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Vince Zampella, Respawn Entertainment co-founder and the head of EA's Battlefield series, has died at age 55. NBC Los Angeles reports that Zampella was killed in a car crash on Sunday, December 21, on Southern California's Angeles Crest Highway. Game Informer The driver was pronounced dead on the scene, and the passenger later died in a hospital, though there's no confirmation on which of the two was Zampella. Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment in 2010 with Jason West, which has since launched games like Titanfall and Titanfall 2, Apex Legends, and the Star Wars Jedi series. Before that, Zampella was a lead at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare maker Infinity Ward. EA acquired Respawn in 2017, and Zampella has been its CEO since. In 2021, Zampella became the Head of Battlefield for EA amidst wider franchise changes that included the creation of a Battlefield universe. Zampella, alongside Battlefield Studios, helped make Battlefield 6 an inarguable success for the series, which wasn't in the best place following 2022's Battlefield 2042. Game Informer has reached out to EA for comment. The hearts of Game Informer staff are with Zampella's family in light of this news. View the full article

Claim your free Train Sim World® 6: Spirit of Steam: Liverpool Lime Street - Crewe Route Add-On (DLC) on Steam! Please ... View the full article

The long-awaited Ark 2 was announced in 2020, and after a lengthy wait with minimal updates and a few delays, it finally has a new release window. Unfortunately, it’s still a few years away, but we now have a better idea as to why and what to expect from the upcoming sequel. In an interview with Epic Games’ Brian Crecente, Studio Wildcard co-founder Jeremy Stieglitz confirmed that Ark 2 is now planned to launch in 2028. This was revealed during publisher Snail Games’ Investor Day. He also explains the studio’s approach to releasing Ark 2, and how it wants to incorporate the lessons learned from releasing Ark: Survival Ascended, the current and remastered iteration of the original Ark: Survival Evolved. “One of the things about doing Ark 2 was that we felt we had to learn a lot more about how to make the kind of game we wanted to do, and to do it kind of in phases,” Stieglitz explains. “Learning about both the technology and the mechanics seemed, to us, safer than to just try to go and release a whole standalone product called Ark 2.” To do this, Studio Wildcard is planning to use Ark: Survival Ascended, which has now surpassed 4 million units sold, to gradually prepare for Ark 2’s launch. The first taste of the sequel will come in an expansion called Legacy of Santiago, arriving in late 2027. This expansion will feature mechanics and features planned for the 2028 sequel and serves as a prequel that will help set the stage for Ark 2’s events – Santiago is, after all, Ark 2’s protagonist, portrayed by Vin Diesel. “Legacy of Santiago will allow us to explore a lot of mechanics that we want to do with Ark 2, but it kind of derisks that, " says Stieglitz. “Essentially, if we don't do it right, if we don't do it perfectly, we're able to iterate on it with a live game and get a lot more feedback than to just release something standalone. It's much safer for us to get a lot of that feedback in a live game where we can react much more fluidly to what players are telling us.” In terms of Vin Diesel’s role in Ark 2, Stieglitz says his total involvement is still “an open question” that will determine the full scope of ambition of the game’s plot. “The question is: How much performance are we going to get from him?” Stieglitz said. “Are we going to get one day, five days, eight hours? You don’t know. And the scope of how much performance we are going to get determines just how the narrative is going to play out. We have a narrative that’s if we get a lot of Vin Diesel, this is what we will do, and if we get a little Vin Diesel, this is what we will do.” Stieglitz also explains that Studio Wildcard wants to ensure players are ready to leave the previous game behind before launching Ark 2; it doesn’t want to stop updating Ark: Survival Ascended and leave those players in the cold. Thus, it is implementing a robust content roadmap throughout 2026 and 2027. This includes new narrative expansion Ark: Lost Colony launching this week, and 2026 additions such as the esports-focused Ark: Survival of the Fittest, a pirate-themed expansion called Bob’s True Tales: Tides of Fortune, and a modding-focused update called Ark World Creator. Even when Ark 2 launches, Stieglitz states that Ark: Survival Ascended will continue to be updated as long as demand exists. Ark 2 was announced during The Game Awards in 2020 with a 2023 launch window. The game was delayed to 2024, with Studio Wildcard releasing Ark: Survival Ascended in 2023 instead. Obviously, Ark 2 would miss this 2024 launch window, and is now slated to arrive eight years after its reveal, assuming everything (hopefully) goes as planned. View the full article

