The developers of Dune: Awakening have announced a server maintenance on July 7, 2025, to implement changes and fixes to the servers of the survival MMO. MeinMMO will inform you when you can expect to play again.
Maintenance is complete: The developers have announced on the official Discord channel that the servers are back online. Update 1.1.15.0 is approximately 1.1 GB in size. We have added the patch notes on the second page. You can also find them at duneawakening.com.
How long will the servers be offline? According to the developers, the servers of Dune: Awakening will go offline on July 7, 2025, at 10:00 AM. The maintenance is expected to last about 90 minutes. If everything goes according to plan, you should be able to access the servers again starting from 11:30 AM. MeinMMO will also update this announcement in case of delays.
Why is maintenance happening? The developers want to implement unspecified changes and fixes to the servers. The official patch notes will be available once the patch is live. We will provide these updates in this article.
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Update from July 7, 2025, 11:22 a.m.: Maintenance is complete, the servers are back online. The patch notes are available.
One of the trailers for Dune Awakening:
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Dune: Awakening presents new action-packed trailer for the release of the game
What do I need to know about Dune: Awakening? The new survival MMO from Funcom was released on June 10, 2025, for PC and takes you to the desert planet Arrakis. However, you won’t encounter the well-known storyline from the books or movies, but rather an alternative timeline in which Paul Atreides was never born.
Hunger, thirst, sun, aggressive enemies – from the first minute, survival is the focus of Dune: Awakening. By building better tools, equipment, bases, vehicles, and weapons, you gradually make your daily life easier, allowing you to focus more on exploring the game world, mastering dungeons, or experiencing the story.
In large parts of the game world, you can meet up to 39 other players. Exceptions are the two faction capitals and the Deep Desert, a huge endgame area where PvP is active almost everywhere and changes fundamentally every week due to a storm. You can find out more in our overview: Dune: Awakening – Everything about the release on PS5, Xbox, and PC
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Pedro Pascal is a popular actor who has appeared in numerous films and series. One of his lesser-known movies is a real gem for science fiction fans.
Which movie is it? Prospect premiered in 2018 and is a science fiction film directed by Chris Caldwell and Zeek Earl.
In one of the two lead roles is none other than Pedro Pascal. However, unlike many other roles like those from Game of Thrones or The Last Of Us, few viewers in this country may know Prospect. The film did not go to theaters but was released directly on streaming without much attention.
For fans of science fiction and of course Pedro Pascal, it might be worth taking a look at the film. It has been rated positively by critics on Rotten Tomatoes with 89%.
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Trailer for the atmospheric science fiction film “Prospect” starring Pedro Pascal
A Hostile World
What is the film about? Prospect tells a small, intensively staged story. A father and his daughter Cee land on a forest moon to search for valuable gemstones.
During their search, they unexpectedly encounter two other men who are also searching for the stones. One of them is Ezra, played by Pedro Pascal. At first, the four want to team up, but then a conflict arises. What exactly happens next, we don’t want to reveal here.
Just this much: The struggle for survival on the planet intensifies. Mercenaries and other dangers make life difficult for the protagonists. Trust in one’s companions is also called into question.
What makes the film good? The directors have created a film with Prospect that, despite a low budget of only about €3.4 million, looks excellent, provides a dense atmosphere, and features great actors. Variety even compares the film to Star Wars. Although the actual vision is significantly more modest than in George Lucas’s saga, it often evokes that feeling.
Despite its reduced story, Prospect feels like a part of a larger universe. This is how the spin-offs to Star Wars should feel, according to the review from Variety.
Critics also praise Pedro Pascal’s performance. The actor effectively portrays the manipulative nature of his character on screen.
Speaking of the screen: Prospect is one of those films that never came to theaters in Germany. After its premiere at the South by Southwest film festival in the USA, it was shown in some cinemas there, but was released directly on streaming, such as on Amazon Prime Video, here. Many genre fans may not know Prospect for this reason.
The brave soldiers of Helldivers 2 are currently making significant progress again. This is likely due to many new and old players that have recruited Super Earth again. Now, the veterans are returning the favor with a list of changes and actions that have occurred since last year.
How is it going for Super Earth? The brave soldiers of Super Earth are currently celebrating successes in the Intergalactic Battle. The last two General Orders have been won by the Helldivers, and the enemies of Super Earth have been pushed back somewhat. The current command, where the brave soldiers are tasked with liberating the planets “Gar Haren” and “Gatria” from the Terminids, is also going excellently.
This is likely due to new and old Helldivers who are now back in the game. Over a year ago, in May 2024, access to Helldivers 2 was restricted for many countries. This primarily affected countries where Sony did not offer the creation of a PlayStation Network account. In the meantime, Helldivers 2 is available again in most countries, and on Reddit, over 20,000 Helldivers are excited about the reinforcements that are immediately evident in the won General Orders.
Even though the requirement for a PSN account was stopped by the community, sales remained blocked in many countries. Only recently were players allowed to participate again and now experience how Helldivers 2 has changed in over a year.
This trailer started Helldivers 2:
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Helldivers 2 Announce Trailer PS5 PC
A Year Full of Changes
What has changed? The veterans of Helldivers 2 are currently happy to see many new and familiar recruits from Super Earth again. Accordingly, they also want to do their part and help mainly the returning players by explaining to them what has changed over the past year.
Under a post from a returnee on Reddit, who had previously been excluded due to country restrictions, veteran Lone_Recon speaks up. He has compiled a list of changes that have occurred in Helldivers 2 since then:
Welcome back, you really didn’t miss much, just so you know…(deep breath):
15+ new Terminid variants
15+ new Automatons variants
A completely new faction
City/Urban maps for all factions
Cars
A new difficulty level: Super Helldive
The destruction of Meridia by the Helldivers using a well-understood alien super weapon
The destruction of Angels Venture, Moradesh, and Ivis by the well-understood alien super weapon that fought back
Stopping that very well-understood alien super weapon
The siege of Calypso
The DSS crew was tested to see if they were under mind control
The execution of the DSS crew that was under mind control
THEY ARE FLYING NOW
Cars
5+ new main objectives
5+ new side missions
11 new Warbonds
Warbond Stratagems
Vehicle skins, for example for the car
Three pages of Super Store
Super Store weapons
Super Store emotes? Suddenly?
