Diablo 4's build-defining Unique items are about to become potentially even more game-changing with the arrival of Lord of Hatred.

As detailed in a blog post outlining all the new features and changes coming to Diablo 4 as part of its 3.0 Lord of Hatred update, Uniques are receiving a big makeover. While the affixes and power of these items have up to this point been mostly set in stone, come the 3.0 update, Uniques will have fewer fixed affixes. That means more variance, with potential for Uniques with more potent affixes than they previously possessed.

Adding to these new options for Uniques is the fact they can now be Tempered. In Diablo 4, Tempering allows a player to add specific affixes to an item to further customize it as they see fit. Being able to do this to Uniques is game-changing, as now players can fine-tune Uniques into far more powerful versions than before and better tailor Uniques towards specific builds.

Diablo 4 is transforming once again with the release of its upcoming Lord of Hatred expansion, and one of the new features coming to Blizzard's modern ARPG is bound to make old-school fans of the series happy.

Come update 3.0, launching alongside Lord of Hatred, Diablo 4 will officially have a map overlay. This lets players put a togglable map directly in the middle of the screen on top of the action, instead of using the minimap in the top-right corner of the screen or opening an entirely different map window that covers up gameplay.

Players will have to choose between using the current minimap or the new map overlay, but Blizzard is giving players some tools to customize the overlay to their liking. The map's opacity and color can be customized, and to go alongside the map overlay, a new pathfinding feature highlights the path players should take to reach their destination.

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred is nearing release, and Blizzard is sweetening the deal by giving away a batch of free cosmetics to those who tune in to watch all the demon-slaying action on Twitch.

Even before Lord of Hatred's April 28 launch (or technically April 27 in North America), players can grab two weapon cosmetics, the Decaying Corona Staff and the Double Trouble Sword, for watching an hour of Diablo 4-related streams. These drops will only be live until April 24, so act fast.

Another batch of Twitch Drops will arrive alongside Lord of Hatred. Starting April 27 through May 5, those who watch two hours of Diablo 4 content on Twitch will unlock the Essence of a Lord emblem. Then, starting May 11 through May 18, players can earn the Skulbladi axe cosmetic for watching another two hours. An additional "support a streamer" promotion will go live May 5 through May 11 that will award the Ensign of the Vanquisher mount trophy when subscribing to certain Diablo 4-affiliated streamers. You can find the full breakdown below.

Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion is nearly here, and Blizzard has now revealed exactly when players will be able to log in and put an end to Mephisto's plans once and for all.

Those playing in North, South, or Central America will be able to start battling against the forces of hell on April 27, but everyone else will need to wait until April 28.

Diablo 4: Lord Of Hatred Global Release Times

The expansion will go live on April 27 at 4 PM PT. Below is a breakdown of when Lord of Hatred launches in various time zones.

Overwatch is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Diablo and the release of Diablo 4's second expansion, Lord of Hatred, in a big way.

Starting April 28, Blizzard is bringing back four Diablo-themed skins to its free-to-play hero shooter's in-game shop, as well as introducing five entirely new ones. The crossover will additionally include two free weapon charms that can be earned from Twitch Drops. Players will need to watch a total of two hours of Overwatch content on the streaming platform between April 28 and May 10 to claim the Wolf Pup and Sword weapon charms.

Blizzard had already revealed a Mephisto-themed Ramattra skin (as seen in the trailer above). The other new skins are Paladin Brigitte, Warlock Lifeweaver, Druid Mauga, and Rogue Freja. As for the returning skins, they are likely to be Lilith Moira, Inarius Pharah, Gilded Hunter Sombra, and Imperious Reinhardt. These skins were previously available from the in-game shop or as part of previous battle passes.

World of Warcraft: Midnight's major 12.0.5 update recently launched in a dire state, leading for many in the MMORPG's community to actually agree on something for once--Blizzard's process needs to change.

