Game Informer

We have no idea when we are getting Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2, or even how many parts there will be in total, but we do have a new look at what could potentially be on the horizon thanks to a new blog post over on the Square Enix website. In the most recent post, Final Fantasy VII Remake co-director Motomu Toriyama opened up a little bit more about the first part of the revisitation of a fan favorite, including about how we almost got a Cloud pole-dancing sequence. In the same post, however, Toriyama mentioned that Part 2 could possibly go in some pretty creative directions, something that could surprise die-hard original fans. 

For those that have played the Remake, you may remember how the Honeybee Inn sequence took a very different turn than in the original. They took a scene that many loved in the original and, in my personal opinion, made it significantly better. That entire sequence was beloved by many for its humor, its action, and it's levity that it provided without using the drag community as a punchline. It was pretty cool and according to Toriyama, it is just once instance in which the Remake will add something new, something the team hopes fans enjoy. 

For a little over 30 minutes, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Director Masahiro Sakurai presented to brawler fans all over the world from his comfy studio desk. The next fighter coming to Ultimate is none other than Tekken’s Kazuya, and Sakurai was ready to reveal the character’s combos with new gameplay footage. You can watch the full presentation below.

The presentation started off by showing off what Kazuya will bring to the table and ended, unfortunately, with the confirmation that Dante will never be added to the Ultimate roster outside of a Mii costume. For those excited to see Kazuya in action, check him out in the video that went live earlier today on June 28. 

Mr. Sakurai Presents “Kazuya”https://t.co/X5kgfDK9pn

In 2020, Chris Avellone, a notable writer within the gaming space, was removed from Dying Light 2 when sexual misconduct allegations became public from a few different sources. After addressing the allegations soon after they came out, Avellone went publicly silent regarding the accusations until recently. In a new statement, Avellone addressed the claims against him and bared that he is seeking legal retribution against those that accused him for libel and loss of work. 

Avellone took to his Medium blog to address previous allegations with an entry entitled "Ending Silence." "Last year, a woman named Karissa made accusations against me, and so did her close friend, Kelly," began his statement. "The accusations were surprising. They concerned our first meeting almost 9 years ago and they were untrue."

He went on to say that he "spent the last year" pouring over what happened and convinced himself those that came forward did so out of a "misguided sense of self-righteousness." He then mentioned that he has since tried to allow the voices surrounding this conversation to be heard, as this was around the time when there was a growing "Me Too" movement surrounding Ubisoft and the work culture there. However, upon reflection, he felt that "in keeping silent, I was wrong."

We got our first look at the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie earlier this month with some nifty on-set images and now we've got possible new casting news, as well. Allegedly joining the all-star cast that includes Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine, and Huge Grant is none other than Doctor Strange himself, Benedict Cumberbatch. At least according to a new report. 

In a new report from The Sun, Cumberbatch is the latest star to be signed up for the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie following previous work he's done with Wizards of the Coast for an animated D&D short. This is unconfirmed at this time, though we have reached out for comments. The Sun reports that the D&D casting is local to Cumberbatch due to his residence in the UK, though ComicBook points out that this could be misconstrued for his work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. 

Good news! Devil May Cry's Dante is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Bad news! The arrival in the Mii Costume form pretty much kills any hope we had that he would be arriving in the roster as a fully playable fighter and not in his current Mii form. Alas, the world is cruel and unkind, but we do have to admit that he looks kind of cute as a chibi Mii character. Dante will be arriving in the Nintendo fighting game alongside Shantae, Tales of Symphonia's Lloyd, and Skyrim's Dovahkiin. 

Smash director Masahiro Sakurai presented a closer look at Tekken's Kazuya before his arrival in the game as a playable fighter to kick off a new week. The live stream event ended on the latest Mii costume reveal. It's a long-standing joke in the Smash community that the Mii section of any Smash presentation is the kiss of death. If something arrives in Smash as a Mii, that's a confirmation that the character in its accurate portrayal is Dead On Arrival when it comes to roster addition possibilities. So, with the confirmation of the latest Mii costumes, we both pay homage to Dante and say "fare thee well" at the same time: 

Shin Megami Tensei V has been one of the most anticipated Nintendo Switch RPGs since it was announced in 2017, and now that it finally has a release date for later this year, we're getting more information and better looks at the characters, story, and action.

