Nintendo has updated its list of Switch 2 compatibility issues to request that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate owners refrain from using the Mii Fighter characters, as they’re currently breaking the game.
According to Nintendo’s Japanese support website (thanks, OatmealDome), the issue with Mii Fighter only occurs when Smash Bros. Ultimate is being played online, and a match takes place between one person on Switch 1 and another person on Switch 2.
In this circumstance, should one player be using Mii Fighter, Nintendo warns that an online match may end “immediately,” kicking both players out before the usual punch-ups can be had.
Nintendo hasn’t explained the reason why this issue is occuring, though the fact it is limited to Mii characters may suggest there is some difference to how the two console generations handle the custom avatars — leaving the game to give up on matches instead.
Indeed, Nintendo also warns that Mii Fighter thumbnails may also not save correctly on Switch 2, pointing to some kind of compatibility problem.
“An update will be released soon,” Nintendo has said, though there’s no word yet on when.
Originally released in December 2018, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is one of Nintendo’s best-selling games for Switch 1, with more than 36 million copies shifted. With the series’ largest player roster and years of extra content, the game has earned its Ultimate moniker — leaving many fans to wonder what might be next for the series.
Nintendo recently announced a new game from Smash Bros. series boss Masahiro Sakurai — though it’s not a new Smash Bros. title. Instead, the veteran designer and director is working on Kirby Air Riders, a fresh game for Nintendo’s pink puffball that’s due to launch on Switch 2 later in 2025.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
If you preorder the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Pokémon Legends Z-A, you’ll be treated to improved graphics and frame rates. It’s also worth noting that if you buy the Nintendo Switch version, you can always upgrade it to the Switch 2 version by purchasing an upgrade pack.
What Is Pokémon Legends Z-A?
Set in Lumiose City, a place for both people and Pokémon, Pokémon Legends Z-A will see you living life as a Pokémon Trainer in the big city. You’ll be able to choose between Chikorita, Tepig, or Totodile as your starterPokémon to join you on a journey around the city. As mentioned in the title as well, you’ll also be able to participate in a tournament called the “Z-A Royale”, with the goal of working your way through the competition to reach rank A.
This year already has a stacked lineup of releases that are worth keeping on your radar. If you’re looking for even more games to add to your library, have a look through the other options up for preorder below.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Nintendo fans have known for some time that Switch 2 is backwards compatible with Switch 1 games. But what happens when you do the reverse and stick a Switch 2 game in a Switch 1?
Insert a Switch 2-only game such as Mario Kart World in a Switch 1 and Nintendo’s last-gen console will simply display an error message, saying that the software is designed for Switch 2.
What is going on here? Well, Nintendo itself hasn’t gone into detail, but packaging for Switch 2 Edition games does note that cartridges contain both the original game and the Switch 2 upgrade.
“This Nintendo Switch 2 Edition comprises the Nintendo Switch game and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack,” Switch 2 Edition packaging reads. “The upgrade pack is also available separately.”
In other words, when you put a Switch 2 Edition cartridge in a Switch 1, the older console knows to ignore the Switch 2 bit and just play the original game.
Nintendo doesn’t appear to have ever stated in plain English that this is how some Switch 2 Edition cartridges operate, but it’s a useful feature to be aware of. For example, if you’re a Switch 1 owner who plans to buy Switch 2 in future, you could buy a Switch 2 Edition of a game now to play cross-gen when the time comes, without worrying about upgrading your game down the line.
“Huh. Confirmed that this does indeed work on a Switch 1. (As the OG Switch game.) Kinda surprised,” John Ricciardi, founder of Tokyo-based video game localization firm 8-4, wrote on Bluesky today, upon testing his Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2 Edition cartridge on a Switch 1.
It’s a system that’s not a million miles away from how Xbox handles ownership of games across its family of consoles. Owning a copy of a game unlocks access to different versions of said game, which the hardware will detect.
One difference, of course, is that Nintendo has decided to charge extra for some Switch 2 Edition versions — such as with Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and (deep breath) Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV.
Of course, just to make everything even more confusing, Nintendo has also provided other updates and upgrades to Nintendo Switch 1 games on Switch 2 for free — and it issued a long list of patch notes for titles such as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom earlier this week.
