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If you are interested at all in the history of MSX shoot 'em ups, next week's EGGCONSOLE title for the Nintendo Switch, Super Laydock Mission Striker, might be of some interest to you. Released in 1987, the vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up from the Hydlide developer T&E Soft is the second title in the Laydock series of games for Japanese home computers, and was launched between the original 1986 game for the MSX2 and its 1988 sequel Laydock 2: Last Attack for the MSX2+. It follows on from the events of the first game, with players once again taking control of a Federal Space Force pilot who is, this time, given orders to destroy a newly-built, Death Star-like base, called Soleil, which the Gilcen army had constructed following their defeat at the hands of the player in the previous title. Getting behind the controls of the Neo Stormy Gunner, the Federal Space Force's latest aircraft, the player will be sent across 14 stages, each of which ends with a boss fight, to try to bring the war to an end by wiping out the Gilcen stronghold. While playing, pilots are equipped with both ground and anti-air attacks, with their health being monitored by a damage system as opposed to lives. In addition to that, there are also optional attacks to unlock, with the game incorporating a simple levelling system based on destroying enemy ships. Perhaps the most interesting feature, though, is the ability in two-player mode to dock two ships together to increase their firepower (the main mechanic of the series). Whenever this happens, player one will be in charge of controlling the ship and normal attacks, while the other will be left to handle any optional weapons. Super Laydock Mission Striker will release on Nintendo Switch on December 11th, 2025, and will cost $6.49 View full article

If you're a fan of retro-style first-person shooters and want to eradicate swarms of alien bugs, you might want to check out this new game when it arrives in early 2026. Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! is developed by Auroch Digital (Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun) and published by Dotemu (Marvel Cosmic Invasion), and will be coming to the Switch 2 and multiple other platforms. Here's some additional information, and you can listen to General Johnny Rico's recruitment message in the video above. Images: via Steam / Dotemu, Auroch Digital View full article

We're not done with showcases in 2025 yet! The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025 showcase has just concluded this evening, and it included a few Xbox reveals as part of the event. Everything that featured an Xbox logo can be found down below, which includes some brand-new announcements for the likes of Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! and Carmageddon: Rogue Shift. You'll also find some more generic stuff though, like a launch trailer for Blood: Refreshed Supply - a game we highlighted earlier this week. Here are all the Xbox-related reveals from the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025 showcase: Blood: Refreshed Supply - Launch Trailer (December 4, 2025) Carmageddon: Rogue Shift - Reveal Trailer (Early 2026) Memories In Orbit - Release Date Trailer (January 20, 2026) (Xbox Game Pass) Grave Seasons - New Character Reveal Trailer (TBD 2026) Killing Floor 3 - Operation: Breakout Trailer (Available Now) Lunar Strike - Story Trailer (May 2026) Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! - Reveal Trailer (Early 2026) Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival Interview (TBD 2026) High On Life 2 Interview (February 13, 2026) (Xbox Game Pass) Tamer Town - Gameplay Trailer (TBD 2026) Crimson Desert - Pre-Order Trailer (March 19, 2026) Halloween - Map Reveal Trailer (September 8, 2026) Luna Abyss - Gameplay Trailer (TBD 2026) Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator - Reveal Trailer (TBD) Starsand Island - Gameplay Trailer (February 1, 2026) The Relic: First Guardian - Gameplay Trailer (Early 2026) SPLITGATE: Arena Reloaded - Relaunch Trailer (December 17, 2026) Anything taking your fancy in here? Let us know down in the comments section below. View full article

The Total War series has long been at the centre of all things strategic in gaming — but the franchise has always maintained a PC focus. That's going to change with future titles, however. During the property's 25th anniversary showcase, British developer Creative Assembly basically confirmed the new direction, stating that Total War's new engine — delightfully named the Warcore engine — should allow the studio to account for console releases going forward. "In a franchise first, [the Warcore engine] enables future games to be released on PlayStation and Xbox, welcoming a new generation of commanders to the scale, immersion, and tactical mastery that defines Total War," the company revealed. To be clear, Creative Assembly hasn't made any PS5-specific announcements at this point, but it sounds like it's only a matter of time (although we might well be in PS6 territory by the time we get something concrete). Modern Total War, as a franchise, essentially covers two bases: titles that are based on periods in history, and titles that are based on Warhammer. Both sides of the series are pretty much beloved by strategy enthusiasts, so it'll be great to see the property finally get a chance to shine on PlayStation. How long have you been waiting to hear this? Gather your armies and lay waste to the comments section below. View full article

