Grand Theft Auto 6 has finally had its first big gameplay reveal, giving us our first real look at Rockstar's massive open-world and the amount of detail it holds. It's one that might be the most visually-impressive game we've ever seen, according to the experts at Digital Foundry.

Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie and Richard Leadbetter have praised GTA 6's visual presentation, with Mackenzie specifically going as far to call it the "most impressive example of real-time game rendering" he's ever seen. The pair praised a slew of details showcased in the gameplay, including standout character rendering, especially the hair physics and skin details across not just the game's protagonist, but many NPCs too.

Ray tracing use was also praised, with the pair pointing out how Rockstar has delicately implemented it in the right places for the biggest impact, and is leaning on older conventional methods in the pursuit for a better balance between fidelity and performance.

Performance was a big talking point too, especially so given how poorly GTA 5 performed on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 when it initially launched. Rockstar has always seemingly favored the best looking image quality over the smoothest, but that seems to have changed with GTA 6. Digital Foundry noted that while the game was rendering at 30 frames per second, that target seems to be consistently hit, with the team rarely finding dips during its analysis of all 48,242 frames.

According to Digital Foundry's calculations, the gameplay preview of GTA 6 was rendering at a native 1440p and then upscaled to 4K without using a modern upscaling technique, leading to a slightly soft image that can hopefully be improved before launch. The team also reaffirmed its prediction for several months ago, saying that it doesn't expect Rockstar to release a 60fps performance mode for GTA 6 on this generation of consoles, even with significant compromises to the outstanding visual presentation on offer.

It expects the PlayStation 5 Pro to offer better examples of ray-traced effects or potentially higher resolution targets, but the CPU remains the biggest bottleneck in a world with so much simulation that would make halving the rendering time nigh impossible without a significantly more capable processor. That's something that a PC release in the future might showcase.

There are so many details packed into the Grand Theft Auto 6 showcase that you might have missed, so make sure to check out our biggest takeways from the presentation, including the return of a six-star wanted level, how you can pet (and scold) dogs around the city, some of the references fans are already picking up, and how you won't need to engage with the game's love story if you don't want to.

The annual Gamescom event is meant to showcase some of the best upcoming video games, but at least two apparent thefts have thrown a damper on this year's festivities. Indie developer Ryan Laley reported that his equipment was stolen from his Gamescom booth, which he said was "a huge blow financially and mentally." Fortunately, Laley has received an outpouring of support from the industry, including The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red.

On X, CD Projekt Red responded to Laley's initial message and offered to "see if we can send a few things your way," before adding "No choom should have to start from zero."

https://twitter.com/CyberpunkGame/status/2093352395044483450

Laley went on to thank CD Projekt Red and others in the industry for their generous offers. He also gave a shoutout to marketing consultant Indie Game Joe for donating the funds to replace his lost equipment.

https://twitter.com/RyanLaley/status/2093387270556426431

In turn, Indie Game Joe suggested that players should wishlist Laley's upcoming game, Mimic.

Unfortunately, this isn't the only reported theft at Gamescom this year. Iam8bit has posted that two of its laptops were stolen from its booth overnight despite the presence of security. It also noted that the laptops contained early demos for Petal Runner and Escape Academy 2.

https://twitter.com/iam8bit/status/2093398808650719323

Gamespot has reached out to Gamescom for comment about the reported thefts. We'll update this story if and when we receive a response.

Nvidia hasn't yet announced a release date for DLSS 5, which it revealed to widespread backlash earlier this year. But a recent leak has provided PC modders the ability to inject the neural rendering in almost any game, which is being used to showcase just how awful its AI-powered face filters can get.

Accidentally included in a build of NBA 2K27 (via VideoCardz), an early version of DLSS 5 was accessed and made useable by the RenoDX modding community, who quickly developed a crude toolset allowing anyone to use the suite across a variety of games. These ranged from extensive tests on Control, Cyberpunk 2077, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and even Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, each showcasing some of the benefits and the many, many drawbacks of the heavily AI-reliant post-processing that Nvidia plans to introduce.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxXdIVc9Suo

Control is one of the most interesting examples as it offers good looks at both sides of the coin. When toggled on, protagonist Jesse Faden's character model definitely looks more detailed, gaining more facial shadowing and detailing across the skin's surface. But it also makes her look quite different to the original model, sticking out even more in motion as you navigate through a world that is unevenly enhanced in the same way. There are clear benefits to some environmental details, especially some models that are starting to show their age. But it just looks unnatural in so many ways, clearly showcasing how just minor blemishes can make a whole scene feel incohesive.

Another interesting example is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, particularly because of how old the game is. Back when DLSS 5 was announced, Nvidia defending the technology by stating that it was simply enhancing geometry already present in a game, and not fundamentally altering it. It was difficult to take at face value then given the examples, but it completely breaks down when looking at how much it alters a PlayStation 2 title. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks this is a superior-looking version of the Rockstar classic, which makes sweeping changes to character and environmental models that just look wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb2HWTvh0Fo

The ability to test this neural-rendering suite out has also been eye-opening in terms of how it performs. Modders using DLSS 5 have managed to get it working across various RTX 50- and 40-series cards, but across the board, performance takes a massive hit with the filters turned on. As expected, the consumes a massive amount of GPU VRAM as its models run locally to make conversions in real astime, sometimes halving frame rates in the process, too. This is obviously an early version not intended for public release, and will certainly be optimized further. But it confirms some fears from its initial reveal, where the tech was running on multiple RTX 5090s.

