Evgenia Zavyalova

Fans have been anticipating GTA 6 since 2018, and two weeks before its release, Rockstar stoked fans' excitement by posting a gallery of 38 new screenshots on its website, featuring the main characters, fresh looks, and views of Vice City—perfect images for wallpapers and hunting for Easter eggs.

Do you enjoy cleaning? Many people will surely say yes. Cleaning is wonderfully calming; it lets you distract yourself from anxious thoughts and bring order both around you and in your own head. Moreover, despite its outward routine, there is something about cleaning that brings it close to a game—namely, the sense of progress. With every movement of the sponge or mop, you get closer to the goal: perfectly clean dishes or floors polished to a shine.

In early fall 2026, Tim Cook handed over the reins of Apple to John Turnus, and the company’s first major product under his leadership was the foldable iPhone Duo. This move surprised many, as Apple did not pioneer the foldable device segment but merely joined a market already established by its competitors. Nevertheless, the company had previously succeeded in turning others’ ideas into mass-market, profitable products—as was the case with the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Whether this strategy worked in the case of the iPhone Duo remains to be seen, based on the reaction of experts and users.

Cyberpunk 2077 stopped being just a video game a long time ago. Since its release, it has grown into a full-blown media universe that today includes not only the game itself and the Phantom Liberty expansion, but also comics, tabletop projects, and the anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Edgerunners turned out to be so important for popularizing the franchise that it became the reason for a major update — Cyberpunk 2077 2.5.

It's no secret that the Fallout series has its roots in text adventures and tabletop games, where players choose how to act in dialogues and in-game situations. In fact, virtually every modern RPG grew out of those text adventures and tabletop games; as technology advanced, a visual layer was simply added on top of the role-playing system.

Sometimes the most complex themes and ideas are best expressed in the simplest words. In the gaming world, this truth has been proven by OneShot, To the Moon, Omori and, of course, Undertale. Toby Fox's game showed in its time that a good game doesn't need a big budget, open worlds or cutting-edge graphics. All it takes is a non-linear story free of plot clichés, a world that isn't divided into black and white, and a character in whom players can see themselves.

We got our hands on a demo of an upcoming friendslop title — S.O.N.A.R., a co-op submarine simulator where players have to survive together in a confined space, put out fires on board, launch torpedoes and slap each other across the face. Let's see how fun it really is.

The Transport Fever series began with Train Fever, created by the Swiss studio Urban Games in 2012 through crowdfunding, and although the first game wasn’t a hit, it gained popularity among fans of transportation strategy games. This was followed by Transport Fever and Transport Fever 2, in which the developers actively incorporated player feedback, and ahead of the release of Transport Fever 3, they once again promised to make the game more expansive and deeper while retaining the series’ signature features. Now it remains to be seen whether they’ve managed to deliver on their promises and correct past mistakes.

The end of summer and the beginning of fall are traditionally packed with gaming events: right after gamescom 2026, Japan kicked off the anniversary edition of the Tokyo Game Show, which featured more than 2,000 games from developers around the world. We’ve rounded up the most interesting announcements and new releases from the show, including Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Persona 4 Revival, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, Silent Hill: Townfall, and more.

John Ternus is the chief executive officer of Apple: he took the job on September 1, 2026, succeeding Tim Cook. He is 51 and an engineer by training. Ternus has been at the company since 2001 — he joined in the Steve Jobs era, became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, and from 2021 was in charge of all of Apple's hardware: iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the watch.

Remakes of classic games have become the norm: developers capitalize on nostalgia, and cult classics need no advertising. Usually, announcements of remakes go by quietly, but the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2 has caused a real stir—people are discussing not only the changes but also the controversy surrounding the game. Why has the remake of the 1998 game caused such a stir?

Tenebris: Terra Incognita has been in development by the small studio Phantasmica since 2019—just five people are working on the game in their spare time and without a publisher. In 2024, the project launched in Early Access on Steam, and the developers regularly share updates and gather feedback. With a full release scheduled for fall 2026, we decided to take a look at the game’s progress and the challenges it has faced as it approaches this milestone.

