Gamesradar interviewed Philipp Weber and Pawel Sasko about the Witcher series:

"Everyone in the industry said it's not possible" – The Witcher 3 at 10: diving into the legendary RPG's creation, legacy, and secret sauce that makes CDPR's quests so special

Interview | The Witcher 4's narrative director, Philipp Weber, and associate game director of the next Cyberpunk game, Paweł Sasko, tell Wild Hunt's story

In 2012, CD Projekt Red's ambition was at boiling point. Paweł Sasko, then a quest designer, joined the studio on February 6. "I don't remember the birthday of my mom, but I do remember that," he admits, grinning. "It's a special day for me."

CDPR was preparing to launch The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings on Xbox 360. The port was largely finished, and work on a follow-up, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, had begun in secret. Yet instead of sticking with what worked for – another hub-based and largely linear RPG – its creators wanted to transplant The Witcher 2's tight, character-driven narrative into a sprawling open world.

"Everyone in the industry said it's not possible – that these things don't go together, because you almost have contradictory objectives for what you're trying to achieve," recalls Sasko. But even then, ambition was the studio's guiding light.

We know how the story goes. The Witcher 3 launched to critical and commercial acclaim in 2016, and is considered by many to be the most influential open world RPG of its time. CDPR is a household name. Now 10 years old, The Witcher 3 retains its magic: there's a smokiness to its tone, its confrontational approach to morality, that's still hard to grasp after all these years. Where did it come from?

"We always wanted to make the kind of game we'd want to play," says Philipp Weber, who joined as a quest designer in 2013 and now works as The Witcher 4's narrative director. "But at the same time, a lot of it was built on hope… like, 'I hope this works out.'"

[...]

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Henriquejr spotted dev diary #24 for MENACE:

Dev Diary #24: Accessories in MENACE

After last week’s introduction to special weapons, how they work, and what types of weapons you can expect in MENACE, this week we will give you an introduction to another kind of item class.

Accessories
Accessories can be used to equip squads with special items, abilities, skills, and so on. They are equipped in the troop loadout screen like all other equipment items, and also cost supplies.

They occupy their own slot in the squad's inventory so that they won't interfere with the rest of your equipment choices, like weapons and armor.

How many accessories a squad can equip depends mainly on the type of armor they are wearing, but the amount can also be increased through special perks.

Not only can infantry squads be equipped with accessories, but vehicles can also be equipped with them. In this case, the amount of vehicle accessories you can equip depends on the vehicle chassis.

Note that vehicle accessories are distinct from infantry accessories.

Accessory items can have a very wide variety of effects. They can apply a passive buff or give an active skill. Some have a limited number of uses per mission, while others can be used as often as you want. They open up another layer of customization and specialization when setting up your units, and they can be used to emphasize their strengths further or mitigate their weaknesses.

Here is a selection of various infantry accessories to give you an idea of what to expect. New items will be added regularly throughout the Early Access period.

[...]

Tim talks about action points:

Action Points, Part 2

Action Points

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C4G checked out all Overlord games:

So I Played ALL Overlord RPGs in 2025

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Couchpotato spotted a trailer for the action-adventure Blood Message:

Blood Message - Official Reveal Trailer

The DLC Wandering Sword - Secrets of the Eastern Sea has been released:

Wandering Sword | Secrets of the Eastern Sea | DLC Trailer

Wandering Sword: Secrets of the Eastern Sea is a story expansion to the base game Wandering Sword, offering a brand-new adventure set beyond the main storyline.

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Gematsu reports that Lies of P sold 3 Million copies.

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RPGFan looks back at 25 years of Deus Ex:

Retro Encounter 462 – Deus Ex RetroSpective

We always love to celebrate birthdays here at Retro Encounter, and one of our all-time favourite RPGs/immersive sims has a big one coming up! Deus Ex is turning 25 years old! In honour of this momentous occasion, we’ve assembled a panel of fans to chat about each entry in the series.

Whether you’re a fan of the original Deus Ex, the two more recent games Human Revolution or Mankind Divided, or maybe even Invisible War, we have you covered in this retrospective. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the brand-new retro reviews of each game on RPGFan.com!

