What do you think will be announced this week? (Microsoft/Ubisoft/Sony/Nintendo/Metro)
Get ready for a big week in gaming, with at least three separate video game showcases and tons of new trailers and announcements.
This week stands to be one of the most important weeks in gaming this year. A bunch of different preview showcases are scheduled for the coming days, including a new State of Play from Sony, an Xbox showcase, and Summer Game Fest itself.
Although not confirmed, a new Nintendo Direct is also expected to air this month, though not necessarily this week. All of which means that the rumourmill has been going into overdrive, trying to predict what will be shown.
Some games are already confirmed to see previews this week. Sony’s State of Play kicks off with an extended look at the Wolverine game, while Xbox has promised a deep dive on Gears Of War: E-Day and a new Fable trailer to make up for its recent delay.
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That still leaves a lot of potential announcements, so we’ve collated all the biggest rumours from the past several months, as well as common fan theories and predictions, to gauge what could be shown throughout the week.
God Of War spin-off
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Although the last State of Play capped things off with the shadow drop of a new God Of War spin-off, and an announcement for remakes of the original three games, one more God Of War project is still rumoured to be in the works.
This one is said to be in more in-line with the modern Norse games but starring Kratos’ late wife Faye. And supposedly it’s the next project from series developer Santa Monica Studio.
It’d certainly make sense, as Santa Monica hasn’t had a new release since God Of War Ragnarök in 2022 and only assisted with Sons Of Sparta. Plus, those remakes are clearly so far off they’re probably PlayStation 6 games.
Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson has also claimed (or is at least extremely confident) that a new God Of War will appear at the State of Play and that it was apparently meant to be announced in April.
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Naughty Dog
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet hasn’t seen a real update since the 2024 Game Awards reveal, although it’s reportedly aiming for a mid-2027 release. As such, a new trailer to showcase gameplay must be due this year at least, maybe at the 2026 Game Awards if not the State of Play.
Naughty Dog is supposed to have another project in the works so, depending on how development is progressing, Sony could push to have that out first, should Intergalactic be further delayed.
What that second game is has never been clear, although the most popular current theory is that it’s a new Uncharted sequel.
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How to watch Summer Game Fest 2026 and every other showcase this week
All the showcases below are available via YouTube, and usually Twitch and others, so all you have to do is tune in at the right time and let the new trailers wash over you…
PlayStation State Of Play – Tuesday June 2, 10pm BST
Women-Led Games Showcase – Friday June 5, 12am BST
Access-Ability Summer Showcase – Friday June 5, 4pm BST
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Summer Game Fest – Friday June 5, 10pm BST
Day of the Devs – Saturday June 6, 12am BST
Southeast Asian Games Showcase – Saturday, June 6, 4pm BST
Wholesome Direct – Saturday June 6, 5pm BST
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Fellow Traveller’s Story-Rich Showcase – Saturday June 6, 6pm BST
Green Games Showcase – Saturday June 6, 7pm BST
IGN Live – Saturday June 6, 8pm BST & Sunday June 7, 5:30pm BST
Future Games Show – Saturday June 6, 8pm BST
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Xbox Games Showcase – Sunday June 7, 6pm BST
PC Gaming Show – Sunday June 7, 8pm BST
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Venom spin-off
Insomniac’s all but confirmed Venom spin-off is in a weird limbo. After it was infamously leaked, one of the Spider-Man games’ voice actors said earlier this year that it was cancelled due to the passing of Venom’s own actor Tony Todd.
However, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, perhaps the most reliable insider in the games industry, bluntly refuted this, suggesting Insomniac’s still working on it.
With Wolverine out this year, Insomniac could start teasing Venom as its next project, followed by the promised Spider-Man sequel, although that would mean four Marvel projects in a row from Insomniac.
Revivals of older PlayStation IPs
There were rumblings recently of Sony dipping into its retro library for potential revivals and while certainly believable, it’s unclear precisely which games will see such treatment.
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The names Ape Escape and WipEout have been thrown around, as well remasters or re-releases for the inFamous games (without original developer Sucker Punch’s involvement), but there’s so far no concrete evidence for any of them.
Fairgame$/Break In
It’s easy to forget about Fairgames$, as it completely vanished after its 2023 reveal. It’s also easy to assume it might be cancelled, as Sony’s live service game plans have imploded since then… not that that’s stopped the company from pushing through with them anyway.
By all accounts, though, Fairgame$ is still in development and may have even undergone a revamp or at least a rename. Sony recently trademarked the name Break In, which some suspect is the new game for Fairgame$. That would make sense as it fits the game’s bank heist premise and… isn’t completely awful.
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Much like the aforementioned God Of War, Tom Henderson has also stated that he expects to see Fairgame$ during the State of Play.
Crazy Taxi/Jet Set Radio
Sega’s big retro revival initiative has been slow going as only one project – Shinobi: Art Of Vengance – has launched since the initial batch of announcements in 2023. However, the company has unsubtly teased an update for the new Crazy Taxi, which points to a Summer Game Fest reveal and potentially a release this year.
Footage from a new trailer for the Jet Set Radio revival also leaked online recently. It’s only a few seconds long and doesn’t show any gameplay, but that could also feature during Summer Game Fest.
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Virtua Fighter 6
Another Sega revival in the works is its fighting game series Virtua Fighter, which is in development at Yakuza developer RGG Studio and is bound to see an update this week.
That’s because some very legitimate looking gameplay footage leaked online through Chinese social media site bilibili and later Reddit. It also appears to confirm a proper name for the game: Virtua Fighter Crossroads.
Sonic The Hedgehog
This month marks Sonic The Hedgehog’s 35th anniversary, so Sega is bound to at least have a teaser for the next mainline game, especially since Sonic has made appearances at Summer Game Fest the last few years and it’s been four years since Sonic Frontiers.
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A Sonic Frontiers Definitive Edition is rumoured to be coming out soon too, although it seems to just be an excuse to get the game on Switch 2, since it apparently doesn’t add anything new and just adds all the free post-launch DLC.
It’s also been suggested a remake of Sonic CD is in the works, which would make sense as the next live action movie in 2027 is clearly taking inspiration from that game.
Alien: Isolation 2
While not confirmed for Summer Game Fest, a proper reveal for Alien: Isolation 2 seems quite likely as developer Creative Assembly posted an extremely vague teaser back in April to mark Alien Day.
Job listings also suggest long-term support for the game, which likely refers to post-launch DLC; something the first game received as well.
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Persona 4 Revival/Persona 6
Since Persona 4 Revival was announced at last year’s Xbox showcase and is speculated to launch in early 2027, it’d be more surprising if a new trailer wasn’t at this year’s Xbox showcase.
What has caught fans off guard, though, is allegedly leaked artwork from the unannounced Persona 6, complete with a rumoured release window of September next year.
None of this guarantees a Persona 6 reveal at any of the upcoming showcases, but this year is the 30th anniversary of the series. And considering Persona 5 was a decade ago, now is the absolutely best time to formally showcase the sequel.
