There are myriad reasons why Arc Raiders not only attracted huge player counts at launch, but has managed to buck the typical trend and sustain them. The biggest, in my view, is how it caters to the most casual of players with elements like its aggression-based matchmaking and free loadout system, while also giving the multiplayer game's most dedicated, high-skill grinders something to aim for with its optional wipes. Known as Expedition Projects, the first took place last month and was an opportunity for top raiders to start afresh, albeit with some additional perks and rewards. However, from speaking with Arc Raiders' design director, Virgil Watkins, I've just learned that its debut wipe was more popular than I anticipated.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Arc Raiders' first Expedition saw over a million players wipe, but Embark wants to find new ways to "incentivize" resets

As a big Destiny 2 fan, I've been rather envious of my looter-shooter compatriots over in The Division land. Yes, there have been some frustrations with Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment's handling of The Division 2 and delays to its DLC timeline. But at least it's getting the one thing I and many other Destiny players want the most - a third game in the series. While there's no official sign of Destiny 3 from Bungie, we know that Massive is beavering away on The Division 3, and in a new interview, executive producer Julian Gerighty says that it's "shaping up to be a monster."

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Ubisoft says The Division 3 is "a monster" and believes it can have "as big an impact" as the first game

OK, I'll admit it: I actually quite like the newly revealed Fallout crossover in Black Ops 7. I'm not proud of it, given my past criticisms of Call of Duty's bizarre, totally unrelated collabs. Sure, seeing Ella Purnell call in a UAV or The Ghoul wall-bouncing with a rocket launcher is jarring, but as a fan of Fallout (the games and the Amazon series) they're pretty cool skins. However, I'm not sure liking it is the same as supporting it. I think some elements work well here, but on the whole, seeing Pip-Boys and blue jumpsuits in Black Ops 7 before Season 1 has even wrapped does absolutely nothing to support CoD's mission to be more "authentic."

Read the full story on PCGamesN: While Black Ops 7's Fallout crossover looks the part, it does nothing but hurt CoD's quest to become more "authentic"

Lords of the Fallen is one of the most Souls-like soulslikes to come from outside of FromSoftware. There are some great innovations that still make it stand out - its dual-reality Umbral lamp mechanic lets you seamlessly view a dark realm layered beneath the actual overworld, for example. But its medieval gothic fantasy vibes and challenging combat will make any FromSoft enjoyer feel right at home. However, following the recent reveal of a new enemy type for upcoming sequel Lords of the Fallen 2, developer CI Games has been forced to defend itself from plagiarism allegations, with the company's CEO now posting proof that it didn't rip the design from Elden Ring Nightreign.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Accusations that new Lords of the Fallen 2 enemy design copies Elden Ring Nightreign are "100% false," says CEO

January 8, 2026 at 7:41am PT In a post on social media, Jason Schreier has clarified that he "wouldn't be shocked if GTA 6 *does* come out this fall." This article has been updated to reflect this. I don't know if my delicate little soul could take another GTA 6 delay. First, it was meant to be arriving in 2025. Then it was pushed to May 2026. Now, the GTA 6 release date is destined for November 19 this year. Barring some major fumbles and oversights on Rockstar's part, it will surely be one of the best open-world games ever made, and seeing it pushed even further into the future would be a hard pill to swallow - for me, it's less about a rampant desire for more Grand Theft Auto, and more about simply seeing whether the most anticipated videogame in history lives up to expectations. While November seems like an achievable goal, it still doesn't really feel guaranteed that GTA 6 will arrive then, and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has sewn more seeds of doubt in my mind. Although he admits the current release date is way more "solid" and attainable than previous ones, he believes that GTA 6 is "still not content complete."

Read the full story on PCGamesN: GTA 6 reportedly still "not content complete," and Rockstar could delay it again as it strives for "perfection"

For long-running MMOs, finding a way to make all your old, current, and future content easy to decipher and accessible can be a bit of a minefield. What is or isn't tied to a subscription? Do I have to fork out extra for certain DLC expansions, activities, or features? What can newcomers access for free? It can be one of the biggest stumbling blocks, especially if you've been running for more than a decade like The Elder Scrolls Online. To make things more accessible and less confusing, ESO is transforming with its new Seasons. Now, Zenimax Online Studios has fully unveiled this new model, and when Season Zero arrives in April, loads of old and new content will become playable at no extra cost.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: The Elder Scrolls Online reveals one of the biggest transformations in the MMO's 12-year history with new seasonal model