It's always a sad day when someone in our community passes away, and that very much includes our canine companions that make life just a little bit better. We've learned that River, the dog behind that adorably helpful Dogmeat in Fallout 4, has passed away and we wanted to take a moment to honor this sweet puppers because dogs are too pure for this world and we love them with everything we have. 

The news of River's passing was shared via Twitter by Fallout 4 senior designer Joel Burgess. Burgess shared a heartfelt thread that detailed River's eventful life, a life filled with gaming inspiration, lots of treats, and all of the pets a good puppers deserves. 

Dogmeat is a tether. He grounds you in the world, will always stand by you, lead you to your family, and anticipate your needs. He wants you to be safe and happy.

In other words, he loves you.

And if love is River's legacy, I am contented.

Rest in peace, big girl. pic.twitter.com/XiUszPtOnM

It's Friday and sometimes? Sometimes you just need to be the Exo that everyone hates right now cowboy-screaming into oblivion in the name of memes. Look, I get it. For those that are playing Destiny 2: Season of the Splicer, you know that Lakshmi is kind of showing her metal-plated butt a little bit through the ongoing story. The position of the people in the Tower is precarious right now and she is one of the figures at the dead center. That would make anyone want to just "AAAAHHHH" all over the place. If you don't know that, you're not caught up on the Splicer tale and should probably turn back because there will be some minor spoilers in this article. Or you can just go straight to the screaming video, dealer's choice. 

Every week, Bungie showcases community submissions. Sometimes these submissions are deep interpretations of lore or epic takedowns done in PvP. Sometimes, though, sometimes there is meme gold hidden within the Movie of the Week segment, and this week's included one video that is honestly just a Big Mood. Who knew that when Lakshmi wasn't busy doing propaganda videos against the Fallen and trying to manipulate Saint into doing her bidding while we all watch in horror as the blight not-so-subtly takes over the Tower that she was actually just singing electronic-country-pop songs? 

Bungie is taking the phrase "shoot for the Moon" seriously with its upcoming Destiny 2: Season of the Splicer update. Previously, Bungie mentioned that it was bringing back some iconic weapons in future updates, and if the recent story addition is any indicator? We're going to need them. For those Dreaming (city) of some weapons that will put you over the Moon, we've got an update just for you.

Bad jokes aside, Bungie is bringing over the remaining weapon drops from the Moon and Dreaming City that were not included in the reissue back in January. These additions will also come with new perk pools, as well. For those interested, here are the Moon weapons you can see in next week's update, courtesy of the latest Bungie blog post: 

With Tales of Arise's September 10 release date just around the corner, we're starting to learn more about the long-awaited next entry in the acclaimed action/RPG series. Today, Bandai Namco released a new trailer introducing its leading lady, which gave us a taste of her personality and powers in battle. 

The first-ever WitcherCon experience is going down on July 9. It will offer fans of this particular fantasy universe a place to geek out and a chance to learn more about Netflix's The Witcher season 2 and what CD Projekt RED has up its gaming sleeve. To commemorate the upcoming celebration, the official Witcher Twitter account dropped a new WitcherCon trailer to hype up what's next. 

Taking to Twitter, the below trailer splices up gaming goodness and scenes from the Netflix series to show off the best of both worlds. With a new Witcher experience in the works over at CDPR, the polish studio behind the gaming adaptations of the novels from author Andrzej Sapkowski, and season 2 on the horizon – not to mention a prequel origins series also in the works – there is going to be a lot to enjoy: 

Look out, Among Us, there’s a new social deduction game coming to town. All we have right now is a trailer for Crimesight, but it looks like Anime Clue. In Crimesight, players need to deduce both the killer – and the victim! What the? It looks like this actually might be doing something interesting in the social game space among titles like the aforementioned Among Us, Town of Salem, Avalon, or Werewolf. Check out the trailer below and let’s break it down.

Basically, the gist is that using advanced A.I. the players are able to determine the killer and the victim of the crime – potentially before it happens. As with other social deduction games, one player is branded as the killer, and the others need to figure out who it is – and who they are going to kill. The advanced mechanics aren’t really known at this time, but we do know it takes place in a snow-covered cabin isolated in the middle of nowhere and it has a stylized anime look to it, especially with the “good” and “bad” A.I. characters in Sherlock and Moriarty.

