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AppWizard

May 16, 2026

Final Fantasy 14 is promising big changes with Evercold, but I hope it’s not a surface-level attempt

Naoki Yoshida's keynote at the North American Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival announced significant changes for the game, particularly with the upcoming expansion, Evercold. The Creative Studio 3 team plans to implement a new combat system to enhance job individuality and skill expression, along with adjustments to the gearing system for better accessibility during raids. They aim to reduce the emphasis on daily tasks to allow players to pursue objectives at their own pace. Despite these promising developments, players remain cautiously optimistic due to the studio's past reluctance to make changes. There is a desire for a more dynamic environment and improved methods of implementation to revitalize the game without losing its core identity.

AppWizard

May 16, 2026

Subnautica 2 sells two million copies in less than 24 hours

Subnautica 2 features a four-player co-op mode and achieved two million sales within 12 hours of its launch. The game entered early access on May 14 and peaked at over 651,000 simultaneous players across platforms, with Steam recording 467,582 players. More than one million players engaged with the game within an hour of launch, and 93% of reviews have been positive. Players are enjoying the experience, with positive feedback highlighting its visual appeal and content.

AppWizard

May 16, 2026

Controversial racer Lego 2K Drive is getting delisted soon, with its servers set to be shutdown in 2027

Lego 2K Drive is set to be delisted on May 19, 2026, three years after its launch. The multiplayer features will become inactive on May 31, 2027, due to the expiration of vehicle licenses and possibly insufficient revenue. The game will still allow single-player access after the shutdown. The game was well-received for its open-world racing and vehicle customization but faced criticism for its monetization strategy.

AppWizard

May 16, 2026

How Poppy Playtime made ‘free game, paid DLC’ work on PC

GameDiscoverCo held its annual offsite gathering, discussing various industry developments. Footprints.gg reported significant buzz for Forza Horizon 6 ahead of its launch, with GTA 6 also trending due to trailer speculation. Xbox plans include Project Saluki, a new Game Pass tier for the Chinese market, and Positron, potentially introducing a disc-to-digital entitlement program. Steam's bundle discounting interface has sparked discussions about pricing strategies. The PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for May includes Star Wars Outlaws and Red Dead Redemption 2. Roblox is experiencing shifts in user-generated content rights and cost models. The Source 2-powered s&box has launched on Steam, but interest is waning. Hushcrasher's analysis indicates rising game production costs are due to project scope rather than base costs. Concurrent user metrics suggest week one sales can reach 20 times peak concurrent users. Poppy Playtime, a horror puzzle game, has expanded from a free title to four paid chapters, with Huggy Wuggy becoming a popular character. Mob Entertainment, founded by brothers with a background in 3D animation, has seen Poppy Playtime Chapter 5 sell 408,000 copies on Steam and 19,000 on Epic Games Store. The free base game has 2.76 million downloads on Steam since the chapter's release. The franchise's revenue from four DLCs exceeds a million on Steam, with potential total revenue approaching 100 million when including console and mobile sales. The development team employs a parallel strategy for annual chapter releases, with varying DLC structures across platforms. The pricing of DLC has increased over time, reflecting greater ambition in production. Game director Bryce Clark emphasizes balancing puzzles and chase sequences to enhance player experience.

AppWizard

May 16, 2026

Overwatch’s lackluster 10th anniversary event will have its rewards improved next week, with more free stuff planned for later this year

Players expressed disappointment with Overwatch's 10th anniversary event, which featured loot boxes primarily containing recolored skins and a few sprays, falling short of expectations for a significant milestone. Historically, previous anniversary events included a wider selection of items, leading players to hope for a similar experience this time. The Chinese version of the event offered exclusive skins from past seasonal battle passes, further highlighting the disparity. Blizzard's Keller acknowledged player feedback and announced upcoming improvements to the reward system, including a new event with more rewards and additional free cosmetics later in the year. While initial reactions to these announcements were mostly positive, some players remained dissatisfied, advocating for more premium skins. The community's sentiment indicated that a more substantial array of cosmetics would have better honored the game's decade-long impact.

Winsage

May 15, 2026

Improving Windows quality: Making Taskbar and Start more personal

Microsoft is enhancing the Windows experience by focusing on performance, reliability, and craftsmanship, with a commitment to transparency about updates. The Start menu and taskbar are receiving particular attention, with new customization options being introduced for users in the Experimental channel. Users can now reposition the taskbar to any edge of the screen, customize icon alignment, and view every window at a glance with ungrouped icons. A more compact taskbar option will also be available for smaller screens. The Start menu will feature section-level toggles for easier customization, separate controls for file recommendations, size settings, and the option to hide user names for privacy. The Recommended section will be renamed Recent to better reflect its purpose. These features will be gradually rolled out, with user feedback being encouraged through the Feedback Hub.

AppWizard

May 15, 2026

Valve’s massive update to the Steam marketplace must be working, because a gun I had listed on there for years just sold for a cool 40 bucks

Valve has released a significant update to the Steam Community Market, currently in beta and available to all Steam users with an opt-out option. The update enhances the user experience for purchasing virtual items, particularly in Counter-Strike, and includes improvements such as larger item listings with more images and detailed descriptions, automatically generated images for Counter-Strike items, and a streamlined purchasing process. Valve has created over 27 million unique images for Counter-Strike listings, allowing for better item comparison and visibility. The update also introduces quality-of-life improvements like automatic loading of listings, advanced search options, breadcrumb navigation, and improved text entry support.

AppWizard

May 15, 2026

Another metaverse is set to die in June

Meta's VR platform, Meta Horizon Worlds, is set to close in June. Hololive's metaverse initiative, Holoearth, will cease operations on June 28. Project lead Ikko Fukuda expressed gratitude to the community and acknowledged challenges in meeting expectations. The team will refund any unused Holocoin or Creator Points, and premium currency sales and user-generated items will be discontinued.

AppWizard

May 15, 2026

I’m tired of everything getting turned into a roguelite, but I’ll make an exception for pinball

Developers are rapidly creating quick-hit games inspired by various mechanics, with 257 new roguelites released on Steam in the past month. One notable title is Pin-Crawl, which introduces a roguelite twist to pinball gameplay, featuring upgrades that create chaotic effects and unique spells for strategic advantages. Although its visuals may not match those of established titles, it offers innovative gameplay mechanics, including stats, bosses, and meta progression. Pin-Crawl aims to deliver quick, engaging sessions, appealing to players' nostalgia for pinball while blending it with roguelite elements.

AppWizard

May 15, 2026

Marathon’s Game Director admits it’s “overwhelming to learn” and too sweaty

Marathon, developed by Bungie, has a specialized appeal that may hinder sustainable growth, as noted by Game Director Joe Ziegler. He described the game's learning curve as "overwhelming" and gameplay as a "hardcore sweat-fiesta," indicating a need for more relaxed options. Since its launch nearly three months ago, the game has fostered a growing core community, with players contributing fan art and lore videos. Key observations from Season 1 include the overwhelming experience for newcomers, the chaotic endgame balance, and the demand for less intense gameplay. For Season 2, two new PvE-focused modes will be introduced, including one that blends PvE with PvP and another emphasizing cooperative gameplay. New features will include the Night Marsh zone, a defensive Runner shell named 'Sentinel,' fresh weapons, and improved customization options. Additional anticipated features are a Duos rotating zone queue, a revamped matchmaking system, and an expansion of Vault size. Bungie is also working on enhancing the onboarding experience and contract system. Season 2 is set to launch on June 2, with more details to be revealed in late May.