LOS ANGELES – SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 – Netmarble, a leading developer and publisher of high-quality games, has released the Version 1.4 update for its monster-taming action RPG MONGIL: STAR DIVE, introducing Episode 7 of the game’s main quest, along with a new region, the new character Isabella, and additional content and Half Anniversary events.
The update features Episode 7, Ashen Cradle Lullaby, along with a new region where players can encounter 29 new Monsterlings and craft 15 new Link Chains. The new Legendary Conquest boss Sorin, a giant serpent who was corrupted by the Void while seeking ascension to dragonhood, also makes her debut with a variety of combat patterns that offer players an all-new challenge.
Joining the roster is the new 5-star Ice character Isabella. Known as a brilliant engineer, Isabella once used her abilities for the common good but now devotes her time to her personal research. Players can discover her backstory in the Wanderers Beyond Borders event. Currency earned from event dungeons and missions can be exchanged for rewards including Summon Tickets.
Version 1.4 also adds the Elemental Sanctum mode, where players can defeat bosses and enhance new passive skills to strengthen their characters, as well as Mobile AR Photo Mode, which allows players to place and photograph the game’s characters in real-world settings. The maximum Adventure Level has also been increased from 60 to 70.
A variety of events are available to celebrate the update. Special Missions with Isabella and Isabella’s 7-Day Gifts offer Summon Tickets, growth materials, and other rewards. The Half Anniversary celebrations also include a special login pass and special missions offering a commemorative Our First Anniversary profile frame and icon as rewards. In addition, rerun summons for Mina and Narae, as well as their Artifacts, are available in celebration of the Half Anniversary.
MONGIL: STAR DIVE is the long-awaited reimagining of the beloved 2013 mobile collectible RPG Monster Taming. Built with Unreal Engine 5, the game delivers cinematic storytelling and dynamic real-time combat centered on a three-character tag system. The Monsterling Collection system supports the capture, collection, and synthesis of monsters, adding strategic depth to gameplay.
For more information about MONGIL: STAR DIVE, please visit the official website and forums.
About Netmarble Corporation
Founded in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Corporation is a leading global game developer and publisher. Through acclaimed franchises and strategic partnerships with top-tier IP holders, the company delivers innovative and engaging gaming experiences to audiences worldwide. As a parent company of Kabam, SpinX Games, Jam City, and a major shareholder of HYBE and NCSOFT, Netmarble’s diverse portfolio includes Solo Leveling:ARISE, Seven Knights Re:BIRTH, RAVEN2, MARVEL Future Fight, and The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com.
Experience the epic saga on a Nintendo platform for the first time today with the Middle-earth™: Shadow Bundle!Save 50% with a launch discount through October 5
AUSTIN, Texas – Sept. 30, 2026 –Aspyr is thrilled to announce that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor™ Game of the Year Edition and Middle-earth: Shadow of War™ Definitive Edition are available now individually or as part of the Middle-earth™: Shadow Bundle on Nintendo Switch 2. This is the first time players can experience the award-winning Middle-earth saga on a Nintendo platform, including all previously released DLC and bonus content. Watch the launch trailers and return to a world full of magic and danger as you confront the evils of Sauron.
About Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor™ Game of the Year Edition
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor™, originally developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, is the winner of more than 50 awards, including Game of the Year, Best Action/Adventure Game and Outstanding Innovation in Gaming.
The game delivers a dynamic environment where players can orchestrate their personal plan of vengeance to bend Mordor to their will. Play as Talion, a Ranger of the Black Gate who loses his family and everything he holds dear on the night of Sauron’s return to Mordor, only to be returned from death by a mysterious spirit of vengeance. As Talion’s personal vendetta unfolds, players will uncover the mystery of the spirit that compels him, discover the origin of the rings of power and confront the ultimate nemesis.
At the heart of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor™ is the groundbreaking Nemesis System, which creates distinct, procedurally generated enemies that level up, adapt, and hold grudges unique to each gamer. Players will fight through the open world regions of Mordor and uncover the truth of the spirit that compels them while discovering the origins of the rings of power, building their legend and ultimately confronting the evil of Sauron and his armies.
In addition to the base game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor™ Game of the Year Edition features all previously released content, including:
“Lord of the Hunt” Campaign Expansion: Dive deeper into Mordor’s living world and hunt its wildest beasts to turn them against Sauron’s forces.
