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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Become the ultimate high-tech warrior in an action-packed new entry in the Daemon X Machina series. Fly into battle in your customized Arsenal, unleashing a variety of attacks tailored to your playstyle. Feel the exhilaration of fast-paced combat as you freely explore a deadly and dangerous open world on land or in the air. After taking down your foes, collect their weapons and equipment, and upgrade your skills to expand your options on the battlefield. Suit up for a dark sci-fi story where you can face the titanic boss battles alone or with up to two other players online. New and veteran Daemon X Machina players alike will find a worthy adventure in the latest from Marvelous First Studio.

Experience the events of ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ brought to life through glorious pixel artwork and action-packed arcade gameplay! Play as Sarah Connor and the T-800 through a variety of thrilling missions as they take on the T-1000 and try to put a stop to Skynet’s plans before the human race is annihilated. Lead the Resistance as John Connor in the future, fighting on the front lines as mankind’s only hope in the War Against the Machines. In this unique story blending iconic scenes from ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ with original scenarios and multiple endings, humanity’s fate is yours to decide.