Sony is rolling out mandatory age verification for PlayStation users who want to keep using communication features, according to an email from Sony Interactive Entertainment that started landing in player inboxes this week. Messages, voice chat, and party features will all sit behind the new check, with a global rollout planned for later in 2026 and a confirmed start date of June 2026 for the UK and Ireland.

Players who skip the verification step will still be able to play games, earn trophies, and use the PlayStation Store. The restriction only targets the social layer of the platform, which is where most of the regulatory pressure around under-age users has been focused over the past year.

What Sony’s Email Actually Says

The email, first reported by Insider Gaming, frames the change as part of Sony’s compliance with global regulations. It tells users they will need to verify their age later this year to continue using PlayStation communication features such as messages and voice chat, and that other services will remain accessible without verification.

Sony has not attached a specific global date to the notice. The company has, however, locked in a June 2026 start for the UK and Ireland, where the verification page is already live and some users are being prompted to complete the process ahead of enforcement.

Which Features Get Locked Behind Verification

The list of affected features goes further than just console-level chat. Based on the rollout details confirmed for the UK and Ireland, verification will gate communication, broadcasting, and certain in-game functions.

• Joining a party and voice chat
• Text messaging between players
• Third-party chat programs launched through the console, including Discord
• In-game chat inside supported titles
• Sharing user-generated content
• Broadcasting features

Everything outside that social layer, including single-player sessions, online matchmaking that doesn’t require comms, trophies, and PlayStation Store purchases, stays available whether or not a player verifies.

How The Verification Works

Sony is using Yoti, a third-party identity company, to handle the checks in the UK and Ireland. Players in those regions can verify through a face scan or by uploading a government-issued ID. The assumption across reporting is that Yoti will remain the provider when the rollout expands, though Sony has not formally named a partner for other regions.

Yoti markets itself on a privacy-first approach, but the company has a recent record worth flagging. In January, Spain’s data-protection regulator AEPD fined Yoti $1.1 million for mishandling biometric data collected from users. That detail is likely to follow Sony’s rollout into every market it expands to.

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Age Verification Is Becoming A Platform-Wide Trend

Sony is not the first major gaming platform to move in this direction, and the push is being driven as much by regulation as by company policy. Several countries and US states adopted age-verification laws through 2025, framed around protecting minors from inappropriate content. The momentum has carried into 2026, even as privacy researchers continue to raise doubts about whether the laws actually achieve their stated goals.

Discord

Discord announced its own verification system for rollout by March 2026 and faced significant backlash from users worried about data handling. The company pushed its plans to the end of 2026 and now says most users will not need to verify at all, a walk-back tied to concerns about personal data and anonymity.

Roblox

Roblox introduced mandatory verification in January, requiring users to upload a photo before accessing in-game chat. The rollout has not gone smoothly, with ongoing questions about how well the system works and how the collected data is handled.

US Legislation

The US House of Representatives is currently reviewing the Parents Decide Act, which could go considerably further than any platform-level measure by requiring age verification before users can access a computer’s operating system at all.

The Privacy Question Sony Will Have To Answer

Biometric verification at this scale raises the same concerns that have dogged Discord and Roblox. Critics have pointed to the risk that identity data could be leaked, used to track consumer behaviour across apps, or handed to governments without clear user consent. Sony’s choice of provider puts that concern on the record before the global rollout even begins, given the AEPD ruling earlier this year.

For players, the practical trade-off is straightforward. Skip verification and keep playing, but lose access to the social features that define how a lot of people actually use the console. Verify, and trust that Sony and its partner handle the resulting data responsibly.

What Else Is Changing On PlayStation

The verification rollout lands alongside another significant shift. Sony plans to phase out all PlayStation Network branding by September 2026, though the online services themselves are not going anywhere. PSN is expected to return under a new name rather than be dismantled, suggesting a broader rebrand of the platform’s online identity is in motion at the same time the verification system is being introduced.

A firm global date for the verification requirement is still the main missing piece. Until Sony confirms one, players outside the UK and Ireland have time to decide how they want to handle the check, but the direction of travel across the industry makes it clear that opting out of verification will increasingly mean opting out of the social side of gaming.

