In the role-playing game “Back to the Dawn” on Steam, you are transported as a fox into a high-security prison and must escape. The game is well-received by many gamers and receives positive reviews.
What kind of game is this? Back to the Dawn is a story-driven RPG with stealth, puzzle, and point-and-click elements, in which you take on the role of an unjustly imprisoned animal journalist or a secret agent. The two are represented by an anthropomorphic fox and a panther. The other inmates are also inspired by animals.
The RPG is set in a high-security prison from which you want to escape. Your task is to find evidence of your innocence, build relationships with fellow inmates, pit factions against each other, and ultimately find a way to freedom, be it through escape, influence, or violence.
The title launched on November 3, 2023, in Early Access and celebrated its full release on July 18, 2025. Since then, around 9,162 players have joined the adventure simultaneously (see SteamDB, as of July 21, 2025, 11:00 AM). Until July 31, 2025, you can purchase it at a discounted price of €16.57, after which it will increase to the regular €19.50.
The gameplay resembles classic RPGs, focusing on sometimes consequential decisions. How you proceed, who you ally with, and which skills you develop greatly influence the course of the story. Whether through stealth, manipulation, or brute force, any means is fair as long as it brings you closer to the truth.
A concept that obviously resonates well not only with critics but has also sneaked into the hearts of many players.
You can get a first impression in the launch trailer:
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Launch trailer for Back to the Dawn shows prison escape in fox fur on Steam
“This game is the best RPG I’ve played in the last few years, except maybe Baldur’s Gate 3”
How is the game received? Even during its time in Early Access, Back to the Dawn was able to gain many positive voices. It won the Steam Silver Award in 2023 as the top Early Access title of the year (see Steam). It has also received several awards, nominations, and finalist positions in the indie sector.
The reviews on Steam come with stellar ratings. Around 92% of all reviews (currently about 4,825, as of July 21, 2025, 11:15 AM) are positive, giving the game an overall rating of “very positive.” The critical focal point is often the time management feature, which some find stressful. Others see it as an incentive to replay the game more frequently:
The Hungry Werewolf writes, for example: “The time limit isn’t scary; it just means that you can do different things on repeat playthroughs, and I think that’s great. And otherwise? Yes, the game is really fun.”
shaosc3 praises: “This game is the best RPG I’ve played in the last few years, except maybe Baldur’s Gate 3.”
Ironbound describes: “I stumbled upon this gem by chance and can’t recommend it enough. Imagine Prison Architect crossed with Disco Elysium and a touch of Zootopia. It’s packed with deep RPG mechanics, a great story, and solid gameplay. Ridiculously cheap for what you get. I absolutely love it.”
SoulessBlade criticizes: “The game is really good so far, but the time limit ruins all the tension for me.”
grubby justin makes you think: “I appreciate the work and quality of the game, but I’m not a big fan of the time management aspect. The rest of the game seems great, but this element just makes it too stressful and takes the fun away for me. However, if you don’t mind the time management, I can recommend the game 100%.”
The new expansion of Destiny 2 brought many changes, but some of them that fans have discovered were not listed in the patch notes. Fans believe that Bungie is hiding something, but now a studio employee is clarifying.
What was “hidden”? When the new expansion “Beyond Fate” was released, guardians noticed that some changes made by Bungie were not recorded in the patch notes (Source: Reddit). Many guardians referred to these as “Stealth Nerfs”, which means changes that are concealed because they could weaken the guardians and cause turmoil.
While Bungie had already spoken out in some Reddit posts to clarify the accusations, there is now a large, final statement from Principal Communications Manager dmg04 explaining what these nerfs are all about.
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The launch trailer of “The Edge of Fate” showcases the new expansion of Destiny 2
The patch notes were gigantic
What did dmg04 have to announce? The Principal Communications Manager addressed Reddit with a huge statement regarding the accusations of stealth nerfs. First, he wants to apologize on behalf of the studio for the stealth nerfs that have occurred in the past. The team is working to improve the processes so that this never happens again.
However, dmg04 indicated that this is not a case of stealth nerfs but rather an oversight. There was a gigantic list of patch notes, and some points were overlooked and not recorded.
The following is what dmg04 announced on Reddit: “This was one of the (if not THE) longest patch note submissions we ever had, and although we hoped we addressed all points, we admit that we overlooked some important ones.”
The team is now working on listing the missed changes and explaining them to the fans. However, dmg04 cannot yet say when exactly this will happen.
What do fans say about the statement? They thank dmg04 for the update and information, but they are unsure how such significant changes can be released under the radar of Bungie without any of the developers noticing. They are skeptical and let their opinions run wild on Reddit:
“So all Warlock nerfs were ‘missed changes’? Didn’t anyone notice that the Warlock range was incredibly short when all these nerfs were planned? Sure. And are the values that don’t work as explicitly promised (new 70=old 100) just a typo?” – AWildeOscarAppeared
It’s crazy to think that things that were supposedly meant to be buffed for Warlocks are actually nerfs. How could that be overlooked? – HamiltonDial
“There are practically never stealth buffs that are ‘missed’ in the patch notes. It is always stealth nerfs that are ‘missed’. Strange how that works.” – tintedlenz
“It’s an accident if it happens once or twice, but this is routine. The communication between teams is fundamentally broken at best, or it is being deliberately hidden because they know it will have negative consequences in the worst case.” – catchemist117
The developers of Old School RuneScape are embarking on an experiment and removing a feature from some servers of the popular MMORPG, which has many fans but also many critics.
What is this feature? It involves the ability to apply cosmetic skins over the actual equipment, allowing players to customize their character’s appearance without having to adjust their strength. In WoW, this feature is referred to as Transmogrification and was introduced with the Cataclysm expansion in patch 4.3.
This is exactly the feature that the developers of Old School RuneScape wish to forgo in an upcoming experiment. Specifically, there will be “Cosmetic-Free Worlds” from July 28 to September 30, where cosmetic adjustments for equipment, icons, teleportations, animations, and other areas will not be visible.
