Three years ago, we were graced with the release of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, a first-person shooter inspired by classics like DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein 3D, set in the grimdark universe of Warhammer 40,000.

It was a simple yet immensely cathartic boomer-shooter with fast-paced gunplay, satisfying weapons, and charming yet grim retro-style graphics that I gave 4/5 stars.

Fast-forward to today, and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun's sequel is here with more heretics to slay and a new, second playable character with more weapons to purge them with.

Is it as fun as, or more fun than, the first game? Let's find out as we ready our Bolter rifles and review Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 launches on October 14, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Windows and Steam. This review was made possible thanks to an Xbox Series X code provided by Devolver Digital. The company had no input nor saw the contents of this review before publication.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 — Story, setting, art

The story goes that the forces of Chaos, led by the towering Greater Daemon, Vashtorr, are wreaking havoc across worlds controlled by the Imperium of Man.

In response, the righteous Space Marine, Malum Caedo, has returned from the first Boltgun game to purge the heretical daemons out of existence. Except this time, Malum Caedo is joined by the equally zealous Sister of Battle, Nyra Veyrath, who hopes to torch the daemons to cinders in the name of the God Emperor.

Just like the first Boltgun game, the story serves as a simple excuse to go blasting Chaos cultists, Chaos Space Marines, and daemons into red mist. That's cool by me, as I was in the mood for an action game without being bogged down by endless cutscenes.

However, if you're looking for an FPS with a complex narrative and character development, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 continues to embody the series ' retro throwback art style of being a long-lost 1990s PlayStation 1 game (with 2D sprites set against 3D backgrounds and models), and it's beautifully well done.

The jagged, grotesque, and gothic scenery of Warhammer 40,000's war-torn fortresses, temples devoted to the Chaos gods, and environments slowly being corrupted into daemonic blemishes are a sight to behold at times in this game.

The 2D sprites (and sometimes 3D models) of enemies are crisp, detailed, and faithful to their Warhammer 40,000 tabletop counterparts, which makes them all the more satisfying to chop up as they explode in showers of gratifying pixelated blood and guts when you kill them.

On top of that, the performance is rock solid. The game ran at a consistent 60fps at 1080p resolution with absolutely no framerate drops, even when all kinds of chaotic explosions, gunfire, and combusting bodies were happening on-screen.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 — Gameplay

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2's gameplay structure has you running across multiple planets via chapter-based missions where you must reach the end of massive levels while eradicating any heretic and daemon standing in your way.

Along the way, you will come across a wide variety of weapons, hidden collectibles, and secret power-ups to give you an edge when taking on some of the game's tougher enemies.

The first thing I like about Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is that its level design is more varied than its predecessor.

Some of this game's levels will have you clearing out space ships and Imperium facilities of daemons; exploring dank swamplands mutated by the Chaos god Nurgle; storming daemonic fortresses dedicated to the Chaos God Khorne; and escaping collapsing, burning buildings before being melted by rising magma, just to name a few.

It helped keep the gameplay fresh, so it didn't feel like I was constantly running and gunning through linear hallways. Plus, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 has alternating chapters you can only select once per playthrough, which sometimes unlocks secret optional chapters where you can find more hidden collectibles, increasing its replay value.

On a side note, Boltgun 2 manages to fix my biggest problems with the first Boltgun game (at last on the Xbox version): remappable controls. You can now keybind all your actions to any button you want to fit your playstyle instead of its default layout, making its controls feel more natural and enjoyable.

Anyway, it's time to talk about the meat and bones of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2: its combat. Combat is just as chaotic, gory, and satisfying as its predecessor while offering more variety with two playable characters with their own unique weapon loadouts and gameplay styles.

Malum Caedo is a slow-but-durable walking tank who can endure tons of gunfire while retaliating twice as hard with Bolters, Shotguns, and heavy ordnance. Malum can smash enemies to paste with a shoulder-tackle charge, lunge at enemies with homing Chainsword attacks, and throw grenades that will blow weaker enemies in an instant.

Meanwhile, Nyra Veyrath is a squishy but extremely mobile warrior who cuts down enemies with a sword while annihilating them with Bolters, Flamers, and Meltas. Nyra can also perform slide moves to dodge certain attacks while piercing enemies with her sword, and chuck slow-detonating but devastating Melta Bombs that even the heaviest armored daemon won't be able to survive,

While they're both fun to use, I ended up enjoying Nyra the most. Her fast, hit-and-run playstyle is so fitting for the boomer-shooter sub-genre; her chargeable melee attack is useful for knocking back aggressive melee fighters, and I love seeing heretics screaming in agony as I burn them to pixelated ashes with Nyra's flamethrowers and Meltas (which shoot scorching laser beams the size of cars).

Nyra's abilities and weapons proved very helpful for the enemies ahead because Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 has a greater rogues' gallery of enemies to fight this time. You will be fighting heretical cultists, iconic Chaos Space Marines devoted to every Chaos God (Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh), daemon hordes, massive Greater Daemons, and other hidden surprises.

They're all fun to fight, and especially challenging on harder difficulty modes where you must keep on running to survive getting shredded in a few hits. However, I did notice some enemies and bosses had some really dumb AI where they would get stuck in the terrain, leaving them helpless for me to gun them in an unsatisfying manner.

It didn't happen too often, but often enough for it to be noticeable, and it's probably the only major gripe I have with this game. The only other issue I have is the lack of Xbox Play Anywhere support, as this game would've been a killer app to play on the go with an Xbox Ally.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 — Conclusion

Once again, the Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun series provides sweet catharsis to players yearning for arcade shooters light on story and heavy on pure video game violence. Compared to the first game, Boltgun 2's gameplay was more fun and varied thanks to its multiple playable characters and weapons, improved level design, and a wider bestiary of enemies and bosses.

Not to mention, it has plenty of easter eggs and cheeky references to the vast lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe for hardcore fans like me to geek out over.

An average playthrough on Normal difficulty will take you around 6-10 hours depending on if you're looking for collectibles, and possibly more if you try to beat it on harder difficulty modes.

So, if you have some spare time to kill over the weekend as we await the next DOOM game, then I recommend giving Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 a go for all your boomer-shooter FPS lovers out there.

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Elgato, the tech company that prides itself on high-quality accessories for streaming, content creation, and gaming, has launched its first wireless microphone called the Elgato Wave Go.

This extension of Elgato's 'Wave ecosystem' is a combined clip-on and handheld microphone system that allows its users to record audio any time, anywhere, on their terms, with studio-level quality, processing, and routing.

Here's everything you need to know about how the Elgato Wave Go works, which you can buy right now on Elgato's official store for $99.99.

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The Elgato Wave Go has a convertible design that allows users to record audio in two ways while being connected to a phone via a USB-C receiver.

While in Clip-on Mode (which is a 7g transmitter the size of a coin), it can mount magnetically onto clothing with custom tuning that restores clarity and audio presence quality at chest distance.

In Handheld mode, Elgato Wave Go's transmitter fits inside a Smart Handle to become a full-sized interview mic with integrated controls, charging, and a sound profile that's been tuned for warmth and presence audio levels when used close up.

This microphone also features toggleable noise cancellation to block out annoying background noise, automatic EQ Shift and Auto Gain systems to apply different sound profiles and audio gain levels depending on its position and mode (without needing to mess around with its settings), and compatibility with the free Wave Go app on iOS and Android for users to customize these aforementioned features to their preference.

On top of that, the Elgato Wave Go will last you for a good long session, as its transmitter can run for up to 8 hours on a single charge or a full day while recording audio.

Its Smart Handle can be recharged alongside the transmitters when it's docked inside (even while recording), and it can store up to 5 full recharges so it can operate for at most 48 hours. The Elgato Wave Go can have all its components recharged while inside its carrying case, which can connect to USB-C chargers.

Its USB-C receiver also has pass-through charging, so you can recharge the Elgato Wave Go while connected to your phone.

