Image: NetherRealm StudiosLast week, Mortal Kombat 1 developer NetherRealm Studios signalled the end of the game could be near with the release of the Definitive Edition. Now, in an official statement, it's confirmed it is shifting focus to the "next project" to ensure it can make it as great as it possibly can. While it will still update the game with "balance adjustments and fixes" there will be no more additional "DLC characters or story chapters". Here's this latest update in full (via social media): "We are hearing players' requests for continued game support of Mortal Kombat 1, and, while we will continue to support Mortal Kombat 1 through balance adjustments and fixes, there will not be additional DLC characters or story chapters released from this point on.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813kWatch on YouTube "We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but our team at NetherRealm needs to shift focus to the next project in order to make it as great as we possibly can." No details about this "next project" have been revealed at this stage, but there are already some rumours and requests from fans. Reports about Mortal Kombat 1 axing plans for an additional story expansion and third Kombat Pack emerged late last year. The series co-creator Ed Boon also suggested at one point that this entry could have "years of content". Although it is over for Mortal Kombat 1, you can still check out the Definitive Edition on the Switch for $59.99. You can also see Mortal Kombat 1 and other entries in action at Combo Breaker this weekend. That's a wrap How do you feel about this news? What would you like to see from NetherRealm's next project? Let us know in the comments. [source eventhubs.com] Related Games See Also Share:0 0 Liam is a news writer and reviewer across Hookshot Media. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Unveils Diddy Kong's Brand New Design Cap's off Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying 12 Switch Games Are Getting Free Switch 2 Upgrades, Here's What You Can Expect Nintendo's free updates arrive next month Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Update Arrives Next Week Here's what you can expect

Developer: LEVEL-5 FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time Live as you please in the latest game in the Fantasy Life series! www.fantasylife.jp Release Date: May 18, 2025 (Deluxe Edition 72 hour Advanced Access excluding Switch) May 21, 2025 (Global Standard Launch) (Note: Preorder/Deluxe... Read more

"We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone".Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has completely consumed many people's free time over the past week. The game officially launched on Switch on 21st May, but with an early access period on other consoles kicking things off on the 18th, player counts have been high and word-of-mouth has been incredibly strong. And Level-5 has responded, in kind, by announcing some free DLC.Spotted by RPG Site, Level-5 will be releasing DLC "due to popular demand" for the cost of absolutely nothing. While we know little about the DLC, including when it will be released, President and CEO Akihiro Hino has confirmed that new recipes, the ability to wield high-rarity weapons, and new content to "update the world" is coming.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Fantasy Life i studio announces free DLC as the "slow-life RPG" sequel gets off to a flying start Will "update the world". Image credit: LEVEL5 Inc News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on May 23, 2025 Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time has had an unexpectedly strong start for a sequel to a fairly obscure 13-year Nintendo DS game. And developer Level 5 has now thanked fans for their enthusiasm, pledging to release free DLC in response to its "global success". The Girl Who Steals Time, for context, is a sequel to Level 5's Fantasy Life - a sort of job-focussed mash-mash of life sim and RPG - which enjoyed modest critical and commercial success when it launched for Nintendo DS back in 2012. Eurogamer's celebrated its "abundance of features" in our 6/10 review at the time, but noted the result was often "less than the sum of its parts". But in this post-Stardew Valley world - where you can't watch an indie showcase without seeing a dozen new village sims jostling for attention - the newly released Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals seems to resonated with audiences. It's garnered a positive early critical reception and even surpassed 45K concurrents on its first day on Steam (that's more than Doom: The Dark Ages managed) - and Level 5 is now celebrating its launch with news of more to come. Fantasy Life i - features trailer.Watch on YouTube "Due to the game's global success and the warm support from players around the world," it wrote in a message on its website, "we have decided to release a free DLC that includes new recipes as well as expanded content under the title 'Update the World!'." Level 5 hasn't shared much in the way of specifics, but it promises "new content designed to make use of high-rarity weapons obtained from Treasure Groves and other sources", as well as "even more opportunities [for players] to showcase their gear". The studio says it's working to release the DLC "as soon as possible", and will provide further details at a later date. It sounds like there's even more on the way too; "We will continue to update and improve Fantasy Life i," it adds, "so that players can enjoy its world more comfortably and for an even longer time." Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is available now on Steam, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Switch, with a Switch 2 version coming later this year.

