A new gameplay trailer for The Eternal Life of Goldman has been uploaded to Nintendo of America’s YouTube channel, and we felt utterly compelled to highlight it. It looks so good, man!
Currently scheduled to launch at some point in 2026, Goldman is described as a “breathtaking platformer adventure” that utilises stunning frame-by-frame animation to great effect. The new trailer highlights some awesome boss encounters, and honestly, some of the death animations are pretty brutal.
If the visuals were all it had going for it, however, then we wouldn’t be quite so enthusiastic, but Goldman looks like it will be an absolute blast when it eventually lands. The platforming looks solid, there are some intriguing puzzle elements at play, and judging from the brief look at the in-game map, it looks like it’ll be quite a hefty experience.
We’ll keep an eye out for a final release date in the weeks to come, but we think this is definitely a Switch game to at least pencil into your wishlist for the time being.
Is this something you’re keen to play when it eventually launches later this year? Share your thoughts with a comment in the usual place.
Well, what a convenient bit of timing! Hot on the heels of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie‘s release last week, Nintendo has today announced an all-new limited-time Switch 2 offer, featuring (you guessed it) Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2. Yep, the Switch 1 game!
From 12th April – 9th May, you can pick up a Switch 2 and a copy of the Mario Galaxy double-pack (either physical or digital) and save yourself $20 in the process. This’ll only be available at participating retailers — Nintendo has specifically mentioned Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart — and is all reliant on stock and the suggested retail pricing, so actual savings may vary.
Of course, the Switch 1 game (or Wii game, if you want to go back to the OG) might not be the best display of the Switch 2’s increased power, but let’s not forget that a free update is available for the new hardware to boost things up to some 4K goodness.
Image: Nintendo
Okay, it might not be the most imaginative offer out there, but as far as a Galaxy Movie tie-in goes, it’s hard to knock. You can find out more information on this offer ahead of its launch next week on the Nintendo of America website.
Will you be making the most of this limited-time Switch 2 offer? Let us know in the comments.
Level-5 has announced that it’s finally ready to share some updates about its upcoming titles in a new ‘Vision 2026’ showcase.
The presentation will air on the Level-5 YouTube channel on Friday, 10th April 2026 at 1pm BST / 2pm CET / 5am PT / 8am ET.
While the precise contents of the event are being kept under wraps to maintain the surprise (company president Akihiro Hino teased on X), the Vision 2026 website clarifies that “multiple titles” will be making an appearance — could it finally be time for an update or two on Professor Layton and The New World of Steam and DECAPOLICE?
Here’s the exact time that the event will get underway in your region:
Aside from Layton and DECAPOLICE (both of which were previously delayed), Level-5 also has its Inazuma Eleven remake in the works, and there’s always room for more Fantasy Life i or Victory Road DLC, right? We’ll have to wait and see what Friday holds…
Will you be tuning into the Level-5 Vision 2026 showcase? Let us know what you hope to see in the comments.
One of the biggest highlights of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, in our opinion, was its exceptional score. Not only does the sequel pull back on the licensed pop tracks that plagued the original, but it’s also chock-full of delightful Mario (and Star Fox) music from composer Brian Tyler.
But what the production studios weren’t aware of, however, was that Tyler was actually writing a bunch of the score from a hospital bed after suffering a double brain hemorrhage during his stint working on Nuremburg.
During and interview with Men’s Journal (thanks, Go Nintendo), Tyler confirmed that he didn’t tell anyone on production about his time at hospital as he didn’t want to let them down:
“I was writing this music when I was actually in the hospital because I didn’t want to let anyone down. They didn’t know. I didn’t tell them. I wrote a lot of the main themes from there.”
Quite remarkable dedication, right? Tyler also talks at length about his collaboration with famed Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, and how trust was built following the production of the first movie. Tyler states that Kondo would largely let Tyler do his own thing, occasionally pointing out key references that might be suitable:
“I know Koji Kondo from working on the last film, and then there are other people I’ve worked with, like the composer for the Super Mario Galaxy games. I got to know them and the whole gang at Nintendo, including the head of Nintendo. I spent time with them up at Skywalker.
“In fact, Koji Kondo got inducted into The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame at the 27th Dice Awards in Las Vegas. When they asked him, “Who do you want to tell the story of your life and career up on stage?” He was like, “Brian Tyler.” So, I went out there and introduced his award.
