Review: Shadows Of The Damned: Hella Remastered (Switch) – Cult Shooter Returns As Fun-But-Flawed As Ever

Damned if ya do.

When it was announced back in 2010, Shadows Of The Damned seemed too good to be true. A supergroup of creators teaming up to make a game in the genre they helped define. Shinji Mikami, father of the Resident Evil franchise, joining Suda51, one of Japanese game development’s most unique voices. Akira Yamaoka, beloved composer of the Silent Hill series, was also on board. How could this possibly not be another survival horror masterpiece?

Unfortunately, publisher demands twisted their collaboration into something more commercially viable. Starting as a traditional horror experience called Kurayami, Grasshopper Manufacture’s anticipated title ended up being a gonzo shooter in which Mikami and Suda’s signature was diluted. A flawed yet enjoyable experience that has since garnered a cult following, Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered joins Suda 51’s Lollipop Chainsaw RePop as a flawed yet enjoyable Switch remaster.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for October 28 to November 1

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for October 28 to November 1

Next Week on Xbox Hero Image

Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!


I’m on Observation Duty 6

Dreamloop Games

I’m on Observation Duty 6 – October 28
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

As an employee of a mysterious organization, your job is to monitor live surveillance camera footage and report other-worldly anomalies using your sharp eyes and good memory. Can you survive the entire night shift, or will you succumb to paranoia?


Vengeance Hunters

Nalua Studio SLU

Vengeance Hunters – October 28

Pick your fighter: The robot, Golem. The brawler, Candy. The mad scientist, Loony. And adventure from the Last Woods to the desolate Wastelands and to the mean streets of the Megalopolis and beyond! Play solo or with a friend as you battle a strange array of enemies, aliens, monsters, and thugs. Collect secrets, increase your score, and challenge yourself across increased difficulty in this original NeoGeo title.


Backrooms: Partygoers

Ratalaika Games S.L.

Backrooms: Partygoers – October 29
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

A horror survival game where you play as a researcher tasked to find anomalies inside the horrifying alternate dimension known as The Backrooms. Scavenge for water and other supplies from dead bodies stuck in The Backrooms as you try to escape sharing their fate. Hide in lockers, scan for targets, use a flashlight, and detect creatures using the Anomaly Scanner.


Clock Tower: Rewind

WayForward

Clock Tower: Rewind – October 29
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Translated and released outside of Japan for the first time, Clock Tower: Rewind is a revival of the terror-inducing 16-bit classic that dares you to explore the haunting confines of the Barrows family manor. As teenage orphan Jennifer, you must search every disturbing corner to find items, reveal secrets, and discover ways to evade Scissorman, a murderous, unstoppable, shears-wielding psychopath.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Square Enix

$49.99

Life is Strange: Double Exposure – October 29
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere

Max Caulfield, photographer-in-residence at the prestigious Caledon University, discovers her closest new friend, Safi, dead in the snow. To save her, Max tries to Rewind time – a power she’s not used in years… instead, Max opens the way to a parallel timeline where Safi is still alive, and still in danger!


Monster High™‎ Skulltimate Secrets™

Outright Games Ltd.

$39.99

Monster High Skulltimate Secrets – October 29
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

It’s your first day at Monster High, where all monsters are welcome… but some strange events are happening. Can you uncover the mystery of the doors and ancient keys and bring the school back to its authentic, spooky self? Play and discover its skulltimate secrets.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution

Idea Factory International

Neptunia Game Maker R:Evoltuion – October 29
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere

Grow a previously defunct gaming studio to success. Building it requires strong developers, cutting-edge video games, and the expansion of your market. Choose wisely and become the biggest game studio of the year!


Phasmophobia (Game Preview)

Kinetic Games

Phasmophobia (Game Preview) – October 29
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Paranormal activity is on the rise and it’s up to you and your team to use all the ghost-hunting equipment at your disposal to gather as much evidence as you can.


