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You'll find the answer to today's Wordle on this very page alongside a selection of freshly written hints, general tips, and even links to further guides, all designed to make the September 22 (460) go as smoothly as you want it to. I had all the clues and no idea what to do with them today. The sole green anchor I stumbled upon didn't really narrow anything down, and all of the yellow consonants I found afterwards could've easily fit in any of the free slots left. I don't like losing, but some days the clues just don't line up in time. Wordle hint Today's Wordle: A hint for Thursday, September 22 Today's answer is a word used to describe particularly virtuous and devout people—often after they've died—but more widely this term can describe any person of any faith or none who displays extraordinary kindness or patience, even if only during one short instance. There are two vowels in today's Wordle. Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day If there's one thing better than playing Wordle, it's playing Wordle well, which is why I'm going to share a few quick tips to help set you on the path to success: A good opener contains a balanced mix of unique vowels and consonants. A tactical second guess helps to narrow down the pool of letters quickly.The solution may contain repeat letters. There's no time pressure beyond making sure it's done by midnight. So there's no reason to not treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you're coming up blank. Wordle answer (Image credit: Josh Wardle) What is the Wordle 460 answer? Let me help you win. The answer to the September 22 (460) Wordle is SAINT. Previous answers Wordle archive: Which words have been used The more past Wordle answers you can cram into your memory banks, the better your chances of guessing today's Wordle answer without accidentally picking a solution that's already been used. Past Wordle answers can also give you some excellent ideas for fun starting words that keep your daily puzzle solving fresh. Here are some recent Wordle solutions: September 21: RECAPSeptember 20: ALIKESeptember 19: TRICESeptember 18: STICKSeptember 17: CHUTESeptember 16: PARERSeptember 15: DOUBTSeptember 14: THYMESeptember 13: ALPHASeptember 12: BOOZE Learn more about Wordle Every day Wordle presents you with six rows of five boxes, and it's up to you to work out which secret five-letter word is hiding inside them. You'll want to start with a strong word like ALERT—something containing multiple vowels, common consonants, and no repeat letters. Hit Enter and the boxes will show you which letters you've got right or wrong. If a box turns ️, it means that letter isn't in the secret word at all. means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. means you've got the right letter in the right spot. You'll want your second go to compliment the first, using another "good" word to cover any common letters you missed last time while also trying to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn't present in today's answer. After that it's just a case of using what you've learned to narrow your guesses down to the right word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words (so no filling the boxes with EEEEE to see if there's an E). Don't forget letters can repeat too (ex: BOOKS). If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you'd like to find out which words have already been used you'll find those below. Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn't long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it's only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes. View the full article

Hello supehfly, Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. supehfly joined on the 09/21/2022. View Member

Remember the crappy little starting town in Diablo 2? It's an encampment, technically: A few tents and wagons with a wall to keep out skeletons. Now imagine that instead of a hero passing through on their way to fight the devil, you're the mayor of that awful place. That's the scenario in Gord, more or less. Managing a Slavic folklore-inspired dark fantasy town doesn't look simple or easy, mind you. From the look of the new Gord gameplay video embedded above, it's as thankless a job as running an ice age city in Frostpunk, and there's a lot to it: resource gathering, urban design, citizen management, and some RPG adventuring and combat. We mostly see adventuring in the new 16-minute gameplay video, in which Stan Just, a former Witcher 3 producer who's now CEO of Gord developer Covenant, walks us through a basic quest. His town's subjects are mad about poisoned eggs in the swamp, which prompts him to take a party into the muck to kill "foulspawn." The generic-feeling quest is a bit of a letdown, but perhaps the interesting part of Gord is not the monsters but the people. Your subjects have strengths ("fighting flair," "furiosity") and weaknesses ("exploring incapability," "boiling blood"), as well as varying experience in tasks such as mining, fighting, and food preparation. They can be gathered into parties, arranged in tactical formation, and clicked out into the wilds beyond the town to find treasure and fight monsters. Aside from bodily damage and death, your subjects can experience psychological damage as a result of all the dark fantasy violence they deal with, especially when someone they're related to is involved in whatever gooey beast encounter caused the trauma. Keeping your townsfolk both alive and at least somewhat rational could be tricky. The pausable realtime combat, on the other hand, is "very straightforward," as Just puts it. Characters attack automatically, and always use the best of their two attacks for the situation. Your main job, it looks like, is to determine the best way to position your subjects, although you do have direct control over spellcasting. There are 18 spells in Gord, and they come in utility, support, and offensive flavors. Support spells include "Focus," "Haste," "Rejuvenate," while Offensive spells include "Sap," "Entangle," "Infest," and other insect and disease-themed incantations—it's familiar-looking fantasy RPG stuff. Gord will include a campaign with "hand-crafted" maps that tell a story, as well as a custom scenario mode, where the world's size and resource richness are customizable. The new video doesn't spend much time on the town building aspect of Gord, and I'm somewhat more interested in that than the adventuring—maybe it'll be the subject of the next commentary video. Covenant plans to release Gord next year. Back when Gord was announced, the studio also said that it has another project in the works, but we haven't heard more about it. (It's called "Project Perun," according to the studio's website.) View the full article

Streamer Dan Allen, who was revealed yesterday as the person behind "The Real Insider" Twitter account that leaked (among other things) Ubisoft's big Assassin's Creed presentation, has apologized for his actions in a new video posted to YouTube, saying he did it all for clout and "the buzz." "I'm ashamed of it. It was pathetic, and just dishonest," Allen said in the video. "A lot of you are reaching [out] and saying, 'Why the 'frell' did you do it?' To be honest, it's clout, it's the buzz, it's being addicted to the thrill of thousands waiting on what you're going to say." When he wasn't posting leaks, Allen was running theDan Allen Gaming channel on YouTube, which features a wide variety of gaming content including guides, walkthroughs, and interviews, and currently boasts nearly 200,000 subscribers. His regular streaming job may not have offered the momentary rush he felt while revealing major secrets ahead of everyone else in the world, but on the other hand, he's also far less likely to be sued as a result of it. Speaking of which, Allen claimed in his apology that many of his leaks, such as ones involving Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid, did not violate NDAs because they were mostly made up. "bullpucky. Secondhand comments. Half the posts were educated guesses," Allen said. "For example I put a photo up of Kratos just before the [Sony] State of Play. It was an educated guess due to the fact that [Kratos voice actor] Christopher Judge had retweeted the State of Play, so I figured it would be there. It was." Allen may be looking to downplay the NDA violations involved with his leaks because of the potential consequences that could arise from them. Public shaming is no fun, but neither is being dragged to court for breaking legally-binding contracts. And Ubisoft NDAs are no joke. As an example, part of a May 2022 Rainbow Six Siege NDA received by PC Gamer states the following: "The Parties acknowledge that any breach [of confidentiality] by a Party, its Affiliates and Representatives of the obligations hereunder could cause irreparable harm for which no award of money damages may be an adequate remedy. Accordingly, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that a Party might have, each Party may be entitled to seek the remedies of injunction, specific performance and other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the provisions of this Agreement." Seeking "remedies of injunction, specific performance and other equitable relief" essentially means that Ubisoft has the right to sue your 'donkey' off if you break the terms of the contract. That doesn't mean it will, and in the case of, say, a tech glitch or something else beyond the control of the people involved, I like to think that their lawyers would chalk it up to bad luck and let it slide. But things might go differently in a case where someone signed the paper and then immediately and purposefully spewed everything they promised to keep secret all over the internet. Alongside his potential legal woes, Allen said that he's lost personal and business friendships in the game industry because of his secret leaker life, and had to delete his personal Twitter account due to the "barrage of hate" he's received since being revealed. Still, he said the blowback is justified and that he's not seeking sympathy or forgiveness. After apologizing to content creators, journalists, PR reps, and his followers for his "incomprehensible stupidity," Allen said he's going to take some time off to get away and "try and learn from this mistake." "At the end of the day I'm just sorry," Allen said. "I can't reverse time but what I can do is try to be a better man moving forward and promise you that this will never happen again." No one has sued Allen at this time, at least that we know of. If he avoids any trouble beyond feelings of remorse, it may be the last time an exposed leaker is excused by the industry. Ubisoft doesn't usually have an obvious target after a big leak, at least not that we know of, and certainly not one who has publicly confessed. Meanwhile, some game publishers have recently become bolder about welding lawyers against individuals. Bungie has gone after Destiny 2 cheat makers and users with the courts, and last year a teenage Fortnite player reached a settlement with Epic over alleged cheating. Cheating and NDA breaking are different things, but along with the recent GTA 6 hack and what feels like an overall increase of leaks, big studios could feasibly be feeling more and more on edge about protecting information, and more likely to look to the courts as a deterrent. View the full article

Slightly Mad Studios announced a month ago that Project Cars 2, one of the best racing sims ever, was being removed from Steam on September 21. I hope you were able to grab it if you wanted it, because today is the day and sure enough, it's gone. There's been no further word from Slightly Mad Studios about the removal, but a notice on the Project Cars 2 Steam page states that it is no longer available for purchase. SteamDB carries a similar message: "At the request of the publisher, this app has been retired. You may not be able to buy or get it." It's fair to say that "may not" in this case means "cannot." You might be able to scrounge one up from a key reseller if you're especially eager and willing to roll the dice, but the Humble Store (which offered the game via Steam keys) has also removed its Project Cars 2 listing, and the Project Cars 2 website no longer offers purchase options either. The reason for the removal of Project Cars 2 (and soon, the original as well) is simple, and one we've seen before: Expiring licenses for cars and tracks. Simply put, developers and publishers pay for the right to use real-world products in their games—in this case, cars and tracks—in order to enhance "authenticity." But those rights don't exist in perpetuity, and when the licensing deal expires, a choice must be made: Renew or let it go. And if sales aren't likely to justify the expense—which is all but certainly going to be the case for niche, years-old driving sims—then the deal will be left to lapse. In some cases those lapsed licenses can be worked around, such as when Rockstar pulled licensed music from Grand Theft Auto 4 when it turned 10 years old. But cars and tracks are basically the whole of Project Cars, so removing or reworking licensed content would be a Herculean task, if it's even possible at all—not something that Slightly Mad was apparently interested in bothering with. The removal from Steam is understandable, but it still sucks—Project Cars 2 is a really good racing sim—and it demonstrates the fragility of digital distribution: People who own the game will continue to have access, but the absence of physical media eliminates other avenues of purchase. It also showcases the pitfalls of licensed content. If Slightly Mad had taken a Rockstar approach to its cars, with goofy-named knockoffs like the Massacro, the Zentorno, the Felon GT, and the Vigero ZX, Project Cars 2 might still be on sale; instead, we got five years of real names (Project Cars 2 launched on September 22, 2017) and now it's gone for good. If you have any thoughts about snagging the original Project Cars before it's delisted, you'll want to get a move on: It's slated for delisting on October 3. View the full article

