Today's Gaming Pulse
Kingdom Hearts IV drops new trailer, reveals Keyblade‑chain mechanic
Square Enix released a fresh Kingdom Hearts IV trailer that showcases a new Keyblade‑chain mechanic and a fire‑based Keyblade. The teaser places the game in Quadratum, a digital recreation of Tokyo’s Shibuya district, and hints at ties to the abandoned Final Fantasy Versus XIII concepts. The announcement confirms the title’s continued development for Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 platform.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Roblox expands AI capabilities with Morpheus acquisition
Exel by Merak Appoints Faisal Sedrani as CEO to Lead Its Next Growth Phase
Exel by Merak, the Saudi gaming accelerator owned by Merak Capital, has named Faisal Sedrani as its new chief executive officer. Sedrani, who previously built Exel as a Merak subsidiary and serves as VP of Innovation Platform, will steer the accelerator into a broader, multi‑sector innovation mandate aligned with Vision 2030. The move follows the graduation of Cohort 2 and the upcoming launch of Cohort 3, signaling a push to scale startups across gaming, tech and sustainability.
MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Looks Awesome in the New Boss Trailer
Mouse: P.I. For Hire, a first‑person boomer shooter inspired by 1930s cartoons and noir, is set to launch on March 19, 2026. A new trailer released on February 19 at the Convergence Showcase spotlights the three‑stage Robo‑Betty boss fight, highlighting...
VALORANT Masters Santiago Will Let Fans Compete in On-Site Skirmish Series
Riot Games is adding a fan‑focused Skirmish Series to the VALORANT Masters Santiago event. The on‑site competition consists of four days of 1v1 single‑elimination qualifiers, featuring 16 players per day and a total of 64 participants. The top 16 advance...
Two New Far Cry Projects Confirmed: 7 and Live Service
Yves Guillemot confirms there are two Far Cry projects in development. One is Far Cry 7, the other is/was a live service spin-off. The franchise has historically had off year stand alone spin-offs so the gap after Far Cry 6...
WePlay Studios and Global Gaming League Will Host League Competitions in California | Exclusive
WePlay Studios announced a partnership with the Global Gaming League to stage league competitions in California, shifting some esports activity from Las Vegas to the West Coast. The collaboration combines WePlay’s high‑production content capabilities with GGL’s celebrity‑owned team model. Events...
Ubisoft Announces Two New Far Cry, Multiple Assassin’s Creed Projects
In a new interview with Variety, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says the company has: - 2 new Far Cry games in development. - Several Assassin’s Creed games in development, both single-player and multiplayer experiences. https://t.co/B59iFNd4rN
Ubisoft CEO Unveils $200M Cost‑Cut, Creative House Plan
Ubisoft CEO Explains Three-Year Plan to Revamp Game Publisher Through New ‘Creative House’ Strategy, More Than $200 Million in Cost Reductions https://t.co/3Q14sQldSc via @variety
Shiren the Wanderer Series Sales Surpassed 3 Million Copies Worldwide
Spike Chunsoft announced the Shiren the Wanderer series has sold over 3 million copies worldwide, coinciding with its 30th‑anniversary celebrations. The sixth main‑line title, The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, reached 300,000 units globally within its first year, with more than...
The Best SSDs for the Steam Deck
The article benchmarks a range of M.2 2230 SSDs to identify the best upgrades for Valve’s Steam Deck handheld PC. It crowns the Corsair MP600 Mini as the overall winner, while the Crucial P310 delivers the strongest price‑per‑gigabyte value and the...
Steam Deck OLED Facing Stock Shortages Due to Memory Supply Issues
Valve confirmed that the Steam Deck OLED is experiencing intermittent stock shortages across several regions, driven by a global crunch on memory and storage components. The shortage stems from soaring DRAM and NAND prices as AI data centers hoard chips,...
Nintendo Publishes Pokemon FireRed & Pokemon LeafGreen Switch FAQ
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced that Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen will debut on the Nintendo eShop on Pokémon Day, February 27, 2026. The titles are faithful ports of the original Game Boy Advance releases, with connectivity shifted to the Switch’s built‑in local wireless and GameChat...