Pets will also not be available on these servers. A complete list of the restrictions can be found on runescape.com.
The Steam trailer for Old School RuneScape:
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Old School RuneScape – Trailer for the Steam Release
What is the goal of the experiment? The developers have repeatedly received feedback from the community that cosmetic items negatively impact the personal gaming experience. Through the test, the team wants to find out:
What does the game feel like without the currently available cosmetics?
Which cosmetics are missed or appreciated as visible?
What are the players’ thoughts on the visual identity and style of the game when only the “more realistic” items are present from the gameplay?
How many players use the cosmetic-free worlds, how many return to the cosmetic-free worlds, and how long do they play on these?
A high for the 12-year-old MMORPG: According to ChaseYoungHTTR, there were 200,000 players online in Old School RuneScape simultaneously over the weekend (July 19-20, 2025) (via Reddit). Currently, according to runescape.com, there are still strong 122,544 (July 21, 2025, 9:52 AM). Additionally, Old School RuneScape consistently ranks among the 10 MMORPGs on Steam with the best ratings.
Clothes make the man, and brings money
Why can cosmetics be a problem in MMORPGs? Before the ability to apply cosmetic items over the actual equipment of a character, many avatars looked similar; however, it was possible to directly see which content they had played and which challenges they had mastered. Some players miss this visual feedback.
Additionally, many MMORPGs have started to closely tie cosmetics to their monetization with the introduction of these items. While Pay2Win or Pay2Progress offers that directly affect progress or character strength continue to be strongly criticized, the sale of cosmetic items has become widespread.
This also means that designers spend a lot of time designing cosmetic skins to attract as many players to the shop as possible. The appearance of earnable clothes often suffers as a result. In some MMORPGs, even high-level heroes wear better rags until they invest money in the shop. This devalues every item they can earn in the game.
Unfortunately, the sale of cosmetic goods generates so much money in many games that hardly any developer will be willing to give it up in the future. After all, there are more than enough players who are eager to visually customize their characters. Additionally, many genre fans prefer a Free2Play model. They can much more easily live with cosmetic sales than with Pay2Win or Pay2Progress.
Young people fear phone calls. And Google sees this as a potential business opportunity to make money.To address this, they offer a new digital assistant that young people are supposed to use to get tasks done.
23% of 18 to 34-year-olds never answer a phone call.
About 61% of this age group prefer to receive a message rather than a voice call.
More than half of 18 to 24-year-olds believe that a call out of the blue means bad news.
Google sees a new business opportunity in these concerns to attract new customers to its platform.
Start video
Students spy on passersby with hidden cameras and AI, find name and address in seconds
Virtual Assistant to Reserve Restaurants or Cancel Doctor Appointments
What does Google do? Google aims to provide young people with a new way to engage in so-called asynchronous communication. To this end, Google intends to offer a new digital assistant. This has been reported by the English-language magazine Fastcompany.com.
The idea behind this digital agent is that Google’s artificial intelligence calls a restaurant to reserve a table, cancel the next doctor’s appointment, or simply have a quick chat with a business. So far, the concept is only available in the United States.
When and if this feature will come to Germany is not yet known. Initially, the feature is supposed to be available only in the USA. However, it could well be that in the future you will hear not a person, but an AI on the other end of the line.
A trend seems to be particularly popular among young people of Gen Z: job ghosting. This is indicated by survey data from a platform that questioned applicants and companies: 78% of all applicants are said to have intentionally ignored the employer: Gen Z has a popular trend: They do not attend job interviews
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The roots of the MMORPG genre run deeper than you might think. Join us on a journey through the history of online role-playing games – from the 1960s to 2025! You’ll encounter the most significant milestones, remarkable curiosities, and exciting analyses!
MMORPGs, or “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games”, are online role-playing games that immerse you in their respective persistent worlds where you can encounter a large number of other players. The term “persistent” specifically refers to the progress of your character as well as the game world, which continues to exist even when you are offline.
When players today discuss the beginnings of the MMORPG genre, titles like Meridian 59 and The Realm Online from 1996 or Ultima Online, which was released in 1997, quickly come to mind. However, the roots of online role-playing games go much deeper. They trace back to the 1960s.
In the following, we want to take you on a journey through the history of MMORPGs. From their beginnings to the current status today. We focus on the defining milestones, important games, and remarkable curiosities. You’ll learn how the genre has changed over the decades.
The Grinding Fest from July 21 to 27 This week, exciting articles about MMORPGs will be waiting for you every day. Included: a journey through the history of online role-playing games, as well as nostalgic looks back, streaming evenings, interviews, columns, and analyses.
You can easily jump to the sections you are interested in via the table of contents:
[toc]
Students set the spark … out of boredom
In the early 1960s, the University of Illinois introduced the teaching and learning system “PLATO” (via Wikipedia), which had communication functions that were later developed into emails, chat rooms, remote screen transmissions, and more.
Bored students, however, used PLATO to connect via the network to engage in simple battles together or against each other. Later networks like Arpanet (via Wikipedia) built on this and enabled the development of the first multiplayer games such as Maze War, which originated in 1974 at NASA’s Ames Research Center.
This first milestone offered a graphical, virtual 3D maze that players explored from a first-person perspective. And not alone, but with other players who were sitting at other PCs within the network. Such a thing had never been seen before!
Our MMORPG talk from Caggtus 2025:
Start video
MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz and MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski discuss the current state of MMORPGs
MUDs – the Multi-User Dungeons conquer the universities
Maze War was the predecessor of the so-called MUDs, i.e. Multi-User Dungeons. These are games that allow multiple adventurers to explore some form of dungeon or virtual world simultaneously. The first of its kind, MUD1, emerged in the late 1970s. The focus was still on social interaction. Up to 36 players could play at the same time.
In the 80s, the new genre gained significant popularity as affordable home computers became available. At the same time, the first commercial projects came onto the market. Among them was the text adventure Sceptre of Goth, released in 1983, which was based on the popular pen-and-paper role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, bringing up to 16 players into the dungeons at the same time and even offered PvP. The cost: just under 3 US dollars per hour.
