There appears to be renewed enthusiasm for Monster Hunter Wilds on Steam after the recent release of Free Title Update 2. The action-adventure game saw a spike of 100,000 additional concurrent players on Valve's PC platform after the patch earlier this week.

On June 29, the peak concurrent player count for the day on Monster Hunter Wilds was 19,637 people, according to SteamDB. When the game's massive Free Title Update 2 landed June 30, the daily high hit 133,033 players, showing a reinvigorated playbase on PC--the game is also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Capcom addressed issues with PC performance as part of the patch, as well as promising further optimizations in the future.

The new update added Lagiacrus, Seregios, and underwater combat to Monster Hunter Wilds. Layered weapons were also introduced, and Capcom noted that the seasonal event called Festival of Accord: Flamefete will take place from July 23 to August 6. Before this, Free Title Update 1 arrived in early April for the game, when it was experiencing peak concurrent players on Steam of over 500,000 people.

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The July 2025 lineup of PC games for Humble Choice subscribers has been revealed, and this month, you can dive into some Zelda-like action with a cute crow, pilot giant mechs in all-out warfare, and do some lethal business.

Sign up for Humble Choice

If you're new to it, Humble Choice is a $15 monthly subscription service that offers a monthly batch of PC games that are yours to keep forever, even if you decide to cancel your membership. There are other perks to this membership as well, including exclusive discounts at the Humble Store and access to the Humble Vault--an additional rotating library of games that's only available to members.

Humble Choice July 2025 Games

• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
• Cat Quest 2
• Death's Door
• Daemon X Machina
• Wizard with a Gun
• Neo Cab
• Everafter Falls
• Blanc

July is a solid month for Humble Choice subscribers, with Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader being the standout title here. If you're looking for a game that can easily consume dozens of your hours with stylish CRPG gameplay and engrossing storylines, then this is the one to grab. Rogue Trader is all about gathering a motley crew to help you survive the grimdark galaxy of Warhammer 40K, and it features deep gameplay across its isometric turn-based tactical-combat scenarios.

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The Art of Doom: The Dark Ages

$55 | Releases November

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Dark Horse Books has a new video game art book on the way, and this time, the publisher is shining a light on Doom: The Dark Ages. The game recently launched for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and this new full-color book will show you how the game's visual design came together. Priced at $55, the book will be available starting November 25, and it's now available for preorder.

The Art of Doom: The Dark Ages $55 | Releases November

Like other art books released by Dark Horse, The Art of Doom: The Dark Ages is a tour behind the scenes of the design and art process of the latest entry in Id Software's ultraviolent video game series. The 224-page book is packed with artwork from Id's art department and insight from the creative team. Inside, you'll find illustrations of the dark and sinister medieval war against Hell, a closer look at the Doom Slayer's ever-expanding arsenal, and a bestiary of the demons that he used those weapons on.

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If you're looking for a collector's edition of the book, there'll be one with a variant cover available exclusively through the Bethesda Store.

To flesh out your collection, you can also check out the rest of the video game art books available from Dark Horse currently. The company recently announced The Art of Marvel Rivals--this one launches on September 2--and it has covered numerous games over the years. Each hardcover book offers a closer look at how the visual language of each game was developed, and they make for fascinating reading or even stylish tomes to have on your coffee table.

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Buy now pay later (BNPL) services are becoming more and more popular, and now one BNPL provider has announced a deal with a gaming company to allow people to finance in-game purchases.

Affirm has partnered with gaming commerce company Xsolla to allow people to use Affirm to pay off in-game purchases of $50 or more on payment plans. Affirm offers interest-free biweekly payment plans, or longer-term monthly installments that incur interest.

This will work similarly to how it does already where Affirm is supported. For supported in-game content, players can choose Affirm at checkout, then Affirm will run a credit check, and then players can choose a payment plan that works for them. This is live now in the US and is coming to Canada and the UK soon.

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From Software has rolled out a new Elden Ring Nightreign update, which aims to address a number of bugs.

Version 1.01.4 is now available across all platforms and is, once again, a fairly small patch that primarily focuses on resolving a series of bugs that have been disrupting online sessions, instead of balance adjustments, unlike in the previous patch. There's also no word on the promised two-player co-op, which From Software admitted was overlooked in development, but there is a way to enable that with Elden Ring Nightreign mods.

The patch notes confirm that the issue where matchmaking would continuously fail after two players joined and left a team simultaneously has been fixed, meaning no more party resets. The weapon type should also now be displayed in each Armament Information menu, and background music should now play the Recluse Remembrance.

