A lot is wrong with the games industry, if you haven't noticed, and a lot of its issues can be traced back to the same place: studio executives prioritizing the shareholders at the reins of publicly traded companies. Indie giant Devolver Digital, which went public in November 2021 and has seen its share value nosedive since, is the latest company to learn this firsthand.

Devolver plans to go private again, and its reasoning offers a clear and timely explanation of how shareholders hobble, hollow out, and otherwise hurt companies, and especially game companies.

An announcement posted to Devolver Digital's investor relations page confirms that the company has proposed to be delisted from the UK's AIM market. The proposition will be voted on at a September 8 general meeting.

But it's the "Reasons for the Cancellation" that really stand out. Devolver went public on the back of, among other games, Fall Guys, an enormous hit that injected a ton of cash into the company. "Since then," Devolver says today, "the global video games industry has undergone a period of significant disruption and volatility, characterised by widespread layoffs for studios and publishers, platform rationalisation and substantial impairments across the industry."

Devolver's directors also "believe that the Company's share price does not reflect the true market value of the Company and that the stock market has not rewarded the Company" for its successes.

But it's not just rough times that drove Devolver to this decision, though the company says it does stand to save about $1.6 million annually by going private. Devolver quietly spells out how the shape of a publicly traded company conflicts with the needs of games and the people who make them, indirectly explaining how games further clash with the inherent toxicity of any business model built around securing infinite growth in a world of finite resources.

For example, "As a publicly-quoted company, Devolver has faced the ongoing challenge of delivering growth in line with market expectations despite those difficult sector conditions, resulting in a valuation disconnect that does not take account of the lifetime and long-tail revenue delivery inherent in the video games business."

This reads like a very nice way of saying that shareholders want their money, and they want it fast. The problem is that games are not fast, and if you try to make them fast, they probably won't be very good.

On this point, Devolver says the nature of video game development butts heads with constant demands for growth.

"Development timelines can be unpredictable, and, as a result, financial performance can vary significantly between reporting periods and may not follow a linear progression," it says. Again, you can't ship massive, revenue-boosting hits every three months.

"The Board feel this irregularity has not been readily compatible with the requirements of the market for semi-annual reporting with an emphasis on predictable, sequential growth," Devolver adds.

It's when math isn't meeting shareholder demands that corners tend to get cut. Make no mistake: shareholder expectations are a primary factor in a lot of obviously unfinished games being released (to squeeze into a fiscal target) or in developers being laid off (to reduce reported costs, even after a successful launch).

Abolishing shareholders (and private equity) would not instantly solve all of the games industry's problems, but if you size up all those problems, you'll find that many distributaries come from this river. Several publicly traded game companies have, of course, found success, but behind them is a graveyard of companies and games that were ground to bits trying to get a line to meet arbitrary milestones. And Devolver's bid to go private is one of the best summaries I've seen of the situation in some time.

Here's a key line from Devolver that seems to echo the threat of cut corners: "Consequently, the Company has at times faced increased pressure to deliver short-term market expectations that do not necessarily reflect the underlying long-term value creation potential of its portfolio and development pipeline." (This is also where enshittification comes from: squeezing more money out of the same stuff by sacrificing quality or displacing values.)

A Devolver spokesperson minced no words in a comment to GamesIndustry: "Being private will allow the Devolver Digital team, especially the finance, legal, and executive team, to singularly focus on the long-term health of the company and less on satisfying the requirements of the public market, which have nothing to do with being a successful game publisher."

We won't get "the next FromSoftware" or "another Remedy or Larian" at this rate, warns veteran dev: "We have to change that."

Not releasing a new Fallout game alongside the popular Amazon Prime TV show might seem like a missed opportunity, but Obsidian Entertainment co-founder and Fallout: New Vegas writer Chris Avellone reckons the decision was likely a "personal" one for the devs.

It's now been over a decade since Fallout 4, so to say fans have been patiently waiting for the next mainline entry would be an understatement. Thankfully, Bethesda has now revealed the tiniest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel with confirmation that Fallout 5 is "currently in preproduction," albeit with The Elder Scrolls 6 remaining the team's priority.

Beyond that, it's also been confirmed that remasters of both Fallout 3 and New Vegas are on the way, as well as a new game that's being developed by New Vegas studio Obsidian, which raises the question – why didn't Bethesda align any of these releases with the first or second season of its TV show? Asked about why we've not seen more Obsidian-led Fallout games or a new title to coincide with the show on a new episode of the Human Can Opener podcast on YouTube (below), Avellone gives his thoughts.

"I think whatever the decision was not to do that, it didn't feel like a business decision," he begins, saying that to him, it appeared to be a more "personal" one. "But I don't know for sure," he adds.

What "personal" factors might have come into play here are another matter that Avellone doesn't elaborate on, but to suggest it wasn't a business decision would certainly track. After all, the TV show saw the existing series surge in popularity as fans new and old were inspired to jump back in. Just imagine how popular a brand new game would have been if it launched around the same time? Well, it's not like the Fallout TV series is over yet, so who knows, perhaps one of those upcoming releases will align with one of the future seasons.

Fallout 3 was "not what we intended" after tech constraints in 2008, says Bethesda vet Nate Purkeypile, so it's time for a "better" remaster.

Finding the Pokopia Windup Inkay toy will take you into the deepest depths of the Bubbly Basin - perhaps for the first time. This dark underwater area might look scary, but it's not that hard to explore, and at least when it comes to finding Windup Inkay, I'll tell you exactly where you're headed.

Once you've found it, you can head back up towards the light of day and place the Pokopia Windup Inkay toy as part of the Muddy Playtime habitat, where another sealife Pokemon will join you and friends.

Where to find the Pokopia Windup Inkay toy

To find the Pokopia Windup Inkay toy, follow these instructions:

• Head to the broken bridge in the Imperial area of Bubbly Basin.
• Locate the large, Imperial, descending staircase to the east of the bridge, and go down. Then spin your left stick at the bottom until you drop to the depths.
• Turn back towards the stairs and walk below them, hugging the wall to the north until you see a small cave entrance illuminated by a purple coral (with an orange one inside).
• Follow this tunnel until you reach breakable rocks on your right. Break them to reveal a cave with a Pokeball inside.
• The Windup Inkay is inside the Pokeball, so interact with it, and claim your new toy!

To check you're in the right place, take a look at the map shown on the image above, which also indicates the location of the Windup Inkay. Keep your eyes peeled while you're down here, and you'll also find loads of other important resources and items, including Pokopia Grubby Pearls.

Now you've got the toy, you can build the Muddy Playtime habitat by combining the toy with a Towel Rack and a Floating Log next to some muddy water. I won't tell you which Pokemon might turn up here, though you might be able to guess at least one.

For more unique Pokemon habitats, check out our other guides on the Pokopia Jirachi habitat and the Sableye habitat, both of which are only available by grabbing event-exclusive items.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

After there's been zero word on the next mainline Sonic the Hedgehog game, Sonic Team lead Takashi Iizuka says there are more surprises in store for the series 35th anniversary.

Sonic the Hedgehog is pretty constant as of late, whether it be remaster, spinoff or main series game, the series has effectively been a yearly release for a while now. However, it's been a while since the series' last 3D entry with 2022's Sonic Frontiers, and fans have been feverishly waiting for what's coming next for the series – especially in the wake of the fairly divisive Sonic Superstars in 2023. But aside from a second wave of DLC for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and the collab game between Sonic and indie hit Pico Park, things have been quiet throughout Sonic's 35th anniversary year.

Speaking to Pocket Tactics, Iizuka was asked what we can expect from the series' anniversary celebrations. He responds "We want the 35th anniversary to recognize every part of Sonic's history while also looking ahead" in reference to the likes of Sonic in Concert, he adds, "Throughout the year, fans will see Sonic through games, music, events, collaborations, merchandise, and other special projects."

Iizuka then promises more surprises on top of what has already been announced, saying "other surprises will need to remain secret for a little longer. I know that Sonic fans are extremely observant, so I must be careful not to provide any unintended clues!" He adds "We hope there will be something that appeals to fans from every era."

Sega did tease what would become Frontiers at the end of a 30th anniversary stream, before it was fully revealed at The Game Awards 2021, so if Sega are set on revealing what's next for Sonic this year, maybe keep an eye on Keighley's show this year.

Sonic Team boss says the most memorable game he's ever worked on is Sonic Adventure 2, and he was "really delighted" its story was used for the third movie

A new Ghost Recon game is on the way from Ubisoft, and the devs are "ready to put it to the test" as fans are encouraged to sign up for closed tests to help shape the title with their feedback.

Last month, Ubisoft hinted that going forward – specifically, looking to its 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 fiscal years – its "content pipeline" of big brands including Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Ghost Recon is expected to be "significantly bigger" than its current lighter slate. That certainly suggested that we could expect more Ghost Recon at some point soon, but now, it sounds like that'll be happening quite imminently.

Speaking during today's Ghost Recon 25th Anniversary stream, live producer Irina-Gabriela Popa delivers the news that fans have been hoping for. "For the past few years, we've been building the next chapter of Ghost Recon," she says. "I'm really excited to share with you that now we're ready to put it to the test, because we want to deliver a fun, fresh experience that stays true to everything that defines Ghost Recon: tactical action, large scale operations, credible military storytelling, and of course, the Ghost Unit."

Fans are encouraged to sign up to Ghost Recon's Insider Program, which will grant early access to closed tests. Ubisoft will use the feedback gained from these to optimize and balance the upcoming game.

What's not currently clear is when the first of these closed tests might be – the fact that the devs are apparently "ready" to test the game definitely implies we won't be waiting long, but at the time of writing, no dates have been given.

For now, at least, we can hold onto the promise of a faithful but fresh experience – seven years since Breakpoint and four since the cancellation of Ghost Recon: Frontline, it's about time fans got fed.

Be sure to check out our roundup of upcoming Ubisoft games to see what else the company has in the works.

Pokopia Seashell Fencing might just be the cutest fencing in the game yet, so it's only right that you would want to place plenty around the Bubbly Basin - and maybe even the beach, too!

If, for some reason, these pretty posts don't take your fancy, though, you still need to unlock the Seashell Fencing recipe if you want to build the Ocean Temple, thus completing Popplio's request and the DLC storyline. It's not at all obvious where to find this recipe, though, so here's where to get it.

How to unlock the Pokopia Seashell Fencing recipe

You can purchase the Pokopia Seashell Fencing recipe from the Bubbly Basin Pokemon Center PC once you reach environment level 3 in the area. It will set you back 500 Life Coins, but since it's essential for the story, that's a relatively small price to pay.

Luckily, you'll already be at level 3 for the story to require these fences, so you shouldn't have a problem grabbing the recipe from the Shop. If for any reason you've gone back down a level, though, you can get it back up using our guide to increasing your Pokopia environment level.

Once you've unlocked the recipe, you can then craft 10 fences with just one Star-Speckled Rock and one Shiny Pearl. We've got a separate guide for you if you haven't figured out how to get Pokopia Shiny Pearls yet.

And with that, you'll be able to craft the ten Seashell Fence pieces required to build the Ocean Temple and have Bubbly Basin looking more fabulous than ever. You'll also need the Pokopia Ocean Door recipe, too, so take a look at our other guide if you aren't sure how to get that recipe - you won't find that one in the shop.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

On August 4, like every other Fire Emblem fan, I tuned into Nintendo's Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Direct live stream. And, after analyzing the full 22 minutes of story details and gameplay footage, I still have a massive burning question that has been bothering me ever since about the upcoming Switch 2 game: where is the love?

Romance in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave hasn't been confirmed outright yet, and I didn't think I'd need it to be before the stream. The inclusion of some kind of romance system or pairings seemed obvious, given the franchise's long history of including relationships in its stories. Ever since the first game in the series came out in 1990, love interests have been a thing. And, even during the games with less overt romantic options, we at least had some kind of married couple, or relationship drama to watch unfold on the battlefield.

But as the recent Fortune's Weave presentation went into detail about its plot revolving around multiple timelines and time travel, distinct characters, and gameplay features, the absence of any love system or romantic pairings shown fills me with dread.

A confusing relationship

The more I reflect back on the Direct, the more I worry that romance and any kind of non-platonic pairings will be done away with completely this time around, because from the current known Fortune's Weave story details, I have no idea how it will fit in meaningfully.

So far, we know that a big chunk of Fortune's Weave's story revolves around four distinct heroes that enter the "Heroic Games", a competition where the winner gets a wish granted. Similar to Fire Emblem: Three Houses, who you pick will have a unique storyline to follow, and each main hero has a cast of allies that are there to help them. However, the main plot twist is that while you control your chosen hero for at least a portion of the game, the main protagonist is Eshmel, a soul later summoned by the Goddess Sothis.

We know that Eshmel's section of the game (which is likely to be the largest part considering they are the "true" protagonist) happens five years after the Heroic Games. The four heroes have vanished, and Eshmel is tasked with defeating a revived demon god.

Eshmel has the option to go back in time and change the fate of the four heroes, and in the stream we do see Eshmel physically meeting each one in some kind of way. Now, with all that in mind, I don't see Eshmel realistically romancing anyone as an essentially newly summoned soul, guardian-angel type. And I'm fine with that fact. I am worried, though, that this story structure will stop any potential romance that could have been forged between the four heroes and their allies, as well as other pairings from allied NPC units. The shift in focus to a divine being may result in human connections falling by the wayside and us getting a more generic depiction of relationships.

The importance of love

Romance has always been one of my favorite elements of Fire Emblem. It makes characters feel more real and the consequences of letting them die in battle more impactful.

Romance also feeds into the general support system as well where NPCs with raised bonds get bonuses in battle. But gameplay advantages aside, the real draw of pursuing relationships is how much more fleshed out every character interaction feels as a result. I rarely care about NPCs in games; however, following a romantic side plot, seeing allies with chemistry and then getting to see what pairings developed after the fog of war has settled is one of the reasons that Fire Emblem has become one of my favorite titles of all time.

The franchise's romance system, especially how it pairs couples based on support points and the bonds you raise, is also one of the reasons it stands out as unique. Few other tactical RPGs utilize romance to enhance their worldbuilding, and also care enough to make each of their NPC characters feel fully realized. Romance and relationships are universal to the human experience – of course feelings would form between allies – and a Fire Emblem game without either would be a downgrade.

A hopeful future

Not all romantic hope is lost. The Direct did show that you can develop support points with allies and potential recruits through sharing meals and giving gifts. We did also see support conversations. Hopefully this means that my fears are unfounded and romance will be integrated in at least some of these relationships. And, hopefully, the timeskip won't negate them or completely abandon the mechanics once it happens.

On the other hand, we have to take the last game into account and how it handled romance too. Fire Emblem Engage did away with pairings completely. And despite having amazing tactical gameplay, its story was one of the series' least popular because of it. One common complaint about Fire Emblem Engage is its characters feeling shallow (just read our Fire Emblem Engage review for more details on that), especially in comparison to Three Houses. Now romance isn't the only factor that contributed to the writing issues, but it does add to the problem.