“There’s a lot of trust there. After the last one, Koji was like, “You know all these things, see what you come up with,” for this one. I’ll send this massive list to them of what I want to do, and pretty much they just say, “Wow. That’s, that’s wild. Just do your thing.” But if they see something, they’ll say, “Hey, did you know there’s a character there? Why don’t we make a reference there, or not?””
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out now in theatres. We gave it a score of 6/10 and said that while we came out of the cinema feeling satisfied, the movie was certainly lacking in substance. It’s a gorgeous-looking film though; one that’s packed to the rafters with neat little references to the games.
Did you enjoy the soundtrack for the Mario Galaxy Movie? Which particular moment stood out to you the most? Let us know with a comment.
Hot on the heels of last month’s Pokémon 30th anniversary range, Uniqlo has now launched another Nintendo collection to celebrate The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
The clothing line-up is now live on the Uniqlo website, consisting of four different graphic tees in adult sizes (XS-3XL) for £19.90 / $29.90 and four in kids’ (3-13 years) for £9.90 / $19.90.
While the designs themselves are a little uninspired, the Yoshi print is rather cute, and we’ll never turn our noses up at some official Captain Toad merch. Heck, that Question Block kids’ top is probably the best of the bunch, with the coins popping up out of the pocket — it’s a shame it might be a little on the small side for us so-called ‘adults’.
You’ll find the full collection over on the Uniqlo website, but here’s a handful of highlights:
Aside from going in full cosplay, we’d say these might be the perfect look for a Mario Galaxy Movie cinema trip. Because, yes, the movie is out now! We had a perfectly pleasant time with Mario’s latest big-screen jaunt, while light on plot and with pacing all over the place, we praised “The visuals, the music, and at least some of the easter eggs” in our review.
What do you make of Uniqlo’s Mario Galaxy Movie range? Let us know in the comments.
The interview focuses on the creation and modelling of the game’s characters, creatures, and items, which Monolith worked on extensively during its collaboration with Nintendo EPD. One particular point that’s worth highlighting is its work on creating Ganondorf, the game’s primary antagonist and long-time Zelda villain.
Rather than create a character who looked outright strong and evil, Monolith went further, highlighting Ganondorf’s “mysterious and alluring charm”:
“The character that left the biggest impression on me was Ganondorf.
“We didn’t just aim for him to look strong or evil; we focused on conveying a mysterious and alluring charm.
“In particular, the way his muscles are defined and the shading on his face were points we meticulously worked on until the very end to express the desired atmosphere for the model.”
Indeed, Ganondorf’s portrayal in Tears of the Kingdom is arguably one of the more nuanced since his first appearance back in Ocarina of Time, and we can certainly see what Monolith Soft is getting at with its approach to his design.
It’s worth checking out the full interview if you get a moment, though keep in mind it’s not been officially translated into English at the time of writing. The team also touch on the origin of the Horriblins, the unique design of the Solider Construct, and how it maintained close contact with Nintendo when working on the ‘Fuse’ weapon combination system.
What did you make of Ganondorf’s design ands portrayal in Tears of the Kingdom? Let us know with a comment in the usual place.
As early signs of spring emerge after a pretty rough winter, there’s only one thing we can think about right now: what’s waiting for us on the eShop. Yep, it’s eShop Selects for March 2026, and yes, believe it or not, there’s lots to dig into besides building and breaking things in Pokémon Pokopia.
It’s actually been a stellar month for games, with February’s quality carrying over to this month. How are we only three months into 2026 and already drowning in games?
Before we dive into the very best of our eShop games from March, here are the rules as a reminder: our writers and contributors vote for their top three eShop games we reviewed (and scored at least a 7/10) that launched in March 2026. The three games with the highest overall scores from the votes will then make up the top three.
Honourable Mentions
March has been surprisingly stacked, and while the months ahead look a little calmer, that just means you have more time to play some of these games that didn’t quite make the cut. As always, some of these are getting physical releases later in the year, but for now, they’re digital-only.
We’re missing a single late-March release in South of Midnight (we’ll have a review for that one soon!). Fortunately, there are still nine games that missed out on a podium spot. We told you it was a busy one!
Here’s what just missed the cut:
“Have you said the L-Word yet?” We’ve certainly said the L-word about Scott Pilgrim EX, the surprise sequel to the fantastic Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. Tribute Games has taken the site-scrolling beat ’em up formula of the first, greatly expanded the cast, and brought in some RPG elements to boost stats and attacks.
