Crocs unveils Pokémon clogs for 2026: Pikachu, Gengar, Jigglypuff and Poké Ball designs

Crocs is rolling out a new Pokémon clog line for 2026, part of Pokémon’s 30th-anniversary push. The set covers Pikachu, Gengar, Jigglypuff, and a Poké Ball design, and Crocs is releasing it in two waves. The Poké Ball clog arrives first, on August 28, 2026, in adult, kids’, and toddler sizes priced at $70, $55, and $50. Then on November 16, Crocs drops the adult Pikachu and Gengar pairs for $79.99, the Jigglypuff platform clog for $84.99, and a kids’ Pikachu for $54.99. U.S. pricing and dates are set. The UK is also confirmed for November 16. Crocs still hasn’t said when the rest of Europe or Asia will get them.

Pokémon GO Download

Crocs did more here than stick a few Pokémon logos on the shoes. The clogs put Pokémon faces on the front and carry the theme across the uppers and sides too. Pikachu gets bright yellow lightning accents. Jigglypuff goes softer, with pink styling and musical-note details. Gengar leans into a darker purple look, while the Poké Ball pair sticks with the familiar red-and-white finish. You’re also getting the collectible embellishments people usually expect from a Crocs collab.

If you grew up with the first-generation games, or you collect Crocs crossover drops, there’s a good chance these will be hard to ignore. Crocs has already done well with Nintendo tie-ins like Super Mario and Animal Crossing, so a Pokémon run was probably only a matter of time. The Crocs Pokémon collection goes on sale through Crocs starting August 28 and November 16, depending on the pair you want.

TMNT: Splintered Fate now has its final story chapter: Rat King arrives as boss

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate just got The King’s Gambit, a free update that adds the last story chapter, fresh endgame content, and the Rat King as a new final boss.

Getting to that fight takes some work. You have to beat Shredder more than once and rescue Master Splinter first. The King’s Gambit also brings in Pepperoni as a new hub character, and it finally gives the main story a real ending after months of post-launch support. Alongside the free update, there’s also paid DLC for Slash, a slower, heavy-hitting tank-style bruiser, plus the Samurai Armor Pack and a Platinum Bundle that rolls together earlier paid content.

If you fell off after launch, this update makes it easier to come back. It pushes the endgame further, gives you something concrete to work toward, and the response on Reddit and YouTube has been pretty upbeat, especially around the ending and Slash.

You can grab the free update now on supported platforms, while the paid add-ons are sold separately. Splintered Fate launched on Apple Arcade in May 2023, later made its way to more platforms, passed 1 million copies sold by April 2026, and this latest round of support helps set up the future Legendary Edition on Nintendo Switch 2.

Pokémon Pokopia gets a special announcement: World Championships preview set

The Pokémon Company has lined up a special Pokémon Pokopia announcement for August 21 as part of the Pokémon World Championships 2026 Preview Show livestream. That puts it exactly one week before the Pokémon World Championships arrive in San Francisco, set for August 28 through 30.

Twitch Download

The Preview Show will stream on Pokémon’s official Twitch and YouTube channels. The company hasn’t said what, exactly, it plans to reveal, but Part 2 of Pokémon Pokopia’s three-part paid expansion pass feels like the obvious candidate. Part 1, Bubbly Basin, just went live. Part 2 is scheduled for late 2026, and it would make sense to see new areas, more Pokémon to attract and look after, feature upgrades, and maybe some of the quality-of-life changes players have been asking for, like larger build zones, more freedom in where structures can go, and expanded habitats.

If you’re playing Pokémon Pokopia on Nintendo Switch 2, this stream is probably one to keep an eye on. The Pokémon Company says the habitat-building game has sold more than 5 million copies in a little over four months, which is a big start for a Pokémon game built around creating habitats rather than battling through gyms. A sizable update could give Pokémon Pokopia another push heading into the holidays, especially while the 2026-27 Championship Series is shifting around it, with Pokémon Unite getting its own Worlds and VGC adding the mobile game Pokémon Champions.

If you want to watch it live, the stream will be on Pokémon’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.

YouTube Download

Classic anime remakes are booming in 2025: 5 series worth rebooting next

By 2025, classic anime remakes look like one of the safest plays in the business. Studios get a recognizable name, a fanbase that’s already there, and a chance to fix older adaptations that leaned on filler, anime-original endings, or major story detours because the original manga still wasn’t finished.

