By Kyle Barr Published January 10, 2025 | Comments (1) | Photo: Artur Widak/Anadolu via Getty Images; Art: Gizmodo Nvidia is a technology company, not a consumer or enterprise company, as emphasized by CEO Jensen Huang. What does he mean, exactly? Doesnt Nvidia want consumers to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on the new, expensive RTX 50-series GPUs? Dont they want more companies to buy their AI training chips? Nvidia is the kind of company with a lot of fingers in a lot of pies. To hear Huang tell it, if the crust of those pies is the companys chips, then AI is the filling. Our technology influence is going to impact the future of consumer platforms, Huangclad in his typical black jacket and the warm bosom of AI hypesaid in a Q&A with reporters a day after his blowout opening CES keynote. But how does a company like Nvidia fund all those epic AI experiments? The H100 AI training chips made Nvidia such a tech powerhouse over the past two years, with a few stumbles along the way. But Amazon and other companies are trying to create alternatives to cut out Nvidias monopoly. What should happen if competition cuts the spree short? Nvidias Digits brick is barely the size of a typical mini-PC. Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo Were going to respond to customers wherever they are, Huang said. Part of that is helping companies build agentic AI, AKA multiple AI models able to complete complex tasks. That includes several AI toolkits made to throw a bone to businesses. While the H100 has made Nvidia big, and RTX keeps gamers coming back, it wants its new $3,000 Project Digits AI processing hub to open up a whole new universe for those who can use it. Who will use it? Nvidia said its a tool for researchers, scientists, and maybe studentsor at least those who stumble across $3,000 in their cup of $1.50 instant ramen theyre eating for dinner for the fifth night in a row.Nvidia made sure you knew about the RTX 5090s 3,352 TOPS of AI performance. Then, Huangs company dropped details on several software initiativesboth gaming and non-gaming related. None of his declarations were more confusing than its world foundation AI models. These models should be able to train on real-life environments, which could be used for helping autonomous vehicles or robots navigate their environment. Its a lot of future tech, and Huang admitted he failed to better articulate it to a crowd who had mostly come to see cool new GPUs.[The world foundation model] understands things like friction, inertia, grabbing, object presence, and elements, geometric and spatial understanding, he said. You know, the things that children know. They understand the physical world in a way that language models didnt know. Huang opened up CES 2025 on Jan. 6 with a keynote that packed the Michelob Ultra arena in Las Vegas Mandalay Bay casino. There was certainly a huge portion of gamers whod come to see the latest RTX 50-series cards in the flesh, but more were there to see how a company as lucrative as Nvidia moves forward. RTX and Project Digits drew hollers and shouts from the crowd. Spending half his time talking about his world foundation model, the audience didnt seem nearly as enthused. It points to how awkward AI messaging can be, especially for a company that bears much of its popularity to the attentive population of PC gamers. There has been so much talk about AI that its easy to forget Nvidia was in this game years before ChatGPT came on the scene. Nvidias in-game AI upscaling tech, DLSS, has been around for close to six years, improving all the time, and its now one of the best AI-upscalers in games, though limited by its exclusivity to Nvidias cards. It was good before the advent of generative AI. Now, Nvidia promises Transformer models will further enhance upscaling and ray reconstruction. Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo To top it off, the touted multi-frame gen could possibly grant four times the performance for 50-series GPUs, at least if the game supports it. That is a boon for those who can afford the new RTX 50-series. The RTX 5090 tops off at $2,000. The gamers who would most benefit from frame gen are those who may only afford a lower-end GPU. Huang declined to offer any hints about an RTX 5050 or 5060, joking We announced four cards, and you want more?The world foundation model is just a prototype, just like much of Nvidias new AI software on display to the public. The real questions are, when will it be ready for primetime, and who will end up using it? Nvidia showed off oddball AI NPCs, in-game chatbots, AI nurses, and an audio generator last year. This year, it wants to bloom with its world foundation model, plus a host of AI microservices, including a weird animated talking head thats supposed to serve as your PCs always-on assistant. Perhaps, some of these will stick. In the cases where Nvidia hopes AI replaces nurses or audio engineers, we hope that doesnt happen. Huang considers Nvidia a small company with 32,000 worldwide employees. Yes, thats less than half of the staff Meta has, but you cant think of it as small in terms of the market influence for AI training chips. Because of its market position, it holds an outsized influence on the tech industry. The more people using AI, the more people will need to buy its AI-specific GPUs, plus any of its other AI software. If everybody buys their own at-home AI processing chip, they dont have to rely on outside data centers and external chatbots. Nvidia, just like every tech company, just needs to find a use for AI beyond replacing all our jobs.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Isaac Schultz Published January 10, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 9, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 8, 2025 By Kyle Barr Published January 6, 2025 By Kyle Barr Published January 6, 2025 By Jorge Jimenez Published January 5, 2025

