PC gamers Archives

AppWizard

August 14, 2025

Japan’s PC gaming population has decreased by 3 million in the past decade, studies suggest

The Famitsu Game Hakusho 2025 report indicates that the Japanese gaming market grew by 3.4% from 2023 to 2024, reaching 2,396 billion yen. The domestic gamer population has decreased to 54.7 million from 55.5 million the previous year. Mobile gaming leads with 42.77 million users, followed by console gamers at 29.51 million, and PC gamers at 14.52 million. Although active PC gamers increased slightly from 14.45 million to 14.52 million in 2024, this number is down from 17.49 million in 2015. Console users rose from 26.12 million to 29.51 million, and mobile users increased from 14.11 million to 42.77 million over the same period. The PC gaming population has not surpassed 17.49 million since 2015, and hardware pricing has significantly increased, with a 40% rise in pre-built desktop PC prices over six years. JEITA reported a decline in domestic PC shipments, with 6.667 million units sold in 2023, marking a 2.9% decrease and the lowest sales since 2007. The global PC gaming landscape is shifting towards gacha and free-to-play games, leading players to prefer mobile devices.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Mafia: The Old Country PC Performance Analysis

2K Games unveiled Mafia: The Old Country, utilizing Unreal Engine 5. A performance analysis was conducted on PC with an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. Various GPUs were tested, including AMD Radeon RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, RX 9070XT, and NVIDIA RTX 2080Ti, RTX 3080, RTX 4090, and RTX 5080, on Windows 10 64-bit. The game features adjustable graphics settings for PC gamers and supports technologies like NVIDIA DLSS 4, Intel XeSS 2.0, and AMD FSR 4.0. Global Illumination has only High and Epic settings. Mafia: The Old Country lacks a built-in benchmark tool, so testing was done in a demanding area. At 1080p with Epic Settings, only the NVIDIA RTX 4090 exceeded 60FPS. No GPU achieved consistent 60FPS at Native 1440p and 4K on Epic Settings. The RTX 4090 had a minimum of 42FPS and an average of 51FPS at 4K. Adjusting settings to High improved performance by 28-48% at 4K on the RTX 4090. AMD FSR 4.0 performed well, with the RX 9070XT exceeding 60FPS at 4K on High Settings. The game features dynamic shadows and minor pop-in issues. It performs comparably to other Unreal Engine 5 titles on High Settings, requiring a powerful PC for optimal 4K gaming.

AppWizard

August 11, 2025

Battlefield 6 Open Beta on PC: How to turn on secure boot in multiplayer shooter game; follow the steps to enter warfare

EA's Dice studio has released the first public beta version of Battlefield 6, with the full game set for release on October 10, 2025. The beta will last two weekends, with the first open beta running until August 11, 2025, and the second weekend starting on August 14, 2025, and ending on August 16. Players may need to enable Secure Boot to play, as it enhances security during the PC boot process. Secure Boot is essential for Windows 10 and Windows 11, ensuring only trusted software loads at startup. Battlefield 6 requires Secure Boot to enhance defenses against cheating using the EA Javelin Anticheat system. To check if Secure Boot is enabled, players can access System Information and look for the BIOS Mode and Secure Boot State. To enable Secure Boot, players must access the BIOS, which varies by motherboard brand, typically using keys like F2, F10, F12, or Delete during startup. For Windows 11 users, they can enter the BIOS through the Windows Recovery Environment.

Winsage

August 10, 2025

Only two things are stopping me from moving to SteamOS on my desktop PC permanently – the moment they’re addressed, I’ll be saying ‘adiós’, Windows 11

The author experimented with Bazzite, a SteamOS clone, on their Asus ROG Ally and is considering installing it on their primary desktop gaming PC due to dissatisfaction with Windows 11. Bazzite offers a console-like user interface and features tailored for gaming, particularly benefiting AMD hardware, while Nvidia users face limitations with beta support. Testing Discord on Bazzite yielded mixed results, with issues in streaming that are crucial for the author's gaming experience. The author appreciates the potential of Bazzite's Quick Resume feature and the appeal of a user interface similar to popular consoles. They express hope for improved Nvidia support and functionality to facilitate a transition away from Windows 11.

