5 Video Game Things I Learned | 2026 August 22 - August 28

With Gamescom, it’s been a relatively light week with not too much interesting news. A few games shown off at Gamescom Opening Nigh Live did manage to catch my attention, and I start off this week’s post by discussing them. I also complain more about layoffs and our new, all-digital overlords at PlayStation, XBOX, and Nintendo. I then talk about a couple of specific games: Star Wars Zero Company and, of course, Grand Theft Auto VI.

Exciting Gamescom Announcements

Gamescom Opening Night Live, the Geoff Keighley-hosted event kicking off Gamescom in Germany, brought to light a number of new games that tickled my fancy, as well as better looks at existing games. Here are some game announcements/trailers that really captured my attention:

• Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons
  While this game was first revealed at The Game Awards 2025, the cookie-cutter cinematic trailer failed to entice me. Now, having seen some gameplay, I found myself pulled in by what appears to be a unique gameplay feel. The talented team at Invoke Studios has put together a series of mechanics that visually impress, such as an exciting take on alchemy, creativity in fighting enemies by switching spots with them, evaporating and rematerializing behind them, etc. The key seems to be that Invoke has created a set abilities and accounted for how those abilities can be used in traversal, puzzles, and combat. That’s refreshing. I still don’t feel like I have a good grasp on the narrative, but the voice acting hits my ear quite well, and that’s a huge plus for whatever narrative the game explores.

• Transport Fever 3
  This game finally gets a release date: September 29, 2026. With developers/publishers avoiding GTA VI like the plague, September is a stacked month for video games. I have a soft spot for public transportation simulators. While I haven’t particularly enjoyed the Bus Simulator series, I’m anxious to hop into a game that explores several different forms of public transit.

• LEGO Skylines
  Paradox Interactive hasn’t had the greatest reputation in recent years. I think this could be a winner, though. With an obvious connection to Cities: Skylines, LEGO Skylines appears to explore the same city-building gameplay everyone loved while bringing the LEGO aesthetic and comedic tone. It’s been a while since I played Cities: Skylines or its poorly received sequel, Cities: Skylines II. I’m ready to hop back in with a larger focus on fun than strict city planning.

• No Law
  I left the Now Law trailer thinking… “What did I just watch?” On one hand, it doesn’t seem like from the gameplay footage that they’re doing anything particularly different with the sci-fi, cyberpunk genre… except for the tone. If you look at games like Starfield, Mass Effect, Citizen Sleeper, Cyberpunk 2077, or The Ascent, sci-fi has a reputation for delving into serious, dystopian worlds or galaxies in the throws of war. No Law is little exception, taking place in “Port Desire, a city that doesn’t belong to anyone, but where everyone wants a piece.” What’s fresh is the thin but effective comedy that envelops the world. I’m very interested in checking out this RPG.

GTA VI Extended Gameplay

Rockstar continues to make headlines with Grand Theft Auto VI. Not all of it is good news, but this week, gamers got oodles of good news in the form of an incredible, extended gameplay trailer. The 26-minute look into the upcoming gaming phenomenon’s gameplay showed off some crucial aspects. However, at its core, the trailer simply demonstrated to GTA fans that what they’ll receive is actually exactly what Rockstar does best: more of the Rockstar open-world formula with improvements across the board.

The quickest thing to notice is the smooth transition between dialogue, cutscenes, and gameplay. The graphical fidelity feels unchanged between the many different perspectives of the game. Somehow, technology has progressed to the point where this hasn’t only been done before, but rather is expected in this type of AAA release. Nonetheless, Rockstar pulls it off beautifully in what they showed off. The funny thing is that the seamless realism of the game largely comes from the finer details that aren’t thought about. Things like consistent lighting that looks good in a cutscene and in gameplay, or animations that don’t lose detail between the two.

The acting also feels ridiculously genuine. Between Lucia and Jason, the two main characters, I would have to give the biggest props to Lucia’s actress. Rumors say that Manny L. Perez and Dylan Rourke portray main characters Lucia and Jason, respectively. If that is the case, then based on what we’ve seen so far of GTA VI, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Perez as a winner for best performance across numerous video game award shows.

