Vapourware! We all say we despise it, but everybody loves thinking about games that spend an eternity in limbo, whether due to chronic mismanagement or simply because the developers feel no need to rush. So many teasers to unravel, so many conspiracies to bake from the most ludicrous of breadcrumbs, so much delicious exasperation to wallow in as yet another year goes by without a new trailer. Hollow Knight: Silksong is no longer vapourware, barring some extreme last-minute drama. Announced in 2019, it will finally launch this Thursday 4th September. To mark the occasion, we of the Treehouse have been chatting about our favourite examples of vapourware, if “favourite” is the right word.
Your contributions are very welcome. A question of terminology for the physicists in the comments: what should we call a vapourware game that has actually released? Condensedware? I await your complex mathematical explanations. In the meantime, here’s James.
Space Marine 2 offers just a slice of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, presenting the Ultramarines chapter of Space Marines against two enemy factions: the Tyranids and the Thousand Sons traitor legion. This, its developer has said, has led to some “assumptions” about the Warhammer 40,000 universe that are untrue — assumptions that have become widespread as a result of the game’s huge success.
Speaking to IGN at gamescom 2025, Tim Willits, development chief at Saber Interactive, said Space Marine 2’s popularity had opened the door to the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 setting for an army of new fans who aren’t necessarily clued up about the intricacies of the universe.
“I heard that lots of people now think that Thousand Sons are the only Chaos faction because that’s what we had in the game,” Willits said, reflecting on Space Marine 2’s first year.
“And so people are like, ‘Oh, I guess Thousand Sons, they’re Chaos.’ It’s like, ‘Actually no it’s not.’ They’re actually just a small faction. But people are just like, ‘That’s the one I played against.’”
Indeed, there is a long list of Chaos factions within the setting. If there’s an antagonist of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, it’s probably Abaddon the Despoiler’s Black Legion, who do not feature in Space Marine 2. Other traitor legions include the Death Guard, the Emperor’s Children, Iron Warriors, Night Lords, World Eaters, Word Bearers, and the Alpha Legion. But then there are Chaos-aligned renegade Space Marine chapters, warbands, and smaller groups to contend with. Yes, it’s a lot!
This assumption about Chaos extends to the Space Marines themselves. The Ultramaines — considered the poster boys of the Warhammer 40,000 setting and the chapter used by Games Workshop itself when introducing newcomers to the tabletop via starter sets — are the protagonists of the Space Marine 2 campaign, although many other factions are available to play as in the PvE and PvP modes.
“People have assumptions about the Warhammer 40,000 universe that are not correct,” Willits continued. “Like Thousand Sons being the only Chaos faction. That is kind of humorous. And like, ‘Oh Space Marines are only blue!’ That has been quite humorous to be honest, which is good for us.”
Indeed it is good for Saber Interactive, which has seen the star of Space Marine 2, Lieutenant Titus, not only become an official part of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game via his own model and datasheet, but immortalized via a star turn in the superb Warhammer 40,000 episode of Amazon’s Secret Level animated anthology.
Games Workshop has benefited greatly from Space Marine 2’s success as well, and not just in terms of licensing revenue. Anecdotally, staff at the company’s stores report a flood of newcomers who cite Space Marine 2 as their entry point. Clearly hoping to capitalize on the interest, Games Workshop recently announced the first ever officially licensed wearable Space Marine helmet — styled after Lieutenant Titus from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 of course.
One of the big questions going into the already confirmed Space Marine 3 is whether Saber will venture beyond the Ultramarines and the Thousand Sons in terms of the next campaign. The story seems to set up the addition of the Necrons, which at this point probably wouldn’t come as much of a surprise for Space Marine 3. But could other Space Marine chapters also appear? Perhaps other Chaos factions, too? We asked Willits about Space Marine 3, but he remained tight-lipped.
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.
The developers behind The Crew Unlimited, a community project that aims to make Ubisoft racer The Crew playable again following its unceremonious shutdown last year, have announced a release date.
If you need a bit of a refresher, Ubisoft’s decision to take The Crew’s servers offline in March 2024 rendered it totally unplayable even for those who own a physical copy, due to its online-only nature. That’s since served as the spark for the Stop Killing Games campaign we’ve reported on as its organisers have petitioned lawmakers across the world to ensure companies are required by law to put concrete end-of-life plans in place, when they decide to switch a game’s servers off. It also set a group of Crewers off on a quest to make the game playable again.
Hold on, Hollow Knight fans — we’re almost there. Hollow Knight: Silksong is slated to release this coming Thursday, September 4 on PC, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series for $19.99 / €19.99 / ¥2300.
The highly anticipated sequel to the award-winning metroidvania sees us play as Hornet as we journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts, and uncover ancient secrets tied to your nature and your past.
Team Cherry finally revealed Hollow Knight: Silksong’s September 4, 2025, release date at gamescom. We learned the news via a nearly two-minute trailer dropped by Team Cherry, which showed a ton of new footage from the game. We see Hornet exploring, loads of new insectoid NPCs, dreary graveyards, swamps, a bustling city, new enemies, new bosses, an Ori-style escape sequence, and more.
