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Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser believes that, if players want their games released on physical media, then "companies should provide it."
The former Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption developer opened up about the state of physical media in the gaming space during a conversation with IGN at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026. He didn't have a strong opinion when asked if he personally cares about physical versus digital releases, but when it comes to others, his thoughts were pretty cut and dry.
"I don't know that I care, but if people want that, I think companies should provide it," Houser said. "But I don't know that I personally care.
"I also think that, as critical as people are of digital releases, the ability to update and fix problems in games has been really useful for the quality of games."
The question arrives as gamers of every background take to social media to sound off about recent changes in the physical and digital gaming space. PlayStation has found itself in headlines for weeks after confirming it would cease production of new physical games starting in January 2028. Funnily enough, Rockstar has also been involved in the conversation, with Grand Theft Auto fans still coming to terms with confirmation that GTA 6 will not ship on a disc when it launches this November.
Lazlow Jones, who worked with Houser at Rockstar before leaving to join him at Absurd Ventures, was also in attendance at SDCC. In his response to the question, he explained his relationship with both physical and digital games.
"We all have that sort of feeling when you get that copy, and you put the disc in the console, but I also have to say I really like being at the airport and going, 'Oh, cool. I can download some quick games to my Steam Deck for this 12-hour flight.'
"That's what's been interesting. We've worked in digital together for a lot of years, and then making a physical product of a comic book is a different creative process but also just really fulfilling to have a physical thing you can say, 'Look. We made a thing.'"
Houser interjected: "I love physical media."
The Rockstar co-founder isn't the first developer to share his thoughts about the state of physical media. Nier creator Yoko Taro, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, and Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot are just a few of the names who have chimed in with thoughts recently.
For now, Houser is at Absurd Ventures, a company he founded and officially announced in 2023. For more on his thoughts on the industry, you can see what he had to say about how people play open-world games.
Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Games Workshop has finally given Warhammer 40,000 fans the news they’ve craved for years: a release date for animated series Astartes 2.
In a post on Warhammer Community, Games Workshop said Astartes 2 is set to drop this December. Via a new promo video, we also have two new shots of Astartes 2, which you can see in the slideshow below. Don't expect a huge amount from the images though, they don't give away much. And there's still much we don't know about Astartes 2 itself. How many episodes will it be? How long will the episodes be? Will it even be divided up into episodes this time?
For the uninitiated, the original Astartes was created by superfan Syama Pedersen, who was subsequently brought into the fold to make the official sequel. In November last year, Games Workshop revealed animation work on a monitor screen via the promo video below, showing a squad of Terminators appearing to protect an unnamed human soldier. This is the Inquisition-led Deathwatch Terminator squad from the debut Astartes 2 teaser in incomplete form, but we know from their pauldron chapter symbols that they’re the same as before (Retributors, Mortifactors, Scythes of The Emperor, Sons of Medusa, and Angels Vermilion).
Astartes is widely accepted as the greatest Warhammer 40,000 animation ever made, official or unofficial, with only Amazon’s excellent Space Marine 2 animation for the Secret Level anthology series competing with it in quality terms. Indeed, Astartes was so good that it inspired Saber Interactive’s hugely successful Space Marine 2 in terms of the look and feel of the Space Marines themselves.
Fans hadn’t heard a peep out of Games Workshop on Astartes 2 for years, leading some to wonder whether the company had quietly cancelled it. But in January last year Games Workshop released a teaser trailer alongside a 2026 release window, and now we know it will be out this December. GW managed to get it in before the end of the year just in time!
Last year’s teaser suggested an animation on a scale and quality never-before-seen from Warhammer 40,000, with melee combat, shooting, vehicle combat, and even spaceship battles all showcased. It showed a number of Space Marine chapters in battle across varied environments, and multiple enemy races, including Tyranids, Orks, and Tau.
