Live Feed

Latest news

• Hot Toys debuts first sixth-scale Marvel Rivals Luna Snow figure at SDCC

  Hot Toys unveiled a sixth-scale Luna Snow figure at San Diego Comic-Con, its first entry in the Marvel Rivals line. The collectible uses a silicone body, an asymmetrical bob headsculpt with rolling eyeballs, multiple swap-out hands and detailed accessories including music-note and attack effects. No release date or price were announced; Hot Toys figures typically have about a year lead time and retail around $300 through vendors like Sideshow. The company also revealed a limited-edition Junji Ito–illustrated Sam Porter Bridges figure from Death Stranding 2.

• HLTV launches pre-season Fantasy games for BLAST Bounty and StarSeries

  HLTV has launched two pre-season Fantasy games covering the online BLAST Bounty and the StarSeries qualifiers. The games are live now and run ahead of the LAN portion of the Bounty season.

• Lenovo shifts esports spend from team sponsorships to tournaments

  Lenovo has stopped funding individual esports teams and is redirecting sponsorship dollars toward tournaments. The company says tournaments offer broader exposure than team deals. Volker Düring, Lenovo’s VP and GM for the Intelligent Device Group, framed the change as consistent with its wider sports sponsorship approach.

• New Major sticker system draws criticism as IEM Cologne hits viewership highs

  IEM Cologne set new viewership records. At the same time, a recently introduced Major sticker system has provoked strong criticism within the CS scene. Organisers, teams and fans reported heightened tension over the change.

• Gremlin unlock: Battle Pass reward in Black Ops 7 and Warzone

  Gremlin is a new weapon added in Black Ops 7 and Warzone Season 5. It is unlocked through the Season 5 Battle Pass rather than via challenges, events, or the store. Progress through Battle Pass pages until you reach the Gremlin tier. Once unlocked, the weapon is available in both BO7 and Warzone.

• Indie developer turns Call of Duty lobby voice chat into ASMR ambience

  An independent developer has launched a website that repurposes Call of Duty lobby voice chat as ASMR-style ambient audio. The site recreates the noisy, nostalgic soundscape associated with older titles such as Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops 1. It is presented as background noise for relaxation or sleep rather than an official Activision product.

• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced sells over 3 million in first week

  Ubisoft announced the remake has sold more than 3 million units across all platforms in its first week. This follows an earlier report of a 2 million opening. The game reached the new milestone within seven days of release.

• Counter-Strike Week 28: Short news roundup

  HLTV presents a concise Week 28 roundup of Counter-Strike news. The brief delivers bite-sized updates on roster moves, match results and tournament developments. Designed for a quick catch-up of key CS stories.

• Footage of cancelled Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link leaks online

  Video of the cancelled mobile game Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link has appeared online. Development reportedly ended just over a year ago. The clips show Keyblade-wielding astronauts and other in-game footage. The origin and authenticity of the leak remain unclear.

• VCT Americas Stage 2 2026 runs mid‑July to early September in Los Angeles

  VCT Americas Stage 2 2026 is the final regional league stop for North and South American VALORANT teams before Champions Shanghai. The event runs from mid‑July to early September at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles. It features several weeks of group play followed by playoff matches. Top regional teams will use the event for final positioning ahead of Champions.

• Sweet Hamster Days: FMV game casts you as a hamster, inspired by mascot work and GTA V

  Sweet Hamster Days is a live-action FMV game in which the player is reincarnated as a hamster named Hamta cared for by three sisters. The title was initially rejected by Steam but approved after changes including age-rating settings. Developers say the concept was inspired by one creator's experience wearing animal mascot costumes and by GTA V's character-switching, and the game follows a recent rise in FMV dating sims in Asia.

• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: transforming karts and a big SEGA roster

  Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a Mario Kart-style racer where vehicles transform into boats and planes mid-race. Developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega, it launched in 2013 and is commonly priced around $20. The game features a broad SEGA crossover cast, including characters from Shenmue, Crazy Taxi and Super Monkey Ball. The PC version is Steam Deck Verified; the review used a Core i7-6700K, 16GB RAM and GTX 980.

• Unofficial PC port of Gears of War 2 released from leaked 2008 build

  Modder xHeliosx has released an unofficial PC port of Gears of War 2 compiled from a leaked 2008 Windows build. The port includes the Road to Ruin DLC and saves progress at the end of each chapter; multiplayer is untested and may not work. The launcher is hosted on ModDB, while other required files were previously shared via the modder's Discord and are currently harder to obtain. Microsoft has separately confirmed that the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day will come to PC.

• Steam release surge coincides with rising AI-disclosures on new games

  Steam's monthly new-game output has risen sharply since Steam Direct, exceeding 1,500 releases per month since February 2025. There were 21,382 new games in 2025 and 13,359 new titles by mid-July 2026. A census of ~53,600 games (mid-2023 to mid-2026) shows AI-disclosure rates climbing from 10.9% (2024) to 19.9% (2025) and 30.8% so far in 2026.

