Daily Gaming Digest — March 9, 2026

Pokémon & Nintendo

Pokémon Pokopia launches big but stumbles at UK retail. Despite massive hype, Pokémon Pokopia landed at #2 on the UK Charts after being "undersupplied" at retail — a rare miss for the franchise. Meanwhile, Amazon has quietly raised the physical edition to $80 amid widespread stock constraints, with copies selling out at nearly every major retailer. If you didn't pre-order, good luck finding one at MSRP.

Players are already breaking Pokopia wide open. It's been days and the community is already building Minecraft-style automatic contraptions and logic gates using Pokopia's crafting systems. The creativity on display is wild — Ditto and friends were apparently born to be redstone engineers.

The Pokémon Company wants actual ecologists on staff. TPC is recruiting PhD holders with backgrounds in ecology to work at their Tokyo offices. If you've ever dreamed of being a real-life Professor Oak, this is genuinely the closest you'll get.

Mega Skarmory EX revealed for the TCG. A new ultra rare card from the upcoming Mega Evolution — Perfect Order expansion gives us our first-ever Mega Skarmory ex in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Steel-type fans, your moment has arrived.

Octopath Traveler 0 gets a fresh patch. Square Enix dropped ver. 1.0.3 for Octopath Traveler 0 on both Switch 1 and Switch 2, with mechanic tweaks and bug fixes across the board.

Nintendo is gatekeeping the Switch 2 eShop — and that's a good thing. Reports indicate Nintendo is being deliberately selective about which games get approved for Switch 2, actively trying to avoid the "slop fest" that plagued the original Switch eShop. The curated storefront is already a noticeably better browsing experience.

Nintendo and Lenovo seek tariff refunds. Both companies are pursuing refunds on tariffs after a court found Trump's use of an economic powers act to impose them was unlawful. This could have real implications for hardware pricing going forward.

Switch 2 MicroSD Express cards hit $39 for Mario Day. Just in time for Mario's 40th anniversary, Switch 2 memory cards are seeing their best prices yet — a must-buy given how quickly that 256GB internal storage fills up with third-party titles.

FF7 Remake Part 3 teases new details. Director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed gameplay mechanics and locations fans can expect, promising the finale is coming "not too far in the future." The hype train for the conclusion of this trilogy is picking up steam.

Fortnite

The community wants Ada Wong — badly. With Leon, Claire, Jill, and Chris already in the Fortnite x Resident Evil rotation, players are loudly campaigning for Ada Wong to complete the squad. Given Fortnite's track record of listening to skin requests, don't be surprised if she shows up sooner than later.

Players are dreaming up item interactions. A popular community thread imagines special synergies between items that shared the same season — like using Magneto's gauntlets on armored walls. It's the kind of creative design thinking that makes the Fortnite community so fun to follow.

Call of Duty

MWII lag issues persist for over a month. Players across multiple regions are reporting severe lag spikes in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II despite solid connections on their end. The community is frustrated and looking for answers from Activision.

Activision's DOB verification is locking players out. A broken date of birth verification system is completely preventing some players from accessing Call of Duty, with no workaround available through the website either. It's a rough look for basic account access.

Linux players left behind — again. Even as EA moves toward Linux-compatible anti-cheat, Activision shows no signs of following suit. The community is calling out the double standard as Steam Deck and Linux gaming continue to grow.

Community nostalgia pick: Raid from Black Ops 2 remains the fan-favorite map of all time, dominating yet another "best map ever" discussion thread. Some things never change.

Arc Raiders

Week 19 Trials are live. The latest ARC Raiders Trials dropped today with five tasks to complete for top-tier rewards, including some tricky item hunts and takedown challenges. Three-star completionists, your grind starts now.

Bird City is creating core memories. Players are raving about the Bird City event in the Buried City, calling relaxed weekend morning runs with cooperative lobbies some of the best vibes the game has delivered yet. This is the kind of organic community moment that builds a lasting playerbase.

The Hullcracker economy is real. Veteran players are crossing the 1 million currency mark with fully upgraded loadouts, and gear fear is becoming a thing of the past. The game's progression loop is clearly hitting its stride for dedicated Raiders.

Indie Games

Slay the Spire 2 squashes wild multiplayer bugs. After launching into early access to a staggering 500,000+ Steam concurrent players, Slay the Spire 2 pushed a patch fixing some spectacular issues — including a relic that granted infinite block. Even with placeholder art, this game is an absolute juggernaut.

Rumbral announces April 23 launch. This atmospheric indie title is coming to Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox with a demo available now on Steam. Worth wishlisting if you're into moody, exploration-driven experiences.

A new hunter enters the arena. Solo dev release Hunter's Contract: The Abandoned House puts you up against an army of skeletal ghosts in a first indie outing that's getting early community attention.

Bullet hell fans, take note. A new roguelike with a bullet-grazing energy mechanic is showing off its risk-reward system, where letting shots whiz past you powers up your abilities. The visual feedback already looks incredibly satisfying.

Steam & PC

Steam Machine is still shipping in 2026 — Valve promises. After a blog post used wishy-washy "we hope to" language that sent the community into a panic, Valve quickly edited the post and confirmed both the Steam Machine and Steam Frame are still on track for 2026. Crisis averted, but Valve's communication could use some work.

Five new Steam releases flew under the radar today. PC Gamer's weekly roundup highlights fresh launches that got buried under the Pokopia and Slay the Spire 2 avalanche — worth a look if you're hunting for something different this week.

Gaming Roundup

Master Chief's voice actor blasts the White House. Steve Downes, the iconic voice of Master Chief in the Halo series, has demanded the White House remove his voice from a social media video he called "disgusting and juvenile war porn." A sharp and public rebuke from one of gaming's most recognizable voices.

Microsoft's Nadella reassures Xbox staff post-Spencer. Following Phil Spencer's departure, CEO Satya Nadella told Xbox employees that Microsoft will "continue to invest, and we'll always do so" in gaming. The words are reassuring, but the industry will be watching actions closely.

Resident Evil Requiem is nearly impossible to find. Physical copies of Resident Evil Requiem are almost entirely sold out online across PS5, Xbox, and Switch 2. If you want a disc copy, your best bet is checking local retailers before they're gone too.

The Harlem Globetrotters are back in gaming. For the first time in nearly 20 years — since Harlem Globetrotters: World Tour on GBA in 2006 — the legendary trick-shot basketball team is getting a new video game. Details are thin, but the nostalgia factor alone has our attention.