Diablo 4's next crossover collaboration will be with Blizzard's own Overwatch, bringing the looks of iconic heroes like Reinhardt, Mercy, Kiriko, and others to the dark-fantasy ARPG.

The collab will come as part of Diablo 4's upcoming Season 14, Death Awakening, and will mostly be a "shop-focused collab," according to Diablo 4's design director for live services Dan Tanguay. There will, however, be a free reliquary where players can unlock two Overwatch-themed weapon cosmetics, a mount trophy, player emblems, and the game's first earnable armor dye at no cost.

As for the Overwatch appearances players will be able to buy from Diablo 4's in-game shop, a teaser image for the collab shows armor sets inspired by Genji, Reaper, Brigitte, Mercy, Moira, Reinhardt, Kirkio, and Roadhog. Two pets, Kiriko's spirit fox and a Pachimari, also appear in the image.

A look at what all is new in Diablo 4 Season 14.

A crossover between the optimistic, near-future sci-fi setting of Overwatch and the bloody, demon-ravaged world of Sanctuary doesn't exactly sound like a perfect pairing given the wildly different tone of the two universes (though there are plenty of Diablo skins to be found in Overwatch) already. Previous crossovers have included Berserk, Blizzard's own Warcraft and StarCraft, as well as Doom: The Dark Ages.

Blizzard is aware that Overwatch isn't as snug a fit as something like Berserk. Tanguay said the Diablo team looked to only adapt certain aspects of Overwatch for the collab, including both the darker and lighter corners of the hero-shooter's universe it thought would fit best.

However, the Overwatch crossover also marks a shift in how Blizzard is approaching Diablo 4 collabs going forward. Blizzard previously stated collabs in Diablo 4 would be with universes that meshed well with its grim fantasy setting, but now that the game has entered its third year of live service, that is starting to change, Tanguay said.

"As we continue to evolve as a live-service game, we are going to look to broaden up the tone of our collabs a bit more," Tanguay said. "I don't think we're ever going to be at a point where suddenly Diablo 4 is lighthearted and cheery as a base game … But there should be opportunities for us to bring in some lighter things on occasion as the game gets more mature."

Diablo 4 Season 14 and its Overwatch collab launches June 30, and will bring controversial changes to Mythic items alongside adjustments to War Plans, a new Lair Boss, and a solo-self-found mode. 

Games Like Diablo To Loot Your Way Through In 2026 View Images

Diablo 4 Season 14 is set to be one of the biggest shakeups for the ARPG in quite some time, even as Blizzard deals with what it described as "issues compounding issues."

The upcoming season, titled Death Awakening, is bringing controversial changes to Mythic items, weakening many build staples players have become accustomed to while opening the door for any of the game's 100+ Uniques to become "Mythic" quality with a 30% boost to the item's Unique power. This major update to items and how players construct builds isn't just for the season, but is intended to come to the game in its entirety as a permanent change.

At first glance, it looks like a win on paper. Less one-item-fits-all solutions and more build diversity, a frequent ask from the community, sounds like a good thing. The issue has stemmed from Blizzard's approach. It added a heavy dose of randomness to the game's best items, first to Uniques in Lord of Hatred, then to Mythics as part of proposed changes for Season 14. A Unique or Mythic item could have completely undesirable affixes, making the dopamine thrill of getting what is supposed to be one of the best items in the game instead feel like Blizzard is playing a cruel practical joke. While players do have some control over adding and modifying affixes via the Horadric Cube, it felt like far more work (and luck) was required to get a usable item that will last long term, much less a great item that will last an entire season.

Blizzard knows it's stuck between a rock and a hard place. Following a playtest of the new season on Diablo 4's public test realm and feedback from a concerned community, Blizzard is now meeting players halfway. There is still some randomness to be found, but Unique and Mythic items will now have two set affixes instead of only one. Crafting Mythics via the cube will also be more focused. Instead of receiving a largely random item when upgrading a Unique into a Mythic, it will now match the slot of the original item. It's a step in the right direction, but it remains to be seen how players will react to the season overall once it arrives in full.

Making Mythics Mythic items will see their biggest changes yet in Season 14.

It's all in service of ensuring Diablo 4's long-term health, Dan Tanguay, design director for live services on Diablo 4, said in an interview with GameSpot. One of the main goals behind the changes was to make it so a handful of the game's current Mythic Uniques--must-have items like Heir of Perdition or The Grandfather--don't continue to dominate.

"There's a handful of them that just become best-in-slot," Tanguay said. "Once you can earn that, you get lucky enough to roll it, drop it, or craft it, that's it--you're never going to worry about that slot again. And it kind of narrows the types of builds that players will pursue, especially if they're reading Maxroll or Icy Veins or something like that. We really want to increase the possibilities at the end of the game for what your build can be, and we need to look at mechanics that allow us to do that."

The fix the team came up with, and one it was excited about, Tanguay said, was to make regular Uniques more competitive by having them become Mythic and amping up their power. At the same time, the choice was made to bring down the power of the game's existing Mythics, now referred to as Iconic Mythics, by inserting a level of randomness.

