And now, in true Rockstar fashion, pre-orders are opening next week, with the game’s official cover art also being revealed.

GTA 6 pre-orders go live on June 25th

Rockstar just dropped the news across its social channels and in press inboxes, confirming that GTA 6 pre-orders open on June 25th for both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, available on digital storefronts and select retailers.

Alongside the pre-order announcement came a cover art reveal, which you can download in various sizes on its website. It’s got that classic GTA style art cover to it, with the Miami Vice theme color scheme that its ran with for the last few years.

There’s also a snippet of what sounds like it could be the main menu theme, or some other jingle with the game. It’s some classic 80’s synth music over it, once again hitting that Miami Vice inspiration there. 

However, PC players, there’s nothing here for us just yet. The cover and pre-order details only cover the console announcement, so chances are we’re still in the dark for a good while.

We also don’t know if there are any editions, other services, or anything else. Just that people can actually buy the base game next week.

The official Rockstar Games website has been updated with a new GTA 6 landing page, where you can wishlist on your platform of choice ahead of pre-orders going live on the 25th. 

There’s still no price details emerging, so expect to get flash banged by GTA 6 price details come the 25th, or if some backend API leaks the price during the build-up for pre-orders going live.

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These finalists could have playable concepts or just whiteboard design ideas, but there is also a range of interesting puzzle, adventure, and shooter titles on show. What’s more, some of the more ambitious and unconventional ideas seem to be more socially aware games, tackling themes of youthful depression, media awareness, and other plights of the world.

The Escapist has partnered with BAFTA YGD to speak to four of the finalist teams about their games, their inspirations, and what they hope players take away from their creations.

In Your Head — Rafe Lepherd, Alex Huynh Anh Le-Hoang, and Josh Robinson

In Your Head is a mental health-themed bullet hell, where players battle a manifestation of their character’s depression inside their own mind. Instead of making builds to take enemies down, the game uses coping mechanisms and hobbies as physical weapons to throw at the boss.

A “will” system ties the gameplay to the real world, requiring players to push through low-willpower moments to interact with friends, write in a journal, or speak to family, with each positive interaction making the fight slightly more manageable.

Rafe, one of the designers on the game in the 16-18 bracket, drew on his own experiences with depression when designing the game with his team. He cites Celeste as the biggest inspiration. “I personally love the way this game handles the topic of anxiety through its gameplay,” he said, pointing to how Celeste uses art and music shifts to reflect its protagonist’s emotional state. 

That game, along with his experiences and further research on how others handle depression, seep into the core game’s design ideas.

Josh, another member of the team, also shared with us his experience with mental health and helped shape the vision of the game. 

Josh describes the gameplay loop as a fusion of Enter the Gungeon’s boss design and Hotline Miami’s weapon system. Yet, it’s still grounded in something more personal. “You’re running about in your own head, being viciously attacked from all sides by your depression, and you have to rely on sometimes fragile coping mechanisms,” he said.

The game wasn’t originally made with BAFTA in mind, having started as a Year 12 game design course final project with a brief to make something beyond pure entertainment. When BAFTA YGD opened for entries, the team felt they had something worth putting forward.

“We’re all so proud of it,” Josh said. For Rafe, making the finals was a genuine surprise. “I don’t think any of us really expected anything of it.” 

The message they want players to walk away with is simple. “There are times when things can get really hard to deal with, and you may feel like you are completely by yourself,” Rafe said. 

Josh also feels like others can take away a lot from the game. “Yeah, that was or currently is me”, he stated. “While I don’t see this game as a kind of therapy, I do think people will be able to identify something they have struggled with before or are struggling with now, and that is still powerful.”

Oh, he also hopes to see that the game is still fun as it means he and his team have done their job.

You can play their demo if you’re interested.

Maya — D’arcy Dhanda

Maya is a game curated by D’arcy Dhanda. It follows a woman working in a sweatshop, using story sequences and minigames to give players a window into her daily life and the challenges she faces. 

The game’s central design idea came from a very physical place. D’arcy wants to incorporate the controls themselves into the story, stretching your hand way across the keyboard, which can be really uncomfortable, even painful. “The rest of the game kind of followed from there,” she said.

One can’t help but think there’s a connection between the UX and the reality of living and working in a sweatshop.

