If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Riot Games – the US games developer and publisher (but owned by China’s Tencent) that publishes titles including League of Legends and Valorant, has updated its terms of service to give itself the right to punish users for what it calls “off-platform conduct.” Creators must align their content with the new ToS, which includes this rule, by January 3, 2025. Riot is “defining” what off-platform conduct can occur in the usual, for the wider tech industry, broad terms that are open to interpretation: “The various places that touch (users’) gaming experience.” It is added that Riot will not scour social media, but is instead depending on gamers reporting each other, even when “hateful slurs” are not happening in-game. Much of the ToS changes refer to Valorant. This game’s director Joe Ziegler has said that the goal is to prevent “the sort of toxicity seen in League of Legends.” Eligible for punishment could be a live stream with a Riot game appearing as “the background of the content produced.” Penalties range from suspensions to “Riot-wide” bans, and those penalties will be handed down “as if that behavior occurred in-game,” the new ToS states. If a gamer is violating this or other similar rules, their Riot accounts can get permanently banned. More vague language can be found in the company’s threat of hitting users with bans and penalties for a violation that’s “seriously egregious,” represents “something painful,” not to mention, “problematic” behavior. It’s not only the latest version of the ToS, but Riot execs, too, that “speak like it’s 2021” – Senior Vice President Anna Donlon was caught talking about Riot needing to “do better,” players not needing to “grow a thicker skin,” and such. Riot showed a little more character in a separate statement – although some gamers might easily find it to be, let’s say, “most seriously egregious, and painful:” “Evil statements under the guise of shit talk (are) not welcome here,” the company said. Riot does seem to be doing a lot, if not “better,” to present itself as a company complying with the gaming-centric censorship that has been burgeoning in recent years, and at times spilling outside the confines of games themselves. With in-game infractions of ToS that are seen as particularly grave – as Riot chooses to interpret that – users can even expect hardware bans. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Gaming Giant Riot Expands the Rules to Police Player Behavior Everywhere appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

This Is Our Future If We Don't Fight Back

2024 has been a great year for roguelikes all around, but one of my favorites has been Ravenswatch. At first look, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s in the Hades mold, and there are certainly some similarities, but developer Passtech Games has built a much more open-ended ARPG with character-driven combat reminiscent of games like Diablo. Filled with a fantastic cast of immediately recognizable fairytale faces, Ravenswatch has won itself a ‘very positive’ Steam rating so far, and it’s about to get even better in 2025 with the addition of not one but two new heroes coming as free DLC. Continue reading Free Ravenswatch DLC will bring a pair of new characters to the Steam roguelike MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best co-op games, Best RPG games, Best roguelike games

I remember sitting in the press room during TennoCon 2023 when Digital Extremes gave fans a first look at its upcoming fantasy RPG, Soulframe. I'd seen the gameplay the day before, and knew that as soon as the Envoy summoned Orengall, the gorgeous, hulking winter wolf, people would lose their minds. Turns out I was right, as the thunderous applause that greeted the towering creature reverberated through the exhibition hall floor down to where we were sitting. It was certainly quite the moment. Since then, however, we haven't seen Orengall in the Soulframe Preludes - but don't worry, she's coming. Continue reading New Soulframe update adds the wolf from the trailer, but you can’t mount it yet MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best MMOs, Best RPG games , Best fantasy games

Path of Exile 2 could have been a much safer game. The first PoE has spent a decade growing and evolving, earning ever more fans over the years, and sits tall atop the pinnacle of rich, rewarding action RPGs, fending off strong challenges from contenders such as Diablo 4 and Last Epoch. Yet Grinding Gear Games has always been one to experiment. And so in PoE 2 - a game that started life as a simple model update for its predecessor, only to grow into a standalone beast - GGG rips up its own rulebook to create something that feels definitively new and exciting. Continue reading Path of Exile 2 is a bold and brilliant new breed of ARPG MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Path of Exile 2 Witch, Path of Exile 2 classes, Path of Exile 2 release date

What are the best Path of Exile 2 settings? If you can't wait to start your great adventure from Wraeclast to Oliath, but aren't sure how best to set up the game to make it look great and run smoothly, we've got the guide for you. Right out the gate, you can rest assured that, as a top-down RPG, the frame rate required to get a great experience isn't anywhere near as high as in a typical first-person shooter or racing game, for instance. A frame rate of 60fps is ample for a great time while playing Path of Exile 2. So, if you don't have the very latest and best graphics card in your system, you should still be able to have a great time. In fact, you can check here for the Path of Exile 2 system requirements, which aren't overly demanding. Continue reading Best Path of Exile 2 settings for max fps MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

What are the Path of Exile 2 quests? While there are more missions to come as PoE 2 continues its journey through early access, taking a look at the quest list should give you an indication as to what you've completed and how much of your adventure is still to come. Once you have a good idea of what Path of Exile 2 quests await you, check out our best Path of Exile 2 builds which we’ve painstakingly put together. As you make your way through all the PoE 2 quests, you may want to look at every Path of Exile 2 ascendancy to understand how you can take your character to another level. For now, let's take a closer look at all the Path of Exile 2 main quests currently on offer. Continue reading Path of Exile 2 quest list - all main and side missions MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Path of Exile 2 Witch, Path of Exile 2 classes, Path of Exile 2 release date

How do you defeat Count Geonor in Path of Exile 2? Count Geonor and his second form, the Putrid Wolf, function as a skill check at the end of Act 1, ensuring that - if you can defeat him - you’ll likely be capable of handling the steep challenges beyond. But you may need a little help, as you might die over and over like we did. Luckily, we’ve beaten him a few times now, and know all the ins and outs of this tough fight. First things first though, you may want to make sure your PoE 2 build is capable of taking him on. For that, you’re going to want to either head on over to our specific build guides for each class, such as the PoE 2 Mercenary, or check out our full-fledged best Path of Exile 2 builds. With the proper setup, you’ll be ready to take on Count Geonor. Continue reading Path of Exile 2 Count Geonor boss guide MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Path of Exile 2 Witch, Path of Exile 2 classes, Path of Exile 2 release date

What are the best Path of Exile 2 builds? While the game is still in early access, we’ve put together the strongest builds we've found so far to get you going in Grinding Gear's massive, often complicated ARPG. There's a lot to learn about Path of Exile 2, so be sure to check out our more specific guides on each of the classes like the Mercenary and the Sorceress, where we’ve also listed all the available skills. Using our PoE 2 builds, you don't have to worry about potentially picking the wrong skills, ascendancies, and passives as we've got you covered from all angles. Continue reading Best Path of Exile 2 builds MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Path of Exile 2 Witch, Path of Exile 2 classes, Path of Exile 2 release date

Candidate Who Torched $1 Billion-Plus on Disastrous Campaign Tells Dems to Use 'Limited Resources' Wisely