Random affixes for Uniques in Lord of Hatred did not go over well, but were done to combat how easy fixed-affix Uniques were to get and to increase the length of their "item journey," Tanguay said. Work on Season 14 was already well underway by the time Diablo 4's second expansion launched and Blizzard started to receive negative feedback surrounding the Unique change. That led to what Tanguay called a "perfect storm" in regards to the Season 14 PTR, where Blizzard looked to test its proposed revamp.

"We had started getting this feedback that people weren't happy with some of these changes to Uniques, and we were like 'Oh boy, well, we were building on top of that for [Season] 14,'" Tanguay said.

That was, and still is, the plan, though Blizzard is having to roll with the punches and "split the difference" based on feedback from the community. Now, Diablo 4 Season 14 is dealing with what Tanguay described as "issues compounding issues," as Blizzard looks to incorporate player feedback regarding Mythics and Uniques while still pursuing its goals for the game's future.

"We really need to address both of those things right now while still making sure long term we have fewer best-in-slot problems and we've got a lot more build diversity at the end of it." 

Regardless of how Season 14 is received, Tanguay made clear Blizzard still had work to do in order to arrive at a consensus point where both players and Blizzard are happy with where the game is headed.

"We need to keep iterating at it, until we arrive at something that we think is good for the long-term health of the game and that players really like," he said.

Breach And Clear Realmwalkers are back in Season 14, but don't worry, you don't have to follow them.

Changes to Mythic items may be the biggest change for Season 14, but there's more to a season than just itemization changes. Death Awakening also brings the return of a previous seasonal mechanic, Realmwalkers. Unlike their first appearance in Season 6, players won't have to follow the lumbering giants around, but will instead battle waves of enemies and close rifts in order to open breaches to even more challenging encounters, including a new Lair Boss. 

"We looked back at how we used the Realmwalker previously … and we felt we didn't really do the Realmwalker justice in that case," Tanguay said. "You had to follow along, it would spawn enemies every so often, and you got a portal. It felt a little anticlimactic, so we really wanted to take another crack at the Realmwalker and make it a proper boss fight--something that could challenge our players."

Mephisto's defeat in Lord of Hatred will play directly into the threat of the new Risen enemy type in Death Awakening, offering more of a direct story thread than previous seasons, where seasonal storylines were largely disconnected from the game's campaigns or even previous seasons.

"Even though Mephisto is dead, his impact is still felt across Sanctuary at this point," Tanguay said. "It gives us the opportunity to explore some new ideas … that there are unintended consequences of Mephisto's passing and now we need to deal with those." 

Plans Within Plans A look at everything new coming in Season 14.

Of Lord of Hatred's new features, War Plans was among the most impactful: a new endgame system where players can choose between different activities, level them up, and be rewarded for it. There were, however, some issues, most notably when playing in a group. War Plans don't currently sync between party members, meaning players in a group have to spend time rerolling their plans in an effort to try to make their individual plans match up as closely as possible.

That is, thankfully, no longer the case in Season 14, with War Plans now able to be synced between party members alongside tweaks like increased activity XP. Party sync is something Tanguay said the team acted on "very quickly" to ensure it made it into the season and was an "oh shit" moment the team realized it needed to take care of immediately.

Other changes players have asked for, like realm-wide War Plans progression or some kind of catch-up mechanic for subsequent characters, are still being thought about, Tanguay said.

"That's something we didn't want to rush into, just because it would have some unintended consequences if we just quickly did it," he said. "We want to make sure there's still a lot of legs for the War Plans system, and as soon as you make it account-wide, it's a little less frustrating but then we lose some playtime associated with it."

He said there is currently lots of feedback and ideas surrounding War Plans, including how they could be modified to reflect a given season's theme. Blizzard also needs to address the issue of what happens when a player has maxed out each War Plans activity. Any kind of account-wide unlock system or catch-up mechanic would likely be implemented alongside larger changes that would address that question, he said. 

Diablo 4 Season 14 launches June 30, and will bring with it an unexpected crossover with Overwatch. The season will also add a long-awaited solo mode, for those who are up for the challenge of being unable to group or trade with other players.

Amazon's big Prime Day sale is now underway, but the online retailer is not the only store offering up deals right now. Walmart's Deals & More event is also live this week from June 22 through 28, and one of the deals is a great discount on the "Hatchin' Yoshi" interactive toy inspired by the cute little dinosaur's appearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Walmart is selling the figure for $30 during the event, which is 50% off its normal $60 price.

See at Walmart

Walmart is selling the figure for $30 right now, which is 50% off its normal $60 price.

The Hatchin' Yoshi is pretty much what it sounds like. Inside the box is an egg that rocks side to side and eventually cracks open, to reveal Yoshi inside, complete with a "Yoshi" sound effect. Once Yoshi hatches, you can use the bottom half of the egg as a display stand. You can pat Yoshi's nose and head to make its eyes light up and move his head.

You can see the toy in action in the video below, featuring Charlie Day and Brie Larson, who voiced Luigi and Rosalina in the movie. Donald Glover voiced Yoshi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IsLrTNbNiE

Prime Day (and related deals from competitors) will continue throughout the week, so be sure keep checking GameSpot's Prime Day hub throughout the to stay up to date on the latest discounts.

Prime Day (and related deals from competitors) will continue throughout the week, so be sure keep checking back with GameSpot for more. You can bookmark our Prime Day hub to stay up to date.

