streamers Archives

AppWizard

July 15, 2026

This viral Steam PC horror game is coming exclusive to Xbox on consoles next week, with Game Pass and Play Anywhere

Shift At Midnight is an indie horror game that combines cooperative gameplay and player agency, allowing players to defend themselves through various means. Originally planned for a PC release on Steam, it will also be available on Xbox consoles, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Play Anywhere starting July 22, 2026. Developer Bun Muen announced this multi-platform launch on July 10, 2026. Early gameplay footage has attracted attention from popular streamers, leading to increased interest in the game. A multiplayer demo is available on Steam, showcasing engaging mechanics reminiscent of Papers, Please and Five Nights at Freddy's.

AppWizard

July 9, 2026

TIDAL Raises Prices Again: What It Means for Music Streamers

TIDAL will implement a price increase for its U.S. subscribers starting August 3, 2026. The new pricing structure will be as follows: Individual plan at .99/month, Family plan at .99/month, and Student plan at .99/month. Existing subscribers will maintain their current rates until their first billing date after the price change. TIDAL's Individual plan remains competitive compared to Spotify Premium and Qobuz Studio, but is higher than Apple Music's .99/month for Individual and .99/month for Family plans. TIDAL cites the need to support artists and invest in new features as reasons for the price increase. The impact on Individual subscribers is expected to be minimal, while Family and Student subscribers may reconsider their options due to the higher costs.

AppWizard

July 3, 2026

The latest Chinese PC gaming hit is an indie game that spent the last 8 years growing into something you’ve never played before

The Scroll of Taiwu is a Chinese indie game that debuted in early access on Steam in 2018 and has recently reached its 1.0 release after eight years of development. It offers an immersive experience rooted in Chinese mythology, contrasting with the fast-paced action of many contemporary games. The game features an expansive open world where players can hone martial arts skills, manage towns, and navigate conflicts. Despite its popularity among Chinese gamers, the lack of English localization has limited its reach, but the recent full release includes ongoing English translation efforts. The game has over 5 million words in its script, making complete translation challenging. The game's publishing advisor, Leye "Yager" Yu, has invested over 1,200 hours into it and believes in its potential to attract a broader audience. The developers are focused on improving localization and addressing bugs post-launch, while Yager plans to promote the game through collaborations and word-of-mouth.

AppWizard

June 18, 2026

Minecraft Is Becoming Entertainment’s Most Unexpected Storytelling Tool

In Minecraft, avatars lack facial expressions, prompting players to use imagination and body language for emotional interpretation. Players utilize vocal cues for storytelling, making viewers active participants who can influence gameplay. This interactive storytelling fosters social bonds between creators and audiences, allowing real-time audience engagement. Minecraft serves as a versatile platform for gaming, filmmaking, animation, and social networking, promoting independent media consumption. As Generation Z and Alpha engage with narratives across multiple platforms, Minecraft exemplifies this trend. Community innovators, including modders and animators, have inspired Mojang Studios to create narrative content like Minecraft Story Mode and Minecraft Dungeons, with a sequel set to release in September.

AppWizard

June 14, 2026

Hide-and-seek game where you paint your body to blend in sells a million copies in four days

Players in Meccha Chameleon control a featureless, white, blobby biped and use a color wheel to paint their bodies in real-time to blend into their surroundings. The game sold one million copies within four days of its release. The developer, lemorion_1224, announced this milestone on the Steam community blog and expressed gratitude to players. The game has gained popularity among streamers and YouTubers, and it supports public matches and streaming. Meccha Chameleon is a lobby-based PvP party game where players are divided into seekers and hiders, with seekers trying to locate all hiders before time runs out. The game features creative disguising techniques, such as blending into shadows or textures. It is priced at just under .

