#AAA

Rockstar says its next game won't take eight years, citing GTA 6 engine and team

Rockstar leadership told Bloomberg that its next game will not take another eight years, saying the engine, tools, and team built during GTA 6 will let it make content faster. The studio's headcount grew from 2,441 at Red Dead Redemption 2's 2018 launch to 4,711 across 12 offices in 2026, with 4,020 in development and QA and 690 in publishing. GTA 6 was announced in 2023 for a planned 2025 release, was pushed to May 26, 2026, and then moved to its current date of November 19.

Rockstar more than doubled its workforce for GTA 6 and says its next game won't take another eight years

Rockstar Games more than doubled its workforce to develop Grand Theft Auto 6, and says completing its next title will not take another eight years. The studio says the engine, tools and team built during GTA 6 will let it do things more quickly.

Rockstar set up a dedicated Los Angeles studio to make GTA 6 NPCs

Rockstar Games reportedly established an entire Los Angeles studio dedicated to creating NPCs for Grand Theft Auto 6. Development lead Rob Nelson told Bloomberg the team had struggled to hit its targets for the number of NPCs to be written and animated, calling the projections horrifying, and this was a major reason for the first GTA 6 delay. The studio is staffed with writers, producers, and directors focused only on the game's NPCs, while GTA 6 has been in production for more than eight years and moved from 2025 to May 2026 and then to November 19, 2026.

Jason Schreier reports on GTA VI development: studio doubled in size, project was once Project Americas

Jason Schreier's report details the challenges behind GTA VI's eight-plus years of development and how Rockstar changed during production. Rockstar grew from 2,441 employees at Red Dead Redemption II's 2018 release to 4,711 across 12 offices, and the game went through a dark period as leadership struggled to settle on its vision. GTA VI was originally codenamed Project Americas and aimed to cover large areas of North and South America before being scaled back to Vice City and its surroundings, with Rockstar leadership maintaining the November 19 release date is achievable.

The Immortal Legacy review roundup: Metacritic average sits at 77

The Immortal Legacy, a first-person soulslike from the creators of Ghostrunner, launches on October 13 and holds a Metacritic average of 77. IGN and Game Informer gave it 7, GameSpot and GamesRadar+ gave 6, Gamekult gave the lowest score at 5, and Destructoid gave the highest at 9, while Eurogamer did not score it. Several outlets cited limited enemy variety, few bosses, reused late-game levels and assets, and crashes during review, with the developers reportedly addressing many of these in a day-one patch.

Epic Games delays Disney collaboration shooter and tells developers to go AI first

Epic Games has delayed its Disney collaboration shooter, which had been slated for March, with no new release date confirmed. According to Bloomberg, developers were asked to build the game with AI tools including Anthropic's Claude, and a director said there would be no more hand-written code and that art would be generated with full AI workflows. Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic in 2024 for an equity stake, and this shooter was to be the first of several games in their partnership.

Pearl Abyss Goes Easy on Crimson Desert Reviewers

Pearl Abyss goes easy on us critics for our Crimson Desert reviews https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/pearl-abyss-goes-easy-on-us-critics-for-our-crimson-desert-reviews-they-had-to-play-the-build-that-is-not-the-exact-same-version-of-the-launched-game/

Valor Mortis review: this Napoleonic first-person swordfighter is one of the freshest Soulslikes in years

Rock Paper Shotgun's James Archer reviewed Valor Mortis, calling One More Level's Napoleonic first-person Soulslike a game that strikes out on its own in perspective and combat design. The review says its parry timings are well judged and the first-person view makes one-on-one fights more personal, though it notes falls off cliffs while backstepping, a narrow weapon and talent selection, and repeated minibosses in later stages. The game runs under 20 hours and includes grappling hook and wallrunning parkour, with platforming falls costing neither catalysts nor a trip back to the nearest lantern.

