The Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz has commented on the state of next-generation consoles, saying his studio Rebel Wolves wouldn't be too upset if the PlayStation 6 and next-gen Xbox get delayed due to the ongoing memory and component crises.

"To be honest, it's even better for us," Tomaszkiewicz told Eurogamer about how he would feel if next-gen consoles get delayed. He's currently working on the vampire game The Blood of Dawnwalker, which releases in September across console and PC.

He went on to say a new platform comes with new challenges that developers need to spend time working on and learning. "You need to know what are your borders, what you can do, what you cannot do. And also it's an additional build you need to create that you need to take care of later," he explained.

The Blood of Dawnwalker releases in September.

Currently, Rebel Wolves has four different builds of its current game, The Blood of Dawnwalker--Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and two for PC due to regional restrictions. If The Blood of Dawnwalker is a success and Rebel Wolves wants to bring it to whatever new systems are coming, the amount of work required would be multiplied, Tomaszkiewicz said.

"It sounds easy but you need to know that there is a group of testers who need to test every platform separately--not only this particular change but whether the whole game has no blockers, if you can finish it from the beginning to the end, and so on and so on. It's a huge effort, to be honest," he said.

As for the benefits of coming to a new, more powerful platform, Tomaszkiewicz said improvements would be "mostly visuals" thanks to having more RAM and a better processor.

To be sure, Sony has not officially announced the next PlayStation console, but the company has spoken at a high level about its plans. Microsoft has been speaking openly about Project Helix for some time. Recently, Xbox's chief strategy officer Matthew Ball said Microsoft is committed to releasing Project Helix, but the company is going to "rethink everything" about it.

It remains to be seen what that means. Due in part to the AI-fueled demand for memory and components, hardware prices on game consoles have gone up in recent years. Sony and Microsoft already raised prices on the PlayStation and Xbox consoles, while Nintendo is hiking the price of the Switch 2 in September.

Some are theorizing that, should current trends continue, the price of new consoles in the future could be $1,000 or more, and that's a real bummer. With the prices of new consoles expected to be the highest ever, that may help explain why Sony is killing of discs in 2028. If companies like Sony and Microsoft are going to sell fewer consoles in the future, as data suggests, then shifting to an all-digital world helps improve margins to mitigate the impact of fewer hardware sales.

The creator of Assassin's Creed has a new game on the horizon, a supernatural blend of dark fantasy and witchcraft by the name of 1666: Amsterdam. Having been in development for 16 years--development on it originally began in 2011 at THQ before it went bust--the game got a re-reveal during Summer Game Fest 2026. One area where the game is aiming to stand apart from the pack is with its art direction, and in a new dev diary, developer Panache Digital Games provided a behind-the-scenes look at the artistic vision powering the mystery and witchcraft of this title.

Set across three time periods--the late 17th century, 1999, and the modern day--creative director Patrice Désilets and the Panache team drew inspiration from the Dutch Golden Age of art to shape the look and feel of the game. The process included translating paintings into interactive environments, replicating the distinct aesthetics of those painters to create the game world. Art nerds will immediately recognize the influence of painters like Johannes Vermeer and Adriaen van Ostade in the game's setting, and as Désilets explained, this approach allowed the team to recreate Amsterdam both accurately and expressively due to how artists of the time captured everyday life on canvas.

https://youtu.be/6GPWe3EU1uc

"I really love art in general, not just from the 17th century. There's something in those artists, that era, that place, that is very powerful. It was among the first--not the very first--but still, who painted ordinary people from the street," Désilets said, likening the paintings to photographs of the era.

While the first part of the game draws from the great masters of the time, the second part, set in 1999, uses the Giallo era of slasher movies from the 1960s for inspiration, something which is the complete opposite of 17th-century Dutch art with dark contrasts and primary colors. Finally, the modern-day sections are set in a library, and artistic director Nicolas Cantin described the look of these scenes as sober and cinematic.

1666: Amsterdam isn't the first game to look to the past to create a unique art direction, as last year's smash-hit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 featured an art direction born from French Belle Époque art. At the same time, 1666: Amsterdam did catch some flak following the release of its playable prologue on Steam, as players noticed that generative AI had been used for in-game art and assets. In a statement, Panache Digital promised that these would be removed and replaced with work produced by real human artists in the game's full release. 1666: Amsterdam will launch in early access later on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

From the moment the current Nintendo Switch 2 launched with its LCD screen there have been questions around whether or not Nintendo would release an OLED version in the future. It's the strategy it followed with the original Switch to great success, but could still be a while away for its follow-up.

