PlayStation has revealed this month's batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. All PS Plus members will be able to claim four freebies starting September 1--Sniper Elite: Resistance, MLB The Show 26, Chained Echoes, and Wobbly Life. If you haven't claimed August's PlayStation Plus free games yet, make sure to do so before next Tuesday.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is the main event for September, and if you haven't checked out this series yet, then you've missed out on a gruesomely fun World War II adventure. Set behind enemy lines in occupied France, players will get to take on the Axis forces, one bullet at a time. Like the previous games, kills are highlighted in all their gory detail, and when you don't feel like taking out enemies from a long distance, there are plenty of options you can utilize to remove Nazis up close.

For something completely different, you can also aim for baseball glory in MLB The Show 26. This year's entry in the annual series plays to its strengths, offering authentic gameplay, evolved features, new stadium effects, and more as you play through various leagues from across multiple eras of baseball. If you're in the mood for a game that involves friends, you can check out Wobbly Life for some co-op chaos, as your gang explores an open-world sandbox full of diversions. You can also play it solo, but what's the fun in that?

Finally, Chained Echoes is a single-player JRPG featuring a group of heroes exploring the vast continent of Valandis. With three kingdoms waging war, it's up to these heroes to use their swords, magic, and mechs to end the conflict in this tribute to 16-bit era fantasy games.

PlayStation Plus September 2026 games

September 1 - October 5

• Sniper Elite: Resistance (PS5, PS4)
• MLB The Show 26 (PS5)
• Wobbly Life (PS5, PS4)
• Chained Echoes (PS4)

More than 27 years ago, Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace released in theaters, ushering in a new wave of fandom for one of the most important media franchises of all time. Since the film's release, one relic has been a constant: the Pepsi vending machine on Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh. It has remained and kept stocked with drinks ever since then, but it appears that has finally changed as part of some bizarre prank or heist.

Below, you can see what the vending machine looks like--or looked like, depending on its fate. The graphics have faded over time but it's still drawing in thirsty customers with its giant Pepsi bottle on the front alongside some pod-racing action.

https://twitter.com/connortonight/status/1278154371121983488

This week, however, the machine went missing. It was replaced with a pretty hilarious decoy, featuring a very poorly drawn recreation of the original machine's artwork.

https://twitter.com/ztwhite23/status/2092476623371055439

Visitors have noticed that the new machine has 10 buttons, while the original only had nine. It's been speculated that influencer Braeden Days may have swiped it, as he has threatened to do so in the past. It's possible the locals or the Pittsburgh Fire Department had something to do with it, as well, as it's located just outside a fire station.

The new artwork has been compared to the infamous 2012 Jesus-painting restoration, though it will be a lot easier to laugh at if the original machine makes a return.

For more Star Wars action, you can check out Star Wars Zero Company beginning August 27. This will be followed by Star Wars: Galactic Racer on October 6.

While Microsoft reportedly sold developer Undead Labs to a mystery buyer, the Washington-based studio is keeping its zombie survival game State of Decay 3 alive and well. And now, it plans to host another playtest sometime later this year.

In an August 26 Xbox Wire post, Undead Labs' community manager, Bruce Dugan, announced that the upcoming zombie survival sim will begin a closed beta playtest "before the end of 2026." An exact date for when this beta will start wasn't confirmed, but you can register for it now.

In the post, Undead Labs' creative director, Kevin Patzelt, said that the closed beta will open to "more players over time."

"This is our largest map ever, and with untethered multiplayer, we really need to take the opportunities to stress-test and fine-tune [this experience]," Patzelt said. "If you don't get access right away, rest assured there will be more opportunities throughout the year for players familiar and brand new to the series."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stwoU4ZdDYU

This closed beta, whenever it begins, comes after Undead Labs hosted an alpha test back in May. That alpha came with four-player co-op, new base-building and resource strategies, and plenty of combat. This beta will lean on what Undead Labs learned from the alpha, with Dugan highlighting key takeaways like "engaging combat against multiple freaks, the improvements to the world’s lighting, SFX, weather and overall visuals, cosmetic changes like varied clothing options and additions of glasses and beards, and smoother and more reactive character movement."

All of this comes just a couple of months after Microsoft began breaking up with a handful of the developers it acquired as part of its massive "reset" that saw several studios get sold, tons of employees get laid off, and some games get canceled. While many weren't spared, some were able to save themselves (like Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions) or were bought up by someone--or something--else, like Undead Labs and Hellblade developer Ninja Theory.

Announced in 2020, State of Decay 3 is the third entry in the long-running zombie survival franchise. Though no date has been nailed down just yet, the game is currently slated for a 2027 release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Microsoft has officially announced a new Xbox feature that lets you digitize your physical game discs.

In a blog post, Microsoft revealed a new system that allows players to "bring the benefits of digital to physical discs," with the aim of giving people more flexibility. This disc-to-digital program was leaked a while back.

Xbox's new disc-to-digital program has been officially announced.

Microsoft said "most" Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc-based games will support the new feature. Here's how it works, in Microsoft's own words:

"Players can claim a digital entitlement by inserting a supported disc into an Xbox One or Xbox Series X console and launching the game. Once the entitlement is claimed, you can experience the benefits of digital, including Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming where supported, while your physical disc continues to work exactly as it always has."

Reporter Tom Warren, who originally broke the news of this program, said the entitlement is "tied to the specific disc, and it will move from account to account if you swap the physical game with a friend or log in to a different Xbox profile and try to play a disc-based game."

