Gaming News

Hitoshi Sakimoto has been composing music for video games for 40 years, and his remarkable contribution to the medium is being marked with a unique concert in London next year. "The Colors of Harmony will be the 40th anniversary of Hitoshi Sakimoto‘s work on soundtracks which brought to life many enchanting worlds created by legendary Japanese studios Vanillaware and Square Enix," says GameMusic.net, the company behind the event. "The composer will join us in person for this special evening, acc

The launch of the GF1 Neptune – a FPGA recreation of the Genesis / Mega Drive and 32X combo that never actually hit store shelves – has been delayed. GamesCare, the Brazilian company behind the project, has stated that the delay will enable it to "ensure that both the software and the cores provide a stable and high-quality experience." Here's the PR from GamesCare: Sega originally announced the Neptune project back in the mid-'90s, just as it was preparing to release the 32X and Saturn. Neptune

What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in January 2026? Well, Microsoft hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but based on some games that were added to the service this time last year, we can at least make a few predictions ahead of time. We know that a lot of Xbox users want more advance notice of games leaving Xbox Game Pass, but Microsoft usually gives us around two weeks right now - and don't forget, publishers sometimes secure late deals with Microsoft to keep their games on Game Pass, even after the

Since the release of the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X a couple of months ago, it's been hard to find any kind of discounts or giveaways for the two devices, but we've just come across something via the Bloodlines 2 team on social media. As you can see below, they're giving away a free ROG Xbox Ally X, which is pretty crazy considering how expensive (£799.99, €899.99, $999.99) that device is! You're going to need some serious luck to win it, but you might as well try. Here's a look at what you'll nee

Apart from Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, one other significant Switch 2 release this week was the third-party title Assassin's Creed Shadows. While Ubisoft's new feudal Japan outing has been mostly well-received by critics on Nintendo's new hybrid platform, it seems the experience hasn't been quite as enjoyable for some players. Multiple message board posts and social media threads online are filled with player reports about the game randomly crashing. Some players have even experienced repeated cras

Earlier this week, Nintendo released a new update for the Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World, bumping the racer up to Version 1.4.0. In case you missed it, this is a major update, including all sorts of adjustments, changes and improvements. One highlight, in particular, is tied to the game's courses. As mentioned in the patch notes, the layout of select tracks has been changed for certain modes. YouTube channel 'RetroArchive' has now shared a look at all these changes and redesigns in a sid

If you played Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you're probably familiar with the Decayed Master Sword. First 4 Figures now has plans for a "life-size" statue of it, with pre-orders scheduled to open on 18th December 2025. Pricing hasn't been revealed just yet, but if you sign up to the First 4 Figures email, you can get $10.00 off. For now, here's a teaser in the form of a silhouette reveal: First 4 Figures also has a range of other Zelda-themed items including a Sheikah Slate, Majora's Mask, Hylia

Update [Sat 6th Dec 2025, 1:30pm]: The Dreamcast port of Star Fox 64 is now available: Original Story: JNMartin's unofficial Sega Dreamcast port of Mario Kart 64 is getting pretty close to its first public release. However, it appears that its lead developer has already started working on his next port of an N64 classic. The Dreamcast developer @Falco_Girgis shared the news earlier today on Twitter/X, stating while he has been busy fixing the last couple of bugs in the Mario Kart 64 DC port, ahe

Fans of Suda51’s development studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, is known for games like No More Heroes and the Silver Case series. Up next on the studio’s docket is blood-soaked action game Romeo is a Dead Man. It promises a unique combination of ultra-violent science fiction and super sleek action gameplay, wrapped up in an original (and bonkers) story. This is the first Grasshopper Manufacture title to be published in-house; it will be released in February 2026. It is the studio’s first new IP i

Pikmin 4 received a free update in November adding new content, but it wasn't a Switch 2 upgrade and didn't include any enhancements for the game on the new hybrid platform. With this in mind, the same Switch title has now reportedly popped up in a section on the eShop, which focuses on first-party Nintendo "games with free updates" and also notes how select titles are enhanced when played on the Switch 2. This discovery was originally shared on the Pikmin subreddit (via My Nintendo News) and ha

To celebrate the holiday season this year, Nintendo has released special Super Mario icons you can redeem right now with My Nintendo Platinum Points. This is a "limited time" offer, and the first wave is available from now until 11th December 2025. As you can see, there are icons for Mario and the rest of the gang, along with a few other themed designs. These icons are 10 Platinum Points each, and the borders and banners will set you back five Platinum Points each. Along with this, Nintendo has

Splitgate 2 is coming back to PS5 and PS4 very soon, and not only has it been given a total overhaul, it's also got a new name. Now called Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, the free-to-play multiplayer FPS relaunches on 17th December 2025: The above trailer showcases some gameplay before design director Josh Watson gives an overview of exactly what's changed since Splitgate 2 was reverted back to beta. Here's a quick rundown of the major changes: Removal of factions and character-based abilities Overh

You may have forgotten about MIO: Memories in Orbit, a Metroidvania action platformer announced earlier this year. Well, publisher Focus Entertainment has finally announced a release date; it comes to PS5 very soon, on 20th January 2026. MIO is the name of the little robot you play as. They've lost their memories, and you'll have to navigate a vast, maze-like spaceship in order to solve its mysteries. It looks to contain your typical Metroidvania fare, with a mix of combat and traversal as you s

