Aura Monster Simulator codes (July 2026)

It’s leg day! Grind aura like you mean it with these new Aura Monster Simulator codes. As one of the most straightforward incremental simulators you’ll find on Roblox right now, new codes will either help you climb faster or reduce how far you need to climb. Either way works. Honestly, it’s largely dependent on how you choose to spend the free gems.

Believe it or not, Aura Monster Simulator is by no means the first Roblox game to task you with simply climbing stairs. It’s the first, that we’ve seen, at least, to offer a straight ascent. These stairs aren’t curved. And sure, that reduces the risk of falling off, but this one’s littered with spikes. One literal misstep and you’ll lose that hard-earned aura. Oh, and stand still, and you’ll surely lose your head. It’s like something out of a Stephen King book.

Here are the working Aura Monster Simulator codes:

• HUGE1KLIKES – 500 gems (new!)
• HAPPYBIRTHDAYDANIEL – secret code
• 500LIKES – 200 gems
• LATE100LIKES – 100 Gems
• AURAMONSTER – 2x Aura for one hour

Given there’s a pretty low chance of getting sniped on the staircase, weigh up the risk of your aura and click here to follow us on Google. If you’re safe from a rogue shot in the skull, click around – you’re sure to find a new code guide for what could be your new favorite Roblox experience.

How do I redeem Aura Monster Simulator codes?

Redeeming codes in Aura Monster Simulator really couldn’t be easier. We mean it. Just follow these steps:

• Launch Aura Monster Simulator.
• Click the ‘codes’ button on the left.
• Enter a working code.
• Click the ‘redeem’ button.

How do I climb faster in Aura Monster Simulator codes?

Almost anything you do in this incremental simulator will boost the potential of your next run. The higher you climb, the stronger you’ll be for your next ascent. Immediately after your first, be sure to equip your new title by clicking the appropriate tab on the inventory page. That’ll get you a few small Aura and Multiplier boosts after your first fall.

After that, speak to the Info/Titles NPC and work toward the nearest title goal. Once you hit 1k gems, grab an Aura from the shop, and you’ll be good to go.

How do I get more Aura Monster Simulator codes?

Every working code for the game can be found on the Aura Monster Simulator Discord. To join, look for the Discord link at the bottom of the game page. If you can’t find it, ensure your Roblox account is appropriately age-verified and give the page a refresh.

Once in, just check the ‘updates’ and ‘announcements’ channels for any working codes, or search “NEW CODE” in the bar at the top. The team is pretty consistent with how they announce new redeemables, so either option should pull up any code that hasn’t been deleted.

That’s exactly how we find new codes for hundreds of Roblox games every week, which means the list above is also the easiest way to spot new codes to claim. Leave it to us, and you won’t have to trawl another Discord server for free gems in Aura Monster Simulator. Save those clicks for the climb.

There you have it: new Aura Monster Simulator codes for free gems and more.

Minecraft shaders 2026 – Java and Bedrock graphics packs

How a game looks is one of its most important factors, especially in an age of photo-realism and ray tracing. So, even if you’re playing one of the most aesthetically uncomplicated video games to come out of recent years, you’re still entitled to want it to look its very best.

With Minecraft shaders, you can instantly level up the look of your Minecraft world, even without an expensive RTX graphics card. By adding special lighting mechanics, realistic raindrops, colored fog, and more, the best Minecraft shaders put a spectacular filter on your favorite game. We’ve tested out the best for both Java and Bedrock editions, and compiled a list of them right here.

Here are the best Minecraft shaders:

Java shaders

Stracciatella Shaders

Designed with Distance Horizons mod in mind, Stracciatella Shaders adds multi-light-sourced colored lighting to make the game look stunning, and it does this without taxing your PC as it’s surprisingly lightweight. Seeing is believing, so check out the video above to get a better idea of what DrDesten has accomplished.

Download Stracciatella Shaders.

Dreamlight

Dreamlight Shaders from HoneyStudios offers a lightweight shader pack that aims for a fantasy-inspired look, featuring realistic sunrises and sunsets coupled with enhanced skies and soft clouds. The result is a picturesque landscape that looks stunning at all times, and there’s even a cinematic tone mapping toggle that is perfect for taking screenshots or recording gameplay capture.

Download Dreamlight Shaders.

Vanilla Plus

Described as giving Minecraft “a modern and streamlined visual overhaul while staying faithful to the original visuals,” Vanilla Plus adds small, subtle tweaks to the base game’s style. We love Vanilla Plus for its beautiful muted tones. While colors remain bright, they have a slight pastel tint to them, making Minecraft easier on the eye. You can see this demonstrated in the image above, which compares Vanilla (center) with Chocopic (right) and SEUS (left).

Download Vanilla Plus.

Cursed Fog

Unlike the other horror-inspired shaders we have in this list, Cursed Fog applies a CRT mask to give Minecraft a creepy ’80s-nostalgia feel, almost as if you were playing the game through a VHS player. Cursed Fog offers a great way of changing up the feel of Minecraft without bogging down your system with heavy effects.

Download Cursed Fog.

Beyond Belief

Like the raindrops in Astralex, perhaps the most appealing feature of the Beyond Belief shader is its wet effect, which shows a subtle surface change on surfaces when it rains. There are also stunning volumetric clouds, motion blur, and slower, more natural animations for flora. To top it off, almost everything is toggleable to your preferences.

Download Beyond Belief shader.

Body Camera Shader

Experience Minecraft in an entirely new way with the Body Camera Shader from LoLip_p that simulates the effects of a traditional body camera. The fisheye effect and auto exposure functionality add a realistic element to the game, providing you with a fresh perspective for your next Minecraft adventure.

Download Body Camera Shader.

Bliss Shaders

With a mystical fog surrounding the whole world, green smog filling swamps, and a whirling storm above your head in The End, playing Minecraft with Bliss Shaders installed is almost like playing an entirely new game.

Download Bliss Shaders.

Rethinking Voxels

Rethinking Voxels improves the light and color in vanilla Minecraft, closely replicating what we might have seen if the official RTX version of our favorite game ever came to fruition.

Download Rethinking Voxels.

Photon Shaders

Photon Shaders really sticks out for its sky details, featuring starry night skies, auroras, and the most beautiful sunsets you could hope to see. The water, shadows, lighting, and other changes are just a bonus, and everything can be toggled on and off.

Download Photon Shaders.

Kappa Shader

Kappa Shader is a realistic shader pack with cute, fluffy clouds and leaves, as well as realistic blocks, water, and more. Some of the best aspects of this shader pack are its lens effects (which can be turned off), including lens flares and customizable depth of field.

Download Kappa Shader.

Spooklementary

Based on Emin’s Complementary Shaders, also featured below, Spooklementary features many of the best-loved things about Complementary: its fluffy clouds, realistic water, and glowing lava, but with a thick layer of grime on top, resulting in what you can see above. And it looks bloody brilliant.

Download Spooklementary.

Complementary Shaders Unbound

Complementary Shaders often stands heads and shoulders above its competition thanks to the customization options granted, including those based on your PC abilities and two different shader variants. Unbound is one of the two Complementary variants, and our favorite. However, you might prefer the Reimagined style which maintains some elements of vanilla Minecraft, like the surface of water and blocky clouds, while still maintaining that gloss of a good shader pack.

Download Complementary Shaders.

Super Duper Vanilla

Many Minecraft shaders are looking to fill the gap left when the Super Duper Graphics update was cancelled, but perhaps none get quite as close as Super Duper Vanilla. This stunning shader pack overhauls the lighting and shadows in every Minecraft realm – we particularly adore the sky in The End – and it even runs well on fairly low-end PCs.

Download Super Duper Vanilla.

Astralex Shaders

Astralex Shaders is a stunning texture pack based on BSL and Continuum. Focused mainly on lighting, water, and effects, this pack literally glows, giving the illusion of ray tracing. What we really love in Astralex is the raindrops that appear as it rains. We also can’t get enough of the toggleable film grain overlays and brilliantly starry night sky, complete with constellations and shooting stars.

Download Astralex Shaders.

Minecraft PSX Shader

The Minecraft PSX shader pack looks incredibly nostalgic, and such great attention to detail has been paid to the feel of the game. We’ve not done it justice with a simple image above, but we’d rather leave the initial feeling for when you load into your world, as even moving has the same shaky feel of ’90s PlayStation games.

Download Minecraft PSX shader pack.

PixelCraft

Similar to the PSX Shader, PixelCraft shaders transform Minecraft into a pixel-style retro game, this time using Complementary shaders as a base to create a truly unique effect. PixelCraft works particularly well when taking beautiful screenshots, but you might find it difficult to play with this on, as it can feel like your eyesight has suddenly gone bad.

Download PixelCraft shaders.

Continuum Shaders

Upon installing Continuum, you’ll be greeted with photo-realistic lighting effects: color gradients across the skybox, true-to-life clouds, and shadows that adjust in shape and angle with the sun’s position.

Download Continuum.

Sildurs Vibrant Shaders

Sildurs Vibrant Shaders offers plenty for budding graphics enthusiasts, overhauling the lighting tech to add the holiest volumetric lighting imaginable, gorgeous reflections, and bloom effects. Alternatively, there’s the Enhanced pack, which has some neat effects and can be tuned in case your rig resembles a potato with some jump leads attached to it.

Download Sildurs Vibrant Shaders.

Werrus

While most will rightly point out the impressive shadow work in the Werrus Shader Pack, the water effects merit its inclusion on this list. The color, gentle waves, and sense of depth are difficult to beat, and it runs on pretty much any PC. The lighting and shadows are at their best at night and make encountering a skeleton archer in pitch-black terrifying.

Download Werrus Shader Pack.

BSL Shaders

BSL Shaders deliver some of the best visuals you can get in Minecraft without breaking your rig. The lighting is warm and welcoming, the water is realistic without contrasting too much with the blocky environment, and there’s a tangible atmosphere wherever you look.

Download BSL Shaders.

Solas Shaders

Solas Shaders were created as an offshoot of BSL Shaders, the successor to the Prismarine shaders. What makes Solas stand out is its fancy sky effects, including the aurora borealis, the Milky Way, and the Ender Nebula. If you aren’t too afraid to venture out into the overworld after dark, there are some splendid sights to behold with these shaders installed.

Download Solas Shaders.

Pastel Shaders

The Minecraft Pastel shaders feature a subtle color change to the world around you. With various color profiles to choose from, you can give your world a pink, blue, or yellow hue. From there, you can decide whether to add other shaders and texture packs to further alter your world or stick to the slightly more pastel-tinged vanilla environment.

Download Minecraft Pastel shaders.

Insanity Shader

Perfect for the horror fans, Elocin’s Insanity Shader Pack adds a spooky look to any Minecraft game but is a particularly great addition to a horror mod pack. A nice, blue sky becomes grey and gloomy, rain becomes a deep, dense fog, and every scene, night or day, just has that lick of eerie paint over it.

Download Insanity Shader.

Ebin Resurrected

Ebin Resurrected shaders were inspired by SEUS, although out of the box, they look very different. The most noticeable change is that the clouds and foliage are impressively realistic, but there are some slight visual improvements everywhere you look.

Download Ebin Resurrected.

Nostalgia Shader

The Nostalgia Minecraft shader has a retro vibe and plenty of upgrades for performance and new features. We particularly like how it looks at dawn and during sunsets. Like a few other teams and packs on this list, the Nostalgia creators are also working on an RTX-like shader pack, NostalgiaVX.

Download Nostalgia.

Unreal Shaders

Unreal Shaders is a combination of shaders and textures that you can mix and match to perfect your Minecraft world to your liking. Including three different shaders and texture packs, as well as new biomes, immersive sounds, and more, Unreal is a simple way to change the look of Minecraft with just one download – you don’t even need Optifine.

Download Unreal Shaders.

Oceano

Oceano is renowned for its water effects because of its respect for the original, vanilla look of Minecraft. The landscape surrounding its realistic waters maintains a more vanilla look. That said, you’ll notice some other nice changes, like full grass blocks and textured trees.

Download Oceano.

SEUS

Named SEUS for short, Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders improves the realism of your Minecraft. Soft natural lighting, rain that adds a glossy sheen to every surface it touches, procedurally generated clouds, and much more await you in SEUS. While Sonic Ether does continue to work on modding projects, their shaders haven’t been updated for modern Minecraft. Fortunately, someone has converted the shaders to work with the latest versions of the game over at ResourcePack. Forget Minecraft RTX, this is true beauty.

Download SEUS.

How to install Java shaders

Getting Minecraft shaders up and running is a simple enough process. Before you start installing a shader pack, though, you’ll want to download and install Forge or Optifine. Remember that these aren’t always updated, so your options are limited if you want to run shaders on the latest version of Minecraft Java. Likewise, you must ensure the shader you’re downloading is for the same version of Minecraft Java you’re running.

To install Minecraft shaders in Java edition:

• Download the desired shader pack.
• Place the shader pack zip file in the Minecraft > .shaderpacks folder.
• .shaderpacks should be located in your AppData folder. If you can’t find it, type %appdata% in your search bar and locate the .minecraft folder within it.
• From the Minecraft Launcher, select the Optifine or Minecraft game version you need to run the shader and hit ‘Play’.
• Load your world or create a new world, and go to Options – Video Options – Shaders, then ensure the shader you want is selected, as seen in the image above.

Bedrock shaders

Vibrant Visuals

Vibrant Visuals is an official graphics option within Minecraft that is, according to Minecraft.net “a dazzling visual refresh” that leads to stunning shadows, reflections, and fogs. You can turn Vibrant Visuals on in the in-game ‘Video’ settings, and you can combine it with many of the shader packs below.

Revolution Vibrant Visuals

This improvement on the vanilla Vibrant Visuals provides a warm glow over your whole world, as you can see in the image above – you’ve never seen sunsets quite like these. The goal of Revolution is to bring the look of Bedrock as close to that of Java as possible, and you’ll barely be able to tell the difference.

Download Revolution.

Lumenix Shader

For something a little more saturated, Lumenix is a great pick, adding a pop of color to your Minecraft world. Most of the shaders on this list are more toned down and realistic, but we can’t help but be drawn to something with a bit more vibrancy. Make sure you have the base Vibrant Visuals setting turned on to get the most out of Lumenix.

Download Lumenix.

BSLB Shaders

BLS Shaders is one of the most popular Java edition shaders, but what if you’re playing on Bedrock? Well, luckily, celebrated Bedrock creators Honey Studios have created BSLB, or BSL Bedrock, offering the same warm and realistic lighting, fog, and clouds as the original BSL.

Download BSL Bedrock.

How to install Bedrock shaders

To install Minecraft shaders in Bedrock edition:

• Check for any prerequisite downloads before downloading your desired shader pack.
• Locate the .mcpack in your downloads and double-click it to install it, then launch Minecraft.
• For a new world, click ‘Play’, then ‘Create New World’.
• For an existing world, click ‘Play’, locate your world and hit the ‘Edit’ button next to it.
• Scroll down to ‘Resource Packs’ and find your newly installed shader pack. Hit the ‘Activate’ button next to it.
• Complete any other settings you want for your new world, and click ‘Create’.

And there you go, the best Minecraft shaders to upgrade the game’s visuals and improve all of your favorite Minecraft biomes. If you’re looking to add a unique atmosphere to your favorite Minecraft maps, you can’t go wrong with any of our hand-picked shaders.

Slay the Spire 2 just got 15 new cards out of nowhere, including some big co-op heavy hitters

A new Slay the Spire 2 patch has just hit the beta branch, and this is a big one. In fact, you might want to pay attention even if you aren’t one to toy around with the testing side of the roguelike deckbuilder, because there’s a whole heap of additional cards that are designed to enhance co-op play, and some of them sound particularly strong. There are also a bunch of fresh balance changes in the works, a shiny visual overhaul for the latest boss Aeonglass, and some modding fixes that are planned “to come to the main branch soon.” Let’s take a look at exactly what’s in store.

The most exciting element of this Slay the Spire 2 update is the new cards. They might be specific to co-op, but playing with friends has quickly established itself as one of the best ways to enjoy StS 2, and if you haven’t tried it out yet, I’d highly encourage it. There’s one new colorless card, two for the Regent, and three for all of the other classes. Alongside this, Mega Crit has nerfed how much enemy block values scale up in two-player multiplayer specifically, making foes a little less tanky when you’re just in a pair.

You can read through the full list below, but the most notable takeaway is that a lot of them feel really strong, which seems to lean into the vibe of co-op Slay the Spire 2 being more about setting up cool combos and synergies rather than careful strategy. A lot of them will require you to communicate with your teammates that you’re going to play them (as they’ll affect the strength of their cards). The notable risk on some, such as Outrage, is that you’ll want to be careful you don’t accidentally mess up your teammate’s carefully built deck.

Here are all the new Slay the Spire 2 co-op cards:

Ironclad

• Midnight (rare attack): Cost 12 – Deal 99 (120) damage. Costs one less for each card exhausted this combat by anyone.
• Blaze (uncommon skill): Cost 2 – Give another player 5 (7) strength.
• Outrage (uncommon attack): Cost 0 – Deal 9 (13) damage. Add a copy of this card into everyone’s discard pile.

Silent

• Blade Symphony (uncommon skill): Cost 1 – Add 2 (3) Shivs to all players hands.
• Concoct (uncommon skill): Cost 0 – Another player’s attacks apply 3 (4) poison this turn.
• Fade (uncommon skill): Cost 0. Retain. Another player gains 6 (9) dexterity this turn.

Regent

• Plot (uncommon skill): Cost 1 – Next turn, all players draw 2 (3) cards.
• Constellation (uncommon skill): Cost 0 – Another player draws one card, gains one energy, and gains 9 (12) block.

Necrobinder

• Underworld (uncommon skill): Cost 2 – Whenever other players deal attack damage this turn, apply that much doom. Exhaust (upgrade removes exhaust).
• Soulbound (uncommon power): Cost 1 – (Upgrade adds Innate.) Choose an ally. Whenever you create a Soul, add a Soul to their draw pile.
• Cacophony (rare power): Cost 2 – Every 33 cards drawn by all players, deal 66 (99) damage to a random enemy.

Defect

• Hibernate (uncommon skill): Cost 2 – Channel 2 (3) Frost. This turn, your Frost grants all allies block.
• One For All (rare power): Cost 1 – Everyone’s zero-energy attacks deal 3 (4) additional damage.
• Imitation Learning (rare skill): Cost 1 – Choose another player. The next 2 (3) times they play a power, you play a copy of it. Exhaust.

Colorless

• The Ball (uncommon attack): Cost 1 – Deal 10 damage. Increase this card’s damage by 15 (25) this combat and give it to a random ally.

That’s an incredible amount of power across the board. Being able to create double the Souls, duplicate power effects, or enhance all of your partners’ attacks with the likes of doom or poison is almost assuredly going to lead to some very broken combos. I’m curious to see whether Mega Crit is just pushing the boat out to test whether this is a fun setup designed to embrace the more casual nature of co-op, or if it starts reining things in over future patches.

Across the rest of the balance changes, the most notable are a re-ordering of end-of-turn effects to help keep you safe from doom. Both the healing effect of the Regen Potion and the passive effects of Defect’s Orbs now trigger before doom is calculated, meaning you will now stay alive in cases where doom on your character would have previously killed you. This also means Orbs will be more effective at finishing off a doomed enemy.

Most of the other balance tweaks are buffs, although there are a few small block nerfs for the Ironclad and Regent, along with a cutback to the Silent’s Tracking. There’s also a randomize button for custom runs that will shuffle in two good modifiers and one bad one, along with picking a character for you. The Bestiary continues to expand with a stats section and event combat encounters, and there’s a handful of new art and animations.

Finally, Mega Crit has introduced a few major modding improvements, along with a handful of more niche minor ones that are specific to mod creators. It notes that modded and unmodded saves are kept separate from one another “as a protective measure,” which previously made it look as though progress had been wiped. Now, instead of starting fresh, your modded save will import a copy of your unmodded one (although progress after that will be kept separate). There should also be fewer ‘version conflict’ errors in modded multiplayer.

Slay the Spire 2 patch 0.108.0 is live now on the beta branch. You can take part via the properties menu, accessed through your Steam Library. Mega Crit is hoping to bring those big modding upgrades to the live version of StS 2 as soon as it can, while the other changes will likely arrive a little further down the road.

Windrose’s new Ashlands biome will expand your pirate escapades “significantly in scope”

Now that the post-launch waters have settled, Kraken Express is steering the ship towards its first big Windrose update. The pirate survival game exploded onto the scene in April in fittingly dramatic fashion – racking up more than two million sales and even briefly outstripping the pace of the mighty Rust on Steam. That’s a lot of adventurers ready for their next outing across the water, and the studio promises that our journey to the Windrose Ashlands will see “the main story and side quests grow significantly in scope.”

The Windrose developer makes clear up front that work on this next update “is still in its early stages,” and longer-term plans beyond that “are still taking shape.” However, it emphasizes, “We have always wanted Windrose to be a survival adventure with a strong narrative layer,” and with Ashlands that comes in the form of navigating the arrival of new factions in your hunt for the next of the Obols. “Hidden somewhere among the ruins of a long-forgotten Spanish colony, the Obol’s power has twisted lands already ravaged by volcanic eruptions, making them more dangerous than ever,” it teases, “and let’s just say you’re not the only one searching for the artifact.”

The Ashlands, unsurprisingly, are covered with volcanic ash, which preserves all manner of relics and secrets beneath it. As with other regions, it will comprise multiple islands, playing home to all the usuals: new enemies, items, resources, recipes, and a big boss showdown. “We want every biome to feel and play differently,” Kraken notes, “so on top of all the new content, we’re also looking into new biome mechanics to experiment with.”

Alongside this map expansion, the team believes that the core ship gameplay of Windrose “has a lot of room for expansions,” and it’s already pulled together a big list of community ideas and requests. While it doesn’t expect to get to all of these for the Ashlands update, it is currently investigating “at least one” more ship class (the brigantine, fluyt, and galleon are all in the works right now) along with faction-specific variants. It’s cooking up improvements to ship combat, and enhancements to the AI “such as NPC ships behaving more naturally, sailing in formations, and so on.”

What about wind? It’s obviously a fundamental aspect of real-life sailing, and Kraken Express is “aware” that it’s a popular request. “We’ll definitely be exploring this idea as well, and we originally intended to. But let us be crystal clear: we want it to be fun and simple. Windrose aims to be an adventure, without some of the more hardcore simulation aspects.” There’s also the promise of our sea shanty selection being “significantly expanded.” The developer thanks players for their enthusiastic response: “We were deeply touched by how well these were received.”

Also on the cards for the update is improved base building. Taking notes from the “amazingly creative builds you showcased,” Kraken is working on “a plethora of new decorations,” functional additions to existing building sets to help address gaps in the current lineup, and some building quality-of-life improvements. “We’re also happy to see that our camp NPCs were well received,” it concludes, “so we’ll be looking to expand this system as well.”

This is all still more of a “general direction” for the time being, Kraken Express reiterates, although it’s says it’s happy to take additional suggestions and questions from the community as it works on the Ashlands. “We’ll be sharing more details, including an estimated release window, as development progresses.”

The best WoW addons July 2026

What are the best WoW addons? Blizzard’s critically acclaimed MMORPG hides a lot of useful data it collects, and picking up a mod that offers a peek behind the curtain can be a literal game-changer when going up against deadly bosses. Of course, the best World of Warcraft addons aren’t just aimed at avid raiders. Some are more focused on utility and freshening up the MMO’s UI, while others help track material nodes for professions, décor pieces to be collected for your player home, or adds a GPS-style navigation tool to help you move around Azeroth and beyond.

With so many options, it’s tough to know which WoW addons are worth your time – or even work following Blizzard’s controversial mod crackdown for the Midnight expansion. We’ve dug deep and tracked down the best of the bunch for general, all-purpose use in one of the best PC games of all time. These must-have World of Warcraft addons will make your experience much more pleasant, whether you’re a raider, trader, or simply keen to level up fast.

WoW Midnight addons

Before we dive in, our list of WoW addons comes with a big caveat. Some addons that track real-time combat data, such as WeakAuras, no longer work following Midnight’s launch. While it’s typical for older and abandoned addons to be incompatible after new expansions drop, this ‘addon purge’ was a concerted effort from Blizzard to introduce new in-house tools and “level the playing field” for its players.

Here are the best WoW addons:

ElvUI

One of the most popular all-in-one addon collections, ElvUI earned its unique status as one of the best WoW addons. It provides a sleek revamp of the entire default WoW user interface, combining many of the most popular improvements to spell bar placement, inventory view, portraits, and basic utility. It automatically configures your display based on your role, and provides easy options for changing configurations, moving windows, binding keys, and a host of other tweaks to display and function.

Text windows are helpfully divided between chat channels, loot, and other screen-scrolling information. At the bottom of those windows and your mini-map, tiny configurable status displays tell you everything, including your resources, durability, and bag space. They can also give one-click access to your bags, your guild, or your friends list.

ElvUI is updated ridiculously often. Unlike most WoW addons, this package can’t be added to the Curse client; instead, you’ll need to update separately. There’s a paid client to do that automatically, but the ElvUI collection is available to install manually for free.

Waypoint UI

Bumper packs are all well and good, but sometimes, the best WoW addon is the one that points you in the right direction without any of the extra bells and whistles. Waypoint UI does just that, spawning a beam of light at the location of your tracked objective. As minimalist as it seems, there’s a ton of built-in customization and toggleable information, including sound effects, icons, contextual descriptions, and estimated arrival times.

And if you’re looking for an alternative, TomTom is another great choice, allowing you to also enter coordinates into the chat window (like those in our Decor Treasure Hunt riddle solutions guide), instantly spawning a location tracker for you to follow.

Home Bound

Home Bound is a relatively new addon that’s surged in popularity in WoW leading up to and following on from the release of Midnight, with over 4.9 million downloads as of July 2026. If player housing is something that’s right up your street and you’re looking to collect as many pieces of décor that you possibly can, this addon is it.

Providing handy 3D models of each individual item, as well as giving details on exactly what needs to be done to get it, you’re able to hide completed achievements easily to focus on what you’ve got left to do, as well as tracking additional items available through vendors, professions, and drops. With this one in tow, you’ll have the best decorated house your neighborhood has ever seen.

Plumber

Plumber is the QoL addon pack you’ve always wanted, extending WoW’s UI functions beyond the base game’s capabilities. With this mod installed, you can track items by adding them to the backpack currency counter bar, convert talking head frames to clean subtitles, create drawer macros to group spells together, enjoy seamless auto-loot, and more. Be warned: once you enable Plumber, you won’t be able to go back.

All The Things

Want to track those achievements, rare kills, items, treasures, pets, transmogs – or anything else you’re missing – and display them by the zone or area you’re in? The All The Things WoW addon has come to your rescue. It identifies everything you’re missing and presents them to you in one simple interface, allowing you to feed your inner Warcraft completionist obsession.

The mod gives you a nice heads-up for game content you might be missing and also provides extra tooltip information about the things you’re collecting. A fanfare of chimes announces when you’ve collected or lost new appearances, pets, or items. All The Things is a must for Warcraft collectors and a fun addon for most players.

Separate databases keep All The Things from slowing down your gameplay, too.

Deadly Boss Mods

For five-man dungeons, Deadly Boss Mods is a great quality of life improvement, giving you warnings about important things – the boss is about to use a spell, you need to interrupt that mob’s cast to save your buddy – and generally acting as your gameplay guide.

For raids, DBM is essential, helping you to navigate tricky boss mechanics, giving you timers for when important events are coming in a fight, and generally giving you advance notice about all the things you need to do to keep your groupmates from yelling at you.

DBM is our choice because of the funny choices in its sound files; for example, a mechanic that makes you scatter from your teammates is typically accompanied by Karazhan’s Big Bad Wolf yelling at you to “Run away, little girl, run away!” If you find that obnoxious, BigWigs Bossmods is another solid choice with less whimsy.

Details!

There are plenty of damage and healing counters out there, but Details! is our favorite for its flexible displays, intuitive handling of things like pet damage, and lightweight installation. This mod allows you to track your damage or healing output (including absorbs like shields) based on the spells you cast and the abilities you use, how they hit your opponents, and how you compare against your group.

We especially like the ability to mouse over individual players to quickly glance at what they’re casting and why they’re doing bigger numbers than you are. You can easily see segments like a single boss fight, or totals for an entire dungeon.

GTFO

This simple WoW addon does one thing: bark at you when you’re standing in something awful. A lifesaver for hectic boss fights, GTFO sounds a blaring alarm when you’re standing in fire and a warning tone when you’ve been hit by a single ability you could have avoided.

Simple, lightweight, and a shortcut to looking very smart in groups. This is largely an audio addon that is now ostensibly only usable in boss encounters post-Midnight. Nonetheless, it’s still very handy.

Auctioneer

There’s a lot of money to be made via the WoW auction house – if you know what you’re doing. Auctioneer goes some way to streamline the process. This addon for WoW effectively appraises items, providing you with an intelligent price to sell a product for, making it easy to undercut others in the auction house.

It doesn’t stop there, though. The Auctioneer suite also tracks your bidding, postings, and mail, making it a breeze to list plenty of items at once. There’s also extensive support for enchanting, with figures available for disenchanting as well as selling enchantments. Used correctly, it’s quite the moneymaker while saving you the effort of completing market analysis yourself.

Auctioneer boasts a truly impressive toolset, but it can be overwhelming if you use the Auction House on a more casual basis. If you find that many of the options available through Auctioneer are surplus to requirements, Auctionator is a lightweight alternative that’s guaranteed to fit the bill.

That said, if you really want to feed your inner goblin, TradeSkill Master is the state-of-the-art for tracking and placing auctions, undercutting, combining raw materials from the auction house into items that sell for more, and the like. It comes with its own desktop app for maximum gold-making analysis and requires a separate download. It’ll identify good deals currently posted for sale and tell you what things should be worth. Using TSM correctly is a skill in itself, so we don’t recommend it for beginners.

Bagnon

Keeping an eye on your inventory is a complex business once you own a few large bags, or you have multiple characters. Bagnon is a lifesaver in this context. Instead of having to view items bag by bag, it collates all your items together in one simple-to-view inventory screen.

Each item has a different color assigned to it, depending on item quality, and there’s an intelligent search engine, too. This means you can see at a glance what’s going on inside your bags and that makes it easier for you to tidy them up.

Going one step further, the WoW addon also shows what all your characters possess, from how much gold they own to if certain items are duplicated across multiple characters. If you’re trying to move possessions from your main to an alt, it’s the perfect way to keep on top of everything.

Mythic Dungeon Tools

Mythic dungeons are WoW’s equivalent to military operations. They demand careful planning and forethought to complete, and going in unprepared can result in a quick wipe. If you’d prefer to skip homework, the Mythic Dungeon Tools mod is the ideal addon. This extensive dungeon planner maps out all NPCs on interactive map, which you can use to build a dungeon route to share with your party members. It even has a note system to let you communicate more complex strategies, too.

Rarity

Finding a rare item drop is immensely satisfying, but often it can be quite frustrating, too. The Rarity addon for WoW acknowledges that you want to know what the odds are of getting a good drop, tracking how many times you’ve tried to obtain everything from mounts to toys and battle pets.

In each case, it tells you how likely you are to obtain the item, tracks how long you’ve been trying, and determines how lucky you’ve been so far. No longer will you have to question whether you’re making progress or not, as you’ll have a proper idea of your chances through statistical analysis. Basically, it’ll keep you sane.

Due to a change in the way Warcraft handles looting, Rarity does poorly at tracking items that drop from mobs that come in groups or drop nothing at all. If they drop gold, you’ll get the correct count; if they don’t, that ‘attempt’ won’t register. Still, it’s a useful tool.

HandyNotes

World of Warcraft’s map is fairly good at showing you where you need to go, but it’s not perfect. HandyNotes fills an important gap in the form of being able to add notes as you go along. A quick alt-right click on the world map lets you type in whatever you need to remember. More importantly, published collections of HandyNotes allow you to keep track of everything from the locations of treasure chests in Battle for Azeroth to the location (and whether you’ve killed them!) of rare creatures in Nazjatar or Mechagon.

As a result, HandyNotes is great for keeping track of locations such as secret entrances or even particularly scenic spots for light roleplaying. Prepackaged HandyNotes collections are their own WoW addons, but they all require HandyNotes to run. Alongside the Midnight HandyNotes, we highly recommend the Battle for Azeroth Treasures collection, and Nazjatar or Mechagon by TomCat’s Tours.

Angrier World Quests

WoW Legion brought with it World Quests: special daily and weekly quests for maximum-level characters. The problem was that World of Warcraft’s UI did a poor job of highlighting them and making them easy to track. Angrier World Quests does the job for Blizzard, tracking quests in previous zones as well as those in Battle for Azeroth.

It lists quests directly on the world map, showing what the rewards will be and allowing easy filtering for quests that fulfill today’s emissary requirements and those that award gold, Azerite power, loot, or War Resources.

While the original Angry World Quests has been effectively abandoned since 2018, Angrier World Quests is a worthy successor that continues to implement fixes and received regular updates into The War Within. However, if you’re looking for an alternative, we’d recommend World Quests List or World Quest Tracker, both of which offer similar functionality.

Bartender 4

Bartender 4 is a very useful mod that allows you to customize your action bars. It gives you full control over ten action bars, allowing you to customize their scale, position, fade-out settings, and more.

RareScanner

Never miss a nearby rare enemy again – RareScanner triumphantly announces rare monsters, treasures, and events in your immediate vicinity. Whenever a ‘vignette’ appears on the minimap – a star that denotes a rare, an event, or a treasure – an alert will sound, and a button will appear in the middle of your screen with the rare’s name and the loot that it drops. If you want to go after it, click the button, and a skull will appear over the NPC so you can track it down. RareScanner also adds icons for everything rare you discover and will show extra information about it on a tooltip.

BugGrabber / BugSack

If you’re a WoW addon fiend, odds are you’ve encountered the dreaded LUA error pop-up. This error usually occurs when one of your addons requires an update, and often appears at the most inopportune moments. BugGrabber and BugSack work together to catch these LUA pop-ups before they happen and produce a bug report to pass on to your favorite WoW addon creators. The more addons you have installed, the more likely you are to run into a bug, so these two are well worth picking up if you’d rather not have to deal with a pesky pop-up while you’re on the cusp of a raid wipe.

LiteMount

LiteMount is the best WoW addon for avid mount collectors, offering smart customization that outstrips WoW’s own mount randomizer button. Instead, LiteMount lets you summon rarer mounts more often, and can even identify the most thematically appropriate mounts to summon based on your location, faction, and class. It even takes into account druid travel forms, as well as item and journal mounts, so you can experience the full scope of your stable as you play.

Plater Nameplates

Plater Nameplates are an OP tool in World of Warcraft. With the game’s default UI, all you’ll see is an enemy’s health bar. However, once you’ve slapped Plater Nameplates on you’ll gain access to a world of information, including debuff tracking, enemy cast bars, and more. This is incredibly important if you’re whittling away at M+ or are looking to make a name for yourself in your raid group, as it’ll help you perfect your timings and understand AI behavior better. You can also color-code your plates, which is great when you need to quickly mark priority targets on a pull for your own reference.

Immersion

Immersion is the ideal WoW addon for players who find it difficult to parse the constant walls of text that appear when taking on quests or picking through lore. Instead, Immersion breaks it into bite-sized paragraphs you can click through at leisure. It also splits WoW’s bulky, old-fashioned quest frame into individual frames, complete with talking heads and dialogue selection buttons, allowing you to take in your surroundings (and the words on the screen) without sacrificing your immersion. If you prefer a clean UI that gets right to the heart of any matter in Azeroth, then Immersion is a must-have mod.

If you’re looking for an alternative in the same vein as Immersion but still want something feeling similar to vanilla WoW, DialogueUI adds a beautiful, modern-feeling parchment-paper replacement for the default quest window and Azeroth’s many books. It also adds a swooping camera the pulls in towards you and an NPC as you chat to them for that familiar RPG feel.

Narcissus

If you’re trying to showcase your transmog as if you’re at Stormwind fashion week, then Narcissus makes capturing your blue steel incredibly simple. It comes bundled with plenty of other character UI QoL improvements, too, including a cleaner way to compare gear, parse through different NPCs in a dedicated viewer, and take group selfies with the gang.

Clique

Clique is one for the macro lovers in the audience, allowing you to bind spells and macros to mouse and keyboard combinations, then ‘click-cast’ or ‘hover-cast’ over unit frames and other in-game elements. The value you get out of this WoW addon directly correlates with how much you put into it – healers and raid-ready spellcasters will have the most to gain from this addon, but Clique is guaranteed to cut down on reaction times across all classes.

Raider.IO

Raider.IO is a companion addon that accompanies the popular raid rankings site of the same name. Naturally, you’ll only see the benefit if you’re a dedicated Raider.IO user – but if you are, it’s well worth the installation. Instead of endlessly switching tabs to look up the raid progress and mythic scores of other players, you can see all that information in their in-game name panel, so you can spend less time in your web browser and more time raiding.

Scrap

Do you love to pack your inventory with junk but hate the arduous process of selling it all off? Scrap is a lightweight WoW addon that automatically sells off all your junk items whenever you speak to a merchant, with optional junk filters that identify any other non-grey items you typically prefer to sell as well. This lightweight WoW addon also repairs your equipment for you, leaving you with an empty bag and fresh gear at the click of a button.

Pawn

Are you tired of making endless mathematical calculations to decide whether to replace your equipment with the latest gear in your bag? No need to give up and equip any old item – Pawn is here to ensure that your gear score is always in tip-top shape. This lightweight WoW addon helps you to easily differentiate between items and see how they can benefit your specific class and spec by running all those calculations and spitting out a value in each item’s window pane, which you can easily compare and contrast at a glance.

Pawn even comes with an extensive site of options to import custom stat weights and track multiple specs at once if you switch your build on the regular. Unfortunately, previous WoW updates have disabled Pawn’s signature green arrows, but creator TravisSpomer assures that you can still get them back with your favorite bag addon.

Altoholic

If you have a ton of alt characters and keep losing track of them, salvation has arrived in the form of Altoholic. This f-alt-less add-on collates every data point you could possibly want across each of your characters, displaying them in an easily-parsable UI. Whether you want to check how breaded your alts are, or what they’ve got stashed away, Altoholic provides the goods.

OPie

Cluttered action bars can be an absolute nightmare to navigate, and a messy UI can more than mar your immersion. OPie offers a pretty slick solution, granting you the ability to stack bindings into action rings – action rings that only appear on your screen when their keybind is pressed. It might take some getting used to, but the drag and release element of selecting what to use in each ring is really slick when you get the muscle memory down.

RCLootCouncil

Dishing out loot after a raid can often become a contentious moment for any guild. The Loot Council system certainly has its pros and cons, but at the very least, with RCLootCouncil, it won’t take an age to divvy up the goods. Based on the need/greed/pass system, RCLootCouncil sends all of the loot to a Master Looter (typically the group leader), who then opens a session. Once gear candidates have made their choice, council members can then make an executive decision on who gets what. Simple.

Ultimate Mouse Cursor

WoW’s default cursor can be a bit of a pain to keep track of, especially in certain environments and during hectic encounters. Ultimate Mouse Cursor is the perfect pointer panacea, adding a set of rings around your clicker that not only add clarity, but show your cast and global cooldowns.

SenseiClassResourceBar

SenseiClassResourceBar is a bit of a mouthful, but this plugin is anything but obtuse. Providing crisp, clean resource bars that automatically detect your character’s class, this is a great set-and-forget addon that will help keep your UI crystal clear. It’s also incredibly customizable and resizable, so you can really go to town on making it fit your setup.

Now you’ve got the best WoW addons up and running, be sure to brush up on the best World of Warcraft console commands.

Additional contributions by Ava Thompson-Powell, Heather Newman, and Jennifer Allen.

Stuntman Hollywood is a genius idea with a massive amount of replayability

A new Stuntman game, the first one in 19 years, was one of the last things I expected to be revealed at PlayStation’s summer showcase. The more I thought about it, though, the more it became clear that Stuntman Hollywood is a genius idea. A nostalgic racing series that is good for both casual and hardcore fans, which utilizes Universal’s near-endless suite of IPs, is such a smart game to develop.

I spoke to Todd Hollenshead, Saber Interactive’s Head of Publishing, and Tim Willits, Chief Creative Officer, about the process behind the racing game’s conception, and it’s fascinatingly simple. “Literally, there was this database you could search through all the names of all the different IPs,” Willits said about Saber’s time under the Embracer group banner. “And it’s kind of like, whoa, Stuntman, that’s interesting,” he continued, suggesting Saber stumbled across the idea for Stuntman Hollywood when looking through what they had access to.

Still, they had to partner with Universal, having already worked closely with them on the Turok and Jurassic Park games. Hollenshead said “when we went to Universal, they were like, ‘we’ve got 1,000 movies, like, take your pick,’ and because we were using slivers of them, like it’s not a Fast and Furious game. It’s Fast and Furious; it’s Back to the Future; it’s Miami Vice; it’s Earthquake; it was great because the franchise owners thought it was cool.”

And that’s probably the most exciting aspect of Stuntman Hollywood. During my hands-on time with the game at SGF, I played levels from all of the films Hollenshead mentions, and it’s wonderful to live out both iconic scenes from billion-dollar blockbusters and reimaginings of oft-forgotten cult classics like Earthquake.

It’s a simple game. You jump into a car as the resident Stuntman erm… stuntman, and the director tells you what to do as you speed through the set. Get as close as you can to that parked car, take that jump as high as you can, or nail that drift between parked police cruisers. It’s fast-paced, chaotic, and extremely nostalgic. There’s not a whole lot that’s new for the series; you’ll know what you’re doing if you’ve played the previous game – it’s the IP tie-ins that are the new selling point.

The cars feel great, whether that’s the iconic DeLorean or Fast and Furious’ muscle cars, so you’re able to weave between obstacles with ease. There’s a level of precision that’s needed, but that only increases as you try to hit high scores and get all of the stars in each scene.

Both the original Stuntman game and Ignition were intensely tough games. “It’s important for us to make this as broad a base as possible,” Willits tells me, but that doesn’t mean the game is easy. While getting through a level with a mediocre score is simple enough, hitting green on every stunt in every scene will be reserved for only the most dedicated of players. Hollywood has a huge amount of replay value, not just for the hits of nostalgia, but to try and better your score again and again. Since it’s quite a simple game at heart, replayability is vital to making the game something you stick with and don’t just delete once you’ve beaten every level.

Getting that difficulty balance right wasn’t easy, though. The developers needed to ensure Hollywood isn’t as hard as the original game and not too easy for embattled racing fans. I spoke to Hollenshead and Willits about this to understand how tough it was for them.

“It’s funny you said that, because Todd will back me up on this. We have had so many discussions about that exactly, and it is tricky, because then there are people that say ‘I gotta get all the stars, I got this,’ but sometimes, for normal muggles it may be too difficult, so we’ve been spending an enormous amount of time balancing the game.

“We don’t want to discourage people from having fun, you know, so we have the different difficulty settings, but then you can go kind of hardcore, so we have the director scenes, and then we have some free-form stunts, so for folks like you that want to maybe have a little more challenge, we have those opportunities.”

I’m excited to get to grips with the challenging side of Stuntman Hollywood in full, and I want to see how many unexpected movies appear in the game. Stuntman is one of the most unique racing series ever released, and I’m glad it’s making a comeback.

The best Minecraft mods – PCGamesN

While vanilla Minecraft is amazing all on its own, its modding community has shipped a colossal amount of custom content over the years. The sheer volume of free Minecraft mods allows for endless possibilities, from massive texture packs to scary mods that introduce stalker enemies.

Before we begin, we must point out that we’ve stayed away from recent Minecraft mods built using AI tools, so you don’t need to worry about your computer being infected with potentially malicious files. Our ultimate list of the best Minecraft mods takes your game to another level, letting you reshape the sandbox game to your exact specifications. We’ve been curating our mod collection for quite some time, and it includes essential mods for everyone alongside new Minecraft mods stealing the spotlight.

Here are the best Minecraft mods right now:

Minecraft modpacks

Quark

For most experienced players, Quark is practically essential to any Minecraft playthrough. Quark is a huge modpack with a variety of features that significantly improve the base game across practically every aspect. From small quality-of-life tweaks that show exactly how much health items provide, to major changes like adding new biomes, mobs, and blocks, Quark offers everything you could want in one pack.

All the Mods 10

With around 500 mods included, All the Mods 10 features some of the best Minecraft mods around. There are automation mods, shaders, resource packs, and plenty of other world, optimization, and vanilla mods. If you aren’t sure what you want and are sick of scrolling through thousands of mods, All the Mods takes out a lot of the work.

Liminal Industries

Trapped inside the backrooms, a seemingly endless maze of office-like walls, Liminal Industries is essentially a giant escape room that you can only break free from by building a factory using the scraps from old, wooden office parts. The sheer size of the backrooms is daunting enough making it easy to get lost, but things really begin to heat up when you discover some of the monsters lurking in the darkness.

This modpack is definitely for more experienced Minecraft players due to its technical factory-building elements, which may force less knowledgeable players to reach for a wiki. Liminal Industries may be built in Minecraft, but the core gameplay loop couldn’t be further from the base game. Surviving in this strange space is only half the battle – the other half is trying to work out what you need to do to escape.

Minecraft world mods

Botania

If you’re wildly enthusiastic about magic and nature, then don’t sleep on the Botania Minecraft mod. Using the power of the earth, you can grow new mystical flowers and magical devices that can be used for automation. In comparison to other automation mods like Immersive Engineering, Botania is more natural in focus, so if you prefer dirt to metal, this is the engineering mod for you.

Aquaculture 2

If you love a bit of peaceful fishing in Minecraft but are tired of pulling up the same salmon and cod, then give Aquaculture 2 a try. This Minecraft mod adds over 30 new fish, the ability to fish while swimming, new fishing rods, bobbins, and bait. There’s also an incredible new treasure loot table for fishing, which includes the mod’s own Neptunium tools and armor.

Cobblemon

As the latest Pokemon x Minecraft mod, Cobblemon has crafted new models for each Pokemon using Minecraft’s pixelated style, so these cute critters look more like actual Minecraft mobs. The world itself is fairly similar to Pixelmon, with the usual Minecraft world generation only slightly altered by a few new textures, including apricorns growing on normal vanilla Minecraft trees.

Alex’s Mobs

We know from the now-defunct Minecraft mob vote that players are always clamoring for additional animals, monsters, and humanoids to be added to vanilla Minecraft. Well, you don’t need to wait for the next big Minecraft update with Alex’s Mobs’ 89 new animals. This mix of realistic and fictional creatures includes skunks, tigers, sugar gliders, and a bone serpent, many of which have unique mechanics and drops.

Mystical Oak Tree

Next up is the Mystical Oak Tree mod by Supplementaries. We couldn’t resist including this mini-mod, where you can interact with a wise old talking oak with over 300 custom lines. Keep your eyes peeled for an oak tree with a face in any of the overworld biomes, and interact with the tree to hear jokes, facts, and more. Be careful not to talk to them during the day, as they don’t take it well to be woken from their sleep.

Ars Nouveau

The massive magical Ars Nouveau mod brings an incredible array of new features to Minecraft, allowing you to perform rituals to invoke weather patterns, craft your own spells to aid your survival, create different artifacts, and even summon magical mobs to use in automation.

Tinkers’ Construct

In Tinkers’ Construct, one of the best tool mods for Minecraft around, slime is an essential resource. There’s new slime, there are slime islands, and you can use them all to create smelteries and manufacture a range of new items, tools, and gear.

RLCraft

Still one of the most popular Minecraft mods of all time, RLCraft plays into the world’s love of fantasy with dragons, fairies, and more added to your Minecraft world. In addition to the range of terrifying and adorable new mobs, RLCraft features new biomes, new auto-generated structures like towers and dungeons, and an all-new survival experience.

Twilight Forest

This gorgeous mod adds a new portal and an entirely new dimension: the Twilight Forest. You’ll need to play as normal until you’ve gathered the materials to build the portal shown in the image above, but then you can completely overhaul your Minecraft experience with new dungeons, mythical creatures, and unique types of loot.

MCA Reborn

Replacing the identical villagers of old, MCA Reborn introduces you to uniquely named villagers, like Samantha shown above – but the changes don’t stop at appearance. As you interact with these new villagers, you build a relationship with them, ask them to follow you, carry out tasks for you, and once you’ve nurtured that relationship enough, ask them to marry you. Expanding on the original Minecraft Comes Alive, MCA Reborn takes inspiration from the likes of The Sims, giving your villagers moods and personalities that define your relationships with them.

Better Archeology

Expanding the Minecraft archeology mechanic, Better Archeology adds several new fossils to discover, and there are entirely new structures to scope out. The Temple of Light and the Catacombs add a certain Lara Croft element to Minecraft, tasking you with uncovering the secrets and hidden items within the walls of these spooky areas.

The archeology table, which you can see above, is required to unlock the secrets of unknown artifacts. Brush away the dirt, and you can find a unique new enchantment, including tunneling, which allows you to dig two blocks at a time. There’s so much more to find in Better Archeology, so we recommend you just dig in.

BetterEnd

The BetterEnd mod from BetterX overhauls The End into a spectacularly beautiful world with an incredible 24 biomes, new mobs, and stunning new flora. The End is an entire game within a game with this mod, and you’ll lose hours exploring the glittering new environment.

Better MC

The maker’s vision of what Minecraft should have been, Better MC is a collection that adds multiple bosses, mobs, crops, items, dimensions, quests, and more to give you the comprehensive Minecraft experience you never knew you needed. Minecraft will never be the same again once you’ve tried Better MC.

Serene Seasons

While you can get from winter to summer in Minecraft by traveling between a Snowy Taiga and a Desert biome, the Serene Seasons mod brings seasonal changes to biomes, including amended crop growth and weather patterns. Biomes that aren’t usually snowy will see snowfall with Serene Seasons turned on, and you’ll see brown and orange leaves throughout autumn.

Minecraft horror mods

From the Fog

Do you ever wish the Herobrine myth were real? In case you’re unaware, this myth is about a creepy NPC that stalks you as you roam the world at night, with its bright white eyes peering out at you from behind trees. From the Fog is a terrifying Minecraft mod that not only bring the myth to life, but zombie sculk Herobrine along with it.

Weeping Angels

If you’ve ever seen the incredible Doctor Who episode that inspired this mod, then you’ll know exactly what you’re in for. The Weeping Angels mod introduces the new Weeping Angel mob, a stony statue that looks harmless enough all the time you’re looking at it. Turn your back, though, and the once-static entities turn deadly.

Cave Dweller

Most Minecraft horror mods simply add new and terrifying mobs to freak you out as you play. Of those, Cave Dweller is among the best. Adding another deadly creature to the survival game’s cave system might not seem like much when you’re used to skeletons and zombies, but this is something else entirely.

The Cave Dweller is a dark creature that’s difficult to see hiding in the shadows and can follow you down corridors as if appearing from nowhere. And if that weren’t enough, there are new scary sounds to accompany it. This Cave Dweller mod is the original, but it’s so popular that there are plenty of spin-offs and extended versions to try, too.

The Knocker

So, you’ve got Cave Dweller installed, you’ve survived another day underground, and you peacefully head back to your home above ground. Doesn’t that seem just a tad too simple? Add The Knocker into the mix, a terrifying above-ground mob that knows where you live and isn’t afraid to let himself in.

Nyf’s Spiders

The Nyf’s Spiders mod changes the behavior of Minecraft’s eight-legged creatures to make them more realistic. They climb walls and ceilings in a more realistic manner than in the vanilla game, and their pathing has been improved to make them less janky – meaning they can reach you more easily. Quick, run away!

Minecraft performance mods

Optifine

You’ll likely need Optifine installed before you can run Minecraft shaders, but even on its own, it provides dynamic lighting, improved textures, and a performance boost. Optifine should be fine on most PC setups, but if you’re playing on a potato, grab Fastcraft instead. It significantly improves performance on lower-end machines, particularly with many Minecraft mods installed.

Sodium

Sodium is one of the most popular Minecraft optimization mods, downloaded by millions of players to help run the game more smoothly. Essentially, thanks to lots of smart technical stuff in the background, Sodium improves the stability of Minecraft on many PCs, decreasing the number of lag spikes while playing and improving the way traversing your Minecraft world and battling monsters both look and feel.

Distant Horizons

The Distant Horizons mod allows you to up that render distance without majorly affecting your frame rate. Naturally, to do so, it’s not quite the same view as what you’d get from just upping the in-game distance, and the distant horizons, if I may, are made up of simplified terrain.

Rather than being used to scope out structures, Distant Horizons makes your world look that much more beautiful – instead of cutting off at a sharp cliff. For reference, the image above has a standard render distance of 12 chunks, with a mod render distance of 512, with anything past 12 being rendered at the simplified level.

Mouse Tweaks

When you’re an expert Minecraft player, you should know all the tricks of the trade to get the job done as fast as possible. With the Mouse Tweaks mod, you can add a whole new set of shortcuts to your arsenal with a revamped right-click dragging mechanic, new left-click dragging tricks, and tweaks to the scroll wheel.

Minecraft survival mods

Waystones

With such a massive open world, getting back to where your home base is can sometimes be a giant hassle. However, with the Waystones mod, you can craft Waystones in survival mode and place them to allow travel between them. You can also make Warp Scrolls or Warp Stones to teleport from anywhere. The mod also allows for random generation in the world of these items and global Waystones for Minecraft servers or Minecraft adventure maps.

Traveler’s Backpacks

While the crafting recipe for bundles might be tough to complete, they’re an essential addition for adventuring and mining – but that doesn’t mean Tiviacz’s cute Traveler’s Backpacks aren’t still worth playing with instead. This adorable mod not only increases your storage capacity when you’re exploring the world, but it does so in style, giving you a choice of cute backpacks to match your environment.

Immersive Engineering

Where other automation mods might have fantastical machines that make extraction and crafting simpler, Immersive Engineering has realistic, resource-intensive machines that look and feel better. Sure, you might have to actually dig ores out of the ground with the massive, multi-block excavator that in itself requires building from scratch, but think how good it’s going to feel when it’s chugging along.

Supplementaries

The Supplementaries mod is an excellent complementary mod to use alongside vanilla Minecraft and adds many new Redstone items, decorative blocks, and other tools and equipment. If you ever felt like you needed a pulley system or a weather vane that produces a Redstone signal, then Supplementaries has it. Make sure to also keep in mind that you’ll need to also install the Moonlight Library to use this mod.

Biomes O’Plenty

If there aren’t enough vanilla Minecraft Biomes to keep you busy, Biomes O’Plenty adds masses of new areas across both the Overworld and the Nether: from the Alps to the Wasteland and everything in between. It adds a little more variety to tools, armor, food, and color while also adding a few extra blocks to build with.

Better Caves

After playing Minecraft for hundreds of hours, you’ll start to recognize how the game generates the world. Once that illusion has been shattered, things inevitably start to feel boring. That’s where Yung’s Better Caves mod comes in, providing a new way to reexperience the mystery of exploring caves. You’ll find underground lakes, flooded caverns, and lava-filled pools, among other things, in this essential mod.

