Patch Notes #68 - weekly gaming digest
Welcome to the 68th edition of Patch Notes.
Let’s get this bad boy going.
This edition will cover the week from April 27 to May 3.
What caught my attention
Finished the Lord of Hatred campaign this weekend. One of the best bits of storytelling I’ve played in months. The visuals, music, and voice acting are all incredible - shoutout to Lorath Nahr, Mephisto, and above all Lilith, who I must insist: did nothing wrong. Mother knows best.
Also got back into Persona 3 Reload for a few hours. Not quite Persona 5 Royal, but very good on its own.
Can’t wait for Persona 6 and P4 Revival.
TLDR
Xbox Q3 FY2026 financials + Asha Sharma reaction — Hardware down 33%, content and services down 5%. “We know we have work to do.” (Eurogamer + VGC)
Subnautica 2 early access starts in May — after Krafton was court-ordered to reinstate the fired leadership team. Wild way to ship a game. (VGC)
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era — 500k copies in 72 hours. A strategy revival no one was sure would land. It landed. (RPG Site)
GreedFall developer Spiders confirmed closure — Nacon filed for insolvency, the studio no longer exists. Another one. (Game Developer)
Xbox games on PlayStation crossed $650M in gross revenue — Forza Horizon 5 leading. Microsoft’s multiplatform bet is paying off even as hardware bleeds. (GameSpot)
Biggest releases of the week
Rest of the news
A California judge gave preliminary approval to a class action lawsuit settlement requiring Sony to pay $7.8 million in refunds to select PlayStation users for digital PSN purchases. (IGN)
Vitality swept NAVI 3-0 to win BLAST Rivals Fort Worth 2026 without prior practice and after winning every event since IEM Krakow. (Hotspawn)
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 co-director Naoki Hamaguchi completed over 40 full playthroughs despite no public details or footage shared. (Eurogamer)
Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner assured fans it is still operating after high-profile exits. (Eurogamer)
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War launched 30 years ago and pioneered elements popular in modern Fire Emblem games. (Polygon)
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era sold over 500k copies in less than 72 hours after launch. (RPG Site)
IOC suspended Esports Commission operations, raising uncertainty over the Olympic Esports Games initiative. (Sheep Esports)
South Korean Supreme Court ordered Dark and Darker developer Ironmace to pay $3.84 million to Nexon, ending the civil case while the criminal one continues. (PC Gamer)
A Circana survey found exclusive games remain the top reason for console play, though motivation dropped since last year. (VGC)
Melty Blood: Twi-Lumina was announced for Switch 1 and 2 with an early 2027 release by developer French Bread and publisher Aniplex. (Nintendo Life)
Pragmata subreddit users comforted a 55-year-old gamer who posted that the character Diana reminded him of his late daughter. (IGN)
Blizzard decided Limitless Rage barbarian items in Diablo 4 need a limit after they enabled quadrillions of damage. (PC Gamer)
Evo’s broadcast of the Daigo Umehara and MenaRD Kemonomichi Legends LIVE match drew criticism from the Japanese FGC for disrespectful production. (Esports Insider)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Best Game at the BIG Festival Awards at Gamescom Latam. (GamesIndustry.biz)
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 developer Warhorse declined to confirm a Lord of the Rings game but stated the next project will be an RPG true to its style. (Eurogamer)
Fuse Games officially announced Star Wars: Galactic Racer release date with Deluxe and Collector’s editions after a leak. (Eurogamer)
Diablo 4 players requested more dyes following the Lord of Hatred expansion launch. (Eurogamer)
Supergiant Games released a Hades II Behind the Music at Abbey Road Studios video showcasing four songs. (RPG Site)
The Outer Worlds will be delisted on PC platforms on May 27, with Spacer’s Choice Edition as the only version available and upgrade options announced. (RPG Site)
SNK announced Mr. Karate from Art of Fighting as May DLC for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, following Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star in June. (GameSpot)
Elon Musk personally called Satya Nadella to secure discounted Microsoft computing power for OpenAI’s Dota 2 win over humans. (PC Gamer)
Final Fantasy XIV Online director Naoki Yoshida confirmed mouse and keyboard support, including Joy-Con 2 mouse controls, for the Switch 2 version. (Nintendo Life)
Krafton reported Q1 revenue up 56.9% to $931 million and operating profit at $381.3 million, driven by mobile content. (GamesIndustry.biz)
Roblox reported strong Q1 revenue and bookings growth but lowered full-year forecast due to mandatory age checks and new safety measures. (GamesIndustry.biz)
NIS America and Happinet announced Brigandine: Abyss, a new strategy RPG, for Switch 2 release in August with a physical edition. (Nintendo Life)
LCK decided not to sanction Gen.G AD Carry Ruler following an investigation into his tax-related case. (Sheep Esports)
EVE Online developer CCP paid out $80,000 to mod contest winners for its experimental survival MMO EVE Frontier. (PC Gamer)
