Sony is closing Bluepoint Games, the studio behind the Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls remakes, Bloomberg reports. Bluepoint's last major project was God of War: Ragnarok from 2022, which it co-developed with Sony Santa Monica. According to Bloomberg, Sony decided to shut down the studio following "a recent business review." Around 70 employees will lose their jobs as part of the studio closure, which will officially happen in March. "Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community," Sony said in a statement to Bloomberg. "We thank them for their passion, creativity and craftmanship." Following their work on Ragnarok, Bluepoint was reportedly tasked with developing a live-service game set in the God of War universe. That title was cancelled in 2025, alongside another game from Bend Studio. In the context of Sony's other live-service failures, the decision wasn't surprising. Sony shut down the servers for multiplayer shooter Concord just two weeks after its release. Not long after, it also closed Firewalk Studios, the developer behind the game. Bluepoint Games was originally acquired by Sony in 2021, when it seemed like the studio's expertise in remaking and remastering classic PlayStation games could be a major asset going forward. Why that changed isn't entirely clear, but Sony's mismanagement of its pivot into and out of publishing premium online multiplayer games may have played a role. Some of Sony's studios are still experimenting with live-service mechanics. Guerilla Games recently announced an online co-op game set in its Horizon universe. Destiny 2 developer Bungie is also releasing its extraction shooter Marathon in March.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Somebody had better check the thermostat in Hell because Monster Hunter Wilds is on the up on Steam. After a year of notoriously bad performance that led to equally dire user reviews, Monster Hunter Wilds has finally reached the promised land: 50% positive lifetime Steam reviews. Will Capcom be celebrating a "Mixed" Steam score of 50%? Possibly not. I don't think anybody truly aims for a 50. But with 188,162 reviews logged, it's hard to effect any kind of statistical change, yet the game's latest PC performance patch has had a meaningful impact. Almost immediately, the long-awaited performance bump led to an improvement in the game's recent Steam reviews. At last, this thing would run at a decent frame rate on modern processors that aren't the very top of the line. That positive momentum has now bumped the game's average into the coveted realm of not awful. Monster Hunter Wilds Steam reviews on the mend following Capcom's latest performance patch Monster Hunter Wilds' new update falls short of impressing the RPG's fans after performance comparisons from Capcom Monster Hunter Wilds' latest PC performance patch is already earning rave reviews from players: "THEY DID IT!" It goes without saying that not every single technical snag in Monster Hunter Wilds has been fixed. Negative reviews continue to tumble in, many of them still anchored firmly in performance and crashes, and with several complaining about Wilds falling prey to the out-of-control storage bloat afflicting PC games nowadays. That said, this is a real sign of a comeback. It's doubly important coming from Capcom since it sets Wilds apart from the terrible PC port of Dragon's Dogma 2, which was basically just left to wither away. Monster Hunter Wilds started exactly where it belonged: deep in the dumpster of Steam reviews marred by the dreaded, blood-red "Overwhelmingly Negative" text, with performance issues blocking any light that might reach it in the depths. After a year almost to the day, the game's in a decidedly better spot – almost like it probably needed more development time to begin with. This turnaround couldn't have come at a better time – except, of course, immediately after launch, that would have been better – with Capcom recently confirming a "large scale" expansion in the works for Wilds, on par with Iceborne for Monster Hunter World and Sunbreak for Monster Hunter Rise. Monster Hunter Wilds Switch 2 port seems more real than ever, as fans discover what might be the most solid evidence Capcom's action RPG is coming to the Nintendo console yet.