CONSOLE News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Video game analyst group Circana has released its September 2023 U.S. video game market highlights and in it, the company reveals that developer Bethesda Game Studios' Starfield was the best-selling game last month, which is the month it launched. And after just six weeks on the market, Starfield is already the seventh best-selling game of the year. February's Hogwarts Legacy remains in the top spot. 

The co-op horror game Phasmophobia will not release on consoles this month, following another delay.

Earlier this year, Kinetic Games announced that its acclaimed multiplayer horror title Phasmophobia would be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PS VR2 soon, though the wait for that has dragged on a little longer than expected. Originally set to come to consoles in August, the release was delayed to October, though Kinectic Games has now announced another delay.

CD Projekt RED's Colin Walder, engineering director for management and audio, has shared a few thoughts on how the Polish developer's next Witcher RPG, codenamed Polaris, will improve on the cataclysmic development of Cyberpunk 2077. There's not a lot to share at this stage, of course, but what there is sounds like a step in the right direction.

Kinetic Games has announced that the Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PSVR2 versions of the cooperative horror game Phasmophobia have been delayed once again beyond its planned October date. 

Cyberpunk 2077 has reinvented itself following the release of numerous updates and the stellar Phantom Liberty expansion, but the big lessons learned from its rough 2020 launch are still front of mind for developer CD Projeckt Red. With current development happening on The Witcher 4 - codenamed Polaris - the developers are taking steps to ensure they won't have another troubled launch.

Microsoft has revealed the next wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

We’re in the spooky season right now, and chances are you’re spending this month dwelling in the horror genre. Whether it’s thriller television series, movies, or games, now is the perfect time to spend some time getting scared. Unfortunately, if you were hopeful to get your hands on Phasmophobia on console, then you’re of luck. This month, the game was slated to be released for consoles, but it has since been delayed. Here is what the developers had to say about the recent release pushback. 

As the holiday season approaches, we are excited to share that we have a new PS5 model launching. To address the evolving needs of players, our engineering and design teams collaborated on a new form factor that provides greater choice and flexibility. The same technology features that make PS5 the best to play are packed into a smaller form factor, along with an attachable Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive and a 1TB SSD for more internal storage.

Paradox has revealed that Cities: Skylines 2, while featuring support for mods, will not be making use of the Steam Workshop to distribute its mods. Instead, the studio is opting to use its own Paradox Mods platform, which is a cross-platform library.

Now that the merger with Microsoft is official, the cross-promotion has begun! Diablo 4 players will have until the end of the month of October to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a custom Diablo 4 Xbox Series X! Diablo 4 Custom Xbox Series X Official Microsoft Sweepstakes Rules By following both Xbox & Diablo on Twitter, and Reposting the above tweet, you could have a chance to win this one-of-a-kind Diablo 4 custom Xbox! With Diablo 4 Season 2 starting tomorrow, now would be a great time to prepare to face the forces of evil in style! Lilith in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Diablo 4 Season 2 Twitch Drops

Colossal Order and Paradox have confirmed that the console versions of Cities: Skylines 2 will gave access to mods, just like the PC version. The in game editor for the game will not be available right at the PC launch of Cities: Skylines 2, but will launch soon after with some mods already available for players to try.

Analogue, the retro console manufacturer behind Analogue Pocket, Super Nt and more, has announced that its next system will be “a reimagining of the N64.”

Retro game console maker Analogue, the manufacturer behind the Game Boy-like Analogue Pocket, and 16-bit consoles Super Nt, Mega Sg, and Analogue Duo, is taking on the Nintendo 64 next. A new, FPGA-powered console called the Analogue 3D is coming in 2024, Analogue announced Monday, and it will play Nintendo 64 games at 4K resolution.

Following the successful launch of the Analogue (Unofficial Game Boy) Pocket, the company is turning its attention to reimagining the Nintendo 64.

Playing N64 games in 2023 can be a bit of a pain, but the brains behind the Analogue Pocket are cooking up what could be my dream console. Dubbed the Analogue 3D, the company’s next project plans to reimagine the Nintendo 64 as a modern FPGA device, complete with 100% cartridge compatibility and original controller ports. Better still, 8bitdo is working on a matching gamepad that’ll help make playing the classics feel a little more contemporary. 

