Quick Hits

• Retro Call of Duty Dominates July: Recent PS4 and PS5 ports for Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 combined to sell over 11 million copies in July alone, with Alinea Analytics estimating they outsold the entire top-10 best-selling PlayStation games for the month.
• PC Hardware Woes Extend to 2028: Industry insiders claim the "Big Three" RAM makers (Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix) have already sold all their 2027 output, potentially stretching current memory price hikes into 2028.
• Switch 2 Sales Cool Down: Year-over-year Switch 2 sales are down by more than a third following 2025's explosive launch, though Nintendo maintains that adoption still compares "favorably" to the original Switch.
• EA Sale Finalized, Layoffs Looming: The $55 billion sale of Electronic Arts to a consortium of buyers (including backing from Saudi Arabia) is finalized, but reports suggest "mass layoffs" are imminent due to the company's billions in debt.

Pokémon & Nintendo

It’s a massive day for creature collectors, as the highly anticipated Pokémon Pokopia 2.0 update is officially live. The update removes some of the game's pesky "diva" mechanics from Pokémon and introduces the Bubbly Basin paid expansion. The DLC adds the ability to dive and explore underwater areas of the map, unlocking dozens of new Pokémon to discover.

In other Pokémon news, scalping has gotten so severe that The Pokémon Company is now restricting the purchase of certain TCG packs and expansion decks from its official online store to Japanese citizens only. On a more somber note, The Pokémon Company is facing a lawsuit after a former employee allegedly set up a hidden camera in a Bellevue office bathroom, with local authorities finding "hundreds" of videos. Meanwhile, Nintendo has pledged 50 million yen to Japanese Red Cross earthquake relief efforts and is offering free hardware repair services to anyone impacted by the deadly Kumamoto earthquake.

Looking ahead, Nintendo has reconfirmed the release windows for its upcoming first-party Switch 2 lineup and revealed its playable Gamescom roster, which surprisingly includes Call of Duty alongside the heavily anticipated Switch Sports Resort. If you haven't upgraded your console yet, IGN reports you can currently snag a refurbished Switch 2 for $399 ahead of next month's confirmed price hike.

Finally, mark your calendars: Minecraft officially arrives on Switch 2 on October 27, featuring the new Vibrant Visuals graphics upgrade and a confirmed digital upgrade path. The sequel Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault also locks in a September 2 digital launch, with physical editions arriving in November. And for Metroid fans celebrating the franchise's 40th anniversary today, Nintendo Life is already looking ahead with a wishlist of six things they want to see in Metroid 6.

Call of Duty

Nostalgia is officially printing money. The recent PS5 and PS4 ports of classic Call of Duty titles are performing well beyond industry expectations. According to a report from Alinea Analytics covered by Destructoid, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 alone moved an astonishing 8.2 million copies, helping the retro ports collectively outsell the top 10 best-selling PlayStation games this past July.

Indie Games

All eyes are on Beast of Reincarnation today. While Kotaku notes it isn't strictly a Pokémon game, it absolutely leans into the universal themes of the creature-collecting genre. However, Rock Paper Shotgun describes it as a briefly fun "Sekiro-like" action RPG that unfortunately devolves into "chewing gum for the brain" after a strong, spore-filled opening in a fantasy forest. If you're diving in, VGC has published a full chapter and region list to help guide your way.

In other indie news, House House's critically acclaimed co-op puzzler Big Walk has only been out for two days, but an independent modder is already hard at work adding a completely new dimension to the gameplay. Before you play the sequel, you might want to head to Steam, where the original shopkeeper-dungeon crawler Moonlighter is currently free to claim for a limited time.

Steam & PC

PC gamers, it might be time to tighten your budgets. In demoralizing hardware news, the three biggest RAM makers have reportedly already sold their 2027 output, meaning GPU and PC build prices could remain painfully high into 2028.

On the software side, flight combat fans should immediately take advantage of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown being 80% off on Steam right now—a perfect excuse to jump in before Ace Combat 8 arrives and potentially steals game-of-the-year conversations. Horror fans, keep your eyes peeled for Ill from Team Clout. It's shaping up to be the grossest game in development, drawing heavy atmospheric and gameplay inspiration from Valve's seminal Half-Life 2.

Gaming Roundup

• Industry Moves: The massive $55 billion sale of Electronic Arts to a wealthy consortium has officially finalized. Unfortunately, due to EA carrying billions of dollars in debt, experts warn that mass layoffs are a very real threat to the publisher's future.
• PlayStation: For the first time in franchise history, Halo is available on a Sony platform with Halo: Campaign Evolved. However, experts note the PS5 port is off to a notably "slow start" in sales.
• Shooters & RPGs: Ahead of next year's major expansion, Monster Hunter Wilds has dropped a free demo on PS5 (though there is a catch to its contents). Ghost Recon: Wildlands leaked a current-gen upgrade on the PS Store just ahead of the franchise's 25th-anniversary showcase. Meanwhile, Marvel Rivals is gearing up for Season 9.5 with massive Vanguard adjustments and a spooky teaser for its next hero, The Hood.