ralston_vpshares Clive standing in front of a slate gray portal in Final Fantasy XVI.
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THEME: Stealth SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on June 11, 2025
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The Genshin Impact dev team is back with fresh details on Version 5.7, “A Space and Time for You,” dropping June 18. In this update, the Traveler’s sibling will continue to advance their grand plan. As the Traveler unites their allies to confront the Abyss Order in Natlan, more hidden truths about Teyvat will gradually come to light, marking a pivotal turning point in the story.
Meanwhile, two familiar faces from the main story — Skirk and Dahlia — will also become playable characters. As a skilled sword master, Skirk fights without relying on Elemental Energy, dominating in extended battles or with sudden bursts of damage!
While tensions run high in the Archon Quest, there will also be time to enjoy some lighter moments. Test your tactical thinking in a simulated adventure game, reunite with old friends in the next chapter of Travelers’ Tales, and take on challenges in a new permanent combat mode.
You, within reach, yet worlds apart
The chasm between the Traveler and their sibling remains — their silence hangs like thin ice, fragile yet unbroken. Though their bond persists, the road to reunion stays shrouded in fate’s mist.
With the Loom of Fate complete, their sibling’s grand scheme advances relentlessly. Natlan now faces a full-scale Abyss Order invasion, and its tribes unite and fight under Mavuika’s fiery leadership. Dainsleif reappears, wielding mysterious powers to aid the Traveler. Meanwhile, deep in Natlan’s caverns, an enigmatic girl waits in the shadows…
What secrets drive their sibling’s grand design? What meaning hides behind each reunion and parting? The truth awaits in the new Archon Quest — not as answers to be uncovered, but as a path to be walked.
An ode to the aloof warrior and reliable protector
As the story turns its page, two familiar faces make their return. Skirk, whose icy demeanor matches her frosty blade, and Dahlia, lively and mischievous as a babbling brook, will officially join the playable roster. Though their personalities differ greatly, both are reliable allies with unique combat styles.
Skirk is a 5-star sword wielder who commands Abyssal power disguised as Cryo. Mysterious and aloof, she’s not only Childe’s master, but also once trained under one of the Five Sinners of Khaenri’ah, “The Foul” Surtalogi — said to wield power that could rival the world itself. Her strength is beyond question, yet her past remains buried in silence, like a tale frozen in time, waiting to be broken free from the ice. In her Story Quest, Travelers will encounter Skirk in Liyue, where fragments of her long-lost memories begin to emerge.
In combat, Skirk forgoes the conventional Elemental Energy system, instead using a unique resource known as “Serpent’s Subtlety.” Serpent’s Subtlety can be obtained by absorbing Void Rifts, which appear on the field when your party triggers Frozen, Superconduct, Cryo Swirl, or Cryo Crystallize reactions. Up to three Void Rifts can exist at once, and Skirk can absorb them to gain Serpent’s Subtlety. Skirk fights with two distinct combat styles, enabling her to either maintain relentless pressure through continuous attacks or unleash devastating bursts of damage.
To boost her on-field damage, Skirk can enter a special mode that enhances her Normal Attack DMG. After tapping her Elemental Skill, she enters this mode and can further boost her Normal Attack DMG by unleashing a special Elemental Burst. While in this mode, using Charged Attacks or her special Elemental Burst to absorb nearby Void Rifts grants additional Normal Attack DMG bonuses.
In her burst damage fighting style, Skirk relies on quickly accumulating resources to unleash her powerful Elemental Burst. Holding her Elemental Skill allows her to move swiftly, and even sprint across water, while absorbing nearby Void Rifts to rapidly build up Serpent’s Subtlety. With enough Serpent’s Subtlety accumulated, she can unleash her Elemental Burst, dealing high AoE Cryo DMG in an instant.
Skirk shows even greater potential when teamed up with Hydro or Cryo characters. When the team deals Hydro or Cryo DMG, Skirk gains bonus DMG. Additionally, if all party members are either Hydro or Cryo and if there is at least 1 Hydro and 1 Cryo character, all your characters in the team will have their Elemental Skill levels increased by 1.
The other new playable character, Dahlia, is the dependable deacon of the Church of Favonius and a 4-star Hydro sword wielder who protects his party members with his Shield of Sacred Favor. This shield is initially created by Dahlia’s Elemental Burst and scales based on his Max HP. After casting his Elemental Burst, the shield can be refreshed either by landing Normal Attacks with the active character or by triggering the Frozen reaction. Dahlia’s Elemental Skill summons a Sacramental Shower, which can bounce allies into the air to help them dodge attacks and gain an aerial advantage. When enemies come into contact with it, the Sacramental Shower instead explodes, dealing AoE Hydro DMG.
In Version 5.7 Event Wishes, Skirk and Dahlia both debut along with Shenhe’s rerun in the first half of the version, while the latter half will see the reruns of Mavuika and Emilie.
Fun awaits — from chill activities to serious challenges
After diving into intense combat, why not wind down with something more relaxing and fun?
The Sumeru Akademiya has launched a new simulated adventure that puts both your capabilities and luck to the test. Travelers will pick from different Companion Pieces to form teams, power them up, and take on a variety of enemies in a board game-style battlefield. You can choose between the rainforest or desert route — each with its own story and level of difficulty. Unexpected encounters along the way will make the journey all the more exciting. Beyond the combat stages, there are also “research stages” where you’ll guide Paimon to gather fruit. Doing so boosts your Speculation Level and unlocks extra bonuses for your team. Complete the challenges and you’ll not only earn Primogems and other rewards, but also have the chance to invite Sethos to your party.
