June 2023

Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson has confirmed that two expansions are in development for Diablo 4.

Fergusson was interviewed by Kinda Funny Games and discussed the live-service format for the game and how it allows for substantial updates.

"As I sit here we're about to launch the main game, we're finishing up season one, we're working on season two, we're working on expansion one, we're kicking off expansion two," said Fergusson. "All that's happening right now and we haven't even launched the game yet."

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Nintendo has announced the next games to join its NES, SNES, and Game Boy libraries.

Switch Online members can now access Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, Blaster Master: Enemy Below, Harvest Moon, and Mystery Tower through the subscription service.

Take a look at the compilation video below to see the games in action!

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Capcom has announced its own summer game reveal event, to take place next Monday, 12th June at 11pm UK time.

The livestream will run for "roughly 36 minutes", Capcom has said, and features "news and updates on our latest games".

No specific titles are mentioned, but it seems likely we'll see more of dinosaur shooting game Exoprimal (which is out next month) and perhaps a bit of Dragon's Dogma 2 (which we got a glimpse of last month at Sony's PlayStation Showcase).

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Diablo 4 launches on Tuesday, and Activision Blizzard has announced a series of Twitch Drops that you can obtain for some unique loot you can use to deck out your characters. Whether you main Rogue or Barbarian, there are plenty of cosmetics waiting for you to kit your favorite class. Starting today and until July 2,…

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Capcom has announced that it will hold a Capcom Showcase next week. 

More specifically, this Capcom Showcase will air on Monday, June 12, at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET, and run for approximately 36 minutes. As for what to expect, Capcom says it will share new information about "upcoming releases and future titles." It also says it will share more details about the program lineup as it gets closer to the event. 

Tune in on June 12, 3pm PDT for a Capcom Showcase digital event featuring roughly 36 minutes of news and updates on our latest games.

See you there!

📺 https://t.co/uLbZaxUHOW#CapcomShowcase pic.twitter.com/ws8B8d93s5

— Capcom USA (@CapcomUSA_) June 6, 2023

Capcom also notes in its announcement that this showcase serves as a special digital event to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

This year's prettiest RSI machine Diablo 4 arrives on PC in full today, having spent the few couple of days in early access. But even though it's barely out the gates of Hell, Blizzard are already thinking about the future of their mega RPG, confirming not one, but two expansions are already in the works.

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Western Digital has announced its previously-rumoured expansion card range for Xbox Series X/S.

This is the first alternative option to the initial Seagate expansion cards made available alongside the Xbox Series X/S themselves back at launch.

WD_Black's 512GB expansion card is priced at £90 ($80), while its bigger 1TB brother clocks in at £150 ($150). Both are available to buy now via WD_Black's website.

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Capcom and Sony Pictures have announced when CGI movie Resident Evil: Death Island will be out.

The upcoming animated film was announced in February. It's a big deal for fans, as it'll mark the first time favourite characters such as Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine are on-screen together.

The pair, as well as returning protagonists Rebecca Chambers, Chris and Claire Redfield, are brought together when investigating a number of bioweapon-related cases.

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Square Enix continues to lead up to something for the next Final Fantasy VII Remake game. The official Twitter account shared its fifth developer comment on June 6, 2023. This time, the message came from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Battle Director Teruki Endo and teased new characters will become party members.

Here's the official announcement. It also teased that there will be new ways to work with current and newly added characters in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. We already know Aerith, Barret, Red XIII, and Tifa are with Cloud as the group leaves Midgar. Yuffie appeared in the Intermission DLC. This could be teasing the appearance of someone like Vincent or entirely new characters.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Developer comment number 5#FF7R pic.twitter.com/qk5YShBnkN

— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) June 6, 2023

The latest short trailer for the upcoming Sailor Moon Cosmos movie highlights the power of the Sailor Guardians and their bonds. Part 1 of the Sailor Moon Cosmos movie duology will appear in Japanese theaters on June 9, 2023, with the second part releasing on June 30, 2023. [Thanks, Natalie!]

The new Sailor Moon Cosmos short trailer highlights Usagi Hoshino saying that her power doesn’t come from hatred, but from believing and trusting in the power of her fellow Sailor Guardians. The voices of other Sailor Guardians join in her sentiment, sharing that all of them feel the same way as Usagi, and that they will protect her, the planet, and the people they love.

You can take a look at the new Japanese trailer for Sailor Moon Cosmos here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebAIgzqD9cc

The final two Sailor Moon Cosmos movies will adapt the Stars arc of the original manga, and bring an end to the Sailor Moon Crystal reboot series, which started in 2015. Sailor Moon Crystal and its sequel movies follow the plot of the manga more faithfully, which means that some characters will make their anime debut in the upcoming movie.

