Community MetaSteam | June 2025 - GEX Tactics: Zombie Diary of the Darktide Covenant

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Rise of Industry 2

80’s USA… a time and place of rapid innovation, globalization and unprecedented profits. To dominate this competitive industrial landscape, you’ll need to build a cutting-edge manufacturing powerhouse and cultivate a rolodex full of jet-setting business contacts. Welcome to the land of opportunity!

In pursuit of unprecedented profits, you’ll need to seize every opportunity to innovate and grow each business you’re tasked with managing. Ever dream of running a hub of automotive production? A world-class winery with sweeping vineyard vistas? A sprawling mining operation extracting and refining valuable minerals? Or an aviation enterprise that assembles airplanes that will soar through the skies of an increasingly interconnected world?

You’ll need to optimize your production chains, import and export goods within the global market, keep up to date with the latest and greatest technologies, maintain strong relations with the local government and expand your business network to stay on top. Make all the right decisions along the way and you just might be able fulfill your American dream.



DELTARUNE

Fight (or spare) alongside new characters in UNDERTALE's parallel story, DELTARUNE...!



Dune: Awakening

More than just survival, Dune: Awakening offers a large-scale, persistent and highly immersive world with social hubs bustling with other players, server-wide politics and intrigue, and a cinematic storyline that will leave you at the edge of your seat.

The Fremen have vanished. Paul Atreides was never born. Lady Jessica obeyed the Bene Gesserit and gave birth to a girl. Duke Leto Atreides survived the assault on Arrakeen and is now locked in a brutal conflict with the Harkonnen over Arrakis and its precious spice.

In this unique but still familiar take on the iconic sci-fi universe of Dune, you begin as a prisoner sent to Arrakis to uncover the mystery of the Fremen’s disappearance. Following in the footsteps of the mysterious desert tribe, you will learn the true meaning of desert power as you rise from a nameless survivor to becoming an agent of the Atreides or the Harkonnen.

Alone, with friends, or any of the hundreds of players you share Arrakis with, can you survive the most dangerous planet in the universe?



MindsEye

Welcome to the world of MindsEye, a single-player, action-adventure thriller set in the fictional near future city of Redrock – an intense, super-heated, desert metropolis where technology is king. 

Robots carry out manual tasks and an algorithm connects all-seeing devices to make Redrock 'The Safest City in the World'. It’s a living experiment in the existential potential of man and machine. As is the protagonist, Jacob Diaz, a former special-ops soldier haunted by fragmented memories from his MindsEye neural implant. 

You’ll play as Jacob as he fights to uncover his truth in a world where AI, hi-tech experimentation and unchecked military power shapes every encounter. What starts as a personal quest quickly becomes a mission that’s critical to all of humanity’s survival as sentient robots rise, propelled by human greed.

Central to the game’s tightly crafted narrative is the volatile relationship between the eccentric head of Silva Industries, Marco Silva and Redrock’s power-hungry mayor, Shiva Vega. Where billionaire Silva wants to change the course of human evolution, Vega wants greater control of his technology and Redrock’s citizens in the process. 

With Jacob caught in the crossfire, get ready for explosive combat using an array of advanced weaponry in missions on foot, behind the wheel and in the air. MindsEye is a richly detailed thriller with best-in-class cinematics and a thought-provoking story about when technology and ambition collide.



Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Master Crafted Edition

Step into the armor of a relentless Space Marine and use a combination of lethal weaponry to crush overwhelming Ork forces. Immerse yourself in an intense and brutally violent world based on the richest science fantasy ever created.

In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine you are captain Titus, a Space Marine of the Ultramarines chapter and a seasoned veteran of countless battles. A millions-strong Ork horde has invaded an Imperial forge world, one of the planet-sized factories where the war machines for humanity's never-ending battle for survival are created. Losing this planet is not an option, but a darker and far more evil threat is lurking large in the shadows of this world. With an Imperial liberation fleet en-route, the Ultramarines are sent in to hold key locations until reinforcements arrive. Captain Titus and a squad of Ultramarine veterans use bolters and chainswords to take the fight to the enemies of mankind.