Nvidia released DLSS 4.5 during Gamescom this week, introducing the next generation of Ray Reconstruction to improve image quality in supported ray-traced and path-traced games. DLSS 5 is expected to launch later in 2026, although Nvidia has not spoken about it significantly since its reveal. In one of its last messages, Nvidia stressed that game developers will have full control over the post processing effect and how much it can alter a scene, while several developers spoke out against its existence.

Microsoft's new Fable game was supposed to launch this year, but it was delayed to February 2027. The game's director, Ralph Fulton, said in an interview that he feels "great" about the launch timing for Fable, adding that shifting to 2027 helps the game avoid the "chaotic window" of its original timeframe of late 2026.

Speaking to IGN, Fulton said the reason for the delay "is pretty apparent to everybody." He said he was "really looking forward to" launching Fable in 2026, saying he wasn't happy about having another all-hands meeting with the team in January to tell them, "This is the year we ship Fable." But alas, that's what happened.

"The rationale for it is absolutely sound. I'm glad that we're avoiding that chaotic window," he said. In getting pushed to February 2027, Fable avoids launching near Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (October 23) and GTA 6 (November 19).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjQNvjTF56o

Fulton did not mention GTA 6 by name in this interview, but he did previously. In June, Fulton said Fable being delayed to 2027 helps Fable avoid a "really congested period" for game releases and "obviously avoiding Grand Theft Auto."

"Having a much less contested window allows us the opportunity to go out and really make a moment for ourselves, and I think the attention this game deserves,” he said.

Gameplay combat footage from Fable emerged online this week from Gamescom, and it looked rough, but GameSpot's own hands-on time with the game told a different story.

Fable launches February 23, 2027 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.

GTA 6 takes place in Vice City, which is a stand-in for Miami, and it appears the game will feature a Miami apartment building from a popular TV show.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Dexter Morgan's apartment in Miami from the TV show Dexter appears to be in GTA 6. The TV show is set in Miami and the exterior shots were filmed at the Bay Harbor Club condos in Miami. You can see comparison images below.

https://twitter.com/DrakoAfoa/status/2093121257457815587

Others have pointed out that by the time GTA 6 releases in November, the second season of Dexter Resurrection will be airing.

Some have theorized that they might find someone who looks like Dexter Morgan walking around Vice City, or that the game might satirize the character or the show. That remains to be seen, but Rockstar's Rob Nelson said told IGN that the developer is being "careful" about what it chooses to satirize to avoid the game coming across as feeling dated. That's part of the reason why GTA 6 is not going to satirize US President Donald Trump or the COVID-19 pandemic.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. We learned a lot more about the game today, including how the map is 3X bigger than Red Dead Redemption 2’s and that a playthrough can be 80 hours long. The game also brings back six-star wanted levels and you can pet the dog.

Alien Isolation 2 stars a new protagonist named Blake. Creative Assembly has been clear about this all summer, but it's only now that I'm letting it sink in. Since I first played a demo of the survival-horror game at Summer Game Fest's Play Days this past June, I've been holding onto a theory that Blake's role in the story is a bait-and-switch--that in short order Blake would be impaled by the Xenomorph and Amanda Ripley, star of the first game, would show up as the real playable character. 

But it's time I let go of that pet theory of mine.

Every time Creative Assembly talks about this game, the team highlights Blake's story. There's too much investment on the team's end for me to keep believing they have a trick up their sleeve. 

"What I can say is the story focuses on Blake," principal environment artist Archie Whitehead told GameSpot's Miri Teixeira on the Gamescom showfloor following a hands-on demo. "She's been sent to the colony. If you watch the trailer, you see this, like she's been sent there kind of as penance, like she's made a mistake." 

It's just the latest in a series of confirmations that my theory about Ripley is all wrong. I can see that now. The team told me something similar during Summer Game Fest, but I guess I was too worried about letting them pull a fast one on me to see it. I wanted to spot the twist before it was on-screen. For what it's worth, I had this same theory about Red Dead Redemption 2's Arthur Morgan back in 2018, and that wasn't exactly true--though I guess it was eventually sort of true.

It's not that I'd necessarily enjoy Alien Isolation 2 more if Amanda Ripley were the playable character again. It's not that I think this makes the game better in some obvious way. I could see this sequel being memorable with or without her in the driver's seat like that, so I've always been on board for Blake as the protagonist if it shook out that way; I just doubted she actually would be. But today, after hearing it for the third or fourth time this summer, I'm ready to drop my baseless theory.