Post Trauma

Raw Fury

Post Trauma – October 29

Post Trauma is a modern interpretation of genre-defining survival horror classics. As you venture deeper into the unknown, you’ll strive to solve the mysteries of your unfamiliar surroundings, hoping to discover hidden truths while trying to stay alive.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Cell Scientists: Beyond

R-Next

Cell Scientists: Beyond – October 30
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

Save a sci-fi world from the dangerous Chaga virus in Cell Scientists: Beyond, an exciting puzzle game with 50 levels story mode and easy to pick gameplay mechanics. Embark on an adventure to destroy viruses using futuristics nano ships and help the patients. Save the day using your puzzle-solving skills!


Deepest Trench

Favor Games

Deepest Trench – October 30
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

An exhilarating local co-op game that plunges players into the depths of the Mariana Trench for a secretive military operation. With immersive gameplay and breathtaking visuals, players must work together to navigate treacherous underwater terrain, uncovering hidden mysteries and face unexpected dangers along the way.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Hidden Paws Mystery

Silesia Games Sp. z o.o.

Hidden Paws Mystery – October 30
Xbox Play Anywhere

You are an adventurer, the last of the Seekers of Cats, and you are tasked with an important job. Scattered on those islands are little cats, some of them are cold and hungry and yet still hoping someone will find them. Others don’t really care about you or your quest but meow insistently anyway so you should probably stop for a moment and pet them too.


Last Escape: Dead Complex

Mad Jackal Games

$4.99

Last Escape: Dead Complex – October 30

Dead Complex is a 2D top down, survival horror game. Sneak, loot, and fight your way out of an infested apartment complex and begin your final escape from the city.


Retreat To Enen

indie.io

Retreat To Enen – October 30
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

A base building simulator and survival game unlike any other. Rather than fight your way to prosperity, you’ll be living off the land in balance with nature. Three vast biomes await you. Explore, forage, hunt, craft, build, and meditate as you unlock the secrets of Enen and build the retreat of your dreams. Unlock and gather over 160 unique items as you explore.


Skater’s Solstice

Eastasiasoft Limited

Skater’s Solstice – October 30
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Skater’s Solstice is a top-down brainteasing game with a wintry theme and crisp HD visuals where you’ll need to overcome 50 stages of gradually increasing complexity to achieve ice skating mastery. Each stage contains 3 stars and a glimmering exit. Can you put it all together and gather all the stars?


Xbox Play Anywhere

Vampire Hunters

Gamecraft Studios

Vampire Hunters – October 30
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

Shoot, stack, and slay! Vampire Hunters is a rogue lite survivors FPS where the toughest Transylvanians stack guns to mow down monsters with extreme firepower. Collect new weapons, upgrade, and dominate as you explore new levels in this retro-inspired bullet heaven FPS.


[REDACTED]

KRAFTON, Inc.

$22.49

[Redacted] – October 31

Black Iron, a state-of-the-art penitentiary located on Jupiter’s icy moon Callisto, is overrun with hordes of infected inmates. As a modest prison guard your job is simple – get to the last escape pod and get out alive.


Dragon Age™: The Veilguard

Electronic Arts


15


$69.99

$62.99

Dragon Age: The Veilguard – October 31
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities – steeped in conflict and secret magics. Now, a pair of corrupt ancient gods have broken free from centuries of darkness and are hellbent on destroying the world. Rise as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight to stop the gods from blighting the world.


Garten of Banban 6

Feardemic

Garten of Banban 6 – October 31
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Explore the forgotten levels of Banban’s Kindergarten. Survive the new terrors that reside below. Uncover the truth behind the place and find the whereabouts of your missing child.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Hannah

QUByte

Hannah – October 31
Xbox Play Anywhere

After Hannah’s doll gets stolen by a mysterious force, you must help her face multiple challenges that have taken shape by her childhood memories and wounds. Set in a retro surrealist world inspired by the 80’s, the player can choose between different paths that will take them down multiple endings.


Magic Cats Pots

©RedDeer.Games

Magic Cats Pots – October 31

Restore the broken porcelain and reveal hidden magic in Magic Cats Pots puzzles! Step into the magical world of Magic Cats Pots and breathe new life into old treasures! Visitors can come to the shop with their broken treasures, and with a touch of magic, these items can be brought back to life. But this isn’t just any life – these objects are home to divine creatures: cats.


