games news

• Arc Raiders devs are "aware" of problems in matchmaking right now, and Embark Studios is working on a fix: "Our team is investigating"

  15-12-2025 12:39 via gamesradar.com
  
  There are always foibles with maintaining a game like Arc Raiders, and unfortunately some issues lay in matchmaking right now. But fear not, if you're a player who's been having these problems, Embark Studios is very aware, and some form of hotfix is in the offing.As much was announced by Ossen Julia, the community lead for Arc Raiders, on the game's official Discord server. "We're aware that matchmaking errors are happening again for some players," Julia writes. "Our team is investigating and w
  
  Read more

• These less than $10 Switch 2 thumb grips are the number one accessory you should pack for the holidays

  15-12-2025 17:43 via gamesradar.com
  
  If you're taking your Nintendo Switch 2 with you over the holiday break, it's likely you've already thought well and hard about the accessories you'll pack with it, and thumb grips deserve high up on that list. The small silicon extras are super compact and can be stored in most cases, and can make your hours of playing games by the Netflix log-fire over the holidays a far more comfortable experience.Their greatest benefit has to be their price, as they can typically be found for around the $10
  
  Read more

• Divinity series sees spike in players on Steam following new RPG's reveal at The Game Awards, reigniting love for Larian Studios' older titles

  15-12-2025 17:20 via gamesradar.com
  
  The hype surrounding The Game Awards 2025 and all the new games showcased at the event hasn't quite died down, especially when it comes to the upcoming Divinity entry from Larian Studios. In fact, fans are diving back into the past RPG gems.Unsurprisingly, Baldur's Gate 3, the most recent of Larian Studios' turn-based bangers, is still among the top 50 most-played games on Steam (thanks, SteamDB), sitting in the 29th spot with an impressive 24-hour peak of 83,012 active players. What is surprisi
  
  Read more

• Stellar Blade director receives Presidential Commendation for contributions to South Korean game industry, though he thanks the action RPG's fans: "We will continue to do our utmost"

  15-12-2025 17:12 via gamesradar.com
  
  While it may have been glossed over at the 2024 The Game Awards, Stellar Blade now has a rare distinction of recognition from a political office. The game's director, Hyung-tae Kim, who also runs developer Shift Up, has received a nod from the president of South Korea for his contributions to video games.Yes, on December 10, Hyung-tae Kim was given a Presidential Commendation for helping to enhance and grow game development in his home country. Per Daum, as translated by Automaton, the award was
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• This is the board game I always recommend for people who HATE board games

  15-12-2025 16:51 via gamesradar.com
  
  Even if someone's family hates board games, there's always one I recommend trying; it's the perfect blend of easy to understand and low pressure, with plenty of fun sprinkled along the top as a garnish.I tend to recommend Herd Mentality around this time of year, and the reason is simple. It's a triple-threat party game; up to 20 people can play at once, it takes less than half an hour to finish, and you don't need to know anything special to join in. The most important bit, though? Even folks wh
  
  Read more

• Baldur's Gate 3 director follows up Divinity's big reveal by teasing fans as Larian gets back to work on the RPG: "Going back to putting beaches in games now"

  15-12-2025 16:27 via gamesradar.com
  
  Larian Studios has been hard at work after unveiling one of the most exciting new games at The Game Awards 2025, the new Divinity entry – and it seems that a part of that work might be implementing an opening act similar to the developer's past RPGs' own.If you've played Divinity: Original Sin, its sequel, or the more recent Baldur's Gate 3, then you know all about the boat-to-beach sequence (although in the latter RPG's case, it's more of a spaceship than your run-of-the-mill aquatic vehi
  
  Read more

• Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis leads say it’s essential to adjust the PS1 original’s difficulty for "modern player tastes," but "things that you expect in a Tomb Raider game are going to be there"

  15-12-2025 16:22 via gamesradar.com
  
  Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis' developers say that the original's brutal difficulty will have to be evolved for modern player tastes.Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is the second time Lara Croft has returned to her debut adventure, following 2007's Tomb Raider: Anniversary, with Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog leading the charge in what is described as a "reimagining" of the original 1996 adventure – think of the recent Resident Evil remakes. However, if you don't remember, that ori
  
  Read more

• Stranger Things season 5 vol 2 trailer shows us the Upside Down like we've never seen it before, teases the Eleven and Eight team-up we've been waiting for

