Gaming on younesonsol.xyz

Grand Theft Auto 6 leaker who was given an indefinite sentence in 2023 because he wouldn't stop hacking is now out of hospital and awaiting retrial

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:30:23 +0000

(Image credit: Rockstar)

A man who was found liable for multiple high-profile hacks including a major leak of Grand Theft Auto 6 footage in 2022 has reportedly been released from the secure hospital where he'd been held since 2023, and is now in prison awaiting a retrial.

Arc Raiders is fixing a bug that would sign players up to be shipped off to the apocalyptic wasteland without telling them

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:25:32 +0000

Clearing your raider for Expedition is a pretty big deal in Arc Raiders. It involves tons of prep and a dedication that you're willing to start the next season with a fresh character and stash (alongside some perks that the Expedition offers your new avatar). It's not something that everyone is willing or able to do, which is why this latest bug left players in such disarray.

'It's not like natural intelligence is always all that great either': Linus Torvalds addresses anti-AI sentiment in Linux development

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:23:23 +0000

(Image credit: Getty Images / The Washington Post)

Linux likers and AI dislikers, it's time to raid the cutlery drawer and fork your favourite distro. Why? Because Linus Torvalds has declared that Linux is not an "anti-AI" project.

The team behind Windows NT sent 'black cardboard coffins' and fake dog poop to their rivals back in the 90s, because nerds

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:19:33 +0000

No matter how smart you are, there's always room for a little childish fun. Or an ominous threat to your rivals, one of the two. Ex-Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer interviewed the chief architect and designer of Windows NT, Dave Cutler, on his YouTube channel back in 2023, and I've just got around to the highlights after he reshared it on X.

Prime Video's near-perfect, criminally underrated sci-fi show is finally streaming on Netflix

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:51 +0000

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Published Jul 15, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT

There are only two seasons, but they’re both fantastic

Ever since I watched the original cartoon series on Saturday mornings back in the 1990s, I’ve been a fan of The Tick. That show — which starred voice actor Townsend Coleman as the Big Blue Bug of Justice — was the perfect example of really smart writing for a really dumb character, making it not only hilariously silly for children, but the perfect show to rewatch as an adult.

"We've seen how close you can get": How studio closures pushed Suzerain's maker to create two new DLCs and a turn-based strategy spinoff

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000

It never Anton Raynes, it Anton pours

Image credit: Torpor Games

"For the longest time, we went one by one," Ata Sergey Nowak, co-founder of Torpor Games, the studio behind strategy game Suzerain, tells me, explaining the four year gap between the game's release and its first DLC. "Our games take a long time, our staff was very limited, and our financing was very project-to-project." So it was a little surprising he was also telling me Torpor are today announcing not one but three new projects - two DLCs and a spin-off. All of which are due to be released before their next flagship title, The Conformist.

'Yes, that's Counter-Strike on a PSP!': Modder gets favorite PC FPS working on Sony's 22-year-old handheld console

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:59:25 +0000

Admittedly, I've been feeling pretty dour about the whole handheld gaming PC thing lately, but I do still love having the option to take big games on the go. What I love a lot less is just how chunky modern handhelds have to be in order to contain and cool all of their internal hardware. Perhaps I'm just yelling at clouds but if you ask me, the Switch Lite and the PlayStation Portable had the right idea when it came to a portable form factor.

Stranger Things gets official new Netflix release on 10th anniversary

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:50:48 +0000

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Published Jul 15, 2026, 9:50 AM EDT

Season 1 of Stranger Things just got demastered

Stranger Things returns to Netflix with a new 'special edition'

Image: Netflix

Steam's best new roguelike is $7 and so good it'll ruin your week

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:01:17 +0000

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Published Jul 15, 2026, 9:01 AM EDT

Kaz will push your typing speed to the limit

Brand-new $7 Steam game will eat up your time and obliterate your wrists

Image: Kalinarm/Hakuro

DC’s new Batman movie finally fixes Christopher Nolan's biggest Dark Knight mistake

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:17 +0000

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Published Jul 14, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

The R-rated film sticks closer to the comics and makes the villain truly terrifying

Christopher Nolan made Bane famous, but DC’s newest Batman movie finally gets him right

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Christopher Nolan did an impressive job of bringing Batman villains to the big screen. Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight set the high-water mark for the series, but other highlights included Cillian Murphy’s appropriately creepy Scarecrow, the sinister paternalism of Liam Neeson’s Ra’s al Ghul, and the dark charisma of Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent. Tom Hardy’s take on Bane was the low point of the series, thanks to his bizarre voice and the character’s convoluted schemes. But now a new Batman trilogy is finally doing justice to one of Gotham’s most terrifying villains.

