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Steam might be a popular digital distribution platform for video games, but it is far from perfect. Valve has been working long and hard to improve Steam and is finally making headway with its much-touted Steam Direct system.

Steam Direct was announced back in February, but Valve has taken its time to implement the system because of one crucial element: developers need to pay a fee to submit games through Steam Direct, and Valve needed to iron out the size of this fee. If the fee is too low, developers could be tempted to spam-submit bad games and hope one makes it through the cracks, but if the fee is too high, small yet talented indie developers won’t be able to afford to submit their games. Today, Valve finally reached a decision and announced via blog post that the submission fee will be $100, which is high enough to discourage spam-submissions but is low enough to be easily recoupable. According to the blog post, the amount was decided after numerous conversations with the Steam community. Initially, Valve wanted to set the publishing fee at $500, but these conversations convinced the company to “aim for the lowest barrier to developers as possible.”

For those of you who don’t know, Steam Direct is supposed to replace Steam Greenlight, an ambitious system that let users freely submit games and have gamers vote on whether or not these games would be put up for sale. However, many users quickly started abusing the system. These abuses ranged from selling games made of unaltered Unity Store assets (referred to as asset flips) to downright plagiarism. To make matters worse, many games, even those that didn’t abuse Greenlight, were just plain bad (and in at least one case, openly offensive and homophobic). Granted, Steam Greenlight had its fair share of amazing hits, such as SUPERHOT, Rivals of Aether, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and UNDERTALE, but for every Papers, Please there were at least twenty Day One: Gary’s Incidents. To fix this rampant abuse, Valve decided to implement a new system that weeds out bad games by forcing all game submissions to go through rigorous playtesting by Valve employees, i.e., Steam Direct.

While Valve has not provided a timeline regarding the implementation of Steam Direct, the company has promised to keep gamers apprised of future developments. We here at Geek Reply look forward to the system’s release.

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Rest assured, the highly anticipated PS5 exclusive, Stellar Blade, will be available in its original, uncensored form across all regions

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April 22, 2024

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Fear not; for those worried about potential censorship issues with the PS5-exclusive Stellar Blade, set to release on April 26th, Sony has got you covered. ShiftUp, the developer, proudly assures players that the game will maintain its uncensored content across all regions, including Japan.

We have to admit, we didn’t anticipate this as a potential issue or a potential selling point. The main character, Eve, and her revealing costumes have been heavily showcased in the game’s pre-release marketing. Nevertheless, it is pleasing to witness ShiftUp’s evident enthusiasm as their vision prepares to reach the hands of a vast number of players.

Regarding Stellar Blade, Yoko Taro believes it surpasses NieR: Automata, and we were pleased to learn that the game will be considerate of your PS5 storage capacity. The demo is now available for you to try, and it has nearly doubled the daily active users of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. This is quite impressive, especially considering it is the game’s first console showing.

Will you be there to experience Stellar Blade on its release day? It’s certainly a relief to witness the game remaining uncensored until the last moment. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Sony is reportedly engaged in discussions to form a partnership for a potential bid on Paramount

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4 days ago

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April 19, 2024

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There hasn’t been much buzz lately about any new acquisitions in the world of video game intellectual property. According to a recent report, Sony is currently engaged in discussions with a well-funded partner to potentially acquire the renowned film studio Paramount, along with all the exciting possibilities that come with such a merger.

As reported in the New York Times (thanks, ResetEra), Sony Picture Entertainment is reportedly in discussions with Apollo Global Management, an investment firm, as per two sources familiar with the matter. In the past, Apollo had made an offer to acquire Paramount for a minimum of $26 billion, but their bid was ultimately turned down.

The terms of the joint bid are currently under discussion, and there is a chance that the two parties may decide against making a formal offer. Unnamed sources have revealed that Paramount is currently in exclusive discussions with Skydance, preventing any official offer from being made at this time. Investor opposition to the recent deal that Skydance brought seems to have been significant.

The potential impact of such an acquisition is immense. First and foremost, it would introduce adaptations of Sonic and Halo into the expanding media empire of the PlayStation platform holder. Following the announcement, Paramount’s stock experienced a significant 11% surge in after-hours trading.

What are your thoughts on the news? Is there a possibility of Sony acquiring Paramount? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Helldivers 2 Players Face Overwhelming Hordes of Factory Striders

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April 18, 2024

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In the ongoing conflict against the Automaton invasion fleet, the Helldivers 2 players have successfully halted their advance. However, the situation has now reached a tiresome stalemate. Yet again, the machines refuse to take a break from their relentless pursuit of progress, with reports emerging of the Factory Striders being deployed in record-breaking quantities.

There have been reports of alleged machines that were supposedly encountered during Operation Swift Disassembly, which was just the beginning of a larger campaign. However, these accounts should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are unverified and seem to be more on the imaginative side. Factory Striders have gained a reputation as formidable weapons platforms that can produce more Automatons while enduring significant damage. If the machines are able to withstand such a relentless assault, it will be necessary to develop innovative strategies.

Have you come across groups of Factory Striders in Helldivers 2? Which strategies are proving to be the most effective in taking down these armored brutes? The Orbital Railcannon Strike will prove to be a valuable asset in the comments section below.

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