Know What's Happening in Gaming
Know What's Happening in Gaming
GTA 5 set to leave Xbox Game Pass on April 15, 2026
Grand Theft Auto 5 will be removed from Xbox Game Pass on April 15, 2026, ending its longest run on the service since April 2025. The title has been added and removed multiple times since 2020, underscoring the volatility of third‑party games on subscription platforms.
Sega says it will not release standalone versions of the retro games hidden inside the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series because modern distribution costs are high and the market for individual classic titles is limited. The company embeds titles like Daytona USA 2, The Ocean Hunter and classic Game Gear games within its flagship franchise, allowing fans to play them without separate purchases. Executives Yutaka Ito and Ryosuke Horii emphasized that bundling retro games avoids pricing and reach challenges. Sega remains open to licensing deals for third‑party releases.
AdHoc Studio’s founders Nick Hermand and Dennis Lenart pushed through investor skepticism to launch the narrative‑driven game Dispatch, citing a mix of "arrogance and stupidity" as their motivation. Investors repeatedly labeled single‑player, story‑heavy titles as niche or dead, pointing to...
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, the upcoming 4v4 Marvel fighting game, is slated for an August 6, 2026 release on PlayStation 5 and PC. A Bulgarian retailer, Ozone, briefly listed Magneto and Scarlet Witch among the 20‑character launch roster, prompting leak speculation. The retailer...
ESL Pro League Season 23 Finals bracket is set, featuring eight teams that survived the online Swiss stage. The LAN finals will take place at the Annexet in Stockholm from March 13‑15, with Spirit and MOUZ entering from opposite sides...
The article outlines ten practical hacks that let laptop gamers extract desktop‑level performance from portable rigs. It stresses using the proprietary charger, maintaining airflow with a hard surface, and installing games on an SSD to cut load times. Additional tips...
Walmart is running a video game clearance sale featuring nearly 100 discounted titles for Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X and accessories. Flagship deals include Stellar Blade for $37 (down 47%), LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga for $24.84 (58% off),...
HoYoVerse announced that the Honkai: Star Rail 4.1 Special Program stream will air on March 13, 2026, previewing the second act of the Planarcadia storyline and unveiling the new five‑star Lightning‑damage character Ashveil. The same communication confirmed a revamped five‑star...
The Marathon Lockdown event on the Dire Marsh map mandates the use of Anti‑Virus Packs to survive the corrupted field. Players can acquire these packs either by unlocking the MIDA faction and purchasing the upgrade—requiring rank 5, 23 Unstable Lead and...
Dragon Quest Builders 2, the sequel to Koei Tecmo’s block‑building title, offers a richer sandbox experience that will appeal to fans of the hit game Pokémon Pokopia. While both games task players with rebuilding fragmented worlds, Builders 2 adds a central narrative...
Dave & Buster’s unveiled its "What The Fun" platform, anchored by a 60‑day Unlimited Play Pass priced at just $1 a day for loyalty members. The pass grants unrestricted access to over 150 arcade games and food‑and‑beverage discounts, with three tiered...
In Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen, players must surf northeast from Resort Gorgeous to the Lost Cave, where a rock‑count puzzle guides navigation using clock‑face directions. Reaching the tenth room triggers a battle with Lady Selphy, a frightened NPC with two...
Bossfight Entertainment has re‑emerged as an independent studio after Netflix shuttered its operations in October 2025, leaving roughly 80 employees unemployed. The original founders—CEO David Rippy, CPO Bill Jackson and COO Scott Winsett—have re‑established the company in Dallas, Texas. Bossfight...
Nintendo announced the upcoming Switch 2 title *Yoshi and the Mysterious Book* with a worldwide launch set for May 21, 2026. The new trailer reveals a story driven by a sentient book, Mr. E, that transforms island stages into creature‑filled chapters. Gameplay will let...
Three Kingdoms: Grand Strategy has launched on Android as a free‑to‑play mobile title, immersing players in the turbulent post‑Han era. The game blends battlefield planning, resource management, and diplomatic maneuvering, letting users recruit historic generals and expand territories. A launch...
SAG‑AFTRA issued a Do Not Work Order for Capcom's upcoming title *Mega Man: Dual Override* after the studio failed to initiate the required signatory process. Voice actor Ben Diskin, who portrayed Mega Man in *Mega Man 11*, announced he will not return to the...
