Blizzard tops Microsoft, No Man's Sky turns ten, and Zelda hits iOS

A leaked email reported by both Polygon and PC Gamer identifies Blizzard as Microsoft's top-performing studio — a notable position given the broader struggles across Xbox. The Take-Two CEO has weighed in on rising console costs too, saying the increasing price of PS5 and Xbox hardware is not a good thing, though he doesn't expect it to dent GTA 6's prospects. That game is already casting a shadow elsewhere: an actor who appeared in GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption says he auditioned for over 60 roles in GTA 6 and never received a response from Rockstar.

No Man's Sky marks ten years since launch today — a span that makes the game's redemption arc feel all the more striking given where it started. The Lies of P studio, meanwhile, has announced a name change and is promising a sequel, with its director staking out ambitions to make the world's greatest action game. A preserved Final Fantasy 7 spin-off has also surfaced after twenty years, recovered by a preservationist at considerable personal cost.

Minecraft is coming to Switch 2 in October with a confirmed digital upgrade path. A 2011 prototype of Sleeping Dogs has been restored and made playable, offering a glimpse at how the open-world game looked before release. Reviews for Pokémon Pokopia: Bubbly Basin are now in, and an ex-Fable developer's new RPG is drawing strong notices across Xbox and elsewhere.