“Essentially, War Sails is a large mod”: Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord devs on delaying leaving port and why custom naval battles were a late addition

Earlier this year, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord‘s War Sails naval expansion had its release pushed back from June 17th to November 26th. You can give it a go right now if you fancy, so it obviously made that second date. Prior to the DLC dropping, I chatted with Bannerlord senior producer Falk Engel about what went into the decision to ditch the initial summer date, and why custom naval battles were only confirmed to be arriving with its launch quite late in the day.

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Cyberpunk 2’s dev team is set to double in size by the end of 2027, hopefully meaning its cyberfoundations’ll be laid by then

Cyberpunk 2‘s dev team is set to grow substantially over the next couple of years, as CD Projekt ramp up development. While most of their ranks right now are on The Witcher 4, a game that’s at least made some public cameos even if it’s still sans release date, once 2027 rolls around, Cyberpunk 2 looks like it won’t be too far behind.

This info comes from the company’s latest financial report, covering the time running from July 1st to September 30th this year.

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Valve block Steam game with queer art in Russia after state censor attacks it for “promoting non-traditional sexualities”

Valve have blocked card game Flick Solitaire from the Russian version of Steam, after federal censorship body Roskomnadzor contacted the platform holder to order its removal for “promoting non-traditional sexualities”.

In a letter, Valve have also reproached developers Flick Games for failing “to do your due diligence regarding where your game is allowed to be distributed, and to inform us of any territory where it cannot be”. Flick Solitaire is still available in Russia via the iOS and Android storefronts, however, despite Roskomnadzor sending similar notes to Apple and Google. As of writing, Valve appear to be the only platform who have caved to Russian state requests to censor the game.

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World of Warcraft’s Midnight expansion releases in March, bringing Voidstorm plague on all the new houses

World of Warcraft‘s Midnight expansion finally has a full release date. It’ll arrive on March 2nd, 2026, setting in stone the new player housing that’s debuting in early access this December and bringing forth the bunch of other changes planned alongside its main invasion storyline.

That list of changes includes the introduction of a new premium currency call Hearthsteel, which you’ll need top use to buy a “small fraction” of the house-related bits and bobs being added in with Midnight. Why? Reasons, Blizzard have said.

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Build a new life after a revolution on Jupiter in the very Animal Crossing-esque, co-op life-sim Young Suns

Animal Crossing… in space! That is what Young Suns, the latest game from Goodbye Volcano High, Depanneur Nocturne, and GNOG developer KO_OP Mode, appears to be when put reductively. But let’s not put it reductively, because while this is one of those cozy life-sims, it does sound like it has something going on for it, particularly for the more revolutionary of you out there.

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Bungie admit to Destiny 2 having an audience problem, as they try to figure out how to not make a “dead live game”

It is not exactly a secret that, in recent years, Destiny 2 hasn’t been doing so hot. Frequenters of the pseudo-MMO have found certain expansions and updates to be disappointing, and for a live service game a few too many disappointments can be devastating. Now, in a new interview, the game’s director Tyson Green has acknowledged how the game is struggling to bring in a new audience, and discussed the difficulties that come with that.

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Nier Automata’s 2B remains in crossover prison, this time relegated to Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis

Look, ok, I get it Square Enix. I understand why you put 2B in absolutely everything. She is a character with particular qualities that certain audiences found very appealing! But I am begging you… stop putting her in things. I’m sick to death of seeing her everywhere, her blindfolded eyes somehow still staring directly into my soul, begging me to spend money on endless gacha rolls, but this time in Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, the next game she’s set to appear in.

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Elden Ring Nightreign DLC’s first new class looks great for book nerds and grubby old men lovers

I don’t know if I’m allowed to write “dad I’d like to” you know what, even as an acronym, so I won’t, but my current prediction for Scholar, the first of two new Nightfarers coming to Elden Ring Nightreign as part of its Forsaken Hollows DLC, is that this is what an alarmingly large number of people will refer to him as. I get it! He’s a bit grubby looking, but he’s smart because he reads books and stuff. There’s multitudes there.

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After more than one controversy, layoffs, and a lengthy beta period, Splitgate 2 is set to return next month

To say Splitgate 2 hasn’t had an easy go of it would perhaps be a mild understatement, though that’s not to say it’s entirely undeserved. There was that absolutely silly hat malarky for one, creating a not particularly welcoming vibe, and there was of course some controversy involving the pricing for some of its in-game items. All of that unfortunately led to two rounds of layoffs, and a switch back to a beta version of the game. Now, it looks like it’ll be back in action next month.

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