The excitement for Starfield is very, very real, with Bethesda’s space opera set to launch on September 1 for those Xbox and PC players who’ve secured early access. Otherwise, it’s September 6. However, if you’re on Steam, one player has shared an important PSA.

Shared to Reddit by user ComManDerBG on August 30, it’s based on how Steam activates pre-loaded titles once they’re unlocked and are available to play. The platform does not unlock games and make them instantly playable. Instead, it has to decrypt the compressed game files it has downloaded. This means that when Starfield goes live, players will have to wait for their Steam to decrypt the game. The speed at which this occurs is based on the drive it’s been installed on.

The release of Bethesda’s Starfield is set to be one of the biggest dates in gamers’ calendars, promising all the immersion, intergalactic exploration and space battles that fans want. It might not have released yet, but fans are flocking to pre-orders with such speed that it’s outselling Larian Studios’ epic Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam – before it’s even out.

The Dungeons and Dragons-esque title has proved a resounding success for Larian, surpassing expectations in a remarkable and sustained manner. The developers apparently expected to sit around 100,000 concurrent players but, within days of its PC release, were regularly encountering player counts seven or eight times higher.

The Starfield is hype is real. With the game’s launch rapidly approaching, we’re seeing future players gearing up for the release in insane and creative and insanely creative ways.

We’ve already seen mock up Starfield Crocs that — full disclosure — we really want. Now, amid the ongoing bonanza that is Gamescom, a Starfield themed gaming setup has emerged that’s the perfect setting for any soon to be Constellation explorer.

Immortals of Aveum on PS5

There’s undoubtedly potential for greatness in Immortals of Aveum. It’s a unique combination of cinematic fantasy and FPS fluidity, often rendered beautifully and throwing players headfirst into immersive and rewarding combat. Unfortunately, it’s often the cause of its own mortality, struggling to balance story, lore, humor, and characters. The result is a decidedly mixed bag, a game that captivates and frustrates in equal measure. 

Players are thrown into Aveum, a world that’s wounded and splintered – quite literally. Five kingdoms have collapsed into two warring superpowers, the tyrannical Rasharn and the barely surviving Lucium. Magic is at the center of these worlds, with three different types: Green, Red, and Blue. Most are confined to wielding one type but, in the case of a rare few known as Unforeseen, all can be controlled. 

With Modern Warfare 3 revealed by Activision and leaks about the upcoming installment stacking up, we’re taking a dive into three reasons to be excited for MW3… and three reasons to be worried it might not be a standout Call of Duty. With the positives first, let’s dive in.

MW3 is Exciting Because…

1. Classic Minimaps Return

Texting Activision has become part of the buildup to MW3, with players able to eke out details about the upcoming reveal and subsequent game by hitting up the devs via phone or WhatsApp.

Baldur’s Gate 3 fans worldwide were stunned when they woke up on August 10 and saw rumors of a lawsuit against developers Larian Studios. Or at least, that’s what they initially thought. It turns out the whole thing’s been a bit of a hoax, and it’s all thanks to a viral, satirical TikTok.

Is the Baldur’s Gate 3 & Larian Studios Lawsuit True?

No, there’s no lawsuit being filed against Baldur’s Gate 3 or its developer, Larian Studios.

Call of Duty 2023 has now been confirmed by Activision as Modern Warfare 3, a Sledgehammer-developed sequel to 2022’s MW2 and the third installment in the rebooted series.

As a result, the community (and us) are looking ahead to what will come. We already know some of the content because of MW3 leaks and some classic CoD maps – namely Scrapyard and Terminal – are already chalked for reincarnation.

Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) has been an unrelenting success since its PC launch, with fans across the world enjoying everything the game has to offer.

From uncovering incredible easter eggs of Larian Studios’ own CEO, to winning games of hide and seek, there’s a wealth of things for players to do – and that’s just the start of playthroughs expected to be well over 100 hours.

Epic Games have given manga and Fortnite fans another epic (pun intended) crossover to set their sights on, revealing a ‘Break the Curse’ event as part of the a collaboration with Jujutsu Kaisen, coming in the ongoing third season of Chapter 4.

The crossover was revealed previously but, on August 7, Epic unveiled a brand new look at the upcoming event which promises to let players exorcise their curses in truly awesome fashion.

Because Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 is such a detailed and intricate title, players have barely started to uncover all the secrets it holds. There’s bound to be easter eggs galore, many of which will be a delightful treat for the Dungeons and Dragons players among its community.

It’s fair to say one uncovered easter egg is not from that category, fitting into the meta and downright bizarre category instead.

