[PATREON UNLOCK] Update Patch - November 2025

Update Patch News Roundup (03/11/25)

It’s Halloween, and as is typical in the video game industry, we have fun spooky news like Resident Evil Requiem preorders and horrifying news with yet more layoffs. Here is the biggest news from what was admittedly a little bit of a slower news week.

October 26th Was The PlayStation 2’s 25th Anniversary!

The PlayStation 2 turned 25 on Sunday, October 26th. Unfortunately, Sony didn’t really celebrate it anyway, except for releasing a tweet with a trailer showing all the PS2 games you could play by signing up for their subscription to access their PlayStation Plus Catalog. 

There is a reason that the PS2 is considered one of the greatest consoles ever.  It has one of the most impressive libraries to ever grace a platform with the launch of franchises still active today like God of War, Devil May Cry and Kingdom Hearts, as well as some of the best entries in previously started franchises like Silent Hill 2, Grand Theft Auto III and Final Fantasy X.

 Not only did it have more quality titles than anyone could reasonably play, but it also helped bring DVD to the masses by offering a device that could play the relatively new media format at a price below stand-alone players. It was truly an incredible console, and the fact that it is now relegated to an advertisement is pretty disappointing. A special Astro-Bot level with some deep cuts could have been a worthy tribute.

Amazon Layoffs Lead To The End Of Its MMO, New World: Aeternum

Amazon laid off 14,000 employees earlier this week, many of whom were in its game division, which will heavily impact the continued support of its MMO, New World: Aeternum. 

"After four years of steady content updates and a major new console release, we've reached a point where it is no longer sustainable to continue supporting the game with new content updates," the company’ subsidiary, Amazon Games Orange County stated in an update on its website. 

While the game is currently still available for purchase and is playable, Amazon Games has announced that no new content will be made for the game, and support will be “winding down” with servers remaining open through 2026. During this period, the game’s in-game currency will be available. The most recent Season 10 and Nighthaven update will be the final content the game will receive, though it will be made free for all users as thanks for their “continued support over the years.” 

New World, which launched in 2021,  was supposed to be the first and biggest step the tech giant took into the game development scene, but despite some buzz when it first launched, it didn’t really seem to capture the audience's attention. A next-gen version titled New World: Aeternum was also released for PS5 and XSX in 2024, but this also didn’t have the same staying power as other popular online games like Helldivers 2 and Marvel Rivals. More than anything, these cuts signify the end of Amazon’s attempts to be a major player in the triple-A video game industry, most likely due to the headwinds we are already seeing established players like EA having to deal with. 

FBC: Firebreak Underperforms, Causing Remedy CEO To Step Down

Remedy CEO, Tero Virtala has stepped down, following disappointing returns on its online PvE shooter, FBC: Firebreak. Virtala has been leading the company for nine years, but will be temporarily replaced by board chairman Markus Maki until a permanent replacement can be found.

The game was Remedy’s first attempt at a multiplayer game, and despite excitement prior to its release, it received a lukewarm response from critics and fans. The game led to a reduction in revenue of $14.2 million, which is a year-over-year decrease of 32%. Due to this poor performance, Remedy is also revising its forecast for the rest of the year.

This was Remedy’s first self-published game, and despite the disappointment surrounding the game, Remedy has stated it is committed to finishing out the roadmap that was initially announced, though other resources for FBC have been reallocated to other projects.

Resident Evil Requiem Goes Up For Pre-Order With Some Fun Surprises for Nintendo Fans

Halloween was this week, and Capcom got into the spooky festivities by opening up pre-orders for the highly anticipated entry in its survival horror franchise, Resident Evil: Requiem. There aren’t too many surprises on the PS5, PC, and Xbox fronts. There is a standard edition that will sell for $69.99 and contains just the game itself. There is also as a deluxe edition which costs a little bit extra at $89.99, but includes some additional goodies such as five costumes for protagonist Grace Ashcroft (including a Lady Dimestrescu one from Resident Evil: Village), four weapon skins, two screen filters, two weapon charms, an audio pack, and some additional in-game files, with the physical edition also coming in a Steelbook case. Pre-orders also include a costume from the live-action film Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which is kind of a deep cut, but fun for fans of those movies. Where things start to get interesting is on the Switch 2 releases.

