open beta Archives

AppWizard

April 18, 2026

Portal 2: Community Edition promises to take the game’s modding potential to new heights, and it’s out in open beta now

Portal 2 has approximately one million user-generated levels available on its Steam Workshop. The recently released Portal 2: Community Edition is in open beta and is a community-maintained build that enhances the existing experience without overhauling the core gameplay. New features include new lighting technology, volumetric effects, support for more detailed textures, custom campaign support, expanded scripting capabilities, and an improved Hammer map editor. Community Edition is built on Strata Source, a fork of the CS:GO engine, and has already inspired innovative mods. The mod's workshop page includes Half-Life 2 maps, enhanced texture assets, and an original puzzle titled Lesbian Kissing. The team is also working on an original campaign for the mod.

AppWizard

April 18, 2026

15 years on, Portal 2 Community Edition just breathed new life into Valve’s classic

Portal 2: Community Edition is a fan-driven initiative developed by a team of 29 developers to enhance the experience of creating and playing custom content within Portal 2. It introduces technical upgrades including physically based rendering, more detailed textures, improved lighting, clustered shading, dynamic shadows, specular highlights, and volumetric fog. The edition focuses on providing robust tools for custom content creation, currently offering single-player gameplay with plans for multiplayer support. It utilizes the Strata Source engine, a modified version of the CS:GO engine, which enhances performance and expands creative possibilities for modders. New modding tools include adhesive gel, a paint gun, Schrödinger cubes, and colored lasers, along with the 'AngelScript' scripting framework for unique game modes. Full Steam Workshop support is integrated, allowing players to share their creations. Portal 2: Community Edition is now available on Steam as a free download, requiring ownership of the original Portal 2.

AppWizard

April 9, 2026

Stellaris is finally adding a major feature its director has wanted “for a long time”

The upcoming Stellaris 4.4 update, named 'Pegasus,' will introduce a new feature called 'Join War,' allowing players to engage in ongoing conflicts and seek allies during wars. Players will need to negotiate with the war leader to exit a conflict, with dynamics varying based on the war's status. Abandoning allies may lead to negative consequences. The current test patch for version 4.3.4 'Cetus' is available on the open beta branch, with the full release scheduled for April 16.

AppWizard

March 27, 2026

Xbox Game Pass Confirms 5 Day-One Games for April 2026

Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass will release five day-one games in April 2026, with no new releases in the first two weeks. The games include: - Replaced: A cinematic side-scrolling platformer exclusive to Xbox Series X, releasing on April 14. - Hades 2: The highest-rated game of 2025, launching on Xbox Series X on April 14, after its success on Nintendo Switch and PC. - Kiln: A team-based multiplayer party brawler from Double Fine Productions, releasing on April 23, with an open beta for PC from April 9 to April 11. - Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard: A roguelite deckbuilder spin-off from Poncle, releasing on April 21. - Aphelion: A sci-fi action-adventure game with stealth elements from Don’t Nod, releasing on April 28. All games will be available on Xbox Series X and PC, but not on Xbox One.

AppWizard

January 16, 2026

Hopes for an eventual Anthem private server resurrection ignited as former executive producer says code for running the game locally ‘is there to be salvaged and recovered’

Anthem has officially ended as of approximately 2:05 PM EST on Monday. Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah suggested that the technology to run Anthem locally could potentially be revived, depending on third-party developers or EA's involvement. Anthem's architecture relied on a client-server model, requiring players to connect to centralized servers. Reviving the game through private servers would necessitate a deep understanding of its network traffic and mechanics.

