Epic gives away a shooter, then player numbers double on… Steam?

Ody Ody Reading time 2 minutes

The World War shooter Hell Let Loose has doubled its player count on Steam within a few days, which can partly be attributed to the competitor Epic Games.

What kind of game is this? Hell Let Loose is a multiplayer shooter that sends players to several battlefields of World War II. Developer Team17 places greater emphasis on realism and tactical gameplay compared to competitors such as Battlefield or Call of Duty.

With a new map, the multiplayer shooter Hell Let Loose sends players to the city of Tobruk. Here is the first teaser for the map, which is set to be released in spring 2025:

Start video
Hell Let Loose: World War II shooter shows the new map Tobruk in teaser

How does the shooter play? In maps with up to 100 simultaneous players, you will experience battles with infantry, tanks, and artillery. The front line moves dynamically across the battlefield, and by capturing sectors, you secure resources for your side that can lead you to victory.

Hell Let Loose was released on Steam in 2021, but it was only on January 2, 2025, that it was released in the Epic Games Store. There, Hell Let Loose was even given away for a week. The offer has since expired.

Significant player increase on Steam thanks to Epic Games

How large is the player base? In the last 6 months, Hell Let Loose on Steam – excluding PS5 and Xbox Series X|S – had just under 10,000 players. However, with the release in the Epic Games Store, the game’s community has grown, even on Steam.

According to the online database steamdb.info, player numbers on Steam began to rise continuously from January 2, the release date in the Epic Games Store. On January 5, a new peak of 20,388 simultaneous players was reached – double that of the previous months. Across all platforms, there are 140,000 players, the developers revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The reason why the release of the shooter in the Epic Games Store affects the Steam numbers is not entirely clear. After all, players on Epic are not captured by SteamDB. According to Polygon, it is conceivable that many players returned after their friends got the game for free.

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Some Steam purists may have decided to buy the game there to play with friends who got it through Epic. This would also explain why new players have joined. On Steam, Hell Let Loose currently costs €35.99 instead of the usual €59.99.

Have you already gotten Hell Let Loose and perhaps even tried it out? Feel free to share your impressions in the comments. If you’re still looking for a new shooter, you might find something in this list: The 25 Best Shooters 2025 – These PvP and PvE games impress with their gameplay

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Before the Marvel Universe became big, there was a movie that everyone forgets

Niko Hernes Niko Hernes Reading time 3 minutes

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has existed since 2008 and started with Iron Man, who also became an icon of the franchise. However, the second film in the MCU couldn’t reach this level of influence. After just one film, they even replaced the lead actor, who truly loved the character.

Which film is it about? The famous Marvel Cinematic Universe started on April 14, 2008, with Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. became a global star through the role of Tony Stark and remains an icon for the franchise to this day. Soon, he will even return as Dr. Doom, who could be even more sinister than Thanos.

In 2008, the next film in the franchise followed: The Incredible Hulk. This film had little impact on the MCU and after just one film, the lead actor Edward Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo, who later appeared as a supporting character in various films.

The film was not a major success compared to Iron Man. With a budget of 150 million dollars, the film grossed only approximately 264 million US dollars worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). With this result, it ranks second to last in the franchise. Only The Marvels has grossed less.

The reviews were also rather mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film is barely considered fresh with a critic score of 68% based on 237 reviews.

Start video
The Incredible Hulk – Trailer for the Forgotten MCU Movie from 2008

Edward Norton liked the Hulk a lot

What does Edward Norton say about the Hulk movie? In an interview with Joe Rogan (via YouTube), Edward Norton spoke about the Hulk movie in 2019 and why he decided to participate. He explains that he is a huge comic fan and has his own interpretation of the character:

The Hulk is like Prometheus, the guy who steals fire from the gods for the humans, but he gets burned and is cursed, and he tries to give humanity back the power of nature.

This actually fits the Hulk, who has gained enormous power with which he can theoretically protect humans. The Hulk is also an uncontrollable burden that weighs on Bruce Banner like a curse.

In The Incredible Hulk, this is also the theme. Bruce tries to control the power and live with it, yet he is a constant danger to himself and others. On the other hand, the government also wants to possess his power, which acts like a superweapon that is hard to defend against.

The Hulk in the current MCU is more like a character that is brought out when strength is needed. As a supporting character, he lacks the moral and personal approach that comic fans or in this case, Edward Norton, appreciate.

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Was was taken from The Incredible Hulk? After the attempt in 2008, there has been no new film in which the Hulk was the main character. However, he has appeared as a supporting character in countless MCU films. He was then played by Mark Ruffalo. Even Mark Ruffalo no longer believes in a solo film (via Hollywood Reporter).

However, the villain from The Incredible Hulk had smaller appearances in the MCU. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings from 2021, you could see Abomination, played by Tim Roth, fight against Wong. In the series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law from 2022, he even appeared in several episodes and had a minor supporting role.

In the MCU, the Hulk seems like a character that people do not want to work much with. However, the Hulk has enormous potential that has often been tapped into in comics. MyMMO editor Nikolas Hernes explained in an article what bothers him about the MCU Hulk: I can’t forgive Marvel after 16 years for how they wasted one of the most intriguing heroes

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. IMDb

One of the most successful MMORPGs turns 24, receiving such complex quests for the celebration that the developers are including a guide

Karsten Scholz Karsten Scholz Reading time 5 minutes

It’s time for our MeinMMO format “MMORPG News in two Minutes.” We summarize the most important news around the best genre in the world. Look forward to many anniversary celebrations, roadmaps, and updates.

The highlights of the week:

What else has happened? With the turn of the year, we have updated our list of all MMORPGs currently in development for PC. A whopping 59 online role-playing games are now listed there. Among them are well-known titles like Aion 2, the new EverQuest MMORPG, Guild Wars 3, the LoL MMORPG, the new Warhammer MMORPG, ArcheAge Chronicles, or the online adventure for Lord of the Rings.

Here is the first trailer for the new ArcheAge MMORPG:

Start video
ArcheAge Chronicles: Trailer shows for the first time the successor to ArcheAge

Anniversary version of WoW Classic enters phase 2

This is what happened in the major MMORPGs:

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What happened in the small MMORPGs:

  • The developers of Albion Online have introduced the next update “Rogue Frontier,” which will include smuggler hideouts, new activities in the Outlands, and much more. You can find the official preview on albiononline.com.
  • In January, several in-game events are taking place in SWTOR again. You can find the details at swtor.com.
  • The developers of Tibia are deleting one of the world’s top players with level 2,500+ for the first time as part of a new ban wave. By the way, this week the MMORPG celebrated its 28th anniversary. This is being celebrated with a dragon event (via tibia.com).
  • The well-known Vtuber Nerissa Ravencroft has been playing Old School RuneScape for a few months. Now she was able, thanks to her community and ambiguous wording, to almost completely master one of the hardest grinds of the MMORPG.
  • The new roadmap for Aion Classic reveals what is planned for the first half of 2025. Some players fear that a new feature could destroy an entire faction.
  • Roadmaps for 2025 were also provided for EverQuest and EverQuest II each. Check out everquest.com and everquest2.com.
  • As the 22nd anniversary of Final Fantasy XI was coming up in May 2024, the responsible parties at Square Enix wanted to find out through a survey what would have to happen to bring players back to the MMORPG classic. The answer of many players: Make the subscription cheaper!
  • DC Universe Online is celebrating its 14th birthday! Anyone logging in by February 3, 2025, will receive a free box with CR-420 gear, which allows you to jump straight into the endgame. Note that you must have mastered the tutorial to receive the box, and your hero must be at least level 30 (via dcuniverseonline.com).