“The Bright Lord” Campaign Expansion: Battle against Sauron as Celebrimbor, the great Elven Lord of the Second Age, to unlock powerful runes and the ability to wield the One Ring.
Guardians of the Flaming Eye Exclusive Warband Mission: Face Sauron’s elite Defenders before the Black Gate and earn the Wolf’s Head rune.
Bonus Warband Missions, Runes & Skins: Take on even more of Sauron’s minions, enhance your weapons with powerful runes and customize Talion’s appearance with unique skins.
About Middle-earth: Shadow of War™ Definitive Edition
In the epic sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War™,also originally published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, players will be engrossed in a richer, more personal and expansive world full of epic heroes and villains as they forge a new Ring of Power, conquer fortresses in massive battles, dominate Mordor from within, and confront the full power of the Dark Lord Sauron and his Ringwraiths.
The Definitive Edition includes the Sword of Dominion bonus weapon and all downloadable content and expansions:
“Desolation of Mordor” Story Expansion: Play as Baranor, the Captain of the Tower from Minas Ithil, and travel deep behind enemy lines in the Eastern Deserts of Mordor to raise an Easterling Army and open a new front in the Shadow War.
“Blade of Galadriel” Story Expansion: Play as Eltariel, the Blade of Galadriel, as she hunts the newest Ringwraith, battling with a new dual-wield combat style, new powers based on the Light of Galadriel and the ability to wield the New Ring.
Slaughter Tribe Nemesis Expansion: Feared by all other tribes for their savagery and renowned for their ferocity in combat, the Slaughter Tribe carves a bloody path across the face of Mordor.
Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion: The Outlaw Tribe are Mordor’s ultimate rebels, defying the domination of the Dark Lord and the Bright Lord alike and fighting for the Age of the Orc. They make fearsome followers and mighty warriors, wielding chains to capture their enemies and salvage weapons and armor.
Content Note: The Garrison is fully playable offline, so you can reassign your un-deployed Orc followers across regions on the go. As this edition is optimized for offline play, Online Conquests, Vendettas, Fight Pits, Chests, and Training Orders are unavailable in this title.
Aspyr has been hard at work bringing some of the most beloved The Lord of the Rings games forward for new generations of players to experience, including the Middle-earth™: Shadow Bundle on Nintendo Switch 2 and the recent release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition. Both games are licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Fans can look forward to even more classic releases in the franchise from Aspyr in the future!
About Aspyr
Aspyr is a leading video game publishing and development partner focused on maximizing the potential of games across all platforms for all players. Most recently, the company launched Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration on Nintendo Switch 2, as well as The Lord of the Rings: War in the North™ – Legacy Edition and Legacy of Kain™: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered, available now on all platforms. Today the company supports a growing network of partners that includes many of the industry’s leading entertainment IP holders, publishers, developers, and technology providers. Aspyr is an Embracer Group company based in Austin, Texas.
About Middle-earth Enterprises
As Middle-earth’s stewards and custodians, our goal is to consistently deliver a wealth of great content in both new and known formats; to ensure Middle-earth’s rightful place as the world’s leading fantasy IP & brand, forever. Inspired by our deep appreciation for the fictional world created by Professor Tolkien, we are dedicated to working with those developing highest quality creations inspired by the lore, in accordance with state-of-the-art green business and sustainability practices; including fair trade, equality in the workplace, and a deep commitment to protect our Earth, its wondrous beauty, and the viability of every living creature. Middle-earth Enterprises (MEE), acquired by the Embracer Group in 2022, owns exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, live stage, certain TV, related merchandise and services, inspired by The Hobbit book and The Lord of the Rings trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Visit us at www.middleearth.com for details.
About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc., is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all platforms, including console, handheld, mobile and PC-based gaming for both internal and third-party game titles.
The upcoming survival-horror action game’s new music video and track rework Peaches’ iconic breakout single with the voice of Pinhead himself
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Sept. 30, 2026 – Saber Interactive is excited to share the new music video and track for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, the survival-horror action game coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 8. Featuring a new rework of the legendary hit “Fuck the Pain Away” by Peaches, iconic musician, producer, director, and performance artist, today’s new Fuck the Pain Away – Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival Rework music video is a mashup of pain and pleasure. The new track is produced and reworked by Steve Molitz, Saber Interactive’s Music Director and Lead Composer, made in collaboration with Peaches and narrated by Pinhead (voice of Doug Bradley) himself.
