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AppWizard

April 26, 2026

NVIDIA Neural Texture Compression: AI-powered compression aims to alleviate VRAM pressure in PC games

NVIDIA's Neural Texture Compression (NTC) improves memory efficiency in PC gaming by using small neural networks to compress texture data, achieving up to eight times better memory efficiency compared to traditional methods. In a technical demo, NTC reduced a scene's VRAM requirement from 6.5 GB to approximately 970 MB, an 85 percent reduction. The RTX Neural Texture Compression SDK has seen enhancements, including a 20 to 40 percent increase in inference speed. NTC is compatible with RTX hardware and Tensor Cores, but its real-world performance impact is yet to be determined. Microsoft is developing Cooperative Vectors and DirectX methodologies to support machine learning in graphics, which may facilitate broader adoption of NTC. The successful integration of NTC will depend on its stability, documentation, and economic viability for developers.

AppWizard

April 21, 2026

Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Kiln, Aphelion, Final Fantasy V, and More

Chocobos, space, vampires, and sentient pottery are themes of upcoming games showcased at the ID@Xbox and IGN event. Several games will be available on day one through Game Pass, including: - Little Rocket Lab (April 21) - A cozy machine-building RPG where players help build a rocket. - Sopa: Tale of the Stolen Potato (April 21) - A narrative adventure about a quest for a potato in a magical realm. - Vampire Crawlers (April 21) - A turn-based, rogue-lite card-driven game based on Vampire Survivors. - Kiln (April 23) - A pottery-themed game that combines crafting and online battles. - Aphelion (April 28) - A third-person sci-fi adventure involving a crash landing and rescuing a partner. - Trepang2 (April 29) - A visceral FPS set in a dystopian future. - Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era (April 30) - A prequel to the series featuring army raising and spell casting. - Sledding Game (April 30) - A multiplayer snow-sports experience with voice chat. - TerraTech Legion (April 30) - A game focused on constructing battle vehicles. - Final Fantasy V (May 5) - A classic RPG involving a rescue mission and adventure with a Chocobo. Several titles will leave the Game Pass library on April 30, including: - Citizen Sleeper - Creatures of Ava - Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 - Endless Legend 2 - Goat Simulator - Goat Simulator Remastered - Hunt Showdown 1896 - NHL 24 (EA Play) - Revenge of the Savage Planet Games with a 'Handheld' designation are optimized for handheld play.

AppWizard

March 26, 2026

Xbox Partner Preview highlights upcoming games

The Xbox Partner Preview showcased 19 games, with 14 available on day one for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Highlights included the world premieres of "Hunter: The Reckoning – Deathwish," a first-person action game set in the World of Darkness universe, and "Artificial Detective," a post-apocalyptic adventure featuring a robot detective and a human companion.

AppWizard

March 23, 2026

This week in PC games: a new Hooded Horse city-builder, some PS2-style horror, a school-day RPG and an absolutely tremendous catfish

The atmosphere in gaming is currently lacking excitement due to a lull with no major releases. Notable upcoming games include: - Journey of the Garden Rose: An adventure game featuring a princess battling insects in a low-poly palace. - Frog Holm: A bar-running game that combines cocktail mixing with Tetris mechanics. - No Vacation for an Executioner: An action-horror game with a PS2 style and intricately designed monsters. - Come Again, Chachii?: A game where players help quirky aliens find jobs by deciphering their speech. - Roombattle: A top-down multiplayer game featuring competing vacuums. - Mado Monogatari: Fia and the Wondrous Academy: A dungeon-crawling RPG with cheerful characters and perilous elements. - Beast Breaker: A tactical pinball game where players launch a mouse at kaiju. - Nova Roma: An early access city-builder focusing on water management. - Damon and Baby: An action-adventure game featuring a baby and a demon king. - Screamer: A cyberpunk racing game known for its colorful mechanics. - Project Songbird: A game about overcoming writer's block while battling tree monsters. - EverSiege: Untold Ages: An action-strategy game from the creators of Aliens: Dark Descent. Additional activities include capturing images of mushrooms in Rova, constructing a mycelial web in ChloroLink, battling vintage supervillains in Marvel Maximum Collection, searching for a sister in Too Well Hidden, harvesting fuel in Venus in Transit, and transforming clouds into sea creatures in The Wide Open Sky is Running out of Catfish. The Treehouse is working on guides for Crimson Desert, evaluating Slay The Spire 2, assessing hardware, and participating in a preview event.

