Gaming

Pokémon Go ‘Ultra Unlock Water Festival’ 2026 event guide

• Pokémon Go's Water Festival event runs 18-24 August 2026.
• New Pokémon Arrokuda, Barraskewda and Cramorant debut.
• Catch XP and Stardust bonuses rise through three stages during the event.

Pokémon Go has launched a new "Ultra Unlock: Water Festival" event, running from 18 to 24 August 2026, focused on water-type Pokémon. The event marks the debut of Arrokuda, its evolution Barraskewda, and Cramorant, giving players fresh creatures to hunt while offering escalating bonuses that reward regular play…

‘Pokémon’ Unreal Engine Remake Reimagines A Classic 21 Years Later

• Solo developer remade Pokémon Emerald in Unreal Engine as a free fan project
• Gamma Emerald covers Littleroot to Mauville City, roughly six hours long
• Adds day/night cycle, HM fixes, Gen IV move split; no double battles or multiplayer

A solo developer known as UndreamedPanic has released Gamma Emerald, a fan-made Early Access remake of Pokémon Emerald built in Unreal Engine, recreating the 2004 Game Boy Advance classic with modern visuals and quality-of-life upgrades. The project arrives amid speculation about an official Nintendo Switch port of the…

The Witcher 3 devs tried to give NPCs “fear reactions” but it got cut after a few horrifying weeks when “women were just dropping their babies, left and right”

• CD Projekt Red tested NPC fear reactions for The Witcher 3.
• The generic ‘drop what you are doing and flee’ rule made mothers drop babies.
• The feature was removed before release rather than refined for the final game.

CD Projekt Red experimented during development of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with a fear-response system intended to make non-player characters react when threatened. Quest designer Philipp Weber said the team wanted rural villages to feel inhabited rather than mechanically staged, using changing activities and pathfinding between points…

Resonance: A Plague Tale and Blood Dungeon join Game Pass

• Resonance: A Plague Tale and Blood Dungeon join Game Pass day one
• Several more titles arrive through late August into September
• Six games, including NBA 2K26, exit Game Pass on 31 August

Microsoft has confirmed the second wave of August's Xbox and PC Game Pass additions, headlined by the day-one arrival of Resonance: A Plague Tale, a prequel set on Crete that shifts the acclaimed series from stealth towards combat-driven action, and Blood Dungeon, a new Metroidvania-style title from Nidhogg…

There’s no official GTA 6 headset quite yet, but the LucidSound LS500 gets pretty close with its funky Sunset Paradise design

• LucidSound LS500 headset gets a GTA 6-style "Sunset Paradise" design.
• No official Rockstar-licensed GTA 6 headset exists yet.
• Design mimics the game's neon aesthetic without formal tie-in.

Gaming headset maker LucidSound has released the LS500 in a new "Sunset Paradise" colourway, a vibrant pink-and-purple design that evokes the look of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 without being an official tie-in product. With Rockstar Games yet to announce any licensed GTA 6 hardware, the release…

Uncharted difficulty was tuned to “slow the player down if they were too good,” says Naughty Dog designer: “We can’t charge 60 bucks for a 5-hour game”

• Naughty Dog tuned Uncharted difficulty to slow down skilled players deliberately.
• Designer says $60 games must offer more than five hours' length.
• Highlights commercial pressures shaping game pacing and difficulty design.

A Naughty Dog game designer has revealed that difficulty settings in the Uncharted series were deliberately tuned to slow down skilled players, effectively artificially extending playtime rather than simply scaling challenge. The comment underscores a common tension in AAA game design, where studios feel pressure to ensure games…

The Big Marketing Push for PS5 Exclusive Marvel’s Wolverine Has Begun in Style

• Sony launches global marketing blitz for Marvel's Wolverine ahead of 15 September release
• Campaign includes NYC billboards, challenge pods, and Sentinel installations worldwide
• Game is being positioned as PlayStation's biggest release of 2026

Sony and Marvel have kicked off a major global marketing campaign for Marvel's Wolverine, Insomniac Games' upcoming PS5-exclusive action title, with the game launching on 15th September 2026. The push began with 3D billboard adverts in New York City and is expected to intensify significantly, as the publisher…

Brilliant PS5 Beat-‘Em-Up All-In on Avengers: Doomsday Hype in New DLC

"An all-new game mode". I really enjoyed Marvel Cosmic Invasion last year, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to replay it. (I didn’t end up going back for Cyclops and The Thing, released as DLC earlier this year.) But it looks like there’ll be ample incentive to…

My favorite game of 2025 just hit the PS5 Plus store – don’t miss it

It's an absolute blast, I swear. The post My favorite game of 2025 just hit the PS5 Plus store – don’t miss it appeared first on Destructoid.

I was prepared for massive FOMO from missing this SDCC Limited Edition Team Rocket Loungefly bag, but Funko came to the rescue

The SDCC Limited Edition Pokemon Team Rocket Cameo Mini Backpack is my dream Loungefly bag and a worthy investment for fans before resellers get their hands on it.