Month: July 2026

IO Interactive, the creators of the Hitman franchise and the recent 007 First Light, has issued a statement announcing layoffs after Microsoft withdrew funding from Project Fantasy. While the text doesn’t indicate that it was Microsoft was behind it and it hadn’t been reported before, they confirmed it a few minutes later. They did so in a statement to Bloomberg, where an Xbox representative said they were funding the project and that they have stopped doing so because they are reevaluating their investments to “focus on their biggest priorities”.

A disaster in the making

For its part, IO Interactive, says that this cut in funding will have short-term consequences such as layoffs of an as-yet undetermined number of workers at the studio. Though not the game’s cancellation. They said that they love the game, the world and the IP and that they are committed to Project Fantasy seeing the light of day someday.

Project Fantasy is a project that has been rumored at least since 2021 after IO Interactive opened a new studio in Barcelona, which could be the hardest hit by these layoffs, although nothing has yet been confirmed about it. But it wasn’t until February 2023 that its existence was confirmed, although we don’t know any concrete details about this mysterious RPG they are working on at the studio.

Meanwhile, the same Xbox representative says they are not reducing their investment in video games, although there are rumors that the company plans to close or sell up to five the company’s internal studios. So it seems hard times are coming for the video game industry.

Guns of Eschaton is a first-person shooter that mixes a Western setting with the mechanics of a soulslike to create an evocative and very peculiar blend. Bringing the mechanics of classic From Software games into first-person shooters. But the most striking thing about the newly announced game from Esschatology Entertainment is that it’s a Viktor Antonov project being released posthumously, who died this past February 2025.

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A legendary art director

Antonov is a highly acclaimed art director within the video game industry for his impressive work on titles such as Half-Life 2, Dishonored, Prey, and Wolfenstein. Known for his attention to detail, range of styles, and preference for brutalism and megastructures, his ominous and threatening style is a perfect fit for a soulslike like this one.

Fuad Kulie, director of Eschatology Entertainment, has said of his work that “from the very earliest stages of development, I had the privilege of shaping this world with Viktor (…). [His] imagination and creative legacy have been a source of inspiration throughout development, and this game is the result of an incredible collaborative effort by the team to make his vision a reality”. This highlights the importance of creative lead in shaping the game’s world.

Developed for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, Guns of Eschaton still has no release date. It already has is a page on all the digital storefronts, where you can add it to your wishlist, so you can stay up to date on the latest news when, at last, we can learn more about this fascinating final title from one of the greats of gaming, who has left us far too soon.

Magnus Games Studio and Shueisha Games have pulled the curtain back on Wild Wild Eden, an open-world RPG headed to PC through Steam. It’s slated to hit Early Access in Q1 2027, and the first pitch already puts it in the same conversation as Monster Hunter, Valheim, and Palworld.

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What they’re making is a mix of open-world exploration, survival crafting, base building, and monster taming, all set in a primitive fantasy world. You play as a tribal chief, gather resources, and turn an unexplored stretch of wilderness into a settlement that actually thrives. The monster angle is a little different, too: these creatures aren’t being sold as things you simply fight off or harvest for parts, but as companions you’re meant to keep around for the long haul.

The team says you’ll be able to tame, raise, and breed creatures, with traits carrying over from one generation to the next. Those companions can pitch in with farming, labor, traversal, and exploration. The anime-influenced art style jumps out right away, and the developers say they changed engines to push the visuals further and improve the game’s core mechanics.

Wild Wild Eden is also planned for both solo play and online multiplayer. Magnus and Shueisha are promising flexible building in unusual locations, including waterfalls and volcanoes. Still, a lot hasn’t been nailed down publicly yet: there’s no word on map size, total monster count, or how many players will be supported at launch, and nobody’s gone hands-on with it yet, so there’s no real read on whether it can live up to the genre’s very high bar.

If you’re on the lookout for the next survival game that could eat up your free time, this is one to keep an eye on. You can wishlist Wild Wild Eden now on Steam for PC.

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A widely shared but still unconfirmed starter leak for Pokémon Winds & Waves is making the rounds, mostly through the social media user “Light,” and it gives the clearest alleged picture so far of the final typings for Browt, Gecqua, and Pombon. If the rumor is right, Browt ends up Grass/Ground, Gecqua becomes Water/Psychic, and Pombon lands on Fire/Fairy. None of that has been confirmed by The Pokémon Company or Game Freak, so take it for what it is: a rumor.

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Fire/Fairy would be a first for a starter if Pombon really goes that way. Gecqua’s Water/Psychic combo is getting a lot of praise for looking flexible and well rounded. Browt’s supposed Grass/Ground typing has people interested too, even with the nasty 4x Ice weakness hanging over it.

If you keep up with Pokémon leaks, this one is worth keeping an eye on. The same rumor linked to “Light” also says Pombon stays quadrupedal and leans into a lion- or dog-like design, which is going to sound pretty good to anyone who’s tired of Fire starters drifting toward humanoid final evolutions.

People are already theorycrafting around offensive matchups, resistances, utility, and the same leak’s claims about box Legendaries inspired by Garuda and Naga.

