Little Nightmares III launched on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Switch 2, and PC back in October, and now, the game’s first DLC expansion, The Backstage has a release date. Text your co-op buddy asap, though, because it launches next week on June 12.
Revealed during today’s Future Games Showcase, The Backstage is the first DLC expansion of the Secrets of the Spiral pass for the platformer, which Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games developed for publisher Bandai Namco. In it, players will head into the underbelly of the Carnevale, the creepy location featured in the main game. In this first-look trailer, we get a glimpse of the new controllable protagonist, along with plenty of creepy-crawly moments.
Check it out for yourself in the Little Nightmares III: The Backstage trailer below:
While Little Nightmares III felt a little too familiar, it’s still a fun (if scary) time, and you can read about why in my review here.
Little Nightmares III is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The Backstage launches next week on June 12.
Xbox exclusive Grounded 2, the miniature backyard survival game from Obsidian Entertainment, will make its way to PlayStation 5 later this Summer on August 11. Alongside that new platform, an underwater-themed update titled “Into The Abyss” will also hit the game on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Grounded 2 launched into Early Access on Xbox Series X/S and PC in July of last year, and while there’s still no 1.0 release date in sight, new players will soon head to Brookhollow Park to encounter ants, spiders, lots of leaves, and more. We don’t know much about Into The Abyss, but based on the teaser trailer, it looks like it’s taking our cast of kids underwater (perhaps into the murky waters of a puddle).
Check it out in the Grounded 2 PlayStation 5 release date trailer below:
For more about Grounded 2, read Game Informer’s exclusive behind-the-scenes feature about the making of the game, as told by Obsidian Entertainment.
Citizen Sleeper and its sequel, Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, are getting Nintendo Switch 2 editions later this month. More specifically, both dice-rolling adventure games will hit Switch 2 on June 25.
If you already own the games on Switch, you can upgrade to the Switch 2 versions for free. Developer Gareth Damian Martin, who develops games under the studio name Jump Over The Age, revealed this news during today’s Story-Rich Showcase, hosted by Citizen Sleeper and 1000xResist publisher Fellow Traveller. If you haven’t played the Citizen Sleeper games, I cannot recommend them enough – beautiful art, amazing score, haunting stories you can shape with your actions, and a cast of characters you won’t soon forget (or ever).
Check out my review of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector below to find out what makes it such a special game:
As a fan of the Ace Attorney series, I adored Tangle Tower when I played it a few years ago. It was one of the first titles I downloaded on Apple Arcade, and I remember immediately hoping they would make more. It’s taken a few years, but the game’s sequel, The Mermaid Mask, is right around the corner, and today we got a firm release date. As revealed during the Story-Rich Games Showcase from publisher Fellow Traveller, The Mermaid Mask is dropping July 16. Check out the trailer below.
The Mermaid Mask follows the same two detectives from the previous game as they pursue a new case: the death of Captain Magnus Martuga. “Set aboard a strange submarine off the coast of the abandoned fishing town of Silkwirm-on-Sea, the game follows Detective Grimoire and his sharp-tongued sidekick Sally as they investigate the impossible locked-room murder of the enigmatic Captain Mortuga,” the trailer’s description reads. The game also retains its signature character animations and voice acting, which I find breathes more life into the narrative than many other adventure games are able to.
Burn-9 is a Metal Gear Solid-inspired adventure game where, instead of playing as the agent in the field, you play as their comms in the chair. It was revealed during today’s Story-Rich Showcase hosted by Citizen Sleeper publisher Fellow Traveler, and is set to launch sometime this year.
Described as a “Tactical Radio Action” game, another nod to Metal Gear Solid’s “Tactical Espionage Action” tag, your job is to guide the last survivor of an elite black-ops team after a mission has gone terribly wrong. While they are in extreme danger, you are not, and that’s because you are safe behind your screen as the person in the agent’s ears.
Check it out in the Burn-9 trailer below:
“When a top secret military research facility in the Antarctic goes dark, an elite strike force of cybernetically-enhanced black-ops super soldiers is dispatched to investigate and secure Burn-9 at all costs,” the game’s description reads. “Minutes into the mission, the helicopter is shot down. There is one survivor… and you’re her only lifeline.”
As the team’s Operator, you will find yourself caught between the demands of the top brass and the harsh reality on the ground – every piece of intel becomes a decision: what to share, what to hold back, and who to trust is up to you.
This weekend is packed with showcases to celebrate Summer Game Fest 2026 – bookmark Game Informer’s 2026 Summer Showcase Schedule to make sure you don’t miss any you want to watch!
The Stardew Valley-inspired Fields of Mistria is getting a full 1.0 release this August. The news dropped during the annual Wholesome Direct, which highlights cute indie games, usually with pastel aesthetics, nonviolent gameplay, and generally cozy vibes. Fields of Mistria happens to hit all three; you can check it out for yourself in the release date announcement trailer below.
Fields of Mistria is like Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon mixed with a magical fantasy world. You can romance your fellow villagers, farm crops, mine ore, and raise (and ride) various livestock, but you can also learn magic to aid in farming. It also has a really nice art style, with cute pixel sprites and anime-style character portraits. Its early access release was praised for its high polish, and it currently has an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam with over 20,000 reviews. I’ve personally been holding out for the 1.0 launch, so I’m excited to finally get my hands on the complete version later this summer.
Square Enix unveiled Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the third and final game in the ongoing remake project, during the 2026 Summer Game Fest Showcase by way of a lengthy trailer highlighting Cloud Strife and Co.’s journey in this last installment. Fans of the series noticed, however, that series antagonist Sephiroth sounded a little different. And that’s because his English voice, provided by Tyler Hoechlin (Superman & Lois), has been replaced by Critical Role’s Travis Willingham.
