A new Nintendo Direct has been announced, and this time, the focus is on Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. If you're interested, you can tune in at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET on August 4 to watch the broadcast. Nintendo says that you can expect "roughly 20 minutes" of new information about the game.

One of several big first-party games from Nintendo scheduled for launch this year, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is the first game in the longrunning tactical-RPG series to be developed exclusively for Switch 2 consoles. The last time it was in the spotlight was during the June Nintendo Direct, where a few more details about the game were revealed.

The game will feature four characters competing to win the Dagosian Games--a high-stakes tournament--with combat taking place inside of an arena. This is a departure from the battlefields of previous Fire Emblem games, but outside of the tournament, there'll still be opportunities to explore new locations and deal with bandits who are hoarding treasure.

Each of the four main champions also possesses a special crest that can grant them special abilities in combat, and it looks like there'll be social events to take part in when you're not fighting for glory.

Launching on September 17, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave enters a stacked month of new releases as several games are attempting to hit the ground running before heavyweight titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and GTA 6 descend.

Preorders are open for Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, with the standard edition priced at $70 - $80 depending on whether you want a physical version or a download code. You can also pick up the Special Edition of the game for $120, which includes the full physical edition of the game and a selection of collectibles.

Marvel's Wolverine is finally slashing its way onto PS5 next month, and ahead of its release, it looks like the game is going to earn its Mature 17+ rating with blood and ass. According to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the game contains blood, gore, drug references, strong language, and "partial nudity," but it's not specified whose gluteus maximus is on display.

"A handful of sequences briefly depict a character's exposed buttocks," the ESRB rating reads. That's a pretty vague description, but we'd wager that we could see Wolverine's butt paraded about, given the character's habit of being occasionally transformed into a naked and feral mutant weapon by shadowy organizations like Canada's Department H. Read the comics if you don't believe us!

It's a scene that has been adapted into live-action media as well, with longtime Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman's butt briefly appearing in alternate cuts and near-misses during several scenes across multiple movies. He infamously refused to wear a modesty sock during the filming of his adamantium implants in X-Men: Origins - Wolverine, and in 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, audiences got a full look at his backside during the '70s hotel room scene.

Other characters in the game include Jean Grey, Sabretooth, Mystique, and Lady Deathstrike, but we're guessing that they won't be around for scenes requiring them to get cheeky.

There's also precedent for this when it comes to PS5 games, as Ghost of Tsushima and its sequel Ghost of Yotei both featured brief scenes where you could see the uncovered rears of their respective protagonists. If the Ghost of Tsushima film ever enters into production, actor Daisuke Tsuji said that he's prepared to show some skin.

Beyond seeing exposed hams, the ESRB also noted that Marvel's Wolverine will allow you to tear enemies apart and that the game features some naughty language.

It's not long to go now, as Marvel's Wolverine launches on September 15 for PS5. For more on the game, you can check out all the Easter eggs we've spotted so far, every costume revealed for Marvel's Wolverine, and 13 new details we learned at San Diego Comic-Con about Logan's adventure.

Every Upcoming Superhero Game To Look Out For In 2026 And Beyond View Images

Bruce Straley, the Naughty Dog veteran who worked on the Jak, Uncharted, and The Last of Us franchises before leaving to start his own studio, is asking his followers why they are excited for GTA 6.

Posting on social media, Straley said he's asking this question out of genuine curiosity, and not simply to stir the pot. "No shade, just curious," he said.

Straley said he's unsure if he's interested in playing GTA 6, so he was asking followers to share the reasons why they are excited for Rockstar's next big game.

"What do you hope is new in GTA 6 you haven’t already experienced in its predecessors? OR simply, Why are you gonna play GTA 6? Because I don’t know if I’m interested & I’m not sure if I’m an outlier," he said.

https://twitter.com/bruce_straley/status/2083992004137259228

Straley ended his post by reminding people that he worked in "the sausage factory a long time," which is likely a reference to Naughty Dog.

Straley got a lot of responses to his post. Someone said they are looking forward to whatever Rockstar is cooking up in terms of new dynamic weather events, and Straley said he's excited about the possibilities here.

"Using that crazy [Red Dead Redemption 2] weather tech to create dynamic events sounds sick. I can’t imagine that would be their priority at all, but that got me excited! Someone AAA should do that," he said. Someone else suggested a surfing system in GTA 6, and Straley said that would be fun.

Another person said if GTA 6 has nonlinear missions that offer the player multiple solutions to one task, that would be compelling. Straley concurred.

"I think this is why I’m not very interested (yet?). RD2 looked awesome--maybe the best, but the systems themselves weren’t very deep. I was disappointed everything boiled down to 'follow the yellow line,'" he said.

Another person said "deep [gameplay] systems don't have mass appeal," and Rockstar makes mass market games. Straley pushed back, saying, "Having deeper systems would allow for more varieties of players to play in their own style. And it feels like the potential of 'open world' should come with a payoff of 'open approaches' to gameplay. Just my opinion," he said.

Straley worked at Naughty from 1999 to 2017, and he co-directed The Last of Us and Uncharted 4 during his time there. As for why he left, he said 18 years was "a long time for anybody to be anywhere," and he wanted to find "new problems to solve" and "new creative outlets."

He said Naughty Dog was the "pinnacle" of game developers, going on to note that he didn't want to join another AAA studio because he didn't want to deal with "a whole different bureaucratic or cultural system."

Straley is now heading up Wildflower Interactive, which is making a game called Coven of the Chicken Foot. Microsoft was set to publish the title before the company backed out. Wildflower found other funding to keep going.

As for GTA 6, Rockstar's long-awaited open-world crime game launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Some are expecting further announcements this week tied to parent company Take-Two's next earnings report on August 7.

Inde Navarrette reached a new level of fame this year after starring in Curry Barker's horror movie Obsession. She's also a big fan of video games. She's now revealed that she's been offered roles in games, and that she loves Shrek.

"Yes, and I'm starting my journey with that soon," she told Variety when asked if any studios had come calling to ask her to be in a video game. "I want to try something smaller to test the waters and then later, different. Video games are, obviously, a big interest of mine."

She is a big fan of Resident Evil, adding that she would "die inside" if she got the chance to have a role in one of the games someday.

Navarrette did not name the companies that have pitched her or what games she could appear in.

Inde Navarrette in Obsession.

