Steam – Syndication Server

The best Steam Winter Sale deals you have to check out

We’ve rounded up some of the best Steam Winter Sale deals, from Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring, to indie game gems, and more

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Steam Winter Sale deals have begun, with even more discounts than we saw during Black Friday. Discounts are everywhere, on major AAA games including Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3, indie gems such as Case of the Golden Idol and Slay the Princess, and some modern classics in the mix as well. The Steam Winter Sale deals are live through Jan.4, 2024.

If you’re after other end-of-year sales, check out the Epic Games Store holiday sale and the PlayStation Store’s holiday sale.

The best Steam Autumn sale deals to grab this Black Friday

Steam Autumn Sale deals are live, with discounts on some of the best PC games, indie hits, AAA classics, and a whole lot more

Steam Autumn Sale deals are in the air, as Valve celebrates Black Friday with an almost overwhelming number of PC game discounts across the site. Anything’s fair game (ha), whether it’s an indie gem, recent hit, or an AAA classic that you’ve hoped might get discounted for months now. Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman, some of the best anime games, classic Yakuza, and more are all up for grabs, and best of all, pretty much everything we’ve listed in our roundup works on the Steam Deck and the newly-announced Steam Deck OLED.

Steam Autumn Sale deals are live now and run through Nov. 28, 2023, at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Looks like players are leaving Starfield on Steam and going back to Skyrim

Starfield released just two months ago, but Skyrim is already outranking it on Steam’s player charts after the space game’s stellar launch

Bethesda released Starfield just two months ago, but Skyrim is already outranking it on Steam’s player charts after the space game’s stellar launch. While Starfield still has several thousand players at a given point each day, Skyrim is gaining a few thousand more across both of the Bethesda game’s editions (thanks, Eurogamer).

At the time of publication, SteamDB shows that Starfield has approximately 17,000 players in the game, while roughly 19,000 people are playing Skyrim Special Edition, and 2,000 are holding out in the base version of Skyrim. Starfield’s latest 24-hour peak is 23,920, and Skyrim’s is 22,368, but the general trend seems to show more interest in Skyrim as November progresses.

Starfield’s 24-hour peak went from 30,000 or more after Nov. 11, 2023, to 26,000 and lower from Nov. 13, 2023, to now. Skyrim, meanwhile, saw a small increase on Nov. 13, 2023, and has averaged between 22,000 and 25,000 each day for a week. The standard version of Skyrim, without the special edition or Skyrim anniversary upgrades, still gets about 3,000 people playing each day.

Starfield’s all-time peak is 330,720, though the most Skyrim managed is 287,411 – and that was the original version.

While it might seem like an odd situation, seeing a 12-year-old game start overtaking a new, hotly anticipated one, there’s probably a few good reasons behind it. The first burst of Starfield post-launch enthusiasm is likely waning a little, as players complete the existing questlines and explore most of what’s there to explore. Skyrim’s less drastic fluctuations and consistently high numbers suggest it’s probably a core of enthusiastic fans sticking to a game they love.

Plus there’s just more to do in Skyrim. Starfield companion quests are fewer, and there aren’t as many faction storylines to pursue. Still, that’s likely to change as Bethesda releases Starfield’s planned expansions in the coming months and years.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Valve announces ‘experimental’ new Steam Deck OLED

Valve announced a new Steam Deck, the Steam Deck OLED model, with better battery and an HDR OLED screen – but no GPU improvements

Valve announced a new Steam Deck OLED model, featuring a small set of improvements and a big change to the screen – but you might not be able to get one. The Steam Deck OLED will release as an experimental launch first and just in a small number of markets on Nov. 16, 2023. Valve said if the reaction is positive, it will roll out in more markets later on.

You can get a Steam Deck OLED with 512GB SSD storage for $549 or one with 1TB SSD storage for $649. The original Steam Deck model with 512GB of storage goes for $449.99, but Valve is phasing it and the 64GB model out.

The big thing with the new Steam Deck is the OLED screen, which comes with high-definition refresh (HDR) as well. That alone is a pretty big step above the original Deck’s screen. It’s 0.4 inches bigger and supports up to 90Hz, the latter of which should lend itself to higher, more stable framerates.

It boasts a 1,000 nits rating with HDR on and 600 in standard. Even the standard rating is still 200 nits higher than the original Steam Deck. What that means in normal speak is a much brighter, more vivid display, though the 1200×800 resolution remains unchanged. Your PC games will still look better, but if you’re looking for a more powerful Steam Deck, this isn’t it. You’d probably want to opt for the Asus ROG Ally instead.

The CPU, GPU, and screen size are all the same, though instead of the original Deck’s 6 nm AMD APU, the OLED uses a 7 nm AMD APU. It also features WiFi 6E, which Valve says will allow for nearly triple the download speeds of the original Deck and more stable online play. The fan is bigger in this model, so it should run cooler, and Valve promises the battery life will last between 30 percent and 50 percent longer.

