After announcing an extended look at GTA 6--with a six-hour exclusivity window for Netflix in a first-of-its-kind reveal--Take-Two has said that marketing for the game is incredibly widespread.

During the Take-Two earnings call on August 7, CEO Strauss Zelnick said that Netflix is "a great marketing partner" for the publishing company, and added that it is working "with virtually every social media outlet on Earth." Zelnick explained that this is part of Rockstar's marketing strategy, but didn't elaborate further on specifically how the partnership with Netflix came about.

"Netflix is a close partner of the company," he said. "We're always in conversation about things that we can do together, and this is a groundbreaking partnership that Rockstar arranged with our friends at Netflix." Zelnick added that the company is "really excited" about how it's going to go, but declined to comment further on the terms of the arrangement.

It's not all been positive following the announcement, though. There are concerns around Netflix's ability to keep up with the expected strain on its servers, and the potential for the extended trailer to be immediately ripped from the platform and reuploaded elsewhere. Others believe that a game trailer shouldn't be paywalled.

With GTA 6 still scheduled to launch in November, publisher Take-Two Interactive is expecting its current financial year--running from April 1 to March 31, 2027--to be very profitable. The company is expecting a 20% growth through the middle of the 2026 financial year, with revenue predicted to reach $8.2 billion thanks to GTA 6 and several other games.

According to Take-Two's estimates, it's forecasting that Rockstar Games will be responsible for roughly 37% of its revenue, Zynga 34%, and other games from the 2K label will make up 29% of that revenue. GTA 6 will likely bring in an absurd amount of cash, alongside other legacy titles from Rockstar Games like GTA 5--which is the second-best-selling game of all time--Red Dead Redemption 2, and the microtransactions attached to those older titles.

Zynga still remains a sales juggernaut with its portfolio of mobile games, while the 2K Games label includes annual sports titles like NBA, PGA Tour, and WWE--all lucrative IP that have significant post-launch strategies. To put that into perspective, NBA 2K26 was a big hit this year for Take-Two Interactive, and it has had an "outstanding" year thanks to a boost in microtransaction sales. "Our live-service execution remains a cornerstone of NBA 2K's sustained success," Take-Two Interactive said in its quarterly earnings briefing.

The publisher also has several other games in development like Judas, Project Ethos, and the next BioShock, but no release dates have been announced for them yet. NBA 2K27 is the next big game out of Take-Two on September 4, and an extended look at GTA 6 will be shown exclusively on Netflix for several hours.

GTA 6: 241 Screenshots To Ease The Wait View Images

GTA 6 is still on track to launch for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, Take-Two Interactive has confirmed. As part of the publisher's quarterly briefing, Take-Two provided updates on several of its projects, including Rockstar Games' long-simmering open-world game--and the rosy financial outlook that the company is expecting from its launch.

"Our excellent first quarter results reflect the power of our portfolio and disciplined execution across all of our labels," Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said during a Take-Two earnings call on August 7. "With these positive trends and excitement around the November 19 launch of Grand Theft Auto 6, we are reiterating our Fiscal 2027 Net Bookings outlook of $8 billion to $8.2 billion."

Whenever the results of a new Take-Two financial quarter are made public, there's always some fear that a GTA 6 delay will be announced. Following its first delay to May 2026 and another reshuffling of its launch date to November, these moves aren't unusual given Rockstar's history of games missing their originally scheduled launch dates. Recently, a former Rockstar Games employee said that he wouldn't be surprised if the game was delayed again by as much as six months.

So far, it looks like it's full steam ahead, and after more than a year without a new look at the game, fans can tune in on August 27 to get an extended look at GTA 6 through Netflix. The streaming giant will be hosting the new content exclusively for several hours, and as you'd expect, a lot of people aren't happy with the next GTA 6 trailer being behind a subscription paywall.

GTA 6: 241 Screenshots To Ease The Wait View Images

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is out today, but PC players are experiencing some problems with the game that their PlayStation 5 counterparts don't have have to deal with. Developer Arc System Works noted that the PC port had issues during the open beta last month and it pledged to fix them with a patch on day one. However, PC players are reporting that Marvel Tokon is still suffering from the same problems that made it nearly unplayable during the beta.

As explained by a player on Reddit, Marvel Tokon on PC is plagued by dropped frame rates and stutter regardless of the specs of the machines being used. "It's a problem that [Arc System has] to fix on their side, you can't do anything about it," writes Davids Symphony. "You could be running a 5090 with a 9800X3D at the lowest settings and it'll still happen."