According to a report by ZDNet Korea (via Digital Foundry), Nintendo could be looking at an upcoming 1080p OLED panel from Samsung Display as an option for the potential Switch 2 OLED. The concern currently, according to the report, is not with the hardware itself, but the potential premium the upgrade would demand, and whether consumers will be willing to purchase an even more expensive console in today's memory-strapped market.

Nintendo has already announced plans to increase the price of the current LCD Nintendo Switch 2, and there's no guarantee that it won't have to hike the price further in the near future. That makes a potential Switch 2 OLED releasing in 2028 at the earliest a difficult product to predict, and even tricker to try and price before development kicks off by the end of this year.

An OLED panel would present a big upgrade over the current LCD panel, which is ill-equipped for the Switch 2's more capable hardware. Its HDR capabilities are sorely lacking, and its distractingly-bad motion clarity has been a sore point for many users, especially those migrating over from the inky blacks and smooth response times of the older Nintendo Switch OLED.

While 2028 is far away, Nintendo is planning to launch a new version of the Switch 2 in the European Union soon, which will feature a replaceable battery in order to comply with it latest consumer regulations. As a result, it will also discontinue the original Switch in the region.

Actor Barry Sloane is known for playing Captain Price in the new Call of Duty games, but he does more than that. He showed up in the newest episode of the Game of Thrones TV show House of the Dragon as Ser Adrian Redfort, and many viewers didn't know he was in the show and were surprised to see him appear.

Both Captain Price and Ser Adrian Redfort have mustaches, and the Call of Duty account played this up. "The mustache transcends timelines," it wrote.

https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/2076801422289678453

Sloane was cast in House of the Dragon in April 2025, making his debut in the July 11 episode of Season 3.

Sloane is coming back to play Captain Price again in this October's Modern Warfare 4, but the character is on a different journey. He's gone rogue following the events of 2023's MW3, and MW4 will show a "different version" of the character.

“A hunt for revenge draws Price toward a weapon powerful enough to shift the balance of power, setting in motion a conflict far greater than he ever anticipated,” the game’s description continues. “Forced into uneasy alliances and illicit operations, Price is pulled deeper into consequences he can no longer escape.”

Captain Price was originally played by Billy Murray, who memorably portrayed the character first in 2007's beloved Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

The biannual Disney D23 expo is back in 2026, and amidst a stacked schedule of panels highlighting the films, TV series, and music of the company, there'll also be a closer look at Disney's video games. Running from August 14-16, Disney has teased an "exclusive preview" on the first day of the show, as the Disney Entertainment Showcase will feature games amongst announcements for movies, television, and live stage productions. 

Disney has dropped details on two of its games, confirming that there'll be a panel celebrating the 25th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts. With Kingdom Hearts 4 making a surprise appearance during last month's Nintendo Direct, this year's D23 could also be a prime opportunity to show off more of the Square Enix title that has spent years in development.

Disney Dreamlight Valley will get a panel as well, with the developers behind the cozy fantasy life-sim celebrating its run and offering a sneak peek at new content.

https://youtu.be/nZjagzpvHXU

While we don't know what else we can expect, it wouldn't be too surprising to see a few Star Wars games in the spotlight, either. Two of the games are out soon, starting with the tactical-RPG Star Wars: Zero Company on August 27, while the high-speed Star Wars: Galactic Racer shifts into an October 6 launch date. Beyond that, other projects from a galaxy far, far away include Star Wars Jedi 3 from Respawn Entertainment, Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, Saber Interactive's Knights of the Old Republic remake, and Star Wars Eclipse from Detroit: Become Human developer Quantic Dream--a game whose fate is looking increasingly uncertain.

On the Marvel side, Insomniac's Wolverine game is out in September, but given the family-friendly nature of D23, we're not expecting to see Logan eviscerate an army of cyborgs in front of a young audience. The game will have a presence later this month at San Diego Comic-Con, alongside Arc System Works' new fighting game, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls.

Activision has announced that the leaderboards and combat records for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) are being "permanently disabled" ahead of Modern Warfare 4's release in October.

Activision said it's doing this "as we optimize backend services" in the lead-up to MW4's launch. The announcement upset and bewildered fans.

Some are wondering how things like leaderboards and combat records for older games are related to providing services for new games. Other people replied to Activision's post with the "no correlation" SpongeBob Squarepants meme. Still others questioned why they would buy into a new game, in this case MW4, if one day their hard-earned statistics would vanish out of the blue.

https://twitter.com/C_CageMeatRider/status/2076740028164677771

People on Reddit said they were not surprised by this decision, as they reported that the in-game leaderboards and combat records for those games have been broken for years anyway.

