The Depths of Hell – 1st September 2026: Don’t walk, run towards the light! Developer Lab42 Games and award-winning publisher Secret Mode are today adding a new, much requested 2v2 Race mode to the co-op ragebait platforming megahit Chained Together in the game’s first (and certainly not final) free update from the new development team.

In the new mode that players have been asking for since day one, Chained Together’s 2v2 Race mode adds a competitive element for two teams of two. Teams will have just 30 minutes to see how far they can climb, jump, swim, and indeed drive up the tower of rage-inducing terrors. Who will be redeemed and who will be cast back into the fiery pits below?

As an added bonus, players can now kit out their damned souls in two new freely available outfits. Add some orange accents with the American Inmate Jumpsuit or swap your ragged t-shirt for actual rags with the Medieval Prisoner – who said you couldn’t be stylish while escaping Hell?

The new content has been developed by Lab42 Games, a Leamington Spa-based developer who have worked closely with Secret Mode on previous games, including porting work on A Little to the Left, content updates for Wobbledogs, and the original narrative puzzle game A Storied Life: Tabitha. Lab42 Games will continue to develop new content for Chained Together throughout 2026, including new maps to climb with your friends. Keep your eyes peeled for further info in the coming months.

Chained Together was an instant hit when it first launched in June 2024 and has sold over 10 million copies since launching. It has secured wins at the Golden Joystick Awards and The Streamer Awards and now sits at a 90% Very Positive rating on Steam from over 50,000 reviews.

About Chained Together

From the depths of hell, climb chained to your friends through diverse worlds. Solo or co-op, try to reach the summit and discover what awaits you there…

Chained Together is available now on PC via Steam.

About Secret Mode
Secret Mode is an independent publisher and the winner of the MCV/Develop Indie Publisher of the Year 2025 award, Ukie Best UK Publisher 2024 award, and the Debug Indie Game Best Influencer Marketing 2025 award. In March 2025 Emona Capital LLP, a financial investor with deep expertise in the gaming industry, partnered with CEO Ed Blincoe and CPO James Schall in the successful buyout of Secret Mode. Published titles include triple-BAFTA-winner Still Wakes the Deep, A Little to the Left, Wobbledogs, Loddlenaut, and Escape the Backrooms.

Two broadcasts, back-to-back, featuring updates from studios around the world and deeper dives on upcoming games from creators in Japan and Asia.

PlayStation Australia is excited to share that State of Play will return this Thursday, 3 September, with two broadcasts airing back-to-back. State of Play is PlayStation’s video program, showcasing all the latest updates, announcements and new trailers from the world of PlayStation in a livestream format. 

First, tune in for a new State of Play featuring updates and announcements from PlayStation Studios and our third-party partners, concluding with an extended look at the vast world of Final Fantasy VII Revelation from our friends at Square Enix.

Immediately following, stay tuned for a new episode of State of Play Japan, once again hosted by Yuki Kaji. State of Play Japan will offer deep dives into upcoming games from game studios in Japan and Asia, including new gameplay, announcements, and more.

Watch both broadcasts live on Thursday, 3 September starting at 11PM AEST on YouTube and Twitch. State of Play will air in English, with Japanese subtitles also available. State of Play Japan will air in Japanese, with English subtitles available. See you there.

Head to the PlayStation Blog to learn more.

For the latest PlayStation news, follow PlayStation Australia on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. 

Sydney, Australia, September 1, 2026 – Milestone have announced an update for Screamer, its arcade racing game that blends innovative gameplay with a deep story set in a dystopian, anime-infused world. Following last March’s worldwide launch, the Patch adds quality-of-life improvements and major bug fixes based on player feedback, providing further post-launch support.

The updates give players greater freedom from the very beginning, with Screamer now starting from the Main Menu rather than automatically launching into the Tournament story mode. This way, everyone can shape their own journey and decide how to approach the game, including practicing and exploring its gameplay systems before diving into the story. Players can also access the in-game tutorials directly from the pause menu in any game mode, making it easy to learn or revisit key gameplay mechanics whenever needed.

Character balancing has also been addressed, with adjustments to several characters currently underperforming in races. This way, players will experience fairer races while enjoying more opportunities to experiment with different characters and playstyles.

