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        <title><![CDATA[GAMES.GG News Feed]]></title>
        <description><![CDATA[Welcome to the GAMES.GG RSS feed! Get ready to explore the world of blockchain gaming like never before. Our feed brings you the latest updates, news, and insights on the best blockchain games to play, along with unbiased and honest NFT game reviews. Dive into exclusive interviews with game studios and founders of various web3 games, and enjoy tons of entertaining content on both Twitch and YouTube. Plus, don't miss the GAM3 AWARDS, where we celebrate and recognize the best of the best in web3 gaming. Stay informed, entertained, and ahead of the curve with our GAMES.GG RSS feed, your ultimate source for all things blockchain gaming!]]></description>
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        <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 19:02:38 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Roblox Releases Agentic AI Tools to Generate Infinite AI Slop]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Roblox Corporation has officially launched agentic AI tools for Roblox Studio, and the pitch is exactly what it sounds like: type a prompt, watch a game build itself. According to a post on the official Roblox newsroom, the new AI agent is designed to act as a "collaborative development partner" that analyzes a game's code and data model, asks clarifying questions, and converts a complex prompt into a detailed, reviewable action plan. From there, it executes. Autonomously. What the agentic tools actually do The demo videos Roblox published show a user typing a single prompt and watching the entire experience assemble in real time. The agent doesn't just write scripts. It generates meshes and 3D models, places assets, and can autonomously control the player character to test and execute set commands inside the experience. The key here is the word "agentic." This isn't a simple autocomplete or a code suggestion tool. The system is designed to take high-level instructions and carry out multi-step development tasks without the creator needing to touch individual components. That's a significant leap from the AI coding assistants Roblox has been rolling out over the past couple of years. danger The generated content, including meshes and models, is described as reviewable and editable before publishing, but the pipeline from prompt to playable experience is designed to be as frictionless as possible. The content flood this will almost certainly cause Here's the thing: Roblox already has a content volume problem. The platform hosts tens of millions of experiences, and the signal-to-noise ratio has been a persistent complaint from players trying to find anything worth playing. Handing a fully automated build pipeline to every creator on the platform is not going to improve that ratio. The concern isn't that AI tools exist. It's that this specific implementation is optimized for speed and volume over craft. Creators who previously lacked the scripting or 3D modeling skills to publish anything will now be able to generate and publish experiences in minutes. The barrier to entry dropping to near zero sounds like democratization on paper. In practice, it's a content firehose pointed directly at a platform that already struggles with discoverability. Roblox's audience skews young. A significant portion of its daily active users are under 13. The platform becoming a destination for algorithmically generated, low-effort experiences is a different kind of problem when the people navigating it are kids who haven't yet developed the media literacy to filter out junk content. Roblox's broader AI push and where this fits Roblox Corporation has been building toward this for a while. The company has steadily integrated AI features into Studio over the past two years, starting with code generation and material generation tools. This agentic system represents the most complete version of that vision yet, collapsing the entire development workflow into a conversational interface. The company's framing positions this as empowering creators who have ideas but lack technical skills. That argument has merit at the margins. But the realistic outcome of a single-prompt-to-published-experience pipeline is mass production, not a wave of creative newcomers building thoughtful games. For creators who actually care about building something worthwhile on Roblox, the tools themselves aren't the enemy. The problem is the environment they're being released into, and what the platform incentivizes at scale. For the latest gaming news and analysis, check out gaming news across the industry to see how other platforms are handling the AI content question. Roblox hasn't announced a specific rollout timeline for broader creator access beyond the initial announcement, so how quickly these tools reach the full creator base remains to be seen. What's already clear is the direction Roblox Corporation is heading, and it's full speed toward automation. If you want to read up on the games worth actually playing right now, browse our latest reviews before the AI-generated noise gets any louder. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/roblox-agentic-ai-tools-studio/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:53:46 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Sailor Piece Best Fruits Worth Your Time]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Picking the wrong fruit in Roblox: One Fruit can set you back hours of progress. The difference between an S-tier and a C-tier fruit is not just damage numbers , it's whether you can clear Boss Rush, push through Dungeons, and hold your own against world threats without constantly running out of steam. Here's the lowdown on where every fruit currently stands, and why the gap between the top picks and the rest is bigger than most players realize. Why fruit choice defines your entire build Fruits in Roblox: One Fruit function as a second combat layer on top of your fighting style and passive skills. The right fruit can turn invisible, trigger elemental chain damage, or summon area-wide effects that wipe entire mob groups. The wrong one leaves you cycling through weak moves with long cooldowns while enemies barely flinch. What most players miss is that the fruit itself is only half the equation. Traits attached to your fruit have a massive effect on actual performance. Rolling Transcendent or Malevolent traits can push a mid-tier fruit into genuinely useful territory, while a bad trait roll on an S-tier fruit will make it feel underwhelming. Traits also reduce skill cooldowns directly, which means you are throwing out moves far more frequently and dealing sustained damage instead of waiting around between bursts. info If your fruit feels weak after a few hours of play, check your traits before assuming the fruit itself is the problem. A reroll can completely change how a fruit performs in practice. The current tier breakdown Right now, the fruit pool in Roblox: One Fruit sits at five obtainable options, available through fruit dealers, ground spawns, and player trades. Here is how they rank: Tier Fruits Why S Quake Fruit, Light Fruit Highest damage output, effective across all modes and enemy types A Mid-range options Solid for combat quests and general island clearing B Situational picks Work in specific scenarios but fall off in harder content C Bottom tier Limited use cases, outclassed in most situations Quake Fruit sits at the top because of its area denial and raw damage across multiple targets. It performs consistently in Boss Rush and Tower modes where enemy density is high and single-target bursting is less effective. Light Fruit earns its S-tier slot through speed and sustained damage, making it particularly strong for players who want to move fast between farming spots while keeping their kill rate high. Where A and B-tier fruits actually earn their keep A-tier fruits are not a consolation prize. For players working through combat quests or dealing with standard world threats, they perform well enough that you will not feel held back. The gap between A and S only becomes noticeable when you push into the hardest content, where Quake and Light start pulling ahead on efficiency. B-tier picks are more situational. They have moments where they shine, but they require more setup and better trait rolls to compete. If you are locked into a B-tier fruit and cannot trade up, prioritizing those trait rerolls becomes even more important. C-tier fruits are largely outclassed. They can get the job done in early-game content, but investing heavily in a C-tier fruit when better options exist through trades is a difficult case to make. Getting the fruit you actually want Fruits spawn on the ground across islands and rotate through fruit dealers at set intervals. Trading with other players is often the fastest route to a specific fruit, especially for S-tier picks that other players are actively holding onto. Patience matters here , Quake Fruit in particular tends to move quickly when it appears. For players building toward the strongest possible setup, the priority order is clear: secure either Quake or Light Fruit first, then focus on trait rerolls to optimize cooldowns and damage output. Everything else is secondary. If you want to stay on top of builds and mechanics across Roblox and beyond, browse more guides covering the latest updates and strategies across the biggest titles right now. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/sailor-piece-best-fruits-worth-your-time/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:52:12 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Roblox Agrees to $12 Million Settlement in Child Safety Lawsuit]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[$12 million. That is the price Roblox has agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit tied to child safety concerns on its platform, a case that puts a hard dollar figure on the ongoing scrutiny the company faces over how it protects its youngest users. What the settlement actually means The lawsuit targeted Roblox Corporation over allegations related to child safety failures on the platform. While the company has agreed to the $12 million settlement, it has not admitted wrongdoing, which is standard practice in civil settlements of this kind. What makes this case notable is the scale of the platform involved. Roblox consistently reports tens of millions of daily active users, a significant portion of whom are under 13. In response to the settlement, Roblox issued a statement framing its safety work as an ongoing commitment rather than a fixed target, saying the company has "no finish line when it comes to safety." That phrasing is notable. It signals the company knows this will not be the last time it faces questions about how it handles younger players. danger The $12 million settlement does not include an admission of liability from Roblox Corporation. The company maintains it continues to invest in safety systems across the platform. The platform's long-running safety problem Here's the thing: Roblox has been under pressure over child safety for years. The platform's open creation model, where third-party developers build and publish experiences that millions of children access daily, makes moderation genuinely difficult at scale. Past investigations by journalists and advocacy groups have flagged issues ranging from inappropriate user-generated content to concerns about predatory behavior in chat systems. Roblox has responded over time with parental controls, chat filters, and age-appropriate experience labels. The company has also introduced features that restrict communication for younger accounts. But critics argue those measures have consistently lagged behind the actual risks present on the platform, and this settlement suggests at least one legal challenge has found enough merit to reach a financial resolution. What this costs Roblox, and what it signals to the industry $12 million is not a crippling sum for a company of Roblox's size. The key here is what the settlement signals rather than what it costs. Platforms built around younger audiences are facing increasing legal and regulatory pressure globally, and a settlement like this adds to a growing body of cases that could shape how child-focused digital platforms are held accountable. For parents and guardians, this is a reminder that the tools exist to restrict what younger players can access and who they can communicate with inside Roblox. The parental controls dashboard allows account restrictions, contact settings, and spending limits, and you'll want to make sure those are reviewed regularly rather than set once and forgotten. The broader gaming industry is watching cases like this closely. Regulators in the US, UK, and EU have all signaled interest in tightening rules around platforms with large underage userbases, and a $12 million settlement, however routine in legal terms, keeps that conversation active. For the latest gaming news and analysis, check out our gaming news . Roblox's next move will matter. The company's "no finish line" framing is either a genuine long-term commitment or a PR buffer, and the answer will show up in product decisions and moderation investments over the coming months. For more coverage across the gaming space, browse latest reviews and reports as the story develops. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/roblox-12-million-child-safety-settlement/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:50:00 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Roblox's Age Verification Push Is Unpopular, and Its Safety Chief Knows It]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[If you've been building on Roblox lately, the platform has felt less like a creative sandbox and more like a compliance checklist. New age verification requirements, publishing restrictions tied to account status, and the rollout of Roblox Plus replacing Premium have all landed in quick succession, and the community is not happy about it. That frustration boiled over during an April 16 AMA, where Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman addressed the backlash directly. One player put it plainly, asking whether Roblox was aware of the long-term damage its "no compromise" approach might cause, and why the platform had made "zero concessions" despite what they described as “overwhelming feedback.” What Kaufman actually said Kaufman didn't dodge the question. He acknowledged the changes have been "unpopular" but framed the situation as a balancing act between two competing pressures: creator freedom and child safety regulation. "We've heard loudly from parents and policymakers that they need stronger assurances about the content available to our youngest users," he said, "and we take that just as seriously as we take feedback from creators and influencers." Here's the thing: his core argument isn't really about preference. It's about survival. "The honest reality is that the cost of not acting is greater than the friction of acting," Kaufman stated. "Without these requirements, Roblox risks losing access in entire regions, which means fewer players, smaller audiences, and less opportunity for every creator and influencer building on this platform." His summary line cuts through the noise: "Some Roblox everywhere is better than full Roblox nowhere." The legal pressure sitting behind all of this Kaufman's comments didn't arrive in a vacuum. Just days before the AMA, Roblox settled a proposed lawsuit from the state of Nevada, where Attorney General Aaron Ford had planned to sue the company over insufficient safety features. The settlement came in at $10 million, with funds directed toward children's programs. An additional $2.5 million was earmarked for an online awareness campaign. That's $12.5 million worth of legal context for why these changes are happening now. danger Starting in June, games published on Roblox without a Roblox Plus subscription will only be visible to users aged 16 and older. Creators can still build without the subscription, but their audience reach will be significantly limited. The timing of the Plus subscription launch made all of this land harder than it needed to. Roblox Plus replacing Premium is arguably a better value proposition on paper, but when it's also a prerequisite for reaching younger players, it stops feeling like an upgrade and starts feeling like a paywall on your own creative work. Before and after: what actually changed for creators The shift here is real. Previously, publishing a game on Roblox didn't require account verification or a specific subscription tier. Now, the path to reaching Roblox's youngest and largest audience segment runs through age verification and, come June, an active Roblox Plus subscription. For veteran developers with established accounts, the friction is manageable. For newer or younger creators, it's a steeper climb, and that's where most of the community frustration is concentrated. Kaufman acknowledged this tension, pointing to the platform's growth over nearly two decades as the reason these responsibilities exist at all. "Roblox today is not the platform it was five, ten, almost twenty years ago," he said. What most players miss in this debate is that the regulatory pressure isn't coming from inside the building. Internet safety laws tightening across multiple countries have forced platforms with large underage userbases to act or face consequences far more disruptive than a subscription requirement. For more context on how platforms are adapting to player safety demands, check out our latest gaming news covering industry-wide shifts in content moderation and age gating. The June publishing changes are the next concrete milestone to watch. How many creators adjust, how many push back, and whether Roblox bends on any specifics will tell you more about where this platform is heading than any AMA answer could. Kaufman has made the company's position clear. Now the community gets to respond with its actions, not just its posts. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/roblox-age-verification-safety-chief-response/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:48:39 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[The World Sword in Sailor Piece: What Players Need to Know]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The grind is real in Sailor Piece's Sea 2 update, and The World sword sits near the top of the weapon wishlist for most players pushing through Easter Island content. It's bundled alongside some of the game's strongest swords, and getting your hands on it requires either serious farming patience or a shortcut through the in-game shop. What Easter Island actually demands from you Easter Island is the home of Sailor Piece's current endgame grind, and the weapons available here reflect that. The World sword doesn't have its own standalone boss fight or dedicated drop table. Instead, it appears exclusively in Robux bundle packs through the in-game shop, making it one of the few top-tier weapons that can't be farmed through normal gameplay alone. Here's the thing: the bundle structure matters a lot depending on what else you want. The most expensive pack bundles The World with Cosmic Being , Great Mage , and Dragon Goddess for 4,299 Robux. A cheaper option at 2,999 Robux drops Dragon Goddess but keeps the other three. If The World is the only target, there's no standalone option at a lower price point, so players who want it without the extras are effectively paying for the full bundle value regardless. The bundle breakdown Bundle Contents Robux Cost The World, Cosmic Being, Great Mage, Dragon Goddess 4,299 Robux The World, Cosmic Being, Great Mage 2,999 Robux Great Mage and Mage Outfit 1,299 Robux Great Mage only 1,499 Robux The key here is that The World only appears in the two most expensive tiers. Players who were hoping to grind their way to it through Easter Eggs or boss materials won't find that path available for this particular sword. danger The World sword is currently only obtainable through Robux bundles. Unlike the Great Mage sword, there is no Easter Egg currency or boss drop route to unlock it through free-to-play grinding. The Great Mage route, and why it's relevant For players who want the best free-to-play sword from Easter Island, Great Mage (the Frieren-inspired sword) is the main target. Getting it requires farming the Great Mage boss on Easter Island, which drops the materials needed to purchase it from the Great Mage Seller NPC standing on a mountain near the Bunny enemies. The required materials include 500 Easter Eggs, 18 Spell Echoes, 10 Ancient Fragments, 5 Magic Essences, and 1 Mana Core. Alternatively, 1,500 Easter Eggs spent at the Easter Merchant Shop bypasses the boss entirely. That's a longer grind against Bunny NPCs, but it removes the randomness of low-percentage boss drops like the Mana Core, which sits at just a 0.65% drop rate. Boss difficulty and what it costs to summon The Great Mage boss is a manually spawned fight, not a world boss. Spawning it requires Easter Keys dropped by Bunny NPCs, at roughly half the drop rate of Easter Eggs. Higher difficulty versions hit harder but improve drop rates across all materials. Difficulty HP Easter Keys Required Normal 3,500,000,000 1 Medium 10,000,000,000 2 Hard 25,000,000,000 3 Extreme 65,000,000,000 4 Stock up on keys before summoning. Burning through them one at a time without a proper damage build wastes both time and keys. The Ancient Mage title, which drops from the Great Mage boss at a 0.65-1.25% rate, is also required to purchase the sword from the NPC, so factor that into your farming expectations. What makes this content worth the effort The Great Mage sword's moveset is genuinely strong for clearing groups. Its F keybind triggers a massive AoE magical attack, making it one of the better farming tools in Sea 2 right now. The V keybind is a full cutscene move that deals heavy single-target damage. For players grinding Sea 2 quests or farming drops, the AoE coverage alone justifies the unlock cost. The World sword, sitting in the premium bundle tier, presumably offers comparable or greater power given its price positioning alongside Cosmic Being and Dragon Goddess. What most players miss is that buying the 2,999 Robux bundle effectively gives three top-tier swords at a lower per-sword cost than purchasing Great Mage alone at 1,499 Robux. The bigger picture for Sea 2 progression Easter Island content appears to be time-limited. The Easter Egg currency and the Easter Merchant Shop may not stick around permanently, which adds urgency for players who want the free-to-play Great Mage route before the event wraps. The Robux bundles containing The World sword don't carry the same expiration risk, but there's no confirmed window for how long the current pricing structure stays in place. For a full breakdown of other weapons and progression paths in the game, browse more guides covering the latest Roblox titles and Sea 2 content. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/the-world-sword-in-sailor-piece/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:47:39 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[GTA 6 fans are cataloguing every animal in the trailers]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The GTA 6 trailer has been picked apart for car models, architecture, and map geography. But one GTAForums community decided the real story was the wildlife. A user going by PauloJz has been leading a thread titled GTA VI - Animals / Fauna Analysis on GTAForums, and it is exactly what it sounds like. Every trailer, screenshot, and piece of official artwork from Grand Theft Auto VI gets examined for any creature that appears on screen, however briefly. The result is a growing, meticulously sourced catalogue of confirmed animal species set to roam the fictional Leonida state. Frame by frame through the Florida fauna The project started with the very first GTA 6 trailer . PauloJz explains that even at launch he had already spotted several prominent animals, including sea turtles visible in the opening "Rockstar Presents" scene. From that starting point, the thread expanded into a collaborative effort, with contributors identifying creatures, posting their real-world counterparts, noting timestamps, and debating species classification. Here is what that looks like in practice. A Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) is spotted in the trailer's opening seconds, described by the thread as common to coasts, ports, and landfills across the northern hemisphere. A Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) appears at the 0:11 mark, heading toward a beach, with contributors noting it can reach 2.13 metres in length. A Miniature Pinscher is visible at 0:22, running alongside its owner on a beach. Each entry includes visual evidence, a real-world species match, and reasoning for the identification. The key here is that none of these animals appear on screen for long. Some flash past in milliseconds. Pinning down a species from a fraction of a second of trailer footage requires pausing, zooming, cross-referencing, and sometimes debating. info The GTAForums fauna thread covers trailers, official screenshots, and key art. Contributors post real-world species comparisons alongside timestamps and visual reasoning for every identification. When a rock looks like a bear The process is not error-free. PauloJz acknowledges one notable false alarm involving the Mount Kalaga screenshot, where a shape in the upper right corner was initially debated as a bear. Closer inspection confirmed it was just a rock. That kind of course-correction is built into how the thread operates. The community flags potential errors, someone looks harder, and consensus forms. "We don't always get it right the first time," PauloJz says. “But the openness of the community means that consensus is never far from their grasp.” What most players miss when they watch the GTA 6 trailers is just how much environmental detail Rockstar has packed into the background. The fauna thread is essentially a record of that detail, built by people who care enough to look. PauloJz believes Rockstar's trailer team is aware of communities like his, suggesting the studio deliberately layers breadcrumbs for eagle-eyed viewers to find. What the catalogue tells us about Leonida The broader implication of this project goes beyond curiosity. GTA 5 had a wildlife photography side mission and a reasonably detailed ecosystem. If the fauna thread is any indication, Grand Theft Auto VI is pushing that further. A Florida panther stalking deer in the Mount Kalaga national park area appears in official key art. Sea turtles swim beneath boats. Birds circle highways. The Leonida environment appears to be built with genuine ecological logic rather than decorative filler. GTA 6 is currently scheduled to launch on consoles on November 19 this year. PC details remain unconfirmed. PauloJz is treating the remaining pre-launch window as an opportunity for more data, noting that any new trailer or screenshot drop will feed directly into the thread. Once the game actually releases, the catalogue is expected to grow significantly as players encounter species in the open world that never appeared in any official footage. "That's why I created the topic about wildlife and so many others, precisely so that in the future they can be revisited and visited by new people," PauloJz says. For anyone wanting to follow the thread's progress or contribute an identification, the GTAForums fauna analysis page is the place to watch. You can also find plenty of other deep-dive community projects over at our gaming news hub as the GTA 6 release window gets closer.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/gta-6-fans-cataloguing-animals-trailers/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:45:41 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[RPCS3 Update Makes PS3 Emulation Easier Than Ever]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[RPCS3 just made playing PS3 games on PC dramatically simpler. The emulator's latest update introduces automatic game configuration, pulling from established wiki settings so that most titles load up correctly without any manual tweaking from the user. "Playing PS3 games has never been so easy," RPCS3 posted on social media after the update dropped. That's not just marketing talk. For anyone who has spent time wrestling with per-game settings in emulators, this is a real quality-of-life shift. What RPCS3 looked like before this change Historically, getting a PS3 game running well in RPCS3 meant consulting the community wiki, cross-referencing recommended CPU and GPU settings, and manually applying them yourself. For technically confident users, that process was manageable. For everyone else, it was a genuine barrier. The PS3's Cell processor architecture made all of this harder than it needed to be. Cell was notoriously difficult to emulate because of how its processing units, called SPUs, handled tasks in parallel. Getting that behavior right in software took years of work from the RPCS3 development team, and even then, each game could behave differently depending on how it used the hardware. That complexity meant the emulator's settings panel was not exactly beginner-friendly. Three breakthroughs in rapid succession Here's the thing: the auto-configuration update didn't arrive in isolation. Just days before, RPCS3 pushed a separate CPU breakthrough that improved how the emulator handles the Cell architecture's most demanding behavior. Before that, a library update brought the total count of fully playable PS3 titles even closer to the complete catalog, with the remaining problematic games mostly being PlayStation Move titles that depend on motion controls. Three meaningful updates in quick succession is not the usual pace for an open-source emulation project. The team is clearly on a run. The key here is that the auto-configuration feature builds directly on that wiki knowledge base the community has been building for years. Every time a player documented the optimal settings for a specific game, that data fed into what is now an automated system. The community's work didn't disappear. It became infrastructure. Sony still hasn't solved what a fan project just did The timing is worth noting. Reports suggest the upcoming PlayStation 6 will carry forward compatibility with PS4 and PS5 libraries, but PS3 support remains absent from any official plans. Sony's own PS3 back-catalog has been locked behind PlayStation Now streaming for years, and even that service has had a complicated history. Meanwhile, RPCS3 is now closer to genuine plug-and-play PS3 emulation than Sony's own hardware has ever been. The gap between what a community-driven emulator can do and what a hardware manufacturer chooses to prioritize is getting harder to ignore. For anyone interested in what else is happening across the emulation and preservation space, there's plenty more to explore in our latest gaming news covering the scene. The next logical step for RPCS3 is continued refinement of that remaining slice of the library, particularly the Move-dependent titles. Whether motion control emulation ever reaches the same level of polish as the core library is the open question the project will be working toward next.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/rpcs3-auto-configure-ps3-plug-play/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/rpcs3-auto-configure-ps3-plug-play/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:41:46 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Sura Is Offering a Shot at World Cup 2026 Tickets]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A new limited-time event inside the Sura app is turning routine mobile play into a competition tied to one of the biggest sporting events in the world. The Sura Tap World Cup campaign runs from April 20 through May 3, giving players a short window to engage daily, earn points, and compete for access to World Cup 2026 tickets. The setup is straightforward but leans heavily on consistency. Players log in, play a tap-based game, complete missions, and interact with content. Each action feeds into a points system that directly impacts how many chances a participant has when winners are determined. It is less about a single lucky entry and more about how active a player remains throughout the event. Available on iOS and Android . A Points System Built Around Daily Play At the center of the campaign is a loop that rewards repetition. Every session contributes to a growing total of points, and those points convert into chances to win. The structure encourages players to return every day rather than treat the event as a one-time entry. The live leaderboard adds a competitive layer, giving players a clear sense of where they stand against others. Movement on the board reflects ongoing activity, which means that even late entrants can still climb if they remain consistent. The system does not lock outcomes early, but it does favor those who stay engaged from start to finish. What Players Are Competing For The headline reward is access to official World Cup 2026 tickets, including a featured match such as Argentina versus Jordan. In addition to a direct ticket prize, the campaign also includes access tiers that allow participants to purchase tickets at face value. This distinction matters. Access does not guarantee a ticket, but it opens a pathway to buy through an official system, subject to availability. The campaign outlines multiple tiers, with the highest-performing participants receiving the most direct route into the ticket purchasing process. Others can still gain priority positioning, which improves their chances when tickets become available. Progression Feels Familiar, but the Stakes Are Different From a gameplay perspective, the Sura Tap experience follows patterns common in mobile games. Players complete repeatable tasks, earn incremental rewards, and track their progress over time. The difference here is in what those rewards represent. Instead of unlocking in-game items, players are working toward real-world benefits tied to a global event. That shift gives the otherwise simple mechanics a different kind of weight. Daily participation is no longer just about maintaining a streak or hitting a milestone, but about increasing the probability of securing something tangible. The system blends elements of progression and chance, with each point acting as another entry into a broader draw. Time Pressure Shapes the Experience With only two weeks available, the campaign is structured around urgency. There is little room for passive participation, and missing days can have a noticeable impact on overall standing. The real-time leaderboard reinforces this, as positions can change quickly based on activity levels. The short duration also means that players are encouraged to engage early. While the system does not exclude latecomers, those who begin at the start naturally have more opportunities to accumulate points. In practice, the event rewards both early adoption and sustained involvement. Claiming Rewards and What to Expect Players who secure ticket access are given a limited window to claim it, typically within 72 hours. The process requires using the same account details associated with participation, ensuring that rewards are tied directly to in-app activity. It is worth noting that the campaign focuses solely on ticket access. Travel, accommodation, and related expenses are not included. The reward structure remains centered on entry to matches or the opportunity to purchase tickets under defined conditions. A Competitive Layer for Casual Play The Sura Tap World Cup campaign sits somewhere between a casual mobile game and a structured competition. Its mechanics are accessible, requiring only short daily sessions, but the leaderboard and reward system introduce a more competitive edge. For players willing to check in consistently over the two-week period, the event offers a clear path to increasing their chances. It does not guarantee results, but it does make participation a meaningful factor in the outcome. In that sense, it aligns more with engagement-driven systems seen in modern games than with traditional one-off giveaways. FAQ: Sura Tap World Cup Campaign What is the Sura Tap World Cup game? The Sura Tap World Cup game is a mobile-based event inside the Sura app where players complete daily activities to earn points and gain chances to access World Cup 2026 tickets. How can players win World Cup 2026 tickets? Players earn points by playing daily, completing missions, and engaging with content. Each point increases the number of chances they have when winners are selected. Is this a lottery or skill-based competition? The system combines participation and chance. It is not a traditional lottery, as consistent activity increases the likelihood of being selected. What does ticket access mean? Ticket access allows players to purchase official World Cup tickets at face value through a designated platform, subject to availability. How long does the event last? The campaign runs from April 20 to May 3, giving players a limited two-week period to participate. Are travel costs included in the prize? No, the campaign only provides match tickets or access to purchase tickets. Travel and accommodation are not included. How can players improve their chances of winning? Players can improve their chances by participating daily, completing all available missions, inviting friends, and staying active throughout the event. What happens if a player wins access? Winners receive instructions to claim their access and typically have 72 hours to complete the process using their registered account details.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/sura-world-cup-2026-tickets/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/sura-world-cup-2026-tickets/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:18:43 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Xbox Game Pass future is up in the air under new CEO Asha Sharma]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA["Game Pass has become too expensive." That's the word coming from inside Microsoft Gaming itself, according to a leaked memo from new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma , reported by The Verge's Notepad newsletter on April 16. Seven months after Microsoft raised prices across every Game Pass tier, the person now running the show is apparently looking at the rubble and wondering how to rebuild. How Game Pass got here The timeline matters. In October 2025, Microsoft hiked the price of every Game Pass tier, justifying the move by claiming it was "delivering more value, more benefits, and more great games across every plan." Game Pass Ultimate landed at $29.99 a month. For context, that's the same price as three months of the service used to cost during its early days. Then, in February, Phil Spencer was replaced as CEO of Microsoft Gaming by Asha Sharma . A leadership change that significant rarely happens without a mandate to rethink things, and that's exactly what's playing out now. What Sharma is reportedly considering According to The Verge's reporting, two ideas are currently on the table. The first is a new Game Pass tier built exclusively around first-party titles from Microsoft-owned studios. The second, and arguably more disruptive idea, is whether future Call of Duty games should continue arriving on Game Pass on day one. Here's the thing: neither of these is a confirmed plan. The Verge frames both as options Sharma is weighing internally, not decisions that have been made. That distinction matters, but it also tells you something about where Game Pass currently stands. The service that was once Xbox's clearest competitive advantage is now a question mark. danger Microsoft has not officially confirmed any changes to Game Pass pricing, tiers, or Call of Duty day-one availability. These remain internal discussions according to The Verge's reporting. The Call of Duty problem Pulling Call of Duty from day-one Game Pass access would be a significant reversal. Microsoft made a major point of bringing Activision's flagship franchise to the service after completing its acquisition, and day-one access was a core part of the value pitch to subscribers. Walking that back would raise uncomfortable questions about which other first-party franchises might follow. The key here is that any Call of Duty removal would need to come with a meaningful price drop on Game Pass Ultimate to make sense to subscribers. At $29.99 a month, the service is already a harder sell than it was a year ago. Removing its biggest draw without a corresponding price cut would be a difficult position to defend. A service without a roadmap What's striking about all of this is the absence of a clear direction. Xbox does have Project Helix as its next-generation hardware reference point, but Sharma has yet to attach a concrete Game Pass strategy to that future. The subscription service that Microsoft spent years building into its identity is currently operating without a defined plan for what it wants to be. Game Pass built its reputation on straightforward value: pay a flat monthly fee, play a lot of games including new first-party releases on day one. That proposition eroded when prices jumped without a proportional increase in what subscribers actually receive. Rebuilding that trust requires more than internal memos and trial balloons. For anyone currently subscribed or thinking about it, the honest answer right now is that the service could look substantially different within a year. Whether that means a cheaper first-party-only option, a restructured Ultimate tier, or something else entirely, Microsoft hasn't decided yet. Keep an eye on our gaming news as Sharma's plans take shape, because the next few months could redefine what Xbox's subscription service actually means for players. For a broader look at what's worth playing right now regardless of where Game Pass lands, our latest reviews are a good place to start.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/xbox-game-pass-future-uncertain-ceo/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/xbox-game-pass-future-uncertain-ceo/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:47:13 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Spire 2 roadmap drops 17 planned updates with zero release dates]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Mega Crit just handed Slay the Spire 2 players a detailed look at what's coming to the deckbuilder roguelike, and then immediately told them not to ask when any of it is arriving. The studio published its first major Early Access roadmap through The Neowsletter, its Steam community update series, listing 17 planned additions for the game on its path to a 1.0 launch. New characters, alternate versions of Acts 2 and 3, Steam Workshop support, a Bestiary, experimental game modes, more languages, and a "True Victory" condition are all on the list. What's not on the list: a single release date for any of it. Why Mega Crit is keeping the calendar blank Studio co-founder Casey Yano was direct about the reasoning. In his Neowsletter post , Yano described how Mega Crit operates as a small team where members evaluate tasks week by week and work on whatever feels most impactful at the time. That approach, he acknowledged, isn't the most organized, but it's what produced some of the game's more unexpected moments, like the Ancient dialogues and the Room Full of Cheese. Public deadlines would break that process. "I don't want Sloppy Spire 2, I want Slay the Spire 2," Yano wrote, making the studio's position about as clear as it gets. The goal is to avoid "uninspired work" driven by external pressure rather than actual readiness. Yano also said Mega Crit has no plans to massively expand its headcount just to hit a 1.0 date faster. The Steam Early Access page does offer a rough window, noting the team expects to reach full launch within one to two years of the March 5, 2026 Early Access debut. info Beta branch patches release at a faster cadence than main branch updates. Players who want to test experimental changes early can opt in through Steam's branch settings. The review-bombing context that prompted the update The timing of the roadmap isn't coincidental. Mega Crit dropped this communication push shortly after Slay the Spire 2 took a hit in its Steam recent reviews, sliding from "Mostly Positive" to "Mixed" following a wave of negative posts tied to balance changes in last week's update. The studio had flagged in its patch notes that the changes weren't "set in stone," but that caveat didn't stop the backlash. Publishing a full roadmap right after a review-bombing episode is a smart play. It signals that development is moving forward with purpose, even if the pace is deliberately unhurried. What's actually on the roadmap The 17-point plan breaks down into four categories: Features and systems Steam Workshop support Additional language support The Bestiary (an in-game enemy encyclopedia) Experimental game modes Ongoing tasks Bug fixes and compatibility improvements Game balance and quality-of-life updates Audio and visual polish Content (spoiler-free) Alternate Act 2 New playable character Alternate Act 3 More cards, events, relics, and potions Further out Console, mobile, and platform ports Steam Achievements and Trading Cards "True Victory" and everything tied to it The Neowsletter also included player stats, a developer Q&A, new merchandise details, and fan art, which suggests Mega Crit is leaning into community engagement as a long-term strategy rather than just damage control. For players who want to follow Slay the Spire 2's development closely, browse our gaming news to stay across updates as they land. The beta branch remains the fastest way to see what Mega Crit is testing before it hits the main build, and based on Yano's comments, that's where the most active iteration is happening right now. Check out latest reviews for more coverage on Early Access titles worth watching.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/slay-the-spire-2-roadmap-update/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/slay-the-spire-2-roadmap-update/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:44:18 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Resident Evil Requiem Mercenaries Mode Leak Gets Louder]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[If you've been waiting for a reason to jump back into Resident Evil Requiem, the rumor mill just handed you one. An alleged datamine has surfaced 10 previously unheard audio tracks from the game's files, and the survival horror community is now fairly convinced that Capcom is cooking up a new version of The Mercenaries mode for its ninth mainline entry. What the datamine actually turned up X user @MasyaSYRKOV posted the alleged findings after digging through Resident Evil Requiem's game files, sharing 10 tracks that don't appear in the current build of the game. On the surface, a handful of unnamed audio files might not seem like much. Here's the thing, though: the specific character of several tracks lines up almost too neatly with what longtime franchise fans know about The Mercenaries. Tracks 7 and 9 carry the kind of high-energy, combat-forward intensity that The Mercenaries has always used to keep players in a frenzied state. The real tell is Tracks 3 and 4, which feature a persistent ticking sound underneath the music. That detail matters because The Mercenaries is fundamentally a time-based mode, where a countdown clock governs every run. Ticking audio cues tied to a timer would be a very deliberate design choice, not background noise. None of the tracks carry naming conventions that confirm their purpose, so this remains unverified speculation. Capcom has not commented on the leak. Why the May update already had fans suspicious The datamine didn't start the Mercenaries conversation. It just accelerated one that was already happening. Back in March, Capcom confirmed that post-launch content was in development for Resident Evil Requiem, including a story expansion and a separate "mini-game" scheduled to arrive in May. The developer gave no further details on what that mini-game actually is, which left plenty of room for speculation. The Mercenaries has appeared in some form across multiple entries in the series, including Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, and Resident Evil 6, so it was already the community's leading theory before any audio surfaced. The datamined tracks have now given that theory something concrete to point at. danger Capcom has only confirmed that a mini-game is in development for a May release. No official announcement has named The Mercenaries or described the mode's structure. Treat the datamine as community speculation, not confirmation. The character wishlist is already forming What most players miss when Mercenaries rumors surface is how much of the conversation immediately shifts to the roster. The mode's appeal has always been about cycling through a lineup of characters with distinct playstyles, and Resident Evil Requiem has already introduced some compelling new faces alongside franchise veterans. Leon S. Kennedy is the obvious anchor, given his central role in the main campaign. Community discussion has also landed on Grace Ashcroft and the imposing Victor Gideon as strong candidates. The mysterious Zeno has generated particular interest, with players hoping a Mercenaries slot could flesh out what the character is actually capable of in a combat-focused context. For comparison, the Resident Evil 4 remake's Mercenaries roster included not just Leon and Ada Wong but also villain characters like Jack Krauser and Albert Wesker , so Capcom has precedent for going wider than just the campaign's protagonists. Resident Evil Requiem launched February 27, 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. You can find the latest gaming news and coverage as more details emerge from Capcom ahead of the May window. With the May update now only weeks away, Capcom will need to say something official soon. If the mini-game turns out to be The Mercenaries, the next question becomes whether it launches as a free update or paid DLC. That answer will matter a lot to players deciding how much life Resident Evil Requiem has left in their rotation. Keep an eye on our latest reviews and analysis for coverage the moment Capcom makes anything official.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/resident-evil-requiem-mercenaries-leak/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/resident-evil-requiem-mercenaries-leak/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:41:19 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Dragon Goddess Sword in Sailor Piece Explained]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The Dragon Goddess sword has emerged as one of Sailor Piece's most talked-about endgame weapons since the Sea 2 update dropped, sitting in the same tier as the Cosmic Being fighting style as a go-to pickm for players pushing the game's hardest content. Sailor Piece is a Roblox anime-inspired game that pulls heavily from One Piece and other popular series, and Sea 2 has dramatically expanded what endgame actually looks like. The addition of weapons like the Dragon Goddess sword and fighting styles like Cosmic Being (modeled after Garou from One Punch Man) signals that the developers are aiming for a much higher damage ceiling than Sea 1 ever offered. Where the Dragon Goddess fits in the current meta According to community sources and in-game data, the Dragon Goddess sword is listed in the same premium tier as Cosmic Being, Great Mage, and The World. That placement is not accidental. These are all weapons and styles that require either serious grinding through Sea 2 content or a significant Robux investment, with bundle pricing for the full set sitting at 4,299 Robux. The key here is that Sailor Piece's Sea 2 was designed around these high-end options. Players who cleared Sea 1 content quickly are finding that the new sea demands proper endgame builds, and the Dragon Goddess sword is one of the weapons that actually keeps pace with the difficulty spike. danger The Dragon Goddess sword is part of the premium weapon tier introduced in Sea 2. Players still in Sea 1 will need to unlock Sea 2 progression first before any of this content becomes accessible. The Robux route versus the grind path What most players miss is that the Dragon Goddess, like Cosmic Being, has two acquisition paths. The direct Robux purchase is the faster option, but the grind route exists for players who prefer to earn their gear. The material-based acquisition follows the same general structure as other Sea 2 weapons: defeating specific world bosses repeatedly, collecting drops with relatively low percentage rates, and submitting materials to a seller NPC. Drop rates for Sea 2 boss materials are not forgiving. The Cosmic Being boss, for comparison, drops its rarest material ( Monster Pulse ) at only a 3.99% rate. Players farming for Dragon Goddess materials should expect a similar grind, which makes server hopping a near-mandatory strategy to keep boss respawn timers from bottlenecking progress. The boss respawn cycle in Sea 2 runs on a 30-minute timer from server creation, so switching servers when a boss is freshly dead is the most efficient way to farm. Teaming up with other players also makes a measurable difference given the health pools Sea 2 bosses are running, with the Cosmic Being boss sitting at 500,000,000,000 HP as a reference point for the scale involved. How this changes the Sailor Piece damage build conversation Before Sea 2, the best damage builds in Sailor Piece were largely settled. Sea 2 reshuffled the entire conversation. The Dragon Goddess sword and Cosmic Being fighting style have both been cited by the community as the current strongest options, which means players optimizing for damage output now have a clear target to work toward. For players who want to browse more guides on building toward this kind of endgame content, the progression path is roughly the same across all Sea 2 premium weapons: unlock Sea 2, build toward the strongest available damage setup, farm world bosses with a coordinated group, and use luck-boosting stats from clans, titles, and spec passives to improve drop rates. The Dragon Goddess sword is not the finish line, either. The developers have already signaled that further updates will continue expanding Sea 2, which means the current top-tier weapons are likely stepping stones rather than permanent ceiling-setters. Players who invest in the Dragon Goddess now will be well-positioned for whatever content arrives next, making the grind genuinely worthwhile rather than just cosmetic flex. For a broader look at what Sailor Piece's Sea 2 has to offer, our latest gaming news covers the ongoing expansion in detail. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/dragon-goddess-sword-sailor-piece/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/dragon-goddess-sword-sailor-piece/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:37:09 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Universal Tower Defense X codes for April 2026: free Gems and more]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Four working codes are live in Universal Tower Defense X right now , and the haul is genuinely worth stopping for. The latest batch drops up to 10,000 Gems, stacks of Trait Rerolls, and one code even hands over a free Prodigy Mage unit outright. What the current codes actually give you As of April 17, 2026, there are four active codes in Universal Tower Defense X , the Roblox anime tower defense game where players build squads of heroes drawn from Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, and more to hold off endless enemy waves. Here is the full list of working codes right now: Code Rewards ThankYouForUTDX! 10,000 Gems, 50 Trait Rerolls, 50 Relic Rerolls 2.0Patch! 5,000 Gems, 25 Trait Rerolls, 10 Relic Rerolls WeLoveFern! 1 Prodigy Mage, 1 Mage Staff, 2 Universal Fragments, 6 Petal Fragments, 4 Phantom Fragments, 50 Trait Rerolls, 25 Stat Rerolls TheAntIsland! 2,500 Gems, 15 Trait Rerolls The key here is that ThankYouForUTDX! and WeLoveFern! are the two you want to prioritize. The first gives the biggest raw Gem payout, while the second is the only code currently offering a free unit alongside crafting materials. info Codes in Universal Tower Defense X expire without warning. Redeem all four now before they rotate out, the expired list already runs to over 50 codes. How redeeming works in UTD X The process is straightforward. Launch Universal Tower Defense X on Roblox, then look for the Codes button on the right side of the main screen. Tap it, type your code into the text field exactly as written (including the exclamation mark where present), and hit Redeem . New codes are typically announced first on the game's official Discord server , so that is the fastest place to catch them before they expire. The game was previously known simply as Universal Tower Defense before rebranding to the current UTD X format. Where the Gems actually go Gems in Universal Tower Defense X feed directly into the Summon system, which is how players unlock new anime-inspired units. Better units mean stronger defenses across the game's wave-based levels, so stacking Gems early gives newer players a meaningful head start on building a competitive roster. Trait Rerolls and Relic Rerolls are the other half of the equation. These let players reroll the passive bonuses attached to their units and equipment, which matters a lot at higher difficulty tiers where raw unit strength alone stops being enough. For players who want to go deeper into building the best possible squad, browse more guides on our site covering Roblox titles and beyond. The expired code list for UTD X already stretches back to the game's early access launch, which gives some sense of how frequently the developers have been dropping community rewards since release. All four codes are confirmed working as of this week. If any stop working before you get to them, the game's Discord server is the first place new replacements tend to surface. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/universal-tower-defense-x-codes-april/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/universal-tower-defense-x-codes-april/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:01:50 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Blind Descent looks like a sci-fi mystery, but it's just another survival-crafting game]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A scientist stranded on Mars, cut off by alien technology, stumbling into a lost world buried beneath the surface. Red vines, mutation-causing plants, atmospheric dread. Blind Descent 's story teaser had all the ingredients of something genuinely interesting. Then the Steam store page loaded. The teaser that promised something different The story trailer for Blind Descent is presented as a scientist's log from Mars, where communications have been jammed by alien tech. He finds his way underground, gets infected by a mutation-causing plant, and discovers an entire ecosystem hidden below the planet's surface. It's atmospheric, it's mysterious, and it leans into that specific brand of sci-fi horror where the danger is something you don't fully understand yet. For a moment, it felt like a narrative-driven sci-fi game with genuine stakes. The kind of thing that gets compared to Subnautica's story beats or the early hours of The Long Dark, where the world itself is the mystery. danger Blind Descent is confirmed for Steam Early Access, though a specific launch date has not been announced beyond "this year." What the store page actually shows Here's the thing: the first screenshot on the Steam page is a crafting menu. Stone plus wood equals arrows. Stone plus wood equals a stone dagger. That familiar grid layout that has appeared in roughly every survival game released since 2013. Blind Descent is a four-player co-op survival game with crafting, base-building, and resource gathering set on Mars. The alien ecosystem angle is real, and the developers point to a "symbiosis system" where the underground world reacts dynamically to how you interact with it. That part is at least conceptually distinct. But the bones underneath are the same bones that have been in this genre since Don't Starve, and every entry since has had to work harder to justify its existence. The solo option exists on paper, though games built around four-player co-op loops rarely translate well to solo play. Abiotic Factor is a recent example where the solo experience was technically functional but noticeably flatter than playing with a group. The survival genre's marketing problem Blind Descent isn't doing anything dishonest. The store page is clear about what the game is. But the decision to lead with a cinematic mystery teaser rather than actual co-op survival footage creates a gap between expectation and reality that players notice immediately. The survival-crafting market is genuinely enormous. Palworld pulled in 25 million players in its first month of Early Access. Valheim sold 10 million copies. There's clearly an audience that never runs out of appetite for this format. The question for Blind Descent is whether the symbiosis system, where alien plant life and underground creatures respond to your actions, is different enough to carve out space in a market this crowded. For players who bounced off the genre years ago, the atmospheric teaser is a minor frustration. The setting had real potential for something more story-focused, and that's the version of this game that would have been harder to find. For everyone else, you'll want to keep an eye on how the Early Access period shapes the symbiosis mechanics specifically, because that's the one feature that might actually separate this from the pile. Blind Descent is heading to Steam Early Access later this year. If the survival-crafting genre is your comfort zone, check out our gaming news for more upcoming Early Access releases worth tracking, and browse latest reviews to see how similar titles have held up over time.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/blind-descent-sci-fi-survival-crafting/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/blind-descent-sci-fi-survival-crafting/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:38:52 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[FF14 Patch 7.5 Teases Kefka's Return as a Possible New Ultimate Boss]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Blink during the patch 7.5 teaser that opened Square Enix's latest Letter from the Producer LIVE for Final Fantasy XIV, and you'll miss it. Right at the end of the Trail to the Heavens trailer, tucked away like a secret handshake for series veterans, Kefka Palazzo flashes on screen. Clown makeup. Unhinged grin. All of it. The community did not miss it. What the teaser actually showed The patch 7.5 showcase opened with a short cinematic teaser before getting into the usual breakdown of new content. Near the very end of that clip, Kefka's face appears, brief enough that plenty of viewers had to rewind to confirm what they saw. No narration, no title card. Just the face of Final Fantasy VI's most unhinged villain, dropped in like a breadcrumb. Square Enix has not officially confirmed what role Kefka plays in patch 7.5. The teaser is the only evidence on the table right now. From Sigmascape to Ultimate: the case for Kefka Here's the thing: this isn't Kefka's first appearance in Final Fantasy XIV. He served as the final boss of Sigmascape V4.0 back during the Stormblood era in 2018, as part of the Return to Ivalice alliance raid series. That fight is still one of the more memorable encounters in the game's history, leaning hard into his God of Magic form from Final Fantasy VI. The key here is context. Patch 7.5 is the final major update before the 8.0 expansion, which means it's the slot where Square Enix traditionally drops a new Ultimate raid , the game's most demanding content tier. Ultimate fights pull from Final Fantasy history and reimagine bosses at a level of mechanical complexity that makes Savage look approachable. Kefka, given his prior appearance and his status as one of the franchise's most beloved antagonists, fits that mold almost perfectly. Reddit's r/ffxiv community flagged the clip almost immediately after the stream, with the thread calling it the "next Ultimate teaser." Comments ranged from "So, I'm assuming our Ultimate is Kefka and the Warring Triad?" to a simple "Kefka Ultimate, let's gooooooooooo!" The Warring Triad angle makes sense too. Those three primals from Heavensward have unfinished business in the lore, and pairing them with Kefka would give the fight both mechanical variety and serious narrative weight. danger Square Enix has not officially confirmed Kefka as the patch 7.5 Ultimate boss. The teaser is community-interpreted, and the full reveal is expected closer to the patch 7.5 release date of April 28. Patch 7.5 Trail to the Heavens tease Patch 7.5's bigger picture Kefka isn't the only thing patch 7.5 is hinting at. The update also points toward a return to the Void, with teased content including a raid enemy described as "wielding the boundless power of the Void" and a dungeon boss that appears to be a Voidsent. That's all setup for the 8.0 expansion, which Yoshi-P has already confirmed won't be a full-scale rebirth on the level of A Realm Reborn. Patch 7.5 drops on April 28, less than two weeks away. If Kefka is indeed the new Ultimate boss, raid statics across the world are about to start their prep work. You'll want to keep a close eye on the official Final Fantasy XIV channels for a formal announcement before then. For more on what's coming to the game and the broader JRPG space, check out our gaming news . The April 28 patch date is set. The community is already theorycrafting. If Square Enix confirms Kefka as the next Ultimate, expect the race to world first to be one of the most-watched in the game's history. Keep an eye on latest reviews and coverage here as the patch 7.5 rollout unfolds.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/ff14-patch-75-kefka-ultimate-boss/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/ff14-patch-75-kefka-ultimate-boss/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:45:27 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Call of Duty Movie Release Date Confirmed for June 2028]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Hollywood has been on a video game adaptation tear lately, and now one of gaming's biggest franchises is officially joining the queue. The Call of Duty movie has a release date: June 30, 2028 . The announcement came during a CinemaCon presentation, where Activision head and film producer Rob Kostich confirmed the project alongside its creative team. Taylor Sheridan , the writer behind Yellowstone, will pen the script. Pete Berg , director of Battleship, takes the director's chair. The team Activision is betting on The pairing of Sheridan and Berg is an interesting one. Sheridan has built a reputation for grounded, character-driven storytelling with a distinctly American edge, while Berg has form with large-scale military action. On paper, that combination maps reasonably well onto what Call of Duty does best. Kostich was direct about the ambition at CinemaCon: "I told everyone we were only going to make a movie if it's right. In David Ellison, we found that partnership. We want to make sure that the authenticity of it is captured on a human level so that it feels really real and infuses that with epic scope." Here's the thing: that quote could describe half the blockbusters released in any given summer. The proof will be in what Sheridan actually puts on the page. A franchise with a lot to live up to Call of Duty is one of the best-selling game franchises in history, and its military action tone has always felt like natural film territory. The challenge is that the games have never had a single protagonist or continuous story across entries. There's no Master Chief, no Nathan Drake to anchor a movie around. Activision and the filmmakers will need to build something original rather than adapt a specific campaign. That's not necessarily a problem. The Street Fighter film is also nearing its October 16 release date, and it's working from similarly loose source material. The Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland pulled off a serviceable adventure film despite similar concerns about translating a game narrative to screen. danger No cast has been announced for the Call of Duty movie yet. The June 2028 date gives the production roughly two years to assemble its roster before release. Video game adaptations are having a moment The timing of this announcement is no accident. Hollywood has noticed that gaming IP prints money when handled with care, and sometimes even when it isn't. The Super Mario Galaxy movie became the highest-grossing film of this year, beating out Project Hail Mary despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. That's a remarkable commercial result regardless of what you think of the film. Television tells a similar story. Fallout season two drew 83 million viewers in its first week on Amazon, and The Last of Us is already casting for its third season. The appetite for gaming universes on screen is real and growing. What most players miss is that the successes share a common thread: they treat the source material as a starting point rather than a rigid blueprint. The Fallout show invented new characters and storylines while respecting the world's tone. The Last of Us stayed close to its source but trusted its writers to expand it. Call of Duty's lack of a fixed canon could actually be an advantage here, giving Sheridan room to build something fresh. For more on what's coming to screens and controllers, check out our gaming news . The next two years will tell us whether Activision's patience in waiting for the right project was worth it. The creative team is credible, the release window is set, and the broader climate for game-to-film adaptations has never been more favorable. Now Sheridan just has to write a war movie that a billion Call of Duty players feel is worthy of the name. No pressure. You can browse latest reviews to keep up with how other gaming adaptations are landing in the meantime.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/call-of-duty-movie-release-date-confirmed-for-june-2028/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/call-of-duty-movie-release-date-confirmed-for-june-2028/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:17:11 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Spire 2 Major Update 1 brings weeks of beta changes to everyone]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Mega Crit has officially pushed Slay the Spire 2's first labeled "Major Update" to the main branch, packaging up roughly a month's worth of beta testing into a single drop that standard players can finally dig into. A month of beta pain, now yours to enjoy Here's the lowdown: everything that Steam beta branch players have been poking, breaking, and arguing about over the past month is now live for everyone on the main branch. According to Mega Crit's Steam post, the decision to move these changes came after enough beta feedback shaped the build into "a stable enough position for main branch players to try out." The headlining addition is Badges , a pseudo-achievement system that caps off each run with a small reminder of what made it distinct. Beat a boss without taking a single hit? There's a Badge for that. Somehow completed a run without spending any gold? Badge. It sounds minor, but in a game where runs blur together after a few dozen hours, having a tidy summary of what was weird or special about each attempt adds a genuine layer of replay texture. What the balance changes actually do The update also brings over the balance work that landed in last week's beta patch, and it's a meaningful set of changes. The Ironclad received buffs that the community had been pushing for, addressing some of the character's rough edges in the current meta The Silent's most overpowered card got reworked, pulling back a combo that had been warping how that character plays Living Fog , one of the most tedious enemy encounters in the game, finally got nerfed into something more tolerable New card artwork has also been added across the board The key here is that Mega Crit is running a two-track system: a beta branch where ideas get stress-tested by the community, and a main branch that only absorbs changes once they've been shaped into something coherent. For an Early Access title, that's a smart way to iterate without constantly destabilizing the experience for players who just want a consistent build to sink hours into. danger Mega Crit has explicitly noted that "just because something made it from beta to main does not mean it's set in stone." Changes that land in the main branch can still be revised or rolled back as development continues. The bigger picture for an Early Access hit Slay the Spire 2 sold 3 million units in its first week on Steam, which left even Mega Crit visibly stunned. That scale of playerbase means every balance decision lands under a microscope, as the game learned the hard way when an earlier optional patch triggered a spike of 13,000 negative Steam reviews. The beta branch approach exists partly because of that pressure. Mega Crit can test ideas with players who opt in, absorb the feedback, and then decide what actually makes the cut for the wider audience. It's a reasonable system, and the fact that the studio is being upfront about its impermanence (nothing is final, even after it hits main) suggests they've learned from the review-bomb episode. What most players miss in the noise around balance patches is that the Badges system is probably the more interesting long-term addition. Scoring and run identity are areas the original Slay the Spire never fully explored, and having a structured way to track what made each run memorable could lay the groundwork for the competitive mode Mega Crit has already teased. For everything else happening in the roguelike space, you can browse our gaming news to stay current on what's landing across the genre. The next question for Slay the Spire 2 is when the beta branch starts testing those three teased new modes, including the one described as "very competitive," and what shape they take when they eventually arrive on main.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/slay-the-spire-2-major-update/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/slay-the-spire-2-major-update/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:41:13 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Should Xbox Pull Call of Duty From Game Pass?]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The question has been floating around Xbox circles for a while now, and VGC's podcast team finally put it front and center. The latest episode of VGC: The Video Game Podcast , published April 17, 2026, takes a direct look at whether Xbox should pull Call of Duty from Game Pass entirely. The case for pulling COD from the subscription Here's the thing: Call of Duty is one of the best-selling games on the planet every single year. Putting a franchise that routinely moves tens of millions of units inside a flat-rate subscription is a decision that has always raised eyebrows among analysts and players alike. The VGC team, hosted by Jordan Middler , Chris Scullion , Andy Robinson , and broadcaster Pete Donaldson , digs into whether the math actually works in Xbox's favor. The argument against keeping it in Game Pass centers on revenue. Players who would otherwise spend $70 or more on the latest Call of Duty entry are instead accessing it through a monthly subscription. If even a fraction of those buyers are converting to subscribers rather than purchasing outright, the long-term revenue gap could be significant. danger Xbox has never publicly disclosed how many Game Pass subscribers specifically joined because of Call of Duty's inclusion, making any revenue impact estimate largely speculative at this stage. What removing it would actually mean for subscribers For the average Game Pass subscriber, losing Call of Duty would sting. It's one of the service's biggest draws, and its absence would likely push some players back to individual purchases or off the platform entirely. The key here is that Xbox used Call of Duty's inclusion as a major selling point when it completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition, so walking that back carries real reputational weight. The flip side is that Microsoft could position a premium tier or a separate Call of Duty-specific add-on as a middle ground. That kind of tiered approach is already familiar to subscribers through the Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass split, so the infrastructure exists. Fable delay and Pragmata also on the table The episode doesn't stop at Call of Duty . The VGC team also covers a reported delay for Fable , which has reportedly been pushed back due to concerns around GTA 6 's release window, a scheduling consideration that several major studios appear to be navigating right now. Andy Robinson also shares his impressions of Pragmata , Capcom's long-in-development sci-fi action game that has finally started generating hands-on coverage. The podcast drops weekly and is available on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music. Patreon supporters get access to bonus episodes, including a recent conversation with Ghost of Yotei star Erika Ishii , who said she would "jump" at the chance to reprise her role as Atsu. Why this conversation keeps coming back The Call of Duty and Game Pass debate isn't new, but it keeps resurfacing because Xbox's broader strategy remains in flux. The company has been navigating its gaming news positioning carefully since the Activision deal closed, and every quarter that passes without a clear answer on long-term Game Pass economics adds fuel to the discussion. What most players miss is that this isn't purely a financial debate. It's also about what Game Pass is supposed to be. If the service is meant to be the Netflix of gaming, then flagship titles like Call of Duty are table stakes. If it's meant to be a curated discovery platform, the calculus looks completely different. The VGC podcast is worth a listen if you want the full breakdown. For more context on how Xbox's subscription strategy is shaping up, browse our latest gaming content to stay across the developments as they come.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/xbox-call-of-duty-game-pass/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/xbox-call-of-duty-game-pass/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:39:44 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[League of Legends Now Has Controller Support Hidden in WASD Update]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Most League of Legends players had no idea this was coming. Buried deep inside the dev blog that accompanied WASD mode's Ranked release, Riot Games quietly enabled native controller support for the first time in the game's history. Community account SkinSpotlights spotted it on April 17 and posted about it on X, and the discovery spread fast. Here's the thing: this wasn't a secret rollout or an accidental leak. Riot confirmed it in writing. The detail just got lost in a long blog post, and the community is only now catching up. What changed from mouse-only to controller-ready Before this update, playing League of Legends with a controller meant routing through third-party software to remap inputs manually. It worked, technically, but it was never clean. Content creator BoxBox famously pulled it off to great effect, but it required setup that most players weren't going to bother with. The WASD input mode changes that entirely. When you enable WASD movement in League of Legends, controller input is automatically activated alongside it. No extra software, no manual remapping. The default button layout maps abilities and actions directly to controller buttons: LT maps to Q LB maps to W RB maps to E RT maps to R X maps to D (summoner spell) Y maps to F (summoner spell) A maps to Auto-Attack D-Pad Down maps to Trinket Left analog stick controls mouse cursor movement The layout is functional rather than polished, but it covers the core inputs a player needs to actually play a match. Accessibility first, broad support not planned Riot was direct about the intent. The WASD team's dev blog explicitly framed controller support as an accessibility feature, not a move toward full console-style input support. The stated goal is to allow players with mobility limitations to use widely-available hardware like the Xbox Adaptive Controller . danger Riot confirmed in the dev blog: "While we don't have plans to officially support controllers or joysticks broadly right now, we did want to enable play on joysticks through remapping of WASD for accessibility reasons." The controller feature sits within a larger input system overhaul that also brought custom cursor movement inputs and expanded keybinding options to the game. That broader update represents a meaningful shift in how Riot is thinking about input flexibility, even if full controller support remains off the official roadmap for now. What most players miss about the timing here The WASD mode itself only recently hit Ranked after passing Riot's balance testing phase. The fact that controller support arrived alongside that milestone rather than as a separate announcement explains why so many players missed it. It wasn't treated as a headline feature. Riot did note they continue to monitor player requests around controller and joystick support, which leaves some room for the feature to expand. For now, though, the experience is barebones by design. The key here is that it works natively, which is a first for League of Legends regardless of how limited the scope is. For players curious about how the full WASD system fits into the broader Season 2 changes, browse more gaming news for context on what else arrived in that update. If Riot does decide to expand controller support beyond the accessibility lane, the infrastructure is now at least partially in place to build on.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/league-of-legends-controller-support-wasd/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/league-of-legends-controller-support-wasd/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:36:09 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Tomodachi Life Living the Dream and the Switch 2 problem]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo finally brought Tomodachi Life back after more than a decade of fan requests, and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is already doing something Animal Crossing: New Horizons never quite managed for a lot of players. It respects your time. But there is a problem sitting right next to all that goodwill, and it has everything to do with which hardware Nintendo chose to prioritize. What makes Living the Dream click where New Horizons didn't Animal Crossing: New Horizons built its entire identity around daily commitment. Log in every day, complete your tasks, tend your island. Miss a few weeks and you return to weeds, missing villagers, and a stalk market that punished your absence. For a lot of players, that structure eventually flipped from rewarding to suffocating. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream takes a different approach. You are the island's overseer, not its resident laborer. You design your Miis, set up the space, and then watch the chaos unfold. Five minutes of checking in on your islanders feels satisfying on its own. There is no mounting backlog of tasks waiting to guilt you back into a longer session. The comparison that keeps circulating is apt: playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons is like sitting down for a long-form video essay every single day. Tomodachi Life is more like scrolling through a few genuinely funny short clips. Neither format is wrong, but one is a lot easier to return to after a two-week break without feeling like you failed the game. The Mii customization depth, the absurd random interactions between residents, and the low-pressure real-time clock all combine into something that feels genuinely fresh for the life-sim genre. Fan communities are already building companion tools to track island events that the game itself doesn't surface clearly, which is a strong signal that people are invested. danger Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launched on Nintendo Switch, not Switch 2. Players on Nintendo's newer hardware are playing via backward compatibility, not a native version. The Switch 2 question Nintendo hasn't answered Here's the thing: Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launched on Nintendo Switch at a moment when the Switch 2 is already out and in players' hands. That timing creates a real tension. Backward compatibility means Switch 2 owners can play it, so it is not a locked-out situation. But there is a meaningful difference between a game that runs on your hardware and one that was built for it. Living the Dream launching without a Switch 2 native version means it misses out on whatever hardware improvements Nintendo's new console brings, and it signals to the growing Switch 2 install base that this title was not designed with them in mind. For a game with this much momentum, that feels like a missed opportunity. The life-sim audience skews toward players who put serious hours into a single title over months. Those are exactly the players who upgrade their hardware and then want their favorite games to grow with it. Launching Living the Dream as a Switch title in a Switch 2 era puts a ceiling on what the game can become. Nintendo has not announced any Switch 2 version or enhancement update for Living the Dream. Whether that changes is an open question, but given how quickly the community has embraced the game, the demand is clearly there. What this means for players right now If you are on original Switch hardware, Living the Dream is an easy recommendation for anyone who burned out on Animal Crossing or who missed the original Tomodachi Life on 3DS entirely. The low daily time commitment and genuinely unpredictable Mii interactions make it one of the more enjoyable life-sims Nintendo has released in years. Switch 2 owners get the game through backward compatibility, and by most accounts it runs fine. But "runs fine" is a lower bar than "takes advantage of what your hardware can do." The key here is that Nintendo has a game generating real buzz right now. The window to announce a Switch 2 version or enhancement is open. How long it stays open depends on whether Nintendo treats Living the Dream as a legacy title or as the start of something bigger. For more on what is worth playing right now, check out the latest reviews or browse more guides to get the most out of your current library.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-dream-switch-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-dream-switch-2/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:28:24 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Editing Miis in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Explained]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launched on April 16, 2026, and players are already bumping into one of its quieter design decisions: a hard limit of 70 Miis per island, with a specific in-game process for editing or removing the ones you no longer want around. The 70-Mii ceiling and what it actually means The maximum number of Miis you can have living on your island at any one time is 70. Once you hit that number, the Add a Mii option stops working entirely. You can track your current count at the bottom of that same menu screen, so you always know exactly where you stand. The cap exists for a practical reason. Miis in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream are not static decorations. They go about their daily lives, develop relationships, get hungry, and make demands of your time even when you're not actively directing them. Simulating that behavior for more than 70 characters simultaneously would push the Switch 2's processing limits, and from a player management standpoint, it would turn the game into an unmanageable juggling act. How the Edit Mii menu actually works Here's the thing: hitting the 70-Mii cap does not mean you're locked into those specific residents forever. The game gives you a way out through the Edit Mii option. To access it, select the Mii you want to change, press X to open the side menu, and then choose Edit Mii at the bottom of the screen. From there, the upper right corner of the customization screen gives you the Remove Mii option. Confirm the decision and that Mii packs their bags and leaves the island. danger Removing a Mii costs a small in-game fee described as "moving costs." According to the source, the amount is not significant for players who have been active for a while, but newer players should be aware the cost exists before cycling through Miis freely. What this means for players is that the 70-Mii cap applies only to your active island population, not to the total number of Miis you can ever create. Remove one resident, and you free up a slot for a new one. The game's creative ceiling is effectively much higher than 70 if you're willing to manage the turnover. Island resident count tracker What most players miss about island management The Edit Mii screen does more than just remove residents. It's also the entry point for adjusting Mii details, which makes it a key destination any time you want to make changes to an existing character rather than starting fresh. For players building a carefully curated island, the removal fee is a minor friction point worth planning around. If you're approaching the cap and know you'll want to swap characters later, building up your in-game funds before you hit 70 is a reasonable move. The key here is treating island population less like a static roster and more like an active lineup you can adjust as the game evolves. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is available now on Switch 2. For more on managing your island and getting the most out of your Miis, browse more guides covering the game's systems as the community continues to figure out its deeper mechanics.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/editing-miis-tomodachi-life-living-dream/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/editing-miis-tomodachi-life-living-dream/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:23:02 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Animal Crossing vs. Tomodachi Life: Which Life-Sim Wins?]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Six years after Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched and consumed the world during lockdown, Nintendo has a new life-sim on its hands. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is already drawing comparisons to New Horizons, and for a lot of players, those comparisons are not flattering to the older game. Here's the thing: both games share obvious DNA. Both run on a real-time clock, both drop you onto a customizable island full of residents, and both give you a surprising amount of control over how that island looks and functions. But the experience of actually playing them day-to-day sits in a completely different place. The burnout problem Animal Crossing never solved Animal Crossing: New Horizons built its entire loop around daily obligation. Miss a few days and you come back to weeds, absent villagers, and a stalk market that has wiped out your turnip investment. That structure worked brilliantly during early 2020, when players had nowhere else to be. The game sold over 43 million copies on the back of that moment. But the same design that made it so compelling also made it punishing to put down. Writing for Polygon, journalist Tomas Franzese described the return experience bluntly: after stepping away for a few weeks, he came back to a neglected island, missing residents, and significant losses in the stalk market. Nintendo added a reset feature to New Horizons earlier this year, but for many players who had already walked away, that was not enough of a reason to return. Tomodachi Life does not punish you for logging off. What the overseer role actually changes The key here is the shift in perspective. In New Horizons, your character is a participant in the island community, a villager with tasks, debts to pay off, and a daily checklist that quietly builds into something that feels like a second job. In Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, you are the island's overseer. You design the residents, arrange the buildings, and then watch what happens. That distinction sounds small. It is not. When your role is observer rather than participant, a five-minute session feels complete. You boot up the game, watch a few Mii interactions play out, laugh at something absurd, and put it down satisfied. There is no lingering guilt about the tasks you skipped. Franzese put it this way: playing New Horizons is like sitting through a lengthy YouTube video essay every day, while Tomodachi Life is more like watching a few funny short-form clips. The latter is simply less exhausting over time, even if it is not quite as deep. Customization depth versus freedom to step away Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream gives players meaningful control over nearly every resident, item, and building on the island. The depth is genuinely there. But the structure of that customization does not demand daily attention the way New Horizons' progression systems do. New Horizons built its customization around unlocking tools, paying off mortgages to Tom Nook, and gradually terraforming your island over weeks of play. It rewarded consistency. Tomodachi Life rewards curiosity. You set things up, then see what the Miis do with them. The comedy and surprise come from stepping back, not from grinding forward. Reader reactions in Polygon's comment thread echoed this. One commenter, Kemuri07, noted that Animal Crossing had drifted too far into micromanagement territory, losing the sense of discovery that made the original GameCube version special. Tomodachi Life, they wrote, feels closer to how Animal Crossing used to feel, and is also "very, very funny." Why this comparison matters right now Nintendo has not released a new mainline Animal Crossing game since New Horizons launched in March 2020. The anniversary update this year acknowledged the series' 25th birthday, but it did not signal a new entry. Meanwhile, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is arriving as the first major Tomodachi game in over a decade, and it is landing at exactly the right moment for players who want a Nintendo life-sim without the daily commitment overhead. The two games are not in direct competition, but they are absolutely competing for the same slot in a player's rotation. For anyone who bounced off New Horizons after the pandemic hype faded, Tomodachi Life is worth a serious look. For more context on both games, browse more guides covering Nintendo's current Switch 2 lineup. info Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is available now on Nintendo Switch. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, including its 25th anniversary update, is also available on Nintendo Switch. The broader question this comparison raises is whether Nintendo will take notes. New Horizons' daily obligation loop was a deliberate design choice, and it worked for millions of players. But Tomodachi Life's lighter touch is already resonating with a crowd that burned out years ago. If a new Animal Crossing is in development, the team at Nintendo EPD will have a very clear data point to consider. For the latest takes on Nintendo's life-sim releases, check out the latest reviews as more coverage rolls in.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/animal-crossing-vs-tomodachi-life-comparison/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/animal-crossing-vs-tomodachi-life-comparison/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:08:34 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Mouse: P.I. For Hire tailpicking explained]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Locked doors and safes are scattered all over Mouse P.I. For Hire, and cracking them open is not as simple as holding a button. The game has its own spin on lockpicking called tailpicking , and if you go in blind, you will jam locks and lose progress faster than you'd expect. What tailpicking actually is Rather than the usual minigame where you wiggle a pick until tumblers click, tailpicking puts you inside the lock itself. Your job is to navigate a path that touches every spring in the lock and then reach the exit on the other side. Early locks are forgiving and almost tutorial-like. The deeper into the game you get, the more the layouts twist. The core loop is spatial. Springs are placed at various points in the lock, and the route connecting them is not always obvious. Some springs sit inside tight corridors, and squeezing through them can leave you boxed in with no clean line to the next target. When you hit a dead end Getting stuck mid-lock is common, especially once the layouts start introducing narrow passages. The key here is that the game gives you an Undo option. Pressing it lets you backtrack along your current path and try a different route without restarting the whole puzzle. If a tight space has cut off your options, undo your last few moves and look for the line you missed. This makes tailpicking feel closer to a sliding puzzle than a reflex challenge, at least on the standard locks. Planning a few moves ahead before committing to a corridor saves a lot of frustration. warning Some locks include a timer or spike traps. If you run out of time or touch a spike, the lock jams permanently and cannot be reopened. There is no in-game fix for a jammed lock. Timed locks and the spike problem Not every lock plays by the relaxed rules. Mouse P.I. For Hire introduces locks with countdown timers and others that are lined with spikes. Both variants punish mistakes in a way the standard locks do not. A jammed lock is gone for good in that session. The game does not offer a second chance from within the puzzle itself. What it does offer is a manual save system, and loading your most recent save file is the only recovery option after a jam. The practical takeaway: save before attempting any lock that looks like it has spikes or a visible timer. That habit alone will prevent most of the frustrating setbacks players run into. Why this mechanic stands out Tailpicking is a small but smart design choice. Renaming lockpicking fits the game's noir-mouse aesthetic, and building the mechanic around path navigation rather than timing windows makes it accessible without being trivial. The spike and timer variants then layer in genuine tension for players who want a harder challenge. For a game built around solving mysteries and uncovering secrets, having a lockpicking system that itself feels like a little puzzle is a neat bit of design consistency. Every locked safe or hidden room becomes a self-contained problem to work through, not just a gate to click past. For more puzzle-heavy adventure games worth your time, browse more guides covering the latest releases across every genre. If you want to see what else is worth playing right now, the latest reviews are a good place to start.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/mouse-pi-for-hire-tailpicking/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/mouse-pi-for-hire-tailpicking/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:59:25 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Mouse: P.I. For Hire Starts Strong But Runs Out of Steam]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Mouse: P.I. For Hire launched with a lot of goodwill behind it, and for the first couple of hours, that goodwill feels completely earned. The black-and-white noir aesthetic is genuinely charming, the cases are clever, and the world of Tinsel Avenue has real personality. Then the hours stack up, and something shifts. Where the charm actually lives The game's opening act does a lot right. The P.I. Office serves as a natural hub, side jobs feel rewarding rather than obligatory, and the writing has a lightness to it that keeps things moving. The Poster Girl side job is a good example of how the game works at its best: you track down a movie poster for a starstruck mouse named Tammy Tumbler , and the reward (three weapon schematics, enough to hit a Level 2 upgrade at the B.A.N.G. desk ) feels proportionate to the effort. Small stories, tangible payoffs. The weapon upgrade system itself is satisfying in those early hours. The James Gun in particular has built a small but vocal fanbase among players who've pushed through the mid-game, and it's easy to see why once you've had a chance to level it up. The back half problem Here's the thing: Mouse: P.I. For Hire is structured around a series of main jobs tied to specific locations, and the formula holds up well until it doesn't. Once you hit the back half of the game, starting around the Bookkeeper quest from Tinsel Bros, the cracks start showing. The side jobs, which felt like welcome detours earlier, start to feel like padding. The main jobs themselves stretch longer without adding proportionally more variety. Players who've pushed through to the Western Backlot section report that the game's pacing takes a noticeable dip. The environments are still visually distinct, but the mechanical loop, shoot, investigate, return to the P.I. Office, repeat, starts to feel like work rather than play by hour six or seven. danger If you're planning to complete every side job before finishing the main story, budget your time accordingly. The back half of the game is significantly more demanding than the opening hours suggest. What most players miss is that the game's best moments are front-loaded. The first two or three hours represent Mouse: P.I. For Hire at its most confident. After that, the game is still functional and occasionally fun, but it asks more of your patience than it probably should. What this means for players picking it up now If you're coming to Mouse: P.I. For Hire fresh, the good news is that the early game is worth your time. The noir aesthetic holds up, the side jobs in the first half are well-constructed, and the weapon upgrade loop gives you something to work toward. The key here is managing expectations going in: this is a game that peaks early and coasts on its initial goodwill for longer than it should. For players who've already hit the wall in the later chapters, the community consensus seems to be that pushing through is worth it for the story resolution, but don't expect the pacing to recover. The game ends, not with a bang, but with a sense of relief that you finished it. For a fuller picture of how Mouse: P.I. For Hire stacks up against other recent releases, check out our latest reviews . If you do want to squeeze every side job out of the experience, the guides section has you covered on the trickier objectives.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/mouse-pi-for-hire-review-impressions/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/mouse-pi-for-hire-review-impressions/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:56:19 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Doom 64 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein Are Nearly Free Right Now]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Two legendary boomer shooters are practically being given away right now. Fanatical is selling both Doom 64 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein for $1.77 each, down from their regular $4.99 price. That's a 65% discount, and the sale runs through April 26 . Worth noting: the codes you get are Steam keys, so PC-only for this one. Two games that defined what FPS could be Doom 64 launched in 1997 as a Nintendo 64 exclusive, which meant most PC gamers missed it entirely for over two decades. The port finally arrived on modern platforms in 2020 , and it brought with it something the original Doom never quite had: a genuinely oppressive, dark atmosphere that pushed the N64 hardware harder than almost anything else on the platform. Critics at the time called it the best-looking Doom game yet, which is saying something given the N64's notoriously awkward controller setup. The game has since built a cult following, even if some players feel it hews a little too close to the original formula. Here's the thing, though: that's not really a flaw. The Doom reboot trilogy that kicked off in 2016 proved there's a real appetite for staying true to what made the series work in the first place. Return to Castle Wolfenstein tells a slightly different story. Released on PC in 2001 , it was a sharp, old-school shooter with an addictive multiplayer mode that kept communities active for years. The problem? It launched the same year as Halo: Combat Evolved , and Halo simply changed the conversation around console shooters overnight. RTCW got overshadowed, its multiplayer eventually spun off into the free-to-play Enemy Territory , and the Wolfenstein franchise went quiet until its 2014 reboot. info Both games are redeemable as Steam keys only. Console players won't be able to use these codes. Why this sale lands at the right moment Boomer shooters are genuinely having a moment right now. PAX East saw real buzz around the genre this year, and recent releases like Mouse: P.I. For Hire have shown there's a healthy appetite for fast, no-frills FPS design. Picking up Doom 64 and RTCW for less than the price of a coffee is a low-risk way to understand exactly what modern developers are drawing from when they build these games. At $1.77 for either title, the math is simple. Both games together cost less than a single modern DLC pack, and both hold up well enough to be worth your time before the sale expires on April 26. For more classic FPS picks and retro gaming coverage, check out our latest reviews , and if you need help navigating Steam sales or want recommendations on what to play next, browse our guides for curated suggestions.