To boil it down, here's how the disc-to-digital program works, based on that report and what Xbox boss Jason Ronald said during a Gamescom livestream event:

• Insert a supported disc and you get a license for a digital copy of the game, which works as if you had bought it digitally: play without a disc in and access Play Anywhere and cloud versions if they're offered for that game.
• Your disc will still work, but if you give that disc to someone else, you lose that digital license
• This all requires an Xbox with a disc drive--Series S owners are left out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ANSUtDfr5A

"Thousands" of games will support this new feature, and more will be added over time. "While not every title will be available at launch, this is an important step toward a future where players can have greater confidence that the games they buy remain with them for years to come," Microsoft said.

People in the Xbox Insider program can begin testing this new feature on August 31. It will be made available to everyone else later.

For what it's worth, Microsoft's original pitch for the Xbox One offered something similar, but fans revolted and Microsoft quickly changed course.

The announcement of the disc-to-digital program comes not long after Sony announced that it would end support for physical PlayStation game discs in 2028. It's expected that Microsoft will stop supporting game discs, too, with its upcoming Project Helix console.

Analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners said the disc-to-digital program from Xbox is a "nod towards the transition to an all-digital future." Xbox game sales are more than 90% digital today, he said, which is an even higher percentage that PlayStation.

https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/2092627673033957480

One of the big surprises from Gamescom's Opening Night Live event this week was the announcement of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered. Everyone was expecting news about The Witcher 3's Songs of the Past expansion, but no almost no one had The Witcher 3 Remastered on their bingo card.

Marcin Momot, the global community and social media director for CD Projekt Red, said on social media that he is "so happy" the remaster did not leak. "Reveals just hit different when they don't leak," he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGk17XQ7IrQ

Many people have called on CD Projekt Red over the years to release a remastered version of the 2015 game, but it never happened until now (though CD Projekt Red did update the game significantly over the years). The game's remastered version launches on September 29, setting the stage for the improvements to be baked into the Songs of the Past expansion in 2027.

Among the enhancements is perhaps the most notable update to the game since 2015: the ability to pet the dog.

https://twitter.com/marcin360/status/2092347434135412900?s=46

With more than 65 million copies sold, The Witcher 3 is one of the top 10 best-selling video games of all time.

A new trilogy, spanning The Witcher 4, 5, and 6, will begin in 2028 with the launch of The Witcher 4. The game shifts the focus to Ciri, instead of Geralt.

In addition to The Witcher 3 Remastered and the new The Witcher trilogy, CD Projekt Red is working on Cyberpunk 2, a The Witcher multiplayer game, and a game made in partnership with Scopely.

Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive is venturing into new live-service territory with the upcoming release of Exterminauts, a new third-person shooter that merges the blue-collar energy of Ghostbusters with Starship Troopers. The game is already drawing comparisons to Helldivers 2, and while these are two distinctly different experiences, Behaviour Interactive is taking a page from Arrowhead's book with how it'll give players the opportunity to unlock Battle Passes by simply playing the game--or buying it with cash to support the studio, if you're pressed for time.

"We should be launching with our live content, I think, about a month after [the game's] launch," creative director Vincent Regimbald said to GameSpot at Gamescom. "You're not going to be stuck too long without new content. We'll also announce it ahead of time, so people will know it's coming up. We're going to have some short Warbond-like Battle Passes that are going to be about six weeks long, so the cycle is going to be fairly quick, and payment is purely optional. The in-game currency you'll be able to find, earn, and obtain through daily objectives [and] weekly objectives."

Regimbald added that the Battle Passes will offer new cosmetics and weapons, but generally, these will be obtainable through regular play. Helldivers 2 uses a system where players can find caches of the game's premium currency in each map, but earning enough of it to purchase the new Warbond does require you to commit a substantial number of hours to the game each month.

Mods in Exterminauts can also be earned through this route, and Regimbald said that these will shake up the default performance of weapons, unlocking wild options for players when they experiment with them. 

https://youtu.be/0M9Yp1aGkRw

"What they can do is give elemental damage to your shots, offer an instant reload, or give you extra critical damage on your weapon," Regimbald explained. "Sometimes there are combinations with the gadgets that you've been using or the special weapons that you've been using. We think that players will be able to skew their build in a very particular direction depending on the mods that they select.

"There's also what we're calling the emblems and the badges. These are passive abilities that you can put on your character, so they can give you essentially what would look like a character class or playstyle class. You can be much more focused on gadgets, healing, or ice damage, for example. These things will affect your gameplay around that. To give you an example, if you do take the ice-focused emblem, if you freeze enemies and shoot at them, they'll blow up and cause area-of-effect damage. There are combos that you can start to create with the mods, combined with the emblems."

In our own hands-on time with Exterminauts, we found that the use of mods is a nice incentive to get players to stick around for another run or two. The game isn't anything revolutionary, but its lighthearted combat and chaotic co-op could make it worth keeping an eye on. Exterminauts launches in 2027 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamescom-opening-night-live-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-games-and-trailers/

The Dungeons & Dragons franchise has continued to evolve over the decades, and in the upcoming Warlock from Invoke Studios, players will get the opportunity to explore a darker corner of that popular tabletop fantasy IP. Following its gameplay reveal during Gamescom Opening Night Live, GameSpot had the chance to sit down and chat with Invoke's general manager Dominic Guay and VP Jeff Hattem about the game.

