Longest

A man completes an absurd but humanity-affirming journey in Minecraft. Control finally gets Hideo Kojima’s voiceover on console. And the first indicator of Ghost of Yotei sales is a potentially impressive one. Welcome to the latest Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news and culture. My co-author, Zack Zwiezen, is out on vacation to parts unknown for a while so in the meantime, you’re stuck with me. The good news is that I’m closer than ever to getting the Platinum in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. The bad news is the Birds blew their chance to go 5-0 this weekend. I’m glad I only looked up to watch occasionally while grinding the Deep Dungeon. The Eagles might not cruise to another Super Bowl, but at least I did get Ramza to learn Zodiark.

A record-breaking Minecraft hike has finally been completed

Streamer KurtJMac’s “Far Lands or Bust Marathon Subathon” finally saw its goal of reaching the glitched edge of the Minecraft map realized over a decade later, Polygon reports. The Far Lands is the infamous end of the game that appears as a bizarre swiss-cheese wall of stone and dirt reaching up to the sky. It’s no small task for people playing in survival mode without cheats. While not the first person to reach this milestone, KurtJMac’s virtual hike holds the record for longest Minecraft journey ever.

It’s also raised over $525,000 for charity since he started streaming the trek back in 2011. The stream is currently trying to raise $50,000 for UNRWA USA which provides aid to Palestinian refugees. You can see KurtJMac’s reaction to finally reaching his journey’s end at around 3:43:00 in the video below, when the Far Lands suddenly appear out of an ocean-y mist as he’s sailing.

The original Crysis has joined the GOG preservation library

“We’re thrilled to announce that the Crysis Remastered Trilogy has joined our catalog, and the original Crysis is now part of the GOG Preservation Program, ensuring it will always run hassle-free on modern systems,” the storefront announced. “Each remastered title is available separately as well, DRM-free and at great discounts, so that you can experience the evolution of one of gaming’s most iconic shooters, from the jungles of the Lingshan Islands to the streets of New York City, in their definitive modern form.”

Battlefield 6 promises a 120fps mode

MP1st reports that an email EA sent to currently registered players is promoting an extra-responsive framerate on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. “Up to 120FPS or high-fidelity visuals,” it reads, indicating the higher frame rate will be linked to the game’s Performance Mode.

An Interplay cofounder and the first video game champion ever needs your help

Rebecca Heineman won the national championship Space Invaders tournament in 1980 and later cofounded RPG powerhouse Interplay (The Bard’s Tale, Fallout) with Brian Fargo and others. She’s credited on dozens of games, from Wasteland to Heroes of Might and Magic IV, and she’s now trying to crowdsource funds for medical treatment following a diagnosis of an aggressive form of cancer.

“This is the fight for my life. Please help me,” Heineman wrote on her new GoFundMe page (via PC Gamer). “I want to keep creating games and comics and I need your help to beat this cancer.”

Ghost of Yotei was number one in the UK last week for boxed copies sold

That’s via Game Business author Chris Dring who said Sony’s open-world samurai adventure beat out the second week of EA Sports FC, traditionally the best-selling game across all of Europe every year. It also sold three times what Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 did on Switch, but was still 40 percent behind where Ghost of Tsushima was in 2020. Reasons for that drop-off could be the busier release calendar right now, and the fact that there are fewer PS5 units out in the wild at this point than there were PS4s when Tsushima was released.

The Control Ultimate Edition free update is finally out on console

The new content includes the mission “Dr. Yoshimi Tokui’s Guided Imagery Experience” which features a voiceover by Death Stranding director Hideo Kojima. Players also get access to costumes that were originally pre-order bonuses, as well as new performance settings for both PS5 and Xbox Series X/S including uncapped framerates, VRR and 120Hz display, and HDR support.

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The Nintendo Direct that fans have been waiting for is finally here and it’s a big one. September is usually when the company has its annual blowout showcase, and after a messy first half of 2025 ahead of the Switch 2 launch, it seems like we might be getting back into a familiar flow. After a quiet couple of years, the drought may finally be over. The Switch 2 is out and Nintendo can finally wheel out the big guns.

With Nintendo promising an hour-long livestream, the September 12 Direct will be the longest in the company’s history outside of the April one earlier this year for revealing the Switch 2 hardware. It also comes just ahead of the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. on September 13, suggesting plenty of Mario-themed announcements may be in tow as well. And then there’s the flurry of recently leaks from self-proclaimed insiders, some with a good enough track record to take them seriously going into the event. Here’s what we’re likely to see at the latest Nintendo Direct this Friday, from rumors and best guesses to some wild longshots that are too cool not to think about.

Resident Evil, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and more ports

According to Resident Evil leaker Dusk Golem, we should expect a whole lot of Capcom’s horror series to be coming to Switch 2 in the year ahead. That includes Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village, as well as the Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 remakes. Notably, all of these were created on the current RE Engine, which Capcom has been using for all of its new games. Dusk Golem has suggested the newest sequel, Resident Evil: Requiem, will arrive on Switch 2 at some point as well.

While only a port of RE7 has been claimed to be getting revealed at this week’s Direct, fans have already started speculating about what this will mean for Capcom’s other franchises on Switch 2. Both Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Monster Hunter Wilds were also developed in the RE Engine, as was Street Fighter 6 which was a launch game for the hardware back in June.

