Assassin’s Creed Shadows didn’t crack the top 10 downloaded games on PlayStation 5 last year. AI age verification is erasing entire histories in Roblox. And Masahiro Sakurai explains one of Smash Bros.‘ oldest mysteries. It’s the latest edition of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news, rumors, and culture.
I was today years old when I learned that the German world for “ace” is “ass” which the German version of Wii Sports Resort proudly displays when you get a hole in one while golfing. In other news, Kai Cenat is going viral for…reading books. But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself.
Smash Bros. food heals you based on real life calories
スマブラにおける食べものの回復量も、おおむねカロリー順です https://t.co/TglnVdniHL
— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) January 13, 2026
That’s how obsessed with minute details the development team was, director Masahiro Sakurai recently revealed (via TheGamer). With Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo introduced a bunch of smaller food items that can appear on stages and heal a few damage points when eaten. How much they healed you seemed minuscule and almost random, but it’s actually based on science.
This bit of lore was revealed thanks to the Kirby Twitter account. “Did you notice that the sound when collecting drinks and food is different?” it shared earlier this week. “Also, the amount of recovery varies by type, but it might be roughly in order of calories?” That was in reference to Kirby Air Riders, but the same thing applies for Nintendo’s platform fighter.
“In Smash Bros., the recovery amounts for food items generally follow the order of their calorie content,” Sakurai wrote. So go for hamburgers and baked goods over fruit, just like you’re at a real-life Marriot Hotel breakfast buffet.
Ecco the Dolphin can’t stop, won’t stop
There hasn’t been a new Ecco game in over 20 years. But the planet is in danger and channeling the pure, whimsical spirit of a loveable marine adventure has never been more urgent. “Several new Ecco the Dolphin products and games” are on the way according to developer A&R Atelier. And yes, the original creator is involved.
“It has been years in the making and we’re honored to bring Ecco back,” Ed Annunziata said in a press release (via Gematsu). “Ecco has always been more than a game about a dolphin—he’s a bridge between worlds.” A countdown clock last year pointed to news in May 2026.
Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation promise they’re still taking player safety seriously
The companies doubled down on their shared commitment from 2020 to invest resources in keeping their online communities safe and giving parents greater flexibility in how they control the ways their kids engage with games. It was a very out-of-nowhere announcement without much new information or firm commitments, and it comes right as Roblox is racing to implement AI-controlled age verification and combat its image as a playground for online degenerates.
Roblox’s age verification rollout sounds like the rapture
Speaking of Reddit’s new restrictions, some players have been fuming about them on Reddit (via GameRant). Players who don’t pass the new age checks or haven’t tried yet have been erased from chats and other parts of the community, leaving big holes in the platform’s social history. “This makes me so sad bro,” wrote one player. “All of my chats with some of the random from the many years of playing this game is [sic] completely vanished like what were were thinking man.”
The PS5 Pro might be getting a huge update
Rumors are swirling about “PSSR2.0” coming to the console sometime this winter. Lining up with previous reports, it suggests that Sony has a fix for the PS5 Pro’s AI upscaling tech that will let games run at higher frame rates with cleaner resolutions and fewer bugs. Now if only the company would start selling swappable face plates.
Battlefield 6 was the second-most-downloaded PS5 game last year
That’s according to Sony’s own numbers. It beat everything but NBA2K26. Ghost of Yotei came in at number nine, edged out of eighth place by Arc Raiders. Almost everything else were the annual franchises you’d expect. Things don’t get interesting until the bottom five on the list of 20: Oblivion Remastered, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Monster Hunter Wilds, EA Sports FC.