Lucasfilm Games as a Technical Innovator Today, when one hears of Lucasfilm Games or LucasArts, one immediately thinks of various Star Wars games or adventure classics like Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island, or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
However, even before all these renowned milestones, George Lucas’s video game division had already established a name as a technically adept game studio. An example of this is the online RPG Habitat, which was released in the USA from 1986 to 1988 as a beta version for QuantumLink (an online service for the Commodore 64) and was then referred to as a “virtual online environment with multiple participants.”
Habitat is considered the first MMORPG with a graphical interface, reminiscent of the style of Maniac Mansion or Labyrinth. There were customizable avatars, text chat, quests, trading of goods, marriage communities, and much more. Those who want to learn more and see screenshots from the game should definitely visit c64-wiki.de.
Another commercial but graphical multi-user dungeon came out in 1985 and is called Island of Kesmai. The game featured character creation (choosing class, race, and gender) and a chat room. In the virtual world, consisting of 5 regions with 62,000 locations, up to 100 players could roam simultaneously.
Additionally, there were about 2,500 creatures as well as NPCs. Rewards could be earned through quests. The MUD utilized ASCII graphics to represent player characters, world boundaries, opponents, and loot. Interested players could experience Island of Kesmai through the CompuServe online service, for about 12 US dollars per hour.
In 1989, the text-based online RPG Avalon: The Legend Lives was released, featuring remarkable systems for economy, agriculture, and jobs. On top of that, there was a player-controlled government, with ministers and elections, as well as conquest battles involving entire legions, trenches, minefields, and fortifications.
In short: The developer aimed to create a believable world in which players could lead a virtual life (via Wikipedia). Avalon: The Legend Lives was thus an evolution of Habitat from 1986, which hit a similar note and offered many freedoms. So many that gangs and in-game organizations quickly formed.
Also noteworthy from this time is Kingdom of Drakkar, which emerged in 1989 from the text-based MUD Realm from 1984, and attracted players with 2D graphics. Players could choose between races as well as classes and genders. There was loot. PvP was possible, but prohibited.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Dune: Awakening, there are many creative builders showcasing their skills in impressive constructions. One has expressed themselves in a way that is typically seen only in Minecraft.
What kind of artwork is this? In Dune: Awakening, a player recently got quite creative. With the limited options provided by the survival game, the builder created a canvas along with a large artwork. For this, they placed various light blocks in the shape of a big wall.
To turn the wall into a piece of art, the player used various blocks such as windows, chests, or shields for the eyes.
As artwork, they created a Pikachu from Pokémon, behind which the Shai-Hulud, the giant sandworm, is sneaking up and already opening its mouth to devour the Pokémon immediately.
Here you can see the Reddit video where the builder presents their canvas:
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Can he achieve something with his artwork? Currently, the first major community event from the developers is running in Dune: Awakening. Players are to showcase their skills and build beautiful bases for the Harkonnen and Atreides factions, or create a neutral base.
Under the Reddit post from the user, some are encouraging him to enter his artwork in the building competition, but the artist declines. He believes his canvas is beautiful, but does not fit the theme of a faction base.
Nevertheless, the players encourage him to submit his creative artwork to at least receive the weapon skin as a reward for an honorable mention from the developers. However, whether the player complied with the request remains unanswered.
Here you can see what the future holds for Dune: Awakening:
Will the player create more artworks? He is not sure, as another artwork would mean the destruction of the Pikachu. The player writes on Reddit that he only has three building spots, and two of them are needed for bases in the Hagga Basin and the Deep Desert.
To create a new artwork, he would therefore have to destroy the old one, and he himself states that he does not know if he could bring himself to do this. Creating another artwork would also be expensive, as the player utilized all maximum possible expansions of the bases to construct the Pikachu in the sight of the sandworm.
One Piece is a long-running anime and has some arcs that are considered filler. However, with the new chapter, one of the filler arcs suddenly becomes important.
Which arc is it about? In the “Long Ring Long Land” arc, the Straw Hat Pirates must compete against the Fox Pirates in a Davy Back Fight. This is a competition in which two different pirate crews participate. The captain of one crew challenges the captain of another. If the challenge is accepted, there is a competition over three rounds.
The challenger determines how the individual games of the competition will look. The loser of the Davy Back Fight loses a member of their crew to the other team. Foxy and Luffy face off in such a competition in the anime. However, Luffy must realize that Foxy does not play fair.
The arc is considered one of the least popular storylines among fans. Even we at MeinMMO actually recommend that you don’t watch the arc if you just want to see the main story. But the new chapter shows that even such an insignificant arc can suddenly become important.
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One Piece Film: Gold – The trailer for the anime movie
Unpopular arc becomes important for brutal pirates
Warning, Spoilers: Here there is information about Chapter 1555 of the One Piece manga.
This is how he built one of the most powerful crews. These include:
Whitebeard
Kaido
Big Mom
Buckingham Stussy
Shiki
Those who have watched the filler know how such battles work and that they can be unfair. But don’t worry: You don’t necessarily have to catch up on the filler arc.
Do I need to catch up on the arc now? The manga briefly explains how a Davy Back Fight works and how Rocks got his pirate crew. It is also suggested that the pirates do not care about the life of their captain. With this, you know the essentials needed for the story. However, if you want to learn more about these battles, feel free to watch the arc.
Although new releases for the MMORPG genre are currently scarce, there are various exciting titles with a lot of potential on the list of online role-playing games that are currently in development.To kick off the MMORPG theme week on MeinMMO, we want to know which upcoming MMORPG you are looking forward to the most.
The most beautiful adventures of our favorite MMORPGs will eventually run out. But the next world is already eagerly waiting to be discovered by you.
Do you want to dive into a beautiful and large world like in Ashes of Creation or would you rather become the next hero in small indie projects? The future for the MMORPG genre looks exciting, with new games for well-known franchises, as well as completely new worlds. As part of our MMORPG theme week, we want to know which upcoming MMORPG you are particularly looking forward to.
