In its recent history, Xbox has accomplished few esteemed deeds worth commemorating. Even as it attempts to pivot into a new era under new CEO Asha Sharma, it's still suffering from the fallout of a persistent strategic malaise, having achieved little more in the current decade than acquiring a sizable chunk of the games industry just to lay it off, spinning up a games subscription service that served as a...

I confess, even after several years writing about videogames for money, I still have to pause sometimes and remember which CD Projekt is which. I use this handy mnemonic rhyme: If CD Projekt Red you see, that's the folks who made The Witcher 3. If CD Projekt alone you view, that's the parent company. Doo bee doo.But I guess it's time for me to throw that rhyme out, because CD...

In a recent appearance on the Human Can Opener podcast, Obsidian design director Josh Sawyer talked about how the studio approached balance in Fallout: New Vegas, particularly with skill checks in dialogue and making sure different character builds got unique, cool reactivity throughout the game."Some people think I'm preoccupied with balance," said Sawyer. "I want people to build characters and have a good time with them. You have to think...

Weird WeekendWeird Weekend is our regular Saturday feature where we celebrate PC gaming oddities: peculiar games, strange bits of trivia, forgotten history. Pop back every weekend to find out what Jeremy, Josh and Rick have become obsessed with this time, whether it's the canon height of Thief's Garrett or that time someone in the Vatican pirated Football Manager.In hindsight, calling my new town—in outbreak simulator DeadOS—Zombieville was a rubbish idea....

Amid Star Wars Zero Company's gameplay and release date reveal at the 2026 Summer Game Fest, it somehow slipped by me that the squad tactics game from XCOM veterans also got an official price tag: $50. What year is it, 2005? Not only is this what Firaxis charged for XCOM: Enemy Unknown in 2012, it's less than the beloved XCOM 2's launch price of $60 a decade ago.I got to...

Terminally Online(Image credit: Future)This is Terminally Online: PC Gamer's very own MMO column. Every other week, I'll be sharing my thoughts on the genre, interviewing fellow MMO-heads like me, taking a deep-dive into mechanics we've all taken for granted, and, occasionally, bringing in guest writers to talk about their MMO of choice.One interesting trend of the MMO genre is its slow drift towards a seasonal structure. Final Fantasy 14's getting...

Who could forget Dispatch's release and subsequent explosion of popularity, as hordes of gamers gathered to run and romance their own superhero squad; not me. But months later, after stumbling on a new upcoming medieval narrative RPG, those memories came flooding back. Sovereign Tower's Steam demo released a couple of months ago, and I loved it. It follows the same format as Dispatch, except you play as a newly-appointed sovereign...

If you signed up for a spot in the Steam Machine reservation queue, you might want to take a quick look at your email, because the notices for those who made it into the first wave—and those who did not—have been sent.I did not personally order a Steam Machine for several reasons, which in truth can be boiled down to one reason:Yowzah! (Image credit: Valve)Instead, I heard about the email...

Steam is an elephant, and we are all trying to describe it blindfolded. To bring order to this economic chaos, I have curated a list of must-play games—indies, cult hits, no brainer classics, all ones I like personally—that are $5 or cheaper in the 2026 Summer Sale. Five bucks is my threshold for "not a big deal," and unless the economy is even worse than I thought, it's likely yours...

Are you building a gaming PC, or upgrading your existing one after finding a great Prime Day deal? I reckon you might have forgotten something. You'll need a specific screwdriver bit, or some fresh thermal paste, or perhaps even an upgraded PSU to power your fancy new components.I've got you covered. I've built many, many gaming PCs over the past 26 years, so I've spent the morning gathering up the...