episode Archives

AppWizard

September 5, 2026

8-year Old School RuneScape saga comes to a close with former dev sentenced for stealing $400K in gold and items from players

Former Jagex employee Andrew "Mod Jed" Lakeman received a suspended prison sentence of three years for exploiting game mechanics for personal gain by using developer tools to remove items from player accounts and selling them online, amassing over £100,000. He joined Jagex in 2015 and manipulated the game's moderation and account recovery systems to steal valuable items and gold from players. The Cambridge Constabulary stated that the justice system needs to adapt to online crimes. Lakeman previously filed an unfair dismissal counter-complaint in 2022 but did not regain his position at Jagex. In 2023, Lord Justice Popplewell ruled that Lakeman could be held liable for theft of digital assets like RuneScape gold.

AppWizard

September 2, 2026

Fully Playable Scream Game Found in Steam Leak [2026]

A horror game based on the Scream film franchise was discovered in the Steam data leak that occurred from August 29 to 31, 2026. The game, an unfinished multiplayer prototype created by Fatshark, was found by a Twitter user named Roly Poly Reaper, who managed to run it on their computer and enable online multiplayer. The prototype included several unfinished builds, with one featuring operational networking code that allowed players to take on the roles of survivors evading a player-controlled Ghostface. The project appears to have been a pitch build, never fully greenlit for production, and was stored in Valve’s old Steam2 backend for approximately 15 years before the leak. Roly Poly Reaper used the Goldberg Steam emulator and Radmin VPN to run the game, circumventing the need for a live connection to Valve’s servers. Fatshark, known for cooperative shooters, had reportedly built the Scream prototype around 2011, coinciding with the release of Scream 4. The prototype's existence predates the popularization of the asymmetric horror genre by several years. The Steam2 leak itself involved approximately 12 to 13 terabytes of data, including various internal builds and beta versions from Valve and third-party developers. Valve has not publicly commented on the leak.

AppWizard

August 30, 2026

Am I out of touch? No, it’s the children who are wrong: The Wii and PS3 are ‘retro’ now, according to iconic Japanese gaming show

A recent episode of the Japanese television show Game Center CX conducted a poll regarding whether games from the Wii and PlayStation 3 should be classified as retro. Over 14,000 votes were cast, with 71% supporting the inclusion of these games. A subsequent round of voting increased that figure to 80% from nearly 17,000 voters. As a result, titles from both consoles will now be considered for the show’s retro segment.

AppWizard

August 29, 2026

The Long Dark will get new DLC again as studio shifts devs away from the sequel to survive an ‘uncertain’ industry: ‘We have to adapt to this’

Hinterland Studios has shifted its strategy regarding The Long Dark, a survival game, by reallocating a team to create new downloadable content (DLC) for its survival mode, despite the ongoing development of a sequel titled Blackfrost. This decision aims to enhance the longevity of the nine-year-old game amid challenges in the gaming industry, such as rising costs and increased competition on platforms like Steam. The studio's focus on The Long Dark reflects a desire to sustain its player base while navigating the complexities of the current market.

Winsage

August 27, 2026

Windows Weekly 998: Laptop Fort

Leo, Richard, and Paul discussed various updates from Microsoft and the tech world, including new Insider builds, OneDrive for Mac enhancements, advancements in AI, and Xbox gaming news. A significant upcoming update for Windows 11, referred to as version 26H2, is anticipated. OneDrive for Mac will receive a native sync engine, and Proton Mail will introduce automatic category filtering. Bill Gates warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence, while Adobe Firefly launched new capabilities for music and sound generation. The .NET Conf 2026 is scheduled for November, with .NET 11 expected to release. In gaming, Xbox is testing disc-to-digital entitlements, and the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X20 is available for 9. A limited edition Xbox Series X25 console is rumored for November, and the Xbox 25th Anniversary Collection is confirmed for November 13. IKEA has launched Xbox-inspired furniture, and Rockstar Games is preparing to reveal GTA VI. Nvidia has expanded GeForce Now to Firefox. Google will allow users to filter news in the Discover feed, but the advice is to seek diverse viewpoints. PowerToys 0.101 has been released, and Parallels Desktop 27 for Mac is now available. This week's RunAs Radio episode features a discussion on PowerShell 7's security features. SpiceBox Spiced Whisky is recommended as a seasonal drink.

Winsage

August 24, 2026

Windows 11 is finally getting better, and the Windows Central Podcast breaks down all the improvements that have been announced and delivered since March

In the latest episode of the Windows Central Podcast, hosts Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden discuss significant updates to Windows 11, including revamped context menus, enhancements to File Explorer, and a new feature that allows apps to launch in full-screen mode. Key highlights include: - Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 chips outperform Intel and AMD in recent laptop evaluations. - New customizable context menus in Windows 11 Insider builds improve speed and third-party app management. - File Explorer has received performance enhancements, eliminating freezing issues and providing a more polished user interface. - A new setting enables users to automatically launch applications in full-screen mode. - A retrospective look at quality-of-life improvements introduced to Windows 11 since March.

Winsage

August 24, 2026

AI vendors are turning to custom hardware as Microsoft winds back the clock on Windows

This week, insights into datacenter technology reveal a shift in GPU dominance, with companies exploring alternatives. Cerebras, founded by Andrew Feldman, has developed chips the size of dinner plates that contain 44 gigabytes of ultra-fast SRAM, circumventing high-bandwidth memory supply constraints. In 2024, Cerebras launched an inference server that processes tokens faster than any GPU configuration, utilizing structured sparsity and partnering with AWS and AMD. The latest Cerebras chips, CS-4 systems, feature a modular architecture that doubles performance and bandwidth. Google is also moving towards custom silicon with its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), while Marvell competes with Broadcom in providing IP for custom chips. Waymo announced a custom machine learning accelerator for its autonomous vehicles to enhance compute density and address limitations of previous FPGA use. On the software side, Microsoft is reintroducing the ability to move the taskbar in Windows 11, responding to user feedback after nearly five years. This change reflects Microsoft's focus on user experience amid competition from alternatives like macOS and Linux.

AppWizard

August 24, 2026

Nightdive’s Thief remaster unearths a ‘very very out of date version control repository’ with ‘the wildest things to say about the code’

Nightdive Studios is remastering the stealth game Thief: The Dark Project, enhancing its accessibility for both new players and seasoned fans. The remaster aims to preserve the essence of the original game while eliminating the need for fixpacks or control remapping. It is available on platforms such as Steam, GOG, and Epic.

BetaBeacon

August 17, 2026

Mobile Version of Sally Face Released on iOS and Android After 10 Years

Portable Moose Studio has released the horror-puzzle game Sally Face on iOS and Android, which includes all five episodes of the original game with touchscreen controls. The game is currently available at a discounted price until August 23, after which the price will increase. The original Sally Face has received positive reviews on Steam. A sequel, Sally Face 2, has been announced and will initially debut on Steam Early Access before being released on consoles, iOS, and Android.

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.