I've helped 100 cats mail parcels in Cat Mail Co. which is why I can safely say it's one of the best management sims I've played in a very long time

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:28:03 +0000

(Image credit: Maracas Studio)

Mail delivery is a thankless job. No one notices all the hard effort that goes into sorting through mountains of boxes, parcels, and letters to get deliveries ready on time. Oh, but I drop a couple of dozen boxes in the sea and suddenly I'm bad at my job? Everyone's a critic.

This DIY 'OpenPuck' project allows the Steam Controller to emulate Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation controllers, but no wireless charging for you

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 16:23:43 +0000

(Image credit: Future)

The Steam Machine might have turned out to be a disappointment (mostly down to its price), but the Steam Controller remains a very useful thing.

DRAM demand predicted to outstrip supply by 28.7 exabytes in 2030, which is almost as much as the actual DRAM in the world right now

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:59:35 +0000

(Image credit: Future)

Earlier today I reported that Chinese memory makers, such as CXMT, are ramping up their production big time, and are set to run hot on the heels of Micron in output even by the end of this year. But hold up, don't get too excited, because the same research that produced those figures also predicts "the 2030 DRAM squeeze" matching the SK hynix CEO's warnings from earlier in the week.

Magic's most controversial Secret Lair is back as Goblin Storm's art is now available on Kickstarter

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:24:53 +0000

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Published Jul 13, 2026, 6:24 AM EDT

Wizard of Barge's Goblin Storm Side Quest Kickstarter includes art from the popular Secret Lair Commander deck

16 years later, this underrated battle anime finally comes to Crunchyroll

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:17:00 +0000

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Published Jul 13, 2026, 6:17 AM EDT

Psyren finally gets its first full trailer ahead of October debut

This 16-year-in-the-making anime is finally coming to Crunchyroll

Image: Satelight/Crunchyroll

One of the most memed deaths in movie history is finally free to stream

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:00:17 +0000

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Published Jul 13, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

A late-'90s sci-fi horror classic still delivers killer sharks, memorable performances, and one of the genre's greatest surprises.

Nobody remembers the 10/10 masterpiece that put the makers of Hades on the map

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:00:19 +0000

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Published Jul 12, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT

Kidding around is loads of fun even now

The makers of Hades owe everything to a beloved 15-year-old action RPG

Image: Supergiant Games

Valve has rewired Counter-Strike 2's bomb to make it more spectacular, but potentially less deadly

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

(Image credit: Valve)

I Counter-Strike 2, small changes can have huge ramifications. There aren't many games where the addition of volumetric smoke grenades would be a headline feature. But in CS2's hyper tense battles, true 3D smoke cover has game changing consequences.

You can mod out the yellow filter in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 03:36:13 +0000

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

After Traffic and Breaking Bad used it for scenes set there it became know as "the Mexican filter", though it's sometimes used for scenes set in South Asia or anywhere a bit tropical. You may recognize it as "the piss filter" that stained the original incarnation of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It's the yellow gradient that's usually intended to make things look warm, and it's not to everyone's taste. Like piss, I guess.

Obsidian game director is sick of hearing bad takes about the state of the studio: 'The through line from KotOR2 to our current games is pretty clear'

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 02:35:15 +0000

(Image credit: LucasArts)

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced "the most significant restructure in Xbox history", which is what you call it when you lay off thousands of people and cut four game studios loose. Double Fine and Compulsion Games returned to their indie roots; Ninja Theory and Undead Labs were sold off. While it seemed at first like Obsidian Entertainment had avoided the headsman's axe, we soon found out they were also hit with plenty of layoffs of their own.