Dungeons Enhanced

Minecraft has always been fairly limited in terms of the structures or dungeons you can happen upon in the open-world game. It stands to reason, then, that this could get repetitive. Enter the Dungeons Enhanced mod. This mod adds new dungeons and structures, increasing the total types to 27, and they all fit a medieval or fantasy theme. Download this mod, and you’ll soon be stumbling upon huge mazes, castles, or even a pyramid or two.

Better Fortresses

As illustrated by the image above, Yung’s Better Fortresses transforms the terrifying Nether by greatly extending its existing fortresses into even bigger, more magnificent structures, spanning multiple floors and featuring castle-like main buildings.

Better Mineshafts

With Yung’s Better Mineshafts mod installed, mineshafts now vary to match their biomes, and a rare mushroom biome can even be found if you explore enough. There are also new places to find valuable loot. On top of the usual minecart chests, you can also find materials at workstations and in cellars.

HarvestCraft

Pam’s HarvestCraft brings some serious variation to your Minecraft diet, giving you more to eat than the usual beef and carrots. Pam’s HarvestCraft is split into four separate mods: Food Core, Crops, Trees, and Food Extended, resulting in a Minecraft diet that is both lavish and balanced. If you want to make this a necessity rather than just a fun extension to vanilla Minecraft, use it alongside The Spice of Life, which both punish your poor eating habits.

Farmer’s Delight

If HarvestCraft isn’t for you, Farmer’s Delight by vectorwing is a perfect mod for Survival, letting you don your metaphorical chef’s hat and apron to cook up more tasty-looking voxel meals, including everything from salads to desserts. That’s not all, though, as perhaps the most important part of this mod for the mode is the addition of a brand new tool to help you scavenge resources with, as well as specific types of meals providing different buffs like Comfort for regenerating health, or Nourishment to prevent hunger.

Minecraft vanilla mods

Hole Filler

Arguably one of the best mods for anyone who hates messy environments, the Hole Filler mod from DannyBoyThomas instantly fills any holes that you have in your world. This is particularly useful after a creeper attack that has left the environment in ruins; now you can throw a Hole Filler into the chasm and immediately repair the damage.

Journeymap

With Journeymap, your map opens up as you explore, and you can view it on a full-screen map and a minimap, both of which are super customizable. While there are more Minecraft tools for finding your way than ever, from the recovery compass to the Lodestone, it’s still incredibly helpful to have a full map at your disposal.

Xaero’s Minimap

Xaero’s Minimap maps your world as you explore, letting you mark waypoints of interest and even warning you when Minecraft mobs sneak up behind you. The resultant minimap can be a unique rotating square or a classic circle, depending on your preferences, and while the minimap is kept as minimal as possible to avoid affecting performance, you can get even more features by adding Xaero’s World Map.

Nature’s Compass

Nature’s Compass and the Explorer’s Compass can be used to find any biome you’re after. Use the compass to bring up a list of biomes, select the one you want, and follow your compass. Shift-right-click to reset the compass to world spawn, or choose a new biome to change its direction. It’s as simple as that and feels a little less like cheating. The Explorer’s Compass works in the same way, leading you to structures instead of biomes.

Immersive Portals

It can be pretty scary throwing yourself headfirst into a Minecraft Nether or End Portal without knowing what’s on the other side. Thankfully, Immersive Portals changes that by showing you precisely what awaits on the other side.

Better Combat

The Better Combat mod has taken inspiration from Minecraft Dungeons’ combat animations, adding some much-needed flair to Steve’s fighting skills. With this mod, your Minecraft avatar can now swing, jab, and slice any which way you like – and even show off a combo with certain weapons. With a range of one-handed, two-handed, and even dual-wielding attack animations included, your fighting style has never looked or felt better.

Better F3

Better F3 doesn’t change gameplay, but it changes the incredibly useful F3 interface. If you have trouble parsing the information when it’s all the same color (we certainly do), Better F3 adds colored sections. This allows you to better differentiate between all those details and find exactly the information you’re looking for.

Peaceful Progression

The jump between creative and survival mode can be daunting, and while you do have access to peaceful difficulty, some elements aren’t available in this setting. With xen_42’s Peaceful Progression mod, you gain access to several items that require specific hostile mobs without needing to harm anything in the process. It also adds hunger to peaceful difficulty, but the effects are purely cosmetic and will not cause you to lose any health if you can’t eat anything.

Enchantment Descriptions

For those who need a reminder of what the Minecraft enchantments do at a glance, the Enchantment Descriptions mod gives you the description of any enchanted book in your inventory. This mod also supports modded enchantments and will display these tooltips in over 13 languages.

Carpet

Carpet is a complex peek behind the curtain of your vanilla world, and we wouldn’t recommend it to players new to the modding world. However, if you’re familiar with some of the more intricate aspects of the game, then you can use the Carpet mod to alter and mess with your own vanilla world, risk-free.

With Carpet installed, you automatically load into any of your existing Minecraft worlds, and nothing has changed. However, you can use Minecraft commands to meddle with things, including fixing bugs, changing mechanics, and utilizing creative tools. Carpet is fully customizable and compatible with vanilla Minecraft, so you can turn commands on and off at will, including all of them at any time, simply reverting to your vanilla world.

Not Enough Animations

When it comes to playing in third-person, not a lot of love and care has been placed into making the animations truly shine. Created by tr7zw, the Not Enough Animations mod fixes this glaring issue by adding in some much-needed animations. Simple things like being able to watch your player model eat and drink, or even read maps, have been addressed. Our personal favorite fix is the change to boat rowing, making it so that the player in the boat isn’t sitting there staring into the void.

Physics Mod

Haubna’s Physics Mod can be smoothly implemented into a vanilla world without changing much, but the crumbling structure mechanic is a pretty darn cool addition to have. Break a few blocks, and, depending on gravity and the surrounding blocks, the area comes crashing down. This won’t deal any damage to you and doesn’t impact resource collection.

This isn’t the only feature, though, as there are also crumbling mods or ragdoll mods, whichever you prefer, and items no longer float about the ground as they fall to the floor in a more natural way.

Veinminer

Veinminer might be a mod you’ve seen content creators using, allowing you to mine an entire vein in one go, which makes mining so much faster. Even better, Veinminer is vastly customizable, so you can make sure the settings suit your needs and give yourself the option to mine a single mine or a full vein depending on the situation.

World Edit

World Edit gives players an easy way of building magnificent creations in Minecraft, with copy, paste, and move features and the ability to switch out one block type for another. Whether you’re playing in Creative or Survival mode, this is one Minecraft mod to know about if you’re a builder.

Just Enough Items

If you need an antidote to the pain of alt-tabbing to a wiki while playing Minecraft, then turn to Just Enough Items (or JEI). It lets you look up the recipe for any item through a nifty interface on Minecraft’s inventory screen.

Presence Footsteps

Mojang is making a concerted effort to improve the overall atmosphere of vanilla Minecraft right now. The 1.21.5 update released in 2025 introduced falling leaves, desert sound effects, and pretty firefly bushes, along with wildflowers and leaf litter. What they haven’t yet added, though, are crunchy footsteps as you walk through those leaves or step on the desert’s dead bushes.

That’s where Presence Footsteps comes in. This mod, based on a mod by Huricaaan, doesn’t only add satisfying underfoot sound effects but also includes creaky chests and bubbling magma. A perfect addition to the base game.

The One Probe

The One Probe, or TOP, is a more highly configurable version of Waila and Jade. The others have the UI available at all times, which you might like, but you may also find it a little intrusive. TOP, on the other hand, can be configured to only show what you’re looking at when you are holding the probe. This gives you more control over the appearance of the interface. What’s more, you can further customize just which information you want to see, including block break progress and mob health.

How to install Minecraft mods

There are several ways to install Minecraft mods, depending on whether you want to install a management app or implement each mod individually. It might also depend on the mod itself, so check individual mod pages for specific instructions; for example, BetterEnd can only be installed via Fabric.

To install Minecraft mods using a mod manager:

• Download your chosen mod manager. We recommend Modrinth, Forge, Fabric, or Curseforge.
• Open your chosen launcher, and find and install mods within the app.
• Create separate profiles to load multiple mods at once.
• Load Minecraft through your mod manager.

The benefit to this option is that you can see all your downloaded mods in one place, and group them together into mod packs easily. It’s also much easier to run more than one mod at once through a manager.

To install Minecraft mods manually:

• Download your chosen mods using the links above.
• Unzip files, and move unzipped files into your Minecraft mods folder.
• Launch Minecraft.
• If you are unsure where to find your Minecraft folder, type %appdata% into your search bar, and find the folder named .minecraft.

Now that you’ve got the best Minecraft mods, install Minecraft Forge for a handy tool to manage them all. We’ve also got the best Minecraft seeds to take your new mods for a spin in community worlds. Finally, don’t forget to check what’s coming in the next Minecraft update, or when we expect the next Minecraft Live.

WW2 RTS Company of Heroes has just been totally reimagined as a new, standalone roguelike

This is Company of Heroes, but like you’ve never seen it before. Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand is a new, standalone expansion that takes the fundamentals of the WW2 RTS series and reimagines it with a roguelite twist. Despite the naming, it’s a fully separate thing, meaning you won’t need to own CoH 3 to get in on the action (although you’ll benefit from a discount if you do). It supports single-player and co-op runs with a persistent progression system that lets your squad and tactics gradually evolve over time.

If you’re looking for a more replayable PvE strategy offering that keeps you on your toes, Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand is an idea I can support. The most recent entry in the series has long split fan opinion, but Relic Entertainment has been gradually evolving and improving it since launch, and the PvE side is in a good place nowadays. Final Stand takes that robust core and injects the run-based randomness of roguelikes, tasking you with surviving against a dozen increasingly challenging waves of enemy attacks.

As your run continues, you’ll be routinely offered the choice between potential upgrades. That could mean deciding if you should incorporate the ranger squad and their bonus weapon drops, or an M4 Sherman Bulldozer tank designed to crush through enemy infantry. Or it might ask you to decide between command abilities, from recon marking that makes your targets more vulnerable to attack, to airstrikes and long-ranged bombardments.

Final Stand brings in four stalwarts from the Company of Heroes lineup: the US Forces, the British Forces, the Wehrmacht, and the Deutsches Afrikakorps. Each faction has its own unique progression tree that you’ll be able to unlock as you complete runs and achieve certain goals, permanently increasing their power in various ways. To help ensure you don’t become too overpowered, there are a total of eight difficulty levels to work your way through, along with an optional endless mode.

The action takes place across five distinct battlegrounds, built by Relic to support the more wave-based nature of Final Stand versus more traditional RTS campaigns. It boasts a total of 36 boss units and 18 dynamic events that you can encounter over the course of the run. Whether you’re curious for a fresh spin on the tried-and-true format, or are interested in what should be a more approachable take on WW2 strategy, Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand is sounding like a good way to answer the call of duty.

Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand will be released on Wednesday July 29 via Steam, priced at $29.99 / £23.99. You can wishlist it now. There will be a 10% discount for everyone at launch, while anyone who already owns Company of Heroes 3 will get a bonus 20% bundle saving.

The series turns 20 in September this year, and Relic also recently announced that it would be giving the first entry a fresh coat of paint via the Company of Heroes: Definitive Edition. It’s also rolled out numerous additional pieces of battlegroup DLC for CoH 3 in recent months, and promises “continued support, update, and new content across the franchise” for the future.

Rust’s Common Ground update lets you set up clans, a shop, or kick back in your apartment

The July update for Rust, ‘Common Ground’ is finally here, bringing with it a set of patch notes and a huge amount of new features. Now, Facepunch is looking to its Monuments, adding two brand new ones: The Apartment Complex, which lets you rent rooms when getting started with a wipe, and Rentable Shops to sell items to other players.

A brand new Clan system is also arriving in Rust, proving that common ground can be found anywhere – well, as long as you manage it at the new Clan Tables. But that’s not all, as progression changes to the survival game’s Softcore mode also show up, with adjustments to when raids can actually take place, too.

The Apartment Complex lets you rent rooms that offer their own perks, all the way from basements up to penthouses. You’ll also be able to find a master key if you’re feeling particularly light-fingered, whether you’re looking to steal from a room or at the second Monument. On the other side of the fence, if you’re feeling business savvy, Rentable Shops let you set up and modify what’s in stock, and you can even show off your personal style by changing up what appears on the shop’s sign.

Softcore fans get a way to earn resources a bit faster, as a 2x multiplier has been added for animals, food, ore, and wood. And if you’re someone who dreads raiding getting in the way of your decorating, you can now set aside plenty of time for creating a cozy space before setting out on a raid between 6 and 9pm on your server’s local time. Just make sure you’re inside a Tool Cupboard’s radius.

According to Facepunch’s patch notes, “Clans are a more advanced version of teams where you can have more members with different roles/permissions. There is a separate clan chat channel and announcement/MoTD text for communicating with clan members.”

While the system is unavailable in hardcore mode (because you lot definitely don’t want to make anything easier for yourselves), you’re otherwise able to set these up and manage them at Clan Tables, and it’ll give you functionality like seeing your members’ locations if they’re nearby when looking at a map.

Elsewhere, you’ll find updated player animations when sprinting with a rifle or with one handed melee weapons, alongside 27 wallpapers to use within your base. The update also comes alongside plenty of improvements and fixes to dive into.

The Rust Common Ground update is live now.

Rumors claim Xbox wants to close Obsidian, but Jason Schreier says otherwise

It’s been a weird year for Xbox. While new CEO Asha Sharma’s commitment to returning to a better of era of Xbox has tickled many, the company has been plagued with concern of late, as myriad reports allege that it’s trying to sell off or shutter some of its most beloved studios. Compulsion Games, Arkane, and Double Fine have all been caught in the crossfire, with Ninja Theory and Undead Labs potentially getting hit with cuts despite new trailers for Senua and State of Decay 3. The most recent name to be added to the list, however, is Obsidian. Yes, the developer of Fallout: New Vegas.

According to a new report from The Game Business, Obsidian may also fall victim to Xbox’s new cuts. “Studios such as Compulsion, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Obsidian, Undead Labs, and others are deep in negotiation with Microsoft to avoid closure,” Chris Dring reports. Obsidian released three titles last year: Avowed, Grounded 2, and The Outer Worlds 2, all of which debuted to critically positive, if not somewhat muted response.

Dring claims that frustrations are running high at Xbox, which is allegedly fighting to return to profitability. He writes that Sharma has brought a “start-up mentality” to the company, prioritizing speed over methodical development. “Certain studio heads feel Sharma is listening too much to the consultants, and not enough to the people building the games,” he writes.

Some studios also allege that they’re being punished for the poor performance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which was lambasted for its poor campaign, Endgame, and use of AI generated art, even if Jamie found its multiplayer segment genuinely fun.

“Even if Obsidian had delivered an incredible year, even if The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed had performed five times the numbers that they did, it wouldn’t have offset the drop on Call of Duty,” Dring writes. “A game like that, and Candy Crush, and Minecraft, and Warcraft, make a lot of Xbox’s output seem almost insignificant.”

This is where things get a little more complex, however. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has since taken to Bluesky, claiming that he “can confirm Obsidian is not in negotiations to avoid shutting down. Plenty of details are still up in the air surrounding the layoffs (picture will be clear on Monday) but Xbox is keeping Obsidian, according to people familiar with the situation.”

It certainly feels like it’d be a colossal mistake: a Fallout: New Vegas remaster or remake would send the gaming sphere into meltdown – especially in the wake of Amazon’s Fallout TV show’s success. As he says, we’ll have to wait and see on Monday, but if Obsidian does go, I’ll have to pick my jaw up off of the floor.

Equally, if Xbox chose to sell Obsidian, I’m sure it’d manage to find a buyer somewhere. It’s a stellar studio with an equally-stellar developer roster. We’ll have to wait and see what the coming weeks bring, but between Compulsion, and Arkane, it looks like some of gaming’s greatest may bite the dust.

This week’s Epic Games Store free games include a nightmarish piece of PC gaming history, and a way to cleanse your brain afterwards

Dark, disturbing, and controversial, I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream is one of those essential touchstones of PC gaming history. It’s an experience to be recommended with caution – a refrain you could apply to many classic adventure games – but one that ardent point-and-click enthusiasts will want to see. If you’ve yet to tread Harlan Ellison’s twisted dystopia, the Epic Games Store is giving you the chance to do so for free, and it’s even throwing in the stylish, brash beat-em-up River City Girls 2 to clear your head afterwards.

Harlan Ellison’s digital adaptation of his own bestselling, post-apocalyptic short story might share the same name, but the I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream game is a different beast; not quite a sequel, but rather a reimagining. In a future where humanity is all but wiped out by a supercomputer intelligence known as ‘AM,’ you take charge of its final five victims, each trapped in a terrifying extended lifespan where they are submitted to psychological torture based on their respective pasts.

The result is always unsettling, often upsetting, and something I’d only recommend with caveats of the extreme subject matter it dips into. Nevertheless, it’s a striking tale that will speak to those who love delving into the darker aspects of horror and the human condition. Re-released under the care of Nightdive Studios in 2013, it’s a hallmark on the shelf of grimdark point-and-click adventures, sitting alongside the likes of Sanitarium and Phantasmagoria, and those eager to round out their collection will certainly want to grab it while it’s available for free.

Whether you’ve journeyed through the horrors of Harlan Ellison’s creation and need something to wash away the nightmares, or would simply prefer to dodge that particular minefield altogether, River City Girls 2 is ready for the job. This high-octane beat-em-up combines bright, pixel-art action with a storming soundtrack. WayForward’s modern spin-off from the Kunio-kun series (known best in the west for its third entry, which was localized as River City Ransom) proves that there’s still space for the genre today, standing tall alongside hits such as Streets of Rage 4, Absolum, and TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge.

River City Girls 2 steps up from the sequel by adding four more playable characters to bring the total to six, along with support for up to four-player co-op either locally or online. It’s got a bigger environment, deeper combat systems, a whole heap of NPCs to chat with, and a gleefully tongue-in-cheek sense of style. If you were left questioning your existence by this week’s other free giveaway, this is the ideal antidote, so thanks to Epic for preparing it in advance.

The I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream game and River City Girls 2 are both available for free via the Epic Games Store between Thursday July 2 and Thursday July 9 at 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST. They’re yours to keep once claimed, so head here to grab them while the offer lasts.

Notoriety codes (July 2026) – PCGamesN

See something in the store you can’t afford? These new Notoriety codes might ease the sting. In fact, with some codes awarding free chips on top of unique skins, redeem enough over time, and you could come out with some premium products without ever opening up your wallet. It’s a steal. You’re roleplaying a master criminal in this one, so it’s ok.

Notoriety is an officially sanctioned take on bringing the world of Payday – one of gaming’s most resilient and iconic co-op PvE experiences – to the Roblox platform. Though you don’t have to go through the trouble of scouting out the location of your next heist before breaking and entering, you still get to go in guns. That’s if you like to sign off on your criminality with a bang. You’re really supposed to play it cool. Those weapons are there to get you out of a jam, not put you into it.

Here are the working Notoriety codes for the game’s 12th anniversary:

• notoriety12 – Chicago Typewriter weapon skin and 100 free chips (new!)
• hotsauce – ‘Top Secret’ badge
• next – 100k cash
• d4rkn1njarx – 500k cash
• whatadeal – 600k cash
• ninja – free Nightmare Shadow Bank contract
• banksy – free Nightmare Downtown Bank contract
• test – Cardboard Safe
• 100m – three Ruby Safes
• shinysafe – Diamond Safe
• hellodarkness – free Normal Shadow Raid contract
• downtown – free Normal Downtown Bank contract
• gunupdate – two Diamond Safes
• nighttime – free Nightmare Haunted Forest contract
• onehundredk – 100k cash
• robber – 5k cash
• transport – a Nightmare Transport contract
• mutation – two Mutation Points
• 100kmembers – free 100% EXP/Moeny boosters 1 h/r
• moonstone – 25 Infamous safes

Sitting back while you leave the rest of the crew to nab the goods? We know you’re actually on the floor and seconds away from an arrest, but we won’t judge your methods. It’s a distraction, right? Just do us a solid and click here to follow us on Google. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find something new to play while you’re in the back of a patrol car.

How do I redeem Notoriety codes?

You barely need to lift a finger to redeem codes in Notoriety. Just follow these steps:

• Launch Notoriety on Roblox.
• On the main menu, click the Store button.
• Click the ‘Codes’ tab along the right-hand side.
• Enter a working code.
• Hit ‘Redeem’ to claim the freebies.

How do I get more Notoriety codes?

For the first time in a while, the redeem code hint in-game is actually accurate – outside of it respectfully deadnaming X as Twitter, anyway. That means following realEvanPickett on the ailing social media platform really is the best way to spot new Notoriety codes as they come.

Second to that is Discord – as it always is. To join the Notoriety Discord, look for the link at the bottom of the game page. If you don’t see it, make sure your Roblox account is appropriately age-verified and refresh the page. You should see it now.

From there, you’ll have to click through to the Roblox devforum links on the main Notoriety channel to spot new codes. They’re included in the published patch notes.

Of course, if you don’t want to mess around with social media platforms, just come back here whenever a new update drops. Before Notoriety’s 12th anniversary code, we hadn’t had a new one in quite some time. And while there’s no guarantee that will change, the revival spurred by a single new code could be enough to have more codes drop with its usual monthly updates.

Expired codes

thanksepic | favorite | bigbank | medic | boosterseat | safes | cookingoff | 600kvisits | shadows | bmoney | stealthy | masked | gundate | evan | 1milk

Now, get spending those free chips. We recommend a six-hour boost and the Gold Rush safe.

Next Minecraft Live date estimate – here’s how to watch it

When is the next Minecraft Live 2026? As the spiritual successor to Minecon, Mojang’s bi-annual livestream event is a major landmark on the Minecraft community calendar. It covers the latest content updates, developer insights, and exclusive previews for spin-off games and other ancillary projects.

In short, the next Minecraft Live is a must-see event for any Minecraft fan, especially if you’re looking forward to the next update. The Tiny Takeover stole the spotlight at the first Minecraft Live of this year, triggering an avalanche of adorable Minecraft mobs alongside the Chaos Cubed update available in Java. We expect an update of similar scope to be announced in the next livestream – but when is it? Here’s how to tune in and see the reveals for yourself.

When is the next Minecraft Live?

Currently, we estimate that the next Minecraft Live will air sometime in September 2026.

This is because the most recent Minecraft Live was held on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The livestream runs on a bi-annual cycle, so the next one is almost certain to arrive around six months after that, putting its air date sometime this fall, around the end of September. What’s more, the air dates for 2025’s Minecraft Live were also held in March and September – lining up with our expectation for this year’s remaining event.

Contrary to its name, Minecraft Live is a pre recorded broadcast. It’ll last between thirty minutes and an hour, so tune in early to avoid missing out on any big reveals!

How to watch Minecraft Live 2026

You’ll be able to watch the next Minecraft Live right here on PCGamesN – we’ll embed the official YouTube broadcast above. Simply click on it to start watching.

Minecraft Live is also available to view on YouTube, Twitch, and the official website.

The pre-show event kicks off around half an hour before Minecraft Live’s official event time. Traditionally, this segment includes a recap featuring well-known Minecraft content creators looking back on everything that’s happened since the previous livestream.

Minecraft Live announcements, leaks, and rumors

It’s a little too early for Mojang to offer any clues or teasers for the next Minecraft Live, but we have a general idea of what to expect based on previous livestreams.

The broadcast usually includes at least one content drop, plus a roadmap update and a surprise reveal. During the last Minecraft Live broadcast, these announcements consisted of Tiny Takeover, Chaos Cubed, and Minecraft Dungeons 2.

Since Chaos Cubed is still in the testing phase, it’s almost certain that Minecraft Live September 2026 will include the full release version alongside a snapshot of what comes next. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a new biome or experimental mechanic to extend the uses for the sulfur cube.

Since the Minecraft Dungeons 2 reveal only consisted of a brief announcement trailer, the next Minecraft Live will likely include an in-depth look and actual gameplay footage ahead of its release date on September 29, 2026. A late-2026 livestream would also be the perfect opportunity for Mojang to launch a marketing push for Minecraft World, a theme park area opening next year at Chessington World of Adventures in the UK.

You’re all prepared for Minecraft Live! Be there and be square. We’ll bring you a full rundown of everything announced after the livestream wraps, along with all the latest news for the next Minecraft Live after that. In the meantime, hop into our favorite Minecraft servers and install the best Minecraft mods to dive into new experiences ahead of the livestream.

Tour de France 2026 Free Download

Download File

Tour de France 2026 Direct Download:

FACE THE ELEMENTS Supermarket Chaos
Each Tour de France is unique, and it never goes the same way twice. Under the blazing sun or in the pouring rain, each stage becomes a new challenge. Slippery roads, technical descents and changing conditions will test your reflexes and control: on the Tour, the slightest mistake can cost you the victory.

Just like in real life, the weather can change at any moment. A stage that begins under clear skies can end in heavy rain, forcing you to adapt your strategy mid-stage. In the rain, the agility and technique of your riders makes all the difference: control your lines, manage risks and use your rider’s balance skills to stay in the lead.

NEW RACES AND AN EXTENDED CALENDAR
In Tour de France 2026, enhance your season with an even more comprehensive calendar and the arrival of two new licensed races, offering new challenges and trophies to collect. Kick off your year far away from traditional European landscapes on the scorching roads of Oman with the Muscat Classic. With intense heat and climbs exceeding 10%, this explosive race will showcase the puncheurs. Finish your season on the demanding dirt roads of Paris-Tours. Your bike handling and positioning skills will be essential if you are to take the lead in the muddy sections, surprise the sprinters and be the one to cross the finish line.

EVEN MORE NEW FEATURES TO DISCOVER

• • New in-race interface
• • Official route of the 2026 Tour de France, with iconic landmarks such as the Sagrada Família and Montmartre
• • Improved AI for more realistic peloton behaviour
• • New routes for the World Championships (Oman, Italy, Basque Country, France)
• • 100 playable stages

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960, 4 GB or AMD Radeon RX 570, 4 GB or Intel Arc A310, 4 GB
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 32 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Download File

AMD graphics cards likely to rise by 10%, according to new leak

AMD graphics cards could be set for a significant price increase in the near future, if a recent report turns out to be true. With AMD apparently charging its board partners 10% more for the combined GPU and VRAM packages that it sells to graphics card makers, that extra cost likely to be passed on to gamers.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen AMD increase its prices to its board partners, and, given the way the industry is going, it might not be the last. However, despite this, the AMD RX 9070 still remains the best graphics card you can buy right not in terms of overall value. It just remains to be seen how long that remains the case.

News of this AMD GPU price increase comes from Chinese chip industry forum, Board Channels, with a post from user “Expert No.1” claiming that “recent news from the storage supply chain indicates that the graphics card industry is about to enter a new round of price adjustments.”

They go on to say that “AMD has officially issued price increase notices” to the likes of Asus, Sapphire, and XFX, notifying them that GPU and VRAM bundles will increase in price by 10%. Which GPUs are affected isn’t specified, so it’s unclear if AMD’s whole product stack will get a 10% increase, or if the ratio will change depending on the product type. After all, it’s the VRAM that has so increased in cost recently, so an entry-level GPU with 16GB of RAM is going to be disproportionately affected by VRAM getting more expensive than a high-end GPU with the same amount of RAM.

It’s because of this imbalance that we’ve already seen a reduction in the supply of entry-level GPUs with higher amounts of VRAM, as they’re just no longer cost-effective. Indeed, that’s largely seen as the reason why Nvidia is believed to have cancelled its RTX 5000 Super series of graphics cards. These were expected to get increases in VRAM for several cards, such as the RTX 5070, but that might not happen.

Speaking of Nvidia cards, this report doesn’t make any mention of Nvidia also increasing its GPU+VRAM packages right now. However, it’s possible the company will make its own price adjustment in the coming months.

This all follows a generally extremely negative outlook for RAM and GPU prices, and the PC gaming space in general over the last few weeks and months. From severe Steam Deck price increases and the Steam Machine arriving at a far higher price than people expected, to RTX 5090 cards costing $4,000, and predictions from suppliers that prices will stay this high for years to come. The AI bubble bursting could have negative consequences for many, but it can’t come soon enough for PC gamers.

Doom The Dark Ages’ new Revelations DLC is “the culmination of 35 years of Doom” and movement is back

Shorn of his armor, Shield Saw smashed, the Slayer of the new Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations DLC is less of a tank than in the main game, and that’s a good thing, because it means movement is back. In this new paid-for DLC, id Software has drawn on 35 years of Doom, delivering an expansion that looks like it could be the perfect balance of TDA’s fearless tanky combat and Doom Eternal’s more movement-focused gameplay.

The key to Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations movement is a new Chain Spear weapon that evokes memories of the Meathook chain grapple of Doom Eternal, but cranks it up a notch. It lets you swing, stab, and sling your way to victory over the ultra-challenging new arenas of combat in this “10 to 12 hour” expansion. We recently got a sneak peek of what to expect, and spoke to both id Software’s Game Director, Hugo Martin, and the game’s Executive Producer, Marty Stratton.

Commencing with the Slayer having been condemned to his tomb, Revelations is, in part, a campaign-driven expansion. You’ll follow the Slayer as he regains his strength and powers following his downfall, building back up to be the all-conquering demon stomper that he is and culminating in a moment where “the Slayer’s action will change the world around him forever.”

The remaining 40% of the game, though, is all about endgame experiences, with Master Level challenges, new ways to traverse the single sprawling map that makes up the DLC, Praetor suit challenge arenas for upgrades, Slayer Trials, puzzles, new resources, and classic levels. The latter are literally levels from the earliest Doom games – mostly Doom 2 – recreated on the new engine and packed with demons.

The endgame culminates in unlocking the Astral Key that lets you try and take on the Uber Boss, which, once defeated, then unlocks four further “super intense” combat spaces. These, id says, are the hardest encounters in the game.

Back to that movement, though, and the Chain Spear is a new weapon that can be wielded instead of the Shield Saw, and which provides “most of the skill expression” in the new DLC, according to Martin. With it equipped, you can parry enemy fire, throw it at enemies for extra damage, or use it as a grappling hook. It’s the latter that really opens up a whole new world of movement tech into the game, with you able to sling the Spear into enemies, then leap upwards to fly over them or come crashing down on them, plus you can swing around them, pummelling them with gunfire as you do so.

What’s more, a dash/double jump feature has been added, so you can use the grapple to fling yourself into the sky, then redirect your movement in mid-air. It’s not quite the overall movement combination of Doom Eternal, but the Chain Spear is so much more powerful than the Meathook, with you able to wield any weapon with it, not just the super shotgun.

So much potential skill expression does this new feature add that Stratton suggests you’ll struggle to really master it in one playthrough, and that “you’re learning things [in the] second, third playthrough.”

A handful of new enemies also join the fray, with the Archvile and Pain Elemental from previous Doom games added back in, plus the Whiplash gets an “invisible” Spectre version, and there are purple (for example, buffed and explosive) Hell Knights and Zombies. A new Wizard character also presents a particular challenge as they’re very evasive and can buff other demons.

Filling out the DLC, a new Slayer’s Hub provides a base for upgrading the Slayer – a bit like the Doom Eternal ship – and also includes some encounters, “Metroidvania-esque elements,” and puzzles that “make it worth your time to explore,” we were told. There’s also an update to TDA’s Ripatorium endless arena mode that adds new maps, the new Revelations demons, and the Chain Spear – all the other weapons are the same as in the core game.

Doom: The Dark Ages Revelations is available July 7 for $19.99, with the base game required to access the DLC. However, right now, the full game is only $23.09 on Steam, thanks to the Steam Summer Sale, so you can grab the full game and DLC for under $45.

World of Warcraft patch 12.1 tackles bug fixes and housing decor costs, as Blizzard focuses on delivering a “polished experience”

It’s no secret that World of Warcraft‘s latest expansion, Midnight, has had its struggles. While, on paper, it opened the doors to a brave new Azeroth with the addition of player housing and improved UI, in practice, it’s been one of the buggiest WoW releases to date. With said housing being disabled for an entire day due to a weird bug that spawned from Mists of Pandaria’s Siege of Orgrimmar raid, Blizzard’s classic MMO has begun to buckle under the sheer weight of its old code; in many instances, fixing something means breaking something else.

Blizzard has been quick to make adjustments, however. Patch 12.0.7 fixed issues with performance drops in Silvermoon City, squashed a bug that prevented area and auto-looting (that one was a kicker), and finally reduced repair costs by nuking ‘wear and tear’ from swinging your swords.

World of Warcraft’s next update, 12.1, continues that work, taking aim at even more bugs and improving the overall UI experience. It also reduces the cost of earnable housing items, allowing for more creativity than ever before, while simultaneously introducing a one-time Professions reset to help give your Profession choice some extra weight. It’s not a silver-bullet fix; it’s impossible to crush every single bug, but it continues to be a step in the right direction.

Ahead of Blizzard’s latest blog post, I caught up with WoW veteran and Game Director Ion Hazzikostas to discuss the current state of Midnight, and how Curse of Ula’tek hopes to fix some of the game’s biggest issues.

We start on patch 12.0.5, which was dubbed by many a player as being somewhat of a disaster. The aforementioned housing downtime kicked off an update riddled with bugs, from issues with Holy Paladin’s justice, to loot duplication problems with Nebulous Voidcore. At the time, Blizzard said that the patch simply “wasn’t up to standard,” so I asked Hazzikostas about the team’s learnings, and how it plans to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“12.0.5 was not the smoothest release to say the least,” he says. “While we got the experience to a pretty stable place within a few days, there were more bugs at launch than we found acceptable. To some extent, given the sheer breadth of WoW, some number of bugs are inevitable – you poke at one piece of the code, and something breaks in a far-off location. But, at the end of the day, our players aren’t interested in the intricacies of maintaining a 20-year-old game: they want a good, polished experience.

“A lot of what contributed to 12.0.5 and the way it played out was actually aspects of our internal processes involving fixing bugs, where I think we were fixing bugs too late in the process in ways that made it nearly impossible for ourselves and our quality assurance analysts to catch some knock-on effects from those fixes.”

He gives the example of the game-breaking housing bug, which caused items to lock to the floor and save there. “It wasn’t something we could fix right away, but we didn’t want to hold the entire game down, so we disabled housing.

“How does that happen?” he asks, rhetorically. “How does that bug sneak into the system so late? Did we not test it? Did we not have people checking housing? Of course we did. But there was another tricky bug that got caught late in the process that actually involved, of all things, the elevator in the Siege of Orgrimmar raid from Mists of Pandaria, which suddenly was broken and players weren’t properly attaching to it. Turns out that that was broken by some earlier fixes to the housing code involving attaching objects to other objects.

“A fix was done to the Siege of Orgrimmar elevator very late in the process, just a few days before the patch was supposed to go live. QA checked it; the elevator worked perfectly fine. We did not, at the time, go back to recheck housing, and a fix to one bug caused an issue elsewhere. I could cue all of the ‘spaghetti code’ memes that the internet will come up with,” he says with a smile. “But sometimes game development is very much a set of moving targets.”

12.1 is, in some ways, more about adjusting the game’s quality of life versus shiny, new features. Hazzikostas tells me that a lot of the major features and campaign beats are, of course, “pre-planned,” but that there’s still room to be “reactive” in order to “listen to what players are telling [them].” This allows the team to “focus on addressing pain points, improving quality of life, and fixing bugs when they crop up.”

One of the main QoL improvements with 12.1 is the decrease in housing decor prices. While this is only for earnable decor versus items you can purchase with actual cash, it’s great news all around – while I’m no stranger to a good ol’ grind, it has felt like collecting items from some of the older pieces of content has been a bit of a slog.

Hazzikostas says it’s all about “striking the balance. We want this to be a meaningful progression; something that people can really dig into as they revisit old locations and as they go through new content to earn the decor that they want. But, at the end of the day, if you feel like it’s too tedious or you can’t get enough of the things you want, that’s just going to undermine your enjoyment in the whole system.

“As we often do, and I think that we are, at times, very fairly criticized by the community for this – when building a system like this that has to stand the test of time, we tend to start on the conservative side because, if we overshoot as we did, it’s not that challenging to lower the prices and that’s how they’ll be going forward. If we came in too low, we really couldn’t justify raising the prices of the decor. We really want to make sure that there’s enough depth to the system to make the time that people spend, and the differentiation in the decor collections that people have, be something that has some substance to it.”

12.1 also comes with a Profession reset. We saw one in The War Within, and Midnight is once again allowing you to respec all of your Knowledge Points. “We want the choices players make to be meaningful and help them differentiate themselves from other crafters,” Hazzikostas says.

“There are very, very, very, very few choices – especially in the progression space – that you can make in WoW today that aren’t freely resettable and swappable. But, with Professions, because of the macroeconomic community here, it’s important that there’ll be some people who are better at making this type of craft, versus others who are better at making that type of craft. People have niches where they can make and sell things for a profit.

“If you could respec freely with no restrictions, you could always just respec to be the best at making the thing you want to craft in the moment. Complete flexibility wouldn’t really work,” he continues. “It would undermine a lot of the goals of the system.”

In response to player concerns and the general movement of the game, however, Blizzard has opted to “give everybody a chance to reallocate their points knowing what they know now,” but he stresses that “from there it will still be locked for the rest of the expansion, and how you spent those points this time around needs to be a meaningful choice.”

World of Warcraft patch 12.1 doesn’t have a release date just yet, but will also fix a few noticeable bugs – Valeera will no longer randomly die in Delves, and you won’t casually be booted off your mount in transit from Zul’Aman to Eversong. There are also a slew of UI improvements, with a new account-wide autolooting feature, the option to display map coordinates, and a tidy up of the currencies tab with new collapsible menus.

There’s also all of the new content, including The Coiled Isle, a new Troll-focused questline, and various raids, dungeons, Delves, and more.

Krafton agrees to pay bonuses to Subnautica 2 devs following a year-long legal battle

Krafton Inc has finally brought the curtain down on a year-long legal battle with its subsidiary Unknown Worlds, agreeing to a settlement with the studio’s co-founders to pay bonuses to every member of staff following the success of Subnautica 2.

In July 2025, the relationship between publisher Krafton and developer Unknown Worlds exploded when CEO Ted Gill and other members of senior staff were fired. Krafton’s deal to publish Subnautica 2 included sales targets that would trigger a $250 million payout to Unknown Worlds, something that the company allegedly wanted to avoid. This was speculated to be the reason behind the survival game’s delay from 2025 to May 2026, and the reason given for why Gill and other senior staff were let go.

Gill and the fired staff members responded by filing a lawsuit against Krafton, accusing the company of terminating their employment to avoid paying the fee. The judge in the case agreed and reinstated those sacked, following testimony that claimed Krafton CEO Changhan Kim used ChatGPT to brainstorm ways to avoid the massive payout.

Following claims that Krafton would be forced to pay the $250 million fee due to the success of Subnautica 2, Bloomberg is now reporting that Krafton and Unknown Worlds have come to a legal settlement that will see every employee receive a bonus and bring an end to the legal proceedings.

In an interview with Jason Schreier, Gill stated that the development team will be “compensated significantly more” than under Krafton’s initial acquisition agreement back in 2021, and that there will be “further incentives” throughout the game’s lifecycle. The original deal only included payments for top executives at Unknown Worlds, whereas this settlement includes everyone working at the company.

As part of this settlement, Ted Gill will depart the company just four months after his dramatic return. He claims that he and Krafton “mutually agreed to part ways,” with Gill stating that he felt “new leadership is the best way for the studio to move forward.” The report suggests that Unknown World’s next CEO will be appointed from outside both companies.

According to Unknown Worlds, Subnautica 2 has been a massive success and sold over four million copies. The game is still in early access, with a full launch and more updates still to come.

Battlefield 6 accidentally announced an XP Booster change that everyone loved, and now it’s not doing it

Sometimes, it feels like game developers rarely make popular decisions. As someone who has spent most of their life playing Call of Duty games, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read patch notes for an update and immediately rolled my eyes. So, when Dice announced a great change to the way XP Boosters work in Battlefield 6, I was delighted. Unfortunately, that joy wouldn’t last for too long.

XP Boosters are fairly easy to explain: Players can activate them to earn double the XP for a period of time. These boosts make it easier to rank up, unlocking new weapons and earning seasonal content. Before the announcements, XP Boosters in the popular FPS game lasted for a specific amount of time. For example, if you had a 20-minute Booster, then for 20 minutes, any XP you earned in-game would be doubled. This was great, but it also meant that any time you spent in lobbies between matches, your Booster was still counting down.

But on June 30, an in-game message appeared announcing that Dice was changing how they worked, saying that it was improving the feature by making it “count down based on in-game time instead of real time.” Unsurprisingly, Battlefield 6 players loved this change, calling it a “neat surprise” and a “Big W.”

Unfortunately, players found that even though the announcement said it would only count down during matches, it was still wasting time in menus when they tested. While some believed it was a bug, a few pessimists figured that the announcement was an error, and as it turns out, they were right.

In two posts on X, Battlefield Comms confirmed that both an update to an in-game text description and an in-game message had been sent in error, saying that the message had since been removed and “there are no changes to how XP Boosters currently work.” The developer then thanked players for their feedback on the topic and said they would continue to pass on feedback to relevant teams.

How you accidentally send an in-game message to everyone with information you don’t intend to follow through on is beyond me, but that appears to be what has happened. XP Boosters work the way they always have, and we all got our hopes up for nothing.

Still, the comms team did promise to pass on feedback to the devs, so maybe if we all complain enough, they’ll actually follow through and make the change happen. It’s worth a try, I guess.

Ex-PlayStation boss explains why PC releases were a good thing, as reports claim Sony is ending blockbuster launches

Former President of Sony Interactive Entertainment of America Shawn Layden has explained why PC releases were a good thing for PlayStation, as reports continue to circulate that the company intends to stop releasing its blockbuster narrative games on the platform.

For a long time, PlayStation-exclusive games weren’t available on PC, meaning the only way to enjoy the best that the company had to offer was by owning one of its consoles. That came to an end in 2020, when Sony started porting its offerings to PC, although they usually released a year after their PS5 releases.

Unfortunately, that is all coming to an end, as reports suggest that PlayStation will only release online multiplayer and live-service games on PC moving forward, with its narrative games reserved for the console. Layden says that decision will make their future projects more difficult and defends PlayStation games on PC, explaining why it was actually a good thing for other parts of their business.

Speaking to PSI on YouTube, he said that the original strategy behind releasing Sony games on PC wasn’t to make money, but to get its biggest games in front of more players, saying his focus was on how to get properties like Horizon in front of people who didn’t own PlayStations.

“The PC thing, in my mind at the time, was not to make money, frankly. It was ‘How do I get my intellectual property in front of people who wouldn’t normally see it? How do I get the world of Horizon to be seen by people who aren’t in the PlayStation world?’ Not necessarily because they’re going to buy a PlayStation, I wasn’t that crazy. But as we take our [IP] across other media, whether it’s into film, television, comic books; you need to have as many eyeballs that are aware of this character.”

“Just concentrating on the PlayStation population and only telling them these stories, and then trying to bring it off that platform into other media, that’s going to be a hell of a jump.”

Layden also argued that it wasn’t costing PlayStation hardware sales either, as if someone was truly desperate to play a game, they’d buy a console to do so, saying: “If someone’s waiting 18 months for something to come to PC, we didn’t lose a sale to them. They weren’t going to buy the hardware anyway.”

The former Sony of America boss makes a good point, especially when you consider that games like Uncharted, Gran Turismo, Until Dawn, and The Last of Us have all been made into movies or TV shows in the last five years. Getting those games in front of as many gamers as possible could only have helped build hype, but they may find it more difficult to generate excitement for upcoming projects if they’re locked behind one ecosystem.

PlayStation, however, doesn’t see it that way, and reports suggest it felt that the quality of the ports was inconsistent and didn’t drive enough revenue to make it worth continuing. Whether that’ll have an effect on upcoming media projects that are in development like Astro Bot or Bloodborne remains to be seen.

Modern Warfare 4 is coming to Xbox Game Pass, but not for a long time

As hype continues to build for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, a new notification from Xbox has confirmed that the next installment of the franchise will arrive on Game Pass, although it won’t be on launch day. In fact, it won’t appear on the service for another year, after the release of the next CoD title.

For the last two years, new Call of Duty games have been released on Xbox Game Pass on launch day, giving those with an Ultimate subscription the ability to play the FPS game without buying the full thing outright. While both Black Ops 6 and 7 were included in the membership, Xbox confirmed earlier this year that Modern Warfare 4 would not follow them to Game Pass.

While some assumed that the days of Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass might be completely over, it has now been confirmed that that won’t be the case. Modern Warfare 4 will arrive on the service – but not for a long, long time.

As Xbox continues to advertise Modern Warfare 4 ahead of its October 23 release date, it has been sending out notifications to Game Pass subscribers urging them to buy the full game and warning them that MW4 won’t be on the platform at launch.

As spotted by CharlieIntel, it reads: “Xbox Game Pass members: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 won’t be available in Game Pass at launch. Game Pass availability starts Holiday 2027. If you’d like to jump in on day one, you’ll need to purchase the game.”

So while it won’t be on Game Pass at launch, it will come to the service eventually. That Holiday 2027 window is a long way away, though, especially when you consider that a new CoD game will launch in Fall 2027, unless there’s a major change to the franchise’s yearly release schedule. 2027’s game is currently believed to be developed by Sledgehammer Games and to feature a new franchise away from the likes of Black Ops and Modern Warfare, and will be out and playable before MW4 hits Game Pass.

So, whether you want to wait around for MW4 to launch on Game Pass and miss out on a year of FPS action is really up to you. Activision and Xbox are trying their best to entice people into buying the full game though, as Microsoft’s gaming arm continues to struggle. Accepting the fact that Xbox isn’t sustainable and a need to cut costs, which includes the reported closure of studios under their umbrella, they’ll be hoping for an influx of cash from this year’s big CoD launch.

Modern Warfare 4 includes new bullet tech, a new movement system, and major upgrades to DMZ, and launches on October 23, 2026.

Heroes of the Storm esports is back, but it’s just for one day

Not a day goes by without me lamenting the death of Heroes of the Storm. While League of Legends will always be the premier MOBA, HoTS took all of my favorite games and smushed them into one, perfect place. It’s a game that I have far too many fond memories of; I used to be an absolute beast on Sylvanas Windrunner, but could happily spend games healing up my squadmates as Diablo’s Auriel or WoW’s Alexstrasza. But HotS is effectively in stasis at the moment, kept alive with the odd balance patch and update, but nothing more. I think we’re all secretly hoping that Blizzard brings it back, but BlizzCon 2026 is doing the next best thing.

BlizzCon 2026 will host the brand new Blizzard Classic Cup; a cross-title esports tournament that includes WoW Arena and Mythic Dungeon International, as well as the Overwatch World Cup. That’s pretty standard fare, but the Classic Cup also sees reruns of old legacy matches for StarCraft, StarCraft 2, and – you guessed it – Heroes of the Storm.

Let’s start with HoTS. The Classic Cup will be a rerun of the ever-iconic 2018 HGC finale, where Dignitas faced off against Gen.G. Four members of the original Dignitas roster will be taking the stage, while Jeong ‘KyoCha’ Won-ho will be the only returning Gen.G member. The rest of the squads are made up of BlizzCon alumni, though, so there are a lot of famous faces.

The 2018 finale lives in my head rent-free. I vividly remember being on the edge of my seat – as a Dignitas fan (I’m UK-based) I was so excited to see a British squad make it to the finale, even if they did get absolutely obliterated. 2018 marked the end of a somewhat rocky run for HotS esports, and while I’d liked to have seen something a little more competitive to close things out, I can’t help but smile at the memory.

But it’s not just HoTS that’s back: Blizzard is also reigniting two of StarCraft and StarCraft 2’s most heated rivalries. Lim ‘BoxeR’ Yo-hwan and Kang ‘Nal_rA’ Min are back for a StarCraft Remastered rematch, and these two esports veterans have a long, intertwined history. It’s a similar story with Gregory ‘IdrA’ Fields and Jang ‘MC’ Min-chul, who take to the stage once more for a good ol’ fashioned StarCraft 2 bout. The sparks are going to fly.

Warcraft 3 is also back, with Yoan ‘ToD’ Merlo and Zeng ‘TeD’ Zhou returning for yet another bout. TeD’s won four out of six of the duo’s skirmishes, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can make it five.

Blizzard claims that these three matches “are just a taste of what’s in store with the Blizzard Classic Cup.” That could mean that there’s more to be added to the roster – imagine a rerun of a GOATs-era match in Overwatch Classic. The possibilities are endless.

As someone who loves esports and spends far too much of her time on Twitch, this is very exciting. Bar World of Warcraft, Blizzard’s struggled to break into the competitive gaming sphere – even OWL didn’t really make a mark. Yet, I truly believe that its esports scene was truly special; partly because of the communities around it, but partly because Blizzard’s games are so beloved and unique. I’d love to see the company give it another bash, but that one feels like somewhat of a pipe dream. But, then again, never say never – maybe the Classic Cup with spark a revolution.

Anime Card Farm codes (July 2026)

With the genre showing no signs of slowing down, these Anime Card Farm codes might be the only way to make good progress out of the gate. Given it’s another in a long line of AFK/works offline tycoon-style games, you won’t really have to do much to pull some top-tier cards, but ACF codes can at least speed things up a little.

Anime Card Farm is a true amalgamation of all three key Roblox sub-genres. There’s anime, there’s cards, and there’s a farm – in the Roblox sense of it, anyway. That last part is where the AFK mechanic falls into place. Ripped packs aren’t immediately chucked in the bin. Instead, they continue to generate cards for as long as they have a place on your farm. And while it makes sense to upgrade them for short-term gains, you’ll want to swap them out for rarer packs down the line.

Here are the latest Anime Card Farm codes:

• BRUTALCOMEBACK! – Potions and Gems (new!)
• TRAITS! – 100 Trait Gems and some potions (new!)
• POTIONS – three different potions (new!)

While your farm rips packs for you, why not click here to follow us on Google? You’ll find codes for the biggest and best Roblox games right there – perfect if you’re the multi-boxing type looking for another game to play while this one essentially plays itself.

How do I redeem Anime Card Farm codes?

You only need to follow these short steps to redeem codes in Anime Card Farm:

• Launch Anime Card Farm on Roblox.
• Click the ‘Shop’ button.
• Scroll to the bottom.
• Enter a working code in the ‘redeem code’ section.
• Hit the ‘Redeem’ button.

How do I get more Anime Card Farm codes?

Codes for Anime Card Farm can be found on the game’s Discord server. You’ll find a link to it at the bottom of the game page. If you don’t see it, ensure your Roblox account is appropriately age-verified for external chat permissions and refresh the page.

Once you’re in the server, just look for the ‘codes’ channel. If you don’t trust the developer to list new codes there as they drop, which happens more often than you’d think, just check around the ‘announcement’ and ‘update-log’ channels, too.

If you don’t want all that hassle, leave it to us. There’s a reason this ACF codes page exists. Come back whenever you catch wind of an update, and there’s a good chance you’ll find a new code in the list above. New codes drop for reasons including concurrent player and total visitor milestones, as well as to mark major updates or apologize for downtime and bug fixes. Update timeframes are typically posted as events on the game page, so you’ll know exactly when a new code might drop.

So, if you need a few extra gems, potions, or trait rolls, the Anime Card Farm codes above should be able to help.

Minecraft servers are apparently “illegal,” according to the Vice President of America’s biggest gaming association

Minecraft servers are “illegal” and “not in any way affiliated with Microsoft or Mojang.” At least, that’s what Jennifer Gibbons, Vice President of State Government Affairs at the Entertainment Software Association, told the California State Senate’s Professions and Economic Development Committee on Monday, June 29.

The committee was voting on Assembly Bill 1921, which you may know better as the Protect Our Games Act. The legislation aims to prevent publishers from making server-dependent games unplayable, requiring full, advance notice from developers before service is terminated. It would also force developers to provide support that ensures the game is playable when servers go offline, or offer refunds to consumers if that isn’t possible.

The bill passed through the California State Assembly on June 1, but faced the State Senate on June 29. Present at the hearing was Jennifer Gibbons, Vice President of the Entertainment Software Association. The ESA is the trade association of the videogame industry in the United States and represents the interests of developers and publishers when it comes to legislation like this. In California, she was there to convince members of the committee to vote against AB 1921, which is where she made the bizarre comment about Minecraft servers.

In opposition to the bill, Gibbons stated that no other digital product faced the same scrutiny that AB 1921 would bring to videogames, and suggested that the requirement for refunds did not consider the years of enjoyment that consumers would have received from the game before it was sunset.

When asked by the committee about the possibility of community servers being used to keep games alive, and whether that would be a breach of copyright and technically possible, California Assembly Member Chris Ward stated that popular games like Minecraft and Call of Duty currently use community-hosted servers, and confirmed that it was an option.

In response, Gibbons claimed: “They’re illegal, and they are not in any way affiliated with Microsoft. Microsoft, for Minecraft, has gotten a lot of criticism because of those community servers not employing the same safety standards as Microsoft servers.” When asked by a committee if community servers were “the black market of videogames,” Gibbons replied: “Yes, we consider it piracy.”

Unsurprisingly, this raised quite a few eyebrows among the gaming community. If you’ve played Minecraft, you’ll know that not only are community servers a huge part of the sandbox game, but they are actually promoted by Mojang and Microsoft. For example, on the official Minecraft website, there is a section dedicated to playing with friends that includes a mention of community-run servers.

On top of that, the official Minecraft website literally provides players with the software required to create and run their own server. Odd behaviour if Microsoft and Mojang view them as “illegal,” as suggested by Gibbons. PCGamesN has reached out to Mojang for comment on the matter, and will update this story should we receive a response.

In the end, AB 1921 did not pass through the State Senate; however, the Stop Killing Games initiative, which brought the act, stated that it had “never expected to get this far” and would return with amendments to the bill in the future.

Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson has previously thrown his support behind the initiative, calling on gamers to “host your own servers” and saying that “if buying a game is not a purchase, then pirating them is not theft.”

Rockstar devs could go on strike before GTA 6 launch as unionization talks grow

Developers at Rockstar Games are attempting to gain official union recognition following mass firings last year, with hopes of pushing it through before Grand Theft Auto 6 drops later this year. The move not only includes those who have helped to create GTA 6, but also employees who work at the company on other projects and in other roles.

Work is continuing at pace on the game, as the Grand Theft Auto 6 release date on November 19 continues to loom large. There have already been allegations of crunch conditions at the company as it pushes to complete GTA 6 production on time, but it appears there could be another issue for Rockstar in the run-up to launch.

That could come in the form of a strike by employees at the firm, who suggest that the possibility is not off the table if Rockstar doesn’t voluntarily recognize the union before the fall.

Reported by The Guardian, employees are looking to unionize in the wake of 31 firings in October 2025. While Rockstar says that those firings were related to the distribution of confidential information in a public forum, those who were let go accused the company of union-busting, as every person let go was a union member. Rockstar has denied these allegations, calling them “entirely false and misleading.”

Jordan Garland, who was one of the 31 let go last year, says that employees are trying to “ensure this sort of thing never happens again, not just at Rockstar but anywhere in the industry,” and calls on Rockstar to voluntarily recognize the union, meet with them, and “make it a celebration of people who make the games possible.”