Nintendo's Q4: Hardware Leads, Moat Questioned
In your inboxes this morning Nintendo: Are We Doing This Again? $NTDOY - No Wall Street handholding (holiday quarter results) - Hardware sales, then software sales, then profits - What about memory chips? - Is there still an emerging moat? - My investment decision https://t.co/6BIv63lDlJ
Stop Killing Games Campaign Hope to "Signal that We're Not Just Going Away" By Setting up Online Game Preservation NGOs
The Stop Killing Games campaign, backed by a petition with just under 1.3 million verified signatures, is pressing EU lawmakers to address server shutdowns that render online‑only games unplayable. While awaiting a meeting with European officials, the group announced the creation...
PS5 Price Hike and PlayStation Plus Subscription Increase Announced by Sony
Sony announced upcoming price hikes for the PS5 console and PlayStation Plus subscriptions, citing rising memory‑chip costs driven by the AI boom. CFO Tao Lin said the company will prioritize monetizing its installed base to offset hardware margin pressure. Record‑high PS Plus...
Capcom Says It Will Act on Resident Evil Requiem Footage Being Shared Early Online, Asks Players Not to Watch or...
Capcom has publicly asked fans to refrain from posting or viewing early gameplay footage of the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem, which is slated for release on February 27. The publisher identified multiple videos that appear to have been obtained through...
VALORANT Player Xiesta Signs a Four-Year Contract with Gen.G
Gen.G Esports has secured 15‑year‑old prodigy Jung “Xiesta” Si‑hwan on a historic four‑year contract, the longest the South Korean organization has ever signed with a player. Xiesta, a Radiant‑ranked VALORANT talent currently 31st in APAC, earned his reputation through the...
The QuickShot II Joystick Review – 80s Clicks and Waggles Lovingly Recreated
The QuickShot II joystick has been resurrected as an almost exact replica of the 1980s original, preserving its iconic dimensions, suction‑cup base, and clicky fire buttons. Modern updates include USB connectivity, programmable fire buttons, six additional base buttons, and microswitches for...
It's Now Easier to Install MGSHDFix for Metal Gear Games on Linux / Steam Deck
The Luxtorpeda compatibility project has added one‑click support for the MGSHDFix and MGSM2Fix mod packs, bringing Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid games to Linux and Steam Deck with minimal effort. Users install Luxtorpeda through ProtonUp‑Qt, select the desired titles, and the tool automatically...
Slay the Spire 2 Arrives March 5 with 4-Player Co-Op
Mega Crit announced that Slay the Spire 2 will enter Early Access on March 5, 2026, launching with a brand‑new four‑player co‑op mode. The sequel adds multiple new characters, environments, foes, and multiplayer‑specific cards that enable team synergies. Development was delayed from...
NieR: Automata Shipments and Digital Sales Top 10 Million; “NieR: Automata to Be Continued…”
Square Enix announced that worldwide shipments and digital sales of *NieR: Automata* have topped 10 million units, a milestone reached after the game’s 2017 launch across PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and later Switch. The figure surpasses the nine‑million reported in December 2024, reflecting...
Widelands, the Open Source Settlers-Like, Devs Plan to Ban All AI Generated Contributions
Widelands, the open‑source strategy game modeled after Settlers, announced a draft resolution to ban AI‑generated contributions across code, graphics, music and other assets. The developers argue that such content raises copyright, attribution and quality issues, and may be closed without...
Nioh 3 Is, Unsurprisingly, the Fastest-Selling Game in the Series with over a Million Units Sold
HoYoverse announced the Genshin Impact Luna 5 update, arriving on February 25. The centerpiece is Varka, a long‑awaited 5‑star Anemo Claymore character with a unique dual‑element combat system. Luna 5 also brings the “Echoes of Memory” event, revisiting Mondstadt’s early story locations, plus...
Fisch Mutation Multiplier List – All Mutation Values
Droid Gamers has compiled a comprehensive Fisch Mutation Multiplier List that details every mutation’s value multiplier in the Roblox game Fisch. The guide categorizes mutations into standard, attribute, admin, and limited‑time groups, showing multipliers ranging from +10x for Tryhard and...
