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News - Paralives’ Success Shows Being Generous To Players Isn’t Unreasonable

Earlier this year Paralives released in early access, and so far, things are looking good for the life-sim. The game has proven to be popular since its May launch; the cozy vibes have been praised, and the promise of free post-launch DLC and updates for the lifespan of Paralives continues to be a big selling point. In an industry focused on extracting the maximum amount of cash possible out of every player, it has become the norm--just look at how GTA 6 is locking in-game shops away from players who purchase the standard edition--Paralives' commitment to investing in its players feels refreshing.

"That plan is something that we had announced before the game was released, and our sales in the first week--the first day--confirmed that that was going to be viable," Paralive's communication manager Gab Boyer-Antoni said to GameSpot. "We're a very small team of 15. We don't plan on increasing that much, just a few senior positions, and we don't have any investors. We don't have to pay back anybody. The development so far has been fully paid for by our Patreons. And we're good. We can last years like this and make sure that we offer free updates and free DLCs to players and keep on working on the game."

Another game that has become notable for its free content drops is No Man's Sky, as it has upgraded its universe of explorable planets and systems with substantial expansions. These often come out of nowhere and with very little hype, and most importantly, they've all been free. Developer Hello Games has released over 30 of these expansions at no extra cost to their players since 2016, and they're largely credited with helping the game find its redemption arc and attract new players, 10 years after launch.

Paralives has already seen several pieces of free DLC added to the Gilmore Girls-inspired life-sim since launch--including an adorable collaboration with Unpacking--and its first major content update is expected to arrive this fall. Players have also been instrumental in creating new content for the game through mods, and if you're looking to grab a few, you can check out our guide on the best Paralives mods to download.

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News - One Final Fantasy Game Is Shutting Down, But You’ve Still Got Time To Play

With Final Fantasy VII Revelation set to complete the remake trilogy soon, fans have been eagerly revisiting FFVII's various releases and spinoffs in anticipation, speculating about what the future might hold for the finale. Unfortunately, one of those spinoffs, the live-service game Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, now has a Doom timer attached to it--meaning you'll need to play it as quickly as possible before it shutters if you want to see what it has to offer.

Released on December 2023, Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is a free-to-play downloadable title for mobile and PC. The game recreates the events of Final Fantasy VII--as well as spinoffs like Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, and the feature-phone exclusive Before Crisis--while giving new spins on established story beats, serving as a sort of alternative remake. It also features an all-new story about a group of SOLDIERs with a young Sephiroth. Many of the original staff, including original writer Katsushige Nojima and creative director Tetsuya Nomura, were also heavily involved in Ever Crisis's creation, lending it more clout as more than just a generic mobile spinoff.

While the game is free to download, it used the popular gacha system as its means of monetization, with players being able to spend money to buy in-game crystals to use to draw random gear. We say that in the past tense, because Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis has been confirmed to be shuttering on October 6th, giving players around 3 more months to enjoy the game before it goes offline. All real money transactions have been suspended as a result of the impending shutdown.

In a Producer's Letter published alongside the shutdown notice, Shoichi Ishikawa details the reasons for the shutdown. "While we recognize that many people are playing EVER CRISIS, it has become difficult to find a balance between production costs and the demand for character weapons and gear," he writes.
"At the same time, delivering satisfying equipment visuals remains a priority for us as it’s something players see the characters wearing, and we understand how passionate the community and fans are about the FINAL FANTASY VII characters.
Ultimately, however, striking an ideal balance between visual quality and development costs, while also maintaining gameplay balance that encouraged greater party diversity, presented ongoing challenges."

The shutdown comes at a rather awkward time, as a characters introduced in Ever Crisis, like Glenn Lodbrok, have crossed over into the remake games, and Ever Crisis's shutdown means that players won't have an easy way to dig deeper into their lore once it's offline. We can only hope that Square-Enix might take inspiration from the recent Final Fantasy Resonance and find some alternative way to bring Ever Crisis's unique stories to players in the future

News - Xbox’s New Plan After Brutal Cuts: Focus On The Thing Called Xbox

In the wake of mass layoffs at Xbox and several studios exiting the company, Microsoft's gaming division has outlined it plans for growth. Some of these plans include a focus on its biggest IP, investing more in games like Minecraft, and removing several layers of management to streamline its studio model. One other major area of focus will be on Xbox hardware itself, as the company says its flagship console represents 80% of its current business.

"In order to grow, we made a bunch of bets--and as we did that, we inherently didn't focus on the core business," Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said to Fortune. "The number one measure of your strategy is what you put your resources behind, and we simply spread ourselves too thin. A healthy Xbox could weather the shock of the hardware crisis. With an unhealthy Xbox, it becomes really challenging, and it accelerates a lot of the changes we need to make."