Shanti Easton-Steel, a Production Coordinator at Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland, praised both current and former members of the team, saying that because of their hard work “[they] are now in a strong enough position to pursue formal recognition.” She continued by saying that while “it’s painful that our dismissed colleagues are not here to share this milestone moment, the best way we can honor their contribution now is by succeeding in the fight they helped us to start.”

The Guardian understands that, while the members hope Rockstar voluntarily recognizes the union, they are prepared to take further action to ensure that it happens. This could result in more action, including a possible strike in the run-up to release day.

The union hopes to secure “formal channels for collective bargaining with management” and additional workplace protections and rights for members and union representatives. With just over four months until GTA 6’s big launch, the ball seems firmly in Rockstar’s court if it wishes to avoid any action that could hamper the release.

Star Wars Galactic Racer is surprisingly deep and pod racing at its finest

“I don’t know why,” Kieran Crimmins, Creative Director at Fuse Games, told me when I asked why he thinks no-one has made a Star Wars racing game in a long time. To me, it seems like an obvious win for a lot of studios, and having got an hour of hands-on time with Star Wars Galactic Racer at SGF, the developers behind Need for Speed and Burnout have done a phenomenal job with it.

“I’d say that it’s a very difficult type of game to do from a development skill point of view… we were ready to make a new game, and that was one of the most obvious ones,” Crimmins continues. They know what they’re doing when it comes to racing games, being led by a lot of ex-Criterion senior developers.

It’s the scale of the Galactic Racer’s locations that amazed me more than anything else. Even though there are defined boundaries, they’ve been cleverly woven into the wider planets, so you often feel like you’re racing in massive open spaces. Moon-sized ships loom large over the horizon, and the desert of Jakku rolls off into the distance as you speed between wrecks. The sense of wonder you get is unrivaled for a racing game, which fits the world of Star Wars perfectly.

Crimmins explained how important that was to the Fuse Games team. “One of the classic kinds of cinematic things is that everything is big; it literally doesn’t fit on the screen. So we just tried to replicate that, really. So, all the tracks are absolutely massive mega structures.” Everything I played looked incredible visually.

However, you don’t get a lot of time to marvel at your surroundings. Galactic Racer is an intense experience. It’s not a simple accelerate-and-brake racing game. This isn’t Burnout. There’s a boost, a kinetic boost for certain speeder types, and a whole pre-race preparation quick-time event that lets you boost without having to wait for it to recharge, and even combat to think about. Winning races is a real battle, and you need to use everything at your disposal to come out on top. It’s fast and frenetic, which makes the action consistently fun.

Fuse Games has “a kind of mantra: pick up and play, so you know, easy to learn, hard to master kind of thing,” Crimmins tells me. You can have a lot of fun messing around in the single-race modes, but getting through the campaign while building a speeder that fits your style is a lot trickier.

The team wanted “all those extra systems and different vehicles to represent the breadth of vehicles,” and to ensure you’re experimenting with the best builds possible. As you work through Galactic Racer’s interestingly roguelike-esque story mode, you’ll wander around hub areas in third-person, get invested in a brand-new Star Wars plot, and choose between a variety of parts and upgrades to improve your speeder. Those parts can upgrade your speeder’s stats, improve your boost, or make your chassis more durable. “The combinations are in the trillions for different builds,” I was told. Fuse Games wants to “encourage people to experiment, whereas, in like a [racing] traditional game, you will build up your car to the top, and then you will win everything.” Even from my short time with the game, it’s clear that you’ll want to tinker with your speeder all the time, making changes for each event type and location. Improvement is much more involved, and that’s rare for a racing game.

Causing your opponents to crash is immensely enjoyable, too. I can see hints of Burnout Paradise and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit in the presentation of said crashing, and there’s a very satisfying ding sound when you take someone out. It sounds authentically Star Wars, but also makes you want to be a bit of a menace on track.

That’s even more the case in Galactic Racer’s pod racing. It’s something Star Wars fans have wanted for a long time, and Fuse knows it has to get it right. Thankfully, it feels great, the action being significantly faster and more intense than the standard racing. “You cannot have a Star Wars racing game without pod racing in it. Pod racing has got to embody the fantasy that’s displayed in those movies. It’s the pinnacle of racing; it’s the pinnacle of racing in Star Wars,” Crimmins said, and he’s not wrong. It’s promising that the studio knows that, and I’m interested to see how prominent a role it plays in the story mode.

Star Wars Galactic Racer isn’t just a wonderful representation of racing in a Star Wars world, but it’s a racing game with some truly unique features. The complex racing mechanics, the unique structure of the campaign mode, and the deep upgrade system all make for a far more engaging game than I expected. This isn’t a game for people who like to just hold the accelerator button and relax, which is both surprising and exciting.

Don’t panic, Discord isn’t losing GIFs as Google shuts down Tenor API

I’ve said it many times here: I’m old. Recently, my little cousin mocked me for using a reaction GIF because “those are for old people.” While he may not care for the animated images, if you’ve been on social media today, you’ll have seen word that Google is shutting down Tenor’s API, and you may be concerned that your favorite apps like Discord are suddenly going to become GIF-less. Thankfully, that’s not the case.

Tenor is a library of GIFs that has been used across the internet for over a decade. Users can go in and search for one that matches an emotion or references something being discussed and post it on social media. For a long time, Tenor has been the home of GIFs online, and was acquired by Google in 2018.

Its place at the top of the GIF mountain came to an end earlier this year, however, when Google announced plans to make the API, which apps like Discord and Twitter/X used to incorporate the library into their systems, private, essentially signalling the end of Tenor on those platforms.

Now, on June 30, Google has confirmed that Tenor’s API is going offline today, and if you’ve been browsing X today, you’ll see hundreds of people in sheer panic that their ability to use GIFs is about to be taken away permanently. Well, I’m here to confirm that isn’t the case, and many of your favorite apps have already stopped using Tenor in the build-up to this announcement.

For example, Discord has been testing both Klipy and Giphy since the Spring, moving away from Tenor before the API stopped working. The changeover has been extremely smooth, with your favorite GIFs still appearing in the search box, so many people haven’t noticed. However, if you go to Discord right now and look for a GIF, you’ll see the box now says “Search Klipy.”

WhatsApp also switched off Tenor back in January and opted to go to Klipy, while X has moved to a currently unknown GIF library.

So, if you use GIFs as a form of communication, or just love posting them in response to any questions you’re asked, don’t panic, as they’ll still be available, just from a new provider. I, however, will be limiting my use of them, at least when my judgmental family is around.

If you’re not a GIF fiend, though, you should definitely test out Discord’s new Spatial Audio system, which makes it sound like you’re sitting in the same room as your buddies when you’re shouting at each other while playing games.

All Minecraft biomes in 26.2

Minecraft Biomes are the different areas of Minecraft, across the overworld, Nether, and The End. Each is vast, varied, and full of things you need to survive, from the buried treasures found in the oceans to the exotic loot found in the Deep Dark. As you randomly generate each world, there are never any guarantees about where you’ll find the Minecraft biome you’re looking for, but there are clues to follow if you pay close enough attention.

Each Minecraft biome offers different resources that you may require in your journey, whether that’s to beat the Ender Dragon or simply to create the best Minecraft house in the land. They also house different creatures, building blocks and materials, NPCs, and even loot. This means that, while finding all of them is rarely essential to your progress, it can make things a bit easier.

All Minecraft overworld Biomes

All the primary Minecraft biomes in the overworld are:

Dappled Forest

Added in June 2026, the Dappled Forest is a new iteration of the forest biome, and it can be found near other cold biomes. You’ll be able to find Poplar Trees, both fallen and standing, as well as Shelf Mushrooms around them.

You’ll also find various passive and neutral mobs in the biome. You’ll find Sheep, Chicken, Cow, Pig, Rabbit, and Fox, with their cold variants spawning when relevant. The Dappled Forest biome was added to Minecraft at the same time as the Abandoned Camp structure, and there’s a special variant of those camps for the new biome.

Plains

The plains are one of the most common biomes in Minecraft, and are home to lots of wide open spaces, grass, flowers, farm animals such as sheep, cows, and pigs, and the occasional oak tree. You might also be lucky enough to stumble upon a Minecraft village or two while exploring a plains biome.

The plains biome is probably most appealing for its building options, thanks to the mostly flat land. You can also decorate your Minecraft house with some of the colorful flowers found around the area, and use them to make dyes. Speaking of flowers, one of the variants of the plains biome is the sunflower plains, which is full of tall yellow flower.

Forest

Forest biomes are, funnily enough, full of trees. The basic forest is specifically home to oak and birch trees. While you can find animals within them, they’re mostly good for farming wood. Forests are also home to many flower variants as well, including tulips of all colors, two-block peonies, and lilac.

Speaking of flowers, there is also a flower forest variant of this biome. You’ll know you’re in one from the masses of flowers across a vast area. While you can find Minecraft bees in most plains and forest biomes, you’re also incredibly likely to find them in flower forests thanks to their love of pretty plants.

Dark Forest

Now we’re getting into the good stuff – or the good wood variants to be precise. Unlike oak or birch forests, dark forests house huge dark oak trees. Dark oak are great for farming wood thanks to their 2×2 trunks, but their wood type also looks great in Minecraft builds owing to its darker brown tone.

Dark forests are also recognizable by huge mushrooms interspersed throughout the trees, making this biome look like something out of a fairytale.

Another key difference between these and normal forests is that this biome is dangerous – more hostile Minecraft mobs can spawn due to the lack of light. That said, it’s always worth taking a stroll through a Dark Forest as they can also spawn a rare woodland mansion, and is the only biome in which they can be found.

Cherry Grove

The Cherry Grove is one of the newer biomes, added in the 1.20 update in 2023. This stunning area is also the first to bring a more colorful tree and wood variant to the overworld with pink Sakura trees aplenty. There are also pretty petals strewn across the ground that can be picked up and placed wherever you want them, even in another biome, so be sure to collect some while you’re there.

Of course, the main draws of this biome are its cherry trees and the pink wood variant they drop. That said, they can also provide some stunning backdrops on which to build your base. Most often found high up near mountain biomes, you can frequently find cherry biomes surrounded by snow-topped peaks, making for an incredible view.

The Pale Garden

This incredibly unique biome was added in December 2024 and is the first of its kind. Adding dynamic features to Minecraft, the Pale Garden changes between night and day and even has its own atmospheric sound changes that trigger as soon as you set foot in the spooky forest.

Eyeblossom flowers can only be found in this biome, and they open up at night, showing off a different design depending on the time of day. What’s more, this biome comes with another wood type: Pale Oak. This white wood is a beautiful building material – but watch out for The Creaking, a dangerous mob unique to the Pale Garden, when you’re out sourcing logs.

By successfully killing Creakings, you might notice that some of the trees around you change their texture, too. This is because the essence of those Creakings find their way into the wood, forming Resin. This material can be gathered from these wood blocks and turned into Resin building blocks.

Swamp

Normal Minecraft Swamps don’t contain a wood variant, as they are also home to oak trees, but they do have long vines growing from them here, which can be obtained with shears. You can also gather lilypads from the green-tinged waters here, so it’s perfect if you’re gathering materials for a more natural or overgrown build – keep your eyes peeled for some beautiful, blue, swamp-exclusive orchids, as well.

Aside from pretty rare flowers and other plants, the swamp is also the only place you might come across a witch hut. These small structures aren’t all that useful, but it’s pretty cool to say you’ve found one. Just be careful that the dangerous witch resident isn’t at home.

Finally, swamps are also the only place slime spawns overground. They only appear at night, but if you’re kitted up with armor and weapons, trawling a swamp after dark is a great way to farm Minecraft slime. You can find plenty of clay here, too, thanks to all the shallow water.

Mangrove Swamp

This rare biome always makes us think of that Kiss the Girl scene in The Little Mermaid. Added in The Wild Update 1.19 in 2022, the Mangrove Swamp is a watery biome with winding tree roots arching across its muddy floor. There are a heap of unique blocks to pick up here, including mud itself, which can be used to produce mud bricks, mangrove wood, which has an interesting purple tint, and hollow Mangrove root blocks.

Unless you’ve got a specific idea in mind for a cool mangrove swamp base, this isn’t the best biome to make home: it’s dark, dangerous, and very difficult to traverse. That said, it’s very cool, and we’d certainly recommend seeking one out to have a look around, and perhaps to row your own boat through the weaving vines and roots, just like Ariel and Eric. Surely there’s a Minecraft mod to add singing wildlife…

Jungle

Jungles are full of huge, towering trees covered in vines and can be a great place to find unique resources. Along with ocelots, this is the place where you can find cocoa pods and melons, making this biome a useful source of food. Occasionally, you can also find jungle temples here, which are fun little dungeons full of stone and loot.

Taiga

The taiga features yet another type of tree: the spruce. This variant is another dark brown and one of our personal favorite types of wood for building. The taiga comes in a few variants, but the most obvious are normal and snowy. While taiga villages can spawn in either, snowy taiga villages are objectively the best, with berries and campfires surrounding snowy wood cabins. We won’t hear anything to the contrary.

Another completely unique biome, the taiga is also where you can find podzol, a unique type of dirt block. To take any elsewhere, you must have a tool enchanted with Silk Touch or it’ll just turn to normal dirt. Podzol is the perfect environment for mushrooms to grow, but you’ll also find plenty of berries around this biome, and Minecraft foxes and wolves are the major wildlife attraction here.

Snowy Plains

Snowy tundras are covered in snow and ice blocks. These areas are often similar to plains in terms of underlying structure, but everything is a lot colder. Instead of rain, snowy tundras have snow falling, and you’ll often find a spattering of spruce trees and roaming wolves. There’s a variant of this Minecraft biome called the ‘Ice Spikes Plains’, which is covered with spikes of packed ice. A great place to host your Minecraft Christmas.

Ice Spikes

One of the most interesting Minecraft biomes, Ice Spikes are immediately recognizable, even from a distance, from their tall spires of ice. Other than these formulaic pointed structures, there isn’t much that’s different about ice spikes than other icy biomes, and they’re usually found adjacent to others, so you’ll see polar bears, strays, and other such entities around here.

Desert

It might surprise you to learn that deserts are full of sand and sandstone. Along with things like cacti, you can occasionally find desert wells and desert temples. It’s not the most exciting area in the game, but glass can be made from sand, so if you’re planning on a Minecraft build with windows, it’ll be good to keep an eye out for your nearest desert biome.

Badlands

The badlands are a completely unique, barren, hot biome, home to red sand and terracotta. While these orange deserts were neglected for a long time, the addition of the Minecraft Armadillo in 2024 brought some life to the wasteland.

As well as being a gorgeous sight, badlands are actually an amazing biome to explore. You’ll find that gold ore spawns more generously underground here, as do mineshafts, with the interconnecting passageways taking over most of the area. They’re even accessible from above ground, and you’re likely to find minecart loot chests abandoned on the surface.

Savanna

Savannas can often be found adjacent to either deserts or badlands and is a sort of halfway point between the more vibrant plains and the wastelands. Along with acacia trees, you can also find villages, horses, and even llamas. It also never rains here, which is nice.

Mushroom fields

Mushroom fields are strange islands, usually away from the main landmass of any given world, covered in a variant of dirt called mycelium. You can find giant mushrooms here, along with a mob called a Mooshroom, a cow made of mushrooms that you should protect/destroy at all costs because it is cute/deeply haunting.

Mountains

Mountain areas feature huge stone hills that often conceal hidden caves and can lead to some more spectacular sights in the crafting game. Waterfalls, lava falls, huge cliffs and deep valleys are all fairly commonplace here. This is a great biome to visit for early-game access to ore, as the caves that spawn here are often easy to see from a distance.

Ocean

Surprising absolutely no one, the ocean is a big old mass of water. It’s genuinely huge and is full of aquatic animals, which vary depending on how deep you are and also how warm or cold it is. The deep ocean is a variant that goes much deeper but can also have abandoned mineshafts, ocean monuments, and other opportunities for exploration, provided you can hold your breath for long enough.

We recommend brewing some potions to help with that: while you’re down there, keep an eye out for the infamous Minecraft trident as well!

All underground Minecraft biomes

The Deep Dark

The Deep Dark is the most dangerous and exciting underground biome – perhaps the most dangerous and exciting biome period. This glittering turquoise biome is identified by the presence of the Sculk family of blocks, so if you see any while mining away, you know you’re in the Deep Dark. This could also be a sign that you’re near an Ancient city, as this is the only place in which they spawn, and they themselves are home to the terrifying Minecraft Warden mob, so there’s a lot going on here.

Dripstone Caves

The Caves and Cliffs update of 2021 completely overhauled the underground cave system, making them larger and more incredible, while adding two cave biomes: Dripstone Caves and Lush Caves.

The star of Dripstone Caves are the Dripstone stalagmites and stalactites hanging from the ceiling and rising from the floor. Not only do they look cool, they also deal damage when they fall onto entities or entities fall onto them (yourself and mobs included), so they can make for pretty interesting traps and treacherous adventures.

Lush Caves

Incredible lush caves can be among the most stunning views you’ll come across in Minecraft, all while underground. In contrast to the dark and gloomy caves elsewhere, glow berries hang from the ceiling of Lush Caves, lighting the area, while the more dim Glow Lichen adds a more subtle glow.

Speaking of glowing things, you might even be lucky enough to find some Glow Squid in these flora-filled caves, as well as Minecraft axalotl, tropical fish, flowering azalea, and dripleaves. The whole area is also likely to be covered in pretty, atmospheric particles as well, dripping from spore blossoms growing above your head.

Despite all of this, perhaps the most interesting thing about these caves is that you can locate them from above ground. Azalea oak trees with pink flowering leaves can appear in any biome and are an indicator that their roots are set in a lush cave beneath your feet.

Minecraft Nether biomes

Another huge update that added a bunch of biomes was the Nether update of 2020. This update transformed the barren hellish landscape of netherrack into a beautiful and varied realm – but it’s still pretty hellish.

Crimson Forest

The Nether was already a pretty red-heavy realm, and the Crimson Forest takes that one step further with nether wart, crimson trees, and weeping crimson vines. Almost everything you can see here is a bright shade of red, lit by orange-tinted Shroomlights.

You can find plenty of Piglins to trade with here, but you might also come across plenty of Hoglins, too, and these can charge at you and deal serious damage. Piglins themselves aren’t safe either, as they’ll attack unless you’re wearing something gold – sadly, Hoglins aren’t distracted the same way and attack regardless.

Warped Forest

The Picturesque turquoise alternative to the Crimson Forest, the Warped Forest features aqua-tinted nylium and fungus. Be careful as you take in your surroundings, though – instead of Hoglins, the Warped Forest is home to Endermen, and looking around casually could accidentally rile them up. It does, however, make it the perfect place to farm some of their eyes.

Nether Wastes

The Nether Wastes are essentially the old Nether. Filled with netherrack and lava, these biomes are home to most Nether mobs, including Pigmen, Skeletons, and Ghasts.

Soul Sand Valley

Of course, every biome in the Nether is dangerous, but we’d take extra care when venturing into a Soul Sand Valley. Skeletons reside here more than any other mob, so you need to be aware of ranged attacks coming from every side. What’s more, you’re slowed down significantly on soul sand, so it’s harder to get away once one locks onto you.

This gray and gloomy biome is instantly recognizable from the dull soul sand and bright-blue flames, but you can also find large fossils here, perfect for farming plenty of bonemeal.

Basalt Delta

If you’re wondering why we haven’t mentioned those adorable-but-deadly Magma Cubes yet, don’t worry, they’re all here in the Basalt Delta.

Probably the most difficult Nether terrain to cross, Basalt Deltas are full of jagged mounds of basalt. The uneven ground isn’t the thing to be aware of here, as small, one-block wells of lava are also common, and one wrong step could spell your doom. That’s if a Magma Cube doesn’t get you first.

How to know which biome you’re in

On Java Edition on PC, there is a simple way to know which biome you’re currently in: press F3. This keybind opens a menu with all sorts of information, including your current coordinates, light level, and which block you’re looking at. On the right-hand side, as shown in the image above, you can also see exactly which biome you’re in.

Minecraft biome finder

Looking for a particular biome in your Minecraft seed? You can use the Minecraft biome finder command to locate the nearest instance of each biome. Simply type /locate biome [biome name] into the chat window, and you’ll be given the biome’s coordinates, which you can use to teleport yourself there (or walk, of course).

If you search for a biome that is not present in your current dimension or can’t be found nearby, the game tells you it “could not find [biome] in reasonable distance.”

That’s everything you need to know about Minecraft Biomes. We tend to see brand-new biomes or variants alongside major updates to one of the best PC games, so we’ll keep adding to this guide as we hear more information about upcoming features. For Minecraft tips, make sure you check out the best Minecraft skins so you can dress your best no matter the location.

Portal 2 just got a Steam Frame compatibility rating, hinting at the VR headset’s imminent launch

Valve has already committed to the Steam Frame launch sometime this summer, and a fresh clue has just appeared. Portal 2 just got given its Steam Frame compatibility rating, which shows the classic Valve puzzler is rated as Playable.

This rating is surprising, as Portal 2 has long been a favorite for VR gamers. However, Valve cites the game’s lack of support for the Steam Frame’s native resolution as the main reason for it only getting a Playable rating.

Regarding the rest of the game, Valve notes that it does support the headset’s default controller configuration, handles Steam Frame controller icons properly, has default graphics settings that perform well, and has readable interface text. In other words, the game runs perfectly well, but you won’t be able to play at the full resolution of the headset.

As to that resolution, the Steam Frame is a big step up in resolution from the Valve Index. That headset came with a 1,440 × 1,600 resolution display for each eye, while the Steam Frame jumps up to 2,160 × 2,160.

The new headset also adds standalone gaming capabilities, so you can use the headset either connected to a PC or on its own – in a similar vein to the Meta Quest 3, for instance. In contrast, the Valve Index could only be used when connected to a PC. It’s this standalone gaming ability that is being tested with the Steam Frame compatibility rating, with compatibility when connected to a PC, depending on the rest of your PCs hardware, which Valve can’t test.

These specs mean this headset isn’t set to become one of the best VR headsets for sheer image quality. However, it should be a big upgrade over the Index, and expectations are high that it will offer a smooth, easy-to-use experience, as gamers have become accustomed to with recent Valve hardware.

The new Steam Frame compatibility rating, meanwhile, works in just the same way as the Steam Deck compatibility rating and the newly-added Steam Machine rating. Valve will test each game with the devices and provide a rating of Unsupported, Playable, or Verified, where Unsupported means the game is effectively unplayable, perhaps due to a complete lack of support, an anti-cheat that is incompatible with SteamOS, or due to controls not working, for instance.

Meanwhile, Playable means just that: the game will work, but, as demonstrated above, some aspects of the game might not perform in an ideal manner. Finally, Verified is Valve’s official seal of approval that a game works perfectly well on the device.

Valve confirmed the Steam Frame release window a few weeks ago, confirming it would be arriving this summer. However, it hasn’t further clarified exactly when that will be. The Steam Machine just launched, around eight weeks after the Steam Controller, so a release towards the tail end of August seems likely, giving Valve a few weeks to allow the Steam Machine launch to pass before moving on to the Steam Frame.

Bad news, Blizzard won’t be running a fresh Season of Discovery server in WoW Classic

Season of Discovery has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to the recent Fresh community event on Wild Growth. As players flock to the server, leakers discovered some new WoW Classic builds, prompting many to believe that a fresh SoD server was on the way. Unfortunately, that’s been shut down by Blizzard developer Josh Greenfield, who confirmed that there are no plans for a fresh Season of Discovery Server.

Season of Discovery is a fun World of Warcraft Classic server that breaks all the rules. It includes new talents, dungeons, and raids separate from the main experience. Items are different and have interesting new twists, and you can even combine talents that you wouldn’t normally be able to to create a unique experience unlike anything else in World of Warcraft.

While Blizzard ended active development in June 2025, WoW fans haven’t been able to let go just yet. The community banded together to create the Fake Fresh event, which attempts to create the feeling of a brand-new server without actually being one. Players have flooded back in, with player numbers doubling to 4,600 since the event started. Many hoped this would grab the attention of the MMO’s developer and prompt them to create an official fresh server. Unfortunately, those hopes have been dashed.

On June 27, as reported by WoWhead, players found a new WoW Classic build with the name “1.15.9.68185.” While this collection of numbers may not mean anything to you, those with an in-depth knowledge of the game immediately spotted that Season of Discover was released on build 1.15. With this appearing to be an update to that build, it’s no surprise that we all got excited.

Sadly, WoW Classic Senior Game Designer Josh Greenfield confirmed that wasn’t the case, stating that there were no plans for a fresh Season of Discovery server while responding to a player who was concerned about starting to grind the Fake Fresh event, only for their progress to disappear if an official fresh start came.

“There will be no fresh SoD,” he answered. “‘Just open a new server’ is not as trivial as most people think it is. It requires many teams and a large portion of the Classic team to make that happen. Then there’s an ongoing effort to manage each phase as it rolls out. With other things we have going on, that’s a distraction we can’t afford.

“I hate to come in and definitively say things like this but as you say, it would suck to NOT play this current revival in the vain hope some fresh realm will spin up and yeah, that just isn’t happening right now. While I obviously love SoD and I’m very excited about the current event that’s happening, it would be irresponsible for us to split our time on this right now.”

So, there you have it. Blizzard has no plans for Season of Discovery, but on the plus side, we now know for certain that we can jump into SoD and enjoy the Fake Fresh event with no fear of losing our progress. It’s not ideal, but it’s definitely better than nothing.

Fake Fresh events are running on both NA and EU servers, so jump into the action and relive all the fun of Season of Discovery right now.

Valve just killed the Steam Machine Companion Cube

Both prospective Steam Machine buyers and new owners alike have just been dealt a huge blow: Valve has stepped in to stop Drband from producing its much-coveted Companion Cube case.

After developing the product off its own back, without initially seeking licensing approval, Dbrand has been denied retroactive licensing for the project, forcing it to completely pull the plug on what has been one of the most celebrated potential add-ons to the Steam Machine.

The case was a plastic cube into which the Steam Machine could be fitted, giving the mini PC the look of the much-loved Weighted Companion Cube from Valve’s Portal games. It’s a simple, and in some ways obvious idea, but brilliant nonetheless.

However, with thousands of people having placed orders for the cube, the company has been forced to refund buyers and completely down tools on further continuing the project. Taking to Reddit, the company posted a statement explaining the situation:

“As you’ve probably noticed, the Steam Machine Companion Cube was eviscerated from our website, YouTube, and other social media platforms last week.

“The blunt version is that we made the Companion Cube without a license from Valve. Everyone who purchased a Companion Cube will have their refund issued by end-of-day. Everything else beyond this is just detail. If you want the full story, keep reading.”

In that further reading, Dbrand explains that it launched the Companion Cube project on November 12, 2025, the day the Steam Machine was announced, and that 15,000 people signed up to show interest in the cube (myself included). It then developed the product, taking over 1,000 hours and requiring the development of 44 injection moulds, eventually launching it on June 22.

However, despite it becoming “the second-fastest selling product in our 15-year history, behind only the Switch 2 Killswitch” the story quickly took a negative turn. Valve’s legal team reached out, forcing Dbrand to pull the plug on the project. The company requested a retroactive licensing agreement, but Valve said no.

Dbrand goes on to admit that the situation is entirely its own fault, and that Valve shouldn’t be blamed, saying, “Valve didn’t do anything wrong here. They built a game franchise a lot of people love and they alone get to decide how it’s used.” However, it’s not clear why Valve didn’t reach out much earlier, as Dbrand was public about its intentions from the outset.

This is a decidedly sad turn of events for what seemed like such a positive, fun celebration of a beloved gaming character/entity/object. It’s possible Dbrand and Valve may be able to resolve the situation, but the suggestion from Dbrand’s post is that the ship truly has sailed. To quote Portal’s GLaDOS, “You euthanized your faithful Companion Cube more quickly than any test subject on record.”

Tomb Raider: Underworld Free Download

Download File

Tomb Raider: Underworld Direct Download:

Tomb Raider: Underworld represents a new advancement in exploration-based gameplay. As fearless adventurer Lara Croft explore exotic locations around the world, each designed with an incredible attention to detail resulting in breathtaking high-definition visual fidelity that creates a truly believable world and delivers a new level of challenge and choice. SpaceCraft

• Master your surroundings: Reach new heights with the broadest range of acrobatic abilities and utilize objects within the environment to uncover new paths to explore.
• Explore epic and unknown worlds: Discover ancient mysteries of the underworld hidden within the coast of Thailand, frozen islands of the Arctic Sea, the jungles of Mexico, and more.
• Treacherous and unpredictable challenges: Each level is an elaborate multi-stage puzzle masked within an interactive environmental playground offering more flexibility over how the area is solved.
• New range of combat options: Choose to pacify or kill, target multiple enemies at once with the new dual-target system, and shoot with one hand while suspended with the other.
• New state-of-the-art gear: Utilize the latest technology in Lara’s upgraded inventory to navigate the world including:
  – Active Sonar map: A revolutionary new tool that emits an active sonar ping to create a 3D image of Lara’s surroundings, perfect for uncovering hidden items and locations.
  – Multi-purpose grapple: A claw-like device with a high-tension cable designed for climbing, rappelling, performing wall runs and manipulating objects within the environment.
  – All-terrain hybrid motorbike: A unique vehicle design built to drive on everything from mud to snow and ice.

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
Supported OS: Microsoft Windows XP (admin rights required)/Microsoft Windows Vista (admin rights required)
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3+GHz or AMD Athlon 2.5+GHz
Memory: 1GB (Windows XP) / 2GB (Windows Vista) system memory
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6 series 6800GT (or better) / ATI 1800XT (or better)
Sound Card: Direct X 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB Free Space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Download File

The Lost Adventures codes (June 2026)

These new The Lost Adventures codes should serve to get you ahead in this popular new urban adventure. You wouldn’t guess from the name alone, but this is yet another Roblox anime adventure based wholly around JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Ok, maybe the last part would give it away, but only if you’re a seasoned JoJo nut. For anyone else, you thought you were getting something original, but it was this: another JoJo game on Roblox!

As of its Gold Experience Requiem update, you can get that very same Stand to appear before you. Diavolo makes an appearance as an end-game boss, and an iconic colosseum emerges as a new place of interest on a huge new map. With the TLA codes below, you’ll get the yen you need to fund meaningful combat upgrades, as well as the keys needed to tackle loot-laden bosses.

Here are the new The Lost Adventure codes:

• REQUIEM – 5k yen, keys, and more (new!)

Need to sit down after all that standing up? Take a rest break and click here to follow us on Google, where you’ll find hundreds of other active Roblox code guides ready to get you freebies in some of the biggest experiences on the platform.

How do I claim The Lost Adventures codes?

You’ll need to jump through a few hoops to claim codes in The Lost Adventures. Here’s how it’s done:

• Launch The Lost Adventures on Roblox.
• Close the game.
• Like the game.
• Click the author link beneath the game name.
• Join the game group.
• Launch The Lost Adventures again.
• Click the house icon under your health bar.
• Click ‘Codes’
• Enter a working code.
• Click ‘Use code’ to claim your rewards.

How do I get more The Lost Adventures codes?

We’ll admit that finding new codes in The Lost Adventures codes isn’t easy. Though they’re on the The Lost Adventures Discord server, which you’ll find a link to at the bottom of the game page, they’re scattered about its various channels. You won’t find a dedicated code channel on there. Instead, you have to rummage through months of old posts. It’s a pain.

What’s the alternative? You can trust us to do our job in providing an up-to-date list of new The Lost Adventures codes – like the one you’ll see above.

Expired codes

STARBOUND | SORRYFORDELAY1 | SORRYFORDELAY2 | THANKSFOR6KMEMBERS

Need more yen? Come back here from time to time. There’s a good chance you’ll find new The Lost Adventures codes to give you a little boost.

Valorant’s Neon is “curbed” for now, but Riot says “balancing her is definitely challenging”

Balance will always be the primary talking point when it comes to online multiplayer games. There’s never a silver-bullet solution: someone somewhere is going to hate that 0.1% nerf, or that 10% buff. Valorant is a game that’s seen myriad OP characters come and go: remember Chamber on release, and even the original version of Jett. One of the most frustrating Agents to deal with, however, has always been Neon. Give her a Bucky or a Judge and away she goes, tearing down anyone in her path and planting the Spike before you even know she’s on-site. She’s always been a menace, but in 2026, she’s been absolutely disgusting.

The issue with Neon is, perhaps unsurprisingly, her raw speed. Using her High Gear she can zip across the map, with her slide allowing her to duck out of harm’s way, while her Fast Lane walls obscure her. Then there’s the bunny hopping. With Neon’s High Gear, she was able to bhop around the map popping heads with ease. 2026 has been a rough one for non-Neon enjoyers like me.

Following a brief period on the bench, the Filipina Duelist has (thankfully) been hit with the nerf hammer; High Gear’s jump speed now matches every other Agent’s, and her fuel gauge can only be replenished when she scores kills with her ultimate. She’s taken a little bit of a tumble down the Valorant tier list as a result, replaced by the ever-dominant Clove, but generally, these changes have been for the better.

On the ground at Valorant Masters London – where Neon had a pick rate of just 32% compared to 45% in Santiago – I asked Lead Agent Designer Dan ‘penguin’ Hardison and Agents & Live Product Manager Tiffy ‘TiffyMunchsnax’ Tsay about the Neon saga, and if they’re happy with where she’s landed.

“Balancing Neon is definitely challenging,” Hardison says. “I think Duelists are some of our harder characters to balance because our internal expectation for them is that they that go forward, take space, and take risks for their team. That can obviously come with challenges, and over time as we’ve balance the game, we’ve found that getting players to move off of Jett and Raze – the mobility Duelists that can fly over setups or take space really quickly – is really challenging.”

Patch 8.11 marked the team’s “first experimental design swing to get characters who are grounded to take space in the same, effective ways.” Said update was accompanied by the controversial Neon and Iso buffs, with Hardison admitting that there were some “tuning challenges as a result of those changes” but notes that he believes “[the game] ended up in a decent spot.”

“The recent changes for Neon were mostly what we call game health-oriented changes; it wasn’t strictly like we just wanted a bar graph of Neon’s power to go down,” he continues. “We wanted to improve the ‘playing against’ experience for Neon’s opponents. The hypothesis was that she could take too much space without expending abilities or having to use similar tools compared to other characters because of her bunnyhopping while sprinting.

“That was the change we ended up making, and I think we’ve done a decent job curbing some of her power. She’s still really, really powerful, but we’ve seen a much more spread out set out Duelists at this tournament so far, so from my lens I think the changes were successful in the short term. We’ll have to see if she crops back up, but in general, every time we do a game-health-oriented list and it seems to curb some player frustration and make the ecosystem more varied, we consider that a win on the dev side.”

Tsay agrees, noting that it’s all about “what is the right way to have the player playing as a Duelist, but also give the players playing against it a reasonable expectation. This is where we thought the new fuel system with Neon might be the best swing of it for now.” She stresses that the team doesn’t want to hamper Neon’s “expressive movement,” but acknowledges that the bunnyhopping needed a “hit.”

While Neon’s reign of terror is somewhat over, she’s an Agent that’ll always either feel completely broken, or completely useless. It’s a balancing dance that I don’t envy, but for now at least I’m just glad she’s not obliterating me a minute into the round.

RAM prices “will never be like last year again,” predicts PC maker Lenovo

High PC RAM prices really are here to stay, it seems, as Lenovo is the latest PC maker to admit that it could be years before the AI data center-induced rise in RAM and SSD prices begins to fall. In a recent presentation at ISC 2026, the company stated that RAM prices “will never be like last year again,” and while the delivery of this line was made in a somewhat joking manner, the underlying message was clear.

Elaborating on when the best RAM might become more affordable again, Lenovo referred to a “new normal” that could appear from 2030 onwards, although even this is likely to see higher prices than in 2024 and 2025.

More troublingly, the Legion Go maker’s prediction already takes into account that production capacity from memory manufacturers is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The likes of SK Hynix and Samsung are due to open new manufacturing plants as quickly as possible, but demand is expected to be so high that it won’t see prices fall.

It’s worth noting that RAM prices in recent years, particularly just before the big RAM price increases at the end of last year, were so low that manufacturers were sometimes losing money. As such, a new norm arguably should be at a higher price. However, 32GB of DDR5 RAM going from costing as little as $70 to now typically costing $400 is well beyond what most would consider a reasonable reset.

The news of Lenovo’s comments comes from German tech site Computerbase, which reports that Lenovo also gave advice on how to survive the current RAMpocalypse. Talking more specifically about business/server applications, but with advice that’s somewhat applicable to PC buyers too, the company explained that buyers should consider their requirements carefully and consider optimizing their operation in other ways before exploring options for how much RAM they need.

In terms of gaming PCs, this could be applied by considering whether you really do need 32GB of RAM, for instance, or whether 16GB is enough. For the last few years, we’ve recommended opting for 32GB, mainly to provide a bit of headroom, given that RAM prices were so cheap. However, when it comes to gaming, 32GB is still far from necessary, and 16GB is enough to run any modern title at maxed-out settings. You just might need to close every other application on your system so you don’t run out of memory, but otherwise you’ll be fine.

Conversely, if you’re regularly streaming, like to record your gaming sessions, have multiple browser tabs open in the background while you game, or have video editing projects still sitting open in Premiere, that’s when you might want to stump up the cash for 32GB or more.

Steam Machine reservations are already being resold on Ebay for up to $2900

Valve tried its best with the Steam Machine launch, but not even a randomized queue and limit of one device per buyer has stopped the mini gaming PC from falling victim to scalpers. Several of those lucky enough to obtain a Steam Machine reservation slot have already taken to the likes of Ebay to resell their units for prices as high as double that of the device itself.

In one example, a 2TB Steam Machine with a controller is listed for $2,899.99, just over double its official $1,428 price. With many considering the Steam Machine price to already be far higher than they hoped, these listings put further strain buyers that can’t wait for the next restock.

In a couple of examples spotted by Videocardz.com, two 2TB Steam Machines with controllers were apparently listed for $2,899.99 and $2,700, while we’ve spotted a still-live listing for a 512GB Steam Machine without a controller being sold for $1,800.

These Steam Machine reservation listings are essentially a promise that the seller will pass on the device to the buyer once they have the product in hand. Technically, they are legal on Ebay, so long as the listing makes it clear in the title and description that the product isn’t in-hand, which most of the listings spotted so far have done.

We saw similar reselling of as-yet-not-obtained devices following the Steam Controller launch. However, Valve initially allowed buyers to order two Steam Controllers at once, making the option of buying two controllers then selling one a much more tempting option.

Also, with those devices costing a-not-exactly-budget, but reasonable value $99, the $200 to $300 price range seen for resold units was a much more affordable one that likely tempted many buyers. However, the Steam Machine is a much more expensive device, with prices starting at $1,049, so paying double that is simply not going to be an option for even the keenest Valve hardware fans.

Those who didn’t get a Steam Machine purchase slot on the original randomized reservation list may still be able to buy direct from Valve, avoiding having to pay scalper prices or wait many months for fresh stock. I missed out on that first run, and the email I received from Valve notes that, “As we work our way through the reservation queue, some customers may cancel their reservations. If that happens, you may be moved into the reservation queue, and you’ll be notified via email that you have a reservation after all.”

All this leaves me very intrigued to see how the launch for Valve’s upcoming VR headset, the Steam Frame, goes. Is there enough latent demand for fresh VR hardware – and anything made by Valve – that there will be a frenzy for that device too, or are there simply too many other great options now available for VR enthusiasts? The best VR headsets already comfortably surpass its capabilities, are SteamVR compatible, and have been out for a long time. Time will tell.

Monkey Soccer codes (June 2026)

Looking for new Monkey Soccer codes? Anything to gain an on-pitch advantage, right? We can’t blame you. When a feather touch gone wrong can derail an entire match in seconds, you need to look for any sort of leg up.

Monkey Soccer takes the boot-iful game and adds the high-flying fun of being a master acrobat to the mix. The result is a multi-dimensional take on one of the world’s biggest sports, adding vertical shots, strikes, and satisfying curveballs to an already complex and hard-to-master attempt to get a ball around a small army and into a faraway net.

Here are the latest Monkey Soccer codes:

• Brazil – 1k bananas (new!)
• sixseven – a lucky spin and 670 bananas (new!)
• lucky – a lucky spin (new!)

Need a break? Grab a banana and click here to follow us on Google, where you’ll find loads more code guides for some of the biggest Roblox games around.

How do I redeem Monkey Soccer codes?

You barely need to step foot on the pitch to start claiming Monkey Soccer codes – just follow these steps:

• Launch Monkey Soccer on Roblox.
• Click the ‘shop’ icon.
• Scroll to the bottom.
• Enter a working code in the text box.
• Click the ‘redeem’ button.

How do I get more Monkey Soccer codes?

You’ll find the majority of the new codes hidden away on the Monkey Soccer Discord server. To join it, just look for the link at the bottom of the game page. It won’t be visible if your Roblox account isn’t appropriately age-verified for chat permissions. If that’s a problem, don’t worry: that’s what the code list above is for.

If you can join the Discord, just hang around the “game-announcements” channel. Each new update log includes new codes highlighted in their own section.

How do I spin in Monkey Soccer?

Once you’ve used a couple codes to add some free spins to your account, you just need to spend them on style rolls. Click the ‘Styles’ button at the bottom, pick whether you want to use a regular or a lucky spin, and go.

A single normal spin costs 250 bananas, so consider those code rewards as a handful of less potent style spins. A lucky spin, on the other hand, has a boosted chance to unlock a rarer Monkey Soccer style, like the legendary Banana Sentinal ability. Those cost Robux, but you can get a few with the codes above.

There you have it – new Monkey Soccer codes to claim all the ripe bananas and the odd free spin to keep your scoring.

Delta Force’s “biggest update of the year” adds a radioactive map, Terminator-style enemy agents, and a transport chopper

A new season of Delta Force is imminent, and the free-to-play shooter remains a quietly serious challenger to many of the more talked-about names. Offering both large-scale, Battlefield-style action with its Havoc Warfare mode, and an extraction format courtesy of Hazard Operations, the FPS game continues to outpace many of its rivals on Steam. This weekend alone, its peak player count matches that of Call of Duty, the standalone CoD MW2, and Battlefield 6 combined, and that’s before Team Jade has dropped what it’s dubbing the “biggest update of the year.”

The new Delta Force update is ‘Season Meltdown,’ and arrives on Tuesday June 30. The developer has just unveiled exactly what’s being added, and there’s certainly a lot to look forward to, whichever side of the multiplayer game you prefer. In Havoc Warfare, there’s a new map, Coliseum, which has a branching event where a Haavk rocket targets the giant arena. If it gets intercepted, debris will rain down on the streets, while if it lands as intended, both sides will push inside for a final showdown.

There are two extra weapons – the RM277 Assault Rifle, and the SVCH Marksman Rifle – plus a range of additional attachments and ammo types. Alongside this comes the new CSV-35 transport helicopter, offering the combination of vertical takeoff and landing with fixed-wing flight speeds. That makes it great at quickly getting soldiers and small vehicles across the map, and it also comes equipped with modifiable weapon systems.

New operator Gabriel ‘N-Two’ Mercier joins the fray with a rather frosty disposition. His signature grenade launcher fires freezing projectiles that get faster with consecutive shots, and he also carries a tracking stun grenade and a cryo-flask that deploys a freezing gas. This can lock down closed doors along with disrupting enemies in its radius. As your victims get colder, their movement slows until they are completely frozen. This effect also reduces fracture resistance in Operations, and limits vehicle handling in Warfare.

Over in the land of Hazard Ops, there’s a new location to visit, the AZ3 Nuclear Plant. This plays host to both easy and normal operations, and as you might expect, boasts some serious radiation hazards. Stepping into leak zones or searching through radiation containers will build up your exposure level. Fortunately, there’s a new Decontamination Chamber that you can unlock in your Black Site to improve your radiation tolerance and recovery.

Also lurking in the AZ3 Nuclear Plant is a new enemy boss type – the Neural Device Agent H1000. In what seems to be a pretty clear nod to the Terminator (Studio 369 even describes them as “outfitted with neural devices and jacked into Skynet”), these agents are “fast, lethal, and unpredictable.”

The Delta Force ‘Season Meltdown’ update launches on Tuesday June 30, alongside the season ten mission line. Studio 369 notes that the patch requires a 33.5 GB download, with a Steam update package of approximately 57.3 GB. If you haven’t checked in with the shooter for some time, or are yet to do so, this should be a good moment to jump in. Just keep your eyes peeled for those Agents.

Medieval town-building sim Noble Legacy ramps up the realism with a transformative survival update

Medieval colony sim Noble Legacy has just become a lot more demanding and realistic, incorporating all manner of survival game elements into its existing blend of town building and people management. This major overhaul is “one of the largest changes since entering early access,” including improved starting progression, faster access to dedicated player homes, an expansion to the wider world, and a range of stats to monitor and maintain such as hunger, warmth, energy, and hygiene. Best of all, you can even get a free dog.

Noble Legacy is approaching a full year in early access, and in that time developer Studio 369 has responded to player feedback with a gradual ramping up of more ‘realistic’ elements. Earlier this year, it introduced factors such as sickness and death, and this new, fittingly named Survival Update expands on those basics dramatically. That means you’ll need to start a new save if you’re playing in the main, progression-led Kingdom Mode, although Creative Mode worlds will be unaffected.

The changes begin right from your first night, where you’ll now have to survive your first days in Greenwood before you can start establishing a proper settlement. This also serves as a way to establish the new systems and some other fundamentals: cooking, warmth, shelter, hunting, crafting, and storage will all be introduced as you learn to keep yourself alive in the wilderness. From now on, you’ll need to eat enough, watch your temperature, get regular rest, and bathe yourself to wash off the grime of a hard day’s graft.

As you wander the world, you’ll encounter all-new lakes, ponds, and freshwater locations, along with the ability to discover a poplar forest biome (we’re having a real poplar renaissance right now, with the wood variety also coming to Minecraft of late). Resources have been redistributed and rebalanced “to create a more logical and immersive gathering experience, while encouraging players to explore different regions of the map.”

Wild flax has been added as a resource, and there are several more recipes to learn – roasted mushrooms, wild meat skewers, and basic craftable torches, bandages, and salves. You’ll now be able to build a house of your own much earlier on, rather than having to wait for the fancier Lord’s Manor to become available. You can set up a steward’s workbench and desk here, and also assign your own personal bed to rest in (more on that in a second). Studio 369 says these are “the foundation for future marriage and legacy features.”

As part of this transition, traditional manual saves have been traded out for a system where you record your progress by going to bed. You’re free to do this during the daytime if you simply want to check in, while doing so at night will have you rest, restoring your health and energy along with removing any minor afflictions, and pushing the activity in your camp forward. “Our goal is to create greater tension, encourage preparation, and make exploration, hunting, and survival decisions feel more meaningful,” the developer explains.

Still not intense enough for you? There’s also the option to switch on permadeath as part of the expanded Custom Game options. “As Noble Legacy’s marriage, family, and heir systems come into play, death will eventually become part of a broader legacy system where players may continue their story through a surviving heir rather than losing their entire kingdom,” Studio 369 notes. “Until then, permadeath remains an optional challenge designed for players seeking a harsher survival experience.”

Those elements shouldn’t be too far off, either, as the team is now looking ahead to its next big milestone, which will be the Hearth and Heart Update. “While this update focuses on enduring the wilderness, Hearth and Heart will focus on the people who inhabit your kingdom,” it teases. “Marriage, households, children, heirs, and legacy progression will play a much larger role in shaping your story.”

The Noble Legacy Survival Update is live now, and the game is 30% off in the Steam Summer Sale, which ends on Thursday July 9, so expect to pay just $17.49 / £14.69. As a token of thanks for early access adopters, the developer is giving all existing owners the Alaunt War Dog companion DLC for free for a limited time.

“We know the journey hasn’t always been smooth,” it writes. “Many of you have endured bugs, balancing changes, major gameplay overhauls, save wipes, and experimental systems as we’ve continued building Noble Legacy into the game we envision it becoming. The Survival Update represents one of the largest transformations the game has undergone so far, and many of the systems included exist because of feedback directly from the community.” It concludes, “As a small development team, we simply could not do this without you. Thank you for your patience, your support, and for believing in our vision.”

Control Resonant lets Remedy’s creativity shine, so avoiding generative AI was a “pretty natural” decision

Control Resonant is looking set to deliver that beautiful fusion of visuals, sound, and narrative that makes Remedy Entertainment’s games such a treat for the senses. I came away from my recent preview of the action game very satisfied that the developer is continuing to excel in the areas it always has done. While I was there, I had the opportunity to chat with Lead Gameplay Designer Sergey Mohov, so I took the chance to ask him about the likes of the new enemy designs, the studio’s decision to steer clear of gen AI use, and whether we can expect a similar musical spectacle to the first game’s iconic Ashtray Maze.

We got confirmation that Remedy did not make any use of generative-AI content in the creation of Control Resonant several months ago, but I was curious to ask whether that was a decision the team had to actively labor over. Mohov’s response suggests it was an easy answer: “It just comes down to, we are creative individuals at Remedy. We’re very much artists and designers, and everybody really cares about making sure that the game is made by us,” he tells me. “We believe in the creative freedom of the artist to make the art, so I think it was a pretty natural thing overall for the company.”

While it steps out of the Oldest House and onto the streets of a twisted Manhattan, Control Resonant maintains all the hallmarks of its predecessor’s aesthetic, from the signature reds and blacks of its color palette to the unsettling sound designs of the Hiss, and the crackly real-life FMV through which it deploys nuggets of story. One of the most important changes from the first Control, however, is an expansion of the enemy variety, which previously felt a little too one-note in the monsters it constantly threw your way.

“I love the bus,” Mohov tells me. The Hiss-infested vehicle is one of the recurring larger enemies you’ll encounter, and it floats jarringly off the ground, tipped vertically, with desperate passengers clawing out of its windows. These lost souls actually act as weak spots, and destroying them can fast-track you to taking down the full bus, which does its best to slam violently into the floor and disorient you with shockwaves in the meantime.

“It’s my personal favorite,” Mohov says, “because I think it is a really fun encounter whenever you find it – especially if it is in a gravity anomaly – and then it is spawning bus seats that are attacking you. I like a good summoner-type enemy, but also, I think that aesthetically, it’s really cool that it shows how the Hiss has evolved from the first game.” One of many major threats in Control Resonant, this returning force has greatly expanded its capacity for carnage.

“It used to be that it would only possess individuals and control their will, and they could only do mostly the things that they were able to do while they were human, plus some telekinetic tricks that the Hiss would give them,” he explains. ” In this game, the Hiss can actually merge people with buses and geometry, and morph the environment as well, and this enemy is a really great example of this. Plus it has a really cool execution animation where you jump inside and make it explode from the inside.” I’ll vouch for that one too.

In a similar vein, music has always played a key role in Remedy’s catalogue. 23 years ago, Max Payne 2 enhanced its emotional storytelling with a slow-build of the Poets of the Fall song ‘Late Goodbye,’ which can be encountered in various forms, scattered throughout key moments in the story. That particular band has now become almost synonymous with Remedy, and features heavily in the form of its in-universe alter egos, Old Gods of Asgard.

Both the ‘Herald of Darkness’ musical scene in Alan Wake 2 and Control’s Ashtray Maze, where you navigate a shifting labyrinth to the sounds of ‘Take Control,’ are frequently cited among their most memorable moments – so can we expect a similar sequence in Control Resonant? Mohov obviously isn’t going to give anything too specific away here: “I think one big reason why those work is that we never spoiled those.” He does, however, acknowledge, “it’s always been important to us to use music well in our games.”

Mohov recalls, “As far back as Max Payne, we used music quite a lot in those, it was already quite iconic. Then we just started integrating it more and more inside the gameplay, and building real levels around it, that sort of thing.” He points to the ‘Paranatural Manhattan’ trailer that debuted during the Summer Game Fest showcase, which features an exclusive track, ‘Manalan Mailla,’ from Finnish folk singer Vilma Jää.

“That song was custom-written for Control Resonant,” he notes, ” so it actually has to do with the story of this game – it’s very important to the game. Generally music plays a big part in Control Resonant, but I don’t want to go too much into detail.” I’m told that translating the lyrics from Finnish – which helpful Remedy enthusiasts have of course already done – might be a good way to get some more hints about what awaits Dylan as his journey unfolds. I’ll get you started: “Manalan Mailla” simply means “the land of Manala,” which is one of several names for the underworld in Finnish mythology.

Control Resonant launches on September 24. You can read my full preview if you’re curious for more of a deep-dive into how it actually plays, but suffice it to say that I’m very much looking forward to what Remedy has been cooking up.

Minecraft’s new, free inventory-expanding backpack has been eating players’ loot

Your Minecraft inventory can fill up rather quickly once you start exploring, so having a bit more space to hand is a welcome boon. There have almost always been ways to do this with the help of Minecraft mods, but this week Mojang showed off a new addition to the Minecraft Marketplace that is too good to pass up. The Herschel Backpack Trials add-on is free, and when you’ve finished upgrading it you’ll have access to 16 pages of space, for a total of 384 slots. There’s just one problem: some players are logging in to find their bags mysteriously empty.

The new add-on is a collaboration with Herschel, and arrived alongside an actual backpack of the same design, which is just one of a wide variety of Minecraft-themed accessories being sold by the company. The real-world dirt block edition sold out rather rapidly, but you can easily get your in-game version for free from the Minecraft Marketplace. It comes with a series of challenges to complete, which gradually upgrade the amount of pages in your bag, along with adding other useful optional features such as automatic sorting, depositing, restocking, smelting, and even a handy lantern.

There’s a soul bound feature, too, ensuring the backpack stays with you if your exploration turns fatal. Unfortunately, some players have reported that after logging out and then returning to their worlds later, the items they had left in their backpack were all gone. One user even says that they tested this a second time: “I tried to repeat this by loading the pack up with stuff, exiting the game, and entering again, and once again, the pack items were gone.”

Several other players have responded saying that they have also fallen foul of this item-snatching bug. “I had been mining for five hours,” writes one distraught adventurer. Another says they still ran into the issue with the soul bond upgrade enabled. The original poster has also submitted a bug report for this via Mojang’s support system, which remains marked as ‘unresolved’ at the time of writing.

It’s worth noting that the number of reports for this are relatively few, while the backpack add-on boasts a very respectable 4.5 stars on the Minecraft Marketplace, so it’s likely that the issue is only affecting a small number of players. With the sheer amount of stuff you could theoretically be cramming into the backpack over the course of a play session, however, even a tiny chance of having it all vanish is potentially morale-shattering.

Given that Mojang has been promoting the new Herschel Backpack add-on via its main channel, this nasty bug will probably get priority attention soon enough. For the time being, however, you might want to just play it safe and make sure that you empty out your backpack before logging off for the day.

12 years on, roguelike royalty The Binding of Isaac is suddenly bigger than ever

I love seeing new releases explode in popularity, and this year has been filled with such stories, from returning favorites like Slay the Spire 2 to fresh names: Meccha Chameleon, Super Battle Golf, Far Far West. There’s something just as pleasing in watching a familiar face rise back up the ranks. The Binding of Isaac, not only one of the best roguelikes but among the most influential, is serving as a reminder that even 12 years on (and 15 since its original Flash release), it’s every bit as good as it always was. Bolstered by a huge Steam Sale saving, Isaac has just exploded in popularity to reach all-new highs on the Valve store.

