Don't worry, we haven't included any April fools games in this week's new releases, even though we're about to enter the first week of April. However, the month of April doesn't exactly start with a bang when it comes to new games, in fact, it feels a bit like the first week of the year, as there's no major release this week. What we do have on offer includes paws, pixels, rage quitting, beats and a sprinkling of Valhalla.

Pawggle / Monday 1 April
One simple rule: Eliminate all the red pegs from the game board before running out of balls. Pawggle is a casual Peggle/Pachinko style game but, this time, you step away from the visor. Step into a world where you become the guiding hand for your furry companions, aiding them by strategically placing blue pegs. Steam Link

Embracer Group has entered (as of March 28) into an agreement to divest Gearbox Entertainment, for a consideration of USD 460 million (SEK 4.9 billion) to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ("Take-Two"). The proceeds from the deal will, upon closing, significantly reduce net debt, earnout obligations and capex. Embracer retains selected companies, including Gearbox Publishing San Francisco (to be renamed), with the publishing rights to the Remnant franchise, the upcoming Hyper Light Breaker and other notable unannounced game releases.

"Yesterday's announcement marks the result of the final structured divestment process and is an important step in transforming Embracer into the future with notably lower net debt and improved free cash flow. Through the transaction, we lower business risk and improve profitability as we transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company. After evaluating several options for Gearbox, I am happy that we have reached a solution that is in the best interest of all stakeholders. Randy and the team have been great team members throughout the past years, and I would like to thank them all for that. As one of the world's greatest games developers, I am confident that Gearbox will continue to innovate and thrive in their new home within Take-Two," says Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer.

Calling out to all necromancers! Necrosmith 2 is now available on Windows and macOS ☠️Return to the world of the necromancy! This time, raise your undead against dreadful monsters, utilizing the newest features to create titans and control them to lead your army to victory. They await your command to begin the battle!

Like a dead man reanimated by dark sorcery, the necromancer simulator is back. Assemble your undead from different body parts, combining the abilities of various fantasy races. Upgrade your tower and give it a unique look. Fight your way through hordes of enemies in a procedurally generated world and take titans under control. Give the undead the ability to fly over mountains and swim across rivers, explore a fully generated world at night and fend off enemy hordes during the day. Start a new, uhm, life.

Lead a nation of your design through a history shaped by your choices in Millennia, a new 4x historical strategy game from C Prompt Games and Paradox Interactive. Guide your people from the stone to a near future, maybe taking detours through historical ages of plague or steampunk technology in Millennia, available now. From us at Paradox Interactive & C Prompt Games, we hope you love the game!

Define history; turn by turn and age by age. In Millennia, you start with a blank slate on which to write a new society and culture. Choose traits and government forms as you accumulate power through a variety of domains (government, war, art, etc.), using these powers to expand and exploit the world around you. Develop a production chain to transform common resources into valuable goods, and then trade the surplus to a distant settlement, boosting its population and production. Define your nation as a land of warriors, explorers or learners as you adopt new traits over time.

Gears of Prosperity, the new free content update for The Settlers: New Allies, is out now. The update adds new buildings, gameplay features, and balancing updates to the real-time settlement building strategy game. True to its almost 30 years legacy, the latest entry in the series combines in-depth build-up experience with real-time strategic battles. Choose among 3 unique factions and explore this whole-new world powered by state-of-the-art graphics. Your settlement has never looked so lively.

The Settlers: New Allies is available now on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Luna, and PC through Ubisoft Connect. A Ubisoft+ Premium subscription includes access to the Deluxe Edition, which includes the Deluxe and Explorer packs as well as the main game. Read on for a full list of all the new features

Welcome to the 13th and luckiest week of the year, which is also the last week of March and Easter Week in many countries. Fortunately, we're still getting a ton of new games this week, most of which are released on Tuesday for some strange reason. This week's major release is from strategy game experts Paradox Interactive and it's one of several strategy games this week. The remaining game releases this week includes a cosy MMO, robots, a new take on a city builder, some familiar faces that are up to no good as usual, some necromancing, divine heroes and a spice grinder.