Lastly, the Elgato Wave Go can integrate with Elgato's free mixing software called Wave Link. When this mic is used in tandem with the app, users can route audio, apply effects, control its settings via Stream Deck, and unlock Voice Focus, which cleans up reverb and background noise while recording audio indoors.

If this lightweight, convertible microphone with expert sound quality, portability, and customization sounds appealing for your content creation needs, you can buy the Elgato Wave Go on Elgato.com for the MSRP of $99.99 (other retailers will sell it shortly after). The Elgato Wave Go will be available in 40 countries and regions.

Elgato is also offering a Sky Blue variant of the Elgato Wave Go for a limited time on its website. Plus, the microphone will have a second transmitter sold separately for an MSRP of $29.99 (or $14.99 when bought together with the Elgato Wave Go).

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It's been a busy week in the world of mods and ports. While most gamers, including me, have been focusing on the PS5's jailbreak and the ability to emulate PS5 games on Xbox hardware, there's another project capturing the attention of die-hard Microsoft fans.

As reported by Hackaday, a savvy modder has figured out how to get Super Mario 64 running on a Microsoft Zune HD. Yes, the ill-fated music player that once put up a valiant fight against Apple's iPod has been repurposed as a micro-portable gaming handheld.

This project comes from GitHub user rsheldiii, who effectively ported the sm64ex version (containing a full decompilation of Super Mario 64 running on Linux and Windows) to the portable media player that launched in 2009.

Creator rsheldiii explains that the mod "plays (mostly) at full speed with sound, touch controls and saves." You're asked to provide the ROM for the game yourself in order to circumvent any legal issues, but otherwise, it appears that all you'll need to test it out yourself is a Zune HD in working order and an x86-64 Linux PC with Docker and Git.

It's explained that the first run of the game takes "five to ten minutes" to complete as it builds a container image and downloads compilers. The game is controlled entirely with touch, and the Nintendo 64's native buttons are clearly displayed on the screen.

The video provided by the creator on the GitHub page (I'm not sure if the YouTube version I used here is hosted by the same person) shows just how easy it is to start playing Super Mario 64 once everything is installed.

Within seconds, the game is launched, and Mario is running towards the castle to choose a mission. Once in a mission, the game appears to run smoothly, with the player not having any evident issues with controls.

I, unfortunately, do not have any spare Zune HDs lying around my office, or I'd be all over this little hack. Is it something you'd consider trying out? Let me know in the comments section below!

A brief history of Microsoft's failed iPod competitor

Microsoft launched the original Zune media player on November 4, 2006, roughly five years after Apple's first iPod hit markets. Yes, the Zune was created to compete in the shifting world of MP3 players, eventually arriving at the Zune HD model in 2009.

It was a significant upgrade thanks to a 3.3-inch OLED touch display, an NVIDIA Tegra processor (which undoubtedly helps this little Mario 64 hack get legs), an accelerometer, and up to 64GB of flash storage.

Zune hardware was discontinued in 2011, not because the iPod killed it, but because it failed to kill the iPod. It was ultimately late to the party, kept quiet once it arrived, and slipped out before it all ended. At that same party was the newfound smartphone, and it seemed to be getting most of the attention anyway.

Microsoft completely retired the Zune branding in 2017.

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I've said many times that AI influence in gaming, whether it be wielded for upscaling or development purposes, isn't going anywhere. As SEGA just discovered, although my assumption might be true, the gaming world isn't quite ready for the level of AI sloppiness found in the new Total War: SHOGUN 2 "Enhanced" version.

The original game launched in 2011, and after some 15 years of availability, it sits at a Very Positive rating on Steam with more than 22,000 user reviews. The game's new "Complete Edition," which launched on October 13, 2026, has already received more than 1,850 user reviews.

The problem? The enhanced version has fallen to an Overwhelmingly Negative rating on Steam, which is often a death blow from which a game never recovers.

Digging into the sea of red reviews, it appears that plenty of gamers were already disappointed in the remake's quality before anyone looked closely enough at player cards to notice some undisclosed use of AI.

Plenty of reviewers have called out the game-breaking bugs, the poor performance, and the "countless graphical issues," including dreadful lighting and HDR. I could go on.

What's really causing waves, though, is the alleged undisclosed use of AI. Steam requires each game's studio/publisher to admit whether or not AI was used during development, and there's no such disclaimer on the Total War: SHOGUN 2 remake page.

You be the judge — does the Complete Edition screenshot look like it was upscaled using AI? Why does it suddenly look like the front of a Mercedes rather than a mustachioed soldier? Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Gamers are used to slop ... just not AI slop

What's really sticking with me is how gamers have approached the relaunch of SHOGUN 2. At this point, I think many of us have been around long enough to not be surprised when a remake gets botched.

I was there for Warcraft 3: Reforged tragedy. I remember when the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy remake launched to backlash. AI had nothing to do with these games.

This time, though, the Total War and Shogun 2 subreddits are flooded with posts focusing on the poor quality of AI upscaling. It extends well beyond the one Mercedes-face soldier, with gamers posting images of six-fingered characters, wonky hands, odd faces, and more.

I don't think saying there's more focus on the AI aspect than the actual bugs and glitches is too far out there. And I'm definitely not saying that fans of the series have their gripes in the wrong place; I'd be upset too if one of my favorite games was given this treatment. It's just interesting to see how the outcry falls into place.

Remasters don't have to be low-quality cash grabs

Our own Jennifer Young recently reviewed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, where she awarded it a perfect five stars. The game sits at a 92% rating on Metacritic.

What makes it so great? Well, it's completely free for anyone who already owns The Witcher 3. It doesn't overwrite the original game (great news for people like me who still game on a Steam Deck). And it comes with a host of quality-of-life fixes, upgraded graphics, and more.

It's about as good a remake as you'll find, and a far cry from the $40 Total War: SHOGUN 2 entry from this week.

For those who have played the game, is it really as bad as the reviews are making it out to be? Would it not have such an aggressively bad rating if not for the alleged undisclosed AI upscaling? Let me know in the comments section below!

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Microsoft Teams will soon have a new feature that will deliver high-quality video to event attendees. An upcoming update to Teams will add the option to share videos directly from OneDrive.

At the moment, sharing video during Teams events often requires screen sharing or embedding videos in PowerPoint. The first solution lowers quality and the second requires extra work. Being able to share a video directly from OneDrive will provide a smoother experience while also improving quality.

Microsoft detailed through the Microsoft 365 Message Center (archived here):

"Microsoft Teams will soon support sharing video directly from OneDrive during Teams events. Organizers and producers using Manage what attendees see can load videos from OneDrive and present them on stage without screen sharing a local media player or embedding videos in PowerPoint. This improvement provides smoother, higher-quality video playback for attendees and simplifies event production through built-in video playback controls."

The feature is expected to start rolling out in early November and should be available to all users by the end of December.

I run an American football team and we study film from games and practices. But because we are not attached to a specific school or building, our players and coaches are spread across the area. That makes film study events easier to schedule, but there are limits to presenting remotely. One of the biggest drawbacks is video quality.

In the past I've had to share my screen and play videos on my desktop, which is both awkward for me and a poor viewing experience for attendees. Videos shared this way can appear laggy and have lower resolution than videos played natively on a device.

I switched away from Microsoft Teams for film study a few years ago due to other changes made to Teams, but support for sharing videos directly from OneDrive will make me try Teams again.

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World of Warcraft has been my main gaming love for over two decades; I have multiple tattoos dedicated to the game. I built my career on top of it, and met my partner of 14 years because of it. So believe me when I say it HURTS to be feeling this way about the game.

World of Warcraft has never boasted the most amazing writing at a granular level, but at least it was often steeped in satisfying spectacle, leading with the "rule of cool" for better or worse. The setting was always what made it stand out, atop genuinely immersive background lore and major story beats that feel like the product of something greater. Or at least, should be the product of something greater.

