Timeline
TodayTue, 18th Aug 2026
Review Mortal Shell 2 (PS5) - An Ingeniously Playful Take on the Dark Souls Formula
A soulslike with shotguns
Mortal Shell 2 is an expanded soulslike sequel that packs a lot into a focused experience. It took me just 30 hours to roll credits, but across that time I explored multiple biomes, fought dozens of bosses, and delved into an abundance of dungeons. From the outset, I think there's so much about Mortal Shell 2 that feels...
Feature 50+ PS5, PS4 Games to Buy in PS Store's Ready, Set, Play Sale (North America/Europe)
Recommended games going cheap
PS Store's latest sale has begun, and this time it's called Ready, Set, Play. The offer runs from now through to 26th August, 2026, and as always, it includes thousands of PS5 and PS4 games with reduced prices. Browsing through all of that can take a while, so we've put together a list of games we recommend you check...
News 4 New PS Plus Extra, Premium Games Available to Download Now
Full lineup outside of UK, USA, and Japan
A wave of new PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium titles is now live for subscribers, as detailed in last week's monthly update. The full lineup for August 2026 is available for most members now, but those in the UK, USA, and Japan only get access to four of the 10 today. Sony is continuing to split the...
News Rumoured Phantom Blade Zero PS5 Demo Nowhere to Be Seen After State of Play Deep Dive
Zero'd
The dedicated Phantom Blade Zero State of Play broadcast has come and gone, and there was no mention whatsoever of a playable demo hitting PS5. This is despite reports of the demo popping up on the PS Store last week. Many assumed that an official demo reveal and release was all but guaranteed for this showcase. Okay, so there's no demo...
Live Watch the Phantom Blade Zero PS5 State of Play Right Here
Fun time blades hero
It's time for a fresh look at the very promising action game Phantom Blade Zero in Sony's latest State of Play. Taking a deep dive into the gameplay of this stylish wuxia action title, we're in for about 20 minutes of brand new footage, and there could be some other news (like a demo?) thrown in for good measure. The State of...
YesterdayMon, 17th Aug 2026
Guide What Time Is the Phantom Blade Zero State of Play?
Dates, times, and what to expect
Sony's latest State of Play is very nearly here, and this time, it's focusing wholly on a single game: Phantom Blade Zero. The Chinese action game has looked extremely promising for a long time now, and as it approaches its October launch date, developer S-GAME has prepared a new showing of its stylish action title...
News Sony's New 'It Happens on PS5' Ad Has Gone Down Exactly as You'd Expect
"Discs used to happen on PS5"
It's now been well over a month since Sony's shock announcement, in which it confirmed that it would no longer be manufacturing discs for PlayStation platforms starting from January 2028. The immediate backlash was strong to say the least, and although the outrage has certainly started to dissipate across the last few...
Review The Sinking City 2 (PS5) - An Admirable Resident Evil-Lite Experience
Bring Her Back
For over a decade now, the Ukrainian developer Frogwares has been expanding and improving its Mind Palace mechanic. A feature that connects clues and forms conclusions, it’s spearheaded all the recent Sherlock Holmes games and The Sinking City — a solid set of investigative titles. It’s probably what the studio is best known...
Codename Magellan
It's a bit scary to think about, but there must be dozens of dream game projects that get shut down each year that we'll simply never know about. In a rare example of an unannounced, cancelled game becoming public knowledge, it's emerged that Echtra Games, closed in 2025, was working on a big Star Wars action RPG, alongside the...
News Sony Still Hasn't Decided When to Launch PS6, Says CEO
When will PS6 come out?
Many PlayStation players will tell you that the PS5 generation feels like it's barely gotten started, but we're nearly six years in; traditionally, the next console should be on the horizon. Apparently, though, it might not be as close as you'd expect. According to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled), Sony's CEO, Hiroki...
Guide When Is Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026?
Dates, times, and what to expect
When is Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026? It's that time once again, when Geoff Keighley awakens for his second annual show of the year: Gamescom Opening Night Live, getting the massive German expo started with a bang. What are all the details, then? When exactly can you tune in to watch the show, and what's gonna...
News No Sony Characters in Fortnite's Big Gaming Celebration Season
Arriving on 20th August
Fortnite’s big gaming celebration season arrives this week, on 20th August – but there’ll be no Sony characters involved. While the platform holder has shared Kratos and Aloy with the title in the past, neither feature at all in this trailer for Override. It’s possible they could return to the Item Shop at some...
News Until Dawn's Hayden Panettiere Tragically Passes Away Aged Just 36
"She was an incredible light"
Hayden Panettiere, best known for shows like Heroes and Nashville, has tragically passed away aged just 36-years-old. The US actress will be remembered among PlayStation fans for her role in PS4 horror game Until Dawn, alongside other high-profile stars like Rami Malek. She also played Kingdom Hearts’ Kairi in the...