Also in the interview, Navarrette talked about some of her earliest memories with video games, and her comments are highly relatable. She said one of her favorites from yesteryear was the Shrek game for PS2, Shrek Super Party. In particular, she said she's a fan of the characters' big heads in the game.

Navarrette went on to say that Call of Duty is another favorite gaming series of hers. She's mentioned this before, and Activision obviously took note, hiring her to appear on a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 panel in July.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnvlSfoB0Fw

Navarrette is a gamer who, like any reasonable person, watched Henry Cavill videos to help build her gaming PC. She also formerly hosted Twitch streams for Call of Duty.

Obsession, meanwhile, was made on a reported $750,000 budget and has earned more than $470 million worldwide, making it a huge success. Prior to Obsession, Navarrette starred in Netflix's 13 Reasons Why.

In the three years since Big Walk was announced, I've heard it referred to as a co-op walking sim, a puzzle-adventure game, and friendslop. After spending 20+ hours in the world of the Australian Outback-inspired game, it's no easier to succinctly define it, because it's not actually like anything else. By inventively stripping down the medium to its most essential parts, it invites novices and experts alike to build it back up from scratch, coloring in its mysterious world with their friends by their side. We need a new word for whatever kind of game Big Walk really is, but here's one for now: unforgettable. 

Big Walk is a game about walking and talking with friends, played in first-person for groups of 2-12 players. Embodying vaguely humanoid characters--think multicolored snowmen with long noses and noodly appendages--you and your friends will trek across a vast and open island, hunting down nameless MacGuffins by way of solving an abundance of inventive puzzles together. This intentionally basic setup belies the depth you'll discover the more time you spend on its island.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWfg9iLq55c&pp=0gcJCaMLAYcqIYzv

Before you head off, you'll convene in a starting area that looks a bit like a playground or a children's gym, full of buttons to push; vibrant, sometimes bouncy objects to pick up and kick; and climbable surfaces. It's here where you'll learn most everything you need to know about what you can do, like all the gestures you can make with your body, how to use proximity chat to your aid, and how to deal with the physics of the world. For example, you may note how falling a great distance doesn't mean taking fall damage, but it may mean you drop what you were holding and lose it in a forest until the sun comes up. 

The first four puzzles act as a tutorial. In a more limited section of the island, you'll seek them out deep in the woods, high atop hills, or along beaches, work together to solve them, and unlock their corresponding MacGuffins, then place them in a console that unlocks virtually the entire rest of the island all at once. From there, it's your group's call to make, and your path through the world won't be the same as any other. 

Unlike Peak, which the game has often been compared to, Big Walk's island is handcrafted, not randomly generated, and it shows. Every inch of the world feels intentional, from the switchbacks down the mountainsides meant to give you the hint of a far-off landmark, to the radio stations you can come across, each of them playing their own special song that you can carry with you if you're in the mood for some music on your journey. Because there are so many puzzles, sometimes you'll even take aspects of one puzzle to solve others, and the game offers clever environmental hints when this is required.

In small ways, puzzles change depending on your group size. The host maintains the save data across sessions, allowing players to join or drop when they may need to, but different versions of the island exist for parties of two, three, or four-plus, with slight tweaks to each puzzle to accommodate the number of people in a group.

No matter your team size, Big Walk adjusts to give you an appropriate challenge.

Some puzzles will be a bit easier with more people putting their heads together, while others will be much more chaotic; one of the first puzzles my group found was basically a basketball hoop with big bouncy lights as the ball, and if you don't easily tame a group of a dozen players, you'll all be knocking each other's shots away from the basket until someone takes command and establishes a turn order. 

There's a remarkable clarity to the visual language in Big Walk that's conveyed right at the start, but everything else there is to know about it is built on a foundation you make together with your friends, establishing your own vocabulary and body language in such an effortlessly cool, intuitive way that so many other games seem afraid of. Playing with two of my kids, we took to calling the dozens of MacGuffins "eggy things" because of their somewhat egg-like shape, and we called our characters "walklings."

As the hazy semblance of a story unfolded, we made sense of it in our own words. Big Walk clearly hopes each group does this. That's why it fills its world with fundamental video game objects and objectives, like puzzles and their rewards, but adds nothing definitive beyond that.

Big Walk's world speaks for itself. There are no quest markers or on-screen prompts, and no stamina or health bars to manage. Every aspect of the game is diegetic, and every discovery is of your own making. There's no lore dump or explainer as to who you are or why you're solving puzzles on an island that only your group seems to inhabit. Across its realistic-looking landscape are many more cartoonishly colored structures of all shapes and sizes that stick out by contrast, and developer House House trusts each friend group to carve out their own adventure through the world, letting their curiosity guide them and building on shared learning hour after hour.

Getting a bird's-eye view of the island reveals just how much there is to see and do.

Some puzzles demand you work closely together side by side, timing your actions just right or fidgeting with buttons and points of view, while others demand you split up, sometimes for long stretches at a time and across great distances. In those instances, finding each other afterward is its own sort of puzzle to solve. Many puzzles will inhibit your ability to communicate, like one where a player is locked behind soundproof glass and must relay information to the others that only the lone walkling has. There are probably only about six to eight core concepts the game focuses on, but each time House House returns to an idea, it adds clever new wrinkles. 

In one of the game's most devilishly designed puzzles, I was forced to wear a helmet that blinded me, leaving my group to guide me across a treacherous obstacle course with only their vocal callouts. Hours later on our journey, this same dastardly helmet showed up again, but with new rules that demanded I, as the helmet-wearer again, carry the right objects to their intended corners of an area, which meant our group needed to figure out which were the right objects in the first place, before I could even begin to follow their vocal instructions.

I can think of a few puzzles that were quite daunting, especially with a seven-year-old in the group, but none frustrated us. Often, we'd climb to a mountaintop to get a lay of the land, head off toward some vibrant structure in the middle of a wooded area, and fidget with its movable parts until we got a sense of what we needed to do. Through clear collaboration and our own invented language, we'd achieve success--sometimes quickly, in just a few minutes, but other times after much more head-scratching for puzzles that took us 20 or more minutes to solve. Every time we'd solve a puzzle, my kids and I would rejoice with a chant: "Egg-y thing! Egg-y thing!" while throwing our walklings' hands into the air together. 