Stellar Blade

The future of humanity is balanced on the edge of a blade. Ravaged by strange, powerful creatures, Earth has been abandoned, and what is left of the decimated human race has fled to a Colony in outer space.

After travelling from the Colony, EVE arrives on the desolate remains of our planet with a clear-cut mission: to save humankind by reclaiming Earth from the Naytiba – the malevolent force that has devastated it.

But as EVE tackles the Naytiba one-by-one, piecing together the mysteries of the past in the ruins of human civilization, she realizes that her mission is far from straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is as it seems…



Zombie Army VR

Zombie Hitler has been defeated, but the zombie hordes are still at large and Europe remains in the throes of war.

Following the story of Zombie Army, you return to the field as one of the Deadhunters, an elite squad fighting to end the apocalypse!

VR brings a new level of immersion to the nail-biting action. Use both hands to aim down the sights of your rifle and dual-wield pistols and submachine guns when you get up close and personal. You will also need to master reloading drills as the undead masses bear down on you.

The X-ray Kill Cam returns, allowing you to relive long-range kills in slow motion glory.



The Alters

The Alters is an ambitious sci-fi survival game with a unique twist. You play as Jan Dolski, the lone survivor of a crash-landed expedition on a hostile planet. To survive, you must form a new crew for your mobile base.

Using a substance called Rapidium, you create alternative versions of Jan—THE ALTERS—each one shaped by a different crucial decision from the protagonist’s past.

As you navigate through survival and moral dilemmas, you will explore a branching narrative filled with captivating character dynamics and challenging decisions.



GEX Trilogy

Things are about to get weirder than the 4th of July at Rick James' place! Everyone's favorite tail-whipping, channel-surfing gecko is back in a collection that features all of his best-selling adventures!

GEX Trilogy includes the original 2D platformer, GEX, and the two 3D sequels: GEX: Enter the Gecko & GEX 3: Deep Cover Gecko —but these aren't just re-runs! This Carbon Engine powered collection includes extras and numerous improvements that bring GEX back into prime time!



Date Everything!

Can’t wait to get down and dirty with your fireplace? Long for the sweet embrace from your fridge? Our Early Bird Edition will have an incredibly profound effect on gameplay!

Date Everything! brings an exciting new twist on the dating simulator genre.

Your BFA in customer service unfortunately goes to waste as you lose your job to AI. But... a mysterious stranger sends a gift - magical glasses called 'Dateviators' - which make your house come alive and dateable!

Each dateable object will open up, have their own stories and potentially become your lovers, friends, or enemies. With an exhaustive Who's Who of voice actors keeping you company on your journey!



FBC: Firebreak

FBC: Firebreak is a cooperative first-person shooter set within a mysterious federal agency under assault by otherworldly forces. As a years-long siege on the agency’s headquarters reaches its boiling point, only Firebreak— the Bureau’s most versatile unit—has the gear and the guts to plunge into the building’s strangest crises, restore order, contain the chaos, and fight to reclaim control.

Dive into the Federal Bureau of Control’s (FBC) unpredictable and extradimensional headquarters during its darkest—and strangest—hours. As one of the FBC’s fearless first responders, you and your team are on call to confront everything from reality-warping anomalies to otherworldly monsters... no matter the odds. Will you contain the chaos or finally lose control?

Join forces with friends or strangers to tackle each job as a well-oiled crew. Survival in this three-player cooperative FPS hinges on quick thinking and seamless teamwork as you scramble to tame raging paranatural crises across a variety of unexpected locations. Improve your odds by utilizing the tools and skills that make you unique or improvising with whatever’s on hand to support your crew.

Before deploying, select your weapon and customize your Firebreaker’s Crisis Kit with specialized tools, grenades, support items, and paranatural augments... then modify them to suit your strategy and change the way you play. Experiment with different loadouts to perfect your playstyle and synergize with your team, giving you the edge to succeed in every job, no matter the difficulty.

Return to the strange and unexpected world of Control or venture in for the first time in this standalone, multiplayer experience. Discover the iconic and unfathomable headquarters of the FBC — the Oldest House — from an entirely new perspective as a team of volunteer first responders with nothing but gear and guts to bring the Bureau back from the brink.