Amazon Prime Day 2026 (June 23-26)

Video games, Blu-rays, Lego, and tech for the lowest prices of 2026.

See at Amazon

More Deals And Preorders

• The Lego Piranha Plant Set Is Down to Its Lowest Price Ahead Of Prime Day
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• Samsung 990 Pro SSD Gets Rare Discount Ahead Of Prime Day
• The First Official KPop Demon Hunters Lego Set Launches Soon

Game developer Hideo Kojima has shared new details about one of his upcoming games, the horror title OD that he's making in partnership with Xbox. In addition to calling it "a new game system," he said it includes a feature for people who might get too scared by it.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Kojima said his aim with the game was to "do something new" and "do something different." He said he first came up with the concept for OD when he was making the original Death Stranding years ago.

"I can't reveal much detail, but it's something that no one has ever seen before. A new game system," he said. A new image has been released as well.

https://twitter.com/KojiPro2015_EN/status/2069283202657824878

Kojima went on to say he pitched OD to "many people," including "the big companies" and "the up-and-coming companies." Every company he pitched to told him the same thing. "They said that I'm crazy, and that they really don't understande the concept--that they will not be able to do it," he said.

The game was greenlit at Xbox under the leadership of former Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Asha Sharma is now Xbox CEO, and she called OD a "deeply moving game," going on to say it "represents another kind of game."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7LCmySghGM

OD will be a scary game, and that's plainly obvious from seeing the trailer, and it will be a single-player game. Kojima said the aim is to make the game "as scary as possible," but he's also come up with a system for scaredy cats.

"For those that might stop playing when it gets too scary, I have thought of a system that will allow them to keep going. I can't say much more, because it'll give too much of a hint on the system, and I could get in trouble for saying too much," he said.

Sharma also went on to say that OD is an example of how Xbox has "not reached the boundary of games" just yet. She said one of her goals as Xbox CEO is to make sure Xbox is a platform that is "sufficiently open" to developers of all types, so that "the next Kojima" could potentially have success on Xbox.

OD features celebrity actors, including Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and the late Udo Kier. In addition to OD, Kojima is making the espionage game Phsyint for Sony.

AMD has announced that owners of RDNA 3 GPUs can now enjoy the benefits offered by its latest version of AI-powered upscaling, FSR 4.1. This comes a few weeks earlier than its July estimate, with the promise for more devices down the line, too.

FSR Upscaling 4.1 functions similarly to other upscaling technologies on the market, and comes much closer to the performance and quality of Nvidia's market-leading DLSS than previous iterations. It's the same technology that underpins the PlayStation 5 Pro's PSSR 2, with Sony layering on its own work on top of what AMD has engineering here.

https://twitter.com/jackhuynh/status/2069059207383720091

The upscaling suite was previously exclusive to the company's latest GPUs, the RX 9070 and 9070 XT, but will now be available to many, many more RDNA 3 GPUs, such as the popular 7800XT and XTX. You'll need the latest version of AMD's Adrenalin software, which you can grab here.

Devices with RDNA 3.5 APUs, such as Valve's Steam Machine and the Xbox ROG Ally X, will eventually get FSR 4.1 support, with AMD working on lightweight AI models specific to the lower memory bandwidth of these and similar devices.

AMD has also committed to supporting even older RDNA 2 cards with FSR 4.1 sometime in 2027. That, unfortunately, isn't likely to include the one in Valve's Steam Deck, which might have given more life to the aging, and now more expensive, handheld gaming PC.

Hideo Kojima has shared new insight into the Death Stranding movie, while director Michael Sarnoski has revealed a key detail about it as well.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Kojima said he wanted to "try a different path" with the adaptation of Death Stranding for film. That path, he said, is to make a "two-hour art movie" as opposed to re-telling the story of the games.

Kojima admitted this plan might not work.

"I don't know if this will be successful, but that's the goal," he said.

The Death Stranding movie is in the works at A24, which just reached an AI-training deal with Google, and is also behind the Elden Ring film from director Alex Garland.

Sarnoski, who earned acclaim for directing the movie Pig starring Nicolas Cage and later made A Quiet Place: Day One, told The Hollywood Reporter that Death Stranding is his next project. Sarnoski, who is also writing the script, said he's still working on the script, but he's confirmed it's the next movie he'll direct "for sure."

Sarnoski's latest project was The Death of Robin Hood, which stars Hugh Jackman as Robin Hood and released on June 19.

The Death Stranding movie doesn't have a cast, release date, or any other concrete information yet. However, Sarnoski previously talked about how the film will feature characters not seen in the game, but with the overall aim of "keeping it honest to the game."

Kojima himself was approached to direct the Death Stranding movie, but he declined. Kojima won’t be “involved too much” because if he were, he said he would “start saying a lot of things.”

Kojima is also working on a new game for Xbox called OD, and a new screenshot was shared in the Entertainment Weekly story linked above.

Valve has officially announced the Steam Machine's price, and if you're looking to get one of the not-consoles when they launch on June 30, you're going to have to spend over $1,000 at minimum. As you can probably guess, eager players on the internet were not exactly thrilled by that news, and they let their voices be heard on social media.

