gameplay enhancements Archives

AppWizard

June 12, 2025

Minecraft 1.21.6 ‘Chase the Skies’ Release Date Announced

Minecraft's latest update, titled Chase the Skies, is set to launch on June 17, 2025. The update will feature a comprehensive graphical overhaul called Vibrant Visuals, new ghast variants, a player locator bar, an overhauled Realms UI, modifications to projectiles and splash potion effects, and additional ambient changes.

AppWizard

June 10, 2025

13 years after it was first teased, and 2 months after committing to a 2025 release, Mewgenics is delayed into 2026

Mewgenics, an "endless cat breeding RPG," will now be released on February 10, 2026, instead of the originally planned 2025 launch. Creator Edmund McMillen cited strategic planning as the reason for the delay, aiming to avoid competition with holiday releases. The additional eight months will allow the team to complete significant development tasks, including the animation of the final boss, integration of hard path rewards and random generation items, creation of ten new cutscenes, commissioning of three new music tracks, implementation of alternative and shiny furniture, and the completion of a secret late-game system. McMillen plans to engage fans with live streams and previews starting in January.

AppWizard

May 28, 2025

Minecraft 1.21.6 Pre-Release 1 Modifies Dried Ghast Sounds, Vibrations and More

Mojang has released Minecraft 1.21.6 Pre-Release 1, focusing on bug fixes and gameplay enhancements. Key changes include: - Dried ghast blocks now emit a vibration frequency of 11 when their state changes, and their ambient sounds have been reclassified under the Blocks sound setting. - Equipping saddles, horse armor, or carpets on mobs triggers a vibration frequency of 6, while unequipping them results in a frequency of 4. - A fix has been implemented to prevent players riding happy ghasts from passing through other occupied happy ghasts. - Technical updates include changes to the Data Pack version (now 79) and Resource Pack version (now 63), improved dialog functionality, and support for standardized dialog inputs.

AppWizard

May 14, 2025

Minecraft snapshot 25w20a explained: New features and updates – The Times of India

Minecraft snapshot 25w20a introduces the ability to craft saddles using three pieces of leather and one iron ingot. It also features a new music disc titled “Tears,” composed by Amos Roddy, along with five ambient tracks for various biomes. Players can now use shears to remove saddles, horse armor, harnesses, and carpets from animals, but not if the mob has a rider or if the player is crouching. Saddles will no longer be found as loot in structures, replaced by leather. Visual updates include fog effects on 3D HUD elements and reduced fog density during thunderstorms and rain. Additionally, players using Minecraft Realms will see new region indicators on the loading screen.

AppWizard

May 13, 2025

Stellar Blade for PC launches June 11 alongside Complete Edition

The PC version of Stellar Blade will be released on Steam on June 11, as announced by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer SHIFT UP. A "Complete Edition" will also be launched on the same date, which includes the base game and additional downloadable content for PlayStation 5 and PC users. The game was originally released for PlayStation 5 on April 26, 2024. The PC version will feature enhancements such as AI upscaling, an unlocked frame rate, support for Japanese and Chinese voice-overs, ultrawide display compatibility, DualSense controller integration, a new boss battle, 25 additional costumes, and higher resolution environment textures. The Complete Edition will include the base game, pre-order bonuses (Classic Round Glasses, Ear Armor Earrings, Planet Diving Suit), Complete Edition bonuses (Fluffy Bear Pack drone cosmetics, Planet Diving Suit), and downloadable content (Twin Expansion Pack). Additionally, a CD-key for an outfit in the mobile game Goddess of Victory: Nikke will be included.

AppWizard

May 9, 2025

Minecraft’s Latest Update Adds Several ‘Exciting’ World Options

Minecraft has released a new update for the Bedrock Editions that introduces "flat world presets," allowing players to choose from various configurations, including 'Classic Flat' and 'Redstone Ready.' Players can create flat worlds by enabling flat world mode and selecting a preset from the Advanced Tab on the Create New World screen. The available presets are: - Classic Flat - Tunneler’s Dream - Water World - Overworld - Snowy Kingdom - Bottomless Pit - Desert - Redstone Ready The update also includes other features and bug fixes, as well as ongoing development of a graphics upgrade called Vibrant Visuals. Further details are available on Minecraft's feedback webpage.

AppWizard

May 8, 2025

Outer Wilds studio finally confirms it’s working on a new game but says it will be ‘years’ before it’s ready to share details

Mobius Digital has announced a new project, six years after the release of Outer Wilds, during the final major update for the game. The studio indicated that further details about the new game will not be available for some time, stating, "It's gonna be a while, on the order of years, before we have any details to share about it." The update includes various gameplay enhancements, art and visuals improvements, user interface adjustments, text and localization updates, and PC-specific changes. Mobius Digital has no further major updates planned for Outer Wilds or Echoes of the Eye as they focus on their next game.

AppWizard

April 26, 2025

Oblivion Remastered PC: impressive modernisation blighted by dire performance problems

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered utilizes an Unreal Engine 5 wrapper to enhance the original game, but it carries over some of the original's issues and suffers from significant performance challenges, including frequent stuttering. Digital Foundry analyzed the remaster against the original 2006 version, highlighting advancements in graphics but also noting that the remaster struggles with limited polygon budgets and basic effects. The remaster's performance is inconsistent, especially on mid-range CPUs, leading to poor experiences even on high-end hardware. Disabling hardware RT-based Lumen global illumination can improve performance by about 35%, but at the cost of visual quality. Lowering settings yields only marginal performance improvements, and the game fails to deliver an attractive experience compared to the original. A recent patch did not resolve the stuttering issues, indicating that fundamental CPU-related problems remain unaddressed.

AppWizard

April 11, 2025

Microtransactions Made Up 58% of PC Video Game Revenue in 2024, Research Shows

Microtransactions account for 58% of total revenue for game companies, with a 1.4% increase in 2024, contributing .4 billion to overall PC gaming sales of .3 billion. Downloadable content (DLC) generated .8 billion in revenue last year, while microtransactions represent 32% of console revenue, amounting to .9 billion out of .8 billion in console sales. Subscription services have risen by 14.1%. PC gaming sales grew by 0.1%, but console gaming revenue declined by 3.9%. Major franchises like Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty exemplify the popularity of microtransactions. The report also notes the trend of "recursive nostalgia," where established franchises reintroduce vintage content to engage players.

AppWizard

March 22, 2025

Everything Revealed During The Minecraft Live 2025 Event

Mojang's Minecraft Live event announced new content for 2025, including two major updates. The first update, titled Spring to Life, will launch on March 25 and introduce new mob variants, ambient sounds, new flora, and gameplay enhancements. Players will find warm and cold variants of pigs, cows, and chickens, sheep that adapt their colors to their environment, wolves with distinct personalities, and new crafting opportunities with wildflowers and cactus flowers. The second content drop will allow players to revive dried ghasts to unlock a flying mount called a ghastling, which grows into a happy ghast. Additionally, the Minecraft: Bedrock Edition will receive a visual enhancement called Vibrant Visuals, improving lighting and fog effects. Future plans include expanding these enhancements to Minecraft: Java Edition. The event also featured a clip from A Minecraft Movie, announced by actress Emma Myers, along with a multiplayer event where players can earn a Yearn cape by completing challenges.