The original Halo might not be the only entry in the series to get a full redo, with the secret ending of Halo: Campaign Evolved giving a wink and a nod to fans by hinting at a Halo 2 remake.

Spoilers for Halo: Campaign Evolved (and the 2001 original) follow.

Completing the campaign on Legendary difficulty adds a light-hearted sequence featuring Sergeant Johnson, who is relaxing on a makeshift beach chair on the shore while somehow viewing the original Legendary joke ending from Halo: Combat Evolved.

After realizing that the eponymous Halo is exploding (spoilers for the 2001 original, I guess), Johnson gets picked up by a Pelican, but not before turning to the camera, breaking the fourth wall, and declaring: "See you in the sequel." I don't know exactly why, but that final shot made it seem like "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was about to blare in the background to cap off the scene.

https://youtu.be/vbk_a53lAZo?si=sDO0jjJZBHrvmw77&t=158

Leakers have previously claimed that remakes of Halo 2 and 3--albeit, without multiplayer--are in active development. A report in May from Rebs Gaming purported that the two remakes are moving forward "regardless of how well Campaign Evolved does." Halo 2 got a remaster in the form of Halo 2 Anniversary, which was part of 2014's Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Campaign Evolved is the first title from the rebranded Halo Studios. It's also believed by Rebs Gaming that the studio is building a Halo live-service game. It's easy to imagine Halo Studios working on a model similar to Capcom and the Resident Evil series, alternating between remakes and new titles.

Whether that's the case or not, Halo: Campaign Evolved at least serves as proof of concept on what the franchise could look like going forward. GameSpot's Halo: Campaign Evolved review said that it "feels like the new gold standard for playing through the first Halo." The game releases on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC on July 28, but those who bought the premium edition were granted access starting yesterday (though Xbox and PC players ran into some snags).

Halo Games, Ranked – The Best Halo FPS Games View Images

We're about four months from the launch of the biggest game of the year: Grand Theft Auto 6. The hype is no doubt through the roof, but if you're in Japan, you'll need to turn that excitement into immediate action because you'll have a limited amount of time to redeem the code that comes in the game box.

As outlined in a June 24 FAQ on Rockstar Games' support page, Japanese gamers will have 170 days to use the code, or it'll expire. The official wording is as follows:

Product codes in Japan will expire 170 days after the issuance date, which is the launch date (November 19, 2026), due to regional regulations.

This means that, from the time you buy the game, you'll have just shy of six months to redeem the code if you live in Japan. Otherwise, like opened condiments and pantry-stored brown rice, your code will go bad and straight-up expire. It's not necessarily shocking, since most digital codes don't tend to be redeemable forever, but it is odd that Japan is the only region with this sort of stipulation thus far.

170 days isn't even that long, either! Here are some other things that are about as long as or last longer than six months:

• This Redditor's sobriety from three years ago. (Congratulations, BTW.)
• The tourist season, as seasonal resort locations tend to open their doors for about five or six months.
• Academic school years in certain parts of the United States.
• This random TikTok, which is apparently 170 days of Thanksgiving.
• Honey (because it outlasts everything).
• Cockroaches (because they can outlast just about everything).
• Welsh actor Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins' sanity after 170 days in quarantine.
• Renowned environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk stayed in Ladakh jail for only 170 days in 2025.
• If your passport has less than six months of validity, some foreign nations may deny your entry.
• Butter, which can last up to six months in the freezer.
• Bleach essentially becomes water if it sits in your home for six months. (Please don't drink it, I beg of you.)

I could go on. Again, this only applies to Japan (for now), but it's funny to think of GTA 6 as having a best-before date. We've reached out to Rockstar for clarification and will update this post if and when we get a response.

Anyway, Grand Theft Auto 6 may be just a code in a box, but you may have noticed that it isn't launching on PC. This is customary for Rockstar Games, and one former employee explained that the console-first approach allowed the team to produce a far better PC port. The lack of a PC release probably won't impact the sales of the game, as predictors suggest that the highly anticipated crime could generate between $3.3 billion and $5.2 billion in global sales after its first week.

