The start of the month is a good time to be an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, as that's when Microsoft reveals the next batch of games coming to the service. November is frontloaded with new game releases before November 19--we can't imagine why--and several of them are day-one releases. Once more games are revealed, we'll update this post.

A few games have already been revealed for November, and usually, the first wave is the biggest one for Game Pass. Kicking things off is the online horror co-op game Pit of Goblin. This has been in early access since 2024, and November 3 marks its 1.0 release.

Warhammer Survivors

Next up is Escape Academy 2: Back to School on November 5. This is a day-one release, and it's all about exploring a campus, escaping life-threatening puzzle rooms, and uncovering a deadly conspiracy. November 10 will be a big day for Warhammer fans, as Warhammer Survivors launches. It's Vampire Survivors with a grimdark spin, so expect dozens of characters and weapons to master in this bullet-heaven game.

Hope in the City launches on November 11, and this stylish game follows a young girl as she searches for her parents in Shenyang's seedy underbelly.

As a reminder, more games will leave Game Pass this month, with 14 titles heading out in the first wave of departures.

Xbox Game Pass November Wave 1 Games November 3

• Pit of Goblin

November 5

• Escape Academy 2: Back to School

November 10

• Warhammer Survivors

November 11

• Hope in the City

Rockstar's GTA 6 finally releases on November 19, and if you're looking to play the game, you'll also need a console--and those are more expensive than ever. Here's a quick buying guide to help you understand what you need and how much the items will cost. 

A console

First, you'll need a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S console. The least expensive option for buying a new system outright is the Xbox Series S, which costs $500. Unfortunately, that's $200 more expensive than the system cost at launch in 2020--there are a number macroeconomic and AI factors that drove prices up significantly.

A new Xbox Series X, meanwhile, costs $750 for a system with no disc drive, or $800 for a console with a disc drive. GTA 6 is not available on a disc, but having a disc drive may still be important to you for other games and media like DVDs and Blu-rays. 

Switching to PlayStation, the least expensive system on Sony's side is the $600 digital edition, scaling up to $900 for a PS5 Pro (with a disc drive). PS5 Pro, as the most powerful of these options, is likely to provide the best experience from a technical and graphical standpoint, although the gameplay itself should be identical across all platforms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FatSqS3VYY

These are all prices for brand-new units, but Sony offers certified refurbished PS5 consoles starting at $500. A certified refurbished Xbox Series S, meanwhile, goes for $400. These are the prices from Sony and Microsoft directly, but you can find secondhand consoles at a variety of other retailers, along with places like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist. As usual, check your local or preferred retailer to see the latest prices.

New and certified refurbished consoles come with everything you need--including the system, controller, and power cords. You will need a TV or monitor, but the odds are good that if you're looking to play GTA 6, you probably already have one. 

People on platforms outside PlayStation and Xbox are out of luck, as GTA 6 has not been announced for Switch 2 or PC. A PC edition is expected to release in early 2027, but there is no word on a Switch 2 version. 

The game

To play GTA 6 you will need to buy GTA 6. The game's standard edition goes for $80, with its Ultimate Edition selling for $100. As mentioned, the game is not available on a disc. That being said, retailers are selling the $80 edition in stores, though you only get a code in the box. The $100 edition appears to be exclusive to digital storefronts.

The $100 Ultimate Edition includes loads of extras, including a variety of cosmetics and even in-game shops that people who buy the $80 edition cannot access. Since GTA 6 is a digital-exclusive game, there is no reason to worry about units selling out, but if you do want to preorder, you get the Vintage Vice City Pack and a free month of GTA+.

GTA 5 launched at $60 back in 2013--adjusted for inflation, that's about $85 today.

You will also need an internet connection to install GTA 6, since it's a digital only game. It's a beefy one, too, weighing in at a reported 201GB. Thankfully, preloading begins on November 12, a full week before the game launches. That means you'll be able to begin downloading it early in the hopes of being ready to go on November 19.

November 12 is also when GTA 6's code-in-a-box copies will be available to buy at physical stores. You're not getting a week of early access, though, as the game does not unlock fully until November 19.

Do you need PS Plus or Game Pass?

GTA 6 is a strictly single-player game, and as such, you likely will not need PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass to play. Rockstar has yet to confirm this, however. 

Rockstar is surely going to release a new version of GTA Online at some point--some believe that will happen in early 2027. And at that point, you'll likely need a membership. But for launch, there is no online or multiplayer support, so we don't think a subscription to PS Plus or Game Pass would be required. 

Why no disc?

Neither Rockstar nor studio owner Take-Two have provided a reason for GTA 6 being a digital exclusive, but the answer seems pretty obvious: It's all about money. Rockstar makes more money from digital game sales, and having no disc eliminates the secondhand market. 

“A disc can be resold or rented a hundred times, and Rockstar earns nothing after that first sale," Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics said. 

GTA 6 is almost here.