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It's 2025, the climate crisis is in full swing, global conflict is escalating rapidly, and polarizing political decisions are being made worldwide. Fear not though: All is not lost as developer Cygames Inc has released a magical girl racing game for Steam and mobile, and I can't stop playing it.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby features horse girls--that is girls with actual horse ears, not girls fond of equines--that you'll need to befriend, train, and race against one another. It's an absurd concept, but it just works.

Umamusume are horse girls that compete in races against each other.

There's something inherently satisfying about choosing your favorite Umamusume character, working alongside her to bring out her true racing potential, and then watching on in anticipation as she sprints around the race track to bring home the title.

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The tough times at Xbox are continuing, as Microsoft is cutting more Xbox staff and reportedly cancelling games. This comes at a time when Microsoft's stock price is soaring and profits are up.

Variety confirmed that Microsoft is cutting less than 4% of its global workforce in this latest move, including staff at Xbox. Microsoft had around 228,000 people by the latest count, so the cuts would be around 9,000 people. "We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft's Barcelona-based mobile game developer King is cutting 10% of its staff, which works out to around 200 people at the Candy Crush studio. Cuts at ZeniMax's European offices are coming, too.

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Zenless Zone Zero is HoYoerse's anime-styled gacha game that players are obsessing over. In a game like ZZZ, where you could spend lots of money, finding codes to redeem in exchange for free items is a great boon to your collection and can help keep you on a path free of microtransactions as you play through the game. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to redeem Zenless Zone Zero codes, and list all of the ZZZ codes currently available.

As the game continues into the future and new codes are added, we'll update this list, too, so bookmark this page and stay tuned for more Zenless Zone Zero free items. While you're at it, don't miss our guide on which free 5-Star ZZZ character to choose, which is a great way to set you up with a strong start to the game alongside all of these codes.

New ZZZ codes

All of the active ZZZ codes are:

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The Witcher 4 is still a long way from players getting their hands on it, but CD Projekt Red's team still wants fans to know that the lessons learned in the previous games will be reflected in the sequel. Narrative director Philipp Weber--who was previously the quest director for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt--recently said that The Witcher 4's quests will embrace the example set by its predecessor. Among other things, that means Ciri won't have to worry about meaningless fetch quests.

"We don't do fetch quests," Webber told GamesRadar, before expanding upon the reasons for that decision.

"A quest has to be something interesting," said Weber. "I have to feel, as a player, that if I played that quest, my time was well spent and not just spent. I was busy doing stuff, and didn't think about work or taxes. I experienced a story, or something else that was worth it. That basic rule is still there 100%."

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Lego Architecture Neuschwanstein Castle (3,455 pieces)

$280 | Releases August 1

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While many of Lego's most popular sets feature famous comic book and video game franchises, some of the most impressive are intricate replicas of real-life architectural triumphs from across history. One such wonder, the Neuschwanstein Castle, is getting a Lego replica on August 1, and you can preorder it now for $280.

Lego Architecture Neuschwanstein Castle (3,455 pieces) $280 | Releases August 1

The 3,455-piece Lego Architecture Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the largest sets from the Lego Architecture line. The set recreates a miniature version of an iconic Bavarian castle, notable for being one of the few European castles unscathed by World War II. The completed set stands 18 inches tall and 12 inches long, featuring attention-grabbing elements such as exterior spires, turrets, a courtyard, staircases, and gabled roofs, as well as surrounding trees that include options for summer or autumn foliage.

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Lego has several sets based on other real-world landmarks, such as the impressive Himeji Castle of Japan, Statue of Liberty in New York, Trevi Foundtain of Italy, and the Great Pyramid of Giza. If you're looking for the most intricate build, the Notre Dame Cathedral Lego set is the one to choose, as it's the largest released to date in the Lego Architecture series. This mammoth build has almost 4,400 pieces, and once completed, it's a stunning replica of the famed cathedral.

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Barely a month after the launch of Switch 2, Nintendo is set to release the console's next big game, Donkey Kong Bananza, in just a few weeks. It's also the first new game in the franchise since 2014's Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Regardless, there's a little too much pent-up excitement for DK's comeback in the new live-action trailer for Donkey Kong Bananza.

YouTube user MikeyOrlando6665 summed it up pretty well in the top comment on the video: "Thank you for telling me this trailer wasn't representative of the gameplay experience. I totally thought I'd have to play DK in front of a large crowd of people chanting DK instead of my usual gameplay experience of sitting alone in my basement in my underwear crying."

Most of the footage features the game's 3D platforming experience, but it also showcases a side-scrolling sequence that serves as a callback to the original Donkey Kong Country from 1994. Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto recently explained why Bananza ditched DK's long-standing Donkey Kong Country design in favor of a more contemporary look.

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