🎮 Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Reveal, Nintendo Is Sued And Xbox’s Mobile Store Is Still Alive
Also, 007: First Light Showcases More Gameplay, More Layoffs At Meta On The Way, Saros Earns Great Reviews and Avalanche Studios Is Working On A New Game!
Hello friends,
Today is May 5th 2026 and I hope you’ve had a great week 🙌
In today’s news:
🎮 Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Reveal
🎮 Nintendo Is Sued Over Tariffs
🎮 Xbox’s Mobile Store Idea Is Still Alive
🎮 007: First Light Showcases More Gameplay
🎮 More Layoffs At Meta On The Way
🎮 Saros Earns Great Reviews
🎮 Avalanche Studios Is Working On A New Game
🫡 True Tribute!
😄 Personal Update
All of this is brought to you in a 5 min format ⏲️
Let’s dig in!
🎮 Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Reveal
Finally, after all the leaks and speculations, Ubisoft unveils the remake of one of the most popular games in the AC franchise, and it is scheduled to be released on July 9, 2026.
13 years after the release of the original, Ubisoft describes this new game as a remake rebuilt from the ground up on the latest Anvil Engine, with updated visuals, ray tracing and sound. The game is also said to include new story content, reworked combat and stealth, dynamic weather, enhanced naval systems, and no multiplayer mode. With that, the developers are also saying that, unlike all the recent games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, like Origins or Valhalla, this remake is not an RPG. They wanted this game to remain a solo, character-driven adventure that remains faithful to the original title.
Which is completely fair and absolutely the right choice for this specific remake. And I have to say, the trailer looks absolutely stunning. The visuals look amazing and surprisingly detailed, the gameplay and the world feel alive, and combat is as fluid as the water on the screen. So, if you are a fan of the franchise, I think you are in for a treat.
All that said, I’m personally still on the fence about this game. On the one hand, it all looks wonderful, and if they polish this game more than they usually polish their titles, I think this remake could really do great. My main concern is with the company that made it. For a while now, Ubisoft has been making questionable decisions left and right that resulted in people losing their jobs, studios being closed and people responsible for all that getting away with every mistake they made while blaming it on others. And I kind of feel like if I buy this game, I’m enabling them to continue whatever they are doing. So, until this company continues to wreak havoc in my beloved industry, I probably won’t be playing any Ubisoft games, no matter how well they look on paper.
But that’s just my humble opinion, and I won’t hold it against anyone who is genuinely excited about this game. After all, it looks like a very good remake. So, let me know what you think about this announcement 😁
🎮 Nintendo Is Sued Over Tariffs
While the company is demanding refunds from the federal government of the United States, consumers are suing the company. As they claim, they are the ones who deserve a refund.
According to GameFile, two gamers initiated a class action lawsuit against Nintendo of America on April 21st. The premise is that, after Nintendo raised prices to offset tariffs, it is now seeking tariff refunds from the U.S. government and has not committed to passing any refunds back to consumers. The complaint argues this would let Nintendo recover the same tariff cost twice: once through higher retail prices and again through government refunds.
And that kind of makes sense. A few months ago, we talked about how the handheld manufacturer sued the US government and Nintendo specifically quoted tariffs in the context of price increases, as they recognise them as a part of the cost and incorporate them into the price. On that note, GameFile also shared a perspective from a former Chief Legal Officer at The Pokémon Company, who argues it is not a valid lawsuit. He sympathises with consumers, but in his professional opinion, Nintendo didn’t receive tariff funds as a fiduciary or other similar legal entity. So, it has no legal obligation to return them to the consumer.
While there seems to be no immediate danger for Nintendo, it brings up an interesting point. If the company gets those refunds, the only party that’s actually hurt would be the consumers. And they basically have zero recourse, according to the lawyers. Of course, the guys who filed a complaint could argue unjust enrichment or unfair business practice, and they will be right in my opinion. But I think they are barking up the wrong tree here by attacking the result of the problem, not the cause. In my humble opinion, the people who should be sued are sitting in the White House, as Nintendo just reacted to the decision of the US government. If there were no tariffs in the first place, maybe there would be no need for Nintendo to raise prices. Which sucks, because there is no way any company, Nintendo included, is going to reimburse their customers.