After Inc: Revival

What happens after Plague Inc. wipes out the world?

Decades after the Necroa Virus ravaged humanity, a few survivors emerge. Build a settlement, explore, scavenge resources and expand as you shape your post-apocalyptic society. The world is green and beautiful but danger lurks in the ruins!

After Inc: Revival is the brand new game from the creator of ‘Plague Inc.’ - one of the most popular games ever with over 190 million players. Brilliantly executed with beautiful graphics and critically acclaimed gameplay – After Inc: Revival is engaging and easy to learn. Build multiple settlements and gain abilities in a persistent campaign to lead humanity out of the darkness.

Public Service Announcement: Unlike our other games, I’m pleased to say that After Inc: Revival is not based on any real-world situation. No need to start worrying about a real-life zombie apocalypse yet…



Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die blends dynamic real-time action, tactical combat, and risk-reward dice mechanics for thrilling second-to-second battles.

Unravel an original stand-alone story as Queen Aleksandra, the once great ruler of Random on a mission for vengeance and redemption.

Wield an arsenal of four unique weapons, unleash powerful card-based abilities, harness elemental relics and strategically roll your trusted die-companion, Fortune, to shift the tide of battle. Or take on high-stakes wager games where the right roll could lead to incredible rewards… or crushing consequences.

Even death isn’t final - return to the Sanctuary to unlock new weapons, buy powerful upgrades, and take on quests from your allies to prepare for your next run.



Netherworld Covenant

Netherworld Covenant is a dark fantasy 3D isometric action roguelike game, centering on "precision combat" and "Soul Companion" to deliver a hardcore, strategically rich experience. Players control a survivor of a catastrophic disaster, wielding the Nether Lantern—a forbidden artifact bridging the mortal realm and the netherworld—to forge pacts with the souls of deceased allies. Venture into procedurally generated labyrinths to challenge corrupted heroes and demonic lords.



Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow is a large-scale real-time modern warfare tactics game. The base game features both the American and Russian factions, each containing 5 unique sub-factions like the marines, armored, airborne, and more.

Broken Arrow brings the genre to a whole new level by combining the complexity of a joint-forces wargame with the typical real-time tactics action-packed gameplay.



RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army

Undertake the case of the century in this must-play classic from ATLUS. The studio behind Shin Megami Tensei remasters "Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army" with revamped visuals, QOL updates, new VO, and an overhauled battle system!

A young heiress approaches the Narumi Detective Agency with a strange request...to kill her. Without any further explanation, the girl is kidnapped. Apprentice detective Raidou Kuzunoha XIV, who moonlights as a Devil Summoner assigned to protect the Capital, is on the case. Raidou investigates all across the city, which includes entering the Dark Realm—a dangerous juncture between the real world and the netherworld where demons abound.

Become Raidou Kuzunoha and work with your allied demons to unravel the mysteries that block your path. What was once a missing persons matter soon spirals into a conspiracy that will shake not only the Capital, but the entire nation.



Architect Life: A House Design Simulator

Create dream homes! From 3D plan modelling through to on-site decision-making, you must bring each project to life while giving free rein to your creativity, to take your architectural firm to the pinnacle of the profession.



Chinese Frontiers

Build the Great Wall, grow your village, and leave a lasting legacy in this immersive building and management simulator set in medieval China! Start your journey as a humble villager, tasked with the monumental responsibility of constructing the Great Wall. Manage your settlement, assign tasks to NPCs, and develop vital production chains to supply the resources needed for this epic endeavor. Build workshops, unlock advanced technologies, and transform your modest village into a bustling hub of activity.



The Diary

The Diary is a 2D suspenseful narrative puzzle game that revolves around several distinct "diaries," including a journal full of life but full of doubts, two investigative notebooks written by different people, and the planner's diary, which will all be displayed before you. By solving each page's puzzle, you will turn the pages and gradually gain insight into a heart-stopping missing case. From different perspectives, you will uncover the buried past behind the case.



Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - Arbites Class

The Adeptus Arbites enforce the Lex Imperialis – the Imperial Law. Utterly unforgiving, they persecute heretics and traitors throughout the Emperor’s realm. As an Arbitrator, you are a warrior of the Emperor’s justice, prosecuting crimes against the Imperium with disciplined zeal. Restore order to Tertium with your Cyber-Mastiff and a devastating array of new weaponry.



Shuffle Tactics

Inspired by timeless classics such as Final Fantasy Tactics and indie sensations like Slay the Spire, Shuffle Tactics brings tactical deckbuilding to the next level.

Defend the Kingdom of Asteria from the corruption of the Glimmer Curse in this roguelike tactical RPG. Build your best deck, obtain super-powerful relics, and choose the best sidekick to help you in your quest to overthrow the evil King Ogma.

Unleash your best combos in strategic turn-based battles, but beware the curses that will weigh down on you throughout your journey!



System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster

𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕠𝕞𝕟𝕚𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕒𝕝.

AND NOW... ṯ̴̹̙͉̜͐͌͌́ͅh̵̹̲͉̘̗̤̏́̾̈͗̂̐̐̆́̆e̸̖̩̗̼̲̣̩͉̜̊̿͊̇̈́̅̈́͑̓̓̈ ̷̢̝̤̮̝̥͐̈́̇̇͆̎̐̚̚͝s̵̡̢͈͈̰͖̬̯̥͍̏̊͋̈͝y̸̧̧̡̢̱̟̋̋͆̾̕͝͠s̸̨̘͍̩̏͒̉̍̀̅̆̂̽̽͐t̶̨͉̬̥͗̀̈́̀̒e̴̢̤̭̰̫̾̓̈̔̽m̶̡̝̮̱̪͎̠̱̰̊́̄̿̿̂̋͘ ̶̨̢̼̮̰͍͋̄̂̅̾͋̽b̶̜̘̠̟̿̿̽̔̐͝ō̸͈̥͈̞̘͖ǒ̵͙̫̫̆ţ̴̻̣͓̖̈́̏̄̋̍̈́̎͌̽s̷̮͓̀̈́̆͒̈́͋̊, 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏.

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☠︎︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
𝟐𝟏𝟏𝟒: 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓻𝓰𝓮 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓬𝓻𝔂𝓸-𝓼𝓵𝓾𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻... 𝓒𝓞𝓝𝓕𝓤𝓢𝓔𝓓. 𝓦𝓔𝓐𝓚.
𝓑𝓤𝓣 𝓨𝓞𝓤 𝓐𝓡𝓔 𝓝𝓔𝓔𝓓𝓔𝓓, 𝓘𝓝𝓢𝓔𝓒𝓣.
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☠︎︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕠𝕟 𝔹𝕣𝕒𝕦𝕟. 𝔸 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤. 𝔸 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕡 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟.
ᴴʸᵇʳᶦᵈ ˢᶜʳᵉᵃᵐˢ ᶜʳᵉᵉᵖ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ᵗʰᵉ ʰᵃˡˡˢ... 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔.

AND I AM THE ONE WHO CALLS THEM.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖. 𝕀𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕖. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔞 𝔪𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔭 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔣𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔥.

𝖂𝖊𝖑𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐, 𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖊𝖈𝖙.


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That reminds me, I really need to play Nier Automata one of these days.XD
I highly encourage you to do so, "master piece" is thrown around too casually, but I do believe Automata is truly a master piece.

The inspiration Stellar Blade took from Nier Automata is crazy, too. The environments, the robot companion, the music. It's Nier Automata with less philosophy and more ass.
 
I highly encourage you to do so, "master piece" is thrown around too casually, but I do believe Automata is truly a master piece.

The inspiration Stellar Blade took from Nier Automata is crazy, too. The environments, the robot companion, the music. It's Nier Automata with less philosophy and more ass.
Automata is S tier game. I still listen the OST on my phone after all these years.
 
183k now. This thing is going to outsell the PS5 version in a week. :sweaty-blob:

And by week I mean end of this week.

I'm actually curious as to which regions have Stellar Blade topping the charts because in Aus Dune Awakening is placed higher on the top sellers list. Regional price for Stellar Blade is very bad in Aus though.
 
