Gaming News

Retail Leak Reveals ROG Xbox Ally Handheld Release Date

A release date for the ROG Xbox Ally — essentially, the first portable third-party Xbox — has popped up online, suggesting there's only two months to go until the Steam Deck-like handheld will be available to play. According to Dealabs' ever-reliable billbil-kun, the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X will both launch on October 16, allowing you an easy method of playing your Xbox game library on the go. Pre-orders will open on August 20, Dealabs previously reported, with the Xbox Ally set to cost €599. Alternatively, the premium Xbox Ally X will cost €899 (US prices to be confirmed). Dealabs cautions that this release date has only been verified via its sources for the machine's European launch — so there may still be some slight...

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Eminem Doesn't Seem to Mind When People Call Him 'The Guy From Fortnite'

Marshall Mathers III is no stranger to other names. You probably know him as Eminem, or Slim Shady, or as the latter half of hip-hop super duo Bad Meet Evil. Or, perhaps if you're a little younger, you might know him as... 'The Guy From Fortnite.' Eminem's involvement with Fortnite goes back several years, with a guest turn in 2023's The Big Bang live event that saw him rapping over a post-apocalyptic skyline, before popping up in the game's in-game shop as a skin. Next, Eminem returned for the conclusion of 2024's Chapter 2 Remix, this time holding a rap battle version of the battle royale's memorable monster versus mech fight — one of the funniest things the game has done in some time. (That mini-season included Eminem's hideout as...

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Disciples: Domination Announced for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

Developer Artefacts Studio and publisher Kalypso Media have announced Disciples: Domination, the follow-up to 2021's Disciples: Liberation. Like Liberation, Domination is a dark-fantasy, turn-based, single-player strategy-RPG and it's set 15 years after the last game. It's in development for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S and it's due out sometime in 2026. You'll once again shape the future of Nevendaar – and your own fate – as Avyanna as she rules and commands from the capital city of Yllian. Your companions – who you'll unlock and decide on based on your preferred playstyle – are there to help inform your decisions, and those decisions will alter your faction reputation amongst the five total factions in Domination...

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Mafia: The Old Country Review

Since its debut, the Mafia series has steadily marched forward through the decades – the original is set in the 1930s, its sequel spans the ’40s and ’50s, and Mafia III unfolds during the late ’60s. If the next step was going to be the ’70s, or the ’80s – or both – I was certainly ready. Casino intrigue, shine boxes, borrowing huge kitchen knives from Martin Scorcese’s mother in the middle of the night – whatever it was, I was up for it. However, instead of moving closer to the end of the 20th century, Mafia: The Old Country takes us back to the beginning. And not just the beginning of the century, but to the formative era of the Mafia itself. Part mob drama and part Western, The Old Country may be a safe and conventional third-person...

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After Concord's Failure and Marathon's Delay, Sony Admits PlayStation's Live-Service Strategy Is 'Not Entirely Going Smoothly'

Sony has reflected on its progress transforming PlayStation into a company that runs a suite of successful live-service games — something that has, so far, returned mixed results. Cast your mind back to February 2022, during the halcyon days of PlayStation's former boss Jim Ryan, when the company said it would launch more than 10 new live-service games before March 2026. Fast forward to now and, well, it's clear things haven't quite gone to plan. And now, speaking via an English interpreter during Sony's latest financial results briefing, the company's chief financial officer Lin Tao has seemingly agreed (thanks, ThisWeekInVideoGames). "Last year, Concord," Tao began, mentioning the Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired live-service...

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Getting Jurassic World Islands

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is getting the dinosaur-infested islands from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies. You'll be able to zoom overhead among pterosaurs, and ferry guests back and forth between Isla Nublar and the mainland. The add-on, Jurassic World: Archipelago, will launch for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 in around a month's time (the exact date and price is still TBA), with versions for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Xbox launching soon after. Developed by Flight Sim add-on maker Orbx Studios, the expansion will add the franchise's original Isla Nublar as well as the five islands of the Cinco Muertes Archipelago seen in subsequent films: Isla Sorna, Isla Matanceros, Isla Muerta, Isla Tacaño, and Isla...

