Today's Gaming Pulse
Resident Evil Requiem launches free demo after 7 million copies sold
Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem, which has sold over 7 million copies since its release three months ago, is now offering a free demo on Steam, Epic, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2. The demo lets players experience early chapters with protagonist Grace Ashcroft, though progress cannot be transferred to the full game.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Goldenpeak takes majority stake in Ampere Analysis
Fairgame$ Fails to Impress in Latest Pre-Alpha Playtest – Rumor
Haven Studios’ first‑person extraction shooter Fairgame$ stumbled in its latest pre‑alpha playtest, with the Cargo Heist mode drawing strong criticism. Players flagged clunky movement, unbalanced classes and uninspired NPCs on a mansion map that featured wall‑running and grappling. The negative response comes amid a turbulent year for the studio, including the exits of founder Jade Raymond and game director Daniel Drapeau. Despite the setbacks, Sony appears to keep funding the project, leaving its commercial outlook uncertain.
Interview Transcript: Game File X Xbox's Asha Sharma and Matt Booty
Game File released an interview with Xbox’s newly appointed CEO Asha Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty. The outlet offers a free executive write‑up and a paid transcript for readers who want the full conversation. The interview explores Xbox’s strategic...
Today’s Android Game and App Deals: Lia Hacking Destiny, Ash of Gods, Boxville 2, and More
Google’s Play Store rolled out a fresh batch of Android game and app discounts on April 24, 2026, featuring titles such as Lia: Hacking Destiny, Ash of Gods: Redemption, Boxville 2, and several free‑to‑play upgrades. Prices fell dramatically, with Lia dropping from $6...
7 Hidden Gems Soulslike Games From Famous Video Game Developers
The article spotlights seven lesser‑known Souls‑like games from established developers, ranging from Deck13’s *The Surge* to Suda51’s *Let It Die*. Each title offers a distinct twist—limb‑targeting combat, Final Fantasy lore, cat‑hero platforming, morality‑driven difficulty, pixel‑art boss rushes, an alternate‑history French...
Xbox’s Next Dual Console Should Match Series X Specs
I think if Xbox goes ahead with another dual console release, the cheapest model should match the Series X Performancein the lineup starting at the equivalent of an RX 6700 and going up to an RX 9070 XT
Xbox CEO Will Take “Data and Strategic Driven” Approach to Exclusivity, Won’t Commit to Time Frame
Microsoft rebranded its gaming division as Xbox and announced that CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty will take a data‑driven, strategic approach to future exclusivity, without committing to a specific timeline. Sharma said decisions will be based on long‑term...
Awesome New Obari Animation Released for Krauser's Return to Fatal Fury with Street Fighter's Ken and Chun-Li Stepping in to...
SNK released a new seven‑minute anime short directed by veteran Masami Obari to celebrate the first anniversary of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The animation revives the Emperor of Darkness, Wolfgang Krauser, as he battles Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard,...
Square Enix Reveals Final Fantasy XIV 8.0 Release Date
Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XIV’s next expansion, Evercold (version 8.0), will launch in January 2027. The reveal took place at Fan Festival 2026 and was accompanied by a cinematic trailer featuring a frozen Shard world and new characters. Evercold continues the...
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Endings Are the Best Part of the RPG
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s final act subverts expectations with a bleak, no‑good‑ending conclusion. The game reveals the expeditioners are imagined constructs of a grieving mother, while a rival faction’s manipulation triggers a fatal fire. This narrative twist sparked controversy but earned praise...
Windrose Early Access Review – A Pirate’s Life for Me
Windrose, Kraken Express's first title, shifted from a free‑to‑play MMO concept to an early‑access survival pirate hybrid. The game leans heavily on survival mechanics—food, crafting, base building—while offering pirate‑themed sailing and ship combat as secondary features. Reviewers note impressive visuals...
Final Fantasy XIV's Next Expansion Is Evercold, Launching January 2027
Square Enix announced Evercold, the sixth expansion for FINAL FANTASY XIV, slated for a January 2027 launch across PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The update raises the level cap to 110, adds two new jobs, and introduces Reborn and Evolved combat modes...
GGL’s Season Zero Ends without a Champion and a Fairness Fight
The Global Gaming League (GGL) wrapped up its inaugural Season Zero tournament without declaring a champion after a disputed final match. NE‑YO’s Gentlemen’s Gaming earned a $40,000 prize, while Howie Mandel’s Howie Do It Gaming collected $10,000, but league CEO...
