Starting with a Code Yellow (which can mean a “missing patient” among other things) and then to a Code Red shortly after, the protagonist and their twin, J, engage in gunfights against Protogen when their cover is blown. The mutant doesn’t distinguish between either side, however, and after dealing with the enemy, it quickly pursues the siblings, ripping through doors to get to them.

Thanks to UN soldier Michael’s help, they eventually come up with a plan: Lure it into the dome and focus its lenses to fry it. Of course, you need to choose whether to have J evacuate the Agritechs, leaving you against the monster or to ditch them entirely.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn shows massive improvements in every department, especially the voice acting (although the male leads were recast after beta feedback). With its Spring 2027 launch for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, it looks to offer an exceptional sci-fi role-playing experience for Mass Effect fans.

Executive producer Jon Bloch told GamesRadar, “If you look at our previous games, they’re dealing with preventing war in their themes – and in the morality of the player’s actions, choices, and the story around them.

“Where there was kind of a moral grayness in our previous games, we wanted to make sure that the morality was clear in Metro 2039. There is no hope, no future – except the one the Führer is promising to bring in. Metro 2039 is exploring the consequences of war, because war is here.”

If you’ve played the previous entries, you’ll remember Karma Points and how certain actions would contribute to them (like not shooting flying Mutants in a particular sequence in Metro: Last Light). Bloch didn’t confirm exactly how the sequel would approach things differently, but you’ll still have to confront the results of your actions.

“Every game has had a different way of approaching the same idea of a karma system, and Metro 2039 is no different. The same idea of actions having consequences remains. We’re just approaching it a little bit differently this time. We have to every time because it needs to serve the story.”

For what it’s worth, the publication didn’t note any particular pop-ups regarding Karma Points, so it may be even more understated than in previous games. Metro: Exodus changed things up slightly with its morality system tying into your companions throughout the story rather than simply affecting the ending. Perhaps 4A Games will opt for a similar approach.

Metro 2039 launches in February 2027 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Besides the Karma system, it also brings back the ability to customize weapons on the fly. It also adds a new tool, a blowtorch, for breaching entrances, opening up more options to sneak up on enemies.

“We are increasingly going to be one of the largest platforms in the world. Every platform needs some form of exclusive experiences and content. And so, what we’ve shared is Gears [of War: E-Day] and Clockwork [Revolution]. We’re going to do the best we can to continue to do that, all in context of the business being healthy, and so we have to balance that,” she told the BBC at Gamescom.

Of course, when asked if The Elder Scrolls 6 being Xbox console-exclusive was a “priority,” she simply replied, “It’s a beautiful game.”

While Sharma has famously talked about how fluid plans are for Xbox since becoming CEO, the division seems quite set on its current exclusivity stance. Chief strategist Matthew Ball said it’s only getting started with exclusives; Sharma later added that more will be added as the business gets “healthier.” The commitment is such that Ball later denied rumors that Xbox was reversing course.

You might think that it’s following Sony’s recent stance of keeping single-player titles on its console while releasing live-service efforts for other platforms like PC. However, chief content officer Matt Booty said that fans shouldn’t “overly fixate” on single-player titles alone.

While The Elder Scrolls 6 doesn’t have a release date (or much else beyond the 2018 announcement trailer), Bethesda recently noted that it remains the “primary development focus” and that layoffs haven’t affected development. When visiting the developer’s offices (amid ongoing protests by laid-off workers), Sharma received a first-hand look at the title and praised its scale and “grandeur” as “incredible.”

But it’s not just Rockstar North co-head Aaron Garbut talking about how the studio’s Los Angeles branch “art-directed each individual” NPC that surprises us so much as the reveal that every room is hand-crafted. “Every room in the game, somebody thought about this,” he told The New York Times.

“Who’s sitting where, what they’re drinking, the marks that are left on the table. The pictures on the wall will have the people that are in that room, with their tattoos on their arms and their family behind them. That whole thing has been made, and built, and photographed, and placed in this random room in a random building in a huge city, in a world.” And when you consider just how many there may be, both in Vice City and outside it across Leonida, the mind boggles at the possibilities.