Grab Paradise Killer for free via Epic Games Store! Paradise Killer is a cool first-person detective game with quirky characters ... View the full article

The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is expanding its video games offering to include two new courses, an MA in Animation for Film and Games and a certificate in Indie Games Development. Read more View the full article

FIFA has put its name on established Roblox title Super League Soccer. Read more View the full article

Netflix has acquired games avatar company Ready Player Me for an undisclosed sum. Read more View the full article

The developer of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Sandfall Interactive, is not going to be expanding despite the game's massive success. Read more View the full article

The president of Blizzard, Johanna Faries, has said that the company is in a position to deliver "reliable cadences of launches." Read more View the full article

Grab The Deed: Dynasty for free via Steam and keep it forever in your Steam library. View the full article

Score Sorry We're Closed for free on Epic Games Store! Sorry We're Closed is a single-player survival game with arcade-style ... View the full article

Grab Undercroft Warriors for free on Steam! Undercroft Warriors is 2d action-packed, arcade-inspired twin-stick shooter! View the full article

Today, the Epic Games Store is giving away Blood West for free for 24 hours! It’s a stealth-based FPS with ... View the full article

Score Aquamarine: Explorer's Edition for free via Itch.io! Aquamarine is a beautiful sci-fi turn-based playable comic book about surviving ... View the full article

Grab “Do You Have a Moment to Talk About Our Lord and Savior?” for free on itch.io! A short 3... View the full article

Are you planning on getting into game dev? Then this might be for you! Very Realistic Game Dev Simulator is ... View the full article

Download Winter Hubris for free via itch.io! Winter Hubris is a 2d point-and-click adventure game where you must survive ... View the full article

Download Assassin at Crimson Keep for free via itch.io! Assassin at Crimson Keep is a short visual novel set in a dark world! Check it out! View the full article

The year is winding down, and we're wrapping up for the holidays. Before the team gets going, though, there's still a few games to discuss and stories worth breaking down. Marcus returns from The Game Awards 2025 to tell Alex and Charles about the on-the-ground experience. Then, the crew digs into their Steam Replay for 2025, then talks about a few neat games like Death Howl and Dogpile. And finally, Alex and Charles discuss the newly announced World of Warcraft: Midnight cover story. The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Listen to "World of Warcraft: Midnight Cover Story + Steam Replay 2025" on Spreaker.Follow our hosts on social media:Alex Van Aken (@itsvanaken)Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)Jump to a specific timestamp here:00:00 - Intro06:03 - The Game Awards 202527:55 - Beastro32:33 - Damon and Baby39:06 - Steam Replay 20251:00:00 - Death Howl1:06:27 - Dogpile1:11:19 - World of Warcraft: Midnight View the full article

Who doesn’t like bananas? Download Banana Hell: Mountain of Madness for free on Steam! It’s a casual 2D ... View the full article

Reviewed on: Switch 2 Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Publisher: Reef Entertainment Developer: Bitmap Bureau Release: December 12, 2025 Rating: Mature The Terminator franchise’s overlap with video games is full of mixed results. Despite it being a universe overflowing with video game catnip-like explosions, robot skeletons, and laser guns, there have been plenty of misses and only a few hits. The same could be said of the film franchise, as well, but Terminator 2: Judgment Day is an undeniable classic – a defining action film of its time that is still entertaining more than 30 years later. Terminator 2D: No Fate is exclusively an adaptation of that film and seeks to recall both the movie and the era in which it was released. As a nostalgic recreation of that time in entertainment, No Fate feels just right. But it is also sometimes a frustrating retread of video game design that we have moved past. Developer Bitmap Bureau has become an expert in creating pixel art and releasing games that feel like they’re from the past. No Fate’s art direction is some of the developer’s best to date, and seeing all the iconography of Terminator 2 translated into classic arcade visuals is a treat. The animations of all the characters, enemies, and robot tanks look great, and the cutscenes that play out the movie's most memorable story moments are extraordinarily charming. Gameplay is straightforward, primarily recalling Contra III: The Alien Wars’ run-and-gunplay with a handful of visually engaging vehicle levels that rely on quick reactions. The majority of No Fate’s levels play out with Sarah Connor, or an adult John Connor, in a ravaged future, taking a few steps, crouching to shoot enemies, and moving on. It works well and feels good, but I grew tired of the process, especially considering that beating the game and seeing all it has to offer requires replaying the same levels repeatedly. Making your way to the end (which takes about an hour), dying at the penultimate level, and restarting all the way back at the beginning is an outdated style of game that I don’t miss. Thankfully, acknowledging the necessity of replaying, the vehicle levels, a beat ‘em up level where you play as the T-800, and a stealth level where Sarah escapes from the Pescadero State Hospital keep things from getting too monotonous. Replaying levels also means that when you do find secrets (like a better gun or additional continues), they are incredibly rewarding, helpful, and worth re-acquiring on every playthrough. Once you make it through the game to credits, there are opportunities to replay the campaign and make a few key narrative choices that lead to big story changes and new original levels. I like this option a lot, as it’s fun to imagine a different version of Terminator 2 (with at least one really dour ending), and it makes me reminisce about bizarre video game movie adaptations of the past that had no problem going off the rails from properties that inspired them. Terminator 2D: No Fate nails the feeling of a game that should have existed in the early ‘90s to coincide with the release of the film. It’s the kind of game that, had it released at that time, would have likely been revered as a great adaptation to this day. In 2025, it is still a strong retro adaptation of a beloved film, but it is not without some design annoyances that we’ve moved beyond. Score: 7.75 About Game Informer's review system View the full article

