When we think of game studios, we tend to picture one team doing all the heavy lifting. But behind the scenes, many games (especially the big ones) are the result of surprising collaborations between multiple developers. Sometimes it’s a support studio lending a hand. Other times, it’s a full-on co-production with two (or more) powerhouses quietly sharing credit. These partnerships often go unnoticed, but they’ve shaped some of the biggest titles in gaming history....

There’s always a sale of some description going on at the PlayStation Store, but the one that’s live right now is better than most. More than 3,000 games have been discounted in the platform’s aptly-named Summer Sale, with some of 2025’s biggest games available for less sprinkled among the other great deals you’re able to grab right now. Topping the bill is the game that, as things stand, will likely be crowned Game of the Year come December -Clair Obscur: Expedition 33....

Ever sinceLarian Studiosreleased modding tools forBaldur’s Gate 3, there has been one custom campaign that the community has really been looking forward to.Path to Menzoberranzan, a project to recreate the second game, hasslowly been sharing updatesand has alsogrown in scale over the last few months. The project has now reached a major milestone with its first playable build. We’ve been following the project since it started impressing fans last year, and it seems like things are going pretty well for the dev team....

Long rests are a major feature inBaldur’s Gate 3. It’s when all our beloved companions are in one (relatively) safe place together, and can banter, romance, fight, and prep in peace. It’s also a requirement for progression, many quests and romance options only move forward during long rests. However, the problem with this is that you’re tracking multiple quests at any given point of time, so you don’t know which one is going to trigger during your next visit to camp....

Summary One of my pet peeves withBaldur’s Gate 3is that a couple of companions, namely Lae’zel and Astarion, disapprove when you aren’t comically evil. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to have a diversity of opinions within a party, and I would understand these reactions if these two were evil characters, but that’s simply not the case. Both Lae’zel and Astarion have reason to be abrasive and standoffish; the former essentially grew up in a militant cult, and the latter is a victim of psychological and physical abuse....

Summary The Sims 2players are already familiar with the basic seven skills you can grow during the game. Body, Charisma, Cooking, Cleaning, Creativity, Logic, and Mechanical skills are all located in the player interface and easily improved. However, there are secret skills not every player knows you can level up. These secret skills are only gained with practice of the task and don’t appear anywhere accessible. you’re able to’t see them level up in any official capacity, but you can visually see they have improved the skill, which is why your Sim will suddenly be killing it on the dance floor....

Summary Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement has just been revealed, and it’s coming soon. The follow up toRitual of the Nightis coming in 2026, with a trailer giving us a good look at the cinematics and gameplay. From the trailer, we can see that we have the usual metroidvania gameplay that we know and love - so much so that many in the audience were unsure whether this wasCastlevaniaor Bloodstained. But at the very end, we got the confirmation that this is the second mainline entry in the Bloodstained series, coming after the first game and all of its DLC....

Earlier this year,Borderlands 4confirmed its controversial decision toremove the game’s ever-present minimap from the screen. Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford shared that the decision had been made because “a local space map is not a good way to navigate when you’re thinking about objectives and opportunities, several at the same time, that might be miles away.” Pitchford instead shared that the game would be getting a compass to help players navigate to their location, but this decision didn’t go down too well....

Donkey Kong Bananzadoes something for me, man. I’d like to think I’m a pretty fair critic who can recognize a game’s shortcomings while celebrating its strengths, but every time I play Bananza, all I can do is smash and smash and smash some more witha big goofy DK smile on my face. Suddenly, six hours have passed and all I have to show for it is a big gray box that used to be a sunny beach, smashed clean by yours truly....

Death Stranding 2: On the Beachgrows ever closer, with its June 26 release date hobbling towards us like Norman Reedus with a rigid, rectangular backpack. There’s still a few weeks before the sequel arrives and for many follow-ups like this, that would be more than enough time to get caught up, but I just don’t see it happening for Death Stranding 2. Not just for me, it seems like a bad idea for anyone....

Summary The card reveals forMagic: The Gathering’sFinal Fantasyexpansion are coming thick and fast with the set’s launch now less than a month away. Among them is a Suplex card, and yes, it is a reference to the iconic Final Fantasy moment that springs to mind whenever you hear the wrestling move and the name of the series in the same sentence. Even though inspiration for Final Fantasy cards has been pulled from across all of its games, the focus is really on Final Fantasies 6, 7, 10, and 14, with each of those games getting its own Commander Deck....

One of the best things aboutGame Passis that it gives you the chance to try games that you wouldn’t play in other circumstances. After all, games are expensive, so if there is a game you’re not sure about, you understandably don’t want to spend your hard-earned cash on it. However, if you’ve already got access to it through Game Pass, you may as well give it a go. This logic has led to plenty of people falling in love with games they wouldn’t typically try....

Summary Arrowhead Studios has wasted no time in releasing the Heart of Democracy major update forHelldivers 2, following the failure of humanity to protect the planets surrounding their home world of Super Earth. Helldivers were originally tasked with defending the planets immediately surrounding Super Earth, but humanity’s brave soldiers proved no match for the relentless Illuminate threat. Now, humanity has been pushed to its last bastion of defence, the very neighbourhoods they grew up playing in, the streets of Super Earth itself....