“PlayStation has long been strongly associated with the idea of playing in the living room. However, in recent years, more users globally have been using personal monitors. In response, we are selling peripherals such as monitors and speakers to break away from the fixed perception that ‘PlayStation equals the living room’ and to broaden usage scenarios,” he said during a Q&A segment earlier this month at the Game and Network Services Segment Small Meeting.

“For the next-generation platform, rather than simply serving as an alternative to PCs, we aim to deliver value that is unique to PlayStation. This includes not only technological advancements but also an expansion of usage styles, enabling a seamless experience that can be enjoyed naturally beyond the living room.”

That last part sure sounds like a handheld but one more akin to the Nintendo Switch 2, which also functions as a home console when docked. There have been rumors about the same for quite some time now, starting with Sony’s push for Power Saver Mode support on its titles, reportedly for the sake of the alleged PS6 handheld.

Last we heard, the alleged SKU, alongside the “regular” PS6, was reportedly on track to launch in Holiday 2027. It’s also seemingly faster than the Xbox Series S, especially in ray tracing and path tracing.

However, things have taken a turn lately, as leaker Kepler_L2 reported that the alleged Bill of Materials for the PS6 had gone up by almost $200. How this would affect the handheld version remains unknown, but delaying it would apparently be pointless, since the specs have been locked in. With Sony unwilling to sell PlayStation consoles at a “significant” loss, the possibility of a $999 console looms ever closer.

New Jackdaw Navigation Tools Streamline Sailing

In the original Black Flag, naval traversal was an active mechanic where you’d steer the ship across the Caribbean’s open waters while relying on the map for navigation. As Black Flag Resynced introduces seamless transitions between ocean and harbour, so too a couple of new navigation tools remove Jackdaw friction further: the Pathfinder highlights optimal routes across the ocean, while Follow Sea acts as an autopilot system. Together, they’ll allow you to soak in the experience of hightailing it across the seas, keeping extra think-work optional.

New Sea Shanties Are Tied to Activities

Sea Shanties in the original game were largely collectible flavour, scattered across the world, adding to your crew’s repertoire once found. In Resynced, ten newly produced Sea Shanties not only imbue your crew’s personality further, but tie directly to quests and activities. This greater context makes their acquisition feel more meaningful, while subtle UI changes make selecting your favourite shanty a breeze.

A Cleaner, More Contextual HUD

Simpler inputs to trigger Sea Shanties are just the tip of the iceberg: Black Flag Resynced has reworked the interface into a clear, more contextual system, moving away from the original’s functional yet cluttered layout. Now, fully customisable with multiple presets, you’re able to tailor how much information is displayed on screen, grouping settings for minimal display yet maximum immersion, to overloaded clarity with clear guidance and feedback.

Expanded VFX and UI Control

And, underlining your ability to find the ideal balance between gameplay clarity and cinematic immersion is Resynced’s deeper VFX and UI customisation options. Whereas the original offered limited control over presentation, now you can tweak the appearance of visual effects like blood, or go granular with a slate of toggleable interface elements, from widgets, meters, ammo counters, and reticles, to general info, hints, and more.

Combat Readability is Fully Customisable

Combat readability can be tailored to your preferences in Resynced too, adding to the original’s visual prompts and UI indicators with animation-based tells. So, while enemy health and defence bars are visible when using Resynced’s default HUD, these can be disabled to shift your focus toward timing, spacing, and animations, with the latter hurling your enemy’s hat or headpiece off their head once their defensive capability is broken. Even health and defence bars were optional in Black Flag – the original didn’t make it as feasible to fight on observation and instinct alone.

New Enemy Behaviours Encourage Adaption

Where enemy encounters often grew predictable in Black Flag, Resynced is introducing all-new enemy archetypes and defensive behaviours that will react to repeated tactics. If you spam parries, for instance, enemies will begin striking with unblockable attacks, so you’ll need to consistently adapt and vary your approach, mixing attacking and defensive manoeuvres with weapons and combos to confuse enemies.

Group Combat Is More Layered

And, continuing with Resynced’s new, advanced enemy archetypes, multi-enemy encounters are now more layered as a result of different enemy roles. While fights in the original Black Flag often boiled down to managing groups efficiently, in Resynced you’ll need to place extra priority on harder-to-down targets, such as the new Demolitionist, as these archetypes possess firmer defence and a more punishing, often unblockable, attack when compared to regular soldiers.

