While the future of the series was on the rocks for a few years after its controversial sixth outing, Resident Evil is ******* than it's ever been before, with numerous exciting new entries and even classic remasters to look forward to. Capcom has been trying to keep its new projects under wraps, but with leaks suggesting multiple new games for fans can look forward to, it's putting countless other classic series to shame. View the full article
Most players eventually lose the drive to keep grinding a new league, or season, in Path of Exile 2 and simply log off until the next one. Others gather up all their in-game money and spend it on something ridiculous, like an army of 2,000 skeletons... Read more.View the full article
We have just shipped an updated Steam Client update to the Stable channel. General Improved notification settings layout in some languages Restored the full set of options to the 'Maximum Game Resolution' dropdown. They can be found under the 'More Options' sub-menu. Fixed a case where the 'Patch Notes' preview box in Settings->System would incorrectly show an event for the wrong channel. E.g. showing Beta Channel notes when the client is opted in to the Stable Channel. Fixed a ****** when manually starting a game recording. Fixed mouse cursor changing to resize cursor at screen edges. Fixed a case where the controller pairing screen could pop up during controller firmware updates. Desktop Mode Fixed incorrect UI scale being used when in Big Picture Mode. Steam Machine Show Steam Machine Verified information on the game capsules in home, and on the game details screen. Added 'Great on Machine' section to the Library Steam Workshop Re-worked system that managed what subscribed items needed to be updated. Fixed issue with games with older Steam Workshop integration where subscribed item files would be duplicated in different directories. Remote Play Added 59.94 FPS as an available framerate limit Reduced frame drops when the framerate limit is set to automatic Fixed offline devices showing as streamable when they aren't. Fixed overloading the client video decoder when unlimited bandwidth is enabled Fixed mouse coordinates for input-only streaming Fixed very low refresh rate on some systems, introduced in the last beta Steam Input Steam Controller: The Gyro Calibration Threshold has been set to 50% of the previous value so that it is less likely to trigger while in hand. Steam Controller: Gyro Calibration threshold is now available in Steam->Settings->Controller->Details->Calibration & Advanced (Open)->Gyro Calibration. Steam Controller: You can choose to disable hardware calibration and rely on the standard Steam Input Gyro Calibration tools instead, by using the "Enable Software Calibration for Steam Controller" toggle. Steam Controller: Fixed Gyro stutter due to IMU timestamp being ignored. Added support for both the wired and wireless versions of the PDP Afterglow Wave Controller for Nintendo Switch. Added support for Turtle Beach controllers for Nintendo Switch 2. Steam Controller Firmware Fixed occasional repeated trackpad samples that caused issues with momentum during trackball mode. Fixed an issue with unintentionally waking host devices while shutting down the controller. Fixed an issue with occasional repeated button presses on the B Button. View the full article
A new Steam Client update has been released and will be automatically downloaded. General Improved notification settings layout in some languages. Fixed a case where the controller pairing screen could pop up during controller firmware updates. Steam Workshop Re-worked system that managed what subscribed items needed to be updated. In-Game Overlay Fixed a case where the in-game overlay could hold a reference and prevent a game which tries to fully tear down and recreate the renderer after a D3D12 device/driver failure from succeeding. Remote Play Added 59.94 FPS as an available framerate limit. Reduced frame drops when the framerate limit is set to automatic. Fixed ****** screen when hardware encoding is disabled. Fixed offline devices showing as streamable when they aren't. Fixed overloading the client video decoder when unlimited bandwidth is enabled. Fixed mouse coordinates for input-only streaming. Steam Input Steam Controller: The Gyro Calibration Threshold has been set to 50% of the previous value so that it is less likely to trigger while in hand. Steam Controller: Gyro Calibration threshold is now available in Steam->Settings->Controller->Details->Calibration & Advanced (Open)->Gyro Calibration. Steam Controller: You can choose to disable hardware calibration and rely on the standard Steam Input Gyro Calibration tools instead, by using the "Enable Software Calibration for Steam Controller" toggle. Steam Controller: Fixed gyro stutter due to IMU timestamp being ignored. Steam Controller: Fixed glyphs in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Added support for both the wired and wireless versions of the PDP Afterglow Wave Controller for Nintendo Switch. Added support for