January 2026 PCG Article Discussion

[Zed Clampet]

Xbox sales are down by 32% as Microsoft's gaming revenues slump

Sorry, what's an Xbox?

www.pcgamer.com

It's not working. I wonder if Spencer would be interested in mowing my lawn this summer? He's going to need something to do.

 

[Zloth]

Yeah, it's looking like XBOX is leaving the field. DirectX will be the only thing left of Microsoft's old X-fetish.

Does anyone use WinRAR in the age of 7zip?

Google warns that a well-known exploit for WinRAR is still in 'widespread' use by Russian and Chinese threat actors

Download WinRAR version 7.13 immediately!

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Zed Clampet]

Yeah, it's looking like XBOX is leaving the field. DirectX will be the only thing left of Microsoft's old X-fetish.

Does anyone use WinRAR in the age of 7zip?

Google warns that a well-known exploit for WinRAR is still in 'widespread' use by Russian and Chinese threat actors

Download WinRAR version 7.13 immediately!

www.pcgamer.com

7zip for me.

 

[Pifanjr]

Yeah, it's looking like XBOX is leaving the field. DirectX will be the only thing left of Microsoft's old X-fetish.

Does anyone use WinRAR in the age of 7zip?

Google warns that a well-known exploit for WinRAR is still in 'widespread' use by Russian and Chinese threat actors

Download WinRAR version 7.13 immediately!

www.pcgamer.com

Windows natively handles zips and has for a while, so I wonder what people are still using WinRAR for.

 

[Zloth]

Windows natively handles zips and has for a while, so I wonder what people are still using WinRAR for.

.RAR files, I would assume. They compress better than .ZIP. But 7zip compresses better than ZIP and better than RAR. Maybe RAR still does better for certain types of files? Or maybe it's just companies/organizations that established their standards in the short time between RAR and 7zip? <shrug>

 

[Pifanjr]

Google's new AI 'world model' has seemingly spooked videogame investors, but it's hard to know what it will actually lead to

Can auto-generated "worlds" really be exciting?

www.pcgamer.com

Even if we assume that AI will one day be able to generate games on the fly that don't feel like a janky mess, I don't think they will replace pre-made games. There is quite a big social aspect to gaming and not just for multiplayer games. Most users here seem to prefer singleplayer games, but we're here because we value a community of like-minded people to discuss these games with. I don't think you could get this sense of community when each game is uniquely generated for each player.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Google's new AI 'world model' has seemingly spooked videogame investors, but it's hard to know what it will actually lead to

Can auto-generated "worlds" really be exciting?

www.pcgamer.com

Even if we assume that AI will one day be able to generate games on the fly that don't feel like a janky mess, I don't think they will replace pre-made games. There is quite a big social aspect to gaming and not just for multiplayer games. Most users here seem to prefer singleplayer games, but we're here because we value a community of like-minded people to discuss these games with. I don't think you could get this sense of community when each game is uniquely generated for each player.

I think both will exist. Would I like what is essentially a holodeck on my computer or in my VR goggles? Yes, actually, although we're a few more years away from that.

At the same time, human made games will be more meaningful. But will that be enough? Games are going to be so easy to make that it will be irresistible to many who hope to make a game that goes viral and makes them rich.

Truth? The future of gaming will be determined by Valve (primarily), Sony and Nintendo. If they open the floodgates to millions of games generated by users hoping to make a quick buck, then I'm afraid we're cooked. We need Gabe Newell to stay alive as long as possible.

But even Super Gabe may not be enough. You know that Facebook and X will launch systems where people can post their slop. We just have to hope that humans do a better job.

Welcome to the end of the world.

 

[Zloth]

Most users here seem to prefer singleplayer games, but we're here because we value a community of like-minded people to discuss these games with. I don't think you could get this sense of community when each game is uniquely generated for each player.

I also feel like I'm playing my games with the developers. You can get a sense of their values by playing their games and really have fun with them by playing them.

I don't see AI being able to make a good game. There are simply far too many fiddly bits, tweaking very small parts of the game to get balance right, and far too much interactivity between major parts to keep them all running smoothly together. If you use AI to make the whole thing, I wouldn't expect the code to be very easy to follow, either. The best you could hope for is to have the AI put tons of parameters into settings files so people could tweak them to get the game to act in a fun way.