Ahh, the shadow drop. What better way is there to build instant hype than to release a game that nobody was expecting, right here, right now? That's exactly what Square Enix has done today with Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon -Classic HD-. The original Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon was released on Super Famicom in Japan way back in 1993. Although the PSOne sequel did get an English version, today's release is the first official English version of the original game.

Traditionally, one of the biggest obstacles to game development is learning to code. That's time consuming! Developing for retro hardware can be even more challenging thanks to the scarcity of modern development tools. Well, the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive homebrew scene is about to explode thanks to the impending release of MD Engine from indie developer Two Black Cats. The MD Engine software will launch on Steam on September 7.

Almost two hundred! That's the number of new entries added to our database in August, many of which were just announced during this year's Gamescom festivities. While everyone keeps eyeing Grand Theft Auto VI (still no co-op announcement!) as the biggest game release of the decade, there will actually be a ton of interesting co-op titles coming out over the next few months and going into 2027.

You know what? Even our Database Master learns something new from time to time! Yes, we were just as surprised as you. Even he didn't know that Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspirary featured a unique co-op mode when it was released back in 2004. But thanks to the games re-release on PlayStation this month, he finally discovered the crazyiness of trying to control the main character in a third-person-shooter with two people: one player handles movement, while the other takes care of weapons and Psi Powers.

What a month, eh? Our database saw an increase of a whopping 212 new entries.  Not just, but mainly, thanks to all the announcements made in the 29 showcases that took place during this year's "Not-E3" season. And yes, our Database Master had to scan each game shown for possible co-op features. That's literally hundreds of games!

June is upon us and with it comes the yearly no-longer-E3 barrage of game showcases. Place your bets now on how many titles with co-op features will be announced! Will it be all of them? Our Database Master hopes not, but why should we care what he wants?

54 titles with co-op features were released across various platforms last month. Yesterday alone, seven games hit the digital store fronts, according to our release calendar. The database here at Co-Optimus saw 131 new entries, boosting the total number of games we track to 16,800.

The first Hades is one of the best roguelikes ever made, and a very successful one at that. It makes sense that Supergiant Games would create a sequel. It even makes sense that they would release the sequel on Steam and Switch before porting to current-gen consoles. Xbox and PlayStation fans continued to hope (and maybe even pray) that Hades II would eventually come their way, and their pleas have now been answered. Hades II is out on PlayStation 5 and the Microsoft ecosystem: Xbox Series, Windows Store, and Game Pass. Now all the big boy consoles can join in the mythological fun!

Co-op gamers like ourselves ate very good this past month:

SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION, Snow Bros Classic Collection, God of War Sons of Sparta, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition (for Switch 2), RAIDEN FIGHTERS REMIX, Tales of Berseria Remastered: these are ONLY the co-op titles released this month that rely heavily on nostalgia to bait you into buying them. The complete list is at least two times longer.

The Switch 2 feels a bit sturdier in handheld mode than the original Switch, but it could be sturdier still. That's part of what an accessory manufacturer called Abyxlute wants to address with its two upcoming Switch 2 controllers, the Abyxlute N6 and Abyxlute N9C. Both controllers look to offer a sturdy experience with pro-quality controls, and there's a Kickstarter campaign running for both of them through the end of March.

...and there's the first month of 2026 already gone. In terms of videogames it was a rather quiet January. You can almost count the co-op releases with two hands and even our database didn't see that much of an influx of entries. But that's okay with us. Not every month needs a breakout blockbuster eating up all of our time. Its also nice to have a bit of time to check out smaller affairs. Like the open world action-adventure DuneCrawl, the action-roguelike DunHero or the action-RPG No Rest for the Wicked. And if that's too much "action" for you, how about checking out Kentum, the survival-infused metroidvania adventure?