Are the words “dog” and “cat” similar enough to cause confusion? Naughty Dog owner Sony thinks they are, and has used that as the basis of an official opposition to a trademark application for ‘Naughty Cat.’
Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a Notice of Opposition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) against the “Naughty Cat” trademark application filed by a company called Naughty Cat Co., Limited.
This Hong Kong-based company has two apps listed on the App Store, both gambling “games” that promise to reward users with real cash. That’s a world away from the likes of The Last of Us and Uncharted, but that hasn’t stopped Sony’s lawyers from baring their teeth and barking angrily at their feline competitor.
In documents reviewed by IGN, Sony’s lawyers argue that the Naughty Cat trademark is “confusingly similar” to the Naughty Dog trademark it owns “in overall commercial impression and connotation.”
“The first, dominant element of the two marks, NAUGHTY, is identical,” Sony said. “The second elements, DOG and CAT, are highly similar in that both refer to house pets and are likely to mislead consumers into believing, mistakenly, that Naughty Cat is affiliated with SIE and/or Naughty Dog or that its goods are licensed or approved by SIE and/or Naughty Dog.”
The opposition note goes on to insist that any registration of the Naughty Cat trademark is “likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake or to deceive the public as to the source of Applicant’s goods offered under Applicant’s Mark, to the harm and damage of SIE and the public.”
“Registration of Applicant’s Mark will lead the public to conclude, incorrectly, that Applicant is or has been affiliated or connected with SIE, and/or that Applicant’s goods provided under Applicant’s Mark are or have been authorized, sponsored, endorsed, or licensed by SIE. Issuance of any registration to Applicant for the proposed mark will result in damage to SIE and the public.”
On top of this, the Naughty Cat application claims a first use date of December 25, 2023. The Naughty Dog trademark was of course in use many years beforehand.
Whether you agree with Sony’s assertion here or not, the USPTO has outlined a schedule to resolve the dispute and set trial dates if it comes to that. Naughty Cat Co., Limited has until July 12 to answer Sony’s opposition. If it fails to do that, the USPTO may mark the application as abandoned and Sony will have their victory. If not, the dispute may go to trial in 2026.
We don’t know anything about it yet. Perhaps it’s about cats?
Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images.
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.
Nintendo’s $10 Switch 2 mini-game collection — the game that many fans believe should have been free — requires you own at least $95 of accessories in order to complete 100%.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is available today alongside the new console, and offers a selection of miniature games and experiences designed to show off the new hardware.
But this also includes mini-games designed to showcase the Switch 2’s camera, and the extra GL/GR buttons which are not found on the standard Switch 2 Joy-Con and instead require a Charging Grip or Pro Controller (thanks, NintendoSoup) — which of course are sold separately.
Oh, and you’ll also need a 4K TV, in case you don’t already have one of those, or were planning to only play your Switch 2 in handheld mode.
Three mini-games require specific equipment, fans now report, with a camera needed to play 1 minigame, a controller with GL/GR buttons for another minigame, and a 4K-supported screen needed for 1 minigame and a separate tech demo.
Nintendo fans who want to see absolutely everything in Switch 2 Welcome Tour will therefore not only need to pay up the $10 cost of the game, but also $54.99 for a Switch 2 Camera, and either $39.99 for a Charging Grip or $84.99 for a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller to use those GL/GR buttons.
One useful PSA here is that the Switch 2 does support third-party cameras — so you could get hold of a USB-C webcam for cheaper.
But while the Switch 2 does also support the Switch 1 Pro Controller, this does not have the necessary GL/GR buttons — so you really will need to fork out separately for those. And, thanks to tariffs, these now cost slightly more at launch than Nintendo originally announced.
Nintendo has previously faced criticism for not including Switch 2 Welcome Tour with the console itself. An experience designed as an introduction to Nintendo’s new hardware and essentially act as an interactive instruction manual, Welcome Tour would have been a perfect fit to be packed-in with the console — just as Wii Sports was with the Wii.
Even former Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aimé has got stuck into the debate, highlighting the Wii Sports situation from his tenure in charge. At the time, Fils-Aimé disagreed with Nintendo’s Japanese bosses who said Wii Sports should have been sold separately (as it still was in Japan). But Fils-Aimé got his way for the U.S. and European markets, and Wii Sports went on to become one of the most successful games of all time.
