Ubisoft's enormous restructuring - which saw it create five "creative houses," delay multiple projects, and throw six more in the trash - has led to a lot of understandable angst about what is and isn't being developed right now. The only project we officially know of that got scrapped is the Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake, which also showed just how cutthroat Ubisoft has been, given how it seemed like it was finally on a solid path to launch. Now, in a new interview, CEO Yves Guillemot has lifted the lid ever so slightly wider as to what Ubisoft is still working on following its reorganization.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot confirms two Far Cry projects and "several" Assassin's Creed games survived its mega reshuffle

Platinum Games has produced some truly great action games in its time, and Nier Automata is right up there near the top of the pile. It's hard to believe it's celebrating its ninth birthday - I think another wrinkle just formed on my face... However, as part of the festivities, publisher Square Enix has revealed two exciting things. Firstly, that the game has surpassed ten million copies sold. Secondly, and most importantly, that Nier Automata will "be continued" in some shape or form.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: As Nier Automata hits a massive sales milestone, Square Enix drops its most promising sequel hint yet

Jake Solomon's decision to move from making some of the best strategy games ever to an ambitious life sim was a perplexing but exciting one. Spinning up a new studio, Midsummer, he pitched it as "a life sim that really tries to elevate the choices the player makes in their life" when he spoke to us back in 2024. Inspired by The Sims, this would open up an even wider narrative sandbox than Maxis' iconic series. However, the former XCOM and Civilization developer has confirmed that Midsummer is closing its doors, and that the new game (titled Burbank) will never see the light of day. As a parting gift, he's shared a first look at what the game could've been, and the biggest surprise is that its narrative and dialog is AI-powered.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: XCOM veteran Jake Solomon's AI-powered, narrative-driven Sims rival bites the dust

When looking at Battlefield 6 discourse in recent weeks, there's one word I keep seeing pop up: "fumbled." The highs of the first few weeks after launch are gone, and while Battlefield 6 isn't in some kind of disastrous, imminent shutdown situation, it's really struggled to capitalize on the early hype. Season 2 has only added to its problem, with a poor reaction from players and a roadmap of content that has sparked debates about EA and Battlefield Studios' commitment to the game. A lack of new battlegrounds has been one of Season 2's biggest criticisms, but BF6's producer Alexia Christofi says that Battlefield Studios is trying to "bring things to players as we can and as quickly as we can build them," and that it "empathizes" with players asking for more.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Battlefield 6 devs "would love to create way more maps," but can only push them out "as quickly as we can build them"

Destiny 2 feels like it's in a real spot of bother - when even the burst of excitement from a Star Wars-themed expansion can't be sustained, you know there's something really wrong with the core of the game. I myself have fallen off of the Destiny wagon in recent months, and while I really want to return, I'm struggling to find the motivation to do so. Initially set to drop on March 3, the Shadow and Order update was another potential moment to win me back. However, it never felt like it had a good chance, being sandwiched between the free Server Slam test and full release of Marathon, Bungie's new extraction FPS game. Now, the studio has confirmed the inevitable - it's delaying Shadow and Order. However, it's pushing it back by more than three months, and says that "large revisions" are the reason, not Marathon.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Bungie delays major Destiny 2 update that was set to clash with Marathon, but its three-month pushback has stunned me

There are a handful of studios out there that, if they revealed they were using generative AI in their games, I'd be particularly heartbroken about. Bethesda is absolutely one of them - hand-crafted, detailed worlds and quests full of memorable moments and flair are the core pillars that helped it make some of the best RPGs of all time. Even the procedural generation used in many of Starfield's vast planets muddied the waters a bit, so injecting AI-generated content into its games could be even more damaging and disappointing. Todd Howard has previously gone on record to say that AI is not generating anything inside the studio, and in a new interview with Kinda Funny, he reaffirms that. However, he appears open to adopting AI tools that can help Bethesda tackle "big data tasks" so that developers can "move on to the creative stuff."

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Todd Howard says Bethesda is being "incredibly cautious" around AI, but sounds keen to use it for "big data tasks"

Since it dropped at the tail end of October, Arc Raiders has shrugged off any potential threats to its firm grip on my gaming time. New seasons of Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 have led to brief dabbles with both games, but little more than that. Destiny 2's Star Wars-themed Renegades expansion is still sitting in my library, waiting to be played. Even the addictive nature of cursed slot machine sim Cloverpit couldn't keep me away from Embark's extraction shooter for long. However, over the last week or so, I've started to show signs of Arc Raiders fatigue, which bodes extremely well for an FPS game that, just a few months ago, I thought was doomed: Marathon.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: My love for Arc Raiders is starting to wane, and that plays right into Marathon's hands

Sure, we're only seven weeks into the year, but Mewgenics has already established itself as one of this year's breakout success stories. There are those that argue the latest game from the mind behind The Binding of Isaac was always guaranteed to be a hit, and there's a sliver of truth to that. However, seeing it swiftly surpass a million units sold and beat Hades 2's all-time Steam peak player count is a genuine, pleasant surprise. That surprise extends to the developers of the game itself, with Mewgenics' co-creator Tyler Glaiel saying that its huge success has "blindsided" him, greatly exceeding the amount of Steam wishlists it had before launch.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Mewgenics co-creator Tyler Glaiel was "blindsided" by sales far greater than its Steam wishlist tally

In many of the biggest, most popular games and series, we're starting to see AI-generated or AI-assisted assets slowly creep in. Call of Duty's calling cards, for example, or Arc Raiders' text-to-speech system for generating dialog. While there's always some level of pushback and disgruntlement, there's a growing amount of acceptance or indifference to it as well. It seems that the EA Sports FC series has jumped on the wagon too, with iconic soccer commentator and FC 26 star Guy Mowbray giving EA permissions to use an AI version of his voice to generate new lines of commentary.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: One of FC 26's commentators confirms that EA uses an AI replicating his voice to record new lines

An ARPG "unlike any other," spearheaded by a handful of former Diablo 1 and 2 developers? That's a prospect that I'm sure will make loot goblins everywhere sit up and take note. Well, that's what the team behind Darkhaven is setting out to achieve. Shaking up the action RPG space with a procedurally generated world featuring an unprecedented amount of environmental destruction and evolution for the genre, hopes are understandably quite high. Despite only being revealed at the end of January, a new "pre-alpha" demo for Darkhaven has just hit Steam, so you can already go and see for yourself how developer Moon Beast Productions is getting on.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Former Diablo devs aim to shake up the ARPG space with Darkhaven, and you can see how they're getting on in its new demo

In most media, an alien race crash-landing onto Earth means only one thing - a bloody battle where humanity must expend all its energy, bombs, and bullets to survive against its otherworldly invaders. In Astrobotanica, things are the complete opposite for two reasons. Firstly, it's set 300,000 years ago, and last time I checked, cavemen didn't have tanks and assault rifles. Secondly, Xel - the blue-skinned, pointy-eared protagonist of the new survival game - isn't here to kickstart some planetary domination. Instead, they're here to indulge in their hobby of botany, live off the land, and coexist with the primitive human population.

Read the full story on PCGamesN: Astrobotanica just hit Steam Early Access, so now I can finally hang with cavemen as a botany-obsessed alien

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