• MerK and Maven reflect on casting CDL Championship 2026 in Las Vegas

  At the Call of Duty League Championship 2026 in Las Vegas, Dot Esports interviewed veteran casters Clint “Maven” Evans and Joseph “MerK” DeLuca. They described calling the season finale as a culmination of careers and discussed the event’s significance for players and the league.

• Marathon’s Vault Breaker PvE mode launches July 21

  Vault Breaker, a limited-time roguelite PvE mode, arrives with Marathon’s mid-season 2 update on July 21. Players infiltrate Vaults in the Cryo Archive to collect Vault Data. Expect tougher Vaults guarded by UESC bots and Warden bosses, with top-tier loot available.

• FaZe Vegas defeat OpTic Texas 5-2 to win CoD Champs 2026

  FaZe Vegas beat OpTic Texas 5-2 in the Call of Duty League Championship 2026 Black Ops 7 grand final in Las Vegas. The win gives FaZe their second CoD Champs title; their first came in 2021 when the team was based in Atlanta. The result denied OpTic a three-peat and prevented Shotzzy from claiming a fourth world title.

• House of the Dragon S3E5 — Gold Cloaks murdered, council seeks answers

  In Season 3 Episode 5, members of the city guard (Gold Cloaks) are being found dead. Queen Rhaenyra’s council spends the meeting debating multiple threats while Daemon raises the killings as a pressing concern. The episode centers on the mystery of who is targeting the Gold Cloaks.

• House of the Dragon resolves a political question Game of Thrones left open

  House of the Dragon addresses a political mystery that Game of Thrones did not resolve. HBO's adaptations of George R.R. Martin's Westeros — including Game of Thrones and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — continue to dramatize the books' political intrigue. The series emphasizes fragile alliances, rebellions and court scheming as central story drivers.

• 24 national teams confirmed for inaugural Esports Nations Cup

  Twenty-four national squads will compete in the inaugural Esports Nations Cup. The tournament marks the first edition of the Esports Nations Cup, bringing national teams together for international competition.

• The Odyssey: Homecoming, fate and mythic conflict

  Attributed to Homer, The Odyssey follows Odysseus’s ten-year struggle to return to Ithaca. The epic focuses on homecoming and the tension between free will and predetermined fate. Gods, monsters and legendary encounters drive much of the story’s action.

• VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 2: mid-July to late-August schedule and stakes

  VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 2 runs from mid-July to late August. Teams from Europe, Turkey and the Middle East compete for Champions qualification and circuit points. The event includes a Group Stage, Play-ins and Playoffs with schedules and live scores updated throughout.

• Game of Thrones: War for Westeros resurfaces, now set for 2027 release

  Game of Thrones: War for Westeros reappeared more than a year after its initial announcement. Developers announced the game will now launch in 2027. The update follows an extended period of silence around the project's development.

• Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey opens to $124.5M domestic weekend

  Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey grossed $124.5 million domestically in its opening weekend, per Deadline. The performance is notable amid a summer of several underperforming franchise films. It highlights continued audience interest in director-driven releases.

• Riot reverses paid classic skins in League of Legends Classic after backlash

  League of Legends Classic launched on the PBE with modern models by default and classic skins available via tokens or real money. After community criticism — including a subreddit thread with over 6,000 upvotes — Riot unlocked classic skins and made them the default. Dev Brian “FeralPony” Feeney explained the mode mixes old patches to reflect varied player preferences and said players will vote on changes once it hits live servers.

• Cliff Bleszinski: ego, publishing deal partly to blame for LawBreakers' failure

  Cliff Bleszinski told 80.lv that personal decisions and business choices contributed to LawBreakers' commercial failure and Boss Key's closure. He said wanting Boss Key to be ‘his’ studio led him to pass on collaborating with Rod Fergusson and overestimate creator-based loyalty. He also cited a Nexon publishing deal with misaligned incentives, timing, art choices, personal struggles, and reduced leadership involvement.

• Matt Damon filmography revisited as Nolan's The Odyssey nears release

  Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is prompting movie fans to rewatch large parts of Matt Damon’s career. Viewers are returning to franchise and prestige titles like the Bourne films, Contagion, The Martian, Interstellar and The Departed. The pieces don't exactly capture the mythic tone promised by The Odyssey, and the piece argues a lesser-known Damon fantasy film deserves another look.

• PC Gamer explores what makes great summer-themed videogame tracks

  PC Gamer's Critical Hit looks at how videogame music evokes summer moods. Many scores use tropical instruments like ukulele and steel drums for obvious beach vibes. The piece argues subtler tracks can better capture late‑summer nostalgia. Examples include Kingdom Hearts' Destiny Islands, Stardew Valley's Ginger Island and Final Fantasy XIII-2's New Bodhum.

• Jennifer English withdraws from Tides of Annihilation to focus on health

  Actor Jennifer English has withdrawn from Eclipse Glow Games' action title Tides of Annihilation. She said the decision is to 'look after her mental and physical health'. English is an award-winning performer known for roles in Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur.

• Bethesda reveals new Fallout games; Xbox hasn't confirmed console exclusivity

  Bethesda announced several new Fallout projects on July 17 but did not say whether they will be exclusive to Xbox consoles. Xbox has not provided clarification. Recent statements republished by GamesRadar have added confusion rather than resolving the issue.