If Xbox is going to focus more on its hardware, then it's doing so in an industry that's grappling with sharply increased costs and component shortages. This shift also comes during a time when Xbox hardware revenue has dipped by a shocking 33%--per Microsoft's latest financial report--and several price hikes on the Xbox Series X|S have only added to the company's woes. The Xbox Series X 1TB model now retails for $800 (it was originally $500 when it launched), while the Xbox Series S has shot up from its launch price of $250 to $500.

A second increase is also looking likely, and the next-gen console Project Helix will likely also be extremely expensive.

One method that Microsoft is reportedly looking at to cut down on costs is to forego the disc drive on Project Helix. Xbox rival Sony has already confirmed that it will not support PlayStation discs after 2028, and it's rumored that the PS6 won't have a disc drive either. Microsoft is reportedly working on a disc-to-digital feature that would enable users to bring their physical library with them into the next-gen, with the program said to support both Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S games.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's Xbox restructuring hasn't been the subject of criticism across the games industry--a case of "catastrophic mismanagement," as one expert has described the news. With 3,200 people being laid off--roughly 20% of the Xbox workforce--the changes will also see Double Fine and Compulsion become independent studios, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have been sold, and Arkane Lyon has entered a mandatory consultation period to figure out what's next for the Marvel's Blade developer.

News - Xbox CEO Admits Game Pass Has Not Worked Out, Reportedly Lost Millions Of Sub

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has outlined her plan to "reset" the Xbox business, and it includes mass layoffs and selling off studios.

In her memo announcing the dramatic shakeup, Sharma also talked about what led to this moment, and one piece is that the Xbox business is "not healthy" due in part to big bets that have not paid off, like Xbox Game Pass.

She said Microsoft bet on things like Xbox Game Pass, releasing more titles on competing platforms, and a "broader portfolio of content" to help grow Xbox. Those efforts did indeed create "meaningful value," she said, but a publicly traded company like Microsoft is focused on endless growth--and those businesses "did not grow at the pace we expected."

"As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history," she said.
"We must reset Xbox."

Xbox Game Pass, launched in 2017, was a breakthrough, Netflix-like offering from Microsoft promising subscribers all first-party Xbox games and a growing library of other titles for a monthly subscription price. The membership proved popular, reaching more than 34 million subscribers (before dropping back down). But all the while, many fans and experts like have questioned the viability and sustainability of the subscription model.

Strauss Zelnick, the head of GTA 6 parent company Take-Two, has said launching new games into a subscription service like Microsoft does makes no sense.

Millions of lost subscribers

The Wall Street Journal reported that Xbox Game Pass has around 30 million subscribers. If accurate, that would be 4 million fewer than the 34 million paying members that Microsoft reported in February 2024. The company has not released any new subscriber numbers since then, and there is clear reason why.

In a document from the Microsoft-Activision acquisition case, Microsoft predicted it would have 77 million Game Pass subscribers by 2026. That's obviously not going to happen. So what happened? First and most obviously, Microsoft could not convince people to sign up or see the value in Game Pass. Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad said Microsoft's efforts to push PC and the cloud with Game Pass did not pan out as expected.

For a period of time, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's pay package included a performance-based incentive tied to Game Pass growth. This incentive was later removed, as Game Pass growth slowed.

In 2025, Microsoft controversially raised the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate by a whopping 50%, bringing it up to $30/month. This price hike led to a mass exodus of subscribers, and Microsoft later brought it down to $23/month.

At the same time, Microsoft announced a big change for Game Pass with new Call of Duty games no longer included with the service at launch. Game Pass Ultimate is still more expensive than it was a year ago, and the lower rate is not actually the discount people think it is.

In her memo, Sharma did not provide any specifics on how Xbox Game Pass could change further in the future. The executive specifically calling it out as a bet that did not fully pan out is leading some to believe further changes could be afoot. As for Microsoft's plans for releasing games on rival platforms, Sharma has backed away from that in some ways already by returning to situational exclusives like Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution. These games are being sent out to die as exclusives, one expert said.

Finally, regarding Sharma's line about investing in a "broader portfolio of content" being a bet that did not pay off, she said Microsoft will now shift its investment on "higher priority projects" that have the best chance of succeeding (though she did not name any outright). No first-party Xbox games that have been announced have been canceled as part of the "reset."

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News - $2.50 Steam Sale Has Everyone Smashing The Surveillance State

One of Ubisoft's most underrated games, Watch Dogs 2, is on a super steep sale on Steam right now. So steep, in fact, that it seems to have inspired a new crop of folks to trawl through the technocratic world of digitized San Francisco to put an end to the surveillance state at a time when we're all under some sort of surveillance IRL.

Over on the game's Steam store page, you can pick Watch Dogs 2 for just $2.50 until Thursday, July 9. That's a 95% discount for a game that normally retails for $50. And that's just the base game! If you wanted to grab the DLC--which includes new cars, co-op adventures, outfits, weapons, world missions, and more--then you can snatch up either the Deluxe Edition for $3 or the Gold Edition for $4. Really, no matter how you look at it, this is a steal for the game.

