Tanks are probably the least popular role in MMORPGs, which also has to do with the fact that they carry a lot of responsibility and receive little recognition. Now a game is coming to Steam, where you can tank without any frustration.
What kind of game is it? In Don’t Lose Aggro, you simulate the life of a tank in an MMORPG, and without any real players. As a single-player roguelike, you fight your way through dungeons with different skills and items.
You have a group of NPC companions with you, who take on the typical roles of an MMORPG party. There are healers, rangers, mages, rogues, and summoners to choose from.
The choice of the perfect group is just as important as items and skills. Only if you can hold aggro will your companions stay alive. If you are not careful and they draw aggro, their support ends abruptly.
You can watch a trailer about it here:
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Don’t Lose Aggro shows in the trailer what the MMORPG simulation looks like for tanks
Tanking Without Frustration
Can tanking be fun without other players? The developer behind the game answers this question with a clear “Yes!” He himself states that he has tanked in MMORPGs for 20 years and now simply does not have the time to continue.
For this reason, he created Don’t Lose Aggro to not give up tanking. His goal is to translate all systems of an MMORPG into the single-player title with the help of the community. The nasty comments from fellow players are also to be simulated.
Currently, Don’t Lose Aggro is available for €5.72 on Steam on sale. Normally, the title costs €7.15. If you don’t want to spend money, you can try out the game for free thanks to a demo version.
Tanks are Unpopular Only Because of Other Players
What does MeinMMO expert Cedric Holmeier think about the tank role? The unpopularity of tanks is due to the great responsibility they bear. While a damage dealer can afford to fail his rotation, a botched button press by the main tank often leads directly to a wipe. In my long experience as a healer in MMORPGs, I see every mistake immediately, but I usually have few opportunities to compensate for them myself.
In the dungeon, tanks must play as close to death’s door experience as possible to reach the final boss quickly and efficiently. If you play it safe, group members get annoyed; if you pull too many enemies, it results in a wipe, which ends up dissolving the group.
Playing a tank is fun in itself, but your fellow players are often ungrateful for the great responsibility you bear. This often reveals itself when you say, “Then you tank!”, because surprisingly few people want to do that.
When players of Crimson Desert complete the story, they cannot miss the sanctuaries. However, many overlook an important step that costs them valuable loot and thus also unique equipment.
What do players overlook? To complete a sanctuary, the enemies that have made themselves comfortable there must be defeated. Afterwards, the main device of the sanctuary is restarted, and the following cutscene signals that everything has been done at the location.
The problem, however, is that the player has overlooked a crucial step. To stabilize the sanctuary, one must solve a small puzzle afterwards. How such a puzzle can be solved, you can find out in the guides on MeinMMO.
As a reward for these puzzles, energy cores are offered, from which special Kuku equipment can be crafted. On Reddit, many such players are gathered, some of whom have played Crimson Desert for 200 hours without even knowing that this feature exists.
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Crimson Desert: How to unlock the fast travel point in your camp
Players overlook important feature
Why do players overlook the next step? It is neither explained in the game through a tutorial nor anything similar that one has to take the additional step. The sanctuaries primarily need to be completed because they are a central part of the story.
During the course of the game, tasks are given by witches. To advance these quests, the sanctuaries must be freed from enemies. Once all enemies are defeated and the main machine is set in motion again, a cutscene begins with a new story dialogue.
After the sequence, the game indicates that the mission is complete, and the sanctuary is considered freed on the map. The subsequent puzzle is never mentioned, as it is not relevant to the story at all.
What do the players say about this? In the comments under the Reddit thread, some users express their frustration that the game does not explain this feature. Instead, there is an annoying tutorial for every triviality, but extremely important core mechanics for crafting are simply ignored.
Many users are also affected and would not have known that there would be such an extra step. The users who knew about this extra feature would have acquired the knowledge through a video on TikTok or YouTube.
However, there is also praise for this decision. Some players defend that Crimson Desert invites exploration and experimentation. They find it refreshing that not everything is served on a silver platter.
What are your experiences with the sanctuaries? Have you even heard of them, or are you the kind of player who has already solved all the puzzles? No matter what problem you have in Crimson Desert, MeinMMO has the right guide for you: Crimson Desert: All guides, tips, and lists at a glance
However, there is also praise for this decision. Some players defend that Crimson Desert invites exploration and experimentation. They find it refreshing that not everything is served on a silver platter.
What are your experiences with the sanctuaries? Have you even heard of them, or are you the kind of player who has already solved all the puzzles? No matter what problem you have in Crimson Desert, MeinMMO has the right guide for you: Crimson Desert: All guides, tips, and lists at a glance
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Steven Sharif was for a long time the head of the development studio responsible for Ashes of Creation. However, there were layoffs, after which the project was completely shut down. Now, Sharif himself is speaking out, against whom serious allegations have already been raised.
What is Sharif’s reaction to the allegations? In an 11-page document, Steven Sharif reacts to the previous allegations and explains his view on the collapse of Intrepid Studios.
The former studio head accuses the board, particularly the chairman Rob Dawson, of allegedly pursuing an illegal strategy. As Sharif explains, it was supposed to be for their own advantage to gain control over the company’s assets and intellectual property.
According to Sharif, the board intentionally starved the company financially to provoke a default. This is supposed to explain the over 200 employees, who reportedly did not receive their wages.
Furthermore, the former studio head accuses the accused board members of allegedly attempting to deceive a bank as the main lender and secretly redirecting revenue from the Steam sales into a new company controlled by the board.
Additionally, he firmly rejects the allegations of misappropriation or mismanagement of company funds. Instead, he emphasizes that he invested millions from his own capital over the years, personally guaranteed loans, and provided private loans to cover operational costs.
He explained his resignation on January 19, 2026, by stating that it was probably his only remaining leverage. He refused to endorse what he deemed illegal actions and terminations by the board.
Ultimately, Sharif accuses the board of having lost control due to massive pressure, coercion, and ongoing threats.
