Tiel is more of a rogue-ish Shell, capable of swift moments and dodging. Eredrim is more heavy-set, relying on colossal weapons and executing a Shoulder Bash that can stagger, break and damage foes. Proxima is more unorthodox, possessing a hook to pull enemies or herself before following up with a lightning attack. Take too much damage, and like the first game, you’ll be separated from your Shell until it recovers.

You can change equipment at the Marrow Keep, fast-travel across the world (which promises over 60 dungeons) and interact with various characters. Not everyone is friendly, though, and there’s plenty of dodge-rolling, riposting and breaking to be done. The latter leads to stylish executions, though, and you can wield some pretty gnarly firearms, including a gatling gun.

Mortal Shell 2 launches this year for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The open beta will begin this Summer for PC via Steam – head here to sign up.

Ironically, the decision to delay the title was also made “a few hours” before the announcement timing. “No, really, I’m writing this right after the meeting where the decision was made,” said director RJ Lake. The “very boring and frustrating” reason for the delay? A “low-repro progression blocker last night that’s serious enough it’s considered unreleasable.”

While it’s fixable, doing so would mean pushing back the console release dates. What about not fixing it? “We refuse to do that. We’re fixing it.”

As for why the team wouldn’t just delay the console versions, Lake described the process as “very messy! We’d rather release the game all at once for everybody.” However, there’s also the fact that it’s essentially another month for fans, many of whom crowd-funded the project back in 2021.

Once again, this comes down to everything else launching this month. “We had a pretty good spot on November 6 where we made a small little island for ourselves, and skipping that date necessarily means skipping forward a lot to find another island, and that’s the closest one we had.” The additional time does mean the team can finish “some pre-launch things we wanted to do that had to get pushed back,” so that’s nice.

Finally, Lake concluded by stating in a “very biased” fashion that the game is “very good.” “We’ll see what reviewers think. But for those of you waiting the longest for this thing to come out, it makes me feel a bit crazy knowing how much you still don’t know about what this thing is. I’m very excited about it. I wish it could have been tomorrow, but.”

Of course, December 9th is two days before The Game Awards, which could see its own shadow drops and whatnot. Then again, when it comes to other confirmed releases, like Skate Story and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 for PS5, the week is surprisingly accommodating.

It includes additional sandbox and difficulty settings, including Apocalyptic difficulty, Hardcore mode, and Iron mode. There will also be exercise equipment to “better” one’s body, a new bench, weapon improvements, a new battery charging crate, skill perks, and more items to farm. Interestingly, some new crossover cosmetics are coming with an icon hinting at Balatro.

A new home world, Temple of Stone, will also be available at DLC, with another dropping as a gift in Winter. The latter arrives alongside a mysterious Portal World, a new entity, and improvements to food. Spring 2026 marks another free update, but there are no details. Summer 2026 delivers DLC with a new sector, something else about Portal Worlds, new enemies, a new home world, and much more.

Even more is coming beyond that, though the developer isn’t ready to reveal anything, so stay tuned. Abiotic Factor is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC alongside Game Pass and PlayStation Plus.

UNBEATABLE takes place in a world where music is illegal. You control Beat, part of a band that engages in performances and evades the law at the same time, while helping out those in need. While it offers an open world to explore and extensive dialogue conversations, the real appeal is the rhythm-based gameplay.

Offering a “100 percent original soundtrack,” UNBEATABLE’s songs offer a side-scrolling perspective with upper and lower tracks that you must hit in tune with the beat. If dealing with the cops wasn’t enough, strange monsters also emerge to cause trouble.

Alongside the Story Mode, UNBEATABLE offers Arcade Mode with additional songs, a challenge board, modifiers, a separate progression track, and online support. Stay tuned for more details en route to its launch.

Cross-platform play will be available, which is ideal given the six-player co-op support. Abiotic Factor takes place in a secret facility run by GATE, and in typical sci-fi fashion, an experiment goes wrong. Cue an influx of aliens, the military, and more, which the scientists (aka, you) must survive, using whatever resources are available.

Abiotic Factor entered early access in May 2024, and it’s already rated “Overwhelmingly Positive” on Steam, with 96 percent of its currently 23,381 user reviews giving it the thumbs-up. There will be additional support post-launch with update 1.1 out later this year, so stay tuned for updates.

This is up from the 3.5 million units sold in December, so the momentum – if not the exposure – from the awards show definitely contributed. Balatro is available for PS4, PS5, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. It launched on February 20th, 2024, and immediately garnered attention, earning critical acclaim and selling 500,000 copies in ten days.

There have since been collaborations with numerous other titles, including The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Among Us, Dave the Diver, Vampire Survivors, 1000xResist, Cyberpunk 2077, Slay the Spire, Warframe, and many more. Whether it will receive any more in the future, much less additional DLC expanding on the core game remains to be seen. Stay tuned for updates until then.

The last few weeks have been pretty wild.

To everyone who picked up Balatro after seeing it at @thegameawards, we hope you’re having an amazing time with it!

If this is your first time picking up an indie title, try to make it a habit!

There’s some amazing stuff out there! pic.twitter.com/ZnRpWnJlTW

— Balatro (@BalatroGame) January 21, 2025

Taking to Twitter, developer LocalThunk announced that Balatro has now sold over 3.5 million units worldwide across all platforms. In August, its sales stood at 2 million, so clearly, the game has maintained impressive momentum. Recent months have not only seen the release of new collaboration DLC and a mobile release, but also multiple nominations at The Game Awards, including for the Game of the Year category, all of which will have contributed to continuing strong sales for the game.

Balatro is currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android. The game will also receive a major free gameplay update sometime in 2025. Stay tuned for more details on what it’ll bring.

