It's finally happening. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake series is coming to Final Fantasy 14.

Over the last decade, its addition felt like a question of when rather than if. Final Fantasy 14 is designed, in part, to be a theme park that pays tribute to the wider series, with references and nods aplenty. We've seen plenty of crossovers over the years – from Final Fantasy 16 and Nier to other franchises like Monster Hunter – and Final Fantasy 14's own producer and director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida has spoken about the possibility before, saying the timing needed to be right.

So how did it finally happen, and why now, exactly? Speaking to Final Fantasy 7 Revelation boss Naoki Hamaguchi at Final Fantasy 14's Berlin leg of Fan Fest, it's one of the first questions I ask.

Hamaguchi tells me that discussions kicked off about a year ago during a conversation with Yoshi-P about the release dates for Evercold and Revelation, and it all went from there.

"Is there something we can do to use the fact that they're close together to bring some energy to the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole?" Hamaguchi tells us of the question he and Yoshi-P pondered. "That's really how things started."

Have you heard of . . .

Fast forward to today, and we have a better idea of what that collaboration looks like. Final Fantasy 14 is getting a Final Fantasy 7-themed raid called Beyond the Lifestream that involves the supervision of veterans of the OG JRPG – that being, writer Kazushige Nojima and the man responsible for Cloud's look, Tetsuya Nomura. Amusingly, Final Fantasy 14's version of the Gold Saucer is getting a revamp to look more like it does in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, complete with a typing game that'll get an FF7 theme to start.

Speaking to his own role in the collaboration, Hamaguchi says that, similar to Yoshi-P, he's there to guide the team's excitement into something realistic and achievable. "We have to be really careful that it's not impacting the [Final Fantasy] 14 patch release schedule," he says, "because then we're putting the cart before the horse."

As for what a successful collaboration looks like, Hamaguchi says Final Fantasy 7 fans jumping into Final Fantasy 14 and becoming Warriors of Light would be great, especially if Evercold and the crossover brought some of that momentum to the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation itself. "I suppose the ultimate aim is to see that throughline of excitement and enjoyment," Hamaguchi adds.

There's certainly a solid sense of anticipation around both games already. Final Fantasy 14's Evercold reveal has certainly left some of the MMO heads on this very website feeling hopeful, and Hamaguchi tells me it's been "really wonderful" to see players pick up Final Fantasy Remake and Rebirth on PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch 2 following the reveal of Revelation.

Duty complete

Of course, excitement can lead to additional pressure. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is the final entry in a trilogy that essentially splits one game into three. While I enjoyed what Rebirth offers in terms of combat and the open world, I ask Hamaguchi how the team is freshening up the game, especially in light of his recent comments about open-world fatigue.

Hamaguchi tells me there are two ways in which they're doing that. The first is adding a greater sense of exploration to the world map. Pointing to the Grasslands in Final Fantasy Rebirth, Hamaguchi says it's very large and expansive, but also very "flat."

The remedy is more verticality. Hamaguchi can't reveal everything, though he does say you can dive into the map from the Highwind, and your chocobo will also be able to fly, which Hamaguchi hopes will make "certain parts less frustrating."

Another way the Final Fantasy 7 Revelation team is keeping things fresh is by making sure the "goal and reward" of side content is clearer, especially following feedback from Rebirth.

"One of the things I think people got a little bit tired of – or maybe that's when they stepped away from the game – was on the world map, there is a lot of content," Hamaguchi says. "And sometimes you'd get rewards like materia if you finish that content. But for those people who just wanted to get those materia or rewards, they might feel like they have to do certain mini-games, even if they don't really want to."

To remedy this, Hamaguchi says that content in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will match the reward to what you're doing – rewards that'll aid you in battle will be achieved through battle, a new Queen's Blood card will be earned through Queen's Blood, and so on. The hope is that the clarity will allow players to ignore the content they don't want to engage with.

Finding the right FITS

When it comes to combat, one of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's standout new features is the FITS system – that being, Function Integrated Tactical Suitwear. It essentially acts as a new job system that allows the likes of Cloud and Tifa to play as something like a Black Mage as opposed to the brawlers people might typically typecast them as.

Despite the visual flair of a new outfit, Hamaguchi says the biggest influence on the new feature was the job system as a Final Fantasy staple overall, though he can't say there was "zero influence" taken from the likes of Final Fantasy X-2 or Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13.

The new feature hasn't been without its troubles, though, as Hamaguchi jokes that adding the FITS system reminded him about "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 says. And while the developers behind ongoing games like Final Fantasy 14 have done "fantastic work" in adding a variety of classes over the years, bringing something like 20-30 classes to a standalone title at launch would be "insanely difficult."

Hamaguchi also jokes that, while there are many open-world games out there, few allow your party to follow you around. "Even though we only have four FITS, we have a lot of characters, so it was quite a lot of work."

Another thing that makes Final Fantasy 7 Revelation stand out from the other two installments is a proper endgame. While players seeking a challenge in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth are typically directed towards playing NewGame+, Revelation brings the challenge to your first playthrough, ready to tackle once you're powerful enough to do so.

Being the third entry in a trilogy, I ask Hamaguchi how the team is using that to shape how it's approaching the endgame and anticipated moments like fighting superbosses like Ruby and Emerald Weapon.

"Obviously, what we're making is an RPG," Hamaguchi answers. "And I think one of the things that's fun about RPGs is having the characters you've leveled, you've customized, and you've brought them up where they are, and using them to overcome difficult situations.

"So, say you had this fight against a Weapon, a giant enemy, or something that's really exciting or cool. And you go into it, and it's just a completely new mechanic or mini-game. I think there are quite a few players who would come away from that feeling quite disappointed that it wasn't a reflection of the effort that they put into building something up to that point.

"But the general goal for our team when we're thinking about making these Weapon fights is that we want to have the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series combat system at the base. What we've been building up over these three games. Perhaps there'll be some extra gadgets, some other things adding something new and unique to the Weapon battle, but we want to have that foundation there as well.

"So there may be some mini-games involved in parts of them, say at the beginning of one of the fights or something like that, to mix things up a little bit. But the core battle is really focused on the characters that you have come through the rest of the game with as an RPG."

On the case

While there are plenty of exciting developments within Final Fantasy 7 Revelation itself, those unfolding outside of the game and Square Enix are difficult to ignore. As Final Fantasy 7 Revelation nears completion, one of the more prominent conversations currently occurring across the industry is about physical media. Rockstar made headlines when it was revealed that GTA 6 would be a code-in-a-box at launch, though Sony's call to end PlayStation disc production in 2028 has swiftly dwarfed that in online chatter.

Given some of the conversations I've seen in Final Fantasy 7's fandom about whether Revelation will release on a physical disc, I ask Hamaguchi for his thoughts on the topic and whether there's any news he can share.

Hamaguchi starts by saying that some of his thoughts have been touched upon as part of Nintendo Switch 2's game-key cards – you can read about that here, as part of an interview we did with Hamaguchi last year. He then says that, as a developer and as a fan, it seems to be the trend that we're shifting away from physical to digital.

When it comes to his personal feelings, though, Hamaguchi says he's a fan of physical media, and events like Final Fantasy 14 Fen Fest are one of the many reasons why.

"I really think that people bringing up things, asking for autographs – I think that's lovely," he tells us. "I think it's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that. I want that to remain."

As for his personal prediction of where things go from here, Hamaguchi says he feels that "there will always be some kind of physical or packaged edition, even if download codes become the main way that games work."

"I feel like there will always be something," Hamaguchi says, "and I hope there will be."

Looking ahead to Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Hamaguchi says the team is "still having internal discussions on what the exact SKU product lineup is going to be," so he can't say anything "definitive" at the time of writing. That said, he is trying his best to "allow us to have some kind of physical edition."

"Obviously, say, if you're talking to Nintendo, there's considerations about the storage limits on key cards and things like that, and then other platforms about how much you can put onto a disc," Hamaguchi explains. "Each platform and first-party have their own specific rules and regulations that we need to take into account, and think about what format is actually going to be best for the game.

"These are the discussions that we're having at this point in time. I do hope that we'll be able to come up with something that is as close as possible as to what players and fans are going to want, but you'll have to look forward to future announcements for that."

Given that Final Fantasy 7 marked the series' debut on disc, it's certainly odd to think of a different FF7 game going without. That said, Final Fantasy 7 launched on disc because the cartridge was no longer the best format for the game, and these days, given Square Enix's own strategy pivot, that would mean making the game as accessible as possible across multiple platforms. As the industry settles into a way of working that's more about getting the most out of average hardware rather than pushing hardware's limits further, it'll be interesting to see what compromises Final Fantasy 7 Revelation can manage.

Still, I remain cautiously optimistic for what Final Fantasy 7 Revelation brings. Rebirth improved on Remake in a big way that has me curious to see what part three of the trilogy has in store, and everything we've seen and heard so far hits the right notes.

"I want this guy to make Final Fantasy 17": Yoshi-P embarrasses Final Fantasy 7 Remake lead with the "highest praise you can get" from players live on stage at FF14 Fan Fest.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation launches early in 2027, a year ahead of the planned end of physical PlayStation discs. But given the broader shift the industry is making toward digital games – GTA 6 is certainly the most prominent example – you'd be forgiven for wondering if the final part of the remake trilogy is going to be part of that all-digital future that so many of us are dreading.

While Square Enix has not yet made the final decision on whether Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will launch on a disc, director Naoki Hamaguchi tells GamesRadar+ that he's actively pushing for it. In an interview at the recent Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival in Berlin, he explains the challenges facing physical media these days.

"We're still having internal discussions on what the exact SKU product lineup is going to be for Revelation," Hamaguchi explains, "so I can't say anything particularly definitive at this point in time. But I am working to make the arrangements to allow us to have some kind of physical edition."

That's the most concrete bit of the answer, but Hamaguchi also offered some of his philosophy on physical media during our interview. "I do feel, as a developer and as a fan, that the general trend is for things to shift away from physical towards downloadable games," he says.

"But that's obviously talking about the trend. Personally, here at something like Fan Fest or at community events for games that I've worked on, I really think that people bringing up things, asking for autographs – I think that's lovely. I think it's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that. I want that to remain."

For his part, Hamaguchi believes that even if we lose proper game discs, he feels like "like there will always be some kind of physical or packaged edition." Hamaguchi suggests, "Maybe you'll have a box with the code inside it, or maybe key cards like Nintendo's doing, or a boot disc or something. I feel like there'll always be something, and I hope there will be."

The Final Fantasy 7 remake series, of course, hearkens back to the PS1 era, where the idea of a game coming on not just one disc but several felt like an indicator of an epic adventure. Final Fantasy 7 Remake itself came on multiple discs when it launched on PS4, just as Rebirth did on its PS5 launch. While many publishers are content to offer discs with basic installers for meaty games, forcing you to download the rest online, the FF7 remake trilogy has, so far, gone above and beyond to give disc fans a premium experience.

"Obviously, say, if you're talking to Nintendo, there's considerations about the storage limits on key cards and things like that, and then other platforms about how much you can put onto a disc," Hamaguchi explains. "Each platform and first-party have their own specific rules and regulations that we need to take into account, and think about what format is actually going to be best for the game. These are the discussions that we're having at this point in time. I do hope that we'll be able to come up with something that is as close as possible as to what players and fans are going to want, but you'll have to look forward to future announcements for that."

But Hamaguchi knows how fans are going to react if he tells a media outlet like us that he wants to release Revelation in a physical format. "If you publish this, and then we announce all the products later and there is no physical edition, then they're going to rip me to pieces," he says with a laugh.

Naoki Hamaguchi talks Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Final Fantasy 14, and physical media plans: "It's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that."

The Corsair HS35 V3 Wireless gaming headset is currently on my testing bench, and its 250g weight is the saving grace of my summer. For whatever reason, the hot weather likes to be a major migraine trigger, and I've been struggling the last couple of months as here in Scotland we've already seen temperatures up to 29 degrees (that's 84.2 Fahrenheit for those of you outside the UK).

That might not seem that hot to some, but here, where we're used to gray skies, rain, and have buildings designed to store heat, it's not a pleasant experience, and it can be made all the worse when one of the best gaming headsets is putting extra pressure on your head. Yet, testing the HS35 V3 right now seems like fate as it doesn't just sound great, but it's so lightweight that my head has never felt better.

The HS35 V3 feels so light; had it not been for the fact that there's no ANC on board, I'd easily forget it was on my head altogether. It helps too that the suspended headband doesn't dig into my skull, which is unfortunately a pretty common experience with plenty of other pairs.

Nothing is worse then experience the sweltering heat of a hot day while testing a new headset (like that of the recent Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II) only to have it putting needless pressure on the top of my skull. Hot weather likes to plague me with migraines regardless, making my head extremely sensitive to any changes in the temperature, so adding an uncomfortable bit of tech into the mix is a good recipe to truly ruin my day. Fortunately, the HS35 V3 has done quite the opposite, and I feel far more chipper that I don't have to deal with any comfort issues.

The suspended headband, which is made up of a stretchy piece of fabric that's pulled tight to sit on top of my head, is also aided by the ultra-plush ear cushions. With these two features working in tandem, I've had an extremely pleasant week testing the headset so far that I'm considering taking it in place of my everyday headphones - something I don't typically do. Gaming headsets have a specific 'gamer' look to them that I don't like sporting in public, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice of looking a bit silly if it means I get to be comfortable.

This isn't technically the lightest headset I've ever tested. That award would go to the Logitech G325 Lightspeed, which was only 212g compared to the Corsair HS35 V3's 250g. However, I not only prefer how the HS35 V3 feels on the head, but how it looks in comparison to Logitech's lightweight pair.

Logitech chose not to include a physical microphone with its G325 Lightspeed headset, which I get, as that choice likely contributed to its light form factor. However, beamforming microphones personally give me a bit of an ick, as I prefer a physical boom arm that I can adjust as needs be. If I'm getting comments from my friends that I'm too loud while playing Marvel Rivals, it's far easier to just move the mic away from my mouth than it is to pull up any mic settings on my PS5, so a physical mic is always the better choice in my eyes.