Players who were hoping to take Marvel Tokon for a spin on Steam Deck have also been disappointed to find that it can't even launch in Steam OS/Linux.

"The best part is the community manager on discord saying that, 'Asking for Linux support is like asking for a Switch port,'" writes Rinnekaton on Reddit. "The game uses EAC, and I don't even need to mention that EAC is widely supported on Linux. Linux support for EAC being a simple toggle (direct words from Valve themselves) is common knowledge at this point. In no way is it like porting to Switch."

While it's unknown if or when Arc Systems will address Marvel Tokon's compatibility with Steam Deck, the developer has shared the details about its day-one patch. In the meantime, Arc Systems has unveiled a roadmap for Marvel Tokon's upcoming DLC. The first new fighter slated to be added to the lineup this fall is Phoenix Cyclops, a cosmic-powered incarnation of the character from 2012's Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event. In that story, Cyclops, White Queen, Namor, Colossus, and Magik were each given a portion of the Phoenix Force that remade them into god-like beings. If the game follows a similar direction, other members of the Phoenix 5 could be added later.

The current patch notes are below.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Day One Patch Notes

Performance Optimizations (Primarily for the PC SKUs)

• Removed unnecessary character animation updates from being performed; resulting in a reduced CPU load.
• Made improvements to alleviate the load on the user interface update.
• Made improvements to address an issue where performance significantly deteriorated when running applications that use overlays or capture video. OBS Studio: Video capture via Game Capture & Discord: Overlays, Video Capture.
• Added an anti-aliasing option to the automatic graphics quality setting to ensure that the appropriate anti-aliasing option is applied based on performance and prevents unintended load increases.
• Fixed an issue that enabled unintended anti-aliasing plug-ins (e.g. DLSS, FSR, XeSS).
• Also included a feature to the custom graphics quality settings and effect options that allow you to change the update frequency of the stage background characters.
• Selecting medium quality of low quality will reduce the update frequency and slightly reduce the load on the CPU.
• Have set the prompt inquiring about performing a shade warm-up at startup to ON by default, making it easier to find and perform a shader warm-up.
• Fixed an issue that caused the shader warm-up to run unintentionally at startup.
• Steam Version: Fixed an issue that caused a delay in sending input data during online matches; resulting in improved online match performance.
• PS5 Version: Implemented additional measure to mitigate input lag.
  

Other Fixes

• Game Screen - Fixed an issue where the game would automatically switch between monitors on setups that featured multiple monitors.
• Online Lobby - Fixed an issue where some players would become invisible after viewing rankings in Ranked Mode and then enter the Online Lobby.
• Ranked Mode - Fixed an issue where the screen would become distorted when a large number of digits were displayed.
• Game Server Connectivity - Improved communication stability between the client and the game server.
• Mouse - Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes crash when using the mouse too quickly in the game's menus.
• Text Optimization - Fixed an issue where performance was significantly reduced when large amounts of text were on screen; particularly when set to Arabic or Thai.
• Connectivity- Fixed an issue where the game would become unplayable if the network connection was lost during the Challenger Alert screen.
  

Gameplay Adjustments

• Input Optimization - Changed the input prioritization to 236 < 623 < 236 after 41236, allowing for a more accurate activation of 623 when using the input 6236.
• Danger - Revised the input handling for ground dashes. Have made it possible to cancel into a skill from a ground dash to make it less likely for aerial special moves to be accidentally triggered.

Out of nowhere, Rockstar and Netflix announced today that an "extended look" at GTA 6 will be available on the streaming platform on August 27. People have been clamoring for a new look at the game, given that it's been more than a year since Trailer 2, but few could have expected the next look at GTA 6 to come via Netflix. A lot of people are disappointed by this, saying Rockstar is effectively paywalling the next GTA 6 trailer by hosting it exclusively via Netflix ... for a time.

To be sure, the Netflix exclusivity is only for six hours, as the footage will later be available on Rockstar's own YouTube page at 9 PM ET the same day. It's also all but guaranteed that people will rip the Netflix footage and post it online before then. But it's the principle of the matter that is upsetting some portion of the GTA fanbase.

GTA 6's next trailer is exclusive to Netflix for its debut.

For critics, the near-ubiquity of a Netflix subscription is irrelevant. They see it as an extra hoop to jump through to watch a video that could be hosted on YouTube for everyone to watch at the same time. Beyond this, people have expressed concerns that Netflix's servers won't be able to handle what is expected to be a massive server load as countless millions of people log on at the same time to watch the footage. Netflix has a spotty track record in this department, too, as previous high-profile streams of sporting events, in particular, have been marred by technical issues.