News Sony's Purge on PS5 Shovelware May Now Have Hit a Legit Indie Dev
Stonks-9800 stomped
Sony has been ridding the PS Store of shovelware, erasing entire publisher catalogues from its virtual plaza. While I think this news has been broadly well received, I’ve always cautioned that legit devs may one day get caught up in the crossfire. And it looks like that’s happened to Ukrainian outfit Ternox, who’s
Guide These 25+ PS5 and PS Plus Games Are Coming to PS5 This Week (17th-23rd August)
The Sinking City 2! Starsand Island! Mortal Shell 2! Much more!
I'm afraid to say we're now deep into the heavy release season, folks. That means there are loads of new PS5 games coming out this time, including The Sinking City 2, Mortal Shell 2, Starsand Island, and one I'm personally looking forward to: No Case Should Remain Unsolved. Your new...
Sunday16th Aug 2026
News You'd Have to Be Heartless to Hate on This Extended Kingdom Hearts 4 Trailer
Nomura says 2027 release is "100% certain"
Following its confirmation for a late 2027 release yesterday, Square Enix has now deployed a full-length Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer. While the footage primarily focuses on the new Coco-inspired world, we also get a glimpse of the real-world Shibuya location that’s made up a chunk of the title’s marketing...
Saturday15th Aug 2026
News After Several PS Store Knock-Offs, the Real TCG Card Shop Simulator Hits PS5 Next Month
Hit PC game coming soon
It's a pattern we've seen a few times now: A game arrives on PC, makes a splash, and the PS Store is flooded with cheap copycat clones trying to cash in on the hype. This is eventually followed by an official console port, and all becomes right with the world. Well, that's exactly the scenario we find ourselves in with TCG...
Poll Are You Hyped for These 10 New PS Plus Games?
Plus or minus?
Split between PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium, 10 new games are being added to Sony's subscription service next week — but are you happy with what's being offered? I think August's lineup is fairly strong, and there's a good amount of variety on display. Indeed, there's a gigantic difference between Extra headliners Helldivers 2...
News 'It's a Relentless Onslaught': Wolverine PS5 Dev Responds to Unprecedented Criticism
"I cannot believe this is good for anyone's mental health"
I’m not exactly sure how and why it’s happened, but Marvel’s Wolverine has become the butt of all social media jokes. Its crime? I’m honestly not entirely sure – it looks pretty good and the first round of previews have largely matched that sentiment. But social media is awash...
News A Kingdom Hearts Animated Series Is 'Coming Soon' to Disney Channel, Disney Plus
Gawrsh
Disney has announced an animated TV series based on Kingdom Hearts. The news comes via the company's D23 expo, which is currently underway in California. "An original Kingdom Hearts anime series inspired by the beloved video game franchise is coming soon to Disney Channel and Disney Plus," reads the announcement. A report on Variety...
News Matt Groening Himself Says The Simpsons: Hit & Run Is 'Coming Back in Some Form'
And who are we to question him
There has been an awful lot of rumour and speculation about the potential return of The Simpsons: Hit & Run, a firm fan favourite game from 2003. Well, it seems like we might have finally gotten some sort of confirmation, and it comes straight from the creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening. In a D23 panel, which...
News Pixar's Coco Confirmed for Kingdom Hearts 4, Launching on PS5 in Late 2027
Brand new trailer revealed
Expectant Kingdom Hearts 4 fans have been rewarded at this year's D23 expo, as Disney and Square Enix have released a new trailer for the highly anticipated action RPG. The trailer, which you can watch below, confirms a couple of things. Firstly, Sora will be travelling to the world of Pixar's Coco, and you can see him...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 646
Weekend warriors
Another week is all done and dusted, which means we can look forward to another weekend of gaming. Here's what we're playing. Jamie O'Neill: I noticed on Time Extension that there's a sale of Arcade Archives' Namco titles, so since I've mainly spent time with the PC Engine port, I figured I'd treat myself to 30% off Namco's...
Friday14th Aug 2026
News Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's PS5 Beta Includes Campaign Mission for the First Time
Try out Entrenched level in PS5 beta
Activision has revealed its upcoming PS5 beta for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will include a single player campaign mission to try for the first time in series history. Alongside a selection of multiplayer modes and maps, and the new Warzone Resurgence map (called Zodiac), the beta will let you sample...
News Mafia Remake Joins The Old Country on PS5 in Full Series Collection with 60FPS, Visual Upgrades
Update: No free PS5 upgrade for PS Plus owners
A new bundle containing every Mafia game to date will launch tomorrow to coincide with the release of Mafia: The Old Country expansion Man of Honor. The Omertà Collection bundles together all three Definitive Editions of the original Mafia trilogy, The Old Country, and the Man of Honor DLC. Most...
