Gaming in Ukraine. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Irdeto, the company behind the controversial Denuvo DRM utilized in many PC games, just announced a new technology meant to combat game content leaks in the video game industry.

Songs of Travel is an animated graphic novel coming to Android on May 9th. It tells the stories of five migrants – Light, Vân, Michele, Hasan, and Olya – each on a journey to build a new life in Europe. Through their experiences, the game explores themes of hope, dreams, and what we hold dear.

AI roundup: The first week of May has been a series of AI breakthroughs. Now that the week has ended, let's take a look at the top AI happenings such as Nvidia announcing the integration of Google's Gemma model for its AI chatbot, ChatRTX. In other news, a new report revealed that Apple has a secret AI lab in Europe. Know more about such AI news from this week.

A brand new has emerged, showing how the radiation-riddled world is beautiful and dangerous

A brand new has emerged, showing how the radiation-riddled world is beautiful and dangerous

Developer GSC Game World has released a new trailer and screenshots for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl dubbed “Not a Paradise.”

GSC Game World released a new trailer for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl focusing on the environment of The Zone. The area surrounding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant is the main setting for the sequel. With improved graphics, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl enhances the foundation laid down by previous franchise entries.

The wait for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been a long one, but with the long-anticipated open world survival horror FPS drawing closer to its launch a few months down the line, on the 38th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, developer GSC Game World has released a brief new trailer that offers another look at the game.

GSC Game World has published a new trailer for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Titled 'Not a Paradise', the trailer shows off the game's gorgeous Unreal Engine 5-powered visuals as well as the Ukrainian voiceover, the only one available in the full game alongside English.

Decades after it took place, the Chornobyl disaster remains so ingrained in the public imagination that it's easy to forget its terrible real-world consequences. But Chornobyl Liquidators, a new immersive sim set to release in June, aims to delve into some of that history in what developer Live Motion Games calls a "commemoration of the disaster and its victims."

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed an extensive, $95 billion national security package that sends financial aid to Taiwan, Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza. Tucked inside that bill is a piece of legislation the government’s been trying to pass for a while — a purported “TikTok ban.” Called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controller Applications Act, the bill won’t exactly ban TikTok; instead, the goal is to force TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the popular app. The legislation signed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday will give ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok. (Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days, too.)

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

Independent creatives have joined together to form The Palestinian Relief Bundle - which gives you over 300 video games, tabletop games, soundtracks, and comic books for just $8 - to raise funds for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund charity.

Sales of Fallout games have shot up across Europe, with Fallout 4 reclaiming the No.1 spot.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly instructed his government to begin exploring the creation of a Russian games console in an apparent attempt to reboot the Russian gaming industry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly instructed his government to explore developing video game consoles in Russia.

Vladimir Putin has signed off on a plan to create Russia's own consoles and Steam-like platform. This is one of nine instructions that are supposed to promote the socio-economic development of the region of Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave located between Lithuania and Poland. The region is a Special Economic Zone where manufacturers can enjoy tax breaks; moreover, a silicon production facility was recently established there.

Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia's government to explore the development of a series of homegrown consoles. The devices would presumably aim to compete with PlayStation and Xbox within Russian borders.

You can now explore one of Ukraine’s most iconic natural landmarks - and the largest salt mine in Europe - in Minecraft. The virtual replica of the Soledar salt mines and their surrounding town, occupied by Russia troops for the past year in real life, has been led by the wartorn country’s government in an effort to help rebuild a school destroyed during the conflict.

Nailing down exactly what PS5 game INDIKA is seems like an impossibility, so we will let the trailer above do a lot of the talking. Now confirmed for a current-gen launch on 8th May 2024, you play as a young nun with the devil by her side on a journey of self-discovery. You shall be taken back to the 19th century in an alternative Russia where «religious visions clash with harsh reality» for a third-person adventure likely to live long in the mind.

Embracer Group has announced the $247 million sale of Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive, a new parent company that is owned by Saber co-founder Matthew Karch.