AppWizard

December 9, 2025

7 Greatest Blizzard Games of All Time

Blizzard Entertainment has produced several iconic games that have significantly impacted the gaming community. 1. Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness - Released a year after the original Warcraft, it refined multiplayer real-time strategy gameplay and solidified Blizzard's reputation in the genre. The expansion, Beyond the Dark Portal, enhanced the experience. 2. Hearthstone - Launched with over 100 million players by 2018, it has become a staple in digital card games despite criticisms of its monetization strategies. 3. Overwatch - Originating from the shelved Titan project, it became a phenomenon in the hero shooter genre with nearly 10 million players in the open beta, although it faced loot box controversies. 4. StarCraft - A cultural phenomenon, it established itself as a national sport in South Korea and set new standards for balance in competitive play with its innovative design. 5. Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos - Known for its compelling narrative and rich lore, it laid the groundwork for the MMO genre and inspired the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre. 6. World of Warcraft - With a peak player count of 12 million in 2010, it is the best-selling MMO of all time, generating billions in revenue and continuing to thrive with new expansions. 7. Diablo 2 - Following its Lord of Destruction expansion, it became the fastest-selling PC game and defined the action RPG genre, influencing many subsequent games.

AppWizard

December 7, 2025

PUBG creator says he “100% expected” negative reactions to his new survival game, but its Steam reviews are improving fast

A 20-second teaser for Prologue, the debut title from Brendan Greene's studio, was showcased at the 2019 Game Awards. The game recently launched in early access, generating excitement from Greene, who noted its unique design allows for millions of different map seeds, making each exploration distinct. Prologue does not include quest markers, NPCs, or enemies, focusing instead on survival against the wilderness. Upon launch, it received a 'Mixed' user score on Steam, with some players dissatisfied with its perceived emptiness. Greene anticipated such reviews, emphasizing that the game encourages players to craft their own adventures. Prologue features three game modes and extensive replayability, but lacks traditional survival game elements. Greene acknowledged the trend of early access being misused by some studios and expressed his commitment to engaging with the community for feedback. Players have achieved notable survival feats within the game, such as surviving for 18 or 19 days and creating self-imposed challenges. Greene also mentioned community activities, like weekly challenges based on game seeds.

AppWizard

December 6, 2025

Stellaris 4.3 will “bring things down a notch” with a stat squish, but it could make parts of the 4X game “much harder”

Paradox Interactive is developing the next significant update for Stellaris, version 4.3, called 'Cetus,' expected to be released in the first quarter of 2026, depending on open beta testing results. The update will focus on refining the game's economy and naval mechanics, with updates to the beta build every two weeks. The initial phase of the open beta will target economic updates and ship design modifications, resulting in a 7% improvement in overall performance. Economic adjustments will include changes to empire size modifiers, unemployment rates, base technology costs, ethics modifiers, upkeep costs, living standards, happiness levels, planetary ascension, and automation buildings. The update aims to lower economic levels and control non-linear growth, while some threats remain unchanged. The development team plans to address issues such as game performance reporting, desynchronization tracking, and optimizations for various game elements. Fixes for ethics shifts and faction issues, new job swap options, and a streamlined slavery mechanic are also in progress, along with improvements to memory usage and multiplayer stability. The release timeline will depend on the outcomes of the beta testing.

AppWizard

November 27, 2025

Shueisha Games announces ‘casual non-verbal social deduction action game’ VIVA NOBOTS for PC

Shueisha Games has announced the casual non-verbal social deduction action game VIVA NOBOTS, set to launch on PC via Steam in spring 2026, supporting English and Japanese languages. An open beta playtest will take place from December 12 to 18. In VIVA NOBOTS, players act as humans disguised as excavation robots to infiltrate ancient ruins and collect treasures while avoiding detection. Key features include stealing treasures, exposing rival players using the Doubt Gun, and escaping after securing loot. A new humanoid security bot called the "Android" has been introduced, along with a mega-jackpot feature called "GODPOT." Future updates will include cooperative and VS modes and avatar type changes. Trailers and gameplay highlights are available in both English and Japanese.

AppWizard

November 4, 2025

Schedule 1’s Halloween update arrived two days late because the developer thought he should ‘probably play it safe’ and test it first

Schedule 1's Halloween update was released two days late, with developer TVGS apologizing for the delay and explaining the decision to conduct a public beta test. The update includes a climbing system with new ladders, additional graffiti locations, a loading dock at the Gas-Mart, and "meth LODs." It also features mechanical tweaks and bug fixes, promising a 10%-15% improvement in framerate. TVGS identified connection issues in multiplayer mode as stemming from bandwidth limitations, with further work needed to resolve the problem.