This is what happened in MMORPGs in development:

  • As the current shards of the early access version of Pax Dei are slowly filling up, the developers went live with a new shard for the US and EU regions on January 10, 2025. The new EU server is named Mimir (via mmorpg.com).
  • On January 16, 2025, the next phase of Alpha 2 of Ashes of Creation begins. This phase is expected to last until May 1, granting testers 24/7 access to the alpha content (via ashesofcreation.com).
  • The sandbox MMORPG Ravendawn is getting a mobile version that will offer the full functionality of the game and crossplay. The first stress test is scheduled for January 16, 2025. More details can be found at ravendawn.online.
  • MIR5 is set to be the first MMORPG to utilize NVIDIA ACE technology to calculate boss AI (via YouTube).
  • On January 6, 2025, a new pixel MMORPG called Fantasy Online 2 was launched on Steam. The reviews are currently at 93 percent positive, although there are only 30 ratings so far.
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With that, we have summarized the most important news that has recently occurred in the world of MMORPGs.

What were you excited about this week? What upset you? Let us know in the comments. If you’re looking for a fun yet informative overview of online role-playing games, be sure to check this out: Report, columns, talks, and the top list of the best MMORPGs of all time – that was the theme week from MeinMMO

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Pokémon GO: Mega Raid Day with Mega Gallade – How to Make the Most of This Event Today

Max Handwerk Max Handwerk Reading time 2 minutes

In Pokémon GO the Mega Raid Day begins with Mega-Gardevoir. How to catch the monster and what you should pay attention to, read here.

When does the Mega Raid Day start? The event starts on Saturday, January 11, at 2:00 PM. It ends at 5:00 PM.

What kind of Pokémon is this? Gardevoir evolves from Ralts and Kirlia when you use a Sinnoh Stone on a male specimen.

Mega-Gardevoir, in turn, is its Mega Evolution. For that, you need Mega Energy – and for the first time, you can secure it during the Mega Raid Day with Mega-Gardevoir.

How to get Mega-Gardevoir:

  • Defeat Mega-Gardevoir in the Mega Raid
  • Catch the normal variant of Gardevoir after a successful raid
  • Use the required Mega Energy on Gardevoir. You will receive more Mega Energy the faster you complete the Mega Raid.

This is how you unlock the Mega Evolution, which lasts a few hours before Mega-Gardevoir reverts to Gardevoir.

The Raid Day is ideal for collecting the necessary energy because there are some great bonuses.

Start video
Pokémon GO reveals the new season Dual Destiny in the trailer

How to use the Mega Raid Day in Pokémon GO

The most important thing is to take advantage of the bonuses. They are as follows:

  • You will receive up to five free raid passes from gyms that you spin. Since there are two free passes available every day this season anyway, you will have 7 available if you use them all.
  • Keep in mind: You will only receive a new free pass from gyms when the last one you obtained has been used.
  • Your chance of shiny Gardevoir is increased.

This means: You should complete as many raids as possible. This way, you can use up the free passes, collect a lot of Mega Energy, and take advantage of the increased chance for the shiny variant more often.

Therefore, you will need to walk a lot from gym to gym, depending on where you live and how the gyms are distributed.

By the way: The bonuses from the current Fashion Week run simultaneously with the Raid Day.

How to defeat Mega-Gardevoir? Mega-Gardevoir is weak to attacks from Flying, Ghost, and Fairy types. The best counters against Mega-Gardevoir can be found here.

How many trainers do I need? With the best counters, Mega-Gardevoir should be beatable by two trainers. If possible, try it with more players – just to be safe.

Is remote raiding possible? Yes, you can also battle Mega-Gardevoir through remote raids. The remote raid limit is increased to 20 on this day. But remote raid passes must be purchased for coins in the shop; they are not offered for free during the Raid Day.

What else does the shop offer? In the shop, you will find an optional event ticket for 5.49 Euros. This provides the following bonuses:

  • 8 additional raid passes from gyms
  • Increased chance of special XL candies after raids
  • 50% more XP and Stardust after a successful raid
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Note the Classic Community Day: On January 25, 2025, the Classic Community Day with Ralts runs from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. This day is ideal for collecting lots of candies for Ralts, and thus its evolutions like Gardevoir. In fact, this is the perfect day to find a strong Ralts specimen and evolve it into Gardevoir.

If you don’t catch a powerful specimen with good stats on Raid Day, it might be better to save the Mega Energy and evolve a Gardevoir that you catch on Community Day into its Mega form. And if you want to know what else is coming up: Here are all events in January 2025 for Pokémon GO.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

26-year-old becomes part of gaming history due to a silly mistake, now pleading: “Please, let it be over”

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

It’s rare for players to screw up so badly that they go down in video game history and coin a term: But one team achieved this in Overwatch in 2017. Since then, “to do a Cloud9” or simply C9 has represented a specific, particularly dumb mistake. And it’s resurfacing now. The 26-year-old Swede who was responsible for it back then doesn’t find it so funny.

What was the problem? In 2017, during Season 2 of Overwatch, there was a match between AF Blue and Cloud9. The first team to win 3 matches decided the outcome of the encounter.

The Cloud9 team clearly dominated the encounter, but still lost the match because they “did a Cloud 9” in 2 of their 3 defeats.

They had defeated the opponents but somehow forgot to capture the point that was actually the objective of the match. This was such a dumb mistake that it became known as “doing a Cloud 9”: defeating the opponent team but ignoring the actual objective.

Today, shooter players shout Cloud9, Cloud9! when their team has won the fight but they want to remind everyone that they still need to secure the actual target.

Start video
Marvel Rivals Season 0: The Official Trailer for Doom’s Rise

Please, let it be

This is the situation now: Although Overwatch no longer plays the same role as it did in 2017, the game’s star had already faded as Fortnite surged. However, the new hit on Steam and Twitch is the hero shooter Marvel Rivals, which operates very similarly to the way Overwatch used to.

Therefore, former Cloud9 player Lucas “Mendo” Håkansson screamed on Twitter:

That Marvel Rivals being such a hit means that a lot of new players will learn what “doing a Cloud9” means and that I invented it. PLEASE, LET IT BE PLEASEEE!

