The triumphant return of EA Sports’ College Football last year after a nearly two-decade hiatus has emboldened Electronic Arts to spread its wings further for the x26 titles. Now, news has landed that not only will we be getting College Football 26 but College Basketball will be making a return to our screens, some 16 years after we last saw the title.
In that time, 2K Games has been allowed to hoover up the basketball licences and have a free run at any fans of the sport that may have a console in the corner of the room. Now, with the return of College Basketball, Electronic Arts has a competing proposition that does not require the NBA license to be successful. Clever, clever.
The return of College Basketball to the stable completes EA Sports’ set of American sports once more, with College Football/Madden and NHL all sitting as stablemates. Other than the cartoon-like Super Mega Baseball, the company has never really dipped its toes into the diamond, but the return of basketball will shake things up in the world of sports games for sure.
A single post on the EA Sports X account shared the news, stating, “Bring the Madness. Let’s run it back. #CBB #ItsInTheGame”
With 2K seemingly securing the rights to the NBA for the foreseeable future, a college basketball game, or a cartoon-like Super Mega Basketball were the only real ways back into the sport for EA – although we would definitely kill for another version of NBA Street, even if it didn’t have the NBA licence.
With the general consensus that the Madden franchise needs some revigorating, it is interesting that EA Sports has decided that going all in on college athletes provides a new niche to attach itself to. No news on release dates and times yet, but we will bring those to you when more becomes clear.
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Circulating around the inner tubes of the internet for a few weeks has been the news that YouTuber Peri Fractic (aka Christian Simpson of the Retro Recipes channel) has been in talks to head up a move to purchase Commodore – yes Commodore, the actual Commodore – a company so mismanaged time and time again since the mid-90s it makes gamers of a certain age want to cry.
Commodore means a lot to so many people, from growing up with Vic 20s and C64s as their first computer to me, a former editor of the outstandingly funny Amiga Action magazine, once, briefly, the best-selling Amiga magazine in the world in its heyday.
In 1995, Commodore, a company with its hugely successful Amiga computer, collapsed, was bought out for the first of many subsequent times, and has since been a shambolic example of stubbornness and greed. About a billion fragments of various IPs and trademarks exist and are scattered around companies and people who infight and argue, and sue and counter-sue, and it’s just been horrible to watch.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, Simpson dropped a YouTube video saying he was looking to buy Commodore and reinvigorate it to its former glory, hoping to release new hardware, start a Commodore Cares charity that would install Commodore machines into children’s hospitals, and so forth.
It was very exciting, and then nothing, until this week when a follow-up video announced that the sale of the company to Simpson had been agreed, and it was all systems go. I watched the video, hugely excited, and mildly irritated that this has actually been going on since the start of the year, and now we are getting videos dropped extending the story over a number of parts, obviously to get views. Fair enough, the man’s got to make a living, but the key take here is that Simposon is now the recognized de facto CEO of Commodore (albeit no money has exchanged hands yet and the deal is yet to be signed off).
Can Commodore Rise Again? Inside Perifractic’s Bold Retro Revival
Peri Fractic has wasted no time though, and has assembled a new board of former Commodore employees and cheerleaders to look after the interests of the reborn company. He’s also well-connected through his involvement with Hollywood and has got Silicon Valley actor Thomas Middleditch on board.
Others notables include Bil Herd (Commodore lead engineer 1982-1986), Albert Charpentier (Commodore VP of Technology 1979-1984), Michael Tomczyh (Assisant to Commodore President Jack Tramiel, 1980-1984), James Harrison (Commodore Tech Support 1990-1994) and the one and only David Pleasance (Commodore UK VP & Joint Managing Director, 1983-1994) – the man often credited for the movie tie-in genre.
While some are perhaps naturally sceptical that Simpson is in it for his own ego and gain, I am not having it. I’ve followed his work on YouTube, and he comes across as a genuine lover of retro, a humble and funny guy who is deeply in love with Commodore. What he has put together here is astonishing. It is what I would love to have done, but I would never have had the drive.
In a world where publishers don’t believe we should own the games we pay for, merely license them while being pumped full of microtransactions and special editions, paying much more to play three days early, and the like, this chance to save this gaming relic is important. Nobody will be trying to save Ubisoft in 40 years. Nobody will care.
Simpson says we should expect new Commodore hardware in the near future and deals and partnerships to bring the brand back to life. I am not that sure it will be that simple getting the wider public to buy in, but more power to him and his team. As an original Intellivision owner, I backed Tommy Tallarico and the reborn Intellivision Amico to the hilt, and where did that get me?
