Keiji Inafune’s Studio, Known for Mighty No. 9’s Kickstarter Issues, Has Closed Its Doors

The saga of Mighty No. 9 has finally come to a close, and it’s been quite the ride. Meanwhile, Blizzard is gearing up for some major developments in World of Warcraft set for 2026. Plus, veterans from the Diablo series are crafting their own ARPG that aims to rival the iconic franchise. Here’s the latest scoop in the gaming world.

Rainbow Six Siege is getting a fresh twist reminiscent of Fortnite, teasing Solid Snake as its next operator. However, it’s hard to imagine this will rake in the same kind of cash for Konami as those millions of eFootball downloads.

Keiji Inafune, the legendary Mega Man artist, founded his own studio, Comcept, in 2010 after leaving Capcom due to the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3. One of their early projects was Mighty No. 9, a 2D action platformer that relied heavily on Kickstarter support but ultimately fell short of expectations both as a game and in delivering on crowdfunding promises.

In 2017, Comcept was acquired by Level-5. Fast forward to 2024, and Inafune has departed the company during a reboot of the life sim RPG Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, with oversight returning to Level-5’s Osaka Office. The game launched last summer and received positive feedback. However, Inafune’s legacy at the studio has officially come to an end with the recent announcement of its dissolution.

A new Minecraft-inspired title is making waves as early players import a variety of creative modes and features. The developers at Hypixel are promising a rapid update schedule to keep the Early Access version evolving quickly while still experimenting. “Going forward, we’ll use the pre-release patchline to be a bit more adventurous,” said Simon Collins-Laflamme, the founder. “Expect weekly updates that may be unstable by design; this is where we’ll introduce new features and larger changes. Just a heads up, we might skip a week occasionally for holidays or other reasons.”

Safeguard, which first appeared in Black Ops 3, is making a return for season 2 starting February 5. This mode is essentially an escort mission featuring a robot, and players can look forward to new maps, cosmetics, and unlockables with this content drop.

Darkhaven is set to deliver a slick retro aesthetic and promises a more dynamic combat and traversal experience than your typical loot clicker. “From the very beginning, we wanted Darkhaven to feel good to play,” said Erich Schaefert, co-creator of Diablo. “Jumping over attacks, climbing cliffs, dashing out of danger, or swimming across potentially dangerous waters changes the combat experience. It’s not just about numbers anymore; it’s about skill, flow, and making smart decisions in the moment. I’ve never had more fun creating and playing an ARPG.” No release date has been announced yet.

Blizzard has revealed that Labyrinths will be introduced in the 12.1.5 patch, expected to launch in fall 2026. This showcase highlighted what MMORPG fans can anticipate in the coming year, especially with the upcoming March 3 Midnight expansion on the horizon.