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Honkai: Star Rail has partnered with KFC to launch exclusive merchandise in select locations throughout China. The collaboration was announced just in time for the highly-anticipated release of Honkai: Star Rail Version 3.0. View the full article

With Valve's impressive work on the Proton tool for Linux and the Mac's Game Porting Toolkit and CrossOver options, few games are truly "Windows only" these days. The exceptions are those with aggressive, Windows-based anti-cheating tools baked in, something that hit back hard against players eager to dive into a new superhero shooter. Marvel Rivals, an Overwatch-ish free-to-play hero shooter released in early December 2024, has all the typical big online game elements: an in-game shop with skins and customizations, battle passes, and anti-cheating tech. While Proton, which powers the Linux-based Steam Deck's ability to play just about any Windows game, has come very far in a few years' time, its biggest blind spots are these kinds of online-only games, like Grand Theft Auto Online, Fortnite, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, and the like. The same goes for Mac players, who, if they can work past DirectX 12, can often get a Windows game working in CrossOver or Parallels, minus any anti-cheat tools. Is there harm in trying? For a while, there was 100 years' worth. As detailed in the r/macgaming subreddit and at r/SteamDeck, many players who successfully got Marvel Rivals working would receive a "Penalty Issued" notice, with a violation "detected" and bans issued until 2124. Should such a ban stand, players risked entirely missing the much-prophesied Year of the Linux Desktop or Mainstream Mac Gaming, almost certain to happen at some point in that span. Read full article Comments View the full article

The anime action RPG Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is getting a new character, as the video game franchise original Fuuka Shinozaki will appear in the game starting on January 9 following scheduled maintenance. Fuuka will join the ongoing title in its upcoming second season as a mage, giving players access to brand-new magical abilities as she joins the roster of fan favorites and new faces from across the Sword Art Online franchise. View the full article

The director of Final Fantasy 11 expressed the team's intention to make the MMORPG more solo-friendly this year. After celebrating its 22nd anniversary in 2024, Square Enix conducted a player satisfaction survey among active and non-active users. One of the top requests was to make certain Final Fantasy 11 content more welcoming to solo players, a plea the development team has embraced and promises to deliver on in 2025. View the full article

The audacious action-platformer Antonblast, from developer Summitsphere, has recouped its entire production budget less than one month after its initial release. Antonblast, which serves as a sequel to the brick-breaking Mario Bros./Breakout mashup Antonball, was developed by a small team led by designer, co-coder, and composer Tony Grayson. View the full article

It's been a strange few days for Palworld on Steam Deck. Originally it was rated Steam Deck Playable, then after the major Feybreak update Valve set it as Steam Deck Unsupported and now it's back to Steam Deck Playable again. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

2024 was a year packed with surprise hits, from Palworld and Helldivers 2 to the all-conquering might of Balatro. Among those winners was Liar's Bar, which soared on a wave of YouTube and Twitch popularity to a Steam player count peak of more than 113,000. Combining the classic multiplayer games of Liar's Dice and Cheat with the high-stakes thrill of virtual Russian roulette, it holds a 92% positive user review score. As developer Curve Animation works towards launch, it reveals that its next mode is coming very soon. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Viral, brutal multiplayer game Liar's Bar adds new mode with a chaotic twist $7 multiplayer game is now ******* on Steam than Diablo 4 and Hunt Showdown Liar's Bar is an absurd gambling simulator with animal people, out now View the full article

Amid all the Squid Game mania that kicks off today, both Call of Duty Warzone and ****** Ops 6 have received updates that make plenty of gameplay changes and bug fixes. Arguably the most noticeable change across both titles is an upgrade to movement that makes things even faster and slicker than it was before. Plus, Zombies fans have been blessed with a mountain of buffs to the new elemental sword Wonder Weapons. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: ****** Ops 6 Squid Game event criticized for its $10 reward track ****** Ops 6 Season 2 release date estimate, anti-cheat update, and more The best zombie games on PC 2025 View the full article

Adding to a list of controversies that have plagued Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 since the game's launch, the Premium Track of a new, limited-time Squid Game event has sparked backlash from players. The latest in the Call of Duty series, ****** Ops 6 enjoyed a generally positive critical reception when it released in October 2024, garnering praise for its single-player campaign, online multiplayer, and its Zombies mode. Long-term players, however, have several serious complaints regarding the game's monetization and cheating issues. View the full article

