Gaming News

Psychonauts Developer Double Fine Is Forming a Union

Psychonauts and Kiln developer Double Fine Productions has laid the groundwork to become the latest Microsoft studio to form a union. As first reported by Aftermath, the San Francisco-based game studio filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board May 7, 2026. The organization effort with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) follows the 450 Blizzard Entertainment staff who voted to unionize in August 2025, and the union formed by 165 developers at id Software the following December, as well as others. As outlined in the petition, the Double Fine union will include 42 "regular part-time and full-time employees." “On May 7, the workers at Microsoft studio Double Fine Productions announced their decision to form a union...

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Slay the Spire 2 Patch Rips Act 3 Boss Doormaker Out the Game, Developer Explains Decision

Slay the Spire 2 developer Mega Crit has released a new major patch for the roguelike deckbuilder sequel that pulls an Act 3 boss out of the game. In an update on Steam detailing patch v0.105.0, available now in the beta branch, Mega Crit confirmed it had removed Doormaker, replacing it with Aeonglass. The significant change comes as Slay the Spire 2 wrestles with pretty much constant review bombing campaigns in reaction to balance changes, including to Doormaker. In late April, Mega Crit addressed Doormaker and the complaints about its various frustrating abilities, insisting it wanted to give players the chance to get to grips with it. "We are currently monitoring the Doormaker and looking at a combination in-game feedback, social...

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IGN, Atomic Monster & Blumhouse Are Teaming Up for Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat II is in theaters today, and IGN is partnering with Atomic Monster and Blumhouse to give the opportunity to take home a special keepsake. IGN, Atomic Monster, and Blumhouse are inviting you to sign up for Blumhouse’s The Van now for an opportunity to take home one of 25 Mortal Kombat II lobby cards signed by Producer James Wan. This opportunity is on a first come first served basis until they’re all gone. Blumhouse will reach out to participants who manage to snag a signed lobby card, so keep an eye on your inbox! Mortal Kombat II is in theaters now, and sees familiar faces join the action like Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) and Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) along with returning characters Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya Blade...

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Crimson Desert's Next Major Patch Adds a Much Requested Feature That Will Help Players Max Out Their Gear

The Crimson Desert patches continue, this time with a major update due out in the next few days. Without providing detailed patch notes, developer Pearl Abyss said Crimson Desert’s next patch will add new special mounts and an extraction feature that will allow you to recover materials used in equipment refinement. Oh, and expect plenty more, too. The addition of new special mounts is straightforward, but what’s this new extraction feature about? It sounds like a huge time saver, as it will let players get the materials they’ve used to refine their equipment back from the equipment itself. A lot of players who’ve reached the Crimson Desert endgame fuss over refining items to improve their stats, and at later levels, many of the...

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Helldivers 2 Dev Promises More Content Is on the Way as Disgruntled Players Drag Steam Reviews Down to 'Mostly Negative'

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has addressed significant concern within the game’s community, teasing new upcoming content amid ‘mostly negative’ Steam reviews. Recent user reviews for the third-person action game plunged to ‘mostly negative’ in response to dissatisfaction with recent updates and a perceived lack of content. Responding to “the community’s burning questions,” Arrowhead published an in-universe transmission acknowledging the backlash. “Helldivers 2 matters to all of us, and we want to be clearer about what we’re working on and what’s coming next,” Arrowhead began. New content is coming soon, the studio insisted, alongside improvements to the core of the game. Stability, progression, and the Galactic War were all...

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Warhorse Knows They May Lose Some Players Because Kingdom Come: Deliverance Is Intentionally Difficult, but That's What Makes It Special

The new creative director at Warhorse Studios, the developer of the Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, has opened up about its approach to development and explained why their games are deliberately difficult. In an interview with PC Gamer, Prokop Jirsa — who joined the studio as a designer in 2014 straight from university and has been there ever since — admitted that Warhorse's "design approach is a little bit different" from other studios, which sets them apart from competitors. "For example, if you do playtesting — which you should, everybody! It's really useful — they especially measure these points of friction," Jirsa explained. "They say, 'Okay, this is the friction point.' People are getting confused, they are getting confused...

