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The event is BYOC and is from August 10th to 13th in Grapevine, Texas. QuakeCon is such a staple of gaming events, imprinted within the industry itself, that it’s almost easy to forget that it has happened every year for the past two and a half decades. This year, QuakeCon decided to look back at its roots. Instead of big, fancy presentations, they’re putting a hard focus on gaming itself. The BYOC, or “Bring Your Own Computer”, mentality lets people set up shop to play their favorite games over the 4-day weekend. There is no exhibitor hall and no general admission. You had to pre-register to attend. But, it is 2023, meaning that those that can’t make their way to the Lone Star State can join the fun on stream. There are plenty of stream events going on. You can watch the streams from their BYOC floor on both YouTube and Twitch. As for the schedule, they’re only offering the first day of events right now. Future days could hold some surprises doing it that way. All of the times are in Central Time, so set your clocks correctly if you’re watching. QuakeCon 2023 Thursday Schedule: 12 PM - Welcome to QuakeCon 2023 12:30 PM - Slayers Club Live w/ ID Software Part I 1:30 PM - QuakeCon Quiz-a-thon (+ puppies!) 2 PM - Cooking at QuakeCon 2:30 PM - ESO x QuakeCon 2023 Trial Run High Score Competition 4 PM - QuakeCon Dirty Keyboard Contest - In partnership with Steelseries 5 PM - AMD x Robytech Speed Build: Are You Ready? 5:30 PM - Slayers Club Live w/ ID Software Part II Whether you’re going to the event itself or watching from the comfort of your own home, ID Software fans are always in for a treat every year during QuakeCon. If any more announcements happen, we’ll update here. In the meantime, play your favorite ID Software or Bethesda game in honor of this yearly tradition. I’m going with Quake Champions myself.

The yearly event also goes by the name Pokémon Worlds. For those unaware, Pokémon is big. The franchise, originally appearing in Japan in 1996, has remained one of the biggest franchises of all time. As such, they do host major events every year. The Pokémon World Championships (known also as simply “Worlds”) is a yearly tradition at this point, aside from a short break during the pandemic. Players earn their points during the main season at local, regional, and national tournaments to make their way to Worlds. This year, Worlds is being hosted in Yokohama, Japan. Players and fans from all over the globe have all made their way to Japan for this big event. Prizes this year total around $1 million. Unfortunately, not everyone can take a trip to Japan right now to go watch the big video game, trading card game, and mobile game event. So, as always, the Pokémon World Championships will be available to watch on Twitch. The streams will be split between four different accounts, one each for the specific game being played. Info is directly given by The Pokémon Company’s own website. How to watch the Pokémon VGC (Video Game Championships) Pokémon VGC stream: Twitch.tv/Pokemon Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. PDT — Day 1 Swiss Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. PDT — Day 2 Swiss, Top 8, and Top 4 Saturday, August 12: 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. PDT — Final matches for all three Pokémon VGC age divisions on Twitch.tv/Pokemon How to watch the Pokémon Trading Card Game Championships Pokémon TCG stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. PDT — Day 1 Swiss Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. PDT — Day 2 Swiss, Top 8, and Top 4 Saturday, August 12: 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. PDT — Final matches for all three Pokémon TCG age divisions on Twitch.tv/Pokemon How to watch the Pokémon GO Championships Pokémon GO stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonGO Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. PDT — Bracket Stage Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. PDT — Bracket Stage until Top 2 Saturday, August 12: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PDT — Grand Finals How to watch the Pokémon UNITE Championships Pokémon UNITE stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonUNITE Thursday, August 10: 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. PDT — Group Play Friday, August 11: 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. PDT — Bracket Play Where to watch the Pokémon World Championships 2023 Closing Ceremonies Pokémon Closing Ceremonies stream: Twitch.tv/Pokemon Sunday, August 13: 1:00 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. PDT While you’re here, you should check out our big news round-up from earlier this week’s Pokémon Presents stream. There was quite a bit of information and was easy to miss all of the good bits.

