Enlarge / Is this an aspirational image for mass shooters? The families of multiple victims of the 2022 mass shooting…
Read More
Dvonee.com
Beyond Clicks Into Context
Sony apologizes for interview it says “misrepresented” a Last of Us creator
Enlarge / Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, seen here not questioning the accuracy of a PR interview. Sony has taken down…
Read More
Bungie wins landmark suit against Destiny 2 cheat-maker AimJunkies
Bungie They wanted to make money by selling cheating tools to Destiny 2 players. They may have ended up setting…
Read More
The ROG Ally X leaks, with twice the battery of the original and way more RAM
Enlarge / VideoCardz’ leaked image of a ROG Ally X, seemingly having gone through the JPG blender a couple times.…
Read More
After you die, your Steam games will be stuck in legal limbo
Enlarge / But… but I was just about to check out Tacoma. Getty Images With Valve’s Steam gaming platform approaching…
Read More
Netflix releases first look at new Witcher after Henry Cavill left for Warhammer 40K
The Witcher season four teaser. It has been a tumultuous run for Netflix’s popular adaptation of The Witcher novels and…
Read More
Shadow of the Erdtree’s trailer gives us more Elden Ring lore to get wrong
Enlarge / “Look, everybody! It’s the one thing that ties the whole story together! And it’s pointing us toward this…
Read More
Microsoft Copilot will watch you play Minecraft, tell you what you’re doing wrong
Enlarge / In the recent past, you’d have to rely on your kid sibling to deliver Minecraft commentary like “Oh…
Read More
Does anyone really need a 1,000 Hz gaming display?
Enlarge / A better monitor refresh rate might help with all that motion blurring… Getty Images Just a couple of…
Read More
Songs of Conquest is the Heroes of Might & Magic rebirth we all deserve
Enlarge / Battles get a wee bit involved as you go on in Songs of Conquest. Coffee Stain Publishing There…
Read More
Leaks from Valve’s Deadlock look like a pressed sandwich of every game around
Enlarge / Valve has its own canon of games full of artifacts and concepts worth emulating, as seen in a…
Read More
The Apple TV is coming for the Raspberry Pi’s retro emulation box crown
Enlarge / The RetroArch app installed in tvOS. Andrew Cunningham Apple’s initial pitch for the tvOS and the Apple TV…
Read More
How to port any N64 game to the PC in record time
Enlarge / “N-tel (64) Inside” Aurich Lawson | Getty Images In recent years, we’ve reported on multiple efforts to reverse-engineer…
Read More
Sony listing hints at native, upscaled PS2 emulation on the PS5
Enlarge / Identical cousins. Years ago, Sony started making a select handful of “PlayStation 2 Classics” available as emulated downloads…
Read More
Virtual Boy: The bizarre rise and quick fall of Nintendo’s enigmatic red console
Ars Technica AI Reporter and tech historian Benj Edwards has co-written a book on the Virtual Boy with Dr. Jose…
Read More
Game dev says contract barring “subjective negative reviews” was a mistake
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of NetEase using a legal contract to try to stop a wave of negative reviews of…
Read More
Warner Bros. gives Adult Swim games back to their creators rather than kill them
Enlarge / Timely art from the game Traverser, soon to be published by developer Gatling Goat Studios. Gatling Goat Studios/Adult…
Read More
Cryptmaster is a dark, ridiculous RPG test of your typing and guessing skills
Enlarge / Sometimes you gotta get your nose in there to remember the distinct aroma of 1980s RPG classics. Akupara…
Read More
Sony backs down, won’t enforce PSN accounts for Helldivers 2 PC players on Steam
Enlarge / Aiming a single rifle sight into an earth-moving explosion feels like some kind of metaphor for the Helldivers…
Read More
Manor Lords’ medieval micromanagement means making many messes
Enlarge / This peaceful, pastoral scene actually represents a ton of hard work! Slavic Magic Do you ever look around…
Read More
Nintendo pre-announces a Switch 2 announcement is coming… eventually
Enlarge / Nintendo will eventually gift us Switch 2 information, hopefully in time for Christmas. Aurich Lawson While the past…
Read More
Microsoft shuts down Bethesda’s Hi-Fi Rush, Redfall studios
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Microsoft telling Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks they no longer exist as a studio. Tango…
Read More
40 years later, Kontrabant 2 for ZX Spectrum is rebroadcast on FM in Slovenia
Enlarge / In 1984, the year 2000 was so promising, students made entire games promising to take you there. Radio…
Read More
Court rules against Activision Blizzard in $23.4M patent dispute
Enlarge / Acceleration Bay says World of Warcraft‘s networking code infringes on a patent originally filed by Boeing. Activision Blizzard…
Read More
Hands-on with the new John Wick pinball
Enlarge / John? Is that you, John? John? Can’t we discuss this like civilized men? Stern Pinball If you don’t…
Read More
Sneaking science into Borderlands: Inside the game inside a game
Enlarge / Line up those colors and close those gaps… for science! In 2020, a new minigame appeared in the…
