After ghosting fans in 2024 by cancelling FM25, Football Manager is finally back in the game. FM26 has a confirmed release date of November 4, 2025, and yes, you can already preorder it.
If obsessing over player stats on your commute sounds like heaven, FM26 Touch also lands on Switch December 4, while FM26 Mobile arrives on Netflix, meaning you can now play Football Manager on the same app you binge Squid Game (yay?).
Where to Preorder Football Manager 26
FM26 is launching on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. FM26 Touch is Switch-only, while FM26 Mobile is Netflix-exclusive. Basically, unless you’re gaming on a toaster, you’ll be able to play.
For now, preorders are open for PC through Steam, Epic Games Store, and Fanatical (Steam key). Console preorders are “coming soon,” which is PR-speak for “sit tight and wait your turn”.
For those on PC, your best option is currently to preorder through Fanatical, which has FM26 down to £40.99 in the UK and $44.99 in the US. That’s 18% off the list price, and a tidy saving if you were almost certainly going to buy the game.
It’s the best discount amongst the bunch, with Epic and Steam currently offering 10% off for those who preorder. It’s also a Steam key, so you can immediately quell those fears of juggling it in any other libraries.
FM26 isn’t just showing up late to the party; it’s arriving with a full makeover. The series is moving to the Unity engine, bringing a big graphical upgrade and more realistic animations. Sports Interactive dropped a Match Day First Look in September, showing off the new tech in action.
Women’s football is finally making its debut too, with major leagues from England, Spain, Germany, France, and the US expected. Tactics are getting deeper as well, with new player roles, more formation tweaks, and control over how your squad plays with or without the ball. Translation: even more ways to yell at your virtual fullbacks for ignoring instructions.
Expect the usual UI polish and quality-of-life updates, but FM26’s real pitch is clear, after a year warming the bench, it wants to be seen as a proper next-gen reboot, not just another spreadsheet simulator with vague grass background.
Other Preorder Guides
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
Better yet, not only does Amazon have Sidon, Riju, and Tulin in stock, but they’re all discounted for a limited time right now.
Amazon Amiibo Sale: Save $10 for a Limited Time
Each of these amiibo figures would set you back $29.99 when they first released, but Amazon has discounted three of the figures to $19.99. That’s a saving of 33% each, and $10 off per amiibo.
So, whether you want Riju, Tulin, or Sidon to drop into your latest adventure, you’re in luck.
As for what they do in-game, all three unlock content in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Using any of the three figures via NFC will net you amiibo-exclusive paraglider fabric options, as well as some additional materials and a weapon or rare item.
Since they’re part of The Legend of Zelda series, you can snag extra goodies in other titles. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has amiibo-exclusive Chamber Dungeons, for example, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players can get a new Mii racing suit.
If you are playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2 with the upgrade pack, you’re in for a treat.
The update smooths out that frame rate and improves the resolution throughout, fixing just about the only thing that was wrong with the Switch 1 original: Its performance.
Tom Marks said in his review update that ”This [Switch 2 upgrade] really does feel like the way this game was always meant to be played, and I’m thrilled by the idea of a new generation discovering it for the first time.”
Hard to argue there, really.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
After a month-long showdown packed with nostalgia, fan debates, and surprise upsets, IGN’s fan-voted tournament to decide the Greatest Racing Game of All Time has reached the finish line.
The Road to Victory:
Starting with 32 legendary titles across four regions: Arcade Racing, Simulation, Street Racing, and Wild Card, the bracket pitted generations of racers against each other in a battle of genre, style, and pure fun. Each round was decided by fans voting across IGN’s website & social platforms throughout August.
Arcade Racing Region
This region saw Burnout 3: Takedown dominate with its high-octane crashes and signature chaos. It knocked out nostalgic favorites like OutRun, DriveClub, and Hot Wheels Unleashed on its way to the Final Four.