Image: MarvelousHaving trouble deciding who to romance in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma? Well fear not, as Marvelous has a solution for you — timeline and world hopping (thanks Siliconera!). No, we're not joking; the official Rune Factory PR account announced that you can date and marry multiple different characters in the upcoming Rune Factory game by using the "Technique to Travel Between Worlds". The mechanic doesn't have a name in English just yet. This mechanic lets you jump to an alternate timeline without consequence, meaning your family, partner, and everything else remains in-tact in the real world. You can have up to 30 different timelines active, and that's more than enough to explore all 12 romance options in the main game. Phew!Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813kWatch on YouTube Other similar games usually have consequences for attempting to date multiple characters, or just straight-up won't let you do it without ending your current relationships. Some titles, like Rune Factory 2, have rival marriages, but rarely do you have this freedom of choice. We've seen the phrase "interdimensional adultery" being thrown around here and, uh... yeah? You might see this a few times, then... — Image: Marvelous Who is the producer's favourite romance option in Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, though? Well, he loves all of them — which is a good thing given that you can smooch all of them! Are you getting Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma or Switch or Switch 2? Let us know in the comments below. Okay... what? "If I'm forced to say..." [source x.com, via siliconera.com] Related Games See Also Share:0 0 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles 27 Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games We're Excited For In 2025 The very best Switch 2 games coming soon Nintendo Unveils Diddy Kong's Brand New Design Cap's off Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Donkey Kong Has Been Redesigned You want expressive? You got it Nintendo Apologises For "Error" With Mention Of Switch 2 VRR TV Support "The incorrect information was initially published" Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is out, and it's already quite popular. In light of this, Level-5 has announced some free DLC is on the way, in recognition of the new Fantasy Life's positive reception.Announced on the Level-5 site, the developer has confirmed free DLC is coming to Fantasy Life i. While no release date is set yet, the team is teasing some new recipes, as well as new content to "update the world" (via Gematsu). It will also apparently allow players to utilize high-rarity weapons obtained from Treasure Groves and other sources.Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time went live for early access on May 18, with its full launch on May 21. It quickly climbed the Steam charts and started drawing players in, whether they were on the look-out for a new life-sim game or just eager for a new Fantasy Life game.PlayLevel-5's latest sits at a 'Very Positive' user review rating on Steam at the moment with over 3,000 reviews, and given the early confirmation of free DLC, it seems like the new game has certainly taken off.It feels like a solid win for Level-5, even after the departure of Keiji Inafune last year to "reassess and restructure" the project. Business operations of Level-5 Comcept were transferred to the parent company after Inafune left. In a post from March 2025, Level-5 boss Akihiro Hino described Inafune's departure as an "unexpected challenge."Fantasy Life i has taken off though, which hopefully bodes well for the rest of Level-5's roster of upcoming games. The studio announced a slew of games in a February 2023 Nintendo Direct, and while some have released, others are still in development. The yet-to-be-released games include some heavy hitters, like futuristic detective RPG DecaPolice and the next installment in the Professor Layton series, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam.While we wait to see when and how those games land, at least Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time players have some more chill life updates to look forward to. If you're currently playing Fantasy Life i, make sure to head over to our Fantasy Life i Gift Codes hub, where we're cataloguing all the Gift Codes and how to redeem them for some in-game goodies.Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Image: Square EnixSquare Enix has released a patch for its gorgeous Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake today, and it's live to download on Switch right now. (Thanks, RPG Site!) The patch, detailed on Steam, includes adding the Mini Medal Manor as a Zoom location, the addition of "short-cut buttons" to add spells and skills to buttons, various balance changes, and an increase to movement speed when travelling on the boat or in the skies on your trusty godbird, Ramia. That last one is pretty crucial — one of ours (and others') biggest criticisms of the game was the movement speed of the bird. So this will make the later hours of the game much more tolerable.