Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma reveals the Ocarina of Time Switch 2 remake originally included fast travel warp points, but the team removed them after realizing they undermined the game's core moments of discovery. The remake launches November 5 with sprint, a dedicated jump button, and preserved loading screens instead.
Fifteen years after its October 2011 launch, Batman: Arkham City remains the benchmark for superhero games. Rocksteady's masterpiece set the template that Insomniac's Spider-Man series and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor would follow, yet no subsequent Batman title has matched its perfect balance of combat, stealth, and open-world design.
PlayStation architect Mark Cerny and Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley have announced the Nova Games Foundation, a nonprofit fellowship program awarding $100,000 grants to 20 game design graduates annually. The initiative includes mentorship and up to $500,000 in additional milestone-based funding, with applications opening this December for the classes of 2026 and 2027.
A generation of players grew up treating Grand Theft Auto as a physics playground rather than a narrative experience, using cheat codes to spawn tanks, flying cars, and unlimited weapons. This hands-on experimentation revealed the depth of Rockstar's simulation systems in ways the intended progression never could. As GTA 6 approaches, the author argues that preserving cheat codes remains essential for understanding game design.
The original Grand Theft Auto remains a fascinating time capsule of 1997 game design, offering unprecedented player freedom that laid the foundation for the entire open-world genre. Despite clunky controls and punishing difficulty that haven't aged well, the game's varied vehicles, hilarious sound effects, and trendsetting soundtrack still deliver genuine entertainment nearly three decades later.
Capcom developers revealed at CEDEC 2026 that Pragmata's robot companion Diana almost received a bob haircut to reduce the massive cost of animating individual hair strands. The team ultimately kept her long hair, which uses fewer than 20,000 strands to convey a sense of life in the game's low-gravity lunar environment.
A new fan-made trailer titled Final Fantasy Resonance asks what the gaming landscape would look like if Final Fantasy 7 had never existed. The project reimagines iconic characters and scenarios through a radically different lens, stripping away the legacy that defined a generation of RPGs. This creative exercise highlights just how deeply Square Enix's 1997 landmark shaped modern game design and storytelling.
Josh Sawyer reveals Obsidian's approach to skill balance in Fallout: New Vegas, ensuring no character build is left behind. The studio's "Karma Police" team reviews script checks to maintain diverse gameplay experiences. Sawyer emphasizes fun over perfect balance, supporting unique character concepts.
Dispatch, the tactical action game, has implemented an unexpectedly humorous solution to its censorship problem on the Nintendo Switch. By creatively reworking censored elements, the developers managed to not only comply with regulations but also add a layer of dark humor to the game. This approach has drawn attention for its ingenuity in navigating platform restrictions.
In a surprising turn, the developers of "Echoes of Elyria" have canceled their battle royale project after a 3-year development cycle, opting instead for a new direction described as "not quite an MMO, but more than a co-op game." This pivot comes as a validation of community skepticism towards the battle royale genre choice. The new project promises a unique blend of cooperative gameplay and dynamic world elements.