Something that should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about me is that Baldur's Gate 3 is my favorite video game of all time. I love anything with extensive lore and interesting characters, and I've found that the game has so much to offer. Even after hundreds of hours in the game, I can still start a playthrough and find the occasional detail that surprises me. Recently, I've been playing a co-op playthrough with three other people. View the full article

Call of Duty’s 1.065.000 is now installable, setting the Squid Game crossover for ****** Ops 6 and Warzone live. While the Squid Game crossover, alongside its controversial Event Pass, is the highlight of this update, it also makes a number of changes to the first-person shooter, as detailed in the patch notes on Activision's website. Conspicuous by its absence is mention of anti-cheat after a troubling ******* for Call of Duty that's seen its hardcore community call on Activision to do more to prevent cheaters from impacting both ****** Ops 6 and Warzone. Expect anti-cheat improvements from Season 2. The 2.699GB patch (PS5) for the Call of Duty app, which must be downloaded whether you own ****** Ops 6 or not, adds new Multiplayer and Zombies modes, the new High Roller Wildcard, and makes various balance changes to Scorestreaks. The patch notes in full are below. Call of Duty ****** Ops 6 update 1.065.000 patch notes:GLOBALMovementIncreased all mantle speeds.Doors can now be opened and closed while sprinting.WeaponsNew Cleaver Melee weapon now available via Event rewards.Addressed an issue where the player’s view could become obstructed with specific weapons when using the Dark Practitioner Tracer Pack Bundle without an optic.Addressed an issue where Gun Screens would not be visible on the Saug Mecha-Drake Mastercraft Blueprint.Hawker Hybrid optic now correctly works with the Ginger Dread Blueprint.UIImproved AAR flow.Added a Dismiss button to exit at any point and a timer.Added a Summary at the end.Improved readability when searching for a match.Addressed an issue where Gun Screens could not be previewed. NOTE: Some players may see their Operator selections and Operator customizations reset after this update. MULTIPLAYERModesRed Light, Green Light (NEW)Young-hee is watching, so don’t misstep at the wrong time. Get on the pitch in the Red Card stadium and play three rounds of Red Light, Green Light, each two minutes long. In Round 1, no one gets a weapon. In Rounds 2 and 3, you can pick up weapons on the ground and eliminate other competitors with melee attacks and Finishing Moves. There’s just one simple rule: When Young-hee says “Green Light,” the fight is on. Move a muscle after she says “Red Light” and you’re toast.Pentathlon (NEW)Prove that you have what it takes in the long run by competing in a series of Multiplayer modes to find out who reigns supreme! Play Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Hardpoint along with two new mode variants: Piggy Bank Team Deathmatch and Roulette. In Piggy Bank TDM, every elimination adds score to the Mega Piggy Bank; fight for possession of the huge payout when it drops part way through the match. In Roulette, one-shot eliminations via the Roulette Handgun award double the points, though with each fired shot there’s a chance it’ll blow up in your hands!Squid Game Moshpit (NEW)Fire up the Squid Game Moshpit including Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint with a twist as players gain access to three important Squid Game-themed features: Red Light, Green Light Scorestreak: Is the fight getting too hectic for you? Stop the enemy in their tracks with this Scorestreak that calls “Red Light,” commanding all enemy players to stop moving or risk elimination. Piggy Bank: Eliminated players have a chance of dropping a Piggy Bank that awards a small score boost when picked up. For a ******* payday, watch for the Mega Piggy Bank. Every elimination adds additional score to the Mega Piggy Bank, so once it drops, fight for it to acquire all the deposited score within. Roulette Handgun: The epitome of high risk, high reward. The Roulette Handgun spawns in the center of the map; grab it to activate a permanent UAV effect while wielding it and land one-shot eliminations against enemies, earning more than double the normal score to help you obtain Scorestreaks more