Interestingly, there’s insider chatter that while NetherRealm is working on a DC fighting game, it might not be related to Injustice. This would make sense as Injustice’s premise of a world conquered by an evil Superman is old hat nowadays.
As such, a new trailer this week is a given, especially since the game will be featured as part of IGN Live, which runs around the same time as Summer Game Fest.
Perhaps developer Crystal Dynamics will have something to share on Tomb Raider: Catalyst too. Although since that lacks a release date beyond a vague 2027 window, it will likely prioritise Legacy Of Atlantis for the time being.
Yooka-Laylee
The original Yooka-Laylee saw an updated remaster/reimagining last year under the name Yooka-Replaylee, but developer Playtonic has been unsubtly teasing something new is on the way.
Aside from updating its profile image on Bluesky to a close-up of Yooka’s eye, it’s posted a couple of teasing statements about how the two title characters are ‘plotting something.’
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More recently, it’s said, ‘Collecting quills is far too slow, there may be faster ways to go,’ which some think is a hint at a Diddy Kong Racing style Mario Kart clone.
Rayman
Ubisoft’s upcoming Rayman plans are common knowledge thanks to how much has leaked about them. For starters, a Rayman Legends remake – Rayman Legends: Retold – is said to debut at the State of Play and launch in October. It will apparently feature new 3D sections and new content, including collaborations with Astro Bot and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
It’s strange that Ubisoft wouldn’t remake predecessor Rayman Origins instead but as it turns out, that game is seeing a straightforward ‘Enhanced Edition’ for modern systems, according to a now deleted listing on the Xbox store. Hilariously, it was listed as costing $2,000, but that’s obviously incorrect.
Assassin’s Creed Hexe could do with an update since it’s lost key members of staff (Ubisoft)
Assassin’s Creed Hexe / Far Cry 7
Speaking of Ubisoft projects, if the company plans to have any big announcements for the summer, it’s going to be either the next Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry game.
Assassin’s Creed Hexe hasn’t had a real update since the initial teaser and is reportedly aiming for a 2027 launch, which makes sense as Ubisoft likes releasing new entries on a regular basis and this year it’s launching a Black Flag remake.
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Ubisoft may not want to start promoting a new Assassin’s Creed until the aforementioned remake is out the door, though, so it might choose to share first official details on Far Cry 7, since it has been nearly five years since Far Cry 6 and the company has promised to have something new for the series out by 2029.
Rumours point to it being a significant shake up to the series formula, but it was recently claimed Ubisoft is using Far Cry 7 as a testing ground for generative AI and that the results ‘look like s***,’ which doesn’t bode well.
New Worms
This one was awfully random but in the midst of an Assassin’s Creed related leak, somebody dropped screenshots and gameplay of an unannounced Worms game.
Intriguingly, it looks to be a cross between the original Worms and XCOM, which already makes it more appealing than the last entry, Worms Rumble. That came out in 2020 and ditched the turn-based tactics gameplay for real-time battle royale action.
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Resident Evil
Last year, Capcom used Summer Game Fest to announce Resident Evil Requiem, so it would be fitting to use the same event to show off the game’s story DLC.
Capcom hasn’t said anything about what the DLC entails, but it’s rumoured to see the return of Ada Wong, who some fans speculate is Leon’s mystery wife.
It’s also been claimed there’ll be two DLC expansions: one that sees Ada team up with series veteran Chris Redfield and another starring Leon and Alyssa Ashcroft, the mother of Requiem protagonist Grace.
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Plus, it’s not impossible for Capcom to start teasing its next Resident Evil remake, now that Requiem is out. The company is believed to have at least three in production for Resident Evil Zero, Code: Veronica, and the very first game.
The Code: Veronica remake is supposedly aiming to launch next year, so it’d make sense for Capcom to have an announcement before the end of 2026.
Street Fighter 6 Year 4 DLC
With the recent addition of Ingrid to Street Fighter 6, Capcom has no more DLC characters confirmed, which means a fourth year of DLC is undoubtedly planned to be announced soon.
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There are rumours about which four characters will be included but the most surprising one is that Capcom is collaborating with Square Enix to add Final Fantasy 7’s Tifa Lockhart.
The initial source of this rumour, RnK_Clan on Reddit, has consistently and accurately leaked previous DLC characters for Street Fighter 6, and added that Tifa will be accompanied by Gouken and Vega (two returning Street Fighter characters) and Final Fight’s Mike Hagger.
Curiously, YouTuber rooflemonger has claimed that this character line-up doesn’t match what he’s heard… except for Tifa, which he was told about by multiple sources.
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Onimusha: Way Of The Sword
Capcom has one last big release for 2026 and that’s its new Onimusha sequel Onimusha: Way Of The Sword. However, it still lacks a concrete release date.
That may change at some point this week as X account asdf – the same source that leaked the logo for the Rayman Legends remake – has claimed the game is scheduled for September 26, though they’ve covered their bases by adding that this info could be outdated.
For what it’s worth, the ever reliable NateTheHate has commented on this rumour, adding that while he can’t corroborate the exact date, Capcom is allegedly targeting a September launch.
Devil May Cry 5 for Switch 2
One last Capcom rumour, 2019’s Devil May Cry 5 is allegedly seeing a Switch 2 port – labelled the Devil Hunter Edition – according to a listing on the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee website (per NintendoEverything).
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Listings on ratings boards are typically accurate, although it’s unclear if this will feature any new content or just be a straightforward port that includes the Vergil and Bloody Palace DLC.
Regardless, a Devil May Cry 5 re-release makes sense to capitalise on the Nintendo audience and the success of the Devil May Cry Netflix show. If this were to be announced anywhere, though, it’d probably be during a Nintendo Direct.
Hopefully, this is also Capcom letting new fans get up to speed on the most recent entry so they’re prepared for a Devil May Cry 6, which feels overdue at this point.
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FromSoftware
FromSoftware currently has only one confirmed game, which is Switch 2 multiplayer exclusive The Duskbloods and is meant to be launching before the end of 2026.
Despite the lack of updates since last year’s reveal, it is claimed by NateTheHate to be out in late 2026 and FromSoftware’s parent company, Kadokawa Corporation, still has it listed for a 2026 launch in its latest fiscal report.
If this is going to be shown anywhere, it will be at a Nintendo Direct, although we wouldn’t be surprised if it winds up being pushed back into early 2027.
It was claimed last year that FromSoftware is aiming to have two games out in 2026. What exactly this second project could be isn’t clear, but there’s speculation it could be a previously rumoured remaster of Dark Souls 3.
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There’s also a rumour of FromSoftware working on an unannounced pirate game titled Cerulean Onslaught, but while the idea is popular with fans, the source is dubious and should be taken with a considerable serving of salt.
Ace Combat 8: Wings Of Theve
Ace Combat 8 was announced at last year’s The Game Awards with a tentative 2026 release window, which is likely to mean late summer or early autumn – assuming it doesn’t want to take on GTA 6.