D’arcy described that in her final year of high school in Scotland is when she started taking game design seriously. She saw BAFTA YGD as the opportunity she had been looking for. Being named a finalist is, in her words, “one of the proudest achievements of my life thus far.“

Her advice to other young designers is refreshingly honest. “The ‘Maya’ that I submitted is nowhere near to being a complete, commercial game,” she suggested. “You don’t need to make some massive game when you’re starting out.“

You can also play her demo here.

Kompis and the Wells of Fontis — Dylan Williams

Kompis and the Wells of Fontis is a narrative platformer following a green character called Kompis who jumps down a well near his house and must fight his way back home, tormented throughout by Evil Thought, a demon manifestation of his own inner voice. 

Dylan, who was also a BAFTA YGD finalist the previous year, describes the game as being about agency and learning to push against intrusive thoughts, with a twist about the nature of Evil Thought that reframes the game’s themes on reflection.

The experience is inspired by Celeste once again, as well as Voices of the Void, a Source Engine game about a SETI scientist trying to find evidence of technological alien life, with other craziness to discover along the way.

Dylan wanted the antagonist to feel genuinely threatening in a way a conventional villain couldn’t. “The omnipotent threat of intrusive thoughts is quite scary,” he said, 

The game has an unusual, liminal atmosphere that Dylan describes as intentional, aiming for something that feels “ancient and abandoned,” without defaulting to obvious visual shorthand. “Being liminal but not bland,” as he puts it.

His advice to other young designers is perhaps the most quotable of the group.

“Being young is really the perfect opportunity to get weird with what you are making,” he said. “Don’t listen to your intrusive negative thoughts, just do what you want to do.” Advice even I, a near 31 year-old, can use too.

You can play Dylan’s game here.

The Last Thing the World Forgot — Dhyani Patel

Dhyani’s game casts players as Echo, a forgotten being travelling through a collapsing digital world, recovering fragments of human memory before they disappear.

The experience explores what a society chooses to remember and what it lets fade, with accompanying brush-like visuals and fragmented ambient audio designed to evoke the feeling of memory slipping away.

The inspiration came from a surprisingly relatable place: that feeling of frustration at forgetting things while revising for exams. “I found it fascinating that our brains can forget things we desperately want to remember, while holding onto completely random moments instead,” Dhyani said.

She submitted the game somewhat on a whim, hoping a BAFTA finalist placing would give her the validation to keep developing it. That it did. “Being a finalist has made me incredibly happy and has really boosted my confidence,” she said.

The message she hopes players her age take away is one of acceptance. “Forgetting is a completely natural part of being human,” she said. 

The BAFTA Young Game Designers Competition final takes place on Thursday, 18th June, with the awards being broadcast live on Twitch and YouTube from 5 PM BST.

The post The BAFTA Young Game Developer Awards feature games tackling anxiety and struggles in daily lives appeared first on The Escapist.

The old system was a persistent pain point for players heading into PvP content. Using a Trouver parchment on an untradeable item at Perdu would protect it from being lost on death, but the parchment itself was consumed each time you died, meaning players had to remember to re-lock their items before every Wilderness trip or risk permanently losing them to a PKer. That’s now been addressed.

How Old School Runescape’s Trouver feature works now

The rework splits untradeables into three tiers depending on their combat value. Items with no combat benefits should never be lost on death, such as the Graceful set, and will no longer be lost on death above level 20 in the Wilderness. Untradeables with some combat bonuses, including the Fire cape, Ava’s assembler, defenders and halos, will still break on death but can no longer be permanently lost. If they do break, you’ll need to repair for a fee at Perdu.

The biggest change is for higher tier untradeables, covering items like the Infernal cape, Void sets, Rune pouch, Divine rune pouch, Ancient sceptres and Dizana’s quiver. These still require a Trouver parchment, but once applied the parchment stays on the item permanently and is no longer consumed on death. Dying above level 20 Wilderness with one of these protected items will leave it mangled, requiring 500,000 GP to repair at Perdu, while dying below level 20 Wilderness will simply break it at the standard repair cost.

One further change is still in the works and didn’t make this update: a warning prompt when attempting to enter the Wilderness with a higher tier untradeable that doesn’t have a Trouver parchment applied. The team has confirmed it’s coming soon. So, you can still perma lose those items if they are not marked with Trouver Parchment.

You can see the full list of changes and items affected in the Trouver section on the patch notes here. It comes as one of the big discussed changes earlier as part of its post Runescape Anniversary announcements back in April. 

