Sometimes, when you’re fighting aliens, you’ve got to whip out a gun that might explode in your own face. Them’s the rules. You’ve got to risk it for a chocolate biscuit. Or, at least that’s premise of Helldivers 2‘s latest warbond.
Dubbed Control Group, it’ll give you access to a bunch of experimental gear Super Earth’s scientists have cobbled together from captured Illuminate tech if you opt to pick it up when it drops on June 17th.
Times change, consoles change.
Nintendo has revealed in a new interview with IGN that Donkey Kong Bananza was originally planned for the Switch 1.
Producer Kenta Motokura and director Kazuya Takahashi explained that the game was being built on Switch 1 with the same voxel technology used to create the destructible environments. However, upon learning about the Switch 2, the team shifted development over to the new console to take full advantage of the increased specs.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Attention, Helldivers! The Ministry of Defense Research & Development team has just declassified the following information for immediate release.
You have been cleared to field test a new range of experimental weapons built from acquired alien technology. R&D scientists have completed the Control Group Premium Warbond* for deployment to your Super Destroyer!
First up, in the primary weapon category, is the VG-70 Variable, a seven-barrelled volley gun with three different firing modes: Auto, which has three selectable RPM values; Volley, which fires a single shot from each barrel at once; and Total, which fires all remaining ammunition in one go. Researchers noted that using the Total firing mode with a lot of ammunition may result in bodily harm to the user.
Also in need of field testing is the new G-31 Arc grenade. The lightweight G-31 bounces while discharging electricity that strikes enemies (and Helldivers) in proximity.
The next declassified item is the PLAS-45 Epoch support weapon which charges plasma into a focused sphere which is then fired. This weapon is ready for battlefield use, but additional research data suggests that it can explode if overcharged. No safe mode is available. But we’re sure you can handle it, Helldiver. This is what field testing is all about!
Next up in offensive technology is the A/LAS-98 Laser Sentry. For this sentry, the ammunition canisters on standard turrets have been replaced with a supersized heatsink, allowing the potential for infinite laser firing. However, R&D would like to remind users that the turret can overheat and explode if the laser is continuously active with no cooldown.
Perhaps the most significant and exciting development from the Ministry of Defense is the new LIFT-182 Warp Pack stratagem. R&D has harnessed the power of Dark Fluid to generate a (somewhat) stable wormhole on demand. Once the wormhole is active, wearers can teleport short distances with no cooldown between jumps. In practice, the wearer is pulled into the singularity, dematerialized, and rematerialized again in a new location.
The head of R&D noted that the dematerialization process can be somewhat painful, and that users should bear in mind that the wormhole cannot maintain integrity for extended periods–each jump will further destabilize it, and the wearer may experience death should the singularity fully collapse. A small price to pay for ultra-convenient traversal!
And don’t forget about proper personal protective equipment! Good field testing involves enforcing safety protocols, which is why we’re outfitting Control Group with two new sets of armor designed to provide adequate battlefield protection. For medium armor, we’ve included the AD-26 Bleeding Edge that will allow for protection and greater ease of movement combined. But for more dangerous experiments, there’s also the AD-49 Apollonian heavy armor that’s meant to assist you with the perils of evaluating all this new equipment.
Each armor set looks professionally stylish with the coordinating capes, Conductor of Brilliance and Over Artifice Triumphant, and both armor sets feature a new and exciting passive: Adreno-Defibrillator! After you take lethal damage and the Adreno-Defibrillator detects that the user has collapsed, it activates and revives the user to full health. R&D did indicate that the Adreno-Defibrillator only has enough charge for one use to bring the user to maximum health, and the user will begin losing health continually after activating it.
In addition to all this, R&D is including new player cards to match the Conductor of Brilliance and Over Artifice Triumphant capes, and we’re giving you access to a new emote to assist in testing: Protect Eardrums. Covering your ears is the leading method to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. Safety first!
And, finally, with great scientific discovery comes much hard work and sacrifice, Helldivers, and that’s why we want to recognize your valiant field testing efforts of the Control Group Warbond with a special title: Exemplary Subject. Wear this to show your squad that you got in on the ground floor of this advanced technology!
You’ve been recruited into the Control Group, divers. Report to R&D for field testing on July 17!
*Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.
ARK: Aquatica — the new expansion for ARK: Survival Evolved — finally has a release date, and it’s soon: July 15, to be precise.
Snail Games announced its “in-house developed new expansion map, Ark: Aquatica” at GDC in March. The studio described the expansion as a non-canonical side story to Ark in “an ambitious underwater setting featuring 95% of gameplay taking place beneath the surface.” However, the Ark: Survival Evolved expansion trailer released alongside the announcement was resoundingly condemned after fans discovered evidence of generative AI imagery.
OG developer Studio Wildcard immediately distanced itself from the discussion, clarifying on social media that Ark: Aquatica was not being developed by its team. It also revealed Ark: Lost Colony, a new expansion for Ark: Survival Ascended that will lead into the sequel, although since missing its previously planned late 2024 release window, the future of Ark 2 remains unclear.
ARK: Aquatica introduces the first submerged ARK with above-water islands, “challenging players with new survival mechanics, extreme environmental hazards, a huge explorable map area, and unique gameplay elements”.
The underwater biome adds 21 new tameable creatures, 74 new Engrams — including seven tek Engrams — and underwater survival thanks to features like air pockets and propulsion vehicles.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latest teaser has been under intense fan scrunity, with some going as far as to implore others to report it to Steam if they suspect anything is generated by AI. Some are also questioning the purpose of the trailer posted to Snail Games’ YouTube, with one asking of the 11-second teaser: “Okay, so what the f**k does this tell me about the expansion?”