Some questioned if the Steam Machine should even be released at all at this point, pointing to the massive price tag that was required as AI puts a strain on the hardware supply chain.

https://twitter.com/MischiefsYT/status/2069109998882345354

And with the Steam Machine serving as a type of PC more than a traditional console, others questioned why someone would pay such a high price when building a custom PC would be cheaper.

https://twitter.com/kishswim/status/2069110413782855948

YouTuber SpawnWave was perhaps even more blunt with his assessment, believing the system is so expensive may effectively have no audience.

https://twitter.com/SpawnWaveMedia/status/2069126457108910157

One Twitter user pointed to the trend we've seen with consoles in years past, with more accessible systems often performing better commercially than the more-expensive alternatives. The Sega Nomad, for those too young to remember, literally played Sega Genesis games on the go, yet no one talks about it today.

https://twitter.com/OctorokR/status/2069117845129343447

And as we approach the inevitable PS6 and Microsoft's Project Helix, others pointed out that we may be looking at a sign of things to come. The days of $500 consoles, at launch or otherwise, are likely long gone.

https://twitter.com/GameRiot/status/2069114442734784591

The Steam Machine officially releases on June 30, with preorders beginning on June 25. A waitlist is available for a chance to order one.

Epic Games is teaming up with DC and Warner Bros. to bring Milly Alcock's Supergirl to Fortnite, alongside her cute little pooch Krypto.

Epic has posted a video showing Alcock's reaction to seeing her Supergirl outfit in the game. "I think it's pretty cool," she said. While she's excited to see her Supergirl come to Fortnite, she thinks her canine companion will steal the show. "I think I will soon be forgotten and Krypto will reign," she said.

Alcock also had a plea for people playing Fortnite with her Supergirl skin: "Make sure I win in the game when you play with me. Do me proud."

https://twitter.com/Fortnite/status/2069140977491779691

Supergirl and Krypto come to Fortnite later this week, just in time for Supergirl's release in theaters on June 26. A Fortnite skin based on David Corenswet's Superman was added to the game last year for the 2025 Superman movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJNjhV5o5qs

In other Fortnite news, The Simpsons are returning to Fortnite--and in a big way. Later this year, Epic will add UEFN support for The Simpsons, allowing people to create maps and modes using officially licensed The Simpsons assets. As you can imagine, the first thing people will probably do is try to make Hit & Run.

The specs and pricing for Steam Machine have been revealed, and the preorders are opening soon. But if you'd rather sidestep that headache and build your own Steam Machine, Valve is officially making it easier for players to do so.

While speaking with The Verge, Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais confirmed that the recently launched SteamOS 3.8.10 is part of the company's ongoing attempts to make the Steam operating system "more compatible with desktop hardware." That includes "improved compatibility" with the most recent Intel and AMD platforms.

"If you have something that is similar to the use case of a Steam Machine, where you have a PC that's gonna be plugged into a TV, and has a single hard drive that you’re not going to try and dual boot … you can put SteamOS on there, and you'll have an experience that is very similar to a Steam Deck docked or a Steam Machine," said Griffais. "With some caveats, of course ... The core bits of the experience are there. The SteamOS graphics driver, the shader precompilation … you can get at all of that with the SteamOS."

However, SteamOS doesn't currently support Nvidia drivers. Griffais noted that Valve and Nvidia are "collaborating ... very closely" on the issue, but compatibility with SteamOS may not be ready to go this year.

Building a high-end PC on par with Steam Machine may not be much cheaper than the $1,049 for the 512GB model. But players' custom builds can potentially address some of Steam Machine's shortcomings in terms of video memory and graphical power.

In response to the chaotic launch of Steam Controller preorders, Valve is trying a new procedure with Steam Machine. After the initial reservation list is closed on June 25, Valve will send out randomized invites to get a Steam Machine to discourage bots and resellers.

Valve's Steam Machine finally has a price, and its far steeper than anyone was likely imagining. That goes for Valve, too, with the company indicating that its original target was significantly less, and would've made a lot more sense for the hardware on offer.

Speaking to both IGN and Aftermath, engineers from Valve indicated that the Steam Machine's price increased similarly to that of the Steam Deck, whose own price was increased by around 35% for the base model (and closer to 50% for the 1TB versions). Assuming Valve is talking about the lower figure of the two, some quick math suggests that the Steam Machine was likely originally priced at or around $750, a figure that was widely guessed at the time.

But that was in November 2025, when the now-apocalyptic RAM crisis was just starting. Since then, memory prices have surged globally. The United States of America has fared best, with an average 163% increase, while other regions, like Japan and the UK, have seen increases of 619% and 219% respectively, Regardless of where you live, building a PC has become prohibitively expensive, with few signs suggesting that is changing soon. And unfortunately for Valve, it got caught in the storm at the exact wrong time.

The Steam Machine was never expected to be a cheap device. Even Valve has played down console comparisons, pointing towards its ability to be a fully featured desktop PC along with a living room gaming device. But at over $1,000 for its entry-level model (which ships without a controller), it has become an expensive luxury that struggles to justify its cost through performance alone.