Having said that, I do still find it extremely likely Ripley is in this game in some important way. She seemed to narrate the demo I played, and I don't expect that's all they brought her voice actor in for. Whether it's by audio logs, narration, or perhaps she shows up in the flesh, the daughter of Ellen--arguably horror's greatest Final Girl--will be back, but I'm telling myself to get comfy with Blake. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better, as her life will certainly be in my hands when Alien Isolation 2 arrives in 2027. 

The XCOM series has been effectively on hiatus for many years now, and AAA turn-based-tactics games have been pretty hard to come by recently. That's changing, however, starting with this week's launch of Star Wars Zero Company. It's effectively a marriage of classic XCOM gameplay and Clone Wars-era Star Wars storytelling, and within a few minutes of starting it, I got that same rush of excitement I got the first time I played an XCOM game. 

Typically, I try to savor turn-based tactical experiences like this as much as possible, because I know it's going to be at least a few years before something like it comes along again. The last XCOM-esque turn-based-tactics game I can even recall playing was Classified: France '44, which released well over two years ago. I enjoyed that one so much that I considered just starting it over again, because there wasn't really anything else like it releasing at the time. 

But no longer! As part of Gamescom Opening Night Live, Ubisoft revealed Rainbow 6 Tactics. Ditching the first-person-shooter gameplay the series is famous for, Rainbow 6 Tactics is a single-player tactical experience that plays out like a turn-based version of Rainbow Six Siege. You scout enemy positions using drones and then launch your attack, breaching walls and taking down enemies with precision and force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRJOXB3euJQ

It makes use of the destructible environments Rainbow Six Siege is famous for, but it's all wrapped up in a completely different genre. And just like Zero Company, Rainbow 6 Tactics will be available on Xbox and PS5 in addition to PC, giving it a wide audience when it arrives in 2027. 

And if you don't have an Xbox, a PS5, or PC, you're still not being left out of the fun as of late. Sure, it's also an RPG, but Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is certainly going to scratch that turn-based-strategy itch. Developer Intelligent Systems is arguably the king of the genre, and based on our hands-on preview of the game, it looks to be absolutely packed with content. There are four protagonists, each with their own stories, so this could be one you are playing for weeks or even months--hopefully just long enough for Rainbow 6 Tactics to be out. 

Patiently waiting our turn for the next XCOM-like or Fire Emblem game to release used to feel like a futile exercise, but I'm very excited for the future of sort-of-but-not-really-chess games right now. If others feel the same, we just need to show up and buy them so the genre can keep thriving … and maybe convince Take-Two to greenlight an XCOM 3. Pretty please? 

You might expect people to talk about the visuals, lighting, action sequences, or gunplay after Grand Theft Auto VI's brand-new extended-look trailer showed off over 25 minutes of new footage. But the top comments on Rockstar's YouTube upload of the video deal more with the human condition than expected. In fact, there's quite a bit of talk about death and remembrance.

The top comment (at the time of publication) states: "a moment of silence for people that didn't make it here." Meanwhile, another person writes: "Objective: Stay alive till release day." It's been a long wait for GTA 6, especially since GTA 5 originally launched almost 13 years ago. 

Not only has a lot happened to the gaming industry as a whole since GTA 5 came out, but also to people's personal lives. For instance, another person typed: "Bro, I went through middle school, high school, and college ... now I need to request time off work for this." Tragedy has apparently struck others, but not dampered their spirits, as seen in this comment: "I was in a traffic accident in February and lost a leg, but I've still got my two damn hands and my eyes, baby!"

There is a lot to take in from the new GTA 6 trailer, such as NPCs noticing if you're openly carrying a weapon in the game. In addition, stealing a car might be a little more complicated this time around. For older vehicles, you can still smash the glass, but newer models apparently require a key cloner. 

GTA 6 is set to finally release on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. It sounds like a playthrough of the open-world game could be roughly 80 hours, so plan accordingly this holiday season. 

A very important piece of news has come to light about GTA 6: You can pick up dog poop and throw it at people in the upcoming open-world crime game.

YouTuber TGG visited Rockstar North's offices and spoke with the team, and one of the things he learned was how dog poop can be a weapon.

"If someone is out on the street and they're walking their dog, and the dog takes a dump, you can wait for the person to pick up the dog sh** with a doggie bag, and then you can hit that person, making them drop that doggie bag full of dog crap, and then you can actually pick that up and throw it at people," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpPpqZwUwl0

Throwing dog poop at people is not a nice thing to do, and presumably GTA 6's new Red Dead Redemption 2-like honor system will knock you for this, or at least we hope it would. GTA 6 also lets you pet dogs or scold them, and we're hoping anyone who scolds a very good boy also gets a ding to their honor.

One of the dogs in GTA 6.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and it's coming to market with an enormous amount of hype behind it. GTA 6 is expected to sell many millions of copies--so many that preorders alone could pay for the game's entire development budget.

Rockstar finally lifted the veil on GTA 6 during a high-profile Netflix event on August 27. The nearly 30-minute video revealed a lot. We saw main characters Jason and Lucia in action in snippets of multiple different missions, while there were cutscenes and character interactions on display as well.

