This week saw Game Pass, once touted as the best deal in gaming, get another price increase in a way that’s as messy and confusing as it is disappointing. Also, Nintendo took the uncharacteristic step of teasing what looks like a first-party horror release, another game removed references to disgraced streamer Dr Disrespect (albeit while compensating players with in-game currency many now see as worthless), and a developer faced consequences after telling someone who posted a negative review on Steam to “Kill Yoursells.” These stories and more await in the pages ahead.
A Steam user left a negative review after playing Coin Pusher Casino on Steam. In response, a developer behind the game left a comment telling the player to “Kill Yoursells.” This has led to a backlash via a viral Reddit post, and an apology from the studio. – Zack Zwiezen Read More
Growing up as a gay man in small-town America meant having to watch people learn empathy in real-time when they found out they’d been going to school or working with a queer person this whole time and didn’t automatically hate them. I had more than a few people tell me they “hated” gay people until they met one (me) and then suddenly they’re allies to the cause. We are now seeing that unfold online for a bunch of young men after popular Madden Twitch streamer Sketch was outed for having made gay OnlyFans content, now some of his once-homophobic fans are suddenly realizing that gay people are just people. A silver lining in a bad situation, I guess? – Kenneth Shepard Read More
Microsoft is making some big changes to Xbox Game Pass, including raising the price on some tiers while discontinuing others and adding whole new options, turning the once easy-to-understand service—and arguably the best deal in gaming—into a confusing and pricey mess. – Zack Zwiezen Read More
The Xbox 360 is one of the all-time great consoles that, among other things, spearheaded the ecosystem for indie games and digital downloads. That makes the closure of the Xbox 360 marketplace at the end of July all the more bittersweet, as the console’s storefront will permanently go offline, closing the book on one of the most eclectic game libraries ever. – Ethan Gach Read More
Palworld feels like gaming’s ultimate troll. It’s a troll on the concepts of IP and copyright as it so brazenly mimics Pokémon with its creature design. And it’s a troll on Pokémon fans, given it’s really just yet another tree-bashing survival game. But oh boy, has it been a success, and as Nintendo and The Pokémon Company continue not to sue it into space, developer Pocketpair is now looking to expand into running an entire merchandized franchise. Toys are coming! Surely the biggest troll yet? – John Walker Read More
Free-to-play tactical shooter Rogue Company has disabled all cosmetics themed around Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm in the game following the streamer’s admission that he was banned from Twitch back in 2020 for having “inappropriate” conversations with a minor. Players will get refunds but only in the form of Rogue Bucks, the premium in-game currency for the shooter that hasn’t been updated in years. – Ethan Gach Read More
Well, would look at that, Valve made a new video game and you can play it right now. The new game is Sleet Fighter and it’s a DOTA 2-themed 2D fighter that exists within the popular MOBA. – Zack Zwiezen Read More
Co-op third-person shooter Helldivers 2 has a new bug discovered this week (thanks PC Gamer), as the game’s latest big story beat reached its dramatic conclusion: offering mid-air hugs saves lives. Various emotes, when performed while plummeting, will reduce fall damage. And today, the developer’s CEO, Shams Jorjani, has implored his team to leave the error in the game. – John Walker Read More
Nintendo posts new trailers for upcoming Switch games all the time on its YouTube channel, but not like this. On Wednesday morning, the company uploaded a teaser titled “Emio” that’s only fifteen seconds long, stars a person with a creepy paper bag over their head, and appears to tease an unannounced horror game coming to the handheld hybrid sometime in the future. – Ethan Gach Read More
Riot Games has been trying to turn the popularity of League of Legends into an extended universe of multi-genre games for years now. That plan apparently included prototyping a Super Smash Bros.-style game starring League characters called Pool Party, but according to a new report the project was recently canned, due in part to the uphill road faced by MultiVersus. – Ethan Gach Read More