![[Industry News] Second Stage Brings Innovation in Wishlist Forecasting, Attribution, and More to the Games Industry](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2s-blog-insights-650x325-1.png)
[Industry News] Second Stage Brings Innovation in Wishlist Forecasting, Attribution, and More to the Games Industry
Second Stage has launched the TRACKS platform to give PC and console game marketers precise attribution of ad spend to wishlist adds and purchases. The solution consolidates over 65 data integrations, turning fragmented reporting into a single, real‑time dashboard. Backed...
Former Firaxis Games Creative Director Announces Closure of Midsummer Studios
Microsoft announced that longtime Xbox leader Phil Spencer will step down, remaining in an advisory role through the summer, while President Sarah Bond also departs. Asha Sharma, previously president of Microsoft CoreAI, will assume the role of Xbox CEO, and...
DreamLeague Season 28: Schedule, Results, Standings, Teams, Streams
DreamLeague Season 28, a premier Dota 2 tournament, kicks off with 16 elite teams competing online for a $1 million prize pool. Organized by ESL, the event features a two‑stage group phase followed by double‑elimination playoffs, running from February 16 to March 1. Early...
Japan Tracking Shows AMD Radeon RX 9000 Prices Easing After Spikes
Japanese retail monitoring shows AMD's Radeon RX 9000-series graphics cards are entering a modest correction after a sharp 40% price surge in late 2025. Discounts of mid‑teens percent on the RX 9070 XT and up to 20% on the RX 9060 XT 16GB indicate softened demand...
AMD RX 9060 XT Pushed to 4.769 GHz in Record Overclock
AMD released a short clip showing a Radeon RX 9060 XT pushed to a record 4.769 GHz, far above its normal 2.5‑3.13 GHz operating range. The extreme overclock was achieved by two veteran overclockers using liquid‑nitrogen cooling, but AMD omitted details on voltage, power...
Digital Game Purchases Remain Unresellable in 2026
The concept of digital asset ownership applies to entire games on PC and console, too. It's 2026, and we still cannot sell or just transfer our "used" digital games once we bought them. Am I the only one who thinks this is...
Preparing to Share Lessons on Surviving Long Projects
It’s been a long time since I did a non-technical speech. After this game ships I’ll do a talk called Surviving Long Projects. It will be good and useful. (Not sure if there will be a suitable conference or I will do...
Black Voices in Gaming Showcase Reveals New Games and Trailers
Nonprofit XPerience Studios hosted the Black Voices in Gaming Showcase, a two‑hour livestream highlighting games created by Black developers. The event featured three exclusive announcements from Virtuoso Neomedia, including Santa Corps, Santa Corps 4 and the upcoming Virtuoso Skins Game. Additional...
Gemini 3.1 Turns Dream City Building Into Reality
This is incredible btw - using Gemini 3.1 as a city builder. I used to dream about this when painstakingly making virtual cities for simulation games like Republic.
Acclaimed Cosmic Horror Game The Shore Is Finally Coming to Consoles
The Shore: Enhanced Edition is set to arrive on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, expanding the acclaimed 2021 indie horror title beyond its PC‑only roots. The port, developed with publishing partner Iphigames, will feature visual and performance upgrades tailored for...
All Mask Locations in REANIMAL
The guide enumerates all 18 collectible masks in REANIMAL, detailing exact locations across Chapters 1, 3, 4, 7 and 8 while excluding pre‑order bonuses. Each mask is tied to a specific puzzle, hidden vent, or critter encounter, providing step‑by‑step directions for players. Collecting every mask...
Resident Evil Village: All Maestro House Item Locations
Resident Evil Village’s Maestro House in West Old Town becomes accessible after acquiring the Luthier’s Key, prompting players to backtrack for hidden loot. A gold‑outlined waypoint appears post‑Duke encounter, guiding hunters to the locked cottage. Inside, a combination‑locked wardrobe and...
The Unluckiest Resident Evil Characters
The piece ranks seven Resident Evil figures—from Ramon Salazar to Ethan Winters—as the franchise’s unluckiest, detailing how each endures catastrophic setbacks that shape their stories. It highlights a recurring motif: both heroes and villains are repeatedly thwarted by circumstance, reinforcing...