DAMNED MELEE WEAPONS. KNIGHT DIVERS UNITE!
SHOVELS
10+ new Stratagems (Orbital Napalm Bombardment: cheat code for 200+ kills)
Have I mentioned the cars yet?
Many new biomes and planets
Half of the Terminid front has plunged into an intergalactic spore cloud
Terminid Creepers (they are literally exploding beetles) coming out of that cloud
More Stalkers
Jetpack bots
Huge bug holes spitting out Bile Titans (please kill them first, oh God)
Flamethrower bots
Large bots
Large bots with damned jammers on them
The battle for Popli IX (the bots literally threw everything at us and still lost!)
Every weapon upgrade, nerf, balance of the last 371 days
DAMNED CARS
Prettier user interface yay
Terrible performance
New Warbond was released on May 15
The “Singularity Party” with DJ GUARD DAWG on May 13! (then the squids came to the afterparty)
Super Earth SATCOM Array ARG
The Illuminate Great Host emerged from the well-understood alien super weapon
3 new Illuminate units
WEAPON CUSTOMIZATION (for primary weapons)
The Great Host then marched on Super Earth and took Widow Harbor, Pilen V, New Haven
The Great Host skipped Mars and burned it down, forcing Super Earth to relocate the Helldiver training facility to an unknown location
The Great Host attacked the beating heart of Managed Democracy itself!
THE BATTLE FOR SUPER EARTH!(too much to list here – but there is a report in the Super Earth POI)
+1 Illuminate unit and the first “Apex Predator” unit in the game: the Leviathan
The last rainforests were cleared to make way for Engle bases
The president of Super Earth fell in battle while defending the presidential bunker – armed only with a Peacemaker pistol!
The community has fallen in love with the SEAF troops that players could fight alongside
After a week of uninterrupted fighting, the siege of democracy ended in victory for Super Earth!
A new president of Super Earth was sworn in after a landslide election victory!
The Great Host retreated and burned Widow Harbor, Pilen V, New Haven – currently hiding like the cowards they are
THEY ARE FLYING NOW! PART 2 (2 new Jet Brigade units)
There is now a Helldiver board game!
There will also be a Helldiver movie
and much more
Welcome back to the battlefield, brother. Good to have you thawed out again! You are finally awake. You have a lot to catch up on! Freedom
The long list underscores how much has changed in Helldivers 2 over the past year. In the post on Reddit, many other Helldivers can also be found trying to summarize the achievements of over a year of Helldivers 2, albeit less comprehensively.
Anyone new to or returning to Helldivers 2 does not need to know what has happened in the last year. The unique aspect of the co-op shooter is that while the story unfolds as a meta-plot, the game itself can also be played completely without it.
In The Lord of the Rings there are a variety of races and magical beings that make the fantasy world so interesting. From small hobbits to huge, fire-breathing dragons, everything is represented. But which race in Middle-earth is ultimately the strongest? We have ranked them.
Which race is the strongest? In the past weeks and months, we have repeatedly looked at different races from Middle-earth here on MeinMMO and ranked their strongest representatives. This naturally leads every decent nerd, who tends to indulge in hypothetical scenarios, to a question. How do these races compare to each other? Who is stronger, man or troll, elf or dwarf?
Of course, the ranking is mainly about one thing, namely speculation. So please don’t take it too seriously and feel free to discuss in the comments how you would have arranged the order.
By the way, our list is limited to races explicitly appearing in “The Lord of the Rings” or “The Hobbit”.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim – The next film in Middle-earth will be an anime
Rank 9: Hobbits
Known representatives: Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin
Unfortunately, we must place the small, hairy-footed Hobbits in last place in this ranking. Hobbits are an extremely cozy people. They generally don’t care much for change and adventures, especially when they are personally affected. They are the smallest of the speaking races and neither particularly strong nor enduring – except perhaps when it comes to food.
Of course, we meet some Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings who accomplish truly extraordinary feats. Just think of Frodo, who destroys the One Ring with Sam’s help, thereby saving all of Middle-earth. On average, however, Hobbits are not exactly the strongest warriors. When it comes down to it, they can be surprisingly resilient. However, they cannot hold a candle to other races in battle.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
In Dune: Awakening, it is worth exploring abandoned bases of other players. With a little luck, you might find the treasure of your virtual life.
What did the player find? On Reddit, Actuary_Beginning reports that he recently stumbled upon an abandoned base in Dune: Awakening that no longer had a subloan console. While rummaging through the numerous crates and containers, he quickly realized that he had hit the jackpot. In the storage, he found among other things:
800 units of spice melange
Unique equipment pieces
Several stacks of aluminum ore
More than 638,000 Solari
Improved servoks
His comment below the screenshot showing the Solari content of a crate: “Shai-Hulud watches over me.” The Fremen revere the giant sandworms on Arrakis and refer to them as tools of their god, Shai-Hulud.
Some players ride sandworms in Dune: Awakening:
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Spieler schafft das Unmögliche in Dune: Awakening auf Steam, reitet auf einem Sandwurm durch die Wüste
“Good haul!”
How does the community react to the find? Players celebrate the Reddit post with over 1,100 upvotes and more than 375 comments.
72chambers writes on Reddit: “Good haul! Seems real to me. That’s about as much Solari as I had going into endgame. He probably just gave up playing.”
steviemch also got lucky, he explains on Reddit: “Last week I found an abandoned base that also contained a ton of endgame resources. Only 34,000 Solari, but I’m not complaining because I got a lot of resources that I would have taken forever to gather alone. Hats off to the folks who do that instead of just letting their base decay with nothing to loot.”
beepumbra jokes on Reddit: “Future Reddit post: ‘A hacker stole all my Solari, I’m quitting!’
During the discussion, some players wonder how long it takes for a base to be looted in this way, or why some bases that obviously have no power cannot be accessed. The insights from the replies:
It makes a difference whether a base has no energy left (for example, because the generators are empty or because taxes haven’t been paid) or whether a base no longer has a subloan console.
If the latter is the case, a player has intentionally abandoned their base and made it available for everyone interested.
