Blizzard finally said it out loud at BlizzCon 2026: the thing the WoW Classic community has been arguing about and demanding for years now has a name (World of Warcraft: Forever), a (very close) release date, and more content than most fans reasonably expected. World of Warcraft: Forever launches on November 4, 2026, for PC and Mac, and access is included with any active World of Warcraft subscription or game time, but the beta opens next Thursday, with Skyborne Edition and Warcraft Forever collection buyers getting in from September 17. Crucially, Blizzard is positioning this as a third permanent World […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/world-of-warcraft-forever-blizzcon-2026-release-date/

At BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard Entertainment made a surprise announcement of Diablo V, a new installment in the hack-and-slash action RPG franchise. The new game will be released in Spring 2029 and will place players in a Sanctuary that has already fallen to Diablo, giving it an entirely different vibe from what fans are used to. For now, that's all we got, but a panel titled Diablo V: Forging the Next Era is scheduled for later today, where the developers will unveil their overarching vision. It's a long lead time, that's for sure. Looking back, though, if there are no delays, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/diablo-v-announced-blizzcon-2026-spring-2029/

Fancy a new Witcher game before The Witcher 4 shows up in 2028? Good news, there’s one on the way. Bad news, it might cost you as much as a decent gaming PC part.

A TTRPG that’s already a smash hit

The Witcher: Legacy has raised over $15 million from more than 32,000 backers on Gamefound, and it’s still open for late pledges if you fancy joining in. It’s built for one to four players, with each session running just under three hours, and the developers reckon the main story alone takes 50 hours, with 100+ hours if you want to see everything.

It’ll come with an endgame sandbox mode for those who never want it to end, plus a free narration app with professional voiceover. Honestly, that last bit alone sounds like more effort than most video game dubbing gets these days.

Here’s where it gets pricey

The entry-level Core Pledge will run you €109 for the base game, which is fair enough for a TTRPG of this scale. But if you want the lot, the Shaded (I Want It All) tier costs €480, and it comes stacked with miniatures, hundreds of cards and tokens, every expansion, an artbook, a journal, and a pile of exclusive collector’s bits.

That’s roughly $500 for a board game. Ridiculous on paper, but judging by the backer numbers, plenty of Witcher fans clearly don’t think so.

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Independent developer Raw Power Games came to gamescom 2026 with the thing everyone had been waiting for since the reveal of Chronicles: Medieval - an uncut battle, played live, start to finish. The Copenhagen studio has around 100 people building its debut title, and Chronicles Medieval has been described in a dozen different ways over the past year. The one the team settled on for this presentation is a hybrid action-strategy RPG set in the Middle Ages. Lead Producer Sam Millen and Senior Game Designer Gareth Bourn spent the session demonstrating what that actually means, with the caveat that everything shown […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/chronicles-medieval-gamescom-qa-preview/

With Aion 2's global launch now less than a month away, NC has brought the MMORPG to gamescom 2026 with a straightforward pitch: this is the game the original Aion was always meant to be. At the beginning of the presentation, the developers stressed that the 2008 original was limited by the technology of its era, while Unreal Engine 5 finally lets the team realize that vision at the scale it was originally imagined. The world of Atreia is now a fully open, seamless MMORPG world, and the claim is the ambitious kind: if you can see it on the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/aion-2-qa-dlss-5-console-cross-play/

At gamescom 2026, following a detailed CONTROL Resonant presentation hosted by Remedy, I had the opportunity to speak with Senior Level Designer Arhi Makkonen in a one-on-one interview. The conversation covered more ground than the presentation had time for, and it started with the obvious question from my end: why move CONTROL into a different genre at all, given its success? Makkonen's answer was that staying fresh was the point. The first game was a surprising choice in its own right as a Metroidvania-inspired game, and the sequel's shift to an action RPG stems from a desire to give players […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/control-resonant-biggest-remedy-game-interview/

Remedy brought a substantial chunk of CONTROL Resonant to gamescom 2026 and picked a zone nobody had seen before to show it off. With the game now just a couple of weeks from release, this was less of a teaser than a proper walkthrough of how the whole thing actually functions, and preceded our one-on-one interview with Senior Level Designer Arhi Makkonen. The build that we were shown was running on PC and roughly three weeks old, which Remedy flagged as still work in progress even at this stage, with final bug fixes and the final audio mix still to […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/control-resonant-combat-no-block-parry/

Rebel Wolves has confirmed that its debut RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, has sold over 1 million copies worldwide within its first 48 hours on sale.

Crossing the one‑million mark this quickly is a rare achievement for a brand‑new franchise, even with a simultaneous launch across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Rebel Wolves was founded in 2022 by former Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, and very quickly, a team of Witcher 3 veterans were able to put together this dense, high-quality RPG, without spending hundreds of millions of dollars, or taking 6+ years of development time.

Critic reception has been strong across the board. Over on OpenCritic, the game holds an 85 average rating based on more than 100 critic reviews. Meanwhile, the Metacritic score sits at 83 overall, drawn from around 60 published reviews.

