The Life is Strange TV series is finally, after years of development, being made, as Amazon MGM Studios just recently announced a series order. One of the writers of the original game has reacted to the announcement, saying in a post on social media, "The only people not involved are the creators."

IGN discovered that Christian Divine, who wrote the first two Life is Strange games, posted this recently, but hasn't followed up with any further commentary.

People have pointed out that Amazon MGM Studios' announcement didn't include mention of the original creators of Life Is Strange, Don't Nod, or any of the original writers. When the show was first announced all the way back in 2016, there was no mention of Don't Nod, either.

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Like its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima, Ghost of Yotei is shaping up to make a strong case for digital tourism. A new video released by Sony shows off several scenic locales from the upcoming game, and best of all, you don't have to worry about any bandits or ronin interrupting your tour of Ezo while listening to an extended version of "The North" from composer Toma Otowa's soundtrack for the game.

Ghost of Yotei officially launches on October 2 for PS5, and as that date draws closer, Sony and developer Sucker Punch Productions have shared more details on it. Set hundreds of years after Ghost of Tsushima and revolving around a quest for vengeance, Sucker Punch is aiming to keep players from feeling overwhelmed by open-world monotony while they travel across Ezo.

"Maybe the wind is telling you, if you would like to continue the story, go that way," game director Nate Fox said. "But you see something out of the corner of your eye that catches your curiosity. And you say, 'you know what? I'm going to go check that out.' That moment where the game's not telling you really about where to go or what to do. It's you. That's the most beautiful thing about open-world games."

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At long last, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally here and has achieved a massive concurrent player count on Steam during its first weekend, but for players struggling with the game's inherent difficulty, a selection of Silksong mods that make the game easier can already be found online.

Like the original Hollow Knight, one of the most appealing aspects of Silksong is the challenging gameplay loop, as you're tasked with traversing treacherous environments, overcoming tough bosses, and gradually improving your skills the more you progress. However, some players have already quit the game after one too many deaths due to Silksong's difficulty (via Reddit), with some claiming that it's even harder than the first game.

That's why over at Nexus Mods (via Insider Gaming), you can already find a number of mods that have been created to reduce the difficulty. One mod named "Always Have Compass Effect (BepInEx)" is currently the most-downloaded plugin on the site and essentially makes it so the player can always see their position on the map.

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The second season of The Last of Us won its first Emmy Award at the Creative Arts Emmys over the past weekend. It won for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series for the episode "Through the Valley," the second episode of the season--and its most traumatic.

The show was recognized in a range of technical and creative categories, including Best Production Design, Casting, Picture Editing, Contemporary Makeup, Prosthetic Makeup, Music Supervision, Sound Mixing, and Special Visual Effects. Even its behind-the-scenes documentary earned a nomination in the Nonfiction Short category.

This year, The Last of Us secured 16 total nominations, down from the 24 it received for its first season. Pedro Pascal (Joel) was nominated for Best Actor, despite his limited appearance in only three episodes, while Bella Ramsey (Ellie) received a Best Actress nomination. Supporting cast members Kaitlyn Dever (Abby), Catherine O'Hara (Gail), Jeffrey Wright (Isaac), and Joe Pantoliano (Eugene) also received acting nods. The series was also nominated for Best Drama for the second consecutive year.

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The PlayStation 5 turns five years old in November, and talk about the yet-to-be-announced PS6 has begun picking up lately. One idea that the proposed successor console could reportedly adopt from the current PlayStation hardware generation is a detachable disc drive.

According to Insider Gaming, having a detachable disc drive will allow Sony to reduce production and shipping costs of the PS6. This is also seen as a way to protect the company during "uncertain times", likely a reference to ongoing turbulence in the market brought on by US president Donald Trump's tariffs.