Whether Steven Sharif is actually in the right can only be assessed based on this statement. Such a statement is a biased representation in an ongoing legal dispute aimed at influencing public opinion and legitimizing one’s own position.
Start video
Ashes of Creation: Early Access Guide stimmt euch auf den Start auf Steam ein
Lengthy Court Battle
How did this situation arise? When the first reports of layoffs in the development studio became known, Sharif still tried to calm the public down. Shortly thereafter, however, several stakeholders began clashing, currently fighting each other in various courts.
Accordingly, the MMORPG Ashes of Creation is in a bad state. If you have already purchased the title on Steam, you may be able to try for a refund. You can find instructions for that on MeinMMO: Bought Ashes of Creation? Here’s how to get the refund on Steam
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
For years, Ankerkraut has been an important brand for influencers on Twitch. As a major advertising partner, many streamers and content creators had a collaboration with the brand. Now it could become that way again.
What is Ankerkraut? Ankerkraut is a start-up company from Germany. Instead of simple spices, the brand focuses on special designs and spice mixtures meant for specific dishes.
The concept is: Do you want to season a pizza? Use pizza spice. Do you want to season fries? Ankerkraut has fry seasoning ready. At the latest since the success in the Vox show “Die Höhle der Löwen” in 2016, the company has been surging. But everything changed in 2022.
Start video
Why is RAM so expensive? The current situation explained in 2 minutes
Ankerkraut becomes Nestlé
How did success falter? The founders decided in 2022 to accept an investment from Nestlé. The problem: Ankerkraut had relied heavily on influencers in its marketing, whose opinions were closely tied to the brand.
However, these influencers did not want to be part of the new business chapter. Many influencers did not want to be rumored to be sponsored by Nestlé. Accordingly, they distanced themselves from their long-time partner Ankerkraut, which in turn faced a backlash.
Since then, it has been quiet around the brand. While sales have not been halted, influencer marketing has noticeably declined. But that could change now.
What happened to the collaboration? The founders of Ankerkraut have now announced on X.com that they are standing for the first time since 2016 completely without investors. Founders Anne and Stefan Lemcke bought back all shares and now own 100% of the company again.
This paves the way for new collaborations with well-known streamers and content creators who had boycotted Ankerkraut not because of the products, but because of Nestlé’s investment.
Already, some streamers have reacted positively to the reset at the company on X.com. Streamer SmashLunatic writes there: Ok, let’s collaborate again, and Asleyia also shows interest on X.com.
As viewers, one can likely expect to see Ankerkraut as a sponsor in many streams and videos again, this time completely without Nestlé.
That the founders of Ankerkraut have bought back the shares out of their own pockets and will now run their company entirely independently again pleases the streamers and viewers. However, some may not want to forget the collaboration so quickly. You can learn here how the streamers reacted when Nestlé once stepped in: Controversial corporation Nestlé buys Ankerkraut – Dozens of Twitch streamers end the collaboration
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In ARC Raiders there are over 80 quests that you can unlock over your time in Speranza, but who do you receive them from and in what order are they given? You can find out all this here in our Quest List.
What kind of list is this? This is a list that compiles all the quests that you can unlock piece by piece in Speranza. These will send you to various maps to collect items or destroy ARCs. In our list, we display all the quests that currently exist in ARC Raiders. More will be added when Embark releases new major updates – the list will grow.
Some quests have also received guides from us. So if you need help, feel free to click on the quests to be redirected to the respective guides.
[toc]
Important: We are currently updating the list with guides for individual quests. So please be patient.
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ARC Raiders brings new Flashpoint update – there are rumors brewing in Speranza
These were all the currently active quests that you can take on in ARC Raiders. Have you unlocked them all or are you still having trouble completing them? If you are looking for more guides for ARC Raiders, feel free to check out our “Guide-Guide”. We have the right assistance for many things in this extraction shooter: ARC Raiders: All Guides, Tips, and Lists at a Glance
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Windrose, there is not only the idyllic and salty sea with magnificent ships and mysterious islands. You also have to fight your way through, and weapons play an important role. Which ones are the best, you will find out here in our Tier List.
How is the list structured? Windrose was recently released on April 14, 2026, and is therefore still fresh. Since we do not yet have enough data on existing weapon models, we are currently ranking only the weapon types in our Tier List. The more time passes, the more we will then completely revise our list and also introduce you to individual weapon drops.
As in every Tier List, we list the weapon types for you here in individual tiers. “S” represents the best of the best, while “C” is mediocre and belongs to the niche. Of course, you can express your opinion regarding our Tier List in the comments.
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The pirate survival game Windrose finally has a release date, and it is already very close on the horizon
Tier List of Weapons – These are the best
Tier
Weapons
S
Rapier, Sabre
A
Pistol, Greatsword
B
Musket, Club
C
Donderbuks
Which weapons are among the best? In first place are the rapier and the sabre. Both weapons are excellent one-handed weapons that can inflict fatal damage on your opponents.
The rapier is known to cause bleeding on successful hits, which can lead to massive damage, especially against human foes.
The sabre, on the other hand, cannot boast such an effect, but it is fast and gives your enemies no chance to breathe when you unleash your attacks.
The positive aspect of both weapons is that you can equip a pistol in your off-hand, making you an even greater threat. So, anyone wanting to be maximally dangerous should definitely rely on one of the two weapons.
Those were all the insights you should know about the best weapons in Windrose. Which weapons do you consider to be the best? Do you have other favorites? Anyone wanting to take advantage of one of the combos mentioned and go with the pistol should also rely on black powder – this material is very rare. How to get it will be shown here: Windrose: Gunpowder – Here’s how to get it
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Now is the best time for everyone who loves survival games. The genre is currently experiencing a kind of golden age on Steam– and you don’t even have to like pirates.
Fans of survival games could hardly escape good news over the past weeks: There were major updates for already popular games, important announcements, and several strong releases.