Blizzard added $40 home exteriors to World of Warcraft’s real money shop following the Midnight expansion housing feature. (GameSpot)
Subnautica 2 early access starts in May after Krafton was ordered to reinstate the fired leadership team amid legal dispute. (VGC)
IOI art director explained the unusual design of 007: First Light’s limited edition DualSense PS5 controller as deliberate. (Eurogamer)
Former ESO boss Matt Firor discussed the cancellation of MMO Project Blackbird, stating Microsoft found a giant successful videogame unstimulating. (PC Gamer)
Nintendo updated Super Mario Galaxy 2 over a decade after release to add new story content involving Rosalina. (Eurogamer)
Microsoft Q3 FY2026 gaming revenue down 7%, Xbox content and services down 5%, hardware down 33% year-on-year, while recommitting to core fans. (Eurogamer)
Xbox’s Asha Sharma stated the company has work to do after Q3 hardware revenue declined 30% and overall Xbox revenue declined 5%. (VGC)
NetherRealm Studios is reportedly developing Injustice 3 nine years after the previous entry. (Eurogamer)
GreedFall developer Spiders confirmed closure as the company no longer exists, owned by Nacon which filed for insolvency. (Game Developer)
A Plague Tale studio Asobo suggested Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy release is months away nearly a year after announcement. (VGC)
GameMaker incorporated Claude Code for AI-assisted workflows, with head Russell Kay stating it gives users the option to use AI. (Game Developer)
Overwatch game director Aaron Keller stated continuous communication was key to revitalization in a GDC 2026 talk. (Game Developer)
Digital Bros. acquired Wuchang: Fallen Feathers IP from Chengdu Lingze Technology Co. Ltd for $4.6 million. (GamesIndustry.biz)
A Japanese retailer requires customers to answer 15 Pokémon trivia questions to buy cards and stop scalpers. (VGC)
Xbox games on PlayStation generated over $650 million in gross revenue, led by Forza Horizon 5 according to Alinea Analytics. (GameSpot)
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection update added Krossplay online, off by default except for Mortal Kombat Trilogy on original Switch. (Nintendo Life)
A Chinese study found League of Legends playing boosts cognitive skills. (Hotspawn)
Bandai Namco released a Tales of Arise character trailer for Alphen ahead of Switch 2 port. (RPG Site)
Neverness to Everness launched worldwide on PS5, PS5 Pro, PC, iOS, and Android by Perfect World and Hotta Studio. (RPG Site)
A sorceress conquered Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred’s new hardest difficulty tier in 17 hours. (PC Gamer)
Nintendo issued copyright strikes, leading to the deletion of the PokéNational YouTube channel, which has been creating Pokémon nature documentaries since 2023. (Polygon)
Pokémon Go Fest 2026: Global is free for all players on July 11-12 with no ticket needed for its 10th anniversary, featuring the debut of Mega Mewtwo X and Y and Special Research with shiny spawns. (Polygon)
Balatro uses mouse jitter and maths for random number generation in its code. (PC Gamer)
Games Done Quick announced a three-day speedrunning event at Gamescom 2026 from August 28-30, its first in Europe. (Eurogamer)
Pearl Abyss gave each employee a $3,400 bonus after Crimson Desert sales success. (Eurogamer)
Valve stated Steam Deck 2 is in development amid ongoing Steam Deck stock issues due to RAM shortage. (VGC)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth demo launched on Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S with progress carry-over to full June 3 release and bonus items. (Eurogamer)
Capcom raised FY25 earnings forecast due to stronger-than-expected Resident Evil: Requiem performance. (GamesIndustry.biz)
Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred Original Soundtrack with 32 songs over 2.5 hours released on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and more. (RPG Site)
HoYoverse stated that Zenless Zone Zero will not have Steam Deck optimisation at launch, but players can run it for feedback. (RPG Site)
Executives from T1, Gen.G, and All Gamers stated EWC became a growth engine, with T1 targeting $1B valuation and strategies for EWC 2026. (Sheep Esports)
The Esports Nations Cup 2026 rulebook details the ENC Point System to select 16 invited nations. (Sheep Esports)
Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred launches with a minimal new season to focus on campaign and loot changes, with normal seasons resuming later. (PC Gamer)
Blizzard commissioned Korn, on 4-year hiatus, to write a song for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred. (PC Gamer)
Valve explained that Steam Controller releases came before Steam Machine, as the latter lacks RAM. (VGC)
River City Saga: Journey to the West, a roguelite action game, launches June 4 for PlayStation 5. (Gematsu)
Just over 20% of Crimson Desert players reached halfway through the story over a month after release. (PC Gamer)
Atari released a relaunch update for Adventure of Samsara, a Metroidvania, with new features after its September 2025 launch. (Polygon)
South Korean Prime Minister praised Crimson Desert and Pearl Abyss for opening a new chapter in K-content after four million sales in two weeks. (Eurogamer)
Capcom teased that Pragmata could have a future among its pantheon of iconic franchises after a tough development. (PC Gamer)