The Fortnite Battle Royale island looks a bit different in Chapter 6 Season 4, and that's largely thanks to an invasion of insect-like aliens that has taken over the middle part of the map in the new season. Where we typically have human or human-like NPCs to contend with as we battle other players, this season it's all about the bugs.

There are three major locations in particular that the bugs currently dominate: Ranger's Ruin, Demon's Debris, and, of course, The Hive. All three of those locations are full of bugs and bug stuff, and they're each governed by a bug queen who runs the local colony. Killing the queen will grant a mythic weapon and one of the new medallions, but unlike most past NPC bosses, the bug queens aren't just sitting around waiting to be murdered. You'll need to draw it out. And to do that, you'll need to find Hive Stashes.

What's a Hive Stash?

A Hive Stash, pictured above, is essentially just a new type of chest that is only found in bug-infested areas, and they're basically like rare blue chests but with added bonuses like a guaranteed boon. In any of the three locations listed above, opening Hive Stashes will anger the local queen--open enough of them while battling the little bugs, and the Queen will pop up for a boss battle.

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Elden Ring Nightreign just introduced an option for two-player duos, and now it looks like a new, more mysterious mode could be coming to developer From Software's multiplayer experiment: a ranked mode.

Dataminers on Reddit (via PC Gamer) who have combed through the files of the latest Nightreign update have revealed what looks to be a new mode that could come to the game in the future. It's called the Deep of Night and appears to be a ranked mode of sorts where victory can increase a player's rating, unlocking more challenging Depths in the process.

Elden Ring Nightreign new mode: Deep of Night
byu/Adminisitrator inu_Adminisitrator

"Victory will increase your rating, burnishing your Depth," a datamined description for the mode reads. "The darkness extends unto infinity."

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Fortnite has made an annual tradition out of adding horror icons as skins each October when spooky season rolls in. Last year it was Leatherface and Billy the Puppet, the year before that it was Michael Myers and Jack Skellington, and the year before that brought us Ash Williams. But it's looking like those lineups might pale in comparison to what's in store for us this year, as dataminers have collected evidence that both Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th and Ghostface from Scream will be coming for us all during this year's Fortnitemares in October.

While no one has actually seen these alleged Ghostface and Jason Voorhees skins, some compelling evidence was found in the Fortnite game files with the new season update. For Jason, leakers found references to a new medallion named after him, which is pretty clear cut. The evidence is slightly more circumspect for Ghostface--there's data about a new mythic item called a "Stalker Knife" which seems very much like it would fit with a Scream collab. That could instead be related to the existing Michael Myers collab, but Fortnite usually reserves new mythics for new collabs, not returning ones.

Regardless of what the reality actually is, it'll probably be a couple months before these rumors are officially confirmed or shut down, since Fortnitemares won't start until October anyway. In the meantime, though, there's plenty of new content to consume in Fortnite, what with the simultaneous launches of the new seasons of Battle Royale and OG. Battle Royale in particular is experiencing a massive vibe shift as it moves from the superhero-themed season that just ended to an invasion of bugs and very large worm creatures. Catch up on the new loot pool, map changes, and everything else Season 4 is adding to BR with the gallery below.

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Amazon has revealed the PC games that'll be coming to Prime Gaming in August, and this month, you can enjoy some all-time classics, interesting reboots, and a few casual games.

Strategy fans can pick up Civilization 3 right now, and it's one of the best games in the series. Released back in 2001, it made some impactful changes to the gameplay, and this edition also includes the expansions Play the World and Conquests.

Shifting to the dark streets of a steampunk world, you can also check out the 2014 reboot of Thief. While it didn't live up to the standard set by the older games, Thief still had moments of genius woven into its design, and the stealth gameplay was rock-solid. Sure, the map design was clunky at best--and it suffered from various technical issues--but a decade later, it's worth checking out and adding a few mods from the fan community to this game about five-finger discounts.

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Microsoft's wave of game cancellations continues today with the news that Just Cause developer Avalanche's day-one Game Pass release Contraband has been cancelled. Citing sources, this was first confirmed by reporter Jason Schreier.

Announced in 2021, Contraband was described as a "co-op smuggler's paradise" set in a fictional world in the '70s. The announcement trailer used Steely Dan's "Do It Again," which debuted in the early '70s.

The reported cancellation of Contraband comes not long after Microsoft laid off 9,000 people, including cuts to Xbox that led the other game cancellations and at least one studio closure.

