Gaming News Digest — June 22, 2026
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Top news
Stellar Blade: Blood Rain — LGBT activists are mass-reporting the sequel to Visa and Mastercard, claiming the new heroine Evie is too petite. Templates for complaints are being shared across forums, while mods have banned all discussion. In response, Shift Up's CEO promised even hotter outfits and shared a comic proving the character's design.
Crime Boss: Rockay City — The game hits 1 million copies and drops a massive 2.0 update, removing roguelike randomness for a full linear story merging Travis Baker's base campaign with Gold Cup and Cagniali's Order DLCs. New Hell's Kitchen and Close Encounter missions with anomaly vibes are added, and PC gets official mod support with plans to port best fan creations to consoles for free.
Claude Guillemot — Ubisoft co-founder Claude Guillemot (69) died in a plane crash on June 19 in western France. His Cessna 421 light aircraft caught fire after crashing near La Baule; an instructor pilot also died. The cause remains a mystery, not disclosed. Claude was one of five Guillemot brothers who founded Ubisoft in 1986, most recently serving as Executive VP of Operations.
GTA 6 — French retailer FNAC leaked prices for GTA 6, from €90 to €200, with listings showing a release date of November 19, 2026. The €200 tag is likely for a premium collector's edition. Official pre-orders start June 25, 2026, until then, take these numbers as a leak, not gospel.
GTA 6 — A 30-second GTA 6 clip hit 9 million views, becoming the biggest talk of the summer, dwarfing State of Play and SGF reveals. Everyone forgot the rest; it's all about the cover art and pre-order date announced June 18. But top viewership still goes to Spyro: A Realm Beyond with 16 million.
GTA 6 — Fans tracked down the cover girl, Venezuelan model Gabriela Chikin. After the pre-order date reveal, Rockstar dropped an official art with a lady in a green top. Redditors instantly clocked the resemblance to Chikin, and she's already pinned the post on her socials. Coincidence or intentional? No one knows, but the hype is off the charts.
Project Sundown — Details of the cancelled horror Project Sundown have leaked, a mix of sci-fi, survival, and robots playing creepy oldies. Engineer Ava heads to a research complex to find a missing scientist but stumbles upon humanoid cyborgs, robotic copies of herself, and a giant robot Alex that stalks her to songs from the 70s and 80s. Your medkit is a syringe called "Elixir of Eternity."
Final Fantasy 7 — Final Fantasy 7 is staying on the aging Unreal Engine 4, as the devs refuse to switch due to delay risks. Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed the trilogy's finale lands spring 2027, and the engine stays for visual consistency. The studio already built Nanite-like tech in Rebirth, so this is pragmatic, not lazy.
Two Point Museum — Two Point Museum just got a Dave the Diver sushi bar that cooks the exhibits. Update 10.0 sends explorers into the Blue Hole, where aquarium fish turn into dishes for visitors. Happy guests boost reputation and leave special donations. Also new: oxygen tanks, 3 new locations, and 6 marine exhibits.
A free Roblox shooter — A free Roblox shooter pulled in 4 million players in its first day and became the month's biggest surprise. No one expected TTK Testing, no budget, no publisher, to blow up like this. Players are praising the graphics, optimization, and smooth gameplay. The dev, PoptartNoahh, calls it a large-scale test, but already plans co-op PvE and story missions inspired by Door Kickers.
Guild Wars Mistbound — Guild Wars Mistbound announced, the first CCG set in the Guild Wars universe, from ArenaNet, supported by NCsoft and Bilibili. The core mechanic is dynamic card movement on a 5×3 tactical grid. Players are commanders adapting each round. Deep strategy built on the original game's lore, music, and art for both solo and multiplayer modes.
Lies of P — Lies of P finally gets proper co-op, as the Seamless Coop mod dropped version 1.0 after two years of work. Now you can play the entire game with a buddy with full sync: fight enemies together, level up simultaneously, and never lose progress. You can also tweak difficulty on the fly, teleport to your partner, and even share items.
Slay the Spire 2 — Slay the Spire 2's most hated boss was born from one developer's Deadlock addiction. Co-founder Casey Yano confirmed Doormaker wasn't a Worm web-series reference, he just played too much Valve's game with a portal-making hero. Players hated it for wrecking their decks, so the studio replaced it with Aeonglass. The Ceremonial Beast was inspired by Princess Mononoke's Forest Spirit.
Alkimia Interactive — Alkimia Interactive dropped patch 1.0.2 for Gothic 1 Remake, with console optimization and hardcore balance. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S now have "Performance" and "Quality" modes. High-level spells got a major damage buff, but monsters and bosses also got more HP, armor, and attack power, making late-game difficulty skyrocket. Dozens of bugs, crashes, quest script errors, and sound desyncs are fixed.
