The next patch for Baldur’s Gate 3 is going to be “a big one” according to a recent tweet from Larian Studios, but sadly we’ll have to wait one whole day longer than we expected. The release of Patch 3 will be pushed from September 21st to September 22nd giving them time to “ensure thorough testing”.

Full Mac support is coming at last and we just learned that it’ll include an appearance-changing mirror, but otherwise it’s unknown what changes the patch will bring. The fact that it is going to be a pretty substantial patch has me holding my eyelids open in anticipation of what else is on the way.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a monumental success so far and the continued patches, fixes, and support from Larian are just fuelling the internal (engine) fire we all hold for this game. Despite still having so much to discover myself, the idea of even more to come is making my mouth water.

The consistent updates and mod support provides it with a strong founda…

Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson had some reassuring words for Diablo 4 players concerned that they won’t be able to respec their characters because the cost will be too high: It won’t be.

Respeccing is simply the act of reassigning your character’s skill or ability points because there’s a new meta, or you want to try something different, or you just got bored. In games like Diablo 4, where character builds are central to the experience, a lot of players enjoy being able to experiment: I, for instance, made a barbarian in the Diablo 4 beta who liked to bash heads with a huge hammer; in the second beta weekend, I switched him up to a sword-swinger. (I didn’t like that nearly as much, though, so I switched back.)

In Diablo 4’s early game, respeccing is free, but as your character’s level rises, so does the cost, paid with in-game gold. The Diablo 4 beta capped players at level 25 so it was impossible to see just how expensive it might get at high levels, but in a Nove…

A new trailer for Starbreeze’s long-awaited Payday threequel premiered at today’s Xbox Games Showcase, and we finally have a proper release date: September 21.

If you’d asked this heisting novice I might’ve guessed it was a trailer for a Payday 2 expansion, but I reckon that means Starbreeze is on the right track with Payday 3: it’s got AKs, riot shields, gun skins, and the returning cast of masked thieves from the first two games (Dallas, Chains, Hoxton and Wolf).

“Ripped from their peaceful retirement to rejoin the criminal world by a new threat, one born from the chaos the Crew left in their wake,” reads the Steam page.

Someone with a sharper eye could identify more significant additions, but it seems to greatly improve moevement, with both sliding and vaulting being shown. You can also now hold guards and use them as a shield, with one scene showing the hostage being deposited outside (a trade-off for mor time perhaps?). Finally the close shows a bulldozer rush…

Computex 2024 was a pretty decent affair—despite AI products festooning every stand—thanks to AMD and Intel launching some new, tasty-looking CPU architectures. PC gamers, though, were hoping to see AMD announced 3D V-cache models alongside its Ryzen 9000 chips but to no avail. However, one rumour currently doing the rounds is that we won’t need to wait very long to see them, with 9000 X3D variants appearing as early as September.

The source of said rumour is Club386, who spoke with an unnamed person at Computex, claiming that AMD plans to launch 3D V-cache equipped versions of its new Ryzen 9000 processors in September. When we spoke to AMD at Computex, it didn’t say anything about release dates but it did confirm that it was “working actively on really cool differentiators to make it even better.”

Three months would be a bit of a record for AMD and its introduction of X3D variants after a new architecture announcement. For example, the time gap between the …

The 2024 Steam Summer Sale is over, and that clears the way for the next big seasonal event in Steam’s lineup: The Team Fortress 2 2024 summer update.

Just like last year’s TF2 summer update, this one is chock full o’ stuff made not by Valve, but by the community: 10 new community maps (Embargo, Odyssey, Megaton, Cachoeira, Overgrown, Hadal, Applejack, Atom Smash, Canaveral, and Burghausen), 23 new “community-contributed items” in the Summer 2024 Cosmetic Case, four new community-created taunts, and 38 new community-made Unusual effects: 18 for hats and 20 for taunts.

Valve contributed to the effort too, of course. Somebody had to collect all this stuff together, ensure it complies with all requisite rules and regulations, and that it doesn’t actually break the game in any meaningful way. Actually pushing the update live would be a job for someone at Valve, too.

And to give all credit where it’s due, the update makes an impressive pile of bug fixes, updates, and “s…

Electronic Arts has become the latest tech-related company to make significant cuts to its workforce, as it announced today that it is laying off roughly six percent of its workforce.

As usual, the layoffs come amidst what sounds like a pretty solid situation for the company. 

“Even amidst macro uncertainty, EA is operating from a position of strength,” Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said. “Our business is gaining momentum as we continue to deliver high quality games and amazing content across some of the largest, most beloved franchises in the world.” 

Citing the continued success and growth of games including FIFA 23, Apex Legends, and The Sims, Wilson said Electronic Arts “are leaders in a dynamic industry with new audiences, new technology, and new media trends fundamentally reshaping the world around us.”

But success comes with a price, and in this case that price is the jobs of several hundred people who work at EA.

“As we drive great…

This graph seems so unbelievable it makes the thing a little hard to parse. But basically, cryptocurrency mining in the US sucked down more energy that every computer in the entire country. Every. Single. Computer. 

Yes, even Macs.

Hell, at 50 billion kWh, crypto mining in the US almost used more power than all the televisions. And there are quite a few TVs in the States, in case you’d forgotten.

I’ve seen all the stories about cryptocurrency mining using more power than [insert country here], and those stats are always pretty astounding. But they always relate to the entirety of the global crypto network, or just the bitcoin mining around the world. And it’s quite easy to insulate yourself against such broad terms.

But when it’s just about the output of a single country—albeit the single largest contributor to the bitcoin mining industry—to me it seems to hit home much harder.