If there were a Mount Rushmore of roguelikes, The Binding of Isaac would certainly make the list. It merges Zelda-style room-by-room dungeon crawling, twin-stick shooter combat, the run-based and mystery elements of Rogue, and a signature gross-out cartoon style heavily inspired by creator Edmund McMillen’s Christian upbringing. The result is a foundational entry in a genre that has since grown into one of the most popular around, particularly among indie games.

After it was rebuilt by Nicalis in a custom engine, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth continued to grow through multiple expansions. Honestly, the base game alone has enough replayability to keep you going for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours – but the option to pack even more weird and wonderful weapon and item combinations in there, along with new challenges to face, means you’ll never run out of possible permutations. It’s even introduced online multiplayer.

Right now, you can get The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth at a frankly ridiculous 90% discount. If you only want the base game, it’ll set you back just $1.49 / £1.09. For the complete package with everything that’s been added since launch, you’re looking at $5.06 / £3.70. I’ll stress again: the original release by itself can easily keep you going for hundreds of hours if you’re a roguelike fiend.

The result of this significant saving is that The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is now pulling in more players at once than ever – substantially so, and right amid the chaos of all the other deals up for grabs in the Steam Summer Sale. In the past 24 hours, it’s broken the 100,000 concurrent user mark for the first time, dramatically surpassing its previous record of 70,000 to reach a new peak of 109,557. We could see that number climb even higher if the sales continue to pull in new people.

Perhaps you missed The Binding of Isaac at the time, and are curious why it was such a key influence on the genre. Maybe you got hooked on Mewgenics, McMillen’s 2026 cat-breeding tactics extravaganza, and want to see his older work. Whatever the reason, you’ll struggle to find a better-value offering among the Steam sales than this one.

Omen Exitio: Hunger Free Download

Download File

Omen Exitio: Hunger Direct Download:

February 11, 1927. Brooklyn. Ratty Catty

A boy named Billy Gaffney disappears from his apartment building. The case is real. The killer is real. The man who took him was real. But his purpose was from another plane of existence. Omen Exitio: Hunger is a Lovecraftian investigative gamebook set in the darkest corners of 1927 New York. You are a journalist. The city needs you to find the truth. The truth needs you to go somewhere you cannot come back from.

Your Choices Shape the Case
Omen Exitio: Hunger is a gamebook, and every decision you make leaves a mark. You cannot be everywhere, and what you choose to pursue shapes not just the investigation but the story itself. Paths you ignored three scenes ago will close quietly, without warning. As the investigation deepens it will pull you beyond the streets of New York, into dreams, other worlds, and the Lovecraftian mythology that underpins everything. Multiple endings await, shaped by every choice you made and every one you did not.

Every Word Is a Clue. Every Silence, Too.
Not every witness wants to be found. Not every suspect will tell you the truth. Talk to suspects and persons of interest, extract what they know, and persuade them to collaborate when they would rather not. New dialogue mechanics let you push, empathize, or apply pressure depending on who is sitting across from you and what the case demands. What people say matters. What they choose not to say matters more.

Key Features

• Branching narrative inspired by true events from 1927 New York
• A story that remembers every decision you make, from the first scene to the last
• Interactive city map: choose where to direct your investigation
• Investigative Hidden Objects: examine locations and search for clues
• Investigative dialogue system built around deception, empathy and pressure
• 5 unique endings
• Over 900 original illustrations, inspired by the work of Frank Miller and Corrado Roi
• Cinematic sound design crafted to immerse you in the atmosphere of 1927

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS *: Windows 7
Processor: 1.8GHz Dual-Core CPU
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Integrated graphics
Storage: 900 MB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Download File

Card Chronicles codes (June 2026)

If you can picture yourself at the top of your server’s highest spins board, you’re going to want to start using these new Card Chronicles codes fast. Claim the lot, and the long list of luck potions should have you pulling a decent bit of virtual cardboard in no time. The free trait rerolls can’t be passed up, either.

Card Chronicles feels very much like an updated attempt at the card RNG genre that swept Roblox in early 2026. You roll, you earn cards, and you keep rolling. Why? To earn rarer cards, of course. It’s a largely one-click AFK game where your role (heh) is to sit back, relax, and bank on pulling something with lower odds than a lottery win. At least you get to pop Luck potions here. A lottery win doesn’t come with a cool cutscene now, does it?

Here are the working Card Chronicles codes right now:

• MemoryCompensation! – requires 25k rolls
• Tyfor3kccu! – loads of potions, boosts, gems, and rerolls
• Tyfor400kvisits! – requires 25k rolls
• AvailableForEveryoneNow – 100 trait rerolls
• EarlyAccess! – requires early access
• Sorry! – loads of potions, boosts, gems, and rerolls
• Sorry2! – requires 25k rolls

Got the auto roll going? With all that free time on your hands, why not click here to follow us on Google. You’ll find loads more code guides for the biggest Roblox games around right there – perfect for multi-boxing on a second device.

How do I redeem Card Chronicles codes?

Can’t figure out how to claim codes in Card Chronicles? We don’t blame you: it’s a little hard to spot. Follow these steps, and you’ll get your rewards in no time:

• Open Card Chronicles on Roblox.
• Click the cog icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the settings menu.
• Enter a working code.
• Hit enter on your keyboard.

How do I get more Card Chronicles codes?

While you won’t find any new codes on the game page, you will find a dedicated section for codes on the Card Chronicles Discord server.

If joining yet another chat channel is something you’re ok with, click the link at the bottom of the game page to jump in. If you can’t see it, ensure your Roblox account is age-verified for chat privileges in your region. Give the page a refresh, and it should show up.

From there, look for the ‘codes’ channel along the left column, and… you’re in! Codes for days. You can also check the ‘announcements’ and ‘update-logs’ channels – Roblox devs have a knack for dropping new codes there, too.

Not feeling all that? Whatever your reason for not joining, just know that we’re always scuttling around Roblox Discord servers for the latest codes. That’s why a quick revisit to this page will often be a slightly more convenient way to get new Card Chronicles codes as they come.

If there’s a game update, there’s probably a new Card Chronicles code. Load up this page, and bam – freebies galore.

Star Wars Galactic Racer is “a marriage made in heaven” for its creators at Fuse Games

We’ve got a packed year ahead of us, but few games have me quite as excited as Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Former Burnout developers – including many names behind my favorite racing games of all time – making a spiritual successor to the best Star Wars game, Episode I: Racer. It’s so far up my alley that I have to pinch myself every time I see it to make sure I’m not dreaming. At Summer Game Fest, we sat down with Kieran Crimmins, Creative Director at Fuse Games, to discuss why Galactic Racer is such a perfect fit for the studio, and how important it was to get the feel of podracing right.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer spreads its action across four different styles of vehicle. To start with, you’ve got landspeeders, skim speeders, and speeder bikes, each bringing a different speciality to the table. Landspeeders are more sturdy and excel at drifting, speeder bikes can employ a ‘kinetic burst’ to overcome awkward terrain, and skim speeders give you the most maneuverability. Crimmins admits it was tough balancing these against one another, but was eager to represent the way you see them flying around one another in the movies.

“We wanted to balance them all together – so being in a tiny little speeder bike and going for a shortcut, but then having a skim speeder fly around you.” Then, there are the podracers. “Balancing pods against the skimmers is so hard,” Crimmins laughs, “so the pods are kind of in a slightly different league of their own.” That’s to be expected: they might as well be the Star Wars equivalent of F1 cars, after all. Despite this, there was never any question whether they would be anything other than an integral part of the Galactic Racer experience.

“You cannot have a Star Wars racing game without podracing in it,” Crimmins emphasizes. “Podracing has got to embody the fantasy that is displayed in the movies: it’s the pinnacle of racing in Star Wars.” He says the team at Fuse loves the old Episode I: Racer and Racer Revenge games; “We play them all the time. Not only the games, but also the movie sequences – I just can’t imagine a game where we didn’t get the podracing in.”

Fuse Games certainly has the chops to deliver – it’s a big part of why I’m so excited to get my own hands on Galactic Racer. A studio built from former Criterion devs, it boasts arguably the most impressive history in the genre (at least for my money), from the still-unmatched Burnout series through to its work on peak Need For Speed entries such as Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted. You can see that heritage shining through in everything here, from the sheer pace to the glorious racer-on-racer impacts and the tumbling crashes.

“Yeah, I mean, we made all of those [games],” Crimmins responds with a chuckle. “It’s kind of part of the DNA of the studio – we love arcade racers, we live and breathe them. That kind of ‘elbows-out, smash people into the wall, have these kinds of amazing cinematic moments,’ it’s something that’s baked into our DNA.”

He points to the original, defining podracing scene in Episode I and how much aggression is shown between the racers, implying that it was likely an important influence back when the team was first building Burnout. “If anything, it’s a marriage made in heaven, where this is what Star Wars are doing, and it’s right up our street – and also we’ve got this DNA in this style of racing, so we know the intricacies of those mechanics.”

Another very important thing to capture, Crimmins adds, is the value of building rivalries. “I think when you race in any racing game, and particularly this one, you want to know who you’re racing against. You want that wonderful satisfaction of beating someone – and if those people don’t have personalities and you don’t know who they are, I think the satisfaction of beating them is lost.”

You can certainly expect some familiar fan favorites – we couldn’t have a podracing tale without Sebulba showing his ugly mug, of course – but Crimmins promises a “rich cast of new characters” as well. You can expect both the fresh and returning faces to display both their personalities and unique racing styles as you encounter them through the campaign, but then in multiplayer, you’ll have the ability to step into their shoes for yourself.

To close, we ask Crimmins what Fuse Games plans for Galactic Racer after launch. “I wish I had a good answer,” he says. “We’ve thought of many places we can be, but we’re focused on making the game.” He stresses the importance of ensuring the launch game feels complete and satisfying first. Beyond that, “watch this space – we’ll definitely do something, but I honestly don’t know what it’s going to be, and I think some of it will be reactive to how fans react.”

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set to be released on Tuesday October 6. You can wishlist it now to be kept up to date. I’m already checking my oil and polishing my goggles so I can secure my spot on the starting grid.

Additional Reporting by Tom Hopkins for PCGamesN at Summer Game Fest.

Legacy of Atlantis is “perfect” for newcomers, because it’s “the foundation of where Tomb Raider is going”

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a game caught between two, or arguably even three, audiences. There are those like me who grew up with the ’90s originals, and still hold that affinity for ‘classic’ Lara Croft, the sharp-edged explorer. Then you have the group that came in with the 2013 reboot trilogy, where the iconic lead is treated more as a survivor on the back foot. Now, another decade-plus on, Legacy of Atlantis is striking a balance between them. We’ve also got Tomb Raider: Catalyst on the horizon, however – so if you’re new to the series, is this throwback to the olden days still worth your time?

“I say yes,” Experience Director Jeff Adams remarks. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is a reimagining of the first game – albeit one operating at a “much deeper” level – while the upcoming Catalyst will tell a brand-new adventure. If you’ve never played the action-adventure games before, you might assume that this means Catalyst will be the better point for you to jump on board, but the teams at Crystal Dynamics and Flying Wild Hog want to emphasize that this is the place to start.

Speaking to PCGamesN at Summer Game Fest, Art Director Arek Tomaszewski tells us that he believes the almost ten-year gap since Shadow of the Tomb Raider is beneficial to the level of interest in Legacy of Atlantis. “This is just my gut feeling, but people need to get hungry enough for a new one. It’s actually really good timing, because people are hungry for it, and we were hungry to make it.” That’s presumably doubly true when you’re planning two games in relatively close proximity.

Adams plays coy on how the Lara we see in Legacy of Atlantis will compare to her Catalyst incarnation, but he does say that “Legacy of Atlantis provides the foundation of where Tomb Raider is going, so it’s actually the perfect place to come in and get seated.” Game Director Raul Siqueira adds, “It’s also a ‘no homework needed’ type of entry point.

“If you’ve played the other games, you’re probably going to grab a lot more of the Easter Eggs and little nods that we’re doing,” Siqueira continues. “Because we’re all fans, so obviously we put a bunch of them in the game. But if you know absolutely nothing about Tomb Raider, Legacy of Atlantis stands on its own feet and does a great job of introducing who Lara is as a character, and what her journey is all about.”

Looking to the future, has the team thought about the possibility of more reimaginings in this format? “If it’s up to us, we consider all of them forever,” Siqueira answers. “Making Tomb Raider games, it’s one of the greatest privileges that I have in my career, and if it’s up to me I’ll keep making them until someone takes it off us.”

Before Crystal Dynamics can think too hard about what’s next, however, it needs to deliver on Legacy of Atlantis. “Let’s get this right,” Adams chimes in. “You get this right, reintroduce Lara to her core fans, present her for new fans, and establish this really great foundational starting point. Then the world is wide open.”

Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis will release on Friday February 12, 2027. You can wishlist it on Steam to be notified when it arrives – whether you’re there for nostalgia purposes or as a fresh-faced adventurer.

Additional reporting by Tom Hopkins for PCGamesN at Summer Game Fest.

Jujutsu Legacy codes (June 2026)

Looking to get ahead in the next big Jujutsu Kaisen-inspired Roblox adventure game? These Jujutsu Legacy codes could help. Just don’t expect miracles. This one has actually been around for a while now, meaning any veterans returning for its rework update will likely still be a bit too tough for you to tackle in a fair fight.

Welcome back to Jujutsu Legacy, where “exploits will result in a permanent ban.” That’s the enticing first line on the game page expected to warn cheaters and potentially draw in players who just want a clean scuffle. Back for a second round, this 2023 Roblox action RPG doesn’t do anything massively different, but it’s an old favorite bandit beater with a heavy PvP hook, and one that’s staging a coup against the growing list of modern JJK Roblox games.

Here are the latest Jujutsu Legacy codes:

• SkillIssue – three technique spins
• Just This Once – ten technique spins
• Cursed – ten technique spins
• SkyManipulation – 20 technique spins
• Takaba – 20 technique spins
• Sorry – 20 technique Spins
• AlwaysBetOnHakari – 20 clan spins

If someone blocks you in the reroll dojo with a Domain Expansion, you’ll have to wait around two minutes to make your escape. With that time, you can easily click here to follow us on Google. And, if they do it again, you’ll have a few minutes to search for code guides for a game that isn’t rife with spawn campers and annoying griefers. Sometimes you just have to make the most out of a bad situation.

How do I use Jujutsu Legacy codes?

Once you hit the level requirement, follow these steps to redeem codes in Jujutsu Legacy:

• Launch Jujutsu Legacy on Roblox.
• Complete quests to reach level five.
• Click the ‘Menu’ button.
• Enter a code where it says “insert the code.”
• Click the ‘OK’ button.

How do I get more Jujutsu Legacy codes?

If you don’t want to come back here time and again to check for new codes, our advice is to join the Jujutsu Legacy Discord server. You’ll find a link to it at the bottom of the game page if your Roblox account is age-verified.

From there, you only need to check the dedicated ‘codes’ channel for a regularly updated list of new redeemables. It’s also a good idea to check both the ‘updates’ and ‘announcements’ channels, too.

How do I spin and reroll in Jujutsu Legacy?

You only need to make a mad dash to the dojo to spend any Jujutsu Legacy spins you might have. From the spawn point, just look for the larger building with the staircase and head inside.

Run straight to the back, and you’ll find three NPCs who’ll gladly help you spend your technique, race, and clan spins. And make yourself comfortable: there’s a good chance someone will use a Domain Expansion to lock you in there.

Turns out you don’t need to grind quests to gather up rerolls – Jujutsu Legacy codes will do the trick.

Payday 2’s next update is “a massive undertaking” to modernize the FPS, stop crashes, and cut its install size by 60%

It’s been nine months since Starbreeze handed the Payday 2 reins over to Sidetrack Games to continue supporting it, while the original developer focused on improving Payday 3. So far, the numbers are very much in Sidetrack’s favor, with Payday 2 still routinely pulling 30,000-player peaks on Steam as its successor struggles to stay at just 1,000. Rather than simply rest easy, however, the new team is preparing for its biggest overhaul yet, transporting the heist shooter across to a fresh engine that should result in smoother gameplay at a massively reduced file size.

Arguably, Sidetrack had an easy enough job – Payday 2 already had over a decade of development under its belt when it was passed along, and remains among the most beloved co-op FPS games on PC. It is now 13 years old, however, and so the new shepherds are earning their keep by giving it a full under-the-hood makeover. Lead Engine and Tools Developer Leon Theodoridis confirms that the much-requested switch to a 64-bit engine is actually happening, and it’ll kick off with an open beta at the end of June.

“We’ve seen all your comments, and they’ve been bugging us for quite a while,” Theodoridis says with a smile. “You guys have practically been begging us to port the engine to 64-bit, reduce the game’s file size, as well as make it run better in general on more modern hardware. Now, after nine months of development on Payday 2 at Sidetrack Games, I am finally able to share what we’ve been working on for so long.”

This “massive engine upgrade” will be branded Diesel 3.0. “It’s a massive rewrite of the entire code base,” Theodoridis explains. He notes that the backend nature of this update means you might not immediately notice every single improvement that comes as a result, but you’ll certainly benefit from a lot of them.

The first and most impactful change is the switch to the more modern 64-bit architecture, which should bring the plague of out-of-memory crashes to an end. Theodoridis calls this “by far one of the biggest requests over the last ten years.” The rendering has moved from DX9 to DX11; “This will not lead to a visual improvement, but it’ll use a lot less texture memory on your graphics card,” he notes. That’s especially good news if you’re on older hardware, but everyone should benefit to some extent.

Making those changes means asking players to re-download the whole game, so Sidetrack ‘took the opportunity to revamp the game’s packaging and bundling system.” The result of this is a reduction in install size from 86 GB down to just 32 GB – that’s a 63% drop. If you weren’t running the game on an SSD, Theodoridis recommends you now do so, as you should see more benefits from the faster loading times.

The Payday 2 Diesel 3.0 open beta begins on Tuesday June 30, and will run until the end of July. Full details on how to take part will be provided at launch, but I would expect that you’ll be able to join through the ‘game versions and betas’ tab in the properties menu, accessed via your Steam library.

There’s one small caveat. “With such a substantial engine change, sadly it’s inevitable that some mods will break,” Theodoridis notes. “During the beta period, we encourage modders to try and repair what can be repaired, and we will be there to help out with new file formats where we can.” It’s a small price to pay, but with all these promised improvements, likely a worthwhile one for most.

League of Legends Classic is real: “This was the right time”

League of Legends Classic is official. We weren’t really supposed to know yet, but Riot Games had a bit of a slip-up and accidentally leaked a significant enough chunk of it onto the PBE that it was impossible to keep pretending. Instead, the developer did the best thing it possibly could: embrace the meme, and drop an incredible LoL Classic update video featuring Executive Producer Paul “Pabro’ Bellezza and Head of League Studio Andrei ‘Meddler’ van Roon. “I mean, everyone else seemed to be announcing it,” van Roon jokes, “so we figured we’d get in on the action.”

Rumors about League of Legends Classic have been circling for quite some time now. As someone who got into the game during its early years, back when I was in uni and still had the sort of free time needed to learn a MOBA from scratch, I’ve certainly got my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses for the era. LoL Classic promises a return to those ‘good old days’ before we had literally hundreds of champions at our disposal. Remember classic Runes, or the old Summoner Mastery trees? Oh, to hold them in my hands again, one more time.

Meddler reveals that Riot’s original plan was to put out its League Classic teaser video just ahead of the upcoming MSI Finals on Sunday July 12. However, he then acknowledges via Reddit that “Given we leaked a lot onto PBE today we figured better to just start the train rolling properly.” The resulting dev update is an incredible bit, with Pabro playing the part of a manic researcher, complete with scattered pinboard and red string. “When is it, you know? Let me ask you this, Andrei: What is League to you?”

Pabro grows increasingly erratic (Meddler notes that “he let slip he’d done a little bit of theater in college”). “Two Shens in the game! Is it OG Beta when there were 40 champions? Look at Lux – look at the way she used to look.” Meddler strokes his chin thoughtfully; “I mean, I would kind of like to play old Graves again. What would you call this thing if we did it, though?” A few answers are tossed around, and then it comes. “League… Classic.”

So what does it actually mean? The leaked PBE details showed more than just the original League roster, and Meddler confirms in that Reddit thread that it’s “not just the original 40” that we’re dealing with, although he says you’ll have to wait a bit longer for the full lineup. Graves, of course, will be among them (and notably didn’t appear in the leaks, implying that you shouldn’t take what you might see floating around online as the final version).

There will be old gameplay kits. “I’m going to hold off on gameplay specifics generally for now,” Meddler adds, “want to see exactly how much we leaked and how much we can still hold as something to reveal next month.” The PBE release did point to both old-style Runes and the Summoner Mastery system making a return, although again, nothing is set in stone. Meddler remarks that Riot is willing to change things as it goes. “We’ll always do some contingency planning in case we’re wrong about some of our assumptions and need to make adjustments post launch.”

Meddler admits that having the big moment spoiled hurts. “Not going to lie, little grumpy we got so close to the planned reveal and then leaked some stuff at the last minute. But bigger picture, not a big deal, and we do some contingency planning in case things like this happen.” He notes that League Classic will take place in the same client, with “modern tech under the hood,” and therefore will have the 2026 LoL system requirements.

“It has meant some extra work,” he says of the integration. “In some cases we were able to resurrect old client functionality, in others we had to rebuild it.” As for why now, he simply explains, “We figured this was the right time for Classic (celebrate the OG days before looking to the future).”

The full League Classic reveal is set for Saturday July 11 at 11pm PDT, which is Sunday July 12 at 2am EDT / 7am BST / 8am CEST. More news on League Next will be unveiled at Worlds in October.

Dear Rockstar: Please stop dancing around the GTA 6 PC release, it deserves better than this

In a parallel universe where GTA 6 came out in late 2025 as initially planned, there’s a chance we would be playing it on PC right now. That’s obviously a slightly pointless hypothetical; Rockstar Games decided there was more work to be done to get the biggest-budget game ever made up to the level of polish it wanted to achieve, and I’ll take a delay over developer crunch every single time. Yet I can’t help but feel some frustration around the studio’s continued intent to pretend that its next behemoth won’t be coming to PC eventually.

We’ve seen the trends before, and people aren’t stupid. GTA 5 came to PC in April 2015, 19 months after its original launch on PS3 and Xbox 360 (and five after its move to PS4 and Xbox One). Red Dead Redemption 2 took a little over a year to make it from consoles to PC; GTA 4 was even faster at just seven months. Grand Theft Auto 6 will do the same, sooner or later, and it’ll almost inevitably end up being the best-looking version of the open-world game for those with enough hardware heft to max out its settings.

If we all know that a GTA 6 PC version is on the horizon, does Rockstar even need to say it? No, but it feels rather childish to play this game of ‘hide the port’ in 2026. We can speculate all day on the reason the developer has continued to adopt this staggered release schedule with all of its recent games. Perhaps it simply wishes to focus on getting the console builds perfect before turning its attention to the PC. Maybe it doesn’t want the fanciest-looking edition to be overshadowing the others on day one.

There might be concerns about an increased vulnerability to potential piracy with the more open-ended nature of PCs… Or Rockstar could just be hoping that as many people as possible give in to the temptation of buying the game on console, only to double-dip when it lands on PC later. My money’s on that last one. Even if that were true, however, I don’t think confirming those plans would change much.

Most GTA 6 buyers will fall into one of two camps: ‘I need to play it on day one,’ and ‘I’m happy to wait for my preferred platform.’ If you can’t bear to miss out on the Zeitgeist, you’re still going to stump up your hard-earned $80 (or more likely $100, given the number of things Rockstar is stacking into the ultimate edition) for the console launch, even if you know for sure it’s coming to PC later on. If you’re content to wait, well, you’ve already made your choice.

In my heart, I’d like to tell Rockstar that the PC version deserves to come out right alongside the console ones, and I suspect many of the developers who have been working their butts off to perfect a game the world has spent years dreaming of would probably feel the same way. It seems a shame to not deliver what should ultimately end up as the best version of your game on day one. I’m prepared to give the benefit of the doubt, however, and let the console release be the testbed that ensures GTA 6 is absolutely sparkling when it does land on PC.

I only wish we didn’t have to all sit on our hands and speculate about its very existence. A date would be nice, certainly, or at least a rough window, so I have room to think about whether I can squeeze in an upgrade for my rig in time. I’d settle for just a simple “it’s coming,” though. Rockstar’s PC audience deserves at least that much – and the game itself does as well.

Dota 2’s Dark Carnival has begun, with a huge story chapter and five automaton hero personas

At last, weeks of speculation and mystery can finally be put to bed: the Dota 2 Dark Carnival has begun. Valve’s latest big event is here, and as many were hoping (myself included), it’s a full-scale story campaign in a similar format to 2024’s Crownfall. This time, the tale opens with Legion Commander and Hoodwink trapped on board a clanking circus train, imprisoned by the dastardly Ringmaster.

The first chapter of the Dota 2 Dark Carnival is ‘Midnight Run,’ which follows our unfortunate duo as they attempt to work their way along the spider-legged convoy to reach the very front. It comes with a comic to set things up, and full voice acting across the entire event. From there, you’ll track a pathway from the rear of the train across multiple rooms in each carriage, earning rewards and learning more about the Ringmaster’s plans as you progress.

At given stages along the route, you’ll need to insert particular ticket types to progress. These are earned by actually playing the MOBA, with the hero you choose determining the tickets you’ll get. Every character is tied to three of the possible options (some guarantee three different ones, while others include duplicates – Tiny offers two Stars and a Fool, while Chaos Knight fittingly brandishes a trio of Wheel of Fortune tickets).

Win a regular match and you’ll earn all three of their tickets. Lose, and you’ll instead receive just one of them, selected at random. Play a round of Turbo Dota 2 instead and you’ll get two tickets for a win, but none if you lose. There’s also a trade feature, which allows you to turn in either a set of three matching spares, or four different ones, in an attempt to pick up those that might be assigned to characters you’re less fond of.

Along your journey, you’ll earn Discount Coins, Candy, and Treasures of Wonder. Once you’ve collected ten Discount Coins, you can trade these in for a real-money saving on items in the Dark Carnival store. The exact value of this varies by region, but the US amount is $7.99, while the UK one is £5.89. The item or bundle you buy must cost at least that much in order to be eligible for the deal – but if it’s priced at exactly that, you’ll get it for free.

Crack open a Treasures of Wonder chest and you’ll get one of 15 new hero cosmetic sets. Among the full collection, you’ll find Drow Ranger’s harlequin-style ‘Motley Marauder,’ Queen of Pain as the ‘Mistress of Ceremonies,’ Monkey King’s ‘Bonobo the Clown’ outfit, the lion-like ‘Mane Attraction’ for Primal Beast, Io as a ‘Madame Scrio’ crystal ball, and a ‘Fairy Godmummer’ design for Dark Willow. There’s even a clockwork ‘Woodcutter’ look for the Toy Pudge persona (which you’ll get thrown in as a bonus if you don’t have it).

Speaking of personas, there are five new automaton-themed overhauls for Axe (which you may have seen yesterday), Oracle, Legion Commander, Morphling, and Bristleback. These come complete with a full set of custom animations, effects, and ability icons, along with re-processed voice lines to capture their unfortunate fates. They’ll set you back $14.99 / £11.09 per character, although they are therefore each eligible for the Discount Coins offer.

There are four more themed sets that you won’t find in the store – instead, you can get your hands on the outfits for Phantom Assassin, Crystal Maiden, Invoker, and Magnus by discovering them hidden throughout Ringmaster’s train as you progress the Dark Carnival storyline. Expect plenty of other showcase decorations, loading screens, sprays, and emoticons to collect as well. The familiar Candyworks is back too, with the ability to grab a variety of rewards from hero sets to wards and couriers.

Last but not least in the Dark Carnival shop is the Secret Rooms Pack, priced at $14.99 / £11.09. “All Dota players are free to explore the main story event,” Valve notes, “but there are hidden areas to explore as well, filled with secrets and side quests.” Grab this and you’ll get immediate access to themed creeps and an event music pack, along with a selection of Secret Room Tickets granting you passage into these bonus sections of the map.

The Dota 2 Dark Carnival is live now. The first two carriages are already open for business, with another pair becoming available two weeks from now, and the final duo two weeks after that.

10 great games to grab during the Steam Summer Sale 2026

June is a hot one, and not just in terms of the weather. After a huge start to the year with the likes of Resident Evil Requiem, Slay the Spire 2, Monster Hunter Stories 3, Forza Horizon 6, and Mina the Hollower, we’ve got just a smidge of breathing room before ‘big release season’ comes crashing in on us from September onwards. If you’re looking to beat the heat and stay inside, the Steam Summer Sale is here to deliver us some incredible deals. The Valve store right now is absolutely stacked full of huge discounts across many of the best PC games in recent years, making it tough to know where to start.

To help you out, I’ve rounded up ten of the top picks among everything featured in the ongoing Steam sale, including several big names at their lowest recorded price, and a handful of hidden gems that you might have missed. As always, I’ve tried to include a broad mix of genres, and I would love for this list to be even longer than it is, but hopefully whatever you’re into you’ll find something worth checking out here. If anything catches your eye, be sure to pick it up by Thursday July 9, when this run of Steam savings ends.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: 60% off – $19.99 / £15.99

FF7 Revelation is real, and we’re getting a same-day launch on PC this time around, with no need to wait for exclusivity windows. With the final act set for Spring 2027, now is the time to catch up on the first two installments of this grand reimagining if you’ve been waiting to do so. This is a dramatic drop in price from the game’s previous biggest Steam discount of 40%, and there’s also a similar saving if you want to buy Remake Intergrade – or you can get the pair together for just $31.99 / £25.59.

Dave the Diver: 50% off – $9.99 / £8.49

Dave the Diver is the gift that keeps on giving. What starts out as a simple blend of underwater spear fishing and managing a sushi restaurant quickly grows into something far greater. Developer Mintrocket continues to surprise and delight with new mechanics and story beats at every turn. On top of that, it’s just delivered a delicious Dave DLC dessert, In the Jungle, which whisks you away for another ten-hour bonus adventure. This is the cheapest the base game has ever been, and there’s even a 42% saving if you buy the complete collection to get it all.

Skin Deep: 40% off – $11.99 / £9.29

Immersive sims are an oft-underappreciated segment of PC gaming, bringing us classics like Deus Ex and 2017’s Prey. Skin Deep combines the freeform, experimental nature of the genre with developer Blendo Games’ penchant for silliness. Sneak around in the vents and pickpocket key items, or go loud and disarm guards with a cloud of pepper, before leaping onto their back and smashing them through a table as they sneeze uncontrollably. Tear their head off and dunk it into a trash chute to ensure their automated recovery gear can’t reach the ship’s respawn chambers – or cut out the middle man and simply shatter a window to suck your would-be captors directly out into space.

Blasphemous 2: 75% off – $7.49 / £6.24

The Penitent One’s second grisly outing just got even bigger, courtesy of the free Third Sin expansion. The Game Kitchen’s latest gift introduces a new weapon, a trio of helpful familiars, and a castle roughly the quarter of the size of the base game and its Mea Culpa DLC combined. Instead of pushing the price up, the studio has in fact cut Blasphemous 2 down to its cheapest ever for the Steam Summer Sale. You’ll want a firm will and a strong stomach to battle through its grotesque, grimdark world, but you don’t need to have played the original to enjoy this one (although it’s 90% off right now, so you might as well).

Robocop: Rogue City: 90% off – $3.99 / £3.49

We’ve extolled the virtues of Teyon’s bombastic Robocop FPS on numerous occasions here at PCGamesN, and here I am once again asking you to play Rogue City. This is very much a game that understands its source material – you are not the underdog here. You are Robocop. Where others might duck behind cover, you punch down walls and barrel through enemy goons with an M60. It’s glorious and satisfying, and yours for the price of a coffee. There’s also a 60% saving on standalone expansion Unfinished Business, if you want more.

Death Howl: 25% off – $14.99 / £12.59

A deckbuilder that embraces permanence among myriad run-based offerings, Death Howl can be more closely compared to soulslikes than the Slay the Spires of the world. It’s a grim but gorgeous dark fantasy tale following Ro, a solitary hunter on a journey into the depths of the Spirit World to try and bring her son back from the dead. Its grid-based combat is packed with positional considerations and strategic planning, and your exploration will bring you into contact with all manner of spirits seeking your help – some friendly, others decidedly not. This is one that will stick with you long after the credits roll.

MIO: Memories in Orbit: 25% off – $14.99 / £12.47

I’m a little torn on this one, with French news outlet Le Figaro reporting this week that developer Douze Dixièmes is set to shut down. That being the case, their latest entry deserves to be seen and appreciated; it’s one of the most hauntingly beautiful, narratively memorable, and mechanically fulfilling Metroidvanias I’ve ever played (and I’ve played a lot). It boasts some of the strongest ability and encounter design around, and its subtle storytelling worms its way under your skin and into your soul. Push past the slightly slow-burn starting hours, and I promise you won’t regret it.

Roboquest: 50% off – $12.49 / £9.99

Roboquest is simply a good time. This roguelite FPS embraces the cartoonish aesthetic and varied gun designs of Borderlands, wrapped into a slickly paced run-based formula. The builds you can craft range dramatically, from high-speed movement shooting to precise sniping out of cover, and you’ll feel yourself getting tangibly better with each attempt. It’s a game I dipped into on a whim when it first arrived in early access, only to rapidly pour dozens of hours into. Since then, developer RyseUp Studios has massively expanded what’s on offer, before neatly putting a bow on it almost five years after launch.

Hotline Miami: 90% off – $0.99 / £0.85

Check your pockets. If you have a dollar to your name, and you don’t have a copy of the Dennaton Games masterpiece that is Hotline Miami, you should correct that equation right now. A neon-stained bloodbath that bounces relentlessly along to its mesmeric electronic soundtrack of techno and synthwave, Hotline Miami is essential: breakneck, brutal, and brilliant. You’ve probably heard enough people praise it to realize it’s more than worth 99 cents, but if you haven’t, you’re in for a true treat at its lowest-ever price on Steam.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: 90% off – $3.99 / £2.49

There’s also a record-low 70% saving on CDPR’s Cyberpunk 2077, but given that we recently got confirmation of a third Witcher 3 DLC set to arrive in 2027, this feels like the more fitting pick. It’s a disgustingly small amount to ask for one of the best RPGs of all time, and you can even grab the complete edition with both previous expansions at 80% off ($9.99 / £6.99). 11 years on (mandatory ‘oh no, I’m old’), Geralt’s climactic tale remains nigh-unmatched in how it weaves main and side quests seamlessly together, creating a fantastical yet believable world where every choice feels like it actually matters.

The Steam Summer Sale 2026 runs from Thursday June 25 until Thursday July 9. It ends at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST, so be sure to buy anything you want before then. Hopefully this list has set you up with some great ideas, but I’m always eager for more heartfelt recommendations if you have them.

Terraria 1.4.5.7 is finally giving my favorite weapon type the love it’s deserved for years

There’s not much you could have said to get me more excited for the next Terraria update than this. Re-Logic is currently working on a big round of balancing and additional weapon changes for the upcoming patch 1.4.5.7, with the goal of making every class feel worthwhile and fun to play. As part of that, it’s finally taking a look at what is unquestionably the most fun offensive option in the sandbox indie game – yoyos. In a new Terraria State of the Game for June 2026, Head of Business Strategy Ted ‘Loki’ Murphy talks about yoyo upgrades, crossplay plans, and the largest hotfix in Terraria’s history.

“Another month in the books,” Murphy begins, calling June “a hectic one indeed.” He says the team is “very ready to get what we hope will be the last (or darn close to it) hotfix update for Bigger and Boulder into your hands and then to get rolling on what comes next.” It truly seems as though Re-Logic is ready to put the perpetual ‘will they, won’t they’ jokes about ‘final updates’ behind it and admit that Terraria will simply keep chugging along indefinitely. “Crossplay and beyond, the future is going to be a fun one,” Murphy adds.

Before we get to that future, however, the studio is “getting ever closer to wrapping up what has to be the largest ‘hotfix’ type update in Terraria’s history.” It’s been a pretty long wait for this one – 1.4.5.6 launched in early March – but Murphy promises that “the time taken will be well worth it, as we are trying to tackle a number of outstanding topics at once.” A big part of that is balancing: “We have spent a lot of time this go-around looking into entire classes of weapons – making sure things feel fun, relevant, and worthwhile.”

The team then specifically calls out a video made by Terraria YouTuber James ‘Chippy Gaming’ Bennett, titled “Terraria has a yoyo problem.” I am a huge advocate of the yoyo, and find myself almost inevitably falling back on it every time I play. It’s a perfect sweet spot between melee and ranged, feels very satisfying to use on a mouse, and lets you do some real cheesy nonsense with attacking enemies around corners or through tiny gaps in otherwise impassable barriers that you’ve built.

The problem with yoyos, as Chippy elegantly explains, is that their progression is all over the place. The rate at which you move from each tier of yoyo to the next is remarkably uneven, and often reliant on either some seriously rough RNG and drop luck, or a deliberate step outside of the more natural path through the game. Things get even worse in hardmode (Terraria’s ‘halfway mark’ through the main game), where you get access to over half of the yoyo upgrades immediately and then almost nothing of note for the rest of the game until its final boss.

That’s exacerbated by the fact that the effects of different yoyo types range from pretty underwhelming to nonexistent, so there isn’t much incentive to switch between them. Fortunately, it sounds as though that’s all about to change. “We’ve seen this feedback before and have decided to go ahead and finally take action on it,” Murphy acknowledges. “We’re looking into making some yoyos more interesting/unique.”

There’s one other small 1.4.5.7 spoiler this week, which appears to be some sort of ice projectile. To me, it looks more like a gun with the speed that it fires, but it could fall into another category too. After that patch hits, Murphy says the team is already in the planning phase to establish its “internal roadmap for what comes next,” with the hope that “what we come up with there should flow seamlessly into development work right after crossplay.

That leaves the delicate matter of Terraria crossplay itself. Re-Logic is still not ready to set a date, but Murphy reveals that its rollout plan (which will come “post 1.4.5.7”) is already in place. “As for what the plan might entail? Well, you will have to wait and see there.” Frustratingly teasing, perhaps, but I’m glad to hear that the mode is in a good place and should arrive in the (relatively) near future. In the meantime, you’ll find me practicing my best yoyo tricks.

Haunted Chocolatier is taking a long time because it “has to be perfect,” creator Eric Barone explains: “I torture myself over every last detail”

“I know it’s taking a long time.” Haunted Chocolatier was first announced back in 2021 by Stardew Valley creator Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone, yet we’ve still seen relatively little of the upcoming sandbox life game. In a fresh update on development, Barone reassures his ever-eager audience that he’s still very much working on the project alongside continued efforts on Stardew, but says he’s reluctant to share “too many screenshots” along the way. “It feels like I’m serving a half-baked bread,” he remarks. “I would rather serve a fully baked bread.”

“I’m still working on the game,” Barone writes in his newest blog post. “Feels kinda dumb posting this same thing over and over, but that’s the reality.” He’s aware it’s a slow process from the outside, but says this is in large part due to him “being very thoughtful about every aspect of the game.” He explains: “The things in the game which the player will be interacting with or using very often need to be ‘perfect.’ They need to be seamless, clear, intuitive, satisfying, and aesthetic.”

Barone adds that Haunted Chocolatier “is a big game. So there are many things for me to fuss over. But this is what it will take to make a game I’m satisfied with.” He has previously stated that its world is larger than that of Stardew Valley, and he now gives one detailed example of a single, particular system that he’s been working on: the recipe book used for making chocolates. Obviously, this will be a pretty central element.

“As with many things in the game, I’ve iterated on this many times, each time bringing it closer to its final form,” Barone muses. “To me, it’s not a simple task, as I torture myself over every last detail. This is a UI you will be using fairly often, so it has to be perfect. You need to be able to accomplish your goal with the minimal number of clicks. There needs to be just the right amount of data presented to the player: not so much as to be overwhelming, but not so little as to be trivial or mundane.

“The way that this data is laid out on the page is crucial,” he continues. “If the data is all clustered together, it will be disgusting to look at. The data needs to be grouped into compelling, intuitive, and easy to read and understand groupings. It needs to look appealing and intriguing. And this is just the bare minimum, which players will likely take for granted. If all of that is accomplished then the player is now comfortable while perusing the recipe book. But I want more than just comfort. I want to delight the player.”

Barone says that the pursuit of this perfection – not simply to satisfy, but to delight – often requires multiple iterations for every single system, of which there are many. It’s a meticulous approach, but I can certainly respect the process. There’s a reason Stardew Valley continues to stand as a shining example of its genre, even as many other contenders step up with variations on the formula.

As mentioned earlier, Barone is also reluctant to show off too much ahead of time. This is partly because he doesn’t want to present “half-baked” goods, but also because elements are likely to change as his work continues. “If I reveal them early, I risk disappointing players if the final product does not match their expectation.”

Don’t expect to see huge swathes of Haunted Chocolatier screenshots until the game is actually ready, then. Nor should you expect Barone to rush it to release until he’s fully satisfied. “Fortunately, I’m in a position where I don’t need to market the game, so I can take my preferred approach,” he concludes. “As always, I really appreciate your patience.”

Best Minecraft seeds 2026 – updated for 26.2

Starting a new Minecraft world requires making plenty of tough decisions: in which direction to head, where to build, when to start mining, and more. Before any of that, though, do you allow Minecraft to pick your world generation for you, or do you improve your odds of survival with the best Minecraft seeds?

Whether you’re looking for the best Minecraft seeds for survival, somewhere truly beautiful to build your home, or the easiest way to mine diamonds fast, the world seeds we’ve listed here offer what you need.  Once you’ve picked your favorite from the selection below, pop it into the advanced world options when creating a new game, and get ready to punch some trees.

Best Minecraft Seeds

All the seeds we’ve listed below have been tested using the latest Minecraft version in Java, and we’ve also verified that these seeds can be used in Bedrock. The biome layout should be mostly the same; just be warned that some structures may differ.

Looking for the best of the best seeds? We’ve picked out five excellent experiences that will provide you with a great time in Minecraft. That said, we still have plenty to offer as we highlight several seeds across the five major categories: Village, Survival, Speedrun, Cool, and Beautiful.

Here are the best Minecraft seeds:

Category
Seed Name
Seed

Village
Pillagers and Villagers
8110137054462309706

Speedrun
Speedrun WR
-8717682453392808086

Cool
Underground Lava Temple
2482490754905255652

Beautiful
Flower Forest Island
2048005618087379093

Survival
Survival Structures
-7417157268905316998

Pillagers and Villagers

Seed: 8110137054462309706

If you want a challenge as soon as you spawn in, this seed is a good way to test your skills. Head east from spawn to find a handy savanna village to get started and find some loot before turning your attention south, where you can find a pillager outpost and ruined portal. Those pillagers will be on you almost as soon as you spawn in.

What makes this seed even better is that you can get to know the recent armadillo mob addition in the spawn savanna biome, and there are some incredibly interesting cave entrances all around this dangerous area. There are also loads of surface ore nearby and plenty of passive mob spawns to keep you fed.

Great finds: Village (225, 0), Pillager Outpost (215, 261), Ruined Portal (347, 242), Second Village (523, 266), Cherry Grove (202, -382), Bamboo Jungle (524, -299)

Speedrun WR

Seed: -8717682453392808086

If you want to test your mettle as a speedrunner, this is the seed used by the current record holder, lowkey. It might not look the best with those Stronghold coordinates above, but take a look at lowkey’s speedrun video to see how it’s done by the very best, and then practice in the seed itself. Due to changes to the vanilla game, speedruns are generally completed in Minecraft 1.16, so you’ll need to change and double-check your game version before loading up this seed.

Great finds: Village (648, 1,128), Nether Fortress (-101, 203), Stronghold West (1,612, 372), Stronghold East (980, 1,076)

Underground Lava Temple

Seed: 2482490754905255652

Yep, that’s a desert temple floating in lava in a lush cave. What’s more, this wonderful area is directly beneath you at spawn. There are lush caves for miles around, mineshafts and amethyst geodes aplenty, and the nearest Trial Chamber is only 300 blocks away. You have to go a little further to your closest village, but it’s still not too bad.

Great finds: Desert Temple in Lava (21, -46, 16), Nearest Village (281, -281), Trial Chamber (176, -512)

Flower Forest Island

Seed: 2048005618087379093

If you’re not sure where to build your perfect home, this could be it. We can’t think of a better place to build a cute Minecraft house, a spectacular tower, or even an incredible castle than on the island on which you spawn in this seed. Surrounded by a lake and further encircled by a pretty cherry grove, this spawn island offers such incredible views that you may never want to leave. If you do, there’s plenty more to see, with a village just outside the cherry grove, plenty of Ancient Cities underground, and a warmer climate, should you want it, to the north.

Great finds: Nearby Village (-272, 112), Ancient City (8, -51, 232), Badlands (910, -1,265), Pillager Outpost (192, -192)

Survival Structures

Seed: -7417157268905316998

We love an easy Minecraft survival seed, which is why we love this seed. A village is always the perfect place to find early on so that you can set a spawn point, sleep through the night, and hide from terrifying mobs. This plains village is just a short walk southeast from spawn.

The village is also near some important structures and the biomes. There’s a ruined portal in the village, so you have easy and safe access to the Nether. A Trial Chamber can be found directly below the spawn zone, giving you access to incredibly valuable loot once you’re geared up enough to take it on. And we personally love that ravine in the village too, perfect for building a unique ravine base.

Great finds: Village (315, 343), Ruined Portal (297, 340), Trial Chamber (294, 2, 290), Ocean Ruins (435, 661)

Minecraft village seeds

Ultimate Desert

Seed: 486362209

The Ultimate Desert has four desert villages and two desert pyramids within 300 blocks from spawn. To give you an idea of how close everything is, you can see Villages 1 and 2 and Desert Temple 1 in the image above.

There are also mineshafts under the surface, so there’s loads of great gear to be found within just a few chunks of launching the world. Desert pyramids are a great way to get started with Minecraft archeology as well, so make sure you craft a Minecraft brush as soon as you can.

Great finds: Village 1 (-192, 32), Village 2 (-144, -176), Village 3 (48, -144), Desert Temple 1 (-136, 24), Desert Temple 2 (24, -232)

Rare Swamp Village

Seed: -2295595817529477063

Swamp and jungle villages don’t spawn naturally in Minecraft, but they do have unique villager trades. This usually means you either have to be lucky enough to find your ‘parent’ villagers close to one of these biomes or transport them via Nether portal, boat, minecart, or a combination of all three.

In this rare seed, however, a normal taiga village just happens to generate at the edge of the biome, overlapping with a swamp. Not only does this make it easy to create a villager farm in the swamp, but it also means swamp villagers, with a unique look, may even spawn naturally, making this a very handy seed.

Great finds: Swamp Village (704, 672)

Cliffside Village

Seed: 6391130274229160289

This may not look all that spectacular, but it’s all about the vision, especially if you’re into terraforming the land. Imagine a cliffside being sculpted into a ragged, stony, zig-zagged staircase. Maybe add a small sandy beach, then rework the buildings. We’d also make that midway village meeting area the focal point of your new village home.

Great finds: Spawn Village (112, -144), Cliffside Village
(5,404, 64), Pillager Outpost (5,330, -215)

Overpowered Loot

Seed: 2059666523504992

This overpowered Minecraft seed hands you three nearby villages (and their valuable loot) on a silver platter. Village 1 is in the east, Village 2 is in the southwest, and Village 3 is in the northeast. They’re close to trees, cave systems, water, and various other biomes, so you won’t suffer any shortages.

Furthermore, there’s a ton of buried treasure on the beach to the north and a Ruined Portal to the southeast (x=150, z=210). The Nether Portal spawns you right inside a Nether Fortress, making it easy to grab even more loot.

Great finds: Village 1 (-176, 80), Village 2 (128, 32), Village 3 (144, -208)

Frozen River Village

Seed: 9009245503860775875

We love a snowy taiga village; it’s our favorite place to set up an early game home in Minecraft, but they’re not always that easy to find. Well, this seed changes that. This cute, large, snowy taiga village is nestled in a normal taiga biome but gathers a light dusting of snow thanks to being perched on a frozen river. It might not be the safest place to build houses, but it looks gorgeous and allows for a bit of ice skating in your spare time, too.

Great finds: Taiga Village (0, -368), Swamp Biome (136, 20), Underground Ruined Portal (85, 16, -264)

Cherry Grove Lake

Seed: 69420018030897796

This is a great seed for Cherry Grove lovers, as this huge lake village is located just below a large cherry blossom biome. Even better, YourLocalKnight on Reddit has found the Bedrock equivalent, -2032795982907864146, so you can enjoy a Cherry Grove lake village seed on whichever platform you play.

Great finds: Village (64, 48)

Minecraft survival seeds

Ruined Portal at Spawn

Seed: -128114970508797305

It’s incredibly rare to find a Ruined Portal at spawn, and it’s even more unusual to find the obsidian, flint, and steel needed to trigger the portal right away. Redditor ‘LiteralG0D’ has discovered a seed that has both of these elements right next to your spawn point, making this perfect for anyone looking to speedrun the game.

Great finds: Ruined Portal (21, 67, 14)

Structure Island

Seed: -3420545464665791887

This Minecraft island seed provides one of the most challenging and unique places to start your game. It’s only a small island, but it houses a large taiga village and a woodland mansion. Thanks to the taiga and dark forest biomes, you won’t suffer from a shortage of trees. We won’t tell you where they are, but the nearest Strongholds are pretty handy, too.

Great finds: Woodland Mansion (120, 56), Village (128, 176), Ancient City (1,160, 792)

Easy Nether

Seed: -4517475607999363428

Don’t take us too seriously when we say “easy”; nothing in the Nether is ever easy, but this seed certainly sets you up for success. When launching into this world, you spawn on a small island, which itself is home to some vital resources like coal, iron, and gravel.

Place a Nether Portal on this island, and you’ll find yourself right inside (or close to) a Nether Fortress. That’s not all, as there’s also a Bastion Remnant located just 100 blocks to the North. Just make sure you’re kitted out with gold, armor, and other essentials before you try to venture into the underworld.

Great finds: Fortress (13, 27), Bastion (25, -119)

Survival Shipwreck

Seed: -8065848147699287859

While finding shipwrecks is one of the best ways of gathering valuable resources early on, there’s still a significant challenge involved in being stranded on a shipwreck in a completely open ocean, and that’s precisely what this seed offers. Carefully go underwater to loot the shipwreck’s chests for all you can get, which does, thankfully, include some iron; grab some of its wood to make a boat, and see how far you can make it.

Great finds: Shipwreck (64, -544)

Minecraft speedrun seeds

Set Seed Speedrun

Seed: -6405782700478242821

Lowkey, the holder of the speedrun record above, is only third for the set seed run. In first place at the time of writing is KenanKardes, and you can watch their run here. Given the ability to practice and knowledge of structure locations before starting, set seed speedruns are obviously much faster, and Kenan’s record is just 1:29. Again, you’ll need to play this one in version 1.16.

Great finds: Village (184, 168), Nether Fortress (-69, 123)

Snowy Speedrun

Seed: -4496590507308278848

If you’re looking for a chilly seed to speedrun through, then look no further than this one. Perfect for jumping into and completing while you’re off for the holidays, or even just if you’re not a fan of the summer, this seed has a basement igloo not too far from spawn, directly over not only an Ancient City but also a Stronghold, meaning you can check out three of the rarest Minecraft structures in quick succession and complete the game.

Of course, you also need a Nether Fortress to do this, but as luck would have it, head into the Nether from the coordinates above, and you are only a short walk from the nearest Nether Fortress, at x = 126, z = 274. To get back to your stronghold location, we recommend building your way to the fortress with a path that you can follow back to your portal.

Great finds: Igloo (648, 1,544), Stronghold (548, 1,540), Ancient City (548, 1,736)

Cool Minecraft seeds

The Question Mark

Seed:-39006482427340374

This seed isn’t going to help you with survival, getting to The End, or speedrunning, but it’s another one of those really cool Minecraft sights, and it’s worth seeing for yourself. This is a naturally generated question mark dug into the sand. What does this Minecraft seed want to know?

Whether you have the answers or not, this is sadly a difficult sight to see in survival Minecraft, being over 10,000 blocks from spawn. You can always play in Creative and use Minecraft commands to teleport to the location shown above. If you’re dedicated, you can still find this site in survival mode – it may just take some time and commitment.

Great finds: Question Mark (-1,854, -11,407)

Herobrine Seed

Seed: 478868574082066804

The infamous Herobrine seed, also known as the one where the urban legend was supposedly sighted. You can now visit the creepy forest yourself – as long as you use Minecraft’s Java Alpha 1.0.16_02 version. Of course, the myth of Herobrine is merely a decade-old copypasta, so we shouldn’t expect to find an actual ghost here… Right?

Great finds: Herobrine Forest (5, -298)

Title Screen Seed

Seed: 2151901553968352745

While the Minecraft title screen now rotates, changing with every new major update, there’s one classic title screen seed that players spent years hunting down. The seed in question is for the panorama that can be seen on the title screen from versions 1.8 through 1.13.1, a period that lasted from 2011 until 2018. However, it took eagle-eyed players until 2020 to find it in-game, but now, thanks to them, you can still play it today. It doesn’t look the same in newer versions, so, for a real nostalgia trip, you must load this one up in the ancient Beta 1.7.3 version.

Great finds: Title Screen View (61.48, 75, -68.73)

Ancient City Spawn

Seed: 1606377695512438131

We don’t mean to alarm you, but we might have a new contender for the coolest Minecraft seed that spawns you in an Ancient City. If you weren’t aware, there’s a chance you can spawn close to bedrock if there’s nothing but air above you, and thus the first solid ground at those coordinates is on a low y-level. That’s precisely what happens here as you spawn in on y-level -49 with natural light pouring down to illuminate the Ancient City (and diamonds) around you. Just don’t forget to go quietly if you would rather not awaken the deadly Minecraft Warden.

Great finds: Ancient City (spawn), Cherry Grove village (173, -12), Mineshaft (-80, 31, -33), Trial Chamber (-238, -16, -20)

Infinite Mineshaft

Seed: 107038380838084

Once you’ve kitted yourself out, head underground anywhere on the z-axis 8, and you’ll find one long mineshaft that spans the world’s entire x-axis. Right near spawn, it even opens into a lush cave, lighting the path ahead with glow berries. Our only advice: try not to get lost.

Great find: Mineshaft Intersection (0, 8), Early-Game Village (96, 192), Nearby Trial Chamber (41, -31, 9)

Tiny Ocean

Seed: -1996523481016217001

What sets this seed apart from the best is one very specific location, approximately 2,000 blocks south of spawn. Here, you’ll find a small, round ocean biome, complete with an underwater shipwreck. There’s the potential for some seriously amazing builds here, perhaps a fishing village around the edge or an abandoned town, lost to time and encroached upon by Mother Nature.