The code-in-a-box strategy for physical games has been around for a long time already, and while people might complain online about the lack of a physical edition of GTA 6, the game is going to sell phenomenally no matter what, Mat Piscatella of Circana says.

Beyond these factors, consumer spending patterns have trended increasingly toward digital since the early 2010s. GTA 6 is such a large game in terms of its file size, so making it digital-exclusive also saves Rockstar and Take-Two money by not needing to print a second disc, if one was ever needed.

AI clones and vibe-coded copycat games have become a huge headache for developers recently, but it looks like an update to Anthropic's Claude Code's "rules" has been pushed out. Listed under "tengu_heron_brook," the tweak to the AI now directs it not to copy games and assets, and users cannot disable this setting.

Spotted by Chasm on X (via Game Developer), the full rule reads, "Do build original games, games in a genre, and games from the user’s own designs and assets. Don't build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original". Anthropic's Addy Osmani added that "two sentences" were added to Claude Code's prompt on Opus 5.5, to steer it away from recreating someone else's specific game, as "using Claude to infringe IP " is against the company's policy. "Original games, genre games, and games built from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working. We'll continue to iterate to ensure we're striking the right balance."

https://twitter.com/chasmmmmmmmmmmm/status/2116062991686721968

AI clones have been running rampant for months now, as the tools have let pretty much anyone crank out copies of successful games in surprisingly little time compared to traditional methods of cloning a successful piece of work. This all came to a head during Steam Next Fest last month, when the demo showcase was flooded with low-effort games and AI slop. This has also led several developers to cancel demos outright, fearing bad actors could take the code, whip up a copy in Claude, and release it before their game ships.

Valve has vaguely mentioned that it's "aware of the situation" and that "a significant number of people are thinking about how to solve" the problem. At the same time, Valve has encouraged developers to focus on building communities and support for games, which isn't exactly an ideal solution. Creating a community around a game takes time, whereas AI slop clones can be generated fast enough to capitalize on virality, and in an ideal situation, make a quick buck for the prompter on the other end--just look at all the video games about needles in haystacks that have popped up recently, copying the viral success of Needle in a Haystack Simulator, which isn't out yet.

The rampant reverse-engineering got so bad that the creator behind Needle in a Haystack Simulator, NasNakarus, poked fun at it by teasing a joke mode for the game where players will have to sift through piles of cloned games to find the original.

https://twitter.com/NasNakarus/status/2115146693889183955

While tweaking Claude is good news, it doesn't mean developers are out of the woods yet. Claude prompters will likely look for ways to work around the new restrictions, and if they're unsuccessful, other AI agents are available without the same safeguards.

Doom developer id Software was among the numerous Microsoft-owned game studios that cut staff recently as part of the big Xbox "reset." What's the vibe like internally at the studio in the wake of that? Studio co-director Marty Stratton said in a recent interview, "We're doing great."

He said he wasn't trying to "handwave" the layoffs, and isn't shying away from acknowledging that "half of our studio" was laid off, IGN reported. Stratton said the layoffs were part of a "deliberate effort" to ensure id Software would succeed.

Stratton is an executive at id Software, and his perspective on the situation no doubt differs from other people at the studio. He didn't share any commentary on what the vibes are like internally at id currently for other people who survived the layoffs.

Stratton also mentioned how the shift brought id and MachineGames closer together--the two studios had always been "very close," but now the pair are working closer "than ever."

"We're at a point with technology development that both teams are incredibly talented and have incredibly talented engineers and we're really on an amazing path that had started pre-[layoffs]. We'd kicked this off earlier this year. We're really excited about that. We're both really really bullish on what we have ahead," he said.

The studio's latest release was 2025's Doom: The Dark Ages, while MachineGames released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in 2024. It's rumored that MachineGames is now making a new Wolfenstein game.

Fans have speculated on which studio is leading the development of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake since it was first announced, and a new Ask the Developer feature from Nintendo appears to give us the answer.

The interviewees in Nintendo's online feature include longtime Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and several members of Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) Production Group No. 3, which is the team behind the mainline Zelda games. In other words, the usual Zelda people are making the new Zelda game, as opposed to another studio like Monolith Soft or Grezzo.

Those other two studios have come up in fan discussions about the Ocarina of Time remake, due to their respective histories contributing to the Zelda franchise. Grezzo was behind the 3DS remakes of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, along with the Switch remake of Link's Awakening. The studio also co-developed Echoes of Wisdom with EPD No. 3.

Monolith Soft, the Nintendo subsidiary behind the Xenoblade games, has taken more of a support role with Zelda games in recent years. The studio is credited with contributing to Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom.

Fans had guessed that either or both studios were working on the Ocarina remake for Switch 2, theorizing that EPD No. 3 was working on a new, mainline Zelda game. Neither Monolift Soft nor Grezzo are mentioned in the first two parts of the Ask the Developer feature (parts 3 and 4 will be published on November 3), but it's still entirely possible that they could be involved in the production as support studios. We'll have to wait and check the credits when the game launches on November 5.

