Gaming News — 2026-07-15#

Top Story#

The developers at Ubisoft Barcelona, instrumental in the massive commercial success of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, have initiated a strike to protest planned layoffs and unacceptable severance packages. With up to 51 jobs on the chopping block despite the game selling 2 million copies in just 24 hours, the walkout highlights a bitter disparity between corporate profits and developer security.

News & Reviews#

GTA 6’s Lack of a PC Port Isn’t Out of Greed, According to a Former Rockstar Producer · IGN A former Rockstar producer clarified that the lack of a day-one PC port for GTA 6 isn’t driven by corporate malice, but rather the immense technical difficulty of scaling games down for varied PC hardware after building for fixed console constraints. Because it is significantly easier to start with hardware limitations and scale up later, this practical resource management means Rockstar is focusing all hands on deck for the November 19th console launch first.

Denshattack! Review · IGN If you’ve ever wanted to mash up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Jet Set Radio with high-speed trains, the incredibly charming indie game Denshattack! is absolutely worth your time and earns high praise. Featuring fighting game-style combo inputs, sprawling multi-path levels across a dystopian Japan, and wild boss fights against mecha-trains, it delivers a massive, highly replayable dose of PS2-era punk rock nostalgia.

Will Halo: Campaign Evolved’s New Missions Continue The Series’ Ambitious, Troubled Expanded Universe? · IGN Halo Studios is diving deep into the franchise’s rich expanded universe with the upcoming Campaign Evolved remake’s new three-mission campaign, dubbed Operation METEORITE. Penned by acclaimed lore writer Troy Denning, these new missions follow Master Chief and Sgt. Johnson on an agricultural planet set a year before the original game, promising to weave in complex narrative threads from beloved expanded media like the Contact Harvest novel.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Modder Highlights Major Exploits With New Port, Activision Is Investigating · IGN The recently released PS4 and PS5 ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops are already being plagued by modders ruining progression lobbies, leading to complaints that the game is unplayable. The exploits reportedly stem from outdated PS3-era encryption that Activision and Iron Galaxy failed to update, leaving the game highly vulnerable to decrypted save files while the publisher actively investigates a fix.

Hit Superhero Comedy Game Dispatch Finally Lands on Xbox This Month, Uncensored Scenes and All · IGN After an initial release marked by unexpected censorship controversy on the Switch 2, the hit superhero workplace comedy Dispatch is finally dropping on Xbox on July 29. Developed by Telltale Games veterans, this 9/10 spiritual successor offers uncensored, choice-driven narrative goodness where players manage a team of reformed super-misfits trying to save the world.

The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu Review · IGN ACE Team’s new 1600s Cthulhu co-op survival horror game nails the chilling vibes of its Chilean wilderness setting but suffers from ruthless, punishing difficulty spikes. Despite its satisfying late-game reveals and clever equipment management mechanics, the overwhelming enemy scaling and frustrating portal missions might alienate all but the most hardcore, coordinated co-op crews.

Free Games & Deals#

Sony has officially revealed the PlayStation Plus July 2026 Game Catalog, headlined by massive open-world titles like Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Rise of the Ronin, alongside classics like Dying Light. For hardware hunters, you can currently score a staggering A$2,400 off the Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 Gen 2 gaming laptop in Australia, dropping the RTX 5090 powerhouse to A$6,599. Meanwhile, PS5 gamers can grab the incredible 3D platformer Astro Bot at its lowest price ever for $39.99, and the highly-reviewed Ghost of Yotei Digital Deluxe Edition is currently 25% off during the PlayStation Summer Sale.

Also Worth Knowing#

• Microsoft Pulls Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 From July 2026 Xbox Game Pass Lineup Without Explanation (IGN): Microsoft mysteriously removed the beloved skateboarding classic from the July Game Pass lineup at the last minute, likely due to expired music licensing issues.
• New Free Cars, Leaderboard Wipes Coming to Forza Horizon 6 (IGN): Series 3 will introduce 10 new collectable Italian Exotics alongside a complete wipe of the Rivals Leaderboards to clear out glitched and exploited lap times.
• Of Course The Odyssey is Joining Fortnite — And Matt Damon is a Skin (IGN): Epic Games is bringing a Matt Damon-likeness Odysseus skin and an Agamemnon skin to the battle royale to tie into Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey movie.
• Stranger Than Heaven: Here’s What Comes in Each Edition (IGN): RGG Studio’s decades-spanning Like a Dragon combat spinoff set in 1915 is now available for preorder ahead of its January 15, 2027 release.
• Leon Kennedy’s Voice Actor Says Capcom Cut His “Favorite” Line From Resident Evil Requiem (IGN): Voice actor Nick Apostolides revealed his favorite cheeky one-liner during the Titan Spinner boss fight was tragically cut from the final game in favor of a tamer response.