AEW: Fight Forever can learn from the past and evolve a shaky debut into championship-worthy sequels. All Elite Wrestling hoped for a high-flying debut video game. The recent AEW: Fight Forever missed the target — largely due to the clunky gameplay generally expected of new fighting games and plenty of missing staples. Some wrestlers require the help of savvy veterans to get better. Fortunately, there is no shortage of successful wrestling games from the past several decades. Many of those have great features available for AEW to learn from to make their future games better. Future iterations should include a free-roaming story mode. Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth allowed players to roam everywhere, from boiler rooms to bars, in search of new friends and foes. The sandbox style immerses gamers into a world that feels molded by fun choices. AEW: Fight Forever’s point-and-click menu system, on the other hand, reeks of staleness. Storylines feel forced. This series could also learn from the recent fighting game Street Fighter 6 and its open-world "World Tour" mode. Like other sports and wrestling games, they should have a GM Mode All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan writes major storylines and books, as well as many of the outcomes, while actively managing talent and being AEW’s public leader. His motivation remains simple: live out a boyhood fantasy of being the boss of body slammers. The GM Mode of Smackdown! Vs. Raw 2006 turned that dream into a virtual reality for those who don’t have enough money to fill every wrestling ring in the world. Fans and critics hailed the mode’s return in WWE 2K22. AEW’s presentation caters to hardcore wrestling fans who’d love the opportunity to “run the show”. Where are all the multiplayer tournaments? Where fighting games go, tournaments should always follow. AEW held numerous tournaments that played a large role in shaping the company’s early history. In fact, every competitor’s win/loss record factors into every championship contender ranking. Within AEW: Fight Forever, a tournament mode doesn’t exist or even get mentioned within the storyline. This puzzling omission cheapens the video game’s authenticity to the real show. Having bragging rights over buddies at parties too is a large part of the DNA of wrestling games. As with free-roam, wrestling games should allow backstage fighting Most fans watch wrestling for the wackiness. WCW: Backstage Assault encouraged throwing everything — including the kitchen sink — at opponents. WWE’s Smackdown! vs. Raw series escalated chaos into attempted homicides. The real AEW’s booking favors backstage attacks as a way to build tension between performers. Allowing fights to occur outside the ring doubles the fun for players. For those who’d rather strike the garbage man with the can, rather than peacefully roll it to the curb, there would be something for everyone. AEW: Fight Forever could stand to add outside Legends The only legend in AEW: Fight Forever to never be a roster member is Owen Hart — AEW holds an annual tournament in his honor. WWE negotiates exclusive contracts to secure exclusive rights with many icons. However, there are countless legends that are able to appear anywhere. Independent contractor status behooves AEW to bring some of these names into future games. For instance, the promotion built a strong connection with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Furthermore, AEW embraces the gory style of wrestling that WWE shields its performers from. These factors position AEW to easily snag more past superstars for a much stronger, more-recognizable roster. Doing so appeals to older fans that likely feel left out currently. It's 2023. We should be able to customize the Submission system in a wrestling game. WWE Day of Reckoning 2 unveiled an innovative submission system where players could choose four different options for a hold’s effect. Taunt submissions halted the sufferer’s momentum. Rest holds recharged the applicant’s stamina. Draining submissions applied the opposite effect on the opponent. Regular submissions damaged opponents to set up the finishing blow. The system mimicked the psychology of real-life matches. Nobody adopted this robust mechanic from the GameCube-exclusive cult classic. So, it is free for AEW’s taking, allowing many to enjoy it for the very first time. Let special guest referees ruin matches! Nothing tests a wrestling fan more than seeing your wrestler's known friend be the ref or a bout between two pals. The joy of help and pain, when a supposed friend issues a fast three-count on a pin against you, lasts for years. Guest referees are so common in wrestling that it should just be part of any game based on it. AEW could make many new memories with this twist on standard matches. AEW should have a Gauntlet Mode You’d think a game titled AEW: Fight Forever would love the idea of wrestling endlessly. However, there are no marathon/gauntlet matches in this game. Several entries of the Smackdown! series branded survival matches with infinite opponents as “Slobber Knocker Mode”. And, as you can assume, they were always a blast to play. WWE Smackdown!: Here Comes the Pain marketed gauntlets as a main feature. Most critics and fans debate between that game and WWF No Mercy being the best wrestling game ever created. AEW should take notes. A staple missing from AEW Fight Forever: Cage Matches Every longtime wrestling fan feels the thrill of a cage match preventing the bad guy from getting out of a fair fight! Cages started torturing virtual villains in 1991’s WWF WrestleFest. Wrestling’s steel standby has appeared in almost every major wrestling game ever since. Perhaps due to tricky game coding, AEW: Fight Forever bucked tradition by not making the match type an option at all. AEW shouldn’t slam the steel door shut on a cage match mode next time. Complete Entrance Animations First impressions matter just as much in the virtual world as they do in real life. AEW: Fight Forever developer Yuke’s developed decent animations for partial entrances. However, the abrupt cuts on the stage heighten the clunky, unfinished feel of this game. Fully fleshed entrances polish the presentation and shouldn’t be seen as “too extra” in 2023. Final Thoughts In fairness, AEW: Fight Forever leans its full weight into arcadey fun. Most problems owe themselves to this game being a debut. But, with several decades of content to learn from, the game has a long way to go. Implementing successful features of the past would spice up future helpings of alternative wrestling action!

Over the years, AMD has made it really easy to own its hardware. With the age of ease and accessibility making life that much easier, these types of how-tos may eventually be unnecessary. However, we understand that sometimes you just don't know where to go. If you own an AMD-power machine at all, you're going to need their Adrenalin software installed to handle drivers and their updates. Some of these steps may be unnecessary for you if you bought your computer pre-owned. We'll make sure to give you a heads-up if it's likely that you can skip a step. This guide is for computers that have either an AMD graphics card (GPU) or AMD processor (CPU) installed. Gamers, for instance, tend to have slightly higher-range computers and it's important to keep your equipment up-to-date for newer games to work without a hitch. For much older equipment, this guide may not work as the technology may not be supported or may be out of date entirely. However, the majority of CPUs and GPUs should work. 1. Make sure the AMD hardware is installed correctly first. If you're buying your computer pre-made, don't worry as much about this step. If you get to a later step and the computer cannot find the AMD hardware, come back to Step 1. For desktops: If the CPU is the problem, make sure you install it, apply thermal paste, and get whatever cooling onto it that your PC uses. Your Windows PC likely already has the driver for this installed, if it turns on. Also for desktop users: If the problem lies with the graphics card, make sure it is installed into the proper port. Most graphics cards also use an additional cord (either 4 or 6 prongs) from the power supply to run, plugged in on the side of it. 2. Download the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Head to the official AMD website, https://www.amd.com. Up at the top, you'll see "Resources & Support". If you roll your mouse over it, it'll drop down a bunch of options. The first tab to drop down will say "Downloads". The second column says "Radeon Graphics & AMD Chipsets". Under that, click "Drivers". This is where you need to know the model of your AMD equipment. You're going to find the "family" of your model and choose it. For instance, if your graphics card is the AMD Radeon RX 580, you'll find the "Radeon 500 Series". If you don't know the exact model of your hardware, you'll need to utilize the Auto-Detect tool from AMD, run it to tell you what you own, and download the Adrenalin Edition afterward. After choosing your model, you need to choose if you're running Windows 10 or 11, and then hit Download. Once you choose your model, it'll prompt you to download the software. When you're ready for the next step, run the software. 3. Follow the AMD Driver installation wizard. The installation is relatively small. If you want to change where the software lives within your computer, you can do it first. It doesn't take much space at all, but you can double-check that you have the room. Otherwise, just hit "Install". Sit back. This may take some time. Don't run any videos or run games during the installation process. Your monitors may blink during this time. If this is the first time installing the drivers on this computer, it may require you to restart it afterward to continue. Congratulations! Your AMD drivers are now properly installed. 4. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition to check for driver updates. Once the software is installed, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition should exist on the right-side part of your Start Menu now. This can be turned off on Windows PCs. Or, you can leave it be. The software will have a tiny exclamation mark "!" on the logo if it needs to be updated. Open the software and it will generally tell you automatically if you need to update the driver. As you can see in this picture, an update is available. You'll click the Install button, click "Yes" to the Windows pop-up that will ask if you want to run the software. Another Adrenalin pop-up will show up, AMD may ask if it may collect data from your install. Choose "Allow" or "Don't allow" and hit Install. If it's just a normal update, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Once it's done, you'll need to restart your computer. Do so, and you're done here. You can choose to just hit "Finish" and restart later. But, the changes and updates won't finish up in the background until you do. If you're updating for a game, make sure to restart now instead. Just make sure to check for updates every so often. They do a lot of tweaks and patches as new games and software become available over time.