A familiar breeze brings new stories from old friends. In Travelers’ Tales: Gilded Chapter, you can enjoy cozy moments all across Teyvat. Thoma returns to his hometown in Mondstadt, Neuvillette pays a visit to Merusea Village, and Dori is spotted in Inazuma trying to sell something to Sayu. On your travels, don’t forget to slow down now and then to check in on some old friends!
In addition, this update introduces a new permanent gameplay mode, Stygian Onslaught. Participating in the event will reward Travelers with Primogems, Artifacts, and valuable items for targeted Artifact enhancement. Each update will bring a new challenge with three phases and five difficulty levels. Clear Level 5 to unlock an exclusive solo-only Level 6 difficulty, where the battle is sure to be even more challenging.
There’s still plenty more to explore in Version 5.7 — but we’ll leave a few surprises for you to discover on your own. We hope Skirk and her story bring you a bold, new experience that’s as fresh as it is thrilling!
Giant Squid’s upcoming title, Sword of the Sea, is a well-crafted union of all the titles the studio and Game Director Matt Nava have worked on. The aquatic wonder of Abzû, The Pathless’s sense of adventure, and Journey’s beautiful desert world. Sword of the Sea weaves those influences together so skillfully that it feels like this atmospheric surfing adventure was the goal all along.
I got a chance to go hands-on with Sword of the Sea and talk with Giant Squid about the new game, coming day one to PlayStation Plus Game Catalog on August 19.
Surfing across the sands and sea
The game begins as the player awakens as The Wraith, a vessel waiting to be filled, who is given the task of bringing the oceans back to the world. Appearing to be the last being left alive to get the job done, you receive a mystical surfboard and hit the dunes.
The starting area is a vast playground where you can get accustomed to the board, perform tricks, and learn how to interact with the world. As you zoom across the desert, you come across different nodes known as Ocean Seeds that allow you to cleanse the land and restore parts of the ocean and marine life.
Beyond pleasing aesthetics, water and sea life directly impact gameplay. The Wraith is significantly faster on water, leading to greater speed for bigger jumps and more tricks. Some sea life create new paths, like buoyant jellyfish that make great jump pads and long strands of climbable seaweed. Watching the landscape terraform was a highlight, as was searching for all the land’s secrets.
“Sword of the Sea is really all about the spiritual magic of surfing,” Nava explains. “ It’s inspired by my own experiences snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing throughout my life. When you think of these extreme sports, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the high speed and the danger. But there’s more to it than just an adrenaline rush. When you are surfing on waves in the ocean, you are literally on the boundary between our world and the world beneath the waves, a world beyond our understanding.”
Golden triangles known as Tetra populate the world, acting as currency you can trade to mysterious vendors to learn more tricks, acquire skills, and open new paths. Want to see it all? You’ll have to detour off the main path to see and afford it all. Different vendors, triangles, and Trick Attack arenas are hidden throughout the world.
Show off your tricks and feel the terrain
Pulling off stylish moves in Sword of the Sea is straightforward. When surfing, once you jump you can press X again to perform a variety of double jump tricks. Once you acquire advanced tricks from the vendor, you hold L1 and press Triangle, Square, Circle, or X to do special grabs, flips, and spins. They score more points, and combining grabs and flips in different ways create new tricks. While the timing is a little trickier, you can give yourself a much-needed jump boost and score high-point combos when performed just right.
Sword of the Sea constantly keeps score of the tricks you pull and how advanced they are. Hidden Trick Attack arenas let you put those skills to good use. What does racking up a high Trick Score lead to? Yet another mystery we’ll have to wait to uncover.
Though the game takes place in the desert, there are plenty of different objects to grind on besides sea and sand. I came across ruins, ceramic tile roofs, and helpful aquatic life. The team at Giant Squid takes full advantage of the DualSense controller haptics to ensure every surface feels and sounds distinct. As I surfed along rooftops, I could hear the melodic tones of tiles underneath and the tingle in my fingers. The sand offers a coarse sensation, and you feel and hear the rushing water as you speed through on the makeshift highways parts of the ocean create.
“The haptic feedback of the DualSense controller reacts to each surface differently so you can feel it when you cross from one to the next,” says Nava. “Combined with special sound effects that play from the controller, it gives a very realistic sense of touching the surfaces you see in the game. We are very excited by the extra layer of detail the haptics adds to the experience of surfing in Sword of the Sea.”
You’re free to explore in any given direction, and hard-to-reach places usually reward you with something appropriate for the time and skill it takes to reach them. However, as you explore, you will discover murals and other environmental elements that keep the story ever-present. A tale of loss and destruction, and trying to find out how you fit into it all is an intriguing thread to follow. Especially since at the end of my session, it was clear that a mysterious character was following me. It appeared to be another wraith, but whoever the pursuer was didn’t give vibes of good intentions.
It’s easy to compare Sword of the Sea to its predecessors, but the game truly feels like an evolution of everything the Giant Squid team has worked on to this point. The game’s sights, sounds, and feel connected me with the land, and I can’t wait to hop on the board again and see what’s really out there.
