The ongoing regime change and reorganization at Xbox hasn't given much cause for confidence in the state of its studios—particularly Arkane Lyon, which has stayed almost entirely out of the public eye since announcing Marvel's Blade at the 2023 Game Awards. The studio was once again absent at this month's Xbox Games Showcase, and the subsequent reports that "several" Microsoft developers are at risk of closure stoked fears that both Arkane and Blade had been quietly put out to pasture.

Bethesda Softworks boss Todd Howard, however, says we needn't worry our silly little heads, because Arkane's work on Marvel's daywalker is proceeding swimmingly.

As part of an Entertainment Weekly report on the current state of Xbox (via Polygon), Howard offered a brief confirmation that work on Marvel's Blade remains underway, speaking favorably about the state of the project after seeing some of Arkane's latest work in May.

"I'm not at liberty to say when [we'll see more]," Howard said, "but I saw some stuff just yesterday [on May 21] and the folks at Arkane are doing a really, really great job."

Paired with an Arkane artist's request earlier this month that we let the studio cook, Howard's statement is a welcome sign of life. Unfortunately, when it's Microsoft we're talking about, a confirmation that Blade is still in development isn't the definitive proof of a healthy future for Arkane that we might be hoping for: Xbox was willing to announce a new Ninja Theory game at this month's Xbox Games Showcase even as it was planning to give the studio the axe.

Reportedly, the company's rationale is that announcing Senua would make the studio more attractive to other investors and potential owners after it parts ways with the developer. However, given Microsoft's ruthlessness in culling development staff and their projects in recent years—including Arkane's Austin studio, which Microsoft shuttered in 2024—that supposed altruism rings hollow.

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I love the look of Marathon, and I like shooters in general. But extraction shooters? Not so much. I'm not very good at them, for one thing, and the constant pressure to get out with your loot before the timer hits zero is a huge drag. So when Bungie said it was looking at PvE modes for Marathon, you bet my ears perked up.

The experimental Sponsored Survival mode introduced earlier this month sounded potentially interesting but not quite what I was after. But the new, full-on PvE Vault Breaker mode revealed today? Yeah, that might be it.

Vault Breaker enables players to venture into Marathon's raid map, Cryo Archive, solo, in duos or trios, to take on a series of increasingly challenging vaults. The mode will have its own unique progression mechanic that enables players to increase in power across multiple matches, until they reach the final vault "and the mysterious entity within."

The new mode will require a special "Sponsored Kit"—one of Marathon's free loadouts—to access, presumably to maintain some semblance of gameplay balance. The bigger twist, though, is that Vault Breaker eschews one of the most fundamental aspects of extraction shooters: Any gear or items you find in the mode will be left behind when you leave. The only thing you'll take with you Vault Data, a new currency that can be used to upgrade your Vault Breaker Sponsored Kit, or to purchase gear that can be used in other modes.

Bungie said eliminating gear extraction will let players "experience Cryo Archive without flooding the economy with low-risk, high-power Cryo loot," which seems reasonable to me. But it's drawn something of a mixed reaction among the PC Gamer crew. Notorious Destiny freak Tim Clark called it a huge mistake, declaring that "not keeping the stuff you find is anathema to me," while FPS guy Morgan Park saw it in a very different light, saying it "sounds like a fun way to learn the map" without getting your ass shot off by people who already know it inside and out. Lincoln Carpenter, ever the voice of reason, said it "seems fine."

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For myself, I'm actually pretty excited. This is where I finally start paying Marathon: I have even less interest in the loot grind than I do in not having my ass shot off by people who already know the game inside and out, so a mode that effectively does away with both, but still affords me the opportunity to experience the setting and action, is exactly what I've been waiting for. But for players who've already learned Cryo Archive inside and out over the last three months, a warmup mode with no stakes or other players might be useful, but probably not what they're ultimately after.

Vault Breaker will be rolled out as part of Marathon's mid-season, which gets underway on July 21. The mid-season will also see the first iteration of the Cradle Evolution system, giving players who have maxed out their Cradle upgrades an opportunity to reset to zero in exchange for an additional maximum energy point and unique cosmetics, as well as "various other quality-of-life, tuning, and other changes, including the addition of player profile stats."

