First things first, the Boost Driver. It not only lets the player leap towards a monster quickly, but can also chain into a spiraling Falling Bash. Boosted Actions include your standard basic combo gaining a few more hits at the end. Boosted Perfect Rush seemingly benefits the most, especially since they seem to hit much harder than the base game.

One of the more surprising additions is the return of weapon oils. Known as Bladecoating Slash, it allows you to use items to coat the blade, resulting in different effects. The example showcased here turns it green, and each successful hit restores health.

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance launches in 2027, and so far, Capcom has revealed how the Boost Bracer works with the Bow, Greatsword, Charge Blade, Dual Blades, Hammer, and Lightbow Gun. There’s still much more to showcase, especially with the expansion’s appearance at next week’s Capcom Spotlight (which could also reveal the release date). As always, stay tuned for more updates.

Speaking to The Game Business, Sangha expressed a belief that some of the publishers in the market were attempting to take advantage of Maverick Games, offering deals that were quite lopsided and less favorable than the studio’s first deal. This was especially strange, since the team wasn’t looking for development funding. Instead, it was looking for a publisher with a release pipeline to help with logistics.

“As an independent developer… I think there were publishers that thought, ‘Right, we can absolutely take advantage of these guys,’ explained Sangha. “Even sometimes coming out with a rev share that was less favorable to our first deal, which is nuts, considering we didn’t need any dev funding. We were quite taken aback.”

Brown noted that the team presented Clutch to publisher as a project that had already been completed, with a solid release date already scheduled. “We came into it completely confident. As Harinder says, we’re not asking for any dev funding, just publishing services. And there was an option where we just say no to everybody and self-publish. That’s how I wanted them to feel. ‘We don’t need you.’ But some of the offers were actually offensive.”

Sangha went on to note that, “I just want to take the moment to say to all these publishers, we’ll be really happy to speak to you again with our next project.”

Clutch is set to be Maverick Games’ debut title, and was officially announced back in June. The studio made quite a showcase out of unveiling the narrative racing game, complete with a live countdown that, when it hit 0, gave us our first look at the title. The studio has described it as being about “a love of driving, a connection between car and driver, and the raw thrill of speed.”

More recently, Maverick Games took to the Future Games Show during Gamescom 2026 to showcase some of the development and gameplay from Clutch. The video revealed that each car in the racing game would feel unique enough to make it feel different from anything else in the garage. The handling in the moment-to-moment driving is also set to be quite punishing, in turn prompting players to get better at the game with practice.

The main story of Clutch will revolve around a pair of siblings who also happen to be racing prodigies. While competing in the R1K racing series – a “prestigious and historic” series of races – the two find themselves caught in a larger conspiracy that involves several other racing crews, like the Midnight Collective – a group that doesn’t care about money or fame, and instead is made up of driving enthusiasts.

Clutch is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and will be out in Spring 2027.

The Cred currency is seeing some major changes, and while it will remain usable until October 8th, players will find that any leftovers they might have will expire going forward. In its place, another reward system is set to arrive with the Frozen Trail update. In the meantime, however, players will get to keep any rewards they have already claimed. As for Raider Deck rewards, players will be able to unlock them through the new system as well.

The update is also adding rubber ducks that have been designed by members of the ARC Raiders community, with the first three – designed by gecko.rar, im_AshCheeks, and Nassguhl – being visible in Bird City. On getting them, players can showcase the new rubber ducks in their Raider Den. For more details about the update, check out the full patch notes below.

Embark had previously confirmed that the fifth Expedition is going to be the last one coming to ARC Raiders in 2026. While no details about the future have been revealed for now, the studio has confirmed that the system will return in 2027 with “major improvements” to address “some of the biggest player pain points.”

ARC Raiders is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

ARC Raiders Update 1.45.0 Patch Notes:

ARC

• Snitch Scanners will now spawn ARC similarly to the regular Snitch, but with a lower chance for stronger ARC.

Audio

• Fixed an issue where the Equalizer could play its firing sound effect when holstering.
• Fixed an issue where voice chat did not work when Raider Voice was enabled.
• Customization
• Fixed an issue where the Rawhide headgear would stay on with the toggle set to off.
• The Boonie outfit will be available from September 15th.

