The PS3's legacy may very well be the perfection of the tightly focused 10-hour story campaign. If you define it that way, then Uncharted 2: Among Thieves could claim to be the game of that generation; not the best game, but the one that is emblematic of tightly bound adventures built on the thrills of big worlds and bombastic set-pieces. Naughty Dog's matinée revival has moments of technically astounding action; a lead character capable of carrying an almost unheard-of tonal range of tension, comedy and tragedy, where comparable blockbusters do anger as one long machine-gun burst; plus it embraces ideas of storytelling and entertainment that trigger a rare investment in its cast. It is, in other words, a beautiful game that is also very good at people.

Indeed, it's accomplished at almost everything. Uncharted 2's opening displays a casual confidence of craft and an eagerness for experimentation, breaking in at the story's halfway point and reintroducing us to hero Nathan Drake with snapshot characterisation: he's battered ("That's my blood"), blithe ("That's a lot of my blood"), and, suddenly, he's upside down, a perspective yank turning a stationary train carriage into a vertiginous shaft. Drake plunges past seats and into the first of many hyperbolic translations of cinematic devices – here, the teetering mountainside vehicle, but later a moving train, the unpinned grenade, and last-gasp fingertip handholds.

There's something overtly cinematic in that opening: the formalist interruption, a trick instinctively taken from the splice-and-join of film editing; the precariousness of the train, a literal cliffhanger. And it's generally agreed there's something overtly cinematic in Uncharted 2 itself. The game is sandy adventure and sunset romance as seen down the sights of a pistol or on flickering screens since long before Indiana Jones, harking back to the time of Gunga Din. It is also the problematic culmination of Hollywood's decades-long flirtation with games in the obsessive search for synergy.

All of which is to say that Uncharted 2 not only bears highly visible influences from the movies, the basic colour of its world taken from the themes and tokens of big-screen romantic adventure, but that Naughty Dog's reverence for story might have produced the closest thing to convergence between film and games that doesn't involve a cabinet spinning a LaserDisc to create a cartoon dragon. The studio has embraced the craft of storytelling as taught by the film industry, and emerged with a new production process that devotes a sustained, expensive amount of time (the irony of that synergistic urge – there is no shortcut to convergence) to performance capture, to workshopping and rehearsal with actors on a digital soundstage.

The result is not a revolution. Uncharted 2 does not solve the inelegance of the cutscene, and still needs to interrupt itself to tell a story. And it does not broaden the corridors of that tightly focused 10-hour experience – the game is relentlessly linear, a gilded cage of invisible walls and beautifully textured boundaries. This is where Uncharted 2's cinematic-ness slides from cool observation to criticism. Is it even a game, really? It's so on-rails.

Clickety-clack, Oh crap!

Let's talk about trains, since we seem to be back on one. Walter Murch, editor of Apocalypse Now, once drew a link between the railway and film, between clickety-clack technologies that run along tracks and their shared sense of perception and mechanical possibility. It is, he said, to do with a way of seeing the world. "There is the idea of the voyage. Every voyage is a story."

This idea runs through Uncharted 2. The train wrecked and suspended in that opening is reanimated to become the major action beat of the game's second act, where it carries Drake on a journey to catch up with his own story. Consciously or not – and it's hard to think it could have been totally unintentional – Uncharted 2 has internalised one of the great symbols of cinema, one of the first objects to be filmed in Lumière's L'arrivée D'un Train En Gare De La Ciotat, scattering apocryphal audiences terrified of the onrushing engine, and the heaving iron horse central to the Western. But the train is also a symbol of this generation's great form, the focused, ten-hour single-player campaign – these rails might leave little room for deviation, but they offer a hell of a ride. This is still a game, just a different form of play, one closer to the cinema, built on spectatorship and sympathy, an act of mimesis.

When it's not being a symbol of ambition and convergence, Drake's train journey is the most astonishing few minutes of play on PS3 - and again when it released as part of the Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection on PS4. The train rattles through a jungle so apparently endless it ceases to be anything other than real, while Drake leaps, slugs and hip-fires his way from carriage to carriage, everything feeling detached and independent, dynamic and precarious.

This is something Uncharted 2 does with confounding regularity: delivers moments that are impossible to play without clocking a jolt of conspicuous technical achievement. It's there in the opening, as the camera rushes outward to reveal a cavernous drop and Himalayan scale.

It's there as Drake is hounded by a helicopter over the baking rooftops of Kathmandu, racing through capsizing buildings and into impossible landings. And it's there as a tank attacks a mountain-top village, punching through stone-stacked houses and chasing Drake along walls and up stairways with spitting rakes of machine-gun fire. Uncharted 2 emerges from Naughty Dog's conception of itself as a company. It's a company that tells stories, but also one driven by technology and a belief that technological achievement, spectacle, can be beautiful in its own right.

Not trains, but people

Ultimately, though, what makes Uncharted 2 truly remarkable is its people, who are as bright and memorable as any of the things that crash or blow up inside it. Take Tenzin the Tibetan Sherpa, who finds Drake in the snow following his train derailment and brings the injured stranger to his village in the Himalayas (and then, admittedly, helps him blow up that tank).

His wordless friendship with Drake is forged in a single level (and not even one of the game's best), as they traverse ice caverns and encounter yetis, building trust through cooperation. The relationship is inspired by Ico, PS2's fairytale of companions and castles, and went on to inform The Last of Us. It's an act of emotional play, of attachment and sympathy – and this sympathy, the game discovers, provides a more urgent motivation for gameplay than any regular power fantasy or destructive urge. When the tank arrives, it threatens Tenzin's daughter, and destroying it becomes an act of loyalty – it's not meaningless fury, but directed, nuanced outrage. This is cinematic play.

As well as mystical mountain men, Uncharted 2 also delivers on overlooked basics. The women in Drake's life are unusually formidable. Chloe, played by Claudia Black, is marked by an uncommon depth of motivation. She's not defined by her feelings towards Drake, but ambiguously attracted to him, another man and, crucially, her own best interests. She's believable, unpredictable, and dangerous. On the other hand, series mainstay Elena, played by Emily Rose, is a blonde love interest in a game about guns and endless action. But she's also sceptical and strong, and so when the series does finally bring her and Drake together romantically at the close of this game – the first didn't consider it essential – it feels earned and touching. Their relationship is a two-way street of humor and humanity, and is a greater payoff than any climactic boss battle.

At the very epicentre of Uncharted 2's achievement is Nathan Drake himself. He is not only likeable, but well liked. This is no easy thing to achieve in videogames, and it makes so many others possible. Bland heroes proliferate because of the dangerous logic that we'd rather play as polite aggregations of nothing in particular than as people who are definitely not us. Drake overflows with personality – a function of smart writing, but also, it's hard not to think, of a performance process that gives the game's actors, and Nolan North in particular, a chance to pour more of themselves into each character.

When Tenzin brings Drake back to his village, and after his recuperation, Drake wakes up and wanders through the houses, mountains on every side. As he meets Tenzin's people, the button for a melee attack becomes the button to shake hands, or to salute, or to play football with children. Just for a few moments, a square-jawed hero is capable of interacting with his surroundings by reaching out and making connections rather than swinging fists and breaking faces. And just for a moment, Nathan Drake gets to simply exist. It's so quiet in the village. He can stand and breathe. He can smile and be human.

This is to call attention to Uncharted 2's storytelling and all-round craft, rather than a suggestion that humanitarian positivism is the bedrock of acing the third-person shooter. And it's certainly not an attempt to reconcile the contradiction of this being the standout moment of a game about killing hundreds of soldiers – it can't be done, and Uncharted 2 doesn't have all of the answers. But it does have the imagination to offer us the possibility that things could be different, and it remains remarkable as a game driven by technology that succeeds on the grounds of its humanity.

This Uncharted 2: Among Thieves article was first published in issue 275 of Edge Magazine. To get more like this delivered straight to your doorstep (or digital device) consider subscribing to Edge.

Minecraft's reign as the blocky king of the sandbox genre has lasted for well over a decade, but the crafty survival game is still as popular as ever. This year's Minecraft Live event revealed the game's getting its first new dimension in nearly 15 years, after selling a whopping 425 million copies altogether. Lots to mine.

That new dimension is called the Sift, a vibrant and otherworldly plane - and you'll be able to check it out in next week's ARPG, Minecraft Dungeons 2, before it eventually comes to Minecraft's Bedrock and Java editions next year. It's the game's fourth dimension, joining the Overworld, the Nether and the End.

"The Sift is beautiful, vibrant, and teeming with souls," an official blog post reads." It's also the first dimension to be added in over fourteen years. No wonder it looks so good! And it features areas like the Meadow and the Carapace." The Sift exists within Minecraft Dungeons 2's newly-interconnected world, and you'll be able to get there by jumping or otherwise stumbling into rifts that occasionally pop up.

Elsewhere during the show, we learned base Minecraft's next drop goes into icy, underground territory and brings ice caves, a whole new ice biome, calcite blocks, ice crystals and icicles. That's a lot of ice. "Icicles grow naturally on the ceiling, and the ice crystals grow on the ground and emit a soft light," the studio explains.

And, finally, Minecraft's also coming to Nintendo Switch 2 next month, on October 27.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma also revealed some eye-opening stats about the seemingly immortal block-buster. "More than 300,000 people play Minecraft for the first time on an average day," she recently tweeted. "After 17+ years and 425M+ copies sold, I love that Minecraft is still finding new players and giving longtime ones new things to discover."

9-year-old kid spends $118,000 on YouTube ads for Minecraft and Roblox videos using his dad's company credit card: "I got called into the office"

Capcom has finally revealed a new Ace Attorney game, but rather than Ace Attorney 7, it's a VR version of Dual Destinies.

This month marked 10 years since Ace Attorney's last new title out with Spirit of Justice, and to say the fanbase has gotten a bit ravenous is an understatement. Granted, the last 10 years or so have been good for the fanbase in the sense that we finally got translated versions of the Great Ace Attorney duology and Ace Attorney Investigations 2 after years, but the people want Ace Attorney 7.

Capcom has expressed its desire for Ace Attorney – alongside Mega Man and Devil May Cry – to become on par with its powerhouse series of Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Monster Hunter. Given Mega Man's new game was announced shortly after that comment, and there are no more Ace Attorney games left to re-release, the fabled 7 has only felt like a matter of time, with fans waiting with bated breath.

Well today is the day, Capcom has announced a new Ace Attorney game… but rather than Ace Attorney 7, it's a VR port of Ace Attorney 5 Dual Destinies. Granted, the game has been developed and published by Amanta K.K. as opposed to Capcom, but it's safe to say the fanbase isn't exactly pleased that the new release in the franchise is a VR-only version of what many consider to be the worst mainline entry in the series.

Granted, I do find that VR adaptations of existing games can result in great things, which Capcom has proven before with the Resident Evil 4 VR port, but this is more of a case of poor timing than anything else. Plus, some have pointed out there is one more Ace Attorney game (outside of the Professor Layton crossover) that could be translated, the Japan-exclusive VR game known as The VR-20 Incident.

For what it's worth, I do personally think Ace Attorney 7 is on the way. Capcom has clearly been investing in the series by translating the missing titles, and the idea that it wants it to be one of its tentpole franchises clearly means something is in the works, right? Just like with Devil May Cry… I hope.

After the success of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Capcom has said it wants to revive more dormant series.

Amy Hennig had a plan for Uncharted 4, and it's still hard for some people to accept they'll never quite know what it was. Over 10 years later, we at least have enough scattered details from former Naughty Dog developers and self-appointed fan detectives to help us form a compelling, although incomplete, picture.

The latest insight on Amy Hennig's Uncharted 4 comes from ex-Naughty Dog visual effects artist Matt Radford, who joined the studio during Hennig's apparently tortured production of the roguish adventure. He tells Kiwi Talkz in a new interview available to Insider Gaming App Premium Plus subscribers that he remembers Hennig's game as "very different, very different" from what The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann ultimately helped ship in 2016.

"Amy's vision for the game that I saw didn't have the same characters," says Radford, explaining that protagonist Nathan Drake's older, thieving brother "Sam was the villain." We've heard this before, with Hennig herself saying in 2019 that, "There was an antagonistic element to Sam in the final version of [Uncharted 4], but it wasn't right there from the outset. So we kind of, in my story, it was a little bit more of the journey from this ghost from Drake's past being an antagonist to sort of reconciliation and reunification."

"The DNA and the core story were all there," Hennig said about Uncharted 4. "The major differences had to do with like, I was introducing the idea of Sam as the brother. But my take on it was sort of different, that it was a little bit more – I mean I wouldn't call him the antagonist in the classic sense, but it was an antagonistic force in Drake's life that he then had to reconcile."

Earlier this year, an Uncharted 4: A Thief's End dataminer Michael Kemp cleaned up some evidence of what this alternate version of the game would have looked like. Kemp, or Thekempy on YouTube, had exhumed scenes of what he said "didn't seem to be related to anything I recognized. References to levels that didn't exist, things in the story that didn't happen." There was more shipwreck exploring with Nathan's wife Elena and less gun violence. Sounds like a good day to me.

Radford recalls about the early days of Uncharted 4, which began production some time around Uncharted 3 released in 2011, "I remember we built this green light demo for Uncharted 4 and it ran at like one FPS on like a PC." He thought the game "was just like crazy scrappy back then."

"And Amy's vision seemed cool,” he added. "Like, to be honest, it seemed cool." But the visual effects artist is ultimately happy with the definitive, Druckmann version of the game, which might never enjoy the same social cachet as Amy Hennig's unreleased Uncharted 4. It was nonetheless a strong entry in a strong adventure series.

Now, Radford says, "I just want to see Amy have her comeback." He says – over 10 years later from what could have been – "You know, when are we going to get Amy's games? She's really talented." Hennig is currently working on the delayed Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra after coming up with the story concept for Forspoken, Square Enix's tedious 2023 action-RPG. But while Hennig is still trying to rebuild her name in the gaming industry, many Uncharted 4 fans just want to rebuild her game.

"This game sucks": Former Uncharted 4 dev says a mystery Naughty Dog project was torn apart by corporate, leading to threats of pulled funding and a huge leadership shake-up.

The Lego community continues to blow my mind, because someone just made Slowpoke out of a Toy Story model using no extra parts… and it isn't the first time they've built Pokemon from the most unlikely sets.

Fan creator Minute_Food_2881 is at it again; after proving that you can turn a Lego pumpkin into the Millennium Falcon, they're back with a version of Slowpoke created from Lego Lotso Huggin' Bear ($39.99 at Lego) from Toy Story 3. This isn't just a "squint and it looks a bit like them" situation, though. It's a surprisingly accurate version of the Pokemon, from its peg-like teeth to derpy, spaced-out eyes.

"How does he keep doing it," asks Powerful_Dog_6391 in the top-rated comment on the reddit thread revealing this build. Frankly, I want to know that too. Minute_Food_2881 has been turning unassuming Lego sets into something totally unexpected for years, and while they're best-known for making almost anything into a Millennium Falcon (be it Mario Kart, a 101 Dalmations puppy, or a dinosaur), they've also created a lot of Pokemon builds. They recently used a 3-in-1 Dolphin kit to make Articuno, for example, and before that it was Charmander from a pumpkin. They were even able to make numerous other Pokemon like Pinsir from Lego Eevee.

