Another 60 minutes?!
Well folks, as promised, another Nintendo Direct for Kirby Air Riders has been announced for this week on Thursday, 23rd October 2025.
We’re getting another 60 minutes’ worth of information from director Masahiro Sakurai on the upcoming game, which is due to launch for the Switch 2 on 20th November 2025.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Nintendo has announced the second Kirby Air Riders Direct with director Masahiro Sakurai. It’s set for October 23 at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm UK time.
This one’s even longer than the 45-minute Kirby Air Riders Direct we saw in August. Expect roughly 60 minutes of information on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, Nintendo said.
August’s showcase divulged a release date for Sakurai’s new game, offered a first look at gameplay, and saw the legendary developer compare Kirby Air Riders to Mario Kart in what was a Smash Bros.-style Direct.
“You might be asking yourself if it’s basically Mario Kart,” Sakurai said. “You race and battle with familiar characters around courses with different features, or so they say. Ok, so it basically is like Mario Kart. I even mentioned this when I received the request to make the game. I asked them if they still wanted to do it. But as fans of the original know…the appeal of the game is not actually the races!”
Kirby Air Riders is out on November 20, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch 2 and features a wide roster of Kirby characters including Waddle Dee, King Dedede, Gooey, Chef Kawasaki, Metaknight, and more. Catch up on everything announced at the first Kirby Air Riders Nintendo Direct right here.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
PlayStation Plus Extra will lose seven games in November 2025, Sony has confirmed.
As reported by Push Square, the seven games set to exit the subscription tier include 2018’s Battlefield 5, Digimon Survive, and Like a Dragon Ishin. Battlefield 5 leaves PS Plus Extra hot on the heels of Battlefield 6’s record-breaking launch.
The list of titles is expected to make way on November 18, when Sony will release the next PS Plus Extra update. As Push Square points out, it’s worth noting that games in PS Plus Extra can no longer be played once they’re rotated out of the catalog, even if you continue to subscribe. So make the most of these games while you still can.
As for October, Extra subscribers can expect Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 remake, Until Dawn, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, among others.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Embark Studios CEO and former EA guy Patrick Söderlund has been chatting about the usage of generative AI and machine learning in Arc Raiders, the forthcoming looter shooter with the neat motorbike helmets. He’s of the opinion that while generative AI tools at large are “pioneering” inventions that “should completely change how this industry functions”, “the human aspect is still essential”. Nonetheless, it’s patently obvious from Embark’s self-commentary in general that the real pioneering element of genAI technologies is cutting specific humans out of the picture, so that More Videogame May Be Made.
Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto has expressed his disappointment that former staff of the now shuttered Ridgeline Games were not “properly” credited in Battlefield 6, despite building the “foundation” of the game.
Ridgeline Games, the studio co-founded by Lehto, was tasked with developing the narrative campaign in Battlefield 6. The studio was closed in February 2024 following Lehto’s departure — less than two years after it was set up — as part of a broader restructuring that saw EA lay off some 670 employees and shift away from future licensed IPs. At the time, EA said the work that was begun on the Battlefield single-player campaign would continue.
Fast forward to Battlefield 6’s record-breaking release, and Lehto has taken to LinkedIn to recognize the work done by his former staff at Ridgeline on the game.
“I’m disappointed to see that many of my former teammates from Ridgeline Games were not properly credited in the recent release of Battlefield 6,” he said in a post that included a list of names under the Ridgeline Games banner.
“These talented developers worked tirelessly for 1 to 2.5 years, building the foundation of the game, before I left voluntarily and the studio was subsequently shuttered. Despite their significant contributions, most who were laid off were relegated to a ‘Special Thanks’ section at the very end of the credits — and several were omitted entirely, including myself.
“Out of respect for my colleagues and the awesome work they poured into this project, I want to take a moment to properly recognize them — listing their names and roles as I would have preferred them to appear in the credits.
“Game development is a team effort, and every contributor deserves fair acknowledgment.”
IGN has asked EA for comment.
In an internal note issued at the time of Ridgeline’s closure, EA Entertainment president Laura Miele said that Criterion producer Danny Isaac and studio head of creative Darren White would replace Lehto to continue work on the planned narrative campaign, with some members of Ridgeline Games joining Ripple Effect to continue working on Battlefield.