No one really loves Sony's decision to kill physical PlayStation discs in January 2028, but there is data that backs up the company's plan. Sega's president understands the choice and the numbers, but he says the company remains committed to producing physical media despite the push to an all-digital future.

In a recent interview with Famitsu (that was translated by Eurogamer), Sega president Shuji Utsumi spoke about how the company needs to be "more digitally conscious and become more global." For Sega, "digitalization" is an important part of the company's business going forward.

"When it comes to titles we call 'full games' for consoles and PCs, we believe that a digital shift is crucial," Utsumi told Famitsu. "Of course, consoles are important, but the proportion of people who play on PCs is steadily increasing. Even in areas where consoles are not widely available, there are many people who say, 'I can play it on PC.' In order to cultivate that market, we believe it is important to strengthen our digitalization."

In admitting that an all-digital future is seemingly inevitable, Utsumi acknowledged that physical media is still a vital aspect of the games industry and something he hopes Sega can balance.

"We were originally a platform provider, and of course, we still value the culture of physical media," Utsumi continued. "Rather than completely abandoning that, we are currently challenging ourselves to shift so that we can think about and act on the important aspects of digital media in parallel."

This is a somewhat stark contrast to what Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently said about Sony's decision. In a recent VGC interview, Guillemot remarked that the end of PlayStation disc production won't "disturb" the industry too much.

The industry this decision will impact, though, is brick-and-mortar stores. Although GameStop's Ryan Cohen isn't concerned with the impact of Sony sunsetting physical PlayStation discs, an analyst believes game retail stores are doomed. The decision has riled up hundreds of thousands of people to sign a petition urging Sony to reverse course.

Out of nowhere, the second major Tomb Raider game, Catalyst from developer Crystal Dynamics, has been stealthily delayed by Amazon Game Studios.

In a lengthy interview with The Game Business on July 23, Amazon Games' boss Jeff Gattis sneakily mentioned that Tomb Raider Catalyst would duck its 2027 release window, instead releasing in 2028.

"We have announced the two Tomb Raider titles," Gattis said. "[Legacy of] Atlantis comes February 12 next year, and then we'll follow on in 2028 with the next one. We’re excited about those. There are some other AAA things that are in various stages of discussion right now."

It appears that the reason for this delay, at least according to Gattis, is to allow Amazon Games Studios to focus on bolstering its streaming service, Luna. That way, when Catalyst does come out, people will associate Luna with Tomb Raider.

"Ultimately, we want to build an identity with Luna, where we have a content portfolio that resonates with people, where they think, 'Oh gosh, that's the place that has Tomb Raider, and maybe Bond, and they have these other things,'" Gattis said. "And that takes time to go build. But, for us to be the platform we want to be, and the one we believe we can be, you very much have to have original content."

Catalyst's delay follows the recent news that the other major Tomb Raider game, Legacy of Atlantis (which is a remake of the OG Tomb Raider game), was pushed to 2027. Both projects are being developed by Crystal Dynamics, with Flying Wild Hog co-developing Legacy of Atlantis.

The fourteenth entry in the Tomb Raider franchise, Catalyst is a sequel to 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld and follows Lara Croft as she navigates the aftermath of a mythical cataclysm. Again, Crystal Dynamics is developing the game, but the team suffered its fourth round of layoffs in the past year in March 2026.

Sony's PlaYStation Network is experiencing network issues currently. The official PlayStation Status page notes that, "All services are experiencing issues."

This includes account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Video, PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Direct.

The website Downdetector notes that the PSN issues have been ongoing for hours already. People are reporting issues with logging in, launching games, and connecting to servers.

Oof.

Whenever the PSN goes down, it's unfortunate, but the timing is especially tough for people wanting to try the Marvel Tokon multiplayer beta that started today, July 24.

"We're aware that some PlayStation players are experiencing login and network issues. Our team is actively investigating the problem and working to identify the cause. We'll share updates as soon as we have more information," the developers wrote.

On the PlayStation Status page, Sony wrote, "We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience."

There's undeniable hype and chatter for filmmaker Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie, but one talking point from fans concerns the evident differences in setting between the adaptation and the Resident Evil 2 game, despite the film "living in the world" of that game. But Cregger hasn't been shy to address these creative changes, and he candidly spoke about why his movie is set in the present day with a snowy backdrop.

Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con (per DiscussingFilm), Cregger reminded fans that he "took liberties to tell a story [he] wanted to tell and make a movie look the way [he] wanted to look." While the Raccoon City outbreak depicted in Resident Evil 2 and 3 takes place in September 1998, Cregger's film depicts characters using contemporary iPhones and sets the outbreak during wintry weather.

"I am not doing exactly a one-to-one Resident Evil 2 adaptation," Cregger said. "There are differences between the movie and the game." He added that the snow is an aesthetic choice, and he "looks really f**king cool to have a horror movie set in the snow."

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/2080477872934854745?s=20

These statements are consistent with what Cregger has been saying about his film for the past couple of years--he's previously talked about how his film is "following the rules" of the Resident Evil world while wanting to create an original story in that universe. The latest Resident Evil trailer certainly shows the writer-director's love for the series, with numerous easter eggs and moments that tonally fit with the Resident Evil games.

The original Resident Evil 2 takes place in 1998 because, well, it released in 1998. It was a present-day setting at the time, and Cregger has chosen to set his film, which premieres September 18 this year, in our present day. Series purists might disagree, but Cregger is arguing that he'd rather capture the spirit of a Resident Evil game in a movie rather than creating a story completely subservient to lore.

"If the barrier of entry is whether I do a one-for-one port, then I guess in that regard, I have failed," Cregger said at San Diego Comic-Con. "But I think the movie is stronger for it."

Best Resident Evil Games, Ranked View Images

The launch of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has proven that there's still a strong appetite for video game remakes, and at 3.5 million sales and counting, Ubisoft's new game is off to a smashing start. That's not too bad, and if you look at the numbers, the Black Flag remake is already one of the best games in this category of the current generation. It still has a long, long way to go before it can dethrone the current king of remakes, as 2023's Resident Evil 4 is still a sales juggernaut.

According to new data by Alinea Analytics, the Resident Evil 4 remake has reached lifetime sales of 16.8 million units across PC and console so far. One thing to note is that the game has lifetime sales of 13.6 million units as of March 31, 2026, according to Capcom, and it hasn't updated those figures yet. If Resident Evil 4 has sold another 3 million units in the last couple of months, then that would make it the company's fifth-best-selling game of all time, leaping over the lifetime sales of Resident Evil Village (14.90 million) and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (16 million). We've reached out to Alinea Analytics for clarification on the figure and will update as soon as we hear back.

The remake gold rush has a clear champion.

As for the rest of the list, the other entrants all boast impressive numbers of their own. Alinea counted games released for the current console generation--starting on November 10--and its data covers overall estimates of copies sold across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. In the number two spot is Ark: Survival Ascended, the 2023 remake of 2015's Ark: Survival Evolved, with 7 million units sold so far. Steam is where the lion's share of the sales came from (3.9 million), followed by PlayStation (2.1 million) and Xbox (1 million).

The Last of Us Part 1 took third place with 6.3 million lifetime sales, which is pretty high considering that it was only available on PS5 and PC. Oblivion Remastered generated 4.5 million lifetime sales, Dead Space reached 4.3 million units sold, and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth sits at 4.2 million units sold since it launched in early 2024. Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake rounds out the list at 3.2 million lifetime sales, but since Ubisoft revealed the Black Flag remake sales numbers this week, it looks like the Ubisoft game has already outperformed it and in record time.

Not even sales chart success could save Dead Space  Dead Space

Sadly, while Dead Space occupies a prime spot on the list, it wasn't enough to save the franchise from going on hiatus. The sci-fi horror series is reportedly on ice at EA, and there are no plans for a new sequel, remake, or even reboot of the IP in the future. Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield revealed last year that he's attempted to revive the series at EA with pitches that he claimed would save the company tens of millions if they greenlit it, but so far, there has been nothing but radio silence regarding its future. Schofield also recently announced that he is retiring from day-to-day game development.