Great finds: Shipwreck (-360, 2,712), Ruined Portal (-312, 2,632)

Desert Surrounded By Ice

Seed: 8888929339822832972

On this unique seed, we recommend building a massive Minecraft tower in the middle of the desert, providing a spectacular view of the surrounding ice areas. You start right in the center of this desert, as outlined in the coordinates above, and we’ve included the location of a nearby village to get you started with some basic gear fast.

Great finds: Desert Center (-343, 72), Village (48, 176)

Giant Cheese Cave

Seed: -5172090044501194762

Since the Caves and Cliffs update, we’ve seen some pretty big cheese caves, but this might just be the biggest yet. Just off spawn, this is the perfect cave for those of us who get a bit too scared in those dark caves, as you can make your way down to diamond with daylight still streaming in. Okay, of course, it’s still pretty dark at the bottom, but it’s a lot easier to roam around this cave than normal, and it’s much easier to find your way back out of it.

Great finds: Giant Cave Entrance (-100, 60, 130), Trial Chamber (39, -9), Closest Village (832, -240)

Perfect Pale Garden

Seed: -3930782522362688416

The Pale Garden is a new biome that arrived with the Winter drop in December 2024. The update added not only this creepy, dynamic new biome but also a new mob to boot. The Pale Garden biome is fairly rare and usually small, but we found this great Pale Garden seed, which features a decent-sized section of the biome, plus it’s combined with one of our other favorite areas in beautiful surroundings.

Through the Dark Forest just to the southwest of spawn, you’ll soon stumble across a ruined Nether portal that marks the border between the forest and the Pale Garden. This in itself is pretty useful; even if you don’t use it to later enter the Nether, there’s an almost full set of enchanted golden armor in there, which is great for a starter set. There’s also a village to the west of spawn, so you could take a detour through there for an even better survival head start.

Great finds: Village (-304, 0), Nether Portal (-296, 216), Pale Garden (-296, 216)

Temple Lake

Seed: -2332803749585407299

First off, there’s that jungle lake with a little island that would make a great base location. Then there’s the jungle temple just 200 blocks northwest of the lake. Back at spawn, there’s a desert temple and village in one. Then, if that wasn’t enough, head into that crevice in the village, and you’ll find a huge, stunning, lush cave that we’ll leave you to explore.

Great finds: Desert Pyramid (42, 60), Village (80, 90), Lake Island (-39, 73), Jungle Temple (-218, -200)

Woodland Mansion Spawn

Seed: 844424960210770

Why search for a Woodland Mansion if you can spawn on top of one? This Minecraft Woodland Mansion seed does exactly that. Moreover, the mansion is situated right in the middle of a river, with a large nearby cave area and easy access to the ocean. Just be careful when climbing down from the rooftop; the west side of the building offers the safest way to descend.

The downside to this seed, we must warn you, is that there aren’t any villages around the area for miles, so you’ll have to hope you can get kitted up enough to survive the dangerous mansion another way. Perhaps down in some of the surrounding mineshafts.

Great finds: Woodland Mansion (24, 8), Mineshaft (264, -104), Trial Chamber (55, -22, 281), Nearest Village (256, -960)

Witch Huts Galore

Seed: -9215772017318341931

This amazing Minecraft witch hut seed spawns four nearby witch huts. As a nice bonus, they surround a massive Woodland Mansion. All four huts are close to the Mansion (500, 420), so it’s best to look for this hard-to-miss landmark first, just a one-minute walk south of the original spawn point. Once there, circle the swampland around the giant building to find the witch huts (north, south, and west of the mansion).

Great finds: Woodland Mansion (504, 456), Witch Hut 1 (360, 376), Witch Hut 2 (376, 520), Witch Hut 3 (536, 536), Witch Hut 4 (536, 344)

Village Monolith

Seed: -6537256334104833826

You can find this peculiar village to the west of the island where you spawn. These intrepid villagers have made a home around a tall, jagged cliff jutting out of the sea, with harbors on every side, buildings perched on top, and farmland carved into the cliffside. While it looks cool, it’ll take a while to scale this huge vertical island.

Great finds: Village (-416, 128)

All Biomes Near Spawn

Seed: 4405134068028

Don’t want to be stuck in the same biome for too long, do we? This legendary Minecraft seed, contains every biome within 1,000 meters of the original spawn point (yes, every single one).

Great finds: Dark Forest (192, 112), Taiga (150, 150)
Mushroom Fields (312, -112), Swamp (-240, -662), Desert (950, -777), Badlands (819, -891), Cherry Grove (752, 81), Snowy Plains (-731, 971)

Zombie Villager Prison

Seed: 8014621782944328921

If you’re someone who worries about having somewhere to rest your head on your first Minecraft night, and you like to find rare structures, then look no further than this Minecraft seed with an igloo at spawn. With a bed, a chest, some food, and even a villager to trade with, you’re off to a good start with this seed before you’ve really even started.

From here, we recommend heading southwest, either underground or above ground, but you’ll find a mineshaft ripe for looting if you travel underground. There’s a shipwreck just under the water’s surface, full of other valuable gear, including a treasure map and armor-smithing templates.

Great finds: Igloo (168, -136), Shipwreck (5, 126)

Mega Ancient City

Seed: 111111111111111111

We’re calling this the Mega Ancient City, but do let it be known that there is some space between some of them, so you might think it a little misleading. That said, there’s still no denying that 26 Ancient Cities within 5,000 blocks is spectacular, especially considering how big each individual structure is.

What makes this seed even better is that these underground structures start quite close to spawn, and there’s a picturesque snowy village on your way to the first. Stop here, make yourself at home, and prepare for your adventure, then head underground towards -210, -700 to start your ancient city exploration. Head west, and the majority of the cities are on a straight line.

Great finds: Village (0, -464), Mineshaft (-203, -26, -653), First Ancient City (-210, -52, -700)

Ancient Trial Stronghold

Seed: 1669984371247603308

This amazing seed puts the three rarest and most valuable overworld structures together in one place: an Ancient City, a Trial Chamber, and even a Stronghold. What you can’t see is the Stronghold just 300 blocks behind you to the northwest. Once you’ve kitted yourself out in your best armor and are ready to face the Ender Dragon, you can kill two birds with one stone, or explore three structures in one adventure.

Great finds: Ancient City (8,920, -51, 6,648), Trial Chamber (8,951, 6,631), Stronghold (8,676, 6,756)

Easy Armor Trims

Seed: -3700836276160199646

Minecraft armor trims arrived with the Minecraft 1.20 update and allow you to flex an armor fit as you battle monsters and mine precious ores. Getting these armor trims, or the smithing templates used to forge your armor, is no easy task. Most are looted from well-protected chests in dangerous locations.

If you don’t want to stray too far from your base, or even spawn, for some of the most hard-to-find smithing templates, then this seed makes things easy and has a lot more to offer, too. Just a short walk to the southwest, you find an outpost on an island, the significance of the island being that it makes this outpost much safer to be near, as pillagers struggle to cross water.

Great finds: Outpost (-192, 80), Ruined Portal (-328, 120), Village (-496, 176), Nether Fortress (27, 27), Bastion Treasure Room (288, -160)

Beautiful Minecraft seeds

Lush Cave Island

Seed: -950547527103331411

This may be one of the most breathtaking natural seeds we’ve ever laid eyes on – huge thanks to ‘gaberdo_84’ on Reddit for spotting this gem. The Lush Cave Island seed features an almost castle-like aesthetic inside the cave, providing you with a picturesque view that lets you see across the ocean directly from your new home. We’ve included coordinates so you don’t have to track down this scenic site, placing you at a safe location inside the cave.

Great finds: Inside Cave (-216,  99, -281)

Lush Pale Garden lake

Seed: 2231252140388046750

This might just be the best Pale Garden seed we’ve seen so far – just look at that stunning Lush Cave grotto! There are so many options for building a base here, whether you choose to reside in the mountains among the Pale Garden and its Creakers, on top of the lake itself, or even in the lush cave.

Wherever you choose to build, the other good news is that this area is only 500 blocks from spawn, so you can start right away. The only downside with the seed is that the nearest villages are quite far, but the view nearly makes up for it, while the nearby Woodland Mansion and Ancient City definitely do.

Great finds: Pale Garden Lake (-200, 500), Ancient City (-312, 584), Woodland Mansion (-600, 600), Nearby Village (830, 880)

Ice Rink

Seed: -123456793079414942

Get into the winter spirit with this Ice Rink seed, featuring a perfect pool of water surrounded by mountains. This is similar to the Tiny Ocean seed further up in the list, except this ice-rink-style pool gives you the ideal environment to create a wintery village. Getting to the water requires quite the trek, so use our coordinates to get to the location in our screenshot right away.

Great finds: Ice Rink (691, 120, 116), Local Village (1408, 144), Trial Chamber (1079, -28, 311)

River Ring

Seed: -6018321323546593994

This stunning River Ring seed has been shared around the Minecraft community a fair amount, and we unfortunately don’t know who originally discovered it, but it’s a truly remarkable location for your next build. It’s close to spawn, and it’s available on both Java and Bedrock editions.

Great finds: River Ring Island (-300, -20)

Badlands Lake

Seed: 7598363429859286340

Sure, there are plenty of stunning icy views and expansive cherry groves you can go after for a beautiful base location, but we’re not sure we’ve seen a cooler place for building in Minecraft than this Badlands Lake.

The flat land around the lake, against a background of steep terracotta cliffs, makes for the perfect building canvas, while the aesthetic of the location itself is entirely different from anything we’ve seen before. Plus, the Badlands’ exposed mineshaft areas bleed into the neighboring jungle, which also makes for a pretty unique sight.

Great finds: Badlands Lake (0, 72), Exposed Mineshaft Chests (20, 69), Ruined Portal (-6, 212), Exposed Lush Cave (-96, 236)

Broken Cove

Seed: 11297487

In perhaps the most beautiful landscape we’ve seen in Minecraft in our ten-plus years of playing, this majestic broken cove features floating pieces of land, multiple waterfalls, and even a ruined portal floating in the center of the water below.

This location gives us so many ideas for stunning builds we don’t know where to start, but the first step is loading our next new world here. What makes this even better is that you don’t have to go far to find it, as this cove is situated right at spawn.

Great finds: Cove (83, 23), Ruined Portal (68, 138), Village (224, 576)

Skull Island

Seed: 1040934860

This incredibly cool find features a large island that looks like a skull, complete with a cute little opening for a nose. What makes this even better is that the skull island houses a gorgeous Minecraft lush cave, which looks beautiful and is home to some rare loot.

Still not enough to sell it to you? Well, how about the fact that you spawn directly on top of this cool seed into a massive desert village? Oh, and there’s a mineshaft below ground. You can get just about everything you need for an easy start to your survival adventure right here on Skull Island.

Great finds: Skull Island (spawn), Nearest Village (-160, -144)

Perfect Building Seed

Seed: -3899835130120818196

For a seed that offers building locations and survivability right at spawn, we’ve got you covered. This perfect seed spawns you right near a plains village, where you can pick up plenty of materials to get you started. However, the real draw of this seed is the large surrounding plains, which offer perfect plateaus for building on.

This plains biome is surrounded by tiny cherry grove, forest, and even jungle biomes as well, so you can gather most of the wood types without straying too far from your home base.

Great finds: Village (-144, -144)

Snowy Mountains

Seed: 7050622155736149866

There’s no prettier color combo than pink and white, right? So grab a few saplings and pink petals from the Cherry Grove, head back to the gorgeous building plot above, and turn that circular meadow into a snowy pink wonderland.

Great finds: Vantage Point (93, 2,655), Cherry Grove (-694, 2,846)

Beautiful Frozen Lake

Seed: 5488656216511509290

This winter wonderland seed is beautiful for any time of year, whether you can look out your window onto a white blanket or are after some respite from the summer heat.

Load into a 1.19 world or newer, head up the mountain right next to you on spawn, and you can descend into a dripstone cave or build a festive town or icy-cool castle on the gorgeous frozen lake above. Plenty of rare structures near spawn, including a Pillager Outpost at -192, 117, also help you get essential loot in the early days.

Great finds: Frozen Lake (-170, -20), Pillager Outpost (-192, 117)

Elsewhere on PCGamesN, there’s plenty to keep you busy exploring, but with something new to find around every corner, equip one of our favorite Minecraft skins and perhaps even load up one of the best Minecraft shaders to see one of the best PC games ever made in a whole new light, or browse our favorite Minecraft maps for something altogether different.

Path of Exile 2 just added yet another skill tree, because why the heck not

A new Path of Exile 2 update just dropped, and Grinding Gear Games has outdone itself again, throwing an entire extra skill tree into the mix just for the sake of it. PoE’s passive ‘skill forests’ have been synonymous with the action RPG since time immemorial – glimpsing its vast web of upgrade nodes was what first inspired me to install the original way back during its 2013 open beta. Since then, the introduction of ever-more paths to fill out has become a running joke of the developer, and now there’s yet another, this time giving you more control over how its seasonal mechanic plays.

The new Atlas Passive tree is just one of many additions in the Path of Exile 2 0.5.4 patch notes. It’s largely focused around the Expedition mechanic, as that’s most closely tied to the Runes of Aldur seasonal league, and you’ll earn points to unlock the various nodes by defeating the bosses along the Grand Expedition questline. As with the rest of the Atlas trees since PoE 2’s latest update, you’ll be able to earn the full thing, although many of them offer a choice between several possible modifiers that you can flip between at will.

To start with, the ‘Feeling Lucky?’ node causes seasonal NPC Farrow to start selling a new item called Liquid Verisium, which can be used to start Remnant encounters with a random roll of runes instead of the ones on offer. If you don’t like the look of any of the rewards, simply roll the dice with this. You can also grab an upgrade to the rate of Logbook drops, or introduce a bonus mechanic in the form of buried Sentinels, which infuse enemies around them with additional runic power when uncovered, escalating both the potential danger and rewards.

Most of the rest of the options allow you to change the way Expedition encounters play. Would you prefer an extra explosive to plant when setting up each encounter, or an additional Remnant to be present? Would you like the explosions to chain more quickly for a faster encounter rate, or cause each one to remove 25% of every enemy’s health when they go off? Should Remnant chains have a one-in-four chance to activate twice, ramping the risk/reward up higher, or are you having a tough enough time already that you’d prefer they never activate at all? The choice is yours.

Elsewhere, Path of Exile 2 update 0.5.4 also makes a very interesting change to unique items. Any of these that grant you additional skills when equipped will now scale them down to match lower-level characters. “There are so many uniques with interesting skills that only drop from high levels, and it was a real shame you couldn’t use them until the late endgame,” Game Director Jonathan Rogers explains. “This should open up a whole bunch of builds available to play much earlier.”

Do you like to gamble? Then get ready for some bonus corruption antics. After defeating Atziri in the Temple, you can now get your hands on four special Orbs of Sacrifice, each of which will significantly upgrade corrupted enchantments on an item at the cost of stripping away a randomly selected modifier. If you’ve double-corrupted the item, you can upgrade both of its enchantments by using two of the new orbs.

Last week, GGG promised it would be adding some new unique drops to Abyss pinnacle boss The Vessel of Kulemak; the first of these has now arrived. The Master’s Reach are gloves that reveal weaknesses on your enemies. This works much the same way as the Huntress’s ‘Predatory Instinct’ Ascendancy passive, displaying marked segments on targets’ health bars. When in these regions, any hits you land will recoup all damage as life, and eat their soul to grant you bonus skill speed. Delicious.

The Master’s Reach also grants a skill of its own, Untether. This lets you “plant a seed of Abyssal Energy on the enemy’s heart.” Hurt them enough after applying this, or kill them outright, and their heart will detonate, dealing heavy physical damage to anything nearby. Rogers notes that this is just the first of several Vessel of Kulemak uniques to come. It also brings us to the end of the new additions, although you’ll find plenty more bug fixes and minor tweaks scattered through the remaining patch notes, such as the ability to hide the ‘You Have Died’ message; this will not save you from your fate.

Path of Exile 2 patch 0.5.4 is live now. I shouldn’t be surprised by how quickly Grinding Gear Games rolls out new features after so many years, yet I continue to be caught off guard. PoE 2’s Return of the Ancients update is already a real winner, and sets us up for a very exciting 1.0 launch at the end of 2026. Who knows what next week will bring?

PC RAM prices could stay this high for years, hints memory maker Micron’s latest earnings

Micron has just revealed its latest earnings, reporting record revenue and profits, along with some very long-lasting deals that lock in prices for memory for years to come. While Micron shuttered its Crucial consumer RAM brand already, its allocation of memory production to data centers for years to come, and the guarantee of high prices for those chips, suggest PC RAM could remain expensive and hard to come by for a long time.

In its Q3 earnings report, Micron revealed it had signed 16 “strategic customer agreements” (SCAs), which are long-term agreements with customers that lock in floor and ceiling prices for its memory, in this case for five years at a time. The overall production capacity of this could mean the best PC RAM remains at least as expensive as it currently is for years to come.

Micron isn’t the only maker of memory, with Samsung and SK Hynix making up the other two names of the big three. Samsung and SK Hynix are both based in Korea, with Samsung being the largest manufacturer of memory products overall, which include PC RAM, SSDs, and VRAM. Micron, meanwhile, is an American company that used to include the Crucial consumer memory/SSD brand, but which has now switched completely to business-to-business production.

Speaking about the benefits of these SCAs in its earning call, Micron CEO, president, and chairman Sanjay Mehrotra explained, “Our customers are recognizing that supply shortages in memory and storage will take considerable time to improve” and that “as we expect industry supply to improve gradually in 2028, we currently do not have line of sight as to when memory supply will be able to catch up with increasing demand.”

Regarding the latter point about supply, companies like Micron aren’t sitting idle just producing at their current rate. They are building new chip fabs and looking at ways to improve production capacity. However, Mehrotra explains that “supply is structurally constrained in its growth and ability to meet industry demand, despite our comprehensive efforts to increase supply”.

Exactly how this will play out over the coming years depends on a large number of factors, including whether production can be improved, whether the AI bubble bursts to some extent, and whether AI infrastructure shifts to different models (both in terms of how data centers work, and if we all just end up running AI locally instead). However, it’s looking likely that any tech product that requires a reasonable amount of RAM is going to remain at an inflated price for longer than we hoped.

Titanfall spiritual successor Empulse is out now, but it’s got a lot to prove

I’m quietly resigned to the likelihood that we’ll never see Titanfall 3. The good news is that other studios are taking up the mantle, and one of them – movement shooter Empulse – has just launched on Steam. It’s built by 1047 Games, the team behind Splitgate, which has immediately put it on my radar. The new multiplayer FPS is now in early access, with the studio keeping microtransactions and battle passes out of the equation to focus on “building with you, the community” in these starting stages.

The simple fact of the matter is that Empulse has to prove itself through its actions. I loved the original Splitgate, and I’ve had a lot of fun with Splitgate 2 and its stripped-back reboot, Arena Royale; I’d absolutely rank them among the best multiplayer games around. The developer’s attempt to go bigger with its second outing backfired, however. A combination of its infamously overzealous debut stage presentation, overpriced launch microtransactions (that were quickly and dramatically reduced), and a questionable class system failed to enamour its target audience.

Empulse is the team’s attempt to capture a slightly different segment of the multiplayer crowd: 1047 CEO Ian Proulx specifically called out both Titanfall and Black Ops 3 as key design inspirations during his initial teaser. It’s got wall-running, grapples, and plenty of verticality, and does a good job of adapting Splitgate’s excellent high-speed movement to the format. It even has mechs – rather than individual rewards, two of these spawn at the center of the map at the same time, and they’re “built to take over a round.”

Empulse looks to have captured enough attention to stand a chance, with a strong Steam Next Fest showing helping it to land on 250,000 wishlists. 1047 remarks that the feedback survey “averaged an 8.1 out of ten on fun,” though also notes that this left “room for improvement.” If you tried the demo, you’ll also find a new map (Drainage) has been added to the early access launch version, along with the VIP-style ‘Mech Bounty’ mode, the Requiem sniper rifle, and a ranked 4v4 playlist.

Moving forward, 1047 is planning “new modes, maps, weapons, mechs, and meta playstyles,” but says the roadmap will follow player sentiment rather than being “locked in months ago.” It’s aiming to be as open as possible with development and balance decisions to ensure people aren’t caught by surprise, and adds that there will be “no store, no battle pass, and no microtransactions at the early access launch.”

1047 has responded to some of the initial feedback, which includes a desire for a stronger and more defined visual style that stands apart from Splitgate. It’s also working on “two new maps, both of which are bigger than anything in the game today,” which should land in an experimental form in the coming weeks for testing. The team is planning to test the implementation of aim-down-sight functionality as well, but promises this won’t come “at the cost of the accurate hipfire that makes the movement feel good.”

Empulse is out now in early access on Steam, with a 25% launch discount available for the first week. Expect to pay $14.99 / £12.74 if you buy it by Wednesday, July 1. You can find it right here.

Whether 1047 Games ends up sticking the landing or not, I will certainly be diving in to find out. I still get the cravings for Titanfall multiplayer in a way that nothing else quite satisfies, and I’ve never had less than a good time playing Splitgate, for all its ups and downs. Here’s hoping the team manages to pull this one off, for its sake and ours.

After mysteriously vanishing from the game, Dota 2’s Axe has been ‘replaced’ by a fake

Dota 2 has a new hero – or should that be an old one? It’s tough to be sure. If you logged into the Valve MOBA this week, you might have been surprised to find that Axe, one of its longest-standing and most iconic faces, was completely absent from the roster. You couldn’t play him, and his spot in the lineup was replaced by the sort of poster you might find asking for help finding a missing person. All of a sudden, however, Axe has returned, just as quickly as he left… but something’s not quite right.

This latest update comes in the wake of last week’s rumors about the onset of the ‘Dark Carnival’ – thought to be the theming for the next big Dota 2 event. With Axe seemingly susceptible to his “sense of foreboding,” especially when dropped into matches across from unsettling puppeteer Ringmaster, his disappearance was yet another clue that Valve is setting up some big story moment. Fortunately for fans of the dunk master, he wasn’t gone for too long – but he seems to have changed rather significantly in the meantime.

The Dota 2 roster now lists the hero as ‘Axe?’ (with the question mark), and he doesn’t appear to be the flesh-and-blood favorite we’re all familiar with. In his place is a mechanical construct, complete with a giant clockwork key in his back and a rather jarring, jolting movement style. If you had any question as to who was responsible for his disappearance, I’m pointing my finger squarely at Ringmaster. Perhaps most upsetting of all is the fact that he no longer has an axe, which has been replaced with a hammer.

I do rather like the new style, if I’m honest – he can even spin his, um, hammer in a full 360 simply by rotating his hand completely around at the wrist. The replicant design, which also comes with a whole new set of ability icons, is presumably Valve’s attempt at finally returning to the rather horrifying launch trailer for Ringmaster from two years ago. In that, a circus-style ‘test your strength’ contraption lures the unsuspecting Axe in, before dragging him bodily inside its clanking void of gears and smog.

Enhancing the effect even more was the fact that almost any attempt to test out ‘Axe?’ or use him in an actual game led to a crash. That part probably wasn’t intentional, however, and appears to have been related to effects targeting the hero (I’d imagine this boils down to some backend shenanigans related to the name change). It’s now been fixed, so you should be able to give the ‘newcomer’ a run for yourself – he might have a new look, but I suspect he still earns his place on our list of the best Dota 2 heroes in the current meta.

All of this begs the question: when will the (now seemingly inevitable) event begin? Whether it’s actually the Dark Carnival we’ve all been speculating about, or something entirely new, it must be pretty close to launch at this point. Will other heroes be affected before we get there? Hold your favorites close to your chest, lest the robots and puppetmasters come for us all.

Iron Sky: Invasion Free Download

Iron Sky: Invasion Direct Download

Do not be afraid. Or maybe do. How to Make an Atomic Bomb in Your Garden In 1945, a group of Nazis escaped to the dark side of the Moon. There they waited, built a secret moon base, and spent more than 70 years planning a comeback absolutely nobody asked for. Bad ideas rarely disappear on their own.

In 2018, they finally made their move: the Fourth Reich attacked Earth. From lunar orbit came an invasion fleet proving that, with enough Helium-3, megalomania can apparently become spaceworthy. Humanity faced an overwhelming threat — and, as usual, the rescue plan was alarmingly improvised.

That is where you come in.
Take control, pilot, and fight the Moon Nazis in Earth’s orbit in Iron Sky: Invasion. Explore an open space map, survive enemy attack waves, complete missions, upgrade your ships, and prove that one elite pilot can sometimes be the difference between “Earth saved” and “historically catastrophic relapse, now with spaceships.” Become the next legend of space combat — or at least the person who survives long enough to face the Götterdämmerung in the final battle.

Key Features:

• Dozens of missions centered on the invasion of the Fourth Reich
• Seamless open-world space battlefield between Earth and the Moon — unfortunately, exactly where the Moon Nazis are currently invading
• Five different playable spacecraft: Dundee, Spitfire, Banzai, Canadarm³, and Xerg, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and combat roles
• Lasers, missiles, plasma weapons, and tactical nuclear arguments against historically questionable targets
• Defend satellites, space stations, and the last remaining scraps of orbital order
• Dogfights, capital-ship assaults, and everything else the Moon Reich has coming

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
OS *:Windows XP
Processor:Intel/AMD 2 GHz
Memory:2 GB RAM
Graphics:Per-Pixel-Shader 3.0, 512 MB RAM
DirectX®:9.0c
Hard Drive:1500 MB HD space
Other Requirements:Broadband Internet connection
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Build the theme park of your dreams and battle cosmic nightmares in this week’s Epic Games Store free games

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to check in with what free giveaways the Epic Games Store is serving up for the week. We’ve got a real spectrum-spanning pair of free PC games on the table, with both Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and Voidwrought up for grabs. Whether you’re looking to live out the fantasy of growing your very own theme park from the ground up, or want to prove yourself against untold horrors and wrest the might of the gods to your side, you’ll be well served here.

Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 is the last mainline entry in the legendary series of theme park management games (I’m choosing to forget the failed attempt at a fourth, mobile-exclusive installment). Built under the guidance of its original creator, Chris Sawyer, RCT3 comes from Frontier Developments, which has continued to cement its reputation as a mainstay of the genre ever since with the likes of Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, and Jurassic World Evolution. It trades out the classic isometric look for full 3D park creation, and even lets you test your custom rides in first person.

It might be 22 years old now, but the Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition we’re getting here arrived in 2020, and has been polished up and enhanced for modern PCs. It also throws in both expansion packs – ‘Soaked’ for all your waterpark needs, and ‘Wild’ to let you build a range of animal habitats. In total, you’re looking at over 300 coasters and rides, 500 scenery items, 60 shops and customer service facilities, and 20 different animal types, so you’re only really limited by your imagination.

If you’re feeling a bit more action-oriented, 2D Metroidvania Voidwrought is an excellent alternative. Awakening in the thawing ruins of the First Civilization, you have just one goal in mind: gather the very blood of the gods from the nightmarish monstrosities that wield it. With a tight blend of platforming and combat brought together by some stunning art design and a momentous soundtrack, Voidwrought is great if you’re looking to crave that action-platforming itch while we wait for word of the first Silksong DLC.

Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition and Voidwrought are both free via the Epic Games Store between Thursday, June 25, and Thursday, July 2 at 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST. They’re yours to keep once claimed, so head here to grab them while the offer lasts.

Epic has handed out RCT3 once before – in fact, it did so back at the Complete Edition’s launch in September 2020 – but if you missed that chance and don’t already own this PC classic, it’s definitely worth checking out. Voidwrought, meanwhile, is worth investigating on the strength of Powersnake’s art direction alone, and it’s packed with all manner of powers and artifacts to help you overcome the dark, Lovecraftian horrors lurking within.

DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round Free Download

DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round Direct Download:

Intense Fighting Entertainment is back!!
Fan-favorite 3D fighting game DEAD OR ALIVE 6 is back with stylish moves, striking animations, and a cast of colorful characters to go head-to-head in the fighting game world’s most extreme battles! Place, pose, and take picture-perfect screenshots of your favorite characters in the new Photo Mode. Play with the classic DOA6 roster and 5 additional DLC characters from the original version, along with new costumes. Whether you’re a new player or a longtime veteran, DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round has the action you’re looking for. Orb of Creation

Includes five additional characters released in the original version!
Play with a lineup of 29 characters, including five characters originally released as bonuses or DLC for the original version: Nyotengu, Phase 4, Momiji, Rachel, and Tamaki.

Stage your own battles in the NEW Photo Mode!
Choose your stage and characters, position them freely, change their poses and expressions, and create your own legendary moments in the brand-new Photo Mode.

From simple skirmishes to serious strategy, DOA6LR is THE definitive 3D fighting game!
Use Holds at the perfect moment to cripple your opponent. Build your Break Gauge and unleash powerful special moves. Mash through a Fatal Rush for an easy yet highly satisfying combo. Toss your opponent into a Danger Zone to deal extra damage. From first-time players to long-time strategists, DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round has something for everyone.

Note:

• This version includes a Character Unlock Keys for 29 characters and Story Unlock Key. Be careful not to accidentally make duplicate purchases.
• A free-to-play version is available as DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round Core Fighters.
  Costumes unlocked or purchased in DEAD OR ALIVE 6 may be transferred to this version. Some costumes may not be transferrable. For more information on transferring data from DEAD OR ALIVE 6, see our official website.

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows® 11
Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or higher, AMD Ryzen3 3100 or higher
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060 (VRAM 6GB) or higher, Radeon RX 590 (VRAM 8GB) or higher
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 80 GB available space
Additional Notes: SSD required
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

You can put Minecraft’s gorgeous new biome and building blocks to the test right now

It’s hard to beat the joy of discovering a new biome in Minecraft, so the news that Mojang has opened the metaphorical doors to its Dappled Forest region is very welcome. We were teased with its gorgeous fall hues during May’s Minecraft live, promising all manner of must-have building materials from Poplar Wood to the addition of Wool Stairs and Slabs. The wait is finally over, as Game Drop Three is now available to test in both the latest Bedrock preview and Java snapshot builds.

We don’t have a name for the next Minecraft Game Drop yet, but it’s looking set to arrive perfectly in fall, bringing orange-tinged leaves and bright red shrubs into the sandbox game. The main addition is the Dappled Forest, a new biome that can be found near to cold regions. There you’ll find Poplar Trees, which introduce a rather fetching new off-gray shade of wood for all your construction needs. I’m already envisioning some rather modern designs making ample use of it.

The leaves of the Poplar Trees come in red, orange, and yellow varieties, offering some excellent decoration potential – the variant you’ll get is chosen at random when planting a fresh sapling. Also new to the region are Shelf Mushrooms, which naturally grow on Poplar Trees – both living and fallen ones. These can be used for standard mushroom meal recipes, and they’re also slightly bouncy, reducing fall damage if you land on them.

The decoration potential doesn’t stop there. Also found in the new biome are Red Shrubs, which you can gather and place anywhere else. They’ll keep their color no matter where you choose to grow them, and you can use Bone Meal on them to generate another shrub in an adjacent space. The other big additions are Wool Stairs and Wool Slabs, which you can craft in any of the sixteen colors the standard material supports.

Those Wool pieces are used in a new structure type that can be encountered in many different regions across Minecraft – the abandoned camp. Mojang asks the obvious question: “If nobody’s been to the Dappled Forest before, who built the abandoned camp? And what loot did they leave?” The camp’s design varies based on the biome it spawns in, and you’ll find various chests and barrels stuffed with goodies in the vicinity.

The Dappled Forest is also home to a standard set of wildlife – sheep, chickens, cows, pigs, rabbits, and foxes – although they will use their cold-weather variants where relevant. While the new update isn’t as gameplay-focused as the recent Chaos Cubed drop, I’m already eager to see how people make use of the new cosmetic options at our disposal.

Minecraft’s third Game Drop of 2026 is live now for testing in both Minecraft Bedrock preview 26.40.27 and Minecraft Java snapshot 26.3. Be sure to switch over to the appropriate test build in the launcher before you start playing.

Riot walks back putting League of Legends’ controversial ‘last hit indicators’ into ranked play, for now

It’s been a whirlwind few hours for League of Legends, with Riot Games announcing that its most controversial player assist tool was about to be implemented in ranked play, only for them to rapidly reverse the decision in response to public outcry. The ‘last hit indicator’ system, which clearly marks when minions are within lethal damage range for your champion, has been available in swiftplay and co-op versus AI for several months, but its implementation into the more competitive side of LoL has sparked heated debate, and with good reason.

I’ll come down on one side of this argument: I’m all for the feature as a way to learn, but I don’t think last hit indicators have a place in ranked League of Legends. Last hitting – the act of scoring the killing blow on enemy minions and jungle creeps to secure the maximum gold bounty from them – is the very heart of the laning phase. Being good at CS (that’s ‘creep score,’ not Counter-Strike), while also attempting to stop your opponents from landing their own last hits on your minions, is therefore fundamental to being a good laner, especially if you play in the carry role.

A big part of learning each champion is understanding when to attack to get the kill, as acting too early can cause you to miss the final blow and lose out on the gold. The last hit indicator is an assist tool designed to help players become more familiar with the system: it shows a clearly darker segment on minion health bars to denote the ‘last hit range,’ and once their life falls below that the meter clearly changes color to show that they’re vulnerable for you to finish off.

Last hitting in League of Legends is already a little more generous than in other MOBAs like Dota 2, and that’s fine. In fact, it only further emphasizes the value of being able to rack up a high CS in the early stages of the game to push your economy ahead of the opponents’. Putting this assist into co-op versus AI matches, and even into swiftplay, is a nice way to help players who are new learn the ropes before stepping into the big leagues, where you’re likely to be going up against veterans for whom it’s second nature.

Improved tutorials are great; pushing those systems into ranked feels like a mistake. With League of Legends patch 26.13, Riot announced that it would be enabling last hit indicators in both normal draft and ranked SR games. In the patch notes, it wrote, “We think it’s better to focus on skill expression in other parts of the game – rather than understanding exactly when you can last-hit a minion – and are pretty confident that these don’t degrade skill expression in lane.”

Clearly the community disagreed with this statement, with a discussion on the topic rising to the top of the game’s Reddit page. Fortunately, the outcry was loud enough that Riot quickly responded. “We’ve seen a lot of conversation around last hit indicators coming to ranked, and we’ve decided to enable them in non-ranked SR queues only for continued testing,” it announces.

“We want to get more data and feedback to decide if we should make them an option for ranked before making that call,” Riot continues. “So we’ll keep them enabled, but off by default, for swiftplay, co-op versus AI, and normal draft, to collect data and iterate. We’ll keep you updated about performance and progress in dev updates before making any future calls.” It has also adjusted its original statement in the 26.13 patch notes.

I’ve already made my stance clear, but I’m in agreement with Reddit thread poster ‘XpMonsterS’ that putting last hit indicators into ranked would be “a bad precedent.” Does it remove all skill expression from laning? No. Does it dramatically reduce it? Yes. In its original post, Riot noted, “You still need to be mindful of positioning, harassing your opponent, considering where both jungles are, understanding power spikes, and more.” That’s all true, but all of those revolve around the core fundamentals of landing your CS.

Being able to be mindful of your last hit range – and the way it changes through the match as you buy items and level up abilities – is a big factor in what makes the ‘dance’ in lane so satisfying. That’s doubly true as the chaos ramps up; players who never miss a CS even as ganks and pushes come in are a special breed. I’m all for training wheels, but I do believe that they should remain exactly that. Eventually, if you want to compete in the big leagues, you have to learn to ride without them.

Rockstar confirms the GTA 6 price, pre-order bonuses, and its ultimate edition

Rockstar Games has just announced what the GTA 6 price and pre-order bonuses will look like, alongside confirmation that we will be getting an ultimate edition of the open-world game. The developer gave us a date for pre-orders to open last week, and has now gone one step further, noting that availability will open at “midnight local time on June 25.” Here’s what you can get if you jump in early – oh, and expect to pay $79.99 for the regular edition, or $99.99 for the ultimate.

I’m as sad as anyone that this latest update is yet another affirmation that Grand Theft Auto 6 isn’t going to be on PC any time soon. However, it does answer quite a few questions around the nature of the premium editions and bonus packages. First up is the GTA 6 Vintage Vice City Pack, which you’ll get if you pre-order the game. This promises “unique benefits that flash back to when the neon burned brightest,” which will certainly be appreciated by those who are sad we’re not returning to the ’80s setting of Tommy Vercetti’s adventure.

The GTA 6 pre-order bonuses include:

• The ’55 Vapid Stanier: “Cruise Shore Drive in this classic sedan and store it in the Shore Court personal garage that’s just a stone’s throw from the glistening sands of Ocean Beach.” It includes a weapon locker and a secure stash point for stolen goods before they’re fenced.
• Outfits and hairstyles: Jason gets an “effortlessly chic linen suit in vintage pastel, complemented by the cut and coif of the decade of decadence.” Lucia, meanwhile, sports a classy “red sequin mini dress and curls.”
• Gun skins: Want an even more direct Vice City throwback? You’ll have access to a blue palm-tree design inspired by Tommy’s iconic shirt, which can be applied to “most guns.”
• One month of GTA Plus: Digital pre-orders only will get a month’s subscription to the GTA Online premium package.

Then we have the GTA 6 ultimate edition. This looks to be the only other version outside of the basic offering, and Rockstar promises “an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action.” It notes that the bonuses from this are “threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story, with new items uncovered behind each chapter.” Don’t expect to get access to it all at once, then.

The GTA 6 ultimate edition bonuses include:

• The ’95 Grotti Cheetah: This classic mid-’90s sports car comes with “a minimalist, retro-futuristic livery.” Rockstar says it will be “available to punctuate later-stage action,” suggesting you’ll have to wait a while to get your hands on it.
• Hawk & Little Morgan revolvers: These “his and hers” guns feature “classic Vice City stylings sourced from the Vercetti Estate, including palm tree etched grips, engraved detailing, and a high-performance scope.”
• Personalized pistols: Our pair of protagonists each gets a custom gun design: Jason for the Girardi ES9, Lucis for the Klose K17.
• Vice City style: “Exclusive outfits, tattoos, and more” will give you more ways to customize both characters’ look to fit the decadent vibe.

• Jason’s safehouse vehicles: An army fatigue tinged Dinka Enduro motorcycle and Crest Kayak will be available.
• Custom car mods: Along with an exclusive modkit for the Vapid Ganado, you can look forward to “detailed interiors, exquisite rims, and donk stylings” just for ultimate edition owners, and access to specialist mod shop One-Eyed Willie’s in Lake Leonida.
• The ’67 Vapid Dominator buggy: This “Mud Club monster” can be found at the Paradise Garage in Watson Bay, and is perfect for off-roading in the backwoods of Mount Kalaga.
• Classic Car collection: This special commission with “eccentric car collector” Wyman will see you tracking down abandoned classics and project cars, before bringing them back to their former glory.
• Shitzu Squalo: A pink-and-blue luxury speedboat can be found docked at Washington Beach: Rockstar promises that it’s “open-ocean ready with an explosives-laden weapons crate.”
• Sara’s Unisex Salon: This special business offers “signature salon styles” for both leads, with facial hair options for Jason, and makeup and nails for Lucia.
• Stock 305 clothing store: Yet another exclusive club, this home for “elevated streetwear” promises even more unique looks for our leading pair.
• Electric Fang Tattoo: You guessed it: another exclusive shop, this time offering more than 50 signature tattoos designed by artist collective FAILE.
• Goodttime Gear: For something a little more light-hearted, try out these accessories inspired by the Goodtime State TV show Macca the Gator.
• PTT Youngin$ Illegal Goods Store: “Raid the compound of one of Southside Vice City’s loudest and most socially active gangs and escape safely,” and you can net a range of special items and contraband.

GTA 6 will retail for $79.99 for the standard edition, and $99.99 for the premium edition. Pre-orders will open at midnight in your local region on Thursday June 25. We might be watching with envy from PC land, but I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye.

Diablo 4 finally adds a mode it should have had on day one, but all I can think about is skinny Roadhog

Diablo 4 Season 14 is upon us, and it’s an important moment for Blizzard. Its Lord of Hatred expansion has largely been a triumph, rounding out the ongoing story arc and bringing a bit more needed structure to the endgame. The big question now is whether the studio can carry that momentum forward into its first big reset, keeping players coming back for more. There’s certainly a lot to look forward to in the ‘Season of Death Awakening,’ from the finalized implementation of proper leaderboards and SSF mode to a Warlock free trial and an Overwatch collab, although that latter addition has left me rather unsettled.

At the center of the new Diablo 4 season are “Dark Rituals creating multiple Ruptures throughout Sanctuary.” These Ruptures can appear anywhere, but most commonly spawn during the Helltide, and you want to keep them open for as long as possible by plowing through the creatures they spawn to maximize your rewards. If you’re a Path of Exile player, this feels a lot like Breach, one of PoE’s longest-running and most successful mechanics; it’s certainly a format I’m eager to try Diablo’s own take on.

Ruptures include a new family of monsters, the Risen. The more dangerous variants, ‘Surging’ and ‘Colossal’ Ruptures, have a chance to spawn a Realmwalker when completed (it’s guaranteed for the latter). Defeat this, and you’ll unlock a portal to the ‘Deathtoll Chamber,’ a “one-room mini-dungeon” that promises even more valuable loot. It’s also the main source for Superior Lair Keys, which you’ll need to open the seasonal Lair Boss hoard in Torment difficulties. The treadmill ticks ever onward.

After literally years of requests, Diablo 4 SSF mode is finally here. Solo Self-Found is a character toggle you can set when starting out. It can be used in either normal or hardcore, although must be made in the current season of the RPG. Activating this locks the character out of parties and trade, and restricts their shared stash, currency, and Paragon level to other SSF characters on the same account. There’s no way to turn it off, although it will be reverted at the end of the season when they move to the Eternal realm.

As someone who already plays most of my Diablo 4 this way (and typically makes separate characters for any co-op I engage in), I’m all for this mode. It ensures every loot drop counts, because you have to rely on what you find or craft yourself. Prove you’re the best, and you’ll get access to SSF-exclusive Tower leaderboards, now that the feature is finally out of beta. There will also be leaderboard cosmetics and titles based on both your progression through the Tower, and your finishing rank among other players.

If you prefer to run with others, there’s good news there. War Plans have been overhauled for co-op play and now offer the ability to sync up your current board with your party. To do this, you’ll need to all be in Temis, and the player who selects the ‘New Plan for Party’ prompt will roll a fresh War Plans board, which will then be shared with all other people in the group. Blizzard notes that this sync ignores player-specific factors such as your War Plans level, Torment tier, or campaign completion.

Every unique in the game now has the ability to drop as a mythic unique, at least in name. In practice, this is basically akin to Diablo 3’s ‘primal legendaries.’ They’re a guaranteed ancestral with a complete set of maximum rolls, and their unique powers are 30% stronger. Horadric Cube crafting now gives you the ability to make your own mythic uniques, although you’re only allowed to wear one crafted mythic at a time (again, this is exactly how D3’s primal legendary crafting works).

If you haven’t yet bought Lord of Hatred and are interested in trying out its new Warlock class, you can do so for free between Tuesday, June 30, and Tuesday, July 7. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too limited for my tastes – it only goes up to level 30, meaning you can’t really experience the class to its fullest. The trial is also limited to Battlenet, Xbox, and PlayStation, leaving Steam players out in the cold. If you do jump in and enjoy it, progress at least carries over, should you buy the expansion.

Okay, I’ve tried to put it out of my head, but I simply cannot. Let’s talk about the Diablo 4 Overwatch collab. I’m doing a bit of guesswork-matching here, but I feel confident that our loadout is: Genji as the Rogue, Reaper as the Necromancer, Brigitte as the Paladin, Moira as the Warlock, Reinhardt as the Barbarian, Kiriko as the Spiritborn, Roadhog as the Druid, and Mercy as the Sorcerer.

I can put aside the fact that some of these simply don’t look right due to Diablo 4’s pre-defined class face shapes, and that the likes of Mercy, Brigitte, and Moira look more like cosplayers than their original inspirations. We’re zoomed out pretty far, after all. But Roadhog just looks wrong. The Druid might be Diablo 4’s bulkiest class, but it still pales in comparison to the Australian tank’s iconic silhouette, and I simply do not like looking at it.

Personally, I might have opted for the likes of Hazard or Mauga, and let Roadhog take the place of the Butcher at random intervals – he even has the hook. Anyway, what’s done is done. Other than that, I think the cosmetics team at Blizzard has done a fairly admirable job of incorporating these new Overwatch skins into Diablo 4 in a way that doesn’t detract too much from its core art style. Certainly no more so than the Starcraft or World of Warcraft crossovers did, at least. Call me when we get D4 K-pop skins, or an equivalent to the new Nyan Café designs over in Overwatch land.

Diablo 4 Season 14, Season of Death Awakening, begins on Tuesday, June 30 at 10am PT / 1am ET / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST. There will be new seasonal journey rewards to earn, along with a fresh Battle Pass Reliquary. Blizzard has also announced extra Twitch Drops in the form of the ‘Final Headache’ two-handed mace, which can be claimed after watching two hours of eligible streams between June 30 and July 14.

The new Overwatch Nyan Café skins claw their way to eye-watering prices

What’s the most you’ve paid for an in-game cosmetic? Overwatch is looking to test your resolve with a fresh set of skins that are stretching the price point beyond anything we’ve seen in the multiplayer game before. The new Nyan Café bundle is headlined by a pair of outfits that Blizzard has dubbed ‘ultra skins,’ and it’s certainly put a price tag on to match. The pink cat outfits for Sierra and Kiriko come with some extra touches around the edge like custom sounds and kill effects, but that hasn’t been enough to convince the community of the dramatically increased cost.

The new line of ‘Nyan Café’ Overwatch skins are available in-game right now, but you’ll need to have quite the stack of Overwatch Coins to get your hands on them. The complete bundle includes the two ultra skins on Kiriko and Sierra, new highlight intros for the pair, three legendary outfits for Orisa, Ashe, and Reaper, and a selection of other emotes, sprays, weapon charms, and name cards to fill out the list. It will cost you 9,900 Overwatch Coins. Getting only the items designed for either Kiriko or Sierra sets you back 4,500, while each of the ultra skins by themselves come in at 3,500.

For calculation purposes, 500 Overwatch Coins costs $5 / £4.39, and 1,000 is $10 / £8.39. There is some ‘bonus currency’ thrown in if you buy bigger bundles, but none of these give enough to get you to that 3,500 mark. If you don’t already have any on your account, you’d therefore need to spend $35 / £29.56 for each ultra skin, excluding bundle savings. Spend $40 / £34.99 and you can reach the 4,500 bundle. Due to the way the tiers are structured, the best option for the full package is 11,800 Coins for $100 / £84.99, leaving you with 1,900 to spare (conveniently, this is the price of many modern legendary skins). Currently, you can earn a maximum of 600 Overwatch Coins for free from each of the seasonal battle passes.

Naturally, this has quickly become the main talking point among the community. On Reddit, user ‘Lirodes32’ posts, “And I thought $60 bundles were expensive.” Similar topics fill the rest of the forum, with players pointing out that the new highlight intros for Kiriko and Sierra are just close-up camera shots of their emotes from the same bundle, rather than unique animations. Perhaps most telling, however, is ‘ExtensionSoil3801,’ who writes: “I think we’re doomed. The literal first game of Overwatch I played and everyone has the pink cat skins…”

What makes these particular cosmetics ‘ultra’ (and therefore worth almost twice the price of legendary skins, according to Blizzard)? As far as I can tell, it’s just the addition of unique sound effects and custom ‘kill animations.’ These are basically holograms that flash up when you defeat an enemy, which seem more distracting than entertaining. I can’t say I’m convinced of the value proposition here, but ultimately I’m not the arbiter of aesthetics, and if people are prepared to pay, then we can expect more of these in the future.

I will give some credit where it’s due for the five emotes, all of which have the featured characters playing with pet cats in fun and thematic ways (Sierra teases hers with a drone, for example, while Ashe distracts hers with a laser pointer). I don’t think that justifies them also being incorporated as the highlight intros, however – and if Blizzard is going to do that, why not include the ones for Orisa, Reaper, and Ashe alongside the two co-stars?

Overwatch streamer ‘Flats’ sums up the community consensus best: “It’s just legendary skins with some extra sounds on it and a kill animation. Normally skins are $19, now it’s going to be $35? That is actually diabolical. There is no defending that. That is the price of a very good indie studio game.” I certainly won’t tell you how to spend your money, but I can safely say where I’d rather be putting mine.

PC price rises to slow this year, says Asus, though not in time for the Steam Machine launch

With gaming PC components having risen in price so much over the last six months, Asus has given a tiny glimmer of hope for the months ahead. According to Economic Daily News, Asus Systems Business General Manager Liao Yi-hsiang has declared that, thanks to some component prices already falling, any price increases in the coming months for Asus “PC products” would be small.

Specifically, Yi-hsiang says that they would be single-digit increases, referring to a 1-9% potential increase in price for affected Asus products. That’s still potentially a significant increase, particularly given the price of the best gaming laptops, for instance. However, it pales in comparison to the 300%+ increase we’ve seen for RAM and 40%+ increases we’ve seen for PC systems in recent months, such as the recent massive Steam Deck price increases and, of course, the notoriously higher-than-expected Steam Machine price.

The Economic Daily News reports that “Liao Yi-hsiang analyzed that PC product prices will still be slightly adjusted in the third quarter, but the increase is expected to be only in the single digits. The main reason is that the prices of components such as memory and hard drives have recently fallen back, and considering consumer acceptance, a large increase may exceed the market’s tolerance.”

The last line here is an interesting one, as it suggests Asus would like to increase prices more (whether out of the desire for extra profit or necessity not to lose money), but that it feels people simply wouldn’t buy the products. Given the general downturn in the market – and the reaction to the Steam Machine launching at such a high price – Asus is probably right on this assumption.

The specifics of this report refer to the Taiwanese market, which is both where Asus is based and where Economic Daily News reports from. However, the broader trends are likely to be reflected worldwide.

As to when any actual further price increases might occur, Liao Yi-hsiang refers to them being “slightly adjusted in the third quarter,” suggesting some price increase could happen ahead of peak tech sales in Fall/Winter.

When it comes to what might happen even further out from this, Asus didn’t offer any suggestion. However, there is a growing sense that the market is consolidating around current pricing, simply because demand for components being used in data centers isn’t letting up. We may see RAM prices fall back further from their peak, but don’t expect the Steam Deck to return to its original price this year, if ever.

Path of Exile 2’s incredible new build guide feature just got even easier to use

Path of Exile 2 has become much easier to recommend to my friends and any interested new players since the launch of its 0.5 update, Return of the Ancients. That’s partly thanks to Grinding Gear Games’ endgame rework, which transforms what was once an intimidating and endless grind into a handy list of clear, defined goals that help you learn how to progress. The other big piece of the puzzle, however, is the in-game integration of build guides, making it much easier to follow advice from the pros – and that particular tool is now easier than ever to take advantage of.

You don’t need to follow a build guide to enjoy Path of Exile 2; indeed, I’d generally encourage first-timers to just go in fresh and experiment for themselves. I know that can feel rather intimidating given how large the passive skill tree is, and the number of possible skill gems, supports, and item stats there are to learn, however. If you’d rather start out with some guidance, you can now import a build guide that will highlight your path through the passive tree, recommend specific stat priorities for each gear slot, and so on.

It’s a tremendous boon for learning the action RPG’s ins and outs. Even as someone with years of experience, I’ve been using a Whirling Assault Martial Artist build from ‘havoc616’ to assist my first foray into the PoE 2 Monk this season. Seeing the tree clearly highlighted, with nodes marked in priority order, has made it vastly simpler to adapt on the fly. I can follow the recommendations, making more informed decisions about where it’s worth deviating based on my current loadout, without having to constantly cross-reference back to a browser tab.

Now, using PoE 2 build guides is even easier. Grinding Gear Games has enabled the ability for guide creators to implement a ‘subscribe’ button on their build pages, which connects to your account on the Path of Exile website. You can then sign up to as many of these as you wish (in many cases, creators might include several versions to account for different stages of the progression), and they’ll automatically be updated in-game for you. If you’ve ever used loot filter subscriptions, it works in much the same way.

This is a twofold benefit: firstly, it cuts out the hassle of having to download a build file and then make sure you’re putting it in the right place on your PC. Secondly, these build subscriptions will automatically update, so you won’t need to worry that you might be missing any potentially important changes. You’re also free to upload your own creation, if you’ve planned one out yourself and want to have it incorporated into the game (or share it with others).

The other good news is that this opens up the build guide importing feature to PoE 2 players on consoles, who previously couldn’t use the tool due to the inability to copy files across. Unfortunately, GGG notes that it ran into some issues with the initial deployment of this on console and had to perform a rollback, so it may not be operating as intended at the time of writing. The dev says, “We’re working on getting this resolved as soon as possible.”

Bubsy 4D Free Download – WorldofPCGames

Download File

Bubsy 4D Direct Download:

Join Bubsy on a new, intergalactic, platforming adventure! Yeah, we couldn’t believe it either. The world’s most infamous, wise-cracking bobcat has returned to 3D with new challenges, new moves, and even more purrsonality – in space! Run, jump, glide, and roll across alien planets, battle robotic sheep, and collect tons and tons of yarn. What could possibly go wrong? Imperial Bureaucracy Hero Free Download (v0.3.21)

Bubsy’s longstanding enemies, the fleece-obsessed Woolies, have stolen all of the Earth’s sheep. Oh well, that ain’t Bubsy’s problem. Until the sheep overthrow their captors and return as deadly BaaBots, empowered by Woolie technology, determined to steal Bubsy’s most prized possession, The Golden Fleece.

With the help of his motley crew of acquaintances, Bubsy must journey through space to defeat the BaaBots and take back the Golden Fleece. Luckily, he’s acquired some new skills to navigate the expansive, craft-themed levels. Bubsy can leap, glide, claw his way up walls, and pounce off enemies. He can also puff up into a new hairball form to roll at blistering speeds. The team at Fabraz crafted this expressive new moveset to cater to beginners and speedrun enthusiasts alike. Once you’ve mastered Bubsy’s clawsome new moves, show off your skills by uploading your best level times to the online leaderboards for other players to race against!

Features

• Explore intergalactic, craft-themed worlds, each ending in a BaaBot boss battle
• New hairball form allows you to roll, bounce, and launch your way around
• An expressive platforming moveset supports both beginner and advanced levels of play
• Spend yarn to purrchase stylish new outfits, or collect a hidden blueprint in each level to unlock new moves and upgrades
• Tackle each level’s time trial, upload your best run, and race against other players’ ghost data
• Chat with a cast of furmiliar friends including Terri, Terry, Virgil, and Oblivia
• Pawsitively funky soundtrack by Fat Bard, incorporating elements of jazz, big band, electro-swing and more

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
OS: Windows 10 or later
Processor: 3.0 GHz
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GT 740 or equivalent
Storage: 3 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Download File

Arc Raiders map – best Expedition loot spots

Loading into a new area in Arc Raiders is pretty impressive, with each one offering a different challenge and a different set of loot you can get your grubby little hands on. We’ve visited each of the maps in Arc Raiders and have all the information you could need.

Access to the Arc Raiders maps is staggered, with more becoming available as you complete rounds. This is to ensure you have a firm grip of the basics covered, we assume, because the later locations can eat a Raider alive if they don’t know what they’re doing. Here are all the maps in Arc Raiders and the best loot spots if you’re attempting an expedition.