Nintendo’s new console gets the same standard and deluxe editions as the other platforms, but it is also getting The Resident Evil Generation Pack. This set contains physical versions of Resident Evil VII, Resident Evil: Village, and Resident Evil: Requiem, all coming in a nice-looking box. This will retail $89.99, which basically means fans are getting VII and Village for $10 each. To sweeten the deal even more, this will include the Gold Editions of the two previous games, so they come with all DLC, giving you everything you need before the newest entry. The one drawback is that these are Switch 2 Key Cards, which are controversial as they lack the data on the cards and just trigger a download when read on the console.

Switch 2 owners also have some additional fun items to celebrate the release, as Nintendo is making a Requiem-themed Switch 2 controller as well as a Grace Ashcroft Amiibo. The controller doesn’t have the most interesting design, but it is always fun to see more third-party amiibos getting announced since the line seemed near death during the early days of the first Switch. However, both of these will cost a pretty penny as the controller will retail for $99.99, and while the Grace amiibo has not had a price announced,  the recently released figures have experienced a significant price rise, so expect this one to be priced accordingly. 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is Getting A Switch 2 Version And 3.0 Update

It seemed like Nintendo was done with updates for its COVID-era hit, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, until this week, when the company announced a Free 3.0 update and Paid Switch 2 Upgrade coming January 15, 2026.

The update seems to be pretty substantial, bringing a hotel to players’ islands that they can decorate as they see fit, alongside plenty of new items from popular IP such as Legend of Zelda and Lego. The game also adds additional villagers to bring to your island, including new characters from Zelda, returning villagers from Splatoon, and famous yeller, Mr. Resetti, who now provides islands with the reset service to clean up parts of their island. Players will also now be able to create “Slumber Islands”, which can have other characters visit when they are sleeping. All of this coming for free is sure to get long-dormant islands brimming with life again, and they will look better than ever, as the game is also getting a Switch 2 Upgrade.

For $5, Switch 2 owners can enjoy a native mode on the new console, which offers improved resolution, mouse controls, a megaphone that lets you call a villager's name to bring them to you, and 12-player online multiplayer. The mouse controls are probably one of the most exciting as it will allow a higher level of freedom to control, customising your island that thumbsticks and buttons can’t quite match.

What’s interesting about this upgrade at $5 is that this is a price point we haven’t seen Nintendo offer on its Switch 2 upgrades. Games like Kirby and the Forgotten Land had an upgrade of $20 but also included an additional DLC campaign alongside the graphical enhancements. Meanwhile, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom retailed for $10 but were solely the graphical enhancements. Given those costs, it’s expected that the upgrade won’t be anything too substantial, but it should be made up for the free content coming to the game in the 3.0 patch. 

That about wraps up this week, but there will be plenty of news to talk about next week when the Update Patch continues! Sorry startmenu readers, you are stuck with me all November!

Update Patch News Roundup (10/11/25)

Another week has passed, and it wasn’t a particularly good one for Take-Two, Rockstar, Square Enix, or their employees. Meanwhile, after Nintendo got its necessary music and news apps out of the way, what else could it do but launch an app that actually brings in money? Here is the Update Patch from November 2nd through November 8th.

Rockstar Fires 30-40 Employees, Accused Of Union Busting

Earlier this week, Rockstar, the developer of the colossal Grand Theft Auto franchise, reportedly fired between 30 to 40 employees for “gross misconduct and no other reason” according to its parent company, Take-Two The firing took place at primarily to workers from the Edinburgh-based, Rockstar North, however, employees from Rockstar Toronto were also affected. In the following days, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has since fired back that this was actually an  act of aggressive union-busting by company management.