Wild Card Racing Region
The unpredictability was real, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was an unstoppable force. The Switch-era racer powered through Diddy Kong Racing, Wreckfest, and Crash Team Racing to secure its spot among the elite.
Simulation Region
Representing the most realistic and technical side of racing, Gran Turismo 7 stood tall. It beat out heavyweights like Forza Motorsport, iRacing, and F1 2020, proving that sim racing still has a loyal fanbase.
Street Racing Region
In a battle of urban horsepower, Forza Horizon 5, with its stunning Mexico backdrop and open-world freedom, outraced Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition to reach the Final Four.
Final Four Showdowns
The penultimate rounds delivered some dramatic clashes.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sent Burnout 3 spinning off the track with a decisive win.
Forza Horizon 5 edged past Gran Turismo 7 in a tight race between street style and simulation mastery.
The Grand Finale: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe vs. Forza Horizon 5
It all came down to a battle between two modern icons: Arcade Racing vs. Street Racing, Mario vs. Mexico. In the end, fan nostalgia, polish, and sheer fun factor helped Mario Kart 8 Deluxe take the crown as IGN’s Greatest Racing Game of All Time.
Did You See It Coming?
Did your favorite make it to the top? Were there any upsets that still sting? Let us know in the comments!
One of my favorite board games, and one that I always recommend as an excellent choice for board game beginners, is Z-Man Games’ Pandemic. A tense and strategic cooperative game that pits players in various specialized roles with the goal of stopping and eradicating deadly viruses. Now, Matt Leacock, the designer of Pandemic, has done it again, replacing viruses with Urakai, and first responders with Legolas and Gimli. The game is called The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship. I love Pandemic, but after diving into this, it’s going to be hard to go back.
Fate of the Fellowship recounts the struggle of the Fellowship trying to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, with 1 to 5 players taking up the cloaks of various members of the Fellowship and their allies. Turns are spent maneuvering friendly forces and characters around Middle-earth, completing missions, halting the forces of Sauron, and inching Frodo and Sam closer to Mount Doom.
Before the game begins, players choose two characters to control from the impressive roster of 10 possible heroes, including the likes of the King himself, Argorn, the rest of the Fellowship, and elves Eowyn or Arwen. Each character comes with their own player card detailing their special abilities and starting location, where you place the screen-printed wooden meeples.
Some characters help more with movement, such as Gandalf being able to move double the spaces when traveling alone. Others, like Eowyn, are better suited to being hurled into combat, letting her permanently remove Nazghul from the game board. Being able to play to each of the available heroes’ strengths is a big factor in determining if you manage to chuck that annoying piece of metal into the volcano or not.
The players’ goal is to complete three randomly assigned objectives before finally getting Frodo to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring – a pretty straightforward goal. In order to avoid defeat, everyone has to work together to keep Frodo hidden, and to stop the dark forces from overtaking too many safe havens around Middle-earth, like Rivendell.
You lose when the Hope track hits zero. A number of situations cause your hope to lower, including havens falling to shadow, Frodo being spotted, or when you need to draw a player card but there aren’t any left. There are ways to gain Hope, but those opportunities are far fewer, including capturing a shadow stronghold and some objective rewards. This tug-of-war is always present and sometimes requires you to make hard decisions, such as drawing the eye away from the region Frodo is in at the cost of risking friendly army units in an encounter skewed in favor of the shadow.
When it comes to taking actions, Fate adds some additional elements and requirements that can limit what you can do on your turn. You can take four actions with a character. These include preparatory actions like Travel (moving your character), Muster (adding friendly army units), Fellowship (giving or taking a card from another player), and Prepare (exchanging one of your cards for its associated resource – more on this in a moment). You can also Attack (engage enemies with friendly army units), or Capture (take over/retake a stronghold of an enemy).
