On March 25, 2013, Digital Extremes launched a free-to-play sci-fi action title called Warframe, putting players in the roles of the Tenno, fighting against interstellar evils across the galaxy. What started with humble beginnings has now grown into one of the most successful live-service games on the market, and after celebrating Warframe's 13th birthday, and with its new sibling, Soulframe, Digital Extremes wants to prove it still has plenty to offer its fans.

GameSpot sat down with Warframe community director Megan Everett at PAX East 2026, just after she completed a Warframe- and Soulframe-focused panel on the main stage. We spoke about the new Shadowgrapher update, Warframe's jump to Nintendo Switch 2, the studio's stance on generative AI, and more.

Enter the Shadowgrapher

The latest Warframe update adds a new playable character to the mix in Follie, an imposing figure who uses inks and paints as weapons in battle. The limited-time game mode introduced with her, Follie's Hunt, forces players into a 4v1 showdown with Follie that invokes similar feelings to horror title Dead by Daylight or other similar asymmetric multiplayer games.

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The month has just begun, and if you're looking to grab a few free games, then you can check out everything that Amazon Luna has to offer in April. Amazon Prime members can claim these 12 PC games and eight more via the cloud for a total of 20 freebies. One of the best games being offered this month, XCOM: Enemy Unkown Complete Pack, is available right now, and it's perfect for anyone looking to engage in some high-stakes turn-based tactical action.

As a reminder, all of the free games that you claim through Amazon Luna are yours to keep forever, even if your subscription expires. If you aren't a member, you can sign up for Amazon Luna for as little as $15 for one month to take advantage of the subscription and its freebies.

Sign up for Amazon Prime Amazon Luna Free Games For April 2026April 2

• XCOM: Enemy Unknown Complete Pack (GOG)
• Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties (Epic Games Store)

April 9

• A Rat's Quest: The Way Back Home (Epic Games Store)
• King of Retail (GOG)

April 16

• Snake Core (GOG)
• Monster Harvest (Epic Games Store)
• Detective Agency: Gray Tie Collector's Edition (Legacy games code)

April 23

• Neo Cab (GOG)
• The Pale Beyond (GOG)

April 30

• KinnikuNeko: Super Muscle Cat (Epic Game Store)
• Fantasy General (GOG)
• Pinball Spire (GOG)

Prime subscribers will also be able to play the following new games in March via the Luna channel:

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Season 3 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Warzone is loaded with new content across all modes, and the big update also comes bundled with additional anti-cheat protections. Activision's latest Ricochet anti-cheat blog reveals an additional crackdown on unapproved third-party hardware and new verification requirements for new accounts on PC.

Last season, Call of Duty's Ricochet anti-cheat detections received upgrades designed to target unapproved third-party hardware, such as the Cronus Zen and XIM Matrix devices that could be used to alter player inputs and offer an unfair advantage. Season 3's update continues the fight against those third-party detections with an evolved detection system.

"Our detections focus on how inputs behave during gameplay, not just which device is plugged in. This allows us to identify patterns that fall outside expected human play, even as device setups change," the publisher explained. "With Season 3, we are expanding our detection systems that target these tools."

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Fox McCloud is probably better known as a Super Smash Bros. fighter than the protagonist of the Star Fox franchise these days, but last week saw two unexpected developments for the anthropomorphic hero: 1) Glen Powell announced he voices Fox in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and 2) There's a reported Star Fox game coming out soon for Switch 2 . According to the Star Fox leak, the upcoming game will supposedly feature "classic-style" action. In other words, it will play like Star Fox 64 and be an on-rails shooter. That's fine and dandy, but I'd argue Nintendo needs to take a different flight path with this new Star Fox.

Rather than retread old territory, this rumored Switch 2 game should look to Hades 2 for inspiration, as the critically acclaimed roguelite best exemplifies how to mix story with replayability--two things Fox and his flight crew's upcoming adventure to take out Andross will need. Though this might seem like a departure from the original Star Fox, Star Fox 64 already incorporated roguelite aspects, as saving Slippy in a level could lead to alternate pathways through the Lylat System. Plus, the arcade nature of the 1997 title leads to a very short playtime to complete, something that arguably would be deemed unacceptable today--especially if Nintendo charges a premium price of $70.

