Games news

• Xbox Layoffs, Studio Changes, And Spin-Offs: Everything Announced Today

  06-07-2026 15:45 via gamespot.com
  
  Despite promises of a reset, the unveiling of a fancy new logo, and a charm offensive for its new leadership, the news at Xbox has been getting increasingly worse throughout 2026. Between massive price increases for Xbox hardware--and possibly another one soon--the fluctuating price of Xbox Game Pass, and the cancellation of funding on several collaborative projects, it has been a tough time to be a fan of Xbox. Can the news get any worse? Yes, if you're an employee of the company--or a fan of i
  
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• Bethesda Tells Workers The Company Needs To “Change Course” And Focus On Games With “Greatest Potential”

  07-07-2026 18:43 via gamespot.com
  
  Microsoft recently announced sweeping layoffs affecting 4,800 people, including 3,200 at Xbox alone. This is happening as part of a "reset" of Xbox, and this includes changes to the company's various subsidiaries, including Bethesda.Bethesda boss Jill Braff said the cuts at Xbox "reflect the realities of our industry and business." She said Bethesda has a responsibility to ensure it is "operating from a more stable foundation." In addition to layoffs across the organization--Betheda's id Softwar
  
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• In The Blood of Dawnwalker’s Vampire Story, Death Is Not Always The End | Preview

  07-07-2026 18:00 via gamespot.com
  
  Rebel Wolves' action-RPG balances different quest approaches and tons of consequences to create a story in which you might murder your best friend, and that's okay.
  
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• In The Blood of Dawnwalker’s Vampire Story, Death Is Not Always The End

  07-07-2026 18:00 via gamespot.com
  
  The Blood of Dawnwalker's best feature might be that it sometimes takes choices away from you.In this story-driven action-RPG, you play a vampire, but even the most good-guy vampire ever still has an insatiable hunger for human blood. Sometimes in Dawnwalker, that hunger can get the best of you, even if you're actively trying to resist it. Whether you're talking to your best friend, working to bandage an injured comrade, or battling opponents to save your father's life, when the hunger takes hol
  
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• The Barbarian Limited Edition 4K Steelbook Is Available To Preorder Now

  07-07-2026 17:35 via gamespot.com
  
  Barbarian 4K Steelbook$45 | Releases August 11Preorder at AmazonPreorder at Walmart
  Zach Cregger's Barbarian has been available to watch for a couple years, having released in Fall 2022. But for fans of physical media, it's finally coming to 4K Blu-ray for the first time. You can preorder the Barbarian Limited Edition 4K Steelbook from Amazon or Walmart before it drops August 11. It comes with a nice selection of bonus features to get insight into the horror comedy's process, including director
  
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• Phasmophobia Twitch Drops: How to Earn In-Game Rewards

  07-07-2026 17:32 via gamespot.com
  
  Phasmophobia Twitch Drops are a great way to earn special in-game rewards that you can't obtain simply by playing. By linking your Twitch account with your Phasmophobia account and watching Kinetic Games partner streams for a set amount of time, you can unlock special ID cards and badges, with Kinetic promising future updates will offer cosmetics and other in-game items, too.However, these Twitch Drops aren’t available all the time. Instead, Kinetic Games launches limited-time Twitch Drop
  
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• State Of Decay 3 Might Not Come To Xbox Game Pass, After Being Promised Last Month

  07-07-2026 17:14 via gamespot.com
  
  Exactly a month ago, State of Decay 3 re-emerged at the Xbox Games Showcase with a new gameplay trailer promising a 2027 release window--plus the game's inclusion on Xbox Game Pass. But the open-world survival game might not arrive on Microsoft's subscription service after all. Game File reports the company acquiring developer Undead Labs is under no requirement to put State of Decay 3 on Xbox Game Pass. The deal between Microsoft and the unknown purchaser doesn't contain "any Xbox-controll
  
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• Resident Evil Meets FNAF In This Horror Game Arriving Before Halloween