News Halo: Campaign Evolved PS5 Update Lands Next Week with Tech Fixes
A better Sgt. Johnson and updates to Jackals
Halo Studios has announced a new PS5 update for Halo: Campaign Evolved will go live next week that includes a raft of fixes and technical improvements. There'll be more to the patch, but the developer has shared some of the biggest things it's fixing with the update: Improvements to Sgt. Johnson to...
News You'll Have to Wait Until 2028 to Play PS5's Shiniest, Jankiest Sci-Fi Adventure
New Neo Berlin 2087 trailer just dropped
You may remember Neo Berlin 2087, a game that's been mystifying PS5 fans since its announcement back in 2023. Well, this cyberpunk detective thriller has just released a new trailer ahead of Gamescom, and unfortunately, there's still quite a wait before we get to experience it; the game's slated for launch...
News Sonic Frontiers Surpasses 5 Million Copies Sold as Fans Await What Comes Next
Hedgehog fund
SEGA has announced that Sonic Frontiers has now officially sold over 5 million copies. The news came via social media yesterday: To celebrate the sales milestone, the publisher has unlocked the Sonic Adventure 2 shoes for all players, so you can run around the Starfall Islands proper noughties style. The game reached 2.5 million...
News System Shock, High on Life, More Are Breathing New Life into PSVR2
Several PSVR2 games announced
PSVR2 is a fantastic bit of kit, and while there have been some great games that take advantage of the tech over the years, the release schedule has definitely felt a little lighter recently. It'll come as very welcome news to virtual reality fans, then, that the headset has just had multiple new games announced and/or...
News Netflix Shuts Down Oxenfree Dev Night School Studio as It Downscales In-House Game Teams
Moonloot Games also closed
Netflix has shuttered two development studios as it shrinks its internal video game operations. One of them is Night School Studio, best known for its Oxenfree series of narrative adventures with an innovative conversation system. Acquired by the company in 2021, its most recent release was a game named Unhinged, which...
News On the Cusp of Kingdom Hearts 4 Blowout, Disney Says Series Is a Billion-Dollar Brand
About to get even bigger
It’s pretty much expected that Kingdom Hearts 4 will feature heavily at this weekend’s bi-annual D23 convention. Disney will host a livestream of its scheduled Kingdom Hearts panel, which will take place on 15th August from 4:30PM PT. And now in anticipation of the event, the company’s described the Square Enix...
News 'The Game Feels Super Smooth': Wolverine Will Run at 60fps with Ray Tracing on Base PS5
Insomniac wizardry
Insomniac is one of the best developers in the business, and certainly among the strongest studios under Sony’s umbrella. It’s not massively surprising to learn the studio is aiming to deliver an unprecedented experience with Marvel’s Wolverine, then: 60fps with ray tracing enabled – all on base PS5 at launch! This...
News Modest Sales Predicted for Sony's Critically Acclaimed New Fighter
Room for improvement
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls isn’t setting cash registers alight if new predictions from Alinea Analytics are to be believed. The industry observer predicts the licensed superhero fighter sold 485k copies across the PS5 and PC in its first week, amounting for an estimated $33 million revenue. It reckons 74% of the copies were...
Another one
If you're a fan of Soulslikes or just fantasy-themed action RPGs in general, then you might want to keep an eye out for 'The Weavers' (as it's currently known). Based on numerous leaks up until this point — which have suddenly spiralled out of control — this is a gritty action RPG from HoYoverse, currently in development for...
Thursday13th Aug 2026
Round Up Marvel's Wolverine Sounds Like Another Great Superhero Blockbuster in PS5 Previews
The best there is?
Hands-on previews have begun coming in for Marvel's Wolverine, Sony's big PS5 exclusive launching in just over a month's time. The game has looked pretty promising in the few glimpses we've seen so far, and these write-ups are largely very positive, painting a picture of another superhero blockbuster action adventure from...
Night by night
The Blood of Dawnwalker is probably the most anticipated RPG coming to PS5 right now, and with its 3rd September release date fast approaching, it's time for developer Rebel Wolves to orchestrate one last marketing push. To be fair, the studio's already marketed the hell out of Dawnwalker in partnership with publisher Bandai Namco up...
News Darksiders 4, Next Kingdom Come Game Both Planned to Launch Before March 2028
Plenty of time to catch up
Two big games from publisher THQ Nordic are on the way within its financial year 2027/28, meaning they should arrive by March 2028 at the latest. The two titles in question are Darksiders 4 and the next Kingdom Come title, which is likely to be named Kingdom Come Salvation. Both are mentioned in Embracer Group's latest
News This Ain't Yakuza! SEGA Showcases Stranger Than Heaven's Complex Combat with Live Gameplay Demo
The Stabbin' of Dojima
One of the most interesting things about Stranger Than Heaven is that developer RGG Studio isn't just repurposing the action combat of its previous games. Instead, the Japanese studio's crafted a new system that sees players control the individual limbs of protagonist Makoto Daito. It appears to be a much more technical take...
