Inti Creates Reveals 2D Action/Strategy Game Kingdom’s Return: Time-Eating Fruit and the Ancient Monster

By

-

December 9, 2025

Inti Creates has announced its new hybrid 2D action/strategy game Kingdom’s Return: Time-Eating Fruit and the Ancient Monster for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The new title launches on April 23, 2026 for $14.99, and players who own the game on Switch may upgrade to the Switch 2 version for free via an Upgrade Pack.

Lastly, here’s an overview of Kingdom’s Return: Time-Eating Fruit and the Ancient Monster, via Steam:

Kingdom’s Return: Time-Eating Fruit and the Ancient Monster

A kingdom-rebuilding adventure filled with action and strategy!

Kingdom’s Return is an action RPG where you’ll adventure to restore your fallen kingdom. Collect materials in 2D side-scrolling adventure stages, then use them in the strategy part to rebuild your kingdom and power up your characters!

Story

In a world of swords, magic, and fairies, you are a lone adventurer who suddenly becomes tasked to revive the ruined kingdom of Almacia along with the Fairy of Time, Chronos.

Through adventure (action) and revival (strategy), restore the kingdom to its former glory!

Adventure + Strategy

Kingdom’s Return combines action with strategy for an addictive hybrid experience!

In adventure stages, you’ll collect items for construction in the strategy part, all while levelling up your kingdom and characters.

You can approach each side in balance, or concentrate primarily on just one and still clear the game.

Build your kingdom and characters however you like!

When rebuilding your kingdom, the type of castle you select at the start will change how you build.

As you fill the land with buildings, the characters you take on adventures will also grow stronger.

Build the kingdom of your dreams and strengthen your allies!

The playable cast is brimming with personality!

Start your adventure by choosing from “Imperial”, “Wizard”, “Alchemist”, and “Zipangu”.

Each has unique stats, skills and attacks, so choose the one that fits your action style!

You can always change characters while in your kingdom, so you’ll always have a variety of styles to choose from!

Adventure in an idyllic fantasy world!

In Kingdom’s Return, you’ll build your cozy fantasy kingdom and bravely adventure into dungeons.

Get quests from villagers, build up your lands, and play around with powerful bosses!

This is your kingdom to rebuild how you want!

EVO Japan 2026 and EVO 2026 Games Lineup Revealed

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

Evolution Championship Series has revealed its games lineup for EVO Japan 2026 and EVO Las Vegas 2026, along with early bird registration information and the award categories for the EVO Awards Show. Like years prior, fans who aren’t attending in person can tune into the events at twitch.tv/evo.

EVO Japan returns to Tokyo on May 1 to 3 at Tokyo Big Sight as its largest event ever. The event features an increased area of more than 8,600 square meters for an improved and upgraded experience.

The games lineup for EVO Japan 2026 includes:

EVO Japan 2026 Games Lineup

Street Fighter 6
Guilty Gear Strive
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
The King of Fighters XV
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage
Tekken 8
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Vampire Savior
Under Night In-Birth Sys:Celes
Hokuto No Ken
Melty Blood Type Lumina
2XKO

EVO 2026 will be held from the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 26 to June 28, 2026 with 12 tournaments, hands-on experiences at developer and publisher booths, an upgraded prize pool for cosplayers, a vendor hall, a 300+ cabinet arcade, and the signature in-venue Arena Finals Experience. Further, EVO Las Vegas will have a minimum guaranteed prize pool of $500,000 across all titles.

Chipotle is also back as the official EVO partner with free food opportunities for viewers and attendees. The EVO Showcase will also make its return with major fighting game-related announcements.

EVO 2026 Games Lineup

Street Fighter 6
Guilty Gear Strive
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
BlazBlue: Central Fiction
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage
Tekken 8
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Vampire Savior
Under Night In-Birth Sys:Celes
Rivals of Aether 2
Invincible VS
2XKO

Early bird registration opens today for EVO Las Vegas and runs through February 2, 2026 on evo.gg. Three-day passes will be available for less than $200 per person. Regular registration will run from February 3 to May 4, with late registration ending on May 25. EVO Japan registration also opens today at evojapan.gg.

The EVO Awards Show will be held on March 28, 2026 in Los Angeles. Fans can now nominate their favorites for every category from now until January 9, 2026.

