Borderlands 4 is here and has recently become available for players on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series – or at least in theory. The community is frustrated with the current performance of the game, but they’re taking it with a smile.
As of now (September 12, 2025, 10:15), the game has only a “mixed” rating with 9,276 reviews (60% of the reviews are positive). Players are also sharing various pieces of evidence for their frustration on Reddit.
Player shakamaboom shares a screenshot from the game (via Reddit), through which he cannot understand how an open scene with a bit of grass, rocks, and water can be so heavy for the graphics processor. The answer with the most upvotes reads: “It renders every blade of grass at 8K” (via Reddit).
Player Muted_Wrangler_ shows in a clip on Reddit how the “birds” in the game fly rather stiffly through the air or lack animations. “I’ve seen NPCs and characters in T-Pose, but never birds,” he adds in a comment (via Reddit).
Of course, when there’s a bad atmosphere within the community, people tend to look for mistakes explicitly and very closely, but a large part of the player base takes it with a smile. And that is due to the head of the development studio, who already expressed his opinion on the performance of Borderlands 4 even before the release.
Here is the launch trailer for Borderlands 4, which you can play since September 11, 2025:
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Borderlands 4: Cineastischer Launch-Trailer zelebriert den Release
“The Jokes Write Themselves”
Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox and head of Borderlands 4, stated even before the game’s release on X.com that players whose computers are below the minimum requirements should not expect to be able to play Borderlands 4 at all:
It’s a big, bold, new, seamless world, and I regret to say that older hardware may not deliver buttery smooth performance for the latest AAA games, as has always been the case since the beginnings of PC gaming.
Even the “Day 1 Patch” is supposed to bring optimizations, but it won’t be a miracle cure for systems below the minimum requirements. For that, he asks for understanding. While Pitchford’s statement is a correct statement regarding the minimum requirements of the game, it does not make the community any more positive.
Why are players frustrated? A meme that was posted in the Steam subreddit summarizes the general mood regarding the weak performance at the release of Borderlands 4 well. “The jokes write themselves,” writes Moth_LovesLamp in response to Pitchford’s statement regarding the criticism the game receives on Steam. As the initial reactions of players show, the problem, according to fans, does not lie in the minimum requirements, but in the optimization of the game.
The community views the current state of the game and feels schadenfreude, in light of Pitchford’s previously made statements.
“At some point, Randy Pitchford will hire a manager to keep him away from things like cameras and microphones,” writes Callinon mockingly (via Reddit).
Borderlands 4 is not even 24 hours old and is already under criticism. However, apart from the weak performance at launch, other aspects of the game are actually being well received. MeinMMO editor Dariusz Müller has already tested the game before release and is quite positive despite the performance: Borderlands 4 reminds me of Destiny in the test, making it a fantastic loot shooter
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Cyberpunk 2077 is not just a dystopian world full of nasty corporations and street kids; there are also numerous companions who can become friends – or even more. You can flirt as much as you want, but that exact thing drives one player to frustration, as his efforts prove futile.
This is what romances in Cyberpunk 2077 are about:
In Cyberpunk 2077 there are four companions: Kerry, River, Panam, and Judy, whom you can meet throughout the story. However, they all have specific preferences when it comes to their partners.
The main character V can be either male or female, but for each gender, there is exactly one partner of each gender to choose from, making every combination unique.
In the end, you have one heterosexual and one homosexual relationship option to choose from. That does not mean you can’t try with the others…
What is the player complaining about? On Reddit, a player complains that he has the option to flirt with Panam when playing as a female V. However, Panam, the tough go-getter from the Wastelands, like the musician Kerry Eurodyne, is only interested in men.
Nevertheless, there are dialogue options that are clearly intended for romances. You can flirt and even try to touch her during Panam’s quest. As a woman, you will receive a clear rejection here. The player complains:
Why is this even in the game? Do I have to be reminded of all the rejections I’ve had in real life and now can’t even hit on someone in the game? Rejection is fine when there was a possibility of romance that was messed up, but to include something like this just to twist the knife in the wound is diabolical. […]
I knew that Panam was not an option for a female V, but I got to this point and honestly thought they had changed something in the last patch so female Vs could romance Panam.
Now he has to play again as a man just to be able to be with an NPC: “Do better, CDPR, lol.” In the comments, many users share the same experience with NPC rejections but also remind that this is all quite realistic.
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Cyberpunk 2077: The Ultimate Edition trailer shows a ‘City of Dreams’
“CDPR just does what makes the world feel more real”
Users explain that it is completely normal and realistic to get turned down – especially in the case of a woman interested in another woman: “Women constantly get rejected by other women. I was initially disappointed that [Panam] isn’t bisexual, but I appreciate the immersion of this revelation.”
Finding out whether someone is truly romantically interested or just friendly is part of it and is the case in real life as well. Panam and River as heterosexual options may flirt to some extent with same-sex Vs, but not more than that:
I’ve seen many lesbians responding to such threads emphasizing how realistic it is to include a mechanic like Is she a lesbian or just friendly? – scrotbofula on Reddit
By the way, the specific scene with Panam isn’t even the beginning of the romance. Even men would first get a rejection here.
Many agree that while it can be frustrating not to get your ‘favorite partner’, it is precisely because of this that the NPCs have their depth. People have preferences, and this is beautifully reflected in Cyberpunk 2077 and its companions.
However, one comment helps out: Even without a mod, you can make any companion available for any gender of V through a small editor change. Panam even has recorded voice lines for a female.
If you never have Wyll in Baldur’s Gate 3, you’re missing a little detail related to a devil.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is known for the developers thinking of nearly everything possible. Whether it’s about the effects of items, talents or features – nearly everything is taken into account. However, these details even extend to rather unusual places, such as the level-up screen. There’s a permanent reminder for a character that terror is never far away.
Baldur’s Gate 3 got its final patch a while ago:
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Der animierte Kurzfilm zu Patch 8, dem letzten Update für Baldur’s Gate 3
What is this detail? When characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 reach a new level, gain abilities or learn talents, it’s usually a joyful moment. Not so for Wyll. The warlock is accompanied every time he wants to complete a level-up by an eerie laughter. As soon as you finish the level-up, you can hear Mizora’s devilish laughter in the background.
You can see how it sounds in this video – even though the video mistakenly claims it’s only heard during class changes. It occurs with every level-up:
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Why is Mizora laughing? Why Mizora laughs at Wyll every time he levels up is probably open to personal interpretation. Perhaps it’s just a regular reminder that Wyll sold his soul to a devil – or Mizora is simply in a terrible good mood because Wyll is plunging deeper into the pact with new powers, from which there will never be an escape.