The best wireless gaming headset gives you the freedom to move around your room or office and not have to fuss with cables. A wireless gaming headset keeps everything hands-free and keeps your desk free of clutter. The best ones have good sound quality, great battery life, and are easy to pair with your PC so that once you have it on, you don't need to think about it again. The two features that matter most in wireless gaming are battery life and wireless technology. Ideally, you want something that can go for a few days on a single charge. At a minimum, 30 hours of battery life is a decent enough starting point. But don't be surprised if you see some premium headsets offering literally hundreds of hours of battery life. I'm glad I'm seeing more headsets featuring Bluetooth connectivity since it frees up a USB slot that would be taken up by a wireless dongle, and you can connect your phone to them. I know audio and what makes for the best wireless headphones. I've thrown high-res audio, outstanding gaming soundscapes, and hours of playtime at these headsets. That way, I get to intimately know their joys and failings. If you're a serious audiophile whose primary focus is music instead of gaming, you should check out our picks for the best headphones for gaming (they're not just for gaming). The real bargains will be found in the best gaming headsets guide, but they won't provide the magical air of freedom the ones below will. Best wireless gaming headsets Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: HyperX)Image 2 of 3 (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3 (Image credit: Future) 1. HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless The best wireless gaming headset Drivers: Dynamic, 50mm with neodymium magnets | Connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless dongle | Frequency response: 15–21,000Hz | Features: Bi directional detachable mic | Weight : 322–335g with mic | Battery Life: 300 hours Battery life that can only be described as witchcraftExcellent for listening to musicPrecise, powerful audio is great for gamingVery comfortableMicrophone isn't up to par with the rest of the headsetThey aren't the loudest headphones The HyperX Cloud Alpha is perhaps the most praised thing to exist on this site. We all love it on team and now HyperX has cut the cord on its best pair of cans. The biggest drawcard for this headset is the new huge battery. This is offering up to 300 hour battery life while in wireless mode while still keeping the headset relatively light and comfortable. It's a pretty massive feat and I feel HyperX has pulled it off. Out of the box this unit was reporting having about 80% charge, so I decided to leave it there to see how well that held. I spent a work day listening to music and checked the battery again: I swear it still said 80%. I have been using this thing for gaming and music listening pretty consistently for the past week and we aren't even at 50% battery yet. That impressive battery life is of course, a best case scenario. A lot of that has to do with the volume you're running the headset at, and volume is probably my only real complaint. It's absolutely loud enough but I can listen to it at full volume and still be fairly comfortable. The sound quality truly is incredible. But the sound quality truly is incredible. Music sounds amazing. It's always fun to listen to some of my favourite sound heavy songs on a good pair of cans and try to pick the different instruments or bites used. These do an excellent job, and are definitely one of the better gaming headsets I've used to listen to music on. When playing games the directional sound is also very nice. I was able to easily locate hidden batteries by directional beeps in Deep Rock Galactic, and had a wonderful time bouncing along to the tight beats of Shadow Warrior 3. I loaded up some Doom Eternal and promptly terrified myself. If you've ever wanted to know what it sounds like having a Cacodemon suddenly show up and whisper sweet blah-things into very specifically your left ear then these can absolutely deliver. The Cloud line is always touted for comfort and despite the hefty battery this still definitely fits the bill. I'm someone who struggles with too much weight or tightness on my head, and I have a real sensitivity to uncomfortable headsets. The top band is thick and has soft padding underneath. This coupled with the equally soft ear cups makes for a very cozy experience, and does an excellent job of blocking out noise. Sadly, the mic is your fairly standard affair and while it will work just fine for chat in games, it's very basic and uninspired when it comes to sound quality. Though all things considered, I struggle to imagine a customer who wouldn't be happy with these as a wireless gaming headset. They're pricey, but within reason for their specs, and they certainly deliver on everything you could want for gaming, and listening to music, on your PC. Read our full HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless review. Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: Razer)Image 2 of 3 (Image credit: Razer)Image 3 of 3 (Image credit: Razer) 2. Razer Blackshark V2 Pro The best wireless gaming headset for pure audio Drivers: Razer TriForce Titanium | Connectivity: USB 2.4GHz wireless dongle | Frequency response: 12–28,000Hz | Features: Detachable mic | Weight : 320g | Battery Life: 24 hours Fantastic wireless audioDecent battery lifeComfortableRelatively weak microphone The wired Razer BlackShark V2 is our favorite gaming headset and the wireless 'Pro' version takes all of the best bits from those excellent headphones and snips off the cable. It was previously sat in the number one spot but with the Cloud Alpha Wireless offering similarly excellent audio but with an absolute massive battery, we gave it to HyperX cans. That said, the BlackShark V2 Pro is regularly discounted as it's been around a little longer now, and with a big enough discount we'd definitely make the switch to Razer's pair. The BlackShark V2 Pro is still the gaming headset I use on a daily basis, despite the fact I've got $400 and $1,300 planar magnetic headphones, both over and in-ear, in my kit cupboard. Largely that's because of the freedom of wireless connectivity, but also because the audio experience is as good as any dedicated gaming headset is able to offer. The TriForce driver design apes the fantastic HyperX Cloud Alpha headset and matches its fantastic audio delivery, helping knock the previous top gaming headphones off their perch. They feel detailed, punchy, yet still rich enough to deliver an incredible experience in your chosen gameworld. The BlackShark V2 Pro is still the gaming headset I use on a daily basis. They're also super comfortable too and, call me a luddite, but having a physical volume dial is incredibly useful, and saves me otherwise fumbling around for buttons on an earcup. In fact, our only real issue is that I'm not a fan of their wee boom mic, but given there are some fantastic budget gaming mics out there right now, that's not a biggy. When they were $180 the BlackShark V2 Pro was an excellent, though expensive wireless headset, but now it's regularly down to the $130 mark it's absolutely the one I'd recommend to my friends. And you, my new friends. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: Corsair) 3. Corsair HS80 RGB The best gaming headset for spatial audio Wireless: Yes | Drivers: 50mm, Neodymium drivers | Connectivity: Slipstream Wireless Dongle, USB Cable | Frequency response: 20Hz – 30,000Hz | Features: Omnidirectional Broadcast grade mic | Weight: 360g | Battery life: 20 hours Floating headband designExcellent Hi-Res Audio + Dolby AtmosExcellent microphoneFeels bulkyMic isn't detachableNo Bluetooth or 3.5mm Corsair's new HS80 RGB Wireless Gaming Headset is easily one of the best headsets the company has ever made and also one of the best wireless headsets around. It takes some of the best headset features available and executes them really well. At $150, it boasts the latest and greatest lag-free Slipstream Wireless tech, high fidelity audio, and Dolby Atmos. The microphone is outstanding and the new design lets you wear them for ages without fatigue. It's the spatial audio where the HS80 surprises, with impressive 3D audio and accurate positioning. It's said that imitation is the highest form of flattery and the new HS80 imitates some of the best headsets from Steelseries. Corsair has finally adopted the same floating headband design that uses an adjustable strap to evenly distribute the weight across your noggin. Furthermore, the HS80 feels bulkier on my head than any Steelseries headset but at 370g, it's not much heavier. The ear cushions use plush, breathable fabric that wraps around your ears like a warm blanket, too, but can get humid in summers. The HS80's ear cups can swivel 90-degrees and each one has a backlit Corsair logo. You can change the lighting in the Corsair iCUE, and it's actually quite understated. The HS80 uses 50mm drivers that output 24-bit/48kHz audio over Slipstream wireless and a higher fidelity 24-bit/96kHz over a USB Type-C cable. The latter will require something better than your typical Spotify to notice the difference though. But all this just means that the HS80's sound fantastic with rich, full-body sound with well-balanced bass. The sub-bass can be a little lacking at times and I noticed some distortion even at low volumes. This holds the HS80 back from true greatness but there's an EQ in iCUE that you can play with to fine-tune the audio to your liking. However, it's the spatial audio where the HS80 surprises, with impressive 3D audio and accurate positioning. This, as you can imagine, is great for games like first-person shooters or large open-world environments. This is made even better with support for Dolby Atmos and Corsair provides an automatic license with the headset. I've been playing a lot of Halo Infinite which supports Dolby Atmos and it has sounded amazing on these cans. Battery life on the HS80 was consistent with the marketing claims of 20 hours. For me, this meant charging the headset every two days—with 10 hours of work and play each day. I didn't test to see if turning off the RGB lighting made a significant difference but given how small the lights are, I doubt it. Charging the HS80 is easy thanks to a Type-C connection that also allows you to listen to them while it charges. The Corsair HS80 is a great headset. It sounds great in both games and other media with a wonderful implementation of Dolby Atmos. If you do a lot of chat, the microphone is one of the best we've tested. Read our full Corsair HS80 RGB review. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: SteelSeries)Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: SteelSeries)Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: SteelSeries)Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: SteelSeries) 4. SteelSeries Arctis 9X The best wireless gaming headset for cross platform players Drivers: 40mm neodymium | Connectivity: Wireless via USB, 3.5mm wired, Bluetooth | Frequency response: 20–20,000Hz | Features: Retractable noise cancelling mic, DTS Headphone:X, 7.1 surround | Weight: 371g | Battery life: 30 hours Solid gaming soundGreat Mic Bluetooth Heavy on the headHeadband slackens over time Whatever you're listening to through the Arctis 9X wireless gaming headset, there's none of the muddiness or audio artifacts that have historically plagued other wireless cans. In essence, it sounds just as good as the best-wired models we've tested at this same price The Arctis range's distinctive ski goggle headband is effective at keeping the weight of the headset away from your head. After a solid 12 months of daily usage, the headband has slacked off, making for a looser and slightly less comfortable fit, but the bands themselves are replaceable. We're big fans of the control placements at the rear of the headset, too: volume wheel and mic mute on the left, chat/game mix, and headset on/off on the right. The retractable mic is a little quiet, but it remains perfectly usable. The extraordinary battery life clocks in at over 30 hours out of the box, and after almost a year of heavy use, that figure's hardly dropped off. This SteelSeries headset hits the sweet spot of providing the best sound without taking out a bank loan. Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 3 (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 3 (Image credit: Epos) 5. Epos H3Pro Hybrid A high-end gaming headset with lots of options Drivers: 40mm | Connectivity: Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz wireless, USB, 3.5mm | Frequency response: 20–20,000Hz | Features: Removeable microphone, flip-to-mute, active noise cancelling | Weight: 308g | Battery life: 38 hours Bluetooth, 30 hours 2.4GHz Works with everythingMusic sounds amazingComfortable for long wearActive noise cancellingDetachable boom mute micMic could be betterExpensive Epos has launched out of the gate swinging with its own lineup of high-end headsets, and the H3Pro Hybrid is a testament to that. It's a premium headset with a whole lot of functionality, and that's going to interest anyone with multiple devices but only time for one headset in their life. What you're getting is a gaming headset with an included microphone. Okay, good start. Though it's wireless, of course, and uses 2.4GHz via a dongle or Bluetooth to any device that supports it. Furthermore, it can be connected via USB for audio or a 3.5mm jack. The key here is that flexibility in connectivity also transfers to the headset's design. It's lightweight, compact, and well-built for travel. The built-in microphone is also removable and can be replaced with a little magnetic cover. That means you can get up from your PC, disconnect the microphone, and have the headset connect to your phone for seamless and easy travel. No more looking a weirdo on the bus with your gaming headset mic at the ready. Everything that’s removable, like the plush ear pads and mic are easy to do so without feeling like you might be breaking it. As a bonus, they go back just as simply so it never feels like you’re putting too much pressure forcing things in. That's especially true of the mic with its excellent magnetic hold, which you can replace with an equally easy to use cover when not in use. As a one stop solution that does an excellent job and any task I give it that price becomes a bit easier to swallow. That last point actually ended up being a bigger deal than I expected, because these headphones sound really good. Even for music. They’re a really nice set of wireless headphones I’m happy to wear for more than just gaming. They have a good range and quality of sound, and can get exceptionally loud without losing quality. The control on the side is also really nice for granular changes so I found myself picking up even subtle little noises I might otherwise miss in music. I make and mix the music for my ambient sci-fi radio show podcast, Blockbuster Station, on an iPad, and even noticed a similar effect hearing my own music back through these via Bluetooth. The real kicker with the headset is the price, and $‌279 for a gaming headset is no small amount of savings to offer up. Given the extreme versatility, an argument can be made that this is more than one headset for your money. I can use this headset with every single piece of kit I’ve tried and it’s worked well each time. As a one stop solution that does an excellent job and any task I give it that price becomes a bit easier to swallow. Read our full Epos H3Pro Hybrid review. Image 1 of 6 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 2 of 6 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 3 of 6 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 4 of 6 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 5 of 6 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 6 of 6 (Image credit: Corsair) 6. Corsair HS70 The best budget wireless gaming headset Drivers: 50mm neodymium dynamic | Connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless | Frequency response: 20–20,000Hz | Features: Available in black or white finishes, detachable mic | Weight: 314g | Battery life: 16 hours Great constructionNo-nonsense packagePoor battery life This is great work from Corsair. The company has channeled all its expertise from higher-end models and somehow kept costs right down without compromising... well, anything detectable. If you'd told us the HS70 was a more expensive headset when we first unboxed it, we'd believe you. Aesthetically, they’re a breath of fresh air. There’s no RGB here, the minimal amount of plastic is soft to the touch, the leather memory foam headband is embroidered in an array of different colors, and the overall feel is sturdy. These can take a hit, that’s for sure. There’s the usual height adjustment on them, but that’s it. And that build quality is what baffles us about the HS70's lower-end pricing, though—they feel sturdy enough to last years but are still light on the head and well-padded. The slightly under-padded headband is the only exception. We're not wholly on board with the perforated metallic finish on the earcups either, but that's a small price to pay for nailing everything that counts. Stereo spread and overall sound articulation are the highlights here. 50mm neodymium dynamic drivers drive both earcups, and although they only come packing a 20Hz–20kHz frequency response, they’re some of the most well-balanced coils we’ve ever seen from the gaming market. They feel sturdy enough to last years but are still light on the head and well-padded. Equal even to HyperX’s now legendary Cloud series. Everything is crisp, everything is clear, they’re not too bass heavy, there’s very little distortion, and the mids don’t fall flat—it’s all very nice. They're tuned in line with the modern trend for flatter EQs and thus better versatility when you close down PUBG and bring up that doom metal playlist you've been working on in Spotify. So, then, drawbacks? Well, apart from the lack of rotational movement, and no RGB for the, er, enthusiasts, you’re still limited to a 16-hour battery life before you need to recharge, and there’s no dock or the like. On top of that, the 7.1 virtual surround sound still kind of sucks, even in films and games. It’s just too synthetic, and you can tell—but, then, that is an optional extra; you don’t have to enable it. Ultimately, for the price, these cans are classy as hell, sound incredible, and are comfortable to boot. It’s hard not to love them. Read our full Corsair HS70 SE review. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Xbox )Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: Xbox )Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: Xbox )Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: Xbox ) 7. Xbox Wireless Headset The best Bluetooth headset for Xbox and PC Drivers: 40mm neodymium | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Xbox Wireless Protocol | Frequency response: 20–20,000Hz | Features: Bendable boom with dual mics | Weight: 311g | Battery Life: 15 Hours Good ValueNice, minimalist designSolid Stereo SoundWeak battery life The long-awaited Xbox Wireless Headset definitely does not disappoint. We knew that Microsoft's first wireless gaming headset was going to be ambitious; little did we know that it was also going to be one of the best budget wireless headsets for gaming at $100. The audio is surprisingly good for the money, if not exactly spectacular. But the battery life is at the lower end of their peers, but being able to get four hours of juice from a 30-minute charge is pretty clutch and makes up for not having 3.5mm connections. One interesting feature for Xbox users is that you can connect the headset to your phone and your console simultaneously. This means you can hop onto Discord on your phone and hear your teammates WHILE still getting game audio from your Xbox. If you're a PC and Xbox Series X/S owner, the Xbox Wireless Headset, much like the Xbox Wireless controller, is a well-made piece of kit worth investing in that won't let you down or hurt your wallet. It's an easy-to-use Bluetooth headset that works well on multiple devices (except PS5s), and that isn't an easy trick to pull off. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: Future) 8. SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless The best multi-device wireless headset Drivers: 40mm | Connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, | Frequency response: 10–40,000Hz | Features: Game DAC with 2 USB Type-C inputs, 2x 3.5mm audio in/out, Bluetooth and wireless simultaneous connection | Weight : 338g | Battery Life: 30 hours (swappable batteries) Smashing bass and audio qualityIntuitive and informative new Sonar parametric EQComfortable, light, and highly adjustableDAC is an amp and fast-charging spare battery dockNoise cancellation for mic and ear cupsCan only skip or pause music with headset buttons over BluetoothFrightfully loud glitch noises when going out of rangeAI noise canceling is a bit weak at the moment SteelSeries' Arctis Nova Pro wireless gaming headset comes in with an entirely new design, a far cry from previous Arctis models. That's not just in terms of audio and quality of life features, but also style and overall craftsmanship. The Nova nomenclature comes from the Latin novus, meaning new. Appropriate for a gaming headset that manages to branch out into somewhat uncharted territory, though you'll be paying a premium for the privilege of gaming at the cutting edge. Think in the region of $350 (£330). In order to make that price worth it, SteelSeries' plan is to make the Arctis Nova Pro your 'everything' headset—not just the one you use for gaming. The real champion feature here is the multi-system connect feature, which lets you connect to two different devices via 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth simultaneously. The freedom to listen to a podcast on your cell while playing games on your PC, then switch off the Wi-Fi and walk out the door, listening uninterrupted, is kind of revolutionary for SteelSeries, though there are many out there that offer it. The Arctis Nova Pro's made even more portable with a pair of hot-swappable, lithium-ion batteries. These charge up in under an hour slotted into the side of the ESS Sabre Quad-DAC, or through USB Type-C charging cable connected to the headset. I've not had to plug in once in the month I've had it; I just swap the battery over when one's about to die, which takes a good two and a half days of full use. Perfect peripherals (Image credit: Colorwave)Best gaming mouse: the top rodents for gaming Best gaming keyboard: your PC's best friend... Best gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audio The Nova pro beats out every headset on our list when it comes to quality of life features, but it's also a heck of a lot more expensive than your average wireless gaming headset. Still, the absolute torrent of functionality really has me wanting to recommend the Nova Pro. The DAC for both the PlayStation and Xbox versions is well designed (each one's slightly different looking) and keeps a lot of these settings close at hand so you can switch them around in the game, without alt-tabbing out. On both, there's a 3.5mm line in and out, as well as two USB Type-C connections for a 'first in gaming' multi-system connection, so you can keep your PlayStation 5 and your PC connected at all times. The Nova pro beats out every headset on our list when it comes to quality of life features, but it's also a heck of a lot more expensive than your average wireless gaming headset. here Also, the DAC serves as a 96kHz/24-bit amplifier, similar to that of the Arctis Pro + which also touts a wide 10-40kHz frequency response. Coupled with the Sonar equalizer, the quality of the newly designed drivers becomes immensely clear. On the one hand, you could bag this super high-spec gaming headset that's been thoughtfully redesigned considering the successes and failures of previous generations; or you could essentially pay yourself $100 dollars to get a cheaper gaming headset, but forgo the utterly untethered, exemplary connectivity and sheer craftsmanship of the Nova Pro. Honestly, I'd rather blow the full $350, and screw the Nova Pro to my head for good. Read our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro review. Wireless gaming headset FAQ How do you test wireless gaming headsets?Many of the qualities you’re looking for from a wireless headset are the same you’d hope to find in any audio equipment—tone, build quality, and reliability leading the charge. As such, we listen to each review model while playing different genres of games, listening to music, and watching movies with bombastic sound effects and surround mixes—think less Werner Herzog, more Chris Nolan. There are a few wireless-specific elements we need to test for, too: battery life, charge time, range, and latency. The former is pretty self-explanatory, though, in addition to an ‘everyday use’ battery life test, we also run the headset at full volume to discover how quickly the charge drains under those conditions. To ascertain charge time, we… well, we charge the headsets and note how long it takes. Range and latency are trickier to test scientifically. However, having a pleasant walk around the house gives a good indication of range, and latency ultimately comes down to perception. After several days of use, we’re in an excellent place to make the call on a headset with all that taken into account. Are wireless headphones okay for gaming? There are some for whom nanoseconds do matter, or at least are perceived to, and they may wish to steer clear of wireless headphones, but for the majority of us, there is little problem with the best wireless gaming headsets today. Unless you connect via Bluetooth, however. That is the laggiest of current wireless connections, with a 2.4GHz wireless interface able to deliver the audio performance that won't get in the way of your game. Are wireless gaming headsets more expensive?The sad fact is that you are likely to be paying a premium for a wireless version of any product. You have to factor in the extra design, the extra connectivity peripherals (the wireless dongle, etc.), and the fact you now have to have a battery. Are wireless gaming headsets heavier than wired ones?Generally, because of that added battery, you will find that a wireless version of a gaming headset will weigh slightly more than its wired equivalent. Taking the number two on the list, the Razer Blackshark V2 Pro weighs 42g more than the wired, non-Pro version. View the full article

