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Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Release: September 30, 2025 Rating: Teen Talking about Final Fantasy Tactics in terms of its place in history is easy. The foundational spin-off blended the Final Fantasy aesthetic with a tactical combat system. With Ogre Battle creator Yatsumi Matsuno at the helm and the likes of Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, FFVI director Hiroyuki Ito, and dozens more well-known names at Square Enix collaborating, Final Fantasy Tactics easily became a cornerstone for all future tactical RPGs to lean on. Booting it up in 2025, through the freshly remastered Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles, is still a fascinating experience. Nostalgia isn't the main draw for me personally, as I only played Tactics for the first time a few years ago. But in the modern day, Final Fantasy Tactics' time capsule feels ageless. While it still has a few creaks and cracks here and there, revisiting Tactics has made me resolute in the belief that this is, simply, a must-play. The Ivalice Chronicles offers two modes of play. One is, effectively, a port of the original game with a few updates (including the script) of the PSP's great War of the Lions version. The other is the "enhanced" version, which I spent the bulk of my time playing, with remastered graphics and a new script. No major story beats have changed in Square Enix's remaster of this script though, so this is the same story as before, with some new but welcome refreshes. The story, as it always has, follows Ramza Beoulve, an aspiring knight in the academy, and his lowborn companion Delita. Unbeknownst to either of them, shadowy machinations are playing out behind the scenes, moving pieces on the board of Ivalice in dueling vies for power. Soon, Ramza is forced to confront his place in the world; his nobility has granted him power at the expense of others' prosperity. He makes for an ever-compelling lead, as he grapples with whether he can truly be a force for good when he was born into aristocracy. The ensuing tale, as Ramza endures loss, pain, and sorrow in his fight for a better world, is still marvelous. While some of the final story pivots into full-on fantasy don't hit quite as hard, there are few other games with as strong a first chapter as Final Fantasy Tactics. Each battle uncovers newer, darker secrets about the machinations of those in power. Early storylines about the struggles of those kept under the thumb of others in power, of strife, and the oppression laid down by the nobility, resonate clearly to this day. The updated script retains all the drama and amplifies it, even adding a little extra in-battle dialogue to drive moments home. The Ivalice Chronicles also adds new voice acting, which elevates already potent scenes to marvelous heights. Ramza and Delita are obvious standouts, but I also loved the voice work for characters like Milleuda, Argath, and Barich, who all shine in their respective spotlight moments. Because Final Fantasy Tactics is such a seminal work of its genre, its turn-based strategy is familiar if you've ever dabbled in this style of game. Each unit falls under a specific Job, and over time, mastering those Jobs allows you to permanently unlock abilities and talents, morphing each fighter into a singular soldier. One Squire I picked up early on was particularly apt at holding the line and defending my weaker mages and archers, so he quickly became my Knight. Another became an MVP in the second chapter, clearing groups of enemies in one fell cast of Fira. Ramza, of course, became a double-punching Ninja/Monk; I've played many tactics games, and whenever given the chance, I will always make the protagonist a bare-knuckle fighter. One of my favorite parts of Final Fantasy Tactics, preserved so well here, is the map design itself. Each battle map spins like a diorama, set against a gradient void. While there are a few flat, sprawling fields, Tactics quickly introduces new elements to force the player to alter their approach. There were still several times I would have trouble lining up units, squares, and spells in particularly dense or vertical maps, even with the overhead camera. Water can turn a bridge into a chokepoint, and giant walls create barriers where Dragoons can excel. In an early battle in Dorter, many players learn a lesson about how advantageous height can be, as one Archer will easily pick apart your entire squad if left unattended. Several quality-of-life updates make The Ivalice Chronicles more approachable for newcomers, though. It was easier than ever to map out my job progression, look for specific items to buy, or even restart a battle if the first few turns went poorly. The new UI also makes it easy to glance and see who's moving next, or where a spell's delay will put its caster in the turn order. The menus can feel cumbersome at times though; it took a while to build up the muscle memory for getting to the Job screen, learning new abilities, then making sure