Best expedition loot spots

Although gearing up for an Arc Raiders expedition can be a gradual process, there will be a time when you have to go out there with a specific goal in mind. We have the best, most convenient loot spots for each stage of each expedition, so you can complete it as quickly as possible. We have narrowed most items down to Dam Battlegrounds, as it is generally the easiest map to get around, and is usually home to the least aggressive players.

Expedition 1

Stage One

Item
Type
Map
Location

Metal Parts
Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control, Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Rubber Parts
Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control, Power Generation Complex

Arc Alloy
Arc
Dam Battlegrounds
Old Battleground

Steel Spring
Industrial
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control, Hydroponic Dome Complex

Stage Two

Item
Type
Map
Location

Durable Cloth
Medical, Commercial
Dam Battlegrounds
Testing Annex

Wires
Electrical, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Electrical Components
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Cooling Fan
Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Research & Administration

Stage Three

Item
Type
Map
Location

Lightbulbs
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Batteries
Technological, Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Sensors
Security, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Control Tower

Exodus Modules
Exodus
Spaceport
Rocket Assembly

Stage Four

Item
Type
Map
Location

Humidifiers
Residential
Dam Battlegrounds
Ruby Residence, Pale Apartments

Advanced Electrical Components
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Magnetic Accelerators
Exodus
Spaceport
Rocket Assembly

Leaper Pulse Units
Arc
Any
Found on destroyed Leapers

Expedition 2

Stage One

Item
Type
Map
Location

Metal Parts
Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control, Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Plastic Parts
Commercial, Residential, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Research & Administration

Arc Alloy
Arc
Dam Battlegrounds
Old Battleground

Steel Spring
Industrial
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control, Hydroponic Dome Complex

Stage Two

Item
Type
Map
Location

Durable Cloth
Medical, Commercial
Dam Battlegrounds
Testing Annex

Wires
Electrical, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Electrical Components
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Cooling Coils
Industrial
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Stage Three

Item
Type
Map
Location

Light Bulbs
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Battery
Technological, Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Shredder Gyro
Arc
Any
Looted from destroyed Shredders

Exodus Module
Exodus
Spaceport
Rocket Assembly

Stage Four

Item
Type
Map
Location

Frequency Mod Box
Exodus
Spaceport
Rocket Assembly

Advanced Electrical Components
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Ion Sputters
Exodus
Spaceport
Rocket Assembly

Leaper Pulse Units
Arc
Any
Looted from destroyed Leapers

Expedition 3

Stage One

Item
Type
Map
Location

Metal Parts
Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control, Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Chemicals
Mechanical, Residential, Medical
Dam Battlegrounds
Testing Annex, Water Treatment Control

Arc Alloy
Arc
Dam Battlegrounds
Old Battleground

Steel Spring
Industrial
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control, Hydroponic Dome Complex

Stage Two

Item
Type
Map
Location

Durable Cloth
Medical, Commercial
Dam Battlegrounds
Testing Annex

Wires
Electrical, Technological
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Electrical Components
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Industrial Chargers
Industrial
Dam Battlegrounds
Water Treatment Control

Stage Three

Item
Type
Map
Location

Coffee Pot
Residential
Dam Battlegrounds
Ruby Residence, Pale Apartments

Battery
Technological, Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex, Research & Administration

Firefly Burners
Arc
Any
Can be looted from destroyed Fireflies

Exodus Modules
Exodus
Spaceport
Rocket Assembly

Stage Four

Item
Type
Map
Location

Broken Guidance System
Industrial
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex, Hydroponic Dome Complex

Advanced Electrical Components
Electrical
Dam Battlegrounds
Power Generation Complex

Breathtaking Snow Globe
Residential, Old World, Commercial
Dam Battlegrounds
Ruby Residence, Pale Apartments

Bombardier Cell
Arc
Any
Can be looted from destroyed Bombardiers

New Arc Raiders map

With Riven Tides only recently washing up on our shores, it’s currently unclear what direction the next Arc Raiders map will take. We know the next update is called Frozen Trails, which suggests a chillier excursion. The new map is due in October.

All Arc Raiders maps

There are six maps in total, and a practice range for you to try out your new gear.

The Arc Raiders maps are:

• Dam Battlegrounds
• Buried City
• Spaceport
• The Blue Gate
• Stella Montis
• Riven Tides

Best Arc Raiders loot spots

Dam Battlegrounds

Here are the most important POIs in Dam Battlegrounds:

POI
Loot Rarity
Loot Type

Hydroponic Dome Complex
High
Nature, Industrial, Security

Control Tower
High
Technological, Security

Research & Administration
High
Commercial, Technological

Generator Hall
Medium
General

Power Generation Complex
Medium
Electrical, Industrial

Water Treatment Control
Medium
Industrial, Mechanical

Testing Annex
Medium
Medical, Commercial

Buried City

Here are the most important POIs in Buried City:

POI
Loot Rarity
Loot Type

Hospital
High
Medical

Space Travel
High
Commercial, Technological

Town Hall
High
Old World

Library
Medium
Commercial, Old World

Research
Medium
Medical, Technological

Grandioso Apartments
Medium
Residential

Plaza Rosa
Medium
Medical, Commercial

Spaceport

Here are the most important POIs in Spaceport:

POI
Loot Rarity
Loot Type

Arrival Building
High
Commercial, Technological

Launch Towers
High
Technological, Security

Departure Building
High
Commercial, Technological

Control Tower
High
Technological, Commercial

Container Storage
High
Industrial, Mechanical

Rocket Assembly
Medium
Security, Industrial

Vehicle Maintenance
Medium
Mechanical, Industrial

The Blue Gate

Here are the most important POIs in The Blue Gate:

POI
Loot Rarity
Loot Type

Pilgrim’s Peak
High
Technological, Electrical

Checkpoint
High
Mechanical

Village
Medium
Commercial, Residential

Raider’s Refuge
Medium
Residential

Warehouse Complex
Medium
Industrial

Ancient Fort
Medium
Old World, Technological

Stella Montis

Here are the most important POIs in Stella Montis:

POI
Loot Rarity
Loot Type

Cultural Archives
High
Old World

Medical Research
High
Medical, Technological

Seed Vault
High
Nature

Sandbox
Medium
Mechanical, Technological

Assembly Workshops
Medium
Technological

Lobby
Medium
Security, Technological

Riven Tides

Here are the most important POIs in Riven Tides:

POI
Loot Rarity
Loot Type

Hotel Panorama Azzurro
High
Commercial, Residential

Port Authority Building
High
Technological, Exodus

Stacking yard
Medium
Industrial, Exodus

Customs House
Medium
Industrial, Electrical

Now you know where to go on the Arc Raiders maps, it’s time to figure out how you’ll survive. Check out our best Arc Raiders builds guide for the optimal skill point allocation for your playstyle, make sure you bring backup with our Arc Raiders crossplay guide, and ensure you always have an escape plan with our Arc Raiders Hatch Key guide.

Civ 7 adds new maps, hotseat multiplayer, and more impactful governments – plus another pricey DLC bundle

A new Civilization 7 update has just followed up Firaxis’ recent Test of Time overhaul with continued upgrades to core systems, a new map type designed to craft more organic-feeling locales, and the introduction of hotseat multiplayer. Alongside it comes the launch of the latest piece of Civ 7 DLC, Brush and Blade, which introduces new factions and leaders from the history of both Japan and Korea. The early response to that expansion has been one of frustration, however, with many users criticizing the price at a time when the fundamentals of the game are still being adjusted.

The Civilization 7 Test of Time update was supposed to be the start of a brand new era for the historical 4X game. So far, it hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, at least when it comes to shifting the narrative among those submitting Steam reviews, which remain just marginally above the 50% positive mark. It is still a marked improvement, however, and Firaxis isn’t stopping there, with Civ 7 update 1.4.1 designed to continue that work.

The most significant change here is the ongoing improvements to the Happiness stat, which we’ll get to in a moment, but first comes a few other features of note. Hotseat multiplayer has been introduced as an extra option, allowing you to have multiple people playing on the same device, switching out once your turn is finished. I can’t imagine the market for this is huge these days, but it fires up my nostalgia neurons, and I can appreciate that.

There’s a new archipelago map type, which takes over from the old incarnation (that one, which had a rather distinct east-west split, has been renamed to ‘archipelago hemispheres’). The updated variant incorporates “two regions of archipelagos that are randomly placed, with a smattering of distant lands elsewhere on the map.” It’s built using the game’s new Voronoi map generation tech, which should result in “less repetition, more randomness, and a more organic feel overall.”

Let’s talk about Happiness. Rather than simply being a binary yes/no, this has now reverted to a more nuanced system akin to older games, with five stages ranging from ‘angry’ to ‘ecstatic.’ Alongside that change, governmental choices now have more of a direct impact on how this is calculated, with each option offering a passive ability that becomes immediately active as well as the two possible celebrations. Celebrations, meanwhile, will now be harder to earn and shorter when they occur, because they were too easy to activate before.

Alongside all of those improvements comes the new DLC package, Brush and Blade Collection. This is available now, although you’ll only get access to the Japan side of things at launch. There’s new leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi, known as the nation’s “second great unifier” from the late Sengoku period, along with the Heian Japan and Sengoku Japan civs. You’ll also get all four wonders in the bundle out of the gate: Mireuksa, Nirayama Reverberatory Furnace, Seongsan Ilchulbong, and Nachi Falls.

At some point between now and September, the Korean side of the equation will arrive. This includes famed Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, regarded as a national hero for his success against the Japanese navy during its attempted invasions of Korea in the late 16th century. The two Korean civs will be the dynasties of Goryeo and Joseon, which together carried the nation through nearly a millenium.

Civilization 7 DLC Brush and Blade Collection is out now, priced at $29.99 / £24.99. That puts it in line with other existing packs, and much like those, its early reviews have put it into the negative, with just 38% of the players who have submitted a response so far recommending it. A lot of the comments are positive about the actual content, but most note that the price is too high for what’s here, especially given that it isn’t included in the premium Civ 7 Founder’s Edition, and the core game is still being improved at the same time.

Sineus Arena Survivors Free Download (v1.0.1)

Sineus Arena Survivors Direct Download:

NO DOWNTIME 💥 JUST REAL-TIME CHAOS Bubsy 4D

Sineus Arena Survivors takes the chaotic thrill of the survivor genre and expands it with co-op, building and base defense. This is a fast-paced, third-person 3D bullet heaven, playable solo or in 2-4 player co-op. Fight hordes of the Khmar, level up your hero, collect weapons and artifacts and build structures and towers right in the middle of combat. There are no calm pauses for decisions – combat, building and survival all happen at the same time.  

At the center of the arena stands the Beacon – the heart of your settlement and your last line of defense. As long as it burns, your team still has a chance. If the Beacon falls, darkness consumes everything. Venture beyond the base to search for rare resources, chests, altars, trials and enemy lairs. The farther you go from the Beacon, the greater the risk – and the more valuable the reward. At launch, expect 10+ heroes with different archetypes and combat styles, 5 factions with unique allies and visual identities, 13 building types, 25 weapons, 18 types of upgrades, 50+ artifacts, skins, quests, achievements and meta-progression.

KEY FEATURES

Co-op and Team Survival
Play solo or team up in 2-4 player co-op. Revive fallen allies, split roles and decide who holds the line while another player pushes out for loot.

Meta-Progression and Rewards
Earn currency by surviving, killing enemies and completing quests. Unlock heroes, weapons, skins, boosts and other rewards through the Magic Chest and its upgrade collection – every run brings you closer to new content.

The Beacon and Base Defense
Your base is not scenery – it is the heart of survival. Upgrade your settlement, reinforce its defenses and stop enemies from reaching the Beacon.

No-Pause Building. Zero Buzzkills
Slap down towers and buildings mid-wave without losing your momentum. Building is so fast and intuitive it never distracts you from the core bullet heaven loop. You focus on the intense survivors-like action; the base has your back.

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) or newer
Processor: Intel i5-4590 or better
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Geforce GTX 1050 or better
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 2 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Download File

Grab a free Radeon RX 9070 XT, or one of five other GPUs, thanks to AMD

If current PC prices are getting you down, AMD might have the perfect way to perk you back up. Enter its sweepstakes, and you could win a free AMD GPU, with six cards up for grabs, including two Radeon RX 9070 XT and an RX 7900 XTX.

Sure, we’d all love an RTX 5090, like Nvidia has been giving away every now and then in its own giveaways, but the RX 9070 XT and RX 7900 XTX are plenty capable cards. In fact, AMD’s current-generation flagship is one of the best graphics cards you can currently buy, in terms of pure value, thanks to the ludicrous price of GPUs these days.

Top prize in this draw is actually the RX 7900 XTX, as despite being a last-generation design, it’s still AMD’s fastest card. One of those is up for grabs, followed by two RX 9070 XT cards, then three RX 9060 XT cards. AMD hasn’t specified exactly which model of each card you’ll get, but has said the total prize value is exactly $3,939.94.

AMD is calling the giveaway “JACK’S AMD RADEON™ GPU DROP” after Jack Huynh, the company’s senior vice president and general manager of the computing and graphics group. Ostensibly, the event is in celebration of AMD FSR 4.1 now being available on RX 7000 GPUs, which makes it slightly odd that the company is only giving away one RX 7000 series GPU.

FSR 4.1 is the latest version of the company’s upscaling algorithm, which brings proper machine learning (like that used in DLSS) to greatly enhance the quality of its upscaling. Previously only available on RX 9000 series GPUs, now owners of the likes of the RX 7600 and RX 9070 – and prospective Steam Machine buyers – can enjoy these enhancements. It’s also now available on the Steam Deck.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these cards, all you have to do is head over to this page on AMD’s website and sign up for a free AMDGaming account. After that, you can also enter by following AMD and Jack on various social media platforms, including LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok. Full T&Cs can be found on the entry page, including that you’ll have to be over 18 to enter, and you can only enter if you live in certain countries.

All entries need to be in by July 5, 2026, with the prizes drawn shortly thereafter. While you wait to see if you’ve won, why not check out our RX 9070 XT review, RX 9070 XTX review, and RX 9060 XT to see what you might be getting, if you’re lucky enough to win.

Deer & Boy Free Download

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Deer & Boy Direct Download:

Deer & Boy is a narrative cinematic adventure that tells a silent story through stunning visuals and evocative music. Dustwind: Resistance

With no dialogue to distract, every moment speaks directly to the heart, making it accessible to players of all ages and backgrounds. A runaway boy meets a fragile fawn. Experience their silent bond through stunning visuals and music in this poetic cinematic adventure that speaks directly to the heart. Your companion grows from vulnerable fawn to majestic deer, changing how you play together. Protect your fragile friend early on, then work as equals with evolving abilities.

Young players will see a beautiful friendship between a boy and his deer. Adult players may discover deeper themes about healing and finding strength through companionship. Everyone finds their own meaning in this contemplative experience.

Deer & Boy offers understanding layers that make it perfect for solo play or sharing with family.

• Silent Storytelling: No dialogue. Pure visual and musical emotion
• Evolving Companion: The animal will gradually grow throughout the story and will become an essential and protective companion.
• Play An Animated Film: Cinematic adventure with breathtaking art direction.
• Engaging puzzles: Clever challenges integrated into your journey.
• Cinematic Adventure: Beautiful 3D environments with movie-like presentation
• Family-Friendly: Suitable for all ages with no graphic violence or complex text
• Complete Journey: A complete adventure you can finish in a few play sessions

Experience a unique cinematic adventure where an animal truly grows up alongside you, bringing invaluable support during your journey through a world of wonder, challenge, and hope. “To everyone who has shown interest in Deer & Boy, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It means the world to us to see so many of you moved by the little glimpse we’ve shared. We feel the weight of your expectations, and we’re pouring everything we have into bringing our vision to life and sharing something truly meaningful with you.”

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: FX 6300 x6 / Core i3-8100
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 750Ti / Radeon RX 560
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 6 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Download File

Minecraft’s new IRL backpack comes with a game-changing update to your inventory

Minecraft has teamed up with Herschel Supply to create a new line of themed backpacks, but it’s not just your real life where you can use them to carry items. Mojang and Herschel have teamed up to create a special in-game version of the backpack that you can download right now, and with a little work, it’ll expand your inventory to sizes never before seen.

The collaboration sees some classic Herschel Supply bags redesigned to feature Minecraft elements, from a bright green Creeper version to one that’s created to look like the face of an Enderman, complete with those bright purple eyes that I still hate seeing when I play the sandbox game.

The rarest of them all is the Herschel Little America Cube backpack, which has a custom print designed to look like a dirt block. Unfortunately, this limited-edition bag has already sold out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands on it in the world of Minecraft, as it’s available to download right now.

Available from the Minecraft Marketplace, the Herschel Backpack Trials Add-On can be downloaded for free right now. When equipped, players can complete Trials challenges to upgrade the bag, with features such as Auto Sort, which automatically sorts items when you place them in the backpack, or Auto Restock, which refills your hand with matching items from your bag when building. With certain upgrades, it can even repair your tools as you travel, making the Mending enchantment redundant if you have one of these on your back.

The biggest change, however, comes to its size. Completing challenges lets you unlock another page of space with another 24 slots, with a total size of 16 pages. That makes it the biggest and easiest way to carry items in the game, as it has 288 total slots compared to your normal inventory, which has 40 in total. To put that into perspective, you can carry 442,368 items when fully stacked. I’m not sure I’ve ever had that many items in any of my Minecraft saves, to be honest.

Seeing as Minecraft’s 26.2 Chaos Cubed update just dropped, I’m getting the urge to jump back in and start a new world. One of my biggest problems is hoarding blocks I’ll never use just in case I need them in the future, so having this huge backpack could be a good fix to the massive storage rooms I have to build every time.

Unfortunately, however, this add-on is only available to those on Minecraft Bedrock, so if you’re a Java player, you’ll have to miss out on this one.

Wizzerd Quest 2 Free Download

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Wizzerd Quest 2 Direct Download:

Wizzerd Quest Is BACK! The House of Da Vinci

Kondoorsoft returns with the long-awaited sequel to the shareware sleeper hit Wizzerd Quest! How did we manage to top such a strange and charming game?! By quadrupling the scope, building an brand new entirely 3D open world to explore, and adding LIVE-ACTION FULL-MOTION VIDEO CUTSCENES into the mix!

STORY: The Emperor Is Dead!
Good news! You beat Wizzerd Quest and saved the island of Wayword! Or maybe you’re new, so you didn’t do any of that! Either way, bad news! – The mainland is in even worse shape! A necromancer cult has taken the Emperor’s body into an evil cathedral to do who-knows-what to it, and it’s your job to drive them back, region by region, rescue the Emperor’s remains, and bring peace and freedom to the land of Evenfall! You can do this solo, or call in a buddy to help with Wizzerd Quest 2’s full split-screen co-op mode!

GAMEPLAY: Wizzerd Quest gets a BIG upgrade!
Let’s face it: you liked Wizzerd Quest, but the jank gave you a headache. Well good news, sport. You can now experience the iconic Wizzerd Quest writing and optional co-op gameplay paired with major enhancements:

• Full 3D movement and camera controls, including full key remapping and mouse sensitivity adjustment!
• A vastly improved inventory and bartering system anchored by mouse or controller-driven menus that no longer require awkward button mashing!
• A proper map system with full player and landmark location (but no yellow paint, and if you ask us for quest waypoints we will cry so please respect our choice to Daggerfall-up these quest objectives)
• A rich collection of minigames, dungeons, factions and side quests, so you can tackle the game at your own pace!
• Unique, hand-written dialogue for every NPC in the game, rich worlds full of hand-placed landmarks and lore, and absolutely zero microtransactions, invasive DRM or AI slop.

Screenshots

System Requirements

Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 x64
Processor: Intel Pentium G4560 or AMD Athlon 3000G
Graphics: Radeon RX 550 or GeForce GT 1030 2GB
Storage: 2 GB available space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam

Installation Guide

Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game

1 :: Download Game
2 :: Extract Game
3 :: Launch The Game
4 :: Have Fun 🙂

Download File

Fan-favorite map returns to CS2 competitive play in Premier Season Five

Valve has confirmed that Cache is returning to the Active Duty pool in Counter-Strike 2, replacing Overpass when Premier Season Four ends on July 6. It’s a major return for the map, which hasn’t featured in competitive play for seven years, but after remaking the map and updating it for CS2, Valve has finally pulled the trigger.

Cache returned to the popular FPS game on Tuesday, April 28, seven years after it was removed from the game. During that time, Valve announced and released Counter-Strike 2, transitioning the game from the original Source engine to Source 2 and improving its graphics. With the new engine, classic CS:GO maps looked dated, so work on remaking them began with Inferno, Train, and Overpass, with Cache joining the ranks this year.

Now, it’ll be available in CS2’s Premier mode, the game’s Competitive playlist, where players fight to earn rating points in the same maps and rulesets as the professional game.

In a tweet on June 22, Valve confirmed that the Season Five Active Duty map pool will see one of those remakes removed, with Overpass making way for Cache when it kicks off. Valve also confirmed that Season Four is coming to a close, with Monday, July 6, announced as the end date.

If you haven’t earned your Premier Season Four medal yet, then you’ll need to have 25 wins this season before it ends. Your CS Rating also needs to be visible, which means you’ll need to win a match within 14 days of July 6.

Season Four of Premier ends on July 6th.

You must have 25 Season Four Premier wins and a visible CSR when the Season concludes to earn your Premier Season Four medal.

For the Season Five Active Duty map pool:

– Overpass
+ Cache pic.twitter.com/W5NLTHweok

– CS2 (@CounterStrike) June 22, 2026

The map changes mean there will be seven maps in the Active Duty pool in Season Five: Dust 2, Inferno, Mirage, Nuke, Ancient, Anubis, and Cache. These maps will also be used in professional matches, starting with BLAST Bounty on July 21.

The community feedback on the news has been mixed, with many frustrated that Overpass has been removed just a year after it joined the Active Duty pool. There’s also some frustration over the fact that Mirage remains in the pool, as it is consistently one of the most-played maps in CS2, and many have grown bored of it.

Regardless, Cache is officially back, and it’s time to get practicing. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten every smoke grenade lineup I ever knew on the map, so I’ll need to get into a private lobby and start learning them all over again.

Steam Machine review roundup: Hefty pricetag for a niche product

The Steam Machine is almost here. Valve has finally announced the price of their latest hardware release, with the interest list for purchasing one of the four options available open until June 25. Valve has sent review models to journalists around the world, and while some are fans of the Steam Machine, they all share the same opinion: It’s very expensive.

The base 512GB model of the Steam Machine costs $1,049, while the 2TB version comes in at $1,428. Neither of those comes with a controller, so you’ll need to add an extra $69 if you want one of those, too. The price reflects the cost of buying the hardware required to build the Steam Machine, with memory shortages making it difficult to procure RAM and suppliers charging a massive markup.

The Steam Machine’s specs aren’t terrible, and it comes with a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 six-core CPU and a semi-custom AMD RDNA 3 GPU, but both chips use older AMD architecture, which has raised some eyebrows among PC gamers. It also comes with 16GB of DDR5 and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and a surprisingly small case that is just 152mm tall, making it a fraction of the size of both gaming PCs and consoles.

For reviewers who got to test out the Steam Machine early, it’s been difficult to look past the cost of Valve’s latest hardware offering. In their 8/10 review, IGN’s Jacqueline Thomas praised the machine as the “easiest way to get into PC gaming right now,” but at $1049, it is going to be too expensive for gamers who plan on using it like a console in their living room, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X both significantly cheaper.

Tom’s Hardware Andrew Freedman focused more on the internals, though, saying that while they felt the price was competitive based on the current market, the Steam Machine’s hardware was already aging, and that many will feel that the 8GB of DDR6 RAM isn’t good enough for gaming above 1080p today, never mind in the future.

Linus Sebastian from Linus Tech Tips called the Steam Machine “by far the best solution to PC gaming on the couch” in his review, and praised Valve for how smoothly SteamOS runs on the device. He did, however, admit that he found that the Steam Machine’s raw gaming power left a lot to be desired, and that he felt the parts found inside did not match what he would expect from a 4K gaming machine.

Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell is a fan of the Steam Machine and believes that there is a place for bringing PC gaming into the living room, but also struggles with the pricetag, saying it would have been a “genuine competitor” to the PS5 and Xbox Series X if it arrived at a cheaper price point. The Verge shared that feeling, with Sean Hollister calling it the “best attempt [he’s] seen at a PC that actually fits into a living room,” but ponders if it’s “good enough” for that $1,049 pricepoint in their 6/10 review.

Whether the Steam Machine is worth your money is difficult to say. If you have a Steam library full of games that you want to play while relaxing in your living room, then yeah, it might be. It may also be a good option if you want to start PC gaming but don’t want to build your own computer. If, at this price point, you just want a powerful device that you can play games on while sitting on your sofa, you’re probably better off looking at Xbox and Sony’s offerings.

Arc Raiders trials – what’s on this week

Arc Raiders trials are important for any seasoned topside veteran; not only do they gift you some free loot, but they offer up challenges that can put you head and shoulders above the rest on the leaderboards. With updates now few and far between, becoming an expert at trials can keep you locked in while you wait for the next expansion.

It’s okay if you’re looking for things to do in Arc Raiders now it’s gone a little quiet – the expeditions are worthwhile, but take a long time to complete, and the maps aren’t exactly coming thick and fast. Trials offer consistent challenge and a ton of free loot for those who can prove themselves. Here is every trial in Arc Raiders this week, and the best place to complete them.

All Arc Raiders trials this week

Trials in Arc Raiders are a set of weekly challenges that test you in various aspects of the extraction shooter. It could be dealing damage to a specific type of Arc threat, or it could be looting a specific type of container. These are passive challenges and are ongoing, so if you don’t do well on one run, you can simply load up again and give it another go.

The Arc Raiders trials for 22 June – 28 June are:

• Damage flying Arc enemies inside the Spaceport walls: Fairly self-explanatory, this one. Waiting for a Close Scrutiny event will dramatically increase the amount of flying Arc inside the walls, as they drop to protect the Assessors. You won’t be alone here, though, as other players will also want to dispatch the flying enemies to get access to the high-value loot.
• Search Arc Probes, Couriers, and Assessors: Prospecting Probes isn’t scheduled for this week, so there’s that idea out the window. Riven Tides tends to see its fair share of Probes near the beach area, but really, they can be anywhere. Keep an eye out for black smoke emanating from the crashed Arc.
• Search Supply Drops: Spaceport is a good place for this, as there is usually a supply drop point near the tower. Call it in and watch your back while you wait for it to drop.
• Damage Leapers: Riven Tides near the cranes is an excellent vantage point to complete this trial. With easy cover and a lot of elevation, you can wail on the Leapers without them being able to do much back.
• Destroy Pops: Head inside any building, and you’re likely to be accosted by several pops. The big buildings on Spaceport and Dam Battlegrounds are an excellent place to farm these rolling threats.

With the Arc Raiders trials changing every Monday, make sure you check back in each week to see how you can top the leaderboards. If you want to go hunting Topside, then you’ll need to be prepared – check out our best Arc Raiders skills guide so you don’t get caught short.

All LoL skins tiers, how to get them on sale

I remember the good ol’ days when League of Legends only had Standard, Deluxe, Epic, Legendary, and Ultimate skins; now there’s Transcendent, Mythic Variants, Exalted – the list feels like it goes on and on. If you’re a returning player who’s wondering what the heck has happened, or a brand new one confused by all of the jargon, don’t worry: our League of Legends skin guide has you covered. We’ve got everything from a list of the cosmetics that are currently on sale to the dates of the next Your Shop. Strap in.

All LoL skin tiers and how to get them

Here’s a full list of all the League of Legends skin tiers (listed from most expensive to least), and where you can acquire skins of that level. Note that there are some exceptions, which I’ll mention later on.

Skin Tier
Acquisition
Cost
Unique Traits
Examples

Transcendent
Hall of Legends store
Between $50 – $500 depending on the bundle purchased.
All of Ultimate-tier level traits, unique gameplay elements, tied to external in-game and IRL events
Immortalized Legend Ahri, Immortilized Legend Kai’Sa

Exalted
Sanctum
80 Ancient Sparks for guaranteed skin (400RP / $3.08 per Spark)
“Hyper-exclusive luxury items,” multiple forms, unique animations
Arcane Fractured Jinx, Revenant Reign Viego

Mythic Variant
Sanctum
40 Ancient Sparks for guaranteed skin (400RP / $3.08 per Spark)
New voicelines, recalls, animations, and model changes to previously existing skins
Peacemaker High Noon Yone, Divine Architect Porcelain Aurelion Sol

Ultimate
Store, Hextech Chests, Loot Drops
3,250RP / $25
Complete re-imagining of the character with new, unique mechanics (evolving skins that change form, for example)
DJ Sona, Elementalist Lux

Mythic
Mythic Store, Mythic skin tokens
100 Mythic Essence (earnable currency)
Enhanced animations
Sunken Shadows Nami, Hextech Poppy

Prestige
Mythic Store, paid battle pass completion
150 Mythic Essence, or 1,650 RP / $12.96 for battle pass
Gold and white variation of an existing skin with a unique border, VFX, and splash art
Prestige K/DA Akali, Prestige True Damage Senna

Legendary
Store, Hextech Chests, Loot Drops
1,820RP / $14
Complete re-imagining of the character with new animations, visuals, sounds, voice lines
Primordian Aatrox, Spirit Blossom Ahri

Epic
Store, Hextech Chests, Loot Drops
1,350RP / $10
New model, animations, visuals, sounds, some new voice lines
Firecracker Ashe, Dark Star Karma

Standard
Store, Hextech Chests, Loot Drops (effectively retired)
975RP / $7.50
Simple model changes, some unique animations
Moo Cow Alistair, Definitely Not Blitzcrank

Budget
Store, Hextech Chests, Loot Drops (effectively retired)
750RP / $5.77
Simple model changes
Little Knight Amumu, Sweetheart Annie

There are, of course, some exceptions to these rules. Some older Ultimate skins (Gun Goddess Miss Fortune) are a little cheaper, and event-only skins like Pax Sivir, Pax Jax, and Pax Twisted Fate are now inaccessible. The original launch and beta skins, including Black Alistair, Silver Kayle, Young Ryze, and King Rammus are also unobtainable via any means.

Riot is also no longer releasing Standard or Budget skins, with these primarily being obtainable via the store or Hextech Chests. Epic-tier skins are now the lowest level of purchasable skin.

Which League of Legends skins are currently on sale?

Now, I’m pretty guilty of buying skins, and while I did check how much I’d spent on League of Legends once, I have no plans to do so anytime soon – the psychic damage was real.

If you’re more responsible than I am, I’d advise getting cosmetics when they’re on sale as part of the weekly store rotation. Here’s a list of the League of Legends skins that are currently on sale:

Skin
Cost (RP)

Primordian Bel’Veth
1,012

Astronaut Teemo
877

Dark Star Yorick
877

La Illusion Renata Glasc
877

PROJECT: Gangplank
810

Spirit Blossom Akali
810

Pizza Delivery Sivir
742

Spirit Blossom Soraka
742

Dunkmaster Ivern
742

HEARTSTEEL K’Sante
742

Infernal Vel’Koz
675

Cosmic Reaver Kassadin
540

Piltover Customs Blitzcrank
540

Woad King Darius
390

Beast Hunter Tryndamere
337

These skins will be on sale until Monday June 29 at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST.

It’s worth noting that you can also unlock champions in the store using RP, but I would advise against doing so. You’ll earn enough skin shards and Blue Essence to fill out your own unique roster pretty quickly, so save your RP for skins.

When is the next League of Legends Your Shop?

League of Legends’ Your Shop is currently live. You have until  9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST / 6pm CEST on Tuesday, June 2 to grab your discounted skins. I hope yours was better than mine this time around.

So that’s everything you need to know about League of Legends skins, their tiers, and how to buy them. You can also check out our dedicated League of Legends Mythic shop guide if you want to keep up with the latest rotation.

Warframe dev explains why it’s not celebrating the end of its biggest rival, Destiny 2

It’s rare to hear someone mourn the downfall of a rival. You don’t hear boxers get on the microphone and talk about how sad they are that their opponent got knocked out. Politicians are rarely deflated when they’ve won an election against a fierce adversary. Yet for those behind Warframe, Bungie’s decision to stop supporting Destiny 2 isn’t a moment of joy or relief, but rather “heartbreak,” according to Community Director Megan Everett.

Destiny 2 fans were devastated to hear that Bungie was ending live support for the game, with June 9’s Monument of Triumph the last major update for the FPS game. With players flooding back for one last hurrah on the game, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the developers behind Warframe, seen as Destiny 2’s biggest competition, would be glad to hear that the game was coming to an end, but that’s far from the case.

In fact, the Warframe team is extremely saddened by the news, calling it “earth-shattering” and stating that “no one is celebrating.” In fact, Digital Extremes was so sad, they created a special tribute to Destiny 2.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Community Director and Live Ops Lead Megan Everett said that they never “thought [they’d] see the day where I’d read an article from Bungie about Destiny 2 essentially shutting down.”

“I’m speaking personally, but I know people would echo it as well. No one is celebrating the fact that this has happened to Destiny, and its players, and that story,” Everett continued. “I know people have obviously compared us in terms of being ‘direct competitors’ and stuff like that, but I think a game is healthy when you have competitors, and [Destiny’s devs] have done such an amazing job trying to grow that story regardless of whatever situation they were in.”

“Overall, I hate to see that happen to them. I have close friends who play Destiny over Warframe. We have friends over there; to see this happen to them is devastating to the industry. To live in a reality where they’re gone isn’t a positive one.”

For Warframe, it’s clear that the team felt having competition from a giant like Bungie and Destiny 2 was good for it, and pushed it to continue improving the game to try to match up with its rival. They also view the two as different, each scratching a specific itch that the other didn’t.

“I think we’re so used to seeing a Warframe and Destiny comparison almost every single day working on the community team,” she said. “This can be a conversation that’s beneficial, seeing two games that are similar but are so different elsewhere, catering to two very different crowds. We tried the PvP thing, and we’re not a PvP game. If you’re coming to Warframe trying to scratch that itch, you’re going to have that itch for a long time.”

I think I would never say that what has happened to Destiny is a good thing, even though it ‘eliminates a competitor.’ I think competition is healthy. I’ve said forever, I never expect anyone to only play Warframe. You would burn out so fast if you did. So having other games that scratch a similar itch is healthy for our genre. Having Destiny is healthy for us.”

While their “competition” may be gone, Warframe will continue on, and just dropped its Jade Shadows: Constellations update on June 17.

Erosion’s time-bending twist stands out, but it’s also a great roguelike twin-stick shooter

Erosion‘s unique selling point is obvious. You can completely alter the future of the game’s world simply by dying or clearing out a little town. As the game’s Steam description reads, “Die in a dungeon? Wake up ten years later. That peaceful farm is now a cultist compound worshipping the Great Ol’ Rooster. That store owner you helped? They’ve built an empire.” It’s a fascinating feature that makes you think about everything you do, and while the focus was on other aspects during my hands-on time at SGF, it seems to be really smartly implemented. 

Erosion is more than a time-bending gimmick; it is a genuinely fun twin-stick shooter and a throwback to classics of the genre. The developer who was on hand while I played the game wanted to show me as much of the actual gameplay as he could, to make it clear that Erosion isn’t just a one-trick pony.

While you’ll be regularly exploring the hub world and taking on a variety of enemies, the core of the action takes place in Erosion’s dungeons. That overworld, though- there’s so much to see and do. You can race your speeder, gamble at the local casino, go sand fishing, or hunt for bounties. It’s where you alter the game’s story and build your own world, but it’s not where you’ll find the best of the game’s chaotic combat.

It’s fast, responsive, and challenging, with enemies and all manner of breakable items flying around the room as you fight. The dungeons are procedurally generated, too, so you’ll need to figure out the makeup of the area you’re in before diving into the action. Of course, you aim with the left stick and shoot with the right; the actual mechanics are standard twin-stick stuff, but where Erosion shines is in its build variety.

There are loads of unique weapons, more than 100 different skills to unlock, and many modifiers to change how your attacks work. There are rocket launchers, standard rifles, and even the Ebony Rooster that shoots bouncy eggs around the arena, taking out anything in their path. You also get the chance to switch skills up by opening certain chests and defeating bosses, potentially creating a wild build.

That chance of creating something overpowered is the best part of Erosion’s combat. To close out my demo, I was spawned into a later game save, in which I had access to all of the skills in the game, and the developers had created a build to really show off what’s possible. So much was going on during combat that I wasn’t sure exactly what skill was doing what, but multiple abilities were reacting to each other to create even more powerful attacks. 

For example, one attack spawned a ball that would bounce around the stage to inflict additional damage, and I had a skill that made those balls duplicate whenever they hit an enemy. Suddenly, the room was full of projectiles, numbers flying around the screen as I did damage. Enemies melted before my eyes. I was flying through the rooms of the dungeon and even beat the boss in a matter of seconds. While that’s not how the majority of the game will feel, it shows what’s possible in Erosion. You’re not limited in your builds; you have the freedom to play around with whatever you unlock to create something truly broken. I’m sure there’ll be countless different options for each run – some experimentation will be needed to find your ideal playstyle, though.

My only concern so far was the underwhelming visual design of the dungeons. While the overworld oozes style, the dungeons I saw were pretty dull. Imagine smaller versions of the Horizon series’ Cauldrons; lots of grey and very little to catch the eye. Hopefully, I was just limited by the sections of the game I saw, and more variety is added to the dungeons as you progress, and the time-travelling aspect starts to take effect.

I’m glad Erosion doesn’t lean on that unique aspect too much, though. To really stand out, it needed to be a good twin-stick shooter as well, and from what I’ve played, it does that with aplomb.

Black Ops 7’s incredibly popular Classic mode is here to stay, and it’s getting four new maps

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Season 4 introduced three new multiplayer maps, new weapons, and the Rogue Run Zombies experience, but to be brutally honest, I’ve seen very little of any of those additions. That’s because the Classic mode, introduced in the same update, has captured my heart, and Treyarch has now confirmed it’s here to stay.

If you’re old and miss the feeling of the Call of Duty games from the 2010s like me, then Black Ops Classic is the mode for you. It removes movement features like Omnimovement, which allows you to move and dive in any direction, wall jumps, Tactical Spring, and sliding, taking us back to the good old days when you could only move in eight directions.

On top of that, loadouts, perks, and scorestreaks are all restricted too, with only certain items available in this mode to keep that old-school feel. Introduced at the start of Black Ops 7 Season 4, it was an immediate hit with players and has proved to be so popular that the mode is being made permanent.

Thanks to the great community response, Black Ops Classic is now a permanent addition to Black Ops 7! 🤝

With the arrival of Season 04 Reloaded, four more iconic maps from previous games will be added to the rotation: Launch, Fringe, Hacienda, and Gridlock. pic.twitter.com/9s01Hqx9Rg

– Treyarch (@Treyarch) June 22, 2026

In a post on June 22, Treyarch announced that thanks to “the great community response,” Black Ops Classic will become a permanent addition as part of the Season 4 Reloaded patch on June 25. That means we no longer have to worry about it disappearing in a playlist update, which is great news.

That’s not all, either, as Treyarch also announced that four classic maps will be added to the mode too, with Launch, Fringe, Hacienda, and Gridlock from the Black Ops series all getting inserted into the rotation. Fringe, Hacienda, and Gridlock have already been available in BO7, with Fringe included in this week’s patch.

It’s no surprise that the mode is here to stay, because the reaction to Black Ops Classic has been hugely positive. Players have enjoyed reliving the classic experience, and it’s clear that Activision has been listening because not only are they making this playlist permanent in Black Ops 7, but they’re also porting Black Ops 1 and 2 to PS5 in July. Clearly, they see that there’s an appetite for legacy Call of Duty, and they’re willing to provide the experience.

Black Ops Classic is live in Black Ops 7 right now, with the four new maps coming as part of Season 4 Reloaded on Thursday, June 25.

Arc Raiders Nomadic Envoys stock – what does the new trader have for sale this week?

With the news that Arc Raiders updates will be fewer and further between, it might be easy to think the game will suffer as a consequence, but thankfully, there’s a new trader in town, and they’re selling some pretty decent stuff. From legendary collectibles to skins and emotes, the Nomadic Envoys have a lot to offer for those with the coin to spare.

The Nomadic Envoys are an absolute godsend for those who struggle to pin down loot; the shop rotates weekly and offers some really powerful gear for those who need a leg up – or for those who are missing a few specific items from their collection. Here is what the new Arc Raiders trader has for sale this week.

Arc Raiders Nomadic Envoy stock

To purchase items from the new Arc Raiders trader, you pay with loot rather than with coins. There is a list of eligible goods next to each of the products for sale, with the stock rotating on a weekly basis. Here is what the Nomadic Envoys have for sale this week:

Traveler (backpack)

200,000 coins worth of eligible items:

• Queen Reactor
• Matriarch Reactor
• Bombardier Cell
• Assessor Matrix
• Turbine Compressor
• Leaper Pulse Unit
• Bastion Cell
• Vaporizer Regulator
• Rocketeer Driver

Field Kitchen (backpack attachment)

100,000 coins worth of eligible items:

• Queen Reactor
• Matriarch Reactor
• Bombardier Cell
• Assessor Matrix
• Turbine Compressor
• Leaper Pulse Unit
• Bastion Cell
• Vaporizer Regulator
• Rocketeer Driver

Aphelion

• 1x Elephant Obelisk
• 1x Playing Cards
• 1x Lance’s Mixtape (5th edition)

Venator Blueprint

• 1x Colorful Shoes
• 2x Red Coral Jewelry
• 3x Music Album

Sextant

Equatorial Sundial

• 2x Broken Guidance System

Metal Plating

Raider Tokens

150,000 coins worth of eligible items:

• Queen Reactor
• Matriarch Reactor
• Bombardier Cell
• Assessor Matrix
• Turbine Compressor
• Leaper Pulse Unit
• Bastion Cell
• Vaporizer Regulator
• Rocketeer Driver

Nomadic Envoy services

The Nomadic Envoy, Ermal, offers two services in addition to their wares that are extremely valuable to high-level players, enabling those who choose to complete Expeditions to keep their most valuable items and others to horde more loot from runs. They are:

Stash Expansion

Expands your stash beyond its ordinary limits.

• +12 Stash slots
• Cost: 200,000 coins’ worth of eligible items

Expedition Vault

After departing on an Expedition, any items placed in the Vault will be available to your next Raider.

• +1 Expedition Vault slots (up to five)
• Cost: 200,000 coins’ worth of eligible items

We’ll be keeping on top of the Nomadic Envoy’s stock, so check back each week to see what valuables you can get your hands on. Also, if you want to put their services to good use, check out our Arc Raiders Expedition guide to get the lowdown on the powerful resets.

Gamesir G7 Pro review – a fantastically capable PC controller for a great price

Verdict

While the Gamesir G7 Pro is far from a truly budget game controller, its sub-$80 price is amazing value for the amount of features this controller offers. It’s also well-built, if not quite on par with truly premium controllers that pack in similar numbers of features. However, it’s also half the price of those options.

Pros

• Quality TMR thumbsticks
• Excellent value for money
• Premium build quality
• Loads of features, including a charging dock

Cons

• Wired connection required on Xbox
• Face buttons can feel unusual initially
• Battery life is only average

If you’re looking for a controller upgrade that can give you more than just the basics you get with a standard Xbox controller, but you’re not able or willing to push your budget to $150 or more, the Gamesir G7 Pro is probably for you. It takes that Xbox controller format and adds switchable rapid triggers, switchable rear paddles, a removable faceplate, TMR thumbsticks, an internal rechargeable battery, and a convenient docking station, all for just $30 more than a standard Xbox controller.

Add in that this is a well-built controller available in some smart-looking color combinations, and Gamesir has created easily the best PC controller in its class. Good game, sir, indeed.

Specs

Gamesir G7 Pro specs

Connections
2.4GHz wireless, wired (USB-C), Bluetooth

Power
Rechargeable battery and USB

Platforms
Xbox, PC

Layout
Xbox

Dimensions
152 x 103 x 58mm

Weight
272g

Price
$79.99

Features

It’s the sheer number of features packed into this $80 controller that make it standout. It competes with the sort of feature set available in the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 or the Scuf Valor Pro Wireless, but for half the price.

For a start, it has TMR thumbsticks, which means this controller should offer better accuracy than old-style ones, and it will never develop dead spots. Similarly, its triggers use Hall Effect sensing, so again they shouldn’t lose accuracy and responsiveness over time. The triggers can also switch between analog mode and a short-throw, mouse button-like clicky mode for fast non-analog inputs (such as firing a gun).

The trigger mode is controlled by sliding switches on the back of the controller, and here there are also switches for enabling or disabling the rear paddle buttons, of which there are two.

Four gold contact points also hint at the fact that this controller can be charged via its convenient docking station, which can transfer power as well as provide a connection to your PC.

A USB-C port at the back provides this connection while a flap on the underside of the dock gets you access to the wireless dongle. Remove this, and you could, for instance, connect the dongle directly to your PC while having the charging dock be used just for charging and plugged into a dedicated outlet.

Back to the controller, and it gets its own USB-C port on its front edge, so you can play wired (required for Xbox) as well as wirelessly (along with over Bluetooth). On this front surface, there are also the bumpers, triggers, and two tiny extra buttons hidden between the bumpers and triggers.

The controller’s main face buttons and controls are pure standard Xbox, in terms of layout and main abilities. However, the buttons use optical microswitch buttons for a faster, clickier feel. The d-pad can also be removed and swapped for a concave disc or cross-style pad.

Also removable is the faceplate, which here on this black version is a translucent black and red color that I’d be inclined to give a bit of a custom paint job. Underneath this plate, though, is a neat feature, which is that the controller is transparent, so you can see its insides through the dark plastic.

Design and comfort

The Gamesir G7 Pro is available in some fantastic designs. There’s the stunning Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Edition (available here), and the plain white and gray one looks great too (here). This black and red one doesn’t quite hit home as much for me – thus the desire for a custom paint job on the faceplate – but it’s still a reasonably smart-looking controller.

Crucially, it’s a well-made unit, too. The main body feels rock solid, with no flex or creaking, while the controls all feel good and the faceplate fits precisely, attaching with magnets.

The grips have a textured, rubberized coating that does feel great and aids grip, but these coatings can go a bit sticky over time. Valve, for instance, chose not to use such a coating in its Steam Controller, seemingly at least partly because of this. Still, you should get several years of use before encountering this, and it’s not guaranteed to happen.

Otherwise, the rest of the controls and features all fall into place just as you’d expect. The core Xbox controller shape is there and feels as familiar and comfortable as ever, while the extra bumper buttons and rear features are all easy to reach.

Performance

While this controller doesn’t claim to compete with the very highest-speed controllers, with features such as 8kHz polling, this is still a very capable controller that will satisfy all but the most elite players.

Starting with the thumbsticks, their tops have really good grippy rubber finishes, and the feel of the sticks is smooth and somewhat on the light side, but without feeling like you can’t easily control them. I particularly liked that the central section that the stick snaps to doesn’t have too strong a breakout force – it’s easy to smoothly transition across the middle, without the stick feeling like it’s forcing you back to the middle.

Their accuracy is immediately noticeable in competitive games. Tracking opponents in Call of Duty or Apex Legends, the sticks feel smooth, predictable, and exceptionally precise. There’s a confidence to the inputs that cheaper controllers often struggle to replicate.

Likewise, the triggers feel really good. Smooth and precise with well-weighted resistance. The rapid trigger mode doesn’t feel as snappy as some, with less of a defined click, but it’s still better than controllers that simply shorten the throw of the trigger without adding an extra switch.

As for the microswitch face buttons, they feel nice and tight and snappy, though not quite as clicky as some that we’ve encountered – it’s not like clicking a mouse button. Still, if you’re used to a standard controller, you may find the ones here – including those under the d-pad – more reactive than initially feels comfortable. After a while though, the responsiveness feels so much better than standard buttons.

Battery life

The Gamesir G7 Pro’s battery life is merely adequate rather than exceptional: at around 10-12 hours of use it doesn’t break any records. However, the included charging dock offsets this limitation in many ways. Obviously it doesn’t help if you’re caught short mid-game, but having a place to drop the controller in between sessions means the battery should always be fully charged when you pick it up.

Price

The Gamesir G7 Pro price is $79.99, making it more expensive than a standard Xbox controller, and considerably more than truly budget units, such as the EasySMX X05. However, the number of features it packs in is on a completely different level to those controllers, and the vast majority of competing options are around twice the price. As such, despite its small premium, it’s fantastic value. What’s more, right now you can get 20% off thanks to Amazon Prime Day.

Verdict

If you’re in the market for a gamepad for your PC and Xbox that provides a meaningful upgrade over a standard or budget controller, the Gamesir G7 Pro absolutely delivers. The reliability and precision of TMR thumbsticks and Hall Effect triggers, the extra buttons, the customization options, the docking station, and an internal rechargeable battery. It all adds up to a lot more functionality.

Crucially, all this functionality doesn’t come at a huge price premium. Yes, it’s more than a standard controller, but you’ll be paying a minimum of $50 more for most alternatives with similar feature sets – and many of those still don’t come with a charging dock.

Steam Machine release date, specs, and price

Find out everything you need to know about the Steam Machine with our comprehensive guide to arguably the biggest gaming PC hardware launch of 2026. The Steam Machine is set to revolutionize the living room gaming space, thanks to Valve creating an incredibly compact console-like system that you’ll be able to game on from the comfort of your couch.

If you’re just getting started on Valve hardware then be sure to check out our Steam Controller review to see what they just shipped, and our Steam Deck review too. Combining the best of that kit and SteamOS, the Steam Machine should make it easier than ever to play your Steam game library without needing to fire up your main gaming PC or resort to using a keyboard and mouse. The Steam Machine was expected to be one of the best gaming PC options around when it was announced, thanks to its compact size, claimed 4K-capable gaming performance, and expected low price. With recent PC component price rises, though, the Steam Machine price is high, and its feat as a world-changing device seems set to hang in the balance. Read on below to find out everything you need to know about the Steam Machine.

Steam Machine specs

These are the Steam Machine specs:

Steam Machine specs

CPU
Semi-custom AMD Zen 4 six-core/12-thread (up to 4.8 GHz, 30W TDP)

GPU
Semi-Custom AMD RDNA 3 28CUs (2.45GHz max sustained clock, 110W TDP)

RAM
16GB DDR5 + 8GB GDDR6 VRAM

Storage
512GB NVMe SSD or 2TB NVMe SSD

Networking
2×2 Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, integrated 2.4GHz Steam Controller wireless adapter, gigabit Ethernet

Ports
Rear: 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x USB-A 2.0, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2
Front: 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1

Extras
17 individually addressable RGB LEDs for system status and customizability

Dimensions (WxDxH)
156 x 162.4 x 152mm

Weight
2.6 kg / 5.7lbs

Steam Machine size

The most remarkable spec of the Steam Machine is its size. Measuring just 152mm tall (148mm without feet), 162.4mm deep, and 156mm wide, it’s a fraction of the size of even most mini gaming PCs, let alone typical full-size systems. For comparison, the likes of the hugely popular Fractal Design Terra mini-ITX case measures 343 x 153 x 218mm, while a typical ATX case like the NZXT H6 Flow measures 287 x 415 x 435mm.

This incredibly compact size means the Steam Machine can easily sit unobtrusively on a desk – no need to hide your PC under it – alongside a work laptop, for instance. Or, it can nestle in amongst your PS5, Xbox Series X, and AV equipment next to your TV.

Steam Machine Graphics

This size does come with some compromises, though. Yes, not even Valve can fit an all-conquering RTX 5090 graphics card and AMD Ryzen 9850X3D CPU into a box of this size. Instead, the Steam Machine relies on semi-custom AMD chips for its gaming horsepower. The company hasn’t explicitly said whether these are separate CPU and GPU chips, or whether they are integrated into a single APU like on the Steam Deck. However, what we do know is they have much higher specs than the Steam Deck, but much lower specs than truly top-tier gaming PCs.

The CPU uses AMD’s older Zen 4 architecture, rather than its latest Zen 5 design, which is a significant upgrade over the Steam Deck’s even older Zen 2 design, but still means the Steam Machine is not truly cutting edge. The chip also has just six cores, putting it on par with the Ryzen 5 7600X. That’s more than the four cores of the Steam Deck, but behind the eight you’ll find on the best gaming CPUs, such as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

These cores can handle two application threads at once, though, so the chip appears to SteamOS as though it has 12 cores. It also runs at up to 4.8GHz, which is much faster than the 3.5GHz limit of the four-core CPU in the Steam Deck.

As for the GPU, this is again based on the older AMD RDNA 3 architecture, rather than the RDNA 4 design used in the company’s latest graphics card, such as the RX 9700 XT. Again, though, it’s much newer than the GPU in the Steam Deck, which uses AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture.

What’s more, this GPU has far more compute units (CUs) than that of the Steam Deck. It has 28 CUs compared to the Deck’s eight CUs. Along with a much higher peak clock speed of 2.45GHz and a total power envelope of 110W (compared to the Deck’s 15W), this is altogether a far more powerful unit.

For comparisons to a desktop graphics card, the Steam Machine’s GPU is close to the spec of the RX 7600. That card also uses RDNA 3 but has 32 CUs. Meanwhile, the laptop RX 7600M has the same 28CUs as the Steam Machine, and that chip typically can hit around 60-100fps in mode games running at 1080p.

Steam Machine performance

Here lies the crux of the expected performance of the Steam Machine. Its GPU simply won’t have the power for native 4k gaming in any but the most graphically basic games. Instead, by Valve’s own admission, the system relies on AMD’s FSR upscaling to upscale from 1080p to 4K, to hit 60fps.

In general, we’ve not been all that impressed by AMD FSR upscaling, and certainly would be wary of using it to try and play faster-paced games with a keyboard and mouse on a gaming monitor, when upscaling from 1080p to 4K. However, for use on a TV and when relying on the more forgiving inputs of a Steam Controller – or other gamepad – it should mean acceptable performance.

Early performance tests show the machine is able to hit its upscaled to 4K performance target in a decent number of modern games, although its weak ray tracing performance means it struggles in games where this is required. The likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Doom: The Dark Ages struggle to hit 40fps even on low settings.

As for other aspects of the Steam Machine’s specs, it’s set to ship with 16GB of RAM and have a dedicated 8GB of VRAM, both of which should be adequate for running most modern games. There has been a lot of talk recently about graphics cards with only 8GB of VRAM being performance-limited in modern games, but SteamOS is far more efficient than Windows, so we don’t foresee this being an issue for the Steam Machine.

In terms of IO, you’ll get one DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0, two USB-A 2.0, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, and a gigabit Ethernet port on the back, plus there are two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports on the front.

Livening up the otherwise simple black box is a lighting strip on the front edge, which has 17 individually addressable RGB LEDs “for system status and customizability.” You can also swap the front panel for other funky designs, plus, of course, many companies have already developed skins for the Steam Machine, such as those by Dbrand. Oh, and how could we forget the Dbrand case that makes the Steam Machine look like a companion cube.