Sony is coming in strong with cloud streaming and unrivaled resolution. We reported on some future plans that Sony has up their sleeve recently. During their recent PlayStation presentation, they showed off tidbits of software and hardware, such as their mysterious Project Q. But, it was Microsoft’s recent court case against the FTC that displayed Sony’s 2023 holiday lineup. Sony is adding to that list with cloud streaming. PlayStation is slowly rolling out the beta randomly to PSN users. There doesn’t seem to be a specific methodology to who is getting it and when, but people are already talking. The news about Sony’s cloud streaming isn’t surprising. What is surprising, however, is that they’re offering 4K resolution for games. For comparison, not even Xbox Cloud Streaming offers that. The closest approximation is the now-defunct Stadia service, which offered 4K and HDR upscaling from 1080p during its short lifespan. It, however, didn’t actually “run” in 4K. Seriously, there was an entire class-action lawsuit about this exact detail. It was messy. According to users that have already been invited, the beta allows some games to be played in 720p, 1080, 1440p, all the way up to 2160p (AKA 4K). After trying 2160p on God of War: Ragnarok, one user mentioned that they were having “no issues so far”. The picture shown in the post on Resetera by user ArashiGames allows you to choose the max resolution. If your network connection or TV can’t handle the stress, it’ll automatically dumb it down. The good news is that, seemingly, all PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers will get the cloud streaming functionality for free when it is officially out. While not directly mentioned anywhere in people’s discussions about it, there is a possibility that this could have a future tie-in with Project Q, Sony’s upcoming portable system that ties to your PS5.

SteamDB pulled some interesting information about the future of Steam Decks. The call is coming from inside the house! Valve hasn’t shared any plans publicly to start selling recertified refurbished Steam Decks. That didn’t stop SteamDB from finding listings of such that were accidentally been made public for a few minutes though. According to the “leaked” listings, they were all marked as “Certified Refurbished” and came in three flavors. Those that already know the main Steam Deck options will not be surprised that the listings were for the 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB models. They were originally spotted on August 7th. Pretty quickly, the names were all changed to “Unknown App”, and eventually just were removed completely. Pavel Djundik, the creator of SteamDB, listed the found information, including the alleged pricing. Images are shown over on Wario64 as well. The store pages, linked below, now send you to Steam’s main storefront. Steam Deck 64 GB - Certified Refurbished - $319.00 Steam Deck 256 GB - Certified Refurbished - $419.00 Steam Deck 512 GB - Certified Refurbished - $519.00 As you can see, the items are lower in price than their pristine, in-box counterparts. Each refurb is dropped by $80. Depending on how many units they have, this could allow for additional sales and discounts on them in the future. The Steam Deck, for the console gamers in our audience, is a stand-alone, portable, Steam-capable piece of hardware made by Valve. While resembling a Nintendo Switch, it only offers users the ability to play software and games directly from Steam. It’s become incredibly popular among PC players since it was released last year for on-the-go travel and gameplay. While it definitely isn’t a competitor to Nintendo’s flagship system, it does have competition. The Asus ROG Ally, for instance, has been recently encroaching on its territory with a solid piece of hardware. So, offering a much cheaper option of the Steam Deck could turn the tide in this tug-of-war it’s engaged in with Asus and others. “Why buy the more expensive piece of equipment,” says the imaginary executive in our head, “when you can get the actual Steam Deck for mere pennies?” While nothing is technically confirmed, the original leak did come from Valve and Steam itself. So, take it with some grains of salt until they reveal this officially.

