Diablo 5 is coming in Spring 2029, and it will take players to a world where Diablo himself reigns supreme.

Announced via a short teaser during the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony, Blizzard revealed it's already at work on the next installment of the series. Set 100 years after the defeat of Mephisto in Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, Diablo 5 will see the Lord of Terror return. However, instead of stopping him from destroying all of Sanctuary, he will actually have already won. 

Blizzard teased Diablo 5's story will revolve around what heroes have to become in a post-apocalyptic world that is already destroyed. More details will be shared about the game's lore, classes, and gameplay features, during a Diablo 5 panel as part of this weekend's convention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HaSFXR7tU

Should Diablo 5 actually release in 2029, it will be the shortest gap between Diablo games in the franchise's history. There was a 12-year wait for Diablo 3 after Diablo 2, and another 11 years between Diablo 3 and 4. Diablo 5, in comparison, is slated to come just six years after Diablo 4--still a long time, but much shorter given the franchise's track record.

Blizzard has been on record saying it wants to create new Diablo games faster. In an interview earlier this year, Blizzard said that "over the next 30 years, maybe we get some out faster."

Diablo 4's next class is Amazon, Blizzard announced during the BlizzCon opening ceremony, but it won't be coming as part of a new expansion. Instead, Blizzard will sell the Amazon as a separate DLC class pack in the first half of next year.

The addition of the Amazon isn't exactly a surprise. First, it's an iconic class from Diablo 2, so it's a bit of a no-brainer there. Alongside the nostalgia factor, Diablo 4's latest expansion, Lord of Hatred, also took players to the literal home of the Amazons, Skovos. They featured heavily in the expansion's story but were not a playable class, with the expansion instead adding the Paladin and Warlock to Diablo 4's class roster.

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

While the Amazon isn't coming until 2027, Diablo 4's next season, Hell's Legacy, is coming much sooner. The season kicks off next week on September 15 and will celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary and feature the return of enemies, locations, and items from previous Diablo games. That will include the return of Deckard Cain, who will take players on a journey to confront Diablo, Baal, and Mephisto, meaning the Lord of Terror himself will finally make an appearance in Diablo 4.

Though it leaked ahead of time, Diablo 4 is officially coming to the Switch 2 as well, with a Lord of Hatred collection that includes both of the game's expansions.

After years of complaints, Overwatch is finally reworking two of its veteran heroes. Announced during BlizzCon 2026's opening ceremony, both Roadhog and Sombra will be receiving major reworks, with Sombra pivoting to being a support hero and Roadhog undergoing changes to make him more of a team player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBt8q49qD8k

Shortly after the reveal, Overwatch shared an updated look at both character's Hero kits. Below is a comprehensive overview of their changes:

Sombra

Of the two, Sombra is receiving the most significant redesign, pivoting from a Damage hero to Support. Whereas she used to be most effective at fast-paced, ambush-style combat, she will now be far more useful in team settings. Her Hack ability has been replaced with Hotfix, which allows her to freely hack health packs and enemy deployables as well as heal allies. Cyberspace replaces Virus, and sees Sombra launch a projectile that heals allies and weakens enemies. With the exception of CTRL ALT ESC, all of Sombra's Perks have been adjusted, and she now boasts Support passives.

Roadhog

By comparison Roadhog's changes are far less dramatic, with the most notable being the removal of Scrap Gun's Alt Fire. In lieu of this skill, Roadhog has been given Trash Compactor--an ability that allows Roadhog to absorb enemy projectiles and turn them into an explosive ball of scrap. This makes him far more effective as an actual Tank, granting him what seems like a fairly effective barrier that will hopefully deter players from abandoning their team in search of smaller firefights.

In addition to these changes, Blizzard has announced Overwatch's 54th character, Doctrine, is coming October 5.

Since its inception, Overwatch has positioned itself as an optimistic, science-fiction-driven world. Although some characters have introduced an element of the fantastical--the addition of the magical Wuxing University being the most notable tonal shift--the team behind the hero shooter has always prioritized scientific explanations for its heroes incredible abilities. Its newest character, however, seems to venture further into fantasy than ever before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK877kcyMTY

Revealed during BlizzCon 2026's opening ceremony, Doctrine is the next support hero coming to Overwatch. Oh and fun fact, he's a vampire--or vampire-inspired, at the very least. With a sceptre that heals and speeds up teammates yet dishes out major damage to enemies, Doctrine is an extremely powerful hero with a high mechanical floor. Interested in putting your skills to the test and giving him a whirl? You're in luck, as Doctrine's limited-time hero trial has officially kicked off and will run until September 14.

In addition to his sceptre, Doctrine can also unleash a swarm of bat drones, infuse allies, and "manipulate life force." Blizzard has described the hero as the "ultimate vampire fantasy." Below is a more thorough look at his Hero kit:

While Doctrine (real name Tamuka Yeukai) hails from Zimbabwe, he is accompanied by the Escort map Watchpoint: Grimsvotn, which depicts the Icelandic prison he is seen escaping in his debut cinematic. Doctrine joins Overwatch on the side of Talon, his trailer revealing him to be a close friend of Doomfist. This relationship also expresses itself mechanically, as the Overwatch team stated his kit complements Doomfist's extremely well.

In other Overwatch news, the team shared that two of its most criticized legacy characters, Sombra and Roadhog, are undergoing major changes.

Following numerous rumors dating back many months, it's official: StarCraft is returning with a new game, but that game won't be in the traditional real-time-strategy genre the franchise is known for. Instead, the new StarCraft game is described as an open-world shooter.

The news was revealed as part of BlizzCon's opening ceremony. However, that's essentially all we know, as the new game-referred to only as StarCraft--won't be released until 2030. As such, there were no further details shared about how it will play or anything else. 