Rumours From Elsewhere

Notte Studio Games

Rumours From Elsewhere – October 31
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

You have come to the right place pilgrim… Rumours from Elsewhere is a 2.5D action platformer with RPG and roguelite elements. Battle alone or with a friend through an ancient fantasy world, filled with loot and danger… welcome to the gauntlet of greed.


Self-Delusion

Sometimes You


$14.99

$11.99
Free Trial

Self-Delusion – October 31

A first-person survival horror game in the original setting of Slavic fairy tales. You will face unique monsters like Kolobok, Leshy, Boggart, Lapot and other creepy creatures. Explore, hide or run. Just don’t get devoured by them.


Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered

NetEase Entertainment Interactive Pte. Ltd.

$24.99

Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered – October 31

Kick some demon tail as Garcia Hotspur on one devil of a ride. The flames of hell will feel frigid compared to the hot-blooded Garcia on his quest to get his girl back from the Lord of the Underworld in this hot-blooded, hellishly twisted, feverishly filthy, love and hate-filled road trip.


Totally Spies! – Cyber Mission

Microids

$39.99

Totally Spies! Cyber Mission – October 31
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

The dazzling trio from Beverly Hills—Sam, Clover, and Alex— is back and they are ready to light up the vibrant streets of Singapore with their spy skills! From the bustling streets to Aiya University, embark on an action-packed adventure as you explore all the futuristic spots of the town.


Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge

Ratalaika Games S.L.

Aero The Acro-Bat: Rascal Rival Revenge – November 1
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

The 2002 remake of Aero the Acro-Bat is back and better than ever with improved sprites, modified stages and skills, as well as a whole new comic-style introduction scene. It’s up to Aero the Acro-Bat, the circus’s star performer, to rescue his friends and girlfriend Ariel, and put a stop to Edgar Ektor’s mad plans so everyone can enjoy the show again!


Albatroz

SOEDESCO

Albatroz – November 1
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Albatroz is a backpacking adventure RPG that will take you through majestic landscapes in search of your lost sibling. A tale about knowing when to let go and start over. Follow Isla’s journey through the Forbidden Lands, a breathtaking, otherworldly realm where two worlds converge.


Journey to Kreisia

KEMCO

Journey to the Kreisia – November 1
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

While attempting to skip out on a homework assignment and meet up with his friends at the arcade, a teenager by the name of Yusis is suddenly enveloped in a blinding light and transported to Kreisia — a world where fantasy meets reality.



Sainthood – The Game

Bisong Taiwo

Sainthood – November 1
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Sainthood is a cozy strategy game about serving your community. Explore a miniature world and help the townsfolk by constructing buildings, delivering resources, and volunteering. Pray and attend other spiritual activities as you rise to become a Saint!


Unsolved Case: Killer Popularity CE Xbox

Legacy Games

Unsolved Case: Killer Popularity CE – November 1
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

This new collection of crime episodes is full of terrifying and bone-chilling murders, break-ins, and robberies. We believe you are the only one who can stop the perpetrators, but just in case, we’ve sent Paul to you for backup. Your faithful partner will be there to assist you or even bring you a new case. Make complicated moral choices that will determine the future of both perpetrator and victim. Danger and treachery lay around every corner… so be careful!


The post Next Week on Xbox: New Games for October 28 to November 1 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Phasmophobia’s PS VR2 features detailed 

Gather your friends, grab your EMF Reader and prepare for spine-chilling ghost hunts because Phasmophobia is finally coming to PS5 and PS VR2 on October 29, 2024. Just in time for Halloween! Whether you’re an experienced ghost hunter or a new recruit eager to join the supernatural fray, we can’t wait to welcome everyone on PS5 and PS VR2, especially the latter. If you’re up to the task, ghost hunter, you’ll find a genuinely haunting and immersive experience waiting for you in virtual reality. Here’s a look at some of the standout features you can expect when you put on your PS VR2 headset. 