“Our games have a really recognizable and unique art style, and tell atmospheric stories with their bold color and music,” says Nava. “We start with a feeling, an experience, and a message that we want the player to feel. Really, all our games are all about movement, and how it can connect you with nature and the world in different ways. Sword of the Sea builds on the ideas in all our previous games to create something that is both very Giant Squid and an exciting new adventure.”
When it comes to Super Earth, you are the law–the final word on freedom and Managed Democracy in our streets. You are the keeper of the peace and the deliverer of justice, but you need to step up your gear before you go out on patrol. That’s why the Ministry of Defense has approved the release of the Force of Law Premium Warbond1 on June 12!
First, let’s talk gear. The AR-32 Pacifier, a large capacity assault rifle, is the last word in defense against enemies roaming the colonies. Combine it with the new G-109 Urchin stun grenade, which attaches to the perp and dispenses electrical pulses until they’re incapacitated, and you can handle any size squid assembly.
But hold on–you’re still going to need some backup, diver. We can’t think of a better companion than the AX/ARC-3 “Guard Dog” K-9. Loyal to its core, the arc-powered K-9 will get between you and any threat to your authority. Just be wary of the occasional (accidental) friendly bite.
We’re also including access to the GL-52 De-Escalator support weapon, a grenade launcher that fires high-powered arc grenades. The negotiations will be short and shocking when you call this one in.
This isn’t an undercover job, either, so you need to get some gear that lets citizens, SEAF, and squids alike know you’re on the beat. Nothing inspires a sense of safety and obedience quite like the sight of a Helldiver wearing the BP-20 Correct Officer medium armor, with its protective padding and roomy pouches.
But maybe you want to be first on the scene, which means you need something lightweight. In that case, try the BP-32 Jackboot, a light armor packing fewer pouches, but more panache with an official-looking tailored jacket and sturdy pauldrons.
Both armors come with the Ballistic Padding passive that grants the wearer higher resistance to chest damage, explosive damage, and all damage from bleeding. These armors also pair well with either the Miranda’s Legacy or the Mother Eagle’s Wings capes, and their matching player cards, in coordinating blue and gold color schemes.
Force of Law also includes new patterns! Watch them scatter when your paddy wagon, the FRV, rolls down the street with the True Blue pattern, also available for your Exosuits and Hellpods. Speaking of Hellpods, be sure to equip the new booster–Stun Pods–which hotwires your drops to shock nearby suspects into a stupor.
We haven’t forgotten the emotes, either. This Warbond comes with three hand signal emotes for Hold, Silence, and Group Up. Even if the mic is off, you can still organize your unit.
And lastly, you’ve got the gun, but now you need the badge. You’ll be able to equip the Extra Judicial title, reserved only for those who protect and serve the citizens of Super Earth.
Be on the lookout, Helldivers: Force of Law is coming June 12! This Managed Democracy isn’t gonna enforce itself.
1 Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.
Game reveals, release date confirmations, and new looks at titles coming to PlayStation in the near future: today’s State of Play packed a lot into its runtime. Whether you missed the show, want to rewatch it, or dig down into the individual announcements, this article has you covered.
Firstly, you can rewatch the full show below. Underneath that we highlight each of the games featured in the show with recaps of their announcement as well as their full trailers. We also have further details and insight by the game creators in a selection of dedicated PS Blog articles.
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Astro Bot
New levels are coming to Astro Bot this summer! Get ready for the challenge of five new Vicious Void Galaxy levels. They’ll require every bit of skill together to complete! And of course, these new levels will introduce their own Special Bots! And that’s not all: an updated smiley version of the Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense wireless controller is set to launch later this year.
The wonderfully weird walking sim has a release date as Baby Steps toddles onto PS5 September 8. Today’s new gameplay trailer further highlights the game’s unique traversal mechanics, as well as challenges its onesie-wearing protagonist Nate faces as he attempts to answer the call of nature.
Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement
The 2.5D side-scrolling action RPG returns with a new dark chapter. Explore the massive Ethereal Castle as two new heroes – Leo and Alex – join forces to tackle its fearsome inhabitants. You’ll be able to switch between the duo at the press of a button, leveraging each adventurer’s distinct abilities in order to survive.
Climb like never before in survival-climber Cairn, which ascends onto PS5 November 5. Consider your path and climb anywhere on the mountain, managing your endurance and resources to survive. You’ll be able to hone your skills and test palm strength early, as a demo launches onto PlayStation Store today.
After being announced in the last State of Play this past February, Digimon Story: Time Stranger returns with a new trailer that digs into its story, reveals more of its vibrant characters and highlights the variety of Digimon growth and customization you can expect when the game launches October 3.
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Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots
Teeing off on PS5 this September 5 is the return of the classic golfing series. Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots debuted a new gameplay trailer that revealed a surprise guest star: Pac-Man! The gaming icon will be available as an early unlockable character when you pre-order the game.
Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles
Originally released in 1997 for PlayStation, Final Fantasy Tactics is known for its rich story and deep, strategic gameplay. This September 30 you can enjoy both when the strategy RPG returns on PS5 and PS4 in the form of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles. This enhanced version adds fully voiced dialogue, optimized and updated UI, graphical improvements, and a number of other quality of life features
Today’s show announced a special State of Play episode dedicated to Ghost of Yōtei, coming your way soon.
Sucker Punch will guide you through an extended look at new and evolved gameplay mechanics, including exploration, combat, and much more. Mark your calendar: the episode airs this July.