Read More
Hackers discover how to reprogram NES Tetris from within the game
Enlarge / I can see the code that controls the Tetri-verse! Aurich Lawson Earlier this year, we shared the story…
Read More
Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
Enlarge / Rather than going to beaches to catch Wigletts, some Pokémon Go players are trying to bring the beaches…
Read More
GeForce Now has made Steam Deck streaming much easier than it used to be
Enlarge / Streaming Fallout 4 from GeForce Now might seem unnecessary, unless you know how running it natively has been…
Read More
Sony demands PSN accounts for Helldivers 2 PC players, and it’s not going well
Enlarge / This gear is from the upcoming “Polar Patriots” Premium Warbond in Helldivers 2. It’s an upcoming change the…
Read More
Mini Settlers is a city builder that you can both enjoy and actually put down
Enlarge / Are you enticed by this kind of orderly madness with a clean graphical layout? Then I suggest you……
Read More
One and done: Elden Ring’s first DLC expansion will also be its last
Enlarge / A big erdtree casts a big shadow. Namco Bandai The good news for Elden Ring fans is that…
Read More
Hades II’s new combat options enhance an already great game
Enlarge / New gods, same old drama. Supergiant Here at Ars, we were obviously excited by the late 2022 announcement…
Read More
Dave & Buster’s is adding real money betting options to arcade staples
Enlarge / It’s a good thing this kid is too young to bet on Skee-Ball, because his dad is getting…
Read More
Behind the wheel of CXC’s $600,000 off-road racing simulator
Enlarge / CXC Simulations needed to come up with something special for Norwegian Cruise Lines, so it built an off-road…
Read More
The iPhone’s next AAA game, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, gets a release date
Enlarge / Assassin’s Creed Mirage returned to the earlier games’ focus on stealth assassinations in a historical urban environment. Ubisoft…
Read More
Report suggests Switch 2 can play all original Switch games
A mock-up posted by MobaPad provides one vision of how magnetically attached Switch 2 Joy-Cons might look Thus far, Nintendo…
Read More
There’s never been a better time to get into Fallout 76
Enlarge / More players have been emerging from this vault lately than have in years. Samuel Axon War never changes,…
Read More
Putting Microsoft’s cratering Xbox console sales in context
Enlarge / Scale is important, especially when talking about relative console sales. Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Yesterday, Microsoft announced…
Read More
Switch 2 reportedly replaces slide-in Joy-Cons with magnetic attachment
Enlarge / The slide-on Joy-Con connection point shown in the center of the image may be a thing of the…
Read More
Can an online library of classic video games ever be legal?
Enlarge / The Q*Bert’s so bright, I gotta wear shades. Aurich Lawson | Getty Images | Gottlieb For years now,…
Read More
Garry’s Mod is taking down 20 years’ worth of “Nintendo Stuff”
Enlarge / “5ario” here won’t be on the Garry’s Mod Steam Workshop for long. The popular long-running Source-engine physics sandbox…
Read More
No more refunds after 100 hours: Steam closes Early Access playtime loophole
Getty Images “Early Access” was once a novel, quirky thing, giving a select set of Steam PC games a way…
Read More
Elite: Dangerous’s real-money ship sales spark “pay-to-win” outrage
Enlarge / Players will be able to throw down a few bucks to get the Python Mk 2 starting next…
Read More
Why a GameCube/Wii emulator may not be possible on the iOS App Store
Enlarge / Don’t expect to see this on the iOS App Store any time soon. Last week’s release of the…
Read More
Delta takes flight: Apple-approved Nintendo emulator is a great iOS option
Enlarge / That is in no way what the Z button looks like or where it goes… Apple’s decision earlier…
Read More
Modder packs an entire Nintendo Wii into a box the size of a pack of cards
Enlarge / Its creator calls the “Short Stack” the world’s smallest scale model replica of the Nintendo Wii (bottom). The…
Read More
War never changes: A Fallout fan’s spoiler-laden review of the new TV series
Enlarge / The nukes went off in 2077 in Fallout’s universe. The show tells us more about this event than…
Read More
Cities: Skylines 2 team apologizes, makes DLC free and promises a fan summit
Enlarge / Like the Beach Properties DLC itself, this property looks a bit unfinished and in need of some focus.…
Read More
Fallout games continue seeing big player jumps after the TV series’ success
Enlarge / Seeing power armor in the Fallout series inspired many players to jump back into their own suits (and…
Read More
Meta’s new $199 Quest 2 price is a steal for the VR-curious
Enlarge / For just $199, you could be having as much fun as this paid model. Meta has announced it’s…
Read More
Dwarf Fortress’ Adventure Mode brings the sim’s chaotic spirit to CRPGs
Enlarge / See that fortress over there? You can explore it. And then die when someone in your party remembers…
Read More
After decades of Mario, how do developers bridge a widening generation gap?