Remakes are more valuable than you think Silent Hill 2

Alinea noted that while remakes have been around for decades, in recent years, they've become a vital part of the video game industry for many publishers. "The way I see it, it's a direct response to the AAA market's woes," Alinea's Rhys Elliott wrote. "A brand-new IP is a six-to-eight-year gamble with no guaranteed audience, the riskiest bet on the board at the worst possible time to be making those bets. A high-fidelity remake is different, with a proven design blueprint, a built-in fanbase, and a much shorter, cheaper production cycle. So the budget gatekeepers aren't gambling on whether people want the thing--the demand’s proven. AKA, less risk."

As Elliot noted, constantly remaking games is not a sound business strategy. Capcom appears to have cracked the right approach, as it uses remakes to help make the production of new games less risky, resulting in critically acclaimed titles like Pragmata. A remake is seen as a dependable source of revenue that also keeps an IP relevant, giving a publisher the space it needs to work on a new project. 

Mario and The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto has also spoken about remakes, defending them as a way to connect with new audiences.

Meanwhile, last year saw dozens of familiar IP dominate the JRPG genre. The top-rated games--according to GameSpot's sister site Metacritic--were remakes and remasters, with only a handful of original IP like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker emerging to earn critical acclaim.

The 30 Best Video Game Remakes View Images

Alan Ritchson, known for his role as Aquaman on Smallville and Jack Reacher on Reacher, has revealed that Call of Duty is his favorite video game and that he would be interested in appearing in the upcoming Call of Duty movie.

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Richtson said video game adaptations "scare me a little bit" because "so few work." He's right that video game movies have a spotty track record when it comes to critical and commercial success, with many notable flops, like 2024's Borderlands. There have been huge hits, too, including The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Five Nights at Freddy's, and Minecraft.

"I think the ones that work are the ones that are made directly for kids. Minecraft is a good example. If you make it for kids first, or it's fun... or self-aware, they tend to work. But ones that take themselves too seriously ... [shrugs]. It has to know what it is and it has to be ready to have a good time," he explained.

Alan Ritchson and his muscles in a scene from Reacher.

Asked if he would be up for a role in the Call of Duty movie, he said, "I do love Call of Duty, man... if the story is right."

He also advocated for the Call of Duty movie to feature Zombies, which he said are the best part of the Call of Duty series.

The Call of Duty movie is set in the Modern Warfare universe, which is not normally associated with the franchise's Zombies mode. But in Hollywood, anything is possible.

https://twitter.com/Logan_Taaffe_/status/2080401000675029023

The Call of Duty movie has no confirmed casting yet, but we do know it's going to be directed by Lone Survivor's Peter Berg, with Sicario's Taylor Sheridan writing. Paramount is producing the movie.

As for the Call of Duty game series, Modern Warfare 4 is the next entry in the series and it's coming this October. A free multiplayer beta takes place in August.

Video games are the hot new thing in Hollywood AKA the next content library to mine for ideas and stories. Atari has announced a 10-movie deal with Jurassic World and The Odyssey studio Universal to adapt some of the company's legendary video game properties for the big screen.

Announced at San Diego Comic-Con, Atari has partnered with Entertainment 360 to make a deal with Universal Pictures to give the movie studio the option to develop 10 Atari games into films. Not all of them are expected to go forward, as is often the case with development deals in Hollywood.

According to Deadline, Universal has, however, already bought the first project from the 10-movie deal and hired Matt Reilly and Carl Hampe to write and produce.

What this movie is, however, remains a mystery, but Deadline said it's an "original spec" from Reilly. He is a former Universal executive who switched to screenwriting and producing. Hampe, meanwhile, was a producer on 2019's Hellboy and also worked on Jungle Cruise.

The 10-movie deal includes the following Atari properties:

• Asteroids
• Adventure
• Berzerk
• Breakout
• Centipede
• Crystal Castles
• Millipede
• Missile Command
• Pong
• Yars' Revenge

Atari CEO and chairman Wade Rosen said, "We are excited to work with Universal and Entertainment 360 to bring the spirit of our iconic brand and games to a new medium.”

There are 50+ video game movies currently at various stages of production in Hollywood. In terms of movies that are definitely coming out, Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie arrives in September, followed by Street Fighter in October.