Hirogami
Hirogami is an origami-inspired 3D action platformer coming to PS5 on September 3. Explore a beautiful but fragile origami world as Hiro, a master of the art of ‘folding’, and take on animal forms to traverse the landscape, solve puzzles, overcome enemies, and save the realm from a deadly digital threat.
007 First Light
IO Interactive’s third-person action-adventure game 007 First Light third-person action-adventure game unveils a new James Bond origin story. Discover the events that lead a young maverick to become the best MI6 agent and the world’s most iconic spy when the game launches on PS5 next year.
A brand-new, built from the ground up entry into the iconic puzzle series launches later this year on PS5 and features optional PS VR2 compatibility. Lumines Arise includes 30 flow state-inducing stages, including lush jungles, oceans, to more electronic frontiers like the bustling streets of Tokyo and the endless expanse of outer space. A new Burst mechanic amps up the timeless gameplay.
PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works (Arc), and Marvel Games have joined forces to realize the latest in tag team fighters, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls! Experience the Marvel Universe like never before with reimagined characters and stages, a heart-pounding soundtrack, intuitive gameplay mechanics, and jaw-dropping visuals that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Whether this is your first fighting game or you are a veteran of the genre, Arc has incorporated gameplay controls and mechanics that are easy to pick up and play, and yet still offer the depth and versatility for high level competition.
Today’s trailer offered a closer look at how this remake has approached the fearsome adversaries that Naked Snake will face on his mission: The Cobra Unit. The new footage doesn’t just linger on the high stakes action you’ll face during the story campaign though. Konami also shares gameplay of Snake vs Monkey, which is also making its return when the game launches on PS5 this August 28.
Mortal Kombat Kollection
Digital Eclipse partners with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 later this year. With multiple playable games from the early days of this groundbreaking fighting game series as well as interactive documentaries, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection promises to be the most comprehensive, detailed look at the franchise’s history ever assembled.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, the new spectacular side-scrolling entry to the acclaimed series, releases on July 31 on PS5 and PS4. Honoring the franchise’s legacy, Ragebound modernises the unforgiving action-platforming formula with the fast-paced and exhilarating action The Game Kitchen (Blasphemous I & II) is known for.
Nioh 3
Koei Tecmo and developer Team Ninja announced Nioh 3 for PS5. In this dark fantasy action RPG, players can fight using two distinct combat styles: Samurai and Ninja. The Samurai style provides a gameplay experience similar to previous Nioh titles, while Ninja style excels in quick movements like dodging and aerial actions. Players will be able to switch between battle styles instantly at any time. Intrigued to know how they’ll work? You can find out today with a limited time demo that’ll be launching on PlayStation Store.
Along with Sword of the Sea coming August 19 as part of the Game Catalog lineup (more on that further down), there were new titles announced coming to PlayStation Plus. The PS2 version of immersive sci-fi sim Deus Ex joins Game Catalog June 17, Twisted Metal 3 and Twisted Metal 4 come to the PlayStation Plus Premium’s Classics range July 15. Later this summer, the original PlayStation versions of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis also come to PlayStation Plus Premium’s Classics range.
Pragmata
Pragmata, Capcom’s new science fiction adventure, received a new gameplay trailer during today’s State of Play. This early peak of the game’s gameplay shows its unique twist of action and strategy, as in Pragmata, players must control its two protagonists, Hugh and Diana, at the same time to overcome the many obstacles you’ll face.
Today State of Play saw the reveal of the first wireless fight stick custom designed by PlayStation. Codenamed Project Defiant, this new controller allows wireless play through PlayStation Link, or wired connection on PS5 or PC, and is set to launch next year.
Romeo Stargazer is a man stuck between life and death who chases space-time’s most wanted fugitives as FBI special agent Dead Man. This newly revealed action title, created by Grasshopper Manufacture, launches on PS5 next year, and sees you use guns, swords and even enemies’ own powers against them to battle evil hordes.
Meet a world of puppetfolk exploring the open sea and its secrets in oceanic action RPG Sea of Remnants, which sets sail for PS5. Form a specialised crew to answer any challenge that lies beyond the horizon, upgrade your ship to ride out any storm and return home with your spoils to Orbtopia, a pirate city that’ll evolve based on your swashbuckling decisions.
Silent Hill f launches September 25 on PS5, and today’s State of Play trailer shows Shimizu Hinako’s perilous journey as the high schooler’s hometown is engulfed in fog, and the dangers within will have her fighting for her life. As a standalone spinoff, the game serves as an excellent introduction to the series.
Giant Squid is bringing its exhilarating, mythic surfing adventure Sword of the Sea to PS5 on August 19, with the game releasing as part of that month’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup.
The legendary Thief franchise is reimagined for PlayStation VR2 in Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, launching later this year. Play as Magpie, a cunning thief orphaned by Northcrest’s brutality and shaped by the streets and use PS VR2 mechanics to steal, evade, and outsmart the forces controlling The City. Move between shadows, and extinguish light sources with water arrows, hands or even a well-aimed breath to remain undetected.
Road 96 creator DigixArt returns with an intriguing asynchronous multiplayer, oceanic adventure, coming to PS5 February 24, 2026. Tides of Tomorrow’s vibrant post-apocalyptic world interweaves your choices and a previous player’s decisions for a truly unique experience. You’ll see echoes of that player’s choices and actions, that will help you avoid traps, solve puzzles, investigate what happened before, or simply adapt based on the other player’s actions.
PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works (Arc), and Marvel Games have joined forces to realize the latest in tag team fighters, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls! Experience the Marvel Universe like never before with reimagined characters and stages, a heart-pounding soundtrack, intuitive gameplay mechanics, and jaw-dropping visuals that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Whether this is your first fighting game or you are a veteran of the genre, Arc has incorporated gameplay controls and mechanics that are easy to pick up and play, and yet still offer the depth and versatility for high level competition.
“From the beginning, we aimed to make MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls a title that could be enjoyed by a wide variety of players,” explains Game Director and Lead Battle Designer, Kazuto Sekine.
”Generally, a team VS fighting game requires the player to learn multiple characters, but for MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, you only need to master one character in order to play the game. We have designed the mechanics in such a way that you can perform a variety of actions with either traditional fighting game inputs or simple inputs. With the press of a few buttons, multiple characters can appear on screen to provide backup or attack together – creating a new and exciting team VS battle experience.”
“Since day one, our long-time and trusted collaborators at PlayStation and the team at Arc System Works have poured incredible amounts of talent and passion into reimagining the Marvel Universe in a way that only they can,” said Michael Francisco, Senior Product Development Manager, Marvel Games. “MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls demonstrates that they are absolute masters of their craft and are true Marvel fans at heart. Players are in for a wild ride.”
Characters
Enter the fray with iconic Marvel heroes and villains such as Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Storm, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, and Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes) – each with Arc’s unique twist on their character designs and gameplay styles.
Arc Producer, Takeshi Yamanaka, states, “There are so many amazing Marvel characters that it was quite a struggle to choose our roster, but we did have some criteria for the selection process. First and foremost, we wanted to include characters who we feel to be the ‘face’ of Marvel. At the same time, we also needed to select characters that would give us a balance of battle types and styles. Lastly, we wanted to sprinkle in a few surprises and leave room for characters who have never been playable in a fighting game before.”
Yamanaka-san continues, “Early on in the project, we experimented with a shader to recreate a more western comic-book visual style, but the Marvel team expressed a desire for us to lean into something more Arc-like. It was then that we switched our approach to the game’s visuals and began to lean more into the Japanimation style Arc is known for.”
Gameplay mechanics
From short-ranged jabs to the cinematic Ultimate Skills, each character features a bespoke set of Normal, Special, and Unique attacks inspired by their abilities and powers in Marvel lore. Arc have gone to great lengths to ensure that gameplay style, movement, and feel of these legendary characters is fresh, new, and wholly unique to MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls.
But it’s not just the individual gameplay of the characters that has been enhanced; significant dedication has gone into reimagining and redefining what it means to be a tag team fighter.
“Team VS fighting games have a long tradition of 2v2 or 3v3 team formats, so this is something we discussed in-depth within the development team. We went back and forth many times, from thinking we might be better off making a 1v1 game or sticking to the established 3v3 format.”
Sekine-san continues, “At its core, we felt that the appeal of team VS fighting games is the intensity of battles with multiple characters on screen at once. Additionally, one of the appeals of Marvel comics is seeing the vast cast of characters coming together to create all kinds of unique team-ups.”
“With these two ideas in mind, we concluded that creating a 4v4 team VS system would be the best way to not only create those over-the-top moments, but to further evolve the tag fighting genre.”
Stages
The stages come to life in MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, filled with easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans to find. Most stages also feature multiple areas. These transitions between areas are not just action-packed and stunning to witness, but they also play a strategic role. Check out the screenshots from Marvel’s New York City to see what you can find.
More to come
Today’s announcement is just the beginning of our journey. From characters and stages to gameplay modes and the online experience. There’s so much more we can’t wait to share with you!
“Football is a relatively simple game. It’s one of the reasons it’s such a beautiful sport. But within that there’s a lot of depth to be found.”
With these words, spoken by Pierre Tarno, CEO of Sloclap and Rematch’s creative director, it’s easy to see the ethos behind the studio’s spectacular new football game, even before I boot up the final beta.
At first glance Rematch appears to be an arcade styled kickabout, sprinting past the typically super realistic examples of the genre. It’s fast, doesn’t require you to learn particularly complex controls, and pairs down the pitch to 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 matches. Even the rules are more akin to ‘jumpers for goalposts’ fun, with no fixed positions, fouls, offsides, or breaks except for after goal replays.
And yet, nestled within Rematch’s action-packed gloss is a depth that football fans will not only appreciate, but keep coming back to.
Rematch’s grass roots
“I liked the idea of performing a body kick in third-person,” explains Pierre, when asked about Rematch’s origins. “I think body actions are some of the most beautiful and interesting actions in football, because that’s when the ball circulates the fastest. After that notion, we dug deeper to establish the experience we wanted for the game: to feel like an amazing player, feel part of a team and feel the pressure.”
All three of those things were definitely present during my time with the beta. Getting stuck into the tutorial and practice mode, the controls seemed easy enough, with the expected sprint, block and slide tackle buttons, but beyond that I encountered some interesting differences to other football titles. There’s no dedicated cross button, so the unusual R2 shoot config is also used for whipping the ball into the box. Similarly, the square button’s passes aren’t automatically guided, meaning you have to carefully aim using the left analog stick.