Since each player controls two characters, in a pretty creative move, everyone is able to take a single action as their other character, too, in addition to their primary character for that turn, who can take up to four. There are some restrictions present, such as not being able to split up your turns (i.e. take two actions with your main character, your single action with your secondary, and finish with the remaining two actions with your primary) but I do enjoy how this lets you have your hand in two places anywhere on the board at once. And you choose which of your characters is the primary each turn, so you are never locked in either.
While in the original Pandemic game, you have to turn in a set of similar colored cards to cure a virus, this concept of using resources to conduct an action has been expanded in Fate, with many of your actions requiring, at least in part, one of four different resources to do. Player cards feature one of these icons and can be played as that resource’s cost, such as Friendship being spent to Muster new forces or Valor for Attack.
Debatably, the most important of these resources are the Stealth and Resistance ones that have a more direct hand in whether or not you will fail or succeed in the game. Spending Stealth cards allows Frodo’s player to move him without causing a search by Sauron and removing the risk of losing hope. The Resistance resource not only lets you re-roll dice, but you MUST spend five of these even to attempt to throw the ring into Mt. Doom to win.
My feelings on these added action requirements are split. While I appreciate the added strategy and thematic component they bring to Fate of the Fellowship, it also shifts the game more into the realm of randomness. When you have what you need or can get it on your turn, pulling off big plays feels awesome. However, if you don’t, it can lead to some pretty lackluster turns, especially when I or my friends have little we can do to impact our odds of winning. Moments like these just didn’t feel good, since regardless of how much or how little you manage to do on your turn, you still need to draw from the Darkness deck, which could make things worse for the good guys instead. Thankfully, though, I would say that these sorts of turns only come about every so often, and I felt far more productive most of the time, and that my decisions made a difference.
My plays of Fate of the Fellowship were full of tense moments, dramatic victories, and risky plays that sometimes paid off in spades.
My plays of Fate of the Fellowship were full of tense moments, dramatic victories, and risky plays that sometimes paid off in spades and other times brought about cataclysmic failure. When the countdown begins closing out 2025, I have little doubt that Fate of the Fellowship will have delivered one of the best gaming moments of my year.
As a hail-mary, last-ditch attempt at victory, we flew Frodo straight to Mt. Doom on the backs of the giant eagles using a special event card one of us had drawn. Doing so not only caused every Nazgul to rush back along with the Eye of Sauron directly on him, but we also needed to roll 14 dice and cross our fingers our hope track could withstand it. The first roll of seven dice put us dangerously close to losing all hope, and all that stood between the Fellowship and seven more dice.
Unfortunately, the results of those seven dice resulted in an outcome that dropped our hope to zero. Or at least it would have, had Tom Bombadil (or at least his event card) not come in to save the day. After slamming it down, I was able to re-roll three of the search dice, with a brand new result keeping our hope alive. The Fellowship and free peoples of Middle-earth had done it! The hype we felt at that moment was real.
17 years separate the original Pandemic and Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship, and this latest adaptation of Matt Leacock’s system proves that its bones are still solid. Fate of the Fellowship expands and grows what has already proven to work, delivering a challenging yet rewarding cooperative experience.
It isn’t a title that I want to recommend for people looking to get into board games, thanks to the added mechanisms and heavier reliance on chance compared to Pandemic. Plus there’s the occasional turn where you are left just waiting and hoping to get what you need. Still, it’s a game I would quickly bring to the table with players who enjoy Pandemic already and are more receptive to heavier board games. The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship is hands-down one of the best Lord of the Rings and Pandemic games on the market right now, and proves that Gandalf meant to literally fly to Mt. Doom when he said “Fly, you fools!”.
Ubisoft has detailed a fresh update coming to Assassin’s Creed Shadows on September 11, which will add support for the game’s upcoming Claws of Awaji expansion as well as a list of other freebies — including some very special armor and a very special cat.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows update 1.1.1 will launch at 7am Pacific, 10am Eastern or 3pm UK time tomorrow, and weigh in at 12.94GB on PlayStation 5, 33GB on Xbox Series X/S and 42GB on PC (though only 17GB through Steam).