EVO Awards Show Categories

The categories include:

Best Artist
Best Character
Best Combo
Best Commentary
Best Content Creator
Best Cosplay
Best Custom Controller
Best Dressed
Best Game Release
Best Local
Best Meme
Best Online Series
Best Pop Off
Best Product
Comeback of the Year
Commentator of the Year
Match of the Year
They’ve Got Next (upcoming new player)

Niantic Reveals Pokémon GO Fest 2026 Events and Dates

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

Niantic and The Pokémon Company have officially announced the dates and locations for various Pokémon GO Fest 2026 events. Pokémon GO Fest 2026: Global will also be held, with more details to be announced at a later date.

For now, here are the confirmed Pokémon GO Fest 2026 dates, via the official blog post:

Pokémon GO Fest 2026 Dates

Pokémon GO Fest: Tokyo (Bay Area)
- Event Dates: Friday, May 29 – Monday, June 1, 2026
- Ticketed Citywide Gameplay will begin on Monday, May 25, 2026
Pokémon GO Fest: Chicago (Grant Park)
- Event Dates: Friday, June 5 – Sunday, June 7, 2026
- Ticketed Citywide Gameplay will begin on Thursday, June 4, 2026
Pokémon GO Fest: Copenhagen (Fælledparken)
- Event Dates: Friday, June 12 – Sunday, June 14, 2026
- Ticketed Citywide Gameplay will begin on Thursday, June 11, 2026

Furthermore, Pokémon GO Tour: Kalos is set for February 20 to 22, 2026 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles, California, and the Tainan Metropolitan Park in Taiwan. Pokémon GO Tour: Kalos – Global will be held one week later from February 28 to March 1 (10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time) around the world, and no ticket is required.

During Pokémon GO Tour: Kalos – Global, players can expect Mega Evolved Pokémon from Pokémon X and Y in Mega Raids, including Mega Charizard X and Y, along with Special Research and Field Research. There will be event bonuses, and players can benefit from an increased chance of encountering Shiny Pokémon with a purchase of an additional Global event ticket.

Before then, Pokémon GO is teaming up with Arizona Cardinals Football Club for a new event at the State Farm Stadium on Sunday, December 21, before and during the Falcons-Cardinals matchup. Beginning at 10:00 a.m., the Great Lawn will open with activations that include special giveaway items and in-game content. Game tickets are required, and more details can be found here.

UNBEATABLE Reveals Post-Launch Plans

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

Playstack and D-CELL has revealed its post-launch plans for rhythm adventure game UNBEATABLE, which launched today, December 9, for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. A Xbox Series X|S version of UNBEATABLE will launch “within the next week,” and a new patch is coming soon with access to multiple stages in arcade mode.

Post-launch plans for UNBEATABLE include performance updates for Steam Deck, localization in Simplified Chinese and other language options, paid DLC, and free updates. Moreover, the UNBEATABLE Breakout Edition is available now as both a bundle and a standalone purchase for owners of the base game. This new edition includes 11 extra songs and more than 20 extra arcade mode titles.

Here’s an overview of UNBEATABLE, via the official Steam page:

You know, when you explain an idea, the idea fundamentally changes.

A Young Girl Plays a Song

UNBEATABLE is an anime-juiced rhythm adventure where you (figuratively) destroy on stage while you (literally) destroy on stage. During rhythm gameplay, you only need two buttons: a button for up and a button for down. Simple to understand! The complicated part is doing it. Try not to get destroyed yourself.

Half the game is walking around and taking things at your own pace. The other half is trying to keep up with ours.

Lose Your Way

The pink-haired girl is Beat, and she is you, and you have a lot of things to worry about. The cops are everywhere, and they are mad at you for what feels like no good reason. Though it doesn’t help your case that you keep making friends with people that the cops are mad at for slightly better reasons. But what do I know?

Find Your Voice

Talk to people, help them out (or don’t, I’m not your mom!), play huge concerts, and punch cops. And then run away from the cops you punched. Also there are monsters or something. Not sure what’s going on there?!?!

All of this culminates in massive setpieces where everything is at stake. The music got you here. It’ll get you through it.

[code]*if this was 1999 this section would be called “talk the talk and rock the rock”[/code]

Party Like It’s 1999

UNBEATABLE’s full arcade mode is an entire game by itself with its own progression system and a full online component. There’s modifiers, tons of songs (with more to come!) and a whole challenge board to beat, with things to do that range from as simple as “beat a song on easy mode” to, one may presume, something as complicated as “solve an ancient riddle while skateboarding.” That’s not a real example.

