It was...a somewhat disappointing gaming news week for (mostly console) gamers. Probably the biggest news of the week was the (completely unsurprising) delay of the greatly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI. If you are a console gamer and thought you'd happily be looting, shooting, and exploring a sprawling new Rockstar world this year...welp, not so much. The new release date is in late May of 2026 now. Sad face. There has still been no news about the status of a PC release (we all know that a PC date is probably far in the future), so while the news might have been disappointing for console folks, us PC folks can do nothing but shrug. There has also been some speculation about the potential price of Rockstar's latest and greatest with some projections that it could cost around $100. As much as it sounds insane, let's be real, people will pay it.
No one is going to be playing this for awhile!
There was a bit of good news this week though! Borderlands 4 has pushed its release date up two weeks, so at least fans will get a chance to shoot a billion baddies a bit earlier. Before the GTA VI news rolled out there was some speculation that this was being done to avoid a potential conflict of release dates. Guess that's not a problem anymore. I haven't been paying a ton of attention to Borderlands related news largely because the third game was a bit meh.
In "games I actually play" news, Two Point Museum premiered its first big update. This update features many new cosmetic features like more wall and floor patterns, but also a big batch of quality of life and fan requested features. I've already completely played through it, but all these changes seem like they're going to make the game even better. I didn't mess around with some of the features (like establishing patrol zones for security) and know that some of them weren't working as intended. Hopefully they're fixed and working better.
The GPU/PC hardware news has remained fairly bleak with tariffs looming. NVIDIA released its spate of 5060 GPU's that seem very lackluster (and, of course, overpriced) and AMD is likely going to release its own 9060 series of lower cost cards soon. Prices are still well above MSRP and likely to remain that way for awhile. The prices of non-GPU hardware were on a downward trend for awhile but that also seems like it's starting to move the opposite way. It's just not a great time to build.
I'm currently playing my way through the recently released SteamWorld Build and hope to have a full playthrough completed in the next couple of weeks. Until then, it's more video game news and thoughts. Who doesn't need more of that--amirite?
CyberPunk 2.1 is out!
More time to hang out with Judy? Yes, please.
With the release of the "ultimate edition," CD Projekt rolled out a whole bunch of surprise updates. One of the new features that was described in fairly vague terms was "romance hangouts" with your main squeeze. Weirdly, this feature is something that I have seem people requesting for a very long time. Is it all it's cracked up to be? I suppose that depends on your expectations. According to this article, the romance hangouts are a bit "meh." There's no new dialogue between V and their partner, but there are small opportunities to participate in activities in V or the partner's home. The article describes options to do yoga with Kerry (and do some fun showering afterword) and the ability to sleep and then wake up next to your partner--even in V's own crib.
This new feature should satisfy fans who have noted that their interactions with their romantic partner(s) were very limited outside of the character story missions. It's nice to see some of the best characters in the game getting some much needed love!
Holiday Updates & Content
Tis the season for fun holiday themed updates to games. PowerWash Simulator has been dropping hints on its Instagram page that there might be a few holiday maps in the works (hopefully as bonus jobs). Even SteamWorld Build (which just released on the 1st) is popping out some holiday themed items. I've always enjoyed the fun seasonal content and have fond memories of the World of Warcraft events. It's worth checking your favorite games to see if they have any holiday events or content coming up.
GTA VI Trailer
So you would've straight up had to have been living under a rock not to have seen it, read about it, or been asked to watch 9,000 videos picking it apart, but a new trailer for the hotly anticipated next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series dropped this week. The next entry in the series looks to return to the sunny beaches and neon lit ambiance of Vice City...only this is modern Vice City with modern graphics, and it looks amazing! The story looks like it's going to focus on a couple who, of course, are trying to make a name for themselves in the criminal world. There are tons of cool cars, beautiful locations, and colorful characters to punctuate the normal zaniness that is the sprawling, open world of GTA. However...even with all the excitement, people were mostly focused on one thing--namely the 2025 release date. Yep, it's a ways off folks. If you're on PC, the wait could be even longer--it took several years for GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 to make their way to the PC world. My only thought...I'd build a new PC for it (and it's going to be about upgrade time anyway). In case you were under a deep, deep rock, here is the trailer for your perusal--don't drool too much:
And yes, it's worth remembering--this is a trailer, and a very early one at that, so who knows what'll actually roll out circa 2025 (or more for us poor PC folks). Nonetheless, it's still fun to see the potential.
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