If the power is turned off, it takes some time for the protective areas of the base to decay and for a player to lose their ownership rights. Note that an unprotected subloan console decays much faster than, for example, the walls and doors.
What do I need to know about Dune: Awakening? The new survival MMO from Funcom was released on June 10, 2025, for PC and takes you to the desert planet Arrakis. However, you will not find the familiar storyline from the books or movies, but an alternative timeline in which Paul Atreides was never born.
Hunger, thirst, sun, aggressive enemies – from the very first minute, survival is the focus of Dune: Awakening. By crafting better tools, equipment, bases, vehicles, and weapons, you will make your everyday life easier, allowing you to focus more on exploring the game world, mastering dungeons, or experiencing the story.
In large parts of the game world, you can encounter up to 39 other players at most. Exceptions include the two faction capitals and the Deep Desert, a vast endgame area where PvP is active almost everywhere and that fundamentally changes each week due to a storm. You can find out more in our overview: Dune: Awakening – Everything about the release on PS5, Xbox, and PC
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Many new trailers were shown at the Anime Expo 2025 in Los Angeles over the weekend. Among them is Season 2 of an anime that is still considered the best of all time.
Which anime is it? Shortly after its release, Frieren: After the Journey surpassed many other series in the ranking on MyAnimeList and has since held the top spot. This left high-profile anime like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Steins;Gate behind.
Frieren is an adventure anime that has been shown in one season so far. Viewers follow the experiences of elf mage Frieren, who defeated the Demon King many years ago with her group of adventurers.
Now, Frieren embarks on a new journey, as her human companions from back then are already dead. Together with mage Fern and fighter Stark, she sets out again – this time with a new goal.
Due to the success of Season 1, it was only a matter of time before Season 2 would follow. A new trailer was shown at the Anime Expo 2025 to set the stage for Season 2 – revealing the release date.
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Frieren: New trailer for the anime shows the release of season 2
Frieren maintains its tradition
What special feature is there in Frieren? As the name suggests, several German terms are present in Frieren. Most of the characters are named after their character traits:
Eisen is a robust dwarf whose body appears as hard as iron. His protégé Stark is … well … strong.
Fern is a mage who mainly attacks from a distance. During training with Frieren, she had to first train her precision at long range.
Even cities and regions like Äußerst, Kühl, or Klar indicate weather conditions or their location on the continent.
Since the manga is already quite a bit ahead of the anime, readers can already see that these names continue. New characters and cities still have German names.
Here is an example of a new city
Among the new cities is the city of Bier, known for its hop beverage. And – surprise – one of the new characters that appears there is aptly named Fass. Frieren, Fern, and Stark help him get an item he desires.
What are fans particularly looking forward to in Season 2? On Reddit and in the comments on YouTube, many fans are thrilled by the music. They are excited that Evan Call is responsible for the soundtrack. He has already composed masterpieces for Frieren and Violet Evergarden.
When does Season 2 come out? As the teaser trailer reveals at the end, Season 2 of Frieren will be released sometime in January 2026. An exact date is still pending.
In Dune: Awakening the Ornithopter is the most important means of transport in the survival MMO. However, the construction and the required materials can be tedious. We explain how to manage it on your own.
What is the Ornithopter for? The Ornithopter is a fast vehicle in Dune: Awakening. It is the first flying device that players receive in the survival MMO and transports characters quickly and mostly safely from point A to point B. However, the combination of helicopter and airplane is quite expensive to produce. In this guide, we explain how to obtain one quickly.
Update from July 7, 2025: We have made a small adjustment to improve readability. As many people are currently searching for industrial pumps on Google, we have also highlighted this section a little better.
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Here are 7 quick tips that Dune: Awakening doesn’t tell you:
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Dune: Awakening: 7 schnelle Tipps, die das Spiel euch nicht verrät
Resource Checklist:
What resources are needed? To build the Ornithopter, you need many resources. We list all the materials required for the construction here, but keep in mind that there could be more if you still need to set up the necessary machines in your base:
Aluminum Bars: 241 (approx. 1,700 aluminum ore)
Water: Approximately 57,410 units
Cobalt Paste: 82 (approx. 246 erythrit)
Advanced Servoks: 46
Particle Condensers: 22
Complex Machine: 8
Diamond Dust: 14
Carbide Scrap: 7
Industrial Pumps: 8
Even though many resources are needed, we explain where to farm best to deliver soon.
Water
To get the many liters of water, you should always carry enough blood bags. Whenever you get into a fight, you can turn your enemies into valuable water. How exactly that works, you can find out here: Dune: Awakening Blood Cleaner – How to easily get water
Even better and easier is with a Fremen Death Distiller. Here you can place the corpses of your enemies and extract their blood through exsanguination. The process takes about an hour per corpse, but yields much more water and runs automatically in your absence while you farm other materials.
Aluminum
While the blood and corpses of your opponents are being converted into water, you should take care of the aluminum. It’s best to hop into your buggy, which you have previously equipped with a suitable cutter and sufficient storage space in the trunk, and head to the eastern shield wall.
Follow the roads and paths there. You will repeatedly find aluminum deposits at the edge that you can easily mine using the switch to the gunner seat (hold the „F“ key) and your buggy’s cutter. If you don’t have a suitable buggy with a cutter, make sure to take your sand bike and upgrade the bike’s inventory space if possible. The more space you have, the less often you need to return to your base.
Other Resources
Cobalt Paste
Cobalt paste is one of the most important items in Dune: Awakening and is obtained from erythrit crystals. You can only find these in the depths of the Hagar Rift in the Chome mineral extraction facilities. They glow reddish pink and hang on the walls.
Again, it’s advisable to bring a buggy or a sand bike with a large cargo capacity. This way, you save yourself many trips back and forth. Once you have collected enough crystals, you should definitely produce the paste immediately, as the production time is somewhat longer.
Advanced Servoks and Particle Condensers
Both of these items can be obtained in the test stations in Dune: Awakening. Depending on how many of the dungeons you have already visited, you might already have the required amount in stock.
We always recommend visiting the test stations so that you can also complete any quests and tasks there. If you want to farm a specific test station, it respawns after about 45 minutes. If you still need water, you will find many enemies to siphon there.