Of course, it’s unknown if players will be able to enter every single room in Grand Theft Auto 6, much less all the buildings. Regardless, even if you’re not bothering to check and comment on the various living spaces adorning the world, completing the story should keep you plenty busy. Considering that there are optional goals that can affect the narrative – not to mention various activities – sprinkling in the bonus of simply wandering the world and taking everything in should keep fans busy for a long time.

Grand Theft Auto 6 will be available on November 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PS5. As impressive as all this love and care sounds, Rockstar has reportedly made some compromises. It will allegedly launch with only 30 FPS support, though the team is seemingly looking into whether 60 FPS is even possible. Stay tuned for more updates on that front and other technical aspects, including the resolution, in the coming months.

You might think that this means a physical disc. Studio joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski told The Game Business, “We don’t know what’s going to be the case. We know what PlayStation has announced. And we have no influence on the policies of the first parties. The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories. So, if they stop manufacturing indeed by 2028, then yes [we won’t have a disc].”

However, Nowakowski said that the highly anticipated RPG will “have a box.” “We’re big fans of people having access to tangible collectible things. We’re nerds ourselves, and we like that. We always supported that. So, whatever is the case, we’re going to be for sure having a box. We’re going to have a box that’s going to have some feelies in it. Something you’re going to be wanting to open up and enjoy. But we have no influence actually on what’s the case here.”

While a physical disc for PC in this day and age seems near-impossible, there is still Xbox. The company recently announced an initiative to allow players to digitize physical Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs. The digital entitlement is completely playable without the disc, though the latter still functions as normal.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma noted the benefits of digital media in a recent interview with the BBC but added that players “love physical media.” “I want to make sure people have a choice.” Whether that extends to Project Helix offering a disc drive and physical discs remains to be seen.

In the meantime, The Witcher 4 doesn’t have any confirmed platforms (aside from PC), and we’re yet to see any proper gameplay. CD Projekt RED will release The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered on September 29th as a free upgrade for current owners, and a new expansion, Songs of the Past, in 2027. However, it promised more news to share in the future, including potentially at next year’s Gamescom.

Now, Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson revealed to Trois Couleurs that development began in 2015. Of course, that’s not necessarily when production started in earnest. Commenting on the inclusion of social movements and major events, he said, “We develop on very long cycles. The game’s been in development since 2015, so the idea is gestating for a long time.

“The majority of the team really started rolling on it after Red Dead Redemption 2 released in 2018. We have to be very careful about what ideas we choose to put in there, because it can take a long time to figure out what our angle is on this. Because by the time we write it and cast it and shoot it, and implement it, whatever it is – it could be gone, it could change, it could be dated.

“And so we’re always trying to think about whether something will stand the test of time. And so, you look at those things, and we only try to pick things if they work with the story we’re trying to tell, in the world we’re trying to tell it in. I think there will always be things to satirise; there are always ridiculous situations and behaviours that we can find, but we just have to be careful about what we pick.”

It makes sense, even from the context of subject matter like memes, which can become outdated as quickly as they go viral. Nevertheless, everything we’ve seen so far represents a modern Vice City where you can distinguish lifestyles and personalities from fashion alone, even as Rockstar had to craft entirely new tools to capture the sheer diversity of Miami and Florida (which Vice City and Leonida are based on).

While Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a long game, requiring at least 80 hours to finish – if you play as Nelson did – the world size alone ensures that fans will keep coming back. It’s estimated to be three times as large as the playable space in Red Dead Redemption 2, whether you’re exploring the wilderness of Leonida or diving underwater. Launching on November 19th, it will be available on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 for $79.99.

Allegedly speaking to Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson, the latter said that such a Performance Mode, either at launch or later, would require consulting with the “technical team.” It also seems that other details, including resolution and ray tracing, are unknown.

