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Halo and Black Ops sales on PS5 are shocking for very different reasons
Ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 have achieved significant sales figures on PlayStation consoles, with estimates suggesting millions of units sold. In contrast, Halo: Campaign Evolved has had a notably slow start on PlayStation 5, selling significantly fewer copies than its contemporaries and other Xbox titles on the platform. This disparity highlights differing market reception for remade or ported games.
"CoD got it. Halo didn't" – Black Ops 1 and 2 ports battered Halo Campaign Evolved on PlayStation last month, analyst says, because $60 for a "graphical touch-up" is a rough sell
Analyst Rhys Elliott suggests that the successful sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 ports on PlayStation, compared to the slower launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved, are primarily due to pricing. While the Call of Duty ports offered discounts, Halo: Campaign Evolved was criticized for its $60 price point for what was perceived as a graphical update.
Jobs roundup: August 2026 | Three new hires at Yogscast Games
Yogscast Games has hired Charlotte Willis, Robin Mawhinney, and Charlotte Pang for PR, production, and publishing roles. Meanwhile, Jars AI co-founders Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger have joined Roblox to support its AI tool launch in New Zealand. Sathvik Sudireddy is the new marketing manager for live services at Rockstar Games, and Joe Chard is the lead product manager at Netflix Games.
Jobs roundup: August 2026 | Tim Coombs rejoins Amazon as head of brand marketing for Luna
This article rounds up various industry hires and transitions in August 2026. Notable appointments include Tim Coombs rejoining Amazon as head of brand marketing for Luna, Dan Lazarides becoming Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, and Tracey Thompson returning to Bethesda as VP of Communications. Several other individuals have also moved into new roles across companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Netflix Games, and Riot Games.
Jobs roundup: August 2026 | CodeDev Group appoints Ben Board as CEO of The Performance Guys
This article rounds up recent hires and promotions across the gaming industry. Key appointments include Ben Board as CEO of The Performance Guys, Nate Nanzer as EVP at Paramount Games, and Tracey Thompson returning to Bethesda as VP of communications. Several other companies like Epic Games, Amazon, and Microsoft also saw personnel changes.
Jobs roundup: August 2026 | Frontier Developments appoints Dan Lazarides as CMO
Several key figures have moved into new roles within the gaming industry. Dan Lazarides is the new Chief Marketing Officer at Frontier Developments, while Tracey Thompson returns to Bethesda as VP of Communications. Maddie Richter joins Nintendo of America as Social Media Marketing Manager, and Steffen Holm and Chris Kruger join Roblox to support AI tool development.
12 years after being delisted, Wolfenstein 2009 could be getting a surprise remaster at QuakeCon 2026, fans speculate…
Fans are speculating that the 2009 Wolfenstein game could receive a remaster, with recent changes to its Steam page, including the removal of its release date and the addition of Steam Deck compatibility, fueling these theories. The game was delisted in 2014 due to licensing issues and has not been available digitally since, making a remaster a potential surprise reveal at QuakeCon. This speculation comes amidst reports of layoffs impacting id Software following Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media.
Coming to XBOX Game Pass: Gears of War: E-Day Open Beta, Cricket 26, Date Everything!, and More
Xbox Game Pass is adding several new titles throughout August, including an Early Access Open Beta for Gears of War: E-Day, Beast of Reincarnation, Bounty Star, and Cricket 26. Several games are also leaving the service on August 15, including Atlas Fallen and Firewatch. Additionally, classic original Xbox games are now available on PC and handheld devices.
There's no single-player video games in the top 20 most played PS5 games in July
Live service and sports games continue to dominate the most played lists on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, with single-player titles absent from the top 20 in July. Fortnite remains the most popular game, with titles like Roblox, Minecraft, and annual sports sequels filling out the charts. Data from Circana analyst Mat Piscatella indicates a strong preference for ongoing multiplayer experiences over traditional offline games.