Diamond Dust and Carbide Scrap
These are probably the rarest items that require you to put in more effort than just simple farming rounds with your buggy. Head to the Mysa Tarill area for these resources.
There you will find boxes in the cliffs and between buildings that have a chance of storing diamond dust and carbide scrap. If you are not lucky, you can also buy the needed materials at the Crossroad Trading Post for Solaris.
Complex Machine and Armor Plate
You likely already have these materials in your storage. You obtain them by fighting enemies as loot from opponents or find them in enemy camps.
Our tip: Where there are large machines, it’s also more likely to obtain the components. Enemies resting by the campfire should not be your target. These materials can be easily collected in the Sentinel City along with the next resource.
Industrial Pumps
The last resource you still need is the industrial pumps. The best place to farm them is Sentinel City in the “Eastern Shield Wall” area. You will find the pumps in chests there. However, note that the enemies there are not easy opponents and have it in for you in large numbers.
Our tip: Try to distract the enemies with abilities and grab the boxes instead of engaging in lengthy battles.
If you’re unlucky there, the pumps, like diamond dust and carbide scrap, can also be found with the trader at the Crossroad Trading Post.
In the loot shooter The First Descendant, the gameplay revolves around the various descendants. You can now easily secure one of them.
What game is it? The First Descendant is a free loot shooter with 4-player co-op, where you embody various classes known as Descendants.
The Descendants all have different abilities that allow for unique playstyles and defend humanity against the malicious aliens “Vulgus”.
In gameplay, the Descendants can also take on classic roles, as you would know from other MMOs and role-playing games. Ajax, for example, is a tank with effective shields, Freyna is a damage dealer with poison attacks, and Yujin is a classic healer who deals relatively little damage.
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The First Descendant zeigt Season 3 im Trailer
TFD celebrates anniversary with special event
What kind of event is it? The First Descendant was released on July 2, 2024, and celebrates its first anniversary with an event. The event started on July 3, 2025, and ends on August 6, before Season 3 starts on August 7.
During the event, you can collect anniversary tokens by completing daily missions, which you can exchange for various rewards in the gift workshop with Anais in Albion.
One of these rewards is a Descendant ticket. If you exchange it for 300 anniversary tokens, you can choose a Descendant and unlock them without any hassle. This saves you from farming the materials needed for unlocking the respective Descendant as well as the research time.
Additionally, there is currently a pre-registration event for Season 3, during which you can also secure a guaranteed Descendant ticket. With one million pre-registrations, all participants will additionally receive an ultimate descendant.
How do you get the ticket for pre-registration? To obtain the Descendant ticket through pre-registration, you need to register on the Nexon website for pre-registration. You can simply follow the link below:
To register, you need to provide the email address of the account being used, accept the terms of service and privacy policy, and subscribe to the newsletter for The First Descendant.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll receive an email with a voucher code, which you need to redeem on the Nexon website under “Coupons”. Additionally, your membership code will be requested. You can find it in the game in the options under the “Account” tab. You will then find your ticket along with all other rewards in your inbox in the game.
A race in World of Warcraft outshines all others. No other is as popular – and it is miles ahead of the least popular race overall.
In World of Warcraft, there is not only a variety of classes with varying popularity, but also a large amount of different races that you can choose from when creating a character. However, not all of them are equally popular. But which race is the most popular? And which one hardly anyone wants to play? Statistics provide a good insight.
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WoW mal so richtig ehrlich erklärt
Where do the data come from? The data come from the website Data for Azeroth. This analyzes several hundred thousand WoW accounts and examines the achievements, characters, and various other information. From this, interesting statistics can be created, which allow you to see, for example, what percentage of WoW fans have a certain achievement or which race is played particularly often. We took a look at this last value.
For this evaluation, we only looked at characters at the maximum level (i.e., level 80). This filters out smaller characters and especially “bank twinks”.
Elves dominate, even ahead of Humans
The first glance at the statistics makes it clear that elves in World of Warcraft are the most popular races.
Blood elves lead with a whopping 15.5 % of all characters, making them the most popular race – slightly ahead of night elves, who account for 14.7 %.
Blood elves are on top – Mechagnomes bring up the sad end. (Image source: Data for Azeroth, as of 06.07.2025)
Blizzard’s plan, back during The Burning Crusade, has worked out perfectly. The blood elves were added to the Horde mainly to provide a “pretty” race in the Horde. 18 years later, one must say that the plan has worked almost too well, as about one in eight characters in the game is a Sin’dorei.
Humans, traditionally very popular in fantasy games, make up “only” 10.6 % in WoW and are already significantly behind the two elf races.
The Orcs, the poster child of the classic Horde, account for only 6.7 % of the characters.
Void elves – the most popular allied race
It is not surprising that Void elves enjoy a great popularity with 4.1 %. They are clearly ahead of all other “allied races”. They are essentially a substitute for Alliance fans who have always wished for playable high elves. Even though the dream has not been entirely fulfilled, Void elves can essentially look like high elves – and that is exactly why they are so popular.
Void elves are the most popular allied race.
Mechagnomes are old – and the least popular race
On the other side of the statistics, particularly the allied races that have come into the game over the years can be found. Nightborne, Lightforged Draenei, and Highmountain Tauren have only under 2 % each.
Pandaren still stand at 2.4 % (Alliance and Horde combined) and are thus still relatively “common”.
Anyone thinking that the latest allied race, the Earthen, is the rarest is mistaken. Because Alliance and Horde Earthen combined account for 1.1 %. Thus, they are still represented twice as often as the Mechagnomes, which only account for a measly 0.6 %.
Mechagnomes were controversial even at their introduction. In the eyes of many, they simply look silly, and the fact that their special mechanical body parts often overwrite any transmogification and prominently showcase their mechanical hips has earned them the unfortunate nickname “Diaper Gnomes”.
On which side of the statistics do you belong? Do you play the most popular races? Or are you an oddball who identifies more with Mechagnomes or Kul Tirans? If you’re starting fresh, you should be careful – because quest mobs are currently unbeatable for newcomers.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The franchise surrounding Solo Leveling is getting a new game. The story is said to revolve around a known gap in the history of the anime.