Observe Brings Cinematic Recon

Exploration in the original Black Flag relied on Edward’s Eagle Vision for environmental awareness. Resynced, instead, borrows from Assassin’s Creed Shadows by introducing the Observe feature, a more finely tuned tool which allows you to scan Edward’s surroundings for clues and objectives alongside tagging guards and other targets. Furthermore, Observe tightens the camera into Edward’s line of sight, bringing a more cinematic, immersive framing as you survey the landscape for minute detail.

Fort Infiltration Uses a Morale System

In Black Flag, conquering forts typically meant eliminating enough enemies to trigger a surrender. In Resynced, this scenario is replaced with a dynamic morale system, requiring you to destabilise a fort’s defenses enough to lower their resolve enough to draw their commander out for a final confrontation. The end result is the same, you’ll claim the fort as your own, but the process of killing its commander makes each stronghold in your collection feel more earned.

Boarding Brings More Risk Versus Reward

Whilst bringing more control and precision over the act of getting your boots onto enemy decks, Resynced also eschews the original Black Flag’s largely straightforward boarding process by introducing deeper risk versus reward scenarios. Now, enemy crew numbers and aggression varies between vessels, while more lucrative rewards are found in the new Captain’s Lockbox, located exclusively aboard larger ships like Frigates and Man O’ Wars. Opting to pillage the Captain’s private stash forgoes the option to repair your ship or lower your wanted level, and you’ll also want to consider the knock-on effect on your own crew numbers and future opportunities too.

Some Ship Management Has Moved On Shore

Originally, many ship-related functions were handled directly from the Jackdaw’s Captain’s Cabin. However, in Resynced, many of these systems have moved on shore to the Harbourmasters. Purchasing upgrades, restocking weapons, and trading cargo must now be handled in port, shifting your resource management decisions toward something more strategic.

Harbours Take On Greater Gameplay Significance

And, with more systems now tied to them, harbours in Black Flag Resynced are no longer simple stop-off points. Their increased importance changes how you plan voyages, influencing how often you return to port, and how to structure the pace of your naval expeditions.

Exploration Is More Guided Than Ever Before

While the original Black Flag encouraged a more organic approach to discovery, often leaving you to stumble upon points of interest, Resynced leans into a more guided exploration structure. The thinking behind this, presumably,is to increase your efficiency if you so choose – through Observe and the enhanced UI tools outlined in this feature, you should be more easily able to identify objectives and opportunities. Although, as we’ve already pointed out, the UI can be customised to loosen Resynced’s more structured approach if you desire.

Systems Feel More Interconnected

Resynced’s suite of expanded systems interlock more tightly than Black Flag, where its mechanics often felt like they operated independently. These expansions, encompassing morale-based encounters to adaptive enemies and customisable HUDs, are interwoven to present a more cohesive gameplay loop.

Immersion Is In Your Control

Ultimately, where Assassin’s Creed 4: Blag Flag brought a fixed balance between cinematic presentation and gameplay clarity, Black Flag Resynced gives you that control instead. Through all the various customisation options and systemic changes highlighted throughout this feature, there is one key takeaway: in Resynced, you can shape your own experience. Be it in true, uninterrupted immersion, or a guided adventure, the remake gives you the tools to choose your degree of realism, readability, and cinematic flair.

Oh wait.

This year, it feels like every project from the house of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Splinter Cell is having problems or cutting back to meet deadlines – including new entries in those very same properties. Assassin’s Creed Codename Hexe has apparently pulled back and laid off 50 members from its team. Far Cry 7 is reportedly in a stage of development referred to as “Hell,” where things reportedly change every single month. And the less said about that fabled Splinter Cell Remake, which may as well be the stuff of legend at this point, the better.

So what about Ghost Recon, reportedly codenamed Project Ovr? A first-person shooter that seemingly takes after Ready or Not, reportedly promising a darker experience against the backdrop of a fictional war, where squad-based tactics are more prominent than ever? You know, everything that hardcore fans of the series have wanted? Well, sources previously told Insider Gaming that an internal alpha was scheduled for last Fall and if everything went well, it could launch this year.