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In addition, the demo continues its momentum, with consistent figures approaching the 15k mark (at the time of writing Tuesday). It beats out other trending demos, with Bandai’s Echoes of Aincrad floating around 11-12k players.

What’s in the Mistfall Hunter demo?

For those who don’t know, Mistfall Hunter is a 1-3 player co-op third person action game with a fantasy class system. The game also uses extraction mechanics to let people raid levels, get loot, and hopefully extract with their well thought over haul.

We covered an old alpha playtest back in September, where, back then, it was managing around 5-6k players, fighting with the original fantasy extraction game, Dark and Darker, with active player base figures. It truthfully seems like it has absolutely smashed it with its Steam Next Fest showing.

Since then, this new demo adds in the Withered Knight, a new class type specializing in heavy armor and two handed weapons, alongside a new map, Hollowgrave. It brings the total to 6 classes, with it including other typical archetypes like Merc with sword and shield, Sorcerer for those powerful mages, blackarrow for Rangers, Shadowstrix for Rogues, and Seer for that Cleric style of gameplay.

The game is also due to release on July 29th on PC, Xbox and PS5, meaning the game is almost finished. It’s getting some complaints of frame stutter and other performance issues across PCs, but so is the way for nearly all Unreal Engine 5 games. Outside of that, there’s certainly potential for it to do well.

You can still try the demo until June 22nd, giving you another six days to play the game if you’d like. For other demos, there’s also Enginefall, which so far feels like a decent attempt to revive and offer a proper endgame to survival crafting PvP players. It’s got a demo which has been released right after having an early beta, which finished just before Steam Next Fest, that’s attracted thousands of players already.

The post The Mistfall Hunter demo is currently the most played demo this Steam Next Fest appeared first on The Escapist.

Stiven, who datamines potential PTR builds for Retail WoW, also came across something called “WoW Camelot”. Camelot comes with a Heroic and Epic licence, indicating tiered bundle game access.

The data miner clarifies that he believes that Camelot is linked to patch 1.6, which is the BWL (Black Wing Lair) patch. So, where does it take us? The answer to that appears to be towards a Classic title.

Classic 2019 is now in the final patch of Siege of Orgrimmar. Next on the list of expansions is Warlords of Draenor, the expansion that started the original Nostalrius Classic hype in the first place. We may see classic continue for WoD, as that’s some continuity Blizzard has. Plus, it seems a little early for it to be Anniversary Wrath of the Lich King too.

Maybe Blizzard is treating Classic+ more like a proper product, giving paid access with some bonuses for its release. We know something is coming in September, and datamined code-named files that can’t be decrypted could hide exactly what that’s meant to be.

It also comes as Blizzard has continued its lawsuit campaign against Classic+ server providers, eliminating Turtle WoW, and now targeting Project Ascension too. There was also a Classic creator summit too, of which the content is still under wraps.

Blizzard certainly has some World of Warcraft shenanigans planned for the future. But is it Classic+ release versions, or is it whatever else comes after MoP? It’s almost certainly not Midnight, since that’s only in tier 1 of the expansion, and we know that has a roadmap for next year or so.

Interesting times ahead indeed in Azeroth and beyond.

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The expansion is available as a standalone release, listed at £20.99, and is also included in Stellaris: Season 10. Paradox Interactive has shaken up the usual Stellaris structure by letting players run civilizations that do not claim systems or colonize worlds in the conventional way.

Instead, these empires operate from Arkships, which are mobile habitats that function as the center of their society, industry and military reach.

This is a major release from Paradox Interactive, in a year that looks rich in DLCs for existing gaming IPs, rather than new releases.

Nomadic empires change the usual Stellaris structure

The central feature in Stellaris: Nomads is the new Nomadic Empire type. Nomadic civilizations are not built around fixed borders. Their power comes from moving through the galaxy, creating routes, taking on tasks from other empires and building infrastructure along the way.

This gives players an alternative to the standard Stellaris loop of claiming territory, settling planets and expanding borders. Nomadic empires are designed to operate through movement, presence and interaction with settled civilizations.

The clue is very much in the name, given a dictionary definition of Nomad is “a member of a community or group of people who do not have a fixed, permanent home.”

Arkships replace traditional worlds

Arkships replace traditional worlds as the foundation of a nomadic empire. Each Arkship is described as a capital, fortress and population center, with upgrades available over time.

