Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian just recently launched its acclaimed previous game, Divinity: Original Sin II, on Switch 2, and studio boss Swen Vincke said he tried hard to cut one element in particular for the new release.

Speaking to Mein-MMO, Vincke responded to the interviewer saying they are a big fan of the game's squirrel NPC, Sir Lora. Vincke hates the little critter and wanted him gone for the re-release.

"It's funny that you like Sir Lora. I hate him. If there is one thing I regret about Original Sin 2, it's bringing Sir Lora into the game," he said.

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Embark Studios is giving Arc Raiders players a reason to jump into its free-to-play title, The Finals, by introducing a fresh color for the Ryder outfit that can only be earned by playing a few matches of the popular first-person shooter. This new color for the Ryder outfit is a good-looking option for anyone who wants to stand out with a bold and aggressive vibe, so fans of Arc Raiders will likely want to hop into The Finals and snag this one. Here's how to make it happen.

How to get the Red Ryder skin in Arc Raiders

To get the red color for the Ryder outfit in Arc Raiders, you'll simply need to play three matches of The Finals. Yes, it really is that easy--though you'll obviously need to have downloaded and installed The Finals to get things started. Thankfully, it's a free-to-play game, though if you've not played it before, you'll first be prompted to complete a short tutorial. In all, completing this challenge should take you about 1-2 hours at most.

Do note that you'll want to be absolutely certain that you're logged into the same Embark ID for both Arc Raiders and The Finals. With these linked together, completing those three matches of The Finals will automatically grant you the Red Ryder skin shortly thereafter in Arc Raiders--it took exactly one hour for it to show up in my inbox in Arc Raiders.

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If you've come across the Paving the Way quest in Arc Raiders, you're likely looking for an ENELICA building or wondering where to find some research notes. You've come to the right place, as we've got each step of Paving the Way listed out for you below. Just be aware that this quest requires you to visit two separate maps, so it's going to take a bit of time and effort to wrap it up.

You'll want to try to extract from each map when you've completed the necessary steps there, but rest assured that dying won't reset your progress. As such, we'd recommend you not bring in all of your best gear, as there are likely to be a lot of folks around questing, too, and you don't want to risk losing anything valuable.

When you're ready to complete Paving the Way, follow the steps below.

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Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription

$149 (was $399)

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While learning a language is challenging, it's never been easier to start, thanks to the abundance of learning apps and online classes. One of the longest-running and highest-rated of these is Rosetta Stone. The service offers comprehensive courses in 25 languages, all of which use a unique immersion learning style, making it one of the most effective language learning programs out there. Of course, as with any language-learning program, the trick is to stick with it--luckily, Rosetta Stone is offering a limited-time discount on lifetime subscriptions, dropping the price to just $149 (was $400), which could make it much easier to commit to the process.

While the Lifetime Subscription is arguably the best deal, it's not the only Rosetta Stone discount. The 3-Month Plan is on sale for $48 (was $60; billed every three months), while the 12-Month Plan is $126 (was $240; billed every 12 months). While the Lifetime Plan includes all 25 languages (listed below), monthly plans only unlock a single language--making the lifetime subscription by far the best deal. All plans offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Rosetta Stone also lets you gift plans to others, which could make this deal a fun holiday gift. Here's a look at all the options side-by-side:

Rosetta Stone Subscription Discounts

• Lifetime Plan -- $149 ($400) (single payment) | Includes 25 languages
• 12-month plan -- $126 ($240) (billed annually) | Includes one language
• 3-month plan -- $48 ($60) (billed every 3 months) | Includes one language

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Rosetta Stone's deals are only available for a limited time, so be sure to sign up at these discounted rates before they disappear.

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The Cold Snap update has added plenty of snow and freezing conditions to Arc Raiders, but there's also a bit of holiday cheer to be found topside. That is, if you're engaging with the Flickering Flames project and collecting the necessary Candleberries to complete it. These hard-to-find berries are necessary for filling out the project alongside a handful of other fairly common items. Even better, each time you fulfill a requirement in the project, you'll earn rewards like Raider Tokens or Merits--the latter of which goes toward the Gathering Candleberries event. Here's how to find candleberries in Arc Raiders, as well as everything you'll need to complete the Flickering Flames event.

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• Arc Raiders Candleberries locations

Arc Raiders Candleberries locations

Candleberries can only be found during the new Cold Snap map condition. This map condition can occur on any map except Stella Montis, so it will be available fairly often for you to explore.