Of course, they're not the only person making cool Pokemon models out of Lego. KraftyKoopa has spent most of this year creating incredibly accurate pocket monsters, with one for each month. This includes everything from Snorlax to Bulbasaur, with upcoming builds including Mew. These are deeply impressive, and some could rival the best Lego sets in terms of accuracy.

In short, this community is way too talented. With that kind of track record, I'm excited to see what it comes up with next.

In terms of official kits, a Lego Dragon Ball set has been officially teased, and clues suggest it could feature Shenron.

• See all the latest sets at the Lego store

It's time to play "Who's that Pokemon?" again, because we've got an exclusive Pokemon card reveal for the upcoming Delta Reign set.

If I wanted to go full dad mode on you, I could say it's an 'electrifying' announcement – shocking, even. However, I'll spare you some time and cut to the chase. This Pokemon card reveal is downright beautiful, not to mention powerful... though that strength comes with a catch. Enter Raikou ex.

Illustrated by Oku (an artist whose Pokemon cards show off a painterly style and rich, vivid color), it's clear from one look that Raikou ex isn't to be trifled with. This Legendary Pokemon is charging through a gorge on the back of lightning strikes, and it feels like it's been added to a centuries-old landscape painting you'd find in some stately home. It certainly feels like a departure for one of the best card games anyway, and I think that's why it's so attention-grabbing.

That intimidating nature is reflected in its abilities, with an attack that deals a whopping 200 damage in one go. To keep things fair, there's a catch; on a tails coin flip, Raikou ex can't attack again during your next turn. Plus, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards if they defeat Raikou ex. It's a big risk, with a big reward.

Still, at least their other power might soften the blow. If you go first, 'Thunder-Clad' allows you to search the deck for an Energy card that attaches to Raikou ex on your first turn. You're not going to have this chance every game, true. But when you do, it'll get the ball rolling quickly.

Delta Reign will be available in November, so keep an eye out for this card in booster packs come launch day.

Speaking of which, it's worth watching out for pre-orders over the next few weeks. While I've not yet seen them in the wild, we can't be far off. I'd keep a very close eye on Miniature Market if you're based in the US and Amazon UK for those across the pond as a result. They tend to be reliable sources of cards at a reasonable price, in my experience. Sure, you'll find stock at Walmart and the like. But they tend to overcharge.

OK, that's enough electric-themed puns for now. I'll see myself out.

Hopefully Delta Reign will be as good to fans as the recent anniversary set; Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration looks surprisingly generous, which is great for fans in more ways than one.

• See the latest Pokemon TCG sets at Amazon

A Minecraft world could automatically beat itself – that is, kill the Ender Dragon and trigger the end scene credits – after roughly 2 billion years, according to a fascinating new experiment about the most popular survival game of all time.

For quite a while, it's technically been possible for Minecraft to play itself. To beat the game, you just have to go to The End and kill the Ender Dragon, typically by showering it with arrows after first destroying the crystals around The End that regenerate the dragon's health.

Even without a player's input, Minecraft mobs can do all of this, but with one big caveat. For this to work, the Minecraft world itself must come with an active portal to The End, as mobs can't create Eyes of Ender or place them in the portal frame to activate it. But with a 12-eye portal open by default, it's theoretically possible for random Minecraft mob behavior to kill the Ender Dragon.

YouTuber RedLogic wanted to find out how long it would take for this theory to play out. "Since this would take an impossible amount of time to happen in real Minecraft, I had to speed up the universe itself," his video description explains. "So I simulated billions of years, tracked the rarest chain reactions, and searched for the timeline where Minecraft finally beats itself."

Without billions of years and limitless hardware available, RedLogic used a Monte Carlo simulation to predict the events of a Minecraft world that spawned with a 12-eye End Portal. The video chronicling this sim is a visualization of what would happen in a real game world that actually ran for this long (specifically, in world seed -535646876083114041).

Monte Carlo sims essentially use samples of random variables to model uncertain outcomes. Through the law of large numbers – which states that with enough samples, your discovered mean approaches the true mean of an experiment – they can reasonably estimate average results through many, many models. IBM has a good, short video on the subject.

You can't run Minecraft for 2 billion years, nor can you perfectly simulate every single game action on that scale, but you can compress Minecraft mob behavior into random variables and plug them into a simulation to compute an average. This is about what RedLogic did.

This experiment hinges on an Enderman placing pumpkin blocks on snow to create Snow Golems. This is why you want that 12-eye portal to be in a snowy biome. Those golems must then move underground near the activated End Portal to aggro and detonate Creepers to destroy blocks and open a path to the portal.

From there, the Enderman must go through the portal and place blocks inside The End – with a path to the surface opened by more Creepers – to build paths for more Snow Golems. The golems in The End would fire snow at the wandering Enderman and occasionally destroy the Ender Dragon's crystals in the process. Once all the crystals are destroyed, Creepers have to go into The End and, right as the Ender Dragon flies close by, be detonated by Snow Golems to damage the dragon.

By calculating the odds of different mob behavior – for example, an Enderman moving from point A to point B, picking up a pumpkin, or moving into the Portal – you can simplify the number of variables. "Rather than calculating millions of tiny, random decisions one by one, the simulator samples how long it takes until one of those meaningful events happen," RedLogic explains in the video.

The guts of the sim are behind RedLogic's Patreon account and therefore unclear to me, but the gist is this: Minecraft mob behavior makes up our independent variables, and we can use them to chart probabilistic paths toward dependent variables like the Ender Dragon flying into a Snow Golem right as a Creeper explodes nearby. We don't have to simulate every last golem; we just need to know how the dragon, your average golem, and your average Creeper behave.

You're making sense of the infinity of time with Monte Carlo sims. Finding "the timeline where Minecraft finally beats itself" is a good way of putting it. The scale of the experiment is staggering: some 1.975 billion simulated years in, the dragon finally falls. Somewhere, Minecraft's end credits reflect off the dewy bones of a skeleton in a gamer chair.

Here are a few illustrative numbers and quotes from RedLogic:

• "The same golem wandered The End for 18 million years" after destroying one crystal before destroying another
• "After almost a quarter of a billion years, the dragon had just lost 2% of its health"
• 34,777 simulated years into the experiment, a pumpkin was transported for another 2,000 years before becoming the first Snow Golem to carve a path toward the portal
• It took 2.9 million years for a route out of the End-side portal room to open

Minecraft devs "probably would not add" the Creeper to the game today, admits Mojang CCO, because "it would be so controversial."

It seems a nice surprise could be coming from Pokemon this holiday season. Footage of Ruby or Sapphire from an official account is doing the rounds, and fans reckon it could suggest ports of the beloved games for the Nintendo Switch are on the way.

An official Japanese Pokemon account shares a short clip from the third generation of Pocket Monster games today, September 21. It shows the player character chasing around Mr. Briney, who's trying to grab Peeko-chan, his precious Wingull.

The colors are unmistakable, this is a capture from one of Ruby or Sapphire. But acknowledgement of these games by one of the franchise's social channels has people thinking we could be seeing them on Nintendo's contemporary systems soon... especially since the footage is surprisingly crisp for a GBA game, looking more like what you'd expect from the Switch versions of FireRed and LeafGreen. It's also a 30-second clip – the exact video length you get from the Switch and Switch 2's in-built capture function. Coincidence?

A number of Twitter accounts centred on news and speculation around the collectible critters are wondering what's going on here, because in typical fashion, this has come out off left field. I'm the same, because this is a very specific thing to just randomly put up.

The video looks bright and smooth enough to be part of the Switch's Game Boy Advance library. The timing is right for us to get Ruby and Sapphire if they're coming to Switch, since FireRed and LeafGreen got ported earlier this year, in March, for the property's 30th anniversary celebrations. This would round out the series' collection of mainline third-gen games, assuming that Emerald was also brought in to round out the Hoenn trio.

Likewise it'd fit with Pokopia in terms of giving us filler releases rather than something new and mainline. Pokemon Legends: Z-A arrived last year, and Wind and Waves are coming in 2027 – these will all help kill time for the next generation of pocket monster adventures.

We'll keep you informed. Of course, if these ports do arrive, we're all picking Torchic to start, right?

Pokemon devs reveal magical girl "laundry game" that uses real-life weather data, and Game Freak is bringing out the big guns with its director.

Ubisoft makes a lot more than just Assassin's Creed, but where would it be without Altaïr, Ezio, Connor, and the rest? More pertinently, what would its games look like? In the eight years since a hooded avatar first leapt from steeple to haystack, Assassin's Creed has not just become the most important line on Ubisoft's balance sheet, but also a driving influence on almost every design document that spools from its printers. Whatever the setting or central mechanic, if the company is making an open-world game, then Assassin's Creed will run deep in its DNA. And it does make a lot of open worlds.

Introduced in the first Assassin's Creed, the formula of capturing – or, in Altaïr's case, scaling – a point to fill out the map in its vicinity has become Ubisoft's calling card. Yet while the first Assassin's Creed laid foundations for the series' mechanics and its lore, it didn't make for much of a game. Its two protagonists – Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in the past and Desmond Miles in the present – had little to say and not much of worth to do. That would improve in the second game, Altaïr making way for the immeasurably more likeable Ezio Auditore Da Firenze and Miles seeing his skills transfer back to the real world. Looking back, Assassin's Creed was the tech demo, and its direct sequel was the proof of concept. But Assassin's Creed Brotherhood was the peak and tipping point, the game where Ubisoft briefly understood what it wanted the series to be and executed it in style.

Back to the 'hood

That said, it's a hard game to go back to. Elements that once felt novel have since been reprised at least once a year in the series, and many more times throughout Ubisoft's bulging back catalogue. The law of diminishing returns holds true. What once inspired appreciation now invites cynicism; each canny design choice taken not on its merits but seen as a scrawl on a whiteboard at Ubisoft Montreal that no one ever bothered to wipe clean. Brotherhood's component parts may have been copied and pasted into other games in different genres, but once your eyes have stopped rolling, you can see that those ideas, while often borrowed, have rarely been bettered.

Take, for instance, the tutorial. Ubisoft has long struggled to elegantly explain the morass of systems within its games, and a new Assassin's Creed invariably means a ponderous opening while each little mechanic is relayed one by one. That is certainly the case here – five hours in, you're still being shown new things – but each introduction makes sense within a story moving at such a rate. And for once, Ubisoft's annual iteration offers a bonus to the player as well as the shareholder.

As the second game in the Ezio trilogy (still the only example of its kind in a series that has introduced a new protagonist with each release since Revelations), Brotherhood kicks off its tale seconds after the conclusion of Assassin's Creed 2 with a two-minute cutscene, then puts a blade in Ezio's hand in short order thereafter. He's got all his Assassin's Creed 2 endgame gear and a whopping health bar, and while it's inevitable that they will be taken away, even this cliché is handled with elegance. It's not a flashback or cataclysmic event that strips our hero of his toys and toughness, but a sex scene, a surprise Borgia attack setting Ezio running from a morning quickie half-dressed and empty-handed. Within half an hour of the disc spinning for the first time, Ezio's family seat is in ruins, his relatives either dead or dispatched to safety, and he leaves the scorched Monteriggioni countryside for the stonework sprawl of Rome to exact revenge. It makes ‘press B to crouch' look incredibly clumsy.

It's along the banks of the Tiber that Brotherhood reveals its evolution of ideas brought into life in earlier games, plus a few new notions of its own. Three games in, scaling viewpoints was already beginning to lose its lustre. Meanwhile, the first game's prerelease promise of freeform stealth had gone unfulfilled, at first asking that players spend an unacceptable amount of time sitting on benches and then, in the sequel, hiding behind the skirts of a hired group of courtesans. Brotherhood sought to fix both of these problems in one go.

While traditional viewpoints remained in abundance, many took the form of Borgia towers. These well-staffed camps and structures needed clearing out, climbing, and burning down before the map icons in the vicinity became available. Tightly wound, filled with corners and cover, these were spaces designed for flexible stealth. While Assassin's Creed has, both before and since, allowed players to get spotted and draw their swords without penalty (instafail stealth missions aside), here there was a painful consequence to being seen. The regiment's captain, who must be killed before you can claim the tower, usually bolts if you're spotted; if he escapes to his safe room, you'll have to wait until the guard rotates at dawn or dusk to try again. As well as making good on years-old promises, stripping away the Borgia's hold over Rome one flaming, collapsing tower at a time added a weighty sense of achievement to the familiar routine of uncovering the map.

There was a more profound benefit to capturing points, too. The viewpoint concept was always incongruous, asking players to accept that the tallest landmarks in a city are perfect for spying on its denizens, rather than distancing you from them. Here, removing the Borgia's influence from an area allowed Ezio to renovate and reopen a series of shuttered small businesses, each of which would pay out a small tribute every 20 minutes. It gave context to the one-button busywork and – combined with similar rebuilding work demanded by the story, such as a pub done up to give the Thieves' Guild a base of operations, or a knocking shop made over to give Ezio's mother and sister somewhere to hide – provided the tangible sense that Ezio was pushing his enemies back. It was a change for a series where progress had been measured in VIPs killed while the world around you lay unchanged.

As the Borgia guards thinned out, you began to appreciate the world. OK, most of the people in it were there only to fill the streets with walking, talking cover, but the city around them was steeped in atmosphere. Assassin's Creed's world-building is always at its best when you're dropped in a city that still stands, surrounded by architecture that still exists; in Rome, Brotherhood had a recognisable, beautiful urban sprawl that would go unmatched until Assassin's Creed Unity. A restrained, ethereal score by Jesper Kyd further added to a sense of place, to a world that felt recognisable and real but retained a sense of otherness, the strings kicking in as Ezio clambered up the side of another Roman edifice or stalked his next mark.

Ezio's influence would spread far beyond the city walls, too. The legacy of all these elements can be felt elsewhere in the Ubisoft oeuvre, but none makes the difference between the Ubisoft of then and now so clear as the titular brotherhood system. A finely made metagame in which you recruited Assassins, then sent them far and wide to further the brotherhood's influence across the continent, it reinforced the sense that you were changing the world for the better, and was a pleasant distraction in its own right. After disappearing from the series entirely for four years, it returned for Unity as a mobile companion app.

The bother of the brotherhood

What must, to the investor, seem like Ubisoft's greatest asset – a vast network of global studios that can ensure that each successful series yields a new game every year – is its biggest creative problem. That busy schedule means that by the time this year's Assassin's Creed hits shelves, work on the next will be well underway. Any lessons learned about what does, or doesn't, work will have to wait for at least 12 months. Little wonder, then, that so much of Brotherhood's magic was left behind and Assassin's Creed has become so confused. Revelations, the closing instalment of the Ezio trilogy, was seemingly made under the assumption that what players most wanted from Assassin's Creed was a Batman game, given its baffling focus on gadgetry. By the game's end, Ezio had some 150 variations on the theme of ‘bomb'. It had a tower defence system and first-person puzzle sections. It was as if ideas were blindly folded in for the sake of giving players something different to do and to hell with how it hung together.

