The latest stories from the gaming world
Nintendo's ink-soaked series takes a sharp turn: Splatoon Raiders is a single-player-focused, story-driven spin-off launching exclusively on Switch 2 on July 23, teaming you with Deep Cut to explore the Spirhalite Islands.
A year into its life, the Switch 2 is outrunning the PS5 quarter-to-quarter and dominating the US market - even as Sony's console keeps a commanding lifetime lead. And a Switch 2 price hike is now on the horizon.
Monolith Soft's beloved JRPG gets the Switch 2 treatment on July 30: 4K/60fps visuals, a new Rare Blade and quest, fresh Pyra and Mythra designs, amiibo support, and a new mode that lets you command your Blades directly in battle.
Nintendo is packaging its cozy life-sim Pokemon Pokopia with a Switch 2 console in a new bundle launching July 23. Play as a shape-shifting Ditto to rebuild a withered world and befriend Pokemon in a relaxing paradise.
Pocketpair's monster-collecting phenomenon has finally exited Early Access. Palworld 1.0 launched July 10 as a free update with a 27-page changelog - adding the long-teased World Tree, the Sky Islands, 20-plus new Pals, water-based building, reworked tower bosses, and a breeding-defining new system called Genetic Recombination.
Game PassThe full remake of the 2001 original lands July 28 on Xbox, PC and — for the first time in franchise history — PlayStation 5, packing a brand-new three-mission Master Chief arc and day-one Game Pass access.
Honkai: Star Rail Version 4.4 'In Ravages Does the Whistle Sound' launches July 15, 2026 on iOS, Android, PC and PS5. It debuts the new 5-star Fire Erudition unit Himeko - Nova, continues the Fate/stay night crossover with Rin Tohsaka and Gilgamesh from July 24, and stacks six reruns alongside the Planarcadia story finale against Lord Ravager Asat Pramad.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 World Update 22 is live and free, celebrating the United States National Parks for the country's 250th anniversary. It adds 31 photogrammetry-rebuilt landmarks, 46 points of interest, nine discovery flights, the debut of guided tours, and a free Goodyear Blimp, with National Championship Air Races due in Fall 2026.
Sony Interactive Entertainment will stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028, moving new releases to digital distribution. Existing discs, disc drives, and games launching before the cutoff are unaffected, but the move sets a firm end date for the physical era of new PlayStation games.
Genshin Impact's Version 6.7 'Luna VIII' is live, bringing back Fatui Harbinger Sandrone as a 5-star Cryo Claymore, with Columbina and a Raiden Shogun rerun across a summer of events.
Splatoon Raiders, the single-player-focused Switch 2 spin-off, launches July 23. Nintendo's June 30 Direct detailed Deep Cut, the Spirhalite Islands, 100+ weapon variations and co-op for four.
Palworld's 1.0 release lands July 10 on PC, PS5, Xbox and Game Pass, nearly doubling the map with a World Tree and Sky Islands, adding PvP and its biggest wave of new Pals - free for owners.