decline Archives

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

Payday 3 sales dropped off hard in 2024, but Starbreeze has hope for the future

Payday 3's financial performance has significantly declined, with sales dropping to million in the 2024 financial year, compared to million in its inaugural year. In contrast, Payday 2 generated million during the same period. The game's disappointing performance led to the departure of the CEO in early 2024 and the game director in September 2023. A lead producer described the 2023 launch as 'disastrous.' Starbreeze is collaborating with platforms like PUBG and Roblox and is offering Payday 3 for free on PlayStation Plus in February to attract new players. The company is also developing a co-op Dungeons & Dragons game, currently in internal playtesting, which has received positive feedback from potential business partners.

AppWizard

February 21, 2025

10 biggest console-exclusive games that make me wish I wasn’t a PC gamer

PC gaming has a vast library, but exclusivity still attracts gamers. Several acclaimed games remain unavailable on PC due to various reasons. 1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - High odds of being released; originally a PlayStation title, known for its exploration and iconic protagonist. 2. God Hand - Practically none; a 2006 PlayStation 2 exclusive with a unique combat system. 3. Mega Man Legends & Legends 2 - Basically zero; dormant series with a passionate fanbase but poor sales. 4. Silent Hill - Possible, but unlikely; a hallmark of survival horror with no modern platform release yet. 5. Pokémon Conquest - Absolutely not; a Nintendo DS exclusive with ties to Nobunaga's Ambition. 6. The Last Guardian - Not likely, but a chance exists; known for its emotional narrative and visuals. 7. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Nintendo doesn’t have to; successful on the Switch, likely to remain exclusive. 8. Super Mario Party Jamboree - Less than zero; relies on motion controls, making a PC adaptation unlikely. 9. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Higher than you might think, but not great; technical challenges hinder potential releases. 10. Bloodborne - Definitely coming soon (maybe, probably not though); ongoing rumors about a potential PC release.

Tech Optimizer

February 21, 2025

PostgreSQL 18: Part 2 or CommitFest 2024-09

September's CommitFest for version 18 has seen a wealth of accepted patches and new features, including: - Conflict detection and logging in logical replication - Removal of the constant 10000000000 in the planner to improve sequential scan cost assessment - Enhanced memory management and usage monitoring for temporary tuple storage - Asynchronous operations support in pg_upgrade for multiple databases - Speed improvements for Hash Joins - Faster text value processing in JSON - Optimized numeric-type multiplication and division - Introduction of ANALYZE ONLY and VACUUM ONLY commands - Improved checkpointer statistics - Normalization of SET commands in pg_stat_statements - Reporting of remote connection status in postgres_fdw_get_connections - Ignoring format conversion errors in file_fdw - New function has_largeobject_privilege - Functions crc32 and crc32c added - Client-server protocol updates to report search_path changes - Support for named prepared statements in psql - Integrity verification for tar backups in pg_verifybackup

Winsage

February 19, 2025

Valve’s monthly survey reveals that almost 45% of Steam users on PC are still using Windows 10 even with the sword of Damocles hanging over them

As of January 2025, 44.41% of PC users are still operating on Windows 10, which is set to lose support in October 2025. Windows 11, released in 2021, has demanding system requirements that deter users with older hardware from upgrading. Many Steam users on Windows 10 may include internet cafes, where maintaining hardware is challenging. The end of support for Windows 10 means users will no longer receive updates or security patches, increasing risks associated with continued use. Resources are available to assist users in transitioning from Windows 10.

AppWizard

February 18, 2025

CHARTS: Monster Hunter Wilds pre-orders were third highest grossing title on Steam last week

Pre-orders for Monster Hunter Wilds have surged, making it the third best-performing game on Steam for the week ending February 18. The game is set to release on February 28. Counter-Strike 2 is in first place, and Sid Meier's Civilization 7 debuted at second place. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dropped to fourth, while Apex Legends rose to fifth. The Steam Top Ten includes Counter-Strike 2, Sid Meier's Civilization 7, Monster Hunter Wilds, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Apex Legends, Steam Deck, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Marvel Rivals, Avowed, and Warframe.