Foveated Rendering: Frights with performance in mind 

One of the key advantages of Phasmophobia on PS VR2 is the inclusion of foveated rendering. This innovative technology allows the game to deliver a higher, more stable framerate, ensuring that the intense moments of supernatural suspense stay smooth and immersive. How does it work? The PS VR2’s eye-tracking system detects exactly where you’re looking and focuses its processing power on rendering that area in full resolution. Everything in your direct line of sight is sharp and clear. This strategic allocation of resources leads to a significant boost in performance, meaning you can enjoy fluid, responsive gameplay even during the tensest ghost encounters.

Crystal clear visuals at native PS VR2 resolution 

In addition to the performance boost from foveated rendering, Phasmophobia on PS VR2 benefits from the headset’s native resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixels per eye. That’s a lot of pixels packed into your ghost-hunting goggles! The game also runs at a 60Hz refresh rate with 120Hz reprojection, ensuring smooth visuals as you explore every eerie hallway, attic, and basement in search of evidence. Whether you’re identifying ghosts from EMF spikes, deciphering spirit box responses, or watching for ghostly apparitions, the added sharpness and clarity help bring each investigation to life in terrifying detail. 

A tool belt designed for ghost hunting 

One of the features exclusive to the PS VR2 version on the console version of Phasmophobia is the tool belt, which is designed to make ghost hunting more intuitive and streamlined in VR. Managing equipment is crucial to success, and with the tool belt, you’ll have access to up to three pieces of gear at a time. Need to swap out your EMF reader for a camera while holding on to a crucifix for protection? No problem. With the tool belt, swapping gear is as simple as reaching down, grabbing what you need, and staying focused on the paranormal activity around you.

Cross-play with PS5 Players 

Ghost hunting is always better with friends, and Phasmophobia on PS VR2 makes sure you won’t be ghostbusting alone. PS VR2 players can team up with those on PS5 or PS5 Pro, creating a seamless cross-play experience for console gamers. Whether you’re diving into the investigation in VR or playing on a flat screen, you’ll be able to coordinate with your team, track evidence, and outwit dangerous ghosts together. The ability to play with friends across different PlayStation systems ensures that no one has to miss out on terrifying ghost hunts. 

Coming October 29, 2024 

Mark your calendars, because Phasmophobia is bringing its blend of cooperative ghost hunting and hair-raising horror to PS5 and PS VR2 on October 29, 2024. Gather your friends, prepare your equipment, and get ready for the fright of your life! Add Phasmophobia to your wishlist today


Phasmophobia’s PS VR2 features detailed 

Silent Hill 2 Remake Hotfix Addresses Progress Breaking Bug

Bloober Team has released a patch for the Silent Hill 2 remake which brings the game to Version 1.05 and fixes a progress breaking bug.

The patch notes were released on Steam and focus predominantly on the issue introduced in Version 1.04, which stopped some players progressing past the Labyrinth section of the survival horror game.

“We are happy to announce a new update for Silent Hill 2 that addresses a critical issue in the Labyrinth level, after Patch 1.04 for both Steam and PlayStation 5 players, and introduces Steam Cloud save functionality for PC players on Steam,” Bloober Team said. The full patch notes are available below.

Bloober Team said it was aware of the issue on October 22 when the bug was discovered. Several Silent Hill 2 players shared their frustration online as the Labyrinth section began living up to its name a little too well, trapping players inside its walls forever.

This section is a giant puzzle, as players must manipulate a cube to shift the walls around and open new pathways to progress. But after Patch 1.04 was released, some pathways wouldn’t open at all. This has now been fixed, however.

Bloober Team and publisher Konami released the Silent Hill 2 remake on October 8 to glowing critical reception and strong sales, leaving many fans of the previously dormant horror franchise eager for more.

Bloober has said it’s open to making other Silent Hill games, though at the moment is focused on its sci-fi survival horror game Cronos: The New Dawn.

