Citi, the investment bank and financial services company, has released a note about GTA 6 and Rockstar, and included in the brief is a line about what Rockstar could release next--a new Red Dead game.

The company said in its memo that, if Rockstar is telling the truth that GTA 6 did not in fact cost $1.5 billion to make, then the studio may be able to get a new Red Dead game out sooner than anyone might have imagined.

Citi said a new Red Dead game releasing in 2027 or 2028 "may not be unreasonable," according to Yahoo Finance.

A scene from Red Dead Redemption II.

The bank might be saying this, but it would be incredibly shocking, for a number of reasons, if a new Red Dead game releases as soon as next year.

There are historically years between major Rockstar releases, and even longer gaps between entries in the same series. For example, Red Dead Redemption launched in 2010, followed by GTA 5 in 2013, then Red Dead Redemption II in 2018, and now GTA 6 in 2026.

Another notable element to consider is how Rockstar makes games today. The company tried to develop GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption II concurrently, and if it was able to pull it off, Rockstar claimed it would have been able to release GTA 6 years earlier. However, Rockstar deemed this too ambitious, with studio head Rob Nelson opting to reassign staff from GTA 6 to Red Dead Redemption II to help get it out the door.

At one point in time, developed multiple games concurrently across offices, but now, Rockstar’s network of teams work on one project together before moving on to the next.

GTA 6 may be coming out soon, but Rockstar no doubt has committed extensive resources to post-launch support, and that's not even mentioning the next evolution of GTA Online. Although Rockstar has announced no plans for online support whatsoever for GTA 6, it's expected that GTA 6 will have some kind of extensive online experience that is supported for years to come.

At the same time, a company like Rockstar is no doubt planning for the future already, and a new Red Dead game would seem like an extremely safe bet. After all, Red Dead Redemption II has sold a breathtaking 87 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time.

Faster development

While Rockstar getting a new Red Dead out in 2027 or 2028 might be extremely ambitious and wishful thinking on the part of Citi, Rockstar and parent company Take-Two have indicated that new structures are in place to help make games faster.

CEO Strauss Zelnick told The Game Business that people should not "confuse long development cycles with a lackadaisical approach to development cycles."

Some games are "so complex and so challenging to build" that they simply take a long time to make. However, Zelnick said "recent development in technology" may be able to help Take-Two's studio's "compress some development timelines without compromising quality."

Zelnick may be referring to Take-Two's embrace of AI here, but it's unclear. Rockstar's Phil Hooker, meanwhile, said the company's hiring spree and updates to its technology stack should help Rockstar make games faster in the future.

Something else to consider here is that Zelnick and Hooker might be talking more to analysts and investors with their comments about making games faster. Only time will tell if it's actually another eight years before Rockstar releases another game after GTA 6; for now, it's just talk.

Developers have dealt with copycat games for many years, but generative AI has made it easier than ever to whip up a clone, and that problem has grown in recent years. The developer behind Drunken Goddess Reflux is aware of this, and out of fear that its anime Russian roulette game could be the victim of a cash-grab imitation, it has announced that it has canceled its upcoming public demo. Instead, Alliance Arts will hold closed online play sessions for a limited number of players.

https://youtu.be/SRFDW2Pm9nk

"We sincerely apologize for the short notice to everyone who was looking forward to it," the developer wrote online. "We're concerned that the demo's content could be used to quickly imitate or replicate the game's presentation and gameplay with AI or other tools, and that such works could be released before our launch."

Alliance Arts is also concerned that it can't properly manage restrictions on posting and streaming content from the game, and it'll instead hand out demo keys and collect feedback for the game through its group Discord. The studio's fears aren't unwarranted, with the upcoming Needle in a Haystack being a prime example of Steam's copycat problem. After the game was announced in August and a clip of its purposefully tedious gameplay went viral--you genuinely are just looking for a needle in a haystack--clones quickly popped up online.

A quick search on Steam reveals several games all with a similar theme, and these have been released within weeks of each other.

Looks a little sus to me.

What happened here? AI-assisted games have been popping up more and more lately on Steam, and while you'll seldom find disclosure text indicating that agents like Claude and ChatGPT have been used in their development, the fast turnaround, near-identical gameplay, and artwork with a telltale yellow filter suggest that the tech played a heavy hand in quickly whipping up a clone.

With Claude 5.5 making it easier than ever to decompile a game into code that's playable within a browser, Alliance Arts might be justified in wanting to keep the game within a tight-knit circle of players. It's not unfeasible to imagine a bad actor using the code for the demo to generate a carbon copy and put that up for sale on Steam.

Hit multiplayer game Meccha Chameleon also has its fair share of copycats, as shortly after release, a wave of new games copied its hide-and-seek-with-bad-art formula.

The Drunken Goddess Reflux demo cancellation comes shortly before the start of Steam Next Fest this month, but with the event having become a dumping ground for demos, it could have been buried under thousands of other games vying for player attention. It's currently one of the top 100 most-wishlisted games on Steam, so there's plenty of interest.

In case you missed it when it was first revealed several months ago, Drunken Goddess Reflux combines alcohol with a demonic Tsundere anime lady and the deadly game of Russian roulette. It's a game of shots and shots, as the drunker you get, the better your odds are of not receiving a lead headache. The game officially launches on December 8 for PC.

