This Week in Games

Evo Reveals—And A Stellar Vulpis Returns

Welcome back, folks! This past week was Golden Week in Japan; a week where, due to legal reasons, four holidays take place over seven days, letting most people just take the whole week off. You might know the holiday best as an excuse for a ton of artists to draw characters in golden bikinis, but it's a bigger thing than that offline. I was rather stricken by former Nintendo artist Takaya Imamura putting up some new art in a post discussing Golden Week—and not just because it's Metroid Fusion-era Samus Aran, but because he's also sending game developers well-wishes as they work through the holidays!

GameStop to Buy eBay... Somehow

I admit to being a bit softer on GameStop than most, but if it's one thing that astonishes me, it's that the company still exists. Sure, they closed 700 stores nationwide since last year alone, but considering how much their footprint has shrunk overall in the past fifteen years, kudos to them for keeping some blood in that withering heart. While I seldom visit my local GameStops, they're good to poke into in case they have a copy of New Pokémon Snap or the like. Or if I need a spare cable for my Switch and don't want to wait a day for one to ship from Amazon. Still, that which is not dead can eternal lie... and maybe buy eBay while they're at it, or something like that.

Indeed, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has entered formal processes for GameStop to acquire famed online vendor eBay in a bid to make an online storefront that can compete with Amazon. I mean, sure, shoot your shot, but uh... huh? More than a few eyebrows were raised about the deal, not the least of which because GameStop is actually valued less than eBay, at US$12 billion compared to eBay's US$46 billion. And Cohen has promised to buy eBay at a staggering US$56 billion. Where is the money coming from? We don't know. Cohen has announced that GameStop will be taking US$20 billion in debt as part of the purchase, but that still leaves US$16 billion unaccounted for; when pressed on the matter on CNBC, he insisted that the explanation is "on [GameStop's] website," that it's "half cash, half stock," and that "we'll see what happens." Don't worry, feeling like you're having a stroke is a normal response to Cohen's answers.

Ryan Cohen has been a very polarizing figure since he was installed as GameStop's CEO in 2023. Riding high on GameStop's "meme stock" status, Cohen has been the figure of much mythology on behalf of self-identified "Apes" who believe that GameStop's stock are part of a massive world-wide conspiracy and will someday reach such astronomical value (the "Mother of All Short Squeezes," or MOASS for short) that the United States government will effectively be trapped in servitude to anyone who holds stock in GameStop out of the federal obligation to pay stock owners. All this requires is that people buy and own every last "actual" stock in GameStop and not one of the alleged "fake" stocks that are allegedly being distributed by hedge funds as part of their alleged illegal back-door dealings (besides the ones they're actually doing). It's a very overwhelming bit of online culture and best explained by Dan Olson (not Dan Larson—that's the Toy Galaxy guy) in his video essay This Is Financial Advice. An important part of this story: it was, at one time, believed that Cohen would leverage his short time as CEO of the now-defunct Bed, Bath & Beyond chain and merge the store with GameStop to form a mega-chain, which would revitalize GameStop and allow MOASS to happen. And I guess Cohen decided to do that with eBay instead? I mean, at least eBay hasn't filed for Chapter 11—yet. 

I admit to not being a business major, so who knows. Maybe a company can buy another company worth more than the first company and the company's CEO, combined. We live in hellworld, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that happened this week. But I nevertheless join many others in furrowing my brows and asking, "Huh?"

Neverness to Everness Lies About Gen-AI, Loses IronMouse Sponsorship

Hotta Studios' Neverness to Everness was a game I had very little interest in. Not that I had anything against it; it just wasn't for me: an anime-inspired open-world mobile game, likened to an anime Grand Theft Auto. I've been indifferent towards Grand Theft Auto since I was a young'un, adding gacha mechanics to one didn't exactly endear me to it any further. But a ton of my friends online were clamoring for it, as were a lot of other people; its release last week was quite anticipated, with several streamers and vtubers getting officially sponsored as part of an official partner program. And one of those players was the vtuber IronMouse, formerly of VShojo and record-holder for most-subscribed-to streamer on Twitch. That's a pretty big get.

