Xbox could be preparing for another round of layoffs, with a new report claiming hundreds of employees could lose their jobs and several studios may be consolidated. Microsoft continues to restructure its gaming business and review how its studios operate. Consolidating studios could mean combining teams or reorganizing development operations, although the specific plans remain unclear. Asha keeps cleaning Xbox

Pearl Abyss decided to use its own BlackSpace Engine for Crimson Desert instead of Unreal Engine 5. The studio says having its own engine gives devs more control over the tech and allows them to add or change features without waiting for another company. BlackSpace was built to support the game’s large open world, graphics, and different platforms, Pearl Abyss also plans to use the engine for future projects, including FPS and TPS games. Pearl Abyss says relying on Unreal Engine 5 could have meant waiting for Epic Games to add specific features. With BlackSpace, the studio can make changes directly and work according to its own development schedule.

CD Projekt Red is bringing Xbox Play Anywhere support to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on September 29. So, if you already own the Xbox version, you’ll be able to play the PC version through the Microsoft Store without buying the game again. The update will let you switch between Xbox and PC, with support for compatible handheld devices too. “Customers who own The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Xbox will be able to receive the PC version through the Microsoft Store at no additional cost.” No need to pay twice just to play it on another platform

Microsoft may be asking Xbox fans what they want from the next-generation console, including physical disc support. A reported Project Helix survey asks about desired features: - Physical discs: how important disc support is - Gameplay lighting: console lighting that reacts to games - Automatic clips: automatically recording gameplay highlights

Security researchers are warning iPhone users about a potential Safari zero-day exploit that could put sensitive data at risk. The reported attack could allow hackers to target cryptocurrency private keys, recovery phrases, and information stored in Apple’s Keychain. If you use an iPhone, check for the latest iOS update and install it as soon as possible, The warning reportedly covers iOS versions ranging from 13 to 26.5

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is expected to be a huge game, and director Naoki Hamaguchi says players may need multiple playthroughs to experience everything. Hamaguchi explained that one playthrough will offer roughly the same amount of gameplay as Rebirth, but players won't be able to see or do everything in one run. >More reasons to replay: Some quests, rewards, and experiences will require additional playthroughs. > Large-scale finale: Revelation is the final chapter of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. >More content than Rebirth: The total amount of content could be greater when multiple playthroughs are taken into account. "There's a lot you can't see or do in one go."

Indie developer Rado Klasa is accusing Golden Horn Studios of using AI to copy his game, 1,000,000 Potatoes, with its upcoming title Potato Please. Both games feature physics-based potato peeling in a Soviet-style military setting. Klasa says: “It hurts to see a rushed clone beat me to market, but I refuse to let a cheap copy win.” Golden Horn denies the accusations, claiming the game was developed independently: “Similar concepts are not evidence of copying.”

Stellar Blade boss Hyung-tae Kim says he would love to work with PlatinumGames again, and he even offered to help design characters for Bayonetta 4. “I hope the series continues until at least Bayonetta 10.” Kim also joked that he would be happy to spend his days at PlatinumGames helping design characters for the next Bayonetta game. The conversation later turned into a more serious discussion about collaborating again in the future, with Inaba also expressing interest in working together. For now, the two studios are collaborating on four Bayonetta-themed skins for Stellar Blade, launching on November 5 alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 version. The skins will be free on all platforms, including an original design led by Kim himself.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is getting its first major patch in early October, with combat improvements, a new difficulty option, and performance fixes. - New Story difficulty: An easier mode for players who want to focus on the story without much combat challenge. The current Story mode will be renamed. - Combat changes: Improvements to targeting and camera behavior, including how targets switch when using stun abilities. - Easier escapes: Running away from fights will feel smoother, with fewer problems getting stuck on the environment. - Animal behavior: Enemies such as wolves won’t automatically catch players moving past them in wolf form or witch-sprint mode. - Performance improvements: Fixes for PC performance issues and controller support based on player feedback. New Game Plus is being explored. New enemy types are being considered, but neither feature has been confirmed. The patch is scheduled for early October, and Rebel Wolves says more improvements are coming.

Bungie’s new leadership is trying to rebuild trust with players after recent layoffs and Marathon’s problems Studio head Poria Torkan and head of product Josh Deane admitted Bungie needs to make clearer decisions, deliver on its promises and communicate more honestly. “We have to focus on the things you want to see from us.” The leaders also asked players to “keep us accountable” as they work on the studio’s future. Bungie’s plans include bringing back content removed from Destiny 2, improving Marathon and being more transparent about development. The studio says it wants to “build a stronger long-term future for Destiny, while honoring and restoring its past.” And once again, the chuds win. I’m not sure what the future holds for Marathon.

Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max 1TB may have a storage problem unexpected in a more expensive phone. >HOMOLAB tests show the 1TB model uses QLC storage, while the cheaper 256GB version uses TLC. >The 1TB model can hit over 3,000 MB/s at first, but speeds drop hard once the cache fills. It averaged 79.4 MB/s in one test and fell to 1.1 MB/s. >A 512GB iPhone 18 Pro with TLC storage beat the 1TB model in every mixed read/write test, by up to 38%. You pay more for extra storage but you get slower performance when moving large files.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will let players automatically level up their characters if they want to skip grinding and focus on the main story. Director Naoki Hamaguchi said the feature was added after feedback from players who enjoyed Rebirth’s main story but weren’t interested in completing all the side content. Skipping those activities could leave characters underleveled and make story battles harder. In Revelation, the game will ask players at certain points: “Do you want to automatically raise the level to the recommended level?” If they choose yes, their characters will be brought up to the recommended level, allowing them to continue the story without spending extra time farming XP. Hamaguchi also explained how the game handles its large amount of content: “We wanted players to be excited that there’s so much to do in this game.” “Rather than being overwhelmed by choice, players can decide what they do and what they don’t want to do.”

Troy Baker, the voice of Joel in The Last of Us and the Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins, once got fired from the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime because he couldn’t perform a 30-second evil laugh. In a recent interview with Party Chat, Baker explained that he auditioned to play Greed in the 2003 anime. His first line was a long, increasingly crazy laugh, and it went terribly. “We tried for about 15 to 20 minutes on that one ’cause every time I laughed, it was awful. It was kind of like when you let air out of a balloon… it was not good.” The director eventually asked him to leave the booth, and Baker was replaced by Chris Patton. Years later, Baker auditioned to play the Joker, a character famous for his laugh. He also got another chance to play Greed in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Shift Up went all in on making Eve’s outfits look realistic in Stellar Blade. The team used 7–8 models to scan costumes, choosing different body types depending on the outfit. For swimsuits, they wanted to capture how the fabric presses into the skin. For stylish outfits, they worked with slim fashion models. When asked what he focused on most with Eve, Kim Hyung-tae answered: “Body.” He explained they adjusted Eve’s body for each costume while keeping her overall appearance close to the original design. They weren’t just changing her clothes, they paid attention to how each outfit actually fits her body.

AMD has shown off a new ray tracing technique that can reduce memory usage from 80 GB to just 1.7 GB in a foliage test on the RX 9070 XT. It also cut the time needed to update ray tracing data from over 300 ms to around 3.3 ms, while handling up to 500 million animated triangles. If this technology works well in games, it could help developers create more detailed worlds, better vegetation, and more complex animations without using as much GPU memory. It’s still a research demonstration, so we don’t know yet how much of a difference it will make in actual games.

Bungie has shared an update on the future of Destiny and Marathon and knows it has much work to do to win players back. The plan includes returning vaulted Destiny 2 content such as old campaigns, destinations, and raids. This will not happen overnight, as the content needs technical updates first. Destiny remains a major part of its plans, with the October Nightfall Refresh and December Symbiosis update incoming. Bungie wants to expand Marathon beyond its original extraction-shooter formula with more modes, including PvE, PvP, and PvPvE. The studio understands player frustration and must prove change through the games themselves. “We are not done with Destiny.”

New look at Callina Liang as Chun-Li behind scenes in the upcoming Street Fighter movie. Look at those legs! She added 6.5 cm to each thigh to better match the iconic fighter, training around two hours a day in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Wushu, along with extra leg workouts. During her bulking phase, she ate 12 eggs a day and had meals every two hours to support her muscle growth.

Sony appears to be testing a new PlayStation rewards program that gives players wallet credit when they buy certain games. Players have spotted limited-time “Wallet Credit” offers on the PS5 PlayStation Store, including games like The Blood of Dawnwalker, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy and Star Wars Zero Company. One player claimed they received $10 in wallet credit after purchasing The Blood of Dawnwalker, but Sony hasn’t officially announced the program yet. The offers may be connected to a mysterious “Wallet Credits” app that appeared on the PlayStation Store earlier this year.

Jacksepticeye knows Bloodborne fans aren’t convinced about his involvement in the upcoming animated movie and isn’t pretending otherwise. The YouTuber admitted that “80% of the responses were critical” after his producer role was announced. “I would be the same if someone took my beloved IP, which is my favorite, and then some YouTuber is attached to it. It makes you scratch your head a little bit,” McLoughlin understands the skepticism, especially since the movie has no confirmed director, writer or animation studio, he insists he is taking the responsibility seriously. “I wouldn’t have let it go in a direction that I don’t think is worthy of the Bloodborne IP.” He doesnt want to recreate the game or compete with it: “I’m trying to honor the universe that’s there and tell as good a story as I can within it.” His role goes beyond producing. He is involved in hiring decisions, evaluating collaborators and ensuring they understand what makes Bloodborne special. “I’m sort of the vibe-checker.”

Sony has patented a way to pay for PlayStation digital content by using the controller to connect a phone to the console. The idea is to make “buying” games, DLC, and in-game items easier, a phone could send payment information through the controller so users would not have to enter it on the console. The patent mentions credit cards, bank accounts, gift cards, and digital wallets. The controller could use vibrations, sounds, or lights to signal when devices connect. The system could use NFC and Bluetooth between the phone, controller, and console.