The post PlayStation Age Verification Is Coming For Chat and Voice Features Later This Year appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sony has officially confirmed the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup for April 2026, and it’s a sizeable drop. Eight games are landing on 21 April, headlined by Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, The Crew Motorfest, and Football Manager 26 Console for Extra and Premium subscribers, plus the PS2 cult classic Wild Arms 4 making its way to the Premium-tier Classics catalogue.

It’s a noticeably stronger month than the recent average, with a mix of major first-party content, a competent racing alternative, and a few left-field picks that genre fans have been waiting on. Here’s the full lineup, what each game actually offers, and what you need to know before download day.

Full PS Plus April 2026 Game Catalog Lineup

All eight titles unlock together on 21 April. Seven are available to anyone subscribed at the Extra tier or higher, while Wild Arms 4 sits behind the Premium paywall as part of the Classics catalogue.

One quirk to flag on Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered: PS5 owners get the proper remastered edition, while PS4 players will be downloading the older Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition instead. Same starting point, different versions.

The Headline Additions

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

Easily the biggest get of the month. Guerrilla Games’ open-world debut returns with visuals and systems brought up to par with Horizon Forbidden West, which is a substantial overhaul rather than a quick polish. If you’ve never played as Aloy or only made it through the original on PS4, this is the version to commit to. The post-apocalyptic world of tribal hunters and towering machines still holds up, and the remaster removes most of the technical reasons people bounced off it the first time.

The Crew Motorfest

Ubivisoft’s Hawaii-set arcade racer is the closest thing PS5 owners are getting to Forza Horizon for a while, given Forza Horizon 6 isn’t coming to PlayStation at launch next month. Motorfest packs hundreds of vehicles and a festival-style event structure spanning Honolulu’s streets, rainforest trails, mountain passes, and volcanic terrain. It’s not the deepest racing sim on the platform, but as a free addition it slots neatly into the gap.

Football Manager 26 Console

The big one for football fans. This entry marks the first time the Premier League has been fully licensed in the series, which is a genuinely meaningful change for a franchise where authenticity is half the appeal. The console version comes with a rebuilt Match Day presentation, fresh motion capture, and refined controller shortcuts that make tactical tweaks between highlights faster. Worth picking up just for the league licence alone if you’ve been on the fence.

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The Rest Of The April Lineup

Warriors: Abyss

Koei Tecmo’s roguelite take on the Warriors formula. Over 100 historical heroes are summonable as party members, and the loop centres on running successive trials of hell with combined hero abilities. It’s a niche genre crossover, but the deck-of-warriors mechanic gives it more legs than a straight Musou clone.

Squirrel with a Gun

The title is the pitch. You’re a rodent, you’ve got firearms, and you’re escaping a secret underground facility while collecting golden acorns. It’s a sandbox shooter slash puzzle platformer that leans entirely into its absurdity, and it’s the kind of palate-cleanser that works well as a free download rather than a full-price purchase.

The Casting of Frank Stone

Supermassive Games’ branching-narrative horror, set within the Dead by Daylight universe. Standard Until Dawn-style mechanics where decisions ripple through the story and characters can live or die based on your choices. Sony positioning this on the catalogue ahead of Supermassive’s next title, Directive 8020, releasing next month is no coincidence.

Monster Train

Long-overdue arrival on PlayStation for one of the most respected roguelike deckbuilders of the past few years. The hook is defending three vertical battlegrounds simultaneously, with six monster clans, 25 covenant difficulty levels, and over 280 cards to build around. If you’ve burnt out on Slay the Spire or Balatro, this is the next logical stop.

Wild Arms 4

The Premium-only addition, and the one with the most surprising backstory. Originally released on PS2 in 2005 in Japan and 2006 in the West, Wild Arms 4 was the entry that broke from the series’ western-themed aesthetic and divided fans at launch, though it’s since picked up a cult following. The new release adds up-rendered visuals, quick save, rewind, and custom video filters. It’s also being sold standalone on the PlayStation Store for $14.99 USD if you’d rather not subscribe to Premium.

