Diablo IV will feature a different set of monetization systems than those found in Diablo Immortal, according to Blizzard. “To be clear, D4 is a full-price game built for PC/PS/Xbox audiences,” said Diablo franchise general manager Rod Fergusson following the game’s latest showing during Microsoft’s Summer Game Fest presentation on Sunday. “We are committed to delivering an incredible breadth of content after launch, for years to come, anchored around optional cosmetic items and full story-driven expansions.”

Blizzard has similarly promised to support the recently released Immortal for a while but is doing so through an in-game marketplace where players can purchase optional cosmetics, an “empowered” battle pass and “eternal orbs,” a premium currency that can be exchanged for the game’s controversial “legendary” crests. The consensus among the gaming community is that Immortal features some of the most aggressive and predatory monetization systems found in a Blizzard game to date. One estimate suggests it would take someone 10 years or $110,000 to acquire enough “legendary gems” to equip their character with the best possible gear. Since the release of Immortal, Diablo fans have been worried that Blizzard would employ a similar set of monetization systems in Diablo 4 when that game comes out in 2023.

However, Fergusson’s statement suggests Diablo IV will be closer to Diablo III than Immortal. The former did not feature microtransactions – though it launched with a controversial in-game auction house – and Blizzard went on to support the title with a $40 expansion in 2014 and a $15 DLC in 2017 that added Diablo 2’s necromancer class to the game. Still, reading through Fergusson’s Twitter replies, you see a lot of fans expressing concern that even the mention of cosmetics could imply more microtransactions than Blizzard is suggesting. Neither Fergusson nor Diablo community lead Adam Fletcher mentioned a paid battle pass, but that’s one way Blizzard could make some cosmetics obtainable since many games, including Immortal, incorporate them as a completion reward.

It was never truly in doubt that Netflix would bring its most popular show of all time back, but the company has at last officially greenlit season two of Squid Game. It hasn't been revealed when the next batch of episodes will hit the streaming service.

Squid Game became a word-of-mouth phenomenon when it debuted last September. Netflix said that, in the first 28 days it was available, viewers watched a little over 1.65 billion hours of the first season. Money Heist: Part 5, which arrived that same month, is in second place with 792 million hours watched over the same timeframe — less than half the overall viewership time of Squid Game.

The show scooped up Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards this year. It's likely to feature heavily among the Emmy nominations when those are announced next month.

Last October, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said he wasn't sure whether there'd be more episodes but that he would hold talks with the company because he wanted to make a film first. Netflix said in January a second season would "absolutely" happen, but it's not clear why it took quite so long for a formal announcement.

Not too many details have been announced for season two of Squid Game just yet. Hwang confirmed protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) will return, as will villain The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). In addition, Hwang promised to reveal the "boyfriend" of Young-hee, the giant animatronic doll that monitored competitors during the show's first deadly game, Red Light, Green Light.

A new Minecraft game has made its world premiere at the Xbox Summer Games Fest — one where you'll be able to build structures and command your allies to fight enemies. Xbox Games Studios has showcased a short clip of Minecraft Legends at the event and has also announced that the new action-strategy game is coming sometime in 2023. It was developed in partnership with Blackbird Interactive and will feature an online campaign co-op and a competitive multiplayer mode. Dennis Ries, the game's executive producer, said the studio will announce more information about them later this year.

In Minecraft Legends, you'll need to protect the Overworld, with its rich nature and resources, from an invading army of piglins. You'll have to forge alliances with mobs and lead them into strategic battles against the invading forces. Ries said the "game will have a very exciting campaign that will introduce many surprises for both new and seasoned Minecraft player alike." The studio has only shared a few details about the upcoming game for now, though, and has promised to reveal more about it soon. You can also follow the official Minecraft LegendsTwitter account to keep up with the latest news about the game.

Activision Blizzard isn't owned by Microsoft just yet, but the publisher still had a presence at Sunday's Xbox and Bethesda showcase. There was a trailer for Overwatch 2, along with some major news. The game will be free-to-play and early access will begin on October 4th (the Overwatch blog calls this the game's launch). There will be at least one more beta before then, with details to be announced at a reveal event on Thursday.

The clip showed a glimpse of a new hero that's been part of the game's lore for years, the Junker Queen. It seems likely that the character will be playable as part of the next beta. They have a shotgun and a Reinhardt-esque melee weapon, and it appears that one of their abilities involves rampaging forward. With the sequel already having one new damage character in Sojourn, it seems likely that Junker Queen is a tank character.

