For many players of Undisputed, the online scene has become nearly as intense as the in-ring action, but not in a good way. Undisputed has its fair share of flaws, but in this specific case, the developers aren’t wholly to blame.

According to countless Reddit threads, community discussions, and even some Steam reviews, online play has become extremely toxic. Now, toxicity is always a part of multiplayer gaming. Pick any multiplayer game, and you are bound to come across toxic players.

But things are getting out of hand in Undisputed. Generally, a good moderation system helps reduce toxicity in games and punishes players for misconduct, but Undisputed seems to lack that currently.

For a game that already has a very small community and one that has been flamed for having game-breaking bugs, this is not a good look. Trash-talking is still something that you can avoid just by turning off chat, but what about a toxic gameplay style? According to many fans, the current meta of running (constantly stepping away from the fight) has ruined online play more than the trash-talking and toxic opponents. 

Increasing Toxicity In Undisputed

Just go onto r/undisputedboxing, and you’ll realize the severity of toxicity in the game. There are countless threads from players complaining about opponents running away and exploiting the game’s mechanics. This one-liner from a Reddit user explains the situation perfectly.

 I chase, they don’t quit, I force them to chase, they quit 

Others have taken a more aggressive approach to counter this meta. 

I got so tired of chasing him, I "rage waited" until I couldn't take it anymore lmao
byu/aa_conchobar inundisputedboxing

The truth is that this kind of online play really ruins the experience for fans. Undisputed already has bugs and issues; the game is far from perfect, but fans are still tolerating it because they are hopeful, and the game is enjoyable at its core.

But if these issues are not resolved and the developers don’t add countermeasures to prevent this type of behavior, the player count will start to drop. The game has definitely come a long way and is in a much better state than before, so hopefully this will be resolved too.

Switch 2 had some very strong months after release, selling a lot of copies. So much so that Nintendo adjusted its projected earnings for the next year just based on the sales performance of the Switch 2. But, weirdly enough, it seemed to slow down at the end of the year, from November to December. 

This is definitely unusual, as December is usually a strong month for console sales, as everyone is either buying or gifting them on Christmas. But that wasn’t the case for the Switch 2 this year. In fact, the sales were less than what the original Switch did in its release year. 

Switch 2 Sales Slow Down At The End Of The Year

According to Game Business, Switch 2 sales in the US during November and December were down a shocking 35% compared to the original Switch in its release year. Things weren’t better in the UK either, with about 16% less sales compared to the original Switch. Even in France, which is considered a strong market for Nintendo, the sales were 30% lower. 

Japan had a similar story, but the difference wasn’t as significant compared to other countries. The Switch 2 still had fewer sales in November and December in Japan than the Switch 1 in its release year, but the difference wasn’t as big.

However, the Switch 2 isn’t the only one suffering. According to US data tracker Circana, November has been the worst month in terms of console sales in the US since 1995. But because Switch 2 was the only main console released this year, the low sales hurt it more than others.

Thankfully, Switch 2’s early release days more than made up for this drop. The Switch 2 became the fastest-selling console this year with over 3.5 million units sold in four days after release. So, while the sales did suffer in November and December, the damage was a bit less because of the early success.

Despite the holiday dip, Nintendo isn’t necessarily in trouble; the console still posted strong first-year numbers overall, and its lifetime sales continue to grow. 

Anyone who has grinded Franchise mode in Madden 26 knows that building a stacked roster is all about securing drafts, trading smart, and hoping your sim luck holds out. It doesn’t just end there; remember that your head coach and coordinators are just as important, not just sidebar hires. 

Their abilities, playbooks, and upgrades shape your weekly strategy and can boost your team growth. So, to get the most out of it, picking the right staff is just as important as drafting your franchise QB.

Coach Creation And Archetypes Set The Tone

In Coach Central, you get to mess around with custom looks with a variety of over 200+ heads, ~50 shirts, and ~40 shoes that let you customize your vibe however you like. You can then pick your archetype, whether you want to be an offensive guru, a defensive genius, or maybe even a development wizard. 

Each archetype comes with a unique skill tree, which you can grind all the way to level 50: unlocking Gameday boosts (in-match edges) and Season Abilities (scouting/development perks). For instance, the Level 20 Guru unlocks a 20% red-zone boost.