Enlarge / A prototype wonder effect—featuring Mario’s head turned into blocks that could be eaten by enemies—didn’t make it into…
Read More
Apple removes the first iOS Game Boy emulator released under new App Store rules
Enlarge / Photos of iGBA that appeared on the App Store before the app was taken down. Over the weekend,…
Read More
No one needs this cryptocurrency-powered Steam Deck competitor
Enlarge / Look, a generic render that looks vaguely like every other Steam Deck clone. Playtron Remember when “web3 gaming”…
Read More
Nintendo targets Switch-emulation chat servers, decryption tools with DMCA
Enlarge / Is a name like “Suyu” ironic enough to avoid facing a lawsuit? Suyu Nintendo continues to use DMCA…
Read More
Google mocks Epic’s proposed reforms to end Android app market monopoly
Epic Games has filed a proposed injunction that would stop Google from restricting third-party app distribution outside Google Play Store…
Read More
Why there are 861 roguelike deckbuilders on Steam all of a sudden
Aurich Lawson In a deckbuilding game, you start out with a basic set of cards, then upgrade it over time,…
Read MoreCan a Piano Transcription Be Performed on Different Types of Pianos?
Piano Transcription Be Performed A piano transcription is the process of converting a piece of music written for another instrument…
Read More
Three episodes in, the Fallout TV series absolutely nails it
Like the games, the show depicts a Vault Dweller making her way out into the Wasteland. Amazon This Brotherhood of…
Read More
How to cheat at Super Mario Maker and get away with it for years
The Frankenstein’s monster of a GamePad hack responsible for the creation of Trimming the Herbs. Ahoyo A cardboard box provides…
Read More
Slay the Spire 2, Vampire Survivors meets Contra, and other “Triple-i” games
Enlarge / Norland is a game that communicates its intent well through screenshots. Hooded Horse The Triple-i initiative is a…
Read More
Intel is investigating game crashes on top-end Core i9 desktop CPUs
Enlarge / Intel’s high-end Core i9-13900K and 14900K are reportedly having crashing problems in some games. Andrew Cunningham If you…
Read More
Apple now allows retro game emulators on its App Store—but with big caveats
Enlarge / The classic Sega Genesis game Sonic the Hedgehog running on an iPhone—in this case, as a standalone app.…
Read More
New Catan game has overpopulation, pollution, fossil fuels, and clean energy
Enlarge / If you didn’t know what “New Energies” meant, this promotional image puts a windmill on it. Catan GmbH…
Read More
Discord starts down the dangerous road of ads this week
Discord Discord had long been strongly opposed to ads, but starting this week, it’s giving video game makers the ability…
Read More
Largely cut off from Western games, Russia looks into a homegrown game console
Enlarge / A Cold War-era arcade cabinet that serves as an example of what happened the last time Russia was…
Read More
Embracer Group lets go of Borderlands maker for $460M after three years
Enlarge / Claptrap keeps finding himself in wild new places. Now he’s heading from Sweden’s Embracer Group to New York…
Read More
Microsoft opens a crack in console gaming’s decades-old walled garden
Enlarge / Will the fragile Xbox balloon pop if that cage is opened? Aurich Lawson / Getty Images Since the…
Read More
Cities: Skylines 2 gets long-awaited official mod support and map editor
Enlarge / Kudos to the designer of this umbrella-shaded rooftop terrace at Colossal Order, perhaps the only worker who can…
Read More
Super Mario Maker’s “final boss” was a fraud all along
When good robots fall into the wrong hands, bad things can happen… Aurich Lawson | Nintendo The Super Mario Maker…
Read MoreSwitch emulator Suyu hit by GitLab DMCA, project lives on through self-hosting
Enlarge / Is a name like “Suyu” ironic enough to avoid facing a lawsuit? Suyu Switch emulator Suyu—a fork of…
Read More
“We’ve done our job”: Baldur’s Gate 3 devs call off DLC and step away from D&D
Enlarge / Sometimes your infernal-engine-powered heart just isn’t in it. Larian Studios/Hasbro Swen Vincke, director of the colossal entity that…
Read More
Take a trip through gaming history with this charming GDC display
Only the most dedicated “Carmen” fans—or North Dakotan educators of a certain age—are likely to have this one in their…
Read More
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is gritty, janky, goofy, tough, and lots of fun
Enlarge / One day I will own griffons in such spectacular fashion. But I’m currently carrying a too-heavy backpack and…
Read More
Super Mario Bros. Wonder devs created 2,000 game-altering “Wonder Effect” ideas
Enlarge / Just some of the unused Wonder Effect ideas submitted via sticky note by the development team. Kyle Orland…
Read More
AMD promises big upscaling improvements and a future-proof API in FSR 3.1
AMD Last summer, AMD debuted the latest version of its FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling technology. While version 2.x focused…
Read More
