Following Sony's announcement that it will not support PlayStation discs starting in 2028 and conjecture that the PS6 won't have a disc drive, it's now been reported that Microsoft's next-gen Xbox, Project Helix, won't have a disc drive either.
Jez Corden of Windows Central reported today that Project Helix will not have a disc drive. The report did not include any further details, but this would not be a surprising development given the increasing percentage of games sold digitally compared to
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Next-Gen Xbox May Not Have Disc Drive, Disc-To-Digital Feature Coming, Reports Say
via gamespot.com
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Battlefield 6 Almost Made A Great Change, Twice, But Both Were An “Error”
via gamespot.com
Battlefield 6's latest update almost introduced a great change to XP boosts, only for developer Battlefield Studios to state it was an "error" and walk it back. Even more confusing--it's actually the second time the exact same mistake has been made in three weeks. As part of Battlefield 6's June 30 update, one that overhauled the game's gunplay and introduced a new mode, a surprising, but welcome, message greeted players who logged in: "XP Boost Update: Now Based On In-Game Time."Since Batt
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“Profoundly Disappointed” Is This Company’s Response To Sony’s Decision To End Disc Support
via gamespot.com
iam8bit, a company known for its physical gaming collectibles, has responded to Sony's announcement that it will no longer support physical PlayStation discs in 2028, saying it is "profoundly disappointed" by the news."Physical games are vital to games preservation, ownership, and consumer choice, values that have guided iam8bit since our first physical release in 2016," the company said.The company added that it remains committed to these values. "Long live physical media," iam8bit said in its
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“Profoundly Disappointed:” Companies Respond To Sony’s Decision To End Disc Support
via gamespot.com
A number of companies have responded to the news that Sony will no longer support physical PlayStation discs beginning in 2028. That includes iam8bit, a company known for its physical gaming collectibles, which said it is "profoundly disappointed" by the news."Physical games are vital to games preservation, ownership, and consumer choice, values that have guided iam8bit since our first physical release in 2016," the company said.The company added that it remains committed to these values. "Long
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Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Just Showed Up In A Very Unexpected Place
via gamespot.comActivision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is expected to be one of 2026's biggest game releases alongside GTA 6, and the company is expected to go all-out with its marketing and promotion campaign for it. That may have already begun, but not in the way anyone might have expected.
World Cup fans have spotted a curious detail on the French men's national team bus--luggage that appears to carry the Modern Warfare 4 branding.
You can clearly see the branding in the image below. We don't know if th
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Existing Unauthorized Steam Machine Companion Cubes Are Being Destroyed After Release Fiasco
via gamespot.com
The unlicensed Companion Cube engineered, illegally, for Valve's Steam Machine will never go on sale again, with those who preordered already being refunded. But what about the handful that made it out of the door and into the hands of journalists, influencers, and content creators? Instead of becoming collector's items, it seems they're all being destroyed.The fate of the existing Companion Cubes wasn't covered in the lengthy statement describing the entire fiasco, which was published by manufa
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Diablo 4’s Worst Grind Just Got A Lot Easier In Season 14
via gamespot.com
Diablo 4's worst endgame grind just became a lot less painful in Season 14, thanks to a batch of impactful changes to gems and conversion recipes.In Diablo's latest expansion, Lord of Hatred, Blizzard introduced two new tiers of gems to its ARPG: Horadric and Flawless Horadric Gems. These gems are far more powerful than their lower-tier counterparts, but there is a catch--they can't be found as drops. Instead, they can only be crafted using the Horadric Cube's Amalgamation recipe. The recipe tur
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This Week In Games Was Bad, But Next Week May Be Worse
via gamespot.com
While it can seem like every week feels bad in the games industry, this past week felt especially awful. You're not wrong for thinking so, too, and the start of this week wasn't that great either. But what if I told you that it could get even worse? It doesn't sound possible, but trust me, it appears it definitely could.Let's look at what happened last week.A week to forgetOn June 22, news broke that Ubisoft co-founder Claude Guillemot died in a plane crash on June 19. His brother, Yves Guillemo
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PlayStation Plus Free Games For July 2026 Revealed
via gamespot.com
This month's batch of free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers has been revealed. All PS Plus members will be able to claim a trio of freebies starting July 7--Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, For the King 2, and CrossCode. If you haven't claimed June's PlayStation Plus free games yet, make sure to do so before next Tuesday.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 isn't exactly a high point for the franchise, but at the very least, the 2023 game was a comfortably familiar experience. Set directly after
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GameStop Is Not Hurting After Sony Kills Discs, And There Is A Good Reason Why
via gamespot.comAfter Sony announced that it would stop supporting physical discs starting in January 2028, many expected GameStop's stock price to take a hit. After all, the company is known to drive revenue from new and used game sales. However, GameStop is not hurting today. Actually, GameStop's share price is up.Why is that? Whereas GameStop's business was once mainly focused on selling game software, that's no longer the case. The store still sells new and used games, of course, but for GameStop's latest r
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Subnautica 2’s Legal Troubles End With Bonuses And CEO’s Exit
via gamespot.com
After a year of litigation that resulted in the firing and rehiring of Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, the Korean publisher Krafton Inc. has agreed to pay the entire Subnautica 2 team bonuses in three annual installments.According to a July 1 Bloomberg report, Krafton Inc. and Unknown Worlds Entertainment have reached a "legal settlement" with the Subnautica 2 studio's CEO Ted Gill and its co-founders. As part of the agreement, Gill has resigned, stating that the two companies--Krafton Inc. and Unk
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Sony To End PlayStation Store Support On PS3 And Vita
via gamespot.com
After Sony's surprising announcement that it plans to end PlayStation disc production by 2028 in favor of a digital-only future for its consoles, some fine print has gotten lost in all the buzz: Sony is also ending support for the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita."After nearly two decades of supporting the PS3 console generation, we wanted to let you know we will be closing the PlayStation Store on PS3, as well as on PS Vita," Sony senior director Sid Shuman shared in a blog post announcing
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PlayStation Disc Death Sends The Internet Into Its Physical Media Defense Arc
via gamespot.com
Sony's announcement that it will end production of all PlayStation game discs in 2028 hasn't gone over well with fans of physical media. While the move might be an obvious one to make for Sony--digital sales account for almost 80% of its game sales on PS5 currently--the news still feels like it came from out of nowhere.
