Assassin’s Creed Shadows will get a New Game+ mode on 29th July, Ubisoft have announced in a video about their summer plans for the feudal Japanese open world stab-me-do. They’re also working on a free Assassin’s Creed Shadows update that lets you fast-forward the time of day, an ability that would certainly serve me well right now, as I contemplate the seven grim hours of video game journalism that separate me from the weekend.
Update: Participation site goes live.
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Nintendo has announced it will be performing another Nintendo Switch Online Playtest Program starting later this month.
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Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s patent infringement lawsuit in Japan against Pocketpair’s open-world survival game Palworld is ongoing. In the latest development, Nintendo has reworded one of the patents in the case, but what led up to this bizarre move?
Palworld is an open-world survival game that skyrocketed in popularity upon its Steam and Xbox early access launch back on January 19, 2024. It sold 8 million copies in just six days and racked up over 25 million players in one month.
The game world is inhabited by creatures called Pals, which you can capture and use (read: exploit) to carry out various tasks. The visual appearance of the Pals and the method of capturing them by throwing a ball (Pal Sphere), quickly drew comparisons to Pokémon, with the game even getting nicknamed “Pokémon with guns” for its darker, black humor-infused take on the creature collecting genre. With Palworld’s meteoric rise in popularity, it wasn’t long before Nintendo rival Sony got together with Pocketpair to form Palworld Entertainment in June 2024, a new business venture aimed at expanding the IP.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company showed signs of keeping an eye on Palworld (for example, this official statement from The Pokémon Company back in January 2024). But it wasn’t until September 2024 that they officially announced they were filing a lawsuit in Japan against Pocketpair for infringement of patent rights.
The case involves three patents granted by the Japan Patent Office (JPO): two related to monster capture and release, and one related to riding characters. All three patents were filed in 2024, after Palworld came out. However, they are actually derived from earlier Nintendo patents dating from 2021. In other words, it seems that once Palworld came on the scene, Nintendo filed divisional patents that were geared to fight specifically against Palworld’s alleged infringement of the original patents.
Since then, Pocketpair has made changes to Palworld’s disputed mechanics. The November 2024 patch removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pokéball-like Pal Spheres (now Pals just materialize next to you when summoned). In May, another Palworld update changed how you can glide in the game — instead of directly grabbing onto Glider Pals, now you just simply use Pal-buffed Glider equipment.
It’s worth noting that these changes by Pocketpair are not an admission of guilt. Rather, as Japanese patent attorney Kiyoshi Kurihara pointed out on Yahoo Japan news last month, Pocketpair is following the standard three-pronged defense against patent lawsuits, which is to “deny infringement, argue that the patents are invalid, and avoid infringement through design changes.” He also noted that Nintendo does not have the upper hand, as there seems to be a fierce back-and-forth with Nintendo pushing for patent infringement and Pocketpair pushing for patent invalidity.
In short, Nintendo’s ride mechanic patent (which got a sudden rewrite recently) covers a system for mounting and maneuvering pre-selected “boardable characters” (tōjō kyarakuta). Commenting on X, Japanese lawyer Ryo Arashida pointed out that it could be argued that the way Palworld’s Glider Pals worked prior to the May update infringed part of the patent’s specifications, namely those about the player grabbing onto and hanging from the boardable character, and their subsequent control of that movement.
Prior to the May Palworld update, you could use an actual Glider Pal to glide (by grabbing onto its feet). However, post-update, players have to use a piece of equipment — a Glider — to glide, rather than actually using the Pals themselves. Instead, Pals now act as passive buffs on your gliding.
Ironically, as Arashida noted, Nintendo’s major argument to get the patent granted in the first place was that a “boardable character” was specifically a character and not a tool, like a parachute. “For this reason, claiming in the lawsuit that a ‘Glider’ (which is a tool) is a ‘boardable character’ would create a contradiction.”
This month, Nintendo reworded the ride-switching mechanic patent. Rewording a patent mid-case is legal as long as it doesn’t introduce any new concepts or technical matter. However, as pointed out by IP consultant Florian Mueller at GamesFray, this only tends to happen if the litigant (in this case, Nintendo) feels the patent is “at a fairly high risk of being deemed invalid in its original form.” Nintendo’s rewriting of the patent makes it more verbose. Mueller focused on the addition of “even when” (-attemo in Japanese) to the wording, noting that “even” is rarely used in patents because it’s “too emphatic and subjective.”
Although it’s not clear exactly what Nintendo’s motivations are behind this sudden rewording, it’s possible that it is using this as a last-ditch tactic to make it harder for the patent claim to be dismissed as invalid.
The case continues. Meanwhile, Pocketpair continues to update Palworld with new features, such as the recently released Terraria crossover.
