// GAMINGARTICLES
Release news, guides, opinion, and deep dives from the CriticalPixel community.
Bethesda HR Ordered Employees to Remove a Memorial for Laid-Off Colleagues Hours After It Went Up
After Xbox's latest mass layoffs hit Bethesda Game Studios, HR forced employees to take down a memorial for departed colleagues. Here is what happened.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-08
Obsidian Is Making a New Fallout Game After Xbox Scraps Avowed 2, Led by Josh Sawyer
Bloomberg confirms Obsidian is developing a new Fallout RPG led by Josh Sawyer, the director behind New Vegas, while Xbox formally cancels Avowed 2.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-08
Marvel Rivals Season 9 Arrives July 10 With Jubilee, The Hood, and Balance Changes for 80 Percent of the Roster
Marvel Rivals Season 9 launches July 10 with Jubilee and The Hood, a full Regenerative Shields system, and balance tweaks for over 80 percent of the roster.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-08
Mortal Shell II Locks In August 20 for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC at $49.99
Cold Symmetry's action-RPG sequel Mortal Shell II launches August 20 on PS5, Xbox Series, and Steam at $49.99, with a physical Revered Edition for PS5.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-08
Mario Kart Tour Is Shutting Down on September 29, Seven Years After Its Mobile Launch
Nintendo confirms Mario Kart Tour ends service on September 29, 2026, closing seven years of mobile racing on iOS and Android with no offline version planned.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-08
Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis Is Shutting Down in October, Three Years In and Before the Trilogy Even Ends
Square Enix is shutting down FFVII Ever Crisis on October 6, 2026. Red Crystal sales stopped immediately. The Remake trilogy is still unfinished.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-08
Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 Are Coming to PS5 This Month, and the Trophy Leaks Point to Missing Features
Leaked PS5 trophy lists for Black Ops 1 and 2 suggest Theater Mode and Wager Matches may not survive the port. Release expected later this month.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-08
PS Plus July 2026 Lineup Is Live: Call of Duty MWIII Leads a Surprisingly Solid Month
PS Plus July 2026 monthly games are live now through August 3: Call of Duty Modern Warfare III, For the King II, and CrossCode are free for all subscribers.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
EA Sports College Football 27 Quietly Added Pay-to-Level Mechanics to Offline Modes and Nobody Was Warned
EA Sports College Football 27 locks Dynasty and Road to Glory progression behind a $100 paywall, removing free XP sliders and sparking a community boycott.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
The Blood of Dawnwalker Hands-On: The Witcher 3 Director's Vampire RPG Has a Time Limit and It Bites Hard
Eurogamer went hands-on with The Blood of Dawnwalker for four hours and Rebel Wolves' debut is shaping up to be the most original RPG of 2026.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Just Set an All-Time Steam Player Record 12 Years After Launch
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth hit 153,268 concurrent players on Steam on July 5, 2026, a new all-time record driven by a $1.49 Steam Summer Sale price.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
- CriticalPixel
Don Mattrick Once Wanted a Real-Money Auction House in Halo 4, and The Room Played Along
A Halo 4 mission designer's Bluesky post reveals Don Mattrick once pitched a real-money auction house for campaign mech skins, and nobody in the room said no.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
Obsidian Entertainment Lost 25% of Its Staff in Xbox's Layoff Sweep, and Projects Beyond Grounded 2 Are Up in the Air
Xbox's July 2026 layoffs hit Obsidian hard, cutting 60-70 roles including The Outer Worlds art director and veteran devs with a decade-plus at the studio.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
id Software Lost Over Half Its Staff on DOOM DLC Launch Day, Including Most of Its Coders
Xbox cut roughly 95 of id Software's 185 workers on the day the Revelations DLC launched, gutting the studio's programming and idTech engine talent.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
Diablo IV Season 14's Mythic Rework Is Live and the Community Is Not Happy About It
Diablo IV Season 14 launched Mythic Uniques 3.0 and players are furious. Drop rates are brutal, crafting is a gamble, and the old best-in-slot items got gutted.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-07
The Elder Scrolls Online Lost Half Its Development Team in the Xbox Layoffs, and Its Roadmap Is Already Shifting
ZeniMax Online Studios lost roughly half its team in Microsoft's Xbox cuts, leaving long-time senior developers gone and ESO's roadmap officially shifting.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-06
Xbox Game Pass Is Down to 30 Million Subscribers, Missing Its Own 77 Million Forecast by 47 Million
The Wall Street Journal reports Game Pass has around 30 million subscribers in 2026, down from 34M in 2024 and way below Microsoft's internal 77M projection.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-06
Nintendo Is Releasing a Revised Switch 2 With a Replaceable Battery in Europe This Autumn, and It's All Because of EU Law
Nintendo is releasing EU-compliant Switch 2 hardware with user-replaceable batteries starting autumn 2026, covering the console, Joy-Con 2, and Pro Controller.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-06
Xbox Announces 3,200 Layoffs, Sells Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, and Sends Double Fine and Compulsion Back to Independence
Xbox is cutting 3,200 jobs over FY27, selling Ninja Theory and Undead Labs while Double Fine and Compulsion Games return to full independence.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-06
Palworld 1.0 Launches July 10 With No In-Game Shop, a Fresh-Start Recommendation, and a Confirmed Release Time
Pocketpair confirmed Palworld 1.0 drops July 10 at 12:30 JST on Steam, PS5, Xbox, and Mac, with no in-game shop and a fresh-start recommendation.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-06
DOOM: The Dark Ages - Revelations Lands July 7 and Is Bigger Than Both Eternal Expansions Combined
DOOM: The Dark Ages gets its only DLC on July 7. Revelations is bigger than both Eternal expansions, adds the Chain Spear, new demons, and a post-credit scene.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-06
Mario Kart World Update 1.7.0 Adds Two Free Knockout Tour Routes and Nintendo Says More Are Coming
Nintendo dropped a free 1.7.0 update for Mario Kart World, adding Drill Rally and Boomerang Rally to Knockout Tour, with more routes confirmed on the way.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-05
Good Smile Company Announces Hatsune Miku: Starry Party, a 6-Player Party Game for Switch 2 and Steam
Good Smile Company announced Hatsune Miku: Starry Party at Anime Expo 2026, a Nendoroid-style party game for Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam launching in 2027.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-05
CS:GO Hits Its Best Player Count Yet Since Valve Relaunched It as a Standalone Game
CS:GO peaked at 68,000 concurrent players in July 2026, its highest since Valve quietly restored it as a standalone Steam title in March 2026.
CriticalPixel · 2026-07-05