Asha Sharma Says Xbox Is Investing To Make Series X|S Consoles A 'First-Class Experience Again'
Xbox senior leaders Asha Sharma and Matt Booty announced a renewed investment in the ninth‑generation consoles, Series X and Series S, to restore a "first‑class" experience. A dedicated team is enhancing performance, reliability, and the Xbox OS, with bi‑weekly firmware updates planned...
Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred Release Times and Pre-Load - when Is It Coming Out?
Blizzard announced that the Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred expansion launches globally on April 27 at 4 pm PDT (7 pm EDT) and continues into early April 28 for Europe and Asia. The 3.0.0 patch and expansion are available for pre‑load now via Battle.net or Steam. Full‑resolution...
10 Final Fantasy X Details That Have Aged Well
Final Fantasy X, released in 2001, continues to resonate because its mature narrative and nuanced characters age alongside players. Themes such as the Sending ritual, Yuna’s self‑sacrifice, and Seymour’s manipulative leadership provide emotional depth that feels more powerful in adulthood. The...
"We Will Do Better": Blizzard Are Sorry World of Warcraft's Prop Hunt Patch Launched with an X-Ray Vision Exploit and...
Blizzard rolled out the Decor Duel prop‑hunt mode in World of Warcraft’s 12.0.5 patch, but the launch was marred by a critical X‑ray vision exploit and several gameplay bugs, including missing rewards for stationary hiders. The company issued an apology,...
T1 VALORANT Reportedly Eyeing Roster Overhaul After Disappointing VCT Pacific Start
T1’s newly assembled VALORANT roster has stumbled to a 0‑4 record and a –47 round differential in VCT Pacific Stage 1, prompting reports that the organization is weighing a major roster overhaul. The lineup—iZu, xeta, Sayaplayer, BuZz and ESTIE—has yet to...
PGL and StarLadder Open 2026 With 11 CS2 Events to Challenge ESL-BLAST
PGL and StarLadder have unveiled a 2026 Counter‑Strike 2 calendar featuring 11 tier‑one events, directly challenging the long‑standing ESL‑BLAST dominance. PGL will host five tournaments—including a Singapore Major—each with prize pools up to $1.25 million, while StarLadder adds a StarSeries Fall event...
Porsche Teams up with League of Legends Wild Rift in High-Profile Crossover
Porsche and Riot Games have unveiled a global partnership for League of Legends: Wild Rift, featuring an exclusive Kai’Sa skin, a Porsche 911 GT3‑inspired vehicle, and the Neon Daredevil event from April 30 to May 28. The collaboration spans key Western markets and China, with...
Zenless Zone Zero Is Finally Coming to Steam, and It Could Pave the Way for More HoYo Games
HoYoverse announced that its action‑RPG Zenless Zone Zero will debut on Steam during Q2 2026, expanding the game’s PC distribution beyond the company’s own launcher and the Epic Games Store. The title, originally released in July 2024 on PS5, iOS...
NTE Update 1.0 Release Date, Stream, and Summary
The Neverness to Everness (NTE) 1.0 update launches on April 29, 2026, marking the first full release after the beta phase. A livestream preview aired on April 18, showcasing limited S‑rank banners for Nanally and Hotori, and announcing the addition...
My Favorite RPG of 2026 Put an Impossible Challenge in the Second Room to Teach You Not to Save Scum:...
Esoteric Ebb, hailed as 2026’s top RPG, tackles the pervasive issue of save‑scumming by embedding near‑impossible checks that force players to confront failure. The game’s second‑room Wisdom DC 33 test and a later Strength obstacle are designed to be retried with...
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Celebrates First Anniversary with New Cosmetics, and It's Shipped over Eight Million Copies
Sandfall Interactive’s RPG Clair Obscur Expedition 33 marked its first anniversary by launching a cosmetic update that adds new hairstyles for its main characters. The studio announced the game has shipped over eight million copies worldwide, a notable achievement for an indie...
Overwatch System Requirements
Overwatch’s system requirements remain modest despite a decade of visual upgrades. The minimum spec calls for a Windows 10 64‑bit OS, an Intel i3 or AMD Phenom X3 CPU, 6 GB RAM, and a GTX 600/HD 7000‑class GPU, while the recommended tier upgrades to an i7/Ryzen 5, 8 GB...
