What was the first videogame song that you ever heard?

I've been playing videogames since my Dad was convinced my tiny baby hands were strong enough to grip a Mega Drive controller for more than five seconds. I'm sure he was just trying to convince my mum that the CD add-on was worth the insane amount of money—it definitely wasn't, as I'm told it broke within mere weeks of him buying it. I'm still not convinced that my Mum didn't have a hand in that.

That's a bummer: Frictional's Soma follow-up Ontos has been delayed into 2027

We wanted six, but we got seven

To be truthful, these days it's generally surprising when a game isn't delayed these days, whether that be for a month, months, or even a full year. But perhaps in a year like this one, where a certain game that promises to engulf every other game around it like that black hole it truly is is due for release in November, you can't blame a studio opting to delay to get things in ship shape. Which is exactly what Frictional are doing with Ontos, pushing their next game from this year into 2027.

Seoul-set MMO shooter Cinder City halves its RAM requirements, after initial specs listed 64GB of memory

Update: publisher admits error, says current specs aren't final either

RAMnarök may not be a literal cataclysm, of the kind that smashed Cinder City’s version of Seoul into dirty bits, but it ironic that the upcoming tactical shooter MMO seemingly spent much of the past day oblivious to the fact that there’s a worldwide memory crisis going on. Upon yesterday’s launch of its Steam page, Cinder City declared a set of system requirements that listed 32GB of RAM among the minimum specs – twice what you’d typically see for a modern, well-budgeted 3D game – and a honking 64GB in the recommended specs.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword release date pushed forward, its devs deciding they'd rather fight vampires than cosmic entities and Scottish horrors

September bloodbath switch-up

Ah, don't worry, we're not stressing about that. That's essentially what the makes of samurai action battler Onimusha: Way of the Sword said late last month when it was pointed out to them that their game'll be fighting a lot of competition when it arrives amid the September gamepocalypse. Having initially opted to stick with their planned September 25th release, Capcom have now decided to bring Onimusha forward to September 4th.

"We're talking about at least half a decade of horror": former Exodus lead explains why he wasn't keen on doing a Baldur's Gate 4 despite Hasbro offering the chance

Shadowhard pass

Nah. Nope. I'm good, thanks. None of those are exactly what former Archetype Entertainment studio head and BioWare veteran James Ohlen said when Hasbro asked him if he fancied making a Baldur's Gate 4, but they essentially capture the jist. Despite having worked on the RPG series before, the former boss behind upcoming sci-fi RPG Exodus wasn't keen in picking up the baton Larian had tossed aside, mainly because trying to live up to the expectations their last work set would be a hugely daunting task.

State of Decay studio Undead Labs potentially up for closure, sources claim, with Bethesda and Blizzard also facing layoffs

"They are not short on money": union workers speak out against Microsoft gaming "reset"

Microsoft may close State of Decay developers Undead Labs as part of Xbox's imminent hewing back of projects and livelihoods, with Elder Scrolls studio Bethesda and World of Warcraft creators Blizzard also facing significant layoffs in the course of what an anonymous insider has called “the biggest single cut series for Xbox". To put that quote in context, the company laid off around 1900 Microsoft gaming workers back in January 2024. Xbox unions are even now haggling with management to protect jobs or at least, ensure decent severance packages for anybody affected by the margin-boosting cull.

"We were only three votes away": Stop Killing Games-backed California bill to keep online games playable fails to win over senate committee

The Protect Our Games Act has hit a snag

A Californian bill aiming to force publishers shutting down servers for online games to provide a version of the game players can keep on playing independently of said servers or issue full refunds has failed to pass a committee vote in the state's senate. That means the bill's march through the legislature, which has been backed by the wider Stop Killing Games campaign, has come to a relative standstill for now.