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The runaway success of the Nintendo Switch might suggest that anything similar in form factor and price would perform just as well. But since its launch in 2017, there hasn't been anything that has captured the same type of attention as Nintendo's hybrid console. Valve, makers of stellar devices such as the Valve Index as well as equally unsuccessful products such as the Steam Controller and various Steam Machines (if you can even recall those), was a surprising new competitor in the space when it announced the Steam Deck. A handheld PC that could take your Steam library anywhere and everywhere sounded far too good to be true, but since its launch in February this year, it's been a device that's surprised time and time again.

There was a lot standing in the way of the Steam Deck's success initially. Back when it launched, Valve announced just over 100 games that were verified to be compatible with the Steam Deck, with only 60 of those achieving its highest level of compatibility. The Linux-based operating system and Proton--the translation layer games would make use of--seemed like it could ruin any chances for the Steam Deck before it really got going. But that didn't stop initial stock from being scooped up for preorder faster than most could react to, priming the Steam Deck for a big, and telling, launch.

When it did finally make its way into the hands of consumers, it was just the right amount of imperfect to be endearing. Yes, not every game in your library worked immediately, but that also didn't seem to matter when you could just as easily take games you were playing on a PS4 months prior and have them run surprisingly well on a handheld. Smaller titles shone on Valve's device, where hardware limitations were as much less of a factor for great performance and the form factor made playing these games more engaging than behind a monitor at a desk. The Steam Deck delivers on its promise to let you bring a large library of games with you on the go, while also enticing you to continue growing it within Valve's ecosystem.

Perhaps its biggest triumph was how it managed to simplify the process of playing games on a PC entirely. Valve has employed its console-like interface, Big Picture Mode, on Steam for years now, but it's never felt at home like it does on the Steam Deck. It's satisfyingly simple to browse your existing library of titles and purchase new games within the confines of a slickly designed user-interface, never exposing you to the nitty gritty works of the software underneath that's making everything possible. With easy-to-decipher flags that signal whether a game works or not on the Steam Deck, it's easy enough to understand why something might work or not without having to wonder if it's something to do with your unique configuration in a desktop build and, worse still, how you're going to solve it.

Ignoring its competitive hardware, this user-friendly layer of software is what differentiates the Steam Deck from so many other similar competitors, such as the multiple handhelds under the Aya brand. These handheld PCs run primarily off Windows, making them far more similar to a desktop PC and, coincidentally, playing games somewhat more troublesome as the OS and hardware struggle to gracefully work together. With such a tight link between SteamOS and the Steam Deck's hardware, the handheld is the closest PC gaming has come yet to replicating the straightforward operation of a console, without sacrificing the granularity of choice that allows you to play games in the ways you want to.

The Steam Deck is malleable enough to satisfy those willing to tinker with it, too, with an assortment of options for refresh rates, resolution scaling (with system-level AMD FSR support), and options to limit power consumption to extend battery life. All of these have an impact on how you'll experience games, in conjunction with the riches of options most PC titles offer. So, while its high-level user-experience lets most enjoy games without the complexity of these options, they still exist for those coming from a background where they're vital to overall enjoyment. It's this balance that allows the Steam Deck to cater to the same PC crowd that Steam has been satiating for over a decade, while simultaneously inviting those potentially intimidated by the number of choices required by simplifying much of the process. Valve has successfully lowered the barrier to entry to PC gaming, with a device that also brings into question why you'd ever lug around a much bulkier, hotter, and vastly more expensive laptop to game on the go ever again. It's a feat that so many PC makers have been trying to achieve without coming close to this level of success.

It’s the Steam Deck's flexibility that makes it such an enticing purchase, one made even easier by Valve's aggressive pricing that makes building an equivalent desktop competitor a challenging prospect. Better than this, the Steam Deck could even double as a productivity device, albeit one suited to relatively light workloads such as word processing and web browsing. Given its open nature, you can choose to wipe what Valve has put on it and reconfigure everything from scratch, loading up Windows and engaging with Xbox Game Pass if you so choose. You'll sacrifice a lot of what makes the Steam Deck so easy to use, but Valve's decision to leave that choice up to you (while also giving you the tools to revert everything back if you want to) is a refreshing show of faith in its consumers that so few platforms of this ilk mirror. It's an indication of understanding that spending time getting in the way of such experimentation would be wasted, and that ensuring the process to support it is as refined as possible is more beneficial to the time Valve itself would spend on these systems and to those they will eventually support.