KONAMI has remained silent about the release date of the Silent Hill 2 remake. However, several clues point to an inbound announcement.

Embracer Group has announced the $247 million sale of Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive, a new parent company that is owned by Saber co-founder Matthew Karch.

Yesterday, Ukrainian developer Frogwares delivered one of the best surprises of the Xbox Partner Showcase with the announcement of The Sinking City 2.

After the public legal hubbub that surrounded the original The Sinking City, developer Frogwares is back to focusing on expanding the franchise – and it’s announced a sequel for PS5, which is currently slated for release in 2025. The Sinking City 2 is set in 1920s America, when a supernatural flood brings Eldritch-like horrors to the city of Arkham. This is being billed as a brand-new, standalone story, unrelated to the original.

2019’s The Sinking City was a solid entry in the growing catalogue of Lovecraft-inspired horror and adventure games, which later became better-known for the bitter legal battle over the game between developer Frogwares and publisher Nacon. Frogwares was ultimately successful in that battle, and today during the latest Xbox Partner Preview showcase, they announced The Sinking City 2 is on the way.

Frogwares delivered The Sinking City back in 2019, and while that game had its share of fiasco post-launch thanks to a distributor dispute, it has since returned to the storefronts. The developers have managed to become the sole publisher and could chart out the franchise’s future. Today, we’re getting word that The Sinking City 2 is in the works from Frogwares, and we should see it come out sometime in 2025. 

The Sinking City may not have been a huge critical hit, but action-adventure title was nonetheless a successful one for developer Frogwares, and at the recent Xbox Partner Preview, it announced a sequel- though one that’s taking a different approach from its predecessor.

Ukrainian developer Frogwares has announced The Sinking City 2, for launch on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2025.

Following a strange, lengthy legal battle over The Sinking City, Ukrainian developer Frogwares is finally following up with a sequel that's set to go full survival horror, and this time the studio is taking its project to Kickstarter because "the ongoing war adds an ominous layer of uncertainty."

During today's Xbox Partner Preview event, Frogwares unveiled The Sinking City 2 following a lengthy legal battle over publishing rights for the first game.

An unannounced console game bundle that seemingly features the first three entries of the STALKER franchise has appeared online. The beloved shooter series' next game, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, is set to launch later in 2024.

It's been a long time coming for a variety of reasons, but by the end of 2024, Stalker 2 will almost certainly be here. The sequel was first announced in 2012, canceled, rebooted in 2018, and has since had its release date pushed back a few times, most notably when development at Ukrainian studio GSC Game World was disrupted by the Russian invasion. With six months to go until Stalker 2, console players may finally get the chance to play the series' original trilogy.

You could be forgiven for thinking the video game industry is collapsing, and you may be wondering why. Last week, PlayStation announced it was laying off over 900 employees and shutting its long-running London Studio, and it’s not alone. There have been thousands upon thousands of jobs cut across the entire industry, and virtually every major publisher and platform holder has been affected. So, why is it happening and what does it all mean?

With Helldivers 2's servers having finally reached some level of stability, the developers at Arrowhead Game Studios can turn their attention to other matters, like clarifying what does and does not actually harm the ongoing, intergalactic war effort. Today's bugbear? Farmers — those players who efficiently join for quick missions, acquire resources, and leave before the operation is complete, repeating the process ad infinitum.

But instead of getting their hands on the handsets, police and prosecutors in Iran allege customers found themselves ensnared by a business owner running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

 Deutsche Telekom on Monday showcased a futuristic smartphone concept that relies on artificial intelligence rather than applications (apps) to handle users' specific needs. Smartphones today typically use apps for everything from messaging and social media to video games and banking.

Google plans to relaunch in the next few weeks its AI tool that creates images of people, which it paused last week after inaccuracies in some historical depictions, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said on Monday.