EU Says It's Powerless to Stop PlayStation From Killing Discs: 'Companies Are Free to Offer Games and Services in the Manner They See Fit'

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:04:37 +0000

Updated

: Jul 11, 2026 8:05am UTC

As gamers sign online petitions and swarm upon each and every PlayStation social media post, the EU has said it’s powerless to actually stop Sony — and indeed any company — from killing discs.

How to get hardwood in Palworld

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:57:34 +0000

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

The Palworld 1.0 update sure is a big one, and with all of the new pals, weapons, and zones to track it's easy to miss the little things—like new resources for crafting. As I climbed the revamped tech tree again, I breezed through most recipes until I ran into hardwood. It's a new tier of the basic building block you'll see pop up in later level recipes (around 40 to 50), after planks.

New Grand Theft Auto release dated for July 14, Rockstar confirms

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:51:50 +0000

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Published Jul 10, 2026, 4:51 PM EDT

Luckily, you won't need to verify your paintings with Redd

GTA Online's new update that turns players into art thieves gets July release

Image: Rockstar Games

Microsoft responds to racist Xbox layoff conspiracy theory, says CEO Asha Sharma is 'American born, raised, and educated'

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:38:51 +0000

(Image credit: Microsoft)

I've seen a lot of complaints and concerns about the layoffs at Xbox that put 3,200 people out of work and resulted in the spinoff of four studios—eventually five, once the Arkane situation is sorted. One I haven't run across is a claim that it's all part of an effort to take jobs away from Americans and replace them with non-Americans on H-1B visas. That changed today, though, when Microsoft chief communications officer Frank X. Shaw took to social media to deny the claim.

The Mandalorian finally returns next week — but there's a catch

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:00:19 +0000

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Published Jul 10, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

Din Djarin arrives in a surprising new Star Warsformat

The Mandalorian finally returns next week — but there's a catch

Image: Disney

After the disaster that became The Mandalorian & Grogu, the idea of Star Wars returning to do anything else with The Mandoverse — the nickname for the interconnected era of live-action Star Wars TV shows that took place in the post-Empire era like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Skeleton Crew, and Ahsoka — may sound like a terrible mistake.

id Software Issues Statement Following Xbox Layoffs, Says It's Back to the Size It Was When It Made 2016's Doom

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 17:50:22 +0000

id Software has issued a statement following layoffs at Xbox that saw roughly half the staff at the legendary first-person shooter studio lose their jobs.

On Wednesday, a WARN notice filed in Texas reported by Game Developer confirmed that 96 workers had been laid off in Richardson, Texas, home of id Software, with a further 40 remote roles cut. The cuts were part of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s “reset” of Microsoft’s gaming business, which began with 1,600 staff losing their jobs on Monday. Another 1,600 will be let go during the rest of the current financial year. Four Xbox studios are already out the door, with another hot on their heels.

How to unlock Samael's romance and begin dating the brooding bartender in Moonlight Peaks

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 17:34:20 +0000

(Image credit: Little Chicken)

I don't blame you for loading up Moonlight Peaks and saying: "Wait, how are you supposed to date Samael?" The broody bartender is easily the most conventionally attractive guy in town. If you peeked at the datable candidates list for Moonlight Peaks, you'll have seen Samael featured alongside all the other eligible townies. When you start playing, though, you notice pretty quickly that Samael only has four friendship hearts in his relationship panel unlike the other bachelors, so what gives?

Dell Outlet Has an Alienware Aurora RTX 5080 Gaming PC With 64GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD With 1 Year Warranty (Same as Buying Brand New) for $2,908

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 16:50:00 +0000

Updated

: Jul 10, 2026 4:57pm UTC

For a limited time (most likely today only), Dell Outlet is offering a rare deal on a powerful and generously equipped prebuilt desktop computer. You can currently pick up an Alienware Aurora RTX 5080 gaming PC with 64GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD for $2,908 with free shipping. This is a "like new (scratch and dent)" unit with the same 1 year warranty as buying brand new. I specc'ed out a brand new identical system and it came out to over $5,000.

