PC Gaming News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Microsoft has announced the second wave of April 2024 Xbox Game Pass additions. The upcoming batch consists of six titles, some of which will only be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

Honkai: Star Rail players have voiced their frustration over the game's relic system, claiming it's unrewarding and restrictive. There are two types of relic sets in Honkai: Star Rail, Planar Ornaments and Cavern Relics. Planar Ornaments, which can be placed in the Planar Sphere and Link Rope slots, serve as additional gear and provide some rare stats. Cavern Relics, on the other hand, boost the character's main stats like HP and ATK. Unlike Planar Ornaments, they have a 4-piece effect that makes the wearer even more powerful.

Xbox Game Pass is losing six games on Tuesday, April 30, so subscribers should prioritize them while they still can. Games leave Xbox Game Pass every single month, most often in two batches. The first wave of removals tends to happen on the 15th of every month, while the second wave comes on the last day of every month, whenever that may be.

Honkai: Star Rail has officially revealed the duration of the upcoming Character and Light Cone Warp Event that will feature the new five-star character Aventurine and a re-run for the previously released Jingliu. Despite being released less than a year ago, the game has already introduced a multitude of new characters, which allows HoYoverse to frequently include double banners in their updates.

An insider has said that XDefiant's next server test session is set to take place on Friday, April 19, but also cautioned that this could change. Recently, Ubisoft confirmed that a server test session was coming soon but didn't specify when, after the studio also confirmed unfortunate news regarding XDefiant's release.

One Helldivers 2 player shared their neat ideas for new planetary hazards that could be added to the top-down shooter in the future. In a recent update, Helldivers 2 has introduced two new planetary hazards, blizzards and sandstorms, that have their own effects. Blizzards reduce the player's mobility and make it almost impossible to see enemy units. Sandstorms, on the other hand, are paired with intense heat that increases stamina drain.

A new Honkai: Star Rail leak has revealed the complete kit of an upcoming five-star character named Boothill. This new roster addition has already been confirmed by the game's social media accounts, which revealed his official splash art and confirmed his arrival in the upcoming Version 2.2.

Helldivers 2 has released Patch 01.000.203, bringing a variety of fixes for crashes, stability issues, and more. Arrowhead Game Studios has been constantly updating Helldivers 2 since its February release, and the support continues with this latest update.

Helldivers 2's meta might change significantly in the near future, with the developers suggesting a possibility of melee weapons being introduced to the game. Fans have been asking for the addition of melee weapons ever since Helldivers 2 was released, and it seems like the developers aren't ruling out the idea completely.

One creative Palworld player defeated Bellanoir Libero Ultra using a strategy centered on a simple campfire. As an extremely difficult enemy, players find it hard to defeat with conventional methods. Thankfully, creative strategies are often rewarded in Palworld.

With GTA 6 now on the horizon, Grand Theft Auto Online players are sharing what they want to see from the game in a final update. While the online component of GTA 5 has given players plenty to do and enjoy over the years, there's still plenty of opportunities to expand GTA Onlinefurther and to resolve some unfinished business.

The creators of Fallout 4's ambitious Fallout: London mod have confirmed that the project won't be available on consoles once it's released, news that many fans may have already suspected. The intriguing Fallout 4 mod has recently run into a new set of issues due to a major update coming soon.

A new sidequest in World of Warcraft gives fans a choice that actually influences the game world in a tangible way. Though it is a small detail, this Patch 10.2.7 sidequest allows World of Warcraft players to physically shape Azeroth by deciding where a grave marker will permanently appear in the game.

World of Warcraft quietly removed a part of the WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria announcement that said it was adding new character slots to each player’s account. While this likely won’t affect many fans, those who already have 60 characters on their World of Warcraft account might want to make room before Patch 10.2.7 launches.

World of Warcraft: Plunderstorm will soon come to an end, as Blizzard confirmed that the limited-time battle royale will conclude its initial run on Tuesday, April 30. However, to tide World of Warcraft players over, Blizzard also stated that the reputation gained from taking part in Plunderstorm will be doubled starting with the April 16 weekly maintenance.

Dying Light 2 is getting an additional way to play with Nightmare Mode. The system features new mechanics and gameplay changes similar to the Nightmare Mode of the original Dying Light. The increased difficulty comes with its own reward for players wanting a challenge in Dying Light 2.