As Digital Foundry breaks down in its extensive performance review, the Steam Machine struggles to keep up with the base PS5 in many games tested, while just equaling it in others. There's caveats to those results (consoles have settings that PCs sometimes can't replicate, for example), but you can expect to have a similar game-playing experience to a PS5 that costs, right now, half the price of the Steam Machine. And if you want some extra graphical grunt, the PS5 Pro is a much more powerful platform, and still cheaper. At an original price of $750, the Steam Machine made a lot more sense.

Valve's Steam Machine isn't a console. It isn't subsidized as one. It can do a lot more than any on the market, too. But it's also an expensive way to play PC games, and one that doesn't make as much sense anymore in the current market.

Valve has finally announced the price of the new Steam Machine, and it'll be over $1,000 when it launches on June 30. In addition to confirming the price and release date, Valve published a new FAQ that runs through some key particulars about the system, including how it is not meant to be described as a console.

"We think of Steam Machine as an extension of PC gaming, not as a console," Valve said.

This is not a game console.

In making its point, Valve said a console like an Xbox or PlayStation device would typically be sold at a loss, with Microsoft and Sony making up the loss with software and services revenue. Games sold for a console might be "locked in to the hardware" on a traditional console, but that's not the case for the Steam Machine.

"We think this can make sense for a single business in the short term but that open ecosystems are better for customers over the long term. PC gaming's history proves this: The openness of the PC gaming space has enabled it to be the primary driver of hardware and software innovation for decades," Valve said.

The company went on to say one of the strengths of the PC gaming market is giving players the ability to play the games they want on the hardware they want, and the Steam Machine is a solution for this.

"But it's not the only solution, and we don't want it to be," Valve said.

Valve wanted to charge less for the Steam Machine, the company told IGN, but the so-called "RAM-aggedon" drove up prices. The Steam Machine will now start at $1,050 and scale up from there.

The Steam Machine price coming in at more than $1,000 for the base model is indeed a shock, but it's also indicative of a wider trend of increasing prices due to the AI-fueled demand for components and memory. The prices of Xbox and PlayStation consoles have already gone up, and Nintendo is raising the price of the Switch 2 in September.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma recently commented on the price of gaming consoles, saying they have become too expensive and that "radically different" models are needed. She specifically said it's untenable to ask mass audiences to pay thousands of dollars for new consoles.

If you're trying to secure a Steam Machine, you're going to encounter a preorder queue that is a little different in response to issues that came up with the Steam Controller.

The Steam Machine starts at $1,049 for a 512GB model, up to $1,428 for a 2TB model with Steam Controller and swappable face plates. Early impressions of the device generally find it’s a decently powered gaming PC that’s very user-friendly, but less powerful than a custom build for the same price.

A fan recreating Ocarina of Time has scrapped the project, citing fears of "Nintendo ninjas" following the official announcement of the Switch 2 remake.

According to IGN, YouTuber CryZENx pulled the plug on their The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time PC recreation after at least a decade of working on it. In a blog post on their official Patreon, CryZENx told their community that the "Ocarina of Time project [has] officially stopped." CryZENx didn't provide an exact reason for the cancellation, but in the comments, they explained that "it's better to just stop the project for now or I would [have] disappeared … because of Nintendo ninjas."

It's no secret that Nintendo is quite litigious when it comes to its IP. Just look at the lawsuit the company levied against Palworld developer Pocketpair, which appears to be nearing its end. The company also went after an alleged pirate in October 2025 for hosting piracy sites. And in May 2025, Nintendo threw its blue shell at the gaming accessory company Genki for "unauthorized" Switch 2 mockups, with that lawsuit getting settled in September of that year.

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

It would seem that CryZENx doesn't want anything to do with Nintendo's lawyers, hence why they're ending development. Their YouTube channel is filled with videos showcasing the project (which was being built in Unreal Engine), so it's entirely possible Nintendo may come a-knocking.

Despite fearing "Nintendo ninjas," CryZENx polled their community in that same Patreon blog, asking what other projects they should work on. The list is stacked with Nintendo IP, from Diddy Kong Racing to Twilight Princess to Metroid Prime Hunters.

Nintendo finally revealed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake during its summer Nintendo Direct Showcase. The announcement was short and contained zero gameplay, but it generated millions of views--as well as concerns that it may smooth down the game's rougher edges. We'll find out when it lands on Nintendo Switch 2 sometime this year.

The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of Xbox's most-anticipated upcoming games, and game director Todd Howard has now said the studio must stick the landing.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Howard confirmed that the majority of the developers at Bethesda Game Studios are working on The Elder Scrolls 6 currently.

"We know we need to get it right and it's been a long time," he said.

Indeed it has been a long time. The game was announced more than eight years ago now, and to date, only one video has been released, and it was only a title reveal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkFdqqyI8y4

The game did not show up at the Xbox Games Showcase earlier in June. Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty said this was because Microsoft was waiting for "the right moment" to show the game again.

"When you decide to show it, you want it to be the best you’ve got,” he said. “And also that when you show the game, you’re also giving them a promise of, 'Hey, it’s coming soon.'”

Howard has questioned whether it was the right call to announce The Elder Scrolls 6 so early. “I have asked myself that a lot,” he said. “I don’t know. I probably would’ve announced it more casually.”

He later said announcing The Elder Scrolls 6 in the way that Bethesda did was “not my preference,” but it happened anyway.