quickly. The catch? Your location will be marked for everyone to see, and every shot has a chance to blow up the weapon, taking you down with it.Prop HuntImproved spatial audio on Prop whistles.Addressed an issue where Prop UI could remain present when switching rounds to the Hunter team.Addressed an issue where Props could block doors from opening when locked in place.WildcardsHigh Roller (NEW)Allows players to equip up to four Scorestreaks.ScorestreaksRC-XDSlightly reduced the RC-XD’s max damage. Archangel LauncherAddressed a rare issue where the next bullet fired from a weapon after using the Archangel Launcher could be an Archangel rocket.Care PackageCare Packages will now contain the Scout Pulse Scorestreak less frequently.LDBRDecreased the damage the LDBR does to its owner.Reduced score requirement from 950 to 800.Sentry TurretIncreased Sentry Turret fire rate.Increased Sentry Turret HP.Reduced score requirement from 1000 to 950.HellstormReduced score requirement from 1050 to 1000.Watchdog HeloSlightly increased the Watchdog Helo’s damage.Increased Watchdog Helo accuracy when it acquires a new target.Reduced score requirement from 1100 to 1050.Strategic BomberReduced score requirement from 1300 to 1100.A.G.R. MK 1Top speed increased.Acceleration increased.Addressed an issue where the A.G.R. MK 1 was deploying with less HP than intended. DreadnoughtSlightly increased Dreadnought HP.Reduced score requirement from 1800 to 1700.UIAddressed an issue where the wrong Finisher would sometimes be previewed.Addressed various issues with overlapping text.Correct Calling Cards now display during the Winner’s Circle in Free-For-All.AudioReduced the range of Emote sound effects.ZOMBIESMapsCitadelle des MortsElemental Sword Wonder Weapons GeneralAll swords can now hit up to two enemies per swing. The additional hit will do damage based on distance.Additional hit damage is 100% at close-to-medium distance and 50% beyond that.Players can now parry Amalgam grabs with Elemental Swords.Addressed an issue where sword damage could be decreased when using the Void Sheath Augment for Aether Shroud.Balmung Ability procs more frequently while charged.Reduced the required kills to charge from 40 to 25.Decreased cooldown from 20 to 10 seconds.Slightly lowered the chance to activate the passive effects to account for the decreased cooldown between activations.DurandelIncreased special attack damage.Increased Electric Beam special attack damage per tick from 40% to 65% of base zombie health.Ability now procs more frequently while charged.Decreased cooldown from 25 to 3 seconds.Slightly lowered the chance to activate the passive effects to account for the decreased cooldown between activations.Addressed an issue where Durandel’s charged attack would not be visible to other players.CaliburnAdjusted to activate Napalm Burst Augments when the sword procs, similar to Balmung and Durandal.Solais Slightly reduced effectiveness of Armor regeneration ability.Slightly increased swing interrupt time for sword swing.Lowered Armor regeneration percentage from 5% to 4% per swing.Main QuestAddressed an issue where players could sometimes be unable to pick up the Lightning Rod depending on where it dropped.The Lightning Rod zombie will now return to the Dungeon if there are no players nearby.Addressed an issue where activating the Time Out GobbleGum to progress a round during the Main Quest boss fight would respawn eliminated players in the starting area and down them.Players will now respawn in the boss fight arena.Addressed an issue where Special Round effects would not disable when entering the Main Quest boss fight.Adjusted Deadshot ADS placement to be more accurate against the Main Quest boss.Addressed an issue where Krafft could speak to the player before interacting with him in the Dungeon.Addressed an issue where saving and quitting in a Solo match before speaking to Krafft would prevent Main Quest progression after loading the save.Addressed an issue where the Light Ritual mirrors could not be interacted with after a player joins in progress.Addressed an issue where wisps in the Light Challenge for the Mystic Orb would freeze visually but still count toward completion.Addressed an issue where the Mystic Orb would not be visible to players joining in progress after the Knight’s Ceremony.Addressed an issue where Main Quest