Forza Horizon 5 creative director Mike Brown has weighed in with his thoughts on the situation at Xbox currently, and one of the things he commented on was Xbox Game Pass. He said in an interview that Xbox Game Pass, simply put, was not able to attract enough subscribers to make it viable as a business, and this contributed to the pain Xbox is going through today. After all, we recently found out that Microsoft was hoping to have 77 million subscribers by now, but the number is actually only around 30 million.

"That’s actually just really sad because we’re now going to see studios getting shut down or spun off," he told MinnMax, as reported by Kotaku. "Loads of people are going to lose their jobs. And that is honestly just a result of a well-meaning player-focused concept of Xbox Game Pass not quite landing. And I think that’s just, it’s just a real shame."

Brown, who worked at the Xbox-owned Playground for years before splitting off to start his own company, said Game Pass is a "good idea," but Microsoft could not stick the landing.

"If more people had subscribed, that makes enough money, and it works and and all those studios go on and those games get made again and those teams will make other games. Unfortunately, it didn’t," he said.

Microsoft invested a "fortune" in making Game Pass work through its various acquisitions and funding efforts, Brown added. This was done with the vision of having a steady release of new games to help keep people subscribed and amass more members, but it didn't come to be.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma herself has acknowledged that Xbox Game Pass was a bet that did not pay off after Microsoft spent more than $80 billion buying studios to help funnel content to the service.

Internal strife

It has been reported for some time already that some inside Xbox did not buy into the vision for Xbox Game Pass and even tried to warn executives. Microsoft itself admitted that Xbox Game Pass could cannibalize full-game sales.

Recently, reporter Jason Schreier said on the Triple Click podcast, "There are a lot of people out there in studio leadership within Xbox who absolutely detest Game Pass." He said these people think Game Pass has "destroyed the value of their games" and has been an overall detriment to gaming across the board "because of how it devalues games."

A former Xbox studio lead, meanwhile, told Windows Central that launching games into Game Pass "almost creates an assumption that these titles could not sell on their own. It felt like a race to zero."

So what happens next?

Microsoft admitting that Xbox Game Pass is a bet that did not work out suggests the company may have some changes afoot for the service. Already, Sharma has cut the price of Game Pass and announced that new Call of Duty games will no longer be included in the service at launch, so some big changes have already been enacted. No one is expecting Microsoft to completely kill off Game Pass, but instead there could be other changes, like the kind of "windowing" of new releases that Microsoft has talked about.

This would involve keeping key titles out of Game Pass at launch and for a period of time, similar to how movies are only available in theaters at first before coming to digital and streaming. The idea here would be to help maximize revenue with people paying full price before they are included in the catalog. New Call of Duty games, for example, now won't come to Game Pass until the following holiday season. So if you want to play Modern Warfare 4 on Xbox or PC at launch this year, you have to buy it outright, as it won't come to Game Pass until Holiday 2027 at the soonest.

Activision has confirmed the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer beta dates, which begin on August 21. The company also revealed how you can get it, what's in the beta, and when to expect more details. Read on to learn more.

Modern Warfare 4 beta dates

Early access to the open beta runs August 21-25 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The multiplayer beta then opens for everyone, regardless of preorder status, from August 28-September 1. The open beta also brings in Switch 2 as a supported platform.

How to get in

The early access period is available for people who preorder Modern Warfare 4, but the open beta is free and available to everyone. The fine print also states that an "online multiplayer subscription" may be required.

The early access period is not available on Switch 2 because Switch 2 preorders don't begin until August 26.

The MW4 beta begins in August. What's in the beta?

The Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer includes multiple maps and modes and a "wide selection" of playable characters. The beta includes "as many as" 19 different weapons, while some of the supported modes include Search & Destroy and Kill Block, and the Training Mobility Course to help players learn the ropes.

The beta also includes a "wide variety" of tacticals, lethals, field upgrades, perks, and killstreaks to try out ahead of launch.

People who preorder the Vault Edition of Modern Warfare 4 can use the operators and weapons included in that version of the game during the beta.

These include content from the Vault Edition preorder bundles below:

Hostile Alliance Operator Pack

• Price
• Valeria
• Ghost
• Blix

Special Forces Operator Pack

• COM SFT (France)
• KSK Amphibious (Germany)
• SK Special Forces (South Korea)
• SAS (United Kingdom)

Signature Weapons Collection 

• Kastov 762 Assault Rifle and “Voltspine” Blueprint
• ISO Nightshade Submachine Gun and “La Sombra Venenosa” (“The Poisonous Shadow”) Blueprint
• Rezi 12 Shotgun and “Shattered Code” Blueprint
• Oris 8.6 Marksman Rifle and “Volt-Edge” Blueprint
• Combat Knife (Melee) and “Sombra Besada” (“Shadow’s Kiss”) Blueprint

More announcements to come

Activision said it will share more details on what it called an "unprecedented beta experience" in the weeks to come. This will include more details on beta rewards and "other surprises."