Diablo 4's Age of Hatred story arc, which began with the base game's launch back in 2023 and included several seasons and two distinct expansions, has come to a close with the recent Lord of Hatred DLC, and the first new season of the next era of the action RPG kicks off next week.

Blizzard announced the aptly grim Season of Death Awakening on its official website, teasing a characteristically macabre story involving ruptures spawned from dark rituals across Sanctuary. Three different types of ruptures comprise the new season's endgame activity, sending out waves of new Gravehound monsters with a chance to summon the enormous Realmwalker boss. Kill that and you'll gain entry to the Deathtoll Chamber mini-dungeon where, you guessed it, more baddies await your sword, but here's where you'll find the lair keys you need to access this season's Lair Boss Hoard.

Anyway, it's a new Diablo season. If you've been around the block at all, you know generally what to expect. New enemies to kill, new loot to get, a new seasonal battle pass, a freaky new pet to collect for free. All good stuff, but fairly standard fare. That said, there are a few things coming with Season of Death Awakening that break from the usual Diablo 4 seasonal mold.

For one, Blizzard says it heard your feedback from the PTR about that change to Mythics. Instead of getting rid of the guaranteed stats that synergized with a Mythic Unique's powers, which was the controversial plan that led to widespread blowback from the PTR, Blizzard now says Mythics will have two guaranteed bonuses, "preserving what makes it distinctive while opening new possibilities for build diversity." Everything else will still roll randomly, but this new change will let you swap exactly one of them out to your liking.

Following the Paladin free trial from back in March, Diablo 4 will soon let you try out the new Warlock class from Lord of Hatred free of charge, for a limited time. From June 30 to July 7, all Diablo 4 players on all platforms will be able to sample the demon-summoning ways of the Warlock class up until level 25, and naturally, your progress will carry into the full game if you buy the Lord of Hatred DLC. I'm more of a Paladin guy myself, but I hear Warlocks offer a little more to chew on for buildcrafters.

Finally, Blizzard is doing the inverse of Overwatch's recent Diablo crossover with Overwatch-themed items in Diablo 4. Right at the start of the season, you'll be able to earn Eye of the Overwatch currency from elite and champion monsters and use it to unlock themed cosmetics, which will also be available in Diablo 4's cash shop. This is also the first time we actually see Overwatch characters in Diablo, and I have to say, the bright, colorful look of the hero shooter clashes pretty starkly with Diablo 4's grimdark world. It's neat seeing characters like Reinhardt, Genji, Reaper, Mercy, Brigitte, Moira, Roadhog, and Kirkio in a Diablo setting, but the promotional image below makes this look more like Diablo 3 than 4:

Diablo 4: Season of Death Awakening kicks off June 30.

Evidence of Diablo 4 coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 ramps up, as Blizzard Entertainment's RPG gets another rating

The Batman 2 writer Mattson Tomlin says Disney turned down his idea for a sequel to the 1991 superhero movie The Rocketeer.

"Pitched a sequel with my pal JD Dillard to Disney last year that took place in real time," Tomlin tweeted. "100 harrowing minutes that would have really leaned into how viscerally insane it is to strap yourself to a rocket and save the world from fascists. Bummed it won’t see the light of day."

Directed by Joe Johnson, the movie stars Billy Campbell as a stunt pilot named Cliff Secord who finds a hidden rocket pack that lets him fly without needing an aircraft. This allows him to do heroic deeds with ease... which attracts the attention of the FBI and the Nazis who stole the technology in the first place. The cast includes Alan Arkin, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Sorvino, and Timothy Dalton.

At the time of release, the film received positive to mixed reviews and earned just a bit over its reported budget of $40 million. The Rocketeer was intended to become a trilogy, with Campbell and Connelly signing multi-picture deals, but was ultimately scrapped by Disney. A reboot was announced in 2012, and then again in 2016. In 2020, it was reported that JD Dillard would direct a sequel with Tomlin writing the screenplay... which was unfortunately scrapped. I think we'll get a theatrical rerelease at some point.

The Batman 2, starring Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, Scarlett Johansson, and Sebastian Stan, hits cinemas on October 1, 2027. For more, check out the rest of the upcoming DC movies in the works.