Today's Gaming Pulse

Nintendo unveils 2026 Ocarina of Time remake
Nintendo confirmed a full remake of the 1998 classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, targeting a 2026 release. The teaser trailer featured a brief glimpse of a sleeping Link, and producer Eiji Aonuma indicated the game will blend the original’s linear design with modern open‑world elements.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Roblox expands AI portfolio with Morpheus acquisition

Xenoblade Chronicles X: DE Is a Great Game, but the Switch 2 Edition Isn't for Everyone
Nintendo unveiled Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Switch 2 Edition, promising 1080p handheld resolution and up to 60 fps, with docked mode supporting near‑4K visuals. Reviewers praise the core game but criticize handheld AI upscaling, which creates artifacting and “crunchy” textures. The upgrade costs about $5, and Nintendo is offering refunds to dissatisfied players. The author concludes the edition isn’t essential for existing Switch owners, especially handheld‑focused gamers, unless visual issues are resolved.

Phaser PixUI: Open-Source UI Library for Pixel Art Games
Phaser PixUI is a new open‑source UI library built specifically for pixel‑art games using the Phaser 4 engine. It provides a set of crisp, integer‑scaled components—buttons, progress bars, text areas, and layout helpers—written in TypeScript with full type definitions. The library...

Video: Watch 40 Minutes of WWE 2K26 Gameplay Showcasing Its New Features
WWE 2K26 is set to launch on March 13, with early access starting March 6 for premium edition owners. A 40‑minute hands‑on preview released by VGC showcases a new shared stamina‑reversal meter, the first season of the Ringside Pass featuring AAA...

Clash of Clans Unleash the Duke Community Event for March 2026: Details, How to Progress, Rewards and More
Supercell has launched the "Unleash the Duke" community event in Clash of Clans, running from February 24 to March 1, 2026. Players worldwide must complete daily global objectives to open dungeon doors, each revealing four hidden rewards but only one can be...

GOG Agrees with Ultrakill Publisher Boss that "the Future of Preservation Is Decided by Players Who Give a S**t"
New Blood Interactive CEO Dave Oshry praised GOG’s game‑preservation and modding focus but warned that its future depends on player engagement. GOG responded, echoing his sentiment and urging the community to buy DRM‑free titles, vote on the Dreamlist, and join GOG...

SNK Reveals 'Soy Sauce for Geese' Orchestra for Nightmare Geese's Release in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
SNK announced an orchestral rendition of the classic "Soy Sauce for Geese" theme to accompany the February 26 release of Nightmare Geese in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. The update also marks the debut of Kim Jae Hoon, the...

"Bad News for Xbox": Analysts React to the Leadership Shakeup at Microsoft's Games Division
Microsoft Gaming announced its most significant leadership overhaul in a decade, with longtime Xbox chief Phil Spencer retiring and Xbox president Sarah Bond exiting. Core AI product president Asha Sharma will now lead the division, while Matt Booty steps up...

One of March’s PlayStation Plus ‘Free’ Essential Monthly Games Has Been Leaked
A Dealabs insider leaked that PGA Tour 2K25 will be the headline title for PlayStation Plus Essential in March, ahead of Sony's official announcement. The golf simulation launched in February 2025 and holds an 80 Metacritic score on PS5. The title will be...
IEM Cologne Major to Use No BO1s in Stage 3
ESL announced that Stage 3 of the IEM Cologne Major will feature only best‑of‑three (BO3) matches, removing best‑of‑one (BO1) games entirely. To accommodate the longer format, the stage has been extended by one day, running from June 11‑15, with extra tickets made...

Arknights: Endfield Makes $46m in First Month on Mobile
Arknights: Endfield earned $46 million in its first month on mobile, with iOS accounting for $28.3 million and Google Play $17.7 million. Japan and China drove 39% and 28% of global spend respectively, while the U.S. contributed about 10%. Player spending peaked on...
Nioh 3 Blacksmith Guide: How to Get the Materials Needed to Upgrade Your Gear
Nioh 3 introduces a Blacksmith in the Eternal Rift who lets players upgrade gear through Disassemble, Soul Match, Reforge and Remodel functions. Materials such as Wood, Ingot, Tamahagane and rare Material Essence are obtained by breaking down unwanted equipment, while Soul...