Coordinators Step Up Big Time

Coordinators aren’t just filling rosters anymore; they’re running their side of the ball like mini-head coaches. Head Coaches like Sean McVay count on their defensive coordinators to keep things in check, just like in real-life NFL. 

Veterans like Todd Bowles bring some great skills, like top-notch blitz reads and sharp coverage calls. On the other hand, the rookies start with a slow grind but pick up pace, earning XP by scoring goals like “force 3 turnovers”.

Their abilities progress or regress based on your performance on the field. So a slumping OC might drop your red-zone efficiency, while a hot DC masters shutdown plays. You can see real NFL coordinators in the game too, with schemes reflected in playsheets. Want to dial up the heat? Equip Mike Macdonald’s for aggressive fronts that swarm RBs all day.

Staff And Playsheet Loadouts

Each week, you jump into the Staff Loadout, where you can slot up to six abilities from your head coach or coordinators. You’ll see matchup suggestions like QB Pressure against pocket passers, but in the end, you decide how to patch up your team’s weak spots.

Then there’s the Playsheet Loadout, where you can swap up to four offensive/defensive schemes from your staff’s strengths. These schemes ride into the game with your base playbooks. 

Maybe you want to channel Bowles or Reid, aggressive 4-3 looks and lots of offensive tempo. If you skip the loadout, you’re just missing out on potential boosts and a competitive edge.

These tie straight to sim results and user games. Sims factor in coach XP goals (which you complete for progression), while user play sees abilities affect fatigue, play success, and even morale. 

Real Impact On Gameplay And Progression

If you want to see the impact in action, just step into Franchise mode and feel the difference right away. With a level 10 custom coach, you can equip “Development Boost,” which bumps young WRs’ XP 15% faster.  Pair that with a Wizard archetype, and your rookies start to take off. Meanwhile, coordinators have their own goals, like hitting 30 rush attempts for team-wide run-block edges next game.

In head-to-head play or simulation games, Coach DNA holds its own weight. The bold ones gamble on 4th-and-2, which is sometimes all you need to turn a close game. On the other hand, if your staff is mismatched, you’ll notice that right out too. You start giving up yards, and your contender feels shaky. The simple fix is to start hiring smart or executing a well-timed trade to bring the balance back.

Community sim leagues buzz about it too, calling out how Wear & Tear abilities drain opponent stamina late, turning 4th-quarter leads into locks. There’s real weight to player progression; you can master abilities for permanent upgrades, or regress and hunt replacements.

So, Do Coaches And Coordinators Make A Difference?

Do they make a difference? Technically, yes. But despite all of this, a large portion of the Madden community remains unconvinced, and they’re not wrong to question it.

Long-running Franchise discussions on Reddit and forums regularly point out that coordinators often feel more like passive boost containers than living parts of the league ecosystem. Coaches aren’t consistently hired away, schemes don’t always create friction when staffs change, and there’s rarely a penalty for sticking with the same coordinators forever. Compared to older Madden titles, where staff turnover and progression felt more organic, today’s system can come off as shallow or inconsistent.

That gap between what the system promises and how it actually behaves is where frustration lives. Madden’s coaching mechanics do matter. But until the game fully commits to consequence, churn, and adaptation, many players will continue to feel like they should matter more.

Kirby Air Riders doesn’t hold back on any customization, offering different color variations for its characters. These can be unlocked by completing different challenges across the game modes. After completing the Checklist tasks of a character, a duplicate copy is unlocked, which includes their alternative color.

Today’s piece covers exactly that. What characters have different colors to offer, and how they can be unlocked. 

Rider Checklist Tasks & How To Unlock

While Kirby Air Riders doesn’t offer alternative colors for all of its characters, it still does for a good chunk of them. Completing Checklist Tasks of some characters will also unlock them as playable Characters upon first challenge completion.

Kirby

• Cross the finish line in Air Ride: Laps without crashing into walls.
• Defeat a rival rider in City Trial: Big Battle 2 while shrunken.
• Win a Top Ride: Flower race without obtaining any Copy Abilities during the entire race.

King Dedede

• Win a race in Air Ride mode with the course, rider, and machine options set to random.
• Earn 80 points in a single match of City Trial: Gourmet Race
• Complete a Treasure Hunt challenge in Road Trip.

Meta Knight 

• Finish a lap in Air Ride: Nebula Belt (Laps) without crashing into walls any more than 2 times.
• Complete a lap in Top Ride: Nova without attacking or damaging any rival riders.

