Game Releases

Rumors surrounding Valve’s long-absent Half-Life 3 have intensified, with industry insiders claiming the game will launch alongside the newly announced Steam Machine hardware ecosystem in Spring 2026. While component price volatility is reportedly delaying concrete pricing and announcements, multiple leaks suggest Half-Life 3 is real, playable end-to-end, and planned as the definitive conclusion to Gordon Freeman’s story.

On December 16, a moon simulation launched on Steam, allowing players to explore a realistic section of the lunar surface. The objective is straightforward – locate a specific spot that matches a given photograph.

“The Trial of Kharzoid” is a new NES homebrew that fuses Arkanoid-style brick-breaking with Metroidvania exploration and Castlevania-inspired boss battles, proving the 8-bit console’s library is still evolving decades after its heyday. Developed by Canadian indie creator Pascal Belisle and released via Broke Studio’s Homebrew Factory imprint, the game arrives as a boxed collector’s cartridge and low-cost digital download, fresh off a successful Kickstarter and already spawning plans for an even more ambitious sequel.

“Gang of Dragon” marks Toshihiro Nagoshi’s brutal return to the crime genre, trading Yakuza’s playful excess for a lean, cinematic descent into Kabukicho’s underworld led by Korean star Ma Dong-seok. Powered by an all-star team of former Ryu Ga Gotoku developers and backed by NetEase, the in-engine reveal teases a Tarantino-tinged crime epic that favors raw intimidation over mini-games and comic relief.

Long-lost NES puzzle game Xcavator, initially developed in 1991 by Chris Oberth and never released, is being resurrected as a fully polished cartridge edition through a collaboration between iam8bit and the Video Game History Foundation. Priced at $100, the 2025 release includes an authentic NES cart and a detailed manual that chronicles the game’s troubled past, Oberth’s career, and the broader challenges of preserving 8-bit history, with profits supporting VGHF’s archival efforts.

Limited Run Games is reviving the 1987 NES cult classic Jaws with Jaws: Retro Edition for PS5 and Nintendo Switch, combining the original game, now enhanced with save-anywhere, rewind, and bonus features in addition to a newly expanded multi-chapter mode drawing from all four films. Offered in Standard and deluxe “Bigger Boat” physical editions, the release targets both retro enthusiasts and collectors ahead of the movie’s 50th anniversary in 2025.

Offering sandbox MMORPG gameplay, Ashes of Creation attracted curiosity since a Kickstarter campaign. However, its Steam early access launch has produced complaints about inadequate servers. Players who argue that the game’s release date was premature cite examples of censorship in their reviews.

Instead of hiding the use of generative AI tools, the Codex Mortis studio believes it’s a reason to play its title. Players can try the bullet hell game created exclusively with AI for free via a Steam demo. The technology can aid small developers, but gamers have frowned upon it replacing artists.

A briefly published PEGI 18+ rating for “Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag: Resynced” has reignited speculation that Ubisoft is preparing a full remake of its 2013 pirate epic, potentially dropping the modern-day storyline in favor of expanded Golden Age of Piracy content. While the listing has since been removed and no platforms were confirmed, mounting leaks, financial hints, and teases from Edward Kenway’s voice actor suggest an official reveal could be imminent, possibly at The Game Awards 2025.

Sega Sammy Holdings has confirmed it will adopt AI to boost efficiency in game development amid rising costs, but pledges to limit its use to “appropriate” non-creative workflows to avoid fan and industry backlash. The move comes as Sega’s major franchises underperform against indie and AAA competition, pushing the company to balance profitability pressures with concerns over AI’s impact on creative labor.

Cyberpunk platformer Replaced has finally received a confirmed release date following years of delay. The game will launch on March 12, 2026, on multiple platforms.

Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Special Edition will be released on November 15, 2025, on PS5 and other consoles. And that's not all, because it will be possible to enjoy graphics from the PS1 era.

At the start of the month, Microsoft is adding a variety of new titles to Xbox Game Pass. Among them is a horror game set on an abandoned lunar base, available on Game Pass from day one.