As a taster of Awaji, all players will get access to the expansion’s new Bo staff weapon via an introductory quest that will be made available whether you own the new content or not. (This will unlock in-game on September 16.)
Other major changes include another level cap increase, this time to level 100, plus two new gear qualities and fresh hideout upgrades with two additional levels for each building that grant further bonuses to Naoe, Yasuke and their allies.
Several fan-requested additions are also included, such as the ability to advance the time of day (handy for sneaking into castles under cover of darkness) and improved scouts that will reveal viewpoints and safehouses. This update will also completely unfog a map region once all its viewpoints have been synchonised. Phew.
Last but definitely not least comes a fresh Animus Hub project, Sanctuary, which includes items themed around the franchise’s fan-favorite Renaissance hero Ezio. Of particular note here is the “Rooftop Cat” pet for your hideout, a white feline with custom Assassin robes. Adorable.
Below lies the patch’s list of bug fixes, in addition to all of the above.
Fixed an issue where the game crashed during the cutscene of the “Chained” rift.
Fixed various localization issues.
Fixed an issue where the vertical sliding sound effect continued if you switched characters during a slide.
Fixed an issue where some tutorials repeated themselves after unlocking Yasuke.
Gameplay
Fixed an issue where the Naginata Ronin were not vulnerable after using the Vault ability.
Addressed an issue where the Scale of the Koi and Soaring Tatsu trinkets were not functioning as expected.
Fixed an issue where the aiming reticle option “Only While Aiming” was missing from the settings.
Fixed an issue where a persistent “New Item” notification appeared after looting weapons from scout supply chests.
Fixed an issue where players were unable to start horse archery in Iga because the quest giver had moved locations. Get back in your spot!
Fixed an issue Ikko Ikki Kamon banner was missing after completing the “Collection of Crests” quest.
Fixed an issue where the Mount Nukai contract targeted a chest that was already opened.
Fixed an issue where multiple waypoints were not synchronizing.
Difficulty Options
Fixed an issue on Nightmare difficulty where Teppo enemies appeared broken.
Fixed an issue on Nightmare difficulty where the Samurai Spear Guard had a combat glitch.
Fixed an issue where Canon Mode disabled itself on the second launch of the game.
Hideout
Fixed an issue in the Hideout when selecting the option to duel with Naoe or Yasuke did nothing.
Fixed an issue in the Hideout where certain buildings or set pieces could not be rotated.
Fixed an issue in the Hideout that prevented players from moving the horse stables after changing their original location. Back to your Hideout planning!
Fixed an issue where Rufino remained stuck in the Hideout after being recruited.
Skills, Abilities & Upgrades
Addressed an issue where the Shadow Piercer ability was not functioning correctly.
Addressed an issue where the 33% health recovery on posture attack perk was not functioning as expected.
Visuals & Graphics
Fixed various visual issues.
Fixed a visual issue with the architect’s lip sync in the “Seta-Killers” quest.
Fixed a visual issue affecting Yasuke’s aim with the Teppo when wearing variations of the Samurai Hat.
Fixed a visual issue with the Ronin Kasa Hat.
Fixed a visual issue with the Blush of the Earth bow quiver.
Fixed a visual issue with Oni’s Flesh Armour.
Fixed a visual issue where Gashadokuro’s mask did not have red eyes on the Memories screen.
SPOILERS WARNING!
Quests
“A Critical Encounter”: Fixed an issue where players could not interact with Rufino to trigger the quest. He was just being shy.
“Broken Horn”: Fixed an issue where players could not progress due to being stuck by the Animus wall.
“Face the Oshiroi Baba”: Fixed an issue where Yokai objective member rewards were not being granted correctly.
“Feast For Thought”: Fixed an issue where requirements were automatically completed for the quest.