Looking for some romance and chaos? Grab Eternights for free on the Epic Games Store! It’s a dating-meets-action game ... View the full article

The incredible team over at Six One Indie held its inaugural awards-only ceremony, The Indie Game Awards, last year, and the team returned to do the same last night! Game Informer was on the jury for its various awards, and after an awesome ceremony last night celebrating the year's best indies, we have a list of every winner. So, without further ado... Every Winner From The Indie Game Awards 2025 Below, we'll list each category and every game nominated. The winner will be listed in bold lettering. Achievement in Accessibility Abiotic FactorBaristaCalm the StormPeakSpray Paint SimulatorSqueakross: Home Squeak HomeAfrican Indie Game AwardBru & Boegie Get Da Milk!Finding FAtherFlibbius McDoogle and The Mysterious Flying MachineIKEELYAMetavoidalStick It To The StickmanANZ Indie Game AwardAbiotic FactorHollow Knight: SilksongMars First LogisticsPROXIMATETempopoThe DrifterBite-Sized GameCARIMARA – Beneath the Forlorn LimbsFlyKnightMany Nights a WhisperThe Dark Queen of Mortholmethis game will end in 205 clicks.Time FliesBlack Voices in Gaming AwardAdvent NeonAltheia: The Wrath of AferiSorry We're ClosedSpirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 ToSunken StonesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: TacticalCommunity ManagementConsume MeDate Everything!IKEELYAPeakSoulstone SurvivorsStrange ScaffoldDebut GameClair Obscur: Expedition 33DiscountyFretless – The Wrath of RiffsonILA: A Frosty GlideSorry We're ClosedTyrant's RealmEmotional ImpactAfterlove EPand RogerDon't Get Your Hopes UpHenry HalfheadWanderstopWednesdaysGameplay DesignAbsolumBall x PitDawnfolkHades IIHollow Knight: SilksongKeep DrivingLook OutsideÖooPipistrello and the Cursed YoyoThe King is WatchingInnovationBlue PrinceFREERIDEGas Station StoryPBJ The MusicalRuffy and the RiversideTaria & ComoLatin American Indie Game AwardAdventure of SamsaradespeloteKulebra and the Souls of LimboPipistrello and the Cursed YoyoTaria & ComoTormented Souls 2MusicEverhood 2HerdlingRift of the NecroDancerSONOKUNISword of the SeaWheel WorldNarrativeCitizen Sleeper 2: Starward VectorConsume MePromise Mascot AgencyThe DrifterThe Roottrees are DeadThe Séance of Blake ManorSolo DevelopmentLushfoil Photography SimMegabonkNAIADSpilled!Tall TrailsVile: ExhumedSoutheast Asian Indie Game AwardAfterlove EPArtis ImpactGlyphica: Typing SurvivalSEDAP! A Culinary AdventureUrban JungleWhisper Mountain OutbreakVisual Design30 BirdsArtis ImpactCat Detective Albert WildeEclipsiumMashinaSlime Rancher 2Women-Led Indie Game AwardCabernetDuck Detective: The Ghost of GlampingGemporium: A Cute Mining SimSpilled!Urban Myth Dissolution CenterWhite KnuckleGame of the YearAbsolumand RogerBlue PrinceCitizen Sleeper 2: Starward VectorClair Obscur: Expedition 33Consume MeHades IIHollow Knight: SilksongKeep DrivingPipistrello and the Cursed YoyoCommunity PicksBest Action Game: Hades IIBest Adventure Game: Hollow Knight: SilksongBest Horror Game: R.E.P.O.Best Interactive Fiction: Date Everything!Best Multiplayer Game: PeakBest Puzzle Game: Blue PrinceBest Role Playing Game: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33Best Simulation Game: Schedule 1Best Strategy Game: The Hundred Line: Last Defense AcademyBest Survival Game: Abiotic FactorCommunity Game of the Year: Hollow Knight: SilksongSignature AwardsHere are various Signature Awards given to receipients throughout the ceremony. Indie Vanguard Class of 2025Chantey (Developer: Gortyn Code)Neon Knives (Developer: Cookiecrayon)Seasonala Cemetry (Developers: Gabby DaRienzo, Kait Tremblay, Jen Costa, Nina Wong, halina heron, Mobeen Fiktree, Jacqueline de Leon)HYPERBEAT (Developers: Alice Bottino, Chancellor Wallin)Wildwood Down (Developers: Crashable Studios)The Mohammad Fahmi Storyteller AwardMaddy Thorson of Extremely OK Games, Ltd (Associated Game: Celeste, TowerFall Ascension)Industry ImpactGame Devs of Color, represented by Catt Small, Brian S. Chung, and Joshy BoykinAnd that's every winner of The Indie Game Awards 2025! Are there any surprises for you? Let us know in the comments below! View the full article

