One of the big highlights of the PlayStation 5 Pro, now priced at $899.99, is PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which analyzes game images pixel by pixel and uses proprietary AI upscaling to deliver more detailed, stable gameplay, according to the company. Now, PlayStation is bringing that PS5 Pro-exclusive feature to base PS5 models, kind of.
Revealed today, Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR), “a new performance tier of AI upscaling,” is coming to PS5 starting today with Marvel’s Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei. PlayStation says QSSR is born out of Project Amethyst, its AI graphics collaboration with AMD, and uses a “streamlined neural network architecture” and “hand-tuned implementation that maximizes performance on PS5” to bring AI-guided upscaling to the console. PlayStation says PSSR on the PS5 Pro remains the “gold standard,” but QSSR provides notable improvements in both image detail and stability on PS5.
Two new videos – one for Marvel’s Wolverine and one for Ghost of Yōtei – showcase the effects of QSSR, and while there’s some improvement to see, it’s not the most obvious… but you can be the judge for yourself:
PlayStation says it will offer QSSR broadly to all PlayStation developers. It remains to be seen which games already released, or which games releasing in the future, will implement QSSR.
Nerial, the developer of the Reigns series and other games, has announced plans to shut down. This marks the end of a 13-year run. The London-based studio posted a lengthy message on social media announcing it was entering “hibernation mode” after discussing plans to end active development with its publishing partners at Devolver Digital.
“It’s been an incredible adventure. We came into this with no expectations or ambitions and we will never forget the utter puzzlement of releasing Reigns in 2016 to so many players, the fascinating and slightly disturbed Card Shark fan art players are still sending us, the thrill of Reigns expanding with adaptations of Game of Thrones, Animal Farm, Three Kingdoms, and the latest, Reigns: The Witcher. Not forgetting our most ambitious project, The Crush House, which we remain immensely proud of.”
Nerial does not provide specific reasons for the closure, but states that while the studio may be closing, the employees will remain working in game development following a break to “reflect on everything that’s happened before coming back with a new perspective.”
You can read Nerial’s full post below (click to enlarge):
Nerial burst onto the scene with Reigns in 2016, a card-based role-playing game where players assume the role of a monarch to rule and manage a kingdom. Reigns’ popularity spawned a series of sequels, such as Reigns: Her Majesty, and licensed spin-offs Reigns: Game of Thrones and Reigns: The Witcher (which launched this year and will be Nerial’s final release). Nerial also developed titles such as The Crush House and Card Shark.
Nerial’s demise is the latest in what’s unfortunately becoming a long list of developer closures in 2026. Meta shuttered three of its VR developers: Twisted Pixel (‘Splosion Man), Sanzaru Games (Asgard’s Wrath), and Armature Studio (ReCore). Other studios to close their doors this year include Bluepoint Games (Demon’s Souls remake), Ivy Road (Wanderstop), Intrepid Studios (Ashes of Creation), Spiders (Greedfall), Night School (Oxenfree), and Polyarc (Moss).
As much as Dune: Awakening guides you around Arrakis, it can be a hot and unforgiving place. Almost everything around you is trying to kill you, and if not, then you’re being used as a pawn to further someone’s agenda. Awakening succeeds in making players feel like everyone is out to get them, all while encouraging you to rise to the occasion and come out the other end stronger.
Dune: Awakening is set in its own timeline. Here, things play out very differently than in the films and books. Paul Atreides’ mother gives birth to a daughter, as she was supposed to. Because of this, House Atreides never falls, and a War of Assassins between House Harkonnen and House Atreides begins. As a result, the Fremen are all but dead.
Awakening takes time to explain the ins and outs of the game. With a planet known for being as hot as it is, it only makes sense that the sun’s rays are one of the constant threats. Learning how to survive never felt like a chore; it was a necessary sequence to learn. By the end, I truly felt like I was setting myself up to succeed.
Exploring the map is a lot of fun. Whenever I saw a crashed ship or a small camp in the distance, I knew there would either be minerals worth mining or a dungeon to run. I never felt I wasted my time whenever I went off the beaten path. You’re always encouraged to explore new areas and see what mysteries await you as you get into the desert.
If it’s by accident or on purpose, one of the best things you can stumble across is the feud between House Harkonnen and House Atreides. Here is where Awakening really starts to home in on the idea of never trusting anyone. As you align yourself with one house or the other, you’re always encouraged and given the option to betray the one you’ve sided with to help the other. Even though it’s such a prominent part of the overall story, it never really affects your character’s personal journey.
Having no real consequences is a missed opportunity when you consider that both Houses have areas you can visit throughout the world. There was never any danger when I walked into Harkonnen territory well after I sided with Atreides. The only hostilities I faced were a few rude remarks and higher prices on certain items.
Combat, on the other hand, never falls short, thanks in large part to classes that grant you ample agency in how you approach the game. Throughout most of my playthrough, I prioritized the Mentat, which gave me the ability to drop a turret anywhere, and the Trooper, which allowed me to use a grappling hook and grenades. Combat played out in several different ways for me. If multiple people rushed me, I’d throw a grenade and drop my turret. If there was a sniper off in the distance, I’d use my hook to close the gap. The freedom I had with whatever threat was in front of me made going into combat a joy. If I got bored of one playstyle, I could invest in another skill and try out something new altogether. Each class has its own set of perks and benefits that keep combat fresh and fun.
Being able to handle whatever was thrown at me was vital when exploring Awakening’s main questline. The first half of the main story does a fantastic job of showcasing the importance of the Fremen while also serving as an extended tutorial. The way the game romanticizes the Fremen is a breath of fresh air compared with the harsh realities of living on Arrakis. By the end of the opening act, you’ll feel you learned a lot about how the world used to be before the war began.
This contrasts sharply with the game’s second half. It serves as a reminder of the daily horrors people endure on the planet, all while making you question your humanity and whether you even have a say in what’s going on around you. The end of the base game left me in awe of everything thrown at me and of how far they took an original idea.
Another aspect of the story I appreciate is how approachable it was for solo players. Even though there’s a single-player option, I chose a multiplayer server and experienced most of the game alone. I never felt like I hit a wall because I didn’t have the manpower to deal with whatever was in front of me. If there was, it was simply because I wasn’t playing smart. The few times I did play with someone else only made the game more enjoyable.
Even though I haven’t fully explored the post-game, the time I’ve spent in the Deep Desert was what I’d hoped it would be. This area can only be reached by Orentogether, which you unlock toward the endgame, and can be experienced in PvE or PvP. Regardless of how you tackle it, the Deep Desert seems to go on forever and resets once a week, so fully exploring it is a task in itself. However, Deep Desert also boasts some of the best loot and dungeons the game has to offer.
If you want to take it a step further, you can also try the Landsraad. This feature pits both Houses against one another and tasks them with completing a specific goal. Whichever side comes out on top is rewarded with loot on par with what you’d get in the Deep Desert. While it doesn’t add much to the story, it aptly supports the fantasy of truly being part of the ongoing conflict.
Even if you know nothing about Dune, the game does a great job of explaining the significance of each house and why you should care about everything around you. Dune: Awakening has everything it needs to remain true to the franchise: endless deserts, war and espionage on all fronts, and of course giant sand worms. It takes a lot of creative freedom and hits many of the important marks, all while reminding you of the brutal reality of living on Arrakis.
Bungie co-founder Jason Jones, who helped create Halo and directed Destiny, has opened Stone Kite, a new Los Angeles-based studio alongside Beautiful Creatures author Margaret Stohl, who has also worked on film, TV, comics, and games (such as Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate). The studio’s first project is called One Zero One and is set in a future where humanity faces rogue, AI-driven robotic soldiers.
One Zero One kicks off with Part One of a four-part limited comic series of the same name, and you can read the first issue here. This comic speaks to the studio’s aim to develop stories across all kinds of mediums, not just games.
A cropped screenshot of the One Zero One Issue #1 cover
“Stone Kite was founded around a single premise: audiences no longer experience stories through a single dominant medium, and the creative process should reflect that reality,” a press release reads. Stohl adds that Stone Kite is about breaking down old media silos. She writes, “Instead of starting in one medium and adapting outward, we bring the best global creators from different disciplines into the room from day one to shape the world together. We change the conversation. We never say that’s how it’s traditionally done. We build communities, and we listen to them. That’s how we’re creating worlds that people can explore for decades, in whatever ways they want.”