Of course, experts such as Digital Foundry, which observed the Extended Look to apparently run at 4K upscaled from a native 1440p, expressed doubts about whether 60 FPS support is possible. Because of how Rockstar’s open-world titles are built, depending more on CPU than GPU power, it seems that even the PS5 Pro couldn’t achieve that frame rate. GTA 6 is confirmed to support the latter, even as specifics remain – you guessed it – unknown.

Nevertheless, they praised the current 30 FPS performance, calling it “relatively stable and well-paced” with “only very occasional single frame drops.” It theorizes that it must have taken “immense effort” to achieve this, and we’re inclined to agree. Just take one look at the sheer fidelity and density of the world.

Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on November 19th for Xbox Series X/S and PS5, so there’s plenty of time to learn more. In the meantime, you can check out our feature for all the details from the Extended Look, including a few that you may not have noticed.

“Well, that didn’t go as planned,” it admitted in a sardonic tone befitting Tony Stark. “But now you know, and we’ve got a lot more to show you. See you when we’re ready.”

Marvel’s Iron Man was announced in September 2022, with the publisher touting it as a “super high production value triple A experience.” Electronic Arts and Marvel subsequently announced a multi-year partnership which would include a Black Panther title from the minds behind Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War.

Fast forward to 2023 and news on either title was pretty much non-existent, aside from Iron Man being in early pre-production. Despite assuring that both games were in development in 2024, and Motive hitting a “major internal milestone” that year for Iron Man, Black Panther would be cancelled in 2025. As quiet as things have been, a job listing that same year for a level designer indicated that Motive was hiring to create “major single-player levels.”

Hardly a revelation since it was first announced as a single-player action-adventure title with an original story and third-person perspective, but hey, every update matters. Which is why this latest development is the most exciting – it could point to a potential reveal sometime in the near future. Maybe even this year, if we’re lucky.

Stay tuned for updates, and in the meantime, head here to learn more about Avalanche’s cancelled Iron Man title.

Let’s delve into 25 insane details you probably missed from the Extended Look, and how they impact the gameplay in several notable ways, starting with…

Talking Heads

Whatever may happen between Lucia and Jason, you can’t deny that they’re a well-oiled machine when working together. During combat, Jason will call out for her to move up, and they’ll remain communicative throughout, even during what seem to be unscripted moments. It adds to their personalities and their overall dynamic in the best ways.

Environmental Destruction

Another great detail is how glass and furniture react during battles. Shards spray forth if an enemy shoots a window near you. Tables are overturned, and even desktop monitors fall over from the impact of bullets. It helps the environments feel more like actual living spaces rather than movie sets.

More Natural Cover Animations

The cover system remains as impeccable as ever, perhaps even more so than in Grand Theft Auto 5. Besides animations more cleanly distinguishing between different heights of cover, characters will position themselves behind pillars and boxes differently depending on the circumstances. The transitions are also very clean, further adding to the smoothness of gunplay.

Slow-Mo Kill Effect

Another noteworthy element that popped up more than once in gun fights – a slow-motion effect that triggers on killing enemies. It seemed to signify the end of a battle in the first mission, but we see it appear again when Jason is conducting a security sweep against a rival gang, even with hostiles remaining. Maybe it’s just a stylish flourish to emphasize the brutality of some shots.

Six Stars

The six-star Wanted system is back and better than ever, especially because of how the police act at higher levels. If you notice the icons beneath the gauge, they indicate details that they’ll look out for when searching for you, including the number of people they’re pursuing, their clothes and their vehicle. It’s a strong evolution of what we’ve seen before and makes sense considering the more grounded nature of GTA 6.

I’ll Shoot, You Drive

One of the more humorous sections sees Lucia and Jason meeting up with Raul…who just committed a robbery and needs them to act as getaway drivers. One of them at least; the other, in this case Jason, moves to the back of the car to take aim and dispatch pursuing cop cars. But it’s confirmation that the person doing the shooting doesn’t have to hang out in front.

Reversing the Roles

In the same vein, we see the player driving as Jason and seamlessly swapping to Lucia, who takes aim at pursuing vehicles. Essentially, driving and shooting isn’t tied to a single character, and each can watch the other’s back by any means necessary (assuming your skills are up to snuff, of course).

