[PATREON UNLOCK] Update Patch - June 2025

Update Patch News Roundup (09/06/25)

Welcome back to a packed news week at Update Patch! This week we have the launch of the Switch 2, a relatively staid Summer Game Fest, and some important stories running in parallel that you shouldn’t miss.

Trial Of Former Ubisoft Executives Begins In Bobigny

This is Switch 2 Launch Week and Summer Game Fest, but first, I want to call your attention to a story that may be more important than either of those. The trial of three former Ubisoft executives—Thomas François, Serge Hascoët, and Guillaume Patrux—has finally begun. As the Guardian reports, their employees at the company gave testimony over four days, alleging that they were “tied to a chair,” “forced to do handstands,” and made to “endure sexist and homophobic jokes” among far worse things detailed in the article. Nicole Carpenter at Aftermath also has further details.

While a verdict has not yet been issued, this case may be a landmark for workplace abuse in the games industry. Ubisoft is hardly unique in its poor treatment of staff. Should François and company face consequences for their actions, I hope we see more games industry employees across the world come forward with their own stories of abuse.

Switch 2 Released Worldwide

The Switch 2, the successor to the third-best-selling games console of all time, was released worldwide on June 5th 2025. Launch titles include Mario Kart World as well as re-releases of popular games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Hitman: World of Assassination. Earlier Switch games, like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, run at a notably higher framerate on the Switch 2 as well.

The launch so far appears to be relatively free of controversy, aside from GameStop breaking the screens of some consoles, as reported by IGN. That said, the fact that Samantha Kelly (the English voice of Peach and Toad) was only told by Nintendo on launch date that the company recast her roles is a notable and grotesque exception. (Also missing from Mario Kart World’s credits is Donkey Kong voice actor Takashi Nagasako.) IGN suggests that the presence of Koji Takeda, who voiced Donkey Kong in the Super Mario Bros Movie’s Japanese version, may imply that Nintendo is consolidating its voice talent.

Summer Game Fest Coincides With Los Angeles Protest Against ICE

This weekend, as the Summer Game Fest promoted new and upcoming games from Los Angeles’s YouTube Theatre, local demonstrators stood in the way of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials conducting a raid to round up supposed undocumented immigrants in the area. In response to their nonviolent protest, the President of the United States has called in the National Guard. While the Summer Game Fest can’t help but feel small compared to something like this, it’s worth remembering that even luxury goods like games share the stage of history. Certain guys wearing slogan hats insist that games, history and politics have nothing to do with one another; they would be wrong.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Marches Into Battle 

It’s finally here! The Sony State of Play announced that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, a remaster of the beloved 1997 PlayStation original, is set for release on September 30th 2025, on every major platform. While the remaster was hinted at in the 2021 Nvidia leak, this is the first official confirmation we’ve seen of its existence. 

The Ivalice Chronicles contains both an enhanced version, with a new interface, translation and battle speed-up option, as well as a “classic version” that appears to replicate the iOS release of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. Notably, the classic version retains War of the Lion’s famously verbose English script. Meanwhile, the enhanced version follows in the footsteps of 2022’s Tactics Ogre Reborn by adding voice acting.

To commemorate the announcement, Final Fantasy Tactics director and writer Yasumi Matsuno posted a statement to Twitter. “In 2025,” he says, “a time when inequality and division are still deeply rooted in our society—I offer this story once again. The will to resist is in your hands.” 

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Is A Surprise Marvel X Arc System Works Collaboration

Believe it or not, though, the biggest announcement of Sony’s State of Play was not Final Fantasy Tactics. Instead, it was Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, a new Marvel fighting game by Guilty Gear developers Arc System Works, coming in 2026. This is a 4v4 fighter featuring not just hit characters from the movies like Iron Man and Captain America, but also beloved comics characters like Robbie Reyes (as Ghost Rider) and Storm. Kamala Khan is there, too!