EA would go on to announce Battlefield Studios, the four-strong developer collective working on the mega-publisher’s Battlefield franchise. It currently includes DICE, Ripple Effect, Motive, and Criterion.
Lehto is a Bungie veteran whose portfolio includes serving as creative director on Halo: Reach. He joined EA in the wake of criticism over Battlefield 2042’s lack of a single-player narrative campaign.
While Battlefield 6 has enjoyed enormous sales success and won plaudits for its multiplayer, the campaign was poorly received. IGN’s Battlefield 6 campaign review returned a 5/10. We said: “A safe, dull reimagining of what Battlefield once was, rather than a bold reinvention of what it could be.”
For more on Battlefield 6, visit IGN’s Battlefield 6 guide for a complete list and video of all campaign collectible locations, tips for getting an edge in multiplayer, and more.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Former Ridgeline Games boss and Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto has spoken out against the diminished representation of certain old Ridgeline colleagues in Battlefield 6‘s credits, pointing out that some have been “entirely omitted” despite their years of work laying the “foundation” for EA’s new FPS.Bring it on.
Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined may look all cute and cosy, but fans of the original game will know that its story is pretty dark when compared to other entries in the series.
According to producer Takeshi Ichikawa in a new interview with GameSpark (thanks, Automaton), this is actually a key factor in the team’s decision to bring the game back for modern platforms. Ichikawa believes that players have grown more accustomed to games with darker narratives, and so this essentially paved the way to revisit Dragon Quest VII.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Silent Hill series producer Motoi Okamoto has opened up on why Konami revealed three new Silent Hill games after a full decade of silence, saying the publisher was keen to stress to old fans and new that it was “serious” about resurrecting the flailing horror series.
Reflecting on how the series has performed since Konami’s inaugural Silent Hill Transmission back in October 2022, Okamoto explained how the impressive Silent Hill 2 Remake was designed with “half new, half old customers in mind” to ensure it could attract new fans to the franchise.
“Three years ago, in 2022, we announced three titles: Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill f, and Silent Hill: Townfall,” Okamoto explained on Twitter / X, as transcribed by Automaton. “We didn’t want to just announce a single remake to ‘test the waters.’
“We wanted people to feel how serious we were about reviving the series. Developing a remake and a new title simultaneously naturally involves risks, but we wanted to convey our commitment first and foremost. Only when a new game is announced can the future of a series be seen. Users won’t feel motivated to engage with an IP unless they can sense it has a future. If the company takes a wait-and-see approach, so will the players. The company needs to show how serious it is so that users can get genuinely excited. I think that’s only fair.”
Of all the projects revealed since that 2022 showcase — Silent Hill: The Short Message, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Silent Hill f, Silent Hill: Townfall, and media projects Silent Hill: Ascension and the upcoming movie, Return to Silent Hill — the majority have been received well by critics, fans, and new players alike, suggesting it was a gamble worth taking for the Japanese publisher.
Silent Hill 2 Remake has sold 2.5 million worldwide, which pushes sales of the franchise overall to 10 million. Silent Hill f has sold 1 million copies. IGN’s Silent Hill 2 Remake review returned an 8/10. We said: “Silent Hill 2 is a great way to visit – or revisit – one of the most dread-inducing destinations in the history of survival horror.” Our Silent Hill f review also returned a 7/10. We said: “Silent Hill f presents a fresh new setting to explore and a fascinatingly dark story to unravel, but its melee-focussed combat takes a big swing that doesn’t quite land.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Time to phone Genghis Khan. Tell him the news. There’s gonna be a bit more waiting before you can become 13th century Mongolia’s a truest Yam courier rider/horse befriender. Following its latest Steam Next Fest demo, The Legend of Khiimori‘s early access release has been pushed back to March next year.
I know, throw down your spurs like they’re Yosemite Sam’s hat. There’s neigh way developers Aesir Interactive and NightinGames have done this to you. Well, they have, but they say they’ve got the game’s best interests at heart.
It won’t be updated “in time for the main game’s release”.
Persona 3 Reload got a Switch 2 demo a few weeks ago, and it’s raised some concerns about the performance of the game on Nintendo’s new hybrid platform, with players reporting all sorts of issues about the frame rate.
While the eShop showed the game operating at 30FPS, there were seemingly some frame rate hiccups. Fortunately, Atlus is aware, and it seems the experience will be improved in a “future patch” for the main game.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
