2026

The resuscitation of Xbox has begun in earnest, but there’s still much to be done, and still great uncertainty: Console exclusives are back but to what extent remains unclear, and of course the “reset” for a better future will almost certainly mean putting hundreds of people out of work. And it’s possible that even bigger…

Life sim player tradition (or stubborness?) dictates I often attempt to build a real house—my childhood home or one I drove past last week—and yet in The Sims, I always wind up frustrated that the series’ grid-based building has never been able to quite replicate actual floor plans. I’ve become totally enamored with building in…

The news that Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire, which seems like something the world definitely doesn’t need, got me thinking: have I ever even played a videogame that let me be a trillionaire? I’ve definitely racked up millions of dollars or coins or other make-believe currency in a few games… but trillions?…

The official RPG Maker forums are closing, and there’s some good news and some bad news associated with that. The good news: Gotcha Gotcha Games is launching a new forum called RPG Maker Guild, which aims to “provide a welcoming space where RPG Maker creators can connect, share projects, exchange ideas, and continue growing the…

Playing Final Fantasy 11 after all these years is a lot like returning to your hometown only to find it desolate and different. All the old buildings are still there, but the faces aren’t the same. And that feeling I had—that indescribable sense of belonging—is gone too. It’s a bit alienating and tragic, to be…

I was never able to get a feel for Funselektor’s top-down driving game Art of Rally, or its predecessor Absolute Drift: I like rally in real life, but sliding cars around corners at screaming speeds from a weird perspective and with no tactile feedback just didn’t work for me. I had higher hopes for the…