The Drop: Week of August 24, 2026

Welcome to The Drop, Level Up Times' weekly release calendar where we wade through the coming week in gaming to help you decide what's worth checking out.

This week, Metal Gear Solid 4 is freed from a self-imposed PS3 purgatory as Konami drops Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, Elden Ring drops on the Nintendo Switch 2, and Star Wars: Zero Company asks the question of what happens when an ex-XCOM team gets that Star Wars money.

Find a game you like? Hover over any game below and add it to your wishlist (or library if you already own it!) and you'll get notified of any news related to those games. Don't forget to head on over to your Library to manage your game list!

(Dates and times listed are based on Australian release times, and may vary regionally.)

What's Catching our Eye

Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2

Thursday, August 27 - PC, PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 1 and 2

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has been a hostage to the PS3 for a better part of two decades, and Volume 2 of Konami's collection of Kojima's classic espionage series will finally see it break out. Not only that, but Peace Walker and Rising: Revengeance will also make its way to modern platforms as part of this collection.

I've never been a huge MGS fan, but I'm keen to check out how faithful these releases are. If you are as well, then the wait is almost over as Volume 2 hits shelves on Thursday.

Elden Ring – Tarnished Edition

Friday, August 28 - Switch 2 (other platforms get some DLC)

After the Oblivion remaster came to Switch 2 a couple of weeks ago, it's FromSoftware's turn. the Tarnished edition will not only bring the open-world RPG to Nintendo's latest console, it will also bring two new starting classes, new armour sets, and mount customisation for Torrent, which publisher Bandai Namco says will also come to existing platforms as DLC.

The real question here is whether the Switch 2 hardware can hold up to the Lands Between, especially after reports are coming out of the Duskbloods network test that the game is struggling to run optimally on the console. Either way, there's no denying this is a big name to add to the Switch 2's library.

Better with Friends

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2

Tuesday, August 25 - PC, PS5, Xbox Series

After a relatively short announcement-to-release cadence (which I for one am a huge fan of), this week will see Daybreak's Xenomorph-slaying sequel drop.

This time up to four players can drop into the shoes of a Colonial Marines and shoot against swarms of Facehuggers, aliens (including new Xenomorph variants), and androids. Also new in this instalment is a new Specialist class and what the developers are touting as smarter enemy AI. I spent a bit of time with the original and am pretty keen to see how this plays when this drops later this week.

Notable Mentions

Star Wars Zero Company

Thursday, August 27 - PC, PS5, Xbox Series

Developer of this tactical strategy, Bit Reactor is largely composed of ex-Firaxis (XCOM) folks, and Zero Company is promising what you'd hope from that pedigree: a single-player, turn-based tactics game set in the twilight of the Clone Wars, with a bit of Mass Effect-style squad dynamics layered in.

Early reports have been positive enough that this is shaping up to be one of the better licensed Star Wars games in a while, which given the franchise's recent strike rate is a fairly low bar, but it still needs clearing. Let's find out how it plays later this week.

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy

Thursday, August 27 - PC, PS5, Xbox Series

This prequel to Plague Tale: Requiem will step 15 years back from the tale of Amicia and Hugo to tell a self-contained story about a plunderer named Sophia uncovering her past. While pausing the ongoing saga might seem like a weird move (God of War is taking a similar stance with Laufey), the studio seems to be using this to experiment with some new combat and gameplay ideas before committing to whatever comes next for the series.