Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) has announced Halo: Campaign Evolved, a full Unreal Engine 5 remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, coming in 2026 for Xbox Series X, Windows PC, and -- shockingly -- PlayStation 5. "It's really a new era -- Halo is on PlayStation going forward," Halo Studios community director Brian Jarrard said on a livestream today. Polygon reports: Halo: Campaign Evolved is a from-the-ground-up remake of the first Halo game's campaign. It's being built in Unreal Engine 5 -- unlike previous Halo games, which have been developed with proprietary software. It aims to modernize the game without changing it on a fundamental level. [...]

As signaled by the name, Campaign Evolved will not feature PvP multiplayer, as its focus is on the campaign (Combat Evolved had splitscreen competitive multiplayer modes). However, you'll still be able to play Halo: Campaign Evolved with your buddies. It'll support splitscreen two-player local co-op as well as four-player online. Most notably, it'll support full crossplay and cross-progression.

Gameplay is being changed in ways that are more aligned with later entries in the series. Master Chief will be able to pick up and use enemy weapons that he couldn't use until later Halo games, like the iconic Energy Sword. He'll be able to pilot the Covenant Wraith tank in the original game for the first time, and can hijack vehicles (or get hijacked). Campaign Evolved is also implementing a sprint button, altering the way players can move about the battlefield. You can watch a reveal video for the game on YouTube.

Counter-Strike has long been known for two things: tight tactical FPS gameplay and a thriving player marketplace effectively valued at literal billions of dollars. Now, thanks to a recent update from Valve, the latter is in a downward spiral, having lost 25% of its value -- or $1.75 billion -- overnight. Polygon: First, some context. Counter-Strike is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter. As with most other F2P games, it generates revenue from selling cosmetics. They arrive in lootbox-like Cases, which are opened by Keys purchased with real-world currency. They can also be obtained through trading with other players and purchasing from Steam Community Market. Beyond Steam, unofficial third-party marketplaces for CS cosmetics have also popped up as channels for buying and selling items.

Because items are obtained at random through opening Cases, rarer items fetch the highest value on the open marketplaces. Items of lower-rarity tiers can also be traded in at volume for an item of a higher tier via trade up contracts. Previously, Knives and Gloves could not be obtained through trade up contracts, exponentially increasing their value as highly sought-after items. Prior to the most recent update, some Knives, like a Doppler Ruby Butterfly Knife, could fetch around $20,000 on third-party storefronts like CSFloat.

Following Valve's Oct. 22 update to Counter-Strike, the second-highest-tier, Covert (Red), can now be traded up and turned into Knives and Gloves. Essentially, this means that a previously extremely rare and highly sought-after cosmetic is going to be much more obtainable for those who increasingly want it, reducing the value of Knives and Gloves on the open marketplace. And this is where the market descends into a freefall. Now, that Butterfly Knife mentioned above? It's going for around $12,000, as people are essentially dumping their stock, with 15 sold over the past 16 hours at the time of this writing.

An Icelandic programmer successfully ran Doom on the European Space Agency's OPS-SAT satellite, proving that the iconic 1993 shooter can now run not just everywhere on Earth -- but in orbit. ZDNet reports: Olafur Waage, a senior software developer from Iceland who now works in Norway, explained at Ubuntu Summit 25.10 how he, a self-described "professional keyboard typist" and maker of funny videos, ended up making what is perhaps the game's most outlandish port yet: Doom running on a real satellite in orbit, the European Space Agency (ESA) OPS-SAT satellite. OPS-SAT, a "flying laboratory" for testing novel onboard computing techniques, was equipped with an experimental computer approximately 10 times more powerful than the norm for spacecraft. Waag explained, "OPS-SAT was the first of its kind, devoted to demonstrating drastically improved mission control capabilities when satellites can fly more powerful onboard computers. The point was to break the curse of being too risk-averse with multi-million-dollar spacecraft." (The satellite was decommissioned in 2024.) [...]

