Latest Multi-platform Game News & Updates
☁ Multi-platform News
7051 articles
🟩 Xbox, Multi-platformXbox CEO says RAM crisis means radical new business models needed for Project Helix
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma spoke about the need for the industry to think about payment plans, partnerships, less powerful consoles, and smaller games
🎮 Multi-platformAll joule box upgrade locations in Mina the Hollower
Joule box upgrades increase the number of sidearm charges you have in Mina the Hollower. Here's where you can find each upgrade.
🎮 PlayStation, Multi-platformPlayStation Plus Extra/Premium Games For June 2026 Revealed
Sony has revealed the latest games coming to the Game Catalog for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers in May. All of these games will be available starting June 16: - Final Fantasy 16 - Sonic x Shadow: Generations - Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Life is Strange: Double Exposure - Farming Simulator 25 - Blades of Fire - Black Desert - Gitaroo Man This story is developing
🎮 Multi-platformAvatar: Fire and Ash streaming release announced for Disney Plus
The third entry in James Cameron's sci-fi series is coming to Disney Plus a bit ahead of schedule.
🎮 Multi-platform$80 Games Are Already Here
While many are waiting to see if Rockstar Games decides to price GTA 6 at $80 or more, the video game market already has games at that price point, they've just gone more under the radar. Two more have been announced just this month but may have been missed amid the Summer Game Fest craze. Back in June 2025, Nintendo was the first major company to ask $10 more than the standard $70 rate with Mario Kart World. It was included with a $500 bundle that also included a console, so the effective price of the game was lower, but it was $80 for anyone who bought the game alone. Now that Nintendo discontinued that bundle, everyone has to pay $80 for Mario Kart World. Nintendo said it charged $80 for the game because it has so much value(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-defends-mario-kart-worlds-80-price-tag/1100-6530643/). Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida defended Nintendo's decision, saying people could not reasonably expect prices to stay the same(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-worlds-80-price-defended-by-former-playstation-boss/1100-6530933/) despite rising development costs and larger scopes. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-10.34.03-AM.png?w=1024) Mario Kart World. The $80 price for Mario Kart World is for both the digital and physical editions. In March this year, Nintendo announced that it would begin a new pricing strategy whereby digital and physical games would cost different prices, beginning with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in May. That game cost $60 digitally and $70 physically. Explaining the price differences(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-2-digital-and-physical-games-will-soon-differ-in-price/1100-6539011/), Nintendo said this reflects the "different costs associated with producing and distributing each format," and it offers players choice, the company said. Nintendo also reminded everyone that individual retailers set their own prices--Walmart, for example, discounted the physical versions of Nintendo games already to match the digital prices. More $80 games So far in June, we've learned about two more games that will cost $80 when they release, and they're both also Switch 2 titles. Elden Ring for Switch 2 will be $80(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/elden-ring-for-switch-2-finally-gets-release-date-after-performance-related-delay/) when it launches in August with its Tarnished Edition physically and with a Game-Key Card; this is a physical cartridge with a download code. The Tarnished Edition includes the base game, the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, four new armor sets, two new starting classes, and other digital items. The new Fire Emblem game revealed during the Nintendo Direct will also be $80 for its physical edition (though we don't know yet if it's a Game-Key Card). The digital edition, meanwhile, costs $70 as part of Nintendo's new pricing strategy. "They will pay" Former Nintendo PR manager Kit Ellis said(https://x.com/kitosan/status/2064458705169735766?s=20) Nintendo is charging $80 for the game because it can. "Nintendo knows fans of that series are as die-hard as they come; they want the game physical and they will pay the premium." Ellis said he expects 2027's Xenoblade Genesis to also cost $80 for the same reason. What comes next It is not a stretch to believe that other publishers will start charging $80 or more for new releases. After all, there is already data that says people are ready and willing to pay $80 for games(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/people-are-ready-and-willing-to-pay-80-or-more-for-games-analyst-says/1100-6531571/). Analyst Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics said "the floodgates are now open.” He expects every publisher in video games that can raise prices to do so. Microsoft, for its part, said in 2025 that it would begin charging $80 for its big new games in 2025(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-consoles-games-and-accessories-see-price-increases-starting-today/1100-6531257/), but the company canceled those plans(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-u-turns-on-80-xbox-games/1100-6533374/) and has never charged more than $70 for a big new release's standard edition. Sony, meanwhile, is holding steady at $70 as well for major new releases. A Bank of America stock analyst recently said Rockstar should charge $80 for GTA 6(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-6-should-be-80-and-other-companies-should-raise-prices-too-bank-of-america-says/1100-6539759/) to help convince the industry at large to raise prices as well. !