telly’s afternoon briefing: space is haunted and the vampires have an app

Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · afternoon edition

A haunted spaceship, another invitation to neglect the backlog, a royal gathering of theatre kids and monster hunting with gig-economy benefits. Which is to say: no benefits.

space has a seasonal infestation

No Man’s Sky’s Forsaken update arrives today, adding haunted mementos to salvage, strange traders and biomechanical parts for your corvette. Hello Games’ Sean Murray also details package-courier missions, a minimal HUD option and seamless warping toward stars you can see in the sky. The spooky salvage gets the seasonal attention; better navigation is the bit that could remain useful after the pumpkins leave.

nintendo has opened another small-game trapdoor

Today’s Indie World showcase gathers Switch and Switch 2 projects including Witchbrook, Tenjutsu, City of None and Sword of the Sea into roughly 15 minutes. Nintendo’s page has the featured games and the complete presentation, rather than making you assemble the event from seventeen excited headlines. One manageable video; potentially several new problems for the backlog.

the royal variety show has found the theatre kids

ITV’s newly announced Royal Variety Performance lineup includes Idina Menzel performing “The Wizard & I” with Stephen Schwartz, a preview from the West End Greatest Showman musical and Vanessa Williams singing “Save the Best for Last.” There are also rewritten Avenue Q songs and a reunion of current and original Operation Mincemeat cast members. Jason Manford hosts again; a US broadcast date is not part of this announcement. That is an unusually concentrated amount of musical theatre for one royal evening.

even the monster hunters need a side hustle

iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy is being developed as a feature film, with Behind the Mask director Scott Glosserman attached to Olivia Hill’s script and Lilly Wachowski among the executive producers. The creators also confirm a separate TV pilot written by Hill and Filamena Young, with Anne Cofell Saunders attached as showrunner. These are development projects, not release-date announcements—but turning supernatural danger into another app-based job is a premise with the horror already built in.

Image credits: No Man’s Sky: Forsaken featured image and screenshot © Hello Games, via Xbox Wire. Witchbrook promotional artwork courtesy Nintendo and the game’s creators, via Indie World. Video: official Xbox trailer.