The first new Skate game in 15 years is out now in early access. It's off to a hot start on Steam, though there are also some issues impacting the experience as it relates to server stability and more. EA and developer Full Circle are addressing those issues now, and updates and improvements will continue, with the game planned to stay in early access for a year.

Skate is a free-to-play game available in early access, meaning the experience is not up to 1.0 as of yet. Every early-access game is different, so here are some key things to know about Skate.

Why early access?

Posting on Steam, developer Full Circle said early access was the right call for Skate because the studio wanted to make the game "in partnership" with players. "Our early access launch will be a starting point from which new features, improvements, live events, and seasonal content will be added over time," the developer said.

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Microsoft recently cut thousands of jobs as part of its latest round of mass layoffs, and as part of the drawback, the company also canceled the new Perfect Dark and closed its developer, The Initiative.

The studio's top boss, Darrell Gallagher, has now written a eulogy of sorts for Perfect Dark and The Initiative, while also confirming his own departure from Microsoft.

"After an incredible journey, my time at Xbox has come to a close with the wind-down of Perfect Dark and The Initiative. I couldn't be prouder of the talented and passionate team I had the privilege assemble and lead," Gallagher said on LinkedIn. "Together, we set out to reimagine an iconic franchise and poured creativity, craft, and dedication into every step of the way. The public reception and excitement for what we were building has been inspiring and deeply appreciated by all of us."

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The newest Skate game is now available for all players in early access, and while it is free-to-play, that doesn't mean every piece of content is unlocked for free. Skate includes an in-game shop, where you can spend two different types of currency to acquire various cosmetics for your skateboard and character.

The in-game shop in Skate isn't set up in the most user-friendly way, so we're here to break down how to navigate the shop with the game's two currencies. Below, you can see what these currencies are, how they're earned in Skate, and what you can unlock with each type.

How to make money in Skate

The two currency types in Skate are: San Van Bucks and Rip Chips. San Van Bucks have a pink bird icon, while Rip Chips have an orange hexagon icon. You can view how much of each currency you have by going to the main menu while in a Skate lobby and tabbing over to the "Store" section, which is the last section on the right in the tab bar at the top of the screen.

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Borderlands 4 boss Randy Pitchford is encouraging people to request refunds if they aren't enjoying the newly launched game, and now one publisher known for being cheeky has weighed in and offered up an alternative.

Devolver Digital said anyone who gets a refund for Borderlands 4 can spend that money on one of its games, Mycopunk, which launched in July and costs $15. The game bears some stylistic resemblances to Borderlands 4, and, like that game, is also a co-op shooter set on an alien planet.

Hey, between you and me - if you do refund Borderlands 4 and "play a different game" please know that Mycopunk is just $15. pic.twitter.com/0Dc7sZFsha

— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) September 16, 2025

Devolver is known for capitalizing on wider games industry talking points to promote its own games. For example, the publisher has maintained that it will intentionally launch a game the same day as GTA 6, something the company re-committed to after GTA 6 was delayed to May 2026.

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During last week's Nintendo Direct, Square Enix surprised Dragon Quest fans with Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, a remake of the classic PlayStation RPG from the year 2000. It seems Square Enix was not done with the surprise Dragon Quest reveals, as today the company announced Dragon Quest Smash/Grow, a roguelite RPG for mobile devices that will enter a closed beta test next month.

Dragon Quest Smash/Grow tasks players with fighting hordes of enemies at once, "smashing" through their ranks in order to "grow" their characters with experience and loot. Once powerful enough, players can then unleash powerful Coup de Grace attacks in order to finish the enemy armies off.

The roguelite mechanic in Dragon Quest Smash/Grow is called Blessings, which are chosen from randomly generated options throughout the course of a run. Each run will depend on the Blessings made available to a player throughout the adventure; as is typical with roguelite games, no two runs will feel exactly alike.

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In a surprising twist for fans of the Mario Kart franchise, it turns out that the NPCs in Mario Kart World are engaged in behaviors far more mischievous than expected. A recent video shared by Nintendo content creator and blogger Supper Mario Broth showed that NPCs in the game aren't just walking background characters; they're actually capable of stealing vehicles from one another.

The now-viral footage highlights a moment where a green Shy Guy parks a car and casually walks away. Moments later, a Toad NPC strolls over, hops into the now-abandoned vehicle, and drives off as if nothing unusual had just happened. The Shy Guy, seemingly unaware or unfazed, continues walking down the street.

