RPG

Latest news

• Latest news Final Fantasy Resonance to ship with 120-track soundtrack, HD-2D game due in October

  Square Enix's upcoming title Final Fantasy Resonance will include a 120-song original soundtrack. The game is the company's first Final Fantasy entry in the HD-2D style and is scheduled for release in October. Resonance is an adaptation of the now-shuttered mobile game Brave Exvius, and the large soundtrack signals a major audio investment for the launch.

• Latest news Ray Chase: 1,000 hours in Slay the Spire and a 'smell build' in KCD2

  Voice actor Ray Chase — who plays Cyclops in X‑Men '97 and voiced Noctis in Final Fantasy XV — has logged about 1,000 hours in Slay the Spire and is using a self-styled 'smell build' in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, equipping perfumes and a 'fancy boy' outfit in combat. Chase co-founded Sassy Chap Games, the studio behind 2025's Date Everything, which just received a major update and is being expanded into a new chapter currently in the pitching stage. He grew up on DOS shareware, is playing Deltarune Chapter 5, and is recording season four of X‑Men '97 after season two aired. His long playtime and simultaneous roles as performer and developer underline his active engagement across gaming and game production.

• Latest news Astarion-focused 6-hour Baldur's Gate 3 mod adds 4 endings and 6 companions

  A Dream of Silence ReVamped is a fan-made, six-hour Baldur's Gate 3 mini-campaign that places players inside Astarion's mind as they fight a Bastellus nightmare. The three-act mod was assembled from acts released over the past year, includes four distinct endings and six new companion characters, and is built by modder lizardphunk from a text game by Abigail Corfman. The mod introduces varied act structures—Act One is dialogue-heavy, Act Two adds new mechanics and combat—and is downloadable on Nexus Mods. It demonstrates what Baldur's Gate 3's modding tools can do at a time when the developer is not expanding the game further.

• Latest news Crystal RP Census finds female Miqo'te from Ishgard most common among 10,000+ FFXIV roleplayers

  A Reddit user compiled the Crystal RP Census, collecting and anonymizing responses from more than 10,000 Final Fantasy XIV roleplayers over two months to map character backstory trends. The survey shows the single most common Warrior of Light backstory is a female Miqo'te from Ishgard who has not traveled far, while the least common is a non-binary Lalafell from the extinct empire of Mhach now tied to the Omicrons. The author compared their own male Hyur from Ul'dah and found it falls into several common ranking positions, highlighting which origins, races, genders and affiliations dominate RP choices.

• Latest news Diablo 4 Season 14 teases Malthael with Seraziel and a mysterious stranger

  Season 14, Death's Awakening, sends players after a death cult into the Pandemonium Fortress, where they defeat the corrupted angel Seraziel. Seraziel warns "He is coming," a line that points to Malthael — the Angel of Death last seen and slain in Reaper of Souls — signaling a potential return. Players then encounter a mysterious old man who claims "I am no one" and whose voice the player character recognizes, suggesting a previously seen character may reappear. These revelations are delivered inside the seasonal storyline, marking a more direct narrative setup for Diablo 4's next major antagonist.

• Latest news Miyazaki says FromSoftware wants to return to single-player games

  Hidetaka Miyazaki, president of FromSoftware and director of many Soulsian titles, said the studio is keen to return to making single-player games after The Duskbloods. The remark signals a shift in the studio’s stated priorities following recent projects. This comes from Miyazaki in his capacity as the studio’s leader and creative director.

• Latest news Kumi Tanioka denies creating AI-generated album credited to her on Spotify

  Composer Kumi Tanioka, known for Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, has publicly denied creating or authorizing an album that appears on Spotify under her name. The release is AI-generated and incorrectly credits Tanioka as the artist. The incident highlights a growing risk of AI-created music being misattributed to real composers on streaming platforms.

