Gaming News — 2026-07-30#

Top Story#

Microsoft finally let us loose in the highly anticipated Gears of War: E-Day, and the new Horde Siege mode is looking like an absolute blast. Moving away from confined maps, this open-world-ish, dynamic take spreads objectives across the ruined city of Kalona, breathing fresh life into the franchise’s signature wave-based survival.

News & Reviews#

Helldivers 2 x Warhammer 40,000 Warbond Detailed · IGN Arrowhead has fully revealed the Castellan’s Creed Legendary Warbond, bringing Cadian Kasrkin-inspired gear to the galactic front lines on August 12. Complete with a bolt pistol, meltagun stratagem, and heavy armor, this crossover is exactly the injection of grimdark firepower democracy needs.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer Preview Shows Roguelite Promise · IGN Forget a standard racing campaign—Fuse Games is turning Star Wars: Galactic Racer into a high-stakes CarPG roguelite. Our four-hour hands-on session revealed a shockingly deep progression system where every choice and crash matters, making this much more than just a nostalgia trip.

The Elder Scrolls Online Content Delayed Following Layoffs · IGN In the wake of Xbox’s recent restructuring, ZeniMax Online Studios has pushed major ESO content, including the Crimson Veldt trial and combat refresh, into 2027. The team insists the MMO is here to stay, but the delay is meant to give the developers the runway they need to hit the right quality marks.

Thimbleweed Park 2 Announced for 2028 · IGN Ron Gilbert and the original team are back to deliver Thimbleweed Park 2, bringing more pixel-art point-and-click mystery to PC, Mac, and Linux in early 2028. Coming off the massive success of Return to Monkey Island, this is a must-wishlist for old-school adventure game fans.

Dungeons & Dragons Officially Crosses Over With World of Warcraft · IGN Wizards of the Coast is bringing Azeroth to the tabletop this November with a massive World of Warcraft expansion for D&D. Featuring every playable WoW species and class, plus dungeons like Icecrown Citadel, it’s a brilliant mashup that tabletop fans and MMO veterans alike should be hyped for.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Ports Plagued by Lobby Hacker · IGN The recently launched PS4 and PS5 ports of Black Ops 2 are being terrorized by an exploiter who is resetting stats and breaking classes. If you see a user named “C Isn’t Sharp” in your lobby, back out immediately to save your account from being bricked.

Free Games & Deals#

Epic Games is treating us to a double-dose of excellent indie roguelites this week. You can claim both Sol Cesto and the brutally fast-paced shooter OTXO for free on the Epic Games Store until August 6. On the console front, Best Buy is running a stellar Back to School Sale dropping major PS5 exclusives like God of War Ragnarok, Astro Bot, and Death Stranding 2 down to $29.99 and $39.99. Meanwhile, Starfield on PS5 has hit its lowest price yet on Amazon, making it the perfect time to grab Bethesda’s sprawling space RPG.

Also Worth Knowing#

• Elden Ring Movie Wraps Filming (IGN): A24’s massive, $100-million adaptation of the Lands Between has officially finished production and is eyeing a March 2028 release.
• Dead Cells Dev Responds to Guillermo del Toro (IGN): After the legendary filmmaker begged for a no-respawn mode, Motion Twin politely reminded him that Dead Cells actually has a robust Assist Mode to make runs easier.
• Nvidia Graphics Cards About to Get More Expensive (IGN): The ongoing RAM crisis might spike Nvidia GPU prices by another 30%, potentially pushing the RTX 5070 up to $850.
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Player Count Spikes (IGN): Thanks to the massive success of Christopher Nolan’s new film, The Odyssey, Ubisoft’s 2018 Greek epic has nearly doubled its active player base.
• Player Wins Pokémon TCG Tournament Using Bread (IGN): In an “anything but a deck box” local event, a player successfully stored their cards in an actual loaf of bread—and took home the prize.