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🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformOri Dev CEO Says Xbox Was Too Focused On Protecting Its Legacy To Build Its Future
Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler (Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and No Rest for the Wicked) has commented on the recent turbulence at Xbox. The Ori games were previously published by Xbox Game Studios, but Moon Studios remained independent and started work on No Rest for the Wicked shortly after the second Ori game was released. In his informed opinion, Mahler has claimed that Xbox’s troubles began years ago when it decided to focus on legacy IP instead of cultivating the next generation of games and developers. It looks like bad news for the studios that fall under Xbox's first-party developer umbrella. As part of its "reset" under new Xbox boss Asha Sharma, Microsoft's gaming division is reportedly planning to cut costs by laying off staff and closing studios(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-reportedly-planning-big-layoffs-for-next-month/) like Compulsion Games(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-closing-we-happy-few-south-of-midnight-developer-compulsion-games-report/), Double Fine, and Ninja Theory. While those studios might spin off from Microsoft(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/double-fine-ninja-theory-and-more-reportedly-trying-to-spin-off-from-xbox-game-studios/) and strike out on their own, one developer with a long history of working with Xbox says that he's not surprised by the recent turbulence occurring at the company. "Xbox has struggled for a long time to identify, empower, and protect the key creative people and teams who could have kept the brand at the top," Mahler wrote(https://x.com/thomasmahler/status/2066810669962330434?s=46). "Even when we were making Ori with Xbox, it was clear that the main focus was still Halo, Gears, and Forza--even though gamer excitement around Halo and Gears had already cooled heavily after Bungie and Epic moved on from those franchises. The newer installments simply didn't reproduce the same cultural impact those series once had." !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Ori-will-wisps.jpg?w=1024) Ori and the Will of the Wisps As Mahler put it, franchises like Ori could have helped kickstart a new era for Xbox, one that would include younger generations of gamers who could have grown into lifetime fans of the brand. And while it is true that Microsoft owns an impressive selection of video game franchises and intellectual properties, Mahler added that great games are made by people who love the medium and who know what it is that their audiences want. Mahler added that, were he in charge, he'd "slim down" Xbox and work to "bring back the passion for gaming." He said that Xbox leans heavily on nostalgia, not the people who make games. "Xbox should be one of the strongest publishers in the world," Mahler wrote. "With the brands Microsoft owns, that should honestly be fairly straightforward. But nostalgia alone is not enough. Nostalgia can get people to look in your direction, but after that, you still have to deliver the goods. You still have to make products that get players genuinely excited. Products that make gamers literally salivate. And to do that, Xbox has to bet on the right people. They need to find the Miyamotos, Tezukas, and Sakurais within their own ecosystem--the people who actually speak the same language gamers do--and then support them, protect them, and trust them." Mahler concluded that Xbox was more than capable of shipping better games than its competition, and it just needs the right people in charge of steering the ship. "It still looks like Xbox is sitting on an absolute goldmine," he wrote. "They just need to put the right people in charge of mining that gold." It looks like bad news for the studios that fall under Xbox's first-party developer umbrella. As part of its "reset" under new Xbox boss Asha Sharma, Microsoft's gaming division is reportedly planning to cut costs by laying off staff and closing studios(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-reportedly-planning-big-layoffs-for-next-month/) like Compulsion Games(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-closing-we-happy-few-south-of-midnight-developer-compulsion-games-report/), Double Fine, and Ninja Theory. While those studios might spin off from Microsoft(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/double-fine-ninja-theory-and-more-reportedly-trying-to-spin-off-from-xbox-game-studios/) and strike out on their own, one developer with a long history of working with Xbox says that he's not surprised by the recent turbulence occurring at the company. The Best Xbox Series X Games In 2026 !4412246-4410073-indy.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1585/15855271/4412246-4410073-indy.jpg?w=1024) !4214719-4151108-alanwake2.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1585/15855271/4214719-4151108-alanwake2.jpg?w=1024) !4623906-gamespotimagetemplate(9).jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1864/18643033/4623906-gamespotimagetemplate(9).jpg?w=1024) !4475838-avowed.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4475838-avowed.jpg?w=1024) !4638327-arcraiders.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4638327-arcraiders.jpg?w=1024) !4475834-blueprince3.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1601/16018044/4475834-blueprince3.jpg?w=1024) !4405753-4392211-bo6launchlowtown01branded.jpg(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/original/1585/15855271/4405753-4392211-bo6launchlowtown01branded.jpg?w=1024) View Images(https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/best-xbox-series-x-games/2900-3818/)
🎮 Multi-platformX-Files: I Want to Believe director's cut Disney Plus release date officially delayed
The X-Files: I Want to Believe has a new director's cut coming out. It was scheduled for reelease on Disney Plus on June 11, but it has yet to debut
🖥 PC, Multi-platformClair Obscur Expedition 33 star encourages fans to boycott the film if he’s not in it
A Clair Obscur Expedition 33 movie is in the works. One star from the game would love to be in it, and easily could reprise his role.
