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A flurry of updates has come to ARC Raiders in recent days. Snow maps were added, a new seasonal event started, Security Breach was nerfed, blueprint drop rates increased and then decreased again, and more, but a real eye-catching change has so far flown under the radar. View the full article

Steam's Winter ***** is now live, and with it comes big discounts on some of the biggest games of the year. From indie titles to major AAA releases, Steam is offering some of the most substantial price cuts of 2025, giving gamers a great end-of-year ***** to help pad out their libraries. View the full article

Riot Games is reportedly working on a total makeover of League of Legends, according to Bloomberg. The upcoming overhaul is allegedly called "League Next" and will be an update to the existing League of Legends rather than a standalone game, though it sounds like it's effectively a remake. Bloomberg suggests that the update will fully revamp the game's visual aesthetic including hcaracters, UI, and arenas. There will also be adjustments behind the scenes to help make future updates smoother. It is unclear at this time if the changes will impact game mechanics. The report suggests that League Next is planned for release in 2027, and will be the biggest update to League of Legends in the game's nearly two-decade-long history. Bloomberg also claims that Riot has announced an internal reorganization, but did not provide any further details on how this will impact the studio at this time. League of Legends was first released in 2009, and in a rare feat for a game that old has remained wildly popular ever since. It's a multiplayer online battle arena, a MOBA, originally inspired by Warcraft 3 custom map Defense of the Ancients, and played a massive role in pioneering and popularizing the MOBA genre. It has gone on to inspire a number of spin-offs, including digital card game Legends of Runeterra, a mobile version of the game called Wild Rift, and a popular TV series: Arcane. Bloomberg reports that League of Legends still has over 100 million players each month. The game also continues to be one of the world's biggest esports, with the finals of its World Championship hosted in 2025 in China reaching 6.7 million viewers virtually. League of Legends has remained so big for so long that we actually re-reviewed it years after our initial 2009 launch review...in 2014. At the time, we said it was "an amazing and intense MOBA with great depth, tons of character, and a huge community." Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected]. View the full article

The demand for certain items in ARC Raiders has gone up ever since the Cold Snap update launched, and it's essentially due to do with the Flickering Flames project. The Flickering Flames project is a new event where you have to complete five different levels. Every level requires you to commit certain items that you can find from the raids. One such item is the Film Reel, and this guide will help you find it easily. Best locations to find Film Reels in ARC Raiders You'll need one Film Reel to complete the third level of the Flickering Flames project. Doing so will also net you 1000 Creds that can be put to good use. To find a Film Reel, you'll want to look for areas that are marked as Residential on any map. The best spot should be the Village on the Blue Gate map. This is where I had found it earlier during the ARC Raiders' launch week. However, I found it at the Grandioso Apartments after the project went live. The Buried City map has plenty of great Residential areas that you can loot. You can also find other items like the Frying Pan from this map. Screenshot and remix by Destructoid Ultimately, it will all boil down to your luck, as the items don't have a fixed location. If you're on the Dam Battlegrounds map, you can try looking in the Ruby Residence buildings in the northwestern part of the map. This building also spawns plenty of keys that will allow you to access locked areas. Once you have found the Film Reel, you can commit it from the project section of the Raider tab. The Film Reel is required to clear level 3, so you'll need to clear the first two levels. However, there's plenty of time left for you to finish the project before it expires in January. The post How to find Film Reel in ARC Raiders appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

ARC Raiders has undergone plenty of significant changes to its gameplay mechanics and offerings since launch, with the latest patch offering some of the biggest yet. Although it can take some time to adjust to the new game mode types and progress through its limited seasonal quests, there's never been a better time to hop back into ARC Raiders than right now. View the full article

We had the chance to go hands-on with the upcoming Switch 2 version of Trails Beyond the Horizon, and it seems to be off to a promising start. View the full article