  07-07-2026 17:00 via gamespot.com
  
  If you've already cleared Resident Evil Requiem several times over, Fright Train may be the next game to consume you, particularly if you're also a fan of Five Nights at Freddy's.
  Fright Train combines the third-person gunplay and inventory management of the former with the mascot-style characters of the latter, and wraps it all up in a roguelite structure aboard a doomed train crossing the Arctic.GameSpot can exclusively reveal Fright Train's release date: It's coming to PC on September 15, and
  
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• Fright Train Release Date Trailer

  07-07-2026 17:00 via gamespot.com
  
  Fright Train combines Resident Evil-style gameplay with visuals similar to Five Nights at Freddy's, creating an interesting horror mash-up, and it's coming this fall.
  
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• Own A 2026 Horror Favorite With The Obsession Collector’s Edition

  07-07-2026 16:55 via gamespot.com
  
  Obsession Collector's Edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + DigitalPrice varies | Releases July 14Preorder at AmazonView at other storesPreorder at WalmartPreorder at Gruv Obsession Collector's Edition Blu-ray + DigitalPrice varies | Releases July 14Preorder at AmazonView at other storesPreorder at WalmartPreorder at GruvHorror fans have eaten well this year, with multiple breakout hits from young directors who got their start making short films on YouTube. One of them is 26-year-old Curry Barker, who
  
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• Xbox Layoffs Included 37-Year Veteran Who Designed One Of Xbox’s Best Features Ever

  07-07-2026 16:53 via gamespot.com
  
  The recent layoffs at Microsoft, including deep cuts at Xbox, impacted 4,800 people across the business. One of the staffers let go was Kevin LaChapelle, a 37-year Microsoft veteran who helped bring to market one of the best, most-beloved features in Xbox console history: backwards compatibility.LaChapelle, who was the vice president of the Xbox platform, confirmed on LinkedIn that he was part of the cuts. He started at Microsoft in 1989 as a software designer engineer, and moved to different pa
  
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• Xbox’s New Plan After Brutal Cuts: Focus On The Thing Called Xbox

  07-07-2026 16:52 via gamespot.com
  
  In the wake of mass layoffs at Xbox and several studios exiting the company, Microsoft's gaming division has outlined it plans for growth. Some of these plans include a focus on its biggest IP, investing more in games like Minecraft, and removing several layers of management to streamline its studio model. One other major area of focus will be on Xbox hardware itself, as the company says its flagship console represents 80% of its current business."In order to grow, we made a bunch of bets--and a
  
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• Obsidian Hit Hard By Xbox Layoffs, With 25% Of Devs Cut From Studio

  07-07-2026 16:47 via gamespot.com
  
  Microsoft's mass layoffs had a heavy impact on the Xbox division, and Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind The Outer Worlds, is one of many Xbox-owned studios where cuts were deep. Kotaku reports that between 60 and 70 people--roughly a quarter of the studio's workforce--have been let go. The talent laid off includes producers, QA testers, artists, and many others spanning different disciplines.
  Senior talent was not spared in the cuts, with Kotaku saying that some laid off were with the st
  
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• Xbox Game Pass New Games For July Revealed

  07-07-2026 16:02 via gamespot.com
  
  Amidst a lot of bad news at Xbox this week, the company has also revealed the first wave of titles being added to the Game Pass library in July 2026. This month's new additions run across a wide variety of genres, and several day-one releases are also mixed among them. Here's a closer look at everything that's on the way, which platforms these games will be available for, and which tier of Game Pass you'll need to play them.Xbox Game Pass July Wave 1 AdditionsJuly 6Winds of Arcana: Ruinatio
  
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• Xbox Wants To Entertain 1 Billion People Every Day. It Can’t Even Explain How

  07-07-2026 15:04 via gamespot.com
  
  1 Billion DAU!Following the announcement that Xbox will cut its workforce by 20%--with 1,600 employees already laid off in the first wave of retrenchments--Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has detailed plans for the company to reach an absurd number of people every day."I want Xbox to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect. I know we can achieve this goal. Xbox has many of the most beloved franchises in enterta
  
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• Orbitals Could Be Something Special

  07-07-2026 15:00 via gamespot.com
  
  Jake Dekker and Tom Caswell had the chance to play 30 minutes of Kepler's co-op space-faring game Orbitals at Summer Game Fest. Inspired by Studio Ghibli and the work of Akira Toriyama, this Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is one to keep an eye on.
  