Especially one new survival game is currently on everyone’s lips: Windrose. And it is fitting that this golden age of survival games on Steam is heralded by a title that revolves around another golden age – that of pirates.
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The pirate survival game Windrose finally has a release date, and it is already very close on the horizon
Windrose celebrates over 69,000 players at release
What kind of game is this? The new pirate game Windrose has been highly anticipated since February 2026 when it had a playable demo on Steam. The release in Early Access followed on April 14, 2026.
Within the first hours after release, over 47,000 players already dived into the Caribbean island world of Windrose. Meanwhile, the peak value is significantly higher, at over 69,000 (according to steamdb.info).
Over 69,000 players have already tried their hand at being pirates in Windrose, all on the release day.
Windrose has become for many the pirate game they had hoped for from Skull and Bones. Where the “AAAA game” from Ubisoft disappointed with what you cannot do, Windrose impresses already in Early Access with its sheer wealth of content:
Windrose lets you explore freely on every island. In doing so, you also discover some old ruins where precious treasures wait – but also powerful enemies.
In addition to your own ship, you can also build a hideout for your pirate, from which you can already choose from several building styles.
On board your ship, you can also move freely during a sea battle, operate cannons, and even command your crew to board the enemy ship.
All of this can be experienced alone and in co-op, and it is priced at €29.99 on Steam (until April 21, 2026, it’s only €26.99). One day after the release, the game already has over 2,600 reviews on Steam, of which 88% are positive. This bodes well for a successful Early Access for the title.
Soulmask gives away a DLC, reaches 44,000 players at release
Soulmask left Early Access just a few days before the release of Windrose – on April 10, 2026. Almost two years after the start of Early Access, version 1.0 has attracted over 44,000 players simultaneously into the game (according to steamdb.info).
Soulmask: The survival game on Steam exits early access after almost 2 years
Through its mix of open-world survival crafting and recruiting NPCs with which you build your own settlement, Soulmask strongly resembles Conan Exiles at first glance. However, the game’s unique feature is the complex mask system: It allows you to embody each of the NPCs you recruit and utilize their powers. Thus, you play not just one character but your entire tribe.
The new DLC Shifting Sands takes players, as the name suggests, to the desert. More precisely, it is an alternate version of Egypt, where ancient ruins meet futuristic technologies. So, you can now use the desert sun to build a base on one of the new flying ships.
Enshrouded overhauls its combat system significantly
In addition to new releases, there were also major updates and announcements for already popular survival games. For instance, Enshrouded, developed by the Frankfurt studio Keen Games, recently introduced significant changes to its combat system.
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Wake of the Water bringt haufenweise neue Features zu Enshrouded – und physikalisches Wasser
In the future, you will be able to execute heavy attacks with your weapons that deal more damage to enemies and drain stamina. Additionally, unique weapon skills and new animations for two-handed weapons will be introduced. Moreover, dodging will soon grant I-frames, making you briefly invulnerable.
At its core, Enshrouded is a sandbox game with survival and adventure elements, roughly a mix of Valheim and The Legend of Zelda. Additionally, Enshrouded uses a voxel system like in Minecraft, allowing you great freedom in building a base. The focus of Enshrouded is primarily on exploring the picturesque game world and constructing, which leaves you plenty of time to express your creativity.
Dune: Awakening fulfills the biggest wish of PvE players
There’s also big news for Dune: Awakening: The developers announce the end of the long identity crisis that their game has been experiencing since its release. Originally, the game aimed to be much more hardcore survival-oriented. Players were supposed to form large clans and guilds competing for the valuable spice on the desert planet Arrakis.
Over time, however, it became clear that the vast majority of players were not interested in PvP: According to the developers, over 80% focused exclusively on PvE content.
For this reason, they have decided to disallow PvP on official servers outside the deep desert. The deep desert, the endgame area of Dune: Awakening, is also to be provided in separate PvE and PvP versions. Players who want the full PvP experience will be able to host their own servers in the future and activate the option there.
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Dune: Awakening shows Chapter 3 and the free content update in the trailer
What makes the game so special? Dune: Awakening strongly implements the license underlying the game. Fans of the Dune universe will surely feel at home here. The constant struggle for survival in the inhospitable desert of Arrakis is a real challenge, just as it should be.
Dune: Awakening is also particularly recommended for those who want a real survival MMO. Anyone who enjoys joining up with other players to form large factions can continue to do so here – just with less PvP in the future.
Do you have another survival game in mind that we should definitely talk about right now? If so, feel free to let us know in the comments. Those who only know Windrose as the survival game it is now miss an inconspicuous commonality with the new Crimson Desert. Because both games were originally supposed to offer much more multiplayer: New pirate game on Steam launches today in Early Access, originally intended to be an MMORPG
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Windrose, you need a bunch of iron and iron bars for various items and buildings. Therefore, we will show you where you can obtain the ore and how to craft the bars.
What is iron used for? Iron is needed for some upgrades as well as items and buildings that you can craft relatively early in the game. For example, you can create an anvil, a candle holder, or crates, the station for jewelry, or extra large smelting stations.
While you can also simply buy iron from various merchants, in order to gather the material yourself and produce the required bars, you need to complete a few steps. We will explain how to do it so that you can quickly reach your goal.
Start video
The pirate survival game Windrose finally has a release date, and it is already very close on the horizon
Mining Iron Ore and Crafting Iron Bars Yourself – Here’s How
Before you can find and mine iron ore, you need to have left the jungle behind at the coast and entered the Foothills region. Then look for suitable mining sites and mine them with your pickaxe.
If you want to craft bars, you also need hardwood. You can get it from Divi-Divi trees in the same region. You will then use this to produce the coal needed for the bars.
Once you have collected enough, you will need a furnace, which you can craft from 15 clay and 30 stones if you don’t have one already. You will also need a coal oven, for which you require 25 wood and 20 clay to build.