There comes a point in every cool new and/or retro revival indie genre where there are just way too many to play all of them, even if you love the style: Metroidvanias, boomer shooters, and Vampire Survivors-alikes (bullet heavens?) all spring to mind for me... Read more.View the full article

Assassin's Creed Shadows for Nintendo Switch 2 delivers a good way to play Ubisoft's newest Assassin's Creed entry. We compare it to the Steam Deck and PS5 versions in our AC Shadows Switch 2 review. View the full article

A trickle of Cyberpunk 2 news hasn't produced any concrete information on what to expect from the game – developer CD Projekt Red is preoccupied with releasing The Witcher 4first – but a recent update makes a potential timeline for its release a little more clear. Formerly known as Project Orion, the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is one of numerous projects underway at CDPR. View the full article

The Steam Winter ***** has landed, bringing a seemingly endless supply of discounts with it. Finding bargains can be a lot of fun, but if you're already busy this holiday season, sorting through the best deals can end up turning into a nightmare. View the full article

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a landmark in gaming, but as time goes on, its visuals will naturally become dated compared to future games in the series like the upcoming Witcher 4. However, some players have taken it upon themselves to "improve"The Witcher 3's look instead, with some using mods to do so. One project stands out from some of the others, but not for wholly positive reasons. View the full article

If you’ve been too busy planning for Half-Life 3 to take part in this year’s Ars Technica Charity Drive sweepstakes, don’t worry. You still have time to donate to a good cause and get a chance to win your share of over $4,000 worth of swag (no purchase necessary to win). In the first week or so of the drive, over 300 readers have contributed nearly $18,000 to either the Electronic Frontier Foundation or Child’s Play as part of the charity drive (Child’s Play has a roughly 55/45 donation lead at the moment). That’s still a long way from 2020’s record haul of over $58,000, but there’s plenty of time until the Charity Drive wraps up on Friday, January 2, 2026. That doesn’t mean you should put your donation off, though. Do yourself and the charities involved a favor and give now while you’re thinking about it. Read full article Comments View the full article

The first few months of 2025 were full of graphics card reviews where we generally came away impressed with performance and completely at a loss on availability and pricing. The testing in these reviews is useful regardless, but when it came to extra buying advice, the best we could do was to compare Nvidia’s imaginary pricing to AMD’s imaginary pricing and wait for availability to improve. Now, as the year winds down, we’re facing price spikes for memory and storage that are unlike anything I’ve seen in two decades of pricing out PC parts. Pricing for most RAM kits has increased dramatically since this summer, driven by overwhelming demand for these parts in AI data centers. Depending on what you’re building, it’s now very possible that the memory could be the single most expensive component you buy; things are even worse now than they were the last time we compared prices a few weeks ago. ComponentAug. 2025 priceNov. 2025 priceDec. 2025 pricePatriot Viper Venom 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR-6000$49$110$189Western Digital WD Blue SN5000 500GB$45$69$102*Silicon Power 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200$34$89$104Western Digital WD Blue SN5000 1TB$64$111$135*Team T-Force Vulcan 32GB DDR5-6000$82$310$341Western Digital WD Blue SN5000 2TB$115$154$190*Western Digital WD ****** SN7100 2TB$130$175$210Team Delta RGB 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-6400$190$700$800 Some SSDs are getting to the point where they’re twice as expensive as they were this summer (for this comparison, I’ve swapped the newer WD Blue SN5100 pricing in for the SN5000, since the drive is both newer and slightly cheaper as of this writing). Some RAM kits, meanwhile, are around four times as expensive as they were in August. Yeesh. Read full article Comments View the full article