they were part of my arsenal before a fight. A broad swathe of combat maps and content to chew through are available, especially once the side stories start popping up later in the game. Final Fantasy Tactics carries a hefty hour count, but there's enough here to merit some time and care, and easily more than a dozen restarts. Multiple fights test your teambuilding, strategy, and individual tactics. These walls are intimidating, for sure, but they make for incredibly memorable fights I still love replaying. For The Ivalice Chronicles, Square Enix took a similar approach to what it did for Tactics Ogre Reborn: a smoothed, updated adaptation of the original pixel art. Lovers of crunchy pixels will probably want to play the original version here, which means missing out on the new script. For my own playthrough, I definitely noticed a few places where the smoothing and remastering blended out some of the character of certain areas. However, I still enjoyed the overall look of the game, especially when it came to character sprites and some of the larger monsters fought as the story progressed. The strange concessions made for the remaster ripple out a bit, too. Long-time fans might have been hoping for an absolutely definitive edition, and this is mostly that. On the plus side, having multiple graphics options and script variations is great, and a good chunk of the bonus content – including one iconic protagonist –– is still present. But as someone hoping for a completely definitive version with all content, including the Dark Knight class and a certain sky pirate from Final Fantasy XII, I was a little disappointed to see those left on the cutting room floor. One major upside is that Square Enix has included the sound novels, the first official localization of them to ever be released. These side stories, played out like an adventure game, are a great addition, and they're fascinating to finally tear through for the first time. There are so, so many games coming out every year, and no real ruling body for determining a "gaming canon" of any sort. So in lieu of that, I'll just say Final Fantasy Tactics was, and remains, an essential work. It's the type of game that, played with fresh eyes nowadays, would surprise newcomers with how engrossing its Job system is, how expressive the character sprites and music are, how gorgeous the dioramic battle maps can be, and just how moving its story can be. Time has passed, but Tactics never got old. Score: 9.25 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: 2K Games Developer: Visual Concepts Release: September 5, 2025 Rating: Everyone A great athlete can sometimes find themselves maligned for off-the-court issues; no matter the incredible numbers they put up night after night, teams can hesitate to bring them on due to these peripheral problems. Lately, I’ve felt similarly about the NBA 2K franchise, with its intrusive microtransactions distracting from its stellar gameplay. With NBA 2K26, those off-court problems aren’t gone, but they’re less disruptive, resulting in a much better experience that allows the series’ longstanding and abundant strengths to shine. As with any NBA 2K entry, you can step onto the court with confidence; the play is as good as sports gaming gets. Whether you’re passing around the perimeter, driving through the paint, or staying with your assignment on defense, player movement and collision physics feel better than ever before. The tweaked shot meter requires you to carefully select your shot and skillfully time your release, creating a rewarding experience with every possession. When combined with unrivaled attention to detail with regard to lighting, commentary, and visual fidelity, NBA 2K26 looks and plays better than any other sports game. All these mechanics and improvements permeate 2K26’s robust suite of modes, which include one-off NBA or WNBA play, long-term franchise modes, and single-player career modes. With both the men’s and women’s games included, you can approach these however you like, but I was pleased to see full WNBA integration into the card-collection mode, MyTeam. Although modes like MyTeam are typically not a destination for me due to their reliance on microtransactions, I fully immersed myself in the thrill of building a stacked, cross-leagues team of legends of yesteryear and current stars. The loop of playing games, opening card packs, and optimizing my roster sunk its hooks in me, but the busy and confusing interface does little to compel me to stay in the mode. Card-collection modes like MyTeam are tailor-made for microtransactions, so I don’t mind when sports games quarantine them there. However, NBA 2K fans have been conditioned to accept them in the player-focused MyCareer mode, where you need to spend Virtual Currency (VC) to not only upgrade your player, but also their clothes, gear, and shoes. The persistent pop-ups have been toned down, and the grind to earn VC in-game has been slightly eased compared to past games, meaning that while currency woes persist, they’re less