The Xbox Games Showcase would not be complete without an appearance from Halo: Campaign Evolved, and that's exactly what fans got during this year's show.

The new trailer gave a first glimpse of Operation: Meteorite, a brand-new prologue featuring Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson. It also confirmed that the Unreal 5 remake will release this summer on July 28, while Premium and Collector's Edition owners will get early access beginning from July 23.

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

Set a year before the events of the main campaign, Operation: Meteorite will see players embark on a clandestine UNSC operation infiltrating a Covenant research ship consisting of three missions.

It doesn't just promise more content but new locations, new enemy variants such as the Brute Berserker glimpsed in the trailer, as well as more weapons from across the series.

The story is also being penned by award-winning sci-fi author Troy Denning, who has authored the two Halo novel series,: Ferrets, and A Master Chief Story.

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a full remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign mode, this time releasing on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PS5--the first time a Halo game has ever appeared on a PlayStation system.

State of Decay 3 has resurfaced at the Xbox Games Showcase with a new trailer, a release window, and confirmation of a PlayStation 5 edition.

State of Decay 3 will release in 2027 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

"In State of Decay 3 you’ll construct settlements, maintain a community of survivors, and battle back against an encroaching zombie threat--with support for solo play or shared world co-op for up to four players--all within a massive open world survival sandbox," reads a line from the game's description.

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

State of Decay 3 is already playable via an alpha version, and the developer said people are "having a blast" with it thus far. The alpha test will be expanded to more people, and then there will be a beta for even more people to try.

You can sign up for the State of Decay 3 tests on the game's website.

Undead Labs also confirmed that everything in the new trailer was captured in game. "We did not use CGI," the developer said.

"We’re just scratching the surface of what this game is offering for players. It’s a very heavy moment-to-moment combat-oriented trailer but we also give you a sneak peek into one of the settlements. In the trailer, you can see one of the many settlements you can claim, including some of the facility and community elements. We plan to show more of that as we go on," the developer said.

Undead Labs also discussed a new feature for State of Decay 3--Plague Nests. These are the "next evolution" of Plague Hearts from State of Decay 2.

"Think of it as an enemy with its own plans. We spent a lot of time thinking through what it does, how it works, and how it reacts to what actions the players take. These are dynamic sources or hubs of enemy encounters that players can go in and destroy, even if only for a little while," the studio explained.

Additionally, Undead Labs confirmed that State of Decay 3's map is "much larger" than the playable space in State of Decay 2. Specifically, the State of Decay 3 map is "about four times the size of a single State of Decay 2 map," and the map is "fully open."

State of Decay 3 has a "shared world," which Undead Labs said was "another huge investment" for the game.

"In a shared world, any one of us can make changes to the world. You can come in, asynchronously of me, playing the same save at different times. You can move the story forward, you could build facilities, you can get a second or even third settlement--players can now have up to three bases that they can then grow and expand into over time," the developer said.

Head to the Xbox Wire to read even more about what to expect in State of Decay 3.

At long last, Microsoft has shown more of its new Fable game and announced a release date for it. The new Fable, which is developed by Forza Horizon studio Playground, launches on February 23, 2027 for Xbox, PC, and PS5.

The trailer opened with our first look at Isabel, the game's main antagonist played by Hayley Atwell. Isabel is described as a hero attempting to right a tragic wrong, which is clear by her portrayal in the game's latest trailer. She doesn't seems like the same mustache-twirling villain that the series has leaned on in the past, but she might be joined by the first Fable's main antagonist, Jack of Blades, who appears at the end.

https://youtu.be/3iW1i78zFvk?si=Gz4-c4beWJuCzKPV

Atwell is leading a stacked cast of actors that fill out Fable's roster of eclectic heroes and villains. These include Lily Nichol and Ukweli Roach, who will play the hero based on who you select, as well as Matt King, Susan Wokoma, and Richard Ayoade, who featured in Fable's first gameplay trailer years ago.