It's been a recurring theme ever since. Assassin's Creed has leapt annually between time periods, settings and protagonists. Its worlds have become bigger but flatter, more riddled with stuff but feeling ever emptier. Ubisoft has never found a world as rich as Rome or a hero as affable as Ezio, but then none since have had to stick around long enough for it to matter. Black Flag warmed cockles (and shivered timbers), but it was a fine Pirates of the Caribbean game and a lukewarm Assassin's Creed. No matter: 12 months later, Edward Kenway was gone, players were transported across the Atlantic to Paris, and the clock wound forward by the best part of a century. Next up is Victorian London, and as appealing as that may be, Brotherhood shows that Assassin's Creed is about more than just historical tourism. It is about systems, stories and settings that work together, rather than get in each other's way. If there's still time, Ubisoft could do with looking back to 2010 and when – for the first time, but hopefully not the last – the most muddled series in videogames almost made sense.

This Assassin's Creed Brotherhood article was first published in issue 280 of Edge Magazine. To get more like this delivered straight to your doorstep (or digital device) consider subscribing to Edge.

Social media has lit up over the past few days with fans sharing surprisingly good pulls from Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration, and they're not alone.

Flabbers have truly been gasted within the community, because supposedly hard-to-find cards are popping up all over the place. A quick browse through the Pokemon TCG subreddit shows a very common theme: that the new anniversary set is more than generous with its hit rate on SIR (Special Illustration Rare) cards. I've seen reports of three Mewtwo SIR cards drawn one after another, for example, not to mention the new effect Mew ex card alongside a sought-after Pikachu ex via reddit. While I didn't initially want to jump to conclusions, the volume of posts like these makes me think Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration is pulling an Oprah with "you get a rare, you get a rare, and you get a rare." That's really encouraging for fans who struggle to pick up packs at all thanks to resellers snapping up more than their fair share of products.

"From what I’ve seen so far the hit rates seem absurd," writes SkeettheVandelBuster on a thread appropriately titled 'The hit rates are cranked.' "Hope that equates to dirt cheap singles!"

Judging by how lucky fans have been getting, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. And honestly, it'd be a very good thing if it was. For many, the TCG is little more than a rat race where sellers attempt to shift high-value cards for as much money as possible. That kind of attitude drains oxygen from the room; Pokemon stops being a game and becomes coldly transactional. Indeed, Pokemon card fans seem to agree that card grading culture sucks and makes the hobby "a lot less enjoyable." However, if there are loads of rare cards circulating, their value radically decreases because there's no demand. It nips the whole thing in the bud.

It's a small victory, yes, but those can be in short supply right now. I'll take it.

Have you managed to pick up the set yet? If you're still on the lookout, check our guide on where to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration.

For more to play, why not check out the best card games or the best board games?

• See all of the latest 30th Celebration offers at Amazon

The 9-year-old boy behind YouTube channel Mighty Mike Plays has allegedly been forced to make some budget revisions after his dad noticed $118,000 in charges on his company credit card, which, the dad claims, was used without his knowledge to promote Minecraft, Roblox, and other Let's Play videos in comically long advertisements.

An increasingly viral video titled "Message from Dad...Mighty Mike Plays is Over" sees an exhausted father take the microphone to explain what happened here. Now ranked seventh on YouTube gaming trends, the video has gained nearly 400,000 views in a day.

On August 7, Mighty Mike (as I'll call him) began uploading videos, mostly from Roblox but with an occasional Minecraft snippet. As the dad, Dave, explains, the videos didn't get much traction, as you'd expect of the hobbyist clips of a kid thrown into a sea of Roblox. So, Dave says Mighty Mike, likely eager to stand among the YouTubers his generation adores, asked about ways to reach more people.

This led to a small advertisement campaign for the Mighty Mike channel: $20 just to get his videos in front of some eyeballs via YouTube ads. Unbeknownst to Dave, his payment and login information were saved to the Mighty Mike YouTube account, granting his son access to a unified Google account linked to a credit card.

That payment information, tied to Dave's business credit card, was then used by Mighty Mike to push Minecraft video ads in front of hundreds of thousands of people. The ads appear to have included a 34-minute video in its entirety.

You might be wondering how this wasn't caught sooner, how a parent could leave a credit card in the hands of a Roblox-happy kid, or whether this whole thing might be a (successful) bid for virality to drum up the channel. How did the company card get folded into this? Why would you ever use a company card on this account? How did the company, payment controllers, bank, and YouTube overlook what looks to be weeks of blatant fraud? Is Dave just an AI-generated voice?

There's reasonable doubt here, but this wouldn't be the first time a child spent a fortune online while their parent wasn't looking, and there is evidence orbiting this case. A separate video from NeverMyFault, a Minecraft YouTuber with 2.1 million subscribers, was uploaded several days ago. It captures one of these Might Mike video ads in the wild, lending credence to this whole arc. "It's just a kid playing Minecraft for 30 minutes straight," NeverMyFault says. This, in turn, inspired a response video from Mighty Mike.

Several Minecraft videos on Mighty Mike Plays do have unnaturally high view counts for such a fresh, amateur channel. Some of those views were surely a knock-on effect from this newfound virality, but the view spike is centered around three videos: "Minecraft part 1 {new series}," "Minecraft ultra starter guide," and "Minecraft Hardcore part 1 wait for end."

"Minecraft part 1 {new series}" is 34 minutes long and was the target of the wholesale ad shown in NeverMyFault's video. The comments on Mighty Mike's video are filled with users saying they found it through an ad, and I doubt Mighty Mike has the kind of pull to enlist a massive network of bot accounts.

"Apparently my son has been running some high-budget campaigns on YouTube that I was pretty much unaware of," says Dave.

"We just thought he was having fun, playing video games, uploading them to YouTube," he continues. "But basically, today I got called into the office at work. I walk in and we got the corporate manager, we got people from finance. They pull up a laptop, show me some tables on the screen, and basically ask me to explain why there's $118,000 missing from the company card that was assigned to me."

Dave's comments suggest he did intentionally use his company card for that first ad, limited campaign: "I put in the card information myself. Figured that was that. End of story. What I didn't think about, not even for a second, was that saving my company's card meant it was just going to sit there afterward, ready to go, pretty much available anytime he opened an app on his own."

The dad says the situation is nowhere near as funny when it's happening to you, but he stresses he isn't blaming his son for just doing 9-year-old things. "He didn't fully understand what a company card meant or that a large number on the screen represented real money," he says.

NeverMyFault estimated that one Mighty Mike Minecraft ad could run upwards of $6,000. "Not quite, brother," says Dave. "Six figures."

Nevertheless, "this is not a haha funny story, everything worked out fine kind of situation," Dave adds. "I mean, not yet at least. There's a real, genuine chance that I end up personally having to pay some of that, or all of that, back out of my pocket." This, you can imagine, would be a crushing expense.

While Dave sorts this out, he says Mighty Mike will be pausing his burgeoning YouTube career, and probably "mowing lawns until he's 18" to help pay for this.

He also says the magic words: "Moving forward, for anyone who's been asking in the comments already, we're going to set up some real, actual parental controls, spending caps, no more saved payment information on any accounts."

The next Minecraft update, Wilderness Bound 26.3, is here.

Black tentacles writhe beneath a sundering sky as I look out of the train window in Dreadline Express. It's one of the games I was most eager to play at Gamescom 2026: Described on its Steam page as a "psychological horror Metroidbrainia" where deckbuilding mechanics shape your storyline, it sounded like my kind of weird straight off the bat.

The deckbuilding in question comes in the form of cards I collect by observing the world around me. Interacting with objects in my cabin after awakening with little memory of my character's past, I slowly piece together my own backstory as well as what has happened to make this the last human train in existence. Think Monster Train, but instead of roguelike combat, the cards help me contend with narrative choices.

Story time

Dreadline Express is the creation of Czech solo dev Dave Konecny, who sits by my side as I get to grips with his creepy dystopia.

He explains how the cards work, each representing the gaining of knowledge about a particular element of the world, from the train itself to the people on it. Each new card discovered gets added to my card album, which is separated into topics.

The trick is to add specific cards to my hand to use them to bypass dialogue checks or other barriers to my adventure, such as locked doors or items I can't quite make sense of just yet.

For example, striking up a conversation with someone for the first time might have the yellow-eyed NPC remarking distastefully upon how rude it is not to introduce myself first. But, equipping my personal card and playing it before I start the conversation allows me to progress, and can result in a new finding being added to my card collection.

I can swap cards into my hand at will, testing whether a new combination might work in a particular conversation by keeping an eye on the text above each character's head – "tell them about your family," it might read, or "ask about the cult" for example. This indicates when a combination might open up new lines of inquiry or reveal narrative threads for me to pick at later down the line.

But, before I can even go about chatting with my fellow Dreadline Express travelers, I'm summoned to the Train Conductor's office. He tells me that I have been chosen to help decide upon a suitable sacrifice, without which the train cannot progress to its as-yet-unknown destination. This would result in the deaths of everyone on board, I'm told. Is it not better to sacrifice one for the good of the many?

Card-core

I don't have much say in the matter, not even after equipping my personal card and those of my family in an attempt to plead mercy.

It's time to head into the cabin and converse with the other passengers, keeping it zipped about the fact that I'm actually sussing out which of them deserves to die the most. Choosing to help one might result in another's demise, I'm told by Konecny. My job is to choose which characters' stories interest me the most and figure out which configuration of cards leads me further down the rabbit hole.

This grim premise is matched by an equally grim setting. The train is a gloomy place shot through with bright bolts of color, the contrasting light and darkness making it all the creepier to explore. It's also incredibly claustrophobic in here, all dimly-lit corridors flickering in and out of focus, orange-yellow lanterns swaying rhythmically overhead.

Somehow, Dreadline Express is an unexpectedly cozy experience. Everything is text-on-screen rather than voice-acted, and as I flip through my card album to study each description or click through NPC dialogue, I feel like I'm reading a leather-bound book in the warm candlelight of a library.

I only get to play a short 25 minutes of Dreadline Express, but I can already see its genius. As a narrative Metroidvania involving backtracking, card synergy, and a lot of experimentation, it's clear that no two stories on this mysterious journey will play out the same. The game's October 2026 release date is right around the corner, even if a precise date has yet to be given by the publisher just yet, and I'll be right there on the platform waiting to board and uncover all the secrets I might have missed. Including, hopefully, where this blasted train is speeding off to in the first place.

Dreading picking out your next game to play? Our best mystery games give you more to solve, while our best horror games will haunt you.

Game Freak has announced a new laundry-based mobile game with Pokemon director Shigeru Ohmori leading this project.

Obviously, Game Freak is best known for the Pokemon series, and until the recent release of Beast of Reincarnation, I wouldn't have been shocked if many people just didn't know the studio regularly releases games outside the franchise. For console releases, these usually manifest as smaller titles like HarmoKnight, Little Town Hero, and Tembo the Badass Elephant, but, as of late, the studio has released mobile games fairly frequently.

And this week it was revealed what's next for the studio before Pokemon Winds and Waves releases next year, with the announcement of "Ame no Chi Hare Onna." The game – co-developed by Chronogate – is a free-to-play mobile game for iOS and Android in Japan, described as a "laundry game." It's directed by Ohmori, who has been the lead director of the Pokemon series since Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire over a decade ago.

The title is set in modern-day Japan and follows Hare Onna and Kumorin, who can harness the weather and turn it into magic. This aspect is central to the game as the title is set to use real-world weather data as part of the gameplay loop. Granted, I'm not quite sure what that gameplay loop is right now, but thankfully there's more info revealed this week with a "Hare Onna Club Meeting" stream, as well as news at Tokyo Game Show.

But for now, you can watch the teaser trailer, which, if I didn't have the context, I would assume is the opening of a new anime series. But it's been forever since the Hideo Kojima-produced GBA title Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand released, so it's about time we had more weather-based games come out.

Pokemon Center cancels countless reseller orders, but TCG fans seem to have been burned as well.

The Legend of Zelda is a video game as ritual. It's enlivened by ingenious variations from one game to the next, but Nintendo's adventures in the land of Hyrule remain absorbed in the pleasures of careful repetition. These games are curated as much as they are designed; they're gardens rather than wildernesses. And so, at the end of Breath of the Wild, the hero in green defeats Ganon, as he always does.

But wait. This is not quite accurate. At the end of Breath of the Wild - delivered via DLC - Link, the medieval adventurer, gets a motorbike. That was how this particular Zelda ended. And so that was the point at which Nintendo's designers had to decide: what comes next?

It's still hard to know what to make of that parting gift. Noisy, gravel-spitting, rebellious – a motorbike would be unthinkable in any other Zelda game. But then the very idea of DLC would be unthinkable too. How could any of these intricate clockwork worlds have room for even a single additional cog?

This was Breath of the Wild, though, the game that stripped away decades of gadgets and structural rhythms. Link may have defeated Ganon, but much of the rest of the tradition was suddenly scrambled. No more predictable plot beats. No more polite trek from one dungeon to the next, growing more powerful with each step.

Here instead was an open-world Hyrule where the dungeons were largely secondary to the one-shot puzzle or combat Shrines scattered across the earth like a dusting of sugar on a pie. Here was a world where weapons degraded, where beloved horses could be lost forever, and where that familiar trickle of cherished items – the boomerang, the hookshot – was replaced with a handful of new powers granted at the start, and which the game would then rely upon for all its subsequent fun.

What did this mean? Up until now, Zelda had been about containment. The first game was inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto's childhood cave explorations, certainly, but it was born in a moment in which the designer was opening and closing his desk drawers and imagining a garden snug within each. Zelda offers adventuring, but always within safe boundaries.

It's dangerous to go open-world

This approach lasted until Breath of the Wild, which left its players startled, unmoored. Then came the motorbike, and then things took a truly bizarre turn. Two years after the release of Breath of the Wild, it was revealed that the follow-up, Tears of the Kingdom, would reuse the same map and the same structure of Shrines, swapping out the older game's powers but otherwise offering what seemed to be more of the same. What should we make of this? Was all that reinvention just a recalibration, and would we now be back to the business of repetition and ritual again?

Tears of the Kingdom's answer to this question is fascinating, and it takes a while to become clear. On the surface, Link's latest adventure follows a traditional approach to sequels: the stuff you loved, expanded and refined. More Shrines, new powers, another, grander threat to Hyrule. But beware that phrase ‘on the surface'. Underground, Tears of the Kingdom is every bit as wilful and singular as the game it builds upon. Maybe even more so.

Trailers for Tears of the Kingdom at first suggested horror and then sun-baked, sky-minded wonder. You would explore Hyrule, but also an archipelago of ingeniously crafted islands floating overhead. This felt like a sensible approach, but there was a lingering strangeness in the trailers that invited conspiracy theories. Were we really playing as Link? Was this really Hyrule once more? Could things be as simple as they seemed?

Within this online chatter, the dialogue that has dogged almost all Zeldas continued. Since the 8bit days, each new Zelda game has been forced into a conversation with all the others: what's new, what isn't, what are the main reference points? Maybe Tears of the Kingdom was simply a chance for the ground to settle after Breath of the Wild. There's still a princess, a young hero, a landscape that extends to the rosy horizon. But there's something else, too. Something waiting beneath it all.