Though the game is light on traditional story, it feels like describing many of its amazing puzzles is a type of spoiler. The ritual of genuine discovery, followed by cooperative experimentation, and finally, shared elation, is the magic of Big Walk, doled out with the completion of each puzzle, but even more often in the in-between moments when you're just chatting as you explore the outback. For a few hours every night, for about two weeks, this was our beloved ceremony together. We helped each other get our bearings, found each other when we'd gotten lost and separated, and commended each other when one of us would crack the solution to a puzzle wide open. 

The way Big Walk nudges players to work together in tight-knit ways is a recurring bit of genius.

Big Walk has a defined ending and isn't meant to be played forever, though with a different group of friends, it does retain some appeal. When we weren't playing it, we were talking about it, trying to solve some puzzles we'd set aside if they'd stumped us for too long, or crafting theories about the massive black orb that waited beyond a wall we couldn't (yet?) access. It's a game of few words, opting instead to give players a massive canvas on which to create their own story together. For a handful of special evenings, the island was our home away from home. 

With every few puzzles, major new rewards become available, like a train that moves around the island or a giant map room to help plot your travels. You may also stumble upon totally missable shortcuts, reinforcing that your triumphs are yours to celebrate and not based on any HUD arrow you've followed. You'll come upon helpful handheld items, like walkie-talkies, flashlights, and megaphones, but as best I can recall, such items tend to make some puzzles easier, but they're rarely required, so it becomes a question of, for example, leaving the puzzle to find a pair of walkie-talkies or solving a puzzle without them even if it would clearly help a lot.

Inventory space is limited to what you can carry in your hands, on your belt, or in your backpack, and anything you're not holding can't even be accessed on your own. You'll need a buddy to take that backpack off of you if you want to consult the paper map you may have stashed inside of it. This seemingly small design decision really speaks to Big Walk's main idea. First imagined during the COVID pandemic, House House sought to make a game that brings people closer to one another, to get them talking and having meaningful interactions. For me, it worked wonders. 

It's not often my kids and I can all play a game together with the same enthusiasm, as the taste preferences among a 37-, 13-, and seven-year-old don't tend to align. But Big Walk offers a gameplay loop that feels universal in its appeal. It deconstructs video games into their most foundational verbs: discover, experiment, prevail. The context of a mysterious island and the silly-looking characters you play as surely enhance the experience, but it's the simplistic gameplay loop taken to a depth that is exciting but never so involved as to leave some players behind that makes it so easily beloved. 

Though it's not as slapstick-funny as some games with shared DNA, Big Walk definitely has a comedic side.

Though it leaves room for goofing off, Big Walk doesn't have the cadence of a friendslop game, where the purposely janky sabotage of your friends' best intentions is much of the fun. Some failures can be amusing, and the game as a whole definitely has an understated comedic tone befitting of its Australian dev studio, but the true highlight is the shared joys of exploring the world and overcoming its obstacles through thoughtful communication and teamwork.

There's a lot more stopping and thinking in Big Walk than perhaps its title suggests. You'll do plenty of walking, but you'll do even more talking, and if you're playing with friends or family you love and appreciate, it's bound to be a deeply rewarding experience.

It's also a well-polished game, with the only bug I encountered serving as an accidentally hilarious moment--when my daughter's walkling got stuck in a folding chair and we carried her around for a while like she was Cleopatra. 

The only noticeable knock on the game is one that demands some self-policing. Without using Big Walk's proximity chat, you'd turn its magic off like flipping a switch. Using Steam or Discord chat, for example, would act like a cheat code, circumventing a puzzle's intentional friction, such as when proximity chat is intended to fail at times, blocking you from easily talking to your group. So it's really on you to choose not to do that, or else accept that you've opted to make the game worse for yourself.

This is where it shares the most in common with more typical friendslop games like Peak and Lethal Company. The element of proximity chat does a lot of heavy lifting to make Big Walk shine brightly, so refusing to engage with that feature would be like playing a horror game with the lights on; you can still enjoy it, but you'll be holding it back from reaching the height of its powers.

The journey each group goes on will feature similar puzzles, but very different experiences overall.

Big Walk's incredible focus culminates in a final stretch of puzzles that encapsulates everything you'll have seen and done until that point in a genuinely mind-blowing way. My kids and I spent over a dozen hours together solving many difficult puzzles and inventing a language which we often relied on, only for the final iteration of the game's core concepts to be so slight in its adjustments yet so awesomely rewarding in its execution. It dared us to put together everything we've taught each other, recalling our entire journey.

I was utterly floored by the way this area masterfully fuses the game's repeated actions of experimenting and exploring with the undercurrent of its emotional beats that purposely rise to the surface toward the very end of the game. I loved every second of Big Walk, and this final act cemented it as one of the best co-op games I've played in years. 

As if that weren't enough to land Big Walk as an obvious Game of the Year contender, the very last scene of the game sneak-attacked me with a surprisingly bittersweet moment that left me glossy-eyed. I wouldn't dare spoil this part for you, but I'm sure it'll have a similar effect even if you're not playing with your kids. Big Walk takes fundamental and timeless video game concepts--obstacles and incentives for clearing them--and, through an intensely focused co-op experience, shapes them into something singularly rewarding, supremely mysterious, and totally unforgettable.

Summerslam weekend saw several new champions emerge, but Cody Rhodes wasn't one of them. While the American Nightmare failed in his bid to dethrone CM Punk as the WWE Undisputed Champion, at least he managed to turn heads with his ring outfit, which went all in with Street Fighter influences. Rhodes--who plays Guile in the upcoming Street Fighter movie--hit the ring with a mask that captured the absurdity of Guile's signature hairdo and M. Bison's Shadaloo organization.

Given that the Street Fighter film was one of Summerslam's sponsors, it wasn't too surprising to see Rhodes geared up to help promote the upcoming movie. Just before he appeared, the PPV featured a character select screen in the same style as Street Fighter 2, with WWE performers like Seth Rollins, Danhausen, and Becky Lynch subbing in for Capcom's brawlers. You can see the entrance for yourself, in the timestamped video below:

https://youtu.be/ZgFWYMrAnNQ?t=279

In the ring, Rhodes' costume consisted of tights that mixed white with camouflage patterns similar to what Guile wears in his default Street Fighter costume, and on his entrance coat, you could spot Rhodes' name stitched on in the familiar Street Fighter font. Sadly, the former WWE champion didn't use a single Sonic Boom or Flash Kick attack against Punk. It's worth noting that Street Fighter wasn't the only video game-related sponsor for Summerslam, as Gears of War: E-Day was also prominently displayed on the ring mat.