With a combination of button presses it’s easy to perform skilful moves like a rainbow kick, but many of your more dazzling shots specifically depend on your player’s inertia, position, and ball placement, resulting in amazing volleys and even more impressive goals. With one important nuance to factor in – your shots are aimed via an on-screen crosshair, which is determined by the right analog stick’s camera control. So simply pressing R2 won’t get the job done. Similar to passing, you need to be more discerning with your aim, otherwise you’ll be slamming the ball off the invisible walls that surround the pitch instead of scoring screamers.
Far from simple soccer
All of these subtleties and freedoms are what give Rematch its depth. With no player stats, the onus is entirely on you to bring the goods, and that pressure to perform within a team is very, very real. Using the camera to aim shots while also utilising after-touch for curving the ball (Rematch calls it a Magus Shot, suggesting Sloclap are fans of the sports manga Blue Lock) is a skill requiring practice, especially within the manic environment of a match.
I found the 4v4 and 5v5 games easier to get to grips with the intensity of Rematch, due to how quickly mistakes can be punished in a 3v3. Given the naturally fun chaos of players not having to stay in any one position, the ever-changing environment was easier to learn with more players, although it required a greater awareness of my positioning and tactics. The on-screen radar was essential to understanding the flow of the match and ensuring I worked with my teammates, as everyone chasing the ball only led to easy goals for the opposition.
With no single-player mode, Sloclap intends to add bots later into development to let you learn the ropes in something a bit closer to a match without the human pressure. But for now it’s all about playing live and gaining experience, both in-game and figuratively.
Team tips
This learning curve is very much an intentional part of Rematch’s design. “Incentivising team play was the biggest objective and challenge,” says Pierre. “So you’re more vulnerable when you’re in possession, and defenders can quickly hone in on you, which creates pressure to pass. Passing quickly to teammates is the best way to put pressure on your opponents.
“Checking your radar to know where other players are is also important. You see that with the best players in real life football, like Messi – they’re looking around them all the time before they receive the ball, developing their vision and positioning. That’s vital in Rematch.”
It’s this focus on dynamics and tactics which makes Rematch so rewarding. Sure, it’s not as easy as some of the highly skilled players make it look, but at its athletic heart Sloclap hasn’t forgotten that all we want to do is score incredible goals that make us run around our living room with our t-shirts pulled over our faces.
Appropriately, Benjamin Pavard’s classic goal for France against Argentina in the 2018 FIFA World Cup was a big touchstone for Rematch. “It was one of the most amazing body kicks ever,” says Pierre. Look it up, it’s hard to disagree – and those are the sorts of goals you’ll be scoring when Rematch laces up its boots for its big June 19 match on PlayStation 5.
The Gran Turismo World Series racing action starts in earnest this weekend when 24 of the world’s fastest Gran Turismo racers gather at the famous BBC studios at Television Centre in West London for Round 1 of the 2025 season. If you haven’t got a ticket to see all the drama unfold in person, don’t worry. You can watch all the action live in Gran Turismo 7 and on https://www.gran-turismo.com/world/live/
Selected from the Online Qualifiers in April and May, the 12 best Manufacturers Cup competitors from the Asia-Oceania Region fly into the UK capital, with the action set to start at 16:00 British Summer Time (15:00 UTC) on Saturday, 7 June. The Manufacturers Cup is a team competition with the competitors from the EMEA Region taking the wheel for Round 2 in Berlin on 20 September before the Americas drivers in Round 3 in Los Angeles on 8 November. All three drivers compete together at the World Finals in Fukuoka, Japan on 20 and 21 December.
Broadcast Schedule – June 7, 2025
Manufacturers Cup / Nations Cup
New York (EDT)
Manufacturers Cup 11:00
Nations Cup 14:00
Los Angeles (PDT)
Manufacturers Cup 08:00
Nations Cup 11:00
Sao Paulo (BRT)
Manufactures Cup 12:00
Nations Cup 15:00
London (BST)
Manufacturers Cup 16:00
Nations Cup 19:00
Madrid (CEST)
Manufacturers Cup 17:00
Nations Cup 20:00
Tokyo (JST)
Manufacturers Cup 00:00
Nations Cup 03:00
Beijing (CST)
Manufacturers Cup 23:00
Nations Cup 02:00
Sydney (AEST)
Manufacturers Cup 01:00
Nations Cup 04:00
In the Nations Cup, the top three drivers from the 2024 season – World Champion Takuma Miyazono (JPN), Kylian Drumont (FRA) and Jose Serrano (ESP) – won automatic qualification for the 2025 edition. They will be joined in London by established stars such as former champions Valerio Gallo (ITA) and Pol Urra (ESP) with 18-year-old Samuel Cardinal from Canada the only rookie in the 12-man field. The Nations Cup action starts at 19:00 local time (18:00 UTC).