During the Nihon Falcom 40th Anniversary event, numerous announcements for a ton of new Trails games coming to the West were accompanied by a concert. No less than four different games are heading this way, so if you’re into JRPGs, this is basically like a holiday.

A quartet of legendary titles from Nihon Falcom are coming to the west! Experience the Crossbell duology, unravel the fates of Erebonia's greatest heroes, and discover adventures beyond the horizon! pic.twitter.com/n9dMjcCb2T

— NISAmerica (@NISAmerica) June 25, 2021

We’ll break down the games, release dates/windows, and platforms here in a moment. The games? Trails from Zero, Trails to Azure, Trails into Reverie, and The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails are all on the way! Check out the trailers below for a look at what to expect:

343 Industries dropped a ton of new info about Halo Infinite multiplayer during E3 2021, including new features being added in and how the Battle Pass systems will work. Now we're diving a little deeper into how the Halo Infinite multiplayer seasons will evolve through an ongoing story, with season one bringing us back to Reach to kick things off. 

While the main campaign story gave us a new look earlier this month with Cortana Lite (she's not actually Cortana, that's a joke), 343's Joseph Staten opened up a little more about how the multiplayer story will progress. Yes, there is the story of Master Chief but there is a wider arc, as well. "There’s another hero standing beside Master Chief at the very heart of the Halo universe," said Staten to close out the latest Halo Waypoint blog post. "Some of you may have met this hero way back in 2001 with the launch of Halo: Combat Evolved. Some of you will meet this hero for the first time this holiday. Because this hero is you."

While Super Smash Bros. and Kingdom Hearts may be the long-reigning kings of the crossover in gaming, Epic Games' Fortnite has quickly made its case to claim the throne over the last several years. Ever since Marvel's Thanos entered the fray hot on the heels of Avengers: Infinity War, Fortnite has exploded with new crossovers. While the skins and characters available have expanded far, far beyond that of the Marvel Universe (even though it devoted an entire season to various Marvel heroes and villains facing off against Galactus), Epic Games seems to be dipping back into that well one more time. 

A teaser image released on social media by the official Fortnite channels features the god of mischief's signature horned helmet with the caption, "It seems Mecha Cuddle Master wasn't the only one who found their way to the island. Looks like a trickster snuck his way through the portal and into the Fortnite Crew this July."

If the last year has left you longing for some big musical festival action, but you’re not quite ready to venture out into a teeming sea of thousands on your own, it sounds like EA has you covered with its summer plans for The Sims 4. The long-running life-simulation game is set to host its first in-game music festival this summer from June 29 to July 7.

The event, entitled Sims Sessions, allows players to take their Sims to a music festival, letting them camp out at the event, snag festival outfits, and listen to the music. No word yet if the festival will also feature your Sims experiencing too-few bathrooms, heat exhaustion, or getting stranded on site after the event, but we have our fingers crossed!

The actual tunes will come courtesy of Bebe Rexha performing Sabotage, Glass Animals’ lead singer Dave Bayley performing Heat Waves, and Joy Oladukun performing Breathe Again. However, attendees will be treated to new versions of those songs, since all will be performed in the game’s native Simlish language.

Keiichiro Toyama is the creator of Silent Hill and a mastermind when it comes to involved storytelling. Since his time working in the fog, Toyama has been quite busy, helping to build up a new company with Bokeh Game Studio and hard at work creating a brand new horror game. COO and founder Kazunobu Sato recently sat down for a new inside look at what the team has been working on and what it's like developing a new IP for a startup studio. 

In a new video on the official Bokeh Game Studio's YouTube channel, the "Focus" is all on Sato. His current projects, the road leading up to this point, and a peek behind the proverbial curtain inside the world of development. The video starts with him talking about when he first tried joining the workforce as a teen/young adult. He reflects back on his time "floating" before he found his purpose from working standard jobs to trying out art school. He recalls that it was around the time when Toy Story and Virtua Fighter were released that he decided he wanted to try his hand at 3D graphics, but the barrier of entry was high due to the cost of tools needed to succeed in this field. That hindrance encouraged him to take a small course at an online Hollywood school to start building up a demo reel. 