intrusive. Despite its redesign, The City remains an incoherent mess of other players running, skating, and go-karting around, dressed in the most cognitively dissonant ways possible. It’s particularly irksome since I love the notion of going shopping for shoes or meeting with my agent to talk endorsement deals, but when the route to get there is full of other players in dinosaur costumes and hazmat suits, it annihilates any sense of immersion. Starting with the story-based prologue, Out of Bounds, I took my character from high school phenom to NBA rookie over the course of a few hours. The story offers you choices, like what teams you want to join or what goals you want to set, but when it comes to seemingly the most significant choice – going to college or playing in Europe as your path to the NBA – the narrative forces your hand. I would have loved to have a true diverging path rather than the mildly impactful decisions the story presents. Once you’re through the prologue and into the NBA, the story content continues as the mode progresses around goals you set. For instance, I set my first goal as winning the in-season NBA Cup tournament, but you can also choose goals like being named to the All-Star team, hitting certain stat milestones, or other team-based objectives. I love the ability to chart your own course through the league and watching the story react. Navigating through pro hoops is always going to be my destination with MyCareer, but when I wanted a break from the NBA grind, I found plenty to do out in The City. Though you can challenge the competition online in a variety of 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 modes, I was most drawn to the Street Kings sub-mode. Challenging different bosses and their teams in three-on-three first-to-21 games, then recruiting their best players to join your squad immediately piqued my interest; you can even upgrade the teammates by challenging more difficult versions of them after your first victory. Since you need to defeat 10 bosses to challenge the court’s final boss, I had a stacked team of my strongest adversaries heading into the final opponent on one of the two street courts. Then, you can take those teammates into the Hardwood Hall to compete in a massive tournament with modified scoring. Street Kings is also a great place to earn VC that can be used to either buy gear or level up your character, which alleviates the grind to an extent. But even if it’s not as annoying as past entries, the game still lets you know you could just instantly be a great player if you pull out your credit card. Combine that with a shared pool of VC across modes, and the multi-purpose currency almost forces you to pick a lane and stay with it; I would have loved to buy some packs in MyTeam or get my favorite shoes in MyCareer, but I’d much rather improve my player’s three-point attribute. The W offers a similar experience, but it’s far more streamlined and lacks much of the pageantry of the men’s side. Rather than a fleshed-out backstory, you basically choose whether you want to be a young gun or an established star from Europe, then experience many of the narrative beats through dry press conferences. I’m glad the WNBA has its own version of a single-player career mode, but it’s clearly an afterthought to its NBA counterpart. On the more traditional side, I’ve always loved NBA 2K’s franchise modes. I’m particularly impressed by MyNBA, which lets you establish your dream scenarios; do I want to play in the ‘80s, ‘90s, or ‘00s with fairly accurate rosters, draft classes, and historical rule changes – not to mention era-specific filters – or do I want to try and lead my favorite team to the championship in the modern era? The attention to detail is so precise that even minor inaccuracies, like a fan holding a sign that references the Wizards at a Washington Bullets game, felt glaring. Still, that’s a tiny nitpick in the grand scheme of such an impressive offering. Though its upgrades in this year’s entry are minimal, MyNBA offers so many options and lets you decide the level at which you want to engage with the mode. On one save file, I took control of Jordan’s Bulls as I tried to recreate the magic of Chicago in the ‘90s; I played every game, kept my finger on the pulse of the free agent market, and did everything in my power to nab the best rookies in the draft. On my other save file, I played as the 2026 Timberwolves. I didn’t play very many games, but I wheeled and dealed throughout the regular season and finally brought an NBA championship to Minnesota. The absolute glut of content is impressive and intimidating all at once, and NBA 2K26’s on-the-court performance is so good that it’s worth the annoyances that come with the franchise. Whether you want to chart your custom character’s career through the NBA or WNBA, take the reins and rewrite your favorite franchise’s history, or build your dream roster of players from across eras, NBA 2K26 gives you all the tools to do so. Score: 8.5 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

