Glasgow-based developer Screen Burn has been around for over a decade, and Silent Hill: Townfall is the studio's highest-profile game to date. The studio has produced a few cult-classics over the years like Stories Untold and Observation, but with its Silent Hill spin-off, the team has described being handed the keys to Konami's premier survival-horror franchise as a "confidence builder."

Silent Hill Townfall was announced during Konami's dedicated 2022 livestream for the series, which also saw the announcement of the games Silent Hill f and Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake. According to Silent Hill Townfall game director Jon McKellan, Screen Burn was largely given free rein over the project, with oversight on it being focused on making certain that the game complemented its spooky brethren.

https://youtu.be/OLV6S7j8vZk

"We had our head down for the majority of this. Like, I think even from the first teaser in 2022 when all the games were kind of announced at the same time, you know, working with these guys, it's always been easy. It's always been kind of letting us cook, so to speak, like just we had talked through story, we talked through the vibes and the goals of the game that we had, and these guys were obviously making sure that nothing overlapped too much or that things would kind of like complement each other in a way."

"We weren't kind of like connected to Silent Hill 2, to Silent Hill F--like we weren't getting involved in that or really aware of what was happening. We were just kind of like making sure that we were focused on our game and that we trusted these guys to raise anything if it was a concern, should the games not complement each other in some way or overlap too much. Overall, it felt like it gave us the creative freedom to do what we do, and knowing there's a little bit of oversight there to make sure we don't like accidentally make the same story as another one, given that we're all drawing from the same pool of reference."

The release of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill F has also been a "net positive" for Screen Burn, and while the studio knows that it's being expected to live up to the high standard set by those games, the warm reception to those titles has left the developer feeling confident.

"I think just as Silent Hill 2 was coming out, like seeing what they'd done and being like--as a fan of the original--being blown away by what they did with the remake," McKellan said. "And then with Silent Hill F, the left turn that took is just great to see. It gave us confidence as well, seeing those games do really well, [it] gave us confidence that people were accepting of the new Silent Hill and that the fans were here for it. So, it's always been like a confidence builder for us. Now the spotlight's on us, so now we're terrified! But yeah, it's been overall a net positive, like we've enjoyed being part of the franchise, obviously, and happy to be the next installment."

Unlike the previous games, Silent Hill Townfall is a first-person survival-horror. It does share one idea with Silent Hill f, moving the series out of the US and taking it to the fictional Scottish town of St. Amelia. For more on the game, you can read up on why Konami has published so many Silent Hill games lately, Screen Burn's ambition to make people talk about Townfall for the next 20 years, and the decision to make it a first-person experience.

One way to gauge the success of a game is by looking at how much talk it generates after launch, and in the case of Silent Hill Townfall, game director Jon McKellan has an ambitious goal for the Scottish psychological-horror. According to McKellan, the team at Screen Burn is looking to give players just the right amount of story. By maintaining an air of mystery and ambiguity, it will create a launchpad for people to discuss the themes and plot beats of Silent Hill Townfall for years to come.

"It's a hard--definitely a hard balance--and you won't know until you've released, you know? It's like, we can never unsee what we've seen and unknow what we know, so we think we've struck a balance of never being too explicit, never giving people the true canonical answer, like there's still enough ambiguity there to make people want to dig in," McKellan said to GameSpot.

"Silent Hill 2 is a game that people are still theorizing about 20 years later. We want to be in that camp. And if we do that, if we're too explicit, we'll miss that, and if we don't do enough, no one will care. So, it's a hard line to walk, but, yeah, we just do the best we can to try and thread that needle."

https://youtu.be/OLV6S7j8vZk

So what makes Silent Hill 2 the subject of dissection, so many years after it was first released? It's been the subject of many essays over the years, with people unraveling its approach to psychological horror and how it uses the titular town of Silent Hill as a manifestation of the human psyche. Protagonist James Sunderland regularly encounters creatures that represent his guilt and grief; the iconic Pyramid Head represents Sunderland's subconscious desire to be punished, and the entire experience is a surreal trip that would make Twin Peaks creator David Lynch proud.

The game was also a massive departure from other horror games of the time, delivering a deep and experimental approach to the genre. We'll have to wait until September 24 to see how successful this approach was, but for now, it's looking like it could be proof of a renaissance moment for the franchise. For more details on the game, you can check out why it's in first-person and just why Konami is pumping out so many new Silent Hill games lately.

