Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier recently wrote about the same, stating, “Knowing that a second wave of job cuts could come at any time has led to panic and anxiety among the thousands of people who work for the company.” This includes the likes of Blizzard, which has reportedly seen “minimal” layoffs compared to the rest of Xbox, but is far from relaxed.

The lack of information on the exact timing of the next wave is yet another source of stress for remaining developers. “The staff who remain are being asked to do more with less — and if they don’t, they fear it could be used as a reason to be fired in the next round,” said Schreier.

It’s also worth noting other cuts outside of Xbox, like the vendor budget being slashed by 50 percent and resulting in layoffs at agencies that work for the company. Much like IO Interactive closing its Istanbul studio and self-publishing Project Fantasy, it’s another example of the ramifications from such sweeping changes.

Besides Arkane Studios undergoing consultations in accordance with French law, Sweden-based studio MachineGames is reportedly fine. However, publishing branches and other studios under Xbox have apparently made cuts. The lack of information on which ones, both officially and otherwise, sticks out, especially in the wake of conflicting reports about id Software.

Time will tell if CEO Asha Sharma’s big reset works for Xbox, especially when it comes to next-gen hardware like Project Helix. It probably won’t become the “number one gaming and entertainment company” anytime soon, but it may just survive long enough for whatever comes next.

Brad Rossetti, who heads up the Insider program, recently tweeted about pausing flighting on consoles to prepare for this week, and promised it would be “worth the wait.” Jez Corden of Windows Central then chimed in with, “Positron commeth.”

That’s apparently the code name for the feature, and when asked if it would allow Xbox Play Anywhere titles to go from disc to digital on PC, he responded, “Yes, this is how it will work.”

Positron reportedly creates digital licenses from one’s discs, though it’s only for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S titles, not Xbox 360 or OG Xbox. And even those games have “specific conditions” that dictate whether they can be converted.

Regardless, it could be a worthwhile solution for those who want to carry their libraries forward if Xbox ever stops supporting discs. The situation around Helix remains unknown, but games like Halo: Campaign Evolved will ship with discs if you purchase them physically.

That’s despite low player counts for Marathon and Fairgame$ being mired in development hell since its announcement. Whether it finds success or not is the big question, but former Sony Interactive Entertainment America president Shawn Layden believes that single-player is ultimately what sustains the business.

In an interview with PSI, he said, “I firmly believe that single-player, narrative-driven gaming is here to stay. It’s how we built this business. That’s what sustains it. It’s a type of game you can enjoy by yourself and talk to friends about. Maybe there’s multiplayer, maybe there isn’t.

“But I think essentially most of our great gaming experiences are when we allow ourselves to be immersed in that world with that character, to learn that story, more so than ‘I got online with a bunch of friends, and we played team deathmatch.'”

This isn’t to say that social experiences like your first raid in Destiny 2 can’t be a source of memorable moments. But such titles are few and far between these days, especially in Bungie’s live-service shooter, which recently received its last content update in Monument of Triumph.

At the very least, the industry as a whole continues to churn out memorable single-player titles, even if triple-A development remains as tenuous as ever. As for PlayStation, it’s looking forward to the launch of Marvel’s Wolverine on September 15th, with God of War Laufey and Intergalactic potentially out next year.

And while Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, launching on August 6th, may be considered live service in a way, it also offers a pretty extensive narrative in Episode Mode. Head here for more details.

And as Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier noted in a new video, it’s far from the ideal environment to work in, especially when Blizzard allegedly has “tons of new projects in the works.” He referred to “new stuff” for Diablo and the long-rumored StarCraft shooter, which is apparently still in development.

“A lot of cool stuff happening at Blizzard right now. And now people have to continue working on that stuff without knowing if they’re still going to have jobs in 3 months, which is really awful and cruel position to be in.” That period is likely when the next financial results are revealed, and could thus be when Xbox plans to lay off more employees.

On a side note, Schreier claims that Diablo 4 is still a “successful game” that’s “making money” for Blizzard. It’s unknown whether it’s hitting “the exact numbers” desired, especially following expansions like the recent Lord of Hatred (check out our review), but for now, the ship seems steady. Whether that’s good enough for Xbox, as always, remains to be seen, but based on its entire “reset,” it’s certainly not afraid to rock the boat.

It probably won’t be long before we learn what Blizzard is up to since its annual convention, BlizzCon, is coming up. Running from September 12th to 13th, it could be the perfect place to announce its StarCraft shooter alongside other new projects. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months regardless.

Besides serving as the newest mainline Spyro since Year of the Dragon (we don’t talk about the reboots), it promises to be the first entry to offer true free-flying. Speaking to Kinda Funny Games, associate creative director Louis Studdert revealed more details on how that would work. Long story short, don’t expect to leave it on autopilot and cruise along.

“We wanted to make sure that it is active. It is decision-making. It is pressing buttons. It is almost, you know, that platforming feel of evaluating a play space and figuring out how to continue.”