Unfinity is the next un-set—a collection of unusual and unbalanced cards designed for non-competitive play—coming to Magic: The Gathering. It's themed around a retro sci-fi take on carnivals and circuses called Myra the Magnificent's Intergalactic Astrotorium of Fun, a traveling amusement park made of interconnected spaceships. Traditionally un-sets contain cards that bend or outright break the normal rules of Magic and fair play, or break the fourth wall to interact with players. The first un-set, 1998's Unglued, included a card called Prismatic Wardrobe that could destroy any other card as long as it didn't share a color with the clothes being worn by its controller. Unglued also gave us I'm Rubber, You're Glue, which let you retarget a spell or ability at the cost of having to speak in rhyme from then on. The card from Unfinity PC Gamer is revealing, Opening Ceremony, isn't quite so bizarre or likely to get you slapped in the face. (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast) A six-mana red sorcery, Opening Ceremony gives you one mana of every color, including colorless, then lets you open a booster pack of new Magic cards, which you can cast any of until the end of the current turn. Unfinity is designed with drafts in mind (though it's the first un-set to also be available in Collector boosters, which will contain 100% foil cards), so it's fair to assume you'll have an unopened booster pack nearby when you play it. Hope you draw something good! I love these kind of meta-level shenanigans. There are several existing cards that let you choose a card you already own from outside the game to play, like the various Wish spells, but I particularly like Last-Minute Chopping. This Christmas-themed holiday promo card lets you ask an opponent for a present, which they can either respond to by saying "yes" and putting a card they own but aren't using in this game into your hand, or saying "no" and letting you take control of one of their permanents. The king of this nonsense isn't a Magic card, but rather the Copyright Violation card for On the Edge. Already a deeply weird game about conspiracy theories battling for control of reality, Copyright Violation made On the Edge even weirder by letting you play a card from a completely different game, counting the first three numbers that appeared on it as the cost, attack, and defense. One of Unfinity's other oddball cards revealed so far is Killer Cosplay, which lets you turn a creature into a copy of another creature that costs the same amount of mana—that's any creature with the same cost, so I hope you've got a good memory or your opponent is happy with you googling stats mid-game. There are apparently plenty of cards in Unfinity that involve die-rolling (which Adventures in the Forgotten Realms made great use of), as another revealed card, a 1/1 creature card depicting goblins on holiday called The Space Family Goblinson, gets a +1/+1 whenever you roll a die and gains trample on any turn where you roll three dice or more. The set also introduces a new creature type for robots, as the amusement park is staffed by robotic clowns. The Assembled Ensemble card combos with them to gain power equal to the number of robots you control, and lets you create a 1/1 white Clown Robot any time you cast a spell that has an artifact creature somewhere in its artwork. So yes, it is a silly set. The creative team for Unfinity included comedy writers Sean 'Seanbaby' Reiley, and Kathleen De Vere, Cameron Lauder, and Graham Stark of LoadingReadyRun, who are responsible for the Magic-themed internet sitcom Friday Nights. Unfinity was originally scheduled for release on April Fool's Day, but had to be delayed thanks to Covid. It'll now be released on the less-humorous date of October 7. Image 1 of 6 (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 2 of 6 (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 3 of 6 (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 4 of 6 (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 5 of 6 (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)Image 6 of 6 (Image credit: Wizards of the Coast) View the full article