The founder of GDC, Chris Crawford, has suggested that the "gigantic costs" of the event, compared with the "microscopic costs" of interacting over the internet, mean GDC is "rapidly becoming a dinosaur." Read more View the full article

Possessor(s) is the next action game by Heart Machine, a studio best known for the well-received Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, as well as the currently early access Hyper Light Breaker. The Metroid-style 2D search action game is coming this November, and a new trailer breaks down its story premise and combat mechanics. Coming to PlayStation 5 and PC on November 11, the game takes place in a quarantined city overrun by demons following an interdimensional catastrophe. Players control Luca, a high school student who becomes mortally wounded during the calamity, losing both of her legs. To survive, she makes a desperate deal with a demon named Rhem to restore her body. Though Luca and Rhem don’t always get along, the two must cooperate to escape the city and bring down a corrupt corporation that has been siphoning demonic energy for its own gains. Luca uses ordinary makeshift weapons, ranging from a guitar to a computer mouse, to execute stylish directional combos and air juggles to conquer her demonic adversaries. As the journey progresses, she gains new powers to access new areas, such as a wall-running ability and a whip for swinging across gaps. We played a slice of Possessor(s) during Summer Game Fest in June and were largely impressed with its well-tuned, if familiar, action. You can read our full impressions here. View the full article