Fuck the Pain Away – Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival Rework Music Video:YouTube
“With this rework of the track, it frames my song in a darker, more twisted world. ‘Fuck the Pain Away’ is ever-expanding and now has new meaning in the Hellraiser universe. I’m in!” said Peaches.
“I’ve always admired Peaches for her fiercely unapologetic, provocative approach to personal expression,” said Molitz. “Blurring the lines between pleasure and pain, this track is a raw, abrasive, three-act descent into a hellscape of transcendence, excess, compulsion and distortion. It was an honor to collaborate with Peaches and rework this iconic track, and we’re thrilled to finally unleash this beast on the world!”
Jump into the free Steam demo for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival now and experience an early taste of the game’s original story. Stroll into Hell’s gates and discover the basics of combat, crafting and puzzle solving before the full journey tears reality apart at launch!
Players can pre-order Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, launching October 8, on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 now for $39.99. The Deluxe Edition is also available to pre-order digitally for $49.99. Players who pre-order either edition of the game will unlock the exclusive in-game Labyrinth Pistol Skin and Martyr Sawblade Skin at launch.
Peaches first catapulted to international stardom with her 2000 debut, The Teaches of Peaches, which introduced the world to her sexually transgressive, fiercely assertive, and utterly captivating stage persona. The album’s ubiquitous lead single “Fuck the Pain Away” became a bonafide smash and a genuine pop culture phenomenon. Them Magazine praised Peaches saying “20 years after The Teaches of Peaches, the world is still catching up with the artist’s brash, irreverent, and sexually self-assured life philosophy.” In the years that followed, Peaches would go on to release five more trailblazing albums—prompting the The New York Times to dub her a “heroine” and Uncut to rave that she brings together “high art, low humour and deluxe filth [in] a hugely seductive combination”—and collaborate with everyone from Iggy Pop and Daft Punk to Christina Aguilera and R.E.M., to Kim Gordon and Yoko Ono. Her music has been honored with the prestigious Polaris Heritage Prize, featured in cultural watermarks like Lost In Translation, The Handmaid’s Tale, South Park, and Broad City, and studied at universities around the world. In addition to her musical output, Peaches has directed over 20 videos, co-curated a photo book of her life, created a host of immersive installations and performative works, and penned the electro-rock opera Peaches Does Herself, which was adapted into a film shown at over 70 festivals. The subject of two acclaimed documentaries—Teaches of Peaches (2024, directed by Judy Landkammer and Philipp Fussenegger) and Peaches Goes Bananas (2024, directed by Marie Losier)—she has also played the title role in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and Brecht’s The Seven Deadly Sins and continues to perform her widely lauded one-woman show, Peaches Christ Superstar. Her aesthetic also provided the main influence for designer Anthony Vaccarello’s AW21 Saint Laurent collection. In 2026, she released No Lube So Rude, her first full-length album in over a decade, to widespread international acclaim, and made her television score debut for Dan Levy’s Big Mistakes on Netflix.
About Saber Interactive
Saber Interactive is a worldwide publisher and developer consisting of 15 studios in the Americas and Europe. Creating games for all major platforms based on original and licensed IPs, Saber’s titles include Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, Jurassic Park: Survival, Turok: Origins, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, World War Z, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, Bus Bound, Docked, SnowRunner, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game and RoadCraft. Founded in 2001, Saber is known for two decades of development partnerships with leading developers and publishers, including producing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Nintendo Switch, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Crysis Remastered, and many others. Learn more at https://saber.games.
Hellraiser™ and The Hellbound Heart titles, characters, settings, protected marks, plot lines, and themes are exclusively licensed for video games to Lament GameCo, LLC by Clive Barker and Park Avenue Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Indie cozy horror title has reached 750k wishlists on Steam
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 30, 2026) – Developer Perfect Garbage and publisher Blumhouse Games and dropped a murderous hit of new gameplay today for the upcoming cozy horror game Grave Seasons as they revealed the title will be launching on March 9, 2027.
