Civilization 7 developers Firaxis have laid off an unspecified number of workers, 2K confirm Publishers say it’s a restructure aimed at optimising the development process Image credit:2K / Firaxis Civilization 7 developers Firaxis have undergone a “staff reduction” affecting an unspecified number of workers today, publishers 2K have confirmed to RPS. News of the cuts broke via a series of posts from now former Firaxis writer Emma Kidwell. “I was affected by the layoffs at Firaxis, and am open to full time writing work at your studio,” she wrote on LinkedIn ....

Come hither, wannabe astronauts, the European Space Agency are doing a Spaceship Game Jam Open to all, but especially the Finnish Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Spaceship Game Jam Earlier this week, Hideo Kojima reiterated that he’d really like to make a video game in space, much to Mark’s despair and outrage. Perhaps “how do we send Hideo Kojima into outer space” can be one of the problems they solve in the Spaceship Game Jam, a collaboration between the Finnish Game Jam and the European Space Agency, in which starry-eyed developers “design and prototype games or playful concepts inspired by real-world space issues”....

Come win the crowd in Bloodgrounds, a gladiator tactics RPG with Darkest Dungeon-style town management We who are about to try the demo, salute you Image credit:Daedalic Entertainment I’d love to say that Bloodgrounds plunged me into a crimson mist, but in practice, this arena tactics RPG with town-building feels as cosy as a pair of soft leather socci on a frosty Saturnalia . The setup: you are a gladiator from a Roman-themed fantasy world, who has recently won his freedom in the arena....

Connections hints and answers for Sun, October 06th Need some Connections hints today? Read our guide for help with Connections #482. Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NYT This guide is for a previous day! Looking for today’s solution? Check out the Connections hint for Wednesday 11th February ! Looking for a hint to help with today’s Connections puzzle on 06th October? You’re in the right place, as we’ve got all the tips you need to keep your Connections score perfect....

Connections hints and answers for Thu, August 15th Need some Connections hints? Read our guide for help with Connections #430. Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/NYT This guide is for a previous day! Looking for today’s solution? Check out the Connections hint for Wednesday 11th February ! Looking for a hint to help with today’s Connections puzzle on 15th August? If today’s Connections puzzle has you scratching your head, don’t worry! We have a list of hints, plus the answers themselves to help you out....

Critter Crops is a witchy Stardew Valley with pet squashes and forbidden grimoires Squash petting as yet unconfirmed Image credit:Skyreach Studio Readers, something actually magical has happened! I’ve spent a non-zero amount of time this week compiling a wishlist for potential Stardew Valley -likes that also let me keep pets. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to play, but I knew I was burnt out on both stabbing and shooting, and wanted something light and colourful with a solid loop that I could veg out (pun intended) with at the end of the day....

Cyberpunk 2077 VR modder doesn’t rule out releasing it for free after DMCA, claims there was “no negotiation” with CD Projekt According to Luke Ross, piracy has led re-releasing the mod for free to “kind of become a moot point” Image credit:CD Projekt Following a mod which provides VR support for Cyberpunk 2077 was hit with a takedown request by CD Projekt , its creator has now said that they’ve not ruled out the possibility of releasing it for free....

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, my favourite dwarven mining autoshooter, descends into early access this month Get a date with darkness this Valentine’s Day Image credit:Ghost Ship Publishing Surprise, miners. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor , the Vampire Survivors -like spinoff that puts a bullet heaven twist on one of the PC’s best co-op games , is launching into early access just a couple of weeks from now. It’ll be out on Steam from February 14th, incidentially gifting the possibility for all kinds of cheap Valentine’s Day slogan gags....

Deus Ex creator Warren Spector has “literally dumpster dived” to help with game preservation “The history of how a game has been made is critical" Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Eidos Following a report by Game Developer on the ESA’s refusal to budge during a hearing on easing copyright restrictions around academia’s remote access to legacy games, Deus Ex creator Warren Spector has written for the website on his own frustrations with, and efforts to aid, game preservation....

sorry sorry Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Eidos Deus Ex PS2 , PC Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games. All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders....