LawBreakers, the infamous hero-oriented first-person-shooter, is making a comeback years after its release, thanks to a group of fans. While LawBreakers died rather quickly after release, the game was able to create quite a small but dedicated player base, so much so that a group of fans teamed up to bring back the action-packed shooter.

Roblox is making a big change to its 3D item creation and sale process that appears to be devaluing its User Generated Content (UGC) program. The move is meant to streamline the process of using the in-game Marketplace, allowing more Roblox creators to sell their content with minimal hassle.

Following a recent update that increased the amount of fire damage per tick, Arrowhead Game Studios confirms that it has plans to tone down the devastating effects in Helldivers 2. After a record-setting launch back in February, Helldivers 2 continues to maintain its impressive player numbers thanks in large part to how dynamic the game world feels. With the galactic map and missions constantly changing, Arrowhead Game Studios has managed to support the game through a live service system with consistent patches, quality of life updates, and new content to check out.

World of Warcraft recently confirmed that the Taivan mount will be returning to his full size soon. Though his sudden shrinking caused no amount of confusion and shock among World of Warcraft players, they can rest easy knowing the good boy will be re-embiggened in Patch 10.2.7.

Dead Island: Riptide has been seeing a major uptick in player count on Steam as of late. The 11-year-old Dead Island spin-off has received a new surge in players, who have begun to breathe some new life into Dead Island: Riptide.

Palworld update 0.2.2.0 is now available to download across all platforms. This release resolves one annoying damage bug, on top of addressing a number of smaller Palworld issues.

Xbox Game Pass is soon losing Amnesia: Rebirth and five other titles. These games, which are set to leave the service on April 15, comprise an uncharacteristically big wave of Xbox Game Pass departures.

A new Honkai: Star Rail leak has revealed a new mysterious NPC named Micah that will be a part of the upcoming Version 2.2, which should arrive around May 8. Each new version of the game has its own beta phase that includes new playable characters, weapons, and regions, as well as NPCs.

A Destiny 2 player has created a new custom costume for their Warlock Guardian that's almost perfect for the upcoming Prismatic playable subclass. The new subclass will be added to Destiny 2 when Bungie releases the game's next big expansion in June 2024.

Following the launch of the Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail benchmark, some players discovered an Easter egg that changes the default benchmark character to Hildibrand or Brandihild, depending on which PC time settings were changed. Final Fantasy 14 players shared the Easter egg on social media and discussed the methods that caused either character to appear.

The 2023 farming simulator from Pathea Games, My Time at Sandrock, is finally getting a much-requested multiplayer feature months after release. This latest update will be great news for fans looking to play My Time at Sandrock with friends on other platforms.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Fans want to see Sandbox make a return. The Call of Duty franchise is known for having an expansive amount of content throughout each iteration, with variety being one factor that keeps many gamers coming back. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has received plenty of seasonal updates that draw player attention and prevent gameplay from getting stale, with one of their biggest attractions being fresh maps.

Fallout 76 has just hit its all-time concurrent player peak on Steam. This impressive achievement was recorded nearly six years following Fallout 76's polarizing release.

A Helldivers 2 player has suggested a change to the Flamethrower, which could make it a much more effective tool for spreading managed democracy. Helldivers 2’s Flamethrower is already rather overpowered against the Terminids, but this idea could make it even better.

As per a beta leak, Honkai: Star Rail players will receive a Light Cone and hundreds of Stellar Jades after completing the Dreamjoy Memoir event in version 2.2. As in Genshin Impact, events in Honkai: Star Rail stick around as temporary content that disappears from the game after a few weeks. Thankfully, some old festivities have their reruns, giving players another opportunity to enjoy challenges and snag bountiful rewards.

Confirmation from the official Discord for Helldivers 2 reveals that the game almost had underground maps, but the implementation proved to be far too difficult to pull off. The combat in Helldivers 2 can be incredibly challenging at times, and the underground maps would have truly brought a harrowing experience.

A recently released Starfield mod aims to make in-game space exploration much more unpredictable by expanding the RPG with a wide variety of extra content. To that end, the mod adds dozens of new space encounters to Starfield.