Running Doom in orbit was partly a challenge of portability and partly a challenge of the limitations of space hardware and mission control. The on-board ARM dual-core Cortex-A9 processor, while hot stuff for space computing hardware (which tends to be low-powered and radiation-hardened), was slow even by Earth-bound standards. Waage chose Chocolate Doom 2.3, a popular open-source version of Doom, for its compatibility with the Ubuntu 18.04 Long Term Support (LTS) distro, which was already running on OPS-SAT. Besides, Waage noted, "We picked Chocolate Doom 2.3 because of the libraries available for 18.04 -- that was the last one that would actually build.

Updating software in orbit is extremely difficult, so relatively little code would have to be uploaded. As Waage said, "Doom is relatively straightforward C with a few external dependencies." In other words, it's easy to port. [...] The only sign that Doom was running in space at first was a lone log entry. So, the team used the satellite's camera to snap real-time images of the Earth, then swapped Doom's Mars skybox for actual satellite photos. "The idea was to take a screenshot from the satellite and use that as the sky, all rendered in software using the game's restricted 256-color palette," explained Waage. Even this posed unexpected difficulties: "Trying to draw all of these beautiful colors with those colors," said Waage, "it's probably not going to work right off. But we tried gradient tests, NASA demo photos. It took quite a bit of tweaking." Eventually, instead of a fantasy Mars as the sky background, they got a good-looking, real Earth in the game's sky. The game itself ran flawlessly. After all, Waage said, "It ran beautifully. It's on Ubuntu."

Microsoft has set a 30% profit margin goal for its Xbox gaming division, Bloomberg reported Thursday, well above the video game industry's average of 17% to 22%. The target, implemented in fall 2023 by CFO Amy Hood, represents a sharp departure from Xbox's previous approach of allowing developers to focus on making quality games without specific financial constraints. Xbox historically maintained profit margins between 10% and 20% and reported a 12% margin for the first nine months of Microsoft's 2022 fiscal year.

The division has responded by canceling several projects that had been in development for more than seven years, including Everwild, Perfect Dark and Project Blackbird. It has also eliminated thousands of jobs and raised prices. In 2024, Xbox began releasing most of its games on rival Nintendo and Sony platforms. The heightened scrutiny comes as Microsoft prioritizes investment in generative AI while overseeing a gaming division that has struggled despite spending $76.5 billion on acquisitions.

U.S. Grandmaster and beloved chess commentator Daniel Naroditsky has tragically passed away at the age of 29. "The news has sent shockwaves around the chess community, which is grieving the loss of one of the most beloved and influential voices," reports Chess.com. From the report: The devastating news was first shared by Naroditsky's club, Charlotte Chess Center, on Monday, and confirmed by Chess.com with multiple sources: "It is with great sadness that we share the unexpected passing of Daniel Naroditsky. Daniel was a talented chess player, educator, and cherished member of the chess community. He was also a loving son, brother, and loyal friend. We ask for privacy for Daniel's family during this extremely difficult time. Let us honor Daniel by remembering his passion for chess and the inspiration he brought to us all."

Naroditsky, who was three weeks away from turning 30, has long been known as one of United States' most talented players. He achieved his grandmaster title at the age of 18 in 2013, and placed fifth among the highest-ranked juniors in 2015. His last FIDE-rating is 2619, which places him among the top 150 in the world, or the 17th highest-ranked in the United States. He has a peak rating of 2647 from 2017. He leaves a legacy that spans strong over-the-board competition and highly popular chess instruction and commentary on streaming platforms.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has issued criminal subpoenas to Roblox, calling it a "breeding ground for predators" and accusing the platform of profiting while failing to protect children. NBC News reports: The subpoenas will allow prosecutors to gather more information about the alleged criminal activity on the platform, including evidence related to suspected predators and victims, according to Uthmeier. The concerns prompted Roblox to invest heavily in protecting younger users on its platform by tightening messaging rules for children under 13, intensive content moderation and AI-powered monitoring.

In an emailed statement to Reuters, Roblox said it prohibits sharing images and videos in chat, uses filters designed to block the exchange of personal information, and is working to implement age estimation for all users accessing chat features. "While no system is perfect, our trained teams and automated tools continuously monitor communications to detect and remove harmful content," a Roblox spokesperson said.

