Gaming

I was already looking forward to upcoming tactics game Australia Did It , but now I've got another reason to do so: a hilariously expanded new name. In a fun turn of events, designer Rami Ismail has revealed a new subtitle has officially been adopted. Back in August, he posted a suggestion about the name that had been made as part of a localization report that turned out to be incredible. "One localisation report for Australia Did It returned with a note that the game's title won't work in their territory & suggested to instead use 'Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defence Business' and now I want that, like, globally," he wrote at the time. He subsequently asked fans to express their support for the name, in the hopes he could use it to convince publisher Mystic Forge to actually adopt the subtitle. And with this week's announcement of a release date, the news was confirmed, and the game will officially be called Australia Did It: End-of-the-World Railway Defense Business. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBFlZ8MmbFA The original, subtitle-less name was certainly memorable. Despite a sea of games coming out at all times that seek to push everything more than five seconds

Wardogs developer Bulkhead had some strong words to say about the rough launch of Season 2, admitting: "We f***ed up. "Season 2 saw the introduction of XP and cash bonuses for people willing to play Blue Team, in an attempt to polish Lonestar’s tarnished reputation. Unfortunately, the idea backfired as more experienced players quickly boosted their accounts on Blue. Usually it takes a while for players to unlock some of the deadliest gear, but the XP and cash boosts saw players quickly kitted out in the best armor and the most annoying weapons. "We were wrong, we f***ed up," Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer said. "This was an experiment — we thought we'd have this in for about a week.” The boosts have already been removed in a hotfix. The cash and XP bonuses saw Blue Team go from the worst performing team to quickly dominating every match, attracting all the best players. The bonuses were 5% extra cash and 2.5% extra XP, but it was enough to attract the most try-hard players in the game. "The only comment that annoyed me is when people say, 'They didn't address the core issues [with Blue Team]," Brammer continued, talking about team spawn placement.

According to SteamDB, a total of 21,248 new games were added to Valve’s PC store in 2025. That was almost 3,000 more than 2024, which itself beat 2023 by over 4,000. 2026 is going to smash that record again, and we know this because it already has, and it’s only mid-October. But this could be nothing compared to what we’ll see in 2027. As spotted by Bredan Keogh on BlueSky, today marks the moment that Steam releases during 2026 exceeded those from all of 2025. We’re now at a total of 21,388, with two-and-a-half months of the year—traditionally the busiest ones for game releases—still remaining. SteamPageAnalyzer is projecting that the total will reach at least 24,000. This is, obviously, a silly number of games. It breaks down to 66 games releasing each day, up from 55 in 2025, creating a market that’s ever more cluttered and in which a growing number of extremely good games will drown. This sucks, but thankfully is something Steam owner Valve is slowly working on, with recent ideas like the prominent front-page spot for Your Personal Calendar.

Watch the latest "Wicked Inside" showcase. Moon Studios has shared new information on the version 1.0 release of action RPG No Rest for the Wicked during its latest “Wicked Inside” showcase, introducing the brand new class system, factions, and more details about the road to launch. Here are the details:In the new episode of Wicked Inside, Moon Studios shares details on the brand new class system, which promises to dramatically expand combat and character possibilities for players journeying through Isola Sacra. Other updates include info on new factions players can join to experience Isola Sacra from a new point of view and other improvements that refine the pillars the action RPG genre is known for. The New Class System – Gone is the attribute system that previously funneled players towards certain playstyles. Simply picking up a weapon alters a player’s class from one of a possible 24, with the ability to bring traits from one class to another. Spears charged with electricity raining like arrows, stealth maneuvers that end fights before they’ve begun and synergy crafting that combines the best of multiple classes for truly jaw-dropping punishment.

It's a big day for Call of Duty, as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's campaign is playable beginning today, October 16, for people who preorder the game. The campaign is available to preload now, but doesn't unlock until 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. You can play early across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC. Developer Infinity Ward issued a statement, asking people to please not spoil the story. "We've one one ask. Let everyone experience it for themselves. Keep the campaign spoilers under wraps," Infinity Ward said. "Time to go dark." A scene from MW4's campaign. MW4 is expected to wrap up the current Modern Warfare storyline that began with 2019's Modern Warfare. Activision boss Tyler Bahl told The Game Business that MW4 is the "epic conclusion of the recent series of Modern Warfare." "It’s not that some characters and pieces can’t live on beyond this and be reinvented. But we’re excited by closing this chapter and launching a new one," he said. "Where we go with future games, we have to innovate." To that end, Bahl also confirmed that a new sub-franchise for Call of Duty is in the works after years of Modern Warfare and Black Ops games. MW4 officially launches on October 23, but the

Don't worry about anybody you kill—everyone is already dead! Horror RPG HorrorVale: Deadluxe Edition will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch on October 31, publisher Electric Airship and developer BatWorks Software announced. HorrorVale first launched for PC via Steam on October 1, 2024. Here is an overview of Deadluxe Edition, via Electric Airship:AboutWelcome to HorrorVale! Your next-door neighbors are zombies, reanimated monsters deliver the mail, and ghosts hide out in your bathroom. Don’t worry about anybody you kill along the way—everyone is already dead! Muahahha! Bash monsters, recruit over 30 friends, and solve brain-buster puzzles!