Coupled with Sony also confirming that it'll be closing the PS3 and PS Vita storefronts next month, today feels like a solid reminder that you don't own the game you just bought,
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PlayStation’s Disc-Based Game Sales Have Dropped Dramatically In Recent Years
via gamespot.com
Sony has confirmed that it will no longer support physical discs for PlayStation games--for first- and third-party games--starting in January 2028. Many are wondering why, and it likely has to do with steep declines in physical software sales at the gaming giant.Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad has reminded people that while physical software is not a dead market--almost 70 million new disc-based PlayStation games were sold in 2025--but the shift toward digital keeps growing."Having a retail p
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Goodbye Discs: Digital Game Sales Continue To Grow At PlayStation, As Well As Many Other Big Players
via gamespot.com
Sony has confirmed that it will no longer support physical discs for PlayStation games--for first- and third-party games--starting in January 2028. Many are wondering why, and it likely has to do with steep declines in physical software sales at the gaming giant. And it's not just Sony that's seeing major declines in physical, disc-based games--many other publishers are as well. It's part of a wider trend of people increasingly buying games digitally, for convenience and other reasons.
Niko Part
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Surprise Mario Kart World Update Ends A Drought Of New Content
via gamespot.com
Despite being the Switch 2's leading launch game, Mario Kart World hasn't gotten much in terms of proper new content. But update 1.7.0 just dropped for the game, and it adds two Knockout Tour routes for players to burn rubber on.The Drill Rally starts at Wario Shipyard and ends in Bowser's Castle, while the Boomerang Rally extends from Salty Salty Speedway to Whistlestop Summit. Nintendo's website mentions that additional routes will be added in future updates, and the game's menu indicates that
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Stranger Things Star Millie Bobby Brown Loves GTA, But Plays Differently Than Most
via gamespot.com
Stranger Things and Enola Holmes actor Millie Bobby Brown has called out Grand Theft Auto as being her favorite video game series. She said in an interview that she's very excited for GTA 6, and she also shared some insight into how she plays GTA games--it's probably not how you play them."I follow the rules in GTA," she said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "I don't break the rules. I stop at red lights. I never run anyone over."Millie Bobby Brown is excited for GTA 6.She said her husband, Ja
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Why Sony Is Killing Disc-Based PlayStation Games And The Implications For PS6 And Beyond
via gamespot.com
Sony's announcement that it will stop releasing games on discs beginning in 2028 will have implications for the PlayStation 6, according to one industry expert.
Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis said the decision to stop having PlayStation's first-party games, along with titles from third-parties, printed on discs, "pretty much guarantees that PS6 won't arrive until 2028 at the soonest."He said this in an interview with Game File, in which he also predicted that "the base version of a PS6 w
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Sony Is Killing Disc-Based PlayStation Games And That Means PS6 Likely Won’t Have A Disc Drive And Could Launch In 2028
via gamespot.com
Sony's announcement that it will stop releasing games on discs beginning in 2028 will have implications for the PlayStation 6, according to one industry expert.
Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis said the decision to stop having PlayStation's first-party games, along with titles from third-parties, printed on discs, "pretty much guarantees that PS6 won't arrive until 2028 at the soonest."He said this in an interview with Game File, in which he also predicted that "the base version of a PS6 w
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Sony Confirms PlayStation Disc Production Will End In 2028
via gamespot.com
Sony has officially confirmed that it will be ending the production of physical discs for PlayStation consoles, starting January 2028. In a new blog update, the company says that it made the decision based on how physical game disc sales have begun to decline, and going forward, all new games will be available through the PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.This story is developing.