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Devolver Digital and developer Kenny Sun revealed that Ball X Pit will launch October 15 at today's Nintendo Indie World presentation. The action roguelite will be available day one on Game Pass, as well as PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch. The Vampire Survivors and Loop Hero-inspired game will arrive on Switch 2 later this year.

Ball X Pit was featured earlier this year at the Steam Next Fest in June, and there's still a free demo to check out on Steam. The game features over 60 different balls to use (and fuse) to blast baddies. Plus, when enemies are hit, numbers bounce off the top of them.

When players aren't venturing through autoscrolling levels, you're rebuilding Ballbylon in Ball X Pit. There are over 70 building units to construct a new community. Doing so leads to acquiring power-ups, bonuses, and even new characters.

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The video game division of Warner Bros. might not be what it once was, but there's no denying that the company has published some fantastic games over the years. If you're feeling nostalgic and looking to score an incredible bargain on several excellent PC games from the publisher, you'll want to check out Humble's WB: Play The Legends Game Bundle deal. The bundle features up to 16 of WB's best games, including the excellent Batman Arkham series, multiple Mortal Kombat games, underrated gems like Mad Max and FEAR, and more. A portion of all purchases are dontate directly to the Raiden Science Foundation charity, which funds medical research to find cures for rare diseases that impact children.

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Humble's WB: Play The Legends Game Bundle deal offers two pricing tiers, and the more you pay, the more games you get. The base $7 tier includes seven games, including Game of the Year Editions of the first two games in developer Rocksteady's beloved Batman Arkham series, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. You also get the series' recent spiritual successor, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. You also get excellent fighting games Mortal Kombat XL and Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition--both of which are packed with extra content, including Predator, the Xenomorph, and Leatherface bonus fighters in Mortal Kombat XL.

The $7 tier is rounded out with the open-world action game Mad Max, and the episodic brawler Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 1 and 2, which retells the story of the acclaimed graphic novel from the perspectives of Rorschach and Nite Owl.

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Nintendo Switch OLED with White Joy-Con

$299 | New MSRP: $400

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Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controller (2-Pack)

$69 | New MSRP: $90

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Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

$69 | New MSRP: $80

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The Nintendo Switch OLED is on sale for $299 at Walmart. Up until a few days ago, this would have been a $50 discount. Not bad, but not terribly exciting either. But earlier this week, Nintendo increased the prices on Nintendo Switch hardware and select accessories. The new Switch console prices included all three of legacy consoles, with the Switch OLED seeing the largest increase by moving from $350 to $400. That puts the Switch OLED just $50 shy of the Switch 2. So, if you want a Switch OLED, now seems like a good time to buy one. You can also get an extra pair of Joy-Con Controllers for $69 (new MSRP is $90) and the Switch Pro Controller for $69 (new price is $80).

Nintendo Switch OLED with White Joy-Con $299 | New MSRP: $400

This edition of the Nintendo Switch OLED comes with a pair of white Joy-Con Controllers, matching white wrist straps, a black Joy-Con grip, and the upgraded dock set with an HDMI cable and AC adapter. The Switch OLED, as the name suggests, still has one thing going for it that is objectively better than the Switch 2: OLED. The 7-inch OLED panel produces a more vibrant color range with deeper blacks and better contrast.

If you want a Nintendo console in 2025, the Switch 2 is clearly the better choice, especially when thinking about the next few years. That said, if you don't want to spend $450-$500, the new Nintendo console owners will have enough games to keep them busy for years to come. The Switch library is arguably the best in Nintendo's storied history, and if you want to play in handheld mode, the Switch OLED's screen is markedly better than the regular Switch's 6.2-inch LCD display or the Switch Lite's 5.5-inch display.

At $299, the Switch OLED is selling for the regular Switch's old MSRP. The regular Switch now costs $340, while the Switch Lite jumped from $200 to $230.

See at Walmart Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controller (2-Pack) $69 | New MSRP: $90

Just like the Switch OLED deal, the discount on the Neon Purple/Orange Joy-Con Controllers at Amazon and Walmart would have been a deal even before the price increase. Prior to this month, a two-pack retailed for $80. Now the MSRP of Joy-Con Controllers is $90. The Switch 2 Joy-Con price for a set moved from $95 to $100--though Amazon is selling pairs for $95 still.