Report: Sony stops producing PSVR2 amid “surplus” of unsold units
Enlarge / PSVR2 (left) next to the original PSVR. Kyle Orland / Ars Technica It looks like Sony’s PlayStation VR2…
Read More
Playtron’s wildly ambitious gaming OS aims to unite stores, lure “core casuals”
Enlarge / This isn’t what the first PlaytronOS-powered device will look like. That could be your Steam Deck, a 5G…
Read More
The Super Mario Maker community faces its final boss
Enlarge / “Trimming the Herbs,” mapped above, is all that stands between “Team 0%” and its ultimate goal of clearing…
Read More
Steam Families opens up game libraries for sharing, with a few caveats
Valve PC gaming is often regarded as a solitary pursuit, but the advent of PC gaming handhelds like the Steam…
Read More
“You a—holes”: Court docs reveal Epic CEO’s anger at Steam’s 30% fees
Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has long been an outspoken opponent of what he…
Read More
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Edition debuts to stuffed servers, angry players
Enlarge / Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection has had an early reception much like the ship at left in this…
Read More
Google’s new gaming AI aims past “superhuman opponent” and at “obedient partner”
Enlarge / Even hunt-and-fetch quests are better with a little AI help. At this point in the progression of machine-learning…
Read More
Lost, circa-2008 Timesplitters 4 prototype discovered on PS3 dev kit
Enlarge / This image from a 2007 teaser was one of the only remaining bits of Timesplitters 4 available to…
Read MoreHere’s how the makers of the “Suyu” Switch emulator plan to avoid getting sued
Enlarge / Is a name like “Suyu” ironic enough to avoid facing a lawsuit? Suyu Last week, the developers behind…
Read More
Sixty Four is a beautiful system design toy that reveals something rather dark
Enlarge / Your author is eight hours in and only recognizes roughly 50 percent of the objects and resources in…
Read More
Devs left with tough choices as Warner Bros. ends all Adult Swim Games downloads
Enlarge / A plucky, likable creature under the looming threat of consumption by an interconnected menacing force of nature in…
Read More
Apple backtracks, reinstates Epic Games’ iOS developer account in Europe
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Epic Games celebrating their impending return to iOS in Europe. Epic Games Epic vs. Apple/Google…
Read More
AMD stops certifying monitors, TVs under 144 Hz for FreeSync
Enlarge / AMD’s depiction of a game playing without FreeSync (left) and with FreeSync (right). AMD announced this week that…
Read More
Apple’s treatment of Epic Games draws the eye of EU regulators
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Apple attempting to dodge the concerns of EU regulators. Epic Games European Union regulators are…
Read More
Rooster Teeth, home of Red Vs. Blue and RWBY, shutting down after 21 years
Enlarge / Near the height of its powers in 2018, Rooster Teeth’s annual RTX conference was drawing more than 62,000…
Read More
DMA be damned, Apple cuts off path to Epic Games Store, Fortnite on EU iPhones
Enlarge / A Fortnite loading screen displayed on an iPhone in 2018, when Apple and Epic weren’t at each other’s…
Read More
“It‘s kind of depressing”: WB Discovery pulls indie game for “business changes”
Enlarge / In Small Radios Big Televisions, you get the sense that workers trapped inside a series of siloed factories…
Read More
What a potential post-Xbox future could mean for Sony and Nintendo
Aurich Lawson Microsoft’s decision to ease off its 23-year competition with Sony and Nintendo over supremacy in games hardware has…
Read More
Switch emulator makers agree to pay $2.4 million to settle Nintendo lawsuit
Enlarge / Chopping Yuzu into three parts was not a proposed legal remedy in the proposed settlement… Yuzu The makers…
Read More
Meta will start collecting “anonymized” data about Quest headset usage
Enlarge / Meta is watching for your “anonymized” VR data. Aurich Lawson | Getty Images Meta will soon begin “collecting…
Read More
Emulation community expresses defiance in wake of Nintendo’s Yuzu lawsuit
Enlarge / Power (glove) to the people. Aurich Lawson Nintendo’s recent lawsuit against Switch emulator maker Yuzu seems written like…
Read More
DLSS? FSR? Microsoft aims to end the PC gaming upscaling wars with “DirectSR”
Enlarge / Midrange GPUs like AMD’s Radeon RX 7600 or Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 can benefit a lot from DLSS…
Read More
Review: AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE GPU doesn’t quite earn its “7900” label
Enlarge / ASRock’s take on AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 GRE. Andrew Cunningham In July 2023, AMD released a new GPU…
Read More
Dark Forces Remastered makes a classic Star Wars shooter feel fast and fluid
Enlarge / Do you ever wonder why no contractor has been able to deliver to the Empire a standardized blaster…
Read MoreHow strong is Nintendo’s legal case against Switch emulator Yuzu?
