• Beyerdynamic has announced the MMX 100 wireless and MMX 130 wireless
• The MMX 100 wireless launches on September 1 for £89
• The MMX 130 wireless arrives in October for £109

German audio specialist beyerdynamic has announced two new wireless headsets, the closed-back MMX 100 wireless and the open-back MMX 130 wireless.

Beyerdynamic's MMX gaming range expands with two new wireless headsets representing two styles of gaming: the closed-back MMX 100 wireless for players who want to minimize distracting ambient noise and focus on their game, or the MMX 130 wireless, which is ideal for gamers who prefer to experience the atmosphere, soundtracks, and ambient sounds in greater detail.

"With these two models, beyerdynamic is making its audio expertise accessible to an even wider gaming audience," the company said. "Rather than offering a plethora of unnecessary features and gimmicks, both headsets focus on the essentials: precise sound, high levels of comfort, flexible connectivity, and long-lasting quality."

The MX 100, with its velour ear pads and a lightweight 275-gram design, offers a closed-back design to reduce external noise, a detachable Meta Voice microphone for clear communication, and a replaceable battery that lasts over 80 hours.

It can also be connected to PCs, consoles, smartphones, and handheld devices via Bluetooth 6.0, the included low-latency USB dongle, or a cable.

As for the MMX 130, gamers can expect a wireless headset designed for audio enthusiasts, with an open-back design that balances "a natural, spacious soundstage" with external noise, whatever the user is listening to.

Sporting a titanium-coated 40 mm driver for precise sounds, the MMX 1300 is recommended for gamers who enjoy story-driven, open-world, role-playing games (RPGs), and simulation games.

"With the MMX 100 wireless and MMX 130 wireless, we're offering gamers not just two more headsets, but two different ways to experience their games," said Matthias Heilig, product marketing manager for gaming at beyerdynamic. "Those looking for focus and isolation will find it in the closed-back MMX 100 wireless. Those who want to experience gaming worlds as naturally and spatially as possible will find an exciting alternative in the open-back MMX 130 wireless."

The MMX 100 wireless will launch first on September 1 in Black and Arctic White for £89, while the MMX 130 wireless will follow in October, also in Black and Arctic White, for £109.

The MMX 100 wireless will also premiere at Gamescom 2026 and be available for public testing.

• FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki says, "there was never really any big plan" to release Elden Ring: Nightreign and The Duskbloods back-to-back
• Miyazaki still has "a heavy focus on single-player content"
• He suggests the studio will return to making single-player games after The Duskbloods arrives

FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has suggested the studio could return to making single-player games after Elden Ring: Nightreign and The Duskbloods.

Many fans were surprised when FromSoftware announced its PvPvE action game, The Duskbloods, so soon after releasing its multiplayer, roguelike Elden Ring spin-off, Nightreign.

However, according to game director Miyazaki, who also helmed Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Dark Souls, releasing two multiplayer games back-to-back wasn't intentional.

"It's funny because there was never really any big plan that these two games would both release next to each other," Miyazaki told IGN, explaining that since Nightreign was led by a different director, Junya Ishizaki, both ideas "just coincided with being multiplayer games."

"It's not necessarily some big reveal saying that this is the direction we plan to go moving forward," Miyazaki continued. "We still have a heavy focus on single-player content as well. This is just something that happened to work out the way it did."

The director then suggested the studio could dive back into making single-player games after The Duskbloods arrives, saying: "But it's like, the more you work on something multiplayer for a long time, if anything, it scratches that itch only to want to make something single-player again."

The studio's last single-player experience was Elden Ring, which launched in 2022, followed by the multiplayer spin-off, Nighreign, in 2025.

Next up for FromSoftware is The Duskbloods, which was announced last year as a PvPvE and Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. Network tests are underway, but a release date hasn't been set.

• The price and release date for the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition have seemingly leaked
• Reliable leaker 'billbil-kun' says it will cost around $899.99 (roughly £660 / AU$1,255)
• It will reportedly launch on November 27

After the price and release date for Microsoft's 25th anniversary Xbox Wireless Controller were leaked earlier this week, details of the matching limited edition Xbox Series X have also surfaced.

As per the reliable 'billbil-kun' of Dealabs, who has accurately reported on new and unannounced hardware in the past, the upcoming Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition, which sports a translucent green shell, will cost a whopping €899.99.

This translates to an estimated $899.99 price point in the US (roughly £660 / AU$1,255), and is about €100 / $100 more than the regular 1TB Xbox Series X with a disc drive.

When Microsoft announced the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition and the matching Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition in June, it said that both would be together in select markets as a limited-edition collection in November.

Now, billbil-kun claims the console will release on November 27, which aligns well with Black Friday.

It's unclear when pre-orders begin, but the leaker recently reported that the matching controller's October 20 release date and $79.99 / £74.99 / €79.99 price point will be revealed at Gamescom 2026, with pre-orders beginning on August 26.

Both the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition and the Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition are translucent "OG green," inspired by the original Xbox, and feature light-up buttons and "Xbox 25" branding.

After the Xbox Series X25 reveal during Xbox Fanfest at Summer Game Fest 2026, free consoles were reportedly given to fans in attendance.

• Windows 11's August update has broken some PC games
• Microsoft is investigating reports of crashes, but right now it's unclear what the root cause is
• Theories point to security measures in the update potentially causing issues with certain drivers and conflicts with anti-cheat tools

Windows 11 has run into trouble with gamers (again) after the latest monthly update for the OS, and Microsoft is investigating what's gone wrong.

The Register noticed that Microsoft has posted on the Windows release health dashboard about "reports of certain games becoming unresponsive" following its latest patch.

In some cases, games are either freezing and becoming unresponsive, as mentioned, or simply closing (crashing to the desktop), with an error ('Exception Access Violation') being displayed in some cases. There are also some reports of spontaneous reboots occurring after a game crashes.

Not all PC games are affected by any means, with Microsoft noting that reports are coming in from players of Arc Raiders, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals.

Microsoft is currently trying to work out what's going on, saying: "Ongoing investigation indicates that this issue is related to peripherals or internal device components which have RGB lighting features. Such devices may install drivers or code components with file names similar to inpoutx64. In systems where these drivers are found, the issue is then triggered by launching certain games."

