Your First Step Into the Arena Begins Today

Shanghai, China — 8 May, 2025 | Be among the first to shape the future of Etheria — before the gates open to the world on June 5. The Final Beta Test for Etheria: Restart is now officially live with players able to sign up via the Apple store, Google Play, or on PC through the official website. For the first time, hyperlinkers can check out payment features with special bonuses – while these will not carry over past the test period, any purchases will come with multiple rebates at launch. 

Developed by XD Games, Etheria: Restart is an ethereal hero RPG and live arena experience that blends cinematic visuals, deep strategic combat, and customizable squad-building. This is the final test before Etheria: Restart goes live worldwide, giving participants the opportunity to experience high stakes PvE content such as Threshold quests, the rogue-like Ember Ruins, and also a new gacha system; 100 Crystals per summon with no 50/50 RNG.

In the beta, players can test their might in new PvE challenges, including Anisync Echoes where boss mechanics will evolve dynamically, as well as the survival gauntlet Phantom Theater with scaling difficulty. In addition to these exciting challenges, there will be three new PvP systems: 

• Real-Time Arena (RTA) – Competitive draft-style PvP battles
• Guild vs Guild (GvG) – Tactical warfare between player alliances
• Etheria World Summit (EWS) – A global stage for competitive PvP tournaments

The summit will provide Etheria: Restart players with a chance to showcase their skills on an international scale. It will include structured qualifiers to fight for place in the main event, and knockout-style championship brackets to decide on the ultimate victor, all broadcast live for fans across the globe. Plus, those who are ranked high enough in the final test’s Summit Arena will get the chance to be invited to the first official tournament after launch!

Etheria: Restart delivers rich 3D visuals and immersive real-time combat control, redefining what mobile and cross-platform RPGs can be. With hundreds of team customization options, plus the first chance to play brand-new SSR Animus Freya, there’s plenty to give players a taste of Etheria ahead of the full launch. 

The final Closed Beta will run from May 8 to launch on June 5, at which point any purchases made will be compensated with in-game rewards. Players can pre-register in the Apple store, Google Play, or via the official website. 

XD Games

Founded in 2003, XD Games. is a global video games developer and publisher with extensive experience across development, publishing and operations. As of 2022, XD has 38 free-to-play and paid games with over 50 million monthly active users worldwide. In addition, TapTap — a mobile games community and app store — was launched by XD in 2016 and is estimated to currently have 44 million monthly active users. 

XD’s mission is to assemble like-minded talented games industry craftspeople with a common goal of touching the hearts of players around the world. XD produces games of the finest quality with passion, offering a pure gaming experience, and encouraging players of all ages to embrace the unique joy of video gaming.

Complex indie action-RPG Empyreal available now – Enter the Monolith on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK – 8 May 2025: Gather your courage, mercenary. Your time has come. Empyreal, the complex debut action-RPG from indie developer Silent Games, is launching today on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation®5, and Xbox Series X|S. Empyreal is priced at £24.99/$29.99/€29.99, with a 10% launch discount on Steam.

Publisher: Secret Mode | Developer: Silent Games | Formats: PC, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S 

Empyreal sees players exploring an imposing Monolith in a far-flung corner of the galaxy, which perhaps contains answers to the universe’s greatest mysteries. Build your ultimate mercenary with a wide range of equipment and abilities, battle deadly automatons in ferocious battles, and aid the Expedition in their quest to uncover the truth of our world.

You won’t have to face the Monolith alone. Through Empyreal’s asynchronous multiplayer, players can send gifts through the aether to aid their fellow mercenaries, mail items to friends, trade world-altering Cartograms, and sacrifice Reset Charges to help the fallen.

Empyreal is available now on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

About Empyreal
Empyreal is a complex and challenging action RPG from Silent Games, where players must enter an enigmatic and ancient monolith to seek out hidden revelations that promise to transform our understanding of creation itself.

