There’s a new conductor on the Metro: Exodus train. Or driver, even. Captain? I might not know how trains work, but I can tell you that Metro developers 4A Games have just been picked up by Embracer Group for around $80 million (roughly £61 million), and are floating plans to put that partnership to work on a multiplayer take on the post-apocalyptic Muscovite.

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Gritty, dusty team (and co-op) shooter Insurgency: Sandstorm is coming full circle later this year, as developers New World Interactive unveil mapping and mod support among their 2019 plans. Fitting, considering that the original Insurgency started life as a Half-Life 2 mod. There’s two new maps coming, including one snowy environment to address complaints that there’s far too many rural desert towns in the game right now. Also planned are night-time versions of existing maps, new play-modes, and (for folks who aren’t me) “hardcore” rules for all modes. You can see the full road-map here, or the abridged take below.

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The winds of change have blown through tacto-coolo FPS Insurgency: Sandstorm. The clouds are pregnant with five new guns, the sky awash with balance tweaks and quality of life improvements, and I’ve already ran out of appropriately stormy ways to describe the new mode. It’s a lightning bolt of… fun?

Nah, it’s just team deathmatch – but it has swept in alongside a new arcade playlist that might spit out more interesting modes in the future.

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A lot of people first discover this Pulitzer Prize-winning* column via the Steam pages for their favourite games, and it’s always a pleasure to welcome in new readers to RPS’s most respected feature. So if you’re new, welcome! Please settle in and find out why Steam Charts is the industry’s most respected and revered games journalism.

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Ho ho ho! John still hasn’t returned after Christmas, missing presumed drowned in egg nog, so I’m filling in today. Valve have already blarbed about 2018’s best-selling games so we’re back on the weekly charts. Last week’s top ten was largely familiar, though catching the tail end of the Steam Winter Sale has introduced a few surprises.

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Hey, remember the good old days? Those giddy times I like to think of as last week? When the Charts felt fresh and new, filled with potential, as if any interesting game could take a top spot? Well, forget all that because it’s all gone to shit again.

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I don t know if I m cut out for this. It pains me to write that. I m RPS s shooty boy, the kid with the crosshairs. I chomp M4A1 rounds for breakfast. But an average round of Insurgency: Sandstorm tends to chew me up instead, then squat over me while informing me about my poor life choices.

I think I m having a good time?

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Joining the crowded ranks of tactical shooters set in the eternal desert war that has dominated this generation, Insurgency: Sandstorm is out now. New World Interactive’s team shooter aims to be realistic without being pointlessly fiddly. Realistic ballistics and some complex reloading mechanics are backed up by simple controls and twitchy, responsive movement. Plus, if you’re not into Counter-Strike or Battlefield-inspired competitive play (there’s maps for either scale), there’s a cooperative mode pitting a small squad against waves of AI grunts. The launch trailer lies below.

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Gritty tactical team shooter Insurgency: Sandstorm launches next week. New World Interactive’s dusty game of desert warfare – both competitive and co-op – arrives on Wednesday, December 12th. Those wanting to sample its buffet of harrowing desert war scenarios can try it free right now – currently live and running until 5pm GMT on Monday, the current beta build is open to all, accompanied by a major update detailed here. There’s a new map, an offline training level, improved character models and some major optimisations. Below, a video explaining its many modes.

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Modern