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I'm actually curious as to which regions have Stellar Blade topping the charts because in Aus Dune Awakening is placed higher on the top sellers list. Regional price for Stellar Blade is very bad in Aus though.

From Evilnemesis8 on installbase:


Monday:
Current Global Top Sellers Placement for Stellar Blade:


Global - #3

Australia - #5
Austria - #8
Belgium - #10
Brazil - #9
Canada - #7
China - #1
Czechia - #7
Denmark - #11
Finland - #6
France - #17
Germany - #8
Hong Kong - #2(Behind CS2)
Italy - #9
Japan - #2(Behind Nightreign)
South Korea - #1
Netherlands - #9
New Zealand - #4
Norway - #7
Poland - #8
Russia - N/A
Singapore - #2(Behind CS2)
Spain - #12
Sweden - #7
Switzerland - #14
Taiwan - #1
Thailand - #1
Turkey - #10
UK - #7
US - #7

Continued Asian bias as per usual.

#1 in China/South Korea/Taiwan/Thailand
#2 in Japan/Singapore/Hong Kong - Japan is the only local store where Nightreign is still #1.
JP FromSoft fans showing up.

over time:
iFgkQ7d.png


Steam review languages:

Portion
100%
LanguageTotal Reviews
6.996
Positive
6.707
Negative
289
Pos/Neg Ratio
23.21
Ratings
Overwhelmingly Positive (96% +)
43.04%✅Simplified Chinese3.0112.80320813.4893% +
30.05%✅English2.1022.0663657.3998% +
8.35%✅Korean5845651929.7497% +
4.52%✅Traditional Chinese316307934.1197% +
3.14%✅Portuguese - Brazil2192172108.5099% +
2.89%✅Russian202194824.2596% +
2.31%✅Spanish - Latin America1611610161.00100% +
2.15%✅Spanish - Spain150146436.5097% +
1.06%✅Japanese7473173.0099% +
0.71%✅German4949049.00100% +
0.63%✅French4442221.0095% +
0.58%✅Thai4039139.0098% +
0.46%✅Polish3230215.0094% +
0.33%✅Turkish2321210.5091% +
0.22%✅Italian1515015.00100% +
 
From Evilnemesis8 on installbase:


Monday:


over time:
iFgkQ7d.png


Steam review languages:

Portion
100%
LanguageTotal Reviews
6.996
Positive
6.707
Negative
289
Pos/Neg Ratio
23.21
Ratings
Overwhelmingly Positive (96% +)
43.04%✅Simplified Chinese3.0112.80320813.4893% +
30.05%✅English2.1022.0663657.3998% +
8.35%✅Korean5845651929.7497% +
4.52%✅Traditional Chinese316307934.1197% +
3.14%✅Portuguese - Brazil2192172108.5099% +
2.89%✅Russian202194824.2596% +
2.31%✅Spanish - Latin America1611610161.00100% +
2.15%✅Spanish - Spain150146436.5097% +
1.06%✅Japanese7473173.0099% +
0.71%✅German4949049.00100% +
0.63%✅French4442221.0095% +
0.58%✅Thai4039139.0098% +
0.46%✅Polish3230215.0094% +
0.33%✅Turkish2321210.5091% +
0.22%✅Italian1515015.00100% +
So it’s doing well enough in the West, but definitely showing strength with the Asian audience.

I’m amazed at how irrelevant the consoles are with newer gaming audiences. Their prices shooting up is not going to help that either.

Feels like they’re dying.
 
I’m amazed at how irrelevant the consoles are with newer gaming audiences. Their prices shooting up is not going to help that either.