(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/GTA6.jpg?w=1024) GTA 6. Rockstar owner Take-Two was among the first to hike prices from $60 to $70, with the company pricing NBA 2K21 at $70 back in 2020(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/take-two-ceo-defends-nba-2k21s-price-increase/1100-6482168/), citing development budgets that have increased by as much as 300% in the past 10 years. The company later said it saw “no pushback” to the new $70 price(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/with-gta-6-coming-take-two-sees-no-pushback-on-70-games/1100-6514323/) being the new price for major releases at Take-Two and many other publishers. Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick said major new releases have actually come down in price over the years(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-6-price-commented-on-by-rockstars-owner/1100-6539688/) when you consider how inflation has affected pretty much everything else you buy these days. The $60 in 2013 dollars that GTA 5 cost at launch is now more than $85 in 2026 dollars, for example. Games have held steady in the $60-$70 range for 10 years, and that “doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Zelnick said, with many theorizing that what Zelnick meant here was that GTA 6 could be priced higher. That would not be surprising, but some believe it won't go as high as $100 because Rockstar is keen to funnel people into the game to push them to whatever the developer has in store for the next evolution of GTA Online that is surely coming. Experts have said games not going up in price is causing major issues for the AAA game market(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/former-playstation-boss-says-aaa-game-development-/1100-6478908/). No significant increases help explain why publishers push DLC and microtransactions so much to help cover the costs of ballooning budgets, according to experts and industry veterans. Things like deluxe editions of games, meanwhile, can sell for $80 or more, and the included items--like extra skins and digital weapons--are basically free to develop(https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-big-picture-part-one-i-dont-know-if-games-are-recession-proof). Publishers could also look to product placement to help manage costs(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/product-placement-can-help-save-the-aaa-games-business-former-bioware-dev-says/), and that's a future people generally do not want to see. Prices should have gone up already Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden said in 2025 that the price of new games should have gone up with every new console generation for the past 20 years. That largely did not happen, and now the industry is worse off for it, he said. "I think it's because everyone's afraid," he told GI.biz(https://www.gamesindustry.biz/the-big-picture-part-one-i-dont-know-if-games-are-recession-proof). "No one wants to be the first one to raise the price, because you're afraid to lose traffic. So what you do is you just end up eating into your operating income, your profit margin." "There were more sports cars in the parking lot in the PS1 era than there were in the PS4 era, because if you're selling 20 million units at $60 for something that only cost you $10 million to make, that's different than selling 20 million units at $60 for something that cost you $160 million to make." If more companies raise prices to $80 or more for new games, that doesn't mean developers will stop hawking things like microtransactions, DLC, and battle passes--these efforts will likely continue in concert with price hikes. In life, products and services across all categories tend to get more expensive over time, and there is no reason to believe games would be any different. In fact, the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics just announced today, June 10, that inflation in May rose to 4.2%(https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm), the highest level in three years. It was up from 3.8% in April, and it's the third month in the row that the Consumer Price Index has gone up. The ongoing increases to inflation are stoking the theories that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in a bid to slow spending and bring down inflation. Inflation is going up, in part, due to the ongoing war in Iran that has sent oil and gas prices soaring. Beyond the price of games, the price of gaming hardware continues to go up and up, due in part to the global macroeconomic environment. Microsoft and Sony have already raised console prices, and Nintendo will follow next with a Switch 2 price hike in September. Just recently, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said Microsoft will need to come up "radically different"(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0hMSekk4XE) business models to help mitigate rising hardware prices against the backdrop of Project Helix. “We’ve reached a point where it will be hard to imagine that mass audiences can afford 1000s of dollars to spend on a console generation. We'll see radically different business models that we never expected start to come into orbit later this year," she said, without elaborating further. No one likes to pay more, but increasing costs are easier to stomach when people are getting paid more to offset, or mitigate, the increased costs of things they need and want. But that isn't always the case, either. In fact, the federal minimum wage in the US is still $7.25/hour(https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/minimumwage), though dozens of states have their own minimum wages that are significantly higher. Beyond all of this, the upcoming SpaceX IPO and the millionaires to be minted out of it(https://www.wsj.com/business/meet-the-spacex-employees-who-are-about-to-become-overnight-millionaires-1a1a1370) is only furthering the growing wealth-disparity issue in America. For now, people should expect to pay more for games, hardware, and everything else in life. Hooray?
