With a peak of 212k concurrent players back in August 2016, No Man’s Sky had one of the biggest launches of any game over the past few years on Steam. Sadly, shallow gameplay and missing features like multiplayer resulted in the player base instantly declining. And within 1 month, there were under 1k concurrent players left playing No Man’s Sky. Sean Murray and his team at Hello Games stayed silent during the games troubled launch. But surprisingly, as players requested refunds and even threatened lawsuits, the dev team kept working on adding more features, believing that their actions would eventually speak louder than words.

More than 40,000 Steam users were banned the day after the Summer Sale last year, as Valve's Anti-Cheat system worked overtime. According to SteamDB (via PCGamesN), that figure was eclipsed by a margin yesterday when 61,488 rule-breaking accounts were reportedly shut down. Likewise, SteamDB reckons 28,407 accounts were shuttered on Wednesday—up from Monday and Tuesday's respective 1,274 and 1,202 haul.

Over 60,000 Steam accounts were banned by Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) on Tuesday, July 17, marking the largest VAC wave in the platform’s history. But it was on Wednesday morning that the banhammer really started swinging,, with 28,411 accounts being banned throughout the day. It looks like the wave of bans has now started to slow down. But don’t think you’re in the clear yet as we’re not entirely sure what caused Valve to crack down on cheaters like this. It’s likely that the system identified a previously unknown cheat and banned all accounts associated with it.

Late last month we were lucky enough to be included in a TestFlight beta of Valve’s upcoming Steam Link app, and I posted a hands-on preview which basically can be summed up as: “I simply cannot believe how good this works." Well, not long after Apple rejected the app, due to “business conflicts" which were not originally realized by the App Review team.

Support is ending on January 1, 2019.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Monday issued new review guidelines for its lucrative App Store platform, after it moved to block plans by Steam, the biggest distributor of PC-based video games, to extend its reach into iPhones and iPads. Apple uses the guidelines to decide which apps can appear in the App Store. Apple now explicitly says apps cannot host anything that looks like an app store within an app or give users the ability to “browse, select, or purchase software not already owned or licensed by the user.”

A video game allowing players to play as an "active shooter" is drawing backlash from parents.

Valve’s in-home streaming tech is proving to be its most forward-thinking development. First it helped kill off the company’s own short-lived Steam Machines, with the $50 Steam Link perfectly capable of putting PC gaming in your living room without the need for another high-end PC. And now it’s putting PC gaming...well, anywhere you’d like. But probably the bathroom, if I know people.

Apple has blocked the plans of the biggest distributor of PC-based video games to extend its reach into iPhones, according to the game distributor, a sign that Apple is serious about protecting its ability to take a cut of digital purchases made inside games on its mobile devices. Steam, the dominant online store for downloaded games played on Windows PCs, had planned to release a free mobile phone app called Steam Link so that gamers could continue playing on their mobile phones while away from their desktop machines.

Although the Steam listing for the game has been updated since it initially went live, it originally stated that players have the ability to 'slaughter as many civilians as possible, as well as forces that are against you'.

Valve tried to appeal, but Apple would not allow the app on the App Store

Steam users below the age of 16 could soon require parental permission in order to maintain full access to the platform. Changes to the JavaScript of the platform’s sign-up page were issued last night, with code referring to ‘parental consent dialog’ and ‘parental email’. The changes are thought to be as a result of changes mandated by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws, which apply to the storage of data by European Union companies, as well as companies whose customers reside in the EU.

Did you buy Prey on Steam? I don't mean the 2017 version from Arkane and Bethedsa, I mean the 2006 version from Human Head Studios and 2K Games. If you didn't and want to now, you can't—the original Prey was quietly removed from Steam a few years ago. If you own it, you should still be able to play it, and if you can find a physical copy you may even be able to register the CD code with Steam. But you can't buy it on Steam anymore.

This bundle comes with Rocket League, Besiege, Duck Game, Tumblestone, Rampage Knights and Stick Game; a fantastic deal if you're looking for some fresh multiplayer games (or somehow don't yet own Rocket League).

Valve today announced it would be releasing two new apps for Android and iOS — both of which would allow you to access your Steam libraries from your phones or tablets. Don’t get too excited, though, as that’ll come with a few limitations. The bigger of the two apps, Steam Link, would allow users to stream games from their PC or Mac to devices ranging from phones and tablets to Apple TVs. They could be controlled with either Steam controllers or MFi controllers, with the company implying more forms of control would also be available.

D3 Publisher has announced that its Earth Defense Force 4.1 THE SHADOW OF NEW DESPAIR 3D top-down shoot ’em up spinoff, Earth Defense Force 4.1 Wingdiver the Shooter, is coming to Steam on April 26th. In it, players will step into the shoes of a soldier in Pale Team, an elite branch of the EDF’s Wing Diver division, and once again fight in the world featured in 4.1.

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition is out February 20, bringing back the classic RTS with 4K visuals, UI improvements, and changes to things like pathfinding to make the game more palatable in a modern context. But there’s been one major sticking point hampering potential excitement for the title: it’s exclusive to Microsoft’s unpopular Windows 10 Store. These are the best games on PC.

The 2017 Steam Winter Sale is brimming with PC game deals. These are some of our favorites.

Browser extension that provides more information and options in the Steam web store.