Key Note Gaming

Grand Theft Auto 6 players are hoping Rockstar Games will have news to share this week after some fans reported receiving marketing emails from Sony. Rumors of an impending announcement kicked up yesterday when some fans shared that Sony had sent emails instructing them to upgrade from a PlayStation 4 to a PlayStation 5. As collected by X/Twitter user @videotech , images of the alleged marketing push have been published by a growing number of users online, with the message seemingly tied to those who have wishlisted the game but have yet to pick up a PS5. "Grant Theft Auto 6 is on your wishlist," the email being shared around says. "Get a PlayStation 5 today to be ready for when Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on November 19, 2026." According to reports, Sony is sending emails to some people who currently don’t own a PS5 and who have GTA VI wishlisted on the PlayStation Store to market them to buy a PS5 https://t.co/YgtmDaQxos — ben (@videotech) May 8, 2026 The e...

Psychonauts and Kiln developer Double Fine Productions has laid the groundwork to become the latest Microsoft studio to form a union. As first reported by Aftermath , the San Francisco-based game studio filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board May 7, 2026. The organization effort with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) follows the 450 Blizzard Entertainment staff who voted to unionize in August 2025, and the union formed by 165 developers at id Software the following December, as well as others. As outlined in the petition, the Double Fine union will include 42 "regular part-time and full-time employees." “On May 7, the workers at Microsoft studio Double Fine Productions announced their decision to form a union with CWA to preserve and extend the studio’s commitments to creative excellence, diversity and inclusion, and worker quality of life," CWA told Aftermath in a statement. "In tandem with requesting voluntary recognition from the c...

The League of Legends trading card game, Riftbound, is back with another set this year in the form of Unleashed. The latest set is already available in China, with a global release on May 8th. With this set comes new mechanics such as Ambush, XP, and Stun, just to name a few. There’s even a new card rarity and some extra love to the huge roster of Legends like Vex and Vi, who are prominently featured in the new champion or pre-constructed decks. This is the TCG’s third set, which signals one step closer to a simultaneous global release – something fans can appreciate after the recent bans. From what I’ve played so far, these new additions seem to showcase a bit more power creep than what I experienced in the last set. First and foremost, the champion decks continue to be the best jumping-in point for new fans of the game. As mentioned earlier, the two new decks releasing alongside the booster set are led by the Legends Vex and Vi. I was able to play games with both, and each showcased ...

The Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis has nothing but great things to say about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 . The legendary actor was part of the award-winning cast in the 2025 Game of the Year winner , and he's extremely proud of how the game turned out. In an interview with Variety , Serkis talked about his experience with being pitched the role and went on to awe over how the gaming industry has matured. "What a video game, and I'm so thrilled with how it turned out for these guys because I love the idea of it, but I love the visuals of it. I thought it was beautiful. I am so thrilled for their success. [...] It's such an emotional story for a video game, and it just looks extraordinary, and the music in it is so powerful." Serkis went on to talk about how games are starting to finally get the respect they deserve, and about how actors used to show disinterest in starring in games, but now up-and-coming actors have a goal of starring in one. Serkis also expla...

Magic: The Gathering has gone back to Strixhaven just a few months after its trip to Lorwyn, and I couldn’t be happier. For reference, I’m a relatively new Magic player: I got started around 2022, and when Lord of the Rings hit shelves, my friendship group bought in. And, despite Wizards of the Coast’s controversial leaning into IP, our Commander pod has grabbed fresh players ever since. In 2026, we’ve already had a crossover with TMNT, we’re getting The Hobbit, more Marvel, and Star Trek, but Secret of Strixhaven has me absolutely spellbound. I wasn’t playing in 2021 when we got our first go-round of the magic schools contained within, but I’m now more in love with this wonderful game than ever. Accessible Archive? There’s something quite special about the multiple cycles included within Secrets of Strixhaven. Yes, there are Elder Dragons (all of which are pretty great), and we’ll come to Emeriti in a moment, but the set includes reprints of powerful Magic cards of yore under the he...