Quordle today: It is that time of the day again when we assist you in solving Quordle. For the unaware, Quordle is a daily puzzle game where players must guess 4 five-letter words simultaneously. Quordle offers two playable options - Daily Quordle and Practice. While Daily Quordle brings a new puzzle every day like Wordle, Practice allows players to sharpen their word game and enhance their vocabulary. With only nine attempts, players must get all the answers correct without any access to hints or clues. Since players only have a limited number of attempts, it becomes crucial to not make mistakes.

Maamla Legal Hai OTT release: Are you a fan of comedy courtroom dramas such as Jolly LLB, OMG, and others? Then we have good news for you as Ravi Kishan will make his debut in a comedy series in a leading role. The web series Maamla Legal Hai has grabbed much attention ever since the trailer was released. Additionally, no one can make comedy films funnier than Ravi Kishan in his natural element. The series features a group of lawyers who solve cases in the most dramatic way. If you are looking for something entertaining then Maamla Legal Hai can be added to your watchlist. Also, you can watch his comedy courtroom drama from the comfort of your home. Check details here.

Apple's latest iPhone 15 series offers all the bells and whistles that you'd need in a smartphone. There are four models in total - iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. While the top-end models often attract the attention of users courtesy of top-of-the-line specs, the vanilla iPhone 15 also offers a good all-round package without commanding the steep price of the Pro models. So, if you've been looking to upgrade to a new smartphone and want to get into the Apple ecosystem without spending a fortune, then the iPhone 15 is a great option to go for. And now, there's an amazing offer on the smartphone courtesy of Amazon and avail discounts, exchange offers and more.

As the Nothing Phone 2a launch approaches, rumours and leaks are fueling excitement among tech enthusiasts about the smartphone. Set to be a budget-friendly addition to Nothing's lineup, the phone is expected to debut shortly at an event at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 on February 27.

Finnish smartphone manufacturer HMD announced its rebranding plans at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 Barcelona. The company's name now stands for ‘Human Mobile Devices'. For the last few years, HMD (formerly HMD Global) has been Nokia smartphones. As part of its new multi-brand vision, it aims to create ‘HMD original devices' while it continues to sell Nokia phones. More importantly, the company also announced plans for a Barbie flip phone!

ChatGPT, the popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot from OpenAI, has introduced a widget for Android smartphones, allowing quicker access from the home screen. This is the latest in a line of new features that OpenAI is currently testing as it faces cutthroat competition from the likes of Google Gemini which was recently introduced as an assistant for smartphones. The upgrades include memory with ChatGPT which allows the AI chatbot to remember your last conversation, dismissing the requirement for repeated prompts. Now with the home screen widget, the company aims to make the AI chatbot more easily accessible to users.

We have seen so many space movies with scientists and astronomers travelling to space and building a home with their families. However, a Florida-based company called Space Perspective is going to make the fictional space film into reality by showcasing its luxury space capsule with amenities that will simply blow your mind. While the capsule aims to take humans to the edge of space, the trip can only be afforded by the super-rich. Also, the capsule will not include a rocket flight but it will use a space balloon. Sounds interesting, right?

With the help of advanced tech marvels such as the NEOWISE telescope, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Pans-STARRS1, and Catalina Sky Survey, NASA has shed light on an asteroid that is expected to pass Earth by a close margin on February 27. While the asteroid will come close to Earth, it is not expected to impact the surface, the US Space Agency has further revealed. Know the details of this close encounter with Asteroid 2024 CT7.

Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 will kick off in Barcelona (Mon, 26 Feb, 2024 – Thu, 29 Feb, 2024) with top tech brands making their biggest announcements. The event is primarily a mobile-focused trade where companies announce new innovations and tease upcoming products. Until now, brands such as Xiaomi, and Honor have unveiled their new smartphones, creating a lot of buzz among the tech community. These launches include the unveiling of the Xiaomi 14 series and Honor Magic 6 series. Notably, is HMD teasing a retro-styled Barbie Flip phone which is expected to launch later this year. Know more about the upcoming announcements here.