This addition also means the bulk of the Wild Arms series is now playable on modern PlayStation hardware. Wild Arms 1 through 3 were already available, leaving only Wild Arms 5 and the PSP spinoff Wild Arms XF outside the modern catalogue.

Don’t Forget The Monthly Games Deadline

Separate from the Game Catalog drop, all PS Plus members at any tier can still claim April’s monthly games: Lords of the Fallen, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, and Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream. The deadline to add them to your library is 4 May, after which they’re gone from the free claim window. Worth grabbing now even if you don’t plan to play them immediately, since they stay in your library permanently as long as your subscription remains active.

What This Lineup Signals For The Months Ahead

April leans heavier on first-party catalogue depth than any month so far in 2026, and the Wild Arms 4 addition hints that more PS2-era classics could be on the way. The Wild Arms series isn’t a Sony-owned property, so its arrival on the Premium Classics tier suggests Sony is still actively brokering deals for legacy JRPGs rather than letting that part of the catalogue stagnate. Wild Arms 5 and Wild Arms XF remain the obvious next candidates if this lands well with subscribers.

The post PS Plus Game Catalog April 2026 Lineup Confirmed Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, The Crew Motorfest and Wild Arms 4 Headline Eight New Games appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Last of Us Online was roughly 80 percent finished when Naughty Dog cancelled it in late 2023, according to the game’s director Vinit Agarwal. In a lengthy interview with the Lance E. Lee Podcast recorded in Tokyo, Agarwal described the cancellation as “soul-crushing” and revealed he only found out the project was being axed 24 hours before Sony announced it publicly.

Agarwal joined Naughty Dog back in 2014 and spent nearly seven years working on the multiplayer spinoff, from 2016 through to its cancellation in 2023. He has since left the studio and moved to Japan to found his own game development company.

A Game That Was “Very, Very Close To Done”

During the interview, Agarwal made it clear the project wasn’t some early prototype that got shelved. The Last of Us Online had reached around 80 percent completion and was, in his words, “very very close to done.” The studio had made significant progress, and the game was performing well internally.

But Naughty Dog ultimately had to choose between two projects: the multiplayer game Agarwal was directing, or the next single-player title led by studio president Neil Druckmann. That project turned out to be Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which was revealed at The Game Awards 2024 as Naughty Dog’s first new franchise in over a decade.

“They had to pick the game that was kind of the bread and butter of the studio rather than this experimental game that I was working on,” Agarwal said. He added that he believed the multiplayer project “was going to be really big, but unfortunately couldn’t see the light of day.”

Sony’s Live-Service Push and the COVID Hangover

Agarwal traced the roots of the cancellation back to the broader industry shift that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 2020, as people were stuck at home and turning to online games to stay connected with friends, Sony poured money into live-service development. The Last of Us Online was one of the projects that benefited from that wave of investment.

The problem was that the conditions driving that boom didn’t last. As lockdowns eased and people returned to offices, gaming spending dropped and the appetite for online multiplayer titles cooled. Sony had overcommitted, and the pullback hit hard. In 2022, the company told investors it planned to have at least 10 live-service games online by 2026. By 2023, that ambition was already unravelling, with six games delayed internally and subsidiary Bungie laying off staff.

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Bungie’s Role in the Decision

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida shed some additional light on the cancellation last year in an interview with Sacred Symbols+. According to Yoshida, feedback from Destiny developer Bungie, which Sony had acquired, played a role in convincing Naughty Dog to walk away from the project. Bungie reportedly laid out what it actually takes to sustain a live-service game long term, and Naughty Dog realised the commitment would leave no room for Intergalactic.

“That was a lack of foresight,” Yoshida said. This lines up with earlier reports that Naughty Dog scaled back development following an internal review from Bungie, and that the studio went through a round of layoffs in October 2023 before the multiplayer project was officially put on ice.

A Deeply Personal Project

What makes the cancellation sting even more is just how personal the project was for Agarwal. He explained that the core vision for The Last of Us Online was inspired by a real-life armed robbery he experienced in Austin, Texas in 2012, where two men held him and a friend at gunpoint with shotguns over what amounted to a few dollars and a McDonald’s meal on a stolen credit card.