Slay the Spire 2’s early‑access launch has drawn attention to a balance issue with the Silent character. Veteran player JapaneseExport, who logged over 10,000 hours on the original title, argues Silent’s Sly mechanic makes it the strongest option, allowing players to...
Animal Crossing: New Horizons changes seasons every three months, mirroring real‑world dates and adjusted for the player’s chosen hemisphere. Each season runs from specific start dates—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—affecting in‑game weather, flora, and the availability of bugs, fish, and...
Activision announced Black Ops Royale, a new battle‑royale mode slated for release on March 12. The mode pays homage to Blackout, the original Call of Duty battle‑royale map introduced in Black Ops 4 over six years ago. Players can expect familiar gameplay...
Hideki Kamiya, director of Resident Evil 2, publicly urged Capcom to add a “non‑scary” mode to the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem, emphasizing puzzles and combat over horror. The request surfaced during a casual gameplay stream by his studio, Clovers, and highlights...
Saber Interactive’s new title *Docked* puts players in charge of a hurricane‑hit port, using an eight‑vehicle roster centered on cranes to move cargo and generate profit. The game blends detailed crane controls with light management, letting players upgrade facilities, buy...
Indie studio Chimeric has finally released Nova Drift, its ship‑crafting roguelike space shooter, on Android after more than ten years of development and five years in early access. The mobile title blends arcade combat with RPG‑style progression, offering players 200+...
Jagex announced a price increase for RuneScape subscriptions, raising the monthly fee from $14 to $15 and the annual fee from $99.48 to $131.88. The company also discontinued the six‑month membership option for new players, while existing six‑month plans will...
Pixel Tools is an open‑source suite of pixel‑art utilities built specifically for the Phaser game engine. Created by veteran developer Sergei Khoroshavin, the suite includes Atlaspack, Fontpack, Tilepack and Recolor, all written in Go and distributed as binaries and an...
Siege Breaker, a free browser‑based brick‑breaker game, was released on March 16, 2026. Built with Phaser 3 by indie developer Permidis for the Z01 game jam, it blends classic arcade mechanics with fantasy pixel‑art visuals and a dynamic power‑up system. Players...
Grapplenauts is a zero‑gravity arena brawler that lets players swing with a grappling hook, collect coins and buy upgrades in real‑time multiplayer matches. Developed by Conner Lane during his stint at the Recurse Center, the game combines Phaser for rendering with...
Tribute Games released a patch fixing the broken Xbox achievement system in Scott Pilgrim EX. The bug had stopped all Xbox players from earning achievements, though the PlayStation and Steam versions worked correctly. The update retroactively unlocks any earned achievements...
JSLegendDev’s five‑minute video introduces the Phaser 3 framework, walking viewers through essential components such as scenes, sprites, animations, input handling, and Arcade Physics. The tutorial demonstrates how to preload assets, create custom sprite classes, and wire up basic collision logic....
Two Cakes Studio announced that the tactical turn‑based RPG Fight Life: Vanguard will launch on Steam on April 10, 2026. A final playtest runs through April 1, 2026, offering a 60‑90 minute demo with expanded content and three of the...
Xbox’s March Super Saver Sale now includes the Nexomon Complete Collection, a two‑game bundle that mimics Pokémon’s monster‑catching formula. The bundle is discounted 65%, bringing the price down to $8.74/£6.99/€8.74, and it remains the cheapest way to access the titles...
Stardock Entertainment announced an expansion of its publishing arm to support indie developers, pledging to sign only three titles per year. The company will provide marketing, community management, QA, technical support, and post‑release development assistance. It cites the flood of...
GamesBeat’s GB LIVE will broadcast an exclusive interview from the GDC Festival of Gaming 2026, featuring Xsolla President Chris Hewish and GamesBeat Editorial Director Dean Takahashi. The session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 11 at 11:00 AM PT and will be...
The vibes from GDC so far: attendance is down, AI biz slop is crowding out some of the traditional developer talks, it's too hard to find coffee around the convention center. But the people are nice, making games is really...
The March 2026 Lost Ark patch closes the long‑running Kazeros arc with the “Facing the Ends of the Abyss” instanced questline, requiring iLevel 1680+ and prerequisite content. Guardian Raids are reworked to scale for solo or duo play, adding combat‑support buffs, unlimited revives,...
