🎮️ Starfield 2.0 Leaked

Good morning!

This week in gaming was a lot. I spent most of it dodging fake leaks, tempering expectations, and whispering gentle affirmations to Todd Howard like it’s a wellness routine.

In this edition, we’ve got:

• 🚀 The “Starfield 2.0” leak that absolutely is not the second coming

• 🎮 Big updates and rumors, including Half-Life 3 (yes, really)

• 🔥 Industry drama, union moves, and AI takes so bad they caused psychic damage

If you enjoy level-headed takes, mild sarcasm, and me asking everyone to please calm down for five minutes - you’re in the right place.

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

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TOP STORY

🚀 Starfield 2.0 Is “Leaked”… So Everyone Calm Down

So I was midway through my daily Todd Howard affirmations when the internet decided Starfield 2.0 was real, imminent, and somehow already has a fake PS5 Metacritic score.
Relax, space cowboys.

Yes, Bethesda did quietly show future Starfield updates behind closed doors to creators, modders, and media.
No, this is not Starfield’s Cyberpunk 2.0 glow-up era.

Let’s talk about what’s actually happening.

Bethesda’s big space RPG launched with huge ambition, great ship building, and enough loading screens to make a PS2 blush.
It’s not bad, it’s just… aggressively mid. Think C-minus energy with A-plus potential.

After the underwhelming Shattered Space expansion, Bethesda went radio silent. Naturally, the internet filled the void with nonsense.

Spoiler: It’s not a full overhaul, it’s a big quality-of-life update + new DLC, likely landing alongside a PS5 release in 2026.

The Actual Improvements:

• Smarter load screens
  They’re still there, just hidden better. Think God of War rock squeezes or Star Wars Outlaws cloud dives. Same load, less immersion murder.

• Real space travel (kind of!)
  New “cruise mode” lets you fly between planets within a star system without constant black screens.
  Your ship finally gets to leave the bathtub 🛁.

• Traversal tweaks + engine improvements
  Not sexy, but very necessary. Modders were shown this early so they can cook properly.

• Another story DLC (not Shattered Space 2, thank Todd)
  Supposedly better. Not Phantom Liberty levels of redemption.

Let’s be crystal clear:

• ❌ Not a No Man’s Sky redemption arc

• ❌ Not Cyberpunk 2.0

• ❌ Not “the writing is suddenly amazing now”

It’s still Starfield at its core, just smoother, faster, and less annoying.

• Cyberpunk 2077: Redeemed itself with massive systemic changes + Phantom Liberty

• No Man’s Sky: Full glow-up via years of free content

• Starfield: “We fixed the flow and stopped punching immersion in the face”

Different goals. Different outcomes.

Final Verdict

This update could realistically bump the game from a C-minus to a solid B-minus, which is a win in Bethesda math. If you go in expecting a masterpiece, you’ll be miserable. If you go in expecting “Starfield, but smoother and less irritating”, you might actually have fun.

And look, Bethesda didn’t abandon it, which in 2025 counts as character growth.

Now please, for the love of all things Creation Engine,
stop making fake Metacritic scores.

LATEST NEWS

QUICK LINKS

🏢 Industry & Business

• Game hardware now costs ~$200 more than in 2019, analysts warn further hikes could be “catastrophic”

• Epic can’t compete with Steam because “EGS is a shop, Steam is a community,” says Witchfire lead

• Baldur’s Gate 3 has sold over 20 million copies worldwide

🎮 Game Updates & Development

• Larian confirms next Divinity game will be a fully turn-based RPG

• New Tomb Raider games recast Lara Croft with a veteran gaming voice actor

• Todd Howard says Elder Scrolls 6 is “progressing really well,” admits it’s still slow

• Half-Life 3 rumored to launch in Spring 2026 as a Steam Machine title

⚠️ Controversies & Censorship

• Indie devs slam Arc Raiders CEO’s AI comments: “We’d rather cut off our own arms”

• Microsoft shuts down popular Halo 3 mod for Counter-Strike 2

• Less than 10% of The Game Awards was actually about the awards

🔥 Studio Drama & Hot Takes

• 165 id Software employees vote to unionize in Texas

• Developers at Microsoft-owned id Software officially form a union with CWA

• GTA developers claim they were fired for attempting to unionize