[code]**if this was 1999 this section would be called “party like it’s now”[/code]

Features:

- - Story Mode: 6-8 hours. Arcade Mode: UNLIMITED
  - Characters that hate you!
  - Maybe also some that don’t!
  - The arcade mode has a cute little profile you can customize and unlock stuff for and I think that’s pretty neat
  - Graphics! We’d describe them but I mean it’s right there, you can see it
  - A whole entire double album worth of original songs
  - plus acoustic versions of those songs
  - oh and also remixes, too
  - You can unlock all the songs by playing the narrative OR just by playing the arcade game exclusively! Great for those who truly hate stories
  - Something (in this game) will make you feel something (in real life)!
  - It’s anime
  - If you think about it, QTEs are basically just rhythm games with no music
  - Please, whatever you do, the title is either all caps or no caps. Be kind to us.
  - And the idea changes you in return.

Street Fighter 6 Adds VTuber Amaki Pururu as Color Commentator on December 16

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

Capcom has announced that eSports organization REJECT member and popular VTuber Amaki Pururu will appear as a color commentator in Street Fighter 6 on December 16. The Japanese commentary track for Amaki Pururu will be available in the Color Commentators section of Commentary Settings in Street Fighter 6. In addition, players who log in between December 16 and March 3 will receive a special title.

Previously, Capcom released DLC character C. Viper on October 15 with a new update and more new content, including the new Sim Sim Stickers feature. Players can complete move-based challenges while playing Street Fighter 6 with their favorite characters in order to unlock stickers for online chat and the in-game camera. Essentially, the Sim Sim Stickers feature rewards Street Fighter 6 players for learning how to play the game and use characters.

Street Fighter 6 is also collaborating with the Banshee’s Last Cry adventure novel. The Banshee’s Last Cry collaboration includes a new scenario in World Tour in the “One Fateful Day” menu. All players who log-in during the event will receive new collaboration items, and the collaboration will last until April 30, 2026.

Street Fighter 6 is available now on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. On Nintendo Switch 2, Street Fighter 6 features a new Local Wireless mode. Local Wireless also includes Avatar Matches, allowing players to use their custom avatar from World Tour. What’s more, the Nintendo Switch 2 version supports tabletop mode with single Joy-Con play, Gyro Battle using dynamic motion controls. There’s also Calorie Contest Mode, which allows players to test their strength and endurance with exercises.

D-topia Gets a New Gameplay Trailer

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

Annapurna Interactive and Marumittu Games have released a new gameplay trailer for puzzle adventure game D-topia, dubbed “A Puzzling Endeavor.”

D-topia is coming to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and Microsoft Store in 2026.

Lastly, here’s an overview of the game, via the official Steam page:

D-topia

Step into a future where happiness is curated by artificial intelligence, in this gentle-paced puzzle adventure.

The Utopia Project was created in the interest of maximizing human happiness and comfort. As the newest residential Facilitator at D-topia, your role is to resolve issues around the residential community. Tackle fun logic-based puzzles to resolve mechanical issues and keep the facilities running smoothly and meet the many vibrant residents, each with their own unique story and personal struggle.

But what happens when problems go beyond the mechanical? How will your choices impact the wellbeing of the residents, and the future of humanity? In a world of curated happiness, what does it mean to find purpose?

Features:

- - A Gentle-Paced, Reflective Adventure: Unwind in a calm, yet thought-provoking journey to discover what happiness truly means.
  - Clever, Integrated Puzzles: Tackle satisfying logic puzzles that connect to the heart of this gentle-paced adventure.
  - Meet D-topia’s Residents: Gain their trust, discover their stories, and shape their futures in unexpected ways.
  - Your Choices Matter: Guide this artificial intelligence-managed utopia toward joy or despair through your decisions.
  - Step Into Two Worlds: Move between the bright, public reality and the hidden “Block Side” to fix glitches and uncover secrets.

Milano’s Odd Job Collection is Coming to Switch 2 on December 22

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

XSEED Games and Implicit Conversions have announced that the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack for Milano’s Odd Job Collection will be released on December 22. The Milano’s Odd Job Collection Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack will be free for players in Americas and EMEA, and it will cost 100 yen in Japan.

Milano’s Odd Job Collection is available now for $14.99 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, GOG, and Microsoft Store. The modern release of Milano’s Odd Job Collection includes quality-of-life improvements, support for modern resolutions, trophies and achievements, fully localized English text with dual Japanese and English audio options, save states, a rewind feature, and much more.