Essentially, this will allow consumers to choose between either a PS6 with a disc drive--a more traditional option--or a cheaper digital model that they can later upgrade with the add-on. In comparison, the PS5 console first launched with either a built-in disc drive or an all-digital model, and people who bought the more affordable console had no option for upgrading at the time with an add-on accessory. This changed when the slimmer PS5 console revision was introduced, and last year's launch of the PS5 Pro did not include a disc drive at all--although one can still be attached to it.

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EA Sports College Football 26 + Steelbook Case (PS5)

$50 (was $70)

See at Walmart

EA Sports College Football 26 Standard Edition (PS5, Xbox)

$50 (was $70)

See at Amazon See at Best Buy See at Target

EA Sports College Football 26 has received its first big price cut since launching in July. Multiple retailers, including Amazon, are offering a $20 discount for PS5 and Xbox Series X. If you game on PlayStation 5, you can get the discount and a free steelbook case exclusively at Walmart. These deals drop the price of the great football sim to $50. Over at Best Buy, meanwhile, you can bundle College Football 26 and Madden NFL 26 for $100 (was $140) on either console platform.

EA Sports College Football 26 + Steelbook Case (PS5) $50 (was $70)

This Walmart-exclusive edition comes with a steelbook case in addition to the standard edition case, which is great news for Buckeyes and Crimson Tide fans since their star receivers are on the cover this year: Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and Alabama receiver Ryan Williams.

The background of the standard edition cover art is wrapped around the steelbook case. The collage of team logos features many of the biggest programs in the country, including the reigning national champ Buckeyes of The Ohio State University. The front of the case also features Notre Dame, Nebraska, Penn State, Clemson, Florida, and more schools. The back of the case has Alabama, Texas, Oregon, and a few other schools.

Xbox users also get a free steelbook at Walmart, but Walmart isn't offering a discount for the Xbox Series X version.

See at Walmart EA Sports College Football 26 Standard Edition (PS5, Xbox) $50 (was $70)

The standard edition without the steelbook case is discounted to the same price for PS5 and Xbox Series X at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.

EA Sports College Football 26 earned an 8/10 in our review thanks to improved presentation, welcome adjustments to Dynasty mode, and expanded playbooks. Issues from last year's edition, including baffling player transfer decisions and inconsistencies with team rankings and individual awards, are still present, but overall College Football 26 offers a better experience.

As mentioned, you can bundle EA Sports College Football 26 with Madden NFL 26 for either console platform for $100 at Best Buy, which is a savings of $40 overall. Madden NFL 26 has yet to receive a discount on its own, but Best Buy's deal gets you both EA Sports sims for $50 each.

See at Amazon See at Best Buy See at Target

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Former Bethesda executive Pete Hines recently stirred up a new discussion around subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and their impact on the video game industry. Now, two more industry veterans have chimed in, including former executives at Sony and even Xbox itself.

Shannon Loftis, the former VP of Xbox Games Studios, said (via TweakTown) she agreed with Hines' assessment of subscription services, stating that Game Pass "comes at the expense of retail revenue."

Game Pass can "claim a few victories" in terms of games that might have otherwise "sunk beneath the waves," Loftis said, calling out Human Fall Flat as an example. However, the "majority of game adoption" on Game Pass comes at the cost of revenue from retail, she said, "unless the game is engineered from the ground up for post-release monetization."

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One of Digimon's biggest strengths has always been its ability to lean into nostalgia, and that's no different in Digimon Story: Time Stranger, the seventh entry in the franchise's role-playing-focused gaming series. Like past Digimon Story games, Time Stranger puts a big emphasis on narrative, but this time around, it was the creature collecting and turn-based battles that made me want to keep playing long after my three-hour preview session ended.

Instead of children and teens, Time Stranger's protagonist is an adult secret agent investigating Digimon-related phenomena. I started my playthrough right from the beginning of the story, where we see the effects of the Digital World on real-world Earth. You can choose whether the protagonist is male or female, and the other one becomes a character in the story: your partner who communicates with you through a pocket-sized hologram. The intro sets the stage for the clash between two worlds with regular citizens talking about news of unexplained disasters and protestors even accusing authorities of withholding secrets.