By AJ Dellinger Published January 10, 2025 | Comments (8) | A close up of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Mark Zuckerberg is finally ready to be his true self. Surprise: he sucks. A new report from the New York Times details how Zuck tapped a small team of executives to help him reshape Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Threads how he sees fit. Thus far, that has included ending fact-checking, rolling back moderation rules that protected marginalized people, and ramping up the algorithm to promote more political content. Now, per a memo to employees obtained by Axios, you can add diversity, equity and inclusion to the list of principles that Zuckerbergs businesses are done with. The company announced that it will axe its DEI team, stop attempts to work with minority-owned supplier businesses, and end representation goals, among other policy reversals. The changes will go into effect immediately.This shift to the right follows Zuckerbergs trip to Mar-a-Lago over Thanksgiving, where he spent time with President-elect Donald Trump. But, per the Times, this has been bubbling inside Metas CEO for some time. Hes reportedly felt forced to take on progressive causesyou know, those radical left-aligned beliefs like equal opportunity is good and you shouldnt just get to lie about stuffby his employees and outside forces. Behind the scenes, the Times says hes been talking with unhinged loon Marc Andreessen and others about how he wants to take a free speech approach to running his companies.Interestingly, Zuckerbergs techno-libertarian version of free speech looks a whole lot like suppressing marginalized people in practice. Zuck, along with his small circle of like-minded ghouls, rewrote company content moderation policies in a way that would prohibit saying white people have mental illness but would allow saying gay people have mental illness, for example. The company also pulled transgender and nonbinary theme options from its Messenger chat app. And then theres the decision to end DEI programs. Meta claimed the reason it made the call was because the legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing. In the memo obtained by Axios, Janelle Gale, Metas vice president of human resources, cited the Supreme Courts recent decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEIan apparent reference to SCOTUS decision to strike down affirmative action programs in college admissions offices, as well as an upcoming reverse discrimination case the court will hear that could set a precedent for attacking DEI initiatives. But more than that, it appears the decision is an extension of Zuckerbergs worldview. His pals in Silicon Valleys venture capital world have spent years harping on DEI programs, fancying themselves the kings of meritocracy and pooh-poohing the idea that someone from a less privileged background would face any discrimination if they weretruly as capable as their counterparts. Of course, the reality is that meritocracy is a myth. In fact, studies have found that believing that achievements were the result of merit results in less empathy and more discriminatory behavior.This is a decided departure from how the company presented itself in the last few years. After all, the company just successfully defended one of its DEI efforts in court this past summer. In 2023, Meta publicly stated, Our commitment to DEI remains at the center of who we are as a company. And just two years ago, Meta published a diversity report that highlighted how it had managed to attract more talent from marginalized communities by hiring more remote workers. (The company has since issued a return to office order that disproportionately affected those same workers.)From all of the decisions that Zuckerberg has rolled out across his company in the past few weeks, its clear that there is one type of diversity that he is truly done with: Diversity of thought that disagrees with him.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By AJ Dellinger Published January 9, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published January 9, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published January 9, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published January 7, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 7, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 6, 2025

Meadow Lane Retreat / Wheeler Kearns ArchitectsSave this picture! Steve Hall, Hall + Merrick PhotographersResidential Architecture, HousesLakeside, United StatesArchitects: Wheeler Kearns ArchitectsAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:8927 ftYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2022 PhotographsPhotographs:Steve Hall, Hall + Merrick PhotographersManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Accoya, Hunter PanelsMore SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. A place to breathe. Meadow Lane is a weekend retreat set in an idyllic landscape along the shores of Lake Michigan that fosters respite, connection, and harmony with the surrounding landscape. The empty-nester clients desired "an escape from the city for the family to gather. A place for sunlight. A place to breathe." The design and orientation of the home optimize the site's unique attributes on a two-acre wooded bluff overlooking the lake. To the south, a woodland preserve abuts the property, allowing panoramic views that merge the blue lake horizon with a deep woodland understory.