The Sims is in a period of transition -- and as part of that, the ongoing mobile version will be shutting down in a few months. From a report: EA announced that today's update for The Sims Mobile will be its last, and that on January 20th, 2026 the game "will no longer be accessible to play and will be sunset." The mobile iteration of the franchise first launched in 2018, and has seen more than 50 updates since then. EA says that starting today players will no longer be able to spend real money in the game, and that it will be delisted on both iOS and Android tomorrow before the servers shut down completely next year, making it entirely unplayable.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Atari has announced yet another retro console revival, but this time it's launching hardware from an old competitor.

Atari and Plaion, a company that develops, publishes, and distributes games, have collaborated on the new Intellivision Sprint that blends '80s console aesthetics with modern gaming conveniences. It's a new take on Mattel's Intellivision, which initially went head-to-head with the Atari 2600 when it was released in 1979.

The $150 Sprint looks a lot like the original Intellivision with a gold and black case and a wood-grain panel on the front, but there are a lot fewer cables. It connects to a TV using a single HDMI cable, and while it still includes two controllers featuring dials and number pads instead of joysticks, they're both wireless and charge when docked to the console.

EA employees and the Communications Workers of America union have condemned the company's proposed $55 billion private acquisition -- backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, "claiming they were not represented in the negotiations and any jobs lost as a result would 'be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors' pockets," reports Eurogamer. From the report: Following the announcement, there's been plenty of speculation around the future of EA and its multiple owned studios, split between EA Sports and EA Entertainment. Now, members of the United Videogame Workers union and the CWA have issued a formal response alongside a petition for regulators to scrutinize the deal. "EA is not a struggling company," the statement reads. "With annual revenues reaching $7.5 billion and $1 billion in profit each year, EA is one of the largest video game developers and publishers in the world."

This success has been driven by company workers, the union stated. "Yet we, the very people who will be jeopardized as a result of this deal, were not represented at all when this buyout was negotiated or discussed." Citing the number of layoffs across the industry since 2022, workers fear for "the future of our studios that are arbitrarily deemed 'less profitable' but whose contributions to the video game industry define EA's reputation." "If jobs are lost or studios are closed due to this deal, that would be a choice, not a necessity, made to pad investors' pockets - not to strengthen the company," the statement reads.

"Every time private equity or billionaire investors take a studio private, workers lose visibility, transparency, and power," it continues. "Decisions that shape our jobs, our art, and our futures are made behind closed doors by executives who have never written a line of code, built worlds, or supported live services. We are calling on regulators and elected officials to scrutinize this deal and ensure that any path forward protects jobs, preserves creative freedom, and keeps decision-making accountable to the workers who make EA successful." As such, workers have launched a petition in a "fight to make video games better for workers and players -- not billionaires". The statement concludes: "The value of video games is in their workers. As a unified voice, we, the members of the industry-wide video game workers' union UVW-CWA, are standing together and refusing to let corporate greed decide the future of our industry."

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: If you've even idly checked in on the robust world of Doom fan development in recent years, you've probably encountered one of the hundreds of gameplay mods, WAD files, or entire commercial games based on GZDoom. The open source Doom port -- which can trace its lineage back to the original launch of ZDoom back in 1998 -- adds modern graphics rendering, quality-of-life additions, and incredibly deep modding features to the original Doom source code that John Carmack released in 1997. Now, though, the community behind GZDoom is publicly fracturing, with a large contingent of developers uniting behind a new fork called UZDoom. The move is in apparent protest of the leadership of GZDoom creator and maintainer Cristoph Oelckers (aka Graf Zahl), who recently admitted to inserting untested AI-generated code into the GZDoom codebase.

"Due to some disagreements -- some recent; some tolerated for close to 2 decades -- with how collaboration should work, we've decided that the best course of action was to fork the project," developer Nash Muhandes wrote on the DoomWorld forums Wednesday. "I don't want to see the GZDoom legacy die, as do most all of us, hence why I think the best thing to do is to continue development through a fork, while introducing a different development model that highly favors transparent collaboration between multiple people." [...] Zahl defended the use of AI-generated snippets for "boilerplate code" that isn't key to underlying game features. "I surely have my reservations about using AI for project specific code," he wrote, "but this here is just superficial checks of system configuration settings that can be found on various websites -- just with 10x the effort required."

