The Last of Us director Bruce Straley apologized to Santa Monica Studio's God of War Laufey team after criticizing AAA games as boring in an Edge magazine interview, where he cited their upcoming title as an example. Straley clarified his comments were about industry-wide lack of innovation rather than targeting Laufey specifically, and expressed concerns about the gaming industry's reliance on established formulas and games-as-service models.
EA Sports FC 27 introduces The Grounds, a new open-world hub mode featuring various match types from 1v1 to 11v11 to appeal beyond hardcore squad players, alongside updates to Ultimate Team including the FUT Gallery collection system. The mode represents the franchise's first major innovation in years as it seeks an alternative to the perpetually popular Ultimate Team grind.
A fan-organized PlayStation Blackout boycott protesting Sony's end of disc production had minimal impact on US PS5 engagement, according to market research firm Circana, which found no significant change in player activity. Sony acknowledged the backlash and stated it would cautiously proceed with its all-digital strategy while exploring how to engage gamers in a digital ecosystem.
Blizzard announced new StarCraft and Diablo games at BlizzCon with release targets years away—2029 and 2030 respectively—to demonstrate confidence in delivering major projects on time. President Johanna Faries emphasized the company's commitment to shipping games successfully while preserving Blizzard's creative culture amid Microsoft ownership.
Sony Interactive Entertainment halted the release of an unofficial Last of Us Part 2 multiplayer mod developed by Specizer, which had been in development since January and was set to release this month. The mod featured custom perks, listening mechanics, and new maps, but Naughty Dog and PlayStation requested its cancellation via cease-and-desist letter.