The original Switch Joy-Con work on Switch 2, just not in handheld mode since they are smaller and connect to the console differently. You'll get wrist straps for each controller in the box, but if you want to use them together in docked mode, you'll want to buy an extra grip attachment. You can get PowerA's officially licensed Comfort Grip for $10.88 at Amazon.

Amazon also has three other pairs of Joy-Con Controllers for $80 or less.

• Neon Purple/Orange Switch Joy-Con (2-Pack) -- $69 ($90)
• Pastel Pink/Yellow Switch Joy-Con (2-Pack) -- $77 ($90)
• Pastel Purple/Green Switch Joy-Con (2-Pack) -- $80 ($90)
• Neon Red/Blue Switch Joy-Con (2-Pack) -- $80 ($90)

See at Amazon See at Walmart Nintendo Switch Pro Controller $69 | New MSRP: $80

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller remains the best conventional controller for the original Switch. It offers superb ergonomics and all of the features found in Joy-Con: HD Rumble, motion controls, an NFC reader for Amiibo figures.

The Switch Pro Controller is also a solid choice for Switch 2, and many Switch 2 owners are certainly still using it to play games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World. That said, the Switch 2 Pro Controller is markedly better, namely because of improved sticks and the addition of remappable back buttons. I will say that I personally prefer the overall feel of original, though. The new model has a matte finish that feels somewhat slick compared to the textured grip on the original.

Multiple retailers have raised the price of the Pro Controller to $80, so you'll want to grab this soon if you're interested. The Switch 2 Pro Controller's price increased to $90, reducing the gap between MSRPs to only $10.

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Diablo 4's community Campfire Chats will receive changes going forward in an effort to "better serve players."

Since before Diablo 4's launch, Blizzard has regularly hosted Campfire Chats to discuss what's coming in future seasons, feature improvements, and balance changes. Now, it looks like Blizzard will be making some major changes to the livestream's format.

S10 PTR is still a few weeks out. We are doing a big revamp for streams going forward to change up the format. Will have some adjustments on how we do PTR streams as well.

The streams need some adjustments after a few years and been wanting to readjust to better serve players…

— Adam Fletcher (@PezRadar) August 2, 2025

Adam Fletcher, Diablo's director of social and content marketing, said in a reply on X that the Season 10 public-test realm is still a "few weeks out," and so is its corresponding Campfire Chat livestream. But when the Season 10 Campfire Chat does arrive, it sounds like it will be different than what fans have become accustomed to.

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During this year's Summer Game Fest, SMG Studio, the Lego Group, and Frictions revealed their upcoming party game, Lego Party. The five exclusive preorder Lego bonus playable figures were shared shortly thereafter. Now, SMG Studio has revealed when players can get their hands on the game.

Lego Party will officially launch on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on September 30. There's also a new trailer for the game to go with that announcement.

Lego Party was apparently inspired by Nintendo's Mario Party games, and this title follows a very similar formula. Up to four players can join in on the fun as they travel to four different levels inspired by Lego Ninjago, Lego Pirates, and Lego Space. There are also 60 different minigames, including a jump rope-like game involving an octopus' tentacle and a unicycle race.

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Blumhouse Games' next title, Eyes of Hellfire, is getting an open beta starting today before heading to early access on Steam near the end of the month. And players won't have to face the horrors of the Hellfire Club alone. Blumhouse and developer Gambrinous have announced that Eyes of Hellfire will take advantage of Steam's Friend's Pass, which lets players join the co-op horror title as long as one of them has a copy of the game.

Gambrinous is an Irish developer, and Eyes of Hellfire dives into some Irish folklore as it traps up to five players inside of the Hellfire Club's lodge. The goal of the game is to work together to solve puzzles and escape while also freeing each player from their respective curses. Ghosts and other violent apparitions stand in their way, and players may have to look over their shoulders with each other as well. That's because there's an option for players to betray one another in the name of their own survival.

The Hellfire Club lodge's host is also working towards his own agenda despite his relatively friendly tone towards the player characters. That may force players to decide whether they can trust the host or each other when their lives are on the line.

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We live in an era of unmitigated excess and constant suppression. The wide proliferation of machine learning image generation means that anyone can make creepy porn of their celebrity of choice. Expressions like "gooning" are widespread slang. Games like Marvel Rivals and Street Fighter 6 sell themselves on their pin-up characters. Meanwhile, books for children and teens like Genderqueer and All Boys Aren't Blue are banned for being "pornographic." In July, the UK introduced an age-verification requirement for internet access, ostensibly protecting kids, but mostly violating the privacy of adults. All these things, though disparate, represent a siloing of acceptable eroticism and thereby a siloing of life and art.

