but can be more than 100 GB. Given that, we would expect GTA 6 to be at least 100 GB as well.

Launch times

GTA 6 launches on November 19, but when exactly? We don't know yet, as Rockstar has not yet shared that information. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest on GTA 6's launch times and more.

The future is looking increasingly digital for next-gen video game consoles, but one method that might ease the transition is a disc-to-digital service that allows users to bring their libraries with them. While there is speculation that this feature will launch around the time that Xbox debuts its next-gen console, Project Helix, a first taste of the future might be arriving sooner than expected.

Xbox Insiders received a message in lieu of an update this week, with Xbox's program lead Brad Rossetti teasing that something big was on the way. "Xbox Insiders on console, as you have seen we paused flighting this week as we prep for week next. Thanks for being patient! The wait is worth the wait, I promise," Rossetti wrote online.

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

This is widely rumored to be the first look at Xbox's disc-to-digital program, something that Windows Central editor Jez Corden--who has filed several reports on the feature--teased its debut with a "positron cometh" tweet. This is reportedly the codename for the rumored disc-to-digital feature, with other reports claiming that Xbox Play Anywhere will give users the option to switch from physical to digital.

While Xbox has yet to confirm if Project Helix will be an all-digital games console, its rival Sony has confirmed that it will stop manufacturing PlayStation discs in 2028, something analysts believe will lead to a discless PS6. The backlash was swift and negative for Sony, with the company going radio silent on its social media channels for several days while people rallied against the company.

Even with the negative publicity, Sony's reasons for ditching physical media make complete financial sense. Digital sales vastly overshadow physical sales, and Sony recorded its highest-ever quarterly digital game sales period just before it made the announcement.

Other companies like EA, Capcom, and Nintendo have also experienced a surge in digital sales, which means those publishers and studios have less overhead to deal with, like covering the costs of pressing game discs or paying retailer fees. And as one analyst has said, player loyalty means nothing to these companies.

The weekend is here, and if you're looking for something new to play on Xbox but don't want to spend any money, you're in luck. The Free Play Days promotion is back this weekend, with three games offered up for the low, low price of $0, or at least nothing beyond the price of a Game Pass membership.

MLB The Show 26, which is the newest entry in the professional baseball series, is free this weekend. The survival game The Alters is free as well, along with the FPS Stuffed, in which you play as a teddy bear and fight off the nightmares of a young girl. All of these games are free now through July 12, and you need a membership to Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, or Essential.

If you want to buy the games after the free weekend, MLB The Show 26 is marked down to $35, while The Alters is discounted to $17.50. Stuffed, however, is not on sale and sells for its normal $12.50 price.

A spooky scene from Stuffed.

Beyond these free games, Gears of War: Reloaded was just added to Game Pass Premium tier (joining Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) on July 9, while the arcade-style corridor shooter Tamashika came to Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass on that day as well. For more, check out all of the new additions to Game Pass for July so far.

Xbox is facing challenging times of late, as the company recently laid off 1,600 people, divested from five studios, and cancelled games. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said the changes were necessary because Xbox is not a healthy business currently. Sharma was recently appointed to a Federal Reserve task force focused on productivity and jobs.

Bandai Namco dropped the first gameplay reveal for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 this week, showcasing one of the game's missions and new key combat features. While the core beat-'em-up gameplay has been retained from the previous games, it's the approach to transformations in Xenoverse 3 that has Dragon Ball fans talking, as many believe this signature component has been nerfed for the threequel.

