Stormgate’s early access preview goes live today, 2 weeks ahead of the full release

Stormgate’s early access preview goes live today, 2 weeks ahead of the full release

Stormgate, a next-gen free-to-play RTS from developer Frost Giant Games, has entered its early access preview phase today, a full 2 weeks before its release on August 13, 2024. Kickstarter backers, closed beta testers, and those who purchase a Steam early access version of the game can get in early and start playing before anyone…

Crypt Custodian cleans up the afterlife with broom-bashing brawls in August

Crypt Custodian cleans up the afterlife with broom-bashing brawls in August

Some believe that when you die, that’s it. Lights out. Others believe there’s an afterlife, and sometimes that afterlife needs a cloaked cat to keep it clean. The latter theory holds water in Crypt Custodian, a top-down Metroidvania that hits PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC on August…

Union game performers strike over AI voice and motion-capture training

Union game performers strike over AI voice and motion-capture training

Enlarge / One day, using pixellated fonts and images to represent that something is a video game will not be a trope. Today is not that day. SAG-AFTRA has called for a strike of all its members working in video games, with the union demanding that its next contract not allow “companies to abuse AI…

Lego’s newest retro art piece is a 1,215-piece Super Mario World homage

Lego’s newest retro art piece is a 1,215-piece Super Mario World homage

The Lego Mario & Yoshi set is an homage to 1990’s Super Mario World. The Lego Group From the front, it looks like a fairly straightforward re-creation of the game’s 16-bit sprites. The Lego Group Behind the facade are complex mechanics that move Yoshi’s feet and arms and bob his body up and down, to…

FTC attacks Microsoft’s post-merger Game Pass price increases

FTC attacks Microsoft’s post-merger Game Pass price increases

Enlarge / Access to first-party games on launch day remains a major selling point for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier. Microsoft The FTC says the across-the-board price increases that Microsoft recently announced for its Xbox Game Pass subscription service tiers represent “exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged”…

Switch 2 is around the corner, but Nintendo announces a new Switch accessory anyway

Switch 2 is around the corner, but Nintendo announces a new Switch accessory anyway

Nintendo’s Joy-Con Charging Stand (Two-Way) seems useful, but it’s coming out at a strange time in the console’s lifecycle. Nintendo The stand can charge the Switch Online NES controllers, something that Nintendo’s charging grip can’t do because the handles get in the way. Nintendo The charging stand can be removed from the stand part to…

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition gave me new respect for gaming speedrunners

Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition gave me new respect for gaming speedrunners

Enlarge / Get ready to repeat this ~25-second slice of Mario over and over… and over… and over. If you’ve ever seen a record-breaking video game speedrun or watched a Games Done Quick marathon, you may have entertained fantasies that you, too, could put up some decent times on your favorite old games. Sure, it…