• Latest news FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods draws on vampire fiction and influence from George R.R. Martin

  The Duskbloods is an upcoming, gothic PvPvE exclusive for Nintendo Switch 2 that takes its lore and aesthetic cues from modern vampire literature and tabletop RPGs. George R.R. Martin’s vampire fiction — including Fevre Dream and interests in Vampire: The Masquerade and Dracula Cha-Cha-Cha — indirectly influenced the game’s tone, even though Martin did not have a direct role in development. Martin previously created Elden Ring’s 5,000-year backstory but has never played Elden Ring himself.

• Latest news Miyazaki: Duskbloods 'PvPvE' label misled players

  Hidetaka Miyazaki says labeling The Duskbloods as 'PvPvE' at its Nintendo Switch 2 reveal probably gave players the wrong impression by invoking extraction‑shooter expectations. He says the game intentionally mixes PvP and PvE elements and centers on Sigil and Event systems plus a Virtue system to create constant drama and alternative ways to win beyond direct player combat. Enemies are drawn from FromSoftware's previous titles, and the studio is already exploring online multiplayer with Elden Ring Nightreign.

• Latest news EA now owned by Saudi PIF; ex-manager doubts next Mass Effect will survive

  Electronic Arts is now fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and staff inside and outside EA are bracing for major changes. A former EA manager says they do not believe the next Mass Effect will continue under the new ownership. Mass Effect is identified as particularly at risk compared with other EA projects, which could affect the franchise’s development teams and future releases.

• Latest news PlayStation Plus to Remove 10 Extra/Premium Game Catalog Titles, Including Persona and Toy Story

  Sony will remove ten games from the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for Extra- and Premium-tier subscribers; the company has not published exact departure dates. The list includes EA Sports Madden NFL 26, Persona 5 Tactica, three Shadowrun releases, two Toy Story games and several tactical-RPGs. Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 are being removed ahead of the Toy Story: Retro Roundup compilation launching Oct. 15 on PC and consoles, so subscribers have a limited window to finish these titles.

• Latest news Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki: AI Enhances Tools, Humans Will Drive Demand for Art

  Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki believes AI can enhance creativity but cannot replace the human element that draws audiences to film, music and games. Prominent creators including composer Nobuo Uematsu and voice actor Troy Baker reject using generative AI for core creative work. Industry surveys show more than half of Japanese developers are integrating AI into production while around half of respondents in a GDC poll say generative AI is harming the video game industry. Some studios and titles are emphasizing human craftsmanship: Crystal Dynamics confirmed character designs remain fully human-made and games like Mecha Chameleon are praised for deliberate human imperfections.

• Latest news Five games, including The Witcher 3, leave Xbox Game Pass on August 31

  Xbox Game Pass will remove five titles from its library on August 31: Another Crab's Treasure, I Am Your Beast, Neon Abyss, One Lonely Outpost, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition. The Witcher 3 is CD Projekt Red’s open-world RPG and its departure removes a major, long-form title from the subscription. Subscribers can buy any departing game at a 20% discount before it leaves, and NBA 2K26 is scheduled to exit Game Pass on September 6. These removals are part of Game Pass’s regular two-wave-per-month rotation of titles.

• Latest news Tim Cain: both turn-based and real-time RPGs have roles; real-time fits first-person

  Tim Cain posted a YouTube video arguing that turn-based and real-time RPG systems each have strengths and should be treated as developer tools rather than mutually exclusive choices. He says real-time combat is naturally superior for first-person games because it moves faster and supports more on-screen characters, while turn-based systems can become painfully slow in late-game situations. Cain also warns that adding a pause to real-time systems doesn't fix control issues and that transplanting tabletop turn-based rules into real-time can create design disconnects.

