Live Feed

Latest news

• Top Go grandmaster Shin Jin-seo defeats KataGo 2-1 in three-game series

  Top-ranked Go player Shin Jin-seo beat the AI engine KataGo 2-1 in a three-game series that concluded July 21. Shin lost the opening game then won the next two, including a three-hour final match, while playing with a two-stone handicap. This is the first official series victory by a human over KataGo and shows elite players can still prevail against advanced Go AI after a decade of rapid progress since AlphaGo.

• BLAST Open Porto semi-finals held at Super Bock Arena

  The BLAST Open Porto semi-finals were played at Porto’s Super Bock Arena, featuring the tournament’s top four teams. Live coverage tracked both matches as the two winners secured spots in the event final. Those results set the finalists who will compete for the BLAST Open Porto title.

• MOUZ defeat Vitality, set to face Spirit in Porto final

  MOUZ eliminated Vitality to advance to the final in Porto. They will play Spirit in a rematch of the BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals. The winner of that match will take the tournament trophy in Porto.

• Midnight is WoW's 11th expansion; The Last Titan announced as 12th

  Midnight, the 11th retail expansion for World of Warcraft, launched on March 2, 2026 and is the second chapter of the three-part Worldsoul Saga. The Last Titan is the next announced retail expansion and will bring the total to 12, but Blizzard has not provided a release date. Retail expansions began with The Burning Crusade (2007) and have repeatedly added new continents, playable races and classes, professions, and major progression changes.

• Former OSRS dev Andrew 'Mod Jed' Lakeman jailed after $400K-plus gold theft

  Andrew "Mod Jed" Lakeman, a former Jagex content developer, was sentenced to three years in prison (suspended for two) for using developer tools and other employees' credentials to remove items and gold from player accounts and sell them online. He earned more than $400,000 through those sales, after manipulating the game's appeals and account-recovery systems. Jagex detected the misconduct in 2018, set a security trap, fired him, and police arrested him in 2019. The case affirmed that virtual assets like RuneScape gold can be subject to theft lawsuits, shaping legal accountability for crimes in online games.

• Saber CCO: Overspecialized, large single‑game teams fuel layoffs and instability

  Tim Willits, chief creative officer at Saber Interactive, argues that reliance on huge-scope projects and highly specialized teams makes studios vulnerable to layoffs. Saber offsets risk by spreading resources across remasters, smaller games and big bets like Space Marine 2 and the upcoming Jurassic Park: Survival, and by moving staff between projects. Willits points to SnowRunner as a one‑person experiment that became a major franchise with over 46,000 Steam reviews and urges studios to let developers pursue small, low‑cost projects (for example selling for $5) to reduce risk and avoid silos. He warns that staffing hundreds of people on a game before a vertical slice creates financial strain and threatens studio survival.

• NiKo: Falcons couldn't use Major-winning confidence, which hurt their early season form

  Falcons player NiKo said the squad failed to translate the morale boost from their Major victory into consistent play. He described that failure as a partial reason for the team's slow start to the current season and said the confidence hurt them more than it helped. The comments point to internal performance issues that have affected Falcons' early results.

• Spirit reach BLAST Porto final with 2-0 semifinal win over Falcons

  Spirit defeated Falcons 2-0 in the BLAST Porto semifinal to advance to the final. The Russian roster has now reached its third consecutive final. The victory sends Spirit into the BLAST Porto title match and gives them a shot at the event trophy.

• Xbox caps cloud streaming at 15 hours for Game Pass Ultimate users

  Xbox has implemented a 15‑hour cap on cloud streaming for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Microsoft determined that streaming beyond 15 hours per subscriber makes Xbox Cloud Gaming unprofitable, so it introduced the limit. The cap restricts heavy users' access to continuous cloud play and is intended to control operating costs for the service.

• Kingdom Come director posts DLSS 5 before-and-after, says tech restored intended lighting

  Daniel Vávra, director of both Kingdom Come: Deliverance games, posted a side-by-side comparison on X showing DLSS 5 applied to a Kingdom Come 2 character model and said the result restored shadows, skin detail and normal-map fidelity. He argued the game's engine previously failed to render helmet shadows and normal maps as the team intended, calling critics who dislike DLSS 5 'literally gone crazy.' Other players disputed the change, saying DLSS 5 'oils up' characters and removes human imperfections. The exchange underscores ongoing debate over DLSS 5's AI-driven aesthetic changes and whether they preserve or alter developers' artistic intent.