In the same way that it was almost impossible to not recommend a Nintendo Switch purchase, the same can easily be said for the Steam Deck on the eve of its first anniversary. It has become one of the simplest ways to get into PC gaming, allowing you to get up and running with a brand-new Steam account for play on the go or a new home for your existing library to be stored in. It does this without compromising on what it means to play games on PC either, recontextualizing the perceived barrier of entry you're required to overcome to simply enjoy this space. By streamlining the entire process of installing a game and getting to play it while also offering a customizable environment to do pretty much everything else, the Steam Deck is a captivating device for a wide audience that will surely inform the future of PC gaming for some time.

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I've been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I've faced down demons, giants, advanced alien species, and thanks to Japanese RPGs, I've attacked and dethroned my fair share of gods. But this year, Arcade Paradise encapsulated how sometimes, the smaller stakes of interpersonal conflict and intergenerational relationships can make a more memorable antagonist by feeling relatable and grounded.

Arcade Paradise spoilers follow.

Arcade Paradise's story begins very light and unassuming. As a young college dropout named Ashley, you occasionally get voicemails from your father, who put you in charge of a laundromat. There's some mild signs of strife between you two and slightly snide comments about how this job will help teach you some responsibility, but on the whole, it seems no more strained than any typical parent-child relationship.

As you delve deeper, you also start talking with your sister, Lesley, who works at City Hall. She serves a gameplay function by getting you licenses to expand your business as you slowly transition your floor space from a laundromat with some arcade machines into an arcade with a few laundry machines. But your chats with your sister start to unpeel another layer, as she hints at how her own dreams fell by the wayside in the name of responsibility and success--as defined by your overbearing father. A government job wasn't really her aspiration, but she aimed to be the good child, to fit into a mold, and she relishes giving you a leg-up on pursuing your own aspirations and maybe sticking it to your dad a little, right under his nose.

Then, the turn. Without your knowledge, Lesley had been greasing the wheels with bribes at her government job to get you the proper licenses, and now they're asking questions. Your father is furious to discover you had been sneaking around behind his back, and even more so, that you were breaking the law. To protect your sister, you fall on the sword. You claim it was all you, and she wasn't involved. He immediately shuts down the arcade, puts all of your hard-earned machines up for auction, and gets you a soul-crushing job at his meat-packing plant to pay off your legal fees.

Arcade Paradise makes a point of illustrating the weight of mundanity in work in two phases. First, when you start at the laundromat, your arcade machines aren't making nearly enough money, so you need to do other tasks like providing laundry services and taking out the trash to earn enough to upgrade your business and buy more machines. As you get more arcade machines and afford more upgrades, that work falls away and you settle into a more comfortable rhythm. That comfort makes it that much more impactful when you suddenly find yourself at an even more dull, repetitive job, sealing boxes at the plant… one after another, for days.

And while you find yourself back in this awful moment of boring, repetitive work, you can hear the voice of your father chewing you out over the years. He shames you for your math grades, for wanting to learn animation, and for your work ethic in general. He blithely suggests this is what he had always expected from you, and that you dragged down Lesley with you. I felt an intense pang of empathetic pain at that. If the narrative power of games lies in putting you into the lives of other people, it's easy to feel a resonating hurt when shown something so vicious and personal. As Ashley, I hadn't actually cut corners or broken the law, but here he was stating very plainly that he always knew deep down that I would, and that his favored child wouldn't have if not for my influence. Ouch.

Ultimately all is well that ends well. You find your way out of the soul-crushing meat-packing job thanks to the friendships you cultivated in your arcade business. You get to create your own happiness doing a job that you love and that you've built yourself with your own two hands. Your father even gets a reconciliation of sorts, with a final voicemail that attempts to make amends. It was too little, too late for me--I wanted nothing to do with the man at that point--but your mileage may vary. But in creating an antagonistic relationship that felt so human, it made the catharsis of the ending that much more meaningful. When you finally complete your business by replacing the sign on the door, it really is a place of peace and fulfillment--a paradise of your own making.

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Finding every spell in Elden Ring will take some time, but not all sorceries and incantations are difficult to round up. As a matter of fact, most of them can be obtained relatively effortlessly, such as Swift Glintstone Shard, which is accessible rather early in the game by following a few short steps. Read on to find out how to add this sorcery to your collection.

Swift Glintstone Shard explained

Swift Glintstone Shard is a sorcery that requires 12 Intelligence to cast. It has a very short range and does middling damage, but it fires very quickly. It's a good option for horseback combat, as it won't slow you down while casting.

Swift Glintstone Shard's item description reads:

One of the glintstone sorceries of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. The glintstone serves as a conduit, launching swift magical projectiles at foes. This sorcery can be used without delay after performing another action. Those unworthy of the stone crown typically end their brief journey into sorcery here.

