Hardware spending alone reached $500 million, up a whopping 69 percent year-over-year. The Switch 2 led the pack in unit and dollar sales, followed by PlayStation 5. The latter also saw a surge in spending for the week ending April 4th following Sony’s latest price increase announcement.

What’s more interesting is that unit sales for the Switch 2 are 12 percent higher than the original in its first ten months on the market. Whether that’s enough for Nintendo, which is reportedly cutting production of the console in the region by 30 percent following underwhelming results, remains to be seen. But as it stands, it still holds the record for fastest-selling platform in US history.

While it’s announced release dates for Splatoon Raiders and Rhythm Heaven Groove, the company is also allegedly revealing a new Star Fox, which is apparently out this Summer. It also reportedly has a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in its back pocket, seemingly for release close to the holidays. As always, stay tuned for any official announcements.

“Kanto is different from anywhere else we visited,” says Chen in the video. “This is where tradition and modern life collide, where quiet mountain roads lead straight into one of the biggest cities on Earth. And it feels like the only place we could finish this journey.”

The journey starts off with Chen driving up to the train station in Hakone to meet Takita. When the artist brings up the fact that the Skyline is her father’s all-time favorite car, Chen brings up similar sentiments. “Well, he and I are alike, because this is my favorite car also,” he says.

On his decision to use a Skyline for this trip, Chen explains that “it wasn’t about how fast it was when it was brand new. It’s about the tunability. When people start tinkering and changing a couple of things, it’s very easy to make a lot of horsepower.”

The first episode of the series, released earlier this month, featured Satoshi “DRAGON76” Fujita as Chen’s partner for the journey to Tohoku. The trip involved a Toyota Land Cruiser as the two started off in the north.

“The first stop takes us north to Tohoku,” says Chen in the video. “Tohoku isn’t the first place most people think of when they imagine Japan. It’s colder, quieter, and a little more rugged.” Chen explained his choice of a Land Cruiser by saying, “For a journey through snow-covered mountain passes, there’s really only one choice.”

Episode 2 of The Art of Driving featured Kazuhisa Uragami, with the two traveling to Kyushu in a Honda Civic Type R. “Stop number two takes us south to Kyushu… Japan’s southern island,” said Chen in the introduction of the video. “A region shaped by active volcanoes, heavy industry, and a gateway for cultural exchange.”

“This is my first time driving the Honda Civic FL5. What you’re looking at is a K20C1. It’s a 2-litre inline-four turbo engine with VTEC. Out of this small engine, it makes 315 horsepower. The Type R moniker has never been about all-out speed. It’s about driving feel and fun. My favorite part about this is the fact that it’s a normal usable vehicle,” he explained.

Forza Horizon 6 is making its way to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on May 19th. Those who pick up the Premium Edition of the game can access it a few days earlier, on May 15th. Reports have indicated that pre-order numbers for the open-world racing game have been doing quite well, with 500,000 copies having been sold on Steam alone, according to one rumor.

For more on Forza Horizon 6, check out what its depiction of Tokyo looks like. Also, look at the new controller, headset, and charging dock themed around the title.

While these are still just rumors, RnK_Clan’s claims are noteworthy because the leaker had previously accurately predicted the addition of Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui to the game back when it was still on its Year 2 pass. LVCKYJ’s claims are also similarly noteworthy due to their previously leaking the fact that Alex would be part of Capcom’s Year 3 plans for the fighting games.

While the addition of Gouken and Hagar to the Street Fighter 6 roster would be interesting, the headlining name in the leak is Tifa Lockhart. The Final Fantasy 7 character is well known in her own game for her focus on melee attacks and martial arts training, and as such, would fit in with the rest of the Street Fighter 6 roster quite well.