Backyard Wrestling

An underrated part of the Extended Look confirming what seemed unlikely but feels like a natural fit: Backyard wrestling, complete with a horrible, run-down ring. While I’m not sure that Rockstar would crib WWE 2K’s wrestling mechanics wholesale, it would be pretty cool if there were actual backyard matches, complete with meager crowds cheering on the madness.

Basketball

We’ve speculated that it was the case for a long time, and the Extended Look officially confirmed it: You can play basketball. Well, you can shoot some hoops at Jason’s crib, to be more specific. The real question is whether you can partake in some pickup games with other NPCs (and go guns-blazing if you lose)

Underwater Exploration

Besides operating an airboat through a swamp, a snippet of underwater exploration is shown. The player has scuba gear and an O2 meter in the top right. Manta rays and other fish serenely pass by, and the environment seems much more developed than GTA 5. What secrets could underwater locations hold? How extensive will they be? We probably won’t know without diving in head-first, but it’s enticing all the same.

Track Racing

Different kinds of races abound throughout Leonida, and while the street racing takes us through Vice City at night in style, what’s more interesting is that there are now proper tracks. Whether it’s in race cars or dirt bikes, these feel much more professional compared to the more chaotic barreling through streets.

Potential Honor System

Near the beginning of the pick-up mission, before things go sideways, Jason can interact with a dog in the hallway. There are options to pet, scold (if you’re a fiend) and study it. But if you pet it, an icon pops up on the right. Perhaps contributing to the new Criminal Profile system? Or maybe it’s a seal of approval from Lucia?

Jason’s Special Ability

During the closing parts of the Extended Look, we saw Jason getting his hands dirty to clear out a hostile crew. And at one point, it seemed to include activating a variation of Red Dead Redemption 2’s Dead Eye system. While kill zones were highlighted in red, areas that dealt non-lethal damage (which is indeed a thing) were highlighted in yellow. So on top of shooting an enemy in the knees or arms to incapacitate them, you can straight up shoot their hands to disarm them.

Stranger Danger

In this same mission, we see a unique example of the dual protagonist system and the expanded functionality of cellphones, when Lucia is texting Jason about the number of enemies. Naturally, it’s unnecessary, since he’s already begun to clean house and even radios the fools to let them know, but it could be just one instance of a character serving as recon while the other acts on that information as you switch back and forth.

One Mission, Two Types of Action

What’s also noteworthy about this is the different action tempos. While Jason is busy clearing out targets in the upper levels after things go awry, Lucia is attempting to escape and ends up in a desperate struggle (which culminates in a cliffhanger as she falls down an elevator shaft). It feels proper cinematic, and like they’re two distinct perspectives playing out.

Simultaneous Roles

Beyond this, there are several missions where Jason and Lucia have simultaneous roles. Robbing a diner is a great example, as is both pointing their guns at someone to steal his car. We can also see them robbing a convenience store, Lucia reloading her handgun while Jason slams someone’s head against the table.

Escape/Grapple Prompt When Knocked Down

In two separate instances, Lucia can be seen using a prompt to escape from a struggle. The first is more tugging back and forth, but the latter is far more desperate, as she plants a heel in her attacker’s face. Perhaps this is your bog-standard escape function in certain situations, but it is interesting to see the different contextual circumstances (and how they vary in terms of lethality).

The Weapon Wheel Returns

Blink, and you probably missed it, but at one point, the weapon wheel can briefly be seen. A dedicated slot for going unarmed, another for binoculars, but otherwise, it’s still the same eight slots that we’ve seen in GTA 5. Of course, you can also swap over to an items tab and equip different accessories, from a mask to hide your face to sunglasses and a cap for more face hiding.

More Detailed Minimap

Much like the Wanted system, you have to wonder just how much a game could improve on the minimap. On top of how GTA 6 is handling the former, it’s also made the latter feel far more layered with 3D-esque buildings and more clearly demarcated roads like freeways. Naturally, this ends up completely overshadowed by flashing blue and red when fleeing from the cops.