Big Walk has been a critical hit since it launched a few months ago on PC and PS5, but one major platform where you won't find it is Xbox Series X|S. That's no accident: Developer House House said its decision not to release the game on Xbox was a show of support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

"It has always been our intention for Big Walk to be played by groups of friends, and we know that keeping the game off Xbox runs counter to those intentions," House House wrote in a statement. "This decision means that some people will miss out on playing Big Walk with their friends, and we understand the disappointment we’re causing. We are disappointed too. We would love for people to be able to play the game on Xbox, but not until Microsoft and/or Xbox have been removed as BDS boycott targets. We’ve made this decision with the belief that meaningful change can be made in the world, that coordinated collective action can confront even the most powerful interests, and that one day, Palestine will be free."

Microsoft became a priority target of the BDS initiative due to the contracts it had with the Israeli government and military. BDS has called for a boycott of the company, and by extension, all Xbox games, hardware, and subscriptions.

In response to the announcement by House House, The Palestinian BDS movement wrote in a statement (via People Makes Games' Chris Bratt) that it "wholeheartedly" supports the developers decision and that it encourages "gamers, game developers, games journalists, and workers" to sign the No Games for Genocide pledge and continue to boycott Xbox.

That pressure on Microsoft has had results, as last year, the company did block the Israeli government from accessing its cloud storage and AI systems, which has reportedly been used to surveil Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.

While some people have asked why Big Walk is available on PCs running a Windows operating system, it is worth noting that purchasing it through a marketplace like Steam does not mean that Microsoft gets a cut of sales from the game, compared to how it would if the game was sold through its Xbox marketplace.

Ken Kutaragi, the former PlayStation executive known colloquially as the "Father of PlayStation," has reacted to the ongoing debate and discussion about physical games in the wake of Sony's announcement that it will end support for PS5 game discs in 2028.

Speaking to VGC, Kutaragi said he understands that people think they "own" games when they buy them physically. However, he said, "Nobody thinks [physical media] is necessary for a networked device like a smartphone, for example, because people feel that they will keep their content."

He went on to say that he "really" does understand why some people are upset about PlayStation's decision to end discs. After all, Sony continues to sell millions and millions of physical games annually, and in some regions, sales of new games on PS5 are more than 50% physical.

However, as many others have said and data shows, consumers are increasingly leaning toward digital, and that trend is only expected to continue.

"I don’t think it’s economically reasonable [to continue to support discs]. Maybe it’s a mentality issue," he said.

For its part, Sony said ending support for physical discs is a "natural direction" for the company as it adapts to consumer trends. One expert believes Sony killing discs is really about profitability and control.

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

Kutaragi went on to say he understands that PlayStation's teams now include people who came from "outside," including people from streaming companies through Sony's buyout of streaming service Gaikai. As such, he thinks it only makes sense that these new hires might see PlayStation as "not just a game console, but also a content terminal."

"Maybe that’s how those people are thinking. But this has caused some friction with game enthusiasts," he said.

While Sony might be giving up on physical games, Nintendo doesn't plan to do that, at least not yet. Microsoft has not specified its plans for discs going forward, but most expect Xbox to kill off discs as well.

GTA 6's takeover of real-life Miami is continuing, and in a big way, ahead of the open-world crime game's release in November. For anyone unaware, GTA 6 takes place in Vice City, which is a stand-in for Miami, and the game also takes players to surrounding areas of its version of Florida, known as Leonida.

After the GTA 6 logo was airlifted onto Miami's Kaseya Earlier this month to promote the game and an upcoming Miami Heat x GTA 6 crossover, Rockstar's marketing efforts have now grown substantially. This has included a number of real-life marketing activations in the Miami area covering real cars, blimps, beach chairs, and more.

The efforts have not been without controversy. Multiple Miami-Dade County commissioners expressed serious concerns about the city taking Rockstar's money to promote a game about violence and murder, among other ... vices.

"We're depicting Miami like a murder capital," Commissioner René Garcia said, according to the Miami Herald. Commissioner Micky Steinberg added: "Philosophically, I feel we should not be moving forward."

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and her office is hoping to bring in millions from its partnership with Rockstar to promote GTA 6 in Miami. Her chief of staff, Chris Hudtwalcker, said the GTA 6 takeovers in Miami are a "love letter" to the city.

Another lawmaker, chairman Anthony Rodriguez, said commissioners should remember GTA 6 is a work of fiction. "We are all adults in this community. We recognize it's just a game," he said.

"We cut our nose to spite our face," said Chair Anthony Rodriguez, who sponsored the legislation authorizing the negotiations. He urged commissioners not to go overboard on concern for made-up plot lines and digital characters. "This is a fictional game. We are all adults in this community. … We recognize it's just a game."

People in Miami have reported seeing GTA-style cars on the city streets, along with a massive Vice City blimp soaring overhead. What's more, branded beach chairs and umbrellas are being dispatched to beaches in south Florida to market GTA 6. The marketing efforts for GTA 6 go beyond Miami, of course, as people have begun to spot big ads in other major American cities like Chicago and New York.

https://twitter.com/GTASixInfo/status/2110902300646781107 https://twitter.com/volvoshine/status/2110799156440957421 https://twitter.com/samchrme/status/2110483735238017204 https://twitter.com/vicestargames/status/2111019367131431317?s=46 https://twitter.com/GTAVI_Countdown/status/2110839114199175226 https://twitter.com/GTAVI_Rodion/status/2110883425771258270 https://twitter.com/GTAonlineNews/status/2110839452616507679

The Miami-Dade County mayor is apparently allowed to negotiate deals under $1 million without the approval of the local commission--this is why the $975,000 Kaseya Center project went ahead without pushback.