Paranormal Activity: Threshold, a new game from the creator of The Mortuary Assistant, has been cancelled. Brian Clarke, the solo developer behind the game, released a statement today regarding the cancellation of the horror game. Clarke revealed that he needed more time to work on the game, but Paramount (the owner of the Paranormal Activity IP) did not offer to extend development time. As a result, Clarke had two choices: release a compromised, subpar game or cancel it to avoid releasing something he wasn't proud of. He chose the latter, and as a result, the game will no longer be released. I have a very important announcement everyone. Please have a read. Thank you all for your ongoing support of my work and love for indie games as a whole. 🖤🖤 pic.twitter.com/kmCS3t3BTq — Brian Clarke ⚰️ (@DSDigitalDev) May 7, 2026 Clarke was a perfect fit for a Paranormal Activity game, as The Mortuary Assistant is an incredible supernatural horror game. As the title suggests, players f...

RGG Studio has lifted the lid on its next big game, Stranger Than Heaven . Announced back at The Game Awards in 2024 with the codename Project Century, Stranger Than Heaven was re-revealed last summer with its final name . In partnership with Xbox, the Yakuza developer released a 30-minute presentation where it dove deep into everythign you'd want to know about Stranger Than Heaven with heaps of new gameplay footage. It’s immediately clear that this is quite different from the Yakuza games, as it will take place over the course of half a century . The story begins in 1915 with protagonist Makoto Daito sneaking onto a ship to escape from his life in San Francisco after the passing of his parents. He heads for Japan, but aboard the ship he meets a cutthroat smuggler known as Orpheus, played by Snoop Dogg. As you might imagine, Makoto gets wrapped up in a life of crime after Orpheus takes advantage of Makoto’s ability to speak Japanese and fit in with the culture. Makoto grows ambitio...

If you were holding out hope for a return to NFL 2K or MLB 2K, you probably shouldn't hold your breath. In a new interview with Game File's Stephen Totilo , Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked about the status of 2K's NFL game . Unfortunately, it isn't happening anymore, but there's hope that 2K could try again if the opportunity arises. “What we hoped would come to fruition creatively did not,” Zelnick said. “Some of the stuff we tried to do didn’t work out creatively.” Ultimately, it sounds like 2K couldn't put together a compelling enough experience worth putting out as opposed to some business disagreement with the NFL. The last NFL 2K game to be released was Visual Concepts' ESPN NFL 2K5, which enjoyed critical and commercial acclaim upon its 2004 launch. Soon after, EA Sports acquired an exclusive rights agreement with the NFL to be the sole creator of NFL video games, giving Madden the space to itself. Zelnick was also asked about a possible return...

An impressive-looking new Star Fox remake has just been announced for Switch 2, via a shadow-dropped, dedicated Nintendo Direct broadcast. The game is simply titled Star Fox, and is a ground-up remake of Star Fox 64 (known in some regions as Lylat Wars). Today's reveal follows the character's recent reappearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie , and a recent, major leak that pointed to a new game in the franchise — the first for nearly a decade. Once again, you'll be piloting an Arwing over the skies of Corneria and other planets alongside Falco, Peppy and Slippy. Level layouts will be familiar to anyone who has played the original Star Fox 64, though the game has received a huge graphical overhaul. The game appears to remain an on-rails experience, albeit with some control over your craft's movement to boost, brake and (of course) do a barrel roll. Sections in the Landmaster ground tank and Blue-Marine submarine are also again included. Switch 2 mouse controls have b...

Ever since Nvidia revealed frame generation with the RTX 4080, I have been dreading the day that a game developer uses it as a requirement to get to an acceptable frame rate. And while we’ve gone almost four years without that happening, it seems like Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is going to cross that line. This past weekend, developer TT Games released the system requirements for the new Lego Batman game, and while at first glance they seem kind of reasonable for a Unreal Engine 5-based game, a closer look reveals that the company wants you to turn on frame generation just to hit 30 fps with the minimum settings. That’s not really how frame generation should work. If this isn’t just an error, it suggests that the minimum spec will only really be able to get 15-20 fps without frame generation, and at that point, no amount of AI frames is going to save it from being an unplayable mess. What is Frame Generation For? For the uninitiated, it’s easy to look at frame generation ...