After Blizzard's Dan Hay said, "It's about damn time" that we returned to the interstellar war of StarCraft, we did see a cinematic trailer. Dominion forces are shown being pumped up after being trained as elite warriors. They're then sent onto the battlefield against a massive wave of Zerg forces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIu2tGCCKQw

When it does arrive, this will mark the first original game in the StarCraft franchise since the StarCraft II trilogy wrapped up with Legacy of the Void in 2015. The original game did receive a remaster, StarCraft Remastered, in 2017, but Blizzard's focus has otherwise shifted to its other franchises over the last decade.

While a StarCraft shooter had been rumored for some time, the reveal is still sure to come as a contentious piece of news for fans starved for a traditional StarCraft game. (The audible reaction from the crowd when "open-world shooter" was said was not necessarily one of elation.)

This isn't the first attempt to spin off the series into something else, as StarCraft Ghost was meant to be a stealth-action entry, but it was ultimately canceled prior to release. A recent report indicated that Nexon is seeking the StarCraft license in order to make a new game--possibly StarCraft III--so there may still be some hope for another StarCraft RTS.

Teases for a StarCraft revival began earlier this month, after the game's official website started to "glitch" and fans discovered hidden text logs. Each one appeared to be a secret transmission hinting at something on the horizon, with rumors circulating that it could be anything from a Helldivers-inspired co-op shooter game to the revival of StarCraft: Ghost.

But the main takeaway is that StarCraft is back, and in a big way. While it wasn't the first successful franchise to emerge from Blizzard, it still remains a key pillar for the company even after years of dormancy. The original StarCraft real-time strategy game and its Brood War expansion were huge hits upon release, and in South Korea, local internet cafes became hubs for competitive PvP that laid the groundwork for the rise of esports.

Well, that was unexpected. As part of the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony, studio president Johanna Faries announced that Blizzard is partnering with Netflix on an animated Diablo series.

The announcement was made as Faries emphasized the studio is called Blizzard Entertainment, meaning it doesn't intend to limit itself to games. Overwatch and Warcraft were also specifically mentioned after the Diablo series' announcement, though Faries did not say if anything is official or concrete at this stage.

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

Blizzard is no stranger to non-interactive adaptations of its games, of course, with the Warcraft movie releasing about a decade ago. That movie didn't exactly light the world on fire, critically or commercially, but an animated series or two may better fit Blizzard's IP.

No timeline was given for when we could see the Diablo animated series, but it was just one of several big announcements the company made during its opening ceremony. The biggest on the Diablo front included the debut of the Amazon in Diablo 4 and the reveal of Diablo 5.

Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's MOBA mashup of its various franchises, has largely remained unchanged since its developers moved onto other priorities back in 2022. But as WoW's long-running storylines are moving toward a conclusion that involves Xal'atath, that character is set to be added to HotS, and she arrives quite soon.

Blizzard revealed the new addition as part of the BlizzCon Opening Ceremony. Xal'atath will join the Public Test Realm beginning this Monday, September 14, with a full release set for September 28. This will mark the first new character since Warcraft's Hogger was added in 2020. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wks8GLNUHsk

While Xal'atath might turn out to be a one-off addition to the game, it was teased that another character could be added in the future. Given balance updates and a skin have represented the bulk of what's changed since Hogger's launch, it's welcome to see anything of substance arrive for HotS.

BlizzCon is a big deal if you're a fan of all things Blizzard, as the weekend event kicked off with a traditional opening ceremony full of announcements and reveals for the company's biggest games--and a few surprises!

The biggest of these was easily the announcement that StarCraft will return in 2030, but this time, Blizzard is switching up genres as the sci-fi game goes from real-time strategy to open-world shooter. A new Diablo was also announced, and World of Warcraft fans were spoiled with several reveals. In case you missed it, you can catch all the trailers and news below.

Heroes of the Storm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wks8GLNUHsk&pp=0gcJCf4LAYcqIYzv

Heroes of the Storm is adding a new hero to its roster for the first time in six years, as Xal'atath is coming to the Nexus. You can try her out this weekend in the game.

For The First Time In 6 Years, Blizzard Is Bringing A New Character To Heroes Of The Storm

A Diablo animated series is in development at Netflix

The next announcement was about a Diablo animated series in development. Blizzard president Johanna Faries announced that it's being produced by Netflix.

"Diablo, I promise, is just the beginning," Faries teased. "To our Overwatch community, to our Warcraft community, and who knows, perhaps even some of our other universes."

StarCraft returns in 2030 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIu2tGCCKQw

Ubisoft veteran Dan Hay was on stage to announce a brand-new StarCraft, which he described as an open-world shooter. The cinematic trailer showed off some gung-ho Dominion recruits training to be the best in the galaxy, but a few hours later, the remains of these fresh-faced soldiers were being scraped out of their warsuits.

StarCraft Is Officially Back, But It’s Taking A Much Different Form

Overwatch

Overwatch director Aaron Keller was next on stage, dressed in an incredible jacket themed around the game. A new animated trailer was shown off, featuring popular characters like former Talon leader Doomfist, Reaper, Widowmaker, and Sombra as they assaulted a prison pulled from the Watchpoint Gibraltar map. The video ended with a tease of the ninth hero joining Overwatch this year, Doctrine.

Doctrine is a stylish techno-vampire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIu2tGCCKQw

Miranda Moyer and Ben Bell from the Overwatch team described Doctrine as a Support-class hero who wields a scepter in battle. He mixes vampiric and techno-powers together, and he can shroud enemies in darkness to hinder them. Doctrine can also use an "infuse" power to transform his next power. Doctrine's Hero Trial will be available for all Overwatch players later today.

