Dune: Awakening is back online after patch 1.1.0.13 was rolled out. The patch — which sought to implement a "number of backend changes to improve client and server stability" — was deployed after servers were taken offline for a couple of hours earlier today. Players should also expect some "minor fixes," the details of which are listed below. (If you don't see the latest patch, Funcom recommends you restart your Steam client). The update comes as Dune: Awakening deals with an influx of new players. Although Head Starters have been visiting Arrakis since June 5, Dune: Awakening released for all players on June 10. And within hours of going live, Funcom's survival MMO had clocked up over 142,000 concurrent players on Steam: 142,050 to be precise. Dune: Awakening – 1.1.0.13 Patch Notes CHANGES Made several backend changes to improve the client and server stability.The option to betray Jocasta Cleo in the “Impact of Ecology” contract has been temporarily removed due to reports of players being unable to retake the contract after betraying her.Updated dialogue lines of the “Planetologist: Advanced: the Search for Kynes” contract to reflect the fixed issue where the players who defected from the Atreides faction couldn’t progress if they picked it up before defecting. FIXES Fixed an issue where players couldn’t change the description of their guild, the name of the sub-fief console, or a base blueprints.Fixed an issue where the “Limit CPU Usage” graphics option would not apply to all quality presets. Ahead of launch, Funcom confirmed the console version of Dune: Awakening isn't expected now until "sometime in 2026"). We've also reported on how Dune: Awakening players found a way to ride sandworms, even though it's not an officially supported feature. To help you survive on Arrakis, we've got Dune: Awakening resource guides that'll help you find iron, steel, aluminium, and more. If you're just getting started, check out all the Dune: Awakening classes you can choose from, and keep an eye on our in-progress Dune: Awakening walkthrough for a step-by-step guide to the story. You can also see what we make of it so far in our Dune: Awakening review in progress (spoilers: we're having fun). Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky. View the full article
For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]
Fans of Minecraft have a lot to look forward to this month, with Mojang recently announcing that the Chase the Skies game drop will launch across all platforms on June 17 alongside the release of Vibrant Visuals on Bedrock Edition. This upcoming Minecraftcontent drop was originally teased earlier this year during the annual Minecraft LIVE event and will introduce the adorable new ghastling and happy ghast mobs to the game, among a handful of other additions. View the full article
Who are the best Dune Awakening masters? During the character creation process, you must pick a master under whom you have previously studied. It's a part of your backstory, the part we never actually see, but it's a crucial choice that determines your skills in the early game. All Dune Awakening skills can be picked up throughout your time in the MMO as you can find and learn from every master. However, picking the right one before you even start Dune Awakening could make or break you as you take your first steps in the harsh wilderness of Arrakis. To help you pick the best master, here are all the Dune Awakening classes, arranged from best to worst. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Where to find Dune Awakening Erythrite Crystal and get Cobalt Paste Dune Awakening smashes on Steam with more than 140,000 players, great reviews Dune Awakening base building guide View the full article
There are two reasons you shouldn't watch the trailer for Still Wakes the Deep's just announced DLC Siren's Rest. The first is that, well, it'll probably spoil at least some of the events of the base game given that the expansion is set more than a decade on. The other is for the subset of you that have just the worst case of submechanophobia, because the trailer is absolutely full of man-made objects under water. You've been warned, don't come crying to me if you don't heed me, I'll just say I told you so. Read more View the full article
2003 FPS Postal 2 is etched onto the annals of PC gaming history, for better and worse. The famously foul first-person shooter from Running With Scissors remains a noteworthy part of the culture, earning itself a controversial reputation and cult following for its blend of brutal action and bad-taste humor. Having been given a 20th-anniversary overhaul two years ago, it's now returning once more, as the studio announces plans for a full remaster. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Controversial shooter Postal 3 gets FPS remake, approved by devs Postal dev is "not against" videogame piracy After 20 years, PC's foulest FPS gets a big update and hits Steam Deck View the full article
Want to join the Gears of War Reloaded beta? Though the remake of the iconic cover shooter isn't officially launching until August, you can get your hands on some of the multiplayer modes ahead of time if you take part in the Gears of War Reloaded beta. Featuring lancers, longshots, and shotguns, you can relive the multiplayer game experience that helped defined shooters for years to come. There are some stipulations to get into the Gears of War Reloaded beta, but for long-time fans, you should have no problem fulfilling the requirements. Here's what you need to get into the Gears of War Reloaded beta, including when you can participate in it, and what it entails. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Gears of War Reloaded release date, upgrades, and more Is Gears of War Reloaded on Game Pass? View the full article
