Key Takeaways Nobody expected a 24-year-old PlayStation 2 MMO to be turning away new players in 2026. Yet that is exactly where Final Fantasy XI finds itself, and Square Enix director and producer Yoji Fujito is now openly discussing the possibility of adding entirely new areas to Vana’diel for the first time in years. In a Famitsu interview translated by Automaton to mark the game’s 24th anniversary, Fujito was measured but genuinely optimistic about what comes next, and the conversation landed at a time when MMO conversation has rarely felt more relevant. The Player Surge Nobody Saw Coming Over the…
Author: Fawad Malik
Key Takeaways After nearly a decade of weekly resets and seasonal storylines, Destiny 2 is approaching its endgame. Bungie confirmed that Destiny 2 will receive its final live-service update, Monument of Triumph, on June 9, 2026, before active development ends. The game will remain playable indefinitely, much like the original Destiny after its sunset. Meanwhile, Bungie faces growing uncertainty following Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition in 2022, as Sony’s gaming division continues aggressive subscription price hikes and hardware increases this year. Significant Layoffs, No New Game Lined Up According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, citing sources familiar with Bungie’s plans, the studio…
Tired of eye strain from the bright white screen on Windows 11? I’ve been there too. I have been using Windows 11 for the past 3 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that small customization changes can completely improve the experience. At first, I ignored Dark Mode because the default light theme felt normal. However, after long work sessions and watching gaming videos on YouTube channels, the bright interface started feeling uncomfortable, especially at night. Once I activated Dark Mode, the desktop instantly felt cleaner, more modern, and easier on the eyes. Now, let’s explore how to enable Dark…
Key Takeaways Seven years after Yoshi’s Crafted World, Nintendo’s green dinosaur returns in Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, launching today on Nintendo Switch 2. Developed by Good-Feel and powered by Unreal Engine 5, the game follows Yoshi entering the pages of Mr. E, Mister Encyclopedia, after Bowser Jr. and Kamek knock the talking book onto Yoshi’s Island. With Mr. E unable to remember the creatures inside his pages, Yoshi investigates a world centered more on curiosity than combat. Discovery Over Difficulty Each chapter of Mr. E’s book in Yoshi and the Mysterious Book acts as a unique habitat where Yoshi…
Key Takeaways May is shaping up to be one of the more turbulent months in recent PlayStation Plus history. Just a day after Sony confirmed its subscription price increase for new members, the service’s “Last Chance to Play” section updated on PS5 consoles to reveal five titles exiting the Game Catalog in June 2026. The removals land on June 16, the same date new additions are scheduled to roll in, giving subscribers less than four weeks to work through the departing lineup before it’s gone for good. The Five Games Leaving PS Plus in June According to Comicbook, the full…
Key Takeaways Sony is increasing PlayStation Plus prices again from May 20, 2026. PS Plus Essential rises from $9.99 to $10.99 per month, while the 3-month plan increases from $24.99 to $27.99. This marks the first adjustment since the 2023 annual pricing update. Sony attributes the change to “ongoing market conditions,” a phrase increasingly used across the gaming industry as costs rise. Nintendo’s recent hardware pricing decision rattled its stock and frustrated its fanbase, Sony is now delivering a quieter but equally pointed version of the same message. Who Pays More and When The increase takes effect Wednesday, May 20,…
Key Takeaways At this point, Strauss Zelnick isn’t hedging. Speaking on the Founders podcast hosted by David Senra, the Take-Two Interactive CEO reaffirmed that Grand Theft Auto VI will launch on November 19, 2026, cutting through months of speculation with characteristic directness: “November 19th. I do know.” It is the clearest and most recent confirmation yet from the top of the company, and it arrives at a moment when the GTA VI conversation is reaching a fever pitch around pre-orders. The Date That Won’t Move GTA VI has already absorbed two delays: originally targeting a 2025 release window before being…
Key Takeaways After months of anticipation and no shortage of pre-launch noise, Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 6 is finally beginning to land in players’ hands. Early Access rolled out today, May 15, putting one of Xbox’s most anticipated releases of 2026 in front of its first wave of players. The destination this time is Japan, and by all accounts, it’s the most ambitious open-world environment the Horizon series has ever built. Who Gets In and When Forza Horizon 6 Early Access officially launched today for players who purchased the Premium Edition or Premium Upgrade, giving racers four days of early…
Key Takeaways If you fired up Fortnite early this Thursday morning and hit nothing but a loading screen, you weren’t alone. Epic Games took Fortnite servers offline on May 14, 2026, beginning at 4:00 AM ET, with matchmaking disabled 30 minutes before the full shutdown to ease the transition. The culprit: the v40.40 update, one of the season’s bigger mid-cycle patches and the one players have been watching closely for weeks. What the Maintenance Window Covers Fortnite’s v40.40 update introduces Act 3, titled “Answer the Call,” beginning the narrative build-up to Chapter 7 Season 2’s live event, while the main…
Key Takeaways Housemarque’s Saros arrived on April 30 as one of the most critically acclaimed PS5 exclusives of the year, pulling near-perfect reviews and generating genuine buzz in enthusiast circles. Two weeks in, though, a different story is emerging on the commercial side, and it’s one Sony probably wasn’t hoping for heading into summer. Strong Reviews, Slow Sales According to estimates from Alinea Analytics analyst Rhys Elliott, Saros sold roughly 300,000 copies in its first two weeks, a figure that trails the early performance of Returnal, a very similar game released much earlier in the PS5’s lifecycle. Revenue reached about…