The Grind Festival from July 21 to July 27 In this week, you can expect exciting articles every day about the topic of MMORPGs. Included: a journey through the history of online role-playing games, as well as nostalgic throwbacks, streaming evenings, interviews, columns, and analyses.
Which MMORPGs are available for selection? We have compiled a list of the officially announced MMORPGs for you. Some of them will be released this year or are already available in an early access version.
The MMORPG Chrono Odyssey shows next-gen graphics in the trailer
We want to hear your opinion
Each of you probably has an MMORPG you are waiting for. But which of the announced MMORPGs can you hardly sit still for? Choose an online role-playing game of the future that you are particularly looking forward to!
Feel free to tell us in the comments why you are looking forward to certain MMORPGs or why you are skeptical about them. You can also mention online role-playing games that you are really excited about, but which we haven’t included on our list.
MMORPGs can be quite a hurdle for new players and can feel overwhelming due to the plethora of content. Thus, it is even more important to get a good introduction to the genre without wanting to flee immediately. MeinMMO has introduced you to 5 MMORPGs to get started in order to get to know the genre: The 5 best MMORPGs for beginners
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Games Workshop has announced several new products for Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 – including something that hasn’t existed before: helmets. And they’re not just for decoration; they actually work. A whole series is planned, but even the first one is likely to excite fans.
This is what Games Workshop has presented:
At the Summer Preview on July 18, 2025, the creators of Warhammer showcased a ton of new products for the world, the tabletop, and everything around it – including an army of evil dwarves that is causing excitement.
In addition to new figures, which is what Warhammer is primarily known for, there was also a very special announcement: a wearable helmet.
In collaboration with JoyToy, Games Workshop is releasing Space Marine helmets with some features that can actually be worn. The first one presented belongs to a legendary man.
This is the helmet: The piece is inspired by the helmet of the legendary Lieutenant Titus, the hero from Space Marine 2. Titus was with the Deathwatch for a while, but the design is based on his original armor.
Accordingly, the helmet is in the colors of the Ultramarines, the chapter to which Titus belongs: the base is blue, adorned with white stripes and a red line in the middle – so the color combination for a lieutenant. In the center, a silver skull is prominently displayed.
Although the helmet is meant to be a decorative item, it can actually be worn, for example, at conventions. The eyes light up when powered by an integrated compartment with AAA batteries, and the helmet itself is adjustable with a headband.
There should even be enough space under the helmet to wear in-ear headphones if you want to game in cosplay, as suggested by Games Workshop. For the nerds: the model is a type X “Tacticus” helmet.
Normally, fans have to build their helmets themselves:
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Twitch: HandofBlood throws himself into a special outfit for Space Marine 2
Titus’ helmet is just the first of many
Together with the helmet, you can purchase a stand on which to display the armor piece, complete with Ultramarines emblem and decoration. In the official store, you can already pre-order the helmet for the proud price of €159.99 in a bundle with a shirt. We don’t yet know the delivery dates.
There haven’t been any major reactions to the helmet yet, but cosplay is a big topic in the community. In particular, helmets seem to be in demand; one user on Reddit has a whole collection of them.
At the moment, Games Workshop is presenting a ton of new products, alongside the helmet from Titus and the Chaos Dwarves, such as the Idoneth Deepkin for Age of Sigmar and new armies, models, and rules for all existing realms.
The next big raid boss in World of Warcraft takes inspiration from Final Fantasy. But fans are celebrating it: “Finally a real boss fight!”
The next big boss in World of Warcraft is Dimensius. He is a Lord of the Void and essentially the first and so far only Lord of the Void that we have really interacted with. He is the central antagonist in Patch 11.2 Spirits of K’aresh. However, he brings something that fans of Final Fantasy are likely to recognize – but that makes the fight even better in the eyes (and ears) of many fans.
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Nur im Juli 2025: Diese 3 Mounts in WoW solltet ihr jetzt farmen
What has been released? In the latest version of the PTR (Test Server) for Patch 11.2, many pieces of music have been added. This includes the musical accompaniment for the boss fight against Dimensius. To summarize the voices from the community: What bangers.
For the fight against Dimensius, a total of 30 minutes of music is available, divided into 14 individual pieces. Even though the songs are all very similar, there are fine differences – some pieces sound a bit more hopeful, while others sound significantly more negative.
What’s exciting here is that the music is not just “ambient” music that plays quietly in the background – rather, choirs are employed that do nothing but sing the name of the boss.
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What do the lyrics sound like? It is quite difficult to make out the exact lyrics of the music without official lyrics, as the singing is often drowned out by the instruments. However, the repeatedly sung name of the boss, Dimensius, can be clearly heard. Additionally, the Latin words “Mundus Devora,” which roughly translates to “Devour the World” – very fitting for someone who calls himself “Dimensius, the Devourer of All.”
Where does this music genre come from? That the actual boss music consists of a choir singing the name of the boss is something that gaming veterans will recognize, especially from JRPGs. Particularly Final Fantasy VII with the fight against Sephiroth and the – absolutely legendary – soundtrack “One Winged Angel” is likely burned into the memory of most players.
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What is clear is that Blizzard is taking a different direction with the music, possibly just as a trial. That something can be extremely successful and engrave itself into the memories of fans is not just the case with Final Fantasy, but was also popular with Baldur’s Gate 3. There, the devil himself sang his own boss music.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
What do League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Warhammer have in common? Surprisingly a lot, as one player has found out. After initially being a bit upset with his MOBA, the community explained to him how all the worlds are connected.
This is what the player experienced:
On Reddit, a new player shares that after a long time in League of Legends, he plays WoW Classic for the first time, which is the “old” version of World of Warcraft – similar to the LoL bully Tyler1 before him.
After four months of completely immersing himself in the MMORPG, he notices more and more similarities between LoL and WoW.
His “discovery” is no surprise, especially for veterans of the games, but it sparks a discussion about the origins of the worlds.