I'm still in the early stages of testing for now, and I still have plenty of time to see how the HS35 V3 Wireless truly compares to the rest of the headsets I've looked at in 2026. Yet judging from its comfortable fit, physical microphone, and the fact that it has 50mm neodymium audio drivers and Dolby Atmos in its corner, it's looking pretty promising.

• View all Corsair gaming headsets at Amazon

If you can handle a little extra weight, I've also rounded up the best PC headsets for gaming, the best PS5 headsets, and the best Xbox Series X headsets for your setup.

In what's becoming another strong year for Capcom, Pragmata stands out as a notable success. So much so, the third-person shooter is likely set for another installment, according to a higher-up at the long-running developer and publisher.

The company's first-quarter profits actually came in above estimates, according to a report from Bloomberg, and Pragmata was a strong contributor in that regard. The sci-fi adventure has sold over two-and-a-half million copies so far, an impressive turnaround for a game that only came out in April and isn't based on any existing properties.

Capcom corporate office Yoshikazu Shimauchi – the company's head of finance, accounting, IT, and the PR and IR division – mentions that Pragmata actually exceeded expectations, which isn't something you hear very often in this industry. As such, Bloomberg reports that Shimauchi stated that the possibility of a sequel is high, lining up with Capcom's previous comments about turning the game into a series.

Shimauchi puts Pragmata's sales reception down to a strong marketing campaign and having a distinctive protagonist in Diana, the female android you have to protect as part of the main narrative. It always helps to have a good face for your release, especially if it's slightly odd or creepy.

As a horror fan, it doesn't hurt that Diana immediately made me think of M3GAN, the killer android who became a slasher icon in 2013. I actually thought screenshots of Pragmata were a M3GAN-themed mod for something at first glance, before learning it was its own game. Such curiosity was enough to push me to add the project to my wishlist.

The ending leaves room for another installment, and the baseline concept – futuristic super-soldier protecting a small robot – is something that could be replicated in various scenarios ad infinitum. Wherever Pragmata 2 goes, there's clearly an audience ready to play it.

Bayonetta creator says Capcom might be thriving thanks to a constant push to create new IP like Pragmata.

MajinPhil jokingly describes himself as your "friendly neighbourhood masochist" on his YouTube page, and looking at his history of challenge runs, it's easy to see why. He 100%ed The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask without taking a single hit in 2024, and then beat a completely randomized version of the game hitless in 2025. The next logical step, it seems, was doing the same with an Ocarina of Time randomizer.

Randomizers are mods that shuffle the locations of enemies and items within a game. They offer a challenge similar to speedrunning, where a player's knowledge and mastery of a classic game is put to the test – in this case, it's just tested in a completely different way with every run. Typically, a randomizer has some built-in safeguards to keep the game from being completely unwinnable, but beyond that, it's all fair game.

MajinPhil's Ocarina of Time randomizer challenge, which he'd been streaming on Twitch for 16 months, had some additional parameters, too. Most notable is the fact that he could only take a single hit before dying – and he's not allowed to block. Taking a single hit from any enemy, even when MajinPhil is behind a shield, is an instant death that also deletes the save file.

So you might start to see why this challenge ended up taking 135 attempts across 16 months. But hey, the winning run, which kicked off last week, had an auspicious start. "I'm calling it now: this is going to be a banger," MajinPhil said near the start of run 135. "I'm manifesting a banger here. Manifesting a banger. 135? That's some good shit."

There are some tricks in MajinPhil's favor here, like the fact that he can save and quit at any time to get out of a bad situation – the caveat being, of course, that he has to run all the way back to wherever he saved, past loads of respawned enemies, every time the game restarts.

If you want some examples of just how devious this can be, MajinPhil's previous run ended when an invisible enemy appeared with a rare glitch, present even in the original game, that rendered it briefly invulnerable. You'd think that the multiple Iron Knuckles that appeared in the very first dungeon of run 135 might've been similarly dangerous, but MajinPhil bypassed them without much trouble.

Once he finally reached the threshold of the final boss fight, MajinPhil took a moment on stream to get up, pace around the room, and collect himself. "For anyone saying I'm being dramatic, I promise you I'm not," he explains. "I've been doing this challenge since March of 2025. This is the first time I've ever gotten this far."

Experienced Ocarina of Time players will know that the scariest part of the final few fights is the back-and-forth with Ganondorf, where you bounce a ball of magic back at the boss like it's a tennis match. At one point, there's a rally that stretches on for an absolutely absurd 18 swings. MajinPhil laments that as "bullshit" – but a type of bullshit he manages to clear, just before clearing the castle escape and dealing the final blow to Ganon.

By the time the ending starts to play, MajinPhil sounds like he's on the verge of hyperventilating. "My head's freaking out," he tells his viewers. "I'm freaking out, man. I can't believe I beat it. It's actually so much more intense than Majora's Mask. This feels so much more intense. The wind-down is like… I can't explain how I feel. The feeling of all that anxiety from the beginning of the stream, like it was two hours of anxiety – two and a half hours of anxiety – all released when that final Ganon hit [was] hit."

After 16 months of trying, "I genuinely didn't think it was gonna happen," MajinPhil admits, and says "that was the hardest thing I've ever done, gaming-wise." The scariest part? Now, I reckon, he's gonna have to try and figure out an even harder challenge.

Shigeru Miyamoto admits Nintendo's been pumping out "a lot of remakes" as Ocarina of Time approaches, but says most people stopped playing the original games within 5 years anyway.

Danganronpa's creator Kazutaka Kodaka has said that a sequel to the high school killing game was initially turned down following the original game's poor release sales. The writer even considered quitting his job, until the opportunity arose to keep working on the series.

Posting on Twitter, and as translated by GamesRadar+, Kodaka recalls how studio Spike Chunsoft – then known as Spike – turned down a Danganronpa sequel when the first game didn't make much money. The visual novel was originally a PlayStation Portable exclusive and so it was reportedly difficult for it to make its development budget back.

"After Danganronpa launched it didn't generate much revenue, so at that time we were told something like, 'we're not making 2,'" Kodaka says. "The team was assigned to different projects and they were spread out across the company."

Kodaka had previously worked on existing series like Clock Tower, Dragon Ball, and Detective Conan, and was eager to continue working on his own games. "My eyes were opened to the joy of working on something original and I didn't want to work on another project," he says. "I couldn't decide what to do and even considered quitting, but then I heard talk of a Danganronpa Zero light novel, so I went straight to my boss. That's how I continued working on the series."

Working on Danganronpa's prequel novel gave the series' first game time to generate more sales, and the beloved sequel was finally greenlit. "Danganronpa was selling steadily and at some point there was talk of making a second game," Kodaka says. "As I was writing Danganronpa Zero, I revisited [the series'] vague setting, so the foundation of the second game's story was easy to craft."

Kodaka continues to say he went from the "gloomy, claustrophobic" atmosphere of the first game to "shonen manga-esque steamy plotlines" for the second, before going into the weeds about how each murder mystery was crafted. Despite the fact that Danganronpa 2 almost never existed, it's many fans' favorite entry in the series, and will receive its own alternative timeline in Danganronpa 2x2 in 2027.

Danganronpa creator's massive tactical RPG has secretly been two games all along, which, y'know, makes sense considering the enormity of 100 routes.

Last Friday, X (Twitter) user MikeOdysseyYT posted that an "Ocarina of Time Pro Controller may be coming" to the Nintendo Switch 2. This rumour was then doubled down on by known insider and Editor-in-Chief of Universo Nintendo Necrolipe, who shared on X (Twitter) that MikeOdyssey was not only right, but that he's "seen the design" of this elusive gamepad, which is described as green and gold, with a Triforce crest in the center of the faceplate - perfectly fitting for what I'd imagine when conjuring up a new Switch 2 Zelda controller in my head.

I've avoided picking up the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro controller since the handheld arrived on the scene. I already have a premium pad that works just fine, but my decision against picking up the official pad is primarily because I've been patiently hoping that we'd one day see a Legend of Zelda version hit the shelves. Looks like my patience may finally be rewarded.

Nintendo has not announced that a new Switch 2 Pro controller is incoming, including one that sports a Legend of Zelda design. So as always, do take these statements with a Goron-sized grain of salt, but I really hope this rumored controller turns out to be a reality. Despite the gaming handheld being over a year old, we've only had one new version of the premium pad in the form of the Resident Evil Requiem Edition Pro Controller.

It's not a bad-looking Nintendo Switch 2 controller by any means, but it's disappointing that no Nintendo franchises have had a model of their own this generation. The original Nintendo Switch had a flurry of Pro Controller designs, including a Splatoon 3 version that featured blue and orange handles and subtle ink splotch imagery across the faceplate. I was expecting a similar release for the brand new Splatoon Raiders in the game's orange and green color palette, but alas, we saw nothing of the sort.

There was also an official Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Pro Controller, which utilized black and white handles and gold embellishments across the front of the pad, which mimicked the look of the Zonai's tech found within the game. Both of these pads are compatible with the Switch 2, though, so nothing is stopping me from adding them to my setup. However, I'd be more inclined to grab a newer Zelda Switch 2 pad for the back buttons, fast charging, and the ability to wake the handheld up from sleep mode.

It's worth mentioning that while we're all well aware that a Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Remake is on its way for the Nintendo Switch 2, this new controller is allegedly not based on the new game. Necrolipe clarifies on X (Twitter) that the proposed gamepad "is not tied to Ocarina of Time" and corrected himself by dubbing it the "The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition" controller.

Honestly, that has me far more excited than anything else. The Legend of Zelda anniversary came and went on February 21, 2026, earlier this year, without so much of a peep from Nintendo. It'd be nice to not only see some sort of celebration on Ninty's part for the four-decade-long series and one I hold near and dear to my heart, but also see a shiny new Zelda Switch 2 Pro controller in the works. Picking up new official Zelda gadgets is my favorite way to celebrate.

• View all Nintendo Switch 2 controllers at Amazon

Check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch headsets, the best Nintendo Switch 2 cameras and the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards if you already have plenty of Ninty controllers at hand.

Capcom is shouting out Pragmata's sales success as a big reason why the company's year-on-year profits have increased.

In the company's latest earnings report, Capcom notes an 83% increase in net sales year-on-year, and noting: "Unit sales of all-new IP Pragmata and catalog titles performed well, driving revenue and profit up."

Capcom confirms that – as of June 30, 2026 – Pragmata has sold over 2.5 million copies since it was released back in April 2026, while Resident Evil Requiem sold a further 1.14 million since sales were last reported, bringing the latest game in the series up to eight million copies sold. This mixed with strong sales for older Resident Evil titles, bringing the series to 213 million copies sold, and making it the best-selling Japanese game series not published by Nintendo or Sony.

In a press release, Capcom once again singles out Pragmata as a key factor in this increase in sales, saying: "Digital Contents business drove earnings with 23.81 million units in total sales volume, which exceeded sales of 14.16 million units for the same period of the previous fiscal year. This included sales of all-new IP PRAGMATA, which surpassed 2.5 million units worldwide following a positive launch reception due to increased brand awareness achieved through robust promotional activities."

Since launch, Capcom hasn't exactly kept its cards close to its chest regarding how it feels about Pragmata. It confirmed that it will consider "developing it into a series," after Pragmata hit two million copies within its first month and says it will continue making new IP. The push for new IP is something Devil May Cry and Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya credits Capcom's success with, while Pragmata director Yonghee Cho told us in May that he would "of course" love to make a sequel to the game.

In a games industry dominated by safe bets, Capcom keeps getting weird with it.

The Splatoon Raiders amiibo are out of stock across a sea of US retailers. Everyone from GameStop, Amazon, Walmart, and the official Nintendo online store has sold out of the new NFC figures mere days after they landed, which is a huge bummer for US Splatoon fans.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that more stock is on the way for anyone who missed out. However, if you're based in the UK and were worried, as you're waiting until payday to add these to your collection, don't be. As of writing, you can grab the triple-pack for £49.99 at Nintendo, where you can also get access to free shipping if you're a Nintendo Switch Online member. There's also plenty of stock available at Amazon, though you will have to pay a small markup of a little over £5 to reel them in.

How to use amiibo in Splatoon Raiders

• Load up Splatoon Raiders on your Switch 2
• Press the '+' button on the right Joy-Con to bring up the Gear menu
• Navigate to the 'Style' option
• Scroll across to the 'amiibo' menu option and select 'Scan'
• Tap amiibo over the right Joy-Con controller stick

Tapping Shiver, Big Man, and Frye over your right Switch 2 Joy-Con controller will unlock a series of three outfits that your mechanic can wear in-game. For Shiver, you've got the Hohojiro Fighting Gear, a jumpsuit that's fittingly covered in shark motifs and is draped in a deep blue that matches Shiver's Octoling hairdo.

After tapping Big Man, you'll be granted the Manta Fighting Gear instead. This is a grey-green jumpsuit that more closely resembles Big Man's earth-toned color palette. Lastly, Frye's amiibo unlocks a bright yellow Onago Fighting Gear suit, which is as shockingly vivid as her eel friends. This is my favorite of the three as it stands out the most when you're playing Raids online with strangers. I can't lie that I get a small kick from showing off that I own the amiibo in online raids.

If you can't budget for these new toys any time soon, don't fret. Tapping one of any existing Splatoon series amiibo unlocks an outfit too. You can earn the 'Bite Waders' game cosmetic, which replicates the orange overalls look from the Salmon Run mode in Splatoon 2 and 3. While it's not the most stylish-looking outfit to don in-game, but it does feel fitting given Raiders is all about taking out hoards of Salmonids.

• View all amiibo at Nintendo UK

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 to aid you on your Splatoon Raiders adventures.