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Path of Exile 2 Reveals Return of the Ancients, the Final Major Update Before 1.0 Launch Later in 2026

Path of Exile 2 is "redefining" its endgame with an all-new update coming later this month. Return of the Ancients, dropping on May 29, introduces a staggering 50+ hours of "new endgame content," including a new challenge system, a host of powerful unique items, expanded crafting systems, and a completely reimagined Atlas Tree. We're also getting two new Ascendancy classes — the Marital Artist and Spirit Walker — improved campaign replayability, a new Build Planner, and "numerous quality-of-life features to support every step of your journey." We're also getting five new storylines, 15 new formidable new bosses, including four towering Pinnacles, and will get to explore new Ascendancy classes as either the Martial Artist or Spirit...

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New Leon Mode Released for Resident Evil Requiem, Rather Than The Mercenaries Offering That Fans Were Expecting

Capcom has launched a new roguelike minigame for Resident Evil Requiem featuring fresh challenges for Leon S. Kennedy, rather than the series' usual Mercenaries mode that many fans were expecting. The minigame, titled "Leon Must Die Forever", was quietly launched overnight, with fans spotting a fresh update for Requiem dropping first on PC and PlayStation. Leon Must Die Forever is essentially a roguelike set of levels featuring familiar enemies and environments, and random weapons and special abilities. The ultimate goal is to get to Victor, the game's final boss. Levels take place in rough chronological order, so you'll start in Wrenwood's main street, head to the Care Center and then Raccoon City. As you progress, enemies will...

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Sony Reports $765 Million Impairment Loss Due to Underperformance of Marathon Developer Bungie

Sony has reported a $765 million impairment loss due to underperformance of Marathon developer Bungie during its last financial year. During the financial year ending March 31, 2026, Sony’s Game & Network Services Segment, of which PlayStation is a part, suffered a 120.1 billion yen (approx. $765 million) impairment loss against Bungie’s assets. Sony had already reported a 31.5 billion yen (approx. $204.2 million) impairment charge as a result of Destiny 2’s underperformance during the second quarter of its fiscal year, but it’s now reported another 88.6 billion yen (approx. $565 million) impairment charge during the fourth quarter. Hardcore extraction shooter Marathon launched early March, within the last fiscal year and, crucially...

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Next Official WRC Game Being Developed by New Studio Grit Games

French publisher Nacon has revealed the next official World Rally Championship game is being developed by a new studio called Grit Games. While it might have been assumed the series would return to KT Racing after departing Codemasters, this has not turned out to be the case. KT Racing was the developer of 2022’s WRC Generations and six prior games in the series. Nacon has revealed very little information about WRC 2027 in its debut video. Other than the fact a part of the Grit Games team visited the 2026 Monte Carlo Rally in January, we only know it will be a fresh project built from scratch and will use Unreal Engine 5. Assetto Corsa Rally, which is currently available on Steam Early Access and shaping up most impressively, also...

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Andy Serkis Praises Expedition 33, Says Hollywood's 'Snobbery' Towards Video Game is Changing

The Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis has nothing but great things to say about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The legendary actor was part of the award-winning cast in the 2025 Game of the Year winner, and he's extremely proud of how the game turned out. In an interview with Variety, Serkis talked about his experience with being pitched the role and went on to awe over how the gaming industry has matured. "What a video game, and I'm so thrilled with how it turned out for these guys because I love the idea of it, but I love the visuals of it. I thought it was beautiful. I am so thrilled for their success. [...] It's such an emotional story for a video game, and it just looks extraordinary, and the music in it is so powerful." Serkis...

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With GTA 6 Due Out in November, Rockstar Teases 'Exciting New Update' for GTA Online This Summer

In a blog post, Rockstar Games teased that an "exciting" new GTA Online update will be released this summer, sparking speculation about what it could involve given GTA 6 is set to launch in November. Historically, Rockstar releases two megaton GTA Online updates every year: one in the summer, one in December. With GTA 6 due out on November 19, 2026, could the summer update mark a turning point for GTA Online? "After 13 years and almost 50 content updates, the end is almost here. Hopefully, they send this game off with a bang," said one fan. "They don't specify that it'll be the last one, but are we ready to say goodbye to Los Santos after 13 years?" asked another. Rockstar has given fans very little to go on. "There’s also plenty...