As a highly-anticipated indie title with over 750,000 wishlists on Steam, the team is taking additional time to ensure delivery of the most cozy, creepy and polished Grave Seasons experience possible for players across Steam, XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3255110/Grave_Seasons/
Since waiting a few more months can be bittersweet, the team has prepared a short tease of what’s to come with new footage for eagle-eyed fans to dig into. Click here for the new Grave Seasons release date video and keep an eye out for more information over the coming weeks:
Perfect Garbage has also released a dev blog on Steam, breaking down the evolution of Grave Seasons from early prototypes to the hand-crafted, blood spattered farming sim we’ll be playing in 2027.
Grave Seasons is a charming, narrative-driven pixelated farming sim game where, amidst clever relationship building and crop harvesting, a supernatural serial killer starts to pick off the townsfolk. With dark secrets to uncover and gruesome killings to investigate, players must unravel the mystery unfolding in Ashenridge… before more lives are lost.
About Blumhouse Games
Founded in 2023, Blumhouse Games is a game publisher inspired by the many facets of horror. Blumhouse Games is focused on creating unique, spine-chilling experiences for a wide audience, together with independent development teams around the world. The company’s next release is Grave Seasons from Perfect Garbage.
Blumhouse Games is a subsidiary of Blumhouse, regarded as the driving force in horror and home to the highest number of ongoing franchises of any studio, including Halloween, The Purge, The Black Phone, Paranormal Activity,The Exorcist, Insidious, M3GAN, and Five Nights at Freddy’s, along with iconic films from cinematic visionaries including Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. In January 2024, Blumhouse merged with James Wan’s Atomic Monster, which has produced its own successful film franchises including The Conjuring, Aquaman, Annabelle, The Nun and Saw.
About Perfect Garbage
Perfect Garbage is an indie games studio that brings their deep love of narrative to their enthusiastic innovation in games. Formed in 2018, Perfect Garbage gathers inspiration from their favorite genres –from horror to sci-fi and everything in between– to craft player experiences that meld the old, the new, and the downright scary. As a studio, Perfect Garbage is comprised of award-winning indie and AAA developers who have worked on projects such as Borderlands 4, Viewfinder, Demonschool, Tales of Kenzara: ZAU, Lamplighter’s League and more. Working as a small, tight-knit and fully remote studio, Perfect Garbage brings dynamic narratives, enthralling gameplay, and a little bit of moral dubiousness to the forefront of each of their games.
Get your notebook, your flute and your cloak ready for the academic year: the doors of the Etchery are finally open, as Songs of Glimmerwick is out now on Steam! The new adventure/RPG from Eastshade Studios (of indie hit Eastshade fame) has been highly anticipated by over 250k wishlisters. Take a sneak peek at what awaits you in the fantasy woodlands of Glimmerwick in the new extended gameplay launch trailer:
Songs of Glimmerwick is out on Steam for $24.99 USD with a 10%, 2-week launch discount, and a Supporter’s Pack is also available for $4.99 USD including exclusive hat and robes and exclusive mp3s of the teahouse performances. The magical school will also make its way to consoles later on!
The land of Glimmerwick is well known for its university of magic – and as luck would have it, you’re already enrolled! In this woodland fantasy world, playing music is the secret to casting spells. With your trusty flute and songbook at your side you’ll attend classes and join after school clubs, make friends with classmates and townsfolk, and uncover Glimmerwick’s many oddities and mysteries – all while enjoying a year of seasons, festivals, curses, and witchy hijinks in this peaceful, story-driven RPG.
Features:
RPG Style Quests: Unfolding narrative quests with a focus on unique characters and story.
Tend the University Garden: Plant the mundane! Grow the arcane! Summon up clouds to bring forth the rain!
Every Song a Spell: Use the power of music to speak with the trees, enchant tools to work all by themselves, raise the earth to surmount natural impasses, and more!
Character Progression: As you gain experience in your adventures, choose from skills which will help you garden, trade, or acquire special abilities, like speaking to frogs!
A Lively World: Classes to attend, mysterious rumors, local drama, and bustling festivals — The students, staff, townsfolk, and spritely creatures of Glimmerwick have rich stories and lives.
Fully Voiced: Dialogue is brought to life with fantastic performances for every character major and minor.
Customizable Appearance: Choose how you look.
Extra Curricular Activities: There’s lots to do in Glimmerwick outside of classes – explore the island, dive for seashells, grab your dice and play “Forests and Fairies” with your friends, or join the Green Sprites on forest expeditions.
