Last week, Microsoft announced sweeping layoffs and restructuring efforts, much of which targeted the tech giant's Xbox division. Multiple games were canceled and projects defunded, and thousands of workers were let go. This move induced widespread condemnation and an outpouring of sadness from the industry, including from EA Japan's general manager, Shaun Noguchi.
Noguchi, writing in his personal capacity, posted on X about how disappointed he was to see more waves of layoffs and cancellations. He wrote (in Japanese and translated by IGN) about how the trend in Western companies to chase short-term profits and reduce long-term payoffs or stability has led to damaging the game industry as a whole. "The game industry is held up by every single creator and member of staff who diligently develops games on the ground," he wrote. "As someone in the same industry, I feel deep pain regarding this decision."
He later reiterated (in English) that Microsoft's decision to kill off projects that had been in the works for many years was deeply regrettable. Although companies justify canceling projects to cut losses and avoid the sunk-cost fallacy, Noguchi expressed specific concern for the staff who would have nothing public to show for their work. "This is just my personal opinion but if a game was in development for 7~10 years, canceling feels like the worst move. That's a decade of work, potentially a quarter of someones [sic] entire career completly [sic] lost," he argued. "Even if the final product isn't what people originally expected, I think it still deserves to ship. Something is better than nothing for both the team and for the players."
Nintendo Switch users can save big on Hello Kitty Island Adventure Deluxe Edition for Nintendo Switch. Normally $60, the adorable and content-rich simulation game is discounted to $44 for Amazon Prime Day and Walmart Deals. The physical Deluxe Edition released exclusively for Nintendo Switch in March. It has only received a couple of discounts since its release, and this is the first time it's up for grabs for under $50.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 now out in the wild, it's reasonable to expect that Nintendo might make a few policy changes to better reflect the company's intentions for the console. At least one of those changes comes with a cost, however: the Nintendo Switch Game Voucher program will be discontinued (permanently this time) on January 30, 2026.
The Nintendo Switch Game Voucher initiative allowed Switch owners to essentially pre-pay for two Nintendo Switch games--so long as they were included in the program--through the purchase of two Game Vouchers; the vouchers cost $100, while two games purchased separately would normally cost $120. Many of Nintendo's first-party releases--including Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, were included in the program.
The official Nintendo support site made the discontinuation of the program official, saying that "as of 11:59 PM Pacific Time January 30, 2026, it will no longer be possible to purchase Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers." The post does mention, however, that any vouchers purchased between now and the end of the program will be redeemable for 12 months after the date of purchase.
Seasoned Mario Kart players know to drift often to build up boosts and get some extra speed coming around corners. With charge jumps, Mario Kart World seemed to add yet another technique to get some marginal gains and edge out opponents--but the story isn't that simple.
Charge jumps, which are essentially drifts done on straightaways instead of corners, come with all the same visual indicators of granting a speed boost as classic drifting, but it turns out that the technique may technically slow you down. Following intensive investigation from the Mario Kart community, fans have seemingly confirmed that normal acceleration on a straight is preferable to charge-jumping.
YouTube user Karting All Day comprehensively explored the differences in speed between charge-jumping and normal racing in the video embedded above. Kotaku also independently confirmed the results across different top-speed builds.
The Deluxe Special Edition version of The Lord of the Rings Illustrated is also steeply discounted. Click the coupon box on the store page to drop the price to only $93 (was $250). Earlier in the sale, Amazon had limited-time deals on the Deluxe Special Editions of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Those deals are gone now, but The Hobbit's Deluxe Special Edition price is very close to the expired Lightning Deal.
The Lord of the Rings Illustrated is a single-volume hardcover containing all three parts of Tolkien's masterwork: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
This edition 30 pencil sketches, full-color illustrations, and maps drawn by Tolkien scattered throughout its 1,178 pages. This unique feature makes this edition a worthwhile addition to any Tolkien collection, even if you already own a version filled with the sublime artwork by renowned Tolkien artist Alan Lee.
Tolkien's illustrations might be the main draw for most fans, but this complete, unabridged edition also benefits from a few eye-catching design choices. It has red-sprayed page edges adorned with Elvish script, gold foil trim with Elvish and Dwarvish lettering on the dust jacket, and the Eye of Sauron is stamped on the cover. A built-in ribbon bookmark adds to the premium aesthetic.
You'll find two fold-out maps, one tucked inside each cover, created by Christopher Tolkien.