NVIDIA has released DLSS 5—an updated neural rendering technology that promises to significantly improve graphics quality in games thanks to AI. Opinions on it are divided: some see it as the dawn of a new era, while others suspect it’s just a marketing ploy. It’s still hard to say whether DLSS 5 will be a true revolution, as neural rendering raises concerns among some gamers. Let’s take a rational look at the technology’s prospects: is this a revolution, or will we have forgotten all about it in a month? And should we be afraid of neural rendering knocking on our door?

With the release of the first teaser for HBO’s Harry Potter series in 2026, it became clear that comparisons to the 2001 film were inevitable: some fans were delighted to return to a familiar atmosphere, while others criticized the excessive similarity to the original—now, following the release of the full trailer, we can assess whether we’re in for a new adaptation of the books or simply a rehash of the old movie for a new generation.

In 2022, game producer Vince Zampella suggested to his friend, former XCOM art director Greg Furtch, that they create a turn-based tactics game set in the Star Wars universe. That’s how the idea for Star Wars Zero Company came about—a game that’s been dubbed “XCOM in the Star Wars universe.” But is it really just an XCOM clone, or is the project capable of more?

The leak season continues: following the ten-day saga of GTA 6 gameplay leaks, the gaming world has been shaken by news of a massive find that's already being called the Steam2 Teraleak. On August 29, 2026, more than 12 TB of archival Steam data from the platform's first decade went public. And there was no hack of Valve's servers involved — the material was found "abandoned" on old Steam2 infrastructure, simply sitting there and waiting to be discovered.

All the major announcements and showcases from gamescom 2026: publisher presentations, the most exciting games, and the show’s winners.

Ever since Steven Spielberg directed the cult classic Jurassic Park and made dinosaurs on screen both thrilling and entertaining, this franchise has dominated the “dinosaur survival” genre, and attempts by other studios to replicate its success had failed until recently. But in 2026, Warner Bros. Pictures and J.J. Abrams decided to take on Universal by releasing the film The End of Oak Street, which promises to bring dinosaurs back into the spotlight.

Imagine you're a kindergarten teacher. Your life revolves around young children—and all the stress that comes with them. Every workday is a test of endurance: you're responsible for a room full of kids, surrounded by constant noise, crying, shouting, and endless mischief. How do you unwind after all that and clear your head (especially when alcohol isn't an option)? That's exactly the sort of person cozy games are made for, and today we're taking a look at one of them: Cozy Liora.

Since 2009, gamers around the world have come to expect that late August marks the time for gamescom, the world’s largest video game trade show. This year in Cologne, Germany, leading game developers and publishers will gather for the 18th time to announce the release of their projects, along with numerous journalists and gamers who want to stay up to date on the industry’s most significant events.

The Japanese studio Game Freak is best known as the creator of the iconic Pokémon media franchise. Since 1996, the studio has developed as many as 40 Pokémon games for Nintendo, so they certainly know their way around the series. Over all these years, the studio has only ventured outside its comfort zone three times to try something new, but these were modest side projects, such as the platformer about a “Rambo elephant,” Tembo the Badass Elephant.

Welcome to our list of the best weird Eastern European indie games — weird, but not bad. We’ve gathered titles from a wide range of genres, from horror to interactive cinema, all united by a distinctly Eastern European atmosphere.

The summer blockbuster season continues. Following the triumphant launch of Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," a new installment in the Spider-Man franchise — "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" — has burst onto the big screen. Critics predict the film will gross over $1 billion and become one of the most successful projects of the year. We've gathered all the latest information about "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" for you — official details about the cast and plot, as well as interesting facts and information on where and when to watch it.

The Evil Dead franchise was born in the 1980s—a decade that arguably produced some of the most brutal, bloody, and uncompromising horror films ever made. Just think of the infamous Cannibal Holocaust, whose director was actually put on trial because authorities believed he had genuinely murdered and dismembered his actors, or legendary body horror classics such as The Thing, The Fly, and Hellraiser.

When Palworld launched into Early Access at the beginning of 2024, it became an overnight sensation: over 5 million copies sold in its first three days, a peak concurrent player count of 2 million—the second-highest in Steam history—and servers buckling under the flood of players. Some gamers were thrilled to finally get a Pokémon-like experience on PC, especially one made by an indie studio rather than the "greedy Nintendo." Meanwhile, fans of the original Pokémon franchise accused the developers of Palworld of copying ideas and assets, with some even going so far as to send them death threats.