Legendary Nintendo fellow Shigeru Miyamoto has said that the major gaming hardware and software company is planning for a future where people purchase and keep multiple generations of the company's consoles. He hopes that this will make game development easier as studios won't have to worry about the new console generation cannibalizing the older platform's sales.

In an interview with Famitsu, that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Miyamoto speaks about how he wants Nintendo's hardware to make game development easier for creators. "We all want to put minimal effort into making a living; live the easy life… I'm half joking," he says with a chuckle. "I think it's really important to reduce workload and streamline development, and in this regard, I think we created the perfect environment."

The "perfect environment" he's referring to is one where developers can reach a wider base of players by making games for both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 simultaneously. "There are people who have multiple Nintendo consoles at home," Miyamoto explains. "Those who want to play on high performance hardware use the Switch 2, and games can be developed specifically for that console."

Nintendo wants to offer hardware capable of running high-performance games, but for those who don't need the extra power, they can target both generations at once thanks to the shared hardware architecture. "In a few years, there will come a time when this is the norm," Miyamoto says. "Nintendo is planning for a situation where a new market emerges. We can create different games without asking if [game] sales for the new console will compete with the old. I think that would be the best scenario."

Nintendo hopes to offer developers two options; reach a wider playerbase by releasing on both platforms, or take the greater power of the Switch 2. This is contrary to Xbox's plans with the Xbox Series X|S, where developers are forced to create games with the exact same features that work on both the high performance and lower performance consoles simultaneously.

While Miyamoto's talking points focus on making development easier for creators, the company obviously benefits financially from having multiple Nintendo consoles in each home. As the Switch and Switch 2 are also handheld consoles, many families, particularly those with children, have more than one Switch lingering in their abode.

Nintendo also supports homes with multiple consoles by releasing titles that can use features like Game Share and foster co-operative play. There is also the Nintendo Online Family Plan, which offers online benefits for multiple consoles at a discount. Shrewd move, Nintendo.

Shigeru Miyamoto was "pleased" to sell the original Nintendo Switch for 8 years as "customers aren't always looking for the best specs."

The Nintendo Switch 2's first-ever price increase is rolling out this September, making now the best chance you've got to try and grab the console for as cheap as you possibly can.

Once September 1 rolls around, you'll be looking at spending $500 on the Ninty machine alone, but today you can pick up the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle for $419 at Woot instead. This bundle includes the console and a download code for Mario Kart World, which typically costs you $499.99, but thanks to Woot, you're saving a massive $80.99, which is more than enough to pick up an extra game, or a shiny new Switch 2 Pro controller if that's what you fancy.

As a pre-loved console, you should expect some minor cosmetic damage for sure, but Woot insists that the handheld has "successfully passed a full diagnostic test" that ensures "like-new functionality" and the removal of any of the previous owner's information and logins. Even though it has been owned by someone previously, the download code for the game has not been used either, so you can feel at ease knowing you'll be able to redeem your Mario Kart World download and start drifting through the new free-roam mode in no time.

If it weren't for pre-owned Nintendo consoles, I wouldn't be here writing these very words, so I appreciate that they can still be a more affordable option to get newer tech in many people's handhelds. However, if for whatever reason you aren't comfortable with a second-hand machine, you could alternatively grab the Nintendo Switch 2 Choose Your Game bundle.

You'll be looking at spending $499 at Amazon for it, so you won't get that lovely $80 discount like at Woot today. However, it's still a cheaper option than Nintendo Switch bundle deals you can expect when September rears its ugly head in a little over a months time. Better yet, you can actually pick the game you want too. Not a Mario Kart fan? That's fine, as you can grab a download code for Donkey Kong Bananza or Pokemon Pokopia instead, the choice is yours.

• View all gaming deals at Woot

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 cameras so you can complete your Ninty gaming setup.

Nintendo fans have created a mod for a GameCube classic, with Better Super Mario Sunshine Online introducing 10-player multiplayer to Mario's most divisive 3D platformer.

There's two camps when it comes to Nintendo's 2002 platformer Super Mario Sunshine. There are those who really like it, and then there are cowards. Yes, it's a weird, somewhat flawed game sandwiched between two genre-defining masterpieces in the 3D Mario chronology, and yes it was rushed and a little glitchy, but beneath that paint covered exterior is a platformer with near-unmatched vibes, music, and – crucially for a platformer – movement.

Thankfully, there are others who are equally passionate about Mario's worst-selling 3D platformer (well, if you don't count the Super Mario 3D All Stars sales), as the modding community for the game is fairly active. The latest gargantuan mod however, brings the game one of the most popular mods from Super Mario 64's massive repertoire, as Better Super Mario Sunshine Online implements online play into the GameCube title.

The mod introduces 10-player co-op to the game, allowing you to collect each of the game's 120 Shine Sprites together. The mod syncs progress across all players modes too, to make the hunt for blue coins a team effort instead of the worst part of the game. On top of that, there's also a 10-player hide and seek mode for those who want something to compete in while taking advantage of the incredible movement tech in Super Mario Sunshine.

This isn't even just a simple mod that has multiple Marios on one screen, as the mod features "15 fully custom characters" with classic Mario legends like Wario, Luigi, Waluigi, and Shadow the Hedgehog, with unique custom animations for some of them. Obviously, you'll need to find at least one fellow Mario Sunshine apologist to play with, but let's be real, if none of your friends are willing to indulge your platforming fantasy, were they ever really your friends to begin with?

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is hiding an unused "joyful zone" area where Mario can't stop somersaulting, and he's absolutely thrilled about it

A solo modder has taken matters into their own hands and put out a new Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth mod aiming to tackle the game's long-standing lighting issues – and the results are incredible, judging by side-by-side comparisons.

Modder David 'dddd5' Matos put out the Shader Injector mod for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth late last month (and recently updated it with a couple fixes). Since then, it's only gained more and more traction with fans.

"Framework allowing injection of modified shaders into the rendering API," the modder explains on NexusMods. "Comes with modified game shaders that improve lighting/shadow quality of the game significantly."

The tech experts at Digital Foundry also gave the mod a look and concluded the game's wonky lighting is much better across the board. Some areas, such as the glowing Gold Saucer, are "totally transformed with much better correspondence between the scene and its reflection," according to the outlet. Several comparison shots show dramatic differences between the modded and unmodded versions of the game, too.

For context, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a mostly handsome game that's still plagued with a few odd lighting issues. Many light sources don't cast shadows at all, in-game foliage often lacks shadows, some shadows are really low quality, and lighting on character faces generally looks pretty weird in outside environments.

Default Shader and Shader Injector 2.1.0 Comparison from r/FFVIIRemake

"The overexposure in this game was f****** unbearable," one player writes over on Reddit.

"It's so impressive how much better the lighting looks with this mod in most cases," another says. "Even the performance version which only costs a few frames."

The next instalment in the series, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, comes out sometime next year. Here's hoping it launches in tip top shape.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director says "open-world fatigue" is real, and since "the world is even bigger than it was in Rebirth," Square Enix specially focused on guiding players.

Final Fantasy 14 is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 next month, and now that its file size has been confirmed… I hope you didn't want to have a bunch of games installed on your console.

Thanks to a listing on the US version of the Nintendo eShop, we've learned that the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 will come in a hefty 117.2GB file size on Nintendo Switch 2. For those keeping score, that comes at just under half of the Switch 2's entire 256GB storage. That's half of your Switch 2 space for Final Fantasy 14.

So not only is Final Fantasy 14 the biggest single game file available on Nintendo Switch 2 so far, it also beats out the previous record holder for the franchise – 91.8GB Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – by over 25GB. Square Enix has been desperate to hold the title it seems, since, on top of that, the single biggest eShop game listing to date is Kingdom Hearts Collection, which clocks in at an estimated 131GB… but that includes three games.

Of course, Final Fantasy 14 being so big makes total sense. Aside from it having one of the biggest MMO base games, Final Fantasy 14 is currently five major expansions deep with Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, Endwalker, and Dawntrail, and it's only going to get bigger once Evercold releases in January 2027. So even if you're only picking up the base game and not the complete edition of Final Fantasy 14, you will have to install all of that data, too.

Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P doesn't quite get the community hype around Chort, the chunky boss who quickly became an online icon: "Just why?"

Square Enix plans to reveal the next Final Fantasy 14 DPS job in a few months from now, and some fresh clues already have fans fawning over the possibility of playing as a bird-loving Falconer-type when the game's Evercold expansion drops.

This past weekend, Final Fantasy 14 composer and sound designer Masayoshi Soken took to the Fan Fest stage in Berlin to tease fans with two audio snippets related to the unannounced second job coming in next year's Evercold expansion, alongside the Bastion.

The first snippet blasted clinging and clanging noises at the audience, while the second sounded like a bird screeching and clawing at something. You can try to decipher the clues for yourself in the clip below.

New ranged dps teased by Soken at Berlin fanfest from r/ffxiv

"These are sound effects from the new DPS job we're going to announce at the JP Fan Fest," it's revealed via a translator. The Japanese leg of Fan Fest is set to begin on October 31, 2026, so we won't need to wait too much longer to find out what the team's been cooking.

Over on Reddit, theorists are overwhelmingly in agreement that all clues are pointing to a Falconer job or something adjacent to that, at least (Hunter, Ranger, Beastmaster, etc.) "Falconer is the ranged DPS we saw in the trailer. Bet," one fan writes.

Evercold's extended teaser trailer threw fuel over the fire, too, with a brief glimpse of a large, armored, winged creature taking flight and annoying a spellcaster.

"Willing to bet that the bird in the trailer is related to the job, but the girl is unrelated," another theorycrafter says. "The last trailer will likely extend that shot to show the bird flying to whoever is our job representative! The baton she has is more likely a plot device, rather than the weapon of the job."

A Falconer job would be entirely new for the Final Fantasy series, though past games have dabbled with similar concepts. Final Fantasy 10-2's Trainer job gives one of the characters a big bird to command, for example. And Final Fantasy 5's Hunter can also occasionally call in help from woodland critters, flying types included.

"I want this guy to make Final Fantasy 17": Yoshi-P embarrasses Final Fantasy 7 Remake lead with the "highest praise you can get" from players live on stage at FF14 Fan Fest.

It's December 2006, and after months of eagerly scrubbing through trailers and poring over Official Nintendo Magazine, a brand new Zelda game is on the way. Not just that, it feels like the Zelda game, a gritty successor to Ocarina of Time's throne, bolstered with the incredible motion controls of the Wii. As December 8 rolled around, I queued up at midnight with my best pal, giddy with excitement, and sped home quickly as if the wind of Tulin was behind me.

We stayed up until five in the morning playing Twilight Princess, briefly slept, then went straight back to it. My poor younger brother didn't touch Wii Sports for at least a week. But, it wasn't the much-touted waggle controls that offered the biggest thrills, or the (at the time) incredible graphics. Instead it was Twilight Princess's commitment to tone, to crafting a lived-in world, and the tangible feeling that this space was really right in front of us – if we could just reach in and touch it.

Now 20 years later, it's that attention to detail, along with a mixture of reality and fantasy, that still makes Twilight Princess's dungeons the best the series has ever produced.

Got that dog

Twilight Princess feels quaint in hindsight when compared to BotW, but when it comes to solving puzzles this works in its favour. Each dungeon feels like a distinct part of this world, but it also feels absorbing. Scale works both ways, and spending more time in a small but richly detailed world gives you a real sense of your place in 3D space, especially with the immersive motion controls helping to bridge your suspension of disbelief.

For instance, the Goron Mines in Twilight Princess feel like a functioning part of that world. Heavy doors groan when they're heaved open, and bridges thud with a distinct weight when you fire your arrow to lower them. Breath of the Wild offers so much to do, but occasionally the sheer scope of that world makes smaller moments feel weightless. Twilight Princess makes each room feel consequential, and every solution to a puzzle feels like you've shifted something monumental in the world. You can imagine the Gorons down here smelting all day, which makes it more fun when you interact with elements that feel tangibly useful.

One standout example is Snowpeak Ruins, a dungeon that sneaks up on the player as you slowly realize this frosty new area you have discovered is your latest mystery to solve. Here, you also consistently interact with the Yeti couple Yeto and Yeta as you explore the grounds, further strengthening the belief this is a space that characters actually inhabit. So, when you unlock the fantastic Ball and Chain and start swinging wildly, the sense of power and relief is thoroughly earned. Not to mention, the Snowpeak boss uses both those interactions and your understanding of the space perfectly, turning your time bonding with the Yetis into an emotionally resonant fight instead of just another piece of Ganon fodder.

Speaking of the Ball and Chain, Twilight Princess has one of the best selections of items in any game, let alone a Zelda game. Unlocking the Spinner, and not only discovering a Beyblade-esque method of transport, but the function of those conspicuous jagged teeth in the wall of the Arbiter's Grounds, is immensely satisfying. It is phenomenal dungeon design to add a weapon that feels like a genuine part of this world, then offer both functional ways to use it in this established environment but also ways to attack enemies like the awesome fight against Stallord.

Perhaps it was the overcorrection after Wind Waker's reception, but Twilight Princess works so hard to establish a feeling of unease, of an oppressive and omnipresent sense of dread in the world. Link feels truly up against the world, and you want to help every character you meet in this slim cast. Nintendo consistently makes great dungeons for Zelda games (except for you Breath of the Wild), but in Twilight Princess the mixture of tone, a push for realism, and the immersive motion controls really help to elevate already stunning work.

Even on GameCube, stripped of those motion controls, Twilight Princess works on many levels to make every action feel important. Link's quest here feels uniquely intimate; the standout cast of characters offers support and genuine peril, and the unique selection of weapons works overtime to make you feel like you're interacting with a living and breathing world. As we look to the future, I hope even as Zelda continues to grow, we can reclaim the sense of consequence and importance that occur when we interact with a smaller, functional, and uniquely living world.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was so secret within Nintendo, most employees found out about it for the first time at its E3 reveal: "We popped off"

Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto thinks people don't really care about console specs all that much anymore.