The Deluxe Special Edition includes additional inserts and has cloth board covers, a clothbound slipcase, and the ribbed binding is quarterbound in leather. If you opt for the Special Edition, make sure to click the coupon box on the store page to drop the price to $92.81 (was $250).
The Hobbit Illustrated follows the same general design principles, so it looks great next to The Lord of the Rings Illustrated on a shelf.
This 273-page hardcover includes the complete text of Tolkien's beloved prelude to LOTR. Though significantly shorter, The Hobbit Illustrated actually has more of Tolkien's artwork. There are over 50 sketches, maps, and color illustrations created by Tolkien while drafting Bilbo Baggins' adventure.
The Hobbit's pages are sprayed blue and features Dwarvish script on the side and along the gold-foil edges of the dust jacket. A circular emblem featuring The Misty Mountains is stamped on the front cover.
This edition also comes with a pair of fold-out inserts: Thror's Map and the Map of Wilderland. Both of these maps were drawn by the author.
It doesn't have a limited-time Prime Day discount, but The Silmarillion Illustrated is eligible for Amazon's B2G1 Free Book Sale.
The Silmarillion Illustrated is a 358-page hardcover with a dark blue dust jacket and lime green edges with white lettering in Tengwar script. It has silver-foil trim running along the top and bottom of the dust jacket. The flower image stamped on the cover represents Luthien's Heraldic Device.
Like the other two Tolkien Illustrated Editions, The Silmarillion has dozens of sketches, maps, and drawings interspersed throughout the text. You can mark your spot with a ribbon bookmark and refer to the pair of fold-out maps when reading about regions in Middle-earth where some of the stories take place. The maps are pretty interesting because you can compare Tolkien's Map of The Silmarillion to Christopher Tolkien's expanded and more detailed version: Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North.
The Silmarillion was the first posthumously published Tolkien book. If you haven't read it, just know that it is markedly different from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Edited by Christopher Tolkien and Guy Gavriel Kay, The Silmarillion is a collection of myths created by the author while developing the exhaustive backstory of Middle-earth. It has become a classic in its own right.
If you only read one Tolkien book beyond LOTR and The Hobbit, The Silmarillion should be the one. It's also a good predictor as to whether you'd enjoy the daunting 12-volume series known as The History of Middle-earth.
Regardless of what game mode you're playing in College Football 26, you'll need to score points if you want to win the game. While defense might win championships, it doesn't always work that way in the virtual world, as scoring points on offense is usually going to be the key to victory in one way or another.
To effectively score on offense in College Football 26, you'll need to use the right plays and personnel. You can always use the coach's suggestion plays if you want to keep things simple, but if you want to run circles around your opponent, you need to take full advantage of your offensive playbook. Fortunately, you're able to select from any school's offensive playbook in a wide variety of game modes, giving you tons of choice. Of course, this also means you need to make some decisions.
To see the best offensive playbooks for any kind of offense you want to run in CFB 26, check out the guide below.
Owlcat Games' The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is a space-set third-person action-RPG based on The Expanse TV series and the novels by James S. A. Corey (aka Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). When the trailer debuted earlier this summer, the comparisons to Mass Effect were almost immediate. Alexander Mishulin--the game's creative director--recently acknowledged that Mass Effect influenced the development of Osiris Reborn. But the team plans to go in its own direction rather than simply copying Mass Effects' approach.
"It's different [from Mass Effect] in many ways," Mishulin told Polygon. "First of all, we make our story a little bit differently. We're making more choices and consequences, and we want to make sure that this game still has a lot of them provided with a lot of agency."
As an example, Mishulin noted that players won't be locked into character paths like paragon or renegade. The player can decide whether their characters come from Earth, Mars, or the Belt. That choice will affect how NPC and companion characters react and relate to them during the game.
Marvel Rivals progression systems game director Guangyun Chen recently told Video Gamer that the game is "driven by its own universe and seasonal storylines" and that the seasons are planned out far ahead of time. He went on to explain that the dev team is developing new seasons in "a systemic manner" while also keeping an eye out for fresh additions from the films and comics.
"We are closely monitoring the release schedules of comics and movies, and we will incorporate relevant content when appropriate," said Chen. "However, this will not disrupt our own content development timeline."
Smelting is a crucial part of Minecraft survival. This is how you cook food, make ore ingots, and produce other resources. In this guide, we'll discuss all the different types of furnaces, fuels, and explain how smelting works in Minecraft.
