Just when you thought Minecraft couldn’t possibly exist on another platform, a rating board comes along to suggest otherwise.
The ESRB website has been updated with a Minecraft listing specifically for Switch 2 — a different listing to the ones for PS5 and Switch/Xbox Series (thanks for the heads up, Nintendo Everything). It’s another E10+ for fantasy violence and in-game purchases, naturally, but it also suggests that maybe (maybe) another Nintendo Switch 2 Edition could be on the way.
Nothing has been officially confirmed at the time of writing, though the presence of a separate listing has us wondering whether we might soon see Mojang’s magnum opus come to the new system. A visual bump and mouse controls could go a long way, you know!
Of course, the game is already technically available on Switch 2 through the magic of Switch 1 backwards compatibility, so we suppose there’s a chance that this might just be an update. Then again, we wouldn’t expect to see a whole new page just for the S2 in this instance.
We’ll consider things with a firm pinch of salt, for the time being. The rating comes just days after the weekend’s Minecraft Live event revealed new mobs, biomes, a Dungeons sequel and an updated look at the second movie.
Would you like to see Minecraft get a bespoke Switch 2 version? Dig down to the comments and let us know.
Nintendo has often been accused of keeping its fans on their toes when it comes to announcements, and it’s fair to say that nobody was expecting the Kyoto veteran to reveal (alongside The Pokémon Company) a tiny Game Boy-sized music player earlier this year.
Released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon series, Game Boy Jukebox / Game Music Collection is a tiny replica of the classic monochrome handheld that comes with 45 equally tiny cartridges, each of which, when inserted into the device, plays a song from Pokémon’s 1996 debut.
Powered by three LR44 button cell batteries and described by The Pokémon Company as “an audio tour through Kanto”, this unusual little trinket is certainly very effective when it comes to triggering nostalgia – anyone who grew up with the early Pokémon adventures is sure to crack into a smile upon hearing these classic (but very low-tech) tunes and sound effects. However, the audio quality isn’t fantastic and there’s no option to plug in some headphones.
Just as the original Game Boy represented creator Gunpei Yokoi’s “lateral thinking with withered technology” ethos, this device employs a gloriously straightforward mechanism to play each of its 45 audio tracks.
The carts are literally pieces of plastic with nothing inside. Each one has a unique pattern where the connector would be, and this pushes down onto a set of six pins inside the Game Boy Jukebox’s cartridge slot – all the songs are already in the device’s memory. Flicking the power switch at the top triggers the power-on sequence and plays the tune. Alas, the buttons and D-pad are purely cosmetic and don’t do anything.
For reference, here are all the songs and sound effects included on the carts:
Title Screen
Pallet Town Theme
Professor Oak
Professor Oak’s Laboratory
A Rival Appears
Road to Viridian City: Leaving Pallet Town
Battle! (Wild Pokémon)
Victory! (Wild Pokémon)
Pewter City Theme
Pokémon Center
Pokémon Healed
Viridian Forest
Guide
A Trainer Appears (Girl Version)
Battle! (Trainer Battle)
Victory! (Trainer Battle)
Caves of Mt. Moon
Road to Cerulean City: Leaving Mt. Moon
Cerulean City Theme
Pokémon Gym
Road to Bill’s Home: Leaving Cerulean City
Jigglypuff’s Song
Vermilion City Theme
The S.S. Anne
Road to Lavender Town: Leaving Vermilion City
The Poké Flute
A Trainer Appears (Boy Version)
Battle! (Gym Leader Battle)
Victory! (Gym Leader Battle)
Cycling
Lavender Town Theme
Pokémon Tower
Celadon City Theme
Game Corner
A Trainer Appears (Bad Guy Version)
Rocket Hideout
Silph Co.
The Sea
Cinnabar Island Theme
Pokémon Mansion
Evolution
The Final Road
Final Battle! (Rival)
Hall of Fame
Ending Theme
The carts have a scene from the game printed on the rear, so when inserted into the device, the ‘screen’ appears on the front of the Game Boy Jukebox. It’s a shame a lenticular image wasn’t used (as is the case on the Lego Game Boy), as this would have lent the image a little bit of life.
There’s no denying that the Game Boy Jukebox is a charming little piece of merchandise, and it’s important to remember that it was created expressly to celebrate the legacy of Pokémon, but I still feel like this is a huge missed opportunity for both The Pokémon Company and Nintendo.
