Earlier this year, Warner Bros. closed down Monolith, the developer behind 2014's Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its 2017 sequel, Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Those LOTR games were beloved by fans in part because of Monolith's innovative Nemesis system, an AI procedural program that allowed NPCs to remember their previous encounters with the players' character and evolve accordingly. And according to former Warner Bros. Games vice president Laura Fryer, the development of the Nemesis system was inspired in part by falling sales for Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Fryer recently shared a video on her YouTube channel [via PC Gamer] where she went into detail about her relationship with Monolith while she was employed by Warner Bros. Games. As Fryer recalls, WB was alarmed by the way sales fell from Arkham Asylum's peak, and company executives believed that millions in sales were lost when used copies of the game were sold on the secondary market including stores like GameStop.

"It all started when Rocksteady shipped Arkham Asylum in 2009," said Fryer. "It was selling great. Then suddenly sales dropped off. They could see this because the data from their game analytics revealed that more people were playing than were paying. The theory was that people would play through the game and then return the game disc to a retailer and get paid, which was very common at the time. This was great for gamers because they could buy the game and then sell it back to a company like GameStop and buy something else. It was great for GameStop because then they sold that used game for a discount and they pocketed the money. For game developers though, it was a disaster because they weren't getting paid for every game--they were only getting paid for the first copy sold. They lost millions of dollars."

Of all of the video games announced or released in the last decade, Hollow Knight Silksong ranks among the most torturous to follow. First announced in 2019 and last seen in 2022, Silksong fans are starved for more information--and a recent change to the game's SteamDB profile is providing a temporary snack.

The Silksong SteamDB page is now reflecting a change made to the game's Steam metadata made on March 24. Specifically, the game's bio now includes an opt-in option for the Nvidia GeForce Now service--and, more importantly, a change in the store page's fine print that changes the copyright date from 2019 to 2025.

The change has resurrected hopes of a Silksong appearance at the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct livestream scheduled for April 2, as rumors swirled of the game's involvement with the Switch 2 announcement back in January. One month later, fans were alerted when the game's eShop page mysteriously disappeared, only for it to reappear later.

Bloodborne is celebrating its 10-year anniversary today, March 24, 2025. Below, we reexamine the divisive Chalice Dungeons, which have aged more gracefully in light of Elden Ring.

Ten years after release, it's fair to say that Bloodborne is considered one of the greatest PlayStation games of all time. From its nightmarish late-gate dreamscapes to its haunting enemy design, every facet of its Lovecraftian world has been dissected and torn apart by thousands of fawning YouTube videos. Still, there's one aspect of Bloodborne that's considered underwhelming by almost everyone: its Chalice Dungeons, an entire ecosystem of optional procedurally generated content that some players don't even touch.

And while the Chalice Dungeons certainly do have their problems, on balance, they're an innovative addition to the Souls formula that prefigured the sprawling side catacombs and underground gaols of Elden Ring. Considering that all of us Yharnamites are still waiting for a hypothetical Bloodborne 2 with bated breath all these years later, perhaps it's time for us to revisit this underappreciated aspect of the game with fresh eyes. We can approach it not as merely something that's good or bad, but as a system that simply provides more Bloodborne to those of us who still haven't had our fill more than a decade later.

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be 2025's biggest release, but the game still does not have a release date. The lack of a release date could make this a stressful time for some studios, according to Newzoo's Ben Porter.

He told PC Gamer that because GTA 6 looms so large, the fate of other games and studios may depend on its release timing.

"If you're a game company who's holding its breath waiting for GTA 6 to get out, and then it gets delayed by three, four, five, six months, what do you do?" Porter said. "You either have to be able to launch into that big black hole that's been left open now, or you have to extend your run rate by an additional six months--I'm certain some companies are going to tank as a result of that, right?"

The PS One was Sony's first revised PlayStation console--a slimmer and rounder machine that was impressively smaller than the original model. What it didn't have was a crustacean influence, but at long last, an enterprising illustrator and modder have rectified that issue. Using video game concept artist Anh Dong's illustration of a "PlayStacean" as a base, modder GingerofOz detailed how he turned that drawing into a working crab-themed PS One console with incredibly uncomfortable controllers.

The project kicked off with a PS One purchased through eBay, a whole lot of 3D modeling work, and 3D-printing a shell that matched Dong's art. From that starting point, GingerOfOz got to work on cleaning the original PS One's internal hardware while dealing with several design challenges to match the artwork as closely as possible. That included figuring out the claw-troller, which does work, is locked to the PlayStacean, and isn't what you'd call ergonomic.

