wider audience Archives

AppWizard

August 14, 2025

Avakin Life hits Steam after 200 million users on mobile

Avakin Life, a social simulation game launched in 2013 by Lockwood Publishing, has over 1.5 million monthly active users and more than 200 million registered players. It has recently debuted on Steam Early Access, allowing players to experience features such as avatar customization, apartment building, real-time events, and multiplayer social hubs. The Steam version supports cross-platform progression, enabling mobile users to link their accounts. The game is available in 14 languages and is free to download. The development team aims to gather community feedback during the Early Access phase to enhance the user experience and maintain feature parity across platforms. A full launch is expected later in the summer of 2025.

AppWizard

August 9, 2025

Despite requiring Secure Boot, Battlefield 6 already has cheaters

EA and DICE announced that Battlefield 6 will require Secure Boot State, a BIOS setting accessible to most users, alongside the implementation of EA’s Javelin anti-cheat system. The early appearance of cheaters in the game's Open Beta has raised concerns among players. Secure Boot is a security feature that ensures only trusted software can run during system startup, preventing malicious software from loading. Most motherboards released in the last five to six years support Secure Boot, but enabling it may be complicated for some users. The presence of hacks in the game has led to frustration, as players expected Secure Boot and the Javelin anti-cheat system to provide effective protection against cheating.

AppWizard

August 8, 2025

This app lets Mac users take full advantage of Android’s Quick Share with new QR code support

The NearDrop application facilitates seamless file transfers between Android devices and Macs, utilizing a partial implementation of Google’s Quick Share. A recent update allows two-way file transfers, enabling users to send files from both Android devices to Macs and vice versa. The update also introduces QR code support for easier file sharing and adds support for multiple languages, including Romanian.

AppWizard

August 1, 2025

Gemini 2.5 Deep Think is finally heading to Google AI Ultra users

Google has rolled out an enhanced version of its Gemini 2.5 Deep Think model for subscribers of the Google AI Ultra plan. This upgraded model is designed to tackle complex challenges, including advanced mathematics and coding tasks, with improved speed and efficiency. It achieves a Bronze-level score in internal International Math Olympiad assessments and excels in benchmarks like LiveCodeBench V6 and Humanity’s Last Exam. The Google AI Ultra subscription, priced at per month, also includes early access to experimental video models, increased limits on tools, and 30TB of storage. An alternative, the Google AI Pro plan, is available at 0 annually.

AppWizard

August 1, 2025

Battlefield 6 requirements suggest it’ll run on surprisingly modest PCs — EA VP says it still won’t work on Steam Deck, though

Battlefield 6 (BF6) is scheduled for release on October 10, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game requires a 10th-generation Intel processor or an AMD Ryzen 3000 series chip, along with an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti or an AMD RX 6700 XT graphics card for optimal performance. It will not be playable on the Steam Deck but may work on other handheld devices that support external GPUs. Recommended specifications for BF6 include 16GB of memory and 80GB of storage. The Battlefield series has historically been less demanding in terms of graphics compared to other AAA titles.

BetaBeacon

August 1, 2025

Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to Google Play Store: CEO Tim Sweeney

Epic Games Store will soon be available on Android via the Google Play Store, aiming to provide users with an alternative to Google's ecosystem and support more open app marketplaces on mobile platforms.

AppWizard

July 31, 2025

Space Marine 2 publisher says even he ‘didn’t believe that we could hit 7 million unique players,’ but it’s proof that players are hungry for sicko games: ‘When the execution is right, it ends up resonating with many more people’

Pullup Entertainment has seen a quarterly revenue increase of over 130% compared to the previous year, driven by titles like Farming Simulator and Space Marine 2, as well as contributions from in-house studios such as Deck 13 and Dovetail Games. CEO Geoffroy Sardin noted that the game development industry is facing challenges with projects that have limited return on investment struggling to secure financing, leading to a necessary adjustment towards growth. He highlighted the financial risks and long development cycles associated with triple-A games, suggesting that this environment favors mid-budget and indie games. Sardin emphasized the advantages of double-A and indie games, which allow for greater budget control, creativity, and faster market entry. Pullup's success is attributed to its focus on creating targeted games for specific player demographics, particularly within the passionate PC gaming community. Sales data from Steam indicates a growing interest in double-A and indie games in 2023, with recent releases like Roadcraft exceeding expectations.

AppWizard

July 29, 2025

WhatsApp Might Soon Introduce a Dedicated Night Mode in Camera Interface

WhatsApp is adding a night mode feature to its Android app, aimed at improving photography in low-light conditions. This feature has been identified in WhatsApp Beta for Android version 2.25.22.2 and includes a moon icon in the camera interface for manual activation. The night mode enhances image clarity and brightness by adjusting exposure and minimizing noise, allowing users to capture more details in dim environments. It is currently available to select beta testers and is expected to roll out to a wider audience in future updates.

AppWizard

July 27, 2025

Stormgate is leaving early access before it’s technically finished: ‘We believe that our campaign and 1v1 are ready for a broader audience’

Frost Giant Studios announced that its first single-player campaign for the RTS game Stormgate will launch in August, coinciding with the game's exit from Steam early access. The studio clarified that the previous version number "0.6" was misleading and will now be referred to as the Necrolyte release, with future updates adopting descriptive names instead of numerical versioning. The campaign, titled Ashes of Earth, will include 12 missions and a complete narrative arc, with plans for additional free missions in the future. The studio aims to engage a wider audience with both the campaign and the 1v1 multiplayer mode, emphasizing the need to attract new players for financial viability. Additionally, features like co-op missions and an in-game editor called Sigma Labs will be introduced for ongoing development.

Winsage

July 25, 2025

Your Android phone can now control more of your PC, and here’s how

Microsoft is updating its Link to Windows app for Android, introducing new features that enhance connectivity between Android devices and Windows PCs. Users can now remotely lock their Windows PCs, check battery and Wi-Fi status from their phones, and cast their phone's screen without using the PC app. These features, previously in development channels, are being rolled out through the Insider program. The app also allows direct file transfers without using Android’s share sheet, provides access to recent files, and enables viewing the clipboard from the PC. Additionally, the app has a refreshed interface for improved usability. Users can join the Insider program to access these updates by ensuring they have version 1.25071.155 of the app and following specific steps in Windows Settings to enable the new features.