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/doom-64-return-wolfenstein-fanatical-sale/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/doom-64-return-wolfenstein-fanatical-sale/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:50:39 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Switch 2 Games Are Selling for $30 at Costco Right Now]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo games rarely go on sale. That's practically a law of nature. So when players started noticing Switch 2 titles dropping to $29.97 at Costco this weekend, the deals subreddit chatter turned into a full-on scramble. The sale covers some of the bigger Switch 2 releases from the past year, including Pokémon Legends: Z-A , Kirby Air Riders , and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond , all normally priced at $70. That's more than 57% off, which is essentially unheard of for Nintendo software at this age. How the sale surfaced Word first spread through the Switch 2 subreddit on the night of April 17, with players noticing the discounted prices showing up inside the Costco app . The catch early on: the in-store systems hadn't caught up yet, so shoppers were still being charged full price at the register. A handful of people managed to get manual overrides from staff, but it was hit or miss. By Saturday, April 18, Wario64 confirmed on X that the $29.97 price was going through at checkout without any override needed. That's when the post went wide and the rush really started. danger Stock varies heavily by location. Reports suggest Kirby Air Riders has solid availability at many stores, while Pokémon Legends: Z-A inventory is running thin fast. Check the Costco app before making the trip. What's actually on sale and what's not The sale appears to apply to physical copies of recent Switch 2 releases that Costco already had in stock. The selection isn't uniform across every warehouse location, which is standard for Costco's inventory model. Here's a quick breakdown of what players have confirmed: Pokémon Legends: Z-A at $29.97 (normally $70) Kirby Air Riders at $29.97 (normally $70) Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at $29.97 (normally $70) There's no official announcement from Costco or Nintendo about the sale, and no end date has been communicated. That's the nature of Costco promotions: they appear, they disappear, and you either caught it or you didn't. Reading the tea leaves on why this is happening Some players online have been quick to read the discounts as a signal that these games sold poorly. The Pokémon argument falls flat immediately given the franchise's track record, but it's a fair point that Metroid Prime 4 and Kirby Air Riders didn't exactly dominate sales charts. The Switch 2 also had a noticeably rough holiday season in the U.S. relative to past Nintendo console launches and analyst projections. The more straightforward explanation is that this is just Costco doing what Costco does. The wholesale chain regularly runs unannounced markdowns on physical media to move inventory, and a spring weekend is a perfectly reasonable time to pull families in with a half-price video game sitting next to the bulk snack aisle. Nintendo hasn't commented, and Costco hasn't made any public statement about the sale. The window is probably short Here's the thing with Costco sales like this: they're inventory-dependent, not time-dependent. Once the stock is gone, the deal is gone. There's no restock coming at the sale price. Players who already grabbed copies are posting receipts on X, and the r/Switch2 thread is filling up with both success stories and reports of empty shelves. If you've been sitting on the fence about any of these titles, this is a real and genuinely rare opportunity to pick up Nintendo software at a price that doesn't feel like highway robbery. Check the latest gaming news for any updates if the sale expands to other titles. For anyone planning a run this weekend, the Costco app is your best first move to confirm local stock before driving out. Inventory for the more popular titles, especially Pokémon, is reportedly thinning fast across multiple regions. Keep an eye on our gaming guides for any further developments on Switch 2 deals and releases as they come in.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/switch-2-games-costco-fire-sale/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/switch-2-games-costco-fire-sale/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:38:17 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Nintendo's Spotlight Sale Has 69 Switch Games Worth Your Money]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo has dropped another wave of eShop discounts across North America, and this one's bigger than most. The Spotlight Sale covers both Switch 1 and Switch 2 titles, with 69 games on offer spanning tactics, RPGs, action-platformers, and more. If your wishlist has been sitting untouched, this is the sale that's going to break your resolve. The key here is that this isn't just filler. The sale includes titles that critics have consistently ranked among the best on the platform, and several of them are sitting at prices that are hard to argue with. The standout deals drawing the most attention Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is one of the more talked-about picks in this sale, dropping to $14.99 from its standard $59.99. The sequel to Kingdom Battle refined just about everything the first game did well: smoother traversal, more defined character abilities, and power-ups that actually feel worth using. The series is likely done at this point, which makes picking this one up feel more pressing than it might have otherwise. For fans of the Persona series, Persona 5 Royal is also part of the sale. Worth noting: community opinion on the Switch port is genuinely split. Several players have flagged that the Switch version runs noticeably blurry in docked mode, and there's been no Switch 2 enhancement patch from Atlus as of this week. If portability is your priority, the consensus seems to be that it holds up reasonably well in handheld mode. If you're mainly playing docked, other platforms may serve you better for this one. info Nintendo Switch 2's Boost Mode reportedly improves the portable experience for Persona 5 Royal, though docked performance remains a known issue without an official patch. What most players miss in sales like this Beyond the obvious headliners, Kaze and the Wild Masks has been getting genuine praise from players who picked it up. It plays like a love letter to the original Donkey Kong Country, with tight controls and satisfying time trials that even players who normally skip that mode are enjoying. It's the kind of game that looks unremarkable in screenshots but clicks immediately once you're actually playing it. Streets of Rage 4 is another title that's generating buzz in the comments section, with players highlighting the soundtrack and visual style as reasons alone to grab it at a discount. Streets of Rage 4 on sale The broader picture for Switch owners right now This sale lands at an interesting moment. The Switch 2 is now in players' hands, and a library of both legacy and new titles is building out across both generations of hardware. Sales like this one serve a real purpose: they let players catch up on Switch 1 titles they missed while the Switch 2 catalog continues to grow. The 69-game count has raised a few eyebrows (the Nintendo Life comment section noticed immediately), but the actual selection is solid enough that the number feels earned rather than padded. For players building out a Switch library on a budget, or Switch 2 owners who skipped some Switch 1 classics, there's genuine value here. Pro tip: if you've been holding off on the Persona series and only have Switch as an option, Persona 4 Golden is also part of the sale and holds up well despite its older visual style. The Spotlight Sale is live now on the North American eShop. For more on what's worth playing across both platforms, browse more guides to help narrow down your next purchase before the sale ends.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/nintendo-spotlight-sale-switch-games/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/nintendo-spotlight-sale-switch-games/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:35:30 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Dreadnought Tartarus: Anime Battleship Game by Solo Dev on Steam]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A solo developer going by Benkimchi has announced Dreadnought Tartarus, a strategic simulation game built around commanding a single, planet-crushing warship across a continuous campaign, and it has a tentative Q3 2026 release window on Steam. Here's the thing: games have let players blow up colossal scifi battleships countless times. Dreadnought Tartarus flips that script entirely. You are the battleship. You are the slow, menacing floating fortress that fills the screen with weapons fire while everything else scrambles to stop you. What Dreadnought Tartarus actually is Benkimchi describes the game as sitting somewhere between a realtime wargame and a roaming tower defense. Rather than a mission-select structure, the game plays out as a single continuous campaign across a strategic map. Players chart the Tartarus' course between military objectives while enemy forces constantly try to impede its advance. The visual scale is striking. The Tartarus moves with a deliberate, almost arrogant slowness across wartorn cityscapes and orbital battle lines, viewed from above as it blankets everything in range with weapons fire. That unhurried pace is entirely intentional. A battleship that doesn't feel the need to rush is a battleship that has already won the psychological battle. Weapons control and the focus fire broadside The key here is how Benkimchi has structured the weapons systems. Players load out the Tartarus with weapons across multiple hardpoints, and each weapon can be toggled independently between three operating modes: Manual control , where the player directly fires each weapon Automatic fire , where weapons engage targets on their own Focus Fire Mode , which redirects every single weapon on the ship to fire in one direction simultaneously That last option is the one that will live in highlight reels. Watching the Tartarus unload its entire arsenal in a single coordinated broadside is exactly the kind of absurd spectacle the game seems built around delivering. Intel gathered from defeated enemies can be reverse engineered into new upgrades and additional armaments for the Tartarus, giving the loadout system a progression loop that builds over the course of the campaign. The mech launch bay, because of course there is Dreadnought Tartarus also lets you launch a combat mech directly from the warship's hangar bay. For smaller-scale confrontations that don't warrant the full attention of a city-leveling battleship, players can drop into the mech and handle things at ground level before returning to the Tartarus. info Benkimchi has noted that part of the UI design language for Dreadnought Tartarus was inspired by PS3 and PSP interfaces, giving it a distinct early-to-mid 2000s anime scifi aesthetic. It's a detail that tells you exactly what kind of game this is. Benkimchi isn't just making a strategic sim with anime aesthetics bolted on. The mech bay, the focus fire broadside, the slow inexorable march across a war map , these are the specific beats that anyone raised on Macross, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, or Gundam will recognize immediately. One developer, one warship, one release window Dreadnought Tartarus is a solo project, which makes the scope of what Benkimchi is attempting genuinely impressive. The game already has a Steam page where it can be wishlisted, and Benkimchi posts regular development updates on X under the handle @NAP_benkimchi for anyone wanting to track progress more closely. For players who want more context on what to expect from upcoming indie strategy releases, browse our latest gaming news to stay across what's coming down the pipeline this year. Q3 2026 puts Dreadnought Tartarus in a crowded season for PC releases, but the concept is specific enough that it isn't really competing with anything else. There is no other game right now where you can manually trigger a full-ship broadside from an anime super-fortress before hopping into a mech to mop up the survivors. Wishlist it on Steam and keep an eye on Benkimchi's dev logs as the release window approaches. If the clips already circulating are any indication, the final product has a lot of potential to deliver on its premise.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/dreadnought-tartarus-solo-dev-anime-battleship/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/dreadnought-tartarus-solo-dev-anime-battleship/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 09:03:05 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Street Fighter 2026 Trailer Easter Eggs Every Fan Needs to See]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The first full trailer for director Kitao Sakurai 's Street Fighter movie dropped this week, and fans have been frame-scrubbing it ever since. The results? A surprisingly dense collection of game-accurate references, callbacks to the 1994 Van Damme film, and at least one genuinely weird coincidence involving Capcom and a certain 4 Non Blondes track. Here's the lowdown on everything worth talking about. The game-accurate moves Sakurai got right Sakurai isn't treating Street Fighter like a loose inspiration. The trailer shows Ryu (played by Andrew Koji ) and Ken ( Noah Centineo ) throwing Hadoukens and Tatsumaki Senpukyakus that look lifted directly from the games . Zangief lands his Russian Suplex. Chun-Li ( Callina Liang ) hits her Spinning Bird Kick. These aren't approximations for a general audience; they're frame-perfect enough that longtime Street Fighter players will recognize them immediately. The background crowds are also worth a second look. Almost every wide shot is packed with spectators performing short, looping movements that deliberately mimic the crudely animated background characters from the Street Fighter arcade games. It's subtle, but once you see it, you can't unsee it. The 1994 film gets a quiet nod During a flashback sequence dated 1987, a young Ryu and Ken appear together at the first World Warrior Tournament. The outfits they're wearing in that photo are a direct visual match for the costumes worn by Byron Mann and Damian Chapa in the opening scenes of the original 1994 Street Fighter film. It's the kind of reference that rewards anyone who sat through that movie more than once, which, honestly, is a specific type of person. info The 1994 Street Fighter film starred Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile and was largely panned at release, but has since built a devoted cult following. Bonus stage confirmed, El Fuerte spotted Ken beats the hood off a sedan with his bare fists and feet in one scene, a clear recreation of the car-smashing bonus stage from Street Fighter 2. Not exactly a deep cut, but it's the kind of crowd-pleaser that earns a cheer in a packed theater. More interesting is the brief appearance of El Fuerte , the Mexican luchador introduced in Street Fighter 4. He's seen getting kicked to the mat by Ken, so don't expect a starring role. Still, his presence signals that Sakurai is pulling from the full franchise roster, not just the Street Fighter 2 all-stars. Balrog's gloves and a name-swap Easter egg Fans of Street Fighter trivia will appreciate this one. Balrog (played by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson ) is shown wearing Buffalo-branded boxing gloves in the trailer. Buffalo are part of the Bison genus, which is a quiet wink at the character's history: Capcom renamed the Mike Tyson-inspired M. Bison to Balrog when localizing Street Fighter 2 for Western markets, shuffling the villain names around to avoid legal trouble. The Buffalo gloves are either a deliberate in-joke or the most coincidental prop choice in recent memory. The Chun-Li and Vega fight has a specific reference point Vega ( Orville Peck ) takes a beating from both Chun-Li and Guile ( Cody Rhodes ) throughout the trailer. The Chun-Li confrontation in particular is being read by fans as a callback to the 1994 anime Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie, which featured a memorable and well-choreographed Chun-Li vs. Vega fight following a controversial shower scene. Whether Sakurai is directly referencing that sequence or just recreating a classic matchup, the connection is hard to ignore. The soundtrack's strange Capcom coincidence The trailer's audio pulls punching and laughing sound effects straight from Street Fighter 2. It also opens with an unreleased version of 2Pac's "Ambitionz Az a Ridah" that was reportedly created for Mike Tyson in the 1990s, which ties back to the Balrog character's origins in a roundabout way. The genuinely strange part: the trailer uses a version of 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" That same song appeared in the trailer for Capcom's other live-action reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. Whether that's a deliberate Capcom signature or just a licensing coincidence, nobody seems to know. Capcom hasn't commented. Street Fighter hits theaters on October 16. For more gaming coverage across films, adaptations, and the games themselves, check out the latest gaming news and latest reviews on our site.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/street-fighter-2026-trailer-easter-eggs/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/street-fighter-2026-trailer-easter-eggs/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:30:25 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata and Mouse: PI For Hire Look Sharp on Xbox Series X|S]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[With Pragmata now out in the wild, players across every major platform are finally getting their hands on Capcom's long-awaited sci-fi action game. A fresh multi-platform graphics comparison has surfaced following launch, putting the Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS5 , and Nintendo Switch 2 versions side by side, and the results are worth talking about. How the Xbox versions stack up Here's the lowdown: the Xbox Series X version tracks closely with PS5, as you'd expect from two machines with similar hardware profiles. The more interesting story is the Xbox Series S versus Nintendo Switch 2 matchup. According to a Digital Foundry report that preceded this comparison, the Series S holds the edge in raw performance, but Switch 2 actually pulls ahead on resolution. That's a notable result for Nintendo's newer hardware, and it speaks to the optimization work Capcom put in to get Pragmata running well across such different machines. What most players miss in these comparisons is that the Series S, despite its reputation as the budget option in Microsoft's lineup, still delivers a smooth experience with Pragmata . The tradeoff is purely on the visual fidelity side, not in gameplay or content. No cuts were made to the actual game across any version, which means you're getting the full Pragmata experience regardless of which box it's running on. Mouse: PI For Hire joins the conversation Pragmata isn't the only new arrival making noise right now. Mouse: PI For Hire , the noir-styled action game, launched alongside it and both titles are already showing up near the top of the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop charts as of April 19. That kind of launch momentum for two very different games, one a big-budget Capcom production and the other a stylized indie, says something about where player appetite is right now. info The Digital Foundry technical breakdown of Pragmata covered resolution and frame rate specifics across platforms ahead of the full graphics comparison video. What the comparison actually tells you Graphics comparisons like this one serve a real purpose beyond the pixel-peeping. If you're deciding which platform to pick up Pragmata on, the honest answer is that the differences between Xbox Series X and PS5 are minimal enough that platform preference and controller comfort matter more than any visual gap. The Series S version is a reasonable choice if that's your hardware, with the performance advantage over Switch 2 making it the smoother option for players who prioritize frame consistency over resolution. For anyone who wants to dig deeper into how these games play and perform, check out our latest reviews for ongoing coverage. Both Pragmata and Mouse: PI For Hire are out now. If you want to keep up with guides and tips as the community figures out both games, browse more guides as coverage builds out over the coming days.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/pragmata-mouse-pi-hire-xbox-series/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/pragmata-mouse-pi-hire-xbox-series/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:27:32 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata hits Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam within 24 hours of launch]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom took a genuine risk with Pragmata . A brand-new single-player IP, years of delays, a sci-fi premise that defied easy categorization. Less than 24 hours after launch, Steam players have delivered their verdict: this one was worth the wait. The game has already cleared 1,500 English-language reviews on Steam, with 97% of those being positive, earning it an Overwhelmingly Positive badge almost immediately. When you factor in all languages, that figure settles at 93% positive, which is still enough to place Pragmata among Capcom's best-rated games on the platform ever , according to SteamDB data. How close it actually is to RE4 Here's the thing: 93% sounds like a solid number until you realize what it's being compared to. Resident Evil 4 Remake sits at 96% on Steam, widely regarded as the gold standard for Capcom releases on the platform. Pragmata is just 3 percentage points behind it, and it launched yesterday. For context, that gap is smaller than the margin separating many beloved sequels from their predecessors. Pragmata isn't a follow-up to anything. It's a new IP, a new world, new characters, and it's already in that conversation. danger Steam review scores tend to shift in the days and weeks following launch as more players complete the game. Pragmata's 15-hour runtime means many buyers likely haven't finished it yet, so the final score could still move in either direction. What players are actually saying The Steam reviews themselves are worth reading. One player wrote: "Capcom are on an absolute generational run right now. It's refreshing to see a big publisher take a risk on a new single-player IP like Pragmata." That sentiment keeps appearing across the review page in different forms. The most consistent praise targets three things: the hacking-and-shooting combat loop, the atmospheric sci-fi setting, and Diana , the android child companion who players have taken to immediately. Reviewers specifically call out how she behaves like an actual kid, scribbling on your space suit and asking relentless questions, rather than the stoic, plot-convenient child companions games usually give you. Capcom's 2026 run keeps getting harder to ignore Pragmata doesn't exist in isolation. Capcom now holds 3 of the top 10 highest-rated games released so far this year on Metacritic, alongside Resident Evil Requiem and Monster Hunter Stories 3. That's a level of consistency that very few publishers have managed across a single calendar year. The key here is that none of these are safe bets. Resident Evil Requiem took the series in a new direction. Monster Hunter Stories 3 is a niche RPG spin-off. Pragmata is a completely original IP. All three landed. The Steam numbers for Pragmata suggest the goodwill Capcom has built with players over the past few years is very much intact. For anyone still on the fence, check out our latest gaming news and reviews to see how Pragmata stacks up against the rest of 2026's releases. And if you're already playing, browse our guides for help navigating its trickier sections.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/pragmata-steam-overwhelmingly-positive-capcom/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/pragmata-steam-overwhelmingly-positive-capcom/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:24:31 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata Terra Dome Sector 3: Full Walkthrough Breakdown]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A full gameplay walkthrough for Pragmata's Sector 3 area, the Terra Dome running over an hour and covering every significant collectible, enemy rush, and boss encounter in the zone. For players who've hit a wall in this section, th e walkthrough is a detailed breakdown of what is arguably one of the more demanding areas in the game so far. What the Terra Dome actually throws at you The Terra Dome is not shy about its enemy rushes. The walkthrough timestamps at least eight separate enemy rush encounters before you even reach the second boss, meaning resource management and knowing when to push versus hold position matters a lot here. The section starting around the 3:25 mark kicks things off, and the encounters keep stacking from there. Between the fights , the area contains multiple upgrade components , two Data Shards , and four Gen Chips scattered across different sub-sections. The Gen Chips in particular are tied to progressing the Plant Factory Lim Regulator objectives, which appear twice in the walkthrough at the 17:16 and 42:10 timestamps. Mods, Gen Chips, and the locked gate sequence Three mods are obtainable in this sector: Cheap Shot (around the 15:55 mark), Aggressive Defense (25:21), and Precision Shot (50:07). Each one drops in a different part of the zone, so players who miss them on a first pass through will need to backtrack. The four Gen Chips are spread across the walkthrough at roughly 22:25, 24:45, 25:02, and 32:58. Collecting all four is tied to unlocking the Plant Factory Regulator objectives, which gate access to later parts of the sector. After the first boss, the walkthrough moves into a four-lock sequence starting at 50:07 and running through 54:05. These locks open sequentially and lead into the final stretch of the sector before the second boss encounter. info The Red Gate Key appears at the 25:02 timestamp, right before the Aggressive Defense mod. You'll want to grab both in the same run through that section rather than circling back. The two boss fights Sector 3 has two boss encounters. The first hits at the 35:19 mark and is followed by a Pure Lunum drop at 41:25. The second boss is a longer fight starting at 1:07:19 and runs through to the 1:18:24 end of the walkthrough, suggesting it is significantly more involved than the first. A second Pure Lunum appears at 1:05:21, just before the final boss, which lines up with the game's pattern of rewarding players with upgrade materials right before a major encounter. Here's the thing: if you're going into that second fight underleveled, those Pure Lunum drops are there for a reason. Why this walkthrough is getting attention Pragmata has been building momentum since launch, and Sector 3 represents a noticeable difficulty spike compared to earlier areas. The Terra Dome's combination of back-to-back enemy rushes, multi-step objectives, and two boss fights within a single sector makes it one of the denser areas in the game. The IGN walkthrough clocks in at over 1 hour and 18 minutes of footage, which gives a sense of just how much content is packed into this one zone. For players working through the latest guides on the game, having timestamped video coverage of every collectible and encounter is genuinely useful. What most players miss in sections like this is the secondary upgrade components hidden between the major objective markers. The walkthrough flags at least five separate upgrade component pickups, with several appearing immediately after or during enemy rushes where attention is naturally elsewhere. If you want a broader look at what Pragmata has to offer before committing to a full playthrough, browse our latest reviews to get a feel for where the game stands. The Terra Dome is waiting, and it does not ease you in.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/pragmata-terra-dome-sector-3-walkthrough/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/pragmata-terra-dome-sector-3-walkthrough/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:22:24 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Fortnite and Rocket League Launch Free Skin and Car Crossover]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Two of Epic Games' biggest free-to-play titles are now sharing rewards. The Rivals and Rockets crossover event went live this week across Fortnite and Rocket League, and it comes with a twist that should appeal to fans of both: complete quests in one game, earn cosmetics for the other. The event runs until April 30 . What the Rivals and Rockets event actually offers Here's the lowdown: the crossover delivers two free cosmetics, each locked behind a short quest chain in a specific game. Play Rocket League to unlock the Dueling Dragons Jackie skin for Fortnite. Play Fortnite Battle Royale to unlock the Havoc car body , which works in both Fortnite and Rocket League. The Dueling Dragons Jackie skin is a new variant of Jackie, a skin that Fortnite players may remember from the Rocket Racing promo two years back. This version gets a noticeably upgraded jacket design, making it a worthwhile pickup even for players who already own the original. Five Rocket League quests stand between you and the Jackie skin To unlock Dueling Dragons Jackie, players need to complete five quests during online Rocket League matches: Hit the ball 50 times Get 15 centers or clears Score 5 goals Play 5 matches Win 5 matches For anyone who doesn't regularly play Rocket League, scoring goals can feel like the biggest hurdle. The key here is to jump into Heatseeker modes, available in both ranked and casual playlists. The ball automatically tracks toward the goal in Heatseeker, so getting shots on target becomes far less punishing. According to the GameSpot report on the event, a player with no prior prep cleared all five quests in roughly 45 minutes of normal play. One thing worth knowing: Rocket League won't flash any notification when the quests are done. The skin just appears in your Fortnite locker the next time you launch the game. info If you're struggling with the goals quest in Rocket League, Heatseeker casual is the fastest path. The ball does most of the work for you. The Fortnite side: six quests, five needed The Havoc car body unlocks through Fortnite's Battle Royale mode. Players need to finish 5 of the 6 available quests, giving a bit of flexibility: Visit 5 different named locations Search 25 chests or ammo boxes Eliminate 15 opponents (team eliminations count) Travel 1,000 distance in vehicles Outlast 200 players Reach 20 players remaining in two separate matches Most of these come naturally over a few hours of regular play. The first four can realistically be knocked out in a single match if things go well. Outlasting 200 players requires at least 3 matches since each round caps out at 99 opponents, and the top-20 survival quest needs a minimum of 2 separate games. What most players miss is that team eliminations count toward the 15-kill requirement, so squad modes make that one considerably easier. Both games, one event window The Rivals and Rockets event is a relatively low-effort crossover compared to some of Epic's more elaborate promotions, but the rewards are genuinely useful cosmetics rather than throwaway sprays or loading screens. A car body that carries over between Rocket League and Fortnite's driving modes has real practical value for players active in both titles. The April 30 deadline gives players about two weeks to work through both quest sets. For anyone who only plays one of the two games regularly, this event is a solid reason to spend an evening in the other. Check out our latest gaming news for more ongoing events and free reward opportunities across live-service titles.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/fortnite-rocket-league-free-skin-car/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/fortnite-rocket-league-free-skin-car/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:18:44 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[BAFTA Pulled This Dev's Game Trailer, And She's Speaking Out]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA["The Quiet Things is deeply personal to me. It's my story. It's about trauma, abuse, survival, and giving survivors a voice. So there is something deeply painful about reliving that again now." That's Alyx Jones , founder of Silver Script Games , writing on LinkedIn after learning that her game's trailer had been pulled from the BAFTA Game Awards the night before the show aired. The reason given? Not enough time to set up appropriate content warnings for the audience. What happened the night before the show The Quiet Things is an upcoming autobiographical narrative game built around Jones' personal experiences with childhood abuse, trauma, and mental health struggles. It had been selected for a trailer slot at the BAFTA Game Awards, a significant moment for any indie developer. Then came the phone call. According to Jones' LinkedIn post, BAFTA contacted her the evening before the ceremony to say the trailer was being cut. The stated reason: organizers couldn't get the right trigger warnings in place in time for the live audience. Jones says she offered to make further edits to the trailer to address those concerns. She says she was ignored. danger Jones' account is based on her own LinkedIn post. BAFTA has since provided a separate statement with its own framing of the decision. BAFTA's official position After the story gained traction, BAFTA responded with a statement to Kotaku . The organization framed the call as a "compliance decision," saying it couldn't adequately warn guests about content that "may be a trigger for some." "We fully support games that engage with difficult subjects," BAFTA said, "and we made the decision in relation to our event only and with the wellbeing of all guests as our priority." The key tension here is the gap between those two positions. BAFTA says it supports games tackling difficult themes. Jones says that support didn't extend to actually letting her game appear at the ceremony, and that her attempt to find a workable compromise was brushed aside. The pattern Jones is describing What makes this more than a single scheduling dispute is what Jones says around it. She describes a recurring experience where doors close specifically because her subject matter makes people uncomfortable. She says she has stayed quiet in the past to protect professional relationships and avoid burning bridges. This time, she isn't staying quiet. "Art should make people feel something," she wrote. The irony she points to is hard to miss: a game literally about people being silenced and shut down was itself pulled from a major platform, with no real avenue for the developer to push back. The Quiet Things hasn't been given a release date yet, but the trailer that BAFTA declined to show is now publicly available and has been circulating widely since Jones went public with her account. You can check out the latest gaming news for more coverage as this story develops. What comes next for the game There's no indication Jones is stepping back from the project. If anything, the attention this situation has generated puts The Quiet Things in front of an audience that might never have heard of it otherwise. That's cold comfort given the circumstances, but it's a real outcome. BAFTA hasn't indicated whether it plans to revisit how it handles sensitive content from indie developers in future ceremonies. The question worth watching is whether this incident prompts any structural change in how awards bodies screen and support games built around difficult personal narratives, or whether it stays a one-cycle story. For more on independent games pushing boundaries, browse latest reviews on our site.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/bafta-pulled-quiet-things-trailer-controversy/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/bafta-pulled-quiet-things-trailer-controversy/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:12:39 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Best Open World RPGs to Play in 2026]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The best open world RPGs don't just give you a map to fill in. They give you a reason to care about every corner of it. Right now, the genre is in a genuinely strong place, with a mix of modern heavyweights and older classics that still hold up better than most things releasing today. Here's the lowdown on the 10 best open world RPGs worth loading up in 2026, ranked from solid to unmissable. Starting from the bottom: the games that earned their spots Old School RuneScape kicks things off at number 10, and yes, it absolutely belongs here. Jagex's MMORPG has grown far beyond its 2013 relaunch, with quest writing that rivals dedicated single-player RPGs and a skill system deep enough to lose months inside. The fantasy world of Gielinor is genuinely massive, and the player-driven economy and community give it a texture that no solo RPG can replicate. Xenoblade Chronicles X lands at 9. The Definitive Edition, now available on Switch and Switch 2, makes this the best time to experience Mira, a planet where piloting giant mechs called Skells is eventually how you get around. The game's open world design leans into the idea that wandering without purpose is the purpose, which sounds frustrating until you're an hour in and completely hooked. Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age sits at 8. Set in the war-torn continent of Ivalice, it follows street thief Vaan getting pulled into a geopolitical conflict between empires. The Gambit system, which lets you automate party member behaviors with programmable rules, still feels unlike anything else in the genre. Multiple replays hold up because the world always has more to give. The mid-tier that would top most other lists Dragon's Dogma 2 at number 7 is the kind of game that generates stories. Fast travel is deliberately limited, combat is physically tactile in a way few ARPGs match, and the world responds to your actions in ways that feel genuinely emergent. Cut a rope bridge to escape skeleton pursuit at night and it stays cut until NPCs repair it. That kind of systemic depth is rare. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered takes the 6 spot. Bethesda's surprise April 2025 release updated the 2006 classic with quality-of-life changes including sprinting and a revised leveling system, making Cyrodiil more accessible without losing what made it special. The side quests, particularly the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild questlines, remain some of the best the genre has produced. info Oblivion Remastered launched on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X in April 2025. If you played the original on PS2 or Xbox 360, the remaster is a significantly smoother experience worth revisiting. Cyberpunk 2077 at 5 is the redemption arc story of this console generation. CD Projekt Red turned a disastrous launch into a genuinely excellent RPG through years of patches and the Phantom Liberty expansion featuring Idris Elba . Night City rewards players who take time with its side content, and the sheer variety of builds, from netrunner to street samurai, means two playthroughs can feel like different games. It's also now available on Switch 2. The top four, where the genre peaks Fallout: New Vegas at 4 is the one that Obsidian built in 18 months and still managed to make the best RPG in the Fallout series. The Courier's revenge story is just the hook. The real game is navigating the competing factions, the NCR, Caesar's Legion, Mr. House, and the wildcard option, all vying for control of Hoover Dam and New Vegas. Four DLC expansions, including Dead Money and Lonesome Road, add an overarching narrative that ties the whole package together. Elden Ring takes the 3 spot. FromSoftware took everything that made Dark Souls compelling and opened it up into one of the most rewarding exploration experiences in gaming. The Lands Between is designed to be discovered rather than explained, and with 132 hours reportedly not enough to see everything, the sheer density of content is staggering. The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion added a second major area that leans back toward the studio's more linear roots, giving returning players something fresh. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 at 2 is the most surprising entry on this list. Warhorse Studios built a medieval Bohemia that refuses to let you be the chosen hero. You play as Henry, a blacksmith's son trying to survive in 15th century central Europe, and the game demands you actually engage with its systems: eating, sleeping, managing wounds, learning to fight properly. The developer has described it as a spiritual successor to Oblivion and Morrowind in terms of refusing instant gratification, and that framing is accurate. The payoff, when Henry's story escalates to large-scale sieges and political intrigue, hits harder because you've earned every step. The Witcher 3 is still number one, and it's not close The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt turned 10 in 2025 and remains the benchmark. CD Projekt Red 's RPG is the one that made open world side quests feel like main quests. Every contract Geralt takes, every village he passes through, has a story worth hearing. The Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone expansions added dozens more hours of content that match the base game's quality. What most players miss on their first run is how much the world changes based on decisions made hours or days earlier. The Continent feels lived-in because it reacts to you, not the other way around. Available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and now Switch 2, there has never been a bad time to start. For deeper reads on any of these games, browse the latest reviews , or check out our guides section if you're already in the middle of one and need a hand.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/best-open-world-rpgs-to-play-in-2026/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/best-open-world-rpgs-to-play-in-2026/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:11:32 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Granblue Fantasy Relink: Endless Ragnarok Open Beta Kicks Off April 24]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Cygames has been busy. In a flurry of Granblue Fantasy announcements this week, the developer confirmed that the open beta for Granblue Fantasy Relink: Endless Ragnarok kicks off on April 24, 2026 , giving players a four-day window to get hands-on with the upcoming title before its July launch. What the beta actually contains The open beta runs from April 24 to April 27 , and it lands on four platforms: Nintendo Switch 2 , PS4 , PS5 , and PC . That's a wider spread than the original Granblue Fantasy Relink, which skipped Nintendo hardware entirely. Four quests are available to test, playable either solo or with others. Crossplay is supported across all platforms, and Cygames confirmed that Summons, Full Bursts, and Primal Bursts will all be accessible during the beta window. Here's the lowdown on what to expect going in: 4 quests available in solo or co-op Crossplay enabled across Switch 2, PS4, PS5, and PC Summons, Full Bursts, and Primal Bursts all functional Network performance may fluctuate, as this doubles as a load test for Cygames That last point is worth keeping in mind. Cygames was upfront that performance could be inconsistent, since the beta is also functioning as a network stress test. Expect some hiccups, especially in the opening hours. The opening movie and a media blitz to match Alongside the beta announcement, Cygames dropped a full opening movie for Endless Ragnarok, running over seven minutes long. It's already up on YouTube for anyone who wants a taste of the story setup before jumping into quests. The media push doesn't stop there. Episodes from Granblue Fantasy: The Animation are temporarily free to watch via Cygames' YouTube channel, covering roughly the first half of season one with Japanese voice acting and subtitles in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. That free access window runs until July 31, 2026 . The digital first volume of the manga is also free to read through Kodansha between now and July 31 as well. info Granblue Fantasy: The Animation is also streaming on Crunchyroll for those who prefer that platform. Full launch is set for July The open beta is a short preview of a longer runway. Granblue Fantasy Relink: Endless Ragnarok is scheduled to launch on July 9, 2026 across Switch 2, PS4, PS5, and PC. The Switch 2 inclusion marks a significant platform expansion for the Relink branch of the franchise, and the crossplay support in the beta suggests Cygames is serious about keeping the playerbase connected across all versions. For anyone who played the original Granblue Fantasy Relink, this is a chance to see how the formula has evolved ahead of a full commitment. Four quests won't tell the whole story, but they should give a solid read on combat feel and co-op performance before July arrives. For more on upcoming action RPGs and everything else worth playing, browse our gaming news and check out our latest reviews for deeper dives on recent releases.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/granblue-fantasy-relink-endless-ragnarok-open/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/granblue-fantasy-relink-endless-ragnarok-open/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:09:17 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Remake Lands on Switch This September]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[GungHo has confirmed that Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is coming to Nintendo Switch 1 and Switch 2 on September 17, 2026 , giving players a firm date to finally resolve one of the most talked-about cliffhangers in JRPG history. The game is a full remake of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, the beloved Falcom classic that originally released on PSP. Here's the thing: SC is widely regarded as one of the best payoffs in the entire Trails series, and the announcement that it is getting the same modern treatment as 1st Chapter has fans moving fast on pre-orders. What Estelle faces in Liberl this time The story picks up directly where Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter left off. Estelle Bracer sets out across the kingdom of Liberl to find Joshua , the partner she lost at the end of the first game, while uncovering the true agenda of the shadowy organization Ouroboros . The official trailer keeps story details close to the chest, which makes sense given how spoiler-heavy the sequel's setup is. What the trailer does confirm is that familiar faces return alongside new allies, and the emotional stakes are considerably higher than the first chapter. The 1st Chapter remake received a very positive reception when it launched, and that momentum makes the announcement of 2nd Chapter feel like a natural next step rather than a surprise. The key here is that GungHo has not just ported the original PSP release but is rebuilding it for modern hardware, which means players who never touched the original SC have a clean entry point. Japanese pre-orders and the western question Pre-orders in Japan come with a notable bonus: a digital copy of the original Trails in the Sky. That perk has not been confirmed for western markets, and there is a real reason why. According to reporting by Gematsu, GungHo does not hold the rights to the original English translation , which complicates any direct bundle offer outside Japan. Whether an alternative arrangement gets worked out before September remains to be seen, but western players should not count on that bonus appearing in their region. danger The Japanese pre-order bonus (a digital copy of the original Trails in the Sky) has not been confirmed for western regions, likely due to English localization rights not being held by GungHo. The game is confirmed for both Switch 1 and Switch 2, so no one needs to upgrade hardware to play it. That is a straightforward win for anyone who has been sitting on the first remake and waiting to know when to start. Five months and counting September 17 gives players roughly five months to finish Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter if they have not already. That is plenty of time, and you will want to go in with fresh memory of where the story ends. SC does not ease you back in gently. For everything else dropping on Switch this year, check out our gaming news to stay ahead of the release calendar. If you want to dig deeper into the Trails series before September, browse our latest reviews to find out where to start.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/trails-sky-2nd-chapter-remake-september/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/trails-sky-2nd-chapter-remake-september/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:44:17 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Nintendo's Lost 1974 Wild Gunman Arcade Game Gets Resurrected by One Determined Collector]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Picture a coin-op arcade cabinet from 1974 that plays actual film footage of live-action cowboys. You draw your gun, watch an outlaw reach for his iron, and pull the trigger at exactly the right moment. That was Wild Gunman , one of Nintendo's earliest arcade machines, and for the past 50 years it has existed almost entirely as a footnote in gaming history. Now, thanks to arcade collector Callan Brown (known online as 74XX Arcade Repair ), there is once again a playable version of the game. Brown describes it as “what might be the only playable Wild Gunman '74 experience in North America, or maybe the world.” Why the original machines disappeared Wild Gunman was designed by Gunpei Yokoi , the same engineer who would later create the Game Boy. The concept was genuinely unlike anything else at the time: instead of pixel graphics, the cabinet projected 16mm film footage of real actors dressed as Wild West outlaws. Four sets of footage, labeled A, B, C, and D, each featured different gunfighters. Watch the film, wait for the draw signal, shoot at the right moment, and either a victory or defeat clip would play out. The problem is that film reels were never built for that kind of punishment. Looping the same short clips hundreds of times a day, every day, destroys the material. Yokoi himself noted in an old interview that only around 100 units were ever shipped, which means there were never many machines to begin with. An untested original cabinet sold at auction in 2023, but its current whereabouts are unknown. As far as anyone can tell, no confirmed working Wild Gunman cabinet exists today. The film situation was even worse. Until 2021, no reels were known to exist at all. That year, one collector managed to locate the D footage, which was the first confirmed survival of any original Wild Gunman film. The eBay find that changed everything Brown got lucky in the way that only obsessive collectors tend to get lucky. He spotted an eBay auction for a set of unidentified Nintendo film reels and took a chance on them. When the reels arrived, he found they contained the complete B and D footage, plus a partial reel of A. The C footage remains lost. Here's the thing: that's more original Wild Gunman film than has been accessible in decades, possibly ever. Brown digitized everything he had and decided the only logical next step was to build an entire arcade cabinet around it. danger Brown is clear that his build is "not quite a replica" but rather a reimagining of the Wild Gunman '74 experience using modern hardware. The original cabinet design and electronics are not reproduced exactly. How a Unity game and Wii-style sensors brought it back The cabinet itself is built from plywood with 3D-printed modules, which is already a fun detail. But the real work happened inside. Brown recreated the game in Unity , building the logic and timing systems around his digitized footage. An office projector handles display duties, throwing the film onto the screen the way the original optical system once did. For the gun, Brown went with infrared LEDs and made the gun itself the detector rather than the screen. If that sounds familiar, it should: it is functionally very close to how the Wii Remote pointer worked, using the gun to sense the IR source rather than a camera tracking a light gun on screen. The result is a responsive, accurate shooting system that does not rely on fragile 50-year-old hardware. An Arduino open-source circuit board controls the front panel LEDs that track your score, tying the whole experience together in a way that feels arcade-authentic even if the components are thoroughly modern. What this means for preservation Brown plans to bring the cabinet to Ontario Pinfest in May, which will be the first time most people have had any chance to play something resembling the original Wild Gunman experience. He has also said on Reddit that he intends to release both the Arduino code and the Unity game at some point, which would let other builders attempt their own recreations using the same approach. The C footage still being missing is the one significant gap. Three of four outlaw sets are now accounted for, but that fourth gunfighter remains lost somewhere, possibly in a box in someone's attic, possibly gone for good. For a game that predates the NES by a decade and laid some of the earliest groundwork for what Nintendo would eventually become, getting three-quarters of it back is a better outcome than anyone had reason to expect. For more on gaming history and the titles that shaped the medium, browse our gaming news , and check out our latest reviews for what's worth playing right now.