Starfield players are calling for a new quality-of-life fix to deal with a minor issue in the game. It's been nearly a month since the game's last update and promised major changes from developer and publisher Bethesda haven't arrived yet, which seems to be why its player community has been taking to Starfield mods to add new features.

The release of Stardew Valley Update 1.6 introduced a number of new crops, including carrots, which one player discovered could be used to feed horses for a speed boost. Developer Eric «ConcernedApe» Barone included a number of major changes and minor fixes in Stardew Valley Update 1.6, with more patches on the way, and fans have been sharing a number of surprise discoveries from the new content additions.

Final Fantasy 16 voice actor Ben Starr, who plays protagonist Clive Rosfield, has humorously chimed in about a particular Cid – known in the series as a recurring character who's appeared in nearly all its entries. Starr, a self-professed fan of the franchise, has commented on previous Final Fantasy games with his opinions on various elements.

A Starfield player online has managed to take advantage of a strange bug to create a unique structure in an outpost that they were building. While Starfield has plenty of bugs, it's interesting to see a player able to use one to their advantage to create something awesome.

A Starfield player finds themselves in hot water with the local security enforcers for picking up an unassuming cardboard box. Since releasing on PC and Xbox consoles in September 2023, gamers have been exploring the massive Starfielduniverse and sharing little quirks that they find during their adventures.

MultiVersus has unveiled a new video that teases the release of new skins for Superman and four other characters. MultiVersus is returning this May, with Player First bringing back the platform fighter that puts iconic characters from Warner properties against each other. In preperation for its return, the devs have been working not only on new features, but also on new content to keep players engaged.

The entire Fallout series has seen an increase in player counts, after the success of the Amazon TV adaptation. While Fallout games such as New Vegas and 4 have naturally seen a steady increase, even older titles such as Tactics have seen an influx of returning players.

Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda51 has confirmed two new features that are being added with Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered. These two new features are a New Game Plus mode and more outfits for the game's protagonist, Garcia Hotspur. Grasshopper Manufacture's upcoming remaster of this underrated 2011 third-person comedy horror shooter will launch sometime later in 2024.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has added a fresh batch of perks for users to claim, including the Vault 33 Survival Kit for online multiplayer game Fallout 76. Those subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate get to enjoy all the benefits of the other Xbox Game Pass subscription tiers, including online multiplayer, the PC and console game library, EA Play titles, exclusive discounts, and a rotating selection of perks.

Bethesda's Fallout 4 will be making its debut on the Epic Games Store come April 25. Right now is a great time to be a fan of the Fallout franchise. The Fallout TV series has been a huge hit on Amazon, and Bethesda is capitalizing on this momentum by bringing content to the video games as well, including Fallout 4.

A group of highly skilled modders have turned World of Warcraft into a virtual reality game. Called WoVR, their World of Warcraft VR mod is now available for download free of charge.

A Palworld player decides to build a new in-game base near the Anubis boss and immediately pays for it, with the in-game boss destroying their hard-built base. The base-building aspect of the breakout hit monster-catching game from developer Pocket Pair has become one of its most popular features since launch. Fans have created stunning and extravagant bases within the survival game, creating everything from castles and fortresses to even building an indoor soccer stadium in Palworld. Now, one fan's placement of their base has seen immediate repercussions.

CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, Johan Pilestedt, has confirmed that the much-requested transmog customization feature will not be coming to Helldivers 2 anytime soon. As Helldivers 2 is all about dishing out freedom to the galaxy, it's ironic that players are missing a level of freedom of their own, with customization being so limited.

Genshin Impact shared a new trailer unveiling the April 24 release date of its version 4.6, «Two Worlds Aflame, the Crimson Night Fades.» Studio developer HoYoverse continues to expand upon the world of Teyvat with a new area, banner, and event to keep players on their toes. Most notably, a highly anticipated character, Arlecchino, is set to launch with a new banner for Genshin Impact 4.6's first phase.

Helldivers 2 players have begun expressing their frustration over bugs affecting their game experience, with one particular damage issue taking center stage. Their discontent is growing more vocal as the persistent issue is undermining the effectiveness of new Helldivers 2 weapons and content added by updates.