Millennia / This week's major release / Tuesday 26 March
Create your own nation in Millennia, a historical turn-based 4X game that challenges your strategic prowess across 10,000 years of history, from the dawn of humanity to our possible futures. Set the course of history and experience different timelines in every playthrough as you write an epic story through your actions. Lead your people through times of crisis and ages of discovery, face great challenges and opportunities, and build a civilization that prospers through the ages. Steam Link

Hooded Horse has announced that the early access launch of upcoming turn-based strategy game Breachway is delayed until July. The development team at Edgeflow Studio wants to take some extra time to add additional features, polish existing ones, and ensure the initial launch offering is as strong as it can be. Breachway recently had a successful run during the February 2024 edition of Steam Next Fest, becoming one of the top 50 most-played demos in an event that featured over 1,000 games and breaking the 100,000 wishlists threshold.

Hooded Horse is committed to ensuring its development partners get all the time they need to fully realize their creative visions and is proud to support its games through every twist and turn. Further information on Breachway's new release timetable will be shared at a later date. Breachway will release into early access for PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store in 2024.

During its 55th annual shareholders' meeting, Samsung Electronics announced its entry into the AI processor market with the upcoming launch of its Mach-1 AI accelerator chips in early 2025. The South Korean tech giant revealed its plans to compete with established players like NVIDIA in the rapidly growing AI hardware sector. The Mach-1 generation of chips is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design equipped with LPDDR memory that is envisioned to excel in edge computing applications. While Samsung does not aim to directly rival NVIDIA's ultra-high-end AI solutions like the H100, B100, or B200, the company's strategy focuses on carving out a niche in the market by offering unique features and performance enhancements at the edge, where low power and efficient computing is what matters the most.

According to SeDaily, the Mach-1 chips boast a groundbreaking feature that significantly reduces memory bandwidth requirements for inference to approximately 0.125x compared to existing designs, which is an 87.5% reduction. This innovation could give Samsung a competitive edge in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. As the demand for AI-powered devices and services continues to soar, Samsung's foray into the AI chip market is expected to intensify competition and drive innovation in the industry. While NVIDIA currently holds a dominant position, Samsung's cutting-edge technology and access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing nodes could make it a formidable contender. The Mach-1 has been field-verified on an FPGA, while the final design is currently going through a physical design for SoC, which includes placement, routing, and other layout optimizations.

Silicon Box, a cutting-edge, advanced panel-level packaging foundry announced its intention to collaborate with the Italian government to invest up to $3.6 billion (€3.2 billion) in Northern Italy, as the site of a new, state-of-the-art semiconductor assembly and test facility. This facility will help meet critical demand for advanced packaging capacity to enable next generation technologies that Silicon Box anticipates by 2028. The multi-year investment will replicate Silicon Box's flagship foundry in Singapore which has proven capability and capacity for the world's most advanced semiconductor packaging solutions, then expand further into 3D integration and testing. When completed, the new facility will support approximately 1,600 Silicon Box employees in Italy. The construction of the facility is also expected to create several thousand more jobs, including eventual hiring by suppliers. Design and planning for the facility will begin immediately, with construction to commence pending European Commission approval of planned financial support by the Italian State.

As well as bringing the most advanced chiplet integration, packaging, and testing to Italy, Silicon Box's manufacturing process is based on panel-level-production; a world leading, first-of-its-kind combination that is already shipping product to customers from its Singapore foundry. Through the investment, Silicon Box has plans for greater innovation and expansion in Europe, and globally. The new integrated production facility is expected to serve as a catalyst for broader ecosystem investments and innovation in Italy, as well as the rest of the European Union.

The original Monster Hunter Stories game is back and coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, and PlayStation 4! Become a Monster Rider and hatch, raise, and battle with your favorite monsties in this epic RPG adventure. Become a Monster Rider who raises monsters and forges lifelong bonds with them in this epic adventure set in a vast, vibrant world. Befriend monsters to transform them into your Monsties! Transfer genes between monsters to raise Monsties with their own unique attributes and skills! Utilize your Monstie's Riding Actions out in the field to discover everything the locales have to offer!

Guess your opponent's attack patterns and experience the excitement of mainline Monster Hunter titles while engaging in thrilling, turn-based battles with monsters.
In addition to featuring Japanese and English voice overs, this remastered version also includes a "Museum" mode where you can view concept art and listen to the game's music! Monster Hunter Stories launches on Nintendo Switch, PC, and PS4 on June 14 with refined graphics, a new Museum mode, and content previously released only in Japan. Ride on!