For the official side of things, The Pokémon Company announced Pokémon Winds & Waves on February 27, 2026, as Generation 10 during Pokémon’s 30th anniversary celebration, and it’s currently expected to arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027.

On Steam, Steam Deck Verified is already marked ahead of its July 9, 2026 release. The store listing says it should work right out of the box on Valve’s handheld, with readable text and proper controller prompts.

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If you’re planning to play it on the go, that should make Ubisoft’s remake a much easier handheld option than the original Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag from 2013, which usually plays better after a few tweaks. Ubisoft is clearly leaning into that portable angle on the game’s store pages too, with promises of ray tracing and dynamic weather on Steam Deck.

Ubisoft also says Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a full remake built from the ground up in the latest Anvil Engine, with none of the original 2013 code carried over. You’re getting a single-player-only release, multiplayer has been removed, and the remake adds reworked action-focused combat, new story arcs, new Jackdaw officers, extra sea shanties, shipboard pets, and a photo mode.

If you want a big portable release in 2026, this looks like a pretty tempting one to grab. Even so, the Verified badge still doesn’t tell you the parts that matter once you’re actually playing, like battery life, frame-rate consistency, or what kind of visual compromises show up in real use.

Ubisoft says Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced launches on July 9, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and you’ll be able to download it from the Ubisoft Store, Steam, or the Epic Games Store.

Iron Gate says its survival game Valheim will leave early access and hit version 1.0 on September 9, 2026. That release brings the Deep North biome, and it also pushes the standard price from $19.99 up to $29.99.

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If you’ve followed Valheim through the five years since its 2021 breakout, the main draw here is the last planned biome. Iron Gate says Deep North will add new enemies, dungeons, and gear. Version 1.0 also brings Steam achievements, some performance tweaks, and new PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions, with cross-play alongside PC, Mac, Linux, and Xbox.

The ocean side of the game is a different story. Iron Gate has confirmed that Valheim’s less-developed ocean biome isn’t getting a major overhaul in 1.0, so anyone hoping for bigger seafaring exploration, new threats at sea, or a deeper maritime progression loop is probably going to come away disappointed. That also helps explain why the reaction has been mixed.

If you’ve been meaning to buy Valheim, the current $10 Steam Summer Sale price is probably worth grabbing before launch, whether you think the higher post-1.0 price is fair after years of updates or not.

You can get Valheim on Steam now, with version 1.0 and the new PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions arriving on September 9, 2026.

Capcom has pulled Onimusha: Way of the Sword forward to Sept. 4, 2026. The publisher says that puts it 21 days ahead of the previously announced Sept. 25 release date.

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Capcom’s line is simple enough: it wants to get the game into players’ hands sooner. What matters more on your end is the calendar. Onimusha: Way of the Sword now arrives just one day after The Blood of Dawnwalker on Sept. 3, which makes the first week of September a lot busier, and probably a lot more expensive too.

Rebel Wolves has pitched The Blood of Dawnwalker, its debut RPG from former CD Projekt Red developers, as a vampire-ruled medieval game built around branching choices, a day-night structure, and a time-as-a-resource system. If you’re into story-heavy, combat-driven fantasy games, there’s pretty obvious overlap there.

Grand Theft Auto VI is currently set for Nov. 19, 2026, Rockstar Games says, and other publishers seem to be cramming September with games like Marvel’s Wolverine, Silent Hill: Townfall, and Control Resonant to stay out of its path. In that light, Capcom moving earlier could buy it a little more room. And if you’ve been waiting on this RE Engine revival, reportedly in development since 2020 and placed by Capcom in Edo-period Kyoto around Miyamoto Musashi, the early word on combat has been strong, and Capcom’s approach to difficulty tuning makes it one to keep an eye on.

You can check Capcom’s official pre-order pages now. The company says some purchases , including certain Nintendo Switch 2 orders, may have to be canceled and placed again.

Rebel Wolves has put out a new gameplay reveal for The Blood of Dawnwalker ahead of its September 3, 2026 release, offering a spoiler-light look at tomb raiding, investigative moments, and the wider world of Vale Sangora.

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Set in a 14th-century kingdom in the Carpathian Mountains, the game casts you as Coen, a Dawnwalker who lives as a human by day and a vampire by night. The new footage spends more time on exploration, ancient ruins, atmosphere, player choice, and digging into the setting’s lore than on running through a basic quest checklist.

You’re still trying to save Coen’s family from the vampire lord Brencis, but this latest look gives you a clearer sense of what sets the game apart: a 30-day in-game limit, Rebel Wolves’ narrative sandbox setup, a smaller but denser world built to last around 55 to 70 hours, and combat that changes with the time of day, shifting from swordplay and dark magic to claw-based attacks. If choice-driven RPGs are your thing, this is the kind of update you’ll want to check out. The Blood of Dawnwalker is an Unreal Engine 5 open-world action RPG from Rebel Wolves, a studio founded by former CD Projekt RED developers, and it’s coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on September 3, 2026.