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.
For trainers located in Japan and Australia.
It’s been an exciting week on the Pokémon front with multiple new announcements shared in the recent broadcast. Following this, more details about the Pokémon Legends: Z-A physical and digital pre-order goodies in select regions have been surfacing online.
Now, we’ve got an update about one of the special items trainers located in Japan and Australia can get their hands on as a pre-order bonus. As highlighted by Serebii.net, it’s a trench coat customisation and will be available “at certain locations” – including Amazon in Japan and from EB Games in Australia.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Alienware’s laptop range this year includes the Alienware Aurora 16 and its more impressive Aurora 16X. Both are great laptops, but as you may have guessed from the ‘X’ in the title, the latter is the more impressive version.
Joining the fight on Switch platforms later this year.
Marvel’s been involved with some pretty exciting games in recent times, and hopefully, this trend continues with its upcoming arcade-style beat ’em up MARVEL Cosmic Invasion.
Ahead of the game’s launch on the Switch and Switch 2 later this year, Dotemu has today revealed another two playable characters joining the roster. This time we get a brief look at ‘Beta Ray Bill’ and ‘Silver Surfer’ who join the fight against the immortal super villain Annihilus.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Marvel Cosmic Invasion, the promising looking beat ‘em-up from the developer of the well-received Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, announced two new playable characters as well as some big names for its voice cast during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2025.
First up, we have The Silver Surfer, which is an appropriately timed character announcement given the release of MCU movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps. “Imbued with the Power Cosmic, the Surfer can stun any adversary,” publisher Dotemu and developer Tribute Games said. “Easily gliding in the skies or close to the ground, insectoid invaders can’t escape Galactus’ former herald.”
The second reveal is perhaps more of a surprise as a playable character: Beta Ray Bill. “A fan-favorite recognized by the mighty Thor as a proven ally, and wielder of his own devastating hammer known as Stormbreaker,” Dotemu said. “Half-cyborg, half Korbinite, Bill’s strength can squash any bug battalion standing in his way.”
The Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill join Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Storm, Phyla-Vell, Venom, Nova, She-Hulk, and Rocket Raccoon on the playable roster of characters. The game launches with 15 playable characters, which means four are still to be announced.
As for the voice cast, Matt Mercer from Critical Role is set to play Nova and Annihilus.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is due out later this year on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5 and Xbox. Here’s the official blurb:
In Marvel Cosmic Invasion, the immortal Super Villain Annihilus has launched an unprecedented attack across the galaxy, threatening all life as we know it. Super Heroes both Earth-born and cosmic must now join forces in a star-spanning adventure against the deadly Annihilation Wave. Brawl through the streets of New York City all the way to the depths of the Negative Zone to foil Annihilus’ vow to spread death across the cosmos in classically inspired side-scrolling combat.
Choose and control your own team of two characters while tagging between them mid-fight with the innovative Cosmic Swap system, capitalizing on distinct superpowers and special attacks to create unique team-ups and dish out devastating damage. Unlock stellar powerups and rewards while experimenting with different duos and bash through a fantastic collection of locales and nemeses from the Marvel universe. Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s action includes a range of accessibility features, empowering the whole family to be Super Heroes (or villains), and supports four-player drop-in/drop-out local and online co-op with crossplay.
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 cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps recently gathered to try out Marvel Rivals for the first time, and the actors’ reaction to Invisible Woman’s skimpy Malice skin has the internet in tears.
Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm), and Joseph Quinn (Human Torch) recently gathered to play NetEase Games’ popular hero shooter with YouTuber Loserfruit. The resulting video is quite funny, showing the new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) family as they fumble through a few matches as their in-game counterparts.
Meet the family! ✨Marvel Studios The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast’s genuine reactions as they try out Marvel Rivals! 😄 pic.twitter.com/sq8lwMh7pp
— Marvel Rivals (@MarvelRivals) July 24, 2025
It’s goofy and occasionally hard to watch as Pascal flails his stretchy arms at enemies, but the highlight is no doubt the Fantastic Four cast’s reaction to Invisible Woman’s infamous Marvel Rivals Malice skin. Fans of the game had already taken the time to see everything the shockingly revealing outfit had to offer when it made its debut with Season 1 in January. On the eve of the new Fantastic Four movie’s premiere, though, the cast is only just seeing it for the first time.
Kirby is the first to joke about the skin: “Thank you. This is my favorite bit of her as well,” she says of the video game version of her Fantastic Four character. “This is my favorite bit. Guys, watch out, like I said, for the sequel. You better watch it.”