Turtle Beach controllers for Nintendo Switch 2. Fixed the Apex 5 controller showing up as multiple controllers when "Allow third-party apps to take over mappings" is enabled in the FlyDigi Space Station app. Steam Controller Firmware Fixed an issue where trackpad samples could be duplicated and cause issues w/ momentum in trackball mode Fixed an issue with unintentionally waking host devices while shutting down the controller. Fixed an issue with occasional repeated button presses on the B Button. Linux Fixed a ****** when manually starting a game recording. Fixed steamwebhelper ****** when hardware acceleration is enabled on NVIDIA gpus. macOS Fixed chat windows showing over fullscreen game windows when opened in the Steam overlay. VR Fixed a case where Steam claimed that SteamVR crashed on last run when it didn't. View the full article
A new Steam Client update has been released and will be automatically downloaded. General Improved notification settings layout in some languages. Fixed a case where the controller pairing screen could pop up during controller firmware updates. Steam Workshop Re-worked system that managed what subscribed items needed to be updated. In-Game Overlay Fixed a case where the in-game overlay could hold a reference and prevent a game which tries to fully tear down and recreate the renderer after a D3D12 device/driver failure from succeeding. Remote Play Added 59.94 FPS as an available framerate limit. Reduced frame drops when the framerate limit is set to automatic. Fixed ****** screen when hardware encoding is disabled. Fixed offline devices showing as streamable when they aren't. Fixed overloading the client video decoder when unlimited bandwidth is enabled. Fixed mouse coordinates for input-only streaming. Steam Input Steam Controller: The Gyro Calibration Threshold has been set to 50% of the previous value so that it is less likely to trigger while in hand. Steam Controller: Gyro Calibration threshold is now available in Steam->Settings->Controller->Details->Calibration & Advanced (Open)->Gyro Calibration. Steam Controller: You can choose to disable hardware calibration and rely on the standard Steam Input Gyro Calibration tools instead, by using the "Enable Software Calibration for Steam Controller" toggle. Steam Controller: Fixed gyro stutter due to IMU timestamp being ignored. Steam Controller: Fixed glyphs in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Added support for both the wired and wireless versions of the PDP Afterglow Wave Controller for Nintendo Switch. Added support for Turtle Beach controllers for Nintendo Switch 2. Fixed the Apex 5 controller showing up as multiple controllers when "Allow third-party apps to take over mappings" is enabled in the FlyDigi Space Station app. Steam Controller Firmware Fixed an issue where trackpad samples could be duplicated and cause issues w/ momentum in trackball mode Fixed an issue with unintentionally waking host devices while shutting down the controller. Fixed an issue with occasional repeated button presses on the B Button. Linux Fixed a ****** when manually starting a game recording. Fixed steamwebhelper ****** when hardware acceleration is enabled on NVIDIA gpus. macOS Fixed chat windows showing over fullscreen game windows when opened in the Steam overlay. VR Fixed a case where Steam claimed that SteamVR crashed on last run when it didn't. View the full article
It’s been nearly 20 years since The Guild took the internet by storm, but now Felicia Day is comin back with a movie version of the internet show with the original cast. And three hours into the Kickstarter campaign yesterday, Day hit her goal of $1.5 million in crowdfunding and now the pledges have topped $2.7 million. More than 16,450 backers have pledged their money to the show. The Guild’s first episode debuted in 2007 and it highlighted day as an awkward but endearing gamer whose friends played an online game all the time. The show went on for six seasons with 70 episodes altogether. It finally ended its run in 2013. But Day has been trying to get a movie version of the show off the ground for a while, and the demand for the Kickstarter is indicator of its potential. Day turned to Kickstarter in part because Day wasn’t able to convince Hollywood moguls to fund the idea. Rachel Kaser recently had a cool interview with Day about her career in a Boss Mode provide. She recently wrote a book called The Lost Daughter of Sparta, a modern retelling of a Greek myth. Day was also nominated for the BOSS Mode Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year. Day was also one of the founders of Geek & Sundry, an online-based multimedia company that launched several original series on YouTube (She later sold Geek & Sundry to Legendary Entertainment). She also appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Eureka and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. The plot of The Guild brought the antics of fans of online games like World of Warcraft to mainstream awareness — or at least other nerds. The Guild was an expression of nerd culture long before Stranger Things made playing Dungeons & Dragons into a cool activity for mass culture. “I’m not trying to prove myself so they’ll embrace me,” Day said in an interview with Kaser. “That ship has sailed. I’m here to prove that my audience is still there. We can make amazing content outside of normal avenues and allow creators to have more control over their work, because it was well-known, back in the day, that I did not sell the IP to The Guild. Now, almost 20 years later, I’m sort of rebooting the whole IP universe.” The post Felicia Day raises Kickstarter funds in a few hours for a movie based on The Guild appeared first on GamesBeat. View the full article