So let's get started with our roguelike recommendations for this new, but unofficial, Star Fox game. The Great Fox can act as a main hub, where Fox can chat with General Pepper about his overall mission before heading out in the Arwing. Obviously, this flagship will serve as an important location that Fox returns to whenever he gets shot down on his adventure. It'd be nice to maybe see Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad hanging out here, too. Maybe Fox can only choose one wingmate at a time, with each companion offering different power-ups or abilities on a run. For example, bringing along Falco ups your Arwing's firepower, while picking Peppy leads to more tactical debuffs on enemies.

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We are shy of two weeks out from the launch of Crimson Desert, and while I personally have been enjoying my time with the game, I feel it has been one of the more egregious examples of a modern trend in gaming: titles releasing as 1.0 when they should be releasing as Early Access.

Since the launch of Crimson Desert, the game has added a storage chest at the main hub for players to offload items they don’t want to carry, but also don’t want to lose. It’s added a bunch of fast travel points all over the map, including one at that main hub; before this, it took hours of gameplay to unlock a fast travel point, even if you were kind of close to that location. It’s also added new items known as Refinement Tokens, which allow players to quickly upgrade any low-level gear they come across to something more usable, without having to waste a bunch of resources in doing so. These aren’t little tweaks and fixes; these changes completely transform the experience of playing the game.

Before digital releases and internet connectivity, patches were nearly impossible, especially on consoles. Once a game was out in the wild, that was pretty much it. No changes could be made; any issues with the game or exploits players could leverage were forever etched into that experience. Now, developers are able to make alterations weeks, months, or even years after a game’s release. I do lament the idea of things like Pokémon Red and Blue’s Missing No., or the backward long jump in Super Mario 64, being removed in update patches if those games were to have been released today.

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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now in theaters, but don't call it a sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It was never designed to be a sequel to that film or a re-telling of Super Mario Galaxy the game.

In an interview with Polygon, Illumination boss Chris Meledandri said the team kicked around ideas for a follow-up to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and some of the possibilities included a Super Mario World or Super Mario Odyssey movie. However, the qualities of Super Mario Galaxy--including the cinematic and dramatic opportunities--were "immediately exciting," he said.

"Just the whole feeling of the drama that's associated with Rosalina as a character and how that's reflected in the music of Galaxy. That feeling was something we thought could really inform a new story," Meledandri said.

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Call of Duty developer Raven Software's founder, Brian Raffel, is retiring from the company after 36 years leading the studio. Brian and his brother Steve (who himself retired in 2017) founded Raven in 1990, and while the studio today is most closely associated with Call of Duty, that's only a relatively recent change.

Raven's first game was 1992's Black Crypt, a 3D realtime-style adventure game, which would be followed up by the shooter Heretic in 1994 and a sequel, Heretic II, in 1998. Raven then created the Soldier of Fortune shooter series in the early 2000s, before developing multiple Star Wars: Jedi Knight games with LucasArts. Raven also worked on multiple X-Men, Marvel, and Wolfenstein games.

Activision would go on to buy Raven, with the Raffel brothers receiving more than 1 million shares of Activision stock as part of the deal. Raven began working on the Call of Duty series with 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops, contributing to the game's DLC, and the team has been focused on Call of Duty since.

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John Carpenter's Escape From LA 30th Anniversary Steelbook (4K Blu-ray)

$30 | Releases June 2

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Los Angeles might not be as glamorous as it used to be, but the City of Angels is still far better than the fictionalized version in John Carpenter's Escape from LA. The 1996 action movie is getting a new lease on life with a 4K steelbook Blu-ray release to celebrate its 30th anniversary. You can preorder it now through Amazon and Walmart for $30 ahead of its June 2 release.

John Carpenter's Escape From LA 30th Anniversary Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) $30 | Releases June 2

This new steelbook edition features Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) on the cover, while the rear features a computer display showing Los Angeles splitting from the American mainland after a devastating earthquake. Inside the case is a screenshot of Plissken, armed with a gun in each hand and a scowl on his face. Like the previous 4K release, this version offers Dolby Vision and HDR10 support, along with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack.

