Quick Hits

• Pokémon Pokopia gets a massive upgrade: The game's free 2.0 update and the new Expansion Pass - Part 1: Bubbly Basin are officially here, letting players dive deep below the waves to discover new features and Pokémon-pals on the Switch 2.
• Physical media is alive and well at Nintendo: Following Sony's decision to kill PS5 discs, Nintendo reaffirms its commitment to boxed games, which still account for 38.5% of its software sales.
• PlayStation players love classic Call of Duty: Recent backward-compatible PS4 and PS5 ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 have sold a staggering combined 11 million copies in under a single month.
• Quake turns 30 in style: id Software's legendary shooter just dropped a surprise, free expansion called Dawn of the Machine across all modern platforms to celebrate its anniversary.
• Gamers rally for developers: An indie Game Industry Hardship Fund bundle on Itch.io is nearing $200,000 raised to support recently laid-off industry workers.

Pokémon & Nintendo

It is a fantastic day to be a Pokémon trainer. The highly anticipated Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass - Part 1: Bubbly Basin is earning rave reviews, being hailed as a "lovely jubbly" first dive for the DLC that lets players explore the skies and make pals with their favorite Pokémon. This launch coincides perfectly with Pokémon Pokopia's free 2.0 major update, introducing a variety of underwater features and improvements. If you're already diving in, be sure to check out the guides for the tough new Mermaid's Gym habitat!

In hardware and industry news, Nintendo has revealed that physical boxed games still account for 38.5% of its software sales, showing absolutely no desire to kill physical media. This provides a stark contrast to Capcom, who isn't fussed about an all-digital future since approximately 90% of their unit sales are already digital.

For retro collectors, three first-print copies of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow just sold for an eye-watering $2 million, marking the second-largest video game transaction ever for the Dubai Collection. Meanwhile, down at retail, Target is reportedly slicing the shrink wrap off Pokémon card boxes before shelving them in a desperate bid to deter bulk-buying scalpers.

On the general Nintendo front, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Famicom Disk System Metroid with updated rankings of the best games in the franchise's storied history. Over on the Japanese charts, Splatoon Raiders saw an 84% sales drop from its massive launch week but still comfortably leads the pack. Looking ahead, a preview of Onimusha: Way of the Sword is turning heads, calling it Capcom's next banger where you can play as Miyamoto on the Switch 2. Also out right now is Obakeidoro 2: Chase & Seek, bringing "spoopy" asymmetric multiplayer horror to Switch 1 & 2.

Call of Duty

Nostalgia is clearly a massive draw for modern gamers. According to estimates from Alinea Analytics, the recent PS4 and PS5 ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 have combined to sell over 11 million copies in under a month. In historical franchise news, dataminers recently uncovered that Call of Duty: World at War multiplayer nearly featured a significantly larger focus on vehicle combat during the mid-to-late 2000s.

Indie Games

The indie community is coming together in a big way, with a Game Industry Hardship Fund bundle on Itch.io soaring past its initial $100,000 goal and nearing $200,000 raised with seven days left to go. In new releases, Peak, the wildly successful mountain-climbing "friendslop" title that shifted over 10 million copies in its first year, is set to receive its final major update on August 11. The update will add an appropriately danger-filled dungeon for players to conquer together.

Steam & PC

Over on Steam, the newly launched Mistfall Hunter is thriving with over a million players running around its very Elden Ring-looking lands and extraction fantasy. Following this successful first week, the developers have dropped a roadmap promising a highly requested solo mode for one of its maps. In other live-service news, Helldivers 2 is boosting its level cap again, which Rock Paper Shotgun notes is almost definitely in preparation for that cryptic, spooky teddy bear teaser.

If you're picking up a fight stick today, be aware that Arc System Works' Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is experiencing day-one PC issues that PlayStation 5 players don't have to deal with. For hardware enthusiasts, Valve recently explained a clever new shortcut for the Steam Controller's Grip Sense that might just be a killer feature. We also spotted a custom Steam Machine faceplate making the rounds that, while "slightly ugly," is insanely functional because it doubles as a charging stand.

Gaming Roundup

The original Quake just celebrated its 30th birthday at QuakeCon with a surprise free expansion, Dawn of the Machine, available on all platforms (barring Epic). The update promises "ferocious combat, labyrinthine level design, and nightmarish realms."

In industry moves, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s ongoing "reset" has unfortunately resulted in more layoffs, this time hitting Halo Studios. Speaking of Halo, franchise co-creator Marcus Lehto weighed in on the Halo: Campaign Evolved remake. While he really loves the overall visual upgrades, he called out the game for pandering to a "new era of players with 0% attention span."

Elsewhere, the ongoing collapse of crypto gaming claimed another victim as blockchain startup Proof of Play announced its demise. In bizarre political news, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actively lobbying the Trump administration to stop posting political memes involving IPs like Mario, Pokémon, and Naruto, worried that the memes are damaging the intellectual property. Finally, in wider entertainment, GameSpot notes that Netflix’s highly anticipated GTA 6 exclusive coverage seems doomed, and director Gareth Edwards has exited the Jurassic World Rebirth sequel over "creative differences."