Speaking about the development of Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced, game director Richard Knight revealed at the extent that Ubisoft had to go, resulting in a complete rebuild from the original 2013 title. There's been a lot of positivity around Assassin's Creed ****** Flag Resynced, with longtime fans looking forward to returning to the beloved title and newcomers getting an opportunity to check out the game for the first time. View the full article
Palworld recently hit the tremendous milestone of 40 million players, and its fireball 1.0 update is already sending it speeding toward the next one. Alinea Analytics market analysis lead Rhys Elliott estimates the survival game has already sold close to around 1.8 million copies since Palworld 1.0 launched on July 10. Elliott explains on Substack, "In terms of premium unit sales, our platform estimates put Palworld at roughly 30.5M copies sold, with nearly 86% of that total originating on Steam." We can now christen Palworld "one of the biggest new gaming IPs ever," as Elliott calls it, as it's already amassed something like $700 million in revenue its mere two-and-a-half years of life. In comparison, Pokemon – also known as Palworld's opponent in an ongoing copyright infringement showdown with IP owner Nintendo – hasn't sold over 30 million copies for a single game since Pokemon Red, Green, and Blue in 1996, according to Serebii webmaster Joe Merrick. The entire Pokemon universe nonetheless outsells little Palworld by at least a couple hundred million copies. So, some players on Steam, in particular, are eager to defend fragile franchise Palworld from barking dog Pokemon, as Elliott etsimates 65% of Palworld players are on Steam, compared to 31% of players on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass, and a meager 4% on PS5. (Image credit: Pocketpair) Elliott observes, "English-language reviewers framed buying [Palworld] as an explicit statement against – in their words – Nintendo's anti-competitive business practices, actively celebrating the resolution of Nintendo's legal challenges against Pocketpair." (It's worth noting the lawsuit technically remains unresolved.) Lack of console loyalty radicalizes you. It also activates your Apple Pay. 1.5 million of those total 1.8 million, post-1.0 Palworld copies sold were on Steam, this report finds. PS5 players, in comparison, bought about 300,000 Palworld 1.0 copies, while Palworld sold only another 70,000-ish units on Xbox once it launched in full – probably because the game continues to be available for 'free' on Game Pass Premium. To me, all this makes Palworld a gleaming example of how strong the PC market has become now that Xbox and PlayStation are openly just experts in being unlikeable. Because of the customizable nature of the platform, PC gamers tend to value flexibility, agency, and a sense of ownership. This self-effacing spirit seems to have fueled Steam players rallying around Palworld, itself, in some eyes, a bulwark for free will against Nintendo's angry Gengar eyes. "The console sector is undeniably facing an existential crisis," Elliott says. "If the baseline buy-in for next-generation hardware approaches a $1,000 digital-only box, mass-market growth is effectively dead on arrival. High-priced, drive-less hardware introduces a nuts barrier to entry." "Casual consumers will simply opt out of newer hardware," the analyst continues, "redirecting their time and wallet share toward mobile, PC, or existing hardware." Good for Palworld, bad for consoles. Palworld has been "life-changing," lead says as Pocketpair's survival game hits almost 1 million concurrent players on Steam. [/url]View the full article
Veteran game director and self-confessed movie buff Hideo Kojima revealed that he’d like to pass away in a movie theater, just as the film itself is about to start. The 62-year-old made the comment at a film festival in Rome earlier this month, and recently shared a clip of the moment on his official X account. “I’ve always thought that when I die, I would like to die in a movie theater,” Kojima said in Japanese, as translated by IGN. He goes on to explain that “I love the bit before the movie starts the most. Enter the movie theater, the lights go off and commercials and trailers play, yeah? I’d like to die just before the movie starts.” Kojima delivered this declaration in a serious tone but with a hint of a smile. The Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator is, after all, a prolific cinemaphile, proclaiming on his X account profile that 70% of his body is made up of movies. This isn't the first time Kojima has spoken about his own death. Last year, hot on the heels of revealing a number of discarded video game ideas and even an idea for a ‘Forgetting Game’ where the main character gradually forgets important information and abilities if you take too long a break from playing, Kojima said he had left his staff a USB stick of game ideas for after he dies. As reported by VGC, Kojima issued the morbid revelation to Edge magazine, and discussed his change of thinking that occurred during the pandemic. “Turning 60 was less of a turning point in my life than my experiences during the pandemic,” he said. “I fell seriously ill at that time, and also had an eye operation. Until then, I didn’t think I was old, you know? I just didn’t feel my age, and I assumed I would be able to create for as long as I live. “But then I became sick, and I couldn’t create anything. And I saw lots of people around me passing away at that time. I was confronted with death. Of course, I recovered, but now I was thinking, ‘Wait, how many years do I have left to make a game or a film?’ Perhaps I have 10 years?” Also last year, Kojima discussed his fears as he has got older. "What I am most afraid of is time," he told GQ. "I am afraid of dying and having dementia. I am afraid of forgetting things when I get old. I am afraid that I won't even realise what I am forgetting." Kojima made this latest quip at the Piccolo America Foundation’s 12th edition of Il Cinema in Piazza, an outdoor film festival in Rome. As reported by Game Surf, he took part in panel discussions and introduced several movies. On July 4, he introduced Shunya Ito’s 1972 film Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, the second movie in Japanese studio Toei’s exploitation series. The movie and its star, Meiko Kaji, were a big influence on Quentin Tarantino, so much so that Tarantino borrowed Urami Bushi (the theme song sung by Kaji) for the soundtrack to Kill Bill. Kojima noted that the Female Prisoner Scorpion series’ use of inventive cinematography and camera angles, plus the young crew’s commitment to creating something unique on a very limited budget, inspired him as a game creator. He also introduced Dario Argentino’s Profondo Rosso (1975) on June 5, praising the moment in the movie when both the protagonist and viewer realize the truth at the same moment. “It is something I try to put in my own games as well," Kojima said. "He also explained that he referenced the gorier moments in Argentino’s films in Policenauts and Snatcher by including decapitation, but that this became a no-go when he moved on to making PlayStation console exclusives. The final film Kojima presented at the festival alongside Death Stranding 2 actor Luca Marinelli was Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Kojima said that growing up, his movie-watching family took him to see both American and Italian Westerns, and that he was struck by the sharp difference in their worldview, noting that while the sheriff always wins in American Westerns, Italian Westerns have characters that are much more human and less clear cut. Kojima said that the moral ambiguity of Leone’s Westerns won him over as it reminded him of Akira Kurosawa’s classic films. Kojima’s movie influences show clearly in his games, stretching back to 1987’s Metal Gear and 1988’s Snatcher. But it was the groundbreaking Metal Gear Solid, which brought cinematic lighting, fully-voiced dialogue, and the series’ famously long movie-like cutscenes to PlayStation gamers all over the world back in 1998. Kojima has previously namechecked war movies like The Great Escape and The Guns of Navarrone as among the influences on MGS, with Snake’s character design riffing off Kurt Russel’s Snake Plisskin in Escape from New York. With Death Stranding 1 and 2, Kojima managed to bridge the gap between game and movie even more by featuring the fully captured performances of well-known actors like Norman Reedus and Lea Seydoux. Over on X, Kojima often shares his thoughts on recent movies he’s seen in theaters, as well as Blu-ray releases he has picked up. He seems to watch a broad range of films from various genres, countries and decades. He also popped up on an episode of the Criterion’s closet picks, where he appeared overjoyed to be surrounded by so many movies and enthusiastically introduced his picks. Kojima is also an avid collector of physical media including vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. In the wake of Sony’s recent announcement to stop releasing games on disc, Kojima retweeted a comment on the importance of physical media, warning of the dangers of a digital-only future. He went further with this train of thought at Il Cinema, specifically calling out Sony: "Since production is ending in 2028, this is about video games, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad," Kojima said. "Currently, I’ve been buying up a lot of Blu-rays, such as various movies, and CDs too." Hideo Kojima is currently working on experimental horror game OD, which is slated to be published by Xbox Game Studios in collaboration with Get Out director Jordan Peele. At the time of writing, the game doesn’t have a release window yet. Photo by Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images. Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications. View the full article
