This is the eighth year of the annual prize, which is supported by AJ Small Projects-sponsor Marley. The annual prize is open to one final-year undergraduate and one postgraduate student from each ARB and RIBA-validated architecture course at a UK-based school. As always, the free-to-enter prize is a great platform to celebrate and support the work of both architecture students and universities across the UK, as the new generation of built-environment professionals emerges.Advertisement Last year, in line with the AJ’s advocacy for more sustainable architecture, the Sustainability Prize was incorporated into the main awards to encourage all entries to address issues of sustainability, be that environmental or social. Last year, for the first time in the award’s history, all the winners were from non-London schools, with students from Oxford Brookes and Strathclyde universities winning the undergraduate and postgraduate categories. All the winning projects emphasised play or current socio-environmental issues. Undergraduate winner: Above Beside Below: Fallen Tree Upcycling Centre by Hosea Cheung Hosea Cheung of Oxford Brookes University took the top prize in the undergraduate category for Above Beside Below: Fallen Tree Upcycling Centre. Centred around the topical environmental issue of climate resilience and tree loss, the project repurposed fallen trees into treasurable everyday consumables in an ambitious programme which included timber workshops, an auction house and an educational centre with tree nursery.Advertisement The judges deemed the thesis project a ‘compelling idea’ which addresses both economic and environmental issues successfully on a ‘scale that was technically ambitious’. They loved the idea of the brief and were very impressed by the presentation of ideas. ‘It felt very mature,’ they said. ‘It’s a really solid piece of work.’ Postgraduate winner: Beyond the School Gates: The High Street School by Jakob Young The postgraduate prize was awarded to an entirely hand-drawn project, Beyond the School Gates: The High Street School, by Jakob Young from the University of Strathclyde. Deemed ‘incredibly joyous’ by the jury, the project envisioned educational spaces as a communal asset through the concept of splitting a school along a high street. It took the form of a school bus, retrofitted former shop unit, modular pavilions and a ‘caretaker’s factory’. The judges thought the careful, colourful drawings were ‘totally brilliant’ and the socioeconomic programme ‘rigorous and fantastic’ – yet ‘all done with humour’. The 2024 prize was assessed by a jury consisting of returning judge Betty Owoo of the Greater London Authority, Sally Lewis of Stitch Architects, Craig Robertson of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris and Derin Fadina of Barr Gazetas – co-editor on the Students issue of the AJ. The deadline for entries is Friday 6 June 2025. Entries received from each school will be published in the AJ’s annual Student issue in September with the winner announced at the start of October. You can view last year’s edition here. How can I enter? You can enter the prize hereWho can enter? The prize is open to all RIBA and ARB-validated architecture schools in the UK. Only tutors may enter on behalf of their students. What are the categories? We encourage a tutor from each school to submit a final year project from two students – one at undergraduate level and/or one at postgraduate level (dependant on your course offering). We expect and encourage all entries to the Student Prize to address issues of sustainability, be that environmental or social. To reflect this, the sustainability category has been incorporated into the main awards and there is no separate Sustainability Prize. Is there a fee to enter? It’s free! When is the deadline to enter? Friday 6th June 2025. We understand that different universities have different deadlines so if you require an extension, please email Fran Williams at ajstudentprize@emap.com You can also find answers to further frequently asked questions on the website. AJ Student Prize is sponsored by

Kingdom Hearts 4 gets new update as Square Enix cancels spin-off Adam Starkey Published May 14, 2025 12:52pm Updated May 14, 2025 1:36pm A kingdom far, far away (Square Enix) Square Enix has canned a previously announced Kingdom Hearts spin-off, as it looks to ‘reboot’ its business. It’s been over three years since Disney crossover Kingdom Hearts 4 was revealed, in April 2022, and we haven’t seen or heard anything about the sequel since. Square Enix also announced a mobile spin-off entitled Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link during the same 20th anniversary video. The GPS-based action role-playing game received a closed ‘prototype test’ in January 2023 and was originally supposed to come out in 2024, but it was delayed. Now, Square Enix has announced Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link has been cancelled entirely, which is surprising as its story was supposed to lead into Kingdom Hearts 4. ‘We wish to convey our heartfelt apologies to everyone who has been looking forward to the start of service,’ an announcement post reads. ‘Although we worked hard on developing and adjusting the game in the hope that it would be enjoyed by lots of players, we determined that it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time, leading us to the decision to cancel development. ‘We would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to everyone who gave us their support and assistance with the multiple closed beta tests. We are truly sorry to have to make this announcement.’ To sweeten the bad news, Square Enix provided an update on Kingdom Hearts 4, perhaps to reassure fans that it does still exist. ‘The Kingdom Hearts series will continue,’ the post adds. ‘We are hard at work on Kingdom Hearts 4, and hope you’ll continue to support the series as you keep an eye out for further updates.’ While it’s unclear why we haven’t seen anything from Kingdom Hearts 4 for so long, Square Enix has undergone a major overhaul to its business over the past year. Lower than expected sales for Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth caused a shift in strategy at the company, towards a more selective, higher-quality approach, resulting in many cancelled projects. Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link appears to be another casualty of this pivot, but it is an interesting decision considering the spin-off was set to have ties to Kingdom Hearts 4’s narrative. In an interview with Game Informer from 2022, series director Tetsuya Nomura described Missing-Link as being ‘connected in many ways’ to the next mainline entry. In its latest financial results, Square Enix emphasised its intention to ‘reboot and awaken’ its business by promoting ‘multi-platform strategies’ and ‘rebuilding the domestic studios portfolio’, among other plans. ‘Under the new management structure, we reviewed all projects at our domestic studios, including HDG and SD titles, and decided to discontinue development of some titles and invest additional funds in titles that require refinement, thereby steadily implementing a strategy of selecting and concentrating development resources,’ reads the business plan. ‘We will continue to control the scale of development investment in a disciplined manner.’ More Trending As part of this three-year plan, Square Enix states its aim to ‘shift from quantity to quality’, with the intention of releasing ‘major titles mainly in key IP steadily’ after 2027. Square Enix has several games planned for the Switch 2, including Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster and Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade. Elsewhere in the plan, Square Enix announced it is working on a video game with TBS Television, the Tokyo-based network which is known for producing shows like Takeshi’s Castle and Ninja Warrior. While it’s unclear when we could get another glimpse at Kingdom Hearts 4, the next likely candidate is Summer Game Fest on June 6, 2025. The Missing-Link is now lost forever (Square Enix) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Nintendo president reiterates US tariffs did not affect Switch 2 price Shuntaro Furukawa said higher price was due to manufacturing costs, consumer impressions, market conditions, and exchange rates Image credit: Nintendo News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on May 13, 2025 Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has made it clear that the US tariffs did not factor into the Switch 2's higher price point. In an earnings call Q&A published yesterday, Furukawa said the ¥49,980/$499.99/£395.99 price was determined by manufacturing costs, consumer impressions, market conditions, and exchange rates. "For software, in addition to the same factors, we also take into account rises in costs, due to aspects such as increased game file size and extended development periods, when determining price," he said. "Going forward, we will continue to consider appropriate prices for each title when it comes to software prices." "Hardware involves special factors such as tariffs, and we will take into account factors like those we just described, while conducting careful and repeated deliberations when determining price." Speaking of tariffs, Furukawa explained why they did not affect the base price of the Switch 2. "Our basic policy is that for any country or region, if tariffs are imposed, we recognise them as part of the cost and incorporate them into the price," he explained. "However, this year marks our first new dedicated video game system launch in eight years, so given our unique situation, our priority is to maintain the momentum of our platforms, which is extremely important for our dedicated video game platform business. "Consequently, if the assumptions on tariffs change, we will consider what kind of price adjustments would be appropriate, taking into account various factors such as the market conditions." The higher price of the Nintendo Switch 2 also factored into the firm's sales forecast for the console. As highlighted in its financial results for the full year, it expects hardware sales of 15 million and software sales of 45 million. Furukawa said the 15 million figure was set in an attempt to meet the "same level of sales" as the Switch did in its first ten months of sale (that being between March 2017 and December 2017), which was 10 million units. "The Switch 2 is priced relatively high compared to the Switch, so we recognise that there are corresponding challenges to early adoption," he noted. "That being said, the Switch 2 can play compatible Switch software, so there is continuity between the platforms. "We are taking steps like building software with the hardware to accelerate adoption in the first fiscal year, aiming to get off to the same start we did with the Switch." Image credit: Nintendo Last month, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser said "longevity" was also a factor for the Switch 2's higher price point. "We want to make sure that this is a device that is approachable, that consumers will see as part of their overall entertainment experience and will understand that it has longevity to it," Bowser said. "And all of those factors really go into the consideration of the price." Furukawa emphasised that its "hardware production capacity" did not affect its forecast, and neither did "the tariff situation in the US or a possibility of a recession." "In order to achieve sales of 15 million units, we will need to manufacture the hardware in quantities greater than that," he reiterated. "Our first goal is to get off to the same start we did with the Switch, and we are working to strengthen our production capacity so we can respond flexibly to demand." When asked whether limits to production capacity affected the forecast, Furukawa confirmed there was no limit and that Nintendo continues "to strengthen [its] production capability." "Our plan is to continually produce and ship significant numbers of Switch 2 units going forward," he explained. "To achieve a certain level of sales, we believe it is necessary to maintain momentum throughout the year, not just at the start, so we set this figure as the number of our initial plan." As for its software forecast, Furukawa highlighted the "robust lineup" of titles from software publishers this time around compared to the Switch launch, and Switch 2 editions of Switch games. "This fiscal year, we will aim for the target we have set as the sales volume forecast, strengthen our production capacity to respond to recent increased demand, and focus on promoting sales in an effort to exceed our forecast," he added. "The momentum we have immediately after the Switch 2 launch is important, of course, but the challenge we face is how to sustain that momentum and carry it into the holiday season."