Next Week on Xbox: New Games for November 17 to 21

Moonlighter 2

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for November 17 to 21

Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!


SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide

THQ Nordic GmbH

$39.99

Spongebob Squarepants: Titans of the Tide – November 18

How do you stop the two biggest egos of the Seven Seas from fighting? A clash between the Flying Dutchman and King Neptune has unleashed ghostly mayhem all over Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob and Patrick will need all their skills, bravery and – dare I say – wit, to return life to what passes for normal in their undersea home. Join Bikini Bottom’s most notorious duo on their ghostliest adventure yet!


Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault (Game Preview)

11 bit studios

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault (Game Preview) – November 19
Game Pass

Dive deep into Action-RPG with roguelike elements and a tale about new beginnings. With no coin to your name, you and the other townsfolk find yourselves stranded in the distant village of Tresna. Now, it’s up to you to get back on your feet and turn your humble shop into the beating heart of the village’s wealth. Explore dangerous dungeons, gather relics, sell them, and reinvest in your friends’ establishments. Unlock new weapons, armor, shop decorations, and—more importantly—restore hope that things can one day turn around.

This game is a work in progress. It may or may not change over time or release as a final product. Purchase only if you are comfortable with the current state of the unfinished game.


Monsters are Coming! Rock & Road

Raw Fury

Monsters are Coming! Rock & Road – November 20
Game Pass

In Monsters are Coming! Rock & Road, gather what resources you can to prepare defenses for an ever-moving city. Are you ready to take on a never-ending army of darkness in a tower-survivor, action-rogue-lite on wheels?


Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster

Lucasfilm, Disney, Atari, Nightdive Studios

$29.99

Outlaw + Handful of Missions: Remaster – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

From the team that brought you Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster comes the return of the 1997 western FPS classic, Outlaws! Saddle up and ride back into the Wild West with the gunslinging ex-Marshal, James Anderson, and face off against the good, the bad, and the even worse this side of the Mississippi as you work to uncover a twisted plot of greed and corruption. With your trusty six-shooting .45 Revolver, Scoped .44 Rifle, 10-Gauge Shotgun, and good ol’ Sawed-Off 12-Gauge Shotgun, you’ll be packin’ plenty of firepower to take out all manner of outlaw varmints.


Terrifier: The ARTcade Game

SelectaPlay


$19.99

$7.99

Terrifier: The Artcade Game – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Step into a world of pixelated carnage with Terrifier: The Artcade Game, a gory retro fighting beat ’em up packed with intense action, dark humor, and tons of fun! Inspired by the classic beat ’em up games of the 80s and 90s. Become Art The Clown, the sinister and unpredictable villain from the Terrifier series, as you unleash chaos across a variety of locations. Each stage is a movie set where a film about Art is being produced, but you’re here to disrupt the show!


The Berlin Apartment

Blue Backpack, ByteRockers Games

The Berlin Apartment – November 17
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Dilara joins her father Malik, a handyman tasked with refurbishing an old apartment in the city of Berlin, Germany. In the course of their extensive renovation work, Dilara digs deeper and deeper into the history of the apartment. Relics from past times turn out to be silent witnesses and former companions of the apartment’s previous inhabitants. With each new find, Malik tells his daughter the story behind this trace of a past adventure – with its own protagonists, its own genre, and its own atmosphere, yet always set within the same four walls.


Remnants of the Rift

Bromio

Remnants of the Rift – November 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

One day the world’s experiencing a golden age of technology, the next it’s forcibly merged with an alternate dimension. It happens. Now there’s a new reality, a world between worlds: The Bast. Remnants of the Rift is a roguelite tactics game where you can pause, plan, and play. You are Morgan, dimension-diving merc, delving deeper and deeper into The Bast at the request of the factions looking to exploit this new reality.


RoboHero

Xitilon

RoboHero – November 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Classic Sokoban with a twist and a sci-fi theme! A scientific organization sends a robot-expeditor developed on artificial intelligence to the newly discovered exoplanet Xeran, on which, most likely, there are very valuable resources for humanity.


Sektori

Kimmo Factor Oy

Sektori – November 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Sektori is an intense, fast paced twin-stick shooter infused with hard hitting techno music. Choose your upgrades carefully and create powerful builds to take on the relentless enemies and epic bosses on a constantly evolving battlefield. Sektori is a game that requires your complete focus, a game where the high-adrenaline visuals, music, and gameplay come together to transport you into another state of consciousness.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Spikeball Smash

The Munky

Spikeball Smash – November 18
Xbox Play Anywhere

Spikeball Smash brings the party to your room. Tap into the real-life energy of Spikeball solo or with up to four players. Feel the sand between your toes as you serve from the beach or listen to the cheers from the party as you dominate in the quad. Play to win with authentic Spikeball rules.


The Cute Whale (Xbox Series)

Afil Games

The Cute Whale – November 18
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Get ready for an ocean full of puzzles and charm. Guide a lovable whale through 30 handcrafted stages where strategy meets relaxation. Push the turtles onto the buoys and help restore harmony to the sea in this adorable adventure of logic and calm. Explore three peaceful worlds, the Caribbean Sea, Coral Reef and Deep Sea, each filled with cozy pixel art and soothing ocean vibes. Every move brings you closer to mastering the art of gentle thinking, as you plan routes, reposition turtles and find the perfect solution at your own pace.


Demonschool

Ysbryd Games

Demonschool – November 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Demonschool is a new-style tactics RPG where motion equals action. Defeat big weirdos in between the human and demon worlds as Faye and her misfit companions, while navigating university life on a mysterious island.


Secrets of Blackrock Manor – Escape Room

mc2games

Secrets of Blackrock Manor – Escape Room – November 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

After the mysterious deaths of his three children, Augustus Blackrock hid his fortune so no one could claim it. But was that his only secret? What really happened to the Blackrock family? Observe, think, and connect clues to solve the eight escape rooms within the manor. Every object could be a hint. Keep your eyes open!


Slide Stories: Neko and Friends

Silesia Games Sp. z o.o.

Slide Stories: Neko and Friends – November 19

Sit back, relax, and follow the flow as you complete each puzzle to unlock the next story chapter. Experience it all in a unique mix of anime-inspired art, graphic novel storytelling, and soothing lo-fi music.