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813kWatch on YouTube Need a rundown of everything included in the patch? Here are the patch notes: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake - Ver. 1.2.0.0 Update Content This update contains the content listed below Traversal The movement speed when travelling by boat or using Ramia has been increased. Adjustments have been made to avoid boat travel speed being reset by opening the menu or getting into a battle while travelling by boat. A feature has been added whereby pressing the menu button while flying with Ramia allows the player to switch between automatic and manual flight modes. Vocations Critical hit rates for the Hero and Martial Artist have been increased. The Hero's Falcon Slash and Gigaslash abilities have been made more powerful. The Warrior's Cutting Edge ability has been made more powerful. The Priest can now equip the Duplic Hat. The Monster Wrangler's Monster Pile-On ability has been changed to have reduced power until all friendly monsters have been found, and to carry out a random number of attacks between 3 and 5. The amount of MP used by the Monster Wrangler ability Wild Side has been changed to 30. Battle A limit has been placed on the number of times that some monsters can perform certain actions within one turn. Some monsters have been adjusted so that they no longer use Defending Champion in the next turn after they become the last remaining monster. The status-ailment resistance of boss monsters has been increased for Draconian Quest difficulty. Adjustments have been made to make it more difficult for both enemies and party members to be successively afflicted with the same status ailments. Some monsters (Metal Chimaera and Hardy Hand) now yield more experience points when defeated. Defence has been lowered for all monsters except for metal monsters. Minor adjustments have been made to the way that damage is dealt. Miscellaneous Once the Mini Medal Manor has been visited, it will be added to the list of Zoom destinations. A new “short-cut button” feature has been added that allows spells and abilities to be assigned to specific buttons. For more information, please refer to Traveller's Tips in-game. In the Temple of Trials, the number of Elfin Elixirs required to be handed over to the guard has been changed to 10. A treasure chest has been added to the Temple of Trials, allowing players to acquire one more Gringham Whip. Fixed a bug whereby levelling up after using the Seed of Life or Seed of Magic items would cause the status increase value to be calculated twice. Adjustments have been made so that if trophies and achievements have not been acquired correctly, selecting Misc. > Info in the menu allows some of them to be reacquired. Miscellaneous fixes for minor bugs. Images: Square Enix Since launching in November 2024, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake has apparently sold above expectations, with sales in December 2024 coming in at over 2 million. We've also got more HD-2D goodness to come this year, with Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, which got a new trailer during the March 2025 Nintendo Direct. That's coming sometime in 2025, but we're keeping our eyes peeled for a more concrete date? Have you completed Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake? Will you be picking it up with these changes now? Let us know down below. You 'Erd While mobile games seemingly tank [source store.steampowered.com, via rpgsite.net] Related Games See Also Share:0 1 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Unveils Diddy Kong's Brand New Design Cap's off The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In A fantasy score? Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying 12 Switch Games Are Getting Free Switch 2 Upgrades, Here's What You Can Expect Nintendo's free updates arrive next month

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813k Bandai Namco has released a new trailer for its upcoming Pac-Man re-imagining Shadow Labyrinth, and if previous glimpses of the game perhaps didn't convince you, then this latest effort may just bring you on board with its nostalgic elements. The new trailer showcases a series of mazes that look a lot more like the traditional Pac-Man experience you're perhaps more used to. There are a few interesting elements, mind you, including boost pads that speed Pac-Man (or "Puck", as it's known here) along a straight line, along with the ability to jump and bash into platforms, thus causing them to move or fall down.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube813kWatch on YouTube It's looking pretty sweet, and it's worth noting that this one is scheduled to launch on both the Switch and Switch 2, so we'd expect the latter to showcase some sizable performance upgrades. Whichever you opt to get, the game will launch on 18th July 2025. The core gameplay sees you take on the role of "The Swordsman", who must survive in a deadly world filled with fearsome creatures, all the while utilising Puck to gobble up enemies and gain vital upgrades. Images: Bandai Namco Entertainment Waka waka waka! Including a "Secret Edition" What are your thoughts on this one so far? Will you be picking up Shadow Labyrinth when it launches in July? Let us know with a comment. Related Games See Also Share:0 0 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles 27 Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games We're Excited For In 2025 The very best Switch 2 games coming soon Nintendo Unveils Diddy Kong's Brand New Design Cap's off Shigeru Miyamoto Explains Why Donkey Kong Has Been Redesigned You want expressive? You got it Nintendo Apologises For "Error" With Mention Of Switch 2 VRR TV Support "The incorrect information was initially published" The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In A fantasy score?