Romance was an afterthought in Engage, with the game featuring no pairings outside of the player character and romance being tied to an optional map that many missed. It fundamentally misunderstands how pairing characters makes them feel more human, and how that simple mechanic makes players more invested in their stories and, by consequence, whether they live or die in combat.

I really hope that Engage's criticism is taken to heart, and that if we don't get romance storylines as the player character in Fortune's Weave, we will still see other characters' pairings and developing relationships. Love is intrinsically human. It is also one of the pillars that makes Fire Emblem so special, and for a mainline title, Fortune's Weave should hopefully remember its importance to the series DNA.

While we wait for Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, you can check out our lists of the best tactical RPGs and the best Switch 2 games to play today.

Amid Sony's plan to end physical games on PlayStation, Nintendo has confirmed that 38.5% of its sales are still physical.

Digital vs physical games have been a massive topic of discussion as of late, thanks to Rockstar Games announcing that the only physical copies of GTA 6 will be code-in-box releases, which was soon followed by Sony confirming that it will stop making disks in 2028.

Naturally, this caused outrage among players who want to continue growing their physical collection for myriad reasons – be it collecting, preservation, or simply options.

However, publishers haven't really been as upset. While some like Astrolabe Games and Serenity Forge have spoken out against it, Capcom, for example, isn't too worried.

In Nintendo's latest financial results, the company revealed that in the previous quarter it made 132.7 billion yen from digital sales, which is not only a 90% year-on-year increase but also a 2.2% increase in the proportion of digital sales compared to the same time last year. This meant that 61.5% of Nintendo's sales were from digital purchases between March 30 and June 30, 2026.

Now granted, 38.5% isn't a small piece of the pie at all; however, there are a few caveats with the figure. Firstly, Nintendo confirms that Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions, download-only titles and DLC – including upgrade packs for Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games – are included in this figure. On top of that, games bundled within hardware packages – like the Mario Kart World Switch 2 bundle at launch – are recognized as hardware sales, and thus not included in this.

Obviously, the decline of physical games is a net negative for the industry, but between this and word from industry analyst Mat Piscatella that, in 2026, only seven games on PlayStation have sold more than 100,000 physical copies in the US this year, the writing may have been on the wall for a while.

Granted, so far it seems like Nintendo is still all-in on its own titles being physical releases, with none of its first-party releases – barring Pokemon Pokopia, which isn't published by Nintendo in every region – being proper releases.

Switch 2 beats the GameCube in lifetime sales as Nintendo's fastest-selling console ever officially shifts 23.68 million units

I've tested more JSAUX accessories than I can count with both hands, and plenty of them have the chops to contend with the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories I've looked at. Yet the JSAUX 6-in-1 Gaming Dock for Switch 2 intrigued me the most out of the lot, partially because it's a cluttered and confusing mess at first glance.

It's a dock, as you've likely surmised from its name, that includes a line-up of handy ports, an LED screen at the front, charging slots for spare Joy-Con controllers, and some game and microSD Express Card storage on top of all that, because why not? All of that meshes together into a pretty ugly device in my eyes, but fortunately for me, looks can be deceiving.

Design

The first time I caught a glimpse of the JSAUX 6-in-1 Gaming Dock for the Switch 2, I couldn't help but notice there was a lot going on. It's not like the SIWIQU Switch 2 dock where it's just a simple block, and that's it. Instead, JSAUX has crammed in a ton of extras that make it appear like the Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium of Switch 2 accessories.

What I mean is, there's a lot to it, and so it's not exactly the nicest-looking dock on the market. The first thing that's hard to ignore is the circular LED display. When hooked up, it permanently lights up and works as a status indicator for how juiced up your Joy-Con controllers are. It's probably my least favorite thing about the dock, as I never really found use for it besides adding to the light pollution in my living room, but it's there should you want to be constantly informed of the battery life of your spare controllers.

This screen sits on the front-facing side of the device, and behind it is a wall of game and Switch 2 SD card storage. This storage is opposite the first two Joy-Con controller ports, which are colored red and blue so you know exactly what to place where. Additionally, the sides of the dock also have Joy-Con controller ports, should you need a couple more. Talking of controller charging, behind these slots lies the main 'dock' part of the device, which is designed to store and charge a Pro controller or the Switch 2 once you place it in the accompanying charger adapter.

Features

There's a lot going on with this device. It can hook up to your smart TV or gaming monitor like the official dock, and it supports 4K/60Hz, 2K/120Hz, 1080p/120Hz, and 4K/60Hz video output.

The dock is also a multi-purpose charging machine. There are slots for up to four single Switch 2 Joy-Cons (six if you're using the charging adapter) and a Switch 2 Pro controller simultaneously - if you don't have the handheld attached. Should you not have Nintendo's official premium pad kicking around, I discovered the dock also works well with similar-shaped Pro options, like the PowerA Advantage Wireless Controller.

Even if your controllers are fully juiced up, the JSAUX dock is a pretty handy storage solution. It helps too that the back of the LED indicator screen includes slots designed to store up to four physical Switch and Switch 2 cartridges, and four slots compatible with the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards. But the real meat of this dock isn't its storage capabilities, but its plentiful ports lined up across the back of the foldable device.

You've got an Ethernet port, snf two USB 2.0 Type-A ports that can support data transfers up to 480Mbps and connect to accessories including keyboards, mice, and other devices. To get your console hooked up to your display of choice, you've naturally got an HDMI 2.0 port and a fast-charging USB-C PD port to plug in your AC adapter to get it all powered up. The entire unit can also be folded away to make it more compact for travel or storage.

Performance

JSAUX's 6-in-1 accessory has replaced my official Switch 2 dock for a number of reasons. The first of which is that it does the same polished job. Once the handheld is nestled in the UBC-C bay with the adapter in tow, the Switch 2 is ready to be played, and there were no visual oddities whatsoever during testing. Additionally, I noticed it took up practically the same amount of space as Nintendo's official alternative, but made more sense in my setup due to the cabling sitting at the back.

Using the real-deal can occasionally feel a little awkward in this respect. With the HDMI and AC adapter always having to pull to the right (when you're looking straight at it), I always have to ensure it doesn't interfere with my turntable, which is always sitting directly to the side of my main room's consoles.

With the ports all neatly located at the back, the JSAUX dock just suits my setup more, but that won't be the case for everyone.

Its multiple charging opportunities may be more of a benefit. Now that my partner has a Switch 2 of his own, having accessories that can charge all our Joy-Cons at once is very appreciated, particularly for when we want to spend an evening failing miserably at the mini-games in Rhythm Paradise Groove (and enjoying every second).

With the magnetic connectivity, slotting in the controllers was easy peasy, and there was never an awkward moment with charging. This was the time when I was extra pleased to discover that the USB-C bay is compatible with controllers other than Nintendo's Pro options too. Nothing is worse than forking out cash on an accessory only for it to feel like it's pushing you to invest in another, but much to my pleasure, I could happily charge my Pokemon Mega Evolutions pad without issue.

It was pretty ideal that I had to travel during testing. One of the main draws to this dock (particularly over the official version) is that it can fold up and be stored away. Normally I'd bring my JSAUX All-In-One Carrying Case with my dock shoved inside when taking my Switch 2 to my Mom's house, however, the compact nature of the JSAUX dock meant I could easily slot it into my backpack while my Switch 2 was nestled in the Belkin Charging Case Pro.

The only real hindrance I felt with the dock was with the LCD display. I'm typically a sucker for RGB lighting and nonsensical add-ons that are purely cosmetic, but this display and I did not get on. For one, the lighting is far too bright. There was one night where, thanks to my very unwell cat, I had to crash in the main room of my own home, and the light kept waking me up. I felt like that I was recreating that 'Limmy Waking Up' meme every time I awoke to the illuminating JSAUX logo in my face.

The display is also very prone to attracting dust and cosmetic damage. By default, it comes with a covering to protect it from wear and tear during transit. However, the second this was removed, I noticed the plastic surface would be coated in scratches. There is a slight chance that the one I was provided with to review just so happened to turn up in this state, but it made taking photos for this review a bit of a challenge.

Not to mention, the side of the dock the display sits on occasionally moves on its own accord. There were a few instances where it swung down and hit the display of my Switch 2. It's a good thing I have a screen protector equipped, but it did still instill a strong fear in me that this could one day severely damage my beloved (and pricey) handheld. Which ideally is not what you want from a $59.99 accessory that's meant to improve your setup and not hinder it in any way.

Should you buy the JSAUX 6-in-1 Gaming Dock for Switch 2?

Picking up an additional official Nintendo Switch 2 dock can be pretty costly. For whatever reason, Nintendo only packages its official dock alongside a spare AC adapter for $124.99 at the official Nintendo US store, which is a lot to pay if you're just looking to grab a spare for your bedroom. That leaves you with two real options: grab it second-hand for a little bit cheaper, or grab a third-party dock. The $59.99 (JSAUX) JSAUX 6-in-1 Gaming Dock is a valid choice.

It's not my immediate go-to if it's just the docking you're after, as there are plenty of cheaper options available. Not to mention, more compact options like the Genki Covert Dock 3 if portability is your number one priority. But this JSAUX dock is ideal if you're looking for a replacement that does practically all the real deal can muster, while providing some helpful storage and charging features that can lend themselves to any Switch 2 setup. Just know it's not the prettiest dock on the block, but it's what's on the inside that counts.

How I tested the JSAUX 6-in-1 Gaming Dock for Switch 2

I had the JSAUX 6-in-1 Gaming Dock in my setup for a little under a month during the testing process. During that time, the official Switch 2 dock was set aside, and this became the only way I played the handheld in docked mode while using my Samsung smart TV. I used the dock while playing a range of games, from Pokemon Pokopia, Mario Kart World, and Rhythm Paradise Groove. Afterwards, I took the third-party dock to my mum's house and integrated it into her setup to see how portable and accessible it was when integrated with TV setups other than my own.

For more information on how we test accessories for the Nintendo Switch 2, check out our full GamesRadar+ Hardware policy.

I've also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch headsets, the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cameras if you're on the hunt for more top-tier Ninty accessories.

I loved the Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo that launched this summer. The way every sword clash feels decisive, the careful dissection of gruesome demons, the last-second dodges to afterimage behind an enemy before a brutal finisher. But, I have to admit, I was a bit worried that this opening to Capcom's revival of the Japanese hack and slash was perhaps a little too easy, not giving me enough pushback to feel the sweat on my DualSense-shaped sword grip. It's rare I ever feel this way, but I wasn't the only one. Now, playing about 3 hours past the point of the demo in an extended hands-on, I've never been happier to get my ass thoroughly trounced.

One of gaming's strengths as a medium is when it can offer up a nemesis – and the satisfaction that comes from using your own skill to work your way up from inferior to an equal, testing your mettle against machine code. Vanquishing Malenia in Elden Ring. Mastering the Last Judge in Hollow Knight Silksong. Finally beating the Death Egg Zone in Sonic 2. Onimusha: Way of the Sword could have some of the best sword combat in gaming – it very well might – but without a reason to put my ability to the test, I was worried it'd be tough to appreciate. Then, a weird demon covered in dismembered fingers with multiple-limbs picked me up and Star Platinumed my body across a shrine with a barrage of punches. At least eight times. It can feel good to be humbled.

Devil in the details

The many-limbed demon in question who gives me a hard time is called Rasho-gan, a Genma. Led by Yoshitsune, these chaos demons are taking over and spilling out of the depths of Hell as they overwhelm the Oni who reside there. Even powerful Oni have had to flee, sealed within gauntlets bestowed upon powerful humans, compelling their wielders to strike down and absorb soul energy from the invading corrupted forces in order to restore their power.

Our hero Musashi Miyamoto, a real-life historical master swordsman (and dubbed a sword saint, much like Sekiro's own Isshin Ashina), is among those to receive a gauntlet. This subversive depiction of Musashi – using deceased actor Toshiro Mifune's likeness – is tempered by his being a bit of a cheeky goofball. Yet, though clearly perturbed by the emergence of literal demons he has no choice but to fight, he's still a dab hand in a fight. He only gets better over the course of my hours playing Onimusha's opening, gaining upgrades across story moments and through shrine-checkpoint upgrade menus alike.

Operating out of Kyoto, the city and its surroundings have been corrupted by malice – chunks of otherworldly matter encrusting buildings and jutting out of rooftops. While the beginning of my hands-on has me battling through a linear level, my return to Kyoto shifts me to dashing about the city trying to keep evil forces at bay with quests I can seemingly tackle in different orders. Some of these sidequests are a little rote. Random civilians run by, chased by Genma foot soldiers, and saving them rewards me with a basic item. Others see me having to dispel and absorb spheres of corruption by fending off a few waves of enemies. As more of Kyoto is saved, the explorable area expands, and citizens may request additional sidequest assistance (though my time playing comes to an end just as this begins to open up).

Early Kyoto had me a bit nervous that I'd be spending too much time running back and forth doing boring fetch quests while smushing weak demons, especially as it kicks off with a smattering of tutorialization as I dispel the aforementioned orbs. Even the introduction to the quest that sees me facing off against Rasho-gan has me darting through alleys and buildings to track down three missing stone statues – not exactly the pulse-pounding demon battling I was expecting. It's why the prospect of getting shredded by a boss battle excites me so much.

Rasho-gan has taken refuge in a Kyoto shrine – an eerily pretty, flowering location amid the otherwise stricken city – purporting to help visitors sever their cursed fates. All too literally, with semi-ironic solutions to their problems. One lady, tired of being forced to practice music, simply has her fingers severed, and she's even bizarrely overjoyed at the solution. With the statues restored, the creature's sights shift to Musashi, whose desire to be rid of the gauntlet on his arm prompts Rasho-gan to try to lop the limb off wholesale to add to his collection.

Cue the boss battle that had me shaking my head solemnly with each defeat, in a room filled with fellow players doing much the same. But, there's no frustration here – just the feeling that all the moves I've been taught to this point are finally beginning to come together into a cohesive whole. Musashi's detailed swordplay really begins to come together in this boss battle for me, switching up from the power fantasy of dispatching Genma fodder to requiring mastery of that power to survive.

Comparisons could be made to the likes of Sekiro or Nioh 3, where katana play likewise revolves around nailbiting parries and deflections, the shape of steel whooshing through the air just as important as the movement of the character clutching them. But, Onimusha: Way of the Sword's combat is just as much an evolution of the original game back on PS2, where battles were just as swift and decisive.

Momentum can be a big factor in success. Sure, you can chew on a healing item (which, without being upgraded, is a small help). But merely conceding ground to do so can be just as brutal as being sliced open, allowing a boss to restore their break meter or gain their own advantage with a new barrage of attacks. If I stop to heal too many times, the fight is over before it's really begun.

Which doesn't mean you can't set your own pace. Some of my best attempts to defeat Rasho-gan come both from diving in with an onslaught of my own, completing forgoing healing and refusing to let up; and from circling him slowly and enforcing my own control, focusing on responding and countering his attacks to make him vulnerable before unleashing light and heavy attacks. My only victory comes from mixing together those approaches, learning when to push in, when to lean back – but always paying attention to the steps of the dance. Much like the push-pull of a fighting game, it's all in the footwork. And, of course, executing counter-grabs – Rasho-gan's devastating blue-glow throw can only be avoided with a well-timed evade, causing Musashi to deliver a devastating reversal which feels great to nail (and horrible to fail).