Levine Cava is looking to make more deals with Rockstar to promote GTA 6 at the city's airports and ship ports, along with various other places, but it remains to be seen if those will be approved.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S--for more, check out the newly released launch trailer, which features some steamy scenes.

At E3 2009, Sony announced that it was partnering with Rockstar on a PlayStation-exclusive spy game called Agent, with Rockstar founders Sam and Dan Houser overseeing development. The game never materialized, though, and now Dan Houser has shared more details as to why.

Speaking to IGN, Houser said Agent never coming out shouldn't be a total shock because he worked on "a bunch of games that never came out." He said Rockstar tried with two or three different teams to make Agent--an open-world spy game--but the teams just "could not get it right."

"And it never came out. We concluded that it was not a game we were ever going to figure out how to make. Other people can try, but I personally think it's hard," he said.

Great spy movies like the James Bond series work so well because they take viewers all over the world, but "that's not an experience in an open-world game that really works," Houser said.

"So we tried lots of things and couldn't get it quite right," Houser said, going on to say that the teams built great elements but they never came together in a full package.

Images of Agent, which was reportedly set in the '70s, have emerged over the years, showing off some of what Rockstar was planning.

In 2009, then-Take-Two president Ben Feder told GameSpot that Agent was being positioned to be the next Grand Theft Auto.

“It’s the A team working on an AAA title,” he said at the time. “I think the subject matter, the characters, the story, the environment, the background–all the elements are there. It’s such a rich environment to play in.”

Across the industry, games get canceled regularly--Blizzard has said it cancels 50% of the games it starts--but Rockstar's Agent got more traction because of the studio's profile.

Rockstar never gave Agent a release date, but it would have followed up 2008's Grand Theft Auto 4. The next game that Rockstar North led development on after GTA 4 was 2013's GTA 5, and now Rockstar North is set to release GTA 6 on November 19.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is set for release on October 23, and in a big shakeup, it will not be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

This has been known for a while, but Activision is reminding people of this in a new blog post on the eve of the game's campaign early access on October 16. In fact, Activision has been warning people that MW4 is not on Game Pass for months now, so the blog post is just the latest example of this.

Upon release, the only way to get MW4 is by purchasing it outright, starting at $70 for the base edition and scaling to $100 for the Vault edition.

Game Pass subscribers will have to wait a year for MW4. When will MW4 come to Game Pass?

Activision said MW4 will be available on Xbox Game Pass at some point at the end of next year, meaning it will be "windowed" as a standalone purchase for about one year.

Why are new Call of Duty games no longer included with Game Pass?

2024’s Black Ops 6 was the first entry in the series to launch directly into Xbox Game Pass, with Black Ops 7 following the same playbook in 2025. However, Microsoft announced earlier this year that new Call of Duty titles would no longer debut in Game Pass, an announcement it made in conjunction with a price cut for the subscription service.

Microsoft has never explicitly said why it made this major change, but it could have to do with lost sales. It was reported that Black Ops 6 coming to Game Pass in 2024 amounted to Microsoft missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. That number has been debated, and it does not tell the whole story, but no doubt there was a financial impact that Microsoft is responding to.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is undertaking a "reset" of the Xbox business, and cutting new Call of Duty games from Game Pass is part of that. She is also trying to revive Xbox console exclusives, including a nuclear option.

What other Call of Duty games are on Game Pass?

Although Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can't play MW4 until next year, the catalog currently includes a bunch of older entries in the series.

These include:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• Call of Duty: WW2
• Call of Duty: Vanguard
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022)

Ahead of the Street Fighter movie's release this week, 2K Games has announced a new DLC pack for WWE 2K26 that lets you dress several WWE performers as Street Fighter action figures.

You can make the likes of Rey Mysterio and The Rock look like oversized toys, and each version of the WWE star will also come equipped with Street Fighter-inspired moves like the Shinku Hadoken, Psycho Crusher, Spiral Arrow, Electric Thunder, and Shoryuken. Pricing hasn't been revealed yet, but generally, these character packs cost around $15.

Available starting October 28 as a standalone purchase--and not included in any existing bundles or premium editions of the game--the WWE 2K26 X Street Fighter Elite Pack includes:

• The Rock "Final Boss" as M. Bison
• Rey Mysterio as Ryu
• Bianca Belair as Cammy
• Ultimate Warrior as Blanka
• Dominik Mysterio as Ken

Strangely, there's no Cody Rhodes Street Fighter skin, which is kind of weird since he plays Guile in the movie and has even cosplayed as him at WWE live events.  Additionally, the pack includes 15 Create-a-Superstar parts from several other Street Fighter characters: Akuma, Vega, and Chun-Li. Each Street Fighter skin is inspired by the Mattel Elite Collection WWE X Street Fighter figures, so this is merchandising taken to a new extreme. To paraphrase Danhausen, these are cursed.