Call of Duty Next

The annual Call of Duty event, Call of Duty Next, returns on August 21, Activision announced. This live event will feature new gameplay footage, an "in-depth briefing" on Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer content, along with developer interviews and "new reveals."

How does a sex toy shop stand out in the modern era of easily obtainable neck massagers and bedside buddies? The answer is surprisingly easy, as all you have to do is look at a popular IP and put in some elbow grease to transform that idea into a surprisingly cute nightstand buddy. Which is exactly what one company has done, with the return of its line of Pokemon--or Pokemoan--sex toys.

These will go on sale starting July 21, and let's see Pokemon scalpers try and ruin this launch. Geeky Sex Toys offered these toys 10 years ago, and they proved to be popular enough to quickly sell out, a scenario that will probably occur again this week. The store has brought back its four unique Pokemon-inspired sex toys, and the line includes bedside back-up plans inspired by the original Kanto region starters--Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander--alongside a gluteus goblet that looks very similar to a Pikachu tail.

A closer look at the pocket monsters.

Each toy comes with a 350gsm holographic trading card, and you can also grab all of them alongside exclusive cards in a limited-edition collector's set. Geeky Sex Toys says that it's only making 151 of these--a nod to the original Generation One Pokedex--and it'll sell for $399. That's a pretty good deal, as each of the starter Pokemon-inspired sex toys costs $169 each, while the "Pikyplug" is priced between $69 and $100 depending on which size you choose for the port-cork.

The collector's edition includes five cards in total, and all the toys come inside a themed hardshell case. The full lineup includes the following imaginatively titled marital aids, and they all serve various needs:

• Bulbypulse
• Charmybuzz
• Squirtyblast
• Pikyplug

The drop goes live on July 21 at 7 PM ET / 10 PM PT, and you can sign up to be notified when sales go live. The designs are actually surprisingly cute, and somehow, they haven't caught the legal eye of Nintendo--yet. For something that's also surprisingly cute while dealing with adults-only topics, check out Tomodachi Life for a game that doesn't judge you for being horny on main.

Tides of Annihilation developer Eclipse Glow Games has announced that voice actor Jennifer English will no longer be voicing the game's protagonist, Gwendolyn, due to personal health reasons. In an update on its social platforms, Eclipse Glow Games confirmed that English stepped down in June from the role, but she'll still be involved in the game in an advisory role. English has already helped to recommend a new voice actor to take over as Gwendolyn, but Eclipse Glow Games has not yet revealed her replacement.

"Earlier in June, Jennifer informed us that she would no longer be able to continue in the role," the studio wrote online. "While we were, of course, saddened by her decision, we completely understood and respected Jennifer in prioritizing her well-being. We are also deeply grateful for the care and responsibility she showed throughout this process. We'd also like to thank Jennifer for everything she brought to the character and to the project. Her performance brought depth, strength, vulnerability, and heart to the role."

In an Instagram story (via Genki), English thanked the Tides of Annihilation team and said that she was excited for players to hear the "passion, talent, and care for the craft" that the new actor brings to the role. The new voice of Gwendolyn is currently recording her lines, and with Tides of Annihilation offering a hands-on demo at Gamescom 2026 next month, players will get to hear her vocals very soon.

Set during an otherworldly invasion that has left London devastated, Tides of Annihilation follows Gwendolyn on her quest to find the Holy Grail, save her sister, and exact vengeance against the dark forces of Avalon. No easy feat for a mere mortal, but Gwendolyn quickly discovers that she has the power to summon the legendary Knights of the Round Table to assist her in battle and grant her powerful skills.

There's no release date for the game just yet, but it is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

As for English, the actress won several awards last year for her portrayal of Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and her other credits include notable roles in Baldur's Gate 3 (Shadowheart) and Elden Ring (Latenna).

Among the flurry of announcements presented at MagicCon Amsterdam was the debut of The Hobbit, Magic: The Gathering’s next expansion and a return to the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien. That debut was only the beginning, though, as we are now in preview season as the set’s release approaches in August. 

We can exclusively reveal two new Rare cards from the main Hobbit set. One is a powerful green enchantment that can keep your battlefield stocked, and the other is a creature that will slot neatly into mill strategies in multiple formats.

