A datamine has revealed when players will be able to use World of Warcraft's full suite of player-housing systems, giving an indication of when the MMORPG's next expansion will launch in full.

As datamined by Wowhead, the Midnight pre-patch, which will introduce class changes and new systems (though not the actual new zones, dungeons, or other expansion content) looks to be coming on or around January 27, 2026. The datamined splash screen for the patch points out Neighborhoods, the void-focused Devourer Demon Hunter specialization, and a new pre-patch event called Twilight Ascension as new additions.

The event, which looks to have players dealing with cultists of the Twilight Hammer, states it will be available on January 27. That puts the likely release date of the expansion itself in the following three or four weeks sometime in February. Blizzard has not yet given an officiall release date for when Midnight, or the pre-patch, will release.

One of my favorite experiences in any open-world game is when something that must've been spontaneous feels scripted: when emergent moments become setpieces by happy accident. Many of my favorite games have this quality, such as State of Decay, Sea of Thieves, and PUBG. In a recent four-hour session with Arc Raiders, I saw signs that it, too, has this elusive yet irresistible trait.

For the uninitiated, Arc Raiders is an extraction shooter. What interests me about extraction shooters is that the shapes they've taken have been more varied than those of battle royale games, the subgenre du jour that preceded it. Whereas Fortnite, Warzone, and PUBG are all more or less offering the same gameplay loop in different wrappers, Wildgate is just about nothing like Hunt: Showdown, and neither of those is quite like Escape from Tarkov. What they all share is a constant risk-versus-reward calculation forever running in the back of players' minds. Knowing whether to push on for some incredible loot or to escape with more modest winnings comes down to feel; it's a gutcheck more than anything.

By now, any half-decent extraction shooter knows how to toy with this sense of risk, but Arc's art direction, audio design, and great pacing made me feel like my best rounds were the game telling my story. When I died early in my first two rounds, I was just a Redshirt, an NPC bad guy there as fodder for some other daring raider who braved the terrain's hostilities to escape with precious resources. But on the missions where my GameSpot colleagues and I traveled, fought, and scraped out wins for 20+ minutes at a time, those were our moments as the story's heroes.

Former EA developers, now making games as Play by Play Studios, are taking a shot at a new officially licensed NBA game called NBA The Run. It will feature 3v3 gameplay with recognizable faces from across the world of basketball.

Players will be able to take part in knockout tournaments and face off against both current NBA stars and fictional characters, blending classic basketball gameplay with creative matchups. Bobbito Garcia, who served as announcer for several NBA Street games, returns to provide commentary.

Play by Play Studios emphasized NBA The Run's rollback netcode system--an online multiplayer technology that predicts players’ inputs to reduce lag, then corrects any mismatches by rolling back and resimulating the game for smoother, near-real-time play. Rollback netcode is especially popular in the fighting game community for keeping matches responsive and fair even with high latency.

When I reviewed Dragon Quest III HD last year, I talked a fair bit about what an important game it was to JRPGs as a whole and why its reissue was a big deal. One thing I didn't mention is part of why it had such a big impact: It was a massive improvement in scope, gameplay, and storytelling over the two preceding Dragon Quest titles. With DQIII HD's sales success and its chronological position as the first part of a story trilogy, Square Enix releasing a similar HD-2D remake of the first two titles made perfect sense.

And here we are now, with Dragon Quest I and II HD Remake--the other chapters in the Erdrick trilogy, now gussied up with Square Enix's lavish 2D-sprites-on-3D-backgrounds style of graphical presentation. Jumping into these games for the first time in well over two decades, I was surprised to see just how much effort went into "modernizing" them--not just in terms of mechanics, but also to build upon their basic "hero(es) take up arms against an evil force" narratives with more dialogue, setpieces, and story beats. Yet even with all of the enhancements, one game in this bundle clearly comes out as the superior adventure--but still not quite up to the heights of the previous release.

If you're at all familiar with Dragon Quest, you know what to expect here: classic fantasy JRPG adventures, packed with random-encounter turn-based combat, dungeon exploration, fetch quests, and vanquishing the forces of darkness with the light of heroism. Dragon Quest I is a strictly solo journey--it's just your brave little hero, going mano-a-mano with the enemy hordes--while DQII uses the series' now-traditional party system. Though the two games play similarly, having a party makes a world of difference in combat: extra meatshields and actions allow for distinct strategies to take shape, making for more dynamic and enjoyable fights.

In Ghost of Yotei, when you're not actively battling Lord Saito's forces or frolicking through the fields of Ezo, there's a pretty good chance you're climbing some sort of mountain. As with many video games, Ghost of Yotei makes use of specially marked white stones in order to help guide you on your journey, but it wasn't until I was many hours into the story that it occurred to me: I've been touching bird poop this whole time.

There is no getting around this, and no mental gymnastics you can do to pretend it's anything else. As Atsu climbs up a mountain, the white rocks eventually lead to a white smeared area at the top. Sure, at this point, perhaps you could say that is chalk or some sort of paint. However, there is always a bird that just so happens to fly away just as you get there. Was that bird simply hanging out and singing a tune? Perhaps, but only if it likes to multitask while delivering an absolutely gargantuan dump.