Likely as a result of this nearly five-finger discount for a game that launched in November 2016, Watch Dogs 2's player count has soared. According to player tracker SteamDB, over 10,000 people are playing it right now, and it saw a 24-hour peak of over 16,000 people. These numbers are steadily encroaching on Watch Dogs 2's all-time concurrent high of 18,138 players. That's impressive for a nine-year-old game.

The game's surging popularity also makes a lot of sense considering the themes it tackles. As the Oakland-native Marcus Holloway, you get racially profiled and wrongfully accused of a high-tech robbery. This incident causes Marcus, an up-and-coming hacker, to join the hacker group DedSec--an Anonymous-esque collective hellbent on dismantling the technocracy ruling Ubisoft's San Francisco Bay Area. Through a series of hijinks, all meant to raise DedSec's clout, you confront the billionaires and the technology that's making life hell for the digital city's population. It's a riveting narrative with a protagonist that's very Black and very fun.

There are a lot of debates around whether we're in a surveillance state at the moment. However, given the rampant use of AI, the overreliance on systems that all communicate with one another--think of smart homes--and the infrastructure that makes all of this technology run, it's not hard to conclude that someone could be surveilling you. A cyberattack can occur in which a hacker gains access to, say, your webcam to watch you, making your "private" home much less so. In any event, it makes for good gameplay opportunities

In GameSpot's Watch Dogs 2 review, we awarded the game an 8/10, calling it an "effortless mix of covert and action-oriented gameplay [with] a likeable cast that knows how to have fun in their own way." That's exactly what you get when you play Watch Dogs 2, which is one of those games that's hard to put down despite some conflicting narrative decisions.

Now's a great time to pick it up, especially if you hate the government surveilling you.

News - Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Now Has Its Own Game

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan's newest movie, The Odyssey, releases on July 17, and ahead of that, an official companion game is now available on Roblox.

A survival sailing adventure game, The Odyssey: Defy the Gods, is out now on Roblox, and it's free. Players will assemble a crew, ration supplies, and "appease the gods for the right of safe passage" across the ocean.

In the game, players will scavenge mysterious worlds to find food and crew that have gone missing. Out on the ocean, players have to survive in the elements like Odysseus did during his perilous journey.

Defy the Gods is rated "Minimal" for its maturity rating, and as part of Roblox's new safety measures, it's limited to people 18 and up. The game's content description notes that it contains occasional/mild "fear" and "violence."

Roblox is so big and popular that brands make games for it to promote their content, and that's what Universal Pictures did here with Defy the Gods. The movie is expected to appeal to an older audience, so reaching out to Roblox's younger base could be an effort to help convince younger people to go see it.

Written and directed by Christopher Nolan and based on Homer's epic tale, The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, with Tom Holland portraying Telemachus. Anne Hathaway plays Penelope, while Robert Pattinson appears as Antinous. The movie also features Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya, Elliot Page, and Jon Bernthal.

It's Nolan's first film since 2023's Oppenheimer, which made $975 million globally.

News - GameStop Is Not Hurting After Sony Kills Discs, And There Is A Good Reason Why

After Sony announced that it would stop supporting physical discs starting in January 2028, many expected GameStop's stock price to take a hit. After all, the company is known to drive revenue from new and used game sales. However, GameStop is not hurting today. Actually, GameStop's share price is up.

Why is that? Whereas GameStop's business was once mainly focused on selling game software, that's no longer the case. The store still sells new and used games, of course, but for GameStop's latest reporting period, software sales were actually the smallest part of the company's overall business.

For the 13 weeks that ended May 2, 2026, GameStop reported software revenue of $152.7 million, making up just 18.3% of GameStop's total revenue for the period. This includes new and pre-owned games, along with digital games.

For the same period the year prior, software sales were $175.6 million, or 24% of GameStop's total revenue for the quarter.

During the latest quarter, GameStop's biggest revenue-driver was collectibles, which amounted to $348.9 million, or 41.8% of total revenue. Next behind it was hardware and accessories, which came to $333.7 million, or 39.9% of revenue.

Sony killing off physical, disc-based PlayStation games is not good news for GameStop, but it's also not the worst, and won't have an immediate impact in any event. After all, the changes do not go into effect until January 2028.

Ahead of that, Rockstar's GTA 6 won't be sold on a disc, but you can still buy a physical copy at GameStop (with a code in the box).

Another factor at play here is that GameStop's stock price got a jolt recently after CEO Ryan Cohen re-committed to his plan to buy eBay and abandoned his $35 billion pay package incentive.

PlayStation said it was abandoning physical discs because the majority of its users prefer digital. Given the announcement, experts believe the PS6 will be a digital console and won't launch until 2028 at the soonest.