One of the big reveals from the recent Xbox Developer Direct was the first gameplay showcase for the Fable reboot, and now a top Microsoft boss has further hyped it up. Craig Duncan, the head of Xbox Game Studios, said in an interview that the Fable reboot is coming together well, specifically singling out the game's so-called "Living Population" feature as being "mind-blowing.

He said this to GamesRadar amid a response to a question about if he felt it was a "risk" for developer Playground to make an RPG after working exclusively on the Forza Horizon series since 2012. He said Playground working on Fable is "really about this relentless pursuit of excellence."

Duncan said Playground made the Forza Horizon series "bigger and bigger" with each new installment, "But what does that mean for Fable?"

As one analyst predicts that the Nintendo Switch 2 will see a price increase this year, another analyst suggests that the Mario maker's Switch successor may not maintain the same sales figures as its predecessor.

IGN reported an in-depth story about the Switch 2's holiday season, speaking to several analysts around the world to understand whether it really had a bad holiday. The short answer? Not really, as declining sales are expected for a console with a somewhat established base. The long answer? Kind of, particularly because the Switch 2 didn't have a big blockbuster exclusive to bolster sales going into the holiday season. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is good--as evidenced by GameSpot's 8/10 review--but it's not a Mario or a Zelda, so the name cache wasn't there to elicit fervent purchasing during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ampere Analysis' games industry analyst and researcher, Piers Harding-Rolls, told IGN that it's for this reason--alongside the predictable success of the Switch due to environmental conditions--that the Switch 2 wouldn't sell as well as the Switch did.

"When the original Switch launched, it followed a failing Wii U generation--there was a lot of interest, but hype and momentum built up in the run-up to the holiday sales at the end of 2017," Harding-Rolls said. "This time around at the Switch 2 launch, demand was predictably high because of the success of the Switch. Following a record launch, it's not surprising that Switch 2 sales have not been able to maintain the same massive sales lead [as] the original Switch. For the record, Switch 2 shipments in 2025 should outperform the original Switch in 2017 and over a shorter period of time. Then there is the whole macroeconomic situation, less disposable income, and higher-priced hardware. This may be softening demand to an extent, especially as lots of new games are still available on the original Switch."

Dispatch, one of last year's best games, arrives on Switch consoles this week, bringing its brand of workplace comedy, capes, tights, and censored genitalia to the Nintendo platform. While the PC and PS5 versions of Dispatch don't shy away from showing off superhero anatomy--but do offer a toggle to apply a censorship mosaic to any naughty bits--Nintendo's content guidelines have mandated that this mode must be turned on at all times.

There's also no option to turn it off in the Switch edition, so all explicit content has been censored.

"Different platforms have different content criteria, and submissions are evaluated individually," developer AdHoc said to Eurogamer, while also stressing that the game's story and gameplay remain unaffected. "We worked with Nintendo to ensure the content within the title met the criteria to release on their platforms, but the core narrative and gameplay experience remain identical to the original release."

The ongoing crisis with RAM pricing and the associated knock-on effect it is having on numerous consumer electronics still has its worst days to come, according to GPU manufacturer Zotac.

In a message to its Korean customers, translated by X user Harukaze5719 and reported by Tom's Hardware, the company announced that it is suspending its 2% rewards program in the region in a bid to try to sustain GPU pricing for as long as it can, citing growing concerns with escalating prices as an existential threat to the industry as a whole. Citing the same concerns over current memory prices and the increasing costs of silicon, Zotac has warned its customers that stock for many current-generation GPUs might dry up for a long time, with no promise of it regulating in the near future.

Zotac is one of a few companies that predominantly manufactures graphics cards and hasn't diversified in other areas of gaming hardware. This puts it at a much bigger risk than other companies, such as Asus and Gigabyte, given the margins on their only products are very quickly being squeezed. This doesn't mean that its warning is any less concerning, especially as it comes a few weeks after Asus suggested that stock of its various 50-series Nvidia GPUs might similarly face supply constraints.