In our 8/10 review of the Silent Hill 2 remake, IGN said: “Silent Hill 2 is a great way to visit – or revisit – one of the most dread-inducing destinations in the history of survival horror.”

Silent Hill 2 Remake Version 1.05 Patch Notes

Fixes

  • Labyrinth Progression Blocker: Fixed an issue where players who saved their game in the Labyrinth, after Toluca Prison, on the previous version encountered a progression blocker if the save data was loaded after updating to Patch 1.04. We have implemented a fix by adding a safeguard that forces proper activation of the necessary triggers, ensuring smooth progression moving forward.
    Features
  • Steam Cloud Saves: We have enabled Steam Cloud support for PC players on Steam. Please note that the game will automatically sync with the latest cloud save data. If the cloud save is more recent than the local save, it will overwrite the local data without a warning pop-up. We recommend players back up their local saves if you wish to keep multiple versions.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

We already said 10 Dead Doves was great a few years back, but it’s really great so I’m saying it again

Rebecca Jones (RPS in peace) really liked 10 Dead Doves when she wrote about it back in 2022, saying it reminded her of why she “loves weird low-budget spooks so much”. Discovering such an interesting project speaks to curiosity and taste on her part, but me? I am simply a pun enjoying buffon who got an email promising that “Dovecraftian horrors await”. The thrust of said electronic mail was that the game now has a release date of this December, but it looked neat, so I doved right in. I coo-dn’t resist. I too love weird low-budget horror. I have been pigeonholed.

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Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered review: a creative underworld romp marred by misogyny

Look up major events in 2011 and there’s some world-changing stuff… and some not so world-changing stuff. Shadows Of The Damned’s Xbox 360/PS3 release may slip into either camp, depending on whether you liked it back in the day or not. It’s a third-person action adventure where two famous video game folks joined forces: No More Heroes’ Suda51 and Resident Evil’s Shinji Mikami. And to my knowledge, it’s considered a bit of a cult classic.

So, having played Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered after never experiencing the original, do I think it’s any good? If you were a fan of the OG, there’s no doubt you’ll like it. If you’re coming in as a newbie, I think it’s refreshing in the sense it’s a trim throwback with some interesting ideas and middling-to-good execution. But its whole schtick isn’t only a product of its time – it’s actually downright yucky.

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Valve Finally Fixes BLU Scout’s Pants, 17 Years After Team Fortress 2 Came Out,

Valve has finally fixed a problem with Team Fortress 2 that’s been in the game since it launched 17 years ago.

Ever since the influential hero shooter came out on October 10, 2007, the Scout’s pants on the blue side were the wrong color. Now, among patch notes for a recently released Team Fortress 2 update, Valve buried the big news: Scout’s pants are now fixed.

Here’s the rather innocuous line from the patch notes:

  • Fixed BLU Scout using the incorrect team color pants

In typical Valve fashion, it made the change without explanation or fanfare. No explanation for why it’s taken 17 years to change the color of Scout’s pants, and no reason for why it’s done so only now. Ever mysterious, Valve is.

It’s fair to say the reaction from the Team Fortress 2 community has been a mix of shock and excitement. “They changed a character design 17 years later! What!” X/Twitter user @heavyfortres asked.

“Honestly I can’t believe they did it,” redditor KyleTheWalrus added. “BLU Scout had gray pants and blue belt loops for 17 years, and he has several cosmetics that require the gray pants color to work correctly.

“If they fixed anything, I was sure they would just make the belt loops gray because it’s easier. But those crazy bastards took the hard route.

“Now we wait another 17 years for the rest of Scout’s pants cosmetics to become the correct shade of blue. Hooray!”

Valve’s relationship with the Team Fortress 2 community has certainly had its ups and downs over the years. The game’s had an awful bot problem for some time, and exacerbated players often call for Valve to do more to clamp down. They’ve also asked for more support and content for Team Fortress 2 from Valve, which, some say, is more focused on its other, more popular games. Team Fortress 2 remains incredibly popular, though, and is among one of Steam’s most played games ahead of the likes of Warframe, Overwatch 2, and Destiny 2.