This all comes from a White House report on the proposed Di…

And just like that, a new Steam Deck is here. We’ve been expecting a refresh of Valve’s handheld gaming PC for a little while now, and it’s touting this Steam Deck OLED as “the definitive first generation Steam Deck, it’s the one that we would have shipped if we could have.”

The new Steam Deck OLED comes in a few flavours, most obviously the $549 512GB and $649 1TB trims. That’s largely the same price the original 256GB and 512GB LCD versions retailed for just a few days ago, except now you’re getting an OLED screen and twice the storage capacity for your dollar. And with the 1TB version you get a funky new dual-use case with a Velcro-attached inner shell for those times you just want a thin case to drop in a bag.

Valve is going to keep selling (and supporting) the 256GB Steam Deck LCD version as the low-end option, cutting the price to $399, and discounting the 64GB and original 512GB Decks while dwindling stocks last.

We’ve had our hands on the new machine for a …

As noted by SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik, Valve has requested that all Dota 2 custom game makers cease real-money monetization in their creations by August 17. A number of popular modes for the juggernaut MOBA have already gone offline in response.

The custom game tools in Dota 2 gave rise to a vibrant modding scene, with the most notable example being autobattler genre progenitor Dota Auto Chess. Auto Chess was a straight-up phenomenon when it landed in 2019, and though a bit diminished these days, the genre it spawned is still chugging along.

Some custom games in the Dota 2 arcade possess real money monetization through third party platforms like Paypal or Patreon. Paying the developers outside the game earns you access to the usual microtransactions for cosmetics or, more contentiously, in-game advantages, as well as full-blown battle passes.

Dota 2 Arcade games fall under a non-commercial license, but the characteristically hands-off and laissez faire Valve di…

All the help you need to win today’s Wordle is right here. Keep on scrolling and you’ll discover everything from general tips and guides to a handcrafted clue for the November 21 (885) game. Need a little more? No problem. Today’s Wordle answer is never more than a click away.

My second guess practically handed me today’s Wordle on a plate—it’s a shame I couldn’t quite see it at the time, and ended up fumbling around for all sorts of odd words that perhaps only exist inside my own head. Still, a messy win in four is much better than no win at all.

Today’s Wordle hint

Wordle today: A hint for Tuesday, November 21

Today’s word is a type of instrument, one that produces sound using a combination of keys, hammers, and strings. Whether in grand or its smaller upright size, it’s not the sort of musical object someone could carry around with them. 

ViewViewViewView

Is there a double letter in Wordle today? 

No, there is …

After what could fairly be called a bumpy ride to the finish line, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is now just a month away from release, and that puts it close enough that we can finally lay our eyes on the official system requirements.

The good news is that you won’t need a supercharged gaming rig to play Space Marine 2, as long as you don’t mind easing up a bit on the eye candy. Even the recommended spec isn’t excessively demanding, although it’s interesting that it targets just 60 fps at 1920×1080. For those who are packing supercharged PCs, a 4K specification hasn’t been posted, so on that front—for now, at least—you’ll just have to try your luck and see how it goes.

Minimum (1920×1080, 30 fps, low graphics preset)

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10/11 64-bit
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X / Intel Core i5-8600K
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 6 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon RX 580 / Nvidia GeForce…
  

If you ask everyone in the room to describe their perfect vision for a Star Wars game, you’re gonna get a lot of answers. Many would, I wager, basically describe Star Wars Jedi: Survivor with its lightsaber power fantasy, memorable characters, cool force powers, and satisfying stormtrooper amputation.

My pitch would sound a lot closer to the game that Ubisoft announced yesterday at the Xbox Games Showcase, Star Wars Outlaws—a sandbox action game starring a Solo-like scoundrel-for-hire on the lawless planets of the Outer Rim. No, it’s not the Mandalorian game that I was quietly crossing my fingers for, but a completely new character instead: Kay Vess, a young outlaw getting her start in the criminal underworld.

Outlaws takes place in the gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. For those who haven’t kept up perfectly with the barrage of Star Wars stories lately, that places Outlaws something like a decade after Jedi: Survivor and a few years befor…

2022’s roguelike of the year and eternal sovereign of my heart, Poncle’s Vampire Survivors, has announced its next major patch. The 1.8 Adventures update is due to release in a few weeks, and brings with it barely explained additions like remixed content, a new “sort of mini campaign” mode for members of the Vampire Survivors cast, and most important of all: “a whole bunch of deep lore lmao.”

Those mini campaigns are the titular adventures, and the dev describes them as “self-contained miniature story modes that reset and remix the game’s content, following the Survivors cast on a series of wacky sidequests.” Perhaps some of that deep lore will strike during one of those stories, giving us a chance to finally unfurl the rich tapestry of Vampire Survivor’s fiction.

Or perhaps not. The new adventures are meant to give you an opportunity to start from scratch without losing all those unlocks you spent so long accruing, guiding the protagonists through “custom challenges wit…

There’s a lot to like about the HP Victus laptop, currently at a really low price for its power. Yes, the CPU is two generations old, but the Core i5 12500H still offers four P-cores, eight E-cores, and 16 threads in total.

It would be nicer to have a CPU that has fewer E-cores and more P-cores, but with a boost clock of 4.5GHz and a power limit of 95W, it’ll cope with most games just fine. You’ll even be able to throw in a bit of content creation.

To handle the graphics duties, there’s a GeForce RTX 4060, which is a decent 1080p budget-level GPU. There’s no indication as to what its power limit is, but hopefully it’s not one of the low-end versions. In other HP laptops, such as its RTX 4050 models, they’re typically towards the higher end of the power range.

But regardless of what its actual performance is like, it’s a perfect match for the 1080p IPS panel. The refresh rate is suitably high for gaming at 144Hz, and if the GPU struggles to hit that level in games, …