Enlarge / Chopping Yuzu into three parts is not a proposed legal remedy, for now… Yuzu Nintendo has filed a…
Read More
Nintendo’s lost 1990s “VR” console comes to 3DS thanks to a remarkable emulator
Floogle/X Nintendo has made some bold, weird choices with its hardware designs. But none were so bold and weird as…
Read More
Age of Empires 2 gets another expansion 25 years later, and deservedly so
Enlarge / A battle between Ragnar Lothbrok and Oda Nobunaga was unlikely to occur, given the roughly 700 years between…
Read More
Why new fan blog “Final Fantasy VIII is the Best” is the best
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of my face when I realized people are still creating new gaming fansites in 2024. It…
Read More
C-Infinity is a bulky, quixotic solution to VR’s nausea problem
Enlarge / Important note: You (probably) will not look this good when using the C-Infinity. Neurosync Anyone who has spent…
Read More
Star Wars Battlefront collection revives a multiplayer classic
The game includes re-creations of classic battles from the original trilogy… Lucasfilm …as well as the prequel trilogy. Lucasfilm You…
Read More
Nvidia’s new app doesn’t require you to log in to update your GPU driver
Nvidia Nvidia has announced a public beta of a new app for Windows, one that does a few useful things…
Read More
I tried to jump back into JRPGs with FFVII Rebirth, and that was a big mistake
Square It is said that you can’t go home again, and now I am reminded of how true that is.…
Read More
Microsoft confirms which Xbox games are going to Switch, PlayStation
Enlarge / Four Xbox console exclusives will soon be exclusive no more. Microsoft During a “business update” video podcast last…
Read More
Elden Ring DLC will fill in the story with lots more Miquella (and grim combat)
Enlarge / There’s a lot of meaning in this image for studied fans of Elden Ring, but confirmation will have…
Read More
Reports: Switch successor is now set for early 2025
Enlarge / I took this photo nearly seven years ago, and I’m still waiting for a new game console from…
Read More
Microsoft sure seems to be thinking about some sort of portable Xbox
Enlarge / A demo of “Project Xcloud” streaming running on a mobile device, circa 2019. Yesterday’s news that four unnamed…
Read More
After weeks of rumors, Microsoft says four games are going to “other consoles”
After weeks of rumors around its strategy regarding Xbox console exclusives, Microsoft announced today that it is “going to take…
Read More
Our unbiased take on Mark Zuckerberg’s biased Apple Vision Pro review
Enlarge / No way would Zuckerberg be photographed wearing a Vision Pro, but let’s just imagine he’s looking at a…
Read More
Steam Next Fest: Eight game demos that stood out from the crowd
Can you tell which of these seemingly identical bits of Steam iconography were generated using AI (trick question, it’s none…
Read More
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is a fine entry point into the auto-shooting depths
Enlarge / Your author actually made it out of this, but not that much further. Kevin Purdy/Ghost Ship Games Deep…
Read More
F-Zero courses from a dead Nintendo satellite service restored using VHS and AI
Enlarge / BS F-Zero Deluxe sounds like a funny name until you know that the first part stands for “broadcast…
Read More
Diablo II streamer finds 1-in-3-million item drop, instantly sells it for laughs
Enlarge / Mere seconds before an epic livestreamed troll moment. The Zod rune has a mythical place in Diablo II…
Read MoreWhat would an Xbox without console exclusives even look like?
Enlarge / The world’s most expensive domino set. Aurich Lawson It’s been a busy time in the Xbox rumor mill…
Read More
Disney invests $1.5B in Epic Games, plans new “games and entertainment universe”
Enlarge / What is this, some sort of “meta universe” or something? Disney / Epic Entertainment conglomerate Disney has announced…
Read MoreComplete Piano Solos by Earl Wild
Piano Solos Throughout his career, pianist Earl Wild created a large amount of music, from television scores to ballet music…
Read More
Elden Ring is Tencent’s next target for mobile loot boxes and microtransactions
Enlarge / Artist’s rendition of two Elden Ring teams, The Medium and The Message, battling it out in a colosseum…
Read More
Palworld’s Pokémon pastiche is Xbox Game Pass’ biggest-ever 3rd-party game launch
Pocketpair The unexpected success of Palworld continues to be one of the biggest gaming stories of 2024 so far, as…
Read More
Fans preserve and emulate Sega’s extremely rare ‘80s “AI computer”
Enlarge / “Expanding the Possibilities…..with Artificial Intelligence” Even massive Sega fans would be forgiven for not being too familiar with…
Read More
New 6GB version of the RTX 3050 may be Nvidia’s first sub-$200 GPU in over 4 years
Gigabyte Nvidia launched three new GPUs last month, part of a Super overhaul of the RTX 40-series designed to improve…
Read More
Convicted console hacker says he paid Nintendo $25 a month from prison