The game will be available on Xbox Game Pass day one. Eidos Montreal is co-developing the new Fable alongside Playground. This is just the latest co-development project at Xbox, as the new Perfect Dark game was jointly developed by Microsoft and Crystal Dynamics prior to its cancellation.

During the Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft announced that Gears of War: E-Day will launch on October 3. The game is co-developed by The Coalition and People Can Fly, and is in the works for Xbox Series X|S and PC. It's not coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed during the showcase.

During the Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft showed off new gameplay footage for the game, and it looked pretty impressive. We saw Marcus Fenix in an intense set-piece fighting off numerous types of Locust enemies, now with seemingly more mobility abilities, including sliding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y85lNvF3kVQ

The footage confirms that a lot of the Gears of War mainstays are staying intact, including the active reload and cover systems, and the general Gears of War vibe. And of course, the chainsaw is back. In short, this definitely looks like a Gears of War game.

E-Day is a prequel that focuses on Emergence Day, which is when the Locust emerged from underground in the Gears of War lore. The original Marcus and Dom voice actors are returning.

See at Amazon

The game was reportedly planned for PS5 until Microsoft decided to cancel that version as part of its plan to return to exclusivity. A Gears E-Day open beta is coming later this year.

The next Gears of War game, Gears of War: E-Day, was reportedly planned for release on PlayStation 5, but is no longer coming to the system.

According to Jeff Grubb, who has accurately reported on numerous unannounced games industry news over the years, "Gears of War: E-Day was going to be on PS5--it's not anymore. That just happened. That's a decision that just got made." Grubb said this on the eve of the Xbox Games Showcase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12m0bw1W_tk

Gears of War: E-Day was never announced for PlayStation 5, but many thought it could hit Sony's flagship console considering Gears of War: Reloaded came to PS5 in 2025. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, however, has suggested Microsoft could change its stance regarding exclusives to help save the Xbox business.

Just this week, Sharma said she plans to "reset" the Xbox business and help turn things around in part by creating "exclusive" content.

The Xbox Games Showcase takes place today, June 7, starting at 1 PM ET. It will be followed by a Gears of War: E-Day broadcast where many more details about the game will be announced.

Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel to the original Gears of War game that tells the story of Emergence Day AKA E-Day, which is when the Locust Horde came out of their underground dwellings to wreak havoc on the world of Sera.

The game is set for release this year on Xbox Series X|S and PC. It's developed by The Coalition in partnership with People Can Fly.

Silent Hill 2 remake developer Bloober Team is boldly going where it has never gone before, as the studio has revealed Star Trek: Shadow Frontier, its next project. Set on a mysterious, uncharted planet, the game is described as a sci-fi psychological thriller set in the final frontier.

The game also features a protagonist who'll be instantly recognizable to Star Trek: The Next Generation fans, as Bajoran officer and Maquis rebel Ro Laren returns for an away mission on a hostile world that has been overtaken by a strange alien force. With the planet weaponizing her own memories, Ro risks losing her grip on reality as she pursues duty and purpose. Ro also appeared in the third season of Star Trek: Picard, and her longtime actress, Michelle Forbes, returns to voice her in Bloober's new game.

To help navigate the horror, Ro can use her tricorder to analyze the environment, and when things get hairy, her phaser can be used to blast enemies and solve environmental puzzles. There's no concrete release date yet for Star Trek: Shadow Frontier, but Bloober Team is aiming to beam it down to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 in 2027.

https://youtu.be/K2hcks9X50E

The new Star Trek game ties into this week's big announcement by Paramount Skydance, the owner of the sci-fi franchise and several other powerhouse IP like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and SpongeBob SquarePants. The company announced the formation of a new in-house game development studio, Paramount Games Studio, and explained how this new venture is designed to be a core pillar of Paramount Skydance's business.

At the same time, the company's video game portfolio could expand with even bigger franchises like Mortal Kombat and Batman, if its deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery goes through. Led by Paramount's head of corporate strategy and development, Tony Driscoll, Paramount Games Studio will focus on releasing a wide variety of games.