In the comments, someone responds: “You are my code in Counter-Strike. Instead of saying ‘Don’t do a Cloud 9’, I always just shout ‘MENDO MENDO!’, because it’s quicker and more precise.

liquid-mendo

Successful pro gamer is haunted by one mistake for 8 years

Who is this? Mendo is 26 years old and from Sweden. He has earned about $65,000 in prize money with Overwatch and is a streamer on Twitch. He is now among the top 100 players of Marvel Rivals.

But this one mistake from 2017 apparently still haunts him. He can only be glad that the mistake is named after Cloud9 and not after him. Mendo was probably just lucky that he is not in the spotlight as much and not as well-known as other people.

One of the most famous streamers on Twitch, “Summit1G”, didn’t have that luck. He once ventured into esports but died in such a stupid way in Counter-Strike that since then “doing a Summit” stands for dying dumbly in the fire while you should actually be defusing the bomb: CS:GO – Popular streamer summit1g messes up in pro game – monumental

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. PCGamer

He destroyed Europe’s dreams of the World Championship in LoL, now he returns

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 2 minutes

The South Korean Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang (28) is returning to League of Legends: He was the major obstacle that shattered Europe’s dreams in 2019 of becoming world champions in LoL once again. He crushed the hopes of the then golden generation of Perkz, Jankos, and Caps. And he did it mercilessly.

That was the situation for G2 in 2019: 2019 was actually the year when it could have been possible for the flagship team of Europe, G2, to seize the world champion title:

  • They had previously snagged the best player from Fnatic, Caps, and the G2 players were at their peak.
  • The Worlds were taking place in Europe, so they had home-field advantage.
  • The competition was somewhat off: Faker had relatively weak teammates at T1, DAMWON Gaming and Showmaker were still too inexperienced, and couldn’t handle the pressure – even the Chinese teams were suddenly beatable in 2019.

2025 will be an exciting year for Esports in LoL:

Start video
LoL abolishes the LCS!

Super-Carry shattered Europe’s dreams

So why didn’t it work out? G2 entered the final against FunPlus Phoenix in Paris with great confidence and suffered a terrible defeat there. They lost 0-3.

Particular disgrace: The ADC of FunPlus Phoenix, Lwx, didn’t die a single time and even made a harsh remark to G2.

The central player of FunPlus Phoenix was “Doinb”, who was known as the “Super-Carry” and dominated the match with his creative playstyle. He played alongside his brilliant jungle partner Tian, and both took turns in securing kills and setting them up.

There was no way around Doinb at that time.

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Doinb took a 2-year break from professional LoL

Was he gone for long? Yes, Doinb actually ended his career in 2022 and became a streamer. He analyzed the current happenings in League of Legends.

The South Korean, who has been playing and living in China for many years, has been contemplating his return repeatedly. However, after T1 demolished China at the last Worlds, he predicted: A lot of money would flow out of the Chinese league LPL now, making it hard for him to envision a return.

However, it seems Doinb has reconsidered: After a 2-year hiatus, the 2019 world champion will play professional LoL in China again. He has signed with the team Ninjas in Pyjamas.

The Chinese league starts on January 12, and Doinb will have his first match on January 19. However, it can be assumed that it won’t lead to such a dominant world championship run as in 2019 for him again in 2025. But Europe is also miles away from the title today. The former golden generation of G2 is now halfway into streaming retirement: The heroes of Europe, Perkz and Jankos, are likely playing LoL together again because Riot is changing the rules.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. dotesports

New fantasy movie features a Marvel star and a famous assassin bride as heroes – the story comes from George R.R. Martin

Niko Hernes Niko Hernes Reading time 2 minutes

Most people probably know George R.R. Martin as the author of the Game of Thrones books. However, he had already released many short stories before that. A fantasy short story is now being turned into a film. A well-known director and two actors, whom you might know from action movies, are involved.

What film is it about? A new fantasy film called In The Lost Lands has been announced, which we won’t have to wait long for. The film is set to premiere in German cinemas on March 6, 2025. The director is no stranger.

Paul W.S. Anderson is directing the film, which is based on a short story by George R.R. Martin that was published in 1982. Paul W.S. Anderson is mainly known for rather poorly rated films like the Resident Evil film series or the Monster Hunter film from 2020, which did not please the fans.

The two main actors are also not unknown. Former wrestler Dave Bautista is primarily known as Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy. Milla Jovovich is also familiar with action films. She played the lead role in the Resident Evil films by her husband.

You can watch a trailer for the film here:

Start video
In The Lost Lands – Trailer for the new fantasy film by Paul W.S. Anderson

The Search for the Ability to Become a Werewolf

What is In The Lost Lands about? A queen desires nothing more than to be happy in love. She sends a gifted witch, played by Milla Jovovich, on a journey to the Lost Lands, to find a magic that allows her to transform into a werewolf. She is accompanied by a hunter, played by Dave Bautista.

The trailer already shows that the film will likely offer a lot of action. There are fights with weapons, but also magic. The background story could also be exciting. At times, it feels like a post-apocalypse setting that takes place more in the future than in the Middle Ages.

What can we expect from In The Lost Lands? With Paul W.S. Anderson, one should always be cautious. One should not expect an excellent book adaptation like in the first seasons of Game of Thrones. In Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, it was already evident that Anderson brings his own style to the screen rather than closely adhering to the source material.

Regarding Milla Jovovich, it must be said that she has not exactly become known for her good acting. Although Dave Bautista has shown in Guardians of The Galaxy or Blade Runner 2049 that he can definitely act. Nevertheless, he has also appeared in many mediocre films.

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Milla Jovovich is mainly known for her role as Alice in the Resident Evil films, in addition to The Fifth Element. She has done that for years, but one of her dreams was never realized: She appeared in six Resident Evil films, but Milla Jovovich’s unfulfilled dream was to see Alice in Capcom games

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. IMDb

Finally, the announcement for Elden Ring: Nightreign, you have been waiting for, is coming

Sophia Weiss Sophia Weiss Reading time < 1 minutes

Bandai Namco has announced the highly anticipated Network Test for Elden Ring: Nightreign (e.g. via X).

Starting from February 14, 2025, selected players will be able to participate in five sessions. According to the publisher, the test will not cover the entire game, and the texts and features may differ from the final release version.

Bandai Namco will select participants from a pool of pre-registrations. Those who wish to participate can sign up by January 20, 2025, via the publisher’s official homepage. All information about this, as well as the exact dates of the Network Test can be found on MeinMMO.

Update from 01/10/2025 at around 16:34: Under an official announcement post on X.com, some potential players report issues with registration: Before registering, the respective email address must be verified. However, the verification email seems not to be reaching some.

In contrast, there are response posts from players who were able to register. It seems that currently only a few people are affected.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Sword Fighting Expert Explains How Well Henry Cavill Actually Fights as the Witcher

Niko Hernes Niko Hernes Reading time 3 minutes

Sword fights have been in movies and series since the inception of the medium. Various swords and styles are interpreted in different ways. An expert explains in a video how well the Witcher and other fighters handle the sword.

What kind of video is it? On the YouTube channel Insider, experts are shown scenes from movies and series in various subject areas, which they then evaluate. A paleontologist, for example, has evaluated all Jurassic Park films.

In a different YouTube video, the expert on sword fighting, Dave Rawlings, speaks. He is one of the few people in the world who teach sword fighting and has over 25 years of experience (via The London Longsword Academy). In the video, he analyzes the fight scene in the first season of The Witcher.

Start video
Witcher: Trailer for the TV series on Netflix

Henry Cavill impresses, the fight itself does not

Which fight is it about? In the 1st episode of the 1st season of The Witcher, there is an impressive fight scene where Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia fights against several opponents. The expert praises at the beginning that Henry Cavill does not carry his sword on his back, but holds it in his hand.

Usually, heroes like to carry their longswords on their backs in movies and series. However, the expert explains in the video that it was likely not looked upon favorably when swords were carried on the back. At the same time, it is advantageous in combat to be able to draw a sword directly instead of pulling it from the back.

He criticizes the fight itself, mainly due to Henry Cavill’s grip. The Witcher holds the sword backwards in many movements, like a knife. This is a significant disadvantage, as one gives up the defense and simultaneously restricts the range that could be possible.

According to the expert, however, Henry Cavill handles the movements well. He finds the Witcher-typical dance with rotating sword movements and jumping from opponent to opponent to be good. Although he likes Henry Cavill as the Witcher, he rates the scene only a 4 out of 10.

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Gladiator and a fight in Game of Thrones are praised

What does the expert say about other fight scenes? Throughout the video, the expert also reacts to other fight scenes from movies and series. One of them is the fight between Maximus and Commodus in the first Gladiator.

He compares the fight to the Spanish fencing style Destreza and particularly praises the parrying in the scene and how Maximus manages to throw Commodus to the ground. He rates the scene a solid 6 out of 10.

In the video, he also analyzes 3 scenes from Game of Thrones. In the fight between Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister, he praises details before the actual fight, but criticizes the movement. Especially that both move very far with the longsword instead of trying to break and control the distance with targeted thrusts, for example.

In general, he finds that the tip of the sword is not well utilized. After parrying, one should try to thrust and not pull back to strike sideways with the sword. He rates this scene a 5 out of 10.

He finds the fight between Brienne and Arya to be quite good. He praises the focus and that there are hardly any pauses in the movements.

In general, he praises all scenes with the Hound Sandor Clegane, because he efficiently eliminates his opponents. There is no long flailing about.

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In addition to swords, guns and other firearms are also constant companions in action films. The John Wick series creates a true action storm from this. But how realistic are the films? An elite soldier explains it in a video: Elite soldier explains how realistic the films about John Wick are

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

One of the best MMORPGs is currently giving away almost 100 hours of gameplay

Sophia Weiss Sophia Weiss Reading time 2 minutes

You can now play one of the best MMORPGs for free: Final Fantasy XIV is giving away almost 100 hours of gameplay.

How do you get almost 100 hours for free? Final Fantasy XIV has launched a new free login campaign. The game is giving away a total of 96 hours of free gameplay between January 9 and February 6, 2025.

Players who return, meaning those who already own a full version of the MMORPG but have not played for at least 30 days since their last subscription (or trial period) expired, can secure the game time. Of course, you also must not currently have an active subscription with game time on a service account.

So, the nearly 100 hours are not for active players of Final Fantasy XIV, but for those who have not set foot in Eorzea for a while: the returnees.

You can also play up to the current patch 7.1:

Start video
Final Fantasy XIV: Trailer for the big ‘Crossroads’ update

Almost 100 hours of free gameplay – Almost without restrictions

Are there any restrictions? There are no content restrictions for returning players during the free gameplay period. All available content can be played. The prerequisite is that you own the respective expansion needed for the content:

If you want to upgrade your starter version or upgrade to the latest add-on, the Dawntrail – Standard Edition is a good choice. This includes the latest expansion as well as all previous ones. You can get an overview of the complete offer on the official Final Fantasy XIV homepage.

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Final Fantasy XIV: All expansions in the Power Ranking – Which is the best?
von Alexander Mehrwald

What can you expect in Final Fantasy XIV? The game is a theme park MMORPG, where content from earlier expansions can still be played today. Completing the main story is the requirement to unlock the content.

If you work through to the end of 7.2, you can currently look forward to these new endgame contents:

  • 8-player raid The Arkadion – Halfweight (normal and epic)
  • 24-player raid Echoes from Vana’diel – Jeuno: The first stage
  • Chaotic alliance raid The Cloud of Darkness (chaotic)
  • Ultimate A Second Future (fatal)

You can view all current and past endgame content of Final Fantasy XIV in our endgame guide: Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail: Endgame – Chaotic alliance raids, trials, treasure maps, and more

Final Fantasy XIV remains one of the most popular MMORPGs in the world alongside World of Warcraft. Especially the music seems to have captivated many people. For his return to the ring and also on television, a wrestler has even had a song written for him by the Final Fantasy XIV composer: One of the best wrestlers in the world is finally back – With epic boss music like from Final Fantasy XIV

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. Lodestone

Ryzen 7 7800X3D or Ryzen 7 9800X3D: Which AMD CPU should I buy for my PC?

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 3 minutes

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is currently considered the best CPU you can buy for a gaming PC, according to tests. However, the predecessor is available at a lower price. Which processor is worth it the most and for whom does another CPU make sense? MeinMMO presents the similarities and differences of the CPUs and explains what you should know before making a purchase.

The most important points at a glance:

  • The Ryzen 7 9800X3D was released in late 2024 and is the successor to the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
  • AMD’s processors with “3XD” in the name are equipped with a 3D V-Cache. This benefits games more than general applications.
  • The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is currently the fastest CPU on the market, and with a price of around 600 Euros, it is not exactly cheap.

With the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, AMD released its latest gaming CPU with 3D cache in November 2024 and immediately offered a successor to the popular Ryzen 7 7800X3D. But for whom is the new CPU worth it? Or should one rather stick with the older model, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D?

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D: The specs compared

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3DAMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Cores / Threads8 / 168 / 16
Base Clock4.7 GHz4.2 GHz
Boost Clock5.2 GHz5 GHz
L2 + L3 (Cache)8 + 32 + 64 MB8 + 32 + 64 MB
SocketAM5AM5
TDP (in Watts)120120
MSRP (Euros)529499
Market Price (Euros)589522

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D: Similarities and differences

Similarities:

  • Both processors are 8-core CPUs with 16 threads.
  • Both have the same cache size (L2 + L3)
  • 9800X3D and 7800X3D both use the same AM5 socket.
  • The TDP of both processors is also identical: Both require 120 watts.

The differences between AM4 and AM5 have been thoroughly explained on MeinMMO.