I feel like since the disaster that was Shadowlands in back in 2020, Blizzard hasn't been able to find its narrative voice with World of Warcraft retail. I've written more than a few articles on the topic, but this week's major story resolution as part of Patch 12.1.5 is already seeing significant backlash.

Has Blizzard completely lost the plot here? SPOILERS AHEAD.

World of Warcraft *has* to be an episodic soap opera to function, but the payoff almost never materializes

As I sit to write this, I'm wondering to myself if eventually I'll eat some crow. There's always a flicker of curiosity in my mind about the way the game has moved forward since its most hated story arc, which demystified Death itself, reducing the universal stakes to almost nothing. Shadowlands effectively rendered death and dying as relatively inconsequential in the Warcraft universe, and the inconsistent behavior of some of its major characters, namely Sylvanas, single-handedly undid decades of character development and expectation.

Blizzard doesn't seem to have learned any lessons about stakes, and it's increasingly maddening given how well Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, and even the recent Warcraft III: Forsaken Kingdom expansions prove that Blizzard can still write good shit. Why can't we have this in WoW retail?

In World of Warcraft: Midnight Patch 12.1.5, which launched today in Europe, Lady Liadrin, matriarch of the Horde Blood Elven paladins, dies. Her death is perhaps among the most anticlimactic, unceremonious, and understated deaths for a major character I've seen in video game history.

Blizzard has long held a strange joy for killing off Horde figures in unsatisfying and frankly wasteful ways. Whether it's Garrosh, Saurfang, Vol'jin, Cairne Bloodhoof ... at least some of these figures got meaningful deaths as part of an epic cutscene or CGI sequence. Liandrin simply passes out on a cavern floor, in a death that felt wholly unearned narratively and undeserved figuratively.

Throughout WoW: Midnight, Lady Liadrin has basically followed the player about, giving them quests and standing around while you did most of the busywork. Blizzard has rushed through troll and elf reunification, pushing aside thousands of years of baggage in a few relatively underwhelming quest segments that often feel pretty disconnected from the central battle against Xal'atath. That sense of disconnect extends to Liadrin in general, who hasn't really enjoyed enough build-up in my view to warrant what ultimately happened next.

In Patch 12.1.5, she channels her faith in the Light to deal a decisive blow to returning Old God general Kith'ix, who represents this patch's mid-season boss. The power seemingly overwhelms her, leading to her pretty unexpected demise on the cavern floor. I felt sadly bemused and mildly irritated. But not exactly shocked ... this has been par for the course as a Horde player for some time.

I saw the cutscene without any exposure to reactions online, and wondered if my immediate and overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction was simply a me problem. Apparently not. The backlash so far seems pretty palpable.

I feel as if Blizzard has tried to cram far too many characters in all at once in recent years, leaving them without meaningful story arcs. Mountains of supporting characters appeared as quickly as they then disappeared from the central narrative, robbing deaths like Liadrin's of any real sense of build-up, and therefore, no sense of payoff. It just feels awful, man. It's wild I find myself not even vaguely caring about the death of a character that has been in the game for almost 20 years ... what another miserable, maddening waste.

At least 12.1.5 has a new raid, a new "Mega Delve" to explore (which looks awesome), and other new content ... but man. For me, it has always started with caring about the setting, the roleplay, and feeling immersed in the world. Blizzard has been stripping that away with reckless abandon in recent years.

We have World of Warcraft: Forever coming up thankfully ... but game director Ion Hazzikostas promised me at BlizzCon that WoW: Retail wouldn't be left on the shelf as a result. That might not be his intention ... but it seems to be happening anyway.

Why is World of Warcraft: Retail's writing such a mess right now?

I'm still trying to speak to sources to get to the bottom of what's going on with World of Warcraft's writing so far. This isn't a matter of taste or sour grapes; I'm certainly not alone in thinking that WoW's writing has completely fallen off a cliff in recent years.

There are tons upon tons of issues with World of Warcraft's story delivery right now. I've theorized it's the self-imposed 8-week patch cadence, preventing quality and iteration from reaching the live client. I've huffed copium thinking that maybe, maybe there's going to be a payoff at the end of all this ... and that stuff like Liadrin's death will lead to something more interesting later, somehow?!

I've clung to hopium that Blizzard's appointment of franchise architect Chris Metzen might lead to somehow fixing the disaster that is Shadowlands in the wider narrative. I still have Vol'jin's urn in my inventory ...

Yeah ... I'm most likely just deluding myself at this point. After so many disappointments, cringeworthy story beats, and years upon years of unresolved plot threads — perhaps it's time to accept that WoW's retail writing team just isn't capable of delivering anything I find to be vaguely engaging.

The South Park team previously talked up a writing rule they follow, by which if your story beats can be linked by "and then" statements instead of "but" and "therefore" connections to denote consequences ... you've created something boring. I can't think of something more relatable to the current WoW writing style.

Things just keep happening for no real reason; "and then," it leads to no real consequences. There are too many plot threads going nowhere. Too many characters are half-baked and then sidelined, leading to various instances of "and then" instead of "therefore." Major lore points keep getting glossed over. Villains who vaguepost and scheme and tease and spend years leading us on to nowhere. Sylvanas showed up in Midnight for literally no reason. So many things keep happening for no reason.

RELATED: An ode to the Horde, and its weird erasure

Arator who? Turaylon when? Thrall where? There's not a single character left in WoW that isn't constantly wracked with self-doubting introspection, suffering from a terminal lack of conviction. Everything in WoW retail has become homogeneous sludge, and it's driving me crazy.

And perhaps worst of all, it's all just getting so, so boring.

World of Warcraft players deserve better.

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I’ll be honest, this one slipped under my radar. I didn’t even realize it had been released nearly two weeks ago, but it seems the community has taken on the mantle of responsibility for Halo lately in more ways than one.

First, there’s Project Reclaimer for Halo 3, which is everything Halo 3 on PC should have been. It features full custom server browsers, mod support, and a massive expansion to the sandbox with up to 128 players in a single match.

Not only that, but in Campaign Evolved, while it was reported that the remnants of Halo Studios are working to bring Theater and Firefight to the game in December, some community members have already taken it upon themselves to start testing Firefight within the game, to varying success, mind you.

Now onto the main attraction, Mjolnir Core, a community effort to bring multiplayer to Halo: Campaign Evolved. I must say, so far it’s pretty impressive. The project supports 19 maps, including classics like Blood Gulch, Battle Creek, and Hang ‘Em High. The mod also supports up to 16 players, pushing past the initial four-player limit it had at the start of development.

The mod itself is in alpha, but those working on it have put together a pretty hefty amount of documentation for those who wish to help and get involved. From what I can tell, the mod works pretty effortlessly.

You get the launcher, install multiplayer, and you’re ready to go. That said, I don't believe there’s any public game browser in the game yet, so you’ll need to invite friends through your fireteam to play together.

Seeing the community put this much effort in really pains me. Halo: Campaign Evolved needed some sort of multiplayer content at release, even if it were just Firefight. And whilst projects like this are great, they’ll likely sadly remain rather niche, as people have already moved on to other games like Gears of War: E-Day, which actually outperformed Halo on launch.

Regardless, I can’t stress enough how cool this is and how I hope the team behind it continues their hard work. So let me know your thoughts: is this cool, too little too late, or do you have any other thoughts? Drop them in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!

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It's time to finally wrap up this Gears of War: E-Day review, having now been able to grab a significant chunk of time in the multiplayer Siege mode.

For the review build, Gears of War: E-Day's new PvE multiplayer Siege mode was disabled. It felt odd to me to score a game I hadn't fully experienced as I and many others likely intended to play it. As such, this had previously been a review in progress. But now I'm ready to put a final say on proceedings.

Gears of War: E-Day is something of an important game for Xbox. It carries the flag for Microsoft's return to exclusive Xbox Series X|S games, and likely has some oversized pressure upon it to deliver. We're not here to review that aspect of the product, though — only what is here sitting in front of me.