The Fantastic Four: First Steps, of course, has yet to receive the green light for a proper MCU sequel, though we do know at least some of its major characters will make an appearance in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Invisible Woman’s evil black-and-red Malice skin probably won’t make it into the MCU, but the slack-jawed Pascal still shared some of his thoughts.
“Here we go,” Pascal said. “Costume designer, take notes.”
Loserfruit’s video also includes the Fantastic Four cast’s reaction to other Marvel Rivals cosmetics, including Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman’s The Life Fantastic wedding skins. Of course, it’s how all four actors reacted to the Malice skin that has started to achieve viral status. You can see the group’s reaction at 4:40 in Loserfruit’s video and then see how it’s spread to the internet below.
— 🏆- Christian (@Braves246) July 24, 2025
Their reaction when they saw Sue’s Malice skin 😭💀 pic.twitter.com/tFQ7kAvlGq
— Suebi ⓸ (@wasabitoffee) July 24, 2025
The Fantastic Four: First Steps officially lands in theaters tomorrow, July 25, and will introduce the first new live-action take on Marvel’s First Family in a decade. Meanwhile, a crossover featuring movie tie-in skins will arrive in Marvel Rivals starting tomorrow.
You can check out our 7/10 review of the film before you head to the theater. If you’re still looking for more on Marvel, you can read about all of the skins, characters, and other cosmetics coming in Marvel Rivals Season 3.
Screenshot via I Play Marvel Rivals with the Fantastic Four Cast by Loserfruit.
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).
In a surprising turn of events, Indiegogo, one of the largest global crowdfunding platforms second only to Kickstarter, has been acquired by board game crowdfunding site Gamefound.
In a joint announcement, Gamefound revealed it will be integrating its technology to enhance the Indiegogo platform, offering creators and backers more powerful tools than ever before. These include over 20 payment options, a full-featured mobile app, built-in marketing tools, and more robust pledge management. Indiegogo will also adopt Gamefound’s flat 5% fee structure, putting more money in creators’ pockets.
“It’s time for crowdfunding to be a forward-facing industry again,” said Julie dePontbriand, CEO of Indiegogo in the official release. “Gamefound’s technology is unrivaled, and we’re thrilled to bring it to Indiegogo’s diverse community. Together, we’re making crowdfunding more innovative, creator-friendly, and exciting than ever before.”
The two sites will continue operating independently for now, with Gamefound remaining focused on tabletop games and Indiegogo continuing to promote tech, film, and other creative projects. In the near future, Gamefound campaigns will also be discoverable through Indiegogo, opening the door to a much broader audience.
Indiegogo is one of the original crowdfunding pioneers, having launched over 17 years ago. In that time, it has amassed 38 million members and raised more than $3 billion for projects across the globe. By combining Indiegogo’s global reach with Gamefound’s cutting-edge infrastructure, the partnership might finally give Kickstarter a run for its money.
Overall, this acquisition is a massive win for the board game industry. Gamefound will soon be cross-promoting its tabletop campaigns through Indiegogo, allowing creators to get in front of millions of new customers.
With fewer fees and more native tools to help promote projects, creators may finally start shifting away from Kickstarter for new campaigns. Since Gamefound doesn’t have a paid promotion feature like Kickstarter Boost, it levels the playing field for smaller creators, too.
Large publishers are already favoring Gamefound, with six of the ten largest board game projects in 2024 successfully funded there, including the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 board game that reached its goal in ten minutes.
Matthew Adler has written for IGN since 2019 covering all things gaming, tech, tabletop games, and more. You can follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
Invincible VS will feature Battle Beast as a playable character.
Confirmation comes direct from Invincible creator Robert Kirkman’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, where a new trailer, below, showing Battle Beast in action was revealed.
Invincible VS is the upcoming 3v3 tag fighting game set in the Invincible universe. It’s developed by Skybound Entertainment’s first in-house game studio, Quarter Up. Already confirmed Invincible VS characters include Mark Grayson (Invincible), Atom Eve, Thula, Bulletproof, and Rex Splode. Check out IGN’s Invincible VS preview from June for more.
Here’s the official blurb on Battle Beast:
Battle Beast enters the arena with all the rage, strength and brutality fans know and love. His insatiable bloodlust has led him across the arena, using massive attack range and Super Armor to overpower opponents. Though slower in speed, his sheer power makes him a dominant “anchor” fighter capable of turning the tide of battle.
Warning! Spoilers for Invincible Season 3 follow:
In the Season 3 of Invincible, Battle Beast survives a brutal battle against a Viltrumite in space after a prison break. In the season finale he is found frozen and adrift by a ship from the Coalition of Planets and revived, setting the stage for his potential involvement in the Viltrumite War. He wants “more!”
To catch up and find out what all this means for Season 4, check out IGN’s Invincible Season 3 ending explained.
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.
