Mario Galaxy Movie Breaks Records, TLOU Online Was 80% Done

Nintendo is dominating the box office once again as the Super Mario Galaxy movie shatters opening day records despite a mixed critical reception. Meanwhile, bittersweet details have emerged about Naughty Dog's cancelled multiplayer project, and classic survival horror has finally returned to PC storefronts.

Super Mario Galaxy Movie Breaks Opening Day Box Office Records

Nintendo LifeEurogamerPC Gamer The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has secured the best domestic opening day of the year so far, pulling in $34 million at the US box office . This figure pushes the Nintendo and Illumination collaboration past Project Hail Mary and gives it the best opening Wednesday in April, beating the $31.7 million set by the original Super Mario Bros. Movie . Despite the massive commercial debut, critical reception has been mixed, with early reviews skewing unfavorable .

Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri attributed the ongoing success of the animated adaptations to the direct involvement of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo's artists, comparing their creative input to "having the secret to Coca-Cola" . While a sequel hasn't been officially greenlit, actor Jack Black jokingly suggested in a recent interview that a third Mario film could arrive in 2029 .

Cancelled The Last of Us Multiplayer Game Was 80 Percent Complete

EurogamerGame Developer Naughty Dog's cancelled The Last of Us multiplayer spin-off was roughly 80 percent finished before Sony pulled the plug on the project . The former director of the live-service title revealed the development milestone recently, noting that he spent seven years working on the ambitious online game before its cancellation .

Original Resident Evil Trilogy Arrives on Steam With Enigma DRM

IGNVGCTime Extension Capcom has unexpectedly released the original PC ports of Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis on Steam . These versions are based on the optimized ports GOG released earlier, which include modern compatibility tweaks for Windows 10 and 11 . The classic survival horror games are currently priced at $4.99 each during their launch window, alongside a surprise drop of the classic RPG Breath of Fire IV . However, the Steam releases have arrived bundled with Enigma DRM, a controversial digital rights management software that Capcom has increasingly applied to its back catalog .

Nexon Pushes AI Development as The First Descendant Loses Players

EurogamerPC GamerThis Week in Video Games Publisher Nexon is aggressively pursuing AI integration in game development, using Embark Studios' upcoming extraction shooter Arc Raiders as a "Trojan Horse" to prove the technology's viability . During a recent capital markets briefing, Nexon leadership claimed the controversial AI tools allow smaller teams to build blockbuster hits at a fraction of the traditional cost . Nexon CEO Patrick Söderlund stated that the initiative is meant to improve efficiency rather than replace creative staff, though the company is simultaneously restructuring or cancelling several existing projects .

During the same presentation, Nexon admitted that its recent live-service shooter The First Descendant has been a failure due to severe retention challenges . The publisher noted that the game had a strong launch on PlayStation and PC but lacked staying power, with executives conceding that the core design issues cannot be fixed with a simple patch .

Stormgate Rushes Offline Mode After Losing Server Provider

Game DeveloperThis Week in Video Games Frost Giant Studios is scrambling to patch an offline mode into its real-time strategy game Stormgate before its online infrastructure goes dark at the end of April . The sudden loss of online support stems from the studio's server partner, Hathora, being acquired by an AI company that is immediately shutting down the existing server services . The Stormgate development team is now rushing to ensure players can still access the game locally once the provider pulls the plug .