Patch 12.0.5 should have been a homerun. The game's Midnight expansion has been well received by players and critics, and the 12.0.5 update looked like it would continue to build on that success with new solo activities, a fun prop hunt mode, bonus loot rolls with bad luck protection baked in, and more.

Unfortunately, after the update went live on April 21 following an extended server maintenance period, it quickly became clear all was not well. Blizzard swiftly notified players that they may experience lag or lose connection to the game's servers due to "technical issues." Housing, WoW's biggest new feature introduced as part of Midnight, was disabled entirely due to a "critical bug" that would cause "unacceptable errors for some players."

A sequel to the 2008 MMORPG Aion will release globally later this year, 17 years after the original.

Aion 2 will see a global release via Steam, developer NCSoft announced, with servers for North America, South America, Japan, and Europe. The news comes after Aion 2's launch in South Korea and Taiwan last November to less-than-stellar reviews, with the game's microtransactions being a major point of criticism. While the game is technically free-to-play, it does feature optional subscriptions and pay-to-win mechanics. NCSoft apologized for the game's monetization shortly after launch and vowed to make changes.

What changes NCSoft may make to Aion 2 for its global release are still unclear, though the developer stated in its announcement that more news would be coming in May and it looked forward to answering questions from the game's community.

Fast travel in Windrose can be a bit of a pain, but a new mod for the swashbuckling survival-crafter makes it as simple as clicking on the map.

Normally, to fast travel in Windrose, you need to create at least two fast travel points yourself, using the somewhat rare Fast Travel Bell item. These points can only be placed on coastlines, and when you're on foot, only allow you you to travel between the points when you physically interact with one--although you can also fast travel to any fast travel point while on your ship.

Fast-traveling while on foot isn't exactly convenient, especially when you find yourself in the middle of an island far from the shore. Thankfully, a mod from creator yakuzadeso (which you can find and install over on CurseForge) makes fast travel a breeze. With the Fast Travel From Anywhere mod installed, fast traveling between points is as easy as opening the map and clicking on the desired fast travel point location. The limitation of needing to physically interact with the fast travel point is removed, as is the need to have a minimum of two fast travel points placed.

Another World of Warcraft private server will soon be no more, as the creators behind Stormforge have announced the project's shutdown following a cease and desist request from developer Blizzard.

In a post on the Stormforge website, the development team behind the server said it had agreed to cease all operations, development, and distribution of the project by May 14, following a cease and desist request and "positive" discussions with a legal entity representing Blizzard. Stormforge allows users to play modified versions of various old WoW expansions for free without a subscription.

"We know this is not easy news," the Stormforge team wrote in a statement on the server's website. "Over the years we have strived to deliver the best experience and the highest quality possible. We have put years of hard work, dedication, and passion into building Stormforge what it is today and we could not be more proud of what we achieved and the community we have fostered."

A newly revealed cinematic for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred shows Lilith's return following her defeat in the base game, and while she looks the same, she also seems noticeably less evil than the first time around.

The cinematic comes from IGN as part of its IGN First Lord of Hatred cover story, revealing new details about Diablo 4's second expansion ahead of its release on April 28. While we knew from earlier interviews that players would be teaming back up with the mother of Sanctuary in some form, the cinematic shows what looks to be a dramatic reunion.

In the cinematic, the player-character (in this case a Paladin, one of the expansion's two new classes), is shown falling down a dark, seemingly bottomless pit. As they fall, Lilith's voice can be heard amidst flashes of Diablo 4's current new big bad, Mephisto.

The cinematics for Microsoft's upcoming Fable reboot from developer Playground may be worth paying extra attention to, as Blizzard, a studio well-known for its eye-catching cinematics, is lending a helping hand.

Xbox's chief content officer Matt Booty dropped the news during an appearance on the Official Xbox Podcast, describing how various Microsoft-owned studios work together to make their games better. He outlined how The Coalition, experts on the Unreal Engine after working on the Gears of Wars franchise for years, have helped studios like inXile. Rare, most recently known for Sea of Thieves, is helping out Double Fine on its upcoming multiplayer pottery brawler Kiln. But one name in particular stood out.