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• How To Upgrade All Moonlight Peaks Tools

  07-07-2026 09:01 via gamespot.com
  
  When you begin your adventure in Moonlight Peaks, you'll have very basic tools with limited power. For instance, your pickaxe can only break small, standard rocks when you first set out, but after an upgrade, you'll be able to break up larger rocks that stand in your way. You'll need to upgrade all of your tools throughout your journey to continue progressing through the game's story and building bigger and better items. With that in mind, here's everything you need to know about upgrading your
  
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• Original Nintendo Switch Will Be Discontinued In Europe

  07-07-2026 02:18 via gamespot.com
  
  Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the original Nintendo Switch, which remains in active production despite the debut of Switch 2 in 2025. However, the Switch's time will be coming to a close in Europe just shy of a decade after its initial release.According to a notice on Nintendo's official site, the Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED will no longer be available to European retailers after mid-February 2027. Nintendo Store will also stop carrying the original Switch models for Europ
  
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• How To Use Discord On Your Steam Machine And Steam Deck

  07-07-2026 00:41 via gamespot.com
  
  If you're a PC gamer, you're probably accustomed to using Discord for voice and text chats during your games. Now that Valve has brought the Steam experience to TVs and handheld devices, you'll likely want to keep your usual gaming setup intact.
  Thankfully, Steam's devices are pretty much just PCs running on Linux, so they can do most anything you'd want a PC to do. Here's what you need to know to bring Discord to your Steam device. In This Article How to use Discord on Steam Machine or Steam De
  
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• Get Discounts On 300+ Items During Minecraft Marketplace’s Summer Sale

  06-07-2026 22:23 via gamespot.com
  
  We're in the thick of Minecraft Marketplace's Summer Sale, which includes more than 300 Marketplace items for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition discounted up to 33%. The retailer is also offering a daily Doorbuster sale featuring two deals per day through July 14, and these will be discounted by 75%. The sale lasts through July 28 at 10 PM PT, and you can use either IRL money or Minecoins to make your purchases.
  See at Minecraft Marketplace
  While there are many options to choose from, here are a few we
  
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• Diablo 4’s Massive Mythic Item Changes Aren’t Finding Many Fans

  06-07-2026 22:08 via gamespot.com
  
  Diablo 4 Season 14 dramatically reworked Mythic items in Blizzard's ARPG going forward, and judging from early feedback, it's a change that isn't going over well.Season of Death Awakening launched on June 30 and introduced what Blizzard coined Mythic Uniques 3.0, a new system where any of the game's hundreds of Unique items could be found (or turned into) even stronger Mythic versions. In theory, it would open up the game's endgame build options and give players more choices when it comes to out
  
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• “Catastrophic Mismanagement” And AI Gambits Led To Mass Xbox Layoffs, Expert Says

  06-07-2026 22:00 via gamespot.com
  
  Microsoft has announced sweeping layoffs and other dramatic changes resulting in 4,800 layoffs across the company, including 3,200 at Xbox specifically. What's led to this? According to one expert, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his "catastrophic mismanagement" of the company is to blame.Ed Zitron, an author who specializes in covering the technology space and is the CEO of EZ Primary Research, offered a blistering take on Microsoft's management in response to the mass layoffs."Catastrophic mis
  
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• If Persona 3 Gave Me The Ick, What Does That Mean For Persona 6?