A more Edgerunners-esque original tale from Night City looks to be in the offing Since the existence of plans for a Cyberpunk 2077 live-action adaptation from devs CD Projekt Red and Paramount Pictures was revealed last week, I've been hoping it won't take the form of porting V's tale from the game to the big screen. Such a thing wouldn't necessarily be terrible, but I like my game adaptations a bit more on the original story side of things, as Cyberpunk tie-in anime series Edgerunners has been. The good news is that one of CD Projekt Red's big bosses has now confirmed that this adaptation won't be beat-for-beat retelling of 'Honey, there's a Keanu in my brain'.

Penguin Colony is probably the best pisstake of Lovecraft and Lovecraftian horror I've played. It's the best because it places Lovecraft's universe at a creaturely remove, amplifying its absurdity without having to drop any punchlines. Entering a ravaged polar campsite, I advance among burning tents and uniformed corpses to a pioneer seated on a crate, who is busily sawing his own face off. Ice and snow shrill overhead and Lenval Brown's narration rumbles in my bones, speaking of eldritch relics and unquenchable ambitions, of "queer creatures" and inexplicable deaths, of madness and glory, of "scientific explanations" and empires from other dimensions. I consider all this, and say: Fnaaarp. Another man standing at the top of a pile of sandbags catches my attention. I waddle up to him and his head explodes, emitting a gory spark that resolves into the word "sex". I regard the body gravely and say: urk urk urk. Then I flop on my belly and slither out of camp, chasing the whistling wires of the wind. For I am a penguin. These creatures, their flags, their words and their elder gods mean little to me.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is already one of the best role-playing games of the year, but developer Rebel Wolves is preparing a big update that should make it even better. Like all good things in life, it starts with getting to pet a dog. Update 1.1, which is scheduled to arrive next week, brings a number of new features to the game, including the ability to pet both dogs and cats via the game's directional system, which is currently only used for combat. It will also feature a new Story difficulty setting that provides "additional combat assist," new subtitle settings across all lines of dialogue, and most crucially, an item called Draught of Mind Rebirth. The Draught of Mind Rebirth will allow you to forget all the skills and abilities you've acquired across the Swordmastery, Witchcraft, and Vampirism trees. Not only will this give you the chance to reallocate your points in a way that best fits your playstyle--it will also give you back the time associated with those skills. That means you'll have the chance to complete extra missions if you happen to find yourself impeded with Dawnwalker's 30-day limit. However, we don't find the system to be restrictive as it currently stands. Th

Citi, the investment bank and financial services company, has released a note about GTA 6 and Rockstar, and included in the brief is a line about what Rockstar could release next--a new Red Dead game. The company said in its memo that, if Rockstar is telling the truth that GTA 6 did not in fact cost $1.5 billion to make , then the studio may be able to get a new Red Dead game out sooner than anyone might have imagined. Citi said a new Red Dead game releasing in 2027 or 2028 "may not be unreasonable," according to Yahoo Finance . A scene from Red Dead Redemption II. The bank might be saying this, but it would be incredibly shocking, for a number of reasons, if a new Red Dead game releases as soon as next year. There are historically years between major Rockstar releases, and even longer gaps between entries in the same series. For example, Red Dead Redemption launched in 2010, followed by GTA 5 in 2013, then Red Dead Redemption II in 2018, and now GTA 6 in 2026. Another notable element to consider is how Rockstar makes games today. The company tried to develop GTA 6 and Red Dead Redemption II concurrently, and if it was able to pull it off, Rockstar claimed it would have been able t

You can smell it in the air can't you? The chill in your nostrils and the earthy scent as leaves fall and the sun departs for another year. Yes, autumn is here, meaning we're teetering on the cavernous hole of near-nothingness as the entire games industry gives GTA 6 the widest berth imaginable. But that doesn't mean there isn't stuff to be excited about, of course. And the latest edition of the Galaxies Showcase has chucked a few more things onto the 'ooooh intriguing!' pile. Actually, quite a lot of things given its nearly two-hour runtime; but while you can watch the full thing in its entirety if you've got the time, we've also picked out a few of the announcements that especially caught our eyes and highlighted them below. Was all this really just an excuse for Connor to enthuse about penguins? Perhaps! Very promising musical adventure There are no Ghosts at the Grand has a demo

Jagex, the developers behind RuneScape, Old School RuneScape, and RuneScape: Dragonwilds, has announced that it’s cancelling the RuneScape Reignited project. “It is clear that we missed the mark on this, and so we are not moving forward with it,” said Mod Ryan in a video announcing the cancellation. RuneScape Reignited was announced earlier this month at Runefest 2026, a community event dedicated to all things RuneScape. The project was meant to be a refresh of the 25-year-old MMO, offering players the opportunity to essentially start the game over with a totally new economy, reset world-first achievements, and bespoke worlds crafted specifically for Reignited accounts. Reignited players would exist in the same world as veteran players, able to chat, form guilds, and share player housing, but unable to trade or party up to defeat bosses. And while the announcement excited some lapsed players and current world-weary veterans, other players were less than enthused.