AppWizard

August 7, 2025

Epic Games Store Updated With $45 Worth of Free Games

The Epic Games Store is offering two free PC games until August 14: Road Redemption and 112 Operator. Road Redemption, an action-packed racing game released in 2019, has an 82% approval rating on Steam and is typically priced at .99. It allows players to lead a motorcycle gang on a cross-country journey with intense driving combat. 112 Operator, a simulation and strategy game released in 2020, has an 89% approval rating on Steam and is usually priced at .99. In this game, players manage emergency services in various cities, responding to calls and navigating different scenarios.

AppWizard

August 7, 2025

Hell is Us is getting a free demo for PC and console ahead of the game’s release

A free demo for Hell is Us will be released on August 12, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, ahead of the game's official launch on September 4. The demo will feature 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, an improvement from the previous demo released in June. Hell is Us, announced in 2022, is a third-person action-adventure game focusing on melee combat in a semi-open world filled with supernatural entities, where players navigate without traditional navigation tools. The game is set in a nation affected by civil war and a mysterious calamity that has unleashed supernatural creatures. Players will use a drone and a sword to combat these foes. The game's theme explores the cycle of human violence fueled by emotions. Hell is Us is available for pre-purchase, with the Deluxe Edition offering early access to the full game.

AppWizard

August 7, 2025

Battlefield 6 Open Beta Forces PC Gamers to Mess About With Their BIOS to Enable Secure Boot — and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Is Next

Battlefield 6 requires players to enable Secure Boot on PC to access the Open Beta. EA has published a user guide to assist players in enabling Secure Boot, which involves accessing the BIOS and ensuring that TPM 2.0 is activated and the Windows disk is formatted as GPT. This requirement may be challenging for less experienced PC gamers. Activision has also announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will mandate Secure Boot for PC players. The shift towards requiring TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot is aimed at enhancing game security and combating cheating in competitive multiplayer games.

Winsage

August 7, 2025

Secure Boot is required to play Battlefield 6 on PC — here’s how to enable it on Windows 10 and Windows 11

Secure Boot is a feature in Windows 10 and Windows 11 that prevents unsafe applications from launching during startup, helping maintain a malware-free environment and serving as a prerequisite for anti-cheat systems like EA's Javelin. It is mandatory for upgrading to Windows 11 but not required for Windows 10. To check if Secure Boot is enabled, users can type "msinfo" in the Windows search bar and verify the Secure Boot State and BIOS Mode in the System Summary. If Secure Boot is off or unsupported, users may need to change their BIOS Mode to UEFI and enable Secure Boot. To enable Secure Boot, TPM 2.0 must be enabled, and the Windows boot drive must be GPT. If the drive is MBR, it can be converted to GPT using the command "mbr2gpt /validate /disk:0 /allowFullOS" followed by "mbr2gpt /convert /disk:0 /allowfullOS." After ensuring UEFI mode is set by disabling Compatibility Support Module (CSM) in the BIOS, users can enable Secure Boot by navigating to the Boot or Secure Boot menu in BIOS and setting it to enabled.

AppWizard

August 6, 2025

I’m sick to death of PC gaming’s endless launchers

The proliferation of game launchers such as Epic Game Store, Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net, EA App, Rockstar Social Club, and Paradox Launcher has caused frustration among players, who experience issues like unresponsiveness and crashes. Gamers desire a streamlined experience with fewer intrusive launchers and prefer to share data without the presence of multiple platforms. They would appreciate options to bypass launchers entirely or simplify access to games, contrasting with the ease of console gaming, where games can be accessed with a single button press. The gaming community hopes developers will address these concerns for a more user-friendly experience.

AppWizard

August 4, 2025

Humble Bundle has 8 Steam Deck-friendly games for just $10 this month

Humble Bundles offer discounted gaming deals for PC gamers, including a new bundle titled "Better With 4 Friends," which features eight indie co-op games optimized for the Steam Deck. The bundle includes the following games with their Steam Deck compatibility: - SpiderHeck (Verified) - Moving Out (Verified) - Fling to the Finish (Verified) - Unrailed! (Verified) - Embr (Playable) - Towerfall Ascension (Playable) - Rivals of Aether (Verified) - Portal Knights (Playable) The bundle is available for a flat rate, providing significant savings compared to purchasing the games individually. Users can also choose to pay more to support Humble and related causes.