Then throw your gathered wood into the coal oven and use it to produce 1 coal from 2 wood. Take this to the furnace and then craft your iron bars as follows:
3 Foothills Iron Ore
1 Coal
After a 30-second wait, you will receive your eagerly awaited iron bar.
In addition to iron, there’s a whole bunch of other resources and materials. Are you currently looking for something specific or getting stuck? Feel free to let us know in the comments! Here you can find out how to craft gunpowder yourself: Windrose: Gunpowder – Here’s how to get it
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The Esport team Eintracht Spandau of Twitch-streamer HandOfBlood has already proven themselves in League of Legends. Now they are expanding their repertoire with a team for Rocket League, which has been covertly active in the German championship for months.
Which team is being talked about? It is the German Rocket League team “Die Schmackofatzen,” which has been participating in tournaments since October 2025 (Source: liquipedia). However, the name was merely a cover.
As revealed in a new video from the official account of Eintracht Spandau on YouTube, the team has been part of President Knabe’s Esport team, better known as Twitch streamer HandOfBlood, for months. There, he encourages his subordinate minions to somehow help Eintracht Spandau win a German championship, no matter how it’s done.
Start video
HandOfBlood misses his new game at Caggtus, only calls for good reviews
Eintracht Spandau made it straight to the finals
What do we know about Eintracht Spandau’s new Rocket League team? The current team includes the two German players Gnagflow06 (Alexander Böttcher) and Miyjo (Marius Büttner), as well as the French EleXiT (Alexis Sevré). All three can be seen in the video as they remove their fake T-shirts of the Schmackofatzen to reveal themselves as true members of Eintracht Spandau.
Here you can see a clip of the official announcement:
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The announcement and the events of the video took place at the offline finals of the Rival Rush, a league for teams from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It took place from March 20 to 21 at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, where the team made it to the semifinals and finished in fourth place (Source: liquipedia).
President Knabe is certainly not happy about that.
In line with the video, Eintracht Spandau has released the so-called “Schmackofatzen-Files”, in which they uncover the background details. It becomes clear that they have been hiding clues for some time, such as a folder named “Rocket League” from the video “MAKE LEAGUE GREAT AGAIN”.
In Windrose, you have a firearm right from the start. But it doesn’t work without gunpowder. We’ll show you where to find it.
This is how you get gunpowder at the start: At the very beginning, you can’t craft gunpowder yourself, so you’ll have to rely on exploration first. During the tutorial, you can find small amounts in various containers, such as boxes or chests, so you can at least shoot a little. So, in the beginning, be cautious with your supplies.
It’s best to stick to the different camps, as you can find loot more frequently there. Since loot in Windrose is random, unfortunately, there’s no established farming spot that you can use before you venture into crafting yourself.
However, there is one location where gunpowder seems to be found with a higher probability.
Start video
The pirate survival game Windrose finally has a release date, and it is already very close on the horizon
This is where you should start looking for gunpowder: On each of the first islands, you will find a Point of Interest named Blackbeard Pirate Camp. On the first island, you can find it, for example, in the south. Fight the pirates there, as you are more likely to obtain gunpowder from them.
Also, keep an eye out for barrels with a net over them, as they can also contain gunpowder. This way, you’ll have to make do until you have completed the jungle at the coast and can enter the Foothills Region. Only then can you craft gunpowder yourself.
Crafting Gunpowder in Windrose – Here’s How
You can only craft gunpowder once you have reached the Foothills Region. There, you can mine the sulfur needed for it.
To make the powder, you will first need a millstone. You unlock the recipe for it by collecting corn on the island. You will need:
1 millstone part
You need to craft it first with 15 stones that you can mine with the pickaxe
15 wood
You get it from all trees with your axe
Once you have built that, you can produce gunpowder at the millstone. For that, you need:
25 ash
Created when you produce coal in the coal oven
25 sulfur
Minable in the jungle at the coast with the pickaxe
Those who currently need a new gaming PC have to dig deep into their wallets. The costs for hardware are high and drive gamers to desperate measures.
A gamer experienced quite an expensive damage. His GTX 1080 served him loyally for 8 years before it started displaying artifacts and black screens, as he reported on Reddit.
A particularly bad moment given the current prices for hardware, which is why the gamer initially tried to repair it. He attempted to reapply thermal paste to the chip, replaced the thermal pads, and also tried reinstalling the drivers and resolving issues with software solutions.
But since all of that was unsuccessful, he resorted to a drastic measure.
Start video
Why is RAM so expensive? The current situation explained in 2 minutes
The Old Oven Trick
What measure did he take? The player likely remembered a well-known trick. As a last resort, he put his graphics card in the oven at 190 degrees.
In theory, this is supposed to rejoin the connections due to the high temperatures by melting them. However, in practice, this is very dangerous for the hardware. Parts may not be designed for high temperatures, or dirt could get onto the circuit boards. The chance that the graphics card literally gets “cooked” is high.
Yet, in the gamer’s case, the trick with the oven actually worked. As he shows in a screenshot, the graphics card works perfectly again after the baking process.
What does the player think about it? Primarily, the gamer is looking forward to the release of Forza Horizon 6 with his new card. At the same time, the method spurs many comments in the community. Users on Reddit write:
Bestyja2122: “The PC market is so bad that we’re applying necromancy.”
Far-Tangerine-2690: “I did this twice with an old GTX6xx. The second time I was so stupid and accidentally did it upside down, and all the components fell off the board, hahahahaha”
BannedSvenhoek86: “Yes, this is a very temporary solution. It doesn’t fix the problem that caused it, and all the connections that were remade are now probably made of less material and are more brittle than before. I hope for OP that it works, but the chances are good that he will be right back where he was in a week or two.”
At the same time, some users also point out that one should not do this in their regular oven. They claim that the melting connections produce toxic gases that would settle in the oven. The next pizza could thus become toxic.
The graphics card baker states that he cleaned his oven afterward to avoid poisoning himself.