Since the GameCube era, Nintendo seemingly hasn't prioritized having the most "powerful" console. Perhaps this approach is a lesson from the PS2 handily beating it despite being the weakest console between it, GameCube, and Xbox, and the massive sales success of the DS, which dwarfed the still-very-much-successful PSP. The Wii and the Switch proved that innovation works even in the face of being weaker consoles (and I'm sure the Wii U could've done well with a better name, but at the very least, it paved the way for Switch).

So, speaking to Famitsu, and translated by GamesRadar+, Miyamoto explains, "We were really pleased to see that the Switch was around for 8 or 9 years," guessing that, "I think it's because, nowadays, customers aren't always looking for the best specs."

"At Nintendo we always offer 'styles of play that only we can create,' and this includes the [hardware] interface," Miyamoto says. He suggests Nintendo competes with the "play anywhere" nature of mobile games, saying, "Our console has the benefit of being faster and more flexible [to develop for] compared to smartphones. When creating for general-use platforms, the workload is higher as you have to ensure it is compatible with all versions [of smart device]."

While the discussion online about console specs and game performance is certainly very loud, I do think Miyamoto is ultimately right.

There's a reason the original Nintendo Switch is close to becoming the best-selling console of all time, because most people probably just don't care. Sure, it won't be playing Crimson Desert at 4K/60fps, but when you have Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8, Breath of the Wild, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, that probably doesn't really matter.

"It's a massive failure": Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto slams short-term profit gains that have "burned through the talents of so many people."

Speaking on stage at Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest, the MMORPG's lead Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida lays the praise on Naoki Hamaguchi, saying that fans are desperate for the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director to work on the next mainline entry in the long-running JRPG series.

The pair were standing on stage together at MMO's annual fan convention for a panel called Naoki's Room. The two series leads, who coincidentally share the same first name, answered a number of prepared questions during the talk. Towards the end of the discussion, Yoshi-P revealed that he's received many comments from fans asking for Hamaguchi to work on FF17.

"But there were comments along the lines of 'I want this guy [Hamaguchi] to make Final Fantasy 17,'" he says.

Yoshi-P continues by explaining how highly he regards the compliment. "So I think that's probably the highest praise you can get," he continues, before adding "you don't have to respond."

The FF7R lead is clearly embarrassed by the comment when he says, "my response?" Yoshi-P then makes a gesture that he doesn't need to answer before quickly wrapping up the discussion.

Some have speculated that this is a hint that Hamaguchi is indeed working on FF17, but it's vague at best. While Hamaguchi is visibly embarrassed, it could be from the compliment, from being caught off guard, or because he's unsure if he can talk about the projects he's working on. Equally, Yoshi-P may have cut Hamaguchi off to save him from his embarrassment.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was a huge success and we're sure Hamaguchi would do an excellent job developing a completely new mainline entry, rather than his current remakes. However, as the third part of the remake trilogy, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, isn't scheduled to be released until 2027, we hope he focuses his energy on perfecting that game first.

Final Fantasy 6, 8, or 9 remakes would need even more games than the FF7 trilogy, Yoshi-P warns: "We'd probably end up having to release them in 4 or maybe even 5 installments."

Careful what you wish for, Final Fantasy fans. Potential future remakes of other games in the series would probably require even more individual parts than the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy – at least, if they were remade in that same style – according to Final Fantasy 14's Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida.

The MMORPG's director said as much during a panel at Fan Fest Berlin – with Final Fantasy 7 Remake lead Naoki Hamaguchi also in attendance – warning folks that the wait for an entire remake of Final Fantasy 6, for example, would be even more painfully long than what we've become accustomed to.

"Of course I understand the feelings of the players, but you gotta think about it," Yoshi-P says, per a translator, of fan requests for future series remakes. "Look at Final Fantasy 6, it's such an incredibly huge game. The scale is just immense."

But the same argument is true for other games in the series, like Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 9, he adds: "So, of course, now because you are working on the Final Fantasy 7 series, I do get that people would be asking for remakes of other titles. But if we did remake those other titles, we'd probably end up having to release them in four or maybe even five installments."

Final Fantasy games used to be absolutely huge in their scope because the developers couldn't render everything in excruciating detail as they can now – nor did they need to. Final Fantasy 6 was able to fit 14 playable characters, a huge world map that dramatically changes throughout the adventure, and countless epic fights onto a humble SNES cartridge. You can imagine how doing all of that in a game with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's production value would be tricky.

Ahead of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Hamaguchi himself made clear that a hypothetical remake of Final Fantasy 6 would be in better hands with another developer anyway. He seems more keen on doing something new after Revelation ships.

At Fan Fest, Hamaguchi explained that he felt incredibly lucky that so many developers stayed together for all three games in the FF7 Remake trilogy, back to back. "That's why I can't just sit here and go, 'Yeah, yeah, I'll remake [FF6],' because it's not quite that easy."

Perhaps the way forward for Final Fantasy remakes is the upcoming Final Fantasy Resonance, a gorgeous pixel art game with turn-based combat, rather than the giant world of the FF7 Remake games.

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold changes housing for the better, Yoshi-P says, and World of Warcraft's "amazing" take on the MMO staple has "been a good source of research."

Mario very regularly has a huge smile on his face, whether he's stomping on sentient flowers or chowing down magical mushrooms, but there's one unused area in Super Mario Galaxy 2 that makes our already loveable plumber go into a somersaulting frenzy. And, seriously, I've never heard Mario sound so happy.

Super dedicated blogger and series archivist Supper Mario Broth recently found that Super Mario Galaxy 2 has been hiding an "unused 'joyful zone' area" for all these years. Should Mario step foot into the zone, he gets the zoomies and the giggles or, more plainly, he'll uncontrollably run and somersault and scream "Yahoo!" without stopping.

In a hilarious experiment, Supper Mario Broth recently "enveloped the entirety of Starship Mario in a joyful zone for demonstrative purposes." The result is incredible - you can watch it down below. I dare you not to smile, dear reader.

Rosalina and the Lumas are apparently immune to the joyful bug. Not everyone appreciates jumping high and being obnoxious about it as much as Mario, to be fair, but still.

In the game's files, the zone is apparently called "CometFireDanceArea," perhaps suggesting the mechanic was once intended for one of Super Mario Galaxy 2's Prankster Comets - special missions that would modify a pre-existing level with fun rules, asking you to race your cosmic doppelganger or beat a boss with one health point, say. I can definitely imagine a comet that would make Mario complete levels without stopping or jumping normally.

Nintendo added a bizarre "anti-brother romance failsafe" to NES Remix to stop Mario from getting too close with Luigi on Wii U, expert says

Final Fantasy 14's housing system is due to get two "very big" overhauls as part of the post-Evercold run of patches, and it looks like Blizzard's own take on the popular MMO feature in World of Warcraft has given Square Enix plenty to chew over.

As part of Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest in Berlin, producer and director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida spoke to the press to tackle some questions about Evercold. Among the most interesting was a question over whether Square Enix had any plans to modernize Final Fantasy 14's housing system.

Speaking through a translator, Yoshi-P jokes that the question may have been refined prior to being presented to him, before adding: "I get the feeling what you really want to ask is, well, WoW has come up with this amazing housing system. How about [Final Fantasy] 14?"

Yoshi-P starts by saying that the Final Fantasy 14 team has an "immense respect" for the World of Warcraft team. And indeed, Yoshi-P has rarely been shy in giving Blizzard its flowers.

Then, he shares that when the Final Fantasy 14 team saw that the WoW devs were working on their own housing system, and that they "looked to [Final Fantasy] 14 and incorporated things which they wanted to surpass us, I think that in itself is very much a sense of great honor for us to hear."

Seemingly happy to return the favor, Yoshi-P says he went "hands-on" with the WoW housing system, and came away impressed and motivated.

"I really do appreciate it. It's amazing," he says. "And we always like taking on new challenges. So this time around, when I tried WoW's housing, I thought it really is amazing, and it's been a good source of research."

The good news is that you'll see the results of that research soon. Yoshi-P says the Final Fantasy 14 team is "planning two very big overhauls for housing" during the patch 8.0 series. If you're averse to numbers, that means it'll arrive at some point between Final Fantasy 14's Evercold expansion launching and whatever the next expansion ends up being.

So what's on the way? Yoshi-P says one of the overhauls relates to the UI as it's currently "quite technical" and "not very accessible." In an ideal world, Yoshi-P would like a casual player to be able to create elaborate housing.

While Yoshi-P can't reveal much about the second overhaul, he does say it will make players happier than the UI update and that it's currently in the planning phase. As such, there's a chance it'll release before the UI update, but we'll just need to wait and see how the chips fall. Yoshi-P says the Final Fantasy 14 team will announce further details when they have more visibility.

The news is the latest sliver we've got about Final Fantasy 14's Evercold expansion. As part of the Berlin Fan Fest, we've also found out that the first new FF14 Evercold job will be a hulking tank called the Bastion, that Final Fantasy 14 is getting a crossover with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, and much more. It feels like Final Fantasy 14 is going for it, and that might be just what the MMO needs.

Final Fantasy 14 Evercold releases January, 2027.

"The desire for a world you can escape to is stronger than ever": How MMORPGs are flourishing in a multiplayer landscape dominated by live-service shooters.

The Final Fantasy 14 fandom quickly became enamoured by a chunky new boss that came alongside a patch 7.5 dungeon: Chort, a big boy who loves to roll around and wear a permanently hungry grin on his face. The critically-acclaimed MMORPG's director, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, doesn't quite get the hype, though.

"Honestly speaking, I just don't know why this is such a thing," Yoshi-P quips during a Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest panel in Berlin, attended by GamesRadar+. He might not be a huge fan of the rotund icon, but he couldn't exactly ignore the topic in a room full of fans who were asking about Chort.

"I am really glad to hear that Chort is so well received," Yoshi-P adds, per a translator. "But honestly speaking, I just couldn't really understand what is the appeal [or] point of Chort. Of course, we do understand that he's very popular, and there have been many memes. But really, I just couldn't understand, like, just why?"

Yoshi-P's not totally against seeing the good in Chort - he is human, after all, and I'm sure his heart hasn't been totally frozen over. "I mean, this is some huge hunky guy, and then suddenly, well, he's standing there and then he rolls," he continues, inching closer to a eureka moment. "So from that perspective, I can kind of understand." Hook, line, sinker.

Whether he gets the online hype or not, Yoshi-P did tell fans to continue coming together online and talking about the things they enjoy about the game. If nothing else, the devs love to see it: "When these kinds of things happen and the player community picks up on it on social media, and they combine various things, they create their own memes... it's really great for us to see as well because we are involved in creating this entertainment.

"So, if people in the community also find some unexpected sets or point of appeal in any content that we produce moving forward, do make your voices heard because the development team is looking at all of the responses on social media, and we very much do enjoy looking at them, and we do have smirks on our faces when things like this happen."

Long live Chort, then, even if his chances of becoming a minion just became less likely. We'll never forget you, big man.

Elsewhere at Fan Fest, Square Enix revealed that the Bastion is Final Fantasy 14's first new job coming with the Evercold expansion. The game's also getting a very exciting crossover raid series with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.

Final Fantasy 14 reportedly tops 1 million active players for the first time in over a year as fans prepare for the Evercold expansion

Capcom has been churning through remakes of its best Resident Evil games over the last few years, with Resident Evil: Code Veronica up next, but dusting off the horror tomes serves more than one purpose for the publisher. Capcom producer Masachika Kawata says remakes help the company release back-to-back games in the series and help invest more money back into all-new games.

Speaking to Game Informer magazine in its latest issue, Kawata explains that one of the reasons why the publisher creates so many remakes is that "producing a new entry in the Resident Evil series every year would be quite an undertaking and a difficult task" otherwise. Resident Evil isn't properly an annual franchise yet, but the only big gaps in its recent history have been in 2024 and 2025.

"Being able to revisit older games and remake them helps Capcom meet that goal of releasing a Resident Evil title each year, but it also allows the team to continually challenge themselves and hone their craft," Kawata adds. "That's not to say the remakes are any less important. In fact, they're just as important as the mainline titles." (Good spot, NintendoEverything!)

The proof is arguably in the pudding with Resident Evil Requeim, a game that managed to marry the tight and sweat-inducing first-person horror of RE7 and RE8 with the bloody, third-person horror-action of Capcom's recently remade games.

"Capcom is lucky enough to have found this cycle that can continue to provide us with the financial resources to create things like new entries in the Resident Evil series and completely new IP like Pragmata," he continues. "So there is that relationship there."

Of course, the well of old Resident Evil games will eventually run dry. Capcom could re-remake the first game and then try to redeem Resident Evils 5 and 6, sure, but at some point, it'll need to start making multiple original Resident Evil games simultaneously should the company want to keep up the cadence it's on now.

Resident Evil 4 made Capcom another $560 million and became the best-selling remake of the generation, analyst says, more than tripling sales of Oblivion Remastered and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

A new Final Fantasy 14 Evercold raid has been confirmed, and it features none other than a crossover with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series.

As part of Final Fantasy 14's Fan Fest celebrations in Berlin, Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida revealed that an Evercold raid will be called Beyond the Lifestream.

If that's not enough of a hint, that does indeed mean the critically acclaimed MMO is getting a Final Fantasy 7 Remake series crossover.

As part of the reveal, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation lead Naoki Hamaguchi joined the stage to reveal more details. You're getting three tiers, with the first starting in update 8.01. Additionally, there will be three difficulty levels. The standard Normal and Savage difficulties, and a new difficulty that's new to Evercold that's designed to bridge the gap between the standard two.

Additionally, OG Final Fantasy 7 writer Kazushige Nojima is acting as story supervisor to make sure everything fits. Naturally, OG Final Fantasy 7 art icon Tetsuya Nomura is also getting involved.

Somewhat related, though amusing for sure, but we've also found out that Final Fantasy 14's version of the Gold Saucer is getting additional games, like a typing game that's Final Fantasy 7-related to start, of course. Brush up on your vocab, folks. There are outfits to be unlocked, starting with Tifa and Barret's duds.