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! A new teaser for the Arc Raiders Shrouded Sky update sheds some light on what developer Embark Studios has in store for the next stage of the game's early 2026 roadmap. The sky looks unsurprisingly shrouded by storms, and what's more, your raider's face may be shrouded by a beard. Shrouded Sky is out Tuesday, February 24, and anticipation for the update has spiked following the beard reveal at the end of this teaser. Players have been asking for facial hair options in character customization ever since Arc Raiders was released, and based on the bearded, Venator-wielding man shown at the end of the trailer, they're about to get their wish. The focus of the trailer is the new map condition coming in the update. A hurricane is approaching, with extreme winds and limited visibility presenting any above-ground raiders with a grueling challenge. It looks like several maps, including Dam Battlegrounds, Spaceport, and – squinting – Blue Gate will support the new condition. Everything we know about the Arc Raiders Shrouded Sky update Arc Raiders' February update gets a release date: Shrouded Sky launches early next week Arc Raiders' next big update is out tomorrow, and we were all wrong about the new map condition In a blog post explaining the hurricane map condition, Embark warns that the intense winds will slow you down when you're moving against the storm, though they can also speed you up if you catch a tailwind at your back. "Throwables will also behave differently in these conditions, and it may take a while to master the trajectory of thrown items like grenades," Embark says. "Other aspects of gameplay like smoke, gas, and even jumping will be affected by the power of the Hurricane." So, expect that perfect grenade throw to veer off-course like a fly ball. Where the wintry cold snap condition will sap your health after extended exposure, hurricane debris will "degrade your shield and make you more visible to other raiders," Embark explains. Your raider will regularly spark and sputter as you take shield damage out in the storm, meaning "you’ll have to decide when to wear your shield, and when it becomes a hindrance." "The true masters of the Hurricane will be those who work with it, not against it," Embark says, encouraging a bit of PvP in the form of shieldless ambushes, and teasing raider caches containing "relics of the First Wave, that have been unearthed by the ferocious winds." Arc Raiders players are killing Queens and Matriarchs way too fast, devs admit, because it's "not intended" for entire lobbies to dogpile them.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! The Fatal Frame games have kept an inexplicable hold on my general mood and psyche despite the fact that most of them received middling reviews at the time of their early 2000s releases and are impossible to play on modern consoles. I'm still perpetually haunted by every bit I've experienced of their faded worlds – I've paid real money for a hairdresser to trim my bangs "like Miu from Fatal Frame," I gravitate toward any cardigan as lacy as Madoka's – and I'm obviously not alone, or else the upcoming Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly remake wouldn't exist. When I ask directors Makoto Shibata and Hidehiko Nakajima over email about why Koei Tecmo decided to rebuild the 2003 sequel now, out of all the other games in a survival horror franchise that's nearly turned into a relic, they tell me honestly: the fans said so. True Japanese horror games respect that "frightening things can be beautiful," Fatal Frame 2 directors say Silent Hill f knows you don't want to see "happily ever after," and its horrific portrayal of womanhood makes it my GOTY "The horror is almost secondary": From Crow Country to Resident Evil 9, here's how horror games keep us scared The standalone Fatal Frame games all toy with the myth that a photograph can steal your soul, and you guide their different pretty, petrified main characters into using the arcane Camera Obscura to destroy wraiths by taking their picture. After so many years, fans like me have decided a remake is the best way to reposition that threat. "Responding to those voices was the main reason behind this project," add Shibata and Nakajima. In another display of being attuned to their many female players' needs, the directors also tell me they've put special care into recreating sisters Mayu and Mio's outfits, the basis for countless analyses on "how to dress like a horror game protagonist." Speaking for myself as a woman, it can be nice to externalize your feelings of cosmic oppression through a clean pair of Mary Janes. "We designed the costumes with reference to the original color balance and overall image, while aiming for clothing that would not feel out of place if worn by someone today," Shibata and Nakajima explain. "Players can closely examine these details in Photo Mode, and we paid particular attention to textures and material quality." That's the kind of fan service I'm looking for. True Japanese horror games avoid "jump scares and graphic violence," Fatal Frame 2 directors say, because they respect that "frightening things can be beautiful."