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Three separate structuresthe main house, an entertainment/guest wing, and a detached garageare thoughtfully arranged to maximize privacy, optimize natural light, capture views, and create outdoor spaces. Set perpendicular to the lake, the two living structures are staggered to increase the linear extent of glass exposure and corner views of the ever-changing vista. The staggered arrangement reduces the overall presence of the home upon arrival by screening the guest wing with the main house. The walls of the detached garage help form a protected garden courtyard at the entry that is contemplative and inward-looking. Opposite the garage, a glass link connects the two living structures with doors that fold entirely away, creating an aperture out of the courtyard to the expansive views beyond.Save this picture!Natural native materials define the architectural palette and are used to create a timeless and enduring connection with nature. A limestone wall wraps the exterior at the main house's ground level. It extends seamlessly through the home, beneath the feet, and out to a pool terrace, establishing a visual and tactile connection to the surrounding landscape. The ground level of the entertainment wing and garage is clad in dark slatted wood siding that mimics the vertical elements of the woodland and complements the limestone. The second-story black locust-clad boxes, designed to gray and weather over time, hover above a band of clerestory windows that provide daylight and privacy around the courtyard.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Beneath the box's overhang at the entry, a slatted oak ceiling continuously flows from inside to out. Floor-to-ceiling glass openings and mitered glass corners allow sunlight to illuminate each room, immersing one in nature. The owners arrive and exhale. This is their sanctuary their place to be restored.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officeMaterialsMaterials and TagsPublished on January 10, 2025Cite: "Meadow Lane Retreat / Wheeler Kearns Architects" 10 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025516/meadow-lane-retreat-wheeler-kearns-architects&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Hookworms that cause deadly dog infection and 'creeping eruption' in humans are growing resistant to drugs.

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Sony's big holiday sales may have ended weeks ago, but Walmart is carrying over several PlayStation game discounts into the new year. For a limited time, you can save big on numerous physical PS5 games and even a selection of Sony-published titles available on other platforms. Several 2024 highlights are included in the deals, such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for $40 and Stellar Blade for $50--both of which normally cost $70.And while it's not a big discount, the PS5-exclusive platformer Astro Bot is $54 at Walmart (was $60), saving you a few bucks on The Game Awards 2024's Game of the Year winner, and one of our picks for the 10 Best Games of 2024. Continue Reading at GameSpot

Earlier this week, Los Angeles and surrounding cities in California were struck by multiple wildfires and intense Santa Ana winds that caused catastrophic damage to Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and other areas. Major Hollywood events and pro sports games were canceled in the wake of the fires. However, Niantic has announced that it still plans to go forward with next month's Pokemon Go Tour: Unova - Los Angeles event in Pasadena's Rose Bowl stadium."Our team has been carefully observing the situation in Los Angeles with the well-being of Pasadena, greater Los Angeles, and of course our Niantic community," said Niantic's director of communications, Mark Van Lommel, in a statement to Dos Esports. "While we are currently continuing our preparations, any updates regarding the event will be shared as they become available."The Los Angeles fires are still ongoing and have been hugely devastating to the community and the people who live there. Information about how to help the affected victims can be found here.Continue Reading at GameSpot

One of the earliest video game genres was strategy games. There's a long and cherished history of strategy games in the industry dating back to the 1970s with the creation of Risk and other games like it. Now, in 2025, the strategy games genre is jam-packed with dozens of franchises and new titles that look to change up the formula in one way or the other. While there are various subgenres of strategy games, all of them require you to think critically and solve problems that arise.Below, we run through our picks for the best strategy games you can play in the modern era. Our list is primarily composed of games that are easily playable in 2025, whether it be on a console or PC (or, in some cases, mobile devices). Of course, you'll still see some of the most celebrated games in the genre that are impossible to leave off the list. The list is in no particular order. Total War: Warhammer IIIDeveloper: Creative AssemblyRelease Date: February 17, 2022Platforms: PCStyle: Turn-Based/Real-TimeFirst up we have Total War: Warhammer III, which is the third installment in the Warhammer series. As a whole, the Total War franchise features several strategy games dating back