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• Latest news Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Hogwarts Legacy 2

  Warner Bros. Discovery has announced Hogwarts Legacy 2, a sequel to the 2022 open-world Harry Potter prequel. The original Hogwarts Legacy sold more than 22 million copies in its first year in the U.S., outselling 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and has reached over 40 million copies sold overall. The game’s high sales make the franchise a significant revenue driver for Warner Bros. Discovery and explain the company’s decision to greenlight a sequel.

• Latest news Jack Lowden, Battlefield 1 actor, named a contender to play James Bond

  TV presenter Richard Osman said on his podcast that 36-year-old actor Jack Lowden is being considered for the next James Bond. Lowden is known in games for portraying T.E. Lawrence in Battlefield 1 and has screen credits including Slow Horses, Dunkirk and The Rings of Power. Amazon MGM Studios is leading the casting search after acquiring the franchise and Daniel Craig finished the role with No Time To Die (2021). Lowden is Scottish and would be the second Scottish actor to play Bond after Sean Connery.

• Latest news Helldivers 2 7.0 'Devoid of Liberty' adds interactive SEAF squads, new enemies, level cap jump

  Helldivers 2's 7.0 'Devoid of Liberty' update is live and turns SEAF NPCs into reinforced, deployable allies that can appear as a planet modifier and arrive by dropship. SEAF squads now include defined roles — squad leader, rifleman, heavy-weapons specialist and a medic who can stim wounded Helldivers — and NPCs can respond to player emotes with actions like handshakes, rock-paper-scissors and hugs. The update introduces two new Illuminate enemies (the limb-vulnerable Wretch and the rapidly regenerating Crusher) and raises the level cap from 150 to 300 with new ranks and rewards. Multiple balance and quality-of-life changes were also applied, including more responsive stims, faster recovery after heavy landings, and buffs to short magazines and secondary weapons.

• Latest news Overwatch counters 2026 — Few true hard counters; player skill matters

  Counter-picking remains a core part of Overwatch gameplay, but only a small number of heroes are genuine "hard counters" that should be universally avoided. Hero effectiveness is often situational and depends more on player proficiency and strategy than on strict matchup rules. Skilled players can frequently overcome a hero's strongest counters by mastering that character.

• Latest news Control Resonant drops parry mechanic; Remedy prioritizes fast-paced offense

  Control Resonant, Remedy Entertainment’s action-RPG follow-up to Control, will not include a parry mechanic. Game director Mikael Kasurinen said parrying was prototyped but removed because it slowed combat and encouraged waiting rather than aggressive play; Remedy describes the design as 'offense is the best defense.' The game features the transformable Aberrant weapon with modes like dual blades for quick attacks and a massive hammer to break defenses. Control Resonant launches September 24, and the PS5 digital deluxe edition ($70) grants 48 hours of early access for preorders.

• Latest news OpTic defend EWC 2026 title as Shotzzy records 655 kills

  OpTic Gaming successfully defended their Call of Duty Esports World Cup crown in Paris, beating Team Heretics 5-3 in the grand final. Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro finished the tournament with 655 kills across all series while serving as OpTic's primary slayer. The win gives OpTic consecutive EWC championships—first in Black Ops 6 and now in Black Ops 7—reinforcing the team's dominance in the event.

• Latest news Guide: How Overwatch competitive ranks work, who should play, and rewards

  A guide explains Overwatch's Competitive mode and lists every competitive rank in order. Competitive mode is intended for players who prioritize team communication and consistently try to win. The guide details that placement and rank progression are determined by multiple in‑game factors and that ranks carry specific ranked rewards, which affect matchmaking and player incentives.

• Latest news Halo: Campaign Evolved weak sales linked to missing multiplayer; first Halo on PlayStation

  Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the original Halo campaign and the first Halo release on PlayStation, has underperformed commercially. Sales are far below those of recent Black Ops revival releases. The game ships without a multiplayer component, which is the likely reason consumer interest has been lower. This gap highlights multiplayer’s continued importance for sales in shooter revivals.