Microsoft adds that it's currently trying to "understand the relationship between these RGB components and the games which trigger this issue", and says it will update gamers when more information becomes available.

Analysis: theories and workarounds

Microsoft is suggesting that this may be a driver-related issue of some kind, rather than a problem with Windows 11 itself. Of course, changes to Windows 11 could be the root cause, and the company admits that, and says it's still trying to "determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft" on the release health dashboard.

As The Register points out, some on Reddit are theorizing that this bug is to do with "tightened kernel handle validation" which was introduced with the latest patch for Windows 11. Essentially meaning that Microsoft has tightened aspects of security with the August update, and that this is causing driver glitches, ones that were previously ignored, to be picked up (and subsequently crashing games).

The mentioned driver (inpoutx64) isn't just used in software controlling RGB lighting, but also in some system utilities needing low-level system access (for hardware monitoring, for example, and one such tool is mentioned in the above Reddit post: ZenTimings). It seems that if this driver is present on the host PC, the game's anti-cheat probing it now throws up a problem (post-patch), and that leads to the crash.

If this bug is causing you grief — and there are a lot of Arc Raiders players out there in that particular boat — there are workarounds that can make the game playable again.

The first is the most obvious and easiest fix: remove the August update for Windows 11 (or roll back the OS to before it was installed). You can remove an update in Windows Update, in the Update History panel — just find the patch (KB5121003 in this case) and uninstall it. However, bear in mind that you will be without a bunch of security fixes (and other features, including faster app launching) if you don't have this update on your PC.

The other alternative is to remove the problematic driver file, which seemingly won't harm your system (that said, if you do so, it's at your own risk — I haven't tested this). Going by the advice in the above Reddit thread — and also from the developer of Arc Raiders (Embark) — what you need to do is open the Command Prompt in Windows 11 by typing cmd in the search box, then right-click on Command Prompt and select 'Run as administrator'.

Once the prompt appears, type the following and press enter:

sc stop inpoutx64

Then type this second line and press enter:

sc delete inpoutx64

Now close the Command Prompt, open File Explorer, and find the following folder: C:\Windows\System32\drivers.

In that folder you should see the inpoutx64 file, it may be a SYS or DLL file (or both). Delete any of those files which are present.

That's the driver removed, and you should now be good to go, and you can still have the August update installed. But as I already noted, proceed at your own risk if you take this route.

The best bet for now may be to sit tight and wait for the results of Microsoft's investigation, and hopefully we'll hear something soon. However, this could be a somewhat thorny problem to untangle, and it rather sounds like a case of Microsoft dealing with a security issue — one which should be fixed — and that cure causing collateral damage due to driver wonkiness.

Whatever the case, on social media, a good many PC gamers are blaming Microsoft for this latest gaming-related issue in Windows 11.

One Redditor delivers the following barb: "They can't even keep the one thing they had over Linux. If you have to worry about whether or not your games work anyway, why still use Windows?"

Another observes: "Since 2025 December update till today — EVERY single month the update breaks something! There was no single month without issues."

There's no shortage of shots fired at Microsoft for monthly update woes, accusations of this being the fault of vibe coding (AI), and threats to leave for greener Linux desktop pastures. Business as usual, then.

• The Nintendo Switch 2 UK price will go from £395.99 to £419.99 next month
• Nintendo announced the changes for the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan in May
• The new pricing comes into effect on September 1, 2026

Nintendo has officially confirmed the new UK price of the Nintendo Switch 2, which is set to increase next month.

Back in May, the Mario maker announced fresh Switch 2 price increases for the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe. Effective September 1, 2026, they were billed as a "response to various market conditions, which are expected to extend over the medium to long term."

"We understand that pricing changes can be challenging for customers and deeply appreciate the continued enthusiasm of our fans for Nintendo products and experiences," Nintendo shared at the time.

The US price will rise from $449.99 to $499.99, while Canada will see a $50 increase from $629.99 to $679.99. Europe will rise by €30 from €469.99 to €499.99, and Japan will jump from ¥49,980 to ¥59,980.

There was no confirmation at the time for the UK, but now, in a new X post from Nintendo Store UK, it's revealed that the Switch 2's price will increase by £24, bringing the Switch 2 from £395.99 to £419.99.

The new Switch 2 pricing comes as no surprise, as the global RAM crisis, driven primarily by the rapid demand for AI data centers, continues to impact consoles and hardware manufacturing.

Microsoft has increased the price of its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles multiple times this year, including earlier this month in the UK, which saw the 512GB Series S shoot up from £299.99 to £429.99, and the Xbox Series X 1TB skyrocket from £349.99 to £519.99.

The PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles also received price changes earlier this year, with the base PS5 jumping $100 / £100 from $549.99 / £479.99 to $649.99 / £569.99.

• Horizon Hunters Gathering is reportedly being overhauled to remove its live-service features after poor player feedback
• The game is being turned into a traditional cooperative multiplayer game with a smaller scope and story mode
• Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has also revealed details about several live-service PlayStation games that were canceled

Guerilla Games is reportedly overhauling Horizon Hunters Gathering and stripping out the game's live-service elements following negative feedback.

According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, sources "familiar with the company's plans" claim that the Horizon Zero Dawn studio is removing the project's live-service features after "poor" playtest feedback and reimagining it into a traditional cooperative multiplayer game with a story mode "and a far smaller scope."

They said the game isn't canceled yet, but Guerrilla told staff in a meeting on August 19 that they have until December to impress executives with their next milestone, while many developers will be reassigned to a different, unknown project that will also be evaluated at the end of this year.

Schreier offered a few more details in his latest YouTube video where he discussed Sony's live-service initiative, explaining that Horizon Hunters Gathering, which was announced earlier this year, has been undergoing playtesting throughout the year, including in February and May.

While still in development, this is the latest PlayStation live-service project that has failed to get off the ground following a few years of Sony attempting to get its first-party single-player studios to dip their toes into the multiplayer genre.

According to Schreier, several more behind-the-scenes projects have been canceled, among them the long-rumored God of War live-service game from Bluepoint, the developer known for remaking and remastering older games like Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls, and which was shut down earlier this year.