You can flap Spyro’s wings by pressing a button, which helps maintain his speed, but diving down can provide a sizable increase (though you can also fly through sky rings mid-flight). Igniting a site with his fire breath will also create wind updrafts for more altitude.

“It’s really about evaluating the play space. It’s looking at what you can interact with and connecting all of those to sustain your momentum and to keep going,” said Studdert.

Studio head Paul Yan added, “It’s super important for us that the player is able to say, ‘Look at that thing off in the distance. How do I get there? And then how do I leverage the environments around me and my abilities to do that?’ Because what we don’t want is for it to be a flight simulator where we say, ‘Okay, here’s the destination, hit in the GPS, we’re going to coast and get there.’ There’s no fun in that.”

He also subscribed to the lack of an “autopilot” option. “Platforming as a term in this flight space is a little bit different than platforming like jumping on the ground, but similarly, we want that kind of decision-making to happen in that space.” Whether the controls will offer that promised “zen-like fluidity” remains to be seen, but we’re still a ways off from release, so expect even more gameplay in the coming months.

Spyro: A Realm Beyond will be available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 in Spring 2027.

It’s all the more bizarre considering how well DOOM: The Dark Ages was received last year. While some reports claimed that it’s little more than a support studio – including that only a single person remained to work on id Tech – id Software confirmed that it was now “about the same size” as when it developed DOOM (2016).

And while the layoffs have been significant, The Verge’s Tom Warren reports that it hasn’t turned into a support studio. Interestingly, it’s allegedly in the “early stages” of a new Doom game, though you have to wonder what form that could take.

Given the way that The Dark Ages and its recent expansion, Revelations, ended, there’s still room to explore the story of the Slayer, especially leading up to the events of the first game. It may also surprise everyone and return to making a more old-school Doom experience in the vein of the original games. Time will tell, but for now, even if it’s in a diminished form, id Software is still around.

It’s also worth noting the wording used – “copies sold,” as opposed to “players.” The latter could include those who experienced it through Ubisoft+, so while Shadows topped two million players in two days, Resynced is seemingly ahead based on sales figures alone. Of course, it’s also available on the subscription service, meaning the actual player count may be significantly higher.

The release isn’t without controversy, however. Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced launched with eight DLC packs, each retailing for $10. The Master Assassin Character and Naval Packs are included with the Deluxe Edition, but the others are only available separately. While this resulted in significant backlash from some fans, Ubisoft responded that they were strictly optional and offered no gameplay advantages. As such, the rating on Steam has improved from “Mixed” to “Mostly Positive.”

For more details on Resynced, check out our review. We gave it a 9 out of 10, praising the combat, world design, and visual overhaul while criticizing the stealth and some minor technical issues.

And while there may be doubts about the narrative’s quality, Kieron Gillen has been brought on as the writer. With a career spanning well over two decades, his work encompasses heroes like Iron Man, the X-Men, the Young Avengers, and more. Further adding to the feeling of playing a moving comic book, different artists have illustrated each story.

If that wasn’t enough, the attached clip showcases battles against the Promoter and the Champion. Perhaps they’ll arrive somewhere down the line as playable DLC fighters? It wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary for Arc System Works. With an exclusive panel coming up at San Diego Comic-Con, perhaps we’ll find out the Year 1 Character Pass line-up soon.

It should coincide with the start of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls’ open beta, which runs from July 24th to 26th. The game is out on August 6th for PS5 and PC.

Far be it from this to put a dent in Sony’s decision to discontinue disc production for new games from January 2028 onwards. More interestingly, it suggests that Laufey could launch sometime in 2027. Pre-reveal reports claimed it would arrive in the first half of next year, with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier claiming a launch sometime in February or March, so this probably isn’t too surprising.

Will the development team announce this at San Diego Comic-Con on July 24th, where it’s hosting a panel with head of creative Cory Barlog and director Ariel Lawrence? Will we hear more about Christopher Judge’s role as Kratos? Whatever the case may be, you can expect more information about Faye, Phranque and Rue, the new cast, so stay tuned.

God of War Laufey will be available exclusively on PS5 at launch, as PlayStation moves away from releasing its single-player titles on PC. Check out all the latest details here.

The downside is that those with College Points remaining won’t be able to use them in either mode, so use them now while they’re still valid. For the future – including next year’s entry and “beyond” – EA Sports commits to delivering “valuable features and content” with “greater transparency and communication.” Because not letting players know about the paid progression in advance was the real issue.

As for College Football 27, it will provide “follow-up communications” this week about its goals and design details. Available on Xbox Series X/S and PC while marking the series’ debut on PC, the title has received decent critical acclaim and sits at a 75 Metascore based on only six reviews. We gave it a seven out of ten, which you can learn more about here.

However, the fan response is like night and day. The Steam rating is currently “Mostly Negative” with only 36 percent of the 1,064 user reviews recommending it. Whether removing microtransactions from offline play will be enough to reverse this remains to be seen, so stay tuned for updates. But for now, it’s a rough start for what should be one of the biggest sports games of the year.