Fast forward to this month, post-reshuffle and things have taken a rather drastic turn. Insider Gaming first reported that the alpha didn’t meet expectations. “Unrealistic deadlines,” “poor planning and management,” and “directors not listening to feedback” were apparently some of the things thrown around. Unfortunately, the head office has seemingly rejected any other arrangements, aside from reportedly bringing in VP of global creative Julien Sansalone and VP of production Jean-Baptiste Duval. Not to really change how the development team actually works, mind you. Just to oversee things. Presumably, they’re to be the eyes and ears for upper management, providing information on actual progress rather than going simply by whatever the studio says.

Then there’s the most recent report. What’s been done to bring the project back on track? A “cut and greatly reduced” scope, for starters, with “many features stripped.” The sources in question didn’t go into much detail on what exactly was removed, but they apparently vary in overall scale (and potential significance).

Furthermore, details on an internal alpha held last Spring have emerged. Ovr is apparently not “stable at all,” and the game is in a “terrible” state. What about last year’s internal alpha, and plans to shift to the final game within 12 months? I’m theorizing here, but it’s possible that after its organizational overhaul, upper management took one look at the game’s state and decided it was far from satisfactory.

It likely gave the developer time to shape up for another alpha test, and well, these are seemingly the results. Based on that, it’s made changes to ensure no roadblocks in deliverables.

Going back to Insider Gaming’s latest report, a beta is now apparently targeting November. Unfortunately, there’s another problem. Recent layoffs have hit multiple studios under the publisher’s umbrella, including this one, which means those remaining will purportedly have more work on hand. Which apparently means “long days of crunching” for the beta. So if it wasn’t bad enough that the team is working to get the game rolling, that too after abandoning several features, it has even less resources to do it and is under more pressure. Keep in mind that before these changes, some developers apparently expected the project to be outright cancelled.

Why? Because the studio’s management seemingly has no idea what it was doing. This was a concern that emerged with how much freedom these individual Creative Houses would have. But you should think of this as more of the old way of doing things meeting a new approach by management that’s more concerned with cutting costs and actually taking steps to ship the product rather than dilly-dallying.

And while it’s easy to blame the executives in charge at the top, you have to remember that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced was reportedly meant for March before facing a delay. How that extra time would have helped the remake is anyone’s guess, but based on relatively positive impressions from both fans and media outlets, we’ll default to it being the correct choice.

But this is this, and that is that. One Creative House won’t necessarily operate like the others, and that goes double for its studios. It is the same as handling Splinter Cell and The Division, however – the former waffling about with its remake while the latter has yet to provide updates on The Division 3 for almost three years. Aside from executive producer Julian Gerighty, who had a key role in both titles, leaving the company, of course.

As for Ghost Recon, really, what can you say at this point? As much as this new studio structure ensures that projects actually get going rather than end up mired, it feels like the company as a whole has no clue what it wants to do with the franchise. When Wildlands embraced the open-world approach, there was significant blowback from long-time fans, and its launch state didn’t help matters either. Nevertheless, after strong sales, the company stuck with it, improving and introducing significant new features while showcasing how much fun it could be. It may not have been the true blue Ghost Recon that the hardcore fan wanted, but it was certainly getting there.

Then Breakpoint stripped most of that away, including AI squadmates and introduced a poorly implemented survival theme. The real goal? Taking Wildlands formula and trying to create a looter shooter, complete with a social hub. As noted earlier, this went down horribly and even with massive overhauls, it’s far from the ideal experience.

So what was the plan after that? Of all things, Ghost Recon Frontline, a first-person shooter battle royale that looked to embrace the Fortnite style of building walls. Except you were actually air-dropping them in with a laser pointer. The reception to this was so bad that the publisher ultimately just scrapped it months later. Good riddance.

By comparison, Ovr looked like it was going back to what made the series great while leaning into more grounded, realistic tactical play. Yet again, however, we don’t know where it fell short as to warrant so many changes. Was the squad management terrible? Did the gunplay disappoint? If there’s an open world, did it not have enough checklists of activities? We don’t know, but whatever its problems, the publisher isn’t keen to sit on the sidelines and wait for the development team to suddenly strike gold. And it’s not going to be lenient on them either, even with reduced manpower.