  06-07-2026 21:43 via gamespot.com
  
  Recently, I bowed to pressure and finally booted up Persona 3 Reload. Given the announcement of Persona 6 at Summer Game Fest 2026, and the vast amount of time between that game's inevitable release and the time I played Persona 5--nine years and counting--I thought I'd dip my toes back in the series. Unfortunately, I could only make it so far, because Persona 3 Reload, I'm sorry to say, gave me the ick. All of the charming -isms I once loved about the Persona games seemed to dissipate upon
  
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• Xbox CEO Reflects On Massive Cuts: “We Simply Spread Ourselves Too Thin”

  06-07-2026 21:24 via gamespot.com
  
  Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has shared new details on the significant changes at Xbox, including mass layoffs, studio spinoffs, and more.
  In an interview with Fortune, Sharma said Microsoft undertook "a bunch of bets" years ago to help grow the business, including Game Pass, going multiplatform, and beefing up its studio base. These bets did not pay off, and in the process of pursuing these new ventures, "We inherently didn't focus on the core business," Sharma said.
  "The number one measure of your str
  
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• The Steam Machine’s Red Line Of Death Is Less Scary, And More Useful, Than You Might Think

  06-07-2026 21:01 via gamespot.com
  
  With the Steam Machine starting to land in some lucky buyers hands, a few of the gremlins in Valve's compact living-room PC have started to surface. But while some might remind you of infamous hardware failures of old, many of them are smartly designed errors that you can, for the most part, resolve yourself.Last week, the Steam Machine subreddit was rocked with what the community described as the "Red Line of Death," a reference to the catastrophic Red Ring of Death that plagued early Xbox 360
  
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• Get Games For Less Than $10 During Green Man Gaming’s Summer Sale

  06-07-2026 21:01 via gamespot.com
  
  The Summer Sale is still live at Green Man Gaming, offering steep discounts on thousands of PC games. It's a pretty impressive sale by all accounts, covering everything from classic indies like Balatro to blockbusters like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim--and you'll even find tons of games available for less than $10. The sale ends on July 13, with the vast majority of titles offered as Steam keys.
  See all deals at GMG
  If your gaming budget is locked up with your Grand Theft Auto VI preorder, consid
  
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• The Criterion Collection 40-Film Set Is Down To 50% Off

  06-07-2026 20:22 via gamespot.com
  
  CC40: The Criterion Collection 40-Film Box Set (Blu-ray)$400 (was $800)See at AmazonThe Criterion Collection has built its reputation on preserving the best of cinema, and for over 40 years, it has restored and re-released some of the greatest films ever made. Criterion celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, releasing a massive 49-disc box set collection of 40 films. You can pick up the full collection from Amazon for 50% off its sticker price; it's down to $400 (was $800), a price we haven't
  
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• MARVEL Tokon: Fighting Souls – Official Doctor Doom Character Gameplay Guide

  06-07-2026 19:57 via gamespot.com
  
  Claim your throne as the Ruler of Latveria!Master Nullify Shield to block enemy projectiles and turn their own firepower against them. Conquer the arena with our ultimate Doctor Doom’s Character Guide!Assemble your team of legendary Marvel characters in the ultimate 4v4 tag team fighter.MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls is coming to PS5 and PC on August 6th, 2026 PT!
  
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• The $69 Billion Hangover: Every Xbox Layoff Since The Activision Blizzard Merger

  06-07-2026 19:50 via gamespot.com
  
  Microsoft spent a large chunk of time--and cash--acquiring new studios throughout the 2010s and 2020s, but its biggest move was the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023. Trumpeted as a deal that would greatly bolster its portfolio of first-party studios and further enhance the appeal of its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, the acquisition has been followed by several waves of restructuring since then.Thousands of roles at the company have been cut, the p
  
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• World Of Warcraft Just Got A Sequel To Its Most Literally Viral Moment

  06-07-2026 19:47 via gamespot.com
  
  A deadly plague spread through World of Warcraft's Moonguard server over the weekend, making it the second time in WoW history a horrific virus has run uncontrolled through the game's populace.As broken down by Wowhead, the origin of the plague in question comes from a Dragonflight dungeon, Brackenhide Hollow. Within the dungeon, some enemies cast a spell called Withering Contagion, a disease that inflicts heavy nature- damage-over-time and spreads to all players within five yards. Whether
  
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