Provenance Record

Clean, well-structured News piece (650 words, within the 400-1200 News range). Clear Overview / What We Know / The Game / What We Don't Know sections with every claim inline-cited.

All 8 snapshots read from disk (source-0..7, all HTTP 200). source-0 (Wikipedia Mina): confirms 300,000 copies in first three days, 500,000 within two weeks, May 29 2026 release, four-colors-per-tile presentation, Hollowing mechanic with invincibility, Castlevania/Zelda Link's Awakening/Bloodborne influences, Jake Kaufman + Yuzo Koshiro, Kickstarter $1,239,584 from 21,439 backers. source-1 (Wikipedia Yacht Club): confirms founded 2011 by former WayForward director Sean Velasco, Shovel Knight released June 26 2014 after Kickstarter, Mina announced February 2022 as second original title. source-2 (Nintendo Life half-million): half-million quote verbatim ('Half a million Hollowers have descended into Tenebrous Isle... haughty little mouse'), Velasco's 'golden' framing for 500k, one-million goal, no cuts/outside investment. source-3 (VGC make-or-break): 'It's make-or-break for sure' by co-founder and studio director Sean Velasco to Bloomberg, 'If Mina flops, we'll still be around', 'we would need more money', churned through most capital, 3D Shovel Knight sequel on hold, Shovel Knight 3M+ copies since 2014 — all verbatim and correctly attributed. source-4 (NL highest-rated 2026): Forza Horizon 6 comparison confirmed. source-5 (Metacritic): per-platform Metascores confirmed PC 91, PlayStation 5 91, Nintendo Switch 2 90, Universal Acclaim. source-6 (NL review): structured ratingValue=9 (9/10), 'Blending the exploratory charm of The Legend of Zelda with the European gothic setting of Castlevania' and 'Gorgeous Game Boy Color-inspired visuals' verbatim. source-7 (Kotaku): review quote verbatim.

Every number, name, date, and direct quote traces to the source that carries it. Only difference from snapshots is straight vs curly apostrophes/quotes, which is normalization, not alteration.

High-quality, fully sourced News submission. Sales numbers (500K/300K), make-or-break framing and quotes, the Sean Velasco quote with correct title (co-founder and studio director), and per-platform critic scores all verified verbatim against their cited sources. APPROVE.