#Opinion

In 5 Years, Will Netflix Still Be In Gaming? Here's What The CEO Said

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said "I think so" when asked at Bloomberg's Screentime event whether Netflix will still host games in five years. He called Netflix's mobile gaming push "a gateway to cloud gaming," which he said the company is "much more interested in," and said cloud gaming makes more sense for Netflix "in a post-console world." Netflix's mobile games, including Red Dead Redemption, Sonic Mania Plus, and RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch, are included with a membership and have no ads.

Desktop and handheld prices out of control means PC bargain hunts lead me to my old enemy: gaming laptops

Memory shortages have pushed desktop and handheld PC prices up, keeping entry-level 1080p gaming in the low four figures, so the author tested a gaming laptop instead. A Medion Erazer Scout 15 with an RTX 5050 costs £850, cheaper than a DIY desktop build with monitor, Windows license and basic specs at about £1,100. It packs an Intel Core i5-13420H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and a 144Hz IPS screen, but battery life is poor and fan noise is loud.

Belatedly asking partners for their views on the discontinuation of physical media suggests that Sony is finally realising how consequent...

GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit: Why AI might be creating more work for games companies, rather than saving time

At the GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit on October 1, attendees said any efficiency gains from generative AI are offset by employee anxiety, data leak risks and legal headaches. Most companies now have an AI policy, but the pace of change forces rewrites, and leaders cited fears of job losses and sensitive data leaking outside the company. AI-written grievance letters were also said to increase the workload for HR professionals.

Sony's consultation on physical media: better late than never | Opinion

Sony is surveying its development partners for input on its decision to end support for physical game releases, first reported by Moore's Law is Dead. The consultation comes belatedly, underscoring how unilateral the decision was, and suggests Sony may realize it overstepped. The piece expects little change to the announced policy, though a compromise letting companies optionally do physical releases for the rest of the PS5's lifespan might emerge.

The Father of PlayStation Says Games Have Stagnated, Calls for Curiosity in Developers

Ken Kutaragi, known as the father of PlayStation, said at a CEREC opening panel that games have stagnated in terms of content, arguing the way games are made hasn't fundamentally changed since the original PlayStation. He noted the software market is valued at $186 billion, surpassing film and music, but said the industry isn't mature and still faces a turning point toward a "next stage." He urged students and industry professionals to keep their curiosity and adopt the mindset behind the PS1, which was created to "change the world."

Countdown: Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Dungeon Crawl #3 - I Hate This Place

In the third installment of the Ocarina of Time dungeon crawl, the author revisits Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly and calls it possibly the worst dungeon in the game. The piece criticizes the repetitive Princess Ruto escort mechanics, lack of a central puzzle, and narrow corridors filled with electrical enemies, while praising the dungeon's unsettling atmosphere and the Barinade boss fight. The author hopes the Switch 2 remake will give Ruto more agency and add more tendril telegraphing.

I'm Going to Teach You to Love Hidden Object Games

A PC Gamer editor argues that hidden object games are a valid genre worthy of respect and recommends several titles. Find My Frogs and its sequel Branches have no timers or click limits, and Branches has a demo on Steam, while I Commissioned Some Bees 0 is free. Sniper Dan mixes hidden object with FPS, Cat Me If You Can is fully 3D, and Morels: The Hunt 2 is on sale for $5 (75% off) in the Steam Autumn sale.

"Quite often it's given me more to do." At the https://GamesIndustry.biz HR Summit, attendees explained how any efficiency gains from gen...

The Father of PlayStation Thinks Games Have Stagnated, Calls for Curiosity in Developers https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2026/10/the-fath...