One of the big changes in Xenoverse 3 revolves around how and when players can use their high-powered skills, like beam attacks and area-of-effect ki explosions. Previous Xenoverse games required players to charge up their Ki meter, but Xenoverse 3 has swapped to a cooldown meter for abilities. Ki now functions as a stamina gauge that recharges over time, and transformations aren't available at the start of a mission. Instead, players have to build up power and charge their "Awakening" transformation, allowing them to change into a Super Saiyan or use the Kaioken boost in battle.

https://youtu.be/HE82-Zr6ky0

This shift in transformations also has the Dragon Ball Xenoverse subreddit convinced that transformations are also on a timer, but that doesn't appear to be the case. If you look closely at the icon, the artwork changes from a Super Saiyan design to what appears to be a Super Saiyan 3-inspired illustration with a timer counting down. This suggests that players will need to transform in stages, instead of skipping Super Saiyan forms in battle. We have reached out to Bandai Namco for clarification and will update this post once we hear back.

This hasn't stopped Dragon Ball fans from complaining about the changes, with many still believing that transformations are limited-time power-ups. "I hope to see the whole community bashing this idea non-stop until they change it, because they won't do anything if they can pretend it's only a minority of people," one of the top-voted comments on the Xenoverse 3 reddit thread reads.

It's worth pointing out that the Xenoverse 3 gameplay doesn't have any footage of the player powering down after the timer reaches zero, but being knocked out by one of the major stage bosses doesn't seem to cancel the transformation. Previous Dragon Ball Xenoverse games allowed you to maintain your transformation for as long as you had Ki energy, and several items allowed you to minimize the drain on your reserves or charge up Ki quickly, making transformations last for the duration of a bout.

No skipping the Super Saiyan power-up line in Xenoverse 3.

Awakenings are one of several new tools available in the game, alongside Soul Assist and Soul Change. Soul Assist allows a player to call upon the powers of a legendary Dragon Ball warrior like Piccolo or Krillin and use their signature powers in battle, while Soul Change lets a player incarnate into that fighter and harness their strength firsthand. Fighters like Trunks and Vegeta don't just have character-specific powers; they also have quicker cooldown timers for these skills.

Each race has its own unique transformation, and so far, it looks like players can choose from the Saiyan, Human, and Majin races. Set over 300 years after the end of the main Dragon Ball sagas, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 launches in 2027 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

The 2026's Men's World Cup is heating up, and one of this weekend's most-anticipated matchups is between Harry Kane of England and Erling Haaland of Norway, who are of course best known for their gaming skins.

England captain Harry Kane has a Fortnite skin, while Norway striker and noted Xbox fan Erling Haaland has his own Clash of Clans skin. On June 11, the two gaming skins who are also know for their sporting prowess will play to decide who gets through the semifinals of the World Cup.

Erling Haaland in Clash of Clans.

Kane came to Fortnite as a skin five years ago, while Halaan's skin in Clash of Clans arrived about two years ago.

Harry Kane in Fortnite

EA Sports' World Cup simulation chose Spain to win, and they remain a popular choice to win the whole thing, only behind the overall betting favorite France. Spain plays Belgium today, June 10, and the winner will take on France on July 14. The World Cup wraps up on Sunday, July 19.

The United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, has announced new task forces to "advance the conduct of monetary policy," and its board has chosen Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to help guide one task force pertaining to AI, as part of a wider effort to help create jobs and keep prices stable.

The new Productivity and Jobs task force will look into the "economic impact of new general-purpose technologies," including AI, to help the Fed make better policy decisions. Sharma is joined on this task force by billionaire businessman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, along with Stanford University economics professor Charles I. Jones--he is currently on leave from the university to become a scholar-in-residence at the AI company Anthropic.

Fed chairman Kevin Warsh said the new task forces are part of the group's "commitment to price stability and maximum employment."

Asha Sharma is the new Xbox CEO.

Sharma, for her part, recently oversaw huge Xbox price hikes and mass layoffs at Xbox that people reacted negatively to. These dramatic changes came against the backdrop of the entire consume electronics industry managing the ongoing memory and component shortages that have eaten into margins.