Crunchyroll Download

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the 2019 Fruits Basket remake already showed what a faithful second pass can do: it can end up becoming the version people treat as definitive. Better animation workflows, cleaner compositing, and more up-to-date direction also make older series easier to revisit. You can already see that push in Dororo and Urusei Yatsura, with Naruto, Magic Knight Rayearth, and The One Piece carrying it into 2025 and 2026.

For overdue candidates, Berserk, Claymore, Soul Eater, Slam Dunk, and Pandora Hearts are the obvious standouts. Their anime adaptations were fragmented, pulled away from the manga, or never finished the full story, and if you follow classic anime, this next wave looks like one to keep an eye on.

A remake still can’t just be a shot-for-shot copy, though. As One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has suggested with The One Piece, a remake needs to feel faithful while also bringing something fresh, especially with fans in Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East likely to matter just as much as viewers in Japan and North America.

Netflix Download

Marvel’s Wolverine gets a fully playable PS5 disc: no full download required

Insomniac Games has confirmed that Marvel’s Wolverine will get a fully playable PS5 disc release on 15 September 2026, so you won’t need to sit through a full download before you can start. According to the studio, the disc comes with an offline build you can actually play. There’ll be a day-one patch for extra polish, performance work, and bug fixes, but you don’t need it to jump in. Marvel’s Wolverine is a single-player PS5 exclusive, and it’ll be sold both on disc and digitally in Standard and Digital Deluxe editions.

PlayStation App Download

That also means it could end up being one of the last self-contained first-party PlayStation releases. Sony Interactive Entertainment has said new PlayStation games will stop getting discs in January 2028, and that lands differently for collectors and preservation-minded players when so many “physical” games now just install data and ask for an online check anyway.

For anyone who cares about ownership, lending games to a friend, reselling them later, finding cheaper prices, or simply keeping a version that isn’t tied to a server, this release has some real weight. Sony Interactive Entertainment says 85% of game sales in Q4 FY2025 were digital. At the same time, YouGov says 51% of console players still prefer discs or cartridges. That split helps explain the petitions, the complaints about who gets to control pricing, and why so many people see disc drives as losing value.

So yes, you’ll be able to buy Marvel’s Wolverine on PS5 either on disc or digitally at launch. And from the sound of it, expect something tighter and harsher than Marvel’s Spider-Man: more linear, more violent, with no open city and no hub. Sony Interactive Entertainment still hasn’t commented on its disc plans.

Valve warns European Steam hardware buyers: CEVA breach exposed contact details

Valve has warned European customers who ordered Steam hardware that a breach at CEVA Logistics, which ran from July 29 to August 1, 2026, exposed delivery contact details linked to some orders. The company says the leaked information did not include payment card numbers, Steam passwords, or Steam Guard codes.

Steam Download

The warning applies to people who bought Steam hardware in Europe, including devices like the Steam Controller or Steam Machine, in the roughly 90 days leading up to the July 29 to August 1 breach. That lines up with CEVA Logistics’ data-retention window. Valve says it found out about the incident on August 7 and has started notifying affected users.

What was exposed is the kind of information that can make scam messages look real: full names, home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. With that, a phishing email, text, or phone call about a shipment, a refund, or an account issue can sound a lot more believable than it should.

Valve says Steam passwords payment card details, Steam passwords, and Steam Guard codes weren’t part of the breach, so most people shouldn’t need to rush into resetting their password or canceling a card.

Still, if you ordered Steam hardware in Europe recently, this is a notice to take seriously. Be careful with any unexpected message about a delivery or your account, especially if it asks you to click a link or hand over personal information.

Valve also says the broader attack hit eight CEVA Logistics warehouses in Europe. Other victims include Dutch companies such as Bol, de Bijenkorf, AFC Ajax, ING Bank, and Ace & Tate. The case is now being investigated by the Dutch Data Protection Authority, and Valve says it’s cooperating while also notifying other European regulators. If you may be affected, check the email address tied to your Steam account for Valve’s notice.

GTA 6 won’t be slowed by pricier hardware: Take-Two says it’s a headwind, not a roadblock

Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games’ parent company, says pricier gaming hardware shouldn’t do much damage to its business as Grand Theft Auto VI gets closer. CEO Strauss Zelnick said higher device prices are plainly bad news for buyers, but he doesn’t expect them to hit the company in any major way. That comes even as the average US selling price of new gaming hardware reportedly climbed 16% in the first half of 2026, going from $452 in January to $525 in June because of a memory shortage.

Grand Theft Auto V Download

That matters if you’re watching both GTA VI and the console market. A lot of people still think Rockstar’s next blockbuster will move systems even with consoles getting more expensive and premium games reportedly reaching $80. Take-Two’s read is pretty simple: higher prices look like a drag, not something that shuts the door.

