impact Archives

AppWizard

July 14, 2025

Blue Archive Player Won’t Get Rewards After Event Canceled For Breaking Steam Rules

Nexon has terminated an in-game event for Blue Archive on Steam due to concerns that it may have breached Steam's policies by encouraging players to leave reviews. No rewards from the event will be distributed, and Nexon has committed to adhering to platform policies in future events. The game has achieved over 22,000 concurrent players and more than 10,000 reviews, maintaining a "very positive" rating. Additionally, Blue Archive will collaborate with World of Warships to introduce new content.

AppWizard

July 14, 2025

Summer Games Done Quick 2025 raised $2.4m

This year's Summer Games Done Quick charity speedrunning event raised ,436,614 for Doctors Without Borders from July 6th to 13th, attracting over 2,600 attendees at the Hilton Minneapolis in Minnesota. The event featured popular games such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Balatro, Super Mario Maker 2, Blue Prince, Mario Kart World, and Beat Saber. Although the total raised is slightly below the .5 million raised in 2024, Games Done Quick has raised over million for various charitable organizations since its inception. Founder Mike Uyama stepped down in August 2024, passing leadership to operations head Matt Merkle.

AppWizard

July 14, 2025

Take a trip down memory lane with Android Rewind

A new website, AndroidRewind.com, is being developed to chronicle the evolution of Android, starting from Google's acquisition of Android Inc. in July 2005. The site will feature key landing pages including a timeline of Android releases, information on devices that defined Android, details about OEMs, and profiles of notable figures in the Android ecosystem. The initial design was revised for better aesthetics, and images were sourced from Android Central. The website is built using Google Gemini, allowing for flexibility in content editing. Challenges encountered during development included issues with deployment and code editing post-deployment. Future plans for the site include enhancing details for Android releases and devices, and incorporating additional device categories like tablets and wearables.

AppWizard

July 13, 2025

The Expanse RPG’s developers are ‘humbled’ by comparisons to BioWare’s heyday, but don’t expect it to be a straight Mass Effect clone: ‘We make our story a little bit differently’

Owlcat is developing a role-playing game titled The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, inspired by the narrative depth and character-driven gameplay of BioWare's Mass Effect series. Creative director Alexander Mishulin acknowledged the influence of Mass Effect on their project, stating that many team members grew up playing it and that it has significantly impacted them as game developers. The game aims to blend intricate storytelling with engaging combat mechanics, appealing to both new players and fans of narrative-driven RPGs.

Winsage

July 13, 2025

Windows 11 KB5062553 install fails, issues cause Firewall error (July 2025 Update)

Windows 11 users are experiencing installation failures with the mandatory security update KB5062553, encountering error codes such as 0x8007371b, 0x800f0991, 0x80073712, and 0x80071a2d. The update, part of version 24H2, is supposed to install automatically but has left some users with a pending installation status. A suggested solution for installation failures is to use the .msu offline installer from the Microsoft Update Catalog, which has a 70% success rate. Users with Intel or AMD PCs should first install the Servicing Stack Update (SSU) KB5043080, while ARM PC users need a different SSU file. If issues persist, using the Media Creation Tool for an upgrade is recommended. Additionally, the July 2025 update has introduced bugs affecting Windows Event Viewer, causing false Windows Firewall errors, which Microsoft has acknowledged. Users may see "Event 2042 for Windows Firewall with Advanced Security" errors, indicating a configuration read failure. Some users also report performance issues, including GUI freezes during installation, requiring hard shutdowns, and occasional Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) occurrences.

AppWizard

July 12, 2025

Co-op climbing game, PEAK, has sold 5 million copies

Aggro Crab and Landfall's co-op climbing game, PEAK, has sold over 5 million copies since its launch on June 16th, achieving this milestone in under a month. The game is priced at €7.49, making it accessible to a wide audience of PC gamers. PEAK features four distinct biomes with various survival items and encourages cooperative gameplay. The recent patch v1.7 reintroduced item interaction, adjusted balance mechanics, and fixed several bugs. The game is built on the Unity Engine with minimum PC requirements of an Intel Core i5 at 2.5 GHz, 8GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT. It has gained popularity through word-of-mouth and community engagement on platforms like YouTube and Twitch.

AppWizard

July 12, 2025

‘A Minecraft Movie’ Remains No. 1 on Disc Sales Chart

The Minecraft Movie is in development and aims to capture the essence of the game while introducing a narrative for both gamers and newcomers. The film will explore themes of adventure, friendship, and imagination, featuring familiar elements such as crafting, building, and exploring. A talented team of writers and directors is working on the project, which includes a mix of seasoned actors and rising stars in the cast. The film will utilize cutting-edge visual effects, feature a lineup of voice actors, and include an original music score. Anticipation is building within the gaming community as the release date approaches.

AppWizard

July 12, 2025

‘A Minecraft Movie’ Ends Its Theatrical Run. How Much Did It Make?

Jack Black and Jason Momoa’s A Minecraft Movie concluded its theatrical run on July 2, earning a domestic total of ,949,195 and a worldwide gross of ,149,195, which includes ,200,000 from international ticket sales. The film debuted in theaters on April 4 and became available for digital streaming on May 13, followed by its release on HBO Max on June 20. It had a production budget of 0 million. As of the latest update, it is the highest-grossing film domestically in 2025, although it faces competition from Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch, which has a worldwide gross of .6 million.

Winsage

July 12, 2025

I always disable these 5 Windows 11 features to improve performance and security

Windows 11 has settings that can impact user experience, performance, and security. The following settings are recommended to disable for improved performance and security: 1. Telemetry: Disable the "Send optional diagnostic data" setting in Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Diagnostics and feedback, and set Feedback frequency to Never to limit data sharing. 2. Windows Search: Disable the Windows Search service by searching for Services, locating Windows Search, and changing its Startup type to Disabled. 3. Location Services: Turn off Location Services and "Let apps access your location" in Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Location to enhance privacy and battery performance. 4. Network Discovery: Disable Network Discovery on both Public and Private networks in Settings -> Network & Internet -> Advanced Network Settings -> Advanced sharing settings to minimize security risks. 5. Connect automatically to a Wi-Fi network: Uncheck the "Connect Automatically when in range" option for public networks under Settings -> Network & Internet -> Wi-Fi -> Manage known networks to avoid connecting to potentially unsafe networks.

AppWizard

July 12, 2025

New Android TapTrap attack fools users with invisible UI trick

A new tapjacking technique called TapTrap can exploit user interface animations on Android devices, bypassing the permission system and potentially allowing access to sensitive data or harmful actions. TapTrap operates with zero-permission applications, layering a transparent activity over a malicious one. This vulnerability exists in both Android 15 and 16. Developed by researchers from TU Wien and the University of Bayreuth, TapTrap manipulates activity transitions using custom low-opacity animations, making risky prompts nearly invisible to users. An analysis of nearly 100,000 apps revealed that 76% are vulnerable to TapTrap due to specific conditions related to activity launching and animation handling. The attack has been confirmed on Android 16, including tests on a Google Pixel 8a. GrapheneOS has acknowledged its vulnerability to TapTrap and plans to include a fix in its next release. Google is aware of the issue and intends to address it in a future update.