🍄 Nintendo Switch, Multi-platformPlayers Think Kingdom Hearts’ New Art Is AI-Generated
Yesterday's Nintendo Direct(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-direct-june-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-and-games/) certainly got Kingdom Hearts(https://www.gamespot.com/games/kingdom-hearts/) players talking--but it's not the kind of discourse Square Enix was probably hoping for after unveiling a new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/kingdom-hearts-4-gets-a-surprise-look-at-nintendo-direct-2026/) and announcing that native versions of the entire Kingdom Hearts trilogy are coming to Switch 2 on October 8(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/all-the-new-switch-2-ports-confirmed-in-nintendo-direct-june-2026/). Instead, eagle-eyed players are focused on what appears to be AI-generated key art, which Square Enix shared on X(https://x.com/KINGDOMHEARTS/status/2064362651036369250) shortly after the announcement of the Kingdom Hearts Collection I-III As pointed out by artist and Kingdom Hearts fan Vexmyx(https://x.com/vexmyx/status/2064420981901230165?s=46), the image appears to show Donald with four fingers on one hand, but five fingers on the other--it's well known at this point that generative AI tools tend to struggle with hands and fingers, frequently generating images with subjects either missing digits, or having too many. As of his most recent appearance in Kingdom Hearts 3(https://www.gamespot.com/games/kingdom-hearts-iii/), Donald Duck has only four fingers, and knowing how protective Disney is when it comes to legacy characters like Donald and Goofy, it's hard to imagine they'd hire an artist who doesn't know how many fingers he has. Donald's feet are also shaped rather strangely, though that could just be a matter of perspective, as he's floating (flying?) through the air with one foot (flipper?) forward and the other behind him. https://twitter.com/vexmyx/status/2064420981901230165?s=46 Other details, like one of the zippers on Donald's coat and the chain on Sora's beloved Keyblade, are also rather wonky and oddly uneven looking, as if drawn by someone who isn't quite sure how zippers or chain links work. But the fashion faux pas don't end with zippers--the treads on the soles of Sora's shoes are also off, sporting a close-but-not-quite-right pattern of raised squares, when his shoe treads have historically featured tiny, raised crown motifs that match the crown-shaped pendant around his neck. Goofy appears to be wearing steel-toed boots, but his right foot looks much longer than his left foot, and appears to be missing the steel toe. Again, this could simply be a matter of perspective due to the way the characters are posed, but given how beloved the franchise is--and how strict Disney is about sticking to character designs--many Kingdom Hearts fans are wondering if the image was at least partially AI-generated. "Either fully generated or AI-enhanced, I'm not sure," Vexmyx said, sharing an image highlighting parts of the image that feature the most obvious AI fingerprints. "But I'm disappointed. This is unacceptable if the AI claims are true, and needs to be addressed." While human error might explain some of the strange aspects of the image, it certainly doesn't explain why the face of the franchise's iconic clocktower has hands that appear to curve and bend. GameSpot has reached out to Square Enix for comment, but did not receive a reply in time for publication.