Where to find Swift Glintstone Shard

Swift Glintstone Shard can be purchased from Sorceress Sellen, who is found inside Waypoint Ruins [1] in Limgrave. She sells the spell for only 600 runes, but you'll have to give her a particular scroll to unlock the ability to buy it.

The Academy Scroll is found in Liurnia of the Lakes, which you can visit immediately after slaying the Stormveil Castle legacy dungeon boss in the northern portion of Limgrave. If you want to get your hands on the Academy Scroll a little earlier, you can bypass this dungeon by using a shortcut. Whatever you decide to do, the scroll is easily found next to a grave [2] in the far south part of the biome, and you're likely to come across it naturally while exploring.

Once the scroll is in your possession, make your way back to Waypoint Ruins, head down the steps into the cellar, and enter the fog here to fight the Mad Pumpkin Head boss. This lumbering foe is a cinch to take down, but don't forget that his head is immune to damage. As long as you keep your attacks aimed at his backside or stomach, he'll go down in no time. When he does, go through the door and interact with Sorceress Sellen, hand over the Academy Scroll, and she'll now be able to sell you Swift Glintstone Shard.

This NPC will eventually move from this spot if you follow her rather winding questline. Despite this, she will continue to sell all of her spells wherever she moves. If you want to know more about how to complete her requests, follow our Sorceress Sellen quest guide.

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It's the night--or two--before Christmas, and Xur has once again popped into the Destiny 2 Solar system with a gift bag that's loaded with presents. For all the Guardians on Xur's nice list this year, you can expect the usual assortment of Exotic arms and armor, as well as a few legendary-class goodies as well. Here's where you can find Xur and what Exotics he's selling this week.

This week you can find Xur on Nessus, in the Watcher's Grave area. For his weapon, Xur is offering Hard Light. Hunters can pick up the Graviton Forfeit helmet, Titans can grab the An Insurmountable Skullfort helmet, and for Warlocks, Xur has the Apotheosis Veil helmet.

Xur Location

Head to Nessus and use the Watcher's Grave transmat zone to find Xur this week. When you arrive, hop on your sparrow and head north toward the exit of the area. Look for a big tree with pink moss on the right side of the area. Climb up onto its big, flat branch, where you can reach Xur.

Xur is present every weekend in Destiny 2, starting with the daily reset at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET each Friday. His exact location is always a mystery when he first arrives, as he is not listed on the map, and for novice players, he can be easy to miss. However, there are a set number of locations where he takes up residence, including the Tower Hangar area, on Nessus in Watcher's Grave, and in the Winding Cove area of the EDZ.

Xur Exotic and Legendary Items

• Exotic Engram - 97 legendary shards
• Hard Light - 29 Legendary Shards
• Graviton Forfeit - 23 Legendary Shards
• An Insurmountable Skullfort- 23 Legendary Shards
• Apotheosis Veil - 23 Legendary Shards
• Hawkmoon - 200 legendary shards, 125,000 Glimmer, 1 Ascendant Shard, 1 Exotic Cipher
• Dead Man's Tale - 200 legendary shards, 125,000 Glimmer, 1 Ascendant Shard, 1 Exotic Cipher
• Xenology quest - free
• Legendary weapons and armor - 50 legendary shards, 1,000 Glimmer

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At long last, after eight years in the ID@Xbox program, Hyper Gunsport is finally available! This is Future Millennium Sporting Action!

So What’s Hyper Gunsport?

In a nutshell, it’s cyberpunk volleyball with guns. Teams of two (or one!) must shoot a ball into the opposing team’s goal. The keeper, in the back, can’t move, but has more shot opportunities and a greater aiming range. The Striker, in the front, can move and jump, but has more limited shots. Shoot the ball at the same time and you’ll get a powerful (and speedy!) focus shot. Every time the ball crosses the net it’s worth one additional point, upping the stakes as you play.

Each of the seven teams has unique special weapons that become available as you play, and each of the seven arenas has a unique gimmick, such as a moving net, or goals that change position. New rulesets like low gravity or turbo mode change the game up even further.

Hyper Gunsport has a story mode for single player or co-op play, and 2v2 or 1v1 couch co-op versus play as well. There are team and stage unlockables, as well as an AI tournament mode to round things out. Oh, and it runs in 4K on Xbox Series S|X!

What Took You So Long?

Well, it’s quite the story! Our company Necrosoft Games was actually at the announcement of the ID@Xbox program in Cologne, Germany, in 2014. We signed our game up at the after party! This means that aside from the titles the program was announced with, Hyper Gunsport was one of the very first ID@Xbox titles ever signed. We then promoted the game on Xbox One kits at GDC 2015, as well as the PAX West ID@Xbox preshow the same year.