Rockstar is known to be protective of its content and driven to have it be seen in the best possible light. When the game's first trailer leaked in December 2023, the company responded by releasing the official version sooner than anticipated. Hosting the "extended look" footage on Netflix comes with the risk of technical hiccups that could negatively impact how people perceive GTA 6, even if this is unlikely to have any material effect on how GTA 6 performs.

Of course, it could all run entirely smoothly and without issue. Problems can crop up on YouTube and elsewhere as well, after all.

For its part, Netflix said its deal with Rockstar is a "reflection of what we hope Netflix is becoming: a place where the most ambitious storytelling, from any medium, can find the biggest possible audience." Netflix has been trying to build out its gaming business for years, and this is among its biggest moves to date.

Netflix and Rockstar partnering for this new GTA 6 trailer is not totally out of the blue, however. The two companies have worked together for years, with multiple GTA games being available to Netflix subscribers. They have since been removed, but Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption remains available via Netflix Games.

Other terms of the partnership between Netflix and Rockstar were not divulged. Many have speculated that Netflix backed up a Brinks truck to Rockstar's offices, but the terms could be more nuanced than straight cash. GTA 6 was no doubt an extremely expensive production, and taking money from Netflix for this kind of deal could be a balance sheet matter for Rockstar and Take-Two.

The companies have, after all, already done more to squeeze the playerbase. For starters, GTA 6 is launching at $80, which is $20 more than GTA 5 debuted at in 2013. GTA 6 also has a $100 Ultimate Edition that packs in many compelling digital extras and will likely drive numerous fans to the higher-priced option.

One of the perks of the Ultimate Edition is access to Sara's Unisex Salon, where players can get "signature styles" for Jason and Lucia. People who buy the $80 edition of the game cannot access this, or at least Rockstar has yet to explain how they might be able to down the road or for an additional purchase.

All of this is to say that Rockstar putting content behind a paywall and its efforts to extract more money from its playerbase is no surprise--it's the formula. The deal with Netflix is just the latest example of this.

Here's to hoping Rockstar and Netflix eventually share more information about their partnership, but from Netflix's perspective, it makes a lot of sense as a pure and simple means to drive people to the platform.

In any event, no matter how much people complain about Netflix hosting the next GTA 6 trailer, it's happening. People will need to subscribe to Netflix to watch the GTA 6 extended look right away, regardless of how they feel about it. I respect your principles if you wait six hours to watch on YouTube, but this is all shaping up to be a big win for Netflix.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, unless it's delayed again.

After soaring past an initial goal of $100,000, a Game Industry Hardship Fund bundle on Itch.io is now nearing $200,000 raised with seven days remaining.

The bundle has so far raised more than $163,000, and features 127 games for the minimum price of $10, with the proceeds going towards helping laid-off developers pay for everyday expenses. There are some bigger-name games included as well, including indie titles like Skatebird, A Short Hike, and Arranger.

It's the brainchild of Necrosoft Games director Brandon Sheffield and United Videogame Workers, a CWA union benefiting game developers, who in response to repeated waves of mass layoffs in the past two years wanted to offer affected developers a lifeline.

https://bsky.app/profile/itch.io/post/3msauex3trk27

"The game industry has a problem," reads the bundle. "Too many people are out of work. Reports say 33% of the industry lost their jobs in the last two years, and the jobs they could fill are disappearing as CEOs try to replace them with AI. It's hard for companies to adjust to the new shape of the game industry, but even harder for the people they should be employing."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti-ATJAz94k

Developers in the United States and Canada are able to apply for aid from the fund for money to use on things like food, healthcare, rent, moving expenses, and more, with the funds being distributed by the union. More than 11,000 people have contributed so far, and while $10 is the minimum for the bundle, people are encouraged to donate more. One buyer contributed $5,000.

It looks to be making an impact. OneBGS, the Bethesda Game Studios union, announced the fund had helped cover a member's moving expenses so they could return home after being laid off. The fund will still be live for another week and ends on August 13, with Sheffield hoping to double the amount raised by the end of the campaign. 

https://bsky.app/profile/bethesdaunion.bsky.social/post/3msevpeufsk2j

The last six months alone have seen an unprecedented number of game industry layoffs. Massive cuts at Microsoft saw Xbox lay off 1,600 employees with another 1,600 cuts coming within the next year. Riot Games announced layoffs following the release of its League of Legends fighting game 2XKO. There have been significant layoffs at Ubisoft despite the success of titles like Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. Sony even shuttered developer Bluepoint Games entirely earlier this year.