Enlarge / It’s-a me, the long arm of the law. Aurich Lawson / Nintendo / Getty Images When 54-year-old Gary…
Read More
“Can it run Doom?” (Gut bacteria edition)
Ramlan explains her bacterial grid display model and how it fits into the wider “Doom runs on everything” tradition. Here…
Read More
Nvidia RTX 4080 Super review: All you need to know is that it’s cheaper than a 4080
PNY’s version of the RTX 4080 Super. Andrew Cunningham Some lower-end third-party GeForce cards use 8-pin connectors, but expect most…
Read More
Report: Deus Ex title killed after Embracer Group’s cuts at Eidos
Enlarge / Adam Jensen of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, taking in the news that no last-minute contrivance is going to…
Read More
Review: Radeon 7600 XT offers peace of mind via lots of RAM, remains a mid-range GPU
XFX’s take on AMD’s Radeon RX 7600 XT. Andrew Cunningham AMD mandates DisplayPort 2.1 support on the 7600 XT, where…
Read More
Pokémon Company will “investigate” Palworld in light of plagiarism accusations
Enlarge / Everyone is focused on the Pals that look a lot like Pokémon; meanwhile, this guy is just a…
Read More
Major mod site says to keep your Pokémon content far away from Palworld
Enlarge / Nexus Mods says it wants nothing to do with this kind of Palworld content. Palworld‘s viral success has…
Read More
PlayStation has blocked hardware cheating device Cronus Zen, others may follow
Enlarge / Who doesn’t want less recoil? Unless, that is, you’re someone competing against the person getting this benefit with…
Read More
Analyst: Switch 2 will have a massive 8-inch LCD screen
Enlarge / The 7″ screen of the Switch OLED (top) seen next to the 6.2″ screen of the original Switch.…
Read More
Dungeons & Dragons turns 50 this year, and there’s a lot planned for it
Enlarge / The three rulebooks fo “fantastic medieval wargames” that started it all, released at some point in late January…
Read More
Microsoft cancels Blizzard survival game, lays off 1,900
Enlarge / Blizzard shared this image teasing a now-cancelled game in 2022. Blizzard Entertainment/Twitter The survival game that Blizzard announced…
Read More
Resident Evil Kart’s fixed camera angles make for a charmingly frustrating classic
Enlarge / Is this Super Mario Kart or Where’s Waldo? Here at Ars, we’re big fans of emulators and ROM…
Read More
Review: Nvidia’s RTX 4070 Ti Super is better, but I still don’t know who it’s for
Our specific RTX 4070 Ti Super is a PNY model, the RTX 4070 Ti Super 16GB Verto. Andrew Cunningham The…
Read More
Prepare for more upscaled classic PC game mods with new RTX Remaster beta toolkit
Enlarge / A sample of the RTX Remix user interface being used to develop the enhanced Portal with RTX. In…
Read More
“Pokémon with guns”: Palworld’s runaway Steam success should be a lesson for Game Freak
Pocketpair I’m whacking at a rock as the sun sets. The game is telling me that I am cold and…
Read More
Modder re-creates Game Boy Advance games using the audio from crash sounds
Enlarge / Andrew Cunningham’s modded and restored Game Boy Advance could, with enough time, sing out all the data loaded…
Read More
Review: Nvidia’s $600 GeForce RTX 4070 Super is one of its best values
Enlarge / The GeForce RTX 4070 Super Founders Edition. Andrew Cunningham Judging by the comments on YouTube reviews, you’d think…
Read More
What to make of Valve’s recent fan project takedowns
Aurich Lawson | Valve From Black Mesa to the recently launched Portal: Revolution, Valve has had a reputation for being…
Read More
Supreme Court denies Epic v. Apple petitions, opening up iOS payment options
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of iOS developers after today’s Supreme Court ruling, surveying a new landscape of payment options and…
Read More
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a new first-person Nazi-whipping journey
Enlarge / CGI Harrison Ford just can’t believe he’s getting roped into another globe-trotting adventure. Bethesda/Machine Games Almost two years…
Read More
Game developer survey: 50% work at a studio already using generative AI tools
Enlarge / The future of game development? A new survey of thousands of game development professionals finds a near-majority saying…
Read More
Harmonix is ending Rock Band DLC releases after 16 years, ~2,800 songs
After 16 (nearly unbroken) years of regular DLC releases, Rock Band‘s avatars haven’t aged a day. Harmonix Here at Ars…
Read More
That’s never happened before: Games Done Quick video stars speedrunning dog
Peanut Butter the dog speedruns Gyromite at Awesome Games Done Quick 2024. The twice-a-year video game speedrunning and fundraising live…
Read More
Twin Galaxies lawyer says settlement avoids “an inordinate amount of costs”
Enlarge / Billy Mitchell competes at a (presumably authentic) Donkey Kong cabinet. Billy Mitchell vs. Twin Galaxies View more stories…
Read More
Why I hope the Atari 400 Mini will bring respect to Atari’s most underrated platform