About the Developers
Eastshade Studios was founded in December 2013 when Danny Weinbaum quit his day job as a 3D environment artist in triple-A games to build a weird world, Eastshade. Following the success of the first-person traveling painter-adventure Eastshade, they have set out to make something a little different from their debut title.
The core team consists of married couple Jaclyn Ciezadlo (game director on Songs of Glimmerwick, lead designer, lead artist) and Danny Weinbaum (game director on Eastshade, technical director), and Jen Hide (Lead Programmer). Eastshade Studios is committed to making games that feel like true places, and exploring the ocean of game design outside of combat. More information on the studio website: http://www.eastshade.com/
New Full Reveal Trailer and developer diary showcase Reactive Racing, deeper team management, dynamic weather, motorbikes and more
Guildford, UK – 30 September 2026 – Playsport has today released the first gameplay for Motorsport Manager 2 PC, revealing new details on the long-awaited sequel coming to Steam in 2027.
A new Full Reveal Trailer gives players their first look at Motorsport Manager 2 in action, showcasing an expanded motorsport world, deeper team and car management, and Reactive Racing, Playsport’s new approach to creating more dynamic and unpredictable race weekends.
Alongside the trailer, Playsport has released the first Motorsport Manager 2 developer diary, taking fans behind the scenes with the development team to explore the vision behind the sequel and how the studio is evolving the foundations of the original Motorsport Manager.
At the centre of Motorsport Manager 2 is Reactive Racing. Rival teams no longer simply follow predetermined race strategies, instead adapting their decisions as events unfold. Traffic, tyres, fuel, car condition, safety cars and the actions of other teams can all influence their strategy, meaning a single pit stop could trigger a chain reaction across the grid.
A new weather simulation adds further unpredictability, with weather systems moving across circuits in real time. Different parts of the track can experience different conditions, forcing players to judge when to change tyres, whether to risk another lap and how much they trust their drivers in mixed conditions.
“We want the teams in Motorsport Manager 2 to actually race you,” said Matt Hanlon, Project Lead at Playsport. “They’re constantly evaluating what’s happening around them and adapting their strategy to try and get the best result. Combine that with localised weather and we can create the kind of tense, unpredictable races that generate the stories Motorsport Manager is all about.”
Away from the circuit, players will design and manufacture new parts, shape future cars, expand their headquarters and develop their own power units. Drivers and staff now have distinct personalities, ambitions and relationships, with player decisions influencing how they view each other and their Team Principal.
The wider motorsport world has also been expanded. Players can follow emerging talent through simulated junior categories, recruit promising talent into their driver academy and develop the next generation of champions. A new livery editor offers greater freedom to create a unique team identity, while championship rules can evolve over time and reshape the competitive order.
Single-seater, GT and endurance racing all return, while motorbike racing joins Motorsport Manager for the first time, bringing its own riders, teams, championships and challenges.
“Real-world motorsport is an inspiration, not a limitation,” added Hanlon. “Being unlicensed gives us the freedom to draw from different disciplines, eras, regulations and stories. We want Motorsport Manager 2 to be a world where players can create their own racing legacy.”
Full mod support is also being developed from day one, giving the community greater freedom to customise and expand the game after launch.
Motorsport Manager 2 is coming to Steam in 2027. Wishlist Motorsport Manager 2 PC on Steam
About Playsport
Playsport is the developer of the Motorsport Manager series. With Motorsport Manager 2, the studio returns to PC with a deeper, more ambitious motorsport management simulation built around strategic racing, long-term team development, player creativity, and full mod support from day one.
First playtest for high-risk, high-reward PVE Horde Extraction game goes live this Saturday
Reken, Germany – September 30th, 2026 – THE DARKNESS RISES. 314 Arts today announced that the first playtest for NightRunner will launch this Saturday, October 3rd, and revealed a brand new Devlog trailer showcasing the latest in-depth look at the game. Sign up to the playtest today on Steam.
In a world where the NightRunner rail network is the only logistical line, coordination is crucial. NightRunner is a 1-4 player PvE horde-survival extraction game where your squad delivers cargo across the world, scavenging hostile territory, defending the NightRunner train, and fighting to get back onboard before the sun catches up.