Player sentiment is similarly positive. On Steam, The Blood of Dawnwalker currently holds a Very Positive rating based on more than 7,000 user reviews. The top‑rated reviews consistently highlight the game’s quest structure, emphasis on exploration and immersion, and its refusal to rely on heavy hand‑holding, qualities many players feel are missing from modern open‑world RPGs.

KitGuru Says: Hitting one million copies in just two days is a huge win for Rebel Wolves. With the first game being a quick success, hopefully the developers can now start planning for their next game. 

The post Rebel Wolves debut RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker sells 1 million copies in 48 hours first appeared on KitGuru.

Following my hour-long playthrough of EXODUS's Khonsu mission at gamescom 2026, I had the chance to speak with not one but three of the key developers from Archetype Entertainment: VP and General Manager Chad Robertson, Game Director Chris King, and Lead Writer Drew Karpyshyn. What followed was a wide-ranging conversation covering the studio's seven years of work on their debut IP, the shape of the universe it has built, and a great deal of detail about systems the demo only hinted at. Some highlights: the studio is a bit over 100 people in Austin, though with several hundred more contributing […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/exodus-archetype-entertainment-gamescom-interview/

It's been seven years since former BioWare veteran James Ohlen founded Archetype Entertainment in Austin, Texas, later revealing the studio's debut game as EXODUS. Ohlen has since left Archetype for personal reasons, but the hype for EXODUS remains high, especially among Mass Effect fans. Not only is the inspiration crystal-clear, but Archetype also hired the acclaimed writer of the original trilogy, Drew Karpyshyn, to create the game's narrative. Besides, the whole studio worked hard on the setting, even going so far as to get Peter F. Hamilton to publish two novels and to prepare a tabletop RPG handbook and other […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/exodus-hands-on-mass-effect-comparisons-choices-cover-shooting/

Earlier today, I shared my impressions of the Guild Wars 3 presentation ArenaNet held at gamescom 2026, the first proper look at how the game actually plays following its Summer Game Fest announcement. As I wrote there, the studio's two headline features, the momentum-driven movement system and the action combat it feeds into, look like the real thing, even in a rough Pre-Alpha state. But the demo was only half of the appointment. Once the presentation ended, Studio Head Colin Johanson and combat designer Kevin Stocker stayed to answer questions from the assembled press, which on this occasion consisted just […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/guild-wars-3-gamescom-qa-defined-roles/

Oh, Dragon's Dogma 2. I had such hopes for that game after being thoroughly impressed with the original Dark Arisen, which led me to pine long years for a sequel. When CAPCOM finally announced it, I was overjoyed, to say the least, but the final game turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, not just for me but for many gamers. Sure, it was still fun and rightfully earned an 8/10 score in my review, but it could have been so much more. Instead, it looked like the developers were merely content with making it more like Dragon's […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/dragons-dogma-2-dark-arisen-fixes-sequels-biggest-flaw-combat-still-fights-player/

The Blood of Dawnwalker officially launches today and it will be coming out to strong praise from critics. The game is launching to a wave of high review scores, as early players point out its strong story, unique structure and combat. 

Across OpenCritic, The Blood of Dawnwalker currently holds an 85 average critic rating, while on Metacritic it sits at 83 overall, based on around 60 published reviews. Early impressions point toward a strong, story‑driven RPG with a distinctive tone and plenty of ambition.

Critics have praised the game’s world‑building, characters and blend of horror‑tinged fantasy. IGN awarded the game a 9/10, calling it “an impressive, bloody cocktail of interesting ideas and well‑written characters”. PC Gamer scored it 83/100, describing it as a “resolutely miserable horror RPG” with strong concepts, even if not all of them fully land. Eurogamer gave it 4/5, highlighting its bold ideas and noting that the team’s CD Projekt Red heritage is clear throughout.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is a unique RPG in that you aren’t supposed to experience everything in a single playthrough. Your character is on the clock, with a set amount of in‑game time to complete quests and save your family. Ignoring the main quest for too long, or choosing to spend too much time on side content, can lead to a painful ending, so players have to balance their time carefully in a way that few other RPGs demand.

KitGuru Says: The Blood of Dawnwalker is off to a strong start, with solid reviews across the board. Are you planning on picking this game up this week? 

The post The Blood of Dawnwalker launches to strong reviews first appeared on KitGuru.

Over the last few years, hearing about a brand new studio created by decorated industry veterans behind award-winning titles has become almost a mainstay in gaming news coverage. How many times have we read a press release that began "from AAA veterans with long careers at BioWare, Bungie, Epic, Blizzard, Ubisoft, Bethesda", et cetera, et cetera? So many developers chose to chart their own path after shipping one or more big titles, either due to creative differences with management, a desire to take their career into their own hands, or a combination of the two. The thing is, most of […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/the-blood-of-dawnwalker-review-witcher-3-developers-dark-fantasy-rpg/

Playground Games has shared plenty of new Fable gameplay this summer, and now we’re starting to get a clearer picture of how long the studio’s first RPG will actually be. According to the developers, players can expect a reasonably sized adventure rather than a massive, hundred‑hour epic.