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Jake Solomon is strategy gaming royalty, having worked on numerous Firaxis classics before leading the beloved 2012 XCOM reboot at the studio. He left Firaxis in 2023 to co-found Midsummer Studios, but sadly it seems the company is shutting down before it could ship its first game: an AI-powered life sim that could be succinctly described as The Sims meets The Truman Show. "We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both," Solomon says on Twitter. "Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into. It's like 'Life Sims + The Truman Show,' but it's more than that. I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up. Burbank let's you do that." Solomon describes the gameplay footage in this trailer as "definitely pre-alpha," and he ain't kidding – you're going to see a lot of awkward voice acting and animation in the trailer below. But there's a spark of something interesting here. This is a Sims-style sandbox game where your characters' storylines play out as TV dramas in genres ranging from soap opera to sci-fi epic. "There's no way this will flop": Laid-off Highguard dev says internal sentiment was high "but then the trailer came out" Former Nexon boss who took a risk on Arc Raiders says "the AAA industry is structurally at its end" and "it’s going to end in more disaster than it has already" without a "serious rewrite" Still in Early Access, anime RPG from ex Capcom and Riot devs with $17m investment dies after "mixed initial reviews" We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both. Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into.It's like "Life Sims + The Truman Show," but it's more than that. I believe people are… pic.twitter.com/RuYvDhdEZOFebruary 19, 2026 We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both. Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into.It's like "Life Sims + The Truman Show," but it's more than that. I believe people are… pic.twitter.com/RuYvDhdEZOFebruary 19, 2026 We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both. Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into.It's like "Life Sims + The Truman Show," but it's more than that. I believe people are… pic.twitter.com/RuYvDhdEZOFebruary 19, 2026 You might get an uncanny feeling watching some of those character performances, and yes, they are driven by AI. "Our characters use AI for memory, reasoning and speech," Solomon explains in a follow-up tweet. "That's what let's [sic] you create anyone you want and drop them in any story you write. But all of our art is created by our talented artists. We had no interest in replacing *any* developers with AI." Solomon co-founded Midsummer in 2024 alongside fellow Firaxis veteran Will Miller, with an initial press release noting that the studio had $6 million in investment to make "a next-gen Life Sim that emphasizes player-driven narratives." The studio also boasted of talent including long-time employees at The Sims developer Maxis, so the life sim pedigree was strong. Burbank seems like a fun concept on its face – not far off from The Movies, a cult-favorite strategy gameled by Peter Molyneux – though I'm certainly skeptical any game doing live, AI-driven content generation could really capture players' imaginations. Still, it's beyond disappointing to see yet another team of industry veterans seemingly forced to shut down before they can bring their project to life.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Much like with Baldur's Gate 3, hardened RPG fans are particularly infatuated with one very NSFW quality of Larian Studios' upcoming game, Divinity – its, uh, sex. "Very important findings," writes Douse. In the attached screencap, an unnamed developer's message can be seen, reading, "Never noticed our two most replayed moments were the sexy times in xcal trailer." By "xcal," the dev likely means "Excalibur" – the codename Larian gave one of the two projects it's working on (apparently, Divinity). It's amusing, to say the least, seeing devs' private reactions to the community's unbridled horniness. Divinty's freaky announcement is a great reminder that this is next game from the team that let you have sex with a bear Larian Studios dev hints there will be sex scenes in Divinity, just in case the RPG's reveal trailer didn't give it away After Baldur's Gate 3's famous bear scene, Larian makes a threat or perhaps a promise about Divinity's lizards: "I am doing it right now" very important findings pic.twitter.com/PACJpuE8j5February 18, 2026 very important findings pic.twitter.com/PACJpuE8j5February 18, 2026 very important findings pic.twitter.com/PACJpuE8j5February 18, 2026 It's certainly not the first time, however. Remember Baldur's Gate 3 and the whole bear sex fiasco? Or Larian's acknowledgment of player-created mods like, uh, Withers Big Naturals (if you know, you know – if you don't, be grateful). I'm happy to see that neither the studio nor its games' fans have changed one bit when it comes to Divinity, and honestly, I just knew those scenes would be the most rewatched moments the first time I saw the trailer. Douse previously said Larian's admittedly graphic trailer "isn't about trying to shock" viewers, but rather "about trying to match their powers of comprehension so that it resonates" – and I'd say that checks out. Sure, there's gore and lizard sex, but that's clearly nothing this community can't handle. As the dev put it at the time, "We know people are capable of appreciating a three-dimensional world." Capable indeed. Baldur's Gate 3 boss Swen Vincke forced to reveal Larian's next RPG Divinity "ends with a lot of fire" after a 19 roll for Persuasion