Playable for the first time this weekend, the NightRunner playtest plunges players into the world of The Silent Blocks, tasked with defending their NightClaw Wagon against deadly mutants as they scavenge resources to keep the rails alive.
Defend, scavenge and extract as one of four playable Runners, each with unique kits that shape how you fight, scavenge, and support your crew. Upgrade your Runner-Tech with permanent unlocks to dominate runs and take on more challenging jobs.
Explore scavenging zones to gather resources and acquire powerful loot, fighting through a ruthless world where every run is a high-risk, high-reward battle for survival, and where intense co-op combat, strategic decision-making, and a blend of roguelite and persistent progression determine whether you escape with your loot – or lose everything.
ABOUT 314 ARTS Founded with a passion for the First-Person Shooter genre, 314 Arts has grown into a studio that values quality over quantity. We are a team of developers, artists, and gamers who understand that a great game is more than just graphics – it’s the Game Feel.
Our headquarters in Germany serves as the hub for our operations, where we coordinate with talent from around the world to bring ambitious projects to life. We believe in transparency with our community and precision in our craft.
Keeping gamers entertained since 1998, the popular casual games service is levelling up to attract new players across the globe
Austin, USA – September 30, 2026 – A staple in PC gaming since 1998, WildTangent Games prides itself on being a one-stop-shop for casual gamers everywhere.
From puzzle games to time management and hidden object titles, WildTangent is the perfect gaming companion for those looking for a casual game, and now it’s celebrating nearly 30 years with free trial memberships and a host of platform improvements.
Boasting a catalogue of around 7,000 games, including Vacation Adventures: Park Ranger, Rescue Team, and Big Adventure, WildTangent prides itself on its ‘Try, Love, Own’, encouraging gamers to check out any titles before they commit. The introduction of a free trial membership expands that pool of choice with an additional 2,500 games, included in the platform’s “unlimited games” which sees new games added weekly.
Marcus Behrens, Senior Vice President Publishing & Portals, said: “WildTangent is almost 30 years old, and we need to ensure the platform still holds up in 2026.
“We pride ourselves on being a one-stop-shop and it’s important for us to continue to offer casual gamers a place to do what they love, whilst ensuring that the newest games are always available. Whether that’s a quick 10-minute session on a free-to-play puzzle, or getting lost in a classic hidden object title, we want to ensure the experience is smooth and accessible.
“Introducing a 7-day free trial is a great way for gamers to experience the full extent of what WildTangent has on offer, and our platform updates have been crucial in keeping the platform safe and fun.”
In addition to its trial membership, WildTangent has been rolling out improvements to modernise the platform, making it faster, safer, and easier to navigate.
Updates include:
Faster and easier checkout, with new social login options including Facebook and Google
A refreshed UI/UX throughout the site
Improved loading times and updated client
Platform safeguards have also been strengthened for a safer, more trustworthy experience for all members
Rounding out the updates, the platform has also welcomed several new hidden object game developers, expanding on the popular genre with fresh titles.
WildMembership Features:
$7.99/mo Wild Membership includes one monthly token for a full-version game in the catalog
7,000 curated titles with new additions weekly
30% member discount of all game purchases
2,600+ games to download and play, with new titles added weekly
Founded in 1998, WildTangent, operated by gamigo Inc., a member of the gamigo group, is a leading PC games platform and publisher specializing in casual gaming. Through its website and desktop application, WildTangent offers a curated catalog of more than 7,000 downloadable and online games, including premium titles, exclusive releases, and beloved classics across genres such as Hidden Object, Match-3, Time Management, Solitaire, Mahjong, and Puzzle games. Committed to making great games accessible to players around the world, WildTangent continues to invest in new content, platform innovation, and partnerships with developers and publishers.
Setting out onto the open road with no real goal in sight we encounter plenty of unusual obstacles, pick up all kinds of strange hitchhikers, and upgrade our car with various improvements as we manage to make our way to the Festival Ending in YCJY Games’ Keep Driving.
Keep Driving – Full Playthrough
Keep Driving is an atmospheric management RPG about hitting the open road during the early 2000s, when you’ve just bought your first car and have an entire summer ahead of you. After hearing about a music festival on the other side of the country, you’ll plot your route across a procedurally generated pixel-art world, picking up hitchhikers, working odd jobs and deciding where the journey takes you. Along the way you’ll meet an assortment of misfits, oddballs and lost souls, each with their own personalities and stories to discover.
