Digimon Story: Time Stranger (Switch 2)

$60 | Releases July 10, 2026

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy

Digimon Story: Time Stranger is coming to Switch 2 and Switch on July 10, 2026. This follows the monster-collecting RPG's original launch on PS5, Xbox, and PC last year. Preorders for the physical Switch 2 and Switch versions are available for $60 at Amazon and Best Buy--which is $10 less than the game's MSRP on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC--and include many of the same preorder bonuses as those previous versions. Here's a rundown of where to preorder Digimon Story: Time Stranger on Switch 2 and Switch, plus all the bonus content you get for securing an early copy.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn

$50 | Releases May 22

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Walmart

After first launching on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S back in 2021, Tales of Arise is now getting a Switch 2 release on May 22 with the new Beyond the Dawn Edition. This $50 Switch 2-exclusive version is available to preorder at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. This new version is packed with bonus content, including the Beyond the Dawn story expansion, and the physical version of the action RPG also comes with unique reversible cover art. Here are the full details on the Switch 2 version of Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn and where to preorder.

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn $50 | Releases May 22

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn includes both the base game and its expansion, Beyond the Dawn. Released in 2023, the expansion adds around 20 hours of extra content to Tales of Arise. The physical edition also includes reversible cover art, plus a selection of additional in-game costumes and items. Here's a look at all the extras:

• Tales of Arise base game
• Beyond the Dawn DLC
• Reversible cover art (physical edition only)
• Travel Support Pack
• Silver Weapon collection
• Free Update battle contents
• Two additional difficulty modes
• Weekly Famitsu weapon
• Atelier Sophie collaboration costumes
• SNX Collaboration Pack

Preorders for Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn are available for $50 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Digital preorders are also available on the Nintendo eShop. Please note that this is a Game Key-Card release, meaning no game data is included on the cartridge. Instead, the physical game works as an access key that lets any Switch 2 console you insert it into download the digital version of the game from the eShop. You will need to download the full game before playing, which requires 55GB of free space on your Switch 2 or its microSD card.

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Walmart

Tales of Arise originally launched in 2021, and the sci-fi fantasy game follows the masked slave Alphen and the mysterious girl Shionne on their journey to end the Renans' oppression of the Dahnan people that has lasted for over 300 years. Featuring fast-paced combat and a deep customization system, Tales of Arise earned generally positive reviews, with critics praising it for its storytelling and mature themes.

"If you're looking for a lengthy, charming, and engaging JRPG to play on your shiny new console or PC gaming rig, Tales of Arise is certainly a fine choice. Just don't go into it expecting an all-time classic," Heidi Kemps wrote in GameSpot's Tales of Arise review.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales (Amazon Exclusive Edition)

$70 | Releases June 18

Preorder at Amazon

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales (Standard Edition)

$70 | Releases June 18

Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Walmart

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales finally has a release date of June 18, 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC, and preorders are available now. You can pick up the standard Amazon Exclusive Edition for $60 on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch 2, which comes with a double-sided poster. Standard editions without a poster can be preordered from Best Buy and Walmart.

If you prefer digital, the Standard and Digital Deluxe Editions are available for preorder on the PlayStation and Xbox storefronts for $60 and $70, respectively. You can also preorder directly from the Square Enix Store, all versions are available to purchase early, including the exclusive Collector's Box for $230 (or $160 without the game). Here's a look at where you can preorder each version of The Adventures of Elliot, plus all the preorder bonuses and exclusive items they include.

The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Standard Edition Preorder Bonuses

Preordering any version of the game comes with Elliot's Departure pack, a couple of useful in-game items designed to give players a leg up in the game's early hours. The Attack Up Sword Magicite boosts your sword attacks, and the Departure Brooch accessory increases the amount of cash and magicite that enemies drop. You can only receive these bonuses if you secure your copy before the launch date.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

With very little fanfare or promotion in advance, Fortnite just surprised its players with a new live event that took place during rounds of Battle Royale at 3 PM PT on Thursday afternoon--not really when anybody is expecting a Fortnite event to go down. The event saw a rocket saw a rocket emerge from the recently added red rift in the sky, before flying around a bit through several other rifts, and then it eventually landed at Classified Canyon. In all, the event lasted about 90 seconds. Check out a replay of the event below.

THE VISITOR IS NOW ON THE CHAPTER 7 ISLAND
FULL MINI LIVE EVENT pic.twitter.com/2ntX52FSOw

— Shiina (@ShiinaBR) February 19, 2026

What's interesting about this event is that it was basically the same as the rocket launch event that occurred in Chapter 1 Season 4, and which was repeated last summer in Fortnite OG, but this time it happened in reverse. In that past event, the visitor took off from the island, flew through several rifts, and then left through a new rift--the rift being red was a new wrinkle in the OG re-do. But this time he arrived through the rift and landed on the island.