“Man Behind the Curtain”: Fixed an issue where after Ermigo died, Gaspar was incorrectly shown as dead.
“My Name Is Yasuke”: Fixed an issue where players could not progress due to being stuck outside the Animus wall.
“Of My Enemy”: Fixed an issue where Hiromichi’s man stopped moving if the player entered combat while following him.
“Out of the Shadows”: Fixed an issue where the game crashed after the cutscene.
“Silver Smugglers”: Fixed an issue where Yoshisada could be assassinated early before the quest.
“Tea Bowls for Rikyu”: Fixed an issue in the Hideout where tea bowls could no longer be placed after completing the quest.
“The Tournament”: Fixed an issue where players could not interact with Gyoji despite a blue marker being shown.
Fixed an issue where players were unable to talk to Katsuhime in the crop field when she was sitting on the ground.
PLATFORM-SPECIFIC FIXES
PC
Fixed an issue where the heavy attack (LMB+Shift) was not functioning correctly on keyboard and mouse.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
“After 50, 70, 100 hours, you need something a bit unique,” says Simon Arsenault, content director for Assassin’s Creed Shadows expansion Claws of Awaji at Ubisoft Bordeaux. And it’s true to say that — despite much of the upcoming add-on feeling familiar — Awaji still contains just enough distinct moments that the portion of its additional 10 hours we’ve now played felt fresh enough, rather than only offering more of the same.
Ubisoft is keen to showcase more of these distinct moments individually, and also keep some surprises back for players at launch, when the expansion arrives next week on September 16. But for now, IGN is able to highlight a cool Metal Gear Solid-inspired boss fight that doubles down on the series’ focus on stealth, and is a highlight of the expansion’s first half.
Set in an atmospheric arena deep within Awaji’s dense forest, players are tasked with repeatedly tracking down Awaki, one of the expansion’s four main villains. Awaki is a master of stealth and disguise, and near-indistinguishable from a set of straw decoys also spread around the area. To counter her, you’ll have to scuttle, sneak and crawl while staying out of sight, or risk getting sniped from long range by Awaki, who’s equipped with a teppo rifle.
Every time you’re discovered, or mistakenly attack a decoy, Awaki changes her position — forcing you to start your hunt afresh. The only clues you’re given are an ability to focus in on her voice whenever she taunts you, affording you a sense of direction, and the ability to use Naoe’s Eagle Vision when in very close range, in order to confirm your suspicions.
It’s a relatively elaborate set-piece and something quite unlike anything else in Assassin’s Creed — though stealth genre fans will find it somewhat similar to showdowns seen elsewhere. Indeed, while on a tour of Bordeaux’s studio, developers acknowledged to IGN that the mission was inspired by Metal Gear Solid 3’s The Fear fight, as well Dishonored, and Snake’s MGS5 showdown with Quiet.
The fight also plays into Awaji’s more isolated island setting , and the darker, creepier atmosphere the expansion hopes to differentiate itself with. “We really liked the idea of an island region, with natural boundaries all around, it’s compact, there’s a seclusion we like, something where you’re a bit isoloted,” Arsenault notes. “It brings increased tension to the experience, increased danger. As soon as we added a new faction in there, it’s their world. As players you’re coming into their land. You’re not in control anymore, not as much.”
Awaji’s quartet of antagonists embody much of that tension, and always seem one step ahead of Naoe and Yasuke as they search for answers regarding the former’s mother, and hunt for Shadows’ final mystery box macguffin. Standing in their way are Kimura Yukari, the daughter of a Templar Yasuke previously killed, her bodyguard Imagawa Tomeji, their spymaster Yasuhira, and lastly Nowaki — she’s the cloaked character in a horned mask, above.
Most of these characters look set to have their own unique boss encounter, and it’s these — alongside smaller tweaks to Shadows’ main gameplay, the expansion’s new weapon (the Bo staff), and a smattering of extra skills and abilities for existing play styles that Arsenault is hoping will keep players further entertained.