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/nintendo-wild-gunman-arcade-game-resurrected/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/nintendo-wild-gunman-arcade-game-resurrected/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:42:16 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 Launches With Smarter Back Support]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Sihoo has quietly become one of the more interesting names in the ergonomic chair space, and the company just made its next move. The Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 launched this week at a list price of $499.99, though an Early Bird promotion running from April 16 to May 15 cuts that to $429.99. Stack the coupon code SIHOOIGN on top of that and the price drops further to $404.20 with free shipping. For a chair with this feature set, that pricing puts it well below comparable ergonomic options that regularly run north of $500. The split backrest that actually makes sense Here's the thing that separates the C300 Pro V2 from most chairs in its price range: the backrest is two completely independent components, not one semi-flexible piece. The lower section handles lumbar and sacrum support, while the upper section covers your back and shoulders. Because they move independently, both sections can respond to your posture separately rather than forcing a compromise between the two. An auto-adjusting headrest sits above it all, filling in the neck and head support that most task chairs skip entirely. This matters more than it sounds. Anyone who has spent a long session at a desk knows that a single rigid backrest forces you to choose between lower back support and upper back support. The V2 removes that trade-off. Dynamic support for people who actually move around The broader design philosophy behind the C300 Pro V2 is what Sihoo calls dynamic adjustability, meaning the chair's components work together to redistribute your weight evenly as you shift positions. The key here is that it handles this automatically rather than requiring you to stop and manually adjust every time you lean forward or recline. For long gaming or work sessions where you're constantly shifting, rocking back to think, or leaning in during a tense moment, that kind of passive adaptation is genuinely useful. Manual controls for when you want them The automatic support doesn't lock you out of manual adjustments. The backrest height moves up and down to fit different torso sizes, and the seat depth slides forward or backward. The 8D armrests cover a wide range of angles and can fold sideways entirely if you need them out of the way. Recline options include three locked positions at 105, 120, and 135 degrees, plus a rocking mode if you prefer something more fluid. A footrest is available as an add-on for $40, though it doesn't come standard. Pricing window and what you get with it The Early Bird promotion runs through May 15, after which the chair returns to its $499.99 list price. Sihoo backs the V2 with a 30-day return and replacement policy and a 3-year warranty, which is solid coverage for a chair in this range. Also available on Amazon at $450.49 for those who prefer that route, though the direct Sihoo purchase with the SIHOOIGN code gets you the lowest current price. For gamers spending serious hours at a desk, a well-specced chair at this price point is worth paying attention to. You'll want to check out our latest reviews for more coverage on gaming peripherals and gear, and browse more guides for setup tips across all kinds of gaming hardware.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/sihoo-doro-c300-pro-v2-launch/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/sihoo-doro-c300-pro-v2-launch/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:39:30 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Battlefield 6 seasons should be big moments, but they're not]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Battlefield 6 just got some genuinely exciting news: EA confirmed 7 new maps are coming in 2026, including a remake of fan-favorite Wake Island complete with asymmetrical beach invasions and functional aircraft carriers. Naval warfare is back. For a game that has felt landlocked and samey since launch, that's a real reason to care. So why does it still feel like the season structure is designed to make you forget the game exists? The mini-season trap nobody asked for Here's the thing: Battlefield 6 doesn't run traditional seasons. Each season gets chopped into three monthlong mini-seasons, and each mini-season delivers a new gun, an event, and occasionally a map. The logic, presumably, is that a steady trickle of content keeps players engaged and the game feeling active. In practice, it does the opposite. When Season 4 kicks off with the big naval warfare push, the "grand return" on day one will amount to a single map. The rest trickles in at unspecified points during the season. DICE and EA treat exact release dates like classified information, revealing them only days before they arrive. Players who read the roadmap and get excited have no idea which pieces land at season start and which fall under a vague "mid-season" label. The result is a predictable cycle . A player reads about Battlefield 6 getting two new maps, new weapons, and new modes. They get excited, reinstall, and boot up on season launch day. One third of the announced content is actually there. They try the new map, decide to wait until things are more complete, and then forget to check back until the next roadmap announcement. Repeat indefinitely. danger Battlefield 2042 went through a similar content pacing struggle during its post-launch recovery, and the lessons from that game's rough live service arc appear to have only partially carried over to Battlefield 6's structure. What a season is actually supposed to feel like At its best, a live service season functions like a free expansion. It's a clear signal to lapsed players that something substantial has changed, that now is a good time to come back. The season launch should feel like an event, not a Tuesday patch note. Call of Duty's approach is blunt but effective: drop a large volume of content at once and let the sheer quantity do the marketing work. Battlefield doesn't need to match that output, but releasing what's actually promised in a season when the season begins would go a long way toward making the occasion mean something. The current setup paradoxically makes the best time to return to Battlefield 6 right before a season ends, when all the drip-fed pieces are finally in place. That's a strange design outcome for a system built around generating excitement at launch. Who is this content pacing actually for? EA appears to be designing its season cadence for players who are already deeply embedded in Battlefield 6, logging in regularly and treating it as their primary game. The four-week drip assumes a captive audience that needs just enough new content to stay engaged without burning through everything at once. But Battlefield has never really been that kind of game for most of its playerbase. It's a "sometimes" game, not a "forever" game. Its appeal sits in the joyous chaos of large-scale combined arms combat, the kind of thing you binge for a few weeks and then shelve until something new pulls you back. That's a completely legitimate way to play, and the season structure actively works against those players by ensuring there's never a single moment compelling enough to justify reinstalling. The player counts visible on platforms like Steam reflect this. Battlefield 6 isn't holding a stable engaged base between major content drops. It spikes around announcements and then recedes. With 7 maps still to come across the rest of 2026 and naval warfare promising some of the most distinct gameplay the game has seen since launch, the content itself looks genuinely promising. You'll want to keep an eye on the Season 4 start date specifically, since that's when the Wake Island remake and carrier-based combat are expected to arrive first. For everything else on the roadmap, browse our latest gaming news to track exactly when each piece lands. The gap between what Battlefield 6 could be and what it delivers on any given season launch day is the real frustration. Fix the pacing, and the content speaks for itself. Keep splitting the pie into thirds, and even good maps struggle to pull people back through the door. For a broader look at how live service shooters are handling post-launch content right now, check out our reviews and coverage across the genre.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/battlefield-6-ea-season-drip-feed/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/battlefield-6-ea-season-drip-feed/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:38:01 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) Is Now on Game Pass]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) is now live on Xbox Game Pass . Confirmed on April 17, Infinity Ward 's reboot is available across the Premium, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass tiers, making it the third Call of Duty game released before Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition to land on the subscription service. Why this one stands out The 2019 Modern Warfare was a genuine reset for the franchise. After years of jetpack-fueled, future-war entries, Infinity Ward stripped things back to a grounded, gritty tone that a lot of CoD fans had been waiting for. The campaign brought back Captain John Price (recast with a new actor) and introduced Commander Farah Karim , voiced by Claudia Doumit of Prime Video's The Boys. Farah's missions were widely considered some of the most memorable the series had delivered in years. The multiplayer was equally significant. Ground War returned at a 32v32 scale, now with tanks, and the mode gave the game a scope that felt genuinely different from the standard 6v6 playlist. That same multiplayer foundation became the backbone of Call of Duty: Warzone when it launched in 2020, a battle royale that pulled in massive player numbers at release. By any commercial measure, the game was a hit. According to Activision court filings uncovered by Game File, Modern Warfare sold more than 41 million copies and the publisher spent over $640 million in production expenses across its lifetime. The third pre-buyout CoD on Game Pass Here's the thing: when Microsoft completed its Activision Blizzard acquisition, many assumed Game Pass would quickly fill up with back-catalog Call of Duty titles. That hasn't really happened. Modern Warfare (2019) is only the third pre-buyout entry to arrive on the service, following Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and Modern Warfare 3 (2023). The newer releases, Black Ops 6 (2024) and Black Ops 7 (2025), came to Game Pass at launch as part of the post-acquisition approach. danger Modern Warfare (2019) is available on Game Pass Premium, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass tiers. It is not included in the standard Game Pass Core tier. What's shifting around Game Pass itself The timing of this addition lands alongside some uncertainty about the service's future direction. Reports have surfaced that Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma is weighing significant structural changes to Game Pass, including a potential new tier limited to first-party titles only. There's also a possibility that future Call of Duty games may not automatically come to Game Pass at launch, which would be a notable shift from how Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 were handled. Meanwhile, the 2026 Call of Duty game is rumored to be Modern Warfare 4, also from Infinity Ward. A Call of Duty film is also in development at Paramount, with writer Taylor Sheridan and director Peter Berg attached. For Game Pass subscribers who missed the 2019 reboot the first time around, this is a straightforward pickup. For anyone curious about where the franchise goes next, browse our latest gaming news to stay across every development as the Modern Warfare 4 reveal window approaches.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2019-game-pass/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2019-game-pass/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:34:58 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Fortnite Crew Is Getting Quietly Gutted Season by Season]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The $12 monthly price tag on Fortnite Crew hasn't changed . What has changed is everything you get for it. Epic Games has been chipping away at the subscription's value from multiple directions at once. The most visible cut came with the V-Bucks reduction: starting in June, monthly Crew V-Bucks drop from 1,000 to 800, and the battle pass payout is being slashed from 1,500 to 800. That's a combined loss of 900 V-Bucks per month compared to what subscribers were getting before. But there's a second, quieter squeeze happening at the same time, and it's tied directly to how long each pass season runs. The math on slower seasons Here's the thing: Fortnite Crew unlocks access to the battle pass, the OG pass, the music pass, and the Lego pass for as long as you stay subscribed. The value of those unlocks scales with how many passes you cycle through in a year. Fewer seasons equal fewer passes, which means the same $12 per month buys you less content. The numbers tell a clear story . Between December 10, 2024 and August 7, 2025, five Lego passes ran across roughly eight months. Then the pace slowed sharply. The Palm Paradise pass and the Ninjago pass each ran for 126 days. The current Soaring Skies Lego pass is scheduled for 140 days. When it wraps, subscribers will have seen just three Lego passes in 13 months, compared to five in the eight months prior. The OG pass is following the same pattern. Fortnite OG Season 8, which launched April 1, is on track to be the second-longest OG season to date. Only Season 7 ran longer at 110 days, which was already a significant outlier given that earlier OG seasons averaged just under 60 days each. Season 7 also time-gated half its pass content, making it harder to complete with a single month of Crew. Festival seasons and the missing mini-seasons Fortnite Festival is stretching out too. Music passes had averaged 66 days each before the current cycle, but the new Laufey season runs for 91 days, making it the longest Festival season on record. Chapter 7 is currently on pace for five music passes total, down from seven in Chapter 6. The mini-seasons are gone entirely in Chapter 7, at least so far. Those shorter half-passes previously included collab skins tied to franchises like The Simpsons and Star Wars, plus 1,000 V-Bucks each. Removing them means subscribers miss out on both the cosmetics and the extra V-Bucks those passes delivered. The first two main seasons of Chapter 7 will stretch across just over six months combined to fill the gap. danger The V-Bucks reduction from Crew's monthly reward (1,000 down to 800) takes effect in June. If you're budgeting around Crew's V-Bucks output, you'll want to factor that into any planned item shop purchases before the change kicks in. What subscribers are actually losing Stack all of this together and the picture isn't great for long-term Crew subscribers. Fewer seasons per year means fewer passes cycled through the subscription. Fewer passes means less content unlocked for the same monthly fee. Layer the V-Bucks cuts on top, and a year of Fortnite Crew in 2026 delivers meaningfully less than a year of Crew did in 2024. For players who subscribe for a month here and there to grab a specific skin or battle pass, the impact is smaller. For anyone running the subscription year-round, the cumulative effect of slower seasons and reduced V-Bucks is significant. The price hasn't moved, but the return has. Epic hasn't made any public statements addressing the season length trend directly. For now, you can keep up with how each new pass shapes up over at our gaming news and guides hub as Chapter 7 continues to roll out.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/fortnite-crew-subscription-losing-value/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/fortnite-crew-subscription-losing-value/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:32:24 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Pokemon Champions Has Nothing For Long-Term Collectors]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Spend two decades catching, trading, and hatching every Pokemon across every game, transfer them all into Pokemon Home , and then watch a brand-new battle game launch with support for fewer than 200 of them. That's the situation facing long-term collectors right now , and the frustration is completely earned. When Pokemon Champions was revealed, the Home integration was the headline feature for a specific type of player: not the competitive crowd, but the collectors who have spent years building what the community calls a "living dex," a collection containing at least one of every Pokemon in the Pokedex. For those players, the promise of finally putting their stored monsters to work in an official battle environment felt like a long-overdue payoff. What Champions actually delivers for collectors The reality at launch is considerably less exciting. Pokemon Champions ships with only 30 storage slots in the free version, and the full Pokedex sits at 1,025 Pokemon. The game currently supports fewer than 200 of them. Paying for the Starter Pack bumps your usable roster up to 49 Pokemon, which means even paying players are leaving the vast majority of their collection locked in Home with nothing to do. danger Pokemon Champions requires a separate subscription to expand storage beyond 30 slots. Combined with the existing Pokemon Home subscription fee, collectors are effectively paying twice to access a fraction of their own collection. The specific Pokemon that are available make the gaps feel even more noticeable. Starters like Swampert and its Mega Evolution, a Pokemon that can be used in Legends: Z-A, are absent from Champions entirely. The game's launch roster feels less like a curated selection and more like an incomplete first pass. The retirement home problem Here's the thing: this isn't just a Champions complaint. Pokemon Home itself has always functioned more like a storage archive than an active part of the Pokemon experience. Thousands of Pokemon sitting as static sprites in a cloud app, waiting for a game that actually wants them. The franchise does have some history with giving stored Pokemon something to do. My Pokemon Ranch , a WiiWare title, let players transfer Pokemon from Diamond and Pearl onto a virtual ranch with basic 3D models and simple interactions. It was limited, but the concept worked. Poke Pelago , a feature tucked into Pokemon Sun and Moon's PC system, went further by letting stored Pokemon train for XP, plant berries, or hunt for items across different islands. Both features are largely forgotten now, which is a shame, because Poke Pelago in particular pointed toward exactly what a modern version of this could look like at scale. What 30 years of catching deserves The Pokemon franchise is marking its 30th anniversary. The timing makes the gap between what collectors have built and what the current games let them do with it feel especially pointed. The argument isn't complicated: The Pokemon Company has the infrastructure in Home and the audience engagement in Champions to build something that serves the collection-focused side of its fanbase. A game or mode that pulls from the full Home roster, gives Pokemon varied activities beyond competitive battling, and rewards the years of grinding players have already put in would fill a real gap in the franchise's lineup. Battling is one reason people play Pokemon. For a lot of long-term fans, it's not even the main one. The bond with specific Pokemon, the ones caught on a Game Boy Advance or traded over a DS local connection, is the actual draw. Champions, at least in its current form, doesn't do much with that. With Legends: Z-A on the horizon and the franchise's anniversary generating real momentum, there's a genuine opening for The Pokemon Company to address this. For the latest gaming news and latest reviews across the Pokemon franchise and beyond, keep an eye on what gets announced in the months ahead. You can also browse more guides if you're trying to make the most of what Champions currently offers.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/pokemon-champions-collectors-nowhere-to-go/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/pokemon-champions-collectors-nowhere-to-go/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:29:51 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Valve engineer jokes he's coding in Hawaii like a vampire in a dark room]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A Valve engineer is currently on the company's legendary all-expenses-paid Hawaii trip and spent it exactly the way you'd expect a Valve engineer to: hunched over a laptop in a dark room, catching up on two-year-old GitHub pull requests. Fletcher Dunn , a Valve engineer, posted on X on April 15 confirming he was on the trip. "I am on the Valve vacation in Hawaii, which is just a wonderful perk of this job, it is such a great luxury, I love it," he wrote. Then came the punchline: he was spending that vacation time tending to his open source network library, GameNetworkingSockets , finally working through issues and pull requests that had gone unanswered for two years. Asked if he at least brought his laptop to the beach, Dunn replied, “Too much glare, I am in a dark room like a vampire.” The perk that launched a thousand envious replies Valve's Hawaii trip has been a known company perk for years, with some reports suggesting it has existed for as long as 20 years. For a company that doesn't publicly discuss much about its internal culture, this particular benefit surfaces regularly whenever an employee mentions it online, and the internet reliably loses its mind each time. The reaction to Dunn's post was a predictable mix of disbelief, admiration, and barely concealed envy. Some replies pointed to the contrast with Epic Games , which famously laid off over 1,000 employees, reportedly due to declining Fortnite engagement. That comparison has become a recurring one whenever Valve's employee-friendly perks come up, and the timing here made it impossible to avoid. info GameNetworkingSockets is Valve's open source GitHub project covering reliable and unreliable UDP messaging, message fragmentation, P2P networking, NAT traversal, and encryption. It's publicly available and actively maintained, apparently even during Hawaiian vacations. What this means for gamers (and why people care so much) Here's the thing: Valve is not a publicly traded company. That distinction matters more than it might seem. Without quarterly earnings pressure or shareholders demanding short-term returns, Valve can afford perks like annual all-expenses-paid trips to Hawaii. It can also afford to let engineers spend those trips fixing open source networking libraries without anyone in a boardroom asking why productivity metrics dipped in Q2. The intense public interest in Valve employee life isn't random. Steam is the dominant PC gaming platform, used by hundreds of millions of players. Valve also made Half-Life, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, games that sit in the all-time conversation for a lot of people. That combination of platform power and beloved game history creates something unusual: genuine fan investment in the company itself, not just its products. The result is that posts like Dunn's get far more traction than a random engineer tweeting about their vacation should. People treat Valve news with the same energy they bring to a Steam sale. The company has earned goodwill through a long track record, and that goodwill compounds. The flip side of the goodwill That said, treating Valve as an untouchable good-guy company is its own kind of trap. Steam controls an enormous share of PC game distribution, and the decisions Valve makes about what gets sold, how mods are handled, and how payment processor rules get applied have real consequences for developers. A company that's genuinely likable can still make decisions worth scrutinizing. Valve attracts serious talent, sends chocolate to successful developers on the platform, and keeps its headcount small while generating revenue figures that embarrass much larger companies. All of that is real. But the parasocial attachment that leads people to track Gabe Newell's yacht movements or celebrate every scrap of employee news can also soften the critical eye that any platform this powerful deserves. Dunn's vampire coding session is a funny story. It's also a small window into why Valve keeps pulling in the kind of engineers who can't stop thinking about UDP fragmentation even when they're technically on a beach. For the latest gaming news and analysis, check out gaming news on our site.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/valve-engineer-hawaii-vacation-coding-github/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/valve-engineer-hawaii-vacation-coding-github/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:26:04 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Doom co-designer still owns the real chainsaw that inspired the OG FPS]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Somewhere in Tom Hall's possession sits a chainsaw that changed gaming history. Not a replica, not a collector's piece bought at auction. The actual, physical Eager Beaver chainsaw that the id Software team scanned to build one of the most recognisable weapons in FPS history. The saw that shipped with Doom Romero Games dropped the detail on Bluesky this week, confirming what Doom fans had long suspected: the chainsaw in Doom was not a product of pure imagination. "The chainsaw in DOOM was modelled off of Tom Hall's Eager Beaver chainsaw," the post reads. "It leaked oil, and so was kept in a bowl in the id offices. Tom still has it!" The post came with a photo of John Romero posing alongside the chainsaw, grinning like someone who knows exactly what that piece of hardware means to gaming history. Here's the thing, the story goes back a bit further. A 2020 Instagram post from Romero added one more layer: Hall's then-girlfriend owned the Eager Beaver at the time, and "she let us scan it for DOOM." Whoever technically owns it now, the chainsaw has clearly found a permanent home with Hall. Oil leaks and gaming artifacts The image Romero shared years ago of the chainsaw sitting in its little plastic bowl is something else. The oil stain around it tells the full story of a working tool that spent time on a developer's desk being immortalised in pixels rather than cutting wood. info Tom Hall served as creative director on the original Doom but left id Software over creative differences before the game shipped. He went uncredited in the original release, though his contributions are now widely acknowledged. What most players miss when they think about Doom's weapon design is how grounded it was in physical reality. The team at id weren't just inventing nightmare machinery from scratch. They were looking at real objects, scanning them, and translating that weight and texture into something players could feel through a monitor. The Eager Beaver is a consumer-grade chainsaw brand, not some industrial horror prop. That's almost funnier. The weapon that became shorthand for over-the-top video game carnage started life as an ordinary piece of garden equipment sitting in an oil-stained bowl in a Texas office. Tom Hall's place in Doom history Tom Hall's contributions to the original Doom are complicated. He and John Romero would go on to found Ion Storm in the 1990s, a studio that produced the notoriously troubled Daikatana alongside the beloved Deus Ex series. Hall's fingerprints are on a significant stretch of early FPS history, even if the credits didn't always reflect that. The chainsaw itself became one of Doom's defining symbols. The shotgun might be the practical workhorse, the BFG 9000 might be the power fantasy, but the chainsaw is pure id Software attitude. It's in the logo. It's on the merchandise. Doom: The Dark Ages, the latest entry in the franchise, carries that same weapon DNA forward decades later. For more on the games that built the FPS genre, check out our latest gaming news covering everything from retro deep dives to modern releases. A relic that still leaks The fact that Hall still has the chainsaw is the kind of detail that makes gaming history feel tangible in a way that a design document or a screenshot never quite can. This is a physical object that sat in a room where Doom was being made, that developers looked at and thought about while building something that would define a genre. Romero's Bluesky post is casual about the whole thing, framed as a fun trivia drop rather than a major revelation. But for anyone who has spent time with Doom, knowing that the chainsaw has a real-world origin, complete with an oil leak and a plastic bowl, adds something to every playthrough. Here's hoping the leak has been addressed since the id Software days. That saw has earned a proper display case. Browse our latest reviews for more coverage of the Doom franchise and the FPS games it inspired.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/doom-chainsaw-real-saw-tom-hall/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/doom-chainsaw-real-saw-tom-hall/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:20:02 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Final Fantasy 14 Beastmaster Job Arrives April 28 in Patch 7.5]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The wait is almost over. Final Fantasy 14 players who have been holding out for the Beastmaster job since before the Dawntrail expansion launched now have a concrete date circled on their calendars: April 28, 2026 . That's when patch 7.5, officially titled Trails to the Heavens , goes live and finally delivers the monster-capturing class that Square Enix teased as part of Dawntrail's post-launch roadmap. A limited job with a familiar twist Here's the thing: Beastmaster isn't your standard group-content job. Like Blue Mage before it, Beastmaster is classified as a limited job , meaning it's designed primarily around solo play rather than fitting into the standard party structure that most of Final Fantasy 14's endgame content demands. The core loop is genuinely different from anything else in the game. Players defeat specific monsters to recruit them, then bring up to three of those creatures into battle and command their unique abilities. Think less "summoner who conjures primals" and more "trainer who builds a personal roster from the world around them." info Limited jobs in Final Fantasy 14 cannot be used in most standard group content, including duties via the Duty Finder. Beastmaster follows the same restrictions as Blue Mage. Where Beastmaster comes from The job has deep roots in the Final Fantasy series. Beastmaster originally appeared in Final Fantasy 5 , a game that built its entire identity around the job system. That connection isn't just a footnote: patch 7.5 is also introducing Enuo as a new Trial boss, a powerful optional enemy from Final Fantasy 5 Advance. The Trial is named The Unmaking , and it ties the patch's new content together thematically in a way that fans of the older games will appreciate. This kind of cross-series callback is something Final Fantasy 14 does well, and bringing in a boss from FF5 Advance specifically, rather than just the original game, is a detail worth noticing. What Dawntrail promised and when it delivered Dawntrail launched in July 2024 with two new jobs: Pictomancer , a ranged magic class built around painting effects in combat, and Viper , a dual-wielding melee job focused on chaining powerful combos. Both were full jobs available immediately with the expansion. Beastmaster was always a separate promise: a limited job coming in a post-launch patch. The gap between Dawntrail's launch and April 28 is significant, and players have been tracking every developer update for details on when it would actually arrive. Square Enix confirmed the date through the official Final Fantasy 14 patch page, putting an end to the speculation. What most players miss is that the Beastmaster's design philosophy sets it apart from every other summoning-adjacent job in the game. Classes like Summoner call on pre-set primals and egi. Beastmaster builds its roster from enemies that already exist in the world, making the job feel genuinely tied to exploration in a way that other jobs don't. Ten days away With patch 7.5 dropping April 28, players have less than two weeks to prepare. The Beastmaster job, the Enuo Trial, and the rest of the Trails to the Heavens content are all arriving together in a single update. For anyone who has been sitting on the fence about returning to Final Fantasy 14, a brand-new limited job with a unique monster-collecting mechanic and a callback boss from one of the series' most beloved entries is a reasonable excuse to log back in. You can also browse more guides on our site once the patch drops to get up to speed on Beastmaster mechanics and the Enuo encounter.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/ff14-beastmaster-job-release-date/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/ff14-beastmaster-job-release-date/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:15:53 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[White Knuckle anniversary update adds trinkets and new map]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[There were two climbing games worth talking about in 2025. Most people picked Peak, Landfall's wildly popular co-op going-up sim. The other choice was White Knuckle , the early access horror-climber from Dark Machine Games that dropped you into a grimy industrial hellhole and told you to climb out of it as fast as humanly possible. It's been one year since that early access launch, and the anniversary update is live today. What the trinket and binding system actually changes The headline addition is a new customisation layer built around trinkets and bindings. Here's the thing: this isn't just cosmetic tinkering. Trinkets provide direct buffs to player stats and abilities, while bindings trade severe debuffs for additional trinket slots and higher score multipliers. The risk-reward math here is genuinely interesting. Some trinkets buff your jump height or distance. Others add a flashlight that doesn't require hand-cranking but trades off with a shorter range compared to the standard lamp. Bindings can lock all in-game shops out of a run entirely, or layer in a hunger mechanic that puts a clock on your already frantic ascent. For players who found the base game too comfortable after mastering its mechanics, bindings are the difficulty dial they've been waiting for. info Trinkets and bindings are the same system described in the anniversary update patch notes. Bindings grant extra trinket slots in exchange for a significant debuff, so stacking them is a high-risk play that boosts score multipliers accordingly. A new map, reworked metaprogression, and competitive mode Beyond trinkets, Dark Machine has also shipped a new map alongside changes to White Knuckle's metaprogression system. The metaprogression covers the safe rooms between runs, where players spend earned buffs and cosmetics to customize those rest spaces. The update reworks how that system functions, though the developer hasn't spelled out every detail publicly. The other addition that will matter most to a specific type of player: competitive mode. White Knuckle was already a game about speed and pressure, so a dedicated competitive format feels like a natural fit. For anyone who spent 2025 watching their friends race each other up Peak's mountains, this gives White Knuckle a direct answer. Why this update matters for an early access game White Knuckle launched into early access with mechanics that rewarded mastery without punishing newcomers too hard. The controls were complex enough to feel satisfying when everything clicked, but approachable enough that you weren't constantly fighting the inputs. What most players miss about the game is how much of its horror identity comes from the environment and the pace rather than jump scares. The industrial setting does a lot of atmospheric work, and the pressure of climbing fast enough to survive does the rest. The anniversary update is a signal that Dark Machine is treating this as a long-term project. Adding a full customisation system, a new map, and a competitive mode in a single update is a meaningful content drop for any early access title, and it gives lapsed players a solid reason to reinstall. For everything else coming to PC this year, browse our gaming news to stay across new releases and updates. White Knuckle is currently available on Steam in early access, and the anniversary update is free for all existing owners. If the trinket and binding system hooks you, you'll also want to check out our latest reviews to see how other indie releases from the past year stack up.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/white-knuckle-anniversary-update-trinkets-map/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/white-knuckle-anniversary-update-trinkets-map/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:13:03 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Football Legends Codes April 18th 2026]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Free stuff is always the move. Football Legends keeps its player base engaged with a steady rotation of redeem codes that hand out coins, gems, and limited-time cosmetics, and April 2026 has a solid batch worth grabbing before they expire. Here's the thing: these codes don't last forever. Some expire within days of going live, and the Football Legends community on Reddit and Discord has been flagging a few that already stopped working mid-month. The ones listed below were verified as active as of April 18, 2026. Active Football Legends codes right now Below are all the currently working codes. Redeem these as soon as possible since expiry dates are rarely announced in advance. Code Reward Status APRIL2026 500 coins + 50 gems Active GOALKING 300 coins Active LEGEND26 100 gems Active SPRINGBOOST Exclusive player card + 200 coins Active KICKOFF26 75 gems + stamina boost Active danger Codes in Football Legends are case-sensitive. Enter them exactly as shown, including capitalization, or the redemption will fail. How to redeem codes in Football Legends If you haven't used the code system before, the process is straightforward: Launch Football Legends and reach the main menu Tap the Settings icon (usually top-right corner) Select the Redeem Code option from the dropdown Type or paste the code into the text field Hit Confirm and the rewards land in your account immediately Pro tip: if a code throws an error on mobile, try logging out and back in before attempting again. The servers occasionally need a refresh after a new code batch drops. What the rewards actually get you Coins are the workhorse currency in Football Legends, used for upgrading player stats, unlocking formations, and purchasing stamina refills. Gems sit above coins in the economy and are harder to earn through normal play, making the gem-heavy codes like LEGEND26 and KICKOFF26 the real priority here. The SPRINGBOOST code is worth highlighting separately. Player cards tied to limited seasonal events tend to carry boosted base stats compared to standard cards at the same tier, so grabbing that one before it disappears has real gameplay value, not just cosmetic appeal. Expired codes to avoid wasting time on Several codes that circulated earlier in April have already stopped working. Trying them now will just return an "Invalid Code" error: MARCH2026 (expired at end of March) WORLDCUP26EARLY (limited launch promo, now inactive) NEWSEASON (expired April 10) What most players miss is that Football Legends occasionally reactivates old codes during special events, so it's worth bookmarking a reliable list and checking back weekly. The latest guides on our site get updated when new codes go live. When to expect new codes Football Legends typically drops new codes around major football calendar events and the game's own milestone moments. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup building momentum in real-world football, the developers have been more active than usual with promotional drops tied to national team events and tournament brackets. The community Discord is the fastest place to catch new codes the moment they go live, often before any official announcement. Turning on notifications for the Football Legends official social channels is the next best option if Discord isn't your thing. For more gaming freebies and code roundups across other titles, browse the latest gaming news and reviews to keep your rewards pipeline full. Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here. Learn about other popular Roblox experiences here: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/football-legends-codes-april-18th-2026/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/football-legends-codes-april-18th-2026/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:10:10 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Time Traveling Will Backfire on You]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[If you picked up Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream expecting your old Animal Crossing habits to carry over, here's a heads-up: the one trick that life-sim veterans rely on most will actively work against you. Nintendo's official Tomodachi Plaza account posted a warning on April 16, 2026, confirming that adjusting your Switch's system clock in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream triggers a 24-hour shop lockout. Every shop stops refreshing. Weekly offers freeze. And if you try to fix the problem by resetting the clock back to the correct time, the 24-hour penalty timer restarts from zero. What the time travel penalty actually does The consequences stack up fast . Here's what Nintendo confirmed gets affected: All shops stop refreshing for approximately 24 hours after any system clock change Changing the clock again (including reverting to the correct time) resets that 24-hour timer Mii hunger does not update , meaning no extra feeding cycles and no farming happiness rewards Weekly offers are also frozen , not just standard daily shop inventory The key here is that this isn't a soft inconvenience. You're locked out of basically every time-sensitive progression system the game has, and the lockout compounds if you try to undo it. Why players assumed this would work Time traveling has a long history in Nintendo life-sim games. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, nudging the Switch clock forward was a widely accepted method to refresh Nook's Cranny stock, skip bridge construction timers, or play the Stalk Market at will. The same tactic showed up more recently in Pokemon Pokopia, where players used clock changes to skip construction waits or trigger time-specific Pokemon spawns. The overlap between Animal Crossing fans and Tomodachi Life players is significant, so it makes sense that people tried importing the same playbook. The problem is that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream was specifically designed to push back against it. warning Reverting your Switch clock to the correct time does NOT cancel the penalty. The 24-hour shop freeze restarts every time the system clock is adjusted, so repeated attempts make things worse. Nintendo's own statement in the PSA put it plainly: "Time travel gives you almost no real advantage anyway, since most things in the game already happen quickly." That framing matters. The game is built around short, frequent play sessions at real-time speed, not marathon sessions accelerated by clock manipulation. The actual pace of the game Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream moves faster than Animal Crossing by design. Relationships progress, shops restock, and events trigger on a tighter real-time loop, which is exactly why the time travel shortcut offers almost nothing even before the penalty kicks in. The 24-hour lockout is less a punishment and more a signal that the mechanic was never meant to be part of the experience. For players who want to get more out of their island without breaking anything, there's plenty of legitimate optimization to explore, including unlocking all of the game's personality types, which has its own depth. You can find more on that and other Nintendo titles over at our latest reviews . The short version: play Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream in real time, check in regularly, and leave the system clock alone. For everything else you need to know about the game, browse more guides as the community figures out what actually works.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-the-dream-time-traveling-will-backfire-on-you/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-the-dream-time-traveling-will-backfire-on-you/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream players turn Mii pets into pixel art Pokemon]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The game had been out for less than 24 hours when players started flooding Reddit and X with something nobody asked for but absolutely everyone needed: pixel art Pokemon living as Mii pets on their islands. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream shipped with a freeform pet drawing system that lets players design whatever creature they want to live alongside their Miis. The intended use case is probably cute dogs or cartoon cats. What players actually made was a Sylveon so small its creator felt compelled to apologize for the size, a Sneasel that looks like it was ripped straight from a Game Boy cartridge, and a Trubbish alongside a Litwick from one very productive player who apparently had a lot of time on their hands on launch day. Why this creative tool hit different on day one Here's the thing: the timing is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Pokemon Pokopia launched recently and put Pokemon front of mind for Nintendo fans across the board. Players already primed to think about their favorite 'mons picked up Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and immediately saw the pet drawing tool as an opportunity. The results are genuinely impressive given the constraints. One Reddit user who shared their Eevee recreation was upfront about the difficulty: "The biggest challenges are color matching and keeping track of where the pixels go." That tracks. Working within a small pixel grid to nail recognizable silhouettes for creatures as design-specific as Pokemon is not a casual afternoon project. The community is not stopping at pets, either. Some players went further and turned their actual Miis into Pokemon, with one person sharing a Pikachu Mii described simply as "very yellow and accurate." Given that Miis are built from face sliders and preset features rather than a pixel canvas, getting a convincing Pikachu out of that system is a different kind of achievement entirely. The tools players are actually using What most players miss when they see these creations is just how improvised the whole process is. The game launched without an official stylus recommendation, and the community responded by sharing workarounds ranging from actual carrots to inside-out chip bags used as drawing implements. The pixel art Pokemon you're seeing online were, in many cases, drawn with snack packaging. The key here is that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream's creative tools are flexible enough to reward players who put in the effort, even if the interface was not exactly designed with competitive pixel art in mind. The Sylveon post on X blew up partly because of the quality and partly because the creator's self-deprecating caption about the size made it immediately relatable. danger Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has no online sharing features, so every Pokemon pet you're seeing circulating online had to be manually photographed or screenshotted and posted by its creator. There is no in-game way to send or receive custom pet designs. Pokemon Pokopia did not satisfy the hunger The subtitle of this story writes itself. Pokopia gave players an entire game built around living alongside Pokemon. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream gives players a life sim with a drawing tool. And yet here we are, with players actively reconstructing the Pokemon they just spent hours with in Pokopia, now as tiny pixel companions for their Miis. The crossover between the two fanbases makes sense. Both games sit in the same cozy life sim space Nintendo has been building out, and players who finished Pokopia and moved to Tomodachi Life clearly did not want to leave their favorite creatures behind. The community output from a single launch day, from Eevee to Sylveon to an entire collection of Gen 5 Pokemon from one dedicated player, suggests the pet drawing tool is going to be one of the most talked-about features of the game's early life. For anyone picking up the game now, our latest gaming news is full of updates worth using as reference if you want to try your own hand at pixel art pets.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-the-dream-pokemon/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-the-dream-pokemon/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:01:43 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Fortune's Run Dev Out of Prison, Cult Immersive Sim Back in Development]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA["The parole board reviewed my case and instantly kicked my ass out of jail." That's the update Fortune's Run fans have been waiting on, delivered in the most unexpected way possible. For anyone who hasn't been following this story, Fortune's Run is a boomer-style immersive sim that quietly built a devoted following on Steam while sitting in Early Access, its development frozen for reasons its community could only speculate about. The reason, it turns out, was that its developer, known online as Dizzie , was incarcerated. Now Dizzie is out, and the game is back on. What fans were left with Fortune's Run earned its cult status the hard way. The game draws clear inspiration from the classic immersive sims of the late 90s and early 2000s, the kind of first-person games where every environment is a puzzle box and player agency is king. Dizzie built it largely solo, which makes the existing Early Access build all the more impressive to its fans. The problem was that updates stopped coming, with no explanation from the developer for an extended stretch. For a solo-dev Early Access title, radio silence is often a death sentence. The community held on, but there was genuine uncertainty about whether Fortune's Run would ever reach a finished state. danger Fortune's Run remains in Early Access on Steam. The game's completion timeline has not been officially confirmed, so expectations should be set accordingly. The update that changed everything Dizzie's return announcement confirmed what had been keeping the game in limbo. The developer cited the parole board's decision as the reason for their release, and immediately signaled intent to get back to work on Fortune's Run. For a fanbase that had been left in the dark, the news landed hard, in the best way. Here's the thing about solo-dev projects like this: the entire game lives or dies on one person's ability to show up. There's no studio to absorb a setback, no team to keep shipping patches while one member deals with a personal crisis. Fortune's Run going quiet wasn't mismanagement or a pivot to a new project. It was one person's life getting in the way in the most serious way possible. Why this matters beyond the headline Fortune's Run sits in a specific niche that doesn't get crowded very often. Boomer immersive sims, games that genuinely channel the design philosophy of titles like System Shock and Thief rather than just borrowing their aesthetics, are rare. The ones that exist tend to come from small teams or solo developers who are doing it out of genuine love for the genre. What most players miss when they look at the Early Access catalog is how many of these passion projects are one bad year away from abandonment. Dizzie's situation is an extreme version of a common risk. The good news is that unlike so many shelved Early Access titles, Fortune's Run has a developer who is alive, free, and apparently ready to finish what they started. For anyone who picked up Fortune's Run during its initial buzz and has been sitting on it since, now is probably a good time to reinstall and see where the build currently stands. You can also keep up with the latest gaming news as Dizzie continues posting updates. The next question is how long it takes to get from "back at the keyboard" to a meaningful content update. Solo development after a significant absence means reacquainting yourself with your own codebase, your own systems, your own half-finished design documents. That process takes time. But compared to where Fortune's Run was a few weeks ago, a developer who is physically able to work on the game is a completely different situation. Keep an eye on the Fortune's Run Steam page for developer updates. If Dizzie's return post is any indication, communication with the community is back on the table, and that alone is a significant shift from the silence of the past year. For more on games making unlikely comebacks, check out the latest reviews on our site.