Between then and now, a lot has happened – two publishers fell by the wayside, we released a preliminary version on a streaming platform that no longer exists, and the game got canceled (and revived) five times! We’re a multi-title studio, so we were always working on something else alongside Hyper Gunsport, but still, it’s amazing that it’s taken over eight years from signing to final release. Is this the longest an ID@Xbox game has taken from signing to release? It might well be! We probably shouldn’t take pride in it, but it’s certainly a hallmark of a sort.

Future Millennium Sporting Action

Hyper Gunsport was really a labor of love for us. That’s why it’s still coming to Xbox after all these trials, tribulations, and years of effort. We’ve packed the game with accessibility options, over three hours of story, and infinite replayability with couch co-op. We really hope you enjoy your time with the game now that it’s finally out!

Hyper Gunsport

Necrosoft Games

☆☆☆☆☆ 1

★★★★★

$24.99

Get it now

Hyper Gunsport is cyberpunk volleyball with guns – it's all about that hot arcade action! You can play 2v2 or 1v1, with a co-op and single player circuit mode as well. Each of the 7 teams has a light story, unique weapons, and a stage with its own gimmick. As you progress, new rulesets change the game, and there's an unlockable AI mode as well. This is a hardcore action game, but we are hardcore about our accessibility options too, ensuring the game is playable by anyone. Hyper Gunsport is arcade action with fighting game vibes, a pulsing soundtrack, a unique cast of characters, a host of achievements, and unlockables to discover. This is Future Millennium Sporting Action!

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Sports Story is available now, Nintendo and developer SideBar Games announced during a special Inside the House of Indies holiday video. The surprise launch comes a month and a half after the developer gave us a December 2022 release window for the long-awaited follow up to its 2017 smash hit, Golf Story.

Golf Story provided players a retro-styled RPG with a zany story centered around golf of all kinds: regular, disc, and more. Sports Story sees SideBar Games expand the formula to include various other athletic events, including BMX, tennis, cricket, soccer, volleyball, fishing, and more. If you loved the golf of Golf Story, don't worry: That sport carries over to Sports Story, bringing with it eight unique golf courses. 

You can see the full video, which also provides updates for Sea of Stars, Undying, and Dust & Neon, below.

Golf Story, SideBar Games' predecessor to Sports Story, arrived on Switch on September 28, 2017. In our review, we called it "a breath of fresh air for sports, and another fun story to follow for role-playing fanatics," awarding it a 9 out of 10. Sports Story was initially announced by SideBar Games in December 2019, with long stretches of silence from the development team. Then, during last month's Indie World Showcase from Nintendo, the developers finally announced that the game would arrive at some point in December 2022.

Sports Story is available now for Switch.

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Sports Story is out now, Nintendo has announced.

It's available on the Nintendo eShop priced £12.80.

Sports Story is developer Sidebar Games' much-expanded follow-up to its delightful 2017 sporting RPG Golf Story.

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The Gran Turismo series has long been a favorite of sim-racing enthusiasts, and today marks a special milestone for the franchise. Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulator was released on PlayStation in Japan on December 23, 1997, meaning that the series has officially crossed the quarter-century mark. To celebrate 25 years of Gran Turismo, PlayStation released a special blog post and a retrospective video.

The blog post comes by way of Kazunori Yamauchi, creator and producer of the franchise and CEO of Polyphony Digital. In the post, Yamauchi recounts how the series came to be, with his original plans for the series stretching as far back as 1992.

"I was fascinated by real time 3D graphics that many had been waiting for, and created and presented plans for all kinds of video games, not just limited to race games but RPGs, adventure games, action games, puzzle games, and more," he wrote. "As a result, Gran Turismo took a more fantasy race game format in the 'Motor Toon Grand Prix,' becoming one of the first 1st party titles for PlayStation, but if a plan for something other than a racing game had been the one that was approved, there is a good chance that I might have been making a title other than Gran Turismo today. Thereafter the Gran Turismo project started from gathering a team of two part time artists and three engineers."

You can read the full blog post here. As part of the celebration, PlayStation and Polyphony Digital also released a four-and-a-half minute retrospective video recalling each era of the Gran Turismo franchise. The video is set to "Day to Live" by Alusville, which is featured on the Gran Turismo 6 soundtrack. You can see that video below.

The most recent entry in the Gran Turismo franchise is Gran Turismo 7, which launched on March 4, 2022. Though the game featured various frustrating elements to its economy and structure, the core racing gameplay maintained the rock-solid pedigree of the long-running franchise, causing the game to earn a 8.75 out of 10 in our review. In fact, Gran Turismo has often fared well in the eyes of critics, with most of the games earning high marks from Game Informer.