Something lurking down below

In retrospect, those new powers were an early clue to the true spirit of Tears of the Kingdom. Breath of the Wild offered you ways to engage with the game's physics and bodge your own solutions to the challenges you were presented with. At heart, its powers were abilities designed for manipulating in-game objects in thoughtful ways. They opened up a new, more expressive way of playing, driven by everything from mechanical curiosity to bored tinkering.

By Tears of the Kingdom, though, the powers have become a cross between real-world design tools and explicit hacks. Making use of Ultrahand, Fuse and Ascend, you can craft complex machines and ridiculous weapons, or slip through Hyrule's hidden geometries. Aren't these options that come from a sense of polite frustration with what's come before? Aren't these tools enabling a form of escape?

These powers, pushing at the boundaries of everything from the way the world is created to the way a puzzle can be solved, suggest that the problem with Zelda wasn't that it was becoming familiar, because it had traded in familiarity since the SNES. The problem was that its familiarity could make it slightly airless. That's a hard problem to solve. And so Tears of the Kingdom turned its focus somewhere entirely new, on the game's unseen bedrock, and it built something astounding down there. Something entirely unexpected.

Welcome to the Depths, the underside of Hyrule, far beneath the floating sky islands waiting to be neatly solved, far beneath the grass and sands of the open world itself. Accessed via ugly red-rimmed tears in the earth, the Depths are a vast underworld of darkness and danger. If it's hard not to feel that recent Zeldas are the work of a talented team that is quietly weary of the baggage Zelda brings, the Depths are a perfect response.

Granted, the series is no stranger to parallel worlds, yet the Depths remain very different from the puzzle-piece dimensions of Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. Those were precise additions, printed circuits that slotted cleanly into place. The Depths connect with the land above them, but they're also filled with a sense of chaos, of being half-complete. They're pitch-black and claustrophobic and, tellingly for a Zelda game, they're frequently optional.

Even so, it feels like these spaces were crucial to the people who made them. Why? Because this is the place where this Zelda's eternal conversation with other Zeldas ceases. Immediacy. The chatter and speculation falls silent, and you are left to the unfolding moment.

What a moment. Deep in theatrical murk, the air around you feels thick and treacherous and alive with adventure. There's no vista to draw your eye with distractions, nothing up ahead to plan an idle five minutes around. Instead, you're exploring in order to survive, working to unlock a network of scattered Lightroots, treetrunk nodes that reach down from the ceiling. Trigger them and you get a pool of light and a matching pool of illuminated map. You get fast travel, the slightest sense of your bearings, and the feeling that you're reclaiming a little of this terrifying space.

There's a puzzle down here, and it leads to a useful reward, but for once in a Zelda adventure it's hard to focus on because you're so thoroughly stuck in the present. With the lights off, the landscape ceases to be earth and slopes and trees, instead becoming something mysterious, almost a form of enemy as it occludes the horizon. Actually, forget the idea of a horizon: everything seems to be looming close, tangling underfoot.

Embrace the depths

Life feels clumsy and precarious in the dark. With the lights on, it's often even worse. With crimson pools of heart-sapping Gloom splattered across the ground and up the walls, this is Hyrule as crime scene. There's something gleefully cruel to the design itself: all alone, resources dwindling, unseen enemies pacing around you. Zelda has always made you feel like you're walking in the footsteps of the designers, perhaps to a fault. No more. In the Depths, the designers seem to have moved on far ahead, and they remain out of reach. Instead you must light your own path, all thoughts of the landscape above forgotten.

Endless jostling horror! But it's almost always a choice for you. Above the Depths there's still a story of rescue and reclaiming to be had, albeit one of the oddest the series has ever told. Ancient evil can still be defeated and the land saved. More crucially, Link's story up there is still built of moments of kindness as he explores Hyrule, solving strangers' problems.

But the Depths, that huge, unprecedented, non-understandable id, are down there all the while. Optional or not, it's theme-stating on a geological scale. The Depths are meant to destabilise. Here, at the very bedrock of the game that every Zelda team has to make, is the game they seem to have actually wanted to make this time.

The inchoate nature of the Depths suggests the designers were following their own path in search of what a Zelda game could be, instead of what it should be. And so Tears of the Kingdom advances the eternal conversation about Zelda and ritual and repetition not by upending things like Breath of the Wild, but by having the courage to ignore the conversation entirely. Down here, a new route forward takes shape, one Lightroot at a time. In the shifting darkness, Tears of the Kingdom opens its eyes.

This Tears of the Kingdom article was first published in issue 400 of Edge Magazine. To get more like this delivered straight to your doorstep (or digital device) consider subscribing to Edge.

Pokemon can't stop outdoing itself. It keeps setting new records across its profit, having already made $3.4 billion in net sales so far in 2026.

That number is a 29% increase from last year, according to a June report from Japan game industry consultant Dr. Serkan Toto. The figure was recently republished by Japanese news site Denfaminico Gamer, which game update account Genki translated for a September 8 post that explains, "The Pokémon Company sales revenue has increased by 4.4 times in the last 5 years."

"In fiscal year 2026 sales reached 531 billion yen ($3.4 billion) up from 120 billion yen ($769M) in fiscal year 2021," Genki says based on Denfaminico Gamer's report. Machine translation suggests Denfaminico Gamer also notes that The Pokemon Company has increased its net income by 13.6 times since 2018, and it's projected to earn more than 120 billion yen (about $770 million) at the end of the 2026 fiscal year – an explosive increase from 8.8 million yen in 2018.

These money bags are probably at least partly a gift from major 2026 hits like Pokemon Pokopia, which sold five million copies only five months after its launch, and Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen re-releases for Switch, whose four million sold copies solidified the GBA classic as one of the best-selling Pokemon games ever.

It's all flattering, but Toto says on Twitter that The Pokemon Company is "very likely not happy [these stats] are out there." Kanpō, the Japanese government's gazette, reports them automatically, despite The Pokemon Company being privately held. "Ironically," Toto adds, "we would not get this data if TPC was integrated into Nintendo as a studio (like Kadokawa does not reveal From's data separately)."

But The Pokemon Company has nothing to be shy about. It's consistently growing with every new release – which will hopefully include Pokemon Winds and Waves one day. Though, The Pokemon Company has earned the right to take too long.

Pokemon Center cancels countless reseller orders, but TCG fans seem to have been burned as well.

It's a swings-and-roundabouts kinda day, because the Pokemon Center seems to be cancelling countless reseller/bot orders… but genuine fans may have been caught up in the Pokemon card crackdown too.

Social media is abuzz today with news that bot purchases from the official Pokemon Center store have been automatically shut down. Indeed, I've already seen numerous screengrabs of emails reading "your order has been cancelled." Considering how much of a scourge resellers are for fans of the best card games, this is cause for celebration. (It's near impossible to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration right now because they keep scooping up items to flog at a higher price, with Miniature Market being one of the few places I've seen that isn't absurdly inflated.) However, there are also reports that innocent fans are being burned as well. I've seen just as many complaints that normal Pokemon card orders are being swept up in the cancellation spree.

The where-to-buy account Poke Signals reported on Twitter/X that "Pokemon Center woke up and chose violence! THOUSANDS of bot orders in a gigantic wave have just been cancelled." This was posted with an accompanying screenshot, which was quickly picked up on reddit where the story is fast approaching 4K upvotes. Unfortunately, both threads are full of comments from fans who claim that their orders have been stopped too.

It doesn't seem to be an isolated incident. Reddit's Pokemon TCG thread are full of these stories as well – I scrolled for thirty seconds and found half a dozen. The response is usually the same; the person in question only bought one of an item, and it was all under one account (resellers often use multiple accounts and cards to sneakily get as many products as possible). We obviously can't tell for certain whether these reports are genuine, but the sheer number of them makes me think it's a legitimate problem.

So, what's happening here? The community seems to agree it's one of two things; either a small number of fans are collateral damage in a new push to deter resellers, or the Pokemon Center oversold so is having to cancel orders. Neither is particularly great.

I've reached out to The Pokemon Company to learn more, and will update this story if/when I get a response.

In other card game news, Magic: The Gathering's head designer promises that an MTG Harry Potter set is "very unlikely."

• See all of the current 30th Celebration offers at Amazon

Following one Pokemon Champions lead's suggestion that the RPG series' turn-based combat could see more changes over time, another co-director has doubled down on the idea that the company's new home of competitive battling will allow for that traditional system to be "preserved" forever.

Although Pokemon has experimented more with its battle system in recent years – with Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Z-A offering variations between the former's Strong and Agile-style moves and the latter's real-time combat – the main generational releases and remakes (see the likes of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl) have stuck closely to the turn-based format. However, Champions co-director Kazumasa Iwao recently noted that "there is the possibility that this rule could change little by little."

He went on to say that Game Freak wants to "challenge ourselves by doing new things" – raising the question of what battle system could be planned for Pokemon Winds and Waves – before adding that the development of Champions began with the idea that "it would be good to put the battle system we've constructed into one game that you can keep playing." Now, in an interview with VGC, fellow co-director Masaaki Hoshino has reiterated this concept.

Noting that he loves Pokemon battles to the point that they're "part of the reason why I joined The Pokemon Company" in the first place, Hoshino says: "I would love to keep turn-based battles around like forever, regardless of other Pokemon battle styles out there. From that standpoint, I believe that as long as Pokemon Champions is around, turn-based battles will be kind of preserved and will continue forever."

"Forever" is a word that keeps coming up when it comes to Pokemon Champions. In a group interview with Hoshino attended by GamesRadar+ earlier this year, the lead stated that "we're planning to keep Pokemon Champions going far into the future – basically forever, as long as the Pokemon series is continuing." Now that Champions is the game that official VGC tournaments are set to take place in at events such as the Pokemon World Championships, this is more than a PvP spin-off; it's the lifeblood of the competitive scene, so I certainly hope this is the case.

Pokemon Gold and Silver keep getting referenced by official accounts, and I'm willing myself to believe the classic DS remakes are coming to Switch.

Mega Sharpedo ex in Pokemon TCG Pocket has been a rising star for its rapid energy generation and strong early game, designed to disrupt enemy strategies while speeding up your own in the same attack. For this reason Sharpedo has been hanging around the meta for a while, but it's only now that we've seen it rise to previously unmatched levels when paired with the Wild Swing Gyarados and ever-reliable Chien-Pao.

For more deck builds, find out the best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket here!

Best Mega Sharpedo ex deck build in Pokemon TCGP

To make the best Sharpedo deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket, use the following build:

• Magikarp (Wisdom of Sea and Sky) x2
• Gyarados (Wisdom of Sea and Sky) x2
• Carvanha (Ruler of the Skies) x2
• Mega Sharpedo ex x2
• Chien Pao x1
• Mantyke x2
• Poke Ball x1
• Copycat x1
• Lisia x2
• Professor's Research x2
• Training Area x1
• Wallace x2

Energy: Water

This deck is all about quick deployment and building up to Stage 1 ASAP, using Lisia to draw both Carvanha and Magikarp and get them on the field, then using Wallace or card draws to evolve them. Once that's set up, you use Sharpedo to come out as your early assault, disrupting your opponents, at the same time building up for Gyarados to do up to 140 damage with its Wild Swing attack.

Not only that, but Wild Swing can be used to discard damaged Pokemon that might otherwise be a weak point. If Sharpedo is badly hurt, you can deny your opponent the Cyrus-drawn victory by having Gyarados send it to the discard pile.

• Pros
  • Incredibly disruptive early game
  • Chien-Pao remains incredibly strong
  • Solid energy generation across the board
• Cons
  • Electric decks are a common weakness
  • Gyarados can only really be used for major damage twice at most

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

One of the most unique things about Pokemon has always been the ability to transfer your pocket monsters between different hardware generations and across 30 years of games. Now, with Pokemon Bank's impending shutdown next year, one modder has created a working adapter to move creatures from the GBA to the Switch.

The Pokemon Company recently announced that Pokemon Bank is ending service on February 26, 2027. That means several life-long Pokemons could be permanently stranded on the Nintendo 3DS in a few months time - five Pokemon will also be completely unobtainable - but not if modders have anything to say about it.

On Twitter, modder and game dev Drewworks showed off their very impressive homebrew solution in the form of a working GBA-to-Switch trade adapter. "Still plenty of work ahead, but seeing a real GBA communicate and trade with the Switch is pretty incredible," the modder writes. (Good spot, GoNintendo.)

The video above even shows the GBA actively interacting with a Switch 2 console, while Drewworks trades creatures across two different generations of Nintendo hardware. That one random Pokemon NPC was right, technology is incredible.

Cooking up a DIY GBA-to-Switch adapter won't be an easy solution for most players who want to keep bringing older Pokemons into the modern era, of course, but I imagine quite a few hobbyist modders might jump aboard the trend in the coming months.

In other news, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen's Switch ports will become compatible with Pokemon HOME next year as well. Pokemon Winds and Waves is also set to come out sometime in 2027.

Pokemon Winds and Waves might not have turn-based battles as Game Freak veteran hints the combat system "could change" thanks to Pokemon Champions

About Fishing is one of those Gamescom demos I absolutely love – low pressure, in-the-moment stakes, and getting to laugh off my terrible depth perception with the kindly PR who is too polite to tell me I'm awful.

I'm a young woman standing on a pixelated beach. Staring out at the calming grey-green waves, fishing rod in hand, a short on-screen tutorial walks me through the basics before leaving me to my own devices. The mechanics are all about physics and mouse precision, meaning I'm already out of my depth. Yet there's something meditative about my persistent failures.

Maybe my mouse is too sensitive? Maybe this game just isn't for me! But the frustration that usually builds when I find myself sucking at a cool new game never surfaces during my half-hour demo. Rather, I find myself calmed by my own lack of skill, determined to focus and learn how to slow down. I'm sure patience will come in handy later on in the story, when its murder mystery narrative starts to unfold. For now, though, I'm getting a handle on my own nerves and experiencing one of the most visually interesting games on my schedule this year.

Hook, line, sinker

Fishing is a core mechanic in About Fishing. Holding the right mouse button to aim my hook before sweeping my hand in a semicircle, releasing the button, and casting the line… It's a precise art, I tell you.

My headcanon is that my character, being on the younger side, is probably not too great a fisherwoman herself. After catching my first scaly pal (it takes me at least 10 minutes), I carry the trophy further down the scuzzy, lo-fi beach to where an older gentleman reclines on a chair. He turns to speak to me, and his wizened face looks distinctly familiar. Is that…. Former U.S. president George Bush?

No, it's not. But About Fishing does faces brilliantly despite its polygonal PS1-esque graphics. All the faces are those of real actors, I'm told by one of the publisher's representatives, each scanned into the game. Including, somehow unsurprisingly, a cameo from none other than Ben Starr of Final Fantasy 16, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and far too many other new games to count (go, boy, go!). It's not quite LA Noire levels of uncanny realism, but I have to admit – it looks pretty darn cool.

The older man explains how fishing works. I need to be patient, he says, and choose my targets wisely. It's here I get an opportunity to fine-tune my talents. Over-shooting a target is a good thing because I can whack the left mouse button to drop the line early, which is useful if I've already spied a fishy friend to pick on. The underwater camera comes in handy for this, giving a beneath-the-waves view of the creatures in a given spot.

