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Research

Research

What players say, recommend, play and buy, launch by launch. We read and judge it ourselves, and every figure links to its source.

New pieces as they’re published.

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30 pieces

Type

Game

  1. Game reportUpdated dailyGears of War: E-DayMost players recommend The Coalition’s origin story for its combat, but the reviews players find most helpful are mostly negative, over a campaign that sidelines Marcus and Dom, crashes and missing series staples.
  2. Game reportUpdated dailyEA Sports FC 27EA’s yearly football game divides players almost evenly, and the reviews they find most helpful say it repeats FC 26 and launched with crashes and disconnects.
  3. Game reportUpdated dailyMinecraft Dungeons IIPlayers enjoy how the sequel’s fights feel, but most of the reviews they find most helpful say it lost the first game’s depth and launched with account and online problems.
  4. Game reportUpdated dailyRuneScape: DragonwildsJagex’s survival game left early access on 15 September, and players reviewing the 1.0 release are split almost evenly between RuneScape fans who love it and players who find it unfinished.
  5. Game reportUpdated dailyOnimusha: Way of the SwordCapcom’s return to Onimusha sold a million copies on launch day, and players rank its sword fighting with the best action games of recent years.
  6. Game reportUpdated dailyStar Wars Zero CompanyBit Reactor’s Clone Wars tactics game wins players over with its squad and its story, while its missions repeat and PC performance holds some back.
  7. Game reportUpdated dailyMortal Shell IICold Symmetry’s soulslike sequel wins players over with fast, weighty combat and eight Shells to master, and loses many of them in its second half.
  8. Game reportUpdated dailyBig WalkHouse House’s co-op walking game is one of the best-received games of the year, and players judge it by the friends they play it with.
  9. Game reportUpdated dailyStar Wars: Galactic RacerFuse Games’ roguelite Star Wars racer wins players over with its speed, and its launch-week reviews took it to task over fixed controls, sidelined podracing and thin content.
  10. Game reportUpdated dailyClive Barker’s Hellraiser: RevivalSaber’s first-person Hellraiser game opened to near-universal praise from players, who call it the most faithful adaptation the films have had.
  11. Game reportUpdated dailyHalloween: The GameIllFonic’s Michael Myers game drew a million players in its first week, and players love stalking Haddonfield as Michael while finding the rest of it unfinished.
  12. Game reportUpdated dailyNBA 2K27Players split evenly on 2K’s yearly basketball game, and not one of the 80 reviews they find most helpful recommends it.
  13. Game reportUpdated dailyEndless Legend 2Amplitude’s fantasy 4X left early access on 17 September, and players reviewing the full release praise its factions and its receding ocean.
  14. Game reportUpdated dailyMoonlighter 2: The Endless VaultDigital Sun’s shop-and-dungeon sequel left early access on 2 September, and the players reviewing the full release split over how far it strays from the first game.
  15. Game reportUpdated dailyResonance: A Plague Tale LegacyAsobo’s Plague Tale prequel trades stealth for melee action on a Greek island, and players rank it among the best-looking games of the year.
  16. Game reportUpdated dailyAliens: Fireteam Elite 2Cold Iron’s co-op sequel still delivers the bug hunts players enjoyed in the first game, and most of the reviews they find most helpful call it too close to it for $49.99.
  17. Game reportUpdated dailyThe Sinking City 2Frogwares turned its Lovecraftian detective game into a survival horror game, and players split on the change almost exactly down the middle of its most helpful reviews.
  18. Game reportUpdated dailyHell Let Loose: VietnamThe 50-versus-50 shooter moved to Vietnam with its squad play intact, and players find a launch that still feels unfinished two months on.
  19. Game reportUpdated dailyMarvel Tōkon: Fighting SoulsArc System Works’ 4v4 Marvel fighter wins praise for how it plays, and fewer than half of players recommend it on PC, over performance and a required PlayStation account.
  20. Game reportUpdated dailyBeast of ReincarnationGame Freak’s action RPG about a girl and her dog wins players over with its parry-based fights, and loses many with repetition and a $59.99 price.
  21. Launch trackerDay 7Nivalis NightsNivalis Nights puts a restaurant and nightclub business inside a life sim in a voxel cyberpunk city. We track how players react at Day 1, 7 and 30.
  22. Game reportUpdated dailyThe Blood of DawnwalkerRebel Wolves’ open-world vampire RPG sold 1 million copies in under three days, and players praise its writing above everything else.
  23. Game reportUpdated dailyMarvel’s WolverineFans love the brutal fights and Logan, but most of the reviews players like best are negative, over heavy-handed guidance, a safe story and the $70 price.
  24. Game reportUpdated dailyGraveyard Keeper 2Lazy Bear’s sequel sold 400,000 copies in two days, and players find it clears away the first game’s chores before a new grind sets in.
  25. Launch trackerDay 7Ace Combat 8: Wings of TheveAce Combat 8 opened to Deluxe Edition buyers three days before its 2 October launch. We track how players react in early access and at Day 1, 7 and 30.
  26. Teardown25 Sept 2026The First 72 HoursSilent Hill: Townfall’s early-access buyers recommended it 72% of the time, and launch-day players 60%. We read the first 72 hours of reviews to find out why.The Blood of DawnwalkerSilent Hill: Townfall
  27. Reception IndexSeptember 2026The Reception Index: September 2026How players received five September launches: whether they recommend each game, how that changed after launch, and what they praise and criticise.The Blood of DawnwalkerMarvel’s WolverineGraveyard Keeper 2Silent Hill: TownfallControl Resonant
  28. Launch trackerDay 7Control ResonantControl Resonant changes its hero, its city and its combat. We track how players react at Day 1, 7 and 30.
  29. Launch trackerDay 7Silent Hill: TownfallTownfall moves the series to a new island, with a new protagonist and a first-person camera. We track how players react at Day 1, 7 and 30.
  30. Method24 Sept 2026How we run a focus groupHow we recruit, screen, pay and NDA players, moderate without leading them, and turn sessions into findings a studio can act on.

What we count

Players only.

Every figure here is our own reading of players: what they say and what they do. We judge what they say from their own words and work out recommendation rates from their individual reviews. We never use critic scores or press coverage.

  • Said

    What players write in reviews and comments. We judge each one positive, mixed or negative from its text and note the themes it raises. We keep quotes short and never name players.

  • Recommended

    Where players give a plain yes or no with their review, we count the answers day by day.

  • Played

    How many play, and for how long, from the platforms’ own counts.

  • Bought

    Sales when the studio or publisher announces them, and estimates only from named data firms, labeled as estimates.

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