After the launch of Apple's Vision Pro headset, the company is exploring other innovations in wearable technology. While it already has a standout product in the form of the Apple Watch, it is being indicated that the company is also working on an 'iRing' and 'iGlasses', Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman reported. Even as Apple is also working on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its devices, it is also eyeing the wearables market. Additionally, the upcoming iOS 18 is expected to undergo a redesign. With big plans and even bigger ambitions, know what Apple is up to.

Garena Free Fire MAX Redeem Codes for February 26: Just a few days ago, data miners leaked details about the Free Fire Fist Royale event in the game. And now, it has been introduced to the game. The event brings exciting rewards to Garena Free Fire MAX which players can obtain without completing any specific objectives or missions. The Free Fire Fist Royale is just one of the events rolled out by the game's developers. Know all about the Free Fire Fist Royale and the rewards it brings.

As soldiers and citizens provide information from the front lines and affected areas of the war in Ukraine – two years old as of February 24, 2024 – in quasi-real time, an active open-source intelligence community has formed to keep track of troop activity, destruction and other aspects of the war.

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

An international law enforcement operation led by Britain's National Crime Agency and the FBI has arrested and indicted members of the Lockbit ransomware gang, in an unprecedented police operation that has struck one of the world's most notorious cybercrime gangs.

NBA unveils NB-AI at All Star Tech Summit for personalised game viewing; Reddit inks $60 mn AI content licensing deal ahead of IPO; UK University to train 100 Tamil Nadu students in data analysis and AI; Amitabh Bachchan celebrates 55 years in Bollywood with AI avatar- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

Today, on the fifth anniversary of the launch of Metro Exodus, 4A Games announced that the latest mainline installment in their franchise has sold 10 million units, thus averaging two million per year. Previous sales milestones include six million units two years ago and 8.5 million units as of last March.

Influencers on X are monetizing misinformation about conflicts in the Middle East, leveraging the platform's contentious policies that researchers say prioritize engagement over accuracy. Since Elon Musk's turbulent 2022 acquisition of X, formerly Twitter, the site has restored thousands of once-banned accounts and introduced a paid verification system that critics say has boosted conspiracy theorists.

The bizarre PS5 indie game INDIKA is back with a fresh trailer showcasing how the third-person action adventure plays, and it appears just as invitingly strange as its original pitch last year. Playing as a nun with the devil as your companion, you'll go on a journey of self-discovery in 19th-century Russia. Check out the gameplay trailer above.

According to the recently listed Steam store page, Digital Dreams Entertainment’s Mutant Football League 2 will launch into Early Access in March 2024.

Amid the many titles teased for the next potential State of Play, Xbox Era co-founder Nick Baker mentioned Metro. It may seem completely innocuous, but 4A Games is confirmed to be working on a new title in the post-apocalyptic series. What isn’t so apparent is that it’s rumored to be a VR title.

Once every year, a select group of nuclear, climate and technology experts assemble to determine where to place the hands of the Doomsday Clock. Presented by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock is a visual metaphor for humanity's proximity to catastrophe. It measures our collective peril in minutes and seconds to midnight, and we don't want to strike 12. In 2023, the expert group brought the clock the closest it has ever been to midnight: 90 seconds. On January 23 2024, the Doomsday Clock was unveiled again, revealing that the hands remain in the same precarious position.

The CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a message: Hey billionaires, give away more of your money to address inequality and do it soon. Mark Suzman made the call in his annual letter released Thursday that led with the story of Chuck Feeney, a billionaire whose philanthropy inspired Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French-Gates. Feeney, who died in October, made a fortune through duty free stores and gave away $8 billion during his life, much of it anonymously.

Away from the media spotlight, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is silently steering his latest project, White Stork, towards the production of AI attack drones in the United States and Ukraine. The startup, shrouded in secrecy through a network of LLCs, is actively working on mass-producing drones with advanced AI capabilities for target identification.