🎮 Multi-platformHelldivers 2 Gets A Much-Welcome Update To Reloading, Vehicles, And Campaign Progression
Helldivers 2(https://www.gamespot.com/games/helldivers-2/) should feel more responsive to play than ever before, as the game's latest update brings major improvements to reloading. Patch 6.3.0(https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/553850?emclan=103582791473678397&emgid=676249280988579951), which is live now, brought a smorgasbord of balance changes, features, and bug fixes. Among them are some major tweaks to how reloading works. At long last, players can reload while diving, and starting a reload animation, only to be ragdolled or staggered, will now continue the animation once you regain control. It also adds "delayed reloads," where, if you try to reload but are unable to do so, the reload animation will be delayed for a short window until it can be started. It's a fairly substantial change that should make spreading Managed Democracy even easier, but better reloads aren't all the update added. Patch 6.3.0 also introduced the Control Center, taking the place of the previously inactive terminal across from the armory on the deck of each player's Super Destroyer. The Control Center lets you learn more about ongoing campaigns, major orders, rewards. It also lets you read up on previous campaigns, making it easier for new or returning players can get up to speed. Each campaign will now have a unique reward players can earn should the Helldivers community emerge victorious in the majority that campaign's major orders. The first campaign under this new system is called Census Thunder, and currently tasks Helldivers with taking control of two planets from hordes of Illuminate Voteless. Should the Helldivers emerge victorious, they'll have a new FRV (Fast-Recon Vehicle, basically Helldiver's version of Halo's Warthog) to play with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVGHXob14DI Those additions alone would make for a major update, but developer Arrowhead Studios has sweetened the deal with a long list of balance changes as well, with significant adjustments to vehicles, throwables, and Orbital Stratagems. On the vehicle front, Arrowhead outlined that one of its goals with the update was to make vehicles tankier, following a previous update that technically buffed vehicles like Exo Suits but also made enemies more effective against them. In patch 6.3.0, the Bastion tank "should feel tankier" and be able to "ignore small attacks, withstand more medium attacks, and its survivability against heavy attacks should be unchanged," according to Arrowhead. As for Exo Suits, they are now able to withstand small and medium attacks, and an increase in their total health should make them feel sturdier overall. Exo Suits can additionally be called in more frequently, with their cooldown reduced from 10 minutes to eight. The FRV also received a health buff that will help it better withstand medium and heavy attacks. For turret fans, all of the game's sentries have had their health increased by 100% to compensate for previous changes that allowed enemies to more easily damage vehicles. Many of the game's grenades have received a buff in the number of starting ammo and max ammo. Orbital Stratagem enjoyers have reason to rejoice, because nearly every Orbital in the game has seen its projectile damage, durable damage, and explosion damage increased. Rocket Pods should be more reliable and deal more damage now, and the Railcannon's huge damage buff should make it so it's deadlier against enemies like Vox Engines (though it will still be unable to one-shot massive enemies like Factory Striders or Hive Lords). This latest update is just a small part of Arrowhead's near-future plans for its co-op shooter, plans Helldivers 2 game director Mikael Eriksson outlined in a blog post(https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/553850?emclan=103582791473678397&emgid=668367347548946858) earlier this month. Those future additions include new features like Planet Warfronts, additional Super Destroyer progression and customization, and an increase of the game's level cap to 300 from the current 150. In May, Arrowhead called an update mostly focused on improving Helldivers 2's technical performance just the "opening salvo,"(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/helldivers-2s-next-update-is-just-the-opening-salvo/) with more updates to come. You can check out the full Helldivers 2 update 6.3.0 patch notes below. Helldivers 2 Update 6.3.0 Patch Notes Introducing the CONTROL CENTER terminal Super Earth High Command has completed fleet-wide upgrades to the previously unused terminal opposite the armory. Now Helldivers will be able to get more context to the ongoing Campaigns and their subsequent Major Orders. Each Campaign will come with its own potential reward, should the Helldivers be victorious in a majority of the Major Orders within it. The terminal will also feature an archive (to be populated as the first campaign concludes) so that new and returning Helldivers