Official statement from Valve.

We shared with the NYAG that these types of boxes in our games are widely used, not just in video games but in the tangible world as well, where generations have grown up opening baseball card packs and blind boxes and bags, and then trading and selling the items they receive.

You're right! We should stop that too!

The cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot

Today’s game is some more Metal Gear Solid 3. Today is gonna be quick because I basically had to backtrack after getting forward a bit because of some save issues. But despite that I realized this game has a lot of cool ass secrets that actually affect the game.

Like I went off the beaten path and found a sniper rifle. Completely out of the way. No message pointing me there. Just a completely random sniper hidden.

I also wanted to bring up the stealth. It’s really grown on me. Having to use the camo and slink around feels really good. I do feel like I lack any good ranged stealth weapons (suppressor broke fast) but it does make it satisfying to to a CQC Takedown. Just crouch up behind them and take them down.

Anyways, after discovering that secret today I had to share it. I love when games have secrets like that and this is no exception

cross-posted from: https://piefed.ca/c/retrogaming/p/568201/we-ve-freed-cookie-s-bustle-from-copyright-hell-video-game-history-foundation

This is such a specific game that most people won't know what the article is about, but here's the TLDR: > > There's a 1999 Japanese game called Cookie's Bustle that gathered a cult following in the last couple of years. It's an incredibly bizarre point and click where you play as a teddy bear in some surreal world where a war is taking place. > > What makes it really interesting is that someone (who claims to own the game) has been desperately trying to erase it from history. Any videos about the game, any let's plays or gameplay videos, any screenshots, any fan art etc. have been getting rigorously copyright struck and removed from the internet. Nobody knows why. > > The video game history foundation finally freed the game from copyright hell and blocked that guy from issuing any more copyright strikes. This is pretty cool for video game preservation and people interested in the game. > > P.S. The article is absolutely worth a read as it goes in-depth into what it took to disprove the copyright troll's claims and fight back against fake DMCA claims.

if you want to make the same modifications:

the level: https://mb.srb2.org/addons/sonic-robo-blast-2-the-past-version-2-0.4613/

the sonic version: https://mb.srb2.org/addons/past-trio.5603/

the HUD: https://srb2workshop.org/resources/halloween-doom-legacy-styled-hud.440/

Today’s game is Quake. I decided I wanted to try the campaign. Since I just finished emerald I figured I’d give it a try to see if it was something I wanted to commit to. My first impressions? Gameplay is awesome. I love how fast paced everything is. I feel like a ping pong ball on meth. The levels feel a bit confusing occasionally though and I feel like they’re a bit disjointed. Like 1 feels like a standard level and then “Bam”. Knights and shit.

Graphically though? This game is amazing as fuck. I know the re-release is completely different but I love how it looks. Something really charming about it.

The water also I love. It’s a solid 7.5 on my scale. Wouldn’t drink it, but it’s neat to look at. It reminds me a bit of OoT’s without the texture that one has.

What’s my final opinion though? I like it, I think it’s best suited for me though as an Every once in a while kind of game though. Like Mario Kart. That’s not a bad thing though, I feel like honestly we need more games like that, not always vying for attention or with a complex plot. Just something you can pick up at random with the only curve being maybe a loss in skill. There needs to be a balance of both games, and I think this one kind of fills the balance of the first category.

Here's the full Steam event page: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/TurnBasedThursday2026

It's got:

• Curated categories (tactics, JRPG, roguelites, hidden gems, steamdeck verified, etc)
• Tons of discounts & new demos across a massive variety of turn-based games
• A 45-minute Showcase highlighting ~20 selected titles from the festival lineup

Any games catch your eye?

"Use of generative AI among game developers has declined after rising sharply in 2025, according to new data from the Game Developer Collective and Omdia. The survey shows 29% of developers reported using generative AI tools in early 2026, compared with 36% during the same period in 2025."

Always fun to develop a record-selling game. You lose your job as a thanks! 🤮