2024 is almost over. In the final throes of what has been a terrible year for the games industry and the media that covers it, but a good one in terms of the number of quality games that were released, we can finally look back at some raw data about our favourite hobby.
]]>It turns out that people really like video games, actually, as both Marvel Rivals and Steam had some pretty ridiculous numbers this weekend.
]]>Honey, wake up, another blatant rip-off just dropped, and this one is bound to cause legal troubles sooner rather than later. Tencent Games and subsidiary Polaris Quest have just announced Light of Motiram, a 'legally distinct' take on PlayStation's Horizon series. The biggest surprise? It's an MMO coming exclusively to PC (for now).
]]>I am a big Command & Conquer fan, but even I had to look up what Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances was before writing this. Now, why would I feel the need to research this particular game today? The answer to that question is quite simple, actually.
]]>Those of you still using Windows 7 and 8 that avidly play Steam games might want to consider finally upgrading.
]]>Valve has just updated Steam's policy when it comes to developers selling Season Passes for games, making it clear that it's the duty of the party selling the thing to "clearly communicate" to players what any DLC included in a pass will be, and when it'll be arriving.
]]>It may be hard to believe, but Warhammer: Vermintide 2, which came out all the way back in 2018, continues to receive updates this many years later. Most recently, the game’s long-in-development Versus PvP mode finally made it out, allowing players to fight each other for the first time.
]]>After what felt like over a decade of waiting - probably because it really has been - Stalker 2 has officially been released. The game’s developer, GSC Game World, triumphed over a global pandemic, and the need to move out of a their home country of Ukraine following the (still ongoing) invasion by neighbouring Russia.
]]>Just in case there was any doubt that Monster Hunter Wilds is going to be one of 2025’s biggest releases, along comes Steam to prove that PC players will be among the first to jump into the highly-anticipated sequel come February.
]]>Predicting that a Call of Duty launch is going to become one the year’s biggest is about as easy as it gets, but that’s not always the case on PC. For years, Call of Duty’s presence on PC didn’t really factor into its popularity, but things have changed with the release of the Modern Warfare 2019 reboot.
]]>It’s almost time to get our hands on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the highly-anticipated return of developer Treyarch, with everything that entails. Treyarch is known for its distinct take on Call of Duty campaigns and characters, as well as its unmatched mastery of round-based Zombies.
]]>Ideas around digital game ownership are certainly about to change, as Steam is making it clear the games you pay for are actually just licences to play them.
]]>With the impending release of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, Sony has elected to include the open-world action game into the list of games that eschew millions of players in over 170 countries around the world.
]]>If you haven’t heard of the name The Forever Winter over the last several months, you’ve likely been recommended a video of/about the game at some point on YouTube. That name may not be memorable, but the main tagline of “you’re not the guy” certainly grabbed the attention of many sci-fi fans.
]]>The PC version of God of War Ragnarok has officially arrived on PC. The game launched Thursday, September 19 on Steam, as well as the Epic Games Store. Ragnarok is the latest Sony first-party PlayStation title to make it to PC, but it doesn’t look like the audience showed up for this one.
]]>PC gaming appears to continue to be as popular as ever, as Steam just hit a new concurrent user count record.
]]>The somewhat-awaited launch of Final Fantasy 16 on PC is here, nearly 15 months after the game’s initial release on PS5. The PC version arrived on Tuesday, available for purchase on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
]]>As I write this, Black Myth: Wukong, the action adventure from China’s Game Science studio, is the most played game on Steam by player count. There are currently 1,400,932 players in-game (with a peak of 1,443,570), surpassing the likes of Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, PUBG and all the usual games that occupy Steam’s top five.
]]>Witchfire Is nearly one year old, and though a lot has changed since it first hit Early Access on the Epic Games Store, it remains one of the most interesting genre mash-ups you can play today. The game’s latest update - which is live now - further cements its status as one of the most unique shooters in the space.