Each character has an extremely unique moveset, with Scott feeling very different from Gideon, with Matthew’s puppeteering attacks being the standout. Add in beautiful pixel art, a new story from Bryan Lee O’Malley, and fantastic music from Anamanaguchi, and it’s a fan’s dream.
We gave Scott Pilgrim EX a 9/10, and we hope this isn’t the end for Sex Bob-omb and friends.
Remember the Indie World Showcase we had at the beginning of March? Remember that we got multiple shadowdrops? The first of these to make the top three here is Minishoot’ Adventures, a twin-stick Zelda-style adventure. It came out on Steam a few years ago, but the Switch 2 (and Switch) is the perfect home.
While simple on the surface and short in playtime, Minishoot’ Adventures is crafted with pure love and delight for both genres. The colourful visuals entice you to explore, and you’re left to your own devices for most of the game, just like classic top-down Zelda. It’s also got some bite to it, too.
If you’re curious but haven’t taken a chance yet, check out our 8/10 review of the game to see why we enjoyed it so much.
Blue Prince, probably one of our most-wanted Switch 2 ports, finally made our dreams come true at the beginning of the month. Rounding out March’s Indie World Showcase, this fantastic roguelike puzzler got Switch 2 players scratching their heads as they try to reach room 46, and solve a plethora of other mysteries, about the main manor.
While 30fps might be a bit disappointing, this is otherwise the complete experience you can get on PC and PS5 — the atmosphere is fantastic, the puzzles are devilish, and the premise is moreish. Just one more run through the house? Oh, go on then.
Congratulations to Blue Prince on being our March 2026 eShop Selects winner, and it’s a very worth one too. Find out why in our glowing 9/10 review.
Do you agree with our ranking? Tell us about your favourite eShop releases of last month by voting in our poll and sharing your thoughts in the comments.
What’s your favourite March 2026 eShop game from our picks? (29 votes)
Blue Prince (Switch 2)31%
Disney Dreamlight Valley – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2)3%
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Switch 2)3%
Marvel Maximum Collection (Switch)17%
The Midnight Walk (Switch 2)0%
Minishoot’ Adventures – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2)28%
Planet of Lana II: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2)3%
Ratcheteer DX (Switch eShop)0%
Scott Pilgrim EX (Switch 2)3%
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (Switch 2)7%
Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! (Switch 2)0%
Super Meat Boy 3D (Switch 2)3%
How we decide our eShop Selects top three: As we reach the end of every month, the Nintendo Life staff vote on their favourite titles from a list of games selected by the editorial team. To qualify for this list, these games must have been released as a digital-only Nintendo Switch eShop title in that particular month, and must have been reviewed on Nintendo Life; we select the qualifying games based on their review scores.
Staff are then asked to vote for three games that they think deserve to sit right at the very top of that list; first choice gets three points, second choice gets two points, and third choice gets one point. These votes are then tallied to create a top-three list, with the overall winner taking that month’s top prize.
Preordered Tomodachi Life and Pragmata physically, getting ZPF and Outbound digitally as I’ve supported them on Kickstarter (the former a Steam copy, but as soon as I can I’ll get it on Switch and play it there), will download Champions as soon as it comes out, eventually getting Vampire Crawlers and He-Man for sure, most likely also Darwin’s Paradox and inKonbini, maybe also Goat Simulator and Mouse P.I. and there are actually other games like Marvel Cosmic Invasion etc. along these – again, so many games coming out in April and even more so May for me specifically and in general and I couldn’t be happier!
Bubsy, it’s safe to say, doesn’t have the greatest reputation in the world. So when Bubsy 4D was announced at Gamescom 2025, we were honestly pretty floored. Not only was Atari reviving a series that’s arguably had far more misses than hits in its 30+ year history, but it was bringing on critically-acclaimed developer Fabraz to do the job.
With the likes of Demon Turf and Demon Tides under its belt, Fabraz has won the hearts of gamers worldwide with its unique ‘expressive platforming’ concept. Applying what it learned from its previous games to Bubsy, Fabraz is hoping to rid the series of its maligned reputation and deliver something that fans can finally be proud of.
We recently sat down with Fabraz founder Fabian Rasforter and lead developer Ben Miller to find out more. We dive into how Bubsy 4D came to be, how the game has been optimised for a wide range of platforms, and what the heck is going on with Demon Tides for the Switch.