UFC 6 — UFC 6 is out, Electronic Arts dropped a fighter with a new damage system and Sapien plus Markerless Capture. Every hit is visualized now, and the Real-Time Contact mechanic makes fights insanely realistic. Solo content includes Career, Legacy, and Hall of Fame modes with over 150 story events that change based on your actions. The starting roster has 11 new athletes, plus monthly updates.
Halo: Campaign Evolved — Halo: Campaign Evolved on PS5 demands two Microsoft accounts for co-op. Cross-progression is in, but you'll need a Microsoft account and an Xbox Gamertag. PS Plus is not required for local split-screen, despite earlier rumors. Difficulty auto-adjusts to your party size (up to 4). Remake on UE5, three bonus story missions, expanded arsenal. Drops July 28, 2026.
11 bit studios — 11 bit studios laid off about 8% of its staff, 20 employees let go as part of a production plan review. Current projects are safe though. The only announced game is Frostpunk 1886, due in 2027. Everything else is early concepts and process restructuring.
Marathon — Marathon players got rich too fast, and Bungie has no idea why. Season 2 kicked off with bugs, but a free weekend and new modes like Dire Marsh & Sponsored Survival revived it. Progression exploded, week 2 wealth equals weeks 11-12 of S1. Inventories are overflowing, economy is wrecked. Bungie admitted the issue on Steam but can't find the bug causing rare loot to drop too often.
Dark Carnival — Valve trolls data miners, Dark Carnival found in Dota 2's code. Patch 7.41d sneaked in Sense of Foreboding on Axe and event-related variables. Valve's answer? They renamed one to "Why are you reading our variable names?". Ringmaster is expected to be the main character. Official announcement pending.
ARC Raiders — The Chinese version of ARC Raiders is getting a PvE mode and two bosses on the map at once. Tencent is cooking exclusive content: Dual Boss mode featuring the Queen and Matriarch guarding a single high-value Harvester, plus new map conditions like Security Protocol, a pure PvE survival ordeal with zero player aggression. Embark Studios licensed it but isn't involved in the exclusive stuff.
Dead by Daylight — Dead by Daylight hits 10 years with big plans and no sequel. The asymmetrical horror marks a decade in 2026. The team grew from 30 to 450 devs, with a roadmap through 2028. They're consciously skipping Dead by Daylight 2 to keep the community united. A visual overhaul with better animations drops in 2027. Future collabs include Jason Voorhees with stealth and teleport tricks.
Thomas Mahler — Moon Studios founder Thomas Mahler says AAA budgets aren't a ticket to financial success. He argues that big-name releases often struggle to turn a profit, while smaller titles shine thanks to lower price points. Mahler also noted each new game is harder to make, even the Ori sequel was tougher than the original, and No Rest for the Wicked is no different.
Eldegarde (Steel & Sorcery) — Notorious Studios is looking for a new owner for Eldegarde (Steel & Sorcery), after a failed launch and server shutdown on March 31, 2026, the studio is winding down. An open auction has been announced for the source code, IP, and related materials. Winner takes all by offering the highest bid. Anyone, including individuals, can submit an offer to Chris Kaleiki via email by June 24, 2026.
Steam deals
Steam Discounts for Today — Steam discounts for today include -90% theHunter: Call of the Wild, Black Desert, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt -80%, Hearts of Iron IV, Batman: Arkham Knight -70%, and Stellaris.
Epic — free & deals
Epic Games Discounts for Today — Epic Games discounts for today include -80% Sim City 3000 Unlimited, Poly Plaza 2, The Survivalists, Nobody Wants to Die, Poly Plaza ULTIMATE -75%, and MUSHROOMAN.
Spotlight
Sniper Elite V2 Remastered — Elite sniper Karl Fairburne is dropped into Berlin to prevent the Red Army from seizing Nazi V2 rockets. All DLC included, featuring the "Assassinate the Führer" mission. Photo Mode, frame-by-frame action, filters, and lighting. Remastered visuals, textures, lighting, and 4K support. 7 new playable characters from the Zombie Army series. Details
Watch Dogs mod: Ugly dead tree veins remover — This mod dummies the materials used by veins, making them completely invisible. A simple fix to clean up that visual clutter. Details
LEGO — LEGO officially announced a collab with... LINK. Details
Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon — Fight for the map, gold, and perfect shawarma. A side-scrolling RTS where every second is a tactical tug-of-war. Battle online, duel the AI, or lead Chief Redbeard through a 10-hour campaign. Mine gold to unlock 50 units, buildings, and spells, then crush your enemy's base. Three factions, Vikings, Persians, and Demons with unique units. Details