Gameplay

• Landing on moving surfaces will now make you follow that surface when landing, not while still in the air.
• You can now rebind quick item cycling separately from the quick-use wheel (or disable cycling), and you may bind both to the same key. This helps prevent unintended item swaps after closing the wheel.
• Fixed an issue where ARC Turbine mines could not be pinged.
• Reduced weapon sway for Aphelion to improve aiming stability.
• Starting an Expedition no longer resets your quests by default; you can now choose whether to reset them when departing.
• Fixed an issue where the Matriarch’s stomp could damage players through tall cover or when standing on top of the Matriarch.
• Added a new severe over-encumbrance tier when carrying well above your loadout weight limit: movement is restricted to walking, and sprinting and jumping are disabled.

Stability

• Fixed a crash on PS5 that could occur shortly after starting a session.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when rapidly pressing certain keys during gameplay.
• Fixed cases where a squad could become stuck after a squadmate signed out and rejoined, blocking ready-up and preventing matchmaking from starting.

Performance

• Upgraded Unreal Engine from 5.3 to 5.7.

UI

• The UI indicator showing the current weight of your loadout is now updated directly when dropping parts of a stack.
• Added visual tweaks to selected nodes in the Skill Tree.
• Fixed an issue where some distance based map markers didn’t appear correctly.
• The pick up prompt will now show “loadout full” while trying to pick up an item with a full inventory.
• Improved matchmaking error messaging: you’ll now see clearer explanations if you go offline while queuing or if your crossplay settings are incompatible, helping diagnose failed matchmaking attempts.

Known Issues

• The second part of the Phantom Targets project could not be started for some players. We will be sending out compensation in a future update.
• There are multiple stability improvements targeting Xbox Series S crashes. Please report any persistent issues to help guide further fixes.
• We’re aware of issues with crashing on PC, related to Windows Update KB5121003. Please consult our workaround shared here while we work on a fix.
• Players on Epic may experience a sudden loss of keyboard input.
• While we look into this, we recommend disabling any Overlay you may have active. Additionally, you can try alt-tabbing out and back into the game.
• The throw animation may sometimes fail to play when attempting to detonate a Trigger ‘Nade immediately after throwing it.
• The weapon swap animation may appear broken if weapon swapping right after vaulting.
• Player animations may appear broken when interrupting a search of the Baron Husk.
• Shredders float to the ceiling in some rooms of the Hidden Bunker.
• Leapers can jump through the ARC Turbine.
• Shots taken while riding ARC may not register correctly.
• Some doors may allow player flashlights’ beams to pass through instead of blocking the emitted light.
• We are aware of some clipping issues with the Triumph, Reaver and Azimuth outfits.

This also means that these relationships will end up having far-reaching consequences in the core story of Exodus. Karpyshyn also confirmed that, while players get to get closer with some of the characters, they will also end up inadvertently pushing some companions away with their choices.

“[M]aking their relationship with you grow, allowing it to evolve from the choices you’ve made, and realizing that the choices you make are going to bring some companions closer to you, but maybe push some companions farther away.”

“Without spoiling too much, we definitely want to have it impact how their storylines go,” he continued. “Depending on choices you make, by the end of the game, you might not have every companion with you that you started with. That’s about all I can say!”

Giving players the agency to make choices extends well beyond the main story too. Karpyshyn spoke about how even optional content like side quests will have plenty of choices that can change how things play out, and even have effects on your relationships. “Even within that optional content, there are choices that will lock or unlock certain things, change the way things play out, change relationships, change characters, change… future… missions…”

Exodus is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release on April 7th. Archetype Entertainment confirmed the release date with a trailer last month, which also gave us a look at one of the game’s characters – Salt the Octopus. The character is an interesting one, since she is capable of communicating with other species despite being an octopus, and is also adept at sniping from a distance and using smokescreens to confuse enemies during fights.

Another party member unveiled with the trailer was Emrys of the Deva – a Celestial that can use their abilities to weaken enemies and power up Jun by using resources known as Remnant Orbs. The Emrys is slated to be a support-oriented party member that can offer plenty of utility in combat encounters.

Back in June, Archetype Entertainment had confirmed that Exodus had entered its final stretch of development. The studio released an extended gameplay trailer that gave us a look at the core premise of the game, which revolves around a salvager named Jun Aslan who can seemingly interact with ancient Celestial technology. The combat is also set to offer plenty of choices to players, from stealth to rushing in guns blazing.