Set beyond the Mists of Darkon, players will make a pact with the warlock Taasha to wield sinister magic, and Invoke Studio says that it was given a surprising amount of freedom to craft the game. "We're building on the franchise, we're expanding it," Guay and Hattem said to GameSpot. "We're going to the Domains of Dread, which is one of the darker fantasy corners of Dungeons & Dragons. And the monster manual is filled with a whole bunch of monsters to choose from, and we're expanding on that as well. The magical spells as well, we're taking what's built into D&D and expanding. We're creating some new stuff as well for players and reimagining some older spells from previous editions."

Compared to the last big D&D game, Baldur's Gate 3, Warlock gives players more direct control over the protagonist, Kaatri, as it's a third-person single-player adventure. That means no rolls of the dice--just a straight-up dive into action as players wield both magic and melee weapons against the nastier denizens of Darkon.

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

"D&D is a game that players can express a lot of creativity in, and for me, at least personally, I wanted to make a system that would allow them to express that creativity with magic. The Warlock class has magic at the core of what they can do, and we wanted to really represent that with the game," Guay and Hattem explained. "Being expressive and creative with magic is really fun when you can manipulate the elements, the world, and find an advantage over monsters because of the systems that you can impact."

As for the tone of Warlock? After debuting the gameplay with a trailer that included some Tool music in the background, Invoke says that players can expect a lot more dark fantasy on their journey--as well as some lighter moments, to break things up.

"It is definitely a dark fantasy game, but it's got moments of levity and brightness and color as well," Guay and Hattem said. "We're going into Darkon, which is a huge world, an open world to explore, and it's got a varied biome of elements to explore. There's a whole wide cast of characters that have different personalities and contrasts. Just look at Tasha, she's like very chaotic and exuberant, and then you go into Darkon, there are more dark fantasy characters. So, I think there's a lot, and there's a wide range of tones, I would say, for players. It's not just one note."

Warlock is also aiming to be both an entry point into the world of D&D and appealing to veterans of the series. Invoke explained that Khatri is well-positioned to be a point-of-view character for players to become familiar with DnD, while veterans will easily spot Easter eggs and references throughout the game.

"I think like if you want a fully realized adventure that you can play in the setting of DnD, and see some of the spells that you really like, some of the monsters that you're familiar with, realized into an action-adventure, this is the game for you," Guay and Hattem concluded.

Set to release in 2027, the game features the voices of Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Kaatri and Maggie Robertson, who previously played Orin the Red in Baldur's Gate 3.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamescom-opening-night-live-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-games-and-trailers/

As part of Gamescom this week, it was announced that The Lord of the Rings actor Billy Boyd will show up in a new game, or at least his voice will.

Boyd, who played the "Fool of a Took" Peregrin Took AKA Pippin in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is playing Robert C. MacBrushy in There Are No Ghosts at the Grand. If you're just catching up, this is a musical mystery game where players inherit a crumbling English hotel. By day, they work to restore it. By night, they deal with the ghosts haunting it.

"Each mysterious character you meet or choose to help has their own story and song waiting to be uncovered. From spooky ska to wartime jazz to skater punk, each song is uniquely theirs… and sometimes surprisingly so," reads a line from the game's description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUwRT4FPqAQ

Boyd is an accomplished musician himself and fronts the band Beecake. Other performers featured in There Are No Ghosts at the Grand include Alex Brightman, who is known for his Tony-nominated performances in the stage plays for Beetlejuice and School of Rock.

There Are No Ghosts at the Grand releases later this year, and a free demo is available now on Steam.

CD Projekt Red has shared new footage and disclosed more details about The Witcher 3's upcoming Songs of the Past expansion, and that includes confirmation that you can indeed pet the dog. Finally.

This is very welcome news, as The Witcher 3 did not originally allow players to do this (except for in one mission where Geralt saves a dog from wolves). Geralt has been able to give horses nice pats, but never dogs--until now.

https://twitter.com/thewitcher/status/2092584978785640532

Coming in 2027, Songs of the Past is The Witcher 3's third expansion, following Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, and it's coming some 12 years after the game originally released in 2015.

In Songs of the Past, players suit up once again as Geralt as they take on "never-before-seen foes" and fight a "long-dormant evil" in a new region, Letten. You can check out the latest trailer from Gamescom below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB3siHVCHpY

The expansion includes enhancements to visuals, performances, and gameplay from the upcoming Witcher 3 remaster, which releases on September 29. Presumably, the ability to pet the dog is not exclusive to Songs of the Past and is part of the wider enhancements coming with the remaster.

Persona 4 is no stranger to the remaster scene, but next year, it's getting a glow-up that fans of the series have been patiently waiting for. Similar to Persona 3: Reload, Persona 4: Revival updates the original game with slick graphics, new combat features, and adjustments to the story to filter out some of its more unsavory elements. And based on what we've played so far? It's looking like a pretty good and faithful return to the not-so-sleepy town of Inaba.

Visually, Atlus is once again firing on all cylinders with the presentation of Persona 4: Revival. The menus look especially good while also paying homage to Persona 4, and the whole game leans hard into the analog TV aesthetic with various elements. Beyond that, the game's graphics naturally represent a noticeable upgrade compared to the PS2 original. Environments now pop with more details, character models look great in 3D, and there are also brand-new anime cutscenes alongside 3D-animated sequences. Basically, if you're a fan of Persona 5 and Persona 3: Reload's visual storytelling, you'll feel right at home here.

https://youtu.be/pvHNpa4IVLE

On the audio side, Persona 4: Revival also features a strong cast of voice actors who bring the primary cast to life. There may be new voices behind each character, but the cast does a solid job of embodying each member of the Persona 4 gang, matching the tone and energy of the protagonists.