"We are in a hardware component crisis. When I joined as CEO in February, the price we paid for console storage components was over 2x as high as we paid last fall," Sharma said. "These costs have since doubled again. And as we plan for the 2027 holiday season, we expect another significant increase, taking us over 5x the prices we paid only two years earlier. Memory costs have followed a broadly similar trajectory. While the entire industry is facing a components crisis, we believe we have been impacted more greatly than many of our peers due to the choices we made over the last half decade. We are currently unable to make as many consoles as players want to buy, and we need a new business model and partnerships for hardware as we remain committed to Helix."

On the AI part, Sharma, 37, comes from an AI background at Microsoft. She has promised no "soulless AI slop" at Xbox under her leadership, and she has canceled some AI plans for Xbox already.

The Fed's new task forces will "operate independently," the Fed said. They will attempt to "follow the evidence, provide candid feedback, and produce rigorous findings."

The other task forces include ones dedicated to improving the Fed's communications, examining costs and benefits generally, bettering the quality and timeliness of key economic data points, and revisiting how the Fed tracks and reacts to inflation.

The Xbox "reset" that was announced this week included 1,600 Xbox layoffs, with 1,600 more to come. Microsoft also got rid of five studios and canceled games, including Avowed 2. This was all done because Sharma said the Xbox business was not healthy and was in need of major changes.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced isn't just the best-reviewed game in the series in 13 years; it's also off to a flying start with more than 100,000 players on Steam alone. That's one of the highest opening weeks for an Assassin's Creed game in several years, and the number doesn't include Black Flag Resynced's availability through other PC storefronts, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, either.

One thing to note is that not every Assassin's Creed game has been available through Steam at launch, but Black Flag Resynced's performance can still be compared to recent releases. Assassin's Creed Odyssey peaked at 62,049 players during its launch week, and Assassin's Creed Shadows reached 64,825 players when it first hit the scene last year. Assassin's Creed Valhalla is something of an anomaly, as it wasn't available at launch through Steam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niSS6zePbYs&t=2s

When Ubisoft did return to Steam after a gap of several years, it peaked at 15,679 players on launch day--two years after it first launched on PC and console--and it later surpassed that number in January 2026 with 19,181 players. For Black Flag Resynced, those are some impressive launch week numbers--even if they do pale in comparison to the similarly themed pirate game Windrose, which reached more than 220,000 peak concurrent users on Steam during its launch week in April.

While there's plenty to celebrate, several Black Flag Resynced developers at Ubisoft Barcelona are also facing layoffs following the game's launch. Part of the cuts that Ubisoft initiated in June, around 51 developers will be impacted, while Black Flag Resynced is expected to be a big seller for Ubisoft during a lean year of releases from the company.

Best Assassin’s Creed Games: Every Game, Ranked View Images

Following the disappointing sales of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it's looking like BioWare's fantasy IP won't be making a comeback anytime soon. Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider believes that the series may be dead, and the game's poor commercial performance--according to EA's expectations--was likely the final nail in its coffin.

"Throughout the entire time I was there, we were always one breath away from the project being shelved," Gaider said to PC Gamer. "The thing that happened is that we kept releasing games, and it would sell much better than they thought it should, and it kept surprising them."

Gaider added that Mass Effect was treated as EA's favorite child, even if they didn't sell as well as early Dragon Age games did. The writer added that Mass Effect was seen as a "slick, modern RPG" that was easy to sell, whereas Dragon Age was perceived to be an "old-fashioned" story-focused RPG, and any success it experienced was deemed to be a "fluke" by EA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-j1zzzKWpo

But would Gaider ever consider returning to the franchise? Absolutely, he said, so long as he was handed the keys to the IP and it wasn't produced under EA. "I think that'd be an interesting thing to do. To go back to the basics of what made Dragon Age appeal to so many people in the first place. And go somewhere dark and dangerous, and do things that will make people upset. I think that's what I would want to do with it," Gaider concluded.

In the aftermath of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, EA laid off a lot of BioWare's staff, leaving behind a "core" team to work on the next Mass Effect game. Other related developments include EA announcing last year that it will go private, as part of a $55 billion leveraged buyout funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and private equity company Silver Lake. Multiple analysts believe that EA might sell off some of its studios so that it can service its $20 billion debt, and BioWare could be a prime candidate.

The ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) and Black Ops 2 (2012) are available now. The ports, which were confirmed in June, are developed by Iron Galaxy in conjunction with Activision.

As announced previously, these are not remasters or remakes--if you enjoyed the games in their original states, that's what you're getting here.

The games cost $40, but PlayStation Plus members can get each for $20 through August 6. There is no bundle that puts them together.

Black Ops 1 and 2 are out now on PS4 and PS5.

The descriptions for each state that the games offer "a classic Call of Duty experience," and as such, cross-platform multiplayer is not supported. Beyond the base games, Activision is also selling each game's season pass for $30 (or $10 through August 6 for PlayStation Plus members). The season pass bundles include additional multiplayer maps and Zombies content.

The next brand-new Call of Duty game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which launches this October for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.

A new, fan-made map for Valve's free shooter Counter-Strike 2 has a unique spin on the game's popular Hostage Rescue mode, having players instead rescue dogs in danger.

The "Shelter" map (via Dexerto) takes place in a fictionalized suburban animal shelter, as players race to stop "Phoenix Biotechnical" from kidnapping animals for medical trials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtd0HLui7W4

As you can see in the walkthrough video below, Shelter is a large, impressively detailed map, featuring all manner of indoor and outdoor spaces. The attention to detail is notable, as you can see in the video that there are even "kennel cards" for the dogs in the facility that are only visible when scoping in. These are complete with descriptions like, "Very energetic and loves to run around."

It's also grim and sad to see the areas of the shelter with medical equipment where the kidnapped animals are tested on. In terms of gameplay, a video shows that players rescue the dogs and carry them on their shoulders to safety. If the mode is similar to regular Hostage Rescue, one team will try to rescue the dogs and the other team will try to stop them. I wouldn't want to play that side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tqmCaemBNA

Counter-Strike 2 has more than 1 million people playing it concurrently right now, making it Steam's most popular game by far.

The new Shelter map comes not long after a story about dogs being rescued from a medical research facility garnered international headlines. More than 1,500 beagles were released from the Ridglan Farms facility in Wisconsin this year and have been put up for adoption, with many heartwarming stories of pups landing in good homes.

After more than two years in early access, Palworld has launched in 1.0, and there's some good news for anyone looking to dive into it. Usually, early access games charge a smaller fee to entice users, increasing the sticker price once the full release goes live. Palworld developer Pocketpair is bucking that trend, and it says that the game's price will remain at $30 following its full launch on PC and console.

"After much thought, we have decided not to raise the price of Palworld following the 1.0 release and will keep it at $29.99," the developer wrote. "We are incredibly proud of how far Palworld has come. Thanks to the amazing support of our players, it has become a success beyond our wildest dreams. As a small way of saying thank you, we'll be keeping the price at $29.99. Thank you for your continued support."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4iJOJi87_4

A lot has changed in Palworld since it first hit the scene in 2024, as the creature-collecting and survival-crafting game has received numerous gameplay updates and new content. Some of these changes were legally required, as Palworld found itself in the crosshairs of Nintendo shortly after launch. The company sued Pocketpair for copyright and patent infringement of the Pokemon franchise, and Pocketpair was forced to appease Nintendo by compromising on certain gameplay mechanics, like gliding.

Meanwhile, Nintendo has also been taken to task for attempting to copyright the gameplay mechanic of "summoning characters and making them fight," an idea that numerous games utilized long before Pokemon arrived on the scene. In November 2025, the new head of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), John A. Squires, ordered a reexamination of Nintendo's patent. 

What's next for Pocketpair, now that Palworld is out in the wild? The studio plans to keep supporting the game with post-launch content, and it's also working on an official IRL card game alongside a cozy Palworld spin-off. Palworld also reached an impressive milestone before its 1.0 release, as Pocketpair reported that the game had reached 40 million players so far.

