Coliseum

Sega has canceled its Super Game, which was originally revealed as in development in 2021 with a budget of $882 million. When it was announced, all signs pointed to the Super Game being a single game, but we later learned “Super Game” was a title Sega used to describe various games with large budgets. 

In the five years since the Super Game announcement, we never did learn exactly what these games were – there was no formal announcement or titles associated with the descriptor. But now, thanks to Sega’s latest financial earnings report, it’s clear we’ll likely never know. On the “Review of the GaaS [games as a service]” page, Sega has a short line that reads, “Decided to cancel Super Game,” noting that the company did not incur additional costs as a result of the cancellation for Quarter 3 of its 2026 Fiscal Year. And that’s all she/Sega wrote. 

Elsewhere in the report, Sega lists the following games as part of its “Upcoming Plans” slide, giving us a birds-eye view of games the company plans to release in the coming years: 

• Stranger Than Heaven: Winter
• Persona 4 Revival: Release Date TBD
• Total War: Warhammer 40,000: Release Date TBD
• Total War: Medieval III: Release Date TBD
• New Virtua Fighter Project: Title/Release Date TBD
• Crazy Taxi: Title/Release Date TBD
• Golden Axe: Title/Release Date TBD
• Jet Set Radio: Title/Release Date TBD
• Streets of Rage: Title/Release Date TBD
• Alien: Isolation Sequel: Title/Release Date TBD

Though Sega doesn’t name any games specifically, it says that in its Quarter 3 2027 Fiscal Year forecast, it expects to “launch four new titles based on mainstay IPs,” suggesting it might be planning to launch four of the aforementioned games within the next fiscal year. 

While we wait to learn more about these games, read about how we’re finally getting an Alien: Isolation sequel, and then read about how Stranger Than Heaven will take place across five time periods. After that, check out the Persona 4 Revival reveal trailer, and then read about the recently released Persona 30th Anniversary jazz cover album. 

Which of Sega’s in-development games are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below!

Brothers Mattias and Marcus Ottvall and Gustaf Heinerwall worked on Little Nightmares and its sequel for Tarsier Studios, but recently branched off to create an original game with their original studio, Section 9 Interactive.

End of Abyss is Section 9’s first game and it combines an impressive collection of inspirations from games like classic Zelda, Metroid, and even Metal Gear Solid. Below, Charlest Harte and I play and gush about the game ahead of its release later this year and show off a brand new boss.

End of Abyss – Exclusive Boss Fight Gameplay:

Subscribe to Game Informer‘s YouTube channel for more episodes of New Gameplay Today as well as video reviews, The Game Informer Show Podcast, and more.

Aaron Paul, an actor known for his roles in Breaking Bad, Bojack Horseman, and Westworld, is officially joining the next season of the Fallout series on Prime Video. His role remains undisclosed. The actor recently garnered praise his performance as the lead in the video game Dispatch, a choice-driven superhero workplace comedy.

Paul’s casting is notable for two reasons. First, it reunites him with Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, who have been executive producers on both Fallout and Westworld. Second, it marks the Breaking Bad star’s return to the world of live-action video game adaptations; he starred in 2014’s Need For Speed, a film based on the game franchise of the same name.

The press release announcing Paul’s casting also notes that Annabel O’Hagan and Dave Register, who play Stephanie Harper and Chet, respectively, will be bumped up to series regulars in season 3. Additionally, Frances Turner (who plays Barb Howard) became a regular in season 2, and will remain a regular for the next season.

Finally, it appears Fallout has hit some significant milestones. According to Prime Video, the show has had over 100 million viewers, and in the first 13 weeks of season 2’s launch, both seasons ranked among the top four most-watched on Prime Video.

For more on Fallout, check out our reviews for season 1 and season 2. For more Aaron Paul, check out our interview we did with him last year discussing his role in Dispatch.

Discord launched its Nitro subscription almost 10 years ago, and it’s changed a lot over the years. While its current tiers mainly offer users more emojis, higher quality streaming, and generally more customization options, it used to include complementary games, but that perk was discontinued in 2019. Today, the company announced plans to revive that idea and partner with Xbox and provide Game Pass for Nitro users – kind of.

According to a blog post on Discord’s website, the new program is called Nitro Rewards, and it’s exactly what it sounds like – perks for Discord’s paid subscribers. Discord describes today’s announcement as the “first wave,” with more benefits to come at a later date.