That’s because the website for PEGI, the European ratings board, has the game listed to launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on May 30.
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Obviously, this is a placeholder, since it’s June now and the game’s not out, but at the very least this could point to a new trailer that will confirm a proper release date.
Tides Of Annihilation
As a reminder, Tides Of Annihilation is a new fantasy action game based on Arthurian legend from Chinese studio Eclipse Glow Games, which was announced early last year during a State of Play.
Eclipse Glow recently announced that it’s running a hands-on event this summer, so people can actually try the game for themselves. You’d think that might mean a public demo during Summer Game Fest, although Eclipse Glow has so far made no mention of the event.
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At the very least, there could be a new trailer to accompany it this week, during one of the showcases. Perhaps the game will even be ready to launch later this year.
Will new gaming hardware be announced this week?
Both Sony and Microsoft have new consoles supposedly targeting a 2027 launch, but you shouldn’t expect either of them to even be mentioned during their respective showcases.
Microsoft has already ruled out discussing Project Helix, as it wants to focus on its games. Sony hasn’t said anything about showcasing new hardware at the State of Play and since Microsoft has no immediate plans for Helix, Sony’s under no pressure to show off the PlayStation 6 either.
As for Nintendo, while the Switch 2 is still only a year old, there are suspicions that the company is planning a Switch 2 Lite or at least some kind of hardware revision sooner than anticipated.
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It would make a lot of sense for Nintendo to release a Switch 2 Lite since it would presumably be less expensive than the regular model and thus more appealing to new customers. Especially since the regular Switch 2 is going up in price later this year.
Kingdom Come
Warhorse Studios already elected to announce its next two projects ahead of any showcases: a new Kingdom Come game and a Lord Of The Rings themed open world role-playing game.
If so, Warhorse may already have something to show of it this week, although if it does, we’d have to question why it didn’t wait to announce the game through a teaser trailer rather than a boring social media post.
Lego Skylines
Possibly the weirdest potential Summer Game Fest announcement, something called Lego Skylines was spotted on the Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea’s website last month.
This not only suggests an incoming announcement but that it will launch relatively soon too. As the name suggests, it sounds like a Lego version of city building sim Cities: Skylines.
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Lego is a perfect fit for a city builder, although we have to imagine this isn’t being handled by Traveller’s Tales, since it’s only just released Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight.
Star Wars Zero Company/Star Wars Jedi 3
As a cross between Star Wars and XCOM, Star Wars Zero Company is easily one of our most anticipated games of 2026. It’s supposed to be out this year, but progress on it has been quiet since last year’s reveal.
There was, thankfully, a meaty and very positive preview of the game from PC Gamer in March and, just like Lego Skylines, a listing was spotted on the Korean ratings website.
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This is a positive sign that Zero Company will be out before the end of 2026 and since Star Wars Day came and went with no update, a new trailer at Summer Game Fest feels like a strong possibility.
The next question is whether this will come out before or after Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which has a concrete release date of October 6.
There’s also the matter of Star Wars Jedi 3, which EA teased as the last entry in Respawn’s trilogy of Jedi games starring Cal Kestis. There was a four year gap between the previous two games, which launched in 2019 and 2023, respectively, so the third game could potentially launch within the next couple of years and thus warrant a formal announcement sooner rather than later.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3
Given the four year gap between Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, it’s not unreasonable to assume the third and final part of the trilogy will launch sometime in 2028.
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However, with Part 3’s development reportedly progressing well and 2027 marking the 30th anniversary of the original Final Fantasy 7, there’s speculation that Square Enix could have the game ready by next year.
There is also enough evidence pointing to a proper reveal taking place soon. For starters, director Naoki Hamaguchi told Comicbook in April that ‘preparations toward the announcement are steadily underway.’
Not only that, but with both Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth now on Switch 2 and Xbox, fans across all platforms are fully caught up with the story, which would lead perfectly into a reveal for Part 3, especially if it’s multiplatform at launch.
Plus, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was the final reveal of Summer Game Fest 2023, so it’d be fitting if the show repeated this for Part 3. Although, alternatively, Sony could have enough sway to include it as part of the State of Play.
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Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts 4 was announced in 2022 and since then, all Square Enix has shown of it are a handful of screenshots, which it only shared last year as a means of placating fans after it cancelled mobile spin-off Missing Link.
There have been some rumours and alleged leaks about the game since then, but nothing concrete, and although there are some hopes it will make a grand return this week, there’s no firm evidence to support them.
What’s far more plausible is an announcement for native Switch 2 ports of all the older Kingdom Hearts games, which infamously only saw cloud versions on the Switch 1.
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This has been rumoured/speculated for a while and the flames were only further flamed when it was claimed that the demos for said cloud versions had been removed, but we checked the Switch eShop ourselves and they’re still there.
Even so, dedicated Switch 2 ports seem inevitable and could be featured at a Nintendo Direct. Alternatively, Square Enix and Disney may be saving Kingdom Hearts news for this year’s D23 convention in August.
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Baldur’s Gate remakes
According to PC Gamer, the first two Baldur’s Gate games are apparently getting the remake treatmen, although not from Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios, since it’s busy with its next Divinity game.
Details are otherwise scarce, so these remakes may not even be announced this week or even this year, but it’d make sense for Hasbro and Wizards Of The Coast to greenlight them.
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Baldur’s Gate 4 isn’t happening for a very long time, so appeasing fans with updated remakes of the older games is the most obvious way of keeping the brand alive till then.
Minecraft Dungeons 2
Trying to predict what new games Xbox will announce at its showcase is extremely difficult, especially since there have been no major rumours and the company has multiple games it’s been promising for years that still lack release windows, like State Of Decay 3 and Clockwork Revolution. Not to mention it cancelled a bunch of games last year.
One thing guaranteed to be shown, though, is Minecraft Dungeons 2 since that was already announced back in March but only with a brief teaser trailer. So, there’s bound to be a proper gameplay demonstration, especially since they can springboard it off the news that the second Minecraft movie’s official title is A Minecraft Movie Squared.
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Halo
The Halo: Combat Evolved remake is also guaranteed to make an appearance, since it’s launching later this year and currently lacks a firm release date.
A Halo Infinite leaker has suggested it could launch in early access on July 23, followed by a full release on July 28, which would make sense as Xbox has nothing major scheduled for the summer.
What’s less clear is whether Xbox will take a moment to announce or even tease a brand new Halo game. One certainly seems to be in development, as an old job listing refers to something called Halo Next.
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Additionally, regular Halo leaker Rebs Gaming has claimed that work on a sequel to Halo Infinite has begun, which is something Xbox could at least confirm to be the case, even if it doesn’t show anything of it.
The Elder Scrolls 6/Fallout
It wouldn’t be shocking if Xbox treated one or two of its new announcements as a bigger deal than they really are, but if there’s one game that would warrant it, it’d be The Elder Scrolls 6.
