The Animal Crossing design world is buzzing after the recent New Horizons 3.0 update. After many players assumed Nintendo was done adding content to its charming island villages, a surprise addition--a hotel perched at the end of one island dock--brought new life to the game’s design scene.

Much like the Happy Home Paradise DLC, the hotel gives players prompts to design rooms that visiting villagers can enjoy. Some designers stick closely to these prompts, while others take a more experimental approach, creating spaces that push the boundaries of what a hotel room should be. Here are some of the most memorable designs that have popped up in the short time since the update went live.

One standout creation leans into chaos rather than comfort. User accidentalnipples designed a motel room with bulky electronics, outdated appliances, and a smattering of cockroaches. Leilani, the hotel operator, perfectly sums up the experience: She calls this room “memorable” for its guests. It’s the kind of design that makes makes you laugh--a testament to the playful freedom the update encourages. No one will actually want to stay here, but it's not like the game gives them a choice.

The ability to have a canine companion in Playground Games' upcoming Fable reboot was left on the cutting room floor, a decision the game's director said a "substantial" number of people on the development team have yet to forgive him about.

Fans finally got an in-depth look at Fable as part of the recent Xbox Developer Direct showcase, and one feature was notably absent--there was no dog. Fable 2, released in 2008, revolved around players and their dog, with the animal companion playing a major role in combat and the game's story. Fable 3 also featured a dog, though in a less pronounced way than its predecessor.

With all that in mind, the choice for the reboot to not include one definitely raised some eyebrows. In an interview with IGN, Fable game director Ralph Fulton said the dog was going to be in the game, but he made the choice to "cut it a while back" for "development reasons."

If you're a dedicated The Sims player, you've likely heard of one of the game's most taboo but oh-so popular mods: Wicked Whims. First released nearly a decade ago, the adult-oriented mod adds some seriously spicy content to the game--full nudity, a lot of creative WooHoo positions, and the capacity for group ... activities, to name a few. However, it's also worth noting the mod also adds next-level physiological immersion too, as it includes menstrual cycles, fertility tracking, birth control, and STIs in addition to its erotic offerings. As someone who has dabbled with the mod on more than a few occasions, I can attest to it being a wildly impressive mod that completely alters how The Sims 4 plays. And according to its developer, a lot of the game's players are taking advantage of that.

In a recent interview with German news site Taz (which was later reported on by PC Gamer), Wicked Whims creator Turbodriver shared a staggering statistic regarding how often his mod is launched. According to Turbodriver, Wicked Whims is used around 400,000 times per day. "That's how often my server is pinged, at least," Turbodriver told Taz. He noted that the server is pinged whenever someone starts the game and with the mod installed; with that in mind, that number doesn't directly equate to the amount of players but rather reflects how often Wicked Whims users boot up The Sims 4.

Regardless, Wicked Whims being booted up 400,000 is an astounding accomplishment, particularly for a mod. To put things into perspective, multiple data collection sites report that Fortnite sees anywhere from 700,000 to 1.5 millions players daily. Though not a direct comparison, it's still emphasizes just how popular Wicked Whims is.

2025 was a big year for Arc Raiders, but Embark Studios is hoping 2026 will be even bigger. The team has revealed its 2026 roadmap, or at least part of it. Plans for the first four months of the year have officially been revealed, with the team adding new projects (limited-time events), multiple new enemies, and its first new map since last year's claustrophobic Stella Montis joined the world of Arc Raiders. Below we go over everything players can expect to hit the game each month between January and April.

The month is almost over, but a big update is still on the way before the calendar turns to February. The team is adding a new matchmaking option that's reserved for players 40 or higher, a new minor map condition, and a new player project, which has typically meant a limited-time event with free cosmetics. Collectively, this will be called the Headwinds update.

One thing the team isn't yet ready to do, for this month and all others listed in this article, is go into specifics. For example, we know of the new map condition coming, but not what it is exactly.

The use of AI tools in game development has been a controversial topic, as more developers have begun using the toolset, including Final Fantasy Remake Part 3 publisher Square Enix. Speaking to GameSpot, game director Naoki Hamaguchi said he and his colleagues use AI to handle the more menial aspects of game development, while the creative side remains in human hands.

"My stance hasn't changed on depending on AI to produce something or to create something," Hamaguchi said. " I don't rely on AI to come up with ideas and things like that. That said, AI is a tool that I and other colleagues would utilize so that our tasks would become much smoother, or some of the menial tasks are taken care of by AI.  I think it's becoming more and more necessary. I think the purpose of utilizing these tools is so that creators will have a better environment so that they can work more efficiently and they can explore more creative options."

Checking in-development video games for bugs and other issues can be a thankless--and repetitive task--and this is where AI came in handy, Hamaguchi said. By shifting this inglorious part of the development process to automated AI, it also helped "reduce the stress" on the person responsible for that task, Hamaguchi claimed.

The "Remake" in Final Fantasy VII Remake refers to much more than just the technical aspects of the original 1997 game being remade. The remaking of fate is a core concept of the title that adds additional layers to its story. Remake’s sequel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, continues that trend by exploring a world reborn by the machinations of the game’s antagonist Sephiroth.

As such, it stands to reason that the final game in the trilogy will use a similar naming convention that ties into the reimagining’s meta narrative. And, according to that game’s director Naoki Hamaguchi, the third and final installment’s title has been decided by the trilogy’s creative director Tetsuya Nomura. "I remember an interview I did at Paris Games Week about how we’d narrowed it down to two [names]," says Hamaguchi. "It was up to Mr. Nomura to decide which it is. And yes, after returning from Paris Games Week, he did choose one, so I can say the title has been locked."

Hamaguchi is in New York City to promote the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on the Nintendo Switch 2, giving us the opportunity to speak with him about the franchise. Regarding the game’s performance on the device--which has been received positively by even the most diehard of pixel peepers--Hamaguchi says that while it was relatively smooth getting the game running on the hardware, the team spent a lot of time trying to achieve a stable frame rate.

Although Square Enix has already decided when to announce Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, that time hasn't come just yet. But while promoting the newly released Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 ports of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed that the third game in the trilogy will bring back the popular Queen's Blood card game as well as Cloud's snowboarding sequence from the original game.

"Queen's Blood is a very popular and beloved minigame, and I believe a lot of people are still wanting something like that," said Hamaguchi during an interview with Polygon. "I want to expand on Queen's Blood so that we are enhancing it, and giving you a more powered-up version of it when you see that third installment … Queen's Blood is still going to be available in the third installment. We just want to expand on it."

Hamaguchi declined to share many specific details about the snowboarding sequence, but he did say it won't simply be a minigame as it was in the original Final Fantasy 7. Instead, his team wants "to make sure that it's incorporated into the story to have that sort of connection with the theming of it."

Extraction shooters are currently taking the world by storm, and Bungie is eager to make its mark on the genre with its fast-paced first-person shooter Marathon. Much like Arc Raiders--another popular entry in the world of extraction shooters--Marathon is a much more accessible experience compared to more hardcore titles in the genre, but it still comes packing plenty of danger around every corner. As such, you'll want to have a team to watch your back--meaning you'll need to bring along some friends you can trust.

If you're diving into Marathon and looking to link up with your pals, you'll probably be asking whether the game features cross-play support. Below, we'll answer that question, as well as share information about Marathon's cross-progression options so that you can know what to expect before you even boot up the game.

If you're hoping to play Marathon with your friends on different platforms, you'll be thrilled to hear that Marathon features cross-play. This means that you can team up with players across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or PC, regardless of where you choose to play.