over two decades. We chose Warhammer III for the spot on the list thanks to the sheer volume and quality of content you have access to.Warhammer III features both turn-based and real-time strategy, allowing you to command an army of hundreds in epic battles on incredibly designed maps. As you win more battles, your empire grows. The battles are quite different from one another, though, so you'll have to implement new strategies every time your army goes to war. There's also quite the story developing in the background that alters some of the content you experience throughout the game. If the single-player campaign doesn't suit your fancy, you can partake in custom multiplayer battles as well. If you're looking for a strategy game with the whole package, it's tough to beat Warhammer III.Fanatical and GameSpot are both owned by Fandom. See on Fanatical Manor LordsDeveloper: Slavic MagicRelease Date: April 26, 2024Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PCStyle: Real-Time/City-BuilderOne of the most anticipated games from 2024 was Manor Lords, a real-time city-builder that was mostly developed by a single person. While the core gameplay of Manor Lords is similar to that of other city-builders, there are intricate details that make it stand out from the crowd.First off, the graphics and attention to detail are superb in Manor Lords. You're placed in medieval times and all of the structures you can build reflect that time period. This also goes for the citizens of your city, which require around-the-clock care. Manor Lords is brutal in this regard, as the different seasons introduce new problems that you need to solve in real time, otherwise your citizens will start dying off. One of the distinct aspects of Manor Lords is the ability to physically enter your city from a first-person perspective. This is a rare feature in city-builders and it's done wonderfully in Manor Lords, allowing you to truly experience what you've built.Manor Lords remains in early access but continues to get updates with new features. See on Fanatical Sid Meier's Civilization VIDeveloper: Firaxis GamesRelease Date: October 21, 2016Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, AndroidStyle: Turn-BasedIt's time to talk about arguably the most well-known strategy franchise in the current era. The Civilization franchise launched in 1991 and consists of six core games, with a seventh on the way in 2025. It has revolutionized the strategy game genre more than once and Civilization VI is a culmination of everything the series has to offer.Civilization VI is a historical strategy game that gives you the freedom to play it how you want. You start out as a small settlement but are able to expand by building more and more cities across a hex-style map. This gives you the freedom to totally customize every city in your empire as it grows. Every hex can feature a different district that fills a certain need for your civilization. As your empire expands, you discover new cultures, technology, and government types, as well as form relationships with allies you meet. However, you can also battle with some of history's greatest leaders and partake in espionage to steal what their civilization possesses. It's easy to spend hundreds of hours on a single Civilization VI campaign, and you'll see why soon after installing it for the first time. See on Fanatical Frostpunk 2Developer: 11 Bit StudiosRelease Date: September 20, 2024Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PCStyle: City-BuilderFrostpunk 2 is the most recent release on the list and it improves on nearly every aspect from the original. You begin as a small metropolis placed in the heart of a never-ending winter. To overcome the obstacles that come with the non-stop cold, you must expand and find ways to give your citizens warmth, food, and sufficient shelter. From the start of Frostpunk 2, you have different zones across your city that perform different jobs. However, as you progress, you'll be able to build special buildings that help you expand further into the vast tundra.One of the unique aspects of Frostpunk 2 is the faction system. Your citizens can divide themselves into different factions as you progress, and each faction has ideas on how the metropolis should be run. It's your job to figure out which faction to listen to, which can cause some discord amongst the other citizens. Frostpunk 2 is a complex city-builder that goes well beyond the normal gameplay loop of expanding a city. See on Fanatical RimWorldDeveloper: Tynan SylvesterRelease Date: November 4, 2013Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PCStyle: Construction SimulatorIf you're a fan of classic science-fiction franchises such as Dune, then RimWorld is right up your alley. The game is a construction simulator at its core, requiring three colonists to be kept alive by building new structures and gathering resources. The world you build is heavily inspired by science-fiction that's authored by an intelligent AI that offers help and a gripping narrative along your journey.RimWorld has all you want in a strategy game, as it forces you to make difficult decisions based on real-time problems. However, you also need to help your colonists survive, which requires you to make use of the many gameplay systems at play in RimWorld. Trade with ships, craft resources, attack neighboring settlements, and even train pets to perform specific jobs. Every world in RimWorld is randomly generated, so you'll have a new experience in each playthrough. See on Fanatical XCOM 2Developer: Firaxis GamesRelease Date: February 5, 2016Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, AndroidStyle: Turn-Based TacticsThe XCOM series has inspired plenty of strategy games over the years, and the second entry is the turn-based series at its best. XCOM 2 gives you command over the mobile headquarters of a strike team that's tasked with overcoming an alien invasion of Earth. As the commander of the team, you choose where to strike, who to recruit to your team, and what to upgrade in the headquarters.The combat is the real attraction in XCOM 2, as the turn-based style requires you to use everything at your disposal. One misstep could mean the end for your team. You have five different classes of soldiers to pick from, each with their own skill tree of abilities to combat different alien attacks and maneuvers. Assembling a well-rounded team and learning from previous fights is the only way forward in XCOM 2. See on Fanatical StellarisDeveloper: Paradox Development StudioRelease Date: May 9, 2016Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PCStyle: Real-Time/SimulatorStellaris is a gorgeous strategy game that allows you to explore and expand into the grand frontier of space. Starting out, you'll be in charge of a civilization that just learned how to travel to new star systems. You begin by sending out ships to explore these new systems, and once they find a suitable system, other ships can build stations around planets in the systems. You'll also discover anomalies within the systems, which lead to different quests, potential allies, and enemy races who are looking to settle the same system as you.Speaking of races, you have complete control over what type of species your civilization is. There are plenty of options to choose from and each one offers different pros and cons. There are thousands of randomly generated systems and planets to explore in Stellaris, giving you hundreds of hours of content. Stellaris is a simulation game, so you can stop time if need be, but a majority of the game implements real-time-strategy elements. It's a nice mix of the turn-based and real-time strategy genres. See on Fanatical Crusader Kings IIIDeveloper: Paradox Development StudioRelease Date: September 1, 2020Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PCStyle: Simulation/RPGCrusader Kings is another celebrated strategy game franchise, and the third installment is widely considered the best of the bunch. The game is set in the Middle Ages, where you start as the descendant of a noble house who's charged with keeping a dynasty afloat. Once you begin, you can expand your empire by claiming lands that are barren or engaging in war to seize the lands from other houses.As you expand, you'll discover countless characters, some of whom are historical figures that you can trade with, romance, and even execute. The map you explore in Crusader Kings III is overwhelmingly large, and you can set a customized path for your character as they expand the empire. The strategy in the game comes from knowing where to expand, what choices to make, and how to develop your character. See on Fanatical Age of Wonders 4Developer: Triumph StudiosRelease Date: May 2, 2023Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PCStyle: Turn-BasedAge of Wonders 4 is another strategy game where you're tasked with expanding an empire across a sprawling map, but the combat is much different from other games like it. It implements turn-based system that plays out when your army goes to fight an enemy. Your army in Age of Wonders 4 can be hand-crafted by using forms of magic you find through exploration or combining different races to make a super species.As for the map you play on, you can pick a different realm to explore every time you begin a new playthrough. However, there's also an option to create your own realm, adding another layer of customization. See on Fanatical Hearts of Iron IVDeveloper: Paradox Development StudioRelease Date: June 6, 2016Platforms: PCStyle: SimulationWe have another strategy game with a "four" in the title, and this time it's Hearts of Iron IV. This game places you at the heart of World War II, where you can pick any nation to lead to victory. You'll have to fight countries on the other side of the war, make political decisions that are affected by your previous choices, and meticulously craft your military's soldiers, weapons, and tools.While Hearts of Iron IV is historically accurate for the most part, there are also different paths you can follow that change the course of history. Strategy is present at every turn in Hearts of Iron IV, as the choices you make politically and during military battles are key in deciding who wins World War II in the end. See on Fanatical Age of Empires IVDeveloper: Relic EntertainmentRelease Date: October 28, 2021Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PCStyle: Real-TimeAge of Empires IV is yet another game where you expand an empire through combat and strategy, but this time you can take control of 10 different nations throughout history. You can choose to control the Ottoman Empire at its peak or build up a smaller civilization. You'll also find several historical figures from these various nations scattered throughout the game. When you pick a nation to rule, your job is to expand it, both in size and culture. There are several different maps to pick from in Age of Empires IV and the entire game is set in real-time, meaning you have to make decisions quickly. Like in other simulators on this list, every decision you make in Age of Empires IV has an effect and will change the future