The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of Xbox's most-anticipated upcoming games, and game director Todd Howard has now said the studio must stick the landing.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Howard confirmed that the majority of the developers at Bethesda Game Studios are working on The Elder Scrolls 6 currently.

"We know we need to get it right and it's been a long time," he said.

Indeed it has been a long time. The game was announced more than eight years ago now, and to date, only one video has been released, and it was only a title reveal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkFdqqyI8y4

The game did not show up at the Xbox Games Showcase earlier in June. Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty said this was because Microsoft was waiting for "the right moment" to show the game again.

"When you decide to show it, you want it to be the best you’ve got,” he said. “And also that when you show the game, you’re also giving them a promise of, 'Hey, it’s coming soon.'”

Howard has questioned whether it was the right call to announce The Elder Scrolls 6 so early. “I have asked myself that a lot,” he said. “I don’t know. I probably would’ve announced it more casually.”

He later said announcing The Elder Scrolls 6 in the way that Bethesda did was “not my preference,” but it happened anyway.

He went on to joke: “Just pretend we didn’t announce it. It doesn’t exist. No one has heard a word.”

Season 4 Reloaded arrives later this week, and award winning actor Nicolas Cage will join Call of Duty's growing list of operators for Black Ops 7 and Warzone. In addition to the Hollywood star, Season 4 Reloaded includes new weapons, limited-time events, and the Kowakujo Zombies map. The popular Black Ops Classic mode also becomes a permanent addition in Black Ops 7.

Season 4 Reloaded goes live on June 25, and this midseason refresh is themed as Call of Duty's Summer of Action update. All of the major announcements can be found below.

Limited-time events and new weapons

One of the main highlights of the midseason update are the new free weapons being introduced. Season 4 Reloaded will add the Executioner's Duet melee weapon and the classic AN-94 assault rifle from Black Ops 2 as the final weapons of the season.

Nick Cage event rewards

Nicolas Cage also highlights the Summer of Action update as a new operator. Cage is known for iconic action and adventure roles, such as National Treasure, Con Air, Gone in 60 Seconds, and most recently, Spider-Noir.

The actor arrives as part of Call of Duty's new "Nick Cage event." This works just like RoboCop and many other recent events with both free and paid event tracks. Call of Duty's paid event passes are usually priced at $10. Both tracks include cosmetics themed around Nicolas Cage, but the operator himself can only be unlocked in the paid pass.

More multiplayer maps and modes Remake of the Launch map from BO1

Two more maps and modes are added with Season 4 Reloaded. 

Zenith is a brand-new 6v6 map set within Karma's hidden cliffside manor. Launch is a remake of the Black Ops 1 map set at a rocket launch facility, and this is also a standard 6v6 map.

As for game modes, Team Blueprint Sharpshooter arrives as a 6v6 mode where weapon blueprints rotate every few seconds. Each weapon cycle swaps to the same new weapon for every player, and this continues until a team reaches the score limit. 

In this mode, players earn power-ups instead of scorestreaks for achieving elimination streaks. The bonuses are as follows: 

• 1-Streak: Faster movement speed
• 2 -Streak: Faster reload speed
• 3-Streak: Faster sprint recovery
• 4-Streak: Faster aim-down-sights speed
• 5-Streak: Double score

The second mode is called Knife Fight, which is a melee-only variant of the fan-favorite Gunfight mode.

Black Ops Classic update

The Black Ops Classic playlist features movement and gameplay inspired by older games in the series, which removes Black Ops 7's advancing omnimovement and various equipment. Due to the mode's popularity, Treyarch has made the playlist permanent in Black Ops 7.

This mode only features the game's remastered maps from the older Black Ops games, but a few more throwbacks are being added into the rotation in Season 4 Reloaded. This list includes Launch, Fringe, Hacienda, and Gridlock.

New Zombies map and Wonder Weapon New Oni enemy type

Season 4 Reloaded introduces a brand-new Zombies map called Kowakujo. This map's story revolves around Takeo, and the setting takes place at his family’s castle in Japan. The main story quest will go live with the big update, where players are tasked with fighting Nyxara's army, liberating the Shadowsmith, and uncovering the curse that holds Takeo's soul.