Players can choose from three Arkship classes, each aimed at a different style of play:

• Military Class: A mobile flagship designed to project power.
• Scientific Class: A roaming laboratory focused on research and discovery.
• Civilian Class: An industrial hub built around resource extraction.

The Arkship system is the main mechanical identity of Nomads, giving players a mobile base rather than a fixed planetary capital.

Waylines and Waystations create a mobile network

The developer notes also outline the Wayline Network. Players construct Waystations to create Waylines, which act as interstellar trade and resource routes.

These routes can be used by the nomadic empire while also providing benefits to settled empires. The system gives nomadic players a way to leave an economic footprint on the galaxy without holding territory, as a standard empire would.

Rather than expanding through borders, Nomadic Empires build influence through movement and connected routes.

Contracts add new empire interactions

The Contract System is another major addition. Nomadic empires can perform task-based interactions for settled empires, earning favor, resources and influence.

Settled empires can issue Contracts, giving both sides a new form of interaction. The feature appears intended to make nomadic civilizations part of the wider diplomatic and economic structure rather than isolated fleets moving between systems.

New origins for nomadic play

Stellaris: Nomads adds several new origins built around different versions of life on the move.

Voidfarers is the standard starting point for Nomadic Empires and is described as a flexible origin for players who want to define their own nomadic journey.

Heirs of the Khan casts the player as the successor of a murdered Khan, evading marauder hit squads until they are strong enough to return and reclaim their throne.

The Sacred Path follows a fleet of pilgrims moving toward ancestral holy sites, framing the nomadic journey as a spiritual pilgrimage.

Forever Cruise focuses on a divided Arkship society, with a wealthy passenger class seeking entertainment and sightseeing while an overworked crew keeps the vessel operating.

The announcement also says Nomadic Empires support several existing origins.

Defender of the Galaxy and the Stellar Cannon

The expansion also adds Defender of the Galaxy, a new Ambition connected to Galactic Nemesis threats from Stellaris: Nemesis. When a Galactic Nemesis threatens the galaxy, the Defender of the Galaxy can rise in opposition and attempt to protect other civilizations.

A new megastructure, the Stellar Cannon, is also part of the release. The announcement describes it as a structure that turns an empire’s energy stockpile into a weapon, firing a beam capable of striking enemy systems across the galaxy.

Champion’s Forge Live! adds a nomadic enclave

Nomads adds a new nomadic enclave called Champion’s Forge Live!, centered on gladiatorial fleet combat.

Players can take part in fleet tournaments across the galaxy, with the winner holding the Trophy relic until the next tournament. The feature adds another mobile, event-driven activity tied to the expansion’s wider nomadic theme.

New civics, perks, paragons and music

The release also includes the Wanderlust Ascension Perk, new renowned nomadic paragons, new tradition swaps and additional music tracks by Andreas Waldetoft and Batzorig Vaanchig.

Several new civics are included:

• Caravan Masters: Focuses on trade networks, relays and caravansaries.
• Deep Sleep: Centers on cryonics, with Arkship crews awakened when they are most productive.
• Void Reavers: Built around raiding and seizing resources.
• Flight Schools: Emphasizes pilot culture and ace crews.
• Star Seekers: Rewards exploration and discovery.

Together, these additions give Nomadic Empires several ways to specialize, from trade and exploration to raiding and fleet performance.

Mod playlist guidance for players

Alongside the expansion, Paradox also issued guidance for players using mods.

The announcement says mod playlists may be deactivated when players load the game, a launcher change intended to reduce crashes or other issues caused by outdated mods. The playlists have not been removed, and players can reselect them from the launcher dropdown.

It also outlines that Steam users can roll back to version 4.3.7 while waiting for mods to update.

Paradox listed several Workshop mods expected to be updated for release day, including DarkSpace, More Events Mod, Full Tiny Outliner, Ethics & Civics: Bug Branch, Real Star Systems, Endless Frontier: An Event Mod and Government Variety Pack.

The post Stellaris: Nomads launches as first Season 10 expansion appeared first on The Escapist.

Project Ascension is one of the largest World of Warcraft private servers currently running. The dev team have done a lot of work on bringing the classic world, with greatly enhanced class design and gameplay mechanics to really set it apart as its own game.