Left-handed mice are sometimes hard to track down. So many options out there are only made for right-handed users; you might not even realize there were left-handed mice out there. If you need a left-handed mouse, there are some impressive left-handed versions of popular mice as well as ambidextrous ones to support you. When using a mouse with the 'wrong' hand, you absolutely feel it. The ergonomics are all wrong, the side button arrangements are a nightmare, and using your left hand on a right-handed (and vice-versa) feels really bad. You can get used to such arrangements, of course, but using a mouse that has been designed for your preference feels so much better. So much more natural. Though options are limited, there are still a handful of excellent gaming mice for lefties. You might notice that left-hander versions of some mice have lower stock and, in some cases, might be a hair more expensive at retail (I call it a lefty tax). So make sure to also look into ambidextrous mice by popular manufacturers like Razer, Logitech, and Corsair. They have fewer features, but they are comfortable to use, and the buttons can be customized to your liking. Best left-handed gaming mouse Image 1 of 5 (Image credit: Logitech)Image 2 of 5 (Image credit: Logitech)Image 3 of 5 (Image credit: Logitech)Image 4 of 5 (Image credit: Logitech)Image 5 of 5 (Image credit: Logitech) 1. Logitech G903 The best wireless left-handed mouse DPI: 12,000 | Sensor: Optical PMW3366 | Battery: 32Hrs (w/o RGB) Li-ION | Interface: USB | Buttons: 11 | Ergonomic: Ambidextrous | Weight: 107g (3.1oz) Removable buttonsGreat ergonomics and battery lifeVery satisfying clickLacks storage space for the dongleFavors larger hands The Logitech G903 is not strictly a left-handed mouse, but it has to be in contention with its ambidextrous design. That and the fact that it's still one of the best gaming mice ever made, even so long after its initial launch. Starting with the design, it's a really comfortable shape that fits the hand well and houses removable thumb buttons that can be changed according to the user (should you ever have a right-handed person usurp your mouse from you). Said thumb buttons, and the others on the pointer, have the best click I’ve ever tested: satisfying to push, feel, and hear. On top, its metal scroll wheel can click side-to-side and spin freely for 15 seconds—though you can use it as a notched button if you prefer. It uses Logitech’s tried and tested (and incredibly accurate) 12,000 DPI sensor, too. Overall, the G903 is a quality wireless option for lefties that will serve you just as well, if not slightly better, than some wired alternatives. It's also compatible with Logitech's wireless charging kit, though that adds a significant premium onto the already pricey package. But, having said that, you could even plug it in and use it as a wired mouse if you prefer. You weirdo. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Razer)Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: Razer)Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: Razer)Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: Razer) 2. Razer Naga Left-handed Edition The best MMO mouse for lefties DPI: 20,000 | Sensor: Razer Focus+ optical sensor | Interface: USB | Buttons: 19+1 programmable buttons | Ergonomic: Left-handed | Weight: 109g (3.8oz) Dedicated left-hand designSooo many buttonsOnly one choice of button layoutChunky and heavy The Razer Naga has long been the go-to MMO mouse of choice, but resolutely inaccessible for left-handed gamers. There's no way you could squeeze all those buttons onto an ambidextrous design. Thankfully Razer has created the online-exclusive Naga Left-Handed Edition which caters purely for the sinister southpaws. Form and function-wise it is identical to the right-handed Naga design, which means that MMO or MOBA gamers have an otherwise unprecedented volume of programmable buttons at their finger and thumbtips. The sad thing is that it lacks the swappable button panels of the Naga Pro, as 12 button panel can be unwieldy to use effecitvely in the heat of battle. It's also a rather chunky and relatively heavy mouse too, which makes it more of a specialised weapon than a daily driver of a gaming rodent. But it is one of the very few gaming mice designed purely with left-handers in mind, and in a many-buttoned use case that previously passed them by. And that means it's a must for this list. Image 1 of 5 (Image credit: Razer)Image 2 of 5 (Image credit: Razer)Image 3 of 5 (Image credit: Razer)Image 4 of 5 (Image credit: Razer)Image 5 of 5 (Image credit: Razer) 3. Razer Viper Best lightweight left-handed mouse for esports DPI: 16,000 | Sensor: Optical 5G | Interface: USB | Buttons: 8 | Ergonomic: Ambidextrous | Weight: 69g (2.4oz) Super lightweight frameVery comfortable16K DPI and 5G sensorNot for palm grip gamersSide buttons can be tricky to press You can always argue for bigger and more so far as gaming mice are concerned, but Razer wisely takes the path less traveled here. The Razer Viper is a scalpel of a pointer with absolutely no excess to weigh it down. That extends to its spartan design and the impressive, cutting-edge tech inside. The Viper offers an exceptionally smooth glide, coming in at just 69g and with a 16,000 DPI 5G sensor. Its optical switches are the real headline act, though. These are supposed to triple actuation speed and provide nearly instantaneous responses to every click. This results in blindingly fast action, making the Viper perfect for esports. Its ambidextrous design is also comfortable for the claw grip gamer, but because of its diminutive scale, it can take a little getting used to for those who prefer an all-encompassing palm grip. Image 1 of 3 Logitech G Pro Wireless (Image credit: LOGITECH)Image 2 of 3 Logitech G Pro Wireless bottom view (Image credit: LOGITECH)Image 3 of 3 Logitech G Pro Wireless bottom view of dongle storage (Image credit: LOGITECH) 4. Logitech G Pro Wireless Logitech's simple, classic wireless ambidextrous rodent DPI: 16,000 | Sensor: Optical HERO 16K | Battery: 40Hrs | Interface: Wireless and USB | Buttons: 8 | Ergonomic: Ambidextrous | Weight: 81g (2.9oz) Swappable componentsExcellent designExtremely lightProprietary USB charging cable The G Pro Wireless is peerless for cord-free pointers, packing Logitech's excellent 16,000 DPI HERO sensor and the kind of latency-free experience you'd expect from a wired mouse. It's incredibly light, sitting just over the 80g weight mark, but it doesn't feel cheap or disposable, unlike some more lightweight mice. Instead, it's crafted of high-quality materials and exhibits performance to match. Logitech designed every component in the G Pro Wireless to be as light and durable as possible, including shaving down the thickness of the chassis' side walls without sacrificing composition or density. Judging from the multiple hard tumbles, the G Pro has survived from my desk; it's a very sturdy kit. It also boasts a healthy 40 hours of battery life and is customizable, with buttons on the side panels that can be removed and traded out for smooth inserts, if that's your preference. You could also pair the G Pro with Logitech's Powerplay charging mat and never worry about running out of juice again. The only real downside is the price tag: at around $120, the G Pro isn't cheap, but it can fully justify that cost with quality. Image 1 of 5 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 2 of 5 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 3 of 5 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 4 of 5 (Image credit: Corsair)Image 5 of 5 (Image credit: Corsair) 5. Corsair M55 RGB Pro This budget ambidextrous pointer delivers the goods DPI: 12,400 | Sensor: Optical | Interface: USB | Buttons: 8 | Ergonomic: Ambidextrous | Weight: 89 g (3.1oz) Comfortable, sleek designSmooth glideLightweightSlightly spongy clickSide grips feel cheapScroll wheel is hard to reach with fingertip grip This isn’t Corsair’s first rodeo when it comes to ambidextrous mice. It had a go in 2015 with the Katar, a bulky vision in gray that’s long-since been pulled from shelves. The M55 stands head-and-shoulders above it in almost every way. To start with, it has a far superior CPI count of 12,400 compared to its predecessor’s 8,000. Secondly, it drops the Katar’s Darth Vader-esque grill for a black design that has more in common with the Corsair Harpoon. It’s understated. Chic. The M55 RGB Pro is comfortable underhand, too. Although its tear-drop shape may feel strange to those who haven’t used an ambidextrous mouse before, you quickly become used to it. The matte shell is also pleasantly grippy, which means you’re never less than in complete control. Flaws are lurking beneath the M55’s attractive shell, such as a slight stiffness to its click action: its Omron switches are very slightly resistant—a colleague described it as "spongey." But while there's not a great deal to rave or complain about, it’s available for such an affordable price that it's definitely worth a look. . Read the full Corsair M55 RGB Pro review. Best gaming keyboard | Best gaming PC | Best gaming chair Best VR headset | Best wireless gaming mouse | Best wireless gaming keyboard Image 1 of 6 (Image credit: Steelseries)Image 2 of 6 (Image credit: Steelseries)Image 3 of 6 (Image credit: Steelseries)Image 4 of 6 (Image credit: Steelseries)Image 5 of 6 (Image credit: Steelseries)Image 6 of 6 (Image credit: Steelseries) 6. SteelSeries Sensei 310 A comfortable, underrated all-rounder DPI: 12,000 | Sensor: Optical | Interface: USB | Buttons: 8 | Ergonomic: Ambidextrous | Weight: 92g (3.2oz) Light at 92 gramsGreat design with good grips and materialsNon-braided cableSoftware isn't the easiest to use Best gaming mouse (Image credit: Razer, Corsair)For a deeper look at what the best mice are for gaming check out our best gaming mouse list. This is an underrated mouse that has benefited from a complete overhaul of its predecessor. Almost all of the Sensei 310 is brand new, apart from the excellent ambidextrous shape, and that's exactly how it should be. The Sensei’s design is now easy to grip and won’t feel weird if you have hot or sweaty palms. The shape is wonderfully comfortable and will be ideal for those looking for a mid-sized pointer for their machine. It has a pair of thumb buttons on both sides, identical in arrangement and placing. These may well get in the way for either a left- or right-handed user, but because of the redesign, they are both near enough to be used but just out of the way enough to avoid accidental clicking. Anyone looking for a mid-sized and light-enough option should consider the Sensei 310. Left-handed gaming mouse FAQ Are there dedicated left-handed gaming mice?Most gaming mice are either made specifically to fit in the dominant right hand of the majority of users, or are designed to be as comfortable in either hand as possible. But, because of the smaller target audience, there are few that are made to cater for a purely left-handed ergonomic. Razer has created a left-handed version of the popular Naga, however, which is a smart choice given its many-button design cannot work in an ambidextrous layout. Are ambidextrous mice good?The general consensus is that an ambidextrous mouse—those designed to be used with either left or right hands—are best suited to gamers who favor a claw or fingertip grip style. Those who prefer a palm grip, where they lay their entire hand on the mouse, can find them less comfortable than a mouse designed specifically for their dominant hand. Can you switch a mouse to be left-handed?You can reconfigure the left and right mouse buttons from within Windows itself. From inside 'Settings,' click on 'Devices,' click on 'Mouse,' and use the 'Select your primary button' drop down to configure the main button. View the full article

Many Overwatch players were frustrated that heroes in the sequel won't be free for everyone like they are in the first game, limiting your ability to swap heroes mid-match. Blizzard's reasoning for the change was that most people don't swap and that the game is designed so that you don't have to as often. Despite this, a new ability that encourages you to change heroes suggests that it will remain an important part of the game. Blizzard detailed a list of balance changes coming to Overwatch 2 when it launches free-to-play in a few weeks. Many of the changes are responses to feedback and testing from the game's two closed betas and the ongoing professional play in the Overwatch League. The biggest changes in the list are part of Overwatch 2's new role passives, or buffs given to all heroes across its three roles: tank, damage, and support. In the June beta, damage characters—the most popular role in the game—were given a passive that lets them keep up to 30% of their ultimate charge when the player swaps from one hero to another. This helps encourage players to swap to a better hero when the situation calls for it. Now, every role will have this passive. If Reinhardt isn't cutting it but you've built up 80% of his ult, you can now swap over to Roadhog and start at 30% charge. Mercy players can put the staff down and pick up Lucio and not reset their progress, too. In the post, Blizzard said the change was requested by players. "After continued testing, we agree, and are making a change so the entire roster should have access to the hero swap passive as we launch," Blizzard wrote. The ability encourages players to engage with Overwatch's hero swapping metagame, where heroes have rock-paper-scissors interactions that can be countered on-the-fly: if one hero gets countered by another, you can always switch on your next respawn. Blizzard giving players more reasons to swap heroes is a bit surprising given that, just last week, while defending its decision to lock new heroes behind the freemium battle pass and potentially disrupt this strategy, it said most players simply don't swap. Game director Aaron Keller told PC Gamer in a group interview that "when you look at the data, of how often people switch heroes and how many heroes they typically play at one time, the majority of our players play a relatively small number of heroes." (Image credit: Activision Blizzard) Blizzard's argument is, essentially, that it's not a big deal if players don't have access to every hero, because most just stick to a few mains anyways. "You look at how people are actually playing the game there, [and] they're using a couple of heroes for most of how they play," commercial lead and VP of Blizzard Jon Spector said in the same interview. "And then sometimes they'll swap and they'll add in a couple more heroes. And so when we go and we say, 'Is it actually going to impact the play experience if someone has 34 out of 35 heroes?' When we look at the data, we feel really confident that it's not going to." Keller explained that the team is "trying to take some of those really hard rock-paper-scissors interactions out of the game," and consolidate those tactical options on individual heroes. With the new passive ability, Blizzard seems to be trying to have it both ways: Hero swapping is evidently still important enough to encourage with a new hero passive, but it's also no big deal to the type of players who will grind for weeks (or pay $10 seasonally) to have a complete roster. Despite losing its lead hero designer earlier this year, Overwatch 2 plans to release heroes at a fast rate: one every other nine-week season, with new support hero Kiriko at launch and a new tank in December. Overwatch 2 will release and replace the original game on October 4. View the full article

Gaming leaks: They happen. Sometimes they're the result of hackers and dataminers, other times they're caused by rogue employees or contractors, and occasionally they're the result of a simple accident like someone pushing the wrong button or emailing the wrong person. However they happen, leaks in videogamedom are real and surprisingly frequent. Videogame leaks have led to screenshots, videos, code, and even playable versions of entire games bolting from the barn ahead of schedule. Fan reaction can cover a broad spectrum: Excitement over a game that looks great, caution due to potential spoilers, or disappointment that a game—even though it's not out yet—doesn't live up to expectations. And for developers and publishers, leaks aren't just an ongoing problem but a real source of concern, not just from a security standpoint but from the judgement that comes from people seeing their unfinished work. Do you have a first draft of a novel somewhere on your computer? Imagine if you woke up tomorrow and discovered the whole world was reading it and pointing out all its flaws. Below we've collected some of the biggest and most notable leaks in PC gaming history, from upcoming games like GTA 6 to blockbusters like Mass Effect 3 to older gems like 2003's original Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl. Grand Theft Auto 6 (Image credit: Rockstar Games) In September, Rockstar Games suffered a "network intrusion" that lead to around 90 videos of in-development GTA 6 footage being leaked to the internet. The footage, which was verified as genuine by Rockstar, confirmed a few rumors about the game, like that it will feature the series' first female protagonist and take place in Vice City. The footage mostly consisted of short clips in debug mode, though a few longer sequences, like a diner robbery and a chat with a conspiracy theorist, were also revealed. While the overall story, most character details, and major missions were not spoiled, this hack still represents a major breach of one of biggest gaming companies making one of the most highly anticipated games ever, and it's pretty shocking a hacker was able to access so much information and material. The same hacker may be responsible for a major hack of Uber around the same time. The FBI is already investigating. Pretty much every Assassin's Creed game ever (Image credit: Ubisoft) Ubisoft has a long, long history of leaks of its games, especially when it comes to the Assassin's Creed series. Most recently, details about multiple upcoming AC games were leaked ahead of 2022's Ubisoft Forward presentation, including Mirage, Infinity, and a game code-named Assassin's Creed Red set in Japan. These particular leaks were the result of a YouTuber who'd signed an NDA with Ubisoft but released the details of the games on a secondary twitter account, for... reasons? Anyway, he got busted. But this certainly wasn't the first time an Assassin's Creed game was revealed before it was intended to. Originally code-named Assassin's Creed: Victory, details about the game that would become Assassin's Creed: Syndicate leaked well in advance of the launch. Assets included gameplay videos and the revelation that the game would take place in Victorian London. Leaks are nothing new for Ubisoft, whose sprawling operation on several continents and scores of employees (ever watched the credits for a Ubi game?) apparently make it nigh-impossible to keep a lid on their business. Games like Watch Dogs 2, The Division, Far Cry Primal, and other AC games have all had information leaked ahead of schedule. Crysis 2 (Image credit: Crytek) A full month before its release date in 2011, a nearly complete build of Crysis 2, including multiplayer mode and online authentication keys, leaked onto a number of torrent sites. While it was buggy and contained a number of placeholder assets, it was still reportedly playable start-to-finish. Lamentably, Crysis 2 went on to become the most pirated game of the year, and while it's suspected that the leak came from an employee of either Crytek or EA, the culprit has never been publicly identified. The Witcher 3 (Image credit: CD Project) The highly anticipated third entry into CD Projekt Red's The Witcher series was preceded by a massive info leak after the Google Drive contents of an employee was made public. Among the leaked files lay secrets about the RPG's story, enemies, quests, notes on "boob physics," and even the game's multiple endings. The temptation to dive into the details of such an eagerly awaited game must have been enormous for fans, but we hope you managed to enjoy the surprises anyway. This wasn't The Witcher's first brush with leaks: several gameplay videos of The Witcher 2 were also spilled ahead of schedule. Mass Effect 3 (Image credit: BioWare) After an early build of Mass Effect 3 somehow leaked onto Xbox Live, dataminers dove into the code and resurfaced with a copy of the unfinished script. Lots of people had a look, a naturally lots of them then immediately began complaining about the contents. Still, feedback is feedback. BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka said they take fan feedback seriously, even if their fans are offering notes on a script they weren't supposed to see. Among the changes made to the final script may have been a few rewrites based on the notes they received on their leaked version. Doom 3 (Image credit: id) In late 2002, over a year before its actual release, a demo of Doom 3 shown at that year's E3 was leaked onto the internet, allowing those who downloaded it to play the intro sequence and several early levels of the game. According to a memo supposedly written by John Carmack (which, if real, was also leaked), the source of the leak was an employee at ATI, who was later fired as a result. None of that is confirmed, though, and whether the leak was accidental or deliberate isn't known. Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source (Image credit: Valve) Originally planned for September of 2003, we wouldn't see the release of the Half-Life sequel until a full 13 months later after Valve's network was cracked and the source code, maps, models, and playable builds of HL2 and Counter-Strike: Source were stolen and leaked. The culprits were eventually arrested by German authorities after Gabe Newell pretended he was interested in hiring one of the hackers to work at Valve and obtained his contact information. The trial resulted in a two year probationary sentence for one of the hackers, and Half-Life 2 wasn't officially released until November of 2004. StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm (Image credit: Blizzard) The expansion for Blizzard's StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty was released in March of 2013, but part of it arrived ahead of schedule. A video of the ending of the single-player campaign was leaked before the expansion itself landed. While it was a rough animatic without lip-syncing and containing some placeholder storyboards, it was still a massive spoiler for the story. While Blizzard wouldn't confirm it was genuine, lawyers quickly issued cease and desist letters to sites hosting the video, which is was a pretty strong indication the leak was the real deal. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Image credit: Activision) Back in May of 2011, Kotaku received a ton of information on the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, roughly six months before it was scheduled for release and before it had even been officially announced. This info included details of the story, screenshots, and details about the game's weapons, levels, and modes, apparently from multiple sources within the developer and publisher. In response, the developers had to accelerate their own marketing plan, and immediately released a number of trailers for the game. Dishonored 2 (Image credit: Arkane Studios) We learned of the existence of Dishonored 2 in a rather embarrassing way: while rehearsing its first ever E3 press conference, Bethesda broadcast—live on Twitch, no less—a conversation between members of Arkane Studios (developer of Dishonored) that mentioned Harvey Smith (director of Dishonored). After a few minutes of chatter someone finally realized it was going live over the internet and shut it down, but it was too late: a couple thousand fans had been listening the whole time. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (Image credit: Blizzard) Before taking part in a closed alpha, participants are often required to agree not to share details of their experiences. What's harder is actually making sure they abide by that agreement, as with World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Prior to the expansion's appearance at BlizzCon, one alpha tester posted huge amounts information about Cataclysm online, including screenshots and videos, details on character classes and races, dungeons, and other features. The information was removed after Blizzard issued a takedown, reminding the player that 'NDA' stands for non-disclosure agreement and is, y'know, legally binding. Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl (Image credit: GSC Game World) In 2003, a pre-alpha for Stalker (which wouldn't even come out for another four years) was leaked onto P2P networks, and while it took some configuration to get working and was missing things like enemies and animals, it was still playable. Ironically, the mod called Lost Alpha, which attempted to restore the game to its pre-release promise, was also leaked ahead of time by beta testers, forcing the modders to release their work early and ruining their plans for it to become an official paid expansion. This article was originally published in 2015 and has since been updated. View the full article