Rhodes--and the rest of the ensemble cast--will hit theaters soon when Street Fighter arrives on October 16. Ahead of its release, the marketing for Street Fighter has begun to start up, and last week saw a sneak peek at one of the film's fight scenes. In case you missed it, you can click the link to see an imprisoned Ryu (Andrew Koji) take on a beastly incarnation of Blanka (Jason Momoa).

Street Fighter Movie Cast Revealed, Including An Unexpected Eric Andre Role View Images

Stellar Blade: Blood Rain is being promoted with an AI-slop music video created by developer Shift Up, and it's all about as soulless as you might expect.

The video, which looks to be completely AI generated, features protagonist Evie singing an "original" song titled "Wanna be in Love" as she explores the dystopian cyberpunk city seen in the game's official announcement trailer that debuted as part of Summer Games Fest.

At one point while wandering the city, Evie picks up a KPop Demon Hunters keychain. Towards the end of the video, there is "behind the scenes footage" of Shift Up developers "on set" with Evie, giving her direction, doing her makeup, and high-fiving members of the team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ncuote9ADo

An entirely AI-generated video serving as the first major piece of marketing for the Stellar Blade sequel following its reveal is certainly a choice, though it's more than a little concerning Shift Up somehow decided this was a good idea.

It is, however, not all that surprising. Shift Up CEO and Stellar Blade director Hyung-tae Kim earlier this year said (as translated by Automaton) during a South Korean "Economic Growth Strategy" briefing he believed AI to be an "essential tool for going up against large competitors like China on a global level." He also said AI will not result in people losing their jobs, even though it will enable "one person" to perform the "work of 100 people." South Korea as a whole is doubling down on AI, with the country set to invest nearly $14 billion in AI and related infrastructure.

The Stellar Blade franchise is no stranger to controversy, ranging from having to patch out unintentional racial slurs to the culture war over the appearance of main character Eve and her revealing outfits in the first game. Stellar Blade: Blood Rain is proving to be no exception, with some criticizing the sexualization of Evie, who appears more childlike in appearance, even as Shift Up promises "more appealing" outfits.

In an interview with IGN, Kim was asked whether he was worried about using a younger-looking character for Blood Rain, and how that may be perceived by players. He said Evie is indeed younger and smaller in size than Eve, but largely dodged the question.

"If you actually play the game, you will not think that," Kim said.

Stellar Blade: Blood Rain does not yet have a release date. However, the original Stellar Blade is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 later this year. 

World of Warcraft is getting the Dungeons & Dragons treatment, with the iconic tabletop roleplaying game set to translate developer Blizzard's popular MMORPG into a proper pencil-and paper-experience this November. 

D&D: World of Warcraft is bringing a lot to the table, with everything a dungeon master might potentially need to create an Azeroth campaign. For starters, all 13 WoW classes will be playable, with six additional subclasses, three modified ones, and over 40 class specializations to choose from. The expansion additionally adds 11 WoW races (or species, as they are called in D&D), including tauren, draenei, forsaken, and trolls, along with WoW-specific rules for existing D&D races like humans, dwarves, goblins, orcs, and elves.

"From Azeroth's ancient races to newcomers from distant realms, these species bring a wide range of histories, cultures, and perspectives to your adventures," Blizzard writes in its announcement. "Your choice of species can even grant a starting Renown Score with one of Azeroth's factions--so whether you ride out 'For the Horde! or 'For the Alliance!', your allegiance is baked into your origin."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yMOZlYqsnY

Blizzard's MMO is filled with iconic spells, items, and enemies, and D&D: World of Warcraft includes those as well. There will be over 60 new spells added as part of the expansion, as well 25 new magic items that include mounts and companion creatures. 

D&D's spin on WoW even attempts to replicate some of the gameplay and systems longtime players of the MMO are all too familiar with. The expansion adds 10 WoW professions to choose from, allowing players to spend their downtime crafting items or improving their gear. There are even 25 different factions that players can grind out Renown with. Just like in WoW proper, increasing Renown with a faction will grant perks and rewards for those who the climb ranks.

On the monster front, 50 new monsters are being added as part of the setting alongside 30 dungeon bosses. Seven of WoW's most iconic dungeons will be playable, including the Deadmines, Onyxia's Lair, and the Scarlet Monastery. An optional Icecrown Citadel Adventure Map Pack will also be available--one that will carry players level 16-20 from the lower spire of the citadel to the Frozen Throne and a confrontation with the Lich King himself.

For WoW players who aren't keen on sitting down at the table, there are still a few reasons to take notice. Preordering certain editions, including the D&D: World of Warcraft Ultimate Bundle or Collector's Edition, unlocks D&D-themed items in WoW, including a Black Dragon mount, Gazer pet, Mimic chest toy, and Mimic chest housing decor. The cheapest option for snagging the in-game items according to the official D&D Beyond website appears to be by preordering the $80 physical and digital combo edition.

D&D: World of Warcraft will release November 17, with early access beginning November 3. In other WoW news, Blizzard will be adding the viral Jimothy to the MMORPG in the game's next update, while a Blizzard employee was recently fired for allegedly helping a group of players cheat in a Mythic+ dungeon.

US tariffs may have forced Sony to increase the prices of its PlayStation hardware, but the company is now benefiting from those tariffs being refunded. As part of the company's latest earnings report, it noted an increase in operating income can be attributed in part to tariff refunds--refunds it seems unlikely to pass onto consumers who paid those higher prices.

Those refunds were issued earlier this year after the US Supreme court declared tariffs implemented by President Trump to be unlawful. Sony's Q1 2026 earnings (covering April through June) call out tariff refunds as one of the positive contributors to a 37% increase that its Game & Network Services business saw.

Shortly after the tariffs were first implemented, Sony raised the price of its PS5 consoles in August 2025, and again in May 2026. The company has not issued an official statement regarding any potential passing of the refunds back to consumers, and earlier this year, a class-action-complaint was filed. The plaintiffs are arguing that Sony passed the cost of its price hikes onto consumers, and if the nationwide class suit is successful, Sony would be required to pay an undisclosed sum to anyone who purchased a PlayStation console from August 1, 2025.

