Chris Slate
Chris Slate
40 storiesEditor
Editor - Gaming Platforms & Editorial Analysis
Chris Slate is a games media contributor and editor covering Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, platform strategy and the evolution of gaming journalism. His work emphasizes careful sourcing, clear distinctions between confirmed information and speculation, and practical context for readers following major games and industry developments.
40 latest articles by Chris Slate
Dragonwilds Draws Nearly 3 Million Players
Jagex says nearly three million unique players have tried RuneScape: Dragonwilds. The studio has mapped out years of updates and is working on official mod tools for PC and consoles.
Homebrew Brings Xbox Cloud Gaming to Jailbroken PS5s
Version 0.9.5 of the unofficial PS5 client offers a route to Xbox cloud games on jailbroken consoles. Its advertised features come with no official support from Sony or Microsoft.
No Man's Sky Lands on iPhone With 40-Plus Updates
Hello Games says No Man's Sky arrives on iPhone and iPad on 28 October, with more than 40 major updates in a download under 5GB. The game will be free to try, but multiplayer and settlements are out at launch.
Valor Mortis Loses Its Way in a First-Person Soulslike
First-person parries and an undead Napoleonic setting give Valor Mortis a strong opening. Cramped encounters and a narrow enemy roster wear down much of its 20-hour PC campaign.
The Witcher 3 Mod Makes Seasons Change by Region
The Living Continent changes The Witcher 3 Remastered with region-specific seasons and accumulating snow. It also requires DirectX 12, ReShade add-on support and both story expansions.
Intergalactic Could Push Naughty Dog Toward God of War Combat
Former Naughty Dog animator Rico Flores thinks Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet could loosen the studio's motion-capture style. The reveal has yet to show how combat will work in the finished game.
God of War 3 Remastered Runs on PC in Unofficial Port
The unofficial PC port is playable from beginning to end, with resolution options up to 4K and frame-rate settings up to 240 fps. Its developers warn of texture problems above 1080p.
Nintendo Keeps Physical Games on Switch 2
Bill van Zyll says Switch 2 will support digital purchases and physical releases, with Latin American players showing strong demand for games they can collect or share.
Path of Exile 2 Targets December 11, 2026 Launch
Grinding Gear Games is reported to end early access on December 11, 2026. The full campaign and endgame would become free on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Squadron 42 Opens on Steam, Targets Q2 2027
Cloud Imperium Games has opened Squadron 42 for Steam wishlists and released a new trailer. The campaign remains unavailable for purchase, with its launch pushed to Q2 2027.
Microsoft Rebuilds XBOX PC App Around Faster Library Access
Microsoft is testing an internal XBOX PC app called Garrison, with faster library loading, a unified store view, desktop and fullscreen modes, launch controls, and clearer support for local installs and cloud gaming.
Starfield Mod Rebuilds Planetary Flight for Seamless Landings
Frederik Wessberg's Starfield mod replaces distant planet textures with detailed 3D worlds. Its work in progress system aims to carry ships from orbit through the atmosphere and onto any planet without a loading screen.
Game Pass Reach Masks Gears of War: E-Day Sales Gap
Alinea Analytics estimates 230K sales against 1.7 million Game Pass players. The figures show how a $30 early-access upgrade can expand reach while cutting into full-price revenue.
Console Prices Rise as US Xbox Sales Slide 33%
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella says the US console market is in its most precarious position since the early 1980s. Xbox unit sales fell 33% as average hardware prices reached record highs.
Crimson Desert Sales Leave Its 77 Score Behind
Crimson Desert passed 6 million sales after launching with a 77 Metacritic score. Pearl Abyss says short review windows and pre-release builds obscured the game's broader appeal.
HelixSR Brings DLSS 3.7 to Steam Deck
HelixSR runs NVIDIA's DLSS 3.7 Preset E through DirectX 12 shaders on Steam Deck and AMD handhelds. Early tests show lower processing costs than FSR 4, but independent verification remains limited.
Paramount Moves Ahead With a Live-Action Cyberpunk 2077 Film
Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 film with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and CD Projekt RED attached as producers. No writer, director, cast or release date has been announced.
Phantom Blade Zero's Hardest Mode Runs for 66 Days
The final preview reveals a 66-day challenge mode, flexible weapons and boss fights built around learning instead of grinding.
Richard Garriott Seeks Ultima Copyright Control in 2027
Richard Garriott says he notified Electronic Arts about reclaiming Ultima's copyright in 2027 under Section 203. The rights process remains unfinished, and any sequel or re-release is still only a possibility.
GeForce NOW adds Gears of War: E-Day in ten-game surge
NVIDIA is adding ten PC games to GeForce NOW during one release week. Gears of War: E-Day leads the update, while direct membership purchases through Amazon are planned for Fire TV.