The studio, which Schreier reported was also interested in developing a Bloodborne remake, helped Sony Santa Monica create God of War Ragnarok and soon after kicked off an online multiplayer live-service God of War game featuring Kratos' son Atreus descending into Hades.

"I don't remember all the specifics or exactly how it would work, but essentially it was designed for many players," Schreier said, "So, I guess they could do their own kind of custom versions of Atreus or like aspects of Atreus. I'm not 100% sure how it would work, but that game did not pan out."

In addition, Insomniac Games, best known for its Marvel's Spider-Man games and launching Marvel's Wolverine next month, was at one point developing an online Spider-Man title, which was ultimately scrapped.

"They're one of the studios that has actually avoided the curse of not releasing anything in the PS5 era," Schreier said, "But even they took a live service initiative. They were visited by the Nick Fury of PlayStation [about] doing a Spider-Man multiplayer game. It didn't get very far, and they didn't spend a ton of resources on it.

"They didn't put a ton of money or time into it, which is why they have been able to release multiple games this generation."

Schreier also touched on Naughty Dog's canceled The Last of Us multiplayer game, which was in development for four years and canceled in 2023, which we learned earlier this year from game director Vinit Agarwal was 80% complete before the plug was pulled.

Sony's live-service initiative has been a rough road; we've also seen games such as Concord canceled two weeks after launch following poor reception and Destiny 2, which was recently taken offline four years after the PlayStation company purchased its developer, Bungie.

• Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition will reportedly launch on October 20
• Leaker 'billbil-kun' claims pre-orders will open during Gamescom on August 26
• The controller will cost $79.99 / £74.99 / €79.99

The price and release date for Microsoft's 25th anniversary Xbox Wireless Controller have reportedly leaked online ahead of Gamescom 2026.

The company revealed the Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition in June, alongside the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition, both inspired by the original Xbox and the "OG green" that players remember.

We haven't heard anything about the hardware since, but now, according to reliable leaker 'billbil-kun' of Dealabs (via IGN), the X25 controller will launch on October 20, 2026.

The leaker also claims the controller will cost $79.99 / £74.99 / €79.99 / Canadian$99.99, with pre-orders opening on August 26, coinciding with its announcement at Gamescom.

We know Xbox will be at Gamescom, but its plans for Opening Night Live, where host Geoff Keighley will take to the stage to unveil world premiere trailers for new and upcoming games, are currently unknown.

However, billbil-kun claims the X25 controller details will be featured during the event, with pre-orders opening soon after.

There are no pricing details for the Xbox Series X 25 Limited Edition. Still, Xbox previously stated in an Xbox Wire post that the console and controller will be available together in select markets as a limited-edition collection in November.

Both the console and controller are a gorgeous translucent green, allowing players to see their internal builds, with illuminated Xbox buttons and "Xbox 25" branding.

"This is just one of the ways we’re celebrating 25 years of XBOX with you, the players who have made XBOX what it is. Thank you," said Jason Ronald, VP Next Generation, in the same post.

UPDATE: A third clip has now leaked, as the leaker suggested, showcasing more gameplay, including a new story mission cutscene. This story has been updated with those details.

• Grand Theft Auto 6 gets leaked again, with footage revealing gameplay and the entire map
• The leaker demands Rockstar Games' apology and statement for recent game disc decisions, with 'commandments' in a manifesto
• The leaker has kept their promise, with a third clip surfacing online, revealing more gameplay and a new cutscene

Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 6 is almost here, with a new reveal set to premiere on Netflix — but not without a major disruption beforehand for both the game studio and its parent company, Take-Two Interactive.

GTA 6 has leaked yet again, revealing new gameplay and the entire map of Leonida, with the hacker group Cyberleek claiming responsibility for the breach. Insider Gaming also reports that the footage is likely from an older build, at least according to reputable leaker Nate The Hate, who says it's over a year old.

While we won't go into details of the leaked footage (for obvious reasons), the level of polish and realism is high, suggesting the full release may be as great as many fans anticipate.

Most importantly, though, Cyberleek released a manifesto protesting against Rockstar, threatening to continue to 'disrupt their operations' by leaking game material until the developer issues a public statement and apologizes. Unsurprisingly, Cyberleek has fulfilled their promise and released yet another clip online showcasing more gameplay and a story cutscene.

The reason for the leaks and the demand for an apology stem from Cyberleek's push to stop the elimination of physical game discs pioneered by Sony and Rockstar. The manifesto contains 'commandments' to stop digital pre-orders altogether, preserve single-player content, and stop selling 'fake single-player DLC'.

This is now the third major leak of GTA 6 in its buildup to launch. The first revealed very early unfinished gameplay, and the second unveiled the game's first trailer hours before its YouTube premiere.

It doesn't look like these leaks will slow down anytime soon, despite Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games striking multiple online posts across social media with DMCA takedowns — all while Cyberleek suggests that those 'commandments' aren't exclusive to Rockstar, stating that other publishers are not safe from leaks.

Rockstar Games has been called into question regarding some of its practices lately, deemed anti-consumer, notably regarding game ownership, which is effectively non-existent without game discs.

However, ransom isn't a good look in any scenario. It's illegal and, frankly, this isn't going to make Rockstar Games or any other game developer or publisher consider the propositions or backtrack on controversial choices.

Fans will continue to protest for game preservation and ownership, but it goes without saying that this isn't exactly the right way to do it.

• Leaker Billbil-kun claims the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Diablo 4 will launch on September 15
• The "Age of Hatred Collection" will reportedly include the base game and the Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred expansions
• The physical edition will have a code in the box

The long-rumored Nintendo Switch 2 port of Diablo 4 could reportedly launch very soon after BlizzCon 2026.

That's according to reliable leaker 'billbil-kun' of French outlet Dealabs (via Resetera), who originally reported on the Switch 2 version of Diablo 4 earlier this month.

Now, they claim that Diablo 4 will arrive on Switch 2 on September 15, nearly three years after its release on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC, two days after BlizzCon 2026, which takes place between September 12 and September 13.

The edition will be called the "Age of Hatred Collection," and will include the base game and its two expansions, Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred, and will cost $69.99 / £62.99 / €69.99.