Former The Chinese Room co-founder Dan Pinchbeck says he urged Paradox to drop the Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 title, arguing the troubled project could never live up to the 2004 cult classic under its existing constraints. In a candid podcast interview, he describes a development mired in inherited problems, commercial pressure, and “competing priorities,” even as he remains proud of the game’s writing and respect for the original RPG’s mythos.

Steam requires game developers to disclose the use of AI, and it seems Call of Duty may have understated how much of its content was generated by AI-based tools based on user backlash.

Just the Boss Fights is a new 2D action-adventure built entirely around intense and rewarding boss battles. It’s completely free to play and has received consistently positive reviews on Steam.

The series is one of Ubisoft's most well-known offerings, with multiple titles released during its golden era, and the recently announced live-action adaptation has also revealed its star and director.

Tower of Fantasy, a Genshin Impact-style open-world MMO, is attempting to win back its dwindling player base by launching a new “Warp” server that removes gacha mechanics and promises a more traditional, progression-based experience. While the overhaul aims to address long-standing criticism of predatory monetization, persistent bugs and account-loss issues continue to fuel skepticism among an already frustrated community.

A resurgent Grand Theft Auto VI fan theory is dissecting protagonist Jason Duval’s hinted military past, centering on his “Marauders” tattoo and its possible links to real-world units like Merrill’s Marauders and the 75th Ranger Regiment. Drawing on updated character bios, trailer details, and Rockstar’s reputation for meticulous world-building, fans argue that Jason’s combat style and backstory reflect a rigorously researched, militarized history that could shape the game’s narrative.

Hytale founder Simon Collins-Laflamme has warned fans that the long-delayed sandbox RPG’s upcoming $20 early access launch will be built on a “Frankensteined” mix of old code and hundreds of prototypes, admitting it is “not good enough” and “barely” features configured progression. Despite predicting backlash and long-term financial losses, he says the low price and gradual rebuilding effort are intended to secure community support while he slowly steers the resurrected project toward a fully realized release.

The Xbox Partner Preview caught fans off guard with two surprise Game Pass releases. Both titles are now available through the subscription, with one launching as a day-one addition.

An insider recently unveiled the potential release date of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, and it could be released sooner than expected. But it is necessary to remain cautious and wait for official information.

The co-op multiplayer title from HypeTrain Digital has received a full version 1.0 release on Steam, following the successful conclusion of its early access phase.

The long-awaited MMORPG, designed to give you an old-school player-driven experience in an ever-changing world, has players divided because of rumors and allegations alike.

Battlefield 6 led all U.S. video game sales in October 2025, becoming the best-selling premium title of the year so far. Circana data also shows the shooter delivered the strongest single-month revenue of any game since Modern Warfare II in 2022.

During the recent pre-trial process, allegations against the publisher included using AI to devise legal means to avoid paying Unknown Worlds Entertainment their due.

At G-CON 2025 NieR creator Yoko Taro said that, contrary to perceptions that he has been idle since NieR: Automata, he has been working on multiple projects that were repeatedly discontinued mid-development by publishers such as Square Enix and thus never released.

The Wand Co., in an official partnership with Bethesda, has unveiled a wearable 1:1 Pip-Boy 3000 replica that runs the full Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas interfaces. It is effectively a functioning prop that, the company says, left Bethesda "with their mouths open" when shown the prototype.

Former Rare developer Chris Sutherland told Retro Gamer that years of lunchtime four‑player GoldenEye 007 deathmatches directly shaped Banjo‑Tooie's design, inspiring the game's split‑character mechanic, first‑person sections, and shooting‑based multiplayer mini‑games as a deliberate evolution championed by director Gregg Mayles.

Capcom revealed in a Press Start Australia interview that it abandoned a six-year multiplayer Resident Evil prototype, which was developed initially before Resident Evil 8: Village, because it was “fun to play,” making it diverge from the series’ survival-horror roots, and reworked it into the upcoming single-player Resident Evil Requiem.

Metacritic’s year‑end roundup of 2025 essentially also unveiled the ten worst games of the year, led by Leslie Benzies’ MindsEye (Metascore 37) while also highlighting Nintendo Switch 2’s $10 Welcome Tour (54), dismissed by players as a “glorified brochure” of sparse tech demos.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has faced intense player backlash, sinking to roughly a 1.7/10 Metacritic user score, contrasting with its 83/100 critic Metascore, as after users slammed its weak campaign, a derided giant-Michael Rooker boss fight, technical issues, and the admitted use of generative AI for in-game assets.