To find Candleberries, you'll want to visit areas that commonly contain other fruits, such as those you need for Scrappy upgrades. These areas are typically Nature regions, which are clearly defined on every map by the leaf icon.

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My Arcade Sonic the Hedgehog Mighty Player

$120

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My Arcade Pac-Man 45th Anniversary Mighty Player

$120

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Retro gaming manufacturer My Arcade launched its Sonic the Hedgehog Joystick Player last month, and now it's joined by two more diminutive arcade cabinets--the Sonic and Pac-Man Mighty Players. These are much larger than the existing Sonic Joystick Player, clocking in at around a foot tall and 7 inches wide, making them tiny enough for a countertop but big enough to be comfortable during extended play sessions. They also feature 3.5-inch screens and come with four pre-installed games. If you're interested in adding them to your game room, they're available now at Amazon for $120 each.

My Arcade Sonic the Hedgehog Mighty Player $120

This officially licensed Sega product features a 3.5-inch color display, wood construction with an illuminated marquee, a rechargeable battery offering five hours of playtime, and a tiny control panel with various buttons and a joystick. The cabinet clocks in at 12 inches tall, 7.4 inches wide, and 5.9 inches deep, making it larger than most other products in the My Arcade lineup.

The cabinet is finished with a retro Sonic design, along with a bold blue color scheme throughout the entire unit. As for the games packed inside? Here's what you'll get:

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic Spinball
• Sonic 3D Blast

See at Amazon My Arcade Pac-Man 45th Anniversary Mighty Player $120

This one gets you all of the same features as the Sonic Mighty Player (wood construction, illuminated marquee, 3.5-inch display), but this time it's all about Pac-Man. Featuring colorful artwork across the cabinet and a bold yellow across the control panel, it's a pretty great-looking product. Here's a look at its game list:

• Pac-Man (Classic and Speed-Up)
• Pac-Man Plus
• Super Pac-Man
• Pac & Pal

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These Mighty Players are a bit smaller than Arcade1Up Countercades, which typically stand over 12 inches tall, around 9 inches long, and 9 inches wide. These My Arcade Mighty Players are a bit cheaper than the Arcade1Up Countercades and their $150 price tag--however, a few Countercades are currently on sale for $130, making them worth a closer look ahead of the holidays. This includes the Class of '81 Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Countercade and Pac-Man Countercade.

The former includes Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, and DigDug, while the latter offers Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, and Pac-Mania. Both include a 7-inch LCD display (which is quite a bit larger than the 3.5-inch display of My Arcade), so be sure to give them a look while they're on sale.

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A tectonic shift in the political climate has given rise to a sharp increase in authoritarian practices and policies and made 2025 an unprecedented and disconcerting year for censorship, including for the video game industry. In the face of outstanding pressure on the payment processors powering storefronts like Steam and Itch, thousands of games--largely pertaining to adult subject matter that was sexual in nature and labeled NSFW--were either removed or deindexed from those respective stores. Though the uproar around these removals died down with time--partly due to loss of momentum pressuring these stores to rescind the bans, partly because certain free games were eventually reindexed on Itch--the recent release of Santa Ragione's Horses has brought the conversation back for another round before year's end.

That's because, once again, a title with a significant amount of adult content (seriously, Horses fits a lot of taboo material into a fairly brief runtime) has found itself in the crosshairs of the ongoing puritanical culture war that's raging throughout the country, as well as in the world of video games. And as it continues, the controversy around certain games and their subject matter begins to raise questions about artistic expression, who in this medium is allowed to discuss and prominently feature adult-oriented content, and what kind of conversations and explorations of these subjects will the corporate powers in control of the industry permit.

Horses is a notable development in this ongoing controversy for several reasons, not the least of which is the preventative measures taken against it. Whereas the bulk of the censorship mentioned here came well after games were released and available to play, affecting many games that had already been listed on these stores for some time, Horses has been facing an uphill battle leading to its release on December 2.

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There are a lot of quests to complete in Arc Raiders, but only a few send you beneath Spaceport's Launch Tower to navigate its dark and dreary tunnels. One of these quests, The Clean Dream, asks you to begin by searching containers and monitoring a filtration system before sending you off to a whole new map. If you're looking to tackle this quest, we've got everything you need to know below.

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• Search 4 containers in the underground tunnels

Search 4 containers in the underground tunnels

First, you're headed to Spaceport to search four containers in the underground tunnels. These tunnels run all along the center of the map, and there are a variety of ways to get down there and navigate them. However, the most common and easily-accessible entrance will be the same spot you visited during the Switching the Supply quest, which is a collapsed section a bit southwest of the Launch Tower.