That's about it for now, but you can expect plenty more details as we get closer to Final Fantasy 14's Evercold expansion, which releases in January 2027.

The Bastion is Final Fantasy 14's first new job for Evercold, a hulking tank with a shield and gun on each arm.

The first new Final Fantasy 14 job of Evercold has been revealed, and it's a tank called the Bastion that blends high fantasy and mechanical aesthetics.

As part of the European leg of Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest, producer and director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida has taken to the stage once more to continue the drip feed of what's coming to the MMO in its next expansion. In this case, Final Fantasy 14 Evercold.

Back at the American leg of Fan Fest, we found out that Final Fantasy 14 would be getting two new jobs in Evercold – something for tank fans, something for DPS fans. Yoshi-P also revealed that these new classes would be something new to the Final Fantasy series, so no throwbacks here.

Now, we know what one of them is. As part of a new trailer, Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy is getting a new tank job that not only has a shield on each arm, but can also fire 'em both off as guns.

Our first glimpse of the new job in action came from an extended version of the Evercold trailer, which opened the Berlin Fan Fest keynote.

While Yoshi-P did appear in his cosplay to further tease the job, we had to wait just a little while longer for some more details, and it was worth it.

We first see a glimpse of some of its moves, blending up-close-and-personal combat with the ability to fire off its weapons from a bit of a distance. From vibes alone, it looks like it'll hit like a truck.

If you're keen to start Evercold as the Bastion, you'll want to make sure you're level 90 and around Limsa when the expansion releases in January 2027. Additionally, as touched upon at the last Fan Fest, this job will use the MMO's new streamlined moveset.

The job news might not be a total surprise to some clever Final Fantasy 14 fans. As is tradition, Yoshi-P teased what jobs were to come with a t-shirt he made everyone aware of at the last Fan Fest. Now, the t-shirts aren't typically an obvious giveaway. For Dawntrail, Yoshi-P wore a Ninja Turtles t-shirt to tease the upcoming artist job. It wasn't to tease that some sort of Ninja job was on the way – that'd be too obvious, and the MMO already has it – rather, the clue was that each turtle is named after an artist.

For Evercold, we got a picture of A Realm Reborn antagonist Rhitahtyn sas Arvina with a 'guess who's back' caption above it. Fans quickly assumed this was leading us to the tank job, with theories ranging from something obvious like a gunshield user to grander theories – like something hammer-based due to Ritahtyn sas Arvina's name translating to "judge" in the Roegadyn language. And, of course, the expansion being Norse themed.

Amusingly, Yoshi-P himself said that some fans already guessed what the jobs were back in Anaheim. Naturally, he didn't confirm which guesses were correct.

Regardless, that's one job down, and some were, of course, correct. When the Japan leg of Final Fantasy 14 comes around, we'll find out the other. Final Fantasy 14's Evercold expansion releases in January 2027.

Final Fantasy 14's Third Walk raid starts with FF11's most infamous boss being bodied in a cutscene because a raid designer wanted to show off the true strength of your first foe.

While its spirit lives on in the Xenoblade games, Monolith Soft's Xenosaga series has been dormant since the final game hit PS2 way back in 2006. Fans have been desperate for some sort of revival for years, and those hopes are rising again thanks to a new Xenosaga cameo in the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Momo from Xenosaga will be a new equipable Blade in Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. "Swap between two forms to change her appearance and elemental affinity," Nintendo says in a new trailer as her light and dark forms are demonstrated.

This is not the first Xenosaga character to appear as a Blade in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, as KOS-MOS and T-elos already had similar appearances in the game. But Momo is awakening a new round of hopes that Xenosaga might live again after a decades-long stay in IP hell.

Developer Monolith Soft built the Xenosaga games under Namco, which maintained control of the IP as it morphed into Bandai Namco. Monolith Soft would be acquired by Nintendo in 2007, and created the Xenoblade series as a sort of spiritual successor to Xenosaga. No entry in the Xenosaga series has gotten a modern remake, remaster, or rerelease since that split occurred.

But fans were quick to note some oddities in the wake of Momo's reveal for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. For one thing, Xenosaga no longer appears as one of Bandai Namco's owned IPs on the company's official website – a removal that occurred just last year. For another, there's no copyright or trademark notes attributed to Bandai Namco in the trailer that showed off Momo, unlike with trailers featuring other Nintendo crossovers with third-party publishers in games like Super Smash Bros.

For some, that's reason enough to believe that Nintendo has acquired the Xenosaga IP, reuniting the rights to the series with its original development studio. That's a mighty big conclusion to jump to, but clearly it's a compelling enough theory for some fans – though that may just be the desperation to see Xenosaga on a modern platform talking.

These are the best JRPGs you can play today.

Nintendo apparently obliterated any chance of Mario and Luigi experiencing brotherly affection in Wii U retro challenge game NES Remix, and I can't help but feel a bit disappointed in the developer's flagrant bias against toxic yaoi. Come on, Nintendo, don't you know we're in the middle of a male loneliness epidemic?

Mario blogger and connoisseur Supper Mario Brother explained in a Bluesky post, with information discovered by Bluesky user DavidPCM, the way "NES Remix contains a graphic that seems to be an 'anti-brother romance failsafe' for Mario and Luigi." Nintendo appears to have been preoccupied with the idea. So much so that it preemptively altered a scene between Mario and Luigi that should be "normally impossible to reach in-game" anyway.

I can't quite fault Nintendo for this – "NES Remix incest glitch" sounds like something I would learn about from the front page of Reddit, and then my eyes would start bleeding. But, to defend hypothetical affectionate Mario and affectionate Luigi, I really think the graphic Nintendo devs were so worried about could be interpreted as familial. Their concern was with the standard pink heart that appears between Mario and Pauline once Mario finally rescues her in Donkey Kong.

been digging through NES Remix lately. one thing I've never seen before is that they edited the heart at the end of Donkey Kong to "GOOD JOB!" in the remixed stages with Luigi. Luigi never reaches 100M in that game, so it's never seen. It's also completely omitted in the .fcb for Bonus-4's mission.

— @davidpcm.bsky.social (@davidpcm.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-24T19:58:28.111Z

Supper Mario Broth reminds us that, in stages Remix 14 and 17 in NES Remix, Donkey Kong is all wiggled around. The game is mirrored, and Luigi replaces Mario as the hero to protect him, not Pauline, from Donkey Kong. In these topsy-turvy stages, it isn't actually possible to activate the heart graphic like you would in a regular game of Donkey Kong with Mario and Pauline.

"The only stages visited are 25m and 75m," says Supper Mario Broth, and the pink heart only appears in the black void sky when Pauline is whisked away at the 100m stage. So, heartbreakingly, "Mario never actually gets saved," clarifies Supper Mario Broth. Another man lost to the loneliness epidemic.

But just in case Mario managed to extricate himself from Donkey Kong, enroll himself in psychotherapy, and gain a new zest for life with the help of hobbies, friends, and indeed, a brother's love, the NES Remix devs decided to change Pauline's pink heart to a graphic for Mario that says "GOOD JOB!"

While I'm glad Mario is at least being encouraged to express praise, you never see him tell Luigi GOOD JOB! since the conditions for him to do so are nonexistent in NES Remix, like we established.

Ultimately, "it is unknown why the graphic was added," says Supper Mario Broth. "The developers could have planned to have the full game playable in that mode, or they could have changed the graphic purely as a precaution in case someone managed to get to 100m (e.g. via a glitch) to prevent implications of romantic love between Mario and Luigi."

So sorry, guys, but if you want to give each other an encouraging kiss on the forehead, it's going to have to happen somewhere else.

Mario Kart Tour is shutting down after 7 years, but Nintendo isn't planning on an Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp-style offline version.

Sega president Shuji Utsumi has promised fans of the Persona series that the teaser trailer for Persona 6 is just the start of what he believes will be a "truly memorable year" to celebrate the series' 30th anniversary. While Persona 4 Revival will be another hype moment for fans, Utsumi hints that there are more reveals on the horizon.

In an interview with Famitsu, that's been translated by GamesRadar+, Utsumi expresses how he's "very confident" that fans will be pleased with what Sega has planned for the series' 30th anniversary. A spin-off from Atlus' already popular Shin Megami Tensei series, Revelations: Persona added more of a narrative focus and emphasis on the character's relationships than its beast battling predecessor.

Originally released for the original PlayStation in 1996, the series has evolved well beyond its isometric pixel art roots. If you've only played the series' newer titles you might not be aware that it didn't always feature a spicy UI and ranked high school relationships.

As 2026 is the 30th anniversary of this game, it seemed natural that Sega would announce the next mainline entry in the series, the long-awaited Persona 6. "I think we were able to announce a truly memorable year for Persona's 30th anniversary," Utsumi says. "Hype for the series has been built by Persona 6's reveal.

"And I think Persona 4 Revival will spark fan excitement again," Utsumi continues. "I'm sure everyone will feel the same way, and I'm very confident we'll give the Persona series the lively 30th anniversary celebration it deserves."

Persona 4 Revival seemingly features more scenes with Marie, fuelling hopes she'll be integrated better than in Golden: "If they do that, the remake will have fulfilled its purpose."

Final Fantasy 7 Remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi understands open-world fatigue, which is why Revelation is seemingly trying to find a balance between Remake and Rebirth.

Rebirth's open world has been a point of criticism for the 2024 RPG, and despite the, ahem, revelation that Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will have a bigger world than even Rebirth did, Hamaguchi tells Eurogamer that not overdoing it is on his mind.

He explains, "The world is even bigger than it was in Rebirth, so it is more important than ever for us to ensure there's enough guidance here, so people have no issues enjoying what this game has to offer."

"There are a lot of open world games out in the world right now, and [the idea of 'open world fatigue'] is a very important concept to me," Hamaguchi says.

Hamaguchi notes "it depends on personal preference and different perceptions, but for me personally, I know I've had the experience where I've been thrown out into an open world game and not known where to go, not known where to begin, and not known what to do."

As someone who is just playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth now after waiting for ages, it's pretty striking how different the layout of the game is compared to the first game in the Remake trilogy. While Final Fantasy 7 Remake did have little hubs to explore and get up to nonsense, it was very much funneling you forward through the adventure.

Rebirth, on the other hand, is very much an open-world game, full of distractions in each of the game's many areas. I've spent countless hours running through the maps to find all of the intel, fast forwarding through every bit of annoying dialogue Chadley is giving, with a few chapters still to go.

"For me personally, as a creator, I think it's very important to offer proper guidance for the players in open world games," Hamaguchi continues.

He says the Rebirth team wanted to "make it easy" for people to see how much content there is, and says "that design philosophy is applied to Revelation: players have all the guidance that they need. This is something that both myself and the development team were very careful about when we designed the game."

Hamaguchi also singles out the Highwind and parachute mechanic included in the next game, and stresses it isn't as simple as picking where to go and letting the cutscene drop you there.

"After you open the parachute, you kind of have to rely on your memory to ensure that you're actually dropping into the place where you want to go," he clarifies. This is billed as "another example of the guidance we're giving players, without directing them too much."

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation DLC includes "Story Expansion Pass," according to Epic Games Store database listings

PATCH NOTES: v24.09.2026 – Nintendo should have been taking a victory lap this week, following the release of Splatoon Raiders on July 23. At a time where discussion should have been focused entirely around the latest Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, attention on the platform holder's activities has been divided between two ongoing legal battles.

What's going on with Nintendo this week?

• The first Splatoon spin-off launched as a Switch 2 exclusive
• A patent infringement lawsuit hit a new roadblock
• Request was made to dismiss a class-action lawsuit

Why is this happening now?

• The legal system works in weird and mysterious ways
• Nintendo has been embroiled in a dispute with Pocketpair for two years
• Two battles on the same week as Splatoon Raiders is bad timing

Meta Shift

This should have been a straightforward week for Nintendo. After a year of anticipation, Splatoon Raiders finally arrived, giving the Switch 2 one of its most compelling first-party exclusives. At any other time, this delightful spin-off – a confident shift away from the multiplayer focus that has otherwise defined the franchise – would have dominated the conversation for days.

Instead, Nintendo spent the Splatoon Raiders launch window fighting legal battles on multiple fronts. Attention was repeatedly diverted by fresh developments related to the ongoing legal dispute against Palworld developer Pocketpair, as well as a new court filing in a US class action lawsuit over the impact of tariffs.

While none of these stories are directly related, they do provide a window into one of the challenges Nintendo faces in 2026: launching platform-defining exclusives while simultaneously fighting to defend its business priorities in courtrooms all around the world.

Known Issue

• Another strange twist in the Palworld lawsuit

The biggest distraction from Splatoon Raiders' release week was undoubtedly from Japan, with a new development from a patent dispute adjacent to Nintendo and Palworld developer Pocketpair's ongoing legal battle. Nintendo has been attempting to patent the 'in-game monster-capturing system' popularized by Pokemon, which the Japanese Patent Office has rejected.

This decision has prompted Nintendo and the JPO to enter into a pretty extraordinary back-and-forth of counterarguments that, frankly, are well worth your time if you have it to spare. While this fight isn't at the center of the legal battle with Palworld, it certainly doesn't help Nintendo's case at all.

Patent disputes are difficult to follow at the best of times, but that's why this story was so essential – it illustrates just how complex these types of legal proceedings can become, and how entertaining it can be when they boil over in public.

• And then there was the tariff lawsuit

Just as players started to lock into arguments over whether it's even fair for Nintendo to test the strength of gameplay patents in this way (hint: enjoyers of Palworld 1.0 would say that it is not), a legal story with some spice emerged from the United States. This may have flown under your radar, but Nintendo is actually engaged in legal battles over tariffs.

Nintendo filed a lawsuit earlier this year over what it alleges was an "unlawful imposition of tariffs" by the US. This prompted two individuals to file a class action lawsuit against Nintendo; the pair claim that if Nintendo is owed refunds on collected tariffs, then so too should be consumers who purchased Nintendo products at increased prices.