Zelnick also said PC now accounts for roughly 40% to 50% of Take-Two’s sales. About 20 years ago, for some console releases, that figure was just 1% to 2%. He also made the case that streaming could turn into a workable low-latency business in about three years, which would expand the number of gaming-capable devices by 10 times across phones, tablets, and basic laptops. Analysts still bring up Google Stadia, along with the usual latency concerns. Grand Theft Auto VI is still set to launch on consoles first, and no PC or streaming version has been announced for that initial release window.

NVIDIA GeForce NOW Download

The Promised Neverland returns for its 10th anniversary: new chapter confirmed

The Promised Neverland manga is getting a new 36-page one-shot in Weekly Shonen Jump in summer 2026. That brings Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu back to the series for its 10th anniversary, and the release will also include a color page.

The one-shot is heading back to Weekly Shonen Jump, which is where The Promised Neverland originally ran from 2016 to 2020. Early reports point to this being a post-ending chapter rather than a side story, which helps explain why people have been lighting up social media over it.

Some of that excitement comes from the anime situation too. Season 1 of The Promised Neverland was widely praised. Season 2, which aired in 2021, got hit with criticism for moving too fast, changing major parts of the source material, and cutting entire arcs, including Goldy Pond. For a lot of readers, that left the manga as the version that still feels definitive.

If you kept up with The Promised Neverland in print, you’ll probably want to pick this one up.

The 10th anniversary campaign for The Promised Neverland also includes a stage musical in Tokyo, a full-color digital edition, pop-up stores, and an online lottery event.

And there’s still more attached to The Promised Neverland. The series ended in 2020 after a four-year run, had 42 million copies in circulation by August 2023, won the 63rd Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 2018, and still has a live-action adaptation at Amazon Studios in development.

You’ll be able to read the new The Promised Neverland chapter in Weekly Shonen Jump in summer 2026.

Minecraft finally gets concrete slabs and stairs in all 16 colors

Mojang dropped a new Minecraft Java Edition snapshot and Bedrock Preview today. The big addition, according to the official snapshot and preview notes, is concrete slabs and stairs in all 16 concrete colors, part of the game’s third game drop of 2026.

Minecraft Download

That opens up a lot more control with one of Minecraft’s cleanest-looking building materials. Since concrete was added back in 2017, it’s been limited to full blocks, which meant roofs, sidewalks, furniture, trim, facades, road edges, and interior details often had to be finished with some other block if you wanted the shape to look right.

For anyone building modern houses, storefronts, apartment towers, or bright city projects, this one will land immediately. Players have been asking for it for years across Reddit, TikTok, and the Minecraft forums, so it’s easy to see why so many people are reacting to the update with a long-overdue “finally.”

You can test it now in the latest Minecraft Java Edition snapshot and the matching Minecraft Bedrock Preview for the third game drop of 2026, sometimes labeled by Mojang as 26.3 Snapshot 7. That build also brings Explorer Maps in abandoned camps, updated map icons, the dappled forest biome, poplar trees, and cushions you can actually sit on.

Sony says PS5 is still cheaper than a gaming PC after price hikes

Sony is still making the same argument for the PlayStation 5: even after the latest price hikes, it says a PS5 costs less than a high-end gaming PC. The standard PS5 with a disc drive is now $649.99, and the PS5 Pro is up to $899.99. Sony’s line is that a PC in the same performance range would still land somewhere around $1,000 to $1,500. The pitch hasn’t really changed. With a console, you get fixed hardware, first-party games built for that exact setup, and a lot fewer compatibility and setup hassles if what you want is 4K-ready gaming without having to build a machine or keep upgrading one.

Steam Download

The company is also drawing a harder line on digital. Sony says digital-only starting in January 2028. By its numbers, 82% of recent PS5 game sales, DLC, and microtransactions were already digital, up from a 78% average in fiscal 2025. Even so, Sony says the PlayStation ecosystem will still feel different from playing on PC.

The timing matters. Sony says PS5 lifetime sales had reached 95.3 million units by June 2026, but quarterly hardware sales dropped year over year, from 2.5 million units to 1.6 million. At this stage in the console’s life, making the value case probably matters more than it did earlier.

If convenience and a lower upfront cost are what you care about most, the PS5 still has a real case. Critics, though, say the move away from discs means less choice, weaker game preservation, and more damage to the used-games market. Protests and boycott plans are picking up, and reports say lawmakers in Mexico are preparing an antitrust complaint. If you still want one, the console is available through Sony and the usual major retailers.