The map features the new Oni enemy type. Oni are armored enemies with the power of electricity, and they also wield melee weapons.

The Wonder Weapon for this map remains "redacted," and Treyarch says players will need to discover it as they play.

Endgame

A new act of missions arrives in Endgame called Operation King Killer. Additionally, Season 4 Reloaded adds the new Guardian skill track, described as a skill that allows players to withstand more damage, support teammates, and punish attackers. The Psych Grenade is also added as a new minor ability.

Warzone Map Update for Rebirth Island Rebirth Island gets a makeover

Warzone's Rebirth Island Resurgence map is getting a seasonal new look for the midseason update. The snow has melted around the prison, and Rebirth Island gains a colorful new setting with updates to the grass and trees on the island.

New Warzone modes

The midseason update adds Squad Gun to Warzone. This mode is played on the smaller Resurgence maps. It’s basically Call of Duty's Gun Game mode in Warzone, for the first time ever. Squads will drop into matches with the objective of being the first to cycle through a pre-determined number of weapons, eliminating enemy targets to progress to the next weapon. The first squad to cycle through every weapon wins the match.

From July 9 through 13, players can jump into limited-time matches of Warzone's Buy Back Quads mode. This is a returning mode where players want to acquire as much cash as they can, as eliminated players with at least $4,000 will automatically redeploy.

One World of Warcraft player has created their own private version of Azeroth, populated not by other players, but with AI-powered bots. 

As detailed on the wowservers subreddit, user Mr-Nilsson_85 explained how they created a "proof of concept" of what a Wrath of the Lich King-era WoW server played entirely by bots looks like, turning one of the world's premier MMORPGs into what is essentially a single-player game. The server hosts 1,800 bot "players" that go about playing the game as real players normally would--completing quests, leveling professions, killing monsters, and equipping better gear.

Despite being against the game's terms-of-service, bots aren't exactly anything new in WoW, having existed almost as long as the game has been around. They usually come in the gold-farming variety, completing repetitive tasks like mining and vendoring ore over and over again. But these bots are different, as their ability to chat with each other and potential real players is powered by DeepSeek AI. As Mr-Nilsson_85 explains, the bots have predefined "topics" to talk about among themselves, "but they do respond to each other, and they do respond to the player."

At first glance, these AI conversations can look fairly legitimate. But upon closer inspection, many of them seem to be monologuing into the void of the game's general chat, like one that proudly declares "Grinding Ravenholdt rep all day!" or another exclaiming "Man, Ulduar's my jam!"

https://www.reddit.com/r/wowservers/comments/1u8k6lm/private_server_with_1800_bots_ai_chat_deepseek/

One interesting wrinkle is that the AI-powered chat for these bots isn't attached to the actual scripts controlling their gameplay, so there is no way to currently influence their actions. That means a real player can't ask a particular bot to pull a specific enemy, trade an item, or wait for mana. That might make grouping up with these bots a challenge, but for those who prefer to play MMORPGs like WoW solo, with other players largely serving as set dressing, it's an interesting concept. 

Reactions to Mr-Nilsson_85's creation on Reddit are mixed. Some players seem legitimately impressed and excited about the possibilities of an AI-powered MMO that could turn online worlds into single-player experiences. Others point to it as evidence of the "dead internet theory," the idea that most online content and interactions are now generated by AI, in action. Some mostly just seem depressed by the idea, with one user calling the AI server "dystopian." 

The idea of a "single-player MMORPG" powered by NPCs masquerading as players isn't entirely unheard of. Erenshor, an indie game released in 2025, is built around that same idea.

In other WoW news, developer Blizzard recently sued the makers of yet another WoW private server, accusing them of "large scale, egregious, and ongoing infringement" of Blizzard's intellectual property. It's the third WoW Classic private server takedown in recent months, leading some fans to believe Blizzard is preparing for a major announcement related to the old-school version of the MMO.

Ahead of its launch on June 30, reviews and impressions on Valve's Steam Machine have arrived. Designed to be a living room PC, the compact unit is launching during an expensive time for gamers, as the ongoing memory and storage crisis, coupled with AI data center demands, has seen an explosive surge in hardware prices. Is the Steam Machine worth its price?