Ubisoft workers in France are summoning their collective power to protest the latest restructuring and cost-cutting decisions at the mega publisher, with five unions calling for a "massive international strike" in early February.

According to a joint statement on Bluesky and reported by Game Developer, five Ubisoft unions--STJV, Solidaires Informatique, CGT, CFE-CGC, and Printemps Ecologique--are proposing that all Ubisoft employees stop working from February 10-12 to combat a "CEO who doesn’t even dare talking to employees anymore." This work stoppage is in response to Ubisoft's return-to-office mandate, studio closures and game cancellations in the wake of its major restructuring, workforce-reduction suggestions, and general employee disrespect.

"We are not fooled: Rather than taking responsibility for layoff, they prefer to push us out by making our working conditions unbearable," the statement reads. "It's outrageous. Our colleagues carry on, hold fast, endure, out of solidarity, out of love for the industry, and out of passion. But enough is enough! It is because we love Ubisoft that this situation revolts us!"

Years ago, Microsoft and developer Ensemble Studios were working on a Halo MMO project. The game never materialized, though, and now one of its developers, Rob Fermier, has shared some further insight into the game and what it was aspiring to be.

Fermier said part of the appeal of making a Halo MMO was that the developers personally enjoyed MMOs in general. "I still play World of Warcraft to this day, from day one," Fermier told PC Gamer. "And it was a chance for us to bring something more action-oriented."

Fermier went on to say that, from his view, no one has made a true "action MMO," and this was what the Halo project was trying to do.

Emberville, the spooky fusion of Stardew Valley-like farming and Diablo-flavored combat, has an official release date window for its Steam Early Access debut. Out in Q3 2026, the action-adventure RPG will give players an early taste of its atmospheric world and combat, and to celebrate, developer Cygnuss Cross uploaded a trailer that features the voice talents of the Witcher himself, Doug Cockle, and Alex Jordan, who voiced all 11 versions of Jan Dolski in last year's The Alters.

In development since 2023, Emberville is primarily focused on customization through its farming, gathering, and crafting gameplay mechanics. Similar to other cozy farming sims--but with a touch of sinister malevolence in the air--players can gather resources and improve the procedurally generated world around them by leveling up, learning skills, and unlocking blueprints.

Assassin's Creed Black Flag took the inner conflict of the Templars to the high seas in the early 1700s during the golden age of piracy. Along with retaining the series' stealth and combat system, gameplay elements focused more on the ship-based exploration on an open-world map. It's long been rumored that it's in line for a remake, and a recently leaked statue could add fuel to that fire.

The unreleased statue features Black Flag protagonist Edward Kenway sitting on a treasure chest overflowing with gold coins, leaning back against his ship's wheel, brandishing a cutlass and a pistol. Above Kenway is a waving flag featuring the game's logo: the Assassin's Creed sigil with a skull in the center.

Numerous fans spotted the item pop up, including notorious Assassin's Creed leaker j0nathon, who quickly realized this was not a statue that had been publicly released already. Even weirder is how this statue was reportedly listed via the used clothing resale app Vinted.

The PlayStation 6 is a much-talked-about machine despite lacking an official announcement from Sony, and a report by an industry analyst suggests that we might not see this new console until after 2028, as Sony is looking to extend the PS5's lifespan.

A Japanese-language report from MST International senior analyst David Gibson (per IGN) looked into Sony's overall performance and potential future. According to Gibson, "Sony expects the PS5 lifecycle to be longer than that of previous console generations" and that there is a "high likelihood that the PS6 launch will occur after 2028."

Recent console cycles have lasted around seven years, with the PS3 launching in 2006 before the PS4's release in 2013; the latter then had the limelight until the PS5 launched near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This pattern led to assumptions and predictions that a PS6 would come to markets in 2027, but Gibson believes there are a few reasons not to expect it so soon.

