Steam News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Publisher Capcom is delisting three games on Steam next month.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate has added Manor Lords to its thriving content library. This is the fifth day-one release on Microsoft's subscription service in April 2024, as well as the 56th title to reach Xbox Game Pass Ultimate since the turn of the year.

The most recent games from the long-running Like a Dragon franchise, including Infinite Wealth, are discounted on Steam for a week. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was released back in January to critical acclaim. Many fans praise it as one of the franchise's best entries, with its incredible writing and characters, new setting of Hawaii, and updated turn-based combat system. It's also the largest game in the franchise by far, as Infinite Wealth is jam-packed with tons of side activities across multiple different locations.

Developer Zen Studios has announced that a new table is on its way to the long-running digital arcade. The new table launches as DLC on March 16.

The brand-new MMO Age of Water has released in early access, giving fans the opportunity to experience a game that is reminiscent of the cult classic 1995 film Waterworld. Ocean-faring video games have grown in popularity in recent years, and Age of Water looks to build upon the aquatic craze with gameplay straight out of an action movie.

Bethesda has released Fallout 4’s long-awaited next-gen update.

Nintendo's latest takedown order is a huge blow to Steam players, particularly fans of the physics sandbox title,. When launched back in 2006 — after starting as a mod for — the idea was to give players a world in which they can freely manipulate objects and create their own stories. As time went on, other developers began adding downloadable content to the game via the Steam Workshop, including characters, items, and even new game modes such as and.

The studio behind sandbox game Garry’s Mod says it will be removing all Nintendo-related uploads after receiving DMCA takedown requests that appear to be from Nintendo.

Steam has changed its refund policy, with pre-release playtime now factored in when considering eligibility for a refund.

Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection has received a new update focused on fixing many of the issues the game launched with. Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection is a remastered collection of the first two releases in the Battlefront series, something that fans have been requesting for a long time. Although there were Star Wars fans who enjoyed the Battlefront reboot, many of these gamers have cited nostalgia for the classic Star Wars Battlefront games, and developer Aspyr released the collection on March 14, 2024.

Nintendo is known to be highly protective of its IPs, and its latest takedown request has targeted Garry's Mod, forcing the sandbox game to remove 20 years worth of content that contains Nintendo related workshop assets. Fans of the Super Smash Bros. gaming circuit and various sandbox titles are highly familiar with Nintendo shutting down games with DMCA takedowns. With Nintendo now requesting all of its assets to be removed from the Garry's Mod section of the Steam Workshop, fans are lamenting the impending loss of community content.

The standard two-hour playtime refund window for games bought at the Steam Store will now also apply to titles marked «Early Access» or «Advanced Access,» according to the service's creator, Valve. Such games haven't technically been released yet, so under previous rules, it was possible to play them for dozens or hundreds of hours and still request a refund. It's unknown how many people may have taken advantage of the loophole, which would've been available for high-profile titles as recent as Palworld and Lethal Company.

Bandai Namco has released the launch trailer for Sand Land, which is viewable below.

Users looking to return a game on Steam may have a slightly more difficult time, as Valve recently updated the service’s refund policy to close a popular loophole involving “advanced access” titles. Steam is one of the biggest digital game retailers, offering customers a massive selection of PC titles that run the gamut from the latest triple-A releases to smaller indie fare. Of course, not everyone is going to be happy with their purchases, and Steam allows users to refund their games within 14 days of buying them, as long as they have only been played for less than two hours.

Players that put more than two hours into pre-purchased or advanced access games will now be exempt from Steam's refund policy, says Steam, the maker of said policy and thus the final word on how it is implemented. As spotted by the Verge, this change is intended to combat a loophole where filthy time criminals could fill their stolen boots with ill-gotten fun pre-release, then get their money back.

Bit.Trip Rerunner, the remastered version of Bit.Trip Runner, is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Fallout games have seen renewed interest since the release of the Fallout TV series on Amazon Prime Video earlier this month. Just as the show has received acclaim and attracted new viewers to the world of Fallout, new and returning players have been flocking to the role-playing games from Bethesda. Now, the studio has confirmed that Fallout titles have received almost five million players in a single day, including one million in Fallout 76 alone.

Given that arcades have declined in popularity in recent years, you’d be forgiven for completely missing this game the first time around.