Recently, nine new voice actors for the upcoming movie were revealed. They will be voicing the Shadow Galactica antagonist team in Sailor Moon Cosmos.

The latest CG movie in the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil Death Island, will come out on Blu-ray, DVD, and digitally on July 25, 2023. The Japanese theatrical release date is set for July 7, 2023. The cover art and overseas release date for the new Resident Evil movie were revealed as well.

The announcement came through the official Resident Evil Twitter account, which revealed the overseas release date alongside a re-release of the latest Resident Evil Death Island trailer.

You can take a look at the trailer, which revealed the release date here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-vkuA8oqMY

Resident Evil Death Island sees classic series protagonists Jill Valentine, siblings Chris and Claire Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and Rebecca Chambers meeting all together for the first time ever to uncover a new bioterrorist conspiracy with Alcatraz Island at the center of it all.

As a reminder, a manga adaptation of the Resident Evil Death Island movie started serialization on May 19, 2023. New chapters will appear every 19th day of the month at Japanese comic and manga website COMIC Hu.

Diablo IV has ushered in a new era for the classic action-RPG series. And while the five different classes offer multiple ways of playing, a whole other layer of tweaking and customization waits for players in the option settings. While PC players will have more graphical options (which we’ll cover some essential ones…

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We’re probably just around the corner from receiving some news about Elden Ring’s upcoming DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree. After all, it’s been over a year since FromSoftware’s grueling yet contemplative action game came out. People are ready to move onto newer and better things, right? But as dataminers like Sekiro Dubi…

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Nintendo has revealed that players can customize their controllable explorer in Pikmin 4. 

This news comes by way of a new Pikmin 4 trailer released today, which sets up the story of the game and shows off what its customization options look like. As for the story, you play as a rescue explorer sent to a mysterious planet to rescue not one crew but two, each from a separate crashed ship. Before landing, though, you'll need to customize your explorer, and today's trailer indicates you can change their head shape, body shape, face, hair, clothes, and more. 

Check it out for yourself below in the new Pikmin 4 trailer: 

Pikmin 4 hits Switch on July 21, 2023. 

For more, check out the Pikmin 4 reveal trailer from last September, and then check out this Pikmin 4 trailer from a February Nintendo Direct.

Are you picking up Pikmin 4 next month? Let us know in the comments below!

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Release: June 6, 2023
Rating: Mature

Diablo IV successfully tempts me to gleefully indulge in sin at every turn. A thrilling hunt for rare loot feeds my insatiable greed and lust for power. The satisfaction of slaughtering thousands of foes, supernatural or otherwise, leaves little room for remorse. Whether taking down the forces of darkness alone or with friends, this is a massive and deeply engrossing action RPG that keeps me coming back for more dozens upon dozens of hours later.

Nintendo has announced four more games for its Switch Online subscription service and all of them are live for members right now. The four games are Mystery Tower (NES), Harvest Moon (SNES), Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble (Game Boy), and Blaster Master: Enemy Below (Game Boy). 

Nintendo has also released a trailer highlighting these four titles, and you can check it out for yourself below: 

Here's what Nintendo has to say about each of these games: 

Kirby Tilt 'N' Tumble

"When you move, Kirby moves! This action game was released for the Game Boy™ Color system in 2001 and features the ever-adorable Kirby! In this game, it’s all about how Kirby tilts and tumbles! This twist on classic Kirby gameplay adds new levels of fun. Kirby moves left, right, forward and backward based on the movement of the system you hold in your hands! This version replicates the motion controls from the original Game Boy Color version. Tilt your Nintendo Switch system or controller to play. Go, Kirby, go!"

Itching to click on skeletons but not sure about Diablo 4? Have a gander at Halls Of Torment, a game I'll broadly describe as 'Vampire Survivors meets Diablo'. It lets you click on: so many skeletons. Halls Of Torment launched into early access last month and I've had a few hours of fun for a couple quid. The Diablo vibes are strong, it has some neat ideas for the genre, and it has a demo you can try for free. I only wish it drew a little more inspiration from Diablo and a little less from Survivors 'em up conventions.

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More fool me for thinking the Amnesia story (a now-complex horror sci-fi epic about Cenobite-esque weirdos who gain immortality by drinking pain-milk extracted from people via torture at the hands of specially engineered torture-monsters) was done with Amnesia: Rebirth. Although, I suppose it actually is, because Rebirth is set in 1937, and Amnesia: The Bunker is effectively a bottle episode taking place during the First World War. And what a bottle episode! You'll spend 4-6 hours being chased around the tunnels of a maze-like bunker, winding up a dim, rubbish torch and reading increasingly unhinged diary notes from the French soldiers who've all been eaten, and boy will you have a great time.

