Gaming

The so-called “Father of the PlayStation” told VGC that while he understands why users are upset about Sony phasing out game discs, he thinks it’s the right decision. But I’m also not sure he understands what a “metaphor” is.

About a year after Valve introduced the feature, which recommends new and upcoming games you might be interested in and even shows some on an actual calendar, it’s now considered a “full feature” of the Steam Store, Valve says.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and team countered by asking for $800 million, and Netflix has pulled its offer, Puck reports in an article discussing the new leadership at Netflix.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer was available to stream on Luna at no extra cost to Prime subscribers the same day it launched on other platforms, and in a post celebrating the one-year anniversary of Luna’s relaunch, Amazon says it plans to bring more “major” day-and-date releases to Prime members.

Late yesterday, I laid out five ways Microsoft can try to make lemonade out of RAMageddon, but one feels likelier to me now readers have weighed in: the cell phone subsidy model. In the K-shaped economy, wealthier buyers could buy an “unlocked” Xbox, but most could get it “free” with 36-month (or longer!) subscription.

If you’ve got one of the Microsoft/Asus collab handhelds, let me know if this is game-changing? You can find the update in Command Center > Armory Crate SE > Update Center > Preview Updates. Asus does warn “it may still contain bugs or instability, designed for those who can’t live without the latest and greatest.”

In 2024, Hallmark added a tiny version of the original Xbox to its holiday ornament collection and then followed up last year with a miniature Xbox 360. For 2026 it’s returning to Microsoft’s first console, but the translucent green Halo special edition version. It will be available at the end of the month for $27.99 and includes a glowing greed LED and sound effects.

A quick peek at eBay reveals that just the manual for the US version of Jaleco’s Avenging Spirit currently sells for over $150. The game (with its coveted artwork) has just been added to Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy library along with the Shigeru Miyamoto-produced Mole Mania and Pinball: Revenge of the ‘Gator.

And a red pill meme. You can see the post on X here.

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort (thumb wrestling), and Final Fantasy Resonance (random battles to mash through) are both out today. They’re great, and they should help you stay busy ahead of the Ocarina of Time remake and GTA VI next month.

I feel like this is not how we would learn about such a thing — maybe he meant to say “Half-Life Alyx” — but you never know. Last year, Tyler McVicker (below) suggested the entire game was already playable end-to-end. Sounds like he’ll have extra scuttlebutt to share soon!

World Quest and Save My Demonic World have run for over a decade, but they’re built on older tech that the developers say can’t be updated to patch the apocalyptic PHP exploit disclosed this week. Because the vulnerability affects almost 20 years of PHP, big chunks of internet history are in danger of being lost. Per Kotaku:

The breach was discovered on October 19th. That’s a lot of exposed Capcom ID email addresses, but thankfully the hackers didn’t leak much else: 196 passwords were changed (but no existing passwords were leaked), and 43 cases involved date of birth, gender, country, and nicknames being revealed.

The court-ordered change takes effect from March 1st 2027, following similar rulings in the EU, Japan, and Brazil. Apple will have to let Fortnite back in the App Store too — one of the last holdouts after a global return — and allow developers to offer alternative payment methods. Apple told Reuters it plans to appeal.

Even though Mass Effect developer BioWare has been shut down, IGN reports that Amazon is still working on the Prime Video series, citing “sources inside Prime Video.”

Humble is now offering the Sci-Fi Exposure bundle at its site, with pledges for all eight games costing $25. You’ll get Bungie’s 2026 version of Marathon (great game), all three remastered Crysis games, RoboCop: Rogue City, and both Ghostrunner games, to name the most notable inclusions. Proceeds are split between Humble, the publishers, and the charity.water non-profit organization.

This is so rad — and if you have a Quest 3 or 3S and a copy of Super Smash Bros. Melee (1.02), you can try it too. It’s called Xelee, and yes, the mixed reality part is AI-coded: “Claude wrote every line of code.” The game part is from the Melee decompilation, though. I hope game companies are paying attention to the possibilities in this brave new world!

First announced in September, the headset has a recommended retail price of $99.99 and will be available starting November 19th (the same day GTA VI launches), with pre-orders opening at 10AM ET on October 29th.

That’s according to analyst Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics, in a wider report on revenue from physical PlayStation games ahead of their elimination. 30 percent of Requiem’s PS5 revenue came from disc sales, exemplifying two trends Elliott finds: single-player AAA titles are especially reliant on discs, and the Japanese market is uniquely disc-centric.

Xbox CTO Scott Van Vliet has been “cooking up retro vibes” as part of Microsoft’s new Xbox Labs effort. The result is what looks like a vibecoded option to pick your dashboard on an Xbox console. This is simply an experiment right now and it’s not clear if we’ll ever see such an option, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma asks “blades on the web. Do we like this experiment?”

The new nine-piece collection created as part of a collaboration with Microsoft debuted at Ikea’s physical stores at the beginning of the month. But if you don’t have easy local access to meatballs and flatpack furniture, the Yxstaby collection, which includes accessories and furniture that draw inspiration from Xbox controllers, is now available through Ikea’s online store, too.