Pokémon & Nintendo

• The Pokémon Company is officially striking back at scalpers by implementing high-tech facial recognition checks at card stores in Japan to "prevent crime." This aggressive new measure aims to protect the community and ensure fans can actually buy packs without dealing with predatory resellers!
• Nintendo’s newest spinoff, Splatoon Raiders, is officially the new king of the high seas! The colorful adventure has knocked Assassin's Creed off the top spot to claim number one in the UK physical gaming charts this week.
• Get your SD cards ready, because Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is launching next week! Store listings are now live on the Nintendo eShop, revealing the game's massive estimated file size ahead of its highly anticipated release.
• In a move that feels like actual magic, Final Fantasy 14 is officially coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year around August! The critically acclaimed MMORPG will bring its famous free trial to the hybrid console, though players should prepare for an absolutely colossal file size.
• Preorders are officially live for Hasbro’s incredible new The Legend of Zelda figures featuring Link, Princess Zelda, and Ganondorf! While you can secure yours right now, they won't actually be released until May 1 of next year.
• Shigeru Miyamoto believes modern gamers have completely lost interest in raw hardware specs! The legendary creator noted that cutting-edge graphics and performance are no longer the priority for players, doubling down on Nintendo's unique gameplay-first philosophy.

Fortnite

• A new industry analyst report highlights just how dominant Fortnite remains in the current gaming landscape. The breakout indie hit Meccha Chameleon pulled in massive June revenue on PC, but it was still somehow second only to Epic Games' unstoppable battle royale giant!

Call of Duty

• Great news for multiplayer fans: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's upcoming beta will feature low-SBMM (Skill-Based Matchmaking) playlists! Activision claims they are continuing to learn a lot about multiplayer matchmaking, so this will be a massive test to see if the community finally gets the casual lobby experience they've been begging for.

Indie Games

• A new Steam week in review highlights a massive and hilarious trend: a torrent of incredibly janky retail sims continues to flood the marketplace with no end in sight. On the flip side, the highly polished fan-made Portal remake, Portal: Alive & Kicking, is fully completed but stuck in limbo because Valve has mysteriously gone silent on the team!

Steam & PC

• If you're looking for a cheap thrill this weekend, the hilariously named Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is currently free to keep on Steam for a limited time. It's the perfect time to grab some friends and bunker down!
• A brand-new Baldur's Gate 3 true third-person camera mod has gone completely viral this weekend. The mod looks incredibly polished, but it has sparked a massive debate in the community over whether this over-the-shoulder perspective erases the game's core CRPG identity.

Gaming Roundup

• Time to feel old: the legendary noir shooter Max Payne officially turned 25 years old today! It's a beautiful milestone for a franchise that completely revolutionized bullet-time mechanics in gaming.
• Games Workshop finally gave fans the news they’ve craved for years by dropping a release date for the highly anticipated animated series Warhammer 40,000: Astartes 2! This is undoubtedly one of the most hyped projects in the entire hobby space right now.
• Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida recently admitted he genuinely doesn't get the deal with "Chort"! It's a hilarious reminder that even gaming royalty can be totally out of the loop on certain internet meme culture.