Smelting in Minecraft allows you to place a material and fuel into a furnace in order to cook food, make ore ingots, turn sand into glass, refine stones, and more. To smelt, you first need to build a furnace.
Minecraft furnace types
There are three different types of smelters you can build in Minecraft.
Destiny 2's new expansion, The Edge of Fate, is on its way next week. Ahead of that release, Bungie has made the past three years' worth of Destiny 2 content available to anyone, absolutely free.
Starting with 2022's The Witch Queen, you can now dive into the story of Savathun, explore the villain arc of The Witness in Lightfall, and watch it all come to a conclusion in The Final Shape until July 22. That gives you a few weeks to blast through the main story content of each of the expansions before diving into The Edge of Fate to find out what comes next.
Alongside the expansions, Bungie has also given open access to all players to the Echoes, Revenant, and Heresy Episodes. These Episodes follow the events of The Final Shape, setting up the story for the new expansion as well as tying up a few loose ends left behind. These Episodes are only available until the release of The Edge of Fate, meaning they'll be unavailable after July 15.
Season 5: Break is live in Delta Force for both PC and mobile, and the update adds plenty of new content to the free-to-play first-person shooter. The Break update includes seasonal events, new maps, and two weapons to unlock. A new operator is available to unlock in the free tiers of season's battle pass. The patch notes also include a new swimming mechanic and several improvements to the game.
The full patch notes for Delta Force's Break season can be found below, as shared by the developer.
Seasonal events
Break launch event
The first event is live from now until August 7. To celebrate the official launch of the season, players can play matches and complete missions during the event to claim new rewards. Event rewards include: 20 Armament Vouchers, the "Forest Hunter" epic weapon appearance for the SV-98, and more.
Delta Force x Arknights
A Delta Force collaboration with Arknights will arrive later in the season. Players can complete various event missions to earn LMD, which can then be traded for various rewards themed around the Arknights mobile game.
New weapons
The season adds the new compound bow, and this can be unlocked for free by completing in-game challenges during Season 5 Break. The KC-17 assault rifle is also included, but the patch notes don't specify how this weapon is unlocked.
New operator
The new operator is Tempest, who is classed as an assault operator. Her operator trait "Auxiliary Surge Spine" allows her to temporarily boost sprinting and swimming speeds. She can use combat roll maneuvers and evade a fight with a safety exit rope. She also comes equipped with a drill charge to breach through enemy cover.
New Operations map
Tide Prison is the new Operations map for the season. Players are tasked with breaking out of an island-based prison and extracting from the map. Tide Prison also features the new boss called Raven. This map is only available on PC.
New Warfare map
Cyclone is the new Warfare map. This map is set on a tropical island with sunny weather that can change at any moment. As the name suggests, Cyclone features a dynamic weather system with a cyclone that can appear and alter the battlefield mid-fight.
Added swimming mechanic and jetskis
The new update also introduces swimming and diving mechanics to utilize the water featured on the two new maps. Diving will cost oxygen, and if a player runs out, their HP will gradually drain.
Additionally, jet skis are added to allow for faster mobility while in water.
Weapon balancing across all modes
The update features some weapon balancing across all game modes. According to the patch notes, the developer has "re-engineered the base firing stability and recoil feel" for several weapons.
This includes the following guns:
SR-25 marksman rifle
PSG-1 marksman rifle
SVD marksman rifle
SKS marksman rifle
SR9 marksman rifle
Mini-14 Marksman rifle
Delta Force Season 5 Break patch notes
Here's what's in this update:
Version Update Reward Events
● Summer Pass
Event Time: 7/9 - 8/7
Details: To celebrate the official launch of Delta Force's new "Break" Season, play matches and complete missions during the event to claim a ton of rewards!
Event Rewards: 20 Armament Vouchers plus Epic Weapon Appearance: SV-98 - Forest Hunter, and more.
● New Season Reservation
Event Time: 7/9 - 7/14
Details: Log in during the event period to celebrate the launch of the new season and grab your exclusive reward!
Rewards: Log in to receive Rare Firearm Appearance: M249 - Shark Squad.
● 7-Day Login
Event Time: 7/9 - 7/24
Details: Log in daily during the event to claim your rewards!
Event Rewards: Armament Vouchers, TurBrick, Firearm Appearance: M250 - Skynet, and more.
● New Weapon
Event Time: 7/9 - 7/24
Details: New weapon - Compound Bow unlock event.
Rewards: During the event, players can unlock the ability to use or produce the Compound Bow in specific modes by completing related missions within those modes.