The broadcast also featured a new look at some of the updated gameplay systems, like how NPCs will notice if you're carrying a weapon in public, how stealing cars works, and that the game has a Red Dead Redemption 2-style honor system.

There were numerous other details big and small to be gleaned from the reveal, along with interviews from developers at Rockstar North. Check out GameSpot's video below in which Jake Dekker runs through 29 different things we noticed in GTA 6 from the big new trailer, and I'm guessing we found some stuff you didn't notice right away. Check out the video below to see it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpPpqZwUwl0

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. There is likely going to be a PC edition of the game, but no one should expect it at launch.

While Rockstar Games has shown off GTA 6's single-player, the developer has yet to utter a word about anything regarding an online multiplayer mode. GTA 5's GTA Online has been, and continues to be, a huge success for Rockstar, so it only stands to reason that Rockstar would lean into multiplayer for GTA 6 as well.

2026 has been full of big storylines in gaming, including Sony's announcement that it will end support for physical PlayStation game discs in 2028 and the trend of consoles getting increasingly expensive. Tim Willits, the chief creative officer at Saber Interactive, caught up with GameSpot at Gamescom this week to discuss these topics and offer up a bizarre-sounding possibility for an "AI box" for games.

He said he was "surprised how upset people were" about Sony ending support for physical game discs. Willits said he hasn't bought a physical game "in a long time" because he enjoys the convenience of digital games. Willits is not alone, as the share of digital game sales is growing at numerous companies.

At the same time, Sony continues to sell millions of physical game discs annually. Willits said Saber still makes "a lot of money" from physical games, especially in Europe, but the trends are different in North America, he observed.

Willits went on to say he had an interaction with someone recently who asked him to sign a copy of Doom 3, a game he worked on when he was with id Software. "So for me personally, I'll miss that in the future," he said.

An AI game box?

Part of what many people enjoy about physical games is collecting the boxes they come in and presenting them on their shelves.

Willits said he thinks someone in the future might create some kind of "AI box" into which players can "upload all your games."

"So maybe someone will do that," he said.

Rising console prices

Another major storyline in gaming in 2026 has been how video game consoles today are more expensive than ever. There are numerous reasons for this, including US President Donald Trump's tariffs, the AI-fueled impact on component and memory prices, and more.

Sony and Microsoft raised prices on PlayStation and Xbox consoles so much that the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles are now $150+ more expensive than they were when they launched in 2020. Nintendo, meanwhile, is hiking the price of the Switch 2 in September.

For his part, Willits said it's "shocking how expensive" it has become to buy a new console today, adding that it will "be interesting to see" how Sony and Microsoft manage this as they look to release new consoles.

A new report from Ampere Analysis said that if next-gen consoles do, in fact, come in at $1,000 or more, that could have a dramatic, negative effect on the market. To be sure, Sony and Microsoft have yet to detail their plans for new consoles, so there is no word yet on how much they might cost or when they could be release.

In other news, Willits told GameSpot more about the company’s plans to use AI in game development and how the company claims it will never fire anyone and replace them with AI.

Gears of War games have had some of the best multiplayer action around ever since the days of the first game, and for Gears of War: E-Day, developers at The Coalition are looking to give fans plenty of options for online fun. While the game's new take on Horde mode is shaping up to be the ultimate battlefield for players to enter, fans of traditional deathmatches aren't being left out in the cold either. At Gamescom, The Coalition spoke to GameSpot about E-Day's new Crucible mode and how it uses some battle royale inspiration to create a fast-paced round of 4v4 action.

The PvP mode blends your typical Gears of War spatial control with battle royale mechanics, as teams must grab the Power Core, bring it to a designated active zone, and hold their position while the opposition closes in on them. The catch is that the Power Core restricts your mobility and limits which weapons you can use, meaning that your team will need to watch your back. The core stores a close-range electrical charge attack, and the carrier can unleash a charged blast at point-blank range to fry an enemy player, but this attack does have a long recharge time. Once the Power Core enters the scoring zone, it will begin to shrink. This, in turn, creates high-stakes zone pressure, forcing players into brutal standoffs as the space around them tightens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddR8aMawuOU&pp=0gcJCRMMAYcqIYzv

"It's very obviously inspired by battle royale games, but it's on a Gear-sized PVP map," creative director Matt Searcy said to GameSpot. "At the beginning of the map, there's lots of mobility, teams are moving around, you're trading the Power Core back and forth. But as the map goes on, you see defensive teams start to build up a front around the player they're protecting. And then, in awesome Gears fashion, the thing you're going to hold puts you at a slight disadvantage. So we gave you a heavy weapon that's basically a giant battery pack, and if somebody gets close to you within a really tight range, you can strip all the flesh off their body with a charge attack."

Crucible is one of four PvP modes that will be available on launch day. The multiplayer options include traditional Team Deathmatch, Conquest, and Demolition, each of which has been reworked for E-Day. Team Deathmatch has a dynamic respawn system to move spawn locations closer to where fights are breaking out, Conquest puts its own spin on the classic King of the Hill experience, and Demolition revolves around teams planting bombs on enemy territory. 

Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it'll also be a day-one release through Xbox Game Pass. For more on the game, you can read up on how The Coalition solved its biggest lore problem.

One of the biggest talking points in gaming today is the use of artificial intelligence, including generative AI. It's a hot-button issue, and few companies have faced the level of criticism about it as Saber has. The developer recently found itself in hot water after CEO Matthew Karch lashed out at Rideshare Stimulator's former writer who said they were laid off and replaced by ChatGPT.

Now, Saber's chief creative officer, Tim Willits, has addressed the situation as well, promising that, "We will never fire someone and replace them with AI."

For anyone just catching up, Rideshare Stimulator is an upcoming Saber game where players take on the role of an Uber- or Lyft-like driver and interact with them as they take them to their location. The developers freely admit to using generative AI in various capacities, and now Willits has shed more light on the situation. He said the game's main campaign features dialogue written by humans, but there is also a "free ride" mode where Rideshare Stimulator wants to be able to reference current events in the real world.

"We use AI to generate that because we want to do it so fast," Willits said, adding that the plan is for weekly or biweekly updates with this kind of AI-generated content.

Willits also clarified that some of Saber's other games, including the new Hellraiser, Turok, Stuntman, and Space Marine games, also do not use AI. Saber, like many other game companies, is experimenting with AI in various ways.

"We want to figure this new technology out, and we don't know exactly where it's gonna go, and our players don't know where it's gonna go, so we're all ... all of us are trying as a society to figure this out together," he said. "We want to experiment with it. I personally believe somebody [at] some game company will come up with such a brilliant idea, and we'll all be like, 'That's it.' We just need to get there."

When asked specifically about claims that Saber is firing people and replacing them with AI, Willits said this is not true. "I promise you we have never let anyone go and replaced them with AI. We hire people all the time," he said.

A spokesperson for Saber previously told PC Gamer that neither Saber nor Rideshare developer Unigine replaced any writers with AI for that game or any others. "In fact, Saber's staff of writers has tripled since 2023. Rideshare's story was written entirely by real people," the company said.

Rideshare's "experimental, free-ride mode" does use generative AI "by necessity," Saber said, because "the number of passengers in the game is infinite."

"We are firm believers in using AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences and improve NPC behavior as we have done since Saber was founded in 2001. As the industry has continued to contract, Saber continues to hire. None of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI," the developer said.

The writer in question, Stella Sacco, said Karch reached out to "apologize unreservedly" for how he spoke about Sacco. Karch had said, "Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her."

Sacco added in a statement that Karch said "he regretted escalating and how people online were speaking about me."

"I'm not worried about being called slurs by random commenters--I'm a trans woman; that's every day for me. But it stunk to have my skill and reputation built of 20 years in games publicly maligned by someone with institutional power."

October wouldn't feel right without a spooky game or two, and Hellraiser: Revival is shaping up to be a terrifying--and horny--dive into the nightmarish fiction of author Clive Barker. So far, the game is looking like the kind of Hellraiser experience that defined the franchise throughout the '80s and early '90s, and at Gamescom, Saber Interactive sat down with GameSpot to talk about the game, how far they're willing to go to nail the vibe of Hellraiser, and more.

Hellraiser: Revival launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on October 6.

Cliver Barker was a "permissive" partner

The legendary creator of Hellraiser needed some convincing before he started collaborating with Saber Interactive, but once he was assured that the developers had a grasp of the Hellraiser franchise, he gave the studio the freedom to tell their own tale within that dark universe. "Clive Barker was such a permissive partner to work with," narrative director Anthony De Fault said. "He was really supportive of our ideas. He basically just wanted to make sure we understood Hellraiser as a franchise, and then, once he knew that we had the, we were channeling the same spirit that he was channeling back in the '80s, he just let us go."

Capturing the soul of Hellraiser's greatest hits  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ad6CybXBC4

For the game, Saber Interactive aimed to capture the "soul" of the franchise, drawing not only from the recognizable visual elements established in the Hellraiser movies, but also from Clive Barker's original novella, The Hellbound Heart, which served as the source material for the franchise. "This game is a response, specifically to The Hellbound Heart, the first film, and Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, the second film," de Fault said. "So it's just the things that Clive was involved with that resonated really strongly with people back then. We wanted to make something that renewed that and had the same soul, but for a new medium and 40 years later."

Barker was also credited as an executive producer on the third and fourth Hellraiser movies, but had no active production or creative involvement in the franchise until 2022's Hellraiser reboot. That gap saw six Hellraiser movies released, although fans usually consider this period a low point for the franchise.

Saber Interactive isn't afraid of pushing ratings boards to the limits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCTOqk9fzO0

From what we've seen so far, Hellraiser: Revival looks like it'll be going all in on the extreme subject matter of Barker's work. Saber Interactive has confirmed that the game is going to be gory and sexy, as the studio didn't want to compromise on their vision--even if that meant it faced the risk of being denied classification in several regions. Why go that far? Because doing anything less was seen as a disservice to Hellraiser fans.

