Rockstar's scrapped spy game, BioWare nostalgia, and One Piece hits Fortnite

An open-world spy game once in development at Rockstar Games — the studio behind Grand Theft Auto — never made it out of the building because the team couldn't get it right, according to a new report. The revelation fits a broader mood in the industry today around legacy and ambition: a piece at PC Gamer argues BioWare's legacy endures as long as RPGs exist, while the creator of the Mass Effect universe says the setting "looked incredible" after claiming to have advised BioWare on its direction. Separately, Rock Paper Shotgun revisits Mass Effect 3's divisive ending, making the case that the discourse overlooked the RPG's genuine scale and ambition — co-op mode included.

One Piece is officially coming to Fortnite, Epic Games' crossover machine continuing its run through major IP. Lord of the Rings is also mounting a return, with three releases confirmed for November. On the survival-horror side, No More Room in Hell 2 is expanding with its Camp Blood update, promising more ambitious content for the zombie co-op game.

Stalker 2's next update has reportedly leaked ahead of any official announcement. Paralives' first major update has slipped to next year, though developers say it will bring substantial improvements across the game's core features. And Gloomwood's publisher pushed back on the "immersive sim" label in a candid interview, arguing that System Shock and Deus Ex were always RPGs first — a framing that puts genre taxonomy back in the conversation.