Apple's Vision Pro was meant to usher in a new era for headsets. However, its high price and somewhat limited utility resulted in what may be the company's biggest flop in years. Now it's time for Samsung to give things a go with the Galaxy XR. It's a fresh take on modern mixed reality goggles developed through deep partnerships with Qualcomm and Google and it attempts to address some of the Vision Pro's biggest shortcomings. While both Apple and Samsung's headsets have a lot of similarities (like their basic design and support for features such as hand and eye tracking), there are also some very important differences. First, at $1,800, the Galaxy XR is essentially half the price of the Vision Pro (including the new M5-powered model). Second, instead of Apple’s homegrown OS, Samsung's headset is the first to run Google's new Android XR platform, which combines a lot of familiar elements from its mobile counterpart but with a bigger emphasis on AI and Gemini-based voice controls. And third, because Samsung relied more on partners like Google and Qualcomm, the Galaxy XR feels like it's built around a larger, more open ecosystem that plays nicely with a wider range of third-party devices and software. The Galaxy XR fundamentally doesn't look that much different from the Vision Pro. It features a large visor in front with an assortment of 13 different exterior sensors to support inside-out tracking, passthrough vision and hand recognition. There are some additional sensors inside for eye and face tracking. There's also a connector for the wire that leads to its external clip-on battery pack alongside built-in speakers with spatial audio. The one big departure is that unlike the Vision Pro, the Galaxy XR doesn't have an outward-facing display, so it won't be able to project your face onto the outside of the headset, which is just fine by me. However, the devil is in the details because while the original Vision Pro weighed between 600 and 650 grams (around 1.3 to 1.4 pounds) depending on the configuration (not including its battery pack), the Galaxy XR is significantly lighter at 545 grams (1.2 pounds). And that's before you consider the new M5 Vision Pro, which has somehow gone backwards by being even heavier at 750-800 grams (around 1.6 pounds). Furthermore, it seems Samsung learned a lot from its rivals by including a much larger and thicker head cushion that helps distribute the weight of the headset more evenly. Granted, during a longer session, I still noticed a bit of pressure and felt relief after taking off the Galaxy XR, but it's nothing like the Vision Pro, which in my experience gets uncomfortable almost immediately. Finally, around back, there's a simple strap with a knob that you can twist to tighten or loosen the headband as necessary. So even without extra support running across the top of your head, getting in and out of the Galaxy XR is much easier and comfier than the Vision Pro. On the inside, the Galaxy XR is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip with dual micro OLED displays that deliver 4K resolution (3,552 x 3,840) to each eye at up to 90Hz. I wish Samsung was able to go up to a 120Hz refresh rate like on the Vision Pro, but considering the Galaxy XR's slightly higher overall resolution, I'm not that bothered. And I must say, the image quality from this headset is seriously sharp. It's even better than Apple's goggles and it might be the best I've ever used, particularly outside of $10,000+ enterprise-only setups. Once again, when you consider that this thing costs half the price of a Vision Pro, this headset feels like a real accomplishment by Samsung to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if the company is losing money on every unit it sells. In terms of longevity, Samsung says that for general use the Galaxy XR should last around two hours. If you're only watching videos though, that figure is more like two and a half. Thankfully, if you do need to be in mixed reality for longer, you can charge the headset while it's being used. As for security, the Galaxy XR uses iris recognition to skip traditional passwords, which is nice. Sometimes, trying out a new software platform can be a little jarring. But that's not really the case for Android XR, which shouldn't present much of a learning curve for anyone who has used other headsets or Google's ubiquitous mobile OS. After putting the goggles on, you can summon a home menu with an app launcher by facing your palm up and touching your index finger and thumb together. From there, you can open apps and menus by moving your hands and pinching icons or rearranging virtual windows by grabbing the anchor point along the bottom and putting them where you want. In Maps, you start out with a view of the world before using hand gestures to move and zoom in wherever you want or voice commands to laser in on a specific location. The neat new trick for this app is that if you find bubbles over