For more details about Exodus, take a look at our thoughts on why it has the potential to be a dark horse in the RPG genre when it comes out next year. Also check out some more combat set in the Ghost City of Lidon.

As such, these tips and tricks remain relevant, whether you’re revisiting the franchise or diving in for the first time. Let’s get into it, starting with…

The Threat Ring (MGS4)

You’ll lean on the Solid Eye a lot in Metal Gear Solid 4, and not just because the series’ traditional radar is missing. But the Threat Ring can be just as vital when sneaking around. Appearing as a literal ring around Snake when crouching or crawling, it pulses when enemies are nearby, even when they’re behind walls. It points towards their location and even estimates their distance, making them easier to avoid.

Picking Up Duplicate Guns (MGS4)

The battlefield is a messy one in Guns of the Patriots, littered with weapons and whatnot that can be added to your collection. It might seem pointless to acquire multiples of the same gun, but they actually come in handy when Drebin becomes available later in Act 1. He’ll automatically convert any duplicates into Drebin Points for purchasing new weapons, parts and accessing ID-locked weapons. Even if you don’t have access to him for a while, it’s still worth picking up dupes since Snake will still obtain ammo from them.

Managing Stress (MGS4)

Solid Snake hasn’t exactly lived the most stress-free life, and in his old age, it can be his downfall in more ways than one. New to Metal Gear Solid 4 is the Psyche meter, which depletes as he takes on more stress and causes a multitude of effects. Poor aim? Potentially falling unconscious when taking damage? Liquid Ocelot-induced vomiting? All due to stress. The Threat Ring can also become less accurate as a result. While extreme temperatures, carrying too much and enemies detecting you will increase stress, it can be lowered by eating food, smoking, listening to music or being stealthy.

Playing Dead (MGS4)

That part about the messiness of battlefields? It also applies to the sheer number of bodies lying around. And while it can be tough to stomach, you can also use this opportunity to go prone and effectively play dead, thus avoiding detection. Think of it as a unique way to sneak around, even if the smell of corpses isn’t the most pleasant.

Non-Lethal Boss Clears (MGS4)

As challenging as it may seem in certain situations, a non-lethal approach is often the best in either game. For Metal Gear Solid 4, you should at least aim to defeat the FROGS in Act 1 and the Beauty and the Beast Unit in the remaining Acts without killing them, which will net five dolls. After finishing the game, the Solar Gun becomes available in the next playthrough, and it’s extremely useful. Besides being non-lethal, it causes enemies to drop their items, making loot farming much easier, and it can be especially potent against a specific boss later on.

Supporting the Guerrilla Fighters (MGS4)

The local guerrilla fighters in Act 1 and 2 may seem like just another faction like the PMCs, but there are benefits to getting on their good side. Kill enough PMC threats, and they’ll start to warm up to your presence, not attacking and even cheering when navigating through areas. Just don’t accidentally shoot them – they won’t like that.

FaceCamo Benefits (MGS4)

Besides OctoCamo, there’s also FaceCamo, obtained from defeating Laughing Octopus. On the surface, this can seem like a great customization tool, letting you change Snake’s appearance to Young Snake, the various Beauty and the Beast Unit members (assuming you defeated them non-lethally), and even Snake from the PS1 days. But it’s especially useful for raising your Camo Index to 99 percent when used with OctoCamo, resulting in the highest concealment possible. It may even help sneak by some PMCs depending on whose face you’re using.

Careful Solid Eye Usage (MGS4)

Going back to Solid Eye, the various functions can be a lifesaver at times. That includes the Night Vision, which is fantastic for navigating the dark. However, you need to mind the battery drain. Once depleted, you can’t use any of Solid Eye’s functions without it recharging. Night Vision can be particularly draining, so try not to lean on it too much.

Higher Challenges on the Next Playthrough (MGS4)

Aside from taking out the FROGS and Beauty and the Beast Unit in non-lethal fashion, it’s a good idea to save tougher challenges for the second playthrough. That’s because all your camos, weapons and even Drebin Points will carry over. So if you’re aiming for, say, the Big Boss Emblem – which requires completing the game in less than five hours on The Boss Extreme, the highest difficulty, without any continues, rations, or special items, without triggering any Alert phases or killing any enemies – this is the way.