To preserve the integrity of Screamer’s competitive experience, the team is also continuing to take action against illegitimate leaderboard times obtained through cheats or other unfair methods. Following internal investigations, several times have been removed, and a warning has been sent to offenders.

The full patch notes are available below:

General

• When launching the game for the first time, players will now be brought to the Main Menu instead of starting The Tournament. This change has also been applied to the demo version of the game.

The Tournament

• During races, players can now see their set customisation for each car.

Characters

• Aisha:
  • Ability now recharges after 45 seconds, granting her multiple free shields throughout a race.
  • Reduced the threshold to activate SGU from 268 km/h to 282.5km/h.
• Frederick:
  • Increased passive sync generation rate.
  • Increased active shift generation rate.
• Fermi:
  • Increased maximum entropy by one.
• Akane:
  • Fixed an issue where Akane could activate Strike and the Boost gained from her Skill at the same time.

Steering Wheels

• Fixed an issue on some peripherals where force feedback wasn’t working properly and couldn’t be tweaked from the options menu.

Score Challenge

• Fixed an exploit that allowed players to gain very high scores using the Pause button.

Console only

• Several optimisations have been made to improve responsiveness during gameplay on all consoles. Please note that these changes do not affect the PC version.

# # # 

About Milestone   

Founded in Milan in 1996, Milestone is one of the leading and longest-established racing game developers and publishers in the world. The +300 people team is responsible for hit series like MotoGP™, Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame, the acclaimed Hot Wheels Unleashed™, as well as its own IP, RIDE. For more information, please visit https://milestone.it/

Compete for viewers’ votes in prime-time to avoid hard time and death row in a new game show

TOKYO — 1 September, 2026 — BUZZ or DIE, the violent sci-fi visual novel developed by Bon, ruins reputations on PC via Steam in 2026. The gruesome game show will come to life, to end inmates’ lives, through a collaboration with Japanese publisher Kodansha Game Creators’ Lab.

A handful of “lucky” prisoners get to gamble double-or-nothing with their lives in a new game show: BUZZ or DIE! Two opponents comb through their rival’s past to create the most damning video possible, with a catchy thumbnail, then screen it for the entire country. Go viral and walk out with a squeaky-clean record. Flop, and earn a grisly streamed execution. Your post is trending, or you are meeting your ending!

Dig through the opponent’s entire history in search of scandalous skeletons in their closet: read through their past conversations, and scan their memories for disgraceful deeds, treacherous thoughts, and appalling actions.

Package their horrid histories with the perfect words and images to create a killer thumbnail in the most salacious manner possible, then roll the video for the audience. Whoever pulls in the most likes earns their freedom and one wish. The loser is put to death, with their android likeness condemned to eternal labor. It’s a dig at their dignity… but it’s not like they’ll be around to see it.

Among the peculiar cast with sordid pasts handpicked for stardom (or expedited execution): a former comedian turned bomber, a genius hacker, a revolutionary, and a chef with an appetite for people. It’s a popularity contest like no other, with no consolation prizes! 

“At first glance, Buzz or Die seems a bit extreme. It has an outrageous premise, and complicated characters,” says Bon, solo developer, “It’s a hard-hitting, memorable gameplay experience, and there’s a ton of depth to be discovered that I do not want to spoil.”

BUZZ or DIE arrives on PC via Steam in 2026 with language options in English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. For more information, follow developer Bon on X / Twitter.

About Bon

Bon is an independent game developer based in Japan, known for vividly drawn characters set against dark, thought-provoking worlds. Their previous works include EgoMixer and Twelve Angry Boyfriends.

About Kodansha Game Creator’s Lab

Established in 2021, Kodansha Game Creator’s Lab is the fourth department of the prestigious entertainment publishing company Kodansha Ltd., founded in 1909. Its motto is “Everything for the creator,” reflecting the company’s goal to support young talents and introduce indie creators to the wider public.

BORDEAUX, France – Aug. 31, 2026 – The much-anticipated closed beta for Frostrail, the brutal co-op survival FPS from Barotrauma developer FakeFish and publisher Shiro Unlimited, launches today on Steam as part of Steam’s PvE Survival Crafting Fest. To join the playtest for the top 100 wishlisted game, sign up on the Frostrail Steam page.