A new graphics card can quickly become quite expensive – the only competition are the RAM prices, which are currently at a high level. If you need to upgrade your gaming PC, you can find the best current prices for RAM here: RAM price live ticker: What do DDR5 and DDR4 cost today?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the course of the court proceedings surrounding Intrepid and Ashes of Creation, new documents have come to light that seem to confirm a rumor about an investment offer from Riot worth millions.
What are these documents? Following the sudden resignation of CEO Steven Sharif at the end of January 2026, the subsequent implosion of Intrepid, and the likely end of Ashes of Creation, a plethora of rumors, documents, and allegations circulated online, many of which have been hard to verify. In many cases, to this day, it is a case of one statement against another.
As the parties involved around Steven Sharif, the representatives of TFE Games Holding, and investors like Jason Caramanis are currently battling it out in several court cases, more light should gradually be shed on the matter over time. The many documents that are publicly submitted during the proceedings will help in this regard.
Among them is a fresh email dated December 20, 2022, in which Mark Sottosanti (the CFO of Riot Games) made an offer to Steven Sharif and John Moore. Specifically, it concerns the potential acquisition of Intrepid by Riot Games and an investment in Ashes of Creation of between 250 and 500 million US dollars. It specifically states:
Referring to our conversation from last week, I would like to share our initial thoughts on the financial component of a potential acquisition of Intrepid by Riot with you. It is obvious that we pursue the common goal of creating and further developing a genre-defining MMO that captivates millions of players over decades.
With this goal in mind, we aim to align our incentives: We want to safeguard your investment in Ashes of Creation (AoC) in the short term while providing you with significant profit opportunities in the long term. Above all, we want to ensure that the game has sufficient resources to achieve the vision and results we are striving for together. […]
This corresponds to a total investment of 250 to 500 million dollars by Riot, which could further increase after the launch as we invest in additional content and features for AoC over time.
Excerpt from an email from Mark Sottosanti to Steven Sharif dated December 20, 2022 (shared on Reddit, via courtlistener.com)
Ashes of Creation was hardly in Early Access on Steam when the MMORPG dream burst:
Start video
Ashes of Creation stimmt im Trailer auf Early-Access-Start auf Steam ein
The solution to all financial concerns?
What caused the offer to fail? So far, we only know the perspective of Steven Sharif, which you can read in one of the legal documents (via ibb.co). There, the developer explains that he was pressured by Robert Dawson to reject the offer from Riot Games. As evidence, he apparently submitted the transcripts of voicemails to the court.
Previously, Steven Sharif had made serious allegations against specifically Robert Dawson, which range from the deliberate destruction of Intrepid to forgery of documents to physical and psychological intimidation. Due to his enormous investments, Dawson allegedly demanded increasing influence, which ultimately led to the resignation of Steven Sharif.
Whether all of this or part of it is true, the court cases in the coming months will have to reveal.
Inquired: Hoping for insights from a party not directly involved in the proceedings, we asked Riot Games if they would like to comment on the offer at that time and what impact this investment would have had for the LoL MMORPG. As soon as we receive a response, we will supplement it here in the article.
Would Ashes of Creation have experienced its final release with the investment from Riot Games?
How does MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz evaluate the offer from Riot Games? It is clear: An investment from Riot of between 250 and 500 million US dollars would have significantly eased Intrepid’s financial situation and could have curtailed the increasing influence of investors like Robert Dawson (who, according to reports, were supposed to have been involved since 2020/2021).
Moreover, Riot Games, with its expertise, could have certainly helped to complete and launch a large MMORPG like Ashes of Creation.
But would that have solved all problems? Probably not. For one thing, it still needs to be clarified whether there is any truth to the allegation of embezzlement of funds. If the money for development does not reach the development, then no investment, no matter how high, will be beneficial.
At least, however, the internal documentation of operational expenses and revenues at Intrepid seems to have been a disaster. There seems to have been no clear separation between personal and business accounts – various documents and reports currently indicate this.
On the other hand, various Intrepid developers have reported that while Steven Sharif was said to be a pleasant boss, he was not particularly competent in the context of developing a AAA game.
The fact that he wanted to approve everything and contribute his ideas had a noticeably negative impact on development – as illustrated by the example of the battle royale offshoot Ashes of Creation Apocalypse, which is said to have burned a lot of time and money.
Whether the Riot investment could have also solved these issues seems unlikely. Especially since Riot has not always proven to have a good hand when it comes to investing in external projects – the developers of Hytale can attest to that.
What about the LoL MMORPG? The question remains why Riot wanted to invest so much money in Ashes of Creation. After all, in 2022, the development of the LoL MMORPG was in full swing – still under the leadership of Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street. It is unclear whether the departure of Street in March 2023 and the restart of the project had anything to do with the failed investment in Ashes of Creation.
Perhaps there was uncertainty in 2022 about whether they were on the right path with the LoL MMORPG. Maybe Riot also had an eye on Intrepid’s server technology, which later made it possible to welcome 8,000 players simultaneously on a server of Ashes of Creation – which so far no game using Unreal Engine 5 has achieved.
The Twitch streamer Maximilian “Trymacs” Stemmler talks in a podcast about how much he earns through streaming. He claims that most of the money comes from placements, which is why he has also disabled 2 options on how he can make money on Twitch.
What does Trymacs give up? A few days ago, Trymacs was a guest on the podcast Beyond Business Cast with German content creators and entrepreneurs Christian Wolf and Eric Demuth. In this interview-style conversation, Trymacs talked about his earnings on Twitch and that he has turned off the option for people to donate money to him. You also won’t find any ads on Trymacs’ Twitch channel.
When Trymacs is asked for a reason, he says the following:
Who should donate to me today? Many young people watch, or no matter who donates, I’m going to earn better than them. […] I earn enough with the placements I have. I have creator codes everywhere and all that. That’s plenty. – Trymacs on Beyond Business Cast on YouTube from minute 12:29
Furthermore, the Twitch streamer mentions that he wouldn’t judge other streamer colleagues who still have these features enabled. He himself doesn’t need it.