Bandana Waddle Dee

• Destroy 2 boxes in City Trial: Field within the first 30 seconds of a match.
• Complete Top Ride challenges three times over in Road Trip: Top Ride

Waddle Doo

• Complete a race in Air Ride: Floria Fields (Laps) without crashing into your rivals.
• Attack a rival rider with a Course Quaker in Top Ride

Chef Kawasaki

• Complete Air Ride challenges three times in Road Trip: Air Ride
• Eat onigiri from the treehouse in Air Ride: Mount Amberfalls

Knuckle Joe

• Steal a rival rider’s air machine, one that they’re actively riding
• Upgrade all stats to 1 or higher using Power-ups in Road Trip

Gooey

• Win a race in Top Ride: Air after getting swept in the tornado a total of 3 times\
• Earn 2,000 points in a single match of City Trials: Skydive 1

Cappy

• Complete a lap within 30 seconds with the Warp Star machine in Top Ride: Flower.
• Complete City Trial: Field without getting any power-down items

Starman

• Fall for 6 seconds after only Boosting once in City Trial: Field.
• Complete 4 laps in the lead position in Top Ride: Crystal.

Magalor 

• Enter all hidden/secret rooms in City Trial: Field.
• Send a rider flying 2 times with the Drill Driver in Top Ride.

Susie

• Hit a clean landing at least 5 times in a single race of Air Ride.
• Hit at least three rivals with a single attack in Road Trip.

Waddle Dee

• Beat 30 rival riders during the City Trial challenges in Road Trip: Skyah

Rick

• Enter the shop three times in Road Trip.
• Win with at least a margin of 5 seconds between you and the 2nd place in Top Ride: Mountain.

Rocky

• Use the character 30 times in Top Ride
• Open a treasure on the road of Road Trip

Scarfy

• Beat a rival without making it mad in Air Ride: Waveflow Waters
• Destroy an enemy air machine within the first minute of the race.

Lololo Lalala

• Complete Air Ride: Crystalline Fissure (Laps) within 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
• Beat 10 riders that are riding on star-type machines in Road Trip.

Marx

• Spend at least 300,000 Road Miles in a Road Trip
• Complete the entire lap without the speed ever touching below 19 mph

Daraoch 

• Find and beat the special enemy Gemaine in Air Ride
• Win in Top Ride after lapping at least 1 rival rider.

Taranza

• Ride for a total of 5,469 yd in Air Ride: Beanstalk Park (Time). 
• Win a short race in City Trial: Field

Noir Dedede

• Finish all Road Trip’s Checklist tasks to unlock Noir Dedede’s bronze alternative color.

The UK Games Industry Shadow Council (UKGISC) is a rather new player in the UK games industry. It’s an independent group that wants to call out both good and bad practices across the country’s games sector. Their direct approach is targeted at better transparency, accountability, and ethical reform in the industry. In an interview with GamesIndustry, they talked about their goals to improve the overall game industry in the UK.

A Bit Of Context

Industry insiders set up UKGISC, professionals who feel like trade bodies and employers haven’t done enough to fix the ongoing problems. Stories about layoffs, toxic work environments, and all sorts of shocking behind-the-scenes secrets keep pouring out, yet nothing changes.

So a bunch of seasoned professionals sought to themselves to step up and form an interim watchdog. While Kim MacAskill kicked off the thought, she remains outside the council to preserve its independent autonomy.

Who Is Involved And How It Works

Phil Harris, a veteran designer and writer, is the council’s chairman. Working with more than 30 people, some from recruitment, some from education, and others from studios and the gaming industry job market. 

A few of the council members are choosing to stay anonymous, and the reason is well understood. They’re rightfully concerned about the risks that challenging such large publishers and major studios in the industry brings.

As for the council, it’s split into seven committees, each one talking a different specialization: accountability, EDI and safeguarding, industry partnerships, education and research, creative and production issues, and technology and innovation. There’s also the executive core team keeping the knots tied together.

What It Means For UK Devs And Players

The group is collecting confidential testimonies of workers, promising to handle every submission with utmost “discretion, dignity, and respect.”  However, the council’s agenda remains highlighting great studio cultures, and not just showcasing the dark, ugly truths. Their purpose is to set up a clearer, more transparent map of what working in the UK games industry is like, day in and day out.

However, the UKGISC is set up temporarily, and once the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) formally starts covering games, the council plans to hand over its findings and wrap up its work.