Feels like they’re dying.
I have 2 ways to explain this phenomenon
The first is that younger people watch popular streamers, vtubers, and so on play on pc, which makes them want to get a pc too. This is a recent phenomenon as streaming itself changed a lot in the past generation. I feel like the increased popularity of pc in japan is mostly thanks to vtubers
The second is that if a younger player enters gaming with a gacha or gaas styte game, then the perception of how accounts work gets warped: if you play Genshin on mobile but one day you get a new pc or a ps5 you just log into genshin with your account and continue as you want (including having everything you already paid for). Sounds great, and convenient too. But that's not how non-gacha games work still: if you buy a game on ps5 you have to rebuy it on pc, and you also have to start it all from scratch (and don't forget to rebuy the dlc too). And the same if you then want to buy it on Switch, or on another pc platform. So the moment a new player realizes how accounts really work it has 2 choices: continue to play gaas games only or go where you can have the single most "comprehensive" account, which ends up being Steam (probably also because of the first point, especially if the new player wants to join his pals)
Honestly the age of "double-dipping" is basically finished. The ones that double dipped in the past (because they had a console since some games not being exclusive was unthinkable) probably made the full move to pc and stopped playing on consoles at all (that's basically me in the last 10 years), and even companies no longer want to miss day 1 sales (which help in increasing the perceived value of a Steam account)
Some times I wonder if the idea of a "single gaming account" across all devices and platforms could be the real secret in revitilizing this industry as that would be the only way to remove all barriers of entry (or most importantly, buying)
 
Some times I wonder if the idea of a "single gaming account" across all devices and platforms could be the real secret in revitilizing this industry as that would be the only way to remove all barriers of entry (or most importantly, buying)
I don't think a single gaming account would be something anyone would agree to. Do you see any of the big hitters, including Valve, willingly giving up their digital fiefdom? Who would actually operate the account?

The issue is closed platforms. If you have an open platform you don't need a "single gaming account", you just need an OS that can run all those clients and a UI that makes it simple to launch games using the inputs users prefer.

I think the version of Windows on the Xbox Ally is the closest anyone has come to creating an open platform console like I've described.

Steam Deck is cool, and while technically you can run EGS and whatever on it, it's not a great experience if you don't use Steam. I feel Microsoft are really trying to make Windows into a platform that lets people bring all their games to it, complete with lots of input options. Of course this is after they tried to lock the platform down to Windows Store in the first place, and I expect that tendancy hasn't disappeared completely.

And too bad about the whole aiding and abetting the most horrific genocide in our lifetimes, however, or I'd probably consider giving it a go.
 
 
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This is great. Didn't now Valve sponsored it, but we actually used it recently.
 
After rewatching a bunch of the showcases from this past week I noticed this years games and direction was very different from recent years. The last few years kinda felt like the industry was trend chasing. A lot of extraction shooters and Battle Royale stuff. And other GaaS stuff felt like it was at the core of most shows.

But this year felt much more singleplayer focused. A lot of sequels getting announced which is usually a good indicator for a healthy industry. Fighting game fans and VR fans got some good stuff too. There was a good balance between Souls like, indies, remakes etc. A lot of horror and representation from around the world especially Japan.

Sony stayed away from their GaaS stuff and pushed 3rd party stuff more. That was probably their best State of Play that I can remember.

I think it kind of helped there was little from Ubisoft and EA as their games usually would have pushed GaaS and other annual boring stuff.

But yea it kind of felt like the industry is healing itself. Or maybe taking a step back into normal PS360/PS4 era of gaming. I enjoyed all of the showcases and even the Day of the Devs, Wholesome, Future Games shows were all good too on the side.

Maybe I am misremembering the last 3-4 years but this year felt different. And in a good way.
 
After rewatching a bunch of the showcases from this past week I noticed this years games and direction was very different from recent years. The last few years kinda felt like the industry was trend chasing. A lot of extraction shooters and Battle Royale stuff. And other GaaS stuff felt like it was at the core of most shows.

But this year felt much more singleplayer focused. A lot of sequels getting announced which is usually a good indicator for a healthy industry. Fighting game fans and VR fans got some good stuff too. There was a good balance between Souls like, indies, remakes etc. A lot of horror and representation from around the world especially Japan.

Sony stayed away from their GaaS stuff and pushed 3rd party stuff more. That was probably their best State of Play that I can remember.

I think it kind of helped there was little from Ubisoft and EA as their games usually would have pushed GaaS and other annual boring stuff.

But yea it kind of felt like the industry is healing itself. Or maybe taking a step back into normal PS360/PS4 era of gaming. I enjoyed all of the showcases and even the Day of the Devs, Wholesome, Future Games shows were all good too on the side.

