Built by beat ’em up aficionados DOTEMU, it looks pretty tight. Following the success of the first game, Mundfish is back with Atomic Heart II, with a cancertoto greater emphasis on RPG mechanics according to Geoff Keighley. Section 9 which formed from the developers of Little Nightmares has debuted their new game, dubbed End of Abyss, which looks fantastic. I exclusively revealed Project Kennan a few weeks ago here on Windows Central, but it has yet to be formally revealed. Microsoft and our sources suggested to us that the Black Myth Wukong delay was the result of some form of exclusivity deal with PlayStation and Sony.
Windows Central reports that Perfect Dark developer The Initiative will close as part of the reductions sweeping the company, and its revival of the 2000 first-person shooter game has been canceled. “We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” Microsoft spokesperson Jeff Jones told WIRED. The company says that although gaming is impacted, it does not make up the majority of layoffs, and these cuts will affect people in different regions, tenure, and teams. Following rumors of reductions that first began last week, Microsoft is set to lay off more than 9,000 employees worldwide Wednesday, including some in the Microsoft Gaming/Xbox division.
We bring you up-to-date coverage on game releases, industry developments, and everything happening in the gaming world. Whether you’re a casual gamer or a hardcore enthusiast, our news section keeps you informed with breaking stories, insightful analysis, and expert commentary. Don’t miss out on what’s trending—get all the essential updates right here. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days. An IGN report says Microsoft has begun a new round of mass layoffs across its gaming division, beginning with a 10% reduction—approximately 200 people—at social game developer King. Layoffs are also being announced at other European studios, according to the report, while US-based studios will be informed about job losses later today.
Helldivers 2 is finally coming to Xbox, but fans shouldn’t get their hopes up that this means more PlayStation exclusives are on their way. Wordle is a simple daily word game that has taken the internet by storm. With only 6 chances to get the right answer, players may need a little help. Everwild would have been Rare’s first brand-new release since Sea of Thieves, which launched in 2018.
Hideaki Itsuno, Director Of Dragon’s Dogma And Devil May Cry, Has Joined A Tencent Subsidiary To Develop Aaa Action Games
Interestingly, it’s a year to the day that the game launched on PlayStation. Increasingly, it looks as though Microsoft is shifting its PC gaming branding around that moniker. We’ve asked Microsoft to comment, but don’t be surprised if you see a lot of this new branding in the coming days across SGF and the Xbox Showcase. Silkson’g app packages on Steam recently got a flurry of updates, with one grabbing its first update in over a year. On Sunday is the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, which will give us a glimpse at another variety of interesting upcoming titles for Xbox and PC.
Does Microsoft and the Windows 11 team have some sneaky tricks up its sleeve here? Either way, it’s great that one of last year’s most celebrated RPGs is finally coming across to team green. Maybe there will also finally be some other long-delayed PlayStation exclusives announced for Xbox at this week’s showcase.
Microsoft’s massive layoffs have hit the Romero Games studio founded by the legendary developer. Allegedly, all members of the team responsible for Empire of Sin have lost their jobs. The game doesn’t offer an offline mode, so it will stop working, which is ironic in light of the success of Stop Killing Games’ campaign. Rare‘s November 2019-announced original intellectual property Everwild has been canceled amid mass layoffs at Microsoft Gaming, according to reports by VGC and Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. “We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the spokesperson said. Is it a good sign when you have to basically threaten your own employees to get them to use the products you’re basing the future of your company on?
According to The Seattle Times, 9,000 employees, or 4 percent of Microsoft’s workforce, are affected by the cuts, which started Wednesday morning. The full scope of layoffs within Microsoft’s gaming divisions are still unknown. Microsoft announced its intention to fire 3% of its staff, amounting to just under 7,000 people, in May; looming cuts to the company’s game business were first reported last week. The company previously eliminated 10,000 jobs in 2023—just one year after it announced its intention to acquire Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion—and over 2,500 more in 2024. HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review.
It’ll be playable until then, though you can no longer purchase in-game premium currency, and it’ll disappear from EA Play on August 15th. EA says there have been no layoffs as a result, though jobs were lost at BioWare in January. Some figures in the industry aren’t buying the line that Game Pass is a good deal for developers. As the gaming industry reels from the effects of the Xbox layoffs, the founder of Arkane Studios chimes in with a certain take on the Xbox Game Pass.
The revenge flick is being developed by a single developer, and is coming to Steam next year. The legends at Capcom have shown a new trailer for the Onimusha reboot, dubbed Way of the Sword. It looks absolutely fantastic, with tight hack n’ slash combat, and a 2026 launch window for Xbox and PC.
Ps5 News
The boundaries between console and virtual reality gaming have just been spectacularly… Season 3 of The Last of Us is confirmed, but not everyone’s staying on board. Love and Deepspace’s new event boasts a companionship system overhaul. Anthem will be removed from the EA Play library on 15 August, 2025, ahead of its full server shutdown in January 2026, EA has confirmed. The revamped ESL Pro Tour aims to provide structured competition for Dota 2’s Tier 2 scene. PlayStation has opened up a thrilling opportunity for the convenience seekers of gamer land by announcing Apple Pay as a payment method in the PlayStation Store.
The first global tests of Where Winds Meet will soon take place, the last before the release of this promising action RPG in Chinese climates. Amid major layoffs at Microsoft, reports have emerged of a troubling situation at the studio responsible for the Halo series. Final Fantasy’s biggest flop almost killed the entire series, but it only made it stronger – it’s learned a lot from this very expensive misstep. It’s going great in the company’s Xbox division too, according to a memo sent to employees by Phil Spencer. A Microsoft representative confirmed with PC Gamer that the reported memo is accurate. Microsoft is reportedly laying off around 9,000 people in total, and a lot of them are coming from the Xbox business.
Video Games Europe voices opposition to Stop Killing Games movement as it clears threshold to become an EU Citizens’ Initiative. News Latest update also adds a party system and “improved erosion”. PlayStation fans are worried Helldivers 2’s Xbox port is going to “devalue” the platform’s brand.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset is currently on sale, but I hope it’ll drop to a new record-low this Prime Day. We’ll be back on Sunday to live blog the Xbox Showcase, but until then, have a great weekend. Marvel Cosmic Invasion continues Disney’s licensing blitz of the Marvel franchise.