Upcoming Assassin's Creed games are never too far off. Heck, even before Assassin's Creed Shadows came out nine months ago, Ubisoft were publicly talking about a number of other in-development titles on the horizon. But what wisdom would one of Shadows' lead developers give to the numerous other teams currently heads down on the stealthy-stabby series? Lemay-Comtois noted that Assassin's Creed's signature parkour seemed to have fallen to the background in the series' RPG games, Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Part of that is because those massive open-worlds aren't as dense with climbable architecture as older Assassin's Creed games; instead there's miles of Ancient Greek oceans or Egyptian dunes between urban jungle gyms. "We are hard to beat": 9 months since Assassin's Creed Shadows, its associate director looks back on what makes this RPG the best in series history "Hope is not lost" for Assassin's Creed Shadows to follow Mirage's lead and add the fan-favorite manual jump in a post-launch update Upcoming Assassin's Creed games: Every new Assassin's Creed game in development "We're trying to rectify that in post launch with Shadows and push that narrative internally to say, parkour matters," Lemay-Comtois continued. "Let's really push parkour forward." Up next are Assassin's Creed Jade, said to be the series' first open-world romp on mobile, and Assassin's Creed Codename Hexe, which looks like a slightly spookier take on the formula from Valhalla stewards Ubisoft Montreal. There's also been unofficial rumblings about an Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag remake for months. We'll see if there's more of a spotlight on parkour in any of those when (and maybe if) they come out. "Hope is not lost" for Assassin's Creed Shadows to follow Mirage's lead and add the fan-favorite manual jump in a post-launch update

At one point during the development of hit shooter Arc Raiders, Embark Studios wanted to have big boss fights centred around pattern recognition in the same vein as Dark Souls or Monster Hunter, but the imposing robots that stalk the game's maps were far too unpredictable for that to work. Arc Raiders' technical designer Nora Silow said as much in a docuseries about the making of the extraction shooter, which you can watch below. "A lot of design philosophies, especially with enemy design, are really difficult to pull off when you have these types of systems because it's so much about pattern recognition," she said. For those out of the loop, pattern recognition in games is pretty much what the name implies. When you see a Dark Souls boss stretch their weapon in a specific way, let's say, you'll eventually realize they're charging up for a very particular spinning attack, and hopefully, you'll also in time realize how to counter it. Phantom Blade Zero bosses might normally have "Soulslike elements," but on harder difficulties, their AI borrows from fighting games: "He will analyze the situation" Arc Raiders was going to be a cross "between Shadow of the Colossus, Left 4 Dead, and PUBG" according to dev, who says Embark initially had no idea "what kind of game loop we were supposed to have" Tired of making "many, many Battlefield titles," former DICE devs started innovating with upcoming extraction shooter Arc Raiders and help from the past: PS2 classic Shadow of the Colossus "That's what games like Dark Souls, like Monster Hunter kind of rely upon," Silow continued. "And we had this ambition to have boss fights in that same arena of Dark Souls, Monster Hunter, having all of that compelling pattern recognition." But Embark soon realized the Arcs had far too many variables for those more scripted boss encounters to be viable. Pattern recognition works in games because the player knows that certain animations will lead to certain outcomes almost every single time, which doesn't really work if a scarab-y Arc is on a slope at an angle the developers didn't plan for or if there's another player firing from an unexpected angle. Silow puts it succinctly: "You're not gonna have the pattern that you thought." Arc Raiders players exploited the Hidden Bunker so hard that Embark has turned it off entirely