Maybe I am misremembering the last 3-4 years but this year felt different. And in a good way.
No, you are absolutely right, and you're also right when you say Ubisoft and EA have been weirdly absent this year
I honestly think there are 2 issues that caused this phenomenon, the first being that these big, massive publishers are having troubles making games on time so they're having an "empty year" (SE is having a similarly light year too). They're also probably pivoting to fewer titles but with the idea of being massive sellers, and has we have seen it's imperative to have a good first showing otherwise the game's fate is sealed in this modern age
And, I'm not even joking when I say this, I think it's also because of Concord
No really. The idea that a big, first party publisher, with its own big fanbase that buys lots of their games can release a game so "repulsive" that no one wanted to even touch it, and even less look at it, even after pouring millions on it, must be one of the biggest reality checks ever seen in the industry. Sony's own gaas iniziative, regardless of what fanboys online say, was basically decimated after Concord's death and is a clear proof of how much Sony got cold feets after it. And honestly, Concord is just the tip of the iceberg: Suicide Squad, SW Outlaws, Veilguard, Rebirth (the last 3 aren't even gaas, so it's not a gaas problem), all of these games came out last year, and all of these games were big "cold showers" for the companies involved, all of those games caused a big change in strategy (well outside of Warner who is continuing to their doom, but Ubisoft is back on Steam, PapEA is taking Bioware to their death, and SE's pivot to multiplatform). Even other companies had problems last year, like Bamco who had their own "Concord" in Unknown 9 but also had multiple failures among their licensed games (this is the second year in a row with no new One Piece or Naruto game, think about that)
Asia and Europe are carrying this year, it's undeniable. Bamco is lucky to have Nightreign for this year otherwise they too would have a light one (Digimon and SRW are their biggest remaining releases this year, think about that again) but at least they still have something coming that can be a modest success (like Code Vein II). Konami is reaping the rewards to their sudden singleplayer focus, and Capcom, well, they feel like one of the few companies capable of releasing multiple AAA game a year every year since the generation started, and it doesn't seem like they're stopping any time soon. European studios are releasing bangers after bangers (like Kingdom Come, or Clair Obscur) and there are even more coming in 2026. Koei is finding some success but they also still have multiple big games coming (and all are coming to Steam, no exclusive shenanigans). East Asian developers are dabbling in single player releases after years of gachas
Honestly the shows this year were pretty good (unless you are a fan of big cinematic AAAA experiences from well knowns big american studios, in that case Yotei is your best bet) but most of all these shows are proof of the changing times and changing taste of players worldwide. Adapt or die, unfortunately that's how things are and will always be
 
I don’t think player tastes are necessarily changing or swinging back to single player.

Single player games have always been a victim of the industry’s fad-driven money chasing behaviour, but quality titles usually sell well.

GaaS is just the latest thing money has been thrown into at the expense of good single player content. What we’re seeing is those publishers foolish enough to try and muscle in going back to what they know with their tails between their legs.

Like mobile, GaaS on PC/consoles is so fundamentally saturated that even a number of the big GaaS games will implode soon enough.

But making games of the quality and budget of Expedition 33, and making a little bit of money, is not good enough for publishers who want to make all the money.

I think what hurt single player titles as of recent is rising prices due to inflated budgets. And certain business idiots interpreted that as it being a dying area.
 
RE PCGamesInsider - Hulst statement.

Kinda what i'd expect him to say tbh.
He's not about to say "Of course everything will be on PC Day One and we're going "all-in"" and remove incentives to stay in the Playstation ecosystem which would annoy the Shareholders and the Playstation Fanatics.

They sell consoles and subscriptions so console versions will be their priority and anything that escapes the console will be done for either little or no risk or to try to raise awareness and get people to buy Sony consoles.
 

Just the same old statement from Hulst. Reality is that they can't ignore the PC market especially since not enough people in their own ecosystem buy these first party games. Stellar Blade has been very successful on Steam. I can only imagine it's CCU would likely be even higher had it come out day and date with PC.
 
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