Steam now surfaces information on games with accessibility features as we aim to make it easier for players to find games with the support they need. This update comes after gathering valuable feedback from developers as well as players with disabilities, and over 5,000 applications have added details about their accessibility support (with more developers updating their games each day). This information is surfaced throughout the store to help players more easily find games with these features, or filter down to games that support necessary features. Store Search Steam users can now search for games with specific accessibility features on the Steam search page Store Page DisplayAccessibility features for a specific game are now visible on the right hand side of the store page More:Q. Where can I find more information on the Accessibility Tags that Steam uses? A. You can find more information HERE. Q. Are developers required to add accessibility tags for their games on Steam? A. It's not required, but highly recommended because of how much easier it will be for players with accessibility needs to find these games. We've worked to make it as easy as possible for developers to indicate these features are available by using feedback to standardize these options as much as possible. Q. Can developers still add Accessibility information to their app? A. Yes, they can always update or add information on accessibility for apps at any time through Steamworks. View the full article
Steam now surfaces information on games with accessibility features as we aim to make it easier for players to find games with the support they need. This update comes after gathering valuable feedback from developers as well as players with disabilities, and over 5,000 applications have added details about their accessibility support (with more developers updating their games each day). This information is surfaced throughout the store to help players more easily find games with these features, or filter down to games that support necessary features. Store Search Steam users can now search for games with specific accessibility features on the Steam search page Store Page DisplayAccessibility features for a specific game are now visible on the right hand side of the store page More:Q. Where can I find more information on the Accessibility Tags that Steam uses? A. You can find more information HERE. Q. Are developers required to add accessibility tags for their games on Steam? A. It's not required, but highly recommended because of how much easier it will be for players with accessibility needs to find these games. We've worked to make it as easy as possible for developers to indicate these features are available by using feedback to standardize these options as much as possible. Q. Can developers still add Accessibility information to their app? A. Yes, they can always update or add information on accessibility for apps at any time through Steamworks. View the full article
I'll never forget the first time my friends and I played Phasmophobia. It was like nothing I'd ever played before, absolutely hilarious, and surprisingly terrifying—it still is. So it's rather funny to me that not only does Phasmo's creator not really play horror games but he didn't intend to make one either... Read more.View the full article
The Magic: The Gathering card Soulcatcher's Aerie has undergone a pretty amazing 733% price rise. This time last month, the enchantment card cost just $1.20, but now it's worth $10 on the secondary market. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: MTG card that goes card-draw crazy in Final Fantasy deck doubles in price Magic: The Gathering release schedule 2025 Unloved Doctor Who MTG card spikes 1500% thanks to Final Fantasy combo View the full article
The Razer Joro looks gorgeous and feels fantastic under the fingertips, but it's not going to replace your everyday gaming keyboard.View the full article
Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, Silent Hill 2 - and now the original survival horror game, featuring Harry Mason. As teased during Konami's Press Start event just now, Silent Hill 1 is getting a remake from Bloober, the team behind the 2024 version of SH2 and the upcoming Cronos: The New Dawn. Originally released in 1999, Silent Hill introduces players to the haunted, terrifying town for the first time; unlike its nearest rival, Resident Evil, it's couched in psychological terror more than monsters and gore. Now, with Resident Evil 9: Requiem just confirmed, Silent Hill 1 Remake is also on its way. Read the rest of the story... View the full article
I'm bad at soulslikes. There, I said it. While I often love their aesthetics, I consistently find myself bouncing off the likes of Bloodborne and Elden Ring simply because I go through phases of doing incredibly well before getting absolutely obliterated. Yet I keep going back to them. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's endgame is my current conquest - I'm determined to defeat Simon, the same way I was determined to defeat the Nameless Puppet when I reviewed Lies of P. As much as I lose the plot, for whatever reason getting my **** handed to me is just too much fun, and that's why, when Lies of P Overture shadow dropped at Summer Game Fest, I felt myself sigh, strap on my metallic arm, and get ready to return to Krat. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Lies of P Overture's difficulty to be nerfed, as players struggle with the DLC Lies of P soars to new Steam heights thanks to a tough DLC and free update Lies of P Overture is out now as Neowiz surprise drops its prequel DLC View the full article