Earlier this week, allegations started swirling regarding the use of generative AI in Neverness to Everness; screens in the city would show animated cutscenes of what look to be scenes of the film Weathering With You with an overlain gen-AI filter. While studio Hotta remains mum on the matter, they have admitted to using generative AI to run atmosphere renderings, whatever the hell that means. This has rankled a lot of hides among the player base, not the least of which is IronMouse herself, who has publicly disavowed the game and publicly turned down the sponsorship.

The sticking point for IronMouse is that her ad team had been lied to about the nature of Neverness to Everness; she alleges Hotta Studios had been asked whether the game featured AI-generated content, and they had claimed there wasn't. At the time of writing, Hotta Studios hasn't commented on the matter, but the damage has been done. IronMouse has washed her hands of the game. She's not alone in her criticism of the title, as voice actress Meggie-Elise has also voiced their displeasure about being lied to over the presence of AI-generated content. While Meggie-Elise doesn't mention Neverness to Everness by name, she is part of the cast and warns that she'll walk if the content isn't removed.

It's my opinion here that, divorced from the morality of AI-generated content, Hotta Studios' lying regarding its use betrays their intent. It's not beyond the pale for anyone involved in a project, be it on a hands-on level like vocal talent or people being brought aboard to promote it, to ask about the content of a game. Similarly, it's not beyond the pale for them to walk if the studio is dishonest about the nature of the content. That's the thing with trust: if someone lies about one thing, the door's open for them to have lied about anything else they've said. If they've plagiarized one thing, then there's no telling what else hasn't similarly been plagiarized. And if anyone can't trust you to have been honest about the content of your game... why are they working with you? And really, why did Hotta Studios have to lie about it? I've heard a lot of arguments about how the use of generative AI ultimately "doesn't matter." If that's the case, why lie about its use? Seems like a bad move to lie to your audience like that.

As mentioned, there hasn't been any word from Hotta Studios yet. In the meantime, I'm looking really hard at that other upcoming Grand Theft Auto-inspired mobile game, Ananta, from NetEase...

Reveals from EVO Japan 2026

It was EVO in Japan this past weekend. I'd normally have a witty remark to make about the matter, but it still feels like the last EVO was only a few months ago. As can be expected, many updates for current and future fighting games were made. Cosplays were shown off, characters were teased, games were promised, the works. Let's work through some of the announcements!

The first announcement was likely the biggest and most exciting: we're getting a new Melty Blood! FRENCH-BREAD's Melty Blood has long been a favorite of pugilists worldwide; while a fighting game spin-off of Type-Moon's Lunar Legend Tsukihime (and as such, full of its own convoluted lore that ties into Nasu's works), the mechanics and characters are legitimately catnip for fighting game fans. And FRENCH-BREAD has legitimate chops to its name; in addition to Melty Blood, they're responsible for the Under-Night In-Birth games. Under-Night also has its own fair share of loyal fans, but it's Melty Blood that steals the show thanks to how memetically passionate its fanbase is. Even if EVO doesn't feature Melty Blood in an official capacity, someone will set up a Salty Suite in a hotel bathroom or the parking lot of a 7-11 where people run their matches. And, of course, it's the game that gave us the chance to play as... la criatura

Details are, as of yet, scarce regarding the new Melty Blood. While the previous Melty Blood allowed for cameos of several Fate/Grand Order characters, only two characters are currently confirmed for Melty Blood: Twi-Lumina: Arcueid, and the succubus familiar/cat Len. Twi-Lumina's release is scheduled for early 2027, so there is plenty of time for further announcements of other characters. Expect Tsukihime bigwigs like the curry-loving nun Ciel; the ever-popular Shiki Tohno; his jealous heat-controlling sister, Akiha; and the twin maids, Kohaku and Hisui.