Diablo 4 Hawezar Altar of Lilith map locations Find all Altars of Lilith in the Hawezar region of Diablo 4 Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Blizzard Entertainment Looking for all of the Diablo 4 Altar of Lilith map locations in Hawezar? Altars of Lilith are hidden across Sanctuary in Diablo 4 . These are a collectible that you should try to gather as fast as possible, as they offer important stat boosts that will make your character far more powerful....

Diablo 4’s Season 5 will add a roguelike horde mode You can give it a go from tomorrow in the Public Test Realm Image credit:Blizzard Roguelikes! They’re all the rage lately, whether it’s a pure run-based game like Hades 2 , a devilish combination with something like the settlement-management of Cult of the Lamb or the application of the genre’s live-die-live-again loop to add a new bit of spice to a familiar series like The Rogue Prince of Persia....

Dragon’s Dogma 2: In Dragon’s Wake quest walkthrough Here’s how to complete every step of the quest, In Dragon’s Wake Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom Stuck on the In Dragon’s Wake quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2? Last quest , you had to fight a couple packs of goblins. Nothing too fancy. In Dragon’s Wake steps it up a bit, forcing you to contend with bigger and badder goblin packs, flying harpies, and your first (proper) boss fight in Dragon’s Dogma 2 ....

Dune Imperium’s Rise Of Ix expansion is out now, adding new leaders, new mode to the digital board game Ixpansion Image credit:Dire Wolf I’m hooked on Dune Imperium , a deckbuilder and worker placement digital board game I’m only just beginning to get my head around. Here comes some news to send my head spinning again: the Rise Of Ix expansion is out now, which adds three new factions, six new leaders, a new mode and much more....

Epic’s spring sale is underway, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is free to keep That’s a good deal Image credit:Eidos Montreal The Epic Games Store’s spring sale is underway, from today until March 28th. That makes it twice as long as Steam’s spring sale , which also started today. I’m not sure if that makes it twice as exciting, but here’s what does: Deus Ex Mankind Divided is free to keep for the next week....

Even sticky keys can’t stop Sekiro master and other speedrunners from raising $2.5 million for Summer Games Done Quick Summer Games Done Good Image credit:Games Done Quick Another year, another huge amount raised for charity by obscenely skilled gamers. Popular speedrunning event Summer Games Done Quick took place last week and raised more than $2.5 million for Doctors Without Borders, fielding runners who took on a mix of modern and retro games with various quirky goals or challenging requirements....

FBC: Firebreak will keep you busy fending off a bunch of weird stuff right through to 2026 with multiple free updates Keep it comin' Image credit:Remedy There’s still a few days to go until Remedy Entertainment’s latest entry into their Connected Universe, FBC: Firebreak , is unleashed onto the world. Whether it’s any good or not in its entirety, we probably won’t know for a while yet given that online shooters of its ilk are always guaranteed to receive numerous patches to iron out some kinks....

Granblue Fantasy: Relink keeps crashing, but I’ve enjoyed the 9 hours I’ve managed so far Odds of saving the world and/or finishing my review are thus diminished Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Cygames The review embargo for fantastical sky-pirates JRPG Granblue Fantasy: Relink just lifted, ahead of its release tomorrow, and I was on review duty. Alas, I have no review to lay at your feet, because the game booted once as soon as I got it, then didn’t work for about five days, and for the rest of this week has booted at a ratio of about 1:8 of successful boot to attempts to boot....

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 could have featured an ice gun and blob monsters, as seen in new documentary footage “We could have shipped it. It wouldn’t have been that hard” Image credit:Valve Half-Life 2 just turned 20-years-old, and to celebrate Valve updated the game with some new features . They also produced a documetary in which several of its development team look back on their work on the game and its episodic expansions - including the never-released Episode 3....

Half-Life 2 is 20 years old and has been updated with Steam Workshop support and developer commentary It’s free to keep this weekend, too Image credit:Valve Half-Life 2 just turned 20 years old, and to celebrate Valve have released an update for their classic first-person shooter. In brief: they’ve recorded developer commentary; they’ve added Steam Workshop support; Episodes One and Two are now part of the package; and there are some bug fixes and new graphics options....