Gaming Week in Review: Palworld 1.0 Dominates, Black Flag Returns, and the End of Physical Discs Looms
July 14, 2026 — A packed week for gaming: massive launches, studio cancellations, industry-shaking policy changes, and nostalgia-fueled revivals. Here’s everything you need to know.
Palworld 1.0 Explodes Onto Steam, Surpassing Dota 2 in Concurrent Players
It has been a long road for Pocketpair’s controversial creature-collecting survival game, but Palworld has finally reached its 1.0 release — and the numbers are staggering. Within hours of launch on July 10, the game surged to 489,007 concurrent players on Steam, with a one-day peak of 855,525. That places it second only to Counter-Strike 2 on the platform’s most-played chart, and remarkably, above Valve’s own free-to-play titan, Dota 2.
What makes this figure particularly impressive is that Palworld is a premium, paid title. Unlike CS2 and Dota 2, which benefit from free-to-play accessibility, Palworld requires an upfront purchase — yet it still managed to outperform some of the biggest free games on the planet. Forbes’ Paul Tassi noted that “to date, there has never been a similar situation of a relaunch hitting a figure like that,” drawing comparisons to major expansions for forever-hits like PUBG, but never a true relaunch at this scale.
The Asian markets have been a significant contributor, driving player counts during hours typically quiet for North America and Europe. Pocketpair’s decision to keep the price the same for the full launch — coupled with a limited-time 30% discount — clearly helped convert holdouts who had been waiting for the game to leave early access.
By September 2025, Palworld had already sold over 25 million copies. The 1.0 launch adds new endgame content, refined survival mechanics, cross-platform multiplayer, and a host of quality-of-life improvements that address years of community feedback. Despite the ongoing patent lawsuit from Nintendo, Pocketpair has managed to maintain goodwill with a player base that live service games routinely struggle to retain.
Not everyone is convinced, though. Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell famously described the early access version as “a product designed to be sold, rather than to be played.” Whether the 1.0 release changes that perception remains to be seen — but the player counts speak for themselves.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Sails Away With 2 Million Copies on Launch Day
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced has debuted to commercial success, selling two million copies on its first day, July 9. The publisher, typically tight-lipped about sales figures, made a rare exception to celebrate the milestone.
The game also achieved a concurrent Steam peak of 99,451 players, the highest ever recorded for an Assassin’s Creed title on the platform, and briefly claimed the top spot on Twitch during its launch window. Before release, the game had already generated roughly $14 million in gross revenue, putting it on pace to outperform last year’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Black Flag Resynced is a ground-up rebuild of the 2013 original, set during the Golden Age of Piracy. Players sail the Caribbean as Edward Kenway, crossing paths with legendary pirates like Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Calico Jack. The remake features fully reconstructed naval combat, updated parkour mechanics, and a gorgeous modern visual overhaul running on Ubisoft’s latest engine technology.
However, the launch hasn’t been without controversy. The game’s Steam page has become a battleground between players praising the updated experience and those frustrated by cosmetic microtransactions in a single-player game. The situation was exacerbated when Ubisoft Connect suffered an outage that rendered the game unplayable — despite it having an offline mode. A widely mocked claim from Ubisoft’s financial report that microtransactions “make games more fun” was quietly removed in the latest revision.
Despite the noise, the numbers don’t lie. Two million copies in 24 hours is a massive win for a franchise that some feared was running out of steam.
Sony Announces End of Physical PlayStation Discs by January 2028
In what may be the most consequential industry decision of the year, Sony has announced that it will cease production of physical game discs for PlayStation starting January 2028. All new games — including third-party titles — will be digital-only from that point forward.
The announcement came via a PlayStation Blog post on July 1, citing “consumer preferences” and describing the transition as “a natural direction.” Sony claims that “the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs” and that digital is how “most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
Games will still be sold at retail, but in digital code-in-box format — meaning no physical media, no resale value, and no ability to share games with friends. This is a far cry from 2013, when Sony famously mocked Microsoft’s DRM policies for the Xbox One with a cheeky video showing how easy it was to share a PS4 disc. The irony is hard to ignore.