Differences:

  • The base and boost clocks of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D are slightly higher than those of the older Ryzen 7 7800X3D:
  • The Ryzen 9800X3D supports 192 GB of DDR5 RAM, while the Ryzen 7 7800X3D supports a maximum of 128 GB.
  • The L1 cache of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is slightly larger (640 KB vs 512 KB).
  • According to AMD, the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is unlocked for overclocking, while the older 7800X3D is not.

Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Ryzen 7 7800X3D: Which CPU is better?

Which CPU is better? The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the better and faster CPU in comparison. In independent tests, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is about 14% ahead of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. This is noted by ComputerBase in their review. The average FPS with the 9800X3D is 152, while the older counterpart only reaches 134.

Compared to Intel’s new CPUs of the “Arrow Lake-S,” the gap is even larger. The new Intel Core Ultra 200S lags between 30 and 40% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. This is also said to be a reason why AMD has significant supply issues.

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In Germany, there are over 400 USB sticks protruding from walls – What is the ‘Dead Drops’ project?

Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Ryzen 7 7800X3D: Which one should you buy?

Links marked with a shopping cart are so-called affiliate links. When purchasing through these links, we receive a small commission depending on the provider – without affecting the price. More info.

If you already own the Ryzen 7 7800X3D: An upgrade to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is hardly worthwhile for you as the performance gain is barely noticeable. Even if you have a high-end graphics card like the RTX 4090 in your PC, the upgrade is hardly worth it.

If you’re a casual gamer: If you game occasionally or gaming is just not your main hobby? Then neither of the two high-end CPUs is worth it for you. There are cheaper and better alternatives for you.

If you own a “Ryzen 5000” CPU or older: If you are using an older AMD CPU, the two X3D processors offer you massive improvements in performance (assuming a modern graphics card). As far as Intel is concerned, both Ryzen 7 X3D chips surpass everything available in terms of gaming performance.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Der Ryzen 7 7800X3D ist 2025 immer noch sehr stark, da er mehr als genügend Power für Spiele liefert. Nur bei reinen Anwendungen sind andere CPUs besser.
  • Sehr hohe Leistung in Games
  • Beeindruckende Effizienz
  • Preis-Leistung
  • Anwendungsleistung
ca. 370 €
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Der Ryzen 7 9800x3D ist die derzeit schnellste CPU für Spieler. Daneben ist er außerdem sehr effizient und auch in Anwendungen überraschend gut
ca. 590 €

Ryzen 7 9800X3D or 7 7800X3D: If you want to upgrade now, the new Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the better choice. Because for an additional cost of about 70 Euros, you get the current best CPU available on the market for gaming.

If the 70 Euros is too much for you, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D still offers you a very good CPU for gaming that will also be future-proof in the coming years.

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GeForce RTX 5070: Price, Release and Specs – Is the GPU better than an RTX 4090 for 2,000 Euros?
von Benedikt Schlotmann
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GeForce RTX 5090: Price, Release and Specs – Everything You Should Know Before Buying
von Benedikt Schlotmann

AMD introduced its next graphics card at CES 2025. MeinMMO presents all the details we already know about the new RX 9070 XT and what you should know before buying a new graphics card: RX 9070 XT: Price, Release, and Specs – Everything we know about AMD’s new graphics card

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

After 15 Years, Minecraft Finally Has More Pig Content

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 2 minutes

A new patch for Minecraft finally brings more variety for animal lovers. More pigs and prettier forests with foliage.

Minecraft is one of those games that will probably never truly be “finished.” There are always new updates and improvements that introduce new content to the survival game. The latest snapshot, the newest patch version, finally brings an improvement that long-time fans have mostly addressed themselves with mods: pigs in new variations. Because after 15 years, there are finally new piglets.

Minecraft will also soon have a movie:

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A Minecraft Movie: First Complete Trailer in German

What are these variations? Pigs in Minecraft have only existed in one form so far: the typical pink variant. Whether you were exploring the jungle, researching icy tundras, or wandering around large flower meadows – pigs looked the same everywhere in Minecraft. This has long been a thorn in the side of many players, as little has changed about pigs for 15 years. This is now changing, as there is now a new “cold” and a “warm” variation of pigs.

  • The cold pigs have a yellowish-white coloring and, by the look of it, even a little fur to keep them warm in the cold temperatures.
  • The warm pigs have a more brownish-orange coloring.

Where can you find the pigs? The location of the pigs can already be guessed from their names.

  • “Warm” pigs can be found in all biomes with great warmth. These are, for example, the jungle, various savannas, or the wastelands.
  • “Cold” pigs can primarily be found in the taiga biomes or in the windy forests. If you find snow, these pigs are usually nearby.
  • “Normal” pigs: In all biomes where the other two variants do not occur – a temperate climate.

Pigs of different variants are compatible with each other, so they can be used for breeding. The resulting piglet will randomly have the appearance of one of the two parent animals. Hybrid forms do not exist – unlike with sheep.

Note that the new pigs are currently only available in the snapshot. It will still take a while before they transition into the live version of Minecraft.

More about Minecraft:
Twitch streamer has been training in Minecraft for 3 months, fails for 8 hours
von Johanna
81-year-old grandma plays Minecraft on YouTube to earn money for her grandson’s cancer treatment, the plan works
von Karsten Scholz
MrBeast lets girls compete against boys, but one participant says: 30% of the girls were guys
von Cedric Holmeier

What else is new? Apart from the new pigs, there are also a few adjustments to the forests. Forests now generate foliage, which can be collected by characters and processed into blocks. This is likely to lead to foliage having a greater impact on the game’s environment in the long run, as many forests will now be covered with foliage on the ground.

Other new features include adjusted recipe costs for the lodestone (to fix compasses) and the fact that you can now name the creepy mob “Creaking” with a plaque, allowing it to survive during the day and not be immediately destroyed – provided it is not destroyed in other ways.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. minecraft.net

The best Far Cry currently costs 5 € on Steam, but only for a short time

Ody Ody Reading time 2 minutes

On Steam, you can grab the best part of the Far Cry series, according to fans, for just €5. However, this offer won’t last long.

Which game is being talked about? Far Cry 3 is still celebrated by fans as the best part of the series and is among the best Ubisoft games of all time. This enormous popularity is also due to the man who appears on almost every cover of the game.

You can watch a trailer for Far Cry 3 here:

Start video
Far Cry 3: The Ubisoft Classic in the Cinematic Trailer

Simple story with a captivating villain

What makes Far Cry 3 so outstanding? The game tells a simple story with complex characters. You are Jason Brody: wealthy, spoiled, and an adrenaline junkie. However, the comfortable life ends as soon as you land on an island with friends and are kidnapped by pirates.

Throughout the story, Jason transforms from a fearful child to a stoic warrior and meets a series of quirky characters. They have since become essential in Far Cry, and in this respect, part 3 was groundbreaking for the future of the series.

Although Jason himself is an exciting character, he is overshadowed by another character in the game (and even pushed off the cover): Vaas. The sadistic pirate is portrayed by Michael Mando and dances on the fine line between pure madness and calculated malice.