Independent video games are the latest front of this suppression. In July 2025, anti-porn non-profit Collective Shout pushed multiple payment processors to stop facilitating payments for some "adult titles" from Steam and Itch.io. In an attempt to halt the immediate loss of business, Steam removed Itch de-indexed thousands of not-safe-for-work games from the storefront. To be clear, this means removed from search results--the games in-question are still available if you can find them. On August 1, Itch re-indexed free NSFW games, sidestepping the participation of payment processors altogether. The quick changes have led to no shortage of confusion.

Mastercard has since denied its direct involvement in Itch's mass de-listing, stating, "Mastercard has not evaluated any game or required restrictions of any activity on game creator sites and platforms, contrary to media reports and allegations." The statement did claim that Mastercard “require[s] merchants to have appropriate controls to ensure Mastercard cards cannot be used for unlawful purchases, including illegal adult content.” Mastercard did not clarify whether any of the games removed from Steam were illegal. Additionally, Valve contradicted its account, stating that Mastercard communicated through payment processors and acquiring banks.

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Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 4 has set everyone back to level 1, and the grind to complete the battle pass and unlock all its cosmetics has begun once more. But according to dataminers, that grind is going to be a little bit slower this season, with Epic reportedly making it so players now learn less passive XP, which is XP that you periodically receive just by playing.

NEW XP VALUES (They nerfed all lol)
Creative: 3350 XP -> 2300 XP
Lego Odyssey: 3475 XP -> 2250 XP
Reload: 2350 XP -> 1200 XP
OG: 650 XP -> REMOVED
Ballistic: 2950 XP -> 1750 XP
Lego Brick Life: 3475 XP -> 2250 XP
BR: Still REMOVED
Jam Stage: 3850 XP -> 2300 XP
Lego… pic.twitter.com/6cPDm5bCXb

— SpushFNBR (@SpushFNBR) August 7, 2025

The amounts listed in the tweet are XP per minute for each mode, with most modes losing 30-50% of the passive XP rates they offered in Season 3, while OG has had its passive XP removed entirely. Standard Battle Royale had its passive XP removed last week, with someone apparently jumping the gun on that one.

This change may not look or feel great at first, but there are a couple reasons why this change isn't as impactful as you might initially think. First is that other sources of XP, like completing quests and defeating enemies, are still intact, so there's still plenty of XP to be had.

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As part of the Nintendo Indie World event, Pine Creek Games debuted a new trailer for Winter Burrow and confirmed a launch window, which includes when it'll be available on Game Pass as a day-one new release.

Winter Burrow will launch some point this winter on Switch, Xbox Game Pass, and Steam. There is no word yet on a PlayStation release for Winter Burrow.

Described as a "cozy woodland survival game," Winter Burrow tells the story of a city mouse returning home to restore the burrow in which they grew up that's now in ruins. Players will do lots of cozy stuff, including knitting warm sweaters for winter and baking pies, along with hanging out with locals and gathering resources to craft.

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Sony's live-service video game releases haven't all succeeded like Helldivers 2 did, with Concord being a particularly high-profile failure. Sony CFO Lin Tao said during the company's earnings briefing this week that "it's not entirely going smoothly" as it relates to live-service games. But Tao pointed out that Sony has come a long way in the past half-decade.

"If you look five years ago, live-service games were almost non-existent for PlayStation Studios," Tao said, as reported by This Week In Video Games. "In terms of the transformation, it's not entirely going smoothly, but from a longer-term perspective, if you look at the changes over five years, you see that there has definitely been change."

Tao went on to say that Sony is still working through "many issues" in its pursuit of live-service games. "So we should learn lessons from mistakes and make sure that we introduce live-service content, where there's less waste and it's more smooth," Tao said.

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The next entry in EA's annual hockey game series, EA Sports NHL 26, arrives on September 12. We still don't have full details about the upcoming game, but it's looking to introduce a few new gameplay changes, including updated movement using the ICE-Q 2.0 tech, reworked Be A Pro mode, and new HUT Seasons and team-building mechanics. The game will be available for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but is skipping out on a PC and Switch 2 release. Nevertheless, PS5 and Xbox players can preorder the game now. EA Sports NHL 26 is available in multiple physical and digital versions, and preordering gets you a bunch of extra in-game content and digital bonuses. You can even get 7-day early access by preordering the Deluxe Edition.