The first perk is access to Xbox Game Pass. Discord describes the level of access as “a starter version” of the service, which seems to line up with Game Pass Essential, as it includes “a library of 50+ PC and console games.” This tier includes a fraction of the titles available on Game Pass’ higher tiers (which have 200+ and 500+, respectively), but as a benefit to Nitro subscribers at no extra cost, it’s a pretty good deal.

Nitro Rewards also includes discounts on certain Logitech products, with subscribers getting “up to 30% off at Logitech G, 15% off SteelSeries, and 20% off KontrolFreek, with new offers rotating regularly.” Finally, Nitro subscribers will also get bonus Orbs each month and an Orbs multiplier, meaning they’ll get more Orbs for completing quests. The blog closes with a disclaimer that features will be rolling out gradually “over the coming weeks,” so you might not see them right away, but they’ll probably be showing up soon. 

On the flipside, an Xbox Wire post about the same subject announced an inverted version of the deal; Game Pass subscribers will soon get certain Discord Nitro benefits. More specifically, they’ll get 250 Discord Orbs each month, 1.2x extra Orbs when completing quests, and automatically applied Discord Shop discounts, which sounds like the new Nitro Rewards Orb upgrades.

In other Xbox news, the highest tier, Game Pass Ultimate, recently decreased in price, and Copilot AI will no longer be coming to consoles.

Reviewed on:
PlayStation 5

Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Publisher:
Supermassive Games

Developer:
Supermassive Games

Release:
May 12, 2026

Rating:
Mature

When Until Dawn was released in 2015, it felt novel. Telltale had popularized a specific formula of interactive narrative, but Supermassive’s teen-slasher horror game took its ideas and applied an impressive layer of creativity and production value on top of it alongside casting choices that only look more brilliant with time. Successive entries in the The Dark Pictures Anthology series, however, have increasingly failed to live up to the promise of Until Dawn, and Directive 8020 is the latest result of that downward trend.

Directive 8020 looks great. Close-up shots of character faces show an incredible level of detail, and the overall art direction stands above the severe shortcomings of the narrative. The attractive, if uninspired, general design of the spaceship Cassiopeia and its computer systems feel like they’re from the future, and the monstrous alien menaces you must contend with are impressively grotesque. The visuals of this peek into a potential science-fiction future are Directive 8020’s strongest element. But much like the mission the Cassiopeia crew is on, it all falls apart once you start.

The stakes are high in Directive 8020 with a small crew of astronauts scouting a potentially habitable planet as Earth’s long-term viability wanes. A strong licensed soundtrack backgrounds an enticing opening as the only conscious members of the crew kill time until the rest can be woken from hypersleep. Once the astronauts start talking, characterizations and mysteries are established with the subtlety of a giant flashing red arrow, and I began to immediately question the credentials of every crew member chosen for this historic mission.

In the horror genre, playing armchair expert while scared people make stupid decisions is part of the fun. But that joy gets sucked out of the airlock when the story has painstakingly and repeatedly established that the cast is the smartest of the smartest, hand-picked and trained to be humanity’s last hope for a mission that literally could not be more important. Instead of revelling in the outcomes of their poor decisions, stupid mistakes become frustrating and feel preventable, which they aren’t even when you’re trying valiantly to push everyone toward the right calls.

The larger story beats are all achingly cliched. The references to science-fiction horror like Alien and The Thing are so transparent that they feel like rip-offs that don’t understand the source material as opposed to fun homage. I absolutely don’t mind taking a dip in the warm bath of genre storytelling, but Directive 8020 struggles to establish its own identity while citing its sources. I also just generally felt like I was being talked down to as its “mysteries” were being unfurled. I shouldn’t always be three steps ahead of, as is repeatedly established, the smartest people on planet Earth – supposedly the only ones capable of completing this mission.

But even in the individual moments, Directive 8020 struggles. A fire in one area of the ship that forces a decision between saving the lives of two crew members results in the unfortunate victim sitting down amidst the flames and calling it a day, as they basically make no attempt to reach a nearby door. In times like this, you can immediately rewind a story moment to try a different outcome, which raises the question: What are we even doing here? If I can change every element of the story as I am making my way through it, then why does any wrong decision or missed quicktime event matter? I like seeing the story permutations eventually, but if the choices in the moment don’t matter, then my feelings about the characters and the story don’t matter either.

