Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed again, this time to November 19, 2026, and while the fan community is reeling in its own way, the impacts are not limited to just GTA’s eager audience. Grand Theft Auto is a juggernaut, with GTA V having sold 220 million copies to date, GTA Online still a wildly popular space month after month, and anticipation for the sequel breaking trailer viewership records. With a game’s release as hot as this one, what does moving it to a year away mean for everyone else? How will GTA VI’s delay impact the wider games industry?
It probably goes without saying, but GTA VI’s delay into November of 2026 also means that behind the scenes, dozens of publishers are now reevaluating their own planned release dates.At the moment, analysts point out, there aren’t that many games with public release dates specifically set for the final three months of 2026. But companies of course have their own internal plans, and those plans have been actively shifting around both GTA VI delays, out of sight, this entire time. That could mean a much, much thinner slate of game releases at a time that’s normally bursting with games, says Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics.“Publishers historically avoid launching anything major within several weeks of a Rockstar title. Sadly, GTA now again lands squarely in what is usually a packed holiday window. I can see the typical Q4 blockbuster season looking considerably thinner in 2026, especially when it comes to the single-player titles.”
Valve has announced a return to its Steam Machine PC / console hybrid hardware alongside a new version of the Steam Controller.As part of a big day for Valve hardware announcements, Valve confirmed the next-gen Steam Machine and Steam Controller features and specs, but failed to announce one key piece of information: price.We do know, however, that the Steam Machine comes as a 512GB model and 2TB model, and will ship in a bundle with Steam Controller as well as standalone at some point in 2026.
Next-gen Steam Macine
Specs wise, it has a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T CPU, a semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 GPU, and supports 4K gaming at 60 frames per second with FSR. Valve described the new Steam Machine as six times more powerful than Steam Deck, with 16GB DDR5 and 8GB GDDR6 VRAM. The full specs for the Steam Machine and Steam Controller are below.
It’s an interesting move from Valve considering the original Steam Machine range, released 10 years ago in November 2015, was considered a failure. The initial idea was to release a small form factor gaming computer that operated SteamOS and offered a home game console-like experience.
Valve also released a Steam Controller to support the release of the original Steam Machine, so it makes sense that it would release a next-gen Steam Controller to go alongside this new Steam Machine. But Steam Machine didn’t last long, and as interest dwindled, Steam pulled many models from the Steam store in 2018.
Sony has announced its next batch of PlayStation Plus Monthly Games, due to arrive for subscribers in December 2025.
Notably, the list includes this year's LEGO Horizon Adventures, the family-friendly retelling of the franchise's first entry (that's also notable for bringing the PlayStation franchise to Nintendo Switch).
Also included in next month's offerings is the decidedly non-family friendly Killing Floor 3, a first-person shooter where you and other co-op buddies hunt down bioengineered creatures of a more disturbing nature.
If you're still not over the spooky season, then you should look no further than The Outlast Trials, which developer Red Barrels itself describes as a game featuring "mind-numbing terror." IGN's The Outlast Trials review surfaced with another 7/10, saying The Outlast Trials had "all of the gory appeal of a cheesy horror movie." Which is to say some, but also that it's something of an acquired taste.
If you want something a little less creepy, the stylish but tense extraction shooter Synduality Echo of Ada features mechs and a cool sci-fi premise. IGN's Synduality review returned, you guessed it, another 7/10, praising its mech-based gameplay but saying it was a bit of a grind to get to its best bits.
Next month's final game is Neon White, the even more stylish shooter-meets-visual novel featuring angst-ridden assassins. IGN's Neon White review awarded the game an 8/10, praising its "airtight level design and fantastic sense of momentum."
Call of Duty is back, and it's got a battle on its hands
There are some things you can always rely on, and a new Call of Duty game coming out each year is one of them.As one of the best-known names in video games, it's a series that needs little introduction. According to publisher Activision, it's sold an estimated 500 million copies, a movie adaptation is on the way, and despite having launched in 2003 it still reliably appears at - or near - the top of the annual bestseller charts.
But this year the world's top military shooter might have a fight on its hands.Battlefield 6, which has been a huge hit for rival gaming giant Electronic Arts, has been drawing attention away from its veteran competitor.And long-time Call of Duty fans have been increasingly vocal over worries about the series losing touch with its roots.The clash of the multiplayer titans comes at an interesting time for the makers of Call of Duty, who've had to issue responses to fan concerns about the series losing its way.
It has long offered players the chance to purchase "operator skins" that change their character's appearance.They're a frequent source of brand crossovers, and previous designs have been based on stars including footballer Neymar Jr, streamer NickMercs and rapper Nicki Minaj.But when Activision revealed skins based on 90s cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead earlier this year, there was a backlash.Fans accused the company of trying to mimic Fortnite, the ever-popular multiplayer game famous for its sometimes unlikely crossovers, which have included pop star Sabrina Carpenter and an AI-voiced Darth Vader in 2025.
Activision said the feedback from fans "hit home" and that it took the complaints about the series losing its identity seriously.It's also being released after parent company Microsoft increased prices of its Game Pass subscription service by 20%, angering many players.
We’re bringing Xbox to more players around the world across devices including console, PC, and mobile, making it easier than ever to connect and play. With more ways to play, thanks to Xbox Cloud Gaming, more people can jump in and play their favorite games, meaning more people to ready up with, throw down against, and build memories with.
Players are streaming their games more than ever — cloud gaming hours from Game Pass subscribers has increased 45% compared to this time last year. And, console players are embracing flexibility, spending 45% more time cloud streaming on console and 24% more on other devices.
People play across the globe in many different ways and our ambition at Xbox is to reach players wherever they live and however they choose to play. Earlier this month, we expanded Xbox Cloud Gaming to India, the fastest-growing gaming market in the world, which surpassed 500 million gamers this year. With the addition of India, Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available in 29 countries. We’re also seeing exciting momentum in Latin America in countries like Argentina and Brazil which have shown double digital growth in play time and active players. Players in Argentina and Brazil can also now stream using the Xbox app on LG TVs and Amazon Fire TV, adding even more ways to play. To keep pace with this demand, we’ve expanded in-region server capacity, delivering shorter wait times for gamers. This expansion is all about meeting the community’s enthusiasm and making sure every session is instant and seamless.
Ubisoft No Longer Plans to Release a Second Assassin's Creed Shadows Expansion
Ubisoft has confirmed it no longer plans to launch a second major Assassin's Creed Shadows expansion, something that previously would have formed part of the game's now-abandoned season pass.Shadows' first — and now, it seems, only — major expansion launched in September. The 10-hour Claws of Awaji had previously been described as the "first expansion" included in Shadows' season pass, an offer that was formally scrapped a year ago when Ubisoft delayed the game's launch from November 2024 to February 2025.
As an apology to fans for the game's delay, Ubisoft said it instead would gift Claws of Awaji for free to all pre-order customers. But fans still assumed a second expansion would follow at some point, as has become custom for every other major Assassin's Creed title over the past decade.
"As of now, at this moment for Year Two, there is no expansion on the size of Awaji that is planned," associate game director Simon Lemay-Comtois said in an interview with JorRaptor.
Lemay-Comtois caveated his answer by noting some exceptional examples in the past where Ubisoft had changed its plans to make more add-on content than it had originally envisioned (such as with the recent Saudi-funded DLC that arrived two years post-launch for Assassin's Creed Mirage). But, currently, it seems clear that no second expansion is on the cards, and there's no suggestion that Shadows' post-launch plans will extend into a Year Three.