of your empire. See on Steam Marvel's Midnight SunsDeveloper: Firaxis GamesRelease Date: December 2, 2022Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PCStyle: Turn-Based Tactics/RPGMarvel's Midnight Suns is a fantastic mix of strategy and RPG elements, both of which play a large part in every facet of the game. Your job as the main character, The Hunter, is to create a team of superheroes to stop an impending invasion. These superheroes are used in battle by playing cards in a turn-based fashion. Cards feature strong abilities for each hero to perform, but there are also environmental factors to consider when attacking each turn.As for the RPG side of things, the characters you meet along the way develop as the game progresses. This is mostly done in The Abbey, a secret base where the heroes go to relax in between missions. Your character is fully customizable from the start of Marvels Midnight Suns and gets to know all the heroes on your team in meaningful ways. See on Fanatical Bloons TD 6Developer: Ninja KiwiRelease Date: June 14, 2018Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, iOS, AndroidStyle: Real-Time/Tower DefenseThe Bloons franchise is perhaps the most famous in the tower-defense genre of strategy games. The premise of Bloons TD 6 is simple: Stop enemies (bloons) from reaching the other side of a level. The bloons begin on one side and follow a set path to reach the other side. You need to utilize different Monkey Towers, characters, and other defense tools to stop every last bloon in its tracks. The farther you progress in Bloons TD 6, the more challenging the levels will get. However, you'll also gain access to more defense items that require additional strategy to properly implement.Bloons TD 6 also features quests that offer some story elements and a variety of different characters that can each be customized to your liking. See on Steam StarCraft IIDeveloper: Blizzard EntertainmentRelease Date: July 27, 2010Platforms: PCStyle: Real-TimeStarCraft II is a giant in the strategy game genre. Following its widely successful predecessor, the sequel takes everything to a new level in both the single-player campaign and multiplayer modes. At the start of StarCraft II, you take control of the Terran race to take down the leader of the Dominion, Arcturus Mengsk. You and your army wage war across a large galaxy in amazingly crafted real-time combat that takes strategy at every turn. Command your army to perform different attacks, fall back to defend, and make use of various weapons and tools to take down large waves of foes.Unlike some other strategy games, the story in StarCraft II is incredibly well done, featuring compelling characters and well-written dialogue. There are multiple campaigns to play through featuring each of the game's factions, and on top of that is the expansive and still-popular multiplayer mode to sink your teeth into. See on Blizzard Into the BreachDeveloper: Subset GamesRelease Date: February 27, 2018Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, AndroidStyle: Turn-BasedInto the Breach is a highly tactical turn-based strategy game where you control mechs that are tasked with destroying aliens on a battlefield. Every battle in Into the Breach is randomly generated, giving you a new challenge regardless of how long you've played. The mechs you control have different weapons, pilots, and responsibilities and you can unlock new levels of customization as you progress. The turn-based combat in Into the Breach allows you to counter the enemy threat by telegraphing the alien attacks. However, how you go about countering the attack is where your strategic mind has to come into play. Customizing your team of mechs, solving problems on the battlefield, and experiencing a new fight every go-round is what Into the Breach is all about. It's one of the rare games to have earned a 10 from GameSpot. See on Steam Anno 1800Developer: UbisoftRelease Date: April 16, 2019Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PCStyle: City-Builder/Real-TimeAnno is another long-running strategy franchise that peaked with Anno 1800. Set in the Industrial Age of the world, you begin the game with a large fortune and the choice to become whoever you want to be. You'll start a small empire and grow as you discover new technology through exploration and trade with other countries. Anno 1800 starts in Europe, but you'll eventually expand to South America, allowing you to sail to the continent to expand your empire. Depending on where you choose to explore, you'll run into different nations and you can choose to ally with them or engage in warfare over territory. The world is at your fingertips in Anno 1800, and you have every opportunity to conquer it with large cities, massive trade routes, and alliances. See on Steam Cities: SkylinesDeveloper: Paradox InteractiveRelease Date: March 10, 2015Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PCStyle: City-Builder/Real-TimeMany believe Cities: Skylines to be the best modern city-builder. While the sequel certainly had its problems, the original still holds up as the bar for all other city-builders on the market. Right out of the gate, you're given a plot of land of your choice to start building on. This involves zoning for businesses, houses, production buildings, and other structures; Cities: Skylines makes you think of everything when planning the city.You have to zone every inch of your land to what it needs to be used for. Then, you have to figure out how to get water, power, sewage, and other needs to businesses and homes. All the while