First, here’s Part In Friendship.

Template_GroupedStyles

• Part In Friendship (Enchantment)
  • Costs four generic and one green mana
  • Whenever a nontoken creature you control dies, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card. If its mana value is less than or equal to the number of lands you control, put it onto the battlefield. Otherwise, put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. This ability triggers only once each turn.

The solemn scene of Bilbo visiting with Thorin on his deathbed becomes a potent enchantment that will either replenish a fallen creature immediately, or place one into your hand for a future turn. In long, grindy games, it can be a big difference maker, especially if you can manipulate the top of your deck and sacrifice a smaller creature to bring down something massive. Imagine turning a 1/1 token into Craterhoof Behemoth, now that’s friendship.

Our second card is The Master of Lake-town.

Template_GroupedStyles

• The Master of Lake-town (Legendary Creature - Human Advisor)
  • Costs one generic and two black mana to cast
  • 3 power/2 toughness
  • Deathtouch
  • Whenever a player loses life, that player mills that many cards. (Damage counts as loss of life.)
  • When The Master of Lake-town dies, draw a card for each graveyard with seven or more cards in it.

The greedy and cowardly Master of Lake-town is an interesting addition to mill decks, as he rewards aggression and damage with milling your opponent. Then, should he die in battle, he can immediately draw you a card thanks to the graveyards he helped stock. Self-mill decks won’t get too much out of him, but if your gameplan involves depleting your opponent’s library, you should definitely check this out.

The Hobbit expansion for Magic: The Gathering launches August 14 in local game stores and big box retailers. Prerelease events will take place in local game stores starting one week prior, on August 7. 

The next Game of Thrones game, the RTS War for Westeros, has been delayed. The PC game was originally set for release in 2026, but developer Playside has announced that it's been delayed to "early 2027."

"We remain unwavering in our mission to deliver a real-time strategy game set in the world of Westeros that meets the expectations of both RTS players and Game of Thrones fans," the developer said in a blog post. "This decision gives us the time needed to continue building towards that goal and ensure that the game reaches the high level of quality we are aiming for."

"Thank you for your patience and continued support. We know the wait has been long, and we do not take your support for granted."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI9MDe0evFU

Announced in 2025, War for Westeros has players controlling one of the franchise's legendary Houses (Stark, Targaryen, or Lannister), or the Night King, with the aim of conquering the Seven Kingdoms. The game has a single-player campaign and multiplayer.

The developer has said the aim with War for Westeros is to make you feel like you're playing the TV show.

The Game of Thrones series is owned and controlled by Warner Bros. Discovery, which is in the process of being acquired by Paramount for more than $100 billion. Warner Bros. management has said it will focus on four major franchises going forward with respect to its gaming endeavors: Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, and DC.

The next set of Xbox Games Pass removals has been identified, and it appears there are a bunch more games leaving the service at the end of the month.

Pure Xbox was first to discover that the "Leaving Soon" tab on the Xbox mobile app lists off eight games leaving the service on July 31. These include games like Celeste, Whiskerwood, Sniper Elite: Resistance, and Crusader Kings 3, among others. You can see the full list below.

Microsoft removes (and adds) games to Game Pass across two waves per month. On July 15, Microsoft removed 11 games from Game Pass, and with a further eight getting dumped on July 31, it's proving to be a big month for removals.

As a silver lining, Game Pass subscribers can save 20% on these titles before they leave. As for new additions to Game Pass before the end of the month, the biggest release for July is Halo: Campaign Evolved (July 28).

For more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of the best Xbox Game Pass games.

Game Pass removals for July 31

• Back to the Dawn -- console, PC, cloud
• Celeste -- console, PC, cloud
• Crusader Kings 3 -- console, PC, cloud
• Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord -- console, PC, cloud
• My Friendly Neighborhood -- console, PC, cloud
• Rain World -- console, PC, cloud
• Sniper Elite: Resistance -- console, PC, cloud
• Whiskerwood -- PC

With San Diego Comic-Con kicking off this weekend, Hot Toys has unveiled several new sixth-scale figures, including a Luna Snow collectible that's going to make Marvel Rivals fans very happy. This is the first sixth-scale Marvel Rivals figure from the company, and like all of its other collectibles in this line, it's an impressive-looking replica of the South Korean K-Pop idol turned cryokinetic superhero.

When it comes to figures that show plenty of skin, Hot Toys usually uses a specialized silicone body to make them look as life-like as possible. The Luna Snow figure follows this approach, and she's dressed in her default Marvel Rivals costume that features a blue, black, and white color scheme. For the headsculpt, Hot Toys has gone with a sculpted black-and-white two-toned asymmetrical mid-length bob hairstyle, and the head also has separate rolling eyeballs for when you need a subtle expression.