That feeling of desperation, of being hunted for scraps, became the foundation of the game’s design. Set in the post-apocalyptic Last of Us universe, players would scavenge for supplies in a world where other players were one of the most dangerous threats. Agarwal described playing an early build where he hid from another player in overgrown grass while they searched for him, and said the tension authentically recreated that survival instinct he felt during the robbery.

“It was such a personally meaningful project to me that it killed me that people couldn’t play it,” Agarwal said. That experience ultimately drove his decision to leave Naughty Dog and start his own studio.

Sony’s Wider Live-Service Fallout

The Last of Us Online was far from the only casualty of Sony’s live-service rethink. The years since its cancellation have been rough across the board. Sony cut 900 jobs at the start of 2024. Concord, the sci-fi shooter from Firewalk Studios, was shut down just two weeks after launch, and Sony closed both Firewalk and fellow subsidiary Neon Koi. Two more unannounced live-service titles at Bluepoint Games and Bend Studio were also scrapped, with Bluepoint itself eventually being shut down entirely.

Sony is now placing its live-service hopes largely on Marathon, the upcoming title from Bungie that carries the weight of years of expectation. Beyond Sony, the broader live-service landscape remains volatile. Warner Bros. pulled the plug on MultiVersus in early 2025, Wargaming’s Steel Hunters lasted barely three months, and titles like Highguard have been permanently shut down within weeks of launching.

What Comes Next for The Last of Us

With Naughty Dog focused on getting Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet out the door, there’s no active Last of Us project in development that we know of. Studio president Neil Druckmann has teased that more Last of Us is coming eventually, but it has already been six years since The Last of Us Part II, nearly matching the gap between the first and second games. A potential Part III likely wouldn’t surface until sometime in the 2030s, possibly on the PlayStation 6.

The post The Last of Us Online Was 80% Complete Before Naughty Dog Pulled the Plug appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sony has confirmed the PlayStation Plus monthly games for April 2026, and it’s a solid lineup. All PS Plus members can claim Lords of the Fallen, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, and Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream from Tuesday, 7 April through Monday, 4 May.

The announcement follows earlier leaks that had already revealed some of the titles, though not the full picture. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered turned out to be the surprise addition that the leaks missed.

What’s In The April 2026 PS Plus Lineup

All three titles are available to every PS Plus tier, not just Premium or Extra subscribers. You’ll have from 7 April to 4 May to add them to your library.

Lords Of The Fallen

Lords of the Fallen is a Soulslike set in an interconnected world five times larger than the original game. You play as a Dark Crusader journeying through the realms of the living and the dead to overthrow Adyr, a resurrected demon god. The game’s standout mechanic is swapping between two parallel versions of the world to solve puzzles and find new paths through its environments.

With nine character classes and hundreds of weapons, there’s a fair bit of build variety on offer. IGN scored it an 8/10, calling it “a great Soulslike” and praising the dual-world system as “an excellent twist to set it apart from the pack.” It joins PS Plus ahead of its sequel, which is set to launch later this year.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

This collection bundles Lara Croft’s first three adventures with all expansions and secret levels, brought to modern platforms with upgraded graphics. You can toggle between the remastered visuals and the original polygon look at any time, which is a neat touch for long-time fans. A new Challenge Mode lets you replay levels with custom modifiers and unlock 10 new outfits that give Lara additional abilities.

The timing of this freebie is notable. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered recently drew criticism from fans over new cosmetic additions that were accused of looking like AI-generated assets. Developer Saber Interactive’s staff who worked on the original remaster said the new additions had nothing to do with them. Publisher Aspyr denied using AI-generated art, stating the outfits “were created by our team of artists.”

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Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream

The third game in the lineup is Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream, a co-op action title built around large-scale multiplayer boss fights. The story follows Kirito after a system called Galaxia causes characters from across the Sword Art Online timeline to be displaced, bringing together allies and enemies from various story arcs.

It supports up to 20 players in a single session, split across five parties of four. There are 21 playable characters, each with a specific battlefield role, so preparation and team composition matter when tackling the high-difficulty raid bosses.