Pre-orders are expected to begin on September 12, coinciding with the opening of BlizzCon 2026, and it appears that the physical version won't have a cartridge, but will offer a code in a box instead.

Billbil-kun couldn't determine when the game will be announced, but suggested that an official reveal could be made during Gamescom 2026 next week, where Xbox has confirmed its presence, but it's currently unclear. The announcement could just as well arrive at BlizzCon, too.

Diablo 4 launched in 2023 and is regarded as one of the best isometric, open-world role-playing games (RPGs). In TechRadar Gaming's five-star review, freelance contributor Cat Bussell praised the game's "darkly compelling fantasy world," "fluid combat that scales well in single and multiplayer," and "endlessly customizable characters."

• The final Star Wars Zero Company trailer has been released
• The trailer has confirmed the return of Captain Rex, and fans are hyped
• Star Wars Zero Company launches on August 27

Bit Reactor has released the final trailer for Star Wars Zero Company, which confirms the return of another fan-favorite Star Wars character.

Last month, the studio revealed the Zero Company cast and confirmed that Anakin Skywalker will be in the game, voiced by The Clone Wars actor Matt Lanter (I've played as him in my preview, and he's awesome).

Now, fans can also look forward to seeing the return of yet another fan-favorite character, Captain Rex, leader of the Grand Army of the Republic's 501st Legion, as revealed in the game's final trailer.

Rex appears for a split second, gearing up for a fight, suggesting he could arrive during a story-central battle.

Bit Reactor hasn't confirmed if the Clone Trooper will be playable, but I certainly hope so. Fans are also sharing their excitement, since it's been far too long since Rex has been involved in any Star Wars stories.

"You're as beautiful as the day i lost you," one fan wrote on X, as another replied to the trailer, "OUR BOYYYY IS BACK. CAPTAIN REX IS ACTUALLY BACK."

"REX LETS FREAKING GOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" someone else wrote.

It won't be long before fans get to meet Captain Rex again, because Star Wars Zero Company launches on August 27 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Series S.

Bit Reactor has confirmed that the game will take up to 40 hours to finish, but it won't have a New Game Plus mode.

I've played more than 15 hours of Star Wars Zero Company, and I'm hugely impressed with the story so far, the isometric turn-based tactics combat, and customization.

"Some Star Wars fans who have never played a TBT game might feel put off from trying out Zero Company, so the question is: Can fans unfamiliar with the TBT genre still enjoy this game? I would say absolutely!" I wrote.

"As a massive Star Wars fan and someone who enjoys TBT but has never played XCOM, Zero Company easily made me familiar with the mechanics and, so far, offers a cohesive experience that combines the joy of Star Wars storytelling with compelling tactical gameplay."

• A new 'It Happens on PS5' ad features Grand Theft Auto 6 footage
• Fans are excited about a newly added trunk sound effect
• Fans are eagerly awaiting the 'Grand Theft Auto 6: An Extended Look'

Sony has released a new PlayStation 5 ad featuring Grand Theft Auto 6, and fans are getting excited over a new sound effect.

If you're out of the loop, the 'It Happens on PS5' physical ad campaign has just launched around the world, which highlights PlayStation's "biggest moments of play."

A new commercial also dropped and was swiftly brigaded by fans still angry with Sony's plan to end physical game disc production, and features games such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and 007 First Light, as well as upcoming titles like Marvel’s Wolverine and God of War Laufey.

GTA 6 is also featured, showing a live-action shot from Miami, clips from previous trailers, and a billboard in Poland. The thing is, the ad doesn't even feature new GTA 6 footage, but it's the shot of Lucia and Jason from inside a car trunk that has fans excited.

The same scene, which appears to be running at 60 frames per second (fps), first appeared in Trailer 2, but this version includes a sound effect of the car trunk closing. Yeah, that's it.

"GTA 6 appears in a new PlayStation commercial. Previously seen footage features new audio, including the sound of the trunk closing," a viral X post reads.

Rockstar Games plans to treat us to an extended look, premiering on Netflix on August 27, but it seems fans can't seem to hold out much longer.

"Rockstar Games is watching people get excited for the sound of trunk closing and probably thinking to themselves that maybe they overdid it with the silent treatment. Anyway, the sound of that trunk closing is extremely realistic I LOVE IT," one user replied.

"We’re so desperate for GTA 6 marketing that a trunk closing sound is exciting," a fan said, as another wrote, "Yup, that sounds like a trunk closing alright."

Someone also pointed out that the sound effect could have been edited on top of the footage by Sony for its ad, but either way, the upcoming extended look can't come soon enough.

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S.

• Star Wars: Galactic Racer has call-backs that span the whole film series
• Iconic locations and recognizable characters will appear in the upcoming racing game
• The game's set to launch on October 6, 2026

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is shaping up to be the ultimate racing experience for Star Wars fans, letting you speed through a mix of new beloved locations (including the iconic Boonta Eve Classic course) as legendary characters like Sebulba and Ben Quadinaros.

It's not all based on The Phantom Menace, though, and in my recent couple of hours hands-on with the game, I spent plenty of time in the sandy starship-strewn desert of Jakku, seen in The Force Awakens, and other recognizable planets that haven't been revealed quite yet.

The game takes place in the Outer Rim, the perilous outskirts of the galaxy, in the New Republic Era right after the events of Return of the Jedi. According to Lucasfilm Games executive producer Craig Derrick, the setting was chosen because the game is "about telling a local story" rather than a grand intergalactic conflict.

"Sometimes putting a story in the Outer Rim helps distance it a little bit from all the bigger stakes that you see sometimes in our films," he says. "And it shows that these characters have a real life."

The team also says the decision was inspired by real-world history. "We wanted to tell a story of the beginning of this league and how it's put together," begins Kieran Crimmins, creative director at developer Fuse Games.

"And there was a kind of mirroring there of real life. The empire has just fallen, so a little bit like the end of World War Two. Here, there was a big rise in racing with all the ex-pilots, and ex-military people who were still very capable behind the wheel, becoming pilots."

This is best exemplified by Griff Halloran (who some might recognize from the Star Wars Resistance animated series), an ex-Tie fighter pilot who still wears his battered old armor in-game.