As for Star Trek, the franchise has undergone a Renaissance over the last couple of years. Star Trek Discovery spearheaded a new era for the IP, and recently, Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown was released for PC and console.

On the field, it's getting harder to complain about Madden as a series. A lot of the old, reliable criticisms don't really stand up to reality anymore, as the game has been solid or better for several years now. Introducing big changes for the better has been the recent MO for the Tiburon team. That was true for a short period even before the College Football team was resurrected, and it's only seemed truer since then, as that team has earned some influence over the direction of EA's football games as a duo.

One of the most notable ways is the greater control Madden puts in players' hands. For years, it felt like the series was focused on streamlining features in order to appease more casual players, but now the team better understands that depth is everything for the game's most avid players. In Madden 27, that renewed commitment to depth is best expressed on the field, before the snap. But it's those same changes that will have them fumbling around on their controllers at first.

That's because the team has completely overhauled and remapped the controls for pre-snap adjustments on defense. For years, I've had a number of pre-snap adjustments built into my head like true muscle memory. Without a controller in my hands, I couldn't easily tell you how to shade a WR inside, how to assign a blitzing linebacker to instead cover a flat zone, or how to get my CB to give that speedy wideout some extra cushion. Madden let me do all these things, and I frequently do so, but the button presses that made those changes were so complex that I learned to do them on autopilot and couldn't recall them button by button.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqQtZ9xm_uI

This year, the Madden team (and College Football team) has not only added more adjustments but also cleverly remapped all of these inputs. In doing so, it's reduced pretty much any adjustment to just two buttons, down from four or more for most things before.

This helps in several ways. For one, it's just a plainer, simpler language for the game to use, and should raise the skill floor by inviting more players to take advantage of these tools. Then there's the fact that some of the adjustments are new to the game, like telling your defense to play conservatively, aggressively, or either of the two "ultra" versions of those. 

You'll pull up the coverage adjustments menu with the left trigger and then select one of 12 inputs to quickly enact the change you want to see. On the left bumper, several more two-button commands are easily performed to alter the front seven. No more Konami Codes. It's a beautiful thing. It will take some getting used to, but learning all of these new tricks will eventually prove extremely valuable.

Also new this year are custom adjustments that you can set in the game menus, then carry 20 (10 on each side of the ball) into games with you as "macros," sweeping adjustments you package together so you can call them in one go, like telling your defense to show a Cover 6 shell against bunch formations, while you're actually playing Cover 2 Man, letting the QB think he might have the open look on an RPO. Like the other changes, these adjustments can be done quickly and easily at the line, or you can even enact them in the huddle, if you see what the offense is coming out in and think you know what they're going to do with it. 

Last year's game was the best in a good while to my eyes, but as time went on and patches tweaked the game, defense utterly collapsed, leaving players with too few tools to stop the game's high-powered offenses. This year, the team has responded with a defense-first approach that adds several more pre-snap adjustments meant to give players the tools to get more creative. 

This should help cut down on the cheeseheads who like to abuse the game's broken plays before they're patched out. In leagues like mine, where we try to promote smart football and set boundaries meant to keep out those players, these new tools will deepen the chess matches we like to have, giving us something closer to the game we watch on Sundays.

Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy will reach its climax next year with Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. As with its two predecessors, the third game pays tribute to the original Final Fantasy 7. However, the game's director Naoki Hamaguchi, has a surprising choice for his favorite part to remake for a new generation of players.

"There's just so many scenes, elements that are an homage to the original that it's so hard to choose," Hamaguchi told GameSpot. "But if I were to speak on one, I'd like to talk about the Weapons ... When you think about the Weapons, you have to think about, 'Are we going to show them at actual scale? How are we going to achieve presenting them in Revelation?' In the original, when we see them in the world map, it's just not that strange to see them at that size. But when we think about the remake series, we did have to address how best to represent them and present them in that way. I think the way that we chose to do so will be a great one and fun one to experience for the players."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Uh0mAim8Y

In both the original Final Fantasy 7 and Revelation, the Weapons are five giant mecha-kaiju that are summoned by Midgar itself to defend the world against Sephiroth and Jenova. Diamond Weapon, Ultimate Weapon, Emerald Weapon, Ruby Weapon, and Sapphire Weapon are technically alive, but they don't seem to possess any ability to reason. The old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" adage doesn't apply here because the Weapons unleash destruction on everyone in their path. Ultimately, that will force Cloud and his friends to face them as well.