The complaint was filed against Powell and others, who seem to be the names responsible for the project. The complaint is located on Courtlistener, where  a copy of the file has been retried from PACERs. Blizzard alleges copyright infringement, DMCA violations, trademark infringement, and participation in a RICO enterprise, the latter typically associated with organised crime statutes.

Project Ascension hit amidst Classic+ anticipation

Project Ascension operates as an emulated private WoW server via a modified, allegedly pirated version of Blizzard’s game client. The server claims over one million players and generates revenue through a “donations” system. Blizzard alleges Powell and Mannion have received millions of dollars through this, funnelled via shell companies in Nevada and New Mexico. The complaint also alleges the servers are hosted by the Russia-based Aeza Group, sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2025 for supporting cybercriminal activity.

It isn’t the first time Blizzard has gone down this road. The Nostalrius case is the most notable precedent, a private server shutdown that is widely credited as the catalyst for Blizzard eventually launching the official WoW Classic in 2019. It has also recently eliminated Turtle WoW, one of the other Classic+ like servers, which focused more on the RPG side of the game, making Classic+ like content from it. The dev team has since formed its own studio to make a classic MMO.

That’s where things get interesting for the Classic community. In the weeks before the filing, Blizzard quietly invited a group of prominent Classic-focused streamers, including Xaryu, Sodapoppin, Esfand, Guzu, and Savix, to its Irvine campus for an undisclosed event. The targeted invite list, exclusively Classic streamers, has sent fans into a frenzy of Classic Plus speculation. Many in the community expect BlizzCon 2026 on September 12th in Anaheim to be the moment Blizzard finally reveals its plans, with the creator summit seen as a possible lead-up to a major announcement. 

Blizzard did this with the Classic beta, having content creators ready to drop information when the beta was officially revealed. It could be a similar backdrop of content for the streamer to have ready and waiting for when Blizzard flick the switch.

Blizzard’s own 2025 Classic wrap-up post teased it had been “cooking on the long-term future of WoW Classic”. That comes after all the mini Seasons of Discovery and Mastery, which changed Classic, but not to a dramatic extent..

But, it seems like the gradual end of Ascension WoW could be on the way now that Blizzard has begun legal proceedings.

The post Blizzard issues complaint against Project Ascension WoW private server as Classic Plus rumors build ahead of BlizzCon appeared first on The Escapist.

What to expect from the Enginefall Demo?

The demo introduces several new gameplay systems ahead of the full launch later in 2026. Players can upgrade, customise and fortify Dagger Shuttles, which are personal trains that act as mobile bases and raid planning hubs.

There’s also a new Dagger vs Dagger mode, pitting players’ custom-built trains against each other in direct PvP encounters. Hostile NPCs have been added to Titan Train raids, the game’s large-scale loot runs aboard these huge industrial trains, adding extra pressure on top of the existing PvP threat. A revamped tutorial train also walks new players through crafting, progression and base-building before throwing them into the deep end, with an early game difficulty that has PvP turned off while players pick up the basics in real online levels.

Though, it’s not entirely a PvP risk game. Players can set up small deployable bases on each level of a train, giving them a location to drop a safe zone, build walls and doors, and create small bases whilst on these levels.

Think of them like little outposts you’d build while travelling in other survival games. You can block off little corridors in the tunnels, or take up shelter in the bathroom or market and cut areas off, so you can feel safe and secure.

These can all be crafted using metals and plastics you find on levels or bring in during your raids. When they are down, you can respawn a few times, so it’s not all extraction, but it gives those survival experience respawns you can deploy. Think of it akin to a bedroll on something like Conan before that big dungeon you find.

We got a chance to play with the devs, here’s what they described it as

We also got a chance to play the game with Red Rover staff, and get a taste of the game. If you’re a veteran of the survival genre but don’t have the time, it’s worth a try.

Gone are the problems of being offline raided, as your base isn’t accessible as long as someone who doesn’t live on your train is online. There’s a gameplay choice that incentivizes big leaderboards and massive trains for major builds.

Gone also are the days of dominating your local server, as instanced trains allow players to essentially become the bigger fish against all the other players who make it to that point. This can lead to some very extreme gameplay moments where players need to maintain a lot of fuel cores, which can be produced and acquired at higher-tier train levels.

These bases can also get raided by other big trains for those epic war-like levels of guilds versus guilds. It feels similar to those end game maps in games like Once Human PvP servers, Rust, and more.