]]>If you only pay attention to PC releases when they drop on Steam, you may have missed the release of Witchfire, the new game from The Astronauts. It arrived nearly a year ago on the Epic Games Store, and though it didn’t launch with a lot of content, it received nearly-universal praise.
]]>Steam has undergone some serious changes today, and one change in particular spells success for both the games that you pay for, and the free-to-play games that are soaring up the Steam charts. When combined together, both categories can step on each others' toes, but they're now separated, allowing for ease of browsing.
]]>Once Human has been one the year’s more highly-anticipated survival games. After enjoying several successful beta tests, it coasted on a lot of enthusiasm from the community, which culminated with even more positive buzz from the Steam Next Fest demo, where more players got their hands on it.
]]>Like it or not, the butt jiggle video game discourse just doesn’t stop. After weeks of all kinds of hot and room temperature takes about the outfits and jiggly physics of Stellar Blade’s lead character, the conversation has now shifted to… the jiggle physics in another Korean-made game.
]]>Later this year, Bloober Team's remake of Silent Hill 2 will finally grace our screens, for better or worse (probably the latter, in my opinion). A 13 minute-long gameplay demonstration was shown off last week, which looks… ok, but to be honest if you ask it's going to have a tough time going up against Hollowbody, a Silent Hill 2, Ghost in the Shell, and Blade Runner inspired survival horror game with the scariest setting anyone has ever faced: Britain.
]]>Sorry, it seems like you won't be able to leave your bloated Steam library to anyone in your will - it's against Valve's terms of service.
]]>Not everything revealed today at Warhammer Skulls was all serious, sometimes you have to get a little silly. This is clearly what Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks, the combat racer from Caged Element, represents.
]]>Warner Bros. Games has released a new MultiVersus cinematic trailer revealing The Joker as the latest playable character to join the upcoming free-to-play platform fighter.
]]>Steam's Farm Fest is in full swing, and whether you're a seasoned farmer or a curious newcomer, there's a perfect plot waiting for you.
]]>As expected, the hottest release in realistic military shooters right now, Gray Zone Warfare, has done quite well in such a short span of time. The tactical extraction shooter launched on Steam Early Access earlier today, and has quickly become Steam’s best-selling game.
]]>The extraction shooter subgenre continues to grow, with new and exciting releases appearing on the scene every few months. Usually, these games only exist in pre-release trailers and hyperbolic blurb about their level of ballistics simulation, but most never see the light of day.
]]>The highly-anticipated medieval strategy builder Manor Lords is now available through Early Access.
]]>Klei Entertainment’s upcoming roguelike online co-op game Rotwood has entered Early Access on Steam.
]]>Steam’s refund policy remains the best in the industry, and today, Valve made a small change to how it considers a certain tier of games. In recent years, more and more major releases have started allowing customers to play early.
]]>No Rest for the Wicked, the unlikely next game from Ori series creator Moon Studios, is one day away from release. As we approach the big day, the developer has been revealing a few final details about the game, alongside dropping the launch trailer.
]]>Playing video games with your family is definitely never a recipe for arguments, and Steam’s just introduced an improved way to definitely not get into such arguments. Steam Families, now available in beta, will let you do a bunch of stuff with your loved ones, including play very mid games at the same time.
]]>Electronic Arts has added a series of its classic PC games to Steam for the first time.
]]>Last Epoch is finally out of Steam Early Access. The game arrives at a time when the ARPG genre is somewhat stagnant. Blizzard has been driving players away from Diablo 4 lately with frustrating and unrewarding season mechanics, a delay to the long-awaited dungeon ladders, and a rise in obscene microtransactions.
]]>Last Epoch, the latest ARPG coming for Diablo 4’s crown, officially ended its years-long Steam Early Access journey overnight. The launch has been a success, and the game managed to set new Steam player records, breaking its previous concurrent figures.
]]>Far From Home, the developers of Early Access game Forever Skies, has been “secretly working” alongside Sony for a few years to bring the sci-fi survival action-adventure to PlayStation 5.