He went on to joke: “Just pretend we didn’t announce it. It doesn’t exist. No one has heard a word.”

Season 4 Reloaded arrives later this week, and award winning actor Nicolas Cage will join Call of Duty's growing list of operators for Black Ops 7 and Warzone. In addition to the Hollywood star, Season 4 Reloaded includes new weapons, limited-time events, and the Kowakujo Zombies map. The popular Black Ops Classic mode also becomes a permanent addition in Black Ops 7.

Season 4 Reloaded goes live on June 25, and this midseason refresh is themed as Call of Duty's Summer of Action update. All of the major announcements can be found below.

Limited-time events and new weapons

One of the main highlights of the midseason update are the new free weapons being introduced. Season 4 Reloaded will add the Executioner's Duet melee weapon and the classic AN-94 assault rifle from Black Ops 2 as the final weapons of the season.

Nick Cage event rewards

Nicolas Cage also highlights the Summer of Action update as a new operator. Cage is known for iconic action and adventure roles, such as National Treasure, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds, and most recently, Spider-Noir.

The actor arrives as part of Call of Duty's new "Nick Cage event." This works just like RoboCop and many other recent events with both free and paid event tracks. Call of Duty's paid event passes are usually priced at $10. Both tracks include cosmetics themed around Nicolas Cage, but the operator himself can only be unlocked in the paid pass.

More multiplayer maps and modes Remake of the Launch map from BO1

Two more maps and modes are added with Season 4 Reloaded. 

Zenith is a brand-new 6v6 map set within Karma's hidden cliffside manor. Launch is a remake of the Black Ops 1 map set at a rocket launch facility, and this is also a standard 6v6 map.

As for game modes, Team Blueprint Sharpshooter arrives as a 6v6 mode where weapon blueprints rotate every few seconds. Each weapon cycle swaps to the same new weapon for every player, and this continues until a team reaches the score limit. 

In this mode, players earn power-ups instead of scorestreaks for achieving elimination streaks. The bonuses are as follows: 

• 1-Streak: Faster movement speed
• 2 -Streak: Faster reload speed
• 3-Streak: Faster sprint recovery
• 4-Streak: Faster aim-down-sights speed
• 5-Streak: Double score

The second mode is called Knife Fight, which is a melee-only variant of the fan-favorite Gunfight mode.

Black Ops Classic update

The Black Ops Classic playlist features movement and gameplay inspired by older games in the series, which removes Black Ops 7's advancing omnimovement and various equipment. Due to the mode's popularity, Treyarch has made the playlist permanent in Black Ops 7.

This mode only features the game's remastered maps from the older Black Ops games, but a few more throwbacks are being added into the rotation in Season 4 Reloaded. This list includes Launch, Fringe, Hacienda, and Gridlock.

New Zombies map and Wonder Weapon New Oni enemy type

Season 4 Reloaded introduces a brand-new Zombies map called Kowakujo. This map's story revolves around Takeo, and the setting takes place at his family’s castle in Japan. The main story quest will go live with the big update, where players are tasked with fighting Nyxara's army, liberating the Shadowsmith, and uncovering the curse that holds Takeo's soul.

The map features the new Oni enemy type. Oni are armored enemies with the power of electricity, and they also wield melee weapons.

The Wonder Weapon for this map remains "redacted," and Treyarch says players will need to discover it as they play.

Endgame

A new act of missions arrives in Endgame called Operation King Killer. Additionally, Season 4 Reloaded adds the new Guardian skill track, described as a skill that allows players to withstand more damage, support teammates, and punish attackers. The Psych Grenade is also added as a new minor ability.

Warzone Map Update for Rebirth Island Rebirth Island gets a makeover

Warzone's Rebirth Island Resurgence map is getting a seasonal new look for the midseason update. The snow has melted around the prison, and Rebirth Island gains a colorful new setting with updates to the grass and trees on the island.

New Warzone modes

The midseason update adds Squad Gun to Warzone. This mode is played on the smaller Resurgence maps. It’s basically Call of Duty's Gun Game mode in Warzone, for the first time ever. Squads will drop into matches with the objective of being the first to cycle through a pre-determined number of weapons, eliminating enemy targets to progress to the next weapon. The first squad to cycle through every weapon wins the match.

From July 9 through 13, players can jump into limited-time matches of Warzone's Buy Back Quads mode. This is a returning mode where players want to acquire as much cash as they can, as eliminated players with at least $4,000 will automatically redeploy.

One World of Warcraft player has created their own private version of Azeroth, populated not by other players, but with AI-powered bots. 

As detailed on the wowservers subreddit, user Mr-Nilsson_85 explained how they created a "proof of concept" of what a Wrath of the Lich King-era WoW server played entirely by bots looks like, turning one of the world's premier MMORPGs into what is essentially a single-player game. The server hosts 1,800 bot "players" that go about playing the game as real players normally would--completing quests, leveling professions, killing monsters, and equipping better gear.

Despite being against the game's terms-of-service, bots aren't exactly anything new in WoW, having existed almost as long as the game has been around. They usually come in the gold-farming variety, completing repetitive tasks like mining and vendoring ore over and over again. But these bots are different, as their ability to chat with each other and potential real players is powered by DeepSeek AI. As Mr-Nilsson_85 explains, the bots have predefined "topics" to talk about among themselves, "but they do respond to each other, and they do respond to the player."

