AAA titles Archives

AppWizard

October 11, 2026

Two Steam games generated $560,000 across 135,000 sales in five years, but the co-creator only took home $15,000 annually, leaving him driving a 2012 Mazda — high Chinese refund rates, Steam’s 30% fee, and publisher cuts eat most of the profit

Omer Develioğlu, co-founder of Northend Games, reported that his indie titles, Northend Tower Defense and Deepstone Rift (Early Access), generated a gross income of 0,000 from approximately 135,000 units sold on Steam over five years. After expenses and revenue sharing, he and his co-founder received only ,000 to split, resulting in an annual income of about ,000 each. A significant portion of their sales, around 53.3%, came from China. Steam charges a standard fee of 30% on sales, which deducted ,000 from their earnings. Additionally, U.S. withholding taxes reduced their total earnings further, leaving them with ,300.

Winsage

October 8, 2026

Microsoft event debuts new AI-friendly hardware and Windows changes

Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra, featuring the Nvidia RTX Spark SoC, starting at ,599, with configurations including a 5120-core or 6144-core Blackwell GPU and up to 128GB of LPDDR5x unified memory. Pre-orders are open, and shipments begin on October 16. The device is designed for developers and can handle AAA gaming titles without a conventional gaming GPU. Additionally, the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, priced at ,999, is tailored for developers with a custom version of Windows 11, 128GB of unified memory, and an Nvidia RTX GPU, offering one petaflop of AI compute performance.

Winsage

October 6, 2026

Microsoft might bring Windows XP’s 3D Pinball to Windows 11, as Windows boss puts it on the list

Microsoft's Windows chief, Pavan Davuluri, acknowledged a fan's request for the return of 3D Pinball during the Inside Windows podcast. While he noted that 3D Pinball is part of a "matrix for things to think about," he clarified that no team is currently working on reviving the game, nor is it planned for Windows 11. The absence of 3D Pinball is attributed to technical challenges during the transition to 64-bit Windows. The nostalgia for classic Windows games has been highlighted, with a desire to incorporate more engaging features into Windows 11. Microsoft has an upcoming event on October 7, which may present an opportunity for surprises, though there is no indication that 3D Pinball will be featured.

AppWizard

October 5, 2026

Kingdom Come Maker Hopes GTA 6 Lifts Game Prices

Martin Klima, co-founder of Warhorse Studios, argues that the video game industry has undervalued its products and that a price increase is necessary for the survival of mid-sized developers. He highlights that production costs for high-quality RPGs and open-world games have risen significantly, while retail prices have remained stagnant. Rockstar Games is set to launch Grand Theft Auto VI at .99 for the standard edition and .99 for the Ultimate Edition, which is being observed as a potential benchmark for future game pricing. Klima believes that if GTA VI's pricing is successful, it could encourage other developers to raise their prices as well. He notes that adjusted for inflation, games today cost less than they did in the 1990s. The last significant price increase in the industry occurred in 2020, when the standard price rose from .99 to .99. Analysts suggest that franchises like Call of Duty, NBA 2K, and EA Sports FC may follow suit if GTA VI performs well commercially.

AppWizard

September 22, 2026

Googlebook pre-orders begin: prices, Android sync, and more is here

Google has started pre-orders for its new Googlebooks as of September 21, with a market release scheduled for October 4. The devices, produced by brands like ASUS, Dell, and HP, start at 9 and feature touchscreens, haptic glass trackpads, backlit keyboards, and premium materials. They are powered by Qualcomm and Intel processors, with battery life up to 14 hours. Key features include a Snapdragon X Elite chip with a 12-core CPU, seamless integration with Android phones, and access to major applications. Each purchase includes a year of GeForce NOW. The Googlebook also incorporates AI features like Gemini, which assists users through various functions. Pre-orders are available at Best Buy, the Google Store, and other retailers.

AppWizard

September 11, 2026

Amazon Luna is giving Prime members 12 free games this September, including a major FPS franchise

Amazon Luna's September 2026 free games lineup includes 12 titles: War Hospital, Just Die Already, Drop Duchy, DOOM, DOOM II, Botany Manor, DOOM Eternal (available September 17), Rims Racing (available September 17), Wall World 2 (available September 17), Hue (available September 24), The Da Vinci Cryptex (available September 24), and High on Life (available September 24). Additionally, Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora are currently available for streaming. All downloaded games remain in the user's library indefinitely, even if the Amazon Prime subscription is canceled.

AppWizard

August 16, 2026

I used DeX to turn my Galaxy S25 Ultra into a lightweight gaming PC

PC gaming on Android has significantly improved with the introduction of applications like Winlator and the emergence of GameNative, a refined PC emulator. The custom Turnip GPU drivers for Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite chips have enhanced gaming performance, expanding mobile gaming possibilities. Testing with a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, various PC games were explored using GameNative, which supports Steam. Lightweight 2D games ran smoothly, while 3D titles from the late 2000s to early 2010s, like Crysis and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, performed well, though some games encountered issues. The Witcher 3 was playable with frame rate adjustments, and Cyberpunk 2077 launched but was largely unplayable due to low frame rates and crashes. The DeX experience on the Galaxy S25 Ultra was mostly positive, with updates improving performance and resolving bugs. Overall, the device can serve as a lightweight gaming PC alternative, allowing for the enjoyment of older PC games on mobile.

AppWizard

August 12, 2026

Budget-friendly RTX 50-series gaming PC sees decent discount at Newegg and comes with two free games

Newegg is offering a budget-friendly RTX 5060 gaming PC for 9 after a 0 discount. The Stormcraft Sirus gaming PC features 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM, an Intel Core i5-14400F CPU with 10 cores and a boost clock speed of 4.6 GHz, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It includes a tower cooler fan and six ARGB fans for cooling, and a 650W 80+ Gold PSU. The deal also comes with complimentary games: Tomb Raider: Legend of Atlantis and Star Wars Galactic Racer. Prices are accurate as of July 10th, 2026.

AppWizard

August 9, 2026

PlayStation 5 emulation has taken a new leap forward, bringing console-based Minecraft to PC.

Developers of PlayStation 5 emulation software have made significant progress in running various 3D games on personal computers, including a version of Minecraft. This advancement is due to architectural similarities between modern consoles and PCs, although major AAA titles still require further system enhancements to be emulated. Sony has decided not to release single-player, high-budget games on PCs, focusing instead on multiplayer titles, which has increased interest in emulation for experiencing single-player games. In contrast, the development of an emulator for the anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to be more challenging and time-consuming due to its dedicated processor, complex graphics API, and lack of a console jailbreak, leading analysts to predict a lengthy emulation process similar to that of Sony's hardware.

AppWizard

August 7, 2026

Roguelike Game with Thousands of Positive Steam Reviews Goes 100% Free on PC Just as Sequel Launch Approaches

Steam is currently offering the action-RPG roguelike game Moonlighter for free from August 5 through August 9, 2026, to celebrate the announcement of its sequel, Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, which will be released on September 2. Moonlighter, originally launched in 2018, has a 100% discount on Steam, allowing users to claim it permanently. The sequel will be available on multiple platforms, including Steam, and will feature new content and challenges.