Issue #1 of One Zero One debuts today, and includes “never-before-seen excerpts from Jason’s manuscript.” New issues will be released through early 2027 and will grow with “prose, audio, and screen projects” to further expand the world of One Zero One throughout the year, the press release says. “I’ve spent my whole life making games, but I’ve always wanted to write,” Jones writes in the press release. “I used to bike fifteen miles along Lake Michigan to the used bookstores in North Chicago, and bike home again with a backpack full of sci-fi paperbacks. Margie [Stohl] was the first person to believe I could write a book of my own, the first person to read it, and the one person I trusted to help me develop it into epic entertainment that leaves the world a better place.”
A piece of art from the Stone Kite website
One Zero One universe contributors include Eric Heisserer (screenwriter of Arrival, Bird Box, Shadow and Bone); Christina Strain (comic book writer and screenwriter of Shadow and Bone, The Magicians); Kris Anka (character and concept designer for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse); and artists including Dan Panosian (Batman), Ramón Pérez (Hawkeye), Alitha Martinez (Wonder Woman), Raúl Allén (Dune: The Graphic Novel), and Hyeonjin Kim (Power Rangers).
Stone Kite’s multimedia plan is ambitious, but not unheard of in games. Developer Reflector Entertainment intended the same for its Unknown 9 universe, but plans were put on pause after the first game, Unknown 9: Awakening, failed to meet expectations, leading to layoffs at the studio. Time will tell if Jones and Stohl’s plans play out.
Kena: Scars of Kosmora was revealed in February as a direct sequel to 2021’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits. It was announced with a 2026 launch window, but as we entered a very packed autumn with no updates, that seemed less and less likely. Developer Ember Lab has now confirmed the game will be pushed into next year.
“Since our announcement trailer in February, we’ve been heads down bringing Kena: Scars of Kosmora to the finish line,” Ember Lab writes in a PlayStation Blog post. “It’s been exciting to see all the anticipation and passion from fans. We can’t wait to share a new installment of Kena’s story with you!
“At the same time, we want to deliver a top-notch game that exceeds the quality we achieved with our 2021 debut, Bridge of Spirits, and at a much bigger scale. To do that, we need just a bit more time. Pushing our release into 2027 gives us the ability to really polish the expanded game experience we want to deliver.”
Ember Lab also elaborates on some of Scars of Kosmora’s known elements. The adventure is set some time after the events of Bridge of Spirits and sees an older Kena travel to the island of Kosmora. Kena seeks a cure for a mysterious affliction threatening her life, but after her spirit guide staff is shattered, she must master Kosmora’s forgotten form of spirit guiding that lets her wield new alchemy-based elemental powers. She must not only cleanse herself, but rescue Kosmora from a corruption overtaking the land.
“The ancient Spirit Guides of Kosmora developed their own unique approach involving the four elements and Alchemystic Temples,” says Ember Lab. “Four interconnected cultures once thrived across Kosmora, each with a guiding Element that fueled its society – before a mysterious cataclysm destroyed one of them.”
Ember Lab describes Kosmora as a large, multi-region map that “would take some time” to explore on foot. Thus, Kena has a giant wolf companion she can ride. “This ancient spirit not only serves as an exciting mount, but aids Kena in combat, both mounted and on foot, as well as solving Alchemystic puzzles,” says Ember Lab.
Kena: Scars of Kosmora is slated to launch for PlayStation 5 and PC sometime in 2027. Until then, be sure to read our review of Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
The last time we played through a new mainline Gears of War game was 2019, which feels like a lifetime ago. In that time, The Coalition has been churning away at Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel story to the original Gears of War games. Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago stepping back into the spotlight after serving as the anchors for the original trilogy may feel like developer The Coalition waving the white flag on trying to innovate on the franchise following the division surrounding Gears of War 4 and Gears 5, but once you play through the campaign, it’s apparent the studio hardly rested on its laurels.
Gears of War: E-Day tells the story of perhaps the most pivotal event in the Gears of War universe. Following the conclusion of the Pendulum Wars, Marcus and Dom are in the city of Kalona when the ground shakes and opens to reveal the Locust horde. Watching civilians futilely run for their lives as Locusts rip them apart adds an immediate horror vibe to the overall tone. And even as you are essentially a walking tank of a soldier, that vibe never lets up. Watching the city of Kalona fall in real time as each of humanity’s Hail Mary attempts is thwarted by the invading force establishes the Locusts as a true threat. Even as an armored-and-armed-to-the-teeth COG, an overwhelming sense of helplessness colors the entire experience; no matter how many waves of enemies I mow down, there is no end in sight and no salvation for humanity.