Rainbow Six Mobile Launches Globally Today After Navigating Hiatus and Extended Development
Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Mobile officially launched worldwide on February 23, 2026 after an extended soft‑launch and a seven‑month development hiatus. The global version ships with seven maps—including two mobile‑exclusive locations—and a roster of more than 20 operators, up from 16...

How a Surge in Memory Prices Will Affect the Game Industry
A rapid AI‑driven memory boom has pushed DRAM prices up nearly 100% in 2025 and an additional 60% in early 2026, while NAND storage rose 70% in the same period. The surge squeezes console hardware margins, prompting platform holders to...
New Xbox CEO Aims to Revive Gaming Division
Inside Microsoft’s big Xbox leadership shake-up. Microsoft has a new gaming CEO who wants to bring Xbox back from the brink. I've been speaking to Xbox employees about how it all went down. Gift link for emergency Notepad issue this...

Rewarded UA Unlocked
Rewarded user acquisition (RUA) is a mobile marketing strategy that grants players in‑game rewards for completing post‑install tasks such as tutorials or level milestones. By tying incentives to meaningful actions, RUA drives higher engagement, retention, and ultimately better return on...

Steam Next Fest Has the Perfect Game Demo for Disco Elysium Fans, but It's Not ZA/UM's Successor
Steam Next Fest in February 2026 will feature two demos that echo the narrative depth of Disco Elysium. ZA/UM’s new project, Zero Parades, offers an espionage‑driven world built by many of the original studio’s veterans. The second demo, Esoteric Ebb,...
Gigaverse Launches GIGABIT to Power Rewards with Fixed Model
Gigaverse introduced GIGABIT, a new in‑game currency that anchors its first‑generation ecosystem, Gigaverse 1.0. The token operates on a fixed 100 GIGABIT‑to‑$1 exchange rate, with a redemption value of 0.80 USDC, and allocates 0.15 USDC per transaction to a rewards pool. GIGABIT supports...

Lords Mobile Rings In Its Decade Of Battles With Anniversary Events And A Tokidoki Collab
Lords Mobile marks its 10th anniversary with a series of in‑game events and a limited‑time collaboration with the kawaii brand tokidoki. The partnership introduces three exclusive tokidoki characters and corresponding skins, available only until the end of February. Anniversary content...

Nintendo Announces 80-Minute Treehouse Stream Showcasing Mario Wonder Switch 2 and Pokémon Pokopia
Nintendo announced an 80‑minute Treehouse: Live stream for Tuesday, Feb 24, focusing on hands‑on gameplay of Super Mario Bros Wonder Switch 2 Edition and the new Pokémon Pokopia title. The Mario showcase highlights added multiplayer modes and Rosalina as a playable character, with a March 26 release,...

Clash Royale March 2026 Update Is Bringing Two New Heroes, New Trophy Road Arenas, Social Tab, and More
Supercell’s March 2026 Clash Royale update launches the game’s 10th‑anniversary celebrations with two new Heroes—Barbarian Barrel and Magic Archer—plus a brand‑new Album Event that rewards a free Magic Archer and exclusive cosmetics. Trophy Road expands to 14,000 trophies, adding four fresh arenas...
Gentle Mates Crowned RLCS Boston Major 2026 Champions After Beating Vitality 4-2
Gentle Mates captured the RLCS Boston Major 2026 title, defeating Team Vitality 4‑2 in the grand final at Boston’s Agganis Arena. The French squad walked away with $102,000 and 30 circuit points, propelling them to the top of the European...
Apex Legends Pro Effect Leaves Alliance to Join Aurora Gaming
Professional Apex Legends player Miron "Effect" Novikov has transferred from Alliance to Aurora Gaming. He will compete in ALGS Year 6 events alongside former world champion Hiarka and returning player ojrein. Effect spent four years with Alliance, winning the 2024 Esports...
Vita Student and NSE Team Up to Boost University Esports in the UK
Vita Student has become the headline sponsor of National Student Esports (NSE) and the British University Esports Championship, marking a strategic push into UK university gaming. The partnership will see Vita branding at major tournaments, live broadcasts, and finals, while...
Media: 3DMAX to Swap Bodyy for Misutaaa, NBK- to Join as Assistant Coach
French CS:GO franchise 3DMAX announced a major roster overhaul, swapping rifler Alexandre "bodyy" Pianaro for Kévin "misutaaa" Rabier and promoting former coach Damien "wasiNk" Dufour to head coach. Veteran Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt will join as the team's first assistant coach....