Nintendo Life: I recall Atari’s CEO, Wade Rosen, once stating that he was open to pitches from indie devs for a new Bubsy game. Is that what happened here with Bubsy 4D?
Fabian Rastorfer: Yeah that’s exactly the origin story and what actually happened is on the day of when that when that episode aired, we found out about that being a thing because we suddenly got bombarded online on socials with like, “Fabraz should do a Bubsy game”, “Fabraz should do it”, “Fabraz could do a good 3D platformer version”, and it was so much that we were like, “Stop tagging us about Bubsy!”
But then pretty much like the day after, two days after that, we got an email from Atari requesting a pitch from us. And we thought, “You know what, okay, this could be pretty funny.” And so we came up with a pitch. I think it was a really solid idea of how we wanted to approach it, Atari really liked it, and the rest is history.
Image: Atari
How was it working on an established series like Bubsy compared to your own games like Demon Tides and Demon Turf?
Fabian: I think the most interesting part was working on both at the same time with Demon Tides and Bubsy, right Ben?
Ben Miller: Yeah, a lot of juggling and sort of switching gears and frames of how you’re actually thinking about the work and the project. The platformers are very different in terms of structure and the flow of how you actually have to design levels for them.
Fabian: Yeah, and in terms of handling the IP, it was interesting because in some ways obviously you think the pressure would be high, but on the other hand this is an IP that has obviously had a somewhat troubled history and so we kind of just looked at it very strategically.
I think a very big fundamental decision of ours that had a big impact was agreeing that we’re not just gonna have it make fun of itself.
We played through all the games, including the two attempts of a revival in the last couple of years, and we kind of just identified what worked in all of them, what didn’t work, where can we inject our own identity into it, and how can we properly give it a revamp. I think a very big fundamental decision of ours that had a big impact was agreeing that we’re not just gonna have it make fun of itself. Like we’re not gonna make another game that again is very self-deprecating, but instead we’re gonna recontextualise it.
And so instead of Bubsy just saying, “Hey, remember how bad our previous games were?”, we’re gonna age him up and in universe he’s now a B-list failed actor. The characters in the world reflect that and make fun of him occasionally for kind of being, you know, a failed mascot platformer in that regard. But without leaning too much into that. Bubsy himself is trying his best all the time, right? Which is almost endearing. And so you start rooting for him. I think that was a very big part of taking his personality without fundamentally changing it, but somehow making him a little bit more endearing.
Image: Atari
When Bubsy 4D was announced at Gamescom 2025, it really blew up. What kind of reception were you expecting ahead of time, and how did it feel to see how much attention it was getting?
Fabian: I think we expected a strong reaction, but we didn’t expect that kind of level.
I remember all of us were just on our phones, constantly refreshing, looking at all the reactions and being completely addicted to it.
Ben: Because it’s a meme, it’s a very known quantity, so there was a little bit of…we expected a response because there was the initial response that bullied us into taking on the project in the first place, but yeah, this is a very complicated history for a character that’s clearly loved, but also maligned, and there’s a lot to unpack there. But we were blown away by the reception, how positive and happy people were with it.
Fabian: I think the fact that it opened the pre-show, too, it was just such a ludicrous concept for Bubsy to be that, but that really helped the explosiveness of it. We were all at Gamescom at the time, mostly at the Atari booth. I remember all of us were just on our phones, constantly refreshing, looking at all the reactions and being completely addicted to it.
And it was very heartwarming to see also how many people were basically saying, “The moment I saw Fabraz’s logo pop up, I’m all in.” So that’s really nice to see, because that’s the kind of love that you can only get after working in the industry for a long time and delivering on promises in the past. They trust us in pulling something off here. So I hope we meet those expectations.
Do you think part of the reaction is a more general craving for new 3D platformers? It still almost feels like the big-hitters are few and far between at the moment.
Fabian: I think so, yeah. And the genre is in an interesting spot. We currently live in a in a world where it’s been a long time since the last 3D Mario and it doesn’t seem like it’s right around the corner. Donkey Kong Bananza came out , but it’s not super movement focused, it’s a little bit more puzzle-based with its destruction concept. So indies are kind of carrying the genre quite a bit recently and there’s a lot of really great ones.
Even this year alone we had Big Hops, Mr Sleepy Man, Demon Tides from us, of course. Then later, we’ve got The Big Catch coming up and Kero Quest 64 – a lot of really good stuff, and what’s cool about all of them is that the genre sub diversity is great. They’re all 3D platformers, but then they have an addendum and this addendum can vary from any other genre, and I think that’s cool.