Why is Wyll so unpopular? The fact that many people don’t know this little detail is mainly due to Wyll often being neglected and often having no place in the group. Wyll is perceived as quite boring by the community, which might also be due to him being integrated and revised relatively late in the development of the game. Compared to all the other companions, he simply seems “boring” to many, and thus they never get to enjoy Mizora’s lovely laughter.
In Throne and Liberty, the developers open the global servers for players from Asia. However, the new players also bring their own problems.
What kind of server opening is this? Starting September 18, 2025, Amazon Games will open its global game servers to players from the so-called Region 1 (via throneandliberty.online). This affects players from Russia, South Korea, and other countries in Asia who have been able to play on the proprietary NCSoft version since December 2023.
This allows players from these regions to start directly without any detours on the global servers for the first time. The new Hyperboost servers provide a good starting option for other players as well, since taking characters from the other game version is not possible. Nevertheless, the new players bring their own problems.
The last major expansion of Throne and Liberty can be seen here:
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Throne and Liberty: Trailer shows regions of the Wilderness of Talandre expansion
A new momentum or an end for Europeans
What problems are there? Throne and Liberty is a PvP-oriented MMORPG. Players organize themselves into guilds and alliances and fight almost hourly for various bosses in the game. Guild sieges are also events that many players log in for.
With the opening of the global servers for players from the East, entire guilds from the other game versions might join, trying to make a fresh start on the global servers. They could exploit the low player numbers in Europe (via SteamDB) and mix up the PvP on the servers with their large number, but also with their greater gaming experience.
This could either lead to a new dynamic that revitalizes the game, or to the dominance of a certain region on a server, pushing away other players from the MMORPG. The Pay2Win aspect in Throne and Liberty also plays into their hands.
What advantage do players from Asia have? On Steam, there are cheaper prices for players from countries with lower incomes. This adjusted pricing strategy aims to ensure that even people in poorer countries can play video games without saving for months. Even we in Germany do not have the highest prices for games. For example, the new Borderlands 4 costs about 4 euros more when bought in Switzerland (via SteamDB).
This advantage favors players from Asia in Throne and Liberty. Not only can they quickly catch up on the Hyperboost servers, even when they reach the normal level, they can look forward to cheaper currency. This way, they can acquire the auction house currency for less real money, which can also strengthen their character in Throne and Liberty.
The Twitch streamer Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris participated in the retirement tour a few days ago and apparently had extra demands.This is what Maximilian Schradin tells his Twitch colleague Jens “Knossi” Knossalla in a stream.
The Twitch streamer MontanaBlack is otherwise rarely seen on a tour or in another format where he is away from home for an extended period. For the retirement tour organized by his Twitch colleague Maximilian Schradin, MontanaBlack set off on a journey through Poland along with other Twitch streamers.
With retirement mobiles, they covered some kilometers and regularly stayed in hotels. During one overnight stay, MontanaBlack had some extra demands that he made on his overnight partner Sascha “unsympathischTV” Hellinger. At least that is what Maximilian Schradin told his Twitch colleague Knossi in a livestream.
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Twitch: MontanaBlack is criticized for his driving behavior
MontanaBlack rearranges the room
How is MontanaBlack supposed to have behaved? Maximilian Schradin says that MontanaBlack apparently had a problem with not having a single room for himself in one of the hotels. A three-bed room was booked for him and unsympathischTV.
On the spur of the moment, MontanaBlack reportedly rearranged the room. He pushed two beds together to sleep alone in them, and he had the third bed propped up against the wall. This way, he could supposedly watch television better, Maximilian Schradin says, adding: “He took apart the entire room” (source: twitch.tv starting from 03:20:50).
Since unsympathischTV had no opportunity to sleep in the room, he had to resort to the pull-out sofa. There, he reportedly covered himself with a tablecloth, which, according to Maximilian Schradin, had a “urine stain” on it. Knossi, who is being told the story, comments sarcastically: “These star airs”.
MontanaBlack himself, or unsympathischTV, have not commented on the alleged incident yet.
Both weapons will be available as Twitch Drops between September 11 and September 30.
How powerful are the weapons? Both weapons will be at the level of your Vault Hunters when you pick them up – they will be scaled to your level. However, they will be at least level 5.
What do I need to do to receive them? The two weapons are distributed via Twitch Drops. You need to watch two hours for each weapon on certain Borderlands streams to unlock the reward. Important: The rewards are not distributed together but sequentially. So you need to watch for a total of four hours for both.
It is also important that you connect your Shift account with your Twitch account; otherwise, it won’t work. We summarize the entire process for you here.
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Borderlands 4: Cineastischer Launch-Trailer zelebriert den Release
How do I unlock Twitch Drops for Borderlands 4?
Below we show you the steps you need to take to receive Twitch Drops for Borderlands 4.
First, you need to connect your SHiFT account with Twitch. To do this, you need to log in to SHiFT.
Watch the appropriate streams on Twitch.
Click “Claim Reward” on your Twitch Drop Inventory page once you have met the requirements.
Important: You only have 24 hours to pick up your reward after it is unlocked.
In the game, you will find the rewards in the rewards center of the inventory screen.
If you have already started playing the new game, it won’t be long before you collect the first powerful loot items in the game. In Borderlands 4, there are again billions of possibilities for how the weapons and equipment of your Vault Hunters can look. You can get an initial overview here: Legendary Weapons in Borderlands 4.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Destiny: Rising, fans can secure significant advantages with a lot of money through vast amounts of currencies and items, which falls under Pay2Win. The community wondered how NetEase intends to make its leaderboards fair. And the team has a clear answer.
Is there Pay2Win in Rising? Yes, there is, because Destiny: Rising relies on gacha mechanics, allowing you to purchase crates for real money. These contain currencies, guardians, weapons, or other items that can quickly make you powerful. So, anyone with a bigger wallet is also more powerful in the mobile game.
In itself, this would not be an issue in the community, as it’s up to each player how much they want to spend on a game. However, the problem connected to Pay2Win concerns the leaderboards and contest modes for various endgame content.
Anyone trying their luck as a free-to-play player to reach the top of the leaderboards would lose against the much more powerful Pay2Win players. NetEase has recognized this and therefore establishes rules specifically for these types of activities to ensure equal opportunity everywhere.
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Destiny: Rising shows first gameplay in the trailer
New regulations aim to ensure fairness
What do the regulations state? In a blog post from NetEase under the section “Fair Play Mechanics,” new regulations are supposed to ensure fairness so that free-to-play players also have a chance to reach the top of the leaderboards. The following can be concluded:
Mods for weapons are disabled
Exotic weapons are limited to Catalyst Node 1
Level of your weapons is capped at level 80
Talents and companions linked with you are disabled
Only perks of your artifacts are active (levels, refinements, and attributes are disabled)
In short, this means: Everyone should have the same chances, regardless of how much they have spent in the store.