Reviews have also begun appearing online for Street Fighter, and on GameSpot's sister site Metacritic, the film has a "mixed or average" metascore of 46 from 19 reviews. Critics say that the movie's story is an absolute mess, and it's barely held together by several stylish fight scenes across its two-hour runtime.

The movie isn't tracking well for its opening weekend either, as current estimates suggest that it could struggle to make a dent at the box office. At least popcorn bucket sales should be a hit.

Following player backlash, Sega and Creative Assembly have yanked Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition from sale and have replaced it with the original 2011 version. First hitting digital shelves on October 13, this version of the beloved strategy game was advertised as having had a substantial facelift, but it wasn't long before players pointed out numerous issues with the game and the telltale sign of AI-upscaling. This has led to some bizarre makeovers, like a samurai's face merging with his helmet or extra fingers on character artwork.

https://twitter.com/YoncleThinks/status/2110144099315785871 https://twitter.com/Pirat_Nation/status/2110158896107077737 https://twitter.com/RedKaiser555/status/2110269135297163537

"We're aware that Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards," Sega wrote in a statement that did not address the AI criticisms at all. "We've seen your feedback, comments, and reviews. We agree that the current experience is not where it needs to be."

Fans have also taken to social media to show off legacy bugs that still haven't been addressed in this new edition, and Sega said that it's "working closely" with its "development partners" to identify and address these issues. Unsurprisingly, the game has an overwhelmingly negative rating on Steam currently, with over 81% of players urging people to give it a skip.

"Horrific graphical bug makes the vegetation in battle map terrible to look at. There's no way to disable the vegetation," one oddly specific player review reads," amongst hundreds of other negative pieces of feedback.

Players also weren't happy when Sega initially replaced the original Shogun 2 game with the remastered version, which has a price tag of $40. Upgrading from the classic to this version will cost you $10. The AI-upscaling is just the tip of the complaints-iceberg, as players have several other issues with Shogun 2. The new user interface has been criticized for its clunky design and plenty of new bugs have surfaced. This isn't the only game using generative AI that Sega is linked to, as for the upcoming Crazy Taxi: World Tour, generative AI was used to create background assets.

It's not often one of the biggest games of all time gets a do-over. It's even rarer for a game to get a third attempt. But that, in many ways, is what World of Warcraft: Forever is.

Developer Blizzard is pulling from 22 years of hindsight for what is the third major version of its landmark MMORPG, set to launch on November 4. That two-decade span includes not only the release of 11 WoW expansions, but also the re-release of the original WoW in 2019 and its subsequent "classic" expansions, as well. In the years since WoW Classic's launch, Blizzard has gone from "no changes" to "some changes," taking lessons learned from each Classic release and using them to inform their future work.

With WoW: Forever, Blizzard is finally going beyond replicating history and is instead forging a new vision for its genre-defining MMO, even if that vision is one firmly rooted in the past. GameSpot recently had the chance to talk with Clay Stone, associate production director on WoW: Forever, and Holly Longdale, executive producer and VP for WoW, about how Blizzard approached making a "new" version of original WoW, its approach to Forever's endgame, and what players can expect from Forever's future. 

Exceeding Expectations 

From the outset, Stone said Blizzard wanted to "push the envelope" and make a big first impression with Forever that went beyond players' expectations. Players certainly had a lot of them. The idea of a new version of WoW Classic that preserved the original game's world but added new content is one that's been around for a long time, and with it all kinds of community ideas of what it should and shouldn't be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvueCoFTkCk&t

That made it important for Blizzard to deliver not just what players wanted, but go even further, Stone said. Rather than just class-balance changes or the completion of some of WoW's original unfinished quests and zones, as many players likely expected, Blizzard instead went bigger. It created over 1,000 new quests, four new zones, thousands of new items, substantial class changes, multiple new gameplay systems, and even an unexpected playable race not seen in any other version of WoW, Skyborne elves.

"I think that it was important for us to do this up front, to basically not have everything feel like, 'Oh, I predicted that …' and do that now rather than not do that and wait five years down the line," Stone said. 

Waiting years to bring a new race or other major additions would be too late, Stone said. 

"If there's an opportunity for us to take some bigger swings and some bigger risks up front, I think it sets us up much better for the long-term health of the game and figuring out ways for us to be able to create new surprises for players," he said.

In fact, Blizzard originally planned even more new additions for Forever's launch. Stone said Blizzard scaled some of those plans back as the game got further into development and its announcement at BlizzCon 2026 loomed. Stone teased more new race and class combos than what are currently playable on the game's beta, as well as "more extreme" class changes as seen in WoW Classic's Season of Discovery, could be coming to Forever in the future.

The addition of Undead Paladin is one of Forever's most exciting new class/race combos.

Blizzard is "deliberately holding back just a little" on what's to come, he said. At BlizzCon, it announced a roadmap through Summer 2027 that included new raids, dungeons, and quests, as well as the launch of the game's "Hardcore" permadeath server.

"As we got closer [to BlizzCon], I think we did start to get a lot smarter and go, 'Okay, let's go ahead and draw the line here. You know, this is a lot. This is great for launch.' But it also allows us to save some really good stuff in terms of new content, new dungeons, new raids--things like that--new race/class combos, for not that far after launch," Stone said. 

Staying On Azeroth

What some of that new content will be is the subject of wild speculation among the game's passionate community. Stone was adamant the team is committed to "staying on Azeroth" and that there's "a lot of [existing] space [on the original world map] that we already know about and we have plans for." 