Features:

• Stand against formidable foes; your only hope of victory lies in mastering a unique and complex combat system
• A memorable cast of characters, with personal questlines and multiple endings for each one
• A beautiful but shattered ancient world. Explore breathtaking environments filled with hidden details
• Customise your character with a vast array of equipment and collect armour sets that confer powerful bonuses
• Upgrade and modify the loot you find
• Unlock new abilities to personalise your playstyle

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1377700

Empyreal is available on PC, PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S today, priced at £24.99/$29.99/€29.99, with a 10% launch discount on Steam.

About Secret Mode

Secret Mode is an independent publisher and the winner of the Ukie Best UK Publisher 2024 award and the Debug Indie Game Best Influencer Marketing 2025 award. Our titles include triple-BAFTA-winner Still Wakes the Deep, A Little to the Left, Wobbledogs, Loddlenaut, and upcoming indie action RPG Empyreal. We believe that games are for everyone, and that creativity has no limits. We believe quality and fun are everything. 

About Silent Games

Silent Games is a video game studio founded in 2018 by a team of veteran developers. Having spent many years as part of successful teams, the goal now is to build a studio with a specific focus on high quality, complex, and feature-rich Action RPGs that players will enjoy for years to come.

Read their tangled thoughts and dictate their choices, in a narrative game that follows seven people’s lives in modern day Milan

Milan, Italy, May 8th 2025: Independent studio We Are Muesli has announced In Their Shoes, a new slice-of-life mumblecore narrative game available to wishlist now on Steam. Launching on PC and mobile in 2026, the game is set in present-day Milan and explores the everyday lives of seven individuals through 49 short, interactive stories called “Moments.” The project has already secured a nomination for A MAZE. 2025 independent and arthouse games awards in Berlin, setting itself up as one to keep an eye on in the genre.

Watch the trailer below and prepare for a 2026 launch on PC and Mobile!

From intimate conversations to silent reflections, each Moment captures a fleeting yet meaningful situation, exploring each character’s lived experience, sorting through their tangled thoughts and dictating their reactions. Players are encouraged to make small decisions, mostly at their own pace, with some real-time interactions when time sensitive activities occur, that reveal character, context, and connection. What emerges is not one story, but many, told through shifting perspectives and grounded in the texture of ordinary life.

In Their Shoes unfolds like a fragmented diary. Players can piece the timeline together, discover 26 hidden biographical details for each character, and let the city itself become part of the narrative, all set to a rich, combinatory lo-fi soundtrack and detailed, Intimistic visuals.

Key Features:

• 49 playable Moments, each a self-contained story that together combine to create an extraordinary puzzle
• 7 characters, each with a distinct voice and rhythm, discover their personalities, identities, and their place in Milan
• Real-time dialogue combined with normal choices to direct the story, and timed choices in high pressure Moments
• Unlock an original soundtrack as you keep playing, with each story revealing new tracks, distinct ambiences and acoustic moods, all created by Nicolò Sala.

Grab the trailer and assets here

“In Their Shoes is not about grand narratives or heroic arcs. It’s about the way people live, think, relate, and get through the day, inspired by a city very close to our hearts, Milan,” share Claudia Molinari and Matteo Pozzi, Game Directors at We Are Muesli. “We wanted to make something honest and grounded, where even the smallest gesture has weight, and where you are made to pause and reflect about your actions and choices, about the feelings of each individual, how they perceive themselves, how they’re treated by others, and how they should ultimately react to the little big problems that affect them, as they navigate the relationships and the city around them.”

In Their Shoes is coming to PC and Mobile in 2026! Why not wishlist the game on Steam today, join the Discord and follow the studio on Instagram?

About We Are Muesli:

We Are Muesli is an independent and unconventional game development studio founded in 2013 and based in Milan, Italy. Known for their award winning art and narrative projects rooted in culture and history, the studio’s previous works include the multi award winning Visual Novels like CAVE! CAVE! DEUS VIDET. and Venti Mesi, the abstract local co-op Siheyuan, as well as Escape RoomsLudmilla, Ventiquattro Elle, and other artistic projects presented at international festivals and institutions worldwide.

