Where do you go after Mario? For Mario and Rabbids creators Ubisoft Paris, the answer was you blast balaclava-clad terrorists in the face... Here's what you can expect from one of Gamescom's biggest surprises: Rainbow Six Tactics www.theguardian.com/games/2026/o...

From Mario to machine guns: how Ubisoft Paris made Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Tactics

The studio is swapping the Mushroom Kingdom’s vivid palette for the blood-soaked grit of military action series

theguardian.com

youtu.be/8v8eDMh1o3g This and the deluge of juicy previews doing the rounds have me feeling unreasonably excited about this remake. Wild to think that we'll all be playing this in just over three weeks.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Overview Trailer – Nintendo Switch 2

YouTube video by Nintendo of America

youtu.be

The first 45 minutes of Hope is the closest a film's come to capturing the essence of a survival horror game in cinema. Brilliantly shot, littered with environmental storytelling, and dripping with tension. ... It's such a shame that the film completely falls off a cliff after you see the creature.

Always nice to see something in your interview break out into a news story.

Eurogamer@eurogamer.bsky.social · 4d ago

Stardew Valley creator's new game, Haunted Chocolatier, is "more of an action RPG" than farming sim www.eurogamer.net/the-haunted-...

If you were ever targeted by the Gamergate horde from 2024 onward, I'd love to talk to you briefly for a short section in my book! Reply, DM me, or email me at alyssamerc@gmail.com. Signal boost!!

Twitter and Instagram are on fire with Brexiters and bots all angry and upset at Andy Burnham saying Russia interfered with the Brexit refereundum. Bluesky, not so much. Make of that what you will.

How do you follow up a once-in-a-generation gaming phenomenon? For GQ, I spoke with Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone about creative burnout, returning to isolation for The Haunted Chocolatier, and why the world needs unifying media. www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/a-de...

A decade after Stardew Valley, Eric Barone is still going it alone

10 years after Stardew Valley reinvented “cosy gaming” all by himself, creator Eric Barone tells GQ about the pressures of making its long-awaited follow-up, Haunted Chocolatier

gq-magazine.co.uk

Everything about this game just rubs me up the wrong way, it feels so soulless and IP-first in a way that Mario Kart World doesn't. It's a game that seems more concerned with chasing lucrative IP collab and season pass sales than actually having good track designs.

Wario64@wario64.bsky.social · 7d ago

Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Season Pass 2 Bonus Content includes the Sega Consoles Pack

Rockstar dev: "Guys, heavy music is having a real moment, sounding more youthful and exuberant than it has in decades! Which on the pulse metal DJs should we have celebrating that in GTA VI?" Rockstar: "...two 60 year old men?"

The Mosh Network 🤘🏼@themosh.net · last wk.

Slayer’s Tom Araya And Kerry King To Host Metal Station In 'Grand Theft Auto VI' themosh.net/slayers-tom-...

Want to back independent games media and promote your business? Then consider supporting VGC’s new Patreon Producer tier. We’re offering businesses & individuals a way to promote themselves via the VGC podcast and support our work during a tough time for the media. www.patreon.com/VideoGamesCh...

🚨 Are you an indie developer who's recently received Government funding for your game? I'd love to speak to you about your experience! My DM's are open, but also feel free to email me: 📩 thwaitesannsarah [at] gmail [dot] com Reposts appreciated!

I've been mulling over this for a while, but if you're a game journo who has worked under Valnet and want to confidentially share your views on how the company is managing its publications and treating workers, I am all ears. Signal: kerrblimey.43 Email: chris.kerr@verticalslice.news DMs open

Thoroughly enjoyed my time with Switch Sports Resort, a game that looks to inject the clinical Sports series with some much-needed personality. www.techradar.com/gaming/ninte...

Playing Nintendo Switch Sports Resort feels like being transported to your dream summer holiday

Switch Sports Resort captures the good-time feel of a summer holiday

techradar.com

"I don't trust CNN, but this lady who says every celebrity is trans and has consumed their own children, she checks out"

Abusers have no place in heavy music. Slipknot became a brand rather than a band a long time ago, but platforming Manson - someone with 12+ SA allegations - when they could have gone with literally any other act truly shows that they stand for nothing. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/s...

Heavy metal is about uplifting the downtrodden. So why is alleged abuse by Marilyn Manson so easily forgotten?