When asked if Forever would potentially take players to areas outside Azeroth's original two continents of Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms, including places seen in other WoW expansions, Stone said the world is a big place and that there are "other locations on Azeroth that are not necessarily Eastern Kingdoms or Kalimdor that we may want to go visit in the future."

"I think that the creative constraint of telling ourselves we're going to stay on Azeroth has created some really cool and interesting creative opportunities for us to explore some places that perhaps players have seen before, and perhaps some places that they haven't seen before," he said. 

The Skyborne are a new playable race currently exclusive to Forever.

As for what else the future may hold, Blizzard is already surveying the community on potential new classes, which raises the natural question of how Forever will be monetized going forward. The game is included as part of WoW's $15 monthly subscription, as has always been the case with WoW Classic, but for the first time Blizzard is charging $30 for a new race, the Skyborne. While previous WoW expansions have added new races and classes for a price, those expansions have also come with whole new worlds to explore and gameplay systems to master. In the case of the Skyborne, they do come with a new starting zone, but it's hardly an entire expansion's worth of new content.

Longdale said charging for access to the Skyborne was an example of Blizzard "testing things out" and finding a way to "support the team and support the business" without adding "unnecessary barriers" for players accustomed to being able to play WoW Classic with their subscription. It's not necessarily a confirmed business model for how Blizzard will handle the addition of new content in the future, she said. It's also not an indication that Blizzard is planning on "throwing a bunch of new races" into the game, though she said there's "a lot of stuff on the table" when it comes to possibilities.

"It's just something we're trying right now," Longdale said. "We'll see if players like it and if it's a reasonable model going forward."

Launch Is Just The Start

Even as players speculate about Forever's future, there are still plenty of unknowns pertaining to the game's launch. Players have only been able to reach level 30 in the game's beta, and there are still thousands of "secret" items in the game's files yet to be discovered. 

Forever's endgame raids will unlock on December 9 for those who have reached level 60 roughly a month after launch, but what those raids will entail, and the items hidden within them, is still a mystery. Unlike in original WoW, where items gained from subsequent raid tiers represented substantial leaps in player power, Stone said Blizzard is aiming to make power progression between raid tiers in Forever "as compact as possible" while still making new raids "fulfilling and desirable." 

He said one aspect about WoW Classic the Forever team loves is being able to find powerful, best-in-slot items from endgame dungeons or the world itself. Stone said there are "a lot of opportunities" for that tradition to continue in Forever, and that there are some "unannounced" ideas the team has that aim to keep content like dungeons relevant so that players will want to return to them. Combined with new additions like the Legacy system, an account-wide perk tree that rewards players for leveling up different classes, mastering new professions, and exploring the world, Stone said the intent is for it to never be too late to jump into Forever.

"We want that answer with WoW Forever to be an emphatic no, it is never too late to start this game or to rejoin if you've stepped away for a bit," Stone said.

Forever's new camping system encourages players to gather, socialize, and gain buffs.

Even as Forever represents an alternate timeline for WoW and pushes ahead with new ideas, it still finds itself repeating history. Just as original WoW was rooted in the lore of Blizzard's Warcraft RTS games, so too is Forever, only this time it was Warcraft 3: Reforged's newly released Forsaken Kingdom campaign.

The two projects actually began completely independently, Stone said, but it quickly became apparent there was an opportunity to tie the lore of the two games together. Blizzard knew it wanted to add Undead Paladins as a race and class combo in Forever, and so Forsaken Kingdom focused on telling the story of the first Forsaken Paladin while exploring the creation of an iconic location from WoW, the Undercity.

"Everything that we're doing, we're starting from a place of canon," Stone said. "Everything that's come before as far as the Warcraft RTS games, the Forsaken Kingdom RTS expansion that we just released as well, everything starts from that." 

What's clear is that November 4 will merely be the start of another potentially decades-long game development journey for Blizzard, which will soon be operating two versions of WoW that are each receiving all-new content independent of one another. Where Forever ultimately ends up is still uncertain. After all, what we now call modern WoW first started as vanilla WoW 22 years ago, and is now radically different from what players first experienced in 2004. Trying to picture what Forever will be like if it similarly lasts 20 years is a fascinating thought experiment.

"We hope that this game goes for 10, 20 years, for as long as players want to go on this journey with us, is essentially what we're saying," Stone said. "Potentially forever."

WoW: Forever launches November 4 and will be playable with a monthly WoW subscription. Its beta will be live until October 21, and is included as part of the $60 Skyborne Epic Pack or $80 WoW: Forever Collection, which additionally includes Warcraft 3: Reforged's Forsaken Kingdom campaign.

IO Interactive has announced the release date for 007 First Light's long-delayed Switch 2 version--March 18, 2027--and that's not all. People who preorder the game for Switch 2 are getting something no other platform has: a ridiculously oversized tie.

Not just any ridiculously oversized tie, however. People who preorder First Light for Switch 2 get the GoldenEye Suit, and it includes the suit and tie that Pierce Brosnan wore in the famous 1995 movie, including the oversized tie.

Brosnan wore a lot of suits in that movie, but the one being referenced here is the one with the oversized tie, which was the style at the time.