Brave the bitter cold of a post-apocalyptic, unending blizzard, traversing by way of locomotive. Climb aboard a train alone or in a team of up to four and set out across the wasteland. Stop to scavenge ruins, secure vital resources as well as other much-needed supplies, and survive day-by-day.

Explore the remnants of villages, rundown mining camps, and deadly underground vaults to gather food, materials, and powerful weapons before racing back to the train before the cold claims you. Remain ever-vigilant: the blizzard’s bite isn’t the only threat to manage. Ravenous creatures called Revenants stalk the wasteland, attacking unsuspecting adventurers. Repel their violent hunger with an arsenal of melee and ranged weaponry in intense FPS showdowns.

Engage with deep crafting systems aboard the locomotive, turning scavenged materials into upgraded arms, armor, and upgrades to the train itself. Create research stations, medical bays, and even new cars to turn the train into a mobile fortress while progressing deeper into the wasteland

“Throughout development, community feedback has been central to making Frostrail the best game it can be,” said Ez Jämsen, Lead Designer at FakeFish. “With the launch of today’s Closed Beta, we’re eagerly awaiting the next batch of survivors and excited to hear their feedback as we prepare for our Early Access launch later this year.”

Frostrail will launch on Steam Early Access for Windows PC in Q4 2026 with English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Polish, Portuguese – Brazil, and Simplified Chinese language support.

For more information, please visit FakeFish’s official website, and follow the game on X, Instagram, Facebook, and Discord. Head to Shiro Unlimited’s official website, and follow the team on X/Twitter and Facebook.

About Shiro Unlimited

Shiro Unlimited is the publishing label of Shiro Games, built on over 12 years of experience developing and publishing successful indie titles. Shiro Unlimited curates and supports projects aligned with the studio’s creative vision, while empowering developers to focus on what matters most: making the best games possible.

For more information on Shiro Unlimited, please visit the official website.

About FakeFish

FakeFish, based in Turku, Finland, was established in 2014 by 5 university friends and has since grown to an independent studio of 30 people. Their first game, the critically acclaimed Barotrauma, has sold more than 3MM units since its initial launch in 2019 and helped shape the studio’s philosophy of delivering memorable experiences and creating a transparent and open community for both developers and players alike.

For more information on Fake Fish, please visit the official website. 

SEOUL, South Korea — Indie studio BANJIHAGAMES, creator of the text-based survival hit Seoul 2033, today announced Cold Case, a keyword-driven detective game about digital forensics, coming to Steam for Windows and macOS in 2027.

Overnight, a prosecutor burned to death at home — along with the old case files stored there. As an investigator in Cold Case, the unit responsible for preserving records of past crimes, you must recover eight case files pulled from the ashes and piece together what really happened.

Every photograph and document at the scene has been charred black. Your forensic toolkit can bring them back if you know what to look for. Search a damaged file for a keyword, and every fragment containing that word is restored. Each recovered line points to the next keyword, pulling you deeper into the case until the record and the truth is 100% complete. There are no multiple-choice prompts here: the deductions are yours. 

Key Features:

• Keyword forensics: restore charred documents by searching for the right words; every recovered fragment is a new lead
• Eight standalone cold cases: each with its own crime scene, suspects, and buried truth
• Real deduction, not branching choices: the game never hands you options; what you search is what you solve
• Reconstruct the sequence of events: from crime-scene photos, witness statements, and recovered records
• Atmospheric pixel-art crime scenes: that bring decades-old cases vividly back to life
• Localized in five languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese

About BANJIHAGAMES

BANJIHAGAMES is a Seoul-based indie studio that started in 2016 in a semi-basement apartment the “banjiha” of its name under the motto “better to fail with something original than succeed with a copy.” The studio is best known for Seoul 2033, a text-based post-apocalyptic adventure recognized at Google Play’s Indie Games Festival 2019, along with a string of original mobile hits.

From The Bunker puts a free demo on Steam as the PvE Survival Crafting Fest opens

[August 31, 2026] – A viral outbreak has emptied a quiet southern town. The people who survived it are packed into an abandoned bunker in the forest, and every day brings a new decision about who eats, who works, and who goes outside. From The Bunker, a survivor-management game from four-person independent studio DEM Games, releases a free demo on Steam on August 31 at 10:00 a.m. PT, timed to the opening of Steam’s PvE Survival Crafting Fest. 