The post especially refers to raids and contest weeks, where it’s important to ensure fairness. Because anyone good enough to hold their own can reach the top of the leaderboards.
What do fans say about these changes? On X.com, the user “MossyMax” raves about the changes in endgame. He thinks it’s great that NetEase wants to clarify to players that only those who have good RNG and thus good rolls from the free-to-play segment will emerge victorious. Many fans agree with him and comment as follows:
“That is … truly impressive!” – @davidmanly
“This is also a REALLY good precedent because it means that as a F2P player, you can achieve everything the game throws at you. Because NetEase had to make this physically possible due to the race.” – @LN_RuleYOURface
“Destiny Rising is definitely doing everything right so far; I really enjoy my time with it and hope they continue this way.” – @KathielGaming
“It’s crazy how Destiny Gacha is more fun, more balanced, and more enjoyable than the actual game.” – @wo1f_sapphire
It remains to be seen how fair the actual contest mode will be, but these mentioned regulations at least create a basis for offering everyone the chance to prove themselves. You can find more about Destiny: Rising here: Destiny Rising: Best artifacts for every guardian in PvE and PvP
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A player bought a PC case at an auction. But the surprise comes when he opens the case at home. Because inside is a complete PC. A company employee reported in the community, explaining: It used to cost 8,000 euros.
What did the user buy? The English-language magazine Dexerto reports that a user bought a computer at an auction. The Fractal Design Define 7 XL, a PC case, was offered here.
The mentioned player finally made a bid and won the case for 23.50 US dollars, which is equivalent to about 20 euros. The auction is still viewable directly at CapitalCityOnlineAuction (as of September 12, 2025).
However, when the user finally picked up the case from the seller, he couldn’t believe his eyes: Because inside the case was a complete PC, and the hardware is still very powerful today:
AMD Threadripper 3960X
256 GB RAM
Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti
Employee reports and reveals: The computer used to sell for about 8,000 US dollars
What was the hardware supposed to cost back then? A user on Reddit, claiming to be an employee of Puget Systems, explained that the computer was supposed to cost about 8,000 US dollars back then. Converted, that’s around 7,000 euros:
Just so you know: This system was probably sold at the end of 2021/beginning of 2022 and would have cost about 8,000 dollars back then. Many of these systems had 2 to 4 NVMe drives, so you probably also have over 4 to 8 TB of fast storage!
All in all, not a bad purchase for 32 dollars*!
* Note from the editor: The user made a typo at the beginning of their Reddit thread, which is why the commentator refers to 32 instead of 23 dollars.The image in the thread shows the correct price of 23.50 dollars.
How is the price composed? Just the AMD Threadripper 3960X cost around 1,400 euros at release. The RTX 3080 Ti was sold at a MSRP of 1,089 euros, but due to hardware shortages, it was significantly less available and correspondingly much more expensive. Additionally, PC companies charge a premium for assembly, which is then included in the purchase price.
And even if the user had only gotten the Fractal Design case for 20 euros, that would have already been a bargain: Because the Fractal Design Define 7 XL is still sold for around 200 euros today (via Geizhals.de).
With the extensive skill trees in Borderlands 4, it can quickly happen that you make a mistake. We show you how to easily reset your skill points and specializations if needed.
How can you reset your skill tree in Borderlands 4? If you made the wrong choice when selecting your skills or simply want to try something different, don’t despair: You can easily reset your skill trees at fixed locations. You can also change your specializations there.
At these locations, you will find respec machines that allow you to reset your points for in-game currency. The price varies depending on how many points you have already invested, ranging from a few dollars to 1.5 million. If you want to reset your specialization, it costs 5,000 Eridium.
Where to find the respec machines, you will find out right here.
Start video
Borderlands 4: Cineastischer Launch-Trailer zelebriert den Release
All Locations for the Respec Machines
Currently, there are a total of 6 locations where you can reset your skills:
The launch pad (The Howling, The Fungi Fields)
Belton’s Drilling (The Lowrocks, Terminus Vastness)
Carcadia (Devastated Swamp, Wasteland of Carcadia)
Exclusion Zone (Carcadia District, Dominion)
The Food Court (Terminus District, Dominion)
Sumpview Falls (Fungi Fields District, Dominion)
Then just go to the marked machine there. It will show you the price for your respec. Then hold the respective button and you will enter the respec menu. Here you can choose whether you want to reset just the displayed skill tree or want all spent points back. You simply reset your specialization by holding the button down.
What else is there to consider? You can reset your skills and specializations as often as you like – as long as you have the necessary resources. You should also only leave the machine when you are really satisfied with your build, otherwise you’ll have to pay again. As long as you keep the window open, you can redistribute and experiment as you wish.
MyMMO editor Dariusz Müller tested Borderlands 4 before its release. In his solo run of the main story, he played Amon. Here he presents his build.
What kind of build is this? I played Amon as a kind of axe-throwing barbarian, using the green cybernetic skill tree. Here, Amon creates a frost and a flame axe that deal the corresponding elemental damage.
The gameplay focus of the build is therefore not on melee attacks or on intercepting projectiles with a shield. I charged into enemies and dealt as much damage as possible in a short time.
I’ve thought about the build, but I didn’t engage in any elaborate theory crafting. Thus, it’s probably not a perfect build, but one that I had a lot of fun with and managed to easily get through the story as a solo player on normal difficulty.
You can see how the picture turned out in a boss fight against Idolator Sol here in the video:
Start video
Borderlands 4: Cineastischer Launch-Trailer zelebriert den Release
Amon Brings Winter Over Kairos, But Also Heats Things Up
What distinguishes the build? Amon can use his various abilities very frequently with the build and benefits from the effects of various passive skills.
With his action skill “Crucible”, the vault hunter creates a flame axe or a frost axe that he can throw at enemies. Hit enemies are then considered “prepared” and detonate when they take damage from a forge skill or die. The detonation also damages nearby enemies.
The forge skill played is called “Double Blade”. When using the skill, Amon combines both axes into a single one, resulting in blades at both ends of the axe. This resulting axe can also be thrown by Amon. Unlike the single blades, however, the double axe returns to Amon and hits enemies on the way out and back.
Amon as an Axe-Throwing Barbarian Level 0-25
Which skills are equipped? I invested the first 15 skill points into the left side of the general skill tree. The focus was on strengthening my forge skill and my firearms.
As an improvement, I initially played “Endless War”, which allowed me to deal at least 15% increased damage with firearms to enemies that were prepared by my axes. Each prepared stack brings an additional 15% damage.