• Latest news Kingdom Hearts 4 Reveals Playable Donald Duck, Who Once Cast the Zettaflare

  An extended D23 trailer shows Kingdom Hearts 4 letting players control Donald Duck and Goofy in Underworld (Hercules) platforming and combat sequences, including a new duo combo attack. Donald previously unleashed the Zettaflare spell in Kingdom Hearts 3 — a massive beam of fire whose 'zetta' prefix denotes 10^21 — and a fan calculation estimated that instance dealt over 5.5 million hit points. Making Donald playable gives players direct access to a character who demonstrated one of the franchise's most powerful magical attacks and brings a rare Final Fantasy‑scale spell into KH4 gameplay.

• Latest news Diablo 4 'Age of Hatred Collection' lands on Switch 2 on Sept 15

  Diablo 4 is launching on Nintendo Switch 2 as the Age of Hatred Collection on 15 September. The Switch 2 package includes both expansions, Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred. The release arrives days after BlizzCon, bringing the game's expansion content to Switch 2 owners shortly after the event.

• Latest news Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 'Override' adds Roblox crossover and multiple gaming icons

  Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4, titled Override, introduces a Roblox crossover alongside a lineup of well-known gaming characters. The season trailer shows Crash Bandicoot, Sonic and Tails, Joker from Persona 5, Mega Man, Kitana and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat. Epic is bringing multiple third‑party gaming properties into Fortnite, broadening the game's crossover roster and franchise visibility. This continues Epic's strategy of integrating external IPs into the battle royale.

• Latest news Mass Effect 3's button-press finale, the three endings, and the Extended Cut fix

  Mass Effect 3 ended by forcing players to pick one of three outcomes with a single button press, a design that mirrored Deus Ex: Human Revolution and drew heavy criticism. The three options—Destroy, Control, and Synthesis—each carried major, specific consequences for Reapers, synthetic life and Shepard. BioWare later released a free Extended Cut DLC that expanded the endings and added a fourth 'Refusal' option. The finale remains a focal point in debates about player agency and narrative closure in the trilogy.

• Latest news Diablo creator David Brevik on his career and playing his own Marvel Heroes

  David Brevik sat for PC Gamer's Disk Cleanup feature and discussed his gaming roots on the Apple II, his role in creating Diablo, and his current habit of playing Marvel Heroes — an ARPG he helped develop in the early 2010s. Brevik co-founded Condor, pitched Diablo to Blizzard, and stayed through the studio's acquisition and rebrand as Blizzard North before leaving in 2003. He later designed It Lurks Below, worked on Marvel Heroes, and now serves as President of Skystone Games, publisher of Tiny Bookshop and Mistfall Hunter.

• Latest news Do you shut your PC down at night? Staff split over power, wear and dust

  PC Gamer ran a poll about whether people turn their PCs off at night and challenged the myth that powering a PC off and on uses more electricity than leaving it on. Modern PCs boot so quickly that startup time is negligible, but both frequent power cycles and long continuous uptime cause wear — and leaving a PC on increases power use and dust buildup. Staff take differing approaches: one turns machines off to limit dust, another leaves his on out of long-standing habit, and a third turned off a desktop because RGB lights were too bright while keeping a laptop running.

• Latest news Witcher 3 designer: NPC realism caused odd bugs, fixed with spot-based AI

  CD Projekt Red faced early challenges making NPCs believable in The Witcher 3, with simplistic reactions producing immersion-breaking behavior such as mothers dropping babies when NPCs fled combat. Developers moved from fixed paths to a spot-of-interest system so NPCs choose their own routes and activities. This system uses many more option points—for example, 50 sailors at Novigrad harbour can pick from 200 possible spots—reducing repetition and convincing players the world is alive.

• Latest news Flawed, even hateable companions make RPG romances more compelling, PC Gamer says

  PC Gamer columnist Harvey Randall argues RPG companions should be obstructive and flawed to create stronger stories and relationships. He uses a Baldur's Gate 3 Honour Mode romance with Gale as an example, where Gale's petty, self-destructive reaction to lukewarm praise made the relationship feel three-dimensional. Gale's behaviour fits his backstory—he was groomed by the god of magic and previously told by an ex to blow himself up—so his insecurity deepens the narrative rather than undermining it.

