In a world drowning in battle passes, daily logins, and predatory microtransactions, a voice from the past has emerged with a message that sounds almost revolutionary: "You buy the game, and you get the whole thing." Ken Levine, the mastermind behind the legendary BioShock series, has confirmed that his long-awaited new game, Judas, will be a purely single-player, old-school experience with no live-service or monetization nonsense attached.

It's been over six months since the Nintendo Switch 2 hit shelves back in January, and if you're anything like me, you've probably been staring at your home screen wondering, "Where the fuck are all the games?" The first-party lineup has been solid, as expected, but the big third-party support has been suspiciously quiet. Well, according to industry insider NateTheHate, there's a reason for the silence. The big guns like Capcom, Sega, and Ubisoft aren't missing in action; they're just sitting on a pile of unannounced games, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Ever wondered what would happen if the most mundane part of an Amazon warehouse job was turned into a surprisingly addictive, cozy, and aesthetically pleasing video game, but it also came with a free, invisible wrist brace because you're gonna fucking need it? Welcome to Ship, Inc., the game that has perfected the art of the zen-like grind.

Just when you thought you'd finally built a stable, semi-functional colony of war criminals and organ harvesters, Ludeon Studios has dropped a bombshell. The Odyssey expansion for RimWorld is out now alongside the free 1.6 update, and it's not just adding a few new hats. It’s letting you build your own goddamn spaceship and leave your miserable starting tile behind for good. Get ready to export your specific brand of human-leather-fueled chaos across the entire planet, and beyond.

Ever wondered what would happen if a dystopian revolution was fought not with guns, but with sick beats and perfectly timed parkour moves, but the whole revolution was over before your pizza arrived? That's ANTRO in a nutshell: a stunningly stylish, rhythm-infused platformer that is one of the coolest two hours I've spent with a game this year, and also one of the shortest.

If you've ever played Overcooked and thought, "This is great, but what if my partner was a cute, fuzzy animal and I could freeze them solid with a random power-up?" then listen up. A new co-op cooking game called Cook and Play: Animal Friends has just hit Early Access, and it looks like pure, unadulterated kitchen chaos.

Let's be real, the games industry is a brutal meat grinder. For every success story, there are a thousand tales of burnout, canceled projects, and creative dead ends. Aggro Crab, the studio behind Another Crab's Treasure, was staring right into that abyss. Fresh off a draining three-year dev cycle, their next big project had just lost its funding and imploded, leaving the team burnt out and resentful. Their solution was a desperate, last.ditch "fuck it" trip to Korea with some friends. That trip created Peak, a game that has now sold 4.5 million copies.

In what might be one of the most brazenly cynical corporate moves of the year, it appears Krafton Inc. is delaying the massively anticipated Subnautica 2 for a very specific reason: to avoid paying its developers a nine-figure bonus. A new report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has laid out a timeline of events so goddamn suspicious it would make a conspiracy theorist blush, involving ousted founders, a conveniently timed delay, and a quarter of a billion dollars.

Ever wondered what would happen if the most mundane part of an Amazon warehouse job was turned into a surprisingly addictive, cozy, and aesthetically pleasing video game, but it also came with a free, invisible wrist brace because you're gonna fucking need it? Welcome to Ship, Inc., the game that has perfected the art of the zen-like grind.

Just when you thought you'd have to wait until the actual apocalypse for another good single-player Fallout game, a new rumor has surfaced that has the entire fanbase injecting hope directly into their veins. According to recent reports, multiple Fallout projects are spinning up, including the one we've all been praying to the Mothman for.

In a news cycle that gave the entire games industry whiplash, the great "Is Game Pass Profitable?" debate went from a raging fire to a puff of smoke in about 24 hours. After a report from journalist Chris Dring sparked speculation that the service was a money pit, a swift and decisive correction has put the matter to bed: yes, the big green machine is making money.

Ever wondered what would happen if Gordon Gekko designed a factory simulator, filled it with cocaine-fueled 80s satire, but then forgot to hire a QA team before shipping it? That's Rise of Industry 2, a game with a brilliant, complex, capitalist heart that's currently suffering from a catastrophic, bug-riddled meltdown.

Ever wondered what would happen if someone saw a good, popular game, decided they could make it themselves but with zero talent, a pirated copy of an AI art generator, and the programming skills of a concussed badger? Well, allow me to introduce you to TCG Multiplayer Card Shop Simulator, a game so shameless in its imitation that my antivirus software tried to stage an intervention when I launched it.

Ever wondered what would happen if a developer took Supermarket Simulator, dragged it through a text-to-image AI generator, and slapped a different theme on it like a cheap coat of paint? Well, you don't have to wonder, because Tobacco Shop Simulator is here, and it's the latest piece of addictive, unoriginal slop that I now have a deep and shameful relationship with.

Ever wondered what would happen if the legendary creator of Counter-Strike emerged from a time capsule, decided to build a spiritual successor to SWAT 4 and Payday, but constructed it using spare parts from 2005 and a whole lot of raw, unfiltered ambition? Say hello to Alpha Response, a game that is simultaneously a glimpse of tactical brilliance and a janky, glorious, hot mess.

Ever wondered what would happen if you took your sprawling, multi-million dollar drug empire and decided to go legit by laundering it through a glamorous new casino, only to find out the casino was built by someone who's never actually seen a poker table and thinks "gameplay" is a four-letter word? Well, the Casino DLC for Drug Dealer Simulator 2 is here to show you exactly how that feels.

Ever wondered what would happen if one of the greatest, most terrifying games ever made was lovingly excavated from its 1999 tomb, dusted off, and given a 4K facelift by a team that actually gives a shit? Nightdive Studios has answered that prayer with the System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, a release that finally makes my old, heavily-modded install of the original completely obsolete. And thank god for that.

Ever wondered what would happen if a developer crafted one of the most brilliant, deep, and satisfying modern warfare RTS engines you've ever seen, but then wrapped it in a package that seems to have a deep-seated contempt for its own players? That's the maddening experience of playing Broken Arrow, a game with sky-high potential that's currently grounded by some of the most baffling design choices I have ever witnessed.

Ever wondered what would happen if your favorite chaotic, murderous grade school simulator came back for a third day, but it felt like it had suffered a minor concussion over the weekend? Welcome back to class for Kindergarten 3, a sequel that’s just as funny as its predecessors but feels suspiciously smaller, simpler, and emptier.

Ever wondered what would happen if you graduated from Wizard University, opened a charming little potion shop, but then realized the business plan was written on a napkin and half the equipment was still on backorder? That’s Potion Shop Simulator, a game with a heart of gold and a body that feels like it’s still in Early Access.