While it’s nice to hope that everything will work out, the past decade or so hasn’t been kind to Ghost Recon. And at this point, wistfully hoping that those in charge just “get it” and deliver an experience that will satisfy both the hardcore and the more contemporary fans feels like a pipe dream.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

But the fantasy of managing a college football team, which is arguably the crux of a simulator aimed at recreating the real-life experience in a digestible, digital format has always been Dynasty Mode. It’s the home of college football, and we’re quite eager to get started with it in College Football 27. That’s because EA seems to have gone beyond merely recruiting players to play games and then have you simulating seasons.

Things are different this time around, and the latest iteration of Dynasty Mode after two years of tweaks and modifications looks like it’s the real deal, with the entire experience coming close to managing an entire program. That includes managing expectations, dealing with spreading limited resources across the board, staffing challenges, negotiating NIL deals, facing the pressures that a coach would face, trying to retain players who would rather take their talents elsewhere, and establishing a team’s long-term identity one step at a time.

That’s a long list of things to do, but that’s precisely why we think this year’s iteration of Dynasty Mode might be the real main event in this year’s take on College Football. Join us as we take you through what’s made us so optimistic about it.

The Third Time’s The Charm

If CF 25 was the comeback after a very long hiatus for the franchise, CF 26 was a title that brought in a lot of refinements that proved quite popular. Based off of that trajectory and everything we’ve seen of CF 27 so far, it’s certainly looking like a big swing from EA, going past incremental improvements to present a bold, confident take on the sports sim that could easily find fame and glory thanks to what it’s bringing to the table.

EA is positioning College Football 27 as the third step in its rebuilt Dynasty roadmap, following the comeback foundation of 25 and the refinements of 26. And from what we’re seeing, it isn’t just about adding in new features and calling it a day. That would be too easy, and a potentially lazy solution to the vision it has presented. Its latest deep dive into Dynasty Mode showcases how it’s clearly being pitched as a deeper program-management experience rather than just another recruiting-and-season sim loop.

Instead, we’re looking at a program management mode that feels akin to what it would be like to manage an evolving landscape of players with many variables for us to control. Or at least, try as life attempts to wrest that very control out of our hands in a take on franchise management that’s bringing all of the chaos from the real world to our screens.

Where Road to Glory is about a single player and Ultimate Team puts you on a hamster wheel where you’re collecting players and grinding out levels, and Road to CFP is about simulating the competition, Dynasty brings all of that into one place, putting you right at the center of the broader fantasy of a college football simulator. It isn’t about a single season, but about building a lasting legacy within the framework of the game.

Athletic Director Expectations are the clearest example of that shift. Instead of treating every job like the same climb with different uniforms, CF 27 gives each program its own pressure points, patience level, and definition of success. A powerhouse could expect you to put them front and center of playoff runs, and perhaps not take too kindly to a decision to hold them back. A school that’s still trying to make a name for itself might give you a bit of breathing room as you try to help it get on the map. One job might hinge on rivalry wins, another on owning a recruiting pipeline, another on building an offensive or defensive identity, and another on keeping facilities or rankings at a required standard.

All of these parameters become part of an ever-changing landscape that you’re then expected to manage, just as a talented coach would have to do in the real world. A solid record may buy patience at one school and still feel like underachievement at another, depending on what the program believes it should be competing for. The new Dynasty isn’t just about winning, but doing so in a way that serves your school’s interests and expectations.

Of course, that can get chaotic without the game’s systems giving you a bit of control over the chaos. That’s where Dynasty Blueprint comes in, turning those expectations into an annual resource puzzle rather than just a list of objectives. You could choose to allocate a significant amount of funds to secure NIL rights for a recruit, or perhaps use that money to create facilities that secure your team’s long-term growth. You could also invest in staff to better support your team, or perhaps spend it all on ensuring a win-now season if that’s what your school really wants. Because Dynasty Points operate as a yearly, use-it-or-lose-it budget, the mode pushes you to make short-term calls instead of hoarding resources forever.

It’s about handling pressure, and handling it well enough to cement your own position within growing teams. And that’s just scratching the surface on systems that go a lot deeper.