The original Steam Deck’s battery can last up to two hours or so, depending on how demanding the game you’re playing is, so you’re looking at maybe an extra 30-60 minutes of battery life here.

All Steam Deck accessories work with the OLED mode the Steam Deck OLED comes with an “exclusive opening movie” and virtual keyboard theme.

It looks like pre-orders haven’t opened on the Steam Deck site yet, and Valve didn’t provide a list of countries where it plans to sell the Steam Deck OLED. Like the original handheld PC’s launch, you can sign up for a reservation list should you miss out on orders during the first round.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Valve surprise launched Counter-Strike 2 on Steam

Valve kept its promise and launched the free CS:GO 2 update that overhauls the classic multiplayer game right before the end of September

Just as it seemed like Valve might break its promise about the CS:GO 2 release date, the Steam-maker came through and quietly launched the free CS:GO 2 update. The multiplayer game‘s revamp was a quiet affair, released with no big announcements or anything other than a new Steam page and a brief trailer highlighting some of the sequel’s changes. quietly launched the revamp with no fanfare and no proper announcement.

“For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe,” Valve says in the Steam description. “And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2.”

“A free upgrade to CS:GO, Counter-Strike 2 marks the largest technical leap in Counter-Strike’s history. Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter-Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state-of-the-art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools.”

Over 1 million players flocked to the game within minutes, and while the numbers have since calmed down slightly from the 1.4 million high on Sep. 27, 2023, there are still 950,000 people playing CS:GO 2 at the time of writing.

Where big launches like Baldur’s Gate 3 broke Steam earlier in the year, the platform remained stable in spite of the sudden influx.

CS:GO 2 includes new ratings and leaderboards, updated maps, and “dynamic” smoke effects. That last one sounds like a silly marketing point, but if the trailer is anything to go by, it looks like it actually changes the game quite a bit.

Your CS:GO items should have transferred over to CS:GO 2, so you won’t lose anything once you download the update.

CS:GO 2 is a free-to-play game and only requires a Steam account. You can pay $14.99 to get Prime status, though it’s not essential. Prime status means you can get matched with other Prime players and earn Prime-exclusive items, drops, and weapon cases. All the items are cosmetic, so aside from the matchmaking, you aren’t missing out on anything that would alter your experience with the game.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

NBA 2K24 is now one of the worst-rated games on Steam

NBA 2K24 is already one of the worst-rated games on Steam, thanks to player dissatisfaction over the sports game’s microtransactions

NBA 2K24 is out now, and it’s already one of the worst-rated games on Steam thanks to player dissatisfaction over the sports game’s microtransactions and PC version. After four days and nearly 3,000 reviews, NBA 2K24 on Steam has an “Overwhelmingly Negative” tag and a score ranking that puts it just behind Overwatch 2 as the second worst-rated Steam game ever.

NBA 2K24’s microtransactions are more present than ever, thanks to a market redesign that let you purchase nearly any MyTeam card you want. A common thread of complaints is that the new system makes NBA 2K24 “pay-to-win” in its online multiplayer game modes, since players can purchase as many high-level cards as they want, so long as they can afford it.

Another recurring theme is anger over NBA 2K24’s presentation on PC. The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions take advantage of new technology that 2K and Visual Concepts said would improve animations. The PC version does not, though 2K never said why. Several Steam users reported recurring bugs and errors, including some that they say carried over from NBA 2K23, which led to accusations that 2K and Visual Concepts “copied and pasted” content between the two games.

Confusion over NBA 2K24’s crossplay also pops up frequently in Steam reviews. It supports crossplay on current-gen platforms – but not in all of them, and some players assumed every mode featured crossplay.

2K and Visual Concepts haven’t said whether they plan on introducing next-gen upgrades in a future update.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Steam Strategy Fest sale deals: Best strategy games to plan on buying

The Steam Strategy Fest sale is here, with discounts on some of the top strategy games on PC, and we’ve picked out some of the best choices

The Steam Strategy Fest sale is here, with discounts on some of the best strategy games on PC. The usual suspects are all here, from XCOM to Frostpunk, but there’s a few surprising inclusions this year as well. Newly released Shadow Gambit is discounted, Square Enix threw in a recent game for good measure, and there’s an overlooked gem from some of the Civilization makers as well. Some of them even work on Steam Deck.

The Steam Strategy Fest sale runs from now through Sep. 4, 2023, so if you’re planning on picking anything up, keep that in mind so the deals don’t slip away on you.

Phasmophobia 2.0 update is practically a whole new ghost game

The long-awaited new Phasmophobia update is just around the corner, and it completely overhauls the ghost game

The long-awaited new Phasmophobia update is just around the corner, and it completely overhauls the ghostly horror game. Phasmophobia 2.0 launches Aug. 17, 2023, and with it comes new gear tiers and functions, better models – and a total level reset.

Once the update goes live, your level reverts back to zero, though it’s not as bad as it sounds. Developer Kinetic said anyone who played the game before the update will automatically receive Prestige Level 1 status, which means you keep all your unlocks and locations.