The chosen time period also gives the team plenty of license to draw on all the Star Wars movies in some way. "There's a great thing where you can pull from all the different time periods," adds Crimmins. "Particularly the kind of original trilogy and the prequel trilogy, and there is an absolute plethora of depth, not only in lore and character, but also the machines used and the design language used."

Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches for Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5, and PC on October 6, 2026.

• Star Wars: Galactic Racer lets players pilot vehicles as iconic characters from the movie series like Sebulba and Ben Quadinaros
• Lucasfilm Games executive producer Craig Derrick says "it's important to have some returning characters"
• Creative director Kieran Crimmins would "absolutely love" to see players try and emulate Sebulba's iconic podracing stance by playing with their feet

The upcoming arcade racing game Star Wars: Galactic Racer finally lets every Star Wars fan live out their ultimate fantasy: piloting a pod racer as legendary The Phantom Menace character Sebulba.

In just a few hours of hands-on at a recent preview event, I spotted the now grey-haired alien in both the game's Scenario mode and its intense online player-versus-player battles, where he appears alongside other movie favorites including the only marginally less iconic Ben Quadinaros. There are also plenty of newcomers, like the story mode protagonist Shade or their unapologetically Scouse-sounding companion Hibi.

"I think it's important to have some returning characters if they're important, if they're meaningful," explains Lucasfilm Games executive producer Craig Derrick. "I don't think we want to move to cameos for the sake of cameos; it feels cheap. But in the case of Sebulba and some of the other characters you may meet in this game, they actually have a real point and real presence in the story.

"It drives that story forward in a way that feels not only connected to the larger film franchise in the way that you've seen those characters before, but they actually have a real point. They have a real reason for being there, and so the fans get that instant flush of familiarity."

Although his presence in the game seems to follow his "mischievous" characterization in the film, Derrick teases that there might be some surprises in store for fans that play with their expectations.

"His mischievousness is [a huge part of his character]. It's an immediate read," he explains. "

"I hope our players come in and know the character before maybe the characters in our game do. Maybe some of his reputation precedes him a little bit in this, and then we get to play with that. We get to play with it both in terms of like 'how do we lean into what you already know?' and 'how do you subvert it?' Maybe the character changes his stripes a little bit... Or not."

Personality aside, one of the most memorable aspects of Sebulba is his unique pod racing position that involves piloting his craft with his feet. Asked whether players should try and emulate this for the most authentic experience, Kieran Crimmins, creative director at Galactic Racer developer Fuse Games, appears eager to see it tried.

"I think if they're not controlling it with their feet, then are they really playing the game properly?" he asks. "I would absolutely love to see someone try and do that. [...] Please send me the footage."

If you fancy getting your grippers out and giving it a go, Star Wars: Galactic Racer launches for Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5, and PC on October 6, 2026.

• Fans have descended on Sony's new 'It Happens on PS5' ad featuring Grand Theft Auto 6
• They're protesting the decision to end physical disc production in January 2028
• The ad campaign also highlights other upcoming games like Marvel's Wolverine and God of War Laufey

PlayStation fans still angry with Sony's plan to end physical game disc production have brigaded yet another video comment section, this time a PS5 ad featuring Grand Theft Auto 6.

Sony has just launched the 'It Happens on PS5' physical ad campaign across the world, which highlights "the biggest moments of play" featuring games such as Marvel’s Wolverine, 007 First Light, and God of War Laufey.

"Today, we’re launching a new It Happens on PS5 hero advert highlighting what’s available on PS5 as well as what’s ahead for players in the coming months," the accompanying PS blog reads.

"The advert invites players to discover what PS5 makes possible, taking viewers on a fast-paced journey through bold and unexpected moments, featuring larger-than-life scenes, from Giannis Antetokounmpo’s elite basketball skills that get the streets bouncing to a high-speed jet ski chase."

GTA 6 is also featured ahead of the game's November 19 launch, and while some fans are feeling the excitement, many are continuing to voice their disappointment with Sony and its decision to kill game discs in January 2028.

After previously swarming the comment section of the most recent Marvel's Wolverine cinematic trailer, as well as several other PlayStation videos, fans have now descended on the 'It Happens on PS5' ad to make their thoughts known.

"Discs used to happen on PS5," the top comment reads, as another user wrote, "It happens that there used to be discs."

If you continue scrolling through the comments, it's difficult to pinpoint any positive mention of the ad, with the majority either urging Sony to backtrack on its decision or criticising the company.

"I used to buy PS products for more than 30 years. It won't happen again," a fan said.

Despite the ongoing pushback, and after remaining silent on the matter for weeks, Sony CFO Lin Tao recently addressed the situation during the company's Q1 2026 earnings announcement, confirming that it is "cautiously" moving forward with its decision (via IGN).

While we know upcoming games like Marvel's Wolverine and God of War Laufey will have physical discs at launch, GTA 6's physical edition won't, and will instead offer a digital code in a box, which has also added to the controversy.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick recently explained the reasoning for this decision, saying, "Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed. It's already a digital business."

• Sony CEO Hiroko Totoki says a release date for the PS6 has yet to be decided
• The global component shortage and trade wars have impacted Sony's decision-making
• Totoki says, "We need to take some action. Otherwise, we cannot survive in this landscape"

Sony CEO Hiroko Totoki has confirmed that the PlayStation 6 release date remains undecided due to the ongoing manufacturing component crisis and trade wars.

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal (via VGC), in which Totoki primarily discussed the company's television and movie business, the CEO briefly touched on the PS6 and the challenges of developing the next-generation PlayStation console.

Namely, the global RAM crisis, driven primarily by the rapid demand for AI data centers and seeing prices skyrocket, and the ongoing trade wars.

"Considering that importance, we need to take some action. Otherwise, we cannot survive in this landscape," Totoki said.

Analysts have previously predicted that the PS6 could launch in 2027, which The Wall Street Journal also mentioned in its interview; however, due to the component shortage, Sony hasn't decided the launch date internally.

"Totoki said the company still hasn’t fixed a date for PS6’s launch," The Wall Street Journal states.

Totoki last spoke about the PS6 in May but was hesitant to share anything about the console, saying that the current circumstances regarding the RAM crisis, "memory price is also expected to be very high [in] FY 2027."

