Despite heaps of critical praise at launch, Square Enix revealed in investor briefings that 2024's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth did not meet sales expectations. Those disappointing sales figures shouldn't be of concern to you, though, as director Naoki Hamaguchi has stated that Part 3 will be a "proper, high-quality" series ender.

Speaking to Automaton (and spotted by IGN), Hamaguchi said that although sales didn't meet Square Enix's marks, Rebirth has picked up steam. Quite literally, too, as the game is performing well on PC, which will allows the team to do the third installment justice.

"The second entry, FFVII Rebirth, has been doing very well on both PS5 and PC," he said. "I know some fans have expressed concerns, but please rest assured, we'll be able to deliver a proper, high-quality third installment."

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Earlier this year, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt celebrated its 10th anniversary. As part of that event, CD Projekt Red announced one final update for the game that will allow console players to enjoy many of the mods that PC players have used for years. However, the highly anticipated feature won't be coming this year as planned.

CD Projekt Red has posted an update via (GamesRadar), in which the developer apologized to fans and indicated that the new release date will fall in 2026.

"We originally planned to introduce cross-platform mod support for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S later this year, but the rollout is now shifting to 2026. We apologize for the delay and will share more details as we get closer to the release. Thank you for your patience!"

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Helldivers 2 has proven to be one of Sony's few breakthrough live-service titles, especially after it went cross-platform with an Xbox Series X|S release. But if fans thought that Helldivers 2 would lead to another action-packed sequel, they may be mistaken. Arrowhead Game Studio CEO Shams Jorjani's ambition for Helldivers 2 is to keep it going forever.

In a recent post on Discord (via GamesRadar), Jorjani wrote that there are "no plans for [Helldivers 3]--just [Helldivers 2] for as long as it can go." He went on to say, "Think RuneScape" to convey the idea of keeping the same game alive for years and years. RuneScape did eventually get two sequels, which were largely updated versions of the original game. Helldivers 2 was itself released nine years after its predecessor, although its exponentially bigger success would certainly justify a more timely sequel.

Earlier this month, Jorjani appeared to indicate that a Destiny-style social hub was on the feature list for Helldivers 3. However, Jorjani has since clarified his statement and said that he was referring to Arrowhead's next game. Whatever that mystery project is, it hasn't been officially announced yet.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The video game industry has been a tumultuous place of late, with mass layoffs, game cancellations, and studio closures, not to mention ongoing fears about the role of artificial intelligence. These issues have affected developers big and small. One smaller developer that has endured and thrived is Supergiant, which just launched Hades 2 this week.

Supergiant was formed in 2009 with seven people and has grown to 25 today. The seven original members all remain at Supergiant today, and the company has never done a major layoff, all while never taking in outside funding, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. How has Supergiant achieved this? In an interview, the developer discussed that and dug into how the company will choose the next game to come after Hades 2.

What's the secret?

Creative director Greg Kasavin, the former executive editor of GameSpot, said there is no "magical explantation" for why Supergiant has endured while others have not. However, one theory he has is that Supergiant has focused on staying modest instead of pursuing massive growth.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

In 2015, developers Pilgrim Adventures and GrabTheGames Studios released The Deed, an adventure-RPG that upended the traditional structure of mystery stories. This week, The Deed is available on Steam for free for a limited time, but only if you grab it quickly.

From now until Saturday, September 27 at 10 am, The Deed is free to all users on Steam. The best way to describe the premise is to invoke the board game Clue. Except this time, you're not out to find the killer because your character is the murderer, and the goal of the game is to get away with the crime.

Players assume control of Arran Bruce, a man who believes that he's the rightful heir to his family's ancestral home, Dunshiel House. Arran's father disagrees, and has cut him out of the will in favor of Arran's younger sister. For Arran, the solution is simple: His sister needs to die. How she dies is up to you as the player.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

If you've ever wanted to rewind a Twitch stream, that long-awaited feature is finally at hand. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has announced that pause and rewind options were added to the service this week, with some notable exceptions.