you're trying to increase the city's population, bring in money, manage real-time problems, and still find a way to expand the city. It's an intensive, detailed city-builder that will have you hooked for hours on end. See on Fanatical Homeworld Remastered CollectionDeveloper: Gearbox SoftwareRelease Date: February 25, 2015Platforms: PCStyle: Real-TimeHomeworld is a treasured strategy game franchise that has been going strong since the '90s with the release of the original game. Containing the first two Homeworld games, the Remastered Collection features updated graphics, a remastered soundtrack, and voice recordings rerecorded by the game's original voice actors.The core Homeworld games take place in space and allow you to build a fleet of ships to take on single-player missions. You have full control over your armada, which includes managing their formations, attack styles, and strategies for each individual fight. As you complete more missions, you'll gain access to new technology that you can use to build better ships that fill a specific need for your armada. The Remastered Collection features over 100 ships to construct and 30 missions to take part in. See on Fanatical FTL: Faster Than LightDeveloper: Subset GamesRelease Date: September 14, 2012Platforms: PCStyle: Roguelike/TacticsFTL: Faster Than Light is one of the most highly regarded indie games from the 2010s and isn't quite like other strategy games on this list. It's a simulator that gives you responsibility over a spaceship and crew that needs to defeat a randomly generated galaxy of alien threats. While that sounds like a general roguelike game, the strategy involved in every fight is intense. You need to give orders to each member of your crew, pick what weapons to use, evaluate the individual enemy's defenses and attacks, and manage the ship's power. During each fight, you can pause to think through your next move, which is extremely important since FTL features a permadeath system. You can lose individual crew members for good, and if your ship is destroyed, you're done for good and forced to restart.Throughout all the fighting and strategy, you'll also have to make tough choices through text-based encounters, which occur quite frequently. FTL is an RPG, roguelike, and real-time simulator all wrapped up into one. See on Steam NorthgardDeveloper: Shiro GamesRelease Date:Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PCStyle: Real-TimeIf you're at all into Norse mythology, then Northgard might be the strategy game you've been looking for. This real-time simulator gives you control over a clan of Vikings who have just discovered a new continent. Your job is to settle the continent, root out enemies you find, and discover what secrets the land is holding. The city-building elements in Northgard are especially harsh, as you have to ensure your clan has sufficient food and warmth for the winter season. There are also enemies to deal with on a frequent basis, so your defenses have to be up to snuff.Northgard offers both a conquest and story mode. The conquest mode allows you to battle through different situations with your clan in either single-player or co-op while the story mode pits you in the thick of a Viking plot. There's also a multiplayer mode available where you can fight against friends or strangers in a competitive, ranked lobby. See on Fanatical Mutant Year Zero: Road to EdenDeveloper: The Bearded Ladies ConsultingRelease Date: December 4, 2018Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PCStyle: Turn-Based Tactics/RPGMutant Year Zero: Road to Eden is a strategy role-playing game developed by industry veterans. Mutant Year Zero has a little of everything, including a story, an explorable world, stealth elements, and fantastic turn-based combat. The story gives you control over a team of mutants that need to team up to overcome a world where humans are no longer the dominant race. The team of mutants set out to explore the post-apocalyptic world and search for Eden, a mythical safe haven.The world you explore isn't fully open, but you have some control over where you go and the enemies you fight. Mutant Year Zero implements XCOM-style turn-based fights where you can use a variety of weapons. However, you can also use real-time stealth elements to avoid confrontation and find plenty of loot and secrets hidden across the world. See on Fanatical

With the release of Season 1: Eternal Night Falls, Marvel Rivals has reached a new all-time concurrent player high on Steam. When Dracula traps Doctor Strange and takes over New York City, it's up to the Fantastic Four to lead the charge against the vampire and his evil army. In the hero shooter's newest season, players can step into the shoes of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman in the fight against Dracula. According to the developers, players can expect to see Human Torch and The Thing join Marvel Rivals' roster in a large mid-season update.

With Mojang's new approach to smaller Minecraft updates focusing on improving the game's current world and players' quality of life, combining two existing Overworld structures seems like a natural next step. As reflected by its most recent content drops and snapshots, Mojang continues to enhance Minecraft's overall experience through small-scale updates, such as the addition of new biomes and mob variants. Should this trend of content drops continue with Mojang exploring smaller, more intuitive ways to improve the base game, then it should consider revisiting and hybridizing some of Minecraft's various Overworld structures.