[...]

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The Alpha Test for Vindictus: Defying Fate has ended:

End of Alpha Test – Thank You for Participating

Hello, this is the Vindictus: Defying Fate team. 

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all players who participated in the global Alpha Test with enthusiasm over the past eight days. 

The Alpha Test officially ended on June 17, 2025 (Tue) 06:59 (UTC) / June 16, 2025 (Mon) 23:59 (PDT), and the Steam Demo client is no longer accessible. 

We truly appreciate your time and support, even though some parts of the test may have felt rough or incomplete. 
Please rest assured that we are carefully reviewing all the feedback you have shared with us. 

If you were unable to complete the in-game survey, an online version will remain open for two additional days after the test ends. 
Your feedback is a valuable part of Vindictus: Defying Fate’s journey moving forward. 

Once again, thank you for spending your valuable time with Vindictus: Defying Fate and for your support. 
We look forward to sharing more updates with you soon. 

Thank you. 

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Wccftech interviewed Tymon Smektala, Franchise Director for Dying Light:

Dying Light: The Beast Impressions and Q&A From SGF 2025

We recently went hands-on with the first North American preview event for Dying Light: The Beast during our appointment with Level Infinite to see their other lineup, including Exoborne. From roughly the beginning of Kyle Crane's return to the world of Dying Light, we got to play out the first hour or so of the adventure, following his escape from captivity after a thirteen-year stint of experiments and inhumane treatment. While he wasn't yet The Beast that this semi-sequel proves, the gameplay did show a meaner, more vindictive Kyle Crane who's angry at the world. This is a man who still has his parkour instincts but isn't shy about knocking a few heads around with a two-handed weapon, no matter if they're human or volatile.

What was behind the decision to make Kyle Crane's adventure its own standalone title rather than a DLC for Dying Light 2?

First of all, it makes sense because it's Kyle Crane, right? And there is the whole origin story about how the project started. But actually, I don't really want to go there, because right now at Techland we feel that this is a burden that we have to kinda carry on our backs and I think it makes our work a little bit more challenging because we now need to convince players.

But even though it started as something then, right now it's basically the next Dying Light game. It just doesn't have three at the end of it because we just don't want to scare too many people that might be new coming to the franchise. But actually, we would like to lose that weight on our backs because even though everything starts as something, it evolves and changes. Over the last six months, we have kept adding and adding and adding to the game. Right now, it's an extremely sizable game. The main story takes about 20 hours to complete and all the extra stuff, the side narrative, side mission, and open world activities, they easily double that.

Also, in terms of quality and implementation, side missions have cutscenes, they have quest design practically on the same level as the main story. The last time I played Dying Light: The Beast from start to finish was in April, and my save was 37 hours long of gameplay. So, it is a very proper experience. We have also improved the visuals a lot. Our in-house C-Engine in-house engine went through a number of iterations. Now, all the weather effects, the rendering of materials, lighting, shadows, and how the sun moves in the sky. All of those things are on a completely different level compared to Dying Light 2: Stay Human. One day, we realized we had a new game on our hands. That realization is also something that we would like to assume moving forward as a developer. Because both Dying Light 1 and 2 took seven years to make. We think that with a slightly different approach, with a bigger focus, we can release games more often. We are probably looking at a three or four year cycle, and I think that Dying Light: The Beast is the first step in that direction.

I understand why some players might think, 'oh, it started as a small thing and now they charge full price, they just want to sell it as the next game.' But it actually is, it is the return of Kyle Crane. The campaign is comparable to the previous games, and I think it really is the best Dying Light game we have ever made.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted a new development update for Dragonkin: The Banished:

Introducing the Draconic Tarot & Atlas

+ A preview of Oracle customization - Founder Pack 3

Hey Dragon hunters,

After last week’s DevBlog giving a first look at the highly anticipated Tracker, this time we’re back but to show other features we’ve been quietly working on, yet crucial in sharpening the endgame loop of Dragonkin: The Banished.

[...]