"I've got mixed feelings about this guy. He's just so big and clunky compared to a normal PS One. Some of the little mechanisms don't work very smoothly and this crab controller feels so bad to use," GingerOfOz explained once he'd finished building the PlayStacean.

Minecraft is one of the most successful video games ever, but no one should expect Mojang to release a "Minecraft 2" anytime soon, or ever. Ingela Garneij, executive producer on Minecraft Vanilla, was asked recently if the company could ever come out with a straight-up sequel.

Garneij responded to IGN: "Do you think we're going to have an Earth 2? No, no, there's no Minecraft 2."

This response is no surprise at all, as Mojang and Microsoft have said for years that there will not be a Minecraft 2, at least not soon. Mojang CEO Jonas Martensson previously said, "I can't promise forever there'll never be a Minecraft 2, but for the foreseeable future there won't be."

Bethesda and MachineGames have announced that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will launch for PS5 on April 17. They also released a new trailer featuring voice actors Troy Baker and Nolan North opening up a box containing a glowing blue hue, referring to PlayStation's primary color.

Those who preorder the game will receive the Last Crusade pack, which includes a Traveling Suit outfit for Indy as well as a Lion Tamer whip. The Premium Edition comes with a digital artbook and a Temple of Doom outfit, as well as a copy of the game in either digital or physical formats. It also includes up to two days of early access and the upcoming The Order of the Giants story DLC.

The Collector's Bundle is available too. It contains the Premium Edition, a steelbook case, an adventure journal, an Allmaker replica, and a globe with hidden storage.

Most people probably just build their Mario Kart Lego kits and then make vroom noises while moving them around a table. But not Joseph Herscher. He conjured up an impressive Rube Goldberg track that sees the mustached plumber winning a race full of pencils, strings, an ironing board, and even a moving green shell.

On YouTube, Herscher shared his impressive Mario Kart creation on his Joseph's Machines channel. The race is viewed twice in the video--seen below--from different camera perspectives. Donkey Kong faces a pretty terrible fate in the race, and how Mario overtakes Baby Luigi at the end is so cool.

The Mario Kart Lego kits came out a couple of months ago, with six different options available. Additionally, there's a 1,972-piece Mario Kart display model set to release in May for $150. It's not meant for racing but instead meant for looking awesome on your desk or shelf.

Mojang has reaffirmed that it does not plan to make Minecraft a free-to-play game, because that change would not mesh well with the rest of the game.

Most games as popular as Minecraft, like Roblox and Fortnite, are available to players for free. Minecraft predates that free-to-play boom, though, and if you want to pick it up on consoles it costs $20. Speaking to IGN, Minecraft Vanilla executive producer Ingela Garneij and Game Director Agnes Larsson made it clear that there are currently no plans to make Minecraft free-to-play.

"Yeah, it doesn't really work with the way we built it," Garneij explained. "I mean we built the game for a different purpose. So monetization doesn't work in that way for us. It's a purchase of the game and then that's it. For us it's important that our game is available for as many people as possible. And so I think that's a very core value that it should be accessible for everyone. It's the best deal in the world."

Silent Hill F recently re-emerged after several years of radio silence with an impressive trailer, showcasing a new chapter in the series that will be set in Japan circa the 1960s. Currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, there is some confusion surrounding the game and if it'll go on sale in Australia. Over the weekend, reports of it being refused classification in Australia popped up, which would mean that Silent Hill F would not be allowed to be sold in that country. But that might not be the full story here.

What has actually happened is that the Australian Classification Board has not rated the game at all, and as noted by former GameSpot video producer Edmond Tran, the game was submitted by Konami through the International Age Rating Coalition. This is a classification initiative built to streamline the acquisition of content ratings for video games through various authorities. It's more nuanced than submitting and getting a game approved, but as another user pointed out, being refused classification on the IARC does not impact a local Australian release and this is more a case of the game not meeting ACB requirements.

Got a response from the Classification Board on this one: "Silent Hill f is not currently classified as ‘Refused Classification’ in Australia." The entry has been removed and a decision will be published "ahead of the game's release"

For Silent Hill F to be refused classification in Australia, it would have to contain some extreme content like instructions on how to commit violence or depictions of several forms of sexual assault. What we do know about the game so far is that Konami has confirmed a number of sensitive topics will be explored in the game, including gender discrimination, child abuse, bullying, drug-induced hallucinations, torture, and graphic violence. Depending on how these themes are presented, Konami might still have an uphill battle in getting Silent Hill F approved for sale in Australia.