I Don't Want To Play Your AI-Generated Mod That Puts Skate 3 Inside Of Modern Warfare 2 Inside Of Minecraft

Over the past few days, X has been flooded with AI-generated game mashup mods, including Minecraft inside Elden Ring, Escape from Tarkov guns in Skyrim, and Skate 3 mechanics in Modern Warfare 2 layered inside Minecraft. Most of these mods don't appear to be downloadable yet and exist only as Twitter clips, and testing a Claude-coded mod that adds Minecraft items to Skyrim revealed missing blocks, misassigned materials, and an invisible wall. The author argues these mods do little to actually integrate the games' mechanics, feeling more like sandboxes built to generate viral clips than playable experiences.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director on the final Sephiroth fight and whether the trilogy model can be repeated

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi said the game's final Sephiroth battle, launching April 8, will be an all-out fight far surpassing those in Remake and Rebirth, with nods to the original's ultimate limit break. He said it is hard to tell whether the trilogy could become a template for others, since it required the same team and leader to stay stable for over 10 years. He also said Revelation keeps the same pacing approach as Rebirth, side content won't undercut the urgency of the approaching Meteor, and Yuffie, Vincent and Zack get more playable depth than before.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance Dev Hopes GTA 6 Will Encourage Studios to Charge More for Their Games

Warhorse co-founder Martin Klima said he hopes GTA 6 will "blaze the trail" for higher game prices, arguing triple-A games face an existential problem as audience sizes plateau and retail dies. He claimed Rockstar and Take-Two are the only companies that can afford or dare to raise prices, which he called long overdue and necessary for the business to survive. Klima also admitted GTA 6 "doesn't appeal to me at all," while the game's Standard Edition is priced $79.99 in the U.S. and £69.99 in the U.K., ahead of its November 19 release on PS5 and Xbox Series.

Riot needed 2XKO to hit hundreds of thousands if not millions of players, which the author says doomed it from launch

Riot expected 2XKO to reach "high hundreds of thousands, if not millions" of players, an expectation the author argues was impossible from launch. Using Street Fighter 6 as a benchmark, the author estimates from its 30,000 PC concurrent peak that even a generous reading puts its monthly active users barely above 500,000, while Guilty Gear: Strive peaks at 1,580 concurrent players over 24 hours. The author questions whether Riot misjudged the size of the fighting game market.

Skyrim lead designer hopes The Elder Scrolls 6 adds boats and naval combat

Bruce Nesmith, lead designer on The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, says he hopes The Elder Scrolls 6 adds boats and naval exploration, calling them a "natural" fit. He said a setting around Iliac Bay could open up seafaring mechanics, skill trees, unique creatures and spells. Nesmith added he would prefer the game stay above water rather than include underwater sections.

Sony Japan's PS5 Pro anti-scalper lottery requires a Japanese account with 60 hours of play

Sony Japan has rolled out an anti-scalper lottery for PS5 Pro orders that requires a Sony account registered in Japan with at least 60 hours of gaming on PS4, PS5, or both. Valve also set reservation requirements for the Steam Frame launch, including a Steam account in good standing and a purchase made before April 27th 2026. The author argues these brand loyalty tests, while aimed at scalpers, make buying hardware at full price a qualification process.

Warhorse Studios at 15: Its Co-Founder Has Never Taken the Ordinary Path

Martin Klíma, co-founder of Czech studio Warhorse, marked the studio's 15th anniversary by recounting a career that began with secretly translating Dungeons & Dragons before he and Daniel Vávra founded Warhorse in July 2011. The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance drew over 35,000 backers on Kickstarter, and the success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 led to Warhorse securing the rights to develop a Lord of the Rings game. The studio is also working on a new entry in the Kingdom Come series.

How Much Is a Voice "Stolen" by AI Worth? It Starts Over 100 Years Ago…

Voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda has sued TikTok, sparking debate over AI voice imitation. A podcast traces how recorded voices have been priced and licensed from the birth of radio drama through the voice actor industry to the podcast era, citing Beijing Internet Court's first AI voice infringement case in 2024. It also covers Japanese voice actor union actions since 1971 and the digital voice replication clause in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

I Translated a Small Game! Tea House Waves 05

Tea House Waves returns with an episode about game translation stories, covering examples of localization that the hosts found excellent, interesting, or terrible. The show also shares its QQ group 1055561149 and invites listeners to discuss their game experiences and favorite translations in the comments.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance studio co-founder hopes GTA 6 will 'blaze a trail' to higher game prices

Warhorse Studios co-founder Martin Klima hopes Grand Theft Auto 6, launching on consoles on November 19, will be a big enough hit to let other studios raise their prices. He said he won't play GTA 6 and doesn't understand the series' popularity, but sees higher unit prices as necessary for the industry's survival. Take-Two confirmed in June that GTA 6 will launch at $80, $10 more than conventional big-budget games.