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New Paranormal Activity Game from The Mortuary Assistant Developer Has Been Cancelled

Paranormal Activity: Threshold, a new game from the creator of The Mortuary Assistant, has been cancelled. Brian Clarke, the solo developer behind the game, released a statement today regarding the cancellation of the horror game. Clarke revealed that he needed more time to work on the game, but Paramount (the owner of the Paranormal Activity IP) did not offer to extend development time. As a result, Clarke had two choices: release a compromised, subpar game or cancel it to avoid releasing something he wasn't proud of. He chose the latter, and as a result, the game will no longer be released. Clarke was a perfect fit for a Paranormal Activity game, as The Mortuary Assistant is an incredible supernatural horror game. As the title...

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New Xbox Boss Reportedly 'Treading Carefully' Amid Exclusivity Rethink

New Xbox boss Asha Sharma is reportedly “treading carefully” as she works out what to do with exclusive games. Sharma, who replaced Phil Spencer as boss of Xbox earlier this year, has spent her first few months in the job making a number of significant changes as Microsoft works to win back the hearts and minds of its core gaming fans. Among them was the end of the controversial ‘This is an Xbox’ marketing campaign, quickfire new Xbox console features, and a Game Pass price cut. Perhaps most significant of all, Microsoft has said it will “reevaluate our approach to exclusivity,” a tantalizing tease particularly for core fans who feel Xbox consoles have been devalued amid the company’s multiplatform push in recent years. But what...

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Developer Behind 2K's Project Ethos Suffers Layoffs, but Take-Two Is Sticking With the Game

The developer behind Project Ethos has suffered a round of layoffs, but publisher 2K and parent company Take-Two are sticking with the game. In an internal memo sent from Ben Brinkman, Studio Head of 31st Union and shared with IGN by 2K, it was confirmed that the development team will be scaled back “to better align with where we are in development.” There’s no word on how many staff are affecting, nor is there mention of when Project Ethos will actually come out. Brinkman did, however, say he has “never been more confident in the future of our game, this team, and the commitment and investment Take-Two and 2K leadership continue to show.” Here’s the memo in full: 2K did provide a new piece of concept art for the game...

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LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Launch Trailer Features Seal's Iconic Batman Forever Song, Kiss from a Rose

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight has received its launch trailer, and it features an iconic song from Batman's history. The new trailer highlights some of the action-packed gameplay, story beats, and many villains from the film, all while a very cinematic version of Seal's Kiss from a Rose plays in the background. For those who don't know, Kiss from a Rose was released as a single during the early days of Seal's career. It was by no means a hit; in fact, Seal even felt embarrassed by it, but it caught the eye of Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher. Schumacher requested the song to be used during a love scene between Batman and Nicole Kidman, but ultimately, it wasn't featured in the film itself. However, Schumacher did...

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Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV Adeptus Mechanicus Gameplay Trailer Reveals Quick, Ranged Combat Faction With Plenty of Advanced Tech Tricks

The Adeptus Mechanicus, Warhammer 40,000’s tech priest faction who worship the Machine God while obsessing over data, data, and more data, are now fully unveiled in real-time strategy game Dawn of War IV via a new gameplay trailer. The idea with the Adeptus Mechanicus is that they are a quick, ranged-focused faction who make use of advanced tech tricks to compete with stronger melee factions, such as the Orks. Based on the gameplay video, the AdMech look like one of the tricker Dawn of War IV factions to get to grips with, but perhaps one of the most rewarding. They have access to the Void Shield, a huge structure that takes up almost the whole screen, but lets you shield loads of buildings and units. Enemies can’t shoot through the...

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Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Announced for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

Developers Cold Iron Studios and Daybreak Game Company have announced Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, a sequel to the popular 2021 three-player, third-person PvE shooter. It's in development for PC (on Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S – and it's due out this summer. The most obvious new change you'll see in the trailer above is the addition of a fourth player to the Xenomorph-blasting action. But there's plenty more to tell you about – and show you – as Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is our IGN First editorial "cover story" for the month of May. That means we'll have gameplay, hands-on impressions, as well as information on classes and enemies. All of that will roll out one exclusive at a time over the next couple of...