Banquet for Fools version 3.0 is now available:

3.0 Now available on the main branch!

Flower petal boat / Sea Monsters / Giant Bakka 
Topa-din everyone! 3.0 is now available on the main branch

3.0 maps includes a variety of areas surrounding the western landmass of Invimona. There are a number of updates and additions to the game highlighted in the update log at the bottom of this post.

Of note is you'll now have access to your Lazure Petal Boat and pack-boro companion. These areas feature some more unique encounters and challenges both on and off sea!

[...]

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Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, the lead writer on Sandfall Interactive's debut hit, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33:

How Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's Epic Story was Crafted | Game Maker's Notebook

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Trent Kusters chats with Prokop Jirsa, Lead Designer of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II:

Creating the Immersive World of KINGDOM COME DELIVERANCE 2 | Game Maker's Notebook

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VGC shows some Borderlands 4 gameplay:

Borderlands 4 Exclusive Gameplay

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Alrik spotted the Special Program for Honkai: Star Rail version 3.4:

Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.4 "For the Sun is Set to Die" Special Program

Learn more about the skill design of Last Epoch:

Making Last Epoch | Skill Design

There is an overwhelming amount of theorizing around skills in Last Epoch. Whether you’re building a map clearing, Abby killing, flashy looking Paladin, or just a Primalist who collects furry friends because the Capybara needs buddies, you can bet your skills will need to be planned out. But what keeps a skill in check? What does it take to build something that looks good, feels good, and doesn’t break everything else in the process? The answer… a lot. Thankfully, we have a team of passionate and skilled developers who focus on these exact questions.

Today, we will hear from our very own Justin Carpenter, Technical Game Designer for Last Epoch, to walk us through the process of how a skill like Heartseeker was pulled from the Quiver of ideation and fired into the hands of Travelers just like you.

Justin? Take it away!

Ideation
When Great Minds Play the Same Game
We have an endless list of abilities we'd like to add for each Class, so when picking which new ability will be added, we try to choose one that fits what that Class or its Mastery needs most. For Marksman, the answer was easy: it needed a good single-target damage skill, and we were very interested in creating our own spin on Diablo 2's Guided Arrow, so we were certain that Heartseeker was the skill we wanted to add.

What was harder to answer is how exactly it should function.

[...]

Learn more about the Nauts-faction of GreedFall 2:

Dive in: The Nauts

Greetings, Carants!

After treading the sacred forests and echoing caverns of Teer Fradee, we now follow the pull of the tides—toward sails on the horizon and eyes marked in blue. In the world of GreedFall, few factions inspire as much fascination and caution as the Nauts.

They arrive in silence and depart with the winds. No banners, no declarations—only their unmistakable ships, their tattoos like currents winding across the skin, and a gaze that always seems to see a little further.

Of Salt, Steel, and Secrets
The Nauts are not born; they are made as sea-born or sea-given.

Once given to their ranks, individuals are stripped of their pasts. In their place: a life of discipline, of precision, of purpose. A new identity, and a code that binds tighter than chains.

They have a codified language and are immediately recognizable by their facial tattoos that represent their advancement in the guild and tell their story.

“We are sea-faring,” as Captain Vasco once said. “We’re not born into it, we’re given. We abandon our former lives to dedicate ourselves entirely to navigation.”

And navigate, they do—better than any. As a guild of seafarers that dominate the waters, they guard their sailing secrets with vigilance to preserve their trade.

[...]

Empire of Sin got a new expansion called Hunt for Aurora:

Empire of Sin: Hunt for Aurora

The hunt is on in Empire of Sin: Hunt for Aurora! Robin Kray, the latest mob boss from across the pond, and his crime partner Sylvia Taylor bring their flair for the dramatic—and a taste for danger—to Chicago. Together, they’re chasing the famous Aurora diamond, and nothing will stand in their way. Try a new dual-wielding combat style and use Robin’s cunning leadership to leave a lasting mark on the city’s criminal underworld.