Dataminers have uncovered a new patent from Nintendo, that could be giving us an early look at the Nintendo Switch 2.

Xbox has officially closed the deal that welcomes Activision Blizzard into the Microsoft family, and the gaming market might not ever be the same. This is an industry-shaking deal that we won’t know the full effects of for years to come. Some of gaming’s most iconic titles – World of Warcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty – are in Xbox’s hands now.

The spirit of the ’90s is absolutely alive in all the faithful arcade-style beat ’em ups that have been coming out in recent years. Indie devs clearly infatuated with the genre have been doing it justice, and the latest attempt is Maiden Cops. Take one part anthropomorphic animal anime girl and add a few dashes of Final Fight and River City Girls and you get the idea. What has me most interested in this one, however, is how it manages to capture the essence of a slightly offbeat home port of an arcade brawler.

Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash, the first console video game adaptation of the popular manga and anime series, has set a February 2, 2024 release date for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

PS5 Slim size comparison shows that smaller is still pretty big as far as game consoles go. 

Sony has announced a redesign for the PS5, which is lighter and slimmer while sporting a detachable Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. Unfortunately, despite prices staying the same for Europe and the United States, they’re being raised for Japan.

As the holiday season approaches, we are excited to share that we have a new PS5 model launching. To address the evolving needs of players, our engineering and design teams collaborated on a new form factor that provides greater choice and flexibility. The same technology features that make PS5 the best to play are packed into a smaller form factor, along with an attachable Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive and a 1TB SSD for more internal storage.

Sony is planning to launch a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 PlayStation 5 console bundle.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is being heralded as the game that we deserved back in 2020, finally completing CD Projekt Red's vision of Night City. Alongside the version 2.0 update, Phantom Liberty overhauls almost everything about the game, from its combat and RPG mechanics, to how its NPCs interact with the world. But that doesn't mean it's without its issues.

This week, the Swedish group Jumpgate AB announced that it had secured licensing to develop a PC/console game based on Paramount's Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager IPs. The development will be conducted at gameXcite, a wholly-owned subsidiary based in Hamburg, Germany.

Ohm’s Quest is a steampunk-inspired cubical device that acts as a sort of escape game console. You can scan an NFC-enabled card on a side of the cube, and it starts a new story with interactive challenges that you should solve as a team.

I’m sure I speak for every Android gamer when I speak of the extreme jealousy I feel about the gaming potential of the iPhone 15 Pro.

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UK retailers are currently offering some of the best PlayStation 5 deals to date.

In true Netrunner fashion, you may want to explore 2.0's console commands to open up your gameplay. Whatever your reason, whether it's to assist you in a difficult part of the game, unlock certain endings, or outfit your V with the best gear, console commands can make it happen. The possibilities of what you can accomplish with console commands are practically limitless.

These new PS5 console covers and DualSense controllers are a classy way to customize your gaming hardware.

Black Desert Console’s new update adds three Mythical horses, new horse gear, and opens the endless Season Server. Maegu Awakening also brings her deadly grace to the console version of the game.

Nintendo, notoriously secretive, has so far said nothing — or almost nothing — on the record about its next game console. As Nintendo Switch approaches its seventh birthday in March 2024, questions about how much longer it will last are natural: Seven years is a typical lifespan for a console generation, Switch sales are falling fast, and the technology powering the console is showing its age. But Nintendo has flatly refused to engage with those questions.

Valve have released a small Counter-Strike 2 update that, amongst other things, stops mud slowing you down and stops incendiary grenades forming fiery rings in mid-air, like excitable kids with sparklers. There are also fixes for a shader compilation bug that may, nonetheless, still exist for AMD GPUs when playing this latest iteration of the developer's free-to-play team and objective-based shooter. Many of the larger issues returning players have, such as the absence of Mac support, are yet to be addressed.

Microsoft has announced the next wave of titles heading to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

We have new rumors from NashWeedle about the Nintendo Switch 2 coming out of Tokyo Game Show.

NetherRealm Studios has released a new update for Mortal Kombat 1, rolling it out across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, but unfortunately, Nintendo Switch players are having to wait a little longer for any sort of update. 

Sony has announced another Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 PlayStation 5 console bundle.