Slay the Spire's been a gigantic success since it first dropped, inspiring countless other deckbuilding roguelikes and giving developer Mega Crit the freedom to work on pretty much anything after. But with endless options laid out in front of Mega Crit, the devs instead put their fate in the hands of a simple coin toss, which is how we ended up with Slay the Spire 2. Mega Crit co-founder Anthony Giovannetti recently told PC Gamer the team had been experimenting with lots of "tiny projects [and] little prototypes" after finishing up on their breakout success. The indie studio clearly had their fair share of options, but it came down to Slay the Spire 2 or "a completely different project" in the end. So, as you do with any potentially life-impacting decision, they let Lady Luck decide. "I thought there were some interesting design challenges to work on a sequel with," Giovannetti added. "We ended up flipping a coin, actually, and Slay the Spire 2 won out. So we started working on it, and the rest is history." Dead Cells 2 isn't happening right now because the studio behind the legendary OG roguelike is driven by "what we want to make" and not pressure from fans Slay the Spire 2's early access launch is delayed to March 2026, and the devs insist it has nothing to do with that other indie juggernaut that just came out: "On the bright side, everyone can keep busy playing Silksong during the wait" "The game is the design document": Hades 2 devs don't have "long, elaborate" plans that "lay out the future of the things we're making" because Supergiant is "a heavily iterative studio" Since this all happened during Covid's lockdown era, Giovannetti explained that the coin flip never actually occurred in person: "I want to say we were in a Discord call, and I think he [fellow co-founder Casey Yano] just told me the result of the coin, which, in retrospect, is maybe questionable. But I believe he told me the true result. I think Casey would've massively preferred the coin went the other way, because I was always the card game person, and he was the action game person." Regardless, the duo weren't dismayed either way. Working on a follow-up to Slay the Spire meant they could realize some of the ideas they never got around to the first time around. And we'll see the fruits of their efforts in March, 2026. Slay the Spire 2 is happening because fans went "the extra mile" for the original roguelike deck builder: "We love our job"

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. A bunch of titles that are arriving very late to make it into game of the year conversations debuted this week, and we learned some new details about upcoming projects, such as a release date for a rad-looking arena shooter called Don't Stop, Girlypop. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is one of the higher-profile indies to hit consoles and PC this week. It's from Tribute Games and publisher Dotemu, the same pair that brought us Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. Cosmic Invasion largely draws from the same playbook: it's also a retro-style side-scrolling beat-'em-up with a look that apes the Marvel animated shows from the '90s. It's an enjoyable enough game, largely thanks to the variety of characters and how differently they play. Captain America is one of my favorites. Each character has a secondary move (often a ranged attack) to go with their basic melee strikes, and Cap's one has no ammo or cooldown. I never grew tired of spamming his shield projectile attack and knocking enemies off the screen. I really enjoyed playing as She-Hulk too. Her secondary move involves grabbing an enemy and throwing them around. She-Hulk can also toss them into the air then leap with McTominay-esque athleticism to deliver a kick and send the baddie crashing into its cohorts. The character swap system (each player chooses two and can switch between them any time) evokes tag fighting games and the co-op features work well too. There isn't a ton of depth to Marvel Cosmic Invasion, unfortunately, but the presentation is spot on. It's out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for $30. It's also on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. It only took 13 years from announcement to release but survival horror title Routine (from Lunar Software and publisher Raw Fury) has emerged on Steam, the Xbox PC app, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox Cloud. It's available on Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Routine offers up a slice of liminal space terror with a dash of retro-futurism. Lunar Software based the aesthetic on "how people from the 1980s might envision a believable moon base" with analogue technology. Your mission is to explore the base and try to determine how it got to this state. Lunar wanted Routine to feel as immersive as possible, so there are no waypoint markers and you won't see a heads-up display. Instead, you have a personal data assistant that connects to wireless access points throughout the base and provides you with information about your current