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a highly unique, Japanese-inspired single-player game that blends multiple genres to create an action-packed adventure unlike any other! First revealed in June last year during Xbox Games Showcase 2023, this new title from Capcom will release day one with Game Pass, as well as on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Windows in 2024.

A New Tale of the Kami Awaits
The story begins when the legendary Mt. Kafuku is covered by an evil defilement and the 12 masks, including their special powers, are stolen. Our protagonist, Soh, must work together with Yoshiro, the Maiden with divine powers, to purge and cleanse the villages of the defilement. The masks worn by Soh and the villagers each feature a different divine power, and these powers are the key to protecting Yoshiro. As you cleanse additional villages from their evil defilement, you'll recover more masks and work together with the various villagers that each mask unlocks to bring Mt. Kafuku back to its original beauty.

Absolutely Games and Team 17 Digital have launched WWII-based strategy epic Classified: France '44 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. An original take on the turn-based tactics genre, Classified: France '44 authentically captures the challenges of World War II firefights, shining a light on a lesser known story. Take charge of the Jedburghs: a group of special forces dropped deep in the heart of Nazi-occupied France, working with the Resistance to disrupt and sabotage enemy forces in the lead up to D-Day.

Surrounded on all sides and deep behind enemy lines, you'll need to make every shot count! Classified: France '44 is a World War Two turn-based strategy game that puts you in the shoes of the French Resistance in the run-up D-Day. Build your team of resistance fighters and take the fight to the German war machine through stealth, ambush and assault tactics! Classified: France '44 is a turn-based, tactical espionage and combat game. Lead an elite team of soldiers and resistance fighters to victory against the German occupation forces.

Hello Citizens, the day has finally come—we are ready to announce the release date of Frostpunk 2! Watch the latest trailer below. Frostpunk 2 is the sequel to the highly acclaimed, BAFTA-nominated society survival game that blended city building, strategy, and management gameplay. Taking place 30 years after the apocalyptic blizzard, Earth is still overwhelmed by the never-ending frost and harsh, icy climate. You play as the leader of a resource-hungry metropolis where expansion and the search for new sources of power is an unavoidable reality.

Frostpunk 2 is coming to PC and through PC Games Pass on July 25, 2024. Pre-orders available now! Get the Digital Deluxe Edition with a 10% discount, which is also available for pre-order starting today and access a seven-day long beta in April that consists of part of the game's sandbox mode, among other things.

Batter up, friends! We've got the next round of games coming soon to your download and install queue. Whether you want to bend reality in Control, check out Bikini Bottom, or more, we have your bases covered… er… loaded! Let's play ball!!

Available Today
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (Cloud, Console, and PC)—Load up your Boltgun and unleash the awesome Space Marine arsenal to blast your way through an explosion of sprites, pixels and blood in a perfect blend of Warhammer 40,000, frenetic gameplay and the stylish visuals of '90s retro shooters.

Yesterday, Remedy Entertainment Plc ("Remedy") and 505 Games S.p.A. ("505 Games") announce a transaction upon which all publishing, distribution, marketing and other rights to Control, codename Condor, Control 2, and all future Control products will revert to Remedy. The Control franchise is in the core of Remedy. Having acquired the full rights to Control, Condor and Control 2, Remedy is now in a position to make the right product and business decisions focusing on long-term franchise growth.

The transaction has no immediate effect on the income statement, while we see attractive growth opportunities arising in the mid-to-long term. This transaction will enable us to negotiate better deals for current and future Control games. We can now weigh up the options between self-publishing and a new publishing partner for Condor and Control 2. At the same time, we are in a better negotiating position than before as Control is an established brand and Alan Wake 2 has been successful. We are confident that these factors combined will enable us to get the right partner, deal structure and risk-reward profile that benefit Remedy and are the best fit for the Control franchise. We will evaluate and negotiate with potential future partners over the coming months.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition had a landmark year in 2023 with the addition of the Return of Rome and The Mountain Royals expansions. More than four years after launch, the game continues to grow. Telling more stories from the world's rich history as well as bringing more civilizations to play. The next chapter for Age of Empires II: DE will be the single player focused DLC Victors and Vanquished, coming March 14th.