In case you haven’t heard, Magic: The Gathering is getting a Dungeons & Dragons themed set next month. Exploring one of the most popular D&D settings, The Forgotten Realms, the aptly named Adventures in the Forgotten Realms allows players to stuff some of the most popular fantasy characters and monsters in gaming history into their decks. That’s right, you can start attacking your opponent with the likes of Drizzt Do’Urden or conjure up Lolth the Spider Queen. 

Of course, alongside these big names Magic: The Gathering sets need new mechanics that fit the setting too. In Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, players can traverse dungeons with an all new mechanic. While it may not replicate the experience of moving through a tabletop environment with your friends, moving through these little card dungeons confers a bunch of benefits and can be built around with numerous cards in the set. Take an extensive look at how the mechanic works here.

BlueBox Game Studio has been at the heart of a wild bunch of conspiracy theories concerning its upcoming PS5 game Abandoned. From translating game director Hasan Kahraman's name in various languages to decrypt a code, to tales that he's an actor hired by Hideo Kojima to hide a new Silent Hill project, the rumor mill has been more active than usual with this particular mystery. Earlier this month, the game's director took to the official BlueBox Game Studio Twitter to reveal a video of himself to put a "face to a name" to once more debunk any Kojima ties, now he's back with a new video, this time talking about the delay of the PS5 app and an update on when we're getting a full reveal. 

In the latest "update from Hasan," the director apologized several times to fans about the decision to push back the release of the PS5 reveal app for Abandoned. He mentioned that the quality of the app itself and what was being shown did not match up to the small team's standards, and that they wanted to reveal it the right way for the world's first look. He also stated that a full trailer will be launching alongside the app, now set for sometime in August:

I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the Mana series. It was integral in developing my love for RPGs and I created powerful memories that I’ll always cherish by bonding with my grandpa over Secret of Mana. I love getting lost in the series’ vibrant worlds, taking on larger-than-life baddies, and being taken with the stellar music – both poignant and adrenaline-pumping – that never disappoints. 

When Legend of Mana hit PS1 in 2000, it threw me for a loop, as it wasn’t a typical entry for the franchise. Sure, it had rabites, big boss battles, and its trademark action combat featuring co-op, but Legend of Mana’s structure is much different than previous titles (more on that later). It resulted in an entry that’s just as celebrated as it is disliked. I land on the side that sees it as the last great Mana game before Square Enix struggled with the franchise’s direction. Legend of Mana has its flaws, but it was also wise beyond its years in some of its systems and storytelling. I go back to it every few years just to see if my feelings will change, and every time I still see its magic – even if it didn’t always perfectly hit the target.  

Final Fantasy XIV and Twitch are teaming up for a new promotion to offer players some free in-game loot. The MMORPG definitely had a rough launch when it was first released; players were both overwhelmed and underwhelmed by the structure of the new take on the franchise when it was first released. Thankfully, since then, various improvements and expansions have been released, effectively turning it into one of the most successful MMORPGs on the market. Now that this game is on PS5, the community is more active than ever before, which is where we finally get our chance to say: Come get your Fat Black Chocobo mount.

Chocobos are cute no matter what but this little floofy black ball of cuteness is just too pure to resist. It all starts today with Square Enix partnering up with Twitch once more for exclusive in-game items for Final Fantasy XIV Online. From this date, June 24, until August 24, XIV players can get the Heavenscracker and Fat Black Chocobo mount by utilizing Twitch's gift subscription service to a select group of streamers that are broadcasting their time in Eorzea. 

But first, we just really need you to join us in appreciating how adorable this is: 

When Xbox finally confirmed the rumors that Playground Games was taking charge of the next Fable entry following the closure of Lionhead Studios, fans of the RPG franchise were excited and a little nervous about the new team. While we didn't get a new Fable trailer like we were hoping for during E3 2021, Xbox boss Phil Spencer is giving us a little hope to thrive off of in the meantime. 

Spencer sat down for a new episode of the Dropped Frames podcast (via VGC) to talk about what's going on in the realm of Xbox. Outside of reigniting hopes of a new Killer Instinct, he also touched on Fable and how the "amazing team" working on it understands what a vital IP it is to fans. 

When talking about Playground Games, Spencer couldn't sing the team's praises enough. While we didn't expect him to trash talk a studio working under the Xbox name for a property that is an intricate part of this platform's history, he does draw a good point at another title under the Playground banner.