It's not only larger studios that have been affected. Smaller developers are also being hit hard, ranging from Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM to a newly independent Double Fine.

Peak, the mountain-climbing with friends "friendslop" title that sold more than 10 million copies in its first year, is set to receive its final major update on August 11, and it looks to be an appropriate challenge for seasoned scouts.

Dubbed The Final Ascent, the update will introduce two new late-game biomes, the Gloom and The Citadel, which will cycle out with the game's current Caldera and The Kiln biomes. A trailer for the update shows the Gloom to be a ghostly-looking swamp, while The Citadel looks to be a medieval fortress, complete with traps like swinging flails. As if that wasn't enough to overcome, the trailer teases a monster one can only assume will hunt players during their climb.

It's been a wild trail for Peak, a collaboration between developer Aggro Crab and Landfall Games that began life as a game-jam project only to find runaway success when it was released last year. It even became popular enough to receive a Fortnite collaboration that cost more than the game itself.

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

Part of Peak's success came down to its low price point. One of the game's devs made a compelling argument that to many players, the price of anything under $8 still feels like it costs $5. That low barrier to entry helped Peak find a huge audience.

Peak has since sold millions of copies. It celebrated its one year anniversary in June, but the developers have always made clear it isn't a live-service game and that the frequency of updates and new content would slow in 2026. In various posts on Steam, the developers have repeatedly referred to The Final Ascent as the last significant content update for Peak. Both Aggro Crab and Landfall are currently working on new projects.

The success of Peak, alongside games like REPO and Landfall's own Content Warning, helped popularize the co-op focused "friendslop" subgenre, though perhaps the entire category could use a new name.

The ongoing collapse of the crypto gaming industry claimed another victim this week, with blockchain startup Proof of Play announcing its demise roughly one year after shutting down its flagship game, Pirate Nation.

Founded by FarmVille co-creator Amitt Mahajan, Proof of Play was one of the many companies that attempted to pair familiar, casual gameplay with crypto token incentives and player-owned assets in the form of NFTs--a premise that most gamers never warmed up to.

“When we started out, we believed games using blockchain tech had the potential to usher in a new, decentralized internet,” the team wrote Tuesday on X. “Ultimately, we couldn't build a product and sustainable business that proved out this thesis at scale.”

Launched in 2022, the browser-based Pirate Nation featured card-driven ship battles and island base-building mechanics, with crypto features layered on top. While Pirate Nation saw initial interest from players, demand faded as the crypto gaming trend lost steam and broader token and NFT prices cratered.

Last August, Proof of Play--which raised $33 million in venture funding--said it would shut down the full Pirate Nation game and instead roll out smaller minigame experiences. The game’s demise also poked a hole in the studio’s claims that Pirate Nation could run forever due to its code being “fully on-chain.”

“The truth is, it wasn't ever going to be a breakout, mass market success,” Proof of Play co-founder and Pirate Nation Product Lead Adam Fern admitted on X last August.

With the studio’s closure, Proof of Play has open-sourced much of the game’s code and art “so it can be helpful to future builders and agents,” per the official X post. The game’s PIRATE crypto token will also continue to be tradeable, though it has fallen 99.8% from its peak price reached soon after its 2024 rollout.

Proof of Play’s downfall is yet another blow to the blockchain gaming trend that has occasionally grabbed headlines, but has so far failed to produce sustainable results. As Bitcoin surged to new highs in 2021, the Pokemon-inspired monster-battling game Axie Infinity lured in millions of players with the promise of crypto token income--but only if they bought or borrowed unique NFT monsters selling for hundreds of dollars apiece.

Many gamers were vocally resistant to the idea of blockchain gaming, however. Not only is crypto widely associated with scams, but the idea of games built around expensive assets fueled fears that publishers could use the framework to extract more cash from fans. And ultimately, crypto titles that looked and played like knockoffs of better-known games weren’t going to convince them otherwise.

Axie Infinity’s in-game economy collapsed a few months later, with a $625 million crypto heist from North Korean hackers adding insult to injury. While some blockchain-linked games have gained attention in the years since, such as Gunzilla Games’ Off the Grid, many more have crashed out--including Deadrop from the now-shuttered Midnight Society and streamer Dr. Disrespect. And most major gaming tokens have fallen 99% or more from their peak prices.