Over the past few years, we've seen a major revival of the Silent Hill franchise, with 2024's Silent Hill 2 remake offering a spectacular reimagining of one of the series' most beloved entries while titles like Silent Hill f and Townfall propel the series forward and seek to redefine what a Silent Hill game can be. Turns out, having so many Silent Hill projects developed at the same time was a deliberate strategy set by Konami, and a way to prove to fans that it's serious about the franchise's future.

Speaking to GameSpot at a media roundtable event, Konami producer Motoi Okamoto made it clear that the company views Silent Hill as a major part of its business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py3_sAx3l_o

"The main reason why we decided to have multiple titles in the works--like three games in the works at the same time--was because we wanted to convey to the players that Konami is serious about coming back into the gaming landscape," Okamoto said via a translator. "A part of the strategy behind that was to work on multiple games at once so that we can have an annual release of a new Silent Hill game ever year. That way, players will know that it's not a facade. We're serious about coming back into the gaming space and providing players with new games."

The Silent Hill franchise had certainly been on ice for a long time prior to this recent initiative. PT was planned as a teaser for the unreleased Silent Hills game, and following its cancellation, it was nearly a decade before any new Silent Hill games were released. Perhaps Konami is truly making up for lost time, but if its upcoming games are as good as the Silent Hill 2 remake and Silent Hill f, fans have little reason to complain.

Those itching to take Crazy Taxi: World Tour for a test drive can now sign up for their chance, as developer Sega has announced a multiplayer closed network test.

Crazy Taxi: World Tour's closed network test will run September 11-13 in the US. Those interested will need to sign up on the game's website by August 31. The test will be available on all of Crazy Taxi: World Tour's announced platforms (Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5), though Sega states on its website that certain platforms "may have limited participant capacity."

The announcement of the network test comes alongside a new trailer highlighting the game's West Coast, a location that will look familiar to fans of Sega's manic driving franchise but will be just one of its playable locations. It is called "World Tour" after all, though Sega has not yet announced additional locales as of yet. 

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

Crazy Taxi: World Tour was announced as part of the Xbox Games Showcase in June, with its debut trailer featuring a classic song from the original Crazy Taxi that is most often associated with the series, The Offspring's 'All I Want.'

However, Sega quickly found itself in hot water after it was revealed by the game's Steam page that Crazy Taxi: World Tour was made in part with generative AI. A blurb on the Steam page states "We use generative AI as a support tool for developers, aiming to provide better content to our users and enable developers to focus on creative tasks."

In a statement to Game Informer, Sega said it used gen AI to develop background assets. Franchise creator Kenji Kanno later defended the studio's use of AI in an interview, stating that the team used gen AI to generate ideas and as a reference, but that actual in-game assets were being created by humans. 

World Tour will be the first mainline entry in the Crazy Taxi franchise since 2002's Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller, and is slated to release in 2027. 

Grand Theft Auto Online players in Australia are no longer able to gamble in the game's Diamond Casino, after Rockstar Games appears to have blocked access in the wake of the Australian government's crackdown on online gambling.

Australian players began to report the change on Reddit (via Vice), as they were no longer able to participate in the various casino games like three card poker, blackjack, roulette, and slots, that were added to GTA Online way back in 2019 as part of the Diamond Casino heist update. This is despite the casino games using fake in-game casino chips and not real money. 

While players can technically buy the casino chips with real money via microtransactions, there is no way to convert said chips into real-world cash. Players can't even spin the Lucky Wheel, a feature that doesn't use chips and simply gives players free rewards like cars, clothes, and other items.

A prominent GTA-focused leaker, Tex2, later confirmed the change, revealing the game's code had been updated to restrict gambling in the country. 

https://twitter.com/TexFunz2/status/2082051715680149509?s=20

Australia is far from the first country to see these kinds of restrictions implemented. When the Diamond Casino was added in 2019, there was already a long list of countries where its gambling features were restricted, including Argentina, Poland, Greece, Israel, and more. The frustration here is that Australian players have now suddenly lost access to a feature they've enjoyed for over six years.