News Promising PS5 Sim Rideshare Rocked by Crazy AI Controversy, as CEO Crashes Out in Public
Gonna take you for a ride
In what has been one of the craziest industry sagas I've seen in a long time, PS5 driving simulator Rideshare "Stimulator" — which looked fun during its debut last month — is now being berated for its use of generative AI. It all started with former Saber Interactive writer Stella Sacco posting on social media
News There's a New Indie Publisher, and It's Bringing All Its Games to PS5
The folks behind Phamophobia expand
First and foremost, I must apologise to Kinetic Publishing: it gave me advanced access to all of its announcements earlier in the week, but life has been so hectic lately I wasn’t able to put together a story in time for its showcase. Some of you may have already seen the news, then: the new UK-based indie...
News Mafia: Definitive Edition Is Potentially Set for a Native PS5 Version
Age rating on the ESRB website spotted
Six years after its PS4 release, the remade and enhanced Mafia: Definitive Edition might be on its way back thanks to a new native PS5 version. A new age rating on the ESRB website for a PS5 edition of the game — along with an Xbox Series X|S version — has now appeared, which usually suggests some kind of...
News We All Knew It Was Happening, But Hogwarts Legacy 2 Is Now Officially in the Works
An inevitability
This is maybe the least surprising news of the week, but it's noteworthy all the same: Warner Bros. has officially acknowledged it's working on the next game in the Hogwarts Legacy series. This comes via an earnings report to shareholders, which directly mentions "the second installment of Hogwarts Legacy" when talking about ways...
News Ghost of Yotei's PS5 Complete Edition Will Get a Physical Disc, But There Are Already Concerns
Amid disc-based games controversy
Sony may have made the controversial decision to kill physical games in January 2028, but it remains committed to the medium in the interim. Fans pondered whether Ghost of Yotei’s Complete Edition – the newly announced expanded repackaging of Sucker Punch’s historical open world – would be getti
Wednesday12th Aug 2026
News Final Fantasy Resonance Shows Off 11-Minute Shiva Battle and Squall Summon on PS5
Whatever
Square Enix has just dropped a 16-minute gameplay video for Final Fantasy Resonance — the upcoming turn-based RPG that's been built on the bones of the old mobile title, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. But you're not getting a broader view of the overall adventure with this footage. Instead, it shows off a full, uncut boss battle with Shiva,...
News 2 More Truly Fascinating Retro Games Are Coming to PS5 This Week
Pick your poison
I’m loving writing about all these retro releases coming to the PS5, which are getting more and more interesting by the week. This time, on 13th August, we have a PS1 game from Console Archives I’ve personally wanted for an eternity: the all-girl fighter Touki Denshou Angel Eyes. Developed by Tecmo, this fighter first launched...
News Crimson Desert DLC on Track for 2026 Release as Dev Ponders Multiplayer Modes
"Significant potential for expansion"
As Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss stated a couple of months back, a major DLC is currently in the works — and now we've got confirmation that it's targeting a release before the end of the year. Said confirmation comes courtesy of the company's latest financial report. It says: "[the DLC is] scheduled...
News Phantom Blade Zero PS5 Demo Leaks Before Next Week's State of Play
The PS Store strikes again
Eager Phantom Blade Zero fans have been practically begging for a playable demo for years, and now it looks like we're finally getting one. Just before the game's dedicated State of Play broadcast was announced early this morning, eagle-eyed PS5 users somehow managed to spot a demo on the PS Store. As far as I'm aware,...
News 10 PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for August 2026 Announced
This month's full lineup revealed
Sony has today shared the lineup of PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium titles members can look forward to playing for the month of August 2026. Here's what will be on offer in the coming weeks, as the selection continues to be stretched across different Tuesdays in the UK, USA, and Japan: PS Plus Extra: August 2026:...
News Hungry Fans Hopeful for Kingdom Hearts 4 Updates in Live Streamed D23 Panel
Geoff Keighley isn't helping either
Disney's big upcoming expo, D23, gets started very soon, and Kingdom Hearts fans already have something to be excited about in the form of a "Deep Dive" panel. This was announced about a month ago, but it's recently been confirmed that the panel will be live streamed, meaning you don't have to be in attendance in...
News Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition Announced, Includes New Expansion, Game Mode, More
Launches in October
Sony has just announced Ghost of Yotei: Complete Edition, a new version of the open world action game that contains a bunch of brand new single player content. Available to purchase now, Complete Edition grants access to a single player DLC entitled Echoes of Sekigahara, as well as a new roguelike survival game mode titled Most...