According to Bloomberg, the affected employees were part of a private Discord chat that was full of current union employees or employees trying to get Rockstar to unionise, and this was the real reason for their dismissal. The Bloomberg report also contained a rebuttal from Take-Two that the real reason the employees were terminated was due to their leaking confidential information. IWGB head, Alex Marshall, has since disputed these claims by making a statement to IGN that the only non-Rockstar employees in the chat were union organizers and these discussions were the real reason for the firings. 

Take-Two’s use of the phrase “no other reason” gives an indication that, regardless of the real reason for the employees’ exit from Rockstar, it knew the optics would be bad. It’s also suspicious timing since the company had its second-quarter earnings report, and for those worried that Rockstar might only disappoint their employees this week, fear not! In an almost impressive move, they were able to disappoint their fans too!

GTA VI Delayed… Again

During Take-Two’s quarterly earnings report, Rockstar announced that  Grand Theft Auto VI will miss the previously scheduled release date of May 26, 2026, and will now launch on November 19th, 2026, a delay of almost half a year. 

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has stated that the reason for the delay was to give “the team some additional time to finish the game with the high level of polish players expect and deserve”. Zelnick also added  that “Rockstar has our full support of course, and we are confident they will deliver an unrivalled blockbuster entertainment experience."

GTA VI was originally announced with a release window of Fall 2025, before the previously mentioned May, 2026 date, but given the high expectations  for the critical reception of the game from fans , and the financial stakes that come along with releasing what will likely be the biggest globabl media launch ever, it is no surprise the team at Rockstar are going to let it bake for a little bit longer. 

Things weren’t all bad for Take-Two as the company did report earnings of $1.96  billion due to the successes of Mafia: The Old Country, Borderlands 4, and NBA 2K26. This is the best second quarter in Take-Two’s history. What’s more, the earnings call revealed that Grand Theft Auto V has now reached sales of 220 million, and Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold 79 million units. This makes GTA V and RDR 2 the second and fourth best-selling games of all time, respectively, behind only Minecraft (350m units sold) and Wii Sports (78.02m). All this is probably no comfort to those who lost their jobs at Rockstar this week, and unfortunately, they are not alone.

Square-Enix To Restructure After Laying Off Many Of Its US And UK Employees

Square Enix, sent out a video memo to its employees in the US and UK informing them of a “reorganization of overseas organizations,” which has resulted in layoffs at those two branches. This is the latest move from a company that has seemed to be fully throwing in the towel on its perpetually disappointing Western-based studios and franchises. This comes in the wake of 2022, when the Japanese-based publisher sold developers Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal to Embracer Group for $300 million, and last year, it laid off employees from its remaining western divisions.

Square Enix has seemed to be in a bit of a rut lately with some of its most anticipated titles like Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth disappointing financially, and Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, Dawntrail, resulting in faltering subscription numbers. This latest move seems to be another attempt to cut costs, but it is not the only one. 

The company has seen several projects canceled internally before they were even announced  over the past 18 months, and VGC has reported that Square Enix plans to automate 70% of its QA via generative AI by 2027 in order to “gain a competitive advantage in game development.” For a company that seems to be struggling, betting the quality of your upcoming titles on an incredibly young and unreliable technology still in its infancy seems incredibly risky and a little reckless. “It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for them”. 

Nintendo Launches A Convenient New App 

What isn’t a bold strategy is launching a new way to accept fans’ money, and that’s what Nintendo did this week by launching a Nintendo Store App on iOS and Android. The app allows Switch and Switch 2 owners to peruse games available on the e-shop from their phones and tablets, but it appears to redirect them to the current eshop website to actually finalize purchases, most likely to prevent Apple and Google from taking a cut

Nintendo’s shop app is similar to what Microsoft and Sony offer for their respective platforms so it is no surprise that Nintendo is joining them to remove a little friction for digital game purchases, even though it ultimately still requires going to an external site.