Compatibility Issues Now Resolved for DOOM (2016) On Switch 2
Bethesda has released a patch for DOOM (2016) on Nintendo Switch that fixes a rare autosave crash when the game runs on the upcoming Switch 2 via backward compatibility. The update eliminates the compatibility issue that caused crashes in certain locations....
Morning Glory Orphanage Interactive Map - Yakuza Kiwami 3
Yakuza Kiwami 3, released on February 11 2026, modernizes the original Yakuza 3 with upgraded graphics and new gameplay systems. The remake adds a customizable Lalala Phone, a biker‑gang management mechanic called Bad Boy Dragons, and optional Reaper boss encounters that grant cash and...
Kamurocho Interactive Map - Yakuza Kiwami 3
Yakuza Kiwami 3, released on February 11 2026, revives the original Yakuza 3 with modern graphics and a host of new content. Sega supplies an interactive map that marks main‑story missions, side quests, collectibles and over a dozen minigames across Kamurocho and Ryukyu. New features...
Ryukyu Interactive Map - Yakuza Kiwami 3
Yakuza Kiwami 3’s Ryukyu district receives a fresh interactive map that highlights new content added to the remake. The update introduces the customizable Lalala Phone, a recruitable Bad Boy Dragons biker gang, optional Reaper boss fights, and expanded Morning Glory orphanage...
Nioh 3 Surpasses 1 Million Units Sold; Nioh Series at 10 Million Units
Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja announced that Nioh 3 has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, the fastest achievement in the franchise’s history. The game launched on February 6 for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. Combined with previous titles, the Nioh series now...
Pokemon Legends: Z-A Home Support Gets an Update
Pokemon Legends: Z‑A will support Pokemon HOME connectivity in 2026, letting players move captured Pokémon into the cloud service and later into the upcoming Pokemon Champions title. The feature, first hinted last year, is expected to be detailed around Pokemon Day 2026, coinciding...
Live Updates From Roman Imperium Cup V
The Roman Imperium Cup V in Portugal saw Passion UA defeat the Rebels to clinch a playoff berth, while HOTU repeated the feat and advanced after beating the same opponent. ALGO withdrew from its match against HOTU due to roster‑lock...
Roblox Sued by Los Angeles over Claims Platform ‘Makes Children Easy Prey for Pedophiles’
Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit against Roblox, accusing the platform of insufficient moderation and ineffective age‑verification that expose children to sexual content and predators. The complaint cites false‑advertising claims, alleging Roblox markets itself as safe while its design allegedly...
First Closed Beta Announced for Time Takers, An Upcoming Survival Shooter Where Time Is How You Craft Your Build
Mistil Games and NCSOFT have announced the first closed beta for Time Takers, a third‑person survival shooter that uses a unique Time Energy system for skill upgrades and build customization. The beta runs from March 13 to March 21, offering...
New Gameplay Video Shared for Call of the Elder Gods
A new gameplay video for Call of the Elder Gods showcases the opening 14 minutes, introducing protagonists Harry Everhart and Evangeline Drayton as they confront Lovecraftian mysteries at Miskatonic University. The trailer highlights the game’s blend of object‑based puzzles and...
Age of Empires 2 Added Voice Chat, but Forgot to Ask Permission
Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition has silently enabled a voice‑chat and speech‑to‑text feature in multiplayer matches, recording and transcribing player conversations without prior consent. The change was announced on the official site, which also provides instructions for disabling the feature....
Sony Shuts Down Talented Bluepoint Despite Stellar PlayStation Work
"Bluepoint is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community" Which is why Sony's closing the whole thing down. https://t.co/UV5eOuC38P
"The Legend of Khiimori, Making of Soundtrack" Video Released
Aesir Interactive has published a new video detailing the making of the soundtrack for Windstorm: The Legend of Khiimori. The developer emphasized that music was the project’s top priority from day one, shaping the game’s immersive experience. The title immerses...
Citizen Sleeper 2 Embraces Crisis, Chaos, and the Fight to Recover
Developer Gareth Damian Martin explains that Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector was crafted to feel distinct from its predecessor, embracing instability and unpredictability. The game introduces a new stress system that creates crisis moments, making failure expected and encouraging players to...