Nintendo bit back hard, suggesting that players were "free to abstain from purchasing the product or seek out competing products" and that they got "exactly what they bargained for and paid for." Ouch.

Patch Notes Summary

• One company, three conversations

Nintendo spent the Switch era cultivating an image that it was consumer-first and software-focused. To see three separate conversations kickstart within days of each other – one about a platform exclusive, one around Japanese patent law, and the other around US consumer litigation – has created the impression that Nintendo's priorities are now being pulled in different directions.

Lawsuits and legal filings landing the same week as Splatoon Raiders is unfortunate – the courts work to their own schedules, not to the hype cycles we spend our lives following. But the diverting of attention in this way has been fascinating to witness.

Nintendo will have plenty of other moments to celebrate this year, with Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Duskbloods all expected to land. Whether they will also converge with ongoing legal disputes remains to be seen, but one thing's for certain: Nintendo needs to pull the focus of players back to video games and away from the courts.

Still, regardless of all the legal drama that has (admittedly) been pretty entertaining to watch from afar, I'll be spending this weekend diving into Splatoon Raiders. What about you?

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The Inkling Squid amiibo was one of the first I ever had in my collection, far before I ever got almost 200 NFC figures deep. It came bundled with the original Splatoon on the Nintendo Wii U back in 2015, and I've been hooked on amiibo ever since - so getting the new Splatoon Raiders Deep Cut triple-pack was a no-brainer.

Here in the UK, the figures launched exclusively as a £49.99 (Nintendo) triple pack, which was a bummer as it meant my Splatoon Raiders expenses for July almost reached the £100 mark as I grabbed the new game too. However, the cost felt more than worth it when I saw the floods of detail that have been poured into these new figures. Bandage textures, transparent goggle lenses, and bases that can be placed together to take up less space on your shelf - these new Splatoon Raiders amiibo are exactly why I continue to be obsessed with Nintendo's NFC collectibles.

One of the key features of this new amiibo set was that you could "combine the bases" as advertised by Nintendo of Europe. When I first heard that, I assumed that there would be an actual mechanism that connected the Deep Cut trio together, but it's actually a lot simpler. The fake wooden plank bases are all perfectly crafted so that you can push them altogether, with Big Man at the back, Shiver to the left, and Frye to the right.

While simple, it's a design element I wish other figures released by big-name brands like Banpresto took into consideration. So often I've collected statues from the same line-up, which all need to be spaced far apart on the shelf as their bases are all random in shape and size. The Splatoon Radiers' bases mean you can add to your amiibo shelf even if you're running low on space, which I definitely am, even though I don't yet have every Splatoon amiibo release to my name (there are a lot of them).

The detail on these bases is also pretty marvelous. There's still an air of 'this is definitely plastic' to them, but their tiny wood-grain effects and lines help these figures stand out from the older Splatoon releases sporting the plain gold medallion-shaped stands.

Textures are what these figures do best. It's not just the effect of wood that's been given some due attention by whoever sculpted these fantastic toys, but fabric like the bandages wrapping up Frye's hair looks so good they could be real. You can even make out the diagonal lines of her woollen socks and see how they stretch as she sits with one foot perched upon an orange sea buoy.

While I was flummoxed by the detail, it was the Big Man himself that impressed me the most. In the game, he's holding a myriad of items left over from your helicopter incident, including a large backpack with a solar panel, saucepan, and a walkie-talkie attached. Each of these items has been sculpted with their materials and fabric taken on board. The straps of the bag include that woven interlining texture that makes me reminiscent of my school days, and you can make out the curled wire that connects to Big Man's headset. The boy himself is made up of a translucent gray plastic. When light shines through it gives the amiibo a shiny aura that makes him look like a real-life slimy stingray and not a toy you can connect to your Nintendo Switch 2.

The Switch 2 accessories are some of my favorites in the entire amiibo line-up, which is saying a lot as I fell just as much in love with the Super Mario Galaxy amiibo figures, which were released earlier this year. However, I was a bit disappointed with what they actually unlock in-game.

Once you enable amiibo functionality in Splatoon Raiders, you can tap Big Man, Shiver, or Frye to gain access to a series of three outfits for your mechanic to wear. They're all a variation of a similar-looking jumpsuit, each taking colors and elements depending on the character you tap. They're a little boring to say the least, and I would have preferred it if you could tap the amiibo again to get access to rare weapon drops, but alas, that's not the case. You can at least tap one other Splatoon series toy to get access to the Bite Waders outfit, which includes a pair of orange overalls similar to your Salmon Run gear used in Splatoon 2 and 3. But all in all, the unlocks of these figures aren't as interesting as the amiibo themselves.

Splatoon amiibo have an annoying habit of being hard to find after the initial wave of stock has sold out. If you have your eyes on this version of the Deep Cut team, I still recommend you grab them as soon as you can to avoid feeling like a fish out of water. At least in the US, you can grab each of them separately for $24.99 (Nintendo) so you can space out your Splatoon budget more than I could. Hurry up, payday- a day where I definitely will be recouping my costs and not buying more amiibo - cough.

• View all amiibo at Nintendo
• Splatoon Raiders amiibo | $24.99 at Nintendo

Our team's toy expert Benjamin Abbott, has rounded up the best Lego sets and the best Nintendo gifts that are full of more top-tier Ninty collectibles.

Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto is on the long list of developers not planning on taking their hard-earned retirement when given the opportunity.

I don't know what it is about game developers, but a shocking number of them really don't want to retire. When Metal Gear Solid developer Hideo Kojima turned 60 a few years back, he pledged that he will never retire, while Bethesda's Todd Howard recently said that he used to think about what his retirement would look like, but no longer does after seeing the work being done at the studio.

Speaking to Famitsu (via Nintendo Everything), Miyamoto was asked if there is anything he is especially eager to pursue, and outside of saying "I would be happy if I could start a movement where 'everyone and their dog' joins in," he admits: "There's nothing that I feel like I'm going to see through to the end."

Miyamoto also adds: "My family is telling me, 'Isn't it about time you stopped?'"

Famitsu then asks if he hopes to be doing the same thing he's doing right now in 10 years time when he'll be 83 years old, and Miyamoto responds: "Yes, that's right. The feeling of 'I hope we can keep going' fits perfectly."

He appears to refer to the making of The Legend of Zelda movie when he says: "On set, we say things like, 'It wouldn't be surprising if I collapsed tomorrow, so make sure you're OK (laughs).' I just hope we can keep going without any problems."

And granted, Miyamoto's role at Nintendo has changed somewhat significantly, with the last game he was credited with a director role being Super Mario Run 10 years ago (and his last original concept credit being Super Mario Maker the year prior).

While he's still been involved as a producer on many games, Miyamoto has also been seemingly focused on leading the charge on Nintendo's presence outside of gaming, with him being involved in the Super Nintendo World areas at Universal parks and the production of Mario and Zelda movies. But regardless, it'll be sad to see him go when he does decide to hang up the moustache.

Shigeru Miyamoto admits Nintendo's been pumping out "a lot of remakes" as Ocarina of Time approaches, but says most people stopped playing the original games within 5 years anyway.

Hideo Kojima still wants to go to space, but for now he's going to keep making games, and he says that's a good thing.

Metal Gear Solid creator Kojima really hasn't kept it quiet that one day he wants to go to space, so much so that Valve boss Gabe Newell tried to set Kojima up with a tour of SpaceX. Over on Twitter, Kojima recently posted a video of his comments during a panel at Il Cinema in Piazza – a film festival in Rome – where he explains (translated by Genki_JPN) his current thoughts about his space travel aspirations.

"I want to share this with all of you: We all want to make our dreams come true, right?" he begins. And obviously he isn't talking about his dreams with "voluptuous nude women," reanimated "decomposing bodies," and a very impolite coach, as he explains, "I want to go to space and I want to make a movie." However, he adds, "it wouldn't be good if those dreams just came true."

"That's because dreams are goals," Kojima explains, "The idea is to achieve the second, third, and fourth dreams along the way before reaching your ultimate dream." He adds that "for the time being, I think I'll keep on making games without going to space."

I would say perhaps he can go to space once he retires from creating games (although he said he has no plans to retire). However, at that same event, he also said he wants to die in a movie theater, preferably just after the trailers, so unless they build theaters in space, he's probably going to have to come back to Earth at some point.

The original Metal Gear Solid is free to play on Steam this weekend as Konami gears up for Master Collection Volume 2.

AI vibe coding has done the impossible: make Nintendo fans unexcited for Mario Kart Wii on PC. A new static recompilation project promises to give us a fresh way to play one of the best Wii games of all time, but as with many similar projects, the sentiment soon soured once prospective players realized it was built using AI.

"Announcing Mario Kart Wiicompiled," developer patchzy exclaims in a tweet alongside a teaser trailer for the project. "The first static recompilation of a Wii game: Mario Kart Wii, rebuilt for PC. Releasing in beta this August, with online play and optional Retro Rewind support, bringing over 200 tracks!"

Wii games finally getting the static recompilation treatment would be reason enough to get excited, since that would, in theory, open the door for many more Wii titles to become playable on PC. Decompilations and recompilations have been a rallying point for the communities around many classic games, as with the upcoming Spyro project – whose developers proudly proclaim that "no AI" was used in its making.

But, as Time Extension notes, there are no such promises for Mario Kart Wiicompiled. In fact, the project's Discord explicitly confirms that AI was used "for code" – though "no ai art or assets were generated."

That's a distinction that might satisfy some players, but you can just scroll down through the responses to the original tweet to see there are plenty more ready to reject a AI vibe-coded project outright. Only time will tell if Mario Kart Wiicompiled will actually play well, but many members of the various fan development communities are ready to dismiss vibe coding completely.

Such is the case for PS3 emulator RPCS3, whose developers are begging contributors to "stop submitting AI slop code." It's also a key point for the developers behind Donkey Kong 64: Recompiled, who announced their project early in an effort to get out ahead of a vibe-coded rival. A poorly-made AI project can discourage traditional developers from putting in the effort to do it right, and that's a fear hanging over many potential PC ports for classic games in this new vibe coding era.

"It creates lesser games": Indie game studios are supposed to love generative AI, so why do the 25 devs I spoke to avoid it?

A group of investors led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund have received approval from the European Commission to go ahead with their proposed acquisition of EA, the blockbuster game publisher behind Battlefield, The Sims, and EA Sports titles.

Last year, EA confirmed it had entered a deal to go private and fall under the joint ownership of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners (a private investment firm led by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner). Should the $55 billion buyout proceed without a hitch, Saudi Arabia's PIF will own 93.7% of shares, Silver Lake will have 5.5%, and Affinity Partners will hold onto 1.1% of the company.

That mega-deal is now one step closer to closing since the European Commission just concluded that the buyout wouldn't lead to significant competition concerns. (Good spot, Game Developer.)

"The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of Electronic Arts Inc. of the US by the Public Investment Fund ('PIF') of Saudi Arabia. The transaction relates primarily to the production and distribution of video games for mobile devices, PCs and consoles, as well as the organization and commercialization of video game competitions, commonly referred to as electronic sports events," the European Commission's website explains.

"The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given its limited impact on competition in the markets where the companies are active," the note continues. "The notified transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure."

The buyout has been subject to much scrutiny in the months since it was made public. Several The Sims content creators quit EA's Creator Network earlier this year, citing long-term concerns over the ethics and history of the publisher's would-be owners. Saudi Arabian authorities, for example, have frequently been accused of countless human rights violations over the years.

For now, check out the new games of 2026 and beyond.

Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that the Star Fox 64 Remake and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book happened because of the characters' appearances in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Star Fox has had a bit of a whirlwind year. From being considered one of Nintendo's "dead" franchises after the monumental flop of Star Fox Zero on the Wii U, it's come back in a major way in just a few months. Fox McCloud played by Glenn Powell was announced for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie right before it was released, less than a month later a new (well, old) game was announced, and the following month it was released as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. But according to Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, that was no mere coincidence.

Speaking to Famitsu (via Nintendo Everything), Miyamoto explains, "I don’t decide everything about the lineup, but we did discuss that ‘we have an idea to include Fox in the script for the [Super Mario Galaxy] Movie, so we definitely want a new Star Fox game.'" But Fox wasn't the only character to benefit from their starring role in the film, as Miyamoto explains, "It was decided early on that Yoshi would appear in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, so we decided to make a Yoshi game, and that’s how development of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book began."

Synergy between the games and the movies goes both ways too, as he explains that while working on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo was also developing Princess Peach Showtime, "and we talked about things like, 'If we have this game, shouldn’t Peach be more energetic in the movie too?'"

Miyamoto explains, "It’s a case-by-case situation, but I think we’ll continue to maintain a good relationship between games and other developments."

Obviously, this strategy does make sense and has been a thing since the beginning of movie games.

You could even speculate Super Mario Bros. Wonder to be a part of this based on the proximity of its release to the first film, but Miyamoto didn't mention if that was the case. However, the Donkey Kong design that would be brought forward into the Switch 2 era was debuted in the movie, so I'd expect to see synergy between games and movies being a big deal for Nintendo going forward… especially with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake coming this year ahead of the movie next year.

Shigeru Miyamoto admits Nintendo's been pumping out "a lot of remakes" as Ocarina of Time approaches, but says most people stopped playing the original games within 5 years anyway.

A former Disney CEO can only barely remember the name Kingdom Hearts, and he definitely can't recall what made him give Square Enix's (or SquareSoft at the time) pitch the thumbs up.

Kingdom Hearts' entire existence already seemed like an impossible Disney miracle come true. Some of the company's biggest mascots, Mickey Mouse included, being deeply involved in a nonsensical JRPG's twisty storyline for over two decades, while crossing over with Final Fantasy characters, I might add, doesn't sound like it would've made Disney loosen its usually tight grip on its IP. (This preceded Fortnite's bonkers crossovers, mind you.)