This expansion introduces the new Vanguard gangster class, specialists in melee and frontline combat, with versatile builds to suit your strategy. Robin and Sylvia also bring dance clubs, their signature racket, to help expand your empire. And what’s a hunt without a bit of luck? A faithful and fortunate canine companion joins your crew to bring an unexpected edge to your endeavors.

Gear up with an arsenal of powerful new weapons, including high-powered firearms and deadly melee options, and dive into 14 thrilling missions that will test your wits and resolve. The streets of Chicago are yours to conquer—bringing you one step closer to becoming the ultimate kingpin.

Key Features:

• New Boss: Robin Kray
• New Side Character: Sylvia Taylor
• New Gangster Class: Vanguard (melee and versatile combat builds)
• New Racket: Dance Clubs
• Lucky Companion: A loyal dog with uncanny good luck
• Arsenal Expansion:
• High-power Prototype Pistol, Plains Rifle, Model 21 Shotgun, M1886 Sniper Fusil, Irma Submachine Gun, MP 28 Submachine Gun, and Brn. Vz. 26 Machine Gun
• 6 deadly melee weapons: P1907, Hooked Quillon Bayonet, 10'' Chef’s Knife, Hunting Knife, Balisong, and Fish Knife
• 4 New Mission Chains: Dive into 14 missions in total!

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The Chaos Pack DLC for Stolen Realm has been released:

Chaos Pack DLC & Free Major Update Out Now!

Harness the Chaos - a new DLC skill tree, achievements & more await in Stolen Realm!

Chaos Reigns Today! - Chaos Pack DLC + Free Major Update Out Now

Adventurers, the Realms have been thrown into turmoil - the Chaos Pack DLC is out now, unleashing a brand-new Chaos skill tree with over 30 wild abilities that bring unpredictable mayhem to every battle. Whether you’re swapping places with enemies, summoning explosive clones, or pulling barrels from thin air, this DLC invites you to embrace glorious randomness. Launching alongside it is a massive free update packed with long-awaited achievements, major balance changes, a new Roguelike difficulty, and fresh avatars - opening the door to entirely new ways to build and play across both Campaign and Roguelike modes.

Chaos Pack DLC – Unleash Mayhem
Unlock the brand-new Chaos Tree, featuring:

•  30+ chaotic new skills that bring unpredictable and devastating power to your builds.
•  New opportunities for creative synergy and mind-bending strategies.

Excited? Grab the Chaos Pack now to unleash the madness!

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A new DLC - called Reflection Shards - for the Sci-fi RPG Saturn has been released:

A large-scale DLC-1 and a major update have been released for Saturn!

A large-scale DLC-1 and a major update have been released for Saturn: new locations, endings, and dozens of improvements

We are pleased to announce that our Ninsar.Games team is announcing new content and improvements for the game Saturn. On April 24, the release of DLC-1 "Reflection Shards" and a major update for the main game took place.

On October 29, the game became available on VK Play and on our website, and on November 15, the game was released on Steam. On February 6, the release of the free DLC "Fluffy Guest" and the first comic "Ascent" in the universe of the project took place. Today, players can expect two significant updates: DLC-1 "Reflection Shards" and a major update for the main game. This is an important stage in the development of the project: players will receive both a new story arc and improvements to key mechanics. By purchasing DLC-1 before May 9, you get it with a 10% discount!

DLC-1 "Reflection Shards"
The add-on expands the storyline of the incident and introduces a new character - Sylvester Slayton, whose role in what is happening becomes key. In the DLC, players will find:

• 12 new locations, including abandoned complexes and man-made zones
• New opponents and situations adapted to the cyclical mechanics
• 4 new types of weapons that can be obtained as a reward for progress in DLC-1
• A new suit available for completing the main quest
• New endings depending on the decisions made
• Unique dialogues and voiced scenes with key characters

Update to the main game

In parallel with the release of DLC-1, the developers released a major update that affected almost all aspects of the game:

Gameplay and balance:

• Reworked movement mechanics
• Improved enemy AI in combat
• Adjusted the balance of status effects and perks
• Improved the system of interaction with bodies
• Adjusted the balance of items and trade
• Improved weapon sounds
• Added the ability to interrupt actions, fixed zones attacks