Overwatch’s Newest Blood-Sucking Character Pushes The Game Even Further Into The Fantasy Genre

Big Overwatch changes are on the horizon

Sombra and Roadhog are getting some big reworks in Overwatch soon. Sombra is being turned into a Support-class hero, and a whole lot of content is planned for Season 5 of the game.

Overwatch Is Reworking Two Of Its Most Criticized Characters

A familiar face is coming to Diablo 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feXuKlwKMTA

Stay a while, and listen to what's next for Diablo! Tiffany Wat and Brent Gibson from the Diablo team announced that everyone's favorite Horadrim scholar, Deckard Cain, will return to Sanctuary soon. You can meet the fan-favorite character in Diablo 4 on September 15, when Season of Hell's Legacy launches.

Hell's Pawn is crossing over to Diablo Immortal

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is coming to Diablo Immortal, which makes my inner '90s kid very happy. Honestly, could you ask for a better crossover character in the free-to-play mobile game?

Diablo 4 lands on Switch 2 in September

And it'll be out on September 15! Switch 2 owners can grab Diablo 4: Age of Hatred Collection when it launches alongside the new Season of Hell's Legacy.

The Amazon is coming to Diablo 4

At long last, you can play as an Amazon in Diablo 4. This new take on the fan-favorite character will wield her signature bow, as well as the new javelin-class weapon. She'll be added to the game in the first half of 2027.

Diablo 5 launches in 2029 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HaSFXR7tU

With the Age of Hatred having concluded in Diablo 4, it's time for the next chapter in the series. Diablo 5 is currently scheduled to launch in Spring 2029, and things look bleak. In Diablo 5, the ancient Lord of Terror has returned and has conquered Sanctuary.

"What must you become, when the world has already fallen?" Wat teased for the dark direction of Diablo 5.

Hearthstone's next expansion launches in October https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib5EMar4b1E

What's next for Hearthstone? A new expansion and a new gameplay mechanic while you explore a narrative focused on the brawls between Old Gods that shaped the world of Azeroth. The new Assemble mechanic will allow you to fuse two cards together, and the Hearthstone team says that it's well aware that there'll be some "pretty busted" combinations. A pool of 250 cards can make use of this mechanic, and some of the combinations shown off are wild. You can try it out for yourself when Reign of the Black Empire launches on October 20.

Hearthstone's new hero is panda-ring to the Warcraft crowd

That's right, the kung-fu panda known as Monk, is coming to Hearthstone soon!

Hearthstone’s First New Class In 4 Years And A More Story-Driven Journal Are On The Way

World of Warcraft: Midnight - Eclipse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI09FbRmCtc

World of Warcraft's Holly Longdale and Ion Hazzikostas introduced a new chapter in World of Warcraft's Worldsoul Saga, teasing "all gas and no brakes" in the new major content update. Eclipse will set the stage for a showdown with Xa'latath, and the new cinematic trailer showed her on the verge of a serious power-up.

World of Warcraft: The Last Titan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRnlcUqX5t4

While Eclipse is the next big narrative chapter in World of Warcraft, The Last Titan is where Blizzard is promising a big shake-up to the MMORPG as it wraps up 20 years of storytelling. More details on it will be shared next year.

Warcraft 3 is getting a new campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUobjOJgSqc

Longdale teased that Blizzard is "putting the war back in Warcraft" with the new campaign, Forsaken Kingdom, for Warcraft 3: Reforged. When can you play it? Today! Players will get to experience the fall of Lodaeron as Human armies took on mighty Orc forces. Other enhancements include a Definitive Edition graphical update, map editor improvements, and you can even select more units to command.

World of Warcraft: Forever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerqLHQPN9Y

Azeroth is beckoning players back to where it all started, as we got a first look at World of Warcraft: Forever. The rumored Classic Plus mode for World of Warcraft will kick off with a beta on September 17 and launch on November 4. The game will include new dungeons, 10-20 player raids, the Skyborne as a playable race, account-wide perks, and new zones to explore.

It's almost time for the first BlizzCon event in two years, as Blizzard prepares to celebrate its past, present, and future with its traditional opening ceremony. This leads into two days of panels and interviews, as Blizzard talks about its biggest franchises, ranging from Warcraft to Overwatch. If you're not planning to make a trip to Anaheim to watch the show in person, the good news is that you can enjoy it from the comfort of your home. Here's a breakdown of when you can tune in for all the announcements.

How to watch the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony

You can watch a livestream of the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony through Blizzard's official YouTube, Twitch, and Battle.net channels.

• YouTube
• Twitch
• Battle.net

When to watch the BlizzCon 2026 opening ceremony

The show kicks off at the following times on September 12, and it'll run for roughly 75 minutes.

• 10:30 AM PT
• 1:30 PM ET
• 5:30 PM GMT
• 6:30 PM BST
• 7:30 PM CET
• 2:30 AM JST (September 13)
• 3:30 AM AEST (September 13)

Will the BlizzCon 2026 musical performance be livestreamed?

Nope, the musical performance will be exclusive to BlizzCon 2026 attendees. This year's headline act features K-pop group Le Sserafim, and international music duo Yoasobi will perform during BlizzCon's first-ever esports halftime show in the Overwatch World Cup Arena.

What to expect

We've got a detailed breakdown of our expectations for BlizzCon 2026, but to sum it up, we're expecting Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch to be in the spotlight. Blizzard is already teasing something for StarCraft, with most fans predicting that we could see a StarCraft shooter revealed or Nexon potentially developing the next entry in the franchise. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Diablo, so we wouldn't be too surprised to see the legacy games celebrated and maybe even a first look at a new Diablo 4 expansion.