Manufacturers Cup – Round 1 London Drivers
BMW – S. Suzuki (JPN)
AMG – K. Sasaki (JPN)
Lamborghini – Y.Goto (JPN)
Lexus – K. Kawakami (JPN)
Porsche – S. Sato (JPN)
Toyota – K. Morimoto (JPN)
Nissan – H. Okumoto (JPN)
Mazda – R. Kokubun (JPN)
Ferrari – J. Hashima (JPN)
McLaren – T. Kamada (JPN)
Honda – R. Tsujimura (JPN)
Subaru – T. Miyazono (JPN)
Nations Cup – Round 1 London Drivers
France – K. Drumont(EMEA)
Spain – J. Serrano(EMEA)
Italy – V. Gallo (EMEA)
Spain – P. Urra(EMEA)
France – T. Labouteley(EMEA)
Netherlands – K. De Bruin(EMEA)
Brazil – A. Carrazza (Central & South America)
Chile – A. Inostroza(Central & South America)
Canada – S. Cardinal(North Amerca)
Japan – T. Miyazono(Asia)
Japan – T. Sasaki (Asia)
Australia – G Barbara(Oceania)
As ever, a round of the Gran Turismo World Series brings several in-game benefits featured on the World Map in GT7. Correctly predicting the winners will win you a lot of in-game Credits. Watch the Nations Cup live stream and you could pick up an Aston Martin Valkyrie with the winning country’s livery, while watching the Manufacturers Cup means you’ll be gifted a car with the winning team’s livery. *
Players can also get involved by taking part in a special time trial inspired by the Manufacturers Cup Qualifying Session using a Gr.3 car on the Tokyo Expressway – South Counterclockwise, while a new Daily Race features the same combination.
And remember to add all the Gran Turismo World Series 2025 live events to your calendar:
Round 1 – London, UK | Saturday, 7 June Round 2 – Berlin, Germany | Saturday, 20 September Round 3 – Los Angeles, USA | Saturday, 8 November World Finals – Fukuoka, Japan | Saturday, 20 and Sunday, 21 December
*Entry limit to one per account for PlayStation Network. Once an entry has been submitted it cannot be withdrawn or changed. See the links below for more information.
We at CD Projekt Red are collaborating with Epic Games to push open-world game design further than ever before, and we wanted to share our progress with the gaming community through The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo — a showcase of how we’re bringing more life, depth, and reactivity to the Continent than ever before.
This isn’t gameplay of The Witcher 4, but we still wanted to incorporate CD Projekt Red’s signature storytelling into the tech demo, showing our new protagonist Ciri in the midst of a dangerous monster contract. We also reveal the never-before-seen region of Kovir, a rugged land where cities are built on trade and keep a careful distance from the military conflicts that plague the rest of the north.
But the focus of this tech demo is just that — tech — and we were proud to show it live on stage, running at 60 frames per second on a PlayStation 5. The tools highlighted won’t just power The Witcher 4, but will also be shared with the wider video game development community through Unreal Engine 5. The tech we’re creating with Epic will benefit the entire industry, ultimately bringing a better experience to players.
ML Deformer
Early in the tech demo we introduce Ciri’s horse Kelpie to the world — and how she’s far more complex than our old friend Roach. Alongside tech that makes controlling Kelpie feel much more grounded and lifelike, we’ve worked hard to develop high-quality, real-time character deformations.
ML Deformer allows elements like Kelpie’s muscles to move and flex accurately, thanks to high-fidelity data providing it with the ability to approximate complex deformations efficiently during gameplay. This allows these incredibly realistic movements to take place without the game taking a performance hit.
Fast Geometry Streaming
We’re paying attention to the large scale too. Fast Geometry Streaming allows everything in the tech demo — from the snowy mountaintops to the deep valleys and vast forests — to seamlessly load without compromising performance. It’s present throughout the tech demo, and the fact it can’t be noticed proves it’s doing its job.
Consider when we catch up with Ciri before she reaches the bustling trading hub of Valdrest, for example. We move quickly through the world, in and around different elements of the environment, but there’s no stuttering or object pop-ins. Fast Geometry Streaming is optimized to quickly load static geometry, using a lightweight method to register and unregister assets. The result is what we show throughout the tech demo: smooth and seamless world loading that allows the beauty of Kovir to shine.
Nanite Foliage
Speaking of Kovir, we take a detour through one of its dense forests while Ciri is riding to Valdrest. Nanite Foliage technology we’re developing with Epic, and how it allows our developers’ artistic vision to be fully realised in Unreal Engine 5. This tech renders incredibly detailed and realistic trees and vegetation in terms of both density and fidelity, without compromising performance.
Nanite Foliage is a new technology that efficiently renders vast amounts of foliage at runtime, making it possible to effortlessly populate landscapes with complex assets — such as lush trees with individual branches that sway in the wind.
Unreal Animation Framework
We always want to make our open worlds feel alive and lived in, and the Unreal Animation Framework shown off in the tech demo lets us add more life than ever to the villages, towns, and cities of the Continent. This tech powers advanced blending, state machines, and procedural animation workflows, letting us have many complex characters interacting with the world at once.
When we place a band on the stage in Valdrest, for example, we utilize Unreal Animation Framework to drastically increase the number of NPCs on screen. And these aren’t just simple onlookers standing still or operating on a loop; each one reacts to what’s going on around them. We want the gap between Ciri and the NPCs of The Witcher 4 to be as small as possible.
Mass Framework
Another tool that adds to the believability and lived-in feeling of the world, Mass Framework simulates large crowds and AI behaviour like the ones seen in the busy market of Valdrest. The data-driven design of Mass manages thousands of agents with minimal performance cost, making it ideal for creating realistic, dynamic populations in games.
It also allows smart objects and complex interactions to function. As Ciri approaches the market we see her bump into a man carrying a crate of apples, for example. Notice how he doesn’t just react to her collision; he loses his footing and drops several apples, which roll down the hill and trigger further, unscripted chain reactions like children running to steal one or pigs looking for an early lunch. Implementing interactions like these is one way we’re making The Witcher 4 the most immersive Witcher game to date.