Even upon reflection, my feelings on the campaign are a bit mixed. Thankfully, Gears of War: E-Day is a multi-faceted game, and Siege mode is an undeniably fun and genuinely well-considered evolution on the Horde-style gameplay, vastly elevating the overall package.

Gears of War: E-Day has some of the most stunning visuals I've ever seen committed to the medium, with absolutely immaculate lighting treatment, immense and meticulous city detailing, and gorgeous character work. The gunplay is also fantastic, smoothing off some of the series' rough edges with boosted mobility, without sacrificing the Gears feel.

But the overall campaign gameplay structure does the overall game a pretty sizeable disservice in my view, preventing it from reaching its full potential. Thankfully, Siege provides a satisfying canvas for future play, and the problems are by no means unfixable. Let's get into it.

Gears of War: E-Day review — Story, Art, and Tech

Gears of War: E-Day takes place over a decade before Gears of War 1, offering us a front-row seat to the brutal and genocidal opening to the Locust's attack on humanity.

The city of Kalona serves as ground zero for that invasion. Kalona is known as a city of science and technological progress, and was instrumental in developing the COG's weapons tech and industrial war economy during the civil war against the UIR. E-Day takes place six weeks after the UIR surrenders, and Dominic Santiago and Marcus Fenix are picking up the pieces and mourning lost friends and family.

The character work on offer in E-Day is absolutely top-shelf. The trauma of loss and the shock of the Locust invasion comes through incredibly well in every single aspect of the game's delivery. The cityscape is immaculately detailed, with interiors fully rendered with a lived-in feel, complemented by some of the best lighting I've ever seen in a video game.

I wish Gears of War: E-Day ran better on my Xbox Ally X, but it's hard to expect such a visually rich game to perform well on every potentially niche device. On its main platforms, namely Xbox Series X|S and compatible desktop PCs, Gears: E-Day absolutely sings. Make no mistake, Gears of War: E-Day is at the absolute apex of Unreal Engine technological prowess, and the game deserves awards on that basis alone, most likely.

Rendering the city in so much detail really helps serve the story. Gears of War's more recent games take place in a ruined world, where the Locust have effectively already won and decimated humanity and most of its cities. For E-Day, The Coalition had to show a city that was still thriving and populated, and the horrors therein.

From the very first cutscene, The Coalition pulls no punches: this is a horror story, a war story, and a tale of survival and desperation. The COG army is decimated and blindsided, besieged by an unknown threat that they immediately underestimate as monsters without a plan, only to discover later just how smart and organized the Locust actually are.

Civilian NPCs litter the city, sometimes fleeing, sometimes in dismembered puddles on the ground. The reactions from the characters and their development throughout the game really help to elevate that sense of loss and fear — they're not the battle-hardened survivors of the original Gears trilogy. They're young, war-weary from fighting the UIR, and in some cases wholly traumatized already.

I don't want to give too much away about the story, but this very much felt like the first game in a new planned trilogy ... there were aspects of the delivery that suffered as a result. Some plot threads felt designed to be resolved in future games (or DLC?), leaving me wanting somewhat. But the fact that I am eager to learn more about this Emergence Day story arc is probably a plus. It would be far worse if I didn't care, and I find myself caring a lot about the new characters, their struggles, their past lives, and what will ultimately end up happening to them ... given that some clearly aren't present in future installments.

Gears of War: E-Day's setting, visuals, and story delivery represent its best aspects. The game's performance on Xbox Series X is top-tier, with slowdown only occurring during some particularly heavy sequences towards the end. I didn't experience a single crash, and it's great to see a modern game offer split-screen co-op in the modern age as an option.

The new characters are interesting and engaging, and finding out new layers of existing characters is also rewarding as a long-time fan. I think Gears of War: E-Day could've benefitted from leaning more into civilian-oriented side stories potentially ... but as I'm going to explain in the gameplay section, Gears of War: E-Day's campaign is let down a fair bit by its gameplay structure all up.

Gears of War: E-Day review — Campaign Gameplay

Let's get the good stuff out of the way first: this is still very much Gears of War. Everything you've loved previously about Gears is still here, and in most cases, elevated to the 11th degree.

E-Day boosts the player character's mobility by a huge amount. Sprint is now more instantaneous and on the left stick like a standard modern shooter. Cover is far more dynamic than it was previously, with the ability to take cover in lower spaces than before, making environments feel more varied and natural. You can now also climb and vault, allowing The Coalition to build on the game's verticality. Given that Kalona is a city-state with large buildings and urban environments, having these features serves the game incredibly well.

The gunplay is also very polished. Chainsaw-ing dudes in half is more rewarding than ever, with almost embarrassingly satisfying sound treatment and chunky gore physics. Watching a severed torso flip onto the floor never gets old.

There's a variety of new weapons which are also instant classics. The Locust have been scavenging the battlefields of the Pendulum wars, adapting old UIR guns with horrifyingly inhumane enhancements. As such, that satisfying M1 Garand "ping" returns from the UIR Markza, repurposed into the axe-hilted Locust Breechshot rifle, for example.

The gunplay lets itself down a bit when it comes to fighting some of the game's bigger enemies, though. Drones, wretches, and some of the earlier enemies are by far the most satisfying to fight, reacting to your bullets and even having destructible armor that makes combat feel more dynamic and modern. I'm not sure why The Coalition didn't extend this gameplay style to some of its bigger enemies, which is where I would argue it'd be far more crucial.

Indeed, in Act 1, Gears of War: E-Day starts so strongly, and I was sitting there wondering if this was going to end up being the best game Xbox ever shipped, but over time, that feeling began to unravel.

Reavers, Brumaks, and other larger enemies barely react at all to gunfire, making them feel like robots or bullet sponges — something Gears 4 was heavily criticized for. You end up just watching the enemy's health bar in some cases for at least some semblance of reactivity, instead of the visuals The Coalition's art team painstakingly worked towards. Towards the end of the game, these types of enemies become more common too, robbing the game of some of its dynamism.

Another irritating aspect of Gears of War: E-Day pertains to its open-but-not-actually-open world design, which to me smacks of rushed or changing game design priorities throughout development.

Kalona is a fully realized 3D city, with a huge variety of urban exterior and interior locations. It's a great canvas that The Coalition can build upon when designing future content, potentially both for Siege and Versus mode. The problem is, it doesn't lend itself particularly well to the campaign mode.

Gears of War: E-Day starts incredibly strongly, with a linear cinematic segment that really sets the tone for the game. Then, it opens up into this odd semi-open world structure that seemed interesting in previews, but in practice, it doesn't really reach further than the glimpses we got over the summer.

There's a map that offers the illusion of large explorable spaces, but in practice, all the segments are very linear. Even the side objectives take place in a structured way, undermining the need or desire to really explore. It felt like The Coalition tried to shoehorn in more reasons to explore by spreading weapon mods and collectibles around, but I just found this aspect of the game to be irritating and pace-breaking.

There's dozens upon dozens of weapon mods to find in the field, but half the time it'll be for weapons you don't really want to use. The game pings you with an annoying pop-up every few seconds saying "hardcase nearby," which just served as a distraction given that the reward was mostly just junk items. Even the collectibles were annoying to find, given that you had to jump through several menus then go manually searching for the item you just found from a huge list. There were more mods to find than there was gameplay canvas upon which to place them ... E-Day really would've benefitted from some kind of vendor system instead here, allowing you to buy mods at your leisure, rather than feeling forced into boring hide-and-seek gameplay every 3 minutes.

These might seem like minor gripes, but given that there's not much else "new" here on offer across the general Gears formula, they stand out a bit like a sore thumb.

It doesn't help that, as a result of the game's structure, you end up revisiting the same locations multiple times as part of the story, which felt anticlimactic and choring, particularly towards the end of the game.

