Steam

It's time for Microsoft and the Xbox brand to stop playing chicken with its fans and reveal what it has planned in regards to a Steam Deck rival. Whether it's a major software update to present a revamped version of Windows on gaming handhelds, or the Asus ROG Ally 2 with dedicated Xbox guide controls, the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase feels like the perfect time to reveal all, mainly because no one will be expecting it. The ongoing 'will they, won't they' rhetoric with Microsoft and handhelds has become rather comedic, so the time has come to show whether an Xbox alternative to the Steam Deck is in fact coming, or whether we're still no way near a potential release date. The latest leak suggested that the Asus ROG Ally 2 was, in fact, going to arrive with Xbox-specific design features, but nothing has been officially revealed since. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: A Steam Deck-like experience for Windows 11 handhelds is coming, leak suggests Asus just hinted at an Xbox handheld gaming PC with its new ROG Ally teaser A new Xbox handheld is reportedly set to take on the Steam Deck this year View the full article

It's time to sound the 'free game alert' siren once again, because it's just been revealed that dark fantasy dungeon crawler Hellslave is completely free to keep on Steam for a limited time. Fresh off of the reveal of its upcoming sequel, this hidden gem of an RPG, which has an air of Darkest Dungeon about it, can be claimed right now and will stay in your library for the rest of days. Read the rest of the story... View the full article

Hypercharge: Unboxed might not be a AAA juggernaut, but it doesn't have to beView the full article

There are a ton of unique spells and sorceries in Elden Ring Nightreign, all of which are modeled after the familiar spells you may remember from the Elden Ring base game. Which sorceries you end up with on your weapon is going to be luck of the draw, obviously, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be on the lookout for some of the most effective spells available. View the full article

IO Interactive has announced that it will be hosting a showcase to show its upcoming games. The IOI Showcase, which will mark the first time the developer / publisher has hosted such an event, will take place on June 6. IO has an in-person event taking place in LA during Summer Game Fest, and the IOI Showcase stream will be broadcast from this event. Read More... View the full article

Bring your sunglassesView the full article

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel. General Added in-game keyboard shortcuts to open the Main Menu and Quick Access Menu. Default Main Menu hotkey: Shift+Tab Default Quick Access Menu hotkey: Ctrl+Shift+Tab Customizable in Settings->In Game Improved steam client update installation speed. In some pathological cases this operation could take minutes to complete, when the expected completion time is seconds. Fixed events showing blurred images in the library for games with adult content. View the full article

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes: General Fixed events not showing spoiler sections when events were being shown in the library. Fixed events showing blurred images in the library for games with adult content. Fixed links opened from desktop chat opening in Steam browser before opening in desktop browser. Steam Overlay Fixed periodic gameplay lag and freezing in games using Vulkan rendering when running with Steam Overlay disabled. Fixed timer continuing to alert after game exit if running in repeat mode. SteamVR Fixed intermittent steamwebhelper ****** when exiting VR mode. Linux Improved steam client update installation speed. In some pathological cases this operation could take minutes to complete, when the expected completion time is seconds. Big Picture Fixed X, Y, trigger and other buttons being treated as simulated mouse input on the Steam Store View the full article

Marvel Rivals has revealed that it will be releasing a new Weapon X skin for the Duelist Wolverine on June 5 at 7 PM PDT. NetEase Games recently launched its major Season 2.5 update, which brought the popular villain Ultron to the hero shooter as a Strategist. While many fans seem to be enjoying their time with Ultron in Marvel Rivals, others feel that the character is in desperate need of a buff. View the full article

Guild Wars 2 recently revealed an incredible set of Twitch Drops to celebrate the “Absolution” update for Janthir Wilds, including the Tradesman’s Package, Bloodstone Ascender, Mini Bloodstone Rock, and Bloodstone Glider. By watching six hours of Guild Wars 2 on Twitch from June 3 through June 8, players can score these amazing cosmetics without even logging into the game. View the full article