The move follows Rockstar’s confirmation that Grand Theft Auto 6 will come with a download code in its retail box rather than a physical disc. With the EU admitting it cannot prevent Sony from killing physical media — stating that “companies are free to offer games and services in the manner that they see fit” — the writing is on the wall for physical game collectors.
This is the first time a major platform holder has issued a blanket cessation of all physical media production. Nintendo’s Switch 2 Game Key Cards and Microsoft’s disc-less Xbox Series S were steps in this direction, but Sony’s decision is the most definitive yet.
League of Legends Classic Gets a Release Date: July 29
The nostalgia trend in gaming continues to accelerate. Following in the footsteps of World of Warcraft Classic, Riot Games has announced that League of Legends Classic will launch on July 29, with pre-downloads available now.
Announced during the MSI Finals event with a debut showmatch, LoL Classic rolls the game back to its early-era experience. Fan-favorite builds like AP Master Yi and Stunlock Sion are returning, but with an intriguing twist: Riot has promised that patches will be partially shaped by community votes. This means the meta could evolve differently than it did originally, with players deciding whether to prioritize nostalgia or balance.
The announcement comes alongside news that Riot is remaking League of Legends entirely in 2027, making the Classic version a bridge between the current game and its full successor. It’s a strategy that acknowledges both the hunger for the past and the need for evolution.
The broader trend is unmistakable. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 recently added a permanent ‘Classic Black Ops’ mode to appease longtime fans. Now League of Legends is doing the same. The question is whether Classic versions can remain faithful to their originals over time — or whether community-driven patches will inevitably push them in new directions.
Halo Studios Cancels Multiplayer Project Ekur
Halo Studios has reportedly cancelled Project Ekur, a multiplayer title in development at Certain Affinity. The news was broken by Halo reporter Rebs Gaming on YouTube and confirmed by Windows Central’s Jez Corden as “100 percent true.”
Project Ekur was an ambitious prototype that would have featured customisable Spartans and Elites, large-scale battles reminiscent of Halo 5’s Warzone mode, and full character customisation. It was built on Unreal Engine 5, using assets from both the cancelled battle royale project Tatanka and Halo Infinite’s Slipspace engine.
The prototype received a green-light verdict in September 2023 and went through several iterations — including an extraction shooter concept before settling on a “super big-team-battle” design. However, “major development problems” with the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved (the Halo 1 remake) reportedly drew resources away, leading to Ekur’s cancellation.
The cancellation aligns with the sweeping Xbox layoffs announced last week, which also heavily impacted ZeniMax Online Studios. With Halo: Campaign Evolved launching in just a couple of weeks and no competitive multiplayer mode announced, fans are left wondering what the future of Halo multiplayer looks like.
Early previews of Campaign Evolved have been surprisingly positive, with Eurogamer’s preview noting: “I went into Halo: Campaign Evolved thinking it didn’t need to exist, but after playing two levels I want full remakes of the original trilogy and Reach.”
God of War Laufey Confirmed for Physical Disc, Hinting at 2027 Release
Santa Monica Studio has confirmed that God of War Laufey will be available on physical disc, implicitly revealing a release window before Sony’s January 2028 disc production deadline.
The confirmation came via a tweet from the studio’s official account: “We can confirm God of War Laufey will be available on disc.” While not an explicit date, the statement strongly suggests a 2027 release, aligning with previous reporting from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.
The game, which stars Faye (Kratos’s late wife) as its protagonist, was one of the biggest reveals of this year’s Summer Game Fest season and part of a record-breaking State of Play broadcast. Actress Deborah Ann Woll revealed that the concept for a Faye-led game was pitched as far back as 2018’s God of War reboot — nearly a decade ago.
Sony has also confirmed that God of War Laufey will not come to PC, as the company no longer intends to release its non-live-service games on the platform. The game is in development exclusively for PS5. A panel featuring game director Ariel Lawrence and Cory Barlog is scheduled for San Diego Comic-Con later this month.
Warframe: Tau Announced at TennoCon — Blade Runner Meets The Sopranos
Digital Extremes used TennoCon Live to unveil Warframe: Tau, the game’s next major update, arriving later this year. The expansion transports players to an entirely new solar system, with the ringed city of Fornax as its centerpiece.