During his interview with GameSpot, Hamaguchi also spoke about Revelation's new FITS system and whether there may be any additional stories set in the Final Fantasy 7 reboot universe after the new game comes to a conclusion.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be released simultaneously on Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC in 2027.

Since Stardew Valley came along to reinvigorate the cozy farm sim, many games have tried to emulate the formula and add their own twists with varying degrees of success. In all that time none have come as close to matching or exceeding Stardew as Fields of Mistria, and it's coming out of early access with a big update on August 5.

The announcement details all the changes coming in the Mistria 1.0 update. Most notably it closes the loop on some quests and stories that have been dangling for early access players. You will be able to complete the Town Repair storyline that marks the major progression quest in the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlKzf6oKQ4g

Less mission critical, but still pretty important for a Stardew-like, it will allow you to complete romances by reaching 10 Hearts with romanceable NPCs. At that level you'll be able to propose, get married, and have kids. The 1.0 update will also add more dungeon quests and rewards, furniture, cosmetics, mount skins, and other miscellany.

Fields of Mistria is similar in many ways to Stardew Valley, including its pixel art and tile-based farming structures. But it also mixes in elements of magical upgrades to streamline some of the busywork, and its dungeon-crawling elements implement the magic into combat. It currently sits at an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam with more than 20,000 reviews.

Fields of Mistria 1.0 Update

Villagers & Romance:

• NPC Heart caps raised to 10 Hearts
• 10 Hearts Proposal & Wedding Events for romanceable NPCs
• Marriage & Children
• Stillwell & Zorel join the Saturday Market

Mines & Dungeons:

• Additional Dungeon Quests
• Additional Dungeon rewards

Town & Renown:

• Renown Level cap raised to 100
• Additional Town Repair Questline events
• Town Repair Storyline is completable
• Additional Requests added to the Request Board.
• Additional Museum sets and rewards.

Skills & Perks:

• Additional Skill Perks

Customization & Cosmetics:

• Additional furniture and decor
• Additional cosmetics
• Additional mount skins

Misc.

• Achievements
• First wave Localization Languages (Beta versions): Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish
• Balancing & Optimization
• …and more!

It's hard to believe, but after almost a decade, the Unknown Journey will conclude in Final Fantasy Revelation next year. Officially shown off at Summer Game Fest Live this week, Revelation is shaping up to be an exciting conclusion to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake saga, as well as a good-looking game on top of that.

That's hardly surprising, considering just how well-crafted Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth were on a graphical level, and if you don't believe us, then check out 22 new screenshots below of Revelation.

While the trailer and recent gameplay preview did a fine job at showing what the game looks like in action, these in-game screens allow you to really soak up the small details of the threequel, ranging from delicate particle effects in the air to stylish combat effects when Cloud and his companions jump into battle.

Additionally, they provide a closer look at the series big bad Sephiroth--now voiced by Critical Role's Tyler Willingham--the two FITS revealed so far for Cloud and Tifa, and the new playable characters Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine. Kaiju fans can even take a closer look at how the iconic weapons of classic Final Fantasy 7 have been reimagined for Revelation, including the Godzilla-sized Diamond weapon that merges from the ocean as the planet activates its last line of defense against an incoming meteor attack from Sephiroth.

Finally, you can gaze upon the key art for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation:

The gang is all here.

You'll have to wait until 2027 to start taking your own snapshots in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, but you'll have more options for which console you play it on. After the previous two games were timed exclusives for PS4 and PS5, Square Enix has gone for a multiplatform release that includes PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 on launch day. In more Final Fantasy 7 Revelation news, minigames will be more optional, and the new FITS system will allow for some wild character loadouts.