"Well my fellow Australians it's with a heavy heart we bid farewell to the fun times gambling at the casino as our government has banned the option earlier today," Reddit user Agitated_Boot7803 lamented on Reddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gtaonline/comments/1v8inzl/gambling_in_the_diamond_casino_is_over/

Another user on the unofficial fansite GTA Forums called the ban "idiotic" and pointed out the hypocrisy of the Australian government still allowing games with loot boxes and pay-to-win systems while simultaneously banning fake-money gambling.

"Can't spin a wheel in a video game but gambling ads are fine," GTA Forums user Gauntlet Hellfire said.

It's a change that also doesn't bode well for any in-game gambling as part of GTA 6. Should GTA 6's inevitable online multiplayer mode include a casino, it's likely the games contained within will be banned in Australia and many other countries as well.

Remasters are good business for video game companies, but don't expect to see BioWare's Dragon Age games getting the same treatment in the future--or possibly, ever. That's according to Dragon Age series producer Mark Darrah, who says that the original trilogy of games likely won't be remastered due to BioWare losing too much institutional knowledge.

Speaking to FRVR, Darrah--who was the executive producer on the Dragon Age series--was asked about the possibility of the classic Dragon Age games being remastered, similarly to 2021's Mass Effect: Legendary Edition remaster. The former BioWare employee said that there were plans in place to create a "Champion Edition" remaster that would have included Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

The first two Dragon Age games ran on enhanced versions of the Aurora engine called Eclipse and Lycium, while the third used DICE's Frostbite engine. Remastering the games would thus require specialist knowledge--knowledge that BioWare no longer has. In comparison, remastering Mass Effect was an easier prospect due to all three games being developed on the Unreal 3 Engine.

https://youtu.be/Z-j1zzzKWpo

"There is basically no one at BioWare anymore that understands the Aurora Engine," Darrah explained. "So unlike Mass Effect--which is Unreal--there are basically no companies that could help you."

That doesn't mean that a Dragon Age trilogy remaster is impossible to make, but Darrah doesn't think that EA in its current state will want to form a "brand-new team" to tackle a project like this. Which would be a pity, as Darrah believes that it could be a commercial success thanks to the impact that Baldur's Gate 3 has had on the fantasy genre.

Earlier this month, former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider also spoke about the franchise and how he believes that it's likely dead, following the poor commercial performance of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

The game failed to meet EA's expectations, and in the aftermath, mass layoffs at BioWare saw only a "core" team left behind to focus on the next Mass Effect game. EA is also preparing to become a private company, as a $55 billion leveraged buyout funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and several other investors is also in the works. If successful, the deal could see EA burdened with $20 billion in debt, and analysts believe that could lead to EA selling off studios like BioWare.

We're just over halfway through the year, but it's one that has already been incredibly fruitful for Capcom thanks to its two marquee releases in 2026.

Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth installment in the enduring series, has been both a critical and commercial success, with this latest quarter being no different. Requiem has sold over a million copies this last quarter, bringing the sequel up to over 8 million units sold since its release in February.

Perhaps surprisingly, it was also one of the lowest-selling entries in the franchise over this same time period, with the remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 all selling better. That has helped the franchise reach a colossal 213 million units sold across its history, reaffirming its status as the most lucrative series Capcom manages to date.

But while Requiem continues the momentum of a decades-old series, the success of Capcom's newest one, Pragmata, continues to impress. After launching in April this year, Pragmata has sold over 2.5 million copies to date, and was also the best-seller across all of Capcom's portfolio for this quarter. With the hesitation over brand-new properties and the over-reliance on sequels, it's great to see something brand new from Capcom being received so well by players.

Elsewhere, Devil May Cry 5 saw nearly 1.3 million sales over the last three months, likely spurred on by the release of the second season of Devil May Cry on Netflix and the game's debut on the Nintendo Switch 2. Monster Hunter World also continues to consistently sell, with just under 800,000 units sold over the same time period. Curiously, however, numbers for Monster Hunter Wilds were not reported during this quarter.

Capcom isn't done with the year either. The return of Onimusha is just a few weeks away, with Onimusha: Way of the Sword scheduled to launch on September 4. Beyond that, Capcom has announced its next big remake with Resident Evil Veronica, which is set to reimagine the original Dreamcast classic.

As CD Projekt Red continues working on Cyberpunk 2, the company could have a spin-off title to tide over fans in the meantime. MP1st reports that a former WayForward employee's portfolio revealed information on a game project codenamed Gemini that relates to the Netflix series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

The status of the Cyberpunk spin-off game at WayForward is unclear, though the report claims research and development was underway from 2025 into this year. Project Gemini was apparently planned to be "a rollback-driven" 2.5D beat-'em-up. Other details included by the former developer include "rollback-safe architecture" and "online transport integration," per MP1st--strongly implying online multiplayer as a feature. 