Don’t Forget March’s PS Plus Games

Before you get stuck into April’s lineup, make sure you’ve claimed March’s offerings. You have until Monday, 6 April to add PGA Tour 2K25, Monster Hunter Rise, Slime Rancher 2, and The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road to your library. Once that deadline passes, they’re gone from the monthly rotation for good.

The post PlayStation Plus April 2026 Monthly Games Lords of the Fallen, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

If you’ve been wondering just how big Roblox really is in 2025, the latest numbers are genuinely staggering. According to Matthew Ball’s State of Video Gaming 2025 report from Epyllion, Roblox recorded just over 10 billion monthly hours of playtime in 2025, compared to roughly 5 billion on Steam and just over 4 billion on PlayStation. That means Roblox was played more than PlayStation and Steam combined.

That is not a slight edge either. The gap of more than a billion hours signals a real shift in where players are spending their time.

Roblox Engagement Hits 10 Billion Monthly Hours

For comparison, Steam reached just over 5 billion monthly hours, while PlayStation recorded just over 4 billion. Combined, that brings Steam and PlayStation to roughly 9 billion monthly hours, still short of Roblox’s total.

An earlier breakdown of the same report notes that by the end of 2024, Roblox had already surpassed major console platforms in daily active users. In 2025, those daily active users increased by a further 69 percent year on year, reinforcing that this is not a one-off spike but sustained growth.

It is worth noting that PlayStation’s engagement data cited in the report comes from 2024. However, platform engagement trends tend to remain relatively consistent year to year, making it unlikely that PlayStation alone could close a billion-hour gap.

Individual Roblox Games Compete With Major Franchises

One of the most eye-opening slides in the report highlights how individual Roblox titles are now competing with some of the biggest names in gaming.

For example, Fortnite averages around 0.86 billion monthly hours of engagement. Meanwhile, the Roblox experience Grow a Garden reached approximately 0.71 billion monthly hours across a ten month period. That places a single Roblox game not far behind one of the largest live service titles in the world.

Even more surprising, Grow a Garden’s engagement figure reportedly exceeds the combined engagement of Blizzard Entertainment’s entire software lineup, which sits at around 0.69 billion monthly hours.

Another Roblox hit, Steal a Brainrot, has also attracted massive concurrent player numbers and sustained activity. These breakout experiences scale rapidly within Roblox’s ecosystem, often without traditional marketing campaigns or boxed launches.

A Different Platform Model To PlayStation And Steam

Part of what makes Roblox engagement so dominant is how the platform operates.

Unlike PlayStation and Steam, which rely heavily on major game launches to drive spikes in activity, Roblox functions as a continuous ecosystem. New experiences are released constantly, and viral hits can explode in popularity within days.

This constant turnover keeps players inside the platform rather than hopping between separate storefronts and releases. It also allows smaller teams to tap into Roblox’s global audience without the barriers that traditional publishing often brings.

The result is a platform that behaves less like a single game and more like a persistent digital space where trends shift quickly, but total engagement remains extremely high.

Gaming Attention Is Fragmenting

The broader State of Video Gaming report also points out that gaming overall is competing harder than ever with mobile apps and other forms of instant entertainment. Even within gaming, attention is fragmenting across platforms and ecosystems.

Against that backdrop, Roblox’s scale becomes even more striking. It is not just outperforming one console, it is outperforming two major ecosystems combined in terms of engagement hours.

That does not mean traditional platforms are disappearing. PlayStation and Steam remain hugely influential, especially for premium AAA releases. But when it comes to sheer time spent, Roblox is now the single most engaged gaming platform per month by a clear margin.

Roblox still faces well-documented challenges, from moderation concerns to platform governance issues. However, purely in terms of player engagement, the numbers show it has become one of the most dominant forces in modern gaming.

With user growth still climbing and viral hits continuing to emerge from within its ecosystem, it will be interesting to see whether any traditional platform can realistically close the engagement gap in the near future.