Reel small fish

I try my best to hound one specific fish, who seems entirely disinterested in my line. It's not until I rotate my mouse a little to gauge the difference between the fish and my hook that I see how far away I've landed from it.

This is my main problem with About Fishing: the fishies are lethargic, unwilling to move too far towards the hook, so I need to land within a certain hitbox of sorts to catch their eye.

I try my luck with a shoal of fish hiding behind a rock, figuring that numbers would surely be on my side. But even after I get a bite, I lack the dexterity to flick my hook around said massive rock. The line turns red with stress and eventually breaks, leading to the old man butting in with a helpful quip about how to avoid that happening again. Turning my mouse to angle a fish's head toward my character is one thing, but doing so from behind a boulder? Utterly impossible.

And here I sit for the remainder of my session. It's a slow, methodical process, one in which I find equal parts glee, annoyance, and relaxation. Fans of fishing minigames in the best RPGs will find ample amounts of all three in About Fishing's tactile mechanics – I only wish I'd gotten far enough to see more of its mysterious underbelly emerge from the gloomy depths. Still, this tasty morsel is enough to pique my interest. And, just maybe, set me off on a journey toward some sort of inner peace.

Check out some of the other best fishing games out there if you're keen to dip beneath the surface and catch your own dinner.

Viz Media's new Pokemon: 24-Movie Collection is a Blu-ray behemoth. The collection was announced on the brand's X (Twitter) page today and encompasses every single Pokemon movie on a set of 16 Blu-ray discs. From Pokemon the First Movie and even its CGI remake, Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution, you're getting all of the franchise's theatrical outings in one complete set, which is a win for physical media and Pokemon fans alike.

Yet owning this limited-edition Blu-ray collection, which doesn't launch until November 14, 2026, will cost you the privilege of a whopping $399.99 at Amazon. I wish I were telling a Snorlax-sized fib, but the Amazon exclusive collection is sitting at the retailer for its $400 MSRP, although in a cute Poke Ball-shaped case, might I add. It's available to pre-order starting today if you're eager to own the franchise's movie history in one complete set. However, I'm going to need Viz Media to divulge more of the Blu-ray's contents before I lay down my savings in an effort to collect and watch them all.

Viz Media has been pretty sparse with the details of its new Pokemon: 24-Movie Collection so far. The short item description on US Amazon reads that the "explosive 24-movie collection" allows you to follow Ash and friends' adventures from "the origins of Mewtwo in Pokémon: The First Movie to the Unova region in Pokémon Black & White, leading finally to the deep Forest of Okoya." Yet we haven't got a full movie list to see exactly what's in store.

If I were about to drop almost a Nintendo Switch 2's cost equivalent on a complete Pokemon movie set, I'd hope that this would also include the franchise live-action outing, Detective Pikachu, but there's no mention of it. I fear this set is more tailored for the anime fans, as checking the official Pokemon website movie list accounts for 24 releases, but there's no sign of the coffee-drinking CGI Pikachu. For me, that's a bit of a deal-breaker, as that means this "complete set" is missing a big part of the Pokemon movie history puzzle.

The content details are also a little sparse. The Amazon listing states that the films use the Japanese language, and that's it. For a complete set, I'd hope that this release would include the option of the original Japanese voice actors and the English dub cast, particularly so I can relive Veronica Taylor's wonderfully nostalgic portrayal of Ash Ketchum at the start of the franchise. Her name is listed as a "Contributor," which gives me hope. However, there's no indication of whether that means that she contributed to the text in the hard-bound book that encloses the discs, or that it alludes to the English Dub tracks.

There's also no sign if any of the pre-film animated shorts are also part of this set. As a physical film collector, I have the Pokémon Movie Collection Limited Edition Steelbook on my shelf. It contains the first three movies but none of the shorts which proceeded them in the cinema. During a recent Pokemon movie marathon, I was heartbroken not to hear the catchy start of Vitamin C's "Vacation" during the Pikachu Vacation short, as it simply wasn't on the disc.

Hopefully Viz Media has truly made this a collection for Pokemon film fans by rectifying that glaring omission. Or at least, I'd hope that's the case for a set that wants $399.99 of your hard-earned Pokedollars. But we'll have to wait until November 14, later this year, to find out for sure.

In the meantime, check out my top tips for building the ultimate Blu-ray film collection if you're looking to expand your physical film collection ahead of the Pokemon: 24-Movie Collection drop.

• View all Pokemon Blu-rays at Amazon

We're also rounded up the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Blu-ray pre-orders if you're a physical media fan.

For everyone that feels like it's been decades since we got an new, original Naughty Dog game, I come bearing great news: the studio's upcoming sci-fi adventure game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, has officially wrapped filming, marking a major development milestone.

The Uncharted and Last of Us studio shared the news in a Bluesky post featuring Tati Gabrielle, the actor behind Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet's main protagonist, Jordan A. Mun.

"'See you, space cowboy...'", reads the caption, a reference to the iconic manga and anime series Cowboy Bebop, which the game is heavily inspired by.

"That is a wrap on the very ambitious Intergalactic cinematic shoot! This cast killed it! Cannot wait to show you their incredible work when the time is right!"

"See you, space cowboy..."That is a wrap on the very ambitious Intergalactic cinematic shoot! This cast killed it! Cannot wait to show you their incredible work when the time is right!

— @naughtydog.com (@naughtydog.com.bsky.social) 2026-08-31T18:28:43.352Z

Naughty Dog has said the game, which is set to kick-start a franchise, features the studio's "wildest, most creative story yet" and has the "deepest gameplay" out of all of its games, which is quite the claim. My only reservations so far have been related to Naughty Dog's caginess about a release date or window, and while we still don't have anything like that, it's good to see an explicit marker of development progression.

The story sets bounty hunter Jordan out on a mission to capture a legendary crime syndicate, but she's stranded on the alien planet Sempiria, which is cut off from all communications from the wider galaxy. That premise alone is intriguing enough, but what I'm more interested to see is Naughty Dog's take on the sci-fi bounty hunter trope.

As a longtime Naughty Dog fan going all the way back to the Crash Bandicoot games, and as someone whose introduction to manga was none other than Cowboy Bebop, I couldn't be more excited for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Even if the game doesn't defy convention as much as the studio has been teasing, I have no doubt there will be a rich emotional core at its story's center.

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet "might need to be edited" to avoid "another Last of Us 2 situation," former Naughty Dog dev warns

What would Pokemon look like if the series borrowed from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's combat system? The question is so unlikely that it wouldn't usually be worth dwelling on, but it is today, because one fan has created a gorgeous proof of concept video.

Earlier this week, BelmontesArt posted a clip to their YouTube channel with a self-explanatory title: "What if Pokémon had the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 battle system?" What follows is a minute-long, fan-made animation showing Decidueye, Charizard, and Greninja battling against Ultra Necrozma, complete with the Clair Obscur-isms you'd expect.

There are timing-based prompts for parrying and blocking attacks, HUD elements that pop in and out of view, a dynamic camera that zooms and sways for maximum dramatic effect, and a turn order stuck to the side of the screen. But our battle-tested Pokemon mechanics aren't forgotten about either - moves can be super effective, and Charizards X/Y Mega Evolutions are actually snuggly mapped to the X and Y buttons. Chef's kiss.

"I really like how cinematic the gameplay of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks, so I thought it might be a cool experiment to mix it with Pokémon," BelmontesArt wrote in the video's description. The animation was apparently made in Blender using modified character models and sound effects ripped straight from Pokemon and Clair Obscur.

While it's unlikely we'll ever see The Pokemon Company so directly pull from the parry-forward combat of Sandfall Interactive's GOTY-winning hit, there's clearly a ton of interest in the concept. The fan animation was viewed over 400,000 times on YouTube in less than a week, and it travelled just as far across multiple social media channels, too.

Next up is Pokemon Winds and Waves, coming sometime in 2027. A series lead developer recently hinted that its combat system "could change" after Pokemon Champions' release, so who knows? Perhaps Pokemon: Expedition 33 isn't such a far off fever dream.

New Pokemon series from Wallace and Gromit animation studio Aardman is coming exclusively to Disney Plus, alongside Ash's first anime run

The Pokemon Company has signed an exclusive deal with Disney to stream Pokemon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch'd and Pichu, the seemingly delightful stop-motion animated series coming from Aardman (of Wallace and Gromit fame).

Announced during a live panel at this weekend's Pokemon XP event, the full series will be available worldwide next year on Disney+ and the Disney XD channel. There's no exact date or approximate release window just yet, but we were treated to another gorgeous look at the show. Take a look below.

"Join our unlikely heroes, Sirfetch’d and Pichu, in their gallant quest to protect Pokemon across Galar! While their missions might rarely go as planned, their noble deeds forge their friendship as they step bravely into the unknown. Peril, alliances, rivalries, extraordinary Pokémon, and endless laughs await them," the trailer's description reads.

The deal also includes Ash and Pikachu's first classic anime run in Pokemon the Series: The Beginning, which should be streaming now on Disney+ and Disney XD in the US and "select" other regions around the world.

"Pokemon has that rare ability to mean something to longtime fans while continuing to feel completely relevant to young audiences today," Disney executive Ayo Davis said, per Deadline. "This new series Pokemon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch'd and Pichu brings Aardman's signature stop-motion artistry with a bold, playful new perspective to this beloved world, giving audiences a fresh way to experience the characters they know and love."

For those not in the Poke-weeds, Galar is a region in the video game series that first appeared in Pokemon Sword and Shield. The fact that it's inspired by the British countryside likely makes it perfect fodder for the folks at Aardman, and if the other stop-motion animated streaming series is any indication, Pokemon Tales should be a great old time.

The Pokemon Twitter account was briefly taken over by a hacker peddling their crypto memecoin

Puppeteered by a hacker or hackers of unknown origin, one of Pokemon's official social media accounts was briefly trying to get fans to invest in a crypto memecoin - on top of the Krispy Kreme donuts and endless merch the account usually peddles, that is.

As spotted by NintendoEverything, Pokemon's Twitter (X) account made quite a strange post last night. "Celebrate 30 years of Pokemon in a whole new way," the now-deleted tweet said alongside a contract address. "Introducing $POKEMON, the official Pokemon memecoin."

Of course, The Pokemon Company quickly regained control of its internet airwaves after around half an hour of the crypto ad going live, just in time for the 2026 Pokemon World Championships that kick off today.

The Pokemon stewards explained what went on in a statement to the outlet: "The @Pokemon handle on X was temporarily compromised earlier for ~30 minutes. We're aware that our X account was accessed without authorization and used to publish posts promoting a cryptocurrency.

Those posts were not created or approved by Pokemon and have been removed. We have secured the account and are investigating the incident. We're sorry for the confusion and appreciate your patience."

There's no word on who was behind the hacks or how exactly the ordeal happened, but here's hoping any kids ravenous for more Pokemon stuff weren't blindsided by the scheme.

If I had a memecoin for every hacker who used a massive gaming franchise to push their crypto nonsense this month alone, I'd have two good-for-nothing digital tokens, funnily enough. Earlier this month, a leaker known online as CyberLeek leaked tons of in-development footage from GTA 6 online, using the clips as a backdoor to promote and sell their own memecoin, though the scheme seems to be over now. Pokemon's run-in with a crypto schemer was thankfully much less dramatic.

Pokemon Winds and Waves might not have turn-based battles as Game Freak veteran hints the combat system "could change" thanks to Pokemon Champions

Pokemon Polaroid pre-orders are hitting the shelves, and you can now claim your own Pikachu, Sylveon, or Pokeball instant camera. Not only that, but if you're not keen on the $99.99 cameras themselves, there's a whole host of accessories to snap up, starting from just $14.99. Wondering where to buy these adorable snappers? You're heading straight to the Polaroid Store.

This is where we're seeing stock landing en masse right now, and there's still time to scoop up your Pokemon Polaroid pre-order. As evidenced by the fact that empty Pokemon donut boxes are being flogged online by resellers, it's a jungle out there where Poke-merch is concerned.

That's why I've rounded up the first spots you should hit when pre-ordering Pokemon Polaroid cameras and accessories ahead of their full October 5 release date. This should allow you to beat any potential rush and stay ahead of the curve.

No matter what's caught your eye, I'd recommend moving quickly. Polaroid itself promises that you'll only be able to pre-order them "while supplies last." Once they're gone, it looks as though they may be gone for good.

Polaroid Go Gen 3 (Pikachu Edition)

Polaroid Go Gen 3 (Sylveon Edition)

Polaroid Now Gen 3 (Poke Ball Edition)

Polaroid x Pokemon accessories

Pokemon Polaroid FAQ

Looking for more cool Poke-gear? Here's where to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration. The new Pokemon Halloween merch also seems to be super-effective, because it's already starting to sell out.

• See all camera offers at Polaroid

The Pokemon Company International has appointed series veteran James Turner as the new creative director of Pokemon art and design.

Turner shared the news on Twitter. "It feels great to be working in the world of Pokémon again, with a lovely group of people," he says. "I’m very excited about what comes next!"

Though Turner is most recently known for indie hit The Plucky Squire, made by All Possible Futures, a studio which Turner co-led, his history with Pokemon goes back generations.

Per Bulbapedia (and Mobygames credits), Turner worked with Game Freak on multiple Pokemon games dating back to Pokemon Black and White. Not only that, he directed Tembo the Badass Elephant, one of the stranger non-Pokemon games to come from the studio.

Game Freak only recently released Beast of Reincarnation, an action RPG with a more realistic art style. Our Beast of Reincarnation review praises its combat and, very appropriately for the Pokemon studio, its big ol' dog.

Turner was credited as a Pokemon character designer on Pokemon Black and White, X and Y, Sun and Moon, and Sword and Shield. He was also art director on Sword and Shield, and has dabbled in digital movie and effect design as well as 3D map graphics for the series.

Turner's earliest Pokemon credit was 2003's Pokemon Colosseum, for which he handled camera animation and contributed some special effects. You'll also find a few Pokemon cards under his name on The Art of Pokemon.

Our The Plucky Squire review had high praise for All Possible Futures' 2D-meets-3D puzzle adventure. It sees storybook characters explore the world outside their pages, and was a high point for publisher Devolver Digital in 2024. Its art style, which used segmented lines and delivered a charming, illustrated look, is a recurring point of praise across its reviews.

Pokemon Winds and Waves might not have turn-based battles as Game Freak veteran hints the combat system "could change" thanks to Pokemon Champions.

Pokemon Champions director Kazumasa Iwao says that the mainline Pokemon games could gradually move away from turn-based battles, as Champions is available for fans of the current combat system. Pokemon has a vibrant competitive scene, and having a battle-focused game allows Game Freak to experiment with different types of combat for the mainline games like Winds and Waves.

The Pokemon series has a large number of different battle systems from PokePark to Conquest, but the mainline series has stayed mostly the same, with each new generation making changes and building on existing mechanics. Both Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Legends: Z-A had entirely new battle formats, but these are the exception rather than the rule.

Fans assumed that Winds and Waves would stick to the traditional turn-based formula, but Game Freak could be about to shake things up. In a video on Game Freak's YouTube Channel, which has been translated by GamesRadar+, Iwao explains, "The Pokemon series has always used a turn-based battle system, but there is the possibility that this rule could change little by little."