As a fun bit of added functionality on the app, along with allowing you to browse the store and manage your wishlist, it also shows the time a player spent on each of their titles,  and stretches as far back as the Wii U and 3DS. It’s a shockingly detailed breakdown too, as it reports not just cumulative time spent in an app, but a pre-session breakdown – apparently, I played Netflix on my Wii U  for “a few minutes” on February 6th, 2015

Nintendo has appeared to be getting more comfortable with its products and services on different devices, as this is its fifth app launch after its Nintendo Switch App, Nintendo Switch Parental Control App, and the more recently released Nintendo  Music and Nintendo Today apps

And that’s the biggest news from this week. Hopefully, next time there will be better news than yet another Nintendo app. 

Update Patch News Roundup (17/11/25)

As Microsoft seems to be slowly retreating from the console wars, Valve appears poised to take its place. There was some other news too, but Valve has new hardware!!!

Valve Is Entering The Console Market... Sort Of

What’s old is new again, and so Valve is trying to give its Steam Machines another go. The company known for its digital storefront (and being unable to count to “three”) had a slew of hardware announcements this week, including an update to its long-dead line of console-like PC’s and a new controller to go with it. However, the new Steam Machine and Steam Controller appear to have more in common with Valve’s successful handheld, the Steam Deck, than the mid-2010s hardware it shares a name with.

Not much was revealed about the Steam Machine, but Valve announced that the device will run the same SteamOS that gives the Steam Deck life, which means any games that are compatible with that, should run just fine on a Steam Machine. There will also be a new “tag” on game pages that shows if it is “Steam Machine Compatible”. Valve also provided some specs which can be seen below: 

• A Semi-Custom AMD Zen 4 Chip

• A Semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs 2.45GHz GPU

• 16GB DDR5 RAM and 8GB DDR6 VRAM

For those who are not component experts, Valve stated that the device should be over six times more powerful than the Steam Deck. The Steam Machine will also support micro-SD, DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0, USB-C, USB 3, USB 2, ethernet, and Wifi, as well as up to 4K, 120Hz video output. Valve also confirmed the device will come in two configurations, a 512GB and 2TB version, as well as a bundle containing the new Steam Controller.

As exciting as the Steam Machine is, the Steam Controller is no slouch either. It includes all the standard A, B, X, Y, L/R bumpers and triggers, magnetic TMR thumbsticks, and as is common on Steam input devices, two trackpads to stimulate mouse input. It also includes View, Menu, Steam, and QAM buttons, as well as four assignable paddle buttons. It has compatibility with Windows, Mac, and Linux devices as well as iOS and Android. It also uses a proprietary wireless connection, which Valve states is more reliable than Bluetooth, though it supports that technology as well as USB. Finally, it has a reported battery life of over 35 hours, which seems far better than Xbox and PS5 controllers. 

Finally, Valve announced its next VR headset. The Steam Frame is the successor to the Index and includes everything you would expect from a VR headset in 2025:

• 4nm Snapdragon 8 ARM64 processor

• 16GB LPDDR5X RAM

• 2160 x 2160 LCD screens with a refresh rate 72-144Hz per eye

What’s noteworthy here is that while a lot of these upgrades bring it more in line with the power and portability of a Meta Quest 3, the use of an ARM chip is a big change for a company that has only produced x86 hardware so far. This may not seem significant, but since Valve has gotten Steam OS running on an ARM chip (which are usually used in Android phones), it now means that Android apps could be side-loaded onto Steam hardware, and there is even a possibility of being able to run Steam games natively on other ARM-based hardware like your phone or a Retroid Pocket.  The new headset will also support Valve’s new controller.

While a date was not announced for any of Valve’s new toys, they all have a release window of 2026. With Xbox slowly becoming irrelevant in the console space, it's reassuring that Valve seems to be filling a growing void. Let’s hope these are more successful than its initial attempt.

Pokémon Pokopia Uses A Game Key Card, And People Have Thoughts

The Pokémon franchise has had many different types of spinoffs, but one genre that it hasn’t encountered in the wild is the farming sim. That will change in 2026 when Pokémon Pokopia launches for the Nintendo Switch 2, but fans looking forward to the game got some disappointing news this week. Physical versions of Pokémon Pokopia will be on a Game Key Card. 