From Arc System Works, we have more updates regarding Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, specifically the "Fighting Avengers" faction. Two new characters are joining the roster: The Incredible Hulk, who's wearing some Savage Land duds, and the Black Panther—as portrayed by Shuri, instead of her brother T'Challa. There's a bit of consternation over this, but I get it. For one thing, Shuri currently bears the mantel of the Black Panther in the comics, as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For another, in a game with a proposed roster of 20 characters, they've already introduced 14 characters—and so far, only 6 out of the 14 are women (Storm, Magic, Ms. Marvel, SP//dr, Danger, and now Black Panther). Furthermore, Arc System Works is still totally willing to play things a little fast and loose with the current 616/MCU canon. Case in point: the Tōkon version of Ms. Marvel is not the recent version from the 616 universe, who is currently a member of the X-Men and projects those dumb hard-light constructs, nor the MCU version, who pioneered the same hard-light constructs. Nope, Ms. Marvel is still the stretchy, fist-embiggening shapeshifter that we originally fell in love with back in 2014. As if to underline the point, Ms. Marvel is listed as one of the Amazing Guardians, not one of the X-Men. 

Part of the fun of the Marvel fighting games is introducing players to new characters they might not have heard of. I didn't really grow up reading Marvel Comics or watching the Marvel cartoons, so Marvel Vs. CAPCOM 2  was my introduction to characters like Spiral, Shuma-Gorath, and Blackheart. While I understand the desire to stick with the more popular depiction of established characters, I'm not exactly heartbroken over it and welcome Shuri to the roster. Heck, Arc System Works dug deep to bring Danger and Penni Parker into the roster in the first place, so they're sure to do right by Shuri.

Tekken 8 fans were introduced to a new pugilist, the ninja Kunimitsu. She's got some interesting lore implications: her father apparently trained fellow-Tekken-ninja Raven, and she's also the student council president at Reina's school. I also like her movelist; she's got a healthy mix of combos, the ability to enhance her moves with fire ninpo (denoted by a fiery scarf around her neck), and some of her moves have a neat quirk where she intentionally positions herself with her back to her opponent, opening up a whole new set of moves and position-changing maneuvers. All in all, a lot of good head-games for a ninja, as expected. Longtime Bandai Namco fans with sharper eyes than mine have also noticed that more than a few of the moves in Kunimitsu's kit are heavily inspired (if not lifted) from another famous ninja from a Bandai Namco game, Soulcalibur's Taki. (With a few of Setsuka's moves, for flavor.) Kunimitsu's got a lot of fun tricks that I think will make her fun to use. She'll be part of Tekken 8's third season of DLC and due later this spring, along with the rotund Bob (due out this Summer) and the boxing kangaroo Roger Jr. (scheduled for autumn). The fourth member of this DLC pack won't be announced until Combo Breaker later this month (May 24, to be exact).

Finally, SNK had some announcements. First up was a port of 1995's World Heroes Perfect to Steam, which is... a choice. Not that World Heroes Perfect was a bad game by any means, it's just up there in the running for "The SNK Game of All Time." With Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, and Samurai Shodown being SNK's big fighting games, World Heroes was a very distant fifth place, mostly notable for how weird its version of the historical Rasputin was. Still, it's a game worth remembering on some level, so hurray for preservation, I guess?

Speaking of SNK, they announced a new character for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and it's... Mr. Karate. For those not in the know: Mr. Karate was another character from the aforementioned Art of Fighting, the alter ego of Takuma Sakazaki, father to Ryo and Yuri. Not that I have anything against Art of Fighting, but uh... why did SNK go for Mr. Karate instead of Ryo? As in, the actual protagonist from Art of Fighting? Much like with World Heroes Perfect, this isn't necessarily bad; it's just a puzzling decision. But at least it's an actual SNK character and not some soccer player...

Let's wrap up with s̶̺͒o̶̡̽m̷͙̏ë̵̹́ ̸͚̀q̶͕̿ụ̶̎î̶͎ċ̶͉ḱ̴͉ ̴̗̄t̶̢͊i̶̘̓d̷̲͌b̸̧̕i̷̪̅t̵̨͌s̴̨̉:̵͉͂ MESSAGE FROM GENERAL PEPPER, PRIORITY ONE!

... Well, crap, there's actual Star Fox news this week. Rumors had been circulating of a possible new Star Fox title being worked on at Nintendo. Me being me, I disregarded it—rumors and three bucks can get you a cup of coffee, is my saying. So imagine my surprise when Nintendo just... dropped a new Star Fox-themed Direct this past Wednesday. At least it wasn't Tuesday this time! I know most people are still climbing up the walls for a "proper" Direct to get announced, but I'm digging the new stealth drops. Keeps me on my toes. Anyway! "Foxy" Fox McCloud was one of the many keys jingled in people's faces during The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie (and even had more screentime than Princess Rosalina). The Star Fox games are also some of the most vocally beloved Nintendo franchises, and fans have been clamoring for a new one since Star Fox Zero floundered on the Wii U. What do folks have to look forward to with this new Star Fox title?