Like a great mystery novel, my favorite moments in Beacon Pines are when I know what's about to happen. Early on, main character Luka VanHorn attempts to thwart his best friend's older sister from dragging him home for chores instead of exploring a creepy warehouse together by being "a little chill." That strategy fails spectacularly, but it was my only option at the time. In a later scene, I collect a new Mad-Libs-like word choice "'frack'" and I instantly realize that being "a little 'frack'" to Roxy is going to work way better. And so it does. This is the first major decision that splits the choose-your-own style adventure Beacon Pines down the center. It's just a bit more interactive than a full-on visual novel—mostly walking, talking, and inspecting objects—but with a cozy horror level of intensity. The stakes of the plot perhaps wind up a bit over the cozy line by the time it's said and done, but come on. Look at it. (Image credit: Hiding Spot, Fellow Traveller) Beacon Pines looks cute off the cuff, populated with animal characters and its paintbrush storybook aesthetic, but like the town itself has darker layers underneath. Not too dark and not too scary, but it's definitely a story about swearing pre-teens, grief, bullying, and the sticky insecurities of friendship. Luka's mom is missing, Rolo's family farm is struggling, and their fresh third accomplice Beck resents always being the new kid because of her mom's job. Beacon Pines is a farming and former factory town in the middle of vaguely North American nowhere. And as happens with old factory towns, a shiny new corporation Perennial Harvest has swooped in to rebuild, re-employ, and slap its name on the local festival. But people are going missing. And the old Valentine Fertilizer warehouse is glowing with a spooky green light at night, which is definitely not the only secret it's hiding. The story's the main attraction here since there's no combat and little true sleuthing. As you progress through dialogue you'll unlock new "charms," words to use at those critical turning points that split the story off into actual branches along the visual story tree in the Chronicle book. It's not particularly puzzling though. Oftentimes I've got one choice available to me, which will lead to a path down the story where I pick up another charm in a main conversation, which allows me to unlock a new path from another juncture. It isn't a traditional adventure game about pixel-hunting or solving riddles, more a guided tour through a non-linear spooky story. (Image credit: Hiding Spot, Fellow Traveller) As a result of that tight control, Beacon Pines has structured its story in a way that's near guaranteed to play out in a satisfying order. It didn't allow me to bull through to an end point and spoil the twists for myself before I came back to find a new path. It slowly spiraled me outward, uncovering dead ends almost in layers as I crept towards its conclusion. It does a swell job of teasing its twists: one I proudly guessed and another I absolutely didn't. All throughout, the non-omniscient narrator, voiced by Kirsten Mize, absolutely sells the storybook experience. Her voice pairs so well with the visual aesthetic, soothing through most points of the story and getting excited or frustrated at its many false endings. Beacon Pines has a fondness for putting dialogue in all-caps and a style of quippy teen banter that will hit or miss based on personal taste. Behind that sly, self-aware veneer, it's genuinely a more empathetic story about 12-year-olds navigating friendship and loss than I had anticipated. I spent about six hours with Beacon Pines, front to back, and likely left a secret or two on the table but did get through its major endings to finally arrive at the one true twist. Your best bet is giving the demo a try over on the Beacon Pines Steam page, which will take you through the first half hour or so of the story to make sure its blend of wry teen dramady works for you. Beacon Pines properly launches tomorrow, September 22. (Image credit: Hiding Spot, Fellow Traveller) View the full article

The head of Deep Silver parent company Embracer Group admitted today that the recent Saints Row reboot didn't meet his expectations, but said that his long-term view of the series remains unchanged. Saints Row landed with a bit of a plop when it arrived in August. Bugs were a big problem, and even before release the game was beset with predictable complaints that the new crew was too young, hip, and/or diverse. Being an Epic Games Store exclusive probably didn't help it gain word-of-mouth exposure on PC at launch. The Epic Games Store page for the game registers a 3.8/5 "Epic Player Rating," that praises it as "Extremely Fun" and "Highly Recommended," but also highlights a "Weak" OpenCritic rating aggregated from publications including IGN, Game Informer, and PC Gamer. The real issue, though, is simply an overabundance of restraint in comparison to previous Saints Row games. An unavoidable turn of events for a series built on successive excesses, perhaps (the final boss of Saints Row 4: Gat Out of Hell was literally Satan), but still an issue for a franchise that introduced "dildo bat" to the gamer lexicon. "Compared to spraying sewage on mansions to lower property values or driving a car while being mauled by a tiger who sits in the passenger seat, the reboot's activities seem down to earth," Jody wrote in our 60% review. (As a reminder, a 60% score isn't bad under PC Gamer's review scale: "There’s something here to like, but it can only be recommended with major caveats.") "Saints Row is always at its best when it cuts loose, when it goes full dubstep-gun stupid, and the reboot forgets that for long stretches. When it remembers, you get things like a storyline in which you take part in a citywide LARP, fighting Mad Max roleplayers with foam weapons while dressed in cardboard armour, and that's the kind of daftness it could do with more of," Jody wrote. During today's annual general meeting of Embracer Group, the quiet gaming behemoth that owns (among a great many other studios) Saints Row developer Volition and publisher Plaion (formerly Koch Media), CEO Lars Wingefors acknowledged that he'd hoped for something better. "Obviously, personally I had hoped for a greater reception of the game," Wingefors said. "It's been a very polarized view, and there is a lot of things that could be said and details around it, but I am happy to see a lot of gamers and fans happy. At the same time I'm a bit sad to see also fans not happy. It's difficult." Wingefors said Saints Row is still "fairly early in [its] release window," and that further bug fixes and new content are coming. The game's overall sales performance will become clearer following the company's quarterly financial report in November, but he expressed confidence that it will ultimately make money. "Would it have as great a return of investment as we've seen in many other games? Not very likely," Wingefors said. "But we will make money, and that's a very good starting point." Despite the problems with the reboot, Wingefors said "no" when asked if the relatively poor reception had changed his opinion on the long-term future of the Saints Row series. "You always want every installment of any IP to be greater than the last one," he explained. "[There] is quite a process to evaluate your position, the outcomes, and there's hundreds of people engaged in this game within the group. So I still have great trust in those people, and I'm sure they will recommend things for the future." And, interestingly, during the Q&A portion of the presentation he implied that the Saints Row series is not a great moneymaker even at the best of times, presumably a reflection of its relatively high development costs: "We all know that Saints Row, for example, is one of the harder ones in terms of return on investment. Now that's a way behind us—and we will make money." View the full article

High-end Swedish watchmaker Anicorn has announced a collaboration with Kojima Productions and NASA, resulting in a beautiful watch called Homo Ludens. It's silver with golden details, with NASA stamped prominently below-centre on the dial, and the Kojima Productions tagline of 'From Sapiens to Ludens' engraved on the outer casing. Anicorn says that the project's been two years in the making, and it designed the watch under the supervision of Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa. The watch apparently represents "the correlation of Time, Space and Homo Ludens" and Anicorn was "inspired by Ludens to proclaim creativity, imagination and the play element in culture." Ludens is the name of the Kojima Productions mascot (designed by Shinkawa and representing an astronaut exploring digital space), and no doubt Kojima's delighted that they were able to get the NASA logo on there (the space agency has previously collaborated with Anicorn). The timepiece's design is meant to echo that of the EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity and a nice Evangelion reference) suit, to the extent that the sales material calls it an "EVA Creative Suit on the wrist." The watch isn't the only thing that's come out of this, oh no. There's a t-shirt with the NASA logo on the front and the Kojima Productions motto on the back with EVA suit details, and also a Ludens sacoche, which is French for bag. They couldn't call it a Ludens bag? Then the pièce de résistance: "Exclusively included in the Rare Edition, Ludens Mask is a 1:1 life size collectible that is actually wearable—Everyone of us is Ludens." Yeah you read that right. This thing is called, and it deserves the all-caps, SPACE LUDENS and comes in the Ludens Mask Rare Edition. One hundred of these will be available, and they are produced to a movie props standard (whatever that means, I've seen some pretty bad movie props) through the "Multi Jet Fusion process". Which does sound like rather an exciting way to make a mask. (Image credit: Anicorn) SPACE LUDENS will be "presented in a special box which contains a metal numbered plate with individual number and a tailored booklet of the collaboration story. Additional special art handling gloves are included in the Rare Edition." Including art handling gloves for a skull mask? This collaboration has some chutzpah alright. Should you have what I imagine will be several thousand dollars spare, the watch etcetera goes on-sale on 27 September. Anicorn's various collaborations all seem to sell out pretty quickly, and this will be no exception. The rest of us can, I suppose, stare into space. View the full article

As part of the new weekly challenges in Fortnite, you'll need to seek out and use a Mending Machine. Vending machines are nothing new in Fortnite, with Mending Machines dispensing healing items and the Weapon-O-Matic dishing out, well, weapons. You'll need to save up some gold bars and purchase items from a Mending Machine this week, so let's take a look at where to find them. Where to find Mending Machines in Fortnite Weapon-O-Matic vending machines can be found in almost every named location and POI across the battle royale map and there's often more than one in each area. There are fewer Mending Machines, though, and they are almost always found near gas stations. There are ten Mending Machines on the map, so here's where you can find them: At the centre of Greasy Grove South of Tilted Towers East of Cloudy Condos Northeast of Fort Jonesy Northwest of Shimmering Shrine In Coney Crossroads East of Lustrous Lagoon Northwest of Sleepy Sound Southeast of the Rave Cave West of Logjam Junction (Image credit: Epic Games) Once you find a Mending Machine, you can choose which type of healing item you need. You choices are: Bandage: 10 gold bars Small shield potion: 30 gold bars Medkit: 50 gold bars Patch up: 100 gold bars Shield potion: 120 gold bars You'll also need up to 120 gold bars for top-tier items, which you can get from downed players, completing quests and chests. View the full article