The campaign does have some incredibly epic, cinematic, and deeply emotional moments — don't get me wrong. There are some fantastic sequences spread throughout the game, showcasing Emergence in all of its reptilian, subterranean horror. I just wish they'd doubled up on these moments instead of trying this odd "open" world experiment, which seems ill-conceived and poorly executed, with features that detract rather than elevate the overall experience.

Gears of War: E-Day review — Siege Mode

Let me preface this by saying I've never been a big fan of Gears' brand of PvP combat, and you might want to look elsewhere for a take on that. Instead, my preference for Gears multiplayer has always fallen to its Horde mode, which has taken on a whole new life in E-Day.

Siege Mode takes twelve players split into teams of four, and drops them into a portion of Kalona's devastated township. Here, you take on the role of one of the Gears during E-Day in progress, tackling side objectives, battling waves of enemies, setting up killzones, and grinding upgrades. This is where some aspects of the campaign's "open world" gameplay really shines through in ways that it didn't when there was a cinematic story to tell on top of it all.

The new mobility gives Siege maps a great deal of verticality and strategical elements. Four character classes offer some soft class roles, with snipers lending cover while medics revive fallen players. As you progress, you can hybridize a bit, equipping your medic with a sniper rifle for example from the outset, while still maintaining access to your "ultimate" ability kit items that can change the tide of battle for your squad.

It's impressive how well Gears of War: E-Day's multiplayer maps work in practice, they're incredibly large and have a lot going on simultaneously across the play space, giving it a sense of frantic urgency. As you're completing your missions, you may cross paths with another squad as is often the case in the campaign, leading to epic and emergent gameplay moments.

Invasion events spawn huge bosses like Brumaks and Corpsers, charging all 12 players to come together to bring them down. My complaint about them feeling a bit "spongey" persists here, but it's far more exciting tackling these towering behemoths in a big multiplayer setting, all while getting swarmed by lesser enemies like wretches and drones.

There's some mild and quite forgiving extraction gameplay here too. Side objectives and invasion events reward you with parts to upgrade your weapons and classes. If your squad fails to complete your mission for whatever reason, you will lose those weapon parts. Siege does give you a lot of leeway to avoid failure, though, even on the higher difficulties, detracting from the sense of urgency a bit.

I think The Coalition could've done a bit more to enhance the "emergent" gameplay moments and social interaction aspects. There are no emotes for example, which feels odd. Siege clearly takes some inspiration from Helldivers 2, but omits some of its more interactive and engaging innovations, which is a shame. But hey, it's all potential things to include in future seasons and updates, maybe?

We're not reviewing the future though, we're reviewing the now. And the now of Siege mode is already fantastic. Getting a capable squad together and putting yourself through the meat grinder is a ton of fun. Setting up batteries of mortar sentries and watching them rain down shells like an explosive hailstorm is endlessly satisfying. The potential here is clear and exciting.

What The Coalition has built here is as technically impressive as it is infectious. If the update cadence is solid, I can see me sticking with Gears of War: E-Day's Siege Mode remaining in my multiplayer rotation for some time.

Gears of War: E-Day review — Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed Gears of War: E-Day overall, and am already enjoying my second playthrough on a higher difficulty, but I would be lying if I said the game didn't have large campaign issues — particularly given how easily avoided many of them could've been.

Kalona is an immaculate canvas ripe for telling epic stories. The new, horror-laden tone is absolutely the right direction for Gears of War: E-Day. The existential dread oozes throughout every character delivery, and the city design is among the best the medium has ever seen.

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The gameplay structure placed on top of the campaign becomes the problem. It could've used a lot more iteration and forethought. It felt a bit like E-Day was originally intended to be some form of open-world, but at some point, they retreated, leaving it feeling disjointed. The "open world" aspects work far better in Gears of War: E-Day's siege mode, where side objectives, upgrades, and mission rewards actually feed a far more satisfying upgrade loop. In the campaign, they feel a bit more like irritants and roadbumps.

If I were to score the game based on the campaign alone, I'd probably give it an 8/10 overall — it's still incredibly fun, and the downsides are frustrating but not game-breaking. Siege mode elevates the overall package to a 9/10 for me. What doesn't work as well in the Campaign works incredibly well in Siege, and the potential for its future is quite clear.

The Coalition could probably do a little more to think outside of the box to stave off franchise fatigue and defy expectations, but the consistency of this franchise feels like coming home every time — which certainly has its own merits in today's times.

Long may Gears live.

Gears of War: E-Day launched October 6, 2026, exclusively on Xbox Series X|S on console with Xbox Play Anywhere for PC, it's also on Steam and Xbox Game Pass.

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Microsoft has been responsible for some pretty compelling innovations in the gaming space over the years, from everything including DirectX in decades past to more recent stuff like Xbox's disc-to-digital program or Xbox backwards compatibility on console and now Windows PC. Microsoft is now formalizing a team dedicated to exploring these unique and potentially transformative features.

Dubbed "Xbox Labs," Microsoft is formalizing the team that will research and work on new technologies across its gaming stack. The team there will work on new compatibility layers, such as bringing Xbox games to Apple silicon and WebGL, while also exploring the rise of reverse-engineered AI mods and games such as the recent 128-player Halo title that went viral a few weeks ago.

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Microsoft, like many in the gaming industry, are wondering about how to reach more users. Xbox announced "XP" recently, designed to bring more of its franchises into the real world via marketing collabs, merchandising, and even theme parks. Microsoft has also been putting its biggest franchises onto PlayStation as it seeks more users therein, and also pushing Xbox Cloud Gaming as an option for those who don't want the upfront cost of buying a console.

Microsoft has struggled to maintain pace with the growth of the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch platform, or Steam on PC, but made a sprint of acquisitions in a bet to at least sell games on those platforms. Titles like Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Forza Horizon are dominant off Xbox, but the decline of Xbox as a platform has been painful for fans to watch.

Incoming Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is charged with reviving Xbox's fortunes in this space. There's been a lot of promises to fans, including returning to exclusive games (starting with Gears of War: E-Day), and doubling down on new updates for Xbox Series X|S consoles, which recently included the addition of Mythic completion achievements. However, it has come at the cost of thousands of Xbox job losses via redundancies and divestitures, leaving a vast trail of disrupted lives in its wake.

Sharma noted in a town hall meeting with Xbox staff last week that it can't rely on past wins as it seeks to shape the future. AI and other technologies are rapidly disrupting what gaming will actually be in the next decade, as attention and access gets disrupted by AI-borne RAMpocalypse. The content cadence is likely to vastly saturate the addressable audience too, leading to a dilution in attention and spend.

In my view, it's pretty clear Sharma is right that technological platform innovation is absolutely necessary to navigate this "new world" being foisted upon us (by, well ... Microsoft itself), but it remains unclear when Xbox Labs' first innovations will materialize for users or developers. For those interested, a bit more "wait and see" is likely on the menu.

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Microsoft Edge appears to have an AI tool on the way that will fix common issues within the browser. A page within the browser's settings app was spotted recently, though only for those using Edge Canary (a preview version of the app).

The feature was first spotted by Leo Varela, who keeps track of changes to Edge and Chrome. Varela noted that the icon for "Fix an issue" is a magic wand, which suggests it could be an AI tool. Microsoft often uses a similar icon to denote AI features.

Early hints of the feature appeared back in May. The latest version of Edge Canary shows a basic interface for the tool, but the feature is not functional yet.

The interface has a text box for describing an issue and also shows a list of four suggestions, such as "Fix videos that won't play" and "Help me sign in."

Earlier this year, Varela discovered the same feature in a different section of Edge's settings. That listing noted that the feature would use AI to analyze relevant diagnostic data to identify an issue and suggest a solution.

It's normal to see features like this bump along through various preview channels, but it's a bit odd that "Fix an issue" does not appear in the AI at Work Roadmap (previously known as the Microsoft 365 Roadmap).

For example, watermarking protection is on the way to Edge and is not expected to ship to the browser for months, but it is already on the AI at Work Roadmap.