Adding yet another wrinkle to the story is YouTuber Rooflemonger claiming to have known about Tifa and Vega’s presence in the Year 4 plans for Street Fighter 6 “quite some time ago.” They even went as far as to note that their “personal source”, who had previously told them about the addition of Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui to the roster, as well as the general existence of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, was able to corroborate the idea of Tifa joining Capcom’s upcoming fighting game.

As already noted in this report, Street Fighter 6 is no stranger to crossover characters at this point, with Fatal Fury‘s Terry Bogard having joined the roster back in 2024. Fellow Fatal Fury character Mai Shiranui would join him in Capcom’s fighting game just a few months later. Tifa Lockhart, however, would mark the first time we see a Final Fantasy character in a mainline entry in the Street Fighter franchise.

The last time we saw a character from Square Enix’s long-running fantasy RPG series in a fighting game was Final Fantasy 16‘s Clive Rosfield joining the roster of Bandai Namco’s Tekken 8 back in 2024.

While neither Capcom nor Square Enix has confirmed whether or not Tifa will be coming to Street Fighter 6, the character could end up being the fourth one in the Year 4 pass, which would also have the side-effect of her release marking the 30th anniversary of Final Fantasy 7 next year. It could also be a way for Square Enix’s marketing plans for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, which is set to feature Tifa heavily in its overall story.

In the meantime, take a look at a teaser trailer to prepare for Ingrid’s arrival in Street Fighter 6. Capcom hasn’t yet announced a release date for her, however. Street Fighter 6 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

the wrinkle I will add to this story?Heard about Tifa and Vega quite some time ago, yep!The other 2? I actually heard 2 other names besides them so who even knows whats real cause I sure don't!Make sure to take this all with a grain of salt until you see some trailers

— Rooflemonger (@rooflemongerreal.bsky.social) 2026-04-21T21:50:01.891Z

yeah i've been dealing with that for years, that's why I never say anything until something gets outmy personal source has done things like tell me about terry and mai long before their reveal, and Tokon's existence a year before it got announced though so inclined to believe them

— Rooflemonger (@rooflemongerreal.bsky.social) 2026-04-21T21:59:15.743Z

“We think Lord of Hatred is the best Diablo 4 has ever been — we think of it as the ultimate expression of the game,” said Haroutunian. Finer spoke about how the expansion was a labor of love for the development team, and how many of its features are essentially love letters to fans of the franchise.

“One hundred percent,” said Finer when asked about Lord of Hatred being Diablo 4 at its best. “So many of the features are a love letter to Diablo and its players. It’s been a huge labor of love from the team. We’ve been playing the game constantly internally; it’s been so easy to lose yourself in the flow state of grinding War Plans, using the map overlay to efficiently navigate every level, and using the loot filter to make ultra-endgame items pop.”

While Lord of Hatred is bringing quite a bit of content with it, like the returning Horadric Cube, the expansion will also introduce refinements to pre-existing systems, like Diablo 4‘s runes. On the subject, Finer spoke about how there were some runes that were just too powerful for the game. This has led to the removal of some of the stronger ones from the game.

“In general, we found that there were extreme outliers (both too weak and way too powerful) that were dominating the system and shrinking the build diversity too much,” explained Finer. “Additionally, with the Cube, we’ve made it easier than ever to hunt for the runes you’re looking for. So we’re attacking this problem from both sides: editing down the list with build variety in mind, and giving you more options to obtain the runes you want. Long-term, runes are a place we want to continue to evolve, especially with the Cube now in the mix.”

As for the Cube itself, he also noted that it can be used with recipes as many times as the player might want, as long as they have the required materials. In general, the Horadric Cube was meant to introduce more depth to Diablo 4‘s crafting system. This also means that there are a few high-risk recipes in the game.

“However, there are a few higher-risk recipes — like Transfiguration — which have incredible outcomes, but also terrible ones,” he said. “Have a mediocre item with great potential? Transfigure it. You might even find that you’re able to transfigure it multiple times. Have a near-perfect item? Slot an Entropic Tuning Prism into the Transfigure recipe to minimize the risk — but also the reward.”