]]>Steam Next Fest: February 2024 Edition has kicked off, and for its duration, we're highlighting a small taste of the thousands of demos you can try out.
]]>Fans of metroidvania games should have a look at the upcoming release from Surgent Studios, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.
]]>A new trailer for Judas, the upcoming sci-fi action game from Ghost Story Games, was shown during the PlayStation State of Play this evening.
]]>There are now officially more Palworld players than competitive dog groomers worldwide. We think. We’re not too versed in such things; however, we are sure that player numbers are 19 million strong and growing.
]]>It seems like MOBAs are having a bit of a moment right now. With the recent announcement of Smite 2, and this new game from Mintrocket.
]]>Today, FromSoftware released a new Elden Ring patch. Updates to the open-world action RPG have been sporadic, and the ones the game occasionally gets almost always focus on balance tweaks (particularly for PvP), alongside fixes to certain bugs here and there.
]]>Capcom is reportedly turning its newfound stance against modding into action. The Japanese publisher, which recently called mods "no different than cheating" in an RE Engine developer update, has started cracking down on modding of its games.
]]>It's the first weekend of the year, and everyone's playing games it seems, as Steam has just seen a new all-time user peak.
]]>Big news for those of you out there looking to jump into specific games next year, without the world knowing about it. Private games have been launched into Steam's beta client today, which allows you to set games as private on purchase so you can keep them all to yourself.
]]>Somewhat unexpectedly, the recent Monster Hunter Wilds reveal at The Game Awards has sent players back into the arms of Monster Hunter World. Perhaps because Wilds won't be out until sometime in 2025, players itching to hunt some monsters have all flocked to World.
]]>Dota 2 is celebrating Frostivus 2023 by handing out goodies to all.
]]>Valve has announced the nominees for this year's Steam Awards, based on your nominations during the Steam Autumn Sale.
]]>Fntastic, the developer of The Day Before, has officially shutdown just three days after the game's release into Steam Early Access. Although the launch had all the hallmarks of a disaster, the manner in which things unfolded is what's interesting, especially given how quickly it all happened.
]]>The saga of The Day Before has seemingly reached its inevitable conclusion. After nearly three years of development, several controversies involving unpaid volunteers, copycat trailers, multiple delays for dubious reasons, and a seemingly constantly changing direction, The Day Before is finally out and you can play it.
]]>The Finals has cemented itself as the last big game of 2023. Thanks to a release during The Game Awards 2023 ceremony, the free-to-play shooter has kicked off what's bound to be a long journey - and players are very much excited to be along for the ride.
]]>Valve has released Steam Link on Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro headsets. Steam Link is a free app that lets you stream games from your Steam library to another device. In this case, you'll be able to stream SteamVR games to your Meta Quest headset wirelessly.
]]>Video game comedy is as old as the medium itself. There were text adventures running on mainframes over forty years ago that were packed with gags, and even sophisticated meta humour about fantasy tropes. Ask any Old Git to name a genuinely funny video game and they’ll probably cite Monkey Island, maybe Conker’s Bad Fur Day, or perhaps The Stanley Parable if they’re a connoisseur. There are countless others. Half of them involve Tim Schafer in some capacity.
]]>Battlefield 5 is latest game in the long-running series to have a major moment on Steam. After Battlefield 2042 pulled off the unthinkable and came back from the dead to not only set new concurrent player records on Steam, but also sustain them for weeks afterwards, Battlefield 5 is now trying to claim that spot.
]]>Valve has announced the Steam Autumn Sale will go live on Tuesday, November 21.
]]>It's pretty clear that the launch of Modern Warfare 3 has had more negatives associated with it than positives. As poorly received as the game has been so far, Call of Duty games always sell very well. Some, clearly, more than others.
]]>Valve has announced Steam Deck OLED, and it will launch on November 16.
