Microsoft has confirmed the release date of Forza Horizon 6 during today's Xbox Developer Direct livestream — and there's only a few months to go before you'll be getting behind the wheel once again.

Forza Horizon 6 will launch for PC and Xbox Series X/S on May 19, with early access from May 15 for anyone who pays for the game's Premium Edition. The game's PlayStation 5 version is expected to arrive at a later date — though we still don't know when exactly.

As announced last year, Forza Horizon 6 will be set in Japan — a location that has long been on the wishlist of many Forza fans. Amusingly, the setting was spoiled ahead of time by a real-life car import company connected to the game — which, if nothing else, showed that the development crew at Playground Games had been busy doing its homework.

Gameplay shown today revealed that you'll initially play as a rookie racer who's just a tourist in Japan. You'll also be joined by two close friends, passionate motorsports enthusiast Jordy and experienced Japanese car builder Mei, who'll give you an insider’s perspective on your journey.

Pick up wristbands and rise up the ranks, and you'll soon be on your way around Japan — from its breathtaking rural mountains to the heart of Tokyo. 550 cars will be available in-game at launch — the most for any new Forza Horizon game — including the game's cover cars, the 2025 GR GT Prototype and the 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser.

A major new addition is the Estate — a large plot of land in the mountains you can build up from scratch, placing buildings, roads, and invite your friends in for a tour. The end of today's showing revealed the briefest tease of a hulking Gundam — though that was all we got to see for now.

Pokémon Go looks set to add another battle currency to the ever-popular mobile game, this time focused around raids for Mega Pokémon.

As Pokémon Go prepares to roll-out the first of Pokémon Legends Z-A's new wave of Mega Evolutions next month as part of its upcoming Go Tour Kalos event, the game also appears to have a major rework of its Mega Raid system in the offing.

Datamined information published by The Pokémod Group have spilled details of Link Charges, a new in-game resource that the game's files refer to as "enhanced currency." An in-game description states that Link Charges "can be used to enter Mega Raid in place of Raid passes" and will now be "required to enter Mega Raids remotely."

The addition of a new type PVE battle resource for Mega raids comes as something of a surprise, as Mega battles have existed in the game for years, accessible simply via regular raid passes.

While details remain unconfirmed and subject to change, Link Charges sound like something of a cross between existing raid passes and the Max Energy system introduced more recently specifically for use in Dynamax/Gigantamax battles. The introduction of Link Charges would certainly also delineate Mega raids from regular raid battles — similar to how the use of Max Energy sets Max battles apart.

Unreleased in-game text states that players will be able to "earn Link Charges from activities such as Weekly Challenges, Campfire Check-Ins, and opening Gifts," all of which are free. That said, images showing the Link Charges themselves (which look like futuristic USB sticks) in various bundles suggest the resource will, of course, also be sold via the game's in-game shop.

A new item called "enhanced currency" has been added, along with some variations featuring "RRP" (remote raid pass? idk).
It looks like something that could be sold in the shop, but we're not sure what it does yet.

Seeing this item alongside a remote pass is a bit scary.… pic.twitter.com/gIROUW4DlT

— The Pokemod Group (@thepokemodgroup) January 22, 2026

As ever, Pokémon Go's highly-engaged community have been reacting to the datamined details with their usual mix of excitement and healthy scepticism.

"Are we cooked?" wrote Kind_Cheesecake_8297 on top Pokémon Go reddit The Silph Road. "Asked the frog in the pot," replied EquivalentReality988. "This is just another temperature increase, we've been boiling for years."

But while the introduction of another PVE battle resource has naturally prompted questions over how plentiful it will be (and how much it will cost via the in-game shop), many others have agreed that the game's Mega raids do need some form of shakeup.

Following their most recent rework years ago, Mega raids typically provide enough in-game resource to Mega Evolve a specific Pokémon within a few battles. After that, Mega Pokémon can be set as a Buddy Pokémon to generate Mega Energy for free. Beyond hunting for a Shiny or better stat version of a particular creature, there's little need to then continue raiding — and as an active player, I have to say I don't consider Mega creatures when deciding what to spend my daily raid pass on.

While this is fine for players who have all Mega Pokémon unlocked already, this leaves newer players without others to battle Mega raids alongside (and most Megas require multiple people to take down). Providing an additional resource to battle Mega raids means players can choose to take on the battles in addition to regular raids — just as the Max Particle system works for Dynamax and Gigantamax battles now.