For those unaware, Nintendo Switch 2 Game Key Cards have been a controversial product since their announcement. The games are sold physically and will have a card that the Switch 2 reads like a normal physical version, but unlike normal games, where the data is read from the card, key cards simply trigger a download when first inserted, and then act as a verification key from then on, making it a digital install that requires a physical card. The idea behind it is that gamers who prefer physical games get their box on a shelf and the ability to sell their games back. Some devs, like those working on the Switch 2 version of Star Wars: Outlaws from Ubisoft, stated the reason for using the card is that the read speeds were better when using the console’s internal system as opposed to having to read data from the card, but physical fans argue that it is only being used as a cost-saving measure.

The controversy this time is that Nintendo had previously stated that games it develops would not be on Game Key Cards; however, Pokémon Pokopia clearly is the exception. Part of this could be that it's being developed by Omega Force, which is owned by Koei Tecmo, but this wouldn’t explain why Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, which is also developed by a Koei Tecmo-owned studio, does not come on the key card. It could also be that this game is technically published by Nintendo and the Pokémon Company, and the former got outvoted by the other owners of the latter, but even that seems strange given Pokémon Legends: Z-A was also not a game key card.

Either way, this is a disappointment for game preservationists who prefer the games they are buying actually include the games they are buying. Hopefully, this is just a one-off, and when the next true generation of Pokémon arrives on the Switch 2, it arrives on the cart.

There Was A State Of Play With A New Console… Exclusive To Japan

PlayStation fans got some good news this week, assuming they lived in Japan, as Sony held a Japan-focused  PlayStation State of Play hosted by Yuki Kaji, an incredibly popular anime voice actor who has done work in series such as Attack on Titan, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and many others.

However, the big news was that Sony is announcing a new PlayStation 5 console exclusive to Japan with a lower price. This is not the first time a console maker has tried this, as Nintendo did something similar with the launch of the Switch 2 in Japan, but it is still a surprise to see Sony imitating the strategy, and it implies that it seems to be working for Nintendo. The console – which will only allow creation of a Japanese PSN account, and will have Japanese as the only available UI language – will retail at 55,000 yen ($355), which is far less than the normal SKU which sells for 72,980 yen ($472). This is most likely to combat the skyrocketing cost of living in Japan. Like the Switch 2 SKU exclusive to Japan, the console is technically not region-locked, meaning you can play games bought in other territories, but the idea is that because all the menus and accounts are Japanese, scalpers won’t be able to buy this cheaper model and flip it outside of the country. 

The stream was fairly light on reveals, but fighting game fans got some love with an announcement of the closed beta for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls as well as the announcement for BlazBlue Entropy Effect X, a roguelike, action spinoff of the fighting game series. Horror fans also got some treats with the announcement of the survival horror game BrokenLore: Ascend, as well as the release date for psychological horror anthology BrokenLore: Unfollow. 

The full list of announcements can be seen on the PlayStation Blog here, but if you are expecting a big reveal like the release date for Wolverine (which would be insane), you are going to be disappointed. 

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Gets a Trailer

It feels like the Super Mario Bros. Movie was forever ago, but it has only been a little over two years. That isn’t stopping Nintendo and Illumination from getting a sequel out the door, and fans finally got to see what the two have been up to as the The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer was released this week. 

The film will star Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Kevin Michael Richardson, all reprising their roles from the first film, but it will also add Benny Safdie and Brie Larson as Bowser Jr. and Rosalina, respectively. 

Given the film is named after the Wii entry of the Mario franchise, it is safe to assume that it will be a large source of inspiration for the sequel. However, the trailer also shows off some of the locations from Super Mario Odyssey, implying that the movie will have no problem pulling from multiple entries from the franchise.    

The movie will open on April 3rd, 2026.