Battlefield 6 is in the works now, and DICE is currently allowing some members of the public to test it out as part of the Battlefield Labs program. Battlefield's lead producer, David Sirland, has now reacted to the many leaks that have come out of the Battlefield Labs test, saying he doesn't plan to discuss specifics of the private test. He added that while fan feedback is appreciated and helpful to DICE, this feedback isn't the sole driver of changes planned for the game's release.

Posting on social media, Sirland reminded fans that Battlefield Labs "exists for a reason," and that reason is to allow the developers at DICE to refine the experience ahead of launch. Any footage that has leaked out of the tests is not necessarily representative of the game that fans will one day play.

"This BF may look to play one way, but I assure you it also has many layers you need to play to perceive," Sirland said. "A key reason (outside of making a BF everyone wants to play) to use something like Labs. Allowing us as devs to find the best possible outcome of our designs--together."

While at GDC 2025, I spoke with a few members of Pearl Abyss, the developer and publisher responsible for sandbox MMORPG Black Desert Online. The team is now working on a single-player action-adventure game called Crimson Desert, which uses a new proprietary engine called BlackSpace, which builds upon the experience Pearl Abyss gained working on the Black Desert engine specifically designed for the first game. Crimson Desert sees you play as Kliff, a mercenary who finds himself repeatedly dragged into conflicts that threaten to plunge the world of Pywel and its people into chaos.

During the GDC conversation with Pearl Abyss, the studio gave me an under-the-hood look at the BlackSpace engine in action, showcasing how it manages to recreate how fire, water, light, wind, and a whole lot more work in the real world.

The backbone of the BlackSpace engine seems to be how quickly it can handle rendering Crimson Desert's seamless and remarkably detailed world, a medieval high fantasy continent called Pywel. My tour through the open world via a dev kit included examples of cloth and hair reacting to changing wind direction, shadows moving in conjunction to multiple light sources of various intensities, and various degrees of severity when it came to different weather conditions, all of which influenced NPCs and certain elements (like water and wind) to behave in a believable way.

Next year, Resident Evil will be shuffling back to theaters with a new reboot movie from Barbarian director Zach Cregger. Now, Resident Evil's big-screen comeback may have its first star.

Deadline is reporting that Austin Abrams is in early negotiations to star in the new Resident Evil. Abrams is perhaps best-known for playing Ethan Lewis on HBO's Euphoria as well as the Kid in Apple TV+'s original film Wolfs. Abrams previously worked with Cregger on the director's sci-fi/horror film Weapons, which has yet to release. The actor is also set to star in Whalefall, which follows a diver who is accidentally swallowed by a sperm whale.

There's currently no word about which character Abrams will play in the Resident Evil film. Assuming that the the movie will be based on the early games, that could mean he'd be portraying Chris Redfield or Leon Kennedy. If the film is based on anything after Resident Evil 7, then perhaps Abrams could step into the role of Ethan Winters.

A new God of War game is reportedly going to be released this year, and it's apparently a side-story involving Greece.

According to Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb, the game is a brand-new title and not a remaster collection. It'll focus on Greek mythology rather than the Norse mythology found in God of War (2018) and Ragnarok. It's unclear what "side-story" means, but it's possible that it could be referring to a smaller kind of game that's too big to be standalone DLC. Examples include Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. God of War previously got several Greek-focused prequels, including two PSP games and God of War: Ascension on PS3.

The first three God of War games focused on Greek mythology. There were rumors that a God of War remastered collection was going to be announced for the franchise's 20th anniversary, but Sony clarified that no new games were going to be announced at a recent exhibition. However, Sony did announce the Dark Odyssey cosmetic DLC for the 20th anniversary.

Palworld, the Pokemon-like game that became very popular in 2024 and led to a lawsuit from Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, has never been released for the Nintendo Switch. But could the game make its way to the Switch 2? We don't know, but Pocketpair's communications director, John Buckley, said in an interview that technical reasons are to blame for Palworld's absence on Switch so far.

"If we could make the game work on the Switch, we would, but Palworld is a beefy game," he said in an interview with IGN.

The Switch 2 is expected to have better specs, but Buckley said Pocketpair has not "seen those specs yet" for the upcoming console.

