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Oh no, not another one! Databricks buys Electric
Tech Optimizer
August 18, 2026

Oh no, not another one! Databricks buys Electric

Databricks has acquired Electric, the developer of PGLite and the Electric Sync Engine, to enhance its Postgres capabilities for lakehouse and edge environments. PGLite offers lightweight Postgres instances for low-latency access, while the Electric Sync Engine enables real-time synchronization of distributed state to a central Lakebase. Electric was founded in September 2021 and has raised funding from various investors. Its flagship product, PGLite, has seen a rise in weekly downloads from 1 million to 13 million. Electric also offers open-source products including Electric Agents, Electric Streams, and Electric Sync. Databricks previously acquired Neon in May 2022 to support serverless Postgres solutions. The integration of Electric's technology aims to enhance collaboration and scalability for agentic applications.
The Quake community simply cannot stop delivering, having just released a 22-map 'Deathmatch Jam' to celebrate the shooter's 30th birthday
AppWizard
August 17, 2026

The Quake community simply cannot stop delivering, having just released a 22-map ‘Deathmatch Jam’ to celebrate the shooter’s 30th birthday

The Quake community is celebrating the game's 30th birthday with various map jams, including two 'Quickie' speedmapping jams, a 1024 Jam, and a Limits Jam. The Q30 Deathmatch Jam has produced a map-pack with 22 new arenas designed for classic Quake gameplay, featuring contributions from notable designers like Mazu and Makkon. The new maps are compatible with modern Quake sourceports such as Ironwail, Netquake, and Nightdive's Kex port. Additionally, a new episode titled Dawn of the Machine has been released in collaboration with Machine Games, following their previous release, Dimension of the Machine, from 2021.
Iron Nest is the best 'Battleship' game I've played in years—and it doesn't even have boats
AppWizard
August 16, 2026

Iron Nest is the best ‘Battleship’ game I’ve played in years—and it doesn’t even have boats

Iron Nest is a game set in an alternate-history version of 1920s Spain, where players operate a five-thousand-tonne artillery battery for the Kingdom of Castille. Players must triangulate degrees and distances to fire accurately, using a detailed map table and teleprinter messages to locate enemy positions. The gameplay involves calculating barrel elevation and managing resources to purchase recon plane flyovers and different shell types. The game features procedurally-generated objectives for enhanced replayability and allows players to earn medals for performance. It was developed by a single individual and is noted for its engaging mechanics and tactile tools.
Palworld fans 'do not realize the sheer number of collabs we've rejected' even with the survival game's 'fun-first approach'
AppWizard
August 15, 2026

Palworld fans ‘do not realize the sheer number of collabs we’ve rejected’ even with the survival game’s ‘fun-first approach’

The landscape of gaming collaborations is shifting towards the number of partnerships a game can establish rather than player counts or Metacritic scores. Palworld, a survival game featuring critters with weapons, is selective about its collaborations. John 'Bucky' Buckley, head of publishing and communications for Palworld, stated that coherence in partnerships is crucial, and many potential collaborations have been rejected for not making sense. Successful collaborations include one with Terraria, integrating its creatures and items like the Meowmere, and another with UltraKill, where weapons such as the Marksman Revolver fit well within the game's existing arsenal. This indicates that Pocketpair has a clear vision for enhancing the gaming experience through thoughtful collaboration choices.
You can now play the secret best immersive sim in coop thanks to this mod
AppWizard
August 15, 2026

You can now play the secret best immersive sim in coop thanks to this mod

Immersive simulations like Dishonored and Deus Ex have traditionally focused on solitary experiences, but some games have introduced multiplayer elements. System Shock 2 included a cooperative mode that was revitalized in its recent remaster, and Deathloop featured an invasion mechanic. In a new development, a mod called Prey Coop allows up to 16 players to explore the Talos 1 space station in Arkane's Prey. This mod, created by null234, synchronizes various gameplay elements among players. To use the mod, players must install it and Chairloader, forward the necessary ports, and ensure they have legitimate copies of the game and the same DLL build of the mod. Installation instructions are available for interested players.
Old School RuneScape began when a dev 'found the 2007 server in their desk drawer:' 13 years later, it's setting subscriber records for the long-lived MMO
AppWizard
August 15, 2026