goals. Here's another horror title we've been looking forward to for several years. Sleep Awake deals with things that go bump in the night. It's a first-person psychedelic horror game in which a force called The HUSH makes anyone who falls asleep vanish. So, our hero Katja and other residents of the last-known city on Earth try various ways to stay awake, but they’ll inevitably have to deal with the effects of sleep derivation. Sleep Awake is from Eyes Out — a studio formed by Spec Ops: The Line director Cory Davis and Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck — and publisher Blumhouse Games. It's out now on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for $30. How about another horror game? It's the last one we have this week, I promise. Tingus Goose has been on my radar for a while because it just looks so deeply strange. This is billed as "a cozy body horror idle game" in which you "plant seeds in patients, bounce babies for profit and ascend through surreal worlds toward riches." I'm glad for that description from the game's PR team, because I don't fully know what to make of the trailer. A goose emerges from a human being's torso and grows a giant neck and human fingers stick out of it and… it's all just so strange. But I kinda dig it? Tingus Goose is from SweatyChair and co-publishers Playsaurus and UltraPlayers. It's on Steam for $5.94 until December 8, and it will cost $7 after that. I haven't seen anything that looks quite like Effulgence RPG before. It's a party-based RPG with a 3D ASCII art style. Here, you'll need to take out enemies to acquire better gear. Andrei Fomin released Effulgence RPG in early access on Steam this week for $10. The solo developer is aiming to release the full version of the game in June and to add more content and quality-of-life updates in the meantime. It's not usually the kind of game that I'd normally be drawn toward, but that art style alone is cool enough to make me want to try it. Looking for something a little more relaxing? Log Away is a cozy cabin builder from The-Mark Entertainment. There are several environments to choose from and a variety of decorations at your disposal depending on your interests. You can have a pet too, so that qualifies Log Away as this week's dog game. I've played it a bit and found it to be quite relaxing, a soothing counter punch to the non-stop action of Cosmic Invasion. It's out now on Steam for $10, but if you buy it by December 11 you'll save a dollar and get a Christmas-themed DLC at no extra cost. I adore Sayonara Wild Hearts with every fiber of my being and I appreciated what Simogo did with Lorelai and the Laser Eyes, even if I never stuck with it for long. I haven't played any of the studio's earlier games, though. That's something I'm planning to fix very soon now that the Simogo Legacy Collection is here. The studio reworked all of its first seven mobile games — including Year Walk and Device 6 — and combined them into a collection that's available on Steam, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. It costs $15 though there's a 15 percent discount until December 12. I'm very much looking forward to digging into this over the holidays. I've been very much looking forward to Don’t Stop, Girlypop! for a while. It's a movement-focused arena shooter with a Y2K aesthetic. Think of it as an anti-capitalist, hyperpop riff on games like Doom Eternal. The demo is a lot of fun and I'm glad there's finally a release date for this game from  Funny Fintan Softworks and publisher Kwalee. It's coming to Steam on January 29. Limbot seems like it could be a fun party game. You can play it by yourself, but having three friends join you seems like the optimal way to go. In that case, each of you will take control of one of a cardboard robot's limbs. So you'll have to coordinate to move around this papercraft world effectively and complete precision-based objectives. It sounds like a recipe for an Overcooked-style tiff between friends. This physics-based game from Ionized Studios is coming to Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It's slated to arrive between April and June next year. Polyperfect's Zlin City: Arch Moderna is a diorama city builder inspired by historical events of the 1930s and '40s and the architecture of Zlin, a town in Czechia (Czech Republic). The developers used 3D printing, photogrammetry and 3D scanning to capture the objects that are used in the game. The result is something that — at least at first glance — looks beautifully textured. There's no confirmed release window for Zlin City: Arch Moderna as yet. It'll be available on Steam.