Creative director Rebecca Ford described Fornax as inspired by Boardwalk Empire, Blade Runner, and The Sopranos, blending film noir aesthetics with themes of addiction and exploitation. The new Warframe, Brysko, is a detective voiced by Matthew Mercer (Overwatch’s Cole Cassidy, Critical Role), armed with the Core Cracker revolver, throwable trading cards, and a dog companion.
The update tackles mature themes with unusual candor. “The core question is ‘what are you willing to bet?’ because as many of us know, addiction can take many different forms,” Ford explained. “Many members of the team have seen firsthand what overcoming that struggle looks like; it’s very close to our hearts. On the front lines here in London, Ontario, we see it in our streets and in our parks.”
Tau will launch with two regions, new mission types, a card-based mini-game tied to the narrative’s vice themes, and a reimagined Steel Path difficulty system. The visual scope is a significant departure from previous updates, featuring flying Sentient cars, towering skyscrapers, and a luxurious casino — a stark contrast to the slums below where Sentients suffer under the effects of “The Bloom,” an organic drug-like substance.
Xbox Layoffs Hit The Elder Scrolls Online, But ZeniMax Insists It’s “Not the End”
Last week’s sweeping Xbox layoffs have heavily impacted ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer behind The Elder Scrolls Online. The studio has now been reduced to the same size it was during the 2015–2018 era — when it produced the acclaimed Summerset expansion.
Community fears of TESO entering “maintenance mode” have been addressed by key team members. At an in-person event in Germany, associate design director Jason Barnes and associate director of community management Jessica Folsom reportedly assured fans that the studio can still deliver substantial content at its current size.
“While the layoffs are extremely upsetting for everyone involved, this is not necessarily the end of new content or the game going into maintenance mode,” said Baratron, admin of the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages wiki Discord. “It really is not the end yet.”
Game director Nick Giacomini and executive producer Susan Kath are reportedly working on a revised roadmap that reflects the team’s reduced capacity. Community manager ZOS_Kevin confirmed on the official forums: “The plan is still to deliver great content, and we will hopefully have an update soon.”
It’s worth remembering that TESO has generated over $2 billion in lifetime revenue since its 2014 launch. With Xbox and Bethesda reportedly focusing on franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Quake — and with The Elder Scrolls 6 also dealing with substantial cuts — the MMO’s future remains uncertain, but the team is fighting to keep it alive.
Summer Games Done Quick 2026 Raises $2.4 Million for Doctors Without Borders
Summer Games Done Quick 2026 wrapped up another successful charity marathon, raising $2.4 million for Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières. The event featured standout runs including Kirby Air Riders, Balatro, and Resident Evil: Requiem.
However, the event was not without its own controversy. Games Done Quick announced and then quickly cancelled an SNK-sponsored stream due to the company’s Saudi ownership, stating: “GDQ is committed to supporting human rights and inclusivity.” The decision sparked debate within the speedrunning community about the intersection of gaming, sponsorship, and ethics.
The Bigger Picture: An Industry in Transition
Looking at this week’s headlines collectively, a clear picture emerges of a gaming industry at a crossroads. Physical media is dying, with Sony’s January 2028 deadline representing a point of no return. Studio consolidation and layoffs continue to reshape development teams, with Xbox’s cuts affecting everything from Halo to The Elder Scrolls Online. Nostalgia has become a dominant commercial strategy, with League of Legends Classic, Black Flag Resynced, and Halo: Campaign Evolved all banking on players’ love for the past.
Yet amid the turbulence, games are still breaking records. Palworld’s 1.0 launch proves that a controversial, Pokemon-inspired survival game from a small studio can rival the biggest free-to-play titles on Earth. Assassin’s Creed’s pirate remake shows that single-player experiences still command massive audiences. And Warframe’s ambitious Tau expansion demonstrates that live service games can still push creative boundaries after more than a decade.
The games industry may be contracting in some areas, but it’s expanding in others. The question for the rest of 2026 is whether the momentum from these summer launches can sustain through the holiday season — and how many more studios will survive the ongoing wave of consolidation.
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