With In Their Shoes, the studio continues its tradition of blending storytelling with social reflection, this time releasing the title as a videogame project for PC and Mobile. In Their Shoes invites players to engage with identity, routine, and emotion not through spectacle, but through presence, the quiet, human kind that usually slips by unnoticed.

Want to know more? Visit the website here: https://wearemuesli.it/ 

Acclaimed Animation Studio Behind Fire Force and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is Set to Deliver an All-New Exciting Isekai Battle Action Story!

Sydney, Australia (May 8, 2025) – From acclaimed animation studio david production, best known for Fire Force, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Cell’s at Work!, and 2022’s Urusei Yatsura, comes their first original animated series Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse, which will stream on Crunchyroll day-and-date on July 3 around the world excluding Asia as new episodes broadcast weekly in Japan.

Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse is being directed by Hideya Takahashi (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind; 2022’s Urusei Yatsura), who also created the original concept. It is an original story written by Fujiko Sakuno, with an original plot by Akuto Sato. The series composition was written by Hayashi Mori, who previously wrote the screenplay for the animated feature film Drifting Home and the series composition for Cells at Work! Code Black and Sand Land: The Series.

Onmyo Kaiten Re:Birth Verse Official Synopsis:

Narihira Takeru is a delinquent who often thinks about Tsukimiya, the girl who appears in his dreams. After an unexpected accident, Takeru finds himself in a parallel universe, and the world that Tsukimiya lives in. When Takeru and Tsukimiya are slain by a monster, he awakens again and realizes he has leapt through time. Now, Takeru must train with Abe Seimei to fight for Tsukimiya’s life!

Additional staff credits include character design by Kazuaki Morita (Classroom of the Elite; Assassination Classroom); world and setting research by Katsuie Shibata; and the music is composed by Masahiro Tokuda (You are Ms. Servant; ONE PIECE FAN LETTER).

Japanese voice cast and characters:

• Narihira Takeru voiced by Taihi Kimura (Flower and Asura)
• Tsukimiya voiced by Maaya Uchida (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!)
• Abeno Seimei voiced by Ryohei Kimura (My Happy Marriage)
• Astunaga voiced by Kaito Ishikawa (My Hero Academia)
• Yura voiced by Anna Nagase (ZENSHU)
• Kazura voiced by Marina Inoue (Attack on Titan)
• Shino voiced by Chihaya Yoshitake (Love Live! Superstar!!)

About Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is the global anime brand that fuels fans’ love of anime. With the ambition to make anime an even bigger part of pop culture, Crunchyroll offers fans the ultimate anime experience and destination centered around a premium streaming service. Crunchyroll has the largest dedicated anime library, an immersive world of events, exciting theatrical releases, unique games, must-have merchandise, timely news, and more. Anime is for everyone and is accessible to stream across territories through Crunchyroll—whether on the go on mobile, through gaming consoles and big-screen devices at home, or on desktops anywhere.

Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.

Ship Graveyard Simulator 2, the popular game where players dismantle shipwrecks, is making its way to Nintendo Switch. This sequel brings a variety of upgrades, including the ability to break down massive ship components. The base version also includes the Warships DLC, which introduces powerful military vessels. The Nintendo Switch release is set for May 8. The game is already available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Developed by Polish studio Games Incubator, the simulator originally launched on PC and was well-received by players. On Steam, Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 currently holds a 79% positive rating from over 2,600 reviews.

The Nintendo Switch version is being published by Ultimate Games S.A. The game will also be compatible with the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 thanks to backward compatibility.

Nintendo eShop Link – https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/ship-graveyard-simulator-2-switch/

Tear Down Shipwrecks

Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 puts players in the boots of a shipbreaking worker—one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. This new installment expands the scrapyard into a sprawling beach littered with a wide range of wrecks.