As usual, you're getting several swap-out hands, including pairs that allow her to use her iconic "hand heart" and "finger heart" gesture emotes. Her jacket also looks like a work of mini-tailoring art with its straps, buckles, and studs, and other accessories include a floating music notes effect, a stand featuring the Marvel Rivals logo and character nameplate, and an attack effect.

There's no release date or pricing yet, but Hot Toys usually announces these figures with a minimum of a year's lead time and a retail price of around $300 through vendors like Sideshow Collectibles.

If a superhero K-pop star doesn't appeal to you, you can also check out the new--and very limited--edition of Sam Porter Bridges from Death Stranding 2: On the Beach that Hot Toys revealed. While the company revealed figures based on the intrepid courier and his nemesis, Higgs, last year, this new limited-edition version features a Timefall-resistant suit that's adorned with illustrations by Junji Ito, one of the greatest horror manga storytellers of the modern era.

Other figures coming from Hot Toys include a monstrous Alien Queen from Aliens, an intimidating Savage Hulk from Spider-Man: Brand New Day,  a quarter-scale replica of The Dark Knight's Joker, and a whole lot of Kamen Riders. Last week also saw the first look at a new Street Fighter 2 Cammy figure from Infinity Studio, a massive 1:3 scale replica of the M. Bison clone.

Meanwhile, Marvel Rivals has gotten a substantial update for Season 9. A ground-up rework has introduced new strategies to the game, the Team-Up System has been transformed, and the X-Man Jubilee has been added to the game roster.

Hot Toys Reveals Death Stranding 2 Higgs Figure That Looks Impressively Realistic View Images

Activision has clarified a key detail about the upcoming Call of Duty movie from director Peter Berg and writer Taylor Sheridan. At Fanatics Fest this weekend, Berg confirmed that the movie takes place in the Modern Warfare universe.

This is a major detail, considering the Call of Duty series is known for its multiple brands, including Modern Warfare, Black Ops, and others, each with its own distinct tones, settings, and characters. Many were wondering which universe the film might take place in, and now we know.

The Call of Duty movie releases in theaters on June 30, 2028. There is no word yet on the cast or specific plot points, however.

https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/2078547067577004220

The Call of Duty movie is in the works at Paramount, which is owned by billionaire David Ellison, who himself is a big fan of Call of Duty. Paramount is in the midst of trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for more than $100 billion.

Director Peter Berg is known for his action and war movies, including Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon. In the world of TV, he garnered praise for the drama miniseries Painkiller, which was about the opioid epidemic in America.

As for writer Taylor Sheridan, he's known for writing and directing the movies Sicario, Wind River, and Hell or High Water. He also created the popular Yellowstone TV series. In recent times, he's railed against Hollywood media, saying he gets excited by rage-baiting the press with his works.

Just because a movie has been announced, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll ever be made, however. There are dozens of video game movies currently at some stage of production, and no one expects them all to come out.

This is just the latest attempt to make a Call of Duty movie. Activision first announced plans for an entire connected universe of Call of Duty movies more than 10 years ago, and nothing ever came of that.

As for the Modern Warfare game series, the newest entry, Modern Warfare 4, comes out this October. The game will have a free open beta at some point before launch, and preordering gets you in early.

Amidst mass layoffs and increasing hardware prices, one of the other side effects of the Xbox "reset" is a renewed focus on console exclusives. While we know that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will only be available on Xbox Series X|S and PC, they won't be the only two exclusives landing on those platforms.

"I can assure you, Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are not the only titles we're planning," chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said to GamesRadar. "To grow a platform like ours, you have to have exclusive games and services. These are not going to be the only two titles. To return our platform to consistent growth, we need a reliable pipeline of exclusive games. Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are just the first."

While Xbox has its eye on drawing more people to its platforms through the power of exclusives--it is aiming to "entertain" a billion people every day, eventually--not every game will be locked to Xbox. Ball added that "large live-service titles" will continue to be multiplatform titles, and some single-player games could also make their way to hardware like the PS5.

As Ball explained, Microsoft has a "framework" in place for deciding which games will be Xbox exclusives and which ones will expand to additional platforms, as the company decides on a case-by-case basis. "I recognize that this approach is not obvious to all of our players, and we are committed to making this clearer," Ball said.

While the new Gears of War and Clockwork Revolution won't be landing on PS5, Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable will be available on the Sony platform the same day and date as the Xbox and PC versions of the game. Halo: Campaign Evolved executive producer Damon Conn added that going multiplatform was the right approach for the game as it celebrates its 25th anniversary, as this will allow friends to enjoy shared experiences no matter which system they're on.