Image: Atari
And how did it feel when people got excited seeing that Fabraz is the team behind Bubsy 4D? Did it add any pressure?
Ben: I think it was more validating and positive than pressure. The pressure was just working on two games at the same time and trying to manage all of these things to actually make sure that it all gets done and it’s something we’re proud of. It was just very encouraging to actually see people being so positive and excited that maybe this is actually a good one just based on the first few moments and seeing our name attached.
Fabian: I have a lot of trust in my team as well, in general, and I know that when they put their heart and minds to it, they can pull off something great. And so there was never really a doubt that the game is not going to be fun. And I think having the demo out and also people really vibing with the demo and having played it now, obviously that takes some of that pressure away because then we know we made the right choices and now we just have to make sure that the rest of the game lives up to the beginning.
Did you come up against any specific challenges with Bubsy 4D’s development?
Fabian: It was really smooth sailing overall. And a big part of it is that we have something called the Fabraz Framework. So all of our games are made in Unity, but we have this framework we carry from project to project. And so the framework between Demon’s Tides and Bubsy is the same one, which means that we had a very, very strong foundation to work off. So this means we already had a cutscene system, a dialogue system, the basics of character controls, physics, all that kind of stuff. And then could just build from there. So we had all the pieces and now we could build something new out of it.
It was just very encouraging to actually see people being so positive and excited that maybe this is actually a good one just based on the first few moments and seeing our name attached.
Ben: Part of our first process when we were actually starting the project was to go back as a team to play all of these older games, like Bubsy 1, 2, Bubsy 3D, and actually really enjoying that. But Bubsy doesn’t have that much of a consistent identity, so we had to identify what the thing is that we pull out to say, “This is the mechanic, this is the theme, this is the idea that we want to then extrapolate and build on.”
And for us it was this momentum that feels very in line with Sonic and the 2D stuff. And then that’s what led to the hairball as this very non-Bubsy mechanic, but something that was trying to bring some of that identity and feel from the earlier games onwards. And really the entire gameplay structure around that hairball, that was like the big clicking moment. But was also the one that was maybe the widest swing that we were like, “Is Atari going to go for this in the pitch?”, and we were very pleasantly surprised. Yeah, they’re on board. Awesome.
Image: Atari
How involved was Atari throughout the development?
Fabian: They were overseeing a lot, but they were very flexible in terms of our suggestions and basically there was nothing that we brought up that didn’t end up being in the game in some shape or another. They were even open to larger risks, like Ben said. The hairball obviously was a wild, out-there idea. But I think the even bigger one for me is the redesign of Bubsy himself, where we take away his iconic shirts and exclamation mark and instead go for a white jacket and exclamation mark tie. That’s a bold redesign.
I think it very much sold this new concept of him, but still the fact that the Atari was pretty much on board from day one — that was already in the original pitch that we gave them — I think shows that they were also willing to be like, “Yeah, let’s try something new here, let’s give it a chance.”
Ben: In the same way that we felt a lot of trust from players, like with the trailer reception, I think there’s a very nice degree of trust in our relationship with Atari and how they trust our decisions. So we [trust] them — prototype, play — and it just results in a good game.
What kind of experience from developing Demon Turf and Demon Tides did you apply to your work on Bubsy 4D?
Fabian: Demon’s Tides and Bubsy 4D, the main thing that they share is the expressive platforming concept, which is a word that I’ve used before and probably people are now tired of me saying all the time. But basically, for anyone who doesn’t know, the concept is that an expressive platformer is a platformer where you ask yourself the question, “In how many different ways can I cross the same gap?” And if the answer is more than five different answers, you’ve got something that’s expressive, because that means the player has so many choices they can express themselves through the movement.
And this is something that we discovered while working on Demon Turf and fell in love with. And then with Demon Tides, we explored it to its absolute boundaries, I think. And Bubsy is a little more restrained, a little bit more pulled back, but still is at the core of that concept as well. And I think that will be kind of our ball, our end on this exploration, because I feel like we’ve done a lot that we wanted to do with expressive platformers with these two titles now.
Image: Atari
Can you touch on how development has gone for the Switch and Switch 2?
Fabian: So we were not directly involved in the ports. All the porting was done by SneakyBox in partnership with Atari. We were involved in terms of helping with the initial setups and a lot of our framework already helps with porting, but overall they handled all of it. But it seemed to have gone all very smoothly.
