Welcome back, gamers, to another jam-packed edition of the PixelPulse Weekly Recap, where the news drops faster than a noob in Tarkov and the industry’s drama is spicier than a hot wing challenge at Geoff Keighley’s house. Let’s get into the good stuff, because this week was a wild ride—from Xbox showcases and surprise shadow drops to Black Friday wallet-busters, AI outrage, and some bittersweet studio news.

### Xbox Partner Preview: A Surprise Buffet of Games

Microsoft’s Xbox Partner Preview event landed with a BFG blast of announcements and a few curveballs nobody saw coming. Highlights? Where do I even start?

- **Armatus**: Third-person roguelite shooter from the Godfall devs, featuring Paris gone demon-apocalypse. Guns, magic, and that Counterplay Games flair.
- **Dave the Diver**: FINALLY on Xbox, so all you Game Pass goblins can see what the sushi fuss is about.
- **Vampire Crawlers**: Vampire Survivors gets a spin-off (first-person, deckbuilder, roguelike) and Poncle won’t confirm a true sequel, but they’re “working on something.” Cheeky.
- **Crowsworn**: The Hollow Knight/Bloodborne lovechild is officially coming to PC and consoles, and yes, Game Pass day one.
- **Total Chaos**: Surprise shadow-dropped first-person psychological horror from the Turbo Overkill crew. If you want Doom mod DNA and Silent Hill vibes, it’s out now.
- **Reanimal**: Co-op horror from the Little Nightmares devs, free Xbox demo live, full release in February 2026.
- **Hitman x Eminem**: Agent 47 gets contracted by Eminem to take out... Slim Shady?! You can’t make this up.

And that’s only scratching the surface—shout to Tides of Annihilation, Zoopunk, Raji: Kaliyuga, and all the other new faces. Xbox Game Pass continues its “Netflix for Games” quest, scooping up most of these for day-one launches. We truly live in the era of subscription FOMO.

### Black Friday: The Deals (and FOMO) Are Real

You know it’s Black Friday week when every other headline is about slashed prices, restocks, and credit card offers. Here’s what’s worth your clicks:

- **MTG: Avatar: The Last Airbender Collector Booster Box** dropped by nearly $100 in a day. If you’re into cardboard crack, now’s the time to snap it up before eBay scalpers do.
- **Final Fantasy I-VI Collection Anniversary Edition** and Dragon Quest HD-2D Remakes are at their lowest-ever prices. JRPG fans, your backlog just got bigger.
- **Pokémon TCG**—Phantasmal Flames and Mega Evolution boosters are back in stock with sneaky Amazon Visa AMEX/Discover stackable deals. Free bundles, 50% off, the works.
- **Meta Quest 3S** is discounted at both Amazon and Best Buy, with extra gift cards or Amazon credit for Deadpool VR fans (which, by the way, is getting rave reviews).
- **Best Buy Black Friday**: Silent Hill f is $49.99, and Silent Hill 2 Remake just stealth-dropped on Xbox at a 50% launch discount. Get scared for less.

TL;DR: It’s a buyer’s market if you’ve got the patience to hunt for codes, coupons, and midnight restocks. Or just surrender and let your wallet cry itself to sleep.

### AI in Games: The Culture War Rages On

Another week, another AI controversy. This time, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Arc Raiders are the flashpoints. Some highlights:

- Activision *finally* admitted Black Ops 7 uses AI-generated assets and even copped to doing so in Black Ops 6. This triggered a U.S. Congressman (Ro Khanna) to demand regulations to protect artist jobs.
- Ubisoft was caught with an AI-generated loading screen in Anno 117, promised to patch it out, and doubled down on using AI “as a tool.”
- Arc Raiders publisher insists “every game company is now using it.” Shroud, ever the straight-shooter, called The Game Awards “rigged” for snubbing Arc Raiders—blaming anti-AI sentiment. Meanwhile, former Square Enix exec Jacob Navok says “Gen Z loves AI slop.”

Gamers are split. Some want the cheaper, faster content AI can crank out. Others want to support real artists and see AI as a plague. The only thing everyone agrees on? If you’re going to use AI, at least don’t let it spawn six-fingered zombie Santas.

### Studio Drama, Delays, and Goodbyes

- **BioShock 4** lost its narrative lead as 2K “reworks” the game for the second (third? fourth?) time. Rod Fergusson (Diablo, Gears) is now the new franchise boss. Fingers crossed for a coherent story—eventually.
- **Subnautica 2**’s legal battle keeps getting messier. Fired founders claim Krafton’s CEO used ChatGPT to “brainstorm ways to avoid paying” their $250m bonus. ChatGPT’s legal advice? “It would be difficult to cancel the earn-out.”
- **Rebecca Heineman**—co-founder of Interplay and all-around programming legend—passed away at 62. She leaves a massive legacy. RIP to a true industry pioneer.
- **Escape From Tarkov 1.0** launched... and immediately got bombarded for server issues and bugs. The devs apologized and promised fixes. Extraction shooters: still not for the faint of heart.

### Franchise News: Sequels, Spin-Offs, and Cancellations

- **No new F1 game in 2026**—instead, F1 25 gets a paid expansion. EA's “multi-year strategic investment” is code for “wait until 2027.”
- **Vampire Survivors** gets a spinoff (Vampire Crawlers), but the dev teases they're "working on something"—maybe a true sequel? We’ll see.
- **Guild Wars Reforged** brings a massive HD update and controller support for the MMORPG’s 20th anniversary.
- **Hitman World of Assassination** goes full meme: Eminem contracts Agent 47 to kill Slim Shady. Next up, 47 vs. SpongeBob?
- **Ghost of Yotei** gets New Game Plus, new armor, and more. Sucker Punch isn’t going full Ubisoft—one project at a time.

### Quick Hits & Fun Stuff

- **Magic: The Gathering’s Avatar set** launches this week. Preorders are finally back in stock (for now), and the chase cards are already hitting insane prices.
- **Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension DLC** will debut Mega Zeraora, but unlocking it “will be a little difficult.” Gotta grind ‘em all!
- **The Game Awards 2025 noms are in:** Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads the pack with 12 nominations, but Shroud’s beloved Arc Raiders only gets a multiplayer nom. The salt is real.
- **Half-Life 3 rumors** are back. Again. Mods are deleting “low-value” posts, but the hopium is flowing on Reddit. Valve, don’t play with our hearts.
- **Board games and puzzles**: Amazon/TARGET are running “Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off” sales, and Magic Puzzle Company’s jigsaw line is included. Cozy gamers, unite!

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That’s a wrap for this week’s PixelPulse Recap. Xbox brought the heat, Black Friday is here to destroy your bank account, and the AI war only gets messier. If you made it this far, you’re braver than a Tarkov solo runner. Stay tuned, stay salty, and remember: If you see Agent 47 in line for Black Friday deals, maybe don’t cut the queue.

See you next week, and as always—keep those pixels pulsing.