Cast Iron – 5/5
Forge skill cooldown: +25%
Firearms handling: +30%
Destruction Machine – 5/5
Forge skill damage: +25%
Detonation damage: +30%
Air Supply – 5/5
When using the forge skill, Amon temporarily gains increased firearms damage
Firearms damage: +35%
Duration: 8 seconds
During the campaign, I then switched my improvement to “Biting Cold” in the right skill tree. This skill freezes enemies when they are hit by the frost axe. This proved especially useful in fights with many enemies for crowd control. In boss fights, however, it may be wise to switch back to “Endless War”. You then throw one or more axes at the enemy and shoot at their weak points with your firearms to deal as much damage as possible in a short time.
To strengthen “Biting Cold”, I invested 5 skill points in “Permafrost”. This creates a cryo hazard that deals cryo damage whenever an enemy is frozen – every time. I complemented this with the passive skill “Reactive Armor”, which partially restores Amon’s shield and weapon cooldowns when detonating prepared enemies.
Biting Cold– 5/5
Frost axes freeze on impact
Flame axes penetrate enemies
Reactive Armor– 5/5
Shield restoration: 35%
Cooldown restoration: 30%
“Reactive Armor” rewards aggressive pushing, as the frequent use of axes regularly refills the shield. This makes it easier to survive in heated battles.
Amon’s Double Blade in Borderlands 4
The Floor is Lava – Level 25-30
After 25 levels, I finally got to choose my final skill: “Burning Inferno”.
“Burning Inferno” causes my “Double Blade” to deal burning melee damage and leaves a fire trail on the ground. Additionally, the radius of “Double Blade” is increased by 33%.
Burning Inferno
Double Blade deals burning melee damage in both directions
Radius: +33%
leaves a fire trail on the ground that deals burning damage over time
Fire trail damage: 131 per second
Fire trail duration: 5 seconds
Cooldown restoration: 10%
The next two skill points went into “Temperate Flame” and “Heated Minds”. This spawns flying axes, known as axe-forging drones, which then autonomously attack enemies and deal burning and cryo melee damage. Initially, I consciously did not increase the damage of the drones because I wanted to use them primarily as a distraction.
With the last three skill points I collected while playing through the campaign, I skilled “Fierceness”, which increases Amon’s danger and status effect damage.
More Shock and Drones – Skills from Level 30
During my story run, I found an epic forge knight class mod for Amon called “Quick Stormcaller”. With this class mod, points have already been invested in the three skills “Lead Fast”, “Bolt Effect”, and “Herald’s Call”. Therefore, I initially saved further investments in these skills, as the points already distributed by the mod were sufficient for me.
However, I noticed that this trio is a good and sensible complement to my frost and flame axes to compensate for a potential weakness against shields. This way, I can effectively deal shock damage against shields even with weapons of another element – I just need to reload briefly. In levels 30-50, I therefore want to further develop these 3 skills. Likewise, I would like to upgrade “Temperate Flame”. I want to maximize those skills.
Overall, the build has some strengths but also a clear weakness. For me, it was particularly suitable due to the skill “Biting Cold” for crowd control, allowing me to keep enemies off my back in stressful situations while also shredding many foes with Burning Inferno.
Possible problems arose in boss fights. Even with “Burning Inferno”, my “Double Blade” does not create a huge hole in the enemy’s health bar. I managed most bosses at least by the second attempt, but some fights dragged on a bit because the build lacks a skill that deals absurd damage in one hit. Instead, it’s important to keep an eye on the low cooldowns, to strategically use firearms and combat items, and to take advantage of various passive skills.
Despite the weakness, I had a lot of fun with Amon and the build, as the combination of freezing and then burning really suited my play style. If you love the elements as much as I do, this build might be worth a try for you.
Netflix is a popular streaming service where countless movies can be found. The platform itself has revealed which are the most popular and most-watched. Especially spot 1 is still quite fresh.
Keeping track of Netflix is not so easy. After all, the number of available movies is large. New ones are added every month, and others disappear from the offering. Especially Netflix’s original productions, which are permanently available, generate a lot of buzz and achieve high view counts.
Netflix itself has revealed which films are the most-watched on the platform, and also how many views they generated – in the first 91 days since release.
The following ranking is therefore based on the official figures from Netflix. For each film, we provide a brief overview and reveal how the general opinion is. In the top 10, films are gathered that all premiered in 2018 or later. Spot 1 is even very new and premiered in June 2025 on the streaming platform.
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Damsel is the most watched movie on Netflix and enchants viewers with a cool dragon in the trailer
Rank 10: Damsel
Genre: Action/Adventure
Release Year: 2024
Views: 138 million
In Damsel, Netflix regular Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) plays Princess Elodie. She is unwillingly married to a prince, but it quickly becomes clear that she is merely meant to serve as a sacrifice for a dangerous dragon. This threatens the kingdom, and soon also Elodie’s life. However, she is not the “Damsel in distress”, but rather takes her fate into her own hands.
The film offers entertaining content with a good lead actress, even though some aspects like the story or the effects are somewhat lacking. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics rate it at 57%, while users rate it almost the same at 59%. Shortly after release, Damsel already set a record.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Dune: Awakening, many players are currently discovering the new features of the “Chapter 2” update. A particular quest line is especially annoying to the players. They hope that in the end, they can take revenge for the torment.
Which quest line is it about? In Dune: Awakening, the “Chapter 2” update has introduced two new storylines with new quests. However, the main story, which expands the game narrative, is currently frustrating the players. They state that half of the tasks are unnecessary and that it feels like the quests could have been an email.
Here you can watch the trailer for Dune: Awakening “Chapter 2”:
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Dune: Awakening receives new story quests and another vehicle with Chapter 2
Back and Forth and Back Again
What bothers the players about the new quest line? While players were allowed to complete many different tasks in the first part of the main story and also had to infiltrate research stations or defeat enemies, this time players feel they have been degraded to errand boys.
In a cartoon on Reddit, players express their current mood. It feels to them as if the quest giver Elara Tuek is constantly sending them to the Hagga Basin and back to Harko Village. However, in Dune: Awakening, as seen in other quests, there are also long-range communication devices that could bridge such distances.
Players are annoyed by the tasks that bring them little enjoyment. However, they have a glimmer of hope in the comments.
What do the players say? Fans of Dune: Awakening hope to eventually punish the quest giver, who is always addressed as “Kitten” by their character. They want her to pay for turning their character into an errand boy. Players have written on Reddit:
smartponi: “I hope the story leads to us killing her in the end. The Fenrings (both) – they are just mean and powerful. Lady Jessica? A ruthless witch with her own agenda. Ariste? Just young, okay. But this woman [Elara Tuek] really gets on my nerves.”
Solus_Vael: “Thanks!!! I did the crap last night. Why can Ariste call us about things and we can contact contractors to finalize contracts, but I have to fly back and forth just to talk to this woman [Elara Tuek]…?”