A More Hands-On Approach

There’s a reason we mentioned NIL when talking about using your Dynasty Points as effectively as you can. In the real world, it’s a factor that gives players a fair bit of control over the trajectories of their football careers, and CF 27 is making that a factor of the experience by ensuring that the onus of retaining them or letting them move on to greener pastures is on you. Recruiting was already a major part of the experience in previous titles, and making retention become a factor makes things all the more authentic.

Given that you only have a limited number of Dynasty Points to reflect your budgets, you’re going to be smarter with resources in smaller ones while having to manage high expectations on powerhouse programs. It makes retaining your best players as important as recruiting new ones, and it’s a great way to link factors like prestige, deal breakers and school strength in a way that’s both comprehensive and cohesive all at once. The new approach to NIL makes Dynasty less predictable, which is something the mode has needed.

Factor in facilities and staff, and the NIL system’s unpredictability gets amplified, its scope extending beyond your team’s potential on the field. Once again, it’s a showcase of how the entire management experience is more all-encompassing this time around as your facilities and staff become long-term investments that can shape your program’s identity while making coordinators matter a whole lot more. Program grades then become a part of the long-term loop, making rebuilds feel different from merely stepping in to take over a well-established program for a national contender.

Those differences are a welcome addition, and a fine way to ensure that the coaching carousel actually has an impact on how things go for you and your team. You’re not just grinding out levels, which was something we couldn’t help but notice in previous iterations, but building a resume that gives you as much negotiating power as your powerhouses. It’s an effective way of making successes or failures work both ways between players and a coach, tying job openings to school expectations in a way that gives you a lot of choices, but with enough tradeoffs to make those decisions feel as agonizing as they might be in the real world.

Of course, all of that feeds very well into the new Dynasty storytelling engine, that brings in dynamic weekly recaps, Heisman Watch updates alongside a fully animated ceremony, and so much more. They’re all great ways to give a season context and flavor while making you feel like your decisions and hard work actually matter, being as impactful to your team’s journey as they can be. If everything else we’ve talked about lets you manage numbers to achieve the best possible advantage, or perhaps even a compromise between your school’s expectations and your team’s potential, this is where the drama comes in, presenting it all in a way that gets you immersed in the spectacle and realism of it all.

It’s all shaping up to look like this could be the most personal take on College Football’s Dynasty Mode, and the Team Builder now bringing in customisable elements like unique backgrounds and signature accents is a great touch. It lets you imagine yourself in the thick of the action at a stadium, your personal attachment to a program you’ve built represented well in the atmosphere around the games you’re a part of.

Building Balance

You’re probably wondering if everything we’ve said so far makes things look like they’re too good to be true. Believe us when we tell you that the thought has crossed our mind. Ambitious changes like the ones we’ve been talking about so far come with a lot of risk. The new NIL systems could become an unending maelstrom that sucks in your limited budget leaving you at the mercy of a treacherous sea of unpredictability.

The Athletic Director systems could be seen as too random, running the risk of generating expectations that seem unfair thanks to how unrealistic they are perceived to be. The logic between the Coaching Carousel and recruitment and retention must land as perfectly as it can in order for it to be believable, holding up across multiple seasons in a way that makes sense to us all. There needs to be a balance, and it has to be one that holds up under the duress of multiple concurrent seasons for the entire simulation to work.

All of these are reasons to be wary of getting too invested in what’s coming before we get to try it out. But they’re also a great showcase of how EA hasn’t just added new things to Dynasty and called it a day. It’s evolving what the mode is supposed to be in the modern era of college football. If it manages to get things right, it could make Dynasty go from being just another mode to indulge yourself in, and become the one that defines the entire game.

We’re rooting for that to be the case, if only for the selfish reason that it would mean hours upon hours of entertainment. But hey, that’s what we’re all tuning in for, right?

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long to find out!

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced

The tale of Edward Kenway, seemingly lost to time (or at least 2013), is reborn at long last. Launching on July 9th, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a remake of the original, maintaining the same story and characters while expanding on everything else. Overhauled visuals, a denser world map, faster combat, expanded naval battles, a deeper end-game – the list goes on and on. Sure, some parts like the modern-day Abstergo segments and equipping the Hidden Blade in combat are absent (alongside the DLC and multiplayer). But it’s otherwise a faithful retelling of our favorite assassin/pirate’s legend with so much more to offer.

