Patch Notes #54 - weekly gaming digest
Welcome to the 54th edition of Patch Notes. Let’s get this bad boy going.
This edition will cover the week from 28 December to January 3.
I hope you had a wonderful break filled with good food, warmth, and happiness.
As mentioned before the holidays, I will be making some changes to the newsletter format. It will now focus on providing a TLDR along with the latest releases. Rest assured, I will still include links so you can easily access the news that interests you directly.
What caught my attention?
The Ubisoft hack was notable. I feel bad for my ex-colleagues. See below:
Hackers distributed millions of credits to Rainbow Six Siege players before Ubisoft pulled servers and rolled back transactions. [Polygon]
TLDR
Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund confirmed that Arc Raiders uses an aggression-based matchmaking system. [PCGamesN]
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza Kiwami 3 remake promises to appeal to newcomers and veterans alike. [VGC - Features]
HoYoVerse teased Sparxie and Yao Guang as two five-star characters for Honkai: Star Rail version 4.0, arriving on February 14, 2026. [Siliconera]
The Pokémon Company shared an animated logo to kick off 30th anniversary celebrations on February 27, 2026. [Nintendo Life]
The first Persona 30th anniversary announcement is Fitness Boxing Persona 5. [Push Square]
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book features hidden depth despite its familiar appearance. [VGC - Features]
Blue Prince is described as more than a brilliant puzzler. [Eurogamer]
The MongolZ signed Anarbileg ‘cobrazera’ Uuganbayar to complete its Counter-Strike 2 roster for 2026, replacing Azbayar ‘Senzu’ Munkhbold. [Esports Insider]
PlayerUnknown Productions announced Prologue, a survival game with machine learning-generated maps. [PCGamesN]
Polygon listed 20 most anticipated anime of 2026 including Steel Ball Run and Hana-Kimi. [Polygon]
Arc Raiders was Steam’s best-selling game over the holiday period. [Eurogamer]
Nintendo announced Devon Pritchard as the next NOA president succeeding Doug Bowser. [Nintendo Life]
Stardew Valley Nintendo Switch 2 Edition received an update and European release is on the way after US launch on Christmas Day. [Nintendo Life]
ATLUS launched the Persona series 30th anniversary website. [Gematsu]
Pokémon Pokopia aims to merge Pokémon with Animal Crossing elements. [VGC - Features]
Phantom Blade Zero amassed over 1 million wishlists in two weeks after confirming September 2026 release date. [Eurogamer]
Rhythm Heaven Groove faces potential input lag issues on TV after 15 years. [VGC - Features]
ESL increased Club Rewards for IEM China 2026 to $250,000 by reallocating from IEM Major Cologne. [Esports Insider]
Brenda Romero stated that Romero Games’ canceled Xbox title had no priest and was nothing like Hotline Miami. [PCGamesN]
Nintendo commented on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s placement in the Metroid timeline. [Nintendo Life]
GOG co-founder Michal Kicinski acquired the platform from CD Projekt. [Game Developer]
BioWare’s Anthem servers will shut down on January 12, 2026. [Polygon]
Polygon examined the history of darts video games. [Polygon]
Astralis parted ways with Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz and Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif for a new international direction in Counter-Strike 2. [Esports Insider]
Dispatch features visible penises in gameplay encounters. [Eurogamer]
Veteran jungler Hung ‘Karsa’ Hao-Hsuan announced retirement from professional League of Legends after 11 years. [Hotspawn]
Henk Rogers, Founder of The Tetris Company, stated esports got off on the wrong foot. [Esports Insider]
Housemarque’s Saros includes concessions in its upgrade system compared to Returnal. [VGC - Features]
Japanese RPG creators shared aspirations including Level-5 focusing on DecaPolice and Rabbit & Bear Studios preparing a new game. [RPG Site]
Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito teased more for Dragon Quest, NieR, and Final Fantasy in 2026 ahead of Dragon Quest’s 40th anniversary. [Nintendo Life]
Tokimeki Memorial: Forever with You releases on Switch next month for 30th anniversary. [Nintendo Life]
Overwatch 2 experienced its best year in 2025 with new perks and modes emphasizing player choice. [Polygon]
Gen.G CEO Arnold Hur discussed League of Legends esports issues in interview with Trayton. [Hotspawn]
Granblue Fantasy will launch worldwide on PC via Steam on March 10 with English and Japanese support, excluding Japan and existing players. [RPG Site]
Esports Insider listed 5 things League of Legends could improve in 2025 including matchmaking and autofill. [Esports Insider]
Biggest releases of the week?
None, devs were taking a well-deserved break.