Microsoft and Asus have revealed the price points for their two models of the handheld PC, the Xbox ROG Ally. And, unsurprisingly, they’re not cheap. The Xbox ROG Ally was revealed in June during the Xbox Game Showcase and is an Xbox-branded model of Asus’ Steam Deck competitor, the ROG Ally. The device’s primary selling point is its ability to run Xbox games and apps natively, including those from Game Pass, allowing players to access their Xbox software library on the go. Powered by Windows 11, the Xbox ROG Ally can also run other platforms such as Steam, Battle.net, and GOG. Launching on October 16, pre-orders are now live in 38 countries for the two models: The ROG Ally and the more powerful ROG Ally X. Here's what they cost: Xbox ROG Ally X (1TB): $999.99 Xbox ROG Ally (512GB): $599.99 Click image to enlarge These premium prices were to be expected (especially since the standard ROG Allies are generally quite expensive), but the sticker price may sting from potential Xbox converts still reeling from Microsoft's recent announcement of a second price increase to its Xbox Series consoles starting next week. In fact, Xbox and Asus seemingly withheld revealing the price for as long as possible as they eyed the economy to determine the appropriate pricing. It will be interesting to see how many players will be willing to shell out that kind of money for an ROG Ally, given the rising prices of video game hardware across the board going into the holiday season. If you're looking to buy an Xbox ROG Ally but can't decide between the two models, you can read more about the specs of each version here. Do you plan on buying an Xbox ROG Ally? Let us know in the comments. View the full article

Claim your free Steam Playtest Key for Fractured Worlds and dive into the chaos before anyone else! View the full article

Claim your free Arena Breakout: Infinite Koen Pack Key and unlock 300,000 Koen (in-game currency). View the full article

A group of games industry veterans have launched a new publisher called Midnighters. Read more View the full article

Niki Head, people and development director at Stellar Entertainment Software, and Chiara Santevecchi, the founder and CEO of Teem Camp, will be taking part in a panel about AI at the upcoming GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit. Read more View the full article

Microsoft has "ceased and disabled a set of services" to part of the Israel Ministry of Defence (IMOD) following an ongoing review. Read more View the full article

Forza Horizon 6 will arrive on PlayStation 5 "post-launch" | News-in-briefView the full article

Nintendo has announced the retirement of current Nintendo of America president and COO Doug Bowser. He will be succeeded by VP of revenue, marketing, and consumer experience Devon Pritchard. Read more View the full article