progress was not saved when picking up the Mystic Orb after the Knight’s Ceremony and saving and quitting in a Solo match.Addressed an issue where the Durendal sword could be floating upon loading into a saved Solo match.Addressed an issue where melee weapons would not be able to open one of the locks on the Pack-a-Punch container.Closed an exploit where players would take no damage and be unable to move when failing the Sanctuary timed challenge.Addressed some instances where a specific set of interactions could lead to blank objective text.Addressed an issue where the Blood Aetherium Crystal could get stuck in a non-playable area.Addressed some issues with visual effects spawning in non-intended locations.Updated the model for the Mystic Orb.TerminusAddressed an issue where players respawned by progressing a round during the Main Quest boss fight with the Time Out GobbleGum would be unable to see the boss’s health bar.Addressed an issue where the Workshop Lockdown Main Quest step would end early by placing a Shock Charge after starting.Speed Boost option now properly functions during the Boat Race Side Quest.ModesDead Light, Green Light (NEW)Compete in an undead version of the stop-and-go game in Dead Light, Green Light. In the “Green Light” phase, players gain a bonus to earned Essence, so rack up the zombie eliminations. Once “Red Light” is called, Essence is drained from any player who moves, so spend big before this phase or hang tight to avoid throwing away your hard-earned currency. And it doesn’t end there. When the dreaded “Dead Light” phase begins, prepare for a tough fight as a meaner wave of enemies approach.Available first in Citadelle des Morts, with Liberty Falls added after Week 1.Directed ModeDirected Mode now available for Citadelle des Morts with unique rewards.NOTE: The deadline to earn the Main Quest early completion rewards for Citadelle des Morts via Standard Mode has been extended until the end of Season 01 to allow players additional time to complete the Main Quest.Extended time between rounds and the delay between spawning zombies after five looped rounds at the round cap in Directed Mode.Training CourseAddressed an issue that would prevent the “Getting New Weapons” station from progressing.WeaponsAddressed an issue where players would lose the ability to equip a second weapon if the “Weapon Cycle” setting was enabled.GobbleGumsAddressed an issue that left the player vulnerable briefly while teleporting from “Anywhere But Here!” or “Nowhere But There” GobbleGums.Ammo ModsShadow RiftBig GameBig Game will no longer deal lethal damage to Elite enemies.Field UpgradesAether ShroudVoid Sheath AugmentAddressed an issue where melee weapon damage would not be increased.ScorestreaksMutant InjectionAddressed an issue where Mangler Cannon effects could be stuck on the screen after the Scorestreak has ended.Chopper GunnerAddressed an issue where the gun from the Chopper Gunner could be used after the Scorestreak has ended.Sentry TurretAddressed an issue that prevented a Sentry Turret from being placed after using the Balmung charged ability.Power-UpsFire *****Addressed an issue where rarely Fire ***** would leave an extra Mystery Box on the map.EnemiesDoppelghastAddressed an issue where the needle blast from a Doppelghast affected by Brain Rot could harm the player.VerminAddressed an issue where Vermin could sometimes hit twice with one attack.ActivitiesSplitscreenAddressed an issue where zombies would sometimes ignore the host player.ChallengesCamo ChallengesAddressed an issue where Pack-a-Punched GS45s would not progress the Siamese Camo after Military Camo progression was complete.Daily ChallengesAddressed an issue where the “Drink 3 Perk-a-Colas” Daily Challenge would not progress.Calling Card ChallengesPrestige 3: Explosive SurpriseAddressed an issue where the Explosive Surprise Prestige 3 Calling Chard Challenge was not tracking properly.Prestige 8: Close CallUpdated this Challenge to count kills from teleporting with the “Anywhere But Here!” GobbleGum.Updated this Challenge to also include “Nowhere But There!” GobbleGums.Addressed issues that prevented the following challenges from tracking properly:Trophy Hunter: “Madness”Prestige 6: “Gullible”Prestige 7: “Old Faithful”Prestige 10: “Stupify” Wesley is the *** News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

