Polygon.com - Gaming Features

Xbox is officially getting 5 brand-new must-play games in August

Giovanni Colantonio — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 22:00:12 GMT

It’s been a strange summer for Xbox players, to say the least. While July should have been a celebratory month spent reminiscing about Halo, it was overshadowed by drastic business changes that saw Xbox parting ways with many of its studios and conducting mass layoffs to the ones that remained. If you’re feeling a little lost right now trying to figure out what it means for the future of your console, you’re not alone. We’re all sorting through the mess.

How the Silent Hill Townfall team made a charming seaside town utterly terrifying

Jen Glennon — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:00:12 GMT

Atmosphere is an integral element of any good horror game, and Silent Hill: Townfallnails it. Developed by Glasgow-based studio Screen Burn and published by Konami, the latest installment in the venerated series takes place in a fictional island town in Scotland called St. Amelia during the mid-1990s. If you’ve ever set foot in a small town in the U.K., you’ll marvel at the meticulous attention to detail in Townfall’s environmental design, from the way the moisture hangs in the air to the rubbery texture of the paint on the nobbly stucco buildings. At a preview event in Los Angeles earlier this month, writer-director Jon McKellan and series producer Motoi Okamoto gave Polygon a glimpse behind the process of making St. Amelia a reality.

PS5 officially has 5 must-play new games releasing in August 2026

Austin Manchester — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:01:11 GMT

Summer is sometimes a slow season for new video games, but that hasn't been the case for 2026. July had plenty of must-play games get released, like Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced and Halo: Campaign Evolved. August is no different as exciting games are coming out one after another, and the month is bookended by new Marvel and Star Wars games. Here are five upcoming video games we can't wait to play on PlayStation 5 in August.

10 biggest D&D announcements from Gen Con 2026

Corey Plante — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 23:00:12 GMT

Some announcements fill gaps in D&D’s previously announced lineup, including a renewed commitment to publishing full-length adventures. Others revive beloved campaign settings that have gone unsupported for years. The biggest reveal establishes an entire program dedicated to prominent crossovers, starting with a fittingly epic tabletop adaptation of a popular fantasy video game.

Pokémon TCG Pocket's brand-new update is a reminder that Ruby and Sapphire had the best legendaries

Giovanni Colantonio — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 21:30:12 GMT

After an underwhelming (but admittedly cute) June update, Pokémon TCG Pocket is back with a vengeance. July’s booster pack, Ruler of the Skies, brings Mega Rayquaza to the digital card-collecting game in an exciting update for fans of the Hoenn region. With some meta-altering cards to collect and a few great quality-of-life changes, Ruler of the Skies gives players plenty of reasons to log in again.

The Pokémon team officially returns with a brand-new game in 1 week

Jason Venter — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:30:12 GMT

It’s easy to forget that Game Freak, the developer responsible for the mainline Pokémon games, still has the freedom to flex its creative muscle outside the franchise from time to time. Past examples include Little Town Hero and Tembo the Badass Elephant, but the tradition goes back decades.

Lumines Remastered officially gets a surprise release on iOS and Android

Giovanni Colantonio — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:00:12 GMT

Cult classic puzzle series Lumines has made its return to mobile devices for the first time in a decade.Lumines Remastered, a 2018 remaster of PSP launch game Lumines: Puzzle Fusion, is available to download on iOS and Android today. It’s free to try, but you can unlock the full version of it for $7.99.

Overwatch's season 3 story just went somewhere Blizzard has never gone before

Josh Broadwell — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:39:10 GMT

You're supposed to like your parents, and they're meant to like you too, or at least treat you well. Popular media rarely questions what it's like when both of those scenarios are impossible. Bad parents in stories are models for how not to be or vehicles for drama and redemption. They'll abuse and be toxic and you feel relieved when their child makes an escape or triumphant when justice finally makes an appearance or the offender recognizes the error of their ways. So I was surprised after catching up with Overwatch's season 3 story to see how boldly it bucks that trend. It recognizes that sometimes, our parents suck, and it's not an easy truth to build your life around.

Star Wars Unlimited lead designer says he wants to avoid repeating Magic: The Gathering's biggest mistake

Aimee Hart — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:36:59 GMT

When choosing a trading-card game, the biggest name, and the one that will always stand out, is undoubtedly Magic: The Gathering. However, since its debut in 1993, and several thousand cards later, the game has expanded far beyond its humble beginnings. On paper, it may seem as though Magic is easy to access, particularly because of its free-to-play digital alternatives like Magic: The Gathering Online and Magic: The Gathering Arena. However, with three decades of history and an ever-growing list of card mechanics, abilities, and rules behind it, Magic is far from simple for a new trading card game player to understand. (Not to mention the shockingly high-price of many cards that are considered staples of the game.)

Halo: Campaign Evolved restarts the Xbox vs. PlayStation console war

Ari Notis — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 20:50:38 GMT

They say war never changes. That's especially true for the console war, which has seen its latest development in the form of Halo: Campaign Evolved. For the first time in its 25-year history, a Halo game is officially playable on PlayStation at the same time as its PC and Xbox counterparts. But some players have claimed to see notable differences between these versions.