Key Note Gaming

Embracer Group is spinning off Fellowship Entertainment, a new business unit designed to expand The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider, as well as breathe new life into some of the company’s dormant video game franchises. In a letter to investors , Lars Wingefors, founder and chair of Embracer, said the new Fellowship Entertainment will “more actively be exploring” external partnerships around its well-known IP, such as Saints Row, Legacy of Kain, Deus Ex, Red Faction, The Mask, Thief, TimeSplitters. The suggestion is we may see new games in these franchises, developed by studios that are not under the Embracer umbrella. Wingefors did not outright confirm any new games or announce a timeframe for more news, but there is now hope for some of these franchises where fans thought there was none. Take Saints Row, for example. Earlier this year, Saints Row 1 design director Chris Stockman said he believed the series was “dead” and that Embracer had “zero ability” to do anything with the fran...

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced , the upcoming remake of 2013's Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, will give players the option to completely disable the HUD at will. Ubisoft has revealed in a new gameplay clip that players will be able to turn off the HUD at the press of a button without opening any menus. It's extremely seamless and allows players the chance to fully immerse themselves in the world. The option is being welcomed as a great addition, as Ubisoft can sometimes clutter the screen with a lot of icons like health bars, weapon/throwables, the map, and more. To our explorers, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced will feature an option to seamlessly hide the HUD in-game with the press of a button 🤝 #AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/QNP5UFeVs1 — Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) May 19, 2026 This gives players the chance to remove all of that and simply embrace the grand, beautiful open world that Ubisoft is creating. Assassin's Creed 4: Bl...

Microsoft is continuing its drive to revamp brand Xbox with the launch of a feedback platform that gives fans the chance to vote on community requests. Predictably, the request with the most votes is a return to exclusives. Microsoft’s multiplatform push may have increased sales (Forza Horizon 5, for example, has found significant success on PlayStation 5), but it has come at the expense of alienating hardcore Xbox fans, some of whom want Microsoft to return to Xbox exclusivity. Earlier this month, it was reported that new Xbox boss Asha Sharma was “treading carefully” as she worked out what to do with exclusive games. Sharma, who replaced Phil Spencer as boss of Xbox earlier this year, has spent her first few months in the job making a number of significant changes as Microsoft works to win back the hearts and minds of its core gaming fans. Among them was the end of the controversial ‘This is an Xbox’ marketing campaign , quickfire new Xbox console features, and a Game Pass price cut ...

EA has confirmed the first details for F1 25’s 2026 Season Pack update will be made available this Wednesday, May 20. The reveal trailer for the upcoming DLC will be released at 4pm UK time, May 20 (11am EDT/8am PDT, and 1am AEST on May 21). For the time being, EA has revealed the “cover” athletes for the update: seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, former F3 and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, and veteran driver Valtteri Bottas, winner of 10 F1 Grands Prix and current owner of the greatest F1 moustache this side of Nigel Mansell. The presence of Bortoleto and Bottas would be no accident, since they represent the two new teams on the 2026 grid: Audi and Cadillac. EA confirmed in late 2025 that there would be no standalone F1 game released alongside the real-life 2026 season , revealing that the 2026 Formula One World Championship would be coming as a paid expansion for the existing F1 25 instead. The content update is set to reflect all the sport’s 2026 changes, with new cars, new dri...

Forza Horizon 6 managed to slip in a sly reference to Pokémon. Xbox and Playground Games' beloved racing franchise has returned, and it's arguably better than ever . Forza Horizon 6 takes the series to Japan, a long-requested setting amongst fans. Not only is Japan a beautiful location for any game, but it has a very strong and thriving car culture. After years of fleshing out the franchise, Playground finally felt comfortable in taking on the setting and making the biggest Forza game yet. As a result, Forza embraces Japan in all kinds of different ways. Of course, there's an emphasis on drifting in the game, there are cherry blossom trees that are so culturally significant they can't be destroyed , and there are all kinds of references to Japanese culture. One of the game's most notable events even sees the player racing a giant mech through the streets of Japan. It's outrageous, but right in line with the tone of Forza. Perhaps one of the most notable Japanes...

Out on 3 June, the Nintendo Switch 2 port of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has had preorders for its physical copies (though Game-Key Cards) drop at retailers like Amazon and Argos. Although the epic follow-up to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake has been out on PS5 and PC since early 2024 and 2025 respectively, but is finally coming to the Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S next month. Among various preorder bonuses for the Switch 2 preorder, however, (including a reversible alternate box art inlay) is a very unique and limited in-box pre-order bonus: a Zack Fair Magic: The Gathering card. This borderless version of the card, with variant art done by Tetsuya Nomura himself, has specifically been spotted among FF7 Rebirth’s Switch 2 pre-orders on Amazon UK and Argos — both for £43.99, after Amazon cut its initial £49.99 price. On the other hand, Argos’ listing also comes with added in-game pre-order bonuses along with the Zack Fair card: a Posh Chocobo Summon Materia, a Shinra Bangle Mk. II item, and...