Not all video games are for kids
Hey readers,
As I was compiling this week’s major game releases, I noticed a pretty obvious trend: two out of three of these games are pretty freaky! That may be appropriate as we get closer to Halloween, but today’s news stories also include some risque details about Grand Theft Auto 6. This issue is rated M for Mature, I suppose.
Now, the news.
This issue will fill you in on:
Used PlayStation 5 Pros are ridiculously expensive now
It’s the economy, stupid!
I don’t need to tell you that video game consoles are mad expensive right now, but the current PlayStation 5 Pro situation is rather ridiculous. As we get close to the release of GTA 6, which is sure to be a system seller, those systems are becoming harder to purchase. Some retailers are short on new consoles, and GameStop has bumped the price of a used PS5 Pro to as much as $1,400.
By comparison, a new PS5 Pro costs $900—and for further comparison, the Pro launched at $700 in November 2024, half of what GameStop is selling used units for. Marking up the price appears to have been the trend for third-party retailers as Sony has struggled to meet console demand. The lack of new consoles in stores allows these sellers to set higher prices. GameStop just happens to be the most prolific example of this.
How is the hardware business doing in general?
Uh, consoles in general aren’t doing too hot. Market research firm Circana painted a dire picture, comparing the hardware market’s current slump to the early 1980s. Xbox sales are at an all-time low, while PlayStation has hit its lowest point since 2013.
Many in the industry have been banking on GTA 6 to revitalize hardware sales, but if PS5s and new Xboxes are this short in supply, it might prove difficult to completely alleviate the market’s current pains. There’s also a fear among some retailers that the release of GTA 6 will result in a console shortage in the upcoming holiday season.
Where gaming fits in the newly merged Skydance corporation
Inside the nightmare conglomerate of Warner Bros. and Paramount
The long saga of Warner Bros.’ sale to Paramount Skydance has reached its conclusion, with the acquisition finalizing last week. While almost all eyes are on what will happen to the combined corporation’s array of movie and television studios, there are some smatterings of video gaming-related news amid the fray.
Both Paramount and Warner Bros. had their own game development operations, and it looks like they’ll be merging. Here’s a breakdown of the new Paramount Games Studios and what they’re working on:
Paramount Games Studios was formed in June, combining Skydance Interactive (which made a couple of Walking Dead VR games) and Skydance New Media, a studio led by Uncharted creator Amy Hennig.
Skydance New Media has yet to ship a game, however. In the works under Hennig is Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, a Captain America and Black Panther game that has been delayed multiple times. Hennig and Skydance are also making a Star Wars game, though there have been no details on that since its 2022 announcement.
Warner Bros. Games has been around since 2004 in some form, and the division is home to several studios. All of this will be consolidated into Paramount Games Studio.
These studios include Avalanche Software (Hogwarts Legacy), NetherRealm Studios (Mortal Kombat, Injustice), Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham), TT Games (Lego), WB Games Montréal (Gotham Knights), and a few support studios.
There aren’t any officially announced upcoming games from these studios, but it’s widely rumored that NetherRealm is making a third DC Comics fighting game, presumably Injustice 3.
Related to the merger news is the announcement that Bobby Kotick, the notorious former CEO of Activision Blizzard (and Moneyball actor), is among the members of Skydance’s board of directors. We just can’t seem to escape the man.
Replay: What else happened?
A gnarly image from Hellraiser: Revival. Image source: IGDB
Other news hits
Credible rumors suggest PlayStation is reviving its classic Ape Escape franchise. Reports point to studio Evening Star, the makers of Sonic Mania and Penny’s Big Breakaway, as the developers of the purported new entry.
After a couple of months of silence, the leaker(s) known as Cyberleek returned with a vengeance, showing gameplay footage of GTA 6 that features protagonists Jason and Lucia in the nude (though some are skeptical and theorize this is only possible with mods or cheats). Cyberleek also threatened to leak a full build of GTA 6 if its memecoin reached a specific milestone.
In related GTA 6 news, CBS News in Miami reported on the uncanny accuracy of GTA 6’s Vice City compared to real-life Miami locations.
If you’re worried about not having a console to play GTA 6, a report claims that the game will be out on PC in the first quarter of 2027.
Still fresh off layoffs, Xbox announced a new entertainment branch called XP, which will focus on film and television adaptations and other cross-media partnerships.
After furloughs hit the studio behind the highly praised Star Wars Zero Company, over half of staff members have been brought back to resume work—though that means that many from the studio are still left without pay.
Fortnite maker Epic Games has reportedly delayed an unannounced shooter starring Marvel and Star Wars characters, and it’s said that Epic is telling the title’s developers to adopt an “AI-first” production model for coding and art.
A live-action film based on Cyberpunk 2077 is in the works at Paramount. No director or stars are attached, but it seems obvious that Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba should have some role in it. Attached to produce is Lorenzo di Bonaventura, whose lengthy filmography includes every modern Transformers movie and… Madame Web? Oh dear.
Big new game releases include…
A classic horror franchise returns in video game form through Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival (PC, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S), a first-person survival horror title. You’ll play as a biker who comes into conflict with the demonic Cenobites after his girlfriend is taken, and in classic Hellraiser fashion, you’ll witness both grisly and provocative sights. The game’s content is intense enough that a YouTuber was permanently banned from the platform just for uploading footage of the game, even with censorship.
Braid and The Witness director Jonathan Blow might have overdone it with Order of the Sinking Star (PC, Switch 2, PS5), an open-world puzzle game that features about 1,500 puzzles. While you obviously don’t have to complete all of these puzzles—mostly involving sliding blocks and mirrors—to complete the game’s story, the game contains something close to 500 hours of puzzles. Completionists beware.
The developers behind the Ghostrunner games are trying their hand with the soulslike genre with Valor Mortis (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S), a first-person game taking place in an alternate 19th-century Europe. A supernatural plague has added a major twist to Napoleon’s campaign, leading to some ghastly imagery and scenarios. Reviews are pretty split.
That’s all for this week. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse will probably take over our television, so more on that next issue. There’s also a growing trend of prolific games getting ported to web browsers through AI “vibe coding,” so we’ll hit that story as well.
Happy spooky season,
Chris Compendio