However, if we, as older gamers, truly want to hold up a flag and say, ‘Look, Fortnite kiddies, you are only playing that because of us, and companies like Commodore”, we need to get behind Simpson’s movement and do everything we can to make it a success.’
Check out the vids above for the full story, there is no option to invest yet because international investing laws are all over the show, but Simpson is looking out for Angel Investors to help get it over the line.
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Blizzard is a company that has courted its fair share of controversy over the years. It is a company that even a lot of its own fans don’t really like, with them regularly calling out some of its practices.
Now though, Hearthstone fans in New Zealand have complained to their Member of Parliament about a new interactive pet feature in the game (and these are cosmetic and have no bearing on your play) that you can’t just buy. (The original post now no longer exists on the Blizzard forums, so we can’t link it for you but you can read the original story here.
Your eyes may already be rolling as you know what’s to come, but when King Krush arrives in the game in the patch earmarked for July 8th, the only way you can snag him is by a pull on a random in-game mechanic called the Darkmoon Faire Treasures – which is, effectively, say the critics, a slot machine.
Each time you play the machine, it will be stacked with 10 items, one of which is the pet – the others are virtual card backs, skins, and the like, but not the pet that you want. Your first pull is free, so you can land King Krush if you are lucky – be sure to let us know when you don’t manage that, but after that, each pull gets increasingly more expensive.
Blizzard even states, “the rarer the reward, the less likely you will get it,” which kind of explains what the word rare means, even though it is possible on your first pull, it could actually take you all 10 attempts.
In the stated odds, should you delve that far, Blizzard tells you that on the first pull, the chance of getting the pet is a huge 0.1% compared to 30% for the least rare item in the Darkmoon Faire Treasures. In fact, the odds are so blisteringly low, players have worked out that even if you have pulled eight times and managed to leave the two rarest items in the box (what are the chances, eh?), you will still have only a 6% chance of getting the pet, such is the weighting on that “50-50” pull. Mindblowing.
Wallets ready?
The game can only be played using Runestones (in game currency), and should you get to the last pull with just King Krush remaining, it will have cost you 158,000 Runestones, which equates to about $158.
Sure.
And that’s not even the real kicker. This Faire thing will come around again and again, so maybe again with a new pet next time, and then another. It doesn’t sound great.
The small print reads that the mechanism will not be available to under-18s in certain areas, presumably countries such as the Netherlands, which have laws against loot box exploitation of minors in place.
Darkmoon Faire Treasures isn’t due to land for a few weeks, and Blizzard says it is keen to hear fans’ opinions, but so far, it has not gone well. Will they change it? I’ll give you 10 pulls on my new game mechanic – nine say yes, the last says no. I wonder how that will pan out.
Darkmoon Faire treasures Simulator
If you want to try it yourself to see how difficult getting King Krush might be, this website has built a version of the game with the provided odds that you can play to see how long it will take and how much it will cost to snare him for yourself.
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Rainbow Six Siege X launched earlier this month as a free-to-play model after years of, well, not being. While this will undoubtedly have brought some new onlookers to peer through its window, existing players are worried that fears that the free-to-play iteration was only ever going to lead to publisher greed are already coming true.
Siege’s in-game currency, called Renown, has been significantly harder to come by since the switch to free, meaning more of a grind to unlock operators and skins, unless you are, of course, prepared to pony up some real-world cash to get there quicker.
A huge nerf seems to have been applied to the gained Renown when you lose a game, and as most people will lose games, it means it is going to hoover up a ton of extra time before you save up the amounts you were getting before the big switch.
Check out the surprise on my face currently. No, seriously, look closer.
A genuine bug, or a commercial decision… or both
Ubisoft has moved to soften the criticism with Creative Director Alex Karpazis telling PC Gamer,
“We have noticed that we do have a smaller payout, something close to 10% less than what we used to have before Siege X’s launch,” he said. “And actually, as of a couple of hours ago, we have made a buff to that. We’ve seen the communication online, and we acknowledge it in the data as well.”
Isn’t it strange how nobody expected it?
Siege X, since it’s name and model change, has been roaring back up the Steam charts when it comes to players, with many ex-players returning alongside plenty of noobs. Ubisoft, to its credit, has always backed the game when others may have ditched it alongside games like, er, The Crew.
