The gaming world continues to hurtle towards The Game Awards in December, but for now, we must content ourselves with the day-to-day goings-on of the industry.
Not that those goings-on are insubstantial, you understand; we know we’re big fans of saying “there’s still plenty to dissect from the last week”, but if something remains true, then it bears repeating, eh?
With all that said, then, let’s take another one of our customary looks at what’s been happening in the gaming world over the last seven days or so, shall we?
Arc Raiders’ roadmap promises new stuff galore
Last week (well, technically very late the week prior), Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios revealed what’s coming to the popular extraction shooter in the next few months.
If you’re worried that the game will grow stale, it looks like you needn’t be; you can look forward to the likes of a new map, new quests and gameplay items, and even new map weather conditions, plus lots more.
Arc Raiders remains a hugely popular prospect within the extraction shooter space, it seems, boasting a staggering 150,000 concurrent players last we checked. This one’s here to stay, it’s safe to say.
EA says it will “maintain creative control” following Saudi acquisition
Back in September, EA was acquired by a consortium of investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners company.
This week, the publisher sought to assuage concerned fans and employees by claiming that it will “maintain creative control”, and that its “track record of creative freedom and player-first values will remain intact”.
Of course, that’s exactly the kind of thing a corporation would say in order to soothe troubled hearts, but it doesn’t necessarily mean said corporation intends to keep its word on that front.
Warhammer Survivors marries Vampire Survivors and Warhammer
This week, developer Auroch Digital announced Warhammer Survivors, and as the name suggests, it’s a blend of the Vampire Survivors gameplay style with the grimdark worlds of Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar.
The game will see iconic figures from both universes battling hordes of their peskiest enemies; 40k’s characters will battle the alien Tyranid menace, while Age of Sigmar fighters will tackle the vermin known as the Skaven.
Of course, you can expect plenty of unlockables as you battle through Warhammer Survivors, including new characters, new weapons, and lots more.
Planet Zoo 2 is officially in the works
Frontier Developments confirmed this week that Planet Zoo 2 is official, and while we don’t have any more details about the project just yet, we’re thrilled that the game even exists.
As part of its celebrations for the original Planet Zoo’s sixth anniversary, Frontier revealed news of its sequel in a blog post, promising to unveil more details in 2026.
Hopefully, we can expect the same high standard of management gameplay and biological accuracy offered by Planet Zoo, although we don’t doubt Frontier will deliver on that score.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC is coming in December
Are you looking forward to getting to battle with two brand new Raichu Mega Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A? Well, Nintendo and Game Freak hope you are, because the DLC is coming in December.
Not only will it add the aforementioned new Raichu forms, but it’s also bringing a new area to explore in the form of Hyperspace Lumiose, which will also add a number of new ‘mons to capture.
Thanks to the new Hyperspace level system, you can also expect those Pokemon to routinely smash the Level 100 barrier. Expect to be battling Level 120 Corviknights and other terrors.
Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed again
Rockstar announced this week that its mega-industry sensation Grand Theft Auto 6 has once again been delayed, and it’s going to be a while before you can play this one, it seems.
The game, which is slated to arrive on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S (but not PC, apparently), will now be arriving on November 19th next year, assuming that another delay isn’t put into place, of course.
It’s likely that these delays are playing havoc with other publishers’ release date planning; studios are reportedly setting release dates so as to avoid clashing with GTA 6 if possible.
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra has also been delayed
It’s not just Grand Theft Auto 6, either; Skydance revealed this week that action-adventure game Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will be pushed back beyond its original early 2026 release window.
It’s worth noting that despite the fact that this game was announced in March 2024, we still don’t actually know anything about how it will play, so the fact that it’s already been delayed twice is a touch worrying.
Still, we can only hope that Uncharted’s Amy Hennig, as well as the rest of her team, can pull this one off. We’ll hopefully learn more about when it will launch sometime next year.
Yes, a new Mass Effect game is still in development
As part of its N7 Day celebrations, BioWare reassured anxious fans this week that Mass Effect will continue, and that a new game is still in development.
The studio admitted that the last few years have been “incredibly busy” for BioWare, which feels a bit like an understatement, but that the team is now “heads-down and focused exclusively on Mass Effect”.
What’s more, the upcoming TV show, which is being developed in conjunction with Amazon, will tell “a brand-new story within the universe’s timeline”, so it won’t just be “a retread of Commander Shepard’s story”.
Silent Hill 2 is probably coming to Xbox
It’s almost certainly nearly time to check out Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake on Xbox (and PC away from Steam, if you’re so inclined), according to the folks at True Achievements.
A listing for the game was spotted on the Microsoft Store, suggesting that it’s coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC via the aforementioned store on November 21st.
No official announcement has been made, of course, so take this with a pinch of salt for now, but it seems pretty likely that the release will happen.