What game is it about? The developer Netmarble has announced a new action game called Solo Leveling: Karma, based on the popular Korean webcomic and anime, which is set to be released for PC as well as iOS and Android.
Similar to Solo Leveling: Arise, Karma appears to be an action RPG that seems to focus on action-packed gameplay as an isometric dungeon crawler, visually reminiscent of the roguelite hit Hades.
Players once again take on the role of protagonist Sung Jinwoo and face a variety of opponents. Netmarble promises that the game “tells a story that was never revealed in the original work”.
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New action game based on the hit anime Solo Leveling reminiscent of Hades
“As all battles come to an end, Sung Jinwoo’s endless war begins anew”
What is the focus of the game? The focal point of the game is said to be the 27-year gap that the anime’s story leaves behind, leaving fans pondering since then. Players are supposed to relive Sung Jinwoo’s endless war and have the ability to turn back time.
The game revolves primarily around the war of the monarchs. Jinwoo presumably uses time manipulation to confront the monarchs in a dimensional rift again, who are key antagonists of the anime.
It could also be conceivable that it is not just an action game but also a roguelite where you start anew with each run (permadeath) but can retain permanent progress like new skills or upgrades. Randomly generated levels and a high difficulty level are typical.
However, the exact genre has not yet been confirmed, and a release timeframe is still pending. Only the focus of the story and a few glimpses of the gameplay are revealed in the announcement trailer.
You can continue to play Anthem until January 12, 2026, but after that date, the shooter will no longer be playable, as it was developed as a purely online game.
Already now, you can no longer purchase premium currency for Anthem due to the planned shutdown.
Since EA announced the final end of Anthem, some fans have spoken out about the fate of the failed MMO. Some have a pressing request—or rather, a demand—to EA.
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Anthem shows the four different combat suits in the launch trailer
Gamers demand a final, special patch for Anthem
What are the players demanding? In a comment on Reddit, a player wishes for EA to enable an offline mode or a peer-to-peer system1 for Anthem so that the game remains playable even when EA shuts down the servers next January. Over 700 other users agree with the comment by upvoting it.
There is a similar sentiment in the EA forum. One user uses harsh words:
„Shutting down and completely removing a game that people invested money into […] sets a worrying and dangerous precedent that the gaming community faces and should act against. When you buy a game, you should also be able to play it, even if it is old, even if it is no longer updated; you paid for it, so it should be available to play, just like any game you bought on a disc or cartridge. […] All I am asking for is: Please release a final patch that removes the online aspects of Anthem to make it a purely offline game.“
Fans are therefore hoping that EA will show some love for Anthem and grant the game a final patch so that the shooter can still be played after the servers are shut down.
In total, during the shutdown of Anthem, the “Stop killing Games” initiative was often mentioned, where gamers aim to ensure that games remain in a playable state even when work on them has ceased. The petition reached the necessary goal of one million signatures and recently received a response from the European Gaming Association.
Bei einem Peer-to-Peer-System wird einer der Spieler zum Host der Lobby, und der PC des Spielers übernimmt die Rolle des Servers. ↩︎
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
The crew of the CHAPEA mission was isolated for over a year. Now they share what they have been doing all the time.
What mission is it about? A few years ago, NASA initiated the CHAPEA missions (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) to explore how a mission on Mars might unfold. For this, they created a 3D-printed habitat modeled after Mars (see Nasa.gov).
With four selected volunteers, an experiment began in June 2023, where they lived in isolation for 378 days – with the goal of growing their own food and managing simulated everyday situations on the Red Planet (see Nasa.gov).
During the mission, the crew conducted simulated spacewalks and collected data on a number of factors, including physical and mental health as well as performance.
After the end of the project, the participants reported on their experiences and what they did the whole time.
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RFA One: This could be the launch of the most powerful German orbital rocket
Between Growing Their Own Food and Playing PS4 Games
What did the participants do? Since no one worked around the clock during the CHAPEA mission, a central focus of the project was to examine how the crew coped with the long isolation: how they managed stress, entertained themselves, and what social dynamics developed within the team.
The main activities of the crew during the simulation consisted of simulated spacewalks with virtual reality, communication, growing plants, preparing and eating meals, exercising, hygiene routines, maintenance work, leisure, scientific work, and sleep.
Practical challenges included growing their own food, managing with limited supplies, daily outdoor excursions in spacesuits, and communicating with “Earth,” facing a delay of 22 minutes between sending and receiving messages with the transmission control team.
Aside from that, they spent their leisure time mainly watching television, reading previously downloaded books, engaging in creative activities like painting, and playing on a PS4. In particular, strategy and simulation games were said to have been played, as well as games like F1.
The launch of a second analog mission is planned for the year 2025.
Microsoft’s Game Pass is hugely popular among gamers. However, Raphaël Colantonio, the founder of Arkane Studios, sees it as a significant threat to the industry.
Who is Raphaël Colantonio? Raphaël Colantonio is a French game developer and co-founder of Arkane Studios, where he helped shape titles like Dishonored and Prey. In 2017, Colantonio left Arkane and founded the indie studio WolfEye Studios.
Arkane has been part of Bethesda Softworks since 2010, which in turn is part of the parent company ZeniMax Media. In 2021, ZeniMax was acquired by Microsoft, making Arkane part of the Xbox Game Studios. Since then, Arkane’s games often release directly on Game Pass and are part of Microsoft’s first-party portfolio.
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Dishonored 2 Launch Trailer for the immersive shooter in a steampunk world with magic
In a post on x.com Colantonio criticizes Game Pass harshly, seeing it as a threat to the entire industry.
“They will either wipe out all others or give up”
Why does he see Game Pass as a threat? In his post, Colantonio wants to highlight the downsides of Game Pass. He sees it as concerning for the gaming industry and ultimately for the players for various reasons:
I think Game Pass is an unsustainable model that has increasingly harmed the industry for a decade, subsidized by MS’s “infinite money,” but at some point, reality must hit. I do not believe GP can coexist with other models; they will either wipe out all others or give up.
In another comment, he adds: “Only the players like it because the offer is too good to be true, but eventually, even the players will hate it once they realize the impact on the games.”