Trying to get to the bottom of what turned Square Enix's wish upon a star into a long-running video game franchise, The Game File's Stephen Totilo managed to get a hold of Michael Eisner, the man who ran The Walt Disney Company for over 20 years.

According to the outlet, Eisner apparently didn't remember Kingdom Hearts at all until it was referred to as the "Final Fantasy plus Disney characters" project. "Oh, I remember now," he then says. Asked if he recalls why he green-lit the first game, he simply says, "I don't." Ouch.

As the story goes, famed character designer Tetsuya Nomura and producer Shinji Hashimoto were early in development on a game that would try to emulate the free-flowing movement of Super Mario 64. When Hashimoto found himself in an elevator with a Disney executive, conversations about what eventually became Kingdom Hearts began in earnest.

Finding out what convinced Disney to relent and have its most iconic characters fight darkness alongside an anime protag wearing clown shoes and a key-shaped sword would've been fascinating, but Eisner likely signed off on many deals during his tenure, so all is forgiven here. Even well before Fortnite, Disney wasn't a total stranger to wacky video game ideas, either, between Disney Infinity and Epic Mickey.

Kingdom Hearts has had a life of its own many years after Eisner's departure, too. Kingdom Heart 4 is up next, with a "deep dive" into the series also scheduled for next month's D23 event.

Canceled Kingdom Hearts spin-off's intro apparently leaks online and not even veteran fans understand what's going on: "Why does it look like Pacific Rim but with Keyblades"

A slew of new information about the development of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl has surfaced online following the discovery of a never-before-seen official Game Freak documentary, almost 20 full years after the release of the games.

This long-lost documentary was once mentioned by Pokemon lead Junichi Masuda in a blog post over 19 years ago, but its contents were never revealed to fans… until now. Earlier this year, an auction listing for a copy of the DVD allegedly appeared online before being snapped up by a buyer. Now, it appears that another copy of the DVD has been obtained, and this time, its contents have been uploaded and shared.

The documentary looked at the development process of the 2006 RPGs, including work-in-progress looks at the games themselves and scrapped Pokemon designs.

It should be noted that the source of this information being a physical DVD means that this is all completely separate from 2024's enormous Game Freak leak (which followed a third-party data breach). Game Freak never publicly acknowledged any leaks beyond confirming that there had been "unauthorized access" to its server in August 2024. However, last year, Nintendo reportedly began taking legal action, having apparently filed a request for a subpoena in an attempt to identify the person responsible.

We're currently in a slightly quiet time for the franchise, with the next duo of games, Pokemon Winds and Waves, not set to release until sometime next year on Switch 2. In the meantime, though, we do have more of the delightful Pokemon Pokopia to look forward to, as the first part of its paid DLC arrives next month, as well as a free update.

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

Lead developers of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse have spoken about the process that led to the creation of Rose Belmont, the game's protagonist. Initially, they didn't have a specific gender for the protagonist in mind, but after developing the story, they wanted to base it around the strong bonds between mother and daughter.

In an interview with Famitsu, as translated by GamesRadar+, director Yukiko Hokao explains how the process of developing Belmont's Curse began without a specific protagonist in mind. "At the start we hadn't decided that the protagonist would be a woman," she says. "While we were building the world and the story, we thought the role would best suit a woman, and it was decided that it should be Trevor Belmont's daughter."

She goes on to explain how the original concept for the game had the protagonist's mother die before the beginning of the game. After discussing the game's world with Motion Twin and Evil Empire, it was agreed upon that the main character should be a woman.

Producer Tsutomu Taniguchi expresses how the game's world didn't feel right for a male protagonist. "For example, if this story featured a male protagonist, we'd have to consider the type of world depicted, and I think that could be cool," he says. "However, for this story, it was naturally decided that a female protagonist would be the best fit."

Creative director Emmanuel Nouaille further explains how the protagonist's gender fits into the game's themes. "Particularly, considering her mother Sypha's curse would be inherited by her daughter, there's a bond between parent and child," he says. "There is a strong connection between the two, and it gives her a clear motivation to avenge her mother's death and face her cruel fate. From this, the protagonist became Rose Belmont, and the role was best suited for a woman."

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse wants you to find the "joy" in the difficulty and it won't be "simple or easy": "That's not Castlevania."

Splatoon Raiders is finally out in the wild, which means the brand-new amiibo, which feature brand-new figures based on the iconic Deep Cut trio, are too.

Anyone who didn't pre-order these fabulous new renditions of Shiver, Big Man and Frye might first resort to retailers like Amazon to grab them today, but I'd advise against it if you don't want to overpay. While listed for £49.99 at Nintendo, they're currently as high as £57.07 at Amazon, which is a little over £7 more than they should be. As it stands, £50 is already a big ask for the trio if you're only after one character, so unless you don't mind splashing more cash than you need to, I recommend grabbing the newest figures straight from Ninty today.

Just in case anyone didn't know, the official Nintendo online store remains the best place for grabbing new amiibo in the UK. Time and time again, the official storefront has been pretty reliable for posting the latest figures (Resident Evil amiibo excluded) and ensuring they're not a penny over, which is also the case for this latest Splatoon Raiders set of collectibles.

While mine hasn't arrived yet (hurry up, postman), I made sure to pre-order the set on the Nintendo site months ago, far before the game in fact. That's because I knew that I could get them for their full £49.99 price rather than having to give in to re-sellers later if they happened to sell out. Thankfully, that's not been the case, and they're readily in stock as of typing these very words, which I recommend you jump on over alternatives like Amazon.

I know the additional £7 on the Amazon listing isn't a huge deal, but the set is already pretty pricey to begin with. As someone who's been collecting the things for over a decade, I'd much prefer fellow amiibo and Splatoon fans get a hold of them for as little as you can - and the listing price at Nintendo is exactly that.

If you're US-based, you can actually buy the amiibo separately while we're stuck with a triple pack. Shiver, Big Man, and Frye are available for $24.99 at GameStop each, which is pretty much the price you can expect across a wide range of US retailers until any future deals wash ashore.

• View all amiibo at Nintendo UK

Check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch headsets, the best Nintendo Switch 2 cameras, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards for some ink-credible accessories that can aid you on your Splatoon Raiders adventure.

Shigeru Miyamoto says that Nintendo will have to be more proactive in creating new characters, but has to be careful about it.

One thing Nintendo has continuously gotten stick for over the last decade or so is the tendency to rely on legacy series for its games. And while there have been more attempts at bringing something new to the table than many give it credit for (remember Codename S.T.E.A.M.?), a new IP – especially before 2015 or so – was a bit of a rare sight for Nintendo. However, Splatoon has proven that the sauce is still there, and has gone on to be one of Nintendo's premier franchises in its 11-year lifespan.

Speaking to Famitsu (via Nintendo Everything), Miyamoto says that "it’s good to create new characters," but the company has to be "strict in judging whether they’ll really work globally."

There have been a few, let's say, out-there titles in Nintendo's library that use pre-existing characters but almost feel like they belong to a different franchise (for example, Wario Master of Disguise), and Miyamoto admits that this happens at the company. "Even during the development of Splatoon, there were times when we thought, 'If the characters are going to be like this, wouldn’t it be better to just use Mario?' And then, when we came up with the prototype for the Inklings that are out there now, we realized, ‘With these, there’s no need to use Mario.'"

Aside from Nintendogs, the last new franchise Miyamoto was listed as coming up with the original concept for was Pikmin in 2001. He explains, "It’s been 25 years since I arrived at Pikmin, which was the result of my own pursuit of a globally appealing character, so we need to be more proactive to create new ones." However, don't expect it to come from Miyamoto, as he says, "I’ll leave that to the younger generation," which he did with Splatoon.

Shigeru Miyamoto admits Nintendo's been pumping out "a lot of remakes" as Ocarina of Time approaches, but says most people stopped playing the original games within 5 years anyway.

Mario and Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto says that the games that resonate the best with players aren't made to chase profit or global appeal.

Speaking to Famitsu (via machine translation by VGC), Miyamoto is asked why he thinks Nintendo's games have global appeal on the scale that they do. The Mario creator recalls the many times he's been asked how a "mustachioed middle-aged guy" became the best-selling game franchise of all-time, and admits he has wondered the same thing, but that the key may be that he was introduced alongside fun games.

And that may be the key, because if you really think about it, there is something kind of weird about video games' most iconic character not being a space marine or some sort of superpowered animal, but instead the guy you hire to fix your shower. But Miyamoto explains that when Nintendo comes up with new game ideas, the developers start with the fundamental ideas instead of looking at the current market trends.

However, that isn't to say those trends aren't taken into account, but starting from that point isn't the right way to go about it. The same goes for developers who seek to make a better version of the games they love. He explains that if a game is remembered for being unique, it'll end up making an impact on people.

Miyamoto also adds that he dislikes terms like "recouping costs" or "depreciation," adding that if you are constantly asking, "Will this make money right away?" you won't be making something unique or with broad appeal.

"The people funding these projects are doing it to make a fortune, so why celebrate things like ‘we recouped our investment’ or short-term profits?" He says. "To me, if you’ve burned through the talents of so many people just to achieve that, that feels like a massive failure."

He explains that when people at Nintendo ask what they should do, his number one piece of advice is to turn their idea into something that showcases they were the one who created the game. This has proven to be a great thing for many Japanese developers; you know when you're playing a game directed by Hideki Kamiya, Masahiro Sakurai, or Hideo Kojima simply by playing it, and Miyamoto bringing his own experiences into projects is how we got games like The Legend of Zelda and Pikmin in the first place.

Shigeru Miyamoto admits Nintendo's been pumping out "a lot of remakes" as Ocarina of Time approaches, but says most people stopped playing the original games within 5 years anyway.

It seems Japan's Patent Office is getting tired of Nintendo's ongoing patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld as both the Office and Nintendo spar over a particular, related patent application whose rejection is now under review.

Patent Publication No. 2026-077713 describes Pokemon's typical "in-game monster-capturing system," according to Automaton, which also points out that even Japanese patent law professionals are surprised how the Patent Office and Nintendo are sparring over how "inventive" it is to huck a Pokeball, using language "rarely seen in standard patent practice," according to attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara.

The Office was apparently unimpressed by the fact that "selecting a Poke Ball displayed at the bottom right of the screen causes Ash to throw it; if it hits Pikachu, Pikachu can be captured," but it expressed this while citing a gameplay video from 13 years ago, of the unofficial indie game Pokemon: Generations. The video now has new comments reading, "This game defeated Nintendo in court," and, "You saved Palworld."

But it's not that simple! Nintendo fired back at the Patent Office in a counterargument, telling the Office it "acted extremely inappropriately" by citing a copyright-infringing game like Pokemon: Generations in its rejection of its ball-throwing patent.

The Patent Office then came back with a tommy gun, saying "this argument has no bearing on determining inventive step," but if Nintendo really wanted to talk about copyright infringement, "accuracy should take precedence."

"In that case," it continues, "the notice would need to use cumbersome descriptions such as 'an object in the form of a small animal' instead of Pokemon, 'an object in the form of a boy wearing a red cap' instead of Ash, 'an object in the form of a small yellow animal' instead of Pikachu, 'an object in the form of a small green animal' instead of Bulbasaur, and 'a spherical object with a red upper half and a white lower half' instead of Poke Ball."

"However," continues the Patent Office, "even with such rephrasing, the logical structure of the grounds for refusal remains unchanged."

Ouch – but Nintendo has a band-aid, and it seemingly successfully filed a petition against the rejection. The Patent Office's website now categorizes Patent Publication No. 2026-077713 as having its "rejection decision under review." This patent isn't the one at the center of Pokemon's legal battle against Palworld, but it does belong to the same patent family, and its approval certainly wouldn't help Palworld.

Japanese patent law expert says Nintendo may have strengthened its claims specifically to target Palworld.

In May 2013, YouTuber JolteonPlays uploaded a video showcasing the rough prototype for an unofficial "3D indie Pokemon" game called Pokemon: Generations. To this day, it occasionally comes up among Pokemon fans dreaming about what new games in the series might look like. Today, recent comments on that 13-year-old video have been flooded with praise for a different reason: the existence of Pokemon: Generations has been used to dismiss potentially limiting patents filed by Nintendo amidst its Palworld lawsuit.

As Automaton reports, the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) recently upheld its rejection of a Nintendo patent targeting an "in-game monster-capturing system" – the sort of system that the company's used to argue infringement by Palworld during an extended legal process that has seen developer Pocketpair quietly adjust a few of its own features and designs to be less Pokemon-like.

This does not represent a direct shutdown of Nintendo's case against Palworld, however, as this is just one patent indirectly placed in the same family. (Last year, Pocketpair comms lead said patent infringement was something nobody considered during Palworld's exhaustive legal clearance.)

The JPO cites that exact Pokemon: Generations demonstration in its rejection under "Reasons for Rejection," arguing that Nintendo's patented idea fails to demonstrate adequate "inventive step." Definitions vary between countries, but the World Intellectual Property Organization provides a useful baseline explanation: "The condition of inventive step/non-obviousness is fulfilled if the invention as a whole, compared to the prior art as a whole, would not have been obvious to a person skilled in the art."

I pulled the URL for the Pokemon: Generations video straight from the translated notice of rejection posted to the JPO's logs, and it looks like plenty of other people, including several Japanese fans, have heard the news as well. It feels like some people may be overestimating the impact of this patent rejection on Nintendo or its relevance to Palworld's case, but there's an understandable celebratory spirit in the comments among folks happy to see ideas remain unconstrained by patents.

"You saved the entire industry," one top comment reads.

"To think years later this very footage would be used by the JPO to reject a Nintendo patent claim," adds another.

"The butterfly effect in action," says a third.

An auto-translated Japanese comment adds: "The comments section is going wild, lol. But even JPO must have thought, 'Nintendo, you're crazy...'"

