Games
Discover facts about games. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Games
No Man's Sky was investigated over its promises
Hype is a double-edged sword that attracts government lawyers. The developers promised so many absent features prior to release that the UK's Advertising…
Discover more
How Final Fantasy XIV destroyed its own world
Admitting defeat is hard, so Square Enix just dropped a literal apocalypse instead. Final Fantasy XIV was so terrible at launch that the creators wrote an…
Discover more
The video game ending changed after fan backlash
Hell hath no fury like a nerd denied closure. After fans spent years investing in a sprawling sci-fi trilogy, the original conclusion was so universally…
Discover more
Tomb Raider nearly vanished with one hard drive
Historical preservation in this industry is a complete joke. The foundational code for one of the most iconic 3D titles of the nineties was nearly lost…
Discover more
Belgium treated FIFA packs as gambling
When your monetization strategy is so predatory that entire countries step in, you've peaked as a corporate entity. The Belgian government legally ruled that…
Discover more
PUBG's frying pan became bulletproof by accident
Due to a complete coding oversight, a cast-iron kitchen utensil became a tactical necessity. The developer accidentally made the frying pan completely…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Assassin's Creed Scans Helped Rebuild Notre Dame
Sometimes corporate obsession with historical detail actually pays off. After the tragic fire, the incredibly meticulous digital scans created for Assassin's…
Discover more
When playing SimCity required an internet connection
Forcing players to connect to a server to play by themselves is a stroke of corporate genius. EA launched their beloved city builder with mandatory online…
Discover more
Steam algorithms push visual novels to all users
You can play exclusively hardcore military shooters for a decade, and the algorithm will still try to sell you a dating simulator about pigeons. The digital…
Discover more
Halo 2 multiplayer code was barely held together
One of the most revolutionary online experiences ever created was a complete technical nightmare behind the scenes. Developers confessed that the code was…
Discover more
GTA V cost more than you might think
Producing a simulator about stealing cars is astronomically expensive. With an estimated budget of over two hundred and sixty million dollars, Rockstar spent…
Discover more
Steam takes 30 percent while developers do the work
Becoming a digital landlord is the greatest business model ever conceived. Steam routinely takes a flat thirty percent of nearly every sale on its platform,…
Discover more
One developer balanced Assassin's Creed II in Excel
Recreating historical Italian commerce requires heavy math. The entire economic structure of Assassin's Creed II, detailing how much a sword or a painting…
Discover more
Steam Greenlight sold low-effort asset flips to users
Democratizing software publication just led to an endless avalanche of garbage. Valve allowed the community to vote on which software reached the store,…
Discover more
Final Fantasy VII spent heavily on television ads
Making a masterpiece is only half the battle; the rest is just shouting at consumers. The publisher spent tens of millions on aggressive television and print…
Discover more
Why Steam reviews become political weapons
Consumer activism in the digital age involves aggressively lowering a product's aggregate score over unrelated political squabbles. If a publisher makes a…
Discover more
EVE Online players got their names engraved in metal
Virtual achievements finally received tangible, real-world validation. The developers of Eve Online erected a massive physical monument in Reykjavik, Iceland,…
Discover more
The update that made Warcraft 3 worse
Remasters are supposed to improve the experience, not violently dismantle it. The 'Reforged' edition actively overwrote the original twenty-year-old client,…
Discover more
DayZ spent five years in alpha
Selling an unfinished product is the ultimate modern developer hack. This zombie survival simulator stayed in an early, bug-ridden testing phase for half a…
Discover more
The game that took 14 years to become a disaster
Perfection takes time, but absolute mediocrity takes a decade and a half. The vaporware king jumped between different developers and processing engines for…
Discover more
When gamers hire mercenaries for real money
Vengeance is sweet, but paying a mercenary real-world money to destroy someone's digital property is sweeter. Wealthy corporate leaders in Eve Online…
Discover more
Why blackjack tables hide tiny mirrors
You might think the dealer has psychic powers when they immediately know they have a natural twenty-one. In truth, the table has a tiny mirrored device that…
Discover more
Whack-a-mole uses aggressive pneumatic cylinders
Those little plastic rodents aren't popping up softly. Heavy-duty pressurized air mechanisms violently shove them up and down, which is precisely why the…
Discover more
Cards Against Humanity owns an independent warehouse
Instead of relying on regular distributors, this incredibly sarcastic company built its own massive fulfillment center. They literally manage the shipping of…
Discover more