MP1st reports this was an "internal project logo" at WayForward, found from a former employee's portfolio for the Cyberpunk spin-off game.

The report also notes that WayForward had an unannounced Unreal Engine 5 title in the works on a licensed franchise last year. However, development on that project was supposedly halted in September 2025. 

WayForward has a history with licensed games and brawlers, such as River City Girls. The developer is probably best known for the Shantae series and was also behind Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp on Nintendo Switch. Other notable games from the company include Contra 4 and The Mummy Demastered.

Meanwhile, the second season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is set to release this fall on Netflix. Last month, CD Projekt became CD Projekt Red, which might be a bit confusing. The company is also very busy with The Witcher 4. 

Best Cyberpunk 2077 Mods To Improve The Game In 2026 View Images

PlayStation has revealed this month's batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. All PS Plus members will be able to claim a trio of freebies starting August 4: Big Walk, Dying Light 2, and Signalis. If you haven't claimed July's PlayStation Plus free games yet, make sure to do so before next Tuesday.

A day-one release, Big Walk is developed by Untitled Goose Game studio House House. If you've ever wanted to touch digital grass, then this might be the game for you, as Big Walk puts you inside of a lush open-world environment full of puzzles, tough terrain, and no real danger at all. Friends can group up to explore the great virtual outdoors, and the game features various tools to help you stay in contact with your fellow adventurers. If you want to hang out on your own and just enjoy the scenery, the game will also cater to your desire for solitude.

On the opposite end of the open-world spectrum, Dying Light 2 is a nerve-wracking experience. Set many years after the first game, the zombie apocalypse is still in full swing, and survivors clamor for power in a city that has weathered the onslaught of the flesh-eating monsters that roam the streets. As Aiden Caldwell, a wanderer who finds himself caught in the middle of warring factions, it's up to you to decide the fate of The City, recover your lost memories, and use parkour skills to survive your excursions outside. Just remember not to stay outside for too long, because once the sun sets, that's when the real danger emerges.

It's worth noting that this is also the Reloaded Edition of Dying Light 2, which includes numerous updates, gameplay overhauls, and plenty of extra DLC.

Finally, you can grab Signalis for an old-school descent into psychological survival-horror. As Elster, a technician Replika searching for her lost partner, players will uncover terrifying secrets, solve puzzles, and battle nightmarish creatures in this retro-inspired game.

With the launch of Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls around the corner, Sony is offering a free DLC pack to PlayStation subscribers starting August 6. This bundle includes five in-game avatars--Captain America, Storm, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, and Ghost Rider--and a set of in-game results-screen character poses.

PlayStation Plus August 2026 Games

• Big Walk (PS5)
• Dying Light 2: Stay Human - Reloaded Edition (PS5, PS4)
• Signalis (PS4)

Ideally, the people involved with adapting a celebrated media franchise should be quite familiar with said franchise. But the actor bringing Link to life in the upcoming live-action The Legend of Zelda movie has a pretty good excuse for not experiencing a top-rated game of the series--at least when it launched.

Speaking to GamesRadar, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, 17, recalled when Breath of the Wild came out in 2017. Prefacing that his age would show, the Link actor admitted: "I remember being quite young at the time when it came out, and so I didn't have a Switch at the time." Ainsworth added that he was "watching gamers play it, and watching playthroughs, essentially."

Being born in September 2008, Ainsworth would have been only eight years old when the Switch and Breath of the Wild both shipped in March 2017. Obviously, every parent operates differently when it comes to letting their children play video games, but age eight could be considered too young for owning a console.

Still, Ainsworth has had plenty of time to catch up with the series. While he doesn't say if he's played Breath of the Wild since then, he reflected on "going back and realizing the 40 years of legacy and history" of the series since gaining the role, citing "the varied tones, the varied stories, the varied renditions and vocal performances" of Link. Needless to say, Ainsworth is a fan.

Depending on how the Zelda movie, which hits theaters on April 30, 2027, handles the franchise's timeline and mythology, Breath of the Wild may or may not be relevant to the film's story. The movie will likely pull inspiration from several entries in the series and create something new, based on both leaked and official set photos.