A ton of news from The Pokémon Company today in a 35 minute presentation. Earlier this past week, we reported on an upcoming Pokémon Presents for today. They dropped the video this morning on their official YouTube and it had a bunch of great new tidbits for Pokémon fans to chew on. While a few of our initial predictions were incorrect, there were some great surprises during the presentation. And yes, we did get some of our predictions right. As expected, they started with some great information and news for those headed to Yokohama, Japan this week to attend the Pokémon World Championships. They’re even including a Pokémon Cruise for players to go play and trade on a big boat. Knowing that the original games’ Vermillion City is based, loosely, on Yokohama, that means that including this cruise is likely a reference to the original S.S. Anne cruise ship in Vermillion. During the presentation, there were some details about various cartoons and anime coming soon. While there were no additional details about Pokémon Concierge, we did see three separate animations shown. Coinciding with the Pokémon Worlds event, Path to the Peak is coming to YouTube on August 11th and focuses on a character battling with Pokémon and playing the trading card game. The main anime, Pokémon Horizons, showed off some future story shots and left no additional details. Additionally, for those interested in more lore about the current Scarlet and Violet video games, Pokémon Paldean Winds, an original anime series, is coming to YouTube on Sept 6th, 2023. It follows students in the academy from the games, similar to previous OVA series that have hit YouTube for the previous generation of games. As we predicted, the Pokémon Presents had a huge focus on mobile games Pokémon GO got some fantastic news. As we predicted last week, Pokémon GO is finally getting Pokémon from the Paldea version, AKA from Scarlet and Violet, starting in September. If it’s anything like previous drops, it’ll be a slow drip to get them all out. They announced multiple GO Fests in London, Osaka, and New York City. A Global Pokémon GO Fest will take place from August 26th to 27th and feature Mega Diancie for the first time. You can also find Mega Rayquaza this way. Pokémon Unite is celebrating its 2nd-anniversary event right now. It includes a new game mode called Panic Parade. Mewtwo recently joined to be playable and includes their Mega Mewtwo X form. However, an event starting on August 17th will allow players to obtain their Mega Mewtwo Y form. Pokémon Masters EX is getting Nemona and Pawmot from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, starting today. They will be a special paring called a “spirit pair” that has additional functionality. Victor and Spectrier will be dropping for players that complete an event starting August 16th. You can also login right now to claim 3000 gems for free in celebration. Pokémon Cafe Remix is next to get some news. They’re adding Tatsugiri, the Pokémon that looks like sushi. It will be available in all three forms for new recipes in the game. However, players must choose only one of the three forms to join your staff. Logging in now will grant you a Summer Fun Jigglypuff for free. Additionally, the Paldea starters have returned and are possible to get again to join your staff. Players that log in now get a free 11x Express Delivery until August 30th. Pokémon Sleep recently came out. But, they’re adding a special monthly event that happens every full moon called the Good Sleep Day event for those that have trouble sleeping on full moons. Snorlax will get double his sleep power those nights. Some games for Nintendo Switch were mentioned in the presentation Detective Pikachu Returns, as we predicted, came with a full story trailer. Since the first game is now like 7 years old, it’s a re-introduction trailer to show off the various characters from the game, some of the mechanics of gameplay, and locations that you’ll frequent. The game will be out on October 6th, 2023. We already had indications that Pokémon Stadium 2 was joining the Nintendo 64 section of Nintendo Switch Online. But, confirmation and release for today are both fantastic. Speaking of Nintendo Switch Online, we got a small detail correct in our predictions. While we’re still waiting on the majority of classic Pokémon games to join the library, they did bring us the excellent Pokémon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy Color. It’s also coming out today. The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and the upcoming DLC got a ton of new details and trailers Starting off with the current generation of mainline games, Scarlet and Violet, they announced a new “Get Mew and Mewtwo” event. Players can get Mew right now with code “GETY0URMEW” in the games, which will have a randomized Tera-type. Train your little pink cat Pokémon up to help you battle against Mewtwo in the upcoming event. Mewtwo with the “Mightiest Mark” will be a special Tera Raid Battle event taking place from September 1st to 17th. There will be additional various Tera Raid Battle events to lead up to the Mewtwo one. For those unaware, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero is the upcoming DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. It’ll come in two parts, which seem to tell a story together. The first one, The Teal Mask, takes place in a Japan-inspired town and focuses on the mystery of the Pokémon in the Teal Mask. The Indigo Disk is a story about a new academy built on the water with four different biomes built into it. Both come together to tell the story of a hidden treasure of Area Zero. What that means currently is still a mystery. Today’s presentation focused on new details, such as characters, some new Pokémon types, and some new functions and features. They showed off some new Pokémon. Dipplin, for instance, is a convergent Pokémon of Applin. We also met Archaludon, a new evolution of Duraludon. It’s great to see Pokémon from the Sword and Shield games getting some love. They showed off some new characters, such as the siblings from Blueberry Academy, Carmine and Kieran. We also got to see the BB League, an “Elite Four” of sorts for the DLC. Their names are Lacey, Crispin, Amarys, and Drayton. You’ll be able to earn mochi from a new minigame that works similarly to the classic “super training” from older games. For those that take a lot of photos, a Roto-Stick (AKA a selfie stick) is being added as well. Oh, and you’ll now eventually be able to unlock the ability to make Miraidon or Koraidon able to fly. During the DLC, players were shown a new League Club. This includes a Club room that you can decorate. In the club room, you can change your pokéball throwing style animation and invite trainers from the Paldea region to come be “Special instructors” at Blueberry. The release date for The Teal Mask is now confirmed to be September 13th, 2023. The Indigo Disk didn’t get an exact date yet, but it is still coming this Winter 2023.