What does that mean? It's hard to say just yet, but after the event ended, a new line of story quests was added to BR, and you can talk to The Visitor himself next to his rocket at Classified Canyon to get a few new details. One more set of new story quests will drop next week as well.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

MIO: Memories in Orbit

$30 | Releases April 10

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Walmart Preorder at GameStop

After garnering positive reviews earlier this year with its digital release, MIO: Memories in Orbit is officially gearing up for a physical release on April 10. The metroidvania sees you exploring a gorgeous, unsettling, robotic world, as you unravel its mysteries and unlock heaps of new abilities along the way. Preorders are now open for the physical version of MIO, which is coming to PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Switch later this year.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The fate of the world is in your hands in Arc System Works' new title, Donutal. But you won't save it by picking up a gun. Instead, Donutal places players in charge of determining which aliens can immigrate to Earth and which visitors from another world are actually threats to humanity's survival. And a free demo is on Steam now.

The premise may remind some fans of a more lighthearted Papers, Please or the Men in Black films, minus the action sequences. Donutal's action is all verbal as players converse with Earth's new arrivals in the orbiting space station that used to be called the ISS. The players' character is the Chief Xeno Inspector on the station, which is the job that's waiting for you after 150 years in stasis. Because the player was charged for each of those years in cryosleep, they have to pay off a massive debt before they can even dream about going home to Earth.

To work off that money owed, players will screen groups of up to as many as eight aliens at once. Subjects can be interrogated one or two at a time, but it prove more illuminating with duos. Some alien species drop all facades about their hidden motives if placed with members from a rival race.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

A once-beloved PlayStation studio is no more.

On Thursday, we learned that Sony Interactive Entertainment is shutting down Bluepoint Games, which had not released a game in over five years. Bluepoint made a name for itself with remakes of PlayStation classics like Shadow of the Colossus and Demon's Souls, but as Bloomberg reports, the studio worked on a live-service God of War game after being acquired in 2021. That was canceled by Sony in early 2025, and with no new projects greenlit about a year later, the studio will shut down.

While Bluepoint may just look like yet another victim of the video game industry's recent flurry of layoffs, studio closures, and live-service game failures, the closure is also emblematic of the biggest problems PlayStation has faced throughout the PS5 generation. This is a generation where Sony hasn't done a good job of managing and shepherding its most beloved franchises, has released fewer games due to bloated development timelines, and has been generally inconsistent with its live-service efforts.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Mega Crit has announced that Slay the Spire 2 will be released into early access on Steam on March 5. When it does come out, it'll feature a co-op mode that lets you experience the rougelike with friends.

Slay the Spire 2's co-op mode will let groups of up to four players go on a run together. It will actually give you access to multiplayer-specific cards that emphasize teamwork and ability synergy, so those who typically play roguelikes solo will have a reason to check it out.

The original Slay the Spire is a classic roguelike, with its approach to card-based combat and encounter-driven runs becoming particularly influential for the genre. This sequel was first announced in 2024 and was going to be released last year before a delay to March 2026. This new gameplay trailer finally gave us the firm March 5 early-release date, which it shares with Pokemon Pokopia and Marathon.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

As fervent as its in-game rivalries can get, the fighting game community is a diverse space that frequently bands together to support members in their time of need. So upon hearing the news that a longtime member, Ludovic Mbock, had been taken in by ICE, players from across the globe quickly banded together in a fierce show of condemnation for the government agency and support for their comrade-in-fisticuffs.

Based out of Maryland, Ludovic has been known in the fighting game community since the era of competitive Street Fighter IV. While his primary focus is on on Street Fighter VI, he also plays competitively in Tekken, The King of Fighters, and Melty Blood: Type Lumina. Ludovic was sponsored by The Hiero Group, an esports community organization based out of the Washington D.C./Maryland/Virginia (DMV) area.

"Lud has been in the FGC for as long as I can remember, dating back to the Street Fighter IV days, and a constant presence at both large events and locals," says Ref54, a longtime friend of Ludovic who asked that we use his online handle. "He's always been a friendly face in the community, always down to chat and play with folks. He forged some real tight bonds within the community, never heard a bad word about him."

Continue Reading at GameSpot

A Minecraft Movie 2 producer Roy Lee has teased that the sequel will introduce one character that fans had been clamoring for. After the first movie focused on the heroes trying to defeat Malgosha and her Piglin army, fans reacted by saying they want the Ender Dragon to show up in the sequel.