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETA thief who steals your smartphone can try to crack it themselves, sell it locally, or use it to commit fraud. But your stolen phone could also travel as far away as China. A recent investigation by The Financial Times (paywall) found that a particular building in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei district is home to a treasure trove of second-hand iPhones, including stolen devices.Though several locations in and around the Huaqiangbei district are hot spots for trading used phones, FT's investigation focused mostly on the Feiyang Times building. Much of the buying and selling here is for phones that were legitimately traded in by their owners, according to the reporter who covered the action. But at least some of the activity involves stolen phones, leading the Feiyang Times to be known as China's "stolen iPhone building." Also: 5 warning signs that your phone's been hacked - and how to fight backThe Times relates one unfortunate individual whose iPhone 15 Pro was stolen by thieves in London. Using tracking technology, the victim followed the phone to its final destination in the Huaqiangbei district. After sharing his experience on LinkedIn, he discovered that many other people had encountered similar situations. A woman in North Carolina whose phone was stolen tracked it on its journey from Charlotte to Miami and then finally to Shenzhen, according to WRAL News. In this case, the thieves compounded the crime with a spin on the usual ransomware ploy. In texts sent to the woman, they told her that unless she deactivated the stolen phone, they would sell her private information on the black market, meaning the dark web. Phone theft is on the rise, especially in major cities like London, Paris, and New York. In February, the UK's Metropolitan Police said that phone theft in London is a business that generates £50 million ($67 million) per year. In one week, UK police officials captured 1,000 stolen devices and made 230 arrests, FT reported. A phone that can be cracked easily due to a weak passcode is more lucrative to thieves. In that case, they can steal any personal information and then wipe the phone to sell it as fully functional. However, even a locked and protected phone is valuable. Thieves can simply strip it and sell the used components -- sort of a chop shop for mobile devices.Also: Rebooting your phone daily is your best defense against zero-click attacks - here's whyOne phone seller who spoke to the FT reporter revealed that phones with security measures such as IDs generally sell for about 70% less than unlocked ones. Such phones are then broken down into parts and sold in Shenzhen at a small profit.OK, now that you're sufficiently worried about carrying around your phone, how can you protect it from thieves? Miguel Fornés, a cybersecurity expert at VPN and security service Surfshark, shares his thoughts on phone snatching and offers tips on securing your phone. 1. Take advantage of anti-theft settings iPhones and Android devices both offer theft protection features that can help you better secure your phone. On an iPhone, go to Settings and select Face ID & Passcode. Swipe down the screen, tap the setting for Stolen Device Protection, and turn on its switch.Also: 7 ways to lock down your phone's security - before it's too lateOn an Android device, head to Settings and select Google or Google services. Swipe down the screen for All Services and select Theft Protection. You can now turn on options such as Identity Check, Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, and Remote Lock. 2. Use the Find my feature iPhones and Android devices also both provide a Find My tool to help you locate a stolen or lost phone. On an iPhone, go to Settings, tap your account name at the top, select Find My, and tap Find My iPhone. Turn on the switches for Find My iPhone, Find My network, and Send Last Location. You can then sign in to another Apple device or the iCloud Find website if you need to track your device. On an Android device, go to Settings, select Security & privacy, and then tap Device finders. Select Find My Device and turn on its switch. To track your phone, you can use Google's Find Hub app on another device or sign in to the Find My Hub website.3. Save your phone's IMEI number If your phone is ever stolen, your provider or even the police can use the IMEI number to try to track it down and even disable it. To find your IMEI number on an iPhone or Android phone, launch the dial pad in the Phone app and dial *#06#. You can then take a screenshot of the IMEI number and the other numbers on display and store the information in a safe and secure place. 