It’s Noctis Lucis Caelum from Final Fantasy 15 who you’re going to try to convince to join you this time around, and he’s definitely worth the effort from the little glimpse we’ve been given of him. He’s a prince who once struggled with the mantle of ruling his people in war-torn times, and he prefers to vent his frustration on the battlefield. Quite nimble, he can easily take to the skies and charge up some incredibly damaging moves, proving to be more than a match for even the deadliest of foes.

With aerial slams, light-based attacks, and dangerously proficient sword strikes, he’s a powerhouse that should work very well with the Warrior of Light, who was the focus of the last showcase. All in all, this is a group of warriors we can’t wait to bring together once the game releases on October 22nd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Those keen on even more gameplay alongside quick look at the game’s soundtrack and core cast can head here.

While those numbers are a milestone worth celebrating on their own, they are made all the more interesting when you consider that the game was at 3.2 million in April 2023 and 4.57 million units in June 2025. That showcases continued interest in the game, possibly spurred along by the Final Horizon update and the Definitive Edition which came out nearly two months ago for Nintendo Switch 2. That it brings all of the game’s content under one roof, with all of its updates and patches, makes it a tempting proposition for fans of Sonic, to be sure.

Sega’s celebrating the occasion by giving all of you a free pair of shoes that fans of Sonic Adventure 2 will appreciate. We’ve left the publisher’s wholesome tweet below, along with a peek at the new shoes if you’re interested in claiming them. If you’re thinking about trying this one out, our review should help you make up your mind one way or another, and the Definitive Edition is definitely a great choice if you’re jumping in.

https://x.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/2087932247219519711

Interestingly, Murray noted that “there probably is some end date” for new content coming to No Man’s Sky. “But if you had asked me five years ago, I would have thought we would have passed it by now.” As for why Hello Games continues to make more content for No Man’s Sky, Murray said that he likes it when old games get major updates. Pointing to the 30th anniversary update for the original Quake developed by MachineGames, Murray spoke about feeling excited to go back to an older game.

“I saw MachineGames put out an update for Quake – some new levels. And I was a big fan of Quake when it came out. It was one of my real inspirations for getting into making games. And I see that it’s a 30-year-old game, and they release some new levels, and I think there are people who would look at that and say, ‘What’s the point? Why have they done that?’

“For me personally, I think that’s so cool and joyous. I’m excited to go back and have that nostalgia and play. And I was talking to someone on the team who is like, ‘Who’s even making that? Who cares? Who’s still there?’ Almost the implication of: wouldn’t it be sad if it was somebody who had worked on Quake for 30 years? And I just think it’s cool. I can see a real joy in making some new levels for Quake.”

Hello Games has already confirmed that it is working on yet another massive update for No Man’s Sky. Titled Cosmos, little is known about the update. However, its name might indicate that the development team has big plans for No Man’s Sky’s space travel systems.

The title got its last major update back in May. Dubbed The Swarm, the update brought in what is likely the biggest Expedition in No Man’s Sky yet. It included a time-limited campaign that involved Travellers working together in teams of three to take on the Hive of Glass.

Prior to this, No Man’s Sky also got turn-based creature battles with its Xeno Arena update. The new gameplay elements allow players to collect creatures from across the universe and pit them in battles against one another. These creatures can even be genetically altered to get more benefits, like higher stats and stronger attacks. Players who would prefer to avoid putting their creatures at risk can partake in holo-battles, which avoid any harm from falling on the creatures.

Xeno Arena was a follow-up to February’s Remnant update, which brought in the Gravitino Coil – a new module for the Multi-Tool that can be used to pick up large magnetized objects, and even Sentinel drones.

Over the last few decades, there have been several games based on The Lord of the Rings, with many of them stuck on older hardware and incompatible with modern gaming machines. Whether Aspyr can get the license to bring many of them to modern platforms remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the surprise release of the cult classic Battle for Middle-earth strategy games, despite those being developed and published by EA. As for more recent games in the franchise, Aspyr might be working on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 ports of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel, which would likely be easier since they were published by Warner Bros.

The 2000s saw plenty of games based on the IP being released thanks to the popularity of Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy at the time, including 2000s-era action-adventure games like The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and maybe even turn-based RPG The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. While Aspyr hasn’t made any official statement regarding the matter yet, these games, as well as the aforementioned Battle for Middle-earth, have been known to be wrapped up in legal issues concerning who owns the rights to sell them.