Marvel Tokon is notably not a Marvel vs Capcom game, leading some to lament that we may never see an entry in that series again. I’ve also heard grumbling from fighting game fans that a 4v4 system is particularly tough to engineer. Multiple characters demand simplified inputs, and a game without interesting character dynamics may very well fail on the fighting game circuit. Then again, Arc System Works at its best is at the top of its field, so I’m definitely curious to see what comes out of this one. Perhaps it’ll be a good title to try out Sony’s new “Project Defiant” fight stick?

The Lumines Series Returns With Lumines Arise

These days, producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi is probably best known for 2018’s beautiful and very trippy Tetris Effect. Before that, though, he produced original atmospheric puzzle games like Meteos and Lumines at Q Entertainment. Now at Enhance, Mizuguchi’s team is set to release Lumines Arise: the first original release in the Lumines series in 19 years. While I can’t speak to the puzzle design as a Lumines newbie, the aesthetics in the trailer are certainly in keeping with Tetris Effect’s maximalism. Lumines Arise is set for release in Fall 2025.

Romeo Is A Dead Man Rises From The Grave

Grasshopper Manufacture announced its newest game, Romeo is a Dead Man, for release in 2026. Directed by Goichi Suda (executive) and Ren Yamazaki, it’s an “ultra-violent science fiction story” in the vein of No More Heroes and Killer is Dead. I was most impressed by the game’s mixed media approach, which appears to draw from 2019’s Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. The trailer also features an extended animated sequence led by Takanobu Mizuno (Star Wars Visions: The Duel) at Kamikaze Douga.

IO’s Hitman Follow-Up: 007 First Light

IO Interactive, the developer of the beloved Hitman series, is back with 007 First Light in 2026. A new licensed title based on the James Bond series of novels and films, the trailer features luxurious cinematics but not much in the way of gameplay. That said, it’s notable that First Light stars a young James Bond still learning the ropes. Consider that the next reset of a clock that started with Casino Royale’s 2006 premiere. (Wait, Casino Royale came out that long ago?!)

Squeakcross Combines Picross And Furniture Sims

June 7th saw the premiere of this year’s Wholesome Direct, a showcase featuring fluffy animals, farming sims, leaf blowing and various other cosy activities. Of these various titles, one stood out to me in particular - Squeakcross: Home Squeak Home, which is a game in which you are a funny rat playing Picross. That already sounds good enough to me, since Picross is a lot of fun. But there’s a twist: the puzzles you solve transform into 3D objects, which you can arrange in your home. I’ve heard great stuff about his project on the grapevine, so if you’re a rat owner who loves puzzles and home decor (who doesn’t?), this may be just the game for you.

All Will Rise Unites A Killer Team to Challenge A God-Killer

Another notable game from the Wholesome Direct was All Will Rise, a narrative deckbuilder in which you play as a lawyer and her crew holding a billionaire to account for killing a river god. The game features an extraordinarily stacked roster of talent, from Thirsy Suitors’ Meghna Jayanth to Meghna Nayak of sustainable fashion company LataSita. Several members of the team, like design director Hugo Bille and associate professor Joost Veervoort, have ties to climate organising and investment.

I’ll be honest and say that the notion of “games for change” has always left me cold. I don’t think the medium is any more capable than film, novels or music to change somebody’s mind or even engender empathy. That said, the changing climate is a part of our world, and as far as I can tell, there is a serious dearth of games that approach that topic as something other than a post-apocalyptic landscape to run around and have fun in. This could very well be that game; if you’re curious to learn more, you can find the Kickstarter here.

Milano’s Odd Job Collection Sees The Official Debut Of Hilltop Works

Yet another Wholesome Direct game: Milano’s Odd Job Collection, a port of a 1997 PlayStation title in which a girl named Milano works part-time jobs over the summer. I had never heard of this game before, so I’m excited to see what it might look like. But what makes me even more excited is that the translation is handled by Hilltop Works, a group previously known for fan translating Racing Lagoon and Boku no Natsuyasumi 2. They’re a talented bunch, so I can’t wait to see what else they’re able to pull off with institutional support!