The PS5 is on track to become Sony's "most successful console yet."

Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have delayed the console version of Cities: Skylines 2, pushing the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S release date back to Spring 2024. The PC version of the game is still expected to launch on 24th October 2023.

Cities: Skylines 2 has just suffered a pretty lengthy delay on consoles alongside a revision to its PC system requirements, and city builder fans are fearful about what all this means for the game's performance.

Developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive have delayed the console release of Cities: Skylines II. Originally set to release on October 24 alongside the PC version, the team has delayed the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game to spring of next year. The PC version will still launch next month. 

The highly anticipated city simulation sequel Cities: Skylines 2 has been delayed for consoles, developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive have announced.

Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have delayed the console version of Cities: Skylines 2, pushing the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S release date back to Spring 2024. The PC version of the game is still expected to launch on 24th October 2023.

Teardown, the first-person, voxel-based heist game that might fairly be described as the delightfully bizarre lovechild of Burnout 3's Crash Mode, Minecraft, and Thief, is on its way to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 15. Check out the release date trailer below, and our all-new exclusive eight-minute PS5 gameplay footage above.

Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) CEO, console dad, and crash zoom victim, is stepping down from his position at the top of the PlayStation tree after nearly 30 years at the company. Ryan will retire in March next year, at which point Sony's current COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki will assume the role of interim CEO while SIE hunts for a new, more permanent overlord.

Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition is coming to PlayStation 5 console on October 6!

Sony has unveiled a new promotion in the USA that allows anyone who purchases and then activates a new PS5 by 20th October 2023 to redeem a free PS5 game. Those who qualify will need to turn the console on and button over to the PS Store, where a banner will take you to a page listing the 12 PS5 titles you can pick from. The complete list of games on offer is as follows:

If you're interested in the human stories behind the evolution of the home console industry, then you might want to check out the latest project from award-winning publisher Lost in Cult and our fellow Hookshot Media site, Time Extension.

Apple is known for making premium products that offer the very best in technology to consumers. However, there is one sector where the Cupertino-based tech giant has been lagging behind for years - gaming. While Apple's MacBooks, iMacs, and even iPhones are some of the most powerful devices in the market, none of them are marketed as gaming devices, nor are they used as that. However, that all changed this year with Apple shifting its focus on gaming with its latest devices, especially the iPhone 15 Pro models.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty officially drops today, and while Wccftech has covered the expansion’s PC technical chops, how does it measure up on current-gen consoles? Cyberpunk 2077 was originally kind of a mess on consoles, so it’s a question that begs answering. Thankfully, the folks at Digital Foundry have given Phantom Liberty and the recent Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 update for a spin, and the results are fairly good, although not without some drawbacks. You can check out Digital Foundry’s full video below, provided you have around 15 minutes to spare, or you can scroll on down for our recap.

The pricing for the iOS release of 2022’s Resident Evil 4 remake has been revealed, and prospective players who were hoping that the survival horror game could be a bit cheaper on mobile devices might be surprised to discover that, in fact, the pocket-sized version of the game will cost pretty much exactly the same as it does on console and PC.

At EVE Fanfest, PC Gamer had the chance to sit down with EVE Online's game director Snorri Árnason for a wide-ranging conversation about where the game has been in recent years and where it's going. But in terms of big announcements, Fanfest's highlight for many EVE fans wasn't the main game itself, but CCP's return to the FPS with EVE Vanguard, a PvPvE looter-shooter that links to EVE Online itself and is a successor to 2013's ill-fated Dust 514.

Pack-in games might mostly be a thing of the past, but Sony's offering the next best thing for new PS5 owners in the US: one free game from among a dozen of the console's very best titles.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here. At the event, we will also announce 25 top game startups as the 2024 Game Changers. Apply or nominate today!

miHoYo will release a console version of urban fantasy action RPG Zenless Zone Zero, the developer announced.

The Xbox Series S is more popular than the Xbox Series X, internal data from Microsoft has shown.

MoonHood, a new studio founded by the minds behind Lost in Random, Ghost Giant, and Fe, has announced its establishment. It is currently working on a dark game made from clay, which will be published by Fast Travel Games for console, PC, and virtual reality platforms.

