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Audio player loading… A new build has arrived for the Dragonflight (opens in new tab) beta and it seems that World of Warcraft may get official controller support in the new expansion. Both Xbox and PlayStation controller assets which are "tied to controller bindings" have been datamined in the latest build, according to Icy Veins (opens in new tab) . This news certainly adds weight to any speculation that WoW might show up on Xbox after the Microsoft acquisition, assuming it goes ahead (opens in new tab) of course. Equally though, it may just be part of the push towards better accessibility options for the nearly 18-year-old MMO—something that many of the UI updates in Dragonflight appear to be focusing on. An "action combat" option was previously added to the Dragonflight beta. If enabled, this means you won't need to tab between enemies to target them—instead, you will automatically lock on to the closest enemy in the direction your character is facing. … [Read more...] about World of Warcraft could be getting official controller support

(opens in new tab) Loupedeck Live console | $269 $229 at Amazon (save $40) (opens in new tab) The Loupedeck Live is the Swiss army knife of desktop thingumajigs. It brings tons of functionality to your fingertips, and you can really make it your own with high levels of customisation through the app. It natively works with tons of apps, such as OBS Studio, Streamlabs, Google Chrome, and Adobe Photoshop. View Deal (opens in new tab) If you're the type of person that wants more gadgets on your desktop, you might be interested in the Loupedeck Live (opens in new tab) . It's a sort of shortcut whizz, a way for you to set up lots of specialised buttons and knobs for use across a wide range of apps. For PC gamers, it'll find good use as a streaming console like an Elgato Stream Deck, though it's also handy for content creation. I've had plenty of hands-on time with the Loupedeck, not the least bit for my review back in 2021. In which, I called it "what I … [Read more...] about The Loupedeck Live all-in-one streaming tool is $40 cheaper for one more day

Audio player loading… China's dominance of cryptocurrency mining is over, with the latest statistics from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (opens in new tab) (CBECI) reporting zero activity in the area from July 2021 onwards (via MinedPool (opens in new tab) ). That's not surprising given that the Chinese Communist Party governing the country has declared 'virtual currency-related business activities are illegal activities,' (opens in new tab) but this is the first time China has not had any place in the bitcoin mining stats. It's also proof positive that China's crackdown has worked, driving mining outfits either out of the country... or underground. Even though the CBECI is reporting that there is zero mining activity in the country, that doesn't mean no-one in China is mining bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies. The CBECI stats are based on the primary assumption (opens in new tab) that: "IP addresses of mining facility … [Read more...] about China’s illegal bitcoin miners go off-grid as the country records a 0% share of global hash rate

Audio player loading… One of this year's breakout indie hits is Vampire Survivors, which not only met with wide success but responded to it: Developer Poncle quickly made ambitious plans to expand the game. Ever since launch it's seen a string of major and minor updates, and is now ready to throw off the early access label for good with its biggest change yet. The version 1.0 update will arrive on 20 October and, since Poncle's already completed everything it put on an earlier development roadmap, the 1.0 content update "is a surprise and should hopefully offer a little something for everyone." This will include balance changes to items, mostly buffs in-line with the game's freewheelingly chaotic spirit , though the Santa Water is apparently too godly and needs a small nerf. There's also a bunch of official language support coming ( full list here ), and the news that a port to a new engine is ongoing. "We're aiming to release it by the end of the year," Poncle … [Read more...] about Vampire Survivors was such a big hit it’s getting a whole new engine

Audio player loading… Valheim fans have been waiting (mostly patiently) for the first big update for the Viking survival game to finally arrive. And at long last, we know when it's coming. Valheim's Hearth and Home update will release on September 16. That's excellent news for anyone who enjoyed Valheim but eventually ran out of things to do in the Early Access game, and I'm sure lots of players will come flooding back to check out the update when it arrives. I certainly will. We've been keeping track of what we know about Hearth and Home (opens in new tab) , which will include a new food system (opens in new tab) , changes to blocking and staggering (opens in new tab) , new ways to display your treasure (opens in new tab) , plus new recipes, additional building pieces, and more. And hey, the announcement comes with a nicely animated trailer to boot. Valheim goes anime? I'm fine with this. … [Read more...] about Valheim’s Hearth and Home update releases on September 16