Two years after boasting about how hard it was going on videogames, Hasbro has recorded a "$56 million non-cash impairment" in its second-quarter financial report, arising from the cancellation of several games in development that were expected to release "in 2028 and beyond.".. Read more.View the full article
Microsoft has officially announced the Wave 2 Xbox Game Pass lineup for July 2026. The seven-title batch is smaller than those released in the pre-summer months, but it still includes several potentially standout additions to the Xbox Game Pass catalog. View the full article
Meta has officially added the Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition to its Meta Horizon+ subscription, giving Quest headset users access View the full article
Valve adding mandatory AI use disclosures to games on Steam stoked some discussion, with the likes of Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney calling the policy "really irresponsible" and unfair to game developers. I interviewed nearly three dozen game developers about generative AI for industry-facing and indie-focused reports, and several of them mentioned Steam's and similar store disclosures, arguing that gen AI use should be clear to consumers. "Gamers have a right to know how their games are made, and a right to choose what they’re supporting," says Brian "Burgee," creator of simulated MMO Erenshor. "Steam's required AI disclosure is the right move here for the sake of transparency." Burgee expects the gaming community to "police this topic on their own behalf," and sees AI disclosures as important information. "Many gamers quickly developed a loud voice against AI-generated games when the tech was first revealed, and years later they haven't wavered. I think they're going to continue to act as their own regulating body going forward ... If games using or created with generative AI gain a foothold in the market, for as long as it's cost-effective for major studios to create them, they will very likely be here to stay. However, I predict that if that does happen, we'll see passionate indie developers surge in popularity more than ever." (Image credit: Burgee Media) Brandon Sheffield, a veteran of the industry now directing Demonschool dev Necrosoft Games, agrees Valve is in the right. "I am glad Steam requires an AI disclosure, even if many devs simply don't disclose it. I wish all platforms would do the same," he says. Helen Carmichael of Forbidden Solitaire studio Grey Alien Games is of a similar mind. "It's good that on some platforms it's being declared as transparency matters," she says. "How do customers feel? Anecdotally, I see a push back against 'AI slop' from sections of Gen Alpha, but then again Gen AI is widely used in the casual game sector, where older customers don't mind." Similar comments came from Palworld and Pocketpair comms lead John Buckley, who says "gamers don't want" AI and touched on store disclosures. "Even Steam is pushing back a certain amount on it," Buckley says. "You have the disclaimers now and stuff. Gamers don't want it, and if the gamers don't want it, I guess that's it, right? Not much of a conversation to be had." This month, one particular Steam disclosure suggesting gen AI was necessary in order to sustain development rankled several other devs. "The 'I'm just a little solo dev' thing also really doesn't work for us solo/tiny devs who have made things without using the art-stealing-cheat-machine," said David Lindsey Pittman of Eldritch maker Minor Key Games. Last month, one user released a browser plugin which automatically blurs out any Steam game with an AI disclosure. Half of all games released on Steam will use AI by 2028, study predicts: "AI lowers the barrier not just to make a game but to make several." [/url]View the full article
Just a few weeks after Dbrand revealed its Companion Cube was a lie (or rather that it didn't get permission to make it), the company is back with some new wraps for Valve's little cube-shaped gaming PC. They include nine fun new skins with matching Steam Controller options, among plenty of other options. The new skins can make your Steam Machine look like a basketball, ****** or white dice, a brick wall, a dusty old PC, the planet Earth, and a shabby old shipping package. In addition to those, there are also many familiar skin designs that Dbrand has sold for other products over the years, like its groovy inky color blends and circuitry designs, and even a smattering of pastel, one-color options. Here are some of the new designs: Finally, some proper Steam Machine wraps! When it comes to Steam Machine accessories, the cosmetic kind have been hard to come by so far. You can find all of these new skins over on Dbrand's website. They come in three tiers. The Essential Kit covers just the faceplate and starts at $17.95; the Deluxe Kit is a full wrap and starts at $34.95; and the Everything Kit includes a controller skin and starts at $44.95. View the full article