The Game Boy is a foundational piece of gaming tech for me, and I’d love to see it reproduced with modern technology – even in ‘micro’ form, as Sega did with its fun-but-flawed Game Gear Micro.
I realise this would potentially cannibalise the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, on which Nintendo periodically releases Game Boy titles – but I’d imagine most fans would want to support both, should a functional Game Boy reproduction ever make it to market.
For now, I’ll have to make do with the Game Boy Jukebox, which, once the initial novelty has worn off, will no doubt simply sit on a shelf looking adorable but ultimately gathering dust. Not quite a complete waste of plastic, it’s very close.
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
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We’re on the cusp of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, although it looks like Nintendo and co. are giving Switch 2 owners plenty of excuses to stay inside and avoid the heatwaves.
Square Enix is serving up a double helping with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and The Adventures of Elliot before Nintendo deploys Fox McCloud in the Star Fox remake at the end of the month, followed closely by Rhythm Heaven one week later at the start of July, and then you’ve got Splatoon Raiders bringing up the rear. Not a bad summer holiday selection.
Below, we’ve highlighted the most exciting Switch 2 (and 1) games coming in the next couple of months. You’ll find more great games beneath our top picks, as well as a bunch of accessories.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Kicking off Square Enix’s one-two punch in June is this second round of FFVII remake featuring Cloud and co. reimagined on modern consoles. Originally launching for PS5 back in 2024, Rebirth is coming to Switch 2 and Xbox on 3rd June.
Physical lovers note: As with the rest of SE’s output, this one’s a Game-Key Card.
After escaping the dystopian city of Midgar, join Cloud and his friends on an epic journey across the planet in pursuit of Sephiroth. Ride chocobos, sprint across sweeping plains, and explore a vibrant, expansive world. Experience new features and encounters as the story unfolds, culminating in the party’s journey to the Forgotten Capital from the original FINAL FANTASY VII.
And following after Rebirth is The Adventures of Elliot, an old-school Zelda-style affair that made a great first impression on us. (There’s a demo on the eShop if you’re keen to see it for yourself.)
Again, this one’s a Game-Key Card.
A brand-new action RPG from the creators of OCTOPATH TRAVELER and BRAVELY DEFAULT combines exciting action-adventure gameplay with stunning HD-2D for the first time! Join Elliot the adventurer and the fairy Faie in a journey through four ages.
Announced in early May following rumours that Nintendo was bringing back Fox and co., Star Fox on Switch 2 is a remake of Star Fox 64 that keeps the same level layouts but gives everything a current-gen glow-up while adding difficulty options, new modes, and (hopefully) a surprise or two.
We’ve been replaying the original on NSO since the announcement, and we’re eager to see how it’ll translate in this 2026 reinterpretation.
Step into the cockpit and fly across the stars and skies with Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team! With the Lylat system under attack by evil scientist Andross, it’s up to you and the squad to fend off his forces.
The final first-party game currently announced for Switch 1, we’ve been asking for this one for many years, so we’re very excited to see the quirky rhythm series return.
Rhythm Heaven Groove (or Paradise in Europe) is never going to be a system seller, but this brilliant series is an underrated jewel in Nintendo’s IP catalogue. If this ends up being the firm’s final Switch 1 release, ol’ reliable is going out with a bang.
Time your button presses to the beat across a splashy collection of games that will challenge your rhythm. Chop flying veggies, bounce fruit off your biceps, flap along with birds in flight, and more—all to the beat of the bop! Feast your ears on catchy original music while you focus, including tracks by renowned Japanese musician Tsunku♂.
A single-player-focused spin-off of Nintendo’s inky shooter series, we haven’t seen a whole lot of this since its long-awaited release date announcement back in April, but having been big fans of the single-player modes in all the previous Splatoons, we’re intrigued to dive into this one in July.
Launching alongside a trio of Deep Cut amiibo, we imagine Nintendo will be revealing more details in the lead-up to release, so keep ’em peeled.
In this single-player-focused adventure, play as a mechanic working with Deep Cut—a trio of swashbuckling musicians—and venture out into the mysterious Spirhalite Islands! Customize your character, kit yourself out with mechanical gadgets and ink-splattering weapons, and take on waves of enemy Salmonids as you raid the islands for treasure.