If Persona 4 looks and sounds good, how does it play then?

When it comes to combat, there are a few noticeable changes as well. The biggest is the Baton Pass, which was originally from Persona 5, then added in Persona 3 Reload, and now it is here. Atlus is really making the Baton Pass sort of a core part of Persona's combat. The other new mechanic is Prime Time. You have a meter that fills up over time, and when it's full, you activate Prime Time. This will give you several turns where you can freely use any ability you want without spending any SP or HP. You can Baton Pass, change Persona, and then finish a fight with a Showtime attack when you're ready. Think of it as an ace up your sleeve that you'll want to save for particularly tough encounters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeRDfIp2ht8&pp=0gcJCRMMAYcqIYzv

I appreciate the added flashiness of Prime Time, but I'll be honest: it doesn't feel like it dramatically changes Persona Four's combat in a big, substantial way.

A long-standing issue we've had with Persona games is that every time they release a special edition or a remake, they always add new mechanics that end up making the combat feel significantly easier. I will give credit to Prime Time in that I don't feel like they just added another flashy win button, the way some mechanics added to Persona games feel. But at the same time, I didn't feel like it was an incredible new mechanic I was very excited about. It's a cool addition, but I don't find it to be a game-changer.

Atlus has proven it knows how to remake its Persona games. So far, this is very much Persona 4 Golden, but it looks nicer and has a couple of new gameplay mechanics. We'll just have to wait and see if Atlus has any surprises in store for us when the game comes out early next year.

While Naughty Dog is working on its next title, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, that hasn't stopped people from taking a jab at the studio for having spent almost the entire PlayStation 5 generation without releasing a brand-new game--and it looks like even GTA 6 is having a little bit of fun at Naughty Dog's expense.

The recent GTA 6 leaks from Cyberleek have been a treasure trove of information about the game, especially the amount of detail that can be found in virtually every corner of it. One such detail you might easily miss is a collection of video game covers, one of which is a thinly veiled reference to the video game series The Last of Us. As seen in the screenshot below, players can find a copy of We Came Together: 1, 2, & 3 Remasters of the Remixes.

https://twitter.com/ali_hld13/status/2092263630280515607

The text used here is very similar to the logo of The Last of Us, complete with a splash of orange to break it all up. It's not the only studio that GTA 6 is parodying, as you can even find a cover for what's probably a souls-like game on the shelf:

https://twitter.com/ali_hld13/status/2092246778850517309

The ribbing of The Last of Us likely stems from the fact that, compared to the PS3 and PS4 eras, Naughty Dog's output for PS5 has been much smaller. There are a number of reasons for that, as the increased complexity of developing modern video games means that a project can take several years to complete. The multi-year development and eventual cancellation of The Last of Us Online also consumed massive studio resources for years and ended without a finished product.

In the PS5 era, Naughty Dog's output has consisted of remastered editions and PC ports of its Uncharted and The Last of Us games. The studio's next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, is still listed as a PS5 game, and another report claims that the studio is crunching hard to have it out by mid-2027. If the game does arrive next year, it'll be the first new release from Naughty Dog that isn't a remake or a remaster since 2020's The Last of Us Part 2, and it's rumored that a second team is working on The Last of Us: Part III.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-6-leaks-a-timeline-of-the-events-so-far/

As for Rockstar Games, it'll be showing off an official look at GTA 6 on August 27, after weathering a week of leaks. The GTA 6 leaker hasn't been identified yet, but former Rockstar North director Obbe Vermeij has commented on the situation and he believes that they aren't as big a deal as the internet would have you believe--or at least, they aren't nearly as bad as the infamous Hot Coffee scandal.

Rockstar Games has broken its silence on the GTA 6 leak situation, releasing a statement today, August 26, saying the leaks have been "heartbreaking for our team."

The latest wave of GTA 6 gameplay leaks began earlier this month, with lots and lots of footage and details, along with spoilers, emerging in the process. GTA 6 also suffered a massive leak in 2022, and Rockstar and Take-Two found the person responsible, but that hasn't happened yet with this latest leak.

https://twitter.com/RockstarGames/status/2092574304571433078

"It would be an understatement to say that having videos of GTA 6 gameplay leak in this way has been heartbreaking for our team, and this is obviously not how we intended for you to see the game after all this time," Rockstar added.

Rockstar will show off GTA 6 during a Netflix event on August 27. Rockstar added that getting the video together "has taken longer than we wanted," but "we know we need to exceed your expectations." The event takes place on August 27 at 3 PM ET, and the video will be reshared on YouTube later that day.

"While it is unfortunate that the intended game experience may now be impacted by some spoilers, we hope that everyone will wait a bit longer to experience the game for themselves on November 19," Rockstar added.

"We want to thank everyone in the community who has reacted out with messages of support this past week--your words have meant more to this team than you can imagine. Ultimately, we are making this game for you, and without you, we would not have the privilege of making games."

Keep checking back with GameSpot for lots more on GTA 6. The game launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar is charging $80 for the base game and $100 for a premium edition that includes a lot of extras.

GTA 6 has been described as a single-player experience, and it remains to be seen how Rockstar may evolve GTA Online for GTA 6. Whatever happens, Rockstar's decision is sure to piss people off.

The long, long wait for GTA 6 is coming to an end, as the game's November 19 release date approaches. Yes, there have been many leaks, but the genuine article arrives soon. 