Persona 4 Revival looks incredibly stylish in new leaked footage

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:06:59 +0000

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Published Jul 10, 2026, 11:06 AM EDT

The series continues to have some of the best UI in games

Persona 4 Revival looks incredibly stylish in new leaked footage

Image: Atlus

What memory crisis? 79% of PC Gamer readers are rocking 32 GB or more RAM in their gaming rigs

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:04:58 +0000

(Image credit: Future)

So, I've got to ask: Did you guys see this whole memory crisis coming a mile off, or what? Because, while we're continually bemoaning the state of the industry with AI datacenter business hoarding all the available memory as fast as Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron can make it—and the ensuing pricing batshittery that has followed it—you lot have seemingly been securing yourselves against the RAMpocalypse.

"Compliance-in-advance is never enough to appease a zealous censor": Robert Yang on the current challenge of bringing experimental gay games to Steam

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 14:33:34 +0000

Radiator Forever is out now

Image credit: Robert Yang

Radiator Forever, an "ongoing re-remaster/re-re-release" collection of developer Robert Yang's short and experimental gay games has arrived on Steam, giving it a new home alongside Itch.io. In a blog post about the release, Yang has outlined the complex situation facing adult game creators at the moment, with the likes of last year's business with payment processors and online-focused UK laws are making it a lot tougher for games like Radiator Forever to exist on the most prevalent PC platforms.

Controversial new Uwe Boll movie is getting an official PS5 game

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 22:19:43 +0000

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Published Jul 9, 2026, 6:19 PM EDT

PlayStation gamers are getting their own Citizen Vigilante

Uwe Boll’s chart-topping vigilante movie that racists love is getting an official video game release

Image: Event Film

German director Uwe Boll is infamous for his so-bad-they're-actually-just-bad movie adaptations of video games like Bloodrayne, Postal, and House of the Dead. Now, in a surprising twist, Boll's latest single-digit-score Rotten Tomatoes movie is getting an official video game adaptation. It's perfectly timed to capitalize on the controversy surrounding the filmmaker's new pic, Citizen Vigilante.

The 12 rarest PS1 and PS2 games you can still buy before they're gone forever

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 22:01:20 +0000

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Published Jul 9, 2026, 6:01 PM EDT

Because saving money on classic games should never go out of style

An original PlayStation is pictured at a display of various memorabilia in the lobby of the Sony headquarters building in central Tokyo on November 27, 2024. December 3, 2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of the first release of Japan's Sony PlayStation, transforming the world of video games. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP) (Photo by RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

On July 7, Sony announced it will shut down the PlayStation Store on PS3 and Vita. The closure begins in August in some regions, and concludes worldwide in July 2027. For many of us, that leaves time to snag digital editions of some excellent PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games before they are no longer offered, and to save significantly compared to buying physical editions of those same titles.

Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis shutting down means its Japan only, prequel phone game will remain unplayable

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 21:54:56 +0000

Sigh

Image credit: Square Enix

It was not particularly surprising to hear that Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis, the other remake of Final Fantasy 7 that opts for a more faithful approach to the original game (if being filled with gacha rolls counts as faithful), is ending service. Square Enix have been ceasing development on pretty much every mobile game they have out at the moment, so why would this one be any different? It's a shame, though, not just because of the fact that it'll be completely inaccessible when it goes down, but because of its inclusion of Before Crisis.

All 'Horizon Decades' series 2 winter challenges and rewards in Forza Horizon 6

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 15:07:25 +0000

Series 2, officially called "Horizon Decades," has arrived to the Festival Playlist and Forza Horizon 6. This seasonal event is divided into four seasons and it features different playlists of activities for a limited time. While each playlist lasts for seven days, the entire series runs for four weeks.

Palworld's relaunch arrives with patch notes too big for Steam

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:54:09 +0000

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Published Jul 9, 2026, 10:54 AM EDT

The game's full release has more new content and changes than Steam can handle

Palworld's big 1.0 launch arrives and its patch notes are too big for Steam

Image: Pocketpair

Ubisoft has added a cash shop and weekly challenges to its 'faithful' remake of the 13-year-old Black Flag, because of course it has

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:54:09 +0000

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

For the most part, the long-awaited and worst-kept secret, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, is very faithful to one of my favourite games from 13 years ago. And anything that's brand-new, like some islands, the ship officers, and an extended story, fits in pretty seamlessly, almost like they were there in the original.