Although Sony has not explicitly said it will not share tariff refunds with consumers who paid higher prices, we've already seen Nintendo and others retain those refunds for themselves. Sony calling out the positive impact on its operating income also suggests no plan to pass along those refunds.

It's worth noting that Sony has never mentioned the US tariffs as the sole reason for the console price hikes, as it referenced "pressures in the global economic landscape" as the reason for the last price increase. The ongoing RAM shortage driven by large-scale investment in AI and data centers has also been a key factor in console price increases.

Xbox manufacturer Microsoft explained that it had to enact another price hike in June because console storage and memory prices had more than doubled, and it also expects another doubling of component prices in 2027, suggesting more price hikes will follow soon after.

This probably sounds familiar, as a class action lawsuit was filed in April 2026 on behalf of Nintendo consumers. The plaintiffs are arguing that Nintendo had an obligation to refund customers who purchased its products, following its decision to claim refunds on the tariffs.

In a reply, Nintendo disputed the claims and said that customers were never forced to make a purchase and that it didn't raise the price of all of its products. "Those who bought Nintendo's products received exactly what they bargained and paid for: a console, game and/or accessory at a price to which both parties agreed," Nintendo wrote.

In more Sony news, the ratio of physical-to-digital game sales increased last quarter, PS5 console sales are slowly creeping toward the 100 million lifetime sales mark, and Sony has broken its silence over its decision to go all-digital with game sales in 2028.

Suspicions are arising among Legend of Zelda fans that the Ocarina of Time remake will launch in mid-November--just within spitting distance of Grand Theft Auto 6. The theories revolve around an apparent pattern of Nintendo's Amiibo releases, and it's hard to blame anyone for buying into them.

Per Kotaku, fans claim to have spotted a November 11 release date (adjusted to November 12 with the correct regional system clock settings) for a pair of Kirby Air Riders Amiibo figures (Sword Kirby and Noir Dedede) on Nintendo UK's store--though those listings have since been removed. And fans have observed that Nintendo generally releases Amiibo figures on the same day as its first-party game launches, whether the Amiibos tie into those launches or not.

Two Kirby Air Riders Amiibo figures are set to release in November, according to apparent listings on the Nintendo UK store.

For instance, the Mineru's Construct Amiibo for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is coming out on September 17, the same day that Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave releases on Switch 2. Earlier this year, the King Dedede & Tank Star Amiibo launched simultaneously with Rhythm Heaven Groove on July 2, and the Meta Knight & Shadow Star Amiibo coincided with Pokemon Pokopia on March 5.

That all leads many to the conclusion that Nintendo is releasing something in mid-November. With Nintendo firm on a 2026 release window for the Ocarina of Time remake, taking a prime November spot appears logical.

Of course, Ocarina of Time would be facing off against the most anticipated video game launch in recent history with GTA 6, which is set for a November 19 launch. Pretty much every other gaming company has scrambled to avoid being near the epicenter of GTA 6's release, leading to an awfully crowded September. Nintendo seems like the one big player (if you don't count Atari with its Barbie game re-releases, or Devolver with whatever it's planning for GTA 6 day) willing to poke Rockstar's upcoming blockbuster with a stick.

Presuming this prediction becomes reality, it'll be a fascinating example of counter-programming. Zelda (especially Ocarina of Time) and the GTA franchise are heavy-hitters with different audiences, and with GTA 6 not on Switch 2 at launch, the Ocarina of Time remake will give Switch 2-only players something to get their hands on in November. Both titles would have the opportunity to thrive despite occupying the same space on the calendar.

And if you're a fan of both franchises, November could be the opportunity to eat two entire cakes to yourself, which could be a fun, albeit possibly overwhelming and time-consuming feat.

Nintendo’s Top-Selling Switch 2 Games Of All Time View Images

Developer Bellring Games' extraction brawler Mistfall Hunter is finally out after a handful of betas, and following its July 29 release, the developer has already dropped an update that made one of the game's best classes even better.

Launched on July 30, this new update makes some important balance adjustments to the newest class, the Withered Knight. During the beta, the hallowed sentinel only wielded a greatsword. But now that the full game is out, the Withered Knight gets a second weapon like the five other classes: a polearm and shield. It's this set of weapons that saw some improvements, with Bellring Games boosting the damage of some of its attacks to make the Withered Knight even more deadly in combat.

Despite sitting in the B-tier on GameSpot's class rankings, what makes the Withered Knight such a lethal class is its ability to apply constant pressure, its heavy burst damage thanks to the Wither skill (which explodes after afflicting a character or monster), and its chase-down potential with its dash attacks and grappling hook. It's a perfect mix between a flanking assassin and an aggressive brawler, making the Withered Knight scary to face head-on.

The July 30 update also fixes a plethora of issues that've cropped up. This includes things like adjusting the visual discrepancies with the Sorcerer's Flameblade, addressing connection problems for console players, ironing out game crashes, and fixing unresponsive keys when quickly closing the guide UI.

They're all very welcome fixes for a game that has the potential to expand the extraction genre. At the time of writing, almost 30,000 people are playing the game on Steam, suggesting that there's a possible desire for more games in the genre that aren't just shooters.

You can check the full patch notes for Mistfall Hunter's July 30 update below.

Mistfall Hunter's July 30 Update Patch Notes

Class Balance Adjustments

• Withered Knight — Polearm and Shield:
  • Charged Dash: Energy drain during the shield-raising charge phase has been slightly reduced, and the turning performance of a Tier-1 charged dash has been slightly improved.
  • Basic Attack: Damage of the 1st and 3rd thrust hits has been slightly increased.
  • Spear Barrage: Damage multiplier slightly increased.
  • Rainbow Piercer: Energy cost slightly reduced, and cooldown slightly reduced.
  • Block: Energy cost reduced.