• Latest news Every Overwatch hero Perk — Major and Minor unlockable upgrades

  A complete listing of every hero Perk in Overwatch explains the Major and Minor unlockable upgrades that can be gained during a match. Perks are unique to each hero and include callbacks to former abilities like Bastion’s Self-Repair and Orisa’s Barrier as well as entirely new effects. These in-match upgrades can materially change engagements, so tracking allies’ and opponents’ Perks helps players anticipate shifts in team power.

• Latest news Overwatch Season 4 'Heroes of Busan' adds Emerald rank, new hero D.Mon, map reworks

  Season 4, titled Heroes of Busan, returns the game to Busan and brings wide balancing changes across the core game and the Stadium mode. Competitive play gains a new Emerald rank. The update also adds a new hero, D.Mon, overhauls the battle pass, and reworks the Eichenwalde, Busan, and Paraíso maps.

• Latest news Lord of the Rings: War in the North returns to Steam as Legacy Edition

  The 2011 action RPG Lord of the Rings: War in the North has been relisted on Steam in a Legacy Edition with gameplay, UI and stability improvements. The re-release from Aspyr restores a title that was delisted from Steam in early 2019 after poor sales and middling reviews at launch. The Legacy Edition adds hot-swappable characters, refined enemy-target locking, an improved interface, a new autosave feature and numerous bug fixes, and revisits the untold story of Agandaûr in the ruins of Fornost. Embracer — which owns Aspyr and Middle-earth Enterprises — has announced plans to spin off Middle-earth assets into a company called Fellowship Entertainment.

• Latest news Battlefield 6: Rebuilt Wake Island, Top Gun crossover and two-seat jets arrive Aug. 18

  EA and Battlefield Studios released a Battlefield 6 trailer revealing a rebuilt Wake Island map that arrives on August 18 alongside a Top Gun-themed crossover. The update emphasizes naval combat and adds two-seat jets—the F/A-81F Super Spectre and F-74A Seacat—reintroducing two-seat aircraft last seen in Battlefield 2. The crossover adds three Top Gun characters voiced by Miles Teller, Lewis Pullman and Charles Parnell and brings themed cosmetics; the update follows the game's strong launch and recent corporate moves at EA.

• Latest news Overwatch seasons to reset yearly and follow annual story arcs from 2026

  Blizzard Entertainment will tie Overwatch seasons to annual story arcs starting in 2026, with each calendar year beginning at Season 1. The change applies across the original Overwatch and Overwatch 2 and updates the seasonal cadence. The current update is reflected in Reign of Talon Season 4: Heroes of Busan, showing the new approach to season naming and progression.

• Latest news Wardogs — PvP milsim from Battalion 1944 team enters early access in September

  A closed playtest this past weekend showcased Wardogs, a PvP-only milsim FPS from the team behind Battalion 1944, which is scheduled for early access in September. The game centers on large maps, helicopter insertions and a persistent in-game economy that lets players buy loadouts, tip teammates and pay others to revive them, producing emergent role-based behavior. Those economy-driven choices — examples include a pilot holding over $35,000 and a player spending $300 to secure a revive — create risk-reward decisions that could shape its multiplayer appeal.

• Latest news Halo: Campaign Evolved sells 1.2M copies but loses ground to Master Chief Collection

  Halo: Campaign Evolved has sold 1.2 million copies across PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 and generated roughly $67 million in revenue, with an additional 2.1 million players accessing it via Xbox Game Pass. Sales are split almost evenly between Xbox (42%) and PS5 (41%), with Steam accounting for 17%. The Master Chief Collection, which has about 8.5 million copies on Steam and includes Combat Evolved Anniversary plus multiplayer and other Halo titles, offers more content for around $40 versus Campaign Evolved’s $50, undercutting the remake’s appeal. Price, platform distribution, and perceived Halo brand fatigue are limiting uptake for the more pared-back remake.