StarLightRiders: HyperJump

Eastasiasoft Limited

StarLight Riders: Hyper Jump – November 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Blast swarms of enemies and charge your warp drives in retro shoot’em up style! Defend Earth in this fast-paced arcade shooter! Take command of the HyperJump ships and blast through swarms of alien invaders. Charge your warp engines by collecting reactors—but beware, the enemy strikes back harder the stronger you become!


The Last Shot Arcades (Xbox Series X|S)

Sometimes You


$9.99

$7.99

The Last Shot Arcades – November 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Arcade machines in the universe of The Last Shot! In this collection, you can drive a bus, fly a fighter jet, shoot a bow and slingshot, tickle some dinosaurs, robots, and zombies, and defend your base from waves of enemies. A wild mix of arcades, strategy, shoot-’em-ups, physics-based games, and awesome music from street performers.


Wiz Quest: Crystal Power (Xbox Series)

Paulo Pinheiro Game Dev

Wiz Quest: Crystal Power – November 19
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Wiz Quest: Crystal Power is a retro-style action survival game where you control a young wizard facing relentless waves of monsters. Defeat enemies, collect magic crystals, and unlock new powers to enhance your attacks. Each run is a new challenge — test your reflexes, master your magic, and see how long you can survive!


Bus World

Ultimate Games S.A.


$19.99

$15.99

Bus World – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Bus World is a game about transporting passengers under various conditions – from regular daily routes to emergency rescue missions during natural and man-made disasters. Play through gripping scenarios or enjoy the freedom of creating your own routes in free mode.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Cat God Ranch

E-Home Entertainment Development Company Ltd


$12.99

$10.39

Cat God Ranch – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere / Smart Delivery

Cat God Ranch is an animal-themed casual strategy roguelite game. Manage hundreds of animals to pay tribute to the Cat God! 8 animal families, 100+ animals, 10+ Cat Gods, 100+ items, and various animal combinations waiting for you to explore!


Xbox Play Anywhere

Football, Tactics & Glory – Treble Deluxe Edition

Markt+Technik Verlag GmbH

Football, Tactics & Glory – Treble Deluxe Edition – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere / Smart Delivery

Tactics meet passion – lead your team to glory! From the modest soccer pitch to the large stadium: You’ll make history in Football, Tactics & Glory – Treble Deluxe Edition. Not only are you a coach, you’re also a strategist, motivator and the architect of your career. Every decision counts, both on and off the pitch, from line-ups and transfers to the next series of moves. This is not only a question of reflexes and button-mashing, but about sophisticated tactics!


Kiosk

Feardemic

Kiosk – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Run the cozy, rain-soaked kiosk and serve the meals to some very “interesting” customers. Keep the orders coming, soak in the eerie atmosphere and try not to think too hard about what happened to the last guy who worked here (He’s… gone. Let’s leave it at that).


Neon Inferno

Retroware

Neon Inferno – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Neon Inferno is a hybrid side-scroller and gallery-shooter where the action takes place in both the foreground and the background. As warring factions battle for control of a dystopian New York City, you enter the fray as an assassin for the Family — a notorious crime syndicate determined to eliminate its rivals and dominate the metropolitan battlefield. Rendered in beautiful pixel art and backed by an evocative soundtrack, Neon Inferno delivers a stylish, modern 2D action experience with cyberpunk flair.


Pad Quad (Xbox Series)

Afil Games

Pad Quad – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Get ready to bounce into action with Pad Quad, a lightning-fast platformer where padel meets pure arcade fun! Control adorable pixel mascots inspired by Quad Sports rackets and race across futuristic arenas packed with enemies, traps, and tricky jumps.


Saborus

QUByte Interactive

Saborus – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Saborus is a thrilling horror adventure in which you guide a brave chicken through a deadly slaughterhouse where everything wants to kill you! You, as the chicken, will solve puzzles and face the relentless pursuit of the Saborus slaughterhouse workers. Make your way through the sinister surroundings of a creepy slaughterhouse, full of suspense and surprises! Can you survive?


Samurai Academy: Paws of Fury

Maximum Entertainment France SAS


$24.99

$19.99

Samurai Academy: Paws of Fury – November 20
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

The village of Kakamucho is under attack by the Shogun’s cat armies! Join Hank, a dog samurai in a world of cats, and his friends as they reveal a sinister plot and save the day, samurai-style. Slash, dash, and laugh through this wacky third-person action adventure.


Solid Void Art Nonograms

Infinite Zone

$8.99
Xbox One X Enhanced

Solid Void – Art Nonograms – November 20

Solid Void combines classic nonogram puzzles with pentomino-like jigsaws. Uncover the art bits hidden in nonograms and finish them in the other puzzle style to see beautiful artwork! Solid Void delivers hours of relaxing but also challenging gameplay. Whether you’re a nonogram veteran or a newbie, the game is well-balanced and you’ll surely enjoy your time spent on solving the puzzles.


Aery – Peace of Mind 4

EpiXR Games

$11.99

Aery – Peace of Mind 4 – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Aery – Peace of Mind 4 is an interactive game experience that is designed to relax your mind and soul. You jump into the role of a little bird, explore beautiful landscapes and collect magical crystals that mark certain landscapes. Because there are no enemies or any other danger in this game you will be able to lean back and enjoy the scenery and the sensation of flying. It is a great game for relaxing and calming down after an exhausting day full of hassle.


A Maze Against Time

Zazenfly Development DOO

A Maze Against Time – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

A Maze Against Time is a dynamic game where you race in one labyrinth after another against a timer that gets smaller every time you win. To top that, if you rack high enough of a highscore the labyrinth gets more complex! Find the exit, accelerate and blow the maze walls up in this puzzler action game!


Burger Master

Gametry LLC

Burger Master – November 21

Step into the fast-paced world of sizzling patties and hungry customers in Burger Master, a deliciously fun cooking game where your goal is simple: become the top burger chef in the city! Test your culinary speed and strategy across 3 unique worlds, each packed with 60 exciting levels. That’s 180 levels of non-stop cooking action where timing and precision are everything.


Castle Heroes

Gametry LLC

Castle Heroes – November 21

Castle Heroes is a game where you need to create a team of heroes that will help protect your castle. You are entering an amazing adventure where you have to use all your skills in order to try and win. It’s a very engaging, fun strategy and action game where proper team management and state-of-the-art gameplay will make the experience more engaging and interesting than ever before.