Old School RuneScape began when a dev ‘found the 2007 server in their desk drawer:’ 13 years later, it’s setting subscriber records for the long-lived MMO

In June, Jagex hosted its largest live event, the Deadman All Stars, a PvP tournament for Old School RuneScape (OSRS), outside the UK. Kieren Charles, the creative director of OSRS, noted that the game has grown significantly since its launch, stating, “The game's bigger now than it was in 2007.” OSRS surpassed the original RuneScape's age in 2013 and achieved an all-time high of over one million active subscribers last August. The decision to base OSRS on the 2007 version was influenced by player preference for what they considered the "golden age," despite initial interest in the 2006 version. OSRS is recognized as a pioneering example of officially-supported 'classic' servers, balancing community engagement with official support. Regular updates, including the upcoming Varlamore expansion in 2024, aim to keep the game fresh while maintaining its nostalgic essence. New content is approved through community votes, requiring a minimum of 70% approval. Charles emphasized the importance of community feedback, preferring to reject proposals rather than invest significant development time into unpopular features. He views his role as a caretaker of the OSRS legacy, focusing on what the community wants.
Modding the Khajiit lands into Oblivion is still the cat's meow
AppWizard
August 15, 2026

Modding the Khajiit lands into Oblivion is still the cat’s meow

In Leyawiin, the narrator attempts to steal keys from local merchants while wearing the Grey Fox mask, which marks them as a wanted criminal. They enter Southern Books and are confronted by shopkeeper Bugak gro-Bol. The narrator's Khajiit character is now working for a new guild in the modded territory of Elsweyr, specifically in the area known as Anequina. The mod, created by Iliana and other modders, features diverse NPCs and quests, with a guidebook detailing available locations and tasks. The narrator explores various towns, including Dune, Riverhold, and Corinthe, each with unique architectural styles and quests. They engage in a quest to help a father find his lost child and encounter a highwayman and a dremora genie. The narrator ultimately succeeds in stealing keys from merchants and plans to steal horses next. The mod enhances the Oblivion experience by introducing a vibrant world beyond the original game.
Big Walk review
AppWizard
August 13, 2026

Big Walk review

A new cooperative puzzle game is set to be released on August 4, 2026, priced at £16. It is developed by House House and published by Panic, featuring a vibrant island setting that emphasizes teamwork. The game has been reviewed on a setup with an Intel i7 9700K processor, an RTX 4070 Ti graphics card, and 16GB of RAM, and it is verified for the Steam Deck.
Databricks acquires Electric to give every AI agent its own Postgres database
Tech Optimizer
August 12, 2026

Databricks acquires Electric to give every AI agent its own Postgres database

Databricks has acquired Electric, a startup known for its WASM-based Postgres project, PGlite, and the Electric sync engine. The Electric team will integrate with Neon, a serverless Postgres company acquired by Databricks for approximately billion last year. PGlite is a full Postgres database implemented in WebAssembly, capable of running in various environments and supporting dynamic extension loading, including pgvector. PGlite's weekly downloads increased from 1 million to 13 million over the past year. The Electric sync engine allows near real-time synchronization of a central Postgres database across platforms, similar to collaborative tools like Figma and Google Docs. Electric's founders have assured that all previously open-sourced components will remain accessible, while the hosted service, Electric Cloud, will be phased out. Databricks has noted that agents are now responsible for creating four times more databases than human users on Lakebase, with the average lifespan of a database compute instance being less than 10 seconds. The architecture of Lakebase separates storage from compute, facilitating cost-effective operations. PGlite originated from an experiment by Stas Kelvich, co-founder of Neon, who compiled Postgres to WASM, which Electric later developed into a production project.
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