You know the bit before a big battle in Total War? Where you prep for the fight ahead by repositioning your units; setting formations, positioning your lines and just generally making everything nice and organised. The Great War: Western Front has this too. Only, here, the pre-battle phase represents the entire month leading up to the battle. And it's not neat, but rather the brutal reflection of years of ongoing conflict. You're not just shifting units around. You're preparing the battlefield for the conflict ahead. You'll dig out trenches and protect them with barbed wire. You'll fill those trenches with infantry, and further protect your territory with machine gun nests—creating a killzone to punish any push over no man's land. You're changing the landscape for years to come, in pursuit of a marginal victory that could slowly push the war in your favour. (Image credit: Frontier) This is a World War 1 RTS, which means victory won't be quick and easy. The mantra for The Great War: Western Front is that this will be a 'battle of inches'—marginal gains that slowly tip the war in your favour. Whether you choose to play as the Allies or the Central Powers, you won't be painting the strategic map in your colour. Instead, you win by grinding down your opponent—taking actions that will deplete their 'National Will'. This is the main resource of the campaign, and if either side lets it drop to zero, they lose the war. In a hands-off demo, Petroglyph gives me an overview of Theatre Command mode—the grand strategy layer of the campaign. Here, each turn represents a month of the war, and players are presented with events to respond to and missions to undertake. The events are a classic grand strategy affair—a problem with multiple options that have an effect on your various resources. In the demo, we see one about troops suffering from shellshock, and have the option to ignore it—losing National Will but saving money—or to address the issue by spending some cash. A mission from command requests an assault on Drocourt. If it's completed within three turns, it will mean a big boost to the Allies' National Will. But 'assault' does not mean 'capture'. Rather, the objective is to take hold of a specific control point on the battlefield. If successful, it will reduce the Central Powers' grip on the region—represented by stars on the tile. (Image credit: Frontier) "We don't want to overwhelm the player with 30 battles per turn," says lead designer Chris Becker. "So what the player can focus on is setting the key battles they want—this might be representative of key battles from history, but the player is defining what those are. We figure the player will have four or five battles every three or four turns, but they're all going to come at once." The idea here is that, if multiple battles happen on the same territory in the same turn, its defenders will suffer a morale penalty—they'll break easier and surrender faster. By attacking from multiple fronts within the same turn, you can reduce its hold and potentially take the area. Each map is persistent throughout the war. Drocurt's battlefield is already battered and scarred—a sign of previous battles that have been fought here. "Every turn you don't attack a territory, they'll regain one of their stars back," says Becker. "So if you're going to go for that line, you have to make sure you have a very coordinated assault." This is made easier by the fact that your units aren't limited by movement, and can be placed anywhere on the map once per turn. The era means troops can just get on a train to go where they need to be. And while this might sound strange to grand strategy fans used to worrying about supply lines and logistics, it allows the game to focus on being first-and-foremost an RTS. Loading into the Drocourt assault, we enter Field Commander mode—where the RTS battles take place. Each map is persistent throughout the war. Drocurt's battlefield is already battered and scarred—a sign of previous battles that have been fought here. Old trenches remain, and are a potential point of vulnerability, meaning the pre-planning phase also needs to take into account what already exists. A sprawling network of trenches only works if you have the manpower to defend it, and so what was strategically valuable in one battle could become a point of weakness in the next. (Image credit: Frontier) "Each battlefield is represented from one territory to the next," says Becker. "So the territory itself doesn't have a battlefield, but rather has a battlefield it shares with a neighbour. The more you fight on those lines, the more scarring you're going to see. The other one that happens a lot is the trench layouts get more complicated through each battle. That's not just your own, but also the enemy's. You can see the enemy is getting more detailed as you're fighting these battles. But you do have to be careful. If you have too many trenches and you can't fill them all, then your enemy is going to jump in and take advantage of that. So trench layout is very important." Eye in the sky In addition to building new trenches and shoring up defences, you can use the planning phase to attack the enemy too—setting up days of advanced artillery shelling in an attempt to create a path for your eventual assault. When the battle begins, an observation balloon reveals what's become of the battlefield. An enemy trench is destroyed, and they're reinforcing their troops—clear sign that the bombardment has had an effect. We also see that the enemy has an observation balloon of their own, and so launch an aerial balloon busting mission to disrupt their intel gathering. Aircraft are autonomous in The Great War, but will follow the orders that you assign. Here they set about finding and destroying balloons, but there are other missions too. In fact, in response to the balloon busters, the Central Powers launch an air superiority mission to bring them down. The Allies respond in kind, triggering a dogfight for control of the skies. (Image credit: Frontier) With the air war at a stalemate, the Central Powers launch an assault on our trenches, sending their troops through forests to mask their approach. We launch an artillery strike on the area, but without an exact position to target, some of their men get through. The Central Powers are also shelling our location in an attempt to suppress our forces and neuter our defence. But ultimately the barbed wire and machine guns do their job. The few troops that do survive the rush over no man's land are defeated in melee combat in the trenches. You can use the planning phase to attack the enemy too—setting up days of advanced artillery shelling in an attempt to create a path for your eventual assault. Time for a counter-attack. By using control groups, you can set up waves of attacks that will help your push into no man's land. The Allies first send through some tanks to draw fire, before following with the main infantry push. But even if we do make it to the trenches, the enemy will reinforce. This is where the mines come in. The Great War's tech tree exists on the command level, meaning your options will expand slowly as the years roll on. It's an extensive list that covers everything from infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft, but also espionage, economic upgrades and defensive options. Earlier in the demo, Becker selected the Death From Below option, which unlocks 'undermining'—a rather literal interpretation of the concept. (Image credit: Frontier) Placed during the pre-battle phase, these mines—literally just a bunch of explosives packed into a tunnel dug under enemy lines—will now make their presence felt. The explosion cuts off the enemy's attempt to reinforce, and also takes out some artillery, reducing the pressure on our push into no man's land. This is further helped by our own artillery, which is now firing a rolling barrage that kicks up a smoke screen to obscure our troops. As our troops start filtering into their trench line, the battle shifts. With reinforcements cut off, we're able to start clearing out trenches segment by segment—using our specialists, who followed in behind the main push, to make the most of our advantage. The skirmish is all but over, and we capture the control point with little resistance. At this point the fight could continue, but with the objective complete the Allies call for a ceasefire—ending the battle and, thus, the mission. The result is a great victory—a control point was captured and the Central Powers suffered heavy losses. But even a marginal victory will have an effect on the National Will. At this point in the game, it's 1916. As the years roll on, though, that effect on National Will will become more and more pronounced until eventually you're suffering huge penalties. "Because the game is based on National Will, there's a fixed end," says Becker. (Image credit: Frontier) With careful, tactical play, you can extend the war, but only up to 1919. "Events towards the end will start being more and more punitive on the National Will—eventually you're just going to run out. Whereas the actual war ended earlier, if a player is playing in a certain way he could theoretically extend it." There's an inherent danger in basing your game on World War 1. Even here, it's depicted as a war of marginal gains and losses that add up over the years until one side's literal will to fight drains away. But Petroglyph is focusing on the right things—leaning into the brutal battle of attrition, the technological arms race, the years of destruction being written into the battlefields themselves. It's harrowing, but tactically fascinating: an RTS where there's no real winner, just a side that loses the most. View the full article

After seven months of silence, Darks Souls 3 PvP servers on PC finally roared back to life at the end of August. It was fun while it lasted, but it didn't last long, because a month later they're offline again. Complaints about the gone-again servers began to appear on Steam yesterday, as players complained that they couldn't connect to servers, or in some cases launch the game at all. The problem appeared suddenly and was clearly widespread, but there was no indication about what had happened. The most recent announcement about Dark Souls 3 on Steam was posted in August, announcing the reactivation of servers. (Image credit: Valve (Steam)) A purported FromSoft player support message posted to Reddit yesterday acknowledged that Dark Souls 3 players on Steam were having problems logging into game servers, and promised that the matter was being investigated. For now though, the servers remain offline, and the problem was made public a few hours ago via the official Dark Souls 3 Twitter account, suggesting that another extended wait could be coming. "At this time, there is a confirmed issue with Dark Souls 3 online play via the Steam platform," the message states. "We are investigating the source of the problem and will inform you as soon as more details become available. Thank you for your patience." (Image credit: FromSoft (via Twitter)) The PC servers for all Dark Souls games went offline in January because of a security vulnerability that enabled malicious code to be run through their online functionality. The problem went unaddressed for months because FromSoft was dealing with the obvious priority of Elden Ring. But now we're pushing the end of September, Dark Souls 1 and 2 remain offline, and Dark Souls 3 couldn't even make it a month before running into more problems—and fans are understandably frustrated. "Here we go again. See you in eight months guys.""It's a real shame. The games are so lonely without player messages and bloodstains. I've been doing my yearly series replay and it's just so much quieter and sadder than usual.""You've got to be kidding me; the PC side of Fromsoft is an absolute clown show. It's been like that ever since they put that awful DS1 PC port out. They really don't give a rat's 'donkey' about their PC crowd do they?""Aaahhhh 'frack' here we go again" There's been no further word about the problem from either FromSoft or Bandai Namco at this point, but I've reached out for more information and will update if I receive a reply. In the meantime, if you're feeling lost and lonely in the world of Dark Souls 3, there's an Official-Unofficial Server for Dark Souls 3 mod that might help ease the pain. View the full article

The United States' Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is devoting almost $700,000 of funding to a research project aimed at countering terrorist recruitment via games like Roblox, Ars Technica reports. The grant totals an incredibly specific $699,763, and will go to research aimed at the "development of a set of best practices and centralized resources for monitoring and evaluation of extremist activities". The project is being undertaken jointly by three organisations: the Middlebury Institute’s Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism; Take This, which focuses on mental health in gaming; and Logically, which looks at ways to deal with bad online behaviour. The research aims to find ways to counter radicalisation and terrorist recruitment via games like Roblox, alongside games from the like of Blizzard and Bungie. In other words, it's focusing on games that function as social hubs as well as playable experiences. The DHS grant announcement says that game devs both big and small "have lagged in awareness of how extremists may attempt to exploit their games". The Ars report points to a 2021 ADL survey as an example of the unchecked growth of extremist subcommunities in the underbelly of online gaming. The survey found that: 10% of surveyed people aged 13-17 had been exposed to white supremacist discussions and ideology in games.7% of adult online players were exposed to Holocaust denial while playing.Nearly half of the women and 41% of black people surveyed had experienced identity-based harassment while playing online. The grant also comes in the context of a recent shift in focus by the DHS that identifies "ethnically motivated violent extremists—specifically white supremacist extremists" as the "most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland". Dr. Rachel Kowert, of Take This, told Vice's Motherboard that the project's research would likely lean towards "white nationalism and white supremacy" in games. It makes sense, at least from my limited perspective. I may be an asocial hobgoblin who rarely plays big multiplayer stuff, but even I can rattle off various examples of times I've come across far-right loudmouths in my brief and infrequent multiplayer adventures. It was only last year, after all, that Discord had to purge over a thousand servers from its service for playing host to violent extremism. This is an ongoing problem across the whole internet, including gaming. Kowert told Vice that research of this kind was literally non-existent before the project began. It'll take more than a $700,000 grant to halt the spread of poisonous ideologies, of course, but with any luck the project will bring the problem some much-needed attention. View the full article

