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Gaming has changed a lot over the years, but lately it feels like we’ve entered a new phase. Not just better graphics or bigger worlds, but a different way games are built, played, and experienced. Some people love it, some people hate it, but one thing is certain, the gaming landscape in 2026 is very different from what it used to be. Bigger Worlds, But Also Busier Ones One thing that stands out today is how massive modern games have become. Open worlds aren’t just big anymore, they’re filled with systems, events, and mechanics layered on top of each other. Sometimes it feels like developers are trying to build entire ecosystems rather than just a game. For some players that’s exciting. There’s always something to do, somewhere to explore, and usually multiple ways to approach the same situation. But at the same time, it can also feel overwhelming. Not everyone wants to log in and feel like they need a checklist just to start playing. There’s definitely a balance that developers are still trying to figure out. Live Service Games Aren’t Going Anywhere Love them or hate them, live service games are now a major part of the industry. Updates, seasons, new content drops, the idea that a game continues evolving after launch is now the norm rather than the exception. When it works well, it keeps communities alive for years. Players come back for new events, new maps, and new content that keeps the experience fresh. But when it doesn’t work, it can feel like games launch unfinished, with players essentially waiting months or years for features that should have been there on day one. It’s a model that clearly isn’t disappearing anytime soon, but players are becoming more vocal about how it’s handled. Graphics Are Incredible… But Gameplay Still Matters It’s impossible not to notice how good games look now. Lighting, physics, facial animation, modern engines can create scenes that look almost cinematic. But there’s something interesting happening at the same time. Some of the most popular games right now aren’t chasing realism at all. Stylized graphics, indie titles, and smaller studios are producing games that don’t necessarily look “next-gen,” but they focus heavily on gameplay and creativity. And players are responding to that. In many cases, a fun idea beats ultra-realistic graphics every time. Communities Are Driving Games More Than Ever One of the biggest shifts in gaming today is how much influence communities now have. Between Discord, Twitch, YouTube, and forums, players aren’t just consuming games anymore, they’re shaping them. Developers watch feedback closely. Mods extend the life of games far beyond their original release. Streamers and content creators can suddenly push a game into massive popularity overnight. Sometimes a game becomes successful not because of marketing, but because the community simply decides it’s worth playing. And honestly, that’s one of the most exciting parts of modern gaming. So, Where Is Gaming Heading Next? If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that gaming isn’t slowing down. New technology, new ideas, and new ways to play are constantly appearing. But despite all the changes, the core of gaming hasn’t really moved. People still play for the same reasons they always have: To explore new worlds To challenge themselves To relax after a long day To share experiences with others Whether it’s a huge AAA release, a competitive online title, or a small indie game that suddenly explodes in popularity, the goal is still the same, have fun. And honestly, that part of gaming will probably never change. What do you think? Do modern games feel better or worse than they did 10 years ago? Join the discussion and share your thoughts below.

Preamble A lot of people now boot from an SSD, but due to their limited size and high cost use a conventional drive to host applications and games. This appears to defeat the point of having an SSD to a degree as you just get to launch a slow game quicker. This guide will demonstrate how to move a game onto an additional SSD, the same process can be applied to move them onto the boot SSD if you have sufficient space. This move can be temporary and doesn't require any re-configuration of the Steam client. I personally move my "flavour of the month" games onto SSD and then move them back when I am no longer playing them as much. The process utilises "disk junction points", these junction points place a folder shortcut that points to an existing folder in another location, even on another HDD/SSD. They are a bit like "wormholes" and have been around since DOS. They are effectively transparent to the operating system and applications that use them. I have described how to move "No Man's Sky", you may consider trying this out on a smaller "less important" game until you are comfortable with the process. Once moved Steam will be unaware of what has happened and will continue to launch and update the game as though nothing has changed How it's done I am now going to document how to move "No Man's Sky" from my Steam library onto a secondary SSD that I picked up cheap in a sale. The SSD is drive F: on my system and I will be using the default Steam installation path of C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam (though if you are booting from an SSD your Steam path may differ). Step1 On the SSD make a folder at the root where the moved games are going to be located. I have used "Games". Step 2 Navigate to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common" (or wherever Steam is installed for you) and copy the "No Man's Sky" folder, paste it into "F:\Games". Once the copy has completed rename "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\No Man's Sky" to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\No Man's Sky_Orig" Step 3 Click "Start" -> "Run", or "Windows" button -> "Search" and type "cmd", right click on the found application and click on "Run as administrator" The following commands need to be typed at the command prompt: If your installation of Steam is on a different drive to C: type the drive letter it is installed on followed by a colon then the return key Now enter the following to navigate to the correct steam folder: Type: cd \ followed by return (this ensures you are at the root of the disk) Type: cd "program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common" followed by return (adjust the path to suit your installation of Steam) Now create the junction point, type: mklink /J "No Man's Sky" "F:\Games\No Man's Sky" followed by return You cmd window should look something like this And in the Steam\Steamapps\common folder you should see something like this (please note, this image show my installation on drive D: the folder contents would look the same on drive C: as described in this process) Double clicking on the "No Man's Sky" icon (with the shortcut arrow on it) will take you into the folder located on the SSD. All that is left to do now is launch the game. Once you are happy that it works you can delete the renamed copy from Steam\steamapps\common (in this case "No Man's Sky_Orig"). Moving things back When you no longer want the game on your SSD moving things back is relatively straight forward. Locate the program folder in Steam\steamapps\common, in this case it is "No Man's Sky" (with the shortcut arrow on the icon), and just delete it. Don't worry you are only deleting the junction. Go to your SSD and copy the folder for the game, in this case "F:\Games\No Man's Sky" then paste it back into "Steam\steamapps\common". Fire up the game to make sure things work then delete the folder "F:\Games\No Man's Sky".