A new trailer for Halloween: The Game premiered today at the Future Games Show, and it's terrifying.

The new trailer focuses on the game's single-player mode, in which players take on the role of Michael Myers as they set out to terrorize the people of Haddonfield.

The game's campaign invites players to live out the story of how Michael Myers escaped from the Smith's Grove Sanitarium and the brutality that followed.

"Unlike the film’s protagonists, who desperately attempt to survive an encounter with The Shape, Halloween: The Game encourages players to embody pure evil and commit the horrors that occurred on Halloween Night in 1978 firsthand," reads a line from the game's description.

Check out the trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=563lX1eh_Hs

The game's story plays out through six chapters, one of which tells the story of how Myers came to acquire his now-iconic outfit and his kitchen knife. You can get a glimpse of this in the new trailer.

Halloween: The Game also has a multiplayer mode in which one player takes on the role of Myers and the other four are trying to survive.

Additionally, developer Illfonic announced that digital preorders for Halloween: The Game are available starting today, June 6. The standard edition is $40 and the deluxe edition is $60. The deluxe edition includes the Phantom Michael Myers skin and four-day early access to the game, starting on September 4.

The game unlocks for everyone else on September 8. Halloween: The Game is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Vampire Survivors developer Poncle Games had some big news to share at the Future Games Show Summer Showcase, starting with the announcement of a new chapter for its hit game. Called Legacy of the Bloodmoon, this new expansion will be released later in the Summer season, and Poncle has described it as an "evil twin" to the previously released Legacy of the Moonspell add-on.

The new DLC adds 10 new characters, 16 new weapons and evolutions, a new extra-large stage, and more music tracks. Legacy of the Moonspell will also be expanded with new content and will be available at a reduced price, and an upcoming patch adds a new stage, characters, weapons, and Darkanas. Rolling out to PC via Steam first, it'll go live for other platforms at a later date, Poncle says.

The other big news was the formation of Survivaton, a new label at Poncle dedicated to its Survivors-like projects, and a Japan branch of the studio. Short for "survive a ton," the label focuses on internal projects built on the foundation of Vampire Survivors, including collaborations like Warhammer 40,000: Survivors. "Each project will aim to introduce major gameplay changes, content expansions, or genre twists exploring ideas substantial enough to stand as their own games," Poncle said.

Lastly, Poncle Japan will oversee local development initiatives and strategic partnerships across the region, serving as a bridge between Poncle's global operations and Japanese players, creators, and industry partners under the guidance of studio head Sawaki Takeyasu.

Since its launch a few years ago, Vampire Survivors has become a massive success story in games. The early-access PC release became a huge hit thanks to its easy-to-learn gameplay and deep systems, growing with new expansions, and even crossing over with popular Konami IP like Contra and Castlevania. Earlier this year, Poncle released Vampire Crawlers, a survivor-like spin on roguelike deckbuilders that was also well received by players and critics.

While fans await the next mainline Hitman game, IO Interactive and Saber Interactive have announced that the original three games in the series are being remastered in a bundle called the Hitman Classic Trilogy Remastered.

Specifically, Hitman: Codename 47, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and Hitman: Contracts are included in the bundle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DnU7QV0Oi8

The game's have been "painstakingly rebuilt," according to the official announcement. The new versions of the original games include "upgraded character models, enhanced environments, and high-resolution textures."

The remaster bundle also includes the ability to toggle between classic and updated graphics and a photo mode.

An example of the improved graphics.

The Hitman Classic Trilogy Remastered bundle releases in 2027. It's coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

It's just the latest project from Saber, as the company is also working on Jurassic Park: Survival, Stuntman: Hollywood, and a new John Wick game.

IO Interactive's latest release, meanwhile, was the popular James Bond game 007: First Light. The studio is eyeing multiple sequels, and has also pledged to return to Hitman someday.

In other Hitman news, IO Interactive announced at Summer Game Fest that the latest Elusive Target for Hitman: World of Assassination is the rapper Wiz Khalifa. The mission is available now through July 5.