But others in the community were adamant that there's no place for AI tools in the workflow of an open source project like this. "If using code slop generated from ChatGPT or any other GenAI/AI chatbots is the future of this project, I'm sorry to say but I'm out," GitHub user Cacodemon345 wrote, summarizing the feelings of many other developers. In a GitHub bug report posted Tuesday, user the-phinet laid out the disagreements over AI-generated code alongside other alleged issues with Zahl's top-down approach to pushing out GZDoom updates.

Sony and AMD are collaborating on new GPU technologies for the next-generation PlayStation (likely the PS6), introducing innovations like Radiance Cores for advanced ray tracing and "Universal Compression" for improved performance and efficiency. The Verge reports: Sony's next console (presumably the PS6) is coming in "a few years time," according to someone who I'd believe to make that claim. Mark Cerny, lead architect on the PS5 and PS5 Pro, joined Jack Huynh, SVP and GM of AMD's computing and graphics group, in a YouTube video wherein the pair spend nine minutes going through some very specific, co-developed advancements in graphics technology that will come to the next console. But the pair cautioned that the technologies are still in "every early days" and "only exist in simulation right now."

Much of it boils down to how the companies are working to make it easier for future GPUs to handle graphics upscaling, ray tracing, and the super-intensive path tracing techniques used to make game worlds look more realistic. Cerny says "the current approach has reached its limit," so Sony is working with AMD to integrate components of its next-gen RDNA architecture in future consoles. AMD's Huynh introduced Radiance Cores (similar in theory to Nvidia's RT Cores) that are dedicated to handling ray tracing and path tracing. In addition to Sony's new consoles having the new cores, they will almost certainly be built into AMD's future desktop GPUs, too, and likely within whatever it's assisting with in its Xbox partnership.

Stephen Totilo, reporting at Game File: In July of last year, word began to trickle through Ubisoft that an ambitious new installment of the company's top franchise, Assassin's Creed, had been cancelled.

The new game would have brought the history-spanning series to one of its most modern settings: The American Civil War and, moreso, the Reconstruction period that followed in the 1860s and 1870s.

In this Reconstruction-era Assassin's Creed, gamers would play as a Black man who had been formerly enslaved in the South and moved west to start a new life. Recruited by the series' Assassins, he would return to the South to fight for justice in a conflict that would, among other things, see him confront the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan.

That's according to interviews with five current and former Ubisoft employees who spoke to Game File on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the project. The people were enthusiastic about the game but were also frustrated by its cancellation, which they perceived as Ubisoft bowing to controversy.

The Rubik's Cube has been reimagined as a $299 tech gadget featuring 24 mini IPS screens, a gyroscope, accelerometer, speakers, and Bluetooth connectivity. Called the WOWCube, it runs its own "CubiOS" system, supports downloadable games and apps, and can transform into everything from a mini arcade to a virtual aquarium. Ars Technica reports: Rather than a solid-colored sticker, each of the toy's 24 squares is a 240x240 IPS display. The cube itself is composed of eight "cubicle modules," as Cubios, the company behind the toy, calls them. Each module includes three of those IPS screens and a dedicated SoC. [A Cubios support page has additional details.] Each of the 24 displays can be set to show a solid color for solving a simpler, but still captivating, Rubik's puzzle. Alternatively, the screens can be twisted and turned to play dozens of different games, including Block Buster, Space Invaders, and Jewel Hunter.

Also part of the toy is a gyroscope, 6-axis accelerometer, and eight speakers. Cubios claims the integrated battery can last for up to seven hours before needing a recharge. In order to add games or other apps to the WOWCube, you must download the WOWCube Connect iOS or Android app, pair the toy with your phone over Bluetooth, and then use the mobile app to download games onto the WOWCube. Currently, the WOWCube's online app store lists 47 games; some cost money to download, and some aren't available yet. The WOWCube runs its own operating system, dubbed CubiOS, and Cubios (the company) offers a free DevKit. WOWCube attempts to bring additional functionality to Rubik's cubes with, as of this writing, nine additional apps, including a timer and apps that make the toy look like an aquarium or snow globe, for instance.