Lastly, here’s an overview of the game, via XSEED Games:

About Milano’s Odd Job Collection

School’s out, but 11-year-old Milano’s mom needs to go to the hospital and Milano is sent to spend the summer with her uncle. There’s one small problem – her uncle is away on vacation! Left on her own, Milano decides to make the most of her situation by taking up a variety of part-time jobs in town. Over the next 40 days, Milano goes all in – delivering pizzas, nursing sick patients, milking flying cows, and more – to make this summer unforgettable. And maybe she can spruce up her uncle’s place and have some fun while she’s at it. Highly replayable and featuring charming characters and gameplay that retro and casual game lovers of all skill levels can enjoy, this recently uncovered and updated gem of the 32-bit era isn’t to be missed!

Key Features

Milano Meets the World: Full English text and voiceovers bring Milano’s pixel-art adventures to a whole new audience. Fans can rest assured that the original Japanese is also available, complete with all-new English subtitles.
Make Your Home Away from Home: Rest and relaxation are important for work life balance. Milano can style the house with new furniture and decor instead of going into work, and at night she can enjoy quiet time inside with her uncle’s cat, stargazing from her bedroom, and making use of items purchased with her hard-earned wages.
It’s Not Work if You Love to Do It: Help Milano earn money in eight unique mini-games, including curing diseases as a nurse, catching falling fruits in an orchard, and more. Enrich Milano’s intelligence and other parameters in the evenings to unlock higher difficulty levels. The tougher the challenge, the bigger the payday!
Nostalgic Gameplay, Modern Conveniences: The charm and gameplay of the original release are intact, but improved load times, save states, and a rewind feature help update this classic title for modern audiences.

F-ZERO 99 Update 1.7.0 Adds Frozen Tour Event, New Secret Tracks and More

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

Nintendo announced F-ZERO 99 update 1.7.0 is now available with the Frozen Tour Event, a new Elite leaderboard, Lucky Tokens, three new secret tracks, a music player, and many more features. F-ZERO 99 players must install update 1.7.0 to play the limited-time events and earn new rewards.

Patch notes for F-ZERO 99 update 1.7.0 are available below, via Nintendo:

F-ZERO 99 Update – Ver. 1.7.0 Patch Notes

New Additions

The Frozen Tour Event will be held this year. All tracks in the game will be covered in snow and appear as frozen tracks. By collecting Gem Sparks that appear on the frozen tracks, players can get event-exclusive rewards.
- The Frozen World Tour will also return during the event period. Earn points and aim for a high score in a series of nine three-lap races across various F-ZERO worlds.
- Frozen World Tour high-score rankings will be added to the weekly leaderboard. This ranking will be reset every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. PST (00:00 UTC).
- A player ranking in 999th place or higher in the Frozen World Tour’s weekly high-score ranking will get a special badge. (This badge features the same design as last year’s badge, and players who have already earned it are not eligible to earn another.)
- The Frozen Tour Event and Frozen World Tour will be held from December 15, 2025, to January 19, 2026.
Added Elite leaderboard. S20+ pilots will now appear on the Elite leaderboard and be globally ranked. You can select Leaderboard from the Main Menu and then toggle between the weekly leaderboard and Elite leaderboard.
- The Elite leaderboard will be reset every three months (Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1, Nov. 1).
- Once the Elite leaderboard is reset, you must complete at least one race to be placed on the Elite leaderboard.
Added S50 Elite status for pilots who achieve S50. During the game, this status will be displayed as a Falcon emblem.
- Global rankings for the S50 Elite can be viewed on the Elite leaderboard. The S50 Elite global rankings will also be displayed at the top of your Pilot Card and will be visible to other players at the start of races and to players spectating.
- S50 Elite players compete for the top world rankings based on Elite points. Elite points are calculated based on the outcome of races against S50 Elite Rivals, and the S50 Elite world rankings will be determined based on these points.
- Winning or losing races against Rivals at S49 or below or in Classic races will not affect Elite points.
- When the Elite leaderboard is reset, S50 Elite and S49 players will be reset to their initial S49 skill ratings. S50 Elite players’ Elite points will also be reset.
- If you reach S50 Elite again in a new season, you will be awarded 1,000 Elite points and placed on the Elite leaderboard.
Added Lucky Tokens. Each Lucky Token allows you to play Lucky Ranks one time.
- You’ll earn one token per day, and up to six can be held for later use.
- You can also unlock additional tokens from leveling up or when you didn’t match with tokens.
Added three new Secret Tracks. They will occasionally appear in F-ZERO 99 and Mini Prix modes.
- Increased the frequency with which Secret Tracks will appear.
Added a music player.
- Select Music Player from the Workshop menu to access it.
Added backdrops that can be used to customize Pilot Cards and emotes that can be sent at specific points during races. After specified conditions are met, these can be used for customization.
- Added 20 backdrops that can be obtained via Lucky Ranks.
- Added eight emotes that can be acquired during the limited-time challenge.
- To customize your Pilot Card or set emotes—or to see what conditions are required to obtain these items—select WORKSHOP from the Main Menu and then select PILOT CARDS or EMOTES.