Gameplay, which is admittedly not Directive 8020’s focus, mainly involves avoiding the eyeline of bad guys in the dark. Moving the characters is functional, but waiting for backs to be turned so you can sneak by is not particularly thrilling or scary. The door-unlocking minigame is enjoyable, and I liked being able to text other characters between cutscenes for additional conversations, but it did little to endear me to anyone in the forgettable cast.

I took more notes while playing Directive 8020 than I normally do while reviewing a game, and they’re almost all character complaints or story frustrations. The primary purpose of this experience is to engage and draw me into a narrative filled with characters whose fates I am invested in. Instead, I was too busy questioning decisions (theirs, not mine), rolling my eyes, and grappling with an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu to ever lock in.

Score:
5

About Game Informer’s review system

In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, Alex returns from MagicCon: Las Vegas to share his experience spending the weekend playing and learning about upcoming Magic: The Gathering card sets, Charles dives into his Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight preview, and Marcus finally gets the chance to talk about the black-and-white boomer shooter, Mouse: P.I. For Hire! 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! Sponsored: Logitech G just changed the game again with the new PRO X2 Superstrike. This isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a total reimagining of the mouse click. Stop playing fair and start playing faster. Go to LogitechG.com and enter code GAMEINFORMER25 at checkout to save 25% off Logitech G products.

Watch or Listen to the Podcast:

Listen to “Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight + Mixtape Review” on Spreaker.

Follow our hosts online:

• Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7)

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction00:45 – MagicCon: Las Vegas Recap11:19 – Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight22:30 – “GI Oughta Know” Trivia: Lego Batman Edition41:53 – SPONSOR AD: Logitech G PRO X2 Superstrike43:44 – Mixtape Review56:13 – Mouse: P.I. For Hire

Call of the Elder Gods, like its predecessor Call of the Sea, is a Lovecraft-inspired narrative puzzle adventure. The game features dual protagonists, Evangeline Drayton and Professor Harry Everhart, as they embark on a globetrotting journey to get to the bottom of their horrific, supernatural visions. Ahead of the game’s launch next week, editors Marcus Stewart and Kyle Hilliard took an exclusive look at the game’s second chapter to see how this puzzling adventure is shaping up. 

We did it, everyone. We made it through Star Wars day unscathed. They said it couldn’t be done. They said it shouldn’t even be attempted. Some even said, “Why are you wasting all this time rewatching Star Wars again when you could be watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for the first time!?” But persist we did, and now we’re better for it. And I guess we’re all excited for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, a movie I would confidently describe as one I can technically go see when it’s in theaters if I happen to have nothing better going on.

Anyway! Happy Friday. Here are a number of pieces we’re proud of this week before moving on to the games we think would be a good idea to check out this weekend.

• Mixtape Review – A Night Of Greatest Hits
• Takashi Tezuka Was The Heart Of Nintendo And Deserves To Be Mentioned Alongside The Industry Greats
• Mortal Kombat II Movie Review – Faithfully Fatal
• Sam Reich Jokingly Told Us He’s Too Involved With Game Changer Board Game: ‘Please, For The Love Of God, Help Me’
• Our Favorite Star Wars Features
• InKonbini: One Store. Many Stories Review – Inadequate Convenience

Oh! Also! Important follow-up to promises made last week: I did, in fact, get the Saros Platinum Trophy. I hope Housemarque is already working on DLC.

I finally feel like I can move on with my life (and on to other games).

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— Kyle Hilliard (@kylehilliard.com) May 3, 2026 at 12:47 PM

Mixtape

Charles Harte

I love coming-of-age stories, but Mixtape stands out even among my favorites for how well it nails its earnest, whimsical tone, treating life milestones with grave sincerity. Its stellar writing, concise runtime, and inspired use of its licensed soundtrack make it an instant classic and a heartfelt trip down memory lane. Mixtape has an incredible atmosphere, and like my favorite coming-of-age stories, makes me nostalgic for a life I never lived. I do not often finish reviewing a game and immediately contemplate my next playthrough, but I am certain I will be replaying Mixtape for years to come. Rockford and her friends are right to feel emotional at this story’s bittersweet ending, but as the player, I’m lucky enough to add this game to my rotation to play again and again.

Read Game Informer’s Mixtape review right here

Dead As Disco

Matt Miller

If you always enjoyed the way the Batman: Arkham combat formula had a rhythmic quality to it, Dead As Disco should be an easy pick-up. Even though the game just entered early access, there’s already a good indication of where the project is headed. Players control band member Charlie Disco as he fights his way past his previous bandmates (and their cronies) in a stylish button-tapping martial arts throwdown. The distinction here is that everything is tied in to the beat of the music, so timing your attacks and blocks with the tunes gets better results. As you get into the groove, it’s one of those “flow” experiences that is quite unlike other melee combat systems in other games. The early access version includes the beginnings of the story as well as several songs, but you can also input your own songs and fight to those.