Collab Events Delta Force x Arknights
● Treasure Store
Event Time: 7/11 - 11/9
Details: The Delta Force x Arknights collaboration is live! You can swap LMD for a ton of collab rewards. Complete various event missions to earn piles of LMD!
Rewards: Use LMD to exchange for Weapon Appearance: CAR-15 Assault Rifle - Amiya, Armament Voucher, TurBrick, Operator Collab Name Card, and loads of other goodies!
● Operator Recruitment
Event Time: 7/11 - 11/9
Details: Complete off-match activities to earn Orundum and Recruitment Permits. Use them to recruit Operators—there are 12 Operators in total, and each can be recruited up to 3 times.
You’ll receive rewards after each successful recruitment!
Event Rewards: Large amounts of Armament Vouchers and LMD.
● Voice of the Ark
Event Time: 7/11 - 11/9
Details: Added Easter Egg music boxes to Operations and Warfare matches. Interact with them to play music and complete interaction missions for rewards.
Event Rewards: Large amounts of LMD.
● RHODES ISLAND Special Supply Crate
Event Time: 7/11 - 11/9
Details: New event containers have been added to Operations. Search these containers to get LMD, with a chance to earn collab collectibles.
Rewards: LMD, Amiya Chibi Figure (Normal and Hidden versions), Originite Prime, Arknights OST-1, Premium Intelligence Certificate, and Originium Shards.
● RHODES ISLAND Ammo Crate
Event Time: 7/11 - 11/9
Details: Warfare Ammo Crates are getting a fresh new look, and they'll play collab music when you interact with them!
Event Rewards: LMD, Extra Score.
Summer Festival Event
● Summer Challenge
Event Time: 7/9 - 9/22
Details: Complete weekly challenges to earn Operator Challenge points. Use those points to grab exclusive Summer Festival rewards, including an Avatar, Calling Card, Spray Paint, and more!
Rewards: Exclusive Summer Festival Avatar, Calling Card, Spray Paint, and more.
Warfare Events
● Victory Unite
Event Time: 7/9 - 9/22
Event Rules: Warfare now features the brand-new Victory Unite mode. You'll need to hit certain rank requirements to join in (PC players need Lieutenant rank, while mobile users need Colonel rank). At the start of a match, each team can vote for commanders. These commanders then give orders to Squad Captains for combat.
Event Rewards: 10 Armament Vouchers, numerous Warfare 2x EXP Cards (1 Match), Victory Unite Medal, Title: Victory Unite, Avatar: Field Marshal, Calling Card: Field Marshal.
● Intense Cyclone
Event Time: 7/9 - 7/24
Event Rules: Warfare is opening a new map: Cyclone! During the event, just play the Cyclone map and complete missions to earn rewards!
Details: Every week, a Covert Supply Box will be added to the Zero Dam Normal map. Players who successfully extract with it will unlock early weapon access and get a special appearance.
Rewards: AS Val - Zero Degree, etc.
● Boss Black Card
Event Time: 7/9 - 9/22
Details: During the event, universal keycards will drop in Dam and Forest Easy maps. These keycards can open any keycard door in that match.
● Find K Ring
Event Time: 7/9 - 7/24
Details: During the event, search Courier Cartons for a chance to get the Gold Season Operator figurine - K Ring. Complete the Courier Carton search event missions to claim rewards.
Rewards: Armament Voucher, Spray Paint: Summer Figurine. During this season, players searching containers also have a chance to get the Red Season Operator figurine - Colorful K Ring.
Mobile Exclusive Operations Events
● Unlock Maps
Event Time: 7/9 - 7/24
Mobile Operations is unlocking two new maps: Brakkesh – Normal, Space City – Hard! Play these maps and complete missions to earn event rewards!
Schwarz - Skyline series includes: Schwarz - Skyline Luna appearance, Schwarz - Arknights Collab - Compound Bow, Schwarz - Arknights Collab Charm, Watch, Action, Name Card, Spray Paint, 3 Voice Lines and the exclusive Execution.
Event Time: 7/11 - 8/24
Details: Use Delta Tickets or Delta Coins to participate. If you get the Schwarz - Skyline Luna appearance, you'll automatically receive all remaining rewards in the current pool as a bonus.
Season Pass
Season Pass Period: Starts right after the update on July 9.
Reward Boost: Added the very first Legendary quality Vehicle Appearance: "Jungle Hunter - M1A4 Battle Tank."
