Call of Duty players are seeing SBMM ghosts in Black Ops 7. Capcom reassures investors about Resident Evil Requiem‘s day-one performance on PC. And Stalker 2 is getting a big upgrades on the eve of its one-year anniversary and arrival on PlayStation 5. Welcome to the latest edition of Morning Afternoon Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news and culture. The Game Awards 2025 nominees have dropped and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is leading the way, including in the Best Indie Game category. It deserves a ton of accolades but probably not that one.
The next Xbox will take players’ game libraries beyond the console
That’s what Xbox president Sarah Bond indicated in a new interview with Fortune. Here’s what she said:
We are working on our next-generation hardware. It’s going to be a powerful experience, and one that also enables people to take their library with them, and that’s what’s really important here as well, is that we know that while people want to play their library absolutely on the console, they also want to be able to play it on PC or stream it around the cloud. And so the Xbox experience starts with the console but then gives something to people that they can experience across all screens if they choose to, bringing their library, their community, their identity, and the store with them everywhere they go.
Does that mean the next Xbox will be a handheld? Will this portability come from a unified account across console and PC? Or is Microsoft relying on cloud computing and AI to make this all into a seamless experience? Whatever the solution, it will need to bring generations of backwards-compatible Xbox games along with it. Is this a big bet on Microsoft’s gaming future, or the last gasp as it pivots away from consumer tech more broadly?
Bond previously promised the next-gen Xbox would be the biggest technological leap for its consoles yet.
Capcom promises Resident Evil Requiem won’t be as busted as Monster Hunter Wilds on PC
The question came up during the company’s latest investor briefing, and the company explained why Monster Hunter Wilds‘ ongoing PC troubles shouldn’t be a problem for its next big blockbuster. “Resident Evil Requiem differs from Monster Hunter Wilds in terms of gameplay, system architecture, and network features,” the company said. “At present, we do not anticipate similar risks. We are developing the game to provide a smooth gaming experience across a wide range of PC specifications.”
It took zero days for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players to start complaining about SBMM again
Treyarch has tried to confirm, for what feels like the dozenth time, how matchmaking works in the latest entry. “Quick Play uses the same Open Matchmaking, where skill is minimally considered,” the studio announced over the weekend. That’s led fans to focus on what exactly “minimally considered” means. Some feel the matchmaking isn’t as “open” as it felt during the beta. Others argue that’s because the beta was free and now the skill floor for launch, where people actually paid for the game, is higher. SBMM trutherism lives on.
City: Skylines 2 gets new developer with console port still MIA
“After more than a decade of successful collaboration across numerous titles that we’re both immensely proud of, Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order have mutually decided to pursue independent paths,” the publisher announced on Monday. “The decision was made thoughtfully and in the interest of both teams – ensuring the strongest possible future for the Cities: Skylines franchise.”
Colossal Order will handle a few more updates before the franchise is fully moved over to internal Paradox team Iceflake Studios. The shift comes after a terrible launch period for the sequel and has left fans wondering what the city builder’s future will be, from new expansions to the long-delayed arrival of the console port. The game still sits at a rating of mixed on Steam.
A jumbo anniversary update should make Stalker 2 better
The immersive shooter’s free patch 1.7 adds a new difficulty mode and tons of fixes and improvements to its “A-Life system” for how creature and human NPC AI functions in the environment. The result should be fewer dumb moments and more clever, emergent storytelling. Factions should also feel more lifelike. They can now “expand control over new territories” all by themselves. Stalker 2 hits PS5 on November 20.
Steam founder Gabe Newell’s $500 million superyacht has been delivered
It’s called the Leviathan. It has a gym, sauna, movie theater, and more. The 15 gaming PCs onboard are by far the least of its extravagances. That’s one way to celebrate the announcement of a new PC gaming console.