This is the best entrance to the tunnels for most players.

While you're down here, you can search any lootable container--including "breach & search" boxes--to complete this part of the quest. Even if something has been opened and searched by another raider, you'll get credit for searching it yourself.

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Shooters are having a moment in 2025, with Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders topping the charts and attracting large player counts as the year comes to an end. The former title is a return to form for a legacy franchise, while the latter leads the charge for the fledgling extraction-shooter genre.

Left in the dust in the shooter space, however, is Splitgate 2, a game that its makers thought would revitalize a genre they saw as growing stale. Developer 1047 Games released the first-person shooter in May, exuding extreme confidence in its product. Splitgate 2 tried to bank on nostalgia for old-school arena shooters, directly invoking Halo and even Titanfall. Yet, the game was also marred by contradictory decisions, adapting present-day monetization models and industry-wide fads like battle royale modes.

Splitgate 2 is a blip in the big picture of 2025, but the issues and drama surrounding the title and its release were so prolific that the game is certain to be the subject of YouTube essays and analysis for years to come. From microtransaction controversies to studio CEO Ian Proulx donning the most egregious headwear possible in a livestreamed industry event, along with developer layoffs and an extremely unusual "unlaunching" of the game, 2025 was nothing but tumultuous for the Splitgate team.

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Sony WH-1000XM5 Bundle

$248 (was $520)

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If you're shopping for last-minute gifts for audiophiles, be sure to check out this awesome limited-time deal at Amazon that drops the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones to their lowest price ever at just $248 (was $520), and includes a pair of WF-C700N wireless earbuds for free (normally $120). In total, you're saving $272 with this offer. The deal is expected to run until December 31, though inventory may run out well before then.

Sony WH-1000XM5 Bundle $248 (was $520)

This deal applies to the blue, black, silver, and pink versions of the WH-1000XM5. Regardless of which color you choose for your headphones, the earbuds are always offered in black. Oddly enough, it's possible to buy the WH-1000XM5 right now for $248 without the earbuds included. Be sure to select the bundle to get the earbuds for free. And if you only care about the earbuds, they're on sale for $90 (was $120).

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The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are extremely popular. While they're not the newest iteration of Sony's premium noise-canceling headphones (those are the WH-1000XM6), they offer impressive noise cancellation. Sound quality is excellent as well, and it can be further customized using the companion Sony Sound Connect app. They also offer up to 30 hours of battery life on a single charge, and quick charging support that can restore three hours of playback in just three minutes of charging.

As for the WF-C700N earbuds, they may not be as popular as AirPods, but they're still a great option, offering IPX4 water resistance, multiple silicone earbud tips, a built-in microphone for hands-free calling, and the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously.

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Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 launched first into early access on Steam, and now the studio has teased that its next game, Divinity, could follow a similar playbook.

Larian boss Swen Vincke told GamesRadar, "We still want to do early access." He isn't 100% committing to it as of yet, but said this approach worked for its past games.

"It's been the blueprint, especially the community participation with early access, which is what interests us. It was [with] Divinity: Original Sin 1, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Baldur's Gate 3--they [the community members] were a large part of how we developed the games," he said.

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The month of December is a busy one for Arc Raiders. The major highlight of the month is the Cold Snap update, which introduces a slew of content to the game and balancing fixes across the board. However, launching right after the Cold Snap update is the first Expedition in Arc Raiders, which is essentially the game's version of a "wipe."

To find out more about Expeditions, including when the first one will begin and the requirements to embark on one, check out the guide below.

How Expeditions work in Arc Raiders

For starters, what exactly are Expeditions? If you've played a game like Rust or Escape from Tarkov before, then you can think of an Expedition like a wipe. This involves your character's progress being reset, forcing you to start over from scratch.

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Baldur's Gate 3 has built a reputation as one of the best role-playing games ever made since it released a few years ago, and with Divinity, Larian certainly seems confident it can make something even better. But how can it be so sure? Speaking to GameSpot, CEO Swen Vincke explained that the D&D tabletop roots of Baldur's Gate 3 could actually make things more difficult.

"One of the biggest struggles that we had with Baldur's Gate 3 is every single class has almost different rulesets, so getting players on board with that was quite complicated," Vincke told us.

While those with D&D experience (or a similar game like Solasta) may have felt like they were ready for Baldur's Gate 3 at launch, it does feature a number of class-unique mechanics that people have to learn. These range from the Barbarian's "rage" mechanic to the spell-slots system for magic-users, and it definitely puts D&D veterans at something of an advantage.