Here’s when the game will unlock for you in your timezone, as confirmed by Team Cherry earlier this week. And no, there’s no way to unlock early access, I’m afraid.
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.
I should say, up front, that I believe A Storied Life: Tabitha means well. Although it joins a swellingcollection of cosy/’wholesome’ games that also happen to be about death, it’s more grounded than most, forgoing grand scenery and grander metaphors to simply have you clearing out a deceased loved one’s house while patching up her unfinished memoirs. All perfectly earnest and untoward, it would seem, and yet I walked away from my Gamescom demo last month feeling uneasy – especially about how its puzzle aspect undermines, rather than enables, its posthumous storytelling.
The Sonic Racing: CrossWorldsOpen Network Test wrapped up last weekend, but it looks like we won’t have to wait long before we get to go hands on with the blue blur’s upcoming racer again ahead of launch.
SEGA capped off the test period by sharing that a free demo will be heading our way at some point in mid-September, with “more info coming soon”.
Players jumping into Hollow Knight: Silksong on Nintendo Switch will be able to upgrade to the “enhanced” Switch 2 version for free.
That comes from Team Cherry itself, which explained in an update on Kickstarter that while OG Nintendo Switch keys will be delivered directly to backers via email, Switch 2 players will need to download the Silksong Upgrade Pack from the eShop to unlock “enhanced features” (thanks, Eurogamer).
“For Nintendo Switch 2 players, after redeeming your Nintendo Switch key and downloading the game, you will additionally need to download the (free) Hollow Knight: Silksong Upgrade Pack from the eShop to unlock the platform’s enhanced features,” Team Cherry advised.
Though not explicitly confirmed, this suggests the upgrade pack will be available to all Silksong fans playing on Switch 2, regardless of backer status.
Backer surveys close later today, so if you backed the team on Kickstarter, you have just hours to get your survey completed to get your game key, so don’t hang around!
“I didn’t receive a survey, but I would honestly prefer to buy the game to support you guys anyway,” commented one happy player. “It has been so long that I actually forgot I was a backer of the original! Congrats on finally getting here Team Cherry!”
Hollow Knight: Silksong will retail for just $19.99. Yes, really. While there were a lot of rumors over the last few days — including a $20 price on Gamestop (since removed) that was later corroborated by noted leaker Billbil-kun — developer Team Cherry has now confirmed it, revealing the game will retail for $19.99 in the U.S., €19.99 in Europe, and ¥2300 in Japan.
Team Cherry finally revealed a release date for the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong at gamescom: September 4, 2025. Expect loads of new insectoid NPCs, dreary graveyards, swamps, a bustling city, new enemies, new bosses, an Ori-style escape sequence, and more. It’ll be available on PC, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S.
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 been a little while since we got another Cyberpunk 2077 tease that makes folks wonder whether CD Projekt are about to u-turn on adding more stuff to it yet again. Here one is, though, and it invites us 2025 dwellers to help out a president who isn’t elected in-universe until 2065.
Is it evidence that the NUSA have invented time travel tech that also allows Cyberpunk characters to migrate into our own reality? Is it just a way to spice up some promo for something like a livestream or minor reveal? I mean, almost definitely the latter, but the former’s a lot more fun to consider.
Oscar-nominated Canadian actor Graham Greene has died aged 73.
Greene secured an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Lakota medicine man Kicking Bird in Kevin Costner’s 1990 epic western, Dances With Wolves.
But he starred in scores of films and TV shows in a career spanning 45 years, including 1992’s Thunderheart, 1994’s Maverick opposite Mel Gibson, and 1995’s Die Hard with a Vengeance, where he played Detective Joe Lambert opposite Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson.
Other notable roles include Arlen Bitterbuck, a Native American man on death row in prison, in 1999’s The Green Mile, and Harry Clearwater in 2009’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon. More recently, Greene played Old Smoke in the second season episode of Sylvester Stallone’s Paramount+ show Tulsa King, and Skully in Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Echo.
Greene has a notable video game credit: Rains Fall in Rockstar’s 2018 western masterpiece Red Dead Redemption 2. Greene provided voice and motion capture for the character. In a 2018 interview with Vulture, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser called Greene’s work in the seemingly small role “brilliant,” saying that his Native American chief character was “losing his rights as an independent king, and he’s a gentle soul in that violent world.”
One of his final roles was on FX’s American comedy-drama television series Reservation Dogs, which follows the exploits of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma. Greene will posthumously star in upcoming movie, Ice Fall starring Joel Kinnaman.
“It is with deep sadness we announce the peaceful passing of award-winning legendary Canadian actor Graham Greene,” his manager Gerry Jordan said in a statement to CBC News, which reported he died of natural causes on Monday in Stratford, Ontario. Greene was also a member of the Order of Canada.
“He was a great man of morals, ethics and character and will be eternally missed,” Greene’s agent Michael Greene told THR. “You are finally free. Susan Smith [the actor’s longtime agent, who died in 2013] is meeting you at the gates of heaven.” Greene is survived by his wife, Hilary Blackmore, and his daughter Lilly Lazare-Greene.
Photo by Shawn Goldberg/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.