Older series MandelBricks will still have a small chance to drop in the new season.
Drop guarantee progress for different MandelBrick series is independent of each other.
Quantum Keys can unlock any MandelBrick series.
Older series MandelBricks and their appearances will still be tradable on the Market.
Deluxe Collection appearance reconstruction allows you to use appearances from any series as materials. The resulting appearance is randomly generated based on the materials used. Using more materials from the same series increases the chance of obtaining an appearance from that series. Using materials exclusively from the same series guarantees a higher quality appearance from that series.
Added MandelBrick - Meteorology cumulative scan rewards. Reach specific milestones in main reward counts to unlock special bonuses.
Get 1 Deluxe Legendary firearm and you'll earn Avatar, Calling Card, and Spray Paint rewards. Get 3 or 5, and you'll earn Advanced Calling Card rewards.
*Previous MandelBrick prize pools are being revamped. We expect to add scan reward functionality in future updates, which will include your data from past seasons.
The TurBrick charm series has a new theme: Ahsarahn Fantasy! Keep an eye out for the hidden Deluxe Charm: Heart of Saeed!
Your existing TurBricks can still be scanned, and Deluxe Charms remain tradable.
Deluxe Charm Reconstruction: Use Charms from different series as materials. The more Charms you use from the same series, the better your chances of getting a TurBrick from that series. If all your materials are from one series, you're guaranteed a TurBrick from that specific series.
Tactical Armament Updates
Your Tactical Armament progress will carry over to the new season, but any Armament Vouchers you have will be cleared when the update goes live. Be sure to use them before then!
Tactical Armament appearance updated. Main rewards include: Caged Soul series (SV-98 Sniper Rifle, SCAR-H Assault Rifle, M250 General Machine Gun), Line of Glory series (SCAR-H Battle Rifle, Mini-14 Marksman Rifle), Yellowjacket series (SR-25 Marksman Rifle, M249 Light Machine Gun, PTR-32 Assault Rifle, MP5 Submachine Gun).
For the new season, the Intermediate Armament Selection Pack is being replaced with the Basic Armament Selection Pack. The Basic Armament Selection Pack now lets you choose a Basic Supply Pack, Basic Weapon EXP Tokens, or a direct exchange for Tekniq Alloy. The Basic Supply Pack now features improved contents and drop rates based on the previous season’s Intermediate version (any Intermediate Armament Selection Packs you already own will remain unchanged).
Store Supply Updates
Tide Supply: Available after the July 9 update. This pack includes the K437 Assault Rifle - Sirius, 60 Delta Coins, an Avatar, and Spray Paint. Check in-game for pricing.
Tide Supply (Advanced): Available after the July 9 update. This one includes the AS
Val Assault Rifle - Sheriff, 200 Delta Coins, an Avatar, and Spray Paint. Check in-game for pricing.
Retro gaming enthusiasts can save over 50% on the Atari 7800+ console during Prime Day. Released last November for $130, the cartridge-based console is discounted to just $60 at Amazon. This is an incredible deal, as the console comes with a wireless gamepad that's sold separately for $35 and a new Atari game that goes for $30 on its own. You could use some of the money you're saving toward the CX40+ Wireless Joystick, which is discounted to $28 and can be synced to your PC, too.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is on sale for its lowest price yet during Amazon Prime Day and Walmart Deals. The beautiful remake of one of Square Enix's best old-school JRPGs is up for grabs for only $35 for Nintendo Switch, PS5, andXbox Series X. The Switch version is in stock at both retailers, but the PS5 deal is only available at Amazon. Conversely, the Xbox Series X deal is only at Walmart, as Amazon sold out of copies on July 9.
Dragon Quest 3 isn't the only JRPG on sale at Amazon this week. We've included a list of notable games from Square Enix, Konami, and Atlus at the bottom of this story.
The Nex Playground is on sale for $189 (was $249) for Amazon Prime Day. Other major retailers--Walmart, Best Buy, and Target--are selling the family-friendly game console centered around motion controls for $199. Amazon's price also shows $199, but if you click the 5% off coupon below the price, Amazon will shave an additional $10 from your total at checkout.
The $60 discount is the largest yet for the trendy gadget, but the $189 price isn't an all-time low. That's because the MSRP increased from $199 to $249 at the end of May. That said, previous sales only slashed $20 from the price, so the current deal is close to the best price yet ($179).