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Steins;Gate Is Getting a ‘ReBoot’ on 6 Platforms Including Nintendo Switch 2 This August

Steins;Gate Re:Boot finally has a release date in Japan. The new Steins;Gate remake is coming to PC and current-gen consoles, including Nintendo Switch 2, on August 20. The release date was confirmed by studio MAGES through a new opening movie on YouTube. The studio also released a preview of the remake's new 'E-mote' system. It has not been confirmed whether the North American version of the game will release on the same day, but the official website indicates the remake will support subtitles in English and Chinese. The game's website currently lists a number of both digital and physical editions. The standard digital edition will be 6,380 yen, while the most expensive limited edition is listed at 12,980 yen, up to 14,080 yen on...

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Resident Evil Requiem Fans Say They've Dug Up Details of More Cut Content, Including a Weapon Merchant, Side Missions and More

Resident Evil fans are poring over a fresh cache of images that claim to show content cut from Resident Evil Requiem — including a weapon merchant, evidence of side missions, and more. Requiem is known to have changed a great deal as it progressed through development — indeed, the game's director recently said a whole early chapter was cut as the game's story evolved. Now, images have surfaced showing more of the game's abandoned ideas. The images come from Japanese Resident Evil streamer umesooooo, and have been shared more widely by noted Resident Evil leaker Dusk Golem, effectively rubber stamping their authenticity. For fans, there's much to pore over here — including a weapon upgrade screen that shows an early version of the...

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Crimson Desert Dev Explains How It's Able to Update the Game So Fast, and Why There's No Content Roadmap

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has wowed players by making significant improvements and in some cases overhauling entire systems on an almost weekly basis. It’s a remarkable rate of updates for the huge, single-player open world action adventure. So how has Pearl Abyss managed it? In a new interview, the developer said it’s able to act fast on player feedback not just because that’s what it’s used to doing with its previous game, but because it has a different outlook to other triple-A developers. Speaking to the Washington Post, Pearl Abyss PR and marketing director Will Powers pointed to MMO Black Desert, which it has updated on a weekly basis for over a year, as informing its post-launch support for Crimson Desert. Crimson...

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Mixtape Dev Explains Why the Game Doesn’t Have a Streamer Mode

Mixtape is now out, but don’t be surprised if you don’t see many streams or VODs of it out in the wild. That’s because it doesn’t have a streamer mode, which means Twitch and YouTube playthroughs will struggle to gain any monetization due to licensing issues. Developer Beethoven & Dinosaur has a very good reason for this, though, because simply put, Mixtape is nothing without its soundtrack full of pop songs. In a statement released on social media, Beethoven & Dinosaur said: “We’ve got a few questions about why Mixtape has no streamer mode. It’s a fair question. Mixtape is about music. It’s about Devo. It’s about the Smashing Pumpkins, and Lush, and Alice Coltrane. It’s about how you feel when you listen to Iggy Pop.” “The...

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Dark Light: Survivors Preview: Adding New Wrinkles to a Classic Formula

The world has ended. Nightmarish creatures have risen from the Dark Void, fueling an apocalypse that has wiped nearly everything out. What little remains of humanity has poured the last of their resources into constructing the Phantom Train, a celestial locomotive capable of leaping across universes in hopes of finding Elysium, the only safe haven that’s been spared the encroaching darkness. In Dark Light: Survivor, you take on the role of one of these multiverse-crossing humans. Your job is simple: survive against innumerable enemies, and fight your way to Elysium. It’s just you, your weapons, and an ever growing horde of snarling monstrosities. After several hours of slicing, shooting, and launching screen-clearing, element-infused...

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Mixtape Review

True nostalgia isn't the replication of a specific place or time, but of a feeling. It’s those flashes of emotion that transport us back into memories that have long sat dormant. I was born too late to be a teenager in the '90s. I grew up thousands of miles away from the schools of Northern California. I've barely stepped onto a skateboard outside of a couple scraped knees in the summer of 2003. But none of that matters, and Mixtape knows it. Australian developer Beethoven & Dinosaur fills each and every moment of its coming-of-age tale with incredible music, perfectly hand-picked to set the tone for its free-flowing chapters in a way only nostalgia can. As original as it is reverential, it's a masterfully constructed dose of new...