Nintendo has just confirmed a release date for Super Mario Bros. Wonder's expanded Switch 2 Edition, which will include a suite of new minigames and the ability to play as Rosalina, ahead of her big screen debut in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup In Bellabel Park, to give its full name, will arrive on March 26. As that extremely lengthy title suggests, the upgraded version of Nintendo's 2023 platformer includes the additional Bellabel Park area to explore, which comes stuffed with extra activities.

The Switch 2 Edition will be available to purchase separately, or existing Switch owners of the game can alternatively purchase an upgrade pack which costs $19.99.

#SuperMarioBrosWonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park arrives March 26!

Look forward to new boss courses with all 7 Koopalings, two new playable characters, Rosalina, and Co-Star Luma, and more!

Pre-order today: https://t.co/jflxAzIJGB pic.twitter.com/8AKPoiJRMc

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 22, 2026

Bellabel Park's Local Multiplayer Plaza features 17 new co-op or versus minigames, with support for up to four local players (and yes, your pals can join even if they don't have the game, via GameShare). Game Room Plaza, meanwhile, features six minigames for either local or online play — with the latter option supporting up to 12 players.

A third area, Camp Central, features the adorable Captain Toad and his Toad Brigade, who set challenges based on existing courses. Complete them all and you'll become an elite Toad Brigade explorer yourself. Lastly, the Koopalings are also back — having stolen treasure from Bellabel Park, you'll need to search through the game's levels and defeat them.

Helpful additions to the game include Co-Star Luma, who offers a way for a second player to join in as an assist character, while Assist Mode lets you explore the game without fear of damage or falling down a pit. Handy!

Beyond Good & Evil 2 fans are celebrating a small piece of good news to come from Ubisoft's major cull of projects, studios and people yesterday — that after almost two decades, the game that holds the Guinness World Record for the longest development still isn't dead.

While yesterday saw the end of Ubisoft's plans to release a Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake (a project that the company had been working on for at least six years) and five other unnamed games, no mention was made of Beyond Good & Evil 2, whose record-breaking development now spans almost 20 years, off and on.

Indeed, Beyond Good & Evil was named by Ubisoft as an ongoing franchise that would now be overseen by its reorganized "Creative House 4" division, dedicated to narrative driven and fantasy games. Separately, Insider Gaming has reported that the project is indeed still alive today, as the dust settles.

On reddit, Beyond Good & Evil's long-suffering fans have reacted to the sequel's survival by calling it "miraculous", "insane" and simply "too big to fail."

"It's insane this game is still in production and survived," dan_in_his_own_way wrote. "Don't get me wrong, I want to play it but the cancelation of the Price of Persia remake hit really hard. A project that would arguably cost them less and require less resources than Beyond Good & Evil."

"Beyond Good and Evil 2 will survive World War 3," quipped Travguard. "But it still won't be out by the armistice," added meathappening.

One fan, 33Sharpies, pointed to the likely financial implications of Beyond Good & Evil 2 ever being canceled, at which point Ubisoft would have to write down the cost of its gargantuan development. While the project is still alive, however, it can still be listed as an ongoing asset. (Insider Gaming has reported that the project has been valued internally as having now cost over $500 million, though that figure is unverified.)

Beyond Good & Evil 2 is believed to have originally begun early development in 2007, with series creator and Rayman mastermind Michel Ancel and his Ubisoft Montpellier team on board. Over the coming decade, development was mostly paused while Montpellier worked on other projects, but Ubisoft re-announced the game with fanfare in 2017 and showed off an in-engine concept featuring space flight and designs to feature multiple solar systems and planets.

Again, however, development struggled — and the project was further impacted by Ancel's departure from Ubisoft and the sad death of its subsequent creative lead Emil Morel. But the last couple of years have seen work coalesce once more, with the sequel's characters given intriguing cameos in the new Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition, while a new creative director — former DICE and King veteran Fawzi Mesmar — has come on board to steady the ship.

Beyond Good & Evil 2 still lacks any word of a release date — and may well have been one of the titles Ubisoft delayed to receive further polish yesterday. As of now, however, it remains alive — however improbable that may seem.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Ubisoft has said that completing its now-canceled Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake would have "required more time and investment than we could responsibly commit," after more than half a decade of development.

Yesterday, Ubisoft shocked fans by announcing it had scrapped the long-awaited remake completely as part of a major business reshuffle, nearly six years after the project was first announced, and five years to the day after it was initially set to launch — on January 21, 2021.

Ubisoft has never fully explained why the remake has had such a tortured development — first at the company's Mumbai and Pune studios, then at Ubisoft Montreal since the project was rebooted in 2022. What has been happening behind the scenes since then, and why has the game been scrapped now, after so long trying to get it right?

