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Fable Reboot Delay Was Disappointing To The Devs, But Avoiding GTA 6 Makes Sense
The Fable reboot from Playground Games was planned for release this year, but Microsoft delayed it to February 2027, and the reason for the delay was to give the game the attention it deserves.
That's according to Playground GM Ralph Fulton, who told GamesRadar that there was "a little bit of disappointment" when the game was delayed because the studio was "gunning" for a 2026 release. The developers got "really focused" on hitting the 2026 release.
However, now that the developers have had time to "digest," they can "absolutely see the benefits" of the delay, Fulton said. One of those benefits? Not having to compete with GTA 6.
"First of all, moving out of that really congested period towards the end of this year, obviously avoiding Grand Theft Auto. And honestly, the thing I love about it now, and the thing I've tried to sell the team on, is going in February, having a much less contested window allows us the opportunity to go out and really make a moment for ourselves, and I think the attention this game deserves," he said.
People are expecting GTA 6 to "blot out the sun," and because of that, the game doesn't have much competition in November. It doesn't have no competition, though, as Godzilla and Barbie aren't afraid of launching near GTA 6.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0z3ThIb-3wFable is now releasing on February 23, but people who pay extra can start playing on February 18. More details about the game were divulged at Summer Game Fest, including how Hayley Atwell will play the villain.
The game will be available on Xbox Game Pass day one. Eidos Montreal is co-developing the new Fable alongside Playground.
The Number Of Steam Next Fest Demos This Month Is Too Damn High
As Not-E3 season starts to wind down and everyone's wishlist starts to look crowded with games scheduled for September and October, the next big event on the calendar is Steam Next Fest. The second of three planned week-long demo showcases for 2026, Next Fest is positioned to provide an early taste of upcoming games across a wide variety of genres. The demo showcase has grown in the years since it was first introduced, and the June 2026 edition has ballooned to a truly ridiculous size, with 4,931 demos being featured at the time of writing.
Normally, having too many free game demos to play is a great problem to have, but with Next Fest, the sheer number of participating games feels like overkill. It's worth noting that the original goal of Next Fest was for each demo to only be available to play for the week of the event, but it's not unusual to see these early slices of game remain in place long after the Steam event wraps up. It's also not unusual for these demos to go live before Next Fest even begins, and plenty of these demos have also been around for a while before they got a quick rebranding.
https://bsky.app/profile/kriswbennett.co.uk/post/3mnzbtpjlok2uPrepare for some choice paralysis, because the only way to experience everything that Next Fest has to offer would be to forego sleep for a week and work out a way to complete a game demo once every 122 seconds. Or if you really like what you're sampling off of Steam, you can just replay the same demo for as long as it's live--or wonder if certain game demos should even be eligible.
Beyond Next Fest, several more Steam events have been dated for June and beyond. The Steam Summer Sale kicks off on June 25 and runs through July 9. Choo-choo fans can check out Train Fest starting July 20, and Cyberpunk Fest is shining a spotlight on neon-soaked sci-fi games. Later in the year, the Steam Autumn Sale will run for one week starting October 1, and the Steam Winter Sale is scheduled to start on December 17.
World Cup 2026 Sim By EA Sports Predicts An Expected Winner
The 2026 Men's World Cup begins today, June 11, and EA Sports has announced the result of its simulation for this year, predicting which team will win.
This year, the simulation has Spain winning the World Cup, capturing its second World Cup victory on the men's side and first since 2010. EA's simulation has been correct for the past four Men's World Cups, previously predicting Spain (2010), Germany (2014), France (2018) and Argentina (2022).
The simulation hasn't been wrong since 2006, when it picked the Czech Republic to win. That year's simulation was very wrong, as the Czech Republic didn't make it out of the group stage.
https://twitter.com/EASPORTSFC/status/2063274777335214273According to ESPN, this year's simulation also found that 18-year-old Lamine Yamal of Spain will be the tournament's overall top goal-scorer in his first World Cup and that the United States team will likely get eliminated in the round of 16.