The fighting game tournament, EVO 2023, brought a ton of news and DLC from various franchises. EVO, the big fighting game tournament, happens every year in Las Vegas. This year’s EVO 2023 happened over the last weekend. As always, that means there are a ton of news bits for the FGC community to talk about today. We decided to round up all of the tasty morsels from EVO here. So, let’s get into it! EVO 2023 News Quick Access: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content is coming to Street Fighter 6 A.K.I and alternate costumes also coming to SF6 Killer Instinct gets a 10th-anniversary update Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising coming November 30th Mortal Kombat 1 gets official Banished trailer, more fighters Johnny and a major update coming to Guilty Gear Strive Raven and Azucena are confirmed for Tekken 8 The King of Fighters 13 Global Match gets a November 16th release date The King of Fighters XV gets a couple of new characters, Duo Lon and Najd Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves officially announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content is coming to Street Fighter 6 Starting off with the absolute banger from the news, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is getting a ton of crossover content with the recently released Street Fighter 6. SF6 players are looking at some awesome new content from this collaboration. Starting August 8th (yea, tomorrow), you can grab TMNT themed gear and emotes, as well as new titles, TMNT stamps, in-game device wallpapers, and camera frames for Photo Mode. You’ll also be able to turn your World Tour and Battle Hub custom avatar into any of the four turtles. Oh, and did we mention that it all comes out tomorrow, August 8th? Cowabunga, dude. A.K.I and alternate costumes also coming to SF6 Well, A.K.I. is terrifying. Coined as a “maniacal poison aficionado”, she is absolutely a psychopath. While her teaser trailer doesn’t show off any gameplay details of how she moves, the trailer makes her feel like her movements are not unlike Voldo from the Soul Calibur games. A.K.I. will be part of Year 1 of content and will release in Autumn 2023. In addition to A.K.I., new alternate costumes were teased for Juri, Marisa, Guile, and Dee Jay. Maris and Dee Jay have some sick new threads. Juri gets a onesie as a set of pajamas. Guile’s outfit, if I can reach here, feels super loosely inspired by his friend, Charlie Nash. With bangs in the face and a vest, it feels like a much more realistic take on the super anime-esque style of his late friend. No release date for the alternate costumes is available yet. But, they’re likely pretty soon. Killer Instinct gets a 10th-anniversary update Does anyone remember the Xbox-exclusive Killer Instinct that came out a decade ago? Microsoft had utilized their already-long-time purchase of Rare to develop a new version of their infamous fighting game franchise. It wasn’t a bad game. But, it fell under the radar against other FGC heavy hitters. It still has a pretty big cult following to this day. For those looking to pick it up, it’s on Game Pass. But, the 10th-anniversary update is coming later this year. Considering the game hasn’t had an update since 2018, this is a welcome offering. The update will work as a “balance update, improved matchmaking, and 4K support for Series X|S”. No official date was announced. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising coming November 30th Cygames’ popular Granblue Fantasy series does include some fighting games. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising got some big announcements during EVO 2023. The game will launch on November 30th and come in multiple options. Sure, you can grab the standard and digital deluxe options. But, there will be a free edition as well. The Free edition offers 4 characters, part 1 of the story, online play, lobby access, and “Grand Bruise Legends!”, a Fall Guys-minigame-esque lobby system. Oh, and a beta is coming, slated for Fall 2023. Mortal Kombat 1 gets official Banished trailer, more fighters EVO is nothing but fighting games. But, one of the kings of the FGC is Mortal Kombat. You can’t have your fighting game tournament without at least a mention. NetherRealm Studios took over for a bit to show off the Banished trailer for their upcoming Mortal Kombat 1. It showcased a handful of new characters and story elements. Fan-favorite Reptile seems to have new motivations and capabilities, being fleshed out as a shapeshifting lizard fighter. One second he’s a humanoid fighter, the next, he’s rolling you like an alligator. Additionally, Havik and Ashrash join the fray in the trailer. Considering all of these are characters that haven’t had much love in recent years, “banished” really is an apt word for them. Johnny and a major update coming to Guilty Gear Strive Johnny was introduced during a new trailer for Guilty Gear Strive as a season 3 DLC character. He’s basically a stereotypical cowboy on Tinder in every way. Thick accent? Yep. Is a gambler part of his personality? Yep. Shirtless with abs? Double yep. Johnny will arrive as part of the season DLC on August 24, 2023. Raven and Azucena are in confirmed for Tekken 8 Tekken is one of those series that the story doesn’t have to always make sense. But, we love it nonetheless. Raven, the United Nations-employed ninja, returns, alongside newcomer Azucena. Raven was replaced in recent games by his master. They share similar traits as ninjas. If it’s a stereotypical ninja thing, they both do it. Raven himself is back for Tekken 8. To say that Azucena “likes” coffee would be an understatement. She’s a dancer from Peru and nearly every line she says in her trailer is about how coffee is the best drink in the world. She also fights like she’s hyped up on caffeine, with quick and rhythmic movements. She dances while she fights. No word on a release date for Tekken 8 yet, though. The King of Fighters 13 Global Match gets a November 16th release date The King of Fighters 13 has been out for well over a decade now. But, a new version, Global Match, will feature rollback netcode and an entirely “overhauled” online functionality. KOF XIII GM will release on November 16th, 2023. The King of Fighters XV gets a couple new characters, Duo Lon and Najd During EVO 2023, a new trailer debuted, showcasing both a returning character and a newcomer for KOF XV. The new character, Najd, is due tomorrow, August 8th. Duo Lon, on the other hand, returns to the franchise, originally premiering in KOF 2003. He can be grabbed this Autumn 2023. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves officially announced Not much is known yet about Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. But, the trailer highlights two important qualities that the upcoming game will have: Rock Howard and Terry Bogard. More information will be detailed for City of Wolves in the future. For now, that’s all we get.

