Game Control: Mario’s 40th Birthday Heralds a New Nintendo Direct And A Lot Of Indie Showstoppers
Console: The Nintendo Direct, as expected, takes over all game release news this month. This time it primarily covered updates to their new console, the Nintendo Switch 2, legacy additions to the console’s games as well as announcements on new sequels, standalones and even the new Mario Movie. This September’s Nintendo Direct began with a celebration of Mario’s 40th anniversary, Shigeru Miyamoto speaking about the brand and the character’s legacy over a backdrop of some of the game industry’s most iconic concept art over the years. Many first-look trailers were released during this Direct, from Supergiant’s indie darling sequel Hades 2 (coming out at the end of this month) to a remake of Danganronpa 2 (called 2X2, featuring a ‘what if’ ending to the now most popular Danganronpa release) to the long-awaited quirky life simulator Tomodachi Life (which comes out Spring 2026). Most of these games, and more to come, are projected to release in 2026.
In an interview for Variety, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, starring actress Tati Gabrielle, is said to be studio Naughty Dog’s most ambitious and expensive game to date. The game is already described as having “the deepest gameplay” out of all the other Naughty Dog releases (Uncharted, The Last of Us) by Naughty Dog Creative Director Neil Druckmann. He adds that Intergalactic is going to continue building on features already explored in earlier titles, like RPG elements and emotional storytelling, paired with a “high-sci-fi” theme that will elevate the game’s feel further. While it does not have a release date yet, the trailer alone is said to have had film studios reaching out to Naughty Dog for silver screen adaptations.
PC: After seven years of development, Hollow Knight: Silksong was released earlier this month to over half a million players, crashing Steam in the process. This placed the 2D platformer 18th on Steam’s lifetime ranking of highest number of concurrent players. Despite its otherworldly success and raving reviews, the game is still priced at $20, which has been labeled a very smart move on Adelaide-based Team Cherry’s part, but it also shows respect to their longstanding audience, who has been holding out hope for several Nintendo Directs in a row.
South African studio Team Lazerbeam’s indie demo for their upcoming title Shroom and Gloom continues to sweep the indie deck-building market. In June, it was swarmed with “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam and a resulting 50k wishlists. In the past month, they have released more major features and updates in preparation for the full release, as well as 80k wishlists, according to their most recent Steam Community post. In it they reveal that the game has also been picked up by streamer “NorthernLion” (1.3 million subscribers on YouTube), whose video on the game has almost 300,000 views.
Singaporean team Paper Rex and European team GIANTX won their first Group Stage matches in VALORANT CHAMPIONS 2025 and will face each other in Stage 2 on Sept. 17. Paper Rex (known as PRX during championships) defeated Chinese team XLG (short for XLG Esports) 2-0. PRX won 3-1 against Rex Regum Qeon, or RPQ, to become the VCT Pacific Stage 2 champions earlier this month. Their reputation precedes them in the current competition, and they’re charted to keep trailblazing for the rest of 2025.
Jeong-Min Kim
Mobile: Interviewed by Pocket Gamer, Netmarble Nexus’ CEO and Director of Development discussed the upcoming September 18th addition to the Seven Knights IP, Seven Knights Re:BIRTH. Jeong-Min Kim and Jeonggi Kim, who have been on the same team for over 11 years, describe the franchise as their “child,” having overseen and developed the game and brand since the beginning of their careers. The game is an inspired remake of the studio’s original Seven Knights 1, with updated gameplay, returning features and already well-beloved characters, as an ode to a well-established fanbase based primarily in Korea.
Tema Esports Club announced a historic milestone for Ghanaian eSports history, as “Medicine” and “OG_Lemar” distinguish themselves as top eSports athletes in the Mobile and Console categories. Medicine and OG_Lemar have each advanced their way to the FIFAe competition, aptly named as “the nation’s finest,” as a reflection of their ambition and love for the game. The FIFAe finals will take place in Riyadh of Saudi Arabia, in December, with the two Ghanaian eSports athletes competing in the eFootball Console and eFootball Mobile categories, respectively.
Virtual Reality: Nintendo made another surprising announcement during Nintendo Direct: the 3D gaming console Virtual Boy will be revived, coupled with a unique accessory for the Switch 1 and Switch 2. Moreover, they plan to re-release some of the original Virtual Boy games: 14 games in total, starting with Galactic Pinball, Mario’s Tennis and Teleroboxer, will be released over time. This is an unexpected announcement considering the infamous release of the Virtual Boy, which ended up being discontinued a year after launching following complaints of motion sickness during playing and a very barebones library of games. The console and the replica “Cardboard Model,” the aforementioned Switch accessory, will be available in February 2026.