ByteBrew Launches AI-Powered Cross-Promotion Network to Scale App Portfolios
ByteBrew has introduced ByteBrew Ads, an AI‑powered cross‑promotion ad network that lets developers move high‑value users between apps in their portfolio. The service relies on Ctrl, the company’s proprietary AI engine trained on massive app data, to target users based...
NieR’s Yoko Taro to Write the New Neon Genesis Evangelion Anime
Studio Khara and CloverWorks announced a brand‑new Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series, with acclaimed game writer Yoko Taro handling series composition and screenplay. The project, unveiled at the Evangelion 30th Anniversary festival, brings together veteran directors Kazuya Tsurumaki and Tōko...

Roblox Launches Global Parent Council to Strengthen Family Engagement and Online Safety Oversight
Roblox announced a Global Parent Council of 80 parents and caregivers spanning 32 countries, alongside a new Parent Champions programme. The council, representing expertise in psychology, education, digital well‑being, law enforcement and gaming, will meet quarterly to advise on safety...

Saudi Esports Federation Partners with ROC Esports and Team Stallion to Strengthen the Kingdom’s Esports Ambitions
The Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) has signed memoranda of understanding with ROC Esports and Team Stallion to develop Saudi esports talent. The agreements will deliver joint training, specialised programs through the Saudi Esports Academy, and create clearer career pathways for...

Savvy Games Group Signs MoU with AUBH to Strengthen Student Training in Games and Interactive Entertainment
Savvy Games Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the American University of Bahrain under its Savvy Academy talent‑development program. The MoU will enable Media and Design students to undertake internships, studio visits and hands‑on projects that mirror professional...

Windrose Has One of the Most Popular Steam Demos of Recent Times, Helping the Co-Op Pirate Game Rack up a...
Windrose, a co‑op pirate survival title, launched its Steam demo on Feb 17 and quickly attracted massive attention, peaking at over 22,000 concurrent players. The demo’s popularity propelled the game past one million wishlists, placing it among Steam’s top‑20 most‑wishlisted titles....

New Xbox Boss Teases Bringing Back Xbox 360 Blades Dashboard
Phil Spencer’s retirement paved the way for Asha Sharma to become Xbox’s new CEO, and she immediately sparked fan excitement by asking on X if the classic Xbox 360 blades dashboard should return. The tweet ignited a nostalgic frenzy, though...
NRG Brawk Manged Latest ASUS ROG Ambassador
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) has named VALORANT 2025 Champions MVP Brock “brawk” Somerhalder as its newest brand ambassador, positioning him to promote the ROG Ace esports hardware line. The move follows ROG’s earlier partnership with CS2 star ZywOo and...

What It Might've Been Like to Fight Against Sheng Long in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s hidden boss fight against Akuma sparked a fan myth that a second secret opponent, “Sheng Long,” existed. The rumor originated from a mistranslation and was amplified by April Fools jokes and fan‑made videos that depicted the character as...

"They've Ghosted Me": Saints Row Design Director Says He Believes the Series Is "Dead" After Pitching Prequel
Former Saints Row design director Chris Stockman says the franchise is effectively dead after Embracer Group failed to respond to his pre‑quel pitch. Stockman, now leading Bit Planet Games, proposed a 1970s‑set story that initially sparked online buzz, but Embracer,...

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake Directors Said It Is Coming Back Thanks to Fans
Directors Makoto Shibata and Hidehiko Nakajima confirmed that Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly will receive a full remake, largely in response to persistent fan demand. The game launches on March 12, 2026 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo...

DC's Justice League: Cosmic Chaos Gets Big Discount Ahead of Xbox Delisting
Outright Games announced that DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos will be removed from the Xbox digital store in March after its DC licensing agreement expired. The title is currently on a steep 90% discount, priced at $3.99 until February 25, prompting...

Heroic Games Launcher 2.20.0 Brings Numerous Important Bug Fixes
Heroic Games Launcher 2.20.0 has been released as a pure bug‑fix update, targeting UI glitches, offline support, and integration issues across Epic, GOG, and How Long To Beat services. The patch resolves dropdown scrolling, RTL layout, and text‑wrapping bugs while...

Call Of Duty: Zombies Could Get A Standalone Game
An insider from TheGhostOfHope reports that Activision and Microsoft are weighing a standalone Call of Duty: Zombies title, potentially launching alongside a traditional multiplayer release on the next‑gen Xbox. The idea emerged after the Xbox launch delay forced a rethink...

