We’re on the cusp of Ghost of Yotei‘s launch as the big PS5 game of the fall, but Sony is already getting the hype cycle started for 2026 with a fresh State of Play. This 35 minute presentation mostly focuses on Saros, the next game from Housemarque, but also packed in plenty of new looks and reveals of upcoming third party titles for the system. We also finally learned more about Wolverine at long last. This might be the last PlayStation specific showcase of the year, so if you missed the show or want a refresher on what was there, I catalogued every announcement below.
The one game we were promised to see, Saros, kicked off the show with what looked like pure gameplay on PS5. We get a narrated guide through the game, which looks like a bigger and better version of what we had with Returnal. The big new mechanical feature is a shield that can absorb projectiles that power your weapons. The adaptive triggers are once again used to full effect to change how weapons perform. The bullet spreads we see look more intimidating than ever, so this tool will be just as essential as the dash and jump. Second Chance is a permanent progression unlock to give players a second chance after death every run, once unlocked. Saros will launch on March 20, 2026.
On December 8, PlayStation players can take to the sky in the best flight sim on the market. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 will arrive and get PSVR2 support after launch.
Koei Tecmo brought Nioh 3 to the showcase with a mostly cinematic trailer highlighting the dramatic story, but the real news is that it will launch on February 6, 2026
At least it has a cool red stripe, right?
At long last, Insomniac showed us an official look at Wolverine in all his bloody, yellow suit-wearing glory. This is by far the darkest, bloodiest game the studio has made, and it looks nothing short of amazing from what we saw. The team wants to explore the sadness and anger of what a man who lost his memories must be going through. Insomniac promises “the full package,” but there’s still a lot left to learn about how the game will play and be structured. Sadly, we have a long way to wait since it won’t arrive until Fall 2026, but more will be shown in Spring.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.