RGG Studio’s Project Century Re-unveiled As Stranger Than Heaven

During Summer Game Fest, the always-busy RGG Studio announced the title of its upcoming game, Stranger Than Heaven. The game is a perioid period piece set in but while its first trailer teased a 1915 setting, this one jumps ahead to 1943, and it appears to combine the gritty urban action of games like Yakuza and Lost Judgement with impressionistic environments that evoke mood as much as they do literal reality. The English language lounge music is a stand-out, but I was also impressed by how the protagonist (or is he?) switches between Japanese and English in a cutscene rather than there being solely an English or Japanese dub.

Resident Evil Requiem Is Happening

Despite Capcom’s insistence earlier in the Summer Game Fest that a Resident Evil game was “merely in the future,” a trailer for Resident Evil Requiem stole the show at the end of the presentation. We don’t know much about it so far, except that Grace Ashcroft, the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft from the multiplayer title Resident Evil: Outbreak, makes an appearance in the game as an FBI employee. Time will tell whether Requiem will successfully walk the line between blockbuster thrills and survival horror edge, or if it’ll succumb to the excess that dogged Resident Evil Village. Still, Capcom’s on a roll, so why bet against them right away?

The First Four Chapters Of Deltarune Are Here!

Four years after the release of its second chapter, the third and fourth chapters of Deltarune are finally available. Notably, these chapters come with a price tag of $24.99. Purchase comes with the promise of future chapters as free updates. While the fifth chapter was originally meant to be included, the length of development required that it be pushed back to a later release. There will be seven chapters in all.

Deltarune is the successor to Undertale, one of the most beloved and influential independent RPGs ever made. While Undertale was developed by just Toby Fox with art contributions from Temmie Chang, Deltarune is a larger, more complex game made by a larger team. I’m excited to see just how this title continues to grow and change in the years ahead.

Unearthed Treasure Room Reveals Strange Wonders

While most trailer showcases around Summer Games Fest focus on games that have not yet been released, Unearthed Treasure Room is an exception. Organized by writers and developers Melos Han-Tani and Liz Ryerson, and featuring critics including Bennett Foddy, John Thyer and Em Reed, this showcase profiles games released over the past few years that have not received the attention they deserve. A wide range of genres are included including Super Mario World ROM hacks, isometric fairy 3D platformers, and expansive puzzlers. For more information, watch startmenu for updates!

Hekki Grace! 1000xResist Wins A Peabody Award 

One of my favorite games from last year was 1000xResist, the first title from developer sunset visitor. While it has been nominated for several awards, including the Independent Games Festival’s Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Best Narrative at the Game Developers Choice Awards, it has never actually won any of them. That changed this week, when Sunset Visitor won a Peabody Award for Interactive & Immersive Work. Winners from past years include Pentiment and Life is Strange: True Colors. 

CD PROJEKT RED And Epic Games Present Witcher Tech Demo

At the State of Unreal event at Unreal Fest Orlando on June 3rd, CD PROJEKT RED and Epic Games presented a tech demo for the upcoming Witcher 4 made using Unreal Engine 5. The demo depicts Ciri riding through a forest on a black horse, then walking through a busy, populated town. While the environments are admirably detailed, it’s worth pointing out that (as far as I can tell) this demo is more about experimenting with the technology rather than anything that might be in the game. Still, it’s a look at what a Witcher successor might look like, as well as a thrown gauntlet for other studios to pick up if they so choose. 

Update Patch News Roundup (16/06/25)

It’s been a quiet week following Summer Game Fest and its cavalcade of horrors. Time to cheer up with another instalment of Update Patch!

SAG-AFTRA National Board Approves Tentative Agreement, Submits for Ratification

The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, has been on strike against the games industry since July 26, 2024. On June 10th, though, the organisation announced (per GamesIndustry.biz) that a tentative agreement had been reached between the union and the video game bargaining group. This agreement was then approved by SAG-AFTRA’s national board on June 13th. It will now be submitted to the union’s membership for ratification. Aspects of the deal include AI guardrails as well as additional safety features for performers. Further details on the three-year deal will be published on June 18th.