Last month, Team Fortress 2 players got creative in the fight against the shooter’s rampant bot problem by turning a 340,000 signature strong petition into an actual book and delivering it to Valve headquarters.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Former Bioshock devs once worked on an XCOM game that played like Shadow Of The Colossus

Real ones know that the only XCOM spin off worth its salt is Hasbro’s 1999 play-by-mail banger First Alien Invasion, although that didn’t stop System Shock 2 studio Irrational from getting to work on an FPS set in the strategy series’ universe after being acquired by 2K in 2006. If your sentiments are anything like I remember a lot of the internet feeling at the time, you may get nightmarish flashbacks to the trailer below, first shown at E3 2010. The project was eventually canceled and adapted into 2013’s The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, but Irrational co-founder and current Wild Bastards studio Blue Manchu founder Jon Chey has shed some light on the FPS’s development, and it sounds like it was once a far more ambitious project. Kaiju ambitious.

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Random: Reddit Is Alight With Reports Of ‘Pure Evil’ Mario Party Jamboree Player

“unadulterated danger”.

As we inch ever closer to Halloween, whispers grow of an emerging evil manifesting within the Nintendo Switch online servers. An evil so malicious, so malcontent, that its mere presence is causing the Mario Party subreddit to go wild with unsettling reports. An evil simply known as… ‘Annalingus’ (cue creepy organ music).

Yes, according to several accounts on Reddit, a player known as Annalingus is causing quite a ruckus on Super Mario Party Jamboree. Supposedly always choosing Pauline, they will commit deeds so gastly that it’s sending shivers up our spines as we write this.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Could Boost Game Pass by Up to 4 Million Subs — but at the Cost of 6 Million Lost Sales, Analysts Predict

Black Ops 6 comes out today, October 25, and it does something no other Call of duty game has done before: launch straight into Game Pass.

Following Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, the pressure is now on its gaming business to deliver. With that in mind, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has decided to take the plunge and release Black Ops 6 as a day one Game Pass game, albeit restricted to the Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers.

This is a momentous moment not just for Call of Duty but for Game Pass, which has struggled for growth in recent years. Latest official figures put Game Pass subscriber numbers at 34 million. That’s 34 million paying subscribers across console, PC, and cloud. Indeed Microsoft removed its $1 introductory Game Pass trial just weeks before Black Ops 6’s launch, as it did with last year’s Starfield — further evidence, after recent price hikes and tier changes, that the pressure is now on for Game Pass to make the absolute most of the power of Call of Duty.

Will it pay off for Microsoft? In interviews with GamesIndustry.biz, analysts predicted Black Ops 6 could boost Game Pass subscriber numbers by between 2.5 million and 4 million. However, analysts also predicted a significant impact on sales of Black Ops 6. Call of Duty is usually the best-selling game of the year, but there is now a big question mark over whether it will achieve that record once again with Black Ops 6 given it’s available as part of Game Pass.

Wedbush boss Michael Pachter told GI that putting Black Ops 6 into Game Pass could result in up to six million lost sales, based on the idea that 25% of Game Pass subscribers might have bought the game anyway. Countering this, Pachter said Game Pass could swell by between three to four million subscribers.

This is a perhaps expected shift, but is it overall better for Microsoft and Activision? The theory is that getting more players through the door than ever before, even at the cost of sales of the game, will eventually pay out because of Call of Duty’s lucrative live service, which is fueled by premium battle passes and costly cosmetic packs. Microsoft may be playing the long game here, even though it risks negative headlines about Call of Duty sales being down compared to previous years.

Of course, now Microsoft has taken the plunge with Call of Duty little is off the table when it comes to Game Pass. The expectation now is that each year’s premium Call of Duty game will launch day one on Game Pass, and fans are still waiting for the back catalog to be added.

We’ve got plenty more on Black Ops 6 ahead of launch, including its strange arachnophobia mode, built-in support for better audio tech that costs $20, Activision’s new ambitious plans to beat cheaters, and confirmation it doesn’t include the dreaded Riot Shield.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.