Gaming News — 2026-07-24#

Top Story#

Microsoft’s Halo: Campaign Evolved has launched in early access, bringing a graphical overhaul to the legendary shooter while hiding a massive post-credits tease for a Halo 2 remake. However, if you’re hoping to run it on a Steam Deck or Xbox Ally, be warned—the game currently struggles hard on handhelds compared to the much smoother Master Chief Collection.

News & Reviews#

PlayStation Network Outage Adds Fuel to the Disc-Killing Fire · IGN Sony’s nightmare PR month continues as the PlayStation Network suffered a multi-hour outage today, locking fans out of their digital game libraries. The poorly timed downtime highlights the exact fears gamers have been shouting about since Sony announced it will stop producing physical PS5 discs starting in 2028. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot defended the digital-only push as a way to lower console costs, but this massive fan backlash proves players aren’t ready to hand over total ownership of their games.

Tomb Raider: Catalyst Officially Delayed to 2028 · IGN Amazon Games has confirmed that the highly anticipated Unreal Engine 5 entry, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, has officially been delayed to 2028. However, the sting of the wait is softened slightly by the fact that Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is still slated to drop on February 12, 2027. With Alix Wilton Regan taking over as Lara Croft, the franchise’s future is packed, even if Crystal Dynamics needs more time in the oven for the next-gen release.

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 Unleashes the Massive Ork Stompa · IGN Creative Assembly just confirmed that the upcoming Total War: Warhammer 40,000 will feature the largest unit in franchise history: the Ork Stompa. This towering, heavily armed battle fortress can actually survive an orbital strike in-game, forcing you to completely rethink your anti-armor tactics on the battlefield. The developers also teased that even bigger units could be coming down the line, giving fans hope for massive Tyranid Bio Titans in the future.

League of Legends Riftbound TCG Launches Vendetta Set · IGN The League of Legends card game is celebrating its first global, synced-up launch with the Vendetta booster set, meaning English and Chinese regions get to jump into the fresh meta simultaneously. The drop introduces powerful new mechanics like “Flow,” allowing players to use cards straight from the discard pile, and “Empowered,” which provides permanent field upgrades. It’s a fantastic time to jump into competitive play to experiment with fresh deck combinations around new Legends like Ambessa and Akali.

God of War Laufey Panel Teases Character Origins at SDCC · IGN Santa Monica Studio took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to discuss their bold new direction with the upcoming God of War Laufey. The panel focused heavily on why Faye was chosen as the protagonist over Kratos, offering deep dives into the character’s story and the performance capture bringing her to life. It’s a massive tonal shift for the PlayStation blockbuster franchise, but one that promises to fully explore a beloved character we’ve previously only heard about.

Free Games & Deals#

We might not have an Epic Games Store freebie to claim today, but there are some killer hardware and physical game deals you shouldn’t miss. Woot is offering an extra 22% off factory reconditioned MSI gaming PCs, including a beastly RTX 5080 rig for $2,223 and a highly capable RTX 5070 build for $1,326. If you’re building out your PS5 physical collection, you can snag Gran Turismo 7 on disc for just $29.83. Finally, Nintendo fans can score a refurbished Switch 2 Mario Kart World console bundle for $419 on Woot, making it a great time to buy ahead of September’s official price hike.

Also Worth Knowing#

• Samsung S90H OLED TV Review (IGN): The S90H is a phenomenal 165Hz gaming display, but you must switch it out of its aggressively saturated default mode to see its true visual potential.
• Resident Evil Movie Hit By PlayStation Disc Controversy (IGN): Angry gamers are flooding the latest YouTube trailer for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie with protests against Sony’s all-digital future.
• Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn Opens Up at SDCC (IGN): The Incredibles director debuted seven minutes of his highly anticipated sci-fi noir animated film, which finally hits Netflix this December after 30 years in development.
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 (IGN): Simon Pegg has been cast as the voice of the Balrog, marking the first time the iconic shadow-and-flame creature will speak in Tolkien screen history.