things like restaurants and stores, you can click those to be transported inside those businesses, where Android XR will stitch together 2D photos to create a simulated 3D environment that you can move and walk around in. Granted, this doesn't have a ton of practical use for most folks unless you want to take a virtual tour of something like a wedding venue. But, the tech is impressive nonetheless. Finally in the YouTube app, the Galaxy XR did a great job of making standard 360 videos look even better. While quality will always depend on the gear that captured the content, viewing spatial clips was a great way to show off its resolution and image quality. Google says it will also put a new tab on the app to make finding 360 videos easier, though you can always watch the billions of standard flat videos as well. Interestingly, you can use and navigate the Galaxy XR entirely with hand gestures, but voice commands (via Gemini) are also a major part of the Android XR platform. Because the goggles sit on your head, unlike with mobile devices, there's no need to use a wake word every time you want to do something. You just talk and Gemini listens (though you can choose to disable this behavior if you prefer), so this makes voice interactions feel a lot more natural. Because Gemini can also do things like adjust settings or organize all the apps you have open, in addition to answering questions, it feels like Google is starting to deliver on some of those Star Trek moments where you can simply ask the computer to do something and it just happens. Yes, it's still very early, but as a platform, Android XR feels much more like a virtual playground than VisionOS does at the moment. While I didn't get to test these out myself, there are some other important features worth mentioning. In addition to apps, you can also play your standard selection of Android games like Stardew Valley or connect the headset to your PC (like with Steam Link) to play full desktop titles. Furthermore, I was told that the Galaxy XR can be tethered to a computer and used like a traditional VR headset. And while Samsung is making optional wireless controllers for the Galaxy XR (and a big carrying case), you may not need them at all as you'll also have the ability to pair the goggles with typical Bluetooth-based gamepads along with wireless mice and keyboards. Google also says it's working on a new system called Likenesses that can create personalized avatars for use in video calls and meetings that use data from interior sensors to deliver more realistic expressions. Additionally, you'll be able to use tools like Veo3 to make AI-generated videos while providing prompts using your voice. But this is just scratching the surface of the Galaxy XR's capabilities and I want to use this thing more before offering a final verdict. In many ways, the Galaxy XR looks and feels like a flagship mixed reality headset in the same vein as the Vision Pro, but for the Android crowd (and Windows users to some extent as well). On top of that, Google has done some interesting things with Android XR to make it feel like there's a much wider range of content and software to view and use. In many ways, the addition of a dedicated AI assistant in Gemini and voice controls feels much more impactful on goggles than a phone because you can't always count on having physical inputs like a mouse or keyboard. And with the Galaxy XR being half the price of the Vision Pro, Samsung and Google have done a lot to address some of the most glaring issues with Apple's rival. In case the price drop wasn't enough, it feels like all the companies involved are doing as much as possible to sweeten the deal. I actually started laughing when I first heard all the discounts and free subscriptions that come with the headset. That's because in addition to the goggles themselves, every Galaxy XR will come with what's being called the Explorer Pack: 12 months of access to Google AI Pro, 12 months of YouTube Premium (which itself includes YouTube Music), 12 months of Google Play Pass, 12 Months of NBA League Pass and a bundle of other custom XR content and apps. So on top of a slick design, top-tier optics and a new platform, Google and Samsung are basically tossing a kitchen sink of apps and memberships in with the headset. My only reservation is that when it comes to mass adoption, I think smartglasses have supplanted headsets as the next big mainstream play. Granted, there is a lot of technology and software shared between both categories of devices (Google has already teased upcoming Android XR smartglasses) that should allow Samsung or Google to pivot more easily down the line. But the idea that in the future there will be a headset in every home seems less likely every day. Still, as a showcase for the potential of mixed reality and high-end optics, the Galaxy XR is an exciting piece of tech. The Samsung Galaxy XR is available now for $1,800 on Samsung.com.