Steam Machine release date

The Steam Machine release date is June 25, 2026. Valve has opened a pre-order queue system where you sign up – via this link – then, on June 25th, there will be a random draw that will determine who gets to buy one of the units. You’ll need to sign up before June 25 to be in with a chance of buying straight away.

Steam Machine price

The Steam Machine price starts at $1,049 / £879 for the 512GB model without a controller. This rises to $1,428 / £1,208 for the 2TB model with a Steam Controller. The full list of options are:

• 512GB model without a controller – $1,049 / £879
• 512GB model with a Steam Controller – $1,128 / £938
• 2TB model without a controller – $1,349 / £1,149
• 2TB model with a Steam Controller for $1,428 / £1,208

These prices are far higher than many people predicted when the Steam Machine was first announced, and even Valve has admitted it’s more than it had thought it would have to charge. However, unfortunately, the current situation with PC gaming is that many components are just too expensive right now. RAM quadrupled in price mere weeks after the Steam Machine was announced, and its price has hardly dropped back down much since. SSDs, VRAM, GPUs, and more are also much more expensive right now than this time last year.

You might hope that Valve could charge less than this and make back its losses on commission from games sold via Steam, just like console makers sell the devices at a loss to make back money on the games. However, the Steam Machine is just a PC. Someone could buy one, load Windows onto it and never use Steam again. Valve has to sell them at a price that at least breaks even.

Meanwhile, for comparison, a typical pre-built gaming PC with an RX 7600 and 16GB of RAM costs in the region of $900-$1200 right now, depending on a few factors, including the amount of SSD storage. The Steam Machine comes with a few advantages like HDMI CEC and wake via controller, but the above PC will simply be more powerful as well as cheaper.

That’s all you need to know! Now follow PCGamesN for more of the latest PC gaming news.

Marathon dev Bungie thinks you’re getting too much loot, and it wants to change that

Bad news, Marathon fans, we’re all too rich. At least, that’s what Bungie is saying. It says that player Vaults are filling up too fast in Season 2, and that despite making a concerted effort to increase progression speeds, things have simply gone too far and require a change.

After some early launch issues, Season 2 of the popular FPS game has found its feet and turned into a really solid update. The experimental Sponsored Survival mode has been a particular success, with the lower-stakes gameplay really working well.

Unfortunately, Bungie has discovered a pretty significant issue that’s happening in Marathon right now, as an issue that’s causing higher rarity loot to appear more often than expected means that we’re all getting too rich for Bungie’s liking.

According to a Steam post, Bungie says that while the situation is definitely happening in-game, it hasn’t been an issue in internal playtests, making the entire scenario a lot more confusing. The developer says it is currently trying to unravel what’s causing the issue, with an investigation ongoing.

It’s not just this bug that’s causing an influx of riches, though, as Bungie admits that the “influx of Sponsored Kits at the start of the season bolstered progression speeds,” while players grinding Sponsored Survival, combined with an issue with Complex Control chests, has also led to what it calls “bloated Vaults” as players chose the PvE mode over those which are more PvP-focused.

This isn’t just a little problem making players a little too rich, though, as Bungie states that the issue is causing eye-watering wealth gain. In the post, the developer says that “the average wealth in week two of Season 2 is similar to what we saw in weeks 11 and 12 of Season 1.” That’s three months’ worth of grinding condensed into a fortnight.

As they attempt to address the situation, Bungie has fixed a bug that was dropping gold in places that shouldn’t have, and has made some tweaks to player progression, which they hope to reverse later in the season once they’ve figured out what’s causing the influx of high-tier loot. For now, though, if you’ve been grinding Marathon and got yourself a nice full Vault, it’s time to enjoy it, because it seems the days of finding awesome gear everywhere we go are coming to an end.

Following Summer Game Fest, Gothic Remake is the standout new release in June 2026

Every year, Summer Game Fest, E3, or whatever it is called at the time, is the highlight of June’s gaming news. All of the big publishers come together to show off what new games they’ll be releasing this year and next. It’s an exciting time, giving everyone a chance to get hyped about what’s coming soon. Guild Wars 3, Resident Evil Veronica, and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation are just some of the highlights that were revealed during the week of showcases this year, and we can’t wait to get our hands on them.

That doesn’t mean June is always devoid of actual releases, though, and June 2026 is no different. There are a handful of great new games you can pick up this month. The highlight of the month is the release of Gothic Remake on June 5. Developed by Alkimia Interactive, it’s a massive remake of the 2001 game. The action role-playing game boasts modernized controls, more welcoming tutorial features, an expanded inventory management system, and more reliable dodging.

If you played the original, you’ll also be happy to hear that the combat system isn’t as clunky as it used to be, either. While movement is still limited at times, you can now use minor magic attacks while moving around the world. Action isn’t as stop-start as it was in the 2001 game, making it feel a lot more like other modern ARPGs. You can pick it up on PC now, including on G2A.COM. The platform, which is used by 35 million people worldwide, allows you to buy games, gift cards, subscriptions, and more from a selection of sellers, all of which have been verified as trustworthy.

You’ll also be able to buy June 2026’s other big new release, which is Square Enix’s The Adventures of Elliott: Millennium Tales. Another action RPG, the game is developed by Team Asano, who also created the Octopath Traveler series. The two games share similar art styles, boasting gorgeous modern pixel graphics. However, instead of being a turn-based RPG, it’s more like the Legend of Zelda series, with faster-paced combat and puzzle-solving. As a brand new series for Square Enix, we’re intrigued to see whether The Adventures of Elliott reaches the same level of quality as their other recent titles.

Now is also the perfect time to pick up last month’s best games, which are some of the highest-rated games released so far this year. First of all, there’s Forza Horizon 6, which takes the series to Japan for the first time. Much like the previous open-world adventures, the sixth game lets you explore the tight city streets, open fields, and beautiful mountain passes that make up the world’s map.

Forza Horizon 6 is one of the highest-rated racing games of all time, hitting record player count numbers for the series on Steam. Japan is also a setting that fans have been asking for for years. Who doesn’t want to race through roads lined with the country’s iconic cherry blossom trees?

The other big recent release is IO Interactive’s 007: First Light, which sees the return of James Bond to the world of video games. In this globetrotting adventure, you play as James Bond as a brand-new agent. You see him recruited to the service for the first time, learn the mysterious ways of MI6, try to pass the brutal training sessions, and head out for his first missions.

While it’s predominantly a linear action game, First Light takes a lot of what IO’s Hitman games do so well and implements it seamlessly. Between all of the car chases, shootouts, and flirting you’d expect from a Bond game, you’ll need to use your wits to infiltrate bases, find clues, and work out the best way to get the job done. It’s a masterclass in storytelling and level design, and is one of the best James Bond games of all time.

We’ll inevitably get another Forza Horizon game before too long, but First Light also seems like the perfect debut for a potential long-running franchise. Having been successful at launch, don’t be surprised to see IO make more 007 games in the next few years.

Whether you want to relive the early 2000s with Gothic Remake, head to the streets of Japan in Forza Horizon 6, or jump into James Bond’s shoes for his first-ever mission, there are plenty of games worth picking up in June 2026, and they’re all available for purchase on G2A.COM.

Best Amazon Prime Day deals for PC gaming

Amazon Prime Day is nearly upon us again, with its usual raft of some genuinely great deals, but some not-so-great ones. Trying to find out which is which is always a time-consuming chore, but fear not, as we’ve done the labor for you. Below is a list of only the most genuinely excellent early Prime Day deals we’ve seen so far, and we’ll be back tomorrow when the big day kicks off to bring you the best Prime Day deals as they appear.

Before we get started, remember that you need a Prime membership subscription to access most of the deals in this sale event. Some retailers and manufacturers do price matching on their own websites (such as Logitech and SteelSeries), but if you’re shopping on Amazon, you will need that membership. However, if you don’t fancy paying for another subscription service, you can just sign up, enjoy the 30-day free trial, access the deals, and cancel before you have to start paying.

Best gaming laptop deals

Acer Aspire 16 A16-71GM with RTX 3050 – save 22%

This 16-inch gaming laptop packs in a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution screen, an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, all for just £699.99, down from £899.99. Considering today’s RAM and SSD prices alone, this is an absolute bargain for a properly gaming-capable laptop. This deal is UK-only and goes live on Prime Day. Link here: Amazon UK.

Acer Nitro V15 ANV15-52 with RTX 5050 – save 28%

This 15-inch gaming laptop boasts a 1,920 x 1,080 display with an Intel Core i7-13620H CPU, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD but steps up to the more powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 GPU. Normally priced at £909.66, it will be just £679.99 on Prime Day. This is a UK-only deal that goes live on Prime Day. Link here: Amazon UK.

MSI Cyborg 15 – save 21%

Another impressively affordable 15-inch gaming laptop, this MSI Cyborg 15 comes with a 1080p resolution screen, an Intel Core i7-13620H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050, plus its screen has a refresh rate of up to 144Hz. Normally priced at £1,399, it will be down to just £1,099 tomorrow when the deal goes live. Link here: Amazon UK.

Best gaming mouse deals

Logitech G502 X Plus – save 41%

Logitech’s gaming/productivity hybrid mouse is still among the most overall capable gaming mice around. Its free-spinning and tilting scroll wheel and extra buttons bring so much utility that most other gaming mice simply can’t match. Logitech has knocked a massive 41% off this mouse for UK buyers, bringing its price down to just £89 from its usual £149.99. This deal will be live tomorrow – Amazon US, Amazon UK.

Logitech G Pro Superlight 2 SE – save 42%

Logitech’s current flagship lightweight gaming mouse is a fantastic choice if you like a simple symmetrical shape and no-nonsense design, and when this deal goes live, you’ll be able to save a massive £50 when you buy one, with Logitech dropping its price from £119.99 to £69. Like the above deal, this one goes live tomorrow, but you can bookmark it today – Amazon US, Amazon UK.

Best gaming keyboard deals

Logitech G213 – save 52%

Logitech’s speedy and simple G213 gaming keyboard was already an affordable option, but its massive Prime Day saving makes it a great choice if you simply want gaming features (a quick response, programmable keys, media controls, and support from Logitech’s G Hub software) but don’t want to spend big. At just £31, it is less than half price. This deal goes live tomorrow – Amazon US, Amazon UK.

Best gaming headphone and headset deals

Logitech Astro A50 Lightspeed – save 34%

Logitech’s Astro series of headsets are a fantastic option for those with both a gaming PC and one or more consoles or other devices that they want to hook up to their headset. It can easily switch between several devices at the touch of a button, saving you from reconnecting any cables when you switch machines. With a £90 saving this Prime Day, you’ll be saving 34% off its usual £289.99 price. This deal goes live on Prime Day – Amazon US, Amazon UK.

Best gaming monitor deals

LG 27GX790B-B – save 30%

If you’re in the market for a super-fast OLED gaming monitor, this LG Prime Day deal is a doozy. The 27GX790B-B is an OLED 27-inch display with a 2,506 x 1,440 resolution and a truly ludicrous 540Hz refresh rate. What’s more, you can even run it at 720Hz, if you’re happy to drop it to 720p. Normally priced at $999.99, you can save a massive $300 right now via this link.

Corsair Xeneon Edge – save 20%

The Corsair Xeneon Edge is an ultrawide 14.5-inch touchscreen display that you can use on your desk or even mount in your PC, making it ideal for controlling your gear or displaying system information. Normally a major luxury addition to any gaming setup, with a $50 saving right now, it’s considerably more affordable. Grab this deal on Corsair’s website.

Best PC component deals

Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD – save 31%

When was the last time you heard about an SSD being a decent price!? Ok, so this one is still a $200 drive, but it is a super-fast PCIe Gen 4 model and just a month or so ago it was $300. Teeechnically, it’s not actually a Prime Day deal, but it is a good price for an SSD right now. Grab this deal here.

Other gaming deals

GamerSir G7 Pro controller – save 20%

The GameSir G7 Pro is overall one of the best PC controllers around. Its super versatile thanks to its Xbox, PC, and Bluetooth compatibility, plus it comes with a convenient charging dock and packs in TMR sticks and 1000Hz polling, for top performance too. Tomorrow, it’s set to gain a 20% discount when Prime Day deals go live. You can find it here: Amazon US, Amazon UK.

Amazon Prime Day FAQs

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is a special sales event that occurs multiple times throughout the year. While there are various versions of it, the main one usually arrives in the Summer, like the ongoing event right now.

When is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day officially starts on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 and concludes on Friday, June 26, 2026. This is much longer than the Prime Days of old, which, despite what you might assume based on their name, actually lasted for two days.

How do I get the best Prime Day deals?

Join Amazon Prime if you want to be able to access these Prime Day deals. Then check out our selection of deals above, which we’ll update regularly. You can also use tools like CamelCamelCamel which will show you the price history of different Amazon products.

Some retailers opt to hike prices just before a deals event, in a bid to make the discounts being offered seem better than they are. This is the crucial trick that you can fall foul of come Prime Day, and it’s why we’ve checked historical pricing of all the deals shown on this page – these are all genuinely great deals.

Steam’s “most expensive game” is $1000, and you can’t actually do anything

A popular saying in my house growing up was “more money than sense.” It was aimed at celebrities who were in the news for buying megayachts or mansions, or me, this year, when I admitted to spending $50 on FIFA World Cup sticker packs. Now, I’m the one using it, because if you spend $1000 on Steam’s most expensive game, named Congratulations On Your Purchase, you truly have more money than sense.

First released on May 28, 2026, Congratulations On Your Purchase is less of a Steam game and more of a statement of wealth. That’s because, while coming in at an eyewatering $999.99, there are no gameplay mechanics here. No combat, no enemies, no quests. This is a “first-person luxury experience” that few can afford – and presumably even fewer would actually want to buy.

Developer Minimum Viable Prestige says that Congratulations On Your Purchase is “set inside a palace,” with a red carpet, chandeliers, and velvet rope barriers to keep you separated from “the wrong kind of people.” After that, what the game actually entails is pretty vague, and according to the developer itself, it only lasts 10 minutes.

In terms of what’s included, Minimum Viable Prestige says that it features “A palace interior rendered with the care and attention your investment deserves, other guests, ambient music, and a beginning and ending of sorts.” From what I can tell, it looks like you walk into a room where NPCs are held behind a red velvet rope, walk up and down a red carpet, and leave a message on a wall for others who spent a grand on this game.

In terms of the $1000 price tag, the developer says that the “question of whether this experience is worth $999.99 is, philosophically speaking, unanswerable. Worth is constructed. Price is arbitrary.” They also say that if you are reading the description, “you’re already considering it,” which they are definitely mistaken about.

It does appear that some people have decided that they would like to part with $1000, though, as on the game’s official website, you can see a live look at the wall where players can write messages in-game. So far, three messages have popped up there, including one from someone called “Dave.” Whether these are real, though, it’s impossible to know for sure. The game has zero reviews, and doesn’t appear to have had any active players according to SteamDB.

It is, by default, the most expensive game on Steam, but not the most expensive thing on the platform overall. That honor goes to MolCollabo v2, a VR app that enables “the 3D display of biomolecules” and costs $1,900.

The developer says that no AI was used in the development of the game, but it was used to create some of the artwork that appears on the game’s Steam store page. Whether that encourages you to buy the game is up to you, although I wouldn’t recommend it.

Unsurprisingly, the Steam forum for the game is rife with people calling it a scam and calling for it to be removed, arguing that it’s not a real game and therefore shouldn’t be available for purchase. What Valve will do remains to be seen, but I can assure you that I’ll not be buying a copy regardless.

Crab Tycoon codes (June 2026)

Look, we’re not sure if the Roblox community is suddenly warming up to the crab game trend at long last or if it’s just one huge coincidence, but we’re hoping for the latter, and we have new Crab Tycoon codes to support the movement.

Crab Tycoon may not be coming after the throne of roguelike crab blasters, or even the soulslike crabby adventures of a few years back, but crabs equal content. That’s just how the world works, apparently. And don’t worry, you’re not cooking crabs as they travel along an assembly line: you’re recruiting crabs to farm shells. It’s cute. Oh, but then you smash your best crabs together to make even better crabs. That’s… fine. Right?

Here are the Crab Tycoon codes for launch:

• THANKSFORPLAYING – cash (new!)

While your army of crustaceans sifts through the waters for top-tier shells, consider clicking here to follow us on Google, where you’ll find code guides for the latest and greatest Roblox games around.

How do I redeem new Crab Tycoon codes?

You won’t even need to complete the tutorial to claim codes in Crab Tycoon if you just follow these steps:

• Open Crab Tycoon on Roblox.
• Click the cog/gear button in the top-right corner to open the settings menu.
• Enter a code in the box at the bottom.
• Click the ‘Claim’ button.

What are Crab Tycoon codes?

Codes in Crab Tycoon are simply redeemable strings of text you enter into a box to claim some limited-time freebies. Outside of the inevitable admin abuse events, they can be the best way to get things like free cash, unique crabs, and boosts without spending Robux.

New codes drop alongside major updates. If you see anything new in-game, come back here, and there’s a good chance you’ll spot a new code to claim.

How do I get more Crab Tycoon codes?

Though they’re few and far between at the moment, we’ve had decent luck finding new codes on the Crab Tycoon Discord server. We won’t link it here, but you’ll find the link at the bottom of the game page if your Roblox account is age-verified. It’s a chat permission thing.

From there, just click into the ‘updates’ channel, and you should spot codes toward the bottom of any changelog.

If you don’t want to hop into yet another Roblox game server just for the odd freebie, come back here whenever you’re ready to collect new crabs. We search all over for new codes just for you.

All set for Crab Tycoon codes now? Click that link just under the list to find yourself another new game to play.

CD Projekt Red boss believes Cyberpunk 2077 cost developer fans, pins hopes on The Witcher 4

CD Projekt Red’s co-CEO Michał Nowakowski has admitted that the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077 cost the developer fans, saying that he understands it “lost the faith of some people indefinitely,” but hopes that it can win some of them back with The Witcher 4, or whatever they release after that.

It’s fair to see that Cyberpunk 2077 had one of the most difficult game launches ever. With hype around the game at an extremely high level, fans ended up with a buggy mess that was poorly optimized. In fact, the game was in such a bad state that the PS4 version had to be pulled from the PlayStation Store so CDPR could work on fixing it.

CD Projekt Red did eventually turn things around and spent the profits made from the original release of the single-player game on fixing it. Now, it’s in a great place, and a game I highly recommend to anyone who has never played it, or who packed it in when the release debacle happened.

Five years on, and gaming fans around the world are getting hyped for The Witcher 4, but while we’re all looking towards the future, Nowakowski still has one eye on the past, explaining to Jörg Tittel in Edge’s Knowledge newsletter that he’s “not 100 percent convinced [they] went through the full redemption arc.”

As reported by GamesRadar, Nowakowski called Cyberpunk 2077’s release “heartbreaking,” and felt that it had damaged the company’s biggest asset – its reputation. “I’m convinced we lost the faith of some people indefinitely, and that’s a fair thing,” he continued. “I do hope we will be able to make it back – if not with The Witcher 4, then with whatever comes next.”

For now, The Witcher 4 has no release window, so we have no idea when we’ll get our hands on it. We do know that CDPR has decided that the game is console-first, though, blaming Cyberpunk’s launch woes for the decision. We do know, however, that the game will focus on Ceri, a big departure for the series.

For Nowakowski, keeping the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 in his mind throughout this development project may be both a blessing and a curse. While the fear of a repeat may loom large, he should also keep in mind that the 2.0 update for the game really turned it around, and the Phantom Liberty expansion was a success both critically and with fans. There’s a balance between the two, and if CD Projekt Red can find it, we could be onto a winner with The Witcher 4.

The Mimic codes (June 2026)

If you’re looking to better your last run in the woods, these The Mimic codes might just be the ticket. While rare, they occasionally offer free revive credits – perfect for letting your corpse drag through a tricky moment, or even shake off a silly stunt.

Inspired by Japanese folklore and its horror movie heritage, The Mimic drops you into a dilemma not unlike that of 99 Nights in the Forest; complete with a spooky woodland hub camp full of survivors destined to become the next warm body for a mythical beast of the night to chow down on. Survive long enough, and you’ll come out a little richer for it. Take a wrong turn and, well… Goodbye.

Here are the working The Mimic codes right now:

• RAGERELEASE – 800 spirits (new!)

Once you’ve been gobbled up and sent back to camp, you can ponder your next great idea while you click here to follow us on Google. That way, you’ll have an idea of which Roblox game to play once you’re all out of revives and waiting on a new code to get you back into the action.

How do I redeem The Mimic codes?

You’ll need to follow these quick and easy steps to claim codes in The Mimic:

• Launch The Mimic on Roblox.
• Walk through the tunnel.
• Descend the rope.
• Walk into the ‘codes’ aura ring.
• Press ‘E’ on your keyboard.
• Enter a working code.
• Click the ‘Enter’ button to claim it.

How do I get more revive credits in The Mimic?

Beyond codes, log-in rewards, and via gameplay achievements, you can buy more Revive Credits in The Mimic through the in-game shop.

Rather than heading straight down the shaft when you spawn in, turn right as you approach the tunnel entrance. Interact with the spooky shrine and a shop window should appear, offering a way to buy Revive Credits for various currencies.

How do I get more The Mimic codes?

Whenever a new update drops, there’s a good chance you’ll find new codes in the ‘game-announcements’ channel on the official The Mimic codes. That’s where the code for the Book 3, Chapter 1 update dropped in late June 2026.

Can’t find the Discord? If your Roblox account is verified with chat permissions unlocked, you’ll find the link at the bottom of the Mimic game page.

Don’t want to join a potentially spooky chat channel? That’s not a problem. In that case, just check back here whenever you need a new code. There’s every chance a new one will drop outside a major update, so it never hurts to look.

Expired codes:

ThankYouForBeingPatient | ChenooReturns | NetamoPossessedMe | SpookyMonth | 4freelives | Sorryforwait

Think you’re ready to take on Gatas? With these new The Mimic codes, at least you’ll be able to get back up after being proven very, very wrong.

Valor Mortis is the first soulslike I’ve immediately enjoyed, and not just because it’s in first-person

I’ve tried a lot of soulslikes over the years. I enjoyed Elden Ring once I got to grips with the lack of direction; I found Sekiro overwhelmingly difficult, and I’ve always wished I enjoyed Bloodborne because the tone and setting are brilliant. In just 30 minutes of hands-on time with Valor Mortis at SGF, I fell in love with the game faster than I have with any other in the genre.

 

A large part of this is down to the game’s first-person perspective. I’ve played more than my fair share of third-person games, but as someone who’s put thousands of hours into the likes of Call of Duty and Battlefield over the years, I’m comfortable in first person. I feel more in control of my movements and more aware of my enemies in the more zoomed-in perspective. The combat in Valor Mortis just feels right in first-person.

The hand-to-hand combat is pretty standard first-person action stuff mixed with soulslike staples. Swinging swords, dodging attacks, and stamina are all core to the encounters, with parrying more important than anything. It is soulslike action, as you’d expect, but it feels more claustrophobic. You’re close to your foe, managing your position in relation to them really carefully. You don’t have to worry too much about your surroundings, but success is down to learning your opponent’s attacks and countering them at the right time, much like in many third-person soulslikes.

More first-person staple aspects are woven in, too. There are guns, which feel immensely satisfying to shoot, and a fire magic attack that’s essentially a flame-thrower directly from the palm of your hand. You can dual-wield and mix-and-match, with different weapons being useful in different situations. I can see it giving inexperienced soulslike players a comfort blanket.

Valor Mortis makes soulslike features feel natural in first-person, without abandoning what first-person shooter fans would expect to see. Guns and Bioshock-style elemental attacks lay a familiar foundation for those who may struggle with the parry and counter mechanics.

I spoke to Radosław Ratusznik, the game’s Director, about the combat variety, and he said: “I think the freedom of choice is a big factor here. If you want, you can just play with your saber, but if you wish, you can rely more on your shooting ability, and swapping between them is, of course, the most efficient way to deal with the enemies, but I think we created something that’s a bit different, and that’s what I really like.”

I think that’s all helped by One More Level’s unique first-person experience. As the developer of the Ghostrunner games, movement and fluidity have always been key to their titles, and that has translated well to Valor Mortis. That’s not just in the central combat, but in how you get around the world. There are parkour-style traversal sections, swinging across branches and leaping over caverns, and none of it feels out of place. One More Level is good at making things feel fast and fluid, and they’ve managed it again with Valor Mortis.

I asked Ratusznik why they decided to make a soulslike in first-person, and he also put it down to their experience and wanting to create something new. He said, “Switching the perspective, it gives us a lot of new opportunities. It plays a bit differently than the rest of the soulslikes, like it’s not also a regular first-person shooter. It’s a mix of different things, so it wasn’t like we were taking all these soulslike features blindly, just to tick all of the features on the list to just become a soulslike, it’s more like what fits the best for our vision for creating this game to still have this kind of DNA of our games.”

You also don’t feel quite as weak as you often do at the start of soulslikes. Playing the game’s opening, I was quite powerful quite quickly, which stops the world from becoming overwhelming. I asked if that was an idea from early in Valor Mortis’ development. “Yes, yes, I think so,” he said, “I think that in our case, from the very beginning, you feel that you are a special entity.” I think that’s something else that’ll make the game feel more welcoming than its traditional competition, hopefully interesting players who’ve stayed away in the past.

Valor Mortis’ setting is unique, too. “Actually, that’s the reason, I think,” Ratusznik said when I commented on the lack of games set in the Napoleonic era and why the studio settled on it as the setting for Valor Mortis. Of course, it’s not entirely historically accurate, even beyond the fire powers and respawning.

It’s set in an alternate universe where Napoleon won the Battle of Waterloo, and his troops are taking over. The world is strewn with enemies wearing the iconic blue and red outfits, but there’s something a little off. Once I started fighting enemies with glowing orange pustules on their heads, or enemies bent over backwards to the point they’re acting like a dog, I knew there was more freaky stuff on the way.

I’m not sure what is causing these grotesque feats of contortion, but it grabbed me immediately and is an interesting tweak on an already underused time period. Some of the enemies are genuinely creepy, too, not only visually but in how they move. Valor Mortis is gorgeous, and it has a distinct style that plays into everything you do.

One More Level’s first-person soulslike has more than enough quality and personality to stand out in a busy genre. Not only that, but it seems to be making perfect use of its alternate perspective, grabbing me from the get-go, unlike any soulslike before it.

Fortnite is getting five new Sprites this week after Gummy Zero Point madness

Sprites have taken over Fortnite in Chapter 7, Season 3. Over a year after their first introduction to the game, they’ve become the focal point for players as they attempt to extract them all and earn their unique abilities. Now, Epic Games is adding five new sprites to the game on June 25, just days after a million players logged on to get their hands on special Gummy variants.

Sprites are cute little guys who have their own unique passive abilities, from granting shields to helping you find better loot items. The best part is that they have their own slot in your inventory just for them, so you don’t need to ditch a weapon or a Shield Potion to carry them around with you. Like everything in the popular battle royale, they come in different variants and rarities, with everyone trying to get their hands on the elusive Gummy Zero Point Sprite.

That’s why on Saturday, June 20, 1.2 million players jumped into the Gummy Power Hour, a special event where the chance of getting Gummy Sprites was increased. Now, we’ve got more Sprites to look forward to, thanks to Fortnite’s Gone Wild event.

In a post on June 20, Epic Games confirmed that this Thursday would see five new Sprites added to the game, showing off four of them in a graphic. These include the Fishstick Sprite, based on the classic skin, the Boss Sprite, and the Football Sprite, which arrives in the midst of the ongoing World Cup tournament. There’s also what leakers are calling the “Reaper” Sprite, which is visible in the Galaxy Hour section.

According to those seam leakers, the final Sprite comes as part of another pop-culture crossover, with a John Wick-themed critter coming to the game as the fifth member of this ragtag crew.

🌀 Elementais que chegarão na próxima quinta-feira, 25 de junho! #Fortnite

• Elemental Chefe
• Elemental Bola de Futebol
• Elemental John Wick
• Elemental Peixoto
• Elemental Ceifador https://t.co/dsEqvIWsvn pic.twitter.com/Y8Dl8P7R0u

– sandiski (@sandiskifn) June 21, 2026

Unfortunately, it has not been announced yet what their passive abilities will be, so we’ll just have to wait until Thursday, June 25, to find out when they launch in-game. This weekend will also feature the aforementioned Galaxy Power Hour, so you’ll have a chance to get your hands on more powerful versions of new and existing Sprites for a limited time.

So with all that in mind, make sure you log into Fortnite this Thursday and try to extract the new Sprites. Seeing as I’ve come down with a huge dose of “World Cup Fever,” I’ll be targeting the Football-themed Sprite first. See you out there.

PUBG’s new AI teammate is somehow more useless than my friends

PUBG‘s new Ally Duo game mode is a creepy letdown. The battle royale game has a limited-time experience right now that pairs you up with an LLM-powered teammate, Ella, who, on paper, behaves (and chats) like a regular human. It calls out enemy players, shoots at said players, and tells me every five minutes that it’s just a PUBG encyclopedia with legs.

Ally Duo takes place on Sanhok, with the smallest full PUBG map presumably giving the artificial teammate less room to get lost. Ella drops in with me like any other teammate, looting and chatting – I can ask it to keep an eye out for bits of equipment I need, weapons, and the like. I need a suppressor, so I asked Ella to look for one for me.

After wandering around the docks for a while, my teammate tells me they see another enemy and marks them on the map. This mark is over 200m away through some trees – an impressive spot. I ask them to engage the enemy at range, but am then told there are no enemies in sight. I can see them; they’re right there. I kill both myself.

Wandering further inland, Ella wanders off and tells me about a care package. I made my way across, but then I was told the care package had gone. Who took it, I asked – no new information. Cresting the hill, I can see the care package is still intact, so I approach only to be blasted by an enemy player in full sight of my AI companion.

“You’re down,” I’m told. Yeah, I got that, thanks, Ella. My time with PUBG’s artificial teammate was a disaster, and not only that, it refused to talk about anything outside of the game. No recipes, no popular tourist hotspots I should visit, nothing. At least when I’m getting blasted with my buddies, we can talk about the latest Everton defeat, you know?

The point of this AI excursion is totally lost on me until I factor in Krafton’s wider portfolio. It could be that its one billion dollar investment in a South Korean defense company specializing in AI is a complete coincidence, but after it came to light that Pokémon Go data trained AI to potentially assist military drones, I’m really skeptical.

Assuming the experiment is totally benign, which I’m sure we all hope it is, it doesn’t change the fact that Ella is rubbish. It’s a soulless companion that feeds me inconsistent information with zero banter – which is only a slight downgrade on what I usually play with. Sorry lads.

Riot went a bit “out there” with some of League of Legends’ recent champions. Locke is a welcome return to what players “want.”

Locke straddles two worlds; literally. He’s an exorcist with a keen knowledge of the occult; someone who exists in both the material plane and a spiritual realm beyond our own. But he also does so in terms of design: his kit, while hyper-mobile, plays like a traditional assassin, reliant on a strong early game and skillful stacking. Then you see his ultimate, where he throws out an AoE slow, but for every champion killed within it, the execution cap increases permanently for the rest of the game. There’s no cap; you could theoretically reach 100% execute. It’s a prospect that’s largely a pipe dream, but it exists.

Locke, then, is a fusion of old school League of Legends meets new school; he’s got a more traditional base kit, but a flashy ultimate. He joins the roster in the wake of toplaner Zaahen, and ADC Yunara, both of which also sport somewhat more traditional, mechanics-heavy kits. It seems like, post-Mel, Riot has stripped back its focus on creating new – sometimes broken – mechanics, and is looking to its past. I, for one, don’t think that’s a bad thing at all.

I ask Lead Game Designer Blake ‘Squad5’ Smith if this return to more traditional mechanics is intentional – he contributed to Zaahen’s kit, too. “When we design any champion, we have different approaches,” he says. “One is to make something completely new and give opportunity for expansion of gameplay elements for League of Legends as a whole. The other side of that is giving players something that they just kind of want.

“I think, for a while, we were focused more on unique, more out there elements,” he continues. “But recently we kind of realized that we actually haven’t made some of these champions for our core audience in a while. Yunara was that, Locke is that. This is for a playerbase that wants something that is familiar to them, but still new enough that it feels like a new experience, but isn’t necessarily trying to reinvent the class or anything like that.”

I ask how you design that champion experience: how do you balance that shiny newness with creating a more traditional kit? “I’ve got this thing that I’ve focused on, especially as the Lead of Champion Design: experiential uniqueness,” Smith says. “There’s uniqueness as far as a champion doing new mechanics, like Mel, but I think the most important thing is that, when you’re playing as the champion, it feels distinct and unique from other champions. That’s the main thing that we focus on when we’re not trying to do something like a big, new mechanic.

“It’s like ‘okay, when taken as a whole this champion feels very distinct in and of itself,’ and Locke fits that criteria with his pattern – he has the setup with the nails into the cash out, he has the AoE ultimate that seals [enemies] away. These mechanics are known to League of Legends, but when you’re playing as assassin Locke, he feels distinct from the other assassins in the game. That’s the main important thing that we try to look for.”

Locke being an assassin is equal parts terrifying and exciting. We haven’t really seen a new assassin since the addition of Naafiri in 2023, and even then, she’s an AD champion, not AP. Assassins will always be controversial – their high-risk, high-reward playstyle is hard to master and, in turn, combat: a good assassin player can easily wipe out the tankiest of toplaners. It’s a class that divides the playerbase down the middle, and one that has, for some, been a source of constant frustration.

I ask how the team goes about mitigating power creep, especially in a class that can be so inherently strong, and how it’s managed to address some of players’ biggest assassin-related frustrations with Locke.

“It’s really just about remembering that everything that the character does needs to have some sort of trade-off,” he replies. “This character will do something new, something unique, have that powerful moment – every character needs that, right? If a character released in League of Legends and didn’t have something that, when you looked at it, you were like ‘wow, that sounds really strong,’ it would probably not end up being a very fun character. Especially considering it has to compare itself to over 100 other characters that do those things.

“The main thing to say is: ‘okay, everything that this champion does, what is the thing that the other player is actually supposed to do in this scenario? What are the weaknesses that the character has that mitigate its strengths?’ As long as we keep that in mind, that’s the main thing that makes sure the character doesn’t end up being too egregious.

“I will say, assassins are definitely a more visible class in terms of player frustration, and the things that they do I think are generally very frustrating: they’re very obvious about how they kill you and approach it, and it can sometimes feel like there’s not great answers to them. I’m not trying to claim that Locke won’t be frustrating for players because I think, as an assassin, he will be,” he laughs. “But hopefully he won’t be significantly over the line.”

Visually, the team has worked to make Locke’s abilities easier to read than some other characters, so I ask if this is in response to some of that aforementioned frustration. “We’ve been looking at the assassin class and the frustration that a lot of the champions like Zed have in the space. When we’re making a new assassin, part of the thing that was called out by our leadership that we wanted to do was identify the elements that we think are a type of frustration that are unacceptable.

“The reason I specify is, as I said before, we know that an assassin killing you is frustrating; that’s not something that we’re not claiming. But there are things about some of the assassins that we think probably go over the line in terms of causing a level of frustration for players that is more than what we would want. One of the big things that we identified was trackability as far as the kit goes. There are characters that, especially for a newer player, will find it very difficult to understand what they’re doing. Something like Zed’s Shadows is probably a big reason why Zed is one of the higher-banned champions in the game and one of the ones that players would call out as a frustrating character. It’s very hard to check what he’s doing; he has multiple positions on the field that he can go to; he’s blinking around, so you can’t actually tell what he’s going to do.

“Those are the sorts of things that end up being hard for players to understand, so we wanted to make sure that Locke was clear in terms of what he could do to you and his signalling for that. That’s how we ended up with the gameplay around the nail mark, into the follow-up to kill you, or the execution mark that’s an AoE that sort of announces that he’s going to try and kill you. When you look at Locke, he’s sort of telling you what he’s about to try to do to you, and that should give you the opportunity to make plays against it. But we also want Locke to feel like he has the ability to follow through on those kills, so that’s the delicate balance there.”

I ask, jokingly, if Smith and the team are ready for the inevitable ‘ultimate OP comments,’ and he laughs. “Definitely. Players should be calling that out as something that sounds really powerful because it is, and that’s what you want to play Locke for.”

Locke releases in League of Legends on Wednesday, June 14, alongside patch 26.13. Check out our full rundown of Locke’s abilities, with some additional comments from Riot. Even the team knows he’s stylin’.

Roblox introduces age-based kids accounts, giving parents even more control

Roblox has announced that age-based accounts are launching in the game today, introducing additional restrictions and safeguarding measures designed to keep children and teenagers safe online.

As conversation around online security continues to dominate headlines – with the UK government planning to ban under-16s form various social media and gaming platforms –  Roblox has continued to roll out more security tools to parents. Announced back in April, the game’s two new account types – Roblox Kids and Roblox Select – have launched today.

Available from today, Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman says these accounts will “align users’ access to games and features with their age.” Both Kids and Select accounts will have restrictions, including the inability to upload gameplay to the Moments service, the removal of social media links from any account that hasn’t been verified to belong to someone 16 or older, and constraints on the Roblox games they can play. Any developer that wishes to publish games for Kids or Select accounts will be required to go through additional moderation systems and reviews, and will need to provide ID and secure their account through two-factor authentication.

The ability for under-16s to communicate with strangers on Roblox has also been targeted. Kids accounts, which are for children between five and eight years old, will not have any ability to chat in-game, while Select accounts, those up to the age of 15, will see their access increase gradually.

All of these settings can be altered by parents, so they can stay in control of their children online. Roblox says that, where available, users will still be able to chat to “Trusted Friends,” which is a “special designation for people they know and trust.” Text filters will remain, and Roblox says they monitor all chat for child exploitation. Once a player turns 16 and has gone through the age-verification process, chat will be turned on fully.

Parents can link their accounts to their child’s, and up until the age of 13, can check their friends list, block, and report users they don’t want connected to their child. Parents will also be able to set screen-time limits and spend limits. Parents are able to change chat settings and block specific games up until the age of 16.

Six years after its announcement, SiN Reloaded finally has a Steam demo

The ’90s were a utopia for 3D shooter fanatics. The likes of Doom, Duke Nukem, and Quake were king, and even Star Wars got pulled in with the amazing Dark Forces. As the decade drew to a close, Ritual Entertainment delivered its own mutant-mashing experience, SiN. It’s certainly not an all-timer like many of its contemporaries, but SiN had its own, rugged charm. In 2020, remaster maestro Nightdive Studios revealed SiN Reloaded, and now it’s finally ready to let you get hands-on with its latest refresh as part of Steam Next Fest.

Forget the Doomslayer, it’s time to meet John SiN – I mean John Blade, as he seeks to foil the devious designs of evil CEO Elexis Sinclair. Sinclair’s been pumping the people full of DNA-altering drugs, transforming them into mutants, and only Blade can put an end to her schemes. As you can probably tell, SiN is very much a product of its time, but the remaster brings with it some modern bells and whistles.

Nightdive’s KEX Engine is a true piece of wizardry, allowing the studio to take classic game code and juice it up. SiN Reloaded sports higher resolution textures, 4K resolution and 144 FPS support, as well as a modernized UI. You’ll also find an overhauled control scheme, better maps, and even some brand new achievements if you’re all about the hunt. Obviously, you’re not getting photorealistic fidelity here, and seeing the models go from PS1 Hagrid to a FaceApp’d PS1 Hagrid in its latest trailer is quite funny, but it’s still a marked improvement to the FPS game that you should definitely try out.

SiN Reloaded has had more than a tricky development cycle. Speaking to freelance critic Peter Glagowski last year, Nightdive studio head Stephen Kick explained that, initially, the remaster was being co-developed with 3D Realms. Its slated 2021 launch window, however, became untenable after its partner in polygonal shine was snapped up by Embracer Group. According to Kick, “there just wasn’t enough bandwidth” on either side to make it work, so they “called it quits on that particular iteration of the game.”

By the time 2023 rolled around, the project was in limbo. Nightdive was full-throttle on getting its splendid System Shock remake over the line, and it had clearly reached its already limited capacity. At the time, it posted on SiN Reloaded’s Steam page that it would return to the remaster “at a later date.” Judging from Kick’s comment in the Glagowski interview, that Nightdive had picked development back up “not too long ago,” as of July 2025, I can’t imagine that this version of the remaster was in the oven for more than a couple of years.

That is, however, all in the past – put to bed after Nightdive formally announced SiN Reloaded back in March. The SiN Reloaded demo is now available on Steam, and you can head here to check it out. Nightdive has yet to slap on a full launch date, but we do know that it’s due before the year’s out.

Valor Mortis’ first-person perspective opens up “new opportunities” within the soulslike genre

There’s a lot to get excited about with Valor Mortis. Aesthetically, it’s gorgeous – the eerie juxtaposition of 1800s France with weird, mysterious red magic; the intense violence of a world at war, enveloped in smog. It’s easily one of the most interesting soulslikes I’ve seen in a while – and let’s be real, they’re a dime a dozen these days. But beyond its looks, Valor Mortis is also first-person; something we don’t really see in the genre. It’s perhaps to be expected – One More Level created parkour hack-and-slasher Ghostrunner, which is all first-person, with faster action than the traditional soulslike. It’s a new approach, but it works.

I was bowled over by Valor Mortis at Gamescom last year, expecting to hate every minute of it (I’m not very good at soulslikes), but eventually placing it in my top three games of the show. It was the first-person perspective that caught my eye, as well as areas of parkour that felt reminiscent of One More Level’s hardcore sci-fi romp, yet somehow uniquely Valor Mortis.

My colleague Tom was also impressed by his Summer Game Fest playthrough (more on that later), and took the time to ask Game Director Radosław Ratusznik why the team went for a first-person approach.

“The decision was pretty easy for us because we made both Ghostrunners, and we want to get better and better at creating first-person action games. [Valor Mortis] is another step on this road to create the best first-person action game that we can. It’s a huge step forward for us; it’s a game that’s way more complex in a genre that’s very popular. But switching the perspective gives us a lot of new opportunities.

“Valor Mortis plays a bit different from the rest of the soulslikes, but it’s not a regular first-person shooter. It’s a mixture of different things. It wasn’t like we were taking all of these soulslike features blindly to tick all of the [boxes] on the list to become a soulslike. It was more, what best fits with our vision of creating this game to still have the DNA of our games like Ghostrunner. You have the powers and a bit of parkour mechanics, you get to wall run – it adds a bit of variety.

“It’s a soulslike, but it’s not a first-person soulslike, it’s a soulslike from the first-person,” he highlights. “There are some features that are expected from soulslikes – stamina management, the bonfire checkpoints. But it’s pretty cool to merge it with our own dual wielding, switching between guns, and superpowers. You can swap between weapons and how you approach the enemy. The freedom of choice is a big factor here.

“I think we’ve created something that’s a bit different from the other soulslikes, and that’s what I really like about Valor Mortis.”

Valor Mortis launches on PC and console on Tuesday October 13, 2026. This is slightly later than expected, as the team had initially locked in a September launch date ahead of Summer Game Fest.

As every videogame and its dog attempts to avoid the GTA 6 release date, however, September has become pretty hectic, with the likes of Insomniac’s Wolverine, Konami’s Silent Hill: Townfall, and Rebel Wolves’ debut title Blood of Dawnwalker all releasing that month – and that’s to name but a few. Moving Valor Mortis was the right call, and hopefully it’ll get the attention it deserves.

Additional reporting from Summer Game Fest by Tom Hopkins.

Fortnite’s Gummy Power Hour is getting doubled because some Sprites are just so hard to find

Gummy Zero Point Sprite. Four words that until recently meant nothing to me at all. Today? All I hear is Gummy Zero Point Sprite. I see it on social media, I hear it in games, even my little cousin is asking me about it. You can count the number of Fortnite fans who have managed to extract a Gummy Zero Point Sprite on one hand, but that could all change this Saturday when the Gummy Power Hour takes place.

Sprites were first introduced back in Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 1, all the way back in December 2024. Since then, they’ve been a consistent feature in the game, but it’s only with Chapter 7, Season 3, which kicked off on June 6, that they’ve become a huge facet of the game.

These adorable little critters are equippable items that are assigned to their own unique spot in your inventory. Each Sprite gives you passive abilities during matches, from granting shields to increasing your chance of finding a rare item. Find them in a match, and you can extract them, unlocking them and their abilities permanently. While certain Sprites can be quite common, some are rarer than others, and one of the most sought-after in the battle royale right now is the Gummy Zero Point Sprite.

The normal version of the Zero Point Sprite, which spawns a Shield Bubble Jr. around you when you are using a healing item, is rare enough, with a base drop rate of just 1.044% every time you open a Sprite Chest. If that doesn’t sound tough already, each Sprite has variants, and the Gummy version is the rarest of all.

In fact, according to Fortnite.gg, which has been gathering stats, it appears in Sprite Chests just 0.006% of the time, and in Rare Chests 0.0021% of the time. To put that into perspective, your odds of finding a Gummy Zero Point Sprite in a Sprite Chest are only slightly higher than your odds of getting struck by lightning in your lifetime, which is 0.005%. Shocking stuff.

At the time of writing, there has only been one confirmed extraction of the Gummy Zero Point Sprite, although there have been a couple of people claiming to have done it floating around on social media. Thankfully, that may change, as this week’s Power Hour is all about Gummy Sprites.

Power Hours are events usually held on Saturdays where Epic tinkers with gameplay. This can mean introducing a classic weapon for a short period of time, altering damage stats, or making certain items easier to find. Last week, Epic made it more common for Gold Sprites to be found in chests, and this week, Gummy Sprites are getting the same treatment. Not only that, the developer confirmed they’d be doubling the length of the Power Hour to two hours, giving players extra time to find one.

Like many, I’ll be jumping on this weekend in a desperate attempt to try and find a Gummy Zero Point Sprite of my own. And no, I won’t be giving it to my little cousin if I find one. Good luck, and happy hunting – you’ll need it.

New Overwatch season – latest hero, maps, and changes

What’s in the new Overwatch season? Every two months, a new Overwatch season takes place, introducing new heroes, skins, maps, and more. At the beginning of the year, Blizzard wiped the seasonal numbering and established the narrative arc in 2026 as ‘The Reign of Talon’, marking a new era for the hero shooter.

There used to be big gaps between the launches of new Overwatch characters, but that has changed with The Reign of Talon. As for Overwatch maps, the release cadence isn’t as frequent, but there are map reworks to look forward to, in addition to brand-new releases.

New Overwatch season release date

Overwatch Season 3, Into the Tiger’s Den, arrived on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. Blizzard originally confirmed the date with the reveal of new hero Shion, who debuted at the same time.

Blizzard usually teases details about the new hero in the weeks leading up to the new season. In Shion’s case, we got an initial reveal trailer exactly one week before its launch, followed by a gameplay teaser and kit rundown a couple of days later.

Overwatch Season 3 overview

Season 3 follows the success of its second season with yet another DPS hero, Shion, plus new Hybrid map Neon Junction, which is being bedded in with the three-week-long Anima Strike Overwatch event. Venture’s also helping you scoop up more loot in Excavation Initiative, while there’s a new Overwatch battle pass to grind for goodies.

Blizzard is continuing to hunt for alternative gameplay angles for certain heroes. The studio’s worked with content creators to make ‘Community Crafted’ adjustments to Reinhardt, Baptiste, Ashe, and Sombra, which will temporarily be playable from June 30 – July 13.

As Overwatch’s roster has continued to expand, it’s necessitated a bit of a UI/UX rethink when it comes to hero select. This has now been redesigned in a big way, and should hopefully be a marked improvement over its predecessor.

New hero

Shion is the latest hero added in Overwatch Season 3, and she has quite the kit. Be sure to check out the full Shion abilities list before you go and first time her in ranked – we know what you’re like, probably. It remains to be seen how high she’ll climb on our Overwatch tier list, but we’re confident she’ll be popular.

New map

Overwatch doesn’t typically launch new maps on a regular basis. There’s already a solid rotation, and we can imagine creating and testing whole new environs is incredibly resource-intensive.

However, after plenty of community badgering for a new Hybrid map, Blizzard has come up with the goods in the form of Neon Junction. Set in the beating heart of Tokyo, you’ll find all the usual cyberpunk trimmings, big ol’ mechas, and some less-enticing alleyways. Be sure to spend some time exploring it in quick play first, lest you tank your Overwatch rank.

Stadium changes

As for Overwatch Stadium, Season 3 is going hard. We’re talking roster-wide refreshes, and larger reworks for Doomfist, Hazard, Kiriko, Sojourn, Tracer, and more. Grouping restrictions for ranked have been removed, so you’re free to play with any of your pals – perfect timing considering Oasis University has joined the map pool.

New skins

There’s a brand new tier of Overwatch skins in Season 3: Ultra. These are touted to be the cream of the crop cosmetics, with top tier audiovisuals that are unique from skin to skin, from hero to hero. The first two Ultra skins have gone to Kiriko and Sierra, as part of the new Nyan Café line. Orisa, Reaper, and Ashe are also in line for standard variations of the theme.

If kawaii is not for thee, then Street Rebels might be more up your alley. Blending oni vibes with fresh streetwear, Jetpack Cat, Junker Queen, Mercy, Mizuki, and Wuyang are all looking real slick.

The headliner on the skin front, though, is the Ascendant Phoenix Illari Mythic. This is a multi-level, multi-form skin that allows you to progressively customize Illari through her ascent. It’s giving Elementalist Lux from League of Legends – iykyk.

That’s all there is to know about the latest Overwatch season. If you’ve been away from the multiplayer game for some time, you may want to check out our best Overwatch settings guide to maximize your frame rate during hectic battles.

Overwatch events – all active events in 2026

June 16, 2026: We updated this guide to reflect the arrival of Overwatch Season 3.

What Overwatch events are currently running? Events give you the chance to try out some heroes that you may not use regularly, challenging you to win games by meeting certain requirements. It doesn’t matter if you can repeatedly land headshots as your favorite DPS heroes; you’ll need to be well-rounded to complete all the Overwatch events.

The easiest way to earn in-game rewards and experience points to level up your Overwatch battle pass is by completing event challenges. You typically won’t be able to complete most of the Overwatch events unless you know what the challenges are, which is why this helpful guide should make that process easier.

Current Overwatch events

Here are the latest Overwatch events:

Anima Strike

Anima Strike is an introductory three-week event designed to get you used to new map Neon Junction. Conquer daily and weekly challenges to explore more of Shion’s stomping ground, and with it the Hashimoto, Yokai, and Subway locations. Throughout, you’ll learn of the growing unrest bubbling away beneath the neon-drenched surface.

Of course, lore’s all well and good, but rewards make the world go round. By delving deeper and making choices on branching paths, you’ll be able to rack up over 50 themed rewards. After clearing the main event, you’ll gain access to the prestige path which brings with it, you guessed it, more rewards.

Availability: Tuesday, June 16, 2026 – Monday, July 6, 2026

Excavation Initiative

There’s plenty of treasure afoot in Overwatch Season 3, and Venture’s here to lead the hunt. For the duration of the new Overwatch season, you can earn loot boxes by logging in, completing challenges, winning games, and staying active week-on-week – you know, the usual stuff. There are 17 standard boxes, plus one Epic and one Legendary box to nab, so get going.

Availability: Tuesday, June 16, 2026 – Season end (August 2026)

Past Overwatch events

Here are the past Overwatch events in 2026:

• 10th Anniversary: May 12, 2026 – June 16, 2026
• Hatred’s Reckoning: April 28, 2026 – May 19, 2026
• Operation: Grand Mesa: April 28, 2026 – May 5, 2026
• Underwatch: April 1, 2026 – April 13, 2026
• Project Yorha – March 10, 2026 – March 23, 2026
• Conquest: February 10, 2026 – March 17, 2026
• Hello Kitty and Friends – February 10, 2026 – February 23, 2026
• Showdown Shuffle: January 13, 2026 – January 27, 2026

10th Anniversary

It’s been ten years of Overwatch, and as is the case every year, there’s an event to celebrate the occasion. The main rewards on offer are anniversary loot boxes, featuring recolors of some of the best outfits around.

On June 1, Blizzard announced changes to the 10th Anniversary event, extending the duration until the end of the season. More importantly, the number of challenges you need to complete to unlock a special player title has been reduced from 48 to 38. If you already unlocked all 48 challenges, you will be awarded another player title to reward you for your efforts.

Availability: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 – Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Here are the challenges in the 10th Anniversary event:

Challenge
Description
Reward

Meta Challenge – Answering the Call
Collect 15 Anniversary Loot Boxes
Tracer – 10-Years Cheers

Meta Challenge – Anniversary Ace
Complete 24 Challenges in Anniversary 2026 Event
Player Title – Ten-Year Titan

Meta Challenge – Ten-Year Titan
Complete 36 Challenges in Anniversary 2026 Event
Player Title – :3

Meta Challenge – Decennial Hero
Complete 38 Challenges in Anniversary 2026 Event
Player Title –     (/°□ °)/︵ ┻━┻

The Scientist
Complete one game.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Gonna Be Mei
Complete ten games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Have Mercy
Complete twenty games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Thanks for the Cassidys
Complete thirty games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Hardt To Hardt
Complete fifty games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Decennium Contributor – Repeating

Requires: Hardt To Hardt

Complete ten games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Classic 2026: Offense or Defense
Play five games as any Offense or Defense Hero in Overwatch Classic.
10,000 XP

Classic 2026: Support
Play five games as any Support Hero in Overwatch Classic.
10,000 XP

Classic 2026: Tank
Play five games as any Tank Hero in Overwatch Classic.
10,000 XP

Base Lootbox Reached!
Unlocks at the start of Anniversary: Week 2 if the Base Lootbox was reached via Challenge contributions in the Global Lootbox Charge.
1 Loot Box

Epic Lootbox Reached!
Unlocks at the start of Anniversary: Week 2 if the Epic Lootbox was reached via Challenge contributions in the Global Lootbox Charge.
1 Epic Loot Box

Legendary Lootbox Reached!
Unlocks at the start of Anniversary: Week 2 if the Legendary Lootbox was reached via Challenge contributions in the Global Lootbox Charge.
1 Legendary Loot Box

Adieu, Cherie
Complete one game.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

I’m A Rocket Queen
Complete five games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Glad I Symmet-ya
Complete ten games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Perfect Harmony
Complete fifteen games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Pump You Up
Complete twenty games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Mystery Showdown: Damage
Complete five games as any Damage Hero in Mystery Showdown.
10,000 XP

Mystery Showdown: Tank
Complete five games as any Tank Hero in Mystery Showdown.
10,000 XP

Mystery Showdown: Support
Complete five games as any Support Hero in Mystery Showdown.
10,000 XP

Shimada Bros
Complete one game.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Tokki In The Club
Complete five games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Old Soldiers
Complete ten games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Sus Rattus
Complete fifteen games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Nuts & Bolts
Complete twenty games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
1 Anniversary Loot Box

Classic 2020: Damage
Complete five games as any Damage Hero in Overwatch Classic.
10,000 XP

Classic 2020: Tank
Complete five games as any Tank Hero in Overwatch Classic.
10,000 XP

Classic 2020: Support
Complete five games as any Support Hero in Overwatch Classic.
10,000 XP

Hatred’s Reckoning

Celebrate the launch of the new Diablo 4 expansion, Lord of Hatred, with a set of challenges that unlock Diablo-themed rewards. If you want to show off your appreciation for the legendary RPG series, you should check out the latest Overwatch skins to see how Blizzard has transformed heroes like Mauga, Moira, and Lifeweaver.