Minecraft has just unveiled some of the first features coming to its next game drop, and it's made me all warm and gooey inside. Clearly wanting to start 2026 by tackling the most important tasks first, Mojang has revealed an overhaul for several baby mobs in order to make them way cuter - the perfect prioritization for one of the biggest and best PC games on the planet, if you ask me. With new textures, models, and audio, if you thought Minecraft's kittens, piglets, and chicks were adorable before, you're simply not prepared for how they look now.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Minecraft unveils new models for baby mobs, making them "chunkier, floofier, and more charming than ever"

A big budget sequel to one of my favorite competitive FPS games ever, Splitgate 2 was set to be a dream shooter for me. In many ways, it really hit the spot, but its huge ambition resulted in a bloated experience, with unnecessary hero shooter elements tarnishing what was otherwise some excellent gameplay. Swiftly pulling the game back into a beta state, 1047 Games has trimmed off some of the extra fat and relaunched it as the more streamlined, true-to-the-original Splitgate Arena Reloaded. While I believe it's much better for it, its Steam player count hasn't seen a significant resurgence. Responding to those concerned about the amount of people playing Arena Reloaded, 1047 has posted a new statement with a simple message: "Steam charts don't measure fun."

Read the full story on PCGamesN: "Steam charts don't measure fun," says Splitgate dev as relaunched FPS debuts with a 90% lower peak

No Man's Sky offers a lot - to dive deep into all of its systems and gameplay experiences requires more hours in the day than most have to spare. It's huge, captivating, and constantly adding more to its seemingly infinite sandbox. It is, without question, one of the best space games ever. But for those who are time-strapped, how about a more condensed, focused space survival experience that, in true Satisfactory fashion, weaves in miles of hypnotizing supply lines? That's exactly what StarRupture offers, and it's just arrived in Steam Early Access.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Scratching my No Man's Sky and Satisfactory itches, this new space game from an acclaimed survival dev is finally on Steam

With the momentous launch of Escape From Tarkov 1.0 towards the end of last year, fans of one of the best FPS games around could finally achieve what it says on the tin. A series of endings were added to the game, which allow you to escape from the ravaged city of Tarkov after an intense PvE mission. However, Battlestate Games has just made a key change to EFT's ending after requests from fans, but appears to have carried out the exact opposite of what players were asking for.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Escape from Tarkov changes its ending after requests to make it easier, but does the exact opposite

Despite seeming close to death just a couple of months ago, we're now just days away from Hytale arriving in very early access. There's been huge buzz around the Minecraft rival for years, but since being prised from the clutches of Riot Games, the hype has reached new levels. Despite its art style, I've always been struck by how beautiful Hytale looks, but apparently, it'll look even better soon - and things will get much easier when it comes to creating and editing your own cubic kingdoms. V2 of Hytale's world generation system will "redefine the block-game genre," according to Hypixel Studios' top dog - and although it'll launch with V1, it'll offer you small glimpses of V2 worlds.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Watch out Minecraft, Hytale says its new world generation system will "redefine the block game genre"

The new era of Destiny 2, spearheaded by June's Edge of Fate expansion, hasn't exactly gone to plan for Bungie. I was extremely excited for a fresh Destiny experience post-Light and Dark saga, but so far it's failed to hit the mark. Looking across the last four or five years as a whole, I'd still proclaim that Destiny 2 is my 'favorite' shooter, but since Edge of Fate arrived, players have massively leaked from the game - myself included, in recent times. However, a Star Wars-themed expansion sounds like just the ticket to renew interest, and to an extent, Destiny 2 Renegades has done just that, with a healthy Steam spike on launch day and plenty of praise for certain aspects of the new campaign. However, that spike is still a long way off where Destiny 2 should be.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Destiny 2 Renegades results in a generous surge on Steam, but even Star Wars mania can't bring back the highs of my favorite FPS

Once Human continues to persevere in what is a super competitive time for survival games, with developer Starry Studio rolling out some big new features in recent months. A new class system, the PvP-focused Raid Zone, and even a crossover with survival rival Palworld have all arrived. This steady stream of new additions is great to see, but like any free PC game wanting a long and prosperous life on Steam, an even faster flow of microtransactions is required. However, one decoration item found in its new loot crates has led to accusations of directly imitating an asset found in No Man's Sky. While Hello Games head Sean Murray light-heartedly tells Starry Studio that the "joke's on them," the Once Human dev is now taking action. In a statement provided to PCGamesN, it confirms it is removing the problematic item from the game.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: "Joke's on them," says No Man's Sky lead as rival survival game confirms it's replacing an eerily familiar cosmetic