The action set-pieces are impressive and frequent; one sequence on an airstrip stands out as one of my favorite shootouts this decade, while some less-curated areas that involve traversing Kalona’s city streets break up the nonstop action with minor exploration elements and sidequests. Most of the campaign takes place in downtown Kalona, and when you’re in the streets, you’re free to make your way as directly or circuitously as you see fit. I couldn’t help but stop and help stranded platoons or look for nearby collectibles. Uncovering hard cases became my favorite side activity, as they reward mods for your weapons. I did my best to collect every mod I could for each individual in-game weapon; tinkering with the arsenal to match my playstyle became my preferred pastime in between shootouts.
Blasting through the relentless hordes is as enjoyable and intense as ever. Whether I was chainsawing enemies to bits with my Lancer, picking them off from afar with my Hammerburst, or outright melting them with an acid-blasting Incinerator, I actively sought out even the optional conflicts. But you don’t just fight standard grubs; Gears of War: E-Day throws so many special minibosses that can completely disrupt your best-laid strategies at a moment’s notice that you’re almost trained to expect the unexpected. Thankfully, you can use new tactical abilities, like a healing injection or an enemy-tagging drone, as well as new traversal and cover mechanics to level the playing field. And though they may stop following you out of nowhere, occasionally get in the way, and yell out cringeworthy one-liners, you always have your squad of four with you even while playing solo; if you’re downed, you can be revived by a squadmate a limited number of times per conflict.
Those squadmates are compelling components of the overall narrative. Marcus and Dom are dealing with the loss of Carlos, Dom’s brother and Marcus’ best friend. Mags is a strong-willed former soldier who reluctantly gets sucked into the fray when the Locusts attack. The weak link is Lucas, a newly enlisted soldier who spouts random facts and likes to follow the COG handbook. For too much of the story, Lucas is underdeveloped, but a late-game story involving the newbie really elevated him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Marcus, Dom, and Mags; I just wish it happened sooner.
Gears of War: E-Day’s campaign is one of my favorites of 2026. The characters, action, and story coalesce into something I won’t soon forget, thanks in large part to The Coalition’s smart utilization of Kalona. Unfortunately, the multiplayer servers weren’t turned on before the embargo lift, but if I get as much enjoyment from the PvP and PvE modes on offer, Gears of War: E-Day could easily jump up near the top of my list of favorite games in the series.
Welcome to a New Gameplay Today, with an exclusive new look at some gameplay of the upcoming sci-fi RPG Exodus. As part of our cover story, we got to play a slice of the early game story, where Jun and their companions take back the Traveler Launch Center (TLC) from some hostile enemies, while also reclaiming some of Jun’s inherited powers.
Charles and Eric take you through all the major beats, including the mech-driving octopus Salt’s potent abilities and a big boss fight against the massive robot Redeemer. Keep an eye out for our last bits of video coverage in the coming days, and enjoy a fresh new look at Exodus here.
Last month, Xbox announced a new disc-to-digital program that allows players to use physical game discs to access their digital counterparts. After rolling out this program to Xbox Insiders, it is now live for all Xbox owners.
Inserting an eligible Xbox Series X or Xbox One disc into a console will automatically grant players a digital license associated with that disc. In layman’s terms, if you own a physical copy of Gears 5, for example, you will also unlock and download the digital version in your library. The original disc will still function normally afterward.
The idea behind this program is to let players use their physical media to enjoy the perks of digital gaming, such as being able to access the game across multiple platforms and take advantage of Xbox’s Play Anywhere (letting them play an owned game across console and PC) and Cloud Gaming (which is getting hourly play time limits in November).
A support page clarifies how digital licenses are tied to associated discs, stating, “A disc to digital license is associated with the qualifying game disc. Without possession of the qualifying disc, you may lose the disc to digital licensing benefits. For example, if you lose, sell, give away, or otherwise no longer possess a qualifying disc, access to associated disc to digital licenses may be limited or revoked.”