A classic open world from Ubisoft

How does it play? Far Cry 3 lets you loose in a manageable open world. It is played from a first-person perspective, so you see everything through the eyes of your character. Besides shooter gameplay, you also encounter occasional stealth sections. How exactly you want to proceed is often up to you.

The game world of Far Cry 3 operates according to the now well-known (and much-hated) “Ubisoft formula” – you liberate outposts, climb towers to unveil the map, and hunt animals to craft wallets and ammo pouches from their hides.

What makes the game worth experiencing despite a certain formulaic approach to the game world are the characters and the story. The smaller scope helps keep the gameplay fresh over long stretches of the game. For a game that was released in 2012, it has aged quite well both visually and in gameplay.

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How much does the game cost? On Steam, Far Cry 3 has a standard price of €19.99. However, until January 12, you can secure the game for just €4.99. If you miss this discount promotion, it’s not the end of the world, as the game is often reduced in price.

With Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, the game received a standalone DLC that sends you to a wacky retro sci-fi version of the island. This setting is now used by another game; read more about it here: Ubisoft has quietly released a new shooter – but it relies on a technology gamers hoped had died in 2022

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

For the first time in history, 5 women have qualified for a major tournament in Counter-Strike

Schuhmann Schuhmann Reading time 3 minutes

On January 29, the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025 tournament will start in Counter-Strike 2 (Steam). For the first time in the history of the shooter, a team of 5 women will compete in such a tournament of the ESL ProTour. The team has been dominating the women’s league ESL Impact since 2022. A second team of women has theoretically qualified for 2025 but will not participate.

Which team has qualified? The team is called “Imperial Female” and consists of 2 Russians, one Slovakian, one Romanian, and one Swede. They have been playing for the Brazilian organization Imperial since May 2024, which bought the roster from Team Pidgeon at that time (via bo3).

The team won everything there was to win in 2024 in a women’s league in Counter-Strike 2 and finished first in 8 LAN tournaments.

Therefore, they earned enough points to qualify in a ranking created by Valve, as the number 23 of 24 invited teams for the big tournament in Katowice, where a prize pool of $1 million will be contested. The winning team will receive $400,000.

Start video
Counter-Strike 2: Valve once again impresses with the launch trailer

The oldest player received her first prize money in 2007

What have they been playing so far? The players in the team have achieved quite a lot in their scene.

The oldest player, the 33-year-old Swede “zAAZ”, earned her first prize money in 2007. She has now earned about $86,000 in prize money with Counter-Strike.

The Romanian “AnA” has won prize money in CS:GO since 2017 and has earned 95,000 $ through victories in the women’s league “ESL Impact”.

The least experienced player in the team, the Slovakian “Kat”, received her first prize money only in 2021, but she has also had 3 lucrative years and has now earned $94,000 with Counter-Strike (via esportsearnings).

These are the 5 players who have dominated the competition in the women’s scene since 2022 and have secured numerous first places in the seasons of ESL Impact.

valve-frauen

How is this being discussed? On Twitter, this is being received positively. In the comments, it says:

  • “Deserved”
  • “Historic moment”
  • “When you look at how long some have been around, your jaw drops”

There are negative voices claiming that they “did not deserve” the spot or that the place is wasted on them. But these voices are in the minority.

Why is only one team qualified? Theoretically, a second women’s team could have qualified for the tournament this year. The ladies from “FURIA fe” had enough points for 24th place in the ranking, but since each organization can only send one team, Furia decided to send their men’s team, which is ranked 10th.

What’s behind this: Ultimately, it is Valve who decides on the value of the individual leagues, how many women’s teams are allowed to participate in such a tournament. If they had rated ESL Impact less strongly, there would also be no women’s team in 2025.

The team’s achievement is nonetheless to dominate a weakly rated league so much that enough points are earned for 23rd place to qualify. Therefore, it is definitely an achievement.

The debate about women in e-sports, and whether there should be mixed teams, is heated and emotionally charged. It is known that a women’s team in LoL was once so harshly mocked by their opponents that Riot had to intervene.

But apparently, things are slowly moving.

Recently, a German player made a kind of breakthrough in e-sports, even if only in an exhibition tournament. The Twitch streamer Thunny was able to impress in the battle against the world champion Faker and his team in League of Legends: LoL: Twitch streamer steps in for sick friend, defeats world champion Faker, immediately retires

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. dotesports

Players fear that Monster Hunter Wilds might be too easy – Developers now address these concerns

Alexander Mehrwald Alexander Mehrwald Reading time 2 minutes

Monster Hunter Wilds is intended to be particularly beginner-friendly. Many fans and veterans have therefore worried that the game might be too easy and lack a challenge. The developers are now addressing this concern with an explanation.

Why did fans have concerns? Monster Hunter Wilds takes a lot of inspiration from its successful predecessor Monster Hunter World. Even back then, some veterans criticized the game for being too easy (via Reddit).

Due to the focus on accessibility for beginners, there are now concerns that Wilds offers even less challenge. A new feature has also fueled this assumption.

A star system is supposed to make it easier for players to assess monsters on open maps. Veterans are worried that fights within the story will no longer provide a challenge. They suspect that these will be moved to open encounters to make it easier for newcomers.

Start video
Monster Hunter Wilds: Daisy Ridley explains the lore

Many players dropped out early

Why is accessibility particularly important to the developers? In an interview with IGN, the developers address their decisions. They have data indicating that many players dropped out of Monster Hunter World before it even truly began, as producer Tsujimoto reports:

We have data showing that many people who quit World did so before actually playing Monster Hunter. I think there are many reasons for this, but maybe they couldn’t find any monsters, or they didn’t know what to do when they did find them. Or maybe the weapon they brought wasn’t the right one for that fight.

Furthermore, he explains that it is normal in action games for there to always be players who do not finish the game. It doesn’t matter how much one tries to adjust it and fix problem areas. Nevertheless, they want to keep this number as small as possible. They analyzed the points where players dropped out and tried to find solutions.

How are they trying to solve the problem? According to Tsujimoto, they want to guide new players more so they can find an easier way into the game. Care was taken to ensure that the core and fun of the series, which fans love, are not changed.

Step by step, players are to acquire the skills that will allow them to master the later challenges well. With this approach, they want to ensure that by the end of the game, the skills of newcomers and experienced players will hardly differ.

The order of monsters that players face is designed to create a learning curve. The first monster, Chatacabra, uses only focused attacks, while Quematrice, the second monster, poses various attack challenges to its hunters.

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Monster Hunter Wilds: Flamefete – All about time, rewards and quests
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The basic difficulty level in Monster Hunter Wilds can reportedly be equated with that of Monster Hunter World.

In Wilds, they have made sure to ease newcomers’ entry, but they have refrained from making the monsters weaker. Veterans should also retain the gaming experience that they ultimately expect from the purchase.

In early February, there will again be an opportunity to take a look at Monster Hunter Wilds through a second open beta.