While Xbox seems adamant to offer exclusive games once again, one analyst believes that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are being used as sacrificial lambs to win back hearts and minds, following several months of bad news at the Microsoft gaming division.

The Best Xbox Series X Games In 2026 View Images

Nintendo has a good track record when it comes to keeping secrets, and in the case of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the Breath of the Wild sequel's announcement was one of the company's most confidential projects. In fact, the game's existence was so secret that many Nintendo employees only found out about it when it was teased during the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct livestream.

According to former Nintendo of America marketing and PR leads Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang, Tears of the Kingdom had a "higher level" of security than any other Nintendo project that they worked on, and they claimed that only a small handful of people at NoA knew about it.

https://youtu.be/eeyniV4efYM?t=3329

Ellis, who was the director of social media marketing and original content at the time, said that he was trusted enough to be told about the sequel and that he had to work on it in secret, with his social team none the wiser. "I had a ton to do. There was this big communications team, like an E3 machine, cranking out materials, and obviously the main place for this was in the Nintendo Direct," Ellis said. It became clear, I have to do these different teams' jobs in secret, and when this happens, feed them this thing and tell them what to do with it."

Yang added that the official teaser was a big hit amongst the surprised Nintendo employees, with staff promptly celebrating the surprise reveal. A few years later, Tears of the Kingdom landed on Switch consoles and earned rave reviews across the world for how it expanded on Breath of the Wild and pushed its gameplay systems to new heights. Both games were also updated for the Switch 2 when it launched last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DRARZQexW4

The franchise has had a constant presence on Nintendo hardware for several years now, with last year's Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment acting as a prequel to Tears of the Kingdom by detailing the events of Zelda's trip back in time. This year will see the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, and in the not-so-distant future, we're also getting a live-action Zelda movie and some new action figures.

Marathon game director Joe Ziegler has announced that he's leaving Bungie for a new job, and his departure comes at a tumultuous time for the studio.

Ziegler said in a note that taking over for him as game director on Marathon will be Del Chafe III, who was previously the assistant game director. Chafe III will work alongside creative director Julia Nardin to "guide the game forward."

"Both of them have been operating in a strong leadership capacity for the team and are ready to guide Marathon into the next chapter with an even better and brighter future," Ziegler said. "I'm proud of them and I'm excited to see them helm the future of this crazy little world we've created together."

Marathon has lost another game director.

Ziegler said he is "heading to something new, somewhere else," and will announce his new job soon.

"I just want to say a deeply heartfelt thank you to all of you for supporting me and Marathon in our windy mission to bring a dark and terrifying space survival frontier to your screen," Ziegler said. "The mission will continue in new and surprising ways so stay tuned for what this team has in store for you!"

Ziegler was not Marathon's first game director. Christopher Barrett was game director on the project until he was dismissed over misconduct allegations. Earlier this month, Barrett settled his case with Bungie and Sony.

Ziegler joined Bungie at the end of 2022, following a 12-year run at Riot Games. He's leaving Bungie at a challenging time for the Sony-owned studio, which enacted a round of layoffs at the end of June. The cuts impacted the Destiny and Marathon teams.

Another day, another layoff announcement. This time it comes from Zero Parades: For Dead Spies developer ZA/UM, which said on social media that despite the game's critical acclaim, the studio can't sustain the size of its team.

ZA/UM took to Bluesky on July 17 to share the unfortunate news. The team said that although Zero Parades reviewed well, "its commercial performance" made it difficult for the studio to maintain its current employee count. As a result, the company has "served redundancy or at-risk notices" to up to 32 staffers at the RPG studio.

https://bsky.app/profile/zaumstudio.bsky.social/post/3mqu7qi4txc24

"Throughout this difficult process, we have continued to consult and work with representatives of the ZA/UM Workers' Alliance," the studio wrote on Bluesky. "This changes the shape of ZA/UM, but not its purpose. Our artistic standards remain unchanged: We will persist."

Zero Parades: For Dead Spies is the second game from ZA/UM following the studio's 2019 outing Disco Elysium. Released in May 2026 for PC with a PS5 version coming later this year, Zero Parades is an isometric espionage RPG about a female operative named Hershel Wilk who's tasked with uncovering the secrets of her haunted past. It's chilling and thrilling in the best ways, receiving an 8/10 in GameSpot's Zero Parades: For Dead Spies review and an 83 score on Metacritic.