Shooting Police Car Tires

Fortunately, it seems disabling cop cars is much easier. When shooting their tires, they won’t just burst and stop the vehicle’s movement, but also cause it to lose control and overturn, flipping in the process. They may also swerve out of control, just like cars traveling at such high speeds in real life (sometimes). It should make challenging hordes of cops easier, though you probably shouldn’t get used to it.

Changing Vehicles to Fool the Cops

Remember that icon that denotes the vehicle that cops will be looking for if you’re wanted? As showcased in the gameplay, Lucia and Jason exit the car, set fire to it with a Molotov and then get inside a nondescript van to drive away. Just make sure not to leave anything (or anyone) inside.

Tuning In (and Maybe Fragging Out)

Just in case you thought Rockstar would abandon it in the transition from GTA 5 to 6, there’s an actual working television in Jason and Lucia’s apartment. You can sit down and watch for an extended period, but what also caught our attention is the familiar-looking controller to the bottom right of the screen, hinting at the ability to potentially play games within the game.

Brand-New Commercials

Of course, it wouldn’t be a new Grand Theft Auto without a new wave of commercials. From a “medicine” ad to another that seems to highlight the beauty of nature before taking a devious turn, they carry the series’ signature dark humor.

Weapon Icon Position Change

If you missed the placement of weapon icons during combat, good news – they’re now back in the top left, as last seen in Grand Theft Auto 4. Moving it away from where radio stations appear is a good move, and pretty much mirrors most third-person shooters from the past decade.

Stellar Motion Capture

In terms of attention to detail, what isn’t there to like about Grand Theft Auto 6? However, if there’s one thing that we had to pick, it would be the motion capture, which comes across so seamlessly that it might as well be real-life. You wouldn’t think that Rockstar could improve on what Red Dead Redemption 2 had to offer, but even outside of cutscenes and character interactions, the motion capture is top-notch.

It’s not every day you get to see a game that’s so beloved to both its developers and its players, and the news of a remaster of the game, with a very long list of changes, was among the more pleasant surprises any of us can recall recently. We’re not here to talk about all of what’s new with the game, no matter how exciting that may be. But a close look at the list has us believing that there is enough meat on the bones of this remaster to justify another massive playthrough of the game.

It’s September, we hear you say. Yeah, that’s probably not a great time to be diving into a playthrough of a title that could take you many, many hours to finish. But stay with us, and you might just see this differently once we’re done.

A Little Time On The Pendulum

We’re going to come out and say that the last current-gen glow that the game received was already enough to make it look and feel fresh, but not entirely new. That was a good thing, as it demonstrated how the game continued to hold up to scrutiny in its modernized packaging, and that’s owed to its incredible world building, the writing that brought emotional depth to Geralt’s stoic demeanor, a cast of characters who were as great as Geralt himself, the quests and atmosphere that continue to be unique jewels in a sea of fakes even today.

Like Geralt, Wild Hunt is a game that has aged very well, and there’s very little about it that felt dated when we booted it up a while ago just to get a feel of what it’s like today. However, like the adorable version of Ciri we first meet when Geralt looks back to his time training her with Vesemir, this game could have used more time training on the pendulum to ensure that it found its footing every time.

That sadly hasn’t been the case until now, with clunky movement and stiff animations making getting around the world feel a tad too awkward. Roach isn’t too helpful either, and can sometimes have trouble navigating crowded spaces or in battles. Getting into a fight meant having to deal with clunky controls that could sometimes have you swinging at the air in a situation where your blade needed to meet its intended target.

Getting to a distant enemy meant an awkward balance between outright sprinting and a slower jog, requiring a lot of care not to overshoot your target. The alternative was a bunch of stamina-wasting dodges that didn’t look as cool as we believed a Witcher should look when slicing through hordes of Necrons, or an entire gang of bandits stupid enough to try their skills against a clearly superior warrior.