However, it should be noted that the improvements announced after the first beta will not be included in this version. Nevertheless, it offers a good opportunity to test whether the gameplay is something for you: Monster Hunter Wilds announces 2nd Open Beta: All important info for the start

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

Path of Exile 2 will clarify the players’ most pressing questions – They know exactly what they want

Cedric Holmeier Cedric Holmeier Reading time 2 minutes

In Path of Exile 2, the developers have returned from their Christmas holiday and brought a new patch with them. However, the community has long expressed its demands.

How are things going with the developers? In Path of Exile 2, the developers have been back from their Christmas vacation since this week. They have used the past few days to release some bug fixes that should repair certain issues.

The developers are also working on a large, new patch. What exactly will change has not been revealed yet. They plan to announce this in a livestream on Sunday at 9:30 PM German time on Twitch.

What will the livestream be about? The livestream is set to include a short announcement video with details about the new patch as well as an episode of the “Tavern Talk” podcast. This time, Game Directors Jonathan Rogers and Mark Roberts will be talking together with community streamers Ghazzy and DarthMicrotransaction.

Content-wise, there should be further details about the patch. Additionally, the “burning questions” (via Pathofexile.com) will be answered there. The podcast will take place immediately following the announcement video, so you can simply stay on the Twitch channel.

While the developers want to reveal nothing about the upcoming patch, the player community has already formed clear ideas about what should come next.

One of the most useful features in the game is this NPC:

Start video
This NPC in Path of Exile 2 identifies your items

A major demand and many small ones

What demands does the community have? The player base of Path of Exile 2 already knows exactly what it wants. One demand overshadows everything so far: loot filters for consoles. Until now, only players on PC can set filters for which loot they want to see and which should be hidden.

They have become an indispensable tool for many players to keep track in the flood of items. The most well-known loot filter comes from a German developer.

What was not a problem at first now poses significant challenges for console players, as recent updates to the action RPG have introduced more loot, and many gamers have reached the endgame where countless items just drop. This criticism was recently voiced by a professional player from Path of Exile 2.

What other small demands are there? In addition to the main topic of loot filters and some presumably unrealistic demands like the release of one or more new classes, there are also many small wishes.

One of them is the implementation of the minion skill “Raise Spectre.” For example, Ryutonin has made this request on Reddit and it has garnered a lot of support. The skill is known to many gamers from its predecessor, where it allowed you to capture a defeated enemy as an undead in your minion army. With the wide variety of new enemies in PoE2, this is intriguing for players.

The demand for different skills or more support gems is frequently found in the announcement post on Reddit. There are also gamers who would like to see more buffs and occasionally some nerfs. Some classes remain less popular to this day, as players seem to consider them worse or even too weak.

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What changes and new features the developers will actually bring with the new patch 0.1.1 is still unclear, but not all community wishes will likely be fulfilled. Just before the holiday, the developers released a massive patch with countless improvements and bug fixes: Path of Exile 2: Massive update is here, strengthens classes and skills more than expected – Official patch notes in German

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. pathofexile.com
  2. Reddit

A scene from an anime is so iconic that it still appears in new films even after 37 years

Niko Hernes Niko Hernes Reading time 2 minutes

Every medium loves to be inspired. Some scenes become so iconic that they are referenced decades later in series, movies, or even anime and games. One of the most influential scenes comes from an almost 40-year-old anime.

Which anime is it about? In 1988, the science fiction anime Akira was released. The film, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, is an adaptation of the manga of the same name. The film follows young Tetsuo, who lives in the cyberpunk world of Tokyo 30 years after the third world war.

Together with his motorcycle gang, he tries to survive in Tokyo. One day, he gets into an accident that grants him supernatural abilities. His powers resemble the catastrophe that destroyed Tokyo during the third world war. Instead of using them for good, Tetsuo spirals out of control and can only be stopped by his friend Kaneda.

Akira is not just an anime classic; it is also considered one of the most important films in the sci-fi genre, establishing anime for adults. With its cyberpunk themes and explicit body horror elements, the film is still regarded as a masterpiece, for which even 50 new colors were developed.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the anime has a critic score of 91% based on 54 reviews. The film is also well-received by users, achieving a rating of 90% from over 100,000 reviews.

Even if one is not familiar with the anime, they have likely seen the reference to a specific scene. A motorcycle scene in Akira continues to appear in new movies, series, or animes to this day.

You can watch a trailer for the film here:

Start video
Akira: Trailer shows the groundbreaking animation techniques

An iconic scene that remains a reference to this day

Which scene is it? Right at the beginning of the film, there is a chase scene in which two motorcycle gangs clash. Kaneda is also involved, riding an iconic red cyber motorcycle. He executes a sideways drift at the end of the chase to brake, with one leg on the ground.

The camera does not move in this scene; it stays focused as Kaneda drifts briefly and stops. This scene has become entrenched in pop culture and is frequently referenced in countless new movies, series, and animes. Examples include:

  • The family film Sonic 3 (2024)
  • The horror film Nope (2022)
  • The action film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
  • The animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003 – 2005)

The scene is also honored in animes and games. Examples include Pokémon, Detective Conan , and Rocket League. A compilation of some scenes can be found in the YouTube video by Badspler.

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Is Akira still worth it today? Definitely. Akira is a science fiction milestone that is also interesting for viewers who usually do not like anime. It is an adult cyberpunk film that is still relevant and heavily incorporates horror elements. You can find more anime for adults here: Anime for 16+ – These 5 series are adult and not suitable for small children

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.
Source(s):
  1. IMDb

Fan has a brilliant idea to stop the greatest threat in Warhammer 40,000 – Community explains why it makes him a heretic

Benedict Grothaus Benedict Grothaus Reading time 2 minutes

The universe of Warhammer 40,000 is trapped in an eternal, vast conflict. One of the opponents, however, overshadows the others, as it would literally devour the entire galaxy. With a radical idea, a user wants to contain this danger. The community responds: This has been tried before and did not go well.

What is the greatest danger?

Tyranids are also the antagonists in Space Marine 2; there you can also see their endless hordes:

Start video
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 shows you the Tyranids

What would help now? On Reddit, a user suggested that a series of Exterminatus traps would stop the Tyranids. The proposal: Set up traps that destroy a planet as soon as the Xenos land.

An Exterminatus irretrievably destroys the affected world—by igniting the atmosphere, blowing up the planet, or detonating a virus bomb. It is the highest ultima ratio that the Imperium knows in war.

Instead of reacting, traps should be set up that automatically destroy the planet. The landed Tyranid fleet would also be annihilated, and the swarm would be weakened as it would lose biomass.

The idea itself is logical, but fans quickly point out that even this measure would not help. Because that is exactly what someone tried in the lore, and for that they received the highest punishment.

WArhammer 40k rogue trader exterminatus
This is what an Exterminatus typically looks like.

“The best way to fight Tyranids comes with high costs”

The Reddit user Sbarty explains that the (ex-)Inquisitor Phaedus or Fidus Kryptman already had a similar idea. The Tyranid expert of the Ordo Xenos has already fought in three Tyranid wars.