But it turned out that nothing in the teaser is actually in the Astartes 2 animation itself. According to a post on the Warhammer Community website: “This teaser trailer is not actually clips from the new animation, instead showing a compilation of shots that represent the former lives of the characters that will appear in the show. There’s a pretty unsubtle hint at the end as to the nature of the final story... We’ll leave you to speculate and start putting the pieces together yourselves.”
Astartes 2 will be available via Games Workshop's streaming service, Warhammer TV.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
A new weekend has arrived, and today, you can save on Assassin's Creed Shadows, the DJI Mini 4K drone, Apple AirPods 4, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, and more. Check out our top picks for Saturday, July 25, below.
Assassin's Creed Shadows for $29.99Assassin's Creed Shadows is on sale this weekend for $29.99 at Amazon. As the first game in the series set in feudal Japan, this is one many fans waited years for, and it mostly delivered. In our 8/10 review, we wrote, "By sharpening the edges of its existing systems, Assassin’s Creed Shadows creates one of the best versions of the open-world style it’s been honing for the last decade."
DJI Mini 4K for $229This weekend, you can save 23% off the DJI Mini 4K drone, which is normally priced at $300. This drone is small enough not to require FAA registration, but it's powerful enough to fly for 31 minutes, with support for 10km video transmission and auto return. The DJI Mini is equipped with a 4K camera on a 3-axis gimbal, so you can capture amazing shots in crisp fidelity.
Apple AirPods 4 for $99Amazon has the Apple AirPods 4 on sale for $99 today. These earbuds feature Spatial Audio, up to five hours of listening time per charge, and so much more. Apple AirPods 5 likely won't be out for a good bit, so now is the perfect time to pick up a pair of new AirPods if your old ones are giving out.
Lego Batman Forever Set for $79.99The classic Batmobile from Batman Forever is here in Lego form, with a Lego DC Batman minifugure starring the suit used in the move. This weekend, you can save 20% off this 909-piece set, which is a great addition to any comic book fan's collection. The cockpit on the Batmobile opens up to reveal seats and a detailed interior, and you can easily put this vehicle on any shelf or table.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter for $39.99Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is the very first entry in the beloved Trails series, and this remake from last year brought new life into the original game. Considering 2nd Chapter is set to release in September, this is a great time to pick up 1st Chapter if you've never had a chance to check it out.
Mortal Kombat 4K Limited Edition for $39.99This 4K blu-ray just released last month, but you can already save big and pick up a copy for $39.99. The Mortal Kombat Kollection comes with both Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Both films have received brand new 4K restorations by Arrow Films, with Dolby Vision support, lossless audio support, and optional English subtitles.
LEGO Star Wars R2-D2 Set for $79.99LEGO Star Wars is bigger than ever, and today, Amazon has the amazing R2-D2 set priced at $79.99, saving you $20. This set features 1050 pieces, plus Darth Malak and R2-D2 minifigures in addition to the major R2-D2 droid. Speaking of, you can rotate R2-D2's head 360 degrees, use its detachable third leg, and more.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi has acknowledged the "open world fatigue" affecting the industry but says Square Enix was "very careful" to make sure fans would have "all the guidance they need" in the new remake chapter – even if it's bigger than the last.
The developer helping lead the finale to its 2027 launch spoke about its size during a conversation with Eurogamer. In the interview, he teased how the team has done its best to tie a bow on the trilogy with one final adventure for Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the rest of the gang in their fight against Sephiroth.
The two previous installments in the remake trilogy – Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth – have been lumped into online conversations about enormous open worlds that sometimes overstay their welcome. Hamaguchi said the concept of open world fatigue is "very important" to him, but it sounds like players won't need to worry about feeling too lost.
"There are a lot of open world games out in the world right now, and [the idea of 'open world fatigue'] is a very important concept to me," he replied when Eurogamer asked about feedback to Rebirth. "It depends on personal preference and different perceptions, but for me personally, I know I've had the experience where I've been thrown out into an open world game and not known where to go, not known where to begin, and not known what to do. But at the same time, the concept of being thrown into this wondrous world where anything goes is amazing."
