EA Senior Producer Jim Vessella has published an account of how seven classic EA games were restored for modern release. He describes working with the community to track down and bring back these older titles, as part of EA's broader effort to re-release 25 classic PC games. Vessella frames the project as a response to the difficulty of preserving games whose original media and hardware are increasingly inaccessible. via ea.com
A fan has released a modified version of Pokémon FullDex, a tool used to manage and launch Pokémon ROM hacks, packaged as a Linux AppImage. The main change addresses a flaw in the original tool where multiple ROM hacks shared a single save file, by giving each hack its own separate save file. The same separation has been applied to cheat files and box art images. The modified version also lets users rename each game entry directly within FullDex, so individual ROM hacks can display their own titles instead of the underlying base game's name. via reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks
EA has re-released 25 classic PC games on Steam and GOG, with some titles receiving new Anniversary Editions featuring quality-of-life improvements. As part of the effort, EA restored and re-edited FMV cutscenes for Wing Commander, sourcing material from Betacam tapes. The release covers a broad swathe of EA's classic PC catalogue brought back for modern storefronts. via gamesasylum.com
Developer Rake in Grass has announced Underkeep, a new first-person dungeon crawler for PC, alongside fresh footage of the game. The style recalls classic grid-based dungeon crawlers such as Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder and Ishar, a genre with a dedicated following among retro PC gamers. Underkeep is positioned as a modern entry in that lineage, aimed at players who enjoy exploring and fighting their way through dungeons from a first-person perspective. via indieretronews.com
The YouTube channel MetalJesusRocks has posted a video titled "EA Restored 1,500+ FMV Cutscenes + Revives 25 Classic PC Games!". The title indicates the video covers EA's restoration of over 1,500 FMV cutscenes and the revival of 25 classic PC games. via YouTube
A long-hidden developer message in An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire has finally been exposed, revealed through a specific keyboard input sequence. The 1997 Elder Scrolls spin-off had kept the secret concealed for nearly three decades before the method was documented. Battlespire was developed by Bethesda Softworks as a side story within the Elder Scrolls series, set apart from the main numbered entries. via console-classics.com
Itch.io has begun taking action against a build-up of low-effort AI-generated projects on its platform. The storefront is deleting spam listings and introducing filters that let users choose whether AI-assisted games show up when browsing or searching. Itch.io is widely used by homebrew and indie developers, including many making games for retro systems, so changes to how it surfaces AI-made content could affect how those releases are discovered. via retrohandhelds.gg
Warren Spector has given an interview reflecting on his career following his retirement from video game development. Spector was a key figure behind influential titles such as Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, System Shock, Deus Ex, Thief: Deadly Shadows and Epic Mickey, many of which helped define the immersive sim genre, where players use real-world mechanics to find emergent solutions. In the interview he draws a connection between the design philosophy of his own games and later titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. He also worked on Wing Commander earlier in his career. via timeextension.com
A long-standing Easter egg hidden in An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, the 1997 Elder Scrolls spin-off, has finally been explained. The discovery followed a new donation to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, which helped reveal how the secret worked. Andrew Borman, the museum's director of Digital Preservation, announced the find on social media with a short video documenting the discovery. Battlespire was developed by Bethesda Softworks as part of the Elder Scrolls series. via timeextension.com
F-Stop, a cancelled 2007 Valve project conceived as a prequel to Portal, has leaked online in a fully playable form after three separate leaks were combined. The game came out of Valve's "Directed Design Experiments," a period in 2007 when the studio split into five teams to prototype original concepts, as later described by Gabe Newell. F-Stop's gameplay centred on an experimental Aperture Science camera used to manipulate perspective to solve puzzles. The project was never released and had previously only been known through documentation on sites such as the Half-Life wiki. via kotaku.com
Developer Art of Play has announced Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: Arcade, a new game based on the 1989 cult movie. It is in development for PC and consoles, with a crowdfunding campaign planned to launch on Backerit in February 2027. An announcement trailer shows Bill and Ted revisiting scenes from the film, including their brawl with Billy the Kid, mall chaos with Napoleon Bonaparte, and a jam session with Beethoven. The original film starred Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter as the time-traveling duo. via timeextension.com
Star Wars: Fate of the Galaxy, a long-running fan-made PC mod, has been released for free download after roughly two decades in development. The project is described as one of the largest Star Wars mods in PC gaming history, reflecting the scale of work put in by its volunteer team over the years. It gives fans a chance to play a complete, independently made Star Wars project built outside of any official studio. via gamingbible.com