For now, be comforted knowing that development on the Ocarina remake is being led by veterans of the beloved series, satisfying the fan desire to know exactly who's making these Nintendo games.

How much does a true console exclusive cost to make today? If recent reports are to be believed, Gears of War: E-Day had a production cost $500 million, but there's more to that figure than just a single game.

That's according to Windows Central writer Jez Corden, who says he spoke with multiple sources familiar with the story behind the half-billion dollars paid over several years to The Coalition while it was working on Gears of War: E-Day. The studio emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic as a Swiss Army Knife developer that assisted not only on several Xbox games, but also worked on the technology powering them.

As Corden explained, The Coalition worked with Epic Games on the oThe Matrix Awakens and Alpha Point tech demos for Unreal Engine 5 demonstrations, and used that knowledge to help other developers in the Xbox Games Studio portfolio. The Coalition reportedly worked for over 18 months on a prototype game that was eventually canceled, assisted on Avowed, Hellblade 2, Clockwork Revolution, State of Decay 3, Grounded, and Grounded 2, and even contributed to the upcoming StarCraft at Blizzard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teClq4qYyzQ

Once Mike Crump was appointed studio head, development on Gears of War: E-Day reportedly kicked into full gear. That makes for a busy developer, and one that brings a lot of institutional knowledge to Xbox with its work on Unreal Engine 5, which is one of the most popular engines for video game development. "I can't help but feel like the '$500 million' figure being shared around internally is being used to justify potential cuts, layoffs, or worse, a studio closure targeting The Coalition. Perhaps to 'soften the blowback,' should Microsoft target the studio. For what it's worth, I've not heard that Xbox is planning to close The Coalition," Corden added.

Gears of War: E-Day has reportedly not sold well either, but this can be attributed to various factors. It was only released for PC and Xbox Series X|S, is also available through Xbox Game Pass, and it happened to launch during an exceptionally busy time, as the last couple of months have been loaded with several major game releases, creating a lot of competition for a person's attention and money.

Circana analyst Mat Piscatella recently commented on the game, saying that making Gears of War: E-Day exclusive to Xbox "hasn’t made any difference" in terms of selling more Xbox consoles.

Resident Evil is a huge success at the box office, recently surpassing $400 million globally. It's also received fantastic review scores. But hardcore fans of the game series took issue with the film and its direction because it did not contain any storylines or characters from the source material. Director Zach Cregger never intended to, instead opting for his own original story that is set in the world of Resident Evil. Now, Cregger has spoken more about the fallout, saying he became "frustrated at the conversation" around his movie and specifically how it "didn't have anything to do with the movie."

He said on The Town that the conversation from the hardcore Resident Evil fanbase was that the movie didn't live up to their standards, even though Cregger never said he was trying to make a movie that did that.

Austin Abrams as Bryan in the Resident Evil movie.

He said he really loves and is proud of the movie he made. At the same time, Cregger admitted, "I should have known better" about how fans of the game series might react. Anyone who has been on the internet and engaged with anything related to gaming knows how intense hardcore gaming fans can be about even the seemingly smallest of issues, but Cregger said he overlooked this for reasons he doesn't fully understand.

"I should have understood that that was going to be the case," Cregger said about the blowback. Cregger previously said he was naive to think gamers would embrace him and his idea for the Resident Evil movie.

Cregger previously said he would never make another franchise movie after Resident Evil, but he's softened somewhat, saying on the podcast that he has a "never say never" attitude about it. Asked if Cregger's anti-franchise stance might limit his job opportunities in the future, Cregger said that after Barbarian and Weapons, he feels like he is "playing with house money."

Cregger said he's basically already won in life and the rest of his career is gravy. He said he goes into his projects now thinking it could be the last film he ever makes, and he's OK with that. "I'm going to swing for the f**king fences," he said. "I'm going to pour it all out to make this as good as I am capable of making it. And whatever happens, whether it makes a lot of money or no money, I just have to make sure I left it all on the court. And if that's the end, then I've had an amazing run."

Cregger is, of course, not finished making movies. His next film is the deep space sci-fi movie The Flood, starring Jennifer Lawrence. He said in the interview that it's his biggest-budget movie ever; previously, that record belonged to Resident Evil (a reported $75 million before marketing costs). Cregger said he shouldn't admit this publicly, but he believes there are real benefits to making movies on lower budgets, in part so a filmmaker like himself has to get creative as he works against constraints.

The Resident Evil movies are produced by Constantin Films, which bought the rights back in the '90s and has retained them ever since. After Welcome to Raccoon City flopped, Constantin planned to put the film franchise on ice ... until Cregger showed up with a pitch.

In addition to The Flood, Cregger is producing the next Weapons movie, which is the spin-off, Aunt Gladys.