Crass, corny, and gory, you've got to resonate with a certain kind of humor to really get Postal. While it's switched perspectives for each of its mainline entries, one thing that's never wavered is its vulgarity. In the spinoff department, though, some of the best FPS games on Steam have been born - look no further than the highly rated, Doom-style Postal Brain Damage. Soon, there'll be a new Postal spinoff in town, and while it retains a first-person perspective, it also throws in a big dose of Vampire Survivors chaos. Running With Scissors has just revealed Postal Bullet Paradise, and it's coming next year.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: I didn't expect the next Postal game to be a co-op FPS with a Vampire Survivors twist, but here we are

Payday 3 has been a thorn in Starbreeze's side since it arrived back in 2023. Despite its predecessor being one of the most beloved and best co-op games around, Payday 3 launched in a terrible state and with a web of new and reworked systems that players just didn't gel with. The result? On Steam at least, Payday 2's recent daily player counts are roughly 20 times higher than they are in Payday 3. Instead of calling it quits though, Starbreeze is committed to turning things around - it recently canceled a DnD project it was working on and handed Payday 2 support over to a different studio, all so it could put more resource behind the struggling game.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Payday 3 tears up one of its worst systems and replaces it with a shiny new one, and it's a huge step in the right direction

Is 2025 the greatest year ever for exceptional indies? If you don't think it is, it's surely on the podium. Alongside the likes of Silksong and Blue Prince, Ball x Pit helps back up this year's case. Taking the simple ball-bouncing joy of Pong and Breakout and turning into a deep, addictive, chaotic roguelike, it's just been revealed that it's shifted a million copies. I can't say I'm surprised. Given its huge popularity, it felt inevitable that we'd see more content arrive in Ball x Pit in the future, but I didn't expect fans to be eating so good, so quickly, and for the low, low price of nought. A trio of free updates are heading the game's way next year, and they're all totally free.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: The dev behind 2025's ball-blasting, city-building roguelike just announced three free expansions after selling 1 million copies

I do love a bit of Hitman, and by proxy that should mean I'll love a bit of 007 First Light when that arrives next year, too. Even with its James Bond veneer, it's the closest thing we'll get to a new Hitman game from IO Interactive as it continues to support and expand the immensely successful World of Assassination trilogy. However, it appears that Hitman 4 is starting to come into view for IOI, knowing there's only so long it can keep plugging things into the current game. In a new interview, CEO Hakan Abrak says the studio will begin "talking about the next Hitman" only after it brings the Stone and Knight co-op mode to Hitman World of Assassination.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: IOI will only start "talking about the next Hitman" after World of Assassination's ambitious co-op mode arrives

If you're a regular PCGamesN reader, you'll know by now that I'm obsessed with Arc Raiders. I know that's hardly a maverick, edgy take to have right now, but it's true. I absolutely love it. However, I'm still gutted I can't explore the underground sanctuary of Speranza. The Forever Winter, which is hustling away in early access, may not be a breakout hit like Arc Raiders, but it teaches it a major lesson by giving you a home base you can actually customize and exist in. In its latest update, loads of new content just arrived in the extraction shooter, and alongside all the punishing expeditions and post-apocalyptic looting, you can now become a slick-talking bartender. Awesome.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: I wish Arc Raiders would steal the best feature from this rival extraction shooter, which now lets you be a sci-fi bartender to boot

With all the hopium-fueled hubbub about Half-Life 3 recently, it's worth remembering where the majority of that hype has stemmed from - new Source 2 code being datamined from updates to the likes of CS2 and Deadlock. With Valve notoriously hush about upcoming projects, virtually everything we've heard about 'HLX', as it's referenced, has come from datamines. But it's not the only mystery project that's been spotted this year, as a new branch for something titled 'TF' has emerged too, seemingly in reference to Team Fortress. Now, some new TF-related code has been highlighted by notable Valve sleuth Tyler McVicker, which he says is "effectively direct confirmation" that Team Fortress 2 is being ported into Source 2.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Valve sleuth says new datamine is "effectively direct confirmation" of Team Fortress 2 being ported to Source 2

Viral clips of role-playing streamers. Bespoke gaming setups costing thousands of dollars to enhance immersion. Countless DLC expansions. I even learned today that there are competitive community tournaments going on. This probably doesn't sound like I'm talking about one of the best simulation games, but I am - it's Euro Truck Simulator 2. Despite it being 13 years since players first got their hands on it, the mania around the ETS2 has continued to swell, and in the wake of it getting a double dose of DLC and a hefty discount, it's just hit its biggest Steam peak ever.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Beloved, 13-year-old simulator game hits a new Steam peak as stunning DLC lets you cruise beneath the Northern Lights