Start video
Vom Pizza-Lieferant zu einem der größten deutschen Twitch-Streamer – Leben und Karriere von Trymacs in 2 Minuten
Trymacs speaks openly about his earnings
How does Trymacs make money? Since Trymacs gives up 2 methods of making money, it is interesting to look at how he generates income. In the podcast, he further states that he makes most of his money with placements or sponsorships anyway.
Trymacs even mentions his YouTube earnings directly: I get around 20 million views monthly across all 3 channels, and that’s usually between 80,000 and 120,000 euros. (Source: YouTube from minute 16:13).
The option for viewers to subscribe to Trymacs on Twitch for a monthly fee is still available. In one of his best months, Trymacs claims to have earned about 220,000 euros from these subs. On average, he earns about 21,000 euros monthly from this.
However, Trymacs does not talk about payment from sponsorships and placements.
When asked why the Twitch streamer talks so openly about his earnings, he says: I earn everything through the community, so I can also show that openly and transparently to the community. (Source: YouTube from minute 17:50).
The players of ARC Raiders are bored and therefore looking for a new activity. Now they are hunting streamers to rise up the leaderboards.
What’s behind the hunt? For weeks, the players of ARC Raiders have been complaining on social media about the playable content. Many are slowly running out of content or feel it is becoming increasingly repetitive. Boredom is spreading among the players. Especially PvP fans have little incentive to keep playing, as there are no in-game leaderboards for Raider kills or similar.
However, the players have helped themselves and created a system that provides them with new motivation for PvP action: There is a website where players can put bounties on other Raiders and collect rewards. There is also a leaderboard for players with the most bounty kills. Each kill must be proven with a screenshot.
Start video
ARC Raiders brings new Flashpoint update – there are rumors brewing in Speranza
Streamers become bounties
What does this have to do with streamers? In the description of “Speranza Bounties” on Discord, the community project describes itself as a platform to “report” players who have committed treacherous acts or griefing.
The “Most wanted” bounties on the website are not necessarily mean griefers, but primarily well-known streamers like Nadeshot, Tfue, and TheBurntPeanut – a VTuber who appears as a talking peanut. Special rewards like blueprints are also offered for kills on the “Most wanted” bounties.
On the website, TheBurntPeanut and Nadeshot are marked as “voice chat snakes”. This means they allegedly pretended to be friendly in the game’s voice chat and then deceived the other Raiders.
This is what MeinMMO editor Dariusz says about the system: In theory, the bounty system is a fun idea to find new incentives in PvP. In practice, however, it encourages taking the enjoyment away from other players, even though it presents itself as a platform that is against griefing.
The markings that can be given to the bounties are particularly questionable:
“Pretends to be friendly but then stabs you in the back.”
“Steals your loot when you open a locked room.”
“Kills teammates at the extraction point.”
Some of the reasons for the bounties have nothing to do with griefing but are part of the game. PvP, betrayal, and stealing loot are integral components of extraction shooters like ARC Raiders – even if the affected player surely leaves the round frustrated.
However, the hunt for streamers is particularly critical, as stream sniping is already a problem for the shooter, which has led to players like shroud and Ninja losing interest in the game. Whether you find these streamers entertaining or not doesn’t matter; they help the game by generating attention with their content.
Driving such Twitch personalities away from ARC Raiders is not a win for the shooter, and the bounty system encourages players to stream snipe – especially when special rewards like blueprints are at stake.
Some mistakes in Pokémon GO can really hurt. MeinMMO author Paul Kutzner can definitely attest to that.
Unfortunately, there are quite rare Community Days in Pokémon GO that I really look forward to and that spark a lot of anticipation in me beforehand. Last Saturday, after a long time, it was finally that time again. Forgita was the featured Pokémon of the Community Day, and I knew: I have to get a few of those.
After all, the latest evolution of Forgita, Granforgita, is a really strong Pokémon in the battle league. But for that, one should be clever and catch the Pokémon’s exclusive move.
Start video
Pokémon GO Fest 2026 comes with Mewtwo and Zeraora
27 Minutes Result in Major Frustration
How could one obtain the move? To obtain Granforgita’s exclusive move Giant Hammer, you needed to evolve the Pokémon during the event or up to 4 hours afterward. So there was a time window from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM to carry out the evolution.
What was my goal? I already knew beforehand that my time on Community Day would be quite limited. I managed to catch some Forgita from home and then had a window of about 45 minutes to really go hunting outside. After that, I was expecting a visitor who had planned their visit in advance.
My goal was to get one Granforgita for the Great League and one for the Ultra League. To make sure I use the best specimens, I wanted to wait until the end of my hunt to trigger the evolutions. After all, it hurts to evolve a Pokémon, only to get a better specimen shortly after.
And what was the problem? Well. After I finished my tour outside the front door, suddenly there was more time pressure because I needed to prepare other things for the visit. Initially, I still had the thought in my mind, “Ah, you need to evolve soon.”
As mentioned, initially. Over time, that thought unfortunately slipped away and I simply forgot to carry out the evolutions. Later, while the visitor had already arrived and was staying a bit longer, it suddenly hit me that I had forgotten about the evolutions.
However, a glance at the clock dampened my hopes: It was 9:27 PM. 27 minutes too late to obtain the exclusive move through an evolution. So here I am with over 1,800 Forgita candies and some strong specimens for the battle league, yet I’m missing the move that makes this Pokémon so special.
A sad Forgita wanting to evolve into a Granforgita with exclusive move
What now? If I want to get those moves to effectively use the Pokémon in the league, I will unfortunately have to rely on the use of Elite Charge TMs. Even though I still have a few of those, it still hurts.
The TMs are known to be very rare and difficult to obtain. Therefore, I save them and usually only use them for legendary Pokémon, where I want to get the respective exclusive move. Using them now for a Pokémon where I could have easily gotten the move anyway hurts.