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Battlefield 6 Open Beta Forces PC Gamers to Mess About With Their BIOS to Enable Secure Boot — and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Is Next

If you’re trying to play the Battlefield 6 Open Beta on PC, you might have run into a problem: ‘Secure Boot is not enabled.’ You are not alone. PC gamers hoping to play DICE’s latest now open beta early access is live have no choice but to enable Secure Boot on their PC. And a cursory glance at social media, subreddits and IGN’s own comments suggest some are having trouble with it. To be clear, EA has published a user guide for how to enable Secure Boot on PC, and promoted that guide across social media. It’s a guide I myself had to use to boot the Battlefield 6 Open Beta. But it certainly requires a degree of confidence, as it involves tinkering with a part of a computer not all PC gamers will be instantly familiar with: the BIOS...

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AU Deals: From 976 Bucks Off Mega Bundles to Best Preorder Prices, These Deals Cut Deep Across All Platforms

Every so often I stumble on a deals drop that makes my digital wallet flinch from across the room. This one's particularly nasty in the best way possible. Whether you’re itching for some nostalgia, crave chaotic co-op, or feel like diving into lore-rich epics, there’s something irresistible across all four platforms today. This Day in Gaming 🎂 In retro news, I'm celebrating the 23rd b-day of Alien Hominid, a Metal Slug-ish by the folks who would go on to craft Castle Crashers. Uploaded as a Flash browser game on the legendary multimedia website known as Newgrounds, Alien Hominid was one of the first notable indie darlings that really turned my head. It was tough as nails, great in two-player, and revitalised OG run 'n' gunning for a...

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Grow a Garden Plushies Are Already Available to Buy on Amazon

Grow a Garden has quickly become one of the biggest games of 2025. The Roblox farming simulator first launched back in March and has seen rapid success thanks to various updates and events since then. The overwhelming interest in this Roblox game has shown no signs of slowing down, and the latest cooking-themed event has only fueled it further. Now that the game has entered further into the mainstream, we're already starting to see unofficial merch become available. A third-party seller on Amazon called VatanFari has a variety of Grow a Garden plushies for sale based on the pets from the game. The product pages for these plushies claim to be "drawing inspiration" from the Grow a Garden universe. Grow a Garden Plushies at Amazon There...

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Save 50% Off the Ultra-Slim Baseus Blade 20,000mAh Power Bank with 100W of Power Delivery

If you're looking for a high-capacity, high-output power bank with a slim footprint, then check out this deal from Baseus. Amazon is currently offering Amazon Prime members the Baseus Blade 20,000mAh 100W power bank for $39.99 shipped after you apply coupon code "NDC6X5B6". Unlike most high-capacity power banks that are shaped like a chunky bar, the Baseus Blade is much slimmer. It's powerful enough to charge just about every gaming handheld PC - including the newer Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go S - at its fastest rate. Baseus Blade 20,000mAh 100W Slim Power Bank for $39.99 The Baseus Blade measures only 0.7 inches thick. Most high-capacity power banks are well over 1" in thickness. The Iniu gets away with a thinner body by...

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Guilty Gear Strive Producer On Lucy, Upcoming Balance Changes, and Strive 2.00 | Evo 2025

More than four years after it's release, Guilty Gear Strive is still going strong, with perhaps its most prolific DLC character yet, Lucy from Cyberpunk, releasing on August 21 as the final part of Character Pass 4. But that's not the only exciting thing going on in the world of Guilty Gear. During the finals of Strive at Evo, there was a trailer announcing a mysterious new chapter called Guilty Gear Strive 2.00, with two silhouhettes of characters that clearly indicate that longtime favorites Robo-Ky and Jam Kuradoberi are going to be making their way into Strive's ever growing roster. To get some details on Strive's future, I caught up with Ken Miyauchi at the show so I could pick his brain on all of these points and more. So at...

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World of Warcraft Players Say Newest Patch Has a Lot of Weird Bugs, Including One That's Turning Everyone's Banks German

World of Warcraft just dropped a new major patch, the big kind that adds a new area, new quests, dungeons, a delve, a raid, loads of story, and much more. And while it's normal to have a few bugs any time new content comes out, 11.2 seems to be riddled with weirder problems than usual...including a goofy bug that's turning some players' banks German. The German bug in particular has been reported by several players on English clients, not on EU servers. It's not game-breaking by any stretch - just odd. It changes the player's bank tabs to German language. Everything else is unaffected. Funnily enough, some players in other countries and languages are reporting the same bug, but with different languages, such as this German player who...

