The more things change, the more they stay the same, and for Nintendo, the company still relies on its legacy IP when it starts to develop new games. While we've seen multiple studios and publishers launch new brands over the years, Nintendo has largely stuck to the classics for its new releases, and it often doesn't see a reason to build a new IP. Why? According to a former developer, gameplay comes first and the "wrapper" is chosen based on which franchise fits the project best.

"New franchises haven't come out simply because there's no real need to make them," former Nintendo software developer Ken Watanabe said to Bloomberg. "When Nintendo wants to do something new, it's basically about the gameplay mechanics first--about creating a new way to play. As for the skin or the wrapper, they don't really fuss over it. They just pick whatever fits that new gameplay best."

"Nintendo will then find the right franchise that fits with the new gameplay mechanics that it has developed, but in the rare instance that it can't, the company will consider making a new IP. One of its newest properties--technically--is Splatoon, which first launched in 2015 for the Wii U. While Nintendo attempted to use familiar faces in the third-person shooter game, it simply didn't work out, and the company decided to create the cast of Inklings to carry the series forward and better communicate the ideas of the game to players.

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Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, the highly anticipated remake of the 2004 stealth-action classic, has officially reached a milestone of one million copies sold. This figure, announced by Konami via its official UK Twitter account, represents internal sales tracking rather than third-party verified numbers.

Still, the milestone marks a significant achievement for the project, which has faced intense scrutiny and pressure given the iconic status of the original Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It's on par with sales figures for other remakes in the series, and could potentially surpass them given time.

METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER is celebrating 1,000,000 copies sold globally!
Our heartfelt thanks for the constant support and enthusiasm of METAL GEAR fans, both new and returning.#MGSDelta #MetalGearSolid pic.twitter.com/GC0MhyJRIY

— KONAMI UK (@KONAMIUK) September 5, 2025

The milestone is notable not just for the sales figures, but also for the weight of its legacy. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the first major installment in the series since Hideo Kojima, the franchise's creator and longtime creative force, parted ways with Konami in 2015. The spin-off Metal Gear Survive, which was developed after Kojima had left the company, was not well-received.

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Hitman developer IO Interactive got into the publishing game with its IOI Partners program, and MindsEye--from former Rockstar developer Leslie Benzies' Build a Rocket Boy--was the company's first published game. The game struggled mightily out of the gate, with many criticizing its technical performance, among other things. Now, IO's CEO, Hakan Abrak, has reacted to the launch and discussed whether or not the company will continue to publish others' games.

Abrak told IGN that when IO was first chatting with Build a Rocket Boy, the idea was to find a way to "support them," because IO believed in the company's "great ideas." IO was coming in to help Build a Rocket Boy--a brand-new game developer with no releases under its belt before MindsEye--distribute the game.

For whatever reason, MindsEye had issues, and Abrak addressed this frankly. "Well, that was definitely tough, right?" he said. "It was a tough reception. It wasn't what they hoped for, and also what we didn't hope for at IOI Partners."

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Now that Schedule 1's Rival Cartels update is live in game, a new community vote is live for fans to decide what major feature will be added next. The new poll once again offers three options that players can pick between--hireable drivers, shrooms, and fishing.

One of the poll options, shrooms, was originally offered in the first community poll, only to be defeated by the rival cartel. If shrooms is victorious this time, it will add a brand-new psychadelic drug type for players to offer to their customer base.

Hirable drivers, the most functional of the new options, offers players the ability to hire drivers who can transport items between your various properties, businesses, and dealers. This new feature will also come with a quality of life update to the existing delivery system.

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Earlier this year, Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone mentioned in an interview with PC Gamer that he might need to retreat to a cabin in the woods to focus on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier. That sentiment rings true now more than ever, as Barone juggles multiple projects--including the newly announced Stardew Valley 1.7 update and a surprise voice cameo in Hollow Knight: Silksong.

PC Gamer caught Barone's name appearing in the credits of Silksong, listed alongside members of Team Cherry and even the family of lead designer William Pellen. Given the shared success of Stardew Valley and Hollow Knight, which launched within a year of each other and became landmark indie titles, it's no surprise their creators have formed connections within the indie development scene.

His role in Silksong involved providing non-verbal character sounds--for those familiar, Nintendo-style chirps and mutterings--for one of the game's new NPCs. While Barone hasn't revealed which character he voiced, The Verge confirmed it was indeed him. Fans are now left to guess which bug-like denizen of the kingdom of Parloom bears his signature tones.

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NBA 2K26 launches this week, but that's not the only major development from 2K Sports. The company has confirmed plans to launch its own "college basketball experience" just after reports suggested that EA's college basketball game was running into potentially serious issues.

In its statement, 2K Sports said, "Yes, it's true. We're working on a college basketball experience that will feature more than 100 programs from across the country, from powerhouses to Cinderella stories."

Without getting into specifics, 2K's statement continued, "Our approach with college basketball ensures our partner schools, college athletes, and our players all benefit."

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One Ubisoft developer has explained why Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 will rely on Game Key Cards instead of standard cartridges, citing technical limitations of the console’s physical media.

Responding to Digital Foundry's John Linneman on BlueSky, audio architect for the Snowdrop Engine at Ubisoft Rob Bantin explained that the game "relies heavily on disk-streaming for its open-world environments" and that Switch 2 cartridges simply did not give the performance needed for the game to hit its quality target. "I think if we'd designed a game for Switch 2 from the ground up it might have been different. As it was, we'd build a game around the SSDs of the initial target platforms, and then the Switch 2 came along a while later. In this case I think our leadership made the right call," Bantin wrote.

Game Key Cards have already stirred controversy among Nintendo fans, as they serve as a download-key holder rather than containing the full game on the cart. While they can be resold and aren’t console-locked, critics have argued that they pose potential issues for long-term games preservation.

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Steven Spielberg, the legendary Oscar-winning director, was reportedly interested in directing a Call of Duty movie but it fell apart due to his apparent desire for total control.

Matthew Belloni of Puck (paywalled) reported that Spielberg was trying to make a Call of Duty movie with Universal and wanted to personally direct it through his Amblin production company. Spielberg was said to have partnered with Universal film boss Jimmy Horowitz to pitch the project to Activision, but it didn't materialize.

The report said Spielberg himself is a big fan of the Call of Duty franchise, but what apparently contributed to the project failing to come together were elements that Spielberg asked for. His team apparently wanted a "top-of-market" economic deal, full control over production and marketing, and "final cut." That's Hollywood parlance for a director having final say in the editing process culminating in the version of a movie that plays in theaters or wherever it's released. Spielberg is among a rare few who are known to have final cut privileges, along with Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, and others.

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Nintendo has just kicked off its Switch 2 era of gaming, but the company is also saying goodbye to its 3DS line of handheld gaming consoles. While Nintendo continued supporting the 3DS and its various models via a repair service in Japan, even after the systems were discontinued, Nintendo began to slowly wind down these operations over the years. The New Nintendo 2DS XL was the last console to be officially supported in this way, but the company has announced that this is coming to an end.

"As we have run out of parts needed for repairs, we have discontinued repair services for the New Nintendo 2DS XL as of September 4, 2025," Nintendo said in a statement (via VGC). "Repairs for all other Nintendo 3DS series systems have also been discontinued."

This effectively brings the Nintendo 3DS era to a close, as Nintendo no longer has the parts necessary for it to perform repairs on units submitted to its Japanese facilities. The company ended support for the original 3DS handheld in August 2024, and it ran out of parts for the Nintendo 2DS not long after.

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The next expansion for Disney Dreamlight Valley is on the way, adding three brand-new biomes, a handful of iconic Disney horses to befriend--and a new horseback riding mechanic. The Wishblossom Ranch expansion doesn't have a release date yet, but Disney will reveal more about the upcoming content in a showcase stream on October 15.

For now, Disney has teased just part of the upcoming expansion, revealing that one of Wishblossom Ranch's three new mountainous biomes will be called Wishing Alps. The new content will partner you with characters from across Disney's slate of films, including Snow White, mischievous pixie Tinkerbell, and Maximus--the noble white steed from Tangled.

These are just some of the characters who will be a part of the Ranch storyline--with Disney teasing in particular that more iconic Disney horses will be joining the equestrian-themed expansion. Alongside existing Disney horse characters, the expansion will also grant players their own customizable mount, which can be tailored to match your own avatar.

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The world of The Sims 4 is about to get bigger again with the upcoming expansion pack Adventure Awaits. And while tropical getaways and summer camp experiences are the focus of this pack, it's also bringing back imaginary friends from The Sims 3. You can see one of the imaginary friends in the first trailer for Adventure Awaits, as well as an extended glimpse at your Sims vacation options.

Adventure Awaits doesn't just cater to adult sims. Child sims are also given the chance to have formative moments as they discover archery, diving, papercraft, and other camp activities. As for the imaginary friends, they will appear as four different dolls with a handful of personality types: Goofball, creative, competitive, and evil. Picking the evil option seems unnecessarily risky, but it's your Sim life and you get to make all of the bad decisions you want.

There are three Gibbi Point vacation neighborhoods included in this pack, including Camp Gibbi Gibbi in the Wanderwood Wilds. There are so many camp activities for children and adult sims that the only thing it's missing is Jason Voorhees to menace the camp attendees. The other neighborhoods in the pack are Crystal Valley and Jellyfish Junction.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong isn't a linear adventure by any stretch of the imagination. It expects you to explore thoroughly as you chart your path through its perilous maps. Doing so will sometimes lead you to some unique NPCs who ask you to complete quests known as Wishes, such as the Seamstress you'll encounter in the Far Fields. This character will assign you the Flexile Spine Wish, tasking you with finding 25 Spine Cores. Luckily, you won't have to make too long a journey to collect these items.

Where to find Spine Cores in Hollow Knight: Silksong

To collect Spine Cores, you must find enemies known as Hokers, which look like floating white balls with a green beard and spikes. If you leave the Seamstress's home and head to the right, you can move through some rooms filled with plenty of these enemies, so you won't have to travel far to get what you need.

These enemies are called Hokers.

However, instead of focusing on killing these enemies, your goal is to harvest their spikes. Each time you hit them, they'll fire off spikes that will stick to nearby surfaces. You can then strike these spikes to make them drop an orb containing a Spine Core. Do this 25 times, and you'll have everything you need.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong is the GTA6 of the indie games world. It's the megaton game that every other game wants to dodge. But sometimes publishers just can't change their release dates. We put together a list of some of the other games releasing today to check out if Silksong isn't your jam (or you just like being contrarian), as well as a few of the anticipated games that scooted out of the way of Hornet and her deadly needle.

Games Releasing September 4, 2025

Adventure of Samsara - Notably, Adventure of Samsara is a search-action (colloquially known as a Metroidvania) game, just like Hollow Knight, and you're also a little guy with a sword. This game features some great-looking pixel art.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle "The Order of the Giants" DLC - This expansion delves deeper into the "Order of Giants" hinted at in the base game.

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In 1994, Capcom's Street Fighter franchise hit the big screen with Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lead as Guile. While the team behind that film made the curious choice to emulate G.I. Joe instead of the arcade games it was based upon, the new Street Fighter movie is going back to the source material and taking fans back to the '90s.

Legendary Entertainment has shared the first details about the Street Fighter reboot, which will be set in 1993. Unlike the previous live-action Street Fighter movies--including Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li--the focus will fall on Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo), two fighters who have become estranged from each other. However, Chun-Li (Callina Liang) reunites the pair when she recruits them for the World Warrior Tournament. The synopsis also teases the "deadly conspiracy" behind the battle royale, which will almost certainly lead back to the franchise's primary villain, M. Bison.

As part of the announcement, Legendary revealed that Street Fighter will hit theaters on October 16, 2026. It's the first film in a three-year distribution deal with Paramount Pictures. But it doesn't affect Legendary's Minecraft and Godzilla x Kong sequels, both of which remain with Warner Bros. under the terms of previously signed deals.

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Last month, the long-awaited Titan Quest 2 arrived in early access on PC, and according to THQ Nordic, it sold 300,000 copies in just its first three days. While reacting to that news, former THQ vice president of studio operations Richard Browne shared a few of the reasons why Titan Quest 2 wasn't released almost two decades ago.

On LinkedIn (via Game World Observer), Browne noted that THQ had given the greenlight for the sequel in 2006. However, the development team at Iron Lore Entertainment couldn't get past THQ's marketing department, which rejected the proof-of-concept demo.

"[Titan Quest] was one of those games that just sold and sold; but our marketing department didn't see it," wrote Browne. "We had a great 360 demo with the camera lower and controlled--they nixed it using 'Emsense' to show that the demo (three months work) didn't resonate."

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The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship Board Game

$80

See at Amazon

A new Lord of the Rings board game is available now at Amazon. Revealed earlier this year, The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship certainly isn't the first game based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, but it is the only one that uses one of the best modern board games as its foundation. Fate of the Fellowship is based on Pandemic, the wildly popular cooperative strategy game that debuted in 2008. Pandemic creator Matt Leacock spent three years designing The Lord of the Rings version. Fate of the Fellowship is up for grabs for $80 at Amazon.

The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship Board Game $80

As the name suggests, Fate of the Fellowship is based on the plot of Tolkien's novel. Each round takes anywhere from 60 to 150 minutes, but no need to worry about getting multiple people to play a board game with you for two-plus hours:

Designed by Pandemic creator Matt Leacock, Fate of the Fellowship emphasizes that Fate of the Fellowship is fully playable solo--it's explicitly called out on the back of the box.

The Fellowship's job is to protect Frodo on his quest to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Each player picks two characters to control from a pool of 13. You'll have to contend with Shadow Troops and the spectral beings known as Nazgul--represented as miniature figures--while being mindful of the searching Eye. Just like in the books and movies, Sauron's Eye is perched atop Barad-dur. The constructible tower is 11 inches tall and serves as a thematically appropriate dice roller.

Designed as a replayable experience that introduces a few wrinkles to the Pandemic System loop, Fate of the Fellowship has 24 core objectives and 14 unique event cards. Each playable character has distinct abilities, too. Here's a list of everything included in the box:

• 1 Game Board
• 1 Barad-dur Dice Tower
• 13 Character Figures
• 9 Nazgul Miniatures
• 48 Shadow Troops
• 35 Friendly Troops
• 48 Region Cards
• 14 Event Cards
• 12 Skies Darken Cards
• 24 Objective Cards
• 10 Reference Cards
• 13 Character Cards
• 50 Shadow Cards
• 3 Battle Dice
• 7 Search Dice
• 6 Haven Tokens
• 6 Stronghold Tokens
• 1 Eye of Sauron Token
• 1 Solo Token
• 1 Hope Marker
• 36 Symbol Tokens
• 1 Threat Rate Marker

Interestingly, Leacock has said his initial ideas for Pandemic were inspired by playing the The Lord of the Rings board game released in 2000 by prolific game designer Reiner Knizia.

See at Amazon The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship (Z-Man Games, Middle-earth Enterprises)Gallery

Z-Man Games has collaborated with multiple other big media franchises on Pandemic System games, including World of Warcraft and Star Wars. There's also a popular variant based on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Fate of the Fellowship is pricier than those games, but it's also the most elaborate from a design perspective. The other Pandemic System titles more closely resemble Pandemic's $50 base game, all the way down to box size.

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Roblox has become a hub for crossovers and a growing metaverse of IP, and its next collaboration will see one of the most popular anime series of all time, My Hero Academia, land on its shores starting September 6. My Hero Academia: Ultimate launches that day and is billed as a PvP-focused MMORPG that will allow players to go on quests to unlock new abilities, level up their characters to get stronger, and use their powerful "Quirks" to climb up the in-game leaderboards.

Set in the world of My Hero Academia, the main goal is to become a Pro Hero while attending the superhero academy known as UA. The game looks fairly accurate to the My Hero Academia manga and anime source material, and the trailer briefly showed off characters like Izuku "Deku" Midoriya, Katsuki "Dynamight" Bakugo, Ochaco "Uravity" Uraraka, and the strongest hero of his generation, All Might.

According to anime streaming platform Crunchyroll, players can expect to battle in the PvP arena of UA Stadium, socialize in the All Might lobby, and visit other locations like the Musutafu Suburbs, Takoba Municipal Beach Park, and more. Exploration will allow you to unlock abilities and level up your characters when you take on various enemies. This tie-in comes just in time for the final season of the anime series, which kicks off on October 4, 2025, on Crunchyroll.

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One of the most-anticipated upcoming features for the soccer game Rematch, cross-play support, has been delayed. Developer Sloclap announced today that the update has been pushed to an unspecified point in the future after the team discovered an issue. The patch was set to be released this week, so the last-minute delay is frustrating some fans.

In a statement, Sloclap said its "final tests" found a "major matchmaking issue" related to cross-play, and that's why it's delaying the update.

"Since cross-play is the heart of Patch 3, we've decided to delay the release while we fix it. We know this is disappointing and we're truly sorry for the repeated delays. Thank you for your patience and support. We'll share a new update as soon as we have more news," the developer said.

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You'll come across a variety of NPCs throughout Hollow Knight: Silksong, and some of them will make requests--known as Wishes--that you can complete to earn rewards. The one you're likely to complete first is given to you by the Druid of Mosshome, who you'll encounter in--you guessed it--the Mosshome region. This Wish is called Berry Picking, and it tasks you with finding three Mossberries and returning them to this NPC. Here's what you need to know.

How to complete the Berry Picking Wish in Hollow Knight: Silksong - all Mossberries and locations

To start the Berry Picking Wish, you can find the Druid of Mosshome in the upper regions of Mosshome. He's inside a small cave right past a bench.

Druid of Mosshome location

After you've accepted the Berry Picking Wish quest, you can begin your search for the three Mossberries. You may have already discovered at least one or two of them during your journey through Moss Grotto, but one of these glowing green berries is fairly well hidden in Mosshome. Here's where to get all three.

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As a game that's constantly evolving, Helldivers 2 is no stranger to hotfixes and patches. In fact, a new update has just gone live, and it is designed to quickly address several issues that have cropped up in the game since the start of the Into the Unjust event in the game. This new patch focuses primarily on game-breaking issues causing hard crashes, as well as buffs to the new gear introduced in the Dust Devils warbond.

For general fixes, players can expect several problems to be addressed. Developer Arrowhead says that the crashes related to there being too many particle effects, Automaton missions, and a bug with a seeking missile have been resolved with this patch. Other tweaks include the extraction shuttle landing more safely for players, hive world tunnels should no longer be darker than intended if you're using lower graphics settings, and the excessive light emitted by the Hellpad has also been toned down.

When it comes to weapons and stratagems, there have also been a few issues here. The LIFT-182 Warp Pack tended to make players get stuck midair, and there were also instances of the game crashing when a player aborted a mission while wielding a turret or driving a vehicle. These should all be fixed here, and it should also be safe to equip the Halo ODST MA5C assault rifle when you're on the bridge of your flagship.

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