"There are other examples," Booty said. "We've got the Blizzard cinematics team helping out on Fable."

Battlefield 6 is officially getting a proper server browser later this year, one that will allow for persistent servers.

Server browsers have long been an option in previous Battlefield games, dating all the way back to the game's early PC gaming roots when matchmaking as we currently know it didn't exist. Persistent servers allow players to stay in a specific experience or on a particular map with the same group of players, without having to repeatedly return to the game's main menu in order to use the game's dedicated matchmaking system. That in turn, lets communities form on servers in a way that isn't possible through standard matchmaking. Servers gives players more options, like being able to select servers based on ping and other factors.

Despite vocal support from players on the need for a server browser in Battlefield 6, the core game shipped without one, though technically players could use the community-focused Portal mode as a substitute--something one Battlefield 6 producer described as "the best of both worlds" and another said "caters to the majority of use cases."

Bigger maps are finally coming to Battlefield 6, with Season 3 set to introduce its largest map to date, followed by an even larger map in Season 4.

When Battlefield 6 first launched, one of the most common complaints was that the game lacked many of the large, vehicle-focused maps the franchise was known for. Battlefield Studios has since added a number of additional larger maps in the game's first two seasons, but it seems to have taken the feedback truly to heart starting in Season 3.

As revealed in Battlefield 6's 2026 roadmap, Season 3 will launch with Railway to Golmud, a reimagining of Battlefield 4's Golmud Railway map that will be the "biggest map in Battlefield 6 yet," according to executive producer Philippe Ducharme. This version of the map will be set in Tajikistan following the events of the game's campaign, and will be nearly four times the size of the game's current biggest map, Mirak Valley.

Battlefield 6 Season 5 will be the first season to add three new maps instead of two to EA's live-service shooter, but it doesn't sound like it will be the new standard going forward.

At least, not yet. Battlefield Studios recently outlined its 2026 plans, giving players an idea of what new content and features will be coming to Battlefield 6 throughout the year. In addition to several remakes of popular maps from previous Battlefield games coming as part of Season 3 and 4, as well as a server browser, Battlefield Studio's revealed Battlefield 6 Season 5 will actually add three, rather than two, new maps.

That's exciting news for fans, among whom more maps per season is a popular request and point of feedback. There is, however, a catch. When asked during a press Q&A whether players can expect more than two maps a season post-Season 5, Battlefield Studios executive producer Ryan McArthur said it was treating Season 5's third map more as a "holiday surprise" and not the new normal.

Battlefield 6 is bringing back the Wake Island map back to the series for what is close to the dozenth time, as developer Battlefield Studios revealed plans to add naval warfare to its live-service shooter as part of Season 4 in July.

Wake Island is one of the Battlefield franchise's most iconic maps, having appeared in 2002's original Battlefield 1942 and nine other entries since then, with its most recent Battlefield V version releasing in 2019. Its appearance in Battlefield 6 will be the 11th version of the map, and it sounds like there won't be too many changes from what players expect.

Speaking during a press Q&A, Battlefield Studio senior creative director Roman Campos-Oriola was asked how this version of Wake Island would be different from previous iterations. He said the team looked to improve how long-distance engagements play out on the island map, with a focus on providing additional cover and adjusting the map based on how Battlefield 6's destructible environments play into the experience.

World of Warcraft: Midnight Season 1's Mythic+ dungeons will soon offer even more rewards for those looking to continue pushing higher and higher keys.

Mythic+ dungeons are one of the main endgame activities in Blizzard's MMORPG, allowing players to tackle increasingly difficult versions of dungeons to earn rewards on par with the game's most difficult raiding content. Usually, the goal of earning all of the season's Mythic+ achievements and claiming special seasonal rewards is one that lasts for weeks or months into a season.