With filming set to resume soon on Prime Video's God of War series, 55-year-old actor Dave Bautista revealed in an Instagram Story that he's packed on a beefy 20 pounds of muscle for the role of Kratos, bringing his weight to 250 pounds. While it's not the first time Bautista has bulked up for a role, he'd noticeably slimmed down in recent months, and he'd previously said he needed two months to get ready to play Kratos on TV.

While 250 pounds is an impressive weight, it's not the heaviest that Bautista has been during his career. At the peak of his WWE run, when he performed under the ring name Batista, the actor said he started at 325 pounds (as Deacon Batista) and once weighed 370 pounds. Over the years, Bautista usually hovered at around 290 pounds during his WWE runs, which is still massive. For 2023's Knock at the Cabin, Bautista increased his mass to 315 pounds to play the sinister character of Leonard, then began to slim down.

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/2117033643449413973

Bautista is stepping in to replace the original Kratos actor, Ryan Hurst, who also became absolutely shredded for the role. Sadly, a devastating bicep tear injury forced him to vacate the role, as he'd have needed months of downtime and rehabilitation to resume filming. Not wanting to wait that long, Amazon quickly began scouting for a replacement and chose Bautista for the series, of which two seasons have been ordered.

Based on the game series' soft reboot that began in 2018, God of War will follow Kratos and his son Atreus (Callum Vinson) as they journey across the nine realms. More games in the series are also on the way, starting with God of War Laufey on February 18, 2027, and a new Kratos-led adventure.

It's the start of a new month, which means new additions and departures on Xbox Game Pass. To kick off November, 14 games are being removed from the Game Pass library soon, including several simulators, one longrunning Dragon Ball game, and one of the greatest James Bond adventures of all time--at least until that upstart 007 First Light popped up earlier this year.

Simulator fans can say goodbye to Football Manager 26, Firefighting Simulator, Pigeon Simulator, and Police Simulator this month. Believe it or not, those games all come from different developers, as it feels like there's a simulator for every category and hobby out there. Another noteworthy departure is Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, the action-RPG that was recently upgraded for current-gen consoles. The game has been around for several years and has grown with updates that add new characters and adventures, but with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 launching in the second half of 2027, it might be time to wave goodbye to the Time Patrol.

Also on the way are the first Moonlighter, the adorably cozy Winter Burrow, and Barbie Horse Trails. As a reminder, you can save 20% on these games if you decide to buy them before they leave Game Pass.

Leaving Xbox Game Pass on November 15 Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

• Football Manager 26
• Barbie Horse Trails
• Great God Grove
• GoldenEye 007
• Firefighting Simulator: The Squad
• Winter Burrow
• Wreckfest
• 1000xResist
• Pigeon Simulator
• Police Simulator: Patrol Officers
• Relic Hunter Legends
• Moonlighter
• Total Chaos
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

This wave of games leaving Game Pass will be followed by a second batch of exits on November 30. Last month saw quite a few titles rotated out of Game Pass, including Expedition 33: Clair Obscur, The Casting of Frank Stone, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Donut County, and several Double Fine classics. At least some new games are filling that void, as Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted, and The Séance of Blake Manor were all added at the end of October.

Nagoshi Studio, the studio formed by Yakuza creator Toshiro Nagoshi at NetEase, has been shut down before it even released its first game. According to Gematsu, shareholders officially dissolved the developer on October 31 via a resolution later published in the Japanese government gazette Kanpo.

Under Nagoshi, the studio worked on Gang of Dragon, a new game that looked similar to the veteran developer's work on Sega's Yakuza and Like a Dragon series at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Work on the game continued over the years, and a trailer was shown at The Game Awards last year, but in March, reports said NetEase had pulled its funding for the project. The official Gang of Dragon YouTube channel also went down for a brief time in April, and in May, the game's website was whacked.

So why did the studio shut down? Exact details on the reasoning behind its closure haven't been revealed yet, but in March, Bloomberg reported that Nagoshi was seeking another $44 million to get Gang of Dragon across the finish line, a figure NetEase may have decided wasn't worth investing in further.

https://youtu.be/KX2pzle9dkE

Meanwhile, Nagoshi's former home, RGG Studio, has released multiple games since he left. Nagoshi's final credits with Sega were for Lost Judgment, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, and Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown; since then, RGG Studio has released five games in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise. These include prequels, sequels, and remakes: Like a Dragon: Ishin, Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Gaiden: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties.

Next year will see the launch of Stranger Than Heaven, described as a distant prequel to Like a Dragon that spans 50 years.

It's been another rough year for video games, with countless studio closures, staff layoffs, and projects that barely managed to even get off the ground before they were unceremoniously cut short. But things are feeling especially grim after EA trotted out two beloved franchises--Mass Effect and Dragon Age--for what amounted to a public execution via the announcement that BioWare has been shuttered. 

This was especially painful for Mass Effect players, who were looking forward to the upcoming Mass Effect 5, which we now know was tentatively titled Mass Effect: Universe. But it's not just BioWare fans who are upset at the moment. Fans of EA's other properties are growing increasingly concerned about the future of those franchises, if any future is planned for them at all. My colleague Levi Winslow recently wrote about their concerns for the Skate franchise in the wake of layoffs at its development studio. Meanwhile, I'm quite worried about the fate of The Sims.

