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Retro game emulator Delta has released version 2.0, adding a Liquid Glass interface redesign and dedicated support for the foldable iPhone Duo. The update includes custom controller skins for Nintendo DS layouts that adapt to the device's various folded poses, Sega Genesis ROM compatibility, improved library navigation, and audio settings that let game sound mix with music or podcasts.
Sony is ending production of its last affordable 4K Blu-ray player, according to a report. The move follows the company's earlier decision to stop manufacturing game discs, further narrowing its physical media hardware offerings.
Indie curator-turned-publisher Pantaloon has launched the Playbill, a Game Pass-style subscription covering 'bold and bizarre' indie titles. The initial catalogue mixes third-party games like Buckshot Roulette and Silt with Pantaloon's own releases such as Offbeat and Sub-Verge, plus a timed-exclusive visual novella, Virtue: Prologue. It also includes a 'Green Room' section offering demos, playtests and abandoned prototypes, alongside free puzzles and community features carried over from Pantaloon's newsletter days.
A developer has shared Project Hedra, a procedurally generated, low-poly open-world RPG and custom game engine built largely alone, starting at age 15 to learn OpenGL. The codebase has grown to roughly 100,000 lines of code and now runs natively on Linux and Windows, with Steam integration and a CI pipeline for beta deployment.
Super Smash Bros. and Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai told Denfaminicogamer that generative AI will make it easier to produce games, but most of these AI-assisted titles will fail commercially. He argued that LLMs function as 'stochastic parrots' incapable of creating truly original game concepts, pointing to how the first Super Smash Bros. succeeded by breaking from established fighting-game conventions. A CESA survey cited in the discussion found over 85% of Japanese developers already use some LLM-based tool in their workflow.
A modder known as pepsipu (Sammy Hajhamid) created a software-only, tethered jailbreak for the Nintendo Switch 2, dubbed 'ns2jb,' with help from OpenAI's Codex tool. The exploit relies on the game SmileBASIC 4 and must be re-run each time the console restarts; a demo shows a modified Mario Kart World with added characters like Cinnamoroll, Peter Griffin and Steve from Minecraft.
The UK's Games Rating Authority has begun enforcing new PEGI criteria that raise age ratings for digital games containing paid random-item mechanics like loot boxes. EA Sports FC 27, previously rated PEGI 3, has been reclassified as PEGI 16 with a new 'Paid Random Items' descriptor. PEGI administrator Connor Hinde said more digital-only titles will see similar rating changes throughout the month, and the policy is expected to remain limited to Europe.
An Australian federal court has ruled against Apple, ordering it to allow third-party app stores, direct downloads, and alternative payment systems on iOS without imposing restrictive conditions or fees. Following the ruling, Epic Games announced Fortnite will return to the Australian App Store, ending its absence there since Apple had continued contested restrictions after the game relaunched elsewhere. Apple must comply by March 1, 2027, pay 85 percent of Epic's legal costs, and has said it disagrees with the findings and intends to challenge them.
A Federal Court of Australia judge ruled that Apple must let iPhone users with Australian Apple Accounts download apps from alternative app stores and websites starting March 1, 2027, with a possible extension to May 3, 2027. The 235-page decision follows an earlier finding that Apple breached Australian competition law through App Store restrictions, in a case brought by Epic Games. Apple has said it will appeal.
Microsoft has rolled out à la carte Cloud Playtime purchases to Xbox Insiders, charging roughly 24 to 40 cents per hour depending on the package size (10 hours for $4, 25 hours for $8, or 50 hours for $12). Purchased hours don't expire, but using them requires already owning the game or, for some titles, having free-to-play access.
Sources say Trump aides are privately identifying a fall guy for anticipated midterm losses, pointing to deputy chief of staff James Blair's redistricting strategy. Republican operatives reportedly blame Trump himself for the Iran war and rising prices, but say they cannot tell him so directly. Forecasters now say some redrawn districts, including Florida's 25th, have shifted toward Democrats instead of yielding the GOP pickups originally projected.
Xbox has begun previewing a pay-per-hour cloud gaming option for members of its Xbox Insider program who don't subscribe to Game Pass. The trial offers blocks of 10 hours for $4, 25 hours for $8, or 50 hours for $12, described as introductory launch pricing. The feature includes an ad-free streaming experience with shorter wait times and playtime that doesn't expire until used.