Meanwhile, council members are hoping to work with the government-backed UK Video Games Council so that any industry’s future growth is grounded in fair, stable jobs — not just toxic cycles and waves of layoffs.

One of the biggest complaints with eFootball is the online experience. It’s been a pain point for the entire community. But things are going to get better, if Konami is to be believed.

Konami has dropped a fresh update on what they’re doing to finally improve the online experience in eFootball, and it’s definitely something fans have been waiting to hear. The studio posted a full thread on X talking about connection upgrades, input lag fixes, and even new ways for players to give feedback directly in-game. Here is the thread for context:

[Efforts underway to improve the online match environment]

eFootball is undertaking various measures in order to provide a smoother and more enjoyable online match environment.

Based on the number of matches and connection quality in each location, we are expanding the amount…

— eFootball (@play_eFootball) December 3, 2025

With online play still being the biggest issue for a lot of the community, this update gives a clearer idea of what’s changing and what players can actually expect in the coming weeks.

What Konami Is Changing To Fix eFootball’s Online Issues

According to the thread, Konami is expanding the number of server sites around the world. This means more server locations around the globe. This should help resolve the connection issues caused by a server being too far away from the player or being overloaded. Simply put, the ping issues should start to get better as there are more servers to connect to.

It’s one of the most requested improvements from players who’ve been dealing with lag spikes and random delays during competitive matches.

Then, they went on to talk about the server updates they rolled out on October 29th for both consoles and mobile. According to them, the data shows that these updates have been successful. They have helped reduce input delays, which was also a major problem with online play. For a title where timing literally decides goals, tackles, and wins, every millisecond matters.

To continue to improve the online play experience, they are implementing an in-game survey. Basically, after a few matches, you might see a short survey asking for feedback about things like connection quality or responsiveness. This helps Konami get direct feedback from the community instead of relying on technical metrics behind the scenes.

The thread then wraps up by saying that the development team is working diligently to improve the online play experience and appreciates players for their patience. The community has been very vocal about connection problems, so these steps are at least a sign that Konami is listening.

eFootball is one of the biggest football games after EA FC, and has a small but dedicated community behind it. These steps should make the experience better for them and allow them to enjoy online play more.

Switch-hitters have taken over almost every Ranked match, and it feels no less than a pandemic in MLB The Show 25’s Diamond Dynasty mode. The online meta is a mess with the same lineup of switch hitters ready to mess with any matchup you try to set up. 

As a pitcher, it seems kinda pointless to worry about matchups anymore because rivals simply wipe out any platoon advantage when the next guy walks up to the plate. So, if you’re not stacking the lineup with players that can bat from both sides, you’re basically playing on hard mode. 

It’s a balancing issue that needs to be addressed, and that’s exactly what we’ll be discussing today.

Switch-Hitters Are Over-Represented in Diamond Dynasty

Switch-hitters are the bread and butter for easy pickings, and currently, most competitive squads are built around them in Diamond Dynasty. Revolving the game around switch-hitters really pulls the fun out of the game, especially for those who care about their card collections. 

Those classic one-sided hitters are turning stale these days, and loading the lineup with switch-hitters has become the norm. Such a formation, rather, contrasts with real baseball play, where you rarely see more than two or three of those versatile hitters in a squad.

The Real Culprit: Meta Design & PCI Shrink

If we hunt for the real culprit, it’s the PCI shrink on outside sliders, and breaking balls against same-handed hitters is way too severe. The game punishes you the second you put a right-sided bat to a right-sided pitcher, or vice versa. 

Your PCI, the sweet spot for hitting shrinks down, especially on those low and away pitches everyone loves to spam. At that point, you’ll often find yourself reacting instead of actually competing.

So now, the path to winning seems to be the one with a loaded lineup of switch-hitters. It’s not even a smart “meta” anymore; it’s the only real way to keep up. It feels like SDS overstated their balance changes after all the home runs people were blasting on tough pitches. However, one-sided hitters are almost unplayable. Now, if your player can’t play both sides, you might as well bench him. 

Let’s be honest, that’s not how it’s supposed to work, and the community consensus is essentially the same — nobody ikes the current state of the PCI shrinkage.

How Can SDS Actually Balance This?