For those not planning on engaging in epic warfare, you can also be far more relaxed and have smaller Daggers, and just go on the little raids on Titans. Instead, players can consider Dagger battles, giving immersive Sea of Thieves-like vibes, exchanging two passing Daggers, where you could maybe trade or fight each other.

All in all, it seems like there’s no time like the present to give Enginefall a try if you’re a vet of PvP survival games, or looking for a new PvP fix. The game is set to launch later in 2026, so you likely won’t have to wait long from the demo to its upcoming release.

The post Enginefall Steam Next Fest demo goes live until June 22nd appeared first on The Escapist.

“Back in my day, we used to knock for our friends and then play hide and seek for hours before heading back for dinner. We weren’t stuck on screens!” Thanks for your candid reflection, Deirdre.

The world’s a little different now. Houses cost more than a sixpence, and you have to remortgage a one-bed studio apartment to send a letter using Royal Mail’s first-class postage service.

So it seems, kids (and adults alike) are enjoying screen-based, online hide-and-seek, or in gamer-speak, “Prop Hunt-style party games” in their droves. Meccha Chameleon is the latest game in the genre to tickle the pickle of streamers and those wishing to indulge in whimsical party games.

The premise is simple: a team-based affair, with hiders, and, you guessed it… seekers. The hiders start as plain white characters and use an in-game color palette to paint themselves so they can blend into surrounding environment. Seekers are then tasked with finding every Hider before the timer runs out.

With the game online and it having a timed mechanic, there’s no risk of Little Jimmy being left under the stairs for countless hours due to negligence or spite. The nuance of hiding is in how well players are able to mimic colors, textures, and the shapes around them and use the painting tool to be as creative as they’re able to be.

I don’t dare get involved. I was given an E grade for my drawing of what was in my pencil case when I was 12, and I just know I’d be absolutely awful.

The game looks a lot of fun, and has reached peak concurrent player counts of 95,482 on Steam. It also drew more than 100,000 viewers on Twitch around launch and the developer has started to outline post-launch updates. There’s already new maps in the offing, and other quality of life improvements for users.

Video game developers keep finding new ways to make hide-and-seek a little more fun. I guess even games like Dead by Daylight are largely just hide-and-seek with a twist. I remember when Among Us released a hide-and-seek mode, too. Turns out, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to sell a million copies if a game’s oodles of fun.

Meccha Chameleon is available on Steam with a base price of $5.99 / £5.29. There’s still a 20% launch discount available until June 16, reducing the price to $4.79 / £4.23.

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Lords of the Fallen 2 gets shared-progression on day 1

One of the better things about Lords 1 is that the game supported coop play, with it being there for day one. The game will launch with full shared progression, which means that you and your coop partner will both unlock things at the same time as you play together. The other game was sort of a friend invite thing, where you only got stuff based on what the save host had, largely using a buddy system invite if one person owned the game.

The devs are talking about how they learned from the first game about what went and didn’t go too well. So, they factored those points in and built the system from an improved state from the start. So, there’s that to look forward to. The system does mention noting quest completion together, world progression, items and other things of that sort. So, players can complete those things while in-game with their mates. Again, it’s hard to tell what it is or how it works without access to the game, but the devs seem adamant that it seems to work for all the actual progress you may need for coop.

The devs also teased that the game is getting a few other coop secrets to enjoy. So, sounds like cheese is afoot, too. There’s also, of course, summoning players into the game to help with boss fights, as is a Souls-like genre staple at this point for those bosses you just can’t get through.

Lords 2 is also getting a katana, some world events, and other new features

The developers also talked about some of the changes. The main one is the players requested a katana weapon for the game. And, the devs having a mantra of players first, delivered on that archetype. It comes after the devs also added a scythe in a few vlogs before too.

The devs spoke of the katana as a popular weapon among the Souls-like audience, and why it’s hotly requested. The weapon is a popular and fun class type in Elden Ring, the rule of cool, and then getting good stats on these more agile sword weapons. But, the devs want the katana to be a LOTF katana. They describe it as more savage, yet graceful, with the weapon hitting hard and meaty, but also well animated to feel like that skilled martial artist warrior vibe often attributed to it.

There are also some enrichment changes, with the likes of meteors falling and hitting the area. Not sure what it means, but they mentioned that meteors have to land somewhere. So, are there hazards for players to watch when level changes happen? Interesting nonetheless.