In a post-show stream at Maximilian Dood’s house, Final Fantasy VII Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi, who also directed 2024’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, revealed that Hoechlin was unable to record VO for the villain this time around, presumably due to scheduling reasons. “The former voice actor [who voiced] Sephiroth was unable to provide his voice for this one, so we do have a new voice actor,” Hamaguchi said on the stream through an interpreter. Square Enix later told Maximilian Dood (seemingly off-stream) that the new voice actor is Willingham.
Willingham is perhaps best known these days as a table mainstay in Critical Role and CEO of the D&D streaming company, given just how massive that production is now, but he’s also a prolific voice actor with roles in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, One Piece, Naruto Shippuden, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more. He’s been Marvel’s go-to voice for Thor in various properties for years, too, and he’s best friends with Vincent Valentine voice actor Matt Mercer (the two are also Critical Role co-founders, along with others in the cast as well). If the few Sephiroth lines we get in the Final Fantasy VII Revelation reveal trailer are any indication, Square Enix has selected a great voice to finish the trilogy.
Final Fantasy VII Revelation is due out simultaneously on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC sometime in Spring 2027.
Today’s Wholesome Games Direct gave us a new trailer and a release date for Lou’s Lagoon, a cozy island-hopping adventure that has impressed us several times over the last year. The vibrant adventure lifts off this August.
Players control a customizable protagonist and pilot who answers a distress call from their Uncle Lou, who lives on an island archipelago. Upon your arrival, your uncle is missing, but the islands have been devastated following a nasty storm. It’s up to you to rebuild these communities while solving the mystery of Uncle Lou’s disappearance.
Restoring the islands involves gathering resources to restore the islands using an arsenal of gadgets, namely a multi-purpose vacuum called the Swirler 2000. This allows players to suck up materials to craft goods, repair buildings, and perform other tasks to bring the communities back to life. This also involves meeting the locals and answering their unique needs. Multiple islands require your help, so you’ll travel between them by flying your seaplane, which opens up a suite of aerial challenges.
Lou’s Lagoon launches on August 27 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC. You can check out a demo right now on Steam and Xbox PC. Players who complete the demo earn exclusive in-game skin for the full version and can sign up to receive a themed art postcard.
Monster Hunter Wilds is getting a “massive expansion” next year, as is tradition for the series, and we saw the reveal at yesterday’s Summer Game Fest showcase. The reveal on its own raised a lot of questions, but shortly after it went live, Capcom published a video on its YouTube channel to share more details about the expansion and announce that the game is in development for Switch 2.
The video is a conversation between Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance’s producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Takuro Hiraoka. As they mention in the video, while Tsujimoto was a producer on the base game, Hiraoka was not Wilds’ director, and is taking the role over from Yuya Tokuda. Hiraoka says he’s worked on the series since Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, a 2010 Japan-exclusive PSP title, and worked his way up to be lead game designer on Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate and Monster Hunter World Iceborne.
After the two break down Ascendance’s not-so-subtle double meaning (it’s both an advancement in gameplay and a literal ascension in elevation), they get into some more concrete details about the new area. It’s officially called The Skybound Eyrie, and it’s a series of floating ruins players can explore. As see in the trailer, Seikrets (the bird-like mounts from the base game) can ride updrafts to reach the islands, and then freely glide between them. Hiraoka also says, “We’ve prepared other environmental features unique to this locale, as well,” though it’s unclear what that might refer to.
The duo also explains the Boost Bracer, a new mechanic we saw a glimpse of in the trailer. It enables new actions for each weapon type, enhancing “attacks, combos, and mobility, allowing for more versatility in hunts.” The footage makes it look like some combos are faster, and maybe do more damage, but it’s hard to tell specifics. “We’re also preparing other new attacks and combos not related to the Boost Bracer,” Hiraoka adds, though he doesn’t clarify that statement either.
Then, they go on to discuss some of the monsters players will be facing with these new moves. There’s a flock of a new aerial monster that dive-bombs the player in a V-formation. The elder dragon Kushala Daora is also returning, and while they’re not named, we see the silhouette of what appears to be Lao-Shan Lung. Hiraoka closes by saying, “Ascendance’s story will be deeply connected with elder dragons,” while Tsujimoto confirms the expansion for a 2027 release date.
After some banter promoting Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (a game I reviewed and largely enjoyed), they close with a significant announcement: Monster Hunter Wilds is currently in development for Switch 2. That said, there’s no release window, nor any mention of whether the Switch 2 version will ever get the Ascendance DLC. “We will announce more official information, such as a release date, at a later time,” Tsujimoto says, ending the presentation.
For more Monster Hunter, check out our review of Wilds, World, and Iceborne.
It’s a huge week for games, so Sony kicked it off with a fittingly huge State of Play on June 2. From Wolverine to God of War Laufey, join hosts Alex Van Aken, Eric Van Allen, and Charles Harte as they break it down game by game and discuss the best and the worst of PlayStation’s State of Play.
The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about video game reviews, news, and exclusive reveals alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Support the show by subscribing to our physical video game magazine!
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00:00 – Introduction 08:10 – State Of Play Reactions / Wolverine 27:31 – Marvel Tokon 37:04 – Boncho The Chef 39:58 – Kemuri 43:06 – Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis 51:23 – State of Play Lightning Round 59:33 – Ace Combat 8 01:15:55 – God of War Laufey