  15-12-2025 16:02 via gamesradar.com
  
  The first trailer for Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 has arrived – and, apparently, everything we've ever known about the Upside Down is wrong.In the brief clip, which can be viewed below, the Upside Down looks a bit... different, to say the least, and I'm not exactly sure how to describe that whole freaky cloud of thunder-fire that's happening above their heads– but, uh, it seems kind of bad. We see Steve and Dustin reunite and share a sweet bestie moment ("If you die, I die"), b
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tomb Raider: Catalyst is Crystal Dynamics' "largest" Lara Croft game yet, and there's "no homework" required to jump in

  15-12-2025 16:00 via gamesradar.com
  
  Head of studio at Crystal Dynamics, Scot Amos, says that the upcoming Tomb Raider: Catalyst will be the biggest entry in the series to date. He also claims it is a "complete adventure top to bottom," so people won't need to know Lara Croft's "pre-history" to enjoy it.At The Game Awards 2025, Crystal Dynamics showcased two new games for the series: Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a remake of the original game scheduled for release in 2026, and Tomb Raider: Catalyst, a completely new entry to the
  
  Read more

• Arc Raiders Cold Snap brings 2 events, the option to restart your character, covers four of the maps in snow, and it all kicks off tomorrow

  15-12-2025 15:31 via gamesradar.com
  
  Get your winter coats on, because there's a bit of snow coming to Arc Raiders. Well, that's an understatement; it's actually a whole lot of snow, as the Arc Raiders Cold Snap event is about to kick off, bringing freezing conditions, fresh challenges, and the option of starting your raider over to unlock some special rewards.First things first: the weather. The Arc Raiders Cold Snap is exactly as it sounds, cold and icy. Four of the current maps - Buried City, Dam Battlegrounds, The Blue Gate, an
  
  Read more

• As Rockstar doubles down on fired GTA 6 devs leaking "specific game features," IWGB union asserts its "statement is littered with falsehoods and disinformation"

  15-12-2025 14:48 via gamesradar.com
  
  Following Rockstar Games' "ruthless" firing of over 30 employees, the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain has assured the laid-off developers should've been "legally protected" to privately discuss working conditions – but the situation is nowhere near over.There's been a bit of back and forth from either end. Although Rockstar claimed the firings came after internal leaks of "confidential information" and were "in no way related to people's right to join a union" – specifica
  
  Read more

• If Sony was too late in 2011, the Ayaneo Pocket Play is going to need a time machine to succeed

  15-12-2025 14:10 via gamesradar.com
  
  I'm intrigued by any device that promises me portable play, but when Ayaneo announced the Pocket Play last week, I was concerned. I've spent the last year testing the best gaming phones on the market, and not once have I lamented the fact that none of them called back to the Sony Xperia Play. We moved past physical buttons in mobile gaming years ago, and now Ayaneo wants to bring that pocket of history back. Sometimes though, memories are best left as they were.The Ayaneo Pocket Play throws a sl
  
  Read more

• James Cameron left strict instructions on how theaters should play Avatar: Fire and Ash, including a chart with information about audio and framing

  15-12-2025 14:02 via gamesradar.com
  
  James Cameron has left strict instructions for theaters playing Avatar: Fire and Ash in a letter signed off by the director himself.In a note addressed "Dear Theater Technician," Cameron outlines what employees should be looking out for when exhibiting the movie. "There's a Projection Specification file and framing chart included with the DCP [Digital Cinema Package], with crucial information regarding light levels, audio configuration, proper framing, etc," it reads."Please go through it, and m
  
  Read more

• Arc Raiders developers have no plans to abandon their popular shooter: "Our ambition is to keep this game alive for the longest time"

  15-12-2025 14:00 via gamesradar.com
  
  Embark Studios wants to keep working on Arc Raiders for as long as it possibly can, as long as players are still interested in the shooter.Outside of the record-breaking and award-winning Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it's hard to think of a bigger breakout hit in 2025 than Arc Raiders. Embark Studios' newest game has completely overshadowed the holiday season shooter discourse in a year where Battlefield returned with its best entry in years and Call of Duty… released a new game (good for
  
  Read more

• It director Andy Muschietti wants to make a 6+ hour supercut of both movies featuring unseen footage: "Still a big dream of mine"

  15-12-2025 13:51 via gamesradar.com
  
  As It: Welcome to Derry season 1 comes to a close, fans are thinking about the future of the franchise, including an It movie supercut that director Andy Muschietti promised to make years ago.During an It: Welcome to Derry Reddit AMA, one fan asked, "Mr. Andy Muschietti has previously talked about doing an Extended Cut that merges It and It Chapter Two in one seamless experience with hours of unused footage. Is this Cut still happening?" to which Muschietti replied, "Yes, still a big dream of mi
  