RuneScape Dragonwilds' Fellhollow update has finally added mounts, and you can cover large distances of the map on a Terror Bird. However, you'll first have to finish a side quest to get your mount. Here's how you can get your own Terror Bird. Table of contentsRuneScape Dragonwilds Terror Bird quest walkthroughLocating Willow GrovesBest Terror Bird locationsRuneScape Dragonwilds Terror Bird quest walkthrough If you're either a beginner or a returning player, your first task is to enter Fellhollow. Then, go to the Bleak Fields Valley. You'll come across a point where three main roads branch out. Look for the gap between the paths going to the north and west, and you'll find a small structure with an NPC named Vannaka. When you speak with Vannaka, he will ask you for three Terror Bird Hearts. This will officially mark the start of the quest that ends with you gaining your own mount. Locating Willow Groves The first job is to locate Willow Groves, which are essentially clusters of Willow Trees. They're easy to notice due to their unique shades. These groves are the natural habitat of Terrorbirds, and you can find them all over Fellhollow. To find the hearts, you'll need to hunt three separate birds because I don't believe a single bird can drop more than one, and do so across multiple areas. Best Terror Bird locations The Terrorbirds are located all over Fellhollow, and you'll want to specifically target water bodies. When you speak with Vannaka at the beginning of the quest, he will also hint that you look at the areas around the lakes. I have marked the locations you'll want to visit to find the Terrorbird nests. Screenshot and remix by Destructoid One can be found in Emberwood, which is at the western edge of the Fellhollow region. You can find the other two spots at Dragon's Run and Witchwillow Range. The former is located to the left of where you enter Fellhollow, while Dragon's Run is to the north of this region. If you're a returning player, getting the three hearts won't be a problem. However, these creatures can do plenty of damage, and you'll also find other enemies at their locations. Additionally, you'll be fighting the spirit versions of these Terror Birds. Once you engage one, they will inflict bleed damage. Hence, you'll require plenty of healing items because it seems impossible to dodge every attack. But once you get through the gauntlet and kill three Terror Birds, you are ready to return to Vannaka to complete the quest and unlock your own mount. The post How to get and use a mount in RuneScape Dragonwilds appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

The Unboxing Days event has ushered in the festive spirit in UFL, and you can top it off by getting a 92-rated Michael Owen legend card for your team. Unlike previous occasions, PC players can also take advantage of this holiday event, along with console users. There are plenty of rewards to win, with the top pick being a 92-rated legend card for Michael Owen. Let's look at how you can max out your rewards haul from this event. How to unlock all UFL Unboxing Days event rewards The Unboxing Days event has started earlier on Dec. 18, and it will continue until Jan. 8 of the new year. Log in every day to get yourself a guaranteed Unboxing Pack Lite. This pack can include some fantastic cards, and with something special guaranteed from every 11 pulls. Image via StrikerZ However, you'll be wanting to open the Unboxing Pack instead if you want to go for the biggest rewards, including Michael Owen. Here's how you can earn the Unboxing Pack (without dipping into microtransactions). The Unboxing Days event will have a special challenge active daily. For example, the first challenge requires us to score two goals.When you complete this task, you'll get a Snow Coin. This is an event-exclusive currency that fills up a unique meter.You unlock various rewards when you gradually fill up the meter and hit different milestones. For example, getting 17 Snow Coins will get you an 88-rated Michael Owen. You can get one Snow Coin daily by completing the challenge. If you miss out on any day, you can attempt the challenge by spending 50 LP. Some of these exclusive challenges will reward you with a bonus Unboxing Pack. I am unsure if we will get an Unboxing Pack daily or if that will appear occasionally. Outside the daily challenges, the event milestone rewards guarantee you four Unboxing Packs if you can complete all objectives. You can get a maximum of four that way. Image via StrikerZ The current season pass also allows you to get two Unboxing Packs in exchange for SP. Any of these packs has a high chance of rewarding you with the 92-rated Owen card. These packs have plenty of special cards, and you can also get other legends like Beckenbauer, Del Piero, and more. There's also a pity system associated with the packs. You're guaranteed the 92-rated Owen card if you manage to open 15 Unboxing Packs. The acquisition method for these packs doesn't matter. If you don't want to wait, you can easily spend real-life money to get LP (and then spend the LP behind packs). However, you can just grind out the challenges and do the same to get valuable rewards throughout the course of the Unboxing Days event in UFL. The post UFL Unboxing Days event: How to claim 92-rated Michael Owen for free appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