Pearl Abyss released the PC system requirements for its upcoming RPG Crimson Desert, set to launch on March 19. The game demands at least 16 GB of RAM, Windows 10 or newer, and 150 GB of free SSD space. Minimum graphics and CPU...
Capcom’s upcoming original sci‑fi action‑adventure Pragmata has sparked notable pre‑launch excitement, with its free Sketchbook demo downloaded over two million times. The same number of players have added the title to their Steam wishlists, propelling it to the 15th spot...
Golbat is a Poison‑Flying Pokémon that evolves from Zubat at level 22 and can later become Crobat with high friendship. It appears in a wide range of caves and underground areas across Generations 1 through 8, making it a familiar encounter for long‑time...
GAMR has launched a pressure‑sensitive gaming mat on Kickstarter, offering a nine‑zone floor controller that connects via Bluetooth or USB to phones, tablets, TVs and PCs. The Rhythm model mimics classic dance‑arcade pads, while Junior and Active versions target children...
![[Industry News] Ryan Lastimosa Joins Devoted Studios as Studio Art Director](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/ryan-1.jpeg)
Ryan Lastimosa, a veteran art director behind Apex Legends, Titanfall and Call of Duty 4, has joined Devoted Studios as Studio Art Director. Devoted, a global co‑development and art production partner, now boasts a 250‑plus staff across more than 15 countries....
Three.js + WebGPU = a modern Flash games boom > Ships to 5B+ users, near-native GPU performance > No platform rake, app store, or custom runtime > Devs own their distribution + monetisation > AI can now vibe code the games for you The only...
The interesting thing to me is that the quests are shitty D1 bounties AND I DON'T EVEN CARE
Helldivers 2, released in 2024, continues to suffer performance problems because it runs on Autodesk’s discontinued Stingray engine. CEO Shams Jorjani admitted the studio underinvested in the technology and is now working to improve the engine independently. Despite frequent crashes, a...
Can confirm Pokopia is a hit for Nintendo (& Koei Tecmo + Game Freak) Sold out at retail (retailers underestimated demand), record digital sales uptake, visible boost to Switch 2 hardware sales at retailers. Looks like the system seller they needed...
NVIDIA rolled out the GeForce Game Ready 595.79 WHQL driver, timed for the March 19 launches of Crimson Desert and DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH. The update introduces DLSS 4 Multi‑Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction for Crimson Desert, while DEATH STRANDING 2 gains DLSS Super Resolution, DLAA, Reflex latency reduction,...
NVIDIA’s GeForce platform is evolving from a pure graphics card into an AI‑centric ecosystem that blends ray tracing, neural‑network‑based image reconstruction, and cloud services. At GDC 2026 the company highlighted DLSS 4.5’s dynamic frame generation, RTX Mega Geometry for handling ultra‑dense scenes,...
The Witcher IV is set to incorporate NVIDIA’s RTX Mega Geometry, a new ray‑tracing technology that accelerates structure‑building for complex, animated meshes. CD Projekt Red’s partnership with Unreal Engine 5 and NVIDIA’s RTX roadmap means the reveal trailer was rendered...
The article outlines how a data‑driven mindset, once confined to esports and strategy titles, is now permeating online casino and sports‑betting platforms. Players increasingly examine return‑to‑player percentages, volatility, and withdrawal speeds before committing funds. Mobile devices make real‑time research frictionless,...
Sony is defending a London Competition Appeal Tribunal case valued at £1.97 billion, accusing the PlayStation maker of abusing its monopoly to inflate digital game prices. The lawsuit, representing roughly 12 million UK gamers, claims Sony forces all digital sales through its...
Square Enix is commemorating the 31st anniversary of Chrono Trigger with a 33‑hour nonstop live stream of its original soundtrack on YouTube. The marathon begins at 8 PM PDT on March 10 and runs until 5 AM PDT on March 12, broadcasting simultaneously across...
Epic Games will reduce the V‑Bucks value of all real‑money bundles on March 19, dropping the standard $8.99 purchase from 1,000 to 800 V‑Bucks. The change also applies to larger bundles, while offering small cash‑back credits. Fortnite Crew, included in Xbox...
Destructoid’s guide catalogs every currently available event in Slay the Spire 2, breaking them down by shared, Act 1a (Overgrowth), Act 1b (Underdocks) and Act 2 (Hive). Each event lists up to three selectable outcomes, ranging from health loss and gold gains to card...
