Rayman's Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope DLC gets August release date

The existence of the upcoming Super Mario RPG remake means that, at long last, the 1996 Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is receiving a new breath of life. Announced at the Nintendo Direct on June 21, 2023, we can expect to see this anticipated RPG arrive in November this year.

Rocksteady has announced an October 13 release date for Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch.

If you can believe it, we first wrote about Small Saga, the retro-flavoured turn-based RPG filled with penknife-wielding rodents and fireballs cast from cigarette lighters, a little over four years ago. Clearly inspired by the likes of Final Fantasy - albeit crossed with the ‘small animals on a big adventure’ feel of Brian Jacques' Redwall novels - it looked absolutely brilliant. That sentiment was only solidified by its Steam Next Fest demo last year, which left Katharine impressed by its compelling combat and rodent fantasy setting. It’s been quite the journey for the indie RPG, but we won’t have to wait much longer to see what Small Saga has to offer in full, as it finally has a release date.

Mike Flanagan's new Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher has a first look and release date.

In the video game industry, most people would tell you that game sales are the most important thing to have. After all, if your game doesn’t sell well and you don’t make a profit, then you won’t be able to make more games. However, as gaming fans will tell you, sometimes developers and publishers put too high of expectations on titles and then complain when they don’t meet the “high end” of those expectations. An example of this from last year was Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope by Ubisoft. The title was great, but Ubisoft felt its launch was “disappointing.”

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope hasn’t worked out as well for Ubisoft as the company would have expected after the success of its predecessor. Where Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle pulled in over 10 million players in its lifetime, Sparks of Hope hasn’t gained nearly as much traction. Shortly after its release, Ubisoft confirmed that it had performed below expectations, and more recently, suggested that it would likely have sold better if it had released for Nintendo’s next platform instead of for the Switch.

During a special Pokémon presentation, we got a new look at upcoming DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. There are two expansions for the games both of which lead you on new, exciting adventures. The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero consists of part 1: The Teal Mask and part 2: The Indigo Disk.

Today we got a new Pokémon Presents presentation, which included plenty of news on upcoming games, DLC, and more. First up, we got a new trailer and a release date for the two-party Pokémon Scarlet and Violet expansion, “The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero.” The first half of this expansion, “The Teal Mask” is set to drop in September and will see you visit the new Land of Kitakami, which has a Japanese festival theme. Based on the new trailer, it looks like you’ll also be exploring some caves and unraveling a bit of a mystery as well. As for the second half of the expansion, entitled “The Indigo Disk,” it still doesn’t have a release date, but will see players visit a new school, Blueberry Academy, set on a manmade island in the middle of the ocean. You can check out the new Hidden Treasure of Area Zero trailer, below.

There were a lot of questions going into this morning’s Pokemon Presents, but the biggest one by far was whether the two-part Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC would finally get a release date. The Pokemon Company unveiled the content earlier in the year during a Presents show on Pokemon Day. But since then, we’ve only gotten new glimpses at the DLC and no indication about when it would arrive on Nintendo Switch. Thankfully, today we got at least part of the answer as “The Teal Mask” announced its arrival date, and it’s coming relatively soon.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore, a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

The Pokemon Company has confirmed the release date for the first Pokemon Scarlet & Violet DLC, The Teal Mask.

Ubisoft has confirmed that David Gasman will return to voice Rayman in the "Rayman in the Phantom Show" expansion for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.