ARC Raiders Gets Frozen Trail and a Free Weekend
Embark Studios launched Frozen Trail for ARC Raiders on October 8, 2026. The update adds Pendola Pass and deeper progression, while a full-game free weekend runs alongside 50% discounts on the base game and Deluxe editions.
Bloodborne Path Tracing Proof Shows RTX Remix's Potential
An early test pairs RTX Remix with shadPS4 emulation to explore path tracing in Bloodborne. It is no finished mod, yet the footage shows how sharply the game's atmosphere could change.
Xbox Puts Its Franchises on a New XP Track
Xbox launched XP on October 8, 2026, with Kayleen Walters as president. Maria Angelidou-Smith is set to become CEO of Mojang and Minecraft on October 19.
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Finds Its Best Idea in Loot
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen brings a huge northern region and an appraisal-based loot loop for $29.99, but the sequel's chaotic combat remains largely unchanged.
PlayAsia Pulls Phantom Blade Zero PS5 Listing as Physical Edition Fades
A PlayAsia customer-service reply says the Phantom Blade Zero PS5 listing was removed because no physical edition is available. S-Game and PlayStation have yet to confirm whether the game will launch digitally only.
PS5 Modders Push Sony's PS3 Backward Compatibility Gap
An unofficial RPCS3 port now runs natively on a jailbroken PlayStation 5 Pro and reaches 60 FPS in selected tests. The result shows that PS3 emulation depends on more than raw console power.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Makes Horde Mode the Real Attraction
Cold Iron Studios expands its alien-slaying co-op shooter with new classes, weapons and missions, but repetitive encounters and weak AI make Horde mode the stronger long-term draw.
Jagex Builds Old School RuneScape's Next Chapter Around Menaphos
Menaphos will open in Old School RuneScape in 2027, bringing a master-tier quest, the game's first Skilling Dungeon and a Soul Altar. Jagex is also expanding the game's servers and planning more updates while keeping its long-running identity intact.
P.T. PC Port Hits Version 1.0.1 With Modern Graphics Features
LoreanXavier's fan-made P.T. PC Port has reached version 1.0.1 with native PC rendering, DLSS 4.5, frame generation, ray tracing mods and experimental VR support.
Crimson Desert Pushes Past $426.7 Million After Fast Post-Launch Fixes
Crimson Desert has reportedly earned $426.7 million since its March launch, putting Pearl Abyss's new action-adventure IP ahead of several established franchises. Weekly updates and quick responses to player feedback helped shape the game's commercial run.
Bloodborne gets an unofficial native PC port after 11 years
An unofficial Linux port now runs Bloodborne without a general emulator and adds graphics controls and modern upscaling options. bbport 0.3 supports Linux and Steam Deck, but it is not an official or finished PC release.
Resident Evil Requiem DLC May Return to Spencer Mansion
Resident Evil Requiem's next DLC is expected to expand Spencer's story and may revisit Spencer Mansion. CAPCOM has confirmed neither the location nor a release date.
Xbox Revenue Rebounds After Asha Sharma's All-Time Low Claim
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says first-party revenue has started growing again after a damaging Game Pass strategy. A wider restructuring now points to a new console plan built around a family of Gen-10 devices.
Tony Driscoll Takes Over Skydance Games After Merger
Tony Driscoll will lead Skydance's combined gaming division after Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery completed their merger on October 6, 2026. The deal brought their teams and major IP under one company, with a transaction value of approximately $78 billion and an enterprise value of $110.9 billion including WBD obligations.
Shawn Layden Says Sony's 2028 Disc Cutoff Hurts the PlayStation Brand
Former PlayStation chief Shawn Layden says Sony's plan to stop making discs for new PlayStation games in January 2028 will hurt the brand and turn game ownership into a question of digital access.
The Sinking City 2 Patch 1.1.0 Reworks Combat and Brings Back the Demo
Frogwares has released update 1.1.0 for The Sinking City 2 with more than 150 fixes, HDR support, combat changes and trial versions that can carry saves into the full game.
NVIDIA Driver Targets Modern Warfare 4 and Four More Games
NVIDIA's GeForce Game Ready Driver 617.42 adds day-one optimisation for six games and expands DLSS 4.5 support across upcoming releases, including Modern Warfare 4 and Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen.
GTA V Briefly Ran in a Browser Before GTA 6
PlayGTA5.com briefly let users launch GTA V through a browser after downloading roughly 700 MB. Reports described it as an unofficial browser port with story-mode exploration, but the project vanished within hours and was never an official Rockstar feature.
PlayStation patent could make Soulslike bosses adapt mid-fight
Sony Interactive Entertainment has outlined a machine-learning system that could change NPC behaviour during play by using data from the player. The patent does not confirm a finished feature, working prototype or planned PlayStation release.
Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II Takes a Different Wireless Route
Turtle Beach's premium Stealth Pro II combines stronger sound and comfort with two swappable batteries and a transmitter system made for gaming devices spread across multiple rooms.
