Amazon's Zoox Gets First Commercial Permit for Purpose-Built Robotaxi
This permit lets Zoox move from free tests to paid service, a step that could expand autonomous ride-hailing to more communities.
GIGAZINE
Undead Chronicles Passes 100,000 Steam Wishlists
The milestone shows organic demand for a deliberately old-school zombie FPS, achieved without paid promotion, ahead of the game's Steam release.
Game Spark
Zelenskyy Asks Trump to Allow Starlink Use for Drone Strikes Inside Russia
The request puts Trump's decision on Starlink access at the center of whether Ukraine can strike mobile Russian targets, with his choice hinging on whether it speeds the war's end.
GIGAZINE
Tohji Announces Tokyo Dome Concert for November, His Final Year in Music
The Tokyo Dome show follows the August arena concert that was billed as his last live, raising the question of which performance is his true final one.
KAI-YOU
Tactical FPS Dagger Directive Leaves Early Access August 13
The 1.0 release marks the end of early access with the largest update yet, expanding the game's content and platform support.
Game Spark
Slay the Spire 2 Beta Patch Adds Keyboard-Only Mode
The keyboard-only mode directly addresses laptop players who lack a mouse, making the early access game fully playable without one.
Game Spark
Train Plus West Japan Launches August 27 on Switch and Steam
The release adds a deck-building scoring layer to the Train Plus series, a first for the franchise, alongside full up and down line operation across all routes.
Game Spark
PAW Patrol: Dino World Launches on PS5, PS4, and Switch in Japan
The game ties directly into the theatrical anime PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie, which opened in Japan on July 24, giving families a playable extension of that world on the same day the movie is in theaters.
Game Spark
Ghostty Developer Mitchell Hashimoto Launches New Company Superlogical
Superlogical targets the fragmentation of development tools across local, remote, and automated environments, a problem Hashimoto says has existed for decades but is now more costly with AI agents in the mix.
GIGAZINE
Terry Bogard Gets Blue 2P Color Figure With SNK's Special Permission
SNK granted special permission for the blue 2P color, which never appeared in a mainline game, making this an 'if color' figure that realizes a design fans have only seen in alternate versions.
Inside
1984 PC-88 Shooter Cygnus Cleared for Re-Release Under New Rights System
This second ruling under the new system shows a legal path for reviving retro games whose rights holders are unknown, with the Game Preservation Association already preparing a download release.
Game Spark
Midnight Grand Orchestra Cancels Travelogue I Physical Release
The cancellation pulls a physical release tied to an original anime soundtrack, while the audio still arrives on schedule, leaving the anime's future delivery open.
MoguLive
Bethesda Marks 40th Anniversary With New Logo and Storewide Sales
The anniversary sale spans nearly every major storefront and franchise, giving players a rare chance to pick up titles like Skyrim at 75 percent off.
Game Spark
Amazon AI Project Costs Exceed Budget by 860 Percent
The cases show that AI adoption can dramatically increase costs for tasks that were cheap with traditional coding, and Amazon is now building guardrails to prevent such overruns.
GIGAZINE
Round Raccoon Jimothy Spreads Across Games as Fan Art and Playable Mods
The raccoon's popularity has moved beyond memes into actual playable game content, showing how quickly a viral animal can become part of gaming culture.
GIGAZINE
Drama CD Ys Ancient Ys Vanished Announced for November Release
The drama CD brings the classic Ys I and II story to audio with a full cast, offering a new way to experience Adol's first adventure.
Game Spark
Kaguya From Chou Kaguya-hime! Joins Houshou Marine 7th Anniversary 3D LIVE
The crossover brings a character from a separate franchise into a Hololive anniversary live, expanding the event's guest list beyond the usual VTuber circle.
Inside
Reddit Q2 Revenue Up 61 Percent, Stock Falls on AI Traffic Fears
The earnings call shows investors are worried that AI-driven search changes could erode Reddit's traffic and user base, even as the company posts strong financial growth.
GIGAZINE
Wonder Festival 2026 Summer Showcases Hololive and VTuber Figures
The event's VTuber and original character figure lineup shows how garage kit culture continues to expand beyond traditional anime properties.
Inside
Google DeepMind Unveils Gemini Robotics 2 for Whole-Body Robot Control
The suite moves beyond pre-programmed industrial actions by letting a single model control different robot shapes, from tabletop arms to full humanoids, while a separate model handles multi-step task planning.
GIGAZINE
The Defiant Gameplay Footage Shows Sino-Japanese War From Chinese Perspective
The footage gives a concrete look at a war rarely depicted from the Chinese side, confirming the game's stated perspective and its planned multi-platform release.
Game Spark
Zootopia 10th Anniversary Happy Kuji Launches August 1
The lottery ties the original film's anniversary to the upcoming Zootopia 2, with the A Prize directly modeled on the sequel's promotional selfie pose.
Inside
Thinking Machines Lab Releases Inkling-Small at a Quarter the Size
Inkling-Small shows that Thinking Machines Lab can compress its flagship model's performance into a fraction of the size, making high-end reasoning and audio capabilities more accessible.
GIGAZINE
Doki Doki Literature Club Reveals Natsuki's Birthday Is July 30
The reveal completes birthdays for three of the four literature club members, leaving only Yuri's birthday unknown and fueling fan anticipation for the final announcement.
Game Spark