Even the game's most notorious card couldn't slow him downView the full article

***** has released a new overview trailer for Yakuza 0 Director's Cut that looks like an old TV commercial. View the full article

Skyrim Grandma has recently started playing TheElderScrolls4:OblivionRemastered, sharing her experiences with the game with her large fan base. This is yet another testament to Oblivion Remastered’s popularity, as the open-world RPG continues to be one of the most successful games of 2025. View the full article

Instead, you'd have to "strip down" at every shoreline on The ContinentView the full article

I stand here stunned, surprised, and shell-shockedView the full article

One of the most intriguing and well-written questlines in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered belongs to the Dark Brotherhood, the sinister guild of assassins. As one of the many guilds and factions you can join in Oblivionas you journey throughout Cyrodiil, the Dark Brotherhood operates in the shadows in service to the Night Mother and Sithis. Unlike some of the other joinable groups, gaining entry to this family is a bit more complicated and requires some consideration, as it involves a sacrifice. View the full article

Hell is Us has a free demo available to play on Steam right now, and we jumped straight in to see whether the game's performance is as shaky as its concerning hardware requirements suggest it may be. Unfortunately, hitting a stable frame rate north of 60fps is proving hard without using some form of upscaling. The Hell is Us system requirements already had us on high alert, but this demo has offered the chance to put its graphical settings to the test, and the results are somewhat disappointing so far. Using our Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 testing rig, the game struggled to hit a stable 60fps without the aid of upscaling at 1440p, suggesting you will need one of the best graphics cards to play the full game at high resolutions with a strong frame rate. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The Hell is Us system requirements demand Nvidia RTX 4090 and upscaling Hell is Us is a bold rework of the open-world formula, and I hope it pays off Hell is Us is a perplexing fusion of atmospheric survival and sci-fi soulslike View the full article

Zynga has officially shuttered Echtra Games, the development studio behind Torchlight 3, which had been working on an unannounced cross-platform ARPG in the four years since its acquisition. IGN can confirm the San Francisco-based studio will be shut down by the end of the month. While we don't have an exact number of individuals impacted, LinkedIn has 61 people who list their current job at the studio. Zynga has provided the following statement to IGN: Zynga has made the difficult decision to cease operations at its Echtra studio, ending development on future titles and reducing roles. This decision is part of a strategic realignment of the company's resources and priorities. We will work closely with impacted employees so they are treated with the utmost respect and consideration as we navigate this difficult process. Echtra Games was founded by Max Schaefer, one of the co-founders of Torchlight developer Runic Games. Schaefer left Runic after his fellow co-founders similarly departed the studio, and founded Echtra under investor Perfect World to work on a Torchlight MMO. Over time, the game's vision shifted, eventually becoming Torchlight Frontiers and later Torchlight 3. In 2021, Echtra Games was acquired by Zynga, leaving Torchlight 3 in the hands of Perfect World and starting work on "a new, yet to be announced RPG for cross-platform play" alongside CSR Racing and Star Wars: Hunters developer NaturalMotion. Unfortunately, Echtra Games' RPG was never announced or shown. It is unclear precisely why Echtra was shuttered, though its closure comes just three months after Zynga announced it will shut down NaturalMotion-developed Star Wars: Hunters later this year — a decision that was itself announced just nine months after the game launched. Notably, Zynga is a subsidiary of Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive, which slowly dismantled and then sold off its Private Division publishing label earlier this year. The publisher also laid off around 5% of its workforce just over a year ago and canceled multiple projects. 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

Larian is a certifiable CRPG rockstar right now, having taken the once-niche genre to chart-topping blockbuster status with home runs like Divinity: Original Sin 2 and the superlative Baldur's Gate 3. A lot of people, myself included, started gnawing the bars of their enclosure last year in anticipation of Baldur's Gate 4, an idea Larian mulled over before moving on from the series completely... Read more.View the full article

Inner Consort, a modded version of Radahn, is an absolutely monstrous "superboss"View the full article