Rockstar has released a bunch of new official merch including t-shirts, candles, pins, and even a doormat, presumably in anticipation of holiday shoppers, and shockingly, it has decided not to shadow-drop GTA 6 in tandem. Over on Rockstar's official website, the company announced and showed off its new gear, and unfortunately, there's quite a bit that I actually like. The Varsity Collection of sweatshirts, brandishing the Rockstar Games logo in a varsity yellow stitching, look classy in all three colors - a maroonish dark red, black, and navy blue - and the shirts with iconic screenshots from various Rockstar games - including GTA 3 - 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, Manhunt, and Bully - are, well, pretty iconic. But it's the doormat - that damned doormat - that turns this otherwise unremarkable merch drop into a product page where only cruel irony is on offer. We've known for a few weeks now that GTA 6 was delayed another six months to November 19, 2026, but I don't think anyone expected us to get a dang Rockstar doormat before the studio's long, long, looooong-awaited sequel. Somehow, this doormat, made from 100% coconut coir, makes the newly elongated wait for GTA 6 even harder. Cyberpunk 2077 devs offer support to spiralling GTA 6 fans following delay by reminding them of their RPG's infamously terrible launch GTA 6 delayed 6 more months as Rockstar commits to November 2026 and says “sorry” After GTA 6 hopefuls convinced themselves trailer 3 would drop today, they're not taking Rockstar's Red Dead Online news very well: "DIABOLICAL work guys" In case it's starting to sound like I have a personal vendetta against this doormat, let me assure you, I do not. It looks like a fine welcome mat, featuring the 'Say Sorry, Be Nice' company motto above the Rockstar logo. I will say, that catchphrase doesn't ring quite the same after protestors adopted it in support of recently fired workers some allege were examples of union busting at Rockstar. Man, maybe I do have a grudge against this mat. An immortal-looking Todd Howard thinks GTA 6 will be out before The Elder Scrolls 6, calls Rockstar "some of the absolute best" at world design

Amazon has also dropped the price on the 4K Blu-ray edition of Godzilla vs. Biollante to only $20. Godzilla: The Showa-Era 15-Film Box Set: Criterion Collection Godzilla vs. Biollante Special Edition: Criterion Collection (4K) Godzilla (1954): Criterion Collection (4K) Amazon has restocked one of the most popular box sets in the Criterion Collection. Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975 is in stock for $112.48 (was $225). This is great timing on Amazon's part, as the Criterion Collection half-off sale ends this weekend (December 7). At the time of writing, Amazon estimates orders placed today will arrive before Christmas. This gorgeous collection of 15 classic Godzilla movies routinely sells out during these 50% off sales at Amazon, but fortunately Amazon restocked its supply this time around. Amazon also has 4K Blu-ray editions of Godzilla vs. Biollante and the original 1954 Godzilla film for at least 50% off. We said at least because Godzilla vs. Biollante's 4K Blu-ray is on sale for only $20 (was $50). Godzilla Movies and Box Sets Save big on Blu-ray and DVD box sets at Amazon. This eye-catching collection includes 15 Godzilla movies in total, all featuring Big Green during a period of time that was weird, imaginative, and action-packed. The films are new HD transfers, include both English and Japanese language tracks, archival interviews, and more bonus materials. Additionally, it comes with a deluxe hardcover book and colorful art on its deluxe packaging, making for a very nice bundle overall. Here's the full list of Godzilla movies included: And here's a broad list of special features found in this eight-disc set. Godzilla vs. Biollante joined the Criterion Collection in March on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. It was restored in its original aspect ratio in native 4K (2160p) with a DTS-HD Master. Audio 5.1 surround sound track. This edition also includes a new English translation for the subtitles--the audio is in Japanese. The 1989 film is a monster movie masterclass with compelling foes like the title nemesis Biollante, who was created in a lab by combining Godzilla and human cells with plants. It's well-paced and has impressive special effects for its time. Godzilla vs. Biollante is a lot of fun, but it also delivers poignant commentary on humankind's relationship with technology and science. If you haven't watched it, just know there are good reasons why Godzilla vs. Biollante is only the second standalone Godzilla release for Criterion. Along with being a great mix of sci-fi, horror, and action, Godzilla vs. Biollante established the format that would be used throughout the rest of the Heisei era. You don't need to watch any of the films before it, but it is a sequel to 1994's The Return of Godzilla. As mentioned, the 4K Blu-ray edition is actually on