In a new episode of their mini-docuseries, the minds at Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog explained why bringing back Lara Croft’s iconic acrobatics and movement was so important to Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and fans couldn’t be happier about it. Legacy of Atlantis is the latest reimagining of Lara Croft’s debut adventure, marking a stark contrast from the gritty realism of the reboot trilogy. Amazon Game Studios’ fresh take on the original 1996 Tomb Raider brings back Lara’s high-flying movement, both in traversal and combat. As told by game director Raul Siqueira, “This is a moment where a normal person would step to the side. Lara Croft doesn’t step to the side; she cartwheels to the side, because she’s fast, because she’s agile, because she can do all of those things.” In a July 21 episode of the game’s behind-the-scenes mini-doc, the team made it clear that they’re bringing back old-school Lara Croft for the new generation — and that includes all of her badass abilities like handstands and swan dives. “She’s moving confidently, with all these acrobatics, climbing and jumping,” principal technical game designer Grzegorz Grzywacz said. “That’s what makes Lara, Lara.” “All of those things were the biggest issue for us. Because a regular jump isn’t a Lara Croft regular jump, right?” creative director Michal Kuk added. In fact, Lara’s physicality was so integral to the game that her actress, Alix Wilton Regan, trained extensively in several different disciplines to get into character. “I did a lot — I still do a lot — of weight training, running, yoga, rock-climbing. I freakin’ love rock climbing, that is my jam,” she said. In previous episodes of the docuseries, Regan was shown in full mocap getup, solving ‘puzzles,’ exploring treacherous terrain, and getting into standoffs with as-yet unrevealed enemies on set. “She is very, very strong. She is very, very capable. …I really wanted to bring that confidence to Lara,” Regan said. Fans are ecstatic about the developers’ dedication to Lara’s classic moves, which the team confirmed players will be able to practice to their hearts’ content before setting off to explore new areas of the game. “This is the NUMBER ONE thing for me — I’m so grateful the devs are focusing on Lara’s movement and advertising it as a major factor in defining her,” one player wrote on YouTube. “Her acrobatics are a part of her character. Literally no one else has or ever done it like her. Thank you for bringing it back to life!” another said. “I'm so happy the handstand and swan dive are back. Iconic Lara abilities,” yet another praised. Speaking at IGN Live 2026, Regan said she recorded for three weeks at a time, joking that, “You get a bit hot and sweaty and extremely intimate with your costars doing ten hours in a mocap suit." IGN got the chance to preview the game at Summer Game Fest 2026, with Simon Cardy saying it "makes a 30-year-old adventure feel brand-new." Initially slated for a 2026 release, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis now launches on February 12, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze. View the full article
It's no secret that 2026 has been awful for trying to buy PC hardware. Even back in January, RAM prices had already skyrocketed, and things have only gotten worse since. Back then, I was hearing that the AI-caused RAM crisis would last into 2027, and now, 6 months later, it feels like that was the optimistic take. Now it feels impossible to build or buy a decent gaming PC at a good price. Even the Steam Machine, with its entry-level hardware, costs more than a thousand bucks. That's a hard price to ********, for sure, but that's just the way hardware is going right now. But, if you were lucky enough to get decent hardware before data centers caused prices to go into the stratosphere, PC gaming actually feels incredible right now. Things Are Only Getting More Expensive Last month, when the Steam Machine came out, its $1049 price tag without a controller hit like whiplash for a lot of folks, but that price wasn’t especially surprising. Hardware across the PC landscape has been getting more expensive all year, and it’s even hit consoles, which have traditionally been immune from this kind of memory-induced price increase. The worst part? It’s only really getting started. Over the last weekend, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier sat down with Valve engineers, who told him that the RAM crisis isn’t slowing down any time soon, and that