25 years ago, The Sims made history with the first instalment of a legendary series that would go on to be one of the best-selling of all time. Few simulation games have enjoyed the success and longevity of The Sims—and the freedom and creativity to play with life however you want has afforded the series near-unrivalled appeal in the years since. This week, Electronic Arts is celebrating this milestone and the history of the series in a big way, which includes a huge The Sims 4 Free Content Update containing new Create a Sim options, clothing, Build/Buy Items and much more. The festivities will also include the limited-time Blast From The Past Event, which lets players earn revamped versions of iconic items from the original The Sims game via in-game goals.

We had the opportunity to chat with Kevin Gibson, Production Director for The Sims at EA. Gibson has been working in production roles across the franchise since 2003, and has first-hand experience of how the series has evolved in that time. The studio is abuzz with excitement about the franchise's birthday, and Gibson shares that digging deep into the series' past to rediscover nostalgic highlights has been extremely rewarding. "Our incredible players have shown us that no one does life like The Sims, and we wanted to celebrate this journey we have been on together," Gibson says. "25 years ago there was a game with an idea that made big a splash at E3, and look where we are today! We've been part of multiple generations and touched millions of lives.

Today marks a significant milestone for one of the most iconic and influential first-person shooter franchises of all time—Counter-Strike is celebrating its 25th anniversary. What began as a humble Half-Life mod in 1999 has evolved into a global phenomenon, captivating millions with its intense, team-based tactical gameplay. The original Counter-Strike was instantly hit upon its public beta release on June 19, 1999, quickly building a fervent cult following among PC gamers. Valve soon recognized its potential, acquiring the rights and releasing an official standalone version in November 2000. This launched Counter-Strike into the mainstream, kicking off over two decades of continuous development, innovation, and fierce competitive play. Over the years, the series has seen multiple major releases like Condition Zero, Source, and the juggernaut Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2012. Each introduced new maps, weapons, graphics enhancements, and gameplay twists like CS: GO's Danger Zone battle royale mode.

But the core hook remained—tightly coordinated attack/defense scenarios demanding skill, strategy, and pinpoint shooting accuracy. Many of us grew up playing Counter Strike. The latest evolution arrived last September with Counter-Strike 2, ushering in a new engine, revamped graphics, and additional gameplay refinements. While initially met with some skepticism from hardcore fans, CS2 has been widely embraced, smashing records with over 1.5 million peak concurrent players. The key to Counter-Strike's enduring success has been its best-in-class core gameplay loop combined with Valve's commitment to evolve with the times. But just as crucial is the passionate global community that has embraced the series' high-skill cap and opportunities for creative strategies. Many have remained devoted for decades, fueling a robust professional esports scene. As it enters its 26th year, Counter-Strike's tactical multiplayer mayhem shows no signs of slowing down. Its unique blend of shooting fundamentals and cerebral team play has firmly cemented its place as one of the most influential games ever made.

A 64-bit Dec Alpha C compiler was found by Virtually Fun's neozeed earlier this year - the software archeologist has been searching for various test builds of Microsoft Windows NT, including an "AXP64/ALPHA64 port," deemed extra special due to it being the first 64-bit version of Windows 2000 Professional. The small discovery of this obscure compiler was celebrated, but its functionality is ultimately not all that useful - neozeed notes that the items have been sitting within 1999 vintage Windows Platform SDKs: "It turns out that the AXP64 compiler set has been hiding in plain sight for DECADES. I know that it's so unlikely that we'd ever see any public release of a 64-bit version of Windows for the Alpha, but oddly enough the compiler, headers and libraries are all there. YES. You can make full executes for AXP64/Alpha64. Of course with no OS, so it's not like you can run them."

He continues: "Sadly as of today, there is no way to test. There is one surviving machine with Windows 2003 AXP64, outlined in an article by Raymond Chen. It's a great read about how Alpha64 NT port came to be. The machine is still sitting in Microsoft Archives. Hopefully one day someone can dig it out." The story could have ended there, but a follow up post appeared on Virtually Fun earlier this week - courtesy of guest contributor Antoni Sawicki (aka tenox) who has also experimented with the cross-compiler. He provided a little bit more historical context before making an interesting announcement: "The Win64 project for AXP64 and IA64 was code named "Sundown." Sadly, 64-bit Alpha AXP Windows was never released outside of Redmond."