The 4K Blu-ray also includes a standard Blu-ray copy of the film, but special features have not been revealed. If this release is based on Paramount's 2022 4K Blu-ray, expect disappointment as the only bonus material will be the theatrical trailer. But if you want to go behind the scenes on Escape From LA, there are options.

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Set in the far-off year of 2013, Escape From LA follows Snake Plissken after he is forced to rescue the US president's daughter from Los Angeles. Cut off from the mainland and turned into a dumping ground for people deemed undesirable by the theocratic US government, Plissken soon discovers the true reason for his mission. The president's daughter holds the keys to a superweapon called the Sword of Damocles, a satellite system that can disable the world's electronic devices. Infected with a virus that will kill him in hours without a vaccine, Plissken must venture into the warzone of LA to retrieve the remote.

If you're looking for other versions of the film, there's the aforementioned 2022 4K Blu-ray release available for $20, while Shout Factory's 2020 Escape From LA Blu-ray--which is packed with extra bonus materials--is available for $17. The Shout Factory version's special features include several HD interviews and featurettes, including one in which Bruce Campbell, who plays the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills, reveals how he spent hours in the make-up chair. Actor Peter Jason shares anecdotes from the set, and the late Stacy Keach recalls working with Carpenter. There are also interviews with actor Georges Corraface, CG supervisor David Jones, and makeup artist James McPherson, plus a stills gallery and promotional materials.

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New details about what happened to The Last of Us multiplayer game that never was have emerged, thanks to a former Naughty Dog developer who worked on it.

Speaking to podcaster Lance E. Lee (via Kotaku), developer Vinit Agarwal said that the canceled Last of Us live-service title was almost at "80% completion," adding that the game was "very, very close to done." Agarwal, who had worked on Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and The Last of Us Part 2, was the game director for this multiplayer game.

According to Agarwal, Sony had invested in the project after an uptick in online gaming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that The Last of Us online title "made a lot of progress, and the game was doing really, really well internally." Studio head and The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann even called the game Naughty Dog's "most ambitious project" back in January 2023.

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From Peak to Cairn, climbing games are all the rage right now, and you can add Ascenders: Beyond the Peak to the list. So how does Ascenders stand apart from its peers? By offering a grim approach to mountaineering, blending it with Lovecraftian horror and resource management. In another macabre twist, the game even offers an option to cut some dead weight loose from your ascent--quite literally.

Billed as an exploration roguelite that fuses turn-based climbing and expedition management with rope physics and permanent consequences, each run takes place on a mountain cursed with mysterious Lovecraftian threats hidden within the rocks. Every expedition is a desperate attempt to reach the summit, and losing a member of your party doesn't just reduce your resources, but the overall morale of your group as you make your way to the top.

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The world's a bit terrible right now, so if you're looking to hide away from reality and get a dose of serotonin when it's very needed, this new cozy game is exactly what you're looking for. Developed by Uncommon Games, Animalkind sees you take control of an ancient mech that can collect, store, craft, and build--oh, and you're a tiny animal.

Choose between a cat, corgi, or raccoon and customize your character before landing snout-to-face with a mysterious, but demanding, portal. Of course, I chose a pink corgi, but I'm not here to judge anyone choosing to play as the standard little raccoon--he's still really cute.

There are several biomes to explore, all linked by various portals, but I found myself returning to my original base more and more often to craft more intricate items of furniture, add new buildings, and decorate the area. While the options are nowhere near as expansive as the likes of Pokopia or Animal Crossing, Animalkind's cutesy designs are more than enough to win me over.

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Remember that C button on your Nintendo Switch 2? It's that button that you may have accidentally pressed instead of the Home button right above it. Well, Nintendo really wants you to use it to activate GameChat, and the company will grant you points and icons in return.

Until April 22 at 5:59 PM PT / 8:59 PM ET, you can earn 100 My Nintendo Platinum Points simply by opening GameChat, which Nintendo promoted as the Switch 2's "defining" feature. You can then use those points to claim up to 13 icons for your Switch profile, each 10 Platinum Points each. That means you'll need a little more than the 100 points you get from activating GameChat if you want every icon--you can earn Platinum Points from completing My Nintendo missions.