On this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, we discuss a handful of the games we've been digging recently, including Mario Golf: Super Rush, Scarlet Nexus, Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights, Dead by Daylight, Storybook Brawl, and Mighty Goose. We close the show by interviewing Squad's head of production Nestor Gomez and Intercept Game's creative director Nate Simpson about their work on on the Kerbal Space Program franchise, what fans can expect from the sequel, and how the company found out that NASA was a big fan of the series. 

The 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise has brought several celebrations for the enthusiastic fan base. Whether you're talking about the announcement of Diamond and Pearl remakes, the brave new direction in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, or the virtual Post Malone concert, fans have had no shortage of fun things to look forward to. As the Pokémon Trading Card Game continues to explode in popularity, Pokémaniacs now have another thing to help their party like it's 1996: a new TCG collection celebrating the first 25 years of the franchise.

The new Celebrations expansion lets you take an evolved stroll down memory lane, offering up a collection of Legendary, Mythical, and beloved Pokémon, including Mew, Ho-Oh, Flying Pikachu, and Surfing Pikachu. This collection is smaller than your typical expansion, featuring just over 45 cards, including four Pokémon V cards, two Pokémon VMAX cards, and 25 classic Pokémon TCG cards. These classic Pokémon TCG cards give you the chance to add remakes of iconic cards to your collection, including Base Set Charizard, Umbreon ☆, and Tapu Lele-GX. 

Microsoft and Xbox have been busy over the past few years, completely renovating the Team Green ecosystem, including new studio acquisitions and broader goals for the road ahead. But just because there is new on the horizon doesn't mean that everything we've loved in the past is getting left in the dust. Xbox's Phil Spencer mentioned recently that there are "so many" games they'd like to revisit as a team, Killer Instinct among them. 

Killer Instinct is a fighting game with a hugely dedicated fanbase. With various combatants to choose from and special attacks to master, it's been a vital part of this particular community. That being said, there's not really a demand for this right now, especially so with other fighting games on the market currently and Xbox working on expanding beyond its current boundaries. 

Here’s a question for all my fellow Apex Legends lifers out there: When was the last time you played on King’s Canyon? A majority of you might retort, “Well, Jay, just a few seasons ago,” and you’d be right in saying that. But what if I raise you one and ask another question: When was the last time you played on the preseason version of King’s Canyon? That’s right, the original map that launched alongside Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale back in 2019; the arena with fan-favorite points of interest (perhaps, even long-forgotten) like Skulltown and Bridges. Well, starting next week, you’ll be able to get swallowed up by nostalgia as the beloved battlefield makes its way into rotation just in time for a new in-game event.

2019’s Greedfall is getting a new expansion, an upgrade to new-gen consoles, as well as a new edition packaging those updates together. If you missed out on the choice-driven RPG or want a new reason to revisit the island of Teer Fradee one more time, developer Spiders has some tantalizing propositions for you.

First up, Greedfall is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on June 30. It’ll be a free upgrade if you own the previous gen versions of the game and you can transfer your save data as well. The new-gen versions boast 4K UHD visuals, 60 frames-per-second performance, and faster loading. 

On the same day comes the arrival of the new expansion, The De Vespe Conspiracy. Set in a new region of Teer Fradee, the story, as the name implies, revolves around unraveling a complex conspiracy while confronting a new enemy faction. When you’re not working untangle a web of lies and intrigue, you’ll be facing suiting up in new gear to take on never-before-seen beasts.

If you’ve never played Greedfall but are interested in giving it a shot, Greedfall: Gold Edition might be for you. It bundles the base game and The De Vespe Conspiracy to give you the full adventure in one package. Gold Edition also arrives on June 30th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The price of this bundle is unknown at this time. 

School is out, the weather is warm, and you’ve got some free time. To celebrate the summer months after an especially challenging cold stretch, we’ve gathered some gift selections to brighten up the season. Whether you plan to venture outdoors or enjoy some well-deserved downtime inside, we found a few things you’ll undoubtedly love. Read more...

With Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, PS5 and PS4 players are diving back into Midgar once more. Whether it's to play the new Yuffie episode or just to enjoy the remake in its even more optimized form, there are plenty of reasons to don that iconic sword once more. With so many getting back into the game, one player noticed a pretty sneaky Final Fantasy VII Remake Easter egg while using the Photo Mode in Seventh Heaven. This one is for the fans of Final Fantasy's amazing soundtrack.

One Redditor (spotted by the folks over at GameRant) shared a screenshot of the latest Easter egg to be found. This one is specific to Tifa's bar called Seventh Heaven and shows off the Piano Collections album. In the image below, you can see a plaque with the Piano Collections cover emblazed on the front with the caption, "Thank you for the memories." 

Final Fantasy has always had an incredible soundtrack, but VII's is among the best of the best. There are even quests specific to finding music in these games, making the auditory experience even more immersive by making it a tangible and obtainable objective. 

If you’re a fan of The World Ends With You, you’ll soon get to sample its upcoming sequel, Neo: The World Ends With You. Square Enix is launching a free demo of the game tomorrow, June 25, for PlayStation 4 and Switch. The publisher also released one last big trailer for the title ahead of its launch next month. 

The demo takes players through the first two days of the Reaper’s Game. Players control protagonist Rindo and his buddy Fret to battle the Noise while also getting to try out a variety of ability-granting pins. In addition to getting to taste the game's early story beats you’ll also be able to engage in sidequests and explore the now fully 3D Shibuya. Demo progress carries over to the main game as well, so feel free to take your time and really dig into it. 

If you still need convincing that Neo is worth your time, or just need one last shot of hype juice, Square has released the final trailer for the game. Clocking it at over five minutes, if this doesn’t give you a good idea of what to expect, we suspect nothing will.

The Razer Blade Pro 17 comes bearing the gift of the RTX 3000 series and completely shatters everything I know about gaming on a laptop. My primary gaming platform is PC, and previous attempts to game on the go with a laptop have left me disappointed. Not only does hardware usually go out of date fairly quickly, but I have a hard time adjusting to the smaller screen size and overall feel of laptop gaming. That being said, the Blade Pro 17 offers a much bigger screen and the performance blew my previous experiences right out of the water. This might just be the piece of equipment that makes me excited with gaming on a laptop. 

The latest laptop in Razer's growing line is compelling, and it features a stunning display to optimize any type of game. The screen performance is unparalleled, and the port options make it easy to adjust the portable computer to your whim. To test out the Razer Blade Pro 17, I ran this machine through the wringer: Destiny 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 4, and a modded-to-oblivion Skyrim – I tried it all. Beyond gaming, I also experimented with what it was like to run a thousand tabs as I do during any usual workday while using programs like Adobe Premiere Pro, auditory software, and running a game in the background. This machine passed every test I threw at it with flying colors, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a few drawbacks. Let's talk about the pros first. 

What I loved about the Razer Blade Pro 17

Why didn't the cure in the first game work? How does the multiplayer work with player choice in mind? How old is Aiden?! The world has questions, we have answers. The team at Techland will be sharing episode 2 of its video developer series called Dying 2 Know soon but since we here at Game Informer are also "dying to know" more about the upcoming sequel, we got a little sneak peek at what's ahead. We also have an exclusive new screenshot to share for those eager to get a new look at what Dying Light 2 Stay Human will have to offer fans of the franchise. 

Dying Light 2 is taking the franchise into much deeper waters where player choice means more than it ever has before, and there are more than just the creatures that are our enemies. The team at Techland gets a lot of questions about what Dying Light 2 has in store, including things like "why didn't the cure work in the first game?" Ahead of the next developer update video, we've got some answers to those burning questions right here. 

If you've ever had the pleasure of going to Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam, you'll understand what a wild ride skateboarding can be. The Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series has also gone through similar ups and downs since the Birdman first graced our PlayStations in 1999.

Last year was a high note for fans of the extreme sports series, as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 brought the series back into the good graces of the gaming public with the expert gameplay players love along with a beautiful new coat of paint. But while people got to experience Pro Skater 1+2 if they had an Xbox, PlayStation, or PC, the Switch crowd was left in the cold. That is until this year.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is finally releasing on the Nintendo hybrid console on June 25, and while Switch owners are sure to have a bad taste in their mouths from some less than stellar console ports, we have good news for those excited to take their skateboarding on the go.