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred will expand on the story of Mephisto when it finally comes out on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. For more, take a look at the gameplay showcase, which features combat, a boss fight, and the region of Skovos. Also, check out our thoughts on how the expansion signifies a new approach to leveling.

The studio discussed this change in its blog post, where it noted that “monetary value isn’t the most exciting experience.” It went on to state, “By introducing damage-based objectives and trials instead of stash value, we’re providing more freedom and variety in how you can complete the Expedition, encouraging the use of loot rather than hoarding it throughout the Expedition Window.”

Rewards for the Expedition are split into three distinct tiers, with the first one featuring the Patchwork Outfit, an Expedition indicator icon, the Janitor Cap cosmetic for Scrappy, 12 stash spaces, and between 0 and 5 skill points as permanent rewards. Departing on your second Expedition will earn you evolved versions of the outfit and icon, along with the Beanie cosmetic for scrappy, 12 more stash spaces, 0-5 skill points, and the chance to catch up on missed skill points.

The third Expedition will get you further evolutions for the outfit and the icon, the Turban cosmetic for Scrappy, 12 stash spaces (totalling up to 36), 0-5 skill points, and another chance to catch up on missed skill points.

“Finishing the third Expedition will unlock the entire Patchwork outfit, and the fourth Expedition will introduce the first step of a brand new one,” explains Embark Studios. “Looking ahead, we will continue gathering data and feedback to make adjustments and improvements to future expeditions. We hear you on rewards, and we are committed to making them more meaningful and reflective of what players actually achieve. We also understand that losing full progression is a concern for many, and we will be iterating on what gets reset and what carries over into future expeditions.”

Design director Virgil Watkins went into more detail about this change, as well as the skill tree as a whole, in an interview with Game Maker’s Notebook. He referred to the skill tree as “a tough problem space for us, and I don’t think by any means we nailed it.”

“There are definitely skills in there that are under-serving their purpose,” he continued. “Whenever possible, I don’t love things that are like small statistical changes, but they do serve a purpose. As opposed to like, ‘Oh, I have a whole new ability now, or I can do this thing now that I couldn’t do before.'”

Whether this means that Embark Studios is going to bring in some radical changes to the skill tree in ARC Raiders remains to be seen. However, the fact that Watkins has acknowledged it as being a relatively dull tree does inspire hope that we might eventually see skills that do more than just provide small stat boosts.

ARC Raiders is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

He said that TKs-Mantis was “partially right,” going on to note that “there are certain things that were gonna take place in Van Buren that do happen during the time of New Vegas.” Despite this, however, “not a ton of” things from Van Buren affected the story of Fallout: New Vegas aside from “a little bit” of a planned plot point involving conflicts between the New California Republic and a “merchant mafia.”

“That’s why all those nukes go off, cause I’m like, ‘well, I need to destabilize some regions,” Avellone explained. “Like, not wipe out factions, but I need to shake up both the Brotherhood, I need to shake up the NCR, I need to have them even more at each other’s throats in California.’ And so that was the reason for some of the precursor decisions for some of the DLC stuff and some of the stuff in core New Vegas … When we still thought we’d be able to do a New Vegas 2, or whatever the title would be, but that quickly evaporated.”

As for the evaporated idea of a New Vegas 2, Avellone has said that it “will not happen in the next six years at least, if ever.”

In the same interview, Avellone had also said that a remaster of Fallout: New Vegas in the vein of last year’s The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is unlikely due to Bethesda’s lack of engineering know-how to make it.

“I don’t think Bethesda has the engineering know-how to make a remaster of New Vegas at all,” he said. This lack of know-how was reflected in the fact that, when New Vegas was still in development at Obsidian Entertainment, Bethesda had offered the studio a $10,000 bonus if it could “deliver all the source code and the ability to make the build.” This bonus was skipped by studio lead Feargus Urquhart.“What that milestone really meant was if all those assets are given to Bethesda, that means they can recreate the game at any time,” he explained.