In the meantime, viewers can watch Ainsworth in House of the Dragon, where he portrays Prince Daeron Targaryen. While this character might not have blond hair or pointy ears, he at least wears green and hangs out with a dragon in a high fantasy setting, so that's close enough for now.

Top 10 Highest Highest-Grossing Video Game Movies View Images

One of the biggest MMOs of all time, Final Fantasy 14, is coming to Switch 2 next month, and you're going to want to clear a lot of space to install the game. According to the Switch eShop listing for the game, Final Fantasy 14 will take up 117.2GB of available storage capacity, gobbling up almost half of the handheld's built-in SSD.

As for why Final Fantasy 14 is so massive, that comes down to the Switch 2 version offering the base game and its five expansions--Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, Endwalker, and Dawntrail. Each one is a substantial piece of content that offers new stories, classes, and activities within the world of Eorzea, and when you factor in how Final Fantasy 14 has been running for over a decade, then you'll realize just how much the game has grown since then.

It's also worth noting that Square Enix games are notorious for their large install sizes on Switch 2, as recent releases take up a chunk of SSD real estate on the console. The recent Final Fantasy 7 games--Remake and Rebirth--are 90GB and 95GB in size, respectively, and serve as a solid reminder to grab a microSD Express card to beef up storage capacity.

https://youtu.be/Q7_VVqo8644

That's an easy and expensive solution, as these thumb-sized storage solutions have shot up in price lately. Due to global NAND flash shortages and a surge in demand from AI data centers, prices have doubled in recent months. For example, the Lexar 1TB microSD Express card originally retailed for $220, but currently, you can expect to pay $350 for one of these. Other affordable options like the Samsung P9 256GB card (was $55, now $80), the Sandisk 512GB (was $100, now $130), and the Lexar Play Pro 1TB (was $220, now $350) are all considerably more expensive now than they were a year ago.

Outside of the Switch 2, things aren't looking too good for PC and consoles either. The components shortage has seen RAM prices go through the roof, while SSDs and GPUs are also incredibly expensive. Console prices have gone up, more increases are being forecast, and upgrading your PC requires the average consumer to buy a single part per month before they can overhaul their system. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day officially swings into theaters this week, and to celebrate the return of the webhead, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on PS5 is getting a few upgrades. While developer Insomniac had previously revealed that the game would be updated with a new costume based on the threads worn by Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, players can also grab a slick cel-shaded costume and some PS5 Pro enhancements.

With Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls out next month, players can look forward to donning a costume that puts a fresh spin on the character. Featuring a cel-shaded design, the suit has a very anime-inspired aesthetic with its bold colors and a larger spider emblem on the chest. In comparison, the Brand New Day costume goes back to the basics of Spider-Man, offering a subtle texture and colors that pay homage to the classic comics and animated series starring the wallcrawler.

Both of these costumes will be free to download and will be added to the Spider-Man costume selection screen after an update goes live for the game this week.

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The other new features coming to Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be Enhanced PSSR on PS5 Pro and Power Saver mode. The updated PSSR rolled out earlier this year, and games that support it generally offer a better 4K 60fps experience, complete with advanced lighting technologies--making a good case for explaining why you dropped $900 on a single console. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was already a good-looking game when it debuted a few years ago, so this PSSR update should make clobbering the likes of Venom and Kraven the Hunter look even better on the right TV or monitor.

Unlike its predecessor, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 never received post-launch expansions. Developer Insomniac Games instead jumped right into its Wolverine single-player game once it wrapped up development on its third Spider-Man game, and you won't have to wait too long to pop Logan's adamantium claws. Marvel's Wolverine launches on September 15 for PS5, and the game looks like a brutal expansion of Insomniac's darker reimagining of beloved Marvel Comics characters.

All Spider-Man 2 Suits And How To Get Them View Images

Though No More Room In Hell 2 has been playable via Steam and Epic's early-access programs for a while now, the 1.0 build is finally on the way, and it'll coincide with the game's launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. All of this arrives on August 11.

The first-person zombie game is played on large, semi-open maps and built for teams of up to eight players. If you never played the original, think Left 4 Dead, but slower and much harder. It's also less of a shooter than that genre titan, because making noise is sure to attract trouble you're better off avoiding with the use of the game's many melee weapons.