We also got a look at some gameplay mechanics that many fans have been wondering about. One is the character swapping mechanic that appears to have carried over pretty faithfully from GTA V. We get the same zoom-out and zoom-in effect, as well as a menu dedicated to selecting your character. Additionally, Rockstar showed off that GTA VI adopts the Dead Eye mechanic from Red Dead Redemption, allowing the player to slow down time to aim at enemies during combat. Another carryover from Red Dead Redemption appears to be the reputation system, as evidenced by the unmistakable sound of Jason receiving positive reputation from petting a dog early in the trailer.

One interesting aspect that wasn’t expanded on in any way but reared its head a few times was what appears to be a sort of measure of Lucia and Jason’s connection. In multiple places, the game presents the player with heart icons that presumably represent a positive romantic relationship between Lucia and Jason. This implies that there are points in the game when the two may not have a romantic link or at the very least that the link has soured. How that will effect gameplay is unclear. What’s also unclear is whether this romantic link is something directly influenced by player decisions or strictly by narrative beats.

Of all of these things, what sticks out the most to me is the fact that we got to see so many corners of the game in this gameplay reveal. While a reveal trailer is a highly scripted and tailored experience meant to only allow the viewer to see what Rockstar wants them to, it’s undeniable that Rockstar showed off a large quantity of moments in the game for a gameplay reveal. And the whole thing looks flawless. It’s typical for studios to pour a lot of effort and energy into making one part of the game flawless so that it can be showed off. While that no doubt occurred here to some degree, it’s undeniable that Rockstar’s ability to do so across so much of the game speaks to the base level of polish and brilliance spanning the entirety of the experience.

I can’t wait for GTA VI. November 19, 2026 will be a day to remember.

Even Schell Games Goes Through Layoffs

For quite a long time, Schell Games has had an ironclad reputation for avoiding layoffs through smart business practices and not growing too fast. Now, it appears even Schell Games can’t escape the clutches of what has become one of the scariest times in gaming history. A principal engineer at the studio has pointed the finger squarely at the state of the industry as opposed to anything the company or employees did right or wrong. To someone unfamiliar with Schell’s track record, that could ring hollow. For me, though, it rings quite true.

Many point to the statements of Schell’s CEO Jesse Schell from a couple of years ago as one that seem a bit naive in retrospect. In 2024, Schell said that “At the heart of it all is choosing not to put jobs at risk… We’ll put cash at risk when we make a game, but we don’t put jobs at risk.” At the time, this was heralded as the right way to run a studio and do right by your employees. Now, the words feel more like those of a man unprepared for what he or the industry was in store for. And to be fair, nobody was.

XBOX’s Initiative to Digitize Games

In the wake of PlayStation’s previous announcement that there will be no more physical PlayStation games sold starting in 2028, it feels as though XBOX is being painted as a bit of a knight in shining armor for granting digital licenses to players who have physical copies. Starting at the end of August, XBOX will put out a new feature to Insiders allowing for players to digitize their physical games, essentially granting a second, all-digital license in addition to their existing physical license.

I don’t know why this isn’t receiving more comments in the press regarding its clear alignment with what PlayStation wants to do. This feels primarily like a PR move ahead of the all-digital video game universe. This change supposedly grants the ability for players to use features like cloud streaming and cross-platform entitlements for their newly digitized games. However, what I believe this truly is doing is reinforcing PlayStation’s vision. Because let’s be frank. This isn’t PlayStation’s vision. It’s XBOX’s vision. Nintendo’s vision. XBOX is simply taking the strategy of luring its players into the all-digital future where they have all of the control. Meanwhile, PlayStation is forcing its players to eat its vegetables, telling them that it’s good for them.

Make no mistake! This is not a generous move from XBOX.

Star Wars Zero Company

I knew about this game already, but for whatever reason, I don’t think I ever really grasped what the game was. It intrigued me, but I wrote it off at some point as something that’s just not up my alley. However, I don’t mind a tactics game one bit. I bought it on the day it came out. That’s something I rarely do for even the video games I’m most excited about. I just felt that I needed to get my hands on it and try it for myself.

So far so good. I’m not incredibly impressed just yet, especially when it comes to the main character. I am having fun, though, and that’s arguably what’s most important. I love the Star Wars universe, and while I certainly don’t expect to win any awards for my Star Wars knowledge or fandom, I can more than hold my own in a Star Wars conversation when it comes to the movies and a couple of the games. That’s to say that I’m always paying attention when a new piece of Star Wars media is announced, and naturally, that’s doubly so for video games.