Alright, so you probably saw the news about this "Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania" project that was cross-posted to Pure Xbox by our friends at Push Square yesterday - a game made in Dreams for PS5 that's gone viral this week. The gist is that someone made their own version of Banjo-Kazooie inside of the PS5 creation tool, and it's so impressive that even the Xbox Studio "Rare" (the original developer of Banjo-Kazooie) highlighted it as some "incredible work". The big problem with this is that it's re

Bar a few exceptions, the days of opening your boxed copy of a new game and eagerly flipping through the instruction booklet are behind us. But it looks like Nintendo isn't ready to give up on the nostalgia just yet, as it has released a printable 'databook' for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, that just makes our hearts sing (thanks for the heads up, @ninpatentswatch). The booklet is only available on the Japanese Nintendo website at the time of writing — with all of the text in Japanese, natch — but i

Michael, one of the three main characters from the single player story in GTA 5, will return to the GTA Online part of the experience next week in a free update. You can get a bit of visual context in the trailer above. Across a new series of missions featuring the protagonist, you shall work towards earning your very own mansion. "For those who have reached the highest rungs of the criminal ladder, celebrate your triumph with a painstakingly crafted palace in one of Los Santos’ most exclusive n

Tiny Bookshop, a highly acclaimed indie title that released earlier this year on PC and Switch, is confirmed for release on PS5. The cute and cozy adventure trundles onto Sony's console on 10th April 2026, both physically and digitally. In the game, you run a mobile bookshop you can take to different areas, setting up shop and recommending books to your customers. It's a stress-free management game about stocking different genres to satisfy different people, getting to know characters through in

Earlier this week saw the announcement of Postal: Bullet Paradise, a Vampire Survivors-esque "bullet heaven" title based on the longstanding shooter franchise. However, before you get too excited, know that the PS5/PS4 game has been cancelled — just two days following its official announcement. This is because the game saw an "overwhelmingly negative" response from the community, all revolving around accusations of heavy generative AI usage. For reference, here's the announce trailer: The video

Satirical sci-fi is in at the moment, with Helldivers 2 taking off massively last year, and its direct inspiration, Starship Troopers, is getting in on the action. Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War is a freshly announced single player first-person shooter set within the universe of the much-loved sci-fi action movie. It's not exactly what you might expect; it winds back the clock to 1997 — the year of the film's release — and presents us with a retro FPS, as you can see in this trailer: We rec

Netflix has entered into an agreement to acquire Warner Bros Discovery for $82.7 billion, which includes the publisher's video game developers and IPs. This means that, should the deal go through, the ownership of Mortal Kombat team NetherRealm Studios, the Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche, and other outfits like TT Games and Rocksteady will be transferred to Netflix. IPs such as Harry Potter, DC, and Game of Thrones are all included in the deal. In a statement posted to the Netflix website,

Update [Fri 5th Dec 2025, 7:45am]: We have an update on this coming from Game Developer, where a Warner Bros. spokesperson confirms that its video game division will be included in the sale to Netflix. We'll throw a quick quote from the site on this confirmation down below: Original Story: In an announcement that's sending shockwaves throughout the entertainment world, streaming giant Netflix has announced its intentions to buy Warner Bros. - for a whopping $72 billion (or $82.7 billion as a "to

Apparently, something is happening over in Nintendo land this week. There's some kind of long-awaited sequel that's been in the works for 18 years? "Metroid"..."Prime"... they call it? That's a new one to us! Seriously though, the new release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond actually has a connection to Xbox, and specifically the Halo series. When the reviews and latest gameplay footage started doing the rounds this week, many people were making the comparison to Halo, and it seems there's a very good

Clockwork Revolution has a bit of hype behind it within the Xbox fanbase - heck, even boss Phil Spencer sounds pretty excited about what inXile is cooking up. And, while info on the title remains scarce, the team has delivered a new message about the game as part of the latest PC Gaming Show. The upcoming Xbox RPG was named amongst the showcase's 'Most Wanted' titles, and so, Brian Fargo & co. gave us a quick update on how it's progressing over at Microsoft HQ. We'll share the video message

While Mario Kart World may have just received a rather hefty update, fans of the Switch 2 launch game have been eagerly anticipating any potential DLC that will come to the racer. And a recent datamine of Nintendo Today! has brought all of those hopes and dreams to the surface (thanks, IGN!). So, some context: earlier this week, Nintendo updated its news app with a suite of Donkey Kong themes, with many of them seemingly inspired by Donkey Kong Bananza. Fans decided to datamine the themes and se

3Goo, which has previously published the likes of Gear.Club series and WRC Generations on Nintendo consoles, has announced a brand new multiplayer grand-prix racer. 4PGP: Four-Player Grand Prix, which releases on 5th February 2026, has a phenomenally straight-forward moniker, and we reckon that suits its aims as a no-nonsense 90s-style racer just fine, as the keyword here is "simplicity" in being able to pick up and play, with easy to grasp controls. That extends to the visuals too, in the clean