The problem primarily lies in the fact that Game Pass would create a difficult interplay between players and developers. Game Pass provides players with the opportunity to try out new games with “low risk” and potentially not engage with them further, and even if they are good, they might not buy them afterward but only play them on Game Pass.
This creates a vicious cycle that primarily reflects in the sales figures of the games, resulting in less profit. Thus, Game Pass would harm the industry in the long run and eventually the players.
A developer received money from Valve for the development of a shooter several years ago, but he couldn’t get along with Gabe Newell.
Which game is it? On June 20, 2000, the first-person shooter Gunman Chronicles was released, based on the Half-Life engine. The game comes from the small, now-defunct developer studio Rewolf Software, founded by the American Herbert Flower.
Gunman Chronicles was originally conceived as a PvP shooter but was later turned into a single-player mod for Half-Life and then into a standalone game.
Today, you cannot purchase Gunman Chronicles on Steam or any other official distribution platforms. Even Flower himself is not exactly sure why that is, he revealed to PCGamer. He suspects that there are legal issues between the publisher Vivendi and Valve.
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Half Life 2 – Trailer
Valve helps but also has expectations
What role did Valve play? The individual developers of Rewolf Software initially worked on the game from all over the world, without an office. Flower himself lived and worked at the time in his parents’ basement and faced financial difficulties.
One of the developers, Banninga, approached Valve one day and asked the company for help due to financial difficulties, Flower recounts. Valve then provided the team with $20,000 and some goals they needed to achieve.
A year later, Valve offered that the entire team could work on the game at Valve’s office in Seattle, but the team was not entirely clear that Gabe’s plan was to finish the game quickly.
“Can’t wait to get out of the room with this guy.”
What was the relationship with Gabe Newell like? Flowers describes his relationship with the head of Valve and Steam to PCGamer as difficult: “My relationship with Gabe wasn’t really good.”
He then elaborates: “It’s not like we hated each other. It was like two people with bad breath. You’re like, ‘OK, I can’t wait to get out of the room with this guy.'”
Similar to Rewolf Software and Hubert Flowers, Valve also allegedly went through a difficult phase several years ago and was reportedly close to bankruptcy due to lawsuits with the publisher Vivendi, according to Gabe Newell: Gabe Newell reveals that Valve was once close to bankruptcy
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Karlach from Baldur’sGate 3 is simply kind-hearted. Or is she not? The voice actor reveals details about the Hellspawn Tiefling.
When thinking of characters from Baldur’s Gate 3 that one simply must love, most will immediately think of the companion Karlach. The Tiefling barbarian is simply full of positive energy, always a little too cheerful, and has her heart in the right place – well, at least in a figurative sense.
However, Karlach isn’t as “good” a character as we all thought she was. The voice of Karlach revealed this in an interview.
Start video
Der animierte Kurzfilm zu Patch 8, dem letzten Update für Baldur’s Gate 3
Where did the info come from? The site TheGamer has already published excerpts from an interview that will be released later. It focuses mainly on Karlach and the role of her voice actor – many details about the character who is so beloved by fans.
Karlach was cruel to survive
What was said? Samantha Béart, the voice actress of Karlach, was asked what the biggest misconception about Karlach is and gave a clear answer:
That she is this really sweet, nice, always cheerful person. I believe she was a completely different person in hell.
Players get to know Karlach, after initial accusations by Wyll, as a very lovable Tiefling who has just escaped from hell. But she hasn’t always been like this:
I imagined that when you are locked in this high-security prison, with no hope of escape and you have to do all these terrible gang things to survive – and then you finally get out. “You know what? I get to decide who I am now. And I am not that person anymore. That person was how I got through a phase of my life. But now I’m not doing that anymore.”
I think she was quite a piece of work in hell. She had to be. She is someone who just didn’t talk much. She kept her head down to get through all of that.
Karlach’s biggest problem in the game is that her heart has been replaced by a hellish machine. This allows her to excel in combat, but her life in the world has a time limit – sooner or later she has to return to hell. Unless you make a really dark decision…
At that time, a major criticism was that Karlach experiences a rather dark story and, unlike most other characters in the game, cannot have a “happy ending.” Because Karlach’s endings are, in most cases, either highly dramatic or uncertain for the future.
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
A feature in World of Warcraft allows many to enjoy the game again who have felt excluded for a long time. Blizzard got everything right here.
World of Warcraft is quite complicated. Newcomers have a hard time, but even veteran fans are often overwhelmed by the complexity. It is even worse if one has physical or mental limitations that make playing even more difficult.
A feature that the developers recently introduced has now been highly praised. We are talking about the controversial “One-Button Assistant”, which essentially takes over the game rotation. You can then focus entirely on dodging, positioning, and interrupts, or simply the boss abilities. Since this option has become available, many who previously had no chance can also enjoy WoW again. For instance, Jhadd0326 writes in the WoW subreddit:
I was a cutting-edge raider and had a 3,500 rating, but now I’m a disabled veteran with brain damage. I just returned to WoW and it’s such an overwhelming experience for me. I’m shocked at how much worse I’ve gotten at the game. I sit in raids and am confused about which buttons I need to press, it’s just embarrassing. The single-button assistant completely solves the problem for me and it is what it is, but I’m really grateful for this option as it allows me to continue playing WoW. Thank you, developers (…), that was a really good accessibility idea.
Many praise the feature – more can enjoy WoW again
Other commentators also praise the feature.
“I am 23 and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that affects my joints and energy – honestly, the best feature for us!” – rieveriie
“For my wife, this has been a true game-changer, she can’t focus for more than 10 minutes at a time. Now she can simply focus on not standing in the fire while still doing good damage. Personally, I think this is a fantastic feature that was long overdue.” – scud121
An expert tests whether one can still play Cyberpunk 2077 with an old graphics card. And he is disappointed. Even with features like AMD’s FSR, not much can be done if the graphics card is simply too old.
GCS Hardware, a hardware-focused channel on YouTube, tested whether it is still possible to play on a very old graphics card. He chose Counter-Strike 2, GTA V, Cyberpunk 2077, and Doom 2016 for his test and tested the games on a GTX 660.