Each round plays like a run with your chosen character, and you'll progress as you survive round after round--or you'll die mid-round (and permanently) and turn into a fast-moving zombie that chases down the team you left behind. The stakes are high.

The game has seen its ups and downs so far on PC, as the team at Torn Banner (Chivalry 2) has tried to strike a balance in the game's difficulty while adding polish. This has resulted in only a "Mixed" rating from Steam users right now, but a lot of those issues have always seemed like growing pains to me, and hopefully these wrinkles are ironed out for the 1.0 release. 

For what it may be worth, I love zombie games as much as anyone, and I've had a lot of fun with this one. I've only not sunk many more hours into it yet because I've been waiting for this 1.0 version. Based on what I've played in the past, I already count No More Room In Hell 2 as one of the best zombie games, and I'm hoping the 1.0 build further cements it in that conversation.

New with this upcoming build is a risk-free solo mode, which doesn't apply the game's permadeath system you'll have to contend with otherwise, as well as a training ground so you can learn the game before you put your character on the line. There's also a new wave-based Survival mode that some players tried out during a free weekend preview earlier this year.  Several maps have been expanded, and character customization will be deeper than you're used to if you've played any of the game's earlier versions.

No More Room In Hell 2 will feature cross-play for all systems, and the team has addressed "over 8,000 bugs" for the 1.0 launch. It'll go for $30 with preorders and "launch" period sale pricing on offer for those who jump in early. 

Best Zombie Games Of All Time View Images

This week got off to a rocky start for Xbox, as a server outage saw players across the world unable to sign in, make purchases, or access their games for several hours. Those issues have since been fixed, and in a candid post online, Xbox Chief Technology Officer Scott Van Vliet spoke about what exactly happened to the Xbox network, how it was fixed, and what Microsoft will be doing to enhance its response times in the future.

As Vliet explained, a licensing service that operates outside of Xbox began to fail, leading to the various problems that impacted not only the console's user base, but also publishing and store partners who rely on the same services. To fix this, Microsoft's engineers isolated the failing infrastructure, redirected traffic, and continued to work toward discovering the root cause behind the incident. Because service was restored "unevenly" across regions, this resulted in several territories having their full online functionality restored later than others.

"We're running a full post-incident review," Vliet wrote online. "I care less about the one-line root cause and more about the real questions: Why a failure in one service was able to take down this much, why recovery took as long as it did, and what we change so a single point of failure can't ruin your night again."

Vliet added that Microsoft will work toward "hardening the dependencies underneath sign-in and game launch," as well as improve the systems in place for detecting these problems sooner, which should allow for a quicker response when something breaks in the future.

The outage was short-lived, but the incident has been a sobering reminder of the inherent risks in an all-digital gaming future. With Sony planning to kill game discs in 2028--while also suffering a network outage last week--and more recent releases having minimal data written onto physical media, this could be a glimpse at just how fragile these systems will be in the future.

Meccha Chameleon--a multiplayer prop-hunt game that's been blowing up on Steam lately--seems to have hit its first real road bump since it launched in early June. As pointed out by a player who goes by Feint, some of the game's player-made maps are basically just Trojan horses containing malware. One of Feint's friends had mentioned briefly seeing a command prompt appear while they were downloading the map. Curious, Feint dug into the files and concluded that the map known as Lazer Tag Zero contained a "malware dropper."

The map was quickly pulled from Meccha Chameleon's Steam Workshop page after Feint published their findings in a Medium article. But the chaos was just beginning. Other malware-filled maps started appearing, and then the game's official Discord server was hacked.

"Security was completely breached, the server creator's account was hijacked, and all admins were banned, so we can't take action from our side," Meccha Chameleon creator Lemorion_1224 shared in an auto-translated X post over the weekend. 

The news was also shared via an update on the game's Steam page, clarifying that the game itself wasn't a security risk, and could still be played safely as long as user-made maps weren't used. Still, things were looking rough--the hackers even put up a fake listing for a Meta Quest-compatible version of the game, which doesn't exist. 

"Currently, a product called 'Meccha Chameleon VR' is available for preorder on the Meta Quest store, but we have not granted any production permission for it," Lemorion_1224 explained in an X post shared early this morning. "We are currently submitting a request for removal, so please refrain from purchasing it. We will not handle any monetary issues arising from counterfeit products."

