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Starbreeze Entertainment has cancelled Project Baxter, its Dungeons & Dragons games-as-service title. Read more View the full article

Career accelerator firm Mastered has secured new county council funding contracts to support and upskill senior UK games talent. Read more View the full article

Update, October 30, 2025: Mastered has secured further funding to support studios and publishers in London. Read more View the full article

A man has pleaded guilty to sending death threats to Epic Games. Read more View the full article

Do you like jazz? Score Blue Wednesday for free on Stove Store! Blue Wednesday is a cool 2d narrative adventure ... View the full article

Microsoft is raising the price of its subscription service Xbox Game Pass, with its most expensive tier, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, increasing from $19.99/£14.99 to $29.99/£22.99 per month. Read more View the full article

IGN Fan Fest promises more than 80 exclusive reveals | News-in-BriefView the full article

Back in March, Ubisoft announced it would be creating a Tencent-backed subsidiary focused on its biggest franchises: Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Today, on its first day of operation, the name of that subsidiary has been revealed: Vantage Studios. Read more View the full article

After a few years in a console's life cycle, its common to see dips in price for its older games and hardware, but in 2025, the opposite has been true. The latest culprit of the rising cost of gaming is Xbox Game Pass, which we learned today would be getting new features, but a massive increase in monthly fees. Ultimate, the highest tier of the service, will cost 50 percent more, going from $19.99 a month to $29.99 a month. A breakdown of the new tiers is included below. Click image to enlarge Game Pass Essential (formerly Core)- $9.99 a month50+ games now playable on PC, console, and cloudUnlimited Cloud GamingIn-game benefits, including for Riot GamesOnline console multiplayerPlay and earn up to $25 a year in the Store with RewardsGame Pass Premium (formerly Standard) - $14.99 a month200+ games now playable on PC, console, and cloudNew Xbox-published games within a year of launchUnlimited cloud gaming with shorter wait timesIn-game benefits, including for Riot GamesOnline console multiplayerPlay and earn up to $50 a year in the Store with RewardsGame Pass Ultimate - $29.99 a month400+ games now playable on PC, console, and cloud75+ day one games a year, including all Xbox-published games day oneUbisoft+ Classics and EA Play included, with Fortnite Crew coming in NovemberUnlimited cloud gaming at our best quality, with the shortest wait timesIn-game benefits, including for Riot GamesOnline console multiplayerPlay and earn up to $100 a year in the Store with RewardsXbox justifies the increase with a new lineup of upgrades. An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription now includes Ubisoft+ Classics (a $7/month fee that includes access to select Ubisoft games) and Fortnite Crew (which offers monthly skins and V-Bucks), along with an upgraded version of Xbox's cloud gaming service. It also retains its previous benefits, including day 1 releases, a library of 400 games, EA Play, and online gaming. Lower tiers, however, are relatively unchanged, save for their names: Game Pass Standard is now Game Pass Premium, but remains $14.99 a month, while Game Pass Core, now Game Pass Essential, is still $9.99. New games also come to each service today; you can read that full list here. Just last year, Game Pass Ultimate increased in price from $16.99 to its current $19.99, and that change was signaled two months in advance – these latest changes go into effect today. This also comes following last week's news that Xbox's ROG Ally handhelds will be $599.99 and $999.99, and two weeks after we learned Xbox consoles are getting their second price increase this year. View the full article

Summerfall Studios (a developer founded in part by Dragon Age writer David Gaider) made its debut with Stray Gods, a musical game starring modern-day adaptations of the ancient Greek pantheon. Its next game, Malys, is a massive departure in both tone and gameplay. Earlier this April, Summerfall announced a Kickstarter for this new project, but unfortunately, it failed to reach its funding goal. However, the game still entered early access this past June, and now, just a few months later, it's hitting 1.0, launching on Steam on October 24. This deckbuilder tells the story of Noah, a demon hunter, on his quest to slay the Malys, an evil creature with the city in a chokehold. The game's combat encounters are exorcisms, and you'll play and burn cards in order to expose demons' true names and expel them from their hosts. According to a blogpost on Summerfall's website, the 1.0 update will also include "cloud saves, a fully playable story, all three regions and the final boss fight, as well as a full scale music update across the game." The blog post also mentions that the price will increase slightly at launch, so if you're interested in grabbing it cheaper (it's currently $9.99 in the US), make sure to do so before October 24. View the full article

Alienware Arena is giving away a free Black Desert Online Traveler Edition (Base Game) key plus a Penguin Pet to help you on your adventures. View the full article

