Archives — April 2026

Petit Planet gives desert island social sims an appealing sci-fantasy paint job, but doesn't bring many new ideas to the table. This isn't a complaint, but I can't help but feel like every new game I pick up at the moment is Animal Crossing. Heartopia? Animal Crossing. Pokopia? Animal Crossing. Tomodachi Life? You guessed it, Animal Crossing! I am unashamedly one of those people who thinks the gaming landscape of the 2020s peaked early when New Horizons gently shepherded us all through lockdown, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that – now that we're well past the midpoint of the decade, I hate to remind you – a bunch of studios have come to the same conclusion, and either spun up their own take on the idea, or repurposed an existing IP to include more Animal Crossing-like elements.

Zenless Zone Zero will soon become the first HoYoverse game to make its way to Steam, though we wish we had more details. HoYoverse just wrapped up a pretty exciting Zenless Zone Zero Special Program that not only delivered all the details on the next big update, it also came with the unexpected announcement that the action RPG is on its way to Steam.

If you don't intend to buy the Lord of Hatred expansion, the next season in Diablo 4 won't be as exciting as you'd expect. Diablo 4 is gearing up for its biggest post-launch event yet: the upcoming release of the Lord of Hatred expansion. As was the case with Vessel of Hatred before it, expansion releases alter the seasonal flow in a few ways, and Blizzard has now explained how.

Lord of Hatred wraps up the arc that began with Diablo 4, as Blizzard so deftly delivers a campaign that will forever live on as one of its best work Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred has, without question, been one of my most anticipated releases of 2026. Diablo 4 is likely my most played game ever by sheer hour count, so it’s easy to see why this expansion is so high up on my list. However many rakes Blizzard has stepped on over the course of the game’s live service, however many seasons or events it botched, I maintain that no other ARPG matches Diablo 4 in either game feel or production value.

2026 is looking very exciting for Battlefield 6, even if much of what's coming is based on things we already know, and some we've long been asking for. It took Battlefield Studios over four months to tell Battlefield 6 players what they can actually expect from the game over the course of this year, in terms of content - but we’re glad to see a plan laid out nonetheless.

The Sims 4's Marketplace and user-created content have officially arrived on consoles, a little over a month after their debut on PC. The Sims 4 players on PlayStation and Xbox have now caught up to their friends on PC, at least when it comes to the game’s Marketplace. This new feature is essentially a hub for paid mods and other user-created content.

We're well under two weeks from the launch of Diablo 4's next expansion, Lord of Hatred, but there's more yet to be said. Diablo 4 is mere days away from the launch of its biggest expansion yet, and Blizzard wants to make sure it got one last chance to tell you about it. Lord of Hatred is the follow-up to 2024’s Vessel of Hatred, and it’s set to arrive on April 28.

Metro 2039 takes us back to the tunnels of the Moscow Metro where, fittingly, Nazi ideology never died. The Metro series is finally, officially back with a new installment. 4A Games has just unveiled Metro 2039 to the world, the follow-up to the outstanding Metro Exodus, released all the way back in 2019.

The allegedly finished game might finally, truly be feature complete with the addition of an anniversary item. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has received a surprise patch today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the life sim series. The update, version 3.0.2, is available across the Switch and Switch 2 versions of the game.

Honkai: Star Rail will be celebrating its third anniversary just days after it delivers a major update, and there's quite a bit to chew on in this one. HoYoverse just wrapped up a stacked Honkai: Star Rail Special Program, delivering the one-two punch of revealing the game’s next major update, and detailing what you can expect from its third anniversary celebrations.

Heartopia's rise has continued since its launch earlier this year, and the game's developer isn't slowing down with updates. Heartopia has kicked off a new event to celebrate passing 30 million downloads. Just a couple of weeks after delivering the vintage Hollywood-themed Dreamlight Cinematics event, developer XD Games has revealed The Whimsical Tea Party, a limited-time Gilded Acorn Exhibition.

If you've been missing Petit Planet since it was last available to play, you'll be happy to know that HoYoverse is hosting another test soon. It’s been quite a while since we’ve heard anything about Petit Planet, the upcoming game from Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse. By most accounts, Petit Planet is the studio’s take on Animal Crossing, though with a few interesting ideas of its own.

Two worlds have collided as fans of Aeon (Ada/Leon) discover that one of the LaDS lads bears a strong resemblance to their favourite did-they-or-didn't-they pairing. Warning: Contains (very minor) spoilers for the ending of Resident Evil Requiem.