While you can look at these icon elements on the Nintendo Switch Online app within your Switch 2, you can't redeem any of them without actually starting up GameChat. We found that simply opening the GameChat menu without even starting a chat will do the trick and allow you to claim these limited-time icons, so you don't even have to fully use the feature.

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Microsoft is bringing back the Xbox FanFest event this year, and it's going on tour to help celebrate Xbox's 25th anniversary. Microsoft announced today that in addition to the Xbox FanFest that was already announced for Los Angeles, the show will hit the road and make seven stops globally.

These will include:

• Cologne, Germany
• London, UK
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Seattle, USA
• Sydney, Australia
• Tokyo, Japan
• Toronto, Canada

Microsoft said each FanFest will be "unique to the location in which it's held." Fans can expect "in-person experiences that bring the worlds of Xbox to life with opportunities for players to connect with one another," Microsoft said.

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Lego Toy Story: Slinky Dog Bookends (1,311 pieces)

$150 | Releases May 1

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Lego Toy Story: Lotso (570 pieces)

$40 | Releases May 1

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Lego Toy Story: Alien with Pizza Planet Rocket Ride (714 pieces)

$60 | Releases May 1

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Buzz, Woody, and Jessie are returning for another animated adventure, as Toy Story 5 is scheduled for a June 19 release. This time around, they'll be facing competition from modern electronics (more specifically, a frog-shaped tablet), but a decidedly old-school way to celebrate the upcoming film is to pick up one of the three new Toy Story Lego sets launching later this year. Preorders are now open, and they'll begin shipping on May 1, giving you plenty of time to snap them together before heading to the theaters the following month. Here's a look at the Slinky Dog, Lotso, and Alien sets up for grabs. There's also a cute Toy Story Celebration Train & RC Car Lego set available right now, in case you're itching for a set to build today. Plenty of existing Lego Toy Story sets can be found on the Lego Store, so if none of these four catch your eye, there are plenty of others to peruse.

Lego Toy Story: Slinky Dog Bookends (1,311 pieces) $150 | Releases May 1

Not only is this the largest of the trio at over 1,300, but it might just be the coolest, too. It lets you build a model of the iconic Slinky Dog that can be attached and detached from two buildable books. Inside the books are a few hidden secrets--including a tiny Slinky Dog figurine and a Woody minifigure. Whether you decide to use the build as bookends on your shelf or standalone figures throughout your home, it looks like a pretty unique model.

The $150 price tag might be a bit hefty, but you're getting a Slinky model that spans more than 17 inches, two minifigures, and two buildable books. And because Slinky can be displayed standalone or attached to the books, there are plenty of ways to change up its appearance. Like all the other sets on this list, it's compatible with the Lego Builder App.

Preorder at Lego Store Preorder at Amazon Lego Toy Story: Lotso (570 pieces) $40 | Releases May 1

Standing over 6.5 inches tall, this adorable version of Lotso features posable eyebrows, arms, hands, and a tilting face. You can also pose him with or without his walking stick, making it a robust model to display in your home theater. It can even double as a toy for young builders.

Aside from all its posable pieces, Lotso comes with a few hidden Easter eggs that you'll discover throughout the build. As usual, you'll get a set of instructions in the box, though it's also compatible with the Lego Builder App, which gives you a rotatable 3D model to explore and makes the build process smoother than ever.

Preorder at Lego Store Lego Toy Story: Alien with Pizza Planet Rocket Ride (714 pieces) $60 | Releases May 1

While the adorable Alien has moveable arms, hands, feet, and head, that's not what makes this set exciting--it's the functioning rocket ride machine. By turning a handle on the side of the machine, you can make the toy shift up and down. Other cool bonuses include a coin dispenser with space for two coins, a tiny slice of pizza, and a few hidden Easter eggs scattered throughout the set.

The Alien can be placed inside the rocket ride or taken out and posed separately, and because many of his joints can move around, it's easy to find a funky pose for him in your home theater. Considering it has a unique interactive feature, its $60 price tag is actually pretty reasonable for a brand-new Lego set.