While there may not be the infamous "cow level" in Diablo 4, players have discovered another hidden realm buried deep behind secrets in the game. Due to previous updates, mysterious items have gained a new purpose, allowing players who perform specific actions to travel away from Sanctuary. The ultimate challenge awaits past a secret portal, offering some of the best loot ever for brave characters. View the full article

System Shock remake finally launches on both Switch 2 and Switch featuring all updates included and new features. View the full article

Weirdly, Vin Diesel is a big deciding factor in how Ark 2's story will play outView the full article

The game has been available in English and Spanish, but this new Asian release also adds Japanese and ******** language support. View the full article

The ongoing DRAM supply crisis affecting the PC market may have an impact on Nvidia, according to rumors that state the graphics card giant could reduce production of its RTX GPUs sometime in early 2026 by approximately a third of what it was earlier in 2025. While Nvidia has not commented on its production plans, PC builders looking to upgrade their graphics card still have time to choose what they want. View the full article

Steam users have been getting all kinds of free games lately, and now two more are up for grabs. With it being the holiday season, it's really no surprise that there have been more free Steam games given away than usual, and it's safe to say that PC gamers are eating good this year. View the full article

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel. General Fixed non-Steam browser windows erroneously being created sometimes when steamwebhelper is restarted. View the full article

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes: General Fixed non-Steam browser windows erroneously being created sometimes when steamwebhelper is restarted. View the full article