At first glance, these AI conversations can look fairly legitimate. But upon closer inspection, many of them seem to be monologuing into the void of the game's general chat, like one that proudly declares "Grinding Ravenholdt rep all day!" or another exclaiming "Man, Ulduar's my jam!"

https://www.reddit.com/r/wowservers/comments/1u8k6lm/private_server_with_1800_bots_ai_chat_deepseek/

One interesting wrinkle is that the AI-powered chat for these bots isn't attached to the actual scripts controlling their gameplay, so there is no way to currently influence their actions. That means a real player can't ask a particular bot to pull a specific enemy, trade an item, or wait for mana. That might make grouping up with these bots a challenge, but for those who prefer to play MMORPGs like WoW solo, with other players largely serving as set dressing, it's an interesting concept. 

Reactions to Mr-Nilsson_85's creation on Reddit are mixed. Some players seem legitimately impressed and excited about the possibilities of an AI-powered MMO that could turn online worlds into single-player experiences. Others point to it as evidence of the "dead internet theory," the idea that most online content and interactions are now generated by AI, in action. Some mostly just seem depressed by the idea, with one user calling the AI server "dystopian." 

The idea of a "single-player MMORPG" powered by NPCs masquerading as players isn't entirely unheard of. Erenshor, an indie game released in 2025, is built around that same idea.

In other WoW news, developer Blizzard recently sued the makers of yet another WoW private server, accusing them of "large scale, egregious, and ongoing infringement" of Blizzard's intellectual property. It's the third WoW Classic private server takedown in recent months, leading some fans to believe Blizzard is preparing for a major announcement related to the old-school version of the MMO.

Ahead of its launch on June 30, reviews and impressions on Valve's Steam Machine have arrived. Designed to be a living room PC, the compact unit is launching during an expensive time for gamers, as the ongoing memory and storage crisis, coupled with AI data center demands, has seen an explosive surge in hardware prices. Is the Steam Machine worth its price?

According to impressions from various outlets, Valve has managed to cram an impressive amount of hardware into the small PC gaming cube, but that focus on portability (or avoiding even more exorbitant prices) has had an impact on its graphical capabilities. The Verge calls it a gaming PC that punches above its weight but still "isn't ready for the console wars" just yet.

Steam Machine and Steam Controller

"While you won’t be able to run the most intensive games at a true 4K resolution because you’ll run out of video memory and graphical power too quickly, I found the Steam Machine’s frame rate is incredibly stable and pairs well with TVs that support variable refresh rate (VRR)," The Verge wrote in its review. "There’s just enough horsepower to, say, play Indiana Jones or Returnal at 1440p medium spec, or Forza Horizon 6 at 1440p high spec, or Cyberpunk 2077 at upscaled 4K with high spec, or Shadow of the Tomb Raider at true 4K and medium."

But how does the Steam Machine compare to established devices like the PS5 or Xbox Series X|S consoles? Not too well, from a financial standpoint.

"At $1,049, the Steam Machine is unlikely to win over the hearts and minds of PlayStation and Xbox faithfuls, but it is easily the best living room PC I’ve ever used, despite being a bit weaker than either of the base consoles," IGN explained. "That price probably disqualifies Valve’s new mini gaming PC in the eyes of many console faithfuls, but it makes a lot more sense for its intended purpose as an entry-level gaming PC."

Where the Steam Machine does shine is as a PC gaming unit that takes up very little space and is very quiet when running games. "The Steam Machine is quiet. I mean, really, really quiet. The single, geometry-optimized 120 mm fan at the back does an admirable job of moving large amounts of air at whisper-like levels, so much so that I don't think you'd notice it at full pelt over any other ambient noise," PC Gamer wrote.

If you're interested in grabbing one, preorders for the Steam Machine will officially open on June 25 ahead of its June 30 shipping date. Prices start at $1,049 for the 512GB model with no controller, and go up to $1,428 for a 2TB Steam Machine with a controller and swap-out face-plates. You can also join the waitlist now to be notified when preorders are live.

Xbox is going full steam ahead with a slate of films and TV shows, which now includes a live-action adaptation of Rare's 2018 pirate-filled, social-sim adventure game, Sea of Thieves.

According to a June 22 Entertainment Weekly report, Xbox has "over a dozen adaptations in the works." Some of these projects are already known--Death Stranding is getting a film, Netflix is fully supporting an animated and live-action Gears movie, Fallout has a new season, and Minecraft is getting a sequel film.

But one that may come as a surprise is that Sea of Thieves will get the live-action treatment, too, with American filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) producing. No director has been attached to the project just yet, though.

Matt Booty, Xbox's newly minted chief content officer and executive vice president, teased to Entertainment Weekly what the film's story would be about.

"The main character of a Sea of Thieves game is actually the player and the community," Booty said. "So if you sit down to think about Sea of Thieves, it's not, 'Who are the main characters? What's the plot?' It's a super social game, but there's a tone to Sea of Thieves. It's built on a very cooperative community, so you can start to sense what that's going to be like."