Video games — especially horror games — have given us countless terrifying characters and monsters, but only a select few remain etched in our memories long after the credits roll. What makes them unforgettable is not just their grotesque appearance, but the way they move, the sounds they make, and the psychological impact they have on the player. Sometimes all it takes is a familiar growl, metallic scrape, or the echo of heavy footsteps to instantly bring back a feeling of dread. In this list, we've gathered some of the scariest characters and monsters in video game history — creatures that have become permanent fixtures of gaming culture, from Pyramid Head and Nemesis to the pixelated horrors of Lethal Company. Prepare yourself. Things are about to get frightening.

Back in the day, the success of indie games like Balatro and Manor Lords—and even earlier, Undertale and Minecraft—sparked discussions about possibilities that had once seemed unimaginable: soon, games might be created by a single developer, without massive budgets or marketing campaigns. Since then, countless indie developers have been chasing that dream—creating a game that would be enjoyable not only for themselves, but for other players as well.

The soulslike genre owes its existence to Demon's Souls, released by FromSoftware in 2009. A PlayStation exclusive, it first earned a cult following among hardcore players in its homeland of Japan. From its core mechanics, FromSoftware's lead designer Hidetaka Miyazaki built a new game — Dark Souls — which launched a series that became iconic the world over. Soon the "soulslikes" started arriving: games that copy the Dark Souls formula of success. An entire genre was born, built on the hallmarks of Dark Souls — punishing difficulty, "bonfires" (checkpoints for saving and leveling up), enemies that respawn on a location once you die, collecting experience ("souls"), stamina management in combat, fragmentary storytelling, and — most importantly — gruelling boss fights that force you to learn every move set.

Back in 2018, Microsoft announced the revival of the Fable franchise, the beloved series of fantasy RPGs that first rose to prominence in the 2000s. Responsibility for the reboot was handed to Playground Games, arguably the most successful British game studio currently in operation. The goal was not merely to continue the series, but to fully reboot it—a trend that has become increasingly common across the gaming industry over the past decade.

This top list gathers the best visual novels: genre classics, mobile romance stories, otome games, horror titles, experimental projects, and free games for those new to the genre. A visual novel is a narrative genre that combines elements of literature, illustrated cinema, and interactive gameplay. As with reading a book, the focus is on text, supplemented by static background images and music. As a rule, there are no battles, jumping, or other dynamic gameplay elements. But unlike books, visual novels are interactive: the player makes choices that determine how the story unfolds and which ending is reached. The player does not simply read a story — they influence it. That is what sets visual novels apart from an ordinary book. Today, visual novels are no longer just anime and light dating simulators. In our selection you will find dark detective stories, psychological horror games, and romantic comedies — playable on PC from the comfort of your armchair, or on a smartphone to unwind or pass the time.

It looks like the spoof movie genre is experiencing a genuine revival right before our eyes. Back in the 2000s, films parodying entire corners of the movie industry seemed to arrive one after another — Tropic Thunder, Hot Fuzz, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, and many more. Then came a long quiet period, when making fun of silly things stopped feeling fresh, while poking fun at serious subjects became increasingly risky.

Gothic 1 Remake finally brings players back to the Old Camp — the place where newcomers got punched in the face first and only then learned the rules of life beneath the Barrier. For longtime fans, it's a chance to revisit one of the defining RPGs of the early 2000s, now rebuilt with modern visuals and controls. For everyone else, it's an opportunity to finally understand why the original Gothic still inspires so much discussion, so many memes, and almost religious devotion.

We’ve put together a selection of the best hunting games — from detailed hunting simulators to games where hunting is just one of many activities in a sprawling open world packed with things to do, as well as classic titles with more casual mechanics.

A group of scientists and specialists is carrying out a critical research mission. Suddenly, they encounter an alien entity capable of mimicry — perfectly copying human appearance. Taking the form of crew members, the creature begins killing them one by one, while the survivors spiral into paranoia: “Which of the colleagues I’ve known for months is still human, and which one isn’t anymore? And is there even any way to stop this thing?”

Looking for the best games for girls in 2026 across PC, consoles, and smartphones? We picked safe, fun titles for daughters aged 6 to 12 — every game ESRB-rated E or E10+, with no alcohol, gambling, or chat with strangers.