Where to find Blackbeard's Treasure in Black Flag Resynced

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:00:00 +0000

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Finding Blackbeard's Treasure in Black Flag Resynced is actually a lot tougher than the game's other treasure maps, mainly because it doesn't give you any coordinates, forcing you to rely on your knowledge of the Caribbean. This is a new quest that was added in Resynced, but you won't get it until after you complete the Do Not Go Gently main quest.

Dropout snubbed by 2026 Emmys despite actually having the best game show around

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:33:31 +0000

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Published Jul 8, 2026, 1:33 PM EDT

Game Changer and Very Important People were shut out this year

Dropout snubbed by the Emmys despite actually having the best game show around

Photo: Kate Elliott/Dropout

These 5 TMNT episodes prove the original cartoon was better than X-Men: The Animated Series

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:30:19 +0000

Now in its second season, X-Men ‘97 is every bit the epic, comic-book-accurate, action-fest everybody wanted it to be. Much of its success goes back to the decision Marvel made to make the series a direct continuation of the original X-Men: The Animated Series from the 1990s, rather than “just another X-Men cartoon.” Fortunately, the powers-that-be at Marvel saw what fans have been saying since the 1990s: X-Men: The Animated Series is spectacular. With complex, thoughtful stories ripped straight from the comic books, the show was a cut above most Saturday morning cartoons from the era.

Well, at least one good thing's come out of Destiny 2's demise: lob tomatoes at ex-Bungie CEO Pete Parsons' car collection in this fan-made boss battler

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:15:00 +0000

Throwing arms at the ready

Image credit: Pete Carsons: The Vault of Cars / Rock Paper Shotgun

Following the end to Destiny 2's development and subsequent layoffs at developers Bungie, fans of the series have decided to get a bit of revenge of the studio's ex-boss Pete Parsons in one of the few ways they can. By making a browser game in which the player is tasked with lobbing enough tomatoes to defeat both Parsons and his collection of cars.

Asus ProArt Mouse MD301

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:12:04 +0000

While the Asus ProArt Mouse MD301 has a lot to recommend it for, it's got enough hang-ups to make me pause. The chassis design is rather lovely, the two scroll wheels feel great, and the swappable switches are an interesting extra bonus. But connection issues, some awkward software, and the occasional comfort quirk means it's not quite the professional go-getter mouse for me.

The Kingdom Hearts Timeline, Explained

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 13:03:00 +0000

Square Enix and Disney announced Kingdom Hearts 4 at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event in 2022, giving us a fresh new look at Sora and what he’s been up to after he left his friends for a solo adventure at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3. To no one’s surprise, there haven’t been many updates for the sequel since then, but its recent appearance at a Nintendo Direct affirmed the game's continued development.

The new entry of a cult-classic strategy RPG series adds a touch of Fire Emblem flavor

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 13:01:19 +0000

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Published Jul 8, 2026, 9:01 AM EDT

The new entry in the cult series of strategy RPGs shows a Fire Emblem twist to its structure

One Piece fans are eating well this summer with tons of major new releases ahead

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 23:33:20 +0000

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Published Jul 7, 2026, 7:33 PM EDT

New adaptations, toys, and even an official merch store are keeping Straw Hats so full until the much-anticipated remake lands in 7 months

16-year-old MMO Star Trek Online is moving forward by tinkering with the past, unearthing and remaking one of its oldest storylines—and you can play it right now

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0000

(Image credit: Cryptic)

In 2010, at the launch of Star Trek Online, the spacefaring MMO opened on the Klingon War. In typical fashion, the Federation was desperately trying to sue for peace, while a klingon ambassador was doing everything he could to thwart it.