This goes on and on. A huge chunk, if not a majority, of the comments on the video appear to be recent. More than anything, I'm struck by how the JPO's usage of this old fan game has led to this exact discussion. I don't think JolteonPlays ever saw it coming.

Palworld 1.0 has already moved over 1.8 million copies for Pocketpair, analyst estimates, with 65% of players on Steam.

Nintendo's release calendar, dotted with Star Fox and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, might make you think you got sucked up by a wormhole and thrown back to the '90s (until you look at the price tags). Mario creator and Nintendo director Shigeru Miyamoto can empathize. He knows the developer has been fiddling with a lot of remakes lately, but he thinks it's reasonable to do so when fans have such short attention spans.

Miyamoto tells Famitsu in a new interview (translated by Nintendo Everything), "Some people might say there are a lot of remakes, but after five years, a lot of people have outgrown games and stop playing them."

Just guessing, but I think there are probably a few people out there who would take issue with the idea that they have "outgrown" one of the developer's titles, especially after a measly five years. I, for one, have been gladly helping my Nintendo DS Cooking Mama in the kitchen for a glorious 17 years.

But Nintendo seems eager to introduce newcomers to what first made it a major video game brand.

Miyamoto continues, "Young people today don't have the opportunity to play games from 10 years ago, so remaking them to be more playable and releasing them again is a good way to meet the demand."

I'm a little skeptical of this, too – I think young people would have more opportunity to play Nintendo's old games if the developer didn't actively kill servers for hardware like the 3DS and Wii U. That said, I don't expect developers to keep their old hardware alive forever.

Instead, I wish Nintendo realized that a fresh crop of fans might be willing to donate their organs if it started releasing undeniably creative, new games the way it used to all the time – and is now trying to replicate, but heavily through remakes. It's willingly stuck in the past.

Earlier this summer, former Nintendo marketing leads Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang expressed frustration with Nintendo's remake strategy in a YouTube video on the topic, worrying that a "truly creative company like Nintendo" had resigned itself to being a nostalgia act.

"That would be so sad if they kind of buried that [innovative] part of themselves away because they were too scared to take the risk," Yang said at the time.

Miyamoto seems to think remakes are one way Nintendo can earn stardom among a new generation, telling Famitsu, "Letting people know the original games also leads to future developments, so we've been actively pursuing that recently."

It's heartening to know Nintendo is at least keeping "future developments" in mind as it revisits its older titles. But if Miyamoto really believes players completely drop a lovable game after just five years, he might underestimate what made Nintendo's greatest games so great to begin with.

Nintendo promises to keep "aiming for unique entertainment that only we could produce" as it shouts out its continued "originality" following recent fan vote.

On July 17, Xbox-owned Bethesda announced a whole bunch of stuff about the future of Fallout and, more distantly, The Elder Scrolls and Starfield. That same day, studio union OneBGS says devs hit by recent layoffs at Bethesda's Montreal branch were told that their severance pay would be as low as legally possible despite the billions in profit recorded by parent Microsoft and investment in the IP they helped build.

In a post on Bluesky, OneBGS - Bethesda Game Studios Union claims, "Montreal workers are being treated especially poorly by XBOX and we won’t stand for it."

The union says that, when the layoffs were announced on July 6, employees "across the US and Canada were told via video call" that they would "remain employed until September while the company negotiated severance with our union."

The union says the "breathing room" these terms provided evaporated on July 17. Behind the Fallout info explosion, the union says Xbox "told their laid-off Bethesda Montreal employees that they would receive the smallest severance legally possible without bargaining with the union."

This news reportedly came via "termination letters" delivered via email. The union says this left affected employees with "the bare legal minimum in terms of severance: eight weeks of pay in lieu of the minimum legal notice, any outstanding vacation pay, etc."

Additionally, the union says impacted staff "were to also immediately lose their group benefits health insurance."

In response, the union has filed "yet another legal complaint against Bethesda," alleging it continues to "violate labor laws in Canada."

"Bethesda and XBOX leadership depend on our labour to make them millions, and yet when we do, we are disposed of," the union concludes. "The cycle of workers paying for the mistakes of management ends here."

This news was shared on Bluesky by Bethesda lead character artist Ben Carnow, who adds, "Microsoft did not negotiate with the Union over layoffs in Montreal as they are legally required to do. Folks lost their healthcare with zero notice. Unconscionable."

The union's post also links to feedback listed under Xbox's new "Player Voice" forum. The post collectively calls out the thousands of Xbox staff and developers that Microsoft has laid off in just a few years, demands executive penalties and accountability (like "no executive bonuses when there is a layoff"), asks for an end to layoffs, and requests "transparency for players."

The United Videogame Workers CWA union, an industry-wide organization, previously argued that the Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 news was meant to distract from the blows dealt to Bethesda employees in the background.

"The timing of this kind of press is intentional," the UVW-CWA said. "How are they going to make these games when Bethesda and Obsidian collectively laid off hundreds? Don’t fall for it."

There are no Pokemon players more dedicated, patient, and locked in than shiny hunters, and one veteran is proving just that as he simultaneously uses 58 consoles in the hopes of hunting down an apparently one-in-9-million duck that, worst of all, has a chance of running away and being lost forever.

Shiny Pokemon are the ultimate trophies for Pokemon players. Rare, sparkly, alternate-colored variants of your favorite 'mons – what's not to love? While some players might never happen upon one, and others might only find a small number throughout their time playing, shiny hunters are on a different level – dedicating themselves to tracking down extremely rare targets, ridiculous numbers of the things, and using all sorts of methods to do so.

There may be no better example of this than what I'm about to show you. Behold, what content creator Professor Rex describes as "the world's CRAZIEST shiny hunting setup," and for good reason. He's got 58 consoles – specifically, 25 Wiis and 33 GameCubes – all playing the same copy of Pokemon Sapphire (playable on those consoles using Pokemon Box's Adventure Mode), which he's able to control simultaneously with one controller.

What is all this for, though? You'd think anyone willing to put in so much effort would be tracking down an ultra-rare Pokémon, like a Legendary Pokemon or something similar. Well, he is, sort of, but you're going to have to bear with me – it's a Golduck.

To be exact, Rex claims this is a Golduck that has a "one in 9 million" chance of appearing. He's specifically looking for a level 25 one in the Hoenn Safari Zone – they can appear between levels 25 and 40, but only the weakest will do in this case.

Now, I'll be honest, I'm no mathematician, and myself and my fellow GamesRadar+ co-workers haven't – despite our best efforts – been able to work out exactly how Rex calculated these odds, but given that he writes that the level 25 Golduck can only appear in a 1% encounter slot to begin with, you can start to see where those base one in 8,192 shiny odds start to get inflated.

And, let's just wind things back a moment – he's looking in the Safari Zone for this thing. That means that, on the wildly unlikely chance that this Golduck actually appears, there's a terrifying chance it'll run away from the battle before Rex is even able to capture it. This is all part of Safari Week – an annual community-driven event that sees shiny hunters brave the only areas in the main series games (aside from the Legends titles and Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee) where Pokemon can flee from fights, raising the stakes and leading to some triumphant wins and devastating losses in the process.

You might think this is all a lot of effort for a Golduck with a pink-tinged bill, and yeah, it kind of is. But this is more than just a Golduck – this hyper-specific Golduck represents a mammoth journey of ridiculous odds and an even more mind-blowing setup to actually encounter it… should it appear at all. For Rex's sake, let's hope it does – and more importantly, that it stays in the ball.

I've been a Pokemon shiny hunter for 16 years, but nothing could have prepared me to join 70+ players trying to find as many rare creatures as possible in 60 minutes.

Sonic Team lead Takashi Iizuka teases there's more to come within the series' many pillars, and that keeping the series' momentum is a challenge.

Sonic is simultaneously a yearly franchise and a franchise that feels like it's been missing. While 2026 is the first year without a new release for the series since 2018, it will feature a second season of DLC for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds.

However, fans have been wondering when a proper follow-up to Sonic Frontiers will finally emerge – possibly compounded by general disappointment with 2023's Sonic Superstars, the latest mainline entry in the series.

Speaking to 80.lv, Iizuka explains he sees the different branches of the series as pillars – such as 2D games, 3D games, spinoffs, and collaborations. He explains, "Each of the different pillars contributes in meaningful ways to the Sonic franchise, and we're looking forward to what we have in store."

As for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Iizuka says the second season of DLC for the acclaimed racing game – which features collabs with Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion – "signals our long-term investment in the game," and while it seemingly underperformed, it looks like Sega is happy to keep trying until everyone realizes that it's actually pretty sick.

Iizuka adds, "While keeping momentum in such a competitive market is always a challenge, our team remains dedicated to delivering content that stays true to the Sonic universe."

Most recently, a collab game between Sonic and indie hit Pico Park was announced. A decade ago, Sega apparently had the character on the chopping block, but fortunately the blue blur is likely here to stay for now… I really want to hear about that Frontiers sequel though.

Sonic fans couldn't wait for Sega's new alternate-reality game – until they spotted the AI training agreement.

The lead designer behind pioneering MMO Ultima Online says the genre has finally broken free from the shackles of World of Warcraft.

Speaking to 80LV, Raph Koster, whose MMO resumé also includes a suite of early 2000s titles including EverQuest and its sequel, as well as Star Wars: Galaxies, says that he is finally returning to the genre after several decades, in part because it no longer has to chase World of Warcraft.

After Blizzard began what has proven to be an almost uninterrupted stint at the top in 2004, there was a rush to create 'the WoW killer' - a feat Koster suggests was a fool's errand.

In returning to MMOs with Stars Reach, Koster says he was encouraged by the feeling that "MMOs were finally free of the fever dream of imitating World of Warcraft." That's partly because of "the rise of sandboxy gameplay in multiple genres at once." Citing the broader multiplayer options of games like Minecraft, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Valheim, and No Man's Sky, Koster says that "it's clear that there's interest and demand for more than killing orcs over and over."

Whether that's a fair criticism of World of Warcraft in 2026 is a debate I'm not qualified to have, but it's undeniable that multiplayer gaming has gained a lot of depth in the last decade. Fortnite and Roblox are other key examples, showing off a world in which the desire to simply spend time together is just as important as having a dedicated goal. The rise of 'friendslop' titles like Peak are other examples, even if they're not 'massively' multiplayer sandboxes.

For Koster, "the unique thing" that MMOs offer is a persistent world and large numbers of players. Most of those games listed above offer that persistence, albeit with smaller populations, and their popularity meant Koster thought "the time was ripe" to make his return to the genre.

I've spent over a year getting deep, down, and dirty with a smorgasbord of the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, but the Lululook Gaming Pillow Stand might be the weirdest I've tested so far.

This big boy (and trust me, it's pretty big) is a $64.99 (Amazon) stand that can suspend your handheld while providing a place to put your phone, and a few handfuls of crisps should you be peckish for some carbohydrates. Rather than being a device that hooks onto your bedside table, which I use frequently alongside my iPad for catching up with Netflix in bed, this stand is attached to a large padded pillow which you can place directly on your lap.

Curling up with my Switch 2 under the covers is my favorite pastime, and this Lululook accessory has made it considerably more enjoyable. That being said, its full price is on par with new Switch 2 games, which might be an understandably hard sell for many. Fortunately, it's at least down to £64.99 at Amazon in the UK right now, which makes me slightly more comfortable with recommending it today if you too love nothing more than getting cozy in bed with your Ninty handheld.

I've mentioned it a few times in my past accessory write-ups, but I have something called hypothyroidism. One of the main symptoms of the illness is joint pain, which I get predominantly in my knees, wrists, and fingers. As you can imagine, it makes gaming a sometimes painful experience (and not just when I frequently lose a match in Marvel Rivals), but during the past few weeks, I've been able to take the pressure off my wrists by using this Switch 2 pillow.

The Switch 2 isn't as notoriously heavy as the best gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck OLD, but any time I can negate a bit of its weight off my wrists is an opportunity I'm going to take full advantage of. This accessory allows just that, and I've had a far nicer time only having to put up with the weight of the Joy-Cons and not the console as a whole. I know it's not designed as an accessibility aid, but I appreciate that it can be one, and one I'm going to continue to rely on during all future pain flare-ups.

While taking the pillow out for a spin, I had less achy wrists and games like Pokemon Pokopia at eye level while cozied up in my duvet's warm embrace, and it was pretty sweet. The stand is so lightweight that I barely felt it on my achy legs either, and it was just as comfortable to play on the sofa, especially as I didn't have to crank my neck to look up at my TV.

The only big part of the pillow I didn't resonate with (besides its price) was its bowl. There's a little ridge just above it that's handy for keeping your smartphone upright, which I appreciated as a tool to easily look at Pokopia guides. Yet the bowl always felt like it was trying to coerce me into mindlessly snacking. There's nothing in the brand's marketing spiel that suggests you have to use it to store 'unhealthy' snacks, but the marketing images do include crisps, which is a bit annoying when I'm actively trying not to mindlessly game and snack at the same time.

I imagine anyone with a healthier relationship to food would probably find the bowl pretty neat, but I wasn't a fan. I ended up using it to store my Joy-Con controllers when I needed a break, and I advise anyone else to do the same who doesn't want to get into a habit of late-night snacking in bed. On a positive note, the bowl is at least really easy to clean. It features a large dial underneath that can be turned to unlock it from the foam padding so you can easily run it under the tap. It really feels like Lululook thought of everything - well, besides that some may not be comfortable with its eye-watering price tag.

All in all, this is not an accessory that I'd insist every Switch 2 player needs in their setup. But if you prefer handheld mode, love gaming in bed and don't already own a Switch 2 stand of any kind, it's a weird and wonderful gadget to have at your disposal. Hopefully it's £12 off in the UK right now should help make it a little more accessible too.

• View all Nintendo Switch 2 accessory deals at Amazon

Check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch headsets, the best Nintendo Switch 2 cameras, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 microSD Express Cards if you're more in the market for less niche Ninty accessories.