“I am 200% sure that this update was created to kill all existing mods and plugins,” added another YouTube commenter.
ARK: Aquatic is in development by Studio Sirens to “commemorate the 10-year anniversary of ARK: Survival Evolved” and will be available exclusively on PC. A price has yet to be confirmed.
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.
It’s the open environments of tactical RPG Every Day We Fight that have most caught my eye. Huge warehouses, bases, and ruins so stuffed with cover and walkways as to suggest the dominant species on the game’s pre-alien invasion earth were sandbag piles. These sprawling layouts aren’t just for show or getting a nice height advantage, either. The city is explorable between battles with your gang of resistance members, letting you poke around and scavenge before sneaking into optimal positions for the next scrap against invading aliens.
Nintendo will discontinue its Switch Game Vouchers scheme, which currently allows Nintendo Switch Online subscribers to buy Switch 1 games at a discount.
Detailing its plans in a lengthy FAQ page published today, the company said Switch Game Vouchers would be ditched as of January 30, 2026 — meaning fans still have six months should they still wish to buy more.
No reason has been given for the scheme’s ending, though it follows Nintendo’s decision not to allow vouchers to be redeemed for Switch 2 software, and after the launch of Nintendo’s first-ever $80 game, Mario Kart World.
Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers were first introduced in 2019, and offer a flat purchase price for two Nintendo Switch games bought within a 12-month period. In the UK, this price is set at £84, meaning you pay an average of £42 for a game.
This typically represents an £8 saving per game from the standard £50 Switch game RRP — and an even greater saving on the select games that Nintendo prices at £60: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
And while Nintendo has not extended the scheme to Switch 2 games, fans have realised they can still use vouchers to buy the original, Switch 1 versions of games with paid Switch 2 upgrades, such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild, offering a cheaper method of obtaining those too.
For example, Switch 2 owners can currently buy a pair of Switch Game Vouchers and redeem them to play cross-generational games such as Metroid Prime: Beyond, or the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which is due for launch in October. Z-A is priced at the usual £50 for Switch 1, or £60 for its Switch 2 Edition. Buy it using a Game Voucher, and you can still get the £8 saving for Z-A’s Switch 1 edition, before simply paying the £10 upgrade fee to access the Switch 2 Edition.
As ever, Switch Game Vouchers must be redeemed within 12 months after purchase, though Nintendo has said that additional Switch titles will continue to be added to the Game Voucher catalogue throughout 2026.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently suggested that the company was now exploring shorter game development cycles for some projects to help keep its costs down, and avoid pricing games too highly.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Sometimes it’s fun to just do things that don’t make sense. Especially in a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 that generally rewards you for embracing the chaos and behaving a manner that’d leave onlookers scratching their heads and slightly afraid.
Sadly, there’s one immensely satisfying bit of action those who play the the RPG as a tadpole-slupring hypocrite have, to the best of my knowledge, been unable to get in on since November 2023. No longer. BG3 modders have stepped in to save us from the scourge that is logical decision making.
Fair play.
Remember when GameStop made the news following a rather unfortunate incident involving a newly-bought Switch 2 console and a stapler? Yeah, one store thought it wise to staple receipts onto the Switch 2 box, puncturing the cardboard and damaging the screen of the Switch inside.
It wasn’t a good look for the company, but now, GameStop is looking to turn the whole thing into a positive by auctioning off the stapler and the damaged Switch 2 on eBay, with all proceeds going to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Japanese developer Cygames published a list of rules for fans wanting to visit the real-life horses behind the characters in its anime racehorse-girl management game Umamusume: Pretty Derby, which got a long-awaited global release this June.
Yes, anime racehorse-girl management game, you heard that right. In the world of Umamusume: Pretty Derby, racehorses are reborn as cute anime girls, complete with equine ears and tails. The franchise started off in 2018 as an anime, followed by a Japan-only release of the mobile game in 2021. In the game, players can talk to, train and manage horse-girls like Special Week and Mejiro McQueen, sharing in their triumphs and losses. As a result, the Umamusume franchise has inspired a cult following, and apparently many fans have become interested in the real-life Japanese racehorses behind their favorite characters.
However, in their enthusiasm, it seems that some fans may have caused distress to their favorites and their owners in real life. As previously reported by Dexerto, Cygames shared guidelines for those who want to visit real-life racehorses in Japan, reminding people that you can’t just rock up to a ranch and that horses are easily startled by loud noises and camera flashes.
The 9-point guideline was created by the Racehorse’s Hometown Information Center. The first two points urge would-be visitors to check with the center for tour availability and to confirm tour times before visiting. The rules also remind visitors to follow the instructions of ranch staff at all times, to refrain from smoking on-site, and not to enter stables or pastures without permission. The rest of the rules are centered on the horses’ wellbeing — don’t make loud noises and refrain from touching, feeding or taking flash photography of the horses.
Developer Cygames has been fostering strong connections to the Japanese horse racing world — it often shows up alongside and provides support for racehorse-related exhibits at events in Japan, and has donated to the Retired Racehorse Association of Japan (source: Automaton). As part of promotions for the mobile game’s global, English-language release, Cygames looked stateside, partnering with the Kentucky Derby back in May and setting up a booth where people could play the demo of Umamusume Pretty Derby.
If you are interested in seeing what all the fuss is about, Umamusume: Pretty Derby is available now in English via Steam, Google Play, and the Apple App store. All three seasons of the anime are currently on Crunchyroll.
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.
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