Final Fantasy VII Remake isn’t out on Switch 2 yet, but there are already rumors that Rebirth isn’t far behind. Reliable Switch leaker NateTheHate recently claimed the sequel is headed to Nintendo’s new console sometime in 2026. He’s also previously reported that Red Dead Redemption 2 is being ported to Switch 2, which seems likely to arrive sooner than later. That doesn’t mean either will be at this week’s Direct but they are certainly in the mix. There are rumors that Starfield and Assassin’s Creed Shadows will end up on Nintendo’s handheld hybrid at some point, too.

Then there’s a very messy riddle from leaker SwitchForce who was the first to reveal that a Nintendo Direct was happening on September 12. The tease is that there will be three games at the showcase with the number seven in the title. Outside of FF7, there’s been speculation about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Ace Attorney 7 being the others, though SwitchForce said the long-running courtroom series definitely wouldn’t be in the livestream. A more obvious choice is 007 First Light, which was recently at the PlayStation State of Play as well.

The year of Super Mario Bros.

SwitchForce has also been teasing big Mario news at the event. “They buy the new systems for the mustache,” read a tweet featuring a GIF of Mario from Super Mario Odyssey. One theory is that the Odyssey team split in two, with a younger offshoot working on Donkey Kong Bananza and another developing the next 3D Mario game. The timing makes the reveal of Super Mario Odyssey‘s successor feel all but assured, though it probably won’t be the only Mario announcement in the Direct.

We’re also less than a year out from The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 with no real info about what the story will be or which celebrities will be joining the English-language cast. At least an initial teaser, if not a full-blown trailer, could be in the cards. Maybe we’ll even get a double feature with a tease for the upcoming Zelda movie in 2027 as well? It could be as simple as confirmation of whether it will be a brand-new story or not, or whether it will be another isekai tale (people from the real world magically appearing in Hyrule).

But back to Mario. It’s his time to shine after all. The way Nintendo usually likes to handle these anniversaries means we could get a new anthology of remasters or remixes of older games in the series, or ports of more recent entries that have been languishing on old hardware like Super Mario Galaxy (I’m still holding out hope for Super Mario Galaxy 3 myself). Another Switch Online exclusive multiplayer spin-off like Super Mario Bros. 35 doesn’t sound out of the question either. Maybe this time it’ll go from 2D side-scrolling to a Fall Guys-style 3D battle royale mode.

Finally, we know Nintendo loves its limited-edition accessories and merchandise. A Mario Bros. 40th anniversary Switch 2, new Amiibo, and new Switch 2 Joy-Con colors feel like an easy prediction. More exciting would be some new sort of dedicated device like the Nintendo Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., only this time with more than just the first two games. And what’s going on with that detachable dual-screen add-on that Nintendo patented? Could the Switch 2 finally get DS games coming to its subscription service?

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 deserves a Switch 2 upgrade

If the original Switch taught us anything, it’s that Nintendo loves double-dipping. Half of the first-party library for that console was just Wii U games. And I fully expect the company to maintain that pattern with Switch 2 by continuing to roll out free and paid upgrades for older games. A recent Monolith Soft job posting on social media included fresh footage of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that appeared to show it running at a much higher resolution. Those open-world RPGs have always struggled on the first Switch, leaving fans pining not only for Xenoblade Chronicles 4 on Switch 2 but also upgrades for the last two numbered entries. They’re also still waiting to see what’s up with Xenoblade Chronicles X‘s hidden 60fps mode.

There are also still lots of other old games Nintendo can pull onto the Switch 2 in one form or another. A Wii U HD remaster of Twilight Princess is still MIA on modern platforms, and the original Luigi’s Mansion could be remastered or added to the GameCube library on Switch Online. Nintendo’s also getting ready to release Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (a release date reveal at this Direct would be nice!) and yet two of the games in the original trilogy still aren’t available to play on Switch.

Smash Bros., Animal Crossing, and Mother 3

Beyond the next Mario, there are plenty of other Nintendo franchises that are ripe for their next entries. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is five years old now, and Smash Bros. Ultimate got its last DLC character in 2021. Despite multiple remakes in the series since, the last new Luigi’s Mansion was in 2019. It’s not quite time for a new Fire Emblem but we are getting close. And what about Nintendo’s back-bench franchises like Star Fox, Punch-Out, and Pilotwings? The company loves pulling from the past just as much as building new things.

Speaking of new things, a new Splatoon spin-off called Raiders was teased earlier this year and will no doubt make an appearance at the Direct if it’s coming out any time in the next 12 months. It would also be nice to see more of FromSoftware’s upcoming Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods. There’s also no word on what Platinum Games is working on for the console. Could Switch 2 be getting Bayonetta 4 or Astral Blades 2 anytime soon? And I know Team Ninja has been very busy lately, but it would be neat to see Marvel Ultimate Alliance 4 confirmed.

The deepest cut of all would be Mother 3, the GBA game never officially localized in the West but which is already available through Switch Online in Japan. There was a big exhibit for the series in Tokyo this summer, and this year marks the 30th anniversary of Earthbound coming out in the U.S. Meanwhile, 2026 will mark the 20th anniversary for Mother 3. Series creator Shigesato Itoi is already 76 and not getting any younger. It’s time. Seriously. Just give us Mother 3. Hell, give us Mother 4! Or even a 3D remake of Earthbound. How much money do I need to spend these Earthbound figures to make it happen?