LookAlderaanPlaces: “I think the overworld map could be cool if they reduced the distances. Flying from Hagga to Arrakeen takes a whole minute. Couldn’t it just be 15 seconds instead?”
ProlapseProvider: “I skipped the dialogue sections at some point. I hate the travel mini-map, it’s absolutely useless, as if there were plans for a mini-game like random encounters or something, but they were scrapped at the last minute.”
We present to you the 31 best survival games of 2025 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Are you tough enough to ensure your survival in these survival MMOs and games?
Update as of September 2, 2025: We have updated the list. We have added Dune Awakening to the list of the best survival games and have also included two new games on the horizon.
Additionally, we have adjusted or removed some shop links and added some information on several games.
Our list is a personal compilation by the author. Many survival games can be played in multiplayer or co-op modes. You will also find single-player titles. Free survival games are not included.
Most of the games we feature use a Buy2Play model, meaning they cost a one-time fee. If you want to dive into the survival genre or simply discover new games, here are the top 5 free survival games on Steam for PC.
Benedict has been with MeinMMO since late 2017 and is our survival expert. His first encounters with the genre began with Stranded (2003), which absolutely fascinated him. Survival has been in his blood for more than half his life.
His most played modern survival titles include Fallout 76 and Conan Exiles, into which he has likely invested around 600 hours together. He also enjoys trying out new titles and indie games in the genre to search for hidden gems and tips. Benedict particularly values a beautiful environment that makes exploration worthwhile and a sophisticated crafting system.
1. Valheim
Developer/Publisher: Iron Gate Studios/Coffee Stain Publishing | Release: February 2, 2021 (Early Access) | Model: Buy-2-Play | Platforms: PC (Steam) | Shop:Steam
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Valheim in Early Access trailer
What is Valheim about? You play as a Viking in the Valheim inspired by Norse mythology. After your death, you are brought to this land by a Valkyrie and must prove yourself against monsters and beasts to fight alongside the Allfather Odin.
Valheim developed into one of the biggest games on Steam shortly after its launch, surpassing even Rust within its genre.
Who is Valheim worth it for? Anyone interested in Norse mythology and who enjoys survival games without compulsory PvP should take a look at Valheim. Due to the exploration system and the bosses, it is especially suitable if you want to play with friends. However, even solo, Valheim is worth a look.
Developer/Publisher: Keen Games | Release: January 24, 2024 (Early Access) | Model: Buy-2-Play | Platforms: PC (Steam)
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Enshrouded: The Early Access trailer for the new survival hit on Steam
What is Enshrouded about? A dark power covers the world with a vile Miasma, deadly to humans and producing strange mushroom creatures. You play as a touched by the flame, who survives the Miasma and is destined to save the world.
The game is fundamentally a sandbox game with survival and adventure elements, roughly a mix of Valheim and The Legend of Zelda – or also a Minecraft for adults. Because Enshrouded comes with a voxel system and strong features for combat, building, and exploration.
A picturesque world that you can explore on foot or with a glider
Puzzle towers with platforming sections like you might know from Zelda games
A skill system for different playstyles
Voxel mechanics for building, giving you complete freedom to create absolutely crazy bases – even hobbit holes if you want
Who is Enshrouded suitable for? Anyone who prefers a more relaxed approach to survival games and values exploration and building over sheer survival will be happy with Enshrouded. The game’s greatest strength lies in its large, beautiful world and sandbox mechanics.
Those looking for hardcore action who want to suffer for every drop of water are better served elsewhere.
Enshrouded presented a comprehensive underwater update with fishing features just in time for gamescom 2025 .
Developer/Publisher: Studio Wildcard | Release: August 29, 2017 | Model: Buy-2-Play | Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Android, iOS, Stadia, Nintendo Switch
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Everything you need to know about the survival game ARK: Survival Evolved
What is ARK about? In ARK: Survival Evolved, you land on a deserted island full of dinosaurs, naked and without tools. You must survive and learn more technologies, tame dinos, and build futuristic gear.
Your goal is to climb the volcano in the center and defeat the final boss within it. To gain access, you must engage in several exciting boss fights that bring you closer to your goal.
What makes ARK so good?
Unique boss fights with great mechanics that present challenging obstacles
Dinosaur species of all shapes and sizes for combat, gathering, or even riding on
A comprehensive skill system where you can freely explore and learn all kinds of recipes
Who is ARK suitable for? Those who want to experience Jurassic Park should check out Ark. ARK is especially suited for fans of dinosaurs who wish to follow the prehistoric reptiles through a dense jungle. Sci-Fi fans will also enjoy the high-tech gear. ARK is especially tailored for groups of players who like to play together and want to build something together in the long run.
Developer/Publisher: Bohemia Interactive | Release: December 13, 2018 | Model: Buy-2-Play| Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S | Shop:Steam | PS Store | Microsoft Store
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What is DayZ about? DayZ is a classic zombie survival game. A virus infects the population of a post-Soviet state, turning them into infected individuals who attack the remaining survivors. Among them is you, as you are immune to the virus.
DayZ is an open-world sandbox where your only true goal is to survive. How you do that is up to you. You can struggle through the wilderness, scavenge the remaining resources from ghost towns, or rob other players.
What makes DayZ so great?
A massive open world (depending on the map between 163 and 230 km²) based on real locations
Authentic gunplay and melee combat
Various survival mechanics such as hunting, crafting, diseases, and injuries
Vehicles
Many freedoms with the ability to modify the game through the developers’ tools (such as via Steam Workshop)
Who is DayZ suitable for? DayZ targets fans of classic horror and zombie survival games. It is dark and grim, set in a desolate world, and challenges players significantly. The new update brings a new forest environment.
If you enjoy games like Left4Dead but prefer to experience it in an open world, or want to see how one of the first successful survival games plays out, you should check out DayZ. Ideally, you should already have a bit of knowledge about the genre, as DayZ is truly tough.
5. Conan Exiles
Developer/Publisher: Funcom | Release: May 8, 2019 | Model: Buy-2-Play | Platforms: Windows (PC), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
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Conan Exiles in the introductory video
What is Conan Exiles about?Conan Exiles ruthlessly throws you into a harsh desert. You are bound to a cross in the blistering sun for various crimes. Conan himself frees you from this and then sends you to survive – or die – in the desert.
An armband has been placed on you, binding you to the cursed land and killing you should you attempt to leave. You fight your way through dungeons and various areas like swamps and volcanoes to learn in a long, detailed story how to remove the armband and escape through the “Journey”.
Who is Conan Exiles for? Conan Exiles is primarily aimed at adult players who like it tough and are not afraid of a steep learning curve. Fans of Conan the Barbarian will also find a lot to enjoy here. Conan Exiles is not easy and is one of the trickiest survival games on the market.