The trailer also included a quick look at a new Zenyatta ability, which allows the omnic to knock back an enemy with a melee attack. Naturally, it invokes the movie 300, since you can kick an opponent into the Ilios well. In addition, there was a glimpse of a mysterious fox that was leading a team into a fight.

Given that Blizzard will move all current Overwatch players to Overwatch 2, the original game will be going free-to-play as well. Those who own the game before June 23rd will receive a founder's pack, with a special icon, two skins (General Doomfist and Jester Sombra) and more goodies. You'll need to log in by December 5th to receive the pack.

It's unclear whether the co-op player-vs-environment side of the sequel will be free too, or how Blizzard plans to monetize everything. Overwatch 2 will herald a shift to a seasonal content format, which suggests there will be a battle pass of some kind. That means there should finally be content updates on a regular cadence.

Should the Microsoft deal go through, Overwatch 2 will more than likely be included in Game Pass. It's worth noting that only the player-vs-player (PvP) side will be available at launch on October 4th. The co-op missions will arrive later.

Netflix users can check out yet another mobile game as part of their subscription starting today. Poinpy is the latest title from Ojiro Fumoto, the creator of indie classic Downwell. It's another vertical scrolling game, but this time around, you're moving up instead of descending into a well.

Fumoto and Team Poinpy have eschewed the pixelated look of Downwell for an art style that's much more cute and colorful. You'll bounce your way up the screen and avoid or take out enemies. Players will need to collect food to feed a blue beast that's chasing them. As you progress, you'll unlock more abilities that could make future runs easier.

Poinpy is one of three games from Devolver Digital (which also published Downwell) that are coming to Netflix. Also on the way is Reigns: Three Kingdom, which is the fifth game in Nerial's Reigns series. The latest entry takes place in the latter years of the Han dynasty. You'll swipe cards to carry out negotiations, marry to bolster alliances and accrue more power. Netflix says players will "uncover the many secrets of a vast storyline and a host of unexpected mini-games." Reigns: Three Kingdom is scheduled for release later this year.

Nerial/Devolver Digital

The other Devolver title that's bound for Netflix's games service is Terra Nil. It's billed as a reverse city builder that centers around the climate crisis. You're tasked with restoring a barren wasteland by converting it into an "ecological paradise complete with different flora and fauna." Terra Nil is being developed by Broforce studio Free Lives. It's said to be coming soon, but no release window was announced.

Free Lives/Devolver Digital

The next Dragon Age game is still a long ways off, but that isn't stopping BioWare from expanding the fantasy RPG's reach. Netflix has unveiled a six-episode anime series, Dragon Age: Absolution, premiering sometime in December. The teaser trailer (below) doesn't reveal much, but you can expect a "new saga" in Tevinter that appears to center on a special ring — and, of course, plenty of magic and bloody swordplay.

Red Dog Culture House (which created an episode for Love, Death & Robots) is producing the limited-run project. Guardians of the Galaxy series producer Mairghread Scott is serving as the showrunner.

This certainly isn't a novel project for Netflix. There are already game-related anime shows either available or in the works at Netflix, ranging from Castlevania through to the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 series. However, it's notable that this production is coming in the run-up to a new game (Dreadwolf) for a long-dormant franchise. Absolution is effectively a bid to revive interest in Dragon Age, not to mention court an audience that might not have heard of the games until now.

Have you ever played Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley and wished you could subjugate the townsfolk? You'll soon have your chance. Devolver and Massive Monster have announced that the cute-but-sinister Cult of the Lamb launches August 11th for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. There's a demo on Steam to help whet your demonic appetite.

The game shares the community building and top-down perspective of games like Animal Crossing, but the plot is anything but kid-friendly. You play a possessed lamb forced to repay a debt to a creepy stranger by growing (what else?) a cult around him. You have to build idols, perform rituals, give sermons as you gradually convert the local population in a randomly-generated world. Naturally, you'l have to battle false prophets and anyone else who refuses to embrace your beliefs.