The GTX 660 was released on September 12, 2012, and was considered an affordable and fast graphics card for Full HD gaming for under 300 Euros.
However, in the end, he was mainly disappointed with Cyberpunk. Because AMD’s “wonder technology,” FSR, cannot save a 13-year-old graphics card anymore.
Start video
Cyberpunk 2077: The Ultimate Edition trailer shows a ‘City of Dreams’
With a 13-Year-Old Graphics Card and FSR Against Cyberpunk 2077
What is FSR anyway? FSR is a so-called upscaling technology from AMD and is the counterpart to Nvidia’s DLSS. The principle behind it is: A game is rendered in low resolution, such as Full HD, and then scaled up to a higher resolution, such as 4K. This allows games to run smoother, as the graphics card doesn’t have to calculate as many pixels.
While Nvidia relies on a closed system with DLSS, supporting only in-house and somewhat recent graphics cards (RTX 2000 series and above), AMD took a more open approach with the first two versions of FSR: FSR 1 and 2.1 also supported graphics cards from Nvidia and Intel.
How the tests went: The YouTuber tried to use FSR to increase performance but found that FSR did not bring any additional FPS improvements:
Cyberpunk 2077 performed the worst with only 10 FPS or 15 FPS at the lowest possible settings at native 1080P.
The performance mode FSR 2.1 could boost performance into the low 20s.
The game eventually crashed with FSR, ending with a black screen. XeSS and FSR 3.1 were practically unsupported
What does the test show? Upscaling technologies are always considered “wonder technology” to squeeze more FPS out of older graphics cards. However, the test by the YouTuber clearly shows that there are very pronounced technical limits:
The attempt to use FSR upscaling in Cyberpunk 2077 and CS:2 shows that the GTX 660 is simply too old to effectively execute modern upscaling technologies. This is due to technical features that the old graphics card can no longer support.
For Total War: Warhammer 3, there are now 28 paid add-ons that bring new races or commanders into the game. MeinMMO editor and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus explains which of these you actually need and which you can do without.
[toc]
Of all the games in the series, Total War: Warhammer 3 has the most players on Steam according to steamcharts and has a rating of 83% positive based on the recent 944 reviews on Steam (as of July 1). Accordingly, the game is quite popular.
Total War: Warhammer 3 is often available at a low price during Steam Sales, but there’s a catch: the base game offers relatively little. If you want the full experience, you will pay over 200 euros for the entire collection with all DLCs on sale.
Since players looking to jump in may not know what else they need, you will find here a list of all factions and DLCs according to their strengths and weaknesses. After over 570 hours just on Steam and about 200 more in Game Pass, I have spent dozens of hours with each faction or against them.
In the overview, you will find all factions for a specific playstyle with a brief description. However, a few notes:
All factions are fundamentally military; Warhammer does not work without war. Only the focus is a bit different.
Almost every faction has access to diplomacy and trade, but it is more or less relevant for the respective races.
Some factions as NPCs have different options than players; only player races are described here.
Most races have several strengths and focuses, which is why you can find almost all of them in more than one category.
Start video
Total War: Warhammer 3 – Launch Trailer Immortal Empires
The Offensive Races and their DLCs
As already mentioned, every faction is initially military. Some place more emphasis on infantry, others on cavalry, chariots, magic, or artillery. For the overview, I decided to further subdivide the category into factions that are more war-seeking (offensive military) or can defend their positions well (defensive military).
Khorne
included in Total War: Warhammer 3 (base game)
focus on melee units and monsters, ranged combat is hardly available
gains bonuses through constant war and combat
can develop certain units
additional legendary commander in the DLC Skulltaker – Omens of Destruction
Chaos Dwarfs (DLC)
included in the DLC Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs
focus on artillery, gunpowder units, and heavy armor
greenskin units as support with a unique hero
without war, your economy will likely collapse
secondary strength: economy
Empire
included in Total War: Warhammer
balanced roster with many different wizards and war machines
one of the strongest artillery in the entire game
always start in conflict zones that require diplomatic or military solutions
secondary strength: diplomacy
additional commanders in the DLCs The Grim & The Grave, The Hunter & The Beast and Elspeth – Thrones of Decay
Beastmen (DLC)
included in the DLC Call of the Beastmen
do not have settlements but form “Hordes” instead
training of new units and building structures mainly within the army itself
balanced unit selection
focus on ambushes and raids
additional commander in the DLC The Silence & The Fury
Chaos Warriors (DLC)
included in the DLC Chaos Warriors, additional commanders in the DLC
only have “black towers” as large settlements and otherwise play with vassals
versatile unit roster depending on the respective lord/chaos god
can develop certain units
secondary strength: diplomacy
additional commanders in the DLC Champions of Chaos
Chaos Daemons
included in Total War: Warhammer 3 (base game)
versatile unit roster made up of units from all chaos gods
can dedicate themselves to a god or worship all
access to special chaos blessings and enhancements for the commander
Greenskins
included in Total War: Warhammer
focus on melee infantry with ranged as a weaker support
can call WAAAGHs to recruit additional armies
must wage war,
no access to trade with other factions
additional commanders in the DLC The King & the Warlord, The Warden & the Paunch and Gorbad – Omens of Destruction
Lizardmen
included in Total War: Warhammer 2
balanced unit roster with many flying units, monsters, and wizards
blessed units as special elite troops
have access to special rituals to gain advantages in the campaign
additional commanders in the DLCs The Prophet & The Warlock, The Hunter & the Beast and The Silence & The Fury
Norsca (DLC)
included in the DLC Norsca
mainly cheap melee infantry and cavalry with strong monsters
focus on ranged combat and artillery as well as monsters, no cavalry
can summon units without recruitment time (necromancy); stronger units where large battles have been fought
legendary commanders and admirals can upgrade their ships for recruitment on the go
ship abilities grant advantages in combat
leaders can occupy officer positions for various bonuses Leaders have loyalty and can mutiny if approval is too low
can obtain special units and commanders through infamy or parts of the pirate song
secondary strength: economy
Dark Elves
included in Total War: Warhammer 2
balanced roster with strong units in every area
leaders can gain “Names of Power” to receive advantages
leaders have loyalty and can betray you if it drops
Black Arks that sail the seas and can reinforce or fully build armies from there
access to rituals for various bonuses at the cost of slaves
secondary strength: economy
additional commanders in the DLCs The Queen & The Crone and The Shadow & The Blade
Skaven
included in Total War: Warhammer 2
fundamentally weak units focused on huge masses and summons
no flying units and no cavalry, only monsters
usually fight ambush-style, even in attack, if possible
commanders have loyalty and can betray you if loyalty decreases
sub-cities as a special game mechanic that can call entire armies
secondary strength: economy
additional commanders in the DLCs The Prophet & The Warlock, The Shadow & The Blade and The Twisted & The Twilight
Skaven are an interesting race in themselves, as they are characterized by cowardice and ambush. They have their own god, who has now ascended to chaos god status in Age of Sigmar.
With Season 9, Diablo 4 has received new content and revised old mechanics. A particular feature has come into focus, as it has suddenly appeared more frequently and is seriously annoying players during loot and leveling.
Season 9 started in Diablo 4 on July 1, 2025 and has introduced new content into the ARPG. Among other things, there are Horadric spells to enhance your builds. The Nightmare Dungeons have also been overhauled: new affixes on the seals and so-called “Escalation Nightmares,” where you run through three dungeons consecutively.
But a pesky mechanic that you encounter in battles against monsters seems to have been revised. Players believe it is related to the seasonal feature.
Start video
Diablo 4 shows Horadric spells and new endgame content in the trailer for Season 9
Hellbinders slow you down in battles
Which mechanic is plaguing players? In Diablo 4, there are attacks from monsters that slow you down or completely impede you, including the so-called Hellbinders. They spawn directly in combat and chain your character to a sort of pillar. Before you can move on, you either have to destroy the pillar or use a skill that makes you “unstoppable.”
On Reddit, a user posts a picture of this very feature and asks, “Worst new feature in Season 9?” Their opinion: You already get frozen and slowed down, now there’s another affix. It feels like an artificial gameplay delay. The community explains: This feature is not new, but it is definitely occurring much more frequently now.
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What do other players say about it? Other players in the comments of the post are also sure that Hellbinders spawn much more frequently than before. Actual_Class9995 comments, “I’ve only been here since the last season and I might have seen them a few times. Now I’ve experienced more of them in three days than in the whole Season 8.”
And Woozletania reports, “I did a Nightmare Dungeon today – four groups with Hellbinders. In a single dungeon. That’s a bit excessive.”
What can you do about it? Effects like “unstoppable” are currently worth their weight in gold. Other users advise: If you deal enough damage, Hellbinders won’t last long anyway. And TheRealMortiferus even suspects that this was intentionally designed by the developers so that you use Horadric spells to counter annoying control effects from enemies. These two spells are particularly helpful:
Thunderous Particle (Infusion): Deactivates all opposing suppression effects for 8 seconds
is very effective against Hellbinders
Glowing Remnants (Infusion): Deactivates all opposing Frost Wind effects for 8 seconds
Horadric spells are the central seasonal feature in Season 9, and their buffs can significantly ease your life. Many of them make you unstoppable or break down enemy barriers. You can find out how to obtain these spells and what effects they bring here: Diablo 4 Horadric spells: How the mechanics work in Season 9
This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
If you don’t feel like dealing with the new series and movies from Star Wars, you can choose from a whole range of comics, books, and games that tell different stories. A particular Sith made life quite difficult for Luke’s descendant in one of these stories.
Which Sith Lord is it about? Before Disney acquired the rights to Star Wars from Lucas Arts, there were countless books and comics alongside the Star Wars movies that also told stories after Episode 6. The non-canonical ones are called Legends.
Over 100 years after Episode 6, the story of Cade Skywalker is told in the comic series Star Wars: Legacy. Cade Skywalker himself was not your typical hero with many problems, but one of his problems was Darth Talon, a Sith Mistress whom George Lucas even wanted to bring to the big screen.
Start video
Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi – Trailer
A powerful Sith woman
Who is Darth Talon? Darth Talon is a female Twi’lek, a species that is often enslaved, and she was born into the Order of the One Sith. The leader of the Order was Darth Krayt, and he lived by the Rule of One. He was on top, and under him, there was supposed to be blind obedience among the Sith and other followers.
She was trained to be an assassin under Darth Ruyn. She had a great affinity for the Force and proved her loyalty by killing her master. After that, she was directly subordinated to Krayt, carrying out missions for him. After a defeat, she was spared by Krayt to find Cade Skywalker and turn him to the dark side because he was a descendant of Vader.
He was captured, and to draw him to her side, Talon was supposed to become his mistress. Cade was trained in the teachings of the One Sith, and they grew closer. Despite their affair, Talon did not believe that Cade would turn to the dark side.
One day he escaped, and she was severely injured in the process. After she healed, she was supposed to continue the hunt for Cade. But Cade had a new target: he wanted to kill Darth Krayt. In an attack, Talon tried to defeat Skywalker’s descendant, but he had become too powerful.
She failed to protect her master, and Cade killed Krayt in a final battle. The Sith Empire was destroyed, and Talon hid with other Sith until they could strike back.
A character that even George Lucas wanted to bring to film
Darth Talon was also supposed to be realized in a movie. George Lucas originally had different ideas for the sequels (Episode 7 to 9) than Disney. As Filmstarts reported, George Lucas had plans for a story set shortly after Episode 6. While Leia and Luke wanted to rebuild the Jedi and the Republic, Darth Maul would have established himself as the leader of the Sith and founded a criminal syndicate.
In the course of this, he would also have had a student named Darth Talon, who is also a Twi’lek. As can be seen from concept art of a canceled video game (via artstation.com), she would have had red skin and the Sith tattoos, like those known from Maul.
Darth Talon might return soon. In 2026, a new animated series titled Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is set to premiere on Disney Plus, showcasing how Darth Maul built his criminal syndicate, which can be seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
There is currently no official trailer, but at the Star Wars Celebration Japan event, attendees were able to catch a first glimpse at the series. According to reports (via bespinbulletin.com), the trailer features a student of Darth Maul who looks like a younger version of Darth Talon.