Clancy made the announcement during a live-stream (via The Verge), and noted that it is currently limited to Twitch Turbo subscribers or for channels that users are individually subscribed to. However, it's not available on mobile yet.

"It's a feature I've been looking forward to us getting out," said Clancy. "It keeps viewers connected as they pause or rewind. Chat continues to stay live, so you can see the hype and understand what's happening in the live stream. The idea is that you're still there, you can catch up and then you come back."

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Two of developer Blizzard's worlds are once again colliding, with the sci-fi heroes and villains of StarCraft crash landing in Diablo 4 in the form of class-specific premium cosmetics based on iconic characters from the RTS franchise.

From September 26 through October 10, StarCraft cosmetics for each of Diablo 4's six classes, as well as a Zerg mount and mini Hydralisk pet, will be available for purchase in the in-game shop. Blizzard has not yet revealed the price of these cosmetic bundles, but if they are anything like Diablo 4's previous Berserk crossover, expect to pay around $28 per bundle.

A look at Diablo 4's StarCraft crossover skins.

Each skin is class specific and based on major characters StarCraft players are more than familiar with. They are:

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The Lord of the Rings Hardcover Box Set (1988)

$40.79 (was $90) | Artwork by Alan Lee

Get deal at Amazon

Amazon's early Prime Big Deal Days sale features a wide assortment of excellent book deals, including steep discounts on a bunch of popular fantasy and sci-fi box sets. As usual, some of the most popular deals take readers back to Middle-earth. One of the standouts is a beloved 3-book box set of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings with artwork by Alan Lee on the front covers and beautiful display box. Prime members can get this vintage hardcover box set for only $40.79 (was $90), which is the lowest price this year.

After you're done checking out the vintage box set, read on for more superb deals on Tolkien box sets, such as The Complete History of Middle-earth for $80.65 (was $250), and budget-friendly Collector's Editions like The Hobbit for $11.33 and The Silmarillion for $12.26. With Prime Big Deal Days set for October 7-8, you can expect to see even more great promotions on Tolkien books in the coming days.

The Lord of the Rings Hardcover Box Set (1988) $40.79 (was $90) | Artwork by Alan Lee

One of the most popular modern editions of The Lord of the Rings, the 1988 hardcover box set offers the most economical way to get editions with cover and box art illustrated by Alan Lee. Widely considered to be the best artist who has worked on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Alan Lee's Middle-earth landscape paintings and Middle-earth maps are gorgeous.

The box set has wrap-around art on the slipcase that matches the covers of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Each cover resembles a painting, as the full-color illustrations have ornate frames with detailed patterns. These editions also come with fold-out maps of Middle-earth during the Third Age. Each book concludes with a section of appendices filled with fascinating reference material and background information.

The muted color palette combined with the classical typeface and faded yellow dust jackets makes these editions look appropriately vintage. Even over 45 years later, though, these editions are among the most beautiful you can buy today. It's not surprising these hardcover editions and the box set remain in print. Across all three volumes, the 1988 edition of LOTR is 1,214 pages.

You can check out the cover designs of each of the three volumes below. Each hardcover is also sold separately, but you'd wind up spending roughly $50 and won't get the lovely display box.

Get deal at Amazon The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (1988 editions)

As mentioned, the 1988 editions are the most affordable with cover art by Alan Lee, but there are editions filled with incredible illustrations by the artist. Last year, William Morrow published a remastered edition of the phenomenal 1992 Centenary Edition of The Lord of the Rings. The collector's set carries a $325 retail price, but it's also on sale in Amazon's early Prime Big Deal Days sale. You can get The Lord of the Rings Deluxe Illustrated Box Set for only $135.09 (58% off). This three-volume set is packaged in a custom cloth board display box and features over 50 new illustrations and drawings by Lee. The books themselves have cloth board cases and are quarterbound in leather. Check out our dedicated story on The Lord of the Rings Deluxe Illustrated Box Set to see why these editions are so special.

Continue Reading at GameSpot