Marathon art director Joseph Cross has left Bungie after a decade at the developer. Read more View the full article

A new Star Wars™ racing adventure is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC Wishlist Now!Star Wars: Galactic Racer™ is prepping its engines for launch, bringing a runs-based, high-stakes reinvention of racing to the Star Wars™ galaxy in 2026. Launching on PlayStation®5 (PS5™), Xbox Series X|S, and PC, Star Wars: Galactic Racer is the debut game from AAA development studio Fuse Games – led by former Criterion Games GM Matt Webster – in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games and publisher Secret Mode. Star Wars: Galactic Racer introduces players to The Galactic League, an unsanctioned racing circuit born in the lawless Outer Rim, where the galaxy’s best pilots battle in dangerous races where only the bold survive. Slam, shunt, and takedown rivals as you pilot different classes of repulsorcraft, each with distinct physics and playstyles. Speed across new and iconic Star Wars planets, where branching routes and varied environments ensure no two races play the same. At the heart of it all is Shade, a lone racer with a dream of glory and revenge. But standing in Shade’s way is Kestar, a ruthless rival who has his own power-hungry plans for the League. Ride solo through a story-driven campaign, where Shade must forge alliances, outpace rivals, and survive long enough to become an elite racing pilot. Or battle for supremacy in competitive multiplayer, braving strategic PvP grudge matches where reputation rides with you. Customize your build, unlock new abilities on every run, and master brutal takedowns. No Force. No prophecy. Just skill, strategy, and the will to rise. “For us, Star Wars has always represented the power of wonder – and racing is one of its most thrilling expressions,” said Matt Webster, CEO at Fuse Games. “With Star Wars: Galactic Racer, we wanted to reinvent what a racing game can be: adventurous, spectacular and exhilarating. We want every race to feel alive with dynamic risk-reward choices, and every victory to feel incredible.” “From the beginning, Star Wars has drawn inspiration from racing culture, from podracing to high-speed chases across the galaxy,” said Douglas Reilly, VP and GM, Lucasfilm Games. “With Star Wars: Galactic Racer, the team at Fuse Games has captured that spirit and elevated it into a wholly new form of racing adventure. We can’t wait for fans to experience it.” “Star Wars: Galactic Racer is exactly the kind of bold, innovative experience Secret Mode was founded to support,” said James Schall, Chief Publishing Officer at Secret Mode. “Fuse Games are building something truly genre-defining: a racing adventure with depth, drama, and identity. We’re proud to partner with them and work in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games to bring this vision to life for players worldwide.” Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches in 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Wishlist Now! STAR WARS™ & © 2025 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. FUSE GAMES® and the Fuse Games logo® are registered trademarks of Fuse Games Limited 2025. ©Secret Mode Ltd. All Rights Reserved. View the full article