Quick Hits

• SteamDB has new owners. The community-run database that Kotaku calls "everyone's window into Steam" has been acquired by Nexus Mods' owners — the site's founder cited the "rise of AI" and "mental burnout," and while SteamDB now "needs to make money," PC Gamer reports no ads or paywalls are coming.
• Steam set an all-time record last week: 700+ games released in a single seven-day stretch (Kotaku). Somewhere, your backlog just whimpered.
• Sony announced a September State of Play — two back-to-back broadcasts (GameSpot), so much for a quiet post-Gamescom news lull.
• ARC Raiders double-header: publisher Nexon reportedly wants the rights to make a new StarCraft game (Kotaku), while the dev team admits it "just couldn't keep pace" with players' hunger for post-launch content (Destructoid).
• Switch 2 momentum watch: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe received a free visual upgrade — 8-player split-screen and all — while Nintendo Direct rumors speed up thanks to a retail listing for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced (Nintendo Life).

Steam & PC

The day's biggest story, full stop: Rock Paper Shotgun reports that SteamDB's founders have handed the community-run database over to the owners of Nexus Mods, who've run that site for 13 years. Kotaku quotes SteamDB's owner on why: the "rise of AI" and "mental burnout" — "The internet we once loved is gone, and with it my passion." The reassuring detail from PC Gamer: the site will need to make money now, but there won't be ads or paywalls. And the timing is something else, because Kotaku also reports that 700+ games launched on Steam just last week — a new record for Valve's storefront. Change and chaos, all at once.

Arc Raiders

• Kotaku dropped a fascinating one: ARC Raiders publisher Nexon reportedly wants the licensing rights to make a new StarCraft game — a spicy idea given StarCraft, nearly 30 years old, is still a top-10 most-played game in South Korean internet cafes.
• Destructoid reports the dev team said it "just couldn't keep pace" with players' "unquenchable bloodthirst" for post-launch content, after a massive launch nearly a year ago that ballooned in popularity over the following months.
• And in streamer news: TimTheTatman revealed during his September 2 broadcast that he turned down a six-figure sponsored ARC Raiders deal because he hates the game that much (IGN). Six. Figures.

Pokémon & Nintendo

• UK boxed charts (a bit delayed this week) brought drama: Elden Ring started strong, but it's Metal Gear that takes the crown, with several new faces joining the charts (Nintendo Life).
• The Rumour mill is heating up: Direct speculation is "picking up speed," and a retail listing suggests Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced may be coming to Switch 2 (Nintendo Life).
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just joined Pikmin 3 Deluxe in getting a free update that makes it look much better on Switch 2 — Nintendo Life's new footage shows it off in all its gorgeous, gloriously silly, 8-player split-screen glory.
• After Worlds, Pokémon Champions' competitive scene got an update Kotaku frames as good news and bad: a long-awaited competitive rules addition, plus a change involving mobile disconnects that has players concerned.
• Review alert: Nintendo Life's mini review calls The Immortal John Triptych on Switch 2 "one of the funniest games you'll ever play" — the funniest since Thank Goodness You're Here — compiling three titles from developer Joe Richardson.
• Got a spare $400? A 24-movie Pokémon Blu-ray collection could be yours (Nintendo Life).
• Community corner: r/Pokémon is cooking — a bucket of Wooper, a Bathmaus enjoying cheese by the steps, a Caterpie plush pattern, and one hero drawing the entire National Dex in PowerPoint (308 Pokémon down).
• In less cheerful news, IGN reports a 77-year-old volunteer teacher was arrested after allegedly striking a young student in a dispute over Pokémon cards.

Fortnite

Geno is back and "causing all kinds of chaos" across the Chapter 7, Season 4 island — Destructoid has a guide on how to start his story quests so you can keep the main storyline moving. Meanwhile, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney reckons the way to fight the industry's "Crash 2.0" — amid layoffs at Sony, Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft — is building more factories (Eurogamer). An actual quote from an actual CEO.

Indie Games

• Feel-good story of the day: Kotaku reports Aggro Crab is using Peak's "mountain of cash" to become an indie publisher, following Innersloth and PocketPair down the devs-turned-publishers road.
• Last week's massive Steam leak (files and builds from 2003–2013) keeps giving: IGN reports a playable build of an unreleased Scream game has surfaced online.
• Tactical shooter fans, keep WARDOGS on your radar — its closed beta pulled around 100,000 concurrent players on Steam despite not being fully public, and Destructoid says it "revived" their love for the