You play the group’s leader. Survivors arrive with their own strengths, weaknesses and needs, and their physical health, mental state and willingness to fight for the group all trace back to how you lead them. Neglect someone and they may walk out. Choose wrong and they may not survive at all. The bunker is the other half of the job: a forgotten shelter you turn into somewhere people can actually live, while the infected, hostile factions and desperate looters press in from outside.

Key features include:

• Lead a group of survivors — Assign jobs, monitor morale, and balance hunger, fear and exhaustion before they tear the group apart.
• Defend your last refuge — Build generators for electricity, upgrade boilers for clean water, raise barricades against infected hordes, and set traps for nighttime raids.
• Venture beyond the bunker — Search ruined streets, abandoned shops and military depots for weapons, food and medicine, and weigh the risk of every expedition against what the group needs.
• Every choice matters — Over 300 narrative events force hard calls that shape the group’s future, with different outcomes and endings depending on what you decide.

From The Bunker is a single-player game. The free demo goes live on Steam on August 31 at 10:00 a.m. PT as the Steam PvE Survival Crafting Fest begins. The full game is currently in development.

PREPARE FOR EXTERMINATION. Multiversal roguelite Serious Sam: Shatterverse has finally dropped its substantial load onto PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 priced €19.99. Pick it up during launch week and enjoy an extra 10% discount, perfect to take advantage of the massive Serious Sam franchise sale on Steam! 

Developed by Behaviour Interactive, the creators of Dead By Daylight, this fresh take on boomer shooter classic Serious Sam brings oh-so-modern cooperative and roguelite elements to the series’ trademark over-the-top FPS action. Up to five players can team up, blast through shifting universes, stack wild boons, bend the rules with run modifiers, and hunt the deadliest forces of Sam’s relentless arch-nemesis, the villainous Mental.

Mental’s maniacal machinations have fractured the walls between universes, and now Sams from multiple dimensions must learn to work together to repair the Shatterverse. You’ll travel across shifting universes to finish battles other Sams couldn’t, fighting alongside alternate versions of yourself to defeat the big bad’s five nefarious lieutenants.

Or, if you’re vehemently antisocial or just have no friends, blast through the exact same Serious Sam: Shatterverse experience offline in solo mode!

“Reviving the legendary gunplay, massive enemy hordes, and unforgettable bosses that Serious Sam is known for, while blasting into bold new roguelike territory was challenging, but extremely rewarding,” comments Behaviour Interactive’s Nic Duchesne. “We hope Shatterverse will welcome newcomers and excite longtime fans, and deliver a fun, social, and – most importantly – complete experience designed to last. Everything we did over the course of the last several years was fueled by incredible community feedback, and we can’t wait for players to assemble their squads, crush Mental’s hordes, and save the Samverse!”

FEATURES

• Wield a big, loud, stupid, and frankly irresponsible arsenal of weapons, mixing classic Serious Sam guns and all-new toys plucked from the Shatterverse
• High adrenaline run-and-gun FPS combat with big battlefields, non-stop pressure, a lot of backpedaling, and perfectly timed one-liners when everything’s on fire
• Leans into Serious Sam’s legacy and pushes it forward with procedurally shifted runs across hand-crafted arenas set in previously unexplored worlds
• Navigate unstable anomalies, hidden portals, and high-risk opportunities that can supercharge a run – or end it instantly
• Push forward for greater rewards, unlock powerful modifiers, and take advantage of upgrades that permanently expand your possibilities
• Face off against massive hordes of enemies including classic Serious Sam foes and fresh monsters under Mental’s control, all begging to be gibbed

Take aim at serioussam.com for more details. See you in the Shatterverse!

London, UK, 31st August 2026 – Continuing the success of its official launch in July, Stunt X Mania’s ReVR Games is thrilled to announce the first major post-launch update for the VR motocross title, arriving today, 31st August 2026. Adding fan-requested features and enhanced gameplay, the update further solidifies Stunt X Mania’s place on Meta Quest as a premium motocross experience.

As all players know, getting that bike feel is super important, and to that end, ReVR Games has ensured that Stunt X Mania features hyper-realistic controls from the outset. But for those that just want to ride and perform tricks, the new arcade control scheme is for them. Instant input and accessibility make the bike easy and fun to handle. Once that’s been mastered, full manual controls await.