Pondering the orb

There's a tremendous sense of physicality to Musashi's parries, deflections, and blade clashes – and it makes Onimusha: Way of the Sword one of few games where the distinction between these types of counters feels additive rather than overly complex.

Parries have trickier timing, and allow Musashi to reposition an enemy, opening them up for strikes in response as he leaves them off balance. Deflections, on the other hand, bounce enemies back, dealing break damage that can add up to making them vulnerable over time, but otherwise allow enemies to bounce back and continue their attack (and yes, you can deflect arrows and other projectiles). Clashes, meanwhile, arise from swinging your sword at the exact same time as an enemy, giving you both an opportunity to respond with a light or heavy attack – answer with the opposite from your foe, and you cut into them, meaning sometimes offense can become a solid defense. It's a dynamic system that's core to Onimusha's series identity, and feels much evolved here.

Staying on top of countering also charges Musashi's blaze meter, amping up damage to the extent that they can become vital to these decisive duels. Likewise, the gauntlet doesn't just suck up souls to be used as upgrade currency. Different orbs scatter during every major blow in battle, and can be sucked up with a squeeze of the trigger during any defensive posture.

Bank blue orbs, and you can unleash a powerful special attack with one of several demon weapons. A flurry of slashes from my twin daggers, for instance, doesn't just deal damage, but guarantees yellow orbs will spill out of enemies, which in turn can be absorbed to restore health. Pushing the attack at the right time means you can still heal without even having to stop to gobble items. Wait too long, though, and enemies can absorb them as well – and Musashi will scatter some of his own while taking hits.

Crucially, each death against Rasho-gan gives me the option to either retry right away, or to go back to a checkpoint to consider my upgrades. This battle gets tough, but never feels overly punishing to the point I want to put down the controller. Being forced to learn the game properly and put myself to the test is exhilarating. Notably, there's an easier mode as well, and various gameplay tweaks that can make fights friendlier, such as how often button prompts will nudge you towards how to respond.

Other boss fights throughout my hands-on session give me less trouble. But the next foe, a paper talisman-covered brute, fought after navigating a gauntlet of poison-gas-spewing flowers, challenges me in different ways. Sequences of heavy strikes force me to dodge out of the way at the last second to push my advantage. By this point, thanks to Rasho-gan, I can finally see the flow of the battle in front of me, and joyously take it by the horns.

If Onimusha: Way of the Sword can keep that up, it might offer some of the finest swordplay in gaming to date – and I shouldn't have expected less from the samurai series. Just, don't get too cocky when you play the demo. It's been humbling.

Check out our best action RPGs ranking for more to get stuck into!

The Pokopia Ocean Door recipe is a must-have when you come to building the "beautiful building" in Bubbly Basin - otherwise known as the Ocean Temple. Fortunately, unlocking the recipe is much, much easier than you might expect, so don't panic when you first see the seemingly tough requirements for this large, stunning build.

You may not be able to tell from the image above, but these majestic doors aren't what you're used to - they're huge! You won't be able to use them on a normal house, but build something big enough, like the Ocean Teample, and they make a great feature. What makes them even better is that you can paint them any color to match any surroundings, so go wild! Once you've unlocked the Ocean Door recipe, that is.

Where to find the Pokopia Ocean Door recipe

The required recipe is actually right under nose as you embark on the Ocean Temple build. You'll find the Pokopia Ocean Door recipe hidden in a yellow Pokeball among the sand that needs clearing before you can start building the Ocean Temple.

So, simply clear the build area of debris and you'll have the recipe you need in no time. Once you've got it, crafting the doors are almost as simple, as each one only requires one piece of Star-studded Rock, which is found in abundance across Bubbly Basin.

There's still more to do before you can build the Temple, including gathering a few Pokopia Shiny Pearls. Meanwhile, the Seashell fencing recipe isn't quite as easy - or as cheap - to unlock as the Ocean Door.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

The Pokopia Starmie Doll was added with the Bubbly Basin DLC, giving players a way to access a new Dream Island based on the new underwater town. You should have no trouble finding the doll if you follow the story, but if you want it sooner - and know where to look - you can find the doll fairly quickly.

Either way, you're going to need a Dowsing Machine, so make sure you've got one in your inventory, as the Starmie Doll is buried where you're very unlikely to find it by mistake. Here's how to get to it, but bear in mind that all of this is only applicable if you've got the paid Pokopia Bubbly Basin DLC.

How to get the Starmie Doll in Pokopia

The logical way to get the Pokopia Starmie Doll is to progress the Bubbly Basin story, by raising the environment level to 3 and completing Popplio's next request to find their friends. At this point, you'll meet Frillish in a cave, and it's here that you can find the Starmie Doll.

However, you can head to this location with any Search Pokemon and a Dowsing machine to find the doll early. So, doing this depends on whether you want to play through as intended or head straight to the Pokopia Dream Island.

If you do want to get the Starmie Doll as soon as possible, find its exact location below.

Starmie Doll location

The Pokopia Starmie Doll is located in a cave to the northwest of Bubbly Basin, which is at first blocked by rock. You can see the cave entrance in the image above.

With a Search Pokemon in tow and a Dowsing Machine to hand, you can now head to the location above to hunt down the doll. There are a few different pieces of treasure to find here, so keep going until you reach the special doll. You'll find the Starmie Doll buried in a patch of Star-spotted Rock in the first area with minecart rails, just after a patch of pink Mossy Ocean Soil. You'll need to head back underwater and destroy a couple of netting walls on your way there.

In this area, get your Dowsing Machine out and press 'A', then your Search companion will lead you to the correct area. Once you've got it, you can head off to the Basin Dream Island, a great place for picking up Pokopia Grubby Pearls.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

At long last, Deltarune is approaching the end of its story and creator Toby Fox is warning folks to not expect more whimsical detours. Chapters 6 and 7 are all about paying off everything that's been set up over the last few years, but you might need to wait until the finale for it to all make total sense.

Deltarune Chapter 5 popped out of the blue earlier this summer, which means all eyes are now on the episodic RPG's final two installments. Chapter 6 isn't due to come out until sometime next year, but Undertale maestro Fox has now thrown hungry fans a bone.

"Chapter 5 was a really fun chapter, and with that last big burst of craziness out of the way, I'm sure everybody is eager for Deltarune to start directly tackling the main mysteries of the game," Fox writes in a new blog post. "Me too!" (And me three.)

Fox calls Chapter 5 the final "necessary setup" for the story's conclusion, so everything that happens from here on out will be about seeing answering questions and dealing with more pressing issues. "There are no more wacky silly adventures," in other words.

"Chapter 6 is a shorter, straightforward chapter that focuses on one aspect of the story. Because of that, many things are still not touched on here – in fact, it may surprise you what was missing! But one thing will be clarified, whether you're ready or not," Fox continues, very ominously.

He also acknowledges that some fans might be clamouring for longer chapters as we inch toward the finale, not shorter ones. "That's an extremely reasonable concern," he writes, "but... by the end of Chapter 7 I'm 100% sure you'll understand why I feel confident about the way I'm telling this story. Don't worry about the pacing until it's over!"

Deltarune Chapter 6 is still planned for release in 2027 and won't come alongside Chapter 7, according to Fox's note.

"Recently, I finished writing a few more sequences towards the last third of Chapter 6 and rearranging the rooms to fit the new structure. Once we make these adjustments and tie everything together, we will be able to play rough draft of the chapter from beginning to end. Barring any major restructuring, the main things that will continue to need development time are the boss of the chapter and polishing cutscenes," he explains.

Deltarune first began drip feeding fans in 2018 with the same humor and heart that made Undertale such a hit. Fox and his team have since been releasing new chapters whenever they're ready.

Deltarune's "last patch" before Chapter 6 offers "Nicer or Meaner" modes for Chapter 5's Shadow Crystal boss, with a sweeter reward if you up the difficulty.

Capcom credits the release of Resident Evil Requiem for a surge in sales of previous games in the series.

In its latest financial results, Capcom confirms that Resident Evil Requiem has now sold 8.06 million copies since it was released back in February. However, the top 10 has revealed that the entire series has had a great year so far, with Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 remakes coming out ahead of Requiem in sales over the last quarter, while Biohazard and Village also make an appearance in the top 10. Resident Evil is now the best-selling Japanese game series not published by Nintendo, and Resident Evil 2 remake is the best-selling game in the series.

In an investor Q&A alongside the results, Capcom is asked what the reason was behind the strong Resident Evil series sales, and whether it believes the next game will replicate this. Capcom responds, "sales of Resident Evil series titles grew amid rising interest in Resident Evil Requiem."

It explains, "We have also seen new users who encountered the series by purchasing past titles, creating a virtuous cycle in which sales of both new and past titles grow together." Capcom adds, "With Resident Evil Veronica, we will likewise work to further expand sales of the series."

Notably, Capcom has had major sales on the series' titles this year, with the biggest being a $3 sale of Resident Evil 3 remake back in April. So that undoubtedly helped the series sales along. And, given that people are clearly very excited for Resident Evil Veronica as it hits two million Steam wishlists, it could definitely inspire a similar sales boost for the series at large.

Yet to play it? You can check out our Resident Evil Requiem review to see if it's worth your time, and our guide to Resident Evil Requiem's safe codes to help you through it.

Nintendo has revealed the Switch 2 has sold another 3.82 million units, putting it above the lifetime sales of the GameCube.

Over the last year or so, the Nintendo Switch 2 has been breaking records for Nintendo, with it almost immediately becoming the fastest selling game hardware device in US history, and over the last year or so of its life, it's continued to be a success. It took the console seven months to beat the Wii U's lifetime sales, and with the momentum it had, the GameCube was clearly in the sights.

With the release of Nintendo's latest financial results, it was confirmed that in the last quarter, the Switch 2 has sold another 3.82 million consoles, bringing its total to 23.68 million sold. And unfortunately for the Nintendo GameCube, that new figure places the Switch 2 in its first year (well, year and 25 days) ahead of the 21.74 million that the GameCube sold in its five-year lifespan.

Despite the GameCube being home to so many absolutely beloved Nintendo games – Super Smash Bros Melee, Zelda: The Wind Waker, and so on – it's easy to forget it didn't exactly light the world on fire in terms of sales, especially when its competition was the behemoth that was the PS2 and the original Xbox. At the very least, the GameCube has still sold more games than the Switch 2, with 208.58 million sold compared to the 58.17 million Switch 2 games.

Next in line for the Switch 2 is the Nintendo 64, which it needs another 9.25 million sales to match. Given that we're still waiting for Switch 2 to get mainline Super Mario, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and The Legend of Zelda games, I can see that happening sooner rather than later. Granted, the upcoming Switch 2 price increase may make that take a bit longer than expected.

Be sure to check out the list of upcoming Switch 2 games for 2026 and beyond.

Monster Hunter Wilds has been trailing its older siblings in sales, but publisher Capcom really wants to close the gap among its children. It just needs to sell about another 20 million of Monster Hunter Wilds to do so. Easy enough, right?

Last we heard, 2018's Monster Hunter World had sold a whopping 30 million copies. That easily makes it the company's best-selling game ever and a commercial juggernaut in any context, but those monstrous figures also make Monster Hunter Wilds look like a baby seikret by comparison. For most of 2025, Monster Hunter Wilds was selling less than older games in the series and eventually reached about 11 million copies sold.

While Monster Hunter Wilds and Monster Hunter World's sales figures weren't updated at the same time, that 20-million-copy gulf between them likely hasn't changed much based on Wilds' lack of momentum. Capcom wants to turn around the game's fortunes, however, and its plan is already in motion.

"Ongoing enhancements to the technical performance of Monster Hunter Wilds have led to sales for the game improving," the publisher says in a recent investor Q&A. "We have also seen a response to the announcement of the upcoming massive expansion, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, and related pricing measures."

Capcom then notes it plans to keep "improving the game's technical performance" in an effort to "drive its total unit sales beyond those of Monster Hunter World over the medium to long term." In other words, Capcom's hoping the upcoming expansion and continued improvements to the game's shoddy performance can convince another 20 million or so people to buy in. Wilds' Nintendo Switch 2 port should help, as well.

In case you've been hiding in a Monster Hunter-less rock for the last year and a half, Wilds' PC version launched with notoriously wonky performance and tons of technical woes that lasted longer than you would expect of a big-budget game from an acclaimed company. Things have thankfully gotten better, though there's clearly still ways to go if Capcom wants to achieve its goals.

Capcom is selling Monster Hunter Wilds with the energy of a man paddling up a waterfall: new 26GB demo lets you play the prologue for free after price drop to $40

Nintendo has had an unusual financial quarter since April, recording a decrease in year-on-year sales, but a 150% boost in operating profits, to which it gives its thanks to a $300 million refund in US tariffs – the same money it's already made very clear it isn't planning to pass back to customers.

In Nintendo's latest financial results, the company explains that net sales are down year-on-year for the quarter by 9.5%, but "operating profit rose by 150.5% to 142.5 billion yen, ordinary profit rose by 115.1% to 206.1 billion yen, and profit attributable to owners of parent rose by 53.5% to 147.4 billion yen."

It continues: "We recorded approximately 300 million U.S. dollars as a reduction of cost of sales in connection with refunds of IEEPA tariffs. The tariffs related to the refunds were primarily borne by the company rather than passed on to consumers through product prices."

These tariff refunds, which came after the company sued the US government back in March, also impacted Nintendo's gross profit numbers. Its gross profit margin went up to 54.3%, "reflecting solid software sales and the resulting increase in the proportion of software in net sales, as well as refunds of U.S. tariffs imposed under IEEPA that had previously been recorded as cost of sales, among other factors."

The timing of this is particularly interesting, as it comes a few short weeks since Nintendo requested a dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed "on behalf of millions of consumers who purchased goods from Nintendo during the tariff period and who paid inflated prices" – like the Switch 2 accessories that increased in price in the US before the console was even out, and the Switch 1 consoles that saw increases shortly after. The lawsuit sought "restitution of those tariff overcharges, together with appropriate declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief."

Nintendo, however, wasn't on board with this, stating in a filing that customers "received exactly what they bargained and paid for" when buying price-hiked products, and that "if a consumer did not want to pay the advertised price, they were free to abstain from purchasing the product or seek out competing products."

Reading Nintendo's latest financial results, I can't help but wonder if the company is getting ahead of any potential criticism here when it notes that the "tariffs related to the refunds were primarily borne by the company rather than passed on to consumers through product prices," essentially clarifying that its new $300 million refund isn't just a double in earnings from its price hikes like the individuals who filed the lawsuit suggested.

Back in April, it was alleged: "Nintendo stands to recover the same tariff payments twice – once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff refunds, including interest paid by the government on those funds."

In its request for dismissal, Nintendo noted that last year's price increases weren't all the result of tariffs, either. Other factors, including surging memory costs, the price of shipping, and labor, also impacted the company's prices, it was stated.

Nintendo got "a lot of angry calls" from parents who thought Animal Crossing's "skin-colored" gyroid "looked like a wiggling penis."