What does LoL “steal”? In his thread, the user shows various images comparing designs from League of Legends with those he now discovers in World of Warcraft. He is not particularly happy about his discovery.
He writes: “It looks like League was strongly inspired by WoW. And that actually makes me hate LoL, but that’s not necessarily bad. Now I have found my true home.” His findings include:
The champion Vel’koz, who resembles the old god C’thun
Runes on the summoning stones in front of dungeons in WoW, which can almost be identically found at the edge of the LoL map
Designs of certain champions like Sion or Taric, who look similar to some characters from Warcraft (specifically: Orcs or certain crystal armors)
The design of certain weapons
The champion Skarner, who looks almost exactly like Skorpyron from the Legion raid “The Nighthold”
In the comments, other users agree but explain: It is quite clear that much is similar. After all, League of Legends only exists because of Warcraft.
Without Warcraft, there would be no League of Legends …
League of Legends is actually a standalone version of “Defense of the Ancients”, short: DotA. DotA was one of the most popular map mods for Warcraft 3 and already had an identical gameplay concept like LoL and other MOBAs do today.
Even many of the heroes and their abilities back then were adopted, not only in LoL but also in DOTA 2 and later in Heroes of the Storm. The designs were also relatively similar. A user adds:
Some of the original designers of the DotA mod were the initial designers that Riot brought in to develop League because they wanted a “spiritual successor” to DotA that didn’t require the base game [Warcraft 3], which was no longer supported by the developers. Blizzard was already focused on WoW.
In a response to this, it says: While it wasn’t the initial designers, the original creators actually came to Riot later. The similarities are therefore not surprising.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
The discussion, however, goes even further in the whole thread, and especially further back, because according to fans, Warcraft itself was not even the beginning of the whole story – but Warhammer.
… and without Warhammer, there would be no Warcraft
Several users discuss in a lengthy comment thread about the origins of the whole thing. Much of what you know from Warcraft is very similar to content from Warhammer. A user compares:
Even the units of the fantasy world are partially identical. This is because Blizzard once wanted to have a license for a Warhammer game but did not get it. As a consequence, they simply made their own game, but kept the already created designs.
It wasn’t quite like that, though. A developer explains: Allen Adham, one of the founders of Blizzard – then still Silicon & Synapse –, genuinely wanted to make a Warhammer game. However, the studio had previously released two licensed games with moderate success. Many developers resisted the idea and pushed to create their own world: Warcraft.
In the thread around LoL, the discussion goes even further back. Warhammer itself was heavily inspired by Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings – which in turn has deep roots in European mythology.
On July 24, the new “Fantastic Four” movie premieres. Critics are already excited. This is mainly due to the strong cast and the great setting. The last “Fantastic Four” film from 2015 was, however, panned by critics.
What kind of movie is it? With “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” premiering in a few days, on July 24, 2025, the latest Marvel film will hit theaters in Germany. It is a reboot of the series and takes place in a world inspired by the 1960s.
The first critics have already seen the new Marvel film and rate it significantly better than its predecessor.
What happened with the last film? The last film featuring the “Fantastic Four” was released in 2015. Many critics and the audience received the film poorly: On IMDb, it only received 4.3 out of 10 stars with more than 180,000 ratings. The film at least recouped its production costs: a profit of 167.9 million USD, with a production budget of 120 million USD.
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps – The new Marvel film will be released in theaters on July 25
“First Step” impresses critics, especially thanks to the very good cast
What are the reactions to “First Step”? The critics who were able to see the film before its official premiere have so far expressed overwhelming enthusiasm. This is reported by the English-language magazine Variety.com. This is mainly due to the strong cast that the film features:
Pedro Pascal plays Mr. Fantastic
Vanessa Kirby plays Sue Storm
Joseph Quinn is Human Torch
Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm (The Thing).
Additionally, the retro-futuristic setting of the 60s fits the film very well. One critic even compares the film’s visuals to those of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar”.
What do the critics say?
Josh Wilding (on X.com): “Nothing will prepare you for #TheFantasticFour First Steps. Pedro Pascal is the perfect Reed, but the entire cast shines and does justice to these characters. The film is funny, emotional, beautifully shot, and consistently FANTASTIC. That’s @MarvelStudios at its best.”
Brandon Davis (on X.com): “First Steps is visually one of the best things Marvel has ever done. Parts feel like Interstellar and demand IMAX. Galactus is fantastic. Silver Surfer looks really, really good. The VFX were often flawless.”
Andrew J. Salazar (on X.com): “Fantastic Four is primarily a story about family, where every team member is equally important. No one is left out; the film excels at highlighting the various bonds between Pedro, Vanessa, Ebon, and Joseph. The retro aesthetics of the 60s work on all fronts.”
We will have to wait a few more days to see if the critics are right. Because on July 24, 2025, the film opens in theaters.
The new movie about the Fantastic Four has been under observation by fans for a while. Fans are eagerly awaiting the release, partly due to an important decision: the retro-futuristic world of “First Step” was largely built authentically. As well as possible, the sets were constructed with great attention to detail in the studio halls: “The best Marvel movie of the last decade”: Fantastic Four reveals new images, creates a huge hype among fans
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is considered an absolute masterpiece and still has almost 90,000 active players even after two years. Many of these players spend hundreds or even thousands of hours in the game and point out one criticism or another, even in such a good work. One of them: The companions, who actually receive most of the praise.
The companions are considered one of the best features of the game. They all come with personal quests, deep stories and developments, and offer interesting information and conversations on the journeys. Some of their wishes you should better not fulfill.
Additionally, companions are your support in the fight against bosses and other enemies. This is exactly where they could be a bit more intelligent, players find…
When are companions too naive? On Reddit, a user complains that he cannot lie. And quite literally: every word of his is taken at face value, both by enemies and companions.
He wishes he could give a villain false information, just to then stab him in the back. As an example, he takes a situation between Lady Aylin and Aradin: Here he wishes he could simply lie to Aradin, only to then hit him with a club.
Realistically, Aylin, as a demigod being, should be able to wipe the floor with the mercenaries anyway. Still, his companions are immediately angry because they think he really wants to sell Lady Aylin to Aradin.
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Hasbro hat Pläne für Baldur’s Gate 4, doch die Fans glauben: “Ein Studio müsste irre sein, um Larian nachzueifern”
“Everyone takes you literally and there is a cascade of discontent”
In the comments, many users agree with the annoyed player. It is not just situations where you cannot directly lie to the villain. It starts with much simpler conversations.
In many conversations, you have the option to make cheeky, sarcastic or mocking comments. Often they are not that bad, maybe a bit biting, but not meant to be malicious. However, the companions do not see it that way, and there are immediately angry looks.
Only Jaheira has enough brains to understand when sarcasm is in play. However, that does not really fit into the game:
As if the 200 hours in which I was a benefactor before this situation meant absolutely nothing to the people.
Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you all possible freedoms, but here somehow the ability to actively lie is missing. In a comment, a user writes that Knights of the Old Republic 2 had two identical voice lines in corresponding situations, but one was marked with ‘[Lie]’ to make such situations clear.
A player finds an equipment slot in Dune: Awakening that he cannot use and wants to know what to do with it. The initial responses from the community are not very helpful, but it quickly becomes clear that the slot cannot currently be used.So what is it for?
Where is the strange slot located? If you open your character menu, you will find your loadout on the left side and your equipment on the right side. There are 10 different slots where you can place equipment items like pants, helmets, and so on. However, the last slot always remains empty.
A player on Reddit wanted to know what this slot is for, as he has not found a suitable item so far. The same question has come up several times in the past. However, the community’s responses are often not very helpful.
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Das neue Survival-MMO Dune: Awakening im Launch-Trailer
Strange equipment slot turns out to be a placeholder
What does the community say? The first and most upvoted response on Reddit is “Pocket Sand.” Another player explains that you could use a worm riding hook here. A third explains that it must be a slot for Zendaya.
All the answers are actually nonsense. By the way, Zendaya is the actress for Chani in the new Dune movies.
What is this slot good for? Currently, you cannot use the slot with your character at all, and several players also explain why: It is a placeholder that is supposed to play a role in the future. In an earlier version of the game, you were supposed to be able to use a backpack here, but that was probably removed due to many bugs. Someone writes, “the developers said it’s there for ‘future-proofing.'”
Allegedly (so I’ve heard) this was a slot for backpacks from an earlier version of the game. However, they didn’t work properly/in a way that Funcom liked, so the backpacks were removed and replaced with vehicle storage, but the slot was kept.
It is rumored that backpacks might reappear in a future update/DLC.
In an older thread, it is said that the slot is for an item related to a supposedly upcoming third faction: the Fremen. The item for this slot would then be used to hide from other players like with the trapdoor from the movies.
Wow Classic offers quite a challenge in Hardcore. One player found it not hard enough and is fighting naked at level 50. After about 200 hours, he reached his first goal and level 50.
Wow Classic Hardcore presents players with its own challenge: Because anyone who dies in this mode stays dead and cannot be resurrected. With the so-called “Self-Found” mode, there is an additional challenge: Getting a Classic character to level 60 with just one life, but without an auction house, postal system, and trading with other players.
The Polish-language website MMORPG.org.pl reports that the player, who calls himself “Onepunchwarr”, in reference to the anime “One Punch Man”, has now reached level 50. The player documented his progress in several YouTube videos.
In total, “Onepunchwarr” has so far needed 9 days, 7 hours, and 47 minutes. This translates to about 220 hours of gameplay. Of this, 94 hours alone are said to have been spent on the level-up between level 40 and 50, as he shows in his latest video. In WoW, you can display your playtime in the game.
What’s next? The player wants to reach level 60 with “Onepunchwarr”. However, this will probably take some time, as he needed 94 hours for just 10 levels. His biggest worry is that a sudden disconnect, internet, or power failure could ruin the work of almost 7 months. Because that is probably the greatest threat, which has already cost many a Hardcore character their digital life.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Rimworld now has a new expansion and is therefore significantly cheaper. Those who want to start with Rimworld should prepare for many challenging hours of gameplay, as Rimworld is highly rated on Steam but is considered complex and difficult.
The building and survival game Rimworld is one of the highest-rated games on Steam and has a positive rating of 97% based on over 180,000 reviews. Rimworld is considered extremely complex and extensive.
In Rimworld, you start with a varying number of colonists and starting materials depending on the chosen start and must survive on a hostile planet. At the same time, you need to ensure that your colonists don’t kill each other, eat each other, or come up with other foolish ideas. The goal is mostly to escape from the planet.
With “Odyssey” the next expansion for Rimworld has been released and it brings a whole bunch of fresh features, including the ability to build your own spaceships and go on exploration missions in space.
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The Official Trailer for RimWorld by Ludeon Studios
Depending on the platform, you can currently get Rimworld significantly cheaper
On the occasion of the release of the new expansion “Odyssey”, you can currently get Rimworld significantly cheaper. And not only on Steam can you save right now:
On Steam you currently pay €25.59, which is 20% less.
On Humble Bundle you pay only €21.11 (-36%), but only if you have subscribed to Choice. Otherwise, you pay €26.29 (-20%).
What about the DLCs? The first four DLCs for Rimworld are currently also a bit cheaper. Depending on the platform, you save between 10% (Steam) and 15% (Humble Bundle, without Choice). If you have never played Rimworld before, we would recommend starting with the base game. Because each add-on makes the already complex colony simulation even more complex and extensive.
AI is highly controversial. Gabe Newell, head of Valve, states that AI can make better developers out of many people. In fact, better developers than those who have been doing nothing else for a decade.
The YouTuber Zalkar Saliev spoke in an interview with Gabe Newell, founder and head of Valve (Steam). During this discussion, they touched on a topic that concerns many people today: artificial intelligence and its use in everyday life (via YouTube.com).