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

GoldenEye has a special history with Nintendo specifically, which may help explain why Switch 2 owners are getting this outfit and no one else is. After all, 1997's GoldenEye 007, which was based on the movie, is one of the most iconic N64 games of all time.

First Light has been a big hit, critically and commercially, scoring great reviews and selling more than 4 million copies, and that's before the Switch 2 version even comes out.

The Switch 2 version of First Light was supposed to launch alongside the other versions in May 2026, but was later delayed multiple times. IO said a combination of factors contributed to delays.

In addition to the forthcoming Switch 2 version of First Light, IO is working on a new fantasy game. However, after Xbox pulled funding, IO laid off staff. Many also want to see IO work on the expected sequel to First Light, but no official announcements have been made.

The marketing machine for Grand Theft Auto 6 is at full steam, and while Rockstar Games is showcasing many of the characters players will be encountering in the open-world crime game, one character with a very distinct name has been largely absent from promos.

Viewers of the GTA 6 extended look might have been snickering every time protagonists Jason and Lucia uttered the word "Boobie," but the official GTA 6 website indicates that the character of Boobie Ike is a Vice City powerhouse. Though he's implied to be a highly influential figure in the game's story, he hasn't made an appearance in any trailers.

Boobie is the owner of the Jack of Hearts club, seen in the extended look trailer. His "legitimate empire" also includes real estate investments and a recording studio, and in his words, "the drug money pay for it all." The first segment of the extended look video has Jason and Lucia making a pickup on behalf of Boobie, and simply saying his name was enough to grant them access.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTKUkil8kTQ

The lack of Boobie in any GTA 6 trailers does prompt curiosity about his larger role in the story. It has already been the subject of speculation in social media posts and YouTube videos, with some predicting that he'll turn out to be an antagonist who double-crosses Jason and Lucia. It's also possible that Boobie's presence in the story will be by name only, as he pulls strings from the background.

A more fun theory is that Boobie is a pivotal character with a prominent voice actor--perhaps Rockstar is hiding a surprise, and Boobie's voice is recognizable enough that fans would catch on too quickly (as they did with Stephen Root as Brian). Or, you know, maybe he just isn't a very important character and fans are just overthinking this, as they have with several things related to GTA 6.

While Boobie Ike isn't seen in the freshly dropped GTA 6 launch trailer, there are still a ton of details to squeeze out of that minute and a half. We've learned a lot more about GTA 6's lengthy development through recent reports, and we'll finally see the fruits of that labor when it releases on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Activision chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl has confirmed that a new sub-series is on the way for Call of Duty. Modern Warfare 4 is just over a week away from launching (though campaign early access starts tomorrow) and marks the fifth straight year of either a Black Ops or Modern Warfare entry in the franchise. That looks set to change going forward.

Speaking with The Game Business, Bahl elaborated on why Activision won't do back-to-back sequels in the same sub-series. "[The Call of Duty community] wanted something fresh, and even though there were different time settings, and ways to play the game with new features, that tonal shift is something that they were looking for. So, we've already stated that a future title is going to be a new sub-franchise, and we've already laid the groundwork."

Last month, Black Ops developer Treyarch teased that it's working on "something that nobody's ever experienced before." Meanwhile, Sledgehammer Games is reportedly in charge of 2027's Call of Duty, which might also introduce a new sub-series for Call of Duty. The last game in the franchise to not be a Black Ops or Modern Warfare entry was 2021's Vanguard--created by Sledgehammer. So there is precedent there for the studio. 

In addition, Activision is now in charge of the Halo franchise. Xbox management is stating that a new team will be spun up for the new Halo game, but it wouldn't be surprising to see a Call of Duty studio being heavily involved. 

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 comes out October 23 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. Preordering the FPS unlocks campaign early access for tomorrow, October 16, as well as the DMZ mode on October 20.

Every Call Of Duty Game, Reviewed: Black Ops Cold War, Warzone, Modern Warfare 2019, Black Ops 4, WWII, And More View Images

One of the biggest games that PlayStation Plus subscribers can play as part of their membership is Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5. However, the game will reportedly get yanked from the service soon, just ahead of GTA 6's release.

People on Reddit say they have received a notification telling them that GTA 5 will be removed for Extra and Premium subscribers on November 17. That is two days before GTA 6 launches on November 19, so the timing certainly suggests Sony and Rockstar are trying to migrate people to the new game.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PlayStationPlus/comments/1x4swlq/gta_v_is_the_first_game_that_is_leaving_the/

The notice also includes a link directing people to the preorder page for GTA 6. "Whether you've yet to experience the tale of Franklin, Michael, and Trevor, or want to revisit it before Jason and Lucia's Vice City story begins, now's the time," Sony's notice said.

GTA 5 has rotated in and out of Xbox Game Pass over the years as well, and it is not currently available through the service.

GTA 6 launches on November 19, and the game's steamy launch trailer just arrived. The trailer was stuffed with exciting new details, so be sure to read up on GameSpot's 10 things we noticed from the GTA 6 launch trailer.

Rockstar's GTA 6 is releasing this November, and some believe it will blot out the sun when it comes to the impact it will have on the greater gaming market. The game could also help other titles, like Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. That's according to Activision chief marketing officer Tyle Bahl, who said in an interview that GTA 6 will drive more people to gaming overall, and this could act as a rising tide that lifts all ships, including Modern Warfare 4.