Harmonix has announced that Rock Band 4 is being delisted from digital storefronts due to expiring music licenses. The removal will occur on the day of the game’s 10th anniversary. On October 5, Rock Band 4 will be pulled from PlayStation and Xbox digital stores. Harmonix posted a message on its Discord explaining that this is due to the game’s original licenses to the core 65-song soundtrack expiring. Those who own the game will still be able to download and play it, and any purchased music can still be downloaded and played on any compatible devices. Here is Harmonix’s full message: On Sunday, October 5, 2025, Rock Band 4 turns 10. What a ride it’s been. With this milestone comes one big change: the original licenses for the core soundtrack are expiring. Because of that, Rock Band 4 will be removed from the PlayStation and Xbox digital stores. If you already own the game, nothing changes—you’ll keep full access and still be able to download the game and songs to any new, compatible devices. The same applies to downloadable content: songs will come down as they hit the 10-year mark, but anything you’ve purchased will remain in your library. We’re so grateful for the passion this community has shown. From the team, it’s been a special experience to serve you with Rivals challenges, a super deep downloadable content library and a best in class band sim. If you’ve been meaning to grab a few last songs, now’s the time. Thanks again, —The Rock Band Team The move comes after Harmonix ceased DLC support for Rock Band 4 back in January 2024, with over 3,000 songs released weekly since the game's launch on October 6, 2015. Rock Band 4 was well-received at launch, scoring an 8.75 out of 10 from Game Informer, and is the final traditional entry in the series, as 2017's Rock Band VR followed it. The game received a single paid expansion, Rock Band 4 Rivals, in October 2016, which added new game modes (including a story mode) and, eventually, additional songs. Despite Rock Band as a franchise dominating the early 2010s, the series' availability has gradually diminished due to expiring music licenses and the shuttering of online services. We'll be sad to see Rock Band 4 go, but those interested in picking up the game still have time to purchase the $9.99 Rock Band 4 Rivals bundle on PlayStation and Xbox stores before it's pulled for good. View the full article

Funcom, the Oslo-based studio behind the recently released Dune: Awakening, has announced it will be laying off staff. Read more View the full article

That's right! Stove Store is featuring 9 unique and creative games from Taiwan, and you can play them for free until ... View the full article

DevGamm Lisbon 2025 has announced its full speaker list, featuring developers from Sandfall Interactive, Warhorse Studios, and 11 Bit Studios. Read more View the full article

Download Whiskey Mafia: Frank's Story for free on IndieGala! Whiskey Mafia: Frank's Story is a 2D adventure game where you ... View the full article

Electronic Arts has addressed employee concerns regarding layoffs following its decision to go private in a $55 billion deal, clarifying that there will be no "immediate changes" to its workforce. Read more View the full article

The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit takes place tomorrow (October 2), with more than 30 industry leaders and studios set to share their insights and advice on how to navigate a challenging period in the industry. Read more View the full article

The GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit takes place tomorrow (October 2), with more than 60 industry leaders and studios set to share their insights and advice on how to navigate a challenging period in the industry. Read more View the full article

Out Making Games (OMG), Women in Games (WIG), and BAME in Games (BiG) have co-written an open letter to Roblox calling on the company to reconsider the recent changes it has made concerning "sensitive issues," claiming the changes are a "step backward for both creative expression and social justice." Read more View the full article

Capcom has warned it cannot "guarantee" its Monster Hunter games will run on Windows 10 from next month. Read more View the full article

Kickstart your Viking journey! Claim your free Viking Rise gift pack key and unlock in-game rewards. View the full article

Terminator 2: No Fate delayed to November due to "ongoing trade and tariff changes" | News-in-BriefView the full article

