Gaming News — Week of 2026-05-08 to 2026-05-15#

Story of the Week#

Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 6 experienced an absolute rollercoaster of a week, surviving a disastrous 155GB unencrypted Steam preload leak to ultimately debut as a critical and commercial masterpiece. Set in a stunning, highly credible recreation of Japan, the open-world racer scored a flawless 10/10 and smashed series records with over 172,000 concurrent players on Steam during its premium early access period.

Top Stories#

[Nintendo Hikes Switch 2 Price to $499 Amid Devastating Leaks] · IGN Nintendo confirmed a massive $50 price hike for the upcoming Switch 2, pushing the base console to $499.99 starting September 1 due to changing market conditions and rising component costs. To complicate matters, the company is facing a “worst-case scenario” of massive pipeline leaks—including a Star Fox remake and a Zelda: Ocarina of Time project—threatening their ability to manage fan expectations for future Nintendo Direct broadcasts.

[Subnautica 2 Smashes Records with Early Access Launch] · IGN Unknown Worlds’ Subnautica 2 made a colossal splash on Steam, selling over 2 million copies in its first 12 hours and hitting a massive peak of 651,000 concurrent players across platforms. While players are praising its gripping sci-fi narrative and seamless co-op, the current early access map limits mean dedicated fans might burn through the mystery fairly quickly.

[Sony Takes $765 Million Hit on Bungie as Marathon Pivots to PVE] · IGN PlayStation reported a massive $765 million impairment loss against Bungie’s assets after the hardcore extraction shooter Marathon completely failed to meet internal sales expectations. In a desperate bid to win over more casual players and salvage its $250 million budget, Bungie is introducing dedicated PVE modes, massive progression resets, and new quality-of-life adjustments in Season 2.

[Overwatch Heroes Invade Fortnite Alongside Massive Gameplay Changes] · IGN Epic Games is pulling off another massive crossover event, dropping iconic Overwatch heroes like Tracer, Mercy, Genji, and D.Va onto the Fortnite island. The update also drastically shakes up the battle royale formula by replacing lethal fall damage with a 1HP “splat” mechanic, bringing unlimited-use “Pocket Items” to Zero Build modes, and introducing classic Overwatch maps like Hanamura to the game.

Free Games & Deals#

The Epic Games Store is offering two fantastic freebies this week: claim the strategy game Sunderfolk - Standard Edition and the narrative-heavy The Telltale Batman Shadows Edition before May 21. If you’re a Humble Bundle fan, you absolutely need to grab the $10 Indie Icons Showcase Bundle on PC, featuring verified bangers like Celeste, Starbound, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. For physical console deals, Best Buy has heavily discounted Switch 2 titles like Persona 3 Reload to just $29.99 and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment to $49.99, while PlayStation owners can snag Yakuza Kiwami 1+2 for a historic low of $29.99 on Amazon.

Also Worth Knowing#

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Adds Denuvo DRM: Warner Bros. quietly baked Denuvo into the highly demanding PC version just weeks before launch, sparking legitimate fears of a performance disaster.
Sega Cancels ‘Super Game’ Initiative: Sega pulled the plug on its live-service $634 million “Super Game” project after five years, shifting developers back to beloved single-player reboots like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio.
Lies of P Sequel Enters Full Production: Neowiz officially moved the highly anticipated Lies of P sequel out of prototyping to double down on the original soulslike’s fantastic storytelling.
Party Animals Review-Bombed: The co-op hit Party Animals was review-bombed to “mostly negative” on Steam after the developers mandated the use of generative AI for a $15,000 video contest.