Activision has not provided a detailed explanation as to why this is happening apart from the line about optimizing backend services ahead of MW4's release. GameSpot has contacted Activision in an attempt to get more information.t

Infinity Ward was involved in all three games, having led development on 2022's MW2 and having assisted Sledgehammer Games with 2023's MW3. For this year's Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward is the lead developer, but it's also getting help from Activision's network of studios, which is common for Call of Duty releases.

MW4 launches on October 23, which is about a month before GTA 6 launches on November 19.

Dying Light: The Beast was released last year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with developer Techland promising a last-gen version of the game as well. That's no longer the case, as the studio says it has made the "difficult decision" to cancel the PS4 and Xbox One versions, due to the game's visuals being too advanced for those systems to handle.

"Dying Light: The Beast was built from the ground up to take full advantage of current-generation hardware," Techland said in a statement. "Its open world, advanced visuals, and fluid combat and traversal all depend on processing power and memory that previous-generation consoles simply cannot provide."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ17PvGRgF0

Techland added that while development progressed on the last-gen versions, it came to the conclusion that the games would need to be technically compromised in a way that impacted the experience the studio sought to offer players. The developer added that it wasn't a matter of leaving those older platforms behind, but that they could not keep up with the demands of the game. Anyone who was expecting to play Dying Light: The Beast on PS4 or Xbox One and preordered the game will be eligible for a refund.

Dying Light: The Beast isn't the only game to pull the plug on a last-gen release. The last few years have seen numerous titles focus purely on current-gen tech and PC, like Gotham Knights and Hogwarts Legacy, while Cyberpunk 2077's major updates and Phantom Liberty expansion skipped the older consoles as well--likely due to the game suffering from severe performance issues on those platforms.

The world of Dying Light: The Beast expanded with a free update back in March that put much more emphasis on survival. The new mode allowed players to permanently clear out zombies from zones and repopulate them with people, but the catch with the Restored Land update was that supplies would be harder to find due to them no longer respawning, containers weren't as plentiful with goodies, and shops would charge a premium for their stock.

"Techland's expansion turned standalone sequel winds up being the most enjoyable Dying Light so far, because it dials back the power fantasy," Mark Delaney wrote in GameSpot's Dying Light: The Beast review.

As Criterion focuses on Battlefield moving forward, Battlefield Studios Europe's vice president and general manager, Rebecka Coutaz, has confirmed that the Need for Speed and Burnout franchises are not the focus of the company anymore.

"We're not here to talk about the past," she said during a celebration of Criterion's 30th anniversary (via IGN). When directly asked whether the studio is focusing on any other projects, Coutaz said, "We are solely focused on Battlefield."

Criterion took over developing the Need for Speed games beginning with 2010's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, a reboot of 1998's Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. It was also responsible for Need for Speed Rivals and 2022's Need for Speed Unbound. The studio also developed the Burnout franchise between 2001 and 2018, which raises doubts that the series will ever make a return, either.

With Courtaz confirming that Criterion's focus is now on Battlefield, she acknowledged some of the studio's strengths that came from the Burnout and Need for Speed games. "Yes, it used to be cars and less guns. But it's the overall player experience that we are sharing with the same intensity," she said. "The intensity, the cinematic view, the instant reward moment that our players love on Battlefield, those are really the strengths of Criterion."

As Criterion puts all of its resources into Battlefield, it's easier to get cosmetics you might have missed. It's a small improvement, but one of the more meaningful updates was rolled back due to "a mistake."

Paramount Skydance's plan to take over Warner Bros. Discovery is facing a new hurdle, as several states are suing the company to prevent the proposed $111 billion acquisition. In total, 12 state attorneys have formed a coalition to stop the merger, citing that it'll be a violation of the a violation of the Clayton Act antitrust law that was designed to block monopolies from forming.

"There is no debate here: This merger will snuff out competition, drive up prices, diminish content quality, and produce fewer movies and shows each year," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said (via THR). Alongside California, the lawsuit also includes state attorneys from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

In response, Paramount Skydance claims that the lawsuit represents a "fundamentally flawed application" of antitrust laws, and it still maintains that the merger will allow it to better compete with entertainment giants like Netflix. The streaming giant had originally intended to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery, but intense lobbying by Paramount and the offer of a higher purchase price to shareholders eventually saw Netflix pull out from the deal.

The states have also argued that the movie market will be disrupted, as Paramount will potentially control more than 30% of the movies hitting theaters. This could result in cinemas having to make changes that will harm their bottom line, like caps on discounts, less investment in improving their facilities, and being forced to raise ticket prices if Paramount Skydance decides to charge a larger fee for their films.

"Movie theatres rely on competition between Paramount and Warner Bros," the complaint from the states reads. "Through this competition, theatres incentivize creativity and quality, and they secure competitive prices and terms for themselves and for audiences."