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! A former Capcom veteran who worked on classic games in the Street Fighter, Mega Man, The Legend of Zelda, and Resident Evil series, Yoshiki Okamoto, admits to spending "¥80 million" or approximately $500,000 "per account" on his own game, in order to get a better understanding of its "biggest spenders." In an interview that was originally aired on Fuji TV, before being reported on by Sponichi Annex (thanks, Automation), Okamoto justifies his outrageous spending habit on his own game, particularly given that he could just add in-game currency to his accounts via administrator privileges. After leaving Capcom, Okamoto suffered huge losses when his partner studio closed down, leaving his company in deep debt. Fates changed with the launch of its free-to-play gacha game, Monster Strike, in 2013, which has more than 65 million players as of last year. Oops, Arknights Endfield accidentally charged 1,800 players $80,000 in Paypal disaster before the devs could stop it Former Square Enix exec says that's nothing new as major investor calls out the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest creator for high development costs and lackluster sales "GTA 3 cost like $5 million": Ex-TLoU Part 2: Remastered artist says the industry is becoming "less risky and creative" 管理者権限ってのが世の中にあるんかどうか知らんけど、それならユーザーの気持ちを理解するんが難しいと思うんですFebruary 15, 2026 管理者権限ってのが世の中にあるんかどうか知らんけど、それならユーザーの気持ちを理解するんが難しいと思うんですFebruary 15, 2026 管理者権限ってのが世の中にあるんかどうか知らんけど、それならユーザーの気持ちを理解するんが難しいと思うんですFebruary 15, 2026 On Twitter, under a post about the interview, one Japanese user suggests that Okamoto could give himself the in-game currency via the backend. However, he believes this wouldn't give him the same insight. "I know there are administrator privileges," Okamoto writes. "But [if I used them] it would be difficult to understand the users' feelings." The fact that he has enough money to spend millions on his own game means he must be doing something right. Resident Evil and Street Fighter veteran faces backlash after saying "please don't buy" Palworld, claiming Pocketpair "crossed a line that should not be crossed," and admitting he has not played Palworld

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! A fresh Animal Crossing: New Horizons patch is here, bringing some bug fixes to Nintendo's coziest life sim in the aftermath of its recent 3.0 update and Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade. Animal Crossing: New Horizons version 3.01 rolled out yesterday (thanks, The Gamer), with some fixes applying to both versions of the game while others are Switch 2 exclusive. I'm not sure who out there might have been trying to duplicate fences, but if that's you, I have some bad news: "Fixed an issue where, when asking Resetti to clean up the island, fences that were put away or in storage could change into different customizations or be duplicated, and some cleaned-up items could disappear," the patch notes state. Otherwise, "an issue where the game would run slower than normal after exiting the island hotel to an outdoor area" has been fixed, along with a bug "where, after playing with another player on a slumber island, home remodeling or relocation could become unavailable on the slumber island." Items can no longer break free from rocks before they're actually hit with a shovel, and perhaps most amusingly, shopkeepers Timmy and Tommy – who, after the 3.0 update, could "sometimes stop following the player inside Nook's Cranny" – will go back to giving you precisely zero personal space while browsing their wares. They're going to watch your every move, and you're gonna like it. Here's everything new in the Animal Crossing New Horizons 3.0 update, including the Hotel and Zelda stuff How to update Animal Crossing New Horizons for the new 3.0 update On the Radar with Animal Crossing: New Horizons As for the Switch 2 exclusive issues, the intensity of controller vibration has been adjusted to "match the level when playing on Nintendo Switch," and an issue where "clouds near the horizon could appear misaligned outdoors on the island, causing parts of the sky to show unnaturally" has been ironed out. I've only been able to find one instance of this being recorded online, so it doesn't appear to have been the most common bug, but regardless, clouds should behave themselves now. In addition to other fixes across both platforms, there's also a very vague line at the end of the patch notes to acknowledge even more changes to improve the gameplay experience. Obviously, don't expect to turn on your game to find any new content like the hotel added in 3.0, but you're still going to want to download this to ensure things are running as smoothly as they can be. Animal Crossing players can't agree whether the new hotel tourist feature is a laggy, vibe-killing mess or "the best thing that could have happened to the game."