Chompy Chomp Chomp Party: Ultimate Tournament Edition

Utopian World of Sandwiches

$9.99

Chompy Chomp Chomp Party: Ultimate Tournament Edition – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Get ready for a wild and wacky multiplayer experience with Chompy Chomp Chomp Party: Ultimate Tournament Edition! Whether you’re chomping your way to victory or trying to avoid getting chomped yourself, this fast-paced action party game is pure, chaotic fun for players of all ages. Gather your friends, family, or even foes and dive into a colorful world where strategic munching meets frenetic competition.


Croc’s Dynamite Blast

Sprakelsoft GmbH

$6.99
Free Trial

Croc’s Dynamite Blast – November 21

Croc’s Dynamite Blast is an explosive arcade action game full of strategy, chaos, and fun! Join Croc and his friends in a fun game where dynamite is your best weapon! Choose between Croc, Baby Croc, Roodie or the clever Mole – each with their own charm, all ready to blast their way to victory. Fans of the beloved Croc’s World series will recognize these characters, but this time they’re leaving platforming behind for high-energy battles packed with dynamite, chain reactions, and endless surprises.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Diamond Painting ASMR

QubicGames S.A.

Diamond Painting AMSR – November 21
Xbox Play Anywhere

Relax as you follow the numbers and paint at your own pace! Dive into unique canvases full of unicorns, hearts, cakes, and other stunning images. Enjoy the satisfying ‘click’ as each diamond snaps into place, bringing vibrant colors to life! Bring a dinosaur back from the past or draw a diamond castle in 3D – whatever you imagine, you can paint it… with diamonds!


Drizzlepath: Picturae

Playstige Interactive

Drizzlepath: Picturae – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Have you ever wandered inside images? Images that blow your soul away? In Drizzlepath: Picturae, you embark on a journey of gorgeous landscapes. While some of these landscapes melt your heart, some will give you the chills. Do not fear though; at the end of the day, you will have a heck of a good time viewing a variety of beauties, listening to haunting music, and a real talent of a voice actor.


Empire Invasion

Gametry LLC

Empire Invasion – November 21

Empire Invasion is the ultimate test of your strategic mastery—a thrilling tower defense game where every decision can mean victory or destruction. Brace yourself to hold the line against relentless waves of enemies determined to breach your defenses. With 40+ handcrafted levels, each offering three escalating difficulty settings, you’ll sharpen your tactics and push your limits in a deeply satisfying progression. Every stage brings fresh challenges, demanding clever planning and quick reactions.


Fantasy Aquarium

Happy Player

$9.99

Fantasy Aquarium – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Raise your favorite fish and build your dream underwater world! It’s your very own aquarium. Buy the fish you love, raise them from tiny fry, and watch them grow and flourish. Create your dream underwater world—calm, colorful, and completely yours.


JDM: Japanese Drift Master

Gaming Factory

JDM: Japanese Drift Master – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Explore the birthplace of drift and dive into Japan’s iconic car culture! JDM: Japanese Drift Master combines realistic, carefully-tuned physics in a simcade experience that’s as smooth on a controller as it is with sim racing hardware. Tackle hundreds of kilometers of open-world roads and uncover story-driven events and quests along the way. Hone your drifting skills, perfect grip races, take on challenges, and feel the thrill of authentic Japanese street racing.


NeonBlast

EntwicklerX – GbR Thomas Claus und Frank Menzel

NeonBlast – November 21

In NeonBlast, the gamepad is used to control a ball that can be recolored via color fields and destroys blocks of the same color. Furthermore, there are sliding stones and skull fields that cost a life. A level is solved when all destructible blocks are destroyed, the faster this happens, the more bonus points you get.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Sailing the Winds

ChiliDog Interactive

$6.99

Sailing the Winds – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere / Smart Delivery

An adventure blending exploration, fishing, and mystery. You play as a seeker helping a friend find their missing father on a pirate-legends archipelago. Discover islands, caves, and shipwrecks hiding artifacts. Even small details may unlock secrets.


Save Room – The Merchant

Ratalaika Games S.L.

Save Room – The Merchant – November 21
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Buy, sell, and acquire crucial items required for combat missions while interacting with the Save Room’s enigmatic weapons dealer. To progress through each level, you must possess specific elite and essential battle gear. In order to obtain the necessary goods, meticulously arrange your arms and treasures within your inventory. Then you’ll need to engage in the process of selling your treasures to the strange merchant. Can you build your war chest?


The post Next Week on Xbox: New Games for November 17 to 21 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Wuthering Waves Version 2.8 introduces the Chronorift Metropolis

Hello, Rovers. Happy to see you again. This time, I’ll walk you through the latest updates of Wuthering Waves Version 2.8. In Version 2.8 To the City Set in Amber, set to launch on November 20, Rover will be joined by a new Resonator companion, Chisa, on a journey to the enigmatic fallen city, the Chronorift Metropolis — Honami. There, abnormal frequencies abound, and the loop of time awaits someone to set it free. Expect new stories, characters, locations, optimizations, and more content.

New main quest: Step into the fallen city in the looping crisis Honami

After the Rinascita arc concluded, Rover returned to the Black Shores and learned that they had unexpectedly captured a completely new frequency. During the Black Shores’ continued investigation, they found a rift leading to an unknown Sonoro Sphere. Rover will enter the mysterious Chronorift Metropolis through the Sonoro entrance.

The Chronorift Metropolis was once a thriving commercial hub, previously known as Honami City. But decades ago, it was destroyed by the Lament and permanently sealed within a Sonoro Sphere, eventually becoming what we see today. The once-bustling skyscrapers are now covered in overgrowth. Seawater has flooded lowlands and roads. But the Lament that brought ruin to this city never truly vanished. It still lingers in the city, sometimes giving rise to unstable anomalies.

The recurring Lament has trapped the city in a time loop, resetting and destroying it over and over. The people you see moving about are no longer who they once were. They’re now known as the Left Behind—phantoms repeating the habits of their former lives, reliving the same daily routine. The entire city, along with its Left Behind, is imprisoned within the Sonoro Sphere, cut off completely from the outside world. It’s Rover’s unexpected arrival that brings change to this sealed space.

In Version 2.8, Main Quest Chapter II Act XII Stagnant Dawn on Wastelands and Main Quest Chapter II Act XII Segue Flowing Starlight in the Iris will both become available on November 20. In this iridescent, end-of-days metropolis, break the Lament that engulfs the city.