It’s a tricky balance when it comes to reinvigorating the playerbase, trying to gen more revenue and keep existing players happy. Almost impossible, I would imagine, and while it isn’t really clear yet, how much of a buff renown has got – it’s unlikely to have returned to previous levels, it may at least keep the veteran wolves from the door for a short while at least.
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Oh, this is good. If you have played Super Woden GP 2 you will instantly know why this is exciting news. SWGP2 (okay, silly name but..) remains a staple on my Steam Deck and is just pure, glorious, arcade racing fun. In many ways, it shows what the big publishing houses have been doing wrong with arcade games for years.
Anyway, if you haven’t, then you simply must play it – and it currently has 35% off its price in the Steam Summer sale, so fill your boots.
The more exciting news though is that developer Vidjuda has dropped a limited time demo for his just announced racing stablemate – Super Woden Rally Edge, and it is superb, really good fun.
Super Woden: Rally Edge, 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 for a limited time! As usual, the fastest player on the global leaderboard will win a copy of the full game at launch. And this time, the most liked Photo Mode shot will also win a copy.
If you a fan of games such as the classic Neo Drift Out on the NEO Geo back in the day you are going to be right at home with this. Rally Edge takes the same isometric viewpoint as Super Woden GP 2 and transports it to the forest. Even at this stage, with only a vague release date of “2025” the level of polish is remarkable.
Vidjuda describes the games features thus:
■ A vast variety of vehicles: from the smallest and humblest to the unstoppable Hillclimb machines.
■ A renewed, unique graphical style, carefully crafted down to the last detail.
■ An original soundtrack created to perfectly capture the emotions of rally racing.
■ Buy, sell, upgrade, and customize your cars in the garage.
■ Show off your photography skills in the photo mode.
■ Local multiplayer for up to 4 players in split-screen.
■ Record your times online and compete to beat other players’ records.
The solo developer from Spain’s passion for the genre is literally seeping through in every aspect of the demo. There’s a competition for the best shot in Photo Mode, you can see my attempt at the top of the page, and the competition ends on July 5th, so with the demo being earmarked as “Limited Time” we can probably assume it will disappear around that point, so you need to move quickly to get on board.
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Another month, seemingly another HUGE GAMES SALE! There was a time when online storefronts holding major discount events were a great time to fill your libraries with games you would probably never get around to playing.
To be fair, Steam’s Summer Sale is one of the big two events of the year, alongside its Winter iteration but everything feels so watered down with events every month, other stores such as Epic Games Store and the like, starting their own discount periods ahead of the Steam one and, it can’t just be me that’s noticed the pattern of it being largely the same big titles on offer every single time, every few months.
It’s gotten a bit like those stores that sell sofas, where every few weeks there is a sale, so why would you ever pay full price for the same thing? You can only be tempted by Cyberpunk 2077 so many times, and with lots of good deals constantly available, do sales even have a place anymore?
Take Grounded for example – great game, worthy of anyone’s time. It’s currently on sale for 50% off as part of a midweek deal, before the sale even starts. It’s not going to get any cheaper later today. Same with Horizon Forbidden West – that’s down 40% on a midweek deal.
Rinse, repeat
The pattern very much now is that the same blockbuster games will get the same heavy discount, newer games may get around 10% off, and some of those obscure indie titles that you had your eye on, that were cheap anyway, may get half price.
Will games like Civ VII see their first discounts this sale? I would be amazed, even though it has Mostly Negative Steam reviews currently. One game that is confirmed as getting a deeper discount than expected is Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which has just got its huge 1.5 patch, so that’s definitely worth a pickup if you haven’t got it already. The base edition will be cut by 30% with the Enhanced Edition seeing a 15% drop from RRP.
We will have a deeper delve into what’s on offer tomorrow when the dust has settled.
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May 28: Thanks to Forever Entertainment and MegaPixel Studio, we’ve got the release date for Front Mission 3: Remake. The Nintendo Switch game launches on June 26, 2025. This finally wraps up Forever Entertainment’s remakes for the series. Technically there are additional entries in the franchise, but as of now, no additional re-releases have been announced. Here’s an overview of…
Here’s an interesting tidbit that may come as a surprise: Nintendo Pictures worked on the PS5 title Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. That information comes from the game’s credits. You may have forgotten about Nintendo Pictures, which was officially established in 2022. The group was formed after Nintendo acquired the visual content company Dynamo Pictures. The original announcement mentioned…
Updated on 20.6.2025. Added new species and changed order of existing ones on the tier list.