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Popular Steam Wallpaper Program Removes Feature Over Malware Concerns
via gamespot.com
Wallpaper Engine has been a popular wallpaper tool on Steam for the better part of a decade since its release. However, the tool's "application" wallpapers could apparently be hijacked by bad actors months ago who used it to infect users' machines with malware as the desktop wallpaper program ran in the background. Now, Wallpaper Engine's application is going to be permanently removed from the program over those malware concerns.In a statement on Steam, the program's developers stated that users
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Popular Steam Wallpaper Program Removes App Over Malware Concerns
via gamespot.com
Wallpaper Engine has been a popular wallpaper tool on Steam for the better part of a decade since its release. However, the tool's application wallpaper was apparently hijacked by bad actors months ago who used it to infect users' machines with malware as the desktop wallpaper program ran in the background. Now, Wallpaper Engine's application is going to be permanently removed from the program over those malware concerns.In a statement on Steam, the program's developers stated that users have a
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Love And Deepspace Cancels Its New Love Interest After Fan Backlash
via gamespot.com
Shortly after developer Papergames announced the addition of Valko--a new love interest in the mobile action dating sim Love and Deepspace--the backlash from fans has spilled into the real world. Now, Papergames is reversing course by canceling Valko's debut and pledging to focus on the five other love interests who are already in the game."We recognize that we moved forward with the introduction of Valko before we were truly ready," reads the statement posted to Love and Deepspace's Instagram a
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Minecraft, Call Of Duty Community Servers Are “Illegal,” Claims ESA Rep
via gamespot.com
The Protect Our Games Act--a piece of legislation endorsed by the Stop Killing Games movement--has been voted down at the California State Senate. However, one of the most noteworthy incidents from this legislative battle was a comment made by an Entertainment Software Association lobbyist who claimed that Minecraft and Call of Duty private community servers are "illegal."Jennifer Gibbons, the ESA's vice president of state government affairs, told lawmakers that community servers for Minecraft a
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GTA 6 Fans Are Convinced The Game Has A Bodybuilding System, And Here’s Why
via gamespot.com
As the wait for GTA 6's next trailer continues, fans are poring over all the little details from the new batch of screenshots that recently went live. One piece of information that fans are now obsessing about is what they believe will be a system in the game that lets you get swoll.As relayed by GamesRadar, fans are convinced that a newly released image that shows main character Jason being less jacked than he was in a previous image is evidence that the game will have some kind of fitness/body
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Hideo Kojima’s OD Is Reportedly Safe From Upcoming Xbox Cuts
via gamespot.com
Hideo Kojima's Xbox console-exclusive horror game, OD, is reportedly safe amidst reports and rumors of studio closures, layoffs, and game cancellations at Xbox loom.According to a report from IGN, a source familiar with Microsoft's Xbox plans has stated OD remains in development at Kojima Productions and will still be published by Xbox.Not much is known about OD, but it was announced during an Xbox showcase in June 2022, with only a few brief glimpses since. It is set to star three actors-- Soph
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Xbox Focusing On “Highest Priorities,” Claims It’s Not Cutting Back Overall Spending On Games
via gamespot.com
Microsoft has confirmed that it pulled out of funding Hitman developer IO Interactive's new fantasy game, and it's because the company is re-focusing its spending on the "highest priorities" for the business.
Speaking to Bloomberg, a Microsoft spokesperson said Xbox is "taking a fresh look at where we invest so we're focusing on our highest priorities."Major changes are afoot at Xbox.The statement went on to claim that Microsoft is "not reducing our overall investment in games," adding that the
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Hitman, 007 First Light Studio Begins Layoffs As Its Fantasy RPG Project Suffers Setbacks
via gamespot.com
Hitman and 007 First Light developer IO Interactive is the latest in a growing list of studios suffering layoffs, this time, this time in relation to a franchise that it hasn't even launched yet.Project Fantasy, IO Interactive's first attempt at crafting a fantasy RPG, is still in development, but the end of a recent external partner relationship has forced the studio to make some cuts to its team. In a statement, IO says that these are short-term consequences, and that the proposed layoffs are
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Helldivers 2 Gets Closer To Modern Politics With Campaign To Build A Wall
via gamespot.com
Helldivers 2's latest campaign calls for Super Earth's finest to aid in the construction of a "Celestial Fence" to keep out the ongoing Terminid menace.It's up to the Helldivers community to help deploy what Super Earth Command has billed as a "flawless, updated, and entirely safe Terminid Control System wall" that will "permanently quarantine" the "fascist" Terminids. The Helldivers are tasked with defending construction sites, gathering necessary resources for the campaign, and holding th
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Microsoft Could Cancel Marvel’s Blade And Close Its Developer
via gamespot.com
A new report claims that Microsoft is considering cancelling the upcoming Marvel's Blade game and closing its developer.
According to The Verge, Microsoft is considering closing at least five studios, one of which is Arkane, the developer of the upcoming Blade game. The report said Blade was originally set to launch in 2026, but was delayed to late 2027 and is over budget.
Earlier in June, a report said Marvel's Blade was not canceled, despite it being a no-show at the Xbox Games Showcase. The g
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