While Paramount Skydance stands to gain valuable film IP, film studios, sports properties, and television networks from the deal, it'll also become the owner of Warner Bros. Games. This will give it access to various franchises and studios, like Hogwarts Legacy developer Portkey Games, Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm Games, and much more. Paramount CEO David Ellison is a noted gamer, and the company is already involved in gaming projects like the upcoming Call of Duty movie.

Recently, Paramount Skydance announced a new in-house game development studio, Paramount Games Studio, and some of its upcoming projects include Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra and a Star Trek horror game with Silent Hill 2 remake developer Bloober Team.

Paramount Could Own All These Warner Bros. Game Studios Soon View Images

The 2011 detective game LA Noire, which was published by GTA company Rockstar Games, starred Mad Men actor Aaron Staton as the lead character, Cole Phelps. A writer on the game has now revealed that a different Mad Men actor, Jon Hamm, was considered for the role as well. Staton portrayed Ken Cosgrove on Mad Men, with Hamm playing the show's leading role, Don Draper.

Daniel McMahon told IGN that Mad Men and LA Noire had the same casting director, and that Hamm was "discussed as a possibility for the role of Cole Phelps."

"It was never said at the time, but now, I understand the vision which was Jon Hamm is a wonderful actor, but he's not Cole Phelps," McMahon said.

Aaron Staton as Cole Phelps in LA Noire.

McMahon went on to say that Staton was "much better at portraying Cole's fragility."

"He's very smart, but he's also young, not very experienced, and he's just trying his best. So, I think Jon Hamm would've been incredible, but expensive, and probably, in the end, not as good casting for that character as Aaron Staton was," he explained.

LA Noire was developed by Team Bondi, and it never got a sequel. Earlier this year, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said the company is considering future projects for all of its franchises, and that includes LA Noire.

LA Noire was developed by Team Bondi and released in 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, with Rockstar publishing it. The game takes place in 1947 Los Angeles, with players taking on the role of the detective Cole Phelps, who is played by Mad Men’s Aaron Staton. The game came to Switch, PS4, and Xbox One in 2017. A VR edition called The Case Files came out in 2019.

For his part, Staton said in 2021 that he had “never heard a word” about a sequel to LA Noire, despite the game selling millions of copies.

Back in 2012, Rockstar said a sequel to LA Noire was a “possibility.” At the time, the developer said, “We don’t always rush to make sequels, but that does not mean we won’t get to them eventually. We have so many games we want to make and the issue is always one of bandwidth and timing.”

If a sequel comes to market, it wouldn’t be from Team Bondi, as the studio shut down amid a flurry of controversy, after accusations of hostile working conditions prompted the International Game Developers Association to launch an investigation into the developer. Additionally, when the developer shut down, it reportedly was $1.4 million in debt. The studio’s assets, including its next project, Whore of the Orient, were acquired by film production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell.

A special 25th-anniversary Kingdom Hearts panel at Disney's 2026 D23 event has fans of Square Enix's RPG series wondering if major Kingdom Hearts 4 news is right around the corner.

Disney doesn't hold a D23 annually (the previous one was held in 2024), and in recent years the fan event has taken on newfound importance as a stage for the House of Mouse to make all kinds of major announcements about upcoming films, shows, and even, occasionally, video games.

This year in particular may be worth paying attention to for Kingdom Hearts fans. In an announcement detailing the programming fans can expect from D23 this year, Disney revealed an hour-long panel titled "Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts," which will celebrate 25 years of the franchise on August 15.

"Join us for a journey through light and darkness as we commemorate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts," the panel's description reads. "Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic."

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

Who, exactly, those "creative minds" in attendance will be remains to be seen. While voice actors and Disney employees are a given, the bigger question is whether anyone from Square Enix will be in attendance. If so, there is no bigger creative force behind Kingdom Hearts than Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura, who in addition to designing the look of the series' iconic characters has also directed every main entry in the series.

Until we know exactly who will be featured as part of the panel, it's hard to say for sure what to expect. The existence of the panel on its own isn't exactly direct confirmation that Kingdom Hearts 4 news, whether it be a new trailer, a release date, or some other announcement, will happen at D23, but it certainly wouldn't be surprising. 

It was just last month that a new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer served as one of the June Nintendo Direct's biggest announcements, breaking years of radio silence and confirming it would launch on Switch 2. Like previous looks at Kingdom Hearts 4, the trailer showed Sora battling against Heartless in a modern day, Japan-esque setting, even as it flashed glimpses of other characters like Donald, Goofy, various hooded figures, and even lesser-known characters from various mobile spin-offs like Kingdom Hearts Union X.

Diablo 4 Season 14 will receive its first update on July 14, and while it does bring some welcome changes to what has proven to be an unpopular season so far, those hoping it would fix everything will have to keep waiting.

