Slay the Spire 2 is a bit too familiar for its own good
Early Access impressions: New characters shine, but it feels like we’ve done this before.
Kyle Orland
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45
Gaming // Gaming & Entertainment
Microsoft is working to eliminate PC gaming’s “compiling shaders” wait times
Advanced Shader Delivery uses precompiled shaders for “console-like load times” across PC hardware.
Kyle Orland
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60
Valve compares its loot boxes to Labubus in lawsuit defense
Steam maker says settling the case would be easier but would set a bad precedent.
Kyle Orland
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132
Remembering the 30-year-old computer game that introduced me to Star Wars
Looking back at Dash Rendar, 3DFX cards, and a pivotal moment for Star Wars.
Samuel Axon
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79
Google Play Games for PC is getting more premium titles and cross-buy with Android
Google is more focused on desktop gaming than ever before.
Ryan Whitwam
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32
Windows 11’s Steam Deck-ish, streamlined Xbox gaming UI comes to all PCs in April
Running Windows on gaming handhelds is currently a blessing and a curse.
Andrew Cunningham
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54
Don’t worry, Valve still plans to launch the Steam Machine “this year”
What part of “this year,” exactly, is still anyone’s guess.
Kyle Orland
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120
“It doesn’t feel safe”—Many international game developers plan to skip GDC in US
Stories of border issues lead to pervasive travel fears across the worldwide industry.
Kyle Orland
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542
Most Read
Which of these two arcades is the “world largest”—and does it matter?
While semantics count for some, gamers win either way.
Tim Stevens
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84
MS exec: Microsoft’s next console will play “Xbox and PC games”
Project Helix is set to open the closed-console ecosystem, but the details will matter.
Kyle Orland
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150
After a rocky six years, Sony cancels future single-player PC game releases
Titles like Ghost of Yotei will remain exclusive to Sony’s hardware.
Samuel Axon
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183
How strong is New York’s “illegal gambling” case against Valve’s loot boxes?
Lawyers tell Ars the state has a tough road ahead, even as Valve is uniquely vulnerable.
Kyle Orland
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183
New York sues Valve for enabling “illegal gambling” with loot boxes
The ability to resell Steam items for real value is key to the state’s case.
Kyle Orland
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210
Inside the quixotic team trying to build an entire world in a 20-year-old game
Stories and lessons learned from an impossibly large community modding project.
Daniel Larlham, Jr.
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107
New Microsoft gaming chief has “no tolerance for bad AI”
But Asha Sharma faces scrutiny for lack of gaming experience.
Kyle Orland
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270
Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer steps down after 38 years with company
Microsoft CoreAI exec Asha Sharma will take over in surprise executive shake-up.
Kyle Orland
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232
Meta’s flagship metaverse service leaves VR behind
The company asserts it will continue to make VR headsets, though.
Samuel Axon
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108
Why Final Fantasy is now targeting PC as its “lead platform”
Director says PC is the “foundation” when targeting “high-end environments first.”
Kyle Orland
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62
Nintendo brings GBA-era Pokémon to the Switch, but not Switch Online subscribers
Games appear to be mostly unmodified ports of the well-regarded remakes.
Andrew Cunningham
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50
Diablo II’s new Warlock is a great excuse to revisit a classic game
New skill tree paths offer a fun twist on some generally familiar mechanics.
Kyle Orland
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42
GameHub will give Mac owners another imperfect way to play Windows games
GameHub’s existing Windows emulator on Android has its fair share of issues.
Kyle Orland
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69
RAM shortage hits Valve’s four-year-old Steam Deck, now available “intermittently”
Forget launching new stuff—Valve is even having problems with existing hardware.
Andrew Cunningham
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88
Party like it’s 2001: Diablo II gets a new expansion, new playable class
Alongside new endgame content, Blizzard says the Warlock is coming to other Diablo games soon.
Kyle Orland
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67
Just look at Ayaneo’s absolute unit of a Windows gaming “handheld”
The Ayaneo Next II pushes past 3 pounds, is 13 inches wide, and costs up to $4,300.
Kyle Orland
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120
No humans allowed: This new space-based MMO is designed exclusively for AI agents
SpaceMolt envisions a world where AI plays with itself and the humans just watch.
Kyle Orland
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153
Why $700 could be a “death sentence” for the Steam Machine
Analysts expect Valve might be hit particularly hard by soaring RAM, storage prices.
Kyle Orland
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186
The Switch 2 is getting a new Virtual Console (kind of)
Hamster Corp.’s new “Console Archives” does what Nintendon’t.
Kyle Orland
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43
Steam Machine and Steam Frame delays are the latest product of the RAM crisis
Valve says it still hopes to ship both devices “in the first half of the year.”
Andrew Cunningham
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149
Nintendo Switch is the second-bestselling game console ever, behind only the PS2
Switch 2 has already beaten the Wii U and is on its way to overtaking GameCube.
Andrew Cunningham
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96
Wing Commander III: “Isn’t that the guy from Star Wars?”
C:\ArsGames looks at a vanguard of the multimedia FMV future that never quite came to pass.
Lee Hutchinson
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126
Looking back at Catacomb 3D, the game that led to Wolfenstein 3D
Romero, Carmack, and colleagues discuss an oft-forgotten piece of PC gaming history.
Kyle Orland
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54
Why Civilization VII is the way it is, and how its devs plan to win critics back
Firaxis’ Ed Beach and Dennis Shirk talk major overhauls in “Test of Time” update.
Samuel Axon
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119
Here’s what Cities: Skylines 2’s new developer is updating first
Visual upgrades include new UI, realistic snow cover, better lighting.
Kyle Orland
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53
Why reviving the shuttered Anthem is turning out tougher than expected
Despite proof-of-concept video, EA’s Frostbite Engine servers are difficult to pick apart.
Kyle Orland
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29
Ryzen 9850X3D review: AMD’s bragging-rights gaming CPU gets more to brag about
The tradeoffs in the $499 9850X3D make it hard to get excited about.
Andrew Cunningham
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67
How to get Doom running on a pair of earbuds
No display? No problem for the UART-to-web-server “Doombuds” project.
Kyle Orland
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53