2024 looks fairly similar to last year for shooter games fans in that there are very few big names on the list. We still don't know exactly what id Software and The Coalition are doing, while DICE's next Battlefield isn't launching any time soon. There will be a new Call of Duty game, of course, but it's hard to get too excited about it after Modern Warfare III.

STALKER 2 has a new confirmed release date of September 5th 2024, pushing it out of the Q1 2024 window that was announced in December. The reason given for the delay is that much more time is needed to polish the game so it is in a fact state to release, and meet expectations of those who have been waiting for it.

The World Economic Forum (WEF 2024) at Davos has been going on with full force with various tech CEOs attending the event including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. On Tuesday Altman discussed about the future of AI and said it was an energy guzzler and that its future would be secure only if we get an energy breakthrough. Additionally, Microsofit's Satya Nadella also talked about the impact of AI in science. Know what the two tech giants said about Artificial intelligence (AI).

The CEO of Fortnite-maker Epic Games said Tuesday the company's court battle to open up Apple's iPhone to alternative app stores was lost after theteThe high court announced it would not hear appeals by either Apple or Epic in the long-running case, effectively putting an end to the legal saga.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2will be released on May 21, 2024, according to a recent leak. If confirmed, this rumor means that one of the most eagerly awaited games of 2024 could be available during the first half of the year.

If you have been waiting on Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, it hasn’t been easy. Plenty of issues have popped up in the past, pushing this game further back into development. However, it looks like the developers are confident we’ll be getting our hands on the game this year. The developers have dropped a brand new trailer to highlight their final release date. Of course, fingers are crossed in hopes that this doesn’t backfire and another delay will push this game behind the new intended launch date, which is set for September 5, 2024. 

GSC Game World has confirmed another delay for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is coming to Xbox Game Pass on Thursday, September 5, 2024 as a day one game. STALKER fans have well over a decade to get their hands on STALKER 2. Unfortunately, the ambitious first-person shooter has been delayed multiple times, with this latest delay seeing it pushed out of its previously-announced Q1 2024 release window.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is launching on September 5, 2024. This comes after a 15-year development cycle full of delays, some due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Developer GSC Game World will finally release S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on September 5. The first-person shooter will launch on Xbox Series X/S and PC. 

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl developer GSC Game World has revealed a release date for the survival horror sequel of 5th September, 2024.

STALKER 2 has a new confirmed release date of September 5th 2024, pushing it out of the Q1 2024 window that was announced in December. The reason given for the delay is that much more time is needed to polish the game so it is in a fact state to release, and meet expectations of those who have been waiting for it.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl finally has an exact release date, although it’s later in the year than fans were initially expecting. 

Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl's release date is September 5th 2024, GSC Game World have announced, as the developers make some final adjustments to a post-apocalyptic FPS that was revealed way back in 2010 and has been racked by more than its fair share of setbacks and changes of circumstances. They've published a new trailer to mark the occasion, in which a group of the game's quarantine zone mercenaries squat around a campfire, supping mugs of what probably isn't cocoa, and listening to guitar music. It strikes a fitting note of world-weariness.

GSC Game World’s highly anticipated S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will finally come out this year. The shooter is set to launch on September 5 on Xbox Series X/S and PC.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has suffered numerous delays over the past few years, which is more than understandable considering the conditions under which the game is being developed. Developer GSC Game World has been making this game partially from a warzone following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also been targeted by Russian-backed hackers and even suffered a fire at one of their offices. Needless to say, it’s been a rough road.

After years of development and multiple delays, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is delayed once again, but this time with a firm, “final” release date: September 5, 2024.

Samsung fans have been waiting for a long time for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S24 series after its predecessor came with some exceptional features and camera quality. Now, with the next generation of S-series launching on January 17, 2024, we may have some new features which will be integrated with artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung, with the announcement of the launch event also started teasing Galaxy AI, which is expected to be included in the new Galaxy S24 series. In just a matter of a few hours, we'll be seeing another innovation being unveiled by Samsung after a huge success with the Galaxy S23 series. Know what the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the high-end version of the series has in store for the users.