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Terminator: Survivors, once planned for release in 2024, has been delayed yet again and is now set to launch sometime after 2025.

The game is in development at Nacon Studio Milan. Creative director Marco Ponte said the decision to delay the game was made "after months of internal testing," along with discussions from fans. As a result of these discussions, the developer also decided to cut multiplayer co-op from the game.

"We know this may come as a disappointment, but we believe it is the right creative direction for an uncompromising vision of the world after Judgment Day," Ponte said.

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Rainbow Six Mobile will launch on February 23, 2026, Ubisoft has announced. The free-to-play first-person shooter will arrive that day across iOS and Android.

The game was announced in 2022 and conducted public tests that began in 2023, but it's now nearly ready for its global rollout for everyone. The game promises to replicate the Rainbow Six Siege experience on mobile, and Ubisoft says it was "developed exclusively" for mobile devices.

Rainbow Six Mobile features three 5v5 multiplayer modes: Bomb, Bomb Rush, and Team Deathmatch. There are 20+ operators in the game, along with some familiar maps from Rainbow Six Siege, including Bank, Border, and Clubhouse.

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Netflix and Ubisoft are making an Assassin's Creed TV series, and the cast is coming together ahead of the start of production in 2026.

So far, three stars for the Assassin's Creed TV show have been confirmed, but as of yet, no roles have been announced. For now, here's who we know will appear on the show:

• Toby Wallace
• Zachary Hart
• Lola Petticrew

Wallace is known for his roles in the movies The Bikeriders and Babyteeth, while Hart is perhaps best known for the Apple TV show Slow Horses. Petticrew, meanwhile, starred on the TV series Say Nothing.

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Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity developer Larian has confirmed that it uses generative AI in its development processes, but not necessarily in the way you might think.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Larian boss Swen Vincke said its developers use generative AI tools for things like exploring new game ideas, developing concept art, creating placeholder text, and for PowerPoint presentations. Vincke said, "I think at this point everyone at the company is more or less OK with the way we're using it." That said, Bloomberg reported that there has been "some pushback at Larian."

He also confirmed that the new Divinity game will not have any AI-generated content in it. "Everything is human actors; we're writing everything ourselves," he said.

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Infinity Ward, the developer of the popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, has told fans, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet" amid a rumor about next year's game.

In a post on social media, the studio wished fans a happy holiday and teased that it's "looking forward to talking soon." In the meantime, the developer said fans should be wary of what they read on the internet. Although there was no further context provided, this may be a reference to a recent report that claimed Infinity Ward is making 2026's Call of Duty game, rumored to be Modern Warfare 4, and that its multiplayer would be a "complete copy" of Modern Warfare 2's.

Happy holidays everybody!

Wishing our community an awesome holiday season and looking forward to talking soon.

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. See you in 2026.

— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) December 15, 2025

On December 13, the Call of Duty leaker GhostofHope posted, "Modern Warfare 4 Multiplayer in its current state is currently a complete copy of Modern Warfare II except for no perk charging system and less ADS/slide penalties..."

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Ubisoft has acquired the game March of Giants from Amazon Games, and this also means that creative director Xavier Marquis has returned to Ubisoft. He was the original creative director on Rainbow Six Siege and comes back to Ubisoft alongside Alex Parizeau, the former managing director of Ubisoft Toronto.

March of Giants is a 4v4 tactical multiplayer free-to-play MOBA inspired by technology from the early 1900s. The game combines elements of real-time strategy and lane-based combat. It's called March of Giants because players take on the role of a giant who is controlling troops on the battlefield.

Marquis said in a news release that, "Returning to Ubisoft brings things full circle."

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Germany's defense ministry is now funding tests to see if hissing cockroaches from Madagascar can be used as reconnaissance drones on the battlefield. It sounds like something out of a futuristic military video game, like Call of Duty.

The defense ministry has announced that it's funding research and development at SWARM Biotactics to create technology that can "steer cockroaches and send them on reconnaissance missions," CBS News reported.

CEO Stefan Wilhelm said the cockroaches are "super resilient" and can crawl through "tiny spaces," climb up walls, go into pipes, and navigate through rubble. How does this work? Neuroscientists at the company put electrodes on the critters' antennae to "stimulate the insects' natural ability to navigate." They wear little backpacks carrying batteries and chips, with the bugs controlled through a game-style joystick. The researchers claim the cockroaches are not hurt by any of this.

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