PlayStation breaks media silence after physical disc backlash

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:58:26 +0000

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Published Jul 7, 2026, 11:58 AM EDT

Fans are still fuming over the company's end to physical disc production

PlayStation finally breaks media silence and it's going terribly

Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment

The Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie That Suffered Such a Devastating Leak Earlier This Year Finally Has a Release Date on Paramount+

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:27:38 +0000

Updated

: Jul 7, 2026 3:32pm UTC

The Avatar: The Last Airbender movie that suffered such a devastating leak earlier this year finally has a release date on Paramount+. Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender hits the streamer on July 25, Paramount announced.

New Arcane release announced for 2026

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 19:39:43 +0000

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Published Jul 6, 2026, 3:39 PM EDT

Fractured Jinx will bring Arcane to life thanks to high-end collectibles maker Hot Toys

Arcane fans get a little more Jinx as a gift

Image: Netflix, Riot Games

Get a Perlegear Full Motion TV Wall Mount for Up to 90" TVs With 135lb Capacity for Just $33, It's UL-Compliant and Tested for 4 Times It's Maximum Capacity)

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 19:20:00 +0000

Updated

: Jul 6, 2026 7:21pm UTC

The wall mount you choose is going to be supporting your expensive TV for years, so brand reliability is important. Perlegear is one of the biggest TV mount vendors on Amazon with plenty of reviews to back it up. For a limited time, Amazon is offering a UL-listed Perlegear Full Motion TV Wall Mount, which supports TVs up to 90" and 132 pounds, for just $32.89 after you apply coupon code "9D8IZVUJ". The wall mount is overkill for most TVs, and that's a good thing.

'We Need to Change Course' — Bethesda Boss Tells Staff the Company Must Focus on 'Our Strongest Franchises' as Xbox Layoffs Hit Hard

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 18:39:17 +0000

The boss of Bethesda has told staff the company must now focus on its “strongest franchises” amid sweeping layoffs across Xbox.

Today, Microsoft announced 3,200 staff are set to lose their jobs at Xbox across the current financial year, with 1,600 of those layoffs happening today, July 6. In an email sent to staff, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma called it the most “significant” restructure in Xbox history, insisting Microsoft’s gaming business “is not healthy.” Overall, Xbox is losing about one-fifth of its staff as part of Sharma's push for growth.

Steam users refund hit new game 55,000 times despite 'very positive' reviews

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 18:24:53 +0000

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Published Jul 6, 2026, 2:24 PM EDT

Paddle Paddle Paddle is a friendslop game with largely positive reviews

The unusual situation surrounding a Steam game that has been refunded 55,000 times

Illustration: Inkee Wang for Polygon

Xbox just changed in a way millions of gamers can't ignore

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 18:00:24 +0000

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Updated Jul 7, 2026, 4:40 PM EDT

The details are still hazy, but we have a clearer picture of what Xbox will focus on moving forward

Marvel fighting game officially unplayable for millions of gamers on PC

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 17:43:48 +0000

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Published Jul 6, 2026, 1:43 PM EDT

Fighting game fans are very unhappy with Sony

PlayStation is not in people’s good graces right now. On top of recently announcing that it’s killing physical game releases for its platform, it became clear over the weekend that the publisher’s upcoming fighting game, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, won’t be available for sale in 132 countries on PC.

The launch of Commodore's social media-free privacy-first 'dumbphone' was apparently responsible for 'Our biggest week'

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 04:58:23 +0000

Meet Commodore Callback: The Smart Flip-Phone with No Social Media - YouTube

Watch On

In 2025, Commodore was bought by retro YouTuber Chris "Peri Fractic" Simpson, who re-assembled some key execs and went into the hardware business. The main result so far has been the Commodore 64 Ultimate, the slimline 64C, and a line of merch including, er, a backpack holster?

Researchers studying ChatGPT conversations surprised to find one power user churning out thousands of Doki Doki Literature Club pregnancy fics

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 03:09:52 +0000

(Image credit: Serenity Forge)

As spotted by Japan's IT Media News, a paper presented at Purdue University's MFS Cultural AI Conference called AI Fiction in the Wild performed a fascinating study of half a million anonymous English-language ChatGPT-user conversations using WildChat, and found some real oddities. Well, one in particular.