Alternatively, I could speculate that the Community Day in December, as in the past, will again offer the opportunity to obtain all exclusive moves of the year for the Pokémon featured during Community Days. Since it’s only April, however, I would have to wait quite a long time for that and miss out on Granforgita. Moreover, the Community Day in December is not yet guaranteed.
Since I’m mostly active in the Great League, I might use an Elite Charge TM for that and wait for the Ultra League. That would be a solution to the immediate problem, albeit a painful one. But at the end of the day, I unfortunately have to blame myself for that. In the future, I will likely set an alarm so that this mistake does not happen again.
Have you also made such a mistake? Feel free to share in the comments. If you want to know what content such as events, raids, and Dynamax Pokémon await you soon, take a look at our overview with all events in April 2026 in Pokémon GO.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
An amateur artist of tabletop miniatures decided that he wanted to test the next level of his skills and took on the challenge of painting his first tiny face. The result brought a bitter realization, which he and the community accepted with humor.
What challenge did the miniature fan take on? The hobbyist and Reddit user loweffortpainter decided to attempt painting a miniature face for the first time.
He was able to demonstrate that he already has solid painting skills through previous projects he shared with the tabletop community on Reddit. These mainly included armor with attached details and some organic elements like a pair of wings. However, faces were uncharted territory for the painter until now.
As a test subject, he chose Felthius from the set “Lord of Contagion and Blightlord Terminators” (source: Warhammer), whose face is exposed in the miniature. And what he created, he did not want to keep from the community:
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“Gentlemen, here is my very first painted face,” writes loweffortpainter about the posted image, but not without commenting. However, he could already conclude for himself: “In the future, I’d rather stick to helmets.”
Start video
Die neuen Modelle der Adpetus Custodes für Warhammer 40.000 und The Horus Heresy für 2026
Instead of judging him, the community loves his “special” face
What does the creator say about his creation? Instead of being ashamed of the typical, not quite ideal attempt at a first painted face, loweffortpainter writes that his result makes him laugh: “I’ve never painted a face before, and I just have to giggle about it – cheers to all who can make these things look realistic!”
The community feels similarly. Instead of seeking false praise, they honestly say that his face looks exactly as it should. Even if they are not sure whether it is creepy, funny, or just both at the same time:
“That’s the good kind of horror,” is the comment by JPHutchy01 that received the most upvotes. Winterssavant also writes: “Keep painting faces – that’s the only way you’ll get better at it. But please don’t change this style! I would absolutely love to play against a Death Guard army with these nightmarish faces.”
To reassure him that he’s not alone in facing the challenge of tiny faces, other artists showcase their own works:
Meanwhile, Felthius’s face adorns the profile picture of his creator, loweffortpainter.
What does the community advise? While everyone has fallen in love with Felthius’s “special” face and desires an entire army in that style, others share their own tips to make the eyes of miniatures look fancier:
Pupils are often larger than one might think. Instead of placing them small in the center of an eye, the largest part of the eye can occupy the iris. This way, they also won’t look so wide-eyed and shocked.
Since eyes on a small figure viewed from above in an army are hardly noticeable, they do not need to be perfectly and detailed crafted. In this case, a shadow under the brows could create a cool effect.
If one doesn’t dare to add a pupil or iris, they could create simply solid, glowing eyes for a particularly epic look.
In Crimson Desert there are some hidden features. However, one was so well hidden that a player only found it after 270 hours, but you have it much easier now.
What is this detail? In Crimson Desert, there are countless interesting places and puzzles to discover. While the unsolved puzzles and fast travel points can be identified on the map by large question marks, this was much harder for caves.
Thus, a player on Reddit only found out after 270 hours that one can check the journal to see which caves have been found and which have been completed. Especially with the many similarly appearing waterfalls in Crimson Desert, one could quickly lose track.
In the journal, only white and gray dots indicated the status of the cave. The feature was therefore quite hidden. The developers seemed to think so too, because it is much better now.
On Rokade’s back, you get to the next cave faster:
Start video
Here you will find the legendary horse “Rokade” in Crimson Desert
Developers lend a hand
What have the developers improved? The detour through the various menus just to see whether you have already seen the inside of a cave or just passed by is a thing of the past.
As part of the patches for Crimson Desert, the developers have made the detour through the journal unnecessary. Since the patch, a checkmark on the cave symbols on the map directly indicates whether you have already been in a cave.
If you zoom in on a cave now, you can immediately see at first glance whether the visit is still worthwhile or if you only find empty crates.
There is finally a first teaser for the next Godzilla-movie from Japan. The giant lizard not only returns, but also looks significantly more menacing than before and seems to threaten not just Japan this time.
During the current CinemaCon, TOHO released the first teaser for the upcoming film, showcasing the legendary Kaijū in its best form and hinting at even more severe devastation.
Start video
Godzilla returns in the first teaser for Minus Zero after 2 years
Godzilla wider than ever
How does Godzilla look in the first teaser? Although the first teaser is only 48 seconds long, many interesting details can already be seen. Most notably, of course, the King of Monsters. Godzilla can be seen twice. First, he rises out of the water and is noticeably wider than in 2023.
At the end of the teaser, it is also confirmed that he has grown larger. He is seen walking next to the Statue of Liberty in the USA and seems to be even slightly larger than it. Together with its part in the water, it is 93 meters tall. Since Godzilla is standing in the teaser, he should be about that size too. In Minus One, he was according to Godzilla Officialonly 50.1 meters tall. Thus, he is almost twice as big.
Suspiciously, he looks different in the last sequence than in the first sequence of the teaser. It could be that he evolves in the film. However, one can definitely say that this time the USA will also have quite a problem, not just Japan.
Godzilla next to the Statue of Liberty in the new teaser for Godzilla Minus Zero
New powers or even a new monster?