There's never been a better time to grab yourself a Steam Deck OLED, as new stock of refurbished units is now on ***** on the Steam website. Valve's certified refurbishment program gives you a fully tested, fully working gaming handheld with a one year warranty at a brilliantly discounted price, saving you 20% on a brand new model. The Steam Deck OLED is arguably one of the best handheld gaming PCs out there, offering a better display, battery life, and design improvements over the original Steam Deck LCD. Grabbing a refurbished model is the best way to secure the top-spec Valve handheld, as long as you can grab one in time, as these are likely to sell out quickly. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT gaming GPU shown off in new teaser images by PowerColor Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 power draw will be 28% higher than a 4090, leak suggests Save 27% on this 1TB Samsung gaming SSD, now at its lowest price ever View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Marvel Rivals community manager announced this morning that it has accidentally flagged a whole load of innocent players as cheaters and, as a result, banned their accounts all because of a mix-up in operating systems... Read more.View the full article

Developer Treyarch Studios has released a major patch update for Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, bringing a plethora of new content, improvements, and bug fixes to the popular first-person shooter. Alongside a new update for Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, developer Raven Software has also deployed a new patch for the free-to-play battle royale title, Call of Duty: Warzone. View the full article

The mobile game Azur Lane announced that multiple outfits will no longer be available for ***** “due to unforeseen circumstances related to the Google Play Store policy”. According to the post, five character outfits will be removed from the pool of available cosmetics. A small saving grace here is that individuals who already own the outfits will […] Source View the full article

Need some more Monster Hunter games? Fanatical have brought back their Build your own Monster Hunter Bundle for you to fill up your collection again. Read the full article here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

Despite the saturation of the hero shooter genre, Marvel Rivals is still going strong with plenty of exciting new characters and events on the way. Improving from the playtest from July, the developers of Marvel Rivals have made significant balance changes and minor tweaks that provide a much more fun-filled gameplay experience. Even with these improvements, Marvel Rivals has a long way to go before it can make a significant mark on the competitive gaming scene. View the full article

Amazon Prime subscribers can grab two indie titles - Eastern Exorcist and The Bridge - for free as Prime Gaming brings some early additions to its 2025 lineup of giveaways. 2024 was a big year for Amazon in terms of gaming, thanks to the release of the video game adaptation anthology Secret Level and a slew of limited-time free downloads. Just a few days into 2025, the company is keeping that streak going with another giveaway for Prime users. View the full article

Jim Carrey is fresh off of reprising the role of moustachioed and bald baddie Dr Robotnik in Sonic 3, and he's already suggested that he'd at aleast consider the idea of returning for furture Sonic movies - for example, a Sonic 4, provided he thinks the idea of whatever's pitched "sounds fun". Read more View the full article

There's nothing more terrifying than getting jumped in the backline by an Iron Fist wearing the distorted skin of the adorable Jeff the Shark; I know this because it's happened to me on more than one occasion... Read more.View the full article

Ken Levine, creator of the Bioshock series, has had a bit of a long road to walk in order to release his studio's upcoming game, Judas. It's been in development for at least eight years, after Take-Two shut down Irrational Games in 2017 and booted up Ghost Story Games thereafter. We didn't hear much about it until 2022, where it was slated to be "coming soon". Turns out, "coming soon" meant three years, with Judas slated to release March 2025... Read more.View the full article

Unfortunately, like almost every multiplayer game today, Marvel Rivals may sometimes fall victim to cheaters. With player counts frequently putting it in the top five games on Steam since launch, developer Netease Games has been working to target potential troublemakers in the hero shooter. However, it appears to have caught some innocent players in the crossfire - but if you've been affected, the studio says it has identified the issue and lifted any resulting bans. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: All Marvel Rivals codes and how to redeem - January 2025 All Marvel Rivals characters and full roster Marvel Rivals leak says four new heroes are coming in Season 1 next week View the full article

On December 5, digital gambling firm Games Global announced it was partnering with toy and game company Hasbro for a "multi-game collaboration" to make online gambling games using the Dungeons and Dragons license. At time of writing, Hasbro has not made any formal statement about the project. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: DnD wastes the storytelling power of non-human races The Legend of Vox Machina Season 4 release date estimate and news How one DnD player's death created a community for grieving gamers View the full article

Sometimes, the smallest changes can have the most profound impact. For League of Legends players, Riot Games’ decision to remove summoner names from ranked champion select is still worth celebrating as one of the developer’s best decisions three years after its implementation. Riot first introduced the change to hide summoner names from ranked champion select in November 2022, and three years later, the community still seems to appreciate the improvement. At the time, Riot explained how many players use external sites and apps to gather information about teammates, leading to conclusions “that aren’t necessarily correct” and undue pressure, like forcing teammates to pick champions with the highest win rates or avoid certain picks. View the full article

*** based miniature manufacturer Mantic Games has teased that it has the Assassin's Creed license, in a sizzle reel hinting at its planned releases for 2025. The firm surprised the wargaming world early in 2024 with the announcement of a Halo miniature wargame, which it successfully released the same year. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Best WW1 board games 2025 I spoke to the creator of Wingspan, the board game that saved my sanity in 2024 Best board games for couples View the full article