"We knew what Hellraiser ought to be. We knew how disappointed Hellraiser fans would be if we did compromise, so it was just never really on the table," de Fault explained. "We wanted to pitch it at a point where I don't know if the executives would necessarily have agreed with this at the time, but we always felt like, if we get denied a rating in one or two places, we've probably done our job right. It was just important to us to do everything with purpose. All of the depraved stuff that you might encounter in the game, I think everything in there is defensible in terms of there's a reason it's there. It's not just for shock value. "It's like a good discomfort."

"Comforting discomfort," Esov added. So far, it looks like the game will be available in the US, at least, as it has received an ESRB rating.

It was all about execution

While all of that comforting discomfort is designed with a purpose in mind, don't be too surprised if Hellraiser: Revival makes you reach for a bucket. One scene in particular might be hard to stomach, as de Fault described it as a moment of "consensual mutilation" in the game.

"There's a consensual mutilation scene. In early versions of this, we failed to adequately convey to players that this was consensual. So, some people came away thinking it wasn't and that it was pretty distressing, and so we had to course-correct that. I think our intent was fully realized in the game. There wasn't really anything we wanted to do that we scaled back or anything like that. We just had to correct the execution in some places."

Hellraiser: Revival takes place in the ancient year of 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rA40lqttO8

Hellraiser: Revival is set in 2006, in the small town of Claireport. Saber Interactive chose this time period as a bridge between '80s Hellraiser and the modern era, while also ensuring there wouldn't be any "super high-techy stuff" to distract players. "We still wanted it to feel like an older franchise, but just without going all the way back to the '80s," de Fault added.

Pinhead has an agenda

Like most Hellraiser movies, Revival revolves around a pair of sex freaks who get more than they bargained for when they use one of the infamous puzzle boxes created by the Cenobites--the all-new Genesis Configuration in this instance. Playing as Aiden, it'll be up to players to rescue his girlfriend Sunny from the Cenobites, and you can expect to run into Pinhead at several points in the story.

"He plays a really substantial role," de Fault explained. He appears near the start of the game with all the other Cenobites, responding to the fact that Aiden and his girlfriend, Sunny, have used one of the configuration boxes from the game during their sexual play. In Hellraiser fashion, [the Cenobites] demand a soul, and they take somebody away who happens to be Sunny. "I probably shouldn't go further than that, but Pinhead, you encounter him multiple times. The deal that you have with him has its twists and turns, and it evolves."

Pinhead is also voiced by Doug Bradley, the actor who played him in several Hellraiser movies over the decades.

The "Genesis Configuration" box is fueled by suffering

While previous Hellraiser media revolved around the Lament Configuration puzzle box, the Genesis Configuration is a completely new creation for the game. It serves as both a plot device and a weapon, but to use it, you'll need to fuel it with the suffering of enemies and Aiden's own anguish. Saber Interactive isn't spilling the beans on how it fits into the overall story of Hellraiser: Revival, but they did tease that it was made for a specific purpose that will be revealed eventually.

"It's all in the name of this glorified violence, and basically, it gets powered by the suffering of yours and others," game director Emil Esov explained. "When there is suffering in the vicinity, you get more energy into the box, and you can perform these abilities."

Cenobites can't be trusted

Don't expect to be taking on iconic Cenobites in Hellraiser: Revival. They serve a variety of roles in the game, helping Aiden to unlock new powers for the Genesis Configuration or acting as unstoppable antagonists you'll have to escape. The female Cenobite--sometimes referred to as the Fallen because she was a nun who was drawn to sin in her human life--will also serve as a devil on Aiden's shoulder when she's not unlocking new powers for the Genesis Configuration.

We're not worthy, we're not worthy!

There's no shortage of enemies to deal with in Hellraiser: Revival, as Aiden will regularly come into conflict with the "Unworthy Ones" from the Cult of the Scarlet Church. Denied access to the Labyrinth, the worshippers of Leviathan are dangerous, but they're still fragile mortals who can be shot, skewered, and burned to death.

Hellraiser: Revival's puzzles serve as a nice change of pace between all of the horror

So what kind of game is Hellraiser: Revival? Esov and de Fault described as being a "puzzle-moderate" game, as when Aiden ventures into the depths of the Labyrinth, players will have solve the deadly challenges within that structure.. "There is like two to two-and-a-half hours of Labyrinth gameplay, and there is no combat in the Labyrinth," Esov said. "We intentionally designed it so the Labyrinth itself is something that is menacing, that is scary. Sometimes it's going to be, traps. Other times, it's going to be you using the Genesis Configuration to actually manipulate the Labyrinth. And then, sometimes it's the combination of the two. It's puzzle-moderate, but it's nothing like brain-crunching puzzles that require a lot of focus.

"I think most of the puzzles are kind of 10-second to two-minute breathers between action or exploration sequences, that just force you to tickle your brain a little bit," De Fault added. "I'd say they occur fairly frequently, but they're not head-scratchers."