Season 14 launched June 30, and its main hook is what Blizzard coined "Mythic Uniques 3.0," an overhaul of the game's item chase that made it so every Unique in the game (of which there are well over 100) can become an even more powerful Mythic Unique. 

Patch 3.1.1 makes a few core changes that should result in players being able to acquire far more Mythic Uniques than ever before. The main currency used to "upgrade" (in actuality, gamble) Uniques into Mythics using the Horadric Cube, Pandemonium Fragments, are becoming far more plentiful. Blizzard has made them a guaranteed drop from the repeatable Glints of Hope reputation reward, doubled the amount of fragments (from one to two) dropped by the Corrupted Reaper on higher Torment tiers, and reduced the number of Pandemonium Fragments (from five to four) needed to gamble Uniques into Mythics. 

More fragments and a lower crafting cost means players will be able to fish for Mythics using the cube far more often, but it does basically nothing else to address the core issues players have with the season: the ability to only equip one crafted Mythic and the almost impossibility of being able to find a good, usable Mythic as a random drop. 

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

The season's core idea, of opening up Diablo 4's Mythic possibility space, sounded interesting on paper. In theory, it creates more build diversity by attempting to push players away from the old Mythic Unique system where most builds all used the same handful of best-in-slot Mythic Uniques.

Unfortunately, Diablo 4's Mythic item changes haven't won over many fans. With so many new Mythic options, players are struggling to find the items they want for their builds, with no real way to target and farm specific items. Instead, players have to essentially just get lucky turning random Uniques into Mythics via the Horadric Cube and hope to get one that is usable for their build.

Once a player makes a good Mythic, that essentially ends the chase, as they are only able to equip one crafted Mythic at a time and the chances of finding a good non-crafted Mythic out in the wild are slim. Old Mythic build staples like Heir of Perdition, Harlequin Crest, and The Grandfather are even harder to find. When they do drop, they are far worse than they used to be, with partly random modifiers that can sometimes make them not even worth using. As one Diablo content creator, Rhykker, recently put it--Blizzard is making players "work harder to get something crappier than we used to have," which isn't exactly a great feeling. 

There's still time for Blizzard to make bigger balance changes to Season 14, with many players hoping for a lift on the single-equipped-crafted Mythic restriction to allow for Mythics made via Resplendent Sparks to also be worn. As it stands now, this first update is barely even a Band-Aid plastered over the season's far more serious problems. You can read the full update 3.1.1 patch notes below.

Diablo 4 Season 14 Update 3.1.1 Patch Notes Season of Death Awakening

• Added the Seasonal Reputation Board to Temis.
• Deathtoll Chambers will always reward at least one Superior Lair Key in high Torment levels.
• Corrupted Reaper now drops up to two Pandemonium Fragments, scaling with Torment level.
• Repeatable Glints of Hope Reputation Reward now guarantees a Pandemonium Fragment.
• Reduced the cost of the Upgrade to Mythic recipe on the Horadric Cube from 5 to 4 Pandemonium Fragments.
• Fixed issue where the Season Rank objective Terrorize The Night failed to progress.
• Fixed an issue where the Artificer’s Obelisk displayed a beta tag.
• Fixed a clipping issue on Gloamstrider's Barding Mount Armor.
• Fixed an issue where Nemesis Lair could fail to trigger in the Corrupted Reaper's Boss Lair.
• Fixed an issue where only one party member would receive Tower rewards.
• Fixed an issue where part of the map could fail to load in Dark Refuge dungeon.
• Fixed an issue where Tower Halo rewards could appear inverted.
• Fixed an issue where Tower Halo rewards could appear on mounts.
• Fixed an issue where Forgotten Souls were not dropping from Whisper Caches in Torment levels.
• Fixed an issue where Awakened Exarch's ability ignores sound settings.
• Fixed an issue where Solo Self-Found icon could fail to show on Friends list.
• Fixed an issue where monsters would spawn too far from Rupture portal.

Expansion Bug Fixes Paladin

• Fixed issue where Damage with Holy was not showing in Stats and Materials tab.

Spiritborn

• Fixed an issue where Spiritborn's Stinger could sometimes deal more damage than intended.
• Fixed an issue where Fiery Soul VFX could appear too large.
• Fixed an issue where Wyrdskin gloves could fail to show on character model.

Warlock

• Increased clarity on selected Warlock Soul Shard.
• Fixed an issue where Brutal Aspect’s tooltip bonus preview incorrectly calculated over 100% Attack Speed.
• Fixed an issue where the Fulcrum of Mefis Talisman Set stacks would fall off if a dead enemy attacked your demons.
• Fixed an issue where the Mefis set failed to trigger the 2-Piece Set Bonus from damage sent to your demons from the 3-Piece Set Bonus.
• Fixed an issue where 2-Piece Flesh of Abbadon stacks could be removed erroneously.