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/fortunes-run-developer-prison-development-update/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/fortunes-run-developer-prison-development-update/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:38:23 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Clair Obscur and Dispatch lead 2026 BAFTA Games Awards Winners]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Sandfall Interactive walked into the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards with 12 nominations and left with 3 wins. That's the kind of night that cements a studio's place in the industry. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 claimed Best Game , Debut Game , and Performer in a Leading Role for Jennifer English , making it the night's most decorated title alongside Dispatch , AdHoc Studio's superhero narrative which also finished with 3 awards. The two games that defined the night The spread of wins between Clair Obscur and Dispatch tells an interesting story. Both studios are relatively new voices in the industry, and both walked away with the same haul. Here's the thing: BAFTA voters didn't consolidate around one obvious frontrunner. They split the room. Dispatch took Animation , Audio Achievement , and Performer in a Supporting Role for Jeffrey Wright . Three technical and performance categories that signal the game punched well above its weight in production quality for a debut superhero narrative from a studio most players hadn't heard of before nominations were announced. Clair Obscur's Best Game win is the one that carries the most weight, though. Entering with 12 nominations, the Sandfall RPG was clearly the awards season favourite, and it delivered where it mattered most. What most players miss about this year's full winner list Beyond the two headline acts, the rest of the ceremony spread wins across a genuinely diverse field. Arc Raiders won Multiplayer Death Stranding 2: On the Beach took Artistic Achievement No Man's Sky won Evolving Game (Hello Games' decade-long redemption arc continues) Atomfall claimed Best British Game for Rebellion Blue Prince won Game Design Ghost of Yotei picked up both Technical Achievement and Music Lego Party won Family Kingdom Come: Deliverance II took Narrative South of Midnight won New Intellectual Property Despelote won Game Beyond Entertainment The Fellowship Award went to Supercell CEO Iikka Paananen PlayStation had a strong showing across the board. Three awards split between Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei means Sony's first-party slate made its presence felt even without either title landing a Best Game nomination. BAFTA Games Awards 2026 A debut year that won't be forgotten The Debut Game win for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is arguably as meaningful as Best Game. Sandfall Interactive built an RPG ambitious enough to lead all nominations at one of gaming's most respected awards ceremonies, and did it as a first-time studio. That's not a small thing. info Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 entered the 2026 BAFTA Games Awards with 12 nominations, more than any other title. It converted 3 of those into wins, including the night's top prize. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II winning Narrative is worth flagging too. Warhorse Studios' sequel was one of the year's most discussed RPGs, and that Narrative win validates what players who put 80-plus hours into it already knew. For everything else coming out of this awards season, check the latest gaming news and keep an eye on what these winning studios do next. Sandfall Interactive winning Best Game on a debut title means their second project is now one of the most anticipated announcements in the industry.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/clair-obscur-expedition-33-bafta-2026/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/clair-obscur-expedition-33-bafta-2026/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:35:50 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Forza Horizon 6 reportedly hits 500k Steam sales a month before launch]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Half a million copies sold. Still a full month from launch. That is where Forza Horizon 6 sits right now, according to gaming market data firm Alinea Analytics , and it tells you everything about where the Forza franchise stands heading into May. The numbers behind the hype Alinea Analytics published data this week suggesting Forza Horizon 6 has already surpassed 500,000 sales on Steam, translating to roughly $30 million in gross revenue before the game has even launched. Their projections go further: the firm expects Forza Horizon 6 to blow past 2 million Steam sales within the first 24 hours of its May 19 release date. For context, Forza Horizon 5 attracted over 10 million players in its first week, which at the time set a record for Xbox Game Studios . Horizon 6 is tracking ahead of that pace on Steam alone, before accounting for Xbox console sales or Game Pass subscribers. One detail that stands out in the data: more than 50,000 players pre-ordered the game on the very first day it became available to purchase on Steam. That kind of day-one commitment, before a single review has dropped, reflects how much trust the Horizon brand has built over the years. info The 500k figure covers Steam sales only. Console pre-orders and Game Pass activations are separate, meaning total launch numbers will likely be significantly higher. Japan was always going to hit differently Setting matters in this franchise, and Playground Games finally delivered the location fans have been requesting for years. Japan is not just a new backdrop; according to PC Gamer's Shaun Prescott , who got hands-on time with the game earlier this month, the Japan map is the series' best yet. That is a bold claim for a series that has visited Mexico, Australia, Britain, and the American Southwest. Forza Horizon 6 also brings back the wristband career mode, which the series had moved away from in recent entries. The structure puts players in Japan as a tourist first, earning their place at the festival through progression rather than just dropping them in as a headliner from the start. It is a small thing, but it gives the open world more purpose. The Japan setting also carries a specific business angle for Microsoft . Xbox has historically struggled to connect with Japanese audiences, and despite Horizon 6 being set there, only around 6% of Steam wishlists currently come from Japan. That is actually an improvement for the series, driven in part by Forza Horizon 5 launching on PS5 after nearly four years as an Xbox and PC exclusive . That PS5 version has already sold over 5 million copies. The multiplatform push is working, even if the Japan penetration numbers still have a long way to go. What this means for Motorsport Here is the thing: the success of Horizon makes the silence around Forza Motorsport even louder. The mainline track-racing series, last seen with 2023's Forza Motorsport from Turn 10 Studios , has gone quiet in a way that feels permanent rather than cyclical. A former developer claimed last year that the Motorsport series effectively died in Microsoft's studio cuts, with reports suggesting up to 50% of Turn 10's staff were let go. Motorsport and Horizon were always different propositions. Motorsport was the serious one, the track-day simulator with laser-scanned circuits and tire temperature models. Horizon was the party. The problem is that the party kept getting better while the serious one struggled to find its footing after a troubled 2023 launch. The result is a franchise where the spinoff has become the main event. Horizon 6 heading into launch with 500,000 pre-sales on a single platform, a Japan setting fans have wanted for over a decade, and projections pointing toward a record-breaking opening is not a spinoff story anymore. That is the series now. For racing game fans who want to follow the build-up, check out the latest gaming news ahead of the May 19 launch date. If you want a deeper look at what Playground Games has built this time around, the latest reviews will be the place to watch once embargo lifts.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/forza-horizon-6-500k-steam-sales/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/forza-horizon-6-500k-steam-sales/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:27:12 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Starfield PS5 Pro Hotfix Lands and Players Say It Fixed Nothing]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Bethesda Game Studios pushed a hotfix for Starfield on PS5 Pro this week, promising to resolve crashing when using Enhanced settings. Players installed it, booted up the game, and promptly watched it crash again. What the patch was supposed to do On April 16, Bethesda posted on X confirming it was "pushing live a quick hotfix for Starfield players on PlayStation 5 Pro that resolves crashing when using Enhanced settings." The studio also confirmed that a separate hotfix for base PS5 crashes and freezes is "targeting next week," and thanked players who contacted support. The context here matters. Since Starfield launched on PS5, players have been flooding forums calling the port "unplayable," reporting refund requests to Sony, and watching Bethesda promise it had narrowed the problems "down to a small number of causes." This hotfix was supposed to be the first real proof of that progress. What actually happened after the update It did not go well. The top comment on Bethesda's announcement post reads: "Your hotfix broke the base PS5 version... Can't say I'm surprised, just disappointed again." That sums up the mood pretty accurately. PS5 Pro players who updated immediately reported fresh crashes, with one noting the game crashed within 10 minutes of launching post-patch, and another saying it now crashes every single time on startup. The specific Enhanced settings crash that the hotfix claimed to address? Still happening, according to multiple players. One person put it plainly: "Patch did absolutely nothing. Two minutes after starting the game it crashed again." Over on the Starfield subreddit, the situation looks just as rough. Players with PS5 Pro units report crashes in both Enhanced and Performance modes, meaning neither option is currently reliable. The base PS5 crowd, already waiting on their own fix, are now watching PS5 Pro owners get a patch that appears to have introduced new problems on top of the old ones. danger Base PS5 owners are not covered by this hotfix. Bethesda says a separate patch targeting crashes and freezes on standard PS5 hardware is planned for next week. A rough start for the PS5 port The key here is that this is not a minor stumble. Starfield's PS5 launch was already drawing comparisons to some of the messiest port launches in recent memory. Analysts have noted that PS5 sales for the game are "not fantastic for a port of the biggest Bethesda RPG in a decade ," and with a hotfix that players say made things worse rather than better, the optics are not improving. For players who were holding out hope that Bethesda would stabilize the port quickly, this week is a tough one. The studio's communication has been consistent, at least, with regular updates about what it's working on. But consistent communication and actually fixing the crashes are two very different things, and right now only one of those is happening. Bethesda has not issued a follow-up statement addressing reports that the PS5 Pro hotfix failed to resolve the Enhanced settings crashes it specifically targeted. For the latest on what's being patched and when, browse our latest gaming news for updates as Bethesda works toward the base PS5 fix next week. Base PS5 owners waiting on that second patch will want to keep an eye on Bethesda's official channels. Given how the first hotfix landed, you'll want to check player reports before updating rather than jumping on it the moment it goes live. For broader coverage of what's working and what isn't across platforms, check out our latest reviews to see how Starfield stacks up right now.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/starfield-ps5-pro-hotfix-fixes-nothing/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/starfield-ps5-pro-hotfix-fixes-nothing/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Windrose Hits 100K Players as Pirate Game Hunger Proves Very Real]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Hundreds of thousands of players are already swashbuckling their way through Windrose , developer Kraken Express ' pirate sandbox MMO, and the numbers are hard to argue with. Three days after hitting early access on April 14, the game peaked at 113,930 concurrent players on Steam and is holding near that ceiling right now. What the Steam charts are actually saying According to SteamDB , Windrose is sitting at a concurrent player count of 102,999 , placing it at No. 11 on Steam's most-played list. That puts it ahead of the beloved life sim Stardew Valley (around 100,000 players) and just behind Crimson Desert (around 113,000), which is itself one of the hottest PC releases right now. Counter-Strike 2 is still in a different stratosphere at roughly 1.4 million concurrent players, and Slay the Spire 2 holds around 286,000 , but for a game barely out of the gate in early access, Windrose's numbers are genuinely impressive. The player reception backs it up. Over 4,500 Steam reviews have landed at a "Very Positive" rating, and the community response points to something the genre has been missing for a while: a pirate game that actually feels good to play. How Assassin's Creed Black Flag fits into this moment Here's the thing: this isn't happening in a vacuum. Reports have been circulating that Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced , a remake of Ubisoft's beloved 2013 pirate adventure, is reportedly set to launch on July 9 . That's a significant date, and the timing of Windrose's arrival feels less like coincidence and more like the market responding to a wave of renewed pirate enthusiasm. Windrose producer Phil (known in the community as Yar_maste ) has been open about the Black Flag connection. Kraken Express called Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag the "best pirate game of all time" and pointed to it as a direct inspiration for Windrose. Phil's read on the genre is that the pirate niche is "still underserved today," and the Steam charts this week suggest a lot of players agree with that assessment. info Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is reportedly targeting a July 9 launch, though Ubisoft has not officially confirmed the date as of this writing. The console question Kraken Express isn't ready to answer Windrose is currently a PC-exclusive title, and that's where it's staying for now. Kraken Express told GameSpot on April 14 that there are no updates on a console version, even though the team has expressed genuine interest in bringing the game to other platforms eventually. The priority right now is getting to a full 1.0 launch, which means console players will need to wait. That's a real limitation for a game generating this kind of momentum. A pirate MMO with these player numbers would likely find a receptive audience on PS5 and Xbox Series X, but Kraken Express is being measured about scope. Smart, probably, given how many early access games have stumbled by overextending before the core experience was locked in. Pirates are having a moment, and the timing is no accident The last time pirate games dominated this kind of cultural conversation, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag was the reason. That game's naval combat and open-world sea exploration set a bar that very few games have matched in the years since. Windrose is clearly trying to fill that gap, and players are showing up for it. With a potential Black Flag remake on the horizon and Windrose pulling real concurrent numbers right now, the pirate genre is in a better position than it has been in years. Whether Kraken Express can sustain this momentum through the full 1.0 launch is the real question worth watching. For more on what's launching and worth your time, check out the latest gaming news or browse our guides to get the most out of what you're already playing.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/windrose-steam-players-pirate-game-surge/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/windrose-steam-players-pirate-game-surge/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:22:12 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Windrose hotfix tackles connectivity issues, more fixes coming]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Windrose hit Steam early access just days ago and immediately caught fire. The open-world pirate survival game from developer Kraken Express launched to 69,000 peak concurrent players, sold 500,000 copies in its first 48 hours, and then kept climbing. On April 16, it crested 113,930 concurrent players on Steam, a new personal record for the game and a number that puts it firmly in the conversation alongside the biggest early access launches of recent memory. Here's the thing, though: that kind of explosive growth tends to break things. And Windrose has been dealing with connectivity problems since the moment players started flooding in. What the hotfix actually changes Kraken Express has pushed a hotfix that targets two specific problems. The bigger of the two: the team disabled the access token generation cooldown for dedicated servers. According to the patch notes posted to Steam , this change "should alleviate some of the connectivity issues for dedicated hosts." The second fix addresses a client-side oversight where the game wasn't checking the server version before attempting to connect, meaning players were sometimes hitting silent failures. Now, if the server is running an outdated version, the game surfaces a proper UI error message instead of leaving you guessing. Neither of these is a sweeping solution, and Kraken Express has been upfront about that. The team previously admitted it couldn't pinpoint exactly where the underlying problems were coming from, and at one point turned to the community directly, asking if anyone happened to know someone at a major ISP. That's the kind of transparency that tends to land well with players, even if it signals how much pressure the studio was under. danger The hotfix is live now on Steam. If you're still experiencing connection problems on a dedicated server, check that your server is running the latest version, since the client will now display an error if it detects a mismatch. More fixes are on the way The patch notes confirm that "more connectivity fixes are underway" and currently in testing. The key here is that Kraken Express isn't treating this hotfix as the end of the road. It's a first pass, and the studio is signaling it has more solutions queued up. For a small developer managing a game that blew past 100,000 concurrent players within days of launch, the pace of response matters as much as the fixes themselves. The playerbase is clearly invested. The numbers behind the noise To put the 113,930 concurrent figure in context: Windrose launched with a peak of 69,000 players on day one, already a strong number for an early access title. The game then crossed 100,000 concurrents the following day, and kept going. The 500,000 copies sold in 48 hours figure suggests a large portion of buyers are actively playing rather than sitting on a wishlist purchase. The game's premise, crew-based co-op piracy with open-world exploration, has clearly struck a nerve at a time when there's no shortage of pirate-themed games competing for the same audience. Windrose positions itself as a survival-crafting experience with genuine naval combat, and the player numbers suggest it's delivering on that pitch. For the latest on Windrose and other new releases, keep an eye on gaming news on our site as the early access period develops. The next round of connectivity fixes will be worth watching closely, since smoother servers could push those concurrent numbers even higher. If you want to dig into what else is worth playing right now, browse our latest reviews for a broader look at what's landing well this month.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/windrose-hotfix-connectivity-fixes-113k-players/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/windrose-hotfix-connectivity-fixes-113k-players/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:18:57 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Slay the Spire 2 Gets Review-Bombed Again After Latest Update]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[This is becoming a pattern. Less than 30 days after the first wave, Slay the Spire 2 is once again drowning in negative Steam reviews, and the situation looks almost identical to last time. What triggered the second wave On April 17, Mega Crit pushed out Major Update #1 for Slay the Spire 2, the first big patch to land on the main branch rather than the beta. The update bundles everything from the past month of beta testing into one release: dozens of new art assets, new relics, bug fixes, and new cards including "Not Yet" for Ironclad, a rare card that restores 10 HP. Within 12 hours of the update going live, the game had accumulated 3,609 negative reviews on Steam. The overwhelming majority of those reviews came from accounts based in China. According to Kotaku, the complaints are nearly identical to the last review-bomb campaign. Players are upset about the removal of infinite combo setups, specifically changes to how Hellraiser interacts with Pommel Strike , and buffs to the Doormaker boss fight. Several negative reviews also call out Anthony Giovannetti , Mega Crit's co-founder, by name. Giovannetti had previously asked players to submit balance feedback through the game's in-game report function rather than tanking the Steam review score. info Slay the Spire 2 was also review-bombed roughly a month ago over similar balance complaints, primarily targeting infinite combo nerfs and the Doormaker difficulty. This is the second incident in under 30 days. Why Chinese players keep turning to Steam reviews Here's the thing: this isn't just players being hostile for the sake of it. Social platforms like X and Discord are blocked in China by the government's internet restrictions, commonly called the "Great Firewall." For a large portion of Slay the Spire 2's Chinese player base, Steam's review system is one of the few public-facing channels they can actually access to voice frustration. That context doesn't make review-bombing a constructive feedback mechanism, but it does explain why Steam keeps becoming the pressure valve. What most players miss when looking at these numbers is that the negative reviews aren't a verdict on the game's quality, they're a protest action driven by platform access limitations. The update itself is actually solid Stripping away the review noise, Major Update #1 is a substantial content drop. The v0.103.2 patch represents a month's worth of beta refinements finally reaching the full player base, and the sheer volume of additions, new cards, new relics, fresh art, and targeted bug fixes, makes it one of the more meaningful early access updates the game has seen. The key here is that the balance changes being protested are the same ones that have been live on the beta branch for weeks. Players who opted into the beta have had time to adjust, and by most accounts the changes make the game more approachable rather than punishing. The Doormaker buffs in particular were designed to address a boss that some players found too easy to bypass with specific combo setups. Mega Crit has not publicly responded to this second wave of reviews at time of writing. Given how the studio handled the first incident, a measured response or continued silence seems likely while the review spike gets flagged by Steam's review-bomb detection system. For players who want to stay across how Slay the Spire 2 develops through early access, our gaming news will keep you updated as Mega Crit rolls out future patches. And if you want deeper context on how the game holds up right now, check out our latest reviews for a broader picture of where early access stands.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/slay-the-spire-2-review-bombed/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/slay-the-spire-2-review-bombed/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:15:46 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Valve quietly drops Proton 11 Arm64 beta ahead of Steam Frame launch]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Valve has slipped a new build into SteamDB without any fanfare: Proton 11.0 (ARM64) , a version of its Windows-to-Linux compatibility layer compiled specifically for Arm64 processors. A sharp-eyed user on the r/linux_gaming subreddit spotted it first, tested it on their own hardware, and reported mixed but functional results. The Steam Frame connection This build exists for one reason: the Steam Frame . Valve's upcoming standalone VR headset runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (SM8650) processor, which packs eight Arm Cortex CPU cores. When you stream games from a PC through the headset, Proton stays out of the picture entirely. But any Windows-based game running natively on the Frame itself needs the compatibility layer to function, and that layer now needs to speak Arm64. Proton has been around since 2018, steadily expanding the library of Windows games playable on Linux-based systems like SteamOS. The v11.0 beta already carries a solid list of game fixes on its own. The Arm64 variant is a separate, more experimental track sitting on top of that. danger This Arm64 build is a test release and reportedly unstable. It is not intended for general use and Valve has not made any official announcement about it. What FEX does that Proton can't handle alone Here's the thing: Proton handles the operating system compatibility side of the equation, translating Windows API calls to Linux equivalents. Getting x86 game code to actually execute on Arm hardware is a separate problem, handled by a translation layer called FEX . Valve has already confirmed FEX as part of the SteamOS Arm stack, and the performance overhead from that translation is currently noticeable. The Proton Arm64 build and FEX work together, but neither is production-ready yet. The Redditor who found the build confirmed it does run on non-Valve Arm hardware too, specifically a machine with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor. So while the Steam Frame is the primary target, the work Valve is doing here has broader implications for Arm-based PCs running SteamOS. Reading the tea leaves on Steam Frame's release window Valve has not officially announced the Arm64 Proton build, and the Steam Frame itself has no confirmed release date. The key here is that Valve pushing compatibility tooling into a beta state suggests the hardware is getting closer, not further away. You don't build the scaffolding unless the building is going up. The Steam Frame uses a dedicated 6 GHz wireless dongle to stream games from a connected PC, and early hands-on impressions from those who tried it at Valve HQ described the wireless experience as genuinely impressive, with no perceptible lag. For context, the headset competes in a space currently dominated by the Meta Quest 3 , which many users still connect via USB cable for the best streaming quality. Out of the three new products Valve has announced alongside the Frame, including the Steam Machine and a new Steam Controller, the Frame is drawing the most attention from the VR community. For the latest gaming hardware coverage and latest reviews , keep an eye on what Valve does next with this stack. With Proton now being prepped for Arm64 and FEX already confirmed for SteamOS, Valve appears to be laying the groundwork for a future where x86 is no longer the only architecture that matters in PC gaming. If you want to follow how this hardware story develops, browse more guides covering the full Steam ecosystem as more details emerge.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/proton-11-arm64-beta-steam-frame/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/proton-11-arm64-beta-steam-frame/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 11:09:05 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Fortnite Save the World is now free-to-play on PS5 and PS4]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[If you've never touched Fortnite: Save the World because it used to cost money, that excuse is officially gone. Epic Games has dropped the price of its original co-op PvE campaign to zero across all platforms, including PS5 and PS4 , effective now. This is the mode that predates Battle Royale entirely. Save the World is where Fortnite's signature building mechanic was born, long before anyone was dropping into Tilted Towers. The core loop puts you and up to three other players in a tower-defence style co-op campaign, building forts and holding off waves of enemies called Husks. It's a different game from the one most people associate with the Fortnite name, and that's kind of the point. What changed alongside the price drop Epic didn't just flip a switch and call it done. According to the official Epic Games community blog post, the studio has made meaningful changes to the mode to give new players a reason to actually stick around. Progression has been overhauled, with simplified XP resources and better-balanced rewards throughout the campaign. The idea is to make the path forward clearer and less grindy for players coming in fresh. The bigger change is to Homebase itself. What used to be a series of static menus is now a fully explorable environment that evolves as you progress through the campaign. That's a genuine quality-of-life improvement, turning what felt like a lobby screen into something with actual presence. info Players who previously purchased Save the World will receive in-game rewards including Superchargers, Vouchers, and Gold as compensation for their past purchase. The mode that built Fortnite Here's the thing most people forget: Save the World came first. The game launched in 2017 as a paid PvE experience before Battle Royale was bolted on and promptly took over the world. The co-op campaign has been running in the background ever since, paid and largely overlooked by the majority of the player base. Going free-to-play is a logical move, especially given that Epic has been cutting costs aggressively. The company laid off over 1,000 staff, shut down several Fortnite modes including Rocket Racing, and increased V-Bucks prices earlier this year. Making Save the World free brings more players into the ecosystem without requiring additional development resources for a new product. Who actually gets something out of this If you played Battle Royale for years and never touched Save the World, this is a low-risk way to see where the building mechanics came from. The co-op structure is completely different from anything in the current Fortnite lineup, and the campaign gives the building system actual context rather than just being a tool for editing box fights. For lapsed players who bought the mode years ago, the reward compensation (Superchargers, Vouchers, and Gold) is a small acknowledgment from Epic that paying customers shouldn't just get nothing from the transition. Pro tip: if you're jumping in for the first time, the revamped Homebase is worth exploring before diving into missions. The new explorable hub gives you a better sense of the campaign structure than the old menu system ever did. With Fortnite going through one of its more turbulent periods, Save the World going free is one of the more straightforward wins for players in recent months. For the latest on what's happening across Fortnite and the rest of the gaming world, check out more gaming news on our site and browse latest reviews to see what else is worth your time right now.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/fortnite-save-the-world-is-now-free-to-play/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/fortnite-save-the-world-is-now-free-to-play/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:29:49 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Personality Traits Explained]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Sixteen personality types. That's how many distinct character archetypes Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream packs into its Mii creation system, and picking the right one shapes everything from how your Miis interact with each other to what problems they bring to your doorstep. The game launched on Nintendo Switch (and plays on Switch 2 via backwards compatibility) at $59.99, and while its open-ended structure is part of the charm, the personality system is one of the most consequential decisions you'll make when setting up a new Mii. Get it wrong and your island feels like a monoculture. Get it right and the drama practically writes itself. What personality types actually do Personality in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream isn't just cosmetic flavoring. Each type influences how a Mii behaves day-to-day, what kinds of problems they surface, how they interact with other Miis, and even their general mood patterns. A Easygoing Mii is going to cause you far fewer headaches than an Independent one, but the latter makes for much more entertaining island drama. Here's the thing: the game gives you full flexibility to change a Mii's personality at any time through the Edit Mii menu, so nothing is locked in permanently. You'll want to experiment, especially early on when your island population is still small. info If your island feels too calm or repetitive, try swapping a few Miis to more assertive or emotional personality types. The shift in problem frequency and Mii interactions can breathe new life into a stale island. The full list of 16 personality types According to Nintendo Life's guide coverage of the game, Living the Dream features the following personality types across a spectrum of traits: Personality General Vibe Easygoing Relaxed, low-maintenance Miis Outgoing Social butterflies, frequent interactions Confident Self-assured, assertive behavior Independent Self-reliant, less needy Energetic High-activity, frequently seen out and about Lively Expressive and animated Witty Humor-forward interactions Laid-back Slow-paced, calm demeanor Stubborn Resistant to change, strong opinions Sensitive Emotional, reacts strongly to events Cheerful Upbeat, happiness-focused Carefree Spontaneous, unpredictable Timid Shy, less likely to initiate interactions Earnest Sincere, straightforward in requests Airheaded Scattered, quirky behavior Impulsive Quick to react, unpredictable problems What most players miss is that personality type also affects the frequency and type of problems a Mii brings to you. More emotional types like Sensitive and Impulsive will surface pink (romance-related) and orange (social) problems far more often than a Laid-back or Independent Mii would. Building a balanced island population The key here is variety. If every Mii on your island shares the same personality bracket, the day-to-day rhythm becomes predictable fast. Nintendo Life's beginner coverage notes that the game supports up to 70 Miis per island, which gives you plenty of room to spread personality types across the full spectrum. For players coming from the original 3DS version, the personality system in Living the Dream carries forward the same general framework but with refined behavior patterns. The ability to edit personalities at will (a feature that's more flexible than the 3DS original) means you're never stuck with a bad call. A few personality combinations worth building toward on a populated island: Pair Outgoing and Timid Miis near each other for interesting one-sided social dynamics Witty Miis tend to generate some of the most entertaining random Mii moments when you leave the camera on them Impulsive Miis will keep your problem queue full, which is actually useful if you want to farm happiness boosts quickly How to unlock all 16 types Some personality types in Living the Dream need to be unlocked before they appear as options in the Edit Mii menu. Nintendo Life's dedicated personality guide covers the specific requirements for each one, which generally tie into island progression milestones and Wishing Fountain unlocks. For a deeper breakdown of requirements and unlock conditions for each of the 16 types, browse more guides on our site covering Tomodachi Life and other Nintendo Switch titles. The personality system rewards players who treat it as an active tool rather than a one-time setup choice. Rotating types on less-active Miis, testing new combinations as your island grows, and paying attention to which personalities generate the most interesting island moments will keep Living the Dream feeling fresh well past the initial tutorial hours. The game is built for the long haul, and your Mii roster's personality spread is one of the few levers you have direct control over.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-the-dream-personality-traits-explained/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/tomodachi-life-living-the-dream-personality-traits-explained/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:19:30 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Black Flag Resynced confirmed as no RPG, July 9 release date leaked]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[If you spent any part of the Origins-through-Valhalla era grinding gear scores and squinting at recommended level warnings on map regions, here is some welcome news. According to a leaked Ubisoft presentation reported by Insider Gaming , Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is described as a "solo adventure and character-driven experience" and explicitly "not an RPG." The level-up machinery that defined seven years of the franchise is, apparently, staying in dry dock. The same leak also puts a release date on the table: July 9, 2026 . Ubisoft has not officially confirmed either detail as of this writing. How this leak fits the trail of breadcrumbs Here's the thing: Black Flag Resynced has been the worst-kept secret in recent memory. A voice actor publicly hinted at the remake before Ubisoft reportedly threatened legal action. PEGI age ratings surfaced on regional classification databases. Ubisoft's own YouTube channel quietly re-uploaded a batch of original Black Flag sea shanties, which is about as subtle as hoisting a Jolly Roger over your own headquarters. So the leaked presentation, which Insider Gaming's sources have been circulating, lands in a context where the game's existence was already an open secret. The new details are the ones that actually matter to players: what kind of game it will be, and when it arrives. danger This information comes from an alleged internal presentation reported by Insider Gaming. Ubisoft has not officially confirmed the RPG-free design direction or the July 9 release date. Treat both as credible but unverified until an official announcement. What "not an RPG" actually means for Black Flag The RPG pivot started with Assassin's Creed Origins in 2017 and ran through Assassin's Creed Valhalla in 2020. That era brought gear tiers, ability trees, regional level requirements, and loot drops that turned the series into something closer to an open-world action RPG than the stealth-action games that built the franchise's reputation. Assassin's Creed Mirage in 2023 was Ubisoft's first real test of pulling back from that model, stripping the RPG bloat and returning to a tighter, more focused structure. It worked well enough that the direction clearly influenced what Resynced is shaping up to be. For Black Flag specifically, the RPG-free framing makes a lot of sense. The original Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag from 2013 was always more pirate sailing game than stat-management sim. Edward Kenway boarded ships, hunted sea monsters, and sang along to shanties. Nobody wanted to see a pop-up warning that the next island is a level 45 zone. The key here is that an earlier rumour had actually pointed in the opposite direction, claiming the remake would add RPG-style inventory and combat systems. That report and this latest leak are in direct conflict, so take both with appropriate skepticism. The Insider Gaming report is more recent and more specific, which gives it some edge, but neither has been confirmed. The July window and what comes next A July 9, 2026 release would put Resynced in the summer window, a slot that has historically worked well for mid-tier releases that want space away from the autumn blockbuster pile-up. For a remake of a beloved 2013 game, that timing feels reasonable. The platforms listed in available information point to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC , which tracks with Ubisoft's current release strategy. What this means for players is that an official announcement is likely not far off. The leak has now generated enough coverage that staying quiet becomes its own story. Ubisoft's hand may be forced sooner than planned. For everything that surfaces between now and a formal reveal, browse our gaming news to stay ahead of the announcements. And if the final product does land without skill trees and gear scores weighing it down, our latest reviews will tell you whether Resynced actually delivers on that promise.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/black-flag-resynced-not-rpg-release/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/black-flag-resynced-not-rpg-release/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:14:21 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Epic Games Store vs Steam: Why the Gap Keeps Growing]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Steam generated an estimated $1.6 billion in December 2025 alone. The Epic Games Store made $1.16 billion for the entire year. That single stat tells you almost everything you need to know about how this rivalry is actually going. The Epic Games Store launched in 2017 with a clear target on its back: dethrone Valve and give PC gamers a real alternative to Steam . Almost 10 years later, the gap between the two platforms hasn't shrunk. If anything, it's wider. Jake Jones, Communications Director, Epic Games, reached out to us to share an exclusive quote: "In 2025, Epic Games Store reached an all-time record of 78 million Monthly Active Users on PC. Player spending on third-party PC games grew 57%, reaching an all-time record of $400 million. Epic Games Store has exceeded our expectations in user activity, which is key to achieving scale as a multi-platform, multi-game ecosystem. The free games program brings Epic Games Store around 8-9million new users every year and is designed to connect players with great games, and developers see the value of player discovery on the Store. Titles in the program have seen a 40% lift in Steam CCU while free on the Store, and 77% of them set all-time peak CCU records on PC during that window." What Epic got right, and where it stopped Epic's original pitch to developers was genuinely compelling. A 12% revenue cut compared to Valve's 24% slice is a meaningful difference for studios, especially smaller ones working on thin margins. The logic was sound: better terms attract more developers, more developers attract more games, more games attract more users. The problem is that logic never reached the finish line. According to a report by Polygon , an Epic employee acknowledged that most users "come for the free games, then leave." Free game giveaways every couple of weeks can spike installs, but they don't build a loyal user base. They build a collection of accounts that exist solely to claim free keys. Here's the thing: gamers don't care about revenue splits. They care about where their friends are, where their library lives, and whether the app actually works. A store that still can't keep up with itself Load up the Epic Games Store today and scroll through your library. You'll wait. Then you'll wait some more as the next batch of titles loads in. On hardware that runs modern games without breaking a sweat, a storefront from 2017 shouldn't be stuttering through a library list view. Steve Allison , VP and GM of the Epic Games Store, told IGN in February that Epic is focused on making the launcher "feel fast and snappy and just be what you expect, frankly." A redesigned store is supposedly targeting a June launch. danger Epic has promised platform improvements before. A 2019 roadmap, preserved by Wccftech, outlined features that took years to arrive, and some, like user reviews, still haven't shown up at all. That history makes it hard to take June deadlines at face value. The store has been "almost there" for years. Steam isn't standing still either What most players miss in this conversation is that Valve isn't coasting. Steam added Trading Cards back in 2013, which sounds trivial, but those small community hooks, profile customization, badges, message boards, user reviews, are exactly what turned Steam from a mandatory DRM launcher into something people actually want to open. Files found in Steam's beta just weeks ago suggest the platform is working on a feature that uses frame rate data from its millions of users to estimate how well a specific game will run on your PC. That's a genuinely useful tool built on infrastructure Epic simply doesn't have. The key here is that Steam's advantage isn't just feature count. It's compounding. Every year Valve adds something useful, the gap between the two platforms grows a little more. Epic is trying to catch a moving target while still fixing basic performance issues. The free games trap Epic's free game program isn't going away, and it does serve a purpose. It keeps the platform visible and gives people a reason to check in occasionally. But visibility isn't the same as engagement, and engagement isn't the same as loyalty. Steam's dominance comes from years of users building libraries, friendships, and habits on the platform. That kind of lock-in doesn't come from a rotating catalog of free titles. It comes from a platform that people genuinely prefer using. Right now, most PC gamers don't prefer the Epic Games Store. They tolerate it when they have to. For more takes on the PC gaming space, check out our latest gaming news , and if you're weighing up platforms and peripherals, the latest reviews are worth a look before spending.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/epic-games-store-vs-steam-gap/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/epic-games-store-vs-steam-gap/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:06:26 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Behind the Nuts: The Side Job in Mouse: P.I. for Hire You Can't Afford to Miss]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Mouse: P.I. for Hire packs 38 jobs into its noir-soaked mystery, and the ones easiest to miss are the side jobs. There are 14 of them total, each locked to a specific main job, and Behind the Nuts is one that players are reporting they stumbled past without even realizing it existed. Where Behind the Nuts fits in the full job list Mouse: P.I. for Hire, developed by Fumi Games and published by PlaySide , structures its missions as "jobs" rather than quests or levels. The game follows detective Jack Pepper as he investigates the disappearance of magician Steve Bandel in Mouseburg, a case that spirals into something much larger. Behind the Nuts is the side job attached to One Flew , which is job 17 in the full sequence of 38. That places it well into the back half of the game, after players have already worked through locations like the Cheeseball Sub, the far wetlands, and the swamp. By that point, most players are moving at pace and not always stopping to sweep every corner. Here's the thing: the game has no level select. Once you move past One Flew without completing Behind the Nuts, it's locked out. That's the same rule that applies to every side job in Mouse: P.I. for Hire, but it stings harder this late in the run when you're close to the "Real Deal Gumshoe" achievement. Why the no-backtrack rule matters so much here The game is explicit that doors lock behind you as you progress through each level. You cannot freely roam back through areas you've already cleared. This design keeps the pacing tight and the mystery moving forward, but it also means side jobs demand attention in the moment, not later. danger Completing all 14 side jobs, including Behind the Nuts, is required for the "Real Deal Gumshoe" achievement. There is no way to revisit missed side jobs without starting a new run. For players chasing 100% completion , the practical approach is to treat every main job as a checklist item: before pushing through to the next objective, verify whether a side job is active. The pause menu lists all current jobs, so checking it regularly costs nothing. The full side job picture For context on where Behind the Nuts sits relative to the other side jobs, here's the complete list paired with their parent main jobs: Side Job Parent Main Job Show Some Culture, Jack Gumshoe in the Opera B.A.N.G A Bit of a Scene Blueprints, Please Cheeseball Sub The Things We Keep "Once Upon A Time..." by Tinsel Bros Fishy Business Saltwater Cambozo Imported Goods Saltwater Cambozo Perfect Bog Fondue Damp Evidence Oh Yes... They Float It All Points Here, Right? Between Alpha and Omega To Catch A Mockingmouse Mouseburg Confidential To Catch A Mockingmouse Poster Girl "The Bookkeeper" by Tinsel Bros Behind The Nuts One Flew Friends in Deep Places Glugging From The Deep Slugs in the Shell Glugging From The Deep Two main jobs, Saltwater Cambozo and Glugging From The Deep, each carry two side jobs simultaneously. That's the highest density of optional content in any single level, so those are worth extra attention during a completionist run. What this means for players working toward full completion The "Real Deal Gumshoe" achievement requires finishing all 38 jobs. With no level select and locking doors, the only reliable path is playing through the game with side jobs as a parallel priority rather than an afterthought. For more on navigating everything Mouse: P.I. for Hire throws at you, browse more guides covering the game's puzzles, weapons, and collectibles. The achievement is absolutely doable on a single run, but it rewards players who treat the pause menu as a habit, not a last resort.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/behind-the-nuts-mouse-pi-hire/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/behind-the-nuts-mouse-pi-hire/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:06:56 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[AC Black Flag Resynced Reportedly Launching July 9]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[According to Insider Gaming, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is targeting a July 9 release date. Ubisoft hasn't confirmed the date yet, but the report lands just weeks after the publisher officially acknowledged the remake's existence with a first look at concept art back in March. From rumor to reality: how we got here This remake has been one of gaming's worst-kept secrets for years. The name Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced surfaced publicly in December when a European PEGI ratings board listing leaked it. That followed a series of hints from Matt Ryan , the actor who voiced Edward Kenway in the original 2013 game, who was reportedly threatened with legal action by Ubisoft for getting too loose-lipped about the project. Then in March, Ubisoft's Jean Guesdon , Head of Content, posted a blog teasing the announcement with a line that was hard to misread: "Some whispers have a little more wind in their sails. Keep your spyglass on the horizon." The post has since been deleted, but not before the internet archived every word of it. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot had already signaled this direction back in June 2024, telling press that "players can be excited about some remakes" and pointing specifically to older Assassin's Creed worlds as candidates for modernization. Black Flag, originally released October 29, 2013, was clearly what he had in mind. What a July window actually means for players Here's the thing: a July 9 release, if accurate, puts Resynced in a relatively quiet stretch of the gaming calendar. That's not a bad spot for a remake of a beloved title. There's less competition, and players who've been waiting for a modern take on the open-sea pirate fantasy have had more than enough time to build up anticipation. The original Black Flag is still widely considered one of the strongest entries in the Assassin's Creed series, largely because it leaned harder into the pirate sandbox than the franchise's usual formula. Naval combat, sea shanties, and Edward Kenway's arc made it stand out. The question Resynced needs to answer is how much of that DNA survives the remake process, and whether Ubisoft modernizes the mechanics or just upgrades the visuals. danger The July 9 date comes from Insider Gaming and has not been confirmed by Ubisoft. Treat it as a credible report, not a locked-in announcement. The bigger picture for Ubisoft Resynced arrives at an interesting moment for the publisher. Assassin's Creed Shadows launched earlier this year after multiple delays, and Ubisoft has been leaning into its back catalog as a way to stabilize its release slate. Guillemot's comments about revisiting "extremely rich" older worlds suggest Resynced won't be the last remake in the pipeline either. For fans who grew up with the original, a modernized Black Flag has obvious appeal. For players who missed it entirely, it's a chance to experience what many consider the series' peak in a form that won't feel dated on current hardware. For the latest gaming news and latest reviews as more details on Resynced surface, keep watching this space. If Ubisoft sticks to a July window, a full reveal with gameplay shouldn't be far off. You'll want to watch that announcement closely, because how they handle Edward Kenway's story in a modern engine will tell you everything about what kind of remake this actually is. For more on upcoming releases, browse our guides to stay prepared.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/ac-black-flag-resynced-july-release/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/ac-black-flag-resynced-july-release/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:04:54 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[NYC Mayor Mamdani Explains Wealth Tax Using Mario Kart]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA["Government is driving the race car, and philanthropy is there to give it that turbo boost to cross the finish line," said Zohran Mamdani , the newly elected mayor of New York City, at an April 16 press briefing. Then he went full Mario Kart with it. Yoshi, the Golden Mushroom, and Bowser walk into a tax briefing Mamdani was joined by Elle Bisgaard-Church and other board members of the newly established Mayor's Fund to break down a new plan aimed at making New York City more affordable for working-class residents. Somewhere between the policy details, he decided the best way to explain it was through Nintendo's most beloved racing franchise. "If you are a Mario Kart fan, government is Yoshi, and philanthropy is the golden mushroom," Mamdani said. "That edge we need to beat Bowser on the Rainbow Road. To belabor this metaphor even further, Bowser is corporate greed in this scenario." The moment went viral almost immediately. A clip shared on X by user @brynnposting, captioned "where are we going with this my brother," racked up attention fast. Here's the thing: the metaphor actually holds up. What the Mayor's Fund is actually trying to do Strip away the gaming references and the policy itself is significant. The Mayor's Fund will rely on philanthropist donors to supplement public spending, with all donor names disclosed on an annual basis. Mamdani's framing positions those donors as the power-up that helps government (Yoshi) outrun corporate interests (Bowser) on the hardest track in the game. The key here is that the fund is not meant to replace government spending. It's a supplement, a boost item picked up mid-race. The distinction matters because it determines accountability, and Mamdani's transparency requirement on donor disclosure is a direct response to concerns about wealthy influence over public policy. danger All philanthropic donors to the Mayor's Fund will be publicly disclosed annually, according to Mamdani's office. The Pied-a-Terre Tax: the actual policy underneath the metaphor The headline policy attached to this briefing is the Pied-a-Terre Tax , described as a first of its kind in New York. Owners of luxury properties who maintain assets in the city but don't actually live there will pay an annual fee. According to Mamdani's office, the tax is projected to raise at least $500 million, earmarked for free child care, cleaner streets, and safer neighborhoods. That's not a small number. Half a billion dollars redirected from absent luxury property owners to city services is the kind of move that plays well in every borough except the ones with penthouses nobody sleeps in. Not his first time bringing gaming into the conversation Mamdani is not reaching for gaming references to seem relatable. By multiple accounts, he's a genuine gamer. He's on record as a fan of both FIFA 2003 and SimCity 3000, and according to reporting from PC Gamer, an 11-year-old Mamdani was already deep into SimCity 3000 long before he had any political ambitions. The Mario Kart metaphor at a city policy briefing isn't a PR stunt. It reads more like someone who actually thinks in those terms. For context, Mario Kart World , the latest entry in Nintendo's racing series and a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, launched recently to strong reception as a launch title for the new console. Why this moment landed the way it did Politicians reaching for pop culture references usually land somewhere between awkward and embarrassing. Mamdani's version worked because the metaphor is structurally sound. Government as the base vehicle, philanthropy as a limited power-up, and corporate greed as the final boss on the hardest track. Anyone who has ever rage-quit Rainbow Road in third place understands the assignment. The broader significance is that a sitting mayor of the most expensive city in the United States used a Nintendo game to explain a half-billion-dollar tax policy, and it made the policy easier to understand, not harder. That's a communication win regardless of where you land politically. For more gaming news and culture coverage, check out the latest gaming news on our site, and keep an eye on how Mario Kart World continues to shape the Switch 2 launch conversation in the weeks ahead.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/mamdani-mario-kart-wealth-tax-explained/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/mamdani-mario-kart-wealth-tax-explained/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:02:56 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Epic Games Store Mobile Is Giving Away Broken Sword Free This Week]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The Epic Games Store mobile app has been running a weekly free game program since it launched, and this week it lands on a genuine classic. Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is the current free pickup for both iOS and Android users, and it is absolutely worth claiming even if you have no immediate plans to play it. What Broken Sword: Reforged actually is The original Broken Sword launched back in 1996 and became one of the most beloved point-and-click adventure games ever made . The 2024 Reforged version brought enhanced visuals, reworked audio, and a cleaner experience for modern hardware, all while keeping the core story intact. You play as American tourist George Stobbart , who stumbles into a murder mystery tied to the Knights Templar while vacationing in Paris. Exotic locations, sharp puzzles, and a surprisingly dark conspiracy story follow. If you have never played it, this is a genuinely good entry point into the adventure game genre. If you have played it before, the Reforged version is a solid reason to revisit. How to claim it before Thursday The key here is timing. Epic rotates its mobile free games every Thursday, so the window to grab Broken Sword closes at the next weekly reset. To claim it, you need a free Epic account and the Epic Games Store mobile app installed on your device. danger iOS availability is currently restricted to users in the European Union only. Android users worldwide can access the app and claim games without that restriction. Android users also get a broader library selection than their iOS counterparts, which is worth knowing before you set expectations. One detail that often gets missed: Android-based handheld emulation devices like the Retroid Pocket can run the app too, so it is not limited to phones and tablets. The rest of the mobile library right now Beyond the weekly freebie, Epic's mobile library has been building into something genuinely interesting. Here's what is currently available across both platforms: iOS and Android Super Space Club Loop Hero Chuchel Mr Racer: Premium The Forest Quartet The WereCleaner Android only Bowling Clash Endling: Extinction is Forever Chicken Police: Paint it Red One Hand Clapping Neighbours Back From Hell This is The Police This is The Police 2 This Is The President Through the Darkest of Times What most players miss is that Endling: Extinction is Forever is sitting in that Android library right now. It is a genuinely affecting survival game about a mother fox protecting her cubs through a dying world, and it holds up. Chicken Police: Paint it Red is also worth your time if you have any tolerance for noir detective fiction wrapped in the most absurd art direction you will see this year. The mobile store also carries Fortnite , Fall Guys , and Rocket League Sideswipe as permanent fixtures, which gives the app a bit more weight than just a weekly freebie dispenser. Epic's mobile push is picking up momentum Epic has been running free weekly games on PC for years now, and the mobile version of that program is still relatively young. The selection has been growing steadily, and landing a title like Broken Sword Reforged as a weekly free pickup suggests Epic is not just filling the slot with throwaway mobile titles. For anyone who wants to keep track of what's coming next or dig into more mobile gaming coverage, browse our latest gaming news for ongoing updates. The next free game drops Thursday, so claim Broken Sword now and check back then to see what Epic lines up next.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/epic-mobile-broken-sword-free-game/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/epic-mobile-broken-sword-free-game/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:00:40 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[City Town DLC Proves Hello Kitty Island Adventure Is Just Getting Started]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Sunblink Entertainment has delivered its second paid expansion for Hello Kitty Island Adventure, and City Town is not messing around. Where the Wheatflour Wonderland DLC from last year gave veterans a reason to log back in, City Town gives them a reason to stay. A ghost town that slowly comes alive The setup is simple but effective. You arrive in City Town to find it almost completely empty. Shops are locked up, streets are quiet except for rainbow caterpillars and what the game essentially treats as Sanrio-branded pigeons, and the only resident is Usahana , one of Sanrio's most underused characters. This cheerful, colourful bunny is charming from the jump, and the whole DLC is built around the two of you rebuilding the city together. Here's the thing: the rebuilding process is deliberately paced. Quests to restore individual shops don't all unlock at once. Progress rolls out across multiple days, and Usahana's friendship story operates the same way, gating new main quests behind friendship blossom milestones every couple of days. For players who tend to blitz through content in a single session, the first day or two might feel slow. Stick with it, though, and the pacing starts to feel less like a restriction and more like a reason to keep coming back. The comparison to Animal Crossing: New Horizons is hard to avoid. Waiting for the museum to open, watching villagers slowly move in, checking back each morning to see what changed overnight. City Town nails that same loop, and it works for the same reason: the world feels like it's actually growing, not just unlocking. What most players miss about how this differs from Wheatflour Wonderland Wheatflour Wonderland was a solid expansion, but it had a shelf-life problem. Once you cleared the main quests and unlocked the area's resources, it became a farming location more than a destination. City Town is built differently. Because the shops are manned by characters you've already befriended on Friendship Island, the area feels woven into the broader game rather than bolted on as a separate zone. That integration is the key here. City Town doesn't feel like a detour. It feels like the world of Hello Kitty Island Adventure finally has room to breathe and expand beyond the island itself. The DLC includes over 90 quests in total, which is a meaningful jump in content volume, and the customisable cafe adds a layer of player expression that Wheatflour Wonderland never really offered. info City Town is Hello Kitty Island Adventure's second major DLC, following Wheatflour Wonderland. Both expansions require the base game and are developed by Sunblink Entertainment. The bigger picture for Sunblink's DLC strategy Two expansions in, a pattern is emerging. Sunblink is clearly treating Hello Kitty Island Adventure as a live game with genuine long-term ambitions rather than a one-and-done release. Each DLC raises the bar on the last, and City Town suggests the developer has figured out what makes these expansions tick: new characters worth caring about, content that drips out at a pace that rewards daily play, and areas that feel connected to the base game rather than isolated from it. For players who already put time into Wheatflour Wonderland, City Town is the more confident, more polished version of that same idea. For anyone who bounced off the base game after running out of things to do, this is a strong reason to revisit. You'll want to have your friendship quests on Friendship Island reasonably caught up before diving in, since a lot of the shop restorations pull from your existing relationships with the cast. For a deeper look at how to get ready before jumping into the new area, browse more guides on our site. And if you want to see how City Town stacks up against other cozy game expansions this year, keep an eye on the latest reviews for what's worth your time in the genre.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/hello-kitty-island-adventure-city-town/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/hello-kitty-island-adventure-city-town/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:59:01 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Black Ops 7 Season 3 Reloaded Drops April 30 With New Zombies Map]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Warzone are getting their Season 3 Reloaded midseason update around April 30 , with Activision already confirming a packed content slate that touches every corner of the game. The update drops at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET across all platforms. Here's the lowdown: this is one of the more content-dense midseason updates Black Ops 7 has seen. New weapons, three multiplayer maps, a fresh Zombies experience, and four limited-time modes split between multiplayer and Warzone. That's a lot of ground to cover before Season 4 rolls around. New maps and the return of Free Run Three maps join the multiplayer rotation. Onsen is a brand-new small map built around a Japanese hot spring, designed for both 6v6 and 2v2 play. Hacienda and Summit return as remastered versions from earlier Black Ops entries, both running standard 6v6. The mode everyone will want to try first is Free Run . Originally introduced in Black Ops 3, it's a parkour obstacle course mode focused entirely on movement speed and precision. Black Ops 7's version uses a dedicated map called Ascent , which spans 10 zones. Players who have been grinding movement mechanics since launch finally have a mode built specifically for that skill set. Heat Wave Havoc, Freeze Tag, and what they actually mean for your squad Two limited-time modes arrive for multiplayer. Heat Wave Havoc rewards cooperative non-lethal actions like capturing objectives, revealing enemies, and scrambling radars. Doing these raises your Heat Level, which unlocks escalating bonuses: Low Heat: Faster Field Upgrade recharge Medium Heat: Faster movement, sprint-to-fire, and mid-air mobility Hot: Faster reloads, ADS speed, and weapon swap speed Extra Hot: Equipment refills on enemy eliminations Extra Extra Hot: Increased damage and score for headshots The key here is that Heat Wave Havoc actively punishes lone-wolf play. If your squad is running purely for kills without supporting the team, you're leaving serious buffs on the table. Freeze Tag is simpler. Lethal damage freezes players instead of eliminating them, and teammates can thaw frozen allies by reaching and defending them. First team to the score limit wins. It's a familiar party mode concept executed with Black Ops 7's movement system, which should make the thaw standoffs genuinely chaotic. Totenreich and the new Zombies content The Zombies headliner is Totenreich , a new round-based map set in a remote Norwegian fishing town pulled into the Dark Aether. The setting is WWII-era with direct ties to Richtofen and Group 935 , which should satisfy players who have been following the Dark Aether narrative. Beyond the map itself, the Wild Fire field upgrade lets players ignite themselves to gain a speed boost and burn nearby enemies. Treyarch is also adding ultra-rarity legacy weapons to the Mystery Box across existing maps. The developer hasn't named which classic weapons are coming, but confirmed they'll be rare pulls with stats that rival Wonder Weapons. That's a meaningful addition for players who have already exhausted the current Mystery Box pool. info Activision confirmed a Call of Duty Endowment event tied to Military Appreciation Month will run during Season 3 Reloaded, alongside a Free Run event with exclusive camos to unlock. What Warzone players are getting Warzone picks up two limited-time modes. Hot Pursuit lands on Avalon as part of Black Ops Royale, drawing directly from Blackout's original Hot Pursuit mode. Squads of four choose cops or robbers, with cops hunting in police vehicles and robbers searching for valuables in getaway cars. Respawns are active as long as one squad member survives. Prop Hunt Royale runs as 24v24 matches on Rebirth Island. Teams alternate between Hunters and Props across rounds, with Props getting 30 seconds to hide before Hunters are released. Props win if at least one player survives the round; Hunters win by eliminating everyone. First to three round wins takes the match. The Siren special weapon and Katana melee weapon also join Black Ops 7's arsenal with the update, rounding out the season's weapon pool. Activision has indicated more events and details are still to come before launch. For loadout ideas heading into the new content, browse more guides to prep your setup before April 30. You'll also want to check out the latest reviews for more coverage across the Call of Duty ecosystem as Season 3 Reloaded gets closer.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/black-ops-7-season-3-reloaded/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/black-ops-7-season-3-reloaded/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:57:22 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Rockstar explained the GTA 6 trailer wait 14 years ago]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The wait for Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 3 is approaching the one-year mark since Trailer 2 dropped, and the GTA community is doing what it does best: refreshing social feeds, reading into every Rockstar social post, and collectively losing patience. Here's the thing, though. Rockstar Games already told everyone exactly why this happens, back in July 2012. A 14-year-old statement that still hits The account GTA 6 Countdown on X surfaced a Rockstar statement from July 2012, originally published during the slow-burn promotional rollout for GTA 5. The studio was responding to fan frustration about the long silences between asset releases, and its explanation was blunt. "We have often had long gaps between asset releases on previous games and will continue to do so in the future. We are sorry if you find this frustrating," Rockstar said at the time, via a news blast also covered by Kotaku. The studio pushed back on any notion that the silence signals indifference toward its audience. "It's not because we 'don't care about our fans', 'don't respect our fans', 'hate GTA fans.'" The actual reason, according to Rockstar , is almost the opposite of apathy. "We do it because we want to make sure we only release 100% correct information, and because we want to keep plenty back for the actual game release so there are still lots of surprises when you play it." info Rockstar's 2012 statement was made during GTA 5's pre-release campaign. The game released in September 2013, more than two years after its first trailer dropped in November 2011. Why this applies even more to GTA 6 For a game the size of Grand Theft Auto VI, the logic holds up even better than it did for GTA 5. A former GTA 6 artist recently noted that until a game ships, everything visible in a trailer is still in flux, and that assets shown publicly are "getting madly polished" right up to release. Deciding what to put in a trailer, making sure it accurately represents the final product, and ensuring nothing spoils the actual experience of playing the game for the first time are all genuinely difficult problems at this scale. Rockstar's full closing line from that 2012 statement reinforces the point: "The only things we care about are that you enjoy the experience of actually playing the game and that we release accurate information." What most players miss is that a trailer is not just marketing. For Rockstar , it appears to function as a commitment. Showing something means it has to be in the game, working correctly, and representative of the final build. That is a high bar to clear on a project this size. What the community is actually watching for Fans have noted that Rockstar previously indicated its full GTA 6 marketing push would not begin until summer. Some corners of the community have pushed back on that timeline, pointing to the extended silence as a sign Trailer 3 could arrive sooner than expected, possibly ahead of any formal campaign ramp-up. The broader question hanging over all of this is whether Grand Theft Auto VI still hits its reported November release window. A delay would shift every calculation, including when a third trailer would even make sense to release. For now, the pattern from the GTA 5 campaign, long silences followed by a single drop that sends the internet into a spiral, seems to be repeating exactly as Rockstar described it would. For more on what's confirmed so far, browse the latest gaming news while the wait continues. The next trailer will arrive when Rockstar decides every frame in it is exactly right, and not a moment before. That's not a guess. They said so themselves, in 2012, and nothing about how they operate suggests that has changed.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/rockstar-explained-gta-6-trailer-wait/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/rockstar-explained-gta-6-trailer-wait/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:55:01 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[FF14 8.0 Won't Be Another Rebirth for the MMO, Yoshi-P Says]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The word "rebirth" carries a lot of weight in the Final Fantasy XIV community . A Realm Reborn wasn't just an expansion in 2013 , it was a complete teardown and reconstruction of a game that had failed publicly. So when players started throwing that word around in connection with version 8.0, director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida felt the need to pump the brakes. What Yoshi-P actually said In a recent interview with Famitsu (machine-translated via DeepL), Yoshi-P was direct: calling 8.0 a "second" A Realm Reborn isn't accurate, because Square Enix isn't rebuilding the game from the ground up the way it did over a decade ago. The client isn't being gutted and replaced. The game's core infrastructure isn't being torn apart and reassembled. That was a specific, once-in-a-generation kind of overhaul, and 8.0 simply isn't operating on that scale. Here's the thing, though , Yoshi-P was equally clear that "not another A Realm Reborn" doesn't mean "small." He described the upcoming expansion as substantial, with plenty of content prepared for patch 7.5 and beyond. The distinction matters: this is a major expansion, not a total reconstruction. The shadow Dawntrail cast The context here is important. Final Fantasy XIV's Dawntrail expansion landed with a thud for a significant portion of the playerbase . Its Steam reviews have sat at "Mixed" for an extended stretch, with patch 7.25 failing to shift the mood much. An unofficial player census tracking active characters did show a rebound of roughly 110,000 players over a 3-month window, which suggests the game is recovering , but the appetite for something genuinely exciting at 8.0 is real and urgent. That's exactly why the "rebirth" label started circulating in the first place. Players wanted reassurance that the team had heard the criticism and was course-correcting at scale. Yoshi-P's answer is essentially: yes, we heard you, and 8.0 is a big deal , but let's not set expectations that require dismantling everything we've built since 2013. danger The full reveal for Final Fantasy XIV's 8.0 expansion is set for the upcoming Fan Fest, where Square Enix will officially announce what comes after Dawntrail. Void content and what patch 7.5 is teasing As for what 8.0 might actually contain, the teases embedded in patch 7.5 have the community fairly convinced the expansion returns to the Void. There's a raid enemy described as "wielding the boundless power of the Void" and dungeon boss designs that read as classic Voidsent. The last substantial Void-focused content arrived in patch 6.5 back in 2023, so a full expansion set there would close out a storyline that's been dangling for years. Yoshi-P framed patch 7.5 itself as a bridge , content that lets players enjoy the present while building anticipation for what's next. The limited Beastmaster job is also coming with 7.5, which has been one of the most requested additions from the community for years. What players should actually expect The key here is calibrating expectations correctly. A Realm Reborn was a singular event born out of genuine crisis , the original version of Final Fantasy XIV was so poorly received that Square Enix had to apologize publicly and rebuild the entire game. That's not the situation now. Dawntrail underdelivered on story, but the game's systems, engine, and community infrastructure are all functional. 8.0 arriving as a "large expansion" rather than a "total rebirth" is probably the right outcome anyway. A full ground-up rebuild would mean years of disruption for an active playerbase. What most players actually want is great new content, a compelling story, and some mechanical freshness , not necessarily a second demolition job. Fan Fest will give everyone the concrete details they've been waiting for. Until then, browse the latest gaming news to stay across everything announced in the lead-up to the event. If you want to dig into what the FF14 community has been saying about the Void expansion theory and the 7.5 patch notes, check out the latest reviews and coverage for a broader picture of where the MMO stands heading into its next chapter.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/ff14-80-not-second-realm-reborn/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/ff14-80-not-second-realm-reborn/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:51:32 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Overwatch Season 2: Sierra's carpet-bombing ult is the most OP change]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Overwatch 2 Season 2 : Summit is live, and Blizzard has rolled out a significant batch of hero changes alongside the season's newest DPS arrival, Sierra . Most of the patch is the usual mix of nerfs and buffs, but one change stands above the rest: Sierra herself, and specifically her ultimate, which the competitive community is already calling the most oppressive ability in the game. Why Sierra is already a problem Sierra's kit reads well on paper. Her Helix Rifle deals solid damage at range, and the Tight Grip perk tightens bullet spread 100% faster while slowing the widening by 30%, making her genuinely threatening at long distances. Her Anchor Drone gives her a quick escape tool that pairs nicely with a dive-and-disengage playstyle. Then there's the Tremor Charge grenade. Once it hits the ground, a cascading tremor rips outward with a radius of 0.12 metres, dealing up to 100 damage to enemies caught inside and 60 damage to those clipped by the edge. It also knocks enemies back at 6 metres per second. As a finishing move on slippery heroes, it is exceptionally effective. But none of that is the real conversation. The real conversation is her ultimate. The carpet-bomb ult that tanks are dreading Sierra's ultimate drops a spread of bombs across a wide area, and the coverage is the issue. Reddit user MokNaruto put it bluntly in the r/Competitiveoverwatch thread: "This might by far be the only ult in the game that can solo kill a tank. You can think of it as a better Pharah Barrage. You want to fire it close to the floor so that the bombs are more clustered and you want to fire it in narrow places. This ult will instantly delete all tanks in the game." That framing is hard to argue with. Pharah's Barrage requires her to stay exposed and stationary, which makes her a target. Sierra's version carries none of those drawbacks in the same way, and the sheer bomb spread means you barely need to aim. The skill floor for getting value out of it is low. The ceiling, when used well in narrow corridors, is terrifying. danger Sierra has only been live for a short time, and Blizzard has a consistent track record of hotfixing new heroes who launch overtuned. Expect adjustments to both the Tremor Charge and the ultimate before the season gets much older. The rest of the Season 2 patch, ranked by how much it will affect your games Sierra aside, the Season 2 patch touches a lot of heroes. Here is what else changed: Soldier: 76 can now reload while sprinting, reinforcing his identity as a mobile damage dealer. Muscle memory will take a while to catch up. Echo can now duplicate allied heroes. Two Junkrats on one team is now a real threat. Roadhog's Chainhook has been nerfed. Tank players everywhere exhale. Wrecking Ball and Winston both have reduced base health in 6v6. Vendetta's survivability has been dialed back, so she can no longer spin through an entire team without consequence. Jetpack Cat's acceleration has been slowed by 11%. The most banned hero in ranked gets a meaningful check. Kiriko's mobility has been reduced to keep her playing closer to teammates rather than escaping from across the map. Mercy's baseline healing and mobility are slightly reduced, though Flash Heal has moved from a perk into her base kit. Ana's Biotic Grenade cooldown has been cut from 14 seconds to 12. Tank mains, you have been warned. What most players miss about the Kiriko and Mercy changes The support changes are worth paying attention to beyond the headline numbers. Kiriko losing mobility range effectively punishes the habit of using her as a free escape button from the backline. The key here is that it pushes her into a more active support role rather than a safety net for bad positioning. Mercy getting Flash Heal baked into her base kit is a genuine quality-of-life improvement, even if the reduced healing and mobility sting. The Mercy main community has strong opinions on this, and the forums are already busy. For a full breakdown of every hero ability and perk in the current season, browse more guides to stay ahead of the meta. Where Season 2 goes from here Sierra is the story right now, and she probably will be until Blizzard issues a balance patch. The Tremor Charge alone is likely to see its radius or damage trimmed, and the ultimate's bomb spread feels like the kind of thing that ships overtuned and gets corrected within two to three weeks. That is not a criticism of Blizzard's process so much as an observation: new heroes almost always launch a little hot. The broader patch is solid. The Roadhog nerf and Jetpack Cat slowdown address two of the loudest complaints from Season 1, and Ana getting a shorter Biotic Grenade cooldown is a meaningful competitive shift that will ripple through tank play across both 5v5 and 6v6. For the latest takes on how the meta is shaking out, check the latest gaming news as the season develops.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/overwatch-2-sierra-ultimate-season-2/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/overwatch-2-sierra-ultimate-season-2/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:49:21 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[All Active Anime Ascendants Codes for April 2026]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Free in-game rewards are always worth grabbing, and Anime Ascendants players have a fresh batch of codes available this April. The Roblox anime-inspired battler regularly drops codes tied to milestones, updates, and community events, and right now there are several active ones worth redeeming before they expire. What codes are active right now Sources are sparse on the exact full list of currently verified codes for April 2026, so treat any code you find as time-sensitive. What most players miss is that codes in games like Anime Ascendants can expire within days of going live, sometimes tied to a specific follower milestone or limited update window. Redeem anything you find as soon as possible. Based on available information, active codes for Anime Ascendants this month are expected to reward players with items such as spins , gems , boosts , and occasionally exclusive cosmetic items. The key here is to check the game's official social channels, particularly the developer's Discord server and Roblox group, since that's where new codes are announced first. info Bookmark the official Anime Ascendants Discord and Roblox group page. Codes posted there tend to go live hours before they appear anywhere else, giving you a head start before the redemption window closes. How the code system works in Anime Ascendants Anime Ascendants follows the standard Roblox redemption flow. Once you're in the game, look for a Codes button in the main menu or settings tab. Selecting it opens a text input field where you type or paste your code and confirm. Rewards are delivered directly to your inventory. A few things worth knowing before you start: Codes are case-sensitive , so copy-paste is always safer than typing manually Each code can only be redeemed once per account Expired codes return an error message immediately, so there's no guessing involved Some codes are tied to specific in-game events and stop working once the event ends Expired codes and why they matter Keeping track of expired codes is actually useful. If a code has expired, that tells you what kinds of rewards the developers have given out before, which gives you a reasonable idea of what future codes might include. Past Anime Ascendants codes have rewarded spins and stat boosts, which are among the most valuable resources for progressing your character build. The expired list also helps you avoid wasting time on codes that have been circulating on older Reddit threads or YouTube videos. If a code isn't on an up-to-date active list, assume it's gone. Where new codes come from The developers of Anime Ascendants typically release codes to celebrate player milestones, such as hitting a certain number of concurrent players or Roblox group members, alongside major content updates or new character releases. Following the game's social presence is the most reliable way to catch codes the moment they drop. Here's the lowdown on the best places to watch: Source Why it matters Official Discord server First place codes are announced Roblox group page Milestone codes posted here directly Developer Twitter/X account Quick drops during update announcements Community wikis and fan sites Aggregated lists, slightly delayed For more Roblox game guides and code roundups across dozens of titles, browse more guides on GAMES.GG. Staying ahead of the expiry window The biggest mistake players make with code systems like this one is sitting on a code too long. Anime Ascendants codes have been known to expire without warning, particularly promotional ones tied to a specific update cycle. Pro tip: set a reminder on your phone if you spot a code but can't log in immediately. With new content likely on the horizon for Anime Ascendants given the current update cadence, more codes should be dropping soon. Keep an eye on the developer's official channels and check back for the latest verified codes as they go live. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/anime-ascendants-codes-april-2026/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/anime-ascendants-codes-april-2026/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:46:57 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Fortnite Showdown Has 50 Chaos Cubes Live Right Now]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 2 , dubbed Showdown , kicked off with The Foundation and the Ice King squaring off for control of the island, and Epic Games wasted no time burying collectibles everywhere. The Path of the Voyager quest chain is asking players to track down 70 Chaos Cubes total, though right now only 50 of them are actually on the map. The remaining 20 unlock on April 30, 2026 . Here's the lowdown on how this works: Chaos Cubes are glowing orange cubes scattered across named points of interest. When you're close enough, an exclamation point marker appears on your screen. Run into one to collect it, or interact with it from a short distance if you can't quite reach it. Where the 50 active cubes are hiding The 50 currently live Chaos Cubes are spread across 10 named locations, with exactly 5 cubes per area . The locations covered so far are Dark Dominion , Battlewood Boulevard , Painted Palms , Wonkeeland , Sus Studios , Humble Hills , Fore Fields , Latte Landing , New Sanctuary , and Ripped Tides , which just had its 5 cubes added as of April 16. Each area hides cubes in genuinely creative spots. At Dark Dominion , one sits on a mantlepiece by a fireplace, another is tucked in a bathtub, and a third is buried under a breakable glass floor in the center of the POI. Wonkeeland puts one on top of the Wonkee statue's head and hides another in a bush southeast of the area. Sus Studios requires riding a rail to reach a cube perched on scaffolding. At New Sanctuary , one cube was reportedly auto-collected for players because it sits inside a locked vault that requires a keycard. info The New Sanctuary vault Chaos Cube appears to have been automatically unlocked for all players. If your progress tracker already shows it collected, that's expected behavior. Ripped Tides is the newest addition to the list. Its 5 cubes include one tucked inside a shark statue's mouth at the skate park, another sitting on a tattoo parlor chair, and one hidden in a glowing bush north of the area near a wooden shack. What you actually earn for collecting them Every single Chaos Cube collected awards 4,000 XP . Clearing all 5 cubes in a single named area adds a bonus 20,000 XP on top. With 50 cubes currently available across 9 areas (Ripped Tides being the 10th just added), that adds up to 400,000 XP available right now, before the next batch drops. For Battle Pass progression , that number is significant. XP is the only confirmed reward at the moment, though Epic may add something extra once all 70 are collectible. The key here is that the final 20 cubes could come with a completion reward, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Four POIs still waiting for cubes The four named locations with no Chaos Cubes yet are Frigid Fortress , Sandy Strip , Squibbly Shores , and Tiptop Terrace . Those 20 remaining cubes are expected to be distributed across some or all of these areas when they go live on April 30 at 1:00pm UTC . What most players miss is that the timed unlock structure is intentional. Epic is pacing the quest across the season rather than dropping everything at launch, which keeps players returning to the map week after week instead of burning through the content on day one. For players working through the full Path of the Voyager quest chain, browse more guides to keep track of every unlock as the season progresses. The April 30 drop should bring the total collectible count to 70 and potentially complete the quest rewards picture.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/fortnite-showdown-chaos-cube-locations/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/fortnite-showdown-chaos-cube-locations/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:45:52 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata's Terra Dome Hides 40 Upgrade Components Across Its Forest Sector]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom's Pragmata has been keeping players busy since launch, and the Terra Dome sector is proving to be one of the game's most rewarding areas to explore , and one of the most disorienting. The forest-themed sector packs a total of 40 upgrade components across its various blocks, and finding all of them during a first visit is entirely possible. None require late-game abilities to collect, which makes Terra Dome a strong early investment for players looking to power up Hugh and Diana before the game's upgrade costs start climbing. Why Terra Dome is harder to navigate than it looks Here's the thing: Terra Dome looks like a straightforward jungle environment, but the sector is riddled with hologram walls , locked Red Zones, and hidden passages that make it easy to walk past collectibles without realizing they exist. The earliest components near the Terra Dome Platform station are tucked on top of decommissioned trams and at the end of docks, spots most players skip on the way to the main objective. The Eco Modeling Lab block, closest to the Envirolytics Lab station, holds the highest concentration of components in the sector. Eleven of the 40 are found here, and several require specific actions to access. One is locked behind a laser barrier that can only be deactivated by hacking a terminal outside the corridor. Another is concealed behind a filament cluster that Diana must remove. A third sits on a balcony that players will miss entirely if they head straight down the stairs past the Envirolytics Lab Station hatch. info The Red Zone beside the Envirolytics Lab Station hatch contains two separate upgrade components on different floors. Clear both floors before leaving. Safe boxes and the components that come in threes A pattern worth knowing : several of Terra Dome's upgrade components are bundled inside safe boxes , which means a single find can net three components at once. The Meteorology Sim Lab area near the second Eco Modeling Lab station has one such box tucked beside a filament cluster near two containers. The Central Lift block has another safe box reachable only by gliding from the edge of a nearby staircase. The Soil Research block, anchored by the GeoScience Lab station, is where the final stretch of components lives. This section has the most environmental variety, including a beach area where component #27 hides behind a large rock, and a room with a totem that blocks Diana's hacking ability until it's deactivated. Behind a hologram wall in that same room is a safe box with two components. An invisible bot guards another safe box on the upper floor corridor near the last terminal before the GeoScience Lab Station room. Players who rush through this section without checking corners will miss a significant chunk. The full breakdown by station Station Block Components Terra Dome Platform Terra Dome Entrance #01-03, #18-21 Envirolytics Lab Eco Modeling Lab #04-11, #17 Meteorology Sim Lab Eco Modeling Lab #12-16 Central Lift Terra Dome Entrance #22-26 GeoScience Lab Soil Research #27-39 Cultivation Lab Terrarium #40 The final component, #40, is the simplest of the lot. It sits behind the pillar next to the elevator by the Cultivation Lab Station hatch in the Terrarium block. Easy to miss, easy to grab once you know it's there. What this means for players pushing upgrades Upgrade costs in Pragmata scale noticeably as the game progresses, so clearing Terra Dome's full component count during a first pass pays off. The key here is that none of these pickups are gated by abilities unlocked later in the game, meaning there is no reason to backtrack if you explore thoroughly on arrival. For players who want to track down every collectible across all of Pragmata's sectors, browse more guides for location breakdowns and tips across the full game. The Terra Dome is just one of several sectors with this kind of density, and the habits you build here, checking hologram walls, hacking terminals before moving on, clearing Red Zones, will carry forward into every area that follows.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/pragmata-terra-dome-upgrade-component-locations/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/pragmata-terra-dome-upgrade-component-locations/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:43:12 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Lana Del Rey drops the 007 First Light theme and it lands with a thud]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Bond theme songs are supposed to feel like events. When Adele's Skyfall dropped ahead of the 2012 film, it stopped people mid-scroll. When Paul McCartney handed over Live and Let Die , it became a rock standard. The best ones have a life outside the film, outside the franchise, and outside whatever marketing cycle produced them. Lana Del Rey's "First Light," the official theme for IO Interactive's upcoming stealth action game 007 First Light, does not have that quality. The song appeared without warning on April 17, a surprise drop tied to the game's promotional rollout ahead of its May 27 release. And the surprise is mostly that it isn't better. What the song actually sounds like Here's the thing: "First Light" is not a bad song because it breaks the Bond mold. It's a disappointment because it follows the mold so precisely that it loses all personality in the process. The slow strings are there. The punchy brass hits land on cue. The lyrics do that semi-awkward Bond wordplay thing, with lines like "Dying just to know whether you'll play your life like a game" that tie back to the spy-thriller premise without saying anything particularly memorable. Del Rey's voice, which on her best work carries real weight and atmosphere, gets buried under the production. The whole thing comes off polished to the point of being frictionless. PC Gamer senior video producer Scott Tanner, describing himself as a lifelong Bond fan, put it bluntly: "Lana Del Meh." That's a fair summary. danger This is a critique of the track itself, not Del Rey as an artist. Her catalog includes genuinely excellent work. "First Light" just isn't part of it. Bond themes that actually had a pulse For context, the Bond theme canon has real highs and real lows, and the gap between them matters here. Adele's Skyfall works because it's unmistakably an Adele song that happens to be a Bond theme, not the other way around. The same goes for Sheena Easton's For Your Eyes Only and Carly Simon's Nobody Does It Better , both of which have held up for decades precisely because they carry the artist's identity. Even Duran Duran's A View to a Kill stamps the band's sound onto the formula. The weaker entries tend to be the ones that treat the Bond template as a checklist. Chris Cornell's You Know My Name from Casino Royale is a decent example: a vocalist with a genuinely powerful range, handed a song that never lets him use it. "First Light" has a similar problem. What most players miss in this conversation is that Del Rey actually has Bond theme history. She revealed in 2024 that "24.," a track from her 2015 album Honeymoon , was written specifically for the Bond film Spectre . Producers passed on it and went with Sam Smith's Writing's On the Wall instead, a track that somehow won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Original Song despite being one of the more forgettable entries in the franchise. What this means for 007 First Light The theme song is one piece of a larger picture. 007 First Light is still one of the most anticipated games of the year, built by the team behind the modern Hitman trilogy. IO Interactive has the credentials to pull off a Bond game, and the trailers have looked sharp. A weak theme song doesn't sink a game. Die Another Day exists and the film still made money. The song will play over the credits, fans will have opinions, and then the actual gameplay will take over the conversation. For now, you can judge "First Light" yourself via the official lyric video on YouTube. If you want to catch up on everything confirmed about the game before launch, our latest gaming news has you covered leading up to the May 27 release date. The game launches May 27. Whether the opening cinematic makes the song hit differently in context is genuinely worth finding out. For now, the theme is doing its job as a conversation starter, even if that conversation is mostly "yeah, it's fine." Check out more gaming coverage as the release date approaches.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/lana-del-rey-007-first-light/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/lana-del-rey-007-first-light/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:41:04 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Call of Duty Live-Action Movie Gets Official Release Date]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The live-action Call of Duty movie has been a running joke in gaming circles for so long that most people stopped expecting it to actually happen. First announced in 2015, the film missed a 2019 release window, went on indefinite hiatus in 2020, and spent years collecting dust while the franchise itself kept shipping annual entries. Now, finally, there is an actual date on a calendar. Paramount announced a June 30, 2028 theatrical release at CinemaCon, confirming that the Call of Duty film is no longer vaporware. Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor) is set to direct and produce, with Taylor Sheridan , the creator of Yellowstone, co-writing and producing alongside him. That is a pairing with serious action-movie credibility behind it. How a 2015 announcement became a 2028 movie The project's timeline tells you everything about how difficult it has been to get this film off the ground. Italian director Stefano Sollima was originally attached back in 2015, but after the 2019 release date passed without any real movement, Sollima publicly confirmed in 2020 that the whole thing had been put on indefinite hiatus. That was it for years. The official greenlight only came through in September 2025 , when Paramount and Activision revived the project with new creative leadership. Berg and Sheridan were announced as the new creative team in October 2025, and now, just a few months later, CinemaCon has produced an actual release date. After a decade of nothing, things are suddenly moving fast. danger The film spent roughly five years in complete limbo between Sollima's 2020 hiatus announcement and the September 2025 greenlight. The Berg and Sheridan hiring represents an entirely fresh creative direction. What Berg and Sheridan actually bring to this Here's the thing: this creative pairing makes more sense for Call of Duty than almost any other combination you could construct. Berg has directed some of the most grounded, kinetic military action films of the past two decades. Sheridan built his reputation writing morally complex, hyper-realistic stories about people operating in high-stakes environments, from Sicario to Hell or High Water before landing Yellowstone. Call of Duty as a franchise has always lived in that specific space: military authenticity dressed up with blockbuster spectacle. The games lean hard on real-world military aesthetics, geopolitical tension, and the kind of boots-on-the-ground perspective that Berg has translated to the screen multiple times already. Rob Kostich , president of Activision and a producer on the film, addressed the tone directly at CinemaCon : "We want to make sure that the authenticity of it is captured on a human level so that it feels really real and infuse that with epic scope." That framing aligns closely with how Berg approaches action films, so the intent at least matches the talent. What this means for the franchise beyond the game Call of Duty is one of the most commercially successful entertainment franchises in history, with over 400 million copies sold across the series. A major theatrical film, if it performs, puts the brand in a different conversation entirely. Paramount and Activision's joint statement described the film as designed to "thrill its massive global fan base" while "boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences." The key here is that 2028 gives the production real runway. With two years to shoot and post-produce, this is not a rushed cash grab. The Helldivers movie is targeting late 2027, the Elden Ring film is already in production, and the Metal Gear Solid adaptation recently signed directors after 12 years of its own development struggles. Video game movies are having a genuine moment, and Call of Duty arriving in summer 2028 puts it squarely in the middle of that wave. For everything else happening in gaming and beyond, browse our gaming news to stay across what's coming. You'll want to keep an eye on how this production develops as casting announcements are the obvious next milestone, and given the franchise's global profile, whoever lands the lead role will generate significant attention. The latest reviews section will have you covered when the film eventually gets closer to release.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/call-of-duty-movie-release-date/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/call-of-duty-movie-release-date/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:35:49 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Pokemon and Palworld Clone Pickmos Removed from Steam]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Pickmos , the monster-taming survival game that spent its entire public life being accused of ripping off Pokemon and Palworld, has been pulled from Steam. Publisher Networkgo stepped in on April 16, announcing it would be supervising developer PocketGame directly to get the game into shape before it goes back up. The publisher steps in Networkgo's Steam statement doesn't dance around the situation. "We've heard your feedback regarding the removal of our Steam store page and want to clear things up," the publisher wrote . "Networkgo has officially intervened in the development of Pickmos. We will be supervising the PocketGame team from a player's perspective to ensure the game keeps getting better." PocketGame separately told followers on X that "we are revising the game to ensure a controversy-free experience," adding that Pickmos "will be re-released once our publisher gives the final approval." To be clear, the game never had a release date to begin with, so "re-released" really just means back on Steam. A name change that fooled nobody The timing here is worth noting. Pickmos was originally announced just last month under the name Pickmon , which, yes, is one letter away from a certain globally dominant monster-catching franchise. PocketGame changed the title this week, claiming "Pickmos" would "better align with our brand identity and lore" and that the "-mos" suffix represents a "grand Cosmos" and "a more powerful presence." The gaming community was not moved by this explanation. The studio name itself, PocketGame , sits uncomfortably close to Pocketpair , the developer behind Palworld. Whether that's a coincidence or a deliberate attempt to ride name recognition is something the internet has already made up its mind about. danger Pickmos has never had a confirmed release date. Any references to it being "re-released" refer solely to its Steam store page being restored after removal. What the Steam community actually said Since Pickmos surfaced in March, its Steam community hub has been flooded with plagiarism accusations. One widely-upvoted discussion post labeled it a "SCAM WARNING," claiming the game is "an asset flip using stolen designs, models, etc from various sources." A Pokemon fan artist separately alleged that PocketGame "stole one of my designs," saying the team "didn't even try to change something and make it a bit less obvious." That kind of direct accusation, from an original creator pointing at a specific creature design, is a different category of problem than the general "this looks inspired by Pokemon" discourse that Palworld navigated at launch. The Palworld comparison cuts both ways Here's the thing: some of the loudest criticism of Pickmos has come from Palworld fans, which puts the genre in an awkward position. Palworld itself still faces a patent infringement lawsuit from Nintendo and The Pokemon Company , and Pocketpair's own publishing head reacted to the original Pickmon reveal with "someone is a fan of the genre, I guess" rather than anything more pointed. The key difference that critics keep pointing to is intent and execution. Palworld built something genuinely distinct over time, with survival mechanics and a tone that carved out its own identity. Pickmos, based on what was visible before the Steam page went down, appeared to be doing the opposite: leaning into the similarities rather than away from them. The broader monster-taming genre is crowded right now. Temtem: Pioneers just pivoted toward Palworld-style survival crafting. Palworld 1.0 is still in development. There's real appetite for this type of game, which makes it more baffling that PocketGame apparently decided the path forward was maximum imitation rather than minimum viable originality. What comes next for Pickmos Networkgo hasn't given a timeline for when Pickmos returns to Steam, and given the scale of the revision being implied, that's probably the right call. The publisher framing this as overseeing development "from a player's perspective" suggests the issues go beyond a few character redesigns. For anyone curious about the monster-taming survival space while Pickmos sits in revision, browse our latest gaming news for updates on Temtem: Pioneers and Palworld's ongoing road to 1.0. Those two have earned their visibility through actual development progress rather than controversy management. Pickmos has a steep climb ahead. Getting back on Steam is the easy part. Convincing a community that has already labeled it a scam that it's worth a second look is the real challenge, and checking out our reviews of legitimate genre entries makes that hill look even steeper by comparison.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/pickmos-removed-steam-publisher-intervention/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/pickmos-removed-steam-publisher-intervention/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:31:26 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Asus ROG Xbox Ally X drops to $870 in open box deal at Best Buy]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Best Buy has dropped the open box Asus ROG Xbox Ally X to $869.99, putting the most powerful Windows gaming handheld on the market within reach for $130 less than its standard $1,000 asking price. What you're actually getting for $870 The open box units listed at Best Buy are graded "excellent condition" by the Geek Squad, meaning they've been verified both functionally and cosmetically. These aren't mystery boxes. Most are either new units with dented packaging or 30-day customer returns, which typically means the previous owner had buyer's remorse rather than a hardware problem. Typical "excellent condition" pricing for this unit runs between $920 and $950, so the current $869.99 listing with free delivery is a meaningful step below that range. Because many of these units were barely used before being returned, some still carry most or all of the original manufacturer warranty. That's a genuinely useful safety net on a $1,000 piece of hardware. The hardware behind the price tag The Xbox Ally X ships with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD, all packed into a 7-inch 120Hz handheld form factor. It runs Windows 11, but the Xbox integration is the part that actually changes the day-to-day experience. The device boots straight into the Xbox Full Screen Experience , which loads the Xbox app without pulling up Explorer or the usual background Windows clutter. Here's the thing: that Xbox integration is essentially Microsoft's answer to SteamOS. The Steam Deck set a high bar for frictionless handheld PC gaming when it launched in 2022, and the Xbox Ally X is the first Windows handheld that seriously challenges that ease of use. The key here is that this is less a new Xbox console and more a direct evolution of the Asus ROG Ally X from the previous generation. The Xbox branding reflects the software partnership with Microsoft, not a fundamental change in what the device is. How it stacks up against the competition For context on whether $1,000 (or $870 open box) is reasonable, here's where the Xbox Ally X sits among its direct rivals: Handheld Processor Price Asus ROG Xbox Ally X AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme $999.99 (new) / $869.99 (open box) Lenovo Legion Go 2 AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme $1,100 MSI Claw A8 AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme $1,150 All three run the same Z2 Extreme chip, which makes the Xbox Ally X the most affordable of the three at full retail. The open box pricing pushes the gap wider. danger Open box stock at Best Buy moves fast and inventory varies by location. The $869.99 price is listed as a temporary drop, so availability at this price point won't last indefinitely. The alternative route through AliExpress For buyers who want a new unit rather than a refurbished one, Lucky Tech Store on AliExpress currently has an imported Xbox Ally X for $895 after applying coupon code USAFF60 at checkout (a $60 discount). The retailer ships from a US warehouse, with most orders arriving within a week, so there are no tariff concerns or extended wait times. This is reportedly the lowest price seen on a new listing since the device launched in October 2025. The tradeoff is that import models may have different warranty terms than units purchased directly from US retailers. Worth factoring in before committing. For anyone who's been sitting on the fence about the handheld PC market, check out the latest reviews to see how the Xbox Ally X compares to other portable gaming options before pulling the trigger. If you want broader context on getting the most out of handheld gaming hardware, browse more guides for setup tips and game recommendations tailored to the format.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/asus-rog-xbox-ally-x-sale/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/asus-rog-xbox-ally-x-sale/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:14:02 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Best Indie Mecha Games for Armored Core Fans 2026]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Armored Core 6 launched in August 2023 and promptly reminded everyone that mecha games can be spectacular. Then FromSoftware went quiet. No announcements, no teases, nothing. If you've been refreshing gaming news feeds hoping for a hint of a follow-up, you already know the feeling. Here's the thing: the indie scene noticed the gap, and a small cluster of developers have been building mecha games that scratch exactly that itch. Some are already out, some are closing in on release, and all of them are worth your time while the wait continues. The games filling the void Phantom Brigade from Brace Yourself Games has been the most talked-about entry in this space for a while now. It blends turn-based tactical combat with a timeline mechanic that lets you plan moves a few seconds into the future, then watch them play out in real time. The mech customization goes deep: individual limbs, weapons, armor plating, and salvaging parts from destroyed enemies mid-campaign. It launched into full release in 2023 and has quietly built a dedicated following on PC. Garrison: Archangel takes a more direct approach. It's a 2D side-scrolling mech fighter built specifically for competitive 1v1 play, with a customization system that genuinely affects how your unit handles in combat. The developer, Evolved Games, positioned it as a competitive mecha game from day one, which is a niche that Armored Core never really targeted. If you want to take your build into a ranked match against another pilot, this one delivers. HARDCORE MECHA from RocketPunch Games is the most visually expressive of the bunch. It's a 2D action platformer with an anime mecha aesthetic that would feel at home in a Saturday morning cartoon block, but the combat has real depth. The single-player campaign runs about 6 to 8 hours, and the multiplayer mode supports up to 8 players. It's been available on PC and PS4 for a few years now, but it consistently resurfaces in mecha fan discussions because nothing else quite looks like it. Vox Machinae from Space Bullet Dynamics goes in a completely different direction: VR-first mech piloting with a cockpit simulation focus. You're physically reaching for controls, managing heat, and coordinating with teammates in 5v5 matches. It's the most immersive option on this list by a significant margin, though it does require a VR headset. For players who have the hardware, the experience of sitting inside a functioning mech cockpit is something Armored Core's third-person camera simply can't replicate. info All four titles are available on PC via Steam. Vox Machinae additionally supports major PC VR headsets. Check each store page for current system requirements before purchasing. Mech arena multiplayer combat What most players miss about this genre The mecha genre outside of FromSoftware's work tends to get dismissed as niche or derivative, but that framing misses what's actually happening. These four games aren't trying to clone Armored Core 6. Each one is doing something structurally different, whether that's the timeline combat of Phantom Brigade, the competitive focus of Garrison: Archangel, or the VR immersion of Vox Machinae. The key here is that Armored Core 6's success in 2023 appears to have validated the genre for a broader audience. The game sold over 2.5 million copies in its first week according to Bandai Namco's reporting, which is a number that gets attention in development circles. Whether that momentum translates into more indie investment in the space over the next few years is the real question. For now, the four games above represent the most complete options available. Phantom Brigade is the best starting point if you want depth and a proper campaign. Vox Machinae is the wildcard that rewards players willing to invest in the hardware. Browse the latest gaming guides on our site for coverage as new mecha titles surface, because the pipeline is starting to fill up.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/best-indie-mecha-games-for-armored-core-fans-2026/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:00:49 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Mongil Star Dive codes drop free Monsterlings, Gold, and more]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Six redemption codes are currently live in Mongil Star Dive , the new monster-taming RPG from Netmarble , and they hand out some genuinely useful early-game resources including free Monsterlings , Starlight Crystals , and a chunk of Gold . What the active codes actually give you Here's the lowdown on every working code right now: Code Rewards MONGILDISCORD 30x Starlight Crystal, 3x Glimmering Stardust, 300,000 Gold LOVEMONGIL Overflowing Love (Artifact) DEVLIVE0410 Scar (Monsterling), Spark Slime (Monsterling), White Wolf Warrior (Monsterling) MONGILPRESENT Brown Cappy (Monsterling), Forkmugger (Monsterling), Spark Slime (Monsterling) DINDINISDINDIN Green Cappy (Monsterling), 10,000 Gold MONGILREPORT White Wolf Warrior (Monsterling) That is six codes in total, with no expired entries yet since the game only recently launched. The MONGILDISCORD code is the standout haul, delivering 300,000 Gold alongside 30 Starlight Crystals and 3 Glimmering Stardust in one shot. The Monsterling codes are worth grabbing too, since normally you need to fight, defeat, and absorb creatures through your cat companion before you can tame them as shrunken companions. danger Launch promo codes tend to expire without warning. Redeem all six now rather than banking them for later. Why free Monsterlings matter at launch The core loop of Mongil Star Dive revolves around building a roster of Monsterlings to fight alongside you. Getting creatures like White Wolf Warrior , Scar , and Forkmugger handed to you before you have the progression to tame them naturally gives a real head start. You'll have a more varied team from the opening hours rather than grinding the same early-zone creatures on repeat. The Overflowing Love Artifact from LOVEMONGIL adds another layer of value, since Artifacts are equipment-tier items that affect your broader build rather than just adding a single unit to your party. How redemption works across platforms The process differs slightly depending on where you're playing. On most platforms , tap the icon in the top-right corner of the screen to open the main menu, then navigate to Settings , select the Other tab, scroll to the Customer Support section, and tap the Redemption Code button at the bottom. On iOS , that button is not available. You will need to visit the official Netmarble coupon site at coupon.netmarble.com/monster2 instead, entering your 32-character Player ID alongside each code. The key here is that your Player ID has to be re-entered after every single redemption on the website, so copy it somewhere accessible before you start. Rewards land in your in-game mail , but you need to have made some progress in the To The 'Monster Tamers' quest before the mail inbox becomes accessible. If rewards seem stuck after redeeming via the website while the game is open, close and reopen your inbox to trigger the delivery. What most players miss is that the website method works on every platform, not just iOS. If the in-app button is giving you trouble, the Netmarble coupon site is always the reliable fallback. Getting the most out of a fresh launch window With no expired codes on record yet, the current batch represents the full value available right now. Netmarble has not confirmed when these will rotate out, but launch codes for gacha RPGs typically have a lifespan measured in weeks rather than months. For more code-based freebies and gaming guides across every platform, browse the latest guides on our website to keep your roster stocked as new codes drop.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/mongil-star-dive-codes-free-rewards/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/mongil-star-dive-codes-free-rewards/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:28:34 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Windrose Gunpowder Crafting Requires Beating a Boss First]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Plenty of Windrose players have found themselves clicking an empty pistol while Drowned enemies close in, wondering why their bullets aren't firing. The answer is almost always the same: no gunpowder. And getting it isn't as simple as gathering a few rocks. The co-op pirate survival game Windrose, developed by Kraken Express, gates gunpowder behind a meaningful chunk of its main story progression. You can't just stumble into the recipe early on. The crafting system is designed so that access to the right materials and workstations only opens up after you've put in real work. What you actually need before crafting begins The recipe itself is straightforward : 10 sulfur and 20 ash combined at a Millstone . But getting to that point requires completing several main quests in sequence, and none of them can be skipped. Here's the lowdown on the full checklist before gunpowder becomes craftable: Complete the main quests Rescuing the Crew and I Need a Bigger Boat Defeat Thomas Richards and finish Revenge is Best Served Cold Travel to the Foothills biome and mine Foothills Iron Ore for ingots Discover corn in the Foothills, which unlocks the Millstone Parts recipe Craft an Iron Pickaxe , which is required to mine sulfur deposits Beating Thomas Richards is the real bottleneck. Completing Revenge is Best Served Cold unlocks the Discover page for the Foothills and opens up a wave of new resources. Without that step, players can't smelt raw iron into ingots, build a Millstone, or craft the Iron Pickaxe needed to mine sulfur. info If you're stuck without gunpowder and haven't beaten Thomas Richards yet, the early stages of the Revenge is Best Served Cold quest have enemy camps with gunpowder stashes inside. Worth looting those four Black Mark pieces while working toward the boss fight. Sulfur, ash, and where to find them Sulfur appears in both the Coastal Jungle and Foothills biomes, though it can only be mined once you have the Iron Pickaxe. The tricky part is spotting it. Some sulfur deposits look almost identical to regular stone, with just faint yellow marbling. Others are far more obvious, with a clumpy, gravelly texture covered in yellow. Getting closer and inspecting boulders is worth the habit. Ash is the easier half of the equation. Most players accumulate it naturally from burning wood at the Charcoal Kiln . You can also grind 2 charcoal at the Millstone to produce 6 ash, though that's a trade-off worth avoiding since charcoal is needed for processing ingots. The key here is that ash is rarely the limiting factor. Sulfur access is what determines when gunpowder production actually starts. Why the progression gate makes sense Windrose structures its crafting around story milestones rather than pure resource availability, which means players who try to rush ahead on gathering will hit invisible walls. The Foothills biome and everything tied to it, including iron tools, the Millstone, and sulfur mining, all sit behind the Thomas Richards boss fight by design. What most players miss is that discovering corn in the Foothills is a separate unlock step. Finding corn triggers the Millstone Parts recipe in the crafting menu, so players who sprint past resource nodes without inspecting them can end up confused about why the Millstone isn't available yet. For anyone still working through early Windrose content, browse more guides on our site to keep your progression on track. The crafting system rewards players who explore methodically rather than beeline for objectives, and gunpowder is a good example of how the game teaches that lesson the hard way.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/windrose-gunpowder-crafting-requires-beating-a-boss-first/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/windrose-gunpowder-crafting-requires-beating-a-boss-first/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:12:46 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Solo dev ports Super Mario 64-style platformer to six retro consoles]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A solo developer is building an original 3D platformer for six different retro consoles at the same time. The game is called Noah and the Poohloudies , and developer Walfrido Abejón is targeting the PS1, N64, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, 3DO, and the Nokia N-Gage, all at once. Abejón described the concept in a 2021 interview as "Super Mario 64 meets Pokemon meets Tamagochi." The premise has you rescuing a collection of robots that have been sent into a frenzy by an incoming meteor. You defeat them, capture them, stuff them in your backpack, and put their unique abilities to work, all while keeping them fed, watered, and medicated. Think of it as the creature-collecting loop you know from Pokemon, wrapped in the freeform 3D movement that made Super Mario 64 such a landmark title. Why porting to six platforms from the 90s is genuinely hard Here's the thing: in the current generation, a multiplatform release is mostly a question of resolution and frame rate targets. The underlying game is the same. That was absolutely not true in the 1990s. The PS1, N64, Saturn, and Dreamcast all processed 3D geometry in fundamentally different ways, used different audio chips, and had wildly different memory constraints. Ports between those systems back in the day were sometimes unrecognizable from each other. Abejón is navigating all of that simultaneously, which is either an act of passion or an act of madness. Probably both. The developer says the Dreamcast is the easiest of the bunch to work with, given that it is the most modern hardware on the list. But even that comes with friction: "every console of that generation is very picky with how they want the information to be processed, so they are all challenging for different reasons," Abejón noted in a Reddit thread. info The 3DO was a console launched in 1993 under a licensing model championed by EA founder Trip Hawkins. It sold poorly due to its high price and is one of the more obscure development targets in the homebrew scene today. The 3DO is giving Abejón the most trouble right now. "Hope I can squeeze a few more fps out of the system before having to resort to reducing draw distance or similar actions," the developer wrote. The 3DO was already a commercial failure when it launched, and its architecture is notoriously awkward to work with. The N-Gage port nobody asked for but everyone should appreciate Then there is the Nokia N-Gage . The hybrid phone-and-handheld that became a punchline before it even had a chance to find an audience. So why port to it? "Well, I had one at home and I was curious what would happen," Abejón said. That answer is perfect. No grand vision, no calculated strategy. Just a developer with an old device sitting around and a question that needed answering. The key here is that this is exactly the spirit that makes the retro homebrew scene worth paying attention to. Abejón is not positioning this as some heroic feat either. In a Reddit comment, the developer said: "I'm no one special, if I can do it everyone can. Just have to have a lot of patience because development is way slower for these platforms." Patience is probably an understatement when you are writing code that has to run acceptably on hardware ranging from a 33 MHz RISC processor to a phone that Nokia sold as a gaming device and nobody believed. What this means for homebrew fans Noah and the Poohloudies is not a tech demo or a proof of concept. It is shaping up to be an actual game with a creature-collecting hook, 3D platforming, and a full overworld structure. The fact that it is being built to run on six platforms from the 1990s and early 2000s is a bonus for retro collectors and homebrew enthusiasts who want something genuinely new to put on old hardware. The project does not have a confirmed release window yet, but Abejón has been sharing progress updates across Reddit and other channels. You can follow the development across the homebrew community threads where the dev is most active. For more on what is happening in the retro and indie space, browse our gaming news or check out the latest reviews for a sense of what else is worth your time right now.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/solo-dev-ports-retro-consoles/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/solo-dev-ports-retro-consoles/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:09:55 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Look Outside Patch Fixes Rat Child Copy Dad Gun Skills Bug]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Look Outside just dropped version 2.3, and the patch notes read exactly like you'd expect from a cosmic horror RPG where your neighbors are slowly turning into things from a Lovecraft paperback. For the uninitiated: Look Outside is a Devolver-published indie RPG set in an apartment building during an unexplained sky-breaking event. Anyone who glances outside transforms into something monstrous. You wait it out, explore the building, and fight whatever your neighbors have become. Think Yume Nikki crossed with Fear and Hunger, with Earthbound-style menu combat. It was shadowdropped last year and has quietly built a devoted following ever since. What the Copy Dad fix actually changes The headliner in version 2.3 is the rat child's Copy Dad ability. Previously, it let the rat child copy gun skills without spending any resources, which made the ability dramatically stronger than intended. That free-copy loophole is now closed. The key here is that Copy Dad is supposed to mirror a parent's skillset with some cost attached, not function as a free pass to the entire gun skill tree. It's the kind of fix that sounds minor until you've had a run derailed by an enemy that suddenly plays by completely different rules than every other encounter. Col Squeakums gets a meaningful nerf Col Squeakums also received attention in this patch. His bites previously had a chance to remove sleep, confusion, or charm effects from their target, which meant he could inadvertently cleanse status conditions you'd worked to apply. That interaction is gone now. Status builds against Squeakums should feel more reliable going forward. info Look Outside features a large cast of named enemies with distinct mechanics. Several of them received balance adjustments in version 2.3, so returning players may notice fights playing out differently than before. Shrimp Knight, the Shark, the Starfish, and Lethargy Four other enemies got improvements in this update: Shrimp Knight , the Shark , the Starfish , and Lethargy . The patch notes don't spell out every specific change, but the framing suggests these were underperforming encounters that needed more bite. Look Outside's horror works best when the threats feel genuinely dangerous, so tightening up weaker enemy designs makes sense. Monty's pyromania problem One of the more player-friendly fixes involves Monty and his pyromania skill. The ability was dealing far too much damage to the player's own party, which is a rough situation when you're trying to use Monty as an ally. Version 2.3 significantly reduces the friendly-fire damage while keeping the enemy-facing damage intact. Monty can now do his thing without turning into a liability. Why a game this weird keeps getting updates Look Outside was co-written by CBoyardee , the creator of Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, which tells you something about the flavor of strangeness on offer. The fact that it continues receiving substantive updates, with balance passes this detailed, suggests the developer is treating it as a living game rather than a finished product. What most players miss is how much depth sits beneath the surface here. The game is full of recruitable companions, unexpected quest solutions, and interactions that only reveal themselves when you try something that probably shouldn't work. Version 2.3 also touches spoiler-territory content that long-time players will want to discover on their own. Look Outside is available on Steam and GOG. If you want to keep up with more games getting meaningful post-launch support, browse our latest gaming news for what else is worth watching right now.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/look-outside-patch-fixes-rat-child-copy-dad-gun-skills-bug/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/look-outside-patch-fixes-rat-child-copy-dad-gun-skills-bug/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:16:50 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[No Man's Sky Xeno Arena patch fixes creatures holding it in too long]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Fans had been asking Hello Games for a creature-battling system in No Man's Sky for years. The Xeno Arena update finally delivered it, letting players raise, train, and pit alien creatures against each other in dedicated Holo-Arena matches. The community largely loved it, with players on Reddit describing it as "a really great and simplified Pokemon clone." Now, barely settled in, the feature is already getting its first round of refinements through the game's experimental branch. Hello Games posted the experimental patch notes to the No Man's Sky Steam community page, and the list covers a decent spread of quality-of-life changes, bug fixes, and balance tweaks specifically targeting the Holo-Arena. What the experimental patch actually changes Here's the lowdown on the notable fixes and adjustments: Level-up progress for creatures now displays correctly after a Holo-Arena battle, so you can actually see your alien companion growing stronger without digging through menus NPC reactions during Holo-Arena matches have been improved, making opponent trainers feel a bit less like statues A UI overlap bug that triggered when winning or losing a match has been squashed NPC opponents will no longer use a move that knocks out their own final creature, which was a pretty significant logic error that made late-match AI feel broken And then there is the one that is genuinely hard to write with a straight face: the patch fixes "an issue that prevented creatures from depositing faecium after being fed." In plain terms, your alien pets were not pooping enough. That is now corrected. info Faecium is a craftable resource in No Man's Sky obtained from creature droppings. Feeding your companions is a core loop in Xeno Arena, so this fix directly affects resource gathering tied to the battling system. Why this matters beyond the obvious jokes The key here is that faecium is not just a throwaway resource. It feeds into crafting chains, and since Xeno Arena builds a companion care loop around feeding your creatures regularly, a bug that blocked faecium deposits was quietly cutting off a material source for players who had invested time into the system. The fix is small on paper but meaningful for anyone running the battling content seriously. Xeno Arena itself arrived as a surprise to a lot of players. No Man's Sky is a space exploration survival game, and creature battling is a genuine genre pivot. The fact that it landed well enough to warrant rapid follow-up patches suggests Hello Games is paying close attention to how the mode is being received. For context, the Xeno Arena update also drew attention from Pocketpair , the studio behind Palworld, whose lead publicly floated the idea of a crossover shortly before the update launched. Nothing official has come from that, but the timing was hard to ignore. The experimental branch patch is live now for players who want to test the changes ahead of a full release. You'll want to opt into the experimental branch through Steam if you want early access. For the latest No Man's Sky coverage and gaming news as Hello Games continues refining Xeno Arena, keep an eye on what comes next from the experimental branch. If these fixes roll out cleanly, a stable patch should follow before long, and given the pace Hello Games has maintained with post-launch support, that window tends to be short. Check out our latest reviews for more on what is worth playing right now.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/no-mans-sky-xeno-arena-patch/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/no-mans-sky-xeno-arena-patch/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:05:23 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[My Knife Farm codes for April 2026: Gems, Luck boosts, and more]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Picture this: your conveyor belt is running, chests are rolling in, and you have absolutely no Gems left to unlock a new slot. That is exactly the situation these My Knife Farm codes are built to fix. My Knife Farm is one of Roblox's fastest-rising idle games right now, developed by Switch Arts . The premise is simple enough: grow a knife-producing operation, sell what you harvest, and reinvest into bigger, better blades. The key here is that both Gems and Luck feed directly into how fast your factory scales, which makes active codes more useful here than in most idle games on the platform. Every active code right now There are currently 2 working My Knife Farm codes. Neither has expired, and since the game is still relatively new, nothing has been pulled from the list yet. Code Reward switcharts 2,000,000 Gems 20klikes Double Luck (30 minutes) The switcharts code is the bigger win of the two. Two million Gems is a serious head start for unlocking base slots and stacking luck upgrades, especially if you are just getting your farm off the ground. The 20klikes code is a timed boost, so you will want to redeem it when you are actually sitting down to play, not just banking it for later. info Redeem the Double Luck boost right before opening a batch of chests from your conveyor belt. The 30-minute window goes fast, so have your session ready before you enter the code. What these rewards actually do for your farm Gems in My Knife Farm function as the premium progression currency. You spend them to unlock additional base slots, which directly increases how many knives you can process at once. More slots means more throughput, and more throughput means faster cash generation. Getting 2,000,000 for free at the start of a session is the kind of shortcut that would otherwise take hours of grinding. Luck is a separate stat that affects the quality of chests your conveyor belt produces. Higher luck tilts the odds toward rarer, higher-value knives. A 30-minute Double Luck window is not permanent, but it stacks well with any luck upgrades you have already purchased, making it worth timing strategically. How to redeem codes in My Knife Farm The redemption process is straightforward. Once you load into the game, tap the cog icon in the top-right corner of the screen to open the settings panel. Inside, you will find a text box for code entry. Type the code exactly as listed, then hit Redeem . You do not need to join the Switch Arts group or like the game first. The codes work immediately on a fresh load, so new players can grab the Gems before they have even placed their first knife crate. What most players miss is that codes are case-sensitive in many Roblox games, so if a code is not working, double-check capitalization before assuming it has expired. Roblox Resources Check out Roblox Gift Cards on Amazon here . Learn about other popular Roblox experiences: Grow a Garden Plants vs Brainrots Steal a Brainrot 99 Nights in the Forest Endless Horde Blade x Zombies No expired codes yet, but that will change As of mid-April 2026, no My Knife Farm codes have expired. That is typical for a newer game that is still in its early growth phase. Switch Arts released the 20klikes code as a milestone reward when the game crossed 20,000 likes, which suggests future codes will likely follow a similar pattern tied to community milestones or developer announcements. Following the official Switch Arts social channels is the most reliable way to catch new codes before they expire. Roblox idle games tend to cycle codes quickly once a title gains momentum, and My Knife Farm is clearly picking up steam. For more Roblox freebies and code lists across the platform's biggest games, browse more guides on our website to stay ahead of expiry dates and new drops.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/my-knife-farm-codes-april-2026/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/my-knife-farm-codes-april-2026/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:55:01 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[The Real Reason Fortnite Skins Matter More Than People Admit]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[There's a common dismissal that floats around gaming circles: "skins don't affect gameplay, so they don't matter." And technically, that's true. A pickaxe skin won't improve your aim. A glider cosmetic won't help you read the storm. But that framing misses something important about why Fortnite has remained one of the most played games in the world for nearly a decade. Fortnite's cosmetic system has become its own game within a game - and for millions of players, it's a significant part of why they keep logging in. The way people express identity through their loadout, the social signalling of rare skins, and the satisfaction of building the perfect outfit are all real parts of the Fortnite experience that go beyond pure gameplay. The Psychology Behind the Collection Fortnite has been running since 2017. That's a long time in gaming terms, and in that time it has built up an enormous catalogue of skins, emotes, back blings, wraps, and loading screens. Some of those cosmetics are no longer available. Others only appear in the shop for 24-48 hours before rotating out again. This scarcity is intentional, and it works. Rare skins function as a kind of status signal within the game. You don't need to say anything - walking into a lobby with a Skull Trooper or a Black Knight already communicates something about your history with the game. Newer players recognise these skins and immediately know they're playing against someone who's been around. It changes the social dynamic in a way that's hard to replicate through gameplay alone. For newer players especially, the cosmetic catalogue can feel overwhelming. There are hundreds of options across different rarity tiers, prices vary significantly, and not everything is immediately available in the standard Item Shop. Navigating it without understanding how the system works leads to spending V-Bucks on things you'll regret later. What to Know Before Spending V-Bucks The Item Shop refreshes daily, and Epic Games rotates cosmetics in and out regularly. A skin you miss today might come back in a few weeks - or it might not appear again for over a year. The OG category tends to stay vaulted for much longer stretches, which is part of what makes those skins carry weight when they do appear. Battle Pass skins are an entirely separate category with different rules. These are only available during the season they're offered, and once that season ends, the vast majority of them are gone permanently. This is where players who stay active throughout a season have a real long-term advantage over returning players who missed multiple cycles. Some of the most recognisable and coveted skins in the game are old Battle Pass exclusives that simply can't be obtained anymore. If you're trying to build out a collection without spending a small fortune on V-Bucks, it's worth exploring your options. Players who want to buy Fortnite skins from other players can do so through Eldorado, a marketplace where users trade Fortnite cosmetics and accounts. It's a route that some players take specifically to access older or rarer cosmetics that no longer appear in the standard shop. There are also Fortnite codes that occasionally unlock cosmetics for free, and it's worth keeping an eye on these. Promotional codes from Epic, brand partnerships, and special events have historically been a way to pick up limited items without spending V-Bucks. These don't appear constantly, but when they do, they're worth using immediately since most have expiry dates. Building a Loadout You Actually Like One thing veteran Fortnite players tend to agree on: cohesion matters more than rarity. A loadout where the skin, back bling, pickaxe, and glider all fit together visually is more satisfying to use than a collection of individually impressive pieces that clash with each other. The players who put thought into their outfit tend to enjoy the cosmetic side of the game more, regardless of how rare any individual piece is. Some practical things to consider when putting a loadout together: Match the general colour palette across your skin, back bling, and pickaxe. It doesn't need to be perfect, but obvious clashes look unintentional. Pickaxe size and weight should complement the skin's aesthetic. A tiny pickaxe on a large, armoured skin looks awkward. Emotes that match the skin's personality make lobby interactions feel more deliberate and expressive. Wraps can tie a loadout together visually when applied consistently across weapons. The Competitive Side of Cosmetics High-level and competitive Fortnite players sometimes choose their skins with visibility in mind. Skins with dark colours and minimal silhouette detail are theoretically harder to spot in certain environments - particularly in shadowed areas or during night-cycle maps. Whether this actually provides a meaningful edge is a topic of ongoing debate in the community, but it's a real consideration at the upper levels of play. More practically, some players use default-style skins specifically to manage opponent expectations in casual lobbies. A default-looking character is often underestimated. Others go the opposite direction and embrace the most outrageous cosmetics available as a kind of psychological move - signalling confidence through absurdity. At the end of the day, the best skin is the one you actually want to play with. Fortnite's cosmetic system is rich enough that there's almost always something worth chasing, whether you're farming V-Bucks the slow way, watching for Item Shop rotations, or looking at the secondary market for older pieces.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/fortnite-skins-matter-more-than-people-admit/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/fortnite-skins-matter-more-than-people-admit/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:23:50 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[5 Smart Betting Tips for New Users in 2026]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Starting with online betting can feel simple on the surface, but many new users quickly realize that small mistakes often become expensive ones. In 2026, the betting environment is more accessible than ever, with mobile friendly platforms, faster payments, and a wider range of sports and casino options. That convenience makes it easier to get started, but it also increases the need for discipline. For beginners, smart betting is rarely about finding a secret formula. It is more about building good habits early, understanding risk, and avoiding common decisions that lead to unnecessary losses. Build a betting budget before anything else One of the most important habits for any new bettor is setting a clear budget before placing the first wager. This sounds obvious, yet many beginners start without deciding how much they are actually prepared to lose. As a result, they end up betting emotionally instead of logically. A betting budget should always be separate from money needed for normal expenses. Once that amount is set, each wager should represent only a small part of the total bankroll. This helps reduce the impact of short term losing runs and keeps betting from becoming too aggressive too early. New users often think the goal is to win quickly. In reality, the smarter goal is to stay in control for long enough to learn how betting works. Learn what odds are really saying Many beginners place bets based on intuition, favorite teams, or headlines they have recently seen. That approach can feel natural, but it often ignores the most important element in betting, which is price. Odds are not just numbers tied to potential payout. They reflect probability. Learning how to interpret them helps new users understand whether a market offers reasonable value or simply looks attractive at first glance. A strong team can still be a poor bet if the price is too low to justify the risk. This is why smart bettors spend more time reading the market and less time reacting to hype. The first real step in improving is understanding what the odds are saying and what they are not saying. Keep your early betting choices simple New users are often drawn toward complex wagers because they promise bigger returns. Multi bets, exotic markets, and detailed prop selections can look exciting, especially when platforms present many options at once. The problem is that complexity usually increases risk. A better approach is to begin with simpler markets. Match winner bets, totals, or straightforward casino games are easier to follow and easier to evaluate afterward. When a bettor understands why a bet won or lost, it becomes much easier to improve over time. This also applies when exploring table games such as Dafabet roulette, where understanding the pace and structure of the game is more useful than chasing quick results. Complex bets can have a place later, but they should not be the starting point for someone still learning how markets move and how variance affects results. Stay calm after both wins and losses One of the fastest ways to lose discipline is to let recent results control the next decision. After a win, some bettors become overconfident and increase their stakes too quickly. After a loss, others try to recover immediately by placing larger bets without proper reasoning. Both reactions are risky because they shift attention away from logic and toward emotion. A smart beginner accepts that wins and losses are both part of the process. The quality of a decision matters more than the outcome of a single wager. This mindset is especially useful in fast moving betting environments where results arrive quickly. Staying calm allows a bettor to make more consistent choices instead of treating every outcome as a signal to change strategy. Understand the platform before using every feature Modern betting sites offer more than basic wagers. They often include live betting, casino games, promotions, cash out tools, and many market variations. While these features can be useful, new users benefit from learning the platform slowly instead of trying everything immediately. Understanding how stake entry works, how payouts are shown, how market rules differ, and when conditions apply can prevent avoidable mistakes. Sometimes the smartest decision is not placing more bets, but taking time to understand the interface and the rules behind each option. A bettor who knows how the platform works is in a stronger position than one who acts too quickly because the layout looks easy. A smarter way to begin For new users in 2026, betting is less about bold predictions and more about steady decision making. A clear budget, a basic understanding of odds, simpler bet selection, emotional control, and familiarity with the platform all create a better foundation than chasing fast returns. The users who improve over time are usually not the ones taking the biggest risks. They are the ones who treat betting as a process of learning, staying disciplined, and making better choices with each session. Disclaimer The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or gambling advice. Online betting involves risk, and there is no guarantee of profit or success. Readers are encouraged to gamble responsibly and only wager amounts they can afford to lose. Betting outcomes are influenced by chance, and past results do not predict future performance. This content is intended for individuals who are of legal gambling age in their jurisdiction. Users are responsible for ensuring that online betting is permitted in their location and that they comply with all applicable laws and regulations. If gambling becomes difficult to control, it is recommended to seek support from professional organizations or responsible gambling services.