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Avowed's Anniversary Update is out now, adding a new weapon, quality-of-life features, updated skill trees, a New Game Plus mode, and most excitingly, playable races to Obsidian Entertainment's RPG. But whether you choose to play as a chubby dwarf or a furry orlan, the fantasy game won't give you access to "unique dialogue choices" based on your race. Avowed's gameplay director Gabe Paramo tells RPG Site that letting folks pick between roleplaying as a dwarf, elf, orlan, aumaua or pre-existing human "was actually quite difficult" to pull off in the new update. "It took a ton of work from our gameplay engineers and character artists to make sure all of the character customization options worked across the new races, and that our in-world interactions all synced up properly regardless of the player's height or proportions." However, Paramo also explains that the post-launch team working on the Anniversary Update was "primarily made up of people focused on the PS5 port and gameplay, without dedicated narrative people available," which is likely why the studio "weren't able to add unique dialogue choices based on the player's race." Nearly a year later, Obsidian's fantasy RPG Avowed is coming to PS5 Avowed's anniversary update loosens the "strict and punishing" upgrade system the devs were "surprised" fans bounced off Avowed missed sales goals, but the RPG still beat huge games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in daily Xbox players Avowed does feature tons of unique, personalized dialogue options depending on which background you've chosen for your character, so it seems a little odd that NPCs would react to your facial mutations and history, say, but not your race. But I guess more options can't hurt, right? Plus, the new races aren't purely cosmetic. Paramo says each race has their own stat bonuses, "so there's still a meaningful mechanical distinction tied to that choice." Still, in-depth reactivity based on your race seems like the kind of feature that would be added in a potential Avowed 2. When asked about a sequel, Paramo simply said that Obsidian Entertainment is a studio "that loves to build on what came before" and the team loves the shared Pillars of Eternity universe. Make of that what you will. Avowed missed sales goals, but Obsidian's RPG still beat huge games like Silksong and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in daily Xbox player count last year

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Blizzard turns 35 this month, and as part of the celebrations, Diablo 2: Resurrected got a new expansion, Reign of the Warlock. It's headlined by the Warlock class, and though that's certainly exciting, being the first addition of its kind in years, the co-creator of Path of Exile believes more emphasis should've been on "new exploration content." Chris Wilson, a former lead designer on Path of Exile and a long-time Diablo fan, went through his thoughts in a video. "I think this may have been a strategic mistake," he starts, on the lack of a new act or something else substantially exploration-based. "My issue with this update is that without an act, it essentially boils down to a new character class, some quality-of-life features, and some new endgame content," he continues, noting these facets "are only really relevant" to long-time fans. Diablo 2 could get more new content, but Blizzard has to "nail that otherwise we kill the game in trying to progress it" Diablo 2 players can't decide if the new Warlock class needs nerfing: "A cheap trick to get us to spend our money" The Warlock is Diablo 2's first new class in 25 years, it's playable right now, and, oh, it's coming to Diablo 4 too "Most people don't re-engage with a game just because it has a material stash tab or an uber-variation of the ancients fight," he argues. "They want new experiences from it. A new act would've pretty much guaranteed that everyone who had a chance of re-engaging with Diablo 2 would've purchased and played the update." It's his estimation that the reason there isn't any new storytelling is that it would've likely caused an "extra year of development," when the company was dead set on commemorating its own anniversary and the series turning 30. "I feel this would've paid for itself several times over," he adds. On top of that, Wilson contends the Warlock was mis-marketed during Blizzard's showcases. Anecdotally, his friends were all excited for the character after the initial announcement, watching all the supplementary materials surrounding it. But because the publicity went hard on late-game aspects, it took out some of the appeal. "This is something that I learned the hard way with Path of Exile," Wilson admits. "You want to show enough to interest people, but if you show everything, people may skip playing that update entirely because they've seen it all already." He makes a valid point in terms of selling the expansion - a new dungeon and some fresh narrative help make any DLC seem chunky and worthwhile, especially to more casual fans. That said, perhaps Blizzard only had the diehards in mind. It'll be fascinating to see how many choose the Warlock and find it to play in the coming months, and regardless of anyone's feelings, this all just goes to show how unstoppable Diablo 2 remains, even after 26 years. Diablo 2 could get even more new content, Blizzard says, but "we have to nail that otherwise we kill the game in trying to progress it forward."