Marksman Rifles in Helldivers 2 could be getting a major buff soon, according to a recent poll conducted by a member of Arrowhead Game Studios. The Helldivers 2 online community appears to agree that Marksman Rifles are one of the most underperforming weapon categories in the game so far.

A fan of Stardew Valley and The Sims has recreated three of the farming title's bachelorettes within The Sims 4. The recreations are impressive and are just one way that fans of Stardew Valley show appreciation for the game outside of the scope of it.

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws features a $110 Gold Edition and a $130 Ultimate Edition, and some fans are not happy about what they are getting for those high prices. The more expensive editions of Star Wars Outlaws include premium benefits that have become commonplace in recent years.

World of WarcraftRemix: Mists of Pandaria has a direct connection to the story of Dragonflight via the Infinite Dragons. In many ways, this new World of Warcraft PvE event is a continuation of the Bronze Reconciliation questline from Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7.

Marvel Rivals dropped a trailer showing off Yggsgard, one of the main maps of the team-based hero shooter. Marvel Rivals was recently announced to the surprise of gamers and Marvel fans alike. The MCU seems to be slowing down, but with how promising Marvel Rivals looks to some, gaming still offers an untapped space for the franchise to lean into.

Evil Empire is giving some fans a chance to play The Rogue Prince of Persia early. The studio's offer arrives in the form of a newly announced The Rogue Prince of Persia closed alpha test.

Honkai: Star Rail has given players an insight into Aventurine's kit before his debut in the second phase of version 2.1. Honkai: Star Rail will soon receive a new update and celebrate its anniversary in a memorable way. The Festive Gifts login event, which gives away 30 free pulls, will be available in the second phase of 2.1, alongside some other time-limited festivities like Cosmodyssey and Vignettes in a Cup. Moreover, players will get 1,600 Stellar Jades through the in-game mail system.

Some Ubisoft Connect users are reporting that The Crew has essentially been removed from their accounts and is no longer accessible. One noteworthy element of The Crew was that it was only playable online, which meant it was inaccessible without an internet connection.

AMD has launched two new Ryzen desktop processors globally, but the chips will only be offered to a specific market segment, according to reports. The semiconductor giant is scheduled to release its next-generation CPUs in 2024.

Capcom's RPG Dragon's Dogma 2 isn't even a month old, but one speedrunner has cleared it in less than two hours, all while playing «naked.» The new record adds to the tally of Dragon's Dogma 2 runs being racked up by highly skilled speedrunners.

Microsoft has unveiled a range of new social-centric features for Xbox Cloud Gaming, including the ability to discover and manage friends, initiate parties outside of gaming sessions, maintain party chats between game sessions, and more. These significant enhancements, along with fixes, are now available for Xbox Insiders enrolled in the Alpha Skip-Ahead program.

Beyond the Ice Palace 2 has been announced for a 2024 release. Beyond the Ice Palace was released on the Commodore 64 in 1988, two years after the original Castlevania game was released on the NES. Beyond the Ice Palace took inspiration from Castlevania and its sequel appears to continue to take inspiration from the Metroidvania genre that the game helped spawn. Beyond The Ice Palace 2 features combat and traversal reminiscent of popular Steam releases like Hollow Knight.

World of Warcraft is making some big changes to the Void Elf and Nightbourne starting areas in Patch 10.2.7. While it remains to be seen what these new details entail, this update is the first time these World of Warcraft locations have gotten attention in almost seven years.

World of Warcraft recently shared a short video detailing some amazing one-month statistics for Plunderstorm, with over half a million games and counting. The new battle royale game mode in World of Warcraft has been wildly popular, and these stats back up just how successful the experiment has been.

The new free-to-play horror game Deceit 2 has just been released for Xbox. Deceit 2 is a free-to-play social deduction horror game, essentially playing like a horror version of Among Us in which players need to gather clues to discover who is trying to kill them, and could be a fine addition for Xbox players.

Developer KingsIsle Entertainment has announced an upcoming single-player visual novel prequel to the popular Wizard101 MMORPG, titled Ravenwood Academy: A Wizard101 Story. While Wizard101 is a perfect introduction to MMORPGs, Ravenwood Academy will shift focus to a solo gaming experience, offering fans a brand-new way to enjoy the world of the Spiral.