can read up on the twists and turns of previous campaigns. Balancing General balance changes Vehicle armor and enemies AP rebalance - Super Earth vehicles now have more accurate Armor values (Bastion gets heavy armor, exosuits a mix of heavy and medium armor, ballistic shield heavy armor). - Some enemies have received increased armor penetration values so they can deal with the vehicles, but not all. There will be a lot of smaller enemies and explosions that won't be able to hurt something like the Bastion or the Exo Suits (scavengers, Automatons small arms fire, hunters, small to medium obstacle explosions, cyborg small arms etc). - But there are still a lot in the enemies arsenal that can hurt you (and also important is that a lot of YOUR arsenal now has a harder time hurting your own vehicles). - Some enemies have had their durable damage reduced - There are too many changes to properly list, so we ask you to play and tell us how it feels. The intent is the following - The Bastion tank should feel “tankier” and ignore small attacks, withstand more medium attacks and its survivability against heavy attacks should be unchanged - The Exo Suits have a similar change as the Bastion tank in terms of ignoring more small attacks and withstanding medium attacks better. The increase in health should overall make it feel a bit more tanky even against heavy attacks. - The FRV has received an increase in health that will make it handle medium attacks similar to before, but be able to withstand heavy attacks better granting better survivability. - The Ballistic Shield should feel like it can ignore small attacks and handle medium attacks better. Sentry health rebalance - Increased the health of all sentries by 100% to compensate for the general damage increase of enemies vs vehicles. - We have previously increased durable damage on a lot of enemies and since sentries are durable they have lost some of their utility. We didn't want them to become squishier, this change should improve their versatility on the battlefield. Reloading improvements - Improvements to make reloading more responsive, part of this is allowing reloading while dodge diving, also remembering the reload state better so if you're ragdolled while reloading you will continue it when regaining control. - Introduced the concept of delayed reloads. If you try to trigger a reload while the player is not allowed to do so, the reload will be delayed until the player is able to reload with a maximum of 1.2s delay from when the reload input was pressed. Bastion Pattern Customization - If you own the vehicle patterns from a Premium Warbond, they can now also be applied to the Bastion Tank! It does not apply to Legendary Warbonds retroactively at this time. Decreased Exo Suit cooldown - Reduce the cooldown of mechs from 10 minutes down to 8. The intent is to find a better balance with mechs and allow more time with fun stratagems Throwables amounts rebalance - Intent is to make some of the less used throwables more available and viable options Orbitals damage rebalance - Intent is to make the larger orbitals feel more like the large projectiles from orbit as they are so the projectile and explosion damage should better match that. - Larger projectiles explosions like the 380mm and 120mm are increased to make close hits more effective vs larger enemies like Chargers. - Compared to explosions like the Ultimatum these will have less damage at the center, but also less damage fall off so it will have a more consistent damage over its total area. - The Railcannon also got more damage to be more effective vs some of the largest enemies like the Vox engines. It will still not one shot the largest enemies like Factory strider, Hive lord and similar. Primary weapons M7S SMG - Moved scope offset closer to the scope so it will be easier to use in ADS mode. Throwables G-48 Giga Grenade - Increased refill from 1 to 2 TED-63 Dynamite - Increased max amount from 3 to 4 G-50 Seeker - Increased Start amount from 3 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 G-12 High Explosive - Increased Start amount from 3 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 G-16 Impact - Increased Start amount from 3 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 G-7 Pineapple - Increased start amount from 3 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 G-23 Stun - Increased start amount from 3 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 G-109 Urchin - Increased start amount from 2 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 G-10 Incendiary - Increased start amount from 3 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 G-13 Incendiary Impact - Increased start amount from 3 to 4 - Increased refill from 2 to 3 - Increased max amount from 4 to 5 Stratagems Eagle 110mm Rocket Pods Intent: Make it better at one shotting smaller heavies like Chargers, Hulks, Harvesters (without shields). It can also kill some larger enemies like Tanks well. It is still not a 100% guaranteed kill, but it will be more reliable. - Increased