You can watch the full vlog here if you’d like, and get the lowdown on 40 minutes of content.

It comes after the devs have been open about coming to Steam, with Summer Games Fest confirming that. It’s also even after recent minor controversy over some Female armor sets, which turned out to be only a few more sexy pieces amongst the hundreds available in-game.

The post Lords of the Fallen II gets full coop progression from day 1 and confirms a Katana class is in the game appeared first on The Escapist.

The update, which launched yesterday, adds the new League Cup, known in-game as the Egg Cup. It throws 56 teams into a knockout competition across seven matches during the course of a season, giving players another route to silverware beyond simply grinding their way through the divisions.

Naturally, because this is football, losing is not just losing. Drop out of the cup, and rival teams will waste no time in taunting you for it. Win, however, and you get the only thing that really matters in football management: bragging rights over people who thought they were better than you.

The update also arrives just in time for World Cup fever, with the big tournament having kicked off yesterday, with five new World Championship matches being added to NUTMEG!. These include scenarios inspired by famous international fixtures, such as England vs Argentina in 1986 (we wuz robbed), alongside fantasy “what if” clashes, including England vs Argentina in 1990.

For players who already think they know better than every manager on Match of the Day, the update also adds Gaffer Mode. This ramps up the challenge by tightening the financial side of the game, making broadcast matches longer and more difficult, and generally adding more obstacles for players trying to guide their club to glory.

There is also a new delegated XI selection clipboard, which gives players more control over team selection in delegated matches. Rather than leaving everything up to fate, you can now assemble your preferred lineup for each match and then still blame someone else when it all goes wrong. That is proper football heritage.

What is Nutmeg?

NUTMEG! launched on Steam in March 2026 and casts players as the manager of a football club during the 1980s and 1990s. Instead of a straight management sim, though, it wraps its league climb in deckbuilding mechanics, with training sessions, transfers, tactics, sponsorship deals, ticket prices, salaries, media duties, and fast-paced card battles all feeding into the season.

Players can scout youth talent, sign legendary players, refine tactics through training, and decide whether they want to be a loyal one-club hero or a journeyman manager bouncing from job to job in search of the next big chance.

The free NUTMEG! League Cup update is available now on Steam and currently has 40% off as part of the Football Fiesta sale.

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Xbox Network appears to be having a bad one today, with players reporting widespread connection problems, failed game launches, and login issues across console and PC.

Reports began surfacing on Friday, June 12, with users saying their consoles were connected to the internet but unable to reach Xbox services properly. Some players are being told there is a “temporary network problem,” while others say they cannot launch games, connect to online services, or get past the usual Xbox Network checks.

Downdetector is currently showing a spike in reports for Xbox Network, formerly Xbox Live, with server connection listed as the biggest issue, followed by game launch and login problems. That tracks with what players are saying across social media and support channels, where the general mood is somewhere between “is it my internet?” and “nope, it is definitely not my internet.”

As ever with these things, the official Xbox status page is the one worth watching for confirmation and updates from Microsoft. At the time of writing, some third-party status trackers are flagging the issue as a major outage, particularly around sign-in, but these situations can move quickly. If Xbox Support posts a formal update, we will update this story accordingly.

The problem is especially irritating because Xbox’s modern ecosystem leans heavily on being online even when players are not necessarily trying to play a multiplayer game. Game Pass access, cloud saves, ownership checks, online profiles, backward compatibility, and multiplayer all rely on Xbox Network behaving itself. When it does not, even a short outage can make the whole console feel like an expensive green paperweight.

There is not much players can do until the service settles down. Restarting the console, checking your home network, or power-cycling the router may help rule out local problems, but if Xbox Network itself is struggling, repeated restarts are unlikely to magically fix it. Microsoft’s own advice for service outage messages is to check the Xbox status page and wait for the affected services to recover.

The outage comes during a busy period for Xbox, following the company’s summer showcase and a fresh wave of Game Pass activity. That does not make the timing suspicious, necessarily, but it does mean more players are likely to notice when the pipes start rattling.

For now, if your Xbox is insisting it is offline while the rest of your house is happily streaming, browsing, and arguing with smart speakers, you are probably not alone. Keep an eye on Xbox Support and the official Xbox status page before performing open-heart surgery on your router.

The Escapist has contacted Microsoft for comment.

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