Even traditional gaming titans that dabbled in the space are starting to pull back. Square Enix ended its NFT game Symbiogenesis last year, and just last week, Ubisoft said that it will shut down Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles in October, after telling players in May that it would “progressively transition away from blockchain functionality.”

The live-action The Legend of Zelda movie from Sony Pictures and Nintendo has already cast its Zelda and Link, but what about all the other roles? A new report claims that Australian actor Uli Latukefu, best known for the TV series Young Rock, will play the villain, Ganondorf.

This is according to veteran Hollywood reporter Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times. He said he's "been hearing" that Latukefu got the role, but it's not yet officially confirmed by the studio. Deadline also reported on his casting, going on to say he made a multi-movie deal.

Uli Latukefu could play Ganondorf.

In terms of confirmed casting, we already know that Bo Bragason is playing Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth is portraying Link. Photos that leaked from set appear to suggest that Severance actor Dichen Lachman may be playing Impa.

The live-action The Legend of Zelda movie releases in theaters on April 30, 2027 from director Wes Ball (The Maze Runner).  “The team is working hard to deliver the film to everyone as soon as possible. There’s less than a year to go until release, so thank you for waiting," producer Shigeru Miyamoto said. Marvel veteran Avi Arad is another producer on the movie.

For more info on the highly anticipated film adaptation, check out everything we know about The Legend of Zelda movie.

As for the game series, the next entry in The Legend of Zelda franchise is this year's highly anticipated remake of Ocarina of Time for Switch 2.

The writing is on the wall for PlayStation and its plans for an all-digital gaming future--or on the PlayStation 5 packaging, to be exact. With Sony ending the production of game discs in January 2028, the PS5 manufacturer has reportedly begun to slap warning stickers on restocks of its console, informing consumers that games will only be available in a digital format 17 months from now.

Spotted by YouTuber Behind the Games--who says the console was purchased by a "trusted source" they know--the sticker includes the following disclaimer:

"From January 2028, newly released games on PlayStation will be available for purchase on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital format only. Discs for games released before January 2028 can continue to be played on this console."

The sticker looks legitimate--and Behind the Games has uploaded a video of it since then--as the same text can be found on the listings for PS5 consoles through European Amazon storefronts, likely so that Sony can comply with consumer laws in that region.

https://twitter.com/BehindTGames/status/2085059320694100095

The company's decision to no longer offer a physical version of PlayStation games has been met with significant backlash so far, with many users calling for a boycott of the company and constantly replying to social media posts with calls for Sony to reverse its decision. Despite the ongoing campaign, Sony is still moving ahead with its plans, with Sony CFO Lin Tao commenting on the backlash during a Q&A session for investors this week.

Tao acknowledged that the announcement had been met with "strong views," but she said that Sony would continue to "cautiously" proceed. The company has in recent months noted how the ratio between physical and digital game sales has only widened in recent years, and in the last quarter (covering April to June), 82% of its game sales were digital.

The co-creator of Halo and designer of Master Chief, Marcus Lehto, has weighed in with his thoughts about the latest Halo remake, Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Posting on social media, Lehto said he has been slowly playing through the game on the Heroic difficulty and he has some issues but mostly he's having a great time and is happy with the game.

"Overall, I really love the upgrades: movement, cinematics, visuals. Damn, the lighting is brilliant," he said. "Do I have gripes? A few, but they are taking a back seat to the fun."

As for why he played on Heroic, Lehto said this was the difficulty level that the original team at Bungie used to test a level for its "fun factor." The Legendary difficulty level is only for those "who love punishment," he said.

A scene from Campaign Evolved.

Lehto shared a number of other insights in his social media posts. He said the team at Halo Studios deserves credit for making the game run in the Unreal Engine, saying this took "real effort" to do.

In terms of his gripes, Lehto said a few of the newly added cinematics are "absolutely cringe," including the new outro cinematic for Assault on the Control Room. Lehto said he "can't un-see" that. But overall he said he enjoyed many of the creative liberties taken and new additions.

Lehto also addressed the improved lighting, saying the original lighting in Combat Evolved for the Flood missions was "f**king awful," going on to call it a "mountain of sh**."

He added that the Assault Rifle in Campaign Evolved "feels great," and he was also impressed by the Covenant weapons. "Much more brutal with a solid punch," he said.

In terms of Campaign Evolved's new system that gives players hints about what to do and where to go next, Lehto said, "I think the hints are too heavy-handed--pandering to a new era of players with 0% attention span."

Also on social media, Lehto addressed the online negativity surrounding Campaign Evolved, saying a platform like X/Twitter "fosters that hate." He said if people got together in the same room to discuss Campaign Evolved and play it, "I bet we would all eventually have a pretty damn good time playing the game together."

