Xbox price hikes land harder than expected as GTA 6 discourse rolls on

Xbox console prices in the UK and Europe are climbing, and by more than observers had anticipated. The increases compound an already difficult stretch for Microsoft's hardware business, which is also marking a grim milestone: the final Games with Gold titles were announced three years ago, and the program has quietly faded into history.

GTA 6 continues to generate noise ahead of its release, with Polygon running a wishlist of alternative settings to Vice City and a retrospective on how the franchise reshaped open-world design across generations. Sitting adjacent to all of it is Troy Baker's cyberpunk project, a game that has been in development hell for six years and is drawing renewed comparisons to the Rockstar juggernaut it has never quite escaped the shadow of.

Baldur's Gate 3 is at its lowest ever price to mark its third anniversary, good timing for anyone still working through Karlach build guides. Project Zomboid hit a new concurrent player record following a substantial map update, Manor Lords added food production and advanced buildings, and Sandfall Interactive — the studio behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — revealed their manor-like office bears an accidental resemblance to the game's setting.