A love letter to the fans and industry of pro wrestling, WrestleQuest mixes crazy action and insane stories with RPG gameplay. This game is aimed at long-time wrestling fans with nostalgic deep cuts that they will appreciate. It’s an interesting enough idea, but one that produces mixed results. If you enjoy the feel of a classic RPG, you’ll feel right at home with WrestleQuest. The game is built around turned-based combat and players have an opportunity to inflict additional damage with timed button pressing. Sometimes you’re fighting by yourself, sometimes alongside a partner or two. Your job is to get the crowd pumped up and involved with the show, and taunting your opponent riles up the audience. Along the way, you find and store items to recover your health points (HP). Your ability power (AP) is the currency for the “gimmicks” menu—your special moves. With enough AP, you can perform a "South of the Border" Stunner or a "Flying Elbow Drop" with Muchacho Man. In tag-team mode you’ll find inventive maneuvers like "Brooterly Love" and "Toybox Blockbuster." To win, you play a mini game for the pin. It has a meter, and you need to be able to hit the button when the needle is in the green three times. The coolest part of any wresting game are the special moves, and I didn't particularly care for the timed button pressing in turned-based sequences to make those happen. The timing was too fast for me; I think most players will have a hard time pulling off special moves with the ring closing so quickly. The story mode in WrestleQuest is its differentiating feature, and is something wrestling fans will appreciate. It follows two different guys climbing the ranks: Brink Logan comes from a wrestling family and is one half of the "Honest Bucks" tag-team combo with his partner Stag. The other main character is the Muchacho Man, which as you can guess, is modeled after Randy Savage. There is an eclectic cast of characters that you will meet as you ascend the ranks of the wrestling world. Progressing through the game is sort of a mixed bag of pleasure and pain. The mini map needs a lot of work; accuracy is an issue and you can get lost as a result, which is frustrating. Early in the game, I encountered one of the worst mini-games I have played in a long time. Nothing is more frustrating than a platform jumper with poor mechanics—and that’s exactly what this was. If you hold the button down for too long or not long enough, your character doesn't jump correctly, and you risk losing. The whole thing is an exercise in frustration. Also, a word to the wise—save often and have a backup save point. Toward the end of the game, when I lost a match, the game reloaded my last save point. The problem is that it put my character in an arena where I could not leave. It was a game-breaking bug. What I had to do was quit the game and then manually load one of my save files. Fortunately, I only lost about 20 minutes of progress instead of 20+ hours of gameplay. Overall, WrestleQuest is something wrestling fans will truly enjoy from a sentimental perspective. The story overstays its welcome a bit, but I loved the nostalgia in the storyline. You can clearly see the love of wrestling the development team had and their care with the different legends like Macho Man Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, and more. I love the wrestling nostalgia, but due to playability issues I can’t give it my full recommendation. I hope that a patch or two might resolve these shortcomings down the road. Pros: ● Wrestling fueled nostalgia ● Creative combat system ● Great use of some of the biggest legends in the industry Cons: ● The story could have been told in a more concise manner. ● The timing sections will be too quick for some people. ● Some of the mini-games are an exercise in frustration. ● The mini-map doesn’t work properly at times. Score: 6/10 WrestleQuest is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The Xbox Series X version was played for this review.

There are quite a few things we expect and hope to see from the upcoming Pokémon Presents. On Friday, The Pokémon Company International announced a Pokémon Presents live stream for August 8th, 2023. While the details are sparse, it’s pretty obvious what the presentation will definitely have during its 35-minute show. In addition to the obvious things, there are quite a few wishlist items that fans of the series would hope to see. I recommend that you temper your expectations because we’re likely not going to get any announcements for a new mainline game in the series. However, there are probably going to be some good surprises and treats for those that are fans of the franchise. We could go into detail on non-gaming stuff, like the trading card game or the anime. We could do an entire article like this on just the TCG, for instance. But, we’ll only be focusing this article mostly on the video game and digital-related aspects of the presentation. Don’t worry, we do talk about other things too. As always, take anything we say with a grain of salt. Since it hasn’t happened yet, this is all speculation. Most Likely: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC details The presentation is 35 minutes long. If it doesn’t have anything about the quickly-upcoming downloadable content for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, I’ll eat my hat. The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC comes in two parts: The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. The Teal Mask, marked for Fall 2023, focuses on a Japanese-style village with a rich history and tons of real-world parallels. Aside from the Pokémon already shown off in previous trailers and promo materials, it’s highly likely that we will see even more announcements as it draws super close to release. The Indigo Disk is set for Winter 2023 currently and takes place at a different academy on the water with a ton of biomes. We’ll definitely get a full release date for the first part and, at the least, a month for the second part. We Hope: Classic Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch Online is just a must Nintendo Switch Online has been doing some great things with the Pokémon games of yesteryear. When the Nintendo 64 side of it was announced, they were quick to mention Pokémon Snap. Several months ago, we also saw the original Pokémon Stadium hit the platform as well, plus hints of seeing Stadium 2 in the future. But, do you know what is notably absent from the Game Boy section of Nintendo Switch Online? Anything Pokémon. The first two generations made their way to the Nintendo 3DS via Virtual Console back in 2016. Now that Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games are available on the Switch, it’ll be a great time to bring in all of the same games and the third-generation games as well. The Virtual Console versions allowed Pokémon Bank to transfer from the classics to modern games. Pokémon HOME could get the same mentality. I’m