It’s worth noting, though, that other labour efforts in the game voice acting space continue. Genshin Impact, for instance, is a non-union production, and so voice actors affiliated with the production (like Sean Chiplock) remain in Collective Work Refusal against Hoyoverse, unaffected by SAG-AFTRA.

Pragmata Makes A Strong First Impression At Summer Game Fest

One of the many games previewed at Sony’s State of Play that I didn’t talk about much last week is Pragmata, a new game from Capcom. First announced back in 2020 for release in 2022, the project was delayed until its new release date of 2026. It now features a besuited man named Hugh who teams up with a young android, Diana, to hack into robots and then shoot them into pieces.

Previews are surprisingly positive despite little about the game being known in advance. Eurogamer called the teaser demo at Summer Game Fest “Capcom at its experimental best,” while IGN described it as “the most exciting thing in Capcom’s lineup.” That’s high praise considering that its competition is the upcoming blockbuster Resident Evil Requiem. 

Curiously, there has been fan speculation that Pragmata could be a secret Mega Man game. Have they nailed Capcom’s master plan, or is this just fannish wishful thinking? Regardless, I’m sure there’s plenty about this mysterious project that we don’t know yet.

What Is MindsEye?

What is going on with MindsEye? Directed by Leslie Benzies, once the president of Rockstar North, the game was developed by the studio Build a Rocket Boy as (per IGN) “a proof of concept for Everywhere, an Unreal Engine 5 MMO” and “game creation system.” Unfortunately, Everywhere is currently nowhere to be seen, and MindsEye is a disaster. The game currently has a “mostly negative” rating on Steam. Critic reviews are scarce because codes were not sent out, but the handful we have are similarly negative. At least one sponsored streamer devolved into laughter at having to sell the game. Sony is also reportedly offering online refunds, a rare occurrence. 

For further information, I recommend startmenu Editor-in-Chief Lex Luddy’s write-up over on Rewinder. I look forward to seeing if Jason Schreier covers the production of this thing, or if somebody else does a funny Let’s Play. I don’t know, though. Disaster games are more fun if they take a big swing, like Human Head Studios’s infamous 2018 bomb The Quiet Man. Mindseye, on the other hand, looks like a standard issue AAA action adventure that a studio just couldn’t finish in time. Good luck to the team!

Silent Hill Remake In Development Via Bloober Team 

Following the success of its Silent Hill 2 remake, Bloober Team is now developing a remake of the original PlayStation title, Silent Hill. It’s another step forward for a team previously best known for the Layers of Fear series and 2020’s controversial The Medium. Then again, it remains to be seen how Bloober Team might expand on the original title. Translating a game developed for the PlayStation to modern fidelity is a very different matter from doing the same for a PS2 title. Personally, I can’t help but wish that Konami put more effort into making the original games available rather than paying others to make expanded versions intended to replace them.

Hideo Kojima Interviewed At GQ

An interview with Hideo Kojima with Sam White at GQ has been making the rounds lately. The closest thing it has to a scoop is Kojima describing his fears of mortality during the 2020 lockdown. “I felt like I might not ever be able to make a game again,” he says, after sickness and eye pain. Now he is rocketing forward, trying to make as many games as he can before his time runs out.

My favourite bits, though, were the smaller things, like White and Kojima talking about Letterboxd. “If Scorsese’s doing it,” Kojima says, “I can’t criticise Scorsese. He’s the second god. The first is George Miller.” Kojima is famous online for his long, lovingly detailed reviews of films on Twitter (or equally revealing short write-ups of films he must not have cared for). I’d be excited to see if he ever gets around to Letterboxd eventually.

Earthion Flies To Late July Multiplatform Release, But Stalls On Mega Drive

Yuzo Koshiro is one of the greatest game composers of all time, having created the soundtracks for classics like Sorcerian, Streets of Rage 2 and the Etrian Odyssey franchise. Now he has a shoot-em-up, Earthion, on the way, developed by his company Ancient Corp. Announced early in 2024, the game is now set for multiplatform release on July 31st 2025. 

