Switch Online adds three new NES and SNES games

Nintendo has added three more retro games to Nintendo Switch Online’s NES and SNES libraries. The NES app gets Pinball, while the SNES gets Rival Turf and Congo’s Caper. Pinballis one of the original ‘black box’ NES games and launched alongside the console in the west. It’s a standard pinball game, but has a bonus stage in which Mario carries a platform and tries to deflect the ball to rescue Pauline....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 229 words · Rebecca Weeks

The PlayStation VR2 version of No Man’s Sky will be ready at launch

The upcoming PlayStation VR2 version of No Man’s Sky will be released on the same day the headset is launched, developer Hello Games has confirmed. Hello Gamesannounced earlier this year that it was working on aPlayStationVR2 version but, as spotted byEurogamer, the description under the game’s PS VR2 trailer on the PlayStation Store was recently updated, stating that the free upgrade would be “coming February 2022”. Given that this clearly isn’t possible, it was suggested that this could have been a typo and should have actually said “coming February 22”,the date PlayStation VR2 launches....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 331 words · Annette Atkins

The respected SNES emulator author Near has reportedly passed away

The well-respected emulator developer and video game preservationist known as Near has reportedly taken their own life. Concerns grew for Near – who has also gone by the names ‘byuu’ and ‘Dave’ and identifies as non-binary – after theyposted a Twitter threadon Sunday documenting the online bullying campaign they’d suffered in recent years. Near wrote that they had suffered a lifetime of abuse, which more recently had become worse when they were targeted by Kiwi Farms, an internet cyberbullying hub....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 225 words · Maria Coleman

Tony Hawk will ‘campaign all he can’ for a remaster of Tony Hawk’s Underground

Tony Hawk has said that he will “campaign all he can” for a remake of the Tony Hawk’s Underground series. Tony Hawk’s Underground was the 5th game in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater lineage, taking the series in a new direction with a story-focused campaign and more cutscenes. The game is a fan favourite for its take on skateboarding culture and its move away from the arcade-style goals of the earlier games....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 380 words · Kenneth Vazquez

Ubisoft acquires mobile publisher Green Panda Games

Ubisoft has acquired a 70% stake in mobile publisher Green Panda Games. While terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed,Ubisofthas the option to increase its stake in Paris-based Green Panda to 100% in the next four years. Green Panda was established in 2013 and in its early days it developed classic games such as Solitaire, Blackjack and Sudoku. The 30-person team now publishes free-to-play mobile titles, specialising inhyper-casual games, particularly in the idle game genre....

July 2, 2025 · 1 min · 212 words · Jacqueline Fox

Ubisoft announces free Rabbids game designed to teach coding

Ubisoft has announced Rabbids Coding, a “fun and engaging educational experience” which offers players the tools to learn how to code. Rabbids Coding will be released on October 8 via Uplay for free,Ubisoftannounced at an event in London on Monday, and doesn’t require any previous knowledge of coding. Across 32 levels, players are tasked with cleaning up a spaceship that has been overrun by Rabbids, which is achieved by providing simple instructions to a Rabbid wearing a mind-control device....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 258 words · Daniel Murray

Ubisoft has licensed a series of Assassin’s Creed NFTs

Ubisoft has licensed a series of Assassin’s Creed NFTs which can be produced as physical collectibles. NFTs are unique non-interchangeable units of data stored on a blockchain (a form of digital ledger), which effectively allow users to buy and sell digital products like in-game items or artwork. Created by Integral Reality Labs, theAssassin’s Creed Smart Collectiblesare NFT ‘digital souls’ which represent characters from theAssassin’s Creedseries. Each will have “rare and unique outfits and weapons”....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 385 words · John Hernandez

Ubisoft’s ‘groundbreaking’ Star Wars game is in the ‘early stage of development’

Ubisoft has confirmed that its recently announced Star Wars game is in the early stages of development, suggesting its release is still several years away. Lucasfilm signalled in January that its Star Wars exclusivity deal withEAwas over—or at least coming to an end—by partnering with Ubisoft on a new open-world game. The project is being developed byUbisoft’sMassive Entertainment(The Division), marking the first time that a company outside of EA has worked on a Star Wars game in eight years....

July 2, 2025 · 3 min · 528 words · Cynthia Chavez

US gamers have sued Microsoft in a bid to block its merger with Activision

A group of self-identified gamers have joined forces to sue Microsoft in a bid to stop its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In a complaint (viaReuters) filed on Tuesday in a federal court in California, plaintiffs argued that the $69 billion deal could substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly in violation of the Clayton Act. The private anti-trust action was brought by 10 video game players in California, New Mexico and New Jersey....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 245 words · Jonathan Collins

VGC’s Developer of the Year 2024 is Digital Eclipse

Back in 2015, Frank Cifaldistatedthat he wanted Digital Eclipse to become the video game equivalent of the Criterion Collection. At the time, Digital Eclipse had just been newly reformed, and was releasing its first game as a new company, so Cifaldi’s goal was a lofty one. Cifaldi may no longer be with the studio – after founding the Video Game History Foundation in 2016, he moved over to work on that full-time in 2020 – but that vision has remained its cast-iron foundation in the decade since its reformation....

July 2, 2025 · 9 min · 1790 words · Justin Fisher

Walmart will be selling PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles online today

Walmart will be selling more PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles online today. Xbox Series X/Sconsoles will be available from 2.30pm ET/11.30am PT andPlayStationconsoles will be available beginning at 3pm ET/12pm PT. You’ll be able to purchase the consoles through the following links while supplies last: Microsoftshipped almost3.5 million Xbox Series X/S consolesin 2020, according to Daniel Ahmad, a senior analyst at market research firm Niko Partners. Ahmad made the claim following the publication ofSony’s quarterly financial resultsin February, when the platform holder said it had shipped 4....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 337 words · Melody Wilson

Warner Bros sees 41% year-on-year drop in Q2 gaming revenue due to Suicide Squad sales

Warner Bros Discovery has announced that its Q2 gaming revenue has fallen 41% year-on-year, thanks in part to the sales performance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. According to the company’s Q4 2024 earnings results, which were published on Wednesday, all of its major segments including cinema, TV and video games saw a decrease in revenue compared to Q2 2023. “Games revenue declined 41% ex-FX, primarily driven by the weak performance ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguethis year, compared to the strong performance ofHogwarts Legacyin the prior year,” the studio said....

July 2, 2025 · 2 min · 277 words · Jason Schwartz

Watch the Gran Turismo 7 State of Play presentation here

Sony will broadcast a new State of Play presentation focused on Gran Turismo 7 on Wednesday. The show will start at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10pm GMT and you’ll be able to watch it live via the YouTube video embedded above. The platform holder has said today’s presentation will focus exclusively onGran Turismo 7. It will last for just over 30 minutes and consist of newPS5footage and gameplay details....

July 2, 2025 · 1 min · 213 words · Mrs. Cindy Allen MD