The recent review statistic for Tekken 8's Steam page has dropped to «Mostly Negative» following weeks of controversy. The changes introduced to the game's monetization system caused a widespread outcry from the community, contrasting with the warm reception delivered by fans at the time of the game's release back in January. Now, three months after its debut, public sentiment towards Tekken 8 has hit another major snag.

A new update patch has just been released for the PC version of Horizon Forbidden West that corrects some problems players have been having with the Nvidia Reflex On+Boost feature, among other things. The second Horizon game launched on PlayStation consoles back in 2022, earning mainly positive reviews for its stunning visuals and impressive vocal performances, even if some found the story to be lacking. Last month, Horizon Forbidden West became one of the latest Sony-published titles to make the jump to PC courtesy of Nixxes Software, the developer behind ports like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut.

An independent UK developer says it’s been forced to announce and postpone its game on the same day, and lay off more than half of its staff, due to the sharp downturn in investment in the games industry.

Nintendo has rolled out a new Switch system update designed to address a pesky online connection issue.

Microsoft has announced details of its next ID@Xbox Digital Showcase.

Although its relationship with video games goes all the way back to Pong, tennis has seemingly always been a tricky sport to properly nail in digital form.

The upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake may have given its protagonist a makeover to make him look younger.

Wipeout co-creator Nick Burcombe is making a futuristic sports title at a new development studio called Starlight Games.

Fallout games have enjoyed considerable boosts in terms of sales and player numbers over the last week or so, thanks to the success of Amazon Prime’s Fallout series, and that continued over the weekend. Fallout 76, in fact, once again hit a new all-time peak of concurrent players on Steam on Sunday, surpassing its previous record of over 39,000 players (which it set last week), and nearly doubling it to land at 73,368 concurrent players (via SteamDB).

Dead Island 2 is finally available on Steam as of today, April 22. Its arrival on Valve's storefront has been highly anticipated by the fandom, as underlined by the fact that Dead Island 2 is already listed as the best-selling game on the platform.

New details about Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game have been revealed.

Fallout 76 has beaten its all-time concurrent player count on Steam again, just one week after previously doing it.

Steam users looking for a new co-op game to play should mark Thursday, August 8 on their calendars, as that's the day Cat Quest 3 will release for the platform. Developed by The Gentlebros for Steam and other platforms, the Cat Quest games are humorous action-RPGs that challenge players to complete quests, fight a variety of enemies, conquer dungeons, earn new gear, and more. The games haven't exactly blown up in popularity, but they are solid picks nonetheless.

Fallout 76 has hit yet another all-time player record on Steam. Nearly 52,000 Fallout 76 players were online at the same time on April 19, with the game consequently breaking its concurrent Steam player record for the fifth time since the turn of the month.

Team Fortress 2, the acclaimed multiplayer first-person shooter from software giant Valve, has received a major improvement thanks to a recent update. While the changelog for this latest update may not seem like much at first glance, one notable addition is likely to be considered a big deal by many Team Fortress 2 fans.

Valiant Hearts: Coming Home is finally set to debut on Steam. The sequel to Valiant Hearts: The Great War has been out for over a year, though it remained inaccessible to PC gamers for the majority of that time.

Prison Architect 2’s release date has been delayed for a second time, publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Double Eleven have announced.

Bloober Team has seemingly amended the face of James Sunderland in its highly-anticipated Silent Hill 2 Remake.

The Steam version of Ghostwire: Tokyo has removed Denuvo Anti-Tamper. The change rolled out as part of a recent update that spelled the end of Ghostwire: Tokyo's unusual approach to the controversial digital rights management (DRM) tool.

Microsoft has heavily discounted a selection of its PC games in the Xbox Game Studios Publisher Sale.

Developer Owlcat has released a new trailer for its sci-fi RPG Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, which released in December. The trailer is essentially a guide highlighting one of the game’s lesser talked-about aspects, showcasing the game’s space combat between spaceships. Check it out below.

A new retro compilation coming to the Switch next week will see the return of cult sports title California Games.

Cities Skylines 2 DLC is being refunded and added to the base game for free after being “rushed out” in an unsatisfactory state.

Baldur’s Gate 3 studio Larian has announced that it’s working on two new projects based on its own original IPs.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 details have leaked ahead of an anticipated announcement.

