gratitude Archives

AppWizard

March 1, 2026

For Project Zomboid players, the year-long wait for a stable build is nearly over

Project Zomboid's build 42 was released in an 'unstable' form in December 2024 and has not yet transitioned to a 'stable' state, despite the addition of multiplayer support in late 2025. Concerns have arisen within the community regarding the team's communication during this prolonged development. Christian 'Serellan' Allen became the new design director in late 2025 and aims to address these issues. He acknowledges the complexity of the game and the need for dedicated design leadership. The team is currently focused on bug fixes, balancing, and polishing build 42, with no specific release date for the stable version. Enhancements made under Allen's direction include a revamped right-click menu and planned balance adjustments for game modes. He emphasizes the importance of community feedback and intends to improve communication about the game's direction.

AppWizard

February 27, 2026

‘Zootopia 2’ Just Passed ‘A Minecraft Movie’ for 2025’s Domestic Crown. It Took 91 Days and Less Than $200,000

Zootopia 2 has become the highest-grossing domestic release of 2025, surpassing A Minecraft Movie with 4.2 million in North American ticket sales. It is the highest-grossing Hollywood animated film ever and ranks as the eighth highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, with a global total of .85 billion. The film's international earnings reached .425 billion, making it the second highest among animated films. Zootopia 2 debuted on November 26, 2025, with an opening of 8.8 million over five days, marking the second-largest Thanksgiving opening in history. It became the fastest PG-rated film to reach billion globally in just 17 days and grossed over 0 million in China, making it the highest-grossing Western film in Chinese box office history. The film received a 91% critics score and a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and won Best Animated Film at the BAFTAs. Disney holds three of the top four domestic releases of 2025, with Zootopia 2 leading the pack. A Blu-ray release is scheduled for March 3, and the film is nominated for Best Animated Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards.

AppWizard

February 25, 2026

‘We couldn’t even have imagined this’: Co-op pirate survival game Windrose has been wishlisted over 1 million times

Windrose, a co-op pirate survival game, has surpassed 1,000,000 wishlists on Steam, making it one of the top 20 most wishlisted games on the platform. The game is currently featured in the Steam Next Fest, where players have enjoyed the demo for over seven hours. Gameplay involves gathering resources, crafting, and exploring, including repairing shipwrecks and recruiting a crew. The developers expressed gratitude for the community's support and engagement.

AppWizard

February 21, 2026

New Xbox boss Asha Sharma promises not to flood its games with “soulless AI slop”

Asha Sharma has been appointed as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming following Phil Spencer's departure. Concerns have arisen regarding her potential reliance on generative AI in game development, but Sharma has stated her focus will not be on "chasing short-term efficiency" and emphasized the importance of preserving Xbox's unique essence. She aims to avoid "soulless AI slop" and believes in the value of human-crafted games. Sharma's background includes experience at Meta and Instacart, and she has previously expressed optimism about AI's potential in various fields. She envisions a return to Xbox's "renegade spirit," promoting a culture of questioning norms while maintaining effective elements. Matt Booty has been promoted to Chief Content Officer and reassured that there are no planned organizational changes for Xbox studios.

AppWizard

February 20, 2026

Keeping Google Play & Android app ecosystems safe in 2025

The Android ecosystem focuses on preventing real-world harm, including malware and privacy invasions, by enhancing investments in AI and real-time defenses. In 2025, over 1.75 million policy-violating apps were prevented from being published, and more than 80,000 malicious developer accounts were banned. Google Play conducts over 10,000 safety checks on each app, blocking over 255,000 apps from accessing sensitive user data and 160 million spam ratings and reviews. Google Play Protect scans over 350 billion apps daily, identifying over 27 million new malicious apps last year. Enhanced fraud protection was expanded to 185 markets, blocking 266 million risky installation attempts. Developer tools like Play Policy Insights and the Play Integrity API were introduced to streamline app development and enhance security. Developer verification is being extended to ensure accountability, and Android 16 includes features to protect sensitive information with minimal code.

AppWizard

February 17, 2026

29 Years Ago, AOL Launched An App That Changed Everything

AOL's AIM introduced an early AI chatbot and reached 36 million users in 2001. The platform struggled to adapt to the rise of mobile communication, leading to its shutdown on December 15, 2017. AIM popularized personal screen names, emojis, and status markers in instant messaging, and it influenced figures like Biz Stone and Mark Zuckerberg. AIM's legacy continues to impact modern messaging, which incorporates various multimedia elements.