It remains to be seen if that's going to happen. But, speaking to Collider, Lee offered up the following tease, "A lot of people said, 'Yeah, just make that movie, but make sure the Ender Dragon is in it.' I think that's what a lot of the requests have been."

Another possible new character for A Minecraft Movie 2 is Alex. After all, the post-credits scene from the first movie featured Jack Black's Steve meeting up with his red-haired counterpart.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Gamers have been getting hit hard for years, thanks to Bitcoin, COVID, NFTs, and more affecting GPU price and availability, and things aren't letting up. The rapid investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has pushed the tech world into a major chip shortage that has sent the price of memory chips--the stuff that makes up RAM and SSD storage--skyrocketing. It's a problem that will eventually affect all kinds of consumer electronics.

This could mark a huge turning point for games.

The Eaters of Memory

First, let's talk about the chip shortage itself. AI (setting aside the confusion that term causes) is everywhere, with data centers going up daily to support it. The massive data centers required to run AI applications are filled with server computers, and the component that allows anyone in the world to request an image of Sonic the Hedgehog delivering a baby while SpongeBob holds his hand is RAM.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Bluepoint Games, the developer behind 2020's Demon's Souls remake, has reportedly been shut down, according to a Bluesky post by reporter Jason Schreier.

A PlayStation spokesperson told Bloomberg that roughly 70 staff have been cut with the studio's closure coming sometime in March "following a recent business review."

"Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team, and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community," the spokesperson told Bloomberg. "We thank them for their passion, creativity, and craftsmanship."

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Games industry veteran Jake Solomon has shared the first footage of his next game, but it comes as part of the developer also stating that his studio is shutting down and the game may never release.

After spending 20+ years at Firaxis, Solomon founded Midsummer Studios in 2024 with the ambitious mission statement that it would "reinvent the life sim genre." The company said at the time that it raised more than $6 million from a variety of investors, but it seems Midsummer will close without releasing any games.

Solomon said he is "really proud" of the studio and the game that Midsummer was working on, which was called Burbank. It was a "dream" game for him. He said the studio wanted to show the game "before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios" so the world can see what the team was working on.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

For three decades, Charles Martinet was the official voice of Mario across Nintendo's platforms. Although Martinet retired from the role in 2023, he still has a great deal of appreciation for his former alter ego.

Martinet recently took part in a Q&A session on the Nintendo Today app (via GamesRadar), and he reiterated the connection he felt to Mario as well as his desire to be more like the character he became synonymous with.

"Everything about Mario is someone I want to be like," said Martinet. "Kind, passionate, always optimistic, facing adversity with a 'let's-a go!' [These are] the sort of characteristics I think the whole world needs more of, and it's certainly who I want to be as a man and as a human being."

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The calendar for video game fans has a few notable highlights checkered throughout the year--shows like Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards, tentpole publisher presentations, and increasingly, the regular occurrence of Steam Next Fests. The Next Fest has been growing in size and stature for years, and now it's among the best ways to get a glimpse at future big PC games and sleeper hits alike. It is also now, unfortunately, a regular reminder that the Steam Deck's sorting features are severely lacking.

As someone who's naturally curious to see what's next, both personally and for this job, I'm always excited to check out Next Fest. The biggest draw of Next Fests are the slew of demos, numbering in the thousands. I don't have the time or the storage space to check out more than a few dozen at most, but I'm always eager to browse and find the ones that catch my eye. Which makes it all the more baffling that Steam's signature piece of hardware, the Steam Deck, has no dedicated Demos section.

I suspect how Valve envisions this working is that users will browse the store and download demos directly from their Steam Deck, at which point they'll be added in chronological order to the home screen hub. And that works well enough, if you're only trying a handful of demos at a time.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Veteran screen and voice actor Ben Starr--best known in gaming circles as the voice of Clive in Final Fantasy XVI and Verso in Clair Obscur--is joining the cast of Fortnite as The Visitor. As far as Fortnite characters go, The Visitor is a big one, because he was Fortnite's first actual character when he first popped up during Chapter 1. But this isn't a recasting of the role, because The Visitor didn't speak when he originally appeared. He was the only member of Fortnite's The Seven to appear in the game without speaking. Until now, anyway. You'll be able to hear Starr's performance as The Visitor by doing story quests and picking up audio logs around the Battle Royale island.

I’m joining Fortnite as The Visitor.
I’m so excited to bring back this iconic member of The Seven. I imagine I’ll be very normal about it. pic.twitter.com/cUNBkr2gWG

— Ben Starr (@The_Ben_Starr) February 19, 2026

When Epic Games began the hype cycle for Fortnite Chapter 7 in November, the company marketed it as "Chapter Seven," a very clear nod to the team of Fortnite-original multiverse warriors that have been missing from the game entirely since the end of Chapter 3. But their return hasn't been quick. It began with the appearance of the character known as The Order appearing in a locked cell under Classified Canyon, and continued with story quests to free her. The Visitor will be the next interloper from The Seven.