• Latest news Star Wars Zero Company mixes XCOM-style tactics with Midnight Suns-style abilities

  Star Wars Zero Company is a turn-based tactics game from Bit Reactor that closely mirrors XCOM 2’s combat while layering ability-driven systems reminiscent of Midnight Suns. A preview build was played through 18 cycles and showed perishable soldiers, overwatch, strong RNG swings, and abilities that grant extra action points and free shots; one ally is a clone named Trick and enemies include Separatists. Bit Reactor was founded by former Firaxis art director Greg Foertsch and includes multiple Firaxis veterans, which explains the familiar design but also raises the risk of harsh comparisons to past XCOM spin-offs.

• Latest news Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls: Five Episode Mode Campaigns, Each With Unique Teams

  Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls contains five separate Episode Mode campaigns, each centered on a different Marvel team: Fighting Avengers, Unbreakable X-Men, Amazing Guardians, Samurai Outriders, and Knights of Doom. The campaigns all feed into the same larger conflict but present unique opening battles, enemies, and story perspectives. This structure gives players multiple starting points and distinct narrative viewpoints, increasing replayability.

• Latest news Steam issued full refund for Battlefield 6 after 470 hours following mode removals

  A player received a full Steam refund for Battlefield 6’s Phantom Edition despite logging 470 hours of play. The refund followed the game's surprise removal of multiple quickplay modes, including Rush, which the player said prompted the request. Battlefield Studios removed those modes to shorten queue times and improve matchmaking, and the change triggered community backlash. The case shows Steam will sometimes grant refunds outside its usual two-hour/14-day policy for live-service changes.

• Latest news Id Software founders reunite at QuakeCon's 30th anniversary

  QuakeCon marked the 30th anniversary of Quake and brought id Software co‑founders Adrian Carmack, John Carmack, Tom Hall and John Romero together for the first time since 1994. Founders publicly celebrated on X and spent time examining archived Doom design notes. The reunion occurred despite a 2005 lawsuit by Adrian Carmack, earlier staff dismissals and recent Xbox layoffs that had reduced the studio's workforce, giving the event positive public optics for the company.

• Latest news Overwatch Season 4 Adds Multi-Track Battle Pass and One-Time Legendary Skin Swap

  Blizzard is overhauling Overwatch’s battle pass in Season 4 with a multi-track system and a new Tier Hack that lets players replace one unwanted legendary skin. The pass is split into six tracks—one short introductory track plus five reward tracks players can switch between at any time—so players can pursue rewards for heroes they actually play. Each premium pass grants a single Tier Hack usable at the end of a reward track to swap that legendary for a skin from a curated pool of past shop and loot-box skins. The replacement pool rotates each season, includes skins across all three roles, and contains 12 legendary options in Season 4, aiming to reduce unwanted rewards given Overwatch’s 50+ hero roster.

• Latest news Overwatch will permanently unvault old battle passes from Season 4, with exclusions

  Blizzard will begin permanently re-releasing an old Overwatch battle pass starting halfway through Season 4 next month, and will continue unvaulting one past pass halfway through each future season. Unvaulted passes will be put on sale for players who do not own them and made available to players who already purchased them, but premium currency, player titles, and Mythic-tier skins from the original passes will be removed. The unvaulted passes will appear alongside Overwatch’s new Season 4 battle pass system, which breaks rewards into selectable tracks and lets players swap one unwanted Legendary skin from a curated selection. This change reduces the forced FOMO of one-time-only passes by giving permanent access to older content, while still excluding some high-tier rewards.

• Latest news Battlefield 6 removes Rush and other modes from playlists; devs explore return

  Battlefield 6 removed Rush, King of the Hill and Team Deathmatch from official playlists and custom searches after patch 1.4.1.5 on August 4, relocating them to Portal custom games. Battlefield Studios focused the change on concentrating players into the most active playlists to improve matchmaking and fill matches faster. The removal sparked community backlash, including forum and Reddit criticism and at least one Steam refund from a player with roughly 500 hours. Developers say they recognize those modes are community favorites and are monitoring impact while exploring ways to restore them to matchmaking.