ZA/UM is the latest developer to suffer layoffs, as 2026 has seen the games industry rattled by myriad studio closures and employee terminations. Earlier this month, Xbox let go of 1,600 staffers as part of its big "reset" earlier this month, with another 1,600 planned to get laid off in the next 12 months. Skate studio Full Circle was also hit with layoffs in February 2026, as was 2XKO developer Riot Games in the same month. Meanwhile, Sony shut down Bluepoint Games, the developer responsible for some excellent remakes, in February as well. It seems like everywhere you look, another layoff happens.

Bethesda boss Todd Howard has addressed rumors of a rivalry between Bethesda Game Studios and Obsidian, saying the online discourse does not reflect reality.

He told Windows Central, "I appreciate some of the fan chatter, but behind the scenes, there's a huge amount of mutual respect [between Bethesda and Obsidian]."

Obsidian developed 2010's Fallout: New Vegas, which was a much-loved entry in the series. The studio is now working on a new Fallout game, though we still don't know exactly what it is.

New Vegas developer Obsidian is making a new Fallout game.

A baseless online myth cropped up suggesting that Howard was annoyed or upset with the success of New Vegas.

Over the years, Howard spoke multiple times about how much he enjoyed New Vegas and working with Obsidian, including a 2018 interview with The Guardian in which Howard said Obsidian "did a fabulous job" with New Vegas.

In the new interview with Windows Central, Howard said Bethesda was "always" trying to find a way work with Obsidian again "in the right way." It's now happening, with Obsidian developing a new Fallout game.

"You sort of say, is there a way or a window or a pocket where we could do something together that really, really made sense? And so we're super excited about the opportunity, working together," he said.

Obsidian was among the Xbox studios impacted by Microsoft's latest round of cuts. Obsidian was said to be hit particularly hard, with 25% of staff let go.

In other Fallout news, Bethesda has confirmed that Fallout 5 is in pre-production and that remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are coming. Additionally, a prequel story to Fallout 3 is coming to Fallout 76.

After announcing its $55 billion acquisition of EA in September 2025, the European Union is reportedly set to approve Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) purchase at the end of July, according to new reporting from Reuters.

As Reuters reported on July 17, people familiar with the deal said Saudi Arabia's PIF will secure the EU's approval under EU subsidy rules. This means that, after the EU completes its preliminary review under its Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) on July 22, the purchase will reportedly be cleared to go through on July 30. All told, the deal is expected to win unconditional EU clearance under merger rules.

The FSR is meant to prevent non-European subsidies from distorting competition in the EU's internal market. However, as Reuters reported earlier this month, the FSR received tons of criticism that the regulation was too bureaucratic. Now, with the FSR essentially being moved aside by the European Commission--the EU's competition enforcer--Saudi Arabia's PIF is seemingly poised to acquire EA.

Rumors of the deal swirled in September 2025, which saw Saudi Arabia’s PIF, the private-equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners all involved in the purchase. While EA admitted in November 2025 that there's a risk of selling to Saudi Arabia, the company confirmed that it would still "maintain creative control" going forward. However, in December 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that a majority of EA's control would shift to Saudi Arabia's PIF after the purchase gets finalized. The deal has riled gamers since, prompting cosplayers to raid EA's California headquarters in protest.

Should everything go as planned--and it reportedly sounds like it all will--this acquisition will be the second-largest gaming buyout ever after Microsoft's $75.4 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023.

Diablo 4 Season 14's most controversial change, only being able to equip one crafted-Mythic item at a time, is now a thing of the past.

In a surprise patch on July 16 for PC (and coming sometime on July 17 for console players), Blizzard opted to remove the one equipped crafted-Mythic restriction introduced as part of Season of Death Awakening, as well as increase Mythic and Iconic Mythic drop rates from the new seasonal Lair Boss.

Blizzard announced the season's other most controversial addition, the Mythic Upgrade function of the Horadric Cube, will see changes too, but not until next season. As it currently works, Mythic Upgrade isn't really an upgrade at all, and instead takes a Unique item and then transforms it into an entirely different Mythic Unique item, much to the confusion of players. For reasons that aren't elaborated on in the patch notes, that change won't come until Season 15 several months from now.

Both changes have been the subject of frustration in the Diablo community, with both prominent content creators and the wider community largely lambasting the changes to Mythics, the crafted-Mythic equip limit, and the Mythic Unique upgrade system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuu7aOAw0is

Dan Tanguay, design director for live service on Diablo 4, offered a brief explanation for the changes in a forum post. He said the team has heard player feedback surrounding topics like Mythic Unique drop rates, the equip limit, and more.