Even if it’s just another teaser, updates on the game’s progress have been fleeting since the 2018 announcement. Former Xbox boss Phil Spencer once suggested it could launch as early as 2028 and there was even a rumour it could arrive next year.
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Either way, any sort of update on The Elder Scrolls 6 would be an easy win, especially if it comes with a release window.
Even if that game remains absent, though, Xbox is bound to have something from Bethesda to show off. The most likely possibility is the long-rumoured Fallout 3 remaster, especially if it’s out this August – as some tie-in merchandise has suggested.
GTA 6
There is frankly no telling when Rockstar plans to share a new trailer for GTA 6. Publisher Take-Two did say marketing would begin in the summer and there’s no sign of another delay, meaning the game should actually launch in November.
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However, if/when GTA 6 does make a reappearance this summer (with legitimate pre-order details this time), it’s unlikely to do so at any of the big showcases.
The last two trailers released independently and considering they garnered millions of views, faster than most major movie trailers, GTA 6 clearly doesn’t need a State of Play or Summer Game Fest to help promote it.
As such, any new trailer may not drop until much later into June, or later, which may be for the best since a release this week would easily overshadow every other game announcement.
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Mario Kart World
Although the Nintendo Direct is currently rumoured to air later this month, there’s been some scuttlebutt about it potentially dropping this week. That seems far less likely given Nintendo’s habits in recent years but either way, we want to touch upon Nintendo’s potential summer announcements.
One that’s especially overdue is DLC for Mario Kart World. The game’s almost a year old and though there have been smaller, free updates, no DLC plans have ever been mentioned. There have been hints of Donkey Kong-related content, but even without them, DLC is guaranteed to be in the works simply because it’d make Nintendo a lot of money.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has even referred to Mario Kart World as an ‘evergreen’ game he wants people buying throughout the Switch 2’s lifecycle, which is the closest Nintendo’s got to saying it does have DLC in the pipeline.
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Pokémon Pokopia
The overwhelming success of Pokémon Pokopia no doubt caught Nintendo off-guard, as it did everyone else. The game is receiving free post-launch support, but its popularity could very well encourage Nintendo to fast track some proper DLC expansions.
In fact, it’s been claimed that the infamous teraleak from 2024 included plans to add new areas to Pokémon Pokopia as DLC. Even if this is accurate, those plans could very well have changed, but Nintendo clearly recognises the value of pushing Pokopia, as evidenced by a new Switch 2 bundle that includes the game.
Anyone expecting new footage for Pokémon Winds and Waves will probably be left wanting, though,since that game’s not due till 2027 so it’s not an immediate priority for Nintendo.
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Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
A new Fire Emblem game was announced last September and though there have been no updates since, Nintendo still has it listed for a 2026 launch and it’s rumoured to be part of the company’s summer line-up.
As such, a more in-depth look at the game could be part of the next Nintendo Direct. Nintendo’s recent tendency to drop new trailers through its Nintendo Today app, though, means it could just as easily make an appearance there, on a random Tuesday or something.
Super Smash Bros.
Since Kirby Air Riders support wrapped up very shortly after launch, and pointedly has no DLC plans, director Masahiro Sakurai has no doubt been sent back into the Super Smash Bros. mines by Nintendo.
Like Mario Kart World, it makes too much sense not to have a new Super Smash Bros. – be it wholly original or an updated Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with extra characters – to launch early into the Switch 2’s lifecycle, so it can be supported for years to come as an evergreen title.
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YouTuber and game developer interviewer Kiwi Talkz has suggested that something Smash related is coming within the next couple of years, but whether that’s a brand new game or a re-release is something he refused to specify.
If it is new, Nintendo may elect to wait till next year to start talking about it, but if there’s one game it could arguably afford to announce extra early, it’s a new Smash Bros. since even the mere promise could help shift Switch 2 units.
Ocarina Of Time remake and more
The big Nintendo rumour is that it’s remaking The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time this year, potentially as its big Christmas release, which would make it in a easy pick for a ‘one last thing’ during the next Direct.
It’d also be a smart way of drumming up anticipation for next year’s live action movie, even if it appears to be its own thing and not a direct adaptation of Ocarina Of Time.
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There are several smaller Nintendo related rumours circulating online as well, including a Super Metroid remake, a new Wario Land for 2027, and Switch 2 Edition of Pikmin 4 – all of which could feasibly be used to fill up a general Direct.
As for the next 3D Super Mario game, that’s claimed to not be coming till 2027, so Nintendo may choose to withhold showing anything of that until next year.
It was also The Legend Of Zelda’s 40th anniversary in February (Nintendo)
When police seized Darren Cox’s phone they found he also had videos of other women and a young girl, all in a state of undress.
A man has been put on the sex offenders’ register after he was caught filming a female in a supermarket changing cubicle.
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When police seized Darren Cox’s phone they found he also had videos of other women and a young girl, all in a state of undress.
Cox, 49, of Lanark Road, Carstairs, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court this week.
He admitted filming females at Sainsbury’s in Hamilton and other unknown locations between February and April 2024.
The court heard Cox was caught when a female shopper realised a phone had been placed on top of the cubicle she was in.
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The horrified woman confronted him and the police were contacted.
Officers viewed the supermarket’s CCTV which showed Cox going into a fitting room carrying two pairs of trousers and two t-shirts.
The woman he filmed was seen entering an adjacent cubicle.
Kevin Morrow, prosecuting, said 20 videos of adult women in a state of undress in fitting rooms were found on Cox’s phone.
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Police also discovered that he had filmed a girl thought to be aged between 10 and 12 years old as she changed in a cubicle.
Apart from the woman who caught him, none of his victims have been identified.
Mr Morrow told the court that Cox was “tearful” and apologetic when police officers quizzed him about his behaviour.
The fiscal said: “He admitted he had been watching people and videoing them in changing areas.
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“He claimed he didn’t know the girl he filmed was so young and deleted that video as soon as he realised.
“The accused said his wife had been going through a ‘horrendous’ time and he had been her carer. There had been all sorts of issues.
“He told police he had been ‘flaming stupid’ and wanted to apologise.”
Sheriff Liam Murphy said it was clear from a statement provided by the victim who caught the accused that his actions have had a “significant” impact on her.
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The sheriff told Cox: “Be under no illusion, you have pleaded guilty to a serious offence.”
Sentence was deferred until next month for background reports, an electronic tagging assessment and a risk assessment.
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Parking bays and waiting restrictions will also be introduced – with the new measures covering 20 locations in the area.
The new scheme was approved by highways bosses following concerns by locals, which included parking close to junctions, parked vehicles restricting other traffic from making manoeuvres, and risks to pedestrians.
The junction of Salisbury Street, Bacon Beaconsfield Street and Ribblesdale Road is one of the areas to be affected.
(Image: Bolton Council)
But the junction between Goldsmith Street, Bridgeman Street, and Higher Swan Lane will be discussed at a further meeting.