How to conquer Kuttenberg in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Using Steam user Triget's "Companion Squad" mod, a PC Gamer writer raised a 43-strong army in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and stormed Kuttenberg. Because the army was set to "Bandit mode," the coup turned into a massacre that cleared the city's guards in under 20 minutes, at the cost of seven soldiers, Hans and Zizka, and a badly broken save.

Indie RPG Entropy Borrows From the Classics Amid 'Open World Fatigue': 'PS1, PS2, GameCube Games Really Never Outstayed Their Welcome'

Indie RPG team Lovely Hellplace is borrowing from classic JRPGs for Entropy, with lead developer James Wragg saying PS1, PS2, and GameCube games never outstayed their welcome partly because they were willing to be succinct. Entropy is available in early access on Steam for $12, with a free demo also available.

PSA: Please Allow My Very Expensive Steam Frame Mistake To Help You, Fellow Glasses Wearers

Steam Frame has a maximum eyeglasses width of 140mm, and my roughly 146mm-wide glasses make the headset unusable with or without the included spacer. I've used PlayStation VR and Meta Quest with glasses successfully, but Frame's interior is smaller. Valve has partnered with Zenni to offer prescription lenses that can be installed to avoid needing glasses.

The Witcher 3 Beats Most Fantasy Adaptations in Nearly Every Way

The Witcher 3 remains a joy to play in 2026, and its adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy world beats most fantasy adaptations in nearly every way. Developer CD Projekt Red's take is respectful and faithful to the source material, even if not entirely accurate.

Resident Evil's executive producer explains the deeper meaning behind Requiem, and I just can't get on board

Resident Evil executive producer Jun Takeuchi told Japanese press for the series' 30th anniversary that the title Requiem contains not only "RE (response)" but also "Q (question)," presenting both an answer and a question, with the meaning to be explained in the future. The author isn't convinced by this breakdown, though remains curious to learn more.

Grand Theft Auto 5 Is a Game About Shapeshifting Now. I Don't Make the Rules

Installing the Shapeshifter V mod in Grand Theft Auto 5 lets players instantly become any pedestrian they stealth attack, though it serves no discernible purpose. The author says the transformation doesn't change your voice, so Shawn Fonteno's screams still come out of the pedestrians. The mod is described as another patch in the author's ongoing GTA 5 modding project.

All Right, Calm Down, Some of You Are Far Too Good at Dressmaker

Since Dressmaker just launched, players are already recreating famous artworks like The Great Wave off Kanagawa on in-game dresses. The author browsed the Dressmaker subreddit and found impressive designs inspired by real-life outfits and characters such as Mirabelle from Encanto and Alice in Wonderland. Many of the elaborate gowns use later-game materials and patterns the author does not yet have access to.

I am here to save us all time by determining which of our most-played videogames would be more efficiently completed if you had a gun

The author asked colleagues for their longest-played games that have an ending and don't normally feature guns, then imagined adding a .45 pistol to each. On average, adding a gun to games without guns saves time, though it can also irrevocably corrupt the experience or make you deeply uncomfortable about real-world parallels. One upside: you might get to see Genghis Khan with an AK-47.

The biggest upgrade I made to my gaming setup in 2026 is a $20-$25 seat cushion

A PC Gamer hardware writer says the biggest upgrade he made to his own gaming setup in 2026 is a $20-$25 seat cushion, bought because gaming chairs are too hard for long sessions. He has held off on PC upgrades as DDR5, SSD and GPU prices soared, with 64GB of DDR5 costing well over $800 and the RTX 5070 priced at $779. He hopes October Prime Day and Black Friday bring hardware discounts, noting monitors, mice, keyboards and controllers have avoided this year's price increases.