Audio player loading… After months of leaks (opens in new tab) , Sony has confirmed a late October release date for the PC port of Sackboy: A Big Adventure. The cooperative 3D platformer—a PS5 launch title—will boast a few nice quality-of-life improvements when it hits Steam and the Epic Games Store. Confirmation of the port comes via the Latin American PlayStation YouTube account, but the English language version of the trailer will no doubt hit imminently. 4K resolution with support for 120fps is in, it'll play nice with 21:9 ultrawide monitors, and DLSS and VRR are both supported. GamesRadar gave Sackboy: A Big Adventure a perfect score (opens in new tab) on release, and I myself can confirm that it's really fun: you can pick up your coop buddies and send them hurtling off cliffs. According to the announcement trailer, the port will release on October 27. Now that Sackboy is out of the bag, it's likely that Returnal—which is pretty much definitely coming … [Read more...] about Sackboy: A Big Adventure is finally coming to PC in late October

Audio player loading… If you've been keeping up with Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, you might have thought nothing of the title sequence. It may look mundane, perhaps even completely irrelevant to the uninitiated, but there's a lot more to this sandy mashup than meets the eye. The studio responsible for the intro, Plains of Yonder (opens in new tab) , spoke to me about the hidden meanings behind the concept, and even hinted at some easter eggs the eagle eyed among us should be looking out for. The Plains of Yonder team said that, when the show first aired, many of the initial comments were in the vein of "Really? They were given how much money and all we got was sand?" Of course, die-hard fans will be aware that the concept is a nod to J.R.R. Tolkien's world building efforts—a reference to the Middle Earth creation story in which angelic beings called the Ainur called the universe of Eä into existence through the power of song. "Tolkien talks … [Read more...] about The LotR: The Rings of Power intro has some undiscovered easter eggs

Call of Duty: Warzone just received a final seasonal update with Season 5 Reloaded on September 28, and with the upcoming arrival of Warzone 2.0, one leaker claims the battle royale's smaller Resurgence maps will disappear. Warzone is confirmed to be sticking around after the launch of Warzone 2.0 on November 16, as Activision previously explained how the current version of Warzone would "continue on as a separate experience that will include a continuation of player progression and inventories within that Warzone experience." However, the publisher has not confirmed which of the three maps would remain available after Warzone 2.0 releases. The Ghost of Hope , who is a notable Call of Duty leaker, has claimed that both Rebirth Island and Fortune's Keep will disappear when Warzone 2.0 is released, leaving only Caldera to remain. This also lines up with journalist Tom Henderson's claims on Twitter that the current version of Warzone would be renamed to "Warzone Caldera." … [Read more...] about CoD: Warzone 2.0 May Cause Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep To Disappear, Leak Suggests

Audio player loading… Two months after denying a rumor (opens in new tab) that Stadia is shutting down, Google has announced that Stadia is shutting down (opens in new tab) . "While Stadia's approach to streaming games for consumers was built on a strong technology foundation, it hasn't gained the traction with users that we expected so we’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service," Stadia general manager Phil Harrison wrote. Stadia owners will continue to have access to their libraries until January 18, 2023, and all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store, and game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia store, will be refunded. Most refunds are expected to be completed by mid-January. Despite Stadia's failure to catch on with gamers, Harrison said the technology behind it "has been proven at scale and transcends gaming." "We see clear opportunities to apply this technology … [Read more...] about Stadia is closing down in January, hardware and software purchases to be refunded

Audio player loading… Valorant's Vanguard anti-cheat technology proved deeply controversial when it was revealed last year. Players were unhappy about the fact that it loads at boot by default and lurks quietly in the background, waiting and watching even when Valorant isn't running. Riot made Vanguard more visible and easier to disable in response, but the basic requirement remained: If you want to play Valorant, you've got to run Vanguard. A year and a half later, Riot's strategy appears to be paying dividends. Riot anti-cheat analyst Matt “K3o” Paoletti said in an update posted today that the rate of reports for cheating in Valorant are the lowest they've ever been. Combatting cheaters is "a continual arms race" which has seen an uptick in hardware-based cheats and "machine learning algorithms," but Paoletti said Riot has so far been able to stay ahead of those efforts. "Despite what developers may say, the words 'artificial intelligence' do not make a … [Read more...] about Valorant cheating ‘at an all-time low’