The realistic and brutal world is open to explorers and fighters alike. Even role players can find groups to play with on private servers. However, those playing on PC or Xbox have a significant advantage. Conan Exiles is now available on Xbox Game Pass and thus can be tried for just a few euros. Anyone who already has the Pass should definitely check out Conan Exiles.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A small WoW treasure was stolen. But the Reddit community manages to reunite the owner and the stolen goods.
Many memories are often attached to a character in World of Warcraft. Some even immortalize their character in the form of a small statue. This was also the case for the player behind “Jovia”, whose character, however, ended up in a second-hand shop. A player found the figure – and even managed to locate the original owner in the end.
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WoW: Spieler sammelt ALLE Erfolge im Spiel, fragt dann „Was mache ich jetzt?“
This is what happened: In the WoW subreddit, Glad-Midnight-1022 posted a picture he took in a second-hand shop. There was a Warcraft statue visible, of a character named Jovia. Since Jovia is not a known WoW character and also visually resembled a player character, it was obvious that someone had this statue made based on their own avatar.
The thread creator stated that he would now make it his “life mission” to find the original owner of the statue. The post received over 6,000 upvotes in the WoW subreddit, and many shared their ideas to help locate the original owner.
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How was the owner found? In the end, the owner was located via Facebook. The statue is now back in the possession of its original owner, and a handover has taken place.
Glad-Midnight-1022 was also able to confirm that this was indeed the true owner and not someone who simply wanted the figure. The warehouse from which the figure was stolen was only a village away from the second-hand shop where the figure later appeared.
How did the figure end up in the second-hand shop? According to the original owner, the figure was stolen. It had been stored, and the entire warehouse was robbed, with the stolen goods likely pawned or sold to various second-hand shops afterward. This is often the case in thefts, where the loot is immediately converted into cash.
Community celebrates the success: The community celebrates the success, as even the new post in the subreddit has already received over 4,000 upvotes. There is much praise for the search and for reuniting the original owner with his stolen statue.
“Wow, these are the stories to live for. That was absolutely fantastic work!” – GenkGirl12
“I still remember the first post! Wow! It was stolen and then returned! Man, this community is just amazing.” – StreicherG
“That it was stolen makes this story even better. You found a lost treasure and brought it back to the owner with the help of the community. Good job, thread creator. You’re awesome.” – Guardianpigeon
Amidst all the talk about how the MMORPG community is always considered toxic and unfriendly, such stories are beautiful. They show a cooperative side, where everyone pulls together to find the owner of a precious memento. For many, WoW is more than just a game; it’s a piece of home.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Since 7 PM, Steam players are allowed to download and start Borderlands 4. Naturally, many players are immediately turning their first impressions into user reviews. Unfortunately, currently not even half of the ratings are positive.
What causes the hangover mood at release? Those who have read the test by our shooter expert Dariusz might already suspect: While Borderlands 4 does many things right in terms of gameplay, the technology of the loot shooter is disappointingly mixed.
Like Dariusz, many other Steam users report weak performance manifesting in severe FPS drops. However, there are also buyers suffering from crashes or who can’t even start the game.
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Borderlands 4: Cineastischer Launch-Trailer zelebriert den Release
“Don’t buy it yet”
What is the community saying? As of now (September 11, 2025, 7:46 PM), only 42 percent of the 151 reviews on Steam are positive.
woliver2301 reports on Steam: “Unreal Engine 5 is top-notch again. The game crashes on startup, I haven’t played a single second. 9800X3D and RTX 5090, so it’s unlikely to be that. Don’t buy it yet, it’s currently highly discouraged! Fortunately, I got it for free as part of the Nvidia promotion.”
Rej criticizes the performance on Steam: “Terrible optimization. Another victim of Unreal Engine 5. Not worth buying in its current state unless you have a NASA PC.”
Rubrum Liquidum93 reports on Steam about another problem: “Not playable, as after shading, the message appears that profiles cannot be saved. Stop releasing games that don’t work.”
Bear in mind that the small number of reviews so far only represents a small part of the buyers. Currently, according to steamdb.info, there are nearly 160,000 players online in Borderlands 4 on Steam. Trend: rising.
Also, make sure you have the latest drivers installed for your graphics card. If necessary, wait for the first updates, which should already bring improvements for performance.
If you are new to Borderlands or are having difficulties in your first hours in Borderlands 4, I have gathered some tips that should hopefully help you and ease your entry into the loot shooter: 15 tips you should know before starting Borderlands 4
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Long-time BioWare veteran Mark Darrah discusses the development of Anthem in detail once again. This time, the focus is on the period when he served as the creative lead for the project.
What does Mark Darrah reveal this time? In the first part of his video series “What Happened on Anthem”, which covered the years 2011 to 2017, part 2 focuses on the years 2017 to 2019. This is precisely the time leading up to the release on February 22, 2019, when Mark Darrah actually held the creative leadership for Anthem.
The lead developer can now report in much more detail from first-hand experience. Accordingly, the new video is almost 2 hours long, despite only covering a comparatively short time frame of 3 years.
Who is Mark Darrah? The experienced developer worked at BioWare for almost 24 years and was lead developer on Baldur’s Gate II and Jade Empire, as well as Project Director for the entire Dragon Age series and Anthem.
The biggest advantage of Anthem is also its biggest weakness
What does Darrah refer to as the worst feature? When thinking about the biggest strengths of Anthem, flying and the related dynamics of exploring the world and fighting certainly come to mind quickly. It was just cool to clear whole hordes of enemies in Iron-Man style or to take in the beautiful world from the air.
However, for Mark Darrah, flying is a prime example of what went wrong with Anthem. Furthermore, the many problems that flying brought with it make it, in his view, the worst feature of the entire game.
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8 Jahre später erklärt ehemaliger Chef-Entwickler, warum Anthem wirklich floppte: Ein Team gefangen „in der Welt der Geheimnisse“
What does Darrah mean by that? In the first part of his video series, Darrah already explained that there were significant communication problems within the Anthem team for many years. These were further exacerbated starting in 2014, as there was no one to take over leadership and make decisions following Casey Hudson’s departure.
Rather than pursuing a clear direction and defined milestones, the teams constantly tried the same things in different ways. For flying, this meant: sometimes you could fly, sometimes you could only glide, sometimes not at all.
This is downright absurd when considering how much influence this feature has on large parts of the rest of the game – such as how the world must be built, whether cover is necessary or irrelevant, what the mission requirements are, how enemies behave…
You can watch the second part of the video series yourself here:
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Additionally, there are technical challenges such as memory management or asset streaming… when a character can quickly move from A to B while flying, the objects in the game world naturally need to be rendered quickly and smoothly.