Diablo 4 fans have finally discovered the game's secret cow level, though some fans are a bit underwhelmed by it. If you're not a Diablo fan, you may be thinking to yourself, "What the heck is the secret cow level?" The lore runs pretty deep here, but in short, players of the original Diablo game created a rumor about a secret level that featured demonic cows. While this was nothing more than a hoax, Blizzard found it amusing and eventually made it a reality. Subsequent Diablo installments included secret cow levels , which prompted players to complete elaborate Easter eggs to unlock dungeons that featured killer bovines. If players defeated them, they'd get a bunch of loot. For years, players have been searching for Diablo 4's secret cow level , and finally, players have discovered it. YouTuber LoatheBurger released a step-by-step tutorial on how to find the secret cow level, and as you might expect, the steps are quite elaborate. It turns out the cow level...

We now have our hands on the Nintendo Switch 2 , a new console from one of the biggest names in gaming. Alas, a new console is only as valuable as the library of games you can build on it. Thankfully, Nintendo hasn't been shy about planned releases over the next year, which include a mix of Switch 2 exclusives, third-party releases, and the benefit of backward compatibility with any games still launching on the original Switch. Without further ado, here are all of the new Switch 2 games we can look forward to in 2026. All Upcoming Switch 2 Games With Release Dates * indicates a Switch 2 exclusive Mixtape (May 7, 2026) The developers at Beethoven & Dinosaur are releasing a new music-inspired game about three friends enjoying their last night together in the 90’s. We got the chance to preview the narrative game about a year ago, saying it’s “a vibes game through-and-through, and Mixtape's vibes are impeccable.” Call of the Elder Gods (May 12, 2026) A sequel to 2020’s Call o...

After the Universes Beyond set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth, Magic is once again returning to J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic world, this time featuring cards, characters, locations, and moments from The Hobbit. The new collaboration is available to preorder now before it comes out August 14. Like previous Magic releases, there are plenty of ways to get your hands on cards, from booster packs and bundles to a Draft Night kit and beautiful Scene Boxes. But for the hardcore collectors, Collector Booster packs are the way to go. Unfortunately, due to high demand, single Collector Booster packs are sold out on Amazon . If you're still interested in securing a few Collector Booster packs, TCG Player has them for preorder . The catch, however, is that they're marked up significantly compared to what Amazon was offering them for. Some listings on TCG Player go as high as $87.90, whereas when they were in stock at Amazon they were $37.99. So if you're ok with paying ex...

To mark the launch of Wolf With Inn from indie developer Thundertale Studio, we got the chance to ask some questions to lead artist Alice, and narrative designer Arina, about where the inspiration for the game came from, how they balance cozy playstyle with the dark setting and the one feature they think players will be surprised about. How would you describe Wolf With Inn to new players? Arina: At first glance, Wolf With Inn seems like a meditative, dark cosy game about a werewolf innkeeper in the remote wilderness. And it is! But if you look a little deeper, it becomes clear that the game is about the shadow self. It’s about the duality of human nature that many refuse to accept, often choosing to live in one of two extremes. Some lean entirely into the “light”, constantly sacrificing themselves for the sake of others, while others throw their lives away in a blur of self-destruction, fully surrendering to their “shadow”. Yet, that shadow actually carries many qualities we truly ne...

Fallout co-creator Tim Cain has shared his fear that some gamers are watching influencers just so they can be "handed an opinion from the online channel they're watching." The game developer behind classic RPGs like Fallout and The Outer Worlds offered his perspective on where the gaming industry is at and where it's heading in a video uploaded to his main channel (as spotted by VGC ). When responding to a question from a fan, he explained his take on how social media has affected both game development and how players consume gaming content online. "Now, we're in the 2020s," Cain said, "and many gamers don't even look to influencers for reviews – they look to influencers to be told how to think about the games. So, people don't form opinions from the online video, they're handed an opinion from the online channel they're watching." This is in contrast to his views on how an earlier era of social media influenced game developmen...

Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa has said Capcom sees the drama surrounding the DLSS 5 AI version of Grace Ashcroft as "a positive" because it proved Capcom "got the design right" the first time around. Kumazawa offered a deep dive into the development of the latest entry in the classic survival horror franchise during an interview with Eurogamer . When asked if the team took anything away from the conversation regarding the controversial Nvidia technology, he said the negative reaction only served as proof that fans preferred Grace's original design. "The fact a lot of players commented they really liked the original design of Grace and didn't want to see it changed was a positive," Kumazawa said without commenting on Capcom's involvement in the DLSS 5 reveal. "It meant we got the design right [and] points to the fact that Grace quickly established herself as a fan favourite, that people had such strong opinions on her desi...