But it won't actually be the same Visitor from Chapter 1. This version, which debuted on the Season 5 OG Pass last summer, is a variant from a different timeline than the original one. Since Brie Larson's version of The Paradigm was also an alternate-reality variant of that character, The Seven actually has nine current members that we know of.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Kratos doesn't tend to talk too much, saying only what he needs to and grunting the rest of the time. However, he had a lot to say this time, with voice actor Christopher Judge talking a bit too much about developer Santa Monica Studio's God of War trilogy remake.

As spotted by Kotaku, YouTuber Fuzhpuzy posted their encounter with Judge at Fan Expo Vancouver 2026. The video has since been deleted, but mirrors of it are still up. Fuzhpuzy had asked if Judge was playing Kratos in the remake trilogy, to which he reiterated that Kratos' original voice actor, T.C. Carson, will reprise his role as the God of War.

Judge also told Fuzhpuzy that the team is "putting all the new technology in it [and] adding more stuff" to the God of War remake trilogy, including "a fighting system." He later said that "you'll then be hearing about what we're doing probably later this summer." And no, he doesn't voice Kratos in God of War Sons of Sparta, either.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Bungie's upcoming extraction shooter, Marathon, doesn't just have a distinctive look; it has a unique sound as well. Several tracks for Marathon have been uploaded in the months leading up to release, and ahead of the game's full release, Bungie has released a new documentary examining the ethereal soundtrack produced by composer Ryan Lott and Bungie audio director Chase Combs. The video explores how contemporary electronic influences and human performances were blended to create the sound of Marathon, and you can watch it below.

"I love that feeling of it being both neon and also kind of crusty and falling apart at the same time," Lott said in the video. "To me, that has a sound. Something that was really inspiring about the concept of the game was that you relinquish your human body for a Runner shell. You hold onto your soul. You take 'you' with you, but you leave your body behind. I thought what better way to take the human voice--which is the soul of your person--and transform it into these playable instruments."

You can also listen to four tracks right now from the game:

Continue Reading at GameSpot

I've never played a hero shooter or character-driven multiplayer online battle arena game in which you don't get to pick the hero you control from the jump. But that's pretty much exactly the conceit of Arkheron--this player-versus-player, strategy-driven action game doesn't let you just pick your hero from a roster. No, instead you have to earn the right to play as your favorite character (or just be extraordinarily lucky), all while fending off the desperate attacks of enemy players and racing to the top of a tower being overtaken by darkness. It's tense. It's challenging. It's a game I really want to keep playing.

In Arkheron, you fight in a squad of three within a dark fantasy world of swords, axes, bows, whips, hammers, and magical spell-producing artifacts. As the first round of a new match begins, your team picks where they want to spawn on the first floor of a tower. The corridors and dungeons of this first floor are full of loot-filled chests that contain weapons and expendable items, computer-controlled enemies that can ruin your team's day, locked doors that hide secret pathways and vaults of legendary equipment, hidden portals that can transport you to other locations on that particular floor, and, of course, the other teams. As the round reaches its end, a dangerous darkness begins to encroach on all the players, funneling everyone to flee for one of the handful of glowing beacons that randomly spawn on the map.

Each beacon can only be claimed by one team. If your squad is the only one present at a beacon when the round ends, you ascend to the next floor, no problem. But if at least one other team is present, it's a fight to the death to determine which single squad moves on. Teams that are killed--whether during the exploration phase of a round or during the final fight over a beacon--are knocked out of the match for good.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Roughly 40 developers have been laid off from Ubisoft Toronto, the company announced this week. Despite that and a bevy of other cancellations happening at Ubisoft right now, the long-awaited Splinter Cell remake remains in development.

MobileSyrup was the first to report on this round of layoffs, which are part of the larger restructuring Ubisoft has been going through to begin 2026. "This decision was not taken lightly and does not in any way reflect the talent, dedication, or contributions of the individuals affected," Ubisoft explained in a statement to MobileSyrup. "Our priority now is to support them through this transition with comprehensive severance packages and robust career placement assistance."

In January, Ubisoft revealed its plans to restructure the company into several different Creative Houses focused on certain franchises. This came alongside a wave of layoffs, a return-to-office mandate, and several project cancellations that have caused developers to go on strike and demand CEO Yves Guillemot's resignation.

Continue Reading at GameSpot