Fallout 76 is now free to play, but the deal is only available for a very short amount of time. As a way to celebrate the launch of Amazon Prime's live-action Fallout series, Fallout 76 is now free for those who wish to dive deeper into the franchise's world.

An upcoming game with strong Stardew Valley vibes called SunnySide has recently released a demo on Steam and unveiled its official release date. SunnySide is an upcoming 3D life sim game set in the Japanese countryside and may appease Stardew Valley fans looking for a new experience.

Horizon Forbidden West update 1.2.48.0 is now available for download via Steam. This release further refines the Horizon Forbidden West PC port with some notable quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.

A «major» Palworld update is scheduled for this summer, though it won't have the previously-promised PvP Arena. Palworld recently made an appearance at the Triple-I Initiative showcase, a special event dedicated to revealing new information about upcoming indie games.

Another Thursday means another rotation on the Epic Games Store. As of this writing, fans can no longer claim sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds or stealth game Thief, but they can grab up cyberpunk action performer Ghostrunner. Between the three is a lot of variety in gameplay styles but also a lot of quality, as each is an excellent game with positive reviews (or a cult following in the case of Thief). Once Ghostrunner rotates out on April 18, fans will be able to claim The Big Con.

A recent Honkai: Star Rail leak has revealed a new break damage type that will be exclusive to Harmony Trailblazer. Break damage in Honkai: Star Rail takes effect upon breaking the enemy's toughness meter. It scales with character level and break effect, an independent stat that initiates various debuffs when the enemy is in a broken state. Briefly, the higher the break effect stat characters have, the more break damage they will dish out.

Darkest Dungeon 2 is adding a new Kingdoms mode to the game. The turn-based roguelike game released in early access in 2021 with a full release in 2023. Reviews noted that Darkest Dungeon 2 featured a strategic and difficult but ultimately satisfying gameplay loop. In addition, Darkest Dungeon 2 received praise for having stylish visuals, blending 3D and 2D into a brutal, gothic, fantasy aesthetic.

A Nexus Mods user has created a Starfield mod called “The Deep End” that significantly increases the game's difficulty with each new NG+ loop. This Starfield mod offers a new level of challenge that pushes players to their limits.

Blizzard has confirmed new social features coming in Overwatch 2's Season 10, including Wide Groups that allow friends with different Competitive ranks to play together, more penalties for leaving a match early, and a revamped Streamer Protect option. Blizzard also teased more Overwatch 2 social improvements coming sometime after the next major update.

One lucky Palworldplayer just starting out in the game came across a rare Huge Rocky Egg right near the first spawn point in solo mode. Coveted by players at any level, Huge Eggs are a rare find regardless of the element. It can take hours of hunting to find one hidden on the islands of Palworld.

Stardew Valley is getting a new update soon that will fix some bugs and add some additional content. WhileStardew Valley players are waiting for the console versions to update, developer Eric «ConcernedApe» Barone is still hard at work squashing any remaining bugs and surprising players with additions.

World of Warcraft is working on fixing the Primal Storms event spawns, but the fix might take a short time to implement. Once this issue is resolved, World of Warcraft fans should be able to earn the achievements associated with the Primal Storms much more easily.

A Starfield player has built an impressive recreation of the Serenity from the cult classic sci-fi series Firefly. The build has impressed gamers and its creator has put together a helpful guide on how fans can make one for themselves in Starfield.

As part of the Triple-I Initiative, Vampire Survivors pulled back the curtain on its fourth paid expansion, Operation Guns, a crossover DLC with Konami's Contra series. The upcoming expansion for Vampire Survivors will launch on May 9, including 11 new characters, 22 new weapons, and two stages for players to experience.

World of Warcraft just announced a new limited-time PvE event called WoW Remix: Mists of Pandaria. This brand-new activity takes players back to Mists of Pandaria in a big way, giving them a chance to relive the expansion, all while earning new rewards for regular World of Warcraft.

Developer Pocketpair has officially confirmed that the Palworld PvP arena will be added to the open world survival game this summer. Pocketpair had teased fans that it would have a presence at the recent Triple-I event, and so many likely tuned in to get their best glimpse at Palworld PvP action to date.