Key Bug Fixes

• Fixed incorrect key prompts in the Sorcerer's spellcasting tutorial in the beginner guide for certain languages.
• Fixed a mismatch between the visual effect range and actual damage range of the Sorcerer's Flameblade.
• Fixed an issue where repeatedly entering and exiting the area around a Soul Tree while summoning an extraction point would incorrectly consume an extra Soul of Return.
• Fixed an issue where items could not be split via the secondary menu.
• Fixed an issue where some matches on console platforms could not reconnect after a disconnect.
• Fixed an occasional impassable-area anomaly in the "General Harald" challenge.
• Fixed an issue where some keys would occasionally become unresponsive when the guide UI was closed very quickly.
• Fixed a game crash caused by moving the cursor to specific regions with the stick on the Seasonal Leaderboard screen while using a controller.
• Fixed an issue where equipment could not be unequipped from the Loadout system while using a controller.
• Fixed an issue where certain gem slots could not be selected via the D-pad in the Auction House while using a controller.
• Fixed an incorrect pop-up shown when exiting the game on the Xbox PC platform.
• Fixed an occasional display anomaly on the deck screen on PS5--the issue can be resolved by restarting the game.
• Fixed an issue where the public Training Room settings could not be opened while using a controller.
• Fixed missing audio for the Execution Animation: Execute--Voidflame Requiem.
• Fixed an incorrect description for the Sorcerer talent Chant Guard. The correct description reads: Increases Chanting Speed for Stardust spells. When chanting Stardust spells, the first attack received will not interrupt chanting (Stardust Torrent's casting phase also benefits from this effect). This effect has a cooldown.

August is shaping up to be a fun month with the release of games like Beast of Reincarnation and Pro Jank Footy, and if you're a fighting game fan, you can also grab Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. Officially out next week, physical copies of the game have managed to break their street date, and naturally, there are plenty of spoilers online.

While we won't be listing them here, please start fine-tuning your filters for specific keywords. From what we've seen online, details include various game secrets, trophies, story details, and more. A lot of these details had been kept under wraps--and even managed to escape being data-mined during the recent open beta--but a few people who got their hands on the game early have wasted no time in spoiling those surprises for everyone else.

Posts detailing the secret content are being taken down as quickly as they go up, but you can't unsee a leak before that happens. It's a pity, because developer Arc System Works has crafted some pretty good narratives for its fighting games--like Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ--and the single-player campaign for Marvel Tokon was penned by award-winning comic book writer Kieron Gillen.

If your spider-sense can help you dodge the leaks, then you won't have to wait too much longer to play the game. Marvel Tokon officially launches on August 6 for PC and PS5. So far, 2026 has been a great year for fighting game fans with all of the high-profile releases in the genre. Invincible Vs kicked things off in April with some brutal brawling, Avatar Legends has been a hit with fans of the series despite the high skill ceiling needed to master it, and Street Fighter 6 has continued to add new characters to its roster.

If you're on PC and looking to grab a bargain, you can preorder Marvel Tokon for just $54 at Fanatical, a nice little 10% discount.

Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. 

While Microsoft itself just set a record for the biggest single-day market cap swing in history, the company's Xbox division is struggling. How will new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma turn things around?

In a memo to staff obtained by The Verge, Sharma shared the top Xbox priorities for the current fiscal year and beyond. These included four main buckets--Core, Content, Creation, and Connection. Some of the efforts include making Minecraft "the world's creator platform" and getting Xbox games to become "global franchises." She also wants to "strengthen" the Xbox platform, "led by console" and undertake an effort to "extend the worlds that fans love."

Here are the four pillars, as written by Sharma:

• CORE: Strengthen our platform, led by console
• CONTENT: Grow great games into global franchises
• CREATION: Make Minecraft the world’s creator platform
• CONNECTION: Extend the worlds that fans love

Xbox revenue decreased by 7% for the latest fiscal year, or about $1.7 billion. It's not uncommon for businesses to have up and down swings, but what's particularly notable here is that most of Microsoft's other divisions are booming.

Microsoft's Windows and Devices division dipped, too, but not by as much as Xbox. Additionally, every other business unit showed year-over-year revenue gains. Microsoft's biggest success in the past year was its "server products and cloud services" division, which jumped by $31 billion thanks in part to the AI craze.

"Our business did not grow with our audience"

Sharma said in FY2026 (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026), more than 200 million "new players" came to Xbox, "but our business did not grow with our audience."

She said Microsoft must "close that gap by investing in what players value." She said this will take time--but not that much time, at least for the first stage. Sharma said Xbox is expected to "return to growth" by the end of FY2027, so by June 30, 2027.

In her memo, Sharma said for FY2028 and FY2029, the Xbox division must "move into businesses producing meaningful player value and revenue acceleration." She also talked about trying to "scale what works" and by FY2030, she said Xbox's ambition is to "be halfway to our long-term daily-player goal with sustained double-digit growth in players and engagement and industry-leading margins."

Xbox is undergoing a "reset."

Additionally, Sharma said Xbox is already "one of the largest stadiums" out there, reaching 100 million people daily, 500 million monthly, and nearly 1 billion each year. Sharma also spoke about how important console is to Xbox, saying console "generates the majority of Xbox revenue and remains the foundation of our fandom." Microsoft is working on a new system, Project Helix, but it may be undergoing changes due to AI-related memory and component pressures that are being fueled, in part and ironically, by Microsoft.

Also in the memo, Sharma talked about moving away from a decentralized model for game development to a system that is "more focused around our strongest franchises and biggest new ideas." Part of this has included divesting of five studios and re-focusing on games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls that have the best chance at succeeding.

She added that Xbox leadership is coming up with "long-term plans" for the company's biggest franchises, spanning games, film, TV, consumer products, live experiences, sponsorships, and doing more in China.

On the subject of games specifically, Sharma said Xbox already has three franchises that generate $1 billion or more annually. She didn't name them outright, however. She also said Microsoft will invest in Minecraft "more than ever before."

As for film and TV projects, Microsoft is working with Paramount on a Call of Duty movie that's coming in 2028. There is also a Gears of War movie in the works for Netflix. A Gears of War animated TV show is coming as well. There is also a new Minecraft movie set for release in 2027, a third season of Fallout, and a Sea of Thieves movie. In total, Microsoft has a dozen film and TV projects in the works.

Earlier this year, Xbox's new chief strategy officer, Matthew Ball, spoke frankly about how Xbox languished in recent years and what comes next.

Another way Microsoft is trying to get back to growth is by cutting staff. The company laid off 1,600 people this month and will part ways with another 1,600 people in the next year.

For more, check out GameSpot's breakdown of the Xbox studios that are left and what they're working on.

Three decades ago, Nintendo discontinued its Virtual Boy console after it failed to catch on. But now, two of the unreleased Virtual Boy titles are set to make their debut on Nintendo Switch Online.