“Everyone has to decide if it’s worth their $10 to learn about the Switch 2 cartridge slot and watch an HDR fireworks display, and the whole conversation surrounding Welcome Tour has suffered because of Nintendo’s irritating decision to charge for it,” IGN wrote earlier this week. It’ll be interesting to see whether the added costs further impact customer purchases.
XDefiant‘s servers went dark on Tuesday, June 3, a little over a year after Ubisoft’s free-to-play arena shooter was released. Ubisoft gave its Call of duty rival just four months before confirming it would discontinue support. Almost half the team lost their jobs as Ubisoft made a swath of cuts across its San Francisco and Osaka studios.
Producer Mark Rubin, who led development fo the game having previously worked on the Call of Duty series at Activision, called it a “sad day” in a lengthy statement posted to X/Twitter earlier today. After thanking his co-workers for making a “really fun and terrific game,” he announced he’s decided to “leave the industry” for good.
“In case everyone doesn’t know, the team behind XDefiant was all let go at the end of last year and I know many people have moved on to other studios, which is great, and I hope that for all of those still looking, that they find something quickly,” Rubin wrote.
“As for me, I’ve decided to leave the industry and spend more time with my family so unfortunately you won’t be hearing about me making another game. I do care passionately about the shooter space and hope that someone else can pick up the flag that I was trying to carry and make games again that care about the players, treat them with respect and listen to what they have to say.”
Rubin said the team made “remarkable” progress despite “very little marketing,” claiming that despite a lack of advertising, XDefiant “still had the fastest acquisition of players in the first few weeks for a Ubisoft title” just from word-of-mouth promotion.
“But unfortunately, with little to no marketing, especially after launch, we weren’t acquiring new players after the initial launch,” he added, before claiming Ubisoft’s in-house game engine “wasn’t designed for what [XDefiant] was doing.”
“We had other issues, though, as well that we tried to be transparent about. For one we had crippling tech debt using an engine that wasn’t designed for what we were doing, and we didn’t have the engineering resources to ever correct that. I do personally think that in-house engines are not the valuable investment that they used to be, and they are often doomed to fall behind big engines like Unreal.
“This tech debt included the dreaded netcode issues that we could just not solve given the architecture we were dealing with,” he added. “And so, for many players with solid network connections (in both speed and consistent reliability) the game played well but if your connection had even the smallest amount of inconsistency the engine just couldn’t handle it and you would have a bad experience. Normally, you should be able to weather those bad moments on your network. But this was a major issue with XDefiant.”
Rubin also lamented the lack of resources to make content.
“Another issue we had was having the right resources to make content for the game. What we saw at Season 3 wasn’t even enough content in my mind for launch. There were some really cool features coming later in Season 4 or even 5 that would have completed the game in a way that I felt it should have been for launch. I can say everyone’s (devs, HQ leadership, etc.) heart was in the right place, but we just didn’t have the gas to go the distance for a free-to-play game.”
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 2025, and Sony PlayStation has finally designed its own wireless fight stick for PS5 and PC.
Edwin Foo, VP of product development at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said the stick — codenamed internally as Project Defiant — will give players “more flexibility to play their favorite fighting games.”
Sony promises ultra-low latency through a wireless connection on PS5 or PC, as well as the option to play with a wired connection. This is essential for fighting game fans who need their combo inputs to be as precise and as instant as possible.
It also boasts an ergonomic design, a “high-quality digital stick” that’s been custom-designed by Sony, and toolless interchangeable restrictor gates, so players can choose between square, circle, or octagon, all of which can be stored in the controller’s handy compartment when not in use. It even comes with a sling carry case.
What we don’t yet know is the cost, or when it will go on sale: right now, Sony will only commit to a 2026 window.
Sony’s fight stick is well-timed, given it’s working on Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, a new 4v4 Marvel fighting game from Arc System Works, the developer of the Guilty Gear series. That’s also out 2026, so perhaps we’ll see the game and stick come out around the same time.
If you’re new to fighting games or it’s been awhile since you indulged, here’s our picks of the 10 best fighting games of all time. Did your favorite reach the top spot?
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.
Fans of secret agent James Bond haven’t taken long to decide who they think is the (not so) mysterious actor playing the role in 007 First Light.
The game’s new trailer, revealed at Sony’s State of Play broadcast, shows off a notably younger-looking Bond, fresh out of the Royal Navy and keen to earn his 00 agent status. But who is playing the title role?