"Seasons are where we experiment with new ideas and push Diablo 4 in new directions," Tanguay said. "Not every idea lands exactly as intended, but we'll continue listening to your feedback, addressing what's not working, and applying those lessons to future seasonal updates."

The surprise patch 3.1.1a update on July 16 comes just a few days after a July 14 update increased drop rates for Pandemonium Fragments needed to upgrade Uniques into Mythics using the cube, as well as a reduced the number of fragments needed. That resulted in players being able to craft more Mythics than ever before, though they were still limited to equipping just one unless they were able to get extremely lucky and find a usuable Mythic out in the wild. Now, at least, players can actually deck themselves out in the purple items they craft, should they so choose.

While the changes outlined above are likely to be well received in the Diablo 4 community, Blizzard has stopped short of walking back its Mythic changes entirely. Season 14 controversially nerfed the game's previously existing Mythics (now called Iconic Mythics) as part of an overhaul it coined "Mythic Uniques 3.0." 

Post-Season 14, any Unique item ccan potentially be found (or crafted into) an even stronger Mythic version, in theory opening up more diverse build options for Diablo 4's endgame. More than just a temporary seasonal change, Blizzard stated it intends Mythics 3.0 to be Diablo 4's new normal going forward, and in an interview with GameSpot, said the changes were for the good of the game's "long-term health."

Physical PC games have been out of fashion for many years, thanks to the rise of digital distribution platforms like Steam. While big PC game boxes containing CD and DVD-ROMs have essentially died out, one modder has decided to bring back game cartridges to their Steam library, blending solid-state drives with Steam's flexible desktop client.

Over on the PC Master Gaming Race subreddit, Jibril-sama detailed their plug-and-play approach to playing Steam games. They'd recently purchased a stack of used SATA SSDs, loaded a custom script on them, installed games onto each one, and created custom graphics to stick to the cases. Once done, a custom Steam Game Cartridge was born, with some of Jibril-sama's games being Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2--all games with a chunky install size.

If you're interested in making your own cartridges, Jibril-Sama has uploaded the code online for modders to check out. According to their post, the code "should" work with other storage mediums like SD cards, USB drives, and flash drives. "No guarantee that it's going to work for you. I only tested on my old Win10 install, but you should at least be able to take the general code and make it work or improve it," they wrote.

Going with the SSD method is obviously the pricier option, as on average, you're looking at around $30-$50 for a quality 128GB SSD. Once the games start piling up, so too does the price.

Memory prices have surged in recent months due to rampant investment in AI data centers and various global factors, making what was once an affordable upgrade more expensive than ever. The future is also looking increasingly digital for next-gen video game consoles, as Sony has confirmed that it will stop manufacturing PlayStation discs in 2028. Microsoft's next-gen console, Project Helix, is also rumored to be a digital-only console.

Todd Howard, the top man at Bethesda Game Studios (BGS), has finally broken his silence on just about everything Bethesda. This includes news on Fallout games (like Fallout 3, Fallout 5, and Fallout: New Vegas), confirmation of Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout spin-off (which we kinda already knew), updates on Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, and more.

https://twitter.com/BethesdaStudios/status/2078117386935214101

There's a lot to get into, so let's jump in.

What's up with The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5?

In separate interviews with Jason Schreier of Bloomberg and Jez Corden of Windows Central, Howard confirmed that progress on The Elder Scrolls 6 is going well. He reiterated that the game is currently Bethesda's primary focus and that the project is "where we planned [it] to be, loving how it looks, and playing every day."

Meanwhile, Fallout 5 is in pre-production.

There are no launch windows or release dates for either project, and Howard said it's too early to talk about Xbox exclusivity.

What's the word on Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas?

Howard confirmed that Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas will get full remakes, but like ES6 and F5, there are no dates yet.

Obsidian Entertainment is returning to Fallout, then?

Howard said that, yes, the legendary RPG studio is going back to Fallout with a new spin-off. Details on the project are scarce at the moment, but Howard confirmed that "there's a huge amount of mutual respect [between Bethesda and Obsidian]" because their workflows are similar.

More information about whatever Fallout spin-off game Obsidian Entertainment is working on will come in the future.

So, there's more Starfield?

Howard said that Starfield development continues. The open-world space-exploration sim will get more content in the future, with a Starborn DLC coming down the pipeline. Alongside this expansion, the game will get more tools and features to enhance the Creation Club content, with Starfield being "an important part" of Bethesda Game Studios' future.

Did Howard say anything about the Xbox layoffs?

Howard told Schreier that the layoffs that came as a result of Xbox's massive "reset" were difficult for him and everyone involved. He mentioned that there have been periods in the past where Bethesda Game Studios has gone through changes, like how it almost went out of business back in the '90s. It's no different now.

