Hey everyone, I'm back with a new trailer for my post-apocalyptic game. I spent two hours making it, so please rate it.

Honestly, I wasn't even going to post about this here. But the more I sit with it, the more I realize this shift completely upends the entire concept of gaming as we know it. I just couldn't sit back and watch where the industry is heading without throwing in my two cents.

Yesterday, on July 1st, Sony made it official: physical disc production for new PlayStation games will end completely in January 2028. From that point on, new titles will be digital-only, either straight from the PlayStation Store or via a download code inside a retail box. Sony’s official logic is that roughly 85% of their game sales are now digital. But we all know that’s just a convenient excuse. It’s been all about maximizing profit for a long time now.

To be clear, the discs you already own will keep working. Nothing in your current library is getting bricked. But the PS4 and PS5 are now officially the final PlayStation generations to support physical games. From 2028 onward, you don't buy console games anymore; you just rent licenses that live on someone else's server.

For the collectors among us, this is where it hurts. A "Collector's Edition" after 2028 is just a statue, an artbook and an empty steelbook case. It's merchandise built around an empty spot. The game itself, preserved on physical media, is gone. A limited edition of a digital license. Think about how absurd that sounds.

Nobody finds it strange to own a physical collection of books, records, or movies. You take a vinyl off the shelf, you put it on, it plays. Whether it’s 1985 or 2045, the experience is yours. Why should games be any different? The irony is that vinyl is experiencing a massive revival because labels kept pressing it. Sony is doing the exact opposite with a format people are still actively buying.

And almost as a cruel demonstration, on the exact same day, Sony announced that the PS3 and Vita digital stores are officially being sunsetted. Discs from 2006 still spin and play perfectly fine. Meanwhile, the digital storefronts from that exact same era are being switched off. That is the entire reality of digital "ownership" summarized in two sentences.

If there's any silver lining to this absolute mess, it’s that it might finally push people back toward PC gaming.

Look, we all know physical PC releases died out a decade ago. But the difference is that PC players actually fought for true ownership through DRM-free platforms like GOG. You can literally download an offline installer, throw it on a backup drive, and it’s yours forever. No corporate master server required. If Sony forcing digital-only makes console players realize they’re being scammed and drives them to a platform where "buying" still actually means owning, I’ll take it as a win.

Because let’s be honest about where the console market is heading: you’re essentially paying $70 for the privilege of borrowing a file until some executive decides to turn the servers off. It’s a terrible direction for the industry. The worst thing we can do is just roll over and accept this as "progress." We have to vote with our wallets. Support DRM-free storefronts, buy physical while it’s still an option, and stop paying full price for temporary licenses.

For those of us who still love having a physical collection, I actually put together a practical guide on how to back up and futureproof your PS4/PS5 discs before 2028 cuts us off: https://bestclassicpcgames.com/futureproof-ps4-ps5-game-cd-collection/

I’m curious where everyone else stands on this. How many of you keep a console shelf next to your PC setup, and what’s your game plan for it once the discs stop spinning?

Hello, dear Adventurers!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/texmurphy/tex-murphy-killing-moon-rising

Only 72 hours remain in this incredible campaign, and what a journey it has been! Together, we've accomplished something truly amazing—we've now reached almost $355,000 USD! That is an incredible milestone, and it's all thanks to the passion and support of the amazing Tex Murphy community.

Our next stretch goal is a big one, and I know many of you have been waiting to see if we can get within reach before deciding to back the project. Of course, I'm talking about console ports.

Bringing Tex Murphy to consoles would be a dream come true. If we reach this milestone, the remake will come to PlayStation and Xbox, making it the first Tex Murphy game ever released on consoles.

In fact, I believe console ports are so important to the future of this franchise that I'm willing to lower the stretch goal to $450,000. If necessary, I'll personally cover the remaining $50,000 or so to make them happen.

That said, I honestly don't think it will come to that.

There are almost 2,000 followers who are watching this campaign but haven't backed it yet. If even half of Them decide to jump in during these final days, we'll reach $500,000 with ease!

If you've been waiting to see how close we'd get before backing, now is the time. Every pledge, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to making Tex Murphy's return even bigger—with console ports included.

Join us for one final push. Take a leap of faith, back the project, and help bring Tex Murphy to the BIG screen!

And finally, in one last shameless appeal to your nostalgia, here are a few preview images from the newly composited FMVs by the incredibly talented Mat Van Rhoon

Diablo II launched on June 28, 2000 in the US and June 30 in Europe, so the game turns 26 now.

That feels slightly unreal to write. Back then, if someone told me some event happened 26 years ago, I’d be like, "Lol what, was that before or after the dinosaurs?"

Now that I’m older, that period of time doesn’t feel completely unimaginable anymore... but man, it's still a lot of years, and so much has changed since then.

I always go back to hitting Act III for the first time. Not even a big boss fight, just stepping onto the Kurast Docks and realizing the whole vibe had completely shifted. Going from the desert straight into that muddy, rainy jungle, those tiny little flayers rushing you from everywhere, and that weird oppressive music. It just felt way older and nastier than anything before it.

And then Mephisto. That bridge, that room... basically the start of the "time to farm this guy forever" phase for everyone.

It's wild how almost every act had a specific memory tied to it. The Rogue Encampment music. Getting absolutely deleted by Duriel before your loading screen even finished. Walking into Chaos Sanctuary. Even Baal runs that basically just became late-night chat rooms where you happened to click on monsters.

Honestly, I still remember these maps clearer than games I played last month.

What's the one D2 memory that stuck with you the most? A ridiculous drop, getting scammed with a fake Shako, a LAN session, or just a town theme? Are you playing the Resurrected version ?

I have to admit, I’m a bit late to the party here. I only discovered this game a few years ago while doing some research, and I honestly don't know how it managed to slip under my radar for so long. That said, I am deeply torn on it...

On one hand, the setting, the characters, and the whole Aztec-noir vibe are incredible. Manny Calavera is a legend, and the writing has this amazing, unique charm you just don't see in modern games. The world-building is easily 10/10.

But wrestling with those original 1998 tank controls and trying to decipher the completely baffling "moon logic" puzzles? It's an absolute chore. I wanted so badly to just soak in the story, but the actual playing part kept getting in the way of the experience.

Did people genuinely enjoy the gameplay loop back in the day, or did everyone just use a walkthrough and tolerate the mechanics because the vibes were immaculate?

I was genuinely excited for the mobile launch of Guild Wars Reforged. The original game has exactly the kind of loop I've been craving: a few solid classes, deep skill combinations, a massive world to roam, and a pure focus on questing, mob hunting, and dungeoneering for better armor. No endless daily chores, just a great old-school RPG.

Instead, the mobile launch has been a total heartbreak. I downloaded it on my Google Pixel 10, and it is unplayable.

• The performance is terrible: Even on the lowest possible graphics settings, the lag and stuttering are unreal. This engine is decades old... there is absolutely no reason a modern flagship phone should be choking and rubber-banding like this.
• The monetization is insulting: They slapped an incredibly restrictive mobile wrapper on it. If you try to play the free tier, you get hit with literal pop-up ads just for moving between maps, on top of being locked out of public chat and trading.
• The sad reality: The brilliant gameplay is technically still buried under there, but the execution of this port ruins it. It’s incredibly frustrating because I don't need fancy graphics or overcomplicated systems... I just wanted that pure, satisfying loop in my pocket.

Did anyone else here try to jump into this for a nostalgia trip, or did you wisely stay far away? Because right now, it’s just a massive disappointment for me.