Were these game-breaking? Not really. But were they an annoyance in a title that had us travelling on the Path to every corner of The Continent in our search for adventure and Ciri? Very much so. The current-gen update didn’t do much to help with that, although we must give credit to the new camera angles that made things feel different, if not totally improved. We’d say that Wild Hunt’s flaws were ignorable for their time, but with several other games following its release, we couldn’t be as patient with it as we once were a few years ago.

Our expectations have changed, and we’re sure that a lot of you feel the same way. But we think the remaster knows what we’ve been thinking all along, and could be bringing in a few changes to really bring Geralt’s greatest adventure home to roost.

A New Path To Greatness

For starters, there’s the mention of “enhanced combat” and “improved movement and traversal”, both of which are changes that show that everything we’ve been saying so far are areas of improvement that the developers had in their sights already. Roach’s handling is also slated for an improvement, and we hope that getting on our horse becomes a more natural reaction to a need to cover a long distance instead of the instinct to look for the nearest signpost.

We’re intrigued by the listing of improvements to enemy and monster behavior, as that’s something we haven’t had any reasons to complain about, especially on harder difficulties, but the fact that it’s been an area of focus for the remaster is interesting. It shows that the devs have gone deep into the combat system to bring changes to how it is approached. There are new finishers coming, along with changes from Songs of the Past that should carry over into the main game.

The chain is the center point of those changes, of course, and we’re especially interested in its ability to let Geralt target specific weak points on enemies when he has the adrenaline to do so. The devs were pretty cagey when asked if that’s something that’s making its way into the base game, but we can’t see it not being a factor in some form. Equally interesting is the new approach to progression that’s coming.

That was an area we felt had its merits, but felt too limited in what we could achieve with a build thanks to the limited amount of skills and buffs we could have in play, and the incremental nature of many upgrades that made min/maxing feel too pointless to sink any effort into. That was a shame considering the enormous build potential and the depth that this one’s RPG mechanics could bring to those of us who got obsessed enough with it.

That it’s getting a rethink is good news, and if it’s on the same level as the combat and movement mechanics are, it’s likely that there’s going to be enough to keep us invested in the progression loop, which is already woven into the gameplay systems so seamlessly it’s quite hard to notice the threads that hold it together unless you’re really looking for them.

With all these changes, we think a pragmatic view of the subject might argue that changing too much of the original game leaves too little of what made it special and memorable in the first place, and we’re inclined to agree.

Caution Versus Creative Ambition

The fight to make Wild Hunt look and feel entirely new is definitely laudable, but it could clash with the need to preserve enough of the game in a battle that could be as interesting to watch as Geralt taking on a Leshen, but will ultimately be one that no one walks away from unscathed. The Witcher 3 isn’t a modern Soulslike, and doesn’t need to be one.

Its combat was great, and only stands to improve once improvements are made to the clunkiness that held it back from becoming legendary back then. Geralt’s quite capable with either of his blades, and always has been even when the game didn’t let him pull off moves we knew he was capable of as reliably as we would have liked. His potions, oils, and signs were all potent parts of his combat skills, and the new chain is likely to become an integral part of our fighting styles.

We think CDPR is modernizing only the friction that came with the original experience, and in doing so is making a very strong case for another playthrough of a title that we already didn’t need any excuses to revisit. But time is precious these days, and a graphical overhaul alone might have only justified a quick jaunt back into an old save to get a peek at Novigrad, Skellige, and everywhere else Geralt visits during his time in The Continent.

But by making the parts you interact with for nearly a hundred hours feel more fluid and responsive to your wishes in an experience that’s as good as drawing you in, The Witcher 3 definitely merits a jaunt across The Continent all over again. We hope that boats are going to be a part of the improvements to movement too, while we’re on the subject.

Geralt’s search for Ciri continues to remain a timeless piece of modern gaming’s history, and an artful take on how an open-world should unfold the more a player engages with it. If this upcoming remaster manages to bring the game’s movement and combat to the same level, it could eliminate the notion that it is a fresh take on a game that was released all the way back in 2015.

Geralt’s swan song might just be gearing up for a fresh new lease on life if things go as we expect, and we couldn’t be more thrilled as we wait to join Ciri wherever the road takes her in the franchise’s next outing.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.