New Resonators: Chisa & Buling

Long black hair, striking red eyes, and crisp, simple uniform, the mysterious science-minded stop student Chisa will debut in Version 2.8 and unveil the secrets hidden beneath Honami with Rover. Chisa’s Forte is Clipping. Though she arrived in Honami by accident, with her calm, serious nature and exceptional learning abilities, she adapted here quickly and managed to carve out a safe haven in this fallen city with her Forte.

Those giant scissors Chisa wields look heavy, but she handles them with ease. Chisa was born into a tailor’s family, so she could shift their form to suit her needs in different situations. She uses them not only to cut papers into shapes she loves but also as handy and versatile tools.

Chisa is a 5-Star Havoc Resonator who wields a Broadblade as her weapon. During battle, Chisa swings her massive scissors along precise geometric trajectories, with crimson trails flashing from the edges, pinpointing enemy weaknesses with calm, calculated grace. Under certain conditions, she can switch her scissors into a high-damage chainsaw form, allowing her to deliver rapid and devastating finishing attacks. When Chisa activates a specific skill, her red scissors project a semi-transparent giant phantom. She briefly steps back, then clips forward, cutting through the enemies. When unleashing her Resonance Skill, a unique vision manifests in Chisa’s eyes, marking all enemies within range. She then uses the winch on her scissors to pull some of the marked targets closer for a slicing attack.

Each of her attacks builds up her Forte Gauge. Once it’s full, Chisa can unleash Resonance Skill and transform her weapon. She steps firmly onto the winch, and as dark red particles burst from it, the scissors switch into Chainsaw Mode. Then, Chisa uses the chainsaw to unleash a flurry of swift and unrelenting slashes. When Chisa casts her Resonance Liberation, her eyes glow bright violet, revealing the weak spots of all things before her. She raises her giant scissors and delivers a rending strike to her foes while healing allies at the same time.

This young Taoist Buling from Huanglong, Mengzhou, sports a trendy look and excels in talisman divination, fortune-telling, and other mystical arts. As a free-spirited traveler and Black Shores’ Consultant wandering the world, Buling’s open and cheerful personality wins her friends and intel for the Black Shores wherever she goes. Buling wears something like headphones, which tie directly to her Forte. Her ears are incredibly sensitive to frequencies that haven’t taken shape, so she can often hear sounds others can’t. This special headset she wears helps filter out some of the noise. She can also use her Forte to sense potential danger nearby.

​​

Buling is an Electro Resonator who wields a Rectifier as her weapon. Her combat style is fluid and lively. During battle, the talisman she draws from the casket seems casual, but there’s a method to the madness. The copper coins she flicks are actually lethal finishers, and the crisp-sounding magic bell can lock enemies in a formation. As Buling’s different attacks land, two types of Trigrams form around her, and she can gather up to four Trigrams.

By consuming two Trigrams, she can unleash different enhanced attacks and build up her Forte Gauge. When Buling unleashes her Resonance Skill, she moves as swiftly as lightning to set up a formation around her enemies and summon thunder to strike them. With the clear chime of her magic bell, the enemies are drawn into the center of her formation. When her Forte Gauge is full, Buling can unleash Resonance Liberation, casting a thunder spell and tossing a copper coin that shoots like lightning to damage the enemies. At the same time, the formation expands the magic bell chimes within, immobilizing enemies and continuously damaging them.

New Area: Chronorift Metropolis, Honami City

Version 2.8 introduces the new area, Chronorift Metropolis —Honami City. In this abandoned city, Chiasa used her Resonance Ability and clipped out this safe space—a cafe located at Honami Crossing, as a secret base—shielding it from the influence of the Lament. This Cafe isn’t just a safe haven for Rover and Chisa to catch their breath. It’s also a hub that connects to other parts of the city. In Version 2.8, Rover will set out with Chisa from here, head to more corners worth exploring, and live through the city’s stories firsthand.

In this city, you’ll see not only iridescent, blue skies, gravity-defying skyscrapers, but also the mysterious tower that rises at the city center—Neon Tower.

As you walk with Chisa, a soft breeze flows by, and pink petals drift across the sky like clouds. You’ll encounter sights that heal and give hope. As Version 2.8 launches, get ready to explore the beauty of this fallen city.

New optimizations: One-click absorption of all Absorbable Echoes & Auto Supplement

Besides new content, this update also introduces several QoL optimizations. First, we added the one-click absorption of all absorbable Echoes feature. After the update, with just one absorption action, you can absorb all Echoes within a certain area. Rovers will no longer need to absorb them one by one. Compared to regular overworld exploration, the absorption radius inside the Nightmare Nest will be a bit larger so that Rovers can gather all the daily Echoes in one go.

After the Version 2.8 update, Resonator Ascension, Weapon Ascension, and Skill Upgrade menus will receive a new Auto Supplement feature. When the required upgrade materials are insufficient, clicking this button will open the Auto Supplement screen, where you can directly see which materials you need and use Synthesis, Conversion, or Supply Packs—all without switching to other menus, making it much faster to fill everything you need.

Also, during Synthesis, if low-rarity materials are insufficient, the system will automatically search for lower-rarity materials and Supply Packs and auto-fill the list until the requirement is met. If Synthesis, Conversion, and Supply Packs still cannot provide enough materials, a shortcut button will appear to guide you directly to their acquisition sources.

Last, we have some more exciting news to share—Wuthering Waves PS5 Collector’s Edition Set is scheduled for release in Spring 2026. More details will be announced later on our official social media—follow us and stay tuned. Now, let’s continue this unfinished journey together. Wuthering Waves Version 2.8 To the City Set in Amber will officially launch on November 20. Rovers, see you in Honami!

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – The Final Preview

After eight years of waiting, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is just three weeks away, and honestly, writing that still doesn’t feel real. Maybe that’s partly because Nintendo has kept a pretty tight lid on specifics surrounding Samus Aran’s next adventure – we’ve only seen a small handful of trailers, and much of Prime 4 has remained a total mystery. That’s caused a lot of fans to think that they must be preserving some special surprise, right? Well, while playing over an hour of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on Nintendo Switch 2, I discovered a seemingly major component that’s been completely absent from any footage we’ve seen so far: an extraordinarily talkative companion who’s constantly spewing unwanted hints, quippy jokes, and cries for help, breaking the isolated, atmospheric themes Metroid is known for.

His name is Myles MacKenzie, a specialist from the Galactic Federation stranded with Samus on the planet Viewros. Myles tagged along for a significant chunk of my play session, and the way Retro Studios has implemented this NPC companion is far and away my biggest concern about Prime 4 after my time with it. But we’ll get to him a bit later.