War Plans

• Fixed an issue where Wretched Vermin could appear in Town during Helltides.
• Fixed an issue where Colossal Foe and Malignant Invasion mutators could cause Bosses to not drop loot.
• Fixed an issue where Whispers Ambushes could fail to drop loot.
• Fixed an issue where Corrupted Reaper could fail to gain power from Mutators.
• Fixed an issue where Planar Tremors applied to Chaos Rift monsters.
• Fixed an issue where Marks of El'Druin could not be pinned in the Currency tab.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed issue where Invasion Portals could spawn on top of one another.
• Fixed issue where Rathma could get stuck during the quest A Blade's Weight.
• Added El'Druin, Sword of Justice to the Mythic Unique Cache from the Blacksmith.

Base Game Bug Fixes Barbarian

• Fixed an issue where Challenging Shout Bawl Variant could decay more than anticipated.

Druid

• Fixed an issue where Druid's toggled skills could sometimes gain more damage than intended from the Storm Shepherd's Call Talisman set.

Rogue

• Fixed an issue where Shadow Clone could cause additional Shrine effects, such as spawning additional Soul Eaters in the Deathtoll Chamber.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where Pangs of Duriel could spawn out of place during the Duriel fight.
• Fixed an issue that was preventing certain sources of Uniques from dropping as Mythic, including Lair Bosses.
• Increased the chance of naturally dropped Mythics being an Iconic Mythic.
• Fixed various incorrect wardrobe icons.
• Various performance and stability fixes.
• Various clipping and texture fixes.

Grand Theft Auto 5 has cemented itself as one of the best-selling games of all time with 230 million lifetime sales to date. Part of the success comes from the game being remastered for two new console generations, something that its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto 4, has never enjoyed. Considering how older GTA games have often popped up with fresher coats of paint, it's odd to see GTA 4 stuck in purgatory, and the actor behind the bowling-obsessed character of Roman Bellic is as puzzled about it as you are.

"I would too, I'd love to see it, man. I don't know why they haven't done it," Jason Zumwalt said to Love It Film. Zumwalt suggested that the reason why a GTA 4 remaster has never been produced could be tied to Screen Actors Guild (SAG) contracts and Rockstar possibly being hesitant to revisit the game because of contractual obligations. According to Zumwalt, GTA 4 still has the best storyline in the franchise, as it combined a personal story with grounded storytelling to produce a unique narrative magic that GTA 5 couldn't recapture. Others might disagree, as to some, GTA 4 is considered to be a relic of a bygone age.

Rumors of a GTA 4 remaster have also periodically shown up over the years, but these have all been quick hits of copium that passed far too quickly. The last big report claimed that a GTA 4 port for current-gen consoles would hit the streets at the end of 2025, but that date came and went without a sign of a spruced-up Niko Bellic chasing down his idea of the American dream.

Fortunately, Grand Theft Auto 6 is still on track for its November 19 release on Xbox and PlayStation, and with preorders opening up recently, you can even start preloading the game closer to its launch. Will its story be as good as GTA 4's legendary narrative?

That remains to be seen, as Rockstar isn't spilling any beans on the campaign prior to launch. We do know that GTA 6 follows a modern-day "Bonnie and Clyde" criminal couple, Lucia and Jason Duva, as they aim to find a better life as and navigate the criminal underworld of Vice City.

GTA 6: 241 Screenshots To Ease The Wait View Images

Sony will stop supporting physical game discs beginning in January 2028, and that news has not gone over well, even if it makes good business sense. Following that announcement, Sony's own Santa Monica Studio has confirmed that its high-profile upcoming game, God of War Laufey, will be available on a disc, and this is sparking some theories as to when it could release.

"We can confirm God of War Laufey will be available on disc," the developer said.

Given that Sony's plan to kill game discs begins in January 2028, people are taking this statement to mean Laufey will launch before then. That wouldn't be surprising, as reporter Jason Schreier has already said Laufey is targeting a release in February or March 2027.

Another big-name PS5 game, Marvel's Wolverine, will be released on a disc as well.

Laufey is the next big God of War game, but instead of telling another Kratos story, this one focuses on his wife, Faye. Joining Faye on her journey is a gelatinous cube played by Jack Quaid.

A lot of people have had a lot of things to say about Sony's decision to abandon physical game discs in the wake of increasing digital game sales. The decision to ditch discs is all about Sony making the most money possible. Sony has legions of fans who collectively continue to buy many millions of physical game discs every year, but your loyalty to Sony means nothing.