What else is hidden in the teaser? The teaser mentions a new threat, but it is still unclear whether it is simply the return of Godzilla or if another monster will appear. Fans like @penpen_iii (x.com) might imagine that King Ghidorah could appear. An indication of this could be the title Minus Zero, as Ghidorah is known in the US film Godzilla: King of Monsters under the name Monster Zero.
However, since it is a US designation, it could also be that Godzilla is simply a new threat that rises again from the depths to embark on a path of destruction. Godzilla has already been used in Minus One as a representation of the traumas of war.
For new powers or a new monster, there are also flying debris in the teaser that a pilot has to fly through. They seem to be floating due to a blue force.
However, the teaser confirms that the characters Kôichi Shikishima and Noriko Ôishi will again be at the forefront, continuing to live with the emotional and physical consequences two years after the Godzilla catastrophe.
When will Godzilla Minus Zero be released in theaters? The film is expected to be released on November 5, 2026, in theaters and already promises, with the first teaser, a destructive return. Until then, you can check out some of his adversaries in this list: The 10 most powerful opponents of Godzilla in the Power Ranking
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In September 2025, Blizzard went to court against the operators of the largest private server for WoW Classic. A settlement has now been reached.
What did the court decide? Blizzard won the court case against the operators of Turtle WoW. The court ruled in favor of the company behind franchises such as Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft on all counts and obtained a temporary injunction. The key points of the injunction:
Immediate cessation of operations: The defendants must immediately cease all development, maintenance, distribution, and promotion of their private servers.
Ban on “Turtle WoW 2.0”: The ban explicitly includes modified clients and the planned “remaster” project in Unreal Engine.
Financial restrictions: No donations or payments may be accepted for these projects.
No successor projects: It is prohibited to transfer source codes, software, or social media accounts to third parties to enable a “successor” to Turtle WoW.
Apparently, the operators of TurtleWoW have irrevocably waived their right to appeal or contest this ruling. Instead, they were able to reach a confidential settlement with Blizzard, but no details are available yet. It is currently unclear whether and which of the key points of the injunction will take effect. The Turtle WoW servers are still online.
You can find the full ruling from the U.S. District Court for Central California on courtlistener.com.
Update from April 15, 2026: An anonymous representative from Turtle WoW has contacted us and requested to clarify in the article that an agreement has been reached with Blizzard. Details about the agreement cannot be published. However, we have inquired about the current status of Turtle WoW. In other words: Do the servers need to go offline or can the project continue?
Can we expect more Classic experiments like Hardcore soon?
Start video
WoW Classic: The Hardcore Servers Are Here!
The path for official Classic Plus is clear
What do I need to know about Turtle WoW? Over the past few years, Turtle WoW has managed to become one of the largest private server projects for World of Warcraft with the promise of a free Classic Plus experience, attracting around 50,000 players at times. In September 2025, Blizzard took legal action against the operators for the first time. It took nearly 8 months until the settlement.
Classic Plus represents a version of WoW that builds on Classic and gradually expands that foundation with new content, rather than following the familiar path towards Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, and so on.
While Blizzard has already experimented with a lighter version of Classic Plus through its Classic seasons, it has never gone all-in. However, due to some hints and suggestions, many fans are currently hoping that this year will see a change and that developers will announce a true Classic Plus variant at BlizzCon in September.
It would fit very well to clear the way by removing Turtle WoW, the biggest competitor for such a format. The Blizzard developers had already done something similar with the private server Nostalrius before they first announced WoW Classic. You probably remember – Nostalrius threatens: “Blizzard makes Classic servers or we will do it”
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the current anime season, Witch Hat Atelier and Daemons of the Shadow Realm are the main contenders for the best series in Spring 2026. However, there is another anime that many may not have on their radar.
What kind of anime is this? Marriage Toxin is reminiscent of John Wick with its action-packed scenes, but combined with a dating simulation.
The protagonist Hikaru Gero is the heir of a legendary clan of assassins. He is an elite killer who has nothing to do with love.
However, the clan’s grandmother demands an heir for the clan, which is why Gero must urgently find a suitable candidate – and preferably as soon as possible.
To find the perfect bride, he is assisted by Mei Kinozaki, a con artist who can disguise herself as a woman and manipulate others.
Actually, Mei is Gero’s next target, but he spares the con artist. In return, she must become Gero’s personal dating coach.
Thus, the two of them venture into the murderous underworld, trying to find a suitable woman for Gero to preserve the bloodline. Every battle could potentially lead to a first date, where Gero finds his future partner for life.
Start video
Marriage Toxin: The trailer for the anime with a hitman and con artist
True love amid the explosive chaos
How is it received? On MyAnimeList, it shows that the series is running a bit under the radar. Among all the animes that started with Season 1 this season, Marriage Toxin is doing quite well in terms of ratings.
Over 61,000 users have shown interest in the series, which has currently been rated 7.57 out of 10 stars. In comparison, Witch Hat Atelier, one of the hits of this season, has 188,000 interested viewers and currently holds a rating of 8.75.
However, only two episodes of each of the two animes have been released so far. But the comparison of user numbers shows that about a third of the interested viewers of Witch Hat Atelier are aware of the anime Marriage Toxin. So it is still flying under the radar for many.
MyMMO editor Jasmin says: The animation style of the anime is particularly noteworthy, as the responsible studio is Bones Film. This studio has recently proven its expertise in action-packed scenes with Gachiakuta and the final season of My Hero Academia. Daemons of the Shadow Realm, another strong candidate for anime of the year 2026, was also produced by them.
The action-packed chase sequences, such as cutting through a car at full speed, flow seamlessly. In addition, the vibrant colors are due to the poisons, for example.
And the premise is also unique. An assassin specializing in poison teaming up with a cross-dressing con artist to find a woman so his lesbian sister doesn’t have to end up in an arranged marriage.
Even the first two episodes sold me completely on the anime, and I am curious to see what amazing scenes will still be included. Especially the action scenes reminiscent of movies like John Wick look incredibly good so far.