Because everything else was pretty encouraging: classic Metroid Prime exploration and combat, an intriguing setup, gorgeous art direction, and great technical performance on Switch 2 are coming together to create an adventure that likely won’t redefine Metroid in any meaningful way – or live up to the unrealistic hype built by nearly a decade of waiting – but one that could serve as a great return for a subseries that hasn’t seen a new mainline entry in 18 years, as long as annoying sidekicks don’t keep getting in Samus’ way.

Behind the Visor

Before we get too far, a word about spoilers. Everything I played takes place during the first 90 minutes or so of the adventure, so you really don’t have to worry that you’re going to see too much. It’s also worth pointing out this was all on Switch 2, no one outside of Nintendo knows how Prime 4 will perform on Switch 1 just yet.

But on Switch 2, it’s looking fantastic so far. I started my preview in handheld mode, where I replayed the same introduction sequence we got to play at the Nintendo Switch 2 Premiere event back in April. This was the final build of Prime 4’s opening, and it’s still an explosive introduction that sets the stage for the conflict between Samus and the Metroid-breeding bounty hunter, Sylux, as our hero is warped away to the mysterious planet Viewros. The biggest takeaway here is that Prime 4 looked fantastic on the Switch 2 screen, specifically at 120 fps in Performance Mode.

Once I was set up on the TV – playing in Quality mode at a crisp 4K 60 fps – things got started with a very familiar, nostalgic chain of events: the camera snaps behind Samus’ visor and I’m left alone to explore a lush forest region, so I – almost reflexively – start scanning everything in sight to add it to my logbook. Gameplay-wise, Prime 4 doesn’t seem to be reinventing the Morph Ball: this still looks and plays like Metroid Prime, and I really enjoyed falling back into its investigative flow: examining the local flora and fauna, locking onto floating gaseous spores or roots that leap out of the water and blasting them away with my arm cannon, scanning lore tablets to learn about the ancient race called the Lamorn, seeing Samus’ reflection in the visor as I open the blue and orange wireframe map all Prime fans will recognize… I felt like Retro Studios was picking up right where it left off, retaining the core DNA of the series in this first major area.

This still looks and plays like Metroid Prime, and I really enjoyed falling back into its investigative flow.

The forest is called Fury Green, and after making my way through several linear hallways I was formally introduced to it with a sweeping wideshot that showed how great Retro’s art direction still is. You can tell Prime 4 was built as a Switch 1 game in a couple ways – some background elements look a bit flat – but handing the added power of the Switch 2 to a studio with an artistic track record like Retro has resulted in what’s shaping up to be a really beautiful game.

At least in this self-contained area – my preview didn’t cover the open desert or Samus’ motorcycle we’ve seen in the last couple of trailers. It’s important to note that Nintendo specifically chose not to include that content at this preview event. Make of that what you will, but it leaves those two key components as our biggest unanswered questions that will have to wait for our final review.

But back to what I did actually see: in classic Metroid fashion, I soon ran into the first door I couldn’t pass, so I morph-balled over to a new area and unlocked one of Prime 4’s main new powers: the Psychic Glove. This gives Samus telekinetic control of psychic objects. I returned to the blocked door and used the glove to grab a psychic energy “mote” from a nearby statue and redirect it into the lock, allowing me to proceed. All examples of this were pretty simple so far, but this is the first major area, so it’s probably fair to expect they’ll get more complex as Samus progresses.

I’m hoping the same for the other uses of the Psychic Glove, which involve slowly tracing basic shapes to unlock an energy tank, or painstakingly pulling a lever to open the way to a Save Room. The animations felt sluggish and the actions were completely mindless – another thing I’m expecting to ramp up as we go.

Retro’s art direction is still great, and Prime 4 is shaping up to be a really beautiful game.

My map beeped, alerting me of a distress beacon from the Galactic Federation a few rooms away. On the way there, I passed some hardened tree resin I couldn’t yet destroy, and scanning it indicated that a missile would take the wall down. I appreciate that Prime 4’s blockades aren’t all the same familiar doors, and that in this case, it was naturally woven into the environment. We’d be back here later, but with a friend in tow….

Beyond Chatty

After tiptoeing through an eerie, condensed part of Fury Green, I came across a crash-landed Galactic Federation ship, where I was immediately taken aback by the tonal whiplash. My way here was filled with hauntingly beautiful choral melodies and isolated exploration – it was vintage Metroid Prime. But now, it’s finally time to get to know specialist Myles MacKenzie, who introduced himself with this honestly cringey monologue (and if you don’t believe me, watch it in the video version of this preview at the top of the page):

“Oh wow! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. What a mess. You’re alone, on a planet, with no hope of survival. But, you’re also not sitting next to Phil anymore in that cubicle… So… Win?”

He didn’t leave a great first impression, but I was still intrigued to see where it went. Samus and Myles got swarmed by some jungle monsters, and it became my job to protect Myles from them. After a close-quarters firefight that concluded with shooting the vines holding up Myles’ ship, he awarded me with the missile upgrade for being his savior. “This is fine,” I thought. I prefer isolation in Metroid, but I don’t mind running into a character here and there to flesh out the story with some voice acting and cutscenes. But then…

“If it’s OK with you, I’m gonna tag along. So, where to? It might be a good idea to check the map and get our bearings.”

I started to get a sinking feeling. In one turn, Samus not only gained an unwanted companion, that companion also instantly started chiming in on what I should be doing, like Atreus to Kratos in God of War, or Aloy to… Aloy in Horizon. The next 20 minutes of my demo ranged from mildly annoying to downright infuriating, as Myles constantly bombarded me with either awkward attempts at quippy humor…

“It’s about to get reeeeal nerdy in here!”

Unwelcome hints that directly defy Metroid’s spirit of exploration and discovery:

“Missiles are effective against a creature with a hard shell, you know.”

He would scold me for not stopping to save my game:

“Samus, there’s something interesting over there. Are you sure we don’t need to use that?”

Comment on everything I scanned:

“Can you read that? Does that say anything about this place? They really don’t want anyone in here. Must be a sacred space.”

State the obvious:

“I can see the door, Samus! Let’s get out of here.”

And he’d scream whenever an enemy popped out of the ground suddenly. I promise I’m not cherrypicking here – I was in complete disbelief at how Myles was constantly talking during gameplay, to the point where I dug around the settings menu to see if I could tone it down. The only option I found was to mute voice acting entirely, but I don’t see myself doing that when there are plenty of actual cutscenes I’d still like to see play out normally.