While this change might not be happening as soon as Winds and Waves, Game Freak's desire to try out new systems is what led to the creation of Champions, which will preserve VGC-style turn-based battles. "There are people who have battled for decades since Pokemon Red/Green or Pokemon Gold/Silver, so we didn't want to say like 'it's changed now, so please buy and play the new games,'" explains Iwao.

"That wouldn't be good. However, at Game Freak we always want to challenge ourselves by doing new things with the series, but we don't want to throw away the battle system that we've built until now," he continues. "Because of this we thought it would be good to put the battle system we've constructed into one game that you can keep playing, and that's where the development of Pokemon Champions began."

The Pokemon World Championships take place this weekend (August 28 – 30) in San Francisco, and Pokemon Champions will be at the center of the video game battles. Going forward, it appears that the mainline games may no longer put competitive fighting at the center, as Champions becomes the focus of the battle arena.

I spent 12 hours constructing a diabolical Pokemon Champions team to challenge the meta head-on, which has caused so many forfeits I almost feel bad.

I took one look at the 2026 Pokemon Halloween collection and let out a loud groan. Make no mistake: my bank account is in danger.

The official Poke-store tends to hit the mark where quality is concerned, but those hits turn into bullseyes with spooky season. The 2026 Pokemon Halloween collection (which you can see in its entirety at the Pokemon Center) is no different, and there are multiple pages of "oh no, I want it" merch ranging from mugs to cozy sweaters. No matter whether you want to decorate home or you'd like the best Pokemon merch with a touch of the eerie this fall, there's no shortage of options.

Some of the cooler items are already selling out (I've seen themed plushies fly off the digital shelves), so fellow GamesRadar+ Poke-merch fan Rosalie and I have rounded up our favorite Pokemon Center Halloween collectibles for 2026. Personally, I'm a big fan of the Pikachu Pumpkin String Lights as well as the Gengar Cardigan. An eerie ambient glow never fails to deliver on Halloween atmosphere, while the latter looks hyper cozy. They're just the tip of the iceberg though, so I'll need to hide my credit card if I want to have any money left over this spooky season...

For more cool collectibles, don't miss these China-exclusive Pokemon TCG figures (they've ruined my entire day).

• See all the 2026 merch at the Pokemon Center

Over the past couple of weeks, official accounts run by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have repeatedly made references to Pokemon Gold and Silver. Maybe it's nothing more than a nostalgic tribute to some classic games. But I'm over here drinking hopium straight from the tap, and I'm willing myself to believe this is a tease for a HeartGold and SoulSilver revival on Switch.

Earlier this week, Nintendo of America tweeted "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold." Attached is a screenshot from Pokopia, recreating the bit in Pokemon Gold and Silver's intro where you find your rival peeking through a window into Professor Elm's laboratory.

That alone would hardly be a reason to infer anything, but it's not the only suspicious recent tweet. Back on August 10, an official Japanese Pokemon account tweeted an image of the ultimate battle in HeartGold and SoulSilver, where you confront the original game's protagonist in a mountaintop battle against his uber-powerful Pokemon team.

Two tweets counts as a pattern, right? After all, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen hit the Switch earlier this year. Wouldn't it make sense for Nintendo and The Pokemon Company to follow up on these modern versions of classic gen 1 remakes with modern versions of classic gen 2 remakes?

And! – I shout as I start stretching red strings along my conspiracy board – FireRed and LeafGreen are about to get Pokemon Home support. If you've completed the Pokedex in those games, once that update hits, you'll be gifted a Celebi in Home. That's the very same legendary Pokemon that was introduced alongside Gold and Silver all those years ago. Johto fever is running wild, baby.

This is, admittedly, a lot of wishful thinking. But we're now celebrating Pokemon's 30th anniversary, and HeartGold and SoulSilver are often regarded as the best Pokemon games ever made. What better way to see out the year than a new way to play the classics?

For now, Pokemon Winds and Waves are the biggest things on the horizon.

The next expansion set, Pokemon TCG Delta Reign, now has a release date; it's due to launch at the beginning of November. In addition, we now have a better idea of what the set will offer fans.

Hitting shelves a couple of months after the the 30th Celebration set, Pokemon TCG Delta Reign is eyeing a November 6, 2026 release date - but fans will be able to get early access at special prerelease events starting from October 24. The expansion also introduces 'Legendary Stadiums' (two Stadiums played alongside each other), and more Mega Evolution Pokemon ex. That includes Mega Rayquaza ex, which is returning for the first time since the game's XY era.

Here's a breakdown of what you can expect from the set:

• Four more Mega Evolution Pokemon ex (Mega Rayquaza ex, Mega Golurk ex, Mega Malamar ex, and Mega Golisopod ex)
• 6 standard Pokémon ex
• New Legendary Stadium mechanic that combines two Stadiums together, with three Legendary Stadiums available in the set (boosters with Stadiums include both required cards)
• 14 illustration rare Pokemon
• 17 ultra rare Pokemon and Trainer cards
• Six special illustration rare Pokemon and Supporter cards

Pre-orders aren't available for Pokemon TCG Delta Reign yet, but it probably won't be long before they start to appear. While the Pokemon Center will sell this set in November, it's probably going to run out of stock fast. With that in mind, I'd keep a close eye on third-party retailers like Miniature Market in the US and Wayland Games in the UK. Both typically offer the range at standard (or close to normal) prices, though this does mean the cards sell fast.

That's certainly been the case with the current set; it's incredibly difficult to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration right now. As such, I'd keep a very close eye out for Delta Reign pre-orders in the coming weeks.

While we're on the subject of poor availability, Palworld TCG dev promises more stock with a 2nd Edition printing and apologizes again for poor availability.

• See the latest Pokemon card offers at Amazon

I'm feeling sorry for myself, and it's all because of China's exclusive Pokemon TCG figures.

China already has a reputation for getting some very cool Poke-merch, but the latest drop takes the cake. In honor of the 30th Celebration (which is grand enough to feature 27 products as is), the territory has pulled out all the stops for exclusive figurines to go with special Pokemon TCG cards.

While there's been a lot of fuss in the community over 13 adorable Pikachu models that match some of the 30 unique Pika-cards dropping alongside this set, an incredible Charizard commemorative figure based on the original card artwork is just as impressive. Actually, looking at it makes me feel weirdly nostalgic; it's the spitting image of the 1999 card, despite being a 3D model. Due to cleverly-placed linework, it feels like a cartoon come to life.

It's unclear if we'll get any of the above in the US or UK (and if we did, my guess is it'd appear somewhere like Walmart before being snapped up instantly), but I don't feel hopeful. While there's a chance these collectors' items could make the trip across the ocean, I'm not overly hopeful. We've seen figures such as these before, and they've remained China-exclusive. The only exception is in the UK at very select Forbidden Planet stores, which occasionally get Chinese Poke-merch in... but again, it's a small batch so I wouldn't say it's a super reliable method.

Not that they're completely out of reach. These items will launch in China this September 16, and I have no doubt you'll be able to get ahold of the figurines via secondary channels such as eBay… but you'll probably be paying way over the odds for them, not to mention painful shipping costs. Considering how it's already difficult enough to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration, this may be a step too far for many. In other words, these models may stay a daydream for most of us.

Back to feeling sorry for myself I go.

It's a day of ups and downs for card game fans; while it sucks that we probably won't get those cool Pokemon figures here, Palworld TCG dev promises more stock with a 2nd Edition printing.

• See the latest Pokemon cards at Amazon

I knew resellers were shameless and will do their level best to flog anything they can, but I didn't realize they'd stoop so low as to sell empty Pokemon Krispy Kreme donut boxes.

No, that isn't a typo; resellers really are attempting to shift cartons at an absurd price. I've seen some Pokemon Krispy Kreme boxes being listed for as much as $99.99, and honestly, my flabbers are gasted.

It's a similar story with the accompanying Poke-cups featuring Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and more. Getting a full collection can cost you well over $100 via eBay right now.

For context, Krispy Kreme just released a Pokemon collaboration with themed donuts based on the beloved pocket monsters. (More than one of our Editors can confirm that they are, in fact, delicious.) Because this is a limited-time drop and fans are going nuts for the tasty crossover, resellers have sniffed out an opportunity to make some easy cash by selling the remains at a ridiculous markup. Or at least, that's their hope; from what I can tell, very few of them are actually being bought. Faith in humanity restored.

These unscrupulous individuals are well known by fans of the best card games, and I can't say they have a good reputation. They typically scoop up all the TCG packs they can to move on with obscene price-hikes attached (which is part of the reason why it's so hard to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration right now), and this means there's nothing left for actual players. In fact, the war on Pokemon scalpers now includes facial recognition checks in some stores in Japan.

"....so they're not just scalping Pokemon cards, but the EMPTY DONUT BOXES?!!?!? ...is having good things as a 90s nerd just NO LONGER ALLOWED anymore?!" Asks @DaJoestanator on X/Twitter. I can't disagree with that sense of disbelief.

In more positive news, the new Disney Lorcana digital game sounds like a cross between MTG Arena and Pokemon TCG Pocket.

• Skip the trash and find actual Pokemon merch at Amazon

The last thing Naughty Dog released was in 2024, and it was the developer's The Last of Us Part II Remastered. To the former The Last of Us and Uncharted series' designer Benson Russell, that's a problem. Now a game development consultant, Russell recommends his former employer spare its next game from the prolonged development period it's accustomed to.

Naughty Dog's upcoming sci-fi adventure Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet has now been in production for six years. While the game doesn't yet have a release date, by the time it finally launches, we could be trudging toward the PS6 generation – which is why Russell tells FRVR in a new interview he thinks Naughty Dog's lethargic release calendar is "absolutely not" sustainable. He says about the developer, "They're one of the key stakeholders that get PlayStation[s] sold, right? So, when you think about it, they have not put an original IP out on this platform. The only thing they've done is The Last of Us [Remake]."

Russell guesses The Heretic Prophet's protracted production period is the result of "another Last of Us 2 situation," his term for Naughty Dog's eagerness to map a concise story to overstuffed gameplay. "It might need to be edited in that regard."

The former designer also expresses concern about The Heretic Prophet's interstellar setting, a huge change from Naughty Dog's more typical Earthly fare, in which the developer plays with ragged North American landscapes and jewel-tone islands for Nathan Drake to look disheveled on. The Heretic Prophet's seemingly grisly melee combat is also new for Naughty Dog, whose action segments are usually more strategic than aggressive – though, I think that look Crash Bandicoot always has in his eyes is also "aggressive."

Still, in Russell's experience, Naughty Dog can struggle in achieving new ideas. Even in those few years after the first Uncharted game came out in 2007, when Naughty Dog was releasing sequels and spin-offs on a nearly annual basis, Russell recalls the developer struggling to perfect its melee combat. He says, "We wanted brawling and all that kind of stuff, but it was a massive investment."

Now, as The Heretic Prophet heads toward its seventh year of development, Russell reflects on the industry-wide trouble of zombified production periods. The biggest titles reveal a small outbreak of developers dragging their feet – GTA 6 is a decade overdue, Fable has been delayed to 2027 after being announced in 2020, the Max Payne 1 and 2 remake has been under construction for four years and counting, and so on...

"I genuinely think these seven-year projects… you can get them back down to five," Russell says. "I think you could at least cut two years off of them, if not maybe a little more, just by defining yourself, getting that North Star solid right in the beginning. And it's not a difficult thing to do."

Otherwise, Russell argues, developers risk making a mess of their games with team changes, technical changes, and the unavoidable frustration of starting over.

And he has a point. But as studio closures and shrinking funds from publishers continue to threaten game development from the outside, it might not make a difference.

Uncharted difficulty was tuned to "slow the player down if they were too good," says Naughty Dog designer: "We can't charge 60 bucks for a 5-hour game."

The solo developer behind a fan-made Pokemon Emerald remake says they've been working 12-hour days for about two years to bring their project to life, during which time they created a whopping 384,000 animation frames and a whole lot more.

Pokemon Gamma Emerald launched into early access last week. Its creator, UndreamedPanic, describes it as a free, "built from scratch" remake, with this early build containing around three to six hours of gameplay. The project adds some quality-of-life improvements not found in the original Emerald, as well as additions like a day/night cycle and the option to let your Pokemon follow you around like in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

As spotted by Dexerto, on social media, Gamma Emerald's dev is adamant that "this is not a rom," nor is it a mod. "I built the assets like sprites, animations, models, music, UI, entire gamma engine myself. Calling it a mod is literally dismissing all of that haha," UndreamedPanic writes. "This is an original creation from scratch. It took 2 years to build with me working on it everyday for 12 hours a day." In a different post, they add: "I've been working to death."

Part of that was the project's animation – in a separate post, UndreamedPanic says "I did 384,000 frames of animation in the past 18 months," which definitely helps explain where those 12-hour workdays came from. Elsewhere, they reiterate: "I built this from the ground up, 0 rom, all me."

Although Gamma Emerald is in early access, UndreamedPanic said at launch that "I am not gonna fix bugs or look at them for a while, I REALLY need a break from this project." After those years of work, I don't think anyone could blame them for having a rest.

Pokemon Pokopia becomes second best-seller on Switch 2 after its first DLC launch, as Nintendo confirms the cozy spin-off has hit over 5 million sales in 5 months.

Polaroid seems to have said "what if Pokemon Snap, but real," because it's dropping a handful of cameras based on the mega-franchise.

Designed to look like Pokemon or items inspired by the series, this Polaroid collaboration includes three models: a Pikachu design, a Sylveon version, and a more classic camera based on the iconic Poke Ball colorscheme. They'll be available to pre-order soon (on August 25) via the Polaroid store or Pokemon Center, and launch alongside a host of accessories like carry-cases this October.

Rather than being different colorways on the same camera, the Pokemon × Polaroid crossover modifies two separate designs. The Pikachu and Sylveon ones give the smaller Polaroid Go Generation 3 a Poke-makeover, while the Poke Ball model is a modified Polaroid Now Instant Camera Generation 3. However, all feature the same shutter button modelled after a Poke Ball.

The cool thing about the smaller designs is that they feature themed straps modelled after their inspiration; the Pikachu one has a charm made to look like the electric mouse's tail, while the Sylveon Polaroid features a strap borrowing the Pokemon's signature colors in a suitably wavy pattern.

All of the cameras come with film whose frames are based on instantly-recognizable pocket monsters, from Charmander to Bulbasaur. These are all protected by darkslides featuring custom Pokemon silhouettes.

You'll also be able to grab a few Pokemon-themed add-ons soon, or use them with an existing Polaroid camera. All are modelled after a Poke Ball; there's a Poke Ball strap, a camera case, and photo album.

Here's a breakdown of exactly what's available:

• Polaroid Now Gen 3 (Poké Ball Edition): $139.99 / £129.99
•  Polaroid Go Gen 3 (Pikachu & Sylveon Editions): $99.99 / £89.99 each
• Special Edition Film: Custom-themed i-Type Film ($22.99) and Polaroid Go Double Packs ($24.99) with themed frames and custom dark slides
• Accessories: Themed Go Camera Cases ($24.99), Photo Albums ($24.99), and universal Camera Straps ($14.99).