EA Sports College Football 27

College Football’s resurgence and success means a new yearly sports franchise for EA, for better or worse. But at least College Football 27 is trying a few new things when it launches on July 9th, starting with a PC debut for the series. Long-time fans can expect Dynasty improvements, new customization options in Road to Glory, and more. Perhaps the most intriguing new addition is Mascot Mashup, where teams of mascots can clash in games.

Echoes of Aincrad

Somehow, Sword Art Online returned, but instead of playing as well-known characters like Kirito or Asuna, you’ll experience the first season’s death game as an original character. Customize their appearance, learn unique skills, venture through dungeons, and try not to die. But for those who want that authentic experience, there’s Death Game Mode, where your save is deleted upon death. Echoes of Aincrad looks the part visually, so we’ll give it a shot, but a revamp of the tutorial certainly wouldn’t hurt before its July 10th launch.

Palworld 1.0

Pocketpair’s creature-collecting, open-world, survival crafting title exploded when early access debuted in 2024, and it’s come a long way since. While storming the World Tree is the end-game, 1.0 is going all out in terms of new gameplay features. A Wing Pack for flying around on your lonesome; a Pal that transforms into a two-handed sword with a unique move-set; and those mysterious floating islands that developers seem to be fans of. Touted as the biggest update for Palworld yet, we can’t wait to see how 1.0 changes the game when it goes live on July 10th.

The Alters: Last Variable

Remember when you left Jan Scientist behind at the end of The Alters? If the answer is, “I didn’t play The Alters,” well…don’t worry about it. All you need to know is that cloning yourself is back on the menu, as you explore new regions, expand a new base underground and learn the truth about something called the Oasis. With cryo-sleep enabling longer-term consequences, Last Variable could feed into the survival drama that helped the base game thrive when it launches on July 13th.

Moss: The Forgotten Relic

PlayStation VR titles have been less common over the years, but thankfully, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2 players will have a chance to experience Polyarc’s Moss series without the need for a headset. Alongside both games and DLC, it promises a new Smart Follow camera and the option to skip combat. There are also new cutscenes to go with the improved performance. So if you’ve never experienced the journey of Quill, a mouse who ventures through the ruins of a kingdom, there’s no better day than July 16th when Moss: The Forgotten Relic launches.

Gothic Classic (PlayStation and Xbox)

With how well-received Gothic 1 Remake has been, PlayStation and Xbox players will finally get the chance to experience the 2001 original on July 28th. And it’s about as untainted as you’d expect, preserving the unforgiving challenge and janky gameplay that made the original such a treat.

Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game

A good Avatar video game is about as rare as an enjoyable live-action adaptation, but Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game could fill those shoes. It’s 1v1, featuring hand-drawn animation and packs 12 playable characters, from Aang and Korra to Azula and Kyoshi. Along with Training and Spectator modes, you have the requisite Versus with rollback netcode and cross-play support. Best of all, single-player fans have Story Mode, which offers an original tale, and Arcade Mode. Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game lands on July 23rd for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC.

Splatoon Raiders

Instead of competitive modes like its predecessors, Splatoon Raiders leans fully into single-player but with a fresh gameplay loop. As the Mechanic, you’ll explore the Spirhalite Islands with Deep Cut, unearthing relics and fighting the Salmonids. By mining Spirhalite Shards, you can develop Gadgets for additional combat options. With optional local and online co-op, it looks intriguing, if nothing else, and arrives on July 23rd for Nintendo Switch 2.

Halo: Campaign Evolved

The campaign that started it all, but evolved. Halo Studios may not have the most sterling reputation, but we have to admit that its remake of Halo 1 has looked good in recent showings, whether it’s the visuals or revamping levels to facilitate four-player co-op. The prospect of over 40 Skulls, including one that adds a third-person perspective, and a Campaign Remix option means heaps of replay value. Just try not to focus too much on the lack of Theater Mode or post-launch content plans when Halo: Campaign Evolved arrives on July 28th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Mistfall Hunter

We’ve already seen a Souls-like battle royale-style game in Nightreign, so why not an extraction title in the same vein? Announced in October 2024, Mistfall Hunter will finally launch this month on Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, offering six playable Gyldhunters who venture into the titular mist to take on various monstrosities. And while there’s a very “end of the world” style scenario, it’s still all about finding loot, either solo or in teams of three, and surviving against enemies and other players long enough to extract it. Enjoyable or tedious? We’ll find out on July 29th.