Availability: Tuesday, April 28, 2026 – Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Here are the challenges in the Hatred’s Reckoning event:

Challenge
Description
Reward

Blood and Ash
Play ten games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.

Weapon Charm – Enraged Mask

10,000 XP

Burning Hatred
Play ten games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.

Weapon Charm – Crab with a Knife

10,000 XP

Ancient Awakening
Play five games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
Name Card – Blessed Mother

Sanctuary’s Trial
Play five games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
Player Icon – Inarius’s Helm
Player Icon – Halloween Terror 2023

Evil’s Call
Play five games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.

Spray -Lilith’s Curse

5,000 XP

Twilight Descent
Play five games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
Spray – Inarius’s Blessing
5,000 XP

Shadow Rising
Play five games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.

Voice Line – Be Beautiful

Voice Line – In the Shadows

Operation: Grand Mesa

Sierra has arrived, bringing the total number of Overwatch characters in the game up to 51. As the chief security officer of Grand Mesa, this event tells the story about Talon’s attack on the watchpoint and how Sierra handled the situation. This event comes with an event pass, with each challenge awarding Event XP which unlocks items on the pass.

Here are the rewards on the Operation: Grand Mesa event pass:

• Tier 1: 1 Battle Pass Tier skip
• Tier 2: Voice Line – You and me Dorothy
• Tier 3: Spray – Anchor’s out!
• Tier 4: Player Icon – DoR.O.T.H.y
• Tier 5: 1x Epic Loot Box
• Tier 6: 1 Battle Pass Tier Skip
• Tier 7: Voice Line – Teamwork is worth it
• Tier 8: 1 Battle Pass Tier Skip
• Tier 9: Name Card – Pop DoR.O.T.H.y
• Tier 10: 1x Legendary Loot Box

Availability: Tuesday, April 28, 2026 – Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Here are the challenges in the Operation: Grand Mesa event:

Challenge
Description
Reward

Damage Assessment
Play three games. Wins grant double progress. Playing as Sierra grants extra progress.
50 Event XP 

Assign Perimeter Guard
Earn ten eliminations/assists within three seconds of using a movement ability. (Excludes Total Mayhem and co-op)
100 Event XP

Triage
Play ten games queued as All Roles. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
100 Event XP

Sweep and Clear
Play 40 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
200 Event XP

Deploy Tactical
Play 30 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
150 Event XP

Establish FCP
Play 20 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
100 Event XP

Sitrep
Play 10 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
50 Event XP

Meta Challenge: Lockdown Protocol
Play 60 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress. 
Epic Loot Box

Meta Challenge: Containment
Play 60 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress. 
Player Title – Head of Security

Squad Leader

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Earn six eliminations or assists with Ultimates. Sierra’s Ultimate grants double progress.
100 Event XP

United

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Play ten games queued as All Roles. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress.
100 Event XP

Precision Armaments

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Deal 2,500 Critical Damage
50 Event XP

Track Target Location

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Play 40 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress. 
200 Event XP

Compartmentalize

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Play 30 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress. 
150 Event XP

Identify Gaps

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Play 20 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress. 
100 Event XP

Begin Debrief

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Play 10 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress. 
50 Event XP

Meta Challenge: Strike

Requires: Complete all non-meta tier 1 challenges.

Play 80 games. Wins grant double progress. Stadium grants double progress. 
1x Legendary Loot Box

Those are all the Overwatch events currently active. While you’re still here, you should check out our Overwatch tier list to find out which heroes are dominating the multiplayer game right now.

Dota 2 heroes – best picks for the June 2026 meta

With 128 characters to choose from, picking the best Dota 2 heroes can be difficult. The draft screen flicks to you, and you realize that the person you had your heart set on has already been picked or banned by the enemy team. Who should you choose? Dota 2 is quite flexible, allowing you to succeed with anyone on the roster if played well enough, especially in lower ranks. As you win more games and climb the ranked ladder, however, you’ll want to consider who the current meta picks are – both for your own benefit, and so you can know what to watch out for.

The most important aspect to picking your Dota 2 hero is how comfortable you are playing it. Valve’s MOBA is a sprawling beast filled with tremendous potential, and many characters can be used in multiple different roles. While I have categorized the heroes below into their most popular slots, keep in mind that some will be equally capable of fitting into other areas. Unless you’re pushing into the top ranks, using someone you know will always be better than trying to wing it on a character you’re unfamiliar with.

It’s also important to consider your overall team composition and who you’re going up against. Generally speaking, Dota teams are thought of in positions one to five, which equate to Carry, Midlane, Offlane, Soft Support, and Hard Support. Carries typically need protecting early on, but funnel them enough gold and experience and they’ll ‘carry’ your team to victory. Supports, on the other hand, often start with strong spells that can disrupt and disable your foes, but will tend to sacrifice their own gains to ensure their teammates get the most benefit possible.

The best Carry heroes in Dota 2

Here are the best Dota 2 heroes to play in the Carry position:

• Anti-Mage: A reliable counter to ability-reliant heroes, capable of burning away their mana with each strike. Also has great utility thanks to his Blink skill and reflecting Counterspell.
• Chaos Knight: Do you like to live dangerously? Chaos Knight can spawn clones of himself, reposition enemies, and sustain with lifesteal – but the strength of everything he does hinges on a roll of the dice.
• Lifestealer: Simple and effective. Get in close, slash opponents to keep yourself healed, and make yourself immune to all debuffs. Pair him with Armlet of Mordiggian for the best results.
• Naga Siren: Comes with basically a built-in Manta Style, and a handy snare. Her ultimate takes some practice – you cannot attack opponents under its effect, so use it to divide the enemy team.
• Phantom Assassin: Easy to learn and lives up to her name. Pick a squishy target, leap onto them, focus them down, and use her natural evasiveness to get out alive.
• Phantom Lancer: Few heroes are as annoying to face as a farmed PL. His constantly spawning clones make him difficult to pin down, and Doppelganger lets him avoid major incoming threats.
• Spectre: The Queen of ‘divide and conquer.’ Her ultimate allows her to instantly appear next to any enemy hero, and her passive grants bonus damage against foes that are alone. Appear to swing teamfights, or melt isolated targets. Don’t feel bad for them; just get back to farming.
• Wraith King: A reliable go-to for newcomers, with the ability to come back at full strength after death. Use his durability and skeleton summons to farm safely, or to wade headfirst into teamfights without fear.

The best Midlane heroes in Dota 2

Here are the best Dota 2 heroes to play in the Midlane position:

• Broodmother: With webs that give her free movement (even across typically impassable terrain), Broodmother and her spiderlings are nasty if you have good map knowledge and micromanagement skills. Just don’t queue her into a team full of AoE abilities.
• Invoker: Not for the faint of heart. With the power to cook up ten different abilities using three distinct elements, Invoker is one of the most flexible and adaptable characters in Dota 2’s roster. You’ll want to spend some time in the practice room first, though.
• Lone Druid: A good entry point to multi-unit heroes, Lone Druid combines his ranged spellcasting with the raw tankiness of his bear companion. Excellent in lane and deadly at demolishing towers.
• Necrophos: Necrophos is all about outlasting your enemies. Stay in lane, keep your units alive, and pressure even the tankiest opponents to keep their distance with his health-melting Heaertsopper Aura.
• Sniper: If getting in the thick of things scares you, why not pick the character who lurks in the back and picks his targets off before they can react? Keep your eyes peeled to finish vulnerable foes off with a well-timed Assassinate before they can escape.
• Templar Assassin: Incredible burst damage combined with map intel to deadly effect. Her Psionic Traps let her scout and lay, well, traps, while Refraction brushes off the scariest incoming threats.
• Visage: Visage is all about tempo. Look for early pressure, then try to get to level six quickly and unlock his two Familiars, which give him huge damage and a pair of mini-stuns. Requires some level of micromanagement, as letting the gargoyles die kills your momentum.
• Zeus: Become the god of thunder himself. Utilize the True Sight from Lightning Bolt to catch sneaky heroes or deward. His ultimate hits all enemies, anywhere on the map, so be ready to use it if an ally is fighting to swing the balance or ensure their target can’t escape.

The best Offlane heroes in Dota 2

Here are the best Dota 2 heroes to play in the Offlane position:

• Axe: Axe. One of the most traditional tank-style heroes. Force your enemies to fight, and counter their hits with whirlwind spins. Watch your opponents’ health totals closely and dunk on them with Culling Blade for a full cooldown reset and bonus armor.
• Dawnbreaker: Resilient, with ranged poke and healing capabilities, Dawnbreaker can leap to the location of any ally at a moment’s notice, letting her farm while remaining an ever-present threat.
• Legion Commander: You know you can win that fight. Prove it. Force your victim into a vicious duel, earning a permanent damage bonus upon your inevitable victory. Just make sure you’re certain before locking in.
• Night Stalker: Half of every Dota 2 match takes place in the dark, and as the Night Stalker your foes will fear each sundown. Oh, and you can even turn the day to night with his ultimate, in case you need to become the map’s dominant force on command.
• Nyx Assassin: Capable of becoming invisible for lengthy durations only to emerge with a burst of damage and vicious stun. Use Mind Flare to demolish mana-stacking heroes, and Spiked Carapace to punish careless AoEs or overzealous carries.
• Pudge: Possibly Dota 2’s most iconic hero. Hook your poor victim into a toxic cloud of rot, then lock them in place while you dismember them. You can even yoink allies to safety instead, if you’re feeling kind.
• Techies: Dota 2’s other icon, and its biggest troll. Cover key objectives and escape routes in hidden Proximity Mines, or hurl yourself bodily into the enemy line to disrupt and stun. Liable to wind up your own team as much as your foes, so pick with care.
• Tidehunter: If you love to turn the tide of battle with a giant, impactful ultimate, few are as satisfying (or as effective) as Ravage. Grab a Blink Dagger to ensure you deliver it in the perfect place, at the perfect time.

The best Support heroes in Dota 2

Here are the best Dota 2 heroes to play in the Support position:

• Crystal Maiden: Map-wide mana regen for your team, slows, disables, and a powerful ultimate; CM is old reliable among the support cast for a good reason.
• Lich: Kind of a fancier take on Crystal Maiden. Learn to get the most out of sacrificing your own allied creeps, pester lane opponents with Frost Blast, then obliterate teams with his chain-bouncing ult. Find combo partners like Magnus or Enigma for maximum results.
• Rubick: One of Dota 2’s most creative options, capable of stealing enemy spells to use as his own. Grab a game-changing ultimate or a valuable utility skill. On top of that, Telekinesis lets you put opponents right where you want them.
• Shadow Shaman: Hex and Shackles are two of the most powerful single-target disable skills in Dota 2, and Shadow Shaman gets them both. His Mass Serpent Wards let him solo-push lanes with relative ease, or melt through Roshan’s health.
• Silencer: While he can work as a carry, Silencer’s signature spell-stopping utility and ability to frustrate opponents out of lane from range make him excel in the supporting roles. Keep note of the opposing team’s biggest threats and make sure to shut them down.
• Spirit Breaker: Traditionally more of an offlaner, but support SB can be one of the most satisfying and devastating forces in the right hands. Charge across the entire map at speed and crash into lane for a gank – just make sure your teammates know you’re coming.
• Vengeful Spirit: Simply being near teammates as VS makes them stronger, and her armor-wrecking Wave of Terror only amplifies that. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice yourself swapping position with a high-value target you need to kill, or an ally that’s important to keep alive.
• Witch Doctor: If you like a support that can carve through enemy health, Witch Doctor is a great pick. Maledict and Death Ward can both ruin an opponent’s day, and a well-placed Paralyzing Cask will scupper your foes’ entire teamfight strategy.

Those are our top Dota 2 hero picks for the June 2026 meta. As I mentioned up top, however, there’s nothing more important when choosing a character than making sure you’re comfortable with them. Stumbling around on a ‘strong’ hero that you don’t understand will never end well, so take it step by step and find your own comfort zone before experimenting.

If someone new takes your fancy, the best idea is to head into the training area or a match with bots just to get familiar with your skill set. Use our list of Dota 2 console commands to set up the ideal conditions. You should also check the best Dota 2 settings that we recommend to ensure your UI and controls are optimized for success.

All Minecraft mobs in 26.2 and beyond

How many Minecraft mobs are there? Short for ‘mobile’, Minecraft mobs are the creatures that can be found around the sandbox game, be they hostile or friendly. As of Minecraft 26.2, there are now over 80 unique mobs in vanilla Minecraft.

If that’s not enough for you, even more can be added with some of the best Minecraft mods, but we’re purely talking about the vanilla base game here. With that in mind, we’ve listed every single mob in the survival game, where they can be found, and whether they’re passive, hostile, or neutral. You can also read more about mob variants in Minecraft and catch up on the newest arrivals to the overworld.

Here are all the Minecraft mobs:

New Minecraft mobs

The latest Minecraft update introduced the sulfur cave biome, which features a brand-new mob: the Sulfur Cube. The Sulfur Cube can absorb blocks, changing the way it interacts with the world. You can choose what items are absorbed by the Sulfur Cube to discover the range of properties it can take on.

If the Sulfur Cube absorbs an ice block, it will slide around the ground, whereas absorbing metal will weigh the block down, causing it to move slower. Check out this interesting new mob before it arrives in the base game by trying out the latest Minecraft snapshot.

Here’s the newest mob in Minecraft:

All Minecraft mob types

There are three types of Minecraft mobs:

Passive mobs never attack the player, and many even run away when attacked. Hostile mobs, meanwhile, will attack without provocation.

Neutral mobs are those that don’t attack unless provoked. For example, if a player hits a wild wolf, it will attack. Similarly, llamas spit when they or their wandering trader is attacked, and Iron Golems protect their villagers, attacking anyone who hits one.

Many passive mobs can be tamed and bred, and we’ve got separate guides on many of the mobs below that detail these mechanics and more.

Mob variants

For some mobs listed below, there are a few different variants to find if you want a complete collection for your farm.

Here are all the Minecraft mobs that have variants:

• Sheep
• Cow
  • Warm variant
  • Temperate variant
  • Cool variant
• Chicken
  • Warm variant
  • Temperate variant
  • Cool variant
• Pig
  • Warm variant
  • Temperate variant
  • Cool variant
• Frog
  • Warm variant
  • Temperate variant
  • Cool variant

All Overworld mobs

Here’s every mob you can encounter in the overworld:

Above-ground mobs

• Zombie Horse (passive)
• Camel Husk (passive)
• Nautilus (passive)
• Sheep (passive)
• Lamb (passive)
• Cow (passive)
• Calf (passive)
• Mooshroom (passive)
• Pig (passive)
• Piglet (passive)
• Chicken (passive)
• Chick (passive)
• Fox (passive)
• Baby Fox (passive)
• Wolf (neutral)
• Puppy (neutral)
• Cat (passive)
• Kitten (passive)
• Ocelot (passive)
• Baby Ocelot (passive)
• Rabbit (passive)
• Bunny (passive)
• Horse (passive)
• Baby Horse (passive)
• Donkey (passive)
• Baby Donkey (passive)
• Mule (passive)
• Baby Mule (passive)
• Cod (passive)
• Tadpole (passive)
• Salmon (passive)
• Parrot (passive)
• Allay (passive)
• Glow Squid (passive)
• Squid (passive)
• Baby Squid (passive)
• Dolphin (passive)
• Baby Dolphin (passive)
• Polar Bear (neutral)
• Baby Polar Bear (neutral)
• Llama (neutral)
• Baby Llama (neutral)
• Panda (passive)
• Baby Panda (passive)
• Bee (neutral)
• Baby Bee (neutral)
• Goat (neutral)
• Baby Goat (neutral)
• Tropical fish (passive)
• Turtle (passive)
• Baby Turtle (passive)
• Villager (passive)
• Baby Villager (passive)
• Pufferfish (neutral)
• Axolotl (passive)
• Baby Axolotl (passive)
• Frog (passive)
• Armadillo (passive)
• Baby Armadillo (passive)
• Spider (neutral)
• Bogged (hostile)
• Skeleton (hostile)
• Enderman (neutral)
• Guardian (hostile)
• Elder Guardian (hostile)
• Husk (hostile)
• Baby Husk (hostile)
• Parched (hostile)
• Stray (hostile)
• Phantom (hostile)
• Creeper (hostile)
• Minecraft Slime (hostile)
• Zombie (hostile)
• Zombie Villager (hostile)
• Baby Zombified Piglin (hostile)
• Drowned (hostile)
• Baby Gurgle (hostile)
• Witch (hostile)
• The Creaking (hostile)
• Pillager (hostile)

Cave mobs

• Bat (passive)
• Spider (neutral)
• Cave Spider (hostile)
• Enderman (neutral)
• Creeper (hostile)
• Minecraft slime (hostile)
• Zombie (hostile)
• Skeleton (hostile)
• Minecraft Warden (hostile)

Dungeon mobs

• Spider (hostile)
• Skeleton (hostile)
• Zombie (hostile)

Trial Chamber mobs

• Bogged (hostile)
• Breeze (hostile)
• Skeleton (hostile)
• Cave spider (hostile)

Special condition mobs

• Copper Golem (passive)
• Skeleton horse (passive)
• Snow golem (passive)
• Trader llama (neutral)
• Iron Golem (neutral)
• Wandering trader (passive)
• Sniffer (passive)
• Snifflet (passive)
• Camel (passive)
• Evoker (hostile)
• Vindicator (hostile)
• Ravager (hostile)
• Ravager Jockey (hostile)
• Vex (hostile)
• Chicken Jockey (hostile)
• Skeleton Horseman (hostile)
• Happy Ghast (passive)
• Silverfish (hostile)
• Skeleton (hostile)
• Spider Jockey (hostile)
• Zoglin (hostile)
• Baby Zoglin (hostile)
• Zombified Piglin (neutral)
• Wither (hostile)

All Nether mobs

Here’s every mob you can encounter in The Nether:

• Skeleton (hostile)
• Wither Skeleton (hostile)
• Blaze (hostile)
• Ghast (hostile)
• Magma Cube (hostile)
• Enderman (neutral)
• Piglin Brute (hostile)
• Piglin (neutral)
• Baby Piglin (neutral)
• Baby Zombified Piglin (neutral)
• Zombie Pigman (neutral)
• Baby Zombie (neutral)
• Hoglin (hostile)
• Baby Hoglin (hostile)
• Strider (passive)
• Baby Strider (passive)

All The End mobs

Here’s every mob you can encounter in The End mobs:

• Ender Dragon (hostile)
• Enderman (neutral)
• Endermite (hostile)
• Shulker (hostile)

Other Minecraft mobs

There are plenty of easter eggs in the form of special mobs that you should seek out – all you need are some name tags and an anvil. Check out VIPmanYT’s video above to discover all of the secret name tag mobs in Minecraft.

Jeb

Name any sheep ‘Jeb_’ using a name tag to magically change its color on rotation, sweeping beautifully between 16 colors. Keep in mind that the sheep will only drop its original color when sheared.

Dinnerbone

Applying the name ‘Dinnerbone’ to a name tag and giving it to any mob turns that mob upside down. It will continue to act as normal, just on its head.

Toast

Toast is a cute and harmless reskin, turning any rabbit into a black and white bunny, an homage to the real Toast on Reddit, and implemented by former Mojang developer, Ryan Holtz. Rename a name tag to ‘Toast’ and give it to your favorite bunny to instantly change its appearance.

Johnny

Naming a Vindicator ‘Johnny’ causes it to become hostile to all other mobs except fellow illagers, not just the player. This easter egg is a reference to the axe-wielding lead character from The Shining.

Killer Bunny

Unfortunately, this one requires a Minecraft command, meaning cheats must be on. For the Monty Python-inspired killer rabbit to spawn, you must use the command ‘/summon rabbit ~ ~ ~ {RabbitType:99}’ in the text box on Java edition.

Upon summoning the mob, a white rabbit with red eyes appears, sporting the name tag ‘The Killer Bunny.’ This deceptively cute creature openly attacks players, foxes, and wolves, dealing a whopping eight damage on normal difficulty.

That’s everything you need to know about all the Minecraft mobs currently in the game. Our Minecraft shield guide provides the perfect defense if you want to be better equipped when dealing with the most hostile Minecraft mobs. If you’re not sure how to find The Breeze or even what Minecraft Trial Chambers are, feel free to check out our dedicated guide.

Next Minecraft update – upcoming release date estimate

June 17, 2026: With Chaos Cubed now live, we have added the latest information about the Minecraft drop set to arrive later this fall.

Ever since Minecraft launched over a decade ago, it has constantly evolved with each passing year, adding more content, features, and functionality to the core experience. In 2024, Mojang, the game’s developers, announced a radical change to bring more frequent updates to Minecraft called ‘drops,’ set to arrive every few months to ensure the game remains fresh.

The current Minecraft update is Chaos Cubed, which was just released in June 2026. The next Minecraft update in the pipeline doesn’t have a name yet, but we got our first look at the 26.3 update during Minecraft Live, showing off the Dappled Forest biome for the first time.

Next Minecraft update release date estimate

The Minecraft 1.26.3 update will likely arrive in September, 2026, but it is yet to be confirmed.

Mojang has been sticking closely to a quarterly schedule for its game content drops, with Minecraft Live airing every six months to coincide with a new drop release.

Minecraft updates, patches, and snapshots rarely have a set launch time, but they usually take place on or around 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT.

Minecraft Chaos Cubed new features

Minecraft 1.26.2, officially titled Chaos Cubed, comes boasting a new cave biome consisting of sulfur caves packed with two new block sets: cinnabar and sulfur. Along with this new biome, we’re introduced to the newest Minecraft mob, the Sulfur Cube.

This bouncy block has a unique feature where it will absorb any nearby block and take on unique properties based on whatever it was. For example, if it absorbs an ice block, the Sulfur Cube will become almost frictionless, capable of sliding for long distances whenever struck.

The Sulfur Cube mobs open up a whole host of possibilities for other activities, with the Minecraft Live video showing us various carnival games, using the Sulfur Cubes as curling stones and bouncing platforms for parkour antics.

Everything arriving in Minecraft 26.3

When the season turns to fall, we’ll be closer to the Minecraft 26.3 update, which is set to include a new forest biome: Dappled Forest. We got our first glimpse of the colorful forest at Minecraft Live in May 2026, showing off the new poplar tree with its autumnal leaves descending slowly in the wind.

The poplar blocks feature a grayish hue, a color that the developers say matches well with both stone and the pale oak wood set. Decorating the area are red shrubs, fallen logs, and mushrooms scattered across the ground. The red shrubs are unique in that they aren’t tinted by the biome you’re in, meaning you can place these anywhere and they will always maintain their red vibrancy.

We’re also getting a new structure known as the Abandoned Camp. These new structures come equipped with a chest, a fire, and cover to protect you from the dangers lurking in the outside world. The roof is made from wool stairs, a new addition to the game that can be dyed any color, alongside wool slabs, which fans have been desperate for.

You’ll be able to see the Dappled Forest for yourself later this summer when it hits the latest Minecraft snapshots. Based on the previous Minecraft drop dates, we believe this update should be live sometime between September and October.

Previous Minecraft drop dates

The dates of previous Minecraft drops are as follows:

• Chaos Cubed – Tuesday, June 16, 2026
• Tiny Takeover – Wednesday, March 25, 2026
• Mounts of Mayhem – Tuesday, December 9, 2025
• The Copper Age – Tuesday, September 30, 2025
• Lava Chicken – Monday, June 30, 2025
• Chase the Skies – Tuesday, June 17, 2025
• Spring to Life – Tuesday, March 25, 2025
• The Garden Awakens – Tuesday, December 3, 2024
• Bundles of Bravery – Tuesday, October 22, 2024
• Armored Paws – Tuesday, April 23, 2024
• Bats and Decorated Pots – Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Now that you’re prepared for the Chaos Cubed, you can enjoy your time with the most recent drop while you wait for the next Minecraft update to arrive. If you’re looking for an altogether new experience in the survival game, we highly recommend checking out some of the best Minecraft mods around.

Original article by Danielle Rose.

Control Resonant might be a new direction for the studio, but it still feels like a Remedy game at heart

I’m lost in a maze of apartments, room after room stretching out in all directions – suspended high in the air, yet somehow hundreds of feet under the streets of Manhattan. An unfortunate resident named Anne floats high above me, twisted into a reality-warping threat by the malicious Hiss. I’m playing Control Resonant, and unlike in its predecessor, I can’t rely on guns here – so instead I leap up to the ceiling and flip gravity on its head, bringing Hiss-Anne within reach of my dual-wielded blades. Remedy might be stepping outside its comfort zone for this sequel, but from minute one it’s unmistakably still Control, and that’s all I needed to know.

Having spent three hours experimenting with the core mechanics and combat systems of Control Resonant, my biggest takeaway is that this is a new Control game that branches out into a melee-first action RPG, rather than a stylish slasher that’s been draped in a Remedy coating. That might seem like a small distinction, but it’s a tremendously important one; Remedy’s games all have an unmistakable flavor to them, and any concerns that might have been lost with this gameplay shift away from the staples the studio is known for are quickly washed away.

During my preview time, I also had the opportunity to speak with Lead Gameplay Designer Sergey Mohov, who was previously a Senior Gameplay Designer on the original Control. He tells me those big, dramatic shifts – from prior protagonist Jesse Faden to her brother Dylan, from ranged to melee combat, and from the brilliantly bizarre Oldest House out onto the streets of Manhattan – were all part of Control Resonant’s first pitch.

“The first game is Jesse, who is an outsider coming into the FBC, and the player discovering what’s going on beyond the veil – it’s this Alice in Wonderland sort of story,” Mohov tells me. “Now everybody knows what’s going on in there.” Control Resonant inverts that setup, instead pushing you out into the world as Dylan, who has spent basically his entire life trapped inside the FBC headquarters and has no real understanding of what the ‘real world’ is.

Mohov remarks that one benefit of this is being able to show what the FBC actually looks like when it moves into action. “How do they contain something of this magnitude? How do they go out and deal with Altered World Events? How do they try to cover things up?” I would have been quite content for a Control sequel to play things safe – the first installment is my favorite of Remedy’s entire catalog – but after this initial glimpse, I’ve realized that, yes, this new perspective is actually the correct way to handle a second game.

Taking control of Dylan also gives Remedy an excuse to present information to players without assuming knowledge of the first game, or of other closely connected Remedy stories like Alan Wake 2. This works in both directions – one of your first points of contact is an FBC special agent called Zoe de Vera, and while she comes across as very competent, it’s immediately clear that she doesn’t know what’s been going on inside the Oldest House for potentially several years.

“The philosophy of it is that it should enrich your experience if you do know these things, but you should also be able to just come in fresh and discover things on your own,” Mohov remarks. “To play Control Resonance, I don’t think you need to play Control – you can just be a completely new player, and this game serves as a really good introduction to this world.”

One element of the original I will certainly miss are the Objects of Power that defined key points in Jesse’s story. They’re not completely absent, but Mohov tells me the focus is now instead on ‘People of Power’ – and rather than binding them as Jesse did, Dylan is actually putting a stop to these monsters, and gathering his abilities that way. The good news is that the enemy variety here is far greater, and there are some spectacular designs, such as the floating bus filled with passengers clawing at you from the windows.

Between experiencing the opening and closing missions of my demo, I’m let loose in a wide section of the map, with most of the side activities stripped out, to experiment with the combat and traversal. Mohov notes that, while the team has certainly played many action RPGs over the years, it never set out to make ‘game X with a twist.’ The result, as I mentioned earlier, feels unmistakably like a melee-driven Control, much more so than an adaptation of any familiar genre staples such as Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mohov reveals that Remedy came close to including a melee form for the Service Weapon in Control, but decided “it would be too different of a game.” Now, it has put all of its effort into that design to ensure it shines to its fullest. “We had to figure out: ‘What does it mean to make a Control game?'” The answer, he says, is “Dynamic interplay between weapons and supernatural abilities, and that you are aggressive and constantly on the move – offense is the best defense.”

That mantra was certainly true in the first game, and it’s even more so here. The enemy count in most encounters is high, and the smaller fodder creatures will keep respawning until you’ve cleared out the bigger threats. You have to be on the front foot, and Dylan’s abilities are almost universally designed for aggression – even his ‘shield’ is mostly used as a battering ram to dash through enemies. There’s no manual lock-on, but for the most part this was rarely an issue, with targeting surprisingly reliable even when I was in the air, or standing on an altogether different plane from my target.

Heavy weapon attacks and abilities build up a ‘falter’ meter, causing opponents to be staggered once it’s filled. This opens them up to an execution, delivered (even from some range) with a single key tap, and doing this puts Dylan into a ‘bloodlust’ state where he grows stronger and earns more health drops from kills for a short while. The resulting flow actually reminds me most of modern Doom, and that rhythm of perpetual aggression and scoring glory kills to keep your resources topped up. It worked superbly there, and it feels good here.

It’s certainly not perfect – indeed, it can be clunky at times in a similar fashion to the first Control. Dylan’s combination of two jumps, two dashes, a float, and the ability to zip to pre-designated ‘grapple’ points in the environment still aren’t enough to keep some of the platforming and combat from feeling a little awkward. There were multiple moments where I had to take several attempts at a climb, or fell because I mistimed holding the button to hover, but these are issues that should fade away once I’ve had more time to play.

The bumpy platforming is doubly troublesome when using the gravity-shifting ability – it’s limited to specific areas, which should keep the novelty fresh enough to distract from how many times I ended up unsure of where I actually was in the space. “We don’t want you to feel sick from it, we don’t want you to lose your point of reference completely,” Mohov remarks, “but I think it is supposed to be a bit disorienting – otherwise it wouldn’t be very fun.” I think I can get on board with that sentiment.

There’s also no getting around the fact that the open-world sections (Remedy is keen to stress these are limited in size and it’s not a full map), while absolutely gorgeous, simply aren’t as interesting as the stunning and calculated brutalism of the Oldest House. Ultimately, that’s an unavoidable trade-off for stepping outside, but the good news is that many of the story set-pieces will take you into specific, authored environments, and these are where Remedy can work its familiar magic.

My time with Control Resonant concludes with one such mission – riding a drill down into a giant sinkhole. This notable AWE has appeared in the place of an apartment building, and as Dylan descends, he’s met with swirling crowds of floating furniture and that twisted, gravity-defying complex of rooms that I described up top. For as lost as I get, I’ll give the developer credit – it never takes me long to find my way back to the lift, and keep pushing downwards. At the bottom, there’s a little puzzle-platforming to deploy some probes, and a short combat encounter; enjoyable, but unremarkable.

Finally, however, the mission climaxes with an escape sequence. This is peak Remedy – a perfect fusion of audio and visual design – and I’m distraught when the end-of-demo screen tears me away at the last moment. I suspect this section is just an early taste; I highly doubt the team would be so eager to spoil the equivalent of Control’s Ashtray Maze, or Alan Wake 2’s Herald of Darkness scene. If there’s more like this to come, we’re in for a treat.

I ended up really enjoying the act of playing Control, but it isn’t why the game holds such a special place in my heart. I suspect I’ll feel much the same way about Control Resonant. Providing Remedy sticks the landing, it’ll be the mysteries, character work, and set pieces that pull me through its tale – but I came away from my preview feeling rather confident that I’ll have a good time hacking its denizens to pieces along the way too.

Launch a Wheel codes (June 2026)

When you’re out of ways to boost your strength without wearing down your fingers with repeated clicks, it’s time to redeem new Launch a Wheel codes. Typically good for Luck/Power potions, fruits, vegetables, and just about any kind of free egg you can think of, they’re well worth keeping an eye on.

Based on a viral pastime, like most Roblox games these days, Launch a Wheel offers a frankly safer way to experience the thrill of sticking a tire on an engine and using raw horsepower to fling said rubber ring off into the distance. Do they bounce in this game? Nope. Instead, they crater into the ground a little like everyone’s favorite anime underdog, Yamcha. Think of it like a trebuchet, except the distance matters more than the destination.

500k – cocktail potionHere’s the list of Launch a Wheel codes:

• clovercarrot – five Luck Potions and ten Carrots
• applecharge – five Power Potions and ten Apples
• bananabank – five Cash Potions and ten Bananas
• juicyboost – three Cocktail Potions
• Voidspark – a Void Egg
• Voidtwins – two Void Eggs
• clockstorm – five Timeless Eggs
• timetravel – ten Timeless Eggs
• eggclipse – two Void Eggs and five Timeless Eggs
• thankbrew – five Cocktail Potions
• royalspell – a Royal Potion
• voidyy – 2x void eggs
• 500k – cocktail potion
• update3 – two cocktails!
• banana – bananas
• apple – apples
• update1 – three cash potions
• money – 25k cash
• release – two power potion
• lucky – two luck potion
• power – three power potion
• cash – three cash potion
• time – three timeless eggs
• void – void egg

While you wait for a particularly good launch to come crashing back down, please do consider clicking here to follow us on Google, where you’ll find more code guides for the biggest and best Roblox games around.

How do I redeem Launch a Wheel codes?

You can claim codes in Launch a Wheel well before you send your first ring flying by following these steps:

• Boot up Launch a Wheel on Roblox.
• Click the ‘Shop’ icon on the left side of the screen.
• Scroll to the bottom.
• Enter a working code into the text box.
• Click the ‘Redeem’ button.

How do I get more Launch a Wheel codes?

You can find a list of every code for Launch a Wheel on its Discord. To find that, just scroll to the bottom of the game page. If your Roblox account is appropriately age-verified, you’ll spot a link to it there. At that point, click the ‘codes-wheel’ channel, and you’ll see many, many messages with new and old codes ready to test.

Of course, with so many codes scattered about the channel, there’s a good chance you’ll waste your own time redeeming codes that expired weeks ago. That’s why we always suggest letting us take on that dilemma instead. You just focus on redeeming the codes in our own curated list – the one you clicked onto this page to find.

Expired codes

voidyy | 500k | apple | banana | update3 | update2 | void | time | cash | power | lucky | release | money

Now crack those eggs and chug those potions before more Launch a Wheel codes are found in the mountains.

Classic ARPG fans, rejoice – Titan Quest 2’s fourth chapter is here, and it’s the biggest yet

If you enjoy old-school ARPGs and aren’t playing Titan Quest 2 yet, you’re missing out. Grimlore’s sequel to one of the best games like Diablo might still be in early access, but it’s moving at an impressive pace. It offers an experience that stands apart from its peers, whether that be the genre heavy hitters of Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2, or plucky contenders Last Epoch and Torchlight Infinite. Titan Quest 2’s fundamentals, structure, and pacing feel like the classic ARPGs of the ’90s and ’00s, albeit brought to life with gorgeous modern graphics, and its biggest update yet has just arrived.

Titan Quest 2 Chapter 4 drags its tale of Greek mythology into the depths of the Wild Lands, a place “few mortals have dared tread.” Grimlore says this new act is its largest yet, and boasts a huge list of new content to get stuck into: five more of its main ‘fated quests,’ 13 world quests including “four huge featured side quests”, 18 new dungeons, over 20 hidden events and secrets, and more than 20 extra randomized encounters.

To make sure even existing players have progression ahead, it’s raised the level cap by five, and unlocked the fifth and final tier of passive abilities for its mastery classes. The new chapter’s environments lean more into “open-world freedom and exploration,” but remain fully hand-crafted in line with Grimlore’s desire for Titan Quest 2 to be a more traditional, structured ARPG. I’m all for blasting through procedurally generated maps in PoE 2, but I’m glad TQ2 is bringing something different to the table; it’s a style of ARPG I’d hate to lose.

The team has also upgraded the various factions of the world in new ways, with a range of extra enemy types. Among them are three more full-scale bosses (one promised as “a fan-favorite mythological character”), ten mini-bosses, and four ‘hero monsters.’ This last category are essentially unique, named champion variants that bring dedicated abilities into play. I’m particularly curious about “the loathsome Dung Thrower, a Boarman known for one thing and one thing only,” although I might admire him from a safe distance.

Grimlore has continued polishing Titan Quest 2 around the edges, too. This update includes the addition of multiplayer text chat, and the first implementation of a loot filter: “We just wanted to give you something simple to start out with,” the team notes, “it will grow into a much more powerful version with future updates.” There’s also the ability to mark items as ‘junk’ or ‘favorite,’ and an improved UI with new item icons, tooltips, and reworked telegraphs to provide “better information about when an enemy attack will hit.”

Titan Quest 2 Chapter 4 is live now, and the game is 30% off on Steam until Thursday June 25, so expect to pay just $24.49 / £20.65 for your copy if you buy it while the discount lasts. Head here to begin your great Greek adventure.

It might still be in early access, but I would encourage people to give Titan Quest 2 a try if it appeals to you. For one, Grimlore is designing the game to be a complete experience at its full launch rather than a live-service churn of seasonal updates, so any assistance in perfecting what it has to offer by the time it reaches 1.0 will benefit all players. As a bonus, the team has said it will gradually increase the price of entry as more updates are rolled out, so getting in now might even save you a bit of money.

Slay the Spire 2’s creator reveals the inspiration for its most controversial foe: “I was playing too much Deadlock.”

Slay the Spire 2 is full of strange and sinister creatures, and I’m always curious where the ideas for them originated. Mega Crit Co-Founder Casey Yano has provided us with some answers in a new edition of the developer’s ‘Neowsletter’ blog, and he claims its most notoriously balanced threat actually came about after spending too much time with Valve’s Deadlock. My personal favorite reveal, however, is the origins of elegant fairy Ancient Nonupeipe, who has a rather less glamorous claim to fame.

Keeping track of every tiny terror and big, bad beastie in Slay the Spire 2 just got a lot more straightforward, courtesy of the first implementation of the Bestiary in its second major update. Currently, it’s mostly just for art and animations, but Mega Crit has promised that it will be introducing stats and lore. After this latest update from Yano, however, I’m hankering for some juicy behind-the-scenes trivia to be incorporated as well.

At the top of the question list is Doormaker – the boss so awkward to find a balancing sweet spot for that Mega Crit ended up wiping it from the game and starting fresh with newcomer Aeonglass. Yano is asked whether it’s a nod to web serial Worm, by John C. McCrae, but denies this, simply answering, “I was playing too much Deadlock.” I can’t blame anyone who’s been pouring hours into Valve’s latest from having some lingering Doorman trauma, but I didn’t expect it to have manifested in quite this way.

As for Nonoupiepe, Yano’s explanation is one that has me smacking my head: “Her name is an easter egg reference to the NOPE placeholder icon we use for content.” You’ve probably seen this if you played early test builds where relic icons were missing, or tackled some of the roguelike deckbuilder’s daily challenge runs. “When two of these icons line up next to each other (for instance, the relics in the top bar), it reads NONOPEPE.”

Among the rest of the responses, Yano comments that the Ceremonial Beast boss was based on Princess Mononoke’s Forest Spirit, and was initially more “solemn and grotesque” in its concept stages. He adds that it was the first boss designed for Slay the Spire 2, and says he can see why people compare it to Valheim’s Eikthyr. “I’m a big fan of Valheim, actually!”

Yano chimes in on naming as well, explaining that Kaiser Crab was branded thus “because I’m tired of things being ‘Emperor X’ and ‘King Y.’ We have all these wacky words for kings, sultans, etc, and it’s always the bland western one. The world feels small when we use the most accessible titles.” He also responds to concerns about multiplayer matches where several players pick the same character, noting that the team is “messing with a bit of color change stuff” to help you distinguish between one another.

New Valorant map Summit breaks some core FPS rules, forcing you to “adapt on the fly”

We’ve all been avidly watching Valorant‘s social media account over the past few days, lapping up Sage-related easter eggs in an attempt to piece together what the shooter’s new map will look like. We’ve seen clips of a light show at Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie; a photo collage spelling out the word ‘Summit’ appeared at Valorant Masters London. Now, we’ve got our first look at the next addition to the FPS game’s ever-expanding map roster: Summit, a training ground and meditation center hybrid, nestled amid the stars.

Located high in the mountains of China, Summit is one part meditation facility, one part world-renowned Radiant training ground. Formerly the site of the monastery that Sage studied in before she joined Valorant, it’s a stunning mashup of traditional Asian aesthetics and the brutalist, grungy designs that the game is known for. It really is a feast for the eyes.

On the dev side, however, Game Designer Diego Varona tells me that there was one main focus: “What if a map could change permanently during a round?” Summit has two plant sites and three lanes, which, on paper, sounds like the usual fare. Where it diverges, however, is with closable doors (triggered by shootable switches). These don’t operate like Lotus: when they’re shut, they’re shut, permanently altering the terrain and cutting off once-viable sightlines and retake paths. “You can’t shoot the wall down, you can’t raise it back up,” Varona stresses. “The map is technically changed until the end of the round.”

You may have the perfect Operator setup, then, which gets binned as the walls begin to move. Your climactic Chamber Tour de Force is reduced to ruins, your attack routes cut off. “How do we force players to adapt on the fly? ‘Hey, you have an Op? Your Op’s no good anymore because your angle’s gone – it’s never going to come back.'” Varona says with a cheeky smile. I sense that he’s shut down many an Op play during testing.

This gives Summit a more skirmish-heavy feel. Varona tells me that the map itself is a little smaller than more recent locations like Corrode and Abyss. “We definitely wanted some tight spaces,” he recalls. “I think a lot of our maps are starting to get a lot bigger, which isn’t a bad thing – I think big maps are fine. We just don’t want to do so many of them back-to-back.

“I wanted to be more intentional with close-to-medium range,” he continues. “There are some long-range engagements; when the doors are open, that’s all the long-range engagements on the map. But other than that, when the doors are closed, it’s a lot more medium-to-close range.” He highlights that characters like Omen, Iso, and “Agents who like to skirmish a bit” will be the real winners here, with “fights on this map being very fast.”

Beyond the sightlines, however, Summit also features curved walls in its meditation center area – “it doesn’t make sense to have really sharp edges in a meditation garden, right?” he says. Anyone who plays Valorant, Counter-Strike, or tactical shooters in general, however, is probably quivering: corners are king. In that sense, Summit is unique; it’s breaking a few rules in the same way the likes of Breeze did, but on a larger scale. I ask Varona how the team has designed the walls to ensure they remain competitive, while upholding the general, flowing aesthetic that’s so prominent in Eastern architecture.

“In Valorant, corners are sacred, obviously. Combat corners are sacred, and those have to be 90 degrees. There are times obviously, if you think of Breeze B, where it’s big and circular, we plan around that: ‘okay, we know the cover here is a bit non-traditional because it’s circular: it’s fine, we’ll work around that and our players will get used to that. But when it’s every single corner, it gets a little bit weird because it feels like you can’t peek properly.

“So we want to make sure that the combat corners you’re fighting on are still 90 degrees and still tactical shooter, but everything else is okay. If this is just a normal corner that you would sit in, can we make that curved? How much wiggle room do we have? We found that, when I was putting in the curved corners and curved walls, we actually have a decent amount of leeway to do stuff like that.”

Summit will be added to Valorant’s map pool on Wednesday, June 24, and is available as part of the competitive roster from launch. For the first two weeks, players will lose 50% less RR for every loss on Summit, but will earn the full 100% on a win. There’ll be a dedicated Summit Only queue, too.

Retake – the 3v3, post-Spike plant mode – will drop at the same time, tasking one team with defending while the other attempts to retake. Loadouts are fully randomized, and you’ll constantly be switching sides, keeping you on your toes. Finally, there are the new Blackspyre skins, as well as a fresh Battle Pass.

Having seen all of the hype around Summit at VCT Masters London, I’m really excited to dive in myself – even if those curved walls and permanent structural changes sound like they’re going to test my non-existent mettle. If nothing else, I can happily take in the sights and chill; Summit is gorgeous, after all, so maybe I’ll find some zen amid the chaos.

Escape From Tarkov is adding ready stances, as Battlestate pushes for even more immersion

Escape From Tarkov felt special because it embraced a more punishing realism at a time where the predominant trend in FPS games was towards faster, more arcade-like action. More recently, we’ve seen the likes of Gray Zone Warfare and Road to Vostok lean in that direction, yet Battlestate Games continues to push its own design forward. In a new developer diary, Tarkov Technical 3D Animator Mikhail Ivanov fields community questions, revealing one much-requested addition in the works as he talks about how the team is elevating that sense of realism even higher.

A feature that’s long been absent from Escape From Tarkov – one it seemed might be introduced several years ago, but never materialized – is CQB gun stances. Specifically, this refers to the ability to shift between High Ready, where your weapon is raised and held close so you’re prepared to fire instantly, and Low Ready, where you hold the gun with a proper grip but keep it more relaxed to conserve your stamina and avoid muscle fatigue, at the cost of a delayed reaction should a response be needed.

What we have now in Tarkov is essentially a High Ready stance, but given that it’s a shooter built around stretches of downtime, having the option to trade off some of your responsiveness to adopt a stamina-saving posture would be welcome. The feature is even found in Roblox tactical shooter TTK, which went viral this week, so I’m pleased to hear Ivanov confirm that it is indeed on the cards. “Yes, we’re planning to add that in the future,” he says. “It’ll add immersion for players themselves, and make bots feel more human and believable.”

As an animator, Ivanov naturally has plenty to say about how Tarkov’s weapons’ look and feel, and one question he fields is about updated animations and reworked modding for the AK platform, arguably the most iconic weapon set in the game. “The AK animations, as well as the modding overall, are already finished,” he remarks. “You’ll be able to nicely combine handguards and gas tube covers. You’ll even be able to operate the weapon without a gas tube cover if you want. The trigger groups got a visual upgrade.”

Unfortunately, Battlestate has run into some implementation issues, due to the huge number of AK presets in the game and a change to the weapon skeleton. “Implementing everything properly without negatively affecting any players is something we really need to work hard on,” Ivanov explains, “But we believe we’ll be able to get the Kalash into one of the major upcoming patches.” He adds that other weapon models are also getting a full animation overhaul: “The Mosin rifle is next in line, we’ll make it feel nicer.”

Ivanov is also asked about mag loading animations. He says these are “heavily in development,” but notes that it’s a challenging process due to the sheer number of different magazines in Tarkov. “We’ve got tons of them in the game, and some of them have unusual shapes, like drum magazines or the P90 magazine, for example. That’s the main challenge right now, fitting all of that together properly. We believe that this year we’ll be able to roll out some beautiful loading animations for you.”

Looking ahead, Battlestate has delivered an updated Escape From Tarkov roadmap for the coming months. July is set to kick off with a ‘Blackout’ event before the arrival of Tarkov Season 1. This will bring a task rework, group-shared kill objectives, rebalancing to hideout progression and the insurance system, and improved enemy AI. You can also expect some new weapons, gear, and PMC customization, along with additional assistance for beginners.

Moving into the third quarter of 2026, Battlestate is looking to implement ranked leagues, a Lighthouse rework, and those aforementioned mag loading animations. It’s also considering a “simplified GPS system,” new invite-a-friend incentives, trader reputation changes, containers with gear presets, and the ability to skip Prestige requirements “for a large in-game fee.” Alongside that will be the move to Unity 6 and implementation of FSR 4.0.

In closing, Ivanov stresses that while realism remains fundamental to Tarkov, the team at Battlestate makes sure to incorporate “a bit of theatrical flair” to its animations, in pursuit of making weapons feel as satisfying as possible to use. I’m certainly eager to watch what Season 1 brings to Tarkov; it needs a bit of a shakeup to recapture the spark of those early days, and Battlestate’s long list of changes might be just the thing.

Ark Genesis Ascended and the Tides of Fortune DLC have been delayed for “a smoother launch”

There’s a running joke among Ark: Survival Ascended players that the first date given for any new DLC is never the final one. While I would always caution against universal truth, Studio Wildcard has just confirmed that the free Ark: Genesis Ascended expansion and its accompanying Tides of Fortune DLC have been delayed into July. Previously scheduled to arrive this coming week on Thursday June 25, they’ve now been nudged back by seven days “to ensure a smoother launch for everyone.”

The new pair of add-ons pack in plenty to look forward to. Genesis Ascended Part One is the first half of the Evolved DLC of the same name, remade as a free expansion for Ark: Survival Ascended. It will introduce a cluster of new creatures and biome-specific variants of existing ones, spread across five distinct mini-maps. These include cosmic whale the Astrocetus, vicious underwater predator the Bloodstalker, and even the Kraken – sorry, Palaeoctopus.

Tides of Fortune, meanwhile, is a pirate-themed adventure that essentially wraps the short-lived 2018 survival game Atlas into Ark. Developed by Studio Wildcard’s sister team Grapeshot Games, Atlas never escaped the shadow of its older sibling, and was eventually left to sail out into the horizon. However, the expertise gained there has since been brought back across to Ark: Survival Ascended for this new, boat-building naval escapade.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait another week to get our hands on the pair. “We’re incredibly excited to get Ark: Genesis Ascended Part 1 and Ark: Tides of Fortune into your hands, with all of the new features and gameplay systems that they add,” Studio Wildcard writes. “To ensure the experience is where we want it to be across all platforms, we need a few extra days to complete final certification and apply the finishing touches ahead of launch.”

This isn’t the first time the launch window has moved – Genesis Part One was originally loosely pinned for February 2025 back in the original Survival Ascended roadmap – although given that we just recently got a concrete date, I was quietly hoping this one would stick. “The team has been hard at work bringing these expansions to life, and this additional time will allow us to ensure a smoother launch for everyone,” Studio Wildcard explains. “We know you’re eager to set sail, and we truly appreciate your patience and support as we navigate the final stretch.”

The new Ark Genesis Ascended release date is Thursday July 2, and Bob’s True Tales: Tides of Fortune will release on the same day. I’m always in favor of games taking the extra time needed to ensure a release lands smoothly, although it can certainly feel frustrating if you’d already made plans for launch. Hopefully this delay will at least iron out any major teething problems.

League of Legends patch 26.13 is finally dealing with its Senna problem

Of all of League of Legends‘ 170+ champions, few have caused as many balancing headaches as Senna. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen The Redeemer rise and fall from prominence over the years, and her passive, Absolution, must be one of the MOBA’s most-tweaked at this point. Well, Senna’s turned into a soloq monster once again, and Riot Games is coming in with some hefty nerfs in League’s latest patch.

“Senna is the big winner of the Season 2 changes,” League of Legends’ Lead Gameplay Designer Matt Leung-Harrison notes on X. “[She’s] synergizing well with Doran’s Helm (gets a lot of effective health from her Q heal synergizing with the resists) as well as getting a lot of stats from Jack of All Trades. She also synergizes well with Stattik Shiv on-hit, and we’ve made the decision to not support this interaction (Q CD reduction on-hit), even though it is pretty cool.”

Basically, Senna is too tanky for how much damage she’s able to pump out. Alongside the removal of the Stattik Shiv interaction, Senna’s soul drop rate for minions and monsters she kills has been cut in half, down to 5% from 10%. Conversely, the spawn rate on creatures she doesn’t last hit has been upped from 28% to 32%. Compounded with the incoming nerf to her crit damage ratio, which impacts her scaling, alongside the slight reworking of Doran’s Helm’s stats, Senna’s about to lose a fair amount of juice at all stages of the game.

Riot has historically struggled to balance Senna’s duality as both an ADC and a support, and these changes could push her back to being played as the latter. Considering Senna currently rocks a massive 54% win-rate and an 18.8% pick rate in Emerald and above – the highest in their respective categories according to U.GG – it’s probably for the best. I’m personally sick to death of playing against her most games, but I’m a Rell savant so the distaste tracks.

Elsewhere in League of Legends 26.13, Phroxzon says the team is aiming to make “some of the fringe picks a little more viable” heading into MSI. Aphelios, Kindred, LeBlanc, and Qiyana are all set to benefit from buffs – Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok LeBlanc, anyone? On the other side of the coin, Bard’s Meep damage has finally been curtailed, making it a big day for anyone who has personally been impacted by The Wandering Caretaker near-soloing them with Dead Man’s Plate. The likes of Brand, Cassiopeia, and even Rek’Sai have failed to avoid the nerfhammer this time around.

The final thing of note is that Imperial Mandate’s getting another buff, following its rework on 26.11. While its flat AP is down, it now provides even more Ability Haste on immobilizing abilities, and champions made vulnerable now take an extra 1% damage. On paper, it doesn’t look like much, but considering just how much haste it gives to champs with immobilization tools in their kits, especially midlaners like Galio, Twisted Fate and Lissandra who it’s already seeing play on, I can see it becoming a problem in the near future.

LoL patch 26.13 is set to arrive next Wednesday, June 24. So make sure you soak up as much Senna LP as possible before she ends up back in support purgatory. Also, Bard players, tell your Meeps you love them.

Dead by Daylight hits new all-time peak player count, proving live service isn’t dead

Dead by Daylight is a game developer’s dream (or nightmare) come true. Akin to Warframe, it launched to somewhat lukewarm reviews, but has continued to expand as the years have gone on, cementing itself as perhaps the premier multiplayer horror experience on both PC and console. Myriad DBD-likes have popped up in its wake, but none of them have quite had the staying power despite their strong IP licenses and gory throwbacks. Ten years on, DBD is very much here to stay, and the launch of Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees proves it.

Jason’s late addition to the DBD Killer roster is, perhaps surprising – we’ve already got horror staples like Freddy Kreuger and Michael Myers. Players have been asking for him for some time, and his debut has been nothing short of jaw-dropping. While Dead by Daylight’s player count was already on the rise following a stacked tenth anniversary showcase, it’s exploded overnight, shattering expectations and, by proxy, in-house records.

Per SteamDB, the horror game has reached its highest concurrent player count ever, with over 125,820 players logging in on Valve’s platform last night. That’s not the only record it’s beaten, though, as over 250k players haven taken to The Fog across all platforms. Likely a combination of Jason’s release, a free week (which runs until Monday, June 22), and a deep 60% discount, it’s been an absolutely amazing week for Behaviour Interactive, and I can honestly say I’m beyond excited for them.

“There’s no better way to celebrate ten years in The Fog than with a new record!” writes the official DBD X account. “Dead by Daylight has now surpassed its highest concurrent player count across all platforms, with over 250K players! Thank you for stepping into The Fog. We can’t wait to continue the celebrations with the release of Shane Wiigwaas and our tenth Anniversary in-game Event on June 25.”

Dead by Daylight’s Jason chapter is live now, and is available for $4.99 / £4.29, or as part of the game’s Jason Edition, which includes the DLC and DBD. That’s priced at $11.68 / £10.04 as part of Dead by Daylight’s wider 60% off sale, that lasts until Thursday June 25. You can pick it up here.

The future of Dead by Daylight is genuinely exciting. There’s the huge, ground-up overhaul that fully reworks character animations (I can’t wait to see The Trickster in 4k), map visuals, and ambient audio. Behaviour is also opening Dead by Daylight up to modding, while backfilling Survivor voiceover and collaborating with even more iconic IPs. I rarely find myself getting excited over multiplayer games these days, but Dead by Daylight is the sole exception.

More generally, however, I’m just excited to see a little bit of celebration. Gaming has felt a little doom and gloom these days – especially the live service sphere – so to see something doing well really does make me smile. I’m excited for the next ten years of DBD; I want more K-pop songs and jump scares.