For Overwatch, we're expecting Blizzard to focus more than ever on the game's competitive side, so a reveal trailer for the next playable hero and a look at how the current Reign of Talon storyline will conclude look pretty likely. Over in Azeroth, the reveal of a new World of Warcraft expansion is also an easy bet. BlizzCon has been a launching ground for multiple WoW expansion reveals in the past, so we're getting our popcorn ready for when the company drops a cinematic trailer for The Last Titan. There might also be a new version of WoW Classic shown off, but overall, it looks like Blizzard fans are in for a bumper show to help kick off the BlizzCon weekend.

As the studio behind one of the most highly anticipated games of all time, GTA 6 developer Rockstar Games has divulged more details on how it keeps its secrets. As part of a hearing, which began yesterday at the Glasgow Employment Tribunal--in which Rockstar Games has been accused of unlawfully firing 34 GTA 6 developers based in the UK and Canada last year--the studio compared keeping a lid on GTA 6 to be on the same level as Apple or the Coca-Cola Company protecting its trade secrets.

"Guarding the secrets of the unique gameplay and design are akin to Apple protecting the iPhone or Coke protecting its formula," Rockstar said in its opening note (via IGN). "The standards and expectations regarding information security and privacy are exponentially beyond that of most employers."

The company claims that people are so hell-bent on peeking behind the curtain that it was forced to coat its building windows with a privacy film after aerial drones were used to spy on employees and photograph the inside of the building. Because of that, Rockstar has had to implement numerous security measures, such as enforcing strict no-photography rules for visitors, banning external storage devices on office premises, and restricting remote work for employees. The developer also has a full-time team of five investigators and a director who keep an eye out for potential leaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1c75QjeqrI

All of those measures are designed to create a layer of secrecy between the studio and the public, but that hasn't stopped it from being hit by security breaches in the past. Following a massive data breach in 2022, another wave of GTA 6 gameplay leaks started circulating last month, right before the game's extended premiere on Netflix. "It would be an understatement to say that having videos of GTA 6 gameplay leak in this way has been heartbreaking for our team, and this is obviously not how we intended for you to see the game after all this time," Rockstar wrote in a statement.

Rockstar's hearing at the Glasgow Employment Tribunal also relates to matters of internal secrecy, as the company says the 34 dismissed members were fired for leaking GTA 6 game features via Discord. The former employees have hit back at those claims, with the Independent Workers of Great Britain union alleging that Rockstar fired those workers because of their union ties and activities--something that Rockstar has denied.

The former Rockstar workers have asked people not to boycott GTA 6, but instead to purchase t-shirts to help raise funds for their legal battle. While this hearing is underway, great strides have been made across the pond at Blizzard, as the company officially signed a new agreement between its union and Microsoft earlier this week.

EA has officially been sold, and with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund now the majority shareholder in the video game company, talks are reportedly underway to merge it with Savvy Games Group, the gaming and esports holding company that's also owned by the PIF.

Speaking to Bloomberg, sources said the PIF is aiming to foster "better coordination" between its gaming assets, and the merger could happen once it completes its plan to acquire Chinese mobile gaming company Moonton, a deal valued at $6 billion. The PIF also owns Pokemon Go developer Scopely and game publisher SNK, and it holds sizable stakes in video game publishers like Nintendo, Capcom, and Koei Tecmo.  

The move could face scrutiny from regulators across the globe, however, as this would place several of the biggest gaming franchises in the world under one roof, including EA Sports FC, Battlefield, and mobile juggernauts like Monopoly Go. While EA's acquisition is valued at $55 billion, the massive leveraged buyout has also saddled the game company with billions of debt that needs to be addressed.

The PIF is the majority owner of EA Games, with a 93.4% stake in the company, while its partners Silver Lake and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners, own 5.5% and 1.1% of the company, respectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jsYBULf-qc

Employees fear that massive cost-cutting, projected layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations are on the horizon, as EA may be looking to reach $700 million in cost savings.

Developers at BioWare are already concerned with the future of EA and how the PIF might take issue with the studio developing pro-diversity games featuring inclusive storytelling and characters, which are fears that have been echoed by the developers of The Sims as well.

Everyone is focused on VRR (variable refresh rate) support for Switch 2 while docked. But the latest system update just provided a notable quality-of-life improvement for people--especially families--who own multiple Switch 2 and Switch consoles. Nintendo now allows for you to play a virtual game card on one of your devices without both having to be online. Previously, you'd need both hybrid consoles connected to the internet if you tried to play a digital title while it was "stored" on another.

For example, say your child is playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder on your old Switch OLED, but you want to play it on your Switch 2. You both can actually play the title simultaneously by turning off Wi-Fi on the original hybrid console. Then, on your Switch 2, you can utilize an online license to jump around as the mustached plumber, too. We tested this out successfully. 

This also helps a lot between manually sending virtual game cards back and forth between Switch and Switch 2 systems. Now I can just start say, Blasphemous, on either system without having to actually send it from the previous place to a new one. Sure, it's not as smooth as using apps across Apple devices, but it's a step in the right direction.

Here's Nintendo's official language for the version 23.0.0 update, which incorporates Switch 2 and Switch. "When starting software, if a virtual game card cannot be ejected from another console because it is powered off or otherwise not connected to the internet, there will be a prompt to start the software using an online license."

The one caveat for utilizing the online license is that only the user account that purchased the digital game can play it. So that means your child can't boot up the title with their account if the parent purchased it, which is silly. Nintendo needs to iron out digital ownership for families or come up with a nominal fee for multiple licenses to a game. 

Along with these changes, Nintendo also brought back music to the Mii Maker on Switch 2. In fact, you can choose between the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS tracks. It's been a big week for the house of Mario, with a Legend of Zelda 40th-anniversary Direct as well as a general Nintendo Direct.

28 Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games To Play Right Now View Images

With Sony no longer involved in the production of Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid spiritual successor, Physint, people are wondering why the PlayStation company decided to part ways with the veteran game designer's upcoming game. Xbox has stepped in to rescue the project, resulting in a rare win for Sony's rival. At the same time, Sony is weathering a PR storm brought on by its decision to kill game discs, rising console prices, and more.