Xbox has previously touted its disc-to-digital program as an example of its commitment to game preservation, stating in August that “As technology, devices, and distribution continue to evolve, preserving access to the games people own matters more than ever.” This initiative comes as PlayStation continues to face backlash over its plans to cease production of physical game discs in 2028.
In more recent Xbox news, the company laid off 268 more employees after cutting over 1,500 earlier this year, gutting Halo Studios and moving development of the next Halo game to Activision. The company also became the new publisher of Hideo Kojima’s action-espionage game Physint after PlayStation dropped the project.
China-based NetEase Games acquired Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio behind the No More Heroes series, Lollipop Chainsaw, and more, back in 2021. Now, months after the launch of Romeo is a Dead Man, the studio’s latest release, Grasshopper Manufacture has split from NetEase to become an independent studio once more.
Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Goichi Suda, better known as Suda51, published a press release today announcing the split, saying the decision came after thorough discussions with NetEase and “their generous cooperation.” Romeo is a Dead Man is the only game Grasshopper released under NetEase.
“Having finally completed this all-hands project [Romeo is a Dead Man], as we reflected on the next stage of Grasshopper Manufacture’s future, we found a strong desire to deliver titles in an even wider variety of styles to video game lovers everywhere,” Suda51 writes in the press release. “As such, Grasshopper Manufacture has chosen to move forward as an independent developer once again.
“This decision was reached after thorough discussions with NetEase Games, and with their generous cooperation. We continue to cherish the amazing relationship our companies have built, and look forward to further collaboration when the opportunity arrives. Having improved our own self-publishing know-how, we now have a broad range of options available to us, and regardless of how our games may be published, we remain committed to creating unique titles featuring the ‘NO GAME NO LIFE’ gaming experience expected of Grasshopper Manufacture with our own signature flavor and further enhanced quality.”
This split comes roughly a year and a half after word arrived that NetEase was looking to divest itself of most of its overseas teams, as reported by Game File. In the past couple of years, that’s been evident, too, with NetEase closing Canada-based developer Worlds Untold in 2024, just a year after the company unveiled the studio. In January, NetEase put Jar of Sparks, a studio it helped open in 2022, on ice; in 2025, it laid off workers at Liquid Swords, its Sweden-based studio it had invested in in 2022. Months after the launch of Marvel Rivals, a successful Overwatch-like shooter that uses Marvel heroes and villains as playable characters, NetEase laid off the entire U.S. team developing the game.
Suda51 makes clear Grasshopper Manufacture is leaving of its own volition, with “generous cooperation” from NetEase, but it’s possible the studio read the tea leaves and left voluntarily before being forced to lay off staff or shut down.
There’s no word on what Grasshopper Manufacture is up to now that it’s newly independent, but Suda51 said back in February, around the launch of Romeo is a Dead Man, that the studio plans to release another game this year (thanks, GameSpot). That remains to be seen.
Naughty Dog celebrated The Last of Us series yesterday alongside fans as part of its usual September 28 “Outbreak Day.” That’s when studio head Neil Druckmann revealed that the team is working on two “projects” that will expand The Last of Us canon beyond Part I and Part II. It’s also where Druckmann shared the studio’s latest update on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, its in-development sci-fi action game revealed during The Game Awards almost two years ago.
Since that initial reveal, we’ve learned very little, though Druckmann has discussed the game’s casting in interviews, and it sounds like we won’t be seeing any more of it in 2026 either. In a Naughty Dog blog post made yesterday for Outbreak Day, Druckmann says the team needs to cook for just a little bit longer.
“The team is heads down on what is shaping up to be Naughty Dog’s most ambitious yet,” Druckmann writes as a response to the Naughty Dog fan community wondering when Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will be shown again. “There’s an electricity around the studio right now as all the pieces come together, and we’re stoked to finally unveil Intergalactic in all its glory. But… we need to cook for just a little bit longer. So we want to set expectations: we’re going to be quiet for the rest of this year. In 2027, that changes. We’ll fully reveal Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and give you a proper look at Jordan’s wild sci-fi adventure.”
Druckmann closes by saying Naughty Dog knows it’s been a long time since it’s shared anything about the game, and it doesn’t take continued support for granted. “We’re working incredibly hard to make something worthy of your patience,” he writes.
Here’s a piece of new Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet art included in the Naughty Dog blog post:
