Games like Call of Duty and Fortnite have welcomed all manner of licensed skins and wacky ones, but will Battlefield 6 follow suit? It doesn't sound like it.

Design director Shashank Uchil told DBLTAP that, "It has to be grounded. That is what BF3 and BF4 was--it was all soldiers, on the ground. It's going to be like this."

Uchil went on to say, "I don't think it needs Nicki Minaj." That is seemingly a reference to the DLC skin for Call of Duty that lets you play as Minaj. Instead, Uchil said the aim for Battlefield 6's skins is: "Let's keep it real, keep it grounded."

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The first big game of the Switch 2 era has emerged, as Nintendo has sold almost as many units of Mario Kart World as actual Switch 2 consoles. In its Q1 financial results for the three months that ended on June 30, Nintendo reported that it had sold 8.67 million units, with Mario Kart World being responsible for 5.63 million of those sales. This is almost as many units sold as Switch 2 consoles sold, indicating a very high attach rate.

To put this into context, it is worth noting that Nintendo launched the Switch 2 with a bundle deal that included Mario Kart World. Given that the game has an MSRP of $80--and Nintendo rarely drops the price on its evergreen titles--it did make financial sense to grab the bundle and save $30 in the process.

The game also has a long way to go before it dethrones Nintendo's best-selling game of all time, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The Switch game has reached lifetime sales of 68.86 million units, but these are still very early days for Mario Kart World. There will be some competition on the way with Drag X Drive, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A this year, but it'll be interesting to see if Mario Kart World will enjoy the same level of longevity as its predecessor. There are also plenty of third-party games on the way, as this week's Nintendo Direct showed off 25 games headed to the Switch 2 throughout the year and well into 2026.

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The Switch 2 has been out for just over two months, and so far, the console is doing pretty well for Nintendo. In its Q1 financial results for the three months that ended on June 30, Nintendo says it sold 6 million Switch 2 units globally in the seven weeks since launch, which has led to several records being broken.

The hybrid console has been a hot commodity since it went on sale, exceeding the expectations of Nintendo. The company says it still expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles during its current financial year, which ends in March 2026. Meanwhile, Nintendo sold 0.98 million Switch consoles, pushing the lifetime sales of that device up to 153.10 million units sold.

Switch 2 lifetime sales to date

"Currently, demand for Nintendo Switch 2 is exceeding supply in many countries, and we regret the inconvenience this is causing our consumers," Nintendo said. "We will continue to strengthen our production and supply systems to deliver as much Nintendo Switch 2 hardware as possible."

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When I was growing up, E3 was one of the events in the calendar that I looked forward to the most. From console reveals to star-studded conferences, the Electronic Entertainment Expo was a series of corporate conferences that somehow felt like The Oscars, Comic-Con and Glastonbury combined. It was there that Final Fantasy VII Remake and The Last Guardian were finally shown (at the same conference); where then Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé made his public debut; and the venue where Keanu Reeves told a packed LA auditorium that they were all breathtaking. Yet for all its show-stopping game and console reveals, after 2020, it was the show itself that stopped, with the last in-person E3 taking place in 2019.

Luckily for mourning gamers, there was always another world-leading interactive entertainment show that connected fans and industry folk with demos, head-turning announcements and best-in-class community events: Germany's gamescom. Where E3 was an event that was media-only for most of its existence, gamescom was always--and very much continues to be--a public-facing celebration of games and gamers; a convention that is just as brilliant for inspiring world-beating cosplay as it is for connecting journalists with publishers and industry folks in the business area. E3 may be gone, but gamescom is still here, having established itself as the world's biggest and best gaming event.

Since 2019, gamescom has begun hosting its own games announcements, with the annual Geoff Keighley-hosted gamescom Opening Night Live gaining a reputation for delivering a non-stop cavalcade of exciting reveals. With gamescom's annual August celebration now comfortably the largest gaming event in the world--and with new gamescom sister events now delighting gamers in Brazil and Singapore (gamescom Asia is moving to Thailand for its next event)--it feels like the right time to celebrate the legacy of gaming's most beloved event. So, without further ado, here's a history of how Cologne's once humble convention went on to change the game forever.

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Wander Stars is a turn-based RPG with roguelite elements where you make your own attacks by combining words to make your own fighting techniques. Learn new words to collect, combine, and experiment to discover enemy weaknesses, synergies, and strategies that will help you win your battles! The story of Wander Stars follows Ringo, a young martial artist looking for her brother, and Wolfe, a mysterious scoundrel running from his past, as they join forces in an unlikely partnership to collect the pieces of the Wanderstar Map.

SquareMan-Boy is a fast paced action platformer with focus on quick and precise movement. You are never standing still, constantly getting pushed around by the colored blocks. Use your charge ability, world rotators and teleporters to dodge lasers and get to the exit of each level. Each level has an exit and your goal is to reach it without dying

This mysterious tower is really famous throughout the kingdom, rumored to hold countless beauties as well as the greatest treasure in the world. Play as one of the adventurers who come to the mysterious tower, with the desire to uncover the truth about this place and win the famous treasure. The adventure that awaits you will not be easy. You have to climb to the top of a skyscraper tower, each floor of which is filled with fierce monsters. Try to survive the waves of monsters. Summon them into your party. Build the best squad and get ready for the tough battles that lie ahead. Collect rare treasures. Rescue the beautiful female prisoners being held captive in the tower.

Welcome to "SCP," an intense open-world survival-craft experience set in a post-apocalyptic realm where the enigmatic SCP entities roam freely. Brace yourself for a relentless struggle for survival as you navigate through a desolate landscape filled with anomalies. Establish your stronghold amidst the chaos. Collect resources, craft essential tools, and construct fortified shelters to withstand the nightmarish onslaught. Customize your base to suit your survival strategy, as you prepare for the horrors that await after sundown.

Battlefield 2042 introduced the Portal map creation tools to the franchise. But later this year, Battlefield 6 will take things even further with an overhauled map-creation toolset for the upcoming shooter. Now, DICE and EA have shared a video that offers a brief glimpse at the new Portal mode and what it's bringing to the table.

The new Portal mode allows players to build, share, and play their custom maps with more options than ever before. One of the new tools is a spatial editor powered by Godot that gives creators the chance to spatially edit maps and move around preexisting elements at will. Portal also includes custom and AI scripting that lets players create unique UI and direct NPC combatants on their battlefields. Any experience made with Portal will be available to other players through the community section.

Portal will also include modifiers that let players change the rules of the game. That includes the ability to set up one-shot kills, closed weapons, and many others. More intriguingly, player progression and XP gain are fully enabled during Portal mode.

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Castlevania: The Complete Series - Limited Edition

$155 | Releases September 30

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Crunchyroll

Netflix's Castlevania animated series is finally releasing in box set format on September 30, but it's currently only expected to be available as a pricey limited edition. Revealed this week, Castlevania: The Complete Series Limited Edition is a $155 Blu-ray box set featuring Seasons 1-4 of the hit animated adaptation. It's packaged in collectible, faux-woodgrain box containing an art book, Ouija board, Tarot deck, and more. Preorders are available now at Amazon and the Crunchyroll Store.

Castlevania: The Complete Series Limited Edition (Blu-ray)

Notably, this collection does not come with either season of Nocturne. Season 1 of the follow-up series released on Blu-ray last fall, but Season 2 is still stuck on Netflix. To complete your Castlevania Blu-ray collection, you can pick up Nocturne Season 1 on sale for only $17 (was $40) at Amazon. Prices in the sub-$20 range for individual seasons of the show are what make Castlevania: The Complete Series a steep ask at full price. At $155, the Limited Edition Complete Series costs nearly $100 more than the cost of buying the Seasons 1-2 bundle ($17), Season 3 ($19.53), and Season 4 ($20) separately.

Castlevania Animated Series on Blu-ray

Get Seasons 1-4 for $56.53 / Nocturne for $17

Build your bundle Castlevania: The Complete Series - Limited Edition $155 | Releases September 30

Castlevania: The Complete Series comes with all four seasons of the original animated Netflix show across six Blu-ray discs. The total runtime for Castlevania's 32 episodes is 13 hours and 20 minutes; episodes range from 22-31 minutes each. Castlevania: The Complete Series is bundled inside a woodgrain-style box with decorative gold trim and a portrait of the main characters.

Here's the full list of physical and on-disc extras that come with the Limited Edition:

• 72-page Art Book
• Ouija Game Board with Planchette
• Castlevania Tarot Card Deck
• 2 Window Cling Art Pieces
• Collector's Box
• On-disc bonus content:
  • Art Galleries
  • Storyboards
  • Trailers
  • Production Animatics
  • Voice Actor Interviews

Castlevania debuted on Netflix in 2017 with a four-episode arc. It was a huge hit out of the gate. Season 2's eight episode arc dropped in 2018 and was followed up by two 10-episode seasons in 2020-21.

It's not very likely that this collection will actually launch at its current $155 price point. Blu-rays, and especially TV series box sets, often start high before receiving discounts ahead of launch. You won't be charged for your preorder until it ships, and Amazon will automatically adjust your order total to reflect the lowest price offered until launch.

All that said, Castlevania: The Complete Series probably won't be the economical way to own the great animated series on Blu-ray. That could change if a standard edition box set without the collectibles pops up. But if you can stomach potentially paying $155, the Limited Edition does look like a nice collectible and display piece for big fans of the Konami franchise and Netflix's stylish adaptation.

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Crunchyroll Castlevania Netflix Animated Series on Blu-ray

We've listed all of the Castlevania Blu-rays below for comparison. Buying the first two seasons together is cheaper than grabbing them separately, but there is a Season 1 bundle that includes a cool T-shirt for $20.

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