Check out our historical review scores from the franchise below.

• Gran Turismo – 9.5 out of 10
• Gran Turismo 2 – 9.5 out of 10
• Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec – 9 out of 10
• Gran Turismo 4 – 9.25 out of 10
• Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – 7.75 out of 10
• Gran Turismo (PSP) – 7 out of 10
• Gran Turismo 5 – 9 out of 10
• Gran Turismo 6 – 8 out of 10
• Gran Turismo 7 – 8.75 out of 10

Which Gran Turismo game was your favorite? Did that video stir up any long-dormant memories? Where would you like to see the series go from here? Let us know in the comments section!

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Nothing gets you into the festive mood quicker than some intense PvP action, and if you happen to hovering around the Destiny 2 Solar system this weekend, that's exactly what's on the menu as Trials of Osiris returns. This is a great time to test out the new Revision Zero Exotic pulse rifle in that arena and you can also check out where Xur is in case you want some new gear before you attempt a flawless run. Here's where you'll play Trials of Osiris this weekend and what weapons you can earn.

Map: To be confirmed

• Reputation Rank 4: Upgrade Module x 2
• Reputation Rank 7: Enhancement Prism x 3
• Reputation Rank 10: Trials Weapon (Changes for each rank reset)
• Reputation Rank 13: Upgrade Module x 2
• Reputation Rank 16: Trials Weapon (Changes for each rank reset)
• Flawless Reward:

  To be confirmed

Trials weapons now carry the Alacrity Origin Trait. It gives you increased aim assist, reload speed, stability, and range on your Trials guns when you're the last living member of a fireteam or running solo. You can also choose to swap to the Crucible Origin trait, One Quiet Moment, which greatly enhances your gun's reload speed when you reload while out of combat.

As always, Trials becomes available from Friday's daily reset at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET until the weekly reset at the same time the following Tuesday. During that time, you can also pay a visit to Xur to see what Exotics he's selling. Make sure to pay a visit to Saint-14 in the Tower to pick up a Trials card, which will dictate certain bonuses (such as whether you get bonus rewards at certain milestones or if a loss will be forgiven).

Trials of Osiris is a weekend PvP mode that runs from the daily reset on Friday until the weekly reset on Tuesday, giving you four days to take part. Your goal in the Trials is for you and the other two players in your fireteam to achieve a "Flawless" run, in which you win seven matches without losing any.

Go Flawless and you'll earn a trip to the Lighthouse and receive some special rewards, including the new Adept weapons. These have additional stat bonuses, making them among the most coveted items you can get your hands on.

Thanks to a bunch of changes to Trials this year, though, the mode is a little easier to get into than it has been. The Trials of Osiris now features matchmaking, so you can jump into matches even if you don't have a full squad of three players to take it on. Your Trials Passage--the card you purchase from Saint-14 that grants you access to the mode and tracks your wins--now does not track your losses--so you can keep playing and earning rewards even if you lose out on a Flawless run. Bungie has also adjusted Trials so that you earn rewards based on the number of rounds, rather than matches, you've won during your session, and added a reputation system that's similar to the Crucible and Gambit, making it easier to earn some of the Trials of Osiris's unique loot.

Finally, you'll earn Trials Engrams for participating in the mode, which you can cash in with Saint-14 during the weekend you receive them. You can tune those engrams to yield specific pieces of loot, or take your chances with random drops that will expand what's available in your loot pool. So even if you're just jumping into Trials alone, there are plenty of ways you can earn great new gear.

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As expected, Encased is the next Epic Games Store free game. You can download it for free now until 4pm UK time tomorrow, 24th December.

Encased is a 2021 post-apocalyptic isometric role-playing game developed by Dark Crystal Games and inspired by Fallout and Wasteland. Fitting then, that it replaces Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics as part of Epic's 15 Days of Christmas free game giveaway.

Here's the official blurb on Encased:

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The Pokémon Company has taken a company using its trademarks and assets to advertise an NFT-based Pokémon mobile game to court.

Australian company Pokémon Pty Ltd set up and advertised a website claiming to be launching a crypto game called PokéWorld (thanks, Vooks).

The company even claimed to have worked on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Home and Pokémon Sleep.

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Feral Interactive has quietly revealed the Nintendo Switch's ports for both Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and its sequel Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris will now be released in 2023.

These ports were previously announced to be coming to Nintendo's hybrid console back in October 2021 as part of the series' 25th anniversary. However, since then, things have been quite quiet on this particular Lara Croft front.