No one will claim that Renown, the Medieval European-flavored base-building survival game, is bringing brand new ideas to the genre. If you’ve played anything like it, from its primary inspiration, Rust, to more modern iterations like Runescape: Dragonwilds, you have a good idea of what you’re in for when you drop into a server to start your journey from humble homesteader to lord of the realm. My brief hands-on time with it was fun, but also raises and doesn’t clearly answer an important question: if you currently have a favorite survival game, is it worth making the switch right now? My ****** course started with a tour of some aspirational structures that were all built with in-game resources. Some of them, like a huge castle complete with a small village lingering in its shadow, were things the team taking me on the tour, lead by Game Director Jesse Jacobsen, didn’t expect to see players to ever be able to make without concerted team efforts. But the ones that were within reasonable player reach were cool in their own rights. Tall sturdy stone walls with mighty working gates to keep enemies out and winding halls and spiraling stairs is a step above what is often just square rooms with storage stuffed in them. The couple I walked through myself came with a significant investment of time and in-game gold, and was positioned as the form your typical endgame stronghold would want to look like before the regular server resets. So it's only right that we spent the first bit of our session tearing one of them up in a raid, right? After taking a quick spin on a catapult, a few of the devs entrenched themselves inside a nearby fort, while my group attempted to conquer it. We left the siege machine behind and opted for something more mobile: hammers and door-breaching petards to turn them into splinters. When inside, we ran through the halls and stairways looking for fights, eventually culminating into a sprawling skirmish up on the battlements. After putting down the foes, we took the castle’s banner, and claimed it for ourselves. Renown is heavily skewed towards players who would rather raise a sword to fight versus a hammer to build. These fun scenarios make up the bulk of Renown, which is heavily skewed towards players who would rather raise a sword to fight versus a hammer to build. This is reinforced by its mechanically nuanced melee system that takes cues from games like Chivalry, Mordhau, or Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Swinging your weapon at various angles creates different offensive maneuvers which can be useful for getting around shields, the safest and most reliable defense you’ll encounter. For the bolder player, a parry exists that, when timed right, can be followed up with a fast attack that helps poke holes in stubborn defenders. In one-on-one duels, all of this nuance shines and creates a tense back and forth that you won’t find in simpler melee systems. It’s not quite realism, but the lethality of every strike mixed with the motion captured HEMA animations really elevates swordplay in the moment. In multiplayer brawls, I relied very little on these tools, opting to just gang up on whoever my squad was bullying to overwhelm them with blows they couldn’t possibly deflect. Maybe it's pretty realistic after all. Getting the combat right was the driving force behind Jesse and Executive Producer Charlie Ettershank’s need to make Renown a reality. “Ever since me and Charlie met, we would spend most nights after school discussing how cool it would be for Chivalry combat to be in a survival game.” Jesse told me. They played games like Realm of Kings and Rust and would love everything about it except the melee combat, and took it upon themselves to create the thing they wanted to see in the world. You of course can’t become a badass knight decked out head-to-toe in plate armor without first knocking trees over with a stick in order to build the workbench that will produce all you need for your empire. The gathering process in survival games like this is never one that I would confidently call “engaging,” but Renown’s is especially boring in comparison to its peers. Some parts of the process are streamlined – you still need to build individual fixtures to craft specific things like a tailor’s bench to make leather armor and a stone furnace to smelt metals – but all the crafting can be done in your inventory menu so you don’t have to stop at every little building to make and receive stuff. But gathering materials felt like more of a chore than ever. Things are pretty expensive, so you'll need a good amount of wood and stone to get the basics. At least they’re easy to find. I spent 10 minutes walking around in search of animals to hunt for hide and ****, essential for moving through the tech tree, and couldn’t find any. I imagine all of this plays differently with a server full of other players who can potentially harass you during your gathering and construction campaigns, but in this leisurely environment, I found it tough to stay motivated to grind. The “survival” part of Renown is also exclusively a PVP thing, as there isn’t much to manage as far as keeping yourself alive if there are no enemy arrows to dodge. Without genre staples like hunger meters or day/night cycles I was free to exist completely at my pace. These mechanics are often nags but without them there’s uncomfortably little push back when playing alone. There are quite a few steps between crafting your first workstation and creating a sword, steps that can be bypassed if you're willing to venture out into the wilderness to find loot. I did not get to experience this part of Renown in any meaningful way, but I was told that prebuilt points of interest, like the aforementioned grand castle, double as hot spots full of gear and trinkets that could be an instant upgrade to a players kit or at least worth lots of in game gold. I can only speculate that in a PVP environment, this kind of skulking around presents the same dangers as other popular survival games, but I couldn’t speak on how this flows with Renown’s heavy focus on intimate close quarters combat. There were a lot of features that sound great but either I didn’t experience them directly, or they weren’t available yet. This biggest feature coming that I think will be a pivotal one for Renown’s