It's been 13 years since GTA 5 launched in September 2013, and a lot has happened in the world of video games since then. When GTA 5 came out, Fortnite was not a thing. The live-service boom (and subsequent crash) hadn't happened yet. E3 was still a thriving, can't-miss annual summer event. Nintendo had just launched the ill-fated Wii U. 

In this post, we're running through some of the most notable gaming events and stories since GTA 5 launched more than a decade ago. To be sure, this is not an exhaustive list, and it does not touch on the many real-world, non-gaming high-profile events that have transpired. This list is all about big gaming stories, of which there have been many. 

GTA 6 approaches. A Comical Number Of Skyrim Ports

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released all the way back in 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC--nearly two years before GTA 5 launched. Since then, we haven't gotten a new mainline The Elder Scrolls game either, but we have gotten a ridiculous number of Skyrim ports across a bunch of different systems. Those include Skyrim for Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and various VR platforms. There's even, sort of, a port of Skyrim available for Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. Dubbed Skyrim Very Special Edition, it lets you explore Skyrim like it's an old-school text-adventure, so you can even keep playing as the Dragonborn while you make dinner. -- Gabe Gurwin

Three Watch Dogs Games

Shortly after the launch of GTA 5, Ubisoft released the original Watch Dogs, an open-world action game that offered similar freedom to Grand Theft Auto but with a particular focus on hacking infrastructure and weaponizing Chicago's electrical grid. It was followed by a far superior sequel set in San Francisco, Watch Dogs 2, a few years later, and the London-set Watch Dogs Legion in 2020. While the games--particularly Watch Dogs 2--certainly scratched a GTA-like itch, it's been radio silence on the series for several years. We're crossing our fingers for a true sequel to Watch Dogs 2 at some point. -- Gabe Gurwin

Halo Is On PlayStation

It would have been almost impossible to believe back in 2013, but a whole lot has changed over the last 13 years: Halo is now on PlayStation. During the Xbox 360 era, Microsoft was still sticking to a traditional exclusives-focused release strategy, with multiple Halo games releasing solely on Xbox 360. Even the real-time-strategy game Halo Wars initially released solely on Xbox 360, not coming to PC until 2016. But times have changed, and Microsoft opted to simultaneously launch Halo: Campaign Evolved on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and, yes, PlayStation 5. It remains to be seen if this will continue for future Halo games, as new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma seems interested in returning to exclusives, but it sure is weird to see a Halo game on Sony's system. -- Gabe Gurwin

Halo is now on PlayStation. GTA 5 Came To All These Other Platforms

Grand Theft Auto 5 was initially only available on Xbox 360 and PS3, with Rockstar following in its predecessors' footsteps by not launching day-and-date with PC. But the game did eventually come to PC, mod support and all, in 2015, and also released on Xbox One and PS4. But the wait for the next GTA has gone on so long that it also released for Xbox Series X|S and PS5, along with the separate GTA Online component. Up to this point, it hasn't come to Nintendo Switch or Switch 2, but it wouldn't be particularly shocking for that to happen in the future, as Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is available on Switch. -- Gabe Gurwin

15+ Call of Duty Games 

The Call of Duty series is annualized, and there have been a lot of Call of Duty games released since GTA 5 came out in September 2013. In the time since Rockstar released GTA 5, Activision has released 13 mainline Call of Duty games, with a 14th, Modern Warfare 4, arriving in late October. In addition to all of those games, Activision launched the mobile game Call of Duty: Mobile in 2019, the battle royale game Call of Duty: Warzone in 2020, and then another mobile game, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, in 2024 (that game shut down in 2026). Also during the time since GTA 5 came out, the Call of Duty franchise changed hands, with Microsoft taking ownership of the franchise through its purchase of Activision Blizzard. -- Eddie Makuch

COD: Warzone launched in 2020. EA Gets A New CEO

GTA 5 and EA executive Andrew Wilson are connected by way of GTA 5 releasing and Wilson being promoted to CEO in the same month. Shortly after GTA 5 launched on September 17, 2013, Wilson was named CEO, replacing John Riccitiello on September 20. Both GTA 5 and Wilson did well for themselves in the decade-plus that followed, with GTA 5 selling exceptionally well and Wilson presiding over a run from about $25/share to $200+, increasing EA's market cap by billions upon billions. This culminated in Wilson and his team agreeing to sell the company to a group of investors led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in August 2026 for $55 billion. -- Eddie Makuch

The Death Of E3 

Not long after E3 2013 wrapped up in June that year, The Figueroa Hotel, located near the Los Angeles Convention Center where E3 was hosted, was adorned by impressive and gargantuan GTA 5 artwork. While GTA 5 and GTA Online would persist and thrive in the decade-plus that followed, E3 would not. Once a private trade show for industry professionals and media, E3 opened to the public in 2017, but it wouldn't last. After COVID led to the cancellation of the 2020 show, organizers held a virtual show in 2021. The 2022 event was canceled entirely, and though organizers promised a "reinvigorated showcase" for 2023, that didn't happen either--E3 was canceled permanently. Rockstar was known to make announcements at E3, as the company unveiled a brand-new PS3-exclusive spy game called Agent at E3 2009. -- Eddie Makuch

COVID And Its Impact On Gaming

The COVID-19 pandemic, which took hold in early 2020, had a massive impact on the world, of course, including the video game industry. Due to stay-at-home orders and general social distancing policies, people spent more time--and money--on things they could do at home. Naturally, home gym and fitness equipment sales soared, but so did spending on entertainment like video games. 