Silent Hill 2 finally came to Xbox last month after a year-long wait, and its release was quickly followed up with some brief Xbox Series X|S comparisons. Now though, the tech experts over at Digital Foundry have delivered their verdict - and despite the Series S version being "noticeably cut back", both Xbox ports are present and well here. In short, Xbox Series X is basically a match to the base PS5 version from 2024, which isn't entirely surprising given how closely matched the two systems are. As usual, Series S presents its own challenges - and developer Bloober Team has opted to cut the 60FPS mode and par back the 30FPS quality mode to bring a decent version of the game to Microsoft's digital-only system. DF ultimately sums things up by saying that going down the 30FPS-only route on Series S may have been done to preserve "Silent Hill 2's fog-lined, Lumen-dependent aesthetic", and that this move means the game "retains enough of its character" on Series S. Series X is as expected of course; a similar match to PS5 with two gameplay modes on offer. View full article

At least some of the work, ideas, and inspiration that went into the now-cancelled PS5 game from shuttered PlayStation developer London Studio have found their way into Cast Outs, a newly announced game from a team containing eight former London Studio developers. Cast Outs is an online co-op game set in an urban fantasy-inspired London that's "intertwined with fantastical wonder, delivering a sense of newness and nostalgia, discovery and familiar favourites. It’s fantasy in a modern jacket." You use magic and spells to get around and defeat enemies, which is a similar concept to what London Studio was working on before it was closed down. Twisted Works, the developer making Cast Outs, plans to put the game out for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with a view to releasing an early access beta in the first few months of 2027. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is also being considered. You can play the game in two, three, and four-player co-op across modes such as combat runs, escort missions, horde survival, speed runs, and challenge modes. On the left is the single piece of art we got for the cancelled London Studio game, and the newly announced Cast Outs is on the right: London Studio was a victim of the PlayStation layoffs in February 2024, when the developer was closed after creating SingStar, various games for the EyeToy and PSVR, and its biggest title, Blood & Truth. Do you like the look of Cast Outs? Share your first thoughts in the comments below. View full article

DMM Games, Tookyo Games and Spike Chunsoft are releasing a physical version of SHUTEN ORDER on both Switch 1 and Switch 2 in Spring 2026, the companies have announced. Both the Switch 1 and Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be getting a physical in the US courtesy of PM Studios, with Reef Entertainment's European release sticking with just the Switch 2 version. And for those physical collectors out there, yes, the Switch 2 physical will have the full game on the cartridge. That's a nice little announcement, given that the Switch 2 upgrade just came out last week. So, if you're on the fence about grabbing the game on the newer console and are reluctant to dive into a digital release, then you only have to wait until Spring to get your hands on a fully boxed version. That cover art is nice, too! Images: Spike Chunsoft Just in case you've never heard of the game before, Shuten Order is from Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka (who is one of the key writers). The game is a blend of multiple genres but it's ultimately a mystery game where you play as a character who has been murdered, and you must find your killer. While we praised the ambition of the game on Switch, we ultimately felt that it felt a little long in the tooth and not quite up to par with Kodaka's previous works. It looks nice, though, and the Switch 2 version allows you to reach between 60-120fps docked and handheld and use Mouse Mode. Are you a Shuten Order fan? Will you be grabbing the physical release next spring? Let us know in the comments. View full article

It's been announced today that Xbox has joined forces with ESPN to become the title sponsor of December 18th's college football bowl game between Missouri State and Arkansas State. The entire event is getting some major Xbox branding as a result, with the logo being a big Xbox controller as seen above, and it's all going to be broadcast on ESPN2 from 9pm ET on Thursday the 18th. Here's what Chris Lee, vice president of Xbox marketing had to say about the partnership today: If you're interested in actually attending the event at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, tickets will soon be available via www.XboxBowl.com — although that website isn't leading anywhere at the time of writing. We assume attendees will get to at least play some College Football 26 and maybe get their hands on some Xbox-branded merch, but who knows! This is a pretty cool partnership either way. View full article