LocalThunk: Just gonna make a game for myself and a few friends

Also LocalThunk: pic.twitter.com/xnRi0tvM3g

— Balatro (@BalatroGame) December 11, 2024

That’s as per GamesIndustry’s Christopher Dring, who recently took to Twitter to reveal that as per GSD detail, in Europe, sales for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth increased by 268 percent week-on-week following it was nominated for seven categories (including Game of the Year) at The Game Awards earlier this month.

Fellow finalists in the Game of the Year category also enjoyed sales increases, with Metaphor: ReFantazio jumping by 172 percent, Astro Bot by 61 percent, and Elden Ring – which saw its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, nominated – by 38 percent.

Interestingly, Bloober Team and Konami’s Silent Hill 2 remake also saw a 43 percent week-on-week increase. The survival horror title did not receive a Game of the Year nomination, though it was still one of the most nominated games at this year’s event with five nominations.

The Game Awards are scheduled for December 12.

Following the reveal of the finalists for The Game Awards, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth sales increased 268% week-on-week across Europe, Astro Bot jumped 61%, Elden Ring 38%, Metaphor 172% and Silent Hill 43%.

We’re not talking huge sales figures overall, but a definite uptick

— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) November 29, 2024

In September, developer LocalThunk and publisher PlayStack also brought the game to iOS and Android, and since then, also seems to have been bringing in revenue on mobile platforms at a decent clip- at least in recent days.

As per a report published by Pocketgamer.biz, Balatro has earned almost $4.4 million in revenue on iOS and Android since releasing for mobile platforms in late September. In its first week, the roguelike title had made $1 million, with launch day spending peaking at $162,000, and day 2 spending at $200,000. Starting October 3, revue started dropping, and by the end of the month, the daily average stood at $71,000.

As per the report, however, the game saw a short increase in revenue from mobile platforms on November 18, climbing to $727,000 for the day. Incidentally, that was the day that the game received five nominations at The Game Awards, including for the Game of the Year category. Clearly, the nominations resulted in a sharp boost in sales, at least on mobile.

It’s worth keeping in mind that Balatro features no microtransactions, and is instead available as a paid title, a model not usually followed for mobile titles (at least not by the majority of the more successful ones).

Balatro is also available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Elden Ring’s expansion getting nominated might take some by surprise, but it was confirmed shortly before the nominees were announced that expansions, remakes, and remasters of previously released titles would be eligible for all categories. A few notable titles that failed to make the cut for the big category, meanwhile, include the likes of Helldivers 2, Silent Hill 2, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

In total, Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are the most widely nominated games for this year’s event with seven nominations each, followed by Metaphor: ReFantazio with six nominations, Balatro and Silent Hill 2 by five nominations apiece, and Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Helldivers 2, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 with four nominations each.

Meanwhile, PlayStation is the most nominated publisher this year with 16 nominations, while Square Enix and Xbox follow behind with 12 apiece, and Sega with 11. You can check out the full list of nominees below.

The Game Awards are set for December 12.

GAME OF THE YEAR

• Astro Bot
• Balatro
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio

BEST GAME DIRECTION

• Astro Bot
• Balatro
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio

BEST NARRATIVE

• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• Silent Hill 2

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Astro Bot
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Neva

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

• Astro Bot
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Silent Hill 2 
• Stellar Blade

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

• Astro Bot
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• Silent Hill 2

BEST PERFORMANCE

• Briana White as Aerith (Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth)
• Hannah Telle as Max (Life is Strange: Double Exposure)
• Humberly Gonzalez as Kay (Star Wars Outlaws)
• Luke Roberts as James (Silent Hill 2)
• Melina Juergens as Senua (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2)

GAMES FOR IMPACT

• Closer the Distance
• Indika
• Neva
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• Tales of Kenzera: Zau

BEST ONGOING GAME

• Destiny 2
• Diablo 4
• Final Fantasy 14
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2

BEST INDIE GAME

• Animal Well
• Balatro
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Neva
• UFO 50

BEST DEBUT INDIE

• Animal Well
• Balatro
• Manor Lords
• Pacific Drive
• The Plucky Squire

BEST MOBILE GAME

• AFK Journey
• Balatro
• Wuthering Waves
• Zenless Zone Zero
• Pokemon: The Trading Card Game Pocket

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT

• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Final Fantasy 14
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2
• No Man’s Sky

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Diablo 4
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Star Wars Outlaws

BEST VR/AR GAME

• Arizona Sunshine Remake
• Asgard’s Wrath 2
• Batman: Arkham Shadow
• Metal: Hellsinger VR
• Metro Awakening

BEST ACTION GAME

• Black Myth: Wukong
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Helldivers 2
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
• Stellar Blade

BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE GAME

• Astro Bot
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Silent Hill 2
• Star Wars Outlaws
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

BEST ROLE-PLAYING GAME

• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio

BEST FIGHTING GAME

• Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO
• Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
• Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
• MultiVersus
• Tekken 8

BEST FAMILY GAME

• Astro Bot
• Princess Peach: Showtime!
• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• The Plucky Squire

BEST SIM/STRATEGY GAME

• Age of Mythology: Retold
• Frostpunk 2
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
• Manor Lords
• Unicorn Overlord

BEST SPORTS/RACING GAME

• F1 24
• EA Sports FC 25
• NBA 2K25
• TopSpin 2K25
• WWE 2K24

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Helldivers 2
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• Tekken 8

BEST ADAPTATION

• Arcane
• Fallout
• Knuckles
• Like a Dragon: Yakuza
• Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yotei
• Grand Theft Auto 6
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
• Monster Hunter Wilds