Earthion is also unique in that a version of the game is also in production for the Sega Mega Drive. However, according to Yuzo Koshiro, the release of the Mega Drive version has been postponed until 2026. “Since physical cartridges cannot be patched after release,” Koshiro wrote on Twitter,  “we decided to take more time and make sure the game is in 'perfect shape…’ We truly appreciate your patience and continued support.”

Croc For the Game Boy Color To Be Remastered For 25th Anniversary

Folks may remember this year’s luxurious remaster of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, a 1997 3D platformer originally developed for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC by Argonaut Software. Well, the 2D Game Boy Color version of the game is now receiving the same treatment. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its release, Argonaut Games is re-releasing the game as a GBC cartridge (that you can play on real hardware!) as well as a digital version. This new version will include updated controls, the replacement of passwords with a battery save feature, and further quality of life fixes to be revealed.

You may ask, “Who cares? Croc is Croc. This isn’t Mario we’re talking about.” Well, all games should be preserved, and there’s something to be said for a studio that continues to burnish its past works with love rather than denying they ever existed. I’m glad that Argonaut Software is taking steps to keep Croc around for a new generation and hope others are given the chance to follow in their footsteps. 

Misfortune: A Story Of Suspicious Friendships Translated Into English

Last but not least, we have a new English translation of a deeply cursed PlayStation game. Developed by Axes Art Amuse and published by Idea Factory, Misfortune: A Story of Suspicious Friendships (Yaku: Yūjō Dangi) is a Japanese “kusoge” (shit game) released in 1996. It tells the story of five friends who return to their old elementary school to solve a “mystery.” While its fellow 1996 horror release, Resident Evil, sought to emulate the bombast of Hollywood movies, Misfortune is instead a visual novel with uncanny 3D character models that look like something you might expect from a horror manga of that time period. 

While the game has a mixed reputation in Japan, the translators and hackers apparently did a thorough and respectful job on this project. I’m also curious about the sequel, which was supervised by horror manga legend Hideshi Hino (Town of Pigs). Are you brave enough to venture into this unfortunate title

Update Patch News Roundup (23/06/25)

Welcome back to another instalment of Update Patch. This week, we have Bungie’s Marathon woes, a change of hands at Nexus Mods, and the cancellation of a highly anticipated independent project.

Bungie’s Troubled Extraction Shooter Marathon Delayed Indefinitely

After allegations of plagiarism and poor feedback to a recent alpha playtest, Bungie has delayed its upcoming extraction shooter Marathon indefinitely. “We know that we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects their passion,” reads a post published to the company’s website. Targeted points for improvement include “upping the survival game” with more challenging encounters, “doubling down” with additional story and a “darker tone,” and “adding more social experiences” while improving things for solo or duo players.

Considering that Bungie was acquired by Sony in 2022, it’s possible that the company and its staff hope to avoid a repeat of the disappointing performance of Sony’s multiplayer hero shooter Concord in 2024. Polygon reported back in April that a former Concord developer requested in a Reddit post that fans not “punish others for our mistakes.” In the meantime, if you’re curious about what Marathon is and why folks still have strong feelings about it, I recommend checking out the fan-made Classic Marathon releases on Steam.

Head of Nexus Mods Steps Down After 24 Years

After twenty-four years, Robin “DarkOne” Scott announced that he is stepping down from managing the site Nexus Mods. “This site has been my entire adult life,” he wrote on the website. “The strain of being responsible for the behemoth I created has taken its toll…I firmly believe that the best thing for the future of Nexus Mods is for me to step aside and bring in new leadership.”

Nexus Mods was first founded in 2001 by Scott and a friend as a Morrowind fan site. Since then, it has become the modding home for nearly 4000 games, including the Dark Souls series, The Witcher 3, Baldur’s Gate 3 and (of course) every Bethesda Softworks title since Morrowind. The site has also been ground zero for culture wars between far-right conservatives and the userbase, which may have contributed to Scott’s burnout. I hope that Nexus Mods survives this transition, because it would be a real problem for the modding community if it broke.

No, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is Not Out… Yet

In unexpected news, advertisements for the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, saying that the game is “OUT NOW”, can be seen in the London Underground. No, this is not confirmation that the game has been released, or that the UK has special dibs. Both Eurogamer and IGN have confirmed with Nintendo that the game has no scheduled release date yet, although it is still planned for 2025. Whether this was a simple mistake, proof that the game was delayed from its intended release, or some kind of advertising psy-op remains unclear.

Donkey Kong Bananza Direct Teases New Features And The Addition Of Pauline

On the subject of Nintendo advertising, the company aired a Direct for its upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza on June 18th. Its biggest reveal is that Donkey Kong is accompanied in the game by a young Pauline, who lends her beautiful singing voice to his aid. Using her powers, Donkey Kong transforms into a zebra, an ostrich and various other creatures as if he were a banana-powered Super Saiyan.

Personally speaking, I was most interested in how the game appears to unify elements from recent games developed by Nintendo. The focus on collecting items in an open world is reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey, while perhaps taking inspiration from the experimental Bowser’s Fury. At the same time, there’s an emphasis on climbing and vertical terrain like in the recent Legend of Zelda titles. Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time reportedly influenced each other during development, so it’s fun to see that same dynamic playing out again here.

Meanwhile: in typical news for Nintendo, it apparently did not tell Donkey Kong Country composer Grant Kirkhope that it would use his composition “The DK Rap” in the Bananza Direct.

Sega Updates Sales Numbers, Accidentally Leaks Others

A recent sales report from Sega announced that its critically acclaimed RPG Metaphor ReFantazio sold two million copies by the end of March and the company’s 2025 fiscal year. Meanwhile, action game Sonic X Shadow Generations (which, despite the insistence of startmenu Editor-in-Chief Lex Luddy, is also critically acclaimed) passed the two million mark in sales.

Unexpectedly, the company also accidentally leaked the sales numbers of a few of its other properties. Persona 5 Royal, the 2019 upgrade of RPG trendsetter Persona 5, has reportedly now sold over seven million copies, more than double the lifetime sales of its predecessor Persona 4 Golden. Sonic Frontiers has also reportedly sold over four and a half million copies as well. Personally, I was happy to see that Shin Megami V has also sold over two million copies (numbers that, to be fair, include its updated version Vengeance.) Hopefully, that means we’ll see another try at the Shin Megami Tensei series eventually.

Pik-Sen Lim of Dark Souls Fame Passes Away

Pik-Sen Lim passed away this month from cancer at 81 years old. She’s best known in the world of video games for narrating the cutscenes in the Dark Souls series. While Souls fans insist that the games are great because they do not explain themselves, the importance of Lim’s delivery cannot be understated. A line like “the furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten,” might have landed like a lead balloon in somebody else’s hands. Lim instead gave it a crucial gravitas that convinced a generation to take Dark Souls seriously.

Lim’s career is hardly limited to Dark Souls, though. Born in Penang, she moved to the United Kingdom against the wishes of her parents so that she might study acting. Per The Guardian, she played “what is believed to be the first Chinese nurse on British television” in the soap opera Emergency - Ward 10. Her other credits, accumulated over a career that lasted sixty years, include the sitcom Mind Your Language, the Doctor Who episode “The Mind of Evil” and the short-lived TV adaptation of Vampire Academy, among many other film, television and theatrical roles.

Hypnospace Outlaw Follow-Up Dreamsettler Cancelled

Three years after its initial announcement in 2022, the upcoming indie game Dreamsettler has been cancelled by its lead developer, Jay Tholen. In a YouTube video where he made the announcement, Tholen made sure to say that the other developers on the project, as well as its publisher, were not responsible. Instead, he blamed himself. “On a normal team,” he said, “where there wasn't some guy who needed to work a weird way, they would have finished this game.” Instead, “I just couldn’t get it going, you know?”

Dreamsettler was to be the successor to the very funny adventure game Hypnospace Outlaw, which is set in a strange fictional version of the internet. While its cancellation is sad news, it is not the only major independent game to suffer such a fate this year. The studio Extremely OK Games announced in January 2025 this year that it had cancelled Earthblade, the team’s planned successor to the popular 2018 platformer Celeste. It’s a reminder that aside from publisher interference or a crumbling market, sometimes creative projects just don’t work out.