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/5-smart-betting-tips-for-new-users-in-2026/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/5-smart-betting-tips-for-new-users-in-2026/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:17:33 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Overwatch Switch 2 port runs worse than the original, Blizzard promises a fix]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The Nintendo Switch 2 was supposed to be a step up. Better visuals, higher-fidelity audio, up to 60fps. That was the pitch when Blizzard Entertainment announced the Overwatch Nintendo Switch 2 Edition alongside Season 2. Instead, players booting it up on launch day found something that felt like a downgrade. What actually shipped on launch day The Overwatch Switch 2 Edition launched on April 14, 2026, timed to coincide with Season 2 of the newly rebranded Overwatch (the game previously known as Overwatch 2, which was itself previously known as Overwatch). The port was marketed with promises of improved visuals and performance parity with the PS4 and Xbox One versions , specifically targeting up to 60fps. Here's the thing: that 60fps target did not materialize. Players on the Overwatch subreddit began flagging performance problems almost immediately after launch, with multiple threads calling the Switch 2 Edition a "lazy mess." The more alarming claim, backed up by player reports, was that the game was running at a lower framerate than the original Switch version. Not the same. Worse. Some players speculated Blizzard had shipped the wrong build entirely, which would at least explain how a more powerful piece of hardware ended up with a worse-performing version of the same game. Blizzard's response and what it actually means Blizzard updated its known issues forum post on April 14 with the following : "We are aware of an issue with the FPS limit on the Nintendo Switch 2 being lower than intended. We are working on a patch to resolve this issue." danger No timeline has been given for the patch. Blizzard confirmed the issue exists and that a fix is in progress, but Switch 2 players are currently stuck with a version that underperforms its predecessor. The language here is telling. An "FPS limit" being "lower than intended" suggests a configuration error rather than a fundamental technical limitation. That lines up with the community theory about a wrong build being pushed, though Blizzard has not confirmed that specific detail. Why this stings more than a typical launch bug The Nintendo Switch 2 runs Resident Evil Requiem and Cyberpunk 2077 without embarrassing itself. The hardware is genuinely capable. Overwatch is not a demanding game by modern standards, which makes a framerate regression from the original Switch version genuinely baffling rather than just disappointing. This also lands at a sensitive moment for the franchise. Overwatch has spent the past year trying to rebuild goodwill after years of player frustration, including the messy Overwatch 2 rebrand and a Steam launch that saw the game briefly hold the title of lowest-rated game on the platform. Season 2 was supposed to be a momentum builder, with new hero Sierra joining the roster and the Switch 2 Edition positioned as a signal that Blizzard was investing in the game's future. Shipping a broken port on day one of a season designed to attract new players is not ideal timing. For the latest on what's happening across the gaming world, you can browse the latest gaming news on our site for more coverage as this situation develops. Switch 2 players will want to keep an eye on Blizzard's known issues forum for patch deployment news, since no specific date has been attached to the fix yet.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/overwatch-switch-2-port-patch-promised/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/overwatch-switch-2-port-patch-promised/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:17:01 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Marathon Players Are Actually Being Nice Thanks to C.A.R.R.I]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Extraction shooters are not known for their warmth. Marathon, Bungie 's sci-fi take on the genre, has been especially ruthless since launch, with players describing it as more ferocious than competitors like Arc Raiders. Then the mid-season update dropped, and suddenly strangers on Perimeter are teaming up, extracting together, and complimenting each other's contract work. The feature responsible is called C.A.R.R.I , and it might be the most unexpected thing Bungie has added to Marathon since the game launched. What C.A.R.R.I actually does T he system rewards players with special commendations for helping enemy runners complete contracts, extracting from the map alongside rivals, and generally being a decent human being in Tau Ceti. Those commendations aren't just cosmetic pats on the back, either. You can exchange them for faction XP boosts and other prizes, including vault space upgrades through factions like Cyac . The mid-season update also introduced the Stay Together mechanic, which lets solo players who cooperate in a match group up and queue together for the next one. That's a meaningful structural change for a game where solo runners have historically been prime targets the moment they round a corner. info The mid-season update also brought balance changes, nerfs to claymore drones and thermal scopes, and a new experimental game mode that forces players into free sponsored kits rather than their own loadouts. The Reddit reaction, in players' own words The community response has been genuinely positive for a large chunk of the playerbase. On the Marathon subreddit, user GringoinCDMX shared a story about coordinating with other solo runners on Perimeter, completing objectives together, and then extracting as a group before queuing together for another match. Their verdict: "the most fun I've had in the last week playing." For players who were never fully committed to the shoot-on-sight mentality, C.A.R.R.I feels like the game finally catching up to how they already wanted to play. User MaddyCafe put it plainly: "As somebody who has not put hours into the game to bleed it dry of all content within the first month, I like this update because it's specifically for people like me." User Potential Owl echoed that sentiment, noting they were already helping other players complete contracts before the update landed. "Now this is just the cherry on top," they wrote, adding that they're spending commendations on Cyac faction rep to unlock max vault space. Not everyone is playing nice Here's the thing: a friendliness incentive only works if everyone buys in. And in Marathon, they very much have not. User Surrealmirror spent a few hours in the update and reported that "nobody was any nicer." That tracks with the map-by-map reality players are describing. Friendlier behavior seems concentrated on Outpost and Perimeter, while Dire Marsh is apparently still operating on full shoot-on-sight rules. Worse, some players are weaponizing the cooperative atmosphere. One Reddit user described getting cornered by a team as a Rook , being told they wanted to give something, and then receiving what they called "the Gift of Silence" the moment they stepped out. The user wasn't mad about it, but the pattern is clear: C.A.R.R.I has given bad-faith players a new social engineering tool to work with. The key here is that the system rewards cooperation but can't enforce good faith. Bungie has built an incentive, not a guarantee. Where Marathon goes from here The mid-season update lands at an interesting moment for Marathon. The game reportedly launched on a budget north of $200 million, and while player numbers have been dipping, Bungie has stated the game is not facing shutdown concerns. Updates like C.A.R.R.I suggest the studio is actively experimenting with what kind of game Marathon wants to be long-term. If you stepped away after launch, the combination of C.A.R.R.I, Stay Together, and the new sponsored kit queue experiment gives you a few genuine reasons to drop back in. For the latest on what's changing in Marathon and other live service games, check out the latest gaming news and guides on our website as the season continues to evolve.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/marathon-carri-mid-season-update-reaction/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/marathon-carri-mid-season-update-reaction/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:12:52 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Super Mario Bros. Wonder Switch 2 Edition New Update]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo has quietly pushed out another patch for Super Mario Bros. Wonder Switch 2 Edition, bumping the game to Version 1.2.1 . The update is live now, and if you've been playing since the Switch 2 launch, you'll want to grab it. What Version 1.2.1 actually changes Here's the lowdown: according to Nintendo's official support page , this patch delivers "adjustments and fixes" aimed at improving the "gameplay experience" on the Switch 2 Edition. That's about as vague as patch notes get, and Nintendo hasn't elaborated further. No specific bug callouts, no listed features. Just a quiet quality-of-life push. info Nintendo's official support page lists Version 1.2.1 as containing "adjustments and fixes" to improve gameplay experience. No further specifics have been provided at this time. This is the third update the Switch 2 Edition has received since launch. Version 1.1.0 brought amiibo support alongside general changes tied to the Switch 2 release, while Version 1.2.0 added more adjustments and fixes on top of that. Version 1.2.1 continues that trend, though it's clearly a smaller pass than either of its predecessors. The Switch 2 Edition in context Super Mario Bros. Wonder landed on Switch 2 last month alongside the new Meetup in Bellabel Park mode, which introduced a multiplayer-focused layer on top of the base game's 2D platforming. The reception to the Switch 2 Edition as a package has been mixed. The core Wonder experience holds up as one of Mario's strongest 2D outings in years, but the new multiplayer additions haven't exactly set the world on fire. For players who skipped Wonder on the original Switch, the Switch 2 Edition is still a solid entry point. For anyone who already put hours into the original, the additions are unlikely to pull them back in. Version 1.2.1 won't change that calculus, but it does signal that Nintendo is keeping the game in an active maintenance window. Worth updating before your next session Small patches like this one rarely make headlines, but they matter. Unpatched versions can carry minor bugs or performance inconsistencies that are easy to miss until they aren't. The key here is that Nintendo's official guidance points to gameplay experience improvements, which is broad enough to cover anything from frame pacing to input quirks. This week has also seen Nintendo release an update for the Switch Online + Expansion Pack's GameCube app, so the company appears to be in an active maintenance cycle across multiple titles right now. For more on what's happening across Nintendo's Switch 2 library, check out our latest gaming news . If you're weighing up other Switch 2 titles while you wait for more substantial Wonder content, browse our reviews to see what's worth your time.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/super-mario-bros-wonder-switch-2-edition-new-update/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/super-mario-bros-wonder-switch-2-edition-new-update/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:04:33 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Nintendo Music Gets 10 New Tomodachi Life Tracks to Mark Switch Launch]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Nintendo Music has been on a roll lately. Just days after dropping the Animal Crossing GameCube soundtrack to celebrate that series' 25th anniversary, Nintendo's Switch Online music app has received another themed update, this time tied directly to the launch of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream on Switch. The update landed on April 16, 2026, the same day Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream hit shelves. Nintendo added exactly 10 tracks from the new title, with a combined runtime of 22 minutes. The company also posted a notice inside the app flagging that no new tracks will be released next week, making this a standalone special drop rather than part of the regular weekly rotation. The full track list from the April 16 update Here's everything added to Nintendo Music in this special release: Afternoon on the Island Mii Creation Food Mart Becoming Friends? Excited 1 Minigames Gifts Everyday Life 3 Heart Aflutter 1 Mii News: News Flash The selection cover s a solid cross-section of the Tomodachi Life experience, from the laid-back island ambiance of Afternoon on the Island to the chaotic energy you'd expect from Mii News: News Flash . If you've spent any time with the original 3DS game, several of these will hit immediately. info Nintendo Music is available as part of a Nintendo Switch Online membership. The app is free to download on mobile devices, but access to the full catalog requires an active subscription. A busy week for Nintendo's music app The Tomodachi Life update didn't arrive in isolation. Earlier this week, Nintendo used the Animal Crossing 25th anniversary as a hook to release the original GameCube soundtrack through the same service. That's two notable music drops in a single week, which suggests Nintendo is getting more deliberate about timing these releases alongside broader product moments. Alongside the music update, Nintendo also released a new batch of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Switch Online profile icons, giving subscribers another small but appreciated way to represent the game. The key here is that Nintendo is using Nintendo Music as more than just an archive. Tying drops to specific launch dates turns the service into a live promotional tool, rewarding Switch Online subscribers with timely content rather than just a static library. For anyone jumping into the new game this week, the Nintendo Music update is worth having open in the background. And if you want more on what's new across Nintendo's ecosystem, check out our latest gaming news for additional coverage. Keep an eye on the app over the coming weeks as Nintendo works through what comes after this brief pause in the weekly schedule.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/nintendo-music-tomodachi-life-switch-launch/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/nintendo-music-tomodachi-life-switch-launch/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:01:02 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Gloomwood gets controller support and Steam Deck Verified status]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[For years, buying Gloomwood on sale came with an asterisk: no native controller support, no gamepad glyphs, and a Steam Deck experience that technically worked but required players to cobble together their own input layouts. That asterisk is gone. New Node Software's stealth immersive sim has received full controller support as of this week, and the timing couldn't be better. Gloomwood has simultaneously earned the Steam Deck Verified badge, upgrading from its previous 'Playable' status. For a game that plays like a love letter to the original Thief series, this is the kind of update that fundamentally changes who can enjoy it. What the update actually adds The controller implementation here isn't a bare-minimum port. Tutorials have been updated to display proper gamepad glyphs throughout, so you're no longer staring at keyboard prompts while holding a controller. Button rebinding is fully supported, which matters a lot for a first-person Thief-like where the control scheme has genuine complexity: leaning, inventory management, light gem awareness, and sword combat all need to coexist on a gamepad. The update also adds a new shop in the market plaza, though the controller support is clearly the headliner. info Gloomwood has been in early access since 2022 and currently holds over 5,500 "overwhelmingly positive" reviews on Steam, making it one of the better-regarded early access titles around. Why Steam Deck players were doing this the hard way anyway Here's the thing: Gloomwood's community was already playing it on Deck before today. The Steam forums had a persistent thread asking about controller support, and dedicated players had been sharing custom gamepad layouts to fill the gap. That kind of grassroots workaround says everything about how much goodwill this game has built up, but it was never a real solution for a game with this many keybindings. Playing a first-person stealth game without proper gamepad glyphs means constantly second-guessing which button does what. For a genre where hesitation gets you killed, that's a meaningful friction point. The community pushed through it anyway, which makes the official support feel overdue in the best possible way. A strong moment for an already well-regarded early access game Gloomwood launched in early access back in 2022 and has been updated consistently since. In January, it received a major new map featuring what the developers described as the game's largest, most vertical open area yet. The pace of development has kept the community engaged, and the game's overwhelmingly positive reception reflects that. For anyone who has been sitting on a wishlist entry waiting for this exact feature, Gloomwood is currently 25% off on Steam. That sale, combined with the controller update, makes this a reasonable moment to finally pull the trigger. You can also check out latest reviews on our site if you want more context on what to play next on your Deck. The bigger picture for handheld immersive sims Gloomwood joining the Verified list is a small but meaningful win for the immersive sim genre on handheld hardware. These games tend to have complicated control schemes that don't map cleanly to a gamepad, and developers often deprioritize the work. When a studio takes the time to do it properly, with rebindable controls and updated tutorials rather than just a checkbox, it sets a useful standard. For anyone who has been holding off specifically because of the input situation, the wait is over. Browse more gaming guides if you're looking to get the most out of your first run through Gloomwood's fog-drenched streets.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/gloomwood-controller-support-steam-deck-verified/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/gloomwood-controller-support-steam-deck-verified/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:56:09 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Cave Story+ just got co-op and mod support on PC after 22 years]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Imagine releasing a game in 2004, watching it help reshape an entire genre, and then having Switch players enjoy features that PC owners simply never got. That's been the reality for Cave Story+ fans on Steam for the better part of a decade. The Nintendo Switch version launched nine years ago with local co-op and a stack of improvements, while the PC version sat untouched. That changes now. Publisher Nicalis has rolled out a major update to Cave Story+ on Steam, bringing the PC version in line with the Switch release. The patch notes, which the developer describes as very long, are live on the game's Steam page. For a 22-year-old indie platformer to receive a substantial update in 2026 is the kind of thing that deserves a moment. What's actually in the update The headline addition is two-player local co-op. Precision platformers and co-op aren't always a natural pairing, but community feedback on the Cave Story forums suggests players who've tried it on Switch genuinely enjoy the chaos. Now PC players can find out for themselves. Visual upgrades are spread across the whole game. Animated dialogue portraits, improved water effects, and widescreen support all make the jump from the Switch version. The Sand Pit Challenge level is in too, giving returning players something new to chew on. Soundtrack options expand to four distinct versions, which is a bigger deal than it sounds. The original Cave Story soundtrack has a devoted fanbase that debates the merits of each arrangement with the kind of energy usually reserved for far more contentious topics. Mod support has also arrived, though you'll want to set expectations correctly here. The key here is that it covers cosmetic modifications rather than full user-made levels. Graphics packs, custom fonts, screen filters, and sound replacements are all supported. It's a meaningful addition for a game with an active community, even if it stops short of a full level editor. info The difficulty of certain notoriously hard sections has reportedly been adjusted in this update. If you bounced off Cave Story's tougher moments in the past, this patch may be worth revisiting. Why Cave Story matters enough to still be talking about it This game's history is worth understanding. Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya built Cave Story alone over five years, releasing it as freeware in 2004. It landed at a moment when the idea of a single developer producing something that could compete with commercial releases felt like a novelty. It wasn't just a good game; it was proof of concept for an entire era of indie development. The influence on Celeste and VVVVVV is direct and well-documented. But Cave Story's deeper legacy is the template it created: one person, no publisher, word of mouth, massive impact. Before Castlevania: Symphony of the Night helped define what a metroidvania could be on a technical and structural level, Cave Story demonstrated what the genre could mean in the hands of a solo creator working from passion alone. What this means if you haven't played it yet Cave Story+ is available on Steam right now. The game isn't going to feel as fluid as something like Hollow Knight or Ori, and there are sections that will test your patience regardless of any difficulty adjustments. But the writing holds up, the world is genuinely strange and memorable, and playing it in 2026 still carries the weight of understanding where so much of modern indie gaming came from. Amaya's follow-up, Kero Blaster, released on Steam in 2015 and remains worth exploring if Cave Story clicks for you. For everything else in the genre, browse our gaming news to stay across what's arriving in the metroidvania space this year. The latest reviews are a solid starting point if you're looking for what to play next after you've finished the campaign.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/cave-story-plus-co-op-mod/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/cave-story-plus-co-op-mod/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:46:18 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Steam's New Feature Could Help You Avoid Getting Ripped Off]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[You've probably been there before: you buy a game on Steam, feel pretty good about the deal, then check SteamDB two days later and discover it was 80% off last week. That might be getting harder to do to unsuspecting players. Valve appears to be building two new features into Steam that would give buyers better information before they spend money, and both were uncovered recently by dataminers digging through the platform's code. What the dataminers found buried in Steam's code The discovery comes from dataminer SigaTbh, who used SteamDB to poke around Steam's backend and surfaced references to "Price History" and "30-Day Low" in new code strings. The find was flagged by LambdaGeneration , a Valve-focused fansite, and it points squarely at a feature that would display the lowest price a game has sold for in the past 30 days, right there on the store page. Here's the thing: this isn't a new concept for Steam globally. The 30-day low price display has been live for EU users since June 2023, when Valve was required to implement it under the EU's Omnibus Directive , a set of consumer protection rules that mandate retailers show recent price history during sales. The code now appearing in Steam's broader build suggests Valve may be preparing to roll it out in the United States and other regions. What most players miss when browsing Steam sales is that a "60% off" badge tells you nothing about what the game was actually selling for before the discount. A game that sat at an inflated price for six months and then dropped to a still-overpriced "sale" price is a trick as old as retail. A visible 30-day low flips that script entirely. info The EU Omnibus Directive has required Steam to display 30-day low prices for European Union customers since June 2023. The new code suggests this transparency feature is being prepared for a wider global rollout. A framerate estimator that uses real player data The second feature is something entirely new. Reported earlier by Ars Technica , additional lines of code reference a "framerate estimator" that doesn't exist anywhere in the current Steam client. The text found in the code reads: "Select an App and a PC config to get a chart of estimated framerates, based on the framerates of other Steam users." That last part is the key here. Rather than relying on a developer's minimum and recommended specs (which are notoriously optimistic and often out of date), the tool would pull real performance data from players already running the game on similar hardware. The result would be an estimated FPS chart before you ever open your wallet. This builds on Valve's existing Steam Deck Verified program, which grades games on how well they run on the Deck's specific hardware. The framerate estimator would extend that same logic to the full range of PC configurations, which is a much harder problem given how many hardware combinations exist. Crowdsourcing real user data is a smart way to handle that complexity. For players who aren't deep into PC hardware benchmarks, this kind of tool could genuinely lower the barrier to buying new games with confidence. Right now, checking whether a game will run well on your specific setup usually means hunting down YouTube videos or Reddit threads from people who happen to have similar specs. When these features might actually show up Neither feature has an announced release date. Both are still in the datamine stage, meaning Valve hasn't confirmed them publicly and they could change significantly before launch, or not ship at all. That said, the 30-day price history feature has a clear precedent in the EU build, so the infrastructure is already there. Steam updates roll out regularly through the client's beta branch, and features like these tend to appear quietly before being formally announced. You'll want to keep an eye on the Steam beta changelog if you want to catch these early. For more on what's happening across PC gaming right now, check out the latest gaming news , and if you're making purchase decisions, the latest reviews are a good place to start before committing to anything.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/steam-new-feature-could-help-you-avoid-getting-ripped-off/</link>
            <guid isPermaLink="true">https://games.gg/news/steam-new-feature-could-help-you-avoid-getting-ripped-off/</guid>
            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:41:38 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[A Game Boy Advance MP3 Player Has Fans Wishing Nintendo Made More Gadgets]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A handheld that looks like a Game Boy Advance crossed with a 2003 sliding phone just surfaced, and it might be the most delightfully unnecessary gadget of the year. The Anbernic RG Rotate is a low-spec portable device that functions as both an MP3 player and a game emulator. Hardware editor Phil Hayton at GamesRadar flagged it first, describing it as a fusion of early 2000s cellphone aesthetics with Game Boy Advance controls. Instead of a mini keyboard sliding out, you get a D-pad and face buttons. The screen flips. The whole thing radiates the kind of energy that makes you instinctively want to put it in a cargo pocket. Here's the thing: there is no headphone jack. For a device whose primary pitch is MP3 playback, that is a choice. Pricing hasn't been confirmed yet, but the hope is it stays affordable enough to justify the novelty. What Nintendo keeps almost doing The RG Rotate lands at an interesting moment for retro hardware. Nintendo recently released a Game Boy-shaped device that costs $70 and plays only chiptune Pokemon music. That product exists. It is real. And while it's charming in a very Nintendo way, it also perfectly captures why the company keeps frustrating fans who want actual functional retro gadgets. Nintendo's lifestyle hardware catalog currently includes the Talking Flower accessory and the Alarmo motion-sensing clock. Both are whimsical. Neither scratches the itch that something like the RG Rotate is clearly going after. info The Anbernic RG Rotate has not yet received an official release date or confirmed price as of mid-April 2026. Details are still emerging from early coverage. The gap Anbernic is filling isn't complicated. There's a real audience for small, portable devices that blend gaming nostalgia with basic multimedia functions. The GBA form factor specifically carries enormous cultural weight for anyone who grew up in the early 2000s. Anbernic has built its entire brand around that nostalgia with its RG line of emulation handhelds, and the RG Rotate is the company pushing further into lifestyle gadget territory rather than pure emulation hardware. The broader retro hardware moment This isn't happening in isolation. Graveyard Keeper 2 hit 450,000 Steam wishlists within days of its announcement last week, signaling that nostalgia-adjacent gaming content has serious commercial pull right now. Consumer sentiment around gaming is complicated by rising prices and hardware costs, but smaller, cheaper novelty devices are finding their footing precisely because they don't ask much from buyers. The RG Rotate isn't trying to compete with the Nintendo Switch 2. It's competing with the part of your brain that remembers clipping a Rio MP3 player to your backpack in 2002 while also carrying a GBA SP. That's a specific, potent memory, and Anbernic is betting it's worth building a product around. For a deeper look at the hardware and handhelds worth your attention right now, you can browse the latest reviews on our site. Where this leaves the retro gadget niche Anbernic has quietly become one of the most interesting companies in gaming hardware by doing exactly what larger manufacturers won't: making small, affordable devices optimized for nostalgia rather than performance benchmarks. The RG Rotate continues that approach, and whether or not it sticks the landing on the MP3 functionality, it proves demand for this kind of product is real. Nintendo could own this space entirely. The company has the IP, the design language, and the cultural cache to make a functional GBA-style MP3 player that would sell out instantly. The Pokemon music player shows they understand the assignment, at least partially. The key here is execution, and right now, a third-party manufacturer from China is executing more boldly than the company that invented the Game Boy. Keep an eye on pricing and availability details for the RG Rotate as they emerge. For more gaming hardware coverage and guides on getting the most out of your setup, we've got you covered.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/game-boy-advance-mp3-player-nintendo/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:39:31 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Starfield Switch 2 Leak Surfaces as PS5 Version Loses Momentum]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Bethesda's Starfield arrived on PlayStation 5 with a lot to prove. After launching as an Xbox and PC exclusive in September 2023, the long-awaited space RPG finally made its PS5 debut in late 2024. The reception? Politely put, it hasn't set the world on fire. Now, a fresh leak is pointing toward a Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game, and the timing raises a lot of questions about where Bethesda is taking its most ambitious RPG. The leak and what it actually says A listing surfaced online suggesting Starfield is in development for the Nintendo Switch 2, the upgraded handheld console Nintendo launched in 2025. As reported by Kotaku the leak, which has not been officially confirmed by Bethesda or parent company Microsoft, points to a port of the base game. Details beyond that are thin, and Bethesda has stayed quiet. Here's the thing: this wouldn't come entirely out of nowhere. Microsoft has been steadily expanding its Xbox Game Studios titles to more platforms, with games like Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment landing on PlayStation and Nintendo hardware over the past couple of years. Bringing Starfield to Switch 2 fits that broader pattern of putting first-party titles wherever players actually are. danger This leak has not been verified by Bethesda or Microsoft. Treat it as unconfirmed until an official announcement is made. Why the PS5 launch context matters here The PS5 version of Starfield launched to a noticeably muted response. Player counts on PlayStation Network never reached the levels that might justify the years of exclusivity Xbox players endured, and community discussions on Reddit and forums like ResetEra have consistently pointed to the game feeling dated compared to what PS5 players expected from a 2024 release on their platform. The core complaints are familiar: loading screens that break immersion in a way that felt acceptable in 2023 but jarring a year later, a procedurally generated world that lacks the handcrafted density of something like Baldur's Gate 3 , and a main quest that takes a long time to justify the hours invested. The Shattered Space DLC, released in late 2024, didn't move the needle much either. What most players miss is that Starfield's issues aren't really about hardware. The PS5 version runs well technically. The problem is that the game's design philosophy, built around exploration across hundreds of largely empty planets, simply hasn't connected with a broad audience the way Bethesda's previous RPGs did. A Switch 2 port: possible, but not simple Getting Starfield running on Switch 2 hardware would be a serious technical undertaking. The base game is demanding even on mid-range PC hardware, and while the Switch 2 represents a significant leap over its predecessor, it's still a portable device with real thermal and power constraints. That said, ports of games like The Witcher 3 and Hogwarts Legacy on original Switch hardware showed what's achievable with enough optimization work. A Switch 2 version of Starfield, potentially with reduced draw distances and scaled-back asset quality, isn't out of the question. The key here is whether Bethesda would invest in a proper port or hand it off to an external studio, as Microsoft has done with several of its other multiplatform releases. For context on how other major RPGs have handled similar transitions, browse the latest reviews to see how ports have held up across hardware generations. What this means for Bethesda's strategy going forward If the Switch 2 version is real, it signals that Microsoft and Bethesda are not ready to write off Starfield as a commercial disappointment. Putting the game in front of Nintendo's audience, which skews toward players who enjoy long, exploration-driven RPGs, could give the title a second life that the PS5 launch failed to deliver. The game's Starfield Direct content roadmap, which promised ongoing updates and expansions, has been quieter than many players hoped. A Switch 2 announcement could serve as a natural moment to re-energize that roadmap with new content alongside the port. Keep an eye on the next Xbox Games Showcase, which is typically held in June. That would be the most logical stage for Bethesda to make something like this official. For more coverage as this story develops, check out the latest gaming news and guides .]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/starfield-switch-2-leak-surfaces-as-ps5-version-loses-momentum/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:24:58 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Pragmata Has 15 Hidden Mini Cabin Figures and Here's Where They All Are]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Capcom's Pragmata launched with a collectible that most players will walk right past. The Mini Cabin figures , 15 in total, are scattered across the game's three main sectors, and the only reward for finding them all is the "Mini-Hunter Supreme" achievement . No gear. No upgrades. Just the satisfaction of tracking down every last one. Here's the thing: these small figures are easy to overlook. They emit a distinct sound when you're nearby, which is the main mechanic tipping you off that one is close. But given how vertical and maze-like Pragmata's environments get, that audio cue can bounce around in ways that make pinpointing the source genuinely tricky. What the Mini Cabin figures actually are The figures are miniature versions of Cabin , the bot companion that operates out of the main hub. Functionally, they do nothing. Destroy one and you get no resources, no lore drop, no currency. The only tangible outcome is progress toward the achievement, which you can track by checking the tables near the computers inside the Shelter . That display shows how many you've collected per sector. You don't pick them up, either. You shoot them . Which, honestly, feels fitting for a game where your gun is basically your Swiss Army knife. Three sectors, five figures each The 15 figures break down into clean groups: three figures per sector , across five sectors total, spread through the Solar Power Plant , Mass Production Array , and Terra Dome areas. Each sector's figures cluster around specific blocks and nearest stations, so knowing the landmark is half the battle. In the Solar Power Plant , all three figures sit within the Power Distribution Center block near the Sealed Sector Gate station. One sits on top of a barrel after clearing a combat room, another hides behind a bed in the room where you find the "Globe" Earth Memory, and the third perches on a fan visible from a set of pipes near an elevator. The Mass Production Array spreads its figures across three different blocks. One is at the top of a building in the Shopping District, beside a glowing "Y" sign. The second sits on top of half a garbage truck in the Interconnecting Passage near the Side Alley station. The third is tucked inside an open cabinet in the Lim Recycling Facility, right where you find the hatch to the Recycling Control Station. info The audio cue the figures emit is your best navigation tool. Slow down and listen whenever you enter a new room, especially in vertical spaces where figures can be above or below your default sightline. Terra Dome's three figures are arguably the most interesting to find contextually. One sits on a tree root above a computer terminal in the Eco Modeling Lab. Another is on a branch of the largest tree in the beach area's upper floor. The last one is locked inside a container in a room accessed through a filament cluster puzzle, and you can only shoot it through openings in the container's top. Figure above the chip terminal Why completionists should care now Pragmata's collectible design is deliberately low-friction. The figures don't require specific weapons, timed windows, or missable story triggers to access. What most players miss is that several of them are in rooms you'll pass through during normal story progression, meaning a first playthrough with awareness is the most efficient route to the achievement. The game doesn't penalize you for missing them, either. You can return to any sector after completing it, which means a post-credits cleanup run is entirely viable if you didn't track them during your initial playthrough. For players working toward full completion, the latest guides on our website cover Pragmata's other collectible categories and missables alongside the Mini Cabin figure locations. The achievement list is worth scanning before you start a new sector, since knowing what you're hunting changes how carefully you explore each environment. Check out new reviews to see how Pragmata stacks up against Capcom's recent output before you commit to the completionist run.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/pragmata-mini-cabin-figure-locations/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:06:51 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Dead Space Creator: You Don't Wanna Be Near GTA 6]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Glen Schofield, creator of Dead Space and director of The Callisto Protocol, has a blunt message for any studio planning a late-2026 release: get out of the way of Grand Theft Auto VI. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Schofield broke down exactly why Rockstar's November 19 launch date has become the industry's most feared calendar entry. Why the blast radius metaphor is accurate Schofield's framing is direct. "You don't wanna be near it," he said. "Yes, it's gonna bring people back to gaming, and I think that's great for the industry, but not many other games are gonna be sold." He's drawing on a real pattern. The holiday release window has always been competitive, but the combination of GTA 6's delayed arrival (it was originally targeting May 2026 before Rockstar pushed it back) and the sheer scale of its expected audience makes this one particularly dangerous for anyone nearby. "It's the same way when Call of Duty comes out, everyone gives it a couple of weeks," Schofield added. "You just can't ship that many games at the same time." The Titanfall 2 comparison is the one that still stings. In October 2016, Respawn's shooter launched between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and got completely swallowed. It was a genuinely excellent game that never found its audience at launch, and Electronic Arts eventually shifted focus to Apex Legends instead. Schofield clearly has that example in mind. danger Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has publicly said he can't imagine an adult choosing not to play GTA 6, which tells you everything about how the publisher views the game's market dominance. The crowded AAA problem Schofield actually wants to fix This isn't just about GTA 6 specifically. Schofield points to a structural issue that built up during the pandemic years, when a flood of investment money pushed more AAA titles into development simultaneously. The result is a bottleneck at the end of the year, with too many big games competing for a player base that hasn't grown proportionally. "With all this money that came in during the pandemic, you now have too many AAA games at Christmas, as opposed to a few plus something from Nintendo," he said. "There are no new people in the market, so if there are too many games out at once, they're gonna fail." His proposed fix is simple: spread launches out. October works. Summer works. The LEGO Batman: The Legacy of the Dark Knight team at TT Games already said publicly that GTA 6's delay gave them breathing room they're grateful for. That's the upside of the situation for studios not locked into a holiday window. Making a hit game, according to the person who made Dead Space Schofield used the conversation to lay out what he thinks it actually takes to ship a successful game, and the list is unforgiving. "To make any game that's a hit, you have to get everything right, and I mean everything," he said. "You have to have a good story. Then you need to put a passionate crew together, some seasoned veterans in there along with highly talented people right out of school. And then you need a great marketing campaign by a great marketing team, with a company that's behind you and trusts you." That's a high bar. And it's worth noting he said this in the context of explaining why releasing near GTA 6 is so risky: even a game that gets everything right can fail if the timing is wrong. Schofield also spent part of the interview discussing AI tools in game development, arguing that artists who refuse to engage with AI are making the same mistake as those who resisted motion capture years ago. He's a known fan of Midjourney and sees AI primarily as a time-saver rather than a job-cutter, though he acknowledged the tools will likely be expensive and that some AI companies will fail before the dust settles. For studios still figuring out their 2026 release windows, Schofield's advice is worth taking seriously. The latest gaming news heading into the second half of the year will almost certainly be dominated by GTA 6 coverage, and any game launching in that shadow will need a compelling reason for players to look away from Rockstar's release.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/dead-space-creator-gta-6-launch/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:55:36 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Epic Games Store Free Games Trap: Players Grab Freebies, Return to Steam]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA["Lower than our growth expectations at launch." That's how Epic global comms director Liz Markman described the Epic Games Store's performance metrics to the Los Angeles Times , and it's a remarkably candid admission from a company that has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to chip away at Steam's dominance. The Los Angeles Times report , published April 13, is the clearest picture yet of what many players have suspected for a while: the Epic Games Store functions, for a large chunk of its user base, as a free game dispenser. Claim the weekly freebie, close the launcher, open Steam. What former employees actually said Two former Epic employees told the Los Angeles Times that this pattern is real and documented internally. Players show up for the free games, claim them, and then immediately return to Valve's platform. The result is a library full of games nobody asked for sitting in accounts that rarely get opened again. Here's the thing: that's not a new observation from outside critics. It's coming from people who worked there. Epic reported 78 million monthly active users in 2025, alongside $400 million earned from non-Epic titles that same year. Those numbers sound significant until you frame them against what the company originally projected when it launched the store and started throwing money at exclusives and free game giveaways. The rushed rollout problem The Los Angeles Times report also points to a recurring issue at Epic: a tendency to ship fast and figure out the rest later. The company reportedly spent millions on contractors to get its 2024 mobile game store app out the door in just seven months. Seven months is not a lot of runway for a platform product. The people quoted in the report suggest this kind of velocity is less a feature of Epic's culture and more a symptom of pressure to keep pace with ambitions that keep expanding before the previous ones are finished. danger Epic is now working to merge its PC gaming storefront and mobile gaming app into a single unified platform across devices. Whether that consolidation fixes the retention problem or just adds more surface area to manage is the open question. The Fortnite dependency and what comes next None of this exists in isolation from Fortnite. Bloomberg reported recently that Epic is developing a new extraction shooter alongside Disney as part of a $1.5 billion partnership. The project is clearly meant to recapture the cultural momentum that Fortnite generated, but Epic's track record with side ventures is mixed at best. The company has bought and sold Bandcamp. It acquired ArtStation. These moves looked like diversification at the time and ended up as distractions. The question hanging over the Disney extraction shooter is whether it becomes the next Fortnite or the next item on a long list of ambitious projects that didn't quite land. What makes the stakes higher now is the workforce situation. Epic laid off over 1,000 employees last year following an unexpected drop in Fortnite engagement, a round of cuts that included workers dealing with serious personal circumstances. The company's ability to execute on its unified platform vision and the Disney collaboration is being tested at a moment when its internal capacity is smaller than it was. Steam's advantage is not just features The key here is that Steam's hold on PC gaming isn't purely about features or library size. It's about habit. Players have years of friends lists, achievement histories, wishlists, and purchase records on Valve's platform. Competing with that requires more than free games and a better revenue split for developers. Epic has tried exclusives, tried aggressive giveaways, tried developer-friendly terms. The 78 million monthly active user figure suggests the platform has real reach. But reach and retention are different things, and the former employees quoted this week are pointing directly at the gap between them. For the latest gaming news and analysis, check out gaming news on our site as the Epic Games Store's next moves take shape over the coming months.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/epic-games-store-players-return-steam/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:50:06 GMT</pubDate>
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            <title><![CDATA[Book of Travels MMO Shuts Down, Becomes $5 Single-Player RPG]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Might and Delight is shutting down the servers for Book of Travels on July 31, but the studio is doing something most dying live-service games never bother with: giving the game a second life instead of just pulling the plug. The small-scale MMO , which launched in early access on Steam back in 2021, is being converted into a single-player RPG priced at $4.99, down from its previous $29.99. Might and Delight confirmed the change in the game's final Steam announcement, where the team also detailed years of development struggles that ultimately made the multiplayer foundation unsustainable. What made Book of Travels different Book of Travels was never trying to be World of Warcraft. The game leaned hard into a meditative, open-ended experience that the developers compared to Animal Crossing or Journey. Players explored a hand-drawn world that genuinely looks like a moving painting, fishing, bartering, and wandering through a world that runs on its own internal schedule. The most unusual design choice? No text chat. Player encounters happened through gestures and proximity, which gave the whole thing an almost magical quality when it actually worked. Servers were intentionally small, keeping the population intimate rather than overwhelming. Here's the thing: even players who left negative Steam reviews acknowledged the concept was something special. The execution, though, never quite caught up to the vision. Why the MMO couldn't survive Low player counts created a brutal feedback loop. An MMO without players isn't really an MMO, and Book of Travels never escaped early access. Layoffs hit the studio, patches kept coming but couldn't solve what Might and Delight described as core structural problems with the game's foundation. "No matter how many approaches we tried, workarounds we implemented, or patches we created we were never really able to solve the core issues," the studio wrote in their Steam announcement. The price drop from $29.99 to $4.99 reflects that honestly. This isn't a triumphant relaunch. It's a preservation move, and the studio is framing it exactly that way. The shutdown that isn't really a shutdown Players who own Book of Travels have until July 31 to download their old characters before the servers go dark. After that, the game continues as a solo experience, and Might and Delight is adding mod support so the community can extend and reshape the world however they want. "With this update, we can preserve Book of Travels in a way that still allows its world to live on," the studio wrote. The Steam comments tell their own story. One player called it their all-time favorite RPG experience. Another admitted they didn't play it enough and wished they could go back. A third wrote: "I wish we'd live in a world where you can develop such poetic and soothing experience without having to compromise for money." Not every player is sympathetic. At least one Kickstarter backer surfaced in the comments accusing Might and Delight of abandoning the game early and failing to deliver backer rewards, calling the whole project a scam. That perspective exists, and it's worth acknowledging alongside the warmer send-offs. danger Existing players should log in and download their characters before the July 31 server shutdown. That save data will not be recoverable after servers close. What this actually means for game preservation Most struggling online games just disappear. Servers close, the store page vanishes, and that's it. What Might and Delight is doing here, dropping the price to near-nothing, converting to single-player, and opening the game to mods, is a genuine alternative to that outcome. At $4.99, Book of Travels is basically a museum ticket for a hand-drawn world that took years to build. The water animations alone are worth a look. For anyone who was curious but never pulled the trigger at $29.99, the barrier is now almost nonexistent. Book of Travels is available on Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux. For more gaming news and analysis, check out the latest reviews and keep an eye on how other studios handle the growing number of live-service games facing similar crossroads. If you want to dig deeper into how games handle shutdowns and preservation, browse more guides covering the broader picture.]]></description>
            <link>https://games.gg/news/book-of-travels-shutdown-single-player/</link>
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            <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
            <dc:creator><![CDATA[ElizaCrichtonS]]></dc:creator>
            <pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:43:41 GMT</pubDate>
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