Gaming

NetEase overhauls Marvel Rivals textures to shrink install size

• Marvel Rivals' Season 9.5 update shrank install sizes via texture compression
• Consoles cut ~15GB (73GB to 58GB); PC cut ~40GB, over 57% smaller
• Update went live 7th August despite a larger one-off initial download

Marvel Rivals has received a major update that significantly cuts the game's install size across all platforms, addressing growing concerns over storage demands. The change comes via a texture compression overhaul that developer NetEase says does not sacrifice any visual quality, making the popular hero shooter considerably lighter…

Big Walk’s Most Important Feature Is Getting Patched

Big Walk is here, and it's already earning a reputation for being a delightfully offbeat third space for friends to inhabit. It's a massive game, and as players have discovered, it does have a slight microphone problem currently--one that developer House House is working on fixing. "We understand…

Pokémon Pokopia Version 2.0.0 Released, And Here Are the Full Patch Notes

Nintendo Switch 2 hit Pokémon Pokopia has received its big Version 2.0.0 update, adding a bunch of free content, support for its Bubbly Basin expansion, and much more.

EA’s Saudi takeover will be “a real waste” if it turns the publishers into a “sequel-and-mega-franchise machine”, Helldivers 2 studio boss says

• EA's $55bn Saudi-backed private buyout has officially completed.
• Helldivers 2 studio boss fears EA will over-focus on mega-franchises and sequels.
• EA reportedly plans $700m in cost cuts, including likely layoffs.

EA's $55 billion leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners has officially completed after receiving European Commission approval, taking the publisher private. Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani, whose studio makes Helldivers 2, has warned that the deal risks being "a real…

A PC cooling company shows Sony and Nintendo how it’s done, as it pledges to pass US tariff refunds onto customers

• Arctic will cut prices using its US tariff refund money
• Nintendo and Sony face lawsuits over refusing to do the same
• Trump's tariffs were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court

PC cooling manufacturer Arctic has pledged to pass on tariff refunds it received from the US government by cutting prices across its entire product range, drawing a sharp contrast with gaming giants Nintendo and Sony. The move comes after the US Supreme Court struck down former President Trump's…

“CoD got it. Halo didn’t” – Black Ops 1 and 2 ports battered Halo Campaign Evolved on PlayStation last month, analyst says, because $60 for a “graphical touch-up” is a rough sell

• Halo: Campaign Evolved reportedly underperformed on PlayStation versus Black Ops remasters.
• Analyst blames $60 price for a mere "graphical touch-up".
• Highlights consumer pushback against premium pricing for remasters.

An industry analyst has said that Halo: Campaign Evolved performed poorly on PlayStation last month compared with the recently released remasters of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2, arguing that asking $60 for what amounts to a "graphical touch-up" is a difficult sell to consumers. The…

Everything New In Pokemon Pokopia Bubbly Basin DLC And Free Update

• Pokémon Pokopia gets Bubbly Basin DLC plus a free update.
• Free update adds underwater Dive mechanic and Portal Pods for fast travel.
• New customisation options, quality-of-life tweaks and bug fixes included.

Pokémon Pokopia has received its Bubbly Basin DLC alongside a free update available to all players, expanding the life-simulation spin-off with new areas, mechanics and quality-of-life improvements. The headline addition is a Dive mechanic allowing players to move freely underwater, which is free for everyone, though visiting the…

Star Trek: Legends Will Be Delisted From All Digital Storefronts

• Star Trek: Legends is being delisted and shut down for good
• Downloads end 20th August; game stops working entirely from 3rd September
• Already unavailable on Switch eShop; no refunds mentioned

Star Trek: Legends, the strategy RPG from QubicGames, is being delisted from all digital storefronts, with publishers confirming via a Steam community post that the game will be sunset entirely. This matters because, once taken offline, the game will become permanently unplayable even for those who already purchased…

All backpack and waist bag locations in Big Walk

• Guide lists 10 blue building locations for backpacks/waist bags in Big Walk.
• Only one party member can claim each item found.
• One location uniquely offers both a backpack and waist bag together.

This guide from Destructoid explains where players can find backpacks and waist bags in the game Big Walk, items needed to carry more than one tool at a time. As players progress through the map, they collect increasing numbers of items, making storage capacity essential to managing an…

10 Greatest Fantasy Adventure Video Games of All Time

• Collider ranks the ten greatest fantasy adventure video games ever made.
• List includes Fable II, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus and Chrono Trigger.
• New Fable reboot is scheduled for release in early 2027.

Collider has published a ranked list of the ten greatest fantasy adventure video games of all time, judging titles on gameplay, design, narrative, visuals, world-building, lore, scale and critical and fan acclaim. The list spans several decades of the genre, from mid-1990s role-playing classics to acclaimed 2000s titles,…