While each of Minecraft's twice-annual game drops have brought new mobs, the second drop of 2025's is a cut above the rest. Meet the happy ghast. Finally, a ghast that doesn't want you dead.

That's right: While ghasts are known for spitting fireballs at you, carving paths of destruction across the Nether, this new variant just wants to be your friend. The happy ghast comes in a few forms, the evolution of which are up to the player to set in motion.

The most interesting aspect of the happy ghast is that it allows players to fly around the overworld. If you've been playing Minecraft long enough and have been to The End, that might not sound all too valuable while you whip around the map with your elytra wings. However, for newer players, the process of getting a happy ghast begins in the Nether--a location you visit long before you venture into The End. That brings flight to users much earlier in the game. The added bonus is that up to four people can travel on a single happy ghast, making group adventures easier.

It's been nearly five years since Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, added RTX support. The move allowed creators, modders, and the like to turn the block worlds they build into visually stunning landscapes. However, in that time, there has seemingly been little forward momentum in terms of officially created visual improvements. Now, though, Mojang has taken things one step further with the newly announced Vibrant Visuals update.

GameSpot recently visited Mojang's Sweden-based studio to test the new update, and it's not hyperbole to say Vibrant Visuals is a game-changer for the 14-year-old title. And it's not just for those with PCs that support ray tracing. When Vibrant Visuals launches for Minecraft Bedrock, it'll also be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and some iOS and Android devices. And for those that play Java Edition, Vibrant Visuals is also in the works for that platform.

It's a change that's been in the pipeline for years. As Minecraft executive producer Ingela Garneji explained to a small group of press, "It's been a bumpy road. We've been iterating and learning, failing and then learning fast, and improving things together with the community, actually."

Since September 2023, Minecraft has shifted its major update strategy to twice-annual "game drops" that add new mobs, blocks, and items to the game. With the latest Minecraft Live event, we now know what 2025's first game drop, Spring Into Life, contains. Get ready for a bunch of animal variants and some really cool new plants being added.

Starting with plants, players are getting something they've wanted for quite a while. After first being teased a number of years ago, firefly bushes are being added to the game. The bushes will grow in swampy biomes and near water, offering the twinkling lights of fireflies to add a little brightness to the night. Additionally, per Mojang, you'll be able to place the bushes, which are plant blocks, underneath other blocks to make your builds shine.

Other plant-based additions:

With A Minecraft Movie headed to theaters on April 4, it should come as no surprise that the game it's based on is adding a bunch of content linked to the release. Minecraft is adding downloadable content from the film, as well as a live event and even a free skins pack so you can look like the movie's characters.

The live event transports you to a custom Minecraft realm that is the home of Midport Village, where you interact with the movie's characters, going on missions and earning exclusive loot for use in the game. The event features voiceover from Jack Black, who plays Steve in the film, and sees the user teaming with the characters played by Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Sebastian Hansen to play through a series of minigames. The mode also features multiplayer action, so you won't have to face the dangers that await alone. If you manage to complete all five games within the mode, you'll earn an exclusive item, the Yearn cape.

The event, which was announced during Minecraft Live, launches on March 25 at 3 PM PT/6 PM ET and runs until April 7 at the same time.

God of War is celebrating its 20-year anniversary today, March 22, 2025. Below, we examine how Kratos' character arc has shifted over time to become a timely reflection on masculinity and change.

As much as people remember the brutality and the grandiosity of God of War, as a singular game and as a series, it's easy to forget that the first God of War in 2005 doesn't actually begin with Kratos fighting a hydra and ripping soldiers apart with his bare hands.

It begins with a suicide attempt. Starting a new game, the very first thing we hear from Kratos is him gravely intoning that "the gods have abandoned me" before walking straight off a cliff into the Aegean Sea. This is a warlord who accidentally murdered his own wife and child, and is then cursed by an oracle to have his family's ashes permanently grafted to his skin, ensuring there is nowhere in Greece he can go where his crimes are unrecognized. The only help he receives is being conscripted by the gods to murder Ares, who set him up to begin with, which isn't really helpful at all. The reward is the gods' forgiveness, which does nothing to alleviate his consistent nightmares about the deed. When blood doesn't grant him peace, the gods give him power, letting him take Ares' place as the Greek God of War, beginning a reign so destructive that almighty Zeus himself has to intervene to take him down. That's before finding out Zeus himself is Kratos' father, and Kratos having his revenge means laying waste to his entire domain. Which Kratos does.