I’m not an expert in politics, but that’s how I see it, at least. But hey, maybe I’m wrong, and these guys will be able to squeeze the water from this stone 😅
🎮 Xbox’s Mobile Store Idea Is Still Alive
While the mobile market is still dominated by App Store and Play Store, Xbox still has plans to launch its own marketplace someday.
Similar to Epic Games, which has been at war with Google and Apple for a while now, Microsoft also wanted to launch their own store a few years ago. The initiative was announced back in 2024 by Sarah Bond, saying they want to provide a new alternative for mobile stores, and it should have started with the Microsoft portfolio, including titles such as Candy Crush and Minecraft. These titles were supposed to be designed to work outside the constraints of the dominant app store, and the whole thing was supposed to launch later that year, but it never did.
Fast forward to today, Windows Central noticed that the website related to the store went offline and assumed that it became a part of the spring cleaning of the newly appointed Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma. But she was quick to respond that while the page stopped working, the idea of an Xbox mobile store is not dead. Sharma added that mobile competition still matters, and they believe the future of play should be more open. Also, she said that the company filed an amicus brief that is reportedly tied to the Epic v. Google case. For those of you who are not lawyers, like me, this is a filing from a party not related to a legal dispute, but which believes the court’s decision could affect them and wants to give the judge additional argument or context. Basically, Xbox is trying to give more context to a judge who’s deciding what to do with Epic and Google, as they think that whatever decision is made, it’s going to affect them, similarly to what they did some time ago with Apple. And that’s absolutely true, I think.
The fact is that it’s in their interest to break the monopoly on mobile stores by whatever means necessary, so they can start bringing their products to market. My guess is that their goal is to wait while Epic is doing all the heavy lifting for them, and they don’t want to engage in a legal battle directly, just yet. But whatever happens, they look ready to reap the benefits.
Btw, how would you feel about the idea of different stores on your device?
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🎮 007: First Light Showcases More Gameplay
The newest game about young James Bond is about to hit the shelves on May 27, and IO Interactive decided to share more information about various features and gameplay for the upcoming title.
In the latest gameplay trailer called Rules of Spycraft, the developers dive a little bit deeper into each aspect of the game, from infiltrating mission areas to talking your way through security and eliminating various threats by any means necessary. And it all looks absolutely fantastic! Especially the combat. Honestly, it looks straight from a John Wick movie when you take whatever is in front of you and beat the hell out of your opponent with it. The rest of it pretty much follows what the studio already learned from Hitman games, while giving the debonair feel of 007 movies.
And I can’t wait to play. Combining stealth and mission structures from Hitman with the adventure style of Bond seems like a very good idea, and the execution, at least based on the trailers, is spot on. Of course, we’ll have to play the game ourselves and see for ourselves. But so far, it definitely looks bigger than just a licensed project.
🎮 More Layoffs At Meta On The Way
And of course, more in the lands of layoffs. A new internal memo started flying around the internet, suggesting that Meta is planning to lay off around 8,000 employees and close 6,000 open job listings.
The memo in question was sent to employees on April 23rd and obtained by the Hollywood Reporter. Shortly after that, the 10% workforce reduction was confirmed by the Chief People Officer at the company and was attributed to Meta’s continuous plan to shift resources to AI. Which is probably not a big surprise, considering that earlier this year, the media giant closed down 3 VR studios and laid off hundreds of people to pursue the same thing.
And Meta is not the only tech giant that is trying to reinvent itself in order to jump on the AI train. Amazon laid off about 16,000 jobs earlier this year in an effort to reduce bureaucracy, as they say. Microsoft recently announced a voluntary buyout program for about 7% of its workforce. I mean, at least Microsoft is giving people a hefty sum when showing them the door.
And it’s all well and good, AI is a new tech that everybody wants to pursue, and almost every single app out there wants to integrate some sort of AI feature if they haven’t done it already. Which, for a user, is mindblowingly annoying btw, as now I have to dismiss all AI insights pop-ups every single time while writing emails, paying my bills, ordering a cup of coffee or doing anything else that requires absolutely zero AI or insight. Honestly, at this point, I want to find an app that blocks AI, similar to AdBlocker. As it is becoming as annoying as ads and brings about the same value.
