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Stop Killing Games petition on game server switch offs will get a reply "before the summer", European Commission promise during latest debate
PC

Stop Killing Games petition on game server switch offs will get a reply "before the summer", European Commission promise during latest debate

Following a public hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels last month, European politicians have debated the Stop Killing Games campaign's petition to put more consumer protections around online game server shutdowns into law again today, May 21st. This latest debate took place during plenary session of the Eurpean Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg. As is the norm, lots of different politicians took turns putting forth different views on the issue and what kind of action might

Squabble over Disco Elysium's legacy continues as Hopetown studio recruit another ex-ZA/UM dev while dropping a new trailer on Zero Parades' release day
PC

Squabble over Disco Elysium's legacy continues as Hopetown studio recruit another ex-ZA/UM dev while dropping a new trailer on Zero Parades' release day

Today, May 21st, marks the release of ZA/UM's Zero Parades, the studio's Disco Elysium follow-up arriving following years of drama and turmoil surrounding the original game and the people who made it. So, naturally, one of numerous Disco-like games which have sprung up over the past few years has chosen that day to put out a new trailer, while also shouting about having recruited another former Disco Elysium developer. Read more

Prophet Margin is a holy city-builder that combines the joy of trade routes with the terror of God
PC

Prophet Margin is a holy city-builder that combines the joy of trade routes with the terror of God

Many fantasy games deal in the prospect of sacrificing things to gods, but few dramatise the associated exciting logistical pressures. Say you want to chuck a bunch of virgins into a volcano at regular intervals, to stop the regional Vulcan pulling a Pompei. Well, how are you going to procure an adequate supply of vestals, if you keep incinerating the very means of production? Perhaps you can obtain some from the nearby villages, in return for some steel wire from your furnaces. Ah, but the

New York's case that Steam lootboxes are "gambling" is a free speech violation that "will have an impermissible chilling effect on protected videogame design", argue Valve
PC

New York's case that Steam lootboxes are "gambling" is a free speech violation that "will have an impermissible chilling effect on protected videogame design", argue Valve

Valve have moved to dismiss a New York attorney general lawsuit accusing them of facilitating illegal gambling by way of lootboxes on Steam, after first seeking to try it in the court of public opinion. In a memo filed this week, the company offered a largely familiar defence against the New York AG lawsuit, hinging on the idea that randomised lootbox rewards can't be defined as gambling under state law, because they are bought with virtual currency (which can be used for other purposes) and ha