More Upcoming Games for June & July 2026
As well as those picks above, there are plenty more Switch 1 & 2 retail games launching in the next couple of months (and a bit beyond).
New Switch 2 Accessories & eShop Credit
Finally, here’s a selection of Switch 2 accessories coming soon, and our Switch 2 buyer’s guides if you’re looking for something in particular.
Which obviously means that everyone is now fully clued up and cognisant of their own mental health and the importance of a fit and unfettered mind to accompany the body, right? Job done, everyone! Back pats and congrats all ’round – catch you next May for the annual check-in…
What’s that? That’s not how it works, you say? Ah, but let’s imagine for a moment it did…
Okay. As June kicks off and the mid-year hump approaches, we thought it worth highlighting a recent video put together by our lovely video producer, Mai. Featuring 10 excellent, reflective games that put mental health as a primary focus, they also happen to be some of the best games on the system(s).
Life can be tough sometimes and it shouldn’t be just one month in the year to raise awareness. As great as movies and TV shows are at representing mental health, we think video games do it best. Join Mai as she goes through some games which explore mental health respectfully and also happen to be good games! Just remember, you’re not alone.
Here’s to a healthy headspace and continually spreading awareness. Let us know in the comments if there are other games that fit the bill for you.
Preordered physically Rebirth, Elliot and Star Fox (along with other games not mentioned here like the physical of Inazuma Eleven etc.), will eventually get Denshattack for sure, most likely The Grand Master 4, maybe something else from this list – anyway, June will be another busy month when it comes to new releases and I couldn’t be happier… and as already mentioned here hopefully we’ll get a Direct, too!
Developer Mojang aired a special Minecraft Live event from Twitchcon Rotterdam this weekend and it featured announcements for not only Minecraft but also Minecraft Dungeons 2, and even the upcoming movie sequel.
Here’s a quick recap in case you missed it:
Minecraft Chaos Cubed Drop – Available 16th June 2026
Image: Mojang
It’s official! Mojang has announced the new Minecraft game update Chaos Cubed will be released next month on 16th June 2026. It introduces the passive mob Sulfur cubes. Here’s a bit about them from Minecraft’s official website:
“Sulfur cubes are passive mobs that spend their time aimlessly jumping around in sulfur caves – that is until you feed them a block. Sulfur cubes will ingest a variety of blocks, which you can either feed to them or just drop in their vicinity. Once absorbed, each block will have a different effect on the sulfur cube’s physical properties. Experiment and discover how to send a sulfur cube flying, bouncing, sliding, and more! Hint: you can even feed TNT and magma to sulfur cubes.
“Need to transport a sulfur cube in a more predictable way? No problem! Just scoop it up using a bucket and it’ll so straight into your inventory, ready for a new home and a new adventure.”
This update also adds sulfur caves, spikes, springs and geysers. In addition to this, players can expect new block sets, the Bounce music disc, and much more.
Image: Mojang
Minecraft – New Biome: Dappled Forest
The Dappled Forest has been revealed as a new biome being introduced. It includes new wool stairs and slabs, abandoned camps and testing will start this summer.
Image: Mojang
Minecraft LEGO Chicken Mounts – Available Now
These Minecraft LEGO Chicken Mounts are a new free add-on now available in the Marketplace.
“If you have even a passing interest in riding, customizing, or battling chickens this is a must-download. Head over to Minecraft Marketplace and hit the button now!”
Minecraft Dungeons II News (Deep Dark, Twisted Warden, Concept Art)
During the latest broadcast, Mojang reconfirmed Minecraft Dungeons II was still on track for a 2026 release on the Switch and Switch 2.
This latest update provided another brief look at the new game. According to the development team, players can expect both familiar and fresh biomes to visit, and a new story. For the first time in Minecraft Dungeons players will also be able to visit the Deep Dark. This includes the new foe – the Twisted Warden, who is a little slow but very powerful.
You can get some more insight about what to expect from Minecraft Dungeons 2 in the latest video above.
Minecraft Movie Sequel – Official title, new cast members
Image: Warner Bros. / Mojang
The Minecraft Movie sequel, which is due out next year, is now officially known as AMinecraft Movie Squared. It’s also been revealed Alex will be played by Kirsten Dunst.