Additionally, World of Assassination got a new update this week that added the "World Champions" DLC, which is themed around the World Cup.

When the Unknown Journey continues in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Cloud and his companions are going to embark on it while debuting some fashionable new combat gear. Revelation introduces a new gameplay mechanic called FITS (Function Integrated Tactical Suitware), which is inspired by the jobs system of classic Final Fantasy games. Using new suits, Cloud and the rest of the cast can wield new skills in battle that you might not normally associate with them.

Each character in Revelations has four FITS, and when they don one of these suits, they'll gain new skills while retaining their core stats. So far, Square Enix has shown off the Warrior (enhanced offensive abilities) and Black Mage (spell-focused combat) FITS suits, and series director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed a few more details on how this new gameplay mechanic was developed for Revelation.

"This was in discussions with Teruki Endo (Revelation's battle director)," Hamaguchi said to GameSpot (via a translator). "And when we were discussing what kind of combat system we wanted for the third title, we do think that completely omitting something and putting in something entirely new may not sit well, or it may not be fun for players who have really enjoyed the prior combat systems leading up to this title."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ3KTw0ow1M

"From really early on, we didn't want to decide on building upon the existing foundation, but evolving on what we have currently created. We looked at characters like Cloud, characters that have a certain characteristic that the players are aware of. And then usually, we'll look to customize those abilities by adding Materia and such, but for Revelation, we really wanted the ability to customize and be able to play a character--as a player wishes--to be a large part of the game. And that would make the experience much more fun as well." 

"So in that way, the job system is included for players who want to be able to take a character like Cloud--for example, you may think of him as a warrior type--but he might not be able to be a black mage on top of that. With his action abilities in battle, that unleashes other possibilities."

In other Final Fantasy 7 Revelation news coming out of Summer Game Fest, Sephiroth has a new voice actor, and minigames won't be tied to crucial character development or items in the threequel. Final Fantasy Revelation launches in 2027 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2.

Final Fantasy Revelation is the third game in the remake trilogy that kicked off with Final Fantasy Remake back in 2020, promising to conclude the epic tale that has been significantly added compared to its PlayStation original. But with Revelation capping off Cloud and company's adventure, is there space for more stories within this universe?

That's a question GameSpot posed to Final Fantasy Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi, who confirmed that Revelation will definitively conclude the story. However, he did leave the door open to more character-specific stories in the future.

"So in terms of the Final Fantasy Remake series itself, it does conclude with Revelation," explained Hamaguchi via a translator. "We have had a lot of voices from fans wanting to explore the stories, or side stories, of other characters and other parts of the story as well. That is something that is interesting."

It doesn't seem, however, that those are projects that Hamaguchi and his team have actively started working on. "We did want to bring the third conclusion that everyone has been waiting for as soon as possible, so we really focused our efforts on bringing Revelation as soon as we could," he concluded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEhujmFOBDE&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2F

An expansive side story is something that Hamaguchi explored with Final Fantasy Intergrade, which featured an entirely new chapter focused exclusively on Yuffie and how she would eventually join the party in Final Fantasy Rebirth. The second entry in the series never received any similar DLC in order for the team to focus on fast-tracking Revelation, but with it behind them it would be great to see additional chapters focused on other members of the growing party.

Hamaguchi also explained how minigames in Revelation are being changed to become more optional based on feedback to Rebirth, as well as how the FITS system adds a job system to the game that will drastically change how progression and combat work.

Final Fantasy Revelation capped off a stacked Summer Game Fest Live presentation, which included reveals for Resident Evil Veronica, Alien Isolation 2, and many more. Catch up on any big announcements you might have missed in our roundup of the entire showcase.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's minigames were polarizing when they were first introduced, and for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Square Enix has reworked how it will "deliver" them to players. One of the main complaints with Rebirth's minigames was the sheer volume of them and how completing them was mandatory to unlock rare Materia or Gold Saucer dates with certain characters.