GTA 6 leak group threatens to release alleged full build including story mode

The group behind the recent Grand Theft Auto 6 leaks, known as CyberLeek, has reportedly threatened to release an alleged full build of the game, including its full story mode and end credits, if its memecoin's market cap reaches $30 million. The group demanded physical disks and a public apology from Take-Two, and its memecoin market cap rose from $3.8 million to $5.7 million after the warning was reported. Take-Two has filed subpoenas against Microsoft, Discord, and X to identify alleged infringers, while Rockstar said it hopes players will wait until November 19 to experience the game themselves.

Cyberleek posts another unauthorized GTA 6 video, and the fully naked Lucia footage draws fan skepticism

Cyberleek has reportedly released another unauthorized GTA 6 gameplay video, this time allegedly showing Lucia fully naked, in a bid to push its crypto scheme. Some fans suspect the leaker used a developer build or cheats to make Jason and Lucia naked, since NPCs in the game world do not react, and an earlier leak showed a tank spawned into the world. Cyberleek had tied the release to its memecoin reaching a $4 million market cap, which was hit over the weekend; the token stood at $2.7 million at publication after spiking to $8.4 million on October 11.

Group threatens to leak full GTA 6 build if physical plans aren't reversed

A group calling itself Cyberleek has threatened to leak a working build of GTA 6, including the full story mode played to the end and credits, if its cryptocurrency reaches a 30 million market cap. The group has posted unauthorized GTA 6 gameplay clips for nearly two months, including 25 minutes of new footage this week, and says its leaks protest Rockstar's decision to sell digital pre-orders without a physical version. Take-Two has filed multiple subpoenas to Discord seeking information on specific servers and users, and withdrew a subpoena request to YouTube.

GTA 6 leakers say they will release a playable build if enough people pay up

A hacker group called Cyberleek claims on its website that it will release a playable build of GTA 6, including the full story mode played to the end and credits, once it reaches a 30 million market cap. Earlier this week the group seemingly leaked around 25 minutes of footage, including a look at co-protagonist Jason, and said Take-Two could end the matter by printing physical discs and issuing a public apology. It remains unclear whether Cyberleek actually holds a playable build, and the author suspects the whole thing may be a bluff aimed at making money.

Dead by Daylight studio hiring for AAA sci-fi FPS

Dead by Daylight studio is hiring for a triple-A Sci-Fi first-person shooter with "a high realism bar". https://bit.ly/4yAydKG

Digital Foundry analyses The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered on PC and suggests optimised settings

Digital Foundry has analysed the PC version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, calling it a generational shift in visuals. It says players will need optimised settings, and the piece offers those settings.

GTA 6 leaker Cyberleek says it will release a build with the full story mode played to the end if its memecoin hits $30 million

According to online reports, GTA 6 leaker Cyberleek warned on its website that if its memecoin reached a $30 million market cap, it would release a build of the game featuring the full story mode through the end credits. Cyberleek again framed the leaks as a protest against the lack of a physical disc version and called on Take-Two to release GTA 6 on-disc and apologize. At the time of publication the memecoin had a $3.8 million market cap, after spiking at $5.7 million earlier today, and Cyberleek also tied Lucia's clothing in future leaked gameplay to market cap goals such as $2 million and $4 million.

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Review: Great, But At a Cost

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a great expansion that adds the new Norgan region with more loot, beasts, and stories, but its changes dilute what made the base game unique. The author notes that the Eternal Ferrystone and portcrystals across Norgan reduce how often you travel on foot, though you must still reach each one first to activate it. Those changes aim to make the experience more approachable, yet they also shift Dragon's Dogma 2 in a different direction.

Glen Schofield on retirement, The Callisto Protocol development, and the state of AAA

Veteran developer Glen Schofield has retired from the games industry, with his last project being The Callisto Protocol at Krafton's Striking Distance Studios in 2022. He says Krafton's decision to launch the game in December 2022, months before the March 2023 date he had been promised, forced the team to ship a pared-down version amid COVID disruption. Schofield added that he finished all the DLC and put out 86 patches, while Krafton was not interested in a pitch for a second Callisto Protocol game.

