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.

Crimson Desert players, not content with exploring its massive open world, are now taking to the stars, and what they've found up there is surprisingly detailed.

As originally discovered by ItemRelocationClub on YouTube (via PC Gamer) and further highlighted by NikTek on X, a mod for Crimson Desert granting protagonist Kliff unlimited stamina allows those with a lot of patience to infinitely aerial stab their way into the cosmos.

This apparently takes several hours to accomplish, but once there, the view is certainly impressive. From space, players can actually see the curvature of Crimson Desert's world, far away galaxies, and other celestial bodies. Upon descending back to the earth, Kliff even seems to light on fire upon reentering the world's atmosphere, though this could just be a side effect of the equipped lantern making it appear that way.

Marathon's latest update brings its mighty knife down a few pegs, with developer Bungie reducing its lunge distance and majorly nerfing the amount of bonus damage granted by the Melee Damage stat.

Though it might not seem like it at first glance, Marathon's knife, a weapon every runner comes equipped with automatically, is among the most powerful weapons in Bungie's extraction shooter. Since launch, it's featured a Halo Energy Sword-esque lunge and enough damage to bring down even well-geared hostile runners in a single blow with the right upgrades.

As of update 1.0.5.3, that is no longer the case. The knife's lunge distance has been trimmed by 10% along with a 20% reduction in its targeting angle. But that's not all that Bungie has changed. The Melee Damage stat also received an overhaul, reducing the maximum amount of bonus damage against Runners granted by the stat from 100% to 50%. Bonus melee damage against enemy NPCs is unchanged.

Update: Team Liquid has emerged victorious, securing the world first title for completing Mythic March on Quel'Danas and bringing down L'ura after 473 attempts, the third highest pull count on a single boss in race to world first history.

The best World of Warcraft players in the world are locked in a neck-and-neck race to bring down Midnight Season 1's final boss on Mythic difficulty, and just when it looked like one guild had done it, a secret boss phase flipped the script.

Team Liquid and Team Echo have been locked in a tight race to bring down L'ura, the final boss of the March on Quel'Danas raid, with each guild just a few health percentage points away from bringing the dark naaru down. Liquid looked to have secured the win on April 5, bringing L'ura down to 0 HP, only for the naaru to secretly have a fourth phase. In an Easter surprise, the boss healed to her full 1 billion health and began overwhelming the arena in darkness, quickly killing the last remaining raiders.

Anyone who plays World of Warcraft knows the real endgame is looking cool, and Blizzard is giving players another way to do just that with a new transmog feature coming in patch 12.0.5.

As revealed in the latest 12.0.5 public test realm development notes, players will soon be able to choose how to sheath their one handed weapons using the game's transmog system. Those options include sheathing weapons on the back, hip, or whether to be hidden entirely. For those classes or specializations that dual wield one-handed weapons, each weapon can be transmogged independently, meaning one weapon could be on the back while another could be on the hip.

Unfortunately, two-handed weapons aren't currently able to be worn on the hip (likely because they would be dragging through the ground), but they can still be hidden if desired. In the live game, the only way to do this currently is by using certain cloak transmog appearances that hide weapons.

Recent mass layoffs at developer Eidos Montreal were the result of a long-in-development project at the studio that was close to completion being canceled, according to a new report.

As reported by Insider Gaming, the project, known as P11, had been struggling for years due to changing between multiple game engines and an ever-ballooning budget. The game was reportedly an open-world, third-person action-adventure title where players would battle magical spirits. The main character, River, had a giant-moose companion that could be used to navigate the game's open world.

P11 reportedly had cost several hundred million dollars since work on it began in 2019. The cancellation is somewhat surprising, as according to the report, the project was almost complete and tentatively slated for release later this year, having recently passed key development milestones.