Speaking to GameSpot, series director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed that while minigames will return, most of them will be optional and they'll offer items for character customization as rewards instead of items that buffed characters in combat, like in Rebirth.

"We did notice the variety of feedback that we received about the minigames and their quantity, and we were aware of that," Hamaguchi said via a translator. "At the same time, the remake series is a sort of homage to the original Final Fantasy 7 game. When we set upon creating Revelation, it was really never our intent to produce or decrease the number of minigames, and we were more so thinking how can we best deliver these games to the players today."

"And we felt that if the minigames were optional, yet they were heavily tied to character growth, and that you would have to play them in order to let your character grow some more, it would feel less optional. So in Revelation, we took care to lighten that necessity a bit more, to make it easier for players to play the minigames of their own will. So it might be tied more to characters, and players who want to customize the characters more--and are more interested in that part of the gaming experience--can feel free to engage more in the minigames. Whereas people that might want to kind of strengthen and delve more into the battle experience, we have more of that specifically tied to the battles."

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

Not only was there a first look at Final Fantasy 7 Revelation at Summer Game Fest Live this week, but we also got to see plenty of the game in action when Hamaguchi and Vincent Valentine's voice actor, Matthew Mercer, showed off a preview of the game.

Square Enix has built on the foundation of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, but this time, players can experiment with the new FITS gear to unlock unique abilities and expand their strategic options when taking on powerful foes. One other big change is Sephiroth himself, as the primary antagonist of Final Fantasy 7 has a new actor breathing life into him.

Throughout the original God of War trilogy and its spin-offs, Kratos left a lot of dead gods in his wake. Some of those late deities may come back to haunt Kratos's wife, Faye, in the upcoming title, God of War Laufey. While Kratos is still among the living, Ariel Lawrence--the director of God of War Laufey--hinted that one of his first foes could return.

"We’ve been killing gods for a really long time," Lawrence told GameSpot. "So we’ve been thinking about this question. Since Ares died, we were like, 'Okay, great. Does he go to the underworld?' We asked that question. 'Where did he show up after Kratos killed him?' I think this has been really bubbling around for like 20 years."

Kratos killed Ares--the Greek god of war--in the first game in 2005, which marked the former's ascension to godhood. In the subsequent games, Kratos murdered several additional gods, including Zeus, Athena, and almost the entire Greek pantheon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLMX2w3cwuE

Laufey's story will unfold in the Everywhen, which Lawrence describes as a place that "is a return for all magic. So it’s not just gods, but magical creatures and all sorts of things. Magic is pulled to this place."

Ares didn't appear in the game's debut footage, but the Mongolian and Egyptian gods of war--Begtse and Sekhmet--made their debut as a villainous duo. It remains to be seen which gods Faye will encounter as she explores this strange new land.

The good news for Faye is that she doesn't have to face these gods alone. She will be joined by a sentient ribbon companion called Rue and a talking gelatinous cube named Pharanque, who was our pick for the breakout character of State of Play.

God of War Laufey will be released on PlayStation 5, but it doesn't have a release date yet.

With Rockstar's GTA 6 set to "blot out the sun" when it arrives on November 19, numerous developers are purposefully avoiding releasing their games near it. In fact, there are basically no other major games set for release in November at all as of now.

Now, a report from the reputable leaker Dealabs Magazine says a remaster of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee is releasing on November 3, just ahead of GTA 6.

The report said Atari is bringing back the 2002 GameCube game for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2, with original developer Pipeworks handling production. The game will reportedly have a new online multiplayer mode, better graphics, and other updates. A sequel, Godzilla: Save the Earth, was released in 2004.

Atari may not be the only company releasing a game near GTA 6's release, or on the same day, as Devolver has pledged to put out a new game alongside GTA 6.

With most developers steering clear of November 2026 for their new games, September 2026 is looking like an extremely stacked month for games. Some of the high-profile games set for release this September include The Blood of Dawnwalker, Marvel's Wolverine, Control Resonant, Silent Hill Townfall, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV, and Dune Awakening for console.

