Evercade Reveals New Budget-Friendly Gaming Handheld And Home Consoles

The long awaited Kingdom Hearts IV might be coming soon than anticipated. If an insider is to be believed, the game is reportedly releasing in 2025.

According to Twitter user DanielRPK, the latest mainline entry in the Kingdom Hearts series is due out next year. It was reportedly also in development for the past four years. DanielRPK also recently leaked that a follow-up to Sonic Frontiers was in development. The prominent SEGA leaker Midori corroborated this, adding that this apparent game may not necessarily be called Sonic Frontiers 2, it reportedly has the same 3D and open-world gameplay style.

Not many details about Kingdom Hearts IV have been revealed, not even the release window or intended platforms. We do know, however, that the game is being built in Unreal Engine 5.

Kingdom Hearts IV was first announced in 2022. It starts the new “Lost Master” story arc and it takes place in a city called Quadratum, a realistic world inspired by Tokyo. Some gameplay mechanics that have been confirmed to return are parkour elements and Reaction Commands, the latter of which were introduced in Kingdom Hearts II.

The last mainline Kingdom Hearts game was 2019’s Kingdom Hearts III. A rhythm-action game spin-off, Melody of Memory, was released in 2020.

There have been plenty of church scandals over the decades, but this might be the very first one that involves Candy Crush. Via The Philadelphia Inquirer, Reverend Lawrence Kozak was arrested in Pottstown, Pennsylvania on April 25 and charged with stealing over $40,000 in funds from his former parish, St. Thomas More Church. According to the report, Kozak’s vice of choice was mobile gaming, especially Candy Crush and Mario Kart.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia removed Kozak from his parish in November 2022 after an internal investigation determined that he spent “an astronomical amount of Apple transactions” on the church’s credit card. The charges span from September 2019 to July 2022. Kozak is also said to have used church funds to buy gifts for his goddaughter.

Kozak reportedly told investigators in 2022 that the money was used to “power up” and give him an advantage while playing his mobile games. Kozak added that he was “seeking counseling for his addiction,” and he denied intentionally using church funds for his games. Instead, Kozak says that the charges to the church’s credit cards happened because they were already linked to his cell phone.

The Philadelphia Inquirer states that financial records show that Kozak repaid $10,000 to the parish credit card account from his personal funds. The story also says that Kozak mailed an $8,000 check to his former parish after he had been removed from his post. Along with the check, Kozak wrote a note of apology to his successor at St. Thomas More, and he mentioned his attempts to repay the church.

Kozak is currently free on bail, and his attorney told The Philadelphia Inquirer that “he was reviewing the charges and planned to contact prosecutors about the case in the coming days.”

It makes sense that a long-running franchise like Final Fantasy would have plenty of merch for fans to buy. But while a lot of it is just for show, there’s plenty of more practical stuff available as well, like these cute tote bags, small pouches and a shoulder strap for your phone that are now available to preorder. All of these items are adorned with iconic Final Fantasy critters like cactuars, tonberries and moogles. The designs are understated and charming, without any particular frills, making them perfect for a variety of uses.

Preorder Final Fantasy tote bags, pouches and smartphone straps

While all of these bags are available for preorder, none have from release dates yet. Amazon says they’ll ship in January 2025, but the Square Enix store says October. In any case, all of the items are cheaper on Amazon. Fortunately for us, these items don’t seem priced to break your piggy bank.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for more Final Fantasy-themed merch, be sure to check out these collectible Final Fantasy VII figures that are also available for preorder. If you’re looking to check out the latest games in the series, you can grab Final Fantasy XVI for $45 at Amazon right now (down from $50), which just saw the new The Rising Tide expansion DLC drop on April 18 that adds a whole new gameplay chapter and a new Eikon power for players to master. There’s also the second part of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, that launched on PS5 earlier this year, and the upcoming Dawntrail expansion for Final Fantasy XIV online that drops June 28.

Lego has revealed the latest character to join the Animal Crossing collaboration. Starting on August 1, people will be able to collect the legendary artist known as K.K. Slider.

The news comes the official Lego X/Twitter account where it posted a video of Slider jamming out, and it reads:

“K.K. is bringing some extra groove to the LEGO Animal Crossing range from August 1!”

Based on the video it appears that Slider will be a part of a set that includes the town hall from the game. There’ll also be another set inspired by Dodo Airlines.

It is worth mentioning that even though Slider is known for his voice and guitar-playing skills, he won’t be able to move or sing. In the video, LEGO made it a point to have the words ” K.K. minifigure doesn’t actually sing or move” at the bottom, meaning that the company has stripped him–and all earthkind–of his greatest gift. Even though Slider will be without a voice, he’ll still look great in any Animal Crossing set.

LEGO originally announced the Animal Crossing crossover late last year, but people weren’t able to buy any sets until a few weeks ago in March. There are various sets people can purchase, some of which include Isabelle’s House Visit, Kapp’n’s Island Boat Tour, Crossing Bunnie’s Outdoor Activities, and many more.

It’s also worth noting that Animal Crossing isn’t the only collaboration LEGO has had this year. Early this month, LEGO teamed up with Wizards of the Coast to create a massive Dungeons & Dragons set. The set includes iconic D&D monsters such as The Beholder, Gelatinous Cube, and the Owlbear.

Manor Lords, the medieval strategy game made by one person, is crushing it on Steam where it’s the top-selling game overall and inside the top 10 for most-played with more than 138,000 concurrent players. And this is to say nothing of its performance on PC Game Pass. Given the huge amount of interest in the game, many might be wondering if it’s coming to console.

The game’s developer said on social media that he is working with publisher Hooded Horse on an Xbox version. As of late March, the developer said work would commence “as soon as possible.” As for a potential PS5 edition, the developer said, “We’re still talking about it.” There is no word yet on a possible console edition of Manor Lords for Nintendo Switch.

Now Playing: Manor Lords – Official Medieval City Builder/RTS Launch Trailer