"We have not yet decided on at what timing we will launch the new console, or at what prices," Totoki said at the time. "So we would like to really observe and follow the situation.

"Looking at the current circumstances, the memory price is also expected to be very high [in] FY 2027, because there will still be a shortage of supply. So under that assumption, we must think carefully what we will do."

There have also been numerous claims from industry insiders, such as Moore's Law is Dead, who have suggested a 2027 launch date as well, and even claimed that Sony will launch its next-generation PlayStation with three devices in 2027, including two consoles and a companion handheld.

Recent comments from Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino also seem to suggest that the next-generation PlayStation console could be a handheld.

However, Following Sony's announcement that it will end the production of physical game discs in January 2028, analysts have determined that the next-gen PS6 console will launch in 2028.

According to Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, the all-digital plan telegraphs Sony's upcoming plans, and the "current expectation is that the console will launch at the end of 2028."

The analyst also suggested that "at a minimum," the standard version of the PS6 won't have a physical media disc drive since Sony will be looking for ways to reduce the cost of its next-gen hardware, and "this is an easy win."

• A VR game developer has teased that the Steam Frame is landing soon
• The Steam Machine launched at a much higher-than-expected price
• A Half-Life game has been teased for the Steam Frame, but would that save it?

When Valve’s new hardware was announced late last year, I couldn’t care less about the Steam Machine; I was far more interested in the Steam Frame standalone VR headset it was preparing for us.

At the time, I was convinced it might not only kill the Meta Quest 3, but it could revitalize the whole VR gaming space.

With reports that the Steam Frame is “just around the corner” — according to Gunman Contracts developer ANB_Seth on Discord, who said the game will launch alongside the headset, with the team and publisher confident that launch is coming soon — I should therefore be extremely excited.

I’m not.

And it’s all thanks to the Steam Machine.

My excitement is measurable (it's low)

The debut announcement lacked pricing or a release date for the Frame or Machine, but there was plenty of excitement at the possibility the gadgets promised. However, since then the Steam Machine made its full-on debut with a thud rather than a thunderous applause — middling specs were met with a ridiculous $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609 starting price.

Admittedly, the RAM crisis plays a big part. The computing component cost crunch has made RAM and other essential computing parts a lot more expensive. This isn’t helped by Valve’s insistence on not copying the wider industry’s approach to undercut themselves with console pricing — selling at a loss to build a community base that’ll help them recoup revenue with software sales — meaning its tech looks relatively expensive.

The Steam Frame will likely cost similar to its Machine sibling, perhaps more once you factor in controllers if they are included by default (they aren’t for the Steam Machine) and its need for a display. Even if it’s effectively a wearable Steam Deck, I have no interest in paying this much for a gaming-focused headset.

Why?

Because if I want to play non-VR games, a handheld will always be more comfortable than a bulky headset for long play sessions — and if I do turn to a headset, a more versatile option like the Samsung Galaxy XR would allow me to stream flat games and be productive from one single VR machine.

The Steam Frame is expected to be a gaming-capable gadget only.

Meanwhile, for VR games, the Meta Quest 3S costs half as much as the Steam Frame and can play basically any worthwhile VR game. The exceptions are a handful of PC-VR exclusives which require a half-decent PC to run them, though there aren’t many of these.

One of the few non-Meta Quest 3S-playable VR games worth your time is the now six-year-old Half-Life: Alyx. And here lies the only thing that could convince me the Steam Frame is a good idea: we get a new Valve game exclusive to the system.

There are rumors Valve is working on a follow-up to Half-Life: Alyx, and if that’s true, and it’s a PCVR exclusive that plays best on the Steam Frame, then that could be enough to convince some folks to buy into its upcoming hardware.

Now, this wouldn’t change my mind specifically — the Half-Life hype passed me by — but for major fans of the series it could seriously help Valve’s hardware’s popularity. Conversely, if it’s a flat game you can play on any Steam-compatible PC with decent specs, I don’t see it saving the Steam Frame.

Of course we’ll have to wait and see what Valve has in store for us — there’s no guarantee the Steam Frame is anywhere close to launch, just a hunch from a developer — but I expect we won’t be waiting too much longer for Valve’s VR hardware. And when it does finally debut, I can pass my final verdict, though I’m not holding my breath that it’ll be any better than our three-and-a-half-star Steam Machine rating.

• Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski said, "It's not cool to like something" anymore in a recent Facebook post
• He thinks players' "minds are made up" before a game is even out, with some titles falling victim ot "dogpiling"
• He listed Highguard and the upcoming Horizon Hunters Gathering as examples

Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has lamented the current online culture where players' "minds are made up" before a game is even out, thanks to the "dogpiling" of certain titles like Concord, Highguard, and the upcoming Horizon Hunters Gathering.

In a recent Facebook post, Bleszinski, who was lead designer of the first three Gears of War games, said that he had been "sucked into the rabbit hole of takes on Concord's failure" while browsing YouTube.

A live-service hero arena shooter, Concord launched in 2024 and was an unprecedented flop. Its servers were shut down after just two weeks thanks to catastrophically low sales, with the few buyers refunded. Sony shut down its developer, Firewalk Studios, the next month.

Bleszinski wrote that there is "no lack of videos trying to pin the blame on a variety of factors" like "hero shooter fatigue, ugly character designs, timing, long dev cycle." This apparently led him to videos about the subsequent failure of Highguard, a free-to-play hero shooter that came out earlier this year and was shut down after just 45 days, having struggled to maintain a player base.

He argued that "gamers glommed onto" Highguard, branding it "the next Concord" before it had even come out. "I honestly thought Highguard looked pretty good," he continued, though he admits he was skeptical whether it had a strong enough unique selling point to succeed.

"Betting on 'well now you ride a horse' as a unique selling point for a title didn't make a lot of sense to me, just like 'well you fight in low gravity' wasn't enough for LawBreakers," he said, referring to the unsuccessful sci-fi hero shooter he himself directed that released in 2017 and shut down a little over a year later.

"In some of these hit piece videos I kept seeing glimpses of a really cool-looking title that I couldn't pin down until I located it," he added. The game in question was Horizon Hunters Gathering, an upcoming co-op Horizon Zero Dawn spinoff.