Nintendo has announced that D-Hopper and Zero Racers will be available on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass on August 4. D-Hopper was originally known as Dragon Hopper, and it's a fantasy action-adventure game that puts players in control of a prince as he attempts to bring down an evil regime and free his loved ones, fairies, and elemental spirits from their grasp. Zero Racers is a racing game that was inspired by the SNES hit F-Zero. Both D-Hopper and Zero Racers would have been released in 1996 if Nintendo hadn't pulled Virtual Boy from store shelves.

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/2083002205519413357

Nintendo is also catering to Virtual Boy fans with its latest additions to Nintendo Music. The following games have been added to that lineup and are available to listen to now.

• Virtual Boy Wario Land
• Mario Clash
• Galactic Pinball
• Teleroboxer
• Mario's Tennis

Although Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey once opined that Virtual Boy had "hurt the VR industry," Nintendo surprised players by adding support for select Virtual Boy titles in September 2025. It even released a plastic replica Virtual Boy as well as its cardboard counterpart to recreate the experience of playing the games in a primitive form of VR. As an unexpected benefit, players can also use the Virtual Boy replicas to access VR modes in Switch titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey.

Additionally, the GameCube's signature Mario game, Super Mario Sunshine, will arrive on Nintendo Switch Online on August 13.

Whether you're a veteran gamer or not, it's okay to admit that Motion Twin's 2018 roguelike-metroidvania Dead Cells is kinda hard. So much so that, eight years later, acclaimed filmmaker and avid gamer Guillermo del Toro has implored the studio to make it a little more forgiving for "the elderly players." Well, Motion Twin heard the phone ringing, saw the caller ID, picked the phone up, and granted del Toro's wish--or, rather, reminded him this option already exists.

In a July 29 IGN interview, del Toro quite literally begged the French developer to make a version of the game that doesn't include respawning. For him, dying and restarting made it difficult to both explore the world and make tangible progress.

"Dead Cells was really interesting to me," del Toro said. "I just hate respawning, because you only get about 35 levels and then you start again. You get faster, but please, do a version without respawning for the older, for the elderly players. I'm available. Contact me and send it to me, please. I beg you!"

Motion Twin responded to del Toro's request on July 30, telling IGN that the roguelike-metroidvania has a somewhat easier mode already: Assist Mode.

"We'd like to officially add this moment into our own personal Cabinet of Curiosities," the developer said. "We are surprised and truly honored to see that Mr. del Toro is a Dead Cells player, and we can even help him right now: there is an Assist mode in the game! This mode lets you resurrect at the start of the current biome or closest checkpoint, rather than restarting the entire run."

The studio then thanked del Toro for his "kind words" and "time on the game," concluding that they hope "this little message" helps him enjoy the game more.

Released in June 2022 as part of version 2.9 and known as both the Accessibility Update and Breaking Barriers Update, this patch introduced a variety of accessibility options that let you tweak the game's settings to fit your preferred playstyle. Assist Mode came packaged with this update and, alongside customizing settings, it let you respawn at the nearest save point instead of restarting the entire run. There were other features folded into version 2.9 as well, including the ability to adjust the damage you take from enemies and traps, an auto-hit setting, and the option to increase the parry window.

So, if del Toro's looking for something like Alive Cells instead of Dead Cells, then Assist Mode perfectly encapsulates that.

Being the gamer that he is, del Toro has worked on a number of video games in recent years. While he's done some work on unreleased projects in the 2000s and 2010s, his contribution is probably most recognized in P.T., since he co-directed that game with bestie Hideo Kojima. He also made a cameo in Kojima Productions' 2019 UPS sim Death Stranding, though it was only his likeness and he didn't voice the character.

There's no shortage of video game soundtracks that you can boot up and enjoy these days, but few can compare to Mick Gordon's work on 2016's Doom and 2020's Doom Eternal. Each soundtrack has a raw, unflinching sound that perfectly encapsulates the rip-and-tear gameplay with its heavy beats and unrelenting ferocity, and Gordon even built a custom analog effects and audio-routing rig to turn the most brutal of sounds into harmonic violence.

Gordon will be bringing that soundtrack with him when he hits the Radar Festival stage as a headline act in the UK next summer, and ahead of that performance, GameSpot spoke to him about his work on the Doom games. One of the interesting takeaways was how Gordon sees himself in the space of video game music, as he approaches each gig in the way that an archeologist works on an excavation site. As Gordon puts it, the music is already there--he just has to uncover it.

"I think my job, I feel, is very much like a musical archeologist," Gordon said. "My job is to turn up with a delicate set of tools and very carefully--with a very delicate brush and a very careful hand--start uncovering what I feel is already there. It's just the sound or the music is already there, and the job I feel is to uncover it and very, very delicately unearth it, polish it up. And then send it out into the universe. Because the truth is, a franchise like Doom inspires that type of music, and I feel it wouldn't deserve anything less than that."

As for the longevity of his work, from Doom to a guest spot on Gareth Coker's Absolum album? Gordon credits the fans of his music for giving his soundtracks plenty of airtime.

"Once I've done my job, save out the audio files, and I send it to the developer, they wrap it up into the game, it comes out, and I'm no longer involved," Gordon explained. "That's it. That's my job done. If this thing has any legs, goes off, and does the things that you just mentioned there, that has nothing to do with me. That's all about the fans. That's all about how other people receive it. It's not me who's been prolonging it. It's the fans enjoying it. You know what I mean? So they deserve as much credit as I do."

Following a sabbatical at the end of his work on Doom: Eternal--which Gordon has since distanced himself from--he has lent his talents to several other games, from Atomic Heart to Routine, and his next project will see him riff and tear in the upcoming cyberpunk FPS game Defect.

Resident Evil movie director Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons) has teased that his upcoming video game movie will have "really wild" sequences with "f**ked up and weird" imagery.

He said this in an interview with Empire (via GamesRadar), adding that he's unsure if the "lighting-in-a-bottle" nature of the spooky Aunt Gladys character from Weapons will be repeatable in Resident Evil. But Cregger promised that the Resident Evil movie has "a couple of things" that are "really wild."

Cregger has also talked about how the Resident Evil movie is the most violent thing he's ever worked on, saying it was important for him to be "grotesque" with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNd1gb19A-c "Total freedom"

Also in the interview, Cregger discussed how he was given "total freedom" to do whatever he wanted with the Resident Evil movie. He added that he received "final-cut" privileges on the movie, meaning Cregger himself--not the studio--had the final say in the version of Resident Evil coming to theaters.