Pocketpair Publishing, the new publishing division created by Palworld developer Pocketpair, as you might've gleaned from the title, is getting ahead of developers inevitably pitching AI-generated games by making it clear the company isn't interested. "People are going to say I'm lying, but these are just the hard facts. We don't believe in it," Pocketpair Publishing boss John Buckley told Game Developer (h/t PC Gamer) "We're very upfront about it. If you're big on AI stuff or your game is Web3 or uses NFTs, there are lots of publishers out there [who'll talk to you], but we're not the right partner for that." Pocketpair's stance on AI-generated games aside, Buckley knows there's no stopping what's to come. Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead sees Elon Musk's new AI-generated game, says "AI has its place as a tool" but won't "solve the big problem of the industry, which is leadership and vision" Arc Raiders lead says games "can't be built by an AI" and "I hope they never can," but also "I want us to build content a hundred times faster" and AI might help with that part 43-year CRPG veteran behind Fallout and Wasteland "worried about job loss" from AI, which seems justified now that his parent company Microsoft laid off 9,000 in exchange for more slop "I think over the next two or three years we're going to get into this weird era—and you can see it slowly happening now on Steam—of really low quality, AI-made games. "It's something that has plagued other stores but Steam had been good at keeping them out. But it's happening. This wave is coming, and I think we're going to enter this kind of authenticity market where people are going to slowly say 'no, these guys are really trying to make something special' to fight back." It's worth noting that around launch, Palworld was repeatedly accused of using generative AI for its Pal designs, but the studio has vehemently denied this. More recently, it was accused of using machine translation to localize Palworld for various international markets. In this case, Buckley said it's best not to fan the flames by responding, but he cleared up the confusion around that situation regardless. "You know, I can't just come out and start fighting with these people [hurling AI accusations] because that just fuels what's going on," said Buckley. "[Regarding the machine translation accusation], one of their biggest pieces of 'evidence' was that because we hadn't published the individual names of the translators it must be AI. Well, no, this is just poor Japanese culture in general. A lot of Japanese games, the credits will say localization was handled by a company," Buckley said, adding, "I'm not saying [that it is] right. It's unfortunate." The harrowing reality is that AI games aren't just an inevitability - they're already here. And while they're easy enough to spot right now, it'll only get harder with advancements in AI. One can only hope storefronts and distributors will step up efforts to label them as such, thereby making it easier for all of us to sort out the trash from the legitimate, human-made games. Arc Raiders lead says games "can't be built by an AI" and "I hope they never can," but also "I want us to build content a hundred times faster" and AI might help with that part

According to North American video game retailer Video Games Plus, the EU version of the Xbox physical release for Tales of Xillia Remastered has been canceled just a week before it was supposed to hit store shelves. "Regrettably, VGP has been informed that the EU physical edition of Tales of Xillia Remastered XBSX has been canceled," reads a Bluesky announcement. "All preorders will be canceled and refunded. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is beyond our control." Preorder Update! Regrettably, VGP has been informed that the EU physical edition of Tales of Xillia Remastered XBSX has been canceled. All preorders will be canceled and refunded. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is beyond our control.— @vgp-videogamesplus.bsky.social (@vgp-videogamesplus.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-10-21T23:05:02.611Z Preorder Update! Regrettably, VGP has been informed that the EU physical edition of Tales of Xillia Remastered XBSX has been canceled. All preorders will be canceled and refunded. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is beyond our control. While the wording of the announcement makes it sound like there are other regions that are still getting a physical version of Tales of Xillia Remastered on Xbox, the reality is EU was the only region ever confirmed to be getting one, which means the game's physical launch on Xbox has seemingly been indefinitely shelved across the board. I don't know how you re-release a PS3 JRPG in 2025 and make it run worse, but at least on non-Nintendo platforms I'm still happy to see one of my all-time favorites get a remaster After promising more re-releases, Bandai Namco seemingly leaks a remaster of one of my all-time favorite JRPGs, which still has some of the best combat in the genre One of the best JRPGs ever may have its remaster unveiled tomorrow as Bandai Namco prepares an official announcement following months of speculation and a supposed leak It's unclear why plans have changed so close to the game's October 31 launch, but I've reached out to Bandai Namco both for confirmation and clarity for folks who were anticipating, and some cases already pre-ordered, the game. While there's a good chance Xbox wasn't even involved in this decision, as the choice to cancel a physical release of a game falls on the publisher, there's no denying Xbox PR is working overtime as of late, mostly thanks to egregious price hikes across the Xbox ecosystem. Compared to some Xboxes going up to $800, Game Pass going from $20 to $30 a month recently, and even dev kits reportedly increasing by $500, this is nuthin'. Former PlayStation boss praises Microsoft’s publishing strategy, but can’t get his head around Xbox's Game Pass price hike: "I don’t understand"

Fans of Catan will "lose their minds" over Netflix's new multitude of projects based on the venerable strategy board game. The streamer has announced a whole "slate" of adaptations of Catan, scripted, unscripted, live action, and animated coming to its service. No specific projects have been announced, but it seems likely that a show about settlers surviving in the wilderness of the island that forms the game's field of play could be on the table, since that's kinda Catan's whole deal. And of course, "unscripted" programming could mean live-watches of Catan matches, or maybe even a survival reality show. If you haven't played it, Catan is all about players collecting and managing resources such as sheep, wood, wheat, and more as they compete to settle the island which gives the game its name. Catan was created by Klaus Teuber, debuting in 1995 as Settlers of Catan, a name which was shortened in recent years. I think everyone should try this legendary board game, and it's never been cheaper than it is now Apex Legends could get a film or TV adaptation that "really respects and upholds the brand and the franchise", says EA entertainment boss 6 new movies and shows to watch this weekend on Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus, and more (October 17-19) "Millions of people [have been] enjoying Catan since it was created, and for many it remains a gateway to modern board gaming," says Thomas Koegler, CEO of Catan's publisher Asmodee, in a statement. "I'm thrilled to see the game expanding to a larger audience who will discover the richness of its universe. I find it exciting for the future of the brand. It's also a testament that board gaming is truly part of pop culture and a popular form of entertainment in everyone's homes, and I’m delighted to continue Asmodee’s relationship with Netflix." "Anyone who has played Catan knows [that] the intense strategy and negotiation at the core of the game has endless opportunities for some serious drama," adds Jinny Howe, head of scripted series, US and Canada, Netflix. "We knew landing this deal would be as game-changing as a well-placed settlement, so we decided to pool our resources across series, features, animation, and games and show Asmodee the full power of Netflix when we work together. Hardcore 'Settlers' are going to lose their minds, and new fans will finally learn just how important a sheep trade can be." Netflix hasn't announced any specific Catan projects just yet. While we wait, check out the 25 best shows on Netflix you can watch right now.