In short, according to Mark Darrah, many elements of Anthem were planned, developed, and tested without flying enabled. When flying was added back in, it felt foreign in many ways.
This not only affects the functionality of other things but also means that other aspects do not get undermined – that they have no own consequences and are not consciously integrated into the overall structure of the gameplay as a whole.
I believe flying is the best feature of Anthem, but one could also argue that in many ways it is the worst feature of Anthem – because the consequences of flying were not adequately considered.
What else does Mark Darrah share? The lead developer also admits to many more mistakes made during the development in the video. For example, he acknowledges that he spent too much time in the offices in Edmonton instead of being on-site with the team in Austin to ensure clear communication and structure in a timely manner.
Similarly, he criticizes the release plan at that time sharply, with going live with numerous different versions and dates instead of focusing. The pressure from publisher EA would have been so great that there were hardly any opportunities to influence it.
How and when will it continue? The third part of the video series will discuss the time after the release in 2019 and what mistakes were made in the following months and years. When exactly the video will go live is currently still unknown.
A new movie starring Denzel Washington is currently dominating the streaming charts. It is a remake of a true classic from Japan.
What kind of movie is it? Highest 2 Lowest is the latest film by American director Spike Lee. Denzel Washington stars in this film, making it their fifth collaboration.
The film premiered at this year’s Cannes Festival, ran in American theaters for a while, and has been available on Apple TV+ since early September.
Currently, Spike Lee’s work is experiencing great success. According to the website flixpatrol.com, Highest 2 Lowest was the most-watched film in 100 countries worldwide. This is not surprising, as Denzel Washington is a popular actor and Spike Lee is a renowned director known for films like Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X.
And the story also entices with an intriguing premise, which is based on a much older film.
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Denzel Washington in the new thriller by Spike Lee: The trailer for Highest 2 Lowest
A critical situation
What is the film about? Denzel Washington plays the music mogul David King, who lives in a chic New York apartment with his wife and son Trey. One day, Trey is kidnapped, and David receives a ransom demand.
At least, it seems so at first. It quickly becomes clear that it is not Trey who has been kidnapped, but that does not change the gangsters’ demands. David must now decide whether to pay the sum of over 17 million US dollars – otherwise, something could happen to the other boy.
This premise sets the stage for an exciting thriller, which likely attracts many viewers at present. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes rate it at 87%, similar to the audience with 85%. The film is praised mainly as a successful reinterpretation of an old story. Because: Highest 2 Lowest is not original material, but a loose remake of an old Japanese classic.
What is the film based on? It is a remake of the film High and Low by Japanese master Akira Kurosawa. The original is from 1963 and was shot in black and white. By the way, the English title is High and Low – this is what the remake refers to. To this day, the original is considered a masterpiece of Japanese cinema and has lost none of its haunting effect.
Spike Lee has changed some things for his remake. For one, the story does not take place in Yokohama, Japan in 1963, but in New York in 2025. There are also some content deviations, which is normal for a remake after such a long time.
Anyone who enjoyed Highest 2 Lowest should definitely give the old film by Akira Kurosawa a chance. The director is now mainly known for his samurai films like The Seven Samurai or The Hidden Fortress” and this excursion into 1960s Japan is equally fascinating.
The developers of Aion 2 continue to host regular livestreams to share information about the successor to the popular NCsoft MMORPG from 2008/2009. MeinMMO summarizes the latest findings for you.
The Korean launch is planned for November 19, 2025.
Before that, there will be periods for character creation and pre-downloads. We can certainly expect similar time windows during the global launch as well.
The global launch is expected to follow in the first half of 2026. There is still no specific date for this.
The latest trailer for Aion 2 at the start of the pre-registration in Korea:
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Aion 2: New trailer prepares for the Korean launch of the MMORPG
No Gacha, but definitely with Pay2Win
What is known about the payment model? NCsoft is opting for a Free2Play model with an optional subscription and Battle Pass. In addition, there will be an in-game shop where players can purchase cosmetic items, consumables, or offers such as additional character slots, name changes, or keys for treasure chests in the open world.
The auction house apparently will not be linked to the real-money currency of the MMORPG. Trading between players will likely only occur via the earnable in-game currency. Additionally, there should be the option to exchange earnable currency for real-money currency (and vice versa). Aion 2 will therefore definitely have a Pay2Win component, which the developers have already announced.
The developers emphasize once again that Aion 2 will not have a Gacha system. Additionally, you should be able to extract items to obtain their respective appearance for your collection as a cosmetic skin.
You can watch the NCsoft stream on YouTube or below:
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What else does the stream reveal? The developers admit that the current interface still looks very mobile-oriented. The reason for this: With this stripped-down UI, it is easier to work on the game. However, before the launch, the interface for the PC version will receive a complete overhaul to ensure that there is an optimized interface for both mobile and PC.
In both versions of the game, there will be no auto-functions like auto-hunting or auto-fighting. Anyone who plays Aion 2 on a mobile device inattentively will meet their demise, according to the developers’ promise. However, there will be smaller aids for questing in the mobile version.
How does the community react to the stream? Mixed. While some western players are looking forward to Aion 2 and respond positively to the developers’ statements, others remain skeptical.
LH_Lunar commented on the stream on Reddit as follows: “That sounds too good to be true. Please don’t mess this up.”
Icy_Razzmatazz_1594 writes on Reddit: “It’s good that the auction house only works with in-game currency. Also, auto-play has been removed and the focus is now on a PC-exclusive user interface. That sounds like good news for me, I will keep an eye on this.”
Jomsviking_ compares on Reddit: “They will use the same auction house mechanics as in Blade and Soul Neo & Throne & Liberty. Don’t get your hopes up for P2W if this mechanic exists.”
Nikkuru1994 criticizes on Reddit the gameplay shown so far: “This sequel to Aion offers nothing new or interesting. The game visually does not look like Aion at all, but gives the impression of an ordinary, bland UE5 game.”
Whether the global release will stay next year certainly depends on the upcoming test phases and the success of the Asia launch. Aion 2 must not be a failure for NCsoft. The aging MMORPG lineup of the publisher is struggling with declining numbers. Throne and Liberty was not the hoped-for success. More than 300 developers are now working on the project. You can find more information about it here: Big MMORPG company is in crisis because 10 games are making too little money overall
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The legal battle between Palworld and Nintendo has recently reached a new peak. Two registered patents were approved and are causing a stir in the video game world. A lawyer now provides his assessment and comes to a clear conclusion.
Particularly, patent No. 12.403.397 is causing a stir. It relates to a central gameplay mechanic, namely summoning a character that fights for the player. In other words: A mechanic that occurs in Palworld but also in numerous other titles.