That's not exactly the case in Midnight Season 1. This season's Mythic+ dungeons have been far easier than normal, with WoW-focused enthusiast site Icy Veins even calling it the easiest Mythic+ season ever (and offering up plenty of data from Raider.IO to support the point). More keys are being completed at a higher difficulty than in any previous Mythic+ season, meaning many players within the season's first two weeks have already claimed all the rewards for reaching certain Mythic+ rating thresholds.

One of World of Warcraft's most ambitious, and highly visible, private servers looks to be no more, as Blizzard and the creators of Turtle WoW have reached a confidential settlement in the wake of a judge ruling in Blizzard's favor.

Blizzard sued the creators behind the popular Turtle WoW private server for copyright infringement in August of last year. At the time, Blizzard argued the private server, a fan-run version of 2006-era WoW that features multiple fan-made expansions and additional content, was essentially a business built on "large-scale, egregious, and ongoing copyright infringement of Blizzard's intellectual property."

In documents filed April 10, a judge proposed a cease and desist against those behind Turtle WoW, one that declares any involved in the creation and operation of the private server to immediately and permanently stop developing, distributing, and operating any private or emulated servers based on Blizzard's intellectual property. The ruling also calls for an immediate end to soliciting donations and prohibits the transferring of Turtle WoW's data and marketing materials to a third party for the purpose of facilitating a "successor." Additionally, the ruling extends to any future projects made by the defendants, provided they use Blizzard's intellectual property.

Dune: Awakening, the open-world survival game set in Frank Herbert's legendary sci-fi universe, is finally making it so player-versus-player encounters are entirely optional.

When Dune: Awakening first launched last summer, more than a few players felt blindsided by its PvP-focused endgame that required journeying into the Deep Desert map filled with roaming bands of hostile players in order to secure Spice and resources needed to make endgame gear and vehicles. The disconnect between PvP and PvE was made even more confusing due to the fact that the first 60 or so hours of the survival game is almost entirely PvE focused, making the sudden shift to PvP jarring for those who simply wanted to keep progressing as they had been.

While developer Funcom had implemented half measures post-launch (such as making it so a larger portion of the Deep Desert was PvE only), PvE will be the main focus of Dune: Awakening going forward. As detailed in a blog post, Funcom found that 80% of the game's lifetime players engaged exclusively with PvE, making it clear that Funcom needed to "rethink" its approach.

Windrose, the pirate survival game that made a big splash during the most recent Steam Next Fest and is one of the most anticipated titles on the platform with over 1.5 million wishlists, is releasing soon. Very soon.

As revealed during the recent Triple-I Initiative showcase, the co-op pirate adventure will sail into Steam Early Access on April 14, just four days from now. That's extremely soon for a game whose developer Windrose Crew in February stated it wasn't ready to reveal a release date and instead wanted to "ship the game on time in the best condition possible."

That is, however, good news for those who played Windrose's Steam demo (which is still available) and couldn't get enough. For anyone looking to scratch that Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (seemingly confirmed to be a remake or remaster soon) itch, Windrose is definitely worth paying attention to. The game is fully playable in co-op with up to four players, features ship combat, hirable crews, base building, unique dungeons, and more.

Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to Diablo Immortal, and the upcoming crossover once again highlights the difference between limited-time events in Blizzard's mobile ARPG and those same crossovers in Diablo 4.

Diablo 4 already received its Doom: The Dark Ages crossover in March, introducing a batch of free Doom-themed cosmetics as well as some pricey premium looks for those willing to spend real money. Those cosmetics are available until the end of the game's current season, set to conclude on April 28 with the launch of Diablo 4's next expansion.

Diablo Immortal's Doom crossover is far more involved. As detailed in an official blog post, in the free-to-play mobile game, players will actually get to take on the forces of Doom: The Dark Age's hell. From April 15 through May May 13, Diablo Immortal's Survivor's Bane mode will transform into Slayer's Bane, a mode where players will get to wield the power of the Doom Slayer with six unique skills based on Doom: The Dark Ages' arsenal of weapons, all culminating in a boss battle against the iconic Cyberdemon.