That about wraps up the biggest news from this week. Valve definitely received most of the attention, but that’s to be expected when new hardware is announced from a company that carries a lot of goodwill from fans. See you next week!

Update Patch News Roundup (24/11/25)

2025 is sprinting towards the finish line, which means the video game industry is notoriously quiet. Now, that doesn’t mean there is no noise, just not very much. And those soft whispers are what we’re going to talk about on this week’s Update Patch!

The 2025 Video Game Awards Nominees Are Up

It’s almost December, which means in the next couple of weeks, all the good boys and girls in the game industry will have Geoff Keighley slide down their chimneys and present them with accolades after forcing them to watch several hours of commercials. That process started this week with the unveiling of the nominees for the 2025 Video Game Awards. There was a pretty good range of nominees this year, but Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 definitely seemed to be the Belle of the Ball, racking up 11 different nominations in nine categories, including three for best performance. Unsurprisingly, it was also nominated for the coveted “Game of the Year” Award alongside Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Donkey Kong Bananza, Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. You can vote on your favorite here!

While most of the nominees are a little predictable, it's fairly notable that of those six nominees, Death Stranding 2 is the only traditional AAA game. Kingdom Come and Clair Obscure were inexpensive to make but far from AAA. Hades II and Silksong are legit indies, and Donkey Kong was made using whatever black magic Nintendo has been casting to make games for the past decade. 

Maybe we all shouldn’t read too much into this, but hopefully this causes these publishers that are dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into their games only to be outshined by smaller, more innovative titles to take notice that infinite money will only get you so far. Not to say “I told you so,” but I did in fact tell you so on May 8th, 2024, on this very website. It will be fascinating to see if this causes a bit of a strategy shift as the Sonys and EAs of the industry start spending that money on more sustainable ventures without putting all their eggs in one very expensive basket. Could you imagine if something like Slay the Spire 2 wins Game of the Year in 2026 over GTA VI? Please let this happen because it would be so funny. 

Half-Life 3 Is Not Confirmed

Normally, I wouldn’t write about rumors, but it's a slow week and there is a lot of smoke surrounding the announcement of Half-Life 3. There have been murmurings about the title for a while now. A project that dataminers have been keeping an eye on through Steam and Source 2 updates is something codenamed “HLX” which has been reported on by Valve insider, Tyler McVicker. McVicker’s track record is somewhat spotty, but that is to be expected with a company as notorious for cancelling projects deep in development as Vavle. 

At the start of the year, Half-Life 3 was originally rumored by several insiders to be targeting a 2025 announcement, including a statement by the reputable Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier. Schreier has since clarified that his stance was only a prediction and he has no insider knowledge about whether the game is coming or not.   

The other piece that has added some fuel to the fire is Valve’s announcement of the Steam Machine coming in 2026. When Valve launched its VR headset, the Index, it also released Half-Life: Alyx to take advantage of its new device. However, when Valve announced its new console-like PC last week, there was no software to go with it. It’s also notable that in a report by IGN’s Rebekah Valentine, she noted that security at Valve’s headquarters was significantly increased during the recent hands-on sessions of the Steam Machines, which was very different from previous hardware events where reporters had a little more freedom. Again, this could mean nothing, but taking all of this together, as well as several voice actors making statements that they already recorded lines, means an announcement is definitely possible.

It’s important to note that until Valve announces Half-Life 3, anything short of that will be nothing but rumors. It’s just as likely that no announcement comes this year as it is that we hear about the game at The Game Awards. That being said, the existence of Half-Life 3 seems more real than it has since the release of Half Life 2: Episode 2 and if HL3 comes out the same year as GTA VI, 2026 could be one of the biggest years for gaming. 

Dispatch Surpasses 2 Million Players

AdHoc Studio’s premier indie game Dispatch, has surpassed 2 million players since its release late last month. The title, which was developed by former Telltale Studio developers, seems to carry a lot of the defunct studio’s DNA, as the game is played mostly by selecting different dialogue and actions as you take on the role of an emergency dispatcher tasked with sending out superheroes to deal with different conflicts. Despite its status as an indie game, it has an all-star voice cast including Aaron Paul, Jeffrey Wright, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Matthew Mercer, and many more.