Kerbal Space Program Spiritual Successor Kitten Space Agency Now Has a Linux Version
Kitten Space Agency, a spiritual successor to Kerbal Space Program, has released an early‑stage Linux build for public testing. The trial version is available via a direct download link, though it remains rough and may require work‑arounds. Founder Dean Hall...

Chicago’s Midway International Airport Enhances CX with Opening of Gameway Video Gaming Lounge
Chicago Midway International Airport has opened Gameway, a premium video‑gaming lounge featuring high‑end PCs, Xbox and PlayStation stations, high‑speed Wi‑Fi, and a full beverage bar. The lounge is part of a broader $75 million concessions investment that has added roughly 30,000 sq ft...

Ubisoft CEO Touts “Disciplined Workforce Management” While Defending Giving His Son the Keys to Assassin's Creed
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced new Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry installments while outlining a €200 million cost‑reduction plan that includes selective restructuring and tighter workforce management. The company is reorganising into autonomous "creative houses" such as Vantage Studios, which will oversee...

PlayStation Gameplay Chart, Week Ending February 22nd, 2026
The PlayStation Gameplay Chart for the week ending February 22 2026, compiled from over 2.9 million active accounts, lists Fortnite as the most-played title followed by Roblox and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. Free‑to‑play and cross‑platform games dominate the top ten, while EA...

Tencent Reportedly Shutter Open World Game Studio Which Had Drafted in Former Assassin’s Creed Director
Tencent has reportedly closed its TiMi Montreal studio, which was founded in 2021 to develop a AAA open‑world, service‑focused game for PC and consoles. The studio never shipped a title in its five‑year run, despite hiring former Assassin’s Creed creative...
Jobs Digest: Reshuffles at Xbox and Unity Plus Moves at Rovio, Hoyoverse, Google, Stillfront and More
Microsoft Gaming announced a top‑level reshuffle, with former CoreAI president Asha Sharma taking over as EVP and CEO and veteran Matt Booty becoming EVP and chief content officer. Unity added Bernard Kim to its board while co‑founder David Helgason and...

Mesa 25.3.6 Released as the Last Bug Fix for This Driver Series
Mesa 25.3.6 has been released as the final bug‑fix update for the 25 driver series, signaling the end of active maintenance for that branch. The patch addresses regressions in radeonsi, Venus, and ANV drivers, including a GL_FEEDBACK coordinate bug and...

Wine 11.3 Released with Vkd3d and Mono Upgrades
Wine 11.3 arrives with a suite of compatibility fixes aimed at improving Windows application and game performance on Linux. The release upgrades the bundled Mono engine to version 11.0.0 and vkd3d to 1.19, introducing new DirectSound FIR filtering and GPU...

Slots of the Week: Double the Shock Value
Blueprint Gaming’s Frankenstein’s Fortune and Playson’s Tornado Power: Hold and Win are new 5×3 and 3×4 slots that emphasize straightforward gameplay with fixed paylines and robust bonus features. Frankenstein’s Fortune uses a Collect mechanic and colored jars to trigger Cash...
![[Industry News] GameSkills Confirms First Expert Line-Up for 2026 European Studio Training Programme](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/5be85a38-c451-05f0-76b0-5e93081baf59.png)
[Industry News] GameSkills Confirms First Expert Line-Up for 2026 European Studio Training Programme
GameSkills, the Creative Europe MEDIA‑backed initiative, has announced the first lineup of experts for its 2026 European Studio Training Programme. The remote curriculum, running April‑November 2026, will feature specialists in AI, accessibility, sustainability, design, and market strategy, culminating in an in‑person summit...

Highguard Is Making Less Money On Steam Than A Single Monster Hunter Outfit
Highguard, Wildlight Entertainment's hero shooter released on January 26 2026, has plummeted to roughly 2,458th on Steam’s revenue‑based charts. Its earnings now trail legacy titles such as Call of Duty (2003), BioShock Infinite, and Red Dead Online, and it generates less revenue than...

Genshin Impact Varka Release Countdown: Exact Date and Time
MiHoYo’s Luna V update introduces Varka, a new 5‑star Anemo character, with a dedicated banner slated to go live once post‑maintenance ends on February 24. The countdown aligns with the studio’s standard rollout times—7 PM PT, 9 PM CT, 10 PM ET, 3 AM UTC, and 4 AM CET. Varka’s banner features...