Xbox Leaders Reveal Vision for Next‑Gen Gaming
NEW: I spoke to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty about where they want to take Xbox Lots here, going through the manifesto they published yesterday Free piece, with a transcript available for paying Game File subscribers...
Xbox Accelerates OS Revamp with Daily Helix Meetings
Xbox chief Asha Sharma also mentioned during her all-hands yesterday that the teams are meeting daily on Project Helix, and that there will also be biweekly Xbox Series S/X console updates until end of the year. The reinvestment in Xbox...
MapleStory Launches Maple University Event to Celebrate 21st Anniversary
Nexon America has unveiled Maple University, a live‑in‑game campus celebrating MapleStory’s 21st anniversary. Players can explore the new environment, complete skill‑learning quests, and earn academic credits that translate into a wide array of in‑game rewards. The event is active now...
Pixel Art Action-RPG DROVA – Forsaken Kin Is Now Out on Mobile
Deck13 Spotlight and Just2D have brought the pixel‑heavy action‑RPG DROVA – Forsaken Kin to Android, following its October 2024 debut on PC and consoles. The full game costs $9.99 and includes more than 250 characters, with the first area offered...
Select Activision and Blizzard Games Now Streamable on Blacknut Service
Blacknut, the cloud‑gaming platform bundled with Ubisoft+ Premium, has added a slate of Activision Publishing and Blizzard Entertainment titles, including Diablo III, Warcraft I: Remastered, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and Spyro Reignited Trilogy. The partnership expands Blacknut’s catalogue...
ModRetro M64 Release Date Set for the Summer
ModRetro announced that its M64 FPGA‑based console, controller and launch games will ship from its Southern California warehouse at the end of July, putting the device in backers' hands by August. The console boasts a five‑second boot, fanless thermal design...
Game Pass Price Cuts and Super Mario Galaxy’s Box Office Dominance | Week in Views
Microsoft’s Xbox division announced a price cut for Game Pass and the removal of day‑one access to new Call of Duty titles under new CEO Asha Sharma. The shift aims to boost subscription value while restoring traditional sales for the...
Tie Yourself up in Wriggling Loveknots in This Graceful and Silly Merpeople Sex Game
Coalescent || Tidal Rapture, an indie Steam title, blends underwater exploration with erotic Shibari‑style mechanics. Players swim, sing, and control a sinuous organ to tie knots across four intimacy phases. Developed by Hatim Benhsain and Hanwen Xu, the game is funded by...
Zenless Zone Zero Promeia Release Date, Voice Actors, and Lore
HoYoverse’s action RPG Zenless Zone Zero will add Promeia, an S‑rank ice anomaly agent, on May 6 2026. She debuts in the first half of the 2.8 update banner alongside the Frostfall Sickle w‑engine. Promeia’s combat style combines Vortex and Freeze anomalies,...
Nextorage Unveils Fresh New Gaming SSDs, but They only Come with a One-Year Warranty
Nextorage has launched a new line of QLC gaming SSDs, offering capacities from 1 TB to 8 TB with write endurance ranging from 400 TBW to 4,000 TBW. The 1 TB model is priced at ¥44,550 (about $280), positioning it as a premium‑priced option in...
Crimson Desert Receives Largest Update yet with Patch 1.04
Pearl Abyss rolled out Patch 1.04 for Crimson Desert, the most extensive update since the game’s March 19 launch. The patch delivers a suite of gameplay enhancements, expanded crafting and combat systems, and numerous quality‑of‑life tweaks. Crimson Desert has sold...
Escape From Tarkov's New Sister Shooter Will Have Maps that Are 4x EFT's Size
Escape From Tarkov creator Nikita Buyanov unveiled Fragmentary Order, a sci‑fi shooter being built by Rant Gaming Studios on Epic’s Unreal Engine. The game’s maps will be four to five times larger than Tarkov’s, with vehicles to aid navigation across the...
WorldBuilder Summit Draws 260 Visitors for Inaugural User-Generated Content Conference
The inaugural WorldBuilder Summit convened at The London in Los Angeles on April 23, drawing roughly 260 attendees despite a 200‑seat capacity. The standing‑room‑only event highlighted the surge of interest from brands, agencies, and creators in user‑generated content (UGC) platforms....