"I loved Horizon and I thought this looked really compelling; I dug the art style and a PvE game in that world seems like a good fit," he wrote. "And then I read the comments. [...] It was a nonstop barrage of wanting to hate something long before it even hit."

He added: "The new world order we live in is one of 'didn't have a chance before it even came out' - minds are made up before the title even ships and folks get a chance to play it and decide for themselves. The dogpiling is real. I can't imagine being a dev and seeing this."

To wrap up, he stated: "I get it. It's not cool to like something. And, if something becomes loved, it then becomes cool to hate it." He also questioned how this situation came about, though he didn't offer any definitive conclusion.

You might argue that titles like Highguard failed to compete in a crowded market due to a lack of quality, though I think it's still easy to see what Bleszinski is talking about. Upcoming games, particularly new live-service titles, often face a barrage of negative online sentiment on platforms like X and YouTube, which threatens to dominate the conversation surrounding them in the build-up to launch.

Whether the endless videos lambasting Horizon Hunters Gathering will dramatically affect the sales of the game is to be seen when it launches for PlayStation 5 and PC in the future.

Disney and Epic Games have been promising a ‘persistent, open and interoperable’ universe since February 2024, when Disney took a $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic Games, and Bob Iger called it the company's biggest foray into games ever. Two and a half years and a handful of Fortnite islands later, we're finally getting something that behaves like what was actually promised: a Disney park experience that connects, mechanically, to Fortnite itself.

Most of what's arrived since that 2024 announcement has been a slow drip of standalone content rather than anything tied to the parks. Disneyland Game Rush launched in November 2025 as a Creative island celebrating Disneyland's 70th anniversary, dropping players into mini games modeled on Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion — fun, but built entirely inside Fortnite, with nothing connecting back to an actual park visit. A Percy Jackson: Siege of Monsters island followed that December, timed to the Disney+ show's second season.

On the parks side, Imagineering has been running its own parallel experiments with a lot of the same underlying tech. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom now uses Unreal Engine to power real-time scoring.

And this past June, I exclusively got an early look at the next-generation animatronic system that debuted at Pirates of the Caribbean in Disneyland. This pirate transforms into a skeleton in real time, driven not by traditional animatronic mechanics but by a projection pipeline built on Unreal Engine-based rendering tools.

It's proven to be a divisive addition among park fans. Still, it's also more proof that the line between "ride system" and "game engine" has been blurring inside Imagineering for a while now, well before Fortnite entered the picture.

What none of those individual pieces actually did was talk to each other. That changes now, though, as Disney and Epic have unveiled Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run | Fortnite. It's not the most original name, but it essentially combines Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run — the ride inside Galaxy's Edge at both Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, FL, and Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA — with a new Fortnite island called Smugglers Gambit. And it's the first time riding a physical attraction produces something you bring into Fortnite — not just a shared theme, but an unlockable reward tied to a specific action you took inside the park.

According to Julia Humphreys, VP of Production at Disney Digital Entertainment, who walked me through the thinking in an exclusive interview, that's exactly the point. "Smugglers Gambit is definitely a first step and not a finish line," Humphreys told me.

"With this foundational experience we wanted to prove out something that we've believed for a long time: that a story doesn't have to end when you leave the park, and it doesn't have to start over from zero when you pick up a controller." Progress, discoveries, and relationships with characters, she said, are meant to actually carry over between the ride and the game rather than resetting every time a guest switches from one to the other.

Starting August 16, 2026, guests entering Galaxy's Edge can accept Hondo's mission through the Disneyland or Disney World’s My Disney Experience app, then ride Smugglers Run as usual. Finish it, and you'll get word — in the app or by email — that Hondo's waiting on the Smugglers Gambit island in Fortnite with, fittingly, "your cut of the profits." If you link an Epic Games account to your MyDisney equivalent, the reward will automatically unlock. If you can’t link or choose not to, they'll email you a redeemable code. It's free with park admission, and Fortnite is, of course, still free to play.

I haven't gone hands-on with Smugglers Gambit myself, but between the screenshots Disney shared and my conversation with Humphreys, the game puts players in the role of a smuggler working the Outer Rim. Environment art shows a hazy, sun-bleached Mersa Veta Station, freighters docked along exposed gangways with towering scrap-metal walkers looming in the fog, and ships like the Quadjumper parked in dim, blue-lit hangars. Quests run across a location called Ord Ryla, and combat screenshots show players in flooded, fire-lit corridors, consistent with the co-op missions, class and leveling system, and run-ins with pirates, Imperial remnants, and hostile wildlife Disney has described.

Graphically, it's a noticeable step down from the ride's own visual bar — but that tracks with what you'd expect from a Star Wars experience running in Fortnite rather than on Imagineering's custom multi-GPU hardware. Whether the Falcon itself shows up as a flyable or interactive ship in Smugglers Gambit remains to be seen.

The technical connection between the two experiences is where my own time on Smugglers Run at Disney World comes back into play. Back in June, I covered Imagineering's overhaul of the ride, including the engineer role that lets guests pick between three different planets and steers the whole mission depending on how they play — powered, Imagineering confirmed, by a heavily customized, multi-GPU build of Unreal Engine 5.

Smugglers Gambit, on the other hand, was built in UEFN — Unreal Editor for Fortnite, Epic's own related but distinct toolset that sits on top of the same underlying engine. That shared foundation, Humphreys said, meant the teams "didn't have to start from a blank page": ships, characters, and environment objects originally modeled for the physical ride were translated directly into the Fortnite experience rather than rebuilt from scratch.

Getting the two sides to actually talk to each other wasn't simple. Humphreys described it as "a team effort across Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney Digital Entertainment, and so many other teams across Disney, Lucasfilm, and Epic Games" — everything from new physical signage in the park queues to the backend account-linking infrastructure to the Fortnite ecosystem work needed to make the in-game rewards possible.

It's also a bet backed by real numbers. This new experience builds on the Star Wars IP Toolkit, the creator toolset that powered a wave of Star Wars content in Fortnite this past May, shortly before The Mandalorian and Grogu hit the big screen. Disney says it pulled in close to 8 million players in its first 72 hours — not a small feat.