"We're going through a change so that we focus best on the franchises and what we need to do to deliver for everybody."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3vP8EOmtRk What else is happening?

A "huge" DLC called Raven Rock is coming to Fallout 76 next year, which will serve as a prequel to Fallout 3. Bethesda Game Studios said the journey is "far from over."

This is maybe more for me, as someone who recently returned to The Elder Scrolls Online, but ZeniMax Online Studios (ZOS) will "partner closely" with Bethesda Game Studios on The Elder Scrolls franchise. While this means ZOS will play support for The Elder Scrolls going forward, the team is also working on more seasons for ESO.

Is Bethesda Game Studios' future looking alright?

Based on all these new updates, the answer is likely yes. While The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 are probably still years away from release, Howard said that the entire studio is "building for the future of Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Starfield."

According to a lengthy July 17 post on X from Bethesda Game Studios, the team is investing in their technologies, bringing the teams closer together, supporting their live-service games, and "developing the next generation of Bethesda RPGs." Overall, it sounds as if Howard and BGS are excited about what's to come. The layoffs may have hit Xbox--and Bethesda--hard, but they're still trucking along.

Final Fantasy games have been rendered in 3D engines for far longer than they have in 2D, but the new trailer for Final Fantasy: Resonance wants you to imagine a world where Square Enix's risky 1997 gambit never happened. What would Final Fantasy look like if it stuck to its 2D pixel-art guns? We'd probably have gotten the HD-2D aesthetic a lot sooner, but regardless, this reimagining of the mobile gacha game Fantasy Brave Exvius continues to look stunning:

https://youtu.be/ftCvnEE6rfI

While the new trailer doesn't outright say it, it heavily suggests that viewers should use their imagination to dream up a world without a 3D Final Fantasy 7. It was the first game in the series to shift to 3D graphics, which were in their infancy back then. It was a high-stakes move for Square--which had not yet merged with Enix--and it required a shift to CD-ROM so that the idea of pre-rendered backgrounds and high-fidelity audio could be realized.

The budget was also enormous, and Square was essentially betting its entire future on a single project that required its developers to quickly learn how to operate in a 3D space and scale up to meet the demands of an ambitious game. Fortunately, Final Fantasy 7 made it across the finish line, and the wow factor of it made it an instant best-seller--a game whose legacy can still be felt to this day and has been the focus of a grand remake trilogy.

Final Fantasy 7 characters would also appear many years later in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, provided you were lucky enough to summon them when you burned through tickets. One of the cool things about the mobile game was that these high-level pulls came with CG-rendered movies whenever they activated their Limit Break attacks, with Cloud and Sephiroth looking especially impressive in action. Final Fantasy Resonance won't include characters from the Final Fantasy franchise, as all those free-to-play mechanics have been stripped out.

Instead, the focus is on the core cast of original characters--Rain, Lasswell, Fina, Lid, Nichol, and Jake--as they set out to protect the Crystals scattered across the world from the mysterious Sworn Eight of Paladia. It'll be coming to PC and console on October 22, but if you're planning to grab it for Switch, you'll want to think carefully which Nintendo handheld you choose it for, given Square Enix's lack of upgrade paths for its HD-2D games. It's not the first time that Square Enix has resurrected one of its mobile games for new platforms, and we'd love to see the company bring more of its dead mobile projects back to life.

As part of Bethesda's big announcements today about its future and what's coming next, the company also gave an update on Starfield. In its statement, Bethesda said, "Starfield remains an important part of our future."

Starfield released in September 2023, so the game is now going into its third year. Bethesda said it will continue to expand the game with "new stories, targeted gameplay improvements, and additional updates." There will be "new Starborn content" coming to the game in 2027, Bethesda added.

Starfield fans are getting more Starfield in 2027.

The game reached more than 17 million people, but it hasn't sold that many copies, as it's also available on Xbox Game Pass.

Starfield got an expansion called Shattered Space in 2024, and the game expanded further from there with a PS5 release in 2026. An update called Free Lanes arrived in April 2026, along with a new story expansion called Terran Armada.

Bethesda's other updates today included the announcement that Fallout 5 has entered pre-production and that remasters of Fallout 3 and New Vegas are in the works. Additionally, Bethesda gave an update on The Elder Scrolls 6, saying, "We’re where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day."

Bethesda made these announcements amid a tumultuous time at studio owner Xbox. The company laid off 1,600 people recently, with another 1,600 set to lose their jobs in the next year. Microsoft also confirmed plans to divest studios as part of a plan to "reset" the business.