Keeping your aging car on the road is just as important as reaching your destination, with upgrades, repairs, customization and careful resource management all playing a part in the journey. Roadside problems are handled through an unusual turn-based “combat” system that uses your character’s skills and whatever useful items you happen to have packed in the glovebox. With branching routes, multiple endings, a soundtrack featuring Swedish indie bands and road trips designed to play out differently each time, Keep Driving captures the freedom, uncertainty and nostalgia of being young with nowhere you absolutely need to be.
Keep Driving Developer: YCJY Games Publisher: YCJY Games, Kepler Ghost Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation, Switch, PC/Steam Release Date: 7th Feb, 2026 – 28th September, 2026 (Console) Price: $17.99 USD
For many people, getting their driver’s license is their first step into being something of a free person, someone who can step outside of their family and explore the world for themselves, even if they don’t feel like going far. Combine that with a vehicle entirely of their own and the road of possibilities lies wide open ahead of them and that is what YCJY Games’ Keep Driving aims for, by providing a roguelike-esque style game all about driving with a blend of a cozy atmosphere all while seeing what potential route a player might take along their journey.
Story
Seemingly designed as a flashback from an unknown time in the future, the player is fondly remembering a road trip that they had once they obtained their license and first vehicle, choosing to take their summer break and take to the open road with whatever cash they had on hand and selectable care package of starting items to help get them on the road. Initially, the player will only have one task, head to the Way Out Festival before the end of the month and party with their friends at one of the grandest concert venues that the location has seen in some time. Of course, that isn’t the only thing that players can do, but at least initially that is their goal. It is worth noting that other than selecting the gender of their driver, name, and a few minor traits including if the player has a good relationship with their family or not, which can mean they may bail players out of a jam should they run out of gas, cash, or crash, but it’s not a guarantee.
Once the wheels hit the road however that is where the story can flow freely in absolutely any direction. Players will find themselves traveling from location to location, most likely selecting roads leading closest to their initial destination and encountering various obstacles, distractions, and other things along the way, including hitchhikers. Hitchhikers are their own brand of storytelling as each character has their own unique flavor and it is entirely random who players may come across, on their trip. One of my first adventures saw my first hitchhiker being a loving pair of foreigners who couldn’t speak English but loved to travel and another being known as “The Hurricane” who would constantly dare me to do something stupid during a trip, such as drinking and driving which resulted in the first failure on the road.
Other times the trip can go a completely different way, with players finding a hippy woman who is eager and chatty, a mechanic that wants to help soup-up the player’s car, a convict that is on the run from the police and seeking a ride, and even a songwriter looking to make it big with his next gig, once he figures out what his next big hit song will be. These characters all will chatter amongst themselves and the player as they drive along even if the player can’t select any direct dialogue options themselves, outside of random thought bubbles that appear here and there and can trigger bonuses or debuffs depending on the player’s selection.
It is also through many of these hitchhikers that they will also obtain other potential endings other than the Festival. Encountering a man promoting a race will give players the option to equip their car with enough gear to challenge the race and try to win the rally, another might see the player trying to help the convict escape to freedom, or even simply taking on side-jobs such as hunting down a missing cat for someone to try and gain some cash or stumbling upon a lost child and having to drive around to find her father after they got separated by getting on the wrong bus. These types of variations make it so players will often see something new almost every time they play through the game, really emphasizing the concept of it being about the journey, not the destination, though the Hurricane does seem to be the most common hitchhiker in my journeys.
Gameplay
Keep Driving is the type of game that does its best to avoid sticking into any one single “box” of a genre even though it is basically a roguelike at its core. Players will select their vehicle, with sedan being the first one available at first, truck unlocked upon completing a single run, and musclecar seemingly unlocked upon completing the great race ending, or at least in my case, and then set out on the road with their little chosen care package, selecting different pathways and roads to drive down and “complete” as they make their way to their destination all while encountering various obstacles in their path. Plus at the same time, players must manage their inventory by cramming items into their trunk in unique ways to try and carry everything they might need and more for the journey ahead, while keeping useful items in the glovebox for quick use during obstacles.