  Read more

• Following Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis reveal, series co-creator says he'd prefer "exploring new lost worlds" over more remakes

  15-12-2025 13:41 via gamesradar.com
  
  Tomb Raider co-creator Paul Douglas has taken to social media to share his thoughts on the two upcoming Tomb Raider games that were revealed at The Game Awards 2025. After initial disappointment that the next entry in the series, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, would be yet another remake of the first game in the series, he claims that we will be getting the "best of both worlds" after a trailer for a completely new entry, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, was shown.The first game in the long-enduring Tom
  
  Read more

• Jim Carrey wanted to leave The Grinch and give back his $20 million payday, until a torture specialist helped him

  15-12-2025 13:34 via gamesradar.com
  
  The making of Jim Carrey's classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas wasn't a bed of roses, as a recent oral history of the production has revealed. In fact, the actor wanted to abandon the production before it even started due to the nightmarish makeup process. Luckily for everyone, he got help from a torture specialist. No, we're not joking.With Christmas around the corner, Vulture has put together a massive collection of anecdotes – including from director Ron Howard, producer Brain Grazer
  
  Read more

• Varang star Oona Chaplin "studied" Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri to craft her Avatar: Fire and Ash villain, but "Varang has suffered immense trauma, and so she doesn't trust the world like Neytiri does"

  15-12-2025 13:32 via gamesradar.com
  
  Pandora has a new threat in town. While The Way of Water introduced us to the ocean-loving Metkayina, Avatar: Fire and Ash brings us the Mangkwan, a fire-obsessed, war-hungry Na'vi clan.These Ash People were decimated by a volcanic eruption that destroyed their home, which led to them turning their back on the goddess Eywa, in contrast to the more peaceful Na'vi that Sam Worthington's Jake Sully and Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri have found a home with.The Mangkwan also have a formidable leader: O
  
  Read more

• After deciding not to charge $80 for The Outer Worlds 2, Xbox head says Microsoft will keep listening to fan feedback but has to run a "healthy business"

  15-12-2025 13:24 via gamesradar.com
  
  After backing down from an $80 price point with The Outer Worlds 2, Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty has said the company will continue to look at pricing.Earlier this year, Nintendo crossed the threshold by announcing that Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World will be sold at $80 (albeit with a cheaper bundle option available). Xbox then followed suit, confirming a price hike on both consoles and games, with The Outer Worlds 2 being the publisher's first foray into the $80 price point.However
  
  Read more

• It: Welcome to Derry fan has a theory on that big season 1 finale family reveal, but others say it leaves them with "so many extra questions"

  15-12-2025 13:04 via gamesradar.com
  
  It: Welcome to Derry episode 8 was packed with huge moments, but one in particular has fans scratching their heads.The following will dive into spoilers for the finale, so turn back now if you haven't seen the new episode yet! Now, if you're still reading, then you'll know that, in episode 8, Pennywise reveals to Marge that she'll grow up to become Margaret Tozier, AKA the mother of Richie Tozier… AKA a member of the Losers' Club who is instrumental in killing Pennywise, as seen in It: Ch
  
  Read more

• James Cameron responds to criticism of 3D and high frame rate in the Avatar movies: "I think $2.3 billion says you might be wrong on that"

  15-12-2025 13:02 via gamesradar.com
  
  James Cameron has responded to criticism of his use of 3D and high frame rate in the Avatar movies – and it's straight to the point."I think $2.3 billion says you might be wrong on that," Cameron said in a new interview with Discussing Film. "Well, that's the argument from authority. But the argument from artistic is: I happen to like it, and it's my movie."Most of Avatar: The Way of Water and its new sequel, Fire and Ash, was shot at 48 frames per second, which is double the usual movie f
  
  Read more

• Sorry Severance, Pluribus is now Apple TV's most-watched show

  15-12-2025 12:53 via gamesradar.com
  
  Many, many people have joined together to make Pluribus the most-watched show in Apple TV's history.As confirmed by the streamer, the Vince Gilligan-created sci-fi mystery is now the most popular show on the streamer, though the total number of views and hours watched remain unclear. Unlike Netflix, Apple keeps its figures solely in-house.The announcement was even made in typical Pluribus fashion, with a scene from the most recent episode that saw a non-plussed Carol (Rhea Seehorn) lighting fire
  
  Read more

• Rob Reiner – the legendary director of Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, and The Princess Bride – has died at 78

