The UK’s Telegraph newspaper has been criticised by the games industry’s trade body for “extensively misrepresenting” the effects of playing video games on young people. A recent Telegraph article,‘Spiritual opium: could gaming addiction ruin a generation?’, warns that “classroom iPads and online textbooks are normalising the use of screens” in a way that is “potentially harmful to teenage brains”. The piece goes on to specifically highlight gaming as a perceived health risk, as opposed to other screen activities....

Todd Howard has revealed that Bethesda is currently working on an unannounced mobile game. In an interview with theLex Fridman podcast, Howard said he is “in love” with the mystery project. While not revealing specific details about the game, Howard suggested it will target younger players comfortable using mobile devices for relatively lengthy play sessions. “We have a new mobile game that we’re working on that we haven’t announced yet that I’m in love with,” he said....

The Pokémon Company has confirmed tomorrow’s Presents live stream, in which it will reveal a new “big project”, will be 11 minutes long. ThePokémonPresents broadcast will begin at 6am PDT/2pm BST, the company said on Tuesday. Pokémon Company CEOTsunekazu Ishiharasaid of the event in last week’s Pokémon Presents: “There is another big project that we’re working on that I still want to share with you. You won’t have to wait long, as I plan to share more news with you next week on June 24, so please look forward to it....

The sequel to Valiant Hearts is released on consoles and PC today. However, the game is now available onPS5,Xbox Series X/S,Switch,PS4,Xbox OneandPC. It’s joined by a bundle called Valiant Hearts: The Collection, which consists of both games at a discounted price. The sequel was originally released as part of a three-game exclusivity deal between Netflix andUbisoft, and came nearly ten years after the previous title, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews throughout the years onSteam....

The newly released Until Dawn remake may be teasing a follow-up. The remake, which was released on Friday, contains two new ending cutscenes that may point to a future for the series. Spoilers for the new ending follow below… The remake of the game now features two new endings cutscenes. The first of which features Josh, who was originally played by Rami Malek. While Josh faces a grizzly fate in the original game, this new ending reveals that Josh survived his original fate....

US retailers are selling a select number of Switch games starring Mario for $20 off. From now until March 11, retailers such asAmazon, Walmart, Target and GameStop are selling titles likeSuper Mario Odyssey,Mario Kart 8 DeluxeandSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Furyfor $39.99. A total of 10 Mario games have been listed for sale, includingMario Kart Live: Home Circuit, which has instead received a $40 price cut down to $59....

A US Senator has written an open letter to Sony’s CEO requesting information on the company’s game exclusivity deals. North Dakota Republican Senator Kevin Cramer says he sent the letter toSonyCEO Kenichiro Yoshida “regarding its anti-competitive behavior and to request information on the company’s acquisition agreements”. Inthe letter(originally spotted byAxios), Cramer tells Yoshida that he is writing “to express concern about Sony’s efforts to protect its gaming console business from competition”....

Significant The Last of Us Part 2 story spoilers have been published online. The story elements have leaked via several gameplay videos showing new areas, cut-scenes and menus. The videos in question have been pulled from YouTube but are being actively circulated on social media sites. They show key scenes from the unreleasedPS4sequel and contain significant story spoilers. It’s the second time this month unauthorised videos ofThe Last of Us Part 2have appeared online, following the game’s most recent delay....

Call of Duty Warzone Pacific Season 2 is now live, introducing a range of new content, bug fixes and weapon adjustments for the battle royale game. To coincide with the new season’s arrival, developerRaven Softwarehas released officialpatch notesdetailing all the changes included in the update, which we’ve also republished below. NewWarzonegameplay features include Nebula V ammo and bombs, which emit poison gas, and portable decontamination stations that provide refuge from them....

Polish studio Rebel Wolves has revealed the title of its debut game, and confirmed a reveal event for next month. The Warsaw-based studio,which was co-founded in 2022byThe Witcher 3’s game and art directors, is working on the first entry in what it’s calling the Dawnwalker saga. The first chapter, The Blood of Dawnwalker, is described as a “dark fantasy narrative sandbox action-RPG” with a strong focus on story and narrative....

Blizzard has announced a release date for World of Warcraft Cataclysm Classic. A pre-expansion patch will be released on April 30, ahead of the launch of Cataclysm Classic on May 20 at 3pm PT worldwide (6pm ET / 11pm BST). “The Cataclysm Classic pre-expansion patch ushers in the shattering of Azeroth and the changed landscape in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, a variety of systems changes along with new class and race combinations, and the new Worgen and Goblin races,”Blizzardsaid....

The service offers members access to over 100 titles, including all first-party games at launch, for $10 / £8 per month on console or PC. For $15 / £11, users can access the games on console, PC and mobile devices, including viaXbox Cloud Gaming. Related In September, Microsoftcut the price of Xbox Game Passand Xbox Live Gold subscriptions in Chile, Hong Kong and Israel “based on local market conditions”. Earlier today, Microsoft datedthe next wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass....

Microsoft has claimed that Sony pays developers for “blocking rights” in return for them agreeing not to put their content on its Xbox Game Pass subscription service. As part of a document sent to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) to justify its proposed acquisition ofActivision Blizzard, theXboxfirm claimed thatSonyactively attempts to “inhibit growth” of Game Pass by trying to prevent content appearing on it. The comments are part ofMicrosoft’s response to Sony’s claimsto the Brazilian body – which makes much of its responses public – thatXbox acquiring Call of Duty would be anti-competitive....