Steam Sale dates aren't the privileged info they used to be at Valve HQ: the sale calendar is revealed well in advance—usually, anyway—and the seasonal sales serve as predictable landmarks for expected savings. Still, with Steam now rolling out frequent genre-specific sales, there's still some soothsaying involved. Luckily, you've got someone handling the calendar-keeping for you. We're tracking all the confirmed Steam Sale dates as they're announced, so you can focus on curating your latest wishlist. Best of the best (Image credit: Paradox)2022 games: This year's launches Best PC games: All-time favorites Best free PC games: Freebie fest Best laptop games: Low-specs Steam sales happen on a pretty regular rhythm throughout the year, making them fairly easy to predict even if we don't know the dates just yet. Even with continued pandemic delays in development, Steam sales have been chugging along since 2020. Nothing stops this train. The seasonal sales during Summer, Autumn, and Winter generally offer the widest and deepest selection of discounts. Here's your handbook for the best times to expand your Steam library without emptying your wallet. When is the next Steam sale?Steam's next major sales event will be the Halloween Sale running from October 21 to November 1, 2022. Steam is calling it the "Steam Scream Fest" this year, but we can expect the usual emphasis on horror games and suitably spooky savings. Here are all the sale dates we know so far for this year: February 28 - March 7, 2022: Remote Play TogetherMarch 14 - March 21, 2022: JRPGsMarch 28 - April 4, 2022: SimFest - Hobby Edition (for job simulators)May 2 - May 9, 2022: Going Rogue: A Festival of Persistance (Roguelikes, Roguelites, Soulslikes, and Metroidvania)May 23 - May 30, 2022: Racing FestJune 13 - June 30, 2022: Steam Next FestJune 23 - July 7, 2022: Steam Summer SaleJuly 18 - July 25, 2022: Steam VR FestAugust 1 - August 8, 2022: Steam Survival FestSeptember 19 - September 26, 2022: Steam Bash BashOctober 3 - October 10, 2022: Steam Next FestOctober 25 - November 1, 2022: Halloween Sale (Steam Scream Fest) (Image credit: Valve) When is the next Steam Next Fest?The next Steam Next Fest will run from October 3 - October 10, 2022. These fests usually pop up multiple times a year, and the last one ran from June 13, 2022 to June 30, 2022. Steam Festivals (now called Next Fest) aren't sales, exactly, but they're another way to play games for cheap. Since 2020, Steam has been running regular festival weeks where hundreds of upcoming games offer free demos for you to play. It can be a daunting list to sort through, like sales are, but it's a great way to try something you've had your eye on. When do Steam sales usually happen? Steam's biggest sales (usually) occur at regular times of the year. Steam sales tend to start at at 6pm BST/1pm EDT/10am PDT on the third or fourth Thursday of their respective month, with the exception of Autumn/Black Friday sales, which have landed on Wednesdays in the last few years. Here's a list of last year's sales dates to give you an idea of when this year's Steam sales will happen: Steam Lunar New Year Sale 2021: February 11th - February 15th, 2021 Steam Golden Week Sale 2021: April 29th - May 6th, 2021 Steam Spring Sale 2021: May 27th - 31st, 2021 Steam Summer Sale 2021: June 24th - July 8th, 2021 Steam Halloween Sale 2021: October 28th - November 1st, 2021 Steam Black Friday/Autumn Sale 2021: November 24th - December 1st, 2021 Steam Winter Sale 2021: December 22nd - January 5th, 2021 How long do Steam sales last? The Summer and Winter sales are the big ones. They tend to last two weeks (ish). Other sales like the Lunar New Year sale and Black Friday sale last about one week. Which is the best Steam Sale? We tend to see the biggest discounts in the Summer and Winter sales, and the Summer sales tend to be the best. With Autumn and Winter sales following so close on the heels of Fall release season, there tend to be fewer big, recent titles with hefty discounts. By the following summer you can get great discounts on relatively new games. (Here's how long it usually takes for games to get cheap on Steam.) In the past, when we've rounded up the best Steam deals ever, we've seen some remarkable discounts. Valve's Portal 2 went from $50 to $5 in the Summer Sale a year after release. Steam sale tips Use your wishlist Whenever you see a game you might want, add it to your wishlist. You will receive notifications when wishlisted games are on sale and having a list makes it easier to resist buying unlisted games for the sake of it on impulse. If a game is not on your list, do you really want it? Looking for a way to quickly fill up your wishlist? Check out our round up of the top 100 games you can play on PC today. Here are 100 other smaller games judged by algorithm to be the best hidden gems on Steam. And these are the best PC games we recommend right now. Keep an eye on publisher bundles Publisher bundles can knock lots of money off entire series or catalogues. If you want to buy an individual Hitman game then you might want to check for a series bundle—chances are you could get all of the games for not much more. Snap up expansions and DLC Expansions can often feel a little overpriced, especially if they're only adding a few hours of new stuff to your game. In Steam sales you can pick up a lot of DLC for just a few bucks and reinvigorate games in your back catalogue. Stock up on indie treats You can get big percentage discounts on big budget games in the major Steam Sales, but even with a hefty trim those games can still cost 20 or 30 bucks. If you want to maximise the amount of play time you get out of a Steam sale, quality indie games go down to dollars, and even cents. If you need more storage to hold them all, these are the best SSDs for gaming right now. You can always wait for another sale If you're not going to play a game before the next big Steam sale rolls around, you might as well wait. Chances are the discounts will increase as the annual sales roll by, all while you're clearing your backlog. It's also much easier to wait on a purchase these days because there are no daily or flash deals. If you see a discount, you know that's going to be stable until the end of the sale so you can wait a few days to make a decision. Maybe that'll give you time to upgrade to one of the best gaming PCs, or pick out a new graphics card if you need to upgrade. Check on weekends for publisher or themed sales It's not uncommon for a publisher to showcase all of its products on sale during a weekend, an event which is usually marked by a homepage takeover of sorts. Look out for these if you're after a blockbuster game at a better price. Consider Steam resellers if you don't want to wait for a sale Check out our guide on where to buy PC games, if you want more places to shop around. View the full article

RPG Time: The Legend of Wright is a game about playing a game, and that game is a ruled blue notebook pretending to be an RPG. Specifically it's the notebook of a boy named Kenta, every page bursting with giant monsters, bat-filled caves, and fantasy villages he's drawn all by himself. The presentation of this paper game-within-a-game is flawless. Flipped pages offer brief glimpses of adventures still to come; Kenta's music player always sits just off to one side, the displayed track title and album cover always changing to suit the story's mood. My play area is a simple wooden school desk for me to look over at my leisure, covered in coloured cardboard and a thousand bits of repurposed stationary. But every developer has a fancy pencil-effect shader and realistic looking materials at their fingertips these days, don't they? "Childhood drawings come to life" is not an original idea. What sets RPG Time apart is the way the game uses its handmade style to create objects that not only look real but act real too. Kenta's narration (complete with paper hats for each character he voices) really makes playing RPG Time feel like an excited friend is showing me the comic they made over a summer holiday. He enthusiastically scribbles fluffy white clouds an ominous black with his pencil when the monsters arrive in his story, invites us to peel off the brightly coloured sticky notes covering his comic panels, and introduces giant dragons as paper cut-outs stapled onto stripy straws. Our hero's sword is a pencil with a card hilt slid over the end, sharpened using a pencil sha—sorry, I mean "a blacksmith's forge"—and secret messages from the captured princess are delivered via paper planes that float onto the notebook and then unfold before my eyes, their slightly wonky creases still visible. The story Kenta shares is unapologetically a kids' idea of a grand RPG tale, where cliches are embraced without a hint of irony. Defeated enemies may become helpful friends, funny events can happen just because they raise a smile. It freely messes with its own continuity in a way that would inspire angry Reddit threads if it were a "real" story. Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス)Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス)Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス)Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス) Playing RPG Time as Kenta unfolds his fantasy feels like I have a friend working hard to make sure I enjoy myself above anything else. It's littered with optional items to leave behind, alternative choices to pick another day, and sidequests to ignore—the aim is always to play, and not necessarily in the complete-every-task way games have trained us to over the years. On the surface RPG Time is a celebration of the Dragon Quest-like RPGs that have brought joy to millions of people over the decades. But what this game really wants to champion with its deliberately amateurish framing is what we did as children with those stories after we'd been forced to turn the game off and sit at the dinner table. RPG Time hopes to be a loving reminder of how we used to play, how we used to draw legally-distinct Slimes in faltering felt tip pens for our He-Man toys to fight, how we used to decide who had won or lost a monster battle with friends based on the number of scribbles drawn on top of the other person's imaginary beast. When you've spent years learning what good games "should" look like, with their sensible rules, intelligent concepts, and careful balance, being invited to play feels almost revolutionary. RPG Time's tape measure life bars and cut-out achievements are a reminder of all I'd forgotten about playing games: I never hoped the sword-wielding heroes on my TV would take part in a cohesive storyline, have a backstory filled with political intrigue, or even a consistent moveset—I wanted them to have an adventure. I wanted spells that went FZZZ and evil magicians to go MWAHAHAHA. That's how you know they're evil! Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス)Image 2 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス)Image 3 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス)Image 4 of 4 (Image credit: 株式会社デスクワークス) Tapping into this childlike freedom allows RPG Time's world to be a charming stream of imaginative ideas born from paper cups and perler beads—and it's also why there's more creativity and variety in any 10 minutes of Kenta's homemade quest than I could ever hope to find in 10 hours of many triple-A RPGs. I've fished up a tank, enjoyed a hot bath with a turtle, and patiently queued with ants to grab a dessert. I've solved maths problems on a monster's shell and carefully popped a balloon with a compass' needle. Of all the RPGs I've ever played, this is the one where I honestly don't know what's coming next, but I know for sure I'm going to enjoy finding out. I might even dare to draw the next chapter myself, if I can find my old notebook. View the full article

Greetings Inheritors! We will be conducting scheduled maintenance at the following times: Maintenance Start Time: UTC: Sep 22 at 08:00 am CEST: Sep 22 at 10:00 am EDT: Sep 22 at 04:00 am PDT: Sep 22 at 01:00 am Maintenance End Time: UTC: Sep 22 at 1:00 pm CEST: Sep 22 at 3:00 pm EDT: Sep 22 at 09:00 am PDT: Sep 22 at 06:00 am * Please note that the game will shut down before maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your understanding! The ArcheAge TeamView the full article

A lil somethin somethin: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page here.View the full article

RTX 4090 release date: October 12, 2022RTX 4090 price: $1,599Built on Nvidia's Ada Lovelace architecture and using TSMC's N4 processNvidia claims the RTX 4090 offers 2–4x performance of the RTX 3090 TiFeaturing 16,384 CUDA Cores and 24GB of GDDR6X VRAM The wait is over. The rumour mill can stop spinning, however briefly, and we can pore over the details Nvidia has released for its new top card. And with Nvidia claiming that the top-end card, the GeForce RTX 4090, is 2-4X faster than its current fastest offering, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, it's a generation that is worth paying attention to, even if you can't quite muster the cash to buy one just yet. We now have the release dates, pricing, and core specifications for Nvidia's new GeForce RTX 40-series GPUs thanks to its GTC 2022 announcement. Built on its Ada Lovelace architecture and produced using TSMC's N4 process (nominally 4nm), there's plenty to get excited about Nvidia's newest silicon. Top of the pile is the GeForce RTX 4090, which will be the first card to be released. It's the most expensive offering of those announced so far, but it also packs a mighty punch when it comes, if Nvidia's own benchmarks are to be believed. Here's the lowdown on what's on offer. Release Date (Image credit: Nvidia) Only the top of the range GeForce RTX 4090 has a firm release date so far, and that's set for October 12. You can sign up to be notified when the cards are available over on Nvidia's site. Resellers are expected not to be taking pre-orders ahead of time either, which is all good by us. We're expecting review samples ahead of this date because obviously, you wouldn't want to drop serious cash on a card without seeing reviews first. Generally, review embargos lift a few days before the actual launch. There's nothing official from Nvidia on this front yet though. Price You can expect demand for these cards to be high, particularly at launch, so don't be surprised to see higher prices from resellers. The GeForce RTX 4090 has a starting price of $1,599. This makes it $100 more expensive than the GeForce RTX 3090 was at launch, although notably $400 cheaper than the $1,999 RTX 3090 Ti, which is the card Nvidia is comparing the performance of these new models to. It's worth noting that both the RTX 3090 and RTX 3090 Ti weren't really aimed at gamers, but more at the semi-professional crowd. This does help make sense of that price point, especially if you're using such cards for rendering and creative work. You know, where time is money. Performance (Image credit: Nvidia) We haven't got our hands on the GeForce RTX 4090 yet, so haven't been able to run our own suite of benchmarks on it. In the meantime, Nvidia has released some figures, just to show how its latest architecture compares with its previous best Ampere offering, the RTX 3090 Ti. In Microsoft Flight Simulator and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide you're looking at a respectable doubling of the frame rate. Nvidia boasts a more than quadrupling of the performance in Cyberpunk 2077 though, albeit using a new ray tracing setting called Overdrive, so we don't have anything we can compare that to just yet. The likes of Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Division 2 showing more modest improvements. Still, given the RTX 3090 Ti was no slouch when it came to high-end gaming, this is a good sign for the overall performance. Specs The GeForce RTX 4090 uses Nvidia's new Ada Lovelace architecture, boasts support for the new 3rd generation Ray tracing cores, 4th generation Tensor cores, and DLSS 3. Nvidia has stuck with the PCIe 4.0 interface for this generation and the card support Resizable BAR, Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate, and Vulkan RT API. Nvidia will be producing Founder Editions of the GeForce RTX 4090, although third parties will also be producing their own versions with their own cooling solutions. Such cards can be factory overclocking too, although the difference this makes in game can be slight. The GeForce RTX 4090 boasts an incredible 76.3 billion transistors, making it a significantly beefier chip than the existing Ampere GPUs, which rolled in at 28.3 billion. Nvidia RTX 40-series specs RTX 3090 TiRTX 4090 GPUGA102-350-A1AD102-300CUDA Cores10,75216,384Base Clock1,560MHz2,230MHzBoost Clock1,860MHz2,520MHzMemory Bus384-bit384-bitMemory Type24GB GDDR6X24GB GDDR6XMemory Speed21Gbps21GbpsGraphics Card Power (W)450W450WRequired System power (W)850W850WLaunch Price$1,999$1,599 View the full article