PlayStation is preparing for a future without physical games on its platform and Nintendo is arguably devaluing physical media with the controversial Switch 2 Game-Key cards. But, Capcom isn't too worried about physical game sales shrinking (or being forced to shrink, depending on who you ask) since it sells most of its games online anyway.

Game sales have slowly been skewing digital for years now, but recent months have painted a dire outlook for physical media. Sony's planning to stop manufacturing new PlayStation discs starting in 2028, high-profile blockbusters including GTA 6 aren't bothering with discs at all, and Nintendo's Game-Key cards now operate similarly to download codes (ones you can sell and share, sure, but not ones that let you properly own the game as you would with an in-hand cartridge).

Asked about what impact the shrinkage of physical game sales might have on the company, Capcom sort of just shrugged its shoulders in its most recent investor Q&A. "Approximately 90% of our unit sales are digital. We do not anticipate a significant impact at this time." It's worth noting the Resident Evil and Monster Hunter maker counts Game-Key card sales as digital.

While Capcom's not fearful of the widespread changes in how we buy or manufacture games, PlayStation's decision to end support for discs isn't sitting well with everyone. The move has been called an "attack on our diminishing rights" by a leading digital rights org, another publisher said physical games helped the company reach audiences it otherwise wouldn't be able to, and there were negative reactions to the news across the industry.

As Capcom makes clear, a lack of proper discs and cartridges might not negatively affect companies that make most of their business on digital storefronts. For Sony, it's likely beneficial, financially. But anyone who cares about true ownership or relies on second-hand prices that make the hobby accessible might have more complicated feelings about a disc-less future.

PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not

If you're looking for Shiny Pearls in Pokopia, you first need to look for something a little less shiny. Grubby Pearls are actually the item you're after, and they then need to be cleaned up to reveal the shimmering pearl beneath the muck.

Once scrubbed clean, this pretty item can then be used as a crafting ingredient in a number of Bubbly Basin recipes, including the full set of Marine furniture and Seashell fencing. To find out exactly where to find Grubby Pearls and how to turn them into Shiny Pearls, read on.

How to get Shiny Pearls in Pokopia

To get Shiny Pearls in Pokopia, you must first find Grubby Pearls and then take them to a Pokemon that knows the Scrub ability. After a while, they'll clean up your Pearls, returning them to your as Shiny Pearls.

Just some of the Pokemon who know the Scrub skill are:

• Sharpedo
• Stunfisk
• Flygon
• Trapinch
• Tyranitar
• Bonsly
• Hariyama
• Clodsire
• Snorlax
• Onix

To find out which Pokemon you already know who have this skill, you can open your Pokedex and filter by Specialty.

The process of turning Pokopia Grubby Pearls into Shiny Pearls is much the same as using Pokemon to turn logs into lumber or getting Pokopia Paper - only you'll find that Pearls are returned to you at a ratio of 1:1.

Where to find Pokopia Grubby Pearls

The best place I've found to look for Grubby Pearls is in the tunnel to the left of the Bubbly Basin staircase - the opposite side to the Pokemon Center entrance. There are plenty of Grubby Pearls to be found down here, so you should have no trouble getting all the Shiny Pearls you need.

You can also collect Grubby Pearls from the Bubbly Basin Pokopia Dream Island, but you'll need to find the Starmie Doll before you can travel there. Plus, if you're desperate, you can buy three Grubby Pearls from the Pokemon Center shop upon raising the area environment level to 3, and some friendly Pokemon may even gift you Grubby Pearls from time to time.

For other shiny things, check out our guide to all the Pokopia Mystery Gift Codes you can get in-game right now.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Three years after its initial launch, Diablo 4 is reportedly set to arrive on Switch 2 next month – although I can't say I'm too surprised after an age rating for the game already suggested as much.

According to reliable leaker Billbil-kun via Dealabs, Diablo 4 is set to arrive on either September 15 or 18 on Nintendo's latest console. While you'll apparently be able to buy a physical box for it, it won't come with a cartridge, but reportedly a download code (no, not even a Game-Key Card).

It's claimed that the Switch 2 version of the game will cost $69.99 / £62.99 – this is the same price as the Age of Hatred collection bundle on other platforms, which includes the Lord of Hatred and Vessel of Hatred DLC as well as the base game. However, Billbil-kun notes that it's not known if the new DLC will be part of the Switch 2 version at this stage, but at that price, I certainly hope so.

Last year, before the Switch 2 even launched, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson said "there's opportunity there" to bring Diablo 4 to the console, but noted that "live services on Switch have been a little bit challenging in the past." While he didn't expand on what these issues were, more recent evidence has been mounting up to suggest Blizzard has found a way to make the game work on the platform. Specifically, back in June, fans spotted an age rating from the Taiwan Entertainment Software Rating board that listed the Lord of Hatred expansion as coming to the Switch 2.

Assuming that the September launch date for Diablo 4 on Switch 2 is accurate, chances are we won't be waiting very long to see an announcement. Billbil-kun speculates it could be shown at Gamescom 2026 at the end of the month, a few weeks before its apparent release.

Blizzard "heard your feedback" on Diablo 4 Mythics and is completely changing how they work again: "The random factors are gone."

CMF, the budget brand owned by Nothing, has just unveiled the Clip Pro, its first-ever pair of open-back earbuds. Unlike the best gaming earbuds I've tested over the years, the Clip Pro isn't designed specifically for gaming in mind, but its ear-clip design looks so comfortable that I'm eager to test it alongside my Nintendo Switch 2 anyway.

Available for £79 / $99 (CMF) from the CMF online store starting August 15, these earbuds don't fit snugly above your ear canal, but instead are designed to hook onto the side of your ear like a pretty helix ear piercing. While millimetres away from your eardrum, the open-back form factor still allows the sound from its 10.8mm dual-magnet audio drivers to travel where it needs to.

The buds are equipped with a 20 Hz - 40,000 Hz frequency range, static Spatial audio tech, and are Hi-Res audio certified. CMF also states that their LDAC (an audio codec developed by Sony that allows you to stream high-quality audio) inclusion " transmits up to three times more audio data than standard Bluetooth" which has me more intrigued than ever to see what they'd do for my recent Switch 2 game obsessions. I take Pokemon Pokopia with me wherever I go, and having the best audio in my corner would definitely be a positive as I'm about to get more heavily invested now that its first batch of DLC has arrived.

The Clip Pros are equipped with Bluetooth 5.4 support so hooking up to the Switch 2 should be a breeze. More excitingly, they also have a low-latency gaming audio mode in tow, which I didn't expect for buds aimed primarily towards music listeners, including ones that are expected to retail for just $99. That should theoretically mean connecting to the PS5 should also be on the table.

Besides its funky clip-on form factor and connectivity options, I'm most intrigued by its sound quality. I recently tested the Asus ROG Cetra Open wireless gaming earbuds but was a bit disappointed by their middling bass quality. I described the gaming earphones as having a "permanent airy underlining," but the CMF Clip Pro boasts a stronger sound and deeper bass thanks to its Ultra Bass Technology. This gives me high hopes that they should be able to bring the power that felt missing from Asus's buds, but only time (and plenty of testing) will tell.

The CMF Clip Pro earbuds are expected to launch on August 15 in a variety of colorways, including Dark Grey, Light Grey, and Coral. Each pair comes with a matching charging case that can provide an extra 22.5 hours of battery life on top of the pair's 10 hours' worth of playback. All in all, there's plenty packed within these less than $100 buds, which I'm happy to see when alternatives like Asus's open-back equivalent are more than double the price.

I'm hoping I can take them for a test drive so I can see how they sound and stack up to the Cetra open-back alternatives, and whether they become my new favorite Switch 2 accessory for gaming on the go.

• View all open-back earbuds at Amazon

I've also rounded up the best gaming headsets, which include the best PS5 headsets and the best PC headsets for gaming if you aren't much of an earbuds fan.

Being able to lower the red bridge in Big Walk is essential for progress, as this presents the first roadblock you encounter to stop you moving on from the opening area of the game. To cross the drawbridge you'll need to acquire four of the 'red gourd' reward objects (as I'm calling them) by solving puzzles in the surrounding environment, which will in turn unlock the key needed to drop that bridge.

There are four puzzles you need to solve in order to lower the Big Walk red bridge. If you head down the stairs from the tutorial room and go straight ahead from the corridor to the cliff edge, you can see them in the following locations:

1. Blue house / symbols puzzle
2. Green pillars / switches puzzle
3. Orange platform / telescope puzzle
4. Yellow girders / crane puzzle

Below, I have laid out instructions for how to complete each of these puzzles, along with what to do afterwards to prepare the key and lower the red bridge in Big Walk. To get through these challenges you'll need to use Big Walk crossplay to join at least one friend to work together with, and the nature of the tasks also highlights why Big Walk couch co-op is intentionally excluded to preserve the puzzles as intended.

Big Walk blue house / symbols puzzle solution

There are two sections to the blue house – one that has a display showing five symbols, and the other that has a selection of symbol tiles that can be placed on the wall. One player needs to enter the area on the left and hit the button, which randomizes the five symbols on the display and shuts the door so no one outside can see the code. That player then needs to communicate the five symbols in the correct order to a player on the other side, who can place those tiles on the wall then hit the button beside it to unlock the red gourd.

Big Walk green pillars / switches puzzle solution

There are switches on each of the green pillars corresponding to the number of players (maximum of four), which all need to be pressed at the same time. However, they are far enough away from each other that the proximity voice chat won't carry, so agree a signal for one player to make (say, dropping their raised arm) then use that when everyone is in position to hit the switches simultaneously and unlock the red gourd.

Big Walk orange platform / telescope puzzle solution

The telescope on the orange platform is in a fixed position looking at a locked box containing the red gourd at the opposing end of the area, and holding the button next to it opens the box while highlighting it with a red light. One player needs to stay on the platform with the button ready to open the box when needed, while another walks to the opposite side of the area to collect the red gourd.

Big Walk yellow girders / crane puzzle solution

The set of yellow girders, which looks a bit like a crane, has a button on the underside of the horizontal beam that releases the red gourd. The height of that beam is determined by the number of players the session is set for (to a maximum of four), and to reach it all players need to stand on top of each other (interact with another player to put them on your shoulders) then if anyone in the stack jumps the top player can reach the button to unlock the red gourd – if the player at the bottom jumps, it won't break the stack if the button is missed and you need another attempt.

How to get the key and lower the red bridge

Once you have all four of the red gourds from the puzzles, bring them to the platform with four buttons near the beach. For each, you'll need one player to hold the button while another player places the red gourd in the respective holder – with all four deposited, the key will be released.

Once you have the key, look immediately to the right of the buttons and just outside of the platform you'll see a keyhole on a pillar. Insert the key into this and the first notch will be carved, then an arrow will appear on top of the pillar pointing you to the next keyhole, where you can repeat this process with subsequent pillars until the key is fully cut.

Finally, once the key has been prepared, take it up the red walkway along the cliff and then insert it in the recess next to the red bridge to lower it so you can progress to the next area. Note that the 'Big Walk' trophy or achievement doesn't unlock until you actually cross the drawbridge, so you won't receive it until you reach the other side.

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Square Enix has confirmed it's looking into the long load times Final Fantasy 14 players are experiencing on Nintendo Switch 2.

Earlier this week, Square Enix finally released its critically acclaimed MMORPG on a Nintendo console for the first time in its near-13-year history and – aside from needing a separate subscription and being the biggest game on the console by a somewhat significant amount – it seems to have turned out quite well.

Over on the game's subreddit, fans are praising the new version, with many calling it the best way to play on a handheld compared to the Steam Deck version. One user says, "The Switch version is a big upgrade over playing it on the Steam Deck. It only runs slightly better on the Switch 2, but the larger, higher-resolution display of the Switch 2 makes a huge difference."

Unfortunately, some players have been experiencing long load times during certain segments when the screen fades to black. In a post on the Final Fantasy 14 website, Square Enix posted, "Our investigation has confirmed that, when a player enters an instanced duty while surrounded by many characters, loading data will take longer than usual, which lasts until the player leaves the instance," before giving a number of examples.

It continues, "We have identified certain cases in which the data reloading and cache clearing processes required for safe rendering are taking an extended amount of time. As such, these processes have been optimized to ensure faster data loading even under similar conditions, and the updated version is currently in testing."

Ultimately though, for a game of this scale, it running as well as it does on Switch 2 is undoubtedly very impressive. And if it weren't for the weird alternate subscription shenanigans, it would be the absolute best way to play in my eyes.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director says each character in the RPG only has 4 jobs because making games is so much harder now.

EA has now officially gone private, with its $55 billion acquisition by Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake now closed. And, after all that, there's reportedly already the threat of mass layoffs looming.

Plans for the big buyout were first outlined last year, at which point it was revealed that the transaction would be partly funded by EA taking on a whopping $20 billion in debt – "$18 billion of which is expected to be funded at close." The acquisition plans, in general, already had some employees and studio veterans concerned about potential layoffs to follow – after all, we saw that same thing happen with Activision Blizzard after its buyout by Microsoft – and, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, that's now looking even more likely.

Schreier posts on Bluesky that EA taking on $18 billion in debt means it's "putting it on the hook to pay ~$1.8 billion/year in interest," making it an even more daunting figure. Right now, he adds, EA's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) fall around $1.5 billion – a number that "should be enough to service the interest payments."

However, Schreier continues," the publisher has told debt investors that it will cut $700 million in annual costs including $170 million in 'organizational efficiencies,' per Bloomberg. In other words: mass layoffs."

EA's annual Ebitda is around $1.5 billion, which should be enough to service the interest payments. But the publisher has told debt investors that it will cut $700 million in annual costs including $170 million in "organizational efficiencies," per Bloomberg. In other words: mass layoffs

— @jasonschreier.bsky.social (@jasonschreier.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-08-05T13:36:04.643Z

Following the announcement of EA's acquisition plans last year, the publisher had directly addressed whether the private ownership would "lead to layoffs," to which it provided perhaps the least reassuring answer. "There will be no immediate changes to your job, team, or daily work, as a result of this transaction," it said at the time, with no indication of what its definition of "immediate" was.

Despite this, EA CEO Andrew Wilson now says in a statement that "we're entering this next chapter from a position of strength," and that with its new partners, "we'll invest boldly, accelerate innovation, and build the next generation of games and experiences."

It was reported last year that EA's new investors were hoping that AI could be used to help reduce the company's operating costs to manage its shiny new debt, though at the time it wasn't clear what exactly it'd be used for, but the prospect of it wheedling its way into game development and potentially replacing real workers was obviously a concern.

In April, Wilson said that around 85% of the company's quality assurance work now uses AI, but he claimed that "we hire more QA people than we ever have," with humans required to analyze the findings of the AI. Regardless, it's understandable that there's a lot of unease and uncertainty from fans looking at the situation from the outside right now.

Saudi Arabia's $55 billion takeover of EA could waste "one of the best catalogues in the industry" by reducing it to a "sequel-and-mega-franchise machine," Helldivers 2 boss worries.

The Future Games Show is set to return later this month, and this time around the two hosts should be familiar to die-hard denizens of Raccoon City.

