A new weekend has arrived, and today, you can save big on Gears of War: E-Day, Apple Watch Ultra 4, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Persona 3 Reload, Pikmin 4, Star Wars Zero Company, and more. Check out our top picks for Sunday, November 1, below.

Gears of War: E-Day is one of the best games of the year, and today, you can save a few dollars on a physical Xbox copy at Amazon. We gave the game a 9/10 in our review, writing, "Gears of War: E-Day’s stellar story campaign is complemented by an excellent multiplayer suite, particularly its evolved Horde Siege PvE mode."

Amazon has the Apple Watch Ultra 4 smartwatch on sale for $799.99 this weekend. This saves you $100 off MSRP. You'll get the Black Titanium Case and the Black Titanium Milanese Loop with this watch, which can easily complement any outfit. If you've been on the hunt for a new smartwatch, the Ultra 4 is one of the best you can buy.

Similar to previous Nintendo Switch 2 physical releases, Amazon has The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time available for $59.99 right now. This deal will end on release date, meaning this is the last weekend you have to score this deal. If you've yet to experience this masterpiece or are diving back into Hyrule, the Ocarina of Time remake is sure to be one of the most talked-about games of 2026.

Walmart has digital copies of Pikmin 4 for Nintendo Switch on sale for $39.88 today. This is just in time before next week's release of Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy. If you grab a copy today, you'll be able to score the Switch 2 upgrade pack for $9.99. That beats paying $70 for a copy any day.

Physical PS5 copies of Dune: Awakening are on sale for $39.99 right now at Amazon. This is the perfect time to jump in, especially with Dune: Part Three just a few months away. In our 8/10 review, we wrote, "Dune: Awakening is an excellent survival MMO that captures Frank Herbet’s sci-fi world incredibly well, mostly to its advantage and occasionally to its detriment. The survival climb from dehydrated peasant to powerful warlord of Arrakis is a joy almost every step of the way, and the story and worldbuilding filled this nerd with absolute joy."

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. The expansive world, gripping narrative, incredible cast, and spectacular soundtrack are just a few of the things you can look forward to in this adventure. Walmart has a digital bundle of both the base game and the Expansion Pass (which includes Torna: The Golden Country) on sale for $39.94. If you have a Switch 2, you can then upgrade your copy to the Switch 2 Edition for $10, which adds 4K and 60 FPS support. I cannot recommend this one enough, especially if you're a fan of JRPGs.

Persona 3 Reload Switch 2 copies are available at Amazon for $24.99 this weekend. This is a pretty great price for an expansive RPG that you can easily sink 100 hours into. The Switch 2 version had a rocky launch with frame pacing issues, but those have been resolved. Atlus also did add support for 60 FPS in docked mode.

Amazon has the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail - The Art of Succession -Relics of Heritage- art book on sale for $19.18 today. This book includes over 300 pages of art from Dawntrail, and you can even score a exclusive code for a Wind-up Erenville minion in-game!

Maybe I'm just a fan of classic JRPGs, but Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is still one of my favorite RPGs released in the last few years. Square Enix beautifully remade this classic with the HD-2D art style that breathes new life into the adventure of Erdrick. Numerous quality-of-life features make this a game that's much more digestible than ever for genre newcomers, and the orchestrated soundtrack is a treat, too. Pick up a PS5 copy today for just $19.99.

Star Wars Zero Company is one of the biggest sleeper hits of the year, and you can save $12 off a physical copy today at Amazon. In our 9/10 review, we wrote, "Star Wars Zero Company is an excellent tactical game that does a fantastic job of slathering on the same cinematic look and feel we saw in Respawn's Star Wars Jedi games, incorporating strong characters and a storyline that's refreshingly centered on non-Force users and a non-traditional villain."

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is the first entry in the beloved Trails series, and last year's remake brought new life to the original game. With 2nd Chapter out now, today is a great time to dive into this wonderful RPG series.

It's been 21 years since the original release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. This 4K Remaster of the Complete edition packs in multiple bonus features, in addition to the revised cuts and over 25 minutes of added content throughout the movie. Advent Children is a critical piece in the Final Fantasy VII Remake project, and there's never been a better time to check it out.

Amazon has Mouse: P.I. For Hire copies on sale for $24.99 this weekend. This was one of the most anticipated games of the year, with its 1930s cartoon-aesthetic very eye-catching. In our review, we wrote, "Mouse: P.I. for Hire nails the aesthetics of both the 1930s cartoons and the detective stories that inspired it, and it’s also an amusing boomer shooter that largely feels good as you’re playing it."

If you’re playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on Nintendo Switch 2, beware: you’re at a disadvantage in competitive Multiplayer due to crushing input lag that is much worse than the other platforms.

Digital Foundry’s analysis of the performance of the Switch 2 version of Modern Warfare 4 — the first Call of Duty released on a Nintendo console since 2013’s Ghosts — found that the input lag on Switch 2 can be two times longer than on PS5 at 60fps.

In competitive Multiplayer, Switch 2 aims for 60fps and, according to DF, hits that target most of the time (although some things do cause the frame rate to drop, including looking through the transparent visor of a riot shield).