A building challenge has been announced for the game as well – with the winner’s creation to be featured in the new movie or the end credits. You can find out more in our existing story.
What did you think of the latest Minecraft announcements? Let us know in the comments.
Pictonico!‘s minigames are varied, inventive, and make great use of your photo library. But you wouldn’t know this from the outset, as you have just three to sample before needing to purchase one of the volume packs available.
Since these packs aren’t exactly cheap, you might want to know which minigames (or rather, microgames, if you prefer WarioWare parlance) you’re getting for your money.
This page shows every Pictonico! minigame, volume by volume, and what you need to do to complete each fast-paced challenge.
Pictonico! Full Microgame List
Here is every minigame in each available volume, listed in alphabetical order.
Vol. 1 Minigames
Vol.2 Minigames
FAQs
How many minigames are there in Pictonico!?
At launch, Pictonico! features three minigames – 50 in Vol.1, and a further 30 in Vol. 2. Three minigames from Vol.1 are playable for free.
How much does each volume cost?
The larger Vol. 1 costs $7.99 / £6.99 / €7,99, whereas the smaller Vol. 2 is $5.99 / £5.39 / €5,99.
How do you unlock minigames in Pictonico!?
Once you have purchased a volume, you then need to play through stages to unlock them. Once encountered for the first time, they can then be played again at your leisure as part of the Games mode for that volume.
Unlocking everything doesn’t take long: you’ll likely see enough across both volumes in an hour or two’s play.
What is your favourite minigame so far? Let us know in the comments.
VOTE! Think fast, it’s time for another edition of Box Art Brawl.
Last time, to celebrate the arrival of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, we took a look at where the solo series all began as we compared three covers for the NES’ Yoshi. The European Mario & Yoshi design walked away with the win in that one, receiving 48% of the vote and leaving North America and Japan with the remaining 41% and 11%, respectively.
Nintendo’s latest not-WarioWare project, Pictonico!, has got us in the mood for some microgames, so this week we’re throwing it back to the GameCube and the inexplicably hard to type WarioWare, Inc: Mega Party Game$! The first series entry to make the jump to home console, Mega Party Game$ might be missing some of the handheld charm of its predecessors, but it’s nonetheless packed with signature silliness and big laughs.
Once again, we have three covers to pick between this week, so go on, PICK!
With Wario up top and all of his ‘Ware companions split off below, the North American design really is a beauty. We’re big fans of the blue backdrop here, and how the central logo holds everything together, with the dividing lines extending out of it. Good work, all round.
The European design takes the same Wario art as its NA companion, but subs out the bonus characters and blue backing for something more… yellow. It’s much simpler as a consequence, it’s true, but we always appreciated how the yellow extends up the design to the GameCube banner itself.
As ever, the Japanese design swings for something different. The Wario PNG is gone, replaced by his key facial features against a pink polka dot background. It’s a more abstract approach, but it’s certainly eye-catching.
Which region got the best WarioWare, Inc: Mega Party Game$! box art? (923 votes)
North America76%
Europe12%
Japan12%
Thank you for voting! We’ll see you next week for another edition of Box Art Brawl!
At Minecraft Live at Twitchcon Rotterdam this weekend, new updates were shared about the upcoming sequel to the Minecraft Movie.
The cast and production are now back on set, and it’s been confirmed the sequel is now officially titled A Minecraft Movie Squared. Here’s a look at the official logo reveal:
Image: Mojang / Warner Bros.
Next up are some new cast member introductions. After teasing Alex in the first movie, it’s now been revealed she will be played by the American actress Kirsten Dunst.
One other person officially revealed was English actor Matt Berry, who appeared as a villager in the first movie.
Mojang has announced an in-game “build challenge”, with the winning build appearing in the movie, or the end credits of the movie.
All you need to do is build something on the movie build challenge map. Mojang will then select the finalists, and the community will make the final decision. You can find out more details on Minecraft’s website.
A Minecraft Movie Squared will arrive in cinemas next year on 23rd July 2027. What do you think of the title and cast update? Let us know in the comments.
Bubsy 4D released on the Switch 2 and Switch last week, and it seems the developer is now releasing a new update across all platforms.
Version 1.1.1 is out now on PC and will arrive on consoles in the “coming days”. It addresses all sorts of issues including player and level updates & more. Keep in mind, not all of these patches may apply to the Switch versions of the game.