According to impressions from various outlets, Valve has managed to cram an impressive amount of hardware into the small PC gaming cube, but that focus on portability (or avoiding even more exorbitant prices) has had an impact on its graphical capabilities. The Verge calls it a gaming PC that punches above its weight but still "isn't ready for the console wars" just yet.

Steam Machine and Steam Controller

"While you won’t be able to run the most intensive games at a true 4K resolution because you’ll run out of video memory and graphical power too quickly, I found the Steam Machine’s frame rate is incredibly stable and pairs well with TVs that support variable refresh rate (VRR)," The Verge wrote in its review. "There’s just enough horsepower to, say, play Indiana Jones or Returnal at 1440p medium spec, or Forza Horizon 6 at 1440p high spec, or Cyberpunk 2077 at upscaled 4K with high spec, or Shadow of the Tomb Raider at true 4K and medium."

But how does the Steam Machine compare to established devices like the PS5 or Xbox Series X|S consoles? Not too well, from a financial standpoint.

"At $1,049, the Steam Machine is unlikely to win over the hearts and minds of PlayStation and Xbox faithfuls, but it is easily the best living room PC I’ve ever used, despite being a bit weaker than either of the base consoles," IGN explained. "That price probably disqualifies Valve’s new mini gaming PC in the eyes of many console faithfuls, but it makes a lot more sense for its intended purpose as an entry-level gaming PC."

Where the Steam Machine does shine is as a PC gaming unit that takes up very little space and is very quiet when running games. "The Steam Machine is quiet. I mean, really, really quiet. The single, geometry-optimized 120 mm fan at the back does an admirable job of moving large amounts of air at whisper-like levels, so much so that I don't think you'd notice it at full pelt over any other ambient noise," PC Gamer wrote.

If you're interested in grabbing one, preorders for the Steam Machine will officially open on June 25 ahead of its June 30 shipping date. Prices start at $1,049 for the 512GB model with no controller, and go up to $1,428 for a 2TB Steam Machine with a controller and swap-out face-plates. You can also join the waitlist now to be notified when preorders are live.

Xbox is going full steam ahead with a slate of films and TV shows, which now includes a live-action adaptation of Rare's 2018 pirate-filled, social-sim adventure game, Sea of Thieves.

According to a June 22 Entertainment Weekly report, Xbox has "over a dozen adaptations in the works." Some of these projects are already known--Death Stranding is getting a film, Netflix is fully supporting an animated and live-action Gears movie, Fallout has a new season, and Minecraft is getting a sequel film.

But one that may come as a surprise is that Sea of Thieves will get the live-action treatment, too, with American filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton (Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) producing. No director has been attached to the project just yet, though.

Matt Booty, Xbox's newly minted chief content officer and executive vice president, teased to Entertainment Weekly what the film's story would be about.

"The main character of a Sea of Thieves game is actually the player and the community," Booty said. "So if you sit down to think about Sea of Thieves, it's not, 'Who are the main characters? What's the plot?' It's a super social game, but there's a tone to Sea of Thieves. It's built on a very cooperative community, so you can start to sense what that's going to be like."

Developed by Rare Limited and published by Xbox Game Studios, Sea of Thieves is an open-world pirate action-adventure game that launched on Xbox consoles in 2018. You create a pirate, helm a ship, and sail the seven seas in search of bodies to shoot and booty to plunder. While you can play solo, the game was built with multiplayer in mind, so it'll be curious to see how Hollywood brings a live-action adaptation of a primarily social game to life.

At long last, Valve has revealed the price for its highly anticipated Steam Machine. The system will officially cost $1,049 for its 512GB version without a Steam Controller and it launches on June 30. From there, the price increases to $1,349 for the 2TB model without a controller, and $1,428 with a controller. Preorders will open up on June 25, but you can join a waitlist now to be eligible for an opportunity to preorder one.

On June 25, a select number of those who registered interest will be randomly selected to be able to place a preorder. This is being done in reaction to challenges with preordering the Steam Controller, and Valve says it gives users a fair amount of time to actually place an order, while providing it with time to "do some extra validation on the signups to make sure they're real accounts." Orders are limited to one per household and must meet a few criteria, including having made a Steam purchase prior to April 27.