Why would it take another loss in the court of public opinion? Reportedly, Kojima's recent games haven't been big earners for Sony, which could be why Sony decided to cease funding for Physint.

According to a Bloomberg report, people familiar with the project have expressed concerns about Physint's development, as it has reportedly missed deadlines and could be going over budget. With Physint potentially being a timed exclusive for PlayStation, it's claimed that the company was reluctant to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a game it would not own.

Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliott also weighed in on the situation, saying, "From a strictly financial perspective, though, I can understand Sony's position. In a vacuum, anyway. PR and optics still matter. Ballpark math: word on the street is that the first Death Stranding cost about $100 million to make, and the second somewhere in the $150 million – $200 million ballpark (longer dev cycle, COVID, and all that). Depending on marketing overhead and the opportunity cost of pulling those Guerrilla developers onto Death Stranding, the franchise has almost certainly broken even--but not by much."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgSHvNF5FzM

As Elliott explained, Sony is becoming increasingly cautious of which projects it funds, as it has experienced several high-profile flops in the PS5 era.

"Margins are the name of the game now," Elliott added, suggesting that recent key misses from PlayStation Studios have made the company more cautious over which big-budget projects it backs. "Over the past few years, scares like Concord (cancelled, $300 million+ down the drain) and softer sales from the likes of Marathon (1.8M sold), Saros ($61 million), Marvel Tokon (725K, $49 million), and Lego Horizon Adventures (under 250K across Steam and PS5, $11 million) seem to be making PlayStation more wary."

As for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Elliott reported that the game has sold 2.5 million copies since launch, across PS5 and PC. Of those sales, 1.8 million were on PS5 and 700,000 came from PC, resulting in $170 million in revenue. And that's probably not good enough for Sony, considering the lengthy development time for the game and the costs of featuring several celebrities in it. To make matters worse, Death Stranding 2 sales have reportedly slowed massively since launch, even with the game discounted to $40.

"Meanwhile, the original Death Stranding has sold about 5 million copies at this point in its lifecycle--though it did have some deep discounts down to $20 in that window," Elliott added.

All of this adds up to what could be a very disappointing investment for Sony, as it published the two Death Stranding games. After a decade, Kojima Productions has released two games that have generated around $413 million in revenue, with the sequel being noticeably less successful than the first. That total is nothing to sneeze at, but considering that Sony as a whole made over $80 billion in revenue during its 2025 financial year, Kojima's games aren't contributing a whole lot to those numbers.

Parting ways with Kojima will likely save Sony money in the interim, but it's not a good look for the company at a time when its reputation continues to take a beating. Xbox pledging to support Physint is a big PR win for Microsoft's gaming division, and a move that could be more valuable as the brand aims to recapture the momentum it once had. 

Logan is sporting a sharp look in Marvel's Wolverine, and if you're a fan of his latest video game incarnation's fashion sense, you can bring him home with this sixth-scale figure. Hot Toys has revealed its official Wolverine figure, which features Logan in his default black-and-yellow "Battle Reborn" battlesuit. As you'd expect, it's not going to be cheap, but you are getting plenty of extras with this figure.

You'll have two options: either a $285 standard figure or a $375 deluxe edition. Both versions feature the same Wolverine body and design, which comes equipped with seamless silicone arms, an internal metal skeleton, and interchangeable components. There's no unmasked headsculpt, but you are getting alternate eye-plates and lower faces that allow you to change up Wolverine's expressions. You can also swap between two sets of cowl wing-flaps to show him off with varying stages of battle damage, and the textured suit is complemented by forearm gauntlets, a utility belt, and soft vinyl material boots.

Looking sharp!

You can even change up Logan's claws with sets of replica Adamantium, scarlet, and diamond blades, and they come with attachable translucent slashing motion effects. Finally, a carved katana ornament earned from the "Last Stand at Cold Pines" storyline mission is also included. If you're looking to create a diorama piece, then you'll want to grab the deluxe version, as it includes a statue bust of Omega Red in the display stand. While he doesn't have any articulation, there are two wire-embedded Carbonadium tentacles that you can coil around Logan.

This isn't the first time that Hot Toys has ventured into the Marvel Universe created by Insomniac Games, as the toy company previously released several Marvel's Spider-Man figures. These included both Spider-Men--Peter Parker and Miles Morales--in their various alternate outfits, including their default threads, Spider-Punk, Spider-Man 2099, and Venomized Suit, to name a few. Hot Toys has also made several Wolverine figures over the years, although these have primarily been focused on the version of the character played by Hugh Jackman in the X-Men and Deadpool movies.

Outside of Marvel, the Video Game Masterpiece line also covers games like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Fortnite, and Marvel Rivals.

It feels like it's the 2021 PS5/Xbox Series X|S shortage all over again, as scalpers have once again begun targeting preorders for limited-edition consoles and accessories. After the 25th-anniversary Xbox Series X sold out within a minute and stock of the new Legend of Zelda-themed Switch 2 console was scooped up in record time, it looks like the next hot commodities are the GTA 6 DualSense controllers. These were recently unveiled, and while they aren't sold out yet, that hasn't stopped scalpers from heading to eBay to sell them at a drastically increased price.

Currently, Sony has the two GTA 6 controller designs listed at an MSRP of $84 each. On eBay, listings have popped up for them, with prices averaging around $140 per sale. Believe it or not, people are actually buying the controllers before they're out, as the white model is currently out of stock. Sony is still listing the black version for preorder on its PlayStation Direct store, but it appears that the white limited-edition controller is the popular choice. What's also worth noting is that these eBay sales go against the site's terms of service, which specifically state that "presale listings must guarantee that the item will be shipped within 40 business days of purchase."