Campaign Evolved is notable for being the first Halo game on PlayStation. Early sales data suggests it's not doing great on Sony's console, in part because it's too expensive, according to one analyst.

Campaign Evolved is just the latest remaster of the first game, following 2011's Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Campaign Evolved, as its name suggests, is a campaign-only game with no multiplayer support. It also features three new prequel missions as part of the Operation Meteorite story arc.

Remakes of Halo 2 and Halo 3 are coming next, according to reports, along with reportedly a brand-new Halo game that is "like Fortnite."

After a decade of dormancy, the Star Fox franchise has seen a huge push from Nintendo in two significant ways. For starters, Fox McCloud had a pretty big presence in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which made over $1 billion worldwide at the box office. Then, in June, Star Fox, a remake of Star Fox 64, came out exclusively on Switch 2. However, the strong marketing blitz hasn't seemed to lead to a smash-hit sales success for the game--at least not yet.

Nintendo has released new financial results for April through June (the first quarter of fiscal 2027 for the company), and there are no dedicated sales numbers provided for Star Fox. Instead, it's stated that the Switch 2 exclusive has "performed steadily"--a phrase also used for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. We can glean that Star Fox failed to sell 1 million copies, since it's missing from that list on other financial data. 

To be fair to Star Fox, these fiscal results only cover six days of sales for the Switch 2 game. However, this title would likely be more front-loaded, and nothing is stopping Nintendo from adding that the title has reached specific sales milestones in the past month. "Performed steadily" doesn't really inspire confidence after choosing Fox of all characters to get screentime in the Mario movie sequel.

For more, check out GameSpot's Star Fox review. In addition, Switch 2 owners can try before they buy with a free demo for the on-rails shooter. 

Here Are The Switch 2’s Best-Selling Games So Far View Images

Though it's not the most recent Ghost Recon game, everyone, including even Ubisoft apparently, knows Wildlands is the best in the series, so it's become the domain of the Ghost Recon 25th-anniversary celebration, with a massive free update that's out now. 

The update includes a new mission starring a new villain, a visual overhaul on current-gen consoles, and hundreds of new free customization items. There's more than that to it, so here's everything to know.

Billed as the Last Rites update, Wildlands is now playable in 4K and 60 frames per second on current-gen platforms. The update is free, so you don't need to buy the game on new platforms. If you own the previous version, you already have access and may just need to update your game.

The Last Rites update also adds a new mission--really a mission arc made up of several objectives, based on what I played--that pits the titular Ghosts against a mysterious new villain who has adopted the name of a local legend: La Llorona. 

If you missed it before, the Predator crossover mission has returned too. The Predator mission debuted in 2017 but had been out of the game twice as long as it was ever in it before, being that it was delisted in 2020. But now it's back, giving you a renewed chance to take on the famous hunter-alien from the movies.

youtube.com/watch?v=GsrXNVz2iU4&feature=youtu.be

Ubisoft also touted that hundreds of new cosmetic customization options are now in the game for free. These items include unreleased content, once-gated content, and more, giving you more ways to stand out, even as you're really meant to blend in. If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can also unlock some exclusive cosmetics inspired by the new villain herself.

If you don't yet own Ghost Recon Wildlands, or its 2019 sequel Ghost Recon Breakpoint, both games are free to play all weekend starting today. They and the rest of the series will be on sale for up to 95% off in the days following the free weekend. The one exception is Ghost Recon Future Soldier, which you can actually claim for free on PC via Ubisoft Connect. This offer is available for one week. 

At the time of its release, Breakpoint failed to keep Wildlands' momentum and frustrated players with some design decisions such as a hamfisted gear-score system that was best left in Ubisoft's other squad-based shooter series, The Division. But many updates later, it's rounded into a decent follow-up, even as Wildlands remains the pinnacle of the series.

Breakpoint will be getting its own anniversary "bundle" in September, too, so it's not like Wildlands is getting all the attention.

This is a lot of focus on the past and present of the Ghost Recon series, but if it's the future you're most mindful of, you can join the new Ghost Recon Insider Program, which will let players into closed playtests of the next Ghost Recon game, as Ubisoft has now announced it's in development. There's no name to share yet, but the team is inviting players to join the Insider Program and help shape the sequel.

If you thought PC component prices were bad this year, then 2027 might be even worse for your wallet. According to a new report, three of the biggest manufacturers of PC memory--Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron--are already sold out of the crucial components, as AI companies continue to consume all of the available stock.