Plot and events:

• 10 new side quests
• 20 random events
• Improved quest logic (for example, now Chong Ju correctly issues a pass, and Gavrilov does not get lost along the way)
• Updated and expanded voice acting from “GamesVoice”
• Added new reactions of the main character to what is happening

Graphics and performance:

• Implemented location optimization
• Added SSAO, anti-aliasing settings
• Added three camera tracking settings: constant tracking, disabling tracking in combat and completely disabling tracking

As well as hundreds of other changes in quests, dialogues, interactive objects, interfaces, achievements and visuals. The developers emphasize that this update is the result of feedback from players accumulated since the release, and a step towards the next stage of the project's development.

Each of you has the opportunity to support our project by purchasing the “Supporter Kit” with a 10% discount, which includes DLC-0, DLC-1, the original soundtrack and a comic about the game universe.

[...]

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CGMagazine checked out Borderlands 4:

Borderlands 4 Hands-On Preview: Loud, Fast, and Finally Smooth

Claptrap's Back

CGMagazine was invited down to 2K’s California offices for a hands-on session with Borderlands 4, where I spent two chaotic, loot-soaked hours shooting and vault diving in what might be the series’ most confident entry to date. After, I sat with Creative Director Graeme Timmins to dig into what makes this Borderlands tick, and why this time, it finally feels like the mayhem is working for you, not just happening around you.

Borderlands 4 doesn’t waste your time. From the moment I stepped into the latest wasteland of yelling psychos, irradiated warlords, and vending machines powered by sarcasm, it was clear that Gearbox remembered what this series does best - and finally figured out how to make it all feel right with Borderlands 4.

[...]

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Gematsu reports that the action-adventure Stellar Blade sold 3 million copies on Steam already.

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PC Guide reports that Nexus Mods gets a new ownership as the founder takes a step back.

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IGN checked out Wuchang: Fallen Feathers:

Wuchang Fallen Feathers Is a Soulslike with a Unique Look and a Neat Hook

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Couchpotato spotted a new gameplay trailer for Vampires: Bloodlord Rising:

Vampires: Bloodlord Rising | New Gameplay Reveal

The roguelike Netherworld Covenant has been released into Early Access:

Netherworld Covenant Early Access Out Now

In the abyss where the mortal realm and netherworld intertwine, become a warrior wielding the power of the Nether Lantern to fight along with the fallen souls. With hardcore, soulslike action and intriguing roguelike builds, shatter the cursed barriers and unveil the truth woven from blood and soul.

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Here are some news for Lair of the Leviathan:

Updates from the Lair

Powerful new editors for dungeons, creating monsters and more...

Greetings, mighty dungeon crawlers!

Been a while since our last update but David (from Nostaglic Realms) and I have been powering away hard at work on Lair of the Leviathan. It goes without saying that this is easily the biggest thing either of us have worked on ( and I've built over 10 games for Steam already!) , but honestly this is also the most fun I've ever had working on a project.

The more we build the game, the more we realise it's shaping up to be basically our own version of the classic Gold Box D&D games from the 90s. We loved those games so much - but naturally they have aged, and have their own annoyances. We're basically trying to pay homage to them, but also remove a lot of the tedium ( all those random encounters and clunky 3D maps, gone !) , while keeping true to the spirit of the era. There's also hints of Darklands, Ultima, Knights of Legend in there. All the stuff we loved growing up.

My good friend Anders Lauridsen ( developer of Skald : Against the Black Priory ) has been a great supporter of the game, and in our conversations has given me tons of advice in how to program a successful RPG. The major thing he stressed upon me was this : make good tools! . Building deep game editors is an investment in itself, it takes time, but when you're building a huge game, if you have a good toolset , this investment will pay off tenfold later.

With that in mind, I've spent almost all of my time on the project building a massive suite of editor tools for David and I to use ( and down the road, hopefully to make the game moddable for anyone to create their own adventures using the same built-in tools that we do, something akin to the classic Forgotten Reams Unlimited Adventures editor of so long ago.