• Latest news Overwatch Season 4 adds flexible battle pass letting players pick rewards

  Overwatch's Season 4: Heroes of Busan revamps the game's battle pass to let players prioritize which rewards they unlock instead of moving through a fixed progression track. The overhaul was detailed on Aug. 10 and goes live on Aug. 11. The previous linear 80-tier battle pass will return later in the season. This change lets players target specific skins and cosmetics, changing how progression and grinding are managed.

• Latest news id Software lead: Microsoft cuts make Doom-scale games 'impossible'

  An id Software lead developer publicly criticized Microsoft's recent major staff cuts at the studio, saying Xbox executives 'don't understand art' and that it's 'impossible' to create triple-A games like 2016's Doom with half the staff. The comments pinpoint a direct conflict between creative teams and Microsoft management decisions and raise immediate concerns about id's ability to deliver future high-budget titles.

• Latest news id Software lead: Microsoft cut 136 roles, left studio 'half' and morale low

  Microsoft cut 136 roles at id Software during an Xbox-wide reset. Chris Hays, id's lead services programmer, said the layoffs were announced one day before Doom: The Dark Ages DLC launch, gutted entire departments, and left the studio with roughly half its people. Hays described morale as very low, called the process inhumane and demoralising, and said making AAA games at previous quality is now impossible without a clear plan. The studio-level staff have not been given a communicated path for how development will continue post-cuts.

• Latest news Hit markers: useful in multiplayer, distracting and overused in single-player

  Hit markers are a staple FPS UI that give immediate feedback when shots connect, but their origin and best use are specific. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare popularized the 'X' glyph and its signature sound for multiplayer, where hit markers help players confirm hits despite network latency. The same markers have migrated into single-player games where they often add visual clutter and can be unnecessary because kills are already visually obvious.

• Latest news Steam grants full refund to Battlefield 6 player after Rush mode removed

  A Battlefield 6 player who logged 470 hours secured a full refund from Steam after EA quietly removed the Rush mode from Quickplay. The player said they were upset by the change and sought reimbursement. The refund shows Steam will sometimes make exceptions when a core game mode is removed, a development that could affect player expectations and publisher decisions.

• Latest news Cancelled Quake 4 expansion Awakening found on old hard drive, uploaded to GitHub

  A build of the previously cancelled Quake 4 expansion 'Awakening' was recovered from a vintage PC hard drive and uploaded to GitHub. The build was recovered by veteran programmer Justin Marshall, who worked on XCOM 2 and other titles; Ritual Entertainment developed the expansion before Activision canceled it after the base game's weak sales. Config files in the build include names of former Ritual staff and multiple users have already run the expansion, supporting its authenticity. The release makes a near-complete, long-lost expansion publicly available and represents a notable piece of preservation for Quake 4's development history.

• Latest news John Carmack revisits Doom at QuakeCon, spends 15 minutes on levels 4–5

  At QuakeCon in Gaylord, Texas, id Software co-founder John Carmack played the Evercade port of the original Doom and posted on X that he reached level four and five. He said each of those levels took him about 15 minutes, notably slower than the game's par times (E1M4: 1:30; E1M5: 2:45). The playthrough occurred during a reunion and retrospective featuring id's founders, highlighting Doom's longevity decades after release.

• Latest news Bethesda 40th Steam sale drops Doom: The Dark Ages — Revelations to $10

  Bethesda is running a 40th anniversary sale on Steam through August 13 that covers its full catalog, including id and Arkane titles. Doom: The Dark Ages expansion Revelations, released July 7, is 50% off to $10 (from $20), while the base Dark Ages is 67% off to $23. The steep discount a month after release arrives amid recent layoffs at Bethesda Game Studios, ZeniMax Online and id Software and an Arkane spinoff, making the early price cut notable for the studio's commercial position and a strong bargain for players.