The Future Games Show at gamescom 2026 is hurtling towards us, lining up with the massive gaming celebration taking place in Koln, Germany. But if you can't make it all the way the show floor itself, three different shows will be there to guide you through the biggest and best reveals. On hosting duties this time are Nick Apostolides and Angela Sant'Albano, who last joined forces as the performers behind Resident Evil Requiem's Leon S. Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft.

Nick and Angela will be guiding viewers through dozens of world premieres, exclusive announcements, and developer interviews, with games including Tides of Annihilation, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and No Law. The Future Games Show at Gamescom will kick off on Wednesday, August 26, at 10:00 PDT, 13:00 EDT, 18:00 BST, 19:00 CEST (that's 01:00 on Thursday morning for those on CST). You'll be able to watch on Twitch, YouTube, Steam, X, Facebook, and right here on GamesRadar+, as well as via local streaming services around the world, including Bilibili and KuaiShou.

Immediately after the main show concludes, you'll also be able to join the FGS crew for FGS Live From gamescom, walking you through even more reveals direct from the show floor. And if that's not enough, FGS Best Of gamescom will be back on Sunday, August 30, wrapping up the week's most exciting reveals.

Added for free alongside the paid Bubbly Basin DLC, the Pokopia Portal Pod is an item that players have wanted since the game's launch. This clever storage device lets you retrieve the items inside from any Portal Pod, anywhere in the world.

Now, instead of trapsing between the Withered Wastelands and the Shimmering Skylands, you can place the most important items in the Portal Pod (I'd suggest the most used crafting and building materials), and have easy access wherever you place another Pod in Pokopia. If you need a few of these as much as I think you do, here's how to get them.

How to get the Pokopia Portal Pod

While you can only unlock the Pokopia Portal Pod recipe by increasing your Palette Town environment level, there are other ways of getting Pods, some requiring the Bubbly Basin DLC. Here's every way to get them:

• Increase your Palette Town environment level.
• Pick up two Portals in Bubbly Basin (requires DLC).
• Photograph a Portal Pod in Bubbly Basin (requires DLC) or another player's island and duplicate them at a Pokemon Center 3D printer.

Getting Portal Pods without the DLC

If you have the Bubbly Basin expansion, then read the section below for the simplest method. If not, you can still get the storage pod, it's just requires a bit more effort.

To get a Portal Pod without the Pokopia DLC, you must raise your Palette Town environment level to unlock the Portal Pod recipe. I'm still working on this, and I'll let you know which level unlocks the recipe as soon as I know.

As with all other areas of Pokopia, raising your environment level can be done by inviting new Pokemon to move in and making sure their house is up to scratch. For that and more ways to level up Pokopia environments, see our standalone guide.

If you want a Portal Pod sooner, the only other way to get one without the DLC is by visiting another player's Pokopia Dream Island, snapping a picture with Object Mode, and duplicating the item at a Pokemon Center 3D printer. You may be able to snap a Portal Pod by visiting a Pokopia developer island, and I'll let you now as soon as I've confirmed it's available there.

Getting Portal Pods in Bubbly Basin

Getting access to the Pokopia Portal Pod is easier if you have the paid Bubbly Basin DLC, as two can be found as soon as you access the new area, and you can then use the 3D printing mechanic to make as many as you need.

To get the Portal Pod in Bubbly Basin, simply swim to the house in the far northeast corner of the map, as shown in the image above. Not only is there a Portal Pod inside for you to pick up, but you'll find a second in a Pokeball down the stairs behind where the other Portal Pod is placed.

While this method is easier, it doesn't unlock the recipe, so you'll still need to complete the Palette Town method above for that. However, with this Bubbly Basin Portal Pod, you can use your in-game camera and any Pokemon Center 3D printer to replicate the item as many time as you want.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Right on schedule, the acquisition of EA by Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners has closed. One of the biggest publishers in gaming has been bought.

EA is now a private company following the biggest leveraged buyout in history, with the deal clocking in at $55 billion – in considerable excess of EA's previous market value. A $20 billion chunk of that is debt.

Control of series ranging from The Sims and Battlefield to Mass Effect and Dragon Age is now in the hands of a group of investors collectively referred to as the Consortium, with Saudi Arabia's PIF holding a super-majority of the company.

In a press release, EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who was recently awarded an $8 million raise thanks to the success of Battlefield 6 after the people who made Battlefield 6 a success were rewarded with layoffs, says, "This moment recognizes the extraordinary people whose creativity, ambition and passion have made EA one of the world's leading interactive entertainment companies."

"We're entering this next chapter from a position of strength with partners who share our vision and ambition," Wilson continues. "Together, we'll invest boldly, accelerate innovation, and build the next generation of games and experiences for the hundreds of millions of players and fans who inspire us every day."

Turqi Alnowaiser, deputy governor and head of international investments at the PIF, a group which has been accused of using acquisitions in entertainment and sports to launder Saudi Arabia's public image and reputation for human rights violations, adds, "Entertainment and sports are key areas of strategic focus for PIF, and are among the fastest growing and evolving sectors around the world. Together, the Consortium is uniquely positioned to be a long-term partner to EA’s management team in driving sustained growth and innovation for EA and the industry."

This press release arrived shortly after EA closed its investor relations page, which previously archived calls, reports, and other documentation related to quarterly earnings, strategic planning, leadership changes, and other financial red tape. With the company now privately owned, such reports will no longer be shared publicly, turning one of the most influential publishers in the industry into a complete black box.

The deal's closure will surely only intensify concerns that EA's new owners will take a hacksaw to the company's IP, either by censoring existing series like The Sims or abandoning less profitable series like Dragon Age. The latest installment, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, disappointed EA leadership.

Considerable structural changes typically follow deals like this, and with EA making layoffs already amid wider games industry turmoil, there are concerns that many employees will be cut in the quarters ahead. Multiple games analysts also told GamesRadar+ that EA may pawn the rights to some IP instead of outright burying them.

Additionally, US senators argued the deal presents "foreign influence and national security risks."

Last year, EA told employees that "our creative freedom and player-first values will remain intact" even after the buyout.

Saudi Arabia's $55 billion takeover of EA could waste "one of the best catalogues in the industry" by reducing it to a "sequel-and-mega-franchise machine," Helldivers 2 boss worries.

Once September rolls around, you can expect to pay $500 if you want to pick up a Nintendo Switch 2. The good news is that time is still on your side. You have a little over a month to avoid the price hike entirely, and if you're based in the US, I recommend grabbing the Choose Your Game bundle for $499 at Amazon to do just that.

With that cheap Nintendo Switch bundle, you get the console and a digital code to either Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Pokémon Pokopia. Next month, that price will just get you the console, so it's definitely worth jumping on. It hasn't made its way across the pond, so I'd recommend the Nintendo Switch 2 + Pokémon Pokopia bundle in the UK in its stead. You get the handheld and a copy of Pokopia for as little as £394 at Amazon, a price that's even far below its typical £429.99 MSRP.

US

UK

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While Nintendo shared that the once $449.99 console will swiftly change to its new $499.99 price point starting September 2026 in the US, the pricing in the UK was scarce. In Europe, the console is increasing from €469.99 to €499.99, so I suspect it'll be a similar jump, but we can only speculate for now.

Even without knowing the full new UK price of the console, it's easy to see how the Switch 2 + Pokopia option is a great deal. At most other UK retailers, the set is sitting at its full £429.99 MSRP, but Amazon's current price knocks £35.99 off. Not to mention, if you were to buy the console and the game separately, you'd be expected to fork out £395.99 and £58.99 respectively. That's a combined total of £454.98, but it's £60 cheaper to pick up the bundle instead.

Whatever you choose, I'd pick it up sooner rather than later. While September 1 is the big scary price increase day, there's every chance we could start to see the price changes take effect ahead of time. The only way to truly prevent paying more than you should is to suck it up and pick the new handheld up as soon as you can. Of course, you can save the most by not buying one at all, but where's the fun in that?

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It's official – Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is bringing back another fan-favorite character from Three Houses, but believe it or not, that still doesn't help clarify the timeline of the two games or which one comes first.

Today's Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Direct was a treat – the latest footage details the different story routes, our true protagonist, and the fact that there'll be a Three Houses-style time skip, but one major detail was also included in such a nonchalant way that you might have missed it altogether.

When showing off some of Fortune's Weave's advanced character classes, we're shown the Dragoon class. We see a man with green and yellow hair riding on the back of a dragon, and – looking at his name in the bottom corner of the screen – that's literally just Seteth. In Three Houses, he's the stern, mature-looking wyvern rider faithful to Archbishop Rhea, and here, he's, uh, rocking a bandana and some really bad hair dye.

No, seriously, look at him. He's largely got bright yellow hair, but his natural green eyebrows are still intact, and his green hair is poking through at the roots and in patches at the tips. Clearly he didn't apply his bleach very evenly, or recently, for that matter.

Although some had correctly speculated that this character was Seteth when he appeared in a previous trailer, it's understandable that some are surprised by his adventurous new look, to put it politely. "Seteth why are you here. Why do you have the world's shittiest dye job. I can see your fucking green tips and eyebrows," one post reads, as another replies: "Ohhh they just fucked his shit UP."

Another Seteth fan asks the important question: "Why did they put seteth back but gave him a bad bleach job without his purple shampoo or toner[?]" Other reactions include "I hate this wig on you sis," and "he looks so chopped," even if folks are excited that he's back. "That's father right there," one sagely says.

But what does this mean for the timeline of Three Houses and Fortune's Weave? Well, frankly, it doesn't help, but we need to delve into some Three Houses spoilers to explain why, so proceed with caution.

In Three Houses, it's revealed that Seteth is Nabatean – a descendant of Sothis who can turn into a dragon. That also means he's extremely old, even if he doesn't look it. It's thought that he's over 1,000 years old in the 2019 game.

With that in mind, he could feasibly be alive well before Three Houses took place, or significantly after it. Of course, we've already seen a more adult-looking Sothis, but that doesn't necessarily narrow things down either – after all, Sothis looks a lot older in a depiction of her in some mural-style Three Houses artwork, as well as in a brief shot in its opening cutscene. So, once again, Fortune's Weave could feasibly be far in the past or future.

For now, it seems that part still remains a mystery. For now, though, we're just left with questions – namely, who did Seteth's hair, and why did he decide against his lovely beard?

Switch 2 gets its second $80 game in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, as former Nintendo marketing lead says the publisher knows "fans of that series are as die-hard as they come."

Nintendo has officially confirmed that Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave's mysterious white-haired character is the true protagonist of the story.

Since Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave was announced last September, it has been pitched as a story about four people. Those being Cai, Leda, Theodora, and Dietrich, akin to picking your house in Fire Emblem Three Houses. However, there has been an elephant in the room: a white-haired figure who appeared in trailers and on the game's box art, with both male and female versions. This was speculated to be this game's equivalent of a Robin, Corrin, or Byleth-like protagonist, and in the Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave Nintendo Direct, we finally got confirmation.

After going over the details of our four potential heroes' stories – including the somewhat massive news that you will be able to switch between the four protagonists whenever you like to play through their stories simultaneously – we were shown that five years had passed since the Heroic Games. Clearly something is amiss as the Dagdan Empire is in shambles from the rebirth of the demon god Balor, and the white-haired protagonist (whose canon name is Eshmel) will now have to scrap with them.

Nintendo doesn't try to sugarcoat it either, with the Direct narrator saying, "this is the story's true protagonist." With Eshmel, you can go take the fight to the demon right away; however, thanks to the Goddess of Fate Fortuna, Eshmel is able to travel back in time to change the fate of the four protagonists and allow them to join you in the future to prevent the end of the world.

The footage shows four altars, presumably representing different timelines where each of the four protagonists won the Heroic Games, so it seems like you won't have to replay the game multiple times to see all of their stories through, like in Three Houses.

It's a big day for Intelligent Systems fans, as today also sees the release of its canceled Virtual Boy game D-Hopper.

Big Walk is a multiplayer puzzle game. It's an open-world co-op game where you explore an island and successfully complete challenges with friends using in-game proximity voice chat. It is a "friendslop" game, insomuch as that means a relatively low-lift game that you play with friends featuring sometimes-wacky physics. Big Walk is a new game from House House, creator of the infamously beloved Untitled Goose Game.

Big Walk is a COVID game.

Let me explain. Big Walk isn't about illness or pandemics, unless I've really misunderstood something, but it is thematically and mechanically a direct result of COVID. There's a direct line between the two, and it's not even subtext. You don't even have to take my word for it.

"End of 2020 was when we wrapped up Goose Game and we'd been obviously cooped up in our house under lockdowns and not spending time with each other," says House House developer Nico Disseldorp when I ask why the team decided to stake its future on a game where you walk around an unnamed island for indeterminate reasons. "We'd gone from working on a video game, standing behind each other and pointing at the computer and hanging out every day to only really spending time with each other in video games. And that was the time in the week where we felt most connected to each other."

"So we said," continues Disseldorp, "'Well, let's make one of these video games that we can play together. It'll be fun for us, and we'll get to spend time with each other inside the video game we're making, but let's make one where it's all about the feeling of togetherness. So rather than we're going to be hanging out together while doing something else, it's like the video game will be about hanging out together, and we'll figure out what that means as we go along.'"

Walker-talker man

You could more broadly associate the rise of "friendslop" games with post-COVID development, and people certainly have. It doesn't exactly take a genius to answer the question of: why are so many video games where you just sort of hang out and complete tasks with friends, regardless of distance, coming out and resonating? Why, perhaps it was the sudden and stark isolation of quarantine and distancing that went on for months and years, starving people of social interaction globally!

Trying to talk about Big Walk's mechanics and how they grow out of this fertile soil is difficult in part because it's a puzzle game. If I say too much, I've basically given away the puzzle. But it's also difficult in precisely the way that makes it a COVID game. More than anything else, Big Walk is about learning to communicate effectively and collaborate despite numerous obstacles deliberately frustrating or even entirely preventing both.

Because the various items and puzzles have no names or designations, any given group of players has to start from scratch on describing, expressing, and instructing. How do you indicate "yes" from a distance if someone can't hear you? What does "no" look like? What do you call the little… gourd-looking key items? (Every session I've ever played ended up calling these "babies," by the way. Your mileage may vary.) This is, you'll be shocked to learn, entirely deliberate on the part of the developer.

"We've kind of left a lot of built-in ambiguity – lots of the items, the characters, lots of the spaces in the world, they're deliberately a bit difficult to describe," says Disseldorp, "and that's part of the game is for you to figure out what language you want to use with your friends."

"This isn't a game where you can just not describe them," adds Disseldorp. "There's so much teamwork that you will need to kind of build that shared language. But through doing that, you take ownership and build a shared understanding of the game together."

Art is reflective of the time in which it was made, regardless of intent, but I'd argue that Big Walk is absolutely intentional. If you work together, regardless of how isolating the distance and difficulty to communicate or how big the problem (or walk), you can come to a solution together. There is, I think, a lesson somewhere in there.

Big Walk is currently available on PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2. If you're looking for something in a similar vein, be sure to check out our ranking of the best co-op games.

Consoles are not getting any cheaper, that's for sure, and one analyst believes you should enjoy the current prices while you can. This is particularly true regarding the Switch 2, which may very well see its price soar over the next couple of years.