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The scheme as a whole received 120 objections, including one petition which contained 265 signatures, though this was counteracted by 286 letters of support.
The scheme was discussed at the meeting of the Executive Cabinet Member Highways, Transport, Planning and Development
Council officer Joe Fox said: “There were 21 separate locations across Rumworth which we identified as needing some parking intervention.
Swan Lane (Image: Newsquest)
“We sat down with ward councillors one to one and went through it line by line, discussing specific issues, and came to an agreement with councillors on what to do.
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“This report schedule sets out some slight amendments to the original proposal, which in most cases is trimming back some of the restrictions.”
The scheme came about due to ‘concerns’ that were raised about ‘obstructive parking in various locations around Rumworth (ward)’.
This is ‘causing concerns about vehicular and pedestrian movement and creating health and safety risks.’
Residents are raising concerns over the blocked street (Image: Public)
The new rules will prevent parking in certain areas in an attempt to manage traffic and support pedestrians.
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Cllr Ismail Ibrahim said: “I looked at the restrictions and generally I’m supportive.
“The only one I have real concerns about is the one around Goldsmith Street, Bridgeman Street, and the bottom of Higher Swan Lane.
“I just feel it’s not been looked at in the manner it should be.
“Road safety has to come before traffic, and what we’re doing here is we’re actually increasing the speed of traffic upon the entry point of Goldsmith Street.
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“There was a collision there just last week. Whenever a vehicle comes down Higher Swan Lane they can’t see past the junction of Goldsmith Street. When the cars are parked at the bottom they actually act as a buffer and it slows the traffic down.
The section of Goldsmith Street, Bridgeman Street, and Higher Swan Lane – the junction is at the bottom right of the image. (Image: Bolton Council)
“This point is used as a pedestrian crossing by many of the children and parents in the area, and I just feel that it’s not been taken into consideration as it should be.
“Also there is an issue in relation to the double yellow lines that they’ve put outside the church hall.
“Where are hearses supposed to park when they’ve got funerals? Because it’s just outside and all around the church.
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Back (Image: Newsquest)
“The lines don’t resolve traffic flow, they create a problem – you’re displacing and creating traffic at the same time.
“We need to be looking at improving this area, but this particular proposal doesn’t meet the objectives.
“I would prefer to defer the decision to ensure we find the right solution.”
The report had stated the double yellow restrictions were proposed to that junction due to ‘obstructions and visibility issues.’
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The parking causes chaos with oncoming traffic (Image: Public)
Mr Fox responded to Cllr Ibrahim’s concerns: “I think the way to tackle this is to look at site meetings.
“I would suggest we defer it. I know it’s frustrating, but I think we should try getting it right first time.
“But I think we can isolate just those items in the review, so we don’t need to defer the whole thing.”
Officers Jon Dyson and Ian Mulholland discussed whether the report could be substantially approved except for the Goldsmith/Bridgeman/Higher Swan Lane junction.
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The officers confirmed it could.
Cllr Ayyub Patel added: “The whole idea about the junction improvement and safety Traffic Regulation Orders s are there for the safety of the pedestrians and road users.
(Image: Bolton Council)
“I feel the officer’s recommendations are correct. I think we should defer a decision about that area and approve the rest.”
Cllr Sue Haworth said: “I’m very happy to support Cllr Ibrahim, who wants to defer the items that cover the double yellow lines at Bridgeman Street, Goldsmith Street, and the road outside St Philip’s Church.
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“I looked through all of this and Back Bowness Road and Swan Lane – I know the road markings had faded in recent years.
“My question is – if the lines become faded, does that mean the restriction order immediately ends? Because the orders can’t operate without lines.”
(Image: Bolton Council)
Mr Fox responded to Cllr Haworth: “The legal order remains. It doesn’t cease, it’s just that the lines need repainting. It will only change if we legally revoke the order, which is another legal process in itself.”
Executive member Nadeem Ayyub approved 20 of the new restrictions, deferring a decision on the Goldmsith Street junction to a later date.
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Full list of where parking restrictions will go and why
Junction of Salisbury Street with Back Beaconsfield Street: Visibility and obstruction issues.
Melbourne Road at its junction with Willows Lane and its junction with Back Willows Lane North: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Willows Lane staggered junctions with Constance Road on the northern side, and with Brandwood Street on the southern side: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Willows Lane staggered junctions with Roland Road on the northern side, and with Croston Street on the southern side: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Willows Lane at its junction with Broomfield Road: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Willows Lane at its junctions with Caledonian Street on the northern side and with Church Avenue and with Back Church Avenue on the southern side: Current restrictions are insufficient to deter on street parking obstructions which is also affecting visibility.
Back Willows Lane North at its junction with Penarth Road and at its southern bend: Visibility issues and detrimental impact on movement of traffic,
Quebec Street staggered junctions with Wellfield Road on the western side, and with Burnaby Street on the eastern side: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Ribblesdale Road at its junction with Swan Lane: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Ribblesdale Road at its junction with Pike Road: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Back Bowness Road south-eastern side between Swan Lane and Pike Road: Narrow Street and inconsiderate parking are causing detrimental and health and safety impact on traffic movement, particularly for emergency and refuse vehicles, and blocking back door accesses to houses on this side of the road.
Penarth Road and Back Penarth Road, intersections with Melbourne Road: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Ryley Avenue at its junction with Back Wigan Road: Obstructions and visibility issues.
Hawthorne Road has been reported to have a number of issues, namely the following: • Its junction with Willows Lane has been the subject of several accidents due to obstructions at the turning points, lack of signage and white markings that designate priority have faded away. • Opposite to Hawthorne Street, at the gate (main entrance) of Al Jamiatul Islamiyah – Bolton Darul Uloom, this space is subjected to continuous obstructions especially during school 4 drop-off and pick-up times, putting the life of children and their families at risk. Lack of school signage is also encouraging drivers to drive at a dangerous speed.
Ryley Avenue junction with Wigan Road, is also the subject of traffic obstructions for the traffic leaving or entering Hawthorne Road impacting movement and inhibiting visibility splay, increasing the risk to vulnerable road users.
Rasbottom St between Baldwin Street and Back Baldwin Street North A request has been put forward by businesses to convert certain areas to limited waiting restrictions and provide at least one Loading Bay.
The staggered junction of Cannon Street with Stanny Way Close (eastern side) and Cannon Grove (western side) has become the subject of double parking causing major traffic obstructions. Its proximity to Deane Road has exacerbated the problem as queues of traffic build up along Cannon Street with very little movement due to the obstructions. The staggered junction needs protection from inconsiderate parking.
Sandon Street at its junction with Back Sandon Street West has very short waiting restrictions on its western side. The narrowness of the street and inconsiderate parking opposite the junction and to the north of the junction create obstructions to the turning traffic entering and egressing Back Sandon Street West. The junction needs better cover of protection.