🎮 Multi-platformGears Of War: E-Day Modernizes Movement Without Going Full Parkour
Popping Locust heads and active reloading has never looked better than in Gears of War: E-Day(https://www.gamespot.com/games/gears-of-war-e-day/), but this prequel is also making some big changes to how you'll move through the campaign. Movement has received a massive overhaul(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-e-day-is-drastically-changing-movement-for-the-first-time-in-the-series/) in the prequel, as Marcus Fenix and the rest of his squad can get around all manner of obstacles to reposition themselves while in combat. The game technically has a jump button for getting over larger obstacles like display cabinets, but don't expect Gears of War: E-Day to turn the series into a platformer. Speaking with GameSpot, The Coalition studio creative director Matt Searcy explained how Gears of War: E-Day fuses the traditional sticky cover-based systems established in previous games and evolves them to feel more organic. This was on full display in the Xbox Games Showcase(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-game-showcase-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-so-far/), as the gameplay preview for Gears of War: E-Day showed Marcus Fenix moving between chest-high structures, mantling over taller structures, and using the environment to his advantage in surprising ways. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk2Uf2Th9aM "How you move in, out, and along cover is a lot more natural," Searcy said. "We still kept cover like it was in Gears, and having that heaviness was important. But being able to move in and out, being able to transfer between different cover shapes more smoothly--you'll see us even interacting through car windows or through shelves--so there's a lot more organic sort of interaction with cover. It's such a core part of the game, we wanted to be able to expand it. You can slide under a car and blow up a guy, it's a really cool move." "The mobility for us was more of a way to evolve the gameplay mechanics than a narrative device. Jumping in Gears, we will never be a platforming game. We don't have levels that are about jumping to get to somewhere. For us, we saw it as a way to add a new dimension to flanking. Just being able to climb onto that high mantle--which you can either do from cover or you can jump onto--and then, just jumping across to another place and flanking someone, it opens up all of our levels." Gears of War: E-Day launches for PC and Xbox Series X|S on October 3--but there's no PS5 version(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-e-day-ps5-version-canceled-report-says/)--and an open beta(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-e-day-open-beta-start-dates-and-how-to-get-in-early/) kicks off in August. - !Gears-Square-1(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Gears-Square-1.jpg?w=300) Gears of War: E-Day Standard Edition $70 | Releases October 6 Preorder at Amazon(https://www.amazon.com/Wickett-FPP-Xbox-EN-US-Std/dp/B0H27DR9SY?tag=gamespot-preorders-20 "Preorder at Amazon") - !Gears-Square-2(https://www.gamespot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Gears-Square-2.jpg?w=300) Gears of War: E-Day Premium Edition $100 | Releases October 1 Preorder at Best Buy(https://clicks.trx-hub.com/xid/fandom32094gamespot?q=https%3A%2F%2Fbestbuy.7tiv.net%2Fc%2F1804712%2F614286%2F10014%3FsubId1%3Dsubidvalue%26u%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.bestbuy.com%252Fproduct%252Fgears-of-war-e-day-premium-edition-xbox-series-x-xbox-series-s-windows-digital%252FJJGXP25T5V&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Ffeeds%2Fmashup&articleid=1785718&eventtype=click&fntitle=Gears+Of+War%3A+E-Day+Modernizes+Movement+Without+Going+Full+Parkour&fnauthor=darranged&fndate=2026-06-10+08%3A00%3A38&fnupdated=2026-06-10+08%3A00%3A38&fnarticleid=1785718&fncategory=Gaming%7CNews&fnstorytype=News%7COriginal+News "Preorder at Best Buy")
🎮 Multi-platformFable’s 1,000 Romance Options Sounds Like The Ultimate Challenge For Completionists