• Latest news Disney names Kingdom Hearts one of nine billion-dollar game franchises

  Disney disclosed in an investor-focused article that Kingdom Hearts has now grossed over $1 billion and is counted among nine game franchises from the company to reach that mark. Disney executive vice president Sean Shoptaw said the company has nine games that have grossed more than $1 billion at retail, with Marvel Strike Force listed alongside Kingdom Hearts. The announcement appears in the investor piece titled "How Games Are Helping Shape Disney's Next Chapter," which also highlights Disney's closer ties with Epic Games and Fortnite Creative and the youth popularity of Marvel Rivals. Kingdom Hearts' cumulative revenue follows roughly 25 years of releases and 15 mainline entries, including multiple repackaged collections.

• Latest news Official Baldur's Gate 3 Coloring Book arrives Aug. 11 with 80 pages of art

  The Official Baldur’s Gate 3 Coloring Book publishes Aug. 11 from Ten Speed Press. The 80-page book features colorable illustrations of tadpole-infected companions and detailed depictions of Faerûn locations, from the Underdark to the city of Baldur’s Gate. It provides players a non-interactive, offline way to engage with the game's characters and world as an official piece of merchandise.

• Latest news Goddess of Victory: NIKKE launches month-long Persona crossover with Queen, Yukiko, Aigis

  Goddess of Victory: NIKKE has gone live with a Persona crossover for Persona’s 30th anniversary, adding Queen, Yukiko and Aigis as playable characters. The event pulls content from Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal and introduces a full story event, a minigame, new costumes, co-op battles and login rewards. The collaboration runs for one month and includes multiple changes to NIKKE’s campaign and progression systems. This expands playable roster and event content across the shooter-RPG.

• Latest news Tales of Eternia Remastered arrives Oct. 16 as fourth entry in Tales remaster project

  Bandai Namco will release Tales of Eternia Remastered on Oct. 16 for consoles and Steam. The remaster revives the original 2000 PlayStation RPG as the fourth installment in the Tales Remaster Project tied to the series' 30th anniversary. Previous releases in the project include Tales of Graces f, Tales of Xillia, and Tales of Berseria. The launch brings a classic JRPG back to modern platforms and continues the franchise's revival.

• Latest news Elden Ring uses cloth design to strengthen storytelling and atmosphere

  Polygon examines how FromSoftware treats cloth in Elden Ring as a deliberate design element that conveys story and mood. The piece highlights the game's attention to cloth shape, texture and movement and links that work to FromSoftware's broader catalog of solemn sword games. This visual and animation focus helps deepen immersion and communicate character and world details without explicit exposition.

• Latest news Elden Ring's dog enemies remain punishing even to veteran players

  Dogs in Elden Ring are described as among the most frustrating enemies and continue to threaten players despite hundreds of hours of play. A single small mistake in a dog fight frequently causes severe setbacks and lost runes. To pinpoint why, an experienced player fought every dog enemy unarmed, including Monstrous Dogs and the Red Wolf of Radagon.

• Latest news Elden Ring adapts global myths into FromSoftware's iconic skeleton enemies

  FromSoftware showcases refined enemy design in Elden Ring by adapting skeletons drawn from myths around the world. Skeletons have been staple adversaries since tabletop Dungeons & Dragons era created by Gary Gygax, and Elden Ring updates that lineage with varied visual and behavioral designs. The result shapes the game's tone by mixing humorous enemy moments with genuinely challenging encounters.

• Latest news Speculation mounts that FromSoftware will revive its 17‑entry Armored Core series

  Speculation is circulating that FromSoftware, maker of Elden Ring, is preparing a revival of its Armored Core mech franchise. The Armored Core series previously spanned 17 entries and is known for challenging, mech-based combat. Gaming writer Clayton Ashley published a primer on the series to bring new or returning players up to speed ahead of a potential Armored Core 6. A revival would return a long-running, dedicated mech franchise to the spotlight.