PlayStation and Xbox's most played games are, once again, exactly what you expect them to be
Analyst Mat Piscatella revealed that the most played games on PlayStation and Xbox remain dominated by long-running live service titles and annual sports games, with minimal changes year-over-year. Fortnite leads both platforms, followed by a familiar lineup including Roblox, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto 5, with minor variations between the console ecosystems.
Pitfall 2600 - A brilliant classic has been ported over to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive with the help of AI
A fan-made port of the classic Atari 2600 game Pitfall! has been released for the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive. Developed by Paulo Manrique, the project utilizes AI to generate new 16-bit artwork and features while maintaining the original gameplay and collision detection. The creator, David Crane, also made the original game for Activision in 1982.
Activision rushes out another Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 fix for the embattled PlayStation ports after a hacker started…
Activision has released backend updates for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 to address issues with a hacker altering player accounts and causing game crashes. The updates aim to improve match security and review accounts with incorrect Prestige levels, though some players report the fixes have not been entirely successful.
Obsession Star Inde Navarrette Has Been Offered Video Game Roles, Loves Shrek
Actress Inde Navarrette has revealed that she has been offered roles in video games and is eager to explore smaller projects first. She expressed a particular interest in the Resident Evil franchise and mentioned Shrek Super Party and Call of Duty as past favorites. Navarrette has previously hosted Call of Duty streams and appeared on a panel for the series.
Weekend Discussion - August 1, 2026
This weekend discussion article from Shacknews covers various topics including movies like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and wrestling news about Rey Mysterio. It also touches on the author's personal gaming history, including work at THQ and Activision on the Guitar Hero series, and expresses a preference for platformers, puzzle games, shooters, RPGs, and games with strong narratives. The article encourages reader engagement through their comment thread and Discord server.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's PlayStation ports compromised by a hacker ruining players' accounts
A hacker known as 'C Isn't Sharp?' is reportedly compromising player accounts in the PlayStation ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, leading to issues like account bricking and game crashes. This vulnerability stems from the original games' outdated infrastructure, and players are advised to immediately close the game if they encounter the hacker in lobbies.
Evening Reading - July 31, 2026
This edition of Evening Reading covers several industry updates, including PlayStation's cautious approach to ending physical disc support, Razer's acquisition of StreamElements, and Unity supplying Netflix Games with a dedicated engine. Nexus Mods updated its guidelines for generative AI tagging, Dragon's Dogma 2 will feature a Hard Mode, and various download deals are available for PlayStation and PC.
PlayStation’s disc era ends in 2028, and Sony’s own sales data shows why it won’t budge
Sony Interactive Entertainment will cease manufacturing PlayStation game discs in January 2028, citing the overall progression of content digitalization. Despite player backlash and concerns about physical media preservation, the company stated it will cautiously move forward with this decision. Analysts suggest Sony's move is driven by the significantly higher profit margins of digital sales compared to physical disc sales.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 pre-orders come with campaign early access on Nintendo Switch 2, first look at first look at Losing Ground
Activision and Infinity Ward have announced that pre-orders for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will include early access to the single-player campaign starting October 16, 2026. The game launches on October 23, 2026, for the Nintendo Switch 2 and other platforms. The article also provides a first look at a campaign mission called 'Losing Ground'.
CoD: Black Ops 2 Port Is Plagued By A Hacker Resetting Accounts
The recent ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 are being targeted by hackers. Players are reporting account resets, rank changes, and even the game being bricked after encountering specific hacker gamertags like "C Isn't Sharp." Streamer TimTheTatman was affected live on stream, and Activision has yet to comment on the ongoing security issues.
"Our bosses would have stopped us," if PS2's Spider-Man was made today, says director: "There were several months of us telling our bosses 'Don't look at it yet! Don't look at it yet!'"
Former Treyarch developers Jamie Fristrom and Tomo Moriwaki discuss the challenging development of the original Spider-Man and the groundbreaking innovations in Spider-Man 2. They highlight how the team pushed boundaries with fluid web-swinging mechanics and open-world design, facing internal resistance and tight deadlines, which they believe would be impossible with today's industry standards and publisher oversight.
