Christopher Decide feedback on his fellow Kratos. A brand new Kickstarter will rework your Change 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 wanting boring and lifeless. It’s a really late version of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news, rumors, and culture.
Who’s prepared for extra unhealthy information for PC gaming? Samsung and SK Hynix are reportedly dropping NAND manufacturing to deal with DRAM. That might imply much more costly SSDs. Unhealthy timing for me to exchange the PC I constructed again in 2015 with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960.
Christopher Decide has weighed in on Ryan Hurst being Kratos within the Prime TV sequence
Christopher Decide reacts to Ryan Hurst being forged as Kratos within the live-action ‘God of Warfare’ present 🪓
“It’s a magnificent choice. Great actor and a gamer who actually played God of War since its inception. So Kudos, you’ve got a great live-action Kratos” pic.twitter.com/XFvPaMftH3
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) January 21, 2026
“It’s a magnificent choice,” the in-game performer for the titular character mentioned this week. “Great actor and a gamer who actually played God of War since its inception. So kudos, you’ve got a great live-action Kratos.” The TV sequence also 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 are, but yes, there are some really incredible…Well, I think some of them have been released in the trailer–Rosalina, Bowser Jr.–and then there’s even a couple more that are not in the trailer that people should be excited to see,” the star of Mercy told Gamesradar. Who could it be?
The maker of Payday 3 is shedding builders
A number of staffers at Starbreeze Studios have been let go, Insider Gaming reports. “Today, many of us at Starbreeze, Stockholm, got sad news and I’m now seeking a new role and would appreciate your support,” wrote certainly one of them on LinkedIn. “After over 7 years, the longest I’ve ever been at any company in any industry, my time has (more than likely) 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. “Fans of all generations will be able to enjoy the game solo or team up with a friend or family member through two-player local couch cooperative gameplay only,” reads the FAQ (through Prima Games).
Flip your Change 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 Change 2 dock. It is available in numerous old-school GameCube colours like silver, indigo, and orange, and has connectors for as much as 4 of the retro console’s controllers. Excellent for when Change 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 as we speak on PC and console, together with Change 2, and lets gamers expertise a little bit of the Ryukyu district in Okinawa as Kiryu and the sequence’ acquainted Kamurocho setting in Tokyo as Mine. The complete 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 But Why Tho (through VGC) concerning the state of VFX. “So it used to be a divide, with Unreal Engine being very good at video games, but then people started thinking maybe movies can also use Unreal for finished visual effects,” he mentioned. “So you have this sort of gaming aesthetic entering the world of cinema.” He added, “I think that Unreal Engine coming in and replacing Maya as a sort of fundamental is the greatest slip backwards.”
Epic Video games VFX supervisor Pat Tubach, who mentioned he additionally labored on the Pirates films, fired again. “It’s inaccurate for anyone in the industry to claim that one tool is to blame for some erroneously perceived issues with the state of VFX and CGI,” Tubach mentioned in a statement to VGC. “Unreal Engine is primarily used for pre-visualization, virtual production, and in some cases final pixels. I can guarantee that the artists working on big blockbuster VFX films like Pirates of the Caribbean 10-15 years ago could only dream about having a tool as powerful as Unreal Engine on their desks to help them get the job done. And I should know–I was one of them.”
ICYMI:
Watch this:
