Old School RuneScape began when a dev ‘found the 2007 server in their desk drawer:’ 13 years later, it’s setting subscriber records for the long-lived MMO

Back in June, RuneScape studio Jagex held its first live event outside the UK (and its biggest to date): Deadman All Stars, an Old School RuneScape PvP tournament. I had the chance to talk to OSRS creative director Kieren Charles at the event, and he explained his philosophy on running the 13 year-old fork of…

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US Senate launches investigation into Roblox: ‘Children on your platform are hurting. Congress will not look the other way’

It looks like another bad day for Roblox: The US Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism has launched an investigation into child safety on the platform, saying the company “appears to prioritize revenue and engagement metrics over the safety and well-being of our children.” A letter (via Kotaku) sent to Roblox CEO David…

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A dev tried to warn WB Games not to launch Lord of the Rings: War in the North 10 days before Skyrim, but was ‘overruled’

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a WB Games-published 2011 action RPG about a different fellowship that went the other way, recently reappeared on Steam in a polished-up Legacy Edition package. While the modernizations are getting a favorable reception—it’s currently enjoying a Very Positive rating on Steam—its original launch 15 didn’t earn…

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Fields of Mistria review

In most farm sims, talking to my neighbors is just another chore. Water the strawberries, pet the cows, chat with the rancher next door, who says “Nothing like a cold glass of milk to start my day!” which is the same thing she said two days ago and will say again two days from now….

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Arc Raiders’ next major update will present players with a ‘new high-level challenge’ with a frozen map and arcs which will ‘challenge the ways you’ve learned to move’

Embark has finally released some solid information on Arc Raiders’ next major update, Frozen Trails. We’ve got details on all the big and small features players can expect to see, including a snowy map, new arcs, new weapons, and more ways in which Embark wishes to improve “the core Arc Raiders experience”. The biggest feature…

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‘To own a Razer Artisan Keycap is to display one’s allegiance, a mark of belonging within the Cult of Razer’ says the PR nonsense behind this $90 coil of snakes

“To own a Razer Artisan Keycap is to display one’s allegiance, a mark of belonging within the cult of Razer,” says the marketing gumph for the company’s first artisan keycap. I’ve read a lot of ambitious press releases in this job, but that’s definitely the strangest sentence I’ve parsed this year. That being said, I…

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