When you create your first character in Rune Slayer, you will automatically be given a random race. While you can’t change this race (without paying Robux), it’s still important to know what each race is good or bad at. To help you decide if you need to reroll, here is our Rune Slayer Race Tier list.
Before we begin, we want to make one thing clear: Races don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Even if you pull the worst race on this list, you can still play any class and be just as effective as someone who got the best race. Races are mostly for those who want to mid-max or those who want to look different. So, unless you are after a specific race or just want to look cooler, don’t stress too much over with race you get.
Dullahans are undead creatures with the power to leech life and reap souls. Their build makes them very resilient to attacks (just like a Half-Golems), while their passive and active abilities let them heal when killing enemies. They also have a chance of summoning a spectral Grim Reaper scythe, which tears down enemies.
2%
Infernim
HellBorn Passive Wall Climb Passive +10% Fire Resistance +1 Luck -5% Holy Resistance Additional passives based on the number of horns
Infernals are so powerful and evil that you won’t be able to join the Holy Sect. With their passives, they can summon Hellfire no matter which class they play. Depening on how many horns they have, they also get additional bonuses like extra Speed or even a better Fire Attack.
1%
A-Tier
Race name
Stats
Info
Chance to roll
Bunny
Bunny Dash Bunny Jump Carrot Summoning
As a Bunny you can dash further and jump higher. These already make you better than other races and will help you win fights. The Carrot Summoning is nice, but you shouldn’t rely on it, unless you have no other choice.
4,41%
Seraphim
-5% Fire Resistance +10% Holy Resistance +1 Luck Additional passives based on the number of wings
As a creature of pure good, you have more luck, and become unable to join the Demon Sect. You also get a passive based on the number of wings you have. Unfortunately, that’s where it becomes clear that Seraphim justn’t aren’t as good as the Infernim. You don’t get any cool attacks, you can’t fly, you just have a bit more luck, and wings that look cool.
1%
Ailuran
+8% Speed Boost +10% Fire Resistance +25% Cold and Heat Resistance +25% Jump Height +15% Fall Damage Reduction
Obviously, we had to put the Ailuran here because of their cute cat ears. Kidding aside, Ailuran move faster and jump higher than any other race in this game. This alone gives them a huge advantage when it comes to exploration and getting out of trouble quickly.
7,143%
Vampire
-15% on all stats during the day +20% on all stats during the Night You take 5% more damage from Holy attacks +1 Extra Luck You heal if you take bleed damage You heal 50% of your health if you cause bleed damage to your opponent
Vampires are cool, and you can even become one without rerolling your race, however, they are only cool during the night, and it’s not always night in Rune Slayer. If you can live with this, you’re going to love being a Vampire.
Chiroptrans are interesting. They are like demons, but not really. They attack with Holy magic but can also bite like vampires. Regardless, they look cool and they are a fun and useful race to play as.
7,143%
Slime
-7,5% Magic Resistance -7,5% Fire Resistance +25% Immunity
At first, slimes don’t seem that special. They are weak to magic and fire, and they don’t have any special defensive stats. However, when struck, Slime players can spawn smaller Slimes to fight for them, and can use a part of themselves to hit an opponent (works in a pinch). As a bonus, Slimes are super immune to status ailments.
5,294%
Half Golem
-5% Movement Speed +5% Damage Reduction +10 Maximum Weight +25% Robustness
As you can imagine, Half Golems are extremely resilient. They also take a bit less damage and can carry more items. The caveat is that they move a bit slower than all other races.
5,294%
Amphibu
Swim Boost 35 Additional Race passives
At first, the Amphibu may seem useless with their Swim Speed, but once you unlock their Racial passives, they become a lot more reliable. The racial passives can give them things like higher jump, a speed boost, and even a small attack buff. You are also free to pick which one you want.
10,714%
C-Tier
Race name
Stats
Info
Chance to roll
Ghoul
+5% Magic Attack Ghoulish Gall ability Additional Racial boosts
As a Ghoul you can attack better with Magic Attacks and you have a sneak attack, called Ghoulish Gall which can give you a jump start in a fight. You also get one of three Racial Upgrades which can give you a few minor stat boosts.
14,25%
Human
When under 50% Health, gain: +15% Damage Increase +15% Damage Reduction
Humans have the ability to gain an increase in their damage output and take reduced damage if they have less than half a health bar. Otherwise, Humans can manage their hunger better than other classes and gain Focus and Mana efficiency as they level up.