The Backyard Sports series' resurgence began a few years ago with a re-release of the classic 1997 game Backyard Baseball, but this month's launch of Backyard Baseball--an all-new entry--is a monumental step for a franchise that had been on ice for years. But getting there wasn't easy, requiring years of work (and the help of a private investigator) to even acquire the rights, let alone find a development partner who could revive such a legendary franchise.

Playground Productions CEO Lindsay Barnett was up to the challenge, ultimately pivoting from her job as an elementary-school teacher when it became clear she was capable of bringing Backyard Baseball to a new generation of baseball fans. And now, the time has come for those kids (and their parents, if we're being honest) to see just what Barnett and her team have been cooking up. 

Making the best of a bad situation

While the Backyard Sports franchise is a pop-culture staple for many Millennial sports fans, it was essentially dead prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Barnett was teaching second grade in Chicago at the time, and as her students shifted to remote-learning setups and she had a chance to ask them about what kinds of activities they were doing at home, it became clear that many were playing violent video games. She wanted to find something more age-appropriate for them to spend their time playing outside of class. 

Playground Productions CEO Lindsay Barnett

"I said, 'Well, what about sports games?"' Barnett told GameSpot. "And they said, 'Well, sports games are too hard for us to play. We can't play them. We can't master the controls.' And so I had suggested the Backyard Sports games [to them], and that's when I determined that they were nowhere to be found. And as any bored teacher would do during a pandemic in which they are stuck at home, I went and searched for the rights for the brand, and it was a very difficult search to find it. I wound up hiring a private investigator to track the rights down." 

It took more than two years, but Barnett was eventually able to acquire the rights to the Backyard Sports franchise, partnering with the Pittsburgh-based Mega Cat Studios to develop new games. Initially, the plan was to make a new game that was very similar to Backyard Baseball '97, but Mega Cat had another idea. 

"They said, 'Well, we could actually bring back Backyard Baseball '97.' And I said, 'No way. No you can't. We don't have any source code.' And they were like, 'No, we'll reverse-engineer and CD-ROM hack it and we can do it.'" 

That led to a number of re-releases of classic Backyard Sports games to test the waters, including the original Backyard Baseball '97 and its follow-up, Backyard Baseball 2001. Then it was time to make something a bit riskier: an entirely new game. The 2D style had been perfected, but Barnett wanted something that could merge that classic style and charm with a more modern look. 

"When I was thinking about what hadn't been done with this brand, there was no faithful representation of the 2D game that people like me loved when they were kids in the 3D world," Barnett said. "And so that became our mission from day one: How can we expand the Backyard universe, as we like to call it, into this 3D world?"

The solution, as you can see in the new Backyard Baseball game, was sort of a half-step between full-on 3D and the original games' visual style. The character models and environments are all in 3D, but they look extremely similar to the original 2D designs, and a number of 2D elements are still included. It's undeniably Backyard Baseball--instantly recognizable to a generation of sports fans who, like Barnett, grew up playing the originals. 

The secret weapon

It wasn't just the fans who loved those games, however: Current MLB players are right in that age range as well, and when it came time to promote the new game, Playground Productions had no shortage of interest. These pro players wanted Backyard Baseball at their ballparks, and that meant bringing the legendary Pablo Sanchez--The Secret Weapon--to do some public outreach. If you've watched an MLB game this year, there's a good chance you've seen him lurking in the crowd, perhaps hoping for a chance to pinch hit and send one over the fence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AszLikoI3RU

"When we brought the brand back, we had tons of requests from athletes and teams to bring Pablo to their various stadiums or to interact with Pablo in some capacity. The games originally in 1997 were created as an educational tool to teach kids the rules of baseball or the rules of any of the sports that they were playing. And now fast-forward, a generation of Millennials have learned to play the sports that they've [then] mastered in the real world from these games."