explosion damage 200 to 300 - Increased explosion durable damage 200 to 300 - Increased explosion armor penetration Medium to Heavy - Rockets are fired in a closer pattern to each other to make it easier to hit smaller targets. - Lower force impulse on explosion from 40 to 10 (This is to make enemies not fly away to much when they die, because we increased the armor penetration of the explosion) Orbital Precision Strike - Increased projectile damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased projectile durable damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased explosion damage 1000 to 1500 - Increased explosion durable damage 1000 to 1500 Orbital 380mm HE Barrage - Increased projectile damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased projectile durable damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased explosion damage 1000 to 1500 - Increased explosion durable damage 1000 to 1500 Orbital Walking Barrage - Increased projectile damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased projectile durable damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased explosion damage 1000 to 1500 - Increased explosion durable damage 1000 to 1500 SEAF Artillery Explosive/High Yield Explosive - Increased projectile damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased projectile durable damage 3500 to 4000 - Increased explosion damage 1000 to 1500 - Increased explosion durable damage 1000 to 1500 Orbital 120mm HE Barrage - Increased projectile damage 2500 to 3500 - Increased projectile damage 2500 to 3500 - Increased explosion damage 750 to 1200 - Increased explosion damage 750 to 1200 Orbital Railcannon Strike - Increased projectile damage 7500 to 10 000 - Increased projectile durable damage 7500 to 10 000 S-11 Speargun The projectile was negated by the Gas resistance armor which did not make much sense. The explosion of the projectile is still gas elemental. - Change the projectile damage type from gas to none TX-41 Sterilizer - Increased ammo capacity from 100 to 125 - Increased starting amount of magazines from 2 to 3 - Will be affected less by wind by 60% All Exosuits - Increased health from 1600 to 1800 - Increased health of arms from 600 to 800 - Increased health of legs from 400 to 550 - Cooldown reduced from 10 minutes down to 8 minutes M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle - Increased health from 2000 to 2400 - Increased health of doors by 50% - Increased health of tires from 300 to 350 Enemies Terminids Charger - Adjusted the chargers turning arc to make them easier to avoid - Increase their recovery time after the charge to create a window of opportunity (+1 second). The charger basically keeps running and struggle to stop if it misses its target - To compensate for this, charge speed has been slightly increased (8->9m/s) Alpha commander - Removed cowardly behavior, it will now be more aggressive. Hunters - Reduced durable damage of normal attack from 50 to 40 - Reduced durable damage of tongue attack from 45 to 30 - Reduced durable damage of pounce attack from 50 to 35 Warriors and spewers - Reduced durable damage of normal attack from 80 to 65 Stalkers - Reduced durable damage of tongue attack from 50 to 35 Automatons Vox Engine - Reduced health from 11 000 down to 9000 - Reduced max turn angle of its upper body so it cannot turn as far as it could previously (from 180 degrees down to 140) - Amount of vox engines allowed to be active at the same time limited to 3 - Reduced health of their cannon turrets from 8000 down to 3500 - Reduced the armor of their cannon turrets from 5 to 4 - Reduced durable on cannon turrets from 1 to 0.7 - Increased damage of cannon turrets explosion to significantly hurt the vox engine when it dies Illuminate Elevated Overseer - Added one attack pattern (short attack burst followed by a longer one) - Reduced the current attack duration - Reduced accuracy on moving targets 🔧 Fixes Special Shoutout - Stimming is no longer interrupted by stagger Crash Fixes - Fixed a rare crash that would happen when a player joined a game - Fixed a rare crash which would occur when causing an excessive amount of explosions in a single frame Weapons & Stratagem Fixes - Fixed a bug where several weapon customizations weren't properly saved when the option was ticked in the player settings - B/FLAM-80 Cremator no longer shows the 'Heavy Armour Penetrating' stratagem trait, following similar incendiary weaponry - A/FLAM-40 Flame Sentry and EXO-51 Lumberer Exosuits flamethrower can now damage targets within 3 meters of the sentry - P-33 Missile Pistol weapon now shows the right trait tags in the menu - The R-2 Amendment reload now continues correctly if interrupted - if reload is interrupted early, it will not lose magazines - The secondary weapon's chosen customization correctly persists after death if the menu option is selected - Orbital Gatling Barrage will play the correct audio - The StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher can target illegal broadcast transmitter towers - Part of the Bastion