R&D and Mother Base (Peace Walker)

Peace Walker is a different vibe from Guns of the Patriots because much of the gameplay revolves around Mother Base. The question is: What should you prioritize first? Rather than letting Auto Assign do all the heavy lifting, focus on R&D. Increasing its levels will ensure new weapons and items become available faster, providing more options early on.

Prioritizing the Medical Team (Peace Walker)

Another facet that you shouldn’t ignore throughout your time is Medical. Increasing it will provide improved tranquilizer weapons, making it that much easier to go non-lethal. It also improves your soldiers’ healing rate, getting them back into the action that much sooner.

Don’t Kill Enemy Soldiers (Peace Walker)

If going non-lethal is ideal in Guns of the Patriots, then it’s a way of life in Peace Walker. Any enemy that you come across can prove to be a valuable addition to Mother Base, so rather than going on a killing spree, use tranquilizer and other methods to knock them out. Even holding them up is ideal, after which Fulton away and reap the benefits.

Capturing Vehicles (Peace Walker)

In the same vein: Fulton away any tanks, APCs and even helicopters whenever you get the chance. Even if destroying them can seem tempting, it’s often better to take out their escort troops and then take down the commander rather than bombing everything to hell. Mother Base will thank you for the contributions in the long run.

How to Farm ZEKE Parts and AI Boards (Peace Walker)

If you’re interested in upgrading ZEKE, then it helps to prioritize what you want to farm beforehand. For instance, focusing on a boss’s AI pod and avoiding the body will net more components. On the other hand, if you want AI Boards, then target the body. Of course, the parts vary from boss to boss, but this should make it easier to target a specific category.

The True Ending (Peace Walker)

Even if it seems like completing the game is the end in Peace Walker, there’s plenty more to unlock, including the true ending. The conditions can be very stringent, though – besides completing the first four chapters and retrieving Zadornov whenever he tries to escape, you need to assemble ZEKE. It can’t be taken on any Extra Ops missions, though. As for Mother Base, Intel and R&D should be level 40 or higher while Mission Support is rank 2. Construct a second platform, and Kaz will inform you of Zadornov’s escape once more. Partake in Extra Ops 001 and head to the shooting range as Snake to kick off the fireworks.

Interestingly, being one of the few Indian-origin characters in Street Fighter, the gameplay demonstration for Arjun takes place against the franchise’s other iconic Indian character, Dhalsim. The trailer showcases how Arjun is able to counter many of Dhalsim’s zoning capabilities with his own arsenal of moves that combine strike-based combos with his sheer strength and resilience.

Arjun has several moves in his arsenal, including winding punches, lunging shoulder attacks, and even the ability to create a ring of air that can then be used for follow-up moves like Breathing Shockwave that sends the ring forward as a projectile at a variety of angles. Like most characters, he is equipped with three Super Arts. At level 1, he can mow down his opponents with quick bursts of his breathing technique. His level 2 Super Art, dubbed Instant Oblivion, sends his target flying into the air and far away from him, where a Divine Pillar waits to break their landing. And finally, his level 3 Super Art is Yaksha’s Order, which disrupts his opponent’s inner ear before Arjun pulls off a cinematic attack.

The character will have two outfits available at launch; outfit 1 will be his default one, showcasing his state as a fugitive who is being hunted down for a crime he didn’t commit. The second outfit, on the other hand, will be an idealized version of Arjun that has put his quest for justice behind him.

Arjun’s arrival next month will be a follow-up to the previous character added to the fighting game – Yasmine. She was added to the roster back in August, and her arrival was marked with the release of a trailer showcasing her impressive moveset that focuses on rushing down her opponents with overwhelming speed and deft use of her karambit knife, dubbed Alon.

Arjun will be followed up with two more characters joining the Street Fighter 6 roster – Tifa Lockhart of Final Fantasy 7 fame and Bosch. Capcom hasn’t yet announced exact release dates for these characters, aside from noting that they will arrive in Early and Spring 2027, respectively.

While not too many details about either character have been revealed yet, Capcom has confirmed that Bosch’s story will revolve around training under Luke to incorporate modern techniques into his ancient martial arts style. Tifa, on the other hand, will make use of her Zangan-ryu martial arts style that we last saw in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth.

