Gaming News — 2026-07-01#

Top Story#

Sony just dropped an absolute bombshell by announcing it will end physical disc production for all new PlayStation games starting January 2028. It’s a massive shift that strongly implies the upcoming PlayStation 6 will ditch the disc drive entirely, especially as reports suggest Microsoft’s next console, Project Helix, is planning a similar all-digital approach.

News & Reviews#

Metroid Ravenous Reportedly Leaked for Switch 2 · IGN A Brazilian age rating board has seemingly leaked a new title called “Metroid Ravenous,” with a production year slated for 2026. Coming hot on the heels of the slightly polarizing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, this unannounced game already has the community buzzing with theories that it might be a direct sequel to Metroid Dread. I’m honestly thrilled we might be getting another 2D bounty hunter adventure so soon.

Rhythm Heaven Groove Review · IGN Nintendo’s spectacular rhythm franchise is finally on the Switch, delivering an eight-hour solo campaign bursting with addictive beats and the series’ signature irreverent humor. While the new RPG-lite Beatspell mode misses the mark, the core mini-games and the chaotic new cooperative multiplayer are an absolute blast to master. It’s a formidable but highly rewarding musical challenge that easily earns an 8/10 and a spot in your library.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Skips Game Pass Day One · IGN Microsoft is officially pulling the plug on day-one Game Pass access for this year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Instead of giving it away to subscribers, Xbox is prioritizing massive launch revenue by making fans purchase the $70 standard edition across all platforms, including the new Switch 2 release. It’s a disappointing blow to Game Pass value, but clearly, the pressure to maximize Activision’s cash cow is too high for Microsoft to ignore.

Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations DLC Revealed · IGN Get your trigger fingers ready for July 7, because id Software is dropping a massive 10-12 hour campaign DLC for Doom: The Dark Ages. The expansion arms you with a sick new Chain Spear for aerial maneuvers and leans heavily into brutally challenging endgame Master Arenas. Best of all for old-school fans, it brings modernized, playable versions of classic Doom 2 levels to flesh out the Slayer’s original identity as Flynn Taggart.

Escape from Tarkov Creator Announces Fragmentary Order · IGN Nikita Buyanov, the mastermind behind Escape from Tarkov, has unveiled Fragmentary Order, an insanely ambitious sci-fi extraction shooter built by his new studio, Rant Gaming. Instead of relying on standard “infil and exfil” loops, Buyanov promises a painfully punishing, ultra-realistic “second life” experience that will break genre conventions. It’s certainly not built for the casual crowd, but hardcore masochists should definitely keep an eye on this project.

Ex-Call of Duty Strategist Forms Anti-Live Service Studio · IGN Former Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling has launched //18.bravo, an indie studio with a refreshing mission to combat the predatory “content treadmills” of the live-service era. Their debut first-person shooter guarantees “forever play” via a peer-to-peer architecture, ensuring players can enjoy the game even if the developer moves on. In a brilliant pro-consumer move, the team has even legally bound themselves to open-source the game’s code if the studio ever folds.

Free Games & Deals#

We don’t have any Epic freebies up right now, but there are some killer discounts worth jumping on today. Resident Evil Requiem is down to an excellent $56 at Best Buy for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch 2, while PC gamers can snag 007 First Light for $9 off on Fanatical. If you need hardware, you can upgrade your rig with a stellar $1,349 CyberPowerPC prebuilt featuring a brand-new RTX 5070 GPU from Walmart. Finally, Square Enix fans should grab the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake which is seeing solid price cuts across consoles right now.

Also Worth Knowing#

Subnautica 2 Bonuses Paid After Settlement (IGN): Krafton finalized a legal settlement with Unknown Worlds, ensuring the development team finally receives their $250 million early access earnout bonus.
Warhammer Blood Bowl Franchise Saved (IGN): Slitherine successfully acquired the publishing rights to the Blood Bowl series after Nacon’s insolvency, keeping the fantasy football franchise alive alongside developer Cyanide Studio.
Love and Deepspace Fans Hold ‘Funeral’ (IGN): Outraged and tearful players protested outside developer Infold’s Shanghai headquarters after the studio suddenly scrapped a highly anticipated romance character named Valko just days before release.
Minecraft Creator Slams ESA Over Private Servers (IGN): Markus “Notch” Persson called the ESA “borderline evil” after the organization bafflingly claimed that private servers for games like Minecraft are illegal and equivalent to piracy.