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The Sims 4 Has Big Changes Coming Later This Month

150 bug fixes and new features are on the way to The Sims 4 later this month. With "an incredible range of content and experiences" released since The Sims 4 launched way back in 2014, the team said it is now committed to "making that content even better by delivering improvements to the gameplay that matters most to Simmers." To help achieve this, the team has outlined a "Laundry List" of just some of the changes coming in a huge base game update on May 12, including a number of fan-requested improvements such as optimizations for Infants, Toddlers, Sleep, and "general Sim autonomy." The community has also helped shape the priority order by voting for their top issues. One of the biggest changes will be an increase in the frequency...

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Civilization VII Update Will Finally Let Players Stay as One Civ Through All Ages, as Take-Two Boss Admits: 'We Got It Wrong'

Civilization VII is set for a major update that finally let players stay as one civ through all Ages, as the boss of parent company Take-Two has admitted: “we got it wrong.” Civilization VII is over a year old now, and has fewer players on Steam than both Civilization VI and the 15-year-old Civilization V. When Civilization VII launched, players highlighted issues with the user interface, a lack of map variety, and a lack of features they’d come to expect from the franchise. But some veteran Civ fans also didn’t get on well with the dramatic changes developer Firaxis made to the game. At launch, a full campaign in Civilization VII was one that went through all three Ages: Antiquity, Exploration, and Modern. Once the Age is completed...

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Pragmata Tops 2 Million Sales in 16 Days

Just a few weeks after revealing that action adventure game Pragmata had sold 1 million copies in just two days, Capcom is back with another sales update: it's now sold over 2 million copies in just 16 days. In the announcement, Capcom attributed the success to marketing initiatives such as the playable demo, plus an aggressive campaign to boost visibility of the all-new IP. That's not all, though; the developer also believes the emotional, narrative-driven story on top of its "unique" gameplay has solidified its position in Capcom's storied portfolio, alongside juggernaut franchises like Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Capcom USA's chief operating officer, Rob Dyer, recently teased that Pragmata could be spun out into a...

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Everything We Learned about Stranger Than Heaven During the Xbox Presents Showcase

RGG Studio has lifted the lid on its next big game, Stranger Than Heaven. Announced back at The Game Awards in 2024 with the codename Project Century, Stranger Than Heaven was re-revealed last summer with its final name. In partnership with Xbox, the Yakuza developer released a 30-minute presentation where it dove deep into everythign you'd want to know about Stranger Than Heaven with heaps of new gameplay footage. It’s immediately clear that this is quite different from the Yakuza games, as it will take place over the course of half a century. The story begins in 1915 with protagonist Makoto Daito sneaking onto a ship to escape from his life in San Francisco after the passing of his parents. He heads for Japan, but aboard the ship he...

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Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Seems Like a PC Gaming Nightmare

Ever since Nvidia revealed frame generation with the RTX 4080, I have been dreading the day that a game developer uses it as a requirement to get to an acceptable frame rate. And while we’ve gone almost four years without that happening, it seems like Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is going to cross that line. This past weekend, developer TT Games released the system requirements for the new Lego Batman game, and while at first glance they seem kind of reasonable for a Unreal Engine 5-based game, a closer look reveals that the company wants you to turn on frame generation just to hit 30 fps with the minimum settings. That’s not really how frame generation should work. If this isn’t just an error, it suggests that the minimum...

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Borderlands 4 for PS5 Drops to a New Low Price on Amazon

Borderlands 4 was released in September of last year for the price of $69.99. As someone who has played all of the Borderlands games throughout the years, I decided well before launch that I'd wait for a better price before I play this one. Even the positive IGN review of the game wasn't enough to sway me into thinking I needed to pay $70. So here we are, almost seven months later, and I still haven't purchased the game, but the discounts are starting to be good enough that I'm considering it. While Amazon still has it at full price for digital codes, the physical PS5 editions of the game have dropped to a new all-time low. While I don't have direct experience playing this game, I have heard nothing but rave reviews from my Dad about...

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