rewards Archives

AppWizard

October 11, 2026

Two Steam games generated $560,000 across 135,000 sales in five years, but the co-creator only took home $15,000 annually, leaving him driving a 2012 Mazda — high Chinese refund rates, Steam’s 30% fee, and publisher cuts eat most of the profit

Omer Develioğlu, co-founder of Northend Games, reported that his indie titles, Northend Tower Defense and Deepstone Rift (Early Access), generated a gross income of 0,000 from approximately 135,000 units sold on Steam over five years. After expenses and revenue sharing, he and his co-founder received only ,000 to split, resulting in an annual income of about ,000 each. A significant portion of their sales, around 53.3%, came from China. Steam charges a standard fee of 30% on sales, which deducted ,000 from their earnings. Additionally, U.S. withholding taxes reduced their total earnings further, leaving them with ,300.

AppWizard

October 10, 2026

Nivalis Nights might not have any combat, “but that doesn’t mean it’s a cosy game,” so says its lead writer

The game Nivalis Nights is designed to be intentionally overwhelming at the start, reflecting the stress of a cyberpunk world without traditional elements like player death or boss fights. Players navigate a chaotic environment where every app demands attention, mirroring modern life's pace. The game allows for various paths to success, including unconventional achievements, and emphasizes the complexity of relationships through its dating mechanics, aiming for authenticity and unpredictability. The game's narrative explores themes of technological advancement and societal pressures, inviting players to actively engage rather than passively receive rewards.

AppWizard

October 10, 2026

Minecraft Dungeons 2 Review

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is developed by Mojang and Double Eleven, published by Xbox Game Studios and Mojang. It is available on Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PS5, with a release date of September 29, 2026, priced at £24.99. The game serves as an accessible introduction to the action RPG genre, targeting younger audiences, particularly Minecraft fans. It features a semi-open-world structure, allowing exploration of various areas, but the main quest line and side quests can be completed in approximately seven to ten hours. Combat mechanics are straightforward, with rapid loot acquisition and a system that can frustrate players due to hidden stats. The narrative involves ill-intentioned Illagers and lacks variety in quests. The game includes a co-op mode for up to four players and cross-platform online play, but players cannot transfer offline characters online. The Deluxe Edition includes additional content such as a Soul Cape, hero skins, and access to DLC packs.

BetaBeacon

October 8, 2026

Among Us Story: On Guard launches February 17, 2027 for Switch 2, PC, iOS, and Android

Among Us Story: On Guard is a new standalone adventure game set in the Among Us universe that will be launched on February 17, 2027 for Switch 2, PC via Steam, iOS, and Android. The game allows players to become Guards responsible for shipwide security and preventing Impostors from murdering Crewmates.

AppWizard

October 6, 2026

Best enchantments in Minecraft Dungeons II: What they do, how to get and more details

Minecraft Dungeons II features over 30 enchantments that enhance player combat capabilities. Enchantments are represented by reusable Enchantment Books, which can be found as loot or purchased from the Enchantsmith using Soul Corrupted currency. Players can apply these books to weapons or armor, with most enchantments having three tiers that increase effectiveness. Key enchantments include: 1. Lightning Surge: A melee enchantment that unleashes a wave of lightning on jump attacks and finishing blows, dealing up to 90% of the weapon's base damage at its highest tier. 2. Healing Smite: Applicable to melee or ranged weapons, this enchantment heals players upon defeating enemies, with a healing chance of 20% at Tier 1 and 50% at Tier 3. 3. Ancient Alchemy: An armor enchantment that converts health potions into Souls, yielding up to 60 Souls per use at maximum level. 4. Ricochet: A ranged weapon enchantment that allows arrows to bounce between targets, hitting up to three enemies per shot at its highest tier. 5. Dynamo: An armor enchantment that amplifies damage by up to 40% for the next attack after rolling, rewarding mobility-focused playstyles.

AppWizard

October 4, 2026

I tried Duolingo for the first time in a year, and it’s worse than I thought

Marvin Velasco, a former daily user of Duolingo, became disillusioned after a year due to repetitive lessons and a lack of new content, leading him to uninstall the app despite a streak of over 500 days. Upon returning to refresh his German skills for a trip to Europe, he found the app cluttered with ads and unrelated features, which detracted from the language learning experience. The introduction of a new energy system limited his lesson completion and emphasized subscription tiers over genuine learning. After a trial of Duolingo Super, which he found gamified the experience, Velasco switched to Gemini, appreciating its user-friendly interface and personalized study plans. He tailored his learning with Gemini to focus on conversational German without the stress of losing streaks. Despite its flaws, he kept Duolingo for its structured modules, using both apps to create a balanced approach to language learning. He improved his experience with Duolingo by using it on a web browser to eliminate ads and disabling competitive features.

AppWizard

October 1, 2026

Got Google Play Points? Play Fest will let you turn them into swag, premium gear, and big prizes

Google Play Fest will take place from October 13 to October 19, featuring rewards and discounts for users. Participants can redeem Google Play Points for prizes, including merchandise, tech products, and sporting event tickets. The event includes sweepstakes with thousands of prizes and significant discounts on apps, games, books, and devices. Purchases during this period will yield more points, with Play Pass subscribers earning double points and book purchases offering up to 15 times the points. Users can also earn rewards by joining leagues in games like Angry Birds 2, Free Fire, and 8 Ball Pool.

AppWizard

October 1, 2026

Google Play Fest is coming to shower app lovers with sweepstakes and big discounts

Google Play will host Play Fest from October 13 to October 19, featuring discounts on apps, games, books, devices, and select digital gift cards. Play Points members can enter the Play Fest Sweepstakes for a chance to win prizes starting October 13. The event will include Play Fest leagues in games like Angry Birds 2, 8 Ball Pool, and Free Fire, allowing participants to compete for prizes. Certain promotions on digital gift cards will be limited in supply. Google will increase the rate of Play Points accumulation, with daily purchase boosts and a 15x multiplier for book purchases from October 16 to October 18. Play Pass members will receive double points and 6x boosts starting October 8.

AppWizard

September 30, 2026

Google Play Cuts Game Fee to 15%, Day-One Rule [2026]

Starting September 30, 2026, Google will implement changes to the Android game distribution economics through the Google Play Games Level Up program, reducing the commission on game revenue exceeding million annually from 20% to 15%. Developers must launch their games on Android simultaneously with other platforms to qualify for this discount; otherwise, they will be ineligible for six months. The new fee structure includes a baseline rate cut to 10% on the first million and 20% on earnings above that, while the Level Up program allows qualifying titles to pay 15% on revenue beyond the first million. The rollout of the Level Up program will begin in Australia, the European Economic Area, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States on September 30, 2026, followed by South Korea on December 31, 2026, and the rest of the world on September 30, 2027. If a game launches on a non-Android platform first, it will face a six-month waiting period before qualifying for Level Up pricing. Existing games launched before September 30, 2026, are exempt from this penalty.

AppWizard

September 29, 2026

Gemini app adding Google Wallet integration for ‘personalized insights’

The Gemini Connected App has introduced a feature called Google Wallet, which provides users with tailored information based on their stored data, helping manage digital assets like loyalty cards and travel documents. Users can retrieve information such as boarding passes and airline loyalty numbers. The app also offers financial insights, including transaction data from services like Plaid, expense summaries, budgeting tips, and overviews of rewards linked to stored cards. This integration is currently exclusive to Google Wallet users in the U.S. and allows users to ask questions about their spending habits. However, users cannot execute transactions or modify linked financial accounts through the app. The feature is being gradually rolled out and is limited to personal Google Accounts in the U.S.