In the meantime, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition throws players into the legendary world of Tolkien’s stories, albeit fighting entirely different threats than the original Fellowship. The story revolves around ranger Eradan, elf mage Andriel, and dwarf Champion Farin, who team up to take on the Black Númenórean, Agandaûr. Each character offers their own unique gameplay; Eradan focuses on a mixture of stealth gameplay with melee and ranged combat options, Andriel offers magical support and healing along with area-of-effect spells, and Farin stands in the front lines with his emphasis on melee damage and durability.

The Legacy Edition re-release includes split-screen and online co-op for up to three players in total, along with an RPG progression system that revolves around unlocking and unleashing unique skills and abilities. Nintendo Switch players, however, will have to keep in mind that local co-op and 60 FPS aren’t available on the platform. New gear can also be found in the world that can further improve your damage and durability. Along the way, players will get to visit many of the iconic locations from Middle-earth, and even meet up with some of the most iconic characters from the stories, like Aragorn, Elrond, and Gandalf.

The story unfolds in the North as the Black Númenórean, Agandaûr, has raised a mighty army to wreak havoc in Sauron’s name. It’s up to three heroes – Eradan, Andriel and Farin – to stop him or fall trying. While co-op support is available, it’s entirely possible to quick-swap all three characters while solo, balancing between ranged combat, spells, and a tanky melee playstyle.

Of course, each character can be upgraded with new abilities and gear, as you venture across iconic Middle-earth locations (and even meet some familiar heroes). Aside from local co-op (including split-screen), online co-op is also supported in War in the North – Legacy Edition. It also runs at 60+ FPS with up to 4K resolution.

While it’s no substitute for a new title from the defunct Monolith Productions, this should make the wait for Warhorse Studios’ Middle-earth game that much easier, especially since it’s discounted to $17.99 until August 25th.

The cloud version’s shutdown comes after Aliens: Fireteam Elite got delisted from the Nintendo Switch eShop. At the time, players were provided a warning that the cloud servers for the game through which it was streamed would be shut down in August.

Since the Nintendo Switch is known for having considerably weaker hardware than its contemporaries, the only way to play Aliens: Fireteam Elite on the platform was going to be through cloud streaming. However, with the game now locking Switch users that had paid money to buy it, there have been concerns about the future of game streaming, especially when it comes to the preservation of games.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is far from the only game to make its way to the Nintendo Switch in the form of a cloud version; many AAA games were released in this way on the console, including Hitman 3 (before it would be renamed to Hitman World of Assassination), A Plague Tale: Requiem, Resident Evil 7, 2 Remake, 3 Remake, and Village, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

It is worth noting that many services still exist that offer players a way to play games through cloud streaming, including Amazon’s Luna, Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation Plus. While there are noteworthy benefits to this approach, such as not needing to download and install larger games before being able to play them, there have also been many drawbacks.

One of the biggest such drawbacks was seen with the rise and fall of Google’s Stadia service, which was shut down back in January 2023. While the service was noted as being a high-quality one, with many AAA games available through it, the lack of general interest eventually caused Google to close it down. Users who had purchased games to play on Stadia were offered refunds, while companies like Ubisoft gave players the choice to transfer their game ownership to its own Ubisoft Connect platform.

Interestingly, Xbox has started testing its ability to expand on its cloud streaming service by offering an ad-supported free tier. It is worth noting, however, that the service can only be used in the free tier to play games that have already been purchased. To get access to a larger library, a user needs to subscribe to Game Pass. The tier displays an ad before the start of a play session, and the sessions themselves are limited to only a single hour.

Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has also recently spoken about cloud streaming and how it could eventually lead to “machines that weren’t game machines before” eventually also becoming capable of playing games.

It’s a doozy because of the sheer breadth of new content. Over 40 patches later, No Man’s Sky has mechs, massive weather events, Derelict ships with horrors, living ships that you can grow, fleet management, fishing, the ability to become a pirate, a third-person perspective, and, of course, multiplayer.

The fact that all this has been free is the real kicker, and fans are torn on whether creator Sean Murray and his team should rest or deliver another ten years of support. There’s probably a fine middle ground somewhere, but Hello Games has already announced the next big update coming to No Man’s Sky: Cosmos.

What does it have to offer? Your guess is as good as ours. It doesn’t have an ETA, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s suddenly dropped out of the blue and blows every other game’s post-launch support out of the water.

No Man’s Sky is available for Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox One, PS5, and PC. If you’re curious about the status of the developer’s next ambitious project, Light No Fire, head here for the latest update (of sorts) from Murray.

