The latest stories from the gaming world
Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse, the cursed-hat Metroidvania-roguelite from Pocketpair Publishing and Frontside 180, is coming to Android, with pre-registration now open on Google Play. No firm mobile release date has been given yet, but the console-quality action-platformer - built around possessing enemies and four-player co-op - is one to watch on phones.
Zero Racers, an F-Zero spin-off Nintendo showed at E3 1996, and D-Hopper, an Intelligent Systems platformer that had an ESRB rating and a $34.95 price tag, were both finished and then shelved when the Virtual Boy collapsed. On August 4, 2026, they'll finally be playable for the first time ever through Virtual Boy: Nintendo Classics.
ZeniMax Online Studios is delaying three major Elder Scrolls Online features - the long-requested Warden class overhaul, the Crimson Veldt Trial, and Update 52 - into 2027, after Xbox's restructuring laid off 213 ZeniMax Online staff, including the game's former director and studio head. New game director Nick Giacomini says Update 51 still ships September 28 and insists 'ESO is here to stay.'
Electronic Arts says every regulatory approval needed for its $55 billion buyout by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has now been obtained, with the deal expected to close on August 4 - making it the largest leveraged buyout in history and taking EA private for the first time since 1990.
Facing concerns that Xbox's latest round of layoffs would delay The Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda told YouTuber MrMattyPlays directly: 'No, the roadmap is unaffected.' Jason Schreier's own reporting still pegs the game at two to three years from completion.
Tim Schafer confirmed Double Fine Productions has laid off 23 employees, just weeks after the Psychonauts 2 studio was spun off from Xbox as an independent company. Double Fine keeps its IP and catalog, with Xbox funding future projects, but the studio says it had to resize to survive on its own.
Insomniac shadow-dropped update 1.005.000 for Marvel's Spider-Man 2, adding two free suits - one tied to the Spider-Man: Brand New Day movie, one crossing over from Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls - alongside Enhanced PSSR 2.0 on PS5 Pro and a new Power Saver mode on all PS5 hardware.
Xbox and Ubisoft have expanded their Console to PC program: owners of 13 Ubisoft titles on Xbox - including Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, and Rainbow Six Siege - now get the PC version at no extra cost. New purchases get both instantly; existing owners roll out through August 4.
Insomniac used its SDCC 2026 Hall H panel to drop a new story trailer for Marvel's Wolverine, confirming The Hand and Lady Deathstrike as threats, and quietly released an exclusive prequel comic detailing Logan's history with Team X. The PS5 exclusive launches September 15.
Days after Halo: Campaign Evolved's early access launch, players beating it on Legendary and completing the credits found two hidden scenes that strongly hint at a Halo 2 remake - including Sergeant Johnson telling the camera 'See you in the sequel.' Neither Halo Studios nor Microsoft has confirmed anything.
EA officially revealed FC 27 on July 23 with a reveal trailer, confirming Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham as Ultimate Plus Edition cover stars. The headline new feature is The Grounds, a social football open world with three districts. FC 27 launches worldwide September 25 on PS5, Xbox, PC, and Switch.
Gearbox detailed Bounty Pack 4: Murders and Acquisitions on its latest DevCast - a repeatable mission set in the Toxic Scowl with a new Pearlescent weapon, six Legendaries, and a refreshed Vault Card. It arrives July 30 alongside the V1.9 update, with Story Pack 2 already teased for September.