Today is the Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th birthday, and to celebrate, Sega unveiled a bunch of new games as part of its Sonic Central stream. During that stream, Sega also gave fans news that on Sonic's actual anniversary date, June 23, 2021, it would be holding a special Symphony livestream featuring music that spans all three decades of the franchise's existence.

The stream just ended, but you can view the archived version of the concert below. In the stream, you'll find everything from an orchestra performing Sonic's most classic and recognizable hits from the early days of the series all the way up to rock group Crush 40 performing big hits like the Sonic Heroes theme song and "Live and Learn" from Sonic Adventure 2. If you have any affection for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and its music, this is a terrific celebration of one of its most consistently excellent elements.

You can check out the archived stream from Sega and the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel below:

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is the direct sequel to Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. The sequel was revealed earlier this month from Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Interactive, and NetherRealm Studios, and now we've got a Battle of the Realms release date and our first look at the official box art. 

Confirmed today, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is making its Digital and Blu-ray debut on August 31. There will also be a 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack available, as well, for those that may have missed the first film. 

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle for the Realms, releases
digital and physical on August 31, 2021

Here is the box art... pic.twitter.com/2C1yZHv70L

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings Of Ruin is a mere two weeks away from release, and with a trial version of the game releasing on June 25, we thought it'd be a great time to show you a quick look at Capcom's upcoming monster-hatching JRPG. You might be thinking to yourself, "Didn't Monster Hunter Rise just release in March?" Yep, it sure did, however Monster Hunter Stories 2 features turn-based combat and a neat monster-hatching system that differentiates itself from its action-focused cousin. With that in mind, join John Carson, Jason Guisao, and yours truly for an episode of New Gameplay Today wherein we share an early glimpse at one of the first chapters from Monster Hunter Stories 2.

The Skywind Morrowind Skyrim remake is a project that I've been covering for years and can't help but to feel passionately excited for. This ambitious fan-driven project is not only approved by Bethesda but also seeks to faithfully recreate Morrowind using the Skyrim engine. This has been years in the making and while we do have quite a bit of time left to wait, we do have a new development update video to showcase the finer details of what Skywind brings to the table. 

The latest development update video dives deep into the smaller details of development that are often overlooked; the details that bring the bigger picture together and aid in creating a believable and enjoyable world. Also in the video is a call-to-action with the volunteer team looking for 3D Artists to help out with this venture. To throw your name into that hat, you can mosey on over to the Skywind website right here to learn more.

Splatoon 2’s rather nifty Online Lounge feature will soon go the way of the dodo. That means it’s being shut down, effective July 28 according to Nintendo.  

The feature allowed players to use the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app to set up Splatoon 2 matches and invite friends by sending them a URL link. Although Online Lounge will no longer be supported, Nintendo says it has no plans to change any of the app’s other game-specific features. That means users will still be able to use voice chat, for example.

Nintendo’s support page doesn’t cite a specific reason doing away with the Online Lounge. Players will still be able to set up local and online Splatoon 2 matches via in-game methods, of course, but this could be part of the gradual sun setting of the game. Nintendo released Splatoon 2’s “final” big update during the summer of 2019, though it has continued to host the occasional Splatfests even past that. The most recent contest took place in January of this year, and it was the battle of Mario power-ups with Super Mushroom vs Super Star (Mushroom won, if you’re curious). 

We all remember the Wall Market segment of Final Fantasy VII – whether it was in the original version of the game or the Remake. The latter release, however, came equipped with a humorous, unexpected rhythm section where a dancing cutscene played alongside simple QTEs. It was wacky, but fun nonetheless. And Cloud emerging from the flashy spectacle in a beautiful dress and pigtails was literally icing on the cake. In a recent interview uploaded on the official Square Enix site, Final Fantasy VII Remake Co-Director Motomu Toriyama revealed, albeit briefly, that a pole-dancing scene was in the works at one point over the course of the game’s development.

Throughout the interview, Toriyama talked about why the HoneyBee Inn section was such a momentous task for the studio and how the team ended up creating a polished minigame. “The whole scene took a long time, from the initial idea, to composing the music, taking the motion capture, and adjusting the music and motions to fit together,” he said. “I was incredibly nervous until it finally all came together!” Toriyama and co. ultimately commissioned professional dancers to choreograph the entire burlesque show.