But after a weekend of abject chaos, it seems things are finally stabilizing. A few hours after the announcement about the fake Meta Quest product listing, Lemorion_1224 revealed that a new update is now live for the game.

https://twitter.com/lemorion1224/status/2081710107214426595

Mini-update 3.3.1 replaces the Discord link on the game's title screen with a link to the correct server (which is now back in the possession of Mecca Chameleon creators Lemorion_1224 and Haganiero), fixes a physical collision issue, and perhaps most importantly, strengthens virus protection, though it's not clear if the issue with player-made map malware has been fully resolved for good.

For now, the safest bet is probably sticking to the game's default maps.

Pokemon card scalpers are generally regarded as the worst part of the hobby, and in Japan, The Pokemon Company is taking steps to address the problem. As part of its crackdown to create a safe shopping environment, The Pokemon Company is introducing a facial recognition system for adult shoppers and children of a certain age.

According to its website, this will be a mandatory measure for gaining access to a Pokemon Card Store, and customers may only enter a shop once per day. Preschoolers are not required to undergo a facial scan, but they do need to be accompanied by a guardian to gain entry.

"If the system detects that the same person has entered the store more than once in one day or received more than one entry ticket--and a notification (alert) to that effect is displayed on the screen--entry will be denied to that person based on the system's judgment," the new guidelines read. For now, this system will only be in place for Japanese Pokemon card shops.

Scalping Pokemon cards has become a lucrative side-hustle over the last couple of years, as the trading card game has grown in popularity throughout the 2010s. At the same time, this has made the hobby hard to break into for regular players, as new stock is often pounced upon the second store doors open, as scalpers rush to grab as much inventory as possible.

This has also led to a surge in burglaries across the globe, as numerous stories have surfaced lately of thieves targeting collectibles shops specifically for their Pokemon cards. In January, thieves armed with guns and hammers stormed a newly opened Pokemon store and stole over $100,000 worth of collectibles.

Even trying to get rare Pokemon cards legitimately can be a headache, as chaos erupted during a Pokemon promotion at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam when scalpers attempted to snatch up all the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat cards.

With the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy reaching its conclusion next year, franchise fans are already asking which game will be next for a modern-day glow-up. The subject was brought up during the Final Fantasy Fan Festival in Berlin on the weekend, and Final Fantasy 14's Naoki Yoshida said that some of the most-requested titles for a remake would need multiple games to pull off successfully.

Final Fantasy 6 appears to be at the top of the list--with Final Fantasy 8 and 9 also in contention--but Yoshida said that this would be a mammoth undertaking. "Of course I understand the feelings of the players, but you've got to think about it," Yoshida (via a translator and GamesRadar). "Look at Final Fantasy 6, it's such an incredibly huge game. The scale is just immense. So, of course, now because you are working on the Final Fantasy 7 series, I do get that people would be asking for remakes of other titles. But if we did remake those other titles, we'd probably end up having to release them in four or maybe even five installments."

Yoshida isn't joking, as Final Fantasy 6 on its own is a massive title. With over a dozen protagonists, several major battles, and some of the best worldbuilding in the series, it's a miracle that it even managed to squeeze onto an SNES cartridge back in the day. Final Fantasy 8 and 9 are also incredibly massive games, combining a huge scope with distinct gameplay systems and stories. They might look primitive by today's standards, but in terms of content, they are considerable timesinks.

https://youtu.be/R6Yb4ZS3rLo

Compare that to today, and creating a game of similar size has become even more complex as hardware--and audience tastes--have become more advanced. The other challenge is that creating a game on that scale requires a talented team, one that you'd want to keep around for sequels down the line, as that would make the process easier. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a prime example of this, as the majority of developers who worked on the first chapter in the trilogy have stuck around for the two sequels, Rebirth and Revelation.

It's safe to say that a Final Fantasy 6, 8, or 9 remake probably won't be happening anytime soon, but if Square Enix did decide to remake its beloved SNES classic, it has the perfect format for it: HD-2D. Square Enix has produced multiple games in this style, which merges retro-inspired two-dimensional pixel-art with modern 3D environments, lighting, and effects. Games like Octopath Traveler and The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales scratch that itch for a nostalgic adventure that also looks modern, and at long last, a Final Fantasy game featuring this eye-catching art direction will be out soon.