it’s, in fact, worse than it seems. Engineer Yazan Aldehayyat said "Just in case people are not aware. What people are seeing on retail shelves right now, from our observations, is lagging what we’re seeing from a bulk supply by at least three to six months." Valve isn’t alone. Even Microsoft is feeling the pressure from the high memory prices, with CEO Asha Sharma claiming that the costs to manufacture Xbox consoles will end up around five times higher than they were by the end of 2027. And, if you apply the three-to-six month delay that Aldehayyat was talking about, it’s entirely possible that the Xbox Series X ends up costing just as much as the Steam Machine by the end of the year. After all, the 1TB model just went up to $800. Right now, it’s hard to have any kind of optimism that gaming hardware will ever be affordable again. There are a few bright spots here and there, with a Class Action lawsuit being filed in California against the big three RAM manufacturers (Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix) accusing them of price fixing – something that has happened before, by the way. There’s a chance that lawsuit ends up doing something to the current supply crisis, but even if it does, it’ll probably be a few years before we see any kind of impact from it. In the past, my advice would be to just ride out this shortage. Usually, when there was a RAM shortage or a GPU shortage or whatever else, you could upgrade other parts of your build until things got back to normal. But with the way the AI gold rush has caused prices on everything from RAM and SSDs to CPUs and GPUs to go up, it might be a while before anyone can get a reasonably priced upgrade. Really, my recommendation is to just stick with the hardware you already have. If you already have a decent gaming PC, handheld or console, it might be the best move to just keep playing games there until this is all over – no matter how long it takes. Now, that might mean that you won’t be able to turn up all the eye candy in the latest games, but I’ve been surprised at how well new games run on low-to-mid-range hardware this year. PC Gaming Actually Feels Good Right Now Over the last six months, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to tinker with games more, seeking out the optimal graphics settings to get them to run well on lower-end hardware. What I’ve found is that the biggest PC games this year have been surprisingly well optimized. Even Crimson Desert, which wouldn’t even run on Intel graphics cards at launch, ran extremely smoothly on pretty much everything I ran it on, even if it had some weird visual glitches. The same can be said for games like Pragmata, Forza Horizon 6 and the new ****** Flag remake that just came out. I haven’t really had any problems getting games to run on lower-end hardware, and that, at least, is a welcome respite in an environment where everything is more expensive. From the outside, it makes a lot of sense, too. After all, it doesn’t take a very keen eye to notice that hardware prices have gone way up over the last six months, and I’m sure game developers have noticed that folks are playing games on older hardware. At least until prices normalize – if they ever do – it just seems smart for devs to optimize games to run on more attainable systems. I’m sure there will be some games over the next year that are going to punish lower-end hardware. For instance, the system requirements for The Blood of Dawnwalker are incredibly steep, and I’m sure Metro 2039 will have brutal requirements too. However, I’d love to see more games that can run just as well on a handheld as on a full-fledged gaming PC. And I haven’t been disappointed so far this year. I don’t know if I’d recommend anyone actually get into PC gaming right now, just because hardware is so expensive. But, there are plenty of people who already have some type of gaming PC handy. If that’s you, my advice is to take care of your rig and keep it running smoothly. It seems like PC games are getting easier to run as the current generation of consoles starts entering its elder years. So, if you can already run games pretty well right now, you’ll probably be able to make it a few more years before you really need to upgrade. And think about it this way: part of the magic of PC gaming is tweaking your games to get them running just right for your hardware. Right now, that’s easier to do than ever, as more developers add more robust graphics options to their games. As long as the trend of well-optimized games continues this year, and I hope it does, some light tweaking is going to go a long way. Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra View the full article