Though not Valve's first attempt at offering a Steam-branded PC for the living room, the Steam Machine is arguably its most exciting. The system runs on Valve's own SteamOS, similarly to the portable Steam Deck, and it can function as a standard PC, complete with a separate operating system. Valve will also be using a Steam Machine Verified badge for games on its platform, just like it does for Steam Deck.

Steam Machine tech specs

CPU

• Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T
• Up to 4.8 GHz, 30W TDP

GPU

• Semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs
• 2.45GHz max sustained clock, 110W TDP

RAM

• 16GB DDR5 + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM

Power

• Internal power supply, AC power 110-240V

Storage

• 512GB NVMe SSD or 2TB NVMe SSD
• Both models include a high-speed microSD card slot

Earlier this month, Valve indicated that it was ready to lift the veil on the Steam Machine and its next-generation VR headset, the Steam Frame. The company committed to a summer release window for both devices, and a few months earlier, it launched its new Steam Controller.

In case you missed out on grabbing one when preorders first went live, you're going to be in for a long wait, as new stock will only arrive in 2027.

Just how far in advance was God of War Laufey planned by its developer, Sony Santa Monica Studio? Almost a decade ago, as actress Deborah Ann Woll--who provided the motion capture and voice acting for the game's protagonist, Faye--recently spoke about how she first heard about the project in 2018.

"I've known about this for nearly 10 years, and I haven't been able to talk about it," Woll said to CGM. According to Woll, God of War 2018 director Cory Barlog first pitched the idea to her back then, and he even had ideas then to pair Faye with a sidekick: Phranque, the talking cube (voiced and also motion-captured by actor Jack Quaid, while wearing a cube-shaped harness).

"It's wild. Like when Cory brought me in to talk about doing Ragnarok and showed me the 2018 game, he already had a poster for the Laufey game with me and a cube. A cube that's been there since the beginning. It's deeply a part of the lore," Woll added. The Daredevil actress also explained how the previous God of War games had been hinting to this moment, and how the reveal trailer had left her jaw on the floor.

https://youtu.be/upjpP54xDIc

While previous games starred Kratos in the lead role, God of War Laufey is the first title in the series not to feature the infamous god-slayer in a leading role. Woll also spoke about this shift, saying that Faye's story allows for more diverse stories to be told in the God of War universe with themes that are universal to all people.

While it doesn't have a release date yet, the lengthy gameplay reveal for God of War Laufey has gotten people talking and formulating many theories. For a closer look at some of them, you can check out a list of all the deceased gods who could appear in the game, how Faye's sword could reveal an ugly truth, and where the game fits into the franchise.

God Of War TV Show Cast: All The Actors And The Roles They Play For The Prime Video Show View Images

Actor Deborah Ann Woll, who plays the main character Laufey AKA Faye in God of War Laufey, has further discussed the game and its story. The previous God of War games featured Kratos in the lead role, but Laufey focuses on Faye's story. Woll said in an interview that it feels "extraordinary" to think that some people will play the God of War game because the main character is a woman, and a woman played by a popular actor like she is.

"We need as much diversity as possible within these stories so that we can tell even more stories. This is all just about enjoying each other’s perspectives and widening our experiences. If I get to, in some small part, do that for women within gaming, I’m very excited about that," she told CGMagazine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szwYBVY7FsU&rco=1

Woll also pushed back against the idea that God of War Laufey is a game only for women--the themes are universal, she said.

"I think we find universality through specificity. And there is nothing about this experience that Faye is having that anyone else of any gender could not relate to," she said. "This is a story about a parent. This is a story about regret. This is about being a better person than who you were before. And are you enough? Can you possibly make up for those wrongs? It’s about preparing your family for your loss. What do you want to leave to them to make sure that they’re okay?"

She said these are all "universal ideas that don't have anything to do with gender."