In the same breath it announced the end of BioWare, EA also reaffirmed its commitment to Apex Legends, Skate, and The Sims franchises. But everyone knows that when it comes to profits, EA's sports titles outrun its other IPs by a country mile. If EA is willing to pull the plug on legacy franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, where does that leave its other franchises, like The Sims 4?

EA is pivoting its focus from Project Rene to Project Evergreen.

According to EA, Sims fans need not worry, as the company is committed to "focusing on the long-term potential of The Sims." Apparently, focusing on that long-term potential involves shelving a project The Sims team has been working on for years: Project Rene, AKA Project Lotus, AKA the nebulous next entry in The Sims franchise, which appears to be some kind of weird Sims MMO mobile game thing. Instead, EA will be focusing on Project Evergreen, which is rumored to be a sort of remaster of The Sims 4, with all (or most) DLC packs included, and recurring bugs squashed.

"We're supporting this franchise by pausing work on one of the next titles in this franchise" doesn't exactly inspire confidence, especially after the nonchalance with which EA just killed two other beloved game franchises. But I think this actually might be the right move. 

It's been a bumpy couple of years for The Sims, and many players aren't particularly enthused about Project Rene/Lotus, as it seems to be once again trying to recreate The Sims Online, something EA has tried to rebuild over and over. In fact, much of the reason The Sims 4 launched in such awful shape was due to the fact that it was initially meant to be an MMO-style game that could run on mobile devices. Less than a year before launch, EA pivoted to a more traditional Sims game--but by then, so much of the game had been built with online play and mobile devices in mind that it was too late to turn back. Despite releasing over 100 DLC packs and embarking on a concentrated campaign to squash the game's many, many, many bugs, longtime Sims players are still frustrated with the state of The Sims 4, often pointing out the numerous ways it pales in comparison to its predecessor, The Sims 3. 

The Sims 4 is officially "done" in that there are no plans to release any more expansion packs for the game. When it comes to the future of the franchise, most players don't want the next Sims title to be yet another attempt at shoehorning online and/or mobile gameplay into a game that is, at its core, all about building and playing with digital dolls in their digital dollhouses. So EA's decision to hit pause on Project Rene/Lotus's development isn't something I find especially heartbreaking. In fact, I think it's the first truly wise decision EA's made regarding the franchise in a long time, provided EA actually plans to support Project Evergreen long-term (which the name Evergreen would suggest).

Sims 4 players don't want Project Rene, but they do want either The Sims 5 or a complete, playable version of The Sims 4--ideally one that doesn't require the purchase of $1,600 in DLC packs to feel "finished." Hitting pause on its weird, experimental Sims projects in favor of attempting to preserve The Sims 4 in a stable, playable, "evergreen" state is arguably the best decision EA could make, given the current state of both EA and The Sims franchise. Pouring resources into a concept that has failed before (online MMO-style Sims gameplay) rather than a tried-and-true formula (a digital dollhouse) would only harm the franchise at this point.

Whatever Project Rene is supposed to be, it's officially on ice for now.

Of course, there's no telling what kind of shape Project Evergreen will launch in, assuming it does successfully make it to launch. It sounds like the Evergreen devs have a deadline to hit--hence the reshuffling of resources away from Rene/Lotus--but even with the increase in development resources, there's no guarantee Evergreen will be a massive hit with players.

Provided the rest of development does go smoothly and Evergreen is indeed well-received by players, it may still fall short of EA's goals when it comes to profits. EA has spent the last decade doing everything possible to monetize the living hell out of The Sims 4, a game that--unlike EA's lucrative sports catalog--is largely intended to be a solitary gaming experience that doesn't require online play. Back in the olden days of The Sims 1, 2, and 3, players would purchase the base game, a few expansion packs, and maybe a couple of "stuff packs" for extra decor options, but that was all one really needed to enjoy the game. 

The Sims 4, however, introduced an era of seemingly endless DLC: expansion packs, game packs, stuff packs, kits--there are over 100 of them, ranging in cost from $40 to $5, and totaling around $1,600 if purchased individually outside of sales and bundles. In addition to the constant stream of DLC releases, EA has in recent years implemented daily login rewards, various events and challenges, and even a paid mod store nobody asked for--all in the hopes of getting players to spend more time and money on The Sims 4. For a while there, I half-expected EA to implement a Sims 4 battle pass.

EA trimming down its Sims projects is fine with me, as long as the series isn't uprooted entirely.

There's no telling what sort of irritating monetization tactics we'll see in Project Evergreen, but at the very least, Evergreen sounds like an attempt to try and maintain the series' roots, rather than continue chasing the mobile MMO Roblox-like direction Project Lotus seemed to be taking. Even better, Evergreen may turn out to be the game Sims players have been aching for since The Sims 4 launched to middling reviews back in 2014: a game that isn't fundamentally broken and lacking in content.