I personally haven’t gotten around to it, but I have heard nothing but amazing things from those who have. As of November 12th, all eight episodes have been released, so feel free to jump in and see what those two million gamers are excited about. This is a good fresh start from a studio trying to avoid Telltale’s fate, and let’s hope it does, as their next game will be in a similar vein, but set in the Critical Role universe.

The Xbox 360 Turned 20 Years Old On November 22nd

The Xbox 360 launched on November 22, 2005, which means the console just turned 20. Microsoft’s second dedicated gaming device was a massive success, selling over 80 million units, in spite of its incredibly high failure rate caused by the dreaded “Red Ring of Death.”

Due to Sony’s PlayStation 3 using a cell processor, which was notoriously hard to develop for, and very expensive, the 360 was able to take advantage of multi-platform games performing much better on it for most of the generation, with titles like Skyrim, Fallout 3 (and New Vegas), and Red Dead Redemption all being best on the Microsoft console. It also had plenty of incredible exclusives like the continuing Halo series, the new Gears of War franchise, and the first Mass Effect. Not only did it have plenty of amazing AAA games, but the launch of the Xbox Arcade opened the door for smaller titles to be easily accessible on consoles, like Braid, Limbo, and Mark of the Ninja.

The success of the console makes the opportunity Microsoft squandered by the release of the Xbox One even more disappointing, as during the Xbox 360 era, it seemed like the company was going to be a dominant force in the game industry for decades to come. Despite Microsoft’s tenuous place currently, it is always nice to remember what was arguably its peak. So boot up that old console this week to remember the good old days (assuming it works).

That wraps up the Update Patch this week. Definitely a quiet week, and with Thanksgiving being next week in the US, that will probably be similarly silent, but with the Game Awards in just a few short weeks, it's about to get real loud up in here. 

Update Patch News Roundup (03/12/25) - The Games Of Thanksgiving

Are Novembers in the game industry always this quiet? Not-E3 and the summer announcements have long passed, and future announcements are biding their time until the Video Game Awards to get the optimal number of eyeballs on screen. This week was particularly hushed as it was Thanksgiving in the USA, so Americans (like me!) got to enjoy time off work, while the rest of the civilized world got to enjoy their free health care. If that seems like an unfair deal, the American side of the transaction also gets to enjoy eating far too many birds, so it's closer than it looks. In the spirit of the holiday, I will be rounding up who some of the biggest games of 2025 will be if they showed up for dinner. And in case you were wondering, yes, this is my last Update Patch….probably forever….

Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 - Mom

As soon as you walk into the room, you feel overwhelmed. There is so much going on, and you can’t see how one woman could manage to pull it all off. However, as the day wears on, with every timer that goes off, your mom is on it. Like a machine, pulling food off the heat when they are at their peak. All day, this woman was juggling multiple different systems, but this seems to just make everything better. The constant rotations of dealing with the stove, then the oven, then the mixer has evolved into a beautiful dance culminating in a perfect dinner. Some guests may feel it is not the best or a little overrated, but even they have to admit, what this woman pulled off was an incredible feat of dinner-making. She can also do a lot of different voices for some reason.

Madden NFL 26 - Dad

Doesn’t really do anything but watch football all day. While mom is controlled chaos, he is the exact opposite, experiencing pure bliss because his team won this year. You could remove him, and the day would pretty much go the exact same, but hey, he showed up for another year and continues to function.

Hades 2 - Older Sister

Your older sister was your first friend. Growing up, she was tough on you, but it was always out of love. She helped give you the tools you needed to succeed, and when you messed up, she accepted you and made you know that it's ok, and you will do better next time. Even though she is married and has kids, she pulls it off because she treats them the same way she treated you. Picking them up when they are down, loving and kind, but stern. She also seems to have gotten way more into Greek methodology. Like everyone knows Hades, and a lot of people know Zagreus, but who the hell is Melinoe?