Additionally, you want a bike to feel like a bike. Stunt X Mania now features advanced haptic feedback enabling players to experience every bump, jump and landing like never before. And to improve the immersion even further, new atmospheric and ambient sounds now fill the arenas. Hear the crowd come to life as you perform trick after trick.

But that’s not all! Stunt X Mania is now bigger and better than ever, with a new map to explore, new ramps to trick off of, and more bike skins to further customise your ride. 

“From the streets of India to virtual tracks around the world, Stunt X Mania is putting immersive racing on a global starting grid,” says Rohan Das, Chief Game Designer & Co-founder at ReVR Games. “Thanks to our latest update, this isn’t a bike racing game you play. It’s a bike racing experience you live.” 

Stunt X Mania Summer Update Key Features:

• Enhanced Haptics – Feel the bike and every bump and landing like never before! 
• New Controls – Arcade-style controls to make your motocross experience even simpler
• New Content – A new map, bike skins and ramp further expand the SXM world
• Immersive Sounds – You’re not alone in the arena; hear the crowds for the first time 

The Stunt X Mania Summer Update will be available to all SXM players for free from 31st August 2026. Stunt X Mania is available now for Meta Quest, priced at $9.99/£6.99.

Stunt X Mania – | Horizon Store |

About Stunt X Mania:

Experience the thrill of motocross like never before in Stunt X Mania. Have you ever dreamed of performing a One-hand Heart Attack or Superman while in the comfort of your home? Pulling wheelies and 360-degree flips like a pro rider? Now you can, perfecting those riding skills for massive combo multipliers and the excitement only motocross sports can bring.

About ReVR Games:

Pushing the boundaries of interactive entertainment, one game at a time! We are a group of passionate individuals who’ve come together to give you the best experience on VR, PC, and Consoles 

[Argentina] – August 27th, 2026 – Morrigan, the goddess of death, took Alys’ husband. Alys picked up a sword and went to take him back. On September 3rd that fight reaches its first console, as SoulQuest arrives on Nintendo Switch. Developed by SoulBlade Studio and published by indie.io, the side-scrolling spectacle fighter has spent four months winning over players on Steam and now brings its story of grief, defiance, and frame-perfect violence to a new audience.

The village of Cetonia burned in a single day. Gwydre, the mightiest knight in the world, died defending it and the gods ruled the matter closed. His widow disagreed. Searching the ruins for survivors, Alys meets Abanus, a druid who tells her that souls can be pulled back from the realm of the dead, but only by someone willing to face Morrigan herself and take that power from her. Alys does not hesitate. What follows is a journey across the British Isles to confront the entire Celtic pantheon, one god at a time.

Combat is where SoulQuest makes its case. Light and heavy attacks chain into dozens of freeform combos, each animation flowing into the next without a seam, and beyond the blade sit magical abilities and screen-clearing ultimates that let every player build a style of their own. It is easy to pick up and genuinely difficult to master. Enemies arrive in relentless waves and the game grades the response on a scale from a shameful F to the coveted SSS, turning survival into performance and rewarding the players who treat a crowded arena as choreography rather than a chore.

Underneath the violence is a world built from Celtic folklore and Arthurian myth, rendered in crisp pixel art and scored with a medieval-inspired soundtrack. Every location is drawn from the real geography of the British Isles and every boss is a name someone once prayed to.

That combination has landed. SoulQuest holds a Very Positive rating on Steam, where players have singled out the depth of the combo system and the strength of Alys’ story.Ready to take up the blade and throw down the gauntlet to the goddess of death? SoulQuest arrives on Nintendo Switch on September 3rd, and is available now on Steam.

ABOUT SOULBLADE STUDIO

A small, independent studio from Argentina, SoulBlade was founded in 2023 with the goal of creating inspiring games that captivate gamers. The ambitious SoulQuest is their second title, combining lightning-fast gameplay with dazzling visuals and a riveting story!

ABOUT INDIE.IO

indie.io is home to over 100 of the world’s best independent video games and developers. Our platform was built to provide independent developers with the resources, services, and management tools needed for success. Through collaboration and passion, we strive to cultivate a diverse and vibrant gaming landscape that resonates with players and creators alike!