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Last summer, horror game The Sinking City was delisted from several stores, including Steam, as developer Frogwares disputed unpaid royalties as well as publishers Bigben and Nacon allegedly demanding it hand over the source code. The game is back on Steam now, but Frogwares says it didn’t make the current version and urged players not to buy it.

Writing on its official Twitter account, Frogwares said it doesn’t “recommend the purchase of this version” and promised that more news would be coming soon.

The game is still for sale on the Xbox and PlayStation digital stores, but while its original licensing agreement also included selling the game via the Epic Games Store, it’s no longer listed there.

Frogwares alleged in 2020 that Bigben and Nacon had demanded the game’s source code and that when the studio refused, it didn’t receive financing for several months. It said packaging for the game had the studio’s name largely removed and there was even a tabletop RPG based on the IP created without its knowledge.

The ongoing dispute here isn’t the first Frogwares has found itself in. It has also accused Focus Home Interactive of removing its games from storefronts after not transferring title IDs back to the studio at the conclusion of their publishing and distribution agreement.

Frogwares continues work on new games, and Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is set to release this year. The game stars a younger version of the detective, and Frogwares is self-publishing the game. A PS5 version of The Sinking City is also out now, also self-published, but is not eligible for a free upgrade from PS4 because of the dispute.

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Who lives in a pineapple under the sea, boasts 13 seasons of kooky cartoon hijinks, and is finally fronting his third feature film? SpongeBob SquarePants! The giggling goofball with a heart of gold returns with The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run, a road trip romp that is celebrity-studded, candy-colored, and full of family-friendly humor.

It’s an average day in Bikini Bottom. An ever-ready SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) frolics with his pet snail, Gary, before heading to work as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab. Like clockwork, Mr. Krab’s pint-sized nemesis Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) will endeavor to steal the secret recipe for the delectable Krabby Patty. As always he will fail in a way hilariously embarrassing. But change is on the horizon when this aspiring “slop king” realizes the only thing standing between him and formula is the “boob savant” behind the grill. To kick SpongeBob out of the kitchen, Plankton steals Gary and sells him to the vain and dangerous Poseidon (Matt Berry), who rules over the Lost City of Atlantic City. To rescue his beloved pet, SpongeBob teams up with his BFF Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) on a quest that will take them through wild terrains, bonkers beats, and a show-stopping musical number.

Of course, Plankton, Squidward (Rodger Bumpass), Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown), and Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence) will join in on the shenanigans too. This signature cast crackles, delivering the sugar-high energy that fans have come to expect from these outlandish undersea creatures. The visual gags and banter are still gleefully silly. For instance, when SpongeBob commends Patrick for his sense of “irony,” the dopey starfish responds by ironing a shirt with comically smug satisfaction. Yet for all this familiar fun, there’s a new look to the crew.

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The hand-drawn animation originated by the late Stephen Hillenburg has been re-imagined in bouncy CGI. This is a cuddlier 3D aesthetic than was unfurled for the climax of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, where the gang took to land and briefly became superheroes. This time, the characters look like squishy toys that might spring from the screen to run amok around your living room. Their soft makeover pairs with a string of childhood flashbacks to serve as a backdoor pilot for the upcoming spinoff series, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years. Though these detours to the past are fun, they slow down the rollicking ride of this road trip comedy. Thankfully, a pit stop in the Western ghost town of Goner Gulch provides a wallop of welcome wackiness.

In this live-action setting, a parade of celebrity cameos begins, including Danny Trejo, Snoop Dogg, and Keanu Reeves, who plays a talking tumbleweed of sage, named Sage, who is a wise sage! While some co-stars might match SpongeBob’s level of zany, Reeves plays his role surprisingly straight. Tumbling after the dim-witted duo and delivering advice, Sage grows irate as they barrel into one radical mistake after another. A recurring gag is born from their irrepressible impulsiveness challenging Reeves’s trademark chill, turning his grumbles into our gain.

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Matt Berry proves another stellar addition to the SpongeBob universe. The What We Do In the Shadows star lends his bold voice and bravado to Poseidon, swiftly establishing the immodest merman as a megalomaniac from the first boom of a petty pronouncement. Whether he’s hollering at his servants or applauding a stage show, Berry brings the kind of over-the-top energy that makes Poseidon snap right into place with the rest of these wild maroons.

Poseidon’s kingdom is a casino metropolis under the sea, providing a dramatic contrast to the small-town vibe of Bikini Bottom. Naturally, SpongeBob and Patrick get caught up in the razzle-dazzle and sugary churros. The bright lights, big city vibe allows director Tim Hill to pack the final act with eye-popping color. Plus, this more mature location sets the stage for allusions that’ll play better to grown-ups, like a tentacle parody of Kenny G or spoofs on courtroom dramas and castle-crashing showdowns. There’s a healthy dose of action in chase scenes and fights, more playful than violent. Yet there’s something missing that keeps The SpongeBob Movie from being great. It’s just not weird enough.

SpongeBob has long been defined by a brand of humor that is kid-friendly, silly, slyly observational, but ultimately unapologetically weird. The films thus far took Hillenburg’s bonkers realm and spun it into wondrously WTF big-screen spectacle, like SpongeBob and Patrick riding the freckled back of Baywatch’s David Hasselhoff as he serves as a human jet ski. Moments like these are so bizarre they feel like Pop Rocks are bursting in your brain. The surreal unpredictability brings a rush of joy! The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run absolutely has bizarre bits, but nothing so out there that it achieves that Pop Rocks rush.