“It’s not as much countering it, it’s more kind of spinning it,” he tells me, when I ask about disrupting player expectations. “So you’re expecting something and it doesn’t behave the same way.” I mention to him how, when going hands-on with the expansion, I sent out scouts to determine a mission’s location as usual — only to discover a new gameplay system in Awaji where doing so alerts the local populace, making them antagonistic when you arrive. It’s a new trade-off to using an existing system, and something Arsenault hopes will give veteran players something else to consider.
“What should I do? Should I find a new strategy? Should I avoid sending scouts or should I send them somewhere else? That’s what’s interesting with it,” he continued. “You take something that has been learned and has become kind of a routine and you just add a small twist. And we did that with a lot of systems. You’re used to civilians [needing help], or merchants, but now some can attack you — that didn’t happen.”
For much more on the expansion’s story, IGN sat down with Arsenault for an in-depth discussion detailing how Claws of Awaji picks up from Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ finale and, finally, answers the game’s two major narrative threads — even as various story elements shifted during development.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
While I’m not the one to choose to watch a horror movie or read a spooky book, I actually love a good horror game. The bar-setting remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 4 are fantastic, Alan Wake 2’s unconventional storytelling was incredibly suspenseful and memorable, and my favorite spooky experiences come from passing the controller around with a room of friends trying to keep my character alive in games like Until Dawn or The Quarry. The thing is, while I’m a fan of dreadful atmosphere, creepy ambiance, and shocking, disgusting character designs, I don’t really play these games by myself, and can only stomach the anxiety of good horror if I’m experiencing it alongside other people in the room.
That’s why I’m so excited after playing Little Nightmares 3 for nearly two hours: the third entry in Bandai Namco’s horror puzzle-platformer series is designed to be a completely cooperative two-player adventure (though it can be played solo if you like), and based on the level I played, it’s shaping up to fit the same niche as puzzly co-op classics like Split Fiction and Unravel Two.
To be fair, Little Nightmares 3 isn’t nearly as scary as your traditional rated-M horror game anyways. It’s surreal, fantastical horror made from the stuff of children’s nightmares. The level my co-op partner and I played had us sneaking through a haunted carnival filled with giant blob-like people waiting in line for carnival games, stuffing their faces with apples, and carelessly whacking what appeared to be one of their own kind with sticks, like a pinata. It’s a delightfully unsettling, rich atmosphere, and in my conversation with Little Nightmares 3 producer Coralie Feniello – who also served as associate producer on Little Nightmares 2 – she talked about how the Little Nightmares games are built to star children in a world that is not made for them. The carnival level really nailed that feeling, as we climbed through vents, boosted each other up to open doors, and avoided oversized monsters in an unfamiliar, unwelcoming place.
Little Nightmares 3 isn’t nearly as scary as your traditional rated-M horror game anyways. It’s surreal, fantastical horror made from the stuff of children’s nightmares.
We played as Low and Alone, the two new protagonists being introduced in Little Nightmares 3. The pair is looking for a path that could lead them out of the Nowhere. I controlled Alone: a young girl with pigtails and an aviator helmet who comes equipped with a wrench, while my partner was Low, a young boy who wears a crow mask and uses a bow and arrow. Our two different tools led to combat encounters where Low needed to shoot an arrow at an undead creature charging toward us, and I would finish the job by pulverizing the decapitated head with my wrench before the animated, headless body took one of us out. This required constant communication, and while the instant death for any mistake felt a little frustrating throughout our demo, generous checkpoints kept us motivated to achieve the perfect run.
The controls for all of this are fairly simple, which is another reason Little Nightmares 3 is setting up to be a great choice to play with a partner or friend who may not be as familiar with games. Most actions are performed with just a couple of buttons, and the difficulty comes in through communication and the intensity of doing everything exactly right as you’re being chased around like an unwanted mouse in a large house.