]]>It seems like now is a good time to be a fan of the work of DICE. If you like Battlefield, the current DICE squad looks to have turned things around for Battlefield 2042. If you're more of a classic DICE fan, The Finals beckon you to witness its next-gen destruction right now.
]]>It seems like the further away we get from the launch of the latest (and potentially final) season of Battlefield 2042, the more the multiplayer shooter proves its best days are not behind it.
]]>Battlefield 2042 actually pulled it off, and made the comeback most said was impossible. It all started last weekend, when the game kicked off another free weekend across all platforms, alongside a hefty sale.
]]>Steam Next Fest is one of the best ways for game developers to expand the potential audience of their games before they're even out. The point of the fest, of course, is all the free demos, and the most recent (October) edition had over 900 of them.
]]>Over the weekend, right when Call of Duty was having a big moment with the Modern Warfare 3 beta, EA and DICE had some bit of counter-programming planned, which no one could’ve predicted would end up actually helping Battlefield.
]]>Steam Next Fest: October 2023 Edition has kicked off, and there are so many demos available and it's a bit overwhelming.
]]>During the wide-ranging developer update Blizzard hosted to officially reveal everything coming to Diablo 4 with Season of Blood (it's a lot of good stuff), the developer tucked in a surprise announcement towards the end.
]]>It's that time of year again, folks: Call of Duty beta time! This is the year of Modern Warfare 3, and we're going to be getting another chance at some hands-on time soon. There are a few interesting changes to mechanics this year, and the MW3 beta will provide the perfect opportunity to sample them ahead of launch.
]]>Just in case the initial tease, and subsequent Twitter account banner change didn't give you enough of a hint, Counter-Strike 2 has indeed arrived on Wednesday, September 27.
]]>Valve has announced the dates for its 2024 Steam Sales and Fests, giving you time to plan ahead on saving money towards big games and indies all year long, with many sales and events to choose from.
]]>Valve looks to be teasing the imminent release of Counter-Strike 2, if we're reading this cheeky Tweet correctly. The game has been in limited, closed beta testing since March, when it was initially announced.
]]>With the number of games being published every day on Steam, it's easy to feel a sense of deja vu every time you check the new releases page. Everyone has run into their fair share of hentai abominations, cheap mobile ports, achievement-farming games, and the unending barrage of asset flips – all seemingly releasing in bulk.
]]>The Steam 20th Anniversary Sale is in full swing, and if you are in the market for a Steam Deck, you can save some money through the duration of the sale.
]]>Steam turns 20 today, and Valve is celebrating by hosting a sale on all its titles.
]]>Dying Light 2 has been steadily getting updates that not only improved almost every aspect of it, they've also closely aligned it with the more brutal vision of the original game. The sequel's nighttime is now much darker and more treacherous, its melee combat has been upgraded to be more visceral, and the weapon effects are much gorier compared to launch.
]]>While Steam generally has excellent controller support, games don't always make it clear which brand of controller they support. Most players use Xbox controllers, which are much more widely supported - but what about PlayStation controllers?
]]>Starfield doesn't officially release until September 6. But, if you paid for the expensive, Premium Edition of the game, you would be able to play right now. Despite the game being a day one Game Pass release, thousands of players couldn't wait and decided to jump in early.
]]>The Steam Strategy Fest is currently live, offering discounts on everything strategy.
]]>Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon represents something special for fans of FromSoftware, and anyone with even a passing interest in the rise of the popularity of the Japanese developer. Elden Ring was one of the biggest launches in 2022, so it stands to reason that anything the studio releases afterwards will have a much larger audience potential.
]]>Party Animals is almost here, and developer Recreate Games is inviting players to play the highly-anticipated, ridiculously cute co-op brawler ahead of release.
]]>If you’ve been following games coverage and discourse for long enough, you’ll be quite aware of a particular cycle that we can’t seem to escape. It all begins whenever a game introduces a fresh mechanic or a revolutionary system, then, everyone calls for all future games in the same genre – or even those adjacent to it – to start either utilising it wholecloth, or fudge some version of it.