just saying. This is money left on the table right now. Most Likely: Pokémon Concierge is a claymation show with a great game premise I know that I said we wouldn’t talk much about non-video game things. But, I wanted to include this because of the adorable claymation style that’s going into Pokémon Concierge. The upcoming Netflix series focuses on a hotel run in the Pokémon world called the Pokémon Resort. Haru, the character we follow in the story, deals with guests and their partner Pokémon. The Netflix show is definitely on the radar to make an appearance during the Pokémon Presents presentation. However, I may be just theorizing here. But, this would make for a really cute hotel management sim game premise as well. There’s always a chance it could happen. At the least, we’ll likely get a short trailer for the show. We Hope: Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness remake, port, or sequel, please It’s crazy to me that The Pokémon Company hasn’t at least ported Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness at some point. This Nintendo Gamecube title has more than enough of a cult fanbase that it should have made some sort of modern appearance. But, alas, nothing! I’d love to see Pokémon go all in and announce a port or remaster of the original game, maybe also Pokémon Colosseum, and then tease a sequel. For those of you that missed out on this RPG, it follows a completely separate adventure from the mainline titles of its time. Being a spiritual successor to the Stadium games itself, the story focused more on battling than the grand adventure of the other main titles. Make it happen, TPCi! Most Likely: Detective Pikachu Returns could get a new trailer or details About a month ago or so, we got a trailer for Detective Pikachu Returns. This follow-up to the 2016 Nintendo 3DS game is likely to make another appearance. There could be another trailer or just more information about the game. We already have a release date known for October 6th, 2023. But, this could be a story or gameplay trailer. We Hope: A Detective Pikachu follow-up movie could be teased 2019’s Pokémon Detective Pikachu film was a fantastically done movie with top-tier actors and well-made CGI that brought the fandom that many of us have had for decades into the real world. Soon after, rumors of a follow-up movie quickly came… and went. It’s been four years. Isn’t it about time that we heard some muffled details for another theatrically released Pokémon movie? If you saw the film, you likely know how it ends. A future movie could be taken in a direction to classic regions like Red and Blue’s Kanto or beyond. I know I’m not talking into an echo chamber when I say that I want to see Red and Giovanni square off in live action. Most Likely: Pokémon World Championships is only a few days after the presentation The Pokémon World Championships (known by the fans as “Worlds”) is coming to Yokohama, Japan from August 11th to 13th. It’s a big deal. They’re going all out for it. If you’re unaware, Pokémon is very competitive, both in video games and with their trading card game. The fact that this presentation is mere days before Worlds is highly sus. We could get announcements for games during the event itself, or just a tease for a future TCG set. But, putting this presentation so close to it sets off all the alarms in my head that it’s related to Worlds. We Hope: Pokémon Trading Card Game RPG like the old Game Boy Games Speaking of Game Boy games earlier, the Pokemon Trading Card Game was a Game Boy Color game that allowed players to use the first handful of sets of the TCG in an RPG. In Japan, there was even a follow-up title that never got a western release. I’d like to see the original game and the sequel make their way to our Nintendo Switch Online platform. But, I also want to see a new sequel. Sure, we have the mobile title Pokémon TCG Live for those wanting to play digitally against others around the world. But, we want a story-focused RPG as well. Most Likely: Pokémon mobile game news is always mentioned in these streams As always, Pokémon GO is likely going to get a little detailing during the Pokémon Presents. It could be as simple as showing off details for a future in-game event, announcing some sort of GO Fest, or teasing new Pokémon coming to the game. It is about time that we start seeing more Generation 9 Pokémon from Scarlet and Violet. It’s probable that we will on August 8th. In addition, it’s likely that we will see an appearance of the recently released Pokémon Sleep app and Pokémon TCG Live. It’s plausible that we may see TCG Live finally get a Switch version teased or released in preparation for the Pokémon World Championships a few days later. Whatever it is, tune in to the Official Pokémon YouTube channel on August 8th. The presentation is 35 minutes and starts at 6AM PST.

Like M&Ms, this cool, quiet beast doesn’t melt in your hands. Nothing beats handheld gaming in my mind. From the Game Boy until now, nothing makes me happier than laying down on the couch and holding a gaming device to my face. Today, things are way different. Platforms, such as the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck, have evolved the lines between “console-style” games and portable-friendly designs. Now, gaming is more homogenous, with specs and price being the difference-makers. Handheld PCs have been a thing for a while. But, the Steam Deck has ripped away from novelty and thrust it into the mainstream arena. ASUS has stepped up with the ROG Ally, the first major competition to Valve’s monster, as a combination of high performance and low price. I’ve spent some time with an Ally, courtesy of ASUS offering access to a review unit. For context, I own both a Steam Deck and an AYANEO 2. The “Republic of Gamers” has made an aggressive device versus the competition, aiming to hit a sweet spot between the Thermal Design Power (TDP) compromises of the Steam Deck and the scary price tags of AYANEO devices. At the end of the day, the ROG Ally has some problems, some of which are hard to ignore. However, it also exceeds expectations in surprising ways, making it an easy favorite among the three options in front of me. Frankly, I’m sad I have to send it back! I’m even considering selling my AYANEO 2, which I was not anticipating at all. The biggest reason, curiously, is cooling. ASUS used a two-fan approach for the ROG Ally, and it performs magic. Unless I have the device cranked up to “Turbo” mode (30-sh TDP), I don’t notice the fans at all. The thing doesn’t even feel warm in my hands. It’s incredible. It’s also significantly lighter than the AYANEO, and slightly lighter than the Steam Deck. I’m used to the AYANEO especially screaming like a PS4 in most cases. But, on the Ally, I can play Honkai Star Rail smooth as silk and as quietly as the Switch. It blew my mind on day one and continues to do so around a week later. My second reason for loving this bad boy is another one that caught me off