In Mario Kart World, NPCs will park their cars, exit them, and walk around. However, the game does not actually keep track who each car belongs to. As such, a different NPC than the owner may drive away with a car, seemingly stealing it. pic.twitter.com/KTXsDHXwiL

— Supper Mario Broth (@MarioBrothBlog) September 16, 2025

According to Supper Mario Broth, this behavior isn't just a one-off glitch or scripted event, as they also credit another Mario blogger who captured a similar situation back in June. The video outlines several possible outcomes for NPCs who lose their vehicles. The affected NPC, like the Shy Guy, might continue walking aimlessly until the player moves far enough away for them to despawn. Alternatively, they might enter a nearby building to despawn or, in some cases, find another unattended car to steal for themselves.

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If you've played any PC or console games over the last 12 months, there's a good chance that at least one of them was a remake or a remaster. That's according to new research, which found that not only have these games been popular with the people they polled for this research, they've also been "desirable" diversions.

Specialist strategy and insights consultancy firm MTM (via GamesIndustry.Biz) polled 1,500 people--750 people each in the US and the UK--who play games regularly. "Our report shows that there is a strong appeal for remakes and remasters, but it's a tight balancing act for studios to get right," said Martin Bradley, head of gaming at MTM. "Many of these games are far out-selling their original release."

MTM also revealed that 85% of the people who played a remaster or remake in the last year had not even played the original version of the game, so this wasn't entirely a case of nostalgia guiding their choices. That being said, MTM added that nostalgia is still a powerful influence, even when gamers understand that they might be missing out on fresher and novel gameplay experiences by choosing reimagined games over newer titles.

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EA's new Skate game, the first in 15 years, launched this week and put up big numbers on Steam for its early-access release. The launch hasn't gone over totally smoothly, however, as players encountered server issues and other problems. Another issue people are reporting is a "softlock" problem that prevents people from accessing certain points in the skateboarding game.

"We've seen a lot of reports on getting softlocked in various points--the Isle of Grom Tutorial, various Missions and/or Challenges," the developer wrote in the game's forums. "The Full Circle team are working to identify the cause of the issues and get a fix out as soon as possible, but we need some info."

EA is asking people to reply to this thread if they're softlocked--which is to say, they cannot complete a mission, challenge, or the tutorial. Players should submit information like what platform they're on, what specific mission or challenge is affected, and their username.

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Mutant Football League 2 developer Digital Dreams has announced that the game will officially launch for PC and console on December 10. Originally launching in early access last year on PC--and in February 2025 on Xbox Series X|S via Game Preview--the NFL Blitz meets Evil Dead sports game is the successor to the 2017 cult-classic football game, with the franchise first kicking off in the '90s under creator Michael Mendheim.

Like EA's popular Madden series, Mutant Football League 2 is focused on the rough-and-tough sport, but it's arguably better because you can tackle the opposition so violently that they can explode into a gory cloud of pink mist. The game mixes a dark sense of humor with 8-vs-8 arcade-style action between teams of Orcs, mutants, undead skeletons, and murderous robots. To make things even more ultraviolent, each arena is packed with deadly traps and sinister hazards like buzzsaws and giant mutant worms.

Basically, if you're looking for an anti-Madden football game, this will probably appeal to you as you'll have to guide a team of rookies to the top of the Mutant Football League through its single-player season, Dynasty Supreme franchise mode, and online multiplayer.

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If you're anything like me, then you've been waiting for Little Nightmares 3 since before it was even officially announced. The game releases on October 10, but developer Supermassive Games has put a demo up on storefronts for free, and you can play it right now.

The demo will see you take control of Low and Alone in the game's first area, The Necropolis--an abandoned city in the middle of a desert. Watch out for Monster Baby as you step into Little Nightmares 3 for the first time. You can play the demo solo or with friends in online co-op, but you must be playing on the same platform as Little Nightmares 3 crossplay is not available. However, it does support cross-generation play, so if you're on a PlayStation 5, you can play with PlayStation 4 users.

None of your progress will be transferred to the full release of the game, although there doesn't appear to be an end date for the demo, so you can replay the first area as many times as you'd like to tide you through to the launch date.