Gameplay revolves around exploring wrecked ship decks and salvaging valuable parts. Players will cut, break, and weld different components, then sell off the recovered parts and materials to upgrade their tools and gear.

The sequel refines the proven gameplay mechanics while introducing brand-new elements. You can now use specialized cranes and massive containers to handle the largest chunks of wreckage.

On Nintendo Switch, the base version of Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 comes bundled with the Warships DLC. This expansion features giant military ships—and a Geiger counter, since some wrecks may contain radioactive materials.

Key Features of Ship Graveyard Simulator 2:

• Dismantling shipwrecks
• Cutting, breaking, and welding parts
• Colossal sea wrecks to explore
• Trading salvaged parts and raw materials
• One of the world’s riskiest professions
• Warships DLC included with the base game

The release date for Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 on Nintendo Switch is set for May 8, 2025.

Cybernetically superior developer Peculiar Pixels and recently-oiled publisher Devolver Digital are proud to present BOTSU, the ultimate robo-sports showdown!

Compete online or via split-screen and prove your mechanical mettle in 3 chaotic physics-based ragdoll battlesports, using your customisable android athlete to sprint, jump, flip, climb, breakdance, fly, and fight around the arena as you play…

BOX-BALL
Take to the field as two teams of battling bots compete to score goals with hydraulic precision in football, basketball, beachball, and legally distinct wizard sportsball. Just don’t hold onto that ball for too long or you might find yourself playing an explosive penalty.

STOCKPILE
Exert android superiority over opposing teams by stealing their stock by any means necessary. These bots aren’t playing for the love of the game, folks, this is all about robo-dominance. 

SUMO SURVIVAL
Outlast your opponents because the floor is lava! It’s the ultimate test of chrome-clad chaos. No move is too dirty, no blow is too low and you strike to stand atop the mechanical mountain as the BOTSU Champion.

Party up in 4-player split-screen and either battle against each other or go head-to-head with online teams, 4 versus 4, in matches with up to 8 players.

Combine acrobatics with combat in the world’s most ridiculous display of physics-based fighting, then cool off in a sandbox social space where you can hang out with your fellow bots, play casual games, or upgrade and customize your gear.

BOTSU is coming to PC later this year, but you can get a taste of the action right now in our Steam demo. See you in the arena!

SACRAMENTO – May 7, 2025 – The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) welcomes three new directors to its board: Tiziano Giardini, Jennifer Estaris, and Dr. Pedro Zambon. 

Tiziano Giardini is a games ecosystem strategist and builder committed to empowering developers and growing the global games sector. He co-founded IGDA Italy with a group of enthusiastic volunteers in Turin, building it into a thriving, nationwide chapter with regular monthly events and nationwide partnerships. At 34BigThings, one of Italy’s leading game studios, he works between production and business development, as well as leading Quickload, the studio accelerator for early-stage teams. Outside the studio, he has been involved in a number of ventures in gaming, innovation, and entrepreneurship. As a member of the IGDA Incubator & Accelerator Special Interest Group, he is an active facilitator of knowledge exchange between global and local initiatives. On the IGDA board, he brings a systems-level perspective, with an emphasis on creating more robust connections, infrastructures, and opportunities for developers globally.

Jennifer Estaris game directed Monument Valley 3, Monument Valley 2’s The Lost Forest, and Subway Surfers, and is a passionate advocate for climate-conscious game development. With a rich background in narrative and design, Jennifer brings a unique intersection of creativity and purpose to the IGDA board. She volunteers with the IGDA Climate Special Interest Group (SIG) and with Playing for the Planet where she serves on the Advisory Council and Co-Chairs the Storytelling Committee. Jennifer enjoys helping the global game developer community better understand and address the industry’s environmental and societal impact.

