We’re midway in the month of August, as it’s the calm before the Gamescom 2025 storm. Here are the big gaming news & industry finds for the week before that big gaming celebration.

The Big Picture

Streamline Studios and Les Copaque’s Upin & Ipin Universe is a case of a Malaysian-made game made to fulfill shareholder obligations, pushed out in its current buggy state and costing a bit too much for what it’s offering. And that isn’t including the workforce drama and PR damage control. 

On the flip side, there is Artis Impact that shows everything right and what’s needed in Malaysia’s video game creation scene. 

Artis Impact is a solo-made role-playing game title from developer Mas, clearly influenced by past titles like Nier Automata and Undertale. It came out last week, it offers a 6 to 10 hour experience, and is solely focused on its aesthetics, narrative, and solid gameplay. Artis Impact is the result of a passion for games and creating interactive art for its appreciative audience craving for short-yet-sweet pleasures. 

As of now, the PC and console Malaysian-made indie title has received over 1000 reviews on Steam from professional critics and audiences. Its only major criticism is that it isn’t challenging. Despite that, everything else is worth experiencing and feels well-made, as if the person behind this project actually gave a darn and isn’t under duress. 

It actually makes you wonder why a supposedly big-budget title like Upin & Ipin Universe (with big marketing money plus an existing fanbase for its existing show) only garnered less than a 100 reviews on Steam. 

While not exactly a new phenomenon in this line of work, Malaysia currently has two recent cases that highlight the bad and good of video game development. It’s obvious that we want to see less of the former and more of the latter. With not-so-blind-and-zealot-like support, the local industry can grow better and get the respect it deserves.

Short Beats

Ratatan, the spiritual successor to real-time strategy rhythm game Patapon, is coming out next month on 19 September in Early Access mode for PC (Steam). 

Asian game developer Pearl Abyss will be delaying its upcoming triple-A open-world action adventure title Crimson Desert to Q1 2026. Its original release window was “late 2025”. 

2-player co-op puzzle game LEGO Voyagers will be out for PC and consoles on 15 September. 

First-person action pirate game Davy X Jones will be out on Early Access for PC (Steam) on 28 August. 

Konami’s eFootball gets a major 5.0.0 update, adding stadium customization and 80 gameplay tweaks. 

Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka said on a DarkSwitch interview that he would really love to work on a Resident Evil soundtrack. 

Graphics card makers Nvidia and AMD have reached a deal to give the USA a cut of China’s AI chip sales. 

Bandai Namco will be announcing a Tales of Xillia remaster collection next week on 18 August according to recent rumours. 

Op-Ed

We interviewed a Riot Games artist and asked his thoughts on AI art encroaching in game development. 

Games Out This Week

Drag x Drive is a new 3-versus-3 wheelchair basketball sports game for Nintendo Switch 2. Use the Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode and motion controls to slam dunk your way through victory. 

Ra Ra Boom is a 2D beat-em-up where you control ninja cheerleaders stuck on a future Earth overrun by rogue AI. The title features both melee combat and guns to deal with the game’s many robots and enemies. 

Touhou Kinjoukyou ~ Fossilized Wonders is a new bullet hell game from Team Shanghai Alice slated for PC (Steam). Players take on the roles of Reimu and Marisa as they Combine the eight unique “Anomaly Stones” to fight off anomalies in 2D shoot-em-up glory. 

Recommended Viewing

Companies like Visa and Mastercard are censoring merchants like itch.io and Steam from selling adult titles due to “social taboo”. YouTube content maker TheOtherFrost has a lot to say about the current government and merchant censorship trend.