Author: Emil John

Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier has stated that Gears of War: E-Day cost Xbox $500 million (about £385 million) to make. Schreier made the claim in a video about EA’s closure of BioWare. He cited the figure while arguing that soaring development costs are behind much of the industry’s recent layoffs and studio closures. “We just saw Gears of War: E-Day cost $500 million to Xbox,” Schreier said, adding that “that is a real number”. He said it reflects what big-budget games now cost to make, particularly in North America. Schreier said those costs are pushing publishers towards layoffs, cost-cutting, moving…

Playground Games has shared a new screenshot of Wraithmarsh in the upcoming Fable, alongside a tongue-in-cheek tourist guide to the flooded region on the game’s official website. The guide introduces one of Albion’s less inviting destinations, complete with shipwrecks, abandoned villages and plenty of rain. According to the developers, Wraithmarsh was once known as Bloodmoor, a region nicknamed “the Oakshire of the North.” Originally an uninhabitable saltmarsh, it was transformed into fertile farmland by three Heroes and a giant dam called the Sea Wall. That prosperity didn’t last. After the Sea Wall collapsed, Bloodmoor underwent what the guide sarcastically calls…

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has criticised Valve over Steam’s revenue-sharing model, arguing that its Steamworks ecosystem has restricted communication between players across different platforms. His comments followed a debate on X about Steam’s 30% revenue cut, sparked by an indie developer’s breakdown of earnings from two games. The discussion began on Reddit’s r/gamedev, where Omer, co-founder of Northend Games, explained how the studio’s $560,000 in gross Steam revenue from Northend Tower Defense and Deepstone Rift was distributed over five years. Refunds accounted for $134,000, while Valve’s share amounted to another $127,000. Omer attributed the high refund rate of 22%…

Sony may have secured exclusive access of some kind to AMD’s RDNA 5 graphics technology for its rumoured PlayStation 6 handheld, according to a comment from Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter. The claim emerged during a recent Patreon-exclusive episode of Digital Foundry Direct, where the team discussed a Fortune article and information surrounding Sony’s potential portable hardware. “There has been some behind the scene discussions that Sony has an exclusive of sorts on RDNA5 for handheld with it’s mobile device that’s coming”, Leadbetter said during the discussion. The nature of the reported arrangement remains unclear. However, the suggestion has raised questions…

The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has received France’s Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, with French Culture Minister Catherine Pégard presenting the honour at a ceremony in Paris on October 23, 2026. The award recognises Aonuma’s career as a game creator and his contributions to the development of video game culture. The French Ministry of Culture first announced Aonuma’s selection for the honour in 2023. He becomes the second Nintendo game creator to receive the distinction, following Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who was honoured in 2006. During the ceremony, Pégard…

HoYoverse has announced that Genshin Impact Version 7.2, titled Hour of Ruin, will launch on November 4. The update brings together representatives from all seven nations of Teyvat to confront a growing threat, while also introducing a new area in eastern Snezhnaya and 2 playable characters, Mitya and Valeriy. The latest Archon Quest centres on the awakening of the Nails of Retribution and the resulting threat to civilisation. As mysterious pillars of light appear across Teyvat, the Holy Soil phenomenon begins causing severe problems in each nation. The Tsaritsa responds by calling representatives from all seven nations to Snezhnaya, where…

Every player has had that moment where the game feels personal. The rare item refuses to drop. The shot with a huge hit chance misses. The boss survives on a thread of health and somehow the next attack does nothing. Then, half an hour later, the same game throws you a perfect critical hit and suddenly all is forgiven. People call that luck because it feels like luck. Good luck. Rotten luck. RNG being kind. RNG being evil. But the machine is not lucky. It is not moody. It is not punishing you because you got too confident. Most of…

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is presented as a 2D side-scrolling platformer inspired by the structure and tone of earlier gothic action titles, drawing particular comparison to Castlevania. The narrative adapts elements from the comic The Dead Shall Rise while introducing a new central character, Elaleth, positioned as Raziel’s sister. The story unfolds within the established Legacy of Kain universe, attempting to weave this new figure into major events and character arcs tied to Kain and Raziel. However, the narrative direction focuses heavily on Elaleth’s revenge-driven motivations, placing her at the center of conflicts that intersect with key moments in the…

Gran Turismo 7 has reportedly crossed a major commercial milestone, with total sales now exceeding 16 million copies worldwide. The claim was shared by Millie A, a source who has previously reported on PlayStation-related news, and places the racing title among the most successful entries in the long-running franchise. In a post shared on social media, Millie A stated, “Gran Turismo 7 has now sold 16.5 million copies worldwide since launch, as of December 1, 2025, marking one of the most commercially successful titles in the franchise’s history.” If accurate, the figure reflects sustained momentum for a game that originally…

An alleged leak for The Elder Scrolls VI surfaced on 4chan this week, claiming to reveal extensive details about the long-awaited role-playing game. The post identifies the project internally as WhiteBeach and lists Iliac as the working title, with the setting spanning Hammerfell and coastal High Rock around the Iliac Bay. As with all information originating from 4chan, the claims remain unverified and should be treated cautiously. According to the post, the game will feature an open world with interiors and cities free of traditional loading zones. The only exceptions would be transitions between handcrafted regions and procedurally generated areas…