I don’t have a problem with Metroid focusing more on story or introducing important new characters. But that story and those characters still need to be good, and Myles was so annoying and overbearing that I honestly found it hard to focus on what I was doing. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption features other bounty hunters that Samus occasionally crosses paths with, but it’s never been this much of a focus. And, throw in as many cutscenes as you want, but I can’t help but feel a sacred line has been crossed when I’m playing Metroid and an annoying engineer tells me how to open my map, how to defeat an enemy, or reminds me to save without me asking for any of it. There are far smarter, more nuanced ways to onboard new players and push a franchise forward while still respecting the reasons people love it in the first place. And, the way Retro weaved Myles in caused a lot of dissonance that shattered the immaculate vibes the introduction set up. How am I supposed to soak in these gorgeous vistas, and this epic, serious music when this guy is asking me if that “strange smell” is “sweet or stinky?”

I’d had enough, and I tried to ditch Myles during a fight on a (very cool) bridge. I heard Myles yelling to not leave him behind, but before I knew it, he went down and my visor prompted me to use Samus’ psychic powers to revive him. When I failed to do so, Myles died, and I got a game over for letting a federation trooper fall in battle. Of all the things Metroid Prime 4 could’ve been, I never would’ve guessed it would include outdated escort missions with a companion that never stops talking. Samus doesn’t respond at all – which if you’re going to pick between Samus talking a lot or not at all, silence is the right choice in a vacuum, even if I think a few words here and there would work better than awkward silence – but there are three words I really wanted to hear her say: “Please shut up.”

I never would’ve guessed Prime 4 would include outdated escort missions with a companion that never stops talking.

Thankfully, this didn’t last forever. After earning the new Control Beam ability that lets Samus direct her charge shots to hit multiple targets, (to which Myles said: “You found something for your suit, didn’t you?”) we arrived in a Lamorn temple, where Myles decided to stay behind to work on fixing up some tech. Finally, some peace and quiet! I controlled a charge shot to open a blocked door from the other side, which reminded me of using Zelda: Skyward Sword’s Beetle ability – both in its close-up camera angle and use of optional Wii-era motion controls – and pressed forward on my own.

After enjoying the silence while working through a few more simplistic rooms, Samus was face-to-face with Carvex, Fury Green’s plant-based boss. I blasted its tail, opening its belly up for a serving of missiles. It entered its next phase with two tails, and I found that by the time I destroyed the second, the first one had grown back. So, in classic Metroid fashion where your most recent upgrade is often key to beating a boss, I had to use the Control Beam to destroy both its tails with one bullet. This was neat, and really felt like more vintage Metroid Prime game design shining through.

Defeating Carvex netted Samus the Power Bombs, which have received a psychic buff this time around. You can place standard bombs to blow up suspicious spots as usual, but placing one infused with psychic power essentially turns it into a mote Samus can telekinetically move. I grabbed the first of five Master Teleporter Keys Samus is collecting to escape Viewros, and…

“Booyah! Long-reange comms are back online!”

Myles was back, this time in my visor. But he didn’t stick around for long, just asking Samus to return to base camp to talk about what to do next. Once I returned, Myles shared that Viewros isn’t on any known star charts, saying we could be anywhere, or we could be nowhere, setting up an interesting story that – paired with Samus’ other main objective of preserving the history of the Lamorn civilization before it’s lost to time – I can’t wait to see play out.

With that, Myles and Samus agreed to be partners, sharing data with each other now that the comms are working, and Myles stayed behind as Samus returned to the desert area we still know so little about, bringing my time to an end before I could take a single step.

So, how big of a role will chatty companions play in the full adventure? It’s hard to say. The game over screen telling me a “Federation Trooper” was killed in battle rather than that “Myles” was killed in battle, coupled with the fact that the Federation page of the logbook had several blank entries to fill out after I scanned Myles, tells me that each major area of Prime 4 will likely have a companion to find. If that fear turns out to be true, I can only hope that they aren’t all as overbearing as Myles, that his section felt particularly frustrating because it was the opening area, and that Prime 4 won’t be afraid to let me explore and figure things out on my own, which is a strength of all the best Metroid games. Because other than that major exception, I really enjoyed my first big look at Prime 4, and I’m beyond curious to see how it all – finally – comes together on December 4th.

Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN’s Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find him online @LoganJPlant.

Black Ops 7 single-player doesn’t allow pausing or mission checkpoints on top of being always-online

The rough beast that is Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has cracked its shell and slouched towards the wincing light of day. They’ve released it, I mean. No verdict from us yet: our reviewer is still picking their way among the exploding motorbikes and mocking spectres of deceased Nicaraguan terrorists. But I can at least tell you with some confidence that if you’re a fan of pausing games or mid-mission checkpoints, you might want to give it a miss.

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The sanitisation of Skate reminds me how far counterculture has fallen and how hard it can be to stay inspired

I remember having a chat with my old barber last year about the Skate trailer. We weren’t concerned with the popular gripes. We were just stoked to record new edits and re-enter the classic Skate flowstate on a new engine that would hopefully have more grounded physics. My barber happened to be the frontman of Syracuse straight-edge hardcore band All 4 All. This was a punk rock barbershop, and fittingly, we both shared a fixation on landing tricks in Skate 3 as sketchy as possible.

To land sketchy is to land imperfectly, to look as if not in control. The leather jacket-wearing, kitchen-tattooing pro skaters in Baker, Zero, and Emerica videos were famous for making sketchy look really cool in the early 00s. I no longer live in Syracuse, but I imagine my old barber (shout out Sam, hope you’re well) is just as disappointed as I that the new Skate doesn’t even allow players to land sketchy.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Campaign is Online-Only With No Checkpoints or Pausing, And Will Kick You If You’re Idle For Too Long

The story campaign in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has numerous restrictions tied to its always-online nature, with no method of pausing levels. You’ll also be booted from your game if you’re idle for too long.

As detailed in IGN’s just-published Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign review (which rates the offering as a 6/10), the story experience — traditionally offered as a solo affair — is really more geared to being played via online co-op, which it supports for up to four people.

The downsides of that, however, are that the game offers no AI companions to fill in if you have missing spots on your four-person squad, no checkpoints, no difficulty options, and the need to repeat tasks clearly designed for completion by multiple players if you are playing solo.

