Gaming News — 2026-04-17#

Top Story#

The 2026 BAFTA Game Awards crowned Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as Best Game, dominating the evening with additional wins for Best Debut Game and Best Performer in a Leading Role. The critically acclaimed RPG fended off heavy hitters like Ghost of Yōtei and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, cementing its place as an instant classic in the genre.

News & Reviews#

Slay the Spire 2 Review-Bombing Mega Crit’s highly anticipated Slay the Spire 2 was hit by a massive wave of review bombing, tanking its Steam rating to “Mixed” after the controversial version 0.103.2 update dropped yesterday. Players were furious over sweeping balance changes and UI adjustments, serving as a harsh reminder of how volatile the Early Access development cycle can be for both fans and developers.

Samson Coming To Consoles This Fall & Samson Review Liquid Swords’ 90s-set open-world brawler Samson earned a dismal 4/10 review from us due to extreme bugs, clunky combat, and repetitive missions that made clearing its in-game debt a miserable slog. Despite the deeply flawed PC launch, the developer has detailed a heavy patch schedule and confirmed the game is headed to consoles this fall.

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred’s New Endgame Blizzard is completely overhauling the Diablo 4 endgame experience in the upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion with a new “War Plans” playlist system designed to seamlessly chain activities like Helltides and Nightmare Dungeons. It also introduces a grueling, unending new horde mode called “Echoing Hatred,” and even brings fishing into the ARPG mix.

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 7.5 Live Letter Summary Square Enix unveiled the roadmap for FFXIV’s April 28 patch, introducing the highly complex, beast-catching Beastmaster Limited Job, and a snow-covered Garlemald dungeon called The Clyteum. The live letter also heavily teased that Final Fantasy VI’s Kefka will be the boss of the game’s next grueling Ultimate Raid.

Game Pass Rumor Details Rumors are swirling that Xbox is exploring a new, cheaper Xbox Game Pass tier that would exclusively feature Microsoft’s first-party titles. According to reports, the new Xbox boss, Asha Sharma, has noted that the current subscription model has “become too expensive for players,” prompting a potential massive shakeup for the service.

Galaxies Spring Showcase 2026: Everything Announced The Galaxies Showcase brought the heat with seven world premieres, delivering deep dives into upcoming bangers like the SAO action RPG Echoes of Aincrad and Supermassive’s new sci-fi horror Directive 8020. We also got a look at Kitaria Fables 2 and the brutal 50v50 shooter Hell Let Loose: Vietnam.

Free Games & Deals#

Sony’s recent $100 price hike for the PS5 makes the PlayStation’s Ghost of Yotei PS5 Bundle the absolute best way to jump into the current generation right now. The bundle costs $599.99—saving you roughly $120 overall compared to buying the new $649.99 disc console and the $69.99 game separately.

Meanwhile, PC gamers looking to upgrade should jump on the iBuyPower AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Radeon 9070 XT Gaming PC deal at Best Buy. It’s discounted to $1,849.99, netting you the absolute best gaming CPU on the market alongside a phenomenal 4K-capable graphics card. Finally, if you’ve been on the fence about Bethesda’s space RPG, the Starfield PS5 port has already dropped to an incredibly low £36.99 over at Amazon UK just weeks after its lukewarm launch.

Also Worth Knowing#

• Pickmos Publisher Pulls Steam Page Following Pokémon Rip-Off Accusations: The publisher behind the creature-collector Pickmos has pulled its Steam page to “supervise” development after the game was blasted by players for ripping off Pokémon designs and allegedly stealing fan art.
• Arc Raiders Players are Disappointed in the New Expedition Changes: Embark Studios suddenly altered the Arc Raiders Expedition prestige mechanics from a credit requirement to a damage requirement, angering players who had already spent months grinding.
• Cyberpunk TCG Shatters Kickstarter Record: WeirdCo’s tabletop Cyberpunk TCG has officially shattered records, raising over $25 million to become the highest-funded game campaign in Kickstarter history.
• The 007 First Light Limited-Edition PS5 DualSense Controller: Sony has opened preorders for a slick $84.99 gold-and-black limited-edition DualSense controller tying into IO Interactive’s upcoming James Bond game.
• White House Tweets Criticized: Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs formally condemned a White House social media post that spliced Wii Sports footage with military airstrike clips without Nintendo’s consent.