The real question is if Evergreen will be successful enough to keep The Sims franchise alive. Given that EA's new owners were happy to kill off what was shaping up to be a potentially great Mass Effect game, it's not hard to imagine a world where the Grim Reaper inevitably comes for The Sims, regardless of whether players love or hate Project Evergreen. After all, feelings don't generate dollar signs, and EA's new owners have made one thing abundantly clear: killing off an iconic franchise is "worth it" if it saves EA a few Simoleons.

Publisher Activision has responded to criticism over using a devastating tragedy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, saying that the incident will be removed from the military shooter in a November 12 update.

The Seoul Halloween crowd crush occurred in October 2022 in Itaewon. Approximately 100,000 people gathered in a narrow alleyway in Seoul, resulting in 160 casualties as people were suffocated. This year marks the fourth anniversary of the tragedy, with bereaved families and community organizers gathering to remember the lives that were lost.

Modern Warfare 4 hit consoles and PC on October 23, and not long after its release, the game drew criticism from bereaved Korean families. In the opening cutscene to the game's campaign--which focuses on a fictional war between North and South Korea--Modern Warfare 4 depicts a chaotic scene where one person performs CPR on a downed individual, while bodies are either laid out on the streets or carried away on stretchers. Given the game's setting and the events on screen, the 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families Association and the Citizens' Countermeasures Meeting--two organizations formed after the 2022 tragedy in Seoul--were "appalled" at the calamity's inclusion and demanded that Activision remove it from the game.

"Using such an incident as material for a game intended for entertainment purposes is itself highly inappropriate and a senseless act," the groups said, according to the BBC. "The Itaewon tragedy was a tragic disaster that produced hundreds of casualties, and citizens who participated in the rescue efforts or witnessed the event at the time continue to suffer from trauma. If the game developer has even a minimum level of courtesy and empathy toward the victims, they should promptly take corrective measures."

Activision has heard the call and plans to remove the depiction from Modern Warfare 4 when an update arrives on November 12. In responding to the criticism, Activision said it never intended to trivialize the disaster or make light of human suffering.

"In developing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, we approached the subject matter with care and respect. The game’s opening cinematic utilises some real-world news coverage to establish the game’s fictional narrative," Activision said. "It is not intended to reference or trivialise the Itaewon disaster or any other real-world tragedy in any way, shape or form."

There's a new voice behind the protagonist of Soul in Phantom Blade Zero, and it's none other than Sonic the Hedgehog--or his longtime voice actor, Roger Craig Smith, to be precise.

As spotted by Game Informer, Smith has stepped in to replace Jay Maksenuk (V in Once Human). You can still hear the latter in the various trailers for Phantom Blade Zero, and developer S-Game hasn't revealed why they brought Smith on as a last-minute replacement. Both actors have several video game credits, and as Game Informer noted, it sounds like Masenuk was replaced shortly after the game's review period began. Essentially, you won't be hearing Masenuk's voice, as the game launched earlier this week with Craig voicing the main character.

You're probably familiar with Craig's voice; in addition to Sonic and Batman, he's also voiced Ezio Auditore in several Assassin's Creed games, Daigo Dojima in Yakuza Kiwami 3, and Alden Dorne in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. As a friendly reminder, set a hard limit on how much coffee Smith consumes if you're thinking of interviewing him.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MnqDEw4I_CI

Phantom Blade Zero has had a strong launch week so far, reaching over 730,000 concurrent players on Steam at the time of writing. If you're planning to play this weekend, check out our Phantom Blade Zero guides hub for dozens of walkthroughs, and if you're still on the fence, read our Phantom Blade Zero review to see if it's for you. You can also learn how it fixes one of the biggest problems of soulslike-inspired boss fights.

If you thought there wasn't going to be a new Assassin's Creed game this year, think again. It's not a video game, but Assassin's Creed: Animus is out today, turning the series into an adventure-style board game for 1-4 players.

A competitive game that pits players against each other as they explore distinct eras from the video games, Assassin's Creed: Animus features four protagonists to choose from in its standard edition: Eivor, Ezio, Altair, and Connor. The Collector's Edition, meanwhile, expands to 10 eras and features 16 protagonists, adding game characters like Edward Kenway, Jacob and Evie Frye, and Kassandra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnGfEU2eXrg

You and up to three of your friends (or you alone) work to complete objectives across these eras, taking down assassination targets in the way you see fit via "memory blocks." Whether you go in with your sword drawn or engage in a sneakier approach is up to you.

The standard version of Assassin's Creed: Animus is available to order now for $65, while the limited Collector's Edition costs $229. Alongside the extra characters and eras, this version comes with a storage box, acrylic tokens, a metal Piece of Eden, a cloth token bag, "special event cards," and an Animus Card Holder.