Fable(https://www.gamespot.com/games/fable/) isn't just offering a grand fantasy adventure for players to embark on, but also a chance to catch their breath between quests, thanks to a world populated with hundreds of distinct non-playable characters. Each NPC has a unique personality and goals, and according to Playground Games, each one can be romanced. In fact, it's possible to marry every single one--just not all at once, as Fable has a monogamous approach to love. "There are over 1,000 handcrafted NPCs in the game, and you can get into a relationship with any of them--or all of them--indeed, if that's what you want to do. Might take you quite a while, but you could definitely do that," associate game director Craig Littler said to GameSpot. "One thing I would say, though, is that it really ties into the complex, nuanced morality system because yes, you could get into a relationship with anybody, but not at the same time, because you can't be all things to all people at the same time. One person might want you to be kind. Another might want you to be a murderer. That's just how it goes." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuJjIgntefE&pp=0gcJCTkLAYcqIYzv "All 1,000 of them are handcrafted by our team," associate game director William Kennedy added. "The game design team put a bunch of effort into those goals, and as you saw in the demo, we had the ambitious Megan, and all of her goals revolved around having stuff. She wanted me to have a house. She wanted me to dress in fancy clothes. She wanted me to own my own home, and what the design team was doing with that handcrafting was making sure that each NPC was a cohesive character, that you could end up having different stories when you interact with them." Originally scheduled to launch this year, Fable was recently delayed(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fable-has-been-delayed-to-february-2027/) to February 23, 2027, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. Last week's Xbox Games Showcase(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-game-showcase-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-so-far/) revealed some new details for the game, like the new character Isabel(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fable-release-date-announced-with-a-look-at-new-and-old-villains/) (played by Hayley Atwell), a brief tease of the original Fable's villain, Jack of Blades, and the confirmation of the game's first story-driven expansion, Order of the Hero.
🎮 Multi-platformFable Lets You Live A Second Life, Not Just Save The World
Fable(https://www.gamespot.com/games/fable/) is now arriving in February 2027(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fable-has-been-delayed-to-february-2027/), but with some extra months to fine-tune the fantasy adventure, Playground Games looks set to release an impressive entry in the classic franchise. Older Fable games from Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios had lofty ambitions, but with Playground at the helm, the new title is taking the series in an unexpected direction: life-sims. During Summer Game Fest, GameSpot got a closer look at Fable behind closed doors, with the game's developers showing off just how deep relationships are in the game. In one example, the player had to become a success story to woo their chosen romantic pursuit. This involved dressing in fine clothes, starting a business, and ensuring that it was profitable, all to win the hand of a fair maiden. What makes this even more impressive is that the NPC chosen is one of hundreds who populate the game, and each one has a distinct personality. https://youtu.be/Zzwz7KZNBzY Is it possible to pursue a romance with every single one of them? Yes, says Playground Games, but not all at once because each NPC has their own idealized version of who their life-partner should be. "One person might want you to be kind. Another might want you to be a murderer. That's just how it goes," associate game director Craig Littler said to GameSpot. For more details on every new detail we just learned about the game, you can watch the video above. Fable launches on February 23, 2027, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. During last week’s Xbox Games Showcase(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-game-showcase-2026-all-the-biggest-announcements-so-far/), we saw the reveal of Fable's first story-driven expansion, Order of the Hero, and our first look at the new character Isabel(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/fable-release-date-announced-with-a-look-at-new-and-old-villains/), played by Hayley Atwell.
🎮 Multi-platformSaw: Genesis switches up Dead by Daylight's formula with escape room thrills
We learned tons of new details about Saw: Genesis, a bloody new asymmetrical horror game based on the Saw movie series.
🎮 Multi-platformHalo: Campaign Evolved will include 42 skulls — see the full list here
Xbox's Halo remake will feature more skulls than the series ever has in history. Polygon interview Halo Studios devs about all skulls in the game.
🎮 Multi-platformResident Evil Veronica won't be a Resident Evil 3 remake situation
Capcom reveals new details about Resident Evil Veronica, including the fate of Claire, Steve Burnside, and first-person camera view.