Tank's barrel can be damaged with a light penetration weapon - Phalanx divers rejoice! Laser beams, explosion damage, electrical arcs and melee attacks no longer collide with the directional shields of your team-mates when hit from behind. - SG-97 Sweeper should now reliably eject shells when slamfiring - The WASP launcher can target the Illegal Broadcast transmitter tower Enemies - Fixed physics to allow more representative shooting on the Dragonroach abdomen - Veracitor will not trigger its charge within a narrow path, reducing instances where they'll clip though destructible obstacles Miscellaneous Fixes - A hidden broadcast terminal was relocated to its correct spot so that the Helldivers can once again access it - Players are no longer removed from terminals when switching between controller and Keyboard and Mouse - D-pad/arrow keys navigation can come up and down when viewing teammates' equipment loadout - Traversing through foliage such as bushes will no longer interrupt sprinting, which should result in less momentum loss - Fixed several issues with some mission assets animation being out of sync for joining players - Fixed issue where the map marker for "Retrieve Mutant Larva" objective always displayed in a radius - Hints have better placements for the reinforcement Hellpods in commando missions - SEAF SAM site missiles now have better software to detect and detonate near enemy air units - Fixed a bug where certain Automaton mines turned invisible when a nearby mine exploded - Fixed a case where the Helldiver head twitched when leaving the Hellpod - M-102 Fast Recon Vehicle no longer plays audio for doors if they have been removed from the vehicle - Parts of the TD-220 Bastion MK XVI barrel base can no longer be damaged with a light penetration weapon - Fix issues with certain physics collisions having no audio - Fixed Automaton mines getting under ground after a nearby mine explodes - Fixed an issue where an Eradicate Automaton Forces level could generate underwater - Fixed a traversal issue where enemies could not reach the player in one of the levels in the E-710 Extraction mission - Fixed a traversal issue where enemies could not reach the player in one of the levels in the Annex Untapped Mineral Site mission
📱 Mobile, Multi-platformYou Are Everyone’s Intrusive Thoughts In Citizen Sleeper Dev’s Upcoming Fungal RPG
The next game from Gareth Damian Martin, the lead developer for Citizen Sleeper and its sequel, is a drastic shift away from playing as a sentient android desperately trying to survive while managing resources and relationships. Called Signet City, the first-person fungalpunk RPG sees you play as a sentient spore who must spread itself through a city by secretly infecting new individuals. As a spore, you become the new guiding psyche of those you infect, acting as a voice that influences how they feel, so you can then shape how they act, and ultimately direct how events play out in the city. Even if it doesn't work like how they do mechanically, narratively, it sounds like you're playing as the sentient skills in Disco Elysium or Esoteric Ebb--you're an outside perspective doing its best to guide your host to what you think is the best outcome. "As a parasite, each day you choose which host to drop into and then you have a limited number of actions that day," Martin told me. "And each host kind of comes with a part of the city that they live in, like a little hub. I think it's better to think of it as more something like Dishonored where you have these little chunks of the city--you don't have a whole city that you can walk around." !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ss42a22af6f72fbabe907d8f3de23b1d1657ab6c60.1920x1080.jpg?w=1024) "The key thing is the parasite feeds on emotion. And the skill system, the RPG aspect of the game, is all based on emotion. So let's say as the parasite, you want to get to this specific area of a certain hub. So you load in as that character and you're like, 'Okay, there's this door in my way. I'm going to have to find a way to get through it. One way that I could get through it is kicking it down, but if I want to kick it down, I can get a modifier increase if my host is angry. So I'm going to take him into the pub and I'm going to get him in an argument with somebody who's in the pub and that will get my host more angry and now I can more easily kick down this door.'" Like both Citizen Sleeper games, you're still rolling a six-sided die in Signet City, so any choice you make can still fail thanks to the cruelty of chance. Martin talked about how, in the kicking down the door example, you could injure your infected host in the attempt. And that might lead you to try solving the same problem but with a different host. And since no two hosts are the same, the manner by which you can help them out is different. To push someone into a state of adrenaline, you might need to have them discover political posters of a person or policy they don't support, for example, or take them to the top of a skyscraper if they're afraid of heights. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/sse6a52fbe0f93ef0baa29e21a1d81d68e5b2cfe0a.1920x1080.jpg?w=1024) "In a weird way, there's a little bit of Firewatch to it in the sense that when you're one of these characters, you're walking around the space and you're kind of discovering it," Martin said. "And then when you find something that the character can do or react to, you find it by looking and then you hold the left trigger to then bring up the UI that relates to that." What I find most interesting about this is how this type of storytelling plays with the concept of perception. As someone who plays a lot of tabletop role-playing games, I'm engaging in make-believe with other adults several times a week. And during those sessions, players often switch up how they refer to themselves and the character they're playing as. I'll always use first-person "I," when talking about myself, but I'll also use it when I'm pretending to be my character. But not always, though. I'll also say that my character does something as if I were a narrator directing them. So while I'm almost always using first-person, I'll sometimes use third-person, and even second-person on very rare occasions. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ss232c2af7546c7525149ffce6c0b38095da893e4e.1920x1080.jpg?w=1024) In that same respect, Signet City is a game told in first-, second-, and third-person. The camera view is first-person, but the game refers to the parasite as "you," and then the various hosts are talked about in third-person. But it's still just you, the player, behind it all. When I spoke to Martin about it, they said that the relationship of perspective was the exact concept they wanted to explore in Signet City. "The parasite is influenced by observing tabletop play and how when you're playing a character in tabletop role-playing games, sometimes you're using your name, sometimes you use your character's name," Martin said. "Sometimes you're like, 'Oh, it would be really cool if this really bad thing happened to my character right now, because that would be really interesting.' And sometimes you're more in their head and you're more like, 'Oh God, I really don't want this to go bad. I'd really, really like a good roll to just make this go well.' And I think that is a really interesting space. I think video games don't really get into that--they don't think about the player as a conflicting perspective that much. Maybe in Baldur's Gate 3, you get a bit of that when you do a Dark Urge playthrough. But that, for me, is a really exciting part of tabletop games, so that's something that I'm trying to get into." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO4uKabqRQo "It opens up the writing because I have to try and figure out, 'How do I write this?' So the game is in second-person and third-person simultaneously because when I write what it's like to be the parasite, I use 'you, you, you,' and then I write what the host is experiencing. So, 'Sid does this, Sid does that, Sid feels this.' And so that is a really exciting and interesting space to play. And so for me, I find it interesting to set myself those challenges and those structures. And a lot of it is really based on things I found interesting in Citizen Sleeper, but that that form couldn't necessarily contain. But if I change the form and I do something a bit more out there with Signet City, I can find space to do it. Where these perspectives ultimately collide and begin to grate against one another is where Signet City seems to be delving into punk, creating friction and counterculture within its urban setting via the clashing perspectives of the city at large and the more personal battles between the fungal parasite and individual hosts. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/ssa809fba0f37137ba27c3381b061e5fcc2f302518.1920x1080.jpg?w=1024) "I think there are connections absolutely to authoritarianism, but there are also connections to revolution and radical ideas," Martin said. "And I think that's what really excited me about beginning to work on this, was that a parasite can represent both of those things simultaneously and you can engage with the idea." "If you are the most powerful being in the city, then ultimately that's what you're growing to be. What are you driving the city towards and what do you see your role in it being? Are you a shepherd or are you a master? Do you instigate or do you control? Do you destroy, or are you like, 'Yeah, fk the humans. They've destroyed ecology, ecology's coming for them now. They should actually die.' These are the things that I think you can really get into with having a protagonist like a fungal spore and having a structure like this game." We'll have to wait a bit longer to get a better understanding of how Signet City will look and play, as only an announcement trailer for the game has been revealed so far. In my conversation with Martin, they said they're about midway through development, so there's definitely no chance of the game releasing this year.