Enlarge / Retro Games’ THE400 Mini console. Retro Games / Benj Edwards Last week, UK-based Retro Games, Ltd. announced a…
Read More
Final reminder: Donate to win swag in our annual Charity Drive sweepstakes
Enlarge / Just some of the prizes you can win in this year’s charity drive sweepstakes. Kyle Orland If you’ve…
Read More
Twin Galaxies, Billy Mitchell settle Donkey Kong score case before trial
Enlarge / Billy Mitchell (left) and Twin Galaxies owner Jace Hall (center) attend an event at the Arcade Expo 2015…
Read More
Portal 64 is an N64 demake of Valve’s classic, now available as a “First Slice”
Enlarge / Remember, this is the N64 platform running a game released at least five years after the console’s general…
Read More
$329 Radeon 7600 XT brings 16GB of memory to AMD’s latest midrange GPU
Enlarge / The new Radeon RX 7600 XT mostly just adds extra memory, though clock speeds and power requirements have…
Read More
They’re not cheap, but Nvidia’s new Super GPUs are a step in the right direction
Enlarge / Nvidia’s latest GPUs, apparently dropping out of hyperspace. Nvidia Nvidia’s latest GPUs, apparently dropping out of hyperspace. Nvidia…
Read More
Magic: The Gathering maker admits it used AI-generated art despite standing ban
The promo image in question, seen in its original context. Magic: The Gathering (MtG) maker Wizards of the Coast (WotC)…
Read More
Valve request takes down Portal 64 due to concerns over Nintendo involvement
Enlarge / Valve took a look inside Portal 64, saw itself inside near something involving Nintendo, and decided to shut…
Read More
Why more PC gaming handhelds should ditch Windows for SteamOS
Enlarge / Yes, that is SteamOS. No, that is not a Steam Deck. Since the successful launch of the Steam…
Read More
Those Games turns crappy mobile game ads into actually good puzzles
Enlarge / Can you master the ornate physics and inscrutable game theory necessary to overcome this challenge? D3Publisher You’ve seen…
Read More
Unity lays off an additional 25 percent of its staffers
Unity When Unity laid off 265 Weta Digital engineers in November, the company warned that more layoffs would be necessary…
Read More
Nvidia’s G-Sync Pulsar is anti-blur monitor tech aimed squarely at your eyeball
Enlarge / None of this would be necessary if it weren’t for your inferior eyes, which retain the colors of…
Read MoreValve now allows the “vast majority” of AI-powered games on Steam
Can you tell which of these seemingly identical bits of Steam iconography were generated using AI (trick question, it’s none…
Read More
Ars readers gave nearly $40,000 in our 2023 Charity Drive
Enlarge / Much love to everyone for taking part. Last month, we asked readers to donate to a couple of…
Read More
A complete (so far) Star Citizen ship collection now costs $48,000
Enlarge / There aren’t many online game stores where you can spend $48,000 on a single “Add to Cart.” At…
Read More
Flurry of firmware updates makes Analogue Pocket an even better retro handheld
Enlarge / An Analogue Pocket running Super Mario World on an openFPGA core with the scanline filter enabled. Andrew Cunningham…
Read More
1D Pac-Man is the best game I’ve played in 2024 (so far)
Enlarge / I didn’t write this story just to share that high score in the corner, but I won’t say…
Read More
Vectrex reborn: How a chance encounter gave new life to a dead console
Enlarge / A Vectrex console and CRT display with a cart for a long-lost game. Tim Stevens The Vectrex may…
Read More
Cobalt Core is a tight, funny roguelike deck-builder deserving of many runs
Enlarge / These symbols might not mean anything to you now. But give it a few runs, and you might…
Read More
One of Tekken 8’s “colorblind” modes is causing migraines, vertigo, and debate
Enlarge / It looks wild and different, like something nobody has tried before. And many accessibility experts say there’s a…
Read More
34 years later, a 13-year-old hits the NES Tetris “kill screen”
Enlarge / A moment in Tetris history. For decades after its 1989 release, each of the hundreds of millions of…
Read More
2023 was the year that GPUs stood still
Andrew Cunningham In many ways, 2023 was a long-awaited return to normalcy for people who build their own gaming and/or…
Read More
Ars Technica’s best video games of 2023
Aurich Lawson It’s been a real period of feast or famine in the video game industry of late. Last year…
Read MoreReminder: Donate to win swag in our annual Charity Drive sweepstakes
Enlarge / Just some of the prizes you can win in this year’s charity drive sweepstakes. Kyle Orland If you’ve…
Read More
The surprisingly robust careers of Star Trek stars who became video game voice actors
Enlarge / Cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation. CBS It would be hard to overstate the impact that…
Read More
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf teaser proves EA hasn’t forgotten about the game