Obviously, the Switch 1 will always have concessions to other platforms in terms of visual fidelity, but it runs really nice and stable, it has all the same feature parity. It’s just crazy to me that we live in a day and age where we still release on all of these console, like the fact that we’re doing Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2… How many generations are we going to combine? Are we still doing Wii U?
I think the best part is that it still forces you to optimise a lot, which is important because even on PC most people don’t have the most advanced hardware. And so i think a lot of devs get caught in having games that aren’t perfectly optimised and this impacts their how the game performs because people will be sad that it’s running in a bad frame rate. So I think in some way it’s kind of good to focus on low-end console platforms because it then also forces you to optimise your game well and so then everybody benefits from it, including PC players.
Ben: Yeah, this was the case in Tides and also Bubsy, even when we weren’t doing the port manually ourselves, we’re being mindful of the Switch and lower-end hardware and how to make sure that we can stagger these experiences. So we look at what to turn on, what to turn off, make sure it’s as representative as it can be.
Yeah, just maybe don’t apply any DLSS 5 to it.
Fabian: We’re not even gonna… I don’t know what it would do to Bubsy’s face!
Ben: We already yassified him, we don’t need more!
Image: Atari
Let’s talk about the visuals a bit more, though, because it definitely has a unique style. What was your approach here?
We went for a similar aesthetic in terms of anime, toon shading, and I think that’s also why some people even recognise our work before the logo even showed up in the trailer, which I think is awesome.
How many generations are we going to combine? Are we still doing Wii U?
But I think the big difference is that in Bubsy, we committed to something quite fun with the planets you visit. The planets all have very, very strong themes. Our goal from the get-go was, “Let’s not go for the standard ‘green hill planet’, ‘lava planet’, ‘ice planet’.” And so we went way more wacky. The first planet is all about wool and felt and those kind of textures. The second planet is all about arts and crafts, so paper, cardboard, scissors… And then the third planet is all about factory productions of metals and trash.
I think a big part of the environment identity comes from those concepts that I think [are] really fun to play with, I have to say. I had a lot of fun just making oversized, normal objects and having new platforming around them. There’s something very fun about it.
Finally, how is development going for Demon Tides on the Switch? Can we still expect to see it this year?
Fabian: That is going very well. It was a monster to optimise because it’s an open world, so that was very, very tricky. We are definitely at a point where now it’s mostly stable. We want to give it a little bit more polish and finesse, and we also have to make it catch up a little bit with the PC version again, because we’re releasing a big 1.1 patch. And so I want to make sure that that is all included.
But it’s going well, and it’s definitely still slated for the second half of this year. and i’m really excited to get it out there, especially with the Fangamer physical where it’s bundled with Demon Turf – I think that’s just such a cool thing to have.
Image: Atari
Huge thanks to Fabian Rastorfer and Ben Miller for taking the time to speak with us. Bubsy 4D will launch on Switch 1 and 2 on 22nd May.
A British political adviser’s stolen iPhone leads to a scandal, pro athletes fall for an iCloud scam, and iCloud evidence is used against a man accused of stalking the FBI director’s girlfriend, all in this week’s Apple Crime Blotter.
Welcome to an occasional AppleInsider feature, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
$2 million iPhone heist in Florida
A 64-year-old man in Florida has been charged with the heist of nearly $2 million in iPhones, which were taken from a FedEx facility in Doral.
According to NBC Miami, Jeffrey Moore has been accused of taking 38 boxes of iPhone 17 Pro Max phones from the FedEx facility, amounting to nearly 1,800 devices.
The facility, two days earlier, had received a call from a man claiming that his warehouse was “unable to receive deliveries and they wanted employees to pick up a shipment.” On March 19, per the criminal complaint, Moore showed up at the facility with “a photo ID badge on his chest and employee ID,” as well as a U-Haul truck.
As the theft was in progress, the real manager showed up and told FedEx to stop the theft, although by that point Moore and an accomplice had fled, per the report. He was stopped in Alachua County, more than 300 miles north, later that day.
After he was extradited to Miami-Dade County, Moore was charged with grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft, and organized scheme to defraud.
A row in the U.K. over the prime minister’s ex-chief’s stolen iPhone
Morgan McSweeney, the former chief of staff to British Prime Minister Kier Starmer, had his government-issued iPhone stolen in October of 2025. Months later, the lost device has become part of a big political controversy that traces back to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Per Sky News, the lost iPhone means the loss of any messages McSweeney exchanged with Lord Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the U.S., who was removed from his post in September over the revelations about his ties to Epstein. Mandelson was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and the British government had compelled the release of “all papers and communications” related to Mandelson’s time in office.
