Quick Hits

• Call of Duty returns to Nintendo. Activision has revealed Digital Legends as the partner studio supporting Infinity Ward on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's Switch 2 version — the franchise's first Nintendo platform release in 13 years, arriving this October. Modern Warfare 4 early access is live now, but Switch 2 players won't join until next week.
• Arc Raiders hits the brakes. Embark Studios has delayed all future Expeditions until early 2027, saying it wants to "return with major improvements" following community feedback — a gut punch for the extraction shooter's endgame.
• Nintendo's emulation crackdown escalates. The company has apparently wiped out more than 400 Switch emulator repositories in a single-day GitHub sweep, per Nintendo Life.
• The Duskbloods' network test implodes. FromSoftware closed the first session for its Switch 2 exclusive before it even began, following disastrous server issues.
• Pokémon battles may be evolving. Kotaku reports the series' battle system may not be turn-based for much longer — though Game Freak wants Pokémon Champions to preserve the old style.

Pokémon & Nintendo

It was a rough morning for The Duskbloods hopefuls: FromSoftware shut down the first network test session — scheduled for 11am BST — before it ever went live, telling fans "we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience" after server issues left players stranded. Meanwhile, Nintendo's war on emulation reached new heights, with what's described as a "single-day GitHub sweep" removing 400+ Switch emulator repositories — the latest wave in an ongoing campaign.

On the Pokémon front, Kotaku raises a fascinating question about whether real-time battles are in the series' future, while noting Game Freak's intent for Pokémon Champions to keep the classic turn-based style alive. And in glorious "please don't sue" energy, PC Gamer turned Grand Theft Auto 5 into Pokémon Go using a mod. For the merch-minded, Nintendo Life rounded up the European Nintendo Store's Back to School range — Peach pouches, Pikmin paperclips, and Zelda satchels. Finally, the Pokémon community is celebrating the 30th anniversary in style, from a live concert performing the Obsidian Fieldlands theme from Pokémon Legends: Arceus to a LEGO Rowlet built from a dog set (bowtie included).

Fortnite

Fortnite Chapter 7, Season 4 is putting real power in players' hands. Destructoid has catalogued all of the season's Match Overrides and their effects — a new system offering "all kinds of different ways to shape the game as you see fit." If you've been sleeping on Overrides, that guide is your entry point.

Call of Duty

The Switch 2 story leads: alongside the Digital Legends reveal, Nintendo Life has collected the first impressions of Modern Warfare 4's Nintendo build, with gameplay footage now out in the wild ahead of Switch 2 early access next week. Back on familiar platforms, the camo grind is officially back — Destructoid details all the Modern Warfare 4 Mastery camos spanning Multiplayer, DMZ, and Warzone. In a genuinely moving tradition, GameSpot reports MW4's day-one DLC will honor a real-life Medal of Honor recipient who lost his eye and teeth in a grenade blast, with proceeds going to charity. And PC Gamer notes it's a "Wardogs & Modern Warfare weekend" on Steam: two top sellers, two simultaneous betas, two very different shooters.

Arc Raiders

The big one: Embark Studios is halting Arc Raiders Expeditions until early 2027 to make "major improvements" to the system. It's a serious blow — Destructoid notes Expeditions were a beloved endgame hook that let players reset progress for goodies and fresh reasons to play, and that ARC Raiders players "just can't catch a break." IGN captured the community mood, with one player "hoping for a huge October surprise, but not holding my breath."

Indie Games

Frogwares' The Sinking City 2 is under the review microscope at IGN, where the reviewer couldn't play 15 minutes without realizing "this is Resident Evil in a fedora" — and yes, that's meant as a compliment. If Lovecraftian detective-horror is your lane, this one's worth a read.

Steam & PC

Mortal Shell 2 launched August 20 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, and Cold Symmetry moved fast — dropping an update less than a day later that alleviates one of the souls-like's biggest headaches, per GameSpot. In industry news, Compulsion Games (South of Midnight, We Happy Few) is now officially an ex-Xbox studio after parting ways with Microsoft. For hardware weirdos: someone got Zork running on the Steam Controller's internal hardware, which PC Gamer calls "risky business." And two deals worth your wallet — the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C, which IGN calls one of the best sub-$50 controllers, is currently less than half that price, while Newegg has the 27" ASRock Phantom 240Hz QD-OLED monitor down to $279 with free shipping.

Gaming Roundup

Dave Bautista is officially the new Kratos for Amazon's God of War series, PC Gamer confirms — and honestly, the casting writes itself. Speaking of PC Gamer trivia: the most profound objective in any Halo game was reportedly "spiritually inspired" by the infamous nuke sequence in Modern Warfare 2. Somewhere, a Ghost mask just tipped its hat.