Set in Guerrilla Games’ Horizon universe, the game, being developed by veteran MMO developers NCSoft, will offer players an experience designed primarily for mobile devices.

After Sony shuttered Firewalk’s reportedly $200 million shooter Concord in September 2024, a small team of modders launched Concord Delta by reverse-engineering the backend to run custom PC servers and restore matchmaking, only to have gameplay videos removed after a DMCA notice.

Microsoft has removed NDAs, streamlined ID@Xbox, its Insider Program, and updated its revenue model for indie developers in one fell swoop expected to lower the complexity and cost of doing business for publishers large and small on its platform.

Though it is not the first Warhammer game the developers have made, this latest title adds a ‘Vampire Survivors’ touch to the game and uses the same engine to boot.

Beta testers of World of Warcraft: Midnight reported severe server lag after the November 11 beta launch, with waits of up to 30 seconds for basic actions in crowded areas and hundreds of complaints across forums. Blizzard initially pointed to newly advanced fish NPC behavior as a major culprit, but later acknowledged a broader collection of memory and server-performance issues.

Xbox’s Retro Classics has grown to 95 titles with the addition of seven 1990s Activision Blizzard games, including Blackthorne (Genesis and SNES ports), The Lost Vikings and The Lost Vikings 2 (SNES and PlayStation versions), RPM Racing and Rock n’ Roll Racing — now available to all Game Pass tiers, including Essential.

Ubisoft abruptly postponed its first-half 2025–2026 earnings call just 15 minutes before it was due to begin, while requesting that Euronext halt trading in its shares and bonds until the results are published, saying the extra time was needed to finalize the semester close. The unexpected suspension, combined with a CFO memo framing the pause as a measure to limit speculation and the publisher’s recent project cancellations and leadership upheavals, has intensified investor concern and prompted analysts to speculate about accounting issues or possible acquisition interest.

Limited Run Games, working with Headless Chicken Games, has announced Snow Bros. Classic Collection for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC: a compilation of the NES, Sega Genesis (Snow Bros.: Nick and Tom), and Game Boy ports that excludes the original arcade release and Snow Bros. 2, with pre-orders briefly selling out (before restocking) despite no official release date.

Battlefield V and several other titles exit Extra and Premium on November 18, so one should finish or download them now if you need to get a last-minute trophy or try out multiplayer on the platform.

Sony and Microsoft might be tempted to delay their next consoles, and Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto VI may be one of the key reasons why.

The game, set in the 10th century, will allow players to explore a vast, open world inspired by ancient China and will launch on PC and PS5 simultaneously on the 14th of November.

The developer had previously partnered with a publisher to bring out the full potential of the project before announcing their game on Steam on the 4th of November.

From hyper-detailed Nanite foliage to the new MegaLights system, the Epic’s update to Unreal pushes real-time graphics even closer to film-quality realism.

The Chinese open-world game Where Winds Meet is set to launch worldwide on November 14 and will be free to play. This RPG is set in 10th-century China and promises enormous freedom. With more than 40 million players, it’s considered a major hit in China.

A release date has been announced for the remake of this Fatal Frame series game. Fans won't be pleased to realize they have to wait several more months before being able to play it.

Former Bungie product director Chris Sides told the Shooter Monthly podcast the label "extraction shooter" is "dumb" and reductive, arguing it names a genre after a single mechanic and fails to capture the divergent pacing, tone, and complex mechanics of games like Escape from Tarkov and Helldivers 2.

In a GQ interview, Bethesda director Todd Howard said the studio “has hundreds of people on Fallout right now,” a remark that has brought reports, including prior Microsoft legal leaks and recent leaker claims that a Fallout 3 remaster may be underway, into focus yet again.

Marketing firm Trap Plan published now-deleted case studies claiming it had seeded roughly 100 “organic-style” posts and comments across major gaming subreddits to simulate player reviews for War Robots: Frontiers, a campaign unearthed by users on the platform and reported by Kotaku.