Gaming

Where can Australians buy R18+ PC games without a credit card? Pretty much everywhere but Steam

• Steam requires an Australian credit card for R18+ games.
• Debit cards do not satisfy the age check.
• Third-party Steam keys offer a workaround.

Australia’s new age-verification rules mean Steam users must provide a valid credit card to access or buy R18+ games, leaving people without one unable to use the platform normally. The requirement matters because debit cards are not accepted, excluding some adults who cannot qualify for, or choose not…

Hackers breach FBI recruitment site; Microsoft cuts 268 Xbox jobs

ShinyHunters claims responsibility for breaching the FBI's recruitment website and stealing employee data. Microsoft announces its largest Xbox restructuring, cutting 268 jobs and closing studios.

Nintendo Officially Teases the Return of Pokémon’s Best Trilogy

• Pokémon’s official footage has sparked speculation about a Hoenn re-release.
• Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald remain unavailable on Nintendo Switch Online.
• Nintendo has not confirmed the games’ return.

Nintendo appears to have hinted that the original Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and possibly Emerald could return on Nintendo Switch. A video from Pokémon’s official Japanese account showed unusually high-resolution Ruby and Sapphire gameplay, prompting speculation that the games were captured through emulation or an unreleased port. No official…

2hollis announces 11 November album with Yoshitaka Amano artwork

• *Pirouette* arrives 11 November; his fifth album and second for Interscope
• Album explores romantic, expressive artistry with Yoshitaka Amano artwork
• Rising momentum: major festival dates, Lorde tour support, collaborations

2hollis has announced his fifth album, *Pirouette*, releasing on 11 November through Interscope. The project marks his second release since signing to the label in 2024 and represents a shift towards the "more romantic and expressive side of his artistry," following the critically acclaimed *Star*. The announcement underscores…

Riot is pulling voice chat from League of Legends 26.20

• Riot delays League of Legends voice chat with no new timeline after two-week announcement
• 17-year wait for feature likely driven by moderation and toxicity concerns
• Company prioritising quality implementation over rushed launch

Riot Games has delayed the introduction of team voice chat to League of Legends, merely two weeks after announcing the feature would arrive in the October 26.20 patch. The company cited a need to "meet the quality bar" its community deserves, but offered no revised timeline. This reversal…

Anti-aliasing smooths jagged edges while balancing image quality and performance

• Anti-aliasing reduces jagged edges in game graphics.
• Better-looking methods often reduce performance or sharpness.
• Test settings while moving to spot shimmer, blur and ghosting.

Anti-aliasing smooths jagged edges in PC games, which occur because curved and diagonal shapes must be displayed on a grid of square pixels. Different techniques achieve this in different ways, balancing cleaner visuals against GPU demand, reduced sharpness, shimmering or ghosting. The best setting depends on the game,…

Vindicated: after speaking to some pro Counter-Strike players I’m sure I was right when I said 360 Hz is the sweet spot for competitive FPS

• 360 Hz is presented as the competitive FPS sweet spot.
• Pro Counter-Strike players reportedly support that view.
• Faster monitors may offer limited practical advantages.

The article argues that 360 Hz remains the ideal refresh rate for competitive first-person shooters, particularly Counter-Strike, despite the availability of faster gaming monitors. The author says conversations with professional Counter-Strike players reinforced their earlier view that 360 Hz offers the best balance for serious competitive play. The…

Diablo 5 will ‘take a somewhat different approach’ to Diablo 4’s monster level scaling so your character feels noticeably stronger as you progress

• Diablo 5 may reduce the impact of aggressive enemy scaling.
• Character progression should feel more powerful.
• Exact mechanics and release details remain unconfirmed.

Diablo 5 is expected to change how monster level scaling works compared with Diablo 4, with the aim of making players feel noticeably more powerful as their characters progress. The change matters because Diablo 4’s scaling system has been criticised for making upgrades feel less meaningful when enemies…

Furries, magical girls and slick hack ‘n’ slash combat blend promisingly together in the late 2000s inspired Break The Night

• Promising late-2000s-inspired magical-girl hack-and-slash
• Demo focuses on stylish combat and movement
• Early foundations show potential despite limited content

Break The Night is an early-stage hack-and-slash game combining magical-girl transformations, furry-adjacent character designs, roguelike elements and late-2000s aesthetics. Its demo, showcased at SAGExpo, centres on three roommates trapped between realities after boarding a mysterious train, offering promising combat foundations despite limited story and variety. The combat includes…

It’s Officially the End of an Era For Halo

• Xbox cuts 268 jobs; Halo Studios massively downsized amid restructuring
• Activision to develop next Halo game, ending franchise independence
• Halo Infinite failed to retain players despite strong launch numbers

Xbox has announced major restructuring that includes 268 job cuts, with Halo Studios facing significant downsizing as part of the shake-up. Most strikingly, Activision—the developer behind Call of Duty—will now develop the next Halo game, whilst only a small team at Halo Studios will remain to support existing…