Welcome to another edition of the Macho-Nacho Gaming News recap, where we aim to give you a brief breakdown of the biggest video game news stories that are keeping the internet abuzz. The past few weeks have been no exception there, as price hikes, heartbreaking game delays, and other major news stories have the gaming world at maximum chatter. Let’s waste no time and jump right into the biggest gaming news story of the month, which also might be the biggest disappointment of the month as well.
Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed
Well, here we go again. In a perfect world, Grand Theft Auto VI would already be installed on our favorite platforms. Easily the most anticipated game in existence, GTA VI was originally slated for a Fall 2025 release, but was subsequently delayed to May 26, 2026. Now, developer Rockstar Games announced that Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed yet again, now slated for release on November 19, 2026.
Reception to this news has been mixed, to say the least. While the expected legions of eager fans have been quick to voice their concern on social media, others have encouraged Rockstar to take their time and make the best game possible. Recently, the company has been under a watchful eye after firing 30 employees. While Rockstar claims that these firings were due to employees revealing company secrets, ex-employees and union representatives were sighted at a protest outside the building, accusing Rockstar of union busting. As Rockstar’s parent company, Take Two, sees a nearly 10% decrease in stock price in the wake of this news, it seems that some shareholders are backing away due to volatility.
ARC Raiders and Indies Finds Major Success
ARC Raiders has been the talk of the town lately, as both players and critics are oozing praise for this fresh extraction shooter. Developed by Embark Studios (which employs several ex-DICE developers), ARC Raiders is a punishing sci-fi shooter, where both players and the environment spell certain doom in every multiplayer match. Since its release on October 30, 2025, the game has caught on in a big way, with 4 million copies already sold. It’s clear that tons of people are playing ARC Raiders and loving it, with PC looking like the platform of choice, with over half the player population coming from Steam.
Meanwhile, a pair of quirky indie games have seen mainstream success, namely Ball x Pit and Dispatch. Ball x Pit is a fresh roguelite that takes inspiration from the oft-forgotten “brick breaker” arcade genre, with a fantasy spin and some light farming mechanics to boot. The game has already sold over 750,000 copies, and creator Kenny Sun has been remarkably humble about the game’s success. In an interview with Kotaku, Sun stated, “I think the response has been too positive”. An odd take for sure, but at least the game is great.
Filling a completely different creative vibe is Dispatch, developed by AdHoc Studio, which consists of many key developers from Telltale Games. In this episodic, narrative-driven adventure, you play as a dispatcher for a ragtag team of superheroes, with moral dilemmas to solve and quick-time events to press through. With its richly comical narrative and striking animation style, it has quickly found success, selling over 1 million copies in its first month. In reaction to this fast burst of cash, AdHoc Studio is reportedly considering a second season of Dispatch, but no official announcement has been made.
Xbox Game Pass Price Hike
This news arrived a bit too late to cover in our last recap, but it’s an important one nonetheless, especially for those who might’ve missed it. In October, Microsoft announced that the price of Game Pass would be increasing. Most notably, the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was increased by 50% and will now cost $29.99 a month. While new features have been added to Game Pass Ultimate, including Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft Classics, this price hike resulted in massive uproar and cancellations. However, Microsoft has not backed down and the price change will go into full effect in November.
Xbox Game Pass Premium remains $14.99 a month, but with a reduced library of games and none of those fancy day one releases, it’s generally seen as a nerfed version of Ultimate. Xbox Game Pass Essential now represents the lowest tier, costing $9.99, but only offering a few dozen games, along with cloud gaming and online multiplayer access. PC Game Pass has received the fewest changes, and is still seen as the best deal at $16.49 per month, offering day one releases and most of the benefits that Game Pass Ultimate affords.
Upcoming Video Game Release Calendar
The months ahead are looking decent for new games, especially for early adopters of the Switch 2. While many consider the race of Game of the Year 2025 mostly over, there is still enough time for a buzzer-beater contender. Here’s a calendar of the major video game releases left in 2025.
November
- Football Manager 26 (All Platforms) – Nov 4
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (Switch 2) – Nov 6
- Lumines Arise (PC, PS5) – Nov 11
- Anno 117: Pax Romana (All Platforms Except Switch) – Nov 13
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (All Platforms Except Switch) – Nov 14
- Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive (PC) – Nov 17
- Deadpool VR (Quest) – Nov 18
- Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2) – Nov 20
December
- Marvel Comic Invasion (All Platforms) – Dec 1
- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Switch, Switch 2) – Dec 4
- Octopath Traveler 0 (All Platforms Except PC) – Dec 4
- Mutant Football League 2 (All Platforms Except Switch) – Dec 10
