AMD's handsome FSR 4 upscaler is coming to handheld PCs this year, though Steam Deck support could take longer

Arc Raiders has delivered a big new update that's very fittingly on theme, and it's not without new mechanics. Arc Raiders is kicking off its last major event of the year. The Cold Snap update arrives moments from now, and it’s perhaps the game’s biggest since its momentous launch in late October. We’ve known about the existence of Cold Snap for a while, of course, but we finally have a solid idea about what to expect.

"The fabulous, feminine answer to James Bond" Not many Americans got a chance to read this classic British newspaper comic

When the major AI models updated in September, it seemed to usher in a tide of vibe coded havoc. The use of it in the modding community was divisive enough. Now dedicated platforms have been flushed and flustered by this new unprecedented wave. One popular platform, decomp.dev, has opted to throw in the towel. Not just because of how pervasive AI entries have become in their space, but for more philosophical reasons. They are a decompiling community, and they feel AI does not foster community. “It is now clear that, with the right guidance, human input, and code reviews, AI can expedite the decompilation process in a significant way,” writes the site’s farewell message. “What is also now clear is that the community aspect of decompilation has been broken.” Founded in 2024, the site became a popular destination in the rapidly accelerating modding space. New tools and growing communities have made the rate of long-awaited translation patches and decompiles far more frequent, but the invasion of AI-generated decomps have fractured the scene. Decomp.dev’s reasoning isn’t anti-AI per se, but mournful in nature. Decompiling, in short, means disassembling and reassembling a game’s code.

Austin Manchester is a writer and editor living in New York City. At Polygon, he covers gaming and entertainment news, reviews new video games, interviews behind-the-scenes talent, and more. He enjoys discovering hidden gems and sharing them with Polygon's audience. Previously, he was the gaming editor for AIPT Comics and has written for other outlets like XDA, How-To Geek, and The List. He enjoys soulslikes, character-driven RPGs, and third-person shooters plucked straight out of the Xbox 360 era. He also likes to flex his non-video game nerdy knowledge sometimes, whether that's explaining who's who in the new Wolverine game or recommending a comic book series about a sentient sword.

Silent Hill developer Bloober Team wants to make physical versions of its games "for as long as possible. "Studio CEO Piotr Babieno opened up about the company's appreciation for physical media and collectibles during an interview with GamesRadar. He started his thoughts by touching on how the gaming landscape and player desires have changed as technology has advanced over the years, explaining that "we have reached a moment where you can't really do much more" in terms of visual and auditory fidelity. "Like, OK, the game can have a slightly higher resolution and maybe better lighting and whatever, but will it make it a more engaging game? I don't think so," Babieno said. The CEO for the studio behind the Silent Hill 2 remake and its in-development original Silent Hill remake also talked about how stats show "the majority of players are playing on hardware which is five, seven years old, if not older. " He continued, saying, "But are they less interested in games because of that? I don't think so. "As AI shapes a new, controversial future in the gaming industry, the Bloober executive seems to be more interested in "thinking about other senses.

While his politics and bigotry have long been part of the parsing, Lovecraftian scholars benefit a great deal by the fact that the namesake died before 1939. Tales of unfathomable beings, the reaches of sanity and proto-steampunk sensibilities are ultimately parceled with race science sentiments and colonial expeditions. A new game from Umurangi Generation creator Naphtali Faulkner seeks to wield the horror genre without excusing its many sins. And how does he accomplish this? Adorable penguins. In Penguin Colony, you play as Antarctic birds. A great deal of them. Big emperor penguins. Little baby penguins. Rockhoppers. Chinstraps. By nuzzling up against another penguin, the player can transfer their essence in an instant. Each has alternating characteristics. Speed. Swimming. Jumping. A photo mode. And while it’d be dandy enough to belly slide around the tundra, their harsh but uncomplicated lives are upended. With dabs of alternative history, the game retells Lovecraft’s At The Mountain of Madness, this time with Nazis unlocking the ice sheets instead of well funded New Englanders. Learning of an ancient god, captured in frost, their research team attempts to uncover the deity.