“Well, no offense to Zelda, but [GTA and COD] are the two biggest games of the year. And more people coming in to the dashboards, more people taking the dust off their Xbox or PlayStation and playing again, is going to be more eyeballs for us overall," he told The Game Business.

His comment about Zelda is in reference to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2, which launches on November 5. It's expected to be a huge hit, just like MW4 and GTA 6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLFRQaQT0qM

Another publisher, Ubisoft, is not afraid of GTA 6, either. CEO Yves Guillemot said when a big game like GTA 6 comes out, it helps everyone in the industry. One of Ubisoft's biggest games, Rainbow Six Siege, is actually planning to debut new content right around the time GTA 6 launches.

Bahl also stated that a big differentiator for Call of Duty is "spending time with friends," and he thinks this will hold true for MW4 this year even with GTA 6 coming to market just a few weeks after MW4 releases on October 23.

"When we look at our research and say, ‘What is the most exciting things about our games? Is it the gunplay?’ It’s actually spending time with friends. And so, we stand on our own [in that regard]," he said. “If more people are talking about games, if there’s more press around it, that’s going to be good for everybody, not just us.”

MW4's campaign unlocks on October 16 for people who preorder, and the full game--comprising campaign, DMZ, and multiplayer--arrives for everyone on October 23. GTA 6 arrives 27 days later on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Street Fighter is officially spin-kicking its way into theaters this week, starting with previews on Thursday and leading into the crucial opening weekend. It's the second movie based on a Capcom IP to make its way to the silver screen this year--following Zach Cregger's Resident Evil film in September--but so far, early estimates for the martial arts extravaganza aren't looking too healthy.

According to Deadline's box-office-predictions, Street Fighter is expected to take in under $70 million worldwide. Of that figure, it's estimated to open with a US box-office take in the high 30 millions on 3,500 screens, and a take in the mid-30 millions internationally.

Typically, movies need to make at least double their production budget back to be considered successful, and with Street Fighter costing $82 million to produce, it doesn't look like it'll recoup its expenses in its first weekend.

There's still a chance it could be a small hit if word of mouth drives audiences to theaters, and in terms of competition, Street Fighter has a few weeks to dominate cinemas as it'll be the biggest action film on the block--at least until the November 1 re-release of V for Vendetta, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The movie won't open in the potentially lucrative market of China, but internationally, the lion's share of sales is expected to come from Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Australia, and Asian markets.

https://youtu.be/U6sbm1OaJb8

How does that opening stack up against other recent video game movie adaptations? Resident Evil got off to a solid start with a $60 million domestic opening last month, and so far, the film has grossed $324 million worldwide, making it a surprise commercial hit and Cregger's biggest film yet. Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat 2 did much worse when it launched in May, making only $38 million on its opening US weekend and finishing with a worldwide box office total of $129.5 million.

As for the other Street Fighter movies, they've had mixed results. According to Box Office Mojo, the first Street Fighter movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme made $99.4 million during its run, which is pretty great for a 1994 flick, but 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li was a huge flop. It had an opening weekend of $4.7 million in the US, and it made $12.7 million worldwide.

Street Fighter movies lifetime box office totals

• Street Fighter (1994) -- $99.4 million
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) -- $12.7 million
• Street Fighter (2026) -- TBA

Street Fighter Movie: Release Date, Cast, And Everything We Know So Far View Images

Rockstar is sticking to its trend of releasing some new GTA 6 news every Thursday it seems, and today's treat was the reveal of the launch trailer. After what feels like an eternity of waiting for anything, the launch trailer is the fourth official video look we've gotten at GTA 6, and the first since August's Extended Look premiered on Netflix.

The GTA 6 launch trailer is 90 seconds long exactly, and it gives us a closer look at some of the in-game action (and its new soundtrack composers). While some of what see is pretty typical of games in the Grand Theft Auto series, there are a few surprising additions, and some things that hint toward just how deeply realistic the game is.

Lucia starts the game in prison

While an earlier trailer suggested as much, it now seems more certain that Lucia's journey in GTA 6 starts with her in prison. While working at the marina, Jason receives a call from her. While we don't know anything about the conversation that takes place after, the fact that she's still incarcerated while he's out and working tells us that he'll probably be keeping pretty close tabs on when she's getting released, especially since the two have clearly remained in contact.

There's plenty of physical intimacy

We already knew that Jason and Lucia would be able to get up close and personal. In the launch trailer, though, we see them spending time in bed and even in the shower together. The emphasis on intimacy alongside violent sequences adds depth to their relationship, which we already know is going to be central to the game's events. It remains to be seen the degree to which these are decisions the player takes, as opposed to being scripted into the narrative, since it's been emphasized that Jason and Lucia aren't necessarily a couple.

Lucia's movement could be restricted

Having said that, Lucia has an ankle monitor during one shower scene, suggesting that her release from prison could be subject to certain conditions. For a period of time, she may need to reside at a specific premises, or have certain times that she needs to be at home. That same ankle monitor can be seen in some of the game's key art.

Coordinated arms operations

We may be able to experience Jason's past military life, either in a flashback mission or a stealth mission in the present day once he and Lucia have started making money. He's seen wading through swamp-like waters with some companions, with some pretty high tech gear including night-vision goggles.

