Reinstated Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill alleges publisher Krafton violated a court order by leaking Subnautica 2’s planned May early access launch window, arguing that only he was authorized to set release plans after Judge Lori Will’s ruling. Krafton denies wrongdoing, saying the internal memo cited in reports merely celebrated a prior milestone determination and did not constitute an improper announcement.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick appeared to hint that Grand Theft Auto VI could launch at a “full price” of $70–$80 while arguing that interstitial in-game ads would be unfair at that cost, and he added that GTA VI will not include such advertising. While not an official pricing announcement (and with some analysts still predicting a potential $100 debut), the comments offer the clearest signal yet ahead of the game’s reported November 19, 2026, release.

Sony has begun issuing automatic refunds to PlayStation players for Highguard microtransactions following the game’s March 12 server shutdown, a rare move for the company’s typically strict refund policy. Reports indicate the refunds, spotted via PlayStation notifications and first shared in a since-deleted Reddit post, are currently limited to PlayStation while Steam and Xbox users may need to pursue refunds manually.

Nacon has launched the RIG R5 Spear Max HD, a $149.99 wired gaming headset that targets audiophile-grade playback with 40mm GrapheneQ drivers tuned for under 0.3% distortion, a USB‑C DAC rated for 32-bit/384kHz, and Dolby Atmos support. The modular Snap+Lock design enables swappable ear cups and a reversible 6mm broadcast-style microphone, while broad plug-and-play compatibility spans PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch systems, iOS, and Android.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick dismisses as “laughable” the idea that prompt-based AI tools like Google’s experimental Project Genie could produce AAA hits on the level of Grand Theft Auto, arguing that such outputs may resemble entertainment but lack lasting appeal.

An unofficial decompilation project has produced a native PC build of the Nintendo GameCube’s Animal Crossing, bypassing emulation with an x86 translation layer that swaps the console’s GX graphics API for OpenGL 3.3.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has dismissed gamers’ criticism that DLSS 5 homogenizes game visuals and “yassifies” character faces, calling detractors “completely wrong” after backlash to examples cited from titles like Resident Evil Requiem and Hogwarts Legacy. Huang argues DLSS 5 is “neural rendering” that applies generative AI at the geometry level under developer control rather than a post-processing filter, with its real-world visual and performance impact to be tested ahead of a gradual rollout in fall 2026.

iFixit’s teardown of Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo awards it a 6/10 repairability score, Apple’s best in 14 years, thanks to a screw-mounted battery, modular USB‑C ports, easier display removal, and a keyboard that’s now replaceable without swapping the entire top case. The gains come with compromises, including a labor-intensive 41‑screw keyboard procedure, continued use of pentalobe screws, soldered 8GB RAM, and 256/512GB storage that limit upgrades and data recovery, and pared-back audio and trackpad hardware.

A Reddit user reports scoring an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, Gigabyte B850M Eagle motherboard, and Corsair 32GB DDR5-6000 kit, normally totaling about $1,013, for $86.98 after a brief pricing glitch in Newegg’s combo configurator. Newegg reportedly honored the orders and shipped the parts before patching the issue, leaving the buyer only needing a case, SSD, and GPU to complete the build.

Former Bethesda QA tester Colin McInerney recalled deliberately stress-testing Fallout 4 on Xbox One by exploiting RAM limits and unleashing “super-nukes,” triggering four crashes in a single morning and generating automatic crash reports that reached ZeniMax leadership. In a GDC interview, he argued that this kind of unpredictable, chaos-driven testing underscores why human QA can’t be replaced by pattern-following AI.

Deal | Atomfall, a Fallout- and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-inspired post-apocalyptic action-adventure set in Northern England, is currently 50% off on Steam, dropping the Standard Edition to $24.99 through 19 March 2026, with matching discounts on the Deluxe and Complete editions.

AdHoc Studio’s Dispatch, a choice-driven single-player narrative game from former Telltale veterans, overcame publisher skepticism and a lost publishing deal to launch via self-publishing support from Critical Role, going on to sell a mammoth 3 million copies.

Xbox says it will mark its 25th anniversary by bringing back select “iconic” retro titles in 2026, developed by its game-preservation team and updated to be playable in “entirely new ways.” While Jason Ronald did not name the games or detail the new features, he pointed to past backward-compatibility upgrades like Auto HDR and FPS Boost as the likely model for modernizing classics without changing their core identity.

The creator of Overwatch, Jeff Kaplan, revealed in a recent podcast with Lex Fridman some of the reasons for his departure from Blizzard half a decade ago.

Valve has issued a rare public response to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit targeting loot boxes in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2, arguing the mechanics are not illegal gambling under New York law. The company says the items are cosmetic, optional, and comparable to physical trading packs, while noting its efforts to curb third-party gambling and warning that the lawsuit’s push to make items non-transferable would harm consumers.

Pearl Abyss has published Crimson Desert’s final PC system requirements ahead of its 19 March 2026 launch, outlining performance targets from 1080p to 4K across multiple presets.

Palmer Luckey is in early talks to raise funding at a $1 billion valuation for ModRetro, as the company ramps up high-volume production ahead of its second product launch.

EA has laid off an undisclosed number of developers across Criterion, DICE, Ripple Effect, and Motive just months after Battlefield 6’s record October 2025 launch, citing a “realignment” toward live-service support.

Bungie launched Marathon, its sci-fi extraction shooter reboot, and warned on day one that it would issue takedowns for any publicly shared data-mined content that had not yet been officially revealed. The studio says creators are still free to mine and share art based on content already playable in the current build, while unreleased assets and story details will be targeted to protect planned surprises and community-driven discoveries.

Bungie’s extraction shooter Marathon is drawing attention for weapon designs and handling that echo iconic firearms from Halo: Combat Evolved and later entries, with players rapidly cataloging the references online.

Valve is facing two major lawsuits: one from New York Attorney General Letitia James and a federal class action led by Hagens Berman, alleging that loot boxes in titles like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2 amount to unlawful gambling engineered to exploit players, including minors.

Sega says standalone releases of the retro games embedded in the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series are unlikely because modern software distribution is costly and the audience for individually sold classic titles is relatively limited, making it primarily an ROI-based decision.

Shinji Mikami, the director behind the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4, has launched independent outfit Unbound Studios and is developing a new Unreal Engine 5 AAA IP for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, backed by talent from series including Silent Hill, Shadow of the Colossus, and Devil May Cry.

The National Video Game Museum in Frisco, Texas, has acquired the Sony MSF-1, the earliest-known and only confirmed surviving Nintendo PlayStation development unit originally built for Sony’s planned Super Nintendo CD add-on.