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SNK Speaks on Ken in Fatal Fury, Chun-Li DLC Teases, and Capcom vs SNK | Evo 2025

One of the most exciting games to watch at Evo 2025 was Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. From KojiKOG's memeworthy and dramatic reaction to his loss in top 8, to the incredible grand finals betwen Go1 and ET, and all of the exciting moments in between. It was a great reminder of how much fun the game can be. While I wasn't able to talk to anyone from SNK at the actual show itself, Producer Yasuyuki Oda and Animator Masari Obari were kind enough to answer several questions of mine via email relating to the release of Ken in City of the Wolves and a few other topics that I felt would be of great interest to fans of SNK and fighting games in general. One of the biggest surprises to me once I got my hands on with Ken is how similar to his...

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Dead by Daylight Update 9.1.1 Patch Notes Detail Numerous Fixes After Controversial Killer and Perk Changes

Behaviour Interactive has released detailed patch notes for Dead by Daylight update 9.1.1 following backlash to bugs and balance changes introduced last week. The team behind the popular asymmetrical horror game offered a breakdown for its long list of new fixes on the Dead by Daylight website today. It’s a bug fix patch that arrives just one week after update 9.1.0 launched for players across PC and consoles, but according to fans, it’s already long overdue. Dead by Daylight update 9.1.0 came with The Walking Dead representation, map changes, and balance tweaks for many of Behaviour’s playable Survivors and Killers. While the additions were celebrated by many, others struggled to focus on the positive aspects of the content update...

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Former BioWare Executive Producer Breaks Down 'What Really Happened' to Anthem

Last month, EA announced it would shut down BioWare's Anthem on January 12, 2026. And now, after a rocky six years for the game, its executive producer Mark Darrah has come forward to share details on exactly how Anthem came to be, and what went wrong in the process. In part one of a planned multi-part video series, Darrah spends an hour walking viewers through Anthem's development as he understands it from 2011 through the moment he took over as executive producer in 2017. Admittedly, his perspective isn't 100% complete, as Darrah was not working directly on the game throughout much of this time. But as a higher-up at BioWare and eventual executive producer, he was nonetheless positioned to see a lot more than most. Darrah was only...

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Dead by Daylight Devs Promise Numerous Bug Fixes After Desperate Fans Turn to Overwatch Developer Blizzard for Help

Dead by Daylight players were left to fend for themselves after a recent update introduced several game-breaking exploits, so, naturally, they turned to Blizzard Entertainment and the Overwatch team for help. Behaviour Interactive, the studio behind the long-running asymmetrical horror game, found itself in fight or flight mode after issuing its July update last week. Two Survivors from The Walking Dead — Michonne and Rick Grimes — were the headliners, but the latest patch came with more than just bloody new content for players to feast on. Of Dead by Daylight’s many playable Killers, it’s The Clown who waltzed into patch 9.1.0 with the most changes. Specifically, any Survivors who encounter the bottle-throwing menace will notice...

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Tekken 8 Developers Discuss Miary Zo, Tekken Tag Tournament, and Season 2 | Evo 2025

Tekken 8 had another big year at Evo in 2025. Arslan Ash won his sixth Evo title, his third in a row; Bandai Namco showed off a brand new extended gameplay trailer for Teken 8's next DLC character, Armor King; and it also showed a small tease for the final character of Character Pass 2, Miary Zo. Just like last year, I got a chance to sit down with the Tekken team to discuss these announcements, whether or not the current surge of tag fighters has the team thinking about dusting off the old Tekken Tag Tournament IP, and the current state of Tekken 8 after a tumultuous Season 2 launch and subsequent emergency patches. Read on to find out what Kohei Ikeda (Nakatsu), Game Director on Tekken 8, Katsuhiro Harada, Tekken Project Director...

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Peregrino, A Brutal Isometric Survival Game, Announced for PC

Spanish developer Inverge Studios has announced Peregrino, a punishing, isometric-view 19th-century gothic-inspired survival game in which you lead your band of pilgrims through a dangerous dark purgatory in search of New Eden, where paradise is said to await. It's in development for PC (via Steam and the Epic Games Store). Hunting, combat, and scavenging are all mandatory if you're to have any chance at making the journey successfully, with resource management of your food, shelter, and faith vital to your quest. Should any of your pilgrims fall to the ever-more-grotesque monstrositites that hunt you each night, their death is permanent in Peregrino. Each of your people has a name, purpose, and history, and your decisions will affect...