In addition, the wrong address was recorded when McSweeney reported the theft of the phone to the police, and he did not disclose that he was the prime minister’s chief of staff.
Man posing as female porn star targeted iCloud accounts of pro athletes using phishing scam
A man posing as a female adult film star has been accused of running a phishing scam that targeted the iCloud accounts of NFL and NBA players.
Per The Athletic, federal prosecutors in Georgia have indicted 34-year-old Georgia man Kwamaine Jerell Ford, who had been previously convicted in 2019 of “hacking into more than 100 Apple accounts belonging to athletes and rappers,” and prosecutors say he began the subsequent criminal scheme while incarcerated.
Ford has now been charged with nine counts of wire fraud, seven counts of computer fraud, one count of access device fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and one charge of sex trafficking.
Prosecutors say the phishing scam involved both impersonating a popular female adult film star, while also posing as an Apple customer support representative, to gain access to iCloud accounts. The indictment does not name any athletes who were targeted.
“While serving time for stealing credit card numbers from athletes and celebrities to fund his lifestyle, Ford allegedly engaged in the same conduct again,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.
“Disturbingly, the indictment alleges that Ford went even further and used a fraudulent online persona to allegedly traffic a young woman and coerce her to produce hidden camera videos of commercial sex acts with unknowing individuals.”
iCloud evidence used against man charged with stalking FBI director’s girlfriend
FBI Director Kash Patel had his email hacked, reportedly by Iranian hackers, in late March.
Also in March, a 35-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested for threatening Patel’s girlfriend, singer Alexis Wilkins.
According to Boston Globe, the FBI arrested the man after he sent the threatening messages “using an anonymized e-mail from an Apple iCloud account.”
The man had written “watch your back” to Wilkins and other threatening messages. He appeared in court on March 13 and pleaded not guilty to a single count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Woman fights $2,100 iPad bill
A Nebraska woman believes she is the victim of scammers, after her identity was stolen last year, with thieves using an “old account” to fraudulently purchase an 11-inch iPad Pro.
WOWT explains she has been receiving bills for the device with growing interest, to the point where she now owes $2,100. The woman, per the report, has “made a police report, sent in various government scam complaints, and filled out an identity theft victim’s complaint and affidavit.” But the situation remains unresolved.
After the TV station reached out, however, AT&T said it had “escalated” the complaint.
‘Buffy’ actor, shortly before his death, was accused of placing an AirTag on a contractor
Nicholas Brendon, an actor best known for appearing on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, passed away on March 20, at the age of 54. Brendon was reportedly found dead in his home in Indiana.
Just over a week before that, Brendon was in the news for a legal case involving his dispute with a contractor. Per People, Brendan was accused in March court papers of placing an AirTag on the person of a contractor who was renovating his home.
Brendan had earlier sued the contractor’s business for $120,000, alleging there was unfinished work.
In December, after discovering the AirTag, the contractor placed a Civil Stalking Protection Order against the actor.
Three years later, $500,000 Alderwood Apple Store break-in remains unsolved
It was one of the most high-profile Apple Store robberies of recent years: On April 2, 2023, burglars broke into the Alderwood Mall Apple Store in Lynnwood, Wash., by cutting through the bathroom wall of an adjacent espresso machine store.
The theft netted $500,000 in merchandise, including 436 iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
The theft marked its third anniversary on Thursday, and it remains unsolved.
“I do recall that case,” a spokesman for the Lynnwood Police Department told AppleInsider. “That case is currently inactive due to a lack of evidence/investigative leads. I don’t know if federal authorities did work beyond this.”
A spokeswoman for the departmenthad told AppleInsider in 2024 that they had heard the case was “being worked on at the federal level.”
Suspect sought in iPad theft from Dollar Tree
Police in Odessa, Tex, are looking for a man who they say stole a $500 iPad from a Dollar Tree store.
In Kawana Waters, in Australia, on March 20, a man stole a pair of AirPods from a boy, with the entire theft in broad daylight and caught on video.
Per Cairns Post, the thief repeatedly asked the boy to empty his bag and threw one of the AirPods on the ground. The victim then informs a passing woman, who tells him, “You need to move on.”