It remains uncertain whether Nintendo will also take other developers to court in the future. A US patent attorney has looked into the case and explains why he finds the decision of the patent authorities questionable.
Ein Crossover beflügelt Palworld, plötzlich spielen wieder über 100.000
“An embarrassing failure of the US patent system”
What does the lawyer say? Kirk Sigmon is a patent attorney and has been dealing with the legal dispute between Palworld and Nintendo for quite some time.
He follows the outraged reactions that the recent ruling has provoked – for example, among users on Reddit. Sigmon agrees with the outcry and calls the decision in an interview with PC Gamer “an embarrassing failure of the US patent system.”
Notably to the lawyer is that the two submitted patents were approved almost without resistance.
“This is a very unusual event. Most claims are rejected at least once. This seems to be a situation where the USPTO (US Patent Office, note from the editor) basically gave up and just allowed the case, assuming the claims were close enough or specific enough to be new without examining them too closely.”
Kirk Sigmon
According to the lawyer, it has not been explained why the patents were approved at all. This is “highly unusual” and raises “numerous warning signals.” None of the patents should have been granted. Sigmon sees a significant mistake on the part of the patent office and fears that many developers will now have to deal with uncertainties.
The lawyer draws his conclusion: “This approval should not have happened. Period.”
What do the players think? On Reddit, the topic is heatedly discussed. After all, it’s not just the developers who are affected by the mentioned gameplay mechanics. Players would also suffer if certain fundamental systems could no longer be used by all developers.
Miserable_Speed5474 wants to get involved in this case and writes: “These patents are a significant failure of US patent law and should be challenged immediately. I am currently looking into how I can contact a group, a representative, and a delegate to hopefully enforce some form of action.”
“There are clearly other examples of other games that have already done exactly the same, and Nintendo/TPC literally had 30 years to do this and are only doing it now? Have they gone totally crazy?” wonders B19F00T.
“They throw everything that comes to mind against the wall, see what sticks, and then use that against Palworld,” suspects the user k3lz0.
“There are a lot of patents that go through even though they shouldn’t. That’s not as unusual as you portray it,” says the user CombatMuffin.
Cristiano Ronaldo shares the top spot in EA FC 26 in the Saudi Pro League. However, he receives one of his weakest ratings ever – only over 20 years ago was he rated worse.
This is Ronaldo’s new rating in EA FC 26: EA released the top 100 ratings in FC 26 at the beginning of the week on Wednesday evening (September 10, 2025), and also published the top 26 ratings of the Roshn Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo has been playing in Saudi Arabia for over 2 1/2 years and with an 85 rating for FC 26 is among the top 4 players in his league:
Cristiano Ronaldo (85)
Karim Benzema (85)
N’Golo Kanté (85)
Iñigo Martínez (85)
Although Ronaldo is one of the strongest players in his league, fans of the Portuguese must still come to terms with another downgrade of the aging superstar. From a rating of 86 in FC 26, it drops to an 85 rating in FC 25.
Ronaldo goes down by 1 point in shooting, passing, and physicality.
Looking at his statistics from the 24/25 season, the downgrade becomes apparent at first glance.
What season did Ronaldo play? Looking at the bare numbers on the statistics page Sofascore, Ronaldo delivered another strong season. In the league and in the Asian Champions League, the striker scored 33 goals in 37 matches and assisted 3 more goals for his teammates. He also scored 8 goals in 8 matches for the Portuguese national team on the way to winning the UEFA Nations League.
That makes 44 goal involvements in 45 matches. A striker can’t perform much better, and yet Ronaldo gets the next downgrade. This continues the negative streak in EA FC/FIFA.
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Deep Dive trailer on gameplay shows 2 different gameplays and numerous adjustments
Another downgrade: Ronaldo was only rated worse in FIFA 04
What does the downgrade mean? With the downgrade to an 85 rating, Ronaldo is getting closer to his lowest value since records began in EA FC (formerly FIFA). When Ronaldo transferred to Manchester United as a mega-talent in 2003, his virtual counterpart received a strong rating of 80 in FIFA 04.
Since then, he has not been rated lower. On the contrary: since FIFA 04, with very few exceptions, his ratings have only improved. Over 3 years (FIFA 17, 18, and 19), he even reached a very strong 94 rating.
However, since FIFA 19, the ratings have been steadily declining. With the transition from FIFA to EA FC, there was the first major drop of 4 rating points:
FIFA-/EA-FC-Section
RatingRonaldo
FIFA 19
94
FIFA 20
93
FIFA 21
92
FIFA 22
91
FIFA 23
90
EA FC 24
86
EA FC 25
86
EA FC 26
85
What could be behind the downgrades? That a player can’t maintain the level of a 94 card forever is not surprising.
When the first EA FC was released, Ronaldo managed only 19 goals and 3 assists in 40 matches after his return to Manchester United. During this time, he also experienced the first significant downgrade from 90 to 86.
Since his move to Al-Nassr (January 1, 2023) in the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo has once again been consistently delivering many goals. Nevertheless, the Portuguese initially stagnated in rating from FC 24 to FC 25 and now even has to deal with a downgrade in FC 26 despite strong 44 goal involvements in 45 matches.
This could have various reasons:
The level of players in the Roshn Saudi Pro League cannot keep up with the qualitative breadth of the European level. According to Transfermarkt.de, the Saudi Pro League has an average market value of only €65.17 million, while the Bundesliga, for example, offers an average value of €240.55 million: This is why EA likely weights the goals and assists in this league differently.
Ronaldo has adjusted his playing style so that even at the age of 40 he can shine without much effort: He participates little in the game and positions himself cleverly to get into good situations without much effort.
EA probably cannot overlook Ronaldo’s age and the weaker league. In general, there is a trend in EA FC that older players lose pace, dribbling and/or physicality. Fellow strikers from international top leagues and clubs also have to settle for minor reductions in pace and dribbling. Examples include Kane (FC Bayern) and Lewandowski (FC Barcelona).
What does the downgrade mean for EA FC 26? As an 85 card, Ronaldo is no longer among the top tier in FC 26, but even with an 86 in FC 25, he wasn’t. Should the gameplay revert to focus more on pace, speed, and agility as announced, Ronaldo could be a casualty.
However, he could still deliver the following added value for your game:
strong finishing with both right and left foot
outstanding heading ability and jumping power
With the new downgrade, Ronaldo unfortunately loses his status as a Walkout in Ultimate Team during the pack animations. So if you receive Ronaldo from a pack, he will not get a special presentation anymore.
In conclusion, we ask you: What do you think of the downgrade? Do you find it justified? Feel free to write it to us in the comments. More and more ratings will be released gradually. We have made predictions on MeinMMO about which star could benefit the most: EA FC 26 Ratings Prediction: Who could receive the biggest upgrades in Ultimate Team?
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