EA Sports NHL 26 Preorder BonusesEA Sports NHL 26 Preorder Bonuses

EA Sports NHL 26 preorder bonuses differ between each version. However, there are a few bonuses you get regardless of which edition you choose, including:

• HUT NHL Player Pack
• Matthew Tkachuk 99 OVR (NHL 25)
• World of Chel Battle Pass XP Boost (x2)

These bonuses are included for everyone who preorders the standard or Digital Deluxe Editions. Keep in mind that the Matthew Tkachuk 99 OVR is for ES Sports NHL 25, not the upcoming NHL 26, but it can be redeemed immediately.

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Near the beginning of July, Microsoft unleashed a new round of layoffs and game cancellations, including Project Blackbird, an action-RPG MMO from The Elder Scrolls Online team at ZeniMax. Now, a report has shared several previously unknown details about Project Blackbird and its story, which will likely never be finished.

True Achievements has posted an in-depth report about Project Blackbird, which sounds like it would have incorporated elements from Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny, and Warframe. Players would have assumed the role of a fully customizable human cyborg known as a Revenant. The game was set on a remote world called Soteria in a floating capital megacity called Exodus that was ruled by a sentient AI called PAN. It would have also featured five different alien syndicates to contend with, as well as numerous other species from across the galaxy.

The game's primary story had noirish overtones as PAN tasks the player's character to solve the murder of a high-profile figure in Exodus. PAN would also give players numerous side missions to keep the peace in Exodus without letting any of the alien syndicates overpower the rest. The syndicates themselves would also offer players assignments that furthered their goals within the power struggle to control Exodus.

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Battlefield 6 may reinvigorate the long-running first-person shooter franchise, but you'll have to be able to play it before you can know if you like it. If you've booted the game up to see an error message telling you to turn on Secure Boot, then chances are you haven't had an opportunity to dive into any warfare quite yet.

Simply put, Secure Boot is a setting turned on through your BIOS that adds an additional layer of protection when booting up your PC. Battlefield 6 absolutely requires you to have it turned on before you can load the game. So, unless you want to stare at an error code rather than operate a tank, we'll need to walk you through how to enable this setting.

If you're a techie who builds your own PCs, you may have an idea of how to turn on Secure Boot already. But for the average gamer with less computer knowledge, accessing the BIOS can sound as daunting as hacking a mainframe. Worry not, though--here's a step-by-step process for turning on Secure Boot.

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In an era where cross-platform releases between Microsoft and Sony are more common, Helldivers 2 is one of the rare PlayStation-published properties heading to Xbox Series X|S. But while another PlayStation exclusive in MLB The Show made the jump between platforms due to an external party (in that case, MLB itself), the big move to launch Helldivers 2 on Xbox was entirely on Sony, according to a key figure behind the game.

Shams Jorjani, the CEO of Helldivers developer Arrowhead Game Studios, gave credit to Sony in a Discord message (per Windows Central). Replying to a thankful message from a fan, Jorjani replied: "It was all PlayStation. Send them your thanks! We were all in support of course."

Xbox players (and even PlayStation fans) heavily advocated for a version of Helldivers 2 on Xbox since the game's launch, but the prospect appeared unlikely at the time. While Microsoft-owned games such as Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 5 were making it to PlayStation 5, the inverse wasn't happening. Finally bringing Helldivers 2 on Xbox should increase the game's player count and grow its existing community, a prospect that excites the game's fanbase.

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Doom: The Dark Ages Physical Edition Deals

$45 (was $70)

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Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller

$74 (was $80)

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Doom Anthology Deals

Save 50% or more

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Doom: The Dark Ages is on sale for its best price since launching back in May. PS5 owners can grab the physical edition for $45 at Amazon and Best Buy, which is $25 off the game's normal $70 price. The Xbox Series X physical edition is discounted to $49 at Walmart.

The Doom-themed, limited-edition Xbox Wireless Controller is in stock and on sale for $74 (was $80) at Walmart. Amazon previously sold the controller for this price as well, but the online retailer has since sold out. You can also save big on Doom Anthology at Amazon and Woot. For some new and upcoming Doom-related collectibles, check out the Doom Slayer and Doom Slayer Atlan Elite Edition Action Figures from McFarlane Toys.

Take a look at all of the Doom: The Dark Ages deals below.

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