Christopher Choose feedback on his fellow Kratos. A brand new Kickstarter will rework your Swap 2 dock into an old-school GameCube. And two individuals who labored on Pirates of the Caribbean argue about what’s guilty for contemporary VFX trying boring and lifeless. It’s a really late version of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s day by day roundup of gaming information, rumors, and tradition.
Who’s prepared for extra dangerous information for PC gaming? Samsung and SK Hynix are reportedly dropping NAND manufacturing to deal with DRAM. That would imply much more costly SSDs. Unhealthy timing for me to switch the PC I constructed again in 2015 with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960.
Christopher Choose has weighed in on Ryan Hurst being Kratos within the Prime TV collection
Christopher Choose reacts to Ryan Hurst being forged as Kratos within the live-action ‘God of Warfare’ present 🪓
“It’s an impressive alternative. Nice actor and a gamer who truly performed God of Warfare since its inception. So Kudos, you’ve received an important live-action Kratos” pic.twitter.com/XFvPaMftH3
— Tradition Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) January 21, 2026
“It’s an impressive alternative,” the in-game performer for the titular character mentioned this week. “Nice actor and a gamer who truly performed God of Warfare since its inception. So kudos, you’ve received an important live-action Kratos.” The TV collection additionally revealed that Max Parker will play the Watchman of Asgard, Heimdall.
Chris Pratt guarantees the Mario Galaxy film nonetheless has extra characters to disclose
“I’m not allowed to say what they’re, however sure, there are some actually unimaginable…Properly, I believe a few of them have been launched within the trailer–Rosalina, Bowser Jr.–after which there’s even a pair extra that aren’t within the trailer that individuals needs to be excited to see,” the star of Mercy instructed Gamesradar. Who may it’s?
The maker of Payday 3 is shedding builders
A number of staffers at Starbreeze Studios have been let go, Insider Gaming reviews. “At this time, many people at Starbreeze, Stockholm, received unhappy information and I’m now looking for a brand new function and would respect your assist,” wrote considered one of them on LinkedIn. “After over 7 years, the longest I’ve ever been at any firm in any business, my time has (greater than doubtless) come.”
No on-line multiplayer for Lego Batman: Legacy of the Darkish Knight
Following within the footsteps of all of the earlier Lego video games, the brand new Lego Batman gained’t have on-line co-op. “Followers of all generations will be capable of benefit from the recreation solo or staff up with a buddy or member of the family by way of two-player native sofa cooperative gameplay solely,” reads the FAQ (by way of Prima Video games).
Flip your Swap 2 right into a GameCube
Battle Dock coming quickly! pic.twitter.com/hRdu7zI6IV
— Retro Fighters (@retrofightersco) January 19, 2026
A brand new dock on Kickstarter guarantees to do precisely that. It’s going for $40 with a January ship date and attaches on to your current Swap 2 dock. It is available in varied old-school GameCube colours like silver, indigo, and orange, and has connectors for as much as 4 of the retro console’s controllers. Good for when Swap On-line provides Mario Kart Double Sprint and Smash Bros. Melee, if ever.
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Darkish Ties will get a free demo
It’s out at present on PC and console, together with Swap 2, and lets gamers expertise a little bit of the Ryukyu district in Okinawa as Kiryu and the collection’ acquainted Kamurocho setting in Tokyo as Mine. The total remaster and all-new facet story releases on all platforms on February 12.
Dueling Pirates of the Caribbean VFX takes
Director Gore Verbinksi talked to However Why Tho (by way of VGC) in regards to the state of VFX. “So it was a divide, with Unreal Engine being excellent at video video games, however then folks began considering perhaps films can even use Unreal for completed visible results,” he mentioned. “So you’ve got this kind of gaming aesthetic getting into the world of cinema.” He added, “I believe that Unreal Engine coming in and changing Maya as a kind of elementary is the best slip backwards.”
Epic Video games VFX supervisor Pat Tubach, who mentioned he additionally labored on the Pirates films, fired again. “It’s inaccurate for anybody within the business to assert that one software is guilty for some erroneously perceived points with the state of VFX and CGI,” Tubach mentioned in an announcement to VGC. “Unreal Engine is primarily used for pre-visualization, digital manufacturing, and in some circumstances ultimate pixels. I can assure that the artists engaged on massive blockbuster VFX movies like Pirates of the Caribbean 10-15 years in the past may solely dream about having a software as highly effective as Unreal Engine on their desks to assist them get the job performed. And I ought to know–I used to be considered one of them.”
