Gaming News Digest — July 16, 2026
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Top news
- Battlefield 6 — Battlefield 6 is finally bringing back the franchise's most legendary map, featuring infantry, tanks, jets, and clusters of players in one meat grinder. Fans are eagerly guessing which fan-favorite map is returning.
- Gears of War: E-Day — Gears of War: E-Day launches with DLSS 4.5 and up to 6x frame generation on day one, thanks to a major tech partnership with NVIDIA. Built on Unreal Engine 5.8, the prequel promises steady 60 FPS with hardware RT on Xbox Series, while PC players can expect breakthrough visuals and performance.
- Path of Exile — Path of Exile overhauls the Relicarian, the Noblewoman's second Ascendancy, in the Forbidden Flame league. Devs confirmed its abilities will shift with each league, and version 3.29 will be the first proof of this concept, offering a full swap of available skills instead of simple balance tweaks.
- Apex Legends — Apex Legends just went full Night City with the Cyberpunk 2077 crossover now live. The new E-District map, cyberware mods, cyberpsychosis, and the iconic Skippy are all included. Legends can use Sandevistan for dashes and Blackwall Breach for EMP blasts, but overdoing mods triggers cyberpsychosis, making them super fast and deadly in melee but unable to use guns or abilities.
- The Sims 4 — The Sims 4 is finally getting auto-save and a major performance boost on July 21. The huge base game update includes auto-save and Memory Boost technology to improve performance, speed up loads, and reduce lag for big households. Auto-save works in the background after travel, on a timer, or during important events, and players can tweak it or just get reminders.
- Expeditions: Samurai — Expeditions: Samurai hits August 7th, but fans are upset because it's made by a different studio, not the original team. The Early Access release features feudal Japan, 8 unique companions with deep relationships and moral choices, but visuals have taken a hit and details are lacking.
- The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu — The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, a co-op cosmic horror by ACE Team, is finally out. Players can grab up to 4 friends and dive into cursed jungles where reality warps and sanity cracks. The first two weeks offer a free Temple of Yig mission and Swords of the Lost Explorers set, plus 20% off.
- Dead Space creator Glen Schofield — Dead Space creator Glen Schofield announced his retirement in a 4-minute farewell video on LinkedIn. He thanked his family, EA, and Activision, and wished luck to the next generation of devs, having started in '91 as an artist and later helmed three Call of Duty titles.
- Doom 4 — Leaked gameplay of the cancelled Doom 4 (aka Call of Doom) shows what could have been. id Software worked on this early version in the early 2010s, then decided to scrap everything and release the bloody masterpiece DOOM (2016). The footage looks atmospheric but is a survival shooter, not the demon-grinding DOOM fans love.
- The Outlast Trials — The Outlast Trials kicks off Season 7: Project Boneyard with a new prison and a massive mode overhaul. The update includes a new Prison Farm location, trial vs Coil, two MK-trials, a new enemy called The Biter, and the Blood Drive event, plus Escalation and Invasion v2.0 reworks.
- Nostalgia sells — League of Legends Classic will launch with 60 champions, bringing back the Season 3 vibe with modern polish. Riot announced that queue times dropped by 40%, toxicity is down, and WASD and controller support have been added.
- Italy — Forza Horizon 6 drops Italian sports cars in Season 3 Italian Exotics, now live on PC and Xbox. The season features the 80s icon De Tomaso Pantera and the new Lamborghini Temerario, with freebies included.
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 — Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 won't hit Game Pass after all, as Xbox quietly pulled it from the lineup with no explanation. Rumors point to music licensing or a lingering Sony deal, and the game lacks official Russian.
- Castlevania: Belmont's Curse — Castlevania: Belmont's Curse hits all platforms October 15, including Switch, with no delay. Players can play as Trevor and Rose in burning Paris, fight classic bosses like Death and Medusa, and choose from 7 weapon classes, with full Russian text.
- Tales of producer — Tales of producer Yusuke Tomizawa apologized for the long wait for a new entry and vowed not to let the series fall off. He admitted the dev bar has been raised and fans have been waiting too long, but for now the focus is on remasters via Tales Remastered.
- Gothic 1 Remake — Gothic 1 Remake and Meccha Chameleon topped Steam's best-sellers for June, according to Valve's revenue-based list. The biggest hit was 33 Immortals with 15 million copies sold in under a month.
- Hearts of Iron IV — Hearts of Iron IV devs are eyeing a full rework of airborne troops, as the current system is outdated and turns elite units into cannon fodder. Designer Jamor admitted para-drops are tedious to set up and barely noticeable on drop, but no concrete changes have been announced yet.
- Tides of Annihilation — Tides of Annihilation is getting a playable demo at gamescom 2026, from August 26-30. The stylish slasher features a post-apocalyptic London and badass Gwendolyn with Knights of the Round Table powers, with English voice acting by Jennifer English.
- Rainbow Six Siege — Rainbow Six Siege is officially adding mouse and keyboard support on consoles, but only for crossplay matches against PC players.
- Farming Simulator 25 — Farming Simulator 25 is shipping farmers to Brazil with the Beans & Alpacas DLC dropping October 27. Players can grow coffee, raise alpacas, shear wool, and tend Brahman cattle, plus 25+ machines from major brands.