The post Roblox Played More Than PlayStation And Steam Combined In 2025 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

PlayStation has officially shut down Bluepoint Games, the studio best known for the acclaimed remakes of Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus. The closure impacts roughly 70 employees and is set to take effect next month.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg, bringing an end to a studio that had quietly built one of the strongest technical reputations under Sony’s umbrella.

Bluepoint Games Closure Confirmed By PlayStation

According to Bloomberg, PlayStation confirmed the shutdown and said the decision followed a recent business review. Around 70 staff members will be affected once the closure is finalised.

In a statement shared with Bloomberg, a PlayStation spokesperson said:

“Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community. We thank them for their passion, creativity and craftsmanship.”

While the tone of the statement is appreciative, it also confirms that the studio will not continue operating under PlayStation Studios.

The Canceled God Of War Live Service Project

Bloomberg previously reported that Bluepoint had been working on a live service game set in the God of War universe. That project was canceled in January 2025 before it was ever publicly revealed.

Following that cancellation, the studio reportedly spent much of 2025 pitching new projects internally. However, none were greenlit before the decision was made to close the studio entirely.

Under Sony’s ownership, Bluepoint had not announced a new standalone title after Demon’s Souls, though it did assist with co-development on God of War Ragnarök.

A Legacy Built On High-Quality Remakes

Bluepoint Games was founded in 2006 by former Retro Studios employees. For years, it became known as one of the industry’s most reliable remake and port specialists.

Its biggest successes were the 2018 remake of Shadow of the Colossus and the 2020 remake of Demon’s Souls, both of which were praised for modernising classic titles without losing their identity. Demon’s Souls in particular launched alongside the PlayStation 5 and became one of the console’s early showcase titles.

Beyond those flagship projects, Bluepoint also worked on collections like the God of War Collection, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, as well as support work on titles such as PlayStation All-Stars, Flower, and Titanfall.

Sony officially acquired Bluepoint in 2021, shortly after the release of Demon’s Souls.

Why The Closure Is Surprising

The shutdown is particularly striking because Bluepoint had a reputation for technical polish and consistency. Both Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus were widely praised by critics and players alike, reinforcing the studio’s reputation for handling beloved IP with care.

Despite that track record, the reported cancellation of its live service God of War project appears to have left the studio without an active production pipeline. Following what PlayStation described as a recent business review, the decision was made to close the studio rather than reposition it.

For PlayStation, the move signals continued restructuring after several shifts in live service strategy across its portfolio. For fans, it marks the end of a studio that played a key role in bringing some of PlayStation’s most celebrated classics to modern hardware.

Whether former Bluepoint staff regroup elsewhere or move into other PlayStation teams remains to be seen, but the closure leaves a noticeable gap in Sony’s remake expertise.

The post PlayStation Shuts Down Bluepoint Games, Demon’s Souls Remake Studio Closed appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Final Fantasy 9 is officially getting a new release in May 2026, and this time the spotlight is entirely on Vivi. Square Enix has announced a brand-new illustrated picture book set in the world of Final Fantasy IX, with the 48-page release launching on May 19, 2026, for $17.99 USD.

For long-time fans of the 2000 RPG, this isn’t a remake or remaster. It’s a character-focused story that expands on Vivi’s life before the events of the original game, offering fresh lore centred on one of the franchise’s most beloved characters.

Vivi Returns In A New Illustrated Prequel Story

The new book follows Vivi after he is rescued from the ocean by his grandfather, Quan. Players will remember this emotional starting point from the original game, but this release dives deeper into what happened next.

According to Square Enix’s official description, the story explores how Quan, initially believing Vivi might be food, eventually realises he is something far more special. From there, the two build a peaceful life together, sharing meals, forming friendships, and gradually shaping the worldview that defines Vivi when players first meet him in Final Fantasy IX.

The narrative builds toward the moment of Vivi’s departure, setting the emotional groundwork for the journey that unfolds in the original PlayStation classic.

Original Final Fantasy IX Creators Are Involved

One of the most reassuring details for fans is the creative team behind the project.

Kazuhiko Aoki, who served as an event designer on Final Fantasy IX, is writing the story. The illustrations are being handled by Toshiyuki Itahana, the original character designer for the game. That direct creative continuity gives this book strong ties to the original tone and visual identity of Gaia.

