Weekly Roundup: Xbox Price Hike, Commodore Rollback Callback Price, HL2 in a Browser, GTA VI Physical Release Controversy, Steam Machine, and More!
- Half-Life 2 is now playable in web browsers thanks to a fan-made port.
- Valve has launched its new Steam Machine mini gaming PC.
- Microsoft is increasing Xbox console prices again.
- Commodore has cut the Callback phone’s launch price after backlash.
- GTA VI’s physical edition comes with a download code, not a disc.
- Capcom is taking Resident Evil music on a live orchestra tour.
- Wildgate is ending active development due to low player numbers.
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Half-Life 2 Now Playable in Browser
As hard as it may be to believe, Valve’s seminal FPS was released way back in 2004, meaning that gamers have been hoping for a third game in the series for 22 years. While Half-Life 3 may continue to be a pipe dream, the good news is Half-Life 2 is now easier to play than ever.
Thanks to a highschool coder known as slqnt, plus another dev known as 98006, Half-Life 2 now works in web browsers. It’s based on the Portal webport made by Weliveinhell and primarily works via WebAssembly, meaning that the port needs to download a small amount of data to get up and running, but once it does, it’s all systems go. There are a few glitches and issues as of the current build, such as missing textures and animations, but all things considered it’s a worthwhile achievement.
slant and 98006 are part of a small dev group known as webport.ing, who focus on porting games to web browsers. Previous projects are extensive and include Clover Pit, Deltrarune and Untitled Goose Game. Cautious gamers have expressed concern that Valve might get this version of Half-Life 2 taken down, but given that it’s not being used for commercial gain it stands to reason it’ll survive as a fan project.
However, one aspect of this whole thing that is concerning is that someone’s created a Half-Life 2 memecoin ($HL2). While slqnt claims no ownership of it, they have been fielding queries about the new cryptocurrency and said that they do get “creator rewards.”
Valve Release Steam Machine
Other Valve news that’s been impossible to miss this week is that it finally opened up orders for its Steam Machine. It’s a mini PC about the size of a fishbowl that Valve said has “over six times the horsepower of Steam Deck.”
It runs on a semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T CPU, with a semi-Custom AMD RDNA3 28CUs GPU. It also features 16GB DDR5 and 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, and regarding storage space there are two models: 512GB SSD and 2TB SSD. Due to rising computer hardware costs, prices start at an eye-watering €1,049 (without a controller), all the way up to $1,428 for a 2TB version that also includes a Steam Controller.
The Steam Machine also comes with SteamOS 3, which isn’t open source itself but is based on the open source Arch Linux framework. This, coupled with the price, has led to many tech experts (and even Valve) suggesting that it’s entirely possible to build a custom Steam Machine for cheaper.
While that may be true, for those who aren’t particularly tech-savvy and can wait for Steam Machine to actually become available (orders are currently being placed on a waiting list), the device is powerful enough to play all modern AAA titles. It also works with standard wireless/USB controllers, not just the official Steam one.
Xbox Price Hike
It’s not just Valve that’s affected by increasing production costs, as Microsoft revealed this week that console prices will go up, starting in August this year. “The price of XBOX consoles will increase by US$100 for 512 GB models and US$150 for 1 TB models. We will also be sunsetting our 2 TB model,” the company said in a recent press release.
“Last October, we increased XBOX console price by $20-$70 in the U.S. We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options,” Microsoft added. “Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027.”
This follows the recent news that Xbox is undergoing a 100 day reset, as well as similar price increases for rival platforms: PS5 has gone up from $499 to $599, Switch 2 increased by $50 recently, and even Apple has had to raise the price of various devices including MacBooks, Vision Pro headset, and iPads.
Commodore Walks Back Callback Price
Last week, Commodore revealed that its latest device would be a “dumbphone” (a mobile phone without internet) that would cost around $500. While it does work with almost all Android apps and modern messaging ones like WhatsApp, many questioned who actually wants it, especially at that price.
Now, Commodore CEO Chris Simspon has publicly responded to the Callback pushback. “The worldwide response to the Commodore Callback has been an incredible endorsement of our vision. Alongside that excitement, many of you told us you wanted a more accessible entry point. We listened. Over the past week, we’ve worked tirelessly with our partners to find ways to lower the price while staying true to the product we’ve set out to build. We believe in being transparent with our community, so we’re sharing not only what’s changing, but why.”
Commodore is now offering the custom Hi-Def IEM earphones as an optional extra rather than bundling them in. There’s also now a “Premium memory” option “with Callback defaulting to rigorously stress-tested ‘post consumer’ high speed memory chips.” As such, the Callback 8020 now has a launch price of $399. It’s available from June 30, but anyone who wants one can also get an additional $50 off the price by signing up for a discount.
GTA VI Physical Release Doesn’t Include a Disc
That headline says it all, doesn’t it? Despite the growing demand for physical editions of modern games, Rockstar isn’t giving players a physical disc with its physical release. Instead, it’s quite literally a box with a download code in it.
Rockstar isn’t the first major studio to do something like this and certainly won’t be the last; Bethesda released a physical version of Doom: The Dark Ages that included a disc without the game on it (it launches an installer to download the game), for example. Rockstar is still trying to sweeten the deal with pre-order bonuses (for both the “physical” and digital versions) including a free month of GTA+, despite GTA VI being a “single player experience” according to the studio.
The Code in a Box (as it’s officially called) doesn’t currently have a pre-order price, but the digital versions do: the standard edition is $79.99, and the Ultimate Edition is $99.99. This one also includes in-game content (like shops, vehicles and weapons) only accessible to players who bought this edition.
Resident Evil Orchestra Plays All the Hits
A change of pace now as Capcom has revealed that it’s taking Resident Evil on the road as a full orchestra experience. Gamers will be able to experience a ton of music from the franchise’s 30 year history via the “Symphony of Legacy” events. Shows in Japan recently ended, with a bunch of European dates currently scheduled (it starts in Germany in August).
Capcom has promised North American dates are coming, although whether this holds true remains to be seen. Demand for live music concerts of video game music remains a niche sector, with even Sony’s recent PlayStation: The Concert forced to cancel most of its US dates due to low ticket sales. This was a multi-media experience, whereas Symphony of Legacy is a straightforward concert, so it doesn’t even have the additional selling point of seeing game characters integrated with the live performance.
The current line-up (including composer and guest musicians) includes renowned conductor Hirofumi Kurita, Colin & Caroline (who perform on the Resident Evil Requiem soundtrack), and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Another Live Service Game Winds Down Development
And finally: Wildgate, a sci-fi PvPvE shooter by Moonshot Games, is ending active development with its upcoming July patch. Launched in July last year, the game received decent reviews from critics and players, with the main issue being that a lot of its cool ideas (like modular spaceship design and combat) felt underdeveloped.
The game received multiple updates and has since gone on to amass a majority of Mostly Positive reviews on Steam with an all-time peak of 7,799 players. However, this number now rarely exceeds double digits. As such, Moonshot has acknowledged that “Wildgate hasn’t found a large enough audience to sustain ongoing development.”
“Wildgate will continue to receive occasional updates like bug fixes, balance updates, and small events, activations or rewards that generally repurpose existing content,” the studio added in a recent news post. “And new players will still be able to buy the game on all platforms (Steam, EGS, Xbox, and PS) – and we plan on participating in as many sales and discounts as we can.”
And that’s it for this week’s roundup. Don’t forget to keep an eye on our New Releases page for a bunch of games that came out this week. Now over to Tom for the weather.
Tom: It’s too hot, please send help.