There are certainly players who would prefer to get lost in a vibrant fantasy universe. In a world promising to be as packed as Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, that idea might be especially enticing. Hamaguchi said that, as a creator, he believes it's important to "offer proper guidance" in open-world games so that players "know what to do, and know where to go."
"In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, we made sure to make it easy for the players to understand how much content there is, and how difficult that content is," he added. "That design philosophy is applied to Revelation: players have all the guidance that they need. This is something that both myself and the development team were very careful about when we designed the game."
It seems Hamaguchi and the rest of the development team wanted to strike a balance when it came to guidance in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. One example he mentioned involved asking players to rely on their memory to make sure they land in their desired location when dropping from the Highwind airship.
"That's another example of the guidance we're giving players, without directing them too much," Hamaguchi continued. "The world is even bigger than it was in Rebirth, so it is more important than ever for us to ensure there's enough guidance here, so people have no issues enjoying what this game has to offer."
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation currently has no firm release date but is expected to launch for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S in spring 2027. While we wait for updates, you can read about what Hamaguchi had to say about the feedback to Remake and Rebirth's vast pool of mini-games. You can also learn about the leak that suggests DLC may be in development.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Square Enix has announced Final Fantasy 14 has a Nintendo Switch 2 release date of August 4, 2026.
Game director Naoki Yoshida (a.k.a. Yoshi-P) suited up in Bastion armor and took the stage at Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival 2026 in Berlin to confirm the news alongside a laundry list of new updates coming in the near future. While Square Enix had previously confirmed plans to bring FFXIV to Switch 2 in August, today's news locks in a launch that's only a little more than one week away.
Preorders begin later today, with fans told to keep an eye on Square Enix social media for updates. When FFXIV goes on sale August 4, its first month of sale will be free of subscription charges as the developers ensure server stability. After this period comes to an end, players will be required to purchase a subscription as normal.
"We knew that you've been waiting for this for a long time," Yoshi-P said via translator, "so we're very happy to bring this to you."
Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest 2026 also allowed Yoshi-P to go back over some of the catches that come with the Switch 2 version of the game. As revealed at Anaheim Fan Fest in April, FFXIV for Nintendo fans will require a separate subscription.
Yoshi-P said at the time that the decision to require an individual subscription on Switch 2 came after "many months of discussions with Nintendo," but it's not all bad news. A Nintendo Switch Online subscription won't be required to play, for example. Additionally, those who have active FFXIV subscriptions elsewhere can take advantage of a 50% discount on Switch 2.
FFXIV is only days away from its Switch 2 launch. Also revealed during the presentation was more information on the upcoming Evercold expansion, the Bastion tank role, a new Final Fantasy 7 collaboration, and more.
For more, you can read IGN's original 8.6/10 review. You can also read about how the game rewards Japanese players for paying their real-life taxes.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Primary Portal Games
World of Warcraft
Sturmgrenadier is more organised, more active, and more structured than most guilds you would come across in WoW. We believe this gives us a distinct advantage in being the best guild we can be for our members, because everyone knows where they stand, and are treated equally. Players with negative attitudes will not be tolerated. That means that there is no epeen measuring, no belittling of other players, and no trolling.
EVE
EVE Online is Sturmgrenadier’s longest-played game, with over 16 years of continuous influence throughout New Eden. Traditional hallmarks of our gaming syndicate; organization and leadership, have propelled our in-game history to include participation in many of the defining moments of EvE gameplay.
New World
New World is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing video game by Amazon Game Studios set to release in May 2020. Set in the mid-1600s, players colonize a fictional land modeled after British America in the Atlantic Ocean. Players scavenge resources, craft items, and fight other players.
Coming Soon!
Game is in early Alpha/Beta.
Join us and get involved early!
Other Games we PLay