Capcom had announced back in June that Street Fighter 6 had hit an impressive milestone, managing to sell more than 7 million copies across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The title was originally released back in 2023 and, since then, has seen continuous post-launch support with frequent balance updates as well as roster additions through its various season passes.

“Super Mario Odyssey. It’s an action game that is basically very easy to get into, but at the same time contains lots of more dynamic and challenging parts, something that Nintendo is very good at,” said Nihei (via machine translation). “To give an example – when conducting an action (for example, a jump) in Odyssey, there is usually a reaction to that act (for example, gravity and landing). The specific feeling this brings to the controls in Odyssey is absolutely something that inspired me when I thought about how to get the same tactile feeling with our control in Onimusha.”

Kadowaki, on the other hand, responded with other games. While he brings up Silent Hill f in passing, he credits the Gundam series, and specifically the PS4 title Gundam Versus, with being a major inspiration for Onimusha: Way of the Sword.

“I have spent a lot of money and time on it. Something I think has influenced me from there in my work with Onimusha is probably the character design. The Gundam universe usually has very charismatic and deep characters that drive the story forward, and this is what I also wanted to bring into our work with Onimusha. So, I would probably say that my love for Gundam‘s character design was a source of inspiration there, absolutely.”

These influences have clearly paid off for Capcom, since the company announced that Onimusha: Way of the Sword sold more than a million copies on its launch day alone. This milestone contributed to the overall Onimusha franchise crossing the 10 million sales mark. This success has inspired Capcom to focus on “re-activating IPs that haven’t had a new title launch recently.” While no official announcements have been made, we might see the company bring back older games like its Breath of Fire RPG franchise or the gladiator combat-centric Shadow of Rome.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. The title was released alongside a launch trailer that provided some more hints about the core narrative, which involves wandering samurai Miyamoto Musashi on a quest to become the best swordsman in the world and running afoul of Genma.

For more details, take a look at our review, where we gave it an 8 out of 10 thanks to Musashi being an engaging protagonist, great enemy design, and spectacular sword-fighting combat.

To celebrate, Iron Gate has put out a video reflecting on the long road it has taken to get there. It’s filled with nostalgia, gratitude, and even a few touching accounts of the experience helping players navigate challenging situations in their personal lives. It’s a record of a journey, and all of the highs and lows that come with it, that’s uncannily similar to your trajectory in-game, where its co-op survival gameplay loop always comes with the potential for epic wins or hilarious fails.

It’s a great way to celebrate the game’s impending release, although you might not be happy about the new price tag that the full build comes with. Nevertheless, you can’t really put a price on memories with your loved ones, and Valheim facilitates that easily. The video’s below and is definitely worth a watch if this one’s been something you keep going back to when you game.

We’ve already been given hints about the potential that wildlife reserves bring to the conservation effort that you undertake in the game, with both the deep dives into aviaries and aquariums hinting at their immense utility. Well, it’s out in the open; the reserves combine everything you learn from managing your zoo and scale it to vast swathes of land with varying ecosystems. Of course, those research vehicles the developers previously showcased should be very helpful in that regard.

The Sumatran rainforest was the subject of the showcase, and its sheer ecosystem diversity should have us spending hours fine-tuning every tiny detail to make the lives we introduce into them as conducive as we can manage.

Planet Zoo 2 launches on October 13th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Based on everything so far, it looks like it offers the perfect blend of engagement and entertainment when you’re in the mood for a relaxing evening of gaming. You can check out the showcase below and see what we mean for yourself.

The new missions are definitely a highlight of the announcement, and “Beyond Dimensions” and “Far Side of the Moon” sound like interesting additions, especially to the storyline involving the World Tree from the game’s 1.0 release.

Otherwise, notable improvements include adjustments to the behavior of Pals and Base Pals, battles, and fishing difficulty, along with changes to both inventory management and base building that should make life easier as you continue to leave your mark on the world. One of the most welcome changes is that cancelling construction projects now refunds the materials you spent, which should help those who can’t decide on the optimal layout of your base or want to try different things at once.

The update should keep players coming back for more in a title that’s already proven to be quite addictive. We dove into why in our review, and we hope this one continues entertaining us for a good long while.

As for the future, Pocketpair is working on Update 1.1, and while it’s looking to address player feedback, you probably shouldn’t expect any massive overhauls. On the flipside, it won’t take long to release either.

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