Definitely not any console favoritism

For the second time in a GTA 6 trailer, a PS5 controller can be seen. The DualSense controller doesn't appear to match the limited edition GTA 6 ones that Sony recently launched preorders for, though.

The dog has goggles

We already knew you can pet the dog in GTA 6, but we definitely didn't know that one will have their own teeny tiny, adorable pair of goggles to protect them when accompanying Jason on missions. I don't actually know if they're Jason's dog; I just really want them to be, and I'm already brainstorming name ideas.

Spring break?

The moment above, showing two characters in striking pink balaclavas and wielding guns (while a bunch of guns adorn the background), is striking on its own, but it might actually be a reference to the movie Spring Breakers, in which we see women touting guns with similar headwear.

Dense beaches

Leaks had already suggested as much, but it certainly looks as if there won't be any shortage of crowds on the beaches of Vice City. No word on whether flying a plane this low will earn you some Wanted stars.

Crypto jokes inbound

It was probably already a safe bet, but that same plane featuring what sounds like a crypto coin suggests that the world of cryptocurrency may be a target of GTA 6's satire.

We'll continue to dig into the trailer and will update this post with any other standout details we notice. For more, we have a ton of GTA 6 screenshots, and we've got a good idea of the characters, locations, and vehicles that'll be in the game now. Preorders are now live, with the standard edition costing $80, and the Ultimate Edition costing $100 with a host of bonus content.

With a new (and steamy) launch trailer going live to remind you of its November 19 release date, Grand Theft Auto 6 is starting to look like a slick new chapter in the series. It's also sounding like a great sequel, and that's no accident as the game features an original soundtrack by French electronic music duo Justice.

On top of that, a new single from Justice called "Flower in a Hurricane" will be featured on Grand Theft Auto 6: The Album, the official game soundtrack, and the track also includes Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

If you're unfamiliar with them, Justice is a duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, and they rose to fame with their 2007 album, Cross. They followed that up with Audio, Video, Disco in 2011, Woman in 2016, and after a seven-year hiatus, Hyperdrama in 2024.

The pair have earned several Grammy nominations over the years and a ton of awards for their catchy mix of rock and disco themes, creating chart-topping hits. And that soundtrack will probably sound great in one of GTA 6's absurdly detailed night clubs.

https://youtu.be/JWxoRY7AFSw

While Justice crafts the core musical sound of GTA 6, players will also be free to flip through several radio stations and podcasts in the game. Like previous GTA entries, these encompass a wide variety of musical genres, from outlaw country rock to reggae.

These will represent the “next evolution of in-game radio, and more,” Rockstar says, and players can listen to them while driving or on foot. The developer also revealed more details about the GTA 6 album, which features 34 songs written specifically for the game, including new music from Keith Richards and Travis Scott.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch for PS5 and Xbox Series X next month, and while a PC port hasn't been announced yet, it might be coming sooner than you think.

GTA 6: 268 Screenshots To Ease The Wait View Images

As we inch ever closer to the tidal wave that is Grand Theft Auto VI approaching over the horizon, some minds are turning to awards season and how many awards Rockstar's next epic will catch in its wake. Some, like Insider Gaming, are beginning to report that--just barely--GTA will be eligible for The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley's annual December extravaganza, which has led others to wonder if that was by some nefarious design.

The official website for The Game Awards lists November 20, 2026 at 9 PM PT as the cutoff date for this year's ceremony, which means that any game that launches before that time can be considered for nomination. As GTA VI is scheduled to launch one day earlier on November 19, that means GTA VI and TGA '26 will likely be intertwined this year.

Jason and Lucia at the club.

Now, before torches are lit and pitchforks are sharpened, evidence suggests that date was not put in place specifically for GTA to be eligible this year. If anything, it was Rockstar that planned around Keighley's schedule, as the Friday before Thanksgiving has routinely been the cutoff for TGA nominations.

Last year, the cutoff was November 21, as referenced in this Polygon article regarding Dispatch's eligibility. In 2024, eligibility was cut off on November 22, as evidenced in this Polygon article exploring the games that missed 2024 and were eligible in 2025.

2018 was the last time a Rockstar project was eligible for The Game Awards, as Red Dead Redemption II landed 10 nominations and four wins. Notably, one of those wins was not Game Of The year, which went to Sony Santa Monica for the God of War reboot.

Grand Theft Auto VI's eligibility for TGA 2026 was never in doubt--well, unless it got delayed again. Now that we're likely clear of that scenario, it's only a matter of time until we see just how many trophies are headed to Vice City.

Rockstar Games has published the launch trailer for GTA 6, and it's pretty spectacular. The game has been in development for more than a decade, and it's finally set for release on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The trailer features the new song, "Flower in a Hurricane" from Justice featuring Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Justice also composed the entire original score for GTA 6.

The trailer itself shows off lots more of Vice City and its people, places, and criminal activities. We also see very steamy scene with Lucia and Jason in the shower. Jason and Lucia are lovers and partners in crime, and cultivating their relationship is a big part of the game. Or, you can have them break up and just be friends who commit crimes together.

The new trailer was captured on a base PS5. The trailer carries the PlayStation branding and even features an in-game controller that looks like a DualSense because Sony and Rockstar are working together to promote GTA 6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz1B4B2yBZY

After a decade-plus of development, GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a PC release expected in early 2027.