S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Sells 1 Million Copies in 48 Hours Despite Technical Troubles

Colossal Order has released a major bicycle update for Cities: Skylines 2, introducing bikes and electric scooters alongside comprehensive cycling infrastructure. Players can now create dedicated bicycle paths and road lanes to separate cyclists from vehicle traffic, whilst new bike parking facilities encourage citizens to choose two-wheeled transport over driving. The update also includes a recreational bike park where cyclists can both enjoy leisure activities and securely store their bicycles.

Beyond cycling, the patch adds substantial transportation infrastructure including a new train depot, an expandable railway terminus station that supports multiplatform bus stations and tram stops, and a cargo transfer station. Three new tram stations round out the transport additions. The update also introduces several types of business plazas, a campfire area for recreational spaces, two wind turbine variants, and a small cemetery for space-constrained cities.

This will be Colossal Order's final major mechanical update before handing development to Iceflake Studios at the start of next year. The original developer will implement Asset Mods before the transition, after which Iceflake Studios will outline its plans for the game's future. The handover marks an unusual move in the industry, as developers rarely willingly transfer creative control of their projects to another studio, particularly whilst the game is still in active development and support.

You can watch see everything in the new bike patch here →

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has achieved over 1 million copies sold within its first 48 hours, marking GSC Game World's most successful launch to date. The game's commercial success has surprised many industry observers, particularly given the challenging circumstances surrounding its development in Ukraine during wartime conditions. The studio confirmed all metrics exceeded their expectations, with the game reaching these milestones across PC and Xbox platforms.

Despite the positive sales figures, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 faces significant technical challenges, including widespread performance issues, bugs, and problems with A-Life 2.0, the game's advanced AI system. Players have reported the AI failing to create the emergent, dynamic world that was central to the original trilogy's appeal. The development team has acknowledged these issues and is actively working on fixes, with Game Director Yevhenii Grygorovych stating the studio is focused on improving performance whilst preserving the intended gameplay vision.

The technical problems haven't prevented the game from becoming a commercial success, though they've clearly impacted the player experience. GSC Game World's achievement is particularly remarkable considering the studio evacuated staff from Kyiv to Prague following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, continuing development under extraordinary circumstances. The team has promised ongoing support and improvements, signalling their commitment to delivering the experience fans expected from this long-awaited sequel.

Grinding Gear Games has postponed Path of Exile 2's early access launch by one week, moving the release date from 6 December to 13 December. The delay stems from complications with backend server infrastructure rather than issues with the game itself. The development team discovered problems with the account system during testing, specifically around how it manages accounts between Path of Exile 1 and Path of Exile 2, which risk potential server crashes and interruptions.

The studio has clarified that the core game build is complete and ready for launch, but the account management system requires additional work to ensure stability. Players who have already purchased early access supporter packs will automatically gain entry when the new launch date arrives. The early access period will last approximately six months before the full free-to-play release, during which Grinding Gear Games plans to add the game's final three character classes and continue refining the experience.

Grinding Gear Games' decision to delay demonstrates a commitment to launching with stable infrastructure, particularly important given Path of Exile 2's always-online nature and the studio's previous experience with server problems at major launches. The one-week postponement, whilst disappointing for eager fans, appears designed to prevent the more serious issues that could arise from rushing an unstable backend system into production with a large player base.

Blizzard has released remasters of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness as part of a bundle that also includes the original versions and the Warcraft 2: Beyond the Dark Portal expansion. The remasters feature updated hand-drawn visuals, improved UI and controls, and the ability to switch between remastered and original graphics at any time. Despite these enhancements, both games have received "Mixed" ratings on Steam, with many players expressing disappointment over the execution.

The primary criticism focuses on the remasters feeling less like comprehensive modern updates and more like basic visual overlays on the original games. Many features considered standard in contemporary strategy games remain absent, whilst fundamental issues from the 1994 and 1995 originals persist. The games lack proper quality-of-life improvements, and whilst the new artwork offers a fresh coat of paint, it hasn't addressed the underlying dated gameplay mechanics that make these titles feel archaic by modern standards.

The Warcraft 2 remaster has particularly suffered from a controversial decision to combine all multiplayer lobbies across different versions of the game. This means players using the remaster compete alongside those using Blizzard's previous Warcraft 2 Battle.net Edition from 1999 and the GOG release, creating an uneven playing field where the remaster's visual updates can actually work against players. The mixed reception suggests Blizzard may have missed an opportunity to bring these foundational strategy games to modern audiences with the care and attention fans hoped for.

CD Projekt plans to significantly expand the Cyberpunk 2 development team, projecting growth from approximately 80 developers currently to around 350-400 staff by the end of 2027. This substantial increase represents a doubling of the team size and reflects the studio's commitment to building solid foundations for the sequel during its pre-production and early production phases. Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski confirmed these plans whilst acknowledging the team is still in relatively early stages of development.

The expansion will involve both the main CD Projekt Red studio and the company's Boston-based team, with plans to eventually achieve an approximate 50-50 split between developers working on The Witcher 4 and those on Cyberpunk 2. However, current projections suggest the 2027 headcount may still fall short of The Witcher 4's current 447 developers by roughly 100 people. Nowakowski emphasised that the investment in the Boston studio, which will play a major role in Cyberpunk 2's development, should pay off by elevating the next Cyberpunk experience significantly.

CD Projekt's methodical approach contrasts with the original Cyberpunk 2077's development, which involved 530 developers and was notoriously plagued by bugs at launch. The company has clearly learned from that troubled release, opting for a more deliberate build-up over the next two years rather than the back-and-forth project switching that characterised previous development cycles. Whilst Nowakowski expressed satisfaction with the team's progress, he cautioned it remains too early to discuss entering any new development phases, suggesting a focus on establishing strong groundwork before ramping up to full production.

Roblox CEO David Baszucki faced severe criticism following a New York Times podcast interview where he described the platform's predator problem as "not just a problem, but an opportunity." The interview grew increasingly awkward as Baszucki offered vague responses about AI-powered safety measures, appeared to deny predator issues despite 20+ lawsuits and multiple state investigations, and even suggested adding prediction markets (essentially gambling) to the platform in an educational context.

CD Projekt joint CEO Michał Nowakowski confirmed that whilst Baldur's Gate 3 provided inspiration, the studio will continue focusing on large open-world games rather than adopting Larian's CRPG approach. The company remains committed to innovating beyond just improved graphics for its core franchises, The Witcher and Cyberpunk, with in-house teams concentrating on major pillar titles rather than spinoffs.

Valve's hero shooter Deadlock has launched a significant November patch addressing numerous balance issues and bugs whilst introducing quality-of-life improvements. The update aims to refresh the meta and improve overall game stability as the title continues its closed testing phase.