I've shown off some of these tools in earlier posts ( the character creator and overland map ), the most powerful and central to the game so far being the Encounter Editor. From here you can create conversations, trigger party members to enter and leave, play sound and music, enter towns and so much more.

[...]

Noisy Pixel reviewed RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army:

Raidou Remastered Review – Atlus’ Nearly Forgotten ARPG Returns in Style!

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army has been released:

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army — Launch Trailer

The story of apprentice detective and Devil Summoner extraordinaire Raidou Kuzunoha XIV returns in this remastered classic! Call upon your demons to solve supernatural mysteries and dispose of enemies.

Couchpotato spotted a new update for Alaloth: Champions of the Four Kingdoms:

Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms // SIGIL UPDATE 1.1

A complete revamp of progression, significant combat balancing and much more!

Couchpotato spotted a new development update for Xenonauts 2:

Xenonauts 2 Monthly Development Update!

Hello everyone - as we're now a week into June, it's time for our regular update on what we were working on last month!

New Assets
We've added a lot of new assets to the game over the past month. The most notable of these are the new 3D models and animations for the alien Sebillian and Cyberdrone units, and while the visual improvement is hopefully clear from the screenshot, the Cyberdrone in particular also benefits from having proper animation set (e.g. movement / shooting) rather than just being a static lump of floating alien amour. The various ranks of alien are also a bit more distinctive now; again this is most obvious with the two Cyberdrone variants!

Work is currently continuing on more of these new alien models. Both the Heavy Mentarch and the Heavy Servitor units are currently just palette swaps of the corresponding basic unit, but we're aiming to have distinct designs and 3d models for both in place before Milestone 6 releases.

Further progress was also made in other areas too. We finished another research illustration this month, leaving three remaining (one of which is already in progress). The inventory tile artwork and 3D model for the recently-introduced Alien Bio Rifle is nearly finished. We've added some new sound effects to some of the aliens to help make them more distinctive, and we finished up our level design work on the updated Tropical biome and started adding various new tiles and maps to the new Soviet Town biome.

Aircraft Paired Slots
One of the major goals for Milestone 6 is a refresh of the air combat that improves the visuals and polishes the gameplay. The first part of this has been to improve the UI on the Aircraft screen, so we can use our new "paired slot" system to replace the existing "Hardpoints" system (the blue numbers on the aircraft weapons that previously sat alongside the Weight values). This work is now complete.

The Hardpoint system reflected the size of different weapons, with each aircraft having up to four hardpoints and missile / torpedo weapons filling one and cannon / lance weapons filling two. Rather than represent this numerically, we can now pair weapon slots together to produce a linked double slot. Putting a cannon / lance into a paired slot will fill both of the linked slots, while missiles and torpedoes only fill a single slot - effectively the same system as before, but much easier to understand.

This change is also beneficial from a design standpoint, as it gives another method of differentiating interceptors. For instance, we may decide to give the basic Angel interceptor four weapon slots, with only two of them being paired together - this would limit the plane to only being able to carry a maximum of one cannon / lance. More advanced aircraft could have two sets of paired slots, allowing them to carry dual cannons. These extra options should help with the balancing work we'll be doing as part of the air combat refresh!

Bugfixes
Once again, we ended up spending significant amounts of time last month on bugfixes. We released five more stability hotfixes for Milestone 5 last month, fixing a lot of crashes and other gameplay problems - including several annoying bugs we'd been trying to track down for several months, plus a number of older bugs that predated Milestone 5.

Our work on Milestone 6 also includes bugfixes, and one of our programmers spent rather a lot of last month doing the painstaking job of tracking down the numerous places in the game where text was not being properly translated and figuring out why. Hopefully we'll be finished with this by the end of next week and non-English users will have a fully localised Milestone 6.

Modding
Our technical director spent some time fixing the remaining issues with our mod loading system last month, so it's now possible to create and share "mod packs" that modify the game files. The Mod Loader panel on the Main Menu screen will now read and apply these mods correctly. From a purely technical standpoint, we can now officially say that Xenonauts 2 supports modding.