For what it's worth, people are theorizing that the next Xbox system, Project Helix, will back away from discs as well. That's not happening yet, however, as Microsoft just recently announced that Halo: Campaign Evolved will be on a disc for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Although Rockstar Games is not returning to its Bully franchise anytime soon--at least not that we know of--another game is coming out soon that will allow you to relive the horrors of high school.

Agefield High: Rock the School, from developer Refugium Games, is launching on August 12 via Steam, the studio has announced. The "raunchy 2000s-era comedy" game has players trying to become the "big man on campus."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qPYXGCQwHI&feature=youtu.be

Agefield High takes place in a small-town high school, and you play as Sam in his senior year. There are 30+ main missions focused on "humor, rebellion, and teenage drama," and players can explore the game's open world, including its school campus, town center, neighborhoods, and countryside.

In terms of leaning into its raunchiness, in one part of the trailer, a character says to Sam, "Just like in the movies, you sneak in, wait until she starts showering, then snap a quick photo." The trailer also shows that players will be able to fight jocks by punching and kicking them, mow the lawn, play guitar poorly, and run through a field to escape an angry cow (presumably after attempting to tip it over, as the youth are known to do).

The game also has multiple endings. Agefield High launches August 12 on Steam and will hit consoles later.

As for a new Bully game, Rockstar hasn't announced one, but the 2006 game has a cult following and many would like to see it come back in some form. Rockstar has said it didn't make a sequel to Bully due to bandwidth issues, among other things. Bully is included with GTA+, so anyone with a membership can play it at no extra cost.

Beast of Reincarnation looks set to kick off a busy August when it launches early in the month, and ahead of its arrival, we've gotten a fresh look at Game Freak's upcoming action-RPG. While Game Freak is well-known for its Pokemon games--including Pokemon Winds and Waves in 2027--Beast of Reincarnation is unlike anything that the developer--and several external teams--has made before. The studio has produced fan-favorite games like Pocket Card Jockey and Tembo the Badass Elephant between Pokemon releases, but with Beast of Reincarnation, it's mixing tactical gameplay with the sharp edge of Sekiro-influenced action.

The good news is that Beast of Reincarnation doesn't look like it'll be as brutally challenging as From Software's 2019 classic, as the windows for parries and counters are more forgiving, and you can always slow down time to command your companion, Koo, to lend a helping paw. That's not to say that the game won't have moments of difficulty, as senior video producer Jake Dekker described how one of the game's open-ended zones was home to a particularly challenging boss after he spent some time playing it recently. Remember, if you see a skull above an enemy's head, it's usually a good idea to cheese it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6i0BBtaokU

But beyond the Sekiro inspiration, players will also have access to powerful abilities that can give them an advantage in battle. From growing roots to crossing chasms to using her plant-based powers to get some serious airtime and instant kills, the protagonist Emma is a force to be reckoned with. Finding the right synergy between Emma's attacks and Koo's assists will be the key to success, and each character features their own upgradeable skill tree.

Beast of Reincarnation launches on August 4, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

The Octopath Traveler games established a new line of "HD-2D" games at Square Enix, and fans of the series can look forward to a new Switch 2 release of the first two entries in the series--with a catch. While Octopath Traveler and its sequel have been available on the original Switch for years now, there'll be no upgrade option for players to continue their journey on Switch 2, meaning no discount or transfer their saves across.

Both games are lengthy experiences, full of optional detours and challenging quests, so starting from scratch isn't a tempting proposition. Throw in the fact that they still look pretty great for their age thanks to the timeless HD-2D design, making it likely that current players could skip the Switch 2 editions.

https://youtu.be/CbWT5KUr3FU

While numerous Switch games offer upgrade packs for their Switch 2 editions--some free, others costing a few bucks--the lack of one for Octopath Traveler could make it a very hard sell for fans of the RPG series.

Some people online have labeled this as an anti-consumer move on Square Enix's part, as this move rules out the idea of purchasing a cheap secondhand copy of Octopath Traveler and grabbing the upgrade. It also doesn't allow for anyone who purchased the game previously--digitally or physically--to cheaply upgrade.

Square Enix has been in hot water in the past for offering zero upgrade paths for several of its HD-2D games. Octopath Traveler 0 and the physical versions of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake all required players to commit to one Switch platform to play them, choosing either a last-gen or a current-gen version.

If you are planning to get Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 for Switch 2--and you're jumping in for the first time--there are some nice technical upgrades in this version. The package will be available in both digital and physical editions, with improved frame rates and resolutions on Switch 2 when it launches on October 1.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced comes with loads of fun new features that weren't included in the original game, including feet pics.

