All articles tagged with #gaming
Unverified rumors from leaker malo932 claim a new Smash Bros. for Switch 2 and a Nintendogs revival, plus other potential titles (Star Fox adventure, Metroid remake, Wario Land, 3D Mario) and a Zelda live-action trailer next week; the piece notes the leaker’s past accuracy.
Indie-game headlines this week cover Double Fine’s independence and a Kickstarter game jam with a Brütal Legend 2 stretch goal, Aggro Crab’s developer-friendly publishing approach, and a Haunted Chocolatier update, plus a slate of new releases and upcoming titles: Worming From Home (remote-work worm sim), Marsupilami 2: Salsa Palombia (colorful mascot platformer), He Who Watches (Wall/portal puzzle adventure), ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles (ship designer), Shoe It All! (shoe-launch puzzler), and forthcoming I Am Your Beast: Quitting Time DLC, The Final Cut of Lilith Cunningham, Milki Delivery, and Cat Secretary.
Microsoft will cap Xbox Cloud Gaming hours starting in November 2026: 15 hours for Game Pass Ultimate, 10 for Premium, and 5 for Essential. The move aims to improve profitability amid AI/demand costs and will affect roughly 4% of subscribers (about a million players). It pits Xbox Cloud Gaming against NVIDIA GeForce Now, which is viewed as offering better value. Critics argue the limits undermine cloud gaming’s appeal for longer campaigns, while Microsoft hints at potential per-hour passes and ongoing hardware/remote-play improvements. The broader backdrop includes corporate restructuring and AI-driven RAM/resource pressures that suggest cloud gaming may no longer be the unchallenged future it once seemed.
Hype surrounding Grand Theft Auto VI boosted UK PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S sales by roughly 30% in the week following the reveal, with PS5 up 33% and Xbox up 34% per NielsenIQ, as fans rushed to buy ahead of GTA 6’s November release. The surge came as millions watched the reveal across Twitch and Netflix; Nintendo Switch 2 sales also rose about a third that week. Analysts caution the uplift may be smaller than the hype suggests due to ongoing price inflation and supply constraints.
Rockstar faces a migration challenge from GTA Online to GTA 6 Online, with Valve veteran Chet Faliszek noting GTA Online’s strong, accessible player base and the risk of slowing updates if Rockstar shifts focus to GTA 6 Online. Possible approaches include keeping GTA Online and GTA 6 Online as separate experiences or finding a path to migrate players, but no solution will please everyone. GTA 6 launches for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19, 2026.
Next Week on XBOX previews the September 7–11 release slate across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Game Pass, featuring a mix of sports sims, roguelikes, puzzles, and horror titles such as NHL 27, The Royal Writ, Halloween: The Game, Mewgenics, HOT WHEELS Infinite Rush, Train Sim World 7 Deluxe Edition, Bus Simulator 27, and more; most titles are optimized for Series X|S with Play Anywhere/Smart Delivery where noted.
Two GTA 6–themed Limited Edition DualSense PS5 controllers (black and white with palm tree motifs, color-shifting finish, and GTA VI numerals on the touchpad) were revealed during Sony's State of Play. Priced at $84.99, they go on sale via PlayStation Direct on September 10 at 10am local time, with stock likely limited; the announcement follows a Netflix gameplay reveal that drew massive viewership.
Illustration Rares for Morpeko and Maushold were announced from the 30th Celebration set, with worldwide releases kicking off September 16; Moltres ex and the Special Illustration Rare Salamence ex were also revealed as part of the same lineup.
Insider Gaming reports that Ananta, from Naked Rain and NetEase, will launch next year as a free-to-play open-world adventure with a live-service model, featuring at least 100 hours of content and ongoing post-launch updates (quests, characters, maps) planned for at least seven years, potentially extending to 2034 and beyond.
Ahead of BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard's StarCraft site began glitching and unveiling an ARG with decrypted ASCII messages dated 2575, linking to Roxara and Theta Squadron. The logs suggest a looming threat or containment scenario, prompting fan theories about a new StarCraft shooter, a revival of StarCraft: Ghost, or a narrative-driven mainline title. The timing plus a BlizzCon schedule gap has fueled speculation of an official reveal, though Blizzard has not commented and Nexon-perimeter rumors add to the intrigue.
Garrett Martin argues that the term 'metroidvania' is impenetrable and inaccurate, tracing its origins and contending that neither Metroid nor Castlevania truly invented or popularized the genre; he urges games writers and critics to drop the label in favor of clearer descriptors, acknowledging there isn’t a perfect replacement.
Square Enix released a free demo of Final Fantasy Resonance across Switch 2, PS5, Steam Deck, Switch 1/2, and ROG Ally. Early impressions show Switch 2 offers the best portable polish with stable frame times, Switch 1/2 struggles with 30fps and longer load times, PS5 Pro delivers smooth performance and better textures, Steam Deck generally stays above 60fps on high presets with some drops during heavy effects, and ROG Ally runs around 100fps. The game looks strong for an HD-2D title across platforms, though font is a minor gripe and there’s no upgrade path for Switch 1/2; full launch is October 22 with ongoing platform coverage.
Post-4.0.0 patch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online shows discrepancies between Switch 1 and Switch 2, with Switch 2 encountering extra hazards and potential item-box sync glitches on certain tracks; it’s unclear if this is a systemic issue or patch-specific, prompting players to test cross-system online play and compare notes against patch notes.
Fate/Extra Record is dated for January 28, 2027 and will be fully remade for PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch (including Switch 2), and PC; Western releases are handled by XSEED Games in North America and Marvelous Europe in Europe, with Switch 2 receiving a full cartridge release in NA and JP/EU physical versions on Switch 2 as Game‑Key Cards.
Kotaku highlights five highly-rated Steam titles on deep discounts for the holiday weekend: Tomb Raider (2013) for $3 (and the Survivor trilogy for under $11), Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun for $4, Grim Dawn for $3.75, A Plague Tale: Innocence for $4, and Guardians of the Galaxy for $9, all with strong reviews and a variety of genres.