When Gears of War first debuted in the Xbox 360 generation, it introduced the world to the majesty of the Lancer weapon. A gun with a brutally effective chainsaw mounted to it, the Lancer has become the defining symbol of the franchise, and in Gears of War: E-Day, players will get to see just how that weapon came to be.

In the established Gears of War lore, the weapon was created a year after the events of Emergence Day. That created something of a dilemma for the developer, The Coalition, as they had to give players something that reminded them of the classic weapon while telling a story that takes place during Emergence Day. The Solution? A Lancer prototype that's introduced in the game, and has roots in Gears of War literary stories.

"Wherever possible, we've just done everything we can to respect the canon, right? The scene where Tai uses a chainsaw in a grocery store to kill a Locust is part of the creation story that was in a book, but we've lifted it--like all the dialogue--everything is intact in our game," creative director Matt Searcy said to GameSpot. "So even if we have to do like a small retcon, we just lift it and drop. We took the moment, we took the dialogue, we took everything about it and just said if we have to make a change, we're going to respect it as much as we possibly can, and if we need to connect the dots between two things, we're going to."

https://youtu.be/SRFE0gCsgLg

"We have to have a Lancer in this game. In the lore, it's created a year after E-Day by Marcus' father, so we find ways--like we revealed in our campaign preview where a prototype is built around E-Day--so we can feed into all of those things. It just takes a little bit of care and attention, and then there's usually a great creative solution to be able to respect all of the hard work that's come before and all the things the fans are deeply attached to."

The book that helped inspire the story of Gears of War: E-Day is the 2008 novel Gears of War: The Aspho Fields by Karen Traviss. In it, Gear soldier Tai Kaliso uses a power saw in combat, and that action eventually goes on to inspire the creation of the chainsaw attachment for Lancer rifles. The book also covers the battle in which Dominic Santiago's brother, Carlos, dies, giving The Coalition an established starting point for building Marcus and Dom’s relationship throughout E-Day.

"What it gave us was a really rich jumping-off point," Searcy explained. "So we knew E-Day is a plot point, two-thirds of the population dies, the monsters come out of the ground, and it's a cool concept. But we needed something rich for the characters to be based on, and that gave us a really strong starting point in terms of understanding where Marcus and Dom were before this game."

While the story campaign has been a big focus for the early marketing of Gears of War: E-Day, we're not entirely convinced yet if it'll tell the definitive Gears story that sets up the entire franchise. The multiplayer might be where this prequel truly shines--especially with the overhauled movement systems--and you can check it all out for yourself when Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6 for Xbox Series X|S and PC.

In Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto franchise, players have been able to walk the streets while armed to the teeth without attracting attention from the non-player characters populating the world. However, the NPCs in Grand Theft Auto 6 will be considerably more preceptive than their counterparts in the earlier games. And that means packing weapons in public is going to come at a price.

According to a GTA 6 preview in The New York Times, "a player in this one cannot whip out a shotgun or a rocket launcher and walk down the street without expecting the non-player characters to call the police."

As disclosed in Netflix's extended GTA 6 preview special, the game has restored the six-star Wanted level to the franchise. Presumably players will get into more trouble for firing a rocket launcher than simply holding one. But allowing the NPCs to behave more realistically to potential threats adds a new aspect that players will have to consider going forward.

Although the apparent vocal stylings of the game's male antihero, Jason, have been negatively received, players have praised GTA 6's ability to interact with dogs and its potentially complex love story between Jason and his co-lead, Lucia.

GameSpot has put together a comprehensive roundup of everything we learned from Netflix's GTA 6 preview. Among the highlights are the expanded map size and a Red Dead Redemption 2-like honor system that keeps track of how the players behave in the game.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is following a tradition that Rockstar previously leaned into with Red Dead Redemption 2: a focus on realism. In the case of GTA 6, that means things like filling your car with gas, working out to get (or stay) fit, and eating to stay energized. Now we know another element of this hyper-focus: various methods for stealing cars.

Whereas in past games, you could just smash the window of any car to get inside and drive off with it, in GTA 6, how you commandeer a vehicle that doesn't belong to you will be based on what kind of car it is. 

For older cars, you can smash the window just as you always have, but for a quieter approach, you can instead use a slim jim, a device you've maybe seen roadside assistance services use if you've ever locked yourself out of your own car. Doing it this way requires a short minigame using the control stick on your PlayStation 5 or Xbox controller. Once you get into such cars, you can hotwire them and drive off.

But that's just for older cars. For newer vehicles, including whatever GTA 6's inevitable parody Tesla analog will be, you'll not be able to use these methods. Instead, you'll need a key cloner, allowing you to perform something known as a "relay attack." 

How you commit the crime mentioned in GTA 6's title will depend on a car's make, model, and year.

These devices mimic the electronic signal that newer cars' key fobs utilize, and in both the real world and in Rockstar's satirical funhouse mirror of Florida, they allow criminals to remotely break into your car without even setting off the alarm. 

Presumably, this will be an item Jason and/or Lucia can keep on them as they explore Vice City, seeking all the ways to make money in GTA 6. As we learn more about this and everything else there is to know about GTA 6, you can be sure we'll bring it to you.