EA recently announced it was shutting down BioWare, ending a studio responsible for multiple hit games over 30 years. According to a new report, EA's decision was driven by economics, as it had to choose between funding a new Mass Effect and backing the safer bet, Star Wars: Battlefront 3.

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported that EA had to choose between two costly projects, and with the added pressure of paying off $18 billion in leveraged debt after its sale to a business consortium and Saudi Arabia's investment fund, Battlefront 3 made more financial sense. To add insult to injury, Battlefront 3 isn't even in development yet, and it hasn't been officially announced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx0b2Xbnnrc

"They chose to invest in Star Wars and shut down BioWare as a result, said the people familiar, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to the press," Schreier wrote. "Star Wars: Battlefront 3 has not even begun development yet, but EA executives saw it as a less risky, more predictable bet than a new Mass Effect--and the publisher behind Battlefield has always been more comfortable with shooters than RPGs."

Schreier added that "corporate politics" may have also influenced the decision, as one of the studio's key advocates, senior EA exec Laura Miele, was reportedly sidelined when EA Sports veterans David Tinson and Cam Weber were promoted. BioWare also experienced several flops over the last decade, with Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard failing to meet sales expectations, which further influenced EA's decision to shut down the studio.

After BioWare's closure, more details on its Mass Effect project have emerged. A trailer for Mass Effect: Universe was posted online last week; the game's details made it sound like a sci-fi version of John Wick, and video game composer Austin Wintory shared an experimental score as part of his Mass Effect audition tape.

Only a few more weeks remain before Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and while Rockstar Games recently lifted the lid on its big open-world sequel, that's still not enough. There's definitely value in approaching a game with as little knowledge as possible so that you can enjoy any potential surprises, but we're not those people.

Instead, senior video producer Jake Dekker decided to grab a folder of high-resolution GTA 6 screenshots--a whole 99 of them, not including the promotional images for GTA 6's Ultimate Edition--and analyzed dozens of them for hidden details. Here's what he found in the first part of his JPEG investigations.

https://youtu.be/wmKu9Uow-os

Unsurprisingly, GTA 6 is loaded with small details, callbacks to previous games in the series, and some technical wizardry. There are frazzled beards, the subtle effects of gravity, realistic scars, and even NPCs showing what the ravages of time and a tropical climate can do to flesh, proving GTA 6's location of Leonida is packed to the gills with small touches. One of the best hidden details in these screenshots is the hard currency: Every dollar bill is printed right in the United States of Paranoia. Hey, it's legal tender in a video game!

For more GTA 6 investigations, you can check out several more videos from the team. They've analyzed how immersive the game will be, from its introduction of a fuel economy to a closer look at how actions have consequences. In other GTA 6 news, you can read about how the cops will release the hounds to catch you, how you can be a crappy person to NPCs, and how big the game's map will be (spoiler: pretty big).

Legendary rocker Cliff Richard also recently learned that some of his music is in GTA 6, and while he's not entirely clued up on the game franchise, he's still happy that his 1976 song "Devil Woman" is reaching a new audience.

Destiny's future lies in its past, as Bungie is working to bring content from the infamous Destiny vault back to the game. Big plans are in place to rework fan-favorite campaigns like the Red War and Forsaken back into Destiny 2, and while that content won't be out for quite a while, Bungie has also detailed what you should not expect from the studio as the year winds down. Long story short: Don't expect to see Destiny 3 teased at The Game Awards.

"Knowing we are early in incubating our future and actively working on projects to bridge us to that new home, don't expect us to make a Destiny announcement at the TGAs this year, or to randomly drop a logo that sets the world on fire right away," head of product Josh Deane wrote.

Bungie says it secured an "initial greenlight to begin scoping the work" back in June, and a yet-to-be-revealed studio will help with its Destiny legacy content revival. To keep fans up to date, the studio has unveiled a progress bar, with which will signal when major milestones have been reached:

The new Destiny 2 progress bar.

"Right now, we are in our pre-production, proof-of-work stage where we will ensure the process is working and hitting our quality bar as we port the legacy content. We expect this part of the process to last until roughly January/February. From that point we expect full production will be about 12 months. to fully complete the porting process. It’s a lot of content," Deane added.

What else is on the Destiny horizon? Deane said that players can look forward to "anchor" events, like a new celebration in Destiny 2 similar to Moments of Triumph, and Destiny Legacy, which Deane described as being "the whole experience" that needs to be served to where players are today. While the wording was vague, it sounds as if Destiny 1 content might come to Destiny 2. Deane said more information will be revealed next year, and both announcements will feature a new progress bar in February. Bungie also teased a mystery third project.

Overall, Bungie says it's on track with plans to unvault Destiny 2 content, has plans to celebrate the franchise, and is "building a new future" for Destiny. At the same time, Bungie is also continuing to make big changes to its extraction shooter Marathon, which launched earlier this year. March 2027 could be make or break for the game, as it continues to build out connected PvE, PvP, and PvEvP experiences, as well as options for solo players and crews.