These items will go up for pre-order at Polaroid on August 25, 2026 ahead of a full release on October 5.

If you want more nostalgia-fuelled collectibles, fans agree this new Lego Batman Returns Batmobile looks great.

• See all the latest camera models and accessories at Polaroid

Wonderland codes can give you a helping hand in this adventure, as you explore a creepy park full of surprises. While this place was originally built as a paradise, there are now loud noises and jump scares potentially hiding around every corner, so you'll need to stay strong if you want to survive.

The initial promo released gives you a modest amount of free Gems, which is enough to increase your balance but you'll need to earn more of them yourself before you can start buying items to help you through this scary Roblox experience. If you're brave enough to head inside, then here are the codes for Wonderland and how to redeem them.

If you'd prefer some general promos for rewards that can be used across all of your experiences, then check out the latest Roblox promo codes.

All Wonderland codes

The following Wonderland codes are available to claim:

• WORMYGOOD – 150x Gems new!

The initial codes for Wonderland unlock Gems, which can contribute towards an in-game purchase but generally aren't enough to buy anything on their own. Hopefully future promos will increase the amount of free Gems available, to give you more purchasing power.

How to redeem Wonderland codes

To redeem Wonderland codes, start off by selecting the SHOP button on the left side of the screen while in the lobby, then on the next screen hit the CODES icon at the end of the top bar. That will open the Redeem a Code menu, so use the Enter a special code here text box to type in a promo before tapping Redeem to collect your reward. Codes for Wonderland are not case-sensitive, so you don't have to use all caps for them to work.

Expired Wonderland codes

• RELEASE26 – 100x Gems

We have now started to get expired Wonderland codes, even though this whole process has only been added recently. Any promos released will eventually stop working, so claim the codes we've listed as active as soon as you can.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

The Eventide is as far from the realms of Mass Effect or Dragon Age as it could be. The narrative-driven adventure is grounded in a more realistic setting, for one, with striking "neon noir" detective vibes riffing off The X Files' brand of paranormal investigation, all presented through a vivid watercolor art style. This contemporary Canadian metropolis is "not cyberpunk, but hearkening back to some of the '90s aesthetics," art director Francis Lacuna offers – so you definitely won't be playing an intergalactic war hero.

As the brainchild of three former BioWare developers, developer Studio Reset is living up to its name. After almost two decades working together on some of the best RPGs of all time, creative director Kaelin Lavallee teamed up with fellow Mass Effect and Dragon Age alums Francis Lacuna and Kris Schoneberg to leave big corp life and form their own studio. "I think we were all very eager to try something new," Lavallee says, "to take these principles that we did learn [at BioWare] about characters and world building and crafting stories, and just apply them a bit differently."

Bright lights, big city

"A bit" sounds like an understatement. The Eventide puts you in charge of a team of paranormal detectives with an ever-growing pile of redacted cases to solve – and you yourself are not an actual character.

"You are facilitating their investigation," design director Schoneberg says, describing the player's role as the "unseen hand" tasked with not only selecting a case, but assigning the two most appropriate sleuths for the task. "That choice may become a little bit more difficult as the case list gets bigger," she hints. "Similarly, you start with a few agents, and they have different perspectives.

"When you look at a case and you look at your agents, you kind of do a little mental math," adds Schoneberg. "So you're making decisions about where you're going and who you're bringing. Then you go to that location with those agents, and at that point you do an investigation."

"How you collect the evidence is just as important as the evidence you collect," Lavallee says when I ask about how missions pan out. With interpersonal storytelling and party dynamics being such a focus in The Eventide, right in the veteran BioWare dev team's RPG wheelhouse, my curiosity is piqued. How do we know which duos to assign to a given case?

"You choose an agent based on their background and their expertise, depending on what you want to kind of uncover on a case," Lavallee says. "We don't have stats in the traditional RPG sense. Every character is quite unique in terms of their abilities and what they are able to see. So you can almost think of them like classes, but I prefer to think of them as lenses on the supernatural. You know, how does the supernatural interact with technology? How does it interact spiritually in cultures? How does it interact scientifically, organically?"

The idea of skeptics versus believers is imperative here, too, linking right back to the team being inspired by Mulder and Scully's dynamic in The X Files.

"I think it all ties back to perspective," says Lavallee. "So, in a BioWare game, each of the companions had their own perspective on the world and what should or should not happen." He references how different characters approve or dislike certain actions or dialogue choices, as well as the player's alignment as either Paragon or Renegade in Mass Effect.

"What we were trying to do with this is take that one step further and apply their perspectives to the gameplay itself. So you get both the character's narrative voice coming through in what they want to see and how they see it, their opinions on the world and on the supernatural, but you also get to see it through their eyes."

Or, you can choose the pair of detectives you simply like the most. "That's the thing that I loved about BioWare games," reflects Schoneberg. "When you'd bring those two characters with you, and all of a sudden they'd start having an argument or something." Picture the autonomous Garrus/Tali romance in Mass Effect 3, which happens if the player doesn't romance either character – anecdotally, something Schoneberg herself "had no idea" about while working on the RPG as a level designer.

But there's no player romance in The Eventide, Lavallee admits. "You're also not necessarily playing matchmaker. Maybe something happens organically. Who knows?"

The promise of branching narratives for coupled agents excites me. Romantic or not, The Eventide puts hands-off character development and emergent storytelling front and center. "You don't get the 'approves, disapproves' [character affinity tracker]. You see it live," Schoneberg says.

As a result, each detective's background, personal arc, and who they're paired up to work cases with becomes integral to how the story plays out. "It's very divergent. For me, I think what makes a compelling mystery is the convergence of all of these possibilities. So there is an ending. How you get there is really up to the player," explains Lavallee. "And then, as things start clicking together, you get closer and closer to the truth of what happened. And I think it's that space where the most fun is had."

Team rebuilding

The Eventide is the direct result of the trio's "shared beliefs," according to Lavallee, in terms of "not just what we want to make, but how we could make it and how we would want to if we ever got the opportunity."

It might sound like a risky pivot, but with industry-wide studio downsizing and layoffs sweeping some of the biggest game developers globally, creating indie games sounds comparatively safer for job security. "It used to be that AAA was sort of a safe harbor. You could have a nice salaried job and create something special, and now, that safety net is kind of gone," Lavallee says. The opportunity to make such a quirky, unique game like The Eventide could only present itself to an independent studio, and who better to helm it than Schoneberg, Lacuna, and himself?

"The opportunity to work with developers and people I trust and respect to create a good game experience – that's underappreciated in the world of companies building products to sell," Lacuna reflects. "Taking a risk to make a heartfelt, focused, passionate game – that is the most interesting thing to me [about going independent], and that drew me to work with these two."

Game development has become "a risky business", says Schoneberg. "A way of de-risking it is by working with people that you trust and have worked with before. That's more valuable than anything else."

Studio Reset's independence gives the devs a chance to get back into their craft at a grassroots level. "The assumption there is that you don't want to get your hands dirty anymore. You don't want to get in the engine. You don't actually want to go make something," Schoneberg continues.

"We want to make something, and we're willing to open up the editor, go find a YouTube video, and learn how to do something 20 years into a career. We are willing to do it, and so many people aren't."

The Eventide is one of many upcoming PC games you need to have on your radar in 2026 and beyond.

On February 25, 2027, Pokemon Bank will shut down, leaving seven generations worth of creatures trapped on old game cartridges. It's a sad milestone if you want to keep adventuring with your childhood Pokemon pals, but if you're purely interested in completing the modern Pokedex, you still can – well, mostly. With the app's closure, a small handful of Pokemon will be unobtainable in the modern console games, and nobody's quite sure when that's going to change.

The current hub for digital Pokemon collecting is Pokemon Home, a storage app that allows you to upload your creatures from any of the Switch games. For now, it also accepts transfers from Pokemon Bank, a 3DS app which – through a long, convoluted history of transfers, trades, and Virtual Console releases – allows you to upload Pokemon from every game released prior to the Switch.

There are now 1,025 Pokemon, and 1,018 of them can be uploaded to Pokemon Home via the modern Switch and Switch 2 games. The missing 'mons? Spinda, Deoxys, Celebi, Victini, Zarude, Iron Leaves, and Walking Wake. Currently, you can catch Deoxys in the eShop versions of FireRed and LeafGreen, and once those games are updated with Pokemon Home support in October, you'll be able to upload that catch with all the others.

That gets us to 1,019 out of 1,025. The Pokemon Company recently announced that the October Pokemon Home update will also give a reward to players who've fully completed the FireRed and LeafGreen Pokedex – a free Celebi. Now we're up to 1,020, but the immediate good news stops with just five Pokemon left to go.

Zarude is a relatively modern addition to the series, as it was introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield, and is still distributed via online events about once a year. It's safe to expect another such opportunity will come around soon enough. Similarly, Walking Wake and Iron Leaves have been regularly distributed through events for Scarlet and Violet.

Then there's Victini. This li'l guy dates back to Pokemon Black and White on the DS, and has only ever been available via event distributions. And even those have dried up since 2022. There is an important caveat here, since Victini can be caught in Pokemon Go and transferred into Home that way. But if you want to catch all your Pokemon through the mainline RPGs, Victini is currently off the board.

The real, final outlier – the one who's going to leave your Pokedex sitting at 1,024 out of 1,025 – is Spinda. You can catch this Pokemon without much hassle in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, but it's got a weird, unique gimmick: a spot pattern with billions of unique values. That seems to be the reason it's the one and only Pokemon from the Diamond and Pearl remakes that can't be uploaded to Home.

Legends Z-A and its DLC made a wide array of hard-to-obtain Pokemon reasonable to catch once again, but these outliers are all notable exceptions. They've been the subject of plenty of discussion among Pokemon fans on social media, with a lingering question: when will these creatures be catchable again?

Maybe some of them will be reintroduced in Pokemon Winds and Waves. Maybe we'll get to see Spinda again in a seemingly inevitable eShop release of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. Or maybe The Pokemon Company will simply open the floodgates with a host of event giveaways in the near future. For now, we're all just gonna have to make peace with some incomplete checklists.

Check out our ranking of the best Pokemon games.

It's finally launch day, but that doesn't mean it's any easier to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration. It's still a jungle out there; stock is rapidly being snapped up wherever it appears, and many stores require you to go in person to secure cards. Actually, I've heard of folks queuing up from 6am today to get their hands on the anniversary set... and even then, they're only walking away with one or two items.

Don't give up hope, though; you can find products if you know where to look. I've spent a long time tracking availability for the best card games, so have plenty of practical suggestions - including live stock. If you're based in the US, your best bet would be Miniature Market. Even though it's not got the widest range, its prices are by far the lowest. Yes, you'll find a greater variety at Walmart, but it's a more expensive way to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration.

As for the UK, Amazon UK has finally entered the chat with 'invite by request' offers. While this means you aren't guaranteed a purchase, the cost won't be over-inflated as a result. Considering how hard it is to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration across the pond (you may be better off visiting a brick-and-mortar store like Smyths Toys if you can), I'll take what we can get.

Where to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration in the US

Things are starting to look up! Reliable indie retailer Miniature Market is back with a small amount of stock this week, and those prices aren't so hideously inflated as you'll find elsewhere. This does mean they'll get snapped up quickly, though, at which point our best bets are Walmart and Amazon. The former has the better range, but it should be noted that both are sporting radically higher costs than normal.

Miniature Market

Walmart

Amazon

Best Buy

Target

TCGPlayer

eBay

Where to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration in the UK

We finally have movement! You can now buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration via Amazon, where a whole host of items have appeared with the 'invite by request' system designed to stop resellers. Although that means you may not get what you're after on the first try, those items will be at a normal price.

Don't want to put all your eggs in one basket? Keep an eye out for Wayland Games or Magic Madhouse. They're traditionally reliable sources of new TCG stock.

Amazon

Wayland Games

Magic Madhouse

Zatu Games

Smyths Toys

Argos

Where to buy other Pokemon TCG sets

While all eyes are on places to buy Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration, that's sometimes easier said than done. Fortunately, demand doesn't mean you have to go without cards. Plenty of older sets are widely available, and stock (as well as prices) for them is stabilizing.

I've set our dedicated software to rounding up the best offers as and when they appear, so you'll find the lowest prices on the latest sets below.

Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration FAQ

Wondering what makes this set so special? As the name would suggest, it celebrates three decades of the trading card game with throwbacks to 30 years of sets. This includes an adorable suite of collectible Pikachu cards, an all-new rarity, and box sets that include everything from figures to themed 'Day' and 'Night' packs with a host of accessories.

Here's everything you need to know about the set.

If you're looking to play something while you wait for stock, don't miss the best board games or the best tabletop RPGs.

• See all Pokemon TCG offers at Amazon

Pokemon Pokopia has only been out in the wild for a little over five months now, but with the recent release of its first DLC Bubbly Basin, it's managed to hit over five million sales.

That's no small feat, seeing as that marks it as Nintendo's second best-selling game on the Switch 2 – after Mario Kart World, of course, which itself boasts over 15 million copies sold, last we heard officially.

The company confirmed the exciting Pokopia-shaped news yesterday, as per Business Wire, with word of its five million sales coming shortly after the release of Bubbly Basin: the cozy spin-off's first-ever expansion, focusing on islands' water rather than land.

In Bubbly Basin, there's a brand-new underwater town to explore, ocean-themed Pokemon to befriend, mermaid-esque furniture to collect, and various outfits to snag.

It's the first part of Pokemon Pokopia's recent expansion pass, which comes with three DLC: Bubbly Basin and two mysterious additions that Nintendo has yet to fully unveil. As it stands now, the pass is $34.99 and includes 30 rare Pokémetal items if purchased before August 31, 2027.

That's quite a bit of time – and, personally, I wonder how Pokopia will be doing by then. Will it boast even more sales? Probably. It strikes me as the infinite-life sort of sandbox sim game that Minecraft is, with no real limit to playtime.

The capacity to build and explore seems endless (heck, so much so, that I feel like I'm constantly encountering complaints that there's too much to do and it's almost overwhelming to folks).

I'm excited to see what the future holds for Pokemon Pokopia – and for us eager players as well, with the second and third part of Nintendo's expansion pass.

Pokemon Pokopia was bioengineered to be the "best selling spin-off" according to Koei Tecmo CEO, but he had no "real expectations" for the cozy game until it became an international hit

A Pokemon PC port known as Gen1Recomp has been going viral over the past few weeks, thanks largely to mods turning the original Game Boy RPG into a three-dimensional voxel world. The project launched with support for Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, and beta support for Pokemon Gold has just been implemented. Developer BryanThaBoi has also thoroughly answered questions about the project's AI use – though those answers may not be what you're hoping to hear.

Gen1Recomp functions similarly to other PC ports we've seen of classic games. It can play classic Pokemon games pretty much as you remember them, just as an emulator would, but with additional graphics options. Wanna play the game with an ultra-zoomed-out view allowing you to see miles of the map at once? You can do it.

The actual exciting part of these PC ports, however, is the modding potential. Gen1Recomp already has a ton of mods, including some that turn the entire game world into a 3D voxel map, allowing you to see it from an all-new perspective. That's a novelty that's helped shoot Gen1Recomp into stratospheric popularity.