Preorder at Lego Store Preorder at Amazon Lego Toy Story: Celebration Train & RC Car (206 pieces)$40

Though it's not exactly new (it launched last summer), this kid-friendly set was released to celebrate Toy Story's 30th anniversary. Along with minifigures for Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and Bo Peep, it lets you build a train engine, two floats, and a car. The train engine can connect to the two floats, which feature interactive components like a seesaw and a spaceship with a cockpit that opens to hold a minifigure. This is ideal for young builders, as it includes Starter Bricks that should speed up the construction process, and each bag in the box comes with a character--so they can start playing with the toys before the entire set is completed.

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Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has sold his new studio, Unbound, to Stellar Blade owner Shift Up.

Unbound is currently working on "original" PC and console based games that Shift Up said are being designed to appeal to the "global market." You can watch the announcement video for the partnership below.

Fans have theorized that some of the eerie-looking art mixed in with the developer quotes might be for whatever Unbound is working on, but that remains to be confirmed. Mikami is known for his work on spooky games, and the art in the video surely seems to be in line with that.

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The RPG Crimson Desert from developer Pearl Abyss continues to put up strong sales numbers. The Korean studio has now confirmed that Crimson Desert has passed 4 million in sales.

That's up from 2 million sales in the game's first 24 hours and 3 million in sales after less than a week. "Thank you to all the Greymanes who have been a part of this journey with us and for all of your incredible love and support," Pearl Abyss said of the new sales milestone.

Crimson Desert released on March 19, and Pearl Abyss has released numerous updates since then to address issues and fan feedback. One of the biggest updates replaced AI-generated art that fans noticed. Pearl Abyss hasn't fixed or addressed everything, though, as fans are still irked by the game's inventory management. On the more positive side, fans have discovered all kinds of cool stuff in the game, including the best drip and how NPCs will do work for you.

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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hit theaters on April 1, and it's putting up huge numbers right out of the gate. The animated film brought in $34 million in the US for its opening day, which is good for the biggest opening day so far in 2026, outpacing Project Hail Mary ($33.1 million).

It's also the highest opening for a movie that opened on a Wednesday in April in US history, beating a record set by April 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($31.7 million), according to Deadline.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie went on to make $146.3 million over its first three days on Easter weekend in 2023 and $204.6 million over the five-day period from Wednesday-Sunday. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, meanwhile, is projected to make $128.2 million over its first three days and $186 million for its first five.

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It's going to be a busy weekend at theaters with the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and preorders for its upcoming Blu-ray release have already gone live at multiple online retailers. While the home video release doesn't have a release date yet, the Mario Movie sequel will be in cinemas for at least 5 weekends, and Blu-ray editions tend to drop a few months after their theatrical runs, so you've got plenty of time to preorder. It also gives you plenty of time to decide which version of The Mario Galaxy Movie Blu-ray editions to bring home. In addition to the standard 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD releases, there are also steelbook and collector's edition versions available to preorder, some of which are exclusive to specific stores. Here's a breakdown of each version and what you can expect to pay. One thing to note about all of these releases is that special features and tech specs have yet to be revealed, but we'll update this post when we know more.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie: Walmart Exclusive Collectible Tin (4K Blu-ray)

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Like lots of games, Minecraft is celebrating April Fools' Day with a good, old-fashioned joke. But rather than simply making a silly social media post, developer Mojang is fully committed to the bit, and this year's joke comes in the form of a playable game update.

The Herdcraft Update is live now, and gets rid of the inventory system entirely, leaving players' inventory items to follow them around the in-game world like sheep.

"Herdcraft is a completely new (and very permanent) way to play Minecraft," creative communications director and writer Cristina Anderca explained in a blog post announcing the update. "Instead of spending minutes, hours, years on end trying to organize the chaos in your inventory, you get to be present in the world, together with your new friends: all the items and blocks that you own!"

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Embark Studios released a bonafide hit in Arc Raiders, and its use of AI was controversial. The studio's top boss, Patrick Soderlund, was recently promoted to executive chairman of publisher Nexon, and now he's given a presentation in which he shed more light on the company's approach to AI in gaming.

"Every company has a plan; most will get it wrong," he said about how game developers will use AI (via GamesRadar).

He said there is a "race" going on now to find and implement the best AI-based strategies to help developers, but he said the winners "won't be the first movers."

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