Winsage

February 13, 2026

Microsoft Edge and Interop 2026

Microsoft Edge is actively participating in the Interop project, now in its sixth year, collaborating with companies like Mozilla, Igalia, Google, and Apple to improve web interoperability. For Interop 2026, focus areas include expanding the CSS attr() function, enhancing color tooling, enabling container style queries, allowing custom highlights, improving the interoperability of dialog elements, enhancing the fetch() API, boosting IndexedDB performance, integrating WebAssembly with JavaScript promises, implementing media pseudo-classes, enhancing the Navigation API, allowing multiple custom element registries, creating scroll-driven animations, improving CSS scroll snapping behavior, adding support for the shape() CSS function, enhancing View Transitions, addressing web compatibility issues, improving WebRTC interoperability, and advancing the WebTransport API. Additionally, investigation efforts will focus on accessibility testing, developing a JPEG XL test suite, enhancing mobile testing infrastructure, and refining the WebVTT specification. A Top Developer Needs dashboard has been launched to monitor ongoing interoperability challenges. The previous Interop 2025 project achieved significant milestones, including reliable CSS anchor positioning, smoother view transitions, simplified Navigation API implementation, alignment on Core Web Vitals, streamlined JSON module scripts, and accessible disclosure widgets. All participating browsers in Interop 2025 scored at least 98%.

AppWizard

February 11, 2026

Minecraft-style indie returns to Steam after Microsoft DMCA scare, creator criticizes “guilty until proven innocent” system

Allumeria, a Minecraft-inspired sandbox game, was temporarily removed from Valve's Steam platform due to a DMCA takedown initiated by Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement based on screenshots. The situation was resolved after community support and intervention from Mojang's chief creative officer, allowing Allumeria's creator, Unomelon, to reinstate the game on Steam. The DMCA notice, attributed to Judith Woodward on behalf of Microsoft, alleged that Allumeria's content infringed upon Minecraft's rights, but the similarities were questioned by many. A lawyer offered to help Unomelon file a counter notice, and Jens Bergensten from Mojang expressed interest in the matter. Ultimately, Microsoft withdrew the claim, and Allumeria was reinstated, with Unomelon reflecting on the challenges faced by smaller developers and the need for reform in the DMCA process.

AppWizard

January 31, 2026

After joking about buying Amazon MMO New World, Rust boss says to “keep hope” as he signs NDA with an “unnamed company”

Alistair McFarlane, head of Facepunch Studios, has expressed interest in reviving the canceled Amazon MMO, New World, and has made a light-hearted offer for its rights. He is entering a non-disclosure agreement with an unnamed company, urging fans to keep "low expectations." McFarlane engaged with the New World community by jokingly tagging Amazon Games and discussing the planned shutdown of the New World: Aeternum servers in January 2027. He believes in empowering the community through public server hosting if a deal occurs. McFarlane has acknowledged the game's rough start and lack of long-term support but sees potential for its revival. Facepunch Studios prioritizes community engagement, as demonstrated by the ongoing success of their game Rust. The identity of the unnamed company remains undisclosed, but speculation points to Amazon Games. McFarlane emphasizes that discussions are confidential and that there are no confirmed deals or announcements at this time.

AppWizard

January 22, 2026

81-year-old Minecraft YouTuber thanks fans after fundraising supports grandson’s cancer treatment

GrammaCrackers, a Minecraft YouTuber, thanked her supporters for raising tens of thousands of dollars for her grandson Jack's cancer treatment. Sue Jacquot, 81, started her YouTube channel in 2024 to support Jack, who was battling sarcoma cancer. By early 2026, her channel had over 300,000 followers. A GoFundMe campaign linked to her videos raised nearly ,000. Jack is now cancer-free but continues regular check-ups. On January 19, Jacquot expressed her gratitude to her audience, mentioning an upcoming stream with Jack and his mother. Supporters created a coin in her name, raising over ,000 in one day. Jacquot's other grandson, Austin, also expressed the family's gratitude on the GoFundMe page.