DigiTimes (via Tweaktown) says that all DRAM and HBM production for next year has sold out, and the big three have no plans to manufacture additional memory. What's happened here is that demand has exceeded supply, and while the companies continue to cater to corporations that are scaling up their data centers, there's a limit on how much they can produce in any given year. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron also have to honor previous commitments, as companies typically sign deals months in advance to secure enough hardware for their respective production pipelines.

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

What does that mean for the average consumer? Expect the component supply for PC, laptops, and other smart devices to shrink even more in 2027, and as a result, prices to increase further. Microsoft had already warned of this a few months back when it announced new Xbox price hikes, saying that even more price increases could be on the cards. "Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x, and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027," the company said in a statement in June.

Technology has become increasingly expensive over the last few years, with consoles being hit particularly hard. Xbox Series X|S and PS5 consoles are now more expensive in 2026 than they were when they launched in 2020--console prices typically go down over time--and the Nintendo Switch 2 is also going to cost $50 more starting in September. On top of that, portable gaming PCs have also drastically increased in price, painting a worrying picture for how much the barrier to entry will be for the next generation of gaming.

A developer who worked on Grand Theft Auto 5 has said he "would not be shocked at all" if Rockstar decides to delay GTA 6 yet again.

Speaking to Indy100, Mike York said based on his previous experience working at Rockstar, he believes "they could delay it again."

GTA 6 releases on November 19, unless it gets delayed again.

York was an animator at Rockstar Games and left the company in 2017. He went on to say that Rockstar can "do whatever they want" with GTA 6, including asking people to wait longer to play it. "It doesn't matter. If they need to do what they need to do, they'll do it," he said.

A delay of six more months could be in the cards, if Rockstar's team decides it needs more time, York said. "I would not be shocked at all. I don't think it would hurt them or anything," he said.

GTA 6 is set for release on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. It was originally slated to come out in Fall 2025 before being pushed to May 2026 and then again to November 2026. In each case, Rockstar said the delays came down to the team needing more time to improve the game's quality.

Rockstar will show off GTA 6 again on August 27 through Netflix. An "extended look" at the game will air on the streaming platform for a period of six hours before it gets uploaded to Rockstar's own YouTube page, so people will need a Netflix membership to watch right away.

One of the biggest talking points in gaming lately has been around Sony's decision to end support for physical game discs in 2028. It's prompted concerns about game preservation, along with people generally being upset about owning physical media. Now, publisher Capcom has shared its thoughts, with management saying the shrinking physical game market is not expected to have much of an impact because the company sells mostly digital games.

"Approximately 90% of our unit sales are digital. We do not anticipate a significant impact at this time," the company said.

Capcom is not alone in having a growing share of its game sales come from digital--a shift to digital has been a growing trend in recent years across the board.

Nintendo, for its part, just released its latest earnings briefing today, August 6, confirming digital game sales made up 61.5% of total sales during the latest quarter, up from 59.3% during the same period last year. Electronic Arts recently released its latest report as well, showing 81% of game sales were digital.

For its part, Sony said it's ending support for physical game discs on PlayStation in response to "consumer trends." The data clearly shows a growing trend toward digital games, but experts also believe the shift to all-digital is about power, control, and making more money.

The biggest game of 2026, GTA 6, is also releasing as a digital exclusive. The game will be sold at retailers in a box, but players only get a code to download the game.

As part of Nintendo's latest earnings report, the company disclosed new sales numbers for many of its best-selling games. Included in the data is the confirmation that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has passed a massive new sales milestone: 50 million copies sold.

New Horizons stood at 49.91 million units sold through March 31, 2026. With 50.29 million sold through June 30--the latest reporting period--that means the game sold another 380,000 units in the past 90 days or so.

It's the No. 2 best-selling Switch 1 game from Nintendo, only surpassed by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (78.53 million units). Both New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe no doubt benefitted from being included in hardware bundles, but they are impressive sales numbers all the same.

At 50 million units sold, New Horizons is among the best-selling games of all time. In fact, it's now the No. 10 best-selling game in the history of gaming.

New Horizons was released at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and many said the game's cozy vibes and wholesome nature helped them through lockdown orders.

The game is playable on Switch 2 via backwards compatibility. Also, a Switch 2 edition of New Horizons was released in January 2026, with existing owners able to upgrade for $5.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls launches on August 6, and if you're feeling battle-hungry, there's a good chance that you'll be up for a brawl when you've got the game installed. But when can you start testing out your dream-team of superheroes and supervillains against real people? Surprisingly soon, as the multiplayer servers for the game are almost open.