Other Adjustments and Changes

Adjusted the balance of skill rating gains and losses to help players reach higher ratings more quickly.
- Increased points earned from defeating a Rival and decreased points lost from losing to all four Rivals.
Added a World Tour tab to Records in the Workshop.
The Mystery Rank in Lucky Ranks may now contain one Bounty Chip.
- This gives players a chance to earn two Bounty Chips at once as a Lucky Ranks reward.

Other Fixes

Fixed issues to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.

2.5 Dimensional Seduction Manga Series is Getting an Extra Chapter

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

2.5 Dimensional Seduction manga extra chapter

Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ website has announced that the Yū Hashimoto’s 2.5 Dimensional Seduction manga series will end with December 20 with an extra chapter. The extra chapter (presumably chapter 201) takes place two years after the events of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction.

Hashimoto first launched the manga series on the Shonen Jump+ website in 2019. Shueisha will release the 24th volume of the manga on October 3. The anime adaptation by studio J.C. STAFF premiered on July 5, 2024, and it’s streaming on HIDIVE with an English dub. Season 2 of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction is currently in the works.

The opening theme song of the 2.5 Dimensional Seduction second cour is “Tsugihagi no Tsubasa” (A Wing’s Patchwork) by Soraru. Moreover, anime characters Ririsa Amano (VA: Kaori Maeda), Mikari Tachibana (VA: Akari Kitō), Nonoa (VA: Sayumi Suzushiro), and Aria (VA: Sayumi Watabe) perform the ending theme song “Release Sigh.”

The 2.5 Dimensional Seduction manga series is available to read now on Shonen Jump+ in Japan. In the west, Seven Seas Entertainment publishes English volumes of the manga. Lastly, here’s an overview of the manga series, via Seven Seas Entertainment:

“I have no interest in real girls!” So claims Okumura, the president of the school’s manga club. He’s your typical otaku, obsessed with a sexy (fictional) 2D manga character known as Liliel. Then the new school year starts, and a (real!) 3D girl named Lilysa whose passion is cosplay joins the club. Lilysa convinces Okumura to become her photographer–and guess who her favorite manga character is? Not only that, but Lilysa is into modeling the fetishy stuff! The boundaries between 2D and 3D start to blur as this hot-blooded romantic comedy unfolds.

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War TV Anime Special Premieres on December 31

By

Soul Kiwami

-

December 9, 2025

Aniplex has announced that the new Kaguya-sama: Love is War TV anime special, titled Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – The Steps to Become an Adult (Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Otona e no Kaidan), premieres on December 31 on Tokyo MX, BS11, and Tochigi TV at 10:00 p.m. JST / 8:00 a.m. EST. A new trailer for the Kaguya-sama: Love is War TV anime special confirms that Masayuki Suzuki and Aoi Koga perform the opening theme song “Abunai Kioku (Dangerous Memory).”

Mamoru Hatakeyama directs the special at A-1 Pictures. Yūko Yahiro returns as the character designer, and Kei Haneoka is the music composer.

The cast includes:

Aoi Koga as Kaguya Shinomiya
Makoto Furukawa as Miyuki Shirogane
Konomi Kohara as Chika Fujiwara
Ryōta Suzuki as Yū Ishigami
Miyu Tomita as Miko Iino
Yumiri Hanamori as Ai Hayasaka
Yutaka Aoyama as Narrator

A-1 Pictures animated all three seasons of the anime. The first season aired in 2019, the second in 2020, and the third season in 2022. In December 2022, the franchise released an anime film titled The First Kiss That Never Ends.

Aka Akasaka first released the Kaguya-sama: Love is War manga series in 2015 on Shueisha’s Miracle Jump magazine before moving to Young Jump in 2016. The manga series officially ended in November 2022.

Lastly, here’s an overview of the manga via Viz Media:

As leaders of their prestigious academy’s student council, Kaguya and Miyuki are the elite of the elite! But it’s lonely at the top… Luckily for them, they’ve fallen in love! There’s just one problem—they both have too much pride to admit it. And so begins the daily scheming to get the object of their affection to confess their romantic feelings first…

Love is a war you win by losing.