🍄 Nintendo Switch, Multi-platformNintendo Switch update finally fixes eShop bug fans complained about for 9 years
Nintendo finally addresses a stability issue that's plagued the Switch for nearly a decade
🎮 Multi-platformWeeks After Launching Luna Abyss, Its Entire Development Team At Kwalee Labs Has Been Laid Off
!Game Informer News(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/16/0b213017/lunaabyssscreenshotcombatmeadows.jpg.webp) Cosmic horror shooter Luna Abyss launched on May 21 to a generally positive reception, but the team behind it has been laid off. The news comes from developer Kwalee Labs’ CEO. In a LinkedIn post(https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hollie-emery-074a625bhey-folks-i-have-some-sad-news-from-the-share-7472658276480946177-QHk2/?utmsource=share&utmmedium=memberios&rcm=ACoAAAYfKcgBmkwkz8uDkAWf33eVkUhw6ZP7Mco), CEO Hollie Emery announced that, as of Monday, June 16, the entire team was made redundant. Emery does not give an exact reason as to why, but states the decision was “completely outside of our control." The small team of nine employees is now looking for work. “We're enamoured by the love and support it received both by our industry and critically by journalists and media. Whilst we faced many challenges along the way, it has been the highlight of our careers - and we are incredibly proud that Luna Abyss has finally seen the light of day (thank you to everyone who believed in us!),” writes Emery. Luna Abyss is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC and sees players controlling a prisoner forced to explore a derelict megastructure beneath the surface of a moon called Luna. As you uncover the moon’s mysteries, you’ll gun down cosmic horrors in first-person shooter combat with bullet hell flourishes and an emphasis on traversal and mobility. The game currently has an 81 critics' score on Metacritic(https://www.metacritic.com/game/luna-abyss/critic-reviews/?platform=pc). Game Informer editor-in-chief Matt Miller endorsed the game in a recent impressions piece(https://gameinformer.com/opinion/2026/05/22/the-video-games-you-should-play-this-weekend-may-22), writing, "While it shares much in common with the recently released Saros, including cosmic horror elements and bullet hell dodging of multi-hued attacks, Luna Abyss has a lot to recommend a playthrough all on its own."
🎮 PlayStation, Xbox, Multi-platformPS5 Pro Is Likely The Best Place To Play Halo: Campaign Evolved
!Game Informer News(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/09/1ff4a57e/halo06.jpg.webp) One of the major headlines coming off the reveal of Halo: Campaign Evolved was that, for the first time ever, Master Chief and the Halo franchise are coming to PlayStation(https://www.gameinformer.com/2025/10/24/halo-campaign-evolved-coming-to-ps5-xbox-and-pc-remakes-halo-1s-story-with-new-content). While that was enough to garner attention for the 25th-anniversary project, when I was at Halo Studios in May for our current issue's cover story(https://gameinformer.com/cover-reveal/2026/06/16/cover-reveal-halo-campaign-evolved), we got on the topic of what PlayStation fans can expect when Halo: Campaign Evolved finally arrives on Sony's platform in July. “Halo has traditionally been a one-console franchise all the way back to its origins,” game director Greg Hermann told us in October. “We’ve seen in the past few years with Master Chief Collection or Infinite that we’ve expanded onto PC, and then really started to understand what it meant for us to do cross-platform development, and then what crossplay meant in some of these circumstances. Moving onto PlayStation was just a natural evolution of that. We were building on a lot of foundation work that Unreal Engine provides for us, but it really wasn’t too foreign to us to add another platform and make sure we budgeted across development timelines, ensuring that everybody gets a premium experience for their device.” With that mentality, loyal PlayStation players will finally have the chance to experience the foundational shooter through this remake, complete with crossplay and cross-progression, in case they want to play the remake's four-player co-op with some of their friends over on the Xbox side of the fence. However, it may feel like sacrilege to suggest that a PlayStation console might be the best place to play a Halo game, but after going over the PS5 Pro enhancements, it sure sounds like PS5 Pro will be the best place to play Halo: Campaign Evolved. The PS5 Pro edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved uses PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, SSD optimization, faster loading, 3D audio, and DualSense-exclusive