success long-term are server events. As it stands pre-early access, the 8000 or so playtesters in the alpha right now are tasked to find their own fun, with the construction and combat systems both being toys in an open sandbox of possibilities without any explicit direction from the game itself. Right now, a solid contingent of players collaborate to build strongholds and siege weapons and march on enemy camps without much prompting, but even the RDBK team admits that some guided play would bring some necessary balance. One event they’ve been prototyping would turn an NPC settlement into a claimable fortress when signaled, driving all of the disparate bands of warriors on the server to join one another in chaotic combat over it. Other ideas are based in similar form as this, with caches of loot spawning in specific locations on the map to be claimed by whoever can secure it first. There were a lot of features that sound great but either I didn’t experience them directly, or they weren’t available yet. But Jesse really emphasized how important, and frankly proud, he is of being a facilitator of the sandbox for individual communities to flourish in. His team has even reached out and recruited almost all of the official Rust server hosts to run Renown servers. “That’s mostly because we’ve provided them the tools… to make that an easy process.” Jesse assured, as well as providing financial compensation for the effort. The goal being that they can use their particular expertise to help modify and regulate game tools and create server climates that can cater to all sorts of players. Maybe I'm not the only one who thinks the grind speed is slow, as there could be a server that picks up the pace or starts players off with kits of goods to get off of the blocks faster. Servers wipe weekly to keep player progress from being insurmountable, but a server can exist where those wipes happen less often, if at all. The Renown team want as close to infinite player adaptability as possible, and they want to be as involved as a server host needs them to be to make it happen. “We think we have a good idea of what makes the most enjoyable gameplay aspect, but we're not going to kid ourselves and think that no one else could think of something better inside of this sandbox, ya know?” A lot of the ruggedness of Renown’s alpha state is manageable, and is probably even great when you have a dedicated community to play it with. But there are a few pain points that are going to make it a tough sell for people not already bought in for the long haul. I had quite a bit of performance issues when playing – both with the devs and on my own. Framerates jolted and lag really did its best to undermine me when I needed the stability most. The current UI and menus are rough around the edges and inconsistent throughout, some tooltips are arrayed across selection wheels while others sit in lists that are difficult to navigate while in the thick of the action. All of these things are on the list to reform and fix as the development team expands, hopefully before its slated Q3 2025 Early Access launch. Renown’s crunchy combat has a lot of potential in a genre not known for making close combat an elaborate affair. The basic and sometimes mundane gathering and building game that you have to trudge through to get to cool stuff is very raw and still has a ways to go to meet the quality standard of the games it hopes to compete with. While its dearth of content, stability issues, and ragged UI are strictly RDBK Studios’ responsibility, the community is poised to have a lot of control over the day-to-day experience. Time will tell if the former can come together quickly enough to nurture the latter. View the full article
Had I not known in advance that I was going to be playing Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree at Play Days last weekend, I might have overlooked its trailer during Summer Game Fest. The announcement itself was less than two minutes long, and what we saw mostly looked like Hades, but with character selection. However, after playing 15 minutes of the game at Play Days, I'm far more interested than I initially expected to be in Towa's take on the roguelite genre...though I'm going to need waaay more than 15 minutes to get good at it. Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree stars Towa, the guardian of Shinju Village and a child of the gods. When a dark god begins consuming the land around Shinju with an evil miasma, Towa rallies eight villagers to fight back. These "Prayer Children" head out into the field, two at a time, to fight against the minions of darkness, with one taking on the role of "Tsurugi", or sword, and the other taking on the supportive staff role, or "Kagura." At the start of each run, you pick which of the eight characters you want in each role, with all characters having different abilities depending on which role they took on. In my preview, I selected the solumn Rekka as my sword, who attacks with short, quick slashes and a lingering spin attack. My staff was Nishiki, a Koi-inspired fish person who can summon lightning orbs to surround the player and shoot a wave of water in any direction. At the start of each run, you pick which of the eight characters you want in each role. Immediately, I struggled a bit to adapt to the twin-stick controls. Nishiki automatically followed Rekka, who I controlled with the left stick, but it was clear that for optimal play I needed to break Nishiki free of Rekka and run him around with the right stick simultaneously as I fought enemies. Easier said than done. I think this is a really interesting twist on what I'm used to for top-down games, almost reminiscent of the original The World Ends With You having you control two characters on two different screens. But I do think I needed more than 15 minutes in a demo to get used to it. Apparently, you can also play Towa in co-op, with one person controlling