Fanatical has launched the Gaming Legends Sale, offering discounts of up to 90% on a wide range of PC games, including AAA titles and indie games. Customers spending over a certain amount will receive a bonus game or coupon code. Featured discounts include:
- Control Ultimate Edition for .19 (originally .99)
- Lies of P for .99 (down from .99)
- System Shock Remake for .99 (previously .99)
- Frostpunk for .44 (was .99)
- Frostpunk 2 for .99 (originally .99)
Major publishers like Capcom, Sega, and Bethesda are also participating, with discounts on titles such as:
- Skyrim Anniversary Edition for .49 (down from .99)
- Dragon's Dogma 2 for .39 (originally .99)
- Metaphor: Refantazio for .99 (was .99)
Preorders are available for upcoming titles like Monster Hunter Wilds, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Lika A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, along with additional preorder discounts on games such as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Elden Ring: Nightreign. Bundle deals also qualify for the bonus promotion on orders exceeding a certain amount.
Markus "Notch" Persson, the creator of Minecraft and founder of Mojang Studios, has been largely absent from game development since selling Mojang to Microsoft for .5 billion in 2014. Recently, he launched a social media poll to gauge interest in his next project, considering either a new game or a sequel to Minecraft. He expressed interest in developing a roguelike game but acknowledged the legal challenges of creating a Minecraft sequel without Microsoft's approval. Following the poll, he decided to develop a roguelike dungeon crawler titled "Levers and Chests," despite some fans' disappointment over the lack of a Minecraft sequel. Microsoft has distanced itself from Persson since the acquisition, removing references to him from Minecraft and excluding him from the game's tenth-anniversary celebration. Persson's new project will retain a voxel/pixelated art style reminiscent of Minecraft, and he aims to create a game that honors Minecraft's legacy while respecting Mojang's intellectual property.
Elden Ring Nightreign will be released on May 30, 2025, for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. A network test for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S users will take place from February 14 to February 17, 2025, in three-hour sessions. PC gamers can pre-order the standard edition on Steam for £30.79. Console players have various editions and bonuses available, including a gift card at Best Buy. The game features a new Nightfarer system with preset heroes instead of custom character creation. It will include iconic bosses from previous FromSoftware titles, such as Dark Souls’ Centipede Demon and the Nameless King.
Black Myth: Wukong, Frostpunk 2, Palworld, Stalker 2, Tekken 8, Silent Hill 2, and Avowed are all developed using Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). These games have shown inconsistent performance on PC platforms, with social media often blaming UE5. Avowed, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, has erratic frame rates and unconventional upscaling techniques but is visually impressive and generally smooth. Silent Hill 2, developed by Blooper Team, faced bugs and inconsistencies at launch, although patches have been released. Both Obsidian and Blooper Team have experience with Unreal Engine, raising questions about performance issues. Critics compare UE5 unfavorably to Id Tech 7, a proprietary engine known for high performance, due to the extensive customization available to its developers. Unreal Engine is versatile for game development and other applications but presents challenges in transitioning from simple projects to AAA games. Epic Games is addressing common issues like shader compilation stutter and traversal stutter in UE5, but large developers face challenges in updating code without introducing new issues. The timing of game releases often leads to less-than-ideal launch states, with the expectation of post-launch fixes. Avowed may also require adjustments after release, depending on its commercial success and the resources available to Obsidian, who is also working on a sequel to The Outer Worlds using UE5. The main challenge for developers is time, which affects the quality of game releases.
Unknown Worlds issued a warning about fraudulent links claiming to offer access to a playtest of Subnautica 2, stating they will never contact anyone via Steam DM for playtests. Legitimate outreach will only occur through email from an Unknown Worlds address. Players were advised to change their passwords and enable two-factor authentication if they clicked on fraudulent links. Similar scams have targeted other games, such as Mafia: The Old Country. The sequel to Subnautica is set to enter early access later this year, but no specific release date has been announced.
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 became the highest-grossing game on Steam for the week ending February 11th, after launching on February 4th. Counter-Strike 2 is in second place, while Sid Meier's Civilization 7 debuted at third on February 10th. Pre-orders for Monster Hunter Wilds secured the fourth spot, and the Steam Deck rose to fifth. PUBG: Battlegrounds dropped to sixth, Marvel Rivals climbed to seventh, and Helldivers 2 re-entered the Top Ten at eighth. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is in ninth, and Destiny 2 rounds out the Top Ten.
The Cashew PC equipped with Nut OS 1.1 is designed for digital detective work, offering fast internet browsing and efficient database navigation. It serves as the primary tool for players of the game "The Roottrees are Dead," which involves documenting the Roottree family lineage after a tragedy at the Roottree Candy Company. Players must uncover the identities of the family members over 90 years of history, utilizing fictional resources and a search engine called SpiderSearch. The game features a detailed interface that allows players to highlight clues and search for information easily.
The game is set to release on January 15, 2025, priced at .99/£16.75, developed by Robin Ward and published by Evil Trout. It does not support multiplayer and was reviewed on an Intel Core i7-10750H with 16GB RAM and GeForce RTX 2060. An expansion titled "Roottreemania" builds on the original game's narrative, introducing new storylines and challenges. The remake features hand-drawn artwork and incorporates elements of the player's living space into the gameplay.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, developed by Warhorse Studios, is set in 15th-century Bohemia and was released without any digital rights management (DRM) system, leading to unauthorized copies appearing on torrent sites shortly after launch. The game has received positive reviews, being recognized as one of the standout RPGs of 2025.
- Sniper Elite 4 is available on iOS for free, but the full game costs £19.99 and has touchscreen control issues.
- Archero 2 is a free game on iOS and Android that is similar to its predecessor with some new power-ups and events.
- Letterlike is a word-based roguelite game available on iOS and Android for £4.99 with a score of 8/10.
- Dungeons Of Dreadrock 2: The Dread King’s Secret is a puzzle game available on iOS and Android for £7.99 with challenging puzzles.
- LOK Digital is a crossword-style puzzle game available on iOS and Android for free or £5.99 for the full game with a score of 8/10.
- Skate City: New York is a minimalist skating game on iOS included with Apple Arcade subscription with a score of 6/10.
- Super Farming Boy is a kinetic farm management game on iOS for £7.99 with a unique gameplay loop and a score of 8/10.
- Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is a pixel art roguelite game available on iOS and Android for £4.99 with character-driven mechanics and a score of 7/10.