Just a week after committing to the swift removal of Destiny 2's maligned Unstable Cores, Bungie has wheeled the MMO to the operating room and excised this particular cyst in a new update that brings a much more reasonable cost to the game's infusion economy. Unstable Cores were added in the Edge of Fate expansion as the new means to grease the wheels of Power-boosting gear infusion, and to sum up months of player blowback, they really, really sucked. Bungie was finally convinced that they sucked, and last week, said in its latest U-turn that it would be deleting Unstable Cores entirely. Lo and behold, the studio's latest blog post, "the one about Infusion Costs," is headlined by good news. "Unstable Cores have been deprecated as the currency used for Infusion," Bungie writes. "They have been replaced with a flat cost of one Enhancement Core and 5,000 Glimmer across all Power levels." Facing backlash and worst-ever player counts on Steam, Bungie decides to remove ill-conceived Destiny 2 currency it just added in the MMO's Edge of Fate expansion 1,769 hours into Destiny 2 on Steam, The Edge of Fate has killed my interest in playing with one of the worst leveling systems I've seen in an MMO Bungie brings in a new Destiny 2 global franchise director as its MMO bleeds – a Dragon Age, Starfield, and Elder Scrolls veteran who only just left Mass Effect 5 Here lie Unstable Cores; they had it coming. On the Destiny subreddit, in amongst a pile of players celebrating a rare economy win, Bungie says it made the change this quickly, after giving everyone 777,777 Unstable Cores to tide them over, because, "We wanted to make sure players could infuse without issue during the week where we made a bunch of rewards changes in the Portal. Didn't want folks getting power bumps and feeling too much friction with unstable cores." I was also surprised the change arrived this early. As it happens, some of these changes were, indeed, meant to "land closer to Renegades," Destiny 2's upcoming Star Wars expansion. "Team found some smart solutions in the short term that helped bring the changes forward," Bungie says. "Hope it helps!" Responding to one player cautiously hoping that the Destiny 2 metronome may be swinging to the "we're so back" portion, the Destiny 2 Team account says, "We have a lot more work to do." When Bungie first announced that it would enact a new Infusion cost of Cores and Glimmer, players were understandably concerned that it would now cost an arm instead of an arm and a leg. "Understand the anxiety," Bungie tells one relieved Redditor. "We're doing what we can to rebuild some trust here." And if that ain't the crystallization of Destiny 2: genuinely good changes made with surprising speed in response to truly awful changes in order to earn back good will that is gained in drops and lost in buckets. I can't help but ask, how long can Bungie keep earning back trust? Bungie brings in a new Destiny 2 global franchise director as its MMO bleeds – a Dragon Age, Starfield, and Elder Scrolls veteran who only just left Mass Effect 5.

Controller and keyboard players have always been at odds, like a baby in a Pantera shirt. There's just something wrong with the picture – controller players often benefit from aim assist, while mouse-and-keyboard experts have accuracy as an advantage. They're different, but, according to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 developer Treyarch, they're also both right. Treyarch design director Matt Scronce explains in a new dev talk video: In Black Ops 7's beta, "controller players are winning slightly more in close-range engagements, and then keyboard-mouse players are winning slightly more in those long-range engagements." Rebalancing aim assist is the obvious answer, and Call of Duty: Warzone Raven Software will do the same for its game. "What we're going to do here is to try to close that gap," says Scronce, "take a very close look at the strength of aim assist across all of those ranges. And then, additionally, we are looking at rotational aim assist and the requirement for your right aim stick to be moving in the direction of your target." Call of Duty Black Ops 7 will now let players aim down sights "while sliding, diving, and wall jumping" without hated dexterity perk, and it's also adding louder footsteps Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta players say the Dexterity perk should be the standard, Treyarch says there's a reason it isn't: "We're being a bit more intentional with our combat" Battlefield 6 dev responds to aim assist comparison with Call of Duty, says "you are the skill," and assist doesn't play for you Like the good friend – and piece of integrated software – that it is, Raven is following suit, writing in a Twitter post that "in parity with Black Ops 7 Multiplayer, we will be working with @Treyarch to explore potential adjustments to rotational aim assist and aim assist strength on controller in Season 01 of Call of Duty: Warzone." Neither Treyarch nor Raven have specified the details of how they'll do this yet, though I'm sure whatever they decide will bring harmony to controller and keyboard players once and for all. Call of Duty Black Ops 7 will now let players aim down sights "while sliding, diving, and wall jumping" without hated dexterity perk, and it's also adding louder footsteps.