“Playing solo is borderline tedious due to having to repeat multiple objectives, such as placing C4 on a building yourself four times rather than splitting them up as is intended,” our review notes as one example of this.

Set in 2035, Black Ops 7’s campaign features a starry cast that includes Gilmore Girls and This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia as the returning David Mason, alongside Guardians of the Galaxy hero Michael Rooker and Sabrina the Teenage Witch actress Kiernan Shipka.

Long-term Call of Duty fans may raise their eyebrows at some of the more fantastical sequences presented in the mode, with trippy visuals and towering bosses more often seen in something like Activision’s former stablemate Destiny. But it’s here that the offering also provides some variety.

“Dodging giant falling machetes like you’ve stumbled into a Looney Tunes cartoon is a one-off joy, as is taking control of a lavish luxury boat and ramming into the side of a building,” our review continues. “Moments like this feel pinched right out of Christopher Nolan’s back pocket and sit perfectly in the Call of Duty mold.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 arrives just 12 months on from last year’s Black Ops 6 — the first time that the veteran shooter franchise has gone back to the same well of one of its sub-brands for a second year running. The tight turnaround comes just as EA’s rival Battlefield franchise makes its own big return, amping up the pressure on Activision’s new shooter installment.

IGN’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer review so far is still in-progress though, initially at least, sounds more positive.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Tomb Raider developers Crystal Dynamics make yet more layoffs, with”just under 30″ workers losing their jobs

Tomb Raider developers Crystal Dynamics have announced another round of layoffs, their third round of jobs cuts this year. The studio say “just under 30 team members across various departments and projects” are losing their livelihoods, and claim this is necessary “to optimize the continued development of our flagship Tomb Raider game, as well as shaping the rest of the studio to make new games for the future”.

This year alone had already seen Crystal Dynamics lay off staff in two waves, with 17 employees being let go in March and an unspecified number of others handed their marching orders in August.

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Plants Vs Brainrots Codes (November 2025)

Plants Vs Brainrots is a Roblox experience that combines elements of Tower Defence with mechanics from Roblox’s two most visited and played games – Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot. You’ll buy seeds, place them in your garden, and then wait for your plants to attack brainrots as they make their way down the catwalk.

As well as combining gameplay elements from both experiences, Plants Vs Brainrots also has codes. So, if you’re getting ready to plant crops, earn brainrots, and fuse them, here are some codes to give you a little boost.

Working Plants Vs Brainrots Codes (November 2025)

These are the currently working codes for Plants Vs Brainrots:

  • STACKS – 1x Lucky Potion
  • frozen – 1x Frost Grenade
  • based – $5,000

Expired Plants Vs Brainrots Codes (November 2025)

There are currently no expired Plants Vs Brainrots codes.

How to Redeem Plants Vs Brainrots Codes

When you launch into the Plants Vs Brainrots experience, these are the steps you need to follow to redeem codes:

  1. Complete the tutorial of buying a seed and placing a brainrot
  2. This will unlock the Shop icon on the left of the screen. It’s red and looks like a shopping basket.
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the shop and click “Codes” under rewards
  4. Enter the code and press Claim!

Why Isn’t My Plants Vs Brainrots Code Working?

Codes for Roblox experiences are usually case-sensitive, so the best way to ensure you’ve got a working code is to directly copy it from this article. We check all codes before we upload them, so you can guarantee they’re working. Just double check that you haven’t copied over an extra space!

When is the Next Plants Vs Brainrots Update?

The next update scheduled for Plants Vs Brainrots is on Saturday November 15, which is an unknown update. The previous update was Merge Madness, which introduced a new fusion machine alongside other content like new weather, brainrots, story missions, an dmore.

Lauren Harper is an Associate Guides Editor. She loves a variety of games but is especially fond of puzzles, horrors, and point-and-click adventures.

Misery devs claim they’ve resolved “misunderstanding” with Stalker studio GSC Game World, as shooter returns to Steam

Post-apocalyptic survival shooter Misery’s Steam page is back online, with developers Platypus Entertainment claiming that they’ve resolved a “misunderstanding” which led to an alleged DMCA takedown from Stalker creators GSC Game World. Platypus say that as part of this apparent resolution, they’ve removed a helicopter model, some guitar songs, and references to GSC’s games from their game at the request of the Stalker studio.

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GTA 6 Has Been Delayed Again: How Does This Impact the Rest of the Industry?

Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed again, this time to November 19, 2026, and while the fan community is reeling in its own way, the impacts are not limited to just GTA’s eager audience. Grand Theft Auto is a juggernaut, with GTA V having sold 220 million copies to date, GTA Online still a wildly popular space month after month, and anticipation for the sequel breaking trailer viewership records. With a game’s release as hot as this one, what does moving it to a year away mean for everyone else? How will GTA VI’s delay impact the wider games industry?

As usual, we consulted our favorite panel of industry analysts to get their takes.

Delay-shaped ripples

It probably goes without saying, but GTA VI’s delay into November of 2026 also means that behind the scenes, dozens of publishers are now reevaluating their own planned release dates.

At the moment, analysts point out, there aren’t that many games with public release dates specifically set for the final three months of 2026. But companies of course have their own internal plans, and those plans have been actively shifting around both GTA VI delays, out of sight, this entire time. That could mean a much, much thinner slate of game releases at a time that’s normally bursting with games, says Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics.

“Publishers historically avoid launching anything major within several weeks of a Rockstar title. Sadly, GTA now again lands squarely in what is usually a packed holiday window. I can see the typical Q4 blockbuster season looking considerably thinner in 2026, especially when it comes to the single-player titles.”

Manu Rosier, director of market intelligence at Newzoo agrees,pointing out that major publishers have probably already modeled multiple scenarios that include a GTA VI delay, and have plans for where to move their own games instead – plans that may benefit them in the long run.

“Newzoo’s title-level data shows that nearly 45% of major single-player launches since 2021 have landed between August and November, and those late-year releases underperform by roughly 25–35% compared to February–May launches in their first three months of playtime,” Rosier says. “That means a shift out of that congested window could benefit GTA VI and other game launches nearby.”

Even without release dates set already, there are some games we can genuinely count on coming out late in the year, such as a Call of Duty game, EA Sports FC, and Madden. Analysts told me that it’s possible this GTA VI delay causes at least some of them to move out of their usual corner late in the year to another date either earlier or later than usual.