EA Sports no longer has the FIFA license, so you won't see any official World Cup branding in the newest game, EA Sports FC 26. Instead, the game recently got a "World's Game" update featuring a 48-team tournament mode that is legally distinct from the World Cup but is effectively the same.
If you're interested in an officially licensed FIFA World Cup game, Netflix just launched a new game that will be updated as the tournament unfolds.
Stranger Than Heaven’s Combat System Makes Both Your Hands Play Separate Roles
Like a Dragon and Yakuza developer RGG Studio has built its gangland dramas around a very distinct combat core over the years, but with its upcoming game Stranger Than Heaven, the studio is introducing a brand-new way to bang knuckles.
At Summer Game Fest, we got to go hands-on with the Yakuza prequel, which spans 50 years and five distinct periods in Japan's history. Yakuza and Like a Dragon games have a very arcade-inspired approach to their beat-'em-up action, but in Stranger Than Heaven, RGG Studio wants players to put more thought into every fist thrown or attack parried.
How is the team doing this? By introducing a combat system where the left and right sides of the protagonists are controlled independently. For example, you'll use the right shoulder and trigger buttons to throw out attacks from the right side, and vice versa for the left side. In practice, this creates a dynamic sense of action, allowing you to chain attacks together organically, parry enemies, and stun them long enough for you to follow up with a knockout blow.
https://youtu.be/hvySwE-Kiu0You don't have to rely on just your fists, either, as weapons can also help even the odds when you find yourself outnumbered. Overall, it looks like RGG Studio is aiming to expand on its action game heritage and move players closer toward some visceral ground-and-pound violence that isn't as over the top as what you'd see in its other games.
Stranger than Heaven launches on January 15, 2027, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The game features a star-studded cast of actors, as well as the rapper Snoop Dogg. The game even features people in its cast who have been deceased for a while, like beloved Japanese actor Bunta Sugawara and legendary rapper Tupac Shakur.
Tomb Raider Devs Aren’t Trying To Appeal To “Either Side” Of Culture War Surrounding Lara’s Design
The new look for Lara Croft--seen in the upcoming remake Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis--has gotten the internet talking, and arguing. But according to the game's development team, it wasn't attempting to appeal to any specific audience with her design.
Speaking to GameSpot at Summer Game Fest, game director Raul Siqueira and experience director Jeff Adams said the process for designing Lara was a lot more organic, and the team wasn't trying to necessarily balance her attractiveness with talent or ability.
"We try not to view it from either of those angles," Adams said. "We're not trying to make one camp happy and the other camp miserable. We don't think of it that way. We're just like, 'Hey, this is Lara. This is who she is and this is the icon that we've come to know. How do we bring her into the most fully focused version that she's ever been presented in?' She's Lara. She is the icon for a reason. So we just want to do justice to her."
Siqueria added that the character's personality plays a key role in her truly being Lara Croft, as well.
"The confidence, the wittiness ... the personality that she has is so important for us [and we're] making sure that we are doing that right. That's why we all love Alix [Wilton Regan] so much--she just nails it."
Crystal Dynamics' latest Tomb Raider game, a remake of the original, comes following the Survivor trilogy, which radically reinvented the series with a grittier story, more violent gameplay, and a new look for Lara. In those games, she was played by actor Camilla Luddington. Meanwhile, a Tomb Raider series is also in the works for Prime Video, and stars Game of Thrones alumna Sophie Turner.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis releases in 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC.
Here’s How Generative AI Is Being Used In Tomb Raider: Legacy Of Atlantis
Generative AI has been a very contentious issue over the last few years in the game industry, and as more and more developers make use of the technology, it's becoming more difficult to know just what was created by a human being. Next year's Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis will indeed make use of generative AI, but Crystal Dynamics wants players to know there is one area it was not used: the design of Lara Croft herself.
Speaking to GameSpot at Summer Game Fest, experience director Jeff Adams clarified if generative AI was used in the creation of Lara.
"No. Lara is 100% human-crafted," Adams said.
This answer came shortly after our interview had initially concluded. We had already asked this question, but were initially told that team was not ready to discuss Lara's design. We were told the above in much-more-certain terms afterward.