4. Use a strong passcode Do you use a simple four-digit number for your passcode, maybe something like 1234? That's just asking for trouble. As with any PIN or password, you need to use one that's strong and secure to prevent a thief from accessing your phone. On an iPhone, you can create a custom numeric or alphanumeric code. On an Android device, you can create a numeric code with up to 16 digits. Though it may be tempting to stick with a four-digit code, consider one with at least six digits for added security. And don't use the same PIN everywhere. "Let's be honest, using the same login everywhere is basically leaving your digital front door wide open," Fornés says. "Avoid simple PINs, like 1234 or birth dates. This makes it harder for thieves to access your phone, even if they watch you type it in. Never use the same passcode for your phone and apps, especially banking. If a thief unlocks your phone, reused PINs could grant full access to sensitive data." 5. Turn off access to Control Center on an iPhone Control Center on an iPhone provides easy entry to key features and controls. For this reason, you should prevent access to this screen when your device is locked. On your iPhone, go to Settings and select Face ID & Passcode. Also: How to open Control Center on your iPhone without swiping from top: 4 easier waysSwipe down the screen to the section on "Allow Access When Locked" and turn off the switch for Control Center.6. Back up your device You can always replace a stolen phone with a new device. But you can't replace the photos, files, or other important information on it unless you have a backup. For that reason, make sure you back up your phone and all its content on a regular basis. You can easily back up and sync your iPhone or Android phone with all its data and then recover it if necessary. "Your more cherished memories might be easily recovered in case of a stolen phone," Fornés says. "After all, nowadays the device is just a 'container' of our data. Be sure your images, documents, etc., are properly backed up."7. Protect your physical space Finally, you naturally want to avoid having your phone stolen in the first place. That means you need to safeguard it when you're in public areas, especially in crowded places. "Always stay vigilant in public, especially in crowded or high-risk areas," Fornés says. "Keep your phone out of sight when not in use. Use an anti-spying screen so people around you can't easily see what you're doing. Also, consider using an anti-theft case with a chain or metallic lanyard to deter quick snatching."Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.Featured

Dasvidania Tovarish: Infostealers are a dangerous class of malware built to infiltrate systems and extract sensitive personal or corporate data. Lumma Stealer ranks among the worst offenders, prompting Microsoft and global law enforcement to go after its alleged mastermind. Microsoft says its Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) successfully disrupted the server infrastructure behind Lumma Stealer, a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) operation that infected hundreds of thousands of Windows PCs. Cybercriminals worldwide used LummaC2 to steal passwords and credit cards, drain crypto wallets, disrupt critical services, and more. Microsoft's DCU worked with a federal court in Georgia, the Department of Justice, Europol, and Japan's Cybercrime Control Center to dismantle Lumma's infrastructure. Redmond blocked roughly 2,300 malicious domains that served as the backbone of the operation. Microsoft identified more than 394,000 Windows systems infected by Lumma malware between March 16 and May 16. The seized domains now redirect to Microsoft-controlled sinkholes, which protect users while providing analysts with fresh insights into the malicious operation. With its infrastructure dismantled, the Lumma enterprise has effectively shut down. The malware ring has "rented" Lumma on underground markets since 2022. The malware evolved to offer increasingly advanced features to its criminal customers. Microsoft analysts claim LummaC2 can siphon browser credentials and cookies, locate locally stored cryptocurrency wallets and extensions, and target VPNs along with various internet applications. Furthermore, Lumma collects various document types (PDF, DOCX, RTF) from the local user profile and steals metadata about the infected machine for further exploitation. The malware spreads through multiple channels, including phishing emails, malvertising, drive-by downloads from compromised sites, and fake Captcha challenges. Other malware specimens can also drop Lumma as an additional threat. // Related Stories Microsoft identified the primary developer behind Lumma as a Russian hacker known online as "Shamel." In a recent interview with a cybersecurity researcher, the hacker claimed to have around 400 active customers. That is likely no longer the case, as Windows Defender and other Microsoft endpoint security tools now reliably detect the all-but-defunct malware. Third-party antivirus programs probably flagged it well before authorities dismantled the operation. "Disrupting the tools cybercriminals frequently use can create a significant and lasting impact on cybercrime, as rebuilding malicious infrastructure and sourcing new exploit tools takes time and costs money," Redmond said.