Minutes after the trailer aired, fans on reddit began guessing that Dexter: New Blood star Patrick Gibson was the behind the new Bond — and he certainly shares a strong similarity with the character in the trailer.
“I clocked it THE SECOND I saw the dirty smirk of his,” wrote one 007 aficionado. “Yeah I peeped that as soon as I seen it,” said another.
“Watching the trailer and knew the face looked familiar,” said a third. “After about a minute or so I screamed ‘DEXTER.’ I’m pretty sure it’s him.”
Aged 30, the Irish actor is just a few years older than the 26-year-old version of Bond he looks set to portray in the upcoming game — and, if IO Interactive gets its way, several sequels.
And if Gibson looks familiar to you too, well, the actor already has a swathe of TV and film roles under his belt, including appearances in Shadow and Bone, The Tudors, and The OA. But it’s his role as a younger version of Dexter Morgan in prequel series Dexter: Original Sin for which he’s most famous.
Curiously, 007 First Light developer IO Interactive is yet to confirm Gibson itself — though IGN has asked the studio if it can comment on the internet’s speculation. Gibson also, for now, appears to keeping schtum.
A press release issued alongside Gibson’s apparent debut in 007 First Light’s trailer describes the game as as globe-trotting story-driven action-adventure game where you can choose how to navigate various challenges — either with brute force or 007’s trademark charm.
The trailer showed Bond cracking a couple of deadpan jokes as he got himself out of (and into) trouble. Gibson’s acting chops as the antihero Dexter look set to be put to good use.
PlayStation Plus subscribers can look forward to playing a selection of video games, new and old, as part of its Extra and Premium catalogs, including classic titles from the Resident Evil, Twisted Metal, and more.
New PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 additions to the ever-changing lineup of titles were revealed during today’s June 2025 State of Play showcase. Every game on the list is prepped to drop at some point throughout the summer, with some titles launching on the service day-one.
Sword of the Sea, an atmospheric adventure game about surfing through a colorful oasis, is the headliner here. It’s the next project from the Abzu and The Pathless team at Giant Squid and promises an experience that focuses on skateboarding-like gameplay, magical visuals, and exploration. It’ll be available for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers at no extra cost starting August 19, 2025.
Remedy Entertainment’s FBC: Firebreak, meanwhile, will offer a new perspective on the world of Control when it’s made available for Premium and Extra users’ Game Catalog June 17, 2025. These are fresh experiences from developers with proven track records, but the Premium Classics Catalog will soon allow players to revisit retro titles, too.
New Classic Catalog additions include Deux Ex, Twisted Metal 3, Twisted Metal 4, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Myst and Riven will also be added for PlayStation Plus subscribers to enjoy as part of Days of Play festivities later this month. These are simply the highlights Sony was willing to share as part of State of Play, with more games likely to be revealed in the coming months. You can see everything confirmed, along with their PlayStation Plus release dates, in the list below.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Sucker Punch Productions will debut a Ghost of Yōtei gameplay deep dive with a special State of Play presentation next month.
A promise to show off more of how the highly anticipated samurai follow-up has sharpened its blade was revealed in a PlayStation Blog post published following today’s June 2025 State of Play showcase. The Ghost of Tsushima sequel did show up for a brief appearance during the tail end of the presentation but mostly served simply as a reminder that Sucker Punch is still hard at work to meet its October release date.
While it may have been disappointing to see Ghost of Yōtei come and go so quickly, it sounds like the July State of Play gameplay deep dive will do more to help with the wait. Sucker Punch’s showcase doesn’t have a release date yet but is said to focus entirely on Ghost of Yōtei and its “evolved gameplay mechanics, including exploration, combat, and much more.”
Sucker Punch formally announced its Ghost of Tsushima sequel last September, promising to place players in the shoes of new protagonist Atsu as she embarks on a bloody journey through Japan in 1603. Although the wait for story and gameplay details has been painful for those hoping for a sequel since the original game launched in 2020, director Nate Fox has said the experience will be “a respectful representation” of Japan, just like its predecessor.
Ghost of Yōtei has a release date of October 2, 2025 for PS5. For everything else announced during today’s June 2025 State of Play presentation, you can click here. To help with the wait for more information, you can read up on everything we know about Ghost of Yōtei.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