While a collaboration of this scope between Bethesda and Obsidian seemed unlikely in the years following the 2010 release of Fallout: New Vegas, both companies now fall under the Xbox Game Studios banner following a series of acquisitions by Microsoft. This means that there is potential for the two to work together to remaster the critically acclaimed cult classic open-world RPG.

March also saw a report indicating that Iron Galaxy Studios might be involved in the development of a Fallout: New Vegas remaster. However, the studio quickly dispelled the notion by revealing that any hints towards the remaster were merely a “behind-the-scenes” look at its preparations for team meetings, and that it wasn’t involved in any project related to the Fallout franchise.

Players return to Rengkok, where survival is very much about killing or being killed. That’s certainly not ideal, but the good news is that you get to take on the Shells of any bosses you bring down, unleashing their powers on your hapless foes. It’s the perfect recipe for survival in a world as dystopian as this one, to be fair.

Each Shell has its own abilities and four distinct upgrade paths for you to choose from, while you can carry three distinct choices every run. Oh, and you can invite up to three friends for co-op play, and create the scope for some insane synergies that could melt even the meanest of foes, courtesy of a crafting and upgrade system that’s showing some depth even at this early stage.

The game’s still in early development, and the footage you see in the trailer below isn’t indicative of a final build, but it does give you a good idea of the chaos you can expect from this one when it hits the shelves. Sign-ups are currently available for the closed pre-alpha playtest, which kicks off on April 27th.

It was a solid experience set in the Alien franchise’s universe, working well as a standalone story that tied into the films’ overarching narrative. Ending on quite a cliffhanger, it made us quite eager to dive into Part 2 whenever it comes along. We found it to be reasonably good in our review, although the Xenomorphs were absolute bullet sponges, and the weapon and puzzle variety could have used some work. Nevertheless, it managed to be as atmospheric and intense as any time among facehuggers and genocidal aliens could be.

If you’re looking for something quite scary with enemies that are so much faster and definitely nastier than you can manage, this one could turn out to be a treat on handheld. The Switch 2 version has its own launch trailer (showcased below), which should give you a good idea of what to expect. It’s also heading to the PS4, but there’s no information about a release date at the moment.

Called Bloodhunt, it pits you against undead hordes that come at you in waves, and require all of your skill and tactical prowess to overcome. But that’s not all. You’re going to have to join up with up to four other heroes and take on familiar yet upgraded threats. Captain America’s prominent in the launch trailer below, bringing a feral ferocity with werewolf form that might impede his ability to distinguish friend from foe.

Other heroes face a similar predicament courtesy of the Count, and of course, defeating them brings you face-to-face with Dracula himself. While we’ll probably enjoy wiping that arrogant expression off his face, that might be easier said than done. Maybe it’s a job for Elsa Bloodstone, especially after her addition to the roster last season.

Marvel Rivals is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It’s also in the works for Nintendo Switch 2, though a release date is a ways off. In the meantime, you can check out the Season 7.5 update, which adds Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, to the roster as a new Duelist.

It’s Project Alterra that’s been given the axe, according to Insider Gaming, as a part of the studio’s attempt to streamline its operations via heavy restructuring and more than a few layoffs. This one’s a shame, considering it drew inspiration from Animal Crossing while bringing its own unique art style, characters, and mechanics that could have made for a really intriguing social sim.

It also stood out when the company announced a slew of projects with releases planned for 2026 and 2027, and it has reportedly been in development for nigh on three years before its cancellation. Fortunately, the talent behind the project has been allegedly retained and is now being put to work on others at the embattled studio. Of course, there’s no word on what the news could mean for any support studios assisting with its development if things turn out to be true.

Project Alterra is the latest reported cancellation in a long line of projects that have been sunset by the studio in the last few months, and we’re certainly sad to see it go. But at least it didn’t get the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake treatment.