The Elder Scrolls VI is one of the gaming industry's most anticipated upcoming titles, and one of the key mysteries about it is where the game may be set. According to Bethesda's former Elder Scrolls loremaster Kurt Kuhlmann, the developer agreed on the setting many years ago, but he is not going to spill on the beans on what it is, and it might have changed anyway.

"From when we were talking about it way back in the Fallout 4 timeframe, there was a sort of consensus amongst a few people that were talking about it," Kuhlmann told PC Gamer.

He left Bethesda in 2023, and he doesn't know if what the team agreed on is still the chosen setting for The Elder Scrolls VI.

The first major Nintendo Direct of 2026 will be held the first week of February, according to a noted insider. Nate The Hate said on his podcast this week, "From what I have been told, the first Direct of 2026 will be held during the opening week of February."

He said the event may take place on Thursday, February 5, though he was not able to confirm this with his "best contacts." He said he will let people know if things change, but, "Right now, that seems to be the timetable that I am hearing from my contacts."

He went on to say that there is "consensus building" that a Direct will take place in the first week of February. However, Nate The Hate said he does not know what the rumored show's format may be, so he can't say for sure if it's a Direct focused on first-party games or a partner showcase. But he said he is confident that "some form of a Direct" is coming soon.

Highguard is a free-to-play FPS, so you're probably already aware that there are some currencies to collect (or buy) to get the most out of it. Luckily, nothing in this high-octane fantasy shooter is P2W (pay-to-win), with all currencies being used solely to buy cosmetics like skins for characters and guns, emotes, charms, or even banners.

If you've booted up Highguard and wondered what all of the currencies you're accruing so far actually do, you don't need to look any further. Here's every currency in Highguard and what it's used for.

Warden Credits are earned by playing matches of Highguard and completing daily and weekly challenges, the latter of which you can keep up with in the Challenges section of the Headwall tab. This currency is used to purchase cosmetics from the Trading Post (also in the Headwall tab). The cosmetics you can buy here rotate weekly and include everything from character and gun skins to charms and banners.

Apollo is looking to kick back and relax with some movies in the aptly-named Movie Night quest in Arc Raiders. For this outing into the always hectic Stella Montis map, you'll need to go to one of the most dangerous spots and find some old movie tapes, as well as round up a Portable TV. If you want to get in and out quickly, we've got you covered with where to find both.

We'd recommend bringing in an augment with two safe pockets so that you can store these items safely in case your raid goes south. You will need to extract with both of them to complete the quest, after all.

When you're ready to complete Movie Night, follow the steps below.

Capcom has released a new Monster Hunter Wilds patch that appears to fix a bug preventing the game from performing better without DLC installed.

Earlier this month, players were reporting major performance issues on Steam, with user de_Tylmarande theorizing that the game performed better on the platform when more DLC was installed. After a thorough investigation, which involved modding their game to make it think they owned all DLC, their performance greatly improved, and the user concluded that Monster Hunter Wilds' performance issues were due to the game doing a constant DLC presence check.

Now, it looks like Capcom has finally resolved the issue with Ver. 1.040.03.01, writing in the patch notes that the issue was brought to the team's attention. It notes that the patch includes "optimization improvements for Steam-specific processes and options to reduce processing load", and explains the issue related to "unclaimed content", which sounds like DLC.

Tim Bender made his name in the video game industry by founding the indie publisher Hooded Horse and has enjoyed a run of hit games--including last year's sleeper Manor Lords--since 2019. Regardless of his own success, Bender recently suggested that indie developers are better off publishing their own games and suggested that some of his rivals are "predatory and opportunistic."

"People can hate me for this if they want," Bender told PC Gamer. "But most indie publishers are not people indie developers should work with. The vast majority of indie publishers, in their whole structure, are predatory and opportunistic."

Bender's argument is that most of the indie developers "don't add a lot" to the success of a game. He went on to elaborate that other publishers are more interested in lining up a large number of games in the hope of investing in popular titles and abandoning the rest.