Additionally, we've added support for code injection - basically, mods that can change the code of the game itself (e.g. one user has been experimenting with changing the game code so flight paths on the Geoscape follow the realistic curvature of the Earth). There's now a proper C# framework for doing this, and the process is integrated with the mod packs so that Steam Workshop will be able to distribute these mods once enabled. We'll be creating some documentation and an example project for this system in the next couple of weeks.

However, it would still be misleading to claim that Xenonauts 2 is a genuinely moddable game right now - we won't start work on the official mod editor until after Milestone 6 is complete, so modding the game remains painful and difficult due to the format of the JSON files we use to store data. It'll still be a few months until most users can start making mods!

Milestone 6
So when will Milestone 6 actually arrive? Sadly, it's still hard to say. Milestone 6 contains a lot of small / medium sized tasks, and the much larger task that is the update to the air combat. We've made good progress through all the smaller tasks, but we've not yet begun work on the core parts of the air combat refresh. We'll have a better idea of how long it'll take to complete once we get started on it, which we're hoping to do in the next two weeks.

Of course, that timeline may slip if more hotfixes are needed for Milestone 5. While I think prioritising stability has been the correct decision, it has unfortunately sucked programmer time away from working on the planned new content. Thankfully, the number of bug reports has started to drop off recently - hopefully that's an indication we've dealt with most of the bugs and can switch focus to Milestone 6, but we'll just have to wait and see.

I think that's plenty for this update. Thanks for reading!

RPG Site reports that The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon will be released in January 2026.

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RPG Site reports that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles will be a remaster of the original game not of the War of the Lions version.

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Techradar checked out Crimson Desert:

If you can grapple with Crimson Desert's needlessly complex controls, there's a unique action game here with stunning visuals and deep combat

Crimson Desert dazzles with some of the most technically impressive visuals in modern gaming, offering native 4K, smooth performance, and a sprawling battlefield teeming with detail and destruction. While its complex control scheme and lack of onboarding dampened the demo experience, developer Pearl Abyss’s ambitious action-RPG still shows massive potential ahead of its release later this year.

Since its trailer reveal around half a decade ago, Crimson Desert has generated a wave of anticipation similar to the early excitement surrounding Black Myth: Wukong. Developed by Korean studio Pearl Abyss, the open-world medieval fantasy title captured attention thanks to its jaw-dropping visual showcase.

The trailer stunned viewers with an overwhelming number of highly detailed character models rendered simultaneously, massive draw distances that brought vast landscapes to life, outstanding lighting effects, and an impressive display of particle effects and environmental destruction. The sheer scale and technical polish on display made Crimson Desert feel like a next-gen spectacle in motion.

[...]

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CBR is looking back at Deus Ex from 2000:

'The Next Step in the Evolution of Games': 25 Years Ago, This Forgotten RPG Changed Gaming Forever

Video games, despite their electronic nature, are not entirely static, and the same can be said of role-playing games, which have grown significantly in scope and scale over the last few decades. In terms of Eastern RPGs, the original Final Fantasy is far more simplistic than the grander and grittier Final Fantasy XVI. The evolution of technology, particularly software, has had a profound impact on video games overall. Of all genres, role-playing games have arguably been the most significantly impacted by this evolution, with many eager to showcase new features as a result.

One role-playing game that stands out above the rest is Deus Ex, first released on June 23, 2000. Deus Ex wasn't the first RPG to incorporate features like a first-person perspective or a wide, customizable world, but it was arguably the first to do so effectively. It was justifiably acclaimed at the time for these innovations, and even twenty-five years later, Deus Ex deserves to be celebrated for its accomplishments. Not bad for the same team that made Daikatana.

[...]

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Mortismal Gaming checked out Avernum 3: Ruined World:

Avernum 3: Ruined World - First Impressions

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Learn more about the weapons of Dying Light: The Beast:

Dying Light: The Beast – Weapons Overview | IGN First

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Couchpotato spotted a new trailer for Hades II:

Hades 2 - Official The Unseen Update Trailer

GameSpot reviewed Atomfall:

Atomfall GameSpot Review

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