The latest stories from the gaming world
Granzella and NIS America's ground-up Unreal Engine 5 remake of the R-Type Tactics spin-offs launched June 18 across six platforms, finally bringing R-Type Tactics II west and adding a new Cosmos campaign. Early reviews praise its scale and visuals while flagging punishing difficulty and a missing tutorial.
The acclaimed 2018 hand-drawn action-platformer Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom arrives on iPhone, iPad and Mac (Apple Silicon) on June 18 as a $24.99 premium release with no ads or IAP. Game Atelier and FDG Entertainment's Wonder Boy successor brings 120Hz support, full controller compatibility and iCloud saves.
Just 26 days after the acclaimed bullet-hell shooter Luna Abyss launched to an 81 Metacritic and a day-one Game Pass deal, developer Kwalee Labs has laid off its entire nine-person team. CEO Hollie Emery called the decision 'completely outside of our control.' The studio, formerly Bonsai Collective, spent seven years building the game.
Polychroma Games and Maximum Entertainment have released Afterimages, a two-chapter story expansion for the acclaimed narrative adventure Until Then, on June 18 for PC, PS5, Switch and Xbox. It follows Sofia and Mark through grief, memory and new beginnings, adds tarot and baking mini-games, and precedes a September physical edition.
Microsoft's Xbox division is bracing for another wave of layoffs and studio closures as its fiscal year ends June 30. Ninja Theory (Hellblade) is reportedly being shut down, while Compulsion Games and Double Fine negotiate to spin off - and XGS head Craig Duncan is said to be stepping down.
Square Enix's HD-2D style goes fully real-time on June 18 in The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales - a new action RPG from the Octopath Traveler team that follows a boy and his fairy across a thousand-year, four-age journey. Here is everything launching this week.
Pokemon Champions, the Switch competitive battle simulator, launches on iOS and Android today (June 17) with cross-play and cross-save - plus a launch campaign handing out a free Raichu and the new Raichunite X and Y Mega Stones through September 2.
Mintrocket's In the Jungle expansion for Dave the Diver lands June 18, swapping the Blue Hole for a freshwater lake and a hidden village - and bringing full isometric movement, a new Bancho Grill and roughly ten hours of fresh content.
Triple Espresso's football tycoon Copa City launches June 16 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, putting you in charge of staging matches for real clubs across Berlin, Warsaw and Rio de Janeiro.
R-Type's two cult turn-based strategy spin-offs return on June 18 in R-Type Tactics I II Cosmos, with NIS America bringing the long-Japan-only sequel West across PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and Switch 2.
Sonic Rumble Party's sci-fi Season 6 is live through June 25 with Space Ranger skins, a new Skin Fragment Challenge system and a Popeye crossover, across iOS, Android and Steam.
The biggest Steam Next Fest ever opened June 15 with roughly 4,931 free demos - a new record - running through June 22. Standouts include Paper Cult's Tears of Metal, Innersloth's Among Us Story: On Guard and 1047 Games' EMPULSE.