Grand Theft Auto VI. It's the most anticipated video game of the year, and possibly of all time. Netflix just aired a 27-minute extended trailer, and you've likely read multiple stories about it right here on this site since. Multiple media outlets are now talking about recent visits to Rockstar North in Scotland, and according to one source, GTA VI won't have any microtransactions at launch, and no generative AI was used in its development.

Speaking on the Kinda Funny Gamecast, Kinda Funny's Andy Cortez and Greg Miller revealed that they asked Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson about the potential for microtransactions in GTA, as well as the use of generative AI in its development. Both reported that the answer to both questions was simply "no."

"Can you use your own real-world money to buy things in the game? No monetization," Cortez said. "I asked point blank, 'is AI in the game?' No AI," Miller continued.

The lack of generative AI was also reported by The New York Times in its Grand Theft Auto VI feature posted earlier today. "Grand Theft Auto VI, Rockstar said, has well over 600,000 animations, compared with 55,000 animations in Grand Theft Auto V and 300,000 animations in Red Dead Redemption 2," the article said, which also confirmed that Rockstar "emphasized the new game’s human-made craft."

For more on Grand Theft Auto VI, check out our coverage on just how big the map will be, whether or not you can pet (or even scold) a dog, and the return of a six-star wanted system.

After literal years of waiting since the game's official announcement, Rockstar has finally pulled back the curtain on Grand Theft Auto 6's gameplay. The Netflix-exclusive Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look gave us a chance to see the game's open-world activities, combat, story missions, characters, vehicles, and much more, which just makes the wait for November 19 even more excruciating. Below, we've rounded up our coverage so you can learn about whatever it is you're most interested in regarding GTA 6.

You can pet (or scold) the dog

Grand Theft Auto 6 has something for dog-lovers and dog-haters, apparently, as a button prompt showed you can not only pet dogs you come across in GTA 6, but also scold them. We would never.

Six-star Wanted levels return

After being absent in Grand Theft Auto 5, the six-star Wanted system returns in GTA 6. It's not entirely clear what this entails, but the crimes you've been caught committing are visible via icons under the stars.

The game is long as hell

No surprise here if you've played GTA 5 or Red Dead Redemption 2, but Grand Theft Auto 6 could take you a long time to complete. Rockstar North's Rob Nelson estimated his playthrough at about 80 hours, focused mostly on the main narrative and narrative-based optional content.

The map is enormous

Red Dead Redemption 2 featured a very large map. Grand Theft Auto 6's map is three times larger. It's not Good Theft Auto 6, after all.

It's about love but Jason and Lucia don't have to be a couple

The core of Grand Theft Auto 6's story is the relationship between Lucia and Jason. The two don't necessarily have to be in a romantic relationship, and can exist as platonic partners if you so choose, but the pair, together, is crucial to the story.

There's a Red Dead-style Criminal Profile system

Alongside the tweaked Wanted system is the Criminal Profile system. This will take into account your actions over time, like whether you choose to commit superfluous violence during your missions, and it won't be cleared back to square-one like the Wanted stars are.

Jason kind of talks like Bane

The guy is a little hard to understand, drawing some comparisons to Tom Hardy's Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. We're sure we'll get used to it, but we imagine Lucia has to ask him to repeat himself sometimes.

The game won't directly address real-life politics

Like with previous Grand Theft Auto games, GTA 6 will feature plenty of political and social satire, but it will not deal with actual, real-world political figures or events. That means no Donald Trump and no COVID-19.

No microtransactions or generative AI

Grand Theft Auto 6, at least the single-player game releasing in November, will not feature any microtransactions. Additionally, Rockstar says no generative AI was used in its creation.

GTA 6's main characters are Jason and Lucia, and while previous trailers have shown them in some steamy scenes, their relationship will be defined by how people play, not by a strict story mandate.

Rockstar North's Rob Nelson confirmed to The New York Times that it will be up to the player if Jason and Lucia complete the story as a romantic couple or merely partners in crime. Players will need to manage the relationship by responding to texts and, like in any good relationship, making an effort.

“It’s new for GTA, this idea of your actions having meaning in terms of how you treat your partner or how violent you are,” Nelson said.

The Times report suggested that a small touch, the characters holding hands as they leave a store, is dependent on the state of their relationship.

Nelson went on to say GTA 6's story will take cues from "that Bonnie and Clyde concept." He added, "We knew it was the only way for us to go with this game."

Bonnie and Clyde were famous American outlaws from the early 1900s, who committed many crimes, including murder. They were lovers, and they were eventually killed by police in 1934 in Louisiana.

Rockstar has also said GTA 6's story is about "whether love can survive through this storm." This was alluded to in GTA 6's first trailer. It featured the Tom Petty song "Love Is A Long Road." Petty sings about a girl he knew who “said she cared about me” but opines that “love is a long road” with many twists and turns.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. We learned a lot more about the game today, including how the map is 3X bigger than Red Dead Redemption 2's and that a playthrough can be 80 hours long. The game also brings back six-star wanted levels and that you can pet the dog.