News
The stories that matter, explained for UK buyers — what happened, and why it's worth your attention.
Marvel's Wolverine PS5 limited editions open for pre-order
Sony's Battle Yellow and Adamantium accessories are already selling out — here's everything UK buyers need to know before 15 September.
Mattel's Masters of the Universe Toy Line Expands for Film
A sweeping cross-category product launch tied to the Amazon MGM live-action film is bringing He-Man back to UK shelves — with collector figures, playsets, and over 70 lic
Nintendo Switch 2 price rises to $500 on 1 September — UK TBC
Nintendo has confirmed a $50 price hike for the Switch 2 in the US from 1 September, with UK pricing still unconfirmed but widely expected to follow.
Gamescom Opening Night Live is Tuesday: Xbox, Nintendo & big reveals
Geoff Keighley's two-hour showcase airs at 7 PM BST on 25 August, with Final Fantasy VII Revelation, The Witcher 3 DLC and Game of Thrones confirmed — and Xbox marking 25
PS5 boxes now carry printed 2028 disc-end warning for UK buyers
New PS5 stock arriving in shops carries a multilingual notice telling buyers that physical game discs will cease from January 2028 — giving purchasers less than 18 months
PS5 Blackout protest kicks off 23 Aug over Sony disc decision
Consumer rights group DoesItPlay is calling on PlayStation owners to go dark for a week in protest at Sony's plan to end physical game discs from January 2028.
LEGO's 95-set August wave includes first-ever X-Files set
The biggest LEGO launch of 2026 spans 22 themes — from Mulder's office to Olivia Rodrigo's guitar — and went on sale at the start of August.
Mattel launches Game Studios with 300 devs to self-publish titles
The toymaker has formally established Mattel Game Studios, a near-300-strong team based in Los Angeles and Hangzhou, to develop and publish its own games across mobile, R
Xbox Tests Free Ad-Supported Cloud Game Streaming for Insiders
Xbox Insiders can now stream games they already own for free by watching a short ad block — no Game Pass subscription required.
PS Plus Extra August 2026: Helldivers 2 confirmed for UK subscribers
Sony surprise-dropped its biggest co-op shooter into the PS Plus Game Catalog on 12 August, alongside a major new update and a community-wide challenge.
Rockstar teases GTA 6 'Extended Look' ahead of November launch
An exclusive preview of Grand Theft Auto VI drops on Netflix on 27 August, six hours before it hits YouTube — here's everything UK players need to know.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake gets E10+ ESRB rating
The age rating for Nintendo's ground-up remake has quietly appeared on the US eShop, pointing firmly towards a late 2026 release.
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition hits Switch 2 on 28 August 2026
The acclaimed action RPG arrives on Nintendo's platform for the first time, bundled with its major expansion and two brand-new character classes.
Unsafe 'Squishy Dumpling' Toys Seized Across UK in 2026 Crackdown
Trading Standards teams from Glasgow to Cardiff have seized thousands of gel-filled squishy dumpling toys found to contain benzene or lacking basic safety markings.
Hasbro & Mattel KPop Demon Hunters Toys Arrive This Autumn
Both toy giants are rolling out dolls, NERF weapons, Monopoly editions and more tied to Netflix's record-breaking animated film — with the biggest launches still to come.
LEGO Harry Potter Ministry of Magic set revealed at £389.99
The 3,491-piece Collectors' Edition arrives on 1 September — exclusively from LEGO — to mark 25 years of Harry Potter on the big screen.
Xbox cuts 3,200 jobs as hardware revenue falls 29% in one year
Microsoft's gaming division has announced its deepest-ever round of redundancies, alongside UK console price rises of up to £170 that took effect on 1 August.
LEGO Pokémon launches as August 2026 wave delivers 97 new sets
The biggest LEGO month of the year so far brought a brand-new Pokémon theme, The X-Files, a standalone Hubble telescope and much more to UK shelves.
GTA 6 Confirmed for 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S
Rockstar's long-awaited open-world sequel finally has a locked release date — but UK buyers face some important small print before they pre-order.
Nintendo brings Switch 2 Sports Resort preview to UK festival tour
UK fans got their first chance to try Nintendo Switch Sports Resort at Deva Fest, as Nintendo's Switch 2 roadshow continues across the country ahead of an October launch.
Switch 2 UK price rise due 1 September — buy now at £395.99
Nintendo has confirmed a global price increase for Switch 2 from 1 September, and while the UK figure is unconfirmed, analysts expect it to add £25–£35 to the current £39
Nintendo Switch 2 hits 23.68M sales as quarterly units drop 34%
Nintendo beat every analyst forecast in Q1 despite a sharp fall in Switch 2 hardware shipments, with a $300m US tariff refund turbocharging its profit.
Xbox Series X hits £669.99 in UK after massive August price hike
Microsoft's sweeping console price increases took effect on 1 August, with UK buyers now paying up to £170 more — and the Series S is no longer the budget option it once
PS5 Pro Beta Switches PSSR 2.0 Image Boost On by Default
Sony's August 2026 firmware beta quietly removes the need for PS5 Pro owners to hunt through settings menus to get the best picture quality their console can offer.
GTA 6 Extended Trailer Confirmed for Netflix on 27 August
Rockstar Games will debut an extended look at Grand Theft Auto VI exclusively on Netflix six hours before anyone else can see it.
