Former Rockstar Games co-boss and GTA creative director Dan Houser says he doesn't play many open-world games and doesn't plan to play GTA 6, to avoid being influenced while working on his own projects. His new company Absurd Ventures is working on two games and has already released the graphic novel series American Caper, whose double-sized season-finale issue drops next month.
IGN rounds up release dates for the biggest games and expansions from October 2026 onward across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. October includes Gears of War: E-Day, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Final Fantasy Resonance, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, with many big titles moved up from November to avoid GTA 6. Grand Theft Auto 6 arrives November 19 on PS5 and Xbox, while December brings Monster Hunter Wilds on Switch 2 and Path of Exile 2 (1.0).
Walmart is selling the Onn 512GB MicroSD Express Memory Card for the Switch 2 at $84.77, with the 256GB model at $46.77, both with free shipping. An unadvertised coupon code "SAVE3X" takes an additional $10 off either card, bringing them to $74.77 and $36.77, though it may not work for everyone. The Switch 2 has only 256GB of onboard storage and does not support standard MicroSD cards from the previous Switch.
Bungie is retiring its current Bungie Store for Bungie and Destiny merchandise on October 19, saying it is building a new home for its products. Digital downloads and emblem codes will remain accessible until December 31. The move follows Bungie un-cancelling Destiny 2 after fan backlash over putting the game in maintenance mode, while the Marathon storefront stays online.
Many video game franchises that are now considered classics got their start on the Super Nintendo, which launched in North America on Aug. 23, 1991. To mark the console's 35th birthday, Polygon looks back at 10 franchises that wouldn't exist without that 16-bit hardware.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin unveiled a Minecraft metropolis he has been hand-building for 12 years in a YouTube video on Wednesday. He was introduced to the game by his children and took to creative mode, calling the building process therapeutic. The tour video was produced by his son Dino, with more episodes planned for Tomlin's YouTube channel.
PC Gamer shared 7 musical clips of The Etchery School of Magic and Melody, a magical school life sim with goofy classmates and a delightful soundtrack. The clips show musical magic-assisted gardening, crystal ball cell phones, a flute rhythm game for mastering spells, a potion brewing minigame, a roommate's disastrous magical experiments, and one very prickly shrub.
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden said Xbox must "pick a lane" on exclusive games, arguing it cannot succeed as both a platform and the world's biggest publisher. He said current Xbox CEO Asha Sharma appears to be trying to "right the ship," having signed Hideo Kojima's Physint and brought back console exclusives like Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution. Layden called it Xbox's "Dreamcast moment," noting the shift has been done before.
Rockstar Games co-founder and former creative president Dan Houser says he still hasn't watched the GTA 6 gameplay reveal that premiered on Netflix in August, and deliberately avoids such material because it would disrupt him creatively. He added that he can no longer really play open-world games since he ends up deconstructing the team's strengths and weaknesses in real time. Houser, who founded Absurd Ventures in 2023, is developing two games: an open-world comedy and a dystopian sci-fi about a game development gone wrong and a rogue AI that discovered sentience.
Game Informer's Super Replay is revisiting Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots through the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, with Part 5 titled "Meccha Octopus." Charles Harte, new to the series, plays while longtime fan Marcus Stewart revisits the game, streaming two hours weekly on Twitch and YouTube until the credits roll.
Sony is shipping refined base PS5 Slim consoles, starting with its Marvel's Wolverine console. A Polish hardware expert found an optimised motherboard layout, tweaked cooling matching the PS5 Pro, a different heatsink, and other minor modifications. The CMOS battery is now easier to access and replace, though the changes are likely cost-saving measures.
Official age ratings for GTA 6 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S have been published ahead of its 19th November 2026 release, rated M for Mature in the USA and 18+ in the UK. The PEGI description details frequent violence, cocaine use, nudity, sexual intercourse, sexual fetishes, and strip club interactions involving breasts and bottom touching. It also notes swearing and discriminatory language, and four more screenshots were revealed today.
AliExpress is selling the Gamesir G7 Pro Wireless PC Controller in Mech White for $55.41 with free shipping after applying a $9 coupon code, 31% off the $80 Amazon price. The flagship controller features TMR analog sticks, Hall Effect triggers, four mappable buttons, a 1,200mAh battery with up to 10 hours of playtime, and an included charging dock.
Warhorse Studios co-founder Martin Klima said he hopes GTA 6 will blaze the trail for higher game prices, arguing an increase is "long overdue and also necessary for this business to survive." He pointed to ballooning development costs, a peaked audience of regular new-game buyers, and digital storefronts cutting out retail. GTA 6's Standard Edition costs $79.99 in the US and £69.99 in the UK, with the Ultimate Edition up to $99.99, ahead of its 19 November launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Warhorse Studios co-founder Martin Klima said he hopes GTA 6's $80 standard and $100 deluxe editions will pave the way for the rest of the industry to raise game prices. He argued that development costs are higher than ever while audience growth has stalled, and that Rockstar and Take-Two are the only ones who can afford to make the jump. Klima added that he won't play GTA 6 himself, as he doesn't find the franchise appealing.
The Xbox Store has added three notable free demos: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, whose progress carries over to the full release later in October; FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, following the full game's launch earlier this year; and Elta: Defy All Gods, which offers 60 minutes of gameplay and already holds a "Positive" reception on Steam. Other newer demos highlighted include The Zibbo Show and DYNASTY WARRIORS 3: Complete Edition.
