On paper, The Alters sounds a lot like games we’ve all already played. It’s a sci-fi survival game with base building, crafting, and everything else you’d expect. Yet, I’ve never seen a survival game quite like it, largely due to its focus on a character-driven story in which a worker creates alternate versions of himself in a desperate attempt to survive. It’s an ambitious project, though one that’s undeniably exciting on premise alone. Thankfully, to celebrate the homestretch towards the game’s 2025 launch, you can download The Alters demo to try it out right now. Continue reading Frostpunk devs’ survival game The Alters drops new demo ahead of 2025 launch MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best survival games, Best strategy games, Best story games

Amidst all of the layoffs, studio closures, and general turmoil in the games industry this year, one project that seemed almost destined to get shelved was Alara Prime. Developer Fall Damage Studios was declared bankrupt back in May, but from the ashes it appears to have risen as Alara Prime - its slick-looking, 4v4v4 tactical FPS - has just dropped a new trailer and confirmed that it’s planning to launch in early access next year. Continue reading Upcoming tactical shooter Alara Prime is like 4v4v4 Valorant

After over 15 years of updates, just over nine of which were spent on Steam Early Access, the top-rated old school fantasy RPG Caves of Qud has entered 1.0. In other words, the full release is here and the game is officially out of beta. Continue reading 95% rated roguelike Caves of Qud just hit 1.0 after a 17-year wait

For anyone who's ever wished for Age of Empires to be a more tranquil and peaceful experience, City Tales Medieval Era is here to scratch that itch. It's a city builder set during the Middle Ages that allows you to grow your metropolis in peace, with some narrative elements to keep you on your toes. Continue reading New city builder City Tales Medieval Age turns Civilization into a cozy game

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Prologue: Go Wayback. | Image: Krafton It’s been a while since we heard from Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, best known as the creator of the global battle royale hit PUBG. But now, Greene’s studio, PlayerUnknown Productions, is detailing what it’s working on — and there are multiple games in the works, all pointing toward a big final project. First up is a game called Prologue: Go Wayback!, described as a “single-player open-world emergent game within the survival genre,” which was previously teased in 2021. The big hook, it seems, is technical, as the game is being built with “machine-learning-driven terrain generation technology, allowing the instant creation of millions of maps.” Prologue is expected to launch in early access on Steam in 2025, following a series of playtests. To showcase what players can expect, the studio is launching a free tech demo on Steam today called Preface: Undiscovered World. You can check it out right here. According to the studio, these games are building blocks on the way to a more ambitious game currently codenamed “Artemis,” which will be a “massive multiplayer sandbox experience.” Greene previously talked about Artemis back in 2022; it was originally billed as a game with NFT support, though today’s announcement has no mention of NFTs. Here’s Greene on what players can eventually expect as the studio builds toward its big game: My vision for Artemis is challenging, but we plan to take it one step at a time and the three games aim to give us a solid tech foundation on which to scale up. After Prologue, two more games are planned for release in the coming years, each addressing critical technical challenges that will bring the studio closer to the final product. With Prologue, we aim to engage players and introduce them to the emergent mechanics and expansive worlds we’re developing. Greene first stepped away from PUBG with a new studio in 2019 — it was known under the name “PUBG Special Projects” — and two years later announced that he was leaving PUBG parent company Krafton to go independent. “Today, I’m excited to take the next step on my journey to create the kind of experience I’ve envisaged for years,” he said at the time.

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge Google CEO Sundar Pichai says the company’s search engine will “change profoundly” in 2025. “I think we are going to be able to tackle more complex questions than ever before,” Pichai said during the NYT’s DealBook Summit on Wednesday. “I think you’ll be surprised, even early in ‘25, the kind of newer things Search can do compared to where it is today.” Pichai also responded to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s comment from earlier this year, in which he said Google should’ve been the “default winner” in the AI race. “I would love to do a side-by-side comparison of Microsoft’s own models and our models,” Pichai said. He added that Microsoft is “using someone else’s models,” alluding to the company’s partnership with OpenAI. “When I look at what’s coming ahead, we are in the earliest stages of a profound shift,” Pichai said. “I just think there’s so much innovation ahead. We are committed to being at the state of the art in this field, and I think we are.” Google started its big AI overhaul of Search this year, which included the addition of AI search summaries and a Lens update that lets you search the web with a video. The company is also preparing to launch a major update to its Gemini model as it aims to compete with Microsoft, OpenAI, and the AI search engine Perplexity.

Former NCAA swimmer and women's sports activist Riley Gaines held a rally for the Stone Ridge Christian High School girls volleyball team on Wednesday after the school forfeited a playoff game rather than play against a male opponent, Breitbart reported.