Feral Interactive has said, however, that the team is looking forward to "sharing more" news about these ports "in the new year!"

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As part of the ongoing palaver between Microsoft and the FTC, the platform holder has revealed three upcoming Bethesda games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC.

This information comes as part of Microsoft's response to the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard (something it called "unconstitutional").

Tucked away in the newly issued document's many, many pages, Microsoft stated: "Xbox anticipates that three future titles - REDACTED - all of which are designed to be played primarily alone or in small groups - will be exclusive to Xbox and PCs."

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When Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022) released back in October, players noticed that one multiplayer map available in the beta was conspicuously missing from the final game. Indeed, it was something I reported on during release.

Now almost two months on, players fear the Valderas Museum will never return. Season One saw the return of fan favourite maps Shoothouse and Shipment, but players criticised the paltry number of maps released. One wonders why Infinity Ward hasn't released a map that is seemingly complete and ready to ship.

But players have taken it upon themselves to answer this question. Some have noticed the map's striking resemblance to the real-life Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

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It's December 2020, and Cyberpunk 2077 is about to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. Arriving on store shelves eight years after it was first announced, Cyberpunk 2077 had all the momentum in the world to help it close out the year in blockbuster style. With developer CD Projekt Red having earned plenty of goodwill from its work on The Witcher trilogy, the idea of the studio working on a cult-classic IP combined with a Keanu Reeves show-stealing E3 moment made for one of the most highly anticipated game debuts of all time.

Come launch day, it was a different story. While PC reviews mostly praised the game, they came with a gigantic asterisk attached that could be seen from orbit as Cyberpunk 2077 was crawling with bugs, destructive glitches, and a world that felt half-baked at best. Fascinating game features that had previously been shown off in trailers, like using wall-running to get an acrobatic drop on enemies, were missing from the final release.

Console gamers bore the brunt of Cyberpunk 2077's shortcomings, as the game was barely playable on last-gen PS4s and Xbox Ones, while the newly launched PS5 and Xbox Series X|S hardware also had to deal with plenty of problems.

If you were following the game, you likely saw stories detailing the litany of issues plaguing the game, ranging from the neon streets of Night City randomly breaking and faceless NPCs, to broken missions, and the odd car falling from the sky. It only got worse for CDPR as its reputation took a battering at the time, leading to an unprecedented move by Sony and Microsoft to not only offer refunds to its consumers, but to keep Cyberpunk 2077 off of their respective digital store shelves for the next several months.

While Cyberpunk 2077 is hardly the first high-profile game to arrive in a less-than-ideal state (Fallout 76 being a notable example here), the years of patience, hype, and sizzling previews resulted in a demoralizing return to reality for anyone who had been excited for the chance to play as a rebel in a dark future. The elevator pitch for Cyberpunk 2077 was solid and pure escapism, but the reality of the game was a bubble-pop of depression for a variety of reasons, as stories of crunch culture and behind-the-scenes drama would be made public in the weeks to come.

Since those turbulent days, though, Cyberpunk 2077 has become an entirely different beast that feels more representative of CDPR's original vision. It's not perfect--one recent session saw my prized motorcycle reach orbit after it hit a pebble on the road--but frequent updates have helped improve the experience tremendously. Cyberpunk 2077's bugs, when they occur, are now something to laugh at instead of shake your fist at.

It's an example of course correction by a studio that worked hard behind the scenes to not only fix the game but to create a product that has the potential to become a classic and proud part of its history. CDPR's initial moves saw massive bandwidth-busting patches released in the aftermath of Cyberpunk 2077's launch, while paid expansion plans were put on hold so that the game could be whipped into better shape. March 2021's 1.2 update, for example, took the entire game apart for its most consequential overhaul at the time, further optimizing the experience on a macro and micro scale with hundreds of tweaks and substantial changes.

This update wasn't a cure-all for Cyberpunk 2077 and its lingering bugs, but it was a huge leap forward compared to the initial launch-day version of the game. Dragon Age: Inquisition design director Gabriel Amatangelo had joined CD Projekt in 2020 and was promoted from Cyberpunk 2077 creative director to game director as the game began drawing in a dedicated crowd of players. CD Projekt was undergoing an ambitious shake-up behind the scenes as it began developing multiple AAA games simultaneously.

Reports of crunch culture were damaging to CD Projekt Red's reputation, with the company being lambasted for breaking its promise to provide "more humane" working conditions during the development of the game. Co-CEO Marcin Iwinski told investors after the September 2020 delay of Cyberpunk 2077 that reports of crunch on the game's development were "not that bad," but he later had to walk back and apologize for those comments to CDPR staff.

