Retro Recap All The Classic Gaming News From The Past Week (June 21st 2026)

Welcome to Retro Recap, a regular feature we run each and every weekend which rounds up all of the best retro gaming news and content of the past week in one place.

After "Nineteen-ish Years Of Development", The Original 'Mother' Has Been Remade As A Patch For Earthbound SNES

We have some exciting news for Mother/Earthbound fans! After "nineteen-ish years of development", Earthbound Beginnings Remake is finally available to download (as spotted by GBA Temp).

Earthbound Beginnings, in case you are in need of a quick refresher (and don't feel like scrolling below), is essentially a ROM hack of the SNES title EarthBound, which recreates the 8-bit title Mother / EarthBound Beginnings in the style of its 16-Bit sequel.

The current version of the hack, led by the ROM hacker Gabbls, has been in development since 2021, but it actually has links to two different projects - one of which dates back to 2012, and another that goes back even further, all the way to 2007.

Review: Super Pocket Rare Edition - Banjo-Kazooie Alone Makes This A Must-Buy At £50

The HyperMegaTech Super Pocket handheld range has already seen more than its fair share of special editions, with companies such as Atari, Taito, Capcom, Data East and SNK all signing up to produce unique variants of the Evercade-compatible device.

However, the announcement that legendary British studio Rare was joining forces with HyperMegaTech owner Blaze to produce its own themed handheld sent shockwaves through the retro gaming world – and with good reason, as this unit would also come with the seminal N64 3D platformer Banjo-Kazooie pre-installed.

The Super Pocket Rare Edition is now in my sweaty palms, and I'm very pleased to announce that it's a rousing success, and potentially one of the best entries in the Super Pocket family thus far.

Commodore's Next Hardware Release Is Dumb, And Proud Of It

A short while ago, Commodore International CEO Christian Simpson said that the revived company cannot survive on nostalgia alone, but its next hardware launch has proven he wasn't being entirely truthful.

Commodore has just announced the Callback 8020, a flip phone which calls to mind the pre-smartphone days of the 2000s. Granted, it's not based on a pre-existing Commodore product, but it's very much about embracing those Y2K vibes.

Also this week, the company had to quickly move to defend its announcement.

Police Drummer Stewart Copeland Confirms He Isn't Involved With The Latest Spyro Game

Stewart Copeland, the drummer of the Police, has confirmed he will not be involved with the upcoming Spyro game, Spyro: A Realm Beyond, in a recent interview with The Independent (h/t: Game Informer).

Copeland isn't the only composer to work on the Spyro the Dragon series, but he has long been closely associated with it thanks to his early work on many of the original PlayStation games.

Developer Of Densha De Go "Tribute" Admits To Using AI, Considers Halting The Project Over "Online Hate & Accusations"

Barely Making Games, the developer of the upcoming Steam tribute to Densha De Go!, Retro Rail Go!, has suggested it could soon "halt" development of the project altogether after receiving a torrent of negative feedback on social media, where users have dubbed the game a "rip-off," and have been trying to get it removed from Steam.

Want To Work On Time Extension? Now's Your Chance

Time Extension is looking for a talented and knowledgeable UK-based News Editor to join Jack and me on the site. This role will involve covering all the latest news from the world of retro gaming and ensuring our readers are up to date on the latest announcements and breaking stories in classic gaming.

For more details and a chance to apply for this role, head over here.

Feature: "You'd Never Be Allowed This Kind Of Freedom Nowadays" - Remembering Fleetway's Sonic the Comic

Time Extension's Jack Yarwood can't remember a single point in his life when we didn't already know about Sonic the Hedgehog.

As a result, he's always wanted to use Sonic's 35th anniversary as an opportunity to chat with some of the individuals involved in bringing Sonic the comic to life, go over its history, and pay tribute to its astonishing run, which had a huge impact on shaping him into the Sonic fan he is today.

Interview: "It's Been Quite A Ride" - Xeno Crisis, Terminator And He-Man Studio Bitmap Bureau On 10 Years At The Apex Of 2D Indie Gaming

UK studio Bitmap Bureau celebrates a decade in the business in 2026, a year which sees the company fresh off the success of Terminator 2D: No Fate and preparing to release He-Man: Dragon Pearl of Destruction.

To cap it off, the studio's most famous game – Xeno Crisis – is also getting new physical releases on Switch, PlayStation and Xbox.

Keen to celebrate the studio's tenth birthday, we sat down with Bitmap Bureau co-founder and design director Mike Tucker for a chat about the past, present and future.