After a series of high-profile PR faceplants, Xbox is back to talking about its next console, and I'm already worried about how much this thing is gonna cost. This isn't the first confirmation we've had that Microsoft is indeed making another Xbox console, but after implementing considerable hardware and subscription price hikes that reportedly even impacted dev kits, it's good to have confirmation that a next-gen Xbox is even in the works at all. What isn't as encouraging, for me at least, is the marketing language Xbox is using at the highest level. Xbox president Sarah Bond recently sat down with Mashable (timestamped here) and re-confirmed that there's a new console in development while strongly suggesting it'll cost a whole lot of money. 2TB Xbox Series X will soon be $800 as Microsoft ups US console prices for the second time in 5 months, making a PS5 Pro look downright affordable The ROG Xbox Ally X offers an early glimpse into Xbox's plans for AI, but I'm starting to worry that we're all going to be priced out of ever trying them "This is their hardware" - Microsoft suggests charging $1,000 for the ROG Xbox Ally X was Asus' idea Responding to the suggestion that Xbox make a gaming console PC hybrid, Bond said: "I can tell you that you're right, that the next-gen console is gonna be a very premium, very high-end, curated experience. You're starting to see some of the thinking that we have in [the Xbox ROG Ally handheld], but I don't want to give it all away." It's a good time to remind y'all that the Xbox ROG Ally X, the most premium of the Microsoft-branded handheld family, costs $1000. Whether it was Asus or Xbox that decided on that price tag, Bond loosely comparing Microsoft's strategy with the next Xbox home console to the dearly expensive handheld line, not to mention her implicit agreement with Mashable that a gaming PC console hybrid is a good idea, is telling. And what it's telling me is that this freakin' console is gonna be at least $1000, isn't it? I mean, we already have an $800 Xbox and a $1000 Xbox handheld, and with upward-trending manufacturing costs and general economic instability, it's not hard to conjure up images of the higher end Xbox in a family of new consoles being $1000 or more. The optimist in me wants to believe things will balance out on the consumer side at some point, hopefully before the next generation of Sony and Microsoft consoles, but the realist in me is prepping for new hardware in the quadruple digits. Let's not think about that and just admire this list of upcoming Xbox Series X games we drew up.

The games industry remains mired in contraction, making it hard, among other things, for developers at multiple bands of the industry to find and maintain any sort of backing or funding. Greg Street, a veteran of World of Warcraft and Riot's purgatorial League of Legends MMO, has also found it difficult to land a deal at his new studio Fantastic Pixel Castle, and he reckons "one of the least excusable" reasons for the industry's woes is all the bad bets that big companies made on huge games that utterly tanked. "Please indulge me in feeling salty for a moment," Street writes on LinkedIn. "I understand that almost nobody in the video game business is making deals right now, and those that do happen are very small. "There are many reasons for this state of affairs, but one of the least excusable ones is some of the gigantic investments in games or studios in the previous few years that didn't pan out. A fraction of that could have created a lot of smaller games." World of Warcraft and League of Legends MMO veteran says his new studio will "likely close" if it's "unable to find a publisher soon" for fantasy MMORPG Ghost: "We're doing everything we can" "Most players have no idea" how much games cost to make and "everything's more expensive than people think," devs say, as indie hits like Balatro are "the exception" Space Marine 2 publisher praises Oblivion Remastered, FromSoftware, and the "Frenchy friends" on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as proof "the industry remains powerful" despite layoffs and studio closures Fantastic Pixel Castle has been working on a fantasy MMO dubbed Ghost for several years, with Street leaning on his experiences at Blizzard and Riot but pushing back on some genre conventions like power leveling