Counter-Strike 2 might be the biggest game on Steam, but Global Offensive is breaking player count records since it went standalone again

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 16:43:21 +0000

(Image credit: Valve)

Anytime you're talking about the hottest game on Steam, there's an evergreen unspoken caveat: 'after Counter-Strike, of course.' CS2 is unquestionably Steam's killer app—it has well over a million concurrent players as I write this according to SteamDB, and it's showing no signs of slowing down. But don't count out the game it once absorbed and then spat out: its predecessor, Global Offensive.

Dragon Age setting creator David Gaider is pitching a heist RPG that's 'make or break' for his studio

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000

(Image credit: EA)

At the bidding of BioWare's bosses, David Gaider created the world of Thedas, the setting of Dragon Age. And lo, it was beautiful, for a time. But he left the company after an abortive spell on Anthem, and today he's working on a new RPG.

New Fallout 4 quest mod starring an iconic Elder Scrolls voice actor has you solve an eccentric gang war over a long-dead starlet's vault of mysterious goodies

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:41:40 +0000

Made in about a weekend for charity

Image credit: The Modding for Charity team.

Since 2023, a group of well-known Fallout 4 modders have been getting together on an annual basis to team up with Elder Scolls and Fallout voice actor Wes Johnson on a chunky quest mod put together in a matter of days with the goal of rasing money for charity. Last year, their 40 hour-long charity modathon resulted in an alien-centric adventure dubbed Transmission Zeta. This year, they've plopped your character right in the middle of a war between two performers' gangs over who gets to unearth a pre-war singer's archived belongings.

Lullabies Made of Static is a quieter, slower, but still quite welcome addition to PC gaming's brutalist walking sim canon

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:56:14 +0000

Out now with a Steam demo

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun/Texhno Studios

Brutalism serves one of two purposes in games: either as a source of concrete projectiles, or much more commonly, as a backdrop to quietly wander around, feeling morose. Personally I’m a fan of both, hence Lullabies Made of Static – which is out today – tickling the same neurons as my favourite grey walking sim, Fugue in Void.

Valve dropped that Steam Machine Companion Cube case down the legal incinerator after its makers neglected to get their permission

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:00:08 +0000

"We should’ve asked first"

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

Steam Machine stock may be in short supply, but hey, at least it hasn’t been taken off sale and scoured from the Internet, never to be seen again. That’s just the fate of Dbrand’s unofficial Steam Machine Companion Cube case, a smartly made (if overpriced and kind of pointless) Portal-themed accessory that it turns out was so unofficial, Dbrand never actually had permission from Valve to sell it. So, now they aren’t, and have issued refunds to anyone who ordered one.

"Everybody got the rug pulled out from under them": Xbox are putting third-party Game Pass deals "on pause", claims publishing veteran

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:26:37 +0000

Former Splash Damage and Modern Wolf exec shares some tradeshow gossip

Image credit: Microsoft

Microsoft are easing off on third-party game deals for the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, according to one fairly seasoned industry figure, while they "figure out" what to do with their gaming business in general.

Rainbow Six Siege developers go on strike through July to protest mass layoffs and RTO policies at Ubisoft Barcelona

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:12:26 +0000

Industrial action within the Assassin's Creed company continues

Image credit: Ubisoft

Staff at Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege support studio Ubisoft Barcelona are going on strike across July in response to mass layoffs. They'll be downing tools every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from June 30th to July 17th, and are calling for protection against future "collective dismissals", together with the reinstatement of previously agreed promotion packages.

Space shooter Hyperwired gives you a ship with a doofy power cable hanging out the back and challenges you to keep its battery charged

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 14:11:26 +0000

Arcade shmuck

Image credit: SelectaPlay / Beep Japan Inc.

Picture the kind of spannerhead who would leave their starfighter's charging cable unplugged, the day before the big Mission to Save the Galaxy. Picture the absolute wellington who'd lift off with that cable dangling behind their ship like a ribbon of bogroll flapping from the heel of a pub drunk. Picture the consummate cheesewinkle who'd then have to keep latching onto random satellites to replenish their ship's batteries, while avoiding enemy fire.