Glen Schofield on retirement, Callisto Protocol, and AAA

"A creative idea can save more money than AI can right now" – Glen Schofield on his retirement, Callisto Protocol's development, and the state of AAA https://bit.ly/47HMj0U

Rockstar unveils 5 new Grand Theft Auto 6 details

Rockstar Games has unveiled five new details about Grand Theft Auto 6 ahead of its release in a few weeks. The previews cover features fans had not heard about, and the gameplay may be more complex than players expected.

Gears of War: E-Day Looks Great on Xbox Series S Thanks to a Clever SSD Hack

The Coalition used a system that lets Gears of War: E-Day treat the NVMe drive as RAM, avoiding major downgrades on the 10GB Xbox Series S at the cost of a few gigabytes of storage for about a gigabyte of usable system memory. The only major feature cut was Lumen reflections, though Digital Foundry notes framerate can still dip in some scenes.

Gears of War: E-Day Runs Smoothly on Xbox Series S By Using SSD as RAM

The Coalition tapped into the Xbox Series S SSD to boost performance in Gears of War: E-Day when the console ran out of memory, studio technical director Kate Raynor told Digital Foundry. The Series S has only 10GB of RAM versus 16GB on the Series X, so the team offloaded data not used in a frame or over a run of frames to the SSD while keeping constantly needed data in RAM, and also dropped Lumen reflections. Gears of War: E-Day launched into early access last week.

How Is a Game Like GTA 6 Actually Made? Here's How Rockstar Gets It Done

Rockstar North boss Rob Nelson said in an interview with Love magazine that GTA 6 was built through a series of eight-week milestones, where select pieces of the game are compiled together, evaluated, adjusted based on feedback, and then followed by the next milestone. The process begins by creating assets and systems and then roughing in content across all areas of development. Writing director James Horton said there are no shortcuts when it comes to building a world like this.

Rockstar explains why GTA 6 doesn't satirise real-world events: "It has to be more over the top, more insane, more in your face"

Rockstar senior vice president of narrative Rupert Humphries explained why GTA 6 builds its own fictional world instead of satirising real-world political events. He said the game's long development means copying reality would feel dated, so it must be more over the top, more insane and more in your face. GTA 6 arrives 19th November.

Rockstar executives explain how GTA 6 is actually made

Rockstar North head of development and co-studio head Rob Nelson told Love magazine that the team builds the game through a series of eight-week milestones, pulling agreed-upon sections together, evaluating them, and using notes to set the next milestone's focus year after year. Open-world writing director James Horton said Rockstar set up a Los Angeles team solely to write pedestrian dialogue, working with a local production team on the game's thousands of unique NPCs. Grand Theft Auto 6 has been in development in some form since 2014, and players will get to try it next month.

AAA developers going indie

"It's less risky to be the masters of our own fate" – The AAA developers going indie https://bit.ly/4rNOmtG

Dead by Daylight studio hiring for AAA sci-fi FPS

Dead by Daylight studio is hiring for a triple-A Sci-Fi first-person shooter with "a high realism bar"

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Remastered (Switch 2) Review: A Big Visual Upgrade With Limited Combat Changes

A review of The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Remastered on Switch 2 finds the visuals greatly improved over the original Switch version, with fuller foliage, character models, and cutscenes. CD Projekt Red has confirmed a 30-40fps range, which the author verified, though the map and save menus lag about a second and handheld load times are long. The skill tree is now linear with skills upgradable to level 3, and enemy AI and sign effects are better, but combat remains clunky and the new gyro, mouse, and touch controls are optional extras.

Rockstar Traveled Across Florida With Gang Members and Cops for GTA 6 Research

Rockstar Games told Love Magazine that its team took research trips across Florida for GTA 6, driving from Miami through surrounding towns and the Florida Keys to Key West. Head of development Aaron Garbut said the team traveled with locals, cops and gang members to experience Miami's extremes, and that those details will find their way into the game. GTA 6's satire focuses on modern culture and conspiracy theories rather than recreating real-world viral moments.