Sega’s Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name and Like a Dragon: Ishin are coming to Xbox Game Pass.

Football season is in full swing and we are pleased to announce the new PS5 Console – EA Sports FC 24 Bundle. Perfect for all fans of The World’s Game, the bundle will be available beginning Friday, September 29 – the day the new game releases – and will open for pre-orders beginning Monday, September 25.

SUCCESS Corporation has announced Cotton Fantasy 2 (title tentative) for console, PC, and arcade. A release date was not announced.

Sony has announced a PlayStation 5 EA Sports FC 24 console bundle.

Video game and console sales throughout Europe rose year-on-year in August.

The recent and accidental Microsoft document and email dump, courtesy of its legal wranglings with the FTC, is turning out to be the mother of all console leaks. Along with game roadmaps extending out as far as 2030, including revenue forecasts for specific game titles, and juicy insights into upcoming refreshes for the Xbox Series X and S consoles, there are details concerning the next all-new Xbox console, due in 2028. The biggie? Microsoft is seriously considering a switch away from x86 CPU cores to Arm.

10.7 million video games from AAA publishers were sold across Europe last month, GSD data reports.

Following a day that saw Microsoft’s plans leak for Xbox Series X|S revisions, updated Xbox controllers, and their next gen release in 2028, a full slate of upcoming projects at Bethesda, and intentions and aspirations for future company acquisitions, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has posted both a public and internal response.

Football season is in full swing and we are pleased to announce the new PS5 Console – EA Sports FC 24 Bundle. Perfect for all fans of The World’s Game, the bundle will be available beginning Friday, September 29 – the day the new game releases – and will open for pre-orders beginning Monday, September 25. 

Gaming companies have been struggling with leaks for years. In February 2022, Rockstar Games was hit with a shocking breach when over 90 early development videos of GTA 6, its rumored next big game, were dumped online on GTAForums by a hacker. We've already had a few leaks during the ongoing FTC vs Microsoft case. In June, Sony presented a document from PlayStation chief Jim Ryan in the court, which detailed its revenue from Call of Duty games, as well as the cost of making AAA titles. Now, another goldmine of leaks has surfaced during the case, and it is being called the “biggest leak in Xbox history”.

New leaks suggest that the final nail in the Xbox Series S' coffin could be coming sooner than expected. Microsoft released two versions of its Xbox console in 2020: the Series S and the Series X. This is a common strategy in the current home console generation, with the PS5 also releasing in two differently priced models. However, the Series S lags far behind all the other consoles on the market today. While it has a lower price point, its limitations make it a tough sell, and many have long believed it's time to ditch the Xbox Series S for an upgraded console.

Today's massive Microsoft FTC leak revealed an early roadmap for Microsoft's next gaming console – not the mid-gen Xbox Series X refresh, but the all-new next-gen hardware tentatively scheduled for 2028. 

The Xbox Microsoft merger saga continues with a new set of leaks allegedly revealing the company's strategies for the future. In addition to unveiling plans for upcoming game titles and remasters, the leaks included information on refreshes of the Xbox current generation consoles, the Xbox Series X and S, and alleged intentions to acquire more gaming companies, including Nintendo. While not all the information revealed was up-to-date, it potentially gives the public a glimpse into Xbox and Microsoft's plans for the future.

Microsoft has revealed the next wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Microsoft and Xbox appeared in court earlier this year over its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Various previously unseen documents from those court proceedings have leaked, revealing Xbox head Phil Spencer considered acquiring Nintendo and Warner Bros. Games at one point, an Xbox Series X/S refresh and a new Xbox controller planned for 2024, and potential remasters of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Another leaked document details the company's plans for a next-gen hybrid console in 2028, as reported by The Verge.

Following on from its first mobile app game, Bluey: The Videogame has been revealed for consoles and PC – and we’ve got the first trailer.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer made some remarkable statements on a potential exit from the gaming business. The quotes are extracted from an investigational hearing conducted as part of the Federal Trade Commission's investigation into Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

New Microsoft court documents from the FTC v. Microsoft case show plans to release the next Xbox console in 2028.

In a major leak, Microsoft's plans for the next generation of Xbox consoles have been revealed, including a heavy focus on «cloud hybrid» technology, machine learning, and AI.