Nintendo of America president and chief operating officer Doug Bowser has announced his retirement from the role, effective at the end of the calendar year. Devon Pritchard, who joined Nintendo in 2006 and has served as the leader of the Sales, Marketing, and Communications division since 2021, has been named as Bowser's successor. Bowser joined Nintendo in 2015 as vice president of sales and marketing, before receiving a promotion to senior vice president of sales and marketing in 2016. In 2019, then-president and COO Reggie Fils-Aimé announced his retirement, and Bowser was named his successor. Although Fils-Aimé ushered Nintendo of America from its disappointing Wii U era into the prosperous Switch era, Bowser oversaw the tail end of the Switch era, which also saw rapid expansion into the film and theme park industries, as well as the start of the Switch 2 era. "Leading Nintendo of America has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of what our team has accomplished in both business results and the experiences we've created for consumers," Bowser said in a press release. "Now, it's time for the next generation of leadership and Devon's track record speaks for itself. She is an exceptional leader, and her promotion is a testament to her strong performance and strategic contributions to the company's growth. I have full confidence that she will guide the company to even greater heights." Pritchard, as executive vice president of revenue for marketing and consumer experience, is currently responsible for managing physical and digital sales growth, and oversees all aspects of marketing, advertising, events, social media, and original content. According to the press release, Pritchard plans to build on the ways fans can connect with Nintendo's characters and worlds. "I am humbled and excited to take on this new role," Pritchard said in that same press release. "Doug has been a fantastic mentor, and I look forward to building on the incredible foundation he has helped establish. With characters and worlds that offer something for everyone, my focus will be continuing to build on Nintendo's legacy of surprising and delighting our longtime fans, while at the same time welcoming new players into the Nintendo family." Doug Bowser addressing the media at the Switch 2 reveal event in April 2025 In addition to Bowser's impending departure and Pritchard's upcoming promotion, Satoru Shibata will join Nintendo of America as chief executive officer in addition to his roles as managing executive officer, corporate director, and member of the board at Nintendo (NCL). Pritchard will also join the Nintendo of America board of directors and become an executive officer at NCL. "During his tenure, Doug made numerous contributions to bring smiles to the faces of people connected to Nintendo," Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said in the press release. "I would like to express my gratitude for his strong efforts. Devon, who will become the next president, has also made many contributions to Nintendo over the years. I am confident that, like Doug, Devon will continue to support Nintendo's important mission of creating smiles." Bowser's retirement is effective on December 31, 2025. View the full article

Reviewed on: Switch 2 Platform: Switch, PC Publisher: Supergiant Games Developer: Supergiant Games Release: September 25, 2025 Hades, which left early access back in 2020, is one of the best and most influential roguelikes of all time, so there's perhaps no greater sign of the talent at Supergiant Games that their own follow-up, Hades II, blows it out of the water. The formula is refined into its ultimate form; the combat is more complex (but just as intuitive), and the story is grander and more thrilling. Hades II is the pinnacle of the roguelike genre, a position I previously granted its predecessor, but one that its sequel has handily earned. For the unfamiliar, the Hades games are action roguelikes, where each run has players gathering an arsenal of upgrades (known as boons) to turn their character into a god-slaying weapon. After each run, most of which will end in a death, the player immediately returns to their home base, where they can talk to their companions to access new story content and use the rewards from the last attempt to make themselves even stronger. Like much of the design in the Hades games, it's a simple yet genius gameplay loop, turning losses into immediate gratification and fueling you to do another run as soon as possible. Hades II takes place an undisclosed number of years after the first game, and now centers on Melinoë, the younger sister of Zagreus and a daughter of the titular god of the underworld. That god, along with most of the underworld's inhabitants we came to know and love in Hades, has been imprisoned by Chronos, his time-wielding father. Rather than break out of Hell, Melinoë starts each run by breaking into Hell, working her way down to Tartarus to thwart her grandfather. The way Hades II recontextualizes familiar locations and characters reminds me of the relationship between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom (a comparison I do not invoke lightly), where I'm equally excited to try new things as I am to revisit old favorites. Melinoë is armed with six new weapons, each completely different from the last, ranging from a pair of magic wands to a heavy-hitting battleaxe. To make combat even more complex, each attack also has an omega form, unleashed by holding down the attack button, which creates more powerful, sometimes completely different moves. A normal attack with the twin blades, for example, unleashes a combo of slashes and stabs, but the omega version teleports you behind the nearest enemy for one explosion of damage. It's such a simple and intuitive mechanic that I sometimes forget it's not present in the original. The amount of new content in Hades II could be overwhelming, but it's introduced at such a steady rate that it never feels that way. On my 40th run, in a save file where I had already fought every boss the game had to offer, I unlocked the sixth weapon and encountered a god whose boons I had never seen before. Even 40 runs in, I discovered elements that make the game feel entirely new. There is a finite amount of improvements – it's only a game, after all – but it incentivizes discovery so much that you feel like there's something new to unlock around every corner, and for many, many hours, that's true. The reason Hades II has its hooks in me, above all else, is the way it rewards the player. This consistent introduction of unlockables, including weapons, boons, arcana cards, familiars, companions, fish, seeds, minerals, and more, means that even when you fail a run, that one failure is promptly interrupted by a stream of rewards. It's hard to leave a session of Hades II feeling frustrated because it's explicitly designed to make you feel the opposite, and I gladly welcome the relentless flood of dopamine. The plot is similarly structured around defeat, with each loss unlocking new dialogue with those around you. This was also the case in the first game, but Hades II is larger in ways I won't spoil, and the fact that the narrative feels completely seamless and linear regardless of your actions is extra impressive here. And despite Hades II expanding the scale of this world of Greek gods significantly, dialogue and story maintain their character-first approach. You often learn who a person is and what they care about before even learning their name or relationship to the main characters, and I greatly prefer that. The narrative, while fairly straightforward, ends in a place I did not expect, but loved, especially its mythological take on generational trauma. These characters also continue the series tradition of being beautifully designed, with each new god or titan introduced blowing me away with their striking, modern designs. Overall, the game looks and runs gorgeously, and that includes my Switch 2 copy, where I noticed no performance issues. I also need to mention the music; Darren Korb has done it again, and I especially enjoyed hearing themes from the first game being reimagined in new ways. There's also one dynamic, musical boss fight that's particularly impressive, with the backing track altering when the respective musicians are removed from the battlefield. Sixteen months of early access have sculpted Hades II into a truly unforgettable experience. After roughly 50 hours and 53 runs between its first iteration and final release, I'm somehow still itching to go back for more. Melinoë's journey showcases Supergiant's expert world-building, combat design, and sharp dialogue to a degree that somehow surpasses one of my all-time favorite games. Godlike, indeed. Score: 10 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