In a recently published interview with Polygon, Fable director Will Kennedy explained that a full completionist playthrough will take around 40 hours, while those who stick primarily to the main story can finish the game in roughly 20 hours.

Kennedy broke the structure down further, saying Fable includes “around 15–20 hours of mainline quest gameplay” and a similar amount of side content and open‑world exploration. Beyond that, the game’s life‑sim systems, including NPC interactions, reputation changes and the broader simulation layer, can extend playtime indefinitely for those who want to immerse themselves in Albion.

During the same Q&A session, another developer described Fable as “not a huge game”, prompting associate game director Craig Littler to clarify that while the story itself isn’t enormous, players can “literally play it forever” if they choose to engage with the life‑sim systems and explore every corner of the world.

Ultimately, it sounds like Fable is designed to scale with how you want to play. If you’re here for the story, you’ll be able to finish it in a relatively brisk 20 hours. If you want to dig into every side quest and get more involved in the immersive sim side of the game, then your playtime should end up being a lot longer.

KitGuru Says: Fable won’t be the longest RPG around, but a 20-hour main story tends to be good enough for me. I just hope a sequel doesn't take as long to develop. 

The post Fable will have around 20-hours of main story according to game director first appeared on KitGuru.

During Geoff Keighley's Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026, Austin-based developer Archetype Entertainment announced the release date of its debut title, the sci-fi action RPG Exodus. The game will be available on April 7, 2027 for PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X. Meet Salt, the Octopus Mercenary The centerpiece of the new cinematic gameplay trailer is Salt, an Awakened octopus mercenary and bounty hunter who joins protagonist Jun's journey as a companion. Piloting a specialized combat mech, Salt is a master of long-range sniping, quick evasive maneuvers, and ink-like smokescreens designed to confuse […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/exodus-release-date-april-2027-archetype-entertainment/

While the genre is certainly far from its peak, one of the more successful MMORPGs in today’s day and age is Final Fantasy XIV. That said, Square Enix’s first take on the formula – FFXI – remains just as popular in many regards. Following in the footsteps of its successor, the original Final Fantasy XI is now receiving a new Unlimited free trial.

Making the official announcement as part of their latest livestream (translated by Reddit user ‘hikiri’), Square Enix / the Final Fantasy team revealed that FFXI’s free trial is being vastly expanded.

Set to go live sometime next month, the update will come in two phases. First, free trial users will now have their level caps raised from 50 to 75. More excitingly however, Square will then follow this up with a backend server change which will allow for unlimited playtime – as opposed to the previous 14 day trial.

Of course, being a ‘free trial’ there are plenty of restrictions, including but not limited to:

• Fewer available jobs
• A maximum of 3 characters on your account
• 100,000 gil currency cap
• You cannot trade with other players
• Smaller max party size
• More limited communication
• Can only access zones from the Vanilla game

The full list of limitations is pretty exhaustive and can be found HERE. That said, Square’s Final Fantasy free trials remain some of the best in the MMO space. If you’ve not checked out FFXI before, next month is as good a time as any.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of the Final Fantasy MMOs? Between FFXI and XIV, which do you prefer? Let us know down below.

The post Final Fantasy XI to get ‘Unlimited Free Trial’ similar to FFXIV first appeared on KitGuru.

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has revealed that he advised the developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 not to describe the game as a turn‑based RPG, citing the negative stigma surrounding traditional JRPG combat systems during the 2010s.

As reported by Automaton, Yoshida discussed the topic during a lecture at the Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026. While consulting for publisher Kepler Interactive, he played an early demo of Expedition 33 and was impressed by its blend of turn‑based mechanics and real‑time inputs reminiscent of The Legend of Dragoon. Despite this, he warned the team that branding it as a turn‑based JRPG could cause players to overlook it.

Yoshida’s comments reflect a period when many Japanese studios shifted away from turn‑based combat in favour of action‑focused systems, believing the former to be outdated. However, turn‑based games have seen a notable resurgence in recent years. The Yakuza series famously embraced turn‑based combat with Yakuza 7, Pokémon has maintained its popularity with traditional turn‑based battles, and Baldur's Gate 3 was the biggest game of 2023, which also used a turn-based combat system. There is clearly still a big market for turn-based games, particularly if they are done well, and Expedition 33 ultimately did tap into that market, becoming the recipient of many GOTY awards in 2025.

Following Expedition 33’s success, Yoshida says publishers are now receiving a steady stream of pitches for turn‑based RPGs, so it would seem that there is still plenty of life left in the turn-based RPG genre. Later this year, Square Enix itself will be embracing turn-based combat once again, with the very first turn-based Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy 13 almost two decades ago.

KitGuru Says: Turn-based combat isn't for everyone, but I'm glad to see newer titles embracing it after a lengthy drought over the 2010s. 

The post Shuhei Yoshida advised Expedition 33 devs to avoid calling it a turn‑based RPG first appeared on KitGuru.

Both frustrating and intriguing all the same, Mortal Shell II vastly improves on the original title with a world filled with secret dungeons about while routinely kicking the player's teeth in without mercy

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/mortal-shell-ii-not-all-its-cracked-up-to-be/