Call of Duty Multiplayer prides itself on rock solid 60fps gameplay, which provides a smooth, responsive experience for those who fuss over their K/D ratio in, for example, 6v6. It’s crucial that all platforms the game is available on offer at least 60fps to provide a level playing field for Multiplayer fans — although the debate about the advantage PC players have over console has dogged Call of Duty since the dawn of crossplay.

DF reports that Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support “helps smooth out” framerate drops on supported displays, although you’ll have a harder time of it in terms of performance playing through portable mode.

And then we come to responsiveness. DF’s tests show 81ms in docked mode and 100ms in portable mode, the latter of which is double the PS5’s 49.1. In fact, DF found that Multiplayer in portable mode ranged from 83ms at best to 125ms at worst. DF called this "actually deleterious to performance.”

DF seems generally happy with the Switch 2 version, which was handled by port specialist Digital Legends with support from Infinity Ward. But if you’re into Multiplayer, the inescapable fact is you are at a disadvantage. No matter how fast your trigger finger, the Switch 2 will take longer to respond.

Outside of Multiplayer it’s a different story. The Campaign runs at 30fps, which was good enough for IGN’s Simon Cardy when he played the Switch 2 version of Modern Warfare 4.

“Granted, the textures are nowhere near as detailed, with flat surfaces and faces smoothed over to give the impression of plasticine versions of the campaign’s characters,” he said. “It's by no means a looker, but considering the reduced horsepower Nintendo’s latest console is working with, the gameplay itself was smooth, running at 30fps at 4K while docked.”

“Yes, it's quite a visual downgrade when compared to the likes of PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, but that comes with the territory,” he continued. “And if you’re solely a Nintendo owner who’s been locked out of Call of Duty for over a decade, you’re getting a version of Modern Warfare 4 that feels every bit as snappy as the series usually is, even if it’s a bit muddier than Nintendo’s own crisp visuals.”

Why is Call of Duty releasing on a Nintendo console now, 14 years after the last time? It has to do with Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Back when Microsoft was facing regulatory hurdles, one announcement designed to help convince the powers that be to green light the buyout was a 10-year commitment to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo following the merger.

“Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people — however they choose to play,” then Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in December 2022. Four years later, and with the Activision Blizzard buyout done and dusted, Call of Duty is on Switch 2.

We’ve got an in-progress Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Walkthrough to help you through the campaign missions, plus All Collectible Note Locations, and all the Code Solutions you’ll need to open every keypad and container. For multiplayer, check out How to Level Up Fast in MW4 and our Essential Multiplayer Tips and Tricks alongside the Best MW4 Settings we recommend you use. DMZ is back, so we’ve got a handy DMZ Beginner’s Guide, too.

Anthropic has issued an update for Claude that puts a stop to the AI-generated game clones that have filled platforms like Steam.

The term 'AI slop' is something we've heard a lot in the past few years, but it became especially prevalent in the gaming community after Valve launched Steam Next Fest earlier this month. PC users quickly launched complaints that their feeds had been filled with low-effort clones not only of pre-existing games but even some titles that had only just released their own demos.

As players trudged through the slop, developers faced a reality that threw months or even years of hard work into jeopardy. Some, including Drunken Goddess Reflux developer Alliance Arts and Who You, even took action by canceling their Steam demo plans in favor of private playtests. It's a situation that rapidly spun out of control, prompting a response from Valve itself as it said it would be "thinking about how to solve this problem."

ANTHROPIC IS CRACKING DOWN ON VIDEO GAME REWRITES 🚨

Claude Code picked up a new rule around Oct 27, sent from Anthropic’s servers under a flag called "tengu_heron_brook". There’s no setting to turn it off.

The full rule: “Do build original games, games in a genre, and games from the user’s own designs and assets. Don’t build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original.”

Is this the end of game rewrites, modding and everything in between?

As reported by Game Developer, X/Twitter user Chasm was one of the first to share evidence of tech company Anthropic taking action against video game copycats. Based on their findings, Claude, the company's AI assistant, recently received an update featuring a new rule. The full rule can be read below:

"Do build original games, games in a genre, and games from the user’s own designs and assets. Don’t build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original."

When reached for comment by Game Developer, Anthropic pointed to a post shared by Addy Osmani, a member of its technical staff. Osmani's explanation can be read below:

"We added two sentences to Claude Code's prompt on Opus 5.5 to steer it away from recreating someone else's specific game because using Claude to infringe IP is against our usage policy. Original games, genre games, and games built from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working. We'll continue to iterate to ensure we're striking the right balance. In the meantime, if Claude turns down something that's yours, send it my way."

Whether there was a specific event or reason that prompted Anthropic to make these changes is unclear.

Game developers and game enjoyers will no doubt find comfort in Anthropic's changes, though it's worth noting that how impactful any of this will be remains to be seen. At the very least, those who use Claude to rip ideas directly from those who used their minds and time to bring them to life should have a tougher time trying to profit off of the work of others.

The industry is struggling to come to grips with artificial intelligence. Some, such as Epic Games' Tim Sweeney, have insisted that Valve should stray from asking developers to disclose games utilizing generative AI materials. Others, including Super Smash Bros. mastermind Masahiro Sakurai, have compared AI-generated games to "low-quality goods." The developers behind VRChat, meanwhile, recently came under fire for how they are handling AI content.

Getty Images credit: Kenneth Cheung.