]]>It's really not been a great launch for Overwatch 2 on Steam, as it is now the worst rated game on Steam of all time.
]]>The day has arrived, folks. Hell has frozen over, etc. Blizzard has released a game on Steam (the first of many). Unfortunately, the studio picked Overwatch 2 to start off this new venture.
]]>Baldur's Gate 3 is officially out of Early Access, and it's blowing up on Steam. The latest from Larian Studios is not only currently Steam's top-selling game, it's also ranked near the top of the platform's most played games.
]]>After a developer's game was rejected for using AI-generated art, Valve has clarified its stance on whether it will allow it on the platform.
]]>Yager, the developer behind Spec Ops: The Line, as well as several free-to-play online games, is shutting down its latest project - The Cycle: Frontier. Frontier was a spin-off of The Cycle, a beloved game with a modest fanbase that ultimately wasn't financially viable .
]]>Due to popular demand, the Lies of P demo is now available indefinitely.
]]>Steam Next Fest returns next week with tons of demos to try.
]]>After several weeks in testing, Valve has officially rolled out a significant new update to the Steam desktop client. It brings the look more in line with the UI of the Steam Deck, and updates Big Picture mode to also follow the same aesthetics.
]]>Bethesda continues to reveal more and more about Starfield. It all kicked off, of course, with a chunky 45-minute gameplay deep dive that followed on from the Xbox Showcase, and the developer has been sharing more and more tidbits since.
]]>Various new VR titles have been announced, and each franchise should be familiar to you.
]]>Street Fighter is finally big on PC. The release of Street Fighter 6 has not only demonstrated that to be the case, it also showed that the long-running fighting game series is capable of outselling even the most popular fighting games on Steam.
The fighting game scene on PC has never really been massive, at least when you look at the different games' Steam numbers at launch and beyond. The only major player in the space has, unsurprisingly, been Mortal Kombat - but NetherRealm's reign is seemingly over.
Having debuted less than 24 hours ago, Street Fighter 6 is now firmly Steam's most played fighting game ever, having peaked at 65,873 concurrent players (via SteamDB). Even setting aside the potential for the player base to grow further throughout the day, and over the weekend, this is already a new record for the series.
More importantly, it overtook Mortal Kombat 11's 35,147 peak concurrent, which the NetherRealm game set at its launch in 2019. Setting aside free-to-play hits like MultiVersus with its massive 153,433 peak concurrent, Street Fighter 6 is far and away the most popular premium fighter ever on the platform.
At the time of writing, 45,508 players are currently discovering the silly wonders of World Tour mode, duking it out online against other players, or simply having some friendly matches against local players. That's enough to land it at number 13 on Steam's charts, and it's already the top-selling paid game on the platform.
With its modern controls, a suite of modes for players of all skills to enjoy (something Street Fighter 5 severely lacked), and a modern visual style that strikes a balance between realism and graphical fidelity - Street Fighter 6 always looked well-positioned to change things forever for the series, and the fighting game genre as a whole.
Find out why this is a revolutionary fighting game in Alex's Street Fighter 6 in-depth review at the link.
]]>Wishfully has provided a release date for its cinematic puzzle adventure game, Planet of Lana.
]]>FromSoftware has not only released a trailer for Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, but it also dropped a date.
]]>Quantum Break has returned to Steam and Xbox Game Pass after being pulled from the services earlier this month.
]]>Like puzzle games? Then you'll love the Steam Puzzle Fest because plenty of titles in the genre will be on sale for an entire week.
]]>Ubisoft has announced it will release more of its games on Steam in the coming months.
]]>Capcom hosted a Street Fighter 6 showcase yesterday with Lil Wayne as the MC and dropped new information on the upcoming game.
]]>Capcom has released a patch for Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 that returns raytracing to the game.
]]>A rather interesting open world 2D sandbox game with a sci-fi setting titled Farworld Pioneers is headed to Xbox Game Pass next month.
]]>