sale for 60% off, so you can get it for the same price as the standard Blu-ray. The 4K edition also comes with a standard Blu-ray disc. Here's the list of features and bonuses: If you buy the Showa-Era Collection deal, you'll already have the original 1954 film, but the native 4K (2160p) edition is a must-watch for big fans of the franchise. It doesn't have surround sound, but it uses the original uncompressed mono audio. Godzilla's 4K edition includes a foldout case with pop-up artwork of Godzilla. The 4K edition is five bucks more than the standard Blu-ray edition, but it also comes with a standard Blu-ray disc with the movie and special features. One of the most interesting bonuses is a remastered edition of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the 1956 version of the film directed by Terry O. Morse. It's essentially Hollywood's take on Godzilla. The Criterion Collection Holiday Sale Save 50% on Blu-rays through December 7 at Amazon. Fans should also check out the newly released Shin Godzilla Limited Edition Steelbook for $35 at Amazon. It's listed as temporarily out of stock, but you can still order a copy. If you don't want to wait, the standard edition 4K Blu-ray is available for $30. Shin Godzilla released on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray on October 28. Chronologically, it's the first film in Godzilla's Reiwa era. Shin Godzilla Limited Edition Steelbook (4K Blu-ray) Godzilla Minus One, one of the very best films in the franchise and the newest film in the Reiwa era, is available for only $14.53 on Blu-ray and $20 on 4K Blu-ray. Fans can also snag Godzilla Double Features from the Heisei and Millennium eras on Blu-ray for cheap. Godzilla vs. Biolllante, for reference, is the second film in the Heisei era following The Return of Godzilla. Hollywood's recent blockbuster MonsterVerse series received a new 4K Blu-ray box set earlier this year. Normally $70, you can pick up Godzilla x Kong MonsterVerse 5-Film Collection for only $55 at Amazon. Godzilla / Kong 10-Movie Collection (DVD) You can get Godzilla movie box sets and the animated series on DVD for cheap. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. released a 10-film Godzilla and King Kong box set featuring all of the MonsterVerse movies as well as contemporary and classic King Kong movies for only $36. It's temporarily out of stock, but once again Amazon is letting customers place orders. Alternatively, you can get Amazon's limited-time deal on MonsterVerse 5-Film Collection that drops the price of the DVD box set to $17.49 (was $25). There's also a cool budget-friendly Godzilla Mega Set focused on the Heisei and Millennium Era movies for only $26 (was $39). On the comic book side of the franchise, fans should check out the ongoing IDW Library Collection. Godzilla's comic book series is written and illustrated by some of the top talent in the industry, and these chunky paperback collections are affordably priced. IDW published Volume 5 on November 18.

Hong Kong 2097, the official sequel to one of the most infamously offensive games of all time, has been delayed after failing its Steam certification and seemingly being ghosted by Valve. Kanipro's sequel to Hong Kong 97, itself explicitly designed to be "the worst game possible," was announced back in October with a trailer paying tribute to the original unlicensed '95 floppy disk atrocity, which I'll remind you stars a heroin-addicted relative of Bruce Lee named Chin and charges him with massacring "fuckin' ugly" (the game's words) Chinese communists in Hong Kong. The sequel, with involvement from the original's developer, Yoshihisa Kurosawa, brings back Chin for another round of absurd, proudly crude twin-stick penis gun shooting chaos. "One minute you'll be shooting down dancing hot dogs on a ranch in Texass, and the next you'll be fighting off flasher Uncle Sams in Idahoe," reads the Steam description. Proudly offensive Japanese video game receives sequel after 30 years in which players destroy hot dogs and Taylor Swift tacos in fictional "Amurikkka," and it's going straight to my wishlist After 2 years and $100,000 invested, acclaimed indie studio is "likely closing" due to Steam ban, says it was "tricked and betrayed" by Valve: "A system that allows that is broken" Banned by Steam, $100,000 in the hole, and facing shutdown, graphic horror game dev now dropped by Epic Games Store "roughly 24 hours before launch" Anyway, apparently Valve didn't like something it saw, as it declined to approve Hong Kong 2097 for distribution. Shocking, I know, but Kanipro has had a hunch for a while that there might be a few hiccups getting Steam to sell its game. A tweet from a couple of weeks back said the game "failed its first Steam review" and foretold that if it failed again, it would be delayed. And, well, it failed again, and is now delayed to Q1 2026. "Two weeks since resubmitting and still no response from Steam, so we'll have to delay the release of Hong Kong 2097. New release 'date' is Q1 