Super Mario Maker 2 is a level creation package with a far deeper selection of tools than its predecessor, but the sequel’s biggest surprise is that it looks set to offer a similarly imaginative and well-stocked experience for those planning to play, rather than just create. Mario Maker 2features three core modes; Course Bot, which is where players create their levels (this time with the option of doing so in co-op); Course World, which includes the online level sharing and multiplayer options; and the new Story Mode....

Brock Lesnar has been removed from the WWE 2K24 Forty Years of WrestleMania Edition cover after being linked to sexual misconduct allegations against former WWE boss Vince McMahon. McMahon quit the organisation after ex-WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit accusing him and a former executive of sexually assaulting and trafficking her to entice wrestling talent. In the suit, Grant alleged that McMahon directed her to create explicit photos for a WWE star he was trying to re-sign....

Bungie has announced that it will lay off 220 staff, roughly 17% of the studio. In aletterpublished on Wednesday, theDestinycreator cited “rising costs of development and industry shifts,” for what it called some of the most difficult changes the studio has had to make. In the letter, the company announced two major changes to the structure of the developer going forward. “First, we are deepening our integration withSony Interactive Entertainment, working to integrate 155 of our roles, roughly 12%, into SIE over the next few quarters,” wrote Pete Parsons, CEO ofBungie....

Activision has begun teasing a Terminator crossover for Call of Duty Vanguard and Warzone. The crossover will take place in Season 4: Mercenaries of Fortune, which will be live in both games on June 22, following aVanguardupdate today and aWarzoneupdate tomorrow at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST. “Looks like some mercenaries scored an unusual haul,” read a tweet from the official Call of Duty account earlier today....

Activision has reportedly decided to delay next year’s Call of Duty game, thus marking the first time in nearly 20 years it’s skipped an annual release. That’s according toBloomberg, which claims that the company decided to push back the release of a newTreyarch-led game after last year’sVanguardfailed to meet expectations, “leading some executives to believe that they’re introducing new versions too rapidly”. Activisionis reportedly working on other projects to fill the gap next year, including “a steady stream of additional content” for this year’s premium CoD game, and a “new, free-to-play online title”....

Nearly a quarter of CD Projekt’s development staff (160 people) are now working on Cyberpunk 2077’s first expansion, the company claimed on Wednesday. The breakdown was shared during The Witcher developer’s H1 2021 earnings call, listened to by VGC, in which it was hesitant to share any core details on its expansion plans beyond acknowledging that a chunk of its staff was now focused on it. In comparison, just over a third of the company is working onCyberpunk 2077’s new-gen console version, as well as support for the original game....

Ciri has been recast in The Witcher 4, CD Projekt has confirmed. On Thursday, the studio premiered the first trailer forThe Witcher 4, its forthcoming RPG. The trailer, which confirmed that Ciri will be the game’s main character, also led fans to believe that the character’s voice actor had been replaced. Now,CD Projekthas confirmed toTheGamerthat Ciara Berkeley will play Ciri in The Witcher 4, not the character’s original actor, Jo Wyatt....

Behaviour Interactive has announced the cancellation of Dead by Daylight spin-off Project T. Revealed in May, the 1–4-person co-op PVE shooter saw players “step into the role of Trespassers, a fierce group of characters trapped within a vast, unexplored region of The Entity’s Realm called The Backwater”. The game was in early development at Midwinter Entertainment, which was acquired byBehaviour Interactivein 2022 following the release of its debut title,Scavengers....

Death Stranding reviews have gone live across the video games press, ahead of the game’s release on November 8. Hideo Kojima’s first post-MGS release has received an incredibly mixed reception from the media, with scores ranging from 6 to 10. In VGC’sDeath Stranding review, we call thePS4exclusive “an unusual and fascinating game by triple-A blockbusters standards” with a score of three out of five. [UPDATE:Hideo Kojima has said he expected a mixed reaction to Death Strandingbecause of its unique design....

Bandai Namco has released Elden Ring’s PC system requirements. The minimum and recommended specifications, which are republished below, were revealed on Tuesday ahead of the game’s release next week. Following a one-month delay,Elden Ring will be released on February 25forPS5,PS4,Xbox Series X/S,Xbox OneandPC. Elden Ring minimum specifications: Elden Ring recommended specifications: A person whose discovery of a majorDark Soulsexploit forcedBandai Namcoto pull all PC game servers offline has told VGCthey will publicly disclose details of the vulnerabilitybefore the release of Elden Ring this month....

The Epic Games Store and GOG have announced new PC game giveaways. Epicis giving away The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria free of charge, whileGOGis giving away The Whispered World: Special Edition. The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria isfree to claimuntil December 19 at 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT. Confirming an earlier leak, Epic has said it’s the first of 16free gamesit plans to give away over the Christmas period....

Fall Guys will be going free-to-play on June 21, when the game will be released for Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles. The title will also be released via theEpic Games Storeon the same date. The news wasleakedvia an in-game video inFortniteshortly before its official announcement during a live stream on Monday. Fall Guys will support cross platform play and cross progression on all platforms. Existing owners will receive a free Legacy Pack when the game goes free-to-play....

Fans have released an unofficial mod which allows up to ten players to play together in Super Mario Odyssey. Developed by CraftyBoss, the mod supports every Kingdom in the game, and even syncs player progress when collecting moons. It can only be played using a moddedNintendo Switchand requires that the player have a ROM ofSuper Mario Odyssey, something that can’t be obtained officially. “Have fun exploring kingdoms with friends, playing game modes, or beating the game as fast as possible!...