Hey, remember Dragon Age: Dreadwolf? It has been over a year since the game’s title was first revealed and almost…
Read More
After a chaotic three years, GPU sales are starting to look normal-ish again
Enlarge / AMD’s Radeon RX 7600. Andrew Cunningham It has been an up-and-down decade for most consumer technology, with a…
Read More
Grand Theft Auto VI trailer arrives early with a crime-crazy Florida
Rockstar Games / YouTube Grand Theft Auto VI, like its protagonist, Lucia, keeps finding itself in an awkward spot because…
Read More
PC players will probably have to wait even longer for Grand Theft Auto VI
Enlarge / That “Coming 2025” probably won’t apply to any PC version. Rockstar PC players will likely have to wait…
Read More
PAX Unplugged 2023: How indie devs build and sell new board games
Enlarge / Given only this sign, and a glimpse of some pieces, a constant stream of playtesters stopped by to…
Read More
The Fallout TV series trailer is here, and it’s loaded with homages to the games
The teaser trailer for Amazon’s Fallout TV series. The trailer for Amazon’s Fallout TV series dropped this weekend, and it’s…
Read More
Against the Storm feels like WarCraft without the war, and it’s weirdly calming
Enlarge / I’d like to pretend I’d built a settlement this neatly compact and organized—with street grids, even—but alas, this…
Read MoreReminder: Donate to win swag in our annual Charity Drive sweepstakes
Enlarge / Just some of the prizes you can win in this year’s charity drive sweepstakes. Kyle Orland If you’ve…
Read More
First wave of AAA iPhone games sees a big new release—and a notable delay
The trailer for Resident Evil 4 on iOS. Apple’s AAA gaming ambitions for the iPhone 15 Pro saw both a…
Read MoreReminder: Donate to win swag in our annual Charity Drive sweepstakes
Enlarge / Just some of the prizes you can win in this year’s charity drive sweepstakes. Kyle Orland If you’ve…
Read More
Google’s Android app store monopoly violates antitrust law, jury finds
Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney jumping for joy at news of the verdict. Epic Games…
Read More
Wolverine-developer Insomniac Games sees 1.67TB of secrets leaked in data breach
Enlarge / An officially released image for Insomniac Games’ upcoming game Wolverine. Acclaimed Sony-owned game development studio Insomniac Games became…
Read More
An Interview with Cities: Skylines 2 developer’s CEO, Mariina Hallikainen
Enlarge / Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen, from the company’s “Winter Recap” video. Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive/YouTube It’s not often you…
Read More
Google’s Stadia Controller salvage operation will run for another year
Enlarge / Like it never even happened. Aurich Lawson / Getty Images Stadia might be dead, but the controllers for…
Read More
E3 is officially dead, and so is the version of the industry it was made for
Enlarge / RIP to a real one. Aurich Lawson Update (Dec. 12, 2023): After missing four years in a row…
Read More
E3 memory lane: Ars’ favorite moments from the show’s over-the-top past
Enlarge / This photo is exactly what it was like to be on the E3 show floor. Exactly. Aurich Lawson…
Read More
Doom’s creators reminisce about “as close to a perfect game as anything we made”
The archived hour-long chat is a must-watch for any long-time Doom fan. While Doom can sometimes feel like an overnight…
Read More
Reminder: Donate to win swag in our annual Charity Drive sweepstakes
If you’ve been too busy mourning the death of E3 to take part in this year’s Ars Technica Charity Drive…
Read More
Two Newly Discovered (and Very Tiny) Rembrandt Paintings Are On View for the First Time in 200 Years — Colossal
Art #art history #painting #portraits December 15, 2023 Grace Ebert Rembrandt portraits Jan and Jaapgen. All images courtesy of…
Read More
Meticulous Embroideries by Cécile Davidovici Bring Objects to Life and Evoke the Passing of Time — Colossal
Art Craft #Cécile Davidovici #embroidery #portraits #still life December 15, 2023 Jackie Andres All images © Cécile Davidovici, shared…
Read More
In a Neighborly Portrait Series, Ashraful Arefin Turns His Gaze Toward Four-Legged Passersby — Colossal
Photography #animals #Ashraful Arefin #portraits #street photography December 14, 2023 Grace Ebert All images © Ashraful Arefin, shared with…
Read More
Uncanny Woven Portraits by Jason Chen Splice Two Moments in Time — Colossal
Art Photography #Jason Chen #portraits #weaving December 14, 2023 Grace Ebert “Coming to an End.” All images © Jason…
Read More
The Top Ten Colossal Stories Readers Loved Most in 2023 — Colossal
Art Colossal Craft Design Photography December 13, 2023 Colossal Image © Laurent Ballesta As we approach the end of…
Read More
Colossal Releases Two New Limited-Edition Prints with Jon Ching — Colossal
“Sanguines.” All images © Jon Ching, shared with permission We’re thrilled to announce our next limited-edition print release with Jon…
Read MoreHello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Read More