14,25%
Elf
+3% Speed +10% Cooldown Reduction +10% Stealth
Elves are nimble and elegant. While not the strongest for a tanky role, they make fantastic archers and great spellcasters. As they level, they also get extra Mana and Focus.
14,25%
Orc
+10% Health Regen +15% Max Hunger +20% Heat Resistance
Orcs are made for battle. Their health regenerates faster, they are more resistant to heat, and they are generally suited for heavy armor and melee weapons. The tradeoff is they need to eat more than other races.
14,25%
How to race reroll in Rune Slayer
When you log into Rune Slayer for the first time, you’ll be assigned one of the seven available races at random. If you aren’t happy with the race you’ve been given, you can buy a Race Reroll for 150 Robux. If you’re after a specific race, such as the Dullahan, make sure you have enough Robux for a bunch of Race Rerolls because it’s going to take a while.
As of writing this, there is no way to reroll a race after creating a character. You have to do it from the character creator.
That’s all there is to it. Again, unless you’re trying to mid-max, remember you can get by with any race you pull. If you’re wondering which class you should pick to go with your race, check out our The Ultimate Rune Slayer Class Tier List.
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond offers a wide range of deck types that cater to different playstyles, from fast-paced combos to powerful late-game finishers. Whether you enjoy overwhelming opponents with Fairies, clearing the board with amulet synergies, or stacking Spellboosts for massive payoff turns, there’s something here for everyone. Each deck brings its own unique strategy and key cards that define how matches unfold. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the best decks and what makes them so effective.
Shadowverse: World Beyond Deck Tier List
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond Decks, ranked from best to worst – Image bia TierMaker.
In the Shadowverse: Worlds Beyondtier list above, we can see that not all decks are made equal. Sure, you can adjust them to make them a bit stronger or weaker, but the general synopsis is the same. The Runecraft Spellboost Deck is dominating the Ranked Ladder right now, along with the Forestcraft Fairy Deck and the Havencraft Amulet Deck. If you want to climb, that is what you will need to use.
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond Best Decks List
Here we will take a look at the top 3 Decks in the current Shadowverse: Worlds BeyondMeta, how they operate, which cards are the most important, and what the playstyle is from start to finish of the game.
Runecraft Spellboost Deck
This deck focuses on building up Spellboosts while keeping the opponent in check. Once your cards are powered up, things really start to flow. Blaze Destroyer becomes a serious threat at a lower cost, and Dimension Climb lets you refill your hand and regain all your play points, making it easier to keep up pressure. If you make it to 10 play points, Kuon, Fivefold Master can close things out with a strong Super-Evolve that targets the opponent’s leader directly.
Forestcraft Fairy Deck
This combo-focused Zoo deck centers around multiplying Fairies in your hand to unlock powerful effects. It takes advantage of cards like Bayle, Luxglaive Warrior, whose cost can drop to zero, and Killer Rhinoceroach, which builds up attack to strike directly at the opponent. Amataz, Origin Blader, also plays a key role by growing stronger while clearing enemy followers. To finish things off, legendary cards like Aria, Lady of the Woods, and Opulent Rose Queen shift the deck into a burn strategy, either by giving your pixies Storm or turning them into damage-dealing spells.
Havencraft Amulet Deck
This deck might seem like it’s built to stall while waiting for amulet countdowns to finish, but there’s a more exciting route. With Skullfane of Demise, you can destroy all your amulets at once, clearing the board and hitting the opponent’s leader in one move. If needed, Unholy Vessel helps ensure a clean sweep. After that, the deck shifts into offense, relying on Rodeo, Anathema of Judgment, and Jeanne, Saintly Knight to take control and limit the opponent’s options. And eventually, Lapis, Shining Seraph keeps coming back, making it increasingly difficult for them to stay in the game.
Those are 3 of the best Decks in Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond. The other decks come off short compared to these, so if you are planning to climb the Ranked Ladder, there is no point crafting them.
That is all for my Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond Deck tier list and guide. Let me know what your favorite Deck is in the comments below. Check out our Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond Codes to get Free Packs and Loot that can help you assemble your favorite deck.
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond Best Deck FAQs
What is the best deck in Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond?
The best decks are the Runecraft Spellbook and Forestcraft Fairy decks.
How do I get the best decks in Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond?
You can Craft cards, you can open Packs, and you can get them from the Story or Gamepass.
What is the best deck for Ranked Mode in Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond?
The best decks for Ranked are Runecraft Spellbook and Havencraft Amulet decks.
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Published: Jul 1, 2025 05:32 am