If, however, you don't like your fan-projects to be AI-powered, I'm afraid there's some bad news: Gen1Recomp was made with AI. Or, rather, it was made with help from AI – a distinction BryanThaBoi is very keen to emphasize.

"no, the recomp was not 'made with claude,'" the dev says in a statement on Discord. "was AI used? yes. those are two different sentences and the whole problem is that most people hear them as one. Specifically, using AI = vibe coding. Which is not true. It CAN be true, but in this case it is not."

BryanThaBoi suggests that "vibe coding" is specifically the work of an inexperienced developer who's using AI to paper over the gaps in their own knowledge. That's the kind of thing that the devs behind PS3 emulator RPCS3 were trying to head off when they stopped accepting AI code submissions altogether earlier this year.

But BryanThaBoi insists that his use of AI is different: he's an experienced software developer using AI as an assistant tool, just as he does in his day job. That's the kind of sentiment we saw Valve boss Gabe Newell express when he described AI as a "cheat code" for developers.

"when someone asks me point blank 'is it AI' i have said no, because in the way they mean it, it isnt," BryanThaBoi says. "the second you say 'i use AI' the assumption is vibecoded, hands off, doesnt even know how to develop. thats not what happened here. So it's close to impossible to answer people like this who either have a closed mind about the subject, or dont understand it at all and are just mad any AI touched anything ever."

To those angry about his stance, BryanThaBoi offers a GIF in response. It says "eat a shoe," and you can probably guess what it depicts. I suppose there's something to be said for making your stance clear, but I doubt this response is altogether endearing to anyone who's rejecting AI outright.

These are the best Pokemon games of all time.

Pokemon Bank is officially shutting down on February 26, 2027 - meaning the last proper route to move Pokemon from older generations to the Switch era is being cut off.

Pokemon Day is February 27, and to celebrate, The Pokemon Company has plans to leave our dusty, sometimes life-long pocket monsters stranded on the Nintendo 3DS. But at least it's giving us time to prep beforehand.

"Pokemon Bank, a Nintendo 3DS application that lets players deposit or withdraw Pokémon they have befriended in Pokemon titles on that system from online Boxes, will be ending service," the company writes in its announcement.

3DS players had long been able to store the critters they caught in Pokemon Black and White, Black and White 2, X and Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and Sun and Moon using the handheld system's Pokemon Bank app. Using some creative workarounds, even Pokemon from the GameBoy era were able to be preserved.

Of course, Pokemon Bank was eventually delisted alongside the entire system's eShop in 2023, but since then, fans have been able to transfer creatures over to the Nintendo Switch generations using the more modern Pokemon HOME alternative - as long as you're a paying member, I should add.

"As a result, transferring Pokémon from Pokémon Bank to Pokémon HOME will also no longer be possible," The Pokemon Company continues. "If you have Pokémon stored in Pokémon Bank that you wish to carry over, please move them to Pokémon HOME prior to Pokemon Bank's end of service. Please note Pokemon Bank is not currently available for download."

While Pokemon Bank compatibility is coming to an end, the price of a Pokemon HOME Premium membership isn't changing. To make up for the loss, The Pokemon Company is simply increasing the number of creatures you can store from 6,000 to 9,000 Pokemon starting this October. The Switch ports of Pokemon LeafGreen and FireRed are also getting Pokemon HOME support at the same time.

In any case, you have less than 200 days to dust off your old 3DS clams or 2DS bricks, scramble to find a charger that's probably tangled into oblivion, and save your childhood 'mons from being permanently lost in a dark digital void. Does a Jigglypuff still sing if no one can hear it?

$9,000 eBay auction might hold a secret Pokemon game that's been lost for 20 years

The best Pokemon TCG Pocket deck for Hoopa ex is very good in the current meta, with Hoopa proving incredibly strong owing to its ability to target benches and disrupt strategies in the early game, but at the risk of hurting yourself the further you go into the late game. If you're willing to take this high-risk, high-reward strategy, here's how to make the best Dark Hoopa ex deck build in PTCGP, and what you need to know about strategies, pros and cons.

For more deck builds, find out the best decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket here!

Best Hoopa ex deck build in Pokemon TCGP

The best Hoopa ex deck in the PTCGP meta right now is made with the following cards:

• Hoopa ex x2
• Deino x2
• Hydreigon x2
• Bombirdier x1
• Cyrus x1
• Rare Candy x2
• Deceptive Needle x2
• Copycat x2
• Lucky Ice Pop x1
• Field Blower x1
• Poke Ball x2
• Professor's Research x2

Energy: Dark

Dark decks are usually all about favoring aggressive play over anything else, even to the extent of hampering the user, and that's what both Hydreigon and Hoopa ex do, both damaging themselves to either generate energy or do big damage.

It's worth it through: this is a deck that can run very early on 1 energy, and Hoopa's basic attack is incredibly powerful, especially when it comes to targeting the opponent's bench. Meanwhile, Bombirdier is a major advantage for lowering retreat costs, and the Deceptive Needle doubles down on that early advantage by inflicting chip damage on opponents.

Want an alternative Dark build? Check out the best Mega Absol ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket, or the similar Zoroark ex deck.

• Pros
  • Very good early game that also hits the bench
  • Hydreigon remains a low-cost powerhouse
  • Versatile but simple strategies
• Cons
  • Weaker late game, as a result of low health and self-destructive attacks
  • Hydreigon is a Stage 2 evolution

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

Each Pokemon has their favorite Pokopia flavors, and knowing which foods fit these categories is essential when feeding fussier Pokemon and trying to increase environment levels throughout your world.

Some Pokemon will ask for any food and are pleased whatever you place in front of them. However, others will ask specifically for something spicy or bitter, for example, and only the right foods will satisfy them. For those occasions, you'll want this Pokopia food guide to hand.

All Pokopia flavors and the basic foods

There are six different Pokopia flavors, and each of the berries, vegetables, and other ingredients belong to specific flavor profiles. When a Pokemon asks for a certain flavor, you'll need to give them food from that category, which isn't always as obvious as you'd think (since when were carrots spicy?!).

So, to help, here's every Pokopia and the basic ingredients that fit their profile:

• Neutral
  • Leppa Berry
  • Lum Berry
  • Watermelon [DLC]
• Bitter
  • Rawst Berry
  • Potato
  • Seaweed
  • Sea Grapes [DLC]
• Dry
  • Chesto Berry
  • Wheat
  • Mushrooms
• Sweet
  • Pecha Berry
  • Bean
• Sour
  • Aspear Berry
  • Tomato
• Spicy
  • Carrot

Meals that you make with these ingredients also fit the flavor profiles above, but the cheapest and most resource friendly way to appease Pokemon hunger is with the basic ingredients listed above.

Mosslax offerings

Once you've awoken Mosslax in Pokopia, you can place offerings on their shrine to increase your rewards. For example, offering dry food grants increased feather drops from Ho-Oh and Lugia. You can offer food to Mosslax once per day, with the effects lasting for that day only. These are the best foods to offer Mosslax for each reward:

• Neutral: increases friendship with other Pokemon faster.
  • Vibrant hamburger steak
    • Combine a bean, a potato, any salad, and any other ingredient in a frying pan.
• Bitter: improves your chance of finding rare items.
  • Bitter hamburger steak
    • Combine a bean, a Rawst berry, a Lum berry, and any other ingredient at a frying pan.
• Dry: increased Lugia and Ho-Oh sightings.
  • Crushed-berry salad
    • Combine a leaf and a Chesto berry at a cutting board, while accompanied by a Pokemon with the Crush specialty.
• Sweet: makes it easier to find ancient artifacts.
  • Fluffy bread
    • Combine wheat, a Pecha berry, and any other ingredient at a bread oven.
• Sour: improved stock appears in shops.
  • Flavorful soup
    • Combine fresh water, an Aspear berry, and any hamburger steak at a cooking pot.
• Spicy: increases the chances of Pokemon turning up at habitats.
  • Crouton salad
    • Combine a leaf and any bread at a cutting board.

With this knowledge, you'll be able to increase your rewards and keep Pokemon happy and well-fed. If you're using this to improve Pokemon homes and therefore the overall Pokopia environment level, but need any more advice on doing so, then our separate guide has all the information you need.

Meanwhile, if you aren't sure how to find any of the ingredients listed above, we've got guides on getting hold of Pokopia wheat and Pokopia tomatoes.

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Getting certain Pokopia paint colors - specifically black and white - is no straightforward task, and the game also never tells you how to get them. Then there's other colors, like green, yellow, and pink, which may be obvious depending on a random draw when you started your game, otherwise you might have a tough time getting them.

Whichever color you're after, this Pokopia paint guide will tell you how to get it, so read on - and make sure you've got Smeargle around!

How to get Pokopia paint

To get Pokopia paint, you need to give berries to Pokemon with the Crush Specialty. They'll get to work on the berries, turning each single berry into five bowls of paint after a short time.

If you aren't sure which Pokemon have the Crush Specialty, take a look at our separate guide or use the Pokedex filter in-game.

Here, though, are the base Pokopia paint colors and the berries that require crushing to obtain them:

Other colors then require combining the colors above. For example, if you want lime green paint, you'll need to combine green and yellow paint. This can either be done directly with Smeargle or by crafting Paint Balloons at a workbench. There's more on how to paint further down this guide, but you'll get this recipe after meeting Smeargle in Bleak Beach.

How to get all Pokopia berries

The trouble with all of this is that, while there are plenty of Leppa and Chesto berries about, other berries are slightly harder to come by. Luckily, one seed for each rare tree can be found somewhere in the world, so try not to misplace it when you find it. You'll also get one type of tree randomly assigned to your save game when you start playing Pokopia for the first time, which cannot be changed. This tree will be found in certain places, like the orchard in Withered Wastelands. If you're unlucky, your tree might be Chesto or even Leppa, but you can get any of the other types, too.

Whichever berry you're looking for, though, there's one surefire way of getting the tree you want - and it'll even be ready to harvest right away.

To get every type of berry, head to the developer Dream Island, take a photo of each tree with your in-game camera on Object Mode, then 3D print each tree back at any Pokemon Center.

This way, you'll always have access to as many berry trees as you need, as long as you have one Rare Pokemetal for each single tree you want to print. Upon printing, your fully grown tree will be ready to plant.

If you need to know how to get to this Dream Island, check out our separate guide to accessing the Pokopia Developer Island, which has lots of other stuff you can 3D print, too.

Black and white Pokopia paint

Black and white Pokopia paint, meanwhile, works slightly differently. Since these colors don't come from any berries, you have a chance of getting white or black paint back from Pokemon every time they make you any other paint, at the same ratio of the paint they've made you. For example, if you get ten green paint, there's chance you may also get ten white paint, too. For this reason, it's best to always hand over the maximum amount of berries possible.

Do keep in mind, though, that certain berries result in either black or white paint, as follows:

Again, you're never guaranteed black or white paint, so you'll just have to keep crushing berries with your fingers crossed and you'll get some eventually.

How to paint in Pokopia

There are two ways to paint items and buildings in Pokopia. The first is to craft Paint Balloons at a workbench and throw them at items or blocks. The other is to talk to Smeargle and ask them to paint items or blocks for you.

Either way is simple for painting items, but using paint balloons is probably the best, as you won't need to find Smeargle or take the item to them. Just make sure the correct item is highlighted before throwing the balloon. You can take items to Smeargle if you want something a little more complicated, though, including patterns.

However, when it comes to painting buildings, things are a bit trickier. To paint a building without a color in its name, such as the City Den or a Sand Hut, ask Smeargle to follow you to the building, where they will ask if you want to paint it. However, if you want to paint other buildings, like the yellow, pink, and orange huts, it's bad news.

You can paint these buildings, but you'll need to paint each block individually, which takes a lot of time and paint, as one balloon paints one block. You may find you'd rather destroy the building, take the blocks to Smeargle, and get them to paint the blocks, as Smeargle paints ten blocks for the same paint cost as you can paint one. The downside with this is that you have to rebuild the building from scratch.

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While there is no Manaphy habitat in Pokopia just yet, you can still get this adorable Mythical Pokemon to move into Bubbly Basin - after all, they are the one that started it all.

With the Pokopia Bubbly Basin DLC installed, your attention will be directed to an island off of Bleak Beach which seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Here, you'll find a washed up Manaphy, who'll get your started on the Bubbly Basin storyline before disappearing in search of a home for themselves. If you think this means you need to build a habitat for them, you'd be wrong, but you can still get them to move into your underwater paradise.

I've tried to avoid spoilers as best as possible, but there are some ahead, so be warned.

How to get Manaphy in Pokopia

To get Manaphy to move into Bubbly Basin permanently, simply complete the area's storyline by increasing the environment level to 3 and then building the Ocean Temple as requested by Popplio, Professor Tangrowth's underwater replacement.

I'll let you watch it play out from here, but, just like the base game areas, completing the main storyline results in the appearance of a Legendary - or, in this case, Mythical - Pokemon. From this point on, Manaphy will appear in their new home at all times, but you can't build a new habitat to move them elsewhere. For now, at least.

When it comes to building the Ocean Temple, you're going to need some specific materials, including the Pokopia Ocean Door, Seashell Fencing, and Shiny Pearls, and our guides can help you find them.

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The Pokopia Ocean Pals rug is a special decorative item that you can find lying around Bubbly Basin, but unlike most items, this one's also part of a quest. During the DLC storyline, flat Pokemon Stunfisk will ask you to find a special rug for them. All they'll tell you is that the rug design features lots of underwater Pokemon, and that it can be found in house in the Bubbly Basin town.

This doesn't give us much to go on, so if you're struggling to complete this request, I've already found the Ocean Pals rug and can tell you exactly where to do the same. So, read on for the exact location of the Pokopia Ocean Pals rug - and a bonus rug to boot.

Pokopia Ocean Pals rug location

The Pokopia Ocean Pals rug is found in a Pokeball, itself found inside a very dilapidated and well-hidden house in the very northwest corner of Bubbly Basin, just behind the play area.

This particular house is hard to find as it's hidden on its own in a cave, seemingly having been buried in all the Pokopia chaos. There are two easy ways to find it:

• Head over the bridge to the play area, and the house can just be seen through some cracks in the cliffs to the left of the slide, behind some Star-Speckled Rocks.
• Head above water when you reach the play area, where you'll find half of the house above ground. Drop down to find the other, sunken, half.

Once you find the house, it's pretty easy to find the Ocean Pals Rug, as it's inside the only Pokeball in the home. With the rug in your inventory, head back to Stunfisk and give it to them to complete your request.

There is another lovely fish-friendly rug found in the town as well, the Swampert Squad rug. If you're trying to give this rug to Stunfisk and it's not working, that's because you've got the wrong one - though it's an easy mistake to make.

Alternatively, if you haven't yet found this blue Pokemon-themed rug, it's in the Pokeball just to the right of the bridge before you cross over from the main Bubbly Basin area. Be careful not to lose it, though, because while no Pokemon has asked for it yet, there's no saying someone won't in the future!

For more Bubbly Basin guides, I've got you covered with help finding the Pokopia Ocean Door recipe and the Windup Inkay toy, as well as how to get the incredibly useful Pokopia Portal Pods for improved storage!

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