Welcome back to another episode of Digital Coffee: Gaming Brew! I’m your host, Brett Deister, and this week we’re diving into some of the biggest stories shaking up the gaming world. On today’s show, we’re taking a closer look at Unreal Engine 5.6 and the much-hyped Witcher 4 tech demo—why I’m cautiously optimistic, and what you should (and shouldn’t) expect based on past experiences with tech demos. We’ll also cover the announcement of James Bond 007: First Light from the creators of Hitman, more ongoing studio closures with Zynga shuttering Echtra Games, and the latest updates on Dying Light: The Beast.

You’ll hear about No Man’s Sky’s impressive new ‘Beacon’ update—proving once again that Hello Games just keeps raising the bar for long-term post-launch support. We’ll discuss the shutdown of XDefiant servers and the exit of executive producer Mark Rubin from Ubisoft and the gaming industry, plus first impressions from my hands-on time with the Dune: Awakening early access launch.

Finally, we’re diving into the current climate around Pride Month in gaming—why some companies are pulling back, and what that means for the industry and its players. As always, grab your favorite brew, hit subscribe, leave a five-star review, and let’s get started!

3 Fun Facts:

1. The Unreal Engine 5.6 Witcher 4 tech demo claims to run at 60 FPS with ray tracing on a standard PS5.
2. No Man’s Sky released yet another free update called Beacon, letting players oversee and manage up to four settlements—with full town-building and defending against pirate incursions.
3. Dune: Awakening’s early access launch reached almost 100,000 concurrent players on Steam, ranking it just under Stardew Valley and War Thunder.

Key Themes:

1. Unreal Engine 5.6 and Witcher 4 tech demo
2. James Bond 007: First Light expectations
3. Studio closures and industry layoffs
4. Dying Light: The Beast 2 updates
5. No Man’s Sky Beacon update praise
6. XDefiant shutdown and producer departure
7. Pride Month backlash in gaming industry