Danial Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners, says as much in a post on Twitter. He responds to a news story about Samsung pointing out that memory shortages are still impacting prices, saying these conditions are entirely why he picked up Nintendo's latest console.

"I just purchased a Nintendo Switch 2 for $449 because of this btw," he says, before pointing to the new price that's coming in September.

"I recommend you buy one now while it's $499," he adds. Then he dives right into the escalating amounts meme.

"It's a great deal right now at just $599 and if you don't buy it now for $679, you might end up paying over $800," reads the posts, tongue firmly planted in cheek. But like any good satire, there's a healthy amount of truth behind it.

Hardware isn't going to level out any time soon. There's been talk of the successors to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S crossing the $1,000 threshold, joining Valve's Steam Machine, and the case for such a move being appropriate value is strong, given the specs.

The market for parts is being continually squeezed, and not even Nintendo can protect itself from that. The Switch 2 may be some distance from such heights, but that could change fast. If you want to play the Ocarina of Time remake and the next 3D Super Mario game when they arrive, you should probably follow Ahmad's lead.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake rating suggests some changes, with its "suggestive themes" missing, and we can probably guess what that means

I wholly expected Pokemon Pokopia's first DLC expansion to demand far more than just 3.14MB of the Switch 2's storage, but I like being proven wrong. Especially as it means that fans (myself included) can avoid picking up a pricey microSD Express Card, particularly when 512GB cards have skyrocketed in price over the last few months.

If you'd still at least like a little storage pick-me-up, you can grab an extra 128GB for as little as $39.99 at Amazon right now. Unlike higher capacity cards, it's not going to cost you almost as much as the console itself, and it's a little less than its usual $45 price range it likes to sit at today. Of course, you can save more by sticking with the Switch 2's internal storage, but an extra 128GB on top will help you with Pokopia and Ninty's upcoming releases.

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The best microSD Express Cards are available in capacities up to 1TB, but that hefty storage amount comes at a hefty cost these days. If you've just invested in a Nintendo Switch 2 to avoid having to fork out for its upcoming September price cut, it's highly likely that you don't want to to drop the $371.99 (Amazon) required for a 1TB model. They used to sit at a more reasonable $199.99, but have jumped up in recent months, likely another annoying knock-on effect from the RAM & storage crisis.

As alluring as an extra 1TB is, you'll want to pick up at least an extra 128GB instead. Ideally, an extra 256GB is your best bet, as that will double up your available on-board storage.

Remember, the base Pokemon Pokopia game is only 6.3 GB, so that's plenty for it and the new DLC. You could even download the recent Switch 2 Star Fox and its 15.1 GB worth of data, and the 13.1 GB worth of Splatoon Raiders, and you'd still have space left over. I'd just recommend grabbing this deal before its price goes the way of its 1TB counterpart.

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Check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases if you're looking to create the ultimate Switch 2 setup.

Couch co-op in Big Walk is something that many players will be anticipating or hopeful for, as this multiplayer cooperative game would arguably lend itself to local co-op by definition. However, while it's possible to get a large group of friends together in Big Walk on multiplayer online servers, I'm sorry to say that couch co-op isn't something you should expect from Big Walk right now, as I'll explain below.

Can you play Big Walk couch co-op with friends?

No, Big Walk does not have local or couch co-op mode, only online multiplayer.

That may change in the future, but there's no actual evidence that it will, and in fact developer House House may not include it for specific reasons concerning player communication.

See, much of Big Walk's gameplay and challenge is centered around in-game audio and proximity chat - the idea that players' ability to communicate diminishes the further away their characters are from each other. That isn't just a fun gimmick, but an essential part of the game to be managed and overcome. Playing local co-op, where you can turn around and talk to your friends at any time, would diminish or compromise that element accordingly. For more details, I definitely recommend you check out the official Big Walk FAQ page, which explains this element of the game further.

Find out more about who you can and can't play with in our guide to enabling Big Walk crossplay! Or if you get stuck in the opening area then we have a puzzle walkthrough to help you lower the red bridge in Big Walk.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

This is the first console generation to see hardware prices dramatically increase over time, with lead Circana games analyst Mat Piscatella reporting that the average selling price of new gaming hardware has jumped from $452 in January 2026 to $525 in June 2026 in the US – a staggering 16% rise in just half a year.

This follows years of gradual price hikes industry-wide, with Xbox recently causing yet more sticker shock amid Europe and UK hikes of over 30% on Series S and X consoles. Nobody's avoided price increases, and the AI data center-fueled RAM and chip drought behind this dire market is expected to worsen in the year ahead.

That's according to Samsung, which, per TechCrunch, believes the RAM shortage will only grow worse in 2027. The company, which accounts for about one third of the memory market, also anticipates supplies struggling until at least 2028, citing "medium- to long-term demand forecasts" from major AI companies.

Samsung was notably accused of coordinated RAM price fixing in a recent lawsuit that also skewers Micron and SK Hynix, the two other largest memory manufacturers.

A desperate consumer economy isn't bothering Samsung, of course. High prices are good for business, and it's all too happy to sell to AI companies. Its Q2 financial report notes "record-breaking quarterly earnings" for its memory segment, with "record-high server revenue mix" more than making up for dips on the consumer side.

"Continued industry-wide upward price trend," the report says of the latest quarter. Ain't that the truth.

Nintendo Switch 2 will soon cost $500 as price hikes roll out across the US, Europe, and more due to "various changes in market conditions."

Knowing the Big Walk release time is important information, if you're keen to start exploring the wide-open world of House House's latest quirky adventure. This is especially true here as the game is launching globally at different times, depending on whether you're playing on PlayStation 5 or PC and Nintendo Switch 2, and if you're based in the United States or elsewhere. To help you fathom out when your journey can begin, I've rounded up all of the Big Walk release times and explained the differences.

You can't play solo, so we've also got the lowdown on Big Walk crossplay to help you join your friends, plus a puzzle walkthrough to show you how to lower the red bridge in Big Walk if you get stuck.

What time does Big Walk come out?

The game launches on August 4, but by checking the various regional PlayStation Stores and SteamDB information I have identified two separate Big Walk release times depending on your location and format. These are broken down as follows:

• PS5 (EU Store)
  • 9am BST
  • 10am CEST
• PS5 (US Store)
  • 6am PDT
  • 9am EDT
• PS5 (AU/NZ Store)
  • 6pm AEST
  • 8pm NZST
• PC (Steam)
  • 6am PDT
  • 9am EDT
  • 2pm BST
  • 3pm CEST
  • 11pm AEST
  • 1am NZST (August 5)

It appears that globally Big Walk will release first on PS5 in the UK/EU and Australia/New Zealand, then five hours later it will launch on PS5 in the US alongside a simultaneous worldwide release on PC via Steam. There is currently no information available about the Nintendo Switch 2 release time, though based on previous third-party launches this is likely to mirror the Steam timings.

Unlike with the Xbox, there is no "New Zealand trick" on PS5 to switch your internal clock to NZST so you can get access sooner, which means if you're based in the United States then the only way to play Big Walk early is to purchase it from the UK/EU or Australia/New Zealand PSN Store. Given the difference is only 5 hours and it's happening overnight, the best option is to wait until it becomes available in your region – especially if you're picking it up for free via PlayStation Plus!

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Nintendo has confirmed that Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave will be the focus of the next Nintendo Direct, with a presentation airing tomorrow.

Over on the Nintendo Today app, it was confirmed that not only are we getting a Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Nintendo Direct, but it's happening in about 24 hours.

Nintendo also confirmed that we'll be getting a 20-minute presentation of the game, so expect it to go into some detail about what to expect when it launches next month on September 17, 2026.

Not counting the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, this is arguably Nintendo's biggest release of 2026, so a dedicated direct was always a given. And when it comes to size, it will almost certainly be Nintendo's biggest release, as it's decided that Fire Emblem: Three Houses wasn't enough houses and is splitting Fortune's Weave into four stories (potentially more, given Three Houses let you split off in some paths).

How to watch the Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Nintendo Direct

The Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Nintendo Direct will take place on August 4, 2026 at 3pm BST | 10am ET | 7am PT, and is set to last 20 minutes.

You can watch the stream on Nintendo's YouTube channel.

What to expect in the Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave Nintendo Direct

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave seems to be particularly massive, so we'll likely have a lot to see during the showcase tomorrow. One major point of speculation is whether the four protagonists will be the true protagonists of the game, or whether Fortune's Weave will feature an avatar character, as in every entry since Awakening.

On the game's box art, there are two white-haired figures slap bang in the middle, with many assuming these are the male and female designs for the avatar character. However, given we have seen footage of the four protagonists running around the overworld in the previous Nintendo Direct, I'm not entirely convinced this is the case, so maybe we'll figure out what purpose this white-haired duo serves in the Direct tomorrow.

It's a big day for Intelligent Systems fans, as tomorrow also sees the release of its cancelled Virtual Boy game D-Hopper.

Thanks to the latest batch of price increases, the over half-a-decade-old Xbox Series S is now more expensive than the Nintendo Switch 2.

While we were warned about it in advance back in June, the latest in the ever-increasing number of hardware price hikes arrived alongside the arrival of August, as Microsoft's sweeping Xbox price bumps hit the market. While there's nothing quite as extreme as Sony's latest bump for the PS5 console, which has seen the PS5 Pro go for nearly $1,000, the Xbox increase has seen the models increase from $100-$150 depending on how much memory is included.

While the US knew what it was getting into since June, Microsoft kept the price increase for its consoles in Europe and the UK close to its chest. But now August is here, we know it's still going to be real expensive.

This latest hike from Microsoft has made the Xbox Series X start at $749.99 / £619.99 / €749.99 for the all-digital version, while the Xbox Series S will be $599.99 / £519.99 / €599.99 or $499.99 / £429.99 / €499.99 depending on whether you want the 1TB or 512GB edition of the console. For comparison's sake, Nintendo's new console will run you $449.99 / £395.99 / €469.99, making it cheaper than the 512GB edition of the Series S.

However, that won't last too much longer, as Nintendo itself is also implementing a price increase for Switch 2 consoles in a month's time. Prices of the Nintendo Switch 2 console will be bumped up by $50 to $499.99 (as of right now, the UK and Europe pricing changes are unconfirmed).

Thanks to the ongoing global ram shortages that are plaguing all aspects of the tech world at the moment – all in the service of being funnelled AI slop farms so someone can generate Homer Simpson singing Benson Boone for a TikTok – this generation has been the antithesis of the usual wisdom of not buying a console at launch.

Nintendo fights Switch 2 scalpers in Japan with new restrictions – only fans with over 50 hours on premium Switch 1 games can buy multi-language consoles.

Hori has released a smorgasbord of adorable controllers this year, but now the Eevee Evolutions Wireless HORIPAD controller for the original Nintendo Switch has reappeared at Amazon US with an October 17, 2026 release date.

As discovered by X (Twitter) user PokeJungle, the $59.99 (Amazon) gamepad originally launched on US and European shelves all the way back in April 2024, but now Hori is re-releasing the officially licenced Pokemon accessory. The only issue is that in the time it's taken for the controller to re-launch stateside, the Switch 2 has come on the scene, and yet this controller is still geared towards the older console. That means it's missing out on that new GameChat button, and likely won't have Wake-up functionality in tow. But at least every Eeveelution is available on the faceplate to make up for its missing next-gen features.

This Nintendo Switch controller might be missing some important functionality you'd expect from a modern-day Switch 2 pad, but at least it's extremely cute. The entirety of the accessory is covered in this pastel lavender colorway, and the D-pad, sticks, and ABXY buttons also sport a pastel purple color.

The illustrations on the faceplate are also adorable. Instead of re-using art of the Eevee evolutions we've seen time and time again, there's a unique sketch-like illustration of the lot from Gen 1's Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon, to Gen 6's Sylveon. Eevee itself hasn't been forgotten about either. At the center top of the pad, where you'd maybe expect to see a big 'Nintendo Switch' logo, instead plays host to a cute silhouette of the original Pokemon's rounded face.

While an older controller, it even sports an improved battery life over Hori's more recent Pokemon pads. The Eevee Evolutions controller relies on Bluetooth for its wireless connectivity and includes accelerometer and gyroscope controllers like the rest of Hori's controller lineup, but it also includes an up to 15-hour battery life. Meanwhile, the brand's recently unveiled Umbreon and Espeon Wireless HORIPAD Turbo only provides an up to 10-hour battery life.

This is true of all the brand's Pokemon-flavored Wireless HORIPAD Turbo controllers. Everything from the Hori Ditto Wireless HORIPAD Turbo that's launching for $64.99 at Amazon on August 6 to the Pokemon Pixel controllers only provide up to 10 hours of juice. It's a little disappointing, but if you care more about substance over style, then the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro controller with its 40 hours is always an option instead.

• View all Hori Nintendo Switch controllers at Amazon

Check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases if you want to upgrade your Ninty gaming setup.

Final Fantasy 14 is finally crossing over with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy sometime next year, but before the collaboration was set in stone, FF7 Remake director Naoki Hamaguchi was careful to not step over the MMO's patch cadence.

Speaking to GamesRadar+ about the crossover and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, in an interview from Fan Fest Berlin, Hamaguchi reiterates that developers on the Remake trilogy were "heavily involved" in the upcoming crossover event. Not only is original Final Fantasy 7 writer Kazushige Nojima serving as a story supervisor, the rest of the team is collaborating on assets that'll be used in an Evercold raid series.

What tends to happen when Final Fantasy 7 Remake has a collaboration in the works is that the outside team will get "really excited," Hamaguchi says via a translator, and "come up with all these ideas" that can sometimes be quite lofty. "But at the same time we have to be really careful that it's not impacting the FF14 patch release schedule, because then that would be putting the cart before the horse," he adds.

To make sure things didn't get out of hand, Hamaguchi and Final Fantasy 14's Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida had to remind their really excited team members to "calm down" and "be reasonable, guys." Hamaguchi remembers telling his devs to "look at our bandwidth to see what's realistic and to make sure that they can do their best work," in order to stop either team from getting too derailed.

Yoshi-P and Hamaguchi were still "running around and touching up everything around the sides, seeing what's going on [and] making sure that everything's in place." That was on top of directing Final Fantasy 14 Evercold and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, I should add, the mad men.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director says each character in the RPG only has 4 jobs because making games is so much harder now

Legendary Nintendo fellow Shigeru Miyamoto says that he doesn't play video games anymore except for when his grandkids come over. The veteran game designer is well known for his multiple hobbies outside of gaming, and has previously said he looks to hire those who have interests other than video games.

In an interview with Famitsu that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Miyamoto talks about his current gaming habits. When asked if he plays the Nintendo Switch he says, "well, I don't really play games by myself anymore," with a slight chuckle.

Though he doesn't game in his free time, he still keeps video games around the home to play with his grandchildren. "If there are video games in their house my grandkids play them too much, so I keep them at mine and say 'if you want to play games, come to grandad's house,'" he explains. "The little ones can't finish games themselves, so I think it makes them happy when we complete them together. They're really scared of the boss from Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, so I do that one for them."