Beloved actor Patrick Stewart has died at the age of 86. The veteran of stage and screen was best known for his many years as Star Trek's Jean-Luc Picard and X-Men's Charles Xavier, though he also had notable roles in video games, including The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

"We announce with grew sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dimentia" a statement on his official Instagram reads. "He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all. We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace."

Stewart's role as Picard made him a household name, and following the conclusion of Star Trek: The Next Generation, he reprised the role in several Star Trek films as well as the series Star Trek: Picard.

Though best known for his live-action roles like Picard and Xavier, Stewart was also known for his iconic voice. Alongside the aforementioned games like Oblivion and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (and its sequel), Stewart had voice roles in everything from American Dad to The Prince of Egypt. He also narrated the Ted movies, with his friend Ian McKellen taking over the role for the recent Ted series on Peacock.

World of Warcraft: Forever will avoid repeating WoW Classic's mistakes and will have tools to prevent "dead" or "unsustainable" server rulesets, Blizzard said.

In the past, various WoW Classic servers became "dead" over time, as players either stopped playing or transferred to other servers. Those massive drops in population had major ramifications for players left on the server being unable to find groups for raids or dungeons, as well as for the server's economy and auction house. In some extreme cases, Blizzard gave away free character transfers so players could leave their "dead" servers behind.

While Forever is going a different route with what are essentially mega servers tailored around specific rulesets, some players might still have anxiety when it comes to picking a ruleset that will be a healthy place to play long-term. 

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

In the latest episode of the WoW: Forever podcast, Blizzard said it has tools it can use if a ruleset's population becomes "unsustainable." Senior game designer Josh Greenfield gave the example of Forever's separate RP and (newly added) RP-PvP server rulesets. He said there were initially concerns about splitting up the RP community, fearing that one or both of the rulesets wouldn't be able to stand the test of time. He said Blizzard now believes "it will be fine," but does have options should the worst happen. 

"If someday down the line, if something happens and one or both of those populations can't quite sustain themselves, we have options if we do need to say link up their auction houses or allow them to group for instanced content," Greenfield said.

Greenfield said it's not something Blizzard will jump to unless absolutely necessary and that it's committed to its current separate-ruleset path. Blizzard debated the idea of rulesets during Forever's development and discussed letting players from different rulesets group together for instanced content or combining auction houses.

However, it landed on wanting to maintain distinct communities, in part because of the differences in server economies when it comes to PvE and PvP rulesets, with Greenfield using an example of how it's easier to farm for gold and items on a PvE server. That in turn opened up debates on whether these cross-ruleset players would be able to trade items with one another and the need for other restrictions.

"Ultimately, these are different mindsets, these are different rulesets," Greenfield said the team decided. "Let's keep them separate for now. That is a part of original WoW that we don't want to just throw out completely. But I think the tech is set up in such a way that if we ever did really feel like we needed to make a change, we could do so."

He said those options are merely "levers we can pull if we need to" and that it's important for Blizzard to "stay flexible." That's good news, and will likely give players worried about choosing the wrong ruleset some relief. 

Blizzard is keeping busy in the handful of days left before Forever's launch. It previously detailed how it's making improvements to Forever's divisive layering system in time for release, and announced major changes to racial abilities. 

In a first for WoW, Forever will be fully playable on a controller. WoW executive producer and vice president Holly Longdale recently said Forever's controller support is a step towards WoW being playable "wherever you want" and "on whatever you want."

WoW: Forever arrives November 4. If you want to be ready for launch day, you can technically make up to three WoW: Forever characters right now.

Cliff Richard is among the numerous famous artists who are lending their music to Rockstar's GTA 6, with Richard's classic tune "Devil Woman" appearing in the Netflix Extended Look. Richard, 86, didn't know about any of that, however, or that GTA 6 is a game and not a TV show.

Speaking to The Times (via Dexerto), Richard said of the partnership with Rockstar for GTA 6: "I was told this happened!" He said his nephew's sons told him about it. "They didn't realize I could sing like that," he said.

Lucia in GTA 6.

Richard was eventually made aware of GTA 6, but the singer doesn't know what that is. “The show is a game show, isn’t it, really? One of the biggest on TV?” he asked.

"Devil Woman" was originally released in 1976, so it's now 50 years old. Richard said he's pretty jazzed about the fact that young people will hear his music.

“People will no longer just say, ‘Oh, Cliff Richard is from the past,’” he said. “Because I am, but that past is what makes everything what it is today."

It was reported that Spotify streams of "Devil Woman" surged massively following the Netflix Extended Look in August.

For more on the music of GTA 6, be sure to check out GameSpot's rundown of all the songs in the game. The game's official score by Justice is releasing on December 11, and it will be available to stream and buy on physical media. The same cannot be said for the game itself, which is a digital exclusive. The game will be sold at retailers, but there is no disc: just a code in a box.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and the game's file size is gargantuan.