To work on the current sad state of Switch-Hitters in MLB: The Show, here’s what we can expect from SDS:

SDS needs to stop shrinking the PCI so much. They should dial it back, especially on those outside pitches when you’re matched up against same-handed batters. Let single-sided hitters have their moment if balance is the goal.

Real baseball doesn’t necessarily limit switch-hitters, but what we see in The Show’s meta is much more extreme than reality. To fix that, SDS could set a cap on switch-hitters and try to limit their usage in Diamond Dynasty.

One-sided hand stars shouldn’t be left rotting either. SDS may add quirks or clutch bonuses, so they can remain reliable matchups. In essence, when legendary righties and lefties start pulling in clutch moments, people will start playing them again.

What’s Next

What we need from SDS is an effective rework. Until same-handed matchups keep getting punished, we’ll keep seeing the same switch-hitter lineup in every ranked match. I mean, Diamond Dynasty doesn’t even feel like the real baseball experience anymore. 

SDS needs to tone it down by holding back those high-end switch hitters. It’s time for a real rebalance.

The WWE game franchise has undergone significant evolution over the years. From better visuals, more content, to better physics, everything about the game has improved, except for one thing — weapon physics, or that’s what a new post on Reddit implies.

A video of WWE 2K25 was posted by a user on r/WWEGames, showcasing what weapon physics in the current game look like.

This is why I miss when WWE Games used to have free weapon mechanics
byu/chaoticplumber inWWEGames

This video quickly sparked a debate in the comments, talking about how weapon physics have devolved over the years. 

How Good Were The Weapon Physics In Previous Games?

Now, weapons are a very important part of what makes WWE — well, WWE. There is just something about laying a guy down on the table and dropping on him from the corner of the ring. 

WWE 2K25’s weapons physics are great; there is a lot of freedom with what you can do. But, fans still say previous games had better weapon physics than now. And that’s because the weapon physics back then were more fluid and allowed for more freedom. A comment talks about this.

They absolutely nailed the weapons physics all the way back in Wrestlemania x8 for the GameCube. That’s 23 years ago. When introduced into the SvR series in SvR 11, they were perfect. They have gone downhill every year since.

How is it that they nailed this shit in this same series 15 years ago?

I know, I know, this is a trope and a cliche at this point

Another member put it into perspective how free the weapon physics were back then. 

Remember when we needed to be able to place ladders on top of one another and do some cool spots that way? 

One of the possible reasons why new games feel different from old games is that the development team changed after WWE 2K19. A comment explained it better:

Different development teams, fellas, Yukes left after WWE2K19. It’s Visual Concepts that took over development and lacks the experience in wrestling games. 

In short, the weapon physics in old WWE games were much better than now. They allowed you to do crazier shenanigans than you can do now. 

It’s no surprise that the community is unsatisfied with Football Manager 26. There are numerous issues with the game that everyone is talking about. And, now four of the biggest names in FM content — Zealand, Lollujo, WorkTheSpace, and DoctorBenjy — also sat down to discuss in a joint video on what really went wrong with Football Manager 26.

Across the board, all four creators say FM26’s issues run deeper than the usual first-week chaos we expect from big annual sports sims. The UI? Clunky. The workflows? Weirdly backwards. Features? Missing or moved into oblivion. The vibe? Off. It’s like the devs redesigned the entire experience, but forgot to ask anyone who actually plays the game.

Zealand was especially harsh. He argued that FM26’s problems aren’t just small mistakes. They are the kind of issues that happen when the studio’s development process breaks down from beneath.

The planning is off, feedback loops collapse, and there isn’t proper communication between the different teams. This is how things get messy. In his words, the failure isn’t the bugs; it’s everything underneath them.

“Institutional Failure” And What It Means for FM’s Future

All the creators more or less agreed on the game’s problems and brought their own angles.

For instance, Lollujo pointed out that early access creators were allowed to show negative impressions of the alpha build, which meant the community didn’t get the usual early warning alarms. WorkTheSpace talks about how the redesigned layout feels like it was built for someone who’s never actually played FM before. 

And Benjy, in classic Benjy form, tries to laugh through the pain but ends up sounding just as baffled as everyone else.

However, despite the criticism, they didn’t say that the franchise was dead. It was more bashing and requesting that SI fix the process. The players and creators both love this franchise. They want Football Manager 26 to thrive and Football Manager 27 to be amazing. 

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the community is loud, unified, and very specific about what’s wrong. And historically, SI has listened when the noise gets loud enough.