• Sony: PlayStation disc production will drop 10% by 2028, not to 10%

  Sony clarified that PlayStation disc manufacturing will fall by 10% in 2028, correcting earlier misinterpretations that production would be reduced to 10% of current levels. The confusion arose from comments by an executive at Sony DADC, the company's disc replication and packaging unit. The correction means annual disc output is expected to be about 90% of current volumes in 2028, preserving broad availability of physical PlayStation games.

• Gamescom apologises after mishandling communication on indie developers' stolen hardware

  Gamescom apologised after its initial response to last week's thefts of hardware from several indie developers. Organisers acknowledged their first communication did not strike the right tone and failed to show affected developers the empathy they deserved. The apology highlights concerns about how major events handle communication and support for small exhibitors.

• White House launches Arcade.gov — official site of browser minigames satirising Trump policies

  The White House launched Arcade.gov, an official .gov website hosting browser minigames. The games are presented as a parody centered on Donald Trump's immigration enforcement and border security policies. Hosting this content on a government domain represents a direct use of games for political messaging and public engagement on immigration.

• Live updates: BLAST Open Porto semi-finals at Super Bock Arena

  HLTV is running live coverage of the BLAST Open Porto semi-finals taking place at the Super Bock Arena in Porto. The tournament’s top four teams are competing across two matches to decide which sides advance to the final. Live updates provide real-time scores and highlight decisive moments from the arena.

• Veteran designer says BioWare's original team can handle Mass Effect 4

  Armando Troisi, original Mass Effect cinematic designer and lead cinematic designer on Mass Effect 2, said BioWare does not need outside advice to develop Mass Effect 4. He noted many of the creators from the original trilogy still work at the studio and added the team can do the job "as long as people get out of the way." This places responsibility for the franchise's direction with BioWare's internal staff and signals confidence in continuity for the next installment.

• Konami's 1986 Castlevania reshaped video games

  Konami released Castlevania in 1986, launching a gothic action-platformer that became a long-running franchise. The game's design and aesthetic influenced later platformers and broadened what mainstream console games could explore. In the decades since, new releases rarely produce industry-wide paradigm shifts of the same scale as Castlevania.

• Crazy Taxi: World Tour recreates Dreamcast-era arcade thrills

  Crazy Taxi: World Tour captures the giddy, fast-paced feel of the original Dreamcast arcade experience, delivering the same rush of cresting a San-Francisco-inspired hill and racing toward the ocean. The soundtrack includes The Offspring's 'All I Want,' reinforcing the nostalgic connection to the classic game. That blend of faithful gameplay and memorable audio makes the new release enjoyable for players despite surrounding generative-AI controversy.

• How five Star Trek ships became characters that reshaped the franchise

  Polygon highlights five Star Trek starships that it says changed the franchise. The feature argues these vessels function as characters, with their designs, histories and crew associations influencing plots and the tone of different series. That matters because iconic ships help define eras of Star Trek and carry cultural weight across films and TV.

• Samara Weaving touted as ideal Emma Frost, boosting X‑Men reboot buzz

  Samara Weaving is being presented as an ideal choice to play Emma Frost in Marvel’s upcoming X‑Men reboot. That casting talk raises expectations for the film’s tone because Weaving has a track record of intense, memorable female lead performances. She has built a reputation as a talented “scream queen,” shaping how audiences expect her Emma Frost to be portrayed.

• Ridley Scott’s 158‑Minute War Epic Becomes Global Streaming Sensation

  Ridley Scott’s 158‑minute war action epic has become a global streaming sensation. The film is a full‑length war action picture directed by Scott and clocks in at 158 minutes. The streaming success underscores Scott’s continued reach after decades of large-scale genre films such as Blade Runner, the Alien franchise, Gladiator (2000) and Gladiator II (2024).

• Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Secrets of the Zonai deluxe release arrives in October

  A deluxe release titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Secrets of the Zonai arrives in October. The release coincides with the Zelda series' 40th anniversary and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 2023 game Tears of the Kingdom. The book targets fans still awaiting Nintendo's upcoming Ocarina of Time remake for the Switch 2.

• The Last of Us was first pursued as a 2014 Sony film with Sam Raimi before HBO series

  Sony and Naughty Dog initially developed The Last of Us as a feature film, with studio-produced key art posted in 2014 and Sam Raimi attached as a producer. Neil Druckmann confirmed the project would adapt the game's story while accounting for film's unique strengths. After a prolonged, tumultuous development the movie was shelved and the property was later adapted into an HBO series that became one of the network's biggest recent hits.

• Onimusha: Way of the Sword — Ace Archer: Nijo-jo Castle quest

  Players must hunt the genma Kubi Akari in the secondary quest "Ace Archer: Nijo-jo Castle." The mission is triggered by speaking with a man near the Gojo Street - West Spirit Mirror and requires killing flying monsters inside Nijo-jo Castle. Musashi's special bow is needed to hunt genma, so accepting the NPC's request is mandatory to complete the objective.

• Ace Archer mission at Kyoto Imperial Palace requires finding five Kubi Akaris

  In Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the secondary mission "Ace Archer: Kyoto Imperial Palace" tasks players with using Musashi's bow to hunt Kubi Akaris. The objective requires locating and defeating all five targets to complete the mission. The encounter follows the same five-target structure as the "Ace Archer: Nijo-jo Castle" mission, highlighting archery-focused challenges in the game.

• Hidden treasures unlock after 'To Live is to Suffer' in Onimusha: Way of the Sword

  Hidden treasure chests appear as a series of optional side quests once the player reaches the main quest 'To Live is to Suffer'. Accepting a treasure mission places a green circle on the map to mark the search area, but chests are not directly pinned. Quest givers hand over old drawings with clues that players must interpret to pinpoint each chest, making these quests a puzzle-driven way to obtain optional loot.

• Bertie on a long weekend; colleague fills in for 'What We've Been Playing' intro

  Bertie is taking a long weekend and is absent from this edition of Eurogamer's 'What We've Been Playing' column. A colleague has stepped in to write the intro for this installment. The post jokes Bertie might be skiing, jumping on the spot, or simply resting after recent chaos, and readers will hear a different voice in the column's introduction.

• September 2026 packs PC releases: Blood of Dawnwalker, Silent Hill: Townfall, Control Resonant

  After a quiet summer, September 2026 delivers a dense slate of PC releases and updates, led by The Blood of Dawnwalker on Sept. 2 and two major launches — Silent Hill: Townfall and Control Resonant — on Sept. 24. The Blood of Dawnwalker is a vampire action RPG from Witcher veterans Rebel Wolves. The Witcher 3 Remastered is being distributed as a free upgrade (including its DLC) to owners of the original, adding a high-profile update amid the crowded month.

• Wardogs closed beta tops 200k concurrent players; developer says decline is expected

  Wardogs' closed beta surpassed 200,000 concurrent players on Steam, a surge the developer says was stronger than anticipated. Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer posted on X that the studio originally planned capacity for about 5,000 concurrent players and expects numbers to fall over months as initial hype subsides. The team will continue building toward a 1.0 release and expects a smaller but healthy player base with periodic spikes.

• Civilization 7 free on Steam through Sept. 10; half-price sales until Sept. 17

  Civilization 7 is free to play on Steam until September 10, letting players download and try the game at no cost. The Firaxis strategy title has faced criticism since its early‑2025 launch for UI and performance issues and holds a mixed 48% positive Steam rating. Standard and Deluxe editions are half-price until September 17, and the development team will discuss future plans in a PAX livestream on September 5.

• RPG Round-up: Franchises, engine shifts and a new space epic take center stage

  This week saw big franchise moves from Square Enix and CD Projekt, a promising Mass Effect–style debut from Archetype, and industry-wide tech and distribution headaches — from DLSS 5 leaks to disc-based games that won't run offline. Players should watch Sony's State of Play and next week's BlizzCon for clues on several of these threads.