What did Saliev want to know? The YouTuber wanted to ask Newell whether younger people dealing with AI should learn the technical side or focus solely on the best ways to use the tools. This was reported by the English-speaking magazine PCGamer.com.
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Commercial for the Joule Kitchen Appliance with Gabe Newell from Valve
Newell considers AI an important tool in everyday life
This was Newell’s response: The head of Valve (Steam) explained that he considers both aspects important. He stated that people who actively work with AI will surpass those who have been programming for years in the future:
I believe it’s both. The more you understand what underlies these current tools, the more effectively you can use them. However, I think we find ourselves in a funny situation where people who cannot program and use AI to improve their programming skills will become more effective developers than those who have been doing it for a decade.
Newell further emphasizes that every user should be able to derive something useful from AI. However, to truly get the best out of this technology, one must understand how it works and what is behind it. Newell adds:
Even if you are just a pure tool user, you will find that the benefit of these tools is very, very high. But your ability to use these tools will continue to improve the more you understand the underlying methods and mindsets of the people developing machine learning systems. So I believe that both are interrelated and greatly complement each other.
Wing Commander is over 35 years old, but to this day there is a bug in the game. Developers simply disguised the bug because they didn’t have time to fix the error before the release.
Wing Commander is one of the most well-known PC games. The game was first released on September 26, 1990, for MS-DOS. There were later additional titles and spin-offs for Wing Commander, but the first part is still considered by many players to be the masterpiece.
To this day, the game still crashes at the same spot, namely at the end. However, a developer cleverly hid the error so that it goes unnoticed today.
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In Germany, there are over 400 USB sticks protruding from walls – What is the ‘Dead Drops’ project?
Error message becomes thank you message
What kind of error is this? Wing Commander was published in 1990 by Electronic Arts as the publisher. Just before the release, the developers were under stress, as they could not fix an error. Ken Demarest, one of the original developers, explained how he turned an error he couldn’t fix into something positive (via wcnews.com):
Back then in Wing Commander 1, we received an exception from our EMM386 memory manager when we exited the game. The screen would go black and a single line would be displayed, something like ‘EMM386 Memory manager error. Blah blah blah.’
We had to deliver as quickly as possible. So I edited the error in the memory manager itself with a hexadecimal system, so that it read: ‘Thank you for playing Wing Commander.’
This means that the friendly thank you message when you finish the game is a disguised crash notification. The error has existed for 35 years and has never been officially fixed or removed.
Star Citizen as a spiritual successor to Wing Commander
Between 1990 and 2007, a total of 17 titles were released for Wing Commander in various forms and spin-offs. Chris Roberts, the then lead developer of Wing Commander, is now developing the space game “Star Citizen” with his company, which he sees as a spiritual successor to Wing Commander and Freelancer.
GTA 5 is one of the biggest games on Twitch and has launched the careers of several well-known streamers. Twitch invited MeinMMO for a discussion and streaming expert Lydia spoke with Mike Minton about the success of GTA 5 and the plans for GTA 6.
Who is Mike Minton? As “Chief Monetization Officer” of Twitch, Mike Minton is responsible for everything that helps streamers make money. This includes paid subscriptions, the Twitch currency Bits, as well as partnerships with brands and advertising.
As such, he is also referred to as Twitch’s “Money Guy”.
MeinMMO talked to Mike about the success secret of GTA 5, the role of Twitch in it, and got a little insight into the plans for GTA 6.
The entire industry is eagerly waiting for GTA 6:
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As part of FYNG Caggtus, three experts discuss the perfect open world and the expectations for GTA 6
GTA 5 and the Magic of Twitch
MeinMMO:To what extent do you think the success of a game depends on how well it performs on Twitch?
Mike Minton: It depends on the game. The fact is that almost every gaming publisher and game developer in the world uses Twitch to market their games. In many cases, they have also learned to develop their games on Twitch. It has become part of their development cycle, which is really fascinating.
So they work with streamers from the very start, get advice, often bringing streamers in for early playtests. And when they go through some kind of early access, they do so in close collaboration with streamers who showcase the game and interact with the community. Often, the developers themselves are in the streamers’ communities and engage there.
So it was really fantastic to see the evolution of Twitch – not just as a marketing service or platform for games, but truly as a place that developers embrace throughout the entire development process.
And I think almost every game that has been successful in the last ten years had a targeted Twitch strategy and influencers as part of its success.
MeinMMO:Can you name a specific example where Twitch significantly increased a game’s popularity?
Mike Minton: Let’s take one of the biggest examples: Grand Theft Auto 5 in the last four or five years, with the introduction of role-playing servers where creators have driven stories and taken on roles, really building stories around those roles. That became extremely popular and revitalized GTA, based on the work that the creators have done.
That’s a really great example of the magic of Twitch – communities forming around a story and interaction with the audience.
I mean, GTA 5 is now, what, twelve years old? And yet it’s still huge – simply because the creators have poured so much passion into it. That has given the game a completely new lease on life.
Path of Exile is probably also a pretty good example. Such live-service games that go through seasons. I think they also had really good success on Twitch, both in using influencers to drive engagement for the game and making the launch of seasons big events. That is very much driven by influencers.
Everyone tunes in on Fridays to see what the latest build is and how to succeed in the new season.
MeinMMO:You mentioned the community-driven aspect. What role do you see for Twitch in that regard?
Mike Minton: Yes. Our role is more behind the scenes. By that, I mean: We are in close contact with many studios on the developer side and support them with specific activations – such as through drops campaigns or by connecting them with suitable streamers to specifically push new content or events like a new season, as is often the case with GTA 5. So our role is to actively foster these relationships between developers and streamers.
On the streamer side, it’s mainly about developing tools that enable them to build a great environment and community around that content.
From clips that help streamers find new audiences on other services or maintain their connection with their audience on Twitch, to all the products that help them grow and monetize their audience. This also includes the subs we’ve already talked about.
So we are very present in this dynamic between developers, streamers, and new players, but we are more of a mediator in this relationship.