This mystery sets the stage for Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate, Bungie’s upcoming expansion to the FPS looter shooter launching July 19. Guardians receive an invite to new planetoid Kepler via a time-displaced train car, seemingly from modern-day Earth. Kepler is precariously held together by a black hole, which threatens the entire solar system if destabilized. The resulting quest introduces time distortions, new enemies, and novel abilities unique to Kepler.
I spent hours with Bungie’s upcoming expansion, which includes a robust single-player campaign and other game-changing updates. I adventured across Kepler testing out a powerful new arsenal, transformed into a nimble ball of energy, teleported through traps, and much more. I also tinkered with Destiny 2’s new Portal system, SoloOps, and Arms Week updates, which will be available to all players (no The Edge of Fate purchase necessary).
Let’s dig into some of the highlights.
Kepler’s unusual terrain: The new planet’s exterior is rocky and dusty, overgrown with a yellow webbing and bulbous growths evocative of alien fungus. Time distortions affect the environment, features abandoned facilities and technology. Trains seemingly from Earth have mysteriously crashed on Kepler, hosting portals into unknown realms.
New friend Lodi: This fresh face greets players on Kepler, who seems mighty interested in the Guardian’s ties to Earth and a possible path back. Consistent with Kepler’s time distortions, Lodi looks and talks more like someone more from our time, dear reader, rather than the world of Destiny. He also serves as a handy narrative device for Bungie to introduce the universe of Destiny 2 to new players.
Explore with Matterspark orb: Guardians can tap new energy reservoirs and hold Square button to morph into a crackling Matterspark orb. This new contextual ability lets you zip around the battlefield, blast enemies with electricity, and explore nooks and crannies. During one combat encounter I disabled a miniboss’s shields by overcharging generator pylons hidden in the battlefield. It’s an energizing and novel change of pace. Guardians can eventually summon this power at will for even more combat and exploration options.
Teleport with the Relocator: This new piece of tech lets you take aim in third-person on distant nodes and create a temporary portal. This transportation tool lets you squeeze through narrow openings or traps, and cross vast distances to continue the quest. Bungie combines this new device with the Matterspark to create fun, inventive environmental puzzles to change up the pace.
Change the environment with Mattermorph: Pluck a chunk of potent fungus to imbue yourself with a curious Dark Matter ability – Mattermorph. Hit R1 (melee) to throw strand projectiles at glowing environmental objects like rocks and wall panels, which morphs them into new pathways through the air and across the environment. Players eventually combine these abilities to assemble craft paths through complex environments.
Potent new Exotic weapons: I experimented with three of The Edge of Fate’s intoxicating new exotics:
Graviton Spike: A hand cannon with arc and stasis modes – one charging the other as you shoot.
New Land Beyond: Stack up precision hits with this sniper rifle to stack up massive damage multipliers.
Third Iteration: My favorite. A heat-vete scout rifle that rewards precision by erupting fallen enemies in a blast of energy and making you temporarily invisible.
Desperate mission to restore power: The “Charge” mission is the latest campaign mission I played, and it was also my favorite. The quest to restore generators is sprinkled with a mix of environmental puzzles and intense fights. Stitching together Matterspark, Mattermorph, and Relocator abilities to power generators resulted in some tricky-yet-satisfying obstacles. The mission culminates in a battle against two bosses with shields that can only be destroyed by the Matterspark’s powered-up overcharge ability, activated with L1 + R1 buttons.
Power Plant siege: The “Transient” campaign mission tasks players to disable the House of Exile’s power plant. This cavernous facility hosts tech drawing energy from the planet’s fungal colonies. At one point in the mission enemies rig explosives that must be defused by defending a radius for a set time period. The ultimate goal is to overload the station’s core to disable an enemy warship with an immense power surge.
Portal menu: This new menu offers all players a new option to dive quickly into Destiny 2’s most popular content. Bungie’s goal is to spotlight modes with guaranteed paths to growing Guardians’ power and arsenal. This quick-play shortcut highlights modes like SoloOps, Fireteam, Pinnacles, and Crucible. The World map still provides the traditional interactive galaxy map Guardians are used to.
SoloOps: These new single-player challenges let players customize challenge modifiers (e.g. enemy melee attacks slow you, you take more damage in mid-air, enemies drop fire hazards, etc.) to increase chances for valuable rewards. Below are three of the Solo Ops I played:
The Salt Mines: Hunt and destroy Splinter targets throughout a cavern and blast through a gauntlet of bosses in the final stretch.
The Conflux: Clear entrenched enemies from a cave network, then fight a shielded boss across floating platforms in the final section. Disable its shield by throwing fallen energy orbs at it.
K1 Logistics: Venture beneath the Moon’s surface to exterminate old enemies. Deactivate a series of shielded control panels to carve a path to the end boss.
Armor set bonuses: New set bonuses entice all players to collect matching gear for extra benefits. For example, the Aion Renewal armor characteristic rewards two matching set pieces with a weapon-based speed boost, and four matching set pieces with a reactive speed boost when afflicted with slow or stasis.
Arms Week and the Shooting Range: This event launches shortly after The Edge of Fate, available to all players. The marquee feature is a new Shooting Range on The Tower that lets one to six players test their arsenal, calculating damage numbers as individuals and as a team. Arms Week also features new weapons and mods to chase, events to complete, and more.
Set your Fireteam’s course for Kepler when Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate launches on July 19.