Developers are reporting delays in receiving payouts from itch.io, with some claiming they have waited for over 100 days without payment. Read more View the full article

Starbreeze has admitted it "dropped the ball" after introducing a premium DLC subscription service for Payday 2 at the same time as increasing the price of its DLC bundle Infamous Collection without warning. Read more View the full article

Xbox held a special broadcast for Tokyo Game Show headlined by the reveal of Forza Horizon 6. In case you missed the presentation, we’ve rounded up each announcement (in alphabetical order) for a quick recap of the event. 007 First Light Actress Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, Eternals, The Creator) is making her video game debut by joining the cast of IO Interactive’s upcoming James Bond game. Chan portrays Dr. Selina Tan, a tech expert and senior MI6 official who leads a training program for recruits. Age of Mythology: Retold - Heavenly Spear Age of Mythology Retold is getting a new expansion set in Japan. A fresh story told across 12 missions pits players against new gods and monsters, while also introducing new powers. Heavenly Spear launches on September 30 Aniimo First announced earlier this summer, the creature-collecting RPG Aniimo got a new trailer showing off more of its whimsical monsters. That includes a majestic space whale. Aniimo launches in 2026. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Treyarch announced new multiplayer maps set in the Land of the Rising Sun for its upcoming Black Ops 7. The maps include the urban sprawl of 2035 Tokyo and Den, set in the rural countryside near a castle. Double Dragon Revive In addition to its main campaign, the upcoming co-op brawler features a 50-mission Challenge Mode. Clearing them unlocked character episodes to add more narrative perspectives. Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake The upcoming remake of the first two Dragon Quest games is getting a brand new area: the ocean floor. A trailer shows players traversing its salty depths to find the fallen underwater town of Mersea, which holds a mystery about its past. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake Announced during this month’s Nintendo Direct, the remake of the 2003 PS2 horror classic made another appearance in a new developer diary. Fatal Frame series director Makoto Shibata discussed the game’s graphical and audio improvements and evolved Camera Obscura gameplay. Forza Horizon 6 The next Horizon game is coming in 2026 and takes players to Japan. So far, we know the open-world racer. Although developer Playground Games won’t be revealing gameplay until early next year, it does (unsurprisingly) tease Tokyo and the countryside surrounding Mt. Fuji as some of the many locations players will cruise through. The game’s roster of cars will also highlight Japanese car culture. Forza Horizon 6 launches next year for Xbox Series X/S and PC via Windows and Steam. The game will also come to PlayStation 5 sometime post-launch. Gungrave G.O.R.E Blood Heat Despite Gungrave G.O.R.E. releasing in 2022, it’s getting a full Unreal Engine 5 remake. Blood Heat features revamped combat, redesigned enemy encounters, and other revisions to level design, player interactions, and other systems. Gungrave G.O.R.E. Blood Heat is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and has no release window. Hitman: World of Assassination Agent 47 is teaming up with an unlikely but powerful ally: Bruce Lee. The legendary martial artist/actor is an Agent helping 47 infiltrate an international martial arts tournament at the Himmapan Hotel in Bangkok, which secretly holds meetings for the Concord Union. Agent Lee must win the tournament to face Union’s elusive leader, Dragon Head. This new elusive target mission arrives for free starting September 25 and runs until November 20. Hotel Barcelona Ahead of its release tomorrow, Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro and Goichi “Suda51” Suda revealed the multiplayer modes for their roguelike action game, Hotel Barcelona. The game supports 3-player co-op and has a PvP invasion system where players control copies of themselves to sabotage their runs. Microsoft Flight Simulator Following the news that Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox has released the free World Update 20 that lets players take flight over Japan. The update adds 23 new photogrammetry areas covering over 20,000 square kilometers of the country, featuring numerous landmarks. A new aircraft is also coming in the form of the Japanese Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC) YS-11. World Update 20: Japan is available now for Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024, while the NAMC-YS-11 costs $19.99. Mistfall Hunter A new map was unveiled for the upcoming fantasy action extraction game called Solemn Needles. Set in a sacred forest housing a powerful relic, it will launch alongside the game later this year. Monster Hunter Stories In addition to next year’s Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, Capcom announced that the first two games, Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, are coming to Xbox on November 14. Ninja Gaiden 4 PlatinumGames and Team Ninja discussed Ninja Gaiden 4’s difficulty design in a new developer video. The studios also unveiled a new training mode, a series first, that will allow players to improve their skills to tackle the game’s tough challenges. Project Evilbane This four-player co-op action RPG got a new trailer showing off its fantastical, stylish action. Project Evilbane arrives during the second half of 2026. Rhythm Doctor On Call After coming together in Steam Early Access since 2021, this quirky rhythm game starring doctors who heal patients timing a defibrillator to their heartbeats, comes to Xbox in 1.0 form on December 6. Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven This 2024 remake of Romancing Saga 2 makes it Xbox debut, and owners can play the game starting…today! Starsand Island This whimsical upcoming life sim got its first CG trailer while teasing its multiplayer features. Sudden Strike 5 The fifth entry in the World War II strategy series got a new trailer. Look for the game to release next year. Terminull Bridage The stylish free-to-play looter shooter is coming to Xbox Series X/S on October 31 and got a new trailer teasing a crossover with Neon Genesis Evangelion. Winter Burrow This cozy survival game stars a young city mouse who, after returning to the wilds, must endure a harsh winter. Cooking, wood cutting, and other survival activities help keep the mouse warm and fed while braving the forest. We’ve had our eye on Winter Burrow since it’s reveal last year, and it’s launching on November 12. View the full article

Splash Damage is now no longer owned by the Chinese video-game giant Tencent, having been acquired by private-equity investors. Read more View the full article

Claim your free Doomsday: Last Survivors Gift Key and unlock lots of in-game items for Doomsday: Last Survivors. View the full article

Eastern Exorcist is free this week on the Epic Games Store! Eastern Exorcist is a 2D side-scrolling action RPG with ... View the full article

Score Jorel’s Brother and The Most Important Game of the Galaxy for free via Epic Games Store! Jorel’s ... View the full article

Forza Horizon 6 was the main headliner of Xbox's Tokyo Game Show broadcast, which served as a fitting venue given that the next entry brings the Horizon Festival to Japan. Developer Playground Games released a short teaser trailer and is keeping gameplay details to a minimum; don't expect to see Forza Horizon 6 in action until early next year, according to an Xbox Wire developer interview. In the meantime, the studio teases locations such as Tokyo and Mt. Fuji, as some of the recognizable spots players will race in and around. Although we don't know what the vehicle roster looks like, expect Japanese car culture to play a prominent role in this entry. Like previous entries, expect seasonal weather changes to shake up the visuals while also affecting how players drive. Forza Horizon 6 will launch first on Xbox Series X/S (including day one on Game Pass) and PC via Windows and Steam in 2026. The game will also be released on PlayStation 5 sometime post-launch. You can read our review of the series' previous entry, 2021's Forza Horizon 5, here. View the full article