I blinked and a holy war kicked off. Over the weekend, a battalion of Old School RuneScape players gathered together to spread the good word of Saradomin, a pillar of the game's theology, on a pilgrimage through the MMO's PvP-enabled Wilderness zone. One thing led to another, and, well, a second pilgrimage is now planned for July 25, this time targeting a home base of the opposing Zamorak faction that has rallied in response to this all godly do-goodery. On July 18, seemingly hundreds of OSRS players assembled at the monastery in the town of Edgeville sporting monk robes, holy symbols, white staves, and pockets full of lobsters (for healing, obviously). Their plan, as Reddit user jan7283 explained, was to march to the PvP-heavy Revenant Caves as "one enormous, deeply underprepared religious group" with "absolutely no plan" beyond admonishing anyone found guilty of attacking other players. In OSRS, PvP aggressors have a temporary skull icon placed over their heads, you see, making them a target for the chanting of these followers of Saradomin: "Brother, your skull concerns us." Absolutely nobody in the pilgrimage dabbled in, or specifically brought weapons for, killing other players, and anyone telling you otherwise is a Zamorakian traitor. The cause was so noble that a true ****** – not a player in a mask, another Zamorakian lie – even joined the pilgrimage. "I've changed my ways, but due to prejudice, some will say I can't wear these robes," says pious Reddit user gomy1020. In the end, they were accepted by some, with fellow monk Even-Stranger5764 reasoning, "Doesn't matter how you pray to Saradomin, as long as you're praying brother." We Are The Chosen Ones from r/2007scape The so-called "Brothers of the Monastery" successfully purified the Wilderness, as footage from Redditor Miro_Game shows. "Really channeling the essence of the 2006 to 2008 era shenanigans with a 480p recording," replies user Cold-Sigma-770. "Well done OP. A thematic masterpiece. Just needed the Unregistered Hypercam 2 watermark for the finishing touches." The pilgrimage went so well that, on July 19, de facto leader jan7283 announced the Brothers' next mission. This time, on July 25, they will storm the Chaos Altar which is home to many Zamorak devotees. "They can kill some of us. They can kill most of us. But they can’t kill all of us," jan asserts. But the wicked were not quiet. The same day, scion of Zamorak (and Reddit user) suresh declared, flanked by an army of demons and dark wizards, that "THE ALTAR WILL NOT BE TAKEN." "The servants of Saradomin intend to march upon the Chaos Altar, draped in monk robes and calling their invasion a 'holy pilgrimage.' Let them come," preaches suresh. "We will meet them in the Wilderness and remind them whose ground they trespass upon. "Bring your finest robes of Zamorak, your weapons, your runes, and enough food to survive the march. Scouts, mages, rangers, warriors, and any loyal soul willing to defend the altar are called to arms. "They preach order. We answer with freedom. They bring light. We shall show them fire. They claim we cannot kill them all. We accept the challenge. For chaos. For strength. For Zamorak." I have to admit, they are persuasive. (Image credit: Jagex) The discussion in the lead-up to this July 25 conflict has been heated. "Brother, your plan concerns us," remarks one Saradomin follower. "Hold fast, brother. Do not let evil strike fear into your heart. In Saradomin's light there is no dark," assures another. "Are we just recreating God Wars now?" asks Tzazon, perhaps the most sensible person in the room, in a reference to the deity-on-deity combat at the heart of some of RuneScape's juiciest lore. So, here we are, watching the mortal armies of the RuneScape gods try to outwit one another in a genuinely powerful demonstration of what makes MMO communities so great. There are even fliers for the coming march: Saturday, July 25, at 12pm ET / 5pm BT / 6pm CT. The Brothers will meet at the Varrock Chapel and then meet the followers of Zamorak at the Chaos Altar. It's sure to be a sight to see. "I remember with a load of friends back in the day we all dressed up as LOTR characters and was seeing how far we could get into the wild and stay there without dying," says one delighted player. "One of my fondest memories, love ***** like this." "This is what makes a MMO truly special," agrees another. "Love to see it. Hail Zamorak!" After 6 years living as a monk and a total of 19 years later, MMO player returns to Old School RuneScape and proves the classic phrase: you don't quit, you take breaks. [/url]View the full article
A new Steam game arriving very soon looks like the perfect spiritual successor to GoldenEye 007, with a sprinkle of Perfect Dark for good measure. Agent 64: Spies Never Die comes out on August 11 on Steam, and retro shooter fans should see this one as an absolute must-buy. View the full article
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While the future of the series was on the rocks for a few years after its controversial sixth outing, Resident Evil is ******* than it's ever been before, with numerous exciting new entries and even classic remasters to look forward to. Capcom has been trying to keep its new projects under wraps, but with leaks suggesting multiple new games for fans can look forward to, it's putting countless other classic series to shame. View the full article