Twitch has come a long way since it's introduction to the gaming world, and we are all grateful for their services. They have thousands of games where players can stream and show other users what happens within the game they are playing at the time. Some play very popular games like league of legends and call of duty while others will stream super Mario bros because they have a sort of nostalgia when it comes to gaming. Obviously, the more popular the game, the more viewers you usually will get when streaming. Some gamers even make a full-time income when it comes to streaming. They will receive donations from their viewers in sums of $1 to the highest I've seen at $500 just for playing a video game and interacting with their viewers. Some of these streamers are making $100,000+ a year just to play video games, that would be nice if we all could do this I'm not really here to talk about the streamers, even though some of them are pretty awesome to watch, I'm here to talk about the top games that are being streamed on twitch at the moment. And they are: League of Legends League of Legends, or just "League" as it's referred to by most of the players, is a fast-paced and very competitive online multiplayer game which combines the speed and intensity of an RTS as well as having some RPG elements. There are two teams of players, or champions, who have unique abilities who fight head to head in different types of battle modes on various maps. League of Legends has an enormous amount of replayability, unlike most games, because of the constant updates and the draw of big tournaments. PLAYERUNKNOWNS BATTLEGROUNDS This game came on the scene out of nowhere and has been fighting league of legends for the top spot since it started gaining players. This is a last man standing, battle royale, type of game which has been needed in the gaming world for a long time now. Many companies have tried to build a game type like this but failed miserably because of the time it takes for the programming and updates. This game has also picked up its nickname PUBG from the community since it's much shorter and easier to type than PLAYERUNKNOWNS BATTLEGROUNDS Rocket League This game is made for people of all ages since it combines RC cars and soccer. It sounds like an odd game, I even thought it didn't look fun until I played it, and it's incredibly addictive. You can play solo, duo or a team game with friends or random players. There are seasons you can play in order to unlock skins and cosmetics, which don't give you a bonus or boost when playing against other players. You can also play pick up games with other players, but I would recommend getting better than the AI before you play other gamers, because they are extremely good at this game and make the AI look like a chump. Call of Duty: Ghosts This game franchise has been around for a while and has gotten a ton of attention from the gaming community. It's bloody fps that allow you to team up with friends or run solo in order to win your game mode of choice. If you don't know what COD is, and you call yourself a gamer, you obviously have been living under a rock for a long time lol. Hearthstone This game is basically a tabletop card game in a digital environment. Have you ever heard of WoW which is an abbreviation of World Of Warcraft? Well, Hearthstone is based on WoW when it comes to its monsters and power levels. You don't get to use weapons in this game since your cards are pre-set, but it's still a pretty sweet time killer and I would suggest you check it out if you liked the Warcraft style gaming. Fifa 18 This game franchise has been out for a while now and has always been popular with anyone who loves soccer. You can pick your team and play seasons, just like in the real world and how soccer is run. I myself don't play this game because I've never been a fan of soccer, but I can see this being very popular in Europe and pretty much anywhere other than the United States. Destiny 2 This fps is a futuristic fantasy type of shooter. You have exotic style guns that might mimic guns you see in the real world, but not too much. Bungie and Activision were the developers of this game, which is the second in the series, and it seems to have a lot of players fading away due to it being too repetitive and having a low replay value. I logged almost 3,000 hours into Destiny 1 and found Destiny 2 to be a boring adventure after you beat the storyline and play a few PvP matches FortNite This game came on the scene not too long ago, or I should say it made waves not too long ago with their Battle Royale mode, which mimics the entire PUBG game setup. You can play solo, duo or squad games in the PvP mode that everyone loves, and your goal is to be the last man/team standing in order to win. There is also a PvE mode that people seem to love, but I haven't cracked down and purchased it yet so I can't comment too much on it lol. The developers of this game seem to be on top of things since they fix bugs and glitches almost immediately and since the battle royale launch, they have already done 2 big updates that give the players more to work with. More game modes, maps, and weapons are on the horizon for this game, and even though it's in beta it's still one of my favorite games at the moment In Conclusion: Twitch streaming isn't anything new in the gaming community, but it could be new to you if you have been living under a rock. These are not all of the top games on twitch in 2017, just the ones I'm more familiar with. Other games that are topping the charts on twitch right now are Super Mario Odyssey, Counter-Strike, IRL, Heroes of the Storm, Warframe, Dota 2, Grand Theft Auto and Overwatch.