New Details on Kingdom Hearts
Plus Twitch turns on generative AI training for all users
Disney and Square Enix provided some big updates for the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Find out the details. Also, Twitch turned on generative AI training by default for all users. Finally, check out the top tabletop roleplaying games for 2026 as voted on by fans. All this and more. Let’s go.
Kingdom Hearts 4 releases next year
The next Kingdom Hearts game, an epic series that mixes Disney and Square Enix characters, will arrive late next year.
At Disney’s D23 fan expo, participants were treated to a preview of Kingdom Hearts 4, which incorporates a new world based on Pixar’s movie Coco. When asked if there was a possibility of the game being delayed, director Tetsuya Nomura said “that is not happening.”
Along with the new game, a Kingdom Hearts animated series is being developed for Disney+. The series will feature a brand new story that Nomura says “ will expand on the universe of Kingdom Hearts while celebrating the characters that have captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world.” No release date for the new show was provided.
According to Reuters, “Kingdom Hearts is one of nine video games that have grossed more than $1 billion at retail for Disney.”
Twitch turns on AI training
Amazon-owned Twitch streaming platform recently added an option for training their generative AI, and turned it on for all users. Needless to say, people are not happy. However, Amazon does not care.
In a stream after it was officially announced, Twitch chief product officer Mike Minton and head of community Mary Kish answered questions about the decision to turn this on by default for all users. During the chat, Minton explained why:
Now why is it not opt-in? That’s what everybody here is spamming in chat. I get it. “Let me opt in versus making me opt out.” There’s an honest answer, and I think most of you can probably appreciate this: If it was opt-in, nobody would opt in. That’s honestly the answer.
For those who want to turn off Twitch’s AI training, go to the Settings > Security and Privacy tab, scroll all the way to the bottom and click the button next to Training for Generative AI. Twitch won’t label which channels are not using the AI “feature,” so streamers are doing it themselves.
Join The Games Letter
Subscribe to our email newsletter and receive the latest gaming news in your inbox every Monday morning! It also helps support our website. We will never spam you. Join today!
The ENNIEs celebrate tabletop gaming
The ENNIE awards announced their 2026 winners. The awards celebrate the best tabletop roleplaying games, and are voted on by the public. A gold and silver winner is chosen for each category. Those winners and runners up are listed below:
- Best Adventure - Long Form: Vaesen – City of My Nightmares
Silver: Historica Arcanum: Serenade for the Damned - Best Adventure - Short Form: Whispers of the Woods
Silver: The Bride of Pendle - Best Aid/Accessory - Digital: The Crooked Moon Alchemy VTT
Silver: Pathfinder 2E and Starfinder 2E on Foundry VTT - Best Aid/Accessory - Non-Digital: The Crooked Moon Tarot Card Set
Silver: Handouts – Ryoko’s Lost Notes - Best Art, Cover: The Crooked Moon Standard Edition Hardcover
Silver: Historica Arcanum: Echoes of Renaissance - Best Art, Interior: Legend In The Mist – Core Book
Silver: The Field Guide to Floral Dragons Box Set - Best Cartography: Dolmen Wood Maps Book
Silver: Collection of Fantasy Maps II - Best Community Content: Triangle Agency Fan Zine
Silver: The Bride of Pendle - Best Family Game/Product: Dungeons & Kittens Starter Set
Silver: Dragon Town and the Darkness Below - Best Free Game/Product: Daggerheart Quickstart Adventure: The Sablewood Messengers
Silver: Legend in the Mist Learn-To-Play Comic Book Adventure - Best Game: Daggerheart Core Set
Silver: Legend in the Mist – Core Book - Best Layout and Design: Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game Player’s Guide
Silver: Berserkr - Best Monster/Adversary: Monsters of Drakkenheim
Silver: Dolmenwood Monster Book - Best Online Content: Designing Dungeons Course: Or, How to Kill a Party in 30 Rooms or Less
Silver: Solo RPG List - Best Production Values: The Crooked Moon Ultimate Edition
Silver: Legend in the Mist – Ravenhome Slipcase - Best RPG Related Product: Beyond the Witching Ring: Dolmenwood Soundtrack Album
Silver: Menagerie of Unbearable Things - Best Rules: Dagegrheart
Silver: Legend in the Mist – Core Book - Best Setting: Dolmenwood Campaign Book
Silver: Ryoko’s Guide to the Yokai Realms - Best Solo Game: SPINE: A Dark Solo TTRPG About Losing Yourself in a Book
Silver: The Bonsai Diary - Best Streaming Content: Get Your Sheet Together
Silver: Cozy RPG Reviews - Best Supplement: Legend in the Mist – Action Grimoire
Silver: The Painted Wastelands Player’s Guide - Best Writing: Making Enemies: Monster Design Inspiration for Tabletop Roleplaying Games
Silver: Rapscallion - Product of the Year: The Crooked Moon Ultimate Edition
Silver: Daggerheart
Congratulations to all the winners.
Side Quests (more stories worth reading)
🍸 We Spent the Night with Agent 64: Spies Never Die. If you enjoyed 007 Golden Eye on the Nintendo 64, this game is for you.
🛬 The FAA hired over 2,000 gamers to fill holes as air traffic controllers, citing their multitasking and problem-solving skills.
🐀 As Bethesda workers protested her visit with a giant rat, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma called their upcoming game The Elder Scrolls 6 “incredible”.
⚽ 2K announced they are launching a new studio to focus on their “next blockbuster sports franchise.”
💰 89% of the preorders for Grand Theft Auto 6 are for the $100 ultimate edition.
🤖 After reportedly replacing a writer with AI, Saber’s CEO responds in the worst possible way.
🚫 Netflix is shutting down Night School Studio, makers of Oxenfree and Afterparty.
💻 Role-playing game maker Paizo is bringing their digital catalog to DriveThruRPG.
👏🏼 After recently being released by Microsoft, Compulsion Games is now self-publishing South of Midnight on Steam.
😮💨 The upcoming Halloween game was banned in Australia and New Zealand because players can smoke weed in it.
🐑 The NY Times looks at why the board game Catan is popping up in sports leagues like the NBA, NFL and NHL.
👋🏾 Amazon is giving Lost Ark and Throne & Liberty back to the game developers to run, as they diverge from MMORPGs.
😢 Three indie horror publishers face claims of sexual harassment.
🧙🏽♂️ A remake of Lord of the Rings: War in the North launched last week, and reportedly more remakes in the franchise are coming.
🚗 Simpsons creator Matt Groening says that The Simpsons Hit & Run is making a comeback.
🎮 Xbox announced a limited edition Gears of War E-Day controller, while Sony is launching a Wolverine-themed PlayStation 5 console and controller.
🪐 A decade after the game’s launch, No Man's Sky players have explored less than 1% of the planets in the game.
🗓️ Darksiders 4 and a new Kingdom Come game are expected to launch by the end of March 2028.
😲 21% of Nintendo Switch 2 owners have bought Pokémon Pokopia since the game was released in March.
📈 Round numbers: Big Walk has sold over 1 million copies in under a week, Alan Wake 2 sold over 3 million copies and Meccha Chameleon sold 20 million units in two months.
New Releases this week:
Check out our article on 11 new games to play in August.
8/18: Stars Reach (PC)
8/18: The Sinking City 2 (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
8/20: Mexican Ninja (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
8/20: Mortal Shell II (PlayStation, Xbox and PC)
Thanks for reading. If you enjoy our newsletter, please tell a friend to subscribe or become a Supporter to help us pay the bills!