This new experience feels like the start of something we've been promised and have been waiting to see for a while. Will it drive more people to the parks just to unlock the Fortnite tie-in? My guess is that the impact will be minimal — the broader investment in parks and the kind of full-ride retheming Imagineering did with the Falcon itself make a far more compelling case for a visit than a Fortnite reward does.

The real impact is this: the experience you have flying the Falcon with Mando and Grogu over Endor or Coruscant can now carry beyond your time at the park. And that spreads the Star Wars story — your story — farther.

That's a long wait for a promise this specific — but Humphreys sounded like she'd have waited even longer. "As someone who loves both theme parks and games, this is the start of a collaboration I've wanted to see for years," she said. "It's very much the opening chapter with Epic Games, and I can't wait for people to experience where this relationship goes next."

Taken together, this is a cool first step — not because any single piece of it is groundbreaking on its own, but because it's the first time Disney has actually wired the reward loop between a park and Fortnite, instead of just theming a Fortnite island around a park. The ride itself is genuinely better than it was even a few months ago; my June story covered how the three-planet, choose-your-own-adventure overhaul already made Smugglers Run more replayable. Now that same ride experience feeds into a Fortnite island that, if it delivers at scale, could become a real destination on its own — one where Hondo is voiced by the same actor as on the ride, for what it's worth.

The redemption structure is a nice touch, too: finish the mission, and you get a Fortnite reward of an exclusive outfit for taking the ride. I'd expect Disney and Epic to keep tuning that loop over time, the same way Imagineering has kept iterating on the ride itself; more skins, more unlocks, deeper crossover content wouldn't be a heavy lift if this lands with players.

What I'm more curious about is where the "connected" half of this idea goes next. If riding the Falcon can unlock something in Fortnite, there's no obvious reason Disney stops at Star Wars. A Toy Story Mania tie-in wouldn't be a stretch, and we’ve already seen a version of WEB-Slingers in Fortnite, so why not give that attraction a similar tie-in?

Now that the plumbing between a ride and a persistent game world actually works, the list of places Disney could point it next gets long fast.

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1161) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• GRINCH
• BEANSTALK
• STAGE
• LANYARD
• HIGHTAIL
• LEG
• SOUNDTRACK
• HOTFOOT
• BEAT
• STRETCH
• FRIED
• CHAMOMILE
• SPENT
• EYESHADOW
• PHASE
• WORN OUT

NYT Connections today (game #1161) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Shattered
• GREEN: A part of something bigger
• BLUE: Imperial segments
• PURPLE: Creepy segments

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1161) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: EXHAUSTED
• GREEN: SEGMENT
• BLUE: ENDING IN UNITS OF LENGTH
• PURPLE: ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR FOLLOW SECRETLY

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1161) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1161, are…

• YELLOW: EXHAUSTED BEAT, FRIED, SPENT, WORN OUT
• GREEN: SEGMENT LEG, PHASE, STAGE, STRETCH
• BLUE: ENDING IN UNITS OF LENGTH CHAMOMILE, GRINCH, HOTFOOT, LANYARD
• PURPLE: ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR FOLLOW SECRETLY BEANSTALK, EYESHADOW, HIGHTAIL, SOUNDTRACK

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I was thrilled when I spotted the words ENDING IN UNITS OF LENGTH straight off the bat, but then disappointed when it turned out to be blue instead of purple.

The hardest group of the day honor went to another set of words where the ending was significant, in this case ENDING IN SYNONYMS FOR FOLLOW SECRETLY.

I missed the purple group completely and I think it's because I had already connected one ENDING group and assumed there would not be another. I really should know better, as this is classic Connections trickery.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, August 14, 2026, game #1160)

• YELLOW: BLACK-AND-YELLOW: BUMBLEBEE, CAUTION TAPE, CHARLIE BROWN, WOLVERINE
• GREEN: PLACES WHERE EVERYONE THINKS THE SAME WAYS: BUBBLE, ECHO CHAMBER, HIVEMIND, SILO
• BLUE: COMIC BOOK ARTIST'S TOOLS: BRISTOL BOARD, DIP PEN, INDIA INK, STRAIGHTEDGE
• PURPLE: TRIANGLE LOGOS: BASS ALE, CITGO, DELTA AIRLINES, GOOGLE DRIVE

• Marvel's Wolverine will feature New Game Plus at launch
• The game will also offer extra features like Mission Replay and a Nightmare Doors side activity
• Nightmare Doors contains trials where players "confront Logan's nightmares to uncover his past"

Marvel's Wolverine is shaping up to be a big hit for 2026, and now Insomniac Games has revealed even more features that players can expect when the game launches next month.

Insomniac has confirmed that, unlike Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, Marvel's Wolverine will launch with New Game Plus, allowing players to replay the game with all their upgrades, unlocked suits, and more.

"In a New Game Plus, you can use all of your loadout and progression that you already unlocked," senior project director Jess Reiner-Reed told IGN. "You can choose whatever suit you want. So there's some fun things that happen there. And also there's some adaptations that are only available in New Game Plus. So there's some fresh gameplay for folks."

Insomniac head of technology Mike Fitzgerald added that these adaptations, which are unlockable buffs, let players "amp up the difficulty" or make Wolverine "much more powerful and aggressive character."

Alongside New Game Plus, the game will also offer Mission Replay, a feature that lets players rerun any mission for fun or to find collectibles, whiskey bottles that act as power-ups for Wolverine’s progression, and material crates holding raw materials that can be used to unlock new suits.

Another major feature is Nightmare Doors, a side activity containing trials where players "confront Logan's nightmares to uncover his past." According to Reiner-Reed, Nightmare Doors is "a story-driven adventure" where "Logan is pulled through uncovering these mysteries of his past. But you can go off the beaten path."

In these trials, Reiner-Reed added, players will encounter "manifestations of the horrible things happening in Logan's mind."

"There's many of those throughout the game with different types of trials," the developer said.

Marvel's Wolverine launches exclusively on PlayStation 5 on September 16 and will be "fully playable" on disc. The game's Performance Mode will also run at 60fps with ray tracing enabled on the base PS5, which Insomniac says is the default mode.