A statement that's now been shared via the official Prince of Persia social media account holds few answers. Here it is in full:

"To the Prince of Persia community, we wanted to share this with you directly," reads a statement attributed to Ubisoft's Prince of Persia team.

"We've made the difficult decision to stop development on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. We know this is deeply disappointing. The game carries enormous meaning for fans and for the teams who worked on it.

"While the project had real potential, we weren't able to reach the level of quality you deserve, and continuing would have required more time and investment than we could responsibly commit. And, we didn't want to release something that fell short of what The Sands of Time represents.

"Prince of Persia as a universe and a legacy continues to matter deeply to us, and this decision does not mean we're stepping away from the franchise.

"Thank you for your passion, patience and love for Prince of Persia."

Exactly what the future has in store for Prince of Persia now is uncertain. Lackluster sales of 2024's Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown meant a planned sequel to that game was also scrapped, and staff reorganized elsewhere within the company. The franchise's most recent launch was 2025's The Rogue Prince of Persia — made externally by Dead Cells co-developer Evil Empire.

While many of the details around Ubisoft's business reshuffle remain to be seen, the company did at least name the Prince of Persia franchise as part of its new fourth "Creative House" division yesterday, suggesting it was indeed still an ongoing concern.

For the fans waiting half a decade to play the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, however, this is likely of little comfort.

"Pretty sad we'll never get this," wrote Ubisoft fan SynthPotato, "people were convinced its on the edge of releasing." "Saw this coming a mile away unfortunately," added another fan, 8biteric. "Please tell me you’re going to reverse time and take back this post and make an announcement that the game is done and will release later this year," suggested TheChrisLambert, hopefully.

Five other games were canceled yesterday as part of Ubisoft's reshuffle, while a further seven titles have been delayed — including the company's similarly long-awaited Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Nintendo has released an update for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, with some handy item adjustments and a list of bug fixes for the game's Mega Dimension DLC.

The Switch and Switch 2 Pokémon adventure has today been patch to Version 2.0.1, which makes both berries and Mega Shards easier to buy and hold onto. With the update installed, you will now be able to purchase multiple berries at once from food vendors. Mega Dimension owners, meanwhile, will gain the ability to buy berries at Nouveau Café's Truck.

Speaking of Mega Dimension, players with the DLC purchased will see a range of bugs fixed — including Shiny Pokémon not registering in your Pokédex, a side mission progression blocker, and an issue where the game's weather was stuck being sunny (if only this was true in real life).

Launched last month, Mega Dimension adds a fresh story campaign to Pokémon Legends: Z-A, starring a donut chef and the Mythical Pokémon Hoopa. It's set within an alternative Hyperspace version of Lumiose City, where the franchise's typical level 100 cap can be surpassed. Most excitingly, it adds a swathe of all-new Mega Evolutions — though none as freaky as the fan-favorite Mega Starmie.

Looking ahead, the Pokémon series celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026, and fans are eagerly awaiting news on the next generation of mainline games. Many expect these to be announced on the franchise's anniversary during its annual Pokémon Presents livestream, due on February 27. There's also the promising-looking life simulation spin-off Pokémon Pokopia to look forward to.

For now, Pokémon Legends Z-A's latest full patch notes lie below:

Pokémon Legends: Z-A: Ver. 2.0.1 (Released January 21, 2026)

Adjustments Applied for Obtaining Items:

• When purchasing Berries from a food stall, you can now purchase multiple Berries at once.
• After beginning the story of the Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension DLC, you will be able purchase Berries from the clerk at Nouveau Café’s Truck No. 3.
• The maximum number of Mega Shards you can carry has been increased from 999 to 9,999.

Fixes Applied for the Following Confirmed Issues Related to Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension Content:

• When using moves in certain pockets of hyperspace, Pokémon may sometimes have faced a different direction from the intended target.
• There were cases in which the weather remained sunny and did not change.
• Shiny Pokémon obtained prior to the release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension may not have been registered to the Mega Evolution Pokédex, even if their Mega Stones were obtained after becoming available in the DLC.
• During missions, images from unrelated scenes may occasionally have been displayed.
• Players may not have been able to complete side mission 188 “Start Special Scanning!” even after earning the maximum number of survey points. (Players who are already experiencing this issue should be able to progress after entering and exiting hyperspace.)

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

There's a fresh update waiting for Nintendo Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World, with a couple of tweaks and a list of bug fixes.