Tholen suggested in the YouTube video that “I would like to do kid’s stuff…there are things I’ve searched for and they don’t exist, and I want to make them, just for my own kids.” In the meantime, it’s possible that the songs composed for this game (some featuring Hypnospace Outlaw’s The Chowder Man!) may still be released in some form.

Update Patch News Roundup (30/06/25)

Welcome back to Update Patch. This week we had even more layoffs in the game industry, the rise of official sports betting at Riot Games, and a new game by ex-Cing staff announced at the Arc System Works showcase, among other things.

Layoffs Continue At Microsoft, Dontnod And Build A Rocket Boy

Jason Schreier reported on Bloomberg that Microsoft is due for another round of layoffs next week. Although there is no word yet on which personnel or studios are at risk, Tom Warren at The Verge suggested that “Microsoft is restructuring Xbox distribution across central Europe.” This round of layoffs is just (says Schreier) “the fourth round of layoffs in the past 18 months,” a brutal period for a former industry leader and current enabler of war crimes. 

Of course, Microsoft is not alone in laying off its developers. Per Eurogamer, the games studio Dontnod is now letting go of employees at its Montreal studio as well. This follows a financial report that said the studio’s previous games Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, “failed to meet company expectations.” Elsewhere, MindsEye developer Build a Rocket Boy is also laying off staff; IGN reports that at least 100 employees could be affected.

Riot Games Establishes Official Sports Betting

John Needham, the President of Publishing & Esports at Riot Games, announced via the studio’s website that Riot is establishing official sports betting for Tier 1 League of Legends and VALORANT in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. While Needham acknowledges controversy around sports betting, he claims that “betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not.” Better to set up channels for safe betting that ensures the “integrity” of the sport is protected, he says, than leave the practice to unregulated markets.

By doing so, Riot Games follows in the lead of sports companies like the NFL and sports news channel ESPN by investing in legal sports betting. Why do this when the practice is reportedly leading to a surge in gambling addiction? Corbin Smith wrote for Defector that “to feed the dream of fully scalable infinite expansion…even a good business like ESPN needs to find new revenue streams.” The health of your customers is a faint concern compared to the pursuit of profit.

Dutch NGO Sues Sony For Monopolistic Practices

According to its website, the law firm Milberg Amsterdam is joining forces with the Dutch non-profit organisation Stichting Massaschade & Consument to sue Sony for its “abuse of its dominant market position.” Sony requires that consumers in the Netherlands purchase digital games and add-ons through their official store. As a result, “PlayStation users in the Netherlands pay an average of 47% more for digital PlayStation games than for physical copies of the same titles.” Milberg Amsterdam’s site also suggests that other European countries, like Portugal and the United Kingdom, are in the same boat.

A TechSpot report confirms that a similar lawsuit is in progress in the UK, where Alex Neill accused Sony of “breaching competition law by abusing its market power and imposing unfair terms and conditions on game developers and publishers…” That trial is scheduled to begin in March 2026.

Capcom June Spotlight Highlights Upcoming Projects, Updates

Capcom premiered its June Spotlight on June 26th, highlighting upcoming games from its catalogue as well as updates to existing games. Update Patch readers will already be familiar with some of what the company showed off: for instance, that Pragmata is a promising action-puzzler, or that Resident Evil Requiem will have both first-person and third-person sequences.

Two other announcements stood out to me. The first is that Monster Hunter Wilds is set to receive its Free Title Update 2 today on June 30th. Considering that fans are currently review-bombing Wilds on Steam, I’ll be curious to see whether Capcom can shift the narrative here. The other topic of note, at least for me, is that Capcom’s very odd original title Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is celebrating its first anniversary with a coming update. Kunitsu-Gami might be smaller fish than usual for Capcom, but it’s an unusual game, and I’m happy to see the company acknowledge its existence. 