Sales of games and consoles skyrocketed, Twitch set unprecedented viewership records, and naturally, the surging spending on games made dollar-signs appear in executive and investor's eyes. Coupled with historically low costs to borrow money, this led to a situation where companies ramped up hiring and investors funded new studios, thinking the momentum might be sustainable. Painfully, it was not. Experts are now looking back and saying executives and investors mistook a bubble for a baseline. Subsequently, the past few post-COVID years have been some of the most tumultuous in recent times, with thousands of layoffs, numerous studio closures, countless game cancellations, and investment funding slowing down significantly. The pandemic may be behind us, but its impacts are still being felt today. -- Eddie Makuch

What's more, the surging spending on games made dollar-signs appear in executive and investor's eyes. Coupled with historically low costs to borrow money, this led to a situation where companies ramped up hiring and investors funded new studios, thinking the momentum might be sustainable. Painfully, it was not. Experts are now looking back and saying executives and investors mistook a bubble for a baseline. Subsequently, the past few post-COVID years have been some of the most tumultuous in recent times, with thousands of layoffs, numerous studio closures, countless game cancellations, and investment funding slowing down significantly. The pandemic may be behind us, but its impacts are still being felt today. -- Eddie Makuch

Destiny came and went

GTA 5 has been a hell of a success story for Rockstar Games, earning the studio critical acclaim. But GTA Online? That online portion of the game hit the mark for critical and commercial success, emerging as a giant in the live-service game space. Few games can compare to it, but for a brief time, Bungie's Destiny presented some stiff competition in a market where player attention spans are everything. It might have gotten off to a slow start, but a year later, Destiny was firing on all cylinders with the release of its Taken King expansion.

That momentum would begin to stall over the next few years, but once Bungie found its groove with Destiny 2's seasonal model, every Tuesday was a reason to sit down and enjoy everything that the weekly reset had to offer. For a few years, things were good: new content rolled out at a steady clip, new game modes made the wait for the next expansion flow by fast, and that gratifying grind for new loot was always welcome. That magic couldn't last forever, and following the release of The Final Shape in 2024, Destiny's days were numbered. The Edge of Fate saga saw two more compact expansions released, but by mid-2026, Bungie was ready to move on to new projects and its extraction-shooter Marathon--with mass layoffs being an unfortunate side effect.

Destiny's lifespan was short in the grand scheme of things, but ask anyone who played, those few years of gallivanting across planets and saving existence from would-be gods was downright magical. – Darryn Bonthuys

Saints Row fizzled out

Has there ever been a true GTA-killer? At one point, Saints Row was being positioned as the Bovril to GTA's Marmite, and it's not hard to see why. GTA adopted a more serious tone and became increasingly grounded in reality, whereas Saints Row operated like a Looney Tunes sandbox that embraced absurdity. Saints Row 2 got the ball rolling on that idea, but by the time that Saints Row 4 hit the scene, the shark had been jumped, flipped off, and killed with a rocket launcher. 

Volition's Saints Row reboot in 2022 was seen as an attempt to bring the franchise back to reality, but that's probably why it didn't take off with fans. With one foot planted in the realm of realism and another testing the waters of silliness, Saints Row ultimately felt like a game that didn't know what it wanted to be. The launch was middling, the game was buggy as hell during its first few weeks, and the whole experience felt like an open-world game designed by a committee, devoid of any real identity. Not long after, Volition Studios was shut down, and for now, it looks like the Saints Row franchise is dead. – Darryn Bonthuys

A scene from 2022's Saints Row. The Entire Phil Spencer Era Of Xbox

After joining Microsoft as an intern back in 1988, Phil Spencer was promoted to head of Xbox in 2014, kicking off his 12-year stint as one of the most notable figures in video games. In a situation eerily similar to current Xbox head, Asha Sharma, Spencer came in during an extremely volatile time for Xbox. Following the disastrous reveal of the Xbox One, Spencer was brought in to revitalize the brand and restore player trust, and did so by prioritizing backwards compatibility, fostering relationships with third-party studios, and creating Xbox Game Pass. 

Spencer was quickly embraced by the Xbox community, who championed him as a true gamer who understood what players wanted. But while his various initiatives and spending sprees might have endeared him to fans initially, his reputation soured over time due to his mismanagement of the various studios Xbox acquired and the rapidly increasing prices of both Game Pass and Xbox hardware. Spencer officially retired as Microsoft Gaming CEO earlier this year, leaving behind an extremely unstable company and a legacy tainted by layoffs, price hikes, and an overall weakening of the Xbox brand. And somehow, all of this happened in the span of time between GTA 5 and GTA 6. -- Jessica Cogswell

The Nintendo Switch's Entire Existence

A year before Grand Theft Auto 5 hit shelves, Nintendo unveiled a new (oddly named) console: the Wii U. Despite the success of its predecessor, the Wii, the Wii U was met with confusion and mixed reactions, both of which led to it becoming Nintendo's lowest-selling home console of all time (if we aren't counting the Virtual Boy). Following this commercial failure, Nintendo quickly went back to the drawing board. Five years later, Nintendo released its next console: the Nintendo Switch.

In combining its talent for creating fantastic handheld systems and the public's desire for a home console with a little something for everyone, Nintendo struck gold. The Switch is now the second-best-selling console of all time, with nearly 156.6 million units sold--less than 4 million units shy of the PlayStation 2. In 2025, Nintendo released the successor to the console, the Nintendo Switch 2, which has already hit nearly 23.7 million units sold--a whopping 10 million more units than the Wii U sold across its five-year life span.