Baldur’s Gate 3, since its PC launch on August 3, has been captivating players with it’s wealth of customization options, huge expansive regions to explore and blood-soaked missions to complete. There’s hours and hours of Dungeons and Dragons-esque fun to immerse yourself into. While that’s how most will see it, one player has ignored the sublime for the ridiculous, naming their character in order to set up one line.

On August 8, one Baldur’s Gate 3 player ascended through the subreddit rapidly, all because they gave their in-game character the name Groot.

Activision have officially unveiled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as the annual instalment coming in fall of 2023. It had long been rumored as the upcoming title; a successor to 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 that originally began as a premium expansion.

However, it’s now confirmed as a full release, developed by Sledgehammer Games and set for release later this year. While the news won’t surprise fans who’ve not been living under the proverbial rock, they also confirmed a release date and revealed the official branding and logo for the next instalment in the rebooted MW series, which began with 2019’s Modern Warfare.

The Aug. 2 release of Warzone Season 5 brought countless changes to the battle royale, DMZ, and MW2 annual installment. It might have also fixed the dreaded ‘dev error’ issue facing players in the extraction mode.

Dev Error 7186 Should Be Fixed in Warzone DMZ Season 5

For a number of weeks now, Warzone’s DMZ mode has been plagued by a developer error affecting players when they travel to Building 21 and the Koschei Complex. There’s been a lot of silence from the devs too, but with Warzone Season 5 it’s finally been addressed.

With all the changes revealed for Warzone Season 5, it can be tough to know which are set to impact different modes’ metas in the long-run and those that will be less significant. In terms of DMZ’s adjustments though, there’s one that stands out as both huge and welcome.

DMZ Season 5 Change Will Make You Undetectable To AI

That’s right. No more dropping into a busy POI and being relentlessly gunned by bots you’re just trying to ignore. It’s all because of a new item coming with DMZ Season 5.

With more potential installments in the rebooted Modern Warfare series to come in the future, we’re taking a trip down memory lane and ranking every Modern Warfare Call of Duty title so far. 

The next game, assuming leaks, rumors and speculation all come true, is set to be developed by Sledgehammer Games and continue the story and setting established in Modern Warfare 2 (2022). It’ll be the sixth MW game Call of Duty has produced, but which are remembered as the pinnacle? Here’s all of them, ranked from worst to best. 

Paradox Tectonic has confirmed that early access for its upcoming open-life simulation title, Life By You, has been delayed by approximately six months to March 5, 2024.

Originally planned to release in September 2023, Life By You’s early access was set to give players their first hands-on experience with the game.

With all signs pointing to Sledgehammer Games developing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (III? A backwards E? Who know what crazy symbol variation of three they’ll use this time) for fall 2023, we thought it’d be enjoyable to take a trip down memory lane and revisit every CoD title they’ve made in the past. Here’s every SHG Call of Duty, ranked. 

It’s worth noting that Sledgehammer Games have contributed to a lot of Call of Duty titles over the years, including Modern Warfare 2019 and its sequel, Modern Warfare 2 (2022). For this list, though, we’re only taking into account the games in which they were the lead development studio (or one of them). Games in which they’ve been an assisting studio won’t feature. That means there’s four titles to deal with. They’re all ranked below, from our least favorite to the best they’ve made yet. 

Warzone’s DMZ extraction mode, for all the love it continues to receive from the player base, has come in for some criticism of late. Players have highlighted cheating and glitches as serious issues but, as we approach Season 5, a far more serious duplication exploit is causing havoc.

DMZ has encountered duplication glitches in the past, letting players spawn multiple versions of a desirable item or weapon. However, we’re not sure there’s ever been one like this.

With Call of Duty’s DMZ extraction mode well established within Warzone and incorporating aspects of The Boys in the form of the Temp V Field Upgrade, I wanted to don my developer hat and conceive of five truly ludicrous things Activision could do with the mode in the future.

The inclusion of the aforementioned Temp V has been controversial, with some loving it and treating it as an excellent anti-camper device and others adamant that superpowers do no belong in the mode at all.

As part of the crossover with Amazon Prime’s The Boys TV show, the Temp V Field Upgrade has been parachuted into Warzone and its modes. While its inclusion has largely been questioned and canned by players, it turns out it can be used as a ruthlessly efficient counter to campers.

Season 4 Reloaded, dropping on July 12, brought a major pop culture crossover to Warzone in Activision’s collaboration with The Boys. Among Homelander, Black Noir and Starlight skins, it also introduced the Temp V Field Upgrade, a spin off of the show’s Compound V.