Faries kicked off her email by getting employees excited about BlizzCon 2026 on September 12th, noting that “the weekend will reflect the bold and collaborative work of everyone reading this. It’s my hope that the event can shine a light on the work underway at Blizzard, and that it can serve as a powerful springboard into a new era of momentum and excitement behind our mission to bring joy and belonging for communities worldwide.”

Further on, Faries said that, along with being the “top-performing studio” under Xbox, Blizzard also saw its third-highest fiscal performance when it came to Blizzard revenue throughout its history. Much of this was buoyed by the strong performance of free-to-play hero shooter Overwatch and the release of Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred expansion earlier this year.

“FY25 and FY26 were our first back-to-back years of growth since FY17. Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Overwatch drove exceptional performance in particular, with Overwatch delivering its strongest quarter since 2022.” Further, Faries said that the revenue growth has helped the studio invest in developing more games and hiring more staff.

BlizzCon 2026 is expected to be a showcase for Blizzard’s upcoming titles, ranging from more content being developed for Diablo 4 and Overwatch, to potentially giving us our first look at World of Warcraft’s The Last Titan expansion. A few surprises are also expected, such as the much-rumored StarCraft third-person shooter, and potentially even a revival of some of the company’s older games, like the StarCraft or Warcraft strategy titles.

As for Xbox, Microsoft had revealed during its recent earnings report that the division saw its revenue fall by 10 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of FY 2026. This confirmation came shortly after the company had conducted sweeping layoffs across the entire division, affecting 1,600 jobs in the process. In announcing the layoffs, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma had also confirmed that 1,600 more jobs were planned to be cut before the end of FY 2027.

When it comes to Microsoft as a whole, however, the company has seen quite a bit of success thanks to the strong performance of businesses like Microsoft 365 and Azure. CEO Satya Nadella praised the former for having surpassed $100 billion in revenue for the first time, and praised the latter for seeing major growth when it came to paid users.

“We are advancing the frontier on the cost-to-outcome curve, ensuring every customer can turn tokens into business results. This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their AI transformation.”

Sharma has also reportedly discussed Xbox’s plans to return to growth through an internal memo.

It’s made us quite eager to make a beeline for the Sanctum of Light, where getting on the good side of Final Fantasy 1’s Warrior of Light means having a being of primordial significance helping us on our adventure. He does more than dole out blessings as the Champion takes a more hands-on approach in combat, bestowing his favors upon worthy warriors.

He dives down from above, bringing down spears made of pure light, which sear the ground and any enemies unfortunate to meet the pointy end first. It’s a devastating attack we can’t wait to unleash, although we’re sure it comes with quite the cooldown given that it could empty entire battlefields regularly otherwise. Remember to shield your eyes, regardless.

Final Fantasy Resonance is out on October 22nd for Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, and PS5. Stay tuned for even more character highlights ahead of launch.

In its most recent quarter, Nintendo has reported revenue of ¥132.7 billion from just digital sales, which marks a 90 percent year-on-year increase. The period in question, between March 30th and June 30th, also saw a 2.2 percent year-on-year increase in the ratio of digital sales.

Interestingly, this marks a relatively high percentage of physical sales, especially when compared to Sony and Microsoft, which have reported ratios that are significantly more skewed in favor of digital releases.

Discussion about physical versus digital sales has become a hot topic in recent times due to Sony announcing just last month that it was planning to end PlayStation disc production in 2028. While the announcement has drawn plenty of criticism from all over the gaming industry, Sony’s CFO, Lin Tao, has said that the company strongly believes that “digitalization is progressing” even beyond PlayStation.

“There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that the digitalization of content overall has been progressing, that’s the big factor,” she said. “It’s not just PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalization is progressing. And so, when we think about the future – and we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this – and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward. And to this decision, we have received various opinions and people have strong views, and we understand that the community has put forth those views to us.”

“Games are beloved by many people. It’s a form of entertainment that’s loved by people, and it’s connected to people’s fond memories in many cases. And so, we understand those emotions. We want to consider that. And in the future digital ecosystem, how do we engage the gamers is something that we would continue to explore.”

Recent reports, however, have indicated that Sony might start facing some pushback on the matter from potential legal issues. The company is now facing antitrust lawsuits that would arise from the company’s plans essentially ending the concept of second-hand games markets for PlayStation games. The company is being accused of forcing consumers to buy exclusively from Sony’s own digital stores, which in turn gives the company a 30 percent commission for each game sold.

Along with this, there have also been concerns about the ownership of games, as well as the potential disruption an all-digital future could cause to fair pricing practices. Among the arguments is the fact that buyers would essentially end up only renting games. In the meantime, reports have also indicated that Sony is printing warning labels on new PS5 boxes about the impending end of physical media.