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Canada Release: September 26, 2025 Rating: Everyone Outside of the name change to EA Sports FC, EA Sports’ football series had stagnated. With each passing entry, the community has grown increasingly concerned about the lack of significant changes to the annualized franchise. But after spending several hours with EA Sports FC 26’s many modes, I emerged impressed by the strides EA Sports took with this year’s entry. Sports games are driven by their communities, and EA Sports turned to community feedback to inform this year’s iterations of the studio’s titles with varying degrees of success. EA Sports FC 26 builds on this by overhauling gameplay with authenticity as its primary goal. Newly introduced for FC 26, the “Competitive” and “Authentic” gameplay presets enable players to choose how they want to play. The former’s arcade style is the perfect mode of play for FUT and the online suite, and the latter imbues career modes with a level of realized play that rewards your time on the pitch. Authentic mode allows players looking to immerse themselves in the most beautiful game to experience the chaos of scrambles in the box, the value of playing positionally, and the importance of winning every header. With its responsive gameplay, FC 26 is the closest attempt to pure simulation that the franchise has taken in years. But with authenticity comes a more methodical and slow-paced approach to matches, which you can easily feel from the moment you step onto the pitch. Authentic and Competitive mode choices allow EA Sports FC 26 to develop gameplay that is closest to simulated, deliberate play. However, the most crucial element is that the jarring experience of switching between FUT and other solo-player modes is in your control, with gamble play pacing at your discretion. If you’re a fan of the fast-paced, high-scoring nature of FUT games, you can have that in your career modes. You’re in control of the pace, and that allows you to chart your time in FC 26 your way. Regardless of which gameplay style you choose, goalkeeping receives a significant boost. Bad goalkeeping drastically impacts your love of the game, so thankfully, I can’t recall any goals that clearly should have been saved or cheap rebounds. This keeps scores lower, works to impact authenticity further, and helps make scoring more dynamic. You can feel the most significant difference in goalkeeping while playing FUT, but even as you progress through a career, the keepers you are playing against all feel different. Keepers matter, not just when their overall stats are in the high 90s, and that forces you to plan your attacks instead of just taking every shot on goal. One of the elements that most impacts goalkeeping is the fact that keepers now block with different animations for different saves, which makes it more difficult for strikers. The enhancements to goalkeeping are a good starting point, particularly because of save percentages that come close to the completion percentages we see in EA Sports College Football’s robo-QB problem, which can push challenging into frustrating, especially in close matches. Better balancing is essential to make this quality-of-life enhancement for a core position a shining star. Despite the gameplay enhancements, EA Sports FC 26 sometimes shanks the punt thanks to technical issues, including menu crashes and server disconnects. These aren’t constant, but when they do happen, they not only remove you from the immersion – they remove you from the game itself. What starts to wear on you is how frequently your account will disconnect from EA Sports servers, which, depending on the mode, will force you to stop playing, even if the game technically hasn’t crashed. Choice continues to guide EA Sports FC 26 in Player Career mode with the introduction of archetypes. At first glance, archetypes may seem familiar to those who also play EA Sports’ American football games. However, FC 26 isn’t copying anyone’s homework and instead has introduced a robust archetype progression system that adds much-needed depth to developing your player. Inspired by the real-life greats, the Archetype system is more realized than any other EA Sports has put together. Replacing the Player Growth System of the past, everything you do as a player matters. From on-pitch goals to hit, set forward by your manager, to the choices you make off the field, player development isn’t just about looking at stat lines. Instead, you’re developing an entire identity and personality. Archetypes are broken into three identity categories: Virtuoso, Heartbeat, and Maverick. Are you looking to be the driving force of your team? Are you looking to play all 11 positions on the field? The important thing here is that you get that choice. This is made even more critical as you begin to specialize your player within the Archetypes. How you respond to your fans on social media, how much you praise your team, and as you start to build your nest egg with your weekly salary, the off-the-field activities also impact how you develop. Each of the choices you make about how to respond after losses, or if you book activities for your fans, shapes how the team views you. As you develop each of these three categories, you unlock different abilities that impact how you play, with the number of slots locked to progression, and from there, the abilities locked by how far into each of the three identity branches you have progressed. As you begin to specialize and define your player through their playstyle, specializations like Recycler, Maestro, and Spark for forwards, or Progressor and Marauder for defenders, give you control in charting your path and taking advantage of the nuances in how you play. Are you more of a Rapinoe or a Morgan? A Sun or an Mbappe? These specializations work to build that path. Archetypes are the core progression system, and they work exceptionally well to push role-playing expectations and immersion in sports titles. Much like other RPG choice systems, how you respond, the actions you choose to buy, all contribute to how fast you can unlock Virtuoso, Heartbeat, and Maverick abilities. Additionally, the ability to become a hybrid between all three isn’t easily obtained, pushing you to pick a specialty to get the full benefits. While you can split your identity between two branches, taking the time to read through what you can unlock in the future is essential to building a player you will be happy with. From a gameplay perspective, restricting branch movement is a crucial key to balancing players against one another. This is especially important for building characters within online clubs. The level of role-playing elements introduced for clubs and Player Career mode is one of the most in-depth overhauls in a sports title yet. It boosts immersion to a point that begs you to engage with your career as more than just scoring goals or landing a new contract. Modern sports titles are, in actuality, one part sport and one part RPG. It’s why we spend much time building Online Dynasties, Franchises, and, for FC 26, clubs. Stepping back and looking at the three standard bearers of the EA Sports catalog, FC 26 offers the most robust RPG experience that the studio has put forward. EA Sports FC 26 also features the largest roster of players, clubs, and stadiums yet. While this is vital to driving authenticity, it’s also key to immersion. Playing with a newer club, like my home team, Austin FC, as my male pro and the Houston Dash as my female pro, showcased how much investment has been given to both men’s and women’s soccer. Playing through parallel careers, there weren’t many moments that felt like either side was less than the other. While contracts for both women and men are drastically different, with my Austin FC pro making around $14k a week and my Houston Dash pro making only $1.4k, both players still had access to the same activities, with the prices adjusted to the salary you were locked into – a slight nod to authentic pay disparity without penalizing the player. The game wants to put you in your player’s shoes, and when you score a goal, you’ll experience a replay of the moment from the first-person perspective. While this feature is fun and has no significant impact on gameplay, the POV feature often suffers from visual issues, including awkward hair clipping through the frame. This stands out even more when compared to the visual successes of character models during cutscenes and gameplay, as well as the immersive stadium presentations. Even with its issues, EA Sports FC 26 offers a level of player development and immersion that you just don’t get in other sports titles. On the surface, it’s easy to describe the gameplay overhaul as simple quality-of-life updates, but the changes in FC 26 tackle player frustrations (particularly around goalkeeping) ultimately improve the franchise for the long haul. EA Sports FC 26 is a robust step forward for a franchise I had lost faith in, and now, I can’t stop playing. Score: 8 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

Download Train Sim World 6: Free Starter Pack Edition on Steam, available to claim only until 11 November! This standalone version includes ... View the full article