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PowerWash Simulator 2 Has You Dig (and Clean) a Dirty Toilet Out of a Town Square

Pull on your gloves and ready your hose: PowerWash Simulator 2 approaches, and so far it’s looking ultra-polished (in a gloriously unhygienic kind of way.) I had an absolute ball of a time revisiting Muckingham to correct the townsfolk’s filthy ways. In the niche of “oddly satisfying” games, its predecessor PowerWash Simulator (and its oodles of DLC) already blasts away competitors. So what does the sequel offer, besides just “more dirty stuff”? To find out, I went hands-on with a single-player PC build of PowerWash Simulator 2, checking out five levels showcasing hot new technology like abseiling and floor washers. PowerWash Simulator 2 starts off with the expansion of your business to a fully fledged office building. Your first job...

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Baldur's Gate 3 Dev Questions Why TV and Movie Adaptations Often Overlook Video Game Performers: 'Why Was Doug Cockle Not in the TV Series, The Witche

Baldur's Gate 3 actor and performance director Aliona Baranova has questioned why TV and movie adaptations often overlook in-game talent when casting for the big screen. At a panel at the Tampa Bay Comic Convention moderated by Collider's Maggie Lovitt, Baranova said: "I feel like it’s a shame that the video game audience is being overlooked when it comes to screen projects. We see from you guys how dedicated you are… and I feel like that’s been neglected at the moment by filmmakers [and] studios." It's a pertinent challenge, not least because rather than simply reading a script into a mic, game performers often provide so much more than just their voices when it comes to bringing games to life, with some even providing the mo-cap and...

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Mafia: The Old Country Confirmed PS5 Pro Enhanced From Launch — Here's What to Expect

Mafia: The Old Country will be PS5 Pro Enhanced at launch. We already knew that Mafia: The Old Country would boast both quality and performance modes on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and now developer Hangar 13 has confirmed the game will also be ready for PS5 Pro when it releases later this week, on August 8, 2025. This includes support for variable refresh rate, 120Hz displays, and higher dynamic resolution in both quality and performance modes. The announcement follows last week's reveal of the PC and console specifications, with Hangar 13's statement simply saying: "We're excited to confirm that Mafia: The Old Country will be PlayStation 5 Pro Enhanced at launch." On PS5 and Xbox Series X, Mafia: The Old Country will have...

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Genshin Impact Discontinues PS4 Support 'Due To Limitations Related To Hardware Performance and Platform Application Size'

HoYoverse is discontinuing support for Genshin Impact on PS4. In a statement, the publisher thanked PS4 players for their "continued support and love," but claimed that, "due to limitations related to hardware performance and platform application size," it would be discontinuing support and updates for the RPG on Sony's last-gen system. The "removal and discontinuation plan" for Genshin Impact will unfold in three phases: firstly, the PS4 version of the game will be removed from the PlayStation store on September 10 (although you'll still be able to re-download it if it's already in your library). Secondly, in-game purchases will be delisted on February 25, 2026, and finally, support will end completely in August 2026. Thankfully...

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AU Deals: Gaming Gold Across the Board with Criminal Mafia Old Country Deals and Massive Nintendo Steals

You and I know the drill, fellow bargain hunter. One moment you're browsing aimlessly, the next you're knee-deep in a checkout cart stacked with discounted greatness. Today’s lineup of deals isn’t just wallet-friendly, it’s stacked with titles that have gripped me hard over the years and refused to let go. From plumber adventures to intergalactic chaos, my sales list will bring you the goods. This Day in Gaming 🎂 In retro news, I’m using handlebar-on-handlebar sparks to light a 24-candle cake baked for Road Rash: Jailbreak, which brought a signature blend of street racing and roadside biffo to PS One. Unlike earlier entries, Jailbreak leaned into a more structured narrative and buddy-rider system, adding a hint of chaos-coordination...

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Persona 5 Royal Leads August's Humble Choice Bundle Alongside Tons of Cozy Games

Humble Bundle has announced its Humble Choice lineup for August. For just $14.99, you’ll get access to a solid selection of games, including one of my personal favorites, Persona 5 Royal. For reference, P5R’s lowest recorded price on Steam is $23.99, making just that game alone a crazy steal. Even better, you get seven more games (and the feeling of giving back) out of it. Humble Choice August 2025 Game Lineup Each month, Humble Choice curates a selection of games for members to redeem. These games are sent as Steam codes, which you can keep forever, making Humble Choice one of our favorite gaming subscriptions. Here's what Humble Choice members are getting in August: Persona 5 Royal Banishers: Ghost of New Eden My Time at...