It might initially come as a bit of a surprise to hear that the Zelda and Mario maker isn't a huge gamer these days, but Miyamoto is well known for his hobbies besides video games as he uses them to inspire his game design. His love for playing instruments inspired Wii Music, Nintendogs came from his love of dogs, and Pikmin was thought up thanks to his time spent outside in the garden.

What's more, in a New York Times interview from 2017, Miyamoto expressed how he looks for those who have outside hobbies when it comes to hiring at Nintendo. "I always look for designers who aren't super passionate game fans," he said. "I make it a point to ensure they're not just a gamer, but that they have a lot of different interests and skill sets." He even explained that some of the people he hired had never played a video game before joining Nintendo.

Even if he isn't really a gamer anymore, we love that he is sharing his love of gaming with his grandkids.

Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto says PCs were once "held in higher regard than consoles," so the NES was made to bridge "the gap" – "It wasn't just a toy."

Each character in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's ragtag party will be able to equip four different classes, called FITS here in this game, and director Naoki Hamaguchi says the process of making them reminded him how tough game development has gotten in recent years.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation might be remaking the last act of Final Fantasy 7, but it's reaching even further back into Final Fantasy history with a job system called FITS (deep breath, Function Integrated Tactical Suitwear). Each character has four FITS that'll change their combat capabilities and give them a snazzy new outfit - so far, we've only seen Cloud dressed up as a Warrior and TIfa in a Black Mage fit.

"It did make me realize all over again how hard it is to develop games these days. When you look at some of the early Final Fantasy games that have job systems, you could put a lot in there," Hamaguchi tells GamesRadar+ in a recent interview from Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest Berlin.

He's definitely not wrong. Take Final Fantasy 5, one of the series' classic pixel art games that let you mix-and-match each party member with over 20 jobs. Games have only gotten way more graphically intensive over time, and every playable character in Revelation's cast has their own bespoke animations. A far cry from the days where the pixels that represented an FF5 character all awkwardly shimmy forward to attack.

These days, wanting to have 20 or 30 jobs isn't really feasible for a standalone game, Hamaguchi continues via a translator. In fact, it's "just insanely difficult" unless you're an "ongoing title" that's adding content "bit by bit," as is the case with MMORPG Final Fantasy 14.

Still, the jobs that are available in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation apparently do a lot of heavy lifting to shake up the trilogy's combat. "The FITS system has four different outfits for each character, and each of those is quite a defined role. In the end, that has added quite a lot of breadth of strategy for players to engage with, so I think it has resulted in a really good addition to the battle system," Hamaguchi explains. "Even though we only have four FITS, we have a lot of characters, so it was quite a lot of work."

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director is "serious about concluding the series" at the end of the JRPG, and any DLC will focus on "untold stories"

Splatoon must surely rank as one of Nintendo's most unlikely hits. If you doubt that, try relaying a story about a favourite multiplayer moment and consider how ludicrous you must sound to a casual observer. Our moment of triumph, for example, came during the final Splatfest, a contest designed to crown the global favourite of the two Squid Sisters, the game's resident idol duo.

It happened at Moray Towers, a parking lot spread across two elevated structures, with ramps zigzagging down towards a central zone liberally coated in lurid neon ink. Wearing our pink T-shirt with pride, paired with a fashionable snorkel and a pair of turquoise trainers, our time came in the final 30 seconds of battle, as we swam up a wall carrying a washing-machine drum, passing unseen behind an opponent too busy gazing down his scope at our hapless teammates below to notice us sloshing our colours onto the ground behind his perch. We finished with no kills and six deaths, yet rarely have we felt so responsible for turning certain defeat into narrow victory at the 11th hour.

This was, for all intents and purposes, Splatoon's last hurrah: a 48-hour celebration marking the end of Nintendo's support for the game. It came more than a year after the very first Splatfest, during which time Splatoon has managed to retain a robust playerbase. Plenty of online games have lasted longer, of course, but rarely with the odds stacked so heavily against them. Splatoon arrived in May 2015 with a range of handicaps that would've sunk lesser games. It was, simply, one heck of a gamble. Here was a company known for leaning on established brands choosing to ignore them all in favour of something completely new: an online-focused multiplayer game in a genre in which it had little to no experience, and on an ailing console to boot.

Not long after its launch, Splatoon was widely declared to have been a success. But the real acid test was still to come. It may have had a slender (albeit enjoyable) singleplayer component, but this was a game designed primarily to be played online, and as such couldn't reasonably be judged within its first few weeks. The months to come would be more telling.

And the numbers didn't lie: Nintendo's financial results, published in April, showed that Splatoon had sold to more than one in three Wii U owners. Perhaps more significantly, the number of Splatfest participants had risen – particularly in Japan. The 13th Japanese Splatfest might not have seemed the kind of debate to provoke fierce competition, offering a choice between tuna mayonnaise and red salmon to determine the nation's preferred flavour of rice ball. And yet almost 800,000 players took part – more than half the installed base.

Paint the town

If Splatoon's vibrant presentation and accessibility were what made it appealing in the first place, Nintendo needed ways to hold players' attention. It achieved that simply by regularly providing tangible reasons to keep coming back. It's worth remembering the multiplayer offering seemed miserly at launch, with just five maps and a single game type, the default Turf War mode, available on day one (the King Of The Hill-like Splat Zones would unlock once enough players had reached level ten, which was achieved a mere two days after launch).

Tower Control came later, a thrilling tug-of-war with each team attempting to push a moveable structure deeper into their opponents' territory. Last up was Rainmaker, which had a similar back-and-forth feel to Tower Control, but resembled a running play in gridiron, albeit with the quarterback carrying a weaponised football. Though these three were the ranked options, each was built with accessibility at its core – they can be understood with minimal instruction, with a glance at the overhead map on the GamePad screen making it instantly obvious where your attention should be focused.

The number of stages steadily swelled from five to 16, with each new map adding purposeful variety. Moray Towers was a snipers' haven; Port Mackerel's multi-laned layout led to MOBA-like incursions; Flounder Heights added verticality via an apartment complex; the expansive Kelp Dome felt rather like being invited to vandalise the Eden Project. With later maps, Splatoon's designers began to add more unique features, like Piranha Pit's conveyors, Museum D'Alfonsino's rotating platforms and Mahi Mahi Resort's receding water level. Ancho-V Games, a level set inside the studio of a fictional game developer, featured fan-propelled platforms.

Some would argue that these gimmicks detracted from the game's immediacy, but no one could quibble over getting 11 maps over eight months for no extra outlay, even before considering the new wardrobe options and creative new weapon types. From gatling guns to buckets and bamboo pipes, Nintendo kept giving its players more ways to customise their Inkling and to tailor loadouts to better fit individual playstyles.

Post-launch support is hardly unprecedented, but for a company with a relatively poor reputation when it comes to online gaming, and with precious little experience of handling the expectations of an online shooter community, Nintendo surprised many in how well it kept up its end of the bargain. Free extra content was only part of the equation; Splatfests were another. A tangible sense of spectacle and ceremony surrounded these tri-weekly events, with the Splatoon community encouraged to swear fealty to their chosen side.

Nintendo clearly communicated upcoming events for players through its online channels and within the game itself. In the days leading up to each Splatfest, the plaza hub would fill with other players wearing their team's colours, adding to the sense of anticipation. Then, on the big day, night would fall, Miiverse posts would be displayed as flashy banners stacked high and wide, and the Squid Sisters would leave their studio to perform on stages either side of the lobby – beyond which, matches would be played under darkened skies. From a presentational point of view, Nintendo nailed both the sensation of friendly rivalry and the kind of big-match build-up that would have even Sky Sports taking notes. In the gaps between new stock arrivals at the plaza's various stores, Splatfests offered a further incentive to log in again.

Not to mention putting an additional map in the rotation. One of Nintendo's canniest tricks of recent years was to make a random selection of three feel like a special treat. Yet the perceived weakness of having only two maps available in each game mode at any given time (and limiting ranked matches to a specific game mode) played to Splatoon's strengths. On hardware with a comparatively small installed base, these restrictions ensured waits were kept to a minimum: even now, it rarely takes more than a minute from loading Splatoon up before you're in a game. It's a decision typical of a company that's always sought to curb downtime, and even on the occasions you find yourself idling in a lobby, you've got a choice of simple GamePad minigames with which to busy your thumbs.

If these choices invariably led to occasions where you'd find yourself on the same map several times in succession, they encouraged most players to dip in and out of Splatoon rather than play for hours on end. And by refreshing the maps every four hours, it avoided the fate of many other online shooters where a handful of maps would dominate the voting process. It was clear Nintendo didn't expect people to play Splatoon for long sessions when co-director Tsubasa Sakaguchi expressed his surprise at how quickly players had hit the early level cap of 20. Three months after launch that was raised to 50, with ranking up dependent on wins as well as points scored. It's a testament to Splatoon's longevity that even with Nintendo exponentially slowing progress, you'll still encounter players who've hit the new cap.

The restrictions undoubtedly turned some players off. And there's an argument that Nintendo's hasty abandonment of Wii U helped give Splatoon a bit of a free run, certainly for those Wii U owners who didn't also own other hardware. With gaps between new releases getting wider, a game that gave players something different every time they logged in was obviously a good reason to keep the console plugged in.

Feel-good ink

As such, it's hard to say what lessons other online games could learn from Splatoon. Some of the choices Nintendo made may have suited the game, but wouldn't fly elsewhere: imagine if EA took voice chat out of the next Battlefield, or Activision waited three months after Call Of Duty's launch before adding an option to create private matches for friends. Which isn't to say that other companies shouldn't take note.

Everything Nintendo added after Splatoon's launch was in service of a consistent, focused central vision. While it did respond to user feedback, making minor adjustments to stages and rebalancing weapons, it did so in ways that never compromised the core. Every new weapon or map felt like it had a place in that world. There was nothing to massively unbalance the game, and Amiibo aside, there were no microtransactions to worry about.

These sometimes unorthodox choices have ensured that Splatoon still feels immediate and welcoming, and that isn't always true of competitive multiplayer games. Even so, it's a minor miracle that Splatoon remained on trend for a year on such unfashionable hardware – and no surprise that the series remained fresh long into the Nintendo Switch era.

This Splatoon retrospective was first published in issue 298 of Edge Magazine. To get more like this delivered straight to your doorstep (or digital device) consider subscribing to Edge.

When I heard Owlcat Games turned 10 in June, I was surprised. Not because of its age, but lack of. Within a decade the developer has already become a household name for CRPG fans, thanks to its sprawling isometric games set in the Pathfinder universe and 2023's excellent Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader.

Looking further afield, Owlcat is set to launch its debut third-person RPG, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, in 2027; while upcoming CRPG Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy already looks promising. That's on top of getting into publishing. "We're kind of speedrunning this," jokes Andrey Tsvetkov, head of publishing at Owlcat. "We managed to ship three games in 10 years, while some studios worked on a single project in that time."

Joining me to reflect on Owlcat's first decade and the future ahead, Tsvetkov says the studio owes a great deal to its fans. He's being surprisingly literal: the longer we chat, the more it becomes clear that Owlcat Games' relationship with players, and authenticity to its craft, are the studio's greatest assets.

Taking initiative

Through the 2000s and early 2010s, the RPG genre seemed to be moving in one direction. Increasingly dominated by third-person action RPGs, from Fallout and The Elder Scrolls at Bethesda to BioWare's Dragon Age and Mass Effect, it seemed CRPGs had settled away from the spotlight. Then veteran developer Obsidian Entertainment crowdfunded RPG Pillars of Eternity in 2015, saving itself from dire finances with a return to '90s-style isometric RPGs.

"It showed us that the market didn't move away from these kinds of products," says Tsvetkov. "Everyone was talking about multiplayer back then, and suddenly Pillars of Eternity became a great hit [...] The core team of ours always dreamed of making this kind of game, and that was a good opportunity to do so. So it inspired us to start working on the concept of a game like this – and it turned out to be Pathfinder: Kingmaker."

Pathfinder: Kingmaker was made through crowd-funding, with 18,351 backers raising $909K – far more than the original $500K target. Raising funds for a sequel, 2021's Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, more than 35,000 backers pledged two million dollars. Having found an audience Owlcat funded its last titles internally, but continues to work with fans from early stages, with pre-release builds for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader and its follow-up Dark Heresy helping to shape their vision.

Tsvetkov points to the inception of Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader as an example. "We were thinking of what kind of story we wanted to tell, what might be the next studio we'd work on, and more than half of the studio explicitly told us [they] want it to be Warhammer. 'We just want to work with Warhammer!'

So we approached Games Workshop and found common ground really fast, and started working on an RPG based on the Warhammer universe. It wasn't to achieve some target, or to expand the community, or whatever. We just wanted to make a Warhammer game."

That passion, says Tsvetkov, is a large part of why Owlcat has been able to release games so quickly.

"There is a list of things that the creative team would like to do, and we try to chase them [...] We're not working on a single game for five or six years. One of the key reasons is because the creative team behind our games wants to try different things before we get too old, before we retire and live somewhere peacefully and quietly. We want to try different things, so for us, it's an opportunity. We built the studio in a way that we can work on several projects at once. Some of them are in the full production schedule stage right now. Some are in early pre-production, just concepts we've been doing, but it allows us to bring more creative ideas to life – and that really drives people in the studio."

Developers at the studio are ambitious, yes, but Tsvetkov argues that the team's sincerity is its greatest strength. "Most of the team who are working on the Warhammer games collect miniatures themselves. They know the lore at the level as the best lore masters. I don't want to say anything bad about Games Workshop, but at some of those meetings, we were on the same level of knowledge for Warhammer lore as those guys. That's a compliment!

"We tend not to work with things we don't actually love," he adds. "We don't enjoy ourselves."

Other worlds than these

Owlcat's RPGs have an old-school level of depth, but Tsvetkov doesn't feel the studio is beholden to its ancestors. The team holds quarterly meetings to assess whether "old design ideas" are still relevant, can be improved, or hold them back in any way. "We shouldn't, as we say, become like a bronze statue," he explains. "A studio is a living, breathing organism. We have to make sure there's room for new ideas to grow."

"We don't want to repeat ourselves, right? We know that players already know, like the original Baldur's Gate one or two. They played Icewind Dale, they played Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland, etc. They played through all of these games, and they have all this experience with them. They [don't want] repetition. They want something new."

With veteran studios – think Obsidian, Larian – still around and making games, Tsetkov believes striving to be original is crucial to standing out in a crowded genre. He again points to community as a "core" strength. "They act as game ambassadors who spread the word [...] The further we go with this kind of competition, the bigger the community's role. If you have a community supporting you, you can be sure that you [can] survive the harsh reality of game development."

Owlcat is already a mainstay in the CRPG space, but it's seemingly on the cusp of breaking through to the mainstream. Think of how The Witcher 3, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and Baldur's Gate 3 put their respective developers on the map for broader audiences. With a now-sizable audience backing Owlcat, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy could blow the floodgates open. As could The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, which is Owlcat's third-person debut and likely to strike a chord with starved Mass Effect fans. Tsvetkov is modest about the possibility, but admits there's a lot the team would still like to push forwards.