Dear Me, I Was… Reunites Cing Staff at Arc System Works

Arc Systems Works recently ran a showcase announcing new original games that the company has in the works. Since the company specialises in fighting games like the Guilty Gear franchise, you might expect something in that vein. Instead, the first game to be announced was Dear Me I Was…, a “textless adventure game” designed for adult women. The director, Maho Taguchi, said that it is “designed to make you feel a bit more positive after playing.”

Eagle-eyed fans may notice that the game’s art director, Taisuke Kanasaki, previously directed the beloved DS adventure game Hotel Dusk: Room 215 at Cing. While that game had a distinct black and white “sketchbook” aesthetic, though, Dear Me I Was… uses rotoscoping to create a different but equally striking atmosphere. Both Kanasaki and Taguchi are credited on last year’s Another Code: Recollection, a remake of Another Code: Two Memories and its sequel, also released by Arc System Works. This new game, then, looks to be a reunion tour for ex-Cing staff.

While unrelated, it’s curious that former Disgaea producer Sohei Niikawa also announced a new game in development (Demon’s Night Fever) through the Arc System Works showcase. You could say then that this showcase represented the tastes of Japanese producers and developers from ten or nearly twenty years ago, which is admirably heterodox compared to the current games industry.

Arc System Works Announces “Mid-Range” Action Title Damon And Baby

The final announcement at the Arc System Works showcase was Damon and Baby, a “mid-range” top-down action game about a creature engaging in projectile combat with a variety of enemies. While it lacks the luxurious anime aesthetic that the studio is known for, I found what the studio’s Chief Creative Officer, Daisuke Ishiwatari, said about the game’s production to be very interesting. “In recent years,” he said, “with AAA productions and excellent indie titles gaining popularity, it has become extremely risky for companies to produce new series.” Rather than go all in with an ambitious and expensive project, Arc System Works is instead funding smaller-scale experiments in genres outside of the studio’s acknowledged speciality.

When watching the trailer for Damon and Baby on YouTube, I saw many people in the comments slamming the game for its aesthetic. Why end the showcase with a game that looks like this, they said, when Arc System Works is capable of so much better? Well, Ishiwatari is making a bet on the future. I don’t know whether the studio needs to expand outside fighting games, but the industry is certainly volatile right now, and it could use more original projects by younger developers with institutional support.

Spiritual Successor To 428: Shibuya Scramble Revealed As Shibuya Scramble Stories

Previously teased in April, executive producer Jiro Ishii’s new adventure game has a name: Shibuya Scramble Stories. A special “emergency press conference,” says a Gematsu report, confirms that the game has begun development. Several other contributors to Ishii’s previous adventure game 428: Shibuya Scramble, including scriptwriter Yukinori Kitajima and actors Kousei Amano and Yuto Nakamura, are set to appear in this new title. Further information is set to be revealed on July 13th. You can find out more in the title announcement trailer, which promises that “you, my accomplice…will witness the truth.”

In case you missed it, 428: Shibuya Scramble is a mystery adventure in which the player navigates the perspectives of various eccentric characters in pursuit of the truth. Its use of real actors and live-action photography gives it a distinct look unlike any other game of its type. Its predecessor was Machi, a similarly ambitious adventure game released in 1998 (on Saturn) and 1999 (for PlayStation). Here’s hoping this new iteration on the concept swings just as hard for the fences as its predecessor.

Smash Star Mang0 Fired From Cloud9 Following Harassment

About a month ago, a friend of mine sent me a video depicting the Big House tournament grand final between aMSa and Mang0 in 2022. aMSa controls Yoshi, an underrated character in the Smash meta, while Mang0 runs Fox, perhaps the most cliché “best character” in Melee, alongside Falco. It’s an incredible match where both players give it their all, and the shocking finale really could have gone either way.

As of this week, the latter of these two players has been disgraced. Following a drunk Mario Kart stream at the Beerio Kart World Cup, Mang0 was caught on camera (says Sports Illustrated’s Esports page) harassing “multiple streamers with inappropriate physical actions.” Now, Cloud9 Esports has officially let go of Mang0. In addition, Supernova (previously known as Super Smash Con) has banned Mang0 from its upcoming event in August.

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