Xbox Is Going for Fortune & Glory

Indiana Jones & the Great Circle Is Our Second 10/10 This Year

You might not have expected this—I didn’t either, to be honest—but MachineGames’ random foray into Indy games has paid off. Our reviewer Andrew Stretch had an absolute blast with Indiana Jones & the Great Circle, thanks to its perfect blend of adventure, stealth, and puzzle gameplay.

It’s on Xbox Game Pass, and even more, it’s coming to PlayStation 5 early next year. It’s not every day that an Xbox exclusive is praised the same way a PlayStation exclusive is, and that’s an exciting moment for the industry. After all, some competition goes a long way (which I admit is an ironic sentiment, considering Microsoft’s monopol-ish acquisition spree).

Wondering what our other 10/10 game was this year? You can check out our list of every game we’ve awarded a perfect score to find out.

XDefiant Shutting Down as Two Ubisoft Studios Close

Sorry, but outside of Indy hittin’ it big, the rest of this newsletter is gonna be mostly a downer. Ubisoft continues to rack up the bad headlines, this time losing its competitive shooter that I feel like flew under the radar. But maybe I just wasn’t locked in enough.

That’s not all, either. Torn Banner, the studio behind Chivalry 2, is also laying off an unspecified number of people. I think if I did a content analysis of all the newsletters we’ve sent since we started, the word “layoff” would show up a concerning number of times.

If you were hoping for a palate cleanser, unfortunately, the hits keep coming. Square Enix has announced that the upcoming season of Foamstars, its totally-not-Splatoon-like, will also be its last.

Tencent's Light of Motiram Has Strong "We Have Horizon at Home" Energy

In this upcoming open-world multiplayer survival game, you’ll take down giant mechanical animals with sci-fi-primitive weapons. It’s like Monster Hunter meets Horizon by way of Ark, and it’ll be free to play.

New Games, New Release Windows

• Path of Exile 2 Launches in Early Access Today—But Expect Some Queue Times

• Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Is Coming Even Sooner Than You Think

• Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault Comes to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S Next Year

• Bleach: Rebirth of Souls Release Date Revealed for March (Yes, the Anime)

• Danganronpa and Zero Escape Creators' SRPG The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Launches in April

• Ananta, Formerly Project Mugen, Shows Off Anime RPG Gameplay in Brand New Trailer

Delta Force Campaign "Faithfully Reimagines" Black Hawk Down in January

Next month, Delta Force is getting a campaign that will attempt to retell the Battle of Mogadishu through the lens of Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down. If you know your military history and/or movies, you’re probably just as… worried, let’s say, as I am.

But Team Jade and TiMi Studio aren’t the only ones who have been tackling very real, very heavy topics related to actual and recent wartime events. Victura, the team behind Six Days in Fallujah, has also been tackling the trauma and tragedy behind the marines who were in Iraq.

It’s a very weird time to be in the industry, considering how military shooters have mostly been best accompanied by a family pack of Doritos and six cans of Mountain Dew up until recently.

Call of Duty Squid Game Crossover Announced for January

Speaking of, what a wild timeline we live in.