"We're working on a new project that is unannounced, and it will be quite different from what we've done in the CRPG genre before," he says. "We still have room for experiments."

As Owlcat looks ahead, it remains open to tackling other familiar worlds – not just Pathfinder and Warhammer. "There are still a lot of things that we would like to do with some universe that we love," Tsetkov says, adding there are "ongoing conversations with various IP owners that might result in something interesting."

While the studio will continue to make RPGs set in familiar worlds, its "top creative leaders" also want to make a wholly original setting – eventually. The idea sounds distant, but some things are more certain. "We like to do the things that we love to do," Tsetkov says. "So we won't be quitting the CRPG genre."

Still drinking your coffee? Last week's Saturday Read was on the future of MMOs

Director Naoki Hamaguchi won't leave many loose threads hanging by the time the credits roll in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, so any purely hypothetical DLC that gets made will need to focus on the "untold stories" of specific characters rather than continuing the story.

This isn't the first time Naoki Hamaguchi's discussed potentially adding to Final Fantasy 7 Revelation after launch next year, but what form that might take has been up in the air. He previously hinted that spin-off games could be folded into the game through DLC.

Speaking to Automaton, Hamaguchi's now clarified that the third and final game in his Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy will tie up the story. Don't worry about having to pay for DLC to see the true ending, then - looking at you, Final Fantasy 13-2.

"The story will be concluded within the main game," Hamaguchi promises. "We're serious about concluding the series with FF7 Revelation, and we're proceeding with development with that goal in mind."

Should that hypothetical DLC become really real DLC, Hamaguchi says the team wants to "create a kind of spin-off focused on a specific character that depicts their untold stories," similar to what they did with Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Episode Intermission DLC, which followed Yuffie in a short campaign giving the character depth that definitely wasn't seen in the original game. "So, in case we do end up considering making a DLC, this is the kind of thing that we’d likely attempt to do."

"I feel that, at this point, both the media and the fan community are expecting a DLC to come," he says. "That being said, things haven't crystallized yet, so we can't certainly say." Should there be enough of an appetite for it, the team would certainly consider an expansion, he adds.

The possibilities are kind of endless. Alternate timeline adventures in the Lifestream? Prequels focused on Vincent Valentine or Cid Highwind? A look at Tifa's gruelling, mountain-top training? Something something, young Sephiroth?

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's endgame fights may involve some minigames, but its director is more interested in using your levelled-up characters to "overcome difficult situations"

The 1997 RPG Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most beloved games of all time, so naturally this decade's remake trilogy has been received, although largely positively, under intense scrutiny. A remake in every sense of the word, three distinct games have been made out of the original one, and Square Enix has been liberal with changes and expansions to the story, combat, world, and minigames, which naturally means fans have been squabbling online about all of the differences for about six years now. Naoki Hamaguchi, director on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Revelation, sees that as a good thing.

Ahead of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's release next year, Hamaguchi tells Automaton he's "grateful" for the remake trilogy's discourse because it means people care.

"Games are a medium, a community, and a culture. While a culture has certain unchanging aspects, I believe it only truly shapes into a culture when people discuss it from many different perspectives," says Hamaguchi. "If everyone looked at something in exactly the same way, I think it might not leave a lasting impression and could fade into obscurity over time. The very fact that the community is so active, that conversations happen, and debates keep erupting, is a kind of entertainment in and of itself."

I don't know about you, but I'm tickled by the mental image of Hamaguchi browsing Final Fantasy-related subreddits, sipping a cup of coffee, and giggling as his diehard fans argue about impossibly hot fantasy characters with big hair. In more elegant words, Hamaguchi says those heated discussions are proof of passion, which is hard to argue with.

"When people discuss and get heated about the minigames, the story, or the relationships between characters in FFVII, I think that only happens because they see value in those elements," he says. "I'm proud that this series has enough depth and capacity to inspire those kinds of discussions."

Even from game to game in the remake series, there's a lot of variation in terms of gameplay and structure, with the first 2020 entry being far more linear than the massive open world that is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Hamaguchi told GamesRadar+ in a recent interview that people "got a little bit tired" of all the side quests in Rebirth and might have "stepped away" in exhaustion, which suggests Revelation could be a little more streamlined.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director wants "some kind of physical edition" for the RPG, but he can't promise it as Sony becomes the latest to "shift away" toward digital

Pokemon Pokopia's first-ever DLC is landing on the Nintendo Switch 2 on August 5, 2026, introducing a new underwater 'Bubby Basin' habitat that you can help bring to life. The new trailer showed off the adorable Popplio and other water-types frolicking under the waves, and if those drops of cuteness have convinced you to finally invest in the new handheld, then you should check out this Nintendo Switch 2 + Pokopia bundle.

It includes the handheld and a digital copy of Pokopia, and you get that adorable box with Ditto's infectious grin printed on the side. Better yet, it's down to just £399 at Amazon right now, instead of its usual £429.99 MSRP. Over the past couple of weeks, the bundle has been sitting at £424, so you're saving £25 here - just gather £4 more, and you can pick up the Bubbly Basin expansion too.

This Nintendo Switch 2 bundle might have been sitting at £424 recently at Amazon, but if you factor in that it's typically found at its full £429.99 price at the official Nintendo store, then you're really saving £30.99 today. That more than covers the £29.99 (Nintendo) cost of the new Pokopia DLC. Which, by the way, provides you with access to not just Part 1 of the game's new content, but the next two waves of DLC too.

Part 2 of the Pokopia expansion is set to arrive in late 2026 and introduces the option to give your Poke pals a little makeover. Just when I thought Peakychu couldn't get even cuter, Nintendo chose to include them in a little maid hat and wings in the trailer, which was cuteness overload. While Nintendo states that there's no new town included with Part 2, you will get access to "add some new flair to your surroundings", alongside new furniture and new Pokemon. Fingers crossed that means we'll get some new wallpaper options, as I'm getting a bit sick and tired of seeing plain white walls when it comes to my Palette Town builds.

Part 3 doesn't launch until sometime in 2027, so you'll have to be a little patient. Of course, you don't have to bother with the DLC if you don't want to. If you don't grab it, I do recommend buying this cheap Nintendo Switch bundle as soon as possible, not only to ensure you save £25, but as the handheld is getting its first price increase this coming September. In a month's time, it's going to be at least £30 more expensive here in the UK, and that's without a download code for Pokemon Pokopia too.

• View all Nintendo Switch 2 gaming deals at Amazon

New to Switch 2? Our team has also rounded up the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards that can help transform your Pokemon Pokopia adventures.

Final Fantasy 14 is no horror game, standing as the MMORPG gem of Square Enix's beloved JRPG series – but it sure does have its spooky moments.

If you know the lore behind the Palace of the Dead, you're probably familiar with how creepy Final Fantasy 14 can get – but its environments and atmosphere are arguably not very eerie, even in Deep Dungeons with heart-wrenching backstories like PotD… most of them, anyway.

One Warrior of Light has discovered an area that almost feels like it should be out-of-bounds in the North Horn of the Occult Crescent, and it's spine-chilling.

"I think I found one of the creepiest places SE did in a while," they write, sharing screenshots of their discovery over on Reddit. The spot comes from the MMO's recent Patch 7.55, and appears after players go through a foggy Silent Hill-esque hole in the wall – yes, hole.

"Was wandering in Occult Crescent North Horn and found a hole in the wall and got a big chill in the spine seeing this," as the poster reports.

"Reminded me of some Creepypasta Backrooms shenanigans," they add – and, yeah, I can certainly see why.

Everything is paint-white, floating against a pitch-black background. There are crawling arms reaching for nothing, forming freaky arches. Enemies prowl the strange area in the Occult Crescent, too, which commenters note are formidable foes.

"I visited there today too, and let's just say it's really risky," as one reply reads. "All enemies are rank 40+," the person responding notes – but there are "four silver chests and a survey point inside" to make it worth it.

Amusingly, Square Enix has chimed in with its own amusing comment on the matter as well, writing in its own post, "If you're not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you'll end up in the…"

It's a silly little reference to the Backrooms, but I love it.

Will I explore the area for myself? Honestly, I'm not sure I can be bothered tackling the normal part of the Occult Crescent – but the new Phantom weapon does beckon…

Final Fantasy 14 is great and all, but Yoshi-P would "tackle completely new game designs and values" if he were to make another MMO.

The developers of Dragon's Dogma 2 have confirmed the game will be getting a hard mode focused on giving those who have hit the level cap a challenge.

In a Q&A posted on the Dragon's Dogma 2 Steam Page, producer Naoto Oyama and returning Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen director Kento Kinoshita speak about the upcoming major update and the Dark Arisen expansion set to release in the coming months. The original Dark Arisen could be a bit of a nightmare depending on what point of the game you arrived at its content, and from the sounds of things, difficulty is part of the plan this time.

"Both the Forsaken Dominion and Lost Rites are expansion contents," Kinoshita explains, "so we've designed them to offer battles with an even greater sense of tension and challenge than the main game."

Confusingly, Kinoshita makes it sound like there will be some level of level scaling involved in the expansion, saying, "we're adjusting the balance so that everyone can enjoy the experience – whether they're just starting their adventure, still progressing through the game, or have already completed multiple playthroughs."

However, Oyama also adds that "the recommended starting level for Forsaken Dominion is 40, while that of Lost Rites is 20," and that while you can start the DLC content whenever, "ultimately, we'd like players to use those recommendations as a reference and choose their own path based on how they want to experience the game." To me, that sounds like it won't be level scaling at all.

Oyama says those levels aren't full-caps, either, as "these recommendations apply only to the beginning of each content. As players progress, the challenge gradually ramps up, and both experiences become increasingly demanding."

Speaking of more demanding, Kinoshita also confirms that a long-awaited feature is finally being added to the game, which should ease fears that the expansion content will be too easy: "We're working on a Hard Mode that will provide a satisfying challenge for seasoned players whose stats have reached, or are approaching, the level cap."

Unfortunately, neither can say when this will be made available, with Oyama saying: "Please stay tuned for further updates regarding the details of Hard Mode and its release window."

Capcom returns to its divisive RPG with Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, and the dev leading the expansion says its friction will be preserved – "That is something that we offer so that players can make a decision on how to play."

Square Enix's Final Fantasy 14 is finally making its way onto the Nintendo Switch 2, but if you want to install the beloved MMO, you'll need to free up a massive 117GB worth of space. That's almost half of the console's 256GB onboard storage, but as has been the case since the handheld's inception, you can invest in a Switch 2 SD card to prepare for the RPG and other storage-demanding games like it.

The best microSD Express Cards are available in capacities from 128GB up to 1TB, and while more expensive than the previous generation's cards, they have remained free of the pricing woes plaguing SSDs, or so I thought. While doing my usual check of some Switch 2 cards for possible deal coverage, I noticed that the once $199.99 1TB PNY microSD Express card is now listed for as high as $371.99 at Amazon, and it's entirely sold out on the UK storefront.

That's a $172 increase since when I originally reviewed it in March earlier this year, and now I'm worried that SD cards are now going the way of the best SSDs for gaming and being affected by the RAMpocalypse. I had hoped they'd be spared from the current gaming storage pricing hellscape, but the evidence is pointing to the contrary.

There was a chance that this escalation was just an Amazon US anomaly. Yet a quick glance at the official US PNY online store reveals that not to be the case. That very card with the P-SDU1TBP31EXP-GE SKU is listed with the same $371.99 (PNY) price tag, a sum that's depressingly not that far behind the current $499 price of the Nintendo Switch 2 console. According to my CamelCamelCamel price checker, its 512GB card hasn't stuck at its $113.99 MSRP either. It shot up to $146.16 on February 6, earlier this year, so even the smaller capacity cards aren't safe from fluctuating pricing.

Of course, if it were only PNY cards being affected, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. Yet, a quick scan of the few storage brands with microSD Express Cards that provide as much as 1TB extra space reveals they too are being affected. The Lexar 1TB Play PRO Micro SD Express Card, the very first 1TB model to hit the market, launched for $199.99 / £199.99. As you've likely guessed, it's not sitting at Amazon US for $200, and instead is available for $349.99 (Amazon). That's a $150 price increase since it became available late last year, and another disheartening sign that the eye-watering SSD prices we've been witnessing over the past year have now got their claws into these Switch 2's already limited storage options.

I'm not the only one who has noticed these changes. 19 days ago, Reddit user dairy_free_bacon shared a screenshot from the GameStop storefront on r/Switch2 subreddit stating, "Anyone else notice that 1tb sd cards went up by $100??" They explained that they had previously bought the GameStop-branded 1TB microSD Express card for $199, and it's now listed for $299.99 instead, the price that it still sticks to today.

The comments of this post were ablaze with the reasoning behind this dramatic increase, and plenty of Switch 2 owners seem to have come to the same conclusion I have - that the RAMpocalypse has claimed another victim. User pikachuyann replied to the post stating, "The "RAM price crisis" doesn't affect only RAM, but all sorts of storage too," and I believe they're bang on the money, though I'm definitely not happy about it.

You see, microSD Express Cards don't function like older SD Cards. These newer, speedier Switch 2 accessories have hung up the standard UHS-I interface that powered your older Switch's storage and utilize a PCIe interface with an NVMe protocol instead, much like the solid-state drives you pop into your gaming PC. That's how they manage to provide lightning-fast speeds up to 890MB/s read & up to 810MB/s write like that of the 1TB PNY microSD Express Card I picked out earlier, compared to up to 100MB/s of alternatives like the $189.99 (Amazon) 1TB Amazon Basics microSDXC card.

If the storage crisis has already got M.2 SSDs in its midst, it makes entire sense why microSD Express Cards would also be affected. The correlation feels even more accurate when you remember that Sony announced during March of this year that it was suspending orders of its CFexpress memory cards and SD memory cards "due to the global shortage of semiconductors (memory) and other factors." When I originally covered that news, prices of Switch 2 SD cards were unaffected, but it seems the dwindling supply of DRAM and NAND storage may have finally taken its toll.

As of writing, you can still grab the officially licenced cards from Samsung and SanDisk that even feature some Super Mario art and provide an extra 256GB, which is plenty for Final Fantasy 14 when it launches on August 4, 2026. However, if you wanted to pick up 1TB just to be extra cautious for any patch updates and other Switch 2 releases, you're going to have to pay a pretty price, and I fully expect them to get even more expensive in the months to come.

As an alternative, I recommend sticking with a 256GB or 512GB model. Their prices have also been up and down, you can generally find brands sticking to their MSRP in most instances, especially if you grab options like the Samsung 256GB microSD Express card, which has even experienced discounts during sales events like Amazon's Prime Day. While you always receive a little less than stipulated, the combined 512GB is plenty for Final Fantasy 14, and further upcoming releases like Pokemon Pokopia's Bubbly Basin DLC and Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave.

I'd just grab any Switch 2 SD card sooner rather than later. As we've discovered, no storage is seemingly safe from the ongoing RAM Storage Crisis, even that of the lower-end capacity cards. Though I'll keep my fingers crossed that they won't go the way of the 1TB models and that of the Nintendo Switch 2, which is receiving a price increase of its own this coming September.

If you're settled for storage, check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, the best Nintendo Switch headsets, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 cases instead.