Mere days after winning plaudits for banning gambling advertisements on its platform, Twitch decided it had stacked up enough goodwill among streamers: and decided to piss them all off. Recently, there's been an increased push by content creators for Twitch to change its revenue split in favour of streamers: from the current 50/50 to 70/30. This came with a petition signed by 22,000 streamers and viewers, and was inspired by the revelation that Twitch was in fact paying some of the most prominent streamers a 70/30 revenue share already, but had stopped offering such deals even for the biggest channels. Twitch has now responded to these demands, with the corporate equivalent of a big red stamp saying DENIED. Dan Clancy, president of Twitch, published an open letter about the platform's new approach. It goes into some detail about why Twitch has reached the decision it has, while also including some empty platitudes about "our global community" and how "we support all streamers’ careers and ambitions like they’re our own." Essentially, Clancy says that the vast majority of Twitch streamers receive "a baseline revenue share of 50/50 on the net revenue from those earnings." That is to say, subscription revenue. But streamers who grew larger have in the past been offered "premium subscription terms" which were higher, without any "consistent framework to determine who would receive these deals and when." Clancy says that more than a year ago Twitch stopped offering such deals, although it continued to honour existing ones. Then there's a brilliant bit of table-flipping. Clancy says that Twitch realised it was (a) not being "transparent about the existence of such deals" (b) wasn't consistent in the criteria used to award them (ie there was none) and the coup de grace is (c) "we don’t believe it’s right for those on standard contracts to have varied revenue shares based on the size of the streamer." That is, the argument being made by streamers was that if big streamers are getting 70/30, that's unfair to the mass of smaller streamers on 50/50 who are also contributing to the wider Twitch ecosystem. Twitch is saying it accepts that argument: but rather than bringing all streamers up to parity, they're going to squish the big ones down. "For these streamers still on these premium deals, we’re adjusting the deal so that they retain their 70/30 revenue share split for the first $100K earned through subscription revenue," writes Clancy. "Revenue above $100K will be split at the standard 50/50 share split. We’re announcing this change now, but it won’t go into effect until after June 1, 2023. After that point, streamers will only be affected once their existing contract is up for renewal." Clancy touts a recent change to the ad revenue split (55% in favour of the streamer) as a mitigating factor, before going on to say, despite the guff about transparency, that "we will, in rare cases, continue to negotiate custom agreements on a case by case basis." While streamers are still catching their breath at this, Clancy goes in for the kill: why not 70/30? "When we first established a 50/50 revenue share split, it was to signal that we’re in this together," writes the president of the world's largest streaming platform, which itself is owned by Amazon. Amazed that this blog post announcing creator pay cuts, also included mention the site’s owner: Amazon, a literal trillion dollar company. Servers that can’t even support streams over 8k bitrate. Youtube offers 70/30 revenue split, and over quadruple the bitrate. pic.twitter.com/BH0kBm7z9RSeptember 21, 2022 See more Clancy goes on to say that Twitch has received feedback from 22,000 streamers about the 70/30 split and paying streamers faster. He says in response to the latter that the payout threshold has been halved to $50, and the company's long-term goal is "same day payouts and lower thresholds." Twitch says features such as Prime Subs, Community Gifting, Hype Train, and the Ads Incentive Program "have driven an increase of 27% more streamer revenue per viewer hour every year over the last five years. This means the same viewer hour now earns [streamers] three times more money than it did five years ago, on average." Therefore, goes the platform's logic, it has already "put more money into streamers’ pockets than 20% more subs revenue share would have." Then the haymaker: the cost of running Twitch. Clancy writes that "live video costs for a 100 [concurrent viewers] streamer who streams 200 hours a month are more than $1000 per month. We don’t typically talk about this because, frankly, you shouldn’t have to think about it. We’d rather you focus on doing what you do best. But to fully answer the question of 'why not 70/30,' ignoring the high cost of delivering the Twitch service would have meant giving you an incomplete answer." Twitch is here effectively saying that the platform's technology and featureset is what's enabling all the money to be made, and on top of that it is already subsidising smaller streamers. Clancy does not explicitly say, of course, that a streamer with 100 viewers who does 6-7 hours a day costs Twitch $1000 a month to host without necessarily bringing in $1000 a month. But that's the underlying argument. The letter ends with some lip service about communities and streamers and all the money to be made on Twitch, before including as an addendum the email sent to those streamers who will be affected by the change. The email details the change as follows: We will continue to offer you 70% of subscription revenue share for all subscription Tiers up to a maximum subscription revenue of $100K USD annually.For subscription revenue in excess of $100K USD, your sub revenue share rate will default to the standard Partner rate of 50% for Tier 1 subscriptions, 60% for Tier 2, and 70% for Tier 3 for the remainder of the 12-month period. The $100K USD threshold will be calculated over a 12-month period starting from your annual agreement renewal date. The $100K USD threshold will reset on the first day of the subsequent 12-month period, and each 12-month period thereafter.Once we implement this change, progress towards the $100K USD threshold will be trackable on your creator dashboard.The subscription revenue threshold of $100K USD applies to all subscription earnings, including Prime subscriptions, and will not impact any other revenue shared with you (advertising, Bits, etc.) So Twitch will no longer give the 70/30 split to any streamers after June 2023 but, for those on that deal, they get the sweetener of it continuing to apply to the first $100K in subs revenue. Spinning this as fairer to small streamers is pretty brazen, but at the same time there's a grain of truth to it: a flat structure for all but the most exceptional cases is arguably fairer than what exists now. It's also important to remember that Clancy may be the president of Twitch, but he's also the messenger for a business that is still apparently not turning a profit. I say apparently because Amazon doesn't release separate financials for Twitch. There is a tonne of money sloshing around this ecosystem, for sure, but in the long run Twitch must be self-sustaining: and the prospect of going from a 50% to a 30% cut in subs revenue must have given some execs sleepless nights. This is a super manipulative statement. The TL:DR is you're cutting your biggest partners revenue rates purely to push your ad program and make the average viewer experience suffer. It's worded as a noble thing when you're just trying to shove more ads down everyones throatsSeptember 21, 2022 See more Yesterday Twitch announced banning Gambling streams, which is great.Today they announced dropping partner revenue split by 20%, which means YouTube (the platform that keeps stealing top creators) now offers more & fairer pay for creators.We couldn't have one nice day Twitch. https://t.co/K9gi69vFq7September 21, 2022 See more One of the more interesting questions this raises is what, exactly, streamers are in the sense of employment. The huge ones sign contracts, sure, but for most streamers clicking their agreement on a TOS list is enough to get started, and then they're what in relation to the platform… a contractor? Certainly not an employee. There's a fuzziness about this relationship that, to be fair to both sides, exists because this way of making a living is still so new. This move is obviously something of a gamble. Twitch's biggest rival is Youtube, where the creator split from subs is already 70/30 and a host of stars have been tempted by big money deals. The bet is that Twitch is so big and the platform can offer so much more in terms of a streamer-dedicated featureset that even the larger streamers will grumble about this, then move on to the next thing. For all the patter about being in this together, this is a clear and simple stance. Twitch is telling streamers that the platform doesn't need them as much as they need it. View the full article

If you've an eye for modular technology, you may have been keeping up with Framework's brilliant dive into the DIY laptop scene. Our Dave seems to think this is the "future of gaming laptops" and although he may well be onto something, Framework has decided to bring us a svelte, and highly customisable Chromebook, ahead of the modular gaming monster we were dreaming of. Framework laptops are highly modular. You have the option to completely upgrade the system as you go, just as you would your desktop PC. Only there's also the potential to have any combination of ports jammed in the sides, too. Want just USB Type-C sockets? Go for it. With Framework even selling its CPU mainboard separately, there's a lot of potential for modders—some hero even turned a Framework laptop into a tablet with the parts available. A few months back, Framework brought DIY 12th Gen Intel upgrades to its laptops, and now the company has partnered with Google to create the 12th Gen Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition. It doesn't look like you can swap out the CPU on this one—it's certainly not been referenced as yet—but as Framework founder Nirab Patel says in the company's announcement vid: "The laptop has enough performance so you can play Steam games natively." Nebulous, I know, but I'm sure it'll play the Sims 4 at the very least via the Steam on ChromeOS Alpha. The base Chromebook Edition may not come with a discrete mobile GPU, but an Intel Core i5 1240P alone may not be as bad for gaming as you might expect. With just four Performance cores, eight Efficient cores, for a total of 20 threads across the lot, it's certainly no high-performance CPU. The 80 Intel Xe GPU execution units aren't going to play Metro Exodus on ultra settings anytime soon, either, especially not at the laptop's native 2256 x 1504 pixel display. But there may still be some fun times to be had on the road with the efficient-running Chrome operating system. (Image credit: Framework / Google) There's also something to be said about a 12 MB L3 cache, and the ability to boost from 1.70GHz base CPU frequency and 30W sustained performance, to 4.40GHz and 60W in turbo mode. The Core i5 1240P has even managed to outperform the i7-1260P in multi-thread workloads according to Notebook Check's Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro tests. Essentially, as is the same with Chromebooks across the board, the focus is on productivity. And now with Framework's help Google has extended that focus to DIY heads. "The pre-built configuration comes with 8GB of DDR4 and 256GB NVMe storage and can be upgraded to up to 64GB of DDR4 and 1TB of NVMe storage," the press release notes. That's a little disappointing considering Intel's 12th Gen CPUs should be compatible with DDR5 memory, but I guess you can't have everything. At least not without spending the big bucks. Perfect peripherals (Image credit: Colorwave)Best gaming mouse: the top rodents for gaming Best gaming keyboard: your PC's best friend... Best gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audio If the idea of rifling around in your laptops innards, Google style, is something you're interested in exploring, the Framework Chromebook Edition comes to preorder in the US and Canada today, with the base config going for $999. That feels like a lot of cash, considering we wouldn't recommend a gaming laptop with less than an RTX 3060 for that price, but all this modularity has got to count for something, right? Shipments start in late November/early December and you're looking at a fully refundable $100 deposit when you pre-order. You can also get on the waitlist for replacement parts and modules for the Chromebook Edition today at the Framework marketplace. View the full article

Valorant's 5.06 patch notes are here and they're calling out bad behaviour. Though the main focus of the patch is the large changes to the map Pearl, which I'll go over in detail, what piqued my curiosity is the brand new Disruptive Gameplay-based Behaviour Indicator. Valorant is now going to point out the players in each game that have been flagged as behaving in a disruptive manner. The patch notes simply state: "We've introduced a feature that will show at the end of game screen, which players have been detected for engaging in disruptive gameplay-based behaviour." This will be added to Unrated, Competitive, Spike Rush and Replication with others modes on the way. What disruptive behaviour means in this context is anyone's guess as Riot haven't clarified what that exactly means. Does it mean going afk mid-round? Does it mean language used in voice comms or using abilities to harm team mates to try and teamkill them? Perhaps. But Valorant will now point at you and laugh as you hide in shame as it knows you're being an 'wookie' in a video game. The patch notes' highlight is that Valorant's newest map, the underwater city Pearl, is getting a rework. Since the game's initial release, the maps Riot Games has launched have had their ups and downs—but mostly downs if players were to speak their mind on the topic. Each map, as Riot once said, asks a question. For example, Bind asks what happens when you're given teleports to go from one side of the map to the other quickly and Fracture asks if you'd like to cry. Oh sorry, I mean it asks how things change if there are two attacking sides. But Pearl? Pearl asks you how many angles you want to check and then triples it. Image 1 of 6 (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 2 of 6 (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 3 of 6 B Shops changes (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 4 of 6 B Shops changes (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 5 of 6 B Shops changes (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 6 of 6 B Shops changes (Image credit: Riot Games) It's no secret that Valorant is heavily influenced by the game formula of CS:GO. It's basically like its Gen-Z cousin, and although Valorant has a superpowered, sci-fi flair to it, Pearl was supposed to strip much of that flair back and give players a very simple, straight-forward experience by making a tight but complex map. Though it removes many gimmicks, it's now being reworked to make players spend less time checking angles and more time getting onto or defending sites. Patch notes for 5.06 reveal many of the changes for both attackers and defenders. Anyone who has played Pearl, for example, will know that when pushing B Main, there is a little waist-height wall down the edge of the map which you have to check when attacking as once-per-game, someone on the enemy team may be able to hide there. It's not frequently used it but slows down the push quite significantly when in reality there are already many places to hide on B-site already. That waist-height wall is now being lowered so no one can hide completely, it's easier to check, and more risky to hold. All the changes to Pearl are in this spirit, accelerating the flow of play and making the numerous places to hide fewer and farther between. Other changes include Mid Shop's pile of boxes disappearing in favour of a larger platform, which will typically aid flanks or rotations. Mid Shops to the central plaza is having a tricky corner removed for the same reason. Mid Top, by attacker spawn is being reduced in size so defenders have an easier time keeping mid control. Image 1 of 6 Art after (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 2 of 6 Art after (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 3 of 6 Art after (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 4 of 6 B link after (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 5 of 6 B Link after (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 6 of 6 Cubby after (Image credit: Riot Games) The removal company seems to have finally visited Art, because the boxes have been removed making this area far clearer. This helps both teams check and clear the area, when before it was hard to be aggressive for either team. And that clearing affects A Main and B Link too. Many boxes which were easy enough to conceal yourself behind have been removed, some vertical advantage points have been removed and my favourite little cubby on A Main has been removed, too. Shame, it was my favourite place for a Chamber teleport on attack. Perhaps what attackers will feel the consequence of the most is that the stairs down into A site from A Main have been narrowed so smoking it is easier on defence. Even without a smoke, defending that point will be easier with the smaller choke point. Image 1 of 2 A main to site before (Image credit: Riot Games)Image 2 of 2 A main to site after (Image credit: Riot Games) There are some small bug fixes too which you can check out in the full patch notes on the Valorant blog post. View the full article