Hopefully the new feature ships to Edge eventually. The latest Edge stories have included a bug freezing web apps and Microsoft removing Edge Drop and real-time video translation with an update. It would be nice to cover an addition next time.

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Pokémon turns 30 this year, which means those of you who remember playing Pokémon Red and Blue on a Game Boy are now old enough to have disposable income. Razer apparently understands the assignment.

Razer has announced three new Pokémon-themed gaming headsets featuring Charizard, Lucario, and Sylveon, expanding a collection that already proves Pokémon merchandise does not have to be confined to plushies, trading cards, and whatever extraordinarily expensive piece of cardboard you just lost an eBay auction for.

Technically, none of these headsets is new. Razer is giving existing models Pokémon makeovers rather than launching new hardware. Charizard and Lucario get versions of the Razer BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed, while Sylveon adorns the wired Razer Kraken V4 X. They're being released as part of Pokémon's ongoing 30th anniversary celebrations.

That's fine by me. Sometimes I don't need a revolutionary new driver architecture. Sometimes I just want Charizard on my head.

Charizard wins the headset battle, obviously

I've got the BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed Charizard Edition here for photography, and Razer wisely resisted the temptation to simply make the entire thing bright orange.

Instead, there's a black exterior with fiery red Charizard artwork across the earcups and headband, contrasting against orange ear cushions and headband padding. The result looks unmistakably Pokémon without resembling something stolen from a ten-year-old's bedroom.

It also helps that Charizard remains one of the most immediately recognizable Pokémon ever created. The original Generation I Pokémon is officially Fire/Flying type, despite decades of childhood logic insisting that the giant fire-breathing dragon surely had to be Dragon type.

Underneath that paint job is the regular Razer BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed, which starts at $99.99 without the Pokémon treatment. It uses Razer's second-generation TriForce 50mm drivers and 2.4GHz HyperSpeed wireless, with Bluetooth and USB connectivity also available. Razer lists the standard model at just 270g.

The Charizard tax, therefore, works out to $20, with this edition carrying a $119.99 MSRP in the United States. (And for some reason, it's at Target for $139.99, but you can pick it up today, at least!)

If you're still reading this, I'm sure you've paid more for considerably less sensible Pokémon-related things.

It's worth emphasizing that the V3 X isn't the flagship BlackShark. That distinction belongs to the BlackShark V3 Pro, which Windows Central's Zachary Boddy reviewed last year. He called the V3 Pro "the closest to perfection I've ever seen a gaming headset reach," praising Razer for addressing seemingly every complaint about the previous generation.

Basically, the "X" versions of Razer products are more budget-friendly, as the V3 Pro is $249.99.

If Pokémon isn't enough to dictate your purchasing decision, we've also extensively tested the competition in our best Xbox headsets guide.

Team Lucario has entered the chat

If Charizard is a little too "look at me, I'm on fire" for your tastes, Lucario gets exactly the same BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed treatment for $119.99.

Razer describes the design as inspired by Lucario's "calm intensity," and the blue finish certainly makes it the more restrained of the pair. The actual Pokémon is Fighting/Steel type, which makes attaching it to a competitive gaming headset feel appropriately on-brand.

Same headset, same 50mm Gen-2 drivers, same HyperSpeed wireless. Your decision essentially comes down to which monster you'd rather have watching over your K/D ratio.

Lucario gets a slight head start in the US, too. It's available exclusively from Target from October 7, while Charizard launches October 13 through Razer.com and Target. Both are also headed to broader retail in Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

And then there's Sylveon

Sylveon goes in an entirely different direction, and not just aesthetically.

The Razer Kraken V4 X Sylveon Edition is a wired headset with 40mm TriForce drivers, a retractable HyperClear cardioid microphone, and Chroma RGB lighting (sweet). It comes decked out in Sylveon's characteristic pink-and-blue color scheme.

It's wonderfully unapologetic.

Sylveon is a Fairy-type Pokémon and one of Eevee's evolutions, officially categorized as the "Intertwining Pokémon." Its ribbon-like feelers can apparently send out a soothing aura that erases hostility, which frankly sounds like technology every Call of Duty voice-chat lobby desperately needs.

The Sylveon Kraken V4 X costs $109.99 and launches October 13 exclusively through Target in the United States, with wider retail availability across Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

I choose you, Charizard

There's obviously no technical reason to replace a perfectly good headset purely because Razer printed a Pokémon on it. This is merchandising. Razer knows it, Pokémon knows it, I know it, and your wallet is about to find out.

But that's also rather missing the point.

The BlackShark V3 X HyperSpeed is already a lightweight wireless headset offering 2.4GHz, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity. For an extra $20, Pokémon fans can get essentially the same hardware dressed as Charizard or Lucario. Sylveon fans have a slightly cheaper, wired alternative with RGB.

And having actually seen the Charizard edition outside Razer's immaculate press renders, I'll say this: it's pretty damn cool.

Sometimes that's enough justification.

Besides, it's Pokémon's 30th anniversary. Treat yourself.

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I grew up a SEGA and Sony kid, at least until XBOX started tempting me with exclusives. I didn't make any of my own money until the XBOX 360 era, but when I did, one studio had the killer apps in my eyes: Remedy Entertainment.

During the OG XBOX era, I split my gaming between a PlayStation 2 and the family PC, which was chiefly used to play Max Payne.

Its slow-motion, John Woo-esque gunfighting gameplay landed at the perfect time; I was already obsessed with The Matrix, after all.

Obsessively playing Remedy's noir shooter while dipping my toes into the PC modding scene convinced me that Remedy were icons.

Indeed, I held them in the same regard as Rockstar Games and Valve, as gaming stalwarts that could seemingly do no wrong, especially after Max Payne 2 delivered everything I had hoped. For their next adventure, I'd need Microsoft's new console, so I started saving my money.

XBOX 360 — Alan Wake

Mechanically, Alan Wake isn't much different from Max Payne. It's a third-person shooter with a strong narrative focus, pushing me toward cutscenes and literal story scraps as I unravel a mystery of light vs. darkness. Enemies creep out of the shadows, totally invulnerable until I burn away their armor with a flashlight, flare, or whatever other luminous weapons I have on hand.

It started as a more open-world game, but the clever twist on the otherwise familiar run-and-gun mechanics drew me in. I didn't even mind giving up the slow-motion 'Bullet Time' feature that defined Max Payne, because it still lingered in Alan Wake's gameplay loop, showing up in well-timed dodges. This time, Remedy's writing was less clichéd and more sincere — I wanted more.

Of course, I had plenty of other games on the XBOX 360 to tide me over, including Grand Theft Auto IV and Gears of War, so I wasn't bereft of choice after buying into this iconic console. Besides, Alan Wake's American Nightmare arrived soon after as the game's largest DLC expansion, but we wouldn't see a true sequel for another couple of generations.

XBOX One — Quantum Break

Would another time-bending action shooter convince me to buy into Microsoft's latest console? It did, and I went all in on its unified platform with the XBOX One, a Nokia Lumia 735 running Windows 10 Mobile, and, of course, a Windows 10 PC. I even bought the console's official digital TV tuner, fully adopting the all-in-one media pitch, though I'd never get my hands on the promised DVR feature.

And what better game to start with than Quantum Break with its live-action cinematics, cut like a TV mini-series? It certainly had some interesting combat mechanics that let me completely freeze time in isolated bubbles, but it felt more like a treat for the eyes. Visually, the game was (and still is) incredible.

If Alan Wake were a Stephen King novel blended with David Lynch's Twin Peaks sensibilities, then Quantum Break is more like Tenet's time-twisting motif wrapped around the gratuitous slow-motion bullet barrages of The Matrix. It's still easy to recommend, with Remedy's refined storytelling DNA on full display, and it can be beaten in a single weekend if you have the time.