Today's patch, which brings Mario Kart World to version 1.5.0, now allows you to race as a team in Knockout Tour when playing with friends in a multiplayer room either via online or wireless play. Polish language support has also been added.

Perhaps most notable is what appears to be a typo in the patch notes' list of bug fixes, which references an issue that has been fixed when playing as Kamek on Choco Mountain. Kamek is not a playable character (yet) in Mario Kart World, but this is likely just a reference to the Kamek item.

So far, nothing else interesting has been discovered in the patch — which is far less meaty than Nintendo's 1.4.0 update for Mario Kart World that launched at the end of last year. That addition reworked the layouts of several areas to spice up the game's open world, and led fans to believe more changes would likely follow.

As of yet, Nintendo has simply been tinkering with its Switch 2 racer, without adding any extra DLC (free or otherwise). Time will tell how Mario Kart World might expand further as the Switch 2's lifecycle matures.

For now, here are the full patch notes for today's Mario Kart World update, version 1.5.0:

Mario Kart World: Version 1.5.0 (Released January 21, 2026)

General

• Added team races to Knockout Tour when playing in a room during “Online Play” and “Wireless Play”.
• The game now supports the Polish language.
  • Note: You can change your selected language using the “Language” setting in the “System” menu of “System Settings.”

Fixed Issues

• Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes end if a player plays as Kamek on Choco Mountain.
• Fixed an issue where the displayed rating would sometimes be incorrect when joining “Everyone” in “Online Play” while in a room.
• Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Nintendo veteran Kensuke Tanabe has reportedly said that the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is his final game at the company, where he has served for four decades.

Tanabe joined Nintendo in the late 1980s as one of its first game designers, and worked on classics such as Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3 for the NES, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for SNES and Link's Awakening for Game Boy.

Over the latter half of his career, Tanabe has served as a producer on more than 60 titles, with a particular focus on the Paper Mario and Luigi's Mansion series. But it's for his work with Retro Studios on the Metroid Prime series for which he's best known.

Now, in an interview with Nintendo Dream magazine, Tanabe has said that Metroid Prime 4 was his final game for Nintendo — meaning that he has left the series' story unfinished, and the fate of his villain Sylux uncertain.

Sylux has been built up as the next Big Bad of the Metroid Prime series, following his introduction in Metroid Prime: Hunters, and the end of the original Metroid Prime trilogy that pitted Samus against Dark Samus. During the interview, Tanabe said he saw Sylux as a way to "further expand the 'Metroid Prime Universe'" and create further games beyond the initial trilogy. Because of this, he implored developers to foreshadow Sylux's presence via cameos in Metroid Prime 3 and Metroid Prime: Federation Force, while keeping his full story under-wraps.

"A long time passed before I finally had the opportunity to make this game," Tanabe said of Metroid Prime 4 (via machine translation). "Considering my age, I felt that making this Metroid Prime series might be my last chance. Therefore, I conceived and planned this project as the 'first installment of the Sylux Saga.'

"I portrayed Sylux as a villain with a dark personality, deep resentment, and despicable methods; and from this game onward, Samus will realize that a direct confrontation with him is inevitable, and he must be completely defeated. Therefore, the final battle between Sylux and Samus is not yet over. However, it took longer than I had imagined to complete this game.

"Furthermore, I have confirmed that I will no longer be able to participate in the production of the series," Tanabe concluded. "Whether a sequel will be made is still uncertain, but I sincerely hope that one day, [assistant producer Risa] Tabata and Retro Studios will be able to tell this story completely and bring it to a close."

Nintendo is yet to comment on the report, or announce Tanabe's departure. IGN has asked the company for more detail today.

After a lengthy delay, Metroid Prime 4 finally launched for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 last month, albeit to a more muted critical response than the franchise's beloved original trilogy. Nintendo has so far made no official announcement on how well the game has sold. However, earlier this month, an unnamed Nintendo source blamed the recent slowdown in Switch 2 sales over the holiday period on a "complicated" economic climate and the "absence of a major Western game" — despite the launch of Metroid Prime 4.

"It's been 40 years since I joined Nintendo," Tanabe reflected. "Metroid Prime 4 will be the last game I work on at Nintendo. However, we didn't deliberately do anything 'special.' Instead, like all previous Nintendo titles, we worked together with Retro Studios to create it, hoping to bring a fun and unique experience to players of all ages and types.

"If it becomes a game that leaves a lasting impression on players who have played it, I will be very gratified. And for those who haven't played it yet, I hope you will experience the unknown planet Viewros through Samus' eyes."

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social