Just like the combat, every puzzle is also designed to be completed by both characters. There was nothing too head-scratching, but one highlight saw us working our way through multiple rooms to find a power source for a radio. Once we found it, one of us had to tune the radio to the right frequency to power on the lights in the room while the other used said lights to open the path forward. Just as in co-op games like Split Fiction, simple puzzles like this are enjoyable when communicating with a partner to solve them. Little Nightmares 3 also seamlessly weaves its world into its puzzle design. In one room, we needed to move a box to use it as a platform to climb higher, and the crate available to us was one component of the classic sawing-a-person-in-half magic trick. Only this time, there was no magic involved and the victim was ripped in half, and as we pulled the box away, their guts unceremoniously spilled onto the floor.
Moments like that really sell Little Nightmares 3’s unique art style that combines claymation-like models with dense, moody lighting. The way light creeps into a dark room through a lone window is striking, and the outdoor segments where the carnival is the only illumination against a rainy, pitch black backdrop creates a very memorable atmosphere. The carnival is just one chapter in Little Nightmares 3, and I’m excited to see how its visuals translate to completely different settings across the full game.
Supermassive worked hard to understand the DNA of the originals while also bringing in their own passion for the universe.
I should point out that this was my first experience with the Little Nightmares series. Outside of researching ahead of this preview event, I never played the first two, which were developed by Tarsier Studios. In 2019, Tarsier Studios was acquired by Embracer Group, and they’re now working on Reanimal, a very Little Nightmares-esque game set to release next year (and which itself is leaning hard into co-op). Bandai Namco retained the Little Nightmares franchise in the transaction and have partnered with Supermassive Games on this third entry, the studio behind horror games like Until Dawn and The Quarry that I mentioned earlier. In my conversation with Feniello, I asked what changes longtime fans of the series should expect from Little Nightmares 3, and she said Supermassive worked hard to understand the DNA of the originals while also bringing in their own passion for the universe.
And, she said co-op was the most highly-requested feature from the Little Nightmares community, which led to Bandai Namco’s decision to build this sequel around that idea. While my impression so far of Little Nightmares 3 is without the context of the originals, I can safely say I really enjoyed my time with this one and it got me interested in checking out the whole franchise, for what that’s worth. It will utilize a Friend’s Pass system, where only one player needs to buy a copy of the game to play online with a friend on the same platform. And for any solo players out there, you can play Little Nightmares 3 alone with an AI companion instead of another person, with Feniello noting that they worked hard to balance the experience for single-player as well.
I’m glad I wasn’t playing alone for the second half of our demo, though, which had us working through a more choreographed stealth-action set piece where we had to escape from an old man and his… son? Pet? It’s unclear what that small creature who chased us on all fours was, but that’s part of the fun. It started when we were forced to wake the pair up by tearing a plank off the wall to progress, and from there, each room was another test in avoiding getting caught.
This sequence required us to learn the routines of the residents in this hellscape, watching as the man poured the little guy a bowl of food in the kitchen, as we learned we needed to make our break for the next safe spot as he crawled across the table to dig in. There was plenty of trial-and-error as we tested the limits and pacing of their movements, and I really enjoyed the loop of learning a little bit each run, forming a game plan with my co-op partner, and ultimately succeeding. We also got split up for a brief section where my partner was locked in a cage and needed to make noise to distract the man while I worked on setting him free. After several failed attempts we finally escaped unscathed, and I left feeling excited to see the other intense scenarios Little Nightmares 3 will drop us into in the full game. Little Nightmares 3 arrives on October 10 for all major platforms.
A Nintendo Direct is confirmed to be taking place this Friday, September 12. The broadcast will begin at 6am PST/9am ET/2pm BST, and will run for roughly a whole hour.
As for what’s going to be included in the stream, Nintendo has yet to confirm. But seeing as it’s taking place just one day before the 40th birthday of the Super Mario Bros. series, it wouldn’t be a shock to see some plumber-related news.
