Another World of Warcraft private server will soon be no more, as the creators behind Stormforge have announced the project's shutdown following a cease and desist request from developer Blizzard.

In a post on the Stormforge website, the development team behind the server said it had agreed to cease all operations, development, and distribution of the project by May 14, following a cease and desist request and "positive" discussions with a legal entity representing Blizzard. Stormforge allows users to play modified versions of various old WoW expansions for free without a subscription.

"We know this is not easy news," the Stormforge team wrote in a statement on the server's website. "Over the years we have strived to deliver the best experience and the highest quality possible. We have put years of hard work, dedication, and passion into building Stormforge what it is today and we could not be more proud of what we achieved and the community we have fostered."

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One of the worst kept secret's in gaming--according to Ubisoft's own admission--will be unveiled on April 23, with Ubisoft confirming that's the date for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag's upcoming remake/remaster.

The "Worldwide Reveal Showcase" for the game, called Resynced, will debut on YouTube that day at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET. Ubisoft's teaser video called Resynced "gaming's worst-kept secret."

Ubisoft confirmed Resynced back in March as part of a wider announcement about the franchise in general, showing off a piece of concept art depicting Edward Kenway standing on a ship's mast (see below).

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The rumor beacons are lit, as it looks like a Lego Lord of the Rings set that fans have been dreaming about for years might finally be on its way to store shelves.

Reports of a Lego set capturing the capital of Gondor, which extends out of a mountain, have been circulating for quite some time now, and it looks like the fan-favorite Middle-earth location is finally close to an official release. According to new leaks, this might be the biggest Lego set to date purely by the number of bricks included in the fortress city set, but you can also expect it to cost a whopping $650 when it launches.

Images of the set were revealed by the Lego account Brick Built Blogs, showcasing a massive 8,278-piece set. That's several thousand more bricks than previous Lord of the Rings sets, like the Shire (2,017 pieces), the imposing Eye of Sauron AKA the Barad-dûr Tower (5,471 pieces), and the elegant Rivendell (6,167 pieces). Reportedly launching on June 1, the eye-watering price tag makes this one of the most expensive Lego sets of the year--you might want to cut back on buying tiny, juicy tomatoes if you plan to save up for it--and it looks like the full build recaptures the fortress in all of its cinematic glory.

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The pirate game Windrose is off to a great start, as the game has sold 1 million copies and reached more than 220,000 peak concurrent users on Steam alone, the developer announced.

The early access game's all-time high for peak concurrent users on Steam was 222,134, and that record was achieved on Sunday, April 19. The game is also available on the Epic Games Store and Stove, so the Steam audience represents just a piece of the game's total audience.

Windrose is the No. 1 best-selling game on Steam in the US right now and ranks No. 2 globally.

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People looking forward to the Mass Effect TV show may have been dismayed recently after a report said the sci-fi series was being partially re-written to appeal to "non-gamers." Now, one of the show's writers, Daniel Casey (Fast & Furious 9), has responded to that report, saying he's never heard of any directive to change any scripts.

Posting online, Casey said he is unable to share specifics about the Mass Effect script, but he said the article making those claims about the show "caught me off guard" like it did for many fans.

"I don't know where that 'non-gaming audiences' quote came from or who said it, but at no point has that been said to me," Casey said.

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Forza Horizon 6 Limited-Edition Xbox Wireless Controller

$90 | Releases June 2

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy

Forza Horizon 6 Limited-Edition Xbox Wireless Headset

$135 | Releases June 2

Preorder at Amazon

Forza Horizon 6 Limited-Edition 8Bitdo Controller Charging Dock

$35 | Releases June 8

Preorder on 8Bitdo Store

Ahead of its release next month, Microsoft has unveiled the limited-edition Forza Horizon 6 Xbox controller and wireless headset collection. Similar to the Forza Horizon 5 hardware released a few years ago, the new peripherals feature a mix of bright colors, transparent parts, and colorways designed to evoke the Japanese setting and themes of the racing game sequel. Preorders are now open, with the controller priced at $90 and the headset retailing for $135 ahead of a June 2 release date.

Forza Horizon 6 Limited-Edition Xbox Wireless Controller $90 | Releases June 2

The Forza Horizon 6 controller features a transparent cyan blue top case, a metallic gradient, and volt green, hot pink, and silver color accents. It also has a silver metallic D-Pad and two-tone rubberized diamond grips. Microsoft says the controller is inspired by the iconic Touge roads of Japan. These winding mountain roads are the birthplace of drifting and have been featured in anime series like Initial D.

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy Forza Horizon 6 Limited-Edition Xbox Wireless Headset $135 | Releases June 2

The headset features a loud selection of colors. Transparent cyan, volt green, and hot pink make it stand out, complemented by pit crew and race track aesthetics. As a touch, the headset offers custom sound effects from roaring Japanese V8 engines and the Forza Horizon 6 user interface. Performing actions like turning the headset on or muting your mic activates these unique sound effects. Like the controller, the headset connects to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, iOS, Android, and Cloud devices.

Preorder at Amazon Forza Horizon 6 Limited-Edition 8Bitdo Controller Charging Dock $35 | Releases June 8

You can also get the 8BitDo Charging Dock for your Xbox controllers, sold separately. Dressed in Forza Horizon 6 colors, it includes a 1100mAh rechargeable battery pack. The dock has magnetic alignment for easy placement. A full charge takes up to three hours. The controller can also be used on a PC and with smartphones that support Bluetooth.

Preorder on 8Bitdo Store

Forza Horizon 6 launches for PC and Xbox Series X|S on May 15. It'll be a day-one launch through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, and it'll also be coming to PS5 at a later date. Physical copies for Xbox Series X are also available, starting at $70 for the Standard Edition. The Deluxe Edition includes 30 additional vehicles and more DLC, while the Premium Edition offers even more DLC and four days of early access to the game.

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I was one of many players who awaited Starfield's arrival in 2023 with bated breath, but ultimately bounced off the game due to what I felt was an underwhelming story and a yawn-inducing gameplay loop. I revisited the game after its massive May 2024 update and found it to largely be a similar experience--lots of loading screens, lots of strange bugs, lots of one-note characters, and lots of barren planets.

But with the recent release of Starfield's Free Lanes update and Terran Armada DLC, I once again felt my subconscious tugging me back towards the game. I hadn't touched it since before Shattered Space launched, so with two DLCs and a massive free update to explore, I decided to give Starfield another chance and dove back into the Settled Systems. What I found there was pretty darn disappointing.

I started with the Free Lanes update, which adds a number of new features and quality-of-life fixes to the game, but its biggest draw is the fact that you can now fly your ship from one planet to another. In practice, this is painfully boring. It's a neat option if you're really, really into role-playing, but since you still cannot manually land on a planet from space, its impact is dulled. The real star of the show here is Cruise Mode, which allows you to fly from one planet to another via autopilot.

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Shuhei Yoshida, the 30-year PlayStation veteran who left the company in 2025, has shed more light regarding the situation that culminated in his eventual exit from the company. He said at the ALT: GAMES event recently in Australia that after 11 years leading Worldwide Studios, he was "fired from the role."

As reported by This Week In Video Games, Yoshida said he was fired from that job in 2019 in part because he refused to listen to PlayStation's top boss, Jim Ryan. He retired in 2024.

"Jim Ryan wanted to remove me from first-party because I didn't listen to him," he said. "He asked to do some ridiculous things, and I said, 'No.'"

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