Speaking of locations, Phasmophobia 2.0 adds new locations and new interactions on existing maps, though Kinetic didn’t say yet what those actually will be like. It doesn’t seem like we’re getting new ghost types, but there will be new evidence, which is a nice change.

One of the biggest differences is how Phasmophobia will handle gear. Equipment in the 2.0 update comes in three tiers, and at higher levels, some items will perform differently. Flashlights get powered up, for example, and the D.O.T.S. projector gradually covers a larger area with more intense lighting, making it theoretically easier to spot anomalies from the safety of your truck.

Kinetic is overhauling the truck too, following another truck update from 2022.

Phasmophobia’s player count might have dropped quite a bit from its pandemic high, but there’s still quite a bit of un-life left in the PC game yet.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Overwatch 2 is one of the least popular Steam games ever

Blizzard launched Overwatch 2 on Steam at the start of Season 6, and it’s safe to say things aren’t going well for the multiplayer game

Blizzard launched Overwatch 2 on Steam at the start of Season 6, and it’s safe to say things aren’t going well for it. In less than a week, Overwatch 2 became one of the least popular games on Steam, with over 100,000 reviews that are “overwhelmingly negative,” a level of intensity you don’t often see on the platform.

“I have over 300 hours in Battle.net,” one user commented. “I loved Overwatch. I think I still do love Overwatch 1, the game I purchased, which I’m no longer able to play. Blizzard stole my copy of Overwatch 1 and replaced it with an altogether inferior product; from its gameplay, to its balancing, to its microtransactions, to its broken promises and outright lies.”

“Outright lies” is perhaps a slightly unfair take on Blizzard’s – admittedly sudden – change of plans for Overwatch 2’s PvE, though when Overwatch 2 launched, the studio did completely revoke access to the original Overwatch and replaced it with a very different game.

“To me, OW2 represents everything wrong with the industry and Activition-Blizzard-King,” another user said. “And that’s without taking into account the fact that the changes for OW2, including the removal of a tank role as well as the rework of a few characters, destroyed what I enjoyed about the original game.”

While this one didn’t actually say what they believe is wrong with the industry, most of the other reviews fill in the gaps. One of the recurring complaints is about the expensive microtransactions in the multiplayer game, where a character skin can cost as much as a new game, depending on which one you get. The original Overwatch used the controversial loot box system, where you didn’t pay outright for a skin – but you paid for the coins to use on boxes that may or may not have a cosmetic you wanted.

Essentially, Overwatch fans are using Steam reviews as a way to express their displeasure with the game in lieu of any official channels for feedback that they can direct their complaints to Blizzard through.

Niko Partners director of research and insight Daniel Ahmad said a substantial number of Chinese reviewers are using Overwatch 2 reviews on Steam for the same reason. They have no way to communicate their anger and displeasure after Blizzard and NetEase shut the game down in China earlier in 2023, so Steam reviews are the method of choice.

Blizzard hasn’t acknowledged the Steam review situation or offered a roadmap for the game’s future that might address some fans’ concerns.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of Steam’s most popular games ever

Baldur’s Gate 3 is breaking Steam records and quickly entered the platform’s top 10 most popular games ever

Baldur’s Gate 3 is breaking Steam records and quickly entered the platform’s top 10 most popular games ever, not even a week after the RPG from Larian launched on Aug. 3, 2023. Baldur’s Gate 3 broke Steam in the hours following its release, but still managed to accumulate nearly half a million concurrent players before the end of the day.

Since then, it’s hit an all-time concurrent peak of 814,666 concurrent players on SteamDB, which makes it the ninth most popular Steam game ever. It joins the ranks of just three other single-player games in Steam’s top 10, including:

Cyberpunk 2077: 1,054,388 (fifth place)
Elden Ring: 953,426 (sixth place)

The other games in the mix are multiplayer games, mostly competitive ones such as DOTA 2 and PUBG, with two MMOs – Lost Ark and New World. While the other games in the top 10 have fewer than 100,000 concurrent players at the time of writing – except CS:GO, which has 877,000 while the sequel-revamp rolls out – Baldur’s Gate 3 is holding at a steady 600,000 or more.

Since launch on Aug. 3, 2023, it’s become the most popular pre-order on the PlayStation Network, ahead of its PS5 release on Sep. 6, 2023.

What’s notable is that the trend in thinking about what makes a popular video game shifted in the past decade away from deep, narrative-driven experiences like Baldur’s Gate 3 toward free-to-play and multiplayer games. While there’s certainly plenty of demand for the latter, the numbers show there’s just as much desire for the former as well.

The popularity took Larian completely by surprise. Studio co-founder Swen Vincke said on Twitter that he should probably leave the IT team alone for a while. Management told the team to expect maybe 100,000 users at launch, but not many more.

Meanwhile, Starfield, the year’s other big, single-player RPG, launches on Steam and Xbox Series X|S the same day as Baldur’s Gate 3 for PS5.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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