This year's Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 4, is set for release on October 23. One game no longer coming this year is the Fable reboot, which was delayed to February 2027. Microsoft's official word was that it wanted to give the game a window where it had the best chance to succeed. Prior to the delay being announced, a report said Microsoft had concerns about releasing close to GTA 6.

The new James Bond game, 007 First Light, has passed 3 million sales, according to IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak, who also pushed back against the claim that the game cost $200 million to develop.

He told IGN that it's true that First Light is "by far" the most expensive entertainment product to ever come out of IO's home country of Denmark. However, $200 million covers much more than the game's development budget, including returning some money to developers in the form of bonuses.

“We give big fat bonuses to our teams if they do hit a few goals,” Abrak said. “There's some bonuses in there to be paid out in the future. There's marketing in there and whatnot. So it's not the actual cost of the product. But we'll come up with all that. It's by far the most expensive one, but it's not like for the game itself, not $200 million.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOceRj8nR5A

In any event, Abrak said he feels "very confident" that First Light will make a profit, adding that the game is tracking "well above" internal forecasts.

"By all measures it’s freaking successful,” Abrak said.

Given the critical and commercial success of First Light, people are naturally wondering about the possibility of a sequel. IO's deal for First Light was made prior to Amazon buying MGM and the James Bond series, with IO handling both development and publishing for First Light.

Amazon will publish a potential sequel, and an executive's comments led some to believe IO might not be involved. It remains to be seen what will happen, but Abrak said "there will be information about" what comes next between IO and Amazon soon.

Should IO get to make a First Light sequel, Abrak said he expects costs to come down. He said 2016's Hitman cost $78 million to make, while its sequel cost $48 million and was made two years after. The third one, meanwhile, was developed in 20 months and cost $19 million. Abrak said some developers increase scope and ambition with sequels, but IO has a different plan in place.

"Ambition is not necessarily that it's more expensive. Ambition is, the platform you build, how do you keep giving amazing experiences from that and how do you iterate on a sequel from that in a smart way, where it's retroactively maybe lifting the first one as well, like we did with World of Assassination? Some of this approach to concept and ambition, one could think could be applied to Bond as well," he said.

In other news, First Light is set to expand further this year with a Switch 2 edition this summer and lots of new content.

Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra has not been seen or discussed in some time, prompting people to wonder about its fate. And while it remains in development, it's not coming out this year as was expected.

Shawn Kittelsen, a senior executive at the newly formed Paramount Games Studio, told IGN that the game is real ("it's on my hard drive right now") but it's taking so long because producer Amy Hennig is pushing for quality.

"We're continuing development on it, but Amy and the team have big ambitions for the level of quality that they want to hit. They are a relatively small team considering the AAA quality that they're delivering," he said. "What you've seen in previous footage is what the game looks like, and we're making it with a fraction of the resources that you see on other AAA games of the same type, and really trying to push a new development model that's a lot more responsible and sustainable.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T0j_rKZhT0

The game is in development at Skydance New Media, but now that Paramount owns Skydance, the company is putting that studio under its new Paramount Games Studio umbrella.

Kittelsen said one of the challenges for Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra was building a studio and a game at the same time, and doing so during the pandemic.

"I think there were really ambitious timelines set for that game, but they didn't take into account all of the things that can disrupt production and that can make you spend more time working on it," he said.

He said the team chose to "focus on the quality" as opposed to attempting to "push the game out as quickly as possible."

"So we're giving them the time to cook. We believe in Amy and the whole team there and supporting them, and that game will come out when it's ready. But it is very real and we are continuing to invest in it," he said.

Hennig is also leading development on a new Star Wars game with Lucasfilm. This game remains in the works, but Kittelsen said the plan is to finish Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra first before talking about the Star Wars game.

Rise of Hydra takes place in Occupied Paris during World War II, featuring Captain America partnering with Black Panther to take down Hydra.

Hennig is an industry veteran, having worked on games for decades. She is perhaps best known for her time at Naughty Dog, where she worked on the Uncharted franchise.