Auburn Street/Rutland Street junction has become the subject of double parking causing major obstructions to moving turning traffic. The site needs to be protected from double parking and turns protection.
Caroline Street at its junction with Bridgeman Street is subjected to a lot of obstruction detrimentally impacting traffic movement particularly delivery HGVs and other large vehicles, moving in and out of the western corner business, (mill), putting not only vehicles and drivers at risk, but also pedestrians, and in particular vulnerable people. The junction needs protection that will facilitate a safe movement of HGVs and large loading vehicles.
Turning traffic at Broadhurst Street at its junctions with Back Rumworth Street, Rumworth Street, Back Brandon Street North and Nebo Street is witnessing a lot of obstructions causing frustration for motorists and compromising the health and safety of pedestrians and forcing vulnerable people to use the carriageway to bypass the obstructed pavements at these locations. The junctions need protection so that visibility is not inhibited and safety is not compromised.
There are plenty of events taking place ahead of the main Twelfth of July celebrations
It’s just a few weeks until the main Twelfth of July celebrations across Northern Ireland, but there are plenty of events lined up between now and then.
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The main parades to mark the 336th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne take place on Monday, July 13, as The Twelfth falls on a Sunday this year.
Ahead of then, however, there are plenty of family fun days, parades, charity events and much more lined up, taking place right across Northern Ireland.
Full list of pre-Twelfth events across Northern Ireland
BELFAST
Friday, 19th June – Tour of the North Parade.
Friday, 26th June – Sandy Row District LOL No.5 Arch Opening.
Friday, 26th June – Clifton Street Arch Opening.
Saturday, 27th June – Whiterock Parade.
Sunday, 28th June – 36th Ulster Division LOL 977 Service – St Mary Magdalene Parish Church, Donegal Pass.
Wednesday, 1st July- Ballymacarrett District LOL No.6 Somme Parade.
Wednesday, 1st July – Queen Victoria Temperance LOL 760 Somme Parade, Sandy Row.
Wednesday, 1st July – Thiepval Memorial LOL 1916 – Somme Parade.
Tuesday, 2nd July – Annual Shankill Banner Parade.
Wednesday, 8th July – Ballynafeigh District LOL No.10 Annual Parade.
RATHFRILAND
Friday, 10th July -Family fun day – Rathfriland
Sunday, 12th July – Open air religious service in Church Square, Rathfriland at 6.30pm.
COOKSTOWN
Sunday, 28th June – Drumnacross Guiding Star LOL 304 service, Drumnacross Orange Hall.
Sunday, 28th June – Tamlaghtmore Ark of Safety LOL 469 service, Tamlaghtmore Orange Hall
Sunday, 5th July – Joint Church Service LOL 199, 270, 304, 661, 686 – Orritor Presbyterian Church.
Sunday, 5th July – Ballybriest Purple Star LOL 277 Church service, Lissan Parish Church.
Sunday, 12th July – Cookstown District LOL No.3 Church service, Derryloran Parish Church, Cookstown.
Sunday, 12th July – Tullycoll Rising Sons of William LOL 767 service, Tullycoll Orange Hall
LARNE
Saturday, 20th June – Parade – Cairncastle Orange Hall
CASTLEDERG
Friday, 3rd July – BBQ & Fireworks –Ardbarron Orange Hall.
Tuesday, 7th July – Charity 5K Fun Run.
Thursday, 9th July – District Sports Night –5 a side football and tug of war at Darragh Park, Castlederg.
Friday, 10th July -BBQ & Bonfire– Kilclean Orange Hall.
Sunday, 12th July – Orange Arch dedication following refurbishment.
BALLYMENA
Saturday, 27th June Mini Twelfth & Fun Day- Cullybackey.
KILREA
Saturday, 11th July – Vintage Rally in Kilrea.
Saturday, 11th July- BBQ & Dance in Killygullib Orange Hall.
Sunday, 12th July – Wreath Laying Service at Kilrea War Memorial.
Sunday, 12th July – District Church Service St Patricks Church of Ireland.
AUGHNACLOY
Sunday, 14th June Roughan True Blues LOL 1031 Orange Service.
Sunday, 21st June Loughan LOL 1020 Orange Service.
Sunday, 28th June Dergina True Blues LOL 897 Orange Service.
Sunday, 5th July Mulnahunch Lily of Clonaneese LOL 96 Orange Service.
Sunday, 12th July Annahoe District LOL No.6 Dedication of Memorial Bannerette, Aughnacloy Presbyterian Church.
NEWTOWNHAMILTON
Saturday, 20th June – Annual District Mini-12th at 7.30pm.
Thursday, 2nd July – “Songs of Praise” – 2nd Newtownhamilton Presbyterian Church, at 7.30pm (collection for charity).
Friday, 10th July – “Family Fun Night” – Demonstration Field, Castleblayney Road, commencing at 7pm.
Sunday, 12th July – Boyne Anniversary Service – 2nd Newtownhamilton Presbyterian Church at 3.30pm.
ROYAL HILLSBOROUGH
Saturday, 20th June – Gala Ulster Scots evening in Star of Maze Hall, Kesh Road, Maze.
Thursday, 25th June -Classic Vehicle Run.
Friday, 26th June -Opening of the arch in Royal Hillsborough village.
Friday, 26th June -Battle of the Bands in Royal Hillsborough Orange Hall.
Saturday, 11th July – A Joyful Journey with Lambeg drums at Arthur Street Orange Hall.
Monday, 13th July – Festival at the Fort.
BALLYMONEY
Sunday, 12th July – Ballymoney District LOL No.16 are holding their Annual District Church Parade and Service in St. Patrick’s Parish Church at 6pm.
MAGUIRESBRIDGE
Thursday 9th July – Mini Twelfth Parade – Brookeborough.
Saturday, 11th July – Enniskillen Town Bands Eleventh Night parade – Enniskillen.
PORTGLENONE
Thursday, 2nd July – Vintage Vehicle run, 7.00pm The Square, Portglenone. Proceeds in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Nurses.
BALLYMARTIN
Wednesday, 1st July – Somme Commemoration – Annalong.
Friday, 3rd July – Tractor & Vintage Car Run – Ballyvea Orange Hall.
Andy Burnham remains committed to an orderly transition of power in early September, despite growing expectations that Sir Keir could announce a timetable for his resignation as early as today, a senior source has told the Manchester Evening News.
The MEN understands a handover in early September is the preferred option, with Mr Burnham expected to meet Labour MPs over the coming weeks as the party maps out its next steps.
It is understood Burnham’s team would like time to work with civil servants ahead of a transfer of power.
In its statement, Taiwan’s agriculture ministry said authorities would focus on “sustainable agricultural development and stable income for farmers”, and “continue to guide the atemoya industry toward diversified processing”, including by producing frozen fruit products, puree and wines.