  15-12-2025 12:42 via gamesradar.com
  
  Hollywood Legend Rob Reiner has sadly passed away at the age of 78.The director and his 68-year-old wife, Michele Reiner, were found deceased in their Los Angeles home on December 14. A family spokesperson provided a statement to US media, reading, "It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time."Son of comedian and actor Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner began
  
  Read more

• Wake Up Dead Man director Rian Johnson says he "couldn't resist" making a pointed Star Wars joke in the new Knives Out movie

  15-12-2025 12:30 via gamesradar.com
  
  Now that Wake Up Dead Man is available to watch on streaming, director Rian Johnson has finally addressed that Star Wars joke in the film, saying it's "very apropos today". Johnson, who directed the divisive The Last Jedi back in 2017 before launching the Knives Out saga, simply "couldn't resist" including the line.The joke itself comes when one of the suspects, Cy Draven (played by Daryl McCormack), is talking about joining his father in building a powerful business empire. He then, in a comple
  
  Read more

• You'll reportedly have to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash four times to see every trailer for Avengers: Doomsday

  15-12-2025 12:00 via gamesradar.com
  
  Anticipation is high for the heavily rumored trailer for Avengers: Doomsday – but, as it turns out, it might be a case of trailers, plural.According to The Hollywood Reporter, four different trailers for Avengers: Doomsday are on the way, and each will be attached to Avatar: Fire and Ash. Each trailer will play for a week, before being replaced by the next. The publication says this is "aimed at getting diehards to see Avatar: Fire and Ash multiple times."Now, the Avatar movies famously ma
  
  Read more

• Hideo Kojima watched Knives Out 3, but he didn't have much to say about the new Netflix movie – so fans are wondering if he hated it

  15-12-2025 12:00 via gamesradar.com
  
  Hideo Kojima has now watched Wake Up Dead Man, AKA Knives Out 3, but his review of few words has fans thinking he didn't enjoy it."Tonight, I watched the third installment of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series, 'Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man,'" he wrote on Twitter.Kojima is known for waxing poetic about the films he watches, so his briefer movie write-ups have become synonymous with bad reviews. By contrast, his review of Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk, which he posted last week, clock
  
  Read more

• It: Welcome to Derry creators say it's "not the intention" that viewers will have to wait years for season 2: "Talk to HBO"

  15-12-2025 11:46 via gamesradar.com
  
  With season 1 now over, fans are already wondering when we'll get to see IT: Welcome to Derry season 2 on our screens. According to the show's executive producer Barbara Muschietti, the wait for new episodes shouldn't be too long, but it's ultimately up to HBO.During a Q&A with the producers on Reddit, executive producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti – who also led the movies IT and IT: Chapter Two – replied to some burning questions and comments from viewers, including some about
  
  Read more

• James Gunn reminds everyone he's "never said" that Brainiac is in the Superman sequel, but promises a new villain will appear in Man of Tomorrow

  15-12-2025 11:45 via gamesradar.com
  
  James Gunn is back in full debunking mode, this time with all the whispers and rumors surrounding Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow and its apparent villain, Brainiac.Replying to a report that suggested Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista was being lined up to play Brainiac, Gunn wrote on Threads, "Let's forget a moment I've never said Brainiac was in the movie. I freaking love [Dave Bautista] & I have many ideas for who he could play in the DCU. But he & I have never discussed a r
  
  Read more

• "It isn't about trying to shock": Divinity isn't an RPG that shies away from heavy topics because Larian knows "people are capable of appreciating a three-dimensional world"

  15-12-2025 11:34 via gamesradar.com
  
  As The Game Awards 2025 hype draws to a close, fans are looking forward to all of the new games showcased at the event – which, of course, includes Divinity, an RPG that's clearly not trying to diminish its darker themes or censor more "adult" content.If you haven't seen it yet, the new trailer for Divinity – no, not Divinity: Original Sin 3 – from Larian Studios is… well, something. Between the fiery sacrifice, the orgy between humans and lizards, the blood and gore, it
  
  Read more

• Hades 2 lead says the best boons from Early Access weren't killed, just reskinned: "We think it's important not to be too precious about these things"

  14-12-2025 21:00 via gamesradar.com
  
  Hades 2 developer Supergiant Games understands it's hard to move on. You were always going to miss some of the roguelike's Early Access features, though you should try not to dwell on it. Creative director Greg Kasavin assures players that some of those "missing" Boons are still present in the game's final version – they're just different."In the particular case of Smithy Sprint," Kasavin tells GamesRadar+ about the powerful Boon that triggered blasts when dashing, "we wanted something sim
  
  Read more

Follow @Newslockergames on Twitter!