One thing Millennials didn't have to deal with back at the turn of the century was microtransactions, and neither will a new generation of Backyard Baseball players. Once again, it comes back to Barnett's time as a teacher. 

Put away your wallet

"I would see my students--for holidays and birthdays--asking for virtual currency and spending so much money to unlock parts of the game that they could be grinding on and not be able to beat without the microtransaction. I saw people accidentally spend a lot of money and that was a huge part that I'd see from my students. They'd accidentally click a button because they were seven years old and then their parents wouldn't be able to get the money back. And I kind of just was like, 'Let's go back to basics.' When we were kids, we [just] played the game and this new game has tons of unlockables. There are trophies to win, [and] there are achievements to uncover. There are cards that you can redeem by just playing the game. You get tokens and you can redeem them for cards and try to chase and find them, but there are no microtransactions, which just felt kind of yucky." 

The classic Backyard clubhouse

More than just not wanting to siphon extra money from children, though, Playground Productions wants to ensure that kids trying out Backyard Baseball have a positive experience so they might try playing some real-life baseball. Backyard Baseball may just be their gateway to a lifetime of hitting dingers and throwing some power-up-free fastballs. 

"We don't want any of these kids to have a bad experience because we have a bigger commitment to kids in general, which is, if they have a bad experience with a baseball game like ours, they might be completely [unwilling] to interact with the whole sport. And we want to get kids and families to be connected together in sports in general." 

Baseball is for everyone

That philosophy of inclusion and removing barriers to entry is at the heart of Backyard Baseball, and has been since the original 1997 game. It launched with 15 boys and 15 girls, with many different ethnic backgrounds represented and the excellent pitcher Kenny Kawaguchi famously using a wheelchair. All of those kids return for the 2026 game, and that was a very deliberate decision. 

"It becomes more and more important every [time] that I meet a new fan because they tell our team about the different characters that they resonate with and why. And for me, the really great girls resonated with me and inspired me to go outside and play different sports that perhaps I wouldn't have played. I played on a co-ed flag football team when I was in elementary school. I never would've done that had I not had this game," Barnett said. "We hear all the time [from] tons of people in the wheelchair sports community [that] Kenny Kawaguchi means so much. They've never seen a character who's actually a star player represented in a wheelchair. And it means the world to our team when people come up and say, 'Yeah, I always pick Kenny on my team because he's like me.' We just hear different stories every day.

"Even [play-by-play broadcaster] Sunny Day! Sunny Day is a Black sports reporter and has been for almost 30 years, and that's meant something to a lot of girls who have been looking up at her. I think the representation means a ton. And we just leaned into who those characters were from the beginning." 

Sunny Day and Vinnie The Gooch

Backyard Baseball is available now for PC and Mac on Steam, with console releases to follow. The decision to not attach a number or year to the game's title was intentional, as Playground Productions has big plans for expansions and more content in the future. 

"This is not Backyard Baseball 2026," Barnett stressed. "And I, again, from my teaching experience, felt like having a sports game that comes out [with] a new one every single year is not always the best for fans. They spend a lot of money to play a great game and they want to have long-term fun. And so what we've done is design[ed] Backyard Baseball to be a long-term game. And so we have expansion packs that might come out in the future. We have unlockables that might come out in the future, new modes, and all sorts of different things that people will be able to do within this game for a very long time." 

That approach is extended beyond Backyard Baseball, as well, with Playground already bouncing around ideas for how the franchise could re-emerge in other sports, much like it did back in the early 2000s. 

"It's going to be a very long road for the Backyard," Barnett added. "We're not going anywhere."

While fans await news about GTA 6, Rockstar continues to update GTA Online, and its next big update is coming very soon.

The Kortz Center Heist, the first major brand-new heist in the game since 2020's Cayo Perico, releases on July 14, Rockstar Games has announced. In this heist, players will meet up with Mr. Faber and Raf De Angelis to steal valuable art.