Here’s the official rundown from Fabraz and Atari.
Ensuring Bubsy’s bowel movements are consistent and no longer occasionally cause softlocks when using the Scenic Pooper ability.
Educating Bubsy that even bobcats need to obey the laws of physics to ensure you no longer float to the heavens if you use the Item Sniffer ability under certain conditions.
Bubsy no longer points at the Golden Fleece when using the Item Sniffer ability, because quite frankly that’s just useless ain’t it?
Tank mode is no longer OP (yes, really) by allowing you to infinitely glitch up walls.
Telling Bubsy to keep it cool after pouncing enemies and not immediatelly clamber up subsequent walls like a madcat.
You’re no longer kicked out of hairball after sometime in the air when using the held Hairball input variant. Bet that sentence was never said before!
The Twirl Jump visual effects no longer stick around like a unwanted fart when triggered under certain conditions
We thought it’d be cool if you can see where you’re aiming at in glass canons when the grounding visualizer is turned on. We’re nice like that.
Told our cameraman, Lackey Two, to stop pointing at the sky when doing large jumps in Hairball form. Guess he’s a astrology hobbyist or something I dunno.
PERFORMANCE
Angling the camera all the way down on terrain no longer makes it stutter. I swear our cameraman, Lackey Two, can be a handful sometimes.
LEVELS
The Ampelman no longer ticks you off, literally, if you reset it *just* when it ran out of time.
Resetting the tape measure challenge no longer resets you above a pit of death sometimes. I thought it was kinda funny tbh but the team said it’s “bad game design”.
I can’t believe I have to say this but we made sure the glass blocks always act like glass and not solid concrete sometimes when shooting through them.
You won’t reset right above water anymore when falling off the cat trees in Planet 1, Level 4. But also, did you try to just… Not fall?
Tweaking water height in Planet 3 Level 2 to stop Bubsy occasionally from respawning and dying continuosly in an endless cycle until the heat death of the universe.
BOSSES
Getting killed by a skating Woolie (skill issue) during Baarbee’s chasing phase no longer softlocks the entire fight.
Slow-mo can’t get stuck anymore if you do a very specific set of actions during Baarbee’s fight. We’re not in the Matrix here, okay?
Baaptiste ain’t no shy sheep and he no longer appears invisible if you retry his fight after dying to him at specific points in time.
Projectiles and other attacks now get properly despawned when “Skip Cutscenes” is enabled during boss fights. Everyone press F to pay respects to all those Nine Lives modes lost…
UI
Trigger happy folk won’t be able to softlock the shop menu anymore. Everyone chill out!
Fixed moveset entries not properly displaying RTL instead of LTR. NP, GG OK?
Resetting and confirming input bindings at the same time no longer leads to a softlock. How did anyone discover this? Troll-like behavior.
Fixing Playstation inputs not displaying in the title screen. We don’t wanna be called biased to a certain controller here.
You can no longer delete a save that is currently active. Your 567th nine life attempt will now be less confusing to reset!
You can now rebind inputs like shift/control, y’know, like it’s supposed to.
LOCALIZATION
Fixed some Chinese characters appearing without the bold font. BOLD EVERY TIME, ALL THE TIME.
Fixed some instances where Arabic letters didn’t properly connect. We’re all in this together!
CAMPAIGN
Fixed a typo where Bubsy misspells “opinion”. But in MY oppinion this feels better.
Fixed a typo where Bubsy says “wih” instead of “with”. Now THAT’S some high quality patch note material.
Adjusted one translated french word which the age rating police wouldn’t have liked. Nope, nope.
Added some more people to the credits. I’ll be real, I have no idea how to write something funny about this.
SYSTEMS
Fixed uncapped framerates causing crashes for some players by removing the uncapped option. Sorry fps maxxers, 120’s gotta be the cap for meow! (Note, with vsync you can still go higher than 120fps if your monitor’s refresh rate allows for it.)
Fixed numerous Crowd Control issues. We want this mode to be chaotic but not THAT chaotic, geez.
If you haven’t already played this title, there’s a demo you can check out on the Switch and Switch 2. It allows you to explore the first three levels of the game and also test out some of Bubsy’s moves.
Have you tried out Bubsy 4D on the Switch or Switch 2 yet? How are you finding it so far? Let us know in the comments.
