G'day Gamers,

How wild is the conversation around Mixtape? I know the game isn't for everyone, it's a hand-holding narrative walking sim and that style won't land for plenty of people, but the discourse on social media has lost the plot. I swear getting 10s from media outlets, especially IGN, hurts games more than it helps, because the gaming internet just goes in hard on anything that scores that high.

My take is simple, if a game isn't for you that's all good, but there's no need to attack a game just because someone else loved it.

Oh and by the way, I loved it.

Anyways, enough about that.

Let's get into it,

Forza Horizon 6 launched today via Premium Early Access, with the full launch on May 19. Reviews dropped on May 14 and the game is now the highest-rated release of 2026, sitting at 92 on Metacritic across 62 reviews and 91 on OpenCritic with a 100 percent recommendation rate. It beats Pokémon Pokopia and Resident Evil Requiem, both on 89, and ties Forza Horizon 4 and 5 to make it the fourth Horizon in a row to score 91 or above.

The setting is Japan, twenty years after fans first started asking for it. The map is the largest the series has produced, anchored by a Tokyo build five times bigger than any previous Horizon city.

The game launches with over 550 licensed cars, all fully customisable, including a new R class specifically introduced for track-focused builds. Progression returns to the wristband system from the original 2012 Forza Horizon, with players starting as tourists and earning coloured wristbands by completing races and events, each unlocking access to higher car classes. Dynamic seasonal weather is back, with full cycles through spring cherry blossoms, summer storms, autumn foliage and winter snow shifts hitting the Alpine region year-round.

Critics have been close to unanimous. Video Games Chronicle awarded a 5 out of 5, calling it "an essential racing game." Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb also gave it five stars. GamesRadar described it as "a sublime racing engine" supercharging "a stunning, Japan-set open world," while TheGamer's Allyson Cochran wrote that it "understands spectacle without becoming hollowed out by it." Men's Journal called it "one of the best-looking games I've ever played."

The consensus is that the game refines rather than reinvents the formula, with most outlets pointing out that this is a deliberate choice rather than a creative ceiling.

Forza Horizon 5 had been played by over 53 million people by the start of 2026, making the series, per Kotaku, "Microsoft's most consistently popular and critically acclaimed franchise of the last decade."

Takashi Tezuka is retiring from Nintendo after 42 years The 65-year-old, who co-designed the original Zelda and directed Super Mario Bros. 3 and World, finishes up on June 26.

The Switch 2 is getting a $70 price hike in Australia The SRP rises from AU$699.95 to AU$769.95 on September 1, with Nintendo citing market conditions and memory shortages.

Sony is using a generative AI animation tool called Mockingbird in shipped games PlayStation CEO Hideaki Nishino confirmed on the May 8 earnings call that the tool has already shipped in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, with Naughty Dog and Santa Monica Studio also on board.

The Blood of Dawnwalker has been revealed on the cover of Game Informer The action RPG is the debut project from Rebel Wolves, the studio founded by Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and other ex-CD Projekt Red developers.

The Xbox Elite 3 controller has leaked through a Brazilian regulator Images show two scroll wheels, a pairing button for local or cloud play, and a removable battery.

Mina the Hollower's final previews have landed IGN called the Shovel Knight team's gothic top-down adventure "Bloodborne as a cute 8-bit adventure game," with the game launching May 29.

ARC Raiders has shared a new development update Embark Studios has outlined upcoming content and balance changes for the extraction shooter.

PlayStation says the next few years of unannounced games are "unbelievably positive" Hideaki Nishino said "there are no dire times ahead for the industry" on the May 8 earnings call without naming any specific titles.

Dead Space 4 is unlikely to happen, says original series producer Chuck Beaver told the FRVR Podcast "the numbers just aren't there," with a new entry needing to sell 10 million-plus copies to recoup costs.

PlayStation has confirmed it isn't giving up on Marathon Sony CFO Lin Tao cited strong player reception and a Metacritic score of 82, with Season 2 incoming despite the recent $765M Bungie write-down.

Shift Up will reveal new Stellar Blade and Project Spirits details in 2026 The studio's Q1 earnings confirmed both titles will be self-published, moving away from the Sony partnership behind the original Stellar Blade.

Forza Horizon 6 (Xbox/PC) – Premium Early Access today, full launch May 19 An open-world arcade racer set across a fictionalised Japan, from Tokyo's neon streets to Mount Fuji and the coastal highways. Over 550 cars, a new R class for track builds, dynamic seasonal weather, and Game Pass day one.

Farming Simulator 26 (PS5/Xbox/Switch 2/PC) – May 19 A farming sim where you drive tractors, harvest crops, raise livestock and manage a working farm. Adds Eastern European agriculture, new machinery from licensed brands, and the biggest map in the series to date.

Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core (PC Early Access) – May 20 A 1-4 player co-op FPS roguelite where you play dwarven Reclaimers descending into procedurally generated caves on Hoxxes IV. Five classes, run-based progression, and permadeath as you fight through Core Spawn outbreaks.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (Switch 2) – May 21 A platformer where Yoshi gets pulled into a magical storybook and has to platform across each chapter to find his way home. Paper-craft visuals, page-flipping puzzles, and co-op play throughout.

Luna Abyss (PS5/Xbox/PC) – May 21 A first-person bullet hell shooter set inside Lazarus, a hollowed-out artificial moon. You play Fawkes, a prisoner sent to retrieve forgotten technology from the Abyss, with platforming and combat against waves of corrupted enemies.

Coffee Talk Tokyo (PS5/Xbox/Switch/PC) – May 21 A cozy visual novel where you run a Tokyo coffee shop, serving drinks to humans and yokai who share their problems across the counter. Dialogue choices and drink recipes shape each customer's story.

Zero Parades: For Dead Spies (PC) – May 21 A Cold War espionage RPG where you play operant Hershel Wilk, a brilliant but tormented spy whose internal skills manifest as sentient voices in her head. Combat-free and dialogue-driven, with three psychological pressure bars (Fatigue, Anxiety, Delirium) governing every interaction. PS5 version arrives later in 2026.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (PS5/Xbox/PC) – May 22 An open-world action-adventure across a brick-built Gotham, with seven playable characters including Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin and Catwoman. Combat draws from the Arkham series, with familiar villains, puzzle-solving, and drop-in local co-op throughout. Switch 2 version dated later.

Bubsy 4D (PS4/PS5/Xbox/Switch/Switch 2/PC) – May 22 A 3D platformer where Bubsy chases his stolen sheep across alien worlds. Run, jump, glide, hairball-roll, and collect yarn across craft-themed levels with leaderboard times against other players.