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Stormgate Review

There's a moment right before the start of a 1v1 RTS match that’s like nothing else I've felt in games, and Stormgate delivers it. I see that countdown timer start to tick, I can feel my own heartbeat, and I take a deep breath. Then I'm looking at a colorful command center and a gaggle of workers, and it's just me and some random stranger fighting it out for glory or ruin. The twists and turns Stormgate has taken during Early Access to get to where it is now haven't all been in the right direction, but it is moving the basecraft formula forward on a design level in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Stormgate has come a long way in the year since its Early Access launch, and while it has now shed the Early Access label, it is not...

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Peak Dev Says It Would Rather Players Pirate the Game Than Play 'Microtransaction-Riddled Roblox Slop Ripoff'

Aggro Crab, the developer of Another Crab's Treasure and the recently-released co-op survival climbing game Peak, took aim at a Roblox clone version of the latter in a Twitter/X post today, in which the studio said it would rather people pirate Peak than play "this microtransaction-riddled Roblox slop ripoff". The post in question shows screenshots of a Roblox game called "Cliff", which does look suspiciously similar to Aggro Crab's Peak. Both games feature a round-headed protagonist whose goal is to climb a mountain at the center of an island, an activity that can be accomplished either alone or with friends. Cliff even calls out in its description that it's inspired by Peak! Though, "inspired" might be a bit generous. Take a look...

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League of Legends: Wild Rift Backlash Ignites After Fans Call Out ‘Fever Dream’ AI Trailer

Riot Games and parent company Tencent have come under fire after fans noticed they allegedly published a shocking AI-generated trailer for League of Legends: Wild Rift. Reddit user Winter_underdog was one of the first to share the footage, calling attention to what is said to be a two-minute trailer for the League of Legends spinoff’s third anniversary. Riot allegedly published the footage on Chinese social media website Weibo before removing it following uproar from players. There’s at least no trace of an AI trailer for League of Legends: Wild Rift on Weibo at the moment, but that hasn’t stopped fans from republishing it elsewhere. The video above features elements that one may find in some of the most blatant AI-generated content...

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The $27 Iniu 25,000mAh Power Bank Can Charge Every Gaming Handheld At Its Fastest Rate

Starting today, Amazon is offering a high-capacity, high-output power bank at a pretty amazing price. The Iniu 25,000mAh 100W power bank is down to just $27.25 after you clip the 49% off coupon on the product page. Combined with the instant discount, that's a total of 55% in savings. This power bank is ideal for long flights or trips where you might not have an available outlet for extended periods of time. It's powerful enough to charge just about every phone or gaming handheld PC - including the newer Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go S - at its fastest rate. Iniu 25,000mAh 100W Power Bank for $27.25 Clip the 49% off coupon The Iniu power bank weighs about 16 ounces, which is typical of most power banks with a similar battery...

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Resident Evil Unveils Duolingo Owl as Its Most Terrifying Bioweapon Yet, Forcing Leon to Learn Spanish

Never mind the zombies, Mr X, or Lady D. Resident Evil has a new ultimate adversary — Duolingo's dreaded Owl. For unknown reasons, Japan's official Resident Evil social media account has begun posting pictures of the Duolingo Owl terrorising Leon S. Kennedy in a warped version of Resident Evil 2 (thanks, Automaton). Here, the Duolingo Owl — or a buff, supersized version of it — can be seen replacing the menacing Mr X in images that have more than a whiff of AI about them. "Our new biological weapon," the official Resident Evil account states, tagging in the official Duolingo Japan account. "Go. Spread language learning to the world." Picking up on the brandter, Duolingo Japan then replied with an image of the young Leon S. Kennedy...

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FC 26: 74 Changes That Actually Make a Difference

Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala may well have inherited the dreaded Madden curse as this year’s EA FC coverstars, having both made their way to operating theaters in recent weeks, but they can at least rest up by playing each other on FC 26. EA Sports FC 26 will be released on September 26th, 2025, or a week early on September 19th if you purchase early access. But what’s new this time around? Well, fundamental tweaks have been made to gameplay, as well as the inevitable suite of new activities to get stuck into in Ultimate Team, Career Mode, and Clubs. So, without further ado, here are 74 changes that actually make a difference in EA FC 26. Ultimate Team 1. Live events are a big new inclusion for Ultimate Team. These include the...

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