Okay, okay, feet pics probably weren't Ubisoft's goal when it implemented a robust photo mode that automatically saves and uploads players' photos to the official Black Flag Resynced Photo Mode website. But this is the internet, so of course the end result is feet pics.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaosSW-SXOC/

Via the Black Flag Resynced Photo Mode website, players can see photos taken by other players along with information like when and where the photo was taken. Over the weekend, a photo of a female NPC's feet went viral and is now the second most-liked image on the Black Flag Resynced Photo Mode website. 

The photo was taken in Dry Tortuga--a small in-game naval fort--and has amassed over 57,000 likes since user xR0ckettManx uploaded it on July 9. The only image more popular than xR0ckettManx's foot-focused masterpiece is a scenic seascape photo of a burning ship. It has over 80,000 likes, and zero feet.

Black Flag Resynced has enjoyed one of the best launches of an Assassin's Creed game in years (though it's not clear whether or not feet pics played a part in that), and while some players are critical of the game's microtransactions, the general consensus seems to be that Edward Kenway's story still absolutely slaps.

Games Done Quick is best known for its feel-good moments like a dog hitting a walk-off home run in a baseball video game while raising money for charity. However, this year's Summer Games Done Quick charity stream ran into controversy after GDQ announced a sponsored stream with SNK only to cancel it shortly thereafter due to players angered over the latter's ties to Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday, July 12, SGDQ announced it was partnering with SNK to stream a sponsored speedrun of Metal Slug in support of the franchise's 30th anniversary.

https://twitter.com/GamesDoneQuick/status/2076394968633975242

Under three hours later, GDQ reversed course and announced the cancellation of the stream citing "concerns from our community regarding this partnership, specifically the company’s majority ownership by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and the human rights concerns tied to the Saudi government."

In subsequent posts, GDQ apologized to the streaming host and speed runners and pledged that it wouldn't accept any future sponsorships from SNK. The organization also reiterated its support for human rights and inclusivity before promising to "review and strengthen our process for evaluating future sponsors and partners, including closer examination of companies' ownership, to make sure they're aligned with our values."

Saudi Arabia already has a deep footprint in the gaming realm, including the developer of Pokemon Go. However, the biggest Saudi deal is the still in-progress $55 billion buyout for control of EA, one of the biggest video game publishers in the world. Video game unions have come out against the EA sale, and Saudi Arabia's involvement has also drawn the scrutiny of the U.S. Senate over potential "foreign influence." Regardless, the EA buyout is likely to receive approval even though players continue to protest against it.

EA Sports has announced that it has removed the CFB 27 microtransaction system that people hated from the get-go. In a statement, EA said, "We will remove all paid progression options from Road to Glory and Online dynasty."

For anyone just catching up, CFB 27 launched with a microtransaction system that allowed players to pay real money to instantly improve their coach or athlete in the Online Dynasty and Road to Glory modes. Alternatively, players could grind for this, but the effort would be substantial.

CFB 27 has done away with its most controversial MTX options.

It's also notable because Online Dynasty and Road to Glory were two modes that were largely untouched by microtransactions until this year. People mobilized a boycott of the pay-to-level options, and the #CFBPlayDontPay hashtag trended on social media. People on Reddit also said they would skip the game because this new in-game-purchase scheme has rubbed them the wrong way. 

EA said an "unfortunate side effect" of the removal of paid progression in the two modes is that some people will be left with a College Point balance and this balance cannot be applied to Road to Glory or Online Dynasty because of the removal of the paid progression systems. Unspent College Points can be spent in Ultimate Team or other elements of the game, however.

EA communicated the change to players on the evening of July 10, with the removal of the paid progression system being implemented on the morning of July 11. EA encouraged people to spend the points while they could, but there was not much time to do so.

"Your feedback on Road to Glory and Dynasty is that we've missed the mark with the introduction of paid progression options. This was added independent of deeper mode progression with the aim to give players more choice, but what you've said is that they're not adding the value we intended," EA said.

Also in the statement, EA said it will attempt to provide "greater transparency and communication" with the live-service plans for next year's game, CFB 28.

"We love this game. We love this community. We love college football," EA said.

While the paid progression microtransactions are now gone from CFB 27, the game still has microtransactions for the popular Ultimate Team mode. EA sells points in bundles that range from $5 to $150.

EA has offered paid progression systems before, as multiple Battlefield games have offered plays "Shortcut" bundles that instantly unlock all weapons, gadgets, and vehicle upgrades without having to grind to unlock them.

EA is in the process of selling itself to a group of investors led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The $55 billion deal is structured as a leverage buyout (LBO), and it's the largest LBO in history for any market category. The deal comes with billions in debt, and many believe EA will make massive cuts to service the debt.