Walmart is offering a rare discount on the Lego Super Mario Mighty Bowser display model. Normally $270, the 2,807-piece building set starring King Koopa is on sale for $219. Despite launching back in October 2022, The Mighty Bowser is rarely discounted; it almost always sells. for its full $270 price. The Mighty Bowser is the largest Nintendo-themed set in Lego's lineup.
The Mighty Bowser deal is part of Walmart Deals, a sale that's running alongside Amazon Prime Day. Walmart's sale kicked off on July 8, but this deal didn't show up until July 9. If you're interested in adding The Mighty Bowser to your collection, it'd be wise to move fast; we expect this deal to sell out tonight.
Razer has a new collaboration in the works with Pokemon, having teased the news on social media. It will be officially revealed later this month.
The gaming company shared a post on Twitter on July 7, with the question, "Are you ready for a new journey?" while tagging the official Pokemon account, along with the date and time of the announcement for July 17 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. A short video with yellow fonts on a black background with the Razer logo pulsing with electricity suggests that this could be Pikachu-related.
Based on replies from Razer's account (via PCGamesN), it seems this may be a collaboration that won't be region-locked, as has been the case with Razer and Pokemon partnerships in the past.
Dynasty mode is one of the most popular game modes in College Football 26, and rightfully so. You're given the reigns of an entire school program and entrusted with making every decision regarding the team you put on the field. At the start of a Dynasty playthrough, you're able to pick your school and whether you're a head coach or offensive/defensive coordinator. If you choose to be a head coach, you then need to decide if you're going to use the school's real-life coach or design your own coach.
If you opt for the latter option, you get to fully customize your coach's appearance just like you would a custom player in Road to Glory. However, creating a custom coach also means you need to select a Coach Archetype, which can be a tricky task in College Football 26. To see the differences between the three Archetypes and which one you should pick, check out the guide below.
What are the Coach Archetypes in Dynasty mode?
If you played any College Football 25, then the Dynasty Archetypes will be familiar, as they're the same ones that are in College Football 26. There are three in total, and they are:
Sounds like Disney is cooking up something in the world of video games. A couple of job listings went up on the Disney Careers website at the end of last month, for senior and regular gameplay engineer positions. As is par for the course for listings like these, what exactly it is you'd be working on wasn't mentioned, but it does say that Disney is "building an expert development team that will be building a groundbreaking game experience that will herald the next generation of Disney to the world."
Both roles mention Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel, so it sounds like it might be a cross-property project. Notably, it also mentions that having experience in Unreal Editor for Fortnite and Verse (the programming language used for UEFN), making it sound like these roles could be for Disney's previously announced metaverse within Fortnite. That deal saw Disney invest $1.5 billion into Epic Games, though we're yet to see any results from it bar the usual collaborations Fortnite features.
Earlier this year, prolific Fortnite leaker Hypex shared that this Disney metaverse had been moved into a "stable" build/branch, but aside from the initial announcement last year, there's only been a small tease about how the house of mouse's theme parks might integrate with the game.
Following the success of its debut title, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Surgent Studios has opted to explore an entirely different genre with its next game: psychological horror. With Dead Take, the studio sets its sights on creating a tense and atmospheric experience that tasks players with splicing together live-action footage as they explore a Hollywood mansion and the dark side of fame. It's a hard pivot and a tall order, but a first look at the game's lead actors stepping into their roles definitely inspires some confidence.
GameSpot can exclusively share a look at lead actors Ben Starr (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Final Fantasy XVI) and Neil Newbon (Baldur's Gate 3, Detroit: Become Human) as seen in the game's live-action segments. Both clips are presented as footage from audition tapes, and see the characters nervously introduce themselves before disturbing supernatural elements cut in. As someone who has, yet again, fallen into a major Baldur's Gate 3 pit, hearing our beloved Astarion put on a deep American accent definitely surprised me--but not as much as the clips' final moments.
In Dead Take, players take on the role of Chase Lowry (Newbon) as he tries to uncover what happened to his close friend Vinny Monroe (Starr). As Chase explores the luxurious-yet-eerie Los Angeles mansion Vinny was last seen at, he is forced to wade through footage of the pair in an attempt to make sense of what happened. It's worth noting, however, that prior to Vinny's disappearance, both he and Chase were auditioning for the same role in a critically-acclaimed filmmaker's next movie, hinting that there might have been a bit of animosity between the pair. And yet, jealousy isn't the only dark force at work, as there seems to be a strange supernatural element to the game as well.
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