Digital Eclipse's Toy Story 3 Complete Edition launches on 15th October, and its PS5 Trophy list has surfaced online ahead of release. The list is identical to the PS3 original but adds three new Trophies, two of which relate to Zurg, who is playable on all platforms in Complete Edition. The third new Trophy involves getting all the customisation packs from the Toy Store.
Brian David Gilbert helps players catch up on the Kingdom Hearts story before the new game comes out in a new Unraveled episode. He goes one better by promising to help viewers understand every story. The episode was published on Oct. 2.
Rockstar released four new GTA 6 screenshots via Love Magazine, focusing on protagonists Lucia and Jason. The images show the pair in a diner booth and playing pool in what appears to be a biker bar. Rockstar senior vice president of narrative Rupert Humphries said the couple's American Dream is about owning a house and paying off debts, not becoming billionaires.
Early deals ahead of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days include the Xbox Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller at $38, a Belkin Switch 2 Travel Case for Prime members at $23.07, and renewed Bose QuietComfort Headphones in Moonstone Blue at $149. The Pokémon TCG Prismatic Evolutions Super-Premium Collection is down to $239.95, and a $100 PS Store gift card is available for $90 with the code "TEFF427."
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.
The co-creator of Trombone Champ has released "UFO 50,000," a wild two-hour mixtape that mashes up hip-hop songs with music tracks from all 50 games in UFO 50. The album arrives as a revival of the video game music mashup energy from the late 2000s.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach and current NBC Football Night in America analyst Mike Tomlin has spent the last 12 years building a single Minecraft city, which he showcased in his account's first YouTube upload. The video has accrued 1.5 million views, with the official NFL and Minecraft accounts both commenting. Tomlin, who was convinced to share the project by his son Dino, later appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers and described playing Minecraft as "therapeutic."
Brian David Gilbert has unraveled a statistical formula to scientifically calculate the best game of 2018. The Unraveled episode was published by Polygon on Oct. 2.
Xbox's Disc to Digital feature rolled out to everyone this week, supporting over 1,500 physical games, but none of the Forza Horizon or Forza Motorsport physical editions work with it. The omission is likely tied to licensing, as Forza games are regularly delisted when their licensing deals expire — even the recently released Forza Horizon 6 lacks support. Xbox has said more games may be added over time.
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve launches today, with developer Bandai Namco Aces building a new cloud technology called Cloudly for the game. Q-Games, the Kyoto studio best known for PixelJunk, has announced it worked on the R&D of Cloudly and is listed in the game's end credits. Q-Games is one of several external support studios that assisted with the game's production.
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is currently free to claim on the Epic Games Store until October 8, 2026, and stays in your library permanently once claimed. Nightdive Studios released the remaster in June 2025 with 4K/144fps support, mod support, and cross-play co-op for up to four players. Epic is also giving away Buried Stars this week, available to claim until the same date.
Blizzard has added the quest "Kyle's Gone Missing!" to World of Warcraft: Forever as part of the October 1 patch, now live on the beta. The quest originated in The Burning Crusade through a 2007 Make-a-Wish campaign for Ezra Chatterton, and was added after players requested it on the forums. Blizzard Principal Designer Johnny Cash said he brought the quest into Forever.
The Steam Autumn Sale for 2026 is now live and runs through 10 AM PT on October 8. Resident Evil Requiem, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, and 007 First Light are each 30% off, while Endless Legend 2, Xenonauts 2, and Solasta 2 are half price. Far Cry 6 is down to $6 from its $60 RRP.
Sony has quietly revised the PS5 again with motherboard changes that make the CR2023 battery easier to access, simplify repairs, and adopt PS5 Pro-style liquid-metal containment and revised heatsink materials, plus a lower-cost HDMI retimer chip. These changes could lower production costs and improve assembly yields, but PS5 prices have only risen since its November 2020 launch: the Digital Edition went from $400 to $600, the disc model from $500 to $650, and the PS5 Pro from $700 to $900.
Rockstar Games has revealed the next collaboration in its marketing campaign for Grand Theft Auto 6, teaming up with the NBA's Miami Heat. The company already has a $3 million deal with Miami, the inspiration for the game's Vice City setting. For one night only, the Miami Heat will play as Vice City.
The limited edition Lisa DualSense controller is now available for pre-order via PS Direct worldwide, going in and out of stock in the US and UK, and ships on 30th October for $84.99/£74.99/€84.99. Designed with Lisa, it features her signature bangs and cat-like eyes on the touchpad in a "Chroma Pearl" colourway, alongside a merch collection that the PS Blog suggests may only be available in the US.
Insider Gaming's 28 Games Later Horror Showcase featured trailers for 28 games, eight of which are confirmed to be coming to Xbox, including Black Tides Draga's Wake, Remothered: Red Nun's Legacy and Tenebris Somnia. Remothered: Red Nun's Legacy launches on October 27, 2026, and Tenebris Somnia on October 16, 2026. Don't Fret has been rumoured for Xbox Game Pass, though no Game Pass mention appeared in its trailer.
On the latest VGC: The Video Game Podcast, Jordan Middler, Chris Scullion and Andy Robinson discuss the week's biggest news, including the reported return of the Uncharted series. The crew also share their thoughts on Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Gears of War: E-Day. New episodes are available weekly on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and more.
The WoW: Forever beta has reduced dungeon quest XP rewards by 50%, but only the bonus portion added on top of the base Classic values. The Wailing Caverns quest Deviate Hides, for example, still awarded 3,100 XP after the change. As this is a beta, the numbers remain subject to change.