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Borderlands 4 debuted with largely good reviews from critics as well as some brutally negative reviews on Steam about optimization problems with the PC port. Gearbox Studios CEO Randy Pitchford has been one of his game's most outspoken defenders, and he has disputed players' accounts about performance problems in Borderlands 4. Pitchford has also continued to be vocal on social media in the face of pushback from fans.

The majority of Pitchford's messages have included instructions and tips about how to get Borderlands 4 to perform better on PC and consoles. However, Pitchford's frustration with his fan interactions has boiled over a few times. In the post below, Pitchford suggests that a player should "get a refund from Steam if you aren't happy with it," before making an analogy: "I would not put a Ferrari engine in a monster truck and expect it to drive like a Ferrari." He also went on to offer optimization advice.

You can do whatever you want. The game is the game. Please get a refund from Steam if you aren't happy with it. You made an analogy to a vehicle. I would not put a Ferrari engine in a monster truck and expect it to drive like a Ferrari. If you tell me about your specification, I…

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 16, 2025

In a later post, Pitchford noted that a patch is in the works for PS5 Pro users who are having issues with the game.

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The indie game scene may be dominated by Hollow Knight: Silksong at the moment, but it's not the only success story out there. Critical Reflex's new horror game No, I'm Not a Human has already amassed an impressive audience on Twitch in only a few days after its release.

No, I'm Not a Human has already hit a peak of over 124,000 viewers watching it at once on Twitch. So far, the game's reception on Steam has been more muted, with a current peak of 8,248 players. But this is a single-player game rather than a multiplayer title, which may be why it hasn't done as well on Steam yet.

No, I'm Not a Human was developed by a Russian studio called Trioskaz, and it takes place in near-present apocalypse as humanity can no longer survive the intense sunlight during the day. At night, people can come out, but they aren't alone. Visitors--lethal creatures who largely appear to be human--are on the prowl and looking for their next victims.

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This week, the Skate franchise returned as a free game after a 15-year hiatus. Players are currently exploring the city of San Vansterdam and discovering its secrets. One fan has already found a glitch that lets players slow their falls to a crawl as long as they're clapping on the way down.

Reddit user SurWesley shared a video demonstrating the glitch by skating off M-Corp title. To pull off this controlled descent, players need to press the emote button while bailing and keep holding on to it. According to SurWesley, the Third Eye emote can also enable a slow fall.

Clapping slows your descent
byu/SurWesley inSkateEA

It's possible that this glitch could be removed from Skate in a future update. But since it doesn't break the game, it could be potentially be kept as well.

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Helldivers 2's galactic war is playing out with PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S players united behind a common cause. And while the battle continues, so too does the struggle to address the bugs that have come up in the game. Arrowhead Game Studios has released a new patch for Helldivers 2, but there aren't many Super Earth-shattering issues this week.

The details for Helldivers 2 patch 01.400.002 have been shared on Steam and Discord, and most of the bugs are either crash or audio-related issues. Perhaps the most amusing bug placed Helldivers on top of cave structures while reinforcing. There are two Xbox-specific fixes, including the restoration of SDR colors to their proper brightness level and a bug that prevented players from accessing Helldivers user profiles.

Earlier this month, Helldivers 2 unleashed the Into the Unjust update, which added a lot of new content. If you're having trouble fighting the Hive Lords, we recommend using nukes and lots of them. They're pretty hard to kill if you're coming at them with anything less powerful. Helldivers 2 has also surged past 500,000 concurrent players, which may mean that the influx of players from Xbox Series X|S is increasing engagement across the board.

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All Zoe wants is some peace and quiet, but she's gonna have to deal with the pesky animator before she'll be able to get some rest. Destroy the animator's tools, blast their creations to bits, collect Apples to spend on Power Ups, rack up your multiplier, and reclaim your serene surroundings to help Zoe get back to normality as fast as you can (and bag yourself a high score in the process)! ZOE Begone! is a frenetic hand-drawn bullet hell arcade shooter, blending run-and-gun mechanics with classic shmup action in looping arenas. Inspired by drawn-on-film animation of the 1930s - shoot, dash and pound your way through the Animator's creations.

Become the custodian of a store dealing in occult antiquities. Explore the quaint and gloomy town of Undermere, where strange goings-on and dark mysteries abound. Find and identify arcane artefacts, use your collection to aid the townsfolk with their unusual problems - and remember to pet your cat!