I am not a young man anymore, and my god, is 2026 just driving that home. We have three huge milestones coming in some long-running, iconic series, and I am older than two of them. At least we also have the New Horizons update to distract us from the ravages of time.
Sonic celebrates turning 35 with shiny new video
Today I learnt I am nearly as old as Sonic, and then my bones started to ache a little bit more. On that note, though, how cool would it be to have the same DOB as a gaming icon? Anyway, back to the news. Sega has reminded us all that Sonic the Hedgehog is turning 35 this year and has released a video taking us all down memory lane. And it starts with THAT “SEGA” soundbite, I got chills.
Now, let’s be honest, there have been a few misses in the franchise history, but what series doesn’t have a dud or two? Looking at you, Final Fantasy XIII. This has been an anniversary website created for the occasion, right now mostly just hosting the aforementioned video. Hopefully, more content will come soon. Also, the Sonic Boom TV series is hilarious; more of that, please.
Jagex doubles down on Runescape with RS25
Continuing my existential crisis, Runescape, one of the longest-running MMOs, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. With these two and Persona turning 30th, 2026 is a big year. Jagex is reaffirming its commitment to the game with RS25, by shoving a ton of money into celebrations.
To start, RuneFest 2026, hosted October 3rd to the 4th, will be at Birmingham NEC, with a capacity of 6,000. This is double last year’s, making it the biggest con they have put on. There will also be the first-ever live Deadman event in the US, at the Rosemont Theatre in Chicago on 20 June. Also, there is a very reasonably priced 3787 piece brickset of Lumbridge Castle, with pre-orders shipping in July. The full breakdown of celebrations is available on the Jagex website.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Version 3.0 finally releases
For fans of cosy lifestyle games that steal your life, Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ much-awaited version 3.0 has dropped. It adds quite a few cool new features, like a hotel to decorate the rooms of, and the ability to create a dream island with friends. I like that one would have made the game so much more popular during covid.
My personal favourite addition has to be the Legend of Zelda items and characters. You can invite Tulin and Mineru to live on your island, which is pretty cool. Plus, all the themed items and clothing can turn any island into Hyrule. I need the blue tunic from the Breath of the Wild.
Palworld gets a card game and Nintendo seethes that little bit more
I find this one more hilarious than I do interesting, to be frank. Pocketpair has announced that they will be releasing a card game on July 30th, courtesy of Bushiroad. There aren’t many more details, but it appears base building will be a big part of the game. I am not sure how expensive this will be, though; there aren’t that many pals.
My favourite part of this is how it is just a big middle finger to Nintendo in the midst of the lawsuit. Nintendo had its patent declined in Japan, damaging its case, and this feels like Pocketpair now doubling down and saying, “We can do a card game too”. The base mechanic does sound intriguing, though.
The full Trails series is now available in the West
I tend not cover individual game releases here, primarily because that is all this would then become, but this one feels special. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon has launched in the Western world, and with that, we now have the whole currently released series in the West.
If you are unaware of the Trails series, it is perhaps one of the longest spanning series that has an interconnected story. The only other one just as long off the top of my head is YS with Adol, or perhaps The Legend of Zelda with the divergent timelines, if you count that. Now if only they released on the Xbox.
Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Remaster rumours continue to grow
When it first came out, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag instantly became my favourite in the series. It has since only been surpassed by Valhalla because I am a big Norse nerd. Black Flag was a deviation from the usual super-stealthy mechanics, but they added some very fun naval battles, so I will take that.
The rumour mill has been buzzing about a remake for so long that it is either definitely happening, or Ubisoft is pulling the biggest prank ever. Honestly, kudos to the bit if so. The latest fuel to the fire is Ubisoft re-uploading some sea shanties from Black Flag to Youtube.
Now, they have tried to deflect from this with a comment saying it was due to technical issues, but I don’t think anyone believes that. Or, as burmatt5980 put it, “Technical issues in the animas that calls for a resync in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag”. I really, really enjoy that angle if that’s how Ubisoft start their marketing.