Elsewhere, it sounds like AI is going to be used for concept art and placeholder assets--how this affects the human beings who would usually do this sort of work is not entirely clear.
"At Crystal Dynamics, we see AI as a tool that our teams can use to get to a right answer fast. What that might look like in practice, is, say in early-level development we have an idea for an in-game object but we're not sure if we want to task the team with building it at that time. We can use a generative AI tool to quickly visualize what that object would look like in the world. And if we're like, 'Hey, that works,' we'll then move it into ur traditional pipeline."
Adams added that once the final product is built, the team makes sure all final content is human-created. But the threat of job loss is certainly hanging over the heads of Crystal Dynamics employees, as several major layoffs have hit the studio over the last few years.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis launches for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC in 2027.
Halo Trailer Was Supposed To Be At State Of Play, Then Microsoft Pulled It – Report
A Halo trailer was supposed to air during the recent PlayStation State of Play event, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and her team decided to yank it, according to a report. This potentially damaged the relationship between Xbox and PlayStation, sources told Bloomberg.
The story didn't have any further information about the Halo trailer, but it was likely a video for Halo: Campaign Evolved, which releases this July. Microsoft and Sony subsequently released a trailer for the game featuring footage captured on PlayStation 5 Pro. Fans are theorizing that this was the trailer meant for State of Play, but that is not confirmed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn2m4Xhk2UEIn any event, Campaign Evolved represents the Halo franchise's debut on a PlayStation platform. It may also not be the last, as Microsoft previously said the future of Halo is on PlayStation and that Halo being on PlayStation is good for the brand and players.
Campaign Evolved is still coming to PS5 because Microsoft already committed to releasing it there, and the company has said it will honor existing agreements. However, it remains to be seen if Microsoft will release whatever Halo game comes next on PlayStation, now that Sharma is leading Xbox and has promised at least two "signature" Xbox console exclusives each year.
The Bloomberg report also backed up the claim that a PS5 edition of Gears of War: E-Day was in the works and planned for release until Sharma decided to cancel it. The report added that "many" Xbox employees were surprised.
These details came to light as part of a wider report detailing layoffs at Xbox that are expected to come in July. It's also been reported that Microsoft might close at least one Xbox studio, but it remains to be seen which one.
In a memo to staff, Sharma alluded to forthcoming changes to the Xbox studio system.
"We expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming, and devices. In the process, we have found ourselves over extended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content," she said.
These changes are coming as Sharma takes steps to "reset the business."
Resident Evil: Veronica’s Biggest Rewrite Could Be Its Villain
It's a good time to be a Resident Evil fan between the upcoming live-action movie and the recent Requiem game, but there's also Resident Evil: Veronica to look forward to. A remake of Code Veronica, the original game is admittedly dated in several areas, including the problematic portrayal of the original game's villain. Alfred Ashford. If you're looking to enter the remake with fresh eyes, consider this to be your spoiler warning before you carry on reading.
https://youtu.be/Nt6mVYnXaHkIn Code Veronica, players are menaced by Ashford during their imprisonment on Rockfort Island. Alfred happens to have two personalities, switching between himself and his sister, Alexia, during the campaign. When the Alexia personality takes over, she dresses the part, and at one point in the game, protagonist Claire Redfield refers to him as a "crossdressing freak" after learning the truth in the English localization of Code Veronica. The game also has several other unsavory implications with regard to Ashford's relationship and co-dependence on his sister. Again, nothing is ever confirmed, just heavily implied.
When asked about this, Resident Evil: Veronica producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi addressed how Capcom is aiming to dig deeper into the characters that appear, while also respecting their differences in this reimagining of Code Veronica. Hirabayashi added that the original tone of Code Veronica was to tap into the darkest themes of being human, and that tone will be very prominent in the Veronica remake.
While that isn't much of an answer, we did get more concrete responses to our other questions. Hirabayashi spilled the beans on why Capcom chose to remake Code Veronica and how the remake is being treated as a mainline game in the franchise. And in case you were wondering, yes, it is a third-person game from start to finish. Resident Evil: Veronica launches in 2027 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2.