In addition to these consoles being tremendously successful themselves, they've also helped usher in a new golden era for Nintendo games. Titles like The Legend of the Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Donkey Kong: Bananza, and Super Mario Odyssey have effectively reshaped their respective series; less active franchises, like Metroid, Luigi's Mansion, Pokemon Snap, Kirby, and Animal Crossing, have been reinvigorated with critically acclaimed new entries; and the release of definitive versions of Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart have made the Switch the ultimate destination for all things Nintendo. Combine all this with the addition of Nintendo Online's catalog of games, and it truly feels as though the Switch is Nintendo's pièce de résistance. -- Jessica Cogswell

Consoles Got A Lot More Expensive

Although video games have technically never been cheaper, console prices have risen astronomically in the time since GTA 5's release. These price hikes have been especially bad in recent years, as tariffs and the ongoing components crisis--linked largely to the rise of AI data centers--have made the cost of making consoles a lot more expensive. As a result, consumers are now paying more for five-year-old consoles than they would have if they purchased them day one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiYNNGR4uLo

The Xbox Series X, originally sold for $500 when it launched in November 2020, now rests at $800--and it's already rumored that the console will see a price hike again in 2027. The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition has risen from $400 to $600, while the version with a disc drive has jumped from $500 to $650. Even Nintendo has increased its console prices, with both the Switch 2 and Switch OLED seeing $50 price increases. And don't even get me started on how unreasonable it would be to build a PC these days. -- Jessica Cogswell

Gamescom Opening Night Live is always full of surprises, and this year, indie developer Octopus Panic made a splash with a first look at its new action-builder game Gravhounds. As seen in the reveal trailer below, Gravhounds takes place in a future where interstellar exploration and colonization have become the domain of man's best friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7K6kahO2Ak

Although the trailer states that the titular Gravhounds have been "bred" for this life, their humanoid appearance suggests more than a little genetic engineering was responsible for this turn of events. In fact, there's no sign of human life at all on this hostile alien world, but the Gravhounds themselves seem human enough.

The gameplay supports 1-4 players as they attempt to build up resources for a new colony while holding on to the potential promise of coming home. Upgrades appear to play a major role in the main characters' survival, especially when they get overwhelmed by alien forces that really don't want them around at all.

According to Gravhounds' Steam page, the game's early-access period will last at least six months. It will "include the core Gravhound experience," but we plan to expand its breadth, depth, and replayability on the road to 1.0," reads the statement. Both solo and co-op campaigns will be playable during this initial release.

Gravhounds' early-access release will hit Xbox Series X|S and PC on November 2. It will also be available on day one with Xbox Game Pass.

It may not be The Witcher 4, but the first real look at The Witcher 3's new DLC, Songs of the Past, might just make the wait a little easier, especially when it's coming soon after a free upgrade to The Witcher 3 Remastered, as was newly revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live.

Developer CD Projekt Red showed off the upcoming expansion (just don't call it DLC) as part of Gamescom Opening Night Live, revealing new details about the over-a-decade-later expansion coming to The Witcher 3.

But this came after the reveal of the game's remastered version, whose changes and additions were numerous, including improved controls, a skill tree revamp, expanded photo mode, both past expansions, and tons more. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered launches on September 29 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and it's free if you already own The Witcher 3.

All announced changes for The Witcher 3 Remastered

• Upgraded visuals
• Enhanced combat
• Improved traversal and movement
• Revamped mount handling
• Improved monster behaviors
• Revamped skill tree
• Transmogrification
• Expanded photo mode
• New combat finishers
• Cross-platform mods
• Immersive meditation
• Refined animations
• New quest tracking
• UI improvements
• Looting rework
• Refreshed motion blur
• New accessibility features
• Updated textures
• Foliage shading rework
• Tutorial modernization
• HDR improvements
• GTAO (ground truth ambient occlusion, not Grand Theft Auto Online)
• Improved menu navigation
• Ray tracing improvements
• Global lighting rework
• New shading model
• Subsurface scattering
• New tone mapper
• PlayStation 5 Pro support
• Xbox Play Anywhere support
• Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive features
• Nvidia DLSS 4.5
• AMD FSR 4
• Intel XESS 2.0
• Path tracing on PC
• Ray reconstruction on PC
• Ray traced hair
• Native DX12
• Rendering parallelization

The expansion, Songs of the Past, will follow sometime next year as the third story expansion to the 2015 game.

Songs of the Past has been described as being similar in size and scope to The Witcher 3's previous two expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. It's currently slated to release in 2027 but was orginally planned for 2026.

There are still plenty of questions about Songs of the Past, namely how it might connect to the events of The Witcher 4, which will star Ciri instead of Geralt. CD Projekt Red recently confirmed The Witcher 4 is targeting a 2028 release.

From the stage of Gamescom Opening Night Live, No Law brought out the cyberpunk flair during a stage show that was often dominated by anime games, dark fantasy souls-likes, and cozy offerings. There's nothing cozy in No Law, though fans of Cyberpunk 2077 will find aesthetics that seem familiar. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClVyqFt1IJM

While No Law looks a lot like Cyberpunk 2077 when all hell breaks loose, it should be noted that such is the main attraction of Neon Giant's follow-up to The Ascent, as No Law is said to be a first-person shooter, not an RPG. 

No Law is set for release in 2027 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.