or generalist classes. It seems the studio has struggled with investment, however, as Street's post thanks "everyone who has reached out about the possibility of investment in or funding" the studio, but reckons "these are also long shots, but every lead is worth pursuing." Street says "I'm not blaming every game that didn't hit big," and doesn't single any failed games out by name. Of course, you wouldn't have to look very far to find high-profile, high-budget flops, cancellations, and misfires. Instead, he looks to the issues that cause these projects to run up the tab, churn through employees, and often launch with a whimper if they come out at all. "When you hear about projects where the team was burning money because the game vision kept changing, or the build was never stable, or playtests just weren't fun, or the leadership team was a revolving door, then you know that game was unlikely to ever deliver a good experience for players," Street says. Repping his own studio, he adds that Fantastic Pixel Castle has "a team with a proven track record," no "leadership drama," and has gotten Ghost "halfway through development" already with "very stable" tech. Ghost is still just an idea as far as players are concerned, but Street reckons the "hard data suggests players love and will play" it. "And yet there is still no available funding," he concludes. Street's comments do read in part like venting from a beleaguered veteran frustrated and disillusioned with the collapse of opportunity in an industry that purports to be enormous and lucrative, but he's also spot-on. Street joins the likes of Dragon Age pillar David Gaider and FPS icon John Romero in struggling to find funding in 2025's games industry. When household names and experienced veterans have to fight to make ends meet, it ain't lookin' good for everyone else. We spoke to Pocketpair Publishing and Palworld communications director John Buckley earlier this year following the reveal of the company's publishing arm, and he agreed "no one has money at the moment," which has left even some established studios and developers scrambling. "I see a lot of publishers I don't like": Vampire Survivors creator made his own publisher to "share the luck" and says too many companies "try to exploit the platforms just to make money."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 developer Treyarch heard your beta feedback loud and clear, and has just announced in an October 21 dev talk video that it's making the Dexterity perk optional while accessing aim down sights in motion. Still, Treyarch would love to hear you even louder and more clearly, and so it's also making footstep noises more audible. "If you do want to get a little more aggressive with your movement," he said then, "we will have perks that allow you to do that." Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta players say the Dexterity perk should be the standard, Treyarch says there's a reason it isn't: "We're being a bit more intentional with our combat" Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 devs say that you can blame the Black Ops timeline for the wall jump not being a wall run: “Black Ops 2 really gave us a foundation for the technology available” Treyarch devs say "we welcome all constructive feedback" as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 readies for launch: "This is why we do a beta, so that we can make sure there are no blind spots" Now, Scronce explains in Treyarch's dev talk video that Dexterity will only enhance ADS (aim down sights) while you slide around – it's not required. So Black Ops 7 players will be able to glide around their maps like Beyblade princesses, but they'll also need to mind their clomping. The Black Ops 7 beta featured nearly undetectable footstep squeaks, so Scronce says Treyarch has "slightly increased the volume of our footsteps in multiplayer." "We're very happy with where they're at, where it's going to incentivize more stealth playstyles without over-indexing on the need for the Ninja perk," he continues. Fans have never been more glad to be fat-footed. "They nailed it. Perfect changes to the perks and defaulting Omni movement back to being able to ADS," says esports champion Parasite on Twitter. "Fkn W." I played Black Ops 7 multiplayer for 4 hours, and here's my 10 takeaways you need to know.