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A Splatoon 3 live event called “Ikasu Tenjin Walk” will be held in the neighborhood of Tenjin, in Fukuoka from June 21, 2023 and until July 17, 2023. The event is a collaboration between Nishi Nippon Railroad and Nintendo. The event will feature a stamp rally, an exhibition of buses with Splatoon 3 motifs, and sale of various Splatoon 3 goods and merchandise. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

For the stamp rally, participants who collect all nine types of stamps will receive an original sticker, and a papercraft of the Splatoon 3 bus on a first-come, first-served basis. Stamps will be distributed along several commercial facilities in the area. Participation on the stamp rally will cost 330 yen (~$2 USD.)

As part of the original bus exhibit, a bus decorated with Splatoon 3 motifs will be on display on July 16 and 17, 2023. The lower half of the bus will be completely black, and visitors can decorate the vehicle by putting ink-style stickers on it. The decorated bus will drive through the streets of Fukuoka from July 18 to August 31, 2023.

To participate in the bus decoration activity, visitors will have to present a purchase receipt for a value of 1,100 JPY (~$8 USD) or more on the day of the event, at the Solaria Plaza or Solaria Stage commercial facilities.

Pikmin 4 Character Creator Shown Off in New Trailer

It turns out players in Pikmin 4 will use a character creator to make their own avatars. A new trailer for the game goes over the process, while detailing why people will insert themselves into the game. Not only did Captain Olimar crash land, but the Rescue Corp going to rescue him also crashed. So now it’s up to the player to head on an emergency mission to rescue all of them.

The Pikmin 4 character creator trailer goes through the process of making an “ID badge,” which also acts as your avatar. It begins by picking one of six hairstyle options. Then, you choose a body type. Four options appear there. The other tabs in the teaser suggest people can choose facial features, hairstyles, hair colors, and suit colors.

Here’s the full trailer.

MISSION ALERT! Customize your explorer and embark on a journey to find and rescue fellow explorers! You will befriend plantlike creatures called Pikmin and their fate will rest on your hands. #Pikmin4 coming to you on 7/21! pic.twitter.com/4NYnUjQ6ly

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 6, 2023

It's the news you've been waiting for: I'm going to be in Pikmin 4!

And so, in fact, are you! And so is everyone else, really, thanks to the game's new character creator.

A fresh trailer for Pikmin 4 released this afternoon shows off the game's character creation toolkit, which features Mii-like hairstyles, skin tones, body types and more.

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Street Fighter 6 already has a lot going for it as a return to form for Capcom’s marquee fighting game, but one of the best parts of the game has very little to do with fighting. Instead, one of the most memorable parts of the experience is the World Tour mode’s social elements that let you become besties with all…

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Pikmin 4 got a surprise new trailer early June 6, and, as is standard for a Nintendo game, it’s still looking pretty adorable. Considering Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto said in 2015 that the real-time strategy game was “very close to completion,” it’s a relief to see its cute characters in action

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Nintendo is slowly but surely rounding out the Switch Online retro game libraries with another trickle of random games. From a special rumble edition of Kirby on the Game Boy to a Famicom game that was never previously ported to the NES in the West, June’s additions are one of the most eclectic batches yet.

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Leave it to the dataminers to discover the deepest of hidden secrets within games. This time, the depths of Tears of the Kingdom’s code have seemingly revealed some as-of-yet unreleased amiibo. The evidence comes in the form of two unused fabrics for Link’s paraglider associated with different characters, one for…

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Hot on the heels of the most recent PGA tournament, The New York Times is introducing a twist to its favorite word game Wordle that, as far as I know, absolutely no one asked for: Wordle Golf. Like the standard game, which is a more pacifist hangman, Wordle Golf requires you to guess its hidden word in as few steps as…

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Final Fantasy art is some of my favorite in all of games. The series' visuals fall somewhere between realism and fantasy, and it’s always fun to see how Square Enix studios leverage more powerful hardware to bring worlds to life. These settings, characters, and monsters are memorable, and a large reason for that is the art. It’s striking and unique – you know it’s Final Fantasy when you see it. 

With each new Final Fantasy, Square Enix has a chance to solidify characters and worlds into the zeitgeist of gaming, like the company has done in the past with Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife, Final Fantasy X’s Zanarkand, and more. During my cover story trip to Square Enix’s Tokyo, Japan, offices, I spoke to Final Fantasy XVI art director Hiroshi Minagawa about how developer Creative Business Unit III went about creating the game’s visual style. 

