One of the programmers behind the very first Grand Theft Auto has praised Rockstar for delaying GTA 6‘s initial release to May next year, observing (not in so many words) that the developers could have rushed out an early release consisting of a city’s worth of T-posing NPCs and whitebox freeways, and people would still have paid top dollar for the game.
Street Fighter creator Takashi Nishiyama is developing a brand new boxing game in collaboration with long-running boxing magazine The Ring. The news was revealed on the official X account of Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. Alalshikh acquired American publication The Ring back in November 2024.
According to the tweet, the untitled game will feature original characters and combine “The Ring’s unmatched authority in boxing with game developer Dimps’ decades-long experience in crafting classic games.”
Together with legendary Japanese video game designer Takashi Nishiyama, I am proud to announce a forthcoming boxing game presented by The Ring featuring original characters.
This strategic partnership between myself and Nishiyama brings together our unmatched authority in… pic.twitter.com/LRWyyZzkpz
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) May 5, 2025
Dimps is Takashi Nishiyama’s company. Its most recent game was Freedom Wars Remastered, a reworking of a PlayStation Vita game for modern consoles released in January 2025. According to the tweet from Alalshikh, development of the boxing title will begin soon.
The Saudi Arabian royal family has become increasingly invested in Japan’s gaming industry in recent years. In April 2024, it was revealed that 100% of Japanese game company SNK’s shares were now owned by the Saudi Crown Prince’s foundation. The Ring Magazine has also been involved in promoting SNK’s upcoming Fatal Fury: City of Wolves, hosting a boxing match collaboration at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on April 26, 2025. Of course, Nishiyama himself previously worked at SNK in the 1990s, creating the Fatal Fury series and producing many games in flagship SNK series like Metal Slug and King of Fighters.
Japanese people’s reactions to the announcement of The Ring x Dimps collaboration so far have generally ranged from surprised reactions of “What?!! I want to play it!” to curiosity as to what the final game will be like.
@ryo_redcyclone, an X user who frequently posts Street Fighter-related content, responded to the news with: “Commenting on the first Street Fighter, Nishiyama said: ‘I chose to focus on street fighting because established sports are restricted by rules.’ This time he is making a game based on boxing, a sport with rules, so I’m curious to see how it will turn out.”
Much of the concern seems to center upon whether boxing’s rules will restrict Nishiyama’s creativity, considering the roster of quirky characters and crazy moves that can be found in his previous fighting games.
Although Street Fighter has Mike Tyson lookalike Balrog, his kicks, not to mention his Buffalo Head move, clearly violate professional boxing rules. It will be interesting to see whether The Ring and Dimps’ new boxing game goes for a realistic or rule-breaking approach.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
Polar Star is, basically, rock paper pistol, but with a few dab-handed puzzle twists that make it instantly compelling. You’re a saloon dwelling varmint sat at a table with nothing but your six shooter and a glass of whiskey for company, and you’re accosted by a chain of ne’er-do-wells. Perhaps there’s a bounty on your head. Perhaps it’s their whiskey you’re drinking. It’s not clear, but it seems nefarious. You know what ne’er-do-wells are like.
In the latest video in Nintendo’s Creator’s Voice series, Final Fantasy Remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed that Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will be getting a Switch 2 release.
Intergrade is the expanded PS5 version of the 2020 PS4 release Final Fantasy VII Remake, the first chapter in the remake trilogy that greatly expands upon the classic 1997 PS1 RPG Final Fantasy VII. Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade made some improvements to the PS4 version’s graphics and lighting, and also included Remake’s Intermission DLC, which centers on plucky ninja Yuffie’s arrival in Midgar.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Integrade is currently available on PS5 and PC. However, Hamaguchi revealed that with the Switch 2’s improvements over its predecessor, it will be possible to bring the game to Nintendo’s handheld platform. “With the power of the Switch 2, we can now recreate Midgar with full specs,” he stated.
“Being able to play this game on the Switch 2 in handheld mode means you can play it on the train while commuting to work,” Hamaguchi added, saying that the portability will also make it easier for people to directly discuss and show others the game and their progress.
The Switch 2 version will also incorporate GameChat, enabling players to talk to friends while playing and share their screens in real time. “I’m very excited to see this game playable on a portable system,” Hamaguchi enthused, adding that “I have high hopes that we can build a strong partnership between Nintendo and the Final Fantasy brand.”
Although only Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade has been confirmed for Switch 2 so far, Hamaguchi ended with, “I hope players are looking forward to the Final Fantasy VII Remake series on Switch 2,” suggesting that Rebirth and the upcoming final entry in the trilogy will also see Switch 2 releases in the future.
Of course, the Final Fantasy series originally started out on Nintendo consoles, before switching to the PlayStation 1 and its CD-ROM format for Final Fantasy VII, the first 3D entry, in 1997. With the remake, it seems that FFVII will finally be available on Nintendo hardware.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
Get a closer look at the Arsenal’s capabilities.
In case you missed it, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is bringing the battle to Switch 2 this September.
In an update, Marvelous USA has now shared a “combat basics” trailer – giving fans a closer look at the Arsenal’s capabilities for “fast-past combat, and a glimpse of some of the titanic bosses waiting to challenge players’ skills”.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Available July 29.
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game will release digitally on the Switch this July and today it’s been confirmed there’ll be a physical release arriving on the same date.