The classic GameCube launch title hits the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service on October 30. Nintendo is bringing another beloved GameCube title to the Switch Online + Expansion Pack service next week. The original Luigi's Mansion is joining the classic games lineup on October 30. Originally released alongside the GameCube in November 2001, Luigi's Mansion sees Mario's cowardly brother exploring a haunted mansion he won in a contest he never entered. With the help of Professor E. Gadd and his vacuum-like Poltergust 3000, Luigi must work his way through the mansion's many rooms and capture all the ghosts that lurk within. Luigi's Mansion marks the sixth title to arrive on Switch Online's GameCube collection. The library launched alongside the Switch 2 with three games--The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and SoulCalibur II--while Super Mario Strikers and Chibi-Robo were added to the lineup in July and August, respectively. Nintendo will be bringing more GameCube games to the service in the future. The company has already confirmed that additional classics like Super Mario Sunshine, Pokemon Colosseum, and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance are on the way, although it hasn't confirmed when those games will be added. The GameCube collection is one of a few Switch 2-exclusive perks available to Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers. Switch 2 members can also download the Switch 2 upgrade packs for both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for free. A base Nintendo Switch Online subscription runs for $20 a year, while the Expansion Pack plan costs $50 a year. Nintendo also offers an annual family plan for $80 that covers up to eight Nintendo Accounts across multiple systems. Latest in Luigi's Mansion Luigi's Mansion 2 HD Review LEGO Super Mario - Luigi's Mansion Expansion Set Trailer Luigi's Mansion 3 Is A Clever Mix Of The First Two Games

Players aren't the only ones facing higher price tags from Xbox. According to a report by The Verge, Microsoft has upped the cost of the Xbox Development Kit from $1,500 to $2,000. That's a 33 percent jump in cost for these custom hardware kits, which are essential for devs to make and test games for release on the console. "The adjustment reflects macroeconomic developments," Microsoft said in an email sent to Xbox devs and seen by The Verge. "We remain committed to providing high-quality tools and support for your development efforts." Although the macroeconomics in question are almost certainly the tariffs enacted by the US, it appears this is a blanket increase that will impact developers in other countries as well. The new kit costs appear to be effective immediately. The change caps off a series of price increases for the Xbox ecosystem. Game Pass prices recently rose, with the Ultimate tier now costing $30 a month compared to the previous $20. And Microsoft has upped the cost of the Xbox twice this year, once in May and again in September. Between these additional expenses and the little matter of cutting thousands of gaming jobs earlier this year, a lot of us are giving up on Xbox before Microsoft can disappoint us yet again.

Not content with rapid and sizable console and Game Pass price hikes, Microsoft is now reportedly raising Xbox prices for developers as well. Xbox dev kits, the custom hardware provided to developers who want to make games for the platform, are said to be jumping from $1,500 to $2,000. That's according to a new report from The Verge, citing an internal announcement sent to Xbox developers. This price increase will evidently take effect immediately in the US, EU, and beyond. I've reached out to Microsoft to confirm the price increase but have not heard back at the time of writing. "The adjustment reflects macroeconomic developments," Microsoft reportedly said in its announcement. "We remain committed to providing high-quality tools and support for your development efforts." 2TB Xbox Series X will soon be $800 as Microsoft ups US console prices for the second time in 5 months, making a PS5 Pro look downright affordable Following its latest Xbox Game Pass price jump, Microsoft immediately tries to justify the decision with more day one releases and increased "value" Microsoft continues reading anything but the room with a full-page Xbox Game Pass advertisement on console startup a day after hiking prices by 50% This reported $500 (33%) dev kit price hike follows a wave of consumer price increases across the Xbox ecosystem. A 2TB Xbox Series X is now the most expensive console on the market following two price hikes that pushed it up to an eye-watering $800. Meanwhile, a standard Xbox Series X console is now $650, up from $600 following a prior jump from the launch price of $500. Price hikes have also come for Xbox's favorite child, Game Pass, with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate jumping 50% to $30 a month just weeks ago. Ultimate is the subscription tier with access to major day-one Xbox releases like, in the near future, The Outer Worlds 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, so this price hike represents a hefty premium for the headlining feature of the service. For months now, Microsoft has actively made Xbox less affordable, in the shadow of heavy layoffs and studio closures after and amid its Activision acquisition, while also presenting more and more alternatives to playing games on an Xbox. The backdrop, of course, is tens of billions in profit for the whole company. Squeezing the pool of creatives willing to develop for the platform – a shrinking pool as even the head of Moon Studios, creator of longtime Xbox indie mascot Ori, suggests Xbox ain't worth the effort – would just be par for the course at this point. Former PlayStation boss praises Microsoft’s publishing strategy, but can’t get his head around Xbox's Game Pass price hike: "I don’t understand."