Dr. Pedro Zambon is a researcher, industry consultant, and advocate for the sustainable growth of game development ecosystems across Latin America and the Global South. Pedro is the co-founder and vice chair of the IGDA Incubation & Acceleration Special Interest Group, and founder of Savegame.dev, an initiative focused on policy design, incubation strategies, and empowering local game communities. As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at Utrecht University’s Collaborative Technologies Lab, Pedro leads research on collaborative practices and talent coordination in game development, including the creation of TeamMeUp, a platform designed to enhance team formation and networking among game creators. Now joining the IGDA Board of Directors, Pedro brings deep expertise in emerging markets, public funding strategies, research-driven decision-making, and international collaboration.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Tiziano, Jennifer, and Pedro to the IGDA Board,” said Jakin Vela, Executive Director of the IGDA. “Each of them brings an inspiring commitment to equity, innovation, and global collaboration. Their combined expertise will help us build a stronger, more inclusive future for game developers worldwide.”

The IGDA will be saying farewell to Margaret Krohn, Natasha Skult, Rami Ismail, and Guy Blomberg, all of whom concluded their terms and significantly contributed to IGDA’s efforts in expanding its global support initiatives, mentorship experiences, and event presence.

About the IGDA

The International Game Developers Association is the largest nonprofit membership organization serving game developers worldwide. The IGDA is committed to advancing the careers and enhancing the lives of game developers by connecting members with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community.

For more information, please visit www.igda.org.

Keeping a respectable distance from some of the more peckish locals is the order of the day here

El Segundo, California – May 07, 2025 | After the necessarily brief tour of Roger De Moul’s house and a daring escape across a makeshift scaffold in God Save Birmingham’s first gameplay outing, the PAX build offers quite a bit more fresh air and exercise.

Still in pre-alpha, this gameplay video leans more into the foraging and barricading necessary to navigate your way around mediaeval Birmingham. Armed with nothing but a pitchfork and your wits, it’s representative of a more inexperienced main protagonist and his early battle for survival in an unforgiving environment.

Prior to their participation in PAX East with a hands-on demo, Ocean Drive Studio has released this unedited gameplay trailer. The trailer showcases up-to-date gameplay of the pre-alpha build which includes already developed and optimized gameplay features and content.

Ocean Drive Studio is planning to share their development progress regularly which will show the progress towards the earlier gameplay reveal trailer.

Players can wishlist God Save Birmingham on Steam today! 

About Kakao Games

Founded in 2016, Kakao Games is a leading publisher of online and mobile games, responsible for releasing titles including Pearl Abyss’s Black Desert Online (serviced in North America and Europe until early 2021), KRAFTON’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (serviced in Korea), XLGAMES’s ArcheAge (service in North America, Europe and Oceania), Nimble Neuron’s Survival MOBA Eternal Return (serviced in North America, Europe and Oceania), Kong Studios’ Guardian Tales (serviced in North America, Europe, Latin America and Oceania), and Nineark’s Eversoul (serviced in North America and Europe).

 About Ocean Drive Studio

Ocean Drive Studio, a subsidiary of Kakao Games, is a company dedicated to developing and servicing games that resonate with global fans who love the same genres that their developers know and are passionate about. The studio gained attention with the release of its first game, the turn-based tactical RPG Lost Eidolons, on Steam, PS5, and Xbox. Building on this success, they are working on the second game in the same genre, Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, as well as other titles including the roguelite shooter Section 13, the physics-based sandbox survival game God Save Birmingham, and an action RPG based on the IP Sword Master Youngest Son,. Ocean Drive Studio aims to deliver unique and engaging gaming experience to gamers around the world through these diverse game genres.

STOCKHOLM — MAY 7, 2025 — Paradox Arc and Kodo Linija today released a new update for their game Stardeus introducing Ship Combat. Stardeus is a captivating colony simulation game, available in Steam Early Access, that places players aboard a damaged starship, tasked with commanding drones, safeguarding fragile human survivors, and exploring a procedurally generated universe brimming with complexity.