Introduced by its Creator, Ramsey Abdulrahim, this DLC will be like no other we've made before for AoE II: DE. Victors and Vanquished features 19 epic scenarios. Your strategy and choices will decide your fate: will you emerge as the ultimate victor, or fall as the vanquished? You'll play as Ragnar Lothbrok, Oda Nobunaga, Charlemagne and more. Each scenario features professional voice acting, new music, achievement and the quality you'd expect from an official Age of Empires scenario.

We on the Age of Empires team want to say a huge thank you to our 50 million players around the world. 2023 was a huge year for our games and our community. We wanted to share a look at what there is to look forward to in 2024 and we've just wrapped our New Year, New Age show which did just that. If you watched, thank you for joining us! If you weren't able to join us live, or you just want a reminder of all the things we covered, here's what's coming this year.

Age of Mythology: Retold is another title that got its debut at our 25th anniversary. Since then, we've continued to develop this exciting reimagining of fan favorite Age of Mythology. Art Director Melinda Rose gave players worldwide their first look at Retold via three in-game units, brought to life through amazing AR technology. Showcasing Medusa, Pegasus and Cerberus from the Greek pantheon, Melinda took us through how each unit has been updated, given completely new art and even had gameplay tweaks that will intensify their strengths and unique powers making them even more important in your strategy. They will be stronger, faster, bigger and bolder. We are also beyond thrilled to announce that players do not have long to wait. Age of Mythology: Retold is coming to Xbox consoles and PC in 2024 and is available to wishlist on Steam now!

Hello Xbox community and other gaming platform populations! Today marks a monumental milestone - our medieval turn-based strategy game, Inkulinati, is leaving the Xbox Game Preview Program and you can now enjoy the full 1.0 release! To mark the occasion, we've got a brand-new shiny release trailer, voiced by famous bardcore musician Hildegard von Blingin'. Check it out below! Inkulinati 1.0 is OUT NOW on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation!

So. what is Inkulinati, you might ask? Well, it is a turn-based strategy game, where a rabbit's bottom can be deadlier than a dog's sword (trust me, this is not a mistake!). It is inspired by real medieval art and is entirely played on the pages of medieval manuscripts. If you've ever seen old medieval books with funny drawings on the sides of the pages, or even medieval memes on the internet, these hilarious doodles (called "marginalia") were used as the basis for, well, everything in our game.

As we enter the third week of the year's shortest month, we have a ton of new games to look forward to, with the major release this week being a gaslamp fantasy game with an open world and some multiplayer co-op action. As for the remaining games this week, we have an indie sci-fi shooter, a racing sim, a terminator franchise title, a couple of survival games set in different locations, with the latter one being a multiplayer game as well.

Nightingale / This week's major release / Tuesday 20 February
Nightingale is a PVE open-world survival crafting game played solo or cooperatively with friends. Build, craft, fight and explore as you venture through mystical portals into a variety of amazing and fantastical realms. You are stranded beyond our world, cut off by the collapse of the arcane portal network. This catastrophe has left you fighting to survive in a labyrinth of beautiful and dangerous Fae realms. Your goal: become a skilled Realmwalker, and navigate the web of transdimensional portals. Only then can you discover your way to the magical city of Nightingale, the last known bastion of humanity.

As we enter the year of the dragon according to the Chinese zodiac, we have a week full of new game releases to look forward to, although none of them are unfortunately dragon themed. This week's AAA release has a more caribbean theme and has been a long time coming. As for the remaining releases, we're looking at a dash of phobia, banishment, some insight, dwarves, colonisation and a dark town.

Skull & Bones / This week's AAA release / Friday 16 February
Enter the perilous world of Skull and Bones, a co-op pirate open world action RPG experience, to become the most infamous pirate kingpin. Engage in thrilling naval battles, craft a variety of unique ships, forge unlikely alliances as you overcome the odds, and bring mayhem on the seas. Be part of an immersive world that introduces new challenges and features every season

You can now play the demo for 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far in the Steam Next Fest. Start your first strategic steps into 9-Bit Armies with the Overlords campaign. Play the first three missions, each with unique objectives and unlocks to try. Can you get a perfect result against our new AI challengers? After you have established control of your new forces commander try our new challenge mode, each one comes with a unique set of goals and twists to the game. Come back for a new challenge as we update them over Next Fest and see if you can reach the top spot on the leaderboard. Be sure to wishlist us and prepare for the full release that will include the co-op campaign, skirmish and multiplayer modes, and new modding support going far beyond what the previous game could do. Now go blow something up commanders!