The director of the upcoming Witcher game, Jason Slama, later tried to downplay fears of mandatory crunch practices. "Never on my watch," Slama said in response to a tweet regarding CDPR's poor track record when it comes to crunch, promising better conditions for those hired to work on the new title. CD Projekt Red has made an effort to change its workplace culture since the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, as a 2021 strategy update said that the studio was "working hard to minimize stress, prevent burnout, and give our employees everything all they need to focus on the work with a fully positive mindset."

Just how effective those policy changes will be in the face of multiple ongoing projects remains to be seen, as CDPR still has fresh memories of the disastrous Cyberpunk 2077 launch that left many fans disappointed in the company after they purchased a broken game on day one.

With the game's foundation secured, Cyberpunk 2077's development team began working on fixing any leftover cracks. A return to the PlayStation Store saw positive download numbers, more substantial patches, and plenty of free content to draw players in. It had taken a year to get to this point, and the best was yet to come.

All of that technical work behind the scenes got Cyberpunk 2077 back into fighting shape, with February 2022's next-gen 1.5 update being a seismic shift for the game in terms of stability, performance, and power on current-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles. Not just a technical upgrade, this was the update that retuned the Cyberpunk experience with new cybernetic modifications, more cunning enemy AI, improved romance options, and tweaked driving controls.

The 1.5 update was a shot in the arm that the game needed to move beyond its turbulent launch-day history, but arguably the biggest moment for Cyberpunk 2077 came from the debut of an anime spin-off series that helped put it back on the mainstream map. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a beautifully animated show produced by Kill la Kill's Studio Trigger and released on Netflix in late 2022, helped drive millions of people back to Night City with its high-quality production values.

With animation sharper than a freshly-forged pair of Mantis blades, a terrific voice cast for the dub, and the best use of Franz Ferdinand since "Take Me Out" became an omnipresent track on the 2004 billboard charts, Edgerunners helped transform Cyberpunk 2077's fortunes. CDPR also struck while the cyber-iron was hot, revealing a final major patch that added a few Edgerunners Easter eggs for fans to discover.

All of these changes helped transform the fabric of Night City, making the urban sprawl feel exciting to explore as opposed to when it ran like a broken Matrix simulation. A wildly ambitious game, Cyberpunk 2077 lives up to its techno-fantasy ideals with riveting storytelling, deep levels of customization, and the freedom to become a legend on your own terms.

In its current form, Cyberpunk 2077 is a thrilling ride, a world where you establish your own legend while listening to Keanu Reeves chew up all the available scenery as Johnny Silverhand, arguably his finest role since Always Be My Maybe. Night City is a hellhole of body-harvesting bandits and corrupt politicians, an incredible sandbox with a fresh story around every corner and gameplay flexibility that allows you to hack your way to victory in both digital and grisly fashion.

Eight years of development and two years of post-launch support later, Cyberpunk 2077's successes outweigh its failures. It has a cool factor that few games can equal--a grim and dark aesthetic where neon lights slowly bleed into a world that has been positively transformed by its Netflix boost and players willing to take a second chance on CDPR's grand vision for the IP. It can't be easy for a studio to watch a hype train derail and be hit with harsh criticism on an industry-defining scale, but CDPR rolled with the punches, scraped away Cyberpunk 2077's most problematic issues, and continued to work on creating one of the most fascinating sandboxes to ever appear on PC or console.

From controversy to critical acclaim, Cyberpunk 2077 in its current form isn't just the game that fans were expecting in 2020; it's a better realized showcase of some of CDPR's outstanding talent for storytelling, surprisingly tender moments, and renegade action with deep layers of customization that reflects your Night City character's approach to problem-solving. It remains to be seen how effective CDPR will be in avoiding crunch and bug-riddled launches in the future. But on paper the future looks bright, as The Phantom Liberty expansion will introduce players to a new side of Night City--with Idris Elba along for the ride--and a fully-fledged sequel is in the early stages of development.

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Meta Quest VR headsets, has agreed to pay $725m to settle a class-action lawsuit which accused the company of allowing Cambridge Analytica to access personal user data without consent.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal goes all the way back to 2018, when former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie disclosed to The Guardian and The New York Times that the UK-based company had scraped extensive data from Facebook without the explicit consent of users.

The scandal led to investigations on both sides of the Atlantic and the UK's Information Commissioner's Office issuing a £500,000 fine to Facebook (this was before the GDPR had come into force, which allows for significantly higher financial penalties) and the US' Federal Trade Commission issuing a $5bn fine.

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The Division 2 launches on Steam on 12th January 2023, Ubisoft has confirmed.