All the craze surrounding Star Wars: Battlefront 2, and my getting caught up in the mass return to EA's 2017 title, scratched an itch I had long forgotten. The humming of lightsabers, iconic blaster sounds, and a brilliantly beautiful alien galaxy spurred me to revisit this classic franchise. As a kid, I was a Star Wars buff like any other. I owned a lightsaber myself, though not one as cool as in the movies. It was plastic and had to be pointed towards the ground to unravel its cones. But to me, it was real, as was Jabba the Hutt, his palace, Tatooine, and every other bit and part of that galaxy far, far away. I watched and rewatched the movies countless times as a child and spent countless hours on the classic Star Wars: Battlefront 2, the one launched in 2005, which brought me ever closer to that unique and strange world. 2017's Battlefront 2 was a mess at launch but seems to have found reignited appreciation. Image by Destructoid But then, around the time the sequels started coming out, Star Wars faded from my life. It wouldn't be until my friends mentioned everyone crawling back to the "new" Battlefront 2 during a mundane match of Dota 2. YouTubers, streamers, players—it seemed for a moment that the entire gaming sphere simply stopped and collectively thought: why don't we play Battlefront 2 anymore? And upon coming back to the currently available version of the game, the one that has none of the borderline predatory microtransactions and impossible progression systems, everyone realized that it was, in fact, a very good game. I've already spent dozens of hours playing the title and watching up close the world of Star Wars unravel before me. Hell, I even fired up the original trilogy and binge-watched it all three in a row, as I was finally back into my earliest years of childhood, where Jabba and Boba Fett and Darth Vader were realistic and almost tangible. The combat and massive fights across the many realms in Galactic Assault elevated the scale of the Star Wars universe to what it was all those years ago before the incredible franchising and Disney's purchase of the IP ruined just about most of it. My tenure with EA's most recent attempt at recreating the charm of the olden days also led me to purchase Star Wars: Battlefront 2 Classic. Not EA's re-release that ruined the original experience, but the actual 2005 title that, to my surprise, was as alive as ever. About 400 people were online when I joined one late evening, and full servers were readily available for anyone to hop on and duke it out on its many awesome maps, maps which EA also tried to put into its game but, well, didn't really capture them. I will say that, although they lack the grittiness of the original, the maps in the 2017 Battlefront 2 are awesome in their own right and provide enough ground for an amazing experience that rivals Battlefield 1, and I don't compare games to that masterpiece lightly. The original Battlefront 2, for all its age, had many advanced gameplay systems, many of which are ahead even of 2017's reboot. Image via LucasArts Even so, I was awestruck at how much more content and fluidity the old Battlefront had over the new one. You could fight in ships in space and ****** land into the enemy hangar and start fighting them inside, or merely hop into another X-wing and fly out to take the fight to the stars. Jedis, heroes, and villains felt like real rarities and unique moments whenever someone got them, whereas the new Battlefront has them available for points, and there's a handful active on the map at any given moment. And that's when I sort of understood that it wasn't only childhood memories: game development, and Star Wars franchise management, were on a higher artistic level back then than they are now. The original trilogy was a fun ride; the prequels not so much. Other shows and films in the universe just kept getting worse the more I looked into them, or rather, the newer they were. Highlights exist here and there, such as the recent Andor, but they are few and far between. The original Star Wars, which I am now once again a passionate fan of, was ironically re-introduced to me via a game that EA more or less abandoned and killed with their mismanagement and Disney's indifference to how its franchise is handled (the most recent major update was five years ago). I love Star Wars as it was, gritty, conditioned by the 1970s and 80s lack of technology and limited future predictions, lacking most modern conventions and understandings. And EA has more than a shot, once again, to make that once great Star Wars the mainstream again. The interest is clearly there, and DICE and adjacent EA teams certainly have the talent to pull it off. So, here's hoping that I get a real chance to love the franchise again. Only this time, without having to look back. The post The Battlefront 2 resurgence made me realize how much I love Star Wars appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