Yes, people are paying above MSRP for a GTA 6 DualSense controller!

These controllers will start shipping out on November 19--the launch day for GTA 6--so each listing is well above the threshold of eBay's sales terms. Of course, that fine text doesn't mean much when eBay isn't even enforcing its own rules. While Sony has released several DualSense variants over the years, it looks like these new entries to the hardware line are benefiting from the hype and momentum of GTA 6 before it hits the scene in November.

Each controller variant features an eye-catching design, ranging from a shimmering, color-shifting finish to palm tree details molded directly into the controller body. Sony hasn't announced a limited-edition GTA 6-themed PS5 yet, but it did launch two very cool versions of the console inspired by its next exclusive game, Marvel's Wolverine. In more GTA 6 news, you can check out how wanted levels work in the game, take a closer look at its (unofficial) launch times, and read up on why the next couple of months on the gaming calendar could be a bloodbath.

Take-Two owns one of the largest entertainment franchises out there in Grand Theft Auto. The newest entry, GTA 6, launches this November. There is enormous hype for the new game, which is expected to sell millions of copies at launch and break records. In short, it's expected to be a once-in-a-decade (if not ever) kind of title. The game is also coming to market with a lot of positive sentiment and excitement. If you're a Take-Two shareholder, however, the past year has been a big bummer. Take-Two's share price has slid about 15% so far this year and is down about the same over the past year, meaning anyone who invested in the past year has lost money (at least on paper; gains or losses are not realized until positions are sold) in the run-up to GTA 6's release in November. 

What's going on here? There are plenty of factors involved in what could be driving Take-Two's stock price down, and plenty of reasons that this could ultimately just be a short-term blip.

Zooming out

First, it's important to zoom out. In the past five years, Take-Two's stock price is up 39%. That is short of the growth of the S&P 500 (+73% over the past five years), but it's still very solid for a single stock in a competitive field. 

Going back even further shows even greater gains for anyone who bought and held Take-Two. For example, after Strauss Zelnick and his team at ZelnickMedia successfully completed a hostile takeover of Take-Two in 2007, the stock exploded in price. Take-Two shares were trading at around $20 back then. Today, Take-Two trades at around $215. When GTA 5 launched in 2013, Take-Two was trading at about $18. Clearly, the stock did gangbusters since then, continuing to surge over the years as Take-Two expanded its portfolio to include numerous other heavy hitters while increasing profitability with microtransactions and recurring revenue.

Lucia and Jason in GTA 6 So why is Take-Two stock down this year?

Take-Two, along with other game companies like Roblox, got hammered in January this year when Google announced its new AI-powered vibe-coding Genie technology, which the company said was capable of building games. Investors freaked out, thinking, or hedging, that an offering like Genie might be able to make competitors or contribute to an environment that eats away at the market share of heavyweight incumbents like Take-Two. Experts said that thesis was obviously wrong, but the market spoke, and Take-Two saw billions in market cap wiped out. Prior to the Genie announcement, Take-Two was trading at a 52-week high of $265, and the company has not recovered since then, at least in terms of its share price. 

Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics told GameSpot, "The stock market largely has no bloody idea what's going on with games." 

"It's fickle and reactive, so trying to reverse-engineer its logic on this stuff rarely works out," he said. "The stock market doesn't really grasp the gravity of a GTA launch, including the cultural weight, the install base, and the years of guaranteed revenue that follow. The negative stock reaction is more to do with headlines about leaks and rumours."

Something else that's playing a role in Take-Two's stock price is the price-to-earnings multiple, or P/E ratio, which Elliott said is "very high." A P/E ratio is determined by the formula of the stock price divided by earnings per share. Having a high P/E ratio suggests investors see significant growth ahead, but with that also comes greater volatility. 

"When a stock is that richly valued, even minor negative news can trigger a pullback, even if consumer demand hasn't actually changed," Elliott explained.

GTA 6 hype isn't juicing the stock

GTA 6 is expected to be an enormous, monumental success. It's reportedly already sold 5+ million copies through preorders, generating more than half a billion dollars. By launch, the game could reach 25 million preorders, bringing in $2 billion in revenue and paying for the game's entire development budget. These are positive signs that sound like they would resonate with investors. 

Rockstar finally lifted the veil on GTA 6 in the most detail yet through an "Extended Look" trailer in partnership with Netflix in August. People ate up the footage, and this event was so positively received that Xbox and PlayStation console orders surged as people sought out a new system to play the game on. Again, that all sounds like a showing of strength that could attract new investors or for existing stock owners to increase their positions. But no, since the GTA 6 Netflix event, Take-Two's stock has only declined further. 

GTA 6 releases in November.

So what gives? The stock market can be fickle. As Jeff Bezos famously said when Amazon's stock was in the toilet, "The stock is not the company and the company is not the stock." The billionaire executive said this when Amazon's stock was diving at the same time that the retail giant's internal numbers were moving in a positive direction. People who held Amazon stock through the market choppiness were handsomely rewarded: Amazon today trades at more than $250/share, which is up 50% in the past five years and up 4,500% since 2010.  

For his part, Elliott told GameSpot that the many GTA 6 leaks, reportedly stemming from a security breach, leading up to the Extended Look trailer on Netflix "rattled a lot of investors." He said investors generally don't like when a company displays a "loss of control over a product," especially one as valuable as GTA 6. Take-Two is undertaking efforts to find the person or people responsible for the GTA 6 leaks, but as of yet, no one has been identified. GTA 6 also suffered a major breach in 2022, with Take-Two eventually finding the person responsible.