This was announced by ‘iam8bit’ and there’ll be a standard retail edition (including a fold-out map and digital soundtrack) and an exclusive edition including a cover sleeve, as well as those other mentioned goodies.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
PlayStation Store ushers in its new promotion, Next Level Savings, tomorrow, May 7. For a limited time*, you can enjoy discounts across a selection of titles, including The Crew: Motorfest (70% off), Resident Evil 4 (50% off), Diablo IV – Expansion Bundle (40% off) and many more.
Browse a selection of games on offer below, then when the promotion goes live, head to PlayStation Store to discover your regional discount.
Browse a selection of games on offer below, then when the promotion goes live, head to PlayStation Store to discover your regional discount.
Browse a selection of games on offer below, then when the promotion goes live, head to PlayStation Store to discover your regional discount.
Rockstar may have delayed Grand Theft Auto 6 to May 26, 2026, but the studio has surprised everybody with a new trailer loaded with story and character details. While we knew from the first trailer that GTA 6 would feature two protagonists, it mostly set the stage for a return to Vice City. But with the newest trailer, Vice City gets a little more full thanks to a bevy of new faces.
While their full roles and personalities might still be a mystery, the new trailer and the updated official GTA 6 website shares just enough that we now have a rough outline of who some of these friendly faces are. So read on for every GTA 6 character we’ve seen so far.
The first protagonist in our Bonnie and Clyde duo is Jason Duval, a man who’s looking for the easy life but can’t seem to catch a break. After serving time in the Army, he’s in the Leonida Keys working odd jobs for the local drug runners. The only thing keeping him going is his love for Lucia.
At the start of the trailer, we meet Lucia just as she’s released from Leonida Penitentiary, having served time after fighting for her family. We know her father taught Lucia how to fight from a young age and that their family moved to Leonida from Liberty City (GTA’s version of New York City). With Jason by her side, it seems Lucia has a plan to give both of them a new start towards a better life.
Like past GTA games, GTA 6 is led by a couple of streetwise toughs hoping to find the score of a lifetime. What’s unique is that unlike the trio from GTA 5, and the lone wolves of older GTA games, Jason and Lucia seem to genuinely love each other, and that might allow them to reach new heights – or fall even harder than past main characters.
Brian is Jason’s landlord and one of the aforementioned local drug runners in Leonida. By day he runs and operates Brian’s Boat Works and Marina, but this serves as a legitimate front for his drug business for which he hires Jason to act as some additional muscle. He sounds suspiciously like the actor Stephen Root, but Rockstar isn’t sharing its voice cast for GTA 6 just yet (we asked).
Jason’s friend and drinking buddy at The Rusty Anchor, Cal is described as having “casual paranoia” and seems somewhat prone to conspiracy theories… but also having a good time, so maybe it all balances out for him? If Rockstar’s penchant for American satire continues, we can expect Cal to exhibit some of the worst, if funniest, parts of Leonidian society.
A local Vice City legend, Boobie Ike is now a legitimate entrepreneur and business mogul, a far cry from his life on the streets. Boobie runs everything from real estate, a strip club, and even a recording studio which he is using as a launch pad for a new music empire with his associate, Dre’Quan. Keep an eye out for Only Raw Records’ first hit.
Like Boobie, Dre’Quan is a businessman whose primary job is gangster and drug dealer. He’s hoping to use his partnership with Boobie Ike and the talents of his first music signing, Real Dimez, to promote himself to the Vice City elites. It remains to be seen how much of Dre’Quan’s ambitions will end up helping or hurting him in his climb up the power ladder.
Musical duo Real Dimez comprises Bae-Luxe and Roxy, high school friends who turned their street toughness into a hip-hop and social media career. They’ve signed on with Dre’Quan Priest and Boobie Ike to capitalize on the success of their first hit, DWNPLY, to become Only Raw Records’ breakout stars.
It wouldn’t be Grand Theft Auto without a few criminal masterminds, and Vice City’s got theirs with Raul Bautista. A veteran bank robber, his tendency to up the stakes during a heist means that his crew often has to deal with more than they planned for. Maybe one of his best-laid plans will be something Jason and Lucia sign on for to get their big break?
There are plenty of faces that get a brief appearance in the trailer who aren’t named. From various gangsters who Lucia and Jason seem to have run-ins with, to, of course, cops looking to bring down Vice City’s criminals. And in between are all manner of partying influences, gun store owners, and other Leonida denizens.
These are the main characters we know about so far in GTA 6. Has anyone caught your eye yet? How do you think the two protagonists will stack up to past GTA anti-heroes? Let us know in the comments, and for more on GTA 6, check out our breakdown of the newest trailer.
Last month, FromSoftware announced that Elden Ring would be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, which is wonderful for that plumber guy, but mostly meant piss all for us PC people. The thing is, this version of the game actually comes with some new stuff, and I like new stuff, and publisher Bandai Namco only vaguely said all the new bits would be coming to “other platforms”. But! I bring good news, as yes, the Switch 2 Tarnished Edition extras are coming to PC as part of a Tarnished Pack DLC.
Alright, look, I get it. There’s a lot of farming sims already. There’s even the odd anime inspired farming sim here and there. But Tales of Seikyu, which fits into that second camp, is different, I promise, because it has dating – and I think you can date an anthropomorphic otter man. I’m not talking queer slang here to be clear, though the character does kind of fit that meaning too. I’m talking about a man that looks like an otter, who walks around on two legs.