Quantum Dream, the French studio behind the likes of Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human — games that have all been very closely tied to PlayStation — has just launched its first beta for Spellcasters Chronicles on PC. If you haven't been keeping up, Spellcasters Chronicles marks a dramatic pivot away from the developer's typical story-driven output. It's a free-to-play, competitive multiplayer game with a live service model. Announced back in October, it's fair to say that the project didn't make a great first impression — especially amongst fans of the company's past work. As we all know, breaking into the world of live service is incredibly difficult, and so onlookers were immediately questioning the game's potential. The reveal trailer was decent enough, but does Quantic Dream really have the experience to make it in the multiplayer space? It's a fair question, and we may catch the glimpse of an answer over the next few days. The aforementioned beta is now live — again, only on PC — and it runs until the 8th December. In other words, first impressions will be dropping in the very near future, and it'll be interesting to see whether Spellcasters establishes any kind of early foothold. You can catch some gameplay in the following video: What's your take on Quantic Dream's latest pursuit? Is Spellcasters Chronicles doomed to fail like so many over live service wannabes, or does it actually look pretty cool? Don't flub any QTEs in the comments section below. View full article

Bad Robot Games has today announced a new "four-player co-operative shooter" being led by Left 4 Dead's original creator Mike Booth - but there's a chance this attempt to rekindle that L4D flame may not see the light of day on Xbox. Although this development studio has been working away for a number of years now, it's today announced this new project in partnership with Sony. Yep, the PlayStation owner will "produce and publish" this Bad Robot Games title at some point in the future. Here's Sony's introduction to its new partnership with Bad Robot Games: As you can see there, the game is just announced for PS5 and PC at this point, so Xbox Series X|S players may miss out - at least at launch. The likes of Helldivers 2 launched in a similar way and eventually came to Xbox as well, so you never know, this Bad Robot Games production may follow in similar footsteps. We'd certainly like that to be the case, anyway. Ever since Left 4 Dead stormed the co-op shooter scene back in the Xbox 360 days, we've been clamouring for something similar to grace more modern machines. Back 4 Blood and World War Z got close to the Valve classic, but nothing has ever quite matched the magic of the L4D series. View full article

Lil Gator Game, one of the cutest action adventure titles available on PS5 and PS4, is about to get a whole lot bigger. Publisher Playtonic Friends has announced a release date for its major expansion DLC, In the Dark, by way of a new trailer: It's due out on 12th February 2026, meaning it's just a couple of months away. One of the most notable things about the DLC is its size; apparently it doubles the size of the world you can explore, with lots of new underground areas to navigate. As well as the extra space to explore, In the Dark adds new characters to meet, secret treasure to find, and quests to complete. It even adds new equipment and movement abilities, such as gymnastic ribbons that give you a double jump, and a gadget that allows you to slam into the ground. Pretty classic platformer stuff. In addition to the expansion, Lil Gator Game: Gator of the Year Edition has been dated. This is a version of the game that includes the base adventure as well as In the Dark in one package. It'll be available digitally on the same day as In the Dark, while a physical version will hit store shelves on 27th February. Are you looking forward to Lil Gator Game: In the Dark? Tell us in the comments section below. View full article

With Season 01's launch arriving today for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, developer Treyarch has dropped the new season's patch notes - and they contain some controversial updates on the game's skill-based matchmaking system. As we covered a few times in the run up to launch, the team decided to remove SBMM in Black Ops 7 before clarifying that one playlist would remain more skill-based. Well now, that playlist is becoming more prominent, as Treyarch sees "increased engagement" with the SBMM-heavy mode. Basically, the game's 'Standard Moshpit' mode — which features this heavier implementation of SBMM — is now moving over to the 'Featured Playlists' area, where it'll be more visible to players. Here's Treyarch's reasoning behind this move: The team does go on to clarify that all of the other playlists still feature the 'Open' matchmaking system that fans have been asking for, but yep, this skill-based option is becoming more prominent starting in Season 01. If you're more interested in all of the new content coming in the game's first season, the update goes live at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT today, December 4th. View full article

It has been eight years since Nintendo first announced Metroid Prime 4. It has been 18 years since the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. And now, after all that time, Beyond's launch trailer is finally here. Those who have kept up with every trailer drop until now won't find too much new footage in this one, but we challenge anyone who's been waiting for the best part of a decade to watch without feeling a little tingle down their spine. The whole thing is a bit more story-based than we've seen in previous trailers, with a gritty narration teeing up Samus' might and narrative predicament, before a boatload of sequences show her in action. And stick around until the end for a particularly mysterious stinger! The game has launched today on Switch and Switch 2. What do you make of the MP4 launch trailer? Are you getting your copy today? Let us know in the comments. View full article