JAPAN GAMING & ENTERTAINMENT 
The original 1986 Castlevania is available for free through October 24 to celebrate the series’ 40th anniversary.
Castlevania’s 40th Anniversary: Original Game Free on Smartphones
Konami Digital Entertainment is offering the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version of the original 1986 Castlevania for free on the App Store and Google Play. The series turns 40 on September 26. The free period runs from September 25 until 23:59 (JST) on October 24; anyone who downloads it during that window can keep playing after it ends. Alongside the promotion, several series titles — including Castlevania Dominus Collection, Castlevania Advance Collection, and Castlevania Anniversary Collection — are up to 80% off on the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, and Steam.
Source
Konami official website (accessed September 25, 2026) / Konami official website (accessed September 25, 2026) / Famitsu (September 25, 2026)
New Deluxe Pack: Mega Expansion Arrives in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is adding a new expansion pack, Deluxe Pack: Mega. It goes live at 6 p.m. Pacific time on September 29 for about a month. The pack reprints numerous cards from the Mega Rising through Ruler of the Skies expansions, some with new artwork, and one of every four cards is guaranteed to be a Pokémon ex. An update planned for around the end of October will add community decks, letting players search for decks published by other players and build those decks with cards they already own.
Source
Pokémon official website (US) (accessed September 25, 2026) / 4Gamer.net (September 24, 2026) / Famitsu (September 25, 2026)
DRAPLINE Gets Full Release, Concurrent Player Count Hits All-Time High of 2,070
Vaka Game Magazine released the full version of DRAPLINE, a dragon-girl-raising roguelite by solo developer KANAWO, on September 24. The goal is to raise a hungry baby dragon into its strongest form within a year: during the raising phase, players choose food to boost stats, while turn-based battles let players combine more than 200 skills. The way the dragon is raised causes the story to branch into 25 different endings. The full release adds a new scenario, DRAGON’S DISCIPLINE, along with 25 new endings. Of roughly 2,000 Steam reviews, 96% are positive, giving the game an overall rating of Overwhelmingly Positive. Concurrent players peaked at an all-time high of 2,070.
Source
AUTOMATON (September 25, 2026) / Steam store page (accessed September 25, 2026)
BanG Dream! Our Notes Launches With Original Stories for Two New Bands
Bushiroad Inc. released the music simulation RPG BanG Dream! Our Notes for iOS and Android on September 24. The game lets players relive the anime’s story and adds a new storyline picking up afterward. The new bands millsage and Ikka Dumb Rock! each get fully original storylines with new animated scenes. From September 25 through 29, one cover song from the bands will be added each day.
Source
BanG Dream! Our Notes official website (accessed September 25, 2026) / 4Gamer.net (September 24, 2026) / App Store (US) (accessed September 25, 2026)
A-Train 9 PRIME LINE Announced With Series-First Long Curves and Loop Lines
ARTDINK will release the railway management sim A-Train 9 PRIME LINE for PC via Steam on December 10. The game introduces long, gently curving tracks and loop lines for the first time in the A-Train 9 series, along with a new setting that lets players freely set the curvature and angle of track curves and grades. Tracks now come in four types, and stations can be built with curved platforms. Owners of the previous title, A-Train9 TRAIN CONSTRUCTION, can carry over custom vehicles and Steam Workshop vehicles to the new game.
Source
ARTDINK official website (accessed September 25, 2026) / AUTOMATON (September 25, 2026)