Following its official reveal at Summer Games Fest, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation made another appearance at Gamescom Opening Night Live, following a brief introduction from director Naoki Hamaguchi. This trailer was centered almost entirely on the Weapons, massive beasts that appear to have a larger role to play in this final part of the trilogy.

The cinematic trailer showed Rufus Shinra giving an address following recent world events, and the world has become overrun with Weapons. Those kaiju-like beasts were a part of the original Final Fantasy 7, including as optional bosses, but they seem to have a much bigger role in the story here. In dialogue the cast talks about them being guardians of the planet, and humans are seen as a harmful invasive species. The trailer showed off Ultima Weapon and Emerald Weapon in particular, but there may be more.

The trailer also showed off a good bit of the full cast, an aerial battle in Cid's Highwind, and ground battles against familiar Final Fantasy foes like Typhon (aka Mr. Chupon, for you old-school fans).

The final chapter in the Final Fantasy Remake trilogy--but maybe not the last game in this series--Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is building on the groundwork laid by its predecessors with new content and some fine-tuning of its open-world gameplay. One of the new features is the FITS system that allows you to equip Cloud and the gang with new roles in combat, and if you want to stick to the golden path without having to worry about stopping to take part in a game of cards, minigames will be more optional in the threequel.

For more on the game, you can also check out dozens of screenshots showing off the world of Midgar, why the planetary weapons were game director Naoki Hamaguchi's favorite thing to remake, and who's voicing Sephiroth this time.

Path of Exile 2 debuted a new gameplay trailer during Gamescom Opening Night Live, which revealed that the action-role-playing sequel will finally launch out of early access on December 11.

The latest gameplay trailer offers a snippet of the sequel's narrative setup, as well as a look at its faster action compared to its predecessor. Like the first game, Path of Exile 2 will offer incredibly deep class customization through hundreds of active and passive skill gems, with a deep emphasis on endgame content that will be composed of over 100 maps and grueling boss fights.

https://youtu.be/BwYNNQJO-AE

Path of Exile 2 entered early access in December 2024 across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Participating in early builds of the game wasn't free, but developer Grinding Gear Games has confirmed that the game will be going free-to-play when it does launch into 1.0 later this year.

If you're already playing Path of Exile 2 or want to get the most out of it when it does launch, you can sign up on the game's official mailing list and receive exclusive in-game rewards in the lead-up to release.

If December is too far away, Diablo IV's latest expansion launched earlier this year and continues to expand on Blizzard's role-playing epic in all the rights ways.

This year's Gamescom Opening Night Live ceremony just came to an end, and the livestreamed showcase had no shortage of highly anticipated announcements and trailers. From a closer look at the upcoming Witcher 3 DLC and the announcement of two PUBG spin-offs, to new glimpses of Control: Resonant, Silent Hill: Townfall, and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, ONL seemed to have something for everyone. There was even a live performance of a track from the Mewgenics soundtrack.

But between demands for a new Path of Exile 2 trailer (which finally materialized 90 minutes into the showcase) and random declarations of "GTA 6!!!," one message kept popping up in the showcase's live Twitch chat: #RIPDOLLY.

Just moments into the live broadcast, country singer and pop culture icon Dolly Parton's death was announced via an Instagram post shared by her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DceNXgPJyZ9/

Parton passed away at 80, after decades of smash country hits and admirable charitable giving. Aside from appearing in several casino games, Parton had very little to do with gaming, her biggest contributions being her 2020 collaboration with Word With Friends and the inclusion of her songs "9 to 5" and "Odd Jobs" in 2009's Pop'n Music for the Nintendo Wii. (Though she did appear in her own pinball machine in 1979.)

But despite her lack of deep connections to the world of gaming, homages to Parton continued to flood the chat even as Gamescom's opening showcase entered its second hour. And in his announcement of her death, Parton's nephew Bryan Seaver explained things perfectly.

"My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you," he said. "She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever. Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy; he farmed the soil, [while] she farmed songs and happiness."

Perhaps that's the essence of it. Parton connected with everyone--not just country music lovers or fans of her many films. Like games themselves, Parton was a fond part of many of our childhoods. Her charisma was so strong that her memory managed to steal the show at a gaming showcase held half a world away from her home in Tennessee, where her family says she passed peacefully. 

Image credit: Getty Images / Ian Gavan

Paradox Interactive and Iceflake Studios validated some recent leaks at Gamescom Opening Night Live by announcing Lego Skylines. As its title suggests, it's a spin-off of the city builder Cities: Skylines where everything is made out of Lego.

A press release for Lego Skylines explains that the game will start on a single plot of land, allowing players to build and customize their house. From there, they can build up to an entire neighborhood and then a giant city. Like Cities: Skylines, you'll have to manage the distribution of electricity, food, and water, and build parks, museums, sports parks, and more to keep your citizens happy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfBg8TQQrCQ

After the rocky launch of Cities: Skylines 2, Iceflake Studios took over the development of that game from Colossal Order. Iceflake is also the developer working on Lego Skylines, with director Lasse Liljedahl saying in a press release that "most of us at Iceflake grew up building Lego sets" and that he is excited to make a city builder that's a "more personal experience."

Generally, I find the high-level pitch for Lego Skylines to be a great game concept, and I'm definitely excited to see more. Lego tie-in games have been a pretty great run recently with Lego Voyagers, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, and Lego Party. Hopefully, Lego Skylines is as good as it sounds and won't have the performance issues on PC that Cities: Skylines 2 had at release.

Lego Skylines does not have a release date, but it is confirmed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.