These obstacles are what the game considers “battles” and while it is possible to accelerate past them, players will suffer every hit from them to do so which means dealing with a problem is usually far safer. Battles are handled through selecting skills that the player has and matching the icons of the skills with the “threat icons” from the obstacle. Players may also use items within their glovebox to do the same and any time that a skill or item is used “perfectly” by lining it up properly players will also get an extra turn to remove more threats. These threats range from those that drain the player’s energy, gas tank, car durability, and even wallet somehow. Not every threat is going to attack every time, meaning players can prioritize which icon to eliminate first, especially since the player must manage their own energy level and “skill uses” to finish an obstacle. Only upon sleeping, either inside the car or at an inn, can players regenerate their skill uses.
As players finish various each stretch of road they’ll gain skill points and any hitchhikers they have with them will also gain EXP for every obstacle players complete. Players will use skill points obtained to unlock additional “attacks” that can be used during the battles and the hitchhikers, as they level up, will also gain unique attacks of their own that can generally be beneficial such as the ability to remove one of every type of threat, disarming an attacking icon, or even shifting icons around to better fit the player’s skills. For the most part, every skill, both the player and the hitchhikers’ have a limited number of use and cost Energy to use and this means players will need to manage things like their energy level and also use their cash to keep their car repaired and fueled up for the road ahead.
In fact, cash can sometimes be one of the hardest aspects of the game to deal with as players will find that they will need to always be growing tired and hungry as they approach a new location, requiring eating and a cup of coffee or a solid nap at the cost of a bit of car durability. That being said, players can also obtain various traits as they progress through a run that make certain elements easier, unlock additional skill trees that remain unlocked in every single run in the future, and purchase car upgrade parts that are also permanently available for future runs, though they’ll lose any other items in the vehicle. This means that while players may not make it their first time around, they will likely have a far easier time the next time through once they’ve gotten a few upgrades and the hang of things.
One thing that is worth noting is that while Keep Driving is far from a difficult game, it also feels like it starts to get a bit too simple at times unless players end up doing something drastically awful such as drive drunk or find themselves trying to negotiate with a cop with a convict hiding in the backseat. This is especially true on subsequent runs where players will have stronger vehicles right out of the gate, with higher durability due to improved brakes or tires, headlights to lower night time threats, a roof rack for extra luggage, a complete heating and cooling unit that makes players immune to cold and hot statuses, and even padded seats that provide armor to tank a hit or two at the start of every encounter.
Also, thanks to the game’s random factor, it is entirely likely players will find themselves running into the same type of encounters over and over again, sometimes on the same stretch of road, like two sets of fallen rocks or literally three skating children on the same road, or never encountering a certain hitchhiker they’ve never met before which might encourage replayability but is also discouraging.
Audio & Visuals
It is nice to note that YCJY Games has handled the art of Keep Driving excellently as it not only manages to keep a retro style aesthetic but also manages to make everything completely legible and easy to see at the same time. The characters that players come across and their unique portraits are more detailed than one would expect and the various objects that players encounter in the road are also as ridiculous looking and as common as one would think when traveling long distances, especially when driving through country roads or busy city streets. The cars themselves also have some decent variety to their appearance and players can customize the look of their car for cheap with spray paint and various decals. One nice touch is the fact that the player’s car can even get caked up with mud and be stuck that way if driving through a muddy road, only coming clean if it is repaired, even if there is no actual damage.
There is no voice work of any kind throughout the game but Keep Driving more than makes up for it by packing a massive collection of background music for players to swap through and unlock as they make their way through their numerous journeys. Initially players will start with only a small collection of CDs that they can have shuffle or create a setlist of six songs of their own choosing, unlocking more CDs by randomly encountering people in rest stops, buying them in shops, or even getting them as gifts or upon completing certain endings. These songs range all over the place from zen driving music that is easy to go with the flow of to hardcore heavy metal.
Overall
Keep Driving is the type of game where players can sit down for a moment, saying they’ll only do one run or maybe only part of a run, and look at the clock only to find out they’ve spent the last few hours not only completing a run but starting yet another one with how simple but enjoyable it is. It is entirely possible to fall into a simple rhythm of clearing obstacles and selecting destinations all while a wonderful soundtrack plays in the background, giving players plenty of reason to sink hours into the game. Unfortunately those that do will find themselves seeing that some of the challenge vanishes and the randomness of encounters and hitchhikers is a bit more annoying than some may prefer.
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