Early previews describe the story as gentle and heartfelt, very much in line with the character-driven storytelling that made Final Fantasy IX stand out when it first launched in July 2000.

Release Date, Price And Language Details

The illustrated book is scheduled to release on May 19, 2026, with a retail price of $17.99 USD.

The currently listed edition on the Square Enix store is in Japanese. However, given the global popularity of Final Fantasy IX and Vivi in particular, an English version is widely expected. Square Enix has not yet formally confirmed an English localisation, but anticipation is already building across fan communities.

For those wanting to revisit the original game ahead of the book’s release, Final Fantasy IX remains available digitally on modern platforms, including PlayStation storefronts.

Expanding Final Fantasy 9 Beyond The Game

This new release highlights Square Enix’s continued push into cross-media storytelling. Rather than revisiting the title through another port or remake, the publisher is expanding the universe through illustrated fiction, deepening character backstories while keeping production relatively focused.

Vivi has long been considered one of the most emotionally resonant characters in the entire Final Fantasy franchise. Exploring his childhood and relationship with Quan offers both nostalgic value for veteran players and a softer entry point for new readers who may not have played the original RPG.

With May 2026 approaching, fans will likely be watching for pre-order details and potential international editions. If the reception is strong, this could open the door to more character-focused stories set in the world of Final Fantasy IX.

The post Final Fantasy 9 Vivi Book Announced For May 2026 Release appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sony has secured a new patent describing a PlayStation controller concept that removes physical buttons entirely, replacing them with adaptive touch-based input surfaces. The filing, published in late January, outlines a highly customisable controller designed to adjust to different hand sizes, play styles, and accessibility needs, though there is no confirmation it will ever become a consumer product.

Sony Granted A New Buttonless Controller Patent

Sony Interactive Entertainment has been granted a United States patent for a controller that does not rely on traditional buttons, triggers, or sticks. The patent, identified as USPTO grant number 12533573 and first highlighted by Video Games Chronicle, was officially published on January 27, 2026, after being filed back in February 2023.

Unlike most PlayStation controller patents, which still incorporate some form of physical input, this design centres on adaptive input surfaces capable of detecting touch, taps, long presses, swipes, slides, and pressure. The concept represents a clear departure from conventional gamepad layouts rather than a minor iteration on existing designs.

How The Touchscreen Controller Would Work

According to the patent documentation, the controller replaces fixed buttons with touch-sensitive surfaces that can dynamically generate virtual controls. These controls appear and adjust based on how the player is holding the controller, allowing layouts to shift in real time.

In some illustrated implementations, the controller uses multiple touchscreens that illuminate virtual buttons, D-pads, or sticks where the player’s fingers naturally rest. However, the core patent claims do not require a screen at all. Instead, they broadly cover adaptive input surfaces, with visual feedback described as optional rather than essential.

This means the technology could theoretically be applied to a more traditional controller design that still includes some physical elements, rather than requiring a fully screen-based device.

Image Credit: Sony

Custom Layouts And Accessibility Focus

A central argument in Sony’s patent is that fixed controller layouts do not work for everyone. The company notes that standardised button placements can be uncomfortable or impractical for players with different hand sizes, physical disabilities, or unconventional play setups.

With the proposed design, players could reposition virtual buttons, resize them, or remove them entirely depending on the game. For example, a simple platformer could be mapped to a single oversized jump button, while a game that only needs a D-pad or left stick could eliminate unused inputs altogether.

Image Credit: Sony

Sony argues this approach could reduce the need to manufacture multiple specialised controllers, offering flexibility through software rather than hardware variants. At present, the company addresses accessibility through dedicated devices like the PlayStation 5 Access Controller, which launched in December 2023.

Sensors To Prevent Accidental Inputs

One potential concern with touch-based controllers is accidental input when a player rests their thumbs on the surface. Sony’s patent addresses this by referencing pressure and heat sensors capable of detecting the condition of the input surface.

