Microsoft has agreed to pay a $20 million fine to the US Federal Trade Commission to settle charges that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting the personal information of minors who signed up to the Xbox gaming service without notifying their parents or gaining parental consent.
Unlike PC games, which typically don’t ask for much more than a functional internet connection, Xbox consoles require an Xbox Live account to play online. Basic accounts are free to set up, but of course you have to enter all sorts of personal information in the process, including your full name, address, phone number, and all that sort of thing. There are different types of accounts for different age groups, including Child accounts, which are restricte…
Read moreA new mod that enables HDR in non-HDR enabled games on RTX graphics cards has been released over on NexusMods, and users are reporting it’s better than the AutoHDR setting native to Windows.
The mod is called NVTrueHDR (via Videocardz and the Guru3D forum), and it comes from user emoose. It’s not entirely built from scratch, however, the mod is built upon some hidden settings stored within Nvidia’s GeForce drivers since the release of RTX Video HDR with version 551.23.
RTX Video HDR, first displayed back at CES in January, employs the help of a deep learning algorithm to convert SDR video into HDR video—dramatically improving the range of colours able to be shown on a compatible display. Turning on a few hidden “trueHDR” profile settings, however, and it appears this f…
Read moreManor Lords is one man’s unusual take on the joys of managing a medieval city and, after garnering a whole lot of wishlists, sold over a million copies within a few days of launch. The developer did try to set pre-launch expectations appropriately, warning players this was no Total War competitor, but the game’s emergent narratives, relative polish, and the historically accurate NPC name Cuntz has charmed players and left it sitting pretty on around 25,000 ‘very positive‘ user reviews.
PCG had the opportunity to sit down with Tim Bender, the CEO of publisher Hooded Horse, about working with solo developer Grzegorz Styczeń of Slavic Magic on the game, and how they’re trying to manage the scrutiny and demands that come with success on t…
Read moreStormgate was unveiled in 2022 and it’s come a long way since then: It was the biggest videogame Kickstarter of 2023, earning $2 million on top of $35 million already raised through an initial funding round, and even managed to attract some celebrity voice acting from Simu Liu and Chris Metzen. It also made a big impression on online editor and PC Gamer strategysmith Fraser Brown, who declared that “for the first time in a while, I’m excited to dip my toes into the competitive side of real-time strategy again.”
The early access launch for Kickstarter backers hasn’t gone smoothly, however. Since its debut on July 30, Stormgate has earned a “mixed” rating on Steam across just over 2,000 user reviews: Common complaints include an incomplete story and unremarkable unit interactions, s…
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