It's gross, and I'm luckily not the only person to notice this. George Foster over at TheGamer made mention of it, and a clever Reddit user even posited this is the reason why people complain about protagonist Atsu's cooking. For once, "This tastes like crap" would absolutely not be hyperbole. Let's just be thankful none of those birds have IBS, because it would both be more disgusting and impossibly difficult to figure out where to climb.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi seems to have an affinity for guiding players with yellow paint, as he expressed in a recent interview that this style of environmental markings is necessary.

Speaking to GamesRadar, Hamaguchi explained that there is "definitely a need" for environmental guidance in video games. Whether that be yellow paint or not isn't really the point for him; sometimes, you just need a little assistance to figure out where to go or what to do next.

"I get there is a debate about that, whether that fits with that world or not, whether some people want it, some people don't," Hamaguchi said via a translator. "I think as a game, there is definitely a need for that kind of thing in a lot of ways. I think obviously different developers experiment, try different things about what works best, what fits best, the right way of doing that in their game."

Releasing a video game in the middle of new Battlefield and Call of Duty titles probably brings back memories of Titanfall 2. But Arc Raiders is threading that needle this week when it arrives tomorrow, October 30. Battlefield 6 came out earlier this month--including the free-to-play Battlefield RedSec dropping this week, too--while Black Ops 7 is just weeks away on November 14. But leadership behind Arc Raiders seems undeterred.

Speaking with The Game Business, Embark Studios co-founder Patrick Soderlund was questioned about launching Arc Raiders between two of the biggest shooters of the year. "I know. The insanity," Soderlund said in jest. "People may look at that and say, 'What the hell are they doing?' We have spent a lot of time looking at this from multiple angles, and you know, for right or wrong, we believe that the game can launch there. This is the start of a long journey. It needs to start somewhere."

Arc Raiders has already seen some success in the wake of Battlefield 6. Earlier this month, the extraction shooter saw huge player numbers on Steam for the game's "server slam" play test. Embark Studios has also looked at the early reception to Arc Raiders versus Marathon, an extraction shooter in development at Bungie.

Hideo Kojima has responded to reports that The Matrix’s creators, Lilly and Lana Wachowski, once pitched a game idea to Konami while he worked there. On his X account, Kojima posted that he was unaware that the conversation had taken place, and he was surprised to read stories suggesting that they wanted him to work on a Matrix video game adaptation.

"I was surprised to see on social media that the Wachowski sisters had 'offered me a Matrix game project' back in 1999," Kojima wrote. "In all these 26 years, no one ever told me such a conversation had taken place. At the time, we were mutual fans and exchanged emails. The Matrix hadn’t been released in Japan yet, but I had already seen it in theaters in the US and at a preview screening. When the Wachowskis came to Japan for promotion, I believe I met them three times."

I was surprised to see on social media that the Wachowski sisters had “offered me a Matrix game project!” back in 1999. In all these 26 years, no one ever told me such a conversation had taken place. At the time, we were mutual fans and exchanged emails. The Matrix hadn’t been… pic.twitter.com/4P10P9eEfT

Kojima explained that there was no mention of an offer to develop a Matrix video game, and back then, he was busy working on Metal Gear Solid 2. "If someone had told me, maybe there could've been a way to make it work," Kojima added. In the original interview on Time Extension, Bergstresser recalled a meeting with the Wachowskis and former CEO of Konami Digital Entertainment, Kazumi Kitaue, but Kojima says he wasn't present for it, and he arrived back at Konami headquarters after the discussion had wrapped up.

The definitive ninja action-adventure franchise is back. Ninja Gaiden 4, launched October 21, has ushered in a new era of dynamic combat, stylish gameplay, and unforgettable Ninja storytelling.

Available on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PC, and Xbox Cloud via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, this latest installment is shaping up to be the must-play action title of the year.

At the heart of Ninja Gaiden 4 is a thrilling fusion of Team Ninja’s classic combat philosophy with PlatinumGames’ signature, high-intensity gameplay. The result? A game that feels both familiar to longtime fans and refreshingly bold for newcomers.

The legendary ninja action-adventure series is back with Ninja Gaiden 4, and it’s available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Cloud with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Combining dynamic combat, fluid movement and intense encounters, the game is undoubtedly one of the most thrilling and action-packed releases of the year. Every moment challenges players to master their skills -- like lightning-fast combos or wall-running through neon-lit Tokyo streets — and adapt to ever-changing combat scenarios.

At the heart of Ninja Gaiden 4 is a combat system that rewards precision, timing and creativity. Players can chain together fast, satisfying combos, executing parries and counterattacks that feel deadly and rewarding. Each encounter is an opportunity to test reflexes, whether slicing through hordes of enemies or taking on towering bosses that demand perfect execution.

After years of waiting, Ninja Gaiden has finally returned. Ninja Gaiden 4 brings one of gaming’s most iconic action franchises back into the spotlight, combining the precision and challenge of the originals with some clever modern twists. And you’ll be able to jump in right now with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, whether you’re on Xbox Series X|S, PC, or cloud.

Tokyo is on the edge of collapse. A deadly miasma blankets the city after the resurrection of an ancient enemy, and its fate now rests in the hands of Yakumo, a young ninja prodigy stepping out of the shadows. Alongside the legendary Ryu Hayabusa, players get to explore two intertwined stories that honour the franchise’s past while offering a fresh perspective on its dark, dangerous world.

This isn’t just another sequel. It’s a full-on revival.