Pokémon & Nintendo

• The Pokémon TCG's highly anticipated 30th Celebration set officially kicks off its rollout on September 16th! In related news, Nintendo's president has publicly addressed the severe trading card shortages, vowing that The Pokémon Company will "take measures" to combat the widespread scalping issues that have plagued the community.
• Capcom is aiming to reach an even broader audience with the Mega Man IP, promising a brand-new mainline release just in time for the classic hero's 40th anniversary next year. It’s the perfect time to be a fan, especially with the incredible 2.0 update for Biped 2 on Switch 2 promising significant performance improvements!
• Over in hardware and ports, Rise of the Tomb Raider on Switch 2 avoided "serious compromises" to maintain its visual fidelity. Also, if you're traveling this holiday weekend, the new Gulikit Portable Dock for Switch 1 & 2 is a fantastic, elegant travel companion for your gaming sessions on the go.

Fortnite

• Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney made headlines this week by arguing that AI could have actually made Destiny profitable, suggesting it could help meet the massive content demands of live-service players. Meanwhile, Epic has officially reached a lawsuit settlement with a former contractor who was also notoriously known as a massive Fortnite leaker.

Indie Games

• Happy 250th Indie-Penance Day! To celebrate, Kotaku has highlighted twenty extraordinary new indie games across two massive lists that absolutely deserve your Steam wishlist right now, from deckbuilders to 4X strategy.
• The latest PC gaming hit out of China is an indie RPG that spent the last eight years in development, growing into a truly unique experience you've never played before.
• In engine news, the creators behind the Godot engine—famous for powering games like Slay the Spire 2—are officially banning AI, announcing that they will only allow "human-authored" code moving forward.

Steam & PC

• Get your Steam Decks ready! Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is launching on July 9th with full Steam Deck verification, promising smooth handheld sailing. Speaking of Slay the Spire 2, the popular roguelike deckbuilder just dropped 15 powerful new multiplayer cards spanning all five classes to spice up co-op play.
• Valve’s pursuit of a console-like experience with its new Steam Machine has hit a hilarious, yet concerning snag, with the first reported cases of the dreaded 'Red Line of Death' coming to light. However, if you want to tinker with your setup, a new GameSpot video shows how surprisingly easy it is to customize SteamOS using tools like Decky Loader.

Gaming Roundup

• Final Fantasy 7 Revelation DLC was just leaked via an Epic Games Store listing, pointing toward a "Story Expansion Pass" that will help wrap up the massive remake trilogy.
• Cyberpunk 2077 has officially crushed another massive milestone, securing its spot in the top 20 best-selling games of all time. If you're looking to play the next big blockbuster on a budget, one lucky player managed to snag Grand Theft Auto VI for just $2 using a forgotten Best Buy gift card!
• In an incredibly unique industry move, Professor Layton studio Level-5 is offering "significant" pay raises to its employees—but only if they can correctly answer quizzes about the company's own games. We also got a sobering look at game development this week, as developers revealed the brutal crunch behind Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League almost pushed them away from the industry for good.