NBC is developing a game show based on the New York Times' Wordle puzzle, with Today anchor Savannah Guthrie set to host and Jimmy Fallon executive producing through his company, Electric Hot Dog. The Times is also a production partner. From the Hollywood Reporter: Wordle, which the Times acquired in 2022 and logs billions of plays from the paper's games site annually, gives players six tries to guess a five-letter word, revealing only if letters are in the right place (via a green background) or part of the word but in the wrong place (with a gold background). Should it go forward, the Wordle show would join another Fallon-produced game show, Password, on NBC's unscripted roster. The Tonight Show emcee also executive produces and hosts the network's On Brand, a competition series that revolves around advertising and marketing.

Microsoft said in a statement Monday it remains committed to developing first-party Xbox consoles. The reassurance came after rumors circulated suggesting the gaming division might abandon hardware manufacturing. The speculation gained traction following a 50% price increase for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and retailers including Costco removing Xbox products from their shelves.

Microsoft said it is "actively investing in our future first-party consoles and devices designed, engineered and built by Xbox." The company's multi-year partnership with AMD for next-generation hardware also continues. Devices in development include the Xbox Ally range under codenames Omni and Horseman, according to Windows Central. Xbox Series X and Series S production has also not stopped, the report added.

An anonymous reader shares a report from The Verge: Microsoft is getting ready to announce an ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the software maker has started testing ad-supported games streaming internally, allowing employees to play select titles free without a Game Pass subscription.

I understand that the free ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming will include the ability to stream some games you own, as well as eligible Free Play Days titles, which let Xbox players try games over a weekend. You'll also be able to stream Xbox Retro Classics games. Sources tell me the internal testing includes around two minutes of preroll ads before a game is available to stream for free through Xbox Cloud Gaming. [...] The ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming version will be available on PC, Xbox consoles, handheld devices, and via the web.

Microsoft has announced that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will cost $29.99 per month, up from $19.99. The company restructured its subscription service into three tiers ahead of the October 16 launch of two Xbox ROG Ally handheld consoles. The new Essential tier offers 50-plus games for $9.99 monthly. Premium includes 200-plus games for $14.99. Ultimate subscribers gain access to more than 400 games, day-one releases, improved cloud streaming quality, and services including EA Play, Ubisoft+ Classics, and Fortnite Crew.

Game Pass generated nearly $5 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue with 34 million subscribers in 2024. Console hardware prices are also increasing, with the Xbox Series X rising $50 to $649.99 starting October 3.

BrianFagioli writes: Electronic Arts has agreed to a $55 billion buyout by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, marking the largest all-cash sponsor take-private deal ever. Shareholders will receive $210 per share, a 25 percent premium over EA's unaffected price, and once the transaction closes the company will be delisted from public markets. EA CEO Andrew Wilson will remain in charge, with the group arguing that private ownership will allow the publisher to innovate faster and expand its global footprint.

The deal, however, is already sparking controversy. PIF, a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the Saudi government, will effectively gain control of one of the most influential names in gaming. While investors stand to profit, many gamers and industry watchers are concerned about how Saudi ownership could shape EA's creative direction, monetization strategies, and role in esports. With regulatory approvals still pending, the takeover raises difficult questions about the intersection of gaming, politics, and global soft power.

Videogame maker Electronic Arts is in advanced talks to go private in a roughly $50 billion deal that would likely be the largest leveraged buyout of all time, WSJ is reporting, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: A group of investors including private-equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner's investment firm Affinity Partners could unveil a deal for the publisher best known for its sports games as soon as next week, the people said.

EA has long made games including FIFA, the soccer videogame now known as FC, and the football game Madden NFL as well as The Sims and other titles. The California-based company had a market value of around $43 billion before The Wall Street Journal reported on the talks, which sent the stock up nearly 15% Friday. Its shares closed at $193.35, a record high, giving the company a market value of around $48 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the videogame giant Electronic Arts is nearing a $50 billion deal to go private. A group of investors, including private-equity firms Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, may announce a deal for Electronic Arts as soon as next week. The report says it "would likely be the largest leveraged buyout of all time."

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