The Relic: First Guardian

Of course, if we’re talking about Souls-likes that have been a long time coming, The Relic: First Guardian is out on July 31st for PS5 and PC after first being announced five years ago. Suffice to say that the setting and prospect of venturing into the ruined world of Arsiltus to help save it is enticing. The fact that you don’t lose stamina from attacking also means a more aggressive playstyle, and while we’ll need to wait and see how the bosses pan out, The Relic could make for a nice diversion.

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu

If you’re not in the Souls-like mood and just want a more co-op-focused experience with plenty of the same oppression, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu may be worth playing. The premise is simple – you and up to three other players venture into a jungle in the hopes of finding the Mound. However, there’s the Madness system, similar to the Sanity system from Eternal Darkness, which can mess with your senses in a variety of ways, from making allies appear hostile to creating truly horrific sights. In other words, a fun ol’ time with friends when it launches on July 15th.

Backyard Baseball

The original Backyard Baseball is a classic in many ways, but for those who wanted a more contemporary version, there’s good news. Mega Cat Studios is reimagining it for consoles and PC with completely revamped visuals. The Backyard roster returns in full force with 30 choices, and you can duke it out across 11 stadiums and six modes. With a range of options for both casual and competitive players, it promises to capture the magic of the original – with some modern quality of life – when it launches on July 9th.

Dinoblade

So there’s one more game to look forward to in July, and yes, it’s another Souls-like. The twist? Dinosaurs. In a post-cataclysm, you take up a Great Sword as a Spinosaurus and embark on a journey for…something, taking on all kinds of hostile dinos. These include Alphas who may have their own weapons and skills. As ridiculous as it sounds, there’s no denying how cool it looks. Dinoblade launches on July 23rd for PC.

The characters seemingly include a heavily modified assassin-style character who can scale walls and balance on wires; a spiky-haired individual who may be in way over his head; a mature man who’s seemingly on the verge of cyber-psychosis; and a child who’s filming so many different things. To what end?

We’ll have to wait and find out, but between hacked cars crashing into each other, explosions and bloody shootouts, Edgerunners 2 could one-up the original in terms of chaos. The theme “You Can’t Run From Me” by Rico Nasty is also a certified banger.

Thankfully, it seems Netflix isn’t messing with a winning formula, with Edgerunners director Kai Ikarashi and lead designer Kanno Ichio returning. Showrunner and writer Bartosz Sztybor is also back to make the whole world sad once more, and we can’t wait. And in case you want more, a first look is confirmed for Anime Expo 2026 on July 3rd, so stay tuned.

There are three modes to choose from: Performance, Fidelity and Balanced (which requires a display that supports 120/240 Hz). Performance delivers 60 frames per second with Standard ray tracing, which encompasses global illumination for diffuse lighting. Fidelity and Balanced have Extensive ray tracing that includes reflective surfaces. However, the former runs at 30 FPS while the latter offers 40 FPS. All three modes output at an upscaled 2160p resolution.

So what makes PS5 Pro so special? While offering the same modes and frame rates as the base PS5, Extended ray tracing is on across the board. Upscaled 2160p is also enabled throughout, courtesy of the upgraded PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution. You can also expect improved hair with individual strands rendered and reacting realistically.

It does vary, though – for instance, Edward has it in all modes during gameplay, but Fidelity mode will bestow the same to nearby NPCs. At least every mode displays strand-based hair for all characters in the cinematics, so even those who prefer a higher frame rate can bask in the detail.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is available on July 9th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Ubisoft hasn’t explicitly stated whether the PS5 frame rates and resolutions apply to Xbox Series X, but you can likely expect the same. Xbox Series S is anyone’s guess, though, so stay tuned for more details.