- The First Descendant — The First Descendant just got a major Colossi rework, with Extreme difficulty replacing Hard and a new Critical Point Breakthrough system. A test run runs from July 15 to August 19, with full integration in Season 4.
- The Blood of Dawnwalker — The Blood of Dawnwalker has gone gold and will launch on September 3, 2026. The Polish RPG from ex-CD Projekt RED devs has already reached 2 million wishlists, and players must save their family while torn between human and vampire.
- GTA 5 — GTA 5 may actually be to blame for GTA 6 skipping PC at launch, as the entire industry freezes when Rockstar preps a release. History repeats with GTA 5 and RDR 2, and now on an even more absurd scale with GTA 6.
- The Duskbloods — The Duskbloods August Network Test on Nintendo Switch 2 will stress-test servers ahead of the 2026 release. Sign-ups are open now, offering a huge opportunity to play early.
- G-Coin — PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS drops a summer marathon with tickets, bingo, and free G-Coin. The main event Hot Drop Rush runs July 15-29 on PC and July 23 to August 6 on console, with prizes including up to 1000 G-Coin.
- 100 % of Japanese online game devs — 100% of Japanese online game devs now use AI, per JOGA's 2026 market survey. The top tool is Gemini by Google at 94%, followed by Claude and GitHub Copilot, mostly for analyzing player preferences and predicting behavior.
- Xbox layoff hell — Xbox layoff hell: insiders reveal employees were given 10 minutes' notice, had emails and chats cut, and id Software lost 90% of designers. Former staff told Game Developer the restructuring was chaotic, with 1,600 firings.
- Forza Horizon 6 — Forza Horizon 6 is wiping leaderboards clean, nuking cheater scores and exploit records. Rivals mode got the first reset after the June 15 patch, and speed zones, drift zones, and radar boards are next.
- Resident Evil — Capcom is reportedly remaking the very first Resident Evil, going back to its roots. Insider Dusk Golem claims pre-production started around August-September 2025, but Capcom hasn't confirmed anything yet.
- Shadow of the Road — Shadow of the Road drops a new cinematic trailer showing two ronin embarking on a journey across 19th-century Japan. The teaser promises steampunk, yokai, and gorgeous mountain-and-forest visuals.
- MENACE — MENACE just got a hefty tactical patch with new armor, weapons, and a complete OCI overhaul. The update revamps core systems including the OCI interface, authority mechanics, and equipment.
- GTA VI — Ex-Rockstar producer John Ricchio explained why GTA VI is launching console-first, citing pure resource management. He revealed a working PC build existed during console development, so a port is coming later.
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader — Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader just got a patch that fixes story inconsistencies, epilogues, and bugs. It addresses major ability issues for the Death Dancer and Assassin, and reinforcement enemies no longer get random immunity.
- PlayStation Plus — The PlayStation Plus July lineup includes 7 games dropping on July 21, such as Rise of the Ronin, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Dying Light. Premium subscribers also get two classics, but 12 games leave the service the same day.
- Dispatch — Dispatch from Telltale vets finally hits Xbox on July 29. This superhero office comedy with 97% Steam rating is already on PC and PS5, now landing on Xbox Series.
- Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor — Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor is coming to Steam and GOG in Q4 2026. The classic turn-based RPG from 2001 is getting a re-release handled by SNEG.
- SAND — SAND is cracking down on cheaters with new anti-cheat measures arriving this week. The latest patch tackles hit registration, parkour, shooting, item duplication, and the Storm Dive finale.
- Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced — Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced drops the 30 FPS cap in cutscenes on July 16. The patch also brings bug fixes and mystery improvements.
- Beast of Reincarnation — Beast of Reincarnation by the creators of Pokémon has a strong Blade Runner connection. Game Freak has been making quality games since the early 90s and shows no signs of stopping.
- Lord of the Rings — One of the best Lord of the Rings game bundles is now 91% off on GOG, offering insane value. A massive collection of Middle-earth games just got a ridiculous price cut.
Epic — free & deals
- Overcooked — Epic Games offers Overcooked at 90% off today. Also on discount: Play with Me - Escape Room, 001 Game Creator, The Artful Escape, and Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition.
Spotlight
- Endless Horde — Survive the endless horde of zombies out to eat your scientists' brains in this final stand. Deploy guards, seal doors, and set traps as each wave is different with random enemy spawns. Details
- Rest Area Simulator mod — Skip the entire grind with a pre-edited save file that gives 10M Money, Max Level, and XP in Rest Area Simulator. No need for sketchy memory injectors or Cheat Engine. Details
- Stardew Valley — Stardew Valley soft Junimo plush in blue, green, and yellow is available from just $4.72. Details
- XpCade — Retro arcade world with programming elements, starting in a first-person Doom-like perspective. Approach arcade machines to play mini-games or step outside to explore, with an old terminal that can reprogram the arcades. Details
- Holopoint — Pure archery arcade madness where you battle through waves of responsive targets, samurai, and deadly ninjas. Progress depends on real skill, not unlocks, with two modes: Original and Time Trial. Details