Big banks generally agree that Take-Two today is oversold--a stock that consensus says is dropping too fast and not in line with business fundamentals--with numerous analysts issuing "Buy" ratings and lofty price targets for the stock. JP Morgan, for example reiterated a Buy rating with a price target of $310. Bank of America, meanwhile, held its Buy rating for Take-Two and issued an even richer price target of $368. A Wells Fargo stock analyst is also bullish, with a $293 price target. In short, the stock analyst consensus is that Take-Two has significant upside potential, making it an attractive investment in the lead-up to GTA 6's release.

How can Take-Two get there?

Rockstar and Take-Two have so far only discussed GTA 6's single-player mode. In fact, the game is being officially marketed to consumers as a "single-player experience." But everyone knows that GTA 6 will eventually have an online multiplayer mode given the enormous commercial success of GTA Online. A recent leak said GTA Online generates more than $1 million per day, and that's today, some 13 years after the game launched. 

In 2014, Zelnick referred to GTA Online as "the gift that keeps on giving" as it relates to ongoing spending via microtransactions. In short, it's a cash cow, and a high-margin one at that. While fans wait to hear what Rockstar may have in store for GTA 6 with regards to online support, the existing GTA Online is expected to have another banger year in 2026. Bank of America recently raised its GTA Online revenue forecast by a whopping $900 million to $2.2 billion for fiscal 2026 due in part to GTA 6's release having a positive halo effect on GTA Online. 

GTA 6 is coming to market with enormous hype behind it.

Elliott went on to say rumors of a possible delay for GTA 6's online mode "created short-term panic" among Take-Two investors, which contributed to the lagging share price. "This is a stock that's already been burned by delays twice, so any whiff of another is ringing alarm bells," he said.

To be sure, GTA 6's online has not been delayed, at least not publicly, in part because it hasn't even been announced yet. Analysts should not be surprised that GTA 6 won't launch with an online mode, though, as Rockstar employed a similar strategy with both GTA Online and Red Dead Online--neither of those games launched alongside their single-player experiences. 

It remains to be seen how GTA 6 Online could be monetized, but Rockstar has already shown signs that it is taking steps to make more money per user on GTA 6. To begin with, GTA 6's base edition is $80, which is $20 more than what GTA 5 cost at launch in 2013. Then there is GTA 6's $100 Ultimate Edition, which includes exclusive content. 

Rockstar and Take-Two also stand to make more money on GTA 6 because the game will not be sold on a disc anywhere, thereby allowing the company to capture more profit by virtue of lower fees paid to other sources. GTA 6 will still be sold in stores, but only the $80 edition will be available, and it only comes with a code in a box. The $100 Ultimate Edition, meanwhile, is seemingly bypassing retail entirely, as no retailers have any listings for it.

GTA is a small piece of Take-Two

Take-Two may be best known for the GTA franchise, but it's a highly diversified company. Take-Two has 15 franchises with individual titles that have sold more than 5 million units, including GTA and Red Dead, of course, along with NBA 2K, Borderlands, BioShock, Mafia, and Civilization, just to name a few. Additionally, Take-Two owns Farmville developer Zynga, and its franchises have collectively exceeded 10 billion downloads. Other factors potentially contributing to downward pressure on Take-Two's stock could be Civilization 7 and Borderlands 4 seemingly missing sales targets, at least initially, while Take-Two still hasn't provided specifics on what's coming next for some of its other giant franchises, BioShock and Mafia, to name a few. Then there are also the general macroeconomic factors that are putting pressure on stocks across the entire market. 

The GTA franchise at Take-Two accounts for less than 15% of the company's total revenue, though that number is for a typical quarter--when GTA 6 launches, it will significantly increase. Many industry watchers, including CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, have observed that news about GTA tends to push Take-Two's stock up or down. Zelnick pushed back and said Take-Two mainly trades on its earnings, and that may be true in the long term, but it's also true that after Rockstar delayed GTA 6 to November 2026, Take-Two's share price dove. 

But, again, the stock market is fickle. There is a famous Benjamin Graham saying that posits, “In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.” 

This means, in essence, that a stock's price can fluctuate--sometimes wildly--based on emotional trading on news events like, say, GTA 6 getting delayed, even though everyone knows the game is still coming out and is expected to be one of the biggest entertainment releases ever. However, a company's core fundamentals--including cash flow, revenue, and profits--will ultimately determine the "true" value of a stock. Elliott told GameSpot that he believes the Take-Two sell-off in the past year has been an example of this.

"The thing that matters for the bottom line--that GTA 6 will be the biggest entertainment release ever--barely registers day to day for many."

Zelnick said expectations for GTA 6 are, naturally, "very, very high." However, he admitted that if GTA 6 doesn't live up to the hype or commercial expectations, "We still have an enormous business in mobile, console, and PC, outside of all things Grand Theft Auto. We have diversified the company meaningfully."

Both of Nintendo's Switch consoles have been cursed with deafening silence in their menus and eShops. But the latest version 23.0.0 update for the Switch 2 at least injects a little bit of personality and nostalgia into one of the platform's menus, bringing back music for the Mii Maker.

When you create a Mii in the Switch 2's system settings, the familiar Mii Channel music from the Wii now plays in the background. A music settings button on the top left also lets you change the track to the 3DS or Wii U Mii Maker music (the tracks are generically named "Track 1," Track 2," and "Track 3").

Certain Nintendo fans feel that the company's platforms have lost some of their soul with the lack of music and visual themes, so this update, as small as it is, can be taken as a nice gesture.

https://bsky.app/profile/wario64.bsky.social/post/3mv5dxaruok2a

Unfortunately, both Switch platforms are still without any eShop background music or visual themes. Nintendo omitted these menu elements for the first Switch to save processing power and allow users to quickly navigate the UI to start their games. At the very least, it seems like the Switch 2 has some extra juice to accommodate some Mii music.

The Switch 2 firmware update allows users to share their Miis through QR codes. While Miis might not be as big a deal for Nintendo as they were in the Mii days, the cartoony avatars are still very much a part of modern games like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and the upcoming Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.