Developed by Rare Limited and published by Xbox Game Studios, Sea of Thieves is an open-world pirate action-adventure game that launched on Xbox consoles in 2018. You create a pirate, helm a ship, and sail the seven seas in search of bodies to shoot and booty to plunder. While you can play solo, the game was built with multiplayer in mind, so it'll be curious to see how Hollywood brings a live-action adaptation of a primarily social game to life.

At long last, Valve has revealed the price for its highly anticipated Steam Machine. The system will officially cost $1,049 for its 512GB version without a Steam Controller and it launches on June 30. From there, the price increases to $1,349 for the 2TB model without a controller, and $1,428 with a controller. Preorders will open up on June 25, but you can join a waitlist now to be eligible for an opportunity to preorder one.

On June 25, a select number of those who registered interest will be randomly selected to be able to place a preorder. This is being done in reaction to challenges with preordering the Steam Controller, and Valve says it gives users a fair amount of time to actually place an order, while providing it with time to "do some extra validation on the signups to make sure they're real accounts." Orders are limited to one per household and must meet a few criteria, including having made a Steam purchase prior to April 27.

Though not Valve's first attempt at offering a Steam-branded PC for the living room, the Steam Machine is arguably its most exciting. The system runs on Valve's own SteamOS, similarly to the portable Steam Deck, and it can function as a standard PC, complete with a separate operating system. Valve will also be using a Steam Machine Verified badge for games on its platform, just like it does for Steam Deck.

Steam Machine tech specs

CPU

• Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T
• Up to 4.8 GHz, 30W TDP

GPU

• Semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs
• 2.45GHz max sustained clock, 110W TDP

RAM

• 16GB DDR5 + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM

Power

• Internal power supply, AC power 110-240V

Storage

• 512GB NVMe SSD or 2TB NVMe SSD
• Both models include a high-speed microSD card slot

Earlier this month, Valve indicated that it was ready to lift the veil on the Steam Machine and its next-generation VR headset, the Steam Frame. The company committed to a summer release window for both devices, and a few months earlier, it launched its new Steam Controller.

In case you missed out on grabbing one when preorders first went live, you're going to be in for a long wait, as new stock will only arrive in 2027.

Just how far in advance was God of War Laufey planned by its developer, Sony Santa Monica Studio? Almost a decade ago, as actress Deborah Ann Woll--who provided the motion capture and voice acting for the game's protagonist, Faye--recently spoke about how she first heard about the project in 2018.

"I've known about this for nearly 10 years, and I haven't been able to talk about it," Woll said to CGM. According to Woll, God of War 2018 director Cory Barlog first pitched the idea to her back then, and he even had ideas then to pair Faye with a sidekick: Phranque, the talking cube (voiced and also motion-captured by actor Jack Quaid, while wearing a cube-shaped harness).

"It's wild. Like when Cory brought me in to talk about doing Ragnarok and showed me the 2018 game, he already had a poster for the Laufey game with me and a cube. A cube that's been there since the beginning. It's deeply a part of the lore," Woll added. The Daredevil actress also explained how the previous God of War games had been hinting to this moment, and how the reveal trailer had left her jaw on the floor.

https://youtu.be/upjpP54xDIc

While previous games starred Kratos in the lead role, God of War Laufey is the first title in the series not to feature the infamous god-slayer in a leading role. Woll also spoke about this shift, saying that Faye's story allows for more diverse stories to be told in the God of War universe with themes that are universal to all people.

While it doesn't have a release date yet, the lengthy gameplay reveal for God of War Laufey has gotten people talking and formulating many theories. For a closer look at some of them, you can check out a list of all the deceased gods who could appear in the game, how Faye's sword could reveal an ugly truth, and where the game fits into the franchise.

God Of War TV Show Cast: All The Actors And The Roles They Play For The Prime Video Show View Images

Actor Deborah Ann Woll, who plays the main character Laufey AKA Faye in God of War Laufey, has further discussed the game and its story. The previous God of War games featured Kratos in the lead role, but Laufey focuses on Faye's story. Woll said in an interview that it feels "extraordinary" to think that some people will play the God of War game because the main character is a woman, and a woman played by a popular actor like she is.

"We need as much diversity as possible within these stories so that we can tell even more stories. This is all just about enjoying each other’s perspectives and widening our experiences. If I get to, in some small part, do that for women within gaming, I’m very excited about that," she told CGMagazine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szwYBVY7FsU&rco=1

Woll also pushed back against the idea that God of War Laufey is a game only for women--the themes are universal, she said.

"I think we find universality through specificity. And there is nothing about this experience that Faye is having that anyone else of any gender could not relate to," she said. "This is a story about a parent. This is a story about regret. This is about being a better person than who you were before. And are you enough? Can you possibly make up for those wrongs? It’s about preparing your family for your loss. What do you want to leave to them to make sure that they’re okay?"

She said these are all "universal ideas that don't have anything to do with gender."

"We’re just going to see it through this woman’s perspective. I think about the people who, maybe because of their childhood or their parents now really related to Kratos and Atreus’ story. And felt really seen by that. I love the idea that now we’ll have more people who feel seen by Faye’s story, and hopefully those same people will also feel seen by that," she said.

God of War Laufey is in development now for PS5, but the game does not have a release date yet. In addition to Faye, the game stars a gelatinous cube character named Phranque played by The Boys actor Jack Quaid.