each character, and that's an appealing prospect, too. A second unique element that I really, really wanted more time to master was Quick Draw. In Towa, your sword wielder carries not one, but two swords, but only has one equipped at a time. Each sword has a different ability, with Rekka having her short slashes attached to one and her chargeable spin attack on the other. As you use one sword, it begins to dull until it's unusable, and you have to use a Quick Draw ability to swap to the other one so the first can recharge. Successful combat in Towa revolves around smoothly swapping between the two swords so you're never caught in a situation where you need one attack ready, but have a dull blade and are stuck with an inefficient ability. It's a cool system in principle, certainly a unique one, and I'm curious as to how it will play out at higher skill levels. Everything else I saw in Towa will be familiar to your average Hades-lover. Everything else I saw in Towa will be familiar to your average Hades-lover. You'll clear all the monsters in a room, and get a choice of a "Grace". Graces enhance your power in all sorts of ways, from straight power increases to changing how different abilities work and interact with one another. Doors to the next room may denote enemies or shopkeepers or other room types, and you'll smash stuff as you go to collect currency for upgrades at shops and special ore that can be enhance your characters' abilities when you take it back to the village. My time with Towa was cut short just as I walked into a boss battle, so unfortunately I can't speak to how that would have played out. But this preview absolutely succeeded in making me want to play more. I want to muck around with the different character configurations and see what other upgrades are available, and I want to practice my twin-stick game so my staff user doesn't die on me before I even hit the halfway point (oops). I don't know if Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree can live up to the lofty legacy of Hades necessarily, but I do think it has the potential to carve out a space in the roguelite genre all its own. Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected]. View the full article
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has added EA Sports FC 25 to its content catalog. This is the sixth new title to reach Microsoft's subscribers in June 2025, as well as the 67th Xbox Game Pass release since the turn of the year. View the full article
Metal Gear Online! I'm assuming that's the first thing you thought of when you heard that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is getting an online mode, but I need you to throw that thought in the bin. The MGS3 remake is getting a multiplayer mode, but as shown off in today's Konami Press Start showcase, it'll be its own, original thing called Fox Hunt. Read more View the full article
I love Deus Ex. I love the way it looks, how it plays, the music, the writing. Even its 'imperfections' make it better - JC Denton's stiff facial expressions, the bizarrely-behaving NPCs, and the reading-from-the-page voice acting are all part of the essential Deus Ex aesthetic. Now, 25 years later, the single most brilliant PC game of all time (sorry Doom, sorry Fallout, sorry Command and Conquer) has just gotten better. A transformational new mod expands and overhauls Ion Storm's sci-fi RPG masterwork with fresh mechanics, revised systems, more difficulty options, high-definition visuals, and more-detailed environments. Although it's completely unofficial, this feels like a Deus Ex remaster. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Deus Ex may be the greatest PC game of all time, and now you can own it for free The best old games to play 2025 Deus Ex writer reveals canceled sequel that linked Mankind Divided to DX1 View the full article
Total War Warhammer 3 patch 6.2 is on the way, and developer Creative Assembly is making "extensive revisions" to magic items in the sprawling strategy game. Scheduled for launch next week, the new Total War Warhammer 3 update will also include a first introduction to the recently tested enemy AI improvements, and additional units for the Chaos Dwarfs and Vampire Counts. Senior game designer William Håkestad walks us through the changes in a fresh CA dev blog. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The next Total War Warhammer 3 DLC is giving Norsca the attention it deserves New Total War Warhammer 3 patch notes buff Kislev and Tzeentch again The next Total War Warhammer 3 DLC finally adds a new Slaanesh legendary lord View the full article
As The Outer Worlds 2 drew attention with its $80 price tag, the game's director stepped in to address the chatter, stating that the studio doesn't set the price for its games. The comment followed the recent Xbox Games Showcase, during which Obsidian offered a closer look at The Outer Worlds 2. Fans got their first introduction to new companion Inez, plus a deeper dive into the game’s three major factions and its familiar focus on choice-driven storytelling. View the full article
MindsEye studio Build a Rocket Boy says it’s “heartbroken” over the buggy experience many launch players have suffered, as PlayStation appears to be issuing refunds to some who are dissatisfied with the game. The Edinburgh-based studio has been scrambling to fix bugs this week, after the internet filled with videos of its single-player action game breaking and distorting in unexpected ways. Build a Rocket Boy and its publisher, IO Interactive, did not supply pre-release review code to the press for MindsEye, but at the time of publishing, its Steam user reviews are around 60% negative. Read More... View the full article
Privacy Notice: We utilize cookies to optimize your browsing experience and analyze website traffic. By consenting, you acknowledge and agree to our Cookie Policy, ensuring your privacy preferences are respected.