One Piece will go on hiatus for four weeks, starting from Issue #29 of Weekly Shonen Jump and ending on #32. The reason for the break is due to Oda’s eye surgery. It is not a serious issue, and so it is likely that the series will resume from #33 without any issue. The last chapter of One Piece until the hiatus will be in Issue #28.

Here is a translation of Oda’s statement on the official One Piece Twitter account:

Now, everyone’s all excited about the final arc of One Piece but I kind of really wanna get surgery. So I’ve decided to get surgery that’ll make me shoot laser beams from my eyes! The more I joke, the more people will worry, so I’ll tell the truth. I was like, “Lately, I see lots of twins walking around,” but it turned out that I have serious astigmatism! Things look really blurry to me. This affects my work so last year, I discussed this issue with the chief editor. He told me “Go!” so I’ll come back with much better eyesight than before. Also, I’ll learn how to shoot laser beams from my eyes.

Immediately after the 1.1 Honkai: Star Rail update drops, the Starhunt event will begin. Now to help people prepare, HoYoVerse shared the requirements for the activity. People will need to have spent quite a bit of time playing to get their Trailblaze level up, then take part in both a Story Mode and Arcade Challenge to earn every reward and the Before the Tutorial Mission Starts Light Cone.

How to Take Part in Honkai: Star Rail Starhunt

First, you need to be at Trailblaze Level 21. This is accomplished by completing quests, grinding for materials at Calyxes and opponents, and taking on sidequests. Once you hit that point, you can take part in the Story Mode "Punklorde Mentality" Companion Mission and Arcade Challenge to complete objectives and get currency. This also involves the chance to get the Always Smiling currency for the event shop.

However, only part of these Silver Wolf activities in Honkai: Star Rail will be permanent. The Story Mode Companion Mission for her will always appear, even after the event ends. It will just not let you get the Before the Tutorial Mission Starts Light Cone after that point or access Graffiti Mode in the Camera. The Arcade Challenge and its Deep Web Gray Market event shop will be gone, and the Always Smiling Currency will also disappear.

HoYoVerse announced that there will be a Honkai: Star Rail Twitch Drop event. The event will coincide with the launch of the Version 1.1 update on June 7, 2023 and run until July 5, 2023.

Like previous Twitch events, participating players simply have to link their Twitch account and their HoYoVerse account. They can then watch streams of Honkai: Star Rail on Twitch, and they will be able to claim in-game rewards as drops. HoYoVerse provided an account linking page for this purpose. This site will also help players track their rewards and will provide further details during the campaign.

HoYoVerse confirmed that the Honkai: Star Rail rewards players can receive from Twitch Drops will include Stellar Jades, Traveler’s Guides, Lost Gold Fragments, Credits and Condensed Aether. Players should receive their rewards through in-game mail within 24 hours. The mail will expire after 30 days.

In addition to the Twitch Drops rewards, players will also be receiving additional rewards with this update. All players over Trailblaze Level 4 will receive 300 Stellar Jades as compensation for a five-hour maintenance period prior to the new update’s release.

Honkai: Star Rail is available now for PCs and mobile platforms. The Twitch Drops event will launch alongside the version 1.1 update on June 7, 2023.

Blizzard seems pretty chuffed with the response to Diablo 4, and is now trumpeting the fact that, not only have players cumulatively already racked up over 10,000 years of play time, Diablo 4 is also the company's "fastest-selling game of all time".

Blizzard is calculating those impressive-sounding play time figures based on the number of in-game hours players have accrued since 1st June, the date when Diablo 4 entered "early access" for those willing to pay extra for the privilege.

The company reckons over 93m hours of Diablo 4 have been played across the first four days, equating to over 10,000 years (actually more like 10,616 years according to my calculator, but who am I to quibble maths?) - or, as Blizzard puts it, the equivalent of one person "playing 24 hours a day since the beginning of human civilisation".

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Speaking to IGN for Podcast Beyond, Asmussen commented on the fan reaction to Turgle and gave his followers hope that they'll get even more in the future.

"When you work on a game, you never know what people are going to latch onto and Turgle... the team love Turgle," he said.

"I think Richard Horvitz, the actor, did a fine job with him, but once it goes live, once it's out in the wild and seeing people's reaction with that, it confirmed and validated a lot of the feelings that we had on the team."

Finally, when asked if Turgle could return, perhaps in the third game that Asmussen hopes to make, Asmussen teased that he hopes so.