Resident Evil Requiem: Leon Must Die Forever

Kyle Hilliard

A free update released for Resident Evil Requiem yesterday that adds a free-if-you-own-the-game action-focused mode to 2026’s best survival horror game (so far). The mode is called Leon Must Die Forever, which has some real Suda 51 Romeo is a Dead Man energy, at least in its title. In the mode, you play a number of Leon’s sections from the base game, but go after a high score and choose from various upgrades rewarded during individual sessions, giving it some rogue game energy. Leon can also apparently wear a miniature version of his car as a hat? It looks odd and I admit I haven’t touched the mode yet, but I am eager to try it out this weekend.

Read Game Informer’s Resident Evil Requiem review right here

Mortal Kombat 1

Brian Shea

Mortal Kombat 1 was maligned by the community when it came out in 2023, thanks in large part to its microtransaction-heavy modes, but the fighting mechanics are solid and the visuals remain extremely impressive. With Mortal Kombat II in theaters now, some might be looking to carry on the brutality of the film at home, and Mortal Kombat 1 just added some skins from the movie for Johnny Cage, Scorpion, General Shao, Sub-Zero, and Kitana. While you will need to purchase them, it’s worth noting that the game itself already looks great, and the main story mode is a fun reboot storyline to play through. Mortal Kombat 1 may not be the most beloved version of the franchise, but it’s an enjoyable way to scratch that itch after emerging from the theater.

Read Game Informer’s Mortal Kombat 1 review here

When you think of Nintendo, you likely think of Shigeru Miyamoto. And rightfully so. Miyamoto is widely credited for the creation of such properties as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and other beloved franchises. In fact, if you asked even the most clued-in gamers to name a Nintendo developer, names like Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Masahiro Sakurai, and the late Gunpei Yokoi likely come to mind for many before Takashi Tezuka. While they are all deserved legends in their own rights, Takashi Tezuka has been perhaps as, if not more, consequential to the history of Nintendo (and, as a result, the greater gaming landscape) as any one of them.

Establishing Excellence

Joining Nintendo in 1984, Tezuka hit the ground running, debuting as a designer on the game Devil World. Devil World didn’t come to North America until it finally arrived on Nintendo Switch Online in 2023, but it’s notable for being the first console-exclusive title of Miyamoto, who had primarily made a name for himself in the arcade space. But I would argue its legacy is more important for introducing us to the greatest trio in gaming history. Joining an assistant director and designer, Tezuka kicked his career off by collaborating directly with Miyamoto and composer Koji Kondo on some of their earliest works. 

From there, the trio continued working together, with Tezuka helping Miyamoto create Super Mario Bros., one of the most foundational pieces of 20th-century media. The notion of Super Mario Bros. as an expansion of the concepts laid out in the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros., which Miyamoto directed just prior to Tezuka joining Nintendo, was largely Tezuka’s brainchild. After presenting his idea of a larger hero running around in a colorful environment, Tezuka began brainstorming with Miyamoto and the rest of the team. The result was Super Mario Bros., which effectively altered the course of entertainment history.

However, in 1985, it was much more difficult for developers to receive feedback, and Tezuka had no idea the team had created anything important. “Not long after its release, I did have a bit of an impression that people were enjoying Super Mario Bros.,” Tezuka told me during a 2015 interview. “There wasn’t any place like the internet for people to exchange information, but I could hear feedback from my friends. I didn’t think we did anything groundbreaking, but I definitely felt happy to hear that feedback.”

During that time, Tezuka also began working with Miyamoto and Kondo on another ambitious title: The Legend of Zelda. This time, Tezuka stepped into the director role for the first time in his career, joining his longtime collaborator in the role. And as we all know, The Legend of Zelda came to be nearly as iconic and influential as Super Mario Bros.

While these games were hardly developed solely by these three now-legends, it’s fair to say that their consistent collaboration and, even beyond the trio’s work together, Tezuka’s consistent involvement with some of Nintendo’s biggest franchises has led to unrivaled results. And Tezuka would go on to direct what are considered today some of the greatest video games ever made, including Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, and serve as assistant director of Super Mario 64. 