It's just another remake of Star Fox 64, titled Star Fox, which will also be mildly confusing. If you consider Star Fox Zero to be a remake of 64, that'd make this the third time they've remade it. All of the old favorites are here: Fox and his mercenary team, Star Fox, are hired by General Pepper to defend the Lylat System from the advances of the mad ape-like scientist, Dr. Andross. Fox and company will fly their way through the Lylat system, planet by planet, until they reach the mysterious Planet Venom, where Andross resides. Along the way, they'll take part in plenty of dogfights (heh-heh), bump into friends and enemies, and shoot down plenty of bogeys. Depending on your performance in each mission (read: planet), your path through the Lylat System changes. You'll also have the opportunity to ride the Landmaster tank or the Blue Marine submarine, which have their own unique controls. 

We've seen all this before, so what's new this go-round? Aside from the newer and more realistic designs for the anthropomorphized Fox McCloud and company, new cutscenes expand upon the mission debriefings between missions—including a prologue detailing how Fox's father, James McCloud, was betrayed at Venom by the loathsome Pigma of Star Wolf. There is also a new Challenge Run, where each planet features a variety of unique tasks like dispatching a certain number of enemies with one bomb or shooting down a specific number of enemies without hitting a teammate. Seemingly inspired by Star Fox Zero, the first-person view is now compatible with the Switch 2's mouse controls for both shooting and piloting. You can play the expanded multiplayer mode across up to four Switch consoles with just one copy of the game courtesy of Game Share (and this includes the Switch and Switch Lite). And there's also a neat new co-op mode where one player steers the Arwing while another player mans the guns. I like this last one, it's a great "little sibling" option. Also, Star Fox has unique Gamechat functionality, which lets you become a Star Fox vtuber with surprisingly good tracking. And it'll let you use it so long as you're playing Star Fox while Gamechatting. I miss the old "Thunderbirds"-esque look to the characters, but it's 2026—I don't think Supermarionation is going to do anything for anyone.

There's a bit of consternation over Star Fox, and I get it: it's yet another Star Fox remake. And heck, considering how so much of Star Fox 64 was, to some extent, a remake of the original SNES Star Fox, it really serves to illustrate how so much of Star Fox's legacy as a franchise hinges on just one game. I understand people who want something new, but also, I was around for the '00s, where Star Fox Adventures was the butt of every joke. The dinosaurs, the transition from rail-shooter to Legend of Zelda-esque RPG, and Krystal the Fox were such low-hanging fruit for detractors that they were practically low-hanging tubers. The later Star Fox Assault, which was more of a Star Wars Battlefield-esque action game with on-foot sections, didn't fare any specifically worse, but it was a very divisive game. Nobody played Star Fox Command on Nintendo DS. Star Fox 3D on the 3DS was well-received... and Star Fox Zero on the Wii U was decidedly not. Looking at that franchise history, I don't blame Nintendo for either not making a lot of Star Fox games or for straying too far from the Star Fox 64 tree. Every time they do it ends up divisive at best. And it's a bit late for people to suddenly decide Star Fox Adventures wasn't that bad! Being a rail shooter fan, I'd agree with the sentiment that just making a new rail shooter would be enough... but again, Star Fox Command tried that, and that didn't exactly land with folks. So here we are.

Star Fox is slated for release this June 25. The digital copy will retail for US$40 while the physical copy will retail for US$50. Who knows, maybe that Ocarina of Time remake really is happening...

Okay, now we can wrap up with some quick tidbits:

That'll do it for this week. I extend a very warm hope that folks get some good news this weekend. It's tough times out there, but good things can still happen. Some stuff can just fall into your lap. So remember to brush your teeth and all that. Stay in the game, we all gotta be there when the next tiny miracle drops. Be good to each other. I'll see you in seven.