The world of John Wick, the High Table, Continental Hotel, and its assassins have finally come to Call of Duty. But don't get too excited about seeing Keanu Reeves just yet. Ballerina, a spin-off movie set within the John Wick universe, is first up when it comes to CoD collabs. The titular character of the upcoming movie, played by Ana de Armas, is joining ****** Ops 6 and Warzone as part of an Operator bundle, but a limited-time event is also set to celebrate the occasion. The Ballerina event in BO6 and Warzone features 10 free rewards to earn, plus one more if you own the season four BlackCell battle pass, and they can all be grabbed simply by playing the game and picking up the iconic High Table Coins used by Wick and other assassins in the film franchise. Here's everything there is to know about the upcoming Ballerina event in BO6 and Warzone. Ballerina BO6 and Warzone event: All rewards Image via Activision Like other special events before it, the Ballerina event only requires players to pick up High Table Coins that drop from enemies in BO6 multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone. Collected High Table Coins go into your inventory, which can then be spent on purchasing all of the items available. Once all 10 items are purchased, players gain access to the Essex Model 07 marksman rifle, the newest weapon in BO6 in season four. Here are all the rewards to unlock and how many High Table Coins it takes to get them: RewardRequirement30 minute double XP token5 High Table Coins45 minute double weapon XP token5 High Table CoinsOne hour double XP token10 High Table Coins"En Pointe" Epic weapon charm10 High Table CoinsDouble battle pass XP token10 High Table Coins"Lux In Tenebris" large decal10 High Table Coins"Bullet Ballet" Epic calling card20 High Table Coins"Pay the Price" Epic emblem20 High Table Coins"Phoenix Up" Legendary GobbleGum for BO6 Zombies30 High Table Coins"Coin Trick" Legendary emote50 High Table Coins- Essex Model 07 marksman rifle - "Decora Tenebris" nunchaku blueprint (BlackCell exclusive)Unlock all 10 base rewards From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is in theaters everywhere on June 6. The in-game event runs from June 5 to 12, so make sure to grab all of the rewards before they're gone for good once it ends. The post All Ballerina event rewards in ****** Ops 6 and Warzone appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

If you've played Disney Dreamlight Valley's Dreamlight Parks Fest event in the past, you'll be more than familiar with the various popcorn buckets that you craft with buttons. The 2025 edition of this event introduces two new variants—the Dug Mine Cart Popcorn Buckets. But there's a catch: you can't make these buckets right away. Unlike other versions that only require collecting buttons and crafting, these two have a few additional prerequisites. Here's how to craft the Dug and Mine Cart popcorn buckets in Disney Dreamlight Valley's Dreamlight Parks Fest event. Table of contentsHow to craft the Dug Pupcorn Bucket in Disney Dreamlight Valley Parks FestHow to craft the Mine Cart Popcorn Bucket in Disney Dreamlight Valley Parks FestHow to use the Dug and Mine Cart Popcorn Buckets in Disney Dreamlight Valley Parks FestHow to craft the Dug Pupcorn Bucket in Disney Dreamlight Valley Parks Fest Below is the exact recipe for creating the Dug Pupcorn Bucket during Disney Dreamlight Valley's Dreamlight Parks Fest event: Green Buttons (40)Blue Buttons (15)Flower Buttons (20)Purple Buttons (5) Screenshot by Destructoid Previously, the Dug Pupcorn Bucket was locked behind Mirabel's Critter Snaps quest. However, Gameloft has since released the recipe with every Disney Dreamlight Valley player, along with some buttons in your in-game mailbox. The most likely reason for this is time constraints with squirrel spawn times. Since one squirrel type, the White Squirrel, only appears once a week for a few hours, it can be challenging for anyone who works during the weekend or has other weekly commitments to make time online for this task. Aware of this issue, Gameloft provided an alternative method for obtaining the popcorn bucket but still allows you to complete the quest to unlock its recipe if you want an added challenge. How to craft the Mine Cart Popcorn Bucket in Disney Dreamlight Valley Parks Fest Alongside the Dug Pupcorn Bucket, you can also make a Mine Cart version during the Disney Dreamlight Valley's Dreamlight Parks Fest event. Below is its crafting recipe: Green Buttons (40)Blue Buttons (15)Red Buttons (10)Purple Buttons (5) Screenshot by Destructoid The Mine Cart version requires completing a specific quest series to unlock. Below is a list of every confirmed quest involved in this process so far: Dreamlight Parks Fest: Dig ItDreamlight Parks Fest: OvalsDreamlight Parks Fest: Rectangles In this case, you need to progress through Scrooge McDuck's Dig It mission by hanging out with Scrooge McDuck and mining for minerals. Completing this will lead to a follow-up quest, Ovals, two days later. Since they're time-gated, you won't be able to create this popcorn bucket until you complete every related Scrooge McDuck mission. How to use the Dug and Mine Cart Popcorn Buckets in Disney Dreamlight Valley Parks Fest Crafting any popcorn bucket type will reward you with furniture item versions you can place in your Dreamlight Valley village. During the 2025 version of the Dreamlight Valley Parks Fest event, you can now receive handheld variants to carry around as you explore the world. You unlock these handheld buckets by completing each bucket's matching Village Duty. Screenshot by Destructoid In the case of the Dug and Mine Cart popcorn buckets, crafting them will let you complete the Squirrel and Mine Time tasks, respectively. Redeeming their rewards will grant you two handheld buckets to hold whenever you wish, which you can access through your wardrobe menu under Accessories. The post How to craft Dug and Mine Cart Popcorn Buckets in Disney Dreamlight Valley Parks Fest appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