"I was not interfered with. I didn't have anyone putting any sort of limitations on me," he said, following on from reports that said Cregger was given carte blanche to make the movie he wanted to.

Only a small handful of directors are known to get final-cut privilege, with Cregger joining a group that also includes Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese, to name a few. Cregger also had final-cut privileges on Weapons, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Weapons, however, was an original idea from Cregger, whereas Resident Evil is a Capcom property. Many have already voiced their displeasure and concerns about the choices Cregger has alluded to for his take on Resident Evil. For his part, Cregger says he is a massive Resident Evil fan, but he wanted to tell his own story.

“This movie is about one dude’s journey on foot, fighting monsters. I don’t give a f**k about checking boxes,” he said. “All I cared about was just telling a fun story. [One in which] we step on the gas at about eight minutes in and never take our foot off the floor.”

The Resident Evil movie releases on September 18. It stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier who is sent to a hospital in Raccoon City. According to Cregger, Abrams was very nearly killed by a 150-pound blood bag while filming a scene that made it into the final cut.

For more, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of the latest terrifying new trailer for the Resident Evil movie.

As for the Resident Evil game series, Capcom recently announced that the newest entry, Resident Evil Requiem, has now sold more than 8 million units.

Actor Tom Holland, who starred as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted movie, has shared new insight into his gaming habits, and he is a big fan of another Naughty Dog game. He also discussed how difficult he finds Fortnite to be.

Asked on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to name his favorite video game, he said The Last of Us: Part II. "So good," he said. But did he watch HBO's The Last of Us TV show? He said he did not, in part because he holds the game in such high regard.

"I have not watched the series. Because I love the game so much. I don't play video games all that much. And the game is just so good," he said.

https://youtu.be/9DvB4G2FZ_o?si=eqhoJnTebwAF2SBr&t=2614

Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us adapted some of the events of The Last of Us: Part II, and Season 3 is expected to continue down that path. The HBO series was never billed as a 1:1 adaptation of the game--and, indeed, it makes a number of changes. Holland is not alone, as a number of other people have expressed similar reservations about watching the TV show.

Also in the interview, Holland was asked if he's ever played as one of his Uncharted or Spider-Man skins in Fortnite. He said he does not play Fortnite all that much because of how challenging the game is, especially when it's full of people with serious building skills.

"I am so bad at Fortnite that I cannot play it. I don't think I've ever got a kill in Fortnite. When you play those people who start building stuff? I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do that," he said. Fortnite does offer a Zero Build mode, but that can be challenging as well.

Holland, 30, stars in what are expected to be two of 2026's biggest movies. He plays Telemachus in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is out today, July 31.

Sony's Uncharted movie, released in 2022, made more than $400 million globally to rank as the No. 8 highest-grossing video game movie ever. The film, which also starred Mark Wahlberg as Sully, was described as the first in a franchise, but a sequel has not been announced.

While an Uncharted movie sequel might not be happening just yet, there are numerous adaptations of Sony games in the works. The Helldivers and Horizon Zero Dawn movies are coming in 2027, with film adaptations of Days Gone, Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima, and Gravity Rush also in the works.

Sony's plans to embrace an all-digital future are starting to gain ground, as the company has confirmed that 82% of all PS5 games, microtransactions, and DLC from Q1 2026--covering April 1 to June 30--were sold digitally. This is an increase of the previous ratio of digital games sold across the entire 2025 financial, which averaged 78%. It is worth noting that each quarter in that period had different numbers--83% in Q1 2025 FY, 72% in Q2, 76% in Q3, and 85% in Q4--so there's still plenty of time to see what the average ratio is when the next three quarters are added in.

That quarter also saw several big games launch for PS5, such as Starfield, Saros, and 007 First Light. While the numbers point toward the inevitability of a digital-only games marketplace future for PlayStation, a section of the playerbase is still aiming to convince Sony to reverse course and keep offering physical games to some extent. Sony's social platforms have been under siege from a dedicated number of people who reply to every post with calls to keep physical games alive, and a week-long boycott of the company will kick off later in August.

Will those initiatives help? Probably not, as Sony says that it will still "cautiously" move forward with its plans, but it is aware of the strong emotional connection that people have with physical media. Sony CFO Lin Tao said during a Q&A investors meeting that the "digitalization of content" has been steadily progressing and that Sony won't be doing a U-turn.

Sony also stands to gain financially from the decision, as it'll earn 100% of the profits from sales of its first-party game. With physical sales of third-party PS5 games also coming to an end in 2028, the company can also claim a cut of those sales when people purchase games through its online marketplace. In other news from Sony's Q1 report, PS5 sales are slowly closing in on the 100 million lifetime sales milestone, monthly active user numbers are up, and company profits are up despite game sales remaining flat, thanks to tariff refunds and favorable exchange rates.

Sony is starting to feel the pinch of console price hikes, as the last quarter--April 1 to June 30 of 2026--saw the company sell 1.6 million PS5s, a slight increase when compared to the previous quarter that saw 1.5 million consoles sold. That's a steep decline of 36% when compared to the same period in 2025, and so far, PS5 lifetime sales have reached 95.3 million units sold. In comparison, the PS4 had moved 100.2 million units by the same point in its lifecycle, albeit with the help of regular discounts and the MSRP of the system decreasing over time.

The PS5 hasn't enjoyed the same benefits as its predecessor, as the ongoing shortage of RAM and other crucial components has resulted in PS5 console prices increasing instead of decreasing, a first for PlayStation hardware. Sony noted that revenue from hardware sales is also down by almost 10%, while software unit sales are up from 65.9 million to 66.1 million, year-on-year. Despite its decision to end PS5 disc production being met with almost-universal backlash, digital game sales also increased from 78% to 82% during Q1.

Monthly active user numbers are also up by 2 million, with Sony recording 125 million people using its services. Overall, sales are holding steady across game and network divisions, but profits did increase by 37% thanks mostly to US tariff refunds and favorable exchange rates. Nintendo also benefited from tariff refunds lately, but the company refuses to pass any refunds on to its customers.

Sony has also noted that it has "secured the quantity of memory necessary" for all the PS5 consoles it expects to manufacture and sell this calendar year. The next few months will be a crucial period for Sony, as the release of GTA 6 is expected to give the company a sales bump during the holiday season.