Console Crossroads: Price Hikes, PS6 Whispers, and a Wild Week of Gaming Shenanigans
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
This week, we're diving into Eurogamer's digest, pondering if rising Game Pass and console prices spell the end of an era, celebrating clever indie gems like *Absolum* and *Clair Obscur*, and peering into the future with *WoW* housing and PS6 tech.
Right then, gather 'round, mates! Another week's tumbled out of the digital ether, and bloody hell, it's been a cracker. Eurogamer's been busy digging through the digital archives and chatting with industry wizards, and the results are a proper mixed bag of existential console crises, surprising indie triumphs, and the usual corporate shenanigans.
First up, let's tackle the elephant in the living room – or, more accurately, the price hike in your Game Pass subscription. Tom Orry, Eurogamer's editor-in-chief, kicked off a hefty debate this week, asking the burning question: After Xbox Game Pass went and bumped up its price, is it time to ditch the subscription and start, you know, *buying* games again? It's a fair dinkum query, isn't it? When you look at the numbers, Game Pass Ultimate is now pricier than even Netflix Premium, and a good chunk more than PlayStation Plus Premium. Tom reckons it's almost impossible to put a definitive value on it because everyone's different – what one person sees as a clever addition, another just sees as an excuse to charge more for stuff they don't want. And honestly, I'm with him. The 'value proposition' is getting a bit squiggly, like a spell gone wrong. Are we paying for convenience, or just getting used to a creeping expense?
This whole subscription conundrum kinda ties into an even bigger, more unsettling question that Robert Purchese dived into: 'The role of the console is shifting' – are rising prices sounding the death knell for gaming consoles as we know 'em? For decades, the mantra was simple: consoles get cheaper over time. This generation, though? It's gone topsy-turvy. PS5s and Xbox Series X/S consoles are actually *more* expensive now than at launch. Bertie's reporting paints a picture of falling console sales, lagging behind previous generations. He reckons we're looking at a 'mature market' – meaning it's not growing, and price increases are just going to speed up the decline. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? If the traditional console model is cracking under the strain, what bizarre new forms will gaming take? Will we all be streaming from the cloud on glorified toasters? (Probably.)
Speaking of shifting sands, World of Warcraft, that grand old dame of MMORPGs, is finally getting player housing. After two decades out in the cold, adventurers can soon snuggle up in their own digital abodes. Connor Makar at Eurogamer chatted with Blizzard, who are calling this a 'sociological experiment'. And honestly, I'm buzzing to see what happens. WoW hasn't been the most social beast in recent years – you're often an island, whizzing through content alone. But housing, with its neighbourhood focus, might just teach players how to be social again. Will we see Azeroth NIMBYs? Curtain-twitching drama over garden gnomes? The potential for chaos and genuine community building is exactly what makes these big game updates so fascinating.
Now, for a quick jaunt through some game specifics. Alex Donaldson took us on a delightful retro trip, penning a love letter to *Dead Rising 2: Case Zero*. This Xbox 360 Live Arcade exclusive was a strange beast – a demo, a prologue, and a standalone game all rolled into one, and you actually *paid* for it. Unthinkable now, right? But Alex argues it was brilliant value, a perfect primer for the main game. It's a reminder that sometimes, the weird, experimental stuff is the most charming. Like a spell that does something entirely unexpected but utterly delightful.
New games, then. We've got *Little Nightmares 3* under the new stewardship of Supermassive Games. Yours truly (Matt Wales, that is) popped on their Nome-like review hat and found it to be a compelling ride despite 'familiar frustrations'. It sounds like it seeds enough intrigue to keep you hooked, even if it takes a bit to find its own footing. Then there's *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, the unexpected RPG success story of 2025 from first-time French studio Sandfall Interactive. Ed Nightingale's chat with director Guillaume Broche reveals it 'exploded far beyond' their expectations, emotionally resonating with people. It's brilliant to see genuinely imaginative indie games punch so far above their weight.
On the bigger, boomier side of things, *Battlefield 6* is out, and Rick Lane got stuck in. After the bit of a wobble with 2042, EA's thrown everything at this one, even eyeing up 100 million players. Rick reckons it's 'tremendous' when it's firing on all cylinders, a true return to form. But – and this is a big 'but' – he also sees a series 'still wrestling with its identity', trying to please everyone and perhaps losing a bit of its core in the process. It's that classic big studio dilemma, isn't it? Chasing numbers while trying to innovate.
And what about innovation? Connor Makar got his virtual fists dirty with *Absolum*, a new brawler from the *Streets of Rage 4* devs. This one's got roguelike elements and a cracking 'cash-out' combo mechanic that rewards experimentation. Connor's raving about it, urging folks not to overlook this 'inventive little gem'. This is exactly the kind of clever design that keeps the gaming world vibrant, moving beyond just bigger graphics or more explosions.
Finally, for the tech heads amongst us, Sony and AMD dropped some rather intriguing news about three key technologies that are 'all but confirmed' for the PS6 and future AMD graphics cards. Will Judd from IGN combed through the technical chatter for Eurogamer, and while the details are still a bit hazy, it seems we're looking at some serious advancements. It's always fascinating to peer into the digital crystal ball and wonder how this next generation of hardware will twist and shape our gaming experiences. Faster load times? More immersive worlds? Or just another excuse to stare at ray-traced puddles? Only time will tell.
Phew! What a week. From console price hikes shaking up the very foundations of how we consume games, to indie studios defying expectations and long-running MMORPGs trying to rekindle social sparks. It's a reminder that the gaming world is always in flux, always experimenting, always a bit chaotic. And that, my friends, is why we love it.
**Source:** *Eurogamer Weekly Digest, 12th October - highlights you might have missed this week in reviews, features, and news* by Matt Wales. You can read the original article at
Tags: gaming industry, console gaming, game reviews, MMORPG, indie games
Original article: Eurogamer