XBOX Series X — Alan Wake 2

Thirteen years after the first game, I finally had the Alan Wake sequel within reach, and I wanted to savor every moment. This is the game that not only convinced me to pick up the XBOX Series X console, but also a 4K OLED TV with HDR and all the other trimmings. It annihilated my savings, but it was worth it in the long run, since my wife and I play on this console almost daily.

Alan Wake 2 had some launch bugs, but they were soon cleaned up, and it didn't tarnish my view of this brilliant sequel. It's Remedy in top gear, running at maximum speed with a twisting story, gorgeous visuals, and layers upon layers of references and outright fan service. I loved almost every minute.

There are some sudden stops, like a playable representation of the co-protagonist's "Mind Place" that had me connecting yarns to various photographs and clue scraps. It betters the story, but ultimately, I always wish I could speed past some of this part when I replay the game. Nevertheless, it's one of the best games I've ever played, and I easily forgave its missteps. Don't miss out.

Project Helix — Will there be another killer app?

Microsoft's plans for a follow-up console fall under the 'Project Helix' codename as an "XBOX-PC hybrid", with no set release date. Game studios might expect to receive developer-centric hardware sometime in 2027, but for now, the company is simply encouraging those devs to keep "developing for Xbox on PC". You know, I'd be more excited if it weren't for the ongoing memory shortage crisis.

Remedy announced a 'Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake' in 2022, and I haven't heard much about it since then. It's a partner project with Rockstar Games, and Take-Two still owns the series IP, making it the most mysterious project that I've ever felt this excited for. If this silence continues, it might just launch on Project Helix, but will it be unique (or exclusive) enough to keep me from playing it on PC?

It's almost impossible to predict, but I'd rather be an optimist when I can. With any luck, RAM and storage production costs will gradually return to more reasonable levels over the next year, which could kick-start an exciting lead-up to the reveal of whatever Project Helix calls itself. What kinds of games do you hope to see in the next generation of XBOX?

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I’ve sat here for 10 minutes now, staring at my PC, because I really just don’t know what to say about how this is even possible, but here goes. Yes, PS5 emulation is now working on the Xbox Series X via Xbox’s Developer Mode as a UWP app.

The emulator in question is KytyPS5, which has been ported by @maccosmo to Xbox. If you’ve been keeping up with the emulator on X (formerly Twitter), it's probably the main PS5 emulator making the most progress right now. Most notably, the emulator can play Demon’s Souls and Astro Bot at over 60 FPS, while Wolverine is bootable but runs at a much lower frame rate that isn’t really playable (these figures are for the PC version of the emulator, not the Xbox version).

You’re probably wondering what performance is like playing a PS5 game on an Xbox Series X, and well, it’s not great. Astro Bot sits at around 10 FPS, but there’s a lot going on under the hood. The Xbox fork of KytyPS5 includes a Direct3D 12 renderer that uses Mesa’s spirv_to_dxil to translate shaders, meaning there's a lot of code translation happening to make this work.

It’s a work in progress, but it’s not crazy to imagine Astro Bot eventually reaching a level where you can play it comfortably. For myself, I’ve made it known that I have no interest in PS5 hardware. That’s just my preference.

But Astro Bot has always been one of the few PS5 exclusives I thought genuinely looked good. If I thought I could purchase a copy of the game and play it on my Series X somehow, I think I probably would.

As I said, I’m just bewildered here. But the progress that’s been made, whether forced through thanks to AI, is cool to see. I mean, thanks to PS5 jailbreaking, we’ve already got Xbox Cloud Gaming on PS5, and there’s even one developer attempting to get Windows running on PS5, with some success too, as Hades is currently playable.

Let me know your thoughts. Is this something you’d try, or do you think this is all getting out of hand and regulators need to step in? Leave a comment below, and be sure to take part in our poll!

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Gears of War: E-Day is seemingly still full of surprises, and according to the latest Xbox US store data, the game is flying off (digital) shelves. It has secured the number one spot, overtaking titles like Minecraft Dungeons 2 and the critically acclaimed Star Wars: Galactic Racer.

Gears of War: E-Day reaching the top spot in the US isn’t the only news, too. The game also topped the UK store and many others across the globe, which is great to see.

I will say, I am a bit surprised, obviously given the games on Game Pass, that does come with a certain, how would you say, online drama? Especially as it's often thought Xbox gamers don’t buy games, which of course has been debunked time and time again, but I digress.

We also know, thanks to reporting from TrueAchievements, that Gears of War: E-Day is 2026’s second-biggest Xbox launch. It surpassed Halo: Campaign Evolved by 8.6% but fell just shy of Forza Horizon 6, managing only 67.3% of Forza’s player count at launch, which of course was a massive success on both Xbox and PC.

I’m impressed with how well Gears of War: E-Day has done, and it's honestly well deserved. Having beaten the game myself, it has given me the Gears itch, and I am probably going to run through Gears 2, 3, 4, and 5 on Insane, just like I have done with the first game and E-Day.

Hopefully, everyone has enjoyed E-Day as much as I have, and I hope the game continues to perform well. There was, of course, reporting from Alinea Analytics, which estimated 230,000 copies sold across both Steam and Xbox. Steam accounted for 168,000 of those, with Xbox (console and PC) selling 62,000.

Alinea also estimated that 1.7 million people played the game via Game Pass, and of that 1.7 million, 722,000 paid for the five-day early access upgrade. Alinea also reported that the game grossed $37 million in revenue, and they called for the game to be released on PlayStation 5 too to help recoup development costs.

I won’t dive into that drama, though. Don't worry. For now, let me know your thoughts on E-Day, how it's performed, whether you're impressed, or if you expected it to do better, in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!

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Microsoft has a new competitor, and it's not a big name like Google or Apple. A developer named Brandon Thomas has created open-source replications of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint using AI. Thomas made headlines recently for using AI to replicate the Adobe suite, and he has now pointed his AI agents at Microsoft 365.

GridCraft (Excel clone), DeckCraft (PowerPoint clone), and WordCraft (Word clone) are made using Claude. They're free to download and you can read more about their development through the ArtCraft GitHub page.

Thomas now has a growing suite of app clones that aim to replicate the functionality and design of the popular suites from Adobe and Microsoft. The situation was summed up brilliantly by Reddit user "EngFL92" who said, "Begun, the clone wars have."

Windows Central take: Proving a point

The concept of replicating apps is nothing new. LibreOffice has been available for years and there are a plethora of apps similar to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other Microsoft 365 applications.

WordCraft and other applications made by Thomas are important because they ask the question, "Can AI be used to replace paid industry-leading software suites."

At the moment, I'd say the answer to that question is "no." But the replica Office apps are in the alpha stage of development. We could see the feature gap close and bugs get squashed before general release, assuming Thomas decides to continue the project.

Projects like this often gain notoriety quickly as they get shared online. Microsoft and Adobe are tech giants that charge a lot of money to access software. They're easy targets and I believe some of the passion against the companies is justified.

Thomas said on X that they're "paying back a grudge that has been years in the making," so there seems to be some history there.

Quite the media frenzy has formed around these apps. I suppose I'm a part of that, but I think some outlets have gone too far and argued that the AI-coded clones of the Adobe and Microsoft 365 suites are further along than they really are.

I appreciate the dedication to create apps that compete with some of the best-known software around. Projects like this can demonstrate that some people don't need to pay monthly subscriptions for their entire lives to get work done. But I'd suggest pumping the brakes on narratives along the lines of "vibe coding takes down tech giants in a month."

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Following Xbox's recent push to simplify development for its platform, we have a new engine joining the party with official hardware support: Defold. For those unfamiliar, Defold is a game engine originally created by King, the studio behind Candy Crush, which is now owned by Microsoft.

Naturally, given its origins, the engine was heavily utilized for mobile titles like Blossom Blast Saga. However, it has since evolved into a solid option for indie developers, with existing support for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation consoles.

While Defold might not be the first engine that comes to mind for most people, I’m a strong believer that making development easier across whatever engines people choose is a fantastic move. In this case, it seems Defold has managed to make Xbox support as straightforward as possible.