Material Maker 1.6 Released
Material Maker 1.6, the free, Godot‑based procedural texture tool, launched on April 24, 2026. The update adds Controlled Variations, Aperture nodes, and a suite of graph‑view enhancements that streamline complex material creation. New exporters include a basic glTF output for static PBR...
Fortnite Players Demand D4vd Is Fully Removed From the Game
Fortnite players are urging Epic Games to strip singer‑songwriter D4vd from the game after prosecutors disclosed that his devices contained a "significant amount" of child sexual abuse material. D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, has been charged with first‑degree murder,...
Microsoft Says Xbox Mobile Store “Not Dead” Despite Stalled Rollout
Microsoft reaffirmed that its Xbox mobile storefront is still in development, despite the test site going offline and the project appearing stalled. The initiative, first announced in 2022 with a July 2024 launch target, has not progressed in the past year....
![[Industry News] Ubisoft Backs IG50 Awards as Into Games Opens Applications for 2026 Cohort](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/Blog_header_2026_IG50.png)
[Industry News] Ubisoft Backs IG50 Awards as Into Games Opens Applications for 2026 Cohort
UK charity Into Games has opened applications for its IG50 2026 programme, which spotlights 50 emerging game developers from working‑class or low‑income backgrounds. Ubisoft has stepped in as headline sponsor, underscoring the publisher’s commitment to diversifying talent pipelines. The initiative...
New Release Roundup: Dragon Quest Smash/Grow, Dicero, MapleStory R- Evolution, and More
A fresh wave of mobile titles hit the market this week, spanning roguelites, idle RPGs, action‑RPGs, puzzles and a virtual world. Habby’s Dicero offers over 100 unlockable skills and deep character‑build options, while Square Enix adds Dragon Quest Smash/Grow to...
Solo Blox Leveling Reborn Codes (April 2026)
Solo Blox Leveling Reborn released two active redemption codes on April 24, 2026: GROUP_CODES and PUBLIC_TEST. The codes award a mix of Emeralds, Pumpkins, Mystery Boxes, and Change Class Cards, each worth thousands of in‑game resources. Players must complete the...
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally Is Defying the Trend of Rising Prices and Is Now Cheaper than when It Launched
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally has slipped to $539.99 on Amazon, undercutting its original $599 launch price and the £499.99 (~$635) it debuted at in the UK. This price reduction runs counter to a broader surge in handheld console costs...
MangoHud 0.8.3 Brings New Features and Fixes to the Popular Linux Gaming Performance Monitor
MangoHud 0.8.3 has been released, bringing a slew of bug fixes and several new capabilities to the leading Linux gaming overlay. The update resolves Wayland detection issues, AMDGPU metric glitches, Vulkan swap‑chain handling, and crashes tied to GL and ImGui...
Ash Parts Ways with GamerLegion
British coach Ashley “ash” Battye has left GamerLegion after more than five years at the helm. He joined mid‑2020, helped lift the team to a 25th world ranking and guided them to the BLAST.tv Paris Major final in 2023. Ongoing...
Genshin Impact's New Major Region, Snezhnaya, Launches on August 12
HoYoverse announced that Genshin Impact’s next major region, Snezhnaya, will launch on August 12. The update adds visual upgrades for characters, new story quests that resolve long‑running plot threads, and introduces Cryo‑themed gameplay mechanics. Snezhnaya will be available across PlayStation 5, Xbox...
As World of Warcraft 12.0.5 Hotfixes Come Thick and Fast, Blizzard Admits the Patch "Wasn't up to Standard"
World of Warcraft’s 12.0.5 patch rolled out riddled with bugs that disrupted core gameplay, from housing errors to broken class rotations and a faulty Voidforge bonus‑roll system. Blizzard publicly admitted the launch fell short of its standards and launched a...
Second Wind Games Showcase Presented Lots of Games - Here's 12 World Premieres
The Second Wind Games Showcase streamed live on YouTube and featured 12 world‑premiere indie titles across a range of genres, from deck‑building roguelites to co‑op horror investigations. Each game received a Steam store link and a dedicated trailer, giving developers immediate...
South of Midnight Shines on PS5 with Stunning Visuals
South of Midnight's gorgeous, stylized presentation really pops on PlayStation 5, while its peppy performance ensures owners of Sony's platform will be fully immersed in one of last year's best single-player, story-driven action-adventures. https://t.co/nwOdEObWq2