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Forza Horizon 6 and Directive 8020 Have Been Leaked and Cracked Before Release
AppWizard
May 11, 2026

Forza Horizon 6 and Directive 8020 Have Been Leaked and Cracked Before Release

Fully playable versions of Forza Horizon 6 and Directive 8020 have leaked due to an unintentional push by Steam. Both games were secured by Steam's Digital Rights Management (DRM), which was easily bypassed. Forza Horizon 6 can be played in Offline Mode, while Directive 8020 is a single-player experience without an Online Mode. Forza Horizon 6 is scheduled for release on May 19, featuring ray-traced global illumination and reflections on PC, while Directive 8020 will launch on May 12, supporting DLSS 4 and Path Tracing. NVIDIA has provided a review code for Forza Horizon 6, but not for Directive 8020.
silver Android smartphone
AppWizard
May 7, 2026

Atari just bought the rights to the big daddy of PC RPGs, and a reissue campaign is afoot

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, released in 1981, is recognized as the first grid-based, first-person RPG. The game featured simple monochrome graphics but provided a complex gaming experience, particularly popular in Japan. Different platform versions showed variations, with Nintendo ports offering enhanced visuals. The first five Wizardry games are becoming less available, except for a remake of Proving Grounds set for release in 2024. Recent Wizardry titles have adopted an anime aesthetic in character design. Atari's CEO Wade Rosen announced plans to revive and remaster the early games, which have been unavailable for over two decades. The revival comes as blobbers are gaining popularity, with recent titles indicating renewed interest in the genre.
More than 10 years after Ubisoft took it down, one of our favorite games of 2010 is back on Steam
AppWizard
May 6, 2026

More than 10 years after Ubisoft took it down, one of our favorite games of 2010 is back on Steam

In 2010, the real-time strategy game Ruse received an 84% review score but was removed from Steam by Ubisoft in 2015 due to expiring license rights. Ruse has been re-released on Steam by Eugen Systems, now bundled with all downloadable content and technical updates, including support for the Steam Deck. The re-release retains its original 2010 identity and is priced at £26.49/€30. User reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, with 197 favorable ratings and only two negative ones. Updates and DLC are free for existing owners, although old saves and replays are not accessible in the new version. Eugen Systems now holds both developer and publisher roles, removing Ubisoft from the equation.
The Microsoft/OpenAI breakup: What does it actually mean for Copilot and other AI apps on your Windows 11 PC?
Winsage
May 6, 2026

The Microsoft/OpenAI breakup: What does it actually mean for Copilot and other AI apps on your Windows 11 PC?

Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI has shifted from an exclusive agreement to a non-exclusive one, allowing OpenAI to offer its products on various cloud platforms while Microsoft remains its primary cloud partner. Microsoft is facing potential challenges, including its worst quarterly performance since 2008 and internal sales cuts due to low interest in its AI offerings. Despite this, CEO Satya Nadella reported that Microsoft 365 Copilot has reached 20 million paid enterprise seats, with user engagement increasing. However, there are concerns about the willingness of Microsoft 365 and Office 365 users to pay for Copilot. The non-exclusive agreement may weaken Microsoft's competitive edge, as OpenAI can now license its models to competitors. Microsoft is developing its own in-house AI models and has made leadership changes within its Copilot division to secure its position in the AI market. The future of Copilot in Windows 11 remains uncertain, but Microsoft continues to innovate with AI features across its platforms.
ScarCruft Hacks Gaming Platform to Deploy BirdCall Malware on Android and Windows
BetaBeacon
May 5, 2026

ScarCruft Hacks Gaming Platform to Deploy BirdCall Malware on Android and Windows

ScarCruft compromised a video game platform in a supply chain attack, trojanizing its components with a backdoor called BirdCall to target ethnic Koreans residing in China. The attack enabled the threat actors to target both Windows and Android devices, turning it into a multi-platform threat. The campaign targeted sqgame[.]net, a gaming platform used by ethnic Koreans in China, known as a transit point for North Korean defectors. BirdCall has features like screenshot capture, keystroke logging, and data gathering, and relies on legitimate cloud services for command-and-control. The Android variant collects various data and has seen active development.
Windows AI Recall is pushing data destruction upstream
Winsage
April 30, 2026

Windows AI Recall is pushing data destruction upstream

The introduction of Copilot+ PCs has created new complexities in IT asset disposition (ITAD), as these devices may contain a comprehensive, time-stamped archive of user activity, which was not present on corporate laptops two years ago. Microsoft's Recall feature captures user activity screenshots and stores them securely, but recent research by Alexander Hagenah suggests that the safeguards may be ineffective, as his tool can extract sensitive data without breaking encryption. Microsoft defends the security of Recall, stating that observed access patterns align with intended protections. This situation presents challenges for ITAD operators, as pre-collection now constitutes a data-destruction event, requiring devices to be powered down or purged before leaving the client’s environment. Certificates of sanitization must evolve to address the specific destruction of Recall snapshot stores, and conversations with clients should differentiate between managed and unmanaged fleets regarding Recall settings. The presence of Recall shifts some data-destruction responsibilities upstream to clients, complicating traditional ITAD value propositions.
Slay the Spire 2 devs weren't going to make a sequel, but then the publisher handling the first game's ports shut down and things got 'very murky'
AppWizard
April 29, 2026

Slay the Spire 2 devs weren’t going to make a sequel, but then the publisher handling the first game’s ports shut down and things got ‘very murky’

Slay the Spire 2 has captivated many gamers, with one player logging 118 hours in the game. The sequel introduces a balance shift, two new characters, and a co-op feature. Mega Crit co-founder Casey Yano initially expressed reluctance to create a sequel, preferring to update the original game. However, as game publishing evolved, the studio faced challenges in justifying updates for the PC version while supporting console and mobile players. This led to the decision to develop Slay the Spire 2, which has proven successful.
Denuvo has been cracked in all single-player games it previously protected — 2K Games and Denuvo reportedly retaliate with mandatory 14-day online checks
AppWizard
April 29, 2026

Denuvo has been cracked in all single-player games it previously protected — 2K Games and Denuvo reportedly retaliate with mandatory 14-day online checks

The skull-and-bones community has declared that there are no games utilizing Denuvo that remain uncracked or bypassed. The MKDev collective and DenuvOwO developed a hypervisor-based bypass (HVB) in late 2025, which intercepts Denuvo's verification checks. The cracker voices38 successfully removed Denuvo from several titles, including Resident Evil: Requiem. Denuvo has since implemented a 14-day mandatory online check for certain games, complicating the HVB method. The latest version of HVB requires users to disable Core Isolation and Driver Signature Enforcement to run games. The community includes notable figures like repacker FitGirl, who has acknowledged the collaborative efforts of DenuvOwO and voices38.
Denuvo is finally dead: every PC game protected by the DRM can now be cracked or bypassed
AppWizard
April 29, 2026

Denuvo is finally dead: every PC game protected by the DRM can now be cracked or bypassed

A group of hackers has declared Denuvo, a digital rights management (DRM) software, as "fully useless" after successfully bypassing its protections, which have been in place since 2014. They achieved this through two main strategies: direct cracking, which removes Denuvo from games, and hypervisor bypass, which deceives Denuvo into functioning normally. These methods have been applied to games like Crimson Desert and Resident Evil Requiem. Recently, a prominent hacker announced the release of hypervisor bypasses for EA Sports games, confirming that all games using Denuvo can now be played for free.
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