Kingdom Come Deliverance II - Brother-in-Law

Your sister’s husband, who is way too into the Roman Empire and now European history. You’ve met him a couple of times, and he is a little controversial due to some of the comments he has made at previous family get-togethers. This year, it seems like he has turned a new leaf and is on his best behaviour. He seems like a legitimately good guy and just made some mistakes being young. You hope he keeps coming around and logs off of Twitter.

Split Fiction - Twin Niece and Nephew

These two are polar opposites, and can not stop fighting. They are running around the house, sometimes playing cowboys, sometimes playing space soldiers, and every time they start having fun, one of them pisses the other off. They’re just kids though, so it is kind of endearing, and they forget about it within minutes, which kinda makes the whole thing funnier.

Donkey Kong Bananza - Younger Brother

No responsibilities, just good vibes and good times, and he nails it. If anyone is winning Thanksgiving, it's your younger brother. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 - Drunk Uncle

You never know what you are going to get with your uncle. Last year, he was awesome. He got the right amount of buzzed to be charming and funny, but not so much that he was trashed and embarrassing. This year, he went way too far. He was sloshed before the turkey went into the oven. He kept talking about how AI is going to make everything we buy better, and we all need to just accept that it's the future. Luckily, everyone just kinda ignored him, and so no one even realized when he passed out before dinner. You feel bad for him, but then remember he’s incredibly wealthy and you don’t understand how. 

Battlefield 6 - Drunk Uncle’s Longtime Partner

Much like your uncle, you never know what you’re going to get. The worst part is that, for as bad as he can be, she is usually worse. Most years, she doesn’t even show up, and you honestly thought she might just never show up again. So, everyone was pretty surprised when she arrived, and honestly, she looked good. Not like that, but she just looked happy. She mingled and helped out mom in the kitchen and just made sure everyone had a good time. She wasn’t your favourite person at dinner, but you won’t be mad if she shows up next year.

Hollow Knight: Silksong - Cool Cousin

Your cousin was one of your best friends growing up. You two hung out every day, and he looked after you. He was less of a cousin and more like a brother. You haven’t seen him much since he went away to college, and between partying and school work, he doesn’t check in very much. You were hoping he would come home for Thanksgiving, but he literally didn’t say anything. It’s the same thing that happens every year. You get your hopes up, and then the big day rolls around, and he’s a no-show. But right before everyone is about to sit down for dinner, there’s a knock on the door. Your cousin comes into the room nonchalantly saying, “Happy Thanksgiving.” The house loses it. They haven’t seen him in years, and he is somehow just as cool as everyone remembers. He tells awesome stories, makes great jokes and is the life of the party. Within minutes, he reminds you why you were so close and it's like he never left. Man, he’s cool. 

Borderlands 4 - Not Cool Older Cousin

Growing up, your cousin always seemed so cool. He would have the craziest stories and would buy you alcohol when you were underage. He seemed like a god, and you wanted to be just like him! But, those things that were cool when he was in his teens and twenties, are now just kinda sad that he is almost in his forties. The jokes that were hilarious when you were younger, are now just kinda cringey. His style is a little out of date, and he seems to be slowing down a little. He’s not the worst person at dinner, but he needs to grow up, and quit it with the magic cards.

Dragon Quest I and II HD-2D - Grandma and Grandpa

Yes, these two are very old by this point, but they’re perfect just the way they are. Are the stories they are telling the same ones they do every year? Also, yes, but there is something charming about hearing them tell them the exact same way every year. Everything currently being made in that kitchen is a recipe that was created by one of these two. With the world feeling so bleak at times, it's refreshing to have such pure souls together all this time. Watching them, you can’t help but have a smile spread across your face. Nobody would be here if it weren’t for them. They also look like they got younger somehow.

Bonus: Grand Theft Auto VI - Older Brother

Promised he would make it home. He says his flight got canceled, but you know he probably planned this. He says he will be there next year… Again.