Developer Arc System Works has revealed the launch times for the Marvel Tokon servers across the globe. Here they are:

United States

• 8 AM PT
• 11 AM ET

United Kingdom

• 4 PM BST

Europe

• 5 PM CEST

Middle East

• 6 PM AST

Africa

• 5 PM SAST

China

• 11 PM CST

South Korea

• 12 AM KST (August 7)

Japan

• 12 AM JST (August 7)

Australia

• 1 AM AEST (August 7)

Marvel Tokon is just one of several high-profile fighting games that have launched this year, as the genre has expanded with new releases like Invincible Vs and Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game. If you're planning to play on PC, you can still preorder the game for just $54 through Fanatical, saving you 10% when compared to buying it directly.

The next big fighting game from Arc System Works looks like it could be a big hit, as not only does it accurately bring the Marvel Universe to life--while helping us forget about that terrible Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects game from 20 years ago--with its varied roster, but each character looks wildly different thanks to their slick redesigns.

All the Marvel heavyweights are here--from Spider-Man to Storm--and the game even includes a version of Deadpool who basically plays like a fighting game highlight reel.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Roster – Every Character Revealed (So Far) View Images

Rockstar Games will provide an "extended look" at GTA 6 on August 27, and it'll air on Netflix. The video will be released on Netflix at 3 PM ET and it will later be posted on Rockstar's own YouTube channel at 9 PM ET that day.

Rockstar has worked with Netflix before, as the company brought multiple games to the Netflix Games catalog, including GTA titles. Those have been removed, but Red Dead Redemption remains available to play on Netflix.

“Grand Theft Auto reveals have become cultural moments in their own right. The anticipation and fandom around Grand Theft Auto VI is unprecedented, and we’re honored that Rockstar Games has partnered with us to debut the next part of the Grand Theft Auto story with Netflix members first,” Netflix VP Brandon Riegg said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “It’s a reflection of what we hope Netflix is becoming: a place where the most ambitious storytelling, from any medium, can find the biggest possible audience.”

Fans have been waiting a long time for a new look at GTA 6, as the last trailer was released all the way back in May 2025. Netflix has published a landing page for the GTA 6 video. The Rockstar Games website for GTA 6 has been updated, too.

While fans have to wait until August 27 for the new trailer, new artwork for GTA 6 has been released, providing a new look at main characters Lucia and Jason. In particular, we can see Jason wearing a "Leonida" shirt featuring manatee riding a surfboard. Fans have theorized that GTA 6 might add surfing as a mechanic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq76pQsI1iw

Preorders for GTA 6 began in June, priced at $80 for the base game and $100 for an Ultimate Edition that comes with a lot more content. Rockstar has said GTA 6 is a single-player experience, and it remains to be seen how GTA Online may evolve when GTA 6 arrives.

The new GTA 6 art.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. It's expected to be 2026's biggest game, and one of the biggest releases in the history of entertainment.

House House's critically acclaimed co-op puzzle-solving game Big Walk has only been out for two days, but one modder is taking it upon themselves to add a new dimension to the gameplay.

Independent solo developer CircuitLord has announced that they are developing a VR mod for Big Walk. A brief demonstration of the mod was posted on social media as proof of concept.

https://twitter.com/CircuitLord/status/2084802172525367443

CircuitLord subsequently posted a follow-up video that showed off the progress of the VR mod. In this iteration, the player's character can pick up objects and interact with them. But CircuitLord notes that it needs some refinement to make "throwing a tad bit less powerful."

https://twitter.com/CircuitLord/status/2084895283117224028

Subsequently, CircuitLord confirmed that the mod will support crossplay with players using the normal version of the game. "You'll be able to see VR player hand movements and how they're holding objects and stuff as long as everyone has the mod," added CircuitLord.

For now, there's no timetable for CircuitLord to finish and release the mod. In the meantime, House House has announced that it's working on a mircophone fix to address the issue of some players sounding quieter than the developers intended.

Big Walk hit a critical milestone as the highest-rated title to debut on day one on PlayStation Plus Essential. GameSpot's sister site Metacritic notes that Big Walk has a 94 score among reviewers. GameSpot's Big Walk review echoes those high marks calls it one of the best co-op games ever created.

Players who want to dive into the game should check out GameSpot's eight tips you need to know ahead of playing Big Walk. We've also put together guides on how to get shiny and how how to solve the 4166, 1899 puzzle.

Big Walk is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and Mac.