The Ship Combat update introduces ship-to-ship combat and NPC ships from various factions. Players can engage these ships in battle, while NPC ships may also fight among themselves. Additionally, NPC ships can interact with the player in various ways outside of combat too offering trading opportunities.

The update also improves Hyperspace travel, including new engine types that allow warping directly to distant sectors. Another new feature, Return Beacons, lets players mark and revisit previously explored locations for fast travel.

Finally, the update adds new story events, a quest, weapons and more! The full changelog can be found here.

About Paradox Arc

Paradox ARC incubates and publishes deep, replayable games from studios with great ideas, including the titles Across the Obelisk, Mechabellum and Starminer.

Our mission is to cultivate long-term relationships with talented teams from around the world, build an exciting portfolio for players to enjoy over many years, and find future video game franchises for Paradox Interactive.

Paradox Arc is an initiative that is wholly owned and financed by Paradox Interactive.

For more information, please visit:
www.paradoxinteractive.com/our-games/paradox-arc

Check out Section 13, Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch and God Save Birmingham at PAX East

El Segundo, California – May 7, 2025 | As PAX East gets underway, Kakao Games and Ocean Drive Studio are gearing up to share three of their latest titles with attendees. Check out twin-stick sci-fi shooter Section 13’s latest levels, discover the mysterious world of roguelite tactical RPG Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, and fight off Brummie zombies in God Save Birmingham, all at Booth 15035 at PAX East.

Section 13

The S2P Corporation has had a containment breach at its top-secret facility, and it’s up to Agents Red, Boy Scout, Beaker and Scalpel to get to the bottom of it. Either solo or in a team of two to three players, agents must traverse a roguelite-style paranormal containment facility and fend off mysterious monsters in this twin-stick shooter.

At PAX East, players will be able experience all the high-octane action and thrilling combat first-hand. Throw fire, unload bullets and generally cause work-sanctioned mayhem in a sci-fi environment laced in secrets.

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch

A spin-off of the much-loved RPG Lost Eidolons, tactical roguelite Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch introduces a refreshing new take to the CRPG genre. Players will find themselves stranded on a strange island of damned souls, faced with the challenges of strategic combat which they must master if they wish to survive. The choice of allies, paths, weapons and skills will all play their part in the battle to reclaim what was lost.

Available on both PC and Switch, get a taste of this latest turn-based RPG this PAX East.

God Save Birmingham 

Beautiful British countryside, charming locals, and a horde of bloodthirsty zombies all await in upcoming survival crafting game God Save Birmingham. At PAX East, Kakao Games and Ocean Drive will transport players back in time to 14th century Birmingham – warts and all. No, literally, it’s riddled with the plague. As one of the only remaining survivors, players must forage for food and materials, craft weapons and necessities, and repel the neverending stream of zombies. 

Visitors to PAX East will be able to get a taste of all three titles at Ocean Drive Studio’s Booth 15035. With such a rich variety of titles on offer, there’s sure to be something for every gamer.  

 About Ocean Drive Studio

Ocean Drive Studio, a subsidiary of Kakao Games, is a company dedicated to developing and servicing games that resonate with global fans who love the same genres that their developers know and are passionate about. The studio gained attention with the release of its first game, the turn-based tactical RPG Lost Eidolons, on Steam, PS5, and Xbox. Building on this success, they are working on the second game in the same genre, Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, as well as other titles including the roguelite shooter Section 13, the physics-based sandbox survival game God Save Birmingham, and an action RPG based on the IP Sword Master Youngest Son,. Ocean Drive Studio aims to deliver unique and engaging gaming experiences to gamers around the world through these diverse game genres. 

About Kakao Games

Founded in 2016, Kakao Games is a leading publisher of online and mobile games, responsible for releasing titles including Pearl Abyss’ Black Desert Online (serviced in North America and Europe until early 2021), KRAFTON’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (serviced in Korea), Kong Studios’ Guardian Tales (serviced in North America, Europe, Latin America and Oceania), and Nineark’s Eversoul (serviced in North America and Europe.