But that's all just a backdrop for the meat of what I got to play. The Digimon Story sub-series gets its name from its narrative-driven core which is, typically, complemented by turn-based gameplay. "Battle balance" is one of the main areas that producer Ryosuke Hara focused on, similar to what he did when working on Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. At 36 years old, he was part of the target audience for the series when Digimon Adventure launched in 1999.

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Actor Keanu Reeves played Johnny Silverhand in CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077, and with a sequel now in development, many are wondering if Reeves might come back.

The Matrix actor told IGN that he would "absolutely" be interested in reprising his role in the sequel.

"I'd love to play Johnny Silverhand again," he said.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong has achieved a massive concurrent player count on Steam during its first weekend, just days after its long-awaited release.

According to the SteamDB charts, the highly anticipated indie surpassed 587,150 players on the platform on September 6, beating out its impressive launch day numbers of 534,450 users and its first Friday at 562,814. This peak places the game as the 17th biggest peak ever, putting it amongst the most popular Steam games of all time.

Despite a small dip in players, which we can attribute to it being a Monday, Silksong is still holding strong. As of writing, the metroidvania has over 459,177 players in-game. What's more, the game is currently sitting at number 4 for most-played games on Steam, beating out the likes of Rust, Path of Exile 2, and Helldivers 2, and following behind PUBG: Battlegrounds, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2.

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2024's Borderlands movie was not a big success at the box office, bringing in just $33 million and garnering a cool critical reception as well. Despite the movie's lack of performance critically and commercially, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford isn't giving up on future transmedia opportunities.

Speaking to The Gamer, Pitchford said he would be open to the idea of another stab at it if the right team of people and ideas come together at the right moment.

"My attitude is, if there are great creators, artists, entertainers that have something to say and they think they can only do it with Borderlands, and they can demonstrate that they can do it, I want to enable that. We don't always succeed, but we've got to keep swinging," he said.

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During this year's Pokemon World Championships, The Pokemon Company teased the Evolved Pokemon card, Mega Charizard X EX, as well as Mega attack rare cards. Now, the new expansion for Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG),  Mega Evolution — Phantasmal Flames, has been announced.

Mega Evolution — Phantasmal Flames will arrive on November 14 with new Mega Evolution Pokemon and an emphasis on fire-type and darkness-type cards. Some of the highlights are listed below.

• 6 Mega Evolution Pokemon ex cards
• 4 ex cards
• 13 illustrated rare Pokemon
• 17 ultra rare Mega Evolution Pokemon ex Trainer and Energy cards
• 5 Mega Evolution Pokemon ex and Supporter cards

Preorders for Phantasmal Flames haven't gone live yet. Players who want to try out the new expansion before launch will be able to do so during pre-release tournaments starting on November 1. Additionally, the Mega Evolution — Phantasmal Flames expansion will be available on the Pokemon TCG app starting on November 13 for iOS, Android, macOS, and PC. From there, players will be able to collect and battle with new Mega Evolution Pokemon ex cards. Players will also get in-game bonuses by logging into the app.

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Lego Sega Genesis Controller

$20 | Free with purchase of $130 or more on qualifying items

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Lego recently announced a new Sega Genesis Controller set featuring a cute ode to the company's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, and if you act fast, you can snag it as a free add-on when you spend $130 or more at Lego's online store. The Lego Sega Genesis Controller set normally costs $20, so this is a nice promotion for anyone who was already thinking of grabbing a few new Lego kits. You'll want to act fast, however, as the special only runs from September 8 through September 17, or while stock lasts. The deal also only applies to Lego sets categorized as available right now, meaning it doesn't work for preorder items like the upcoming Lego Game Boy. We've listed a few recommendations for sets to grab to unlock the Sega Genesis Controller freebie in the lists below.