Retro Real-Time Strategy Cranked Up To 9!
From Real-Time Strategy veterans Petroglyph comes 9-Bit Armies: A Bit Too Far the sequel to their triumphant 8-Bit series of games. In 9-Bit Armies rally your military forces across a variety of battlefields and act out your strategy over land, sea and air. Deploy your airborne soldiers, destroy bridges, and aim your superweapons in a new kind of pixelated pyromania. Whether you are brand new to real-time strategy wargames or an experienced commander - 9-Bit Armies provides an extra bit of fun.

War Games mode fuses Homeworld's RTS gameplay with roguelike inspiration, charging commanders to take on a randomized series of fleet combat challenges. Claim powerful Artifacts that augment your ships with more power, speed, and, of course, weapons. Based on your results, you'll unlock new fleets to shake up your strategy. This demo, available to all Steam players starting February 5 at 10am PT until February 12 at 10am PT, supports up to three players as they engage waves of hostiles in a series of increasingly challenging encounters. Players can find teammates through Quick Match or create a lobby to team up with friends online.

It's important to note that any Fleets or Artifacts you unlock in the War Games demo will carry over when Homeworld 3 launches. For players not using Steam Cloud Saves, make sure you don't delete your demo files as we'll be sharing info on the exact transfer process later. Each level presents a greater challenge and new modifiers to your next War Games run. This demo will feature four different maps and a slew of things to unlock as you continue to play, including different starting fleets (maybe even an extra special one!) plus new Artifacts and more.

Paradox Interactive, a publisher and developer of deep and strategic games for cerebral players, has announced their collaboration with SquareNite to publish Darfall, a roleplaying strategy game with settlement-building mechanics that will be released in Early Access in 2024 under the Paradox Arc publishing initiative. Darfall is a strategy game where you take control of a hero who must explore and adventure through the land to gain power while simultaneously managing a nascent village in its efforts to expand and grow into a larger town. However, as the sun sets, the dark forces plaguing the land unleash their minions against your base and it is your job as a hero to take a stand in defense of its home. Each night that the forces of evil are thwarted, the more dangerous and numerous the nighttime raids become.

Big Announcement
Hello, Darfall community! It's me Lukas and we have some thrilling news to share that marks a new era in the journey of Darfall. We are incredibly proud and excited to announce our partnership with the renowned game publisher, Paradox! More specifically, their Arc initiative. This collaboration is not just a milestone for us at SquareNite, but also a testament to the potential of Darfall. For us, collaborating with Paradox is a dream realized. Their commitment to crafting quality, strategic games that captivate players for countless hours aligns perfectly with our vision for Darfall.

As fearsome invaders from another world threaten the peace, Azeroth calls for a hero to lead its human defenders in battle…or conquer this realm in the name of the orcish Horde! The very first game in the Warcraft franchise, 1994's Warcraft: Orcs and Humans is now available in the Battle.net Shop. If you've ever wondered what it was like to fight the real-time strategy battles at the dawn of the Warcraft saga, this is your chance to see for yourself how it all began.

This release includes:

• Two dozen missions across two separate campaigns: Help the humans defend their home world against the orcish invaders, or lead the Horde in their relentless conquest.
• Custom games to hone your skills: Select from 21 bonus maps and play against a computer-controlled opponent to learn how to lead your forces more effectively.
• Two-player versus mode: Go head-to-head with another human and prove who is the master strategist in highly customizable multiplayer matches.

Command the battlefield, outflank your enemies, and gain victory, or suffer crushing defeat and be forgotten forever.

The Verge has obtained an internal Microsoft memo that outlines a comprehensive reduction of headcounts across a number of Xbox Game Studios departments. Microsoft's gaming division has fought tooth and nail to complete their takeover of the highly prized (~$69 billion) Activision Blizzard + King group, yet this freshly acquired operation is set suffer the most. Microsoft Gaming CEO—Phil Spencer—was tasked with delivering some unfortunate news to an unlucky 8% of the current workforce: "It's been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we've set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we're all aligned on the best opportunities for growth."

He continued: "As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team. The Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible. The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they've accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws. Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that is consistent with our values."