2026," reads a recent tweet from Kanipro. "The game is totally finished but we can't do anything without approval. I'm in gamedev limbo." Two weeks since resubmitting and still no response from Steam, so we'll have to delay the release of Hong Kong 2097. New release "date" is Q1 2026. The game is totally finished but we can't do anything without approval. I'm in gamedev limbo pic.twitter.com/MRCWPXdaDsDecember 4, 2025 Two weeks since resubmitting and still no response from Steam, so we'll have to delay the release of Hong Kong 2097. New release "date" is Q1 2026. The game is totally finished but we can't do anything without approval. I'm in gamedev limbo pic.twitter.com/MRCWPXdaDsDecember 4, 2025 Two weeks since resubmitting and still no response from Steam, so we'll have to delay the release of Hong Kong 2097. New release "date" is Q1 2026. The game is totally finished but we can't do anything without approval. I'm in gamedev limbo pic.twitter.com/MRCWPXdaDsDecember 4, 2025 Another admittedly amusing tweet from Kanipro, or whatever comic genius is running that account, rails against Steam's decision: "Oh for god's sake! Come on Steam, you guys are busting my balls here for no reason. There's no nudity (at least not with anything visible), the game's perfectly playable from start to finish, LET ME RELEASE HONG KONG 2097!!!" The nature of Hong Kong 2097's apparent ban from Steam is inherently silly, if only because someone at Valve was almost certainly forced to look at a deeply stupid game flagrantly testing the limits of the platform's content guidelines, despite that very same platform being known for publishing games whose titles I can't mention here for fear of being flagged by HR. Anyway, my point is, until we know exactly why Valve is refusing to distribute Hong Kong 2097, this looks a lot like the same sort of censorship the internet is up in arms about with the whole Horses situation. Steam removing adult games shows "you can even censor another country's free speech," claims Nier creator Yoko Taro.

News and discussion ignited by Steam and the Epic Games Store banning arthouse horror game Horses has boosted sales of the game on stores like GOG, but developer Santa Ragione says this is at best partially offsetting the loss of the platform-defining Steam audience. At the time of writing, Horses is ranked second under "Bestselling (recently)" games on GOG. Speaking with The Verge, Santa Ragione cofounder and Horses producer Pietro Righi Riva says "all this attention" has brought some relief. "I'm probably going to be able to give back most of the money [roughly half of $100,000] that I had to borrow," he says of the game's budget. "But we’re not out of the [woods] yet, no." Banned horror game Horses now topping GOG's best-seller charts amid censorship controversy, and it's back on Humble even as Steam and Epic refuse to carry it GOG shades Steam in support for horror game banned by Valve: "We've always believed that players should be able to choose the experiences that speak to them" One week after an acclaimed indie studio said it faces closure following a Steam ban for its surreal horror game, Humble joins Epic in banning Horses at the last minute "Even with all the publicity, all the reporting, all the reviews, everything else" Riva says, "this still does not compare to the kind of audience we would have on Steam." This was, of course, exactly the problem with Steam banning Horses and then, Santa Ragione said, refusing to budge despite multiple appeals with corrections to offending content. (Well, it was the problem on a financial level for Santa Ragione; the problem on a moral level isn't something I have space for here.) If your PC game isn't on Steam, it's missing by far the biggest chunk of buyers (and promotional tools) on the platform. Getting on Steam isn't a golden ticket to success, obviously, but not getting on Steam is a heavy blow. Horses has thus far been able to recoup some of its $100,000 development budget without Steam, but there's little doubt that if it had been accepted back on Valve's store – or never banned to begin with – Santa Ragione would be in a much stronger position. The game would be in the center of different conversations, surely, but it would also be in front of a lot more eyes. Looking ahead, Riva worries that Horses' banning, which has come on the heels of a much wider wave of PC game censorship stoked by payment providers caving to arbitrary demands and reports, will lead to less provocative and interesting games. "I think there is going to be, in my case, and in other people's case, a certain degree of self-censorship," he said. "It’s terrifying, and it's going to make people make safer and safer games, me included." In its support for Horses, GOG argued, "We've always believed that players should be able to choose the experiences that speak to them." Banned horror game Horses now topping GOG's best-seller charts amid censorship controversy, and it's back on Humble even as Steam and Epic refuse to carry it.