“GTA will also steal engagement and revenues from the current live-service juggernauts like Fortnite and Roblox, which are always having an engagement tug of war, anyway,” Elliott continues. “All these games – and indeed the entertainment industry at large – will be competing with GTA VI for time and attention. Both money and time are finite, so GTA is going to eat up revenue and engagement across the market.”

Rosier disagrees, saying live-service games will be largely unaffected by GTA VI regardless of where it lands.

“Newzoo’s engagement data shows that average monthly playtime across the top 20 console titles has remained up year-over-year, with live-service games accounting for more than half of total console playtime. Those ecosystems will keep momentum regardless of whether GTA VI arrives in spring or later in 2026.”

It’s not just AAA games that will be impacted, too. George Jijiashvili, senior principal analyst at Omdia suggests that major publishers will be cautious about making big changes to their own dates after two GTA VI delays and with a whole year to go. “The real impact will fall on indies and AA games, which are most sensitive to major launches and likely to feel a much bigger ripple effect.”

Upgrades for the Holidays

But while there may be fewer brand new games coming out around the 2026 holiday season, analysts are optimistic for sales of hardware.

“This is the big question that I’ve been talking with retailers and publishers about for, well, years now,” says Mat Piscatella, senior director at Circana. “When GTA V launched, there was a positive impact to sales of console hardware and accessories in the launch month, but that incremental boost was short lived before sales returned more or less to previous baseline. But that did not happen in a holiday window, so I’d expect the positive impact here to potentially be more profound. Let’s call it somewhere between 250k-800k incremental units of console hardware sold in the holiday quarter worldwide above what would otherwise be expected because of Grand Theft Auto VI (yes, that’s a big range). It’s very difficult to say with any confidence.

Piscatella adds that if a PC version were released around the same time, that would boost PC hardware and accessory sales in the same way. But, he caveats everything by noting that he’s making future predictions based on what happened over ten years ago at the launch of GTA V. Things could always be different now.

But Elliott does agree with him, pointing to College Football 25’s launch last year boosting PS5 and Xbox Series sales in the US last year. GTA VI is much bigger.

“While most are on PS5, a huge share of PlayStation’s monthly active users are still on PS4, and GTA VI will not ship on last-gen consoles,” he says. “Many of the holdout players have been waiting specifically for GTA to justify purchasing a PS5 (or Series X/S). That wave of new console owners – and their spending – has now been pushed deeper into 2027.”

Piers Harding-Rolls, research director at Ampere analysis, also noted that “console sales will be even more back loaded in 2026 than is normal,” and told me he thinks this move was one the hardware manufacturers would celebrate: “Generally, in terms of launch timing to generate the most console sales, I think a Q4 release is better than Q2.”

Will this delay impact GTA VI’s sales?

No.

Literally every analyst I asked said no, GTA VI’s delay won’t impact its sales. Interest and anticipation for GTA VI are off the charts, historically unprecedented, according to Piscatella and Rosier. Piscatella added that GTA VI’s November release would likely make Q4 2026 the biggest in video game history in terms of U.S. game spending.

“Grand Theft Auto is such an outlier franchise when it comes to this stuff that the sky really is the limit, and because it is an outlier in so many ways there aren’t benchmarks from which a reliable forecast can really be generated.”

Other Impacts

The analysts I spoke to also mentioned other possible impacts of the delay that I hadn’t considered. One big one, which turned out to be controversial, was whether or not GTA VI’s delay could also end up delaying the release of next-gen consoles.

Other impacts were a bit more…psychological. Elliott pointed out that GTA VI was likely to be a cultural moment where entertainment, internet, and social identity all collided in a very public way. While it would be impossible to ever say exactly how the delay impacted that, the timing of GTA VI’s release will inevitably fall into a very specific cultural time and moment in politics and online culture, and will both influence and be influenced by what’s going on around it.

“Each major GTA release has shaped how people joke, what music goes viral, how cities are portrayed in art and media, and even how players relate to the idea of rebellion in their daily lives,” he said. “A launch in holiday 2025 or early to mid-2026 would have placed that cultural shift inside a very specific online environment, one defined by the competition between TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, and livestreaming for social dominance. That timing would have made GTA the loudest voice in a conversation driven by rapid content remixing and constant viral cycles. In other words, the memes that could have defined 2026 will instead take shape in 2027!”

Rosier also posed the question of psychological impact, but from a different angle. His view is that the delay itself, regardless of when the game releases, signals something much bigger going on in the AAA gaming industry that other major publishers are watching close:

“A GTA VI delay reinforces the growing tension between creative ambition and production realities in AAA development. It’s another signal that even the most established studios are struggling to balance scale, technology, and timelines.

“Newzoo’s historical engagement data shows that single-player titles typically retain 40% of their active players by week 5 and stabilize between weeks 6–12, declining only ~1% per week thereafter. That means publishers can fill gaps between major launches with live-service content, updates, or early-access beats to sustain engagement.

“From a market view, the broader PC & console segment is forecast to reach $85.8 billion in 2025 and continue growing through 2028, supported by rising engagement rather than an expanding release slate. Publishers are learning that the industry’s biggest risk isn’t fewer releases, it’s announcing too early.”

Joost van Dreunen, NYU Stern professor and author of the SuperJoost Playlist newsletter, was thinking along similar lines. As he points out, the industry has been going through a rough patch the last few years, with mass layoffs, game cancelations, studio closures, price increases, and general economic uncertainty. While there’s a sense from a number of sectors that GTA VI could swoop in and be the industry savior, van Dreunen cautions against putting too many hopes on one game – even one as big as GTA VI:

There’s even a somewhat naive expectation that this one release will reverse the industry’s current direction. It won’t.

“After the high comes the hangover,” he said. “I realize that many in the industry are looking forward to this undoubtedly pivotal moment. There’s even a somewhat naive expectation that this one release will reverse the industry’s current direction. It won’t. Once Take-Two releases the game, and both players and investors each enjoy their respective highs, I expect a period of sobriety to follow. In the absence of any similar releases in the near future especially investors are likely to redeploy their capital elsewhere, thereby lowering the industry’s overall valuation.”

It’s clear that GTA VI’s delay to November 19, 2026 has already made massive waves industry-wide, and will continue to do so over the next year as the impacts of both its absence in the spring, and its presence in the fall, are more keenly felt. Elsewhere, we’ve covered who wins and who loses from the delay, the internet’s reaction to the news, and what Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had to say about it.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.