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Sanrio-inspired villagers and items are coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons in the game’s March update. Following the update, you’ll be able to invite new villagers and order items themed after Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, and other Sanrio characters by scanning the Animal Crossing Sanrio Amiibo cards.

Just as in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, there are six Sanrio-inspired villagers in total, one for each of the cards in the Sanrio Amiibo pack. The full list of villagers and the Sanrio character they’re themed after is as follows:

• Hello Kitty – Rilla (gorilla)
• Pompompurin – Marty (cub)
• Kiki & Lala – Étoile (sheep)
• Cinnamoroll – Chai (elephant)
• My Melody – Chelsea (deer)
• Kerokerokeroppi – Toby (rabbit)

You’ll also be able to order various furniture and clothing items based on the Sanrio characters, such as a Cinnamoroll couch and a Hello Kitty rug. These items and villagers will all be introduced to the game in the 1.9.0 update, which is slated to release on March 18.

The Sanrio Amiibo cards themselves were first released in Japan and Europe back in 2016 to coincide with Animal Crossing: New Leaf’s big Welcome Amiibo update, but they’ll be available for the first time in the US starting March 26. The card packs will be sold exclusively at Target stores, and each pack contains all six Sanrio Amiibo cards.

In the meantime, Nintendo recently rolled out New Horizons’ Mario update, which introduced a line of Super Mario furniture and clothing to the game such as warp pipes. The Mario items will all be available to order from Nook Shopping starting March 1. The update also added a handful of new seasonal items, which will go on sale at different points throughout March.

The Pokemon Company recently revealed a brand-new Pokemon game, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, coming to Nintendo Switch in early 2022. As part of that reveal, we got to see the game’s three starter Pokemon, all of which hail from different regions–Cyndaquil from Gen 2’s Johto, Rowlet from Gen 7’s Alola, and Oshawott from Gen 5’s Unova.

At first glance, these three Pokemon look like completely random picks, and no core Pokemon game thus far has ever combined starter Pokemon from previous generations in this way. However, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is set far in the Sinnoh region’s past, and the style of the reveal trailer lends the game a very feudal Japan feel–think shogunates and samurai. The Sinnoh region is based on Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, which came under feudal rule during this era of history.

So how do Cyndaquil, Rowlet, and Oshawott fit into that theme? Oshawott is the most obvious: Its final evolution is Samurott, a portmanteau of samurai and otter, and the armor on Samurott’s legs is reminiscent of samurai armor. That’s as natural a fit for the setting as you can get.

Rowlet’s final evolution Decidueye, however, isn’t quite as easy a fit; it’s an archer owl that will probably remind you of Robin Hood more than samurai, though the character of Robin Hood did originate around the same time (we’re talking 13th or 14th century, here). That said, the Japanese practice of archery, kyūdō, emerged around the same time in history as well, which makes Decidueye a good choice for the setting overall.

Most interesting, though, is Cyndaquil. Its final evolution, Typhlosion, bears no resemblance to samurai or archers or anything “feudal”–until you take a look at its Japanese name, via @MelkorPxP on Twitter. Typhlosion is called Bakufoon in Japanese, and according to Bulbapedia, that comes from “bakufū” (“blast”) and “typhoon,” which would make the English Typhlosion a very literal translation of that same portmanteau (“typhoon” and “explosion”). However, Bakufoon can also be considered a play on the word “bakufu”–Japanese for “shogunate.” This makes Cyndaquil an especially brilliant fit for Legends’ setting.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is coming to Nintendo Switch in early 2022. Preorders for the game are now live.

Along with the reveal of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade’s story content and PS5 upgrade, Tetsuya Nomura gave some updates to the development process of FF7 Remake’s future. In a translated interview by Famitsu (provided to us by Square Enix), Nomura explained that he’s transitioning away from being the co-director of the project, and that Naoki Hamaguchi will now be the sole director moving forward. However, Nomura mentioned that not much will change for him.

When asked about his role as a director and concept designer for the multiple projects in the works, Nomura prefaced, “There have been three Final Fantasy 7-related games announced, but as I mentioned before, I have more projects on my plate at the moment than ever before.” He then explained that the foundation has already been established and that he can pass on the role, saying, “For Remake, the core gameplay direction has now been worked out and we can see the points that need improving, so I will hand over directorship to Mr. Hamaguchi (co-director on FF7 Remake) for the next game and continue to be involved in all FF7-related projects, such as the remakes and mobile games, as overall creative director.”

If you’re wondering how this might affect future entries of FF7 Remake, this move may not make that much of an impact; Nomura stated, “The way I am involved in the development work will basically not change, though.”

Although we don’t have any indication of when FF7 Remake’s second part may come, Nomura said, “The next game is being worked on at that same kind of pace,” and stressed that Intergrade’s story content will be an important piece to the broader Remake saga.

For more on what’s going on with the Final Fantasy 7 universe, check out everything we know about Intergrade, which includes details on how Yuffie is getting involved in the story and how the free PS5 upgrade works. Two new mobile games were announced as well, The First Soldier and Ever Crisis–the former being a multiplayer battle royale and the latter being a revamp of the original FF7 and its various spinoff stories.