features, leading me to believe that even Microsoft's Xbox Series X will have a hard time keeping up with the experience on PS5 Pro. !Game Informer News(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/08/9fe125e1/halo6.jpg.webp) When I ask Halo Studios, they decline to directly say that PlayStation 5 Pro is the best place to play Halo: Campaign Evolved, but it seems relatively clear. However, with the most recent Xbox Showcase, the platform holder is poised to roll back its recent stance on bringing some of its franchises to other platforms(https://gameinformer.com/2026/06/11/xbox-doubles-down-on-gears-of-war-e-day-exclusivity-saying-it-was-never-discussed-for), beginning with Gears of War: E-Day(https://www.gameinformer.com/xbox-games-showcase/2026/06/07/gears-of-war-e-day-launches-as-a-console-exclusive-on-xbox-series-xs) and Clockwork Revolution(https://www.gameinformer.com/xbox-games-showcase/2026/06/07/clockwork-revolution-coming-in-2027-as-xbox-console-exclusive). As Xbox's flagship franchise since its inception, it would be unsurprising to see future Halo games join those titles, but that remains to be seen. For now, Halo: Campaign Evolved is set to arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on July 28. To learn more about Halo: Campaign Evolved, subscribers can check out our cover story(https://gameinformer.com/feature/2026/06/16/the-next-evolution). To learn more about Microsoft's current strategy, read our conversation with Xbox chief creative officer and former head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty here(https://www.gameinformer.com/interview/2026/06/10/xboxs-matt-booty-talks-bringing-back-exclusivity-lessons-learned-and-the).
🎮 Multi-platformShrek 5 trailer reveals 2027 release date and on-going Disney feud
The official teaser trailer for Shrek 5 confirms a 2027 release date and hints at the ongoing rivalry between DreamWorks and Disney.
🎮 Multi-platformLoki's Tom Hiddleston is a 'time detective' in new Disney Plus show
Disney Plus is releasing a documentary drama hosted by Loki's Tom Hiddleston about the destruction of Pompeii.
🎮 PlayStation, Multi-platformSony Files Patent Application For Controller With Buttons That Harden Around Your Finger
As we creep closer to another generation of PlayStation consoles, Sony is exploring potential additions to its controllers that could set it apart in a similar way to the DualSense with the PlayStation 5. According to a new patent, that could include buttons that harden, or soften, according to what is happening on screen. The patent application, which was filed in November 2024 with the World Intellectual Property Organization(https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2026110304&cid=P12-MPXZ4A-31241-1) (WIPO) and published in May earlier this year (and found by Cheat Happens(https://www.cheathappens.com/sonypatentsplayStationcontrollerbuttons.asp)), details several different ways that buttons on a controller can have their physical properties changed. In one, the controller makes use a magneto-viscoelastic elastomer that alters how much force is required to push a button based on surrounding magnets. Another approach includes utilising fluid-filled membranes for the same effect, but you can probably imagine why this might not be a great idea for a controller's longevity. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/VOQc7KlCksiG-j3DjHpyT155uKJvaX7-o-TsOxNXjlTXHBngUTIYqc5QfHs77.png?w=724) One design showing a button harden around a player's finger. The patent goes on to describe an alternative button effect where a player's finger can sink into it, before it hardens up around the finger afterwards. This is probably the strangest of the solutions, but could be used to simulate several scenarios where your character is stuck and requires more force to move or release. Whether you want your controller biting you is entirely subjective, however. Experiments like these are what ultimately led to the current DualSense controller, which makes good use of adaptive triggers to simulate various context-sensitive actions, such as alternative fire modes in Saros or the tension of a web swing in Spider-Man 2. With Sony expected to release a new PlayStation in either 2028 or 2029, patents such as these could give an indication of what might be included in the eventual DualSense successor. But, like several patents before it, its filing does not in any way mean that Sony will follow through with its designs.
🎮 Multi-platformReview: Toy Story 5 miraculously returns the series to Pixar's golden age
Toy Story 5 is a funny, emotional story starring Jessie. It is a worthy addition to the franchise which vastly improves upon the predecessor