While the filing does not clarify whether these sensors operate on simple on-off detection or varying sensitivity levels, the implication is that the controller could distinguish between a resting finger and an intentional press. This is a known issue in earlier touch-based controllers, such as third-party designs from the 1990s that replaced D-pads with touch panels and suffered from unintended movement.

Patent Volume And Commercial Reality

Sony files and secures a large number of patents every year, most of which never result in consumer products. Data cited from Parola Analytics shows that the Sony Group was granted 2,256 U.S. patents in 2025 alone, ranking it as the 14th most prolific patent filer, just below Dell and above Intel.

As of January 31, 2026, Sony and its subsidiaries reportedly hold more than 133,000 U.S. patents. The vast majority of these inventions have never been commercialised, making the statistical likelihood of this controller reaching market relatively low.

Could This Be Linked To PS6 Plans?

The timing of the patent’s publication has led to speculation about its relevance to Sony’s next console generation, often referred to as the PlayStation 6. However, the patent itself makes no reference to a specific console or release window.

That said, Sony has shown increasing interest in adaptive and context-aware controller technology. Recent patents have explored features such as controllers that detect whether a player is reclining or lying down and adjust inputs accordingly, as well as experimental designs involving deformable shapes or biometric sensors.

Given that accessibility is becoming a growing priority across the industry, this particular filing may have a higher chance of influencing future hardware than the average Sony patent, even if it never appears in its current form.

The post PlayStation Touchscreen Controller Patent Revealed With No Physical Buttons, Letting You Choose Button Placement Yourself appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

A new January 2026 study has revealed the most popular video game characters on the internet, and it is a familiar face sitting firmly at the top. According to fresh research from studio Galaxsys, Mario is officially the most recognisable gaming icon online right now, beating out decades of competition from across consoles, genres, and generations.

The report analysed 25 famous playable characters, measuring how often they appear and are searched for across five major online platforms. These included Google searches, Instagram hashtags, TikTok trends, and YouTube videos and channels. Each character was then given an overall Engagement Score based on their combined popularity across the web.

The results paint a clear picture of which gaming legends still dominate online culture in 2026, and which newer icons are quickly catching up.

How The Rankings Were Calculated

Galaxsys tracked online popularity using a mix of social and search data to reflect how players actually engage with gaming characters today. The study looked at Instagram hashtags for fan art and community posts, TikTok hashtags for viral trends, YouTube videos and channels for creator activity, and monthly Google searches for overall interest.

By combining all of this data, each character received a single Engagement Score, making it easier to compare long running legends with modern era favourites. You can access the complete research methodologies and findings here.

The Top 25 Most Popular Video Game Characters Online

Why Classic Characters Still Dominate

Commenting on the findings, Galaxsys CEO Hayk Sargsyan explained why characters like Pac-Man and Mario continue to outperform many modern icons. He noted that Pac-Man was one of the first games to reach everyday people, not just dedicated gamers, thanks to its simple and fun design. Mario followed a similar path but evolved continuously over decades, allowing Nintendo to build something even bigger around the character.

While newer characters may trend heavily on social media, this research shows that long standing icons still hold unmatched recognition and staying power online.

The post Mario Tops The List As The World’s Most Popular Video Game Character Online appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

PlayStation Plus is kicking off 2026 with a familiar but solid monthly line-up. Sony has confirmed the three free games coming to PlayStation Plus subscribers in January, with Need for Speed Unbound, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, and Core Keeper available to claim from January 6 through to February 2.

While December delivered five free games as part of a more generous holiday drop, January returns to the usual three-title format. Still, there is plenty here for racing fans, platformer lovers, and players who enjoy slower, more creative sandbox experiences.

When January’s PlayStation Plus Games Go Live

All three titles will be available to download starting Tuesday, January 6. Once claimed, they remain in your library permanently as long as your PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, or Premium subscription stays active.

Players also have until Monday, January 5 to add December’s games to their library, which include Lego Horizon Adventures, Killing Floor 3, The Outlast Trials, Synduality Echo of Ada, and Neon White.

Need for Speed Unbound Brings High-Speed Racing To PS5

The post PlayStation Plus January 2026 Free Games Revealed For PS5 And PS4 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.