However, it seems likely that all three IPOs will materially reshape the markets. JP Morgan estimates some $410bn in passive buying from the index inclusion of major AI IPOs. “At index level, the increased weights of the newly included companies would come at the expense of the weights of the companies they replace as well as the biggest tech companies like Mag 7,” the “magnificent seven” tech firms, wrote Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, an analyst at JP Morgan, in a research note published in mid-May.
Officials in Russia-occupied Crimea suspended civilian gasoline sales Sunday as Ukraine ramped up attacks on fuel supplies on the Black Sea peninsula.
The Russia-appointed Crimean governor Sergei Aksyonov said that overnight Ukrainian strikes killed four people and wounded 28. He later wrote on social media that local gas stations would halt all sales to non-state companies and individuals for an undefined period.
“Fuel will be sold only to government agencies that ensure the functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea,” Aksyonov said. “I ask everyone to remain calm and to only trust official sources of information.”
Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted fuel supplies to Crimea in recent weeks, triggering the worst energy crisis in the region since it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
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A satellite image shows fire and smoke rising from oil tanks, after what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said was an attack on an oil depot in the city of Kerch, Crimea, 21 June 2026 (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement Sunday that a Crimean oil depot, as well as an oil transport facility in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region were among the targets. He described the attacks as part of Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” against Russia’s energy infrastructure.
“Russia understands only strength, and our long-range strength is certainly working for peace,” he wrote.
Russian officials in Krasnodar reported earlier Sunday that a drone strike sparked a fire at a Black Sea oil terminal in the village of Chushka. They said that Ukrainian attacks struck a ferry, killing one person.
A drone footage shows fire and smoke rising from buildings, in what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said was an attack on an oil depot in the city of Kerch (Reuters)
Motorists struggle to find fuel
The Crimean peninsula has had periodic fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes before, but the current crisis is the worst since its 2014 annexation.
At the end of May, authorities restricted the sale of gas to 20 liters (5 1/3 gallons) per vehicle owner per week, using prepaid coupons. Those were snapped up immediately following their release on an official messaging app channel, and motorists lined up for hours, waiting to refuel.
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Social networks have been abuzz with requests and advice on where to find fuel, and authorities launched a hotline for tourists in the area who have found themselves trapped.
(AP)
Some motorists bring their own gas from Krasnodar and elsewhere via the Kerch bridge, but they are restricted to carrying 100 liters (about 26 1/2 gallons) per vehicle. Some speculators are selling gas at double the market price.
In a rare public acknowledgment, the Kremlin has recognized the scope of the problem and promised to address the issue quickly.
However, Ukraine’s successes have highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and change the course of the conflict while Moscow’s advances recently have ground to a near halt. On June 11, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reached its 1,569th day, surpassing the duration of World War I.
Sex workers have found ways to bolster their income (Picture: Metro/Lily/Melissa/Ariel)
Ariel Anderssen, 49, has been in the adult industry for 25 years, and in that time she’s amassed a property portfolio that will make your eyes water.
She’s a sex worker in a looser sense of the word, fulfilling men’s niche requests on OnlyFans and raking in the cash as a bondage model.
‘Men typically come to me if they can’t find their kink represented widely in porn,’ Ariel tells Metro. ‘So, I’ve pretended to be eaten by a monster under the bed, and I do submissive stuff where I pretend to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.’
Charging £100 for a five-minute OnlyFans video, or £270 for 30-minutes, means she earned £228,000 last year. It’s enabled her to purchase eight properties so far, and she intends to purchase 11 in total.
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And she’s just one of multiple sex workers future-proofing her income in this way, with OnlyFans creators telling Metro they’re buying up property for passive income.
Ariel bought her first flat in 2007 at 29 – a one-bedroom for £140,000 by the Tube station in Ealing. It’s now worth £260,000.
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‘I was just going to live in it but then I met my husband and after two years we bought a house together,’ Ariel explains. ‘I was scared my relationship wouldn’t work out because we hadn’t lived together before, so I rented the flat out instead.’
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Ariel Anderssen with her husband at one of their properties (Picture: Ariel Anderssen)
In the 20 years since, the flat hasn’t sat vacant for more than three days, and Ariel makes £1,1300 a month from the rent. ‘That was going to be my pension pot initially,’ she adds, ‘but then I thought living off £12,000 a year in retirement didn’t sound great – could I double it?’
So, in 2016, Ariel purchased a two-bed flat in Wolverhampton for £67,000 (now worth £90,000). But once she read a book on property investing, she set herself a challenge to buy one more flat every two years.
‘I’d always thought you need to get the smallest mortgage you can and pay it down, but the book said to do a 25% deposit, get an interest-only mortgage for the rest and keep buying properties,’ Ariel says. ‘It sounded terrifying but that’s what I started doing.
‘As you buy more, you can save the deposit for the next one much faster because of the rent coming in.’
The bondage model bought a two-bed maisonette in Telford in 2018 for £80,000 (now worth £105,000) and a two-bed flat in Barry, South Wales, for £127,000 in 2021 which is now worth £144,000.
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When Covid hit people started buying more porn from Ariel, increasing her income and enabling her to buy her three most recent properties mortgage-free.
Ariel getting stuck in with renovating one of her recent property purchases (Picture: Ariel Anderssen)
This includes two two-bed flats in Peterborough, the first bought for £105,000 in 2023 (now worth £120,000), and the second bought for £140,000 in 2024. Then Ariel took the plunge and bought a three-bed house in Newcastle for £68,000 in 2025 (worth £83,000 after renovations).
This is all in addition to her three-story Georgian home in the Welsh Borders, which she purchased with her husband for £300,000 11 years ago.
Why are sex workers building property portfolios, how easily can they get a mortgage?
Will Sharman, an MBNM mortgage broker, has assisted multiple self-employed individuals, including adult OnlyFans creators, in securing mortgages.
‘Wealthy creators buying property is a smart strategy,’ Will tells Metro. ‘OnlyFans income has a finite window and real platform risk. A policy change or algorithm shift can wipe earnings overnight.
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‘Property offers passive income, capital growth, and a long-term asset that doesn’t depend on continued content creation. It’s exactly what any financial adviser would recommend to someone with high, front-loaded, volatile earnings.’
Sex workers can struggle to get mortgages though, because lenders want stable, verifiable income, according to Will. ‘OnlyFans income is unusual enough to trigger extra scrutiny under anti-money laundering rules, and some lenders have informal policies around industries they consider reputationally sensitive, which can mean a discreet decline.’
He adds: ‘But OnlyFans creators’ work is legal, the income is taxable, and they are entitled to exactly the same access to financial services as anyone else.
‘The friction they face isn’t a reflection of anything wrong with them. It’s institutions being slow to catch up with how people legitimately earn a living in 2026.’
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‘I rent to people in need’
Dominatrix Melissa Todd, 49, also has eight properties to her name.
‘When I entered the sex industry aged 19, I liked to torture myself with worry about what on earth I’d do when I “got old”,’ Melissa tells Metro.