But fine, whatever. That’s a consumer perspective. From a business perspective, I still ask the same question. After all these investments, how do you guys want to recover all this money? Surely this is not just about automating your workflows and removing redundancies. Or is it going to be the same thing as ads and data collection? Just selling user data to the highest bidder while this new industry still isn’t regulated properly.
Or am I not seeing some sort of huge business opportunity that’s staring me right in the face?
🎮 Saros Earns Great Reviews
Recently released spiritual successor of Returnal looks like a better, improved formula that some people have already nominated as a Game of the Year contender.
According to Metacritic, the game already earned high praise from the critics with an 88/100 score and more than 90% of critics' recommendations on OpenCritic. And those reviews are saying Saros is a great addition to Housemarque’s portfolio and that it is another fantastic, fast-paced third-person shooter. With a strong foundation of Returnal, which by the way scored a bit lower in comparison, this game makes your heart race will also take advantage of the slow-paced segments to tell a surprisingly deep and sensible story.
Of course, it’s mostly what critics are saying. And we know that it’s sometimes different from the feedback from actual players. And we still don’t know anything about the sales numbers. But it looks like, while Housemarque remains a relatively small studio, it is almost a secret weapon of Sony at this point. If nothing else, a highly reviewed PS5 exclusive will definitely help the publisher's strategy to promote their hardware.
As far as the Game of the Year topic goes, I’m not so sure about that. The game looks amazing, yes, but it is still a very niche genre, and we still have a lot of exciting games on the horizon for 2026. At this point, it could definitely be nominated, but my guess is that it won’t go home with a trophy.
🎮 Avalanche Studios Is Working On A New Game
And speaking of new games, the troubled studio that brought us Just Cause is working on an unannounced AAA Project.
According to a recent job posting found by Insider Gaming, the company is looking for a Senior Technical Designer and, among other things, the role requires scripting events, experiences, and systems in open worlds. Unfortunately, there is no other indication of what kind of game the studio is working on. And since the studio has games like Just Cause, Mad Max and theHunter, it really could be any one of them. Well, except for Just Cause 5, maybe, as the studio said just last year that they have no plans for this game, unless they suddenly changed their minds.
But the good news in all this is that at least the studio is still alive. As the last few years haven’t been kind. The company closed its New York and Montreal offices in 2024, shut down its Liverpool office in 2025 and stopped the development of its open-world co-op project named Contraband last year.
So, honestly, I’m just glad that they are not closing up shop at this point, and I wish them luck on this journey to recovery!
🫡 True Tribute!
Today I wanted to salute Weiqing Teh // CG BOSS and BossKey // CG BOSS Games !
First of all, congratulations Weiqing Teh // CG BOSS on reaching 💯 subs! Absolutely well-deserved milestone! Also, I kind of agree with KCD2 Director on the account of DLSS 5. I don’t think that overall hate is going to stop anything, and I think most of it comes from the general AI stigma. I can bet anything that if we hadn’t had AI so accessible everywhere, people would look at it as the next holy grail of video game graphics. But I stand by what I said the other day. I wonder how many of those internet haters will jump on this tech without a second thought after a big AAA project actually puts this new feature in. My guess is that it will be a majority of players who can actually afford the hardware to run it 😅
💎 Hidden Gem
While I was looking for another game similar to Dredge (yes, I absolutely love this game), I found this little gem called Keep Driving. Absolutely amazing management RPG about life on the open road where you pick up hitchhikers, work odd jobs, customise and repair your car, and map your route across the states. I kind of wish there was a similar game that looked like Pacific Drive but was chill like this one. The reviews are great, and the price is not huge, so all in all, highly recommend!
This is all the news I have for you folks today.
Thanks for making it this far! 🙌
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Have a great week!
Alex from Gamedev Relay.
I love the visual style of Keep Driving, I'm going to try it out!
Hi Alex thank you for the mention. Suprised Avalance is working on a new game after the cancelled contraband. A remake of Assassin's Creed Black Flag looks good I did play before but did not finish, but it was a long time ago. Not sure if the Pirate Trend is making a comeback.