For context, a similar showcase took place to mark the 35th anniversary of the original Super Mario and included Super Mario 3D World: Bowser’s Fury, and limited release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, and a Super Mario Bros Game & Watch.
What could we expect this time around? Well, we certainly wouldn’t say no to the reveal of a brand-new 3D Mario platformer to mark the Nintendo Switch 2 era, some Mario Kart World DLC, or a sneak peek at the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel, scheduled for April 2026.
Developing story…
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
Better yet, not only does Amazon have Sidon, Riju, and Tulin in stock, but they’re all discounted for a limited time right now.
Amazon Amiibo Sale: Save $10 for a Limited Time
Each of these amiibo figures would set you back $29.99 when they first released, but Amazon has discounted three of the figures to $19.99. That’s a saving of 33% each, and $10 off per amiibo.
So, whether you want Riju, Tulin, or Sidon to drop into your latest adventure, you’re in luck.
As for what they do in-game, all three unlock content in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Using any of the three figures via NFC will net you amiibo-exclusive paraglider fabric options, as well as some additional materials and a weapon or rare item.
Since they’re part of The Legend of Zelda series, you can snag extra goodies in other titles. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening has amiibo-exclusive Chamber Dungeons, for example, while Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players can get a new Mii racing suit.
If you are playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2 with the upgrade pack, you’re in for a treat.
The update smooths out that frame rate and improves the resolution throughout, fixing just about the only thing that was wrong with the Switch 1 original: Its performance.
Tom Marks said in his review update that ”This [Switch 2 upgrade] really does feel like the way this game was always meant to be played, and I’m thrilled by the idea of a new generation discovering it for the first time.”
Hard to argue there, really.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
Sucker Punch director Nate Fox has revealed that the day Rockstar confirmed GTA 6 was delayed until 2026 was a “great” one for the Ghost of Yotei team.
Grand Theft Auto 6 was due out in fall 2025, but over the summer, Rockstar confirmed a delay to May 26, 2026, saying it needed “this extra time to deliver at the level of quality [players] expect and deserve.” And while the delay may have been disappointing news for players desperate to experience a new GTA game, Sucker Punch was delighted that Rockstar’s upcoming game would no longer clash with the October release of Ghost of Yotei.
In an interview with MinnMax (thanks, GR+), co-creative director Fox said the news resulted in a celebration, joking: “We’re all still hungover, multi-month hangover. That was a great day.”
Much like how the shadow-dropped announcement of Hollow Knight: Silksong’s release date of September 4, 2025, was a less-than-celebratory day for the developers of around 10 other video games with existing marketing plans to launch around that same time, studios have also been shuffling release schedules to ensure their titles don’t bump up against GTA 6 and soak up the time, money, and interest of potential players.
As we summarized at the time, Hollow Knight: Silksong’s debut affected the release of games like Demonschool, Aeterna Lucis, Little Witch in the Woods, CloverPit, Megabonk, Baby Steps, Faeland, Starbirds, and Moros Protocol. Even Stomp and the Sword of Miracles, an indie game with no release date plans anywhere in sight, elected to delay its Kickstarter launch and demo release due to Silksong.
Nigel Lowrie, co-founder of Devolver Digital, told IGN: “There are AAA games and then there’s AAAA games and I’d argue that Grand Theft Auto is potentially the AAAAA game, it’s just bigger than anything else both in the scope and scale of the game and the kind of cultural impact that it has and the attention it demands.”
Adam Lieb, CEO of marketing platform Gamesight, added: “I would say that GTA for the last year and a half has been a part of almost every conversation around launch dates I have heard.”
At least Ghost of Yotei’s release date seems certain: October 2, 2025. The follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima, Yotei is set in the lands surrounding Mount Yotei, and takes place more than 300 years after the events of the first 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.