AppWizard

February 17, 2025

Epic Games Store hits 295m PC users in 2024

The Epic Games Store has over 295 million users on PC, with an increase of 25 million accounts from the previous year. Epic Games reported a total of 898 million cross-platform accounts, a rise of 94 million year-on-year. PC players spent .09 billion on the store, a 15 percent increase from the prior year, although spending on third-party titles declined by 18 percent, totaling 5 million. The store averages 67 million monthly active users and 32 million daily active users. The highest-performing games of 2024 include Genshin Impact, Rocket League, Honkai Star Rail, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Fortnite Battle Royale. The next tier of successful titles includes EA Sports FC 24, Destiny 2: The Final Shape, Alan Wake 2, Fall Guys, and Wuthering Waves.

Tech Optimizer

February 15, 2025

Database Hearts and Arrows

A debate has emerged between Postgres and MongoDB, highlighting the broader SQL versus NoSQL conversation. Peter Zaitsev noted Postgres's rising popularity and MongoDB's slight decline. Users commented on MongoDB's developer experience and potential technical debt, while others emphasized the distinct purposes of both databases. Lekhana Reddy provocatively claimed "SQL IS DEAD!!" due to Uber's natural language query tool, but later clarified that SQL is evolving. The tech community also celebrated a partnership between SAP and Databricks, with the launch of the SAP Business Data Cloud receiving positive feedback.

AppWizard

February 15, 2025

Epic Games Store hits nearly 300 million PC users in 2024

Epic Games' store has attracted 295 million users on PC and nearly 900 million cross-platform accounts, marking an increase of approximately 100 million users from the previous year, with an average of 67 million monthly active users (MAUs). However, revenue from third-party game sales on PC has declined by 18% year-over-year, dropping from 0 million to 5 million. Overall revenue has increased from 0 million to .09 billion, largely due to Epic's own titles. The top three titles on the platform are Free-to-Play games: Genshin Impact, Rocket League, and Honkai Star Rail, with Grand Theft Auto V being the first paid title on the list. Epic plans to enhance its mobile applications and add features like voice chat and out-of-game invites to the PC client. Concerns remain about the sustainability of third-party game sales as Epic's revenue increasingly relies on its own franchises.

Winsage

February 14, 2025

Almost Half Of Steam Users Still Use Windows 10, Despite Impending End Of Life

Over 44% of users on Steam continue to operate on Windows 10, while Windows 11 has just over 55% of the user base. The end-of-life deadline for Windows 10 is set for October 14, 2025. Windows 10 has seen a decline of approximately 5% in its user base since September of the previous year. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 is the most popular graphics processing unit among Steam users, with 16 GB of RAM identified as the standard. Many Steam users have hard drives exceeding 1 TB in total capacity and a range of 100 to 249 GB of free space available for gaming.

AppWizard

February 14, 2025

Epic Games Store has more PC players than ever – 295 million, in fact

Epic Games Store attracted 295 million PC players over the past year, an increase of 25 million since 2023. The platform has 898 million Epic cross-platform accounts, up by 94 million, with a collective playtime of 2.68 billion hours. The game catalog expanded by 1,100 new titles, supported by Self-Publishing Tools allowing developers to retain 100 percent of their revenue. The Free Games Program has provided over ,000 worth of premium PC titles through 89 giveaways, continuing into 2025. Daily Active Users (DAU) peaked at 37.2 million, while Monthly Active Users (MAU) declined slightly from 75 million to 74 million. DAU increased by 6 percent to 31.5 million, and MAU grew by 6 percent to 67.2 million. Popular titles include Genshin Impact, Rocket League, Honkai Star Rail, GTA 5, and Fortnite. The Now on Epic program will extend until January 31, 2026, including mobile games. Third-party gametime rose from 2.41 billion hours in 2023 to 2.68 billion in 2024, an 11 percent year-over-year growth. The Walt Disney Company acquired a .5 billion stake in Epic Games, initiating a multi-year partnership for a games and entertainment universe linked to Fortnite.