EA Sports FC 27 adds The Grounds open-world mode, which plays more like a fighting-game lobby

EA Sports FC 27 introduces The Grounds, an open-world mode where up to 100 players share three areas linked by a central plaza, including a French cage pitch, Argentine street-football buildings, and British red-brick streets. After playing it on PS5, the author says it feels closer to a fighting-game lobby, with 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 small-sided matches plus mini-games like dribble contests, a four-player obstacle race, and target shooting, though whether it changes the series remains uncertain. Other changes include setting corner power and placement before switching to a box player, a multi-stage transfer process that can be hijacked, and a UT collection hall that records cards you once owned.

Gears of War: E-Day team on reworking the Locust, development pressure, and rebuilding the engine

The Coalition Studio Creative Director Matt Searcy and Gameplay Design Director Pax Lyle told Pure Xbox how they made the Locust frightening again, from stripping the Wretch's armour to giving it a shriek attack drawn from a Gears 1 cinematic and letting the Seeder flip out of the ground to grab players. Searcy said the project started from scratch on Unreal Engine 5, so chainsaw duels, meat shields, and frag tags did not make it in, though they could return later. E-Day entered premium early access on October 1 and comes to Ultimate and PC Game Pass on October 6 alongside its full release on Xbox Series X|S.

Grand Theft Auto 6 features 'detailed decapitation' and 'frequent and prominent' drug use, according to hastily deleted PEGI rating

GTA 6 completely "re-engineered" Rockstar's weather systems to "achieve a sense of scale we haven't felt before," adding hurricanes, rain...

GTA 6 Has a Busy Week With New Screenshots, a Brooklyn Mural, and a Miami Heat Tie-In

With the November launch about a month away, GTA 6 packed a week with marketing moves. Love Magazine shared new screenshots and quotes from two writers, a Jason and Lucia mural appeared in Brooklyn, Rockstar partnered with the Miami Heat for a Vice City night on November 18, and the Game Informer cover story mentioned over 150 animal species, hurricanes and tropical storms, and legendary creatures to find.

Podcast: The Coolest Details From Our GTA VI Cover Story

This week's Game Informer Show digs into the Grand Theft Auto VI cover story to pull out its coolest details. The hosts discuss how Leonida compares to Florida, the game's updated weather system and how it may compare to Red Dead Redemption 2, and speculate on what happens to players who prey on endangered species. Later they talk about their time with Star Wars: Galactic Racer and the new survival horror game End of Abyss.

GTA 6 Age Rating Details Drug Use, Nudity, and Sexual Fetishes

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.

GTA 6 Gets PEGI 18 Rating, Description Details Decapitation, Drugs, and Sexual Content

GTA 6 has received a PEGI 18 rating, with the description citing decapitation and dismemberment, the ability to snort cocaine from inventory at any time, and nudity, intercourse, and sexual fetish scenes. PEGI also noted players can pay for private dances in nightclubs, animals can be harmed, and discriminatory language appears in TV shows and radio channels. IGN later updated that PEGI has removed the rating page, which now shows a not-found message, and IGN has reached out to PEGI for comment. GTA 6 is still set to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, 2026.

GTA 6 Turns the Ridiculous World We Live In Up to 11

Rockstar Games' GTA 6 aims to reflect and amplify today's world with an over-the-top experience, with senior VP of narrative Rupert Humphries calling it a pressure cooker for all kinds of insanity. The game also changes the franchise formula, as escaping trouble is no longer as simple as hiding in an alley until your wanted level drops, with smarter and more persistent police. It launches on November 19 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 boss hopes GTA 6 pushes game prices up, calling it "long overdue and also necessary for this business to survive"

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 COO wants GTA 6 to set a new $80 price standard for triple-A games

Warhorse co-founder Martin Klima said he hopes GTA 6 "blazes the trail" for other triple-A games to raise their prices. He said Rockstar and Take-Two are the only companies that can afford or dare to increase game prices, calling it long overdue and necessary for the business to survive. GTA 6 launches next month at $80, and Take-Two says its $100 edition is its top seller.

New GTA 6 Screenshots Focus on Lucia and Jason's Relationship

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.