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Obsidian's 2025 RPG Avowed is now available on PS5 alongside a big anniversary update for all platforms, and as usual it seems the players who've chosen to wait are going to get the game at its best. Although the devs will tell you that the fundamental gameplay remains largely unchanged – if you didn't like Avowed the first time around, you probably still won't like it here – after being "surprised" by players' negative response to the upgrade system, they've taken big steps to fix it. "I want to be upfront," gameplay director Gabe Paramo tells tells RPG Site. "If you didn't enjoy the core pacing of Avowed, the flow between conversations, exploration, and combat, nothing about that has fundamentally changed. But if you're a player who felt limited in the type of character you could create compared to Pillars in terms of race, or felt like you couldn't fully realize your Fighter, Ranger, or Wizard fantasy, or felt like your playstyle wasn't being supported due to a lack of unique gear variety from region to region, or felt like the economy was too strict and punishing, we've addressed all of that." Those features – plus the new races and New Game Plus – are the big additions for the anniversary update, but Paramo particularly zeroes in on the economy and upgrade system as a core concern that Obsidian wanted to address here. I revisited Avowed on PS5 for the anniversary update, and I'm convinced there's never been a better time to play the RPG Nearly a year later, Obsidian's fantasy RPG Avowed is coming to PS5 "RPGs can be divisive": Obsidian chats all things Avowed – how it overcame the Skyrim comparisons, why there's no Baldur's Gate 3-style romance, and what's next for the 2025 gem "We were definitely surprised by how many people consistently bounced off the upgrading experience," Paramo explains. "We were trying to create a tight gameplay loop. The player completes content, upgrades their gear, and faces harder content. But because the game is open-area, players who really wanted to explore were getting stopped in their tracks in ways we didn't anticipate. They'd push into new areas and hit a wall, not because of enemy difficulty, but because the upgrade system wasn't keeping pace with their curiosity. That frustration came through loud and clear. We've since addressed it and made the experience much more gradual and less binary." Avowed is divided into four major areas, and the upgrade path more or less matches that progression. You spend your time in each map collecting upgrade resources, strengthening your chosen gear, and taking it to the next tier of rarity, hopefully turning your equipment into gold-tier by the time you reach the end game. I ultimately found reaching the top-end gear ranking pretty satisfying, when my wizard spent the final hours of the game just raining fire down upon helpless enemies, but I definitely felt more than a little railroaded getting to that point. With resources being tight, I felt like I needed to lock into a playstyle early, and each new piece of gear felt less like a fun chance to experiment and more like something I'd need to immediately break down and feed into my current equipment. So, it's nice to see Obsidian taking that feedback on board, and, as Paramo puts it, "the friction has been smoothed out significantly." After 20 hours with the PS5 version of Avowed, my colleague Heather reckons there's never been a better time to play the RPG, and looking at this update from the outside I'm inclined to agree. These are the best RPGs you can play today.

Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Many The Witcher 3 fans consider its Bloody Baron quest to be not only one of the most narratively astounding of the whole fantasy franchise, but also one of the most satisfying quests in general across all RPGs. But Geralt's veteran voice actor Doug Cockle is not one of those fans. "It was before I had access to, or before I discovered the ability to, fast travel in the world," Cockle continues to say about completing the Bloody Baron questline. "I was just riding my freaking horse up and down that hill, and you have to leave [your horse] Roach at some point, and then you're just running up the hill." The Witcher 1 story lead gets frustrated playing the epilogue he largely designed: "I got only myself to blame" The Witcher 4 Ciri actor "is going to do a great job," according to Geralt actor Doug Cockle who says he has no notes for the RPG's new star A Witcher dev accidentally sent one of the RPG's most important characters to the shadow realm Where's Kate Bush with an assist when you need her? "It was just up and down, up and down, up and down. It drove me crazy," Cockle says. "I hated running up and down that hill." Really internalizing the challenge of the hill, discarding all metaphor, Cockle reflects and decides that Velen actually does only rank at number five because it was a bad place for Geralt's feet. "His pedometer was just, like, off the charts," he says. "His legs are sore." "That is extremely stupid design": The Witcher 1 story lead, frustrated playing the epilogue he largely designed, says "I got only myself to blame for everything that's happening here."