Lego Sega Genesis Controller $20 | Free with purchase of $130 or more on qualifying items

The 250-piece set replicates the original Sega Genesis three-button controller. The fully assembled model measures 3.5 inches high and 5.5 inches wide, and includes a display stand. The controller also opens up to reveal a micro-scale Sconic the Hedgehog scene based on the Green Hill Zone stage with microfigures of Sonic and a Crabmeat robot.

See at Lego Store Lego Sega Genesis Controller interior scene

As mentioned above, you'll need to spend at least $130 on eligible sets to qualify for the free Lego Sega Genesis Controller deal. Luckily, several releases from Lego's various gaming lines count towards the promo, including a few Sonic kits that will pair nicely with the Genesis gamepad. Some of our top picks here would be the disembodied head of Shadow the Hedgehog ($70), the Knuckles vs. Dr. Eggman Egg Crusher Mech set ($45), and the Super Sonic vs. Egg Drillster kit ($70). Check out the list below for even more Lego Sonic sets that qualify for the deal.

Lego Sonic the Hedgehog Sets

• Cyclone vs. Metal Sonic (290 pieces) -- $30
• Knuckles vs. Dr. Eggman Egg Crusher Mech (350 pieces) -- $45
• Knuckles and the Master Emerald Shrine (325 pieces) -- $35
• Knuckles' Guardian Mech (276 pieces) -- $35
• Shadow the Hedgehog display bust (720 pieces) -- $70
• Shadow the Hedgehog Escape (196 pieces) -- $20
• Shadow the Hedgehog Key Chain -- $6
• Sonic's Campfire Clash (177 pieces) -- $20
• Sonic the Hedgehog Key Chain -- $6
• Super Shadow vs. Biolizard (419 pieces) -- $45
• Super Sonic vs. Egg Drillster (590 pieces) -- $80
• Tails' Adventure Boat (393 pieces) -- $55
• Team Sonic Command Truck (747 pieces) -- $70

You can also purchase Lego Mario kits so that you can get the best of both Sega and Nintendo. Lego has several Mario Kart and Super Mario sets available for purchase, ranging from affordable karts and characters from the Nintendo kart-racing series to detailed worlds pulled from various games. Buying the Bowser Express Train and Yoshi on his motorcycle will quickly qualify you for the Genesis controller freebie, or you can grab a few Mario Kart sets like Shy Guy, Donkey Kong, and Wario to build your own personal race grid. We've listed a few more eligible Lego Maro sets below.

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Later this year, Octopath Traveler 0 will put you in control of your own destiny as you attempt to rebuild your town alongside a party of heroes. But the size of your city is going to be limited based on which system you choose to play the game on.

Square Enix has shared the Octopath Traveler 0 specs (via Wario64), which reveal that each console has a limit to the buildings that can be added to a town. Nintendo Switch comes in far below the other platforms with a 250 building limit. Switch 2 and PlayStation 4 can handle 400 buildings. But to get the maximum of 500 buildings, you'll need to play the game on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, or PC.

Octopath Traveler 0 platform specs pic.twitter.com/2jhpK7osy6

— Wario64 (@Wario64) September 5, 2025

When it comes to rendering resolution and frame rate, the Switch once again lags far behind the other consoles with 1280 x 720 and a maximum of 30 FPS. Switch 2, PS4, and Xbox Series S can all reach 1920 x 1080 resolution, but the Series S can also hit 120 FPS while the other two consoles are locked at 60 FPS. PS5 and Xbox Series X both have 3840 x 2160 resolution and 120 FPS, and the PC version allows users to select their own resolution and frame rate.

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Join the AFK Shift and monitor abandoned streams on an unnamed livestreaming service. Be on the lookout for unexpected changes, strange phenomena, and hostile entities attempting to escape the Internet. Report these anomalies and protect our physical and digital worlds from disastrous corruption! It's dangerous to watch alone. Connect AFK Shift to Twitch and have your chatters provide suggestions for what kind of anomaly you should report and where! Or do you have better things to do than deal with the know-it-alls in chat? Set the game to AFK mode and hand the reigns to your mods, and let chat play the game themselves if they think they're oh so clever!