Good morning!

Welcome back, legends - and a special shoutout to all the new subs who wandered in from the giveaway. Don’t worry, you’re in good hands… or at least in my hands, which is more fun anyway.

This week, Konami remembered they actually make video games and dropped the first real Silent Hill in over a decade (Silent Hill F), and it’s… shockingly not terrible. Meanwhile, Xbox keeps hiking prices like it’s a luxury wine club, Palworld devs can’t stop stirring drama, and someone on Steam owns 40,000 games , which is either impressive or a cry for help.

In this edition, we’ve got:

• 🪦 Silent Hill F rises from the fog

• 💸 Xbox prices keep climbing (and Costco nopes out)

• 🔥 Palworld devs vs… everyone else

Here’s everything you need to know this week in gaming.

Here’s everything you need to know this week in the world of gaming.

TOP STORY

🎮 Silent Hill F – The Fog Rolls Back

It’s finally happened, folks. Over a decade without a proper Silent Hill, and now we’ve got Silent Hill F, the first brand-new entry since 2012. After Konami ditched video games to marry pachinko machines (no, seriously), the franchise flatlined. The closest we got was Kojima’s legendary PT demo in 2014, aka the world’s most expensive “free teaser” considering dusty PS4s with it installed still sell for $800. But then Kojima got kicked out, made Death Stranding, and Konami… kept making slot machines.

Fast forward: Silent Hill 2 Remake (solid job by Bloober Team) whetted appetites, and now here comes F, swinging hard. And guess what? It’s actually good. Sitting pretty in the high 80s on Metacritic, Silent Hill F is both gorgeous and unsettling in all the right ways. The fog’s back, the monsters are gross in that “is-it-mold-or-a-human-face?” way, and the music still slaps like a dentist’s drill.

Performance? Eh. On PS5 Pro, it looks worse than the base console. On PC, it runs better, if you tinker with settings and accept that Unreal Engine stutters harder than a nervous prom date. Upscaling tech (DLSS) saves the day, though it’s kind of wild we all just shrug when “native 4K” means “actually 1080p pretending to be hot stuff.”

Combat is a mixed bag. Some reviewers wanted less of it, which, fair. Survival horror hits harder when you can’t fight back (Outlast, anyone?). But swinging a steel pipe here at least feels like swinging a steel pipe, not a pool noodle. Bonus points.

Oh, and Konami couldn’t resist sneaking in a gacha system where you draw little charms for buffs. It’s almost on-brand hilarious given their pachinko obsession, Silent Hill meets slot machine. Love it or hate it, it’s Konami being Konami.

Bottom line: Silent Hill F is spooky, crunchy, and way better than it had any right to be. It’s not flawless, but if you’ve been starving for true Silent Hill after all these years, this meal’s hot, foggy, and surprisingly tasty.

LATEST NEWS

QUICK LINKS

🔥 Industry & Business

• As Xbox prices rise $200 in a year, ex-Blizzard president blasts Microsoft: “Profit issues, not tariffs”

• Costco quietly removes Xbox section from US & UK websites

• Microsoft to raise Xbox Series X/S prices again in the US

• Steam user becomes first person to own 40,000 games worth $640,000

🛠️ Game Updates & Development

• Gearbox delays Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 indefinitely, cancels pre-orders

• Sony announces 35-minute State of Play for tomorrow with Returnal dev’s new game

• Last Epoch comes to PS5 with major Orobyss expansion

• Helldivers 2 fans fear in-game hero General Brasch may be dead

⚡ Controversies & Censorship

• 9 months after flop, indie dev learns Steam never emailed its 130,000 wishlisters

• Verified Steam game reportedly stole $150,000 from players

• Pokémon Company responds to Homeland Security’s controversial ICE video

🎭 Studio Drama & Hot Takes

• ‘Stop Removing the Modern Day!’ Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake backlash

• Palworld dev defends Early Access, compares to Baldur’s Gate 3

• Palworld lead doubles down: “Game is 100% owned & controlled by us”

• Palworld comms manager hits back at copycat accusations: “We can make a game in 1 week”

📰 General Gaming News

• Metroid Prime 4 may be Nintendo’s most expensive project yet at $100M

• Silksong confirmed to be harder than Hollow Knight

• Rumor: Kratos to wield Egyptian sword in next God of War

• A24’s Death Stranding film will tell an original story

• Konami survey to ask fans which Metal Gear Solid should be remade next

• Palworld x Ultrakill crossover announced