I imagine we all have that one video game franchise revival we keep hoping for every time announcement season comes around – a little flame in your heart for the return of a nostalgic favorite you loved as a kid. For me, that's Banjo-Kazooie. I've nearly given up hope that Xbox will ever deliver the Banjo-Threeie I've waited 25 years for, but luckily, one fan developer is helping fill the gap with an incredible tribute game in Dreams. Dreams is, of course, the whimsical game creation tool built by LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule. I remind you of that fact primarily because PlayStation has very much allowed Dreams to fall out of the limelight since official support ended in 2023. But that hasn't stopped William 'Eupholace' Butkevicius from using it to build an absolutely incredible-looking Banjo fan game. Just check out the trailer for Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania above. (Or play it for yourself in Dreams.) I often find myself a bit more critical of fan games than most, but this is a rare effort that truly captures the spirit of the original and genuinely looks like it has the old-school control precision you'd want. If this exact video popped up as the "one more thing" at my dream Xbox press conference, I'd be more than satisfied. Zelda, Okami, and Jak & Daxter inspired Demi and the Fractured Dream, its devs tell me, and I can feel it after playing only one dungeon 18 years after it owned the Xbox 360 era, Crackdown deserves so much better – and should have one more chance to prove itself After a 97% "Very Positive" Steam launch for his platformer about a tortoise and a duck, indie dev says it took fans 1 week to pay for his wedding and dog's future medication, but it's barely been enough to break even The catch is that Mumbomania is much smaller in scope than a full Banjo sequel would be, consisting of just a single level. It's a pitch perfect recreation of Treasure Trove Cove, the second world in the original game, and one that comes with an array of new challenges to overcome and mechanics to play around with, so it still manages to impress even with a roughly 30-minute playtime based on the playthrough video below. It's certainly impressive enough to have attracted the attention of the original developers. Gregg Mayles, who led development on the original Banjo-Kazooie, retweeted the release announcement for Mumbomania and called it "splendid." Legendary composer Grant Kirkhope also shared the announcement, and even the official Rare account got in on the action: "Put our fanciest hat on just so we could tip it to this. Incredible work!" It's worth noting that Eupholace isn't just an outstanding fan developer. He's also part of Moon Studios, working as a level designer on action-RPG No Rest for the Wicked, and it sounds like he might be stepping away from this sort of fan project in the future. "Mumbomania is just one level and there are no plans to add any more," Eupholace says in a tweet. "I’d like to move away from big Dreams projects now, so unless I get the opportunity to work on an official Banjo-Threeie (which I would be thrilled to), this is it for now." Banjo-Kazooie composer reiterates he has "zero hope" for a new game in Rare's iconic platformer series, and besides, "all you die-hard fans would instantly hate it."