Slipknot sharing their stage with a man accused of wrongdoing by more than a dozen women is the antithesis of everything the genre should stand for, even if he denies it

theguardian.com

Tickets are moving *slowly* for this. Which is fine. I'm not expecting it to sell out. But it'd be really nice to get a few more bums on seats between now and Oct 14. It'll be good, promise! Brighton game likers/devs, please share, tell yr pals, think positive thoughts, thank you.

Mike Diver@mikediver.bsky.social · 3w ago

Come and listen to people talk about how they made very different Alien games at very different times of game development. Did license holders 'get' video games in the 90s? What had changed by the 2010s? Enjoy a tasty cocktail with the cost of entry, and play select Alien games. luma.com/p4pjgibd

Games media cuts have felt unending for a while, but the mood feels especially grim among indie outlets with the latest wave of layoffs. More than ever, if the game industry values its media, it needs to support them. Buy some advertising, sponsor content, purchase subs. It makes a big difference.

The Guardian is doing some major hiring right now! If you have 2-3 years' experience in journalism, media and/or content creation, you can apply for the Digital Journalism Scheme - full time roles including 20% training time, £48k pa workwithus.theguardian.com/digital-jour...

I wasn't sure what to expect from Tom Cruise after that bizarre GQ interview clip currently doing the rounds, but tonight he came across as a passionate workaholic who lives and breathes cinema. He definitely loves to talk, but I came away endeared by Tom Cruise the slightly hyperactive film nerd

*me aged 94, feebly croaking* actually it's prounced REE-Gun, not RAY-Gu- *dies*

Laying off big named hosts and valuable writers during the busiest time of the year is as baffling as it is disheartening. Solidarity with both those who've lost their jobs and the people still there currently dealing with the stresses of job insecurity.

IGN Creators Guild@ignunion.bsky.social · last mo.

We are tired of posting statements like these.

From Ferraris to fairy tales, I spoke to Playground Games co-founder Ralph Fulton about their decade-long journey to revive Fable - and why he thinks its naturalistic script and memorable player choices will change how we think about video games. www.theguardian.com/games/2026/s...

‘We were bored of traditional fantasy cliches’: inside Playground Games’ 10-year effort to revive Fable

The distinctively British RPG is returning courtesy of the makers of Forza Horizon – with comedy talent such as Richard Ayoade and Natasia Demetriou voicing sweary characters. We had our first play an...

theguardian.com

This week, PlayStation announced that it had pulled out of publishing Hideo Kojima's next game, Physint. But the company didn't give a reason. So I made some calls. Here's why PlayStation bailed and why Xbox snapped Kojima right up: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

PlayStation Ditched Hideo Kojima’s ‘Physint’ on Budget Concerns, Missed Deadlines

The legendary Japanese creator of ‘Death Stranding’ will take his new game to Xbox

bloomberg.com

This remake is stunning, and mine and Lara's reunion gets off to an auspicious start. Yet a slew of new mechanics soon leave me concerned. It feels like reconnecting with an old friend at the pub, only for them to begin spouting conspiracy theories two pints in www.theguardian.com/games/2026/s...

Raiding the past: Lara Croft relives her first adventure in Legacy of Atlantis

We have a first play of the forthcoming Tomb Raider remake and speak with its developers. Can they improve on the gameplay without losing what made the 1996 original such a classic?

theguardian.com

The World Beyond

Great interview from Mr Regan, which was both informative AND gave me an excuse to boo this answer heartily

Tom Regan@grapedosmil.bsky.social · last mo.

For Kotaku, I spoke to the director of FFVII's Remake Trilogy one final time. We talked fixing Rebirth's bloated pacing, why he's minimised the original's environmentalist message, making the first 'open planet' game, DLC, and what he wants from future FF games kotaku.com/final-fantas...

From the disc-printing disaster, to Sony inexplicably passing on Physint, PlayStation really needed Wolverine to be a knockout. What a baffling waste of a gen from Sony's upper management.

For Kotaku, I spoke to the director of FFVII's Remake Trilogy one final time. We talked fixing Rebirth's bloated pacing, why he's minimised the original's environmentalist message, making the first 'open planet' game, DLC, and what he wants from future FF games kotaku.com/final-fantas...

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's Director Is Leaving It All On The Field: 'I'm Approaching The Development As If There's Never Going To Be Another Final Fantasy 7 Game' - Kotaku

Naoki Hamaguchi talks side quest rewards, political messaging, and more

kotaku.com

Looking forward to the (definitely forthcoming) follow up pieces: Can reading a book count as cheating on your partner? Can watching a film count as cheating on your partner?

The Guardian@theguardian.com · last mo.

Grand Theft Auto VI: can playing a video game count as cheating on your partner?