Following that run, which arguably hasn’t been matched to this day, he transitioned to primarily a producer and supervisory role, but continued to have a hand in many of Nintendo’s biggest titles, with a specific focus on the Yoshi and Mario series. To call Tezuka a titan of the games industry would be a vast understatement, as a career spanning 42 years at a single company yielded one of the most legendary resumés we will ever see.

An Enduring Legacy

Earlier today, Takashi Tezuka announced his retirement from Nintendo. The 65-year-old designer, director, producer, supervisor, and creative executive worked at Nintendo for more than four decades, having a direct hand in some of the greatest video games ever created. Here is just a sampling of some of the games Tezuka worked on during his 42 years at Nintendo:

• Super Mario Bros.
• The Legend of Zelda
• Super Mario Bros. 2
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
• Super Mario Bros. 3
• Super Mario World
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
• Super Mario All-Stars
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
• Super Mario 64
• Star Fox 64
• Yoshi’s Story
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Mario Tennis
• Paper Mario
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
• Luigi’s Mansion
• Pikmin
• Animal Crossing
• Super Mario Sunshine
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• Mario Kart: Double Dash
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
• Pikmin 2
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• New Super Mario Bros.
• Yoshi’s Island DS
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
• Super Mario Galaxy 2
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
• Super Mario 3D Land
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• New Super Mario Bros. 2
• New Super Mario Bros. U
• Super Mario 3D World
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
• Yoshi’s Woolly World
• Super Mario Maker
• Super Mario Run
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Arms
• Yoshi’s Crafted World
• Super Mario Maker 2
• Pikmin 4
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Super Mario RPG (Remake)
• Princess Peach Showtime
• Mario & Luigi: Brothership
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder: Meetup in Bellabel Park

But beyond that, Takashi Tezuka has always come across as a delightful human being. I’ve interviewed him four times since 2015, and in each interaction, he was not only extremely pleasant but also very humble, playful, and appreciative of any time spent speaking with him. When people ask me what Shigeru Miyamoto is like in-person, I always tell them, “He’s the exact kind of person who you hope would have created Mario.” The same could be said of Takashi Tezuka. He never stepped into the spotlight as much as Miyamoto, Koizumi, or Aonuma, but he didn’t have to. Tezuka was content creating influential title after influential title from behind the scenes, only stepping into public-facing roles when it was asked of him. But behind the scenes, he was mentoring subsequent waves of developers, including during one of his final major releases, Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder Director Shiro Mouri with Takashi Tezuka in 2023

“When looking at creating a new Mario title, we actually went ahead and brought in a lot of younger people into our staff,” Tezuka told me in a 2023 interview. “There are people who hadn’t made a Super Mario game before; they’re our target audience. They’re, of course, developers, but they’re also people who enjoy playing games, and so they wanted to create something that they themselves would enjoy as gamers. […] We never, ever, ever ignore the feedback that we get from our new staff members. And when I present an idea myself, they really are quite honest in saying, ‘Yeah, I don’t like that,’ or ‘I do like that.’ I think that’s a really beneficial environment that we have.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a major creator leave a company after what seems like an impossibly long tenure, but this one hit me harder than I expected. Tezuka’s departure is a stark reminder that these legendary developers won’t be doing this forever, even though it feels like they already have been. We can’t stop the flow of time or the progression of people’s lives, but we can cherish them while we have them, and we can continue to honor their legacies long after they stop creating by enjoying the works we were lucky enough to receive from them.

And for Takashi Tezuka, his impact will continue far beyond the length of his career. As long as video games exist, the legacy of Takashi Tezuka will as well.

Hot off the heels of Nintendo announcing a Switch 2 remake of Star Fox 64, now is a good time to revisit the original Nintendo 64 adventure from start to finish. Join us today live on Twitch and YouTube starting at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET as we revisit Fox McCloud’s most celebrated adventure.

First released in the US on June 30, 1997, to critical acclaim, Star Fox 64 is the second entry in the Star Fox series that sees Fox and his crew battle t defend the Lylat system from the villain Andross.  Star Fox 64 is also kind of a reboot of the original Star Fox, and that’s only the beginning of this game’s strange trajectory. It has been remade for the 3DS, was remixed and reimagined for Wii U as Star Fox Zero, and is being remade again for Switch 2. Why makes Star Fox 64 worthy of so many reiterations? We’re going to find out. 

Join me, Marcus Stewart, alongside editor Brian Shea as we soar through a complete playthrough of Star Fox 64.