Ars Technica Gaming

1. Nintendo Switch is the second-bestselling game console ever, behind only the PS2

   Switch 2 has already beaten the Wii U and is on its way to overtaking GameCube.

2. Wing Commander III: "Isn't that the guy from Star Wars?"

   C:\ArsGames looks at a vanguard of the multimedia FMV future that never quite came to pass.

3. Looking back at Catacomb 3D, the game that led to Wolfenstein 3D

   Romero, Carmack, and colleagues discuss an oft-forgotten piece of PC gaming history.

4. Why Civilization VII is the way it is, and how its devs plan to win critics back

   Firaxis' Ed Beach and Dennis Shirk talk major overhauls in "Test of Time" update.

5. Here's what Cities: Skylines 2’s new developer is updating first

   Visual upgrades include new UI, realistic snow cover, better lighting.

6. Why reviving the shuttered Anthem is turning out tougher than expected

   Despite proof-of-concept video, EA's Frostbite Engine servers are difficult to pick apart.

7. Ryzen 9850X3D review: AMD's bragging-rights gaming CPU gets more to brag about

   The tradeoffs in the $499 9850X3D make it hard to get excited about.

8. How to get Doom running on a pair of earbuds

   No display? No problem for the UART-to-web-server "Doombuds" project.

9. TR-49 is interactive fiction for fans of deep research rabbit holes

   Dense narrative deduction game tells a compellingly academia-tinged sci-fi tale.

10. Finally, a new controller that solves the Switch 2's "flat Joy-Con" problem

    But Nyxi's Hyperion 3 upgrade comes with a pretty high asking price.

11. Why adding modern controls to 1996's Tomb Raider simply doesn't work

    For our C:\ArsGames series, we look at the controls conundrum of early 3D.

12. The first new Marathon game in decades will launch on March 5

    Development hasn't exactly been smooth since the extraction shooter's 2023 announcement.

13. Reports of ad-supported Xbox game streams show Microsoft's lack of imagination

    Xbox maker needs some fresher ideas for expanding access to cloud gaming.

14. 10 things I learned from burning myself out with AI coding agents

    Opinion: As software power tools, AI agents may make people busier than ever before.

15. Meta’s layoffs leave Supernatural fitness users in mourning

    Supernatural has had its staff cut and won’t receive any more content updates.

16. Bully Online mod taken down abruptly one month after launch

    Developers say "this was not something we wanted" as they purge open source project.

17. I can’t stop shooting Oddcore’s endless waves of weird little guys

    Zippy action, fun upgrade system make for a great pick-up-and-play shooter.

18. Civilization VII is headed to iPhone and iPad with “Arcade Edition”

    Apple's platforms are also getting Retrocade, a library of classic arcade games.

19. Is this the beginning of the end for GameStop?

    The sudden closure of hundreds of storefronts isn't exactly a great sign...

20. Seasonal Switch 2 sales show significant slowing as annual cycle sunsets

    After record-setting launch, Western holiday sales are down compared to the first Switch.