Welcome to WarBulletin - your new best friend in the world of gaming. We're all about bringing you the hottest updates and juicy insights from across the gaming universe. Are you into epic RPG adventures or fast-paced eSports? We've got you covered with the latest scoop on everything from next-level PC gaming rigs to the coolest game releases. But hey, we're more than just news! Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite games? We're talking exclusive interviews with the brains behind the games, fresh off-the-press photos and videos straight from gaming conventions, and, of course, breaking news that you just can't miss. We know you love gaming 24/7, and that's why we're here round the clock, updating you on all things gaming. Whether it's the lowdown on a new patch or the buzz about the next big gaming celeb, we're on it.
Manor Lords is out today and it's going gangbusters, having now surpassed 150,000 concurrent players on Steam. It's also sitting atop a «very positive» user rating, with 90% of the more than 1,600 user reviews posted so far. That's a pretty good first day, and at this point I'm left with just one burning question: Why the hell is the developer called «Slavic Magic?»
We couldn't hold a roundtable interview on the State of PC Gaming without asking developers about the most ubiquitous name in PC gaming: Steam. After 20 years the store is still a fixture, and despite increased competition from Epic, Ubisoft and other storefronts, it continues to thrive. The perspective of the developers we invited to talk about current trends in PC gaming—from the studios behind Warframe, Baldur's Gate 3, Slay the Spire, and EVE Online—was unanimously positive.
Stellar Blade is rolling out across the world today, but launch certainly isn't the end since its director has teased a crossover between the hack-n-slashin' action game and the studio's previous gacha release, best known for its - checks notes - butt-jiggling physics.
Casey Yano, co-founder of Slay the Spire developer Mega Crit, quit his job several years ago to work on the deckbuilder that would eventually earn a 92% from PC Gamer and a 97% overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam. It wasn't a smash hit at first, when it launched in early access, but as Slay the Spire picked up attention it eventually became the inspiration for dozens more singleplayer deckbuilding roguelikes. Many of those games have also been successful, but the surprise breakout of this year's Helldivers 2 and its unique approach to a live service shooter prompted PC Gamer's Evan Lahti to ask to what extent developers should be trying to capitalize on whatever's currently trendy.
During Baldur's Gate 3's trip around the award circuit winning every major GOTY trophy there is, the developers at Larian have taken some of their stage time to criticize corporate greed and mass layoffs. In the wake of its massively successful self-published game, Larian hasn't been shy about pointing the finger at what it sees changing—and going wrong—in the games industry. Larian publishing director Michael Douse brought that same energy to a recent PC Gamer roundtable interview, confidently stating «marketing is dead» in a discussion with other prominent game developers.
This month PC Gamer delivers world-exclusive access to Frostpunk 2, the gripping new city-survival game from 11 bit studios. Flying to Warsaw, Poland, to visit 11 bit's studio, experience the game in action, and interview its developers, we have the authoritative inside scoop on a game that's already looking like one of the best new releases of 2024.
While the long-standing curse of gaming adaptations has been broken for quite a while, the Fallout TV adaptation (just renewed for a second season) stands out from many others not only because of its sheer quality but also because it dared to progress the story further, taking place after the latest games instead of merely adapting existing storylines.
If you've not been following the journey of Embracer, let me speedrun an explanation real quick: Over the course of seven years, Embracer snapped up a bunch of companies, hit an iceberg of a sunken $2 billion dollar deal, subsequently laid off 1,400 people in six months, and scrapped a bunch of projects while selling off studios to bail water.