Version 23.0.0 also adds a quick setting for the Switch 2's handheld boost mode and support for variable refresh rate. Finally, the patch includes "stability improvements," as per tradition.

A big new military FPS, Wardogs (not to be confused with the 2016 Jonah Hill/Miles Teller crime-comedy War Dogs) launched today in early access on Steam, and it's off to a hot start. The shooter reached 300,000 peak concurrent users on Steam right out of the gate and the $40 game is currently Steam's No. 1 best-seller. Pretty impressive for a game that the developer told you not to buy.

Given the flood of players, developer Bulkhead instituted a server queue system, and this quickly became something of a meme on social media. Players shared screenshots of the queue and their place in it--some people reported having more than 300,000 people in line in front of them. Yeesh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpQnZgZCIo8

Bulkhead responded to the brutal queueing situation, saying it was partly due to the developer being "rate limited." The company said it was working with Valve to resolve this limit and get an increase in line with "larger titles."

Things got worse, temporarily albeit, for some, as Bulkhead made the decision to kick everyone from the queue as a fix that, in theory, would help more players get into the game faster.

Bulkhead boss Joe Brammer gave an update on the queuing situation, saying the queue itself is not "specifically broken," but instead he said Wardogs didn't get the kind of treatment that AAA games receive when it comes to rate limits.

"Hang in there," Brammer said.

https://twitter.com/Brammflakes/status/2098101353595724112

That wasn't the extent of the launch-day issues, as people reported getting banned for seemingly no reason. Bulkhead said it's aware of these "incorrect bans" and is working to address them immediately.

Wardogs is a large-scale military FPS featuring 100 players, divided into three teams, on a map battling it out in a fictional version of Eastern Europe.

In addition to launching Wardogs into early access, Bulkhead revealed that the game's console edition for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be released in 2028.

The next wave of monthly games for Amazon Luna has been revealed, and if you're a fan of first-person shooters, then you're in for a treat. The headline act is Doom Eternal, or if you'd prefer your guns to be chatterboxes, you can also grab the delightfully weird High on Life. Luna members can also stream Star Wars Outlaws later this month for open-world action set in a galaxy far (far!) away, or they can explore the alien world of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora right now. 

Sign up for Amazon Prime

Several new GameNight titles will also be available throughout the month, so if you're in the mood for some social gaming, you can check out kaiju-powered board game fun in King of Tokyo, test your general knowledge in Quiz Time: Guinness World Records, aim for a strike in Bowling Mayhem, and explore Cranium Planet.

As part of its September update, Amazon Luna is also introducing a Remote Play feature. This will allow people to play games together--even if they aren’t in the same room--and it should work nicely with the multiplayer titles featured in the Luna streaming library.

As a reminder, all of the free games that you claim through Amazon Luna are yours to keep forever, even if your subscription expires. If you aren’t a member, you can sign up for Amazon Luna for as little as $15 for one month to take advantage of the subscription and its freebies.

As mentioned above, you can download some pretty good action games, and if you want to experience the formative years of Doom, you can also check out the first two games in the franchise. Botany Manor is also recommended as it offers both a chance to flex your brain muscles and your green thumb. Rims Racing is a rock-solid motorbike simulator, and Just Die Already is an "old people mayhem sandbox game" from the team behind the Goat Simulator series. Several of these games are already available to claim, and the rest will roll out in weekly waves.

Amazon Luna Free Games For September 2026 Doom Eternal September 3

• War Hospital (Epic Games Store)
• Just Die Already (Epic Games Store)

September 10

• Drop Duchy (Epic Games Store)
• Doom + Doom 2 (GOG Code)
• Botany Manor (Epic Games Store)

September 17

• Doom Eternal (Microsoft Code)
• Rims Racing (Epic Games Store)
• Wall World 2 Amazon Games App)

September 24

• Hue (Epic Games Store)
• The Da Vinci Cryptex (Legacy Games Code)
• High on Life (Epic Games Store)

New games being added to Amazon Luna Standard for September 2026

• Star Wars Outlaws
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

New GameNight games for September 2026 Now available

• King of Tokyo
• It's Quiz Time: Guinness World Records

Coming soon

• Bowling Mayhem
• Cranium Planet

As part of its September update, Amazon Luna introduced a Remote Play feature that lets people play games together, even if they aren't in the same room.

If you haven't heard of it, Luna is Amazon's cloud gaming service for Prime subscribers that lets them access and play a catalog of games without the need for a console or PC. While some Luna games have had multiplayer features, you previously needed to be in the same room with others to play those titles.

Remote Play intends to solve that by letting Amazon Prime and Luna Premium subscribers invite up to seven others into their sessions. These other players won't need an Amazon Prime subscription to use Remote Play, although they will need to use Luna's website or TV app. Of course, you'll now be relying on the smooth internet connections of even more players to comfortably use Remote Play, but the same goes for similar features on PS5 or Nintendo Switch 2.

The logo for Amazon Luna

To promote Remote Play, Amazon also released two new multiplayer-focused games today. One is a digital version of the board game King of Tokyo, while the other is It's Quiz Time: Guinness World Records, a competitive trivia game. Later in September, it will add the motion-controlled Bowling Mayhem and Pictionary-like Cranium Planet to the game catalog. Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora were also added to the Luna Standard game lineup today, although those are single-player games.

This Remote Play update is one of the most substantial additions to Amazon Luna in some time, and it arrives in a month that hasn't been so great for cloud gaming. Last week, Xbox confirmed it will limit Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to just 15 hours of cloud gaming a month and make them pay extra for anything beyond that.

As Amazon Luna is included with Prime and just got this Remote Play feature, that makes it a little bit more alluring as a cloud gaming option.