The game's Steam page is now up and running.

The Division 2 launches on Steam nearly four years after it came out on PC and console in March 2019. Back then, Ubisoft's deal with Epic meant the PC versions of its games launched on the Epic Games Store as well as Ubisoft's own storefront, but not Steam, much to the annoyance of PC gamers.

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Are you one of the many who have completed God of War Ragnarök, and are now hankering for more from the Nine Realms?

Well, if this is you, I have good news! Sony Santa Monica has announced a New Game Plus Mode launches in the spring.

That is all we have in the way of official news on the mode for now, however the developer said it will share more "once we get closer to [its] release!"

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Microsoft has issued its response to the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The FTC has claimed the $69bn deal would let Microsoft suppress its games industry competition.

The company defended the proposed $69bn buyout, defended its previous acquisition of Bethesda owner ZeniMax Media, and justified its decision to make three future titles from the company exclusive to Xbox and PC.

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Following Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine 10 months ago, Sherlock Holmes developer Frogwares has shared an update on life in the country amid the ongoing war.

Please note, some points in the article below are a tough read. Please continue at your own discretion.

In a poignant Twitter thread, Frogwares detailed the challenges the team has faced over the last few months, stating a "wave of missile and suicide drone strikes that started in October have taken quite a toll on us mentally".

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The Gran Turismo series has sold over 90m copies, developer Polyphony Digital has announced.

That eye-watering figure came from Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi as part of a message to fans to celebrate 25 years of the racing sim.

While Sony hasn't announced it as such, Gran Turismo is PlayStation's best-selling franchise. Much of that has to do with its longevity - there has been a Gran Turismo game on every PlayStation ever released.

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The wonderful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge just got a free update that adds CRT (normal or curved) and VCR filters.

This nostalgia-fuelled update makes the brawler just that little bit more old-school Saturday morning cartoon. Here's how it looks:

Also of note from the update is the addition of dip switches, a throwback to arcade machines whose dip switches let operators adjust game difficult (and rinse your pocket money in the process).

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The PlayStation Plus January 2023 monthly games have leaked via the ever reliable Billbil-kun from DealLabs.

The headline here is the addition of Respawn's Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, which came out in November 2019 and is set to get a sequel, Jedi Survivor, in March. The addition of Fallen Order to PS Plus next month is well-timed in that context.

Elsewhere, Bethesda's online-focused RPG Fallout 76 joins PS Plus next month. Just yesterday we reported on how Fallout 76 has an impressive 13.5m players four years after its disastrous launch. I imagine joining PS Plus will only fuel the player count.

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Are you on a quest to obtain every Elden Ring spell? Well, if so, you'll need to make sure you get your hands on Great Glintstone Shard, even if it's not the most efficient spell to add to your arsenal. Getting it doesn't take too much effort, luckily, but we'll walk you through the necessary steps in this guide.

Great Glintstone Shard explained

Great Glintstone Shard is a sorcery that requires 16 Intelligence to cast. It fires a large projectile that can kill many smaller enemies in a single hit, but due to its high FP cost, it's rarely worth using it over something more efficient like Glintstone Pebble.

Great Glintstone Shard's item description reads:

One of the glintstone sorceries of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. The glintstone serves as a conduit, launching large magical projectiles at foes. This sorcery can be cast repeatedly and while in motion. Those unworthy of the stone crown typically end their brief journey into sorcery here.

Where to find Great Glintstone Shard

Great Glintstone Shard can be purchased from Sorceress Sellen, who is located within Waypoint Ruins [1] in Limgrave. She sells the spell for 2,000 runes, but you'll need to provide her with a specific scroll to unlock the ability to buy it.

The Academy Scroll is found in Liurnia of the Lakes, which is accessed immediately after defeating the boss of the Stormveil Castle legacy dungeon in upper Limgrave. You can bypass this dungeon by using a shortcut, though, if you'd like to score the Academy Scroll earlier. You'll be able to loot the scroll on a grave [2] in the far south part of the region, which you'll probably come across naturally when exploring early on in your journey there.

Now head back to Waypoint Ruins, descend the steps into the cellar, and find yourself face to face with the Mad Pumpkin Head boss. While his head is immune to damage, he takes substantial damage elsewhere, so just beat on this slow foe with melee or spells until he falls. When he's dead, go through the door to meet Sorceress Sellen, give her the Academy Scroll, and she'll now offer the option to buy Great Glintstone Shard.

This NPC will eventually move from this spot if you follow her lengthy questline. However, she will still sell all of her spells wherever she moves. If you want to know more about her and where she'll be throughout her journey, follow our Sorceress Sellen quest guide.

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