AppWizard

March 20, 2026

Google Just Made Four Big Upgrades to Android Gaming on Your Windows PC

Google has introduced enhancements to the Google Play gaming experience on Windows PCs, focusing on game discovery and purchasing processes while expanding the availability of paid titles. Key updates include: - An expanded game library with more paid, premium games optimized for PC. - A new PC section in the Play Store Games tab on mobile devices to identify cross-platform compatible titles. - A single purchase option for games that allows access on both mobile and desktop platforms. - Game trials for selected titles, enabling free play up to a certain limit before prompting purchase, with progress carried over if bought. Upcoming games for PC include Moonlight Peaks, Sledding Game, and Low-Budget Repairs. Users can start playing by visiting the Google Play Games web portal, downloading the software, and syncing their Google account. After installation, a list of available games will be displayed, with options to customize controls and visual settings. However, syncing issues may occur, and Game Trials are still in development.

AppWizard

March 15, 2026

5 great indie games from GDC 2026

The GDC Festival of Gaming showcased several upcoming games. - At Fate’s End: An action-adventure game by Thunder Lotus, releasing in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. It explores sibling relationships through combat and exploration. - Mina the Hollower: Developed by Yacht Club Games, this game is inspired by Link’s Awakening and will launch this spring on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S. - The Melty Way: A platformer featuring a slime that melts as it progresses through levels, entering early access on Steam on April 24th. - Poke a Nose: A game where players control a severed hand to collect toilet paper and poke noses, targeting a 2026 release on PC, with a possibility of early 2027. - Super Meat Boy 3D: A 3D adaptation of the original Super Meat Boy, expected to launch in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.

AppWizard

March 13, 2026

Dev at axed PlayStation game studio says Steam Machine could be why Sony is going back to console exclusives

Sony is shifting away from releasing PC ports and is reaffirming its commitment to console exclusives for single-player titles, including upcoming games like Ghost of Yōtei and Marvel’s Wolverine. This decision comes despite the success of Ghost of Tsushima on PC. Discussions suggest that the Steam Machine may influence this strategy, with Mike Ybarra and Peter Dalton highlighting Valve as a significant competitor rather than Xbox. Bluepoint Games, acquired by Sony in 2021, faced closure on March 2nd, following Sony's cancellation of a live-service God of War game. Sony's focus on exclusives is seen as a strategic advantage in competition with both Valve and Xbox, similar to Nintendo's success with its exclusive titles.

AppWizard

March 5, 2026

PC Ports of PlayStation Games Aren’t Selling Well, Sony Pulls the Plug

Sony has decided to stop porting PlayStation games to PC, maintaining exclusivity for upcoming titles like "Marvel's Wolverine" and "Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet." This decision follows underwhelming sales of previous PC ports and is influenced by challenges in the PC industry. Existing titles confirmed for PC, such as "Death Stranding 2: On the Beach," will not be affected. Additionally, the anticipated launch of the PS6 has been delayed to 2028 or 2029, and Sony has closed BluePoint Games, resulting in layoffs.

AppWizard

March 4, 2026

Sorry, first-party Playstation games aren’t coming to PC anymore

Sony is shifting its gaming strategy to focus on a more exclusive model for its first-party PS5 titles, moving away from its recent trend of releasing major games on PC. This change follows a series of successful PC releases starting with Horizon Zero Dawn in 2020, including titles like The Last of Us Part I and God of War Ragnarök. Upcoming games such as Ghost of Yotei and Saros will be PS5 exclusives, while some online games like Marvel Tokon and Marathon will still be multi-platform. Death Stranding 2 is expected to release on PC in 2026. The shift may be influenced by poor sales of PS5 games on PC and concerns that releasing games on PC could harm the PlayStation brand and console sales. Sony's strategy resembles Nintendo's approach to maintaining exclusivity for its flagship franchises.

AppWizard

March 3, 2026

Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Cyberpunk 2077, Planet of Lana II, and More

Final Fantasy III is available on Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is also available on the same platforms under the same subscriptions. Upcoming games include to a T on March 4, EA Sports F1 25 on March 4, Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf on March 5, Construction Simulator on March 10, Cyberpunk 2077 on March 10, Hollow Knight: Silksong on March 12, and DreamWorks Gabby’s Dollhouse: Ready to Party on March 17. Diablo II: Resurrected became available on February 11 for Cloud, Console, and PC. Call of Duty: Warzone Black Ops Royale will be updated on March 13. Game Pass members can claim a complimentary in-game bundle for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty: Warzone. Titles leaving the Game Pass library on March 15 include Bratz Rhythm & Style, Enter the Gungeon, F1 23, He is Coming, Lightyear Frontier, and Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island.