"We’re just going to see it through this woman’s perspective. I think about the people who, maybe because of their childhood or their parents now really related to Kratos and Atreus’ story. And felt really seen by that. I love the idea that now we’ll have more people who feel seen by Faye’s story, and hopefully those same people will also feel seen by that," she said.

God of War Laufey is in development now for PS5, but the game does not have a release date yet. In addition to Faye, the game stars a gelatinous cube character named Phranque played by The Boys actor Jack Quaid.

Google is investing $75 million into the privately owned movie studio A24 for AI-based research, according to sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal. A24 is the film studio making the Elden Ring movie from director Alex Garland. It's also behind the upcoming Death Stranding movie from Pig director Michael Sarnoski.

Google is already heavily invested in the media space with its juggernaut YouTube platform, but this would be Google's first investment in a movie studio.

In a blog post, Google confirmed the reporting and said it was a "first-of-its-kind partnership."

"The collaboration pairs a world-leading research lab with the industry’s most filmmaker-forward studio to help artists develop new workflows and techniques. This ensures the tools of the future are shaped by the creators who use them," Google said.

The deal is for "deep research and collaboration" between A24 and Google "spanning multiple projects over time."

"By anchoring Google DeepMind's innovations directly within the creative process, A24 and its filmmakers can help shape new technology in service of their vision and expand their storytelling possibilities," Google said. "This hands-on collaboration provides Google DeepMind with invaluable feedback and guidance from leading artists. In addition, Google has made an investment in A24."

The statement added: "Looking ahead, the partnership represents the beginning of a collaborative journey, one rooted in research and shared curiosity. While the initial focus is on bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and next generation entertainment, the specific goals, technical outputs and creative milestones of this initiative will evolve over time. As A24 and Google DeepMind’s researchers work side-by-side to test, iterate and build, this partnership aims to expand what is possible in the future of entertainment."

Google will reportedly not get access to A24's content library or data, and there is no reason to believe any of these tools would be used in the Elden Ring or Death Stranding movies.

A24 is an independent company but has been ramping up lately, having raised funds in 2024 that led to a reported valuation of $3.5 billion.

A24 working with Google on AI research is likely to cause backlash, in part because A24 has a public perception of being more of a boutique, auetuer-driven studio. Beyond that, there is a growing trend of people rebelling against AI in general in all facets of life.

The movie studio landed its biggest hit ever this year with Backrooms, which has earned $272 million worldwide. It's A24's most commercially successful movie ever, well ahead of the No.2 movie, Marty Supreme ($191 million).

A24 has also signed Curry Barker (Obsession) to write and direct a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.

AI has been a hot-button issue across all industries, including film. The SAG-AFTRA union went on strike in part due to concerns about AI. Video game actors also went on strike and won key AI protections.

CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski  understands that some fans of the developer have lost faith in the company "indefinitely" following the Cyberpunk 2077 catastrophe. At the same time, the executive said the Polish developer feels optimistic about its chances to "make it back" with The Witcher 4.

Speaking to Edge (by way of GamesRadar), Nowakowski said Cyberpunk 2077's troubled launch in December 2020 was "heartbreaking" for the studio.

For anyone just catching up, Cyberpunk 2077 launched in a troubled state, and the game had such serious technical issues that Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store, with players able to claim refunds.

A scene from Cyberpunk 2077.

Despite the issues at launch, Cyberpunk 2077 enjoyed one of the most commercially successful debuts in the history of video games, and CD Projekt's management team was handsomely rewarded with massive bonuses.

Cyberpunk 2077 was later reinstated on the PlayStation Store, and CD Projekt Red steadily supported the game with numerous patches over the years. It's now sold more than 35 million copies, reaching that number faster than The Witcher 3. The turnaround for the game, culminating with the game's 2.0 release and the launch of the Phantom Liberty expansion, was considered to be one of the most compelling turnaround stories in games.

But the reputational damage remains intact, Nowakowski said.

"I'm not 100% convinced we went through the full redemption arc," he said. "I'm convinced that we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that's a fair thing. But I do hope we will be able to make it back--if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next."

The Witcher 4 doesn't have a release date yet. It's one of multiple games in the works at CD Projekt Red, with some of the others being a remake of the original Witcher, a new IP, and a game with Saudi Arabia.