Amazon will soon premiere its Fallout season 2 on December 17, and pre-existing fans of the apocalyptic RPG series are likely curious to see how it showcases New Vegas. Well, here comes Bethesda director Todd Howard to the rescue. "I mean, look, the scale of New Vegas as a proper set is incredible," he assures fans in a new interview with Future Games Show. The toasted wasteland will be the main setting for the Fallout TV show's second season, which a teaser trailer suggests picks up after Lucy (Ella Purnell) and the Ghoul (Ghoul) go hunting after the broken Vault Dweller's traitorous father (Kyle MacLachlan) "It's a location that gamers know," observes Howard. 2010's Fallout: New Vegas is, after all, still one of the most iconic games in the 28-year-old series – so, yeah, "gamers know" it. That's in contrast to season one, Howard continues, though he concedes "you know the Vault" where much of it takes place. Otherwise, "a lot of the places are places that you don't have an expectation for." Fallout season 2 is "taking some swings", but isn't committing to any canonical ending from New Vegas: "It's what we would want to see as fans" New Fallout season 2 trailer sees Lucy and the Ghoul gear up for a civil war in New Vegas – and gives us a first look at Macaulay Culkin's "crazy genius" Fallout season 2 posters give us our best look yet at two key New Vegas factions, with a notable change from the games "Whereas, going into New Vegas, as a player, you have an expectation for [it]. Because you walked around that," Howard says. But the Fallout show's "ability to pull it off on the scale, so much of it practical – it was incredible." It should be just as awfully beautiful as you remember. Fallout's TV adaptation is "way more" popular than Todd Howard expected, so the RPG series' devs have had to ensure "the games are ready for all the players who are coming into them." Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

The Switch 2's lack of a built-in camera means you need an external one for GameChat video calls. But now, if your phone is a Google Pixel, you don't even need one of those. Android Authority reported on Friday that the two now work nicely together (without needing third-party apps), and our tests confirm that. Google has technically supported the use of Android devices as external webcams for two years: The company added it in a quarterly update for Android 14. (Specifically, it added the ability for devices to use USB Video Class mode, or UVC.) But that functionality didn't work with the Switch 2 before the November Pixel Drop. How do we know it was that version? Well, before our Editor-in-Chief, Aaron Souppouris, installed November’s update on a Pixel, the Switch 2 webcam feature didn't work. After updating to that one today (but before installing the December update), it worked. If that wasn't enough, the November firmware's release notes listed a "fix for an issue where webcam mode does not work properly with connected devices under certain conditions." That pretty much cinches it. Regardless, we reached out to Google for official confirmation, and we'll update this story if we hear back.

Bethesda Game Studios executive producer Todd Howard says there's a place for AI in video game development, but not of the generative variety, thank goodness. In an interview with Eurogamer, Howard tread carefully through the minefield that is AI in video games discourse, stressing the irreplaceability of human creativity, but clarifying that AI can be a useful "tool" in game development, specifically to help with iterative processes that would take a lot longer by human hand. "I view it as a tool," Howard said. "Creative intention comes from human artists, number one. Hideo Kojima thinks "of AI as more of a friend," but one he'd only let "handle the tedious tasks" of development "that would lower cost and cut down on time" Fallout co-creator and RPG mastermind Leonard Boyarsky could smack his former self "upside the head" for past comments on AI – and no, Obsidian isn't "using it at all" Baldur's Gate 3 publishing lead sees Elon Musk's new AI-generated game, says "AI has its place as a tool" but won't "solve the big problem of the industry, which is leadership and vision" "But, I think we look at it as a tool for, is there a way we can use it to help us go through some iterations that we do ourselves faster. Not in generating things, but we are always working on our toolset for how we build our worlds or check things." Howard is far from the first high-profile game developer to suggest AI as a tool to cut down on grunt work in game development; Metal Gear and Death Stranding auteur Hideo Kojima just recently he thinks of AI as a "friend," but one he would only want around to "handle the tedious tasks" of development "that would lower cost and cut down on time." "I think if you go back 10 years ago, that version of Photoshop, you wouldn't want to go back to that version of Photoshop," Howard added. "That's our view on it. But we want to protect the artistry. The human intention of it is what makes our stuff special." Howard and Kojima are both on the moderate end of the spectrum of AI embrace, with other high-level executives like Valve founder Gabe Newell and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot taking a much more explicitly bullish approach, not to mention giant companies like EA investing eye-watering amounts in full embrace. All things considered, Howard's thoughts on AI seem pretty tame. "Gen Z loves AI slop," says former Square Enix exec, which means that Arc Raiders' controversial AI usage is just "the tip of the spear"