Xbox Cuts 3,200 Jobs in 'Most Significant Restructure' in History
Four studios are leaving the Xbox family and thousands of jobs are going as new CEO Asha Sharma attempts a sweeping reset of Microsoft's struggling gaming division.
Splatoon Raiders launches tomorrow as Switch 2's first solo exclusive
Nintendo's single-player-focused spin-off arrives on 23 July with strong reviews, a lower price than most Switch 2 titles, and three new amiibo in tow.
Sony Confirms No PS5 Price Rise for Rest of 2026
Sony says it has locked in enough memory to hold PS5 and PS5 Pro prices steady through March 2027 — but makes no promises beyond that.
Nintendo Holds Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Direct Today at 3pm BST
Nintendo's dedicated showcase for its upcoming Switch 2 tactical RPG airs this afternoon, promising around 20 minutes of new gameplay detail.
Xbox Series S Now Pricier Than Switch 2 in UK After £130 Hike
Microsoft's entry-level console has jumped to £429.99 following its third price rise in just over a year, narrowly overtaking the Nintendo Switch 2 — but only until Septe
Sony doubles down on ending PS5 disc production from January 2028
Sony's CFO confirmed at a 31 July earnings call that the company will press ahead with its plan to stop manufacturing physical game discs, despite a 300,000-signature pet
Final Fantasy XIV Comes to Switch 2 on Tuesday 4 August 2026
Square Enix has confirmed the long-awaited MMO lands on Nintendo's latest console this Tuesday, bringing a free trial, three paid editions, and a catch for existing subsc
UK craft toy asbestos recall wave tops 139 products in 2026
From Hobbycraft to The Entertainer, a rolling crisis over asbestos-contaminated play sand has pulled more than 139 toys from UK shelves this year alone.
Switch 2 outsells GameCube's entire UK lifetime in 13 months
Nintendo's latest console has already shifted more units in Britain than the GameCube managed across its entire five-year run — and it's only just getting started.
LEGO Pokémon SMART Play sets go on sale in the UK today
Thirteen interactive, screen-free Pokémon sets hit shelves on 1 August 2026, bringing light, sound and motion to LEGO bricks for the first time in the franchise.
Spider-Man 2 Gets Enhanced PSSR and Two Free Suits on PS5
Insomniac's patch v1.005.000 brings native PS5 Pro upscaling, a Power Saver mode, and two free Peter Parker costumes tied to major Sony releases.
Crayola Craft Kits Recalled in UK Over Asbestos in Sand
Two Crayola-branded craft boxes sold at Argos, Asda, Sainsbury's and The Works have been recalled after testing found trace levels of asbestos in the sand included in the
Splatoon Raiders debuts at UK No.1 in first week on Switch 2
Nintendo's single-player Splatoon spin-off topped the UK all-formats chart in its debut week, while racking up a record-breaking Metacritic user score.
GAME collapses into administration with £15.8m debt
New details from administrators KR8 Advisory confirm the full scale of GAME's financial ruin, as the UK's once-dominant games retailer exits the high street for good.
EA Sports FC 27 confirmed for 25 September, still on PS4 and Switch
Electronic Arts has officially announced EA Sports FC 27, with Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham on the cover and a surprise commitment to last-gen hardware.
Xbox Confirms Permanent Return to Console Exclusives
Microsoft has confirmed that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will be Xbox-only titles — marking a decisive shift away from its multiplatform era.
Call of Duty: MW4 free open beta confirmed for Switch 2
For the first time in over a decade, Call of Duty is coming to a Nintendo console — and anyone can try it for free next month.
Splatoon Raiders launches today exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo's single-player-focused Splatoon spin-off is out now on Switch 2, priced at £41.99 digital and £49.99 physical.
Halo: Campaign Evolved early access is live now on Xbox and PS5
Premium and Collector's Edition owners can start playing the ground-up Unreal Engine 5 remake of Halo: Combat Evolved today — five days ahead of the full 28 July launch.
Mbappé confirmed as EA Sports FC 27 cover star ahead of Thursday reveal
The Real Madrid and France striker takes the cover of EA FC 27's Ultimate Edition, with a full gameplay reveal landing on Thursday at 5pm BST.
Original Nintendo Switch to Be Discontinued in UK by February 2027
All three Switch models will vanish from UK and European shelves by mid-February 2027, killed off by an EU battery regulation Nintendo cannot economically meet.
Hasbro and Nintendo Strike Multi-Year Legend of Zelda Toy Deal
The first 6-inch scale figures will be revealed at San Diego Comic-Con this week, with a full product range expected to land in 2027 alongside the live-action film.
Xbox cuts 3,200 jobs and sells off five studios in historic reset
Microsoft's gaming division is shedding a fifth of its workforce and spinning out studios it spent billions acquiring, in the most sweeping restructure in Xbox history.
Nintendo Switch 2 gets user-replaceable battery this autumn in UK
Nintendo is rolling out a revised Switch 2 console with a swappable battery from autumn 2026, driven by incoming EU regulations — and UK buyers will get it automatically.
Xbox Series X to Cost $799 as Microsoft Confirms August Price Hike
Microsoft has announced its steepest-ever Xbox price increase, taking effect worldwide on 1 August 2026, with UK prices yet to be confirmed.
PlayStation to end physical disc production for new games in 2028
Sony has confirmed that all new PlayStation games will go digital-only from January 2028, closing the door on 30 years of disc releases.