According to its creators, Xbox support is now available in Defold 1.14.0, provided free of charge to approved developers. This completes a major expansion of the engine’s console capabilities, meaning it now supports all three major platforms.

Developers must first be approved for Xbox console development through programs like ID@Xbox before they can access the specific resources. Once approved, they can request access to the Xbox extension, which includes platform integrations such as user management and game saves, along with the necessary tools and workflows for building and testing Xbox games.

The engine itself has been around since 2008, so it’s been a long wait for official Xbox support. When asked why it took so long by @Danielon5538 on X (formerly Twitter), Defold responded:

“We (at Defold Foundation) developed Xbox support alongside our ongoing work on Defold, using the Foundation's own savings. Defold is free and all its console ports are completely free for approved developers too. We sustain development through partnerships and community donations. It took some time and sweat, but we're happy to finally make it available!”

You can also help fund Defold, which helps pay developers, and support core services, donations can be made here.

Hopefully, this is a sign of more things to come to make development easier for Xbox. While I can’t speak to what other engines might be lacking in the Xbox development space, lowering barriers in any way possible is one of Xbox’s best chances of getting as many developers on board with their platform as possible.

Let me know in the comments if you use Defold, if you’re glad it now has Xbox support, or if you just heard of the engine today. And, as always, don’t forget to take part in our poll!

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I had no idea that Ben Affleck is such an avid PC gamer. The mega-star from countless Hollywood hits recently appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz, where he revealed that he spent years doing nothing but playing PC games shortly after becoming famous.

Affleck says, "There was a game called StarCraft that probably took the most life out of me. [...] I had just gotten famous, and all I did was stay home for three years and play StarCraft." Yeah, I'd say we have a gamer on our hands here.

Good Will Hunting, the movie that Affleck co-wrote and starred in alongside Matt Damon, won two Oscars at the 1998 Academy Awards, propelling him into stardom. Just a couple of months later, the real-time strategy gem StarCraft launched in March 1998.

Other long-time PC gamers no doubt recall StarCraft's intense launch, which saw about 1.5 million copies ship in the first nine months. It was the best-selling game of the year, and I can recall that it was practically the only game my friends and I could talk about for months after its release.

We have a PC gamer here, and his name is Ben Affleck

Affleck's video game history didn't quite start with StarCraft, although it might have been the most affecting in the young actor's life.

He states that he was playing DOOM "endlessly, for hours," before and while he was working on Good Will Hunting. Maybe that's where some of the jokes about Damon and Affleck's shared (but skewed) workload on writing the movie originated.

Going back even further, Affleck says he played Donkey Kong, Tetris, and Ms. Pac-Man for "tens of millions of hours" in arcades and at home. He still has a Ms. Pac-Man arcade cabinet at home.

Affleck admits that he still enjoys PC games today, albeit from a slightly different angle than all those years ago. He enjoys 2K and Madden titles for a sports fix, which he plays with his son. He calls Valorant "a great game" that has one major problem: "I just get f***in' rocked."

As an adult who has attempted these types of competitive shooters, I can relate to him accusing young gamers with incredible reflexes of being cheaters. Hearing Affleck's imitation of getting cussed out by online squeakers is hilarious. The video game question comes up at about the 54-minute mark of the podcast.

Affleck also comments on how real-time strategy PC games have regressed in popularity over the years.

"I like those real-time strategy and civilization-building styles, which have sort of gone out of style."

As someone who loves Age of Empires, I have no notes other than to maybe suggest Affleck give Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition a shot. Its competitive scene has never looked better, and there's an almost unending stream of content available.

All this talk about StarCraft has me thinking it's time to install it once again. I've yet to give the remastered version a try, and the game's voice lines are bouncing around in my head. Anyone up for a quick match?

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It’s easy to forget that the PS5 has any true exclusives left, given how few remain. Xbox, though, can hardly boast of a strong exclusive library either, having only recently started to reclaim that territory. Yet an extremely ambitious developer has managed to get Windows 11 running on the PS5 using a project called Mihawk OS.

This is just another wild turn for the PS5 modding scene since the console was jailbroken, but what developer Mihawk is actually doing is genuinely impressive. They are building a translation layer that will allow both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows games to run directly on a jailbroken PS5.

While development of Mihawk OS isn’t open source like many other mods currently releasing, Mihawk says progress is going well, and just to instill some confidence in what Mihawk is capable of, they also got RetroArch running, which allows a whole host of emulators to work on the console. That said, we don’t know much yet, particularly regarding how games actually perform. However, we have seemingly seen HADES run within Windows on PS5.

How other games perform is still unknown, but it's impressive regardless. Who knows, instead of relying on Xbox Cloud Gaming via a new homebrew app, you might eventually be able to play titles like Gears of War: E-Day natively.

Of course, that assumes you’re comfortable with the cost of jailbreaking your console, which naturally limits your access to PlayStation servers and could even put your account at risk.

I’ve covered other impressive work in the PS5 jailbreak scene, including Xbox 360 and OG Xbox emulation running directly on the PS5. It’s honestly getting a little out of control. If Windows games can run natively on the PS5, I think that would push me over the edge to buy one.

It would seemingly make for a solid living room console, effectively becoming what I wanted the Steam Machine to be, but at a heavily discounted price if I went the second-hand route.

Just a rather quick asterisk, too: Jailbreaking isn't something I necessarily recommend, but it also isn't illegal, and I do recommend you at least purchase the games you are either going to play or emulate on a jailbroken PS5.

If you’re as baffled and impressed by these latest advancements as I am, let me know in the comments!

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Microsoft's blueprint for making Windows 11 apps has received an update that allows developers to try more experimental features. WinUI Gallery just received a bump to version 3.0, and with that update comes a new approach to experimental features.

WinUI Gallery is Microsoft's sample app for developers, showing how Windows UI components work and helping app makers build software that looks and behaves like a native Windows 11 application. It's available through the Microsoft Store.

WinUI Gallery used to receive new controls after those controls had reached a stable Windows App SDK release. Because of that, Microsoft was limited in how much it could change those controls based on feedback. WinUI Gallery now includes the experimental Windows App SDK so developers can play with new controls earlier and provide feedback to Microsoft in time to drive changes.

WinUI Gallery 3.0 also adds some quality of life changes that are outlined by Niels Laute, a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft:

• Mouse back and forward buttons now navigate through the Gallery, just like in your browser (#2195), thanks @hoshiizumiya!
• Search finds more. Every control page now has search tags, so searching for terms like “context menu”, “carousel”, or “WCAG” finds the right page even when the query doesn’t match the control’s name (#2185).
• No more dead ends. When a search has no results, you now see your query, a few search tips, and a button to view all samples (#2255), thanks @Zakariathr22!

Since experimental controls are now in WinUI Gallery 3.0, there are several new samples available in the app, including TableView, Charts, and Wrap Panel and LayoutPanel. Those controls allow apps to present data in a way that's easier to digest.

WinUI Gallery is an app that everyday PC users will likely never download or even see. But it's an important tool for developers who want to create modern applications. The latest update should lead to more quality apps being available on Windows 11.

What is WinUI Gallery?

WinUI Gallery is a developer tool that acts as a digital showroom for Windows app development. Developers can see what UI elements look like on a PC by using the app and see relevant code samples to help create applications that align with Microsoft's design framework and guidelines.

Microsoft has had some form of a digital showroom since 2018, but the app has gone through a few name changes. Its current name is a bit confusing because of similar terms being used in different settings.

The latest update to WinUI Gallery brings that app to version 3.0, so it's referred to as WinUI Gallery 3.0. But despite the similar name, that is different than WinUI 3, which is the framework developers currently use.

Regardless of its slightly confusing name, WinUI Gallery is a useful tool for app development and helps push developers toward making apps that perform well and appear natural on Windows 11 PCs.

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