Across Latin America, developers are creating some of gaming’s most distinctive new worlds by turning personal memories, local history, cultural traditions, and bold ideas into experiences that resonate far beyond the region. Games such as Despelote, Mexico, 1921: A Deep Slumber, and SOPA – Tale of the Stolen Potato show the remarkable breadth of this creative community, from intimate coming-of-age stories and interactive journeys through history to magical adventures filled with heart. For years, XBOX has worked alongside creators across Latin America, helping studios of all sizes bring their games to players around the world. Through the ID@XBOX Developer Acceleration Program (DAP), we’ve worked with more than 60 studios from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Uruguay, and beyond, helping developers bring over 30 culturally distinctive games to XBOX since 2023, while strengthening the region’s growing game development ecosystem by providing access to technical resources, business support, and mentorship.

Gust announced on the official site that the body shape changes for the character Karia in Atelier Karia will be present and include options to turn the feature on and off or lock her into the weight and appearance you prefer while playing. This means you could go with her default appearance, allow her to get slimmer or fuller based on her eating, or even lock in her slimmer or fuller appearances to make one of those your constant default while you play. Recommended Videos To help people get an idea of how the body shape changes will look in Atelier Karia, Gust shared an infographic that highlighted the slimmer, default, and fuller versions of the character and four screenshots of her fuller body models in-game. These show that the selected character model and feature will show up during story scenes, standard exploration, alchemy synthesis, and combat. The Japanese social media account’s tweet even showed a picture of the options menu with what looks like eight possible body types to choose.

Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)Is there a scent more heartwarming than freshly baked bread? French developer Sunny Lab and publisher Silver Lining Interactive don’t think so, if The Witch’s Bakery is anything to go by. This narrative-led adventure sim is filled with cute characters, emotional stories, and pastries. And although you can’t smell the baked goods themselves, you can immerse yourself in Parisian – and otherworldly – wonderlands. You get flavours of Kiki’s Delivery Service throughout the game: anime art style, young witch protagonist, sassy familiar, bakery setting, not to mention emotional storyline. But instead of delivering for the bakery, this witch works in the bakery. And instead of flying, her main power is seeing into people’s hearts. Sunny Lab mixes these ingredients together to serve up a game that’s hearty and moreish, even if it doesn’t all go down smoothly.

Showing some gratitude is the least these scribbly wretches can do. The passengers in Thank You Bus Driver – Double Fine’s new comedy public transport sim – are almost invariably rowdy, entitled hypocrites, happy to sully my single-decker by picking their toes and bellowing down their phones, while only ever being seconds away from a strop if another traveller does the same. Still, here I am, locked in symbiotic misery with them, desperate to choke down the scraps of acknowledgement they’ll spare for arriving at their stop in good time. I hate them. Please love me. To be clear, I don’t regret playing Thank You Bus Driver. It’s a brisk three hours of chaotic wheelsmanship, dense in visual gags and amusingly exaggerated physics, in which you are both driver and disciplinarian. Catch sight of someone breaking the bus rules, and instead of detachedly tapping a sign, you leave your seat to deliver a corrective slap. This risks the still-moving bus careering off course, and thus a shift-ending missed stop, but silencing the troublemakers is the only way to ensure everyone else arrives happy. And happiness means Thank Yous, the only currency that matters.

Rebel Wolves really put out something special with The Blood of Dawnwalker, its vampire RPG where you straddle the line between monster and man. Now it’s getting even better with directional animal petting. Yeah, you heard. Similar to Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Dawnwalker’s combat uses directional inputs to attack and defend from different angles during combat. Update 1.1, due out next week, will let you take that system and use it to frantically rub a dog. “What happens when you merge a directional combat system with the ability to pet dogs and cats?” the studio asked. “Directional. Animal. Petting.” The update also adds a consumable item: the Draught of Mind Rebirth. Take a sip and you’ll be able to respec all your upgrade points and try out a different build without starting the game again. Elsewhere, the game is also getting an even easier mode for those who couldn’t get to grips with directional combat, as well as options for larger font sizes for the subtitles. Accessibility is always good. There are also some visual upgrades coming, such as frame generation improvements, better animations and camera movement, improved lock-on and targeting, and better traversal.

The question of AI’s impact on their own development practices and the external use of the technology by people infringing on copyrighted material are becoming major topics of concern for many game studios. With Konami releasing its financial statement today, the company used the opportunity to provide its thoughts on the topic. It’s possible that investor excitement for the technology would make the company feel obligated to address the seismic shifts the industry is facing due to AI, as well as any potential use cases it may have for Konami itself, in its latest the financial report. Notably, the statement focuses on the idea that, no matter the advancements in AI or its capabilities, certain things integral to game development can’t be replaced by technology. “Generally, it’s thought that AI will allow anyone to easily make games, thus lowering the barrier to entry,” says Hideki Hayakawa, representative director and president at Konami Digital Entertainment. “However, I do not believe the market will shift significantly. Barriers to entry have already been lowered by the growth of general-purpose game engines and the growth of user-generated content in games.