Final Fantasy Resonance reimagines the original free-to-play mobile game as a dedicated single-player adventure, and so far, it looks like a clever way to recycle an adventure that many Final Fantasy fans might have missed out on or dismissed due to its gacha gameplay elements. While a project like this isn't any less complex than a full-fledged 3D remake, the consistent pace at which Square Enix publishes its HD-2D games suggests that development is quicker and smoother in comparison to something like Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

There might even be a push for this project to happen inside of Square Enix, as Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake producer Masaaki Hayasaka mentioned that Final Fantasy 6 would be at the top of his list for his next HD-2D game project. Final Fantasy 6 is also beloved for just how far it pushed the SNES to create its world of steampunk and magic, and seeing those nostalgic visuals reimagined in HD-2D could make it an easy sell. It'd be the best of both worlds, as fans of the original could experience a revitalized version of the classic game, while newcomers could find out why Final Fantasy 6 is still considered to be one of the best games in the franchise.  

Final Fantasy Games, Ranked – Where Does Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Land? View Images

Stalker 2 has been out for nearly two years, and if you've been itching to jump back into the post-apocalyptic hellscape, you'll have a great reason to do so. The game's first expansion, Stalker 2: Cost of Hope, releases in just a few weeks across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Cost of Hope puts you back in control of Stalker 2 protagonist Skif, with the character following a "mysterious PDA signal" as the dangerous Zone's Duty and Freedom factions come into conflict. GSC Game World promises "dozens of hours of content" along with new allies and enemies, weapons, and locations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5BwA-OUyNY

The expansion will launch alongside the base game's Update 2.0, which will include "a new version of Unreal Engine 5" alongside "a variety of new content and improvements." Unlike the expansion itself, this update will be free.

Stalker 2: Cost of Hope arrives on August 20. You can watch the release-date trailer above. The game originally launched on PC before coming to Xbox Series X|S and later to PS5. In our Stalker 2 review, Richard Wakeling said, "It doesn't reinvent the wheel, and at times it feels like you're playing a game straight out of 2010, but that's part of the charm and feeds into what makes Stalker 2 the quintessential Stalker experience."

It's not just you; the Xbox network--or parts of it, depending on when you read this--is down. After users across the globe began reporting issues with the Xbox Network, Xbox identified several issues affecting its online services today. At the time of writing, the following functions are still experiencing "major issues" on the Xbox network:

• Account and profile
• Store and subscriptions
• Games and gaming
• Apps and mobile

These problems are widespread, and include an inability to sign into network services, disconnections, and missing games from the storefront. Xbox says that the problems have been identified, and it is working on a solution, but there's no ETA for when these fixes will be applied. "We are aware that some users are encountering errors when attempting to sign in, see your game library, or launch games," Xbox's official support account posted online. "Our engineers are actively working to mitigate the issue."

Console gamers also had to contend with an outage on the PlayStation Network last week, which saw account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Video, the PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Direct go down for several hours--bad timing for anyone looking to jump into the Marvel Tokon open beta, and more fuel for the fire that PlayStation's social media has become as users demand that Sony reverse its decision to kill discs in 2028.

Outages like these have also brought into question the decision for companies to embrace a digital-only future, as they effectively prevent users from accessing their game libraries.

Kratos' story isn't over yet, as God of War developer Sony Santa Monica announced that the main face of the franchise will lead a new game, following the launch of God of War Laufey in February 2027. Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, Santa Monica Studio head of creative Cory Barlog briefly announced a new Kratos-led game that will connect directly to next year's new God of War adventure that stars his deceased wife, Faye.

"Everything we are doing in the Faye game is a continuation of what came before and to set up and expand what comes next," Barlog said (via IGN). "Faye is--while it's a different thing--it's still part of the larger tapestry of what we truly really want to explore, all of these different characters in there. But there's always going to be Kratos games, like, throughout the whole history. We're super excited about that."

Beyond that, Barlog and the rest of the studio are keeping details on the next God of War game tightly under wraps, with no mention of when it's expected to arrive, when it's set, and its lead platform. It's a busy time right now for the franchise, as in addition to the release of the metroidvania-inspired spin-off Sons of Sparta earlier this year, God of War fans can expect to see what Faye got up to in the afterlife when God of War Laufey launches next year, and a remake of the original God of War trilogy is also in development.

For now, the focus is on God of War Laufey, which was officially revealed during the State of Play livestream in June with a dedicated 20-minute gameplay preview.