A majority of the update's additions feature the Pattis. View the full article

The Steam Winter ***** is upon us, that part of the year when our Lord and savior Gaben is most generous and provides us with the hottest (or coldest?) deals. Of course, as the prices freeze over and collapse into bits and pieces, it can be difficult to make the right choice. I've scoured the initial listings of the ***** and discovered the greatest Christmas gifts, so here they are. Best deals of Steam's 2025 Winter ***** For the sake of compiling this group of games, I've listed them from the most expensive to the cheapest, highlighting initially those AAA titles that rarely go for good prices even during the biggest sales, as you might have been waiting for the best moment to hop on them. With that in mind, here's what I've found. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 — $29.99 Image via Warhorse Studios Store Page Link Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 did not win anything at this year's The Game Awards show, but it was certainly a game that won our hearts. It did pick up some awards at other shows, which serves to highlight its importance, even if it was snubbed and (to some degree, unrightfully) eclipsed by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Being a fantastic game, one that takes the setting and the player seriously, it'd be a shame to miss out on it. And, with this half-price deal, now might be the best time to hop on, provided you'd already completed the first game, itself on ***** for just $5.99. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 — $23.99 Screenshot by Destructoid Store Page Link Warhammer 40K is more topical than ever in the world of video games, what with the impending releases of Total War: 40K, Mechanicus 2, and Dawn of War 4, among other stuff. And, thankfully, there's also this amazing third-person shooter title that builds on the foundations of its predecessor, cranks everything up to 11, and makes the blood and gore more visceral than ever. It's also quite cheap now, at only $23.99, one of the best prices it's ever been at. So, if you're wont to dive deeper into the grim darkness of the far future, this is an ideal starting point. Cyberpunk 2077 — $20.99 Image via CD PROJEKT RED Store Page Link Cyberpunk 2077 is arguably the best game in the eponymous genre, providing a unique retrofuturistic 80s-style take on a cornerstone of science fiction while modernizing it and bringing it up to snuff with today's considerations of technology. It's an incredible achievement for storytelling and art as a whole, but it has rarely gone under $30 since the launch of Edgerunners and the subsequent revitalization of the once-stigmatized game. Now, it costs only $20.99, reaching quite low for its standards, and allowing players to jump into its virtual world. Unfortunately, the DLC, Phantom Liberty, is also $20.99, on par with the base game itself, so I'd wait before picking that up eventually, but wouldn't miss out on it due to the implications it has for the overall experience. Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition — $19.99 Image via Rockstar Games Store Page Link Rockstar pulled a fast one with this listing, choosing to discount the Ultimate Edition of the game instead of the base version, allowing them to put a ******* percentage on the store listing because this one costs a hundred bucks instead of the usual 60. Even so, you get the base game and more with this purchase, itself quite low for AAA standards. Red Dead Redemption 2 also rarely goes beneath $19.99, as I've seen it reach $14.99 at most, and that's for the base edition of the game, so you might as well pick this one up while you're at it. Resident Evil 4 Remake — $15.99 Image via Capcom/Steam. Store Page Link The entirety of the Resident Evil franchise is currently discounted as part of the Winter *****, but I've decided to highlight this one in particular. It's one of the best games in the entire series, and with the remake, it became one of the best survival horror titles ever created. It ditches all the action scenes and arcade nonsense, instead grounding itself in gritty realism, dread, and terror, which serves to highlight the original game's strongest points. Capcom really has done a tremendous job reinvigorating these old games, choosing their best parts while cutting out all the unnecessary bits, and at this price point, it's a borderline steal. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy — $8.99 Image via Eidos Interactive Corp. Store Page Link Marvel games have generally been a bit of a hit or miss in the past few years, but we did get quite a few good ones as well. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is one such title, flying under most people's radars despite its overall quality and fun factor, which couldn't be said of that failed Avengers game. It's also less than $10, or just about as much as a McDonald's burger, and this one will keep you entertained much more than a trip to your local MCD. Tomb Raider Definitive Survivor Trilogy — $7.19 Image via Eidos Montreal Store Page Link This is arguably the best deal in this article, given that it's not one but three fully-fledged games, each with its own “definitive” edition. It gives you the entire reboot trilogy, following Lara Croft's journey from Japan to Russia to the deep, treacherous jungles. It's emotional, harsh, witty, and an incredibly fun adventure, and probably my favorite iteration of Lara ever made. I'm a bit disheartened that the new, “unified” Lara did away with the reboot trilogy's design, but I think we'll probably get mods fixing that up really quickly post-release. Hitman: World of Assassination — $2.99 Screenshot by Destructoid Store Page Link The ultimate assassin meets the ultimate discount, i.e., a 90 percent cut off the original price. For just $2.99, you'll be given the chance to take on the world's worst people, killing them off in the most creative, thoughtful ways imaginable. Of course, a lot of this game comes as separate purchases, but you should get your money's worth even from the initial experiences, because what else in the world could provide you with hours of fun for just three bucks? Frostpunk — $2.99 Image via 11 bit studios. Store Page Link Post-apocalyptic stories are great and all, but ones set in a world covered by ice and snow just have a stronger impact. It's sort of the inverse of the desert post-apocalypse we've come to know with Fallout, Kenshi, Mad Max, and other worlds, and boy does Frostpunk iterate on it well. It's a city builder at heart, but one that places you in the role of an overseer rather than an omniscient, far-removed creator. You are involved with your city, must enact laws, keep the people at bay, and, most importantly, keep them content, because if you step out of line and sow enough discontent, you'll be banished, or worse. For Honor — $1.49 Image via Ubisoft Store Page Link For some odd reason, this game continues to live and thrive despite Ubisoft's abject failures on all fronts, both regarding it and its other games. I return to it from time to time, enjoying the unique gameplay and competitive side, the likes of which you will rarely find elsewhere. And that might be what's keeping it together all these years post-launch, so if you never hopped in over nearly a decade, now's the perfect time to do so at such a low price of admission. The post The best deals in the 2025 Steam Winter ***** appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article