It's that time once again when the temperatures rise and the gaming industry comes together to show off what we'll all be playing over the next few years and months. Summer Game Fest returns for another offering in 2025, hosting a slew of reveals, trailers, world premieres, gameplay demos, and more as gamers look to what's next. Geoff Keighley's SGF showcase is the centerpiece of it all, but there are a lot more showcases to tune in for than just that. [Hidden Content] Nintendo is dropping its own new console smack dab in the middle of SGF, Xbox has its own showcase over the weekend, and PlayStation is currently M.I.A., but there's plenty to be shown and announced regardless, I'm sure. Rumors are flying about what's going to be shown off (Resident Evil 9 and Marvel's Wolverine, please), and there's already a bunch of confirmed games (a new 007 James Bond game from HITMAN devs, Death Stranding 2, and more), but we want to know what you're looking forward to hearing about. Are you dying for a release date for Silksong? Do you need more information about Metroid Prime 4? Are you frothing at the mouth to see what's coming next for Call of Duty? Let us know in the comments below about what you hope will show up during the showcases. Here's a sneak peek at the SGF 2025 schedule so you can pencil yourself in for some deserved "time off" to watch them all. Summer Game Fest 2025 schedule Image via Kojima Productions June 3 8:30am CT: State of Unreal at Unreal Fest Orlando 2025 June 6 4pm CT: Summer Game Fest6pm CT: Day of the Devs7pm CT: BALL x PIT Showcase by Devolver Digital June 7 11am CT: Wholesome Direct 202512pm CT: Women-Led Games1pm CT: Latin American Games Showcase2pm CT: Southeast Asian Games Showcase3pm CT: Green Games Showcase6pm CT: Frosty Games Fest8pm CT: IO Interactive Showcase June 8 12pm CT: Xbox Games Showcase and The Outer Worlds 2 Direct2pm CT: PC Gaming Show9pm CT: Death Stranding 2 Game Premiere June 9 11am CT: ****** Voices in Gaming Showcase For links and more info on the shows, check out the SGF website. The post Summer Game Fest is upon us. What are you hoping to see? appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

A number of games have been added to Xbox Game Pass' new "Stream Your Own Game" program, including Mortal Kombat X, Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition, several Life is Strange entries, and more. The program is available to subscribers of Xbox Game Pass' Ultimate tier, and allows gamers to stream select games they own via Xbox Cloud Gaming on devices like TVs, tablets, and phones. View the full article