WarioWare director Goro Abe on what changed after leaving Nintendo

Former WarioWare series director Goro Abe left Nintendo earlier this year after more than 25 years and is now a game design professor at Osaka's Electro-Communication University, where he runs the Experimental Game Design Laboratory. He said leaving Nintendo gave him new perspectives on other companies and the indie scene, and he wants to make games free of commercial constraints that appeal to people who don't normally play games.

If the games industry moves to a more movie-style production process, Funcom's Joel Bylos warns that changes are needed. "The Hollywood m...

Motion blur vs film grain - which is worse?

PC Gamer's poll for the worst graphical effect in games has tallied around 4,000 votes from the first round, sending vignette, chromatic aberration, motion blur, and film grain into the semifinals. Only two of the four will reach the final, with voting open and results due in a couple of days. Examples include motion blur in Hunt: Showdown and film grain in Phasmophobia.

The greatest RTS unit of all time, determined by democracy

PC Gamer has launched a 16-unit tournament to determine the greatest RTS unit of all time, with readers voting over two days until Sunday evening before quarter-finals begin early next week. Competitors include the Peon from Warcraft 3, the Mammoth Tank from Command and Conquer: Red Alert, the Petard from Age of Empires 2, and the Psyker from Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

I spent far too long assigning gaming mouse values based on their price-to-weight ratio, and the runner-up is the rodent on my desk right now

A PC Gamer editor built a "price-to-weight-to-value-to-quality" score, or James score, that averages each mouse's grams-per-dollar ranking with its review score across 24 reviewed gaming mice. The Glorious Model O Eternal topped the table at 93.5%, followed by the 8BitDo Retro R8 at 92%, with two Mchose mice tied for third. The author says the results show solidly built budget mice come out best.

Nvidia Says My RTX 4070 Super Can't Do Multi Frame Gen, but This Unofficial Unlock Feels Surprisingly Smooth

A PC Gamer editor used unofficial ReShade HDR Installer mods to unlock Multi Frame Generation beyond the official 2x limit on an RTX 4070 Super, testing up to 6x MFG. Testing was done at 1440p with High settings and DLSS Balanced, limited to single-player games to avoid anti-cheat detection. In several games, unlocked 4x MFG raised average frame rates well above 2x, such as Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool going from 99 to 170 fps.

Former Sony Exec Shuhei Yoshida Thinks Nintendo Is "Going To Do Pretty Well" With Switch 2 "For Many Years To Come"

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida said in an interview with The Verge that Sony and Nintendo should try to keep the current console generation going as long as possible, since people are happy using PS5 and Switch 2. He added that gamers and developers are not asking for more power, and that both companies are going to do pretty well for many years to come.

We're probably not getting a new Fallout game until well into the 2030s, but that's no reason to stop talking about them

Fallout 4, the last mainline entry in the series, released in 2015, and Fallout 5 is likely still half a decade away or more since Bethesda first needs to finish and release The Elder Scrolls 6. PC Gamer reopened the Vault door to share more thoughts on the RPG series, from remastering the first two games to hardcore mode in New Vegas and the Amazon TV show.

Ex-PlayStation Veteran Shuhei Yoshida Says Sony Should Make The PS5 Generation Last As Long As Possible

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida says Sony should try to keep the current console generation going as long as possible, arguing that neither players nor developers are asking for more power. In an interview with The Verge, he suggested Sony and Nintendo might delay next-gen launches because of rising costs, and that owners of PS5, Switch 2, or capable PCs are happy to keep using them. He also floated the idea of contract financing for hardware over $1,000, such as a $50-a-month subscription.

Ace Combat 8's Stellar Multiplayer Reveals the Terrors of Live-Service Games

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve features a 25-hour single-player campaign with 30 missions. Its multiplayer component, Ace Combat Online, is a live-service offering that the article argues reveals the terrors of live-service games.

Control Resonant Has the Coolest Bit of Video Game Audio in 2026

In Remedy's open-world action game Control Resonant, the voice of the omnipresent supernatural entity The Board is praised as the coolest bit of video game audio in 2026. Players control Dylan Faden, and The Board speaks both in conversation and after combat executions with a deep, unnatural tone unlike its 2019 Control appearance. Others online have also praised the voice, and Chris Person made a Simpsons mash-up celebrating it.