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 Platform: PlayStation 5 Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Developer: Sucker Punch Productions Release: October 2, 2025 Working your way through lists in a video game can be incredibly satisfying. Whether it’s collecting items or completing missions, there is just something enticing about listing out your plans and marking them as complete one by one. Ghost of Yōtei understands this intimately and capitalizes on it by starting with protagonist Atsu literally writing out her hit list of the six men who took everything from her. You even use the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller’s touchpad to write out their names so you can spend the rest of the game hunting them down and crossing them off with their own blood. It’s a simple, but incredibly satisfying setup, and that core idea – the joy of knowing your objectives and completing them – extends to every other element of Ghost of Yōtei to create a consistently satisfying experience that is very difficult to put down. Watch the Ghost of Yōtei Video Review: Developer Sucker Punch made an unexpected choice for its Ghost of Tsushima sequel by setting it centuries later. It allows Yōtei to fit well in its established samurai universe aesthetically and mechanically without having to dream up new reasons for previous protagonist, Jin Sakai, to continue his already concluded mission of vengeance. It lets Yōtei keep the best parts, while not having to engage with any Jin baggage at all. Atsu’s revenge mission is familiar, and sometimes even predictable. Still, it is so well executed, and her motivations are in such sharp focus throughout, that I never felt bored or like I was treading familiar ground. Her flashbacks, often delivered with player-directed gameplay sequences that are completely seamless, expertly set up everything she lost by putting the player in her headspace. I fully understand why she not just wants, but needs to kill the Yōtei Six, and was eager to help her through it. Along with the satisfying violence of achieving revenge, some sequences moved me to tears. Her experience going after the Kitsune, which highlights Atsu’s relationship with her mother, was particularly affecting, and I credit much of that to the well-realized characterization of Atsu. Among my few narrative complaints is how frequently her targets just barely slip through her fingers for story reasons before she finally executes her killing blow. But despite being a fundamental element of Ghost of Yōtei, its narrative is only a portion of the larger experience. Moving and fighting your way through Ezo is an always-compelling experience, not because it radically re-addresses or changes the mechanics that made Tsushima so great, but rather because they are carefully iterated on and improved in sometimes subtle ways. Using the wind to navigate the world returns as a brilliant way to always know where you’re going without having to look at on-screen maps or markers. This helps significantly with immersion, and is also especially important since the environments look fantastic. Following birds and foxes to secondary locations with always-worthwhile rewards is a distraction I was unfailingly eager to take advantage of. Combat, though familiar if you played Tsushima, is still a wonderful ballet of attacks, counters, and constant weapon-swapping (without the need to enter a menu) to always keep you thinking and moving. Stealth also continues to prioritize satisfaction over realism and punishment with new tools to make everything more interesting. Yōtei’s primary triumph, arguably though, is its pacing. Despite being absorbed in the narrative, I was constantly distracted by side missions as they all offer worthwhile and different short stories that always feed into making Atsu a more skilled onryō. I wasn’t putting off the golden path as much as I struggled to stay on it in a way I never minded. And all of this is aided by load times that I can only describe as technological magic. Moving anywhere on the map is shockingly instantaneous. Turning in bounties, upgrading equipment, finding new side quests, and more never give you an opportunity to pause or catch your breath, which means the hours spent in Ezo fly by. But if you want to roleplay a world where Atsu can’t magically teleport, there are systems in place in full respect of the player’s time that let her bring vendors directly to her campsites without needing to travel, which is smart. Ghost of Yōtei does not radically reinvent or change what worked in Tsushima, but that’s fine, because frankly, Sucker Punch nailed the mechanics the first time. Where I argue it does improve in big ways is in its narrative and characters. Atsu is a brash, justifiably angry woman who probably drinks too much (which is my fault, I admit, because drinking sake restores spirit). She knows exactly what she wants and is more than willing to fight for it. She was compelling to me from the moment we made our list together, and I loved spending time with her, watching her grow, and enjoying the journey of everyone she met along the way. And it is all done with basically no loading screens. Score: 9.25 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

Sarah Brewster, founder of people and culture consultancy Fresh Seed, is the latest speaker confirmed for the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit on October 2, 2025. Read more View the full article

Hades 2 has become Metacritic's highest-rated PC game for 2025, surpassing Blue Prince, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Read more View the full article