AppWizard

June 7, 2026

More Minecraft, More Challenges

Minecraft is launching a sponsorship campaign called “More Minecraft, More Challenges” for streamers on Twitch, running for three weeks starting June 6th at 8 AM PT. Streamers from the US, UK, and Germany can earn up to ,000 across three weekly campaigns, each with a new theme and viewer rewards. Viewers can earn rewards by watching participating channels through a feature called Drops. Streamers must accept the sponsorship via their Sponsorship Dashboard and stream for at least one hour with Channel Skins active. The campaign is first-come, first-served, and once spots are filled, no more entries will be accepted. Participating streamers will have promotional skin overlays and may receive enhanced visibility through front page placement from June 6-26. Earnings will be reflected in the revenue dashboard within a week after content review.

AppWizard

May 26, 2026

5 extremely popular Steam apps that aren’t games — Level up your PC with these useful utilities and tools

Cale Hunt is preparing for Computex and enhancing his yard for summer. Steam is the largest platform for PC gamers, featuring over 130,000 games and also offering non-gaming software for development, design, editing, and production. Cale enjoys using Aseprite for creating 2D pixel art, although he hasn't used his creations for projects. Lossless Scaling provides frame generation for any GPU, benefiting retro gaming enthusiasts. Wallpaper Engine allows users to create animated wallpapers and screensavers and has maintained an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam since 2018. Crosshair X enables customization of reticles in games and integrates with the Xbox Game Bar. OBS Studio is popular among streamers for its comprehensive tools. Cale encourages readers to share their favorite non-game apps on Steam.

AppWizard

May 22, 2026

‘Minecraft’ Streamer GrammaCrackers Targeted in Swatting Incident During Charity Livestream

An 81-year-old "Minecraft" content creator known as GrammaCrackers experienced a swatting attack during a livestream, leading to a significant police response at her home. The false emergency report resulted in police vehicles, SWAT teams, and aerial surveillance units arriving at her residence. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and GrammaCrackers humorously reflected on the incident afterward. The online community has since rallied to support her fundraising efforts for her grandson's cancer treatment.

AppWizard

May 19, 2026

I’m not sure who the PUBG x Payday collab is for, or why it exists

Developers of PUBG are introducing a map selection feature despite concerns that it could lead to longer wait times and more bot players. They believe this will enhance the game experience. PUBG has also collaborated with the game Payday, introducing a new game mode with monetary incentives for players. The gameplay in this mode has been described as unremarkable and feels more like a marketing strategy than a genuine enhancement. The developers expressed concerns about dividing the matchmaking pool and affecting overall quality in a letter regarding the new feature. The Payday heist mode incentivizes participation through in-game rewards but lacks the tension that has contributed to PUBG's longevity. Additionally, a 0,000 prize pool for streamers based on viewer numbers aims to draw attention to the new mode but feels inorganic. There seems to be a conflict within the development team between preserving player experience and diversifying the game, which could risk alienating the player base.

AppWizard

May 10, 2026

Riot clarifies Trainwreck’s Valorant ban: “This wasn’t just a five-stack with friends on their own accounts”

Riot Games imposed a month-long ban on Tyler Faraz Nikam, known as 'Trainwreck,' due to his association with an Immortal player who was using smurf accounts, which raised concerns about the integrity of five-stack play in Valorant. Riot's anti-cheat team clarified that the ban resulted from a specific player's actions during Trainwreck's gaming session, which violated the Terms of Service. Trainwreck played with several streamers, including Jay 'Sinatraa' Won and Michael 'Dapr' Gulino, and expressed confusion over the ban, suggesting it was targeted. Riot emphasized that the issue was not with Trainwreck's high-ranking companions but with a player who had a history of infractions and was using multiple lower-ranked smurf accounts, achieving an 80% win rate over 50 games. This behavior contravened Riot's terms regarding account boosting. Trainwreck defended himself, stating that most players in his stacks were on their main accounts and questioned the legitimacy verification of his teammates' accounts. Riot clarified that the violation stemmed from a repeat offender manipulating matchmaking by borrowing accounts to achieve a lower rank, skewing the competitive environment.