Jennifer English, star of Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, leaves Tides of Annihilation lead role

PC Gamer RSS Feed✍ Andy Chalk📅 July 20, 2026⏱ 3 min read(about 1 month ago)

Overview & Key Takeaways

English, who won a BAFTA award for her work on Clair Obscur in 2026, says the decision was difficult but "personally necessary."

Jennifer English, who gained fame for her portrayal of Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3 and then won a BAFTA award for best performer in a leading role for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has announced that she is withdrawing from the role of Gwendolyn in the upcoming Tides of Annihilation in order to "properly look after [her] mental and physical health."

Revealed in 2025, Tides of Annihilation struck me as an Arthurian Elden Ring set in modern-day London: Gwendolyn, the only survivor of the "Outworld invasion" that's shattered London, can summon the spirits of the Knights of the Round Table to help her do battle with the "demi-gods of Avalon." As videogames go, I'd say it sure looks very videogame-y.

Tides of Annihilation | Official Announcement Trailer - YouTube

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No points for originality there, but it's among the 50 most wishlisted games on Steam, and that's not nothing. But the game suffered a blow when developer Eclipse Glow Games announced that English was stepping down.

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Mortal Shell 2’s Latest Update Alleviates One Of The Game’s Biggest Headaches

Developer Cold Symmetry has released its latest souls-like action-RPG, Mortal Shell 2(https://www.gamespot.com/games/mortal-shell-ii/), on August 20 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. And not even a day after launch, the studio already dropped a patch that makes some welcome tweaks, including addressing one of the game's most annoying issues: gold farming. On August 20, Cold Symmetry shared a breakdown on the game's subreddit(https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalShell/comments/1vttz2d/balancepatch1/) and Steam page(https://steamcommunity.com/app/2584270/discussions/0/582805931178489108/) of what Balance Patch 1 does. A welcome adjustment is a refund of the Glimpses--a rare currency used to bond with and unlock memories of your shell--you might've spent to discover a shell's location(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mortal-shell-2-all-shell-locations/). You get whatever you spent back, and now, instead of costing that rare currency, buying a shell map costs Gloom, this game's version of Runes or Souls. A big change is a nerf to a handful of bosses and enemies. As Cold Symmetry put it, "all enemies featured in the beta were restored to their beta HP values." This means that the starting area of Mortal Shell 2(https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mortal-shell-2-is-a-fresh-and-exciting-shake-up-of-the-souls-like-formula/) has been tuned down to match what was in the beta, which I found quite easy when compared to the full release. Maybe the most major tweak, however, is an increase to the amount of gold you find now. As a result of this patch, gold drops from enemies have been "significantly increased," especially in the second zone. This lets you upgrade your weapons more often, as gold discovery should be in line with the materials you find everywhere. There are a handful of other changes that came with Balance Patch 1. This includes Tarstones--items that grant passive bonuses or modify melee attacks--and weapons(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mortal-shell-2-tarforge-weapons-tarstones-upgrades/) getting buffed, addressing crashes and fixing bugs, and reducing the cost to unlevel your weapons via smelting. Balance Patch 1 is available now for PC. There's no release date for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions yet, but Cold Symmetry said it'll arrive on those platforms "shortly." For now, check out the update notes for Balance Patch 1 below. Mortal Shell 2 Balance Patch 1 Economy - Shell map locations now cost Gloom, and we’re refunding any Glimpses spent on shell maps. Refunded Glimpses are found in the Shell Keeper’s alcove in Blackmarrow. “Finding your favorite shell shouldn’t cost you the ability to bond with them.” - Gold drops from enemies have been significantly increased. Notably, enemies in Mammon now drop double the gold. “This brings the gold economy more in line with the weapon crafting item discovery.” - Smelting a weapon at the Tarforge costs 75% less gloom. “Our goal with the smelt capability was to enable switching weapons without the need to spend hours grinding through NG+ runs, but the Gloom costs were set exorbitantly high.” Enemies & Bosses All enemies featured in the beta were restored to their beta HP values, except the Caerinid (Spider) in Magdalena’s area, which we wanted to retain its role as a threatening enemy which doesn’t respawn once defeated. - Bosses - The Lost Child - Base Damage: (-10%) - Max Health: (-15%) - Monolith - Base Damage: (-19%) - Max Health: (-10%) - Some Monolith Attacks were retimed to be more fair, as well. - Enemies - Cultist (mace) - Max Health: (-21.1%) - Caerinid Spider - Max Health: (-33.3%) - Infested Stalker - Max Health: (-52.4%) - Rusted Knave (Halberd) - Max Health: (-20.8%) - Fixed hit detection for overhead strike. Weapons - Great Martyr’s Blade Attack Damage +20% - Troubadour's Lute Attack Damage +100% - Caged Hystrix and Triarch Repeater no longer have minimum resolve requirements to fire. - Improved tracking for Axatana, Black Needle, and Clockwork Scythe light attacks. Seals - Guard can now be used while walking. Tarstones - Parasitic Stone Buffed - Grudge Stone Buffed - Bulwark Stone Damage Reduction Increased Significantly - Clerik's Stone Buffed - Squall Stone Buffed Miscellaneous - Misc. Crash Fixes, Bug Fixes & Performance Updates

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Don't tell Nintendo, but I turned GTA 5 into Pokémon Go using a mod

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Compulsion Games Is Now Officially An Ex-Xbox Studio

Compulsion Games, the Canadian game developer behind South of Midnight and We Happy Few, has officially parted ways with Microsoft. After Microsoft confirmed that Compulsion was one of five Xbox studios it was divesting of, Compulsion boss Guillaume Provost has now confirmed it's a done deal. This was hinted at recently when the Steam page for South of Midnight listed Compulsion as the developer and publisher(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ignore-your-growing-backlog-its-time-to-play-south-of-midnight-on-steam/). Now, it's official, with Provost confirming to Games Beat(https://gamesbeat.com/compulsion-games-pulls-off-management-buyout-and-separates-from-xbox-exclusive/) that its management team acquired the studio and staff, while Microsoft transferred the developer's IP back to the studio. What this means in practice is that if you buy a Steam copy of South of Midnight--one of 2025's best games--the money goes to Compulsion, not Xbox. Provost said it will take some time before the change gets implemented on other storefronts. Provost did not disclose the specific terms of the deal, but he said staffers at Compulsion really wanted to stick together. “I did this deal for the team first and foremost. I asked the team, ‘Do you want to stay together?’ The team told me we would rather eat rocks and drink gasoline rather than be split up,” Provost said. Some Compulsion developers opted to leave the studio after Provost warned staff that the company was at risk of closure. However, Provost said the majority of senior staff stayed on. Provost went on to say that part of Compulsion's team is now working on an unannounced game that was already in the works before it split off from Xbox. Microsoft was the financial backer of Compulsion and its projects, so Provost is now taking meetings with various, unnamed parties to secure its financial future. “I just want to make sure that we’re setting the team up for success,” Provost said. “We’re going to take things slow. We’re going to meet with everyone. Everything is relative. Compared to all of us losing our jobs on July 6, this is a pretty good deal. I would say the exit was gracious on Microsoft’s part." The other four studios that Microsoft divested from included Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Arkane. Double Fine, led by Tim Schafer, regained its independence like Compulsion did, and Schafer will discuss the company's future outlook during a livestream today, April 21. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, meanwhile, were sold to unnamed buyers. Arkane is entering a period of consultation with respect to its home country of France's local laws. This all happened as part of a "reset" of the Xbox business under new CEO Asha Sharma. She also laid off 1,600 people in July, with another 1,600 set to lose their jobs this fiscal year.

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