Bethesda has removed Denuvo anti-tamper technology from the PC version of Ghostwire: Tokyo.

Octopath Traveler has been made available to purchase on the Nintendo eShop again.

Human Fall Flat 2’s release has been delayed to 2026.

Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe has said he’s “proud” to see other studios making games inspired by Palworld.

While it announced details and sign-ups for the upcoming technical test, Hades 2 recently received some surprise gameplay from the build. Supergiant Games’ Greg Kasavin and Amir Rao are on hand, playing through the first area and showcasing new weapons, enemies and gameplay features.

Supergiant Games streamed roughly three hours of the upcoming technical test for Hades 2, showcasing the combat and the initial first section of the game. However, it also highlighted the new and returning characters alongside some Boons.

The Steam Deck is a great handheld gaming PC, but its focus on Steam means no native support for playing games from other launchers, including the Epic Games Launcher. But you can play games from Epic's store on your Steam Deck if you use these workarounds.

Sea of Thieves has now been played by over 40 million people, according to developer Rare.

Nintendo has broadcast its latest Indie World presentation, giving players a look at 17 upcoming indie games.

The PC version of Ghost of Tsushima will have trophy support, a first for PlayStation‘s PC titles.

Grounded has received its final major update, to coincide with its release on Switch and PlayStation consoles.

Landfall’s found footage co-op horror game has had massive success in its first few weeks, and has now reached yet another milestone.

Hades 2 developer Supergiant Games has recently announced that the upcoming game will have a “technical test” period in which gamers can apply to play early. Not only will this short test period help the developers iron out bugs, but it may also allow some lucky players to play Hades 2 before it hits Early Access.

Hades 2 is progressing towards its early access launch on PC this year for Steam and the Epic Games Store, with sign-ups now available for an upcoming technical test. Interestingly, Supergiant Games revealed that it doesn’t know how long the test will be. The current estimate is “longer than a week, shorter than a month.”

The official mod editor for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Steam is now open for playtesting.

Supergiant Games has announced the Hades 2 technical test, and players can sign up now.

The experimental narrative title 1000xRESIST finally has a release date. The debut game from Sunset Visitor, a team comprised of mostly Asian-diaspora creators from non-gaming backgrounds in dance, music, film, and visual arts, is set to come to PC and Nintendo Switch on May 9.

Supergiant Games is prepping for the launch of Hades 2 into early access later this year, but in the meantime, it’s inviting participants for a technical test. Interested parties can go to its Steam page and press the “Request Access” button to register their interest.

Anyone looking to jump back into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Steam now has the perfect excuse—today, CD Projekt Red released the official REDkit mod editor for the 2015 title, allowing players to test out the free tool for the first time before its full release later this year.

GameStop is running a buy 2, get 1 free promotion on all pre-owned games.

11 Bit Studios has launched a Frostpunk 2 beta on PC.

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.

An unofficial fan-made launcher for Lawbreakers has made the game playable again for the first time in six years.

From Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to HBO’s The Last of Us, we’ve seen plenty of recent examples of acclaimed game adaptations that have led to tangible, significant boosts in player numbers and sales for the games they’re based on, and another series has now joined that list. Amazon Prime’s Fallout show premiered all eight of its episodes last week, and amidst widespread acclaim, it has also led to several Fallout games enjoying boosted numbers.

Numerous games in the Fallout series have seen their player counts dramatically rise following the release of the Fallout TV show.

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.

Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has suggested that players should be able to tip developers after completing a game.

EA‘s upcoming Black Panther will be an open-world game, according to a new job listing.

There is a new patch for Infection Free Zone on Steam. Steam is a hot spot for games within the survival genre and many of these games often have addictive gameplay loops that fans don't get tired of. Rust, Valheim, and Palworld are all examples of games that incorporate survival elements and have drawn in large numbers of players in recent years, and Infection Free Zone appears to be doing the same.

Steam’s next week-long celebration will pay tribute to that most treasured of genres, the first-person shooter. The PC marketplace’s FPS Fest kicks off next Monday, letting loose a hail of discounts and playable demos for shooters that prefer things from the first-person perspective.

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.

Evil Empire has put out a call for alpha testers for its upcoming Prince of Persia roguelite.

Pocketpair has teased plans to release a big Palworld update this summer, ahead of the game’s Arena mode later in the year.

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.

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.