Sam Eng/Devolver Digital

Cult of the Lamb comes alongside premieres for a trio of new Devolver games due in 2023. Anger Foot is a first-person shoot-and-kick romp from the creators of Broforce and Genital Jousting. Sam Eng's Skate Story (pictured above), meanwhile, is a stylish skateboarder that challenges you to escape captivity in the underworld by eating the Moon — yes, really. All Possible Futures' The Plucky Squire rounds out the list by telling the tale of storybook characters who jump between 2D book pages and the 3D world beyond. The three titles are all coming to PC, while Plucky Squire will also be available on PS5, Switch and Xbox Series X/S.

Ustwo, the studio behind Monument Valley and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, is working on a new game called Desta: The Memories Between. It features a blend of roguelike, turn-based and sports-game mechanics, and it's in development for multiple platforms — though exactly which remains a mystery, as does the game's release date. The studio promises to share more information in the coming months.

ustwo

Desta takes place in two worlds, reality and a limbo made up of the protagonist's memories, and its main gameplay mechanic involves throwing around a blue ball. The story follows Desta, a person in their 20s who returns home after leaving their loved ones in chaos a while back. Desta's dad has died, and when they find his treasured blue ball, they're transported to a dreamlike world where they can confront their past and speak with the people they left behind. Solving physics and spatial puzzles with the ball unlocks dialogue with Desta's friends and family members, and helps them find the necessary words to move forward.

The game is fully voice acted, and ustwo developers are pulling inspiration from games like Hades and Into the Breach for its mechanics.

ustwo

"Desta is the deepest, most ambitious and most replayable title from ustwo games yet, but with all the heart and approachability that the London studio is known for," according to ustwo.

As if official confirmation was actually needed after the leak earlier today, a remake of 2013's The Last Of Us is coming to PlayStation 5 on September 2nd. Sony put together a trailer showing some of the gorgeous visuals of The Last of Us Part I and noted that the remake is coming to PC as well. The bundle also includes the excellent Left Behind expansion.

The developers used original performances from Ashley Johnson, Troy Baker, and the rest of the cast, but utilized a new AI and refreshed the combat. The effects and exploration have been enhanced as well. The team is harnessing 3D audio and the DualSense controller's adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. There will be more accessibility features than the original game had too, building on the extensive options in The Last of Us Part II. More details will be revealed in the coming months.

The remake is a full-price game at $70. Opt for the $80 Digital Deluxe edition and you'll be able to unlock some items and features early, including a speedrun mode, explosive arrows(!), weapon skins and modifiers for faster crafting and healing. The $100 Firefly edition includes all of those bonuses as well as a steelbook cover for the physical version and four issues of the The Last of Us: American Dreams comic. There are pre-order perks for every version too.

That's not the only news about the franchise that was revealed today. It's long been acknowledged that a standalone multiplayer games set in the world of The Last of Us was in the works, and now Naughty Dog has revealed more details about what's in store. Studio co-president Neil Druckmann, the director of the first two games in the series, showed the first concept art at Summer Game Fest.

Naughty Dog

Druckmann said it will be "as big of as any of our single-player games that we've done, and in some ways bigger." It has its own story and a new cast of characters, along with a fresh setting. It's led by a team of Naughty Dog veterans who have worked on the series as well as the Uncharted games. More details will be announced next year. 

Following that announcement, Druckmann touched on the HBO's upcoming The Last of Us series. While lots of set photos have popped up over the last year, he showed the second official still from the show. It shows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and (Bella Ramsay) taking cover. Bump up the brightness on the image, though, and you'll see something lurking in the background.

PlayStation Productions/HBO

It also emerged that Johnson and Baker, who played Ellie and Joel in the games, will appear in the show, but their roles haven't been revealed as yet. Filming will wrap on the first season tomorrow. While the series is expected to arrive next year, Druckmann said that fans will hear more about it "very soon."

Twitter's newly improved tweet-reporting tools are now available to everyone on the platform. The company first began testing the new process for reporting harmful tweets in December, saying it was trying to take a “people first” approach that would make it easier to flag tweets.

Previously, Twitter’s reporting process required users to navigate a series of menus in order to identify the specific rule they believed had been broken. The process was confusing, even for those familiar with Twitter’s policies, and often resulted in problematic tweets not being properly flagged.

The revamped process instead begins each report by asking users to describe “what happened,” rather than prompting them to guess which rule may have been broken. It also makes it easier to report tweets in which someone else is being targeted, and gives users more options for reporting hate speech.

That simplified approach is already paying off, according to Twitter. The company says the new reporting process has resulted in a 50 percent increase in “actionable reports” since it began testing six months ago.