But if that isn’t enough, there’s good news. It’s followed immediately by the return of Nintendo Treehouse: Live, which will showcase 30 minutes of additional gameplay. It should provide the most accurate representation of its performance and general gameplay loop, not to mention four-player co-op.

If you haven’t kept up with the franchise and are confused by the lack of competitive PvP, Splatoon Raiders is a story-focused title. It follows the Mechanic, a new character, who teams up with Deep Cut from Splatoon 3 to explore the Spirhalite Islands.

Whatever secrets may await, there are tons of Salmonids standing in your way. Taking them out requires using familiar Ink weapons and new gadgets, which you can customise to increase your chances of survival. And despite the single-player premise, Deep Cut members will assist in their own ways.

Even if it’s far from the first dedicated single-player offering from the series, exploring the islands and harvesting materials to empower your tools is an intriguing twist. We’ll find out for ourselves when Splatoon Raiders launches on July 23rd for Nintendo Switch 2.

Henrysson revealed the news on LinkedIn, stating he had a “fantastic time” and that his time at the studio saw “revenue and profit triple.” “As the CEO of Supermassive Games, I was honoured to guide the studio through intense industry change, broadening its client base and establishing a culture of consistent quality across all aspects of the game development process.

“Leading a studio is never a one-man job — it is the entire team’s effort. Our commitment to continuous improvement was, and continues to be, central to everything we do.” He expressed his gratefulness to the developer, calling it the “greatest storytelling game studio on Earth” and revealed plans to take a vacation (and manage his “own small portfolio of investments”).

While there’s no correlation between Directive 8020’s sales performance and Henrysson stepping down, his tenure has seen its share of ups and downs. He was appointed in the aftermath of co-founders Pete and Joe Samuels departing from Supermassive. A few weeks later, significant layoffs were announced, with about 90 employees reportedly affected. Supermassive would also allegedly cancel an unannounced Blade Runner title called Time to Live. Directive 8020 was also hit by a significant delay months after, coupled with more layoffs.

It’s unknown who will take over for Henrysson, but the studio is forging ahead with its next game. Teased in Directive 8020 if you followed these exact steps, it showcases a heavy dose of the supernatural and may be The Craven Man or Intercession – two other IPs trademarked alongside the sci-fi horror back in 2022. Supermassive has yet to confirm which, much less a release date, so stay tuned for updates in the future.

When it comes to price, however, he said that it’s “not realistic” for Sony to absorb the increases it is facing in component costs. This ultimately led to the console’s price going up in global markets. Despite the price hikes, Nishino has said that he doesn’t expect it to lead to a decline in customer demand.

“First, we regard hardware as the base for providing the gaming experience, and by offering products such as the PlayStation Portal Remote Player (PS Portal), we aim to provide experiences tailored to users’ play styles beyond the living room, which has traditionally been considered the primary usage environment.

“As for pricing, it is not realistic for us to absorb all component cost increases, and we have already implemented some price increases outside Japan. At present, however, sales are proceeding as planned, and we do not believe this has led to a decline in customer demand.

“As a principle, we do not intend to sell hardware at significant losses. At the same time, we are carefully monitoring the market and continuing to evaluate our approach. We believe it is important for us to make every effort to ensure that customers fully understand the value we provide in relation to pricing.”

A couple of decades ago, companies like Sony, Sega, and Microsoft opted to sell their consoles at a minor loss, relying instead on the revenue from every game sold on their systems to make up for these losses. However, Nintendo is known for not really selling its hardware at a loss since at least the launch of the Wii, and the same became true of Sony and Microsoft with the launches of the PS4 and Xbox One, respectively. Since then, all three of the console makers have sold hardware at a profit, relying on thorough R&D efforts and use of custom hardware to keep prices down.

Nishino’s statement about the prices not leading to a decline in customer demand is especially interesting in light of the company’s hardware sales in the US marking May 2026 as the worst May faced by PlayStation since 2000. Analysts believe that this is largely due to current socio-economic conditions and the overall rise in costs associated with gaming hardware.

In a recent interview, Nishino had also said that the company plans to make more live service games in the future in a bid to “revitalize the market through both first-party and third-party content.” He pointed to the upcoming fighting game Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls as an example of this and went on to discuss how the company could do the same for some of its older games in the medium to long term as well.