MeinMMO:Okay. So you see yourselves as the connecting element that brings them together.
Mike Minton: Well, we create a product that enables this magic. Right. And that’s in many ways the magic of Twitch: that you can have this interaction in a very safe environment.
I’m sure we are a place for the publishers of GTA where they want to see their content showcased. Creators feel comfortable with what they can do on the platform to promote interaction, and viewers know that when they tune in, they will have fun.
MeinMMO:You mentioned a safe space for showcasing games. We’ve seen some roleplayers in the past who may have been a bit too enthusiastic and got banned on Twitch for their roleplaying. How can Twitch help in such situations?
Mike Minton: I’m not familiar with the specifics of the mentioned examples, but our approach is more to inform, educate, and assist creators. That starts with our clear and consistent community guidelines that define what is allowed on the platform.
There are certain types of content that we allow on Twitch, but they must be labeled. Those who use strong language must label this content accordingly. This way, viewers can specifically hide it – and advertisers can also decide if they want to be associated with it.
My advice to creators who find themselves in such situations: Take a step back, read and internalize our community guidelines. I can’t speak about enforcement, the appeals process, and all that, but I know that we generally give streamers the opportunity to appeal if they feel we made a wrong decision.
We review these cases carefully and, of course, also reverse decisions. If it was a mistake, they express remorse, etc. Those are all important parts of this appeals process. So get back up and keep going, because in most cases, your audience will still be there waiting for you when you return.
MeinMMO:So it’s about finding the balance between creating a safe space for communities and allowing creators to express themselves. Okay. GTA 5 is still a huge hit, but GTA 6 is on the horizon, which will likely spark a whole new wave of interest in the RP scene. How much does Twitch plan to invest in the upcoming content?
Mike Minton: Yes. I think it will be a wave that builds over time. That’s why we will have a long-term perspective regarding the various phases of the game from the start.
First, the focus will be on the single-player campaign. That will be a key point. This game will likely be the biggest game of our lives, at least as we know it, and there will be a huge hype around it.
We will work with Take-Two and so on to make it as big as possible for them and activate it on Twitch as they want for the launch of their game.
Then there will probably be a cycle around the online multiplayer at some point later, which will be an even more important segment in the life cycle of this game on Twitch because that’s where the magic begins to happen.
And hopefully, as you say, roleplaying will be available, whether through the necessary mod support or direct support from the developers if they choose to go that route. I don’t know.
And then there’s also going to be a PC phase somewhere. They are only releasing it for consoles. So there are a lot of things and milestones in the launch of this game.
I hope for a long-lasting success for both them and us that fosters streamer and audience engagement for many, many years, just like with GTA 5. But I would say the long-term perspective is the most important.
MeinMMO:So you say you are working directly with Take-Two. You will be working directly with them to prepare for the launch.
Mike Minton: Yes. We have teams that mainly work in business development. We work hand in hand with the publisher on all these major launches, as they want to know from us how to achieve the greatest success for their game on Twitch.
So we have people who work both with the publisher and with Rockstar on the developer side and discuss what we have learned over the years. These are, for example, things like drops or other activations that can be done on Twitch through a big partnership with them. It’s both about marketing and business and the product itself.
MeinMMO:And might there be a more hands-on approach in the future, like official Twitch roleplay servers?
Mike Minton: Yes. I can’t say anything specific about that, but we are definitely having active discussions about how this game can become a lasting success. And I think Twitch will likely be part of that sustained success.
In the Nightmare Dungeons in Diablo 4, you will encounter various monsters – some are annoying, others really dangerous. If you don’t want to be constantly surprised by the toughest enemies, you should avoid certain dungeons.
Which opponent are we talking about? In the Nightmare Dungeons, you might encounter a rather unpleasant enemy: the Butcher. The Butcher, better known by his original name “The Butcher”, is a boss from Diablo 1. In dungeons, he can surprise you randomly, and by the time you hear his heavy footsteps and a: “Ah, fresh meat!”, it’s too late.
With Season 9, Blizzard has revamped the Nightmare Dungeons: There are new activities and fresh Sigil affixes that will remain in the game permanently. And these affixes give you hints about what to expect in the dungeon.
In some dungeons, you will also encounter treasure goblins:
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Die neuen Goblin-Varianten in Diablo 4 im Video
Sigils announce the toughest opponents
How do I recognize what awaits me in the dungeon? On the sigils that open the Nightmare Dungeons, you will find positive and negative effects that the dungeons have. For example, you might gain more gold or materials, but you will have to deal with “vampiric” elite monsters that deal more damage.
The sigil with the affix “Dark Omen” indicates that something is wrong with this place and that someone or something is stalking you. And that “someone” could be the Butcher – the toughest opponent you can encounter in dungeons. In our case, it was also his burning variant. And sometimes Kixxarth is also involved – another really tough opponent that you might know from the Hellwave.
Behind the sigil, the Butcher might be hiding.
Also on Reddit, players report that they encountered the Butcher, but also Kixxarth. Some even encountered both in a Nightmare Dungeon. Many players praise the new affixes on the sigils, especially the treasure hunt affix, which ensures many treasure goblins in the dungeon.
Can I always avoid the Butcher? Unfortunately no. Even if you deliberately break Nightmare Sigils with the “Dark Omen” affix and create new ones, there is no guarantee. The Butcher can still surprise you in dungeons, as well as in the new “Escalating Nightmares”. These consist of three dungeons in a row, whose affixes you do not see all in advance. Nevertheless, you can reduce your chances of an encounter by avoiding “Dark Omen” dungeons.
If you don’t fear the Butcher anyway and want to farm efficiently, then especially look at the positive affixes of the dungeons. The “Horadric Vault” affix ensures that a vault filled with loot, materials, recipes for seasonal gems, and above all Arcana for your Horadric spells awaits you in the dungeon. How the spells complement your builds and which ones there are, you can find out here: Diablo 4 Horadric Spells: This is how the mechanics work in Season 9
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