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So, she began buying up property after charging her wealthy clients up to £20,000 for her sex worker services, which include spanking, bondage and ‘headmistress school’.
Her first purchase was when she was 19, before she entered the world of sex work, using money she made as a care assistant. It was a three-bed with a huge garage and garden for £41,000 in east Kent, where all her properties are, in Thanet and Medway.
Melissa buys her homes outright, which are collectively worth around £2,000,000, and she’s never had any issues purchasing with sex work funds. She currently has seven tenants in situ, but has previously let her properties to sex workers who find it harder to rent.
Melissa Todd posing in a window in one of her homes (Picture: Melissa Todd)
David Smith, partner and specialist in residential property law at Bishop & Sewell, tells Metro sex workers and OnlyFans models can struggle to rent because most residential tenancies have a clause prohibiting work or operation of a business from the property.
‘An Onlyfans model would find themselves at risk of breaching this if they were shooting films in the premises,’ he explains. ‘It’s common to find clauses prohibiting immoral use and, while such clauses were historically targeted at prostitution, they would likely be breached by filming sexual content as well.’
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David adds courts have been harsh on sex workers and OF creators because they believe it’ll lead to the property’s reputation being ‘tainted’.
So Melissa helps out sex workers in a bind. ‘I also prefer to rent to people on benefits, the homeless, the self-employed,’ she explains. ‘Partly because I feel like a horrible human being for being so wealthy, and helping people makes me feel less guilty. I also charge vastly under market rates.’
In total, Melissa earns about £5,000 a month from her properties, but she has no plans to purchase other homes in the future – although she encourages other sex workers to do so.
‘Invest your cash while it’s coming in thick and fast,’ she adds. ‘It’s getting harder to make money from porn, and I suspect it will get harder still.’
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‘Estate agents told potential buyers who I was’
Lily Phillips, who famously had sex with 101 men in a single day, has acquired two properties at the age of just 24 – one is her home in Cheshire and the other a rental property in Derbyshire, near her hometown.
‘I bought my rental property outright at 20 for £110,000,’ Lily tells Metro. ‘It’s a small house but I get £700 a month from it. I purchased it purely for investment purposes.’
She doesn’t disclose her identity to her tenants and it’s her parents who manage the tenancy for her.
Lily owns two properties and lives in one, while renting out the other (Picture: Lily Phillips)
But when Lily bought her £1,025,000 Cheshire home — a Georgian four-floor, five-bedroom house — with cash in July 2025, her privacy was invaded by estate agents.
She’d moved there after living in Kensington and Chelsea for three years, looking for somewhere ‘homey’ where she could walk her dog and not have to worry about getting any ‘trouble’.
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‘When my neighbours moved in they told me the estate agent had said, “Lily Phillips is living next door, she’s a porn star, we need to disclose that for legal reasons”,’ Lily says.
The living room inside Lily Phillips’ Cheshire home (Picture: Lily Phillips)
Property lawyer David clarifies it’s legal to declare to a potential buyer that the neighbour is an OnlyFans model but giving their name is a breach of GDPR.
‘I question whether an agent should have disclosed this, it depends on what she was doing and whether it would affect them,’ David says. ‘Many agents massively over interpret their duties to disclose material information.’
Lily’s neighbours weren’t put off by it, but she was taken back by the invasion of her privacy.
A bedroom inside Lily Phillips’ Cheshire home (Picture: Lily Phillips)
‘It felt really invasive,’ she explains. ‘The buyers could’ve been anyone like a superfan who was obsessed with me and that’s why he wanted to move next door. It could’ve been someone who wanted to terrorise me, or who didn’t like what I do and wanted to make my life hell.
‘I found it ridiculous. I’m a normal human being, I just do an adult job. I don’t really work in the house. I’m not running around naked on the street. Everything is behind closed doors and in the privacy of my own home.’
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So, is it time the property market caught up to sex workers and their budding property portfolios? Probably.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A polarized Colombia gave conservative political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella a razor-thin lead in a runoff election that will be challenged in the coming days by the ruling party’s progressive candidate.
De la Espriella, a business owner and lawyer who earned U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite never having run for office, led progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda taking 49.7% of the votes, with 99.9% of results released by electoral authorities. Cepeda, Petro’s ally, earned 48.7% support. Election officials have not formally announced a winner.
A victory by de la Espriella is expected to usher in policies that will reverse the agenda of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, including a controversial plan to hold parallel peace negotiations with illegal armed groups. Petro’s protégé, lawmaker Ivan Cepeda, had pledged to push forward that strategy and other social reforms if he won Sunday’s vote.
“I will govern for all Colombians,” de la Espriella, nicknamed “The Tiger,” told thousands of supporters as he stood behind bulletproof glass in the northern city of Barranquilla on Sunday night. But his conciliatory tone changed as he spoke.
“Pack your bags and prepare to exercise the opposition,” he added. “Make no mistake, Mr. Cepeda. You already know how fiercely the tiger roars.”
Speaking from Bogota after the vote count was tallied, Cepeda told supporters that his campaign considers the count “unofficial and non-binding” and that his team will challenge results from more than 30,000 voting stations. No recount has flipped the results of a presidential election in Colombian history.
“We will not allow … the rollback of the social gains we have achieved,” Cepeda said. “We will not allow democracy to be violated.”
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Petro also vowed to challenge the outcome. Sunday’s winner will begin a four-year term Aug. 7.
The two candidates pitched voters widely different strategies to prevent the South American country from experiencing the nonstop violence, such as car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacements, that Colombians lived with in previous decades.
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De la Espriella, 47, promised a heavy-handed approach to crime-fighting, including drug trafficking. He also said he plans to end Petro’s attempts to establish dialogues with multiple armed groups — an effort that has largely failed — and build mega-prisons, emulating Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s aggressive policies. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.
De la Espriella holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship. He’s a Trump supporter and a member of the Republican Party.
“He Won, BIG!” Trump said on his social media platform.
‘It’s always the same violence’
Yolanda Hernández, who recycles trash for a living, voted for Petro in 2022, but cast her ballot for de la Espriella this time. While she acknowledged that Petro was unable to deliver on promises meant to help the poor because of congressional gridlock, she said Colombia cannot afford another four years under his vision for the country.
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“We want change in Colombia because it’s always the same violence, always the same thing,” Hernández, 49, said. “(Petro) said he was going to lower the cost of services, that he was going to lower the price of food, and everything is more expensive.”
Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Sunday’s result shows the country “has not shifted overwhelmingly or decisively” against Petro’s project or for de la Espriella’s outsider “iron fist showmanship.” Freeman added that the result also underscored Colombia’s regional divisions.
“It’s regional not just ideological polarization; or rather, the two overlapping,” he said. “Ironically, de la Espriella’s iron-fist message performed best in the core of the country, not the periphery, which bears the brunt of Colombia’s violence.”
Colombia’s illegal groups have more than 27,000 members.
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Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015, driven by clashes among illegal armed groups. Among those killed was conservative presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe.
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