Players will be able to acquire an Art Studio for their home as part of the new update, and after doing so, a "gifted counterfeiter" will occupy the space and create forgeries that players will use to replace the ones they steal.

The Kortz Center Heist goes live on July 14.

The Kortz Center Heist can be played solo or with a team of up to three others. As usual with GTA Online's heists, they're more fun with a team. The multi-stage heist will see players first scoping it out to learn how to get in undetected, then gearing up, and ultimately stealing the art. Players are encouraged to leave no witnesses and wipe out any CCTV footage.

This isn't a one-and-done heist, either, as there will be three new paintings to steal each week. Rockstar said there is "tons of variability" for how to approach the missions, enabling more replayability.

Additionally, the Kortz Center Heist update will add new vehicles to GTA Online and upgrade options from Hao's Special Works. GTA+ subscribers, meanwhile, can get the new Grotti Veleno GT car for free starting on July 14.

As for GTA 6, the game releases on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Fans are convinced there might be some news about the game in August.

A teenage boy sustained injuries after lightning struck his home as he was playing video games, hitting him with an electrical shock.

The 13-year-old boy, Vladyslav Skuridin, told ABC News via a statement from his mother that he "felt a shock go through my whole body and I saw a super bright white light." He said he "quickly jolted back" and felt "super dizzy and confused."

He was playing a game on his computer at the time.

"Also, I kind of just started screaming because there was a super loud boom that made my ears hurt and pop," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r2F6k7BPS0

This happened on July 7 in the Houston, Texas suburb of Cypress. The event caused a small fire in the house's attic and injured the boy. He was evaluated on site by medical professionals but did not go to the hospital.

In response to the incident, local authorities said people should avoid using corded electronics and stay away from electrical wiring and plumbing during thunderstorms.

The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the biggest upcoming games in the works at the Xbox-owned Bethesda Game Studios. But after Microsoft's sweeping layoffs, which also impacted BGS, developers there have expressed concerns about the impact on The Elder Scrolls 6 and the possibility of a delay.

A source at BGS told IGN that the developers have been "very excited and hyped" for The Elder Scrolls 6, and that the big Xbox "reset" has "had a crushing effect on morale" at the studio.

"We were already running a tight ship and are worried about this delaying the game (though a final release date was not yet chosen as far as we know)," the developer said.

The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced in 2018, so it's been in the works for a long time. A recent report from Bloomberg said The Elder Scrolls 6 was still a couple years away from releasing, but it remains to be seen if the cuts may impact timelines. Bethesda boss Todd Howard previously said the game may have been announced too soon.

The report cited another Bethesda developer who said "there is a fear" at the studio that the developers will be "replaced by cheaper, contracted labor" or that Bethesda will hire new developers to replace the laid-off ones who will then need to get up to speed with Bethesda's proprietary tools.

This, in turn, could lead to "more delays," the developer said, with workers then needing to "crunch to make up on time."

Bethesda cutting staff will lead to a "substantial and cascading effect" on The Elder Scrolls 6 and general morale, a developer said. "It's been a mix of every discipline: programmers, artists, and designers," said another source. "One person who's been at the company since Morrowind was cut."

In addition to The Elder Scrolls 6, Howard has discussed how the team is planning to make Fallout 5 later. At the same time, it was recently reported that Xbox's Obsidian studio is making a new Fallout game, with Fallout: New Vegas director Josh Sawyer leading the team.

Bethesda higher-up Jill Braff told staff in an email that the company needs to "change course" and focus on projects with the highest likelihood of making money. Before that, another report said Microsoft was making structural changes to help speed up the development of The Elder Scrolls (and Fallout) games.

The Xbox layoffs impacted 1,600 people this week, with another 1,600 people set to lose their jobs in the next year. Beyond the cuts at Xbox, Microsoft is slashing jobs throughout the entire company, with 4,800 roles impacted (about 2.1% of the company's total workforce). In addition to layoffs, Microsoft is divesting of five studios and cancelling projects, like Avowed 2.