guard. Sound! The speakers are incredible, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before with a handheld gaming device. Not only are the speakers loud, but the sound they produce is clean, clear, and deeply stereo. Unless I’m trying to be courteous to others in the room, I feel zero need to use headphones when playing on the Ally. I’m not even a sound guy for the most part, and never saw myself commenting on audio much. But, here I am, factoring in the speakers on a handheld with more weight than the damn screen. To be fair, it’s a really nice screen. Not only is the screen 1080p, it also runs at 120 Hz and supports VRR. Combined with games that support FSR, or the AMD driver software’s own RSR (so many goofy acronyms!), you can squeeze some incredible visuals out without sacrificing a ton of performance. The screen doesn’t have the color depth or gloss of the AYANEO 2, but it makes the Steam Deck’s sickly 720p display look like a toy in comparison. There’s a pretty thick bezel that makes the screen look smaller than it is, but considering everything else, that’s not a bad trade-off. The biggest drawback that the ROG Ally has is everything else on the outside. The shell, sticks, and buttons all feel and look lower quality. The sticks feel brittle and flimsy, and the face buttons look weird and don’t feel as punchy as I’d like. There are two alternative buttons on the back that awkwardly jut out from the plastic, and the directional pad is almost Xbox 360 levels of bad. It’s one of those circle pads with the directions raised, and it feels like it screams “Don’t play Street Fighter with me” when I touch it. Aside from the D-pad, none of these things are bad. But, compared to other devices and controllers out today (as well as the other parts of the Ally), they pale in comparison. In terms of software, you could do worse. Much like its gaming computers, you can use the ROG Armory Crate to tinker with settings and a halfway decent game launcher. The smaller stuff works really well, such as the quick menu that you can call at any time with its own button. It does things like summon a virtual keyboard, alter the brightness, or snap to the desktop. Some of the more bespoke features, like changing the settings on the stick LEDs or making custom button mapping layouts, are less friendly. Luckily, if you don’t vibe with Armory Crate you aren’t forced to use it, since this is a wide-open Windows platform. Windows itself is a blessing and a curse in a handheld gaming device. While Steam OS has issues with game and software compatibility, everything it can do is intuitive and the Steam Deck itself is able to function as you’d expect. Meanwhile, Windows-based devices continue to struggle with things like sleeping/hibernating, display settings, and more. Sure, with the Ally you can press the power button to make it take a nap. However, if you do that while a game is running, there’s no predicting what will happen when you wake it back up. On the plus side, of course, you can install whatever the heck you want, from game launchers to office software. If you aren’t a Steam absolutist, you’ll be jumping through all kinds of hoops to play your other games on a Deck, if you can at all. Meanwhile, if you have Microsoft’s PC Game Pass for example, you can install and play that content on the Ally with zero resistance. That said, you also don’t have ASUS doing compatibility work like Valve does with the Steam Deck, meaning that you’re at the mercy of native game settings. The goofy marketing line may say you can play “all your” games. But, that doesn’t mean you can crank all the settings up on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and expect a high frame rate. Before now, jumping into portable PC gaming was a choice between a Steam Deck or a wide array of super expensive, confusing products that aren’t easy to shop for. The ASUS ROG Ally comes much closer to the Steam Deck in price and makes up for Windows’ various snags with shockingly great cooling and sound. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but at the moment this has been my favorite handheld for PC games. Asus ROG Ally Review Score: 8/10 Pros: Lightweight and easy to hold for longer playtime Excellent cooling; you don’t hear the fans unless “Turbo Mode” is on High-quality speakers that produce loud and clear sound Cons: Windows doesn’t have optimizations for handheld devices Buttons and sticks don’t meet the same standards as the speakers, screen, etc. Armory Crate software has some UI issues A loaner review unit was provided by ASUS for this review. The ASUS ROG Ally is available now at Best Buy and the ASUS official online store, the highest model being $699.99.

The Pokémon Presents will be around 35 minutes long. Lots of information! We’re getting another Pokémon Presents, this time on August 8th, 2023. It’ll be dropped onto the official The Pokémon Company YouTube at 2 PM UK / 9 AM EST / 6 AM PT. The presentation will last around 35 minutes. It’s currently unclear exactly what will be presented during the video. However, fans of the franchise can likely glean some sort of idea based on prior Pokémon Presents videos and the timing. Pokémon is likely going to not offer any new mainline games during the Pokémon Presents. They’re in the middle of the promotional cycle for the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet DLC. The games, in recent generations, have gone away from entirely full-bodied “enhanced” versions immediately after the release of the originals. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea, think of it like when Pokémon Yellow Edition came out after Red and Blue or when Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon came out after Sun and Moon. And so on. Nowadays, players get to keep their original save files and head to new areas unlocked from the DLC pass. Part one, due out this Fall 2023, is titled The Teal Mask. Not long after that one, during Winter 2023, we are getting The Indigo Disk DLC. The Pokémon Presents will likely have a harder focus on both of those parts of the downloadable content. But, that doesn’t mean the entire presentation has to focus on only them for 35 minutes. This year, the Pokémon World Championships will take place from August 11th to August 13th in Yokohama, Japan. This presentation is happening just ahead of the big competition. For those unaware, Pokémon is a highly competitive space. Between battling with digital Pokémon in the mainline Pokémon games and Pokémon GO to cardboard-based games with the Pokémon Trading Card Game, people take it seriously. It’s very possible that the Pokémon Presents may tease things that will be fully revealed during Worlds. It’s also possible that we will see other games during the video, such as the upcoming Detective Pikachu Returns. Some people are hoping that the classic Game Boy Pokémon games could make their way onto Nintendo Switch Online since other Game Boy games were recently added as well.