In the fight against the Tyranid fleet Leviathan, Kryptman selected a number of planets that should undergo Exterminatus as soon as the Tyranids appear. “Kryptman’s lockdown” was meant to deprive the Tyranids of their reproductive foundations and stop them.

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As a result of his plan, however, billions of citizens of the Imperium of Mankind died. Some speak of the greatest genocide since the Horus Heresy, the greatest tragedy of the Imperium up to that point.

The worst part: The Tyranids were not even stopped by this. They continued to spread, just much slower. Because of this, the Carta Extremis was imposed on Kryptman, and he was declared “Excommunicate Haereticus.”

In other words: He was thrown out of the Inquisition and is now considered a traitor and heretic. Such a judgment is usually accompanied by the death penalty. At the moment, however, Kryptman is supposed to fight the swarm fleet Tiamet after an exile – together with the Deathwatch. And that means something: Everyone has respect for the “Deathwatch” in Warhammer 40,000 – there’s a good reason for that.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

An AMD manager says: The best CPU for gamers is constantly sold out because Intel’s new processor is causing issues

Benedikt Schlotmann Benedikt Schlotmann Reading time 2 minutes

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered the best CPU for gaming at the moment, but it is almost always out of stock. In a conversation, an AMD manager explained that they were surprised by the demand. This is because, especially, the competitor Intel has problems with its product.

During a small roundtable with AMD executives at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, the English-language magazine TomsHardware asked when a better availability of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D could be expected.

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D was released on November 7, 2025, and is considered by many gamers and testers to be the best processor for gaming right now. However, the CPU is constantly sold out.

An AMD employee explained that the shortage comes from the fact that there is huge demand, and the competition stumbled over its own product. Intel’s “horrible” product is said to have led to such high demand that far exceeded AMD’s original forecasts.

What did the employee say? Frank Azor is an executive at AMD. He stated in the conversation that the competition, referring to Intel, built a “horrible piece.” And that now causes the demand for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D to be so high. He explained:

We knew that we built a great piece. We did not know that the competitor [Intel] built a horrible piece. The demand was therefore somewhat higher than we had predicted.

Intel’s new “Arrow Lake” CPUs are struggling with performance issues

What kind of problems are these? Intel officially admitted in an interview that there are significant performance issues with its Core Ultra 200 desktop processors (Arrow Lake-S). This is reported by the magazine PCMasters.de. While computing and AI performance are within the expected range, gaming performance is below average. The issues even reached the point where some games would not even start.

The English-language magazine Wccftech.com reports in its analysis that the new “Arrow Lake” processors had absolutely no chance against the Ryzen 7 9800X3D at a price of around 700 euros, “which completely demolished the competition.” However, Intel promised an update for its CPUs that should fix the issues.

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GeForce RTX 5070: Price, Release and Specs – Is the GPU better than an RTX 4090 for 2,000 Euros?
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More about processors: There is also a lot happening with processors, but AMD still wants to focus on the AM5 socket. However, the old AM4 socket can still be purchased and used. But is AM4 still worth it, or should one simply switch to AM5? AMD: Is AM4 still worth it or should one buy AM5 right away?

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.

WoW fan discovers small detail – questions the whole story

Cortyn Cortyn Reading time 4 minutes

A fan of World of Warcraft has discovered an exciting detail. This puts the story of the game in a whole new light.

The story of World of Warcraft is extremely complex and multi-layered. Because the game is constantly evolving, there are occasionally details that get changed – which can often lead to problems. Particularly the Jailer from Shadowlands, who has put many past events of WoW in a new context, has caused annoyance and eye rolls.

Now, a fan has noticed a small detail on a globe from World of Warcraft. A small detail that hinted years ago in which direction the story could go.

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WoW: The War Within – Shadows Beneath the Surface

What was discovered? The player evil-turtle posted in the World of Warcraft subreddit. In it, he describes that he clicked through the wiki of World of Warcraft and also looked at objects that never made it into the finished game.

One of these objects is a globe of Azeroth. The globe is, like in many other representations, surrounded by three large rings that orbit the planet. These rings can also be seen repeatedly in the various logos of World of Warcraft – at least at the end of a cinematic. What is particularly special about this globe is that the sword of Sargeras can also be seen here. The sword was thrust into the planet in such a way that one of the three rings can no longer rotate – it has come to a standstill.

The object was originally created for “Battle for Azeroth”, but was not visible in the finished game:

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What does this mean? The theory of evil-turtle, which also aligns with the current story in the game, is as follows: Azeroth is orbited by these three large rings, which are part of the prison built by the Titans. The prison not only ensures that the World Soul remains imprisoned and can exert little influence, but also that Azeroth remains largely hidden in the cosmos.

At the same time, the prison is part of the “Manifold”, which ensures that the World Soul is increasingly permeated by the order of the Titans.

When Sargeras thrust the sword into the planet at the end of “Legion”, it was possibly indeed to annihilate Azeroth. However, the side effect was that the prison lost one of its barriers. Since then, Azeroth has been able to exert influence on the planet – Azerite surfaces and since The War Within, selected inhabitants also hear the “Radiant Song”, which is most likely the voice of the planet itself.

Since then, Azeroth has been trying more and more to “break out”, to call the inhabitants of the world for help and to resist the Titan’s constraints. The liberation of the Earthen from their drab programming was also condemned by the Titans – a huge construct was supposed to annihilate the Earthen in that case.

WoW Sargeras Sword Silithus
The sword of Sargeras is said to play a significant role – one that is becoming increasingly clear.

What exactly is Azeroth? The opinion on what Azeroth really is has changed over the past few years. For almost “since forever”, the inhabitants of the world believed that Azeroth is a sleeping soul of a Titan. Eventually, this Titan would awaken and join the Pantheon of Titans. In this scenario, the Titans are the good ones – they want to protect the world and its inhabitants until Azeroth “hatches” and joins them.

But basically since “Wrath of the Lich King”, the Titans have been questioned from time to time. There was Algalon, who was supposed to cleanse the entire world of life if corruption was detected.

Now, in the latest expansion “The War Within”, it has become increasingly clear that Azeroth is most likely not a Titan, but a neutral, particularly powerful “World Soul”. The many facilities of the Titans on the world serve as a prison to hold Azeroth, observe it and simultaneously influence it with order (the magic of the Titans).

More about WoW:
The 16 MMORPGs with the most players according to official numbers from the developers
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Blizzard promised quick updates with WoW Midnight without loss of quality – The endeavor has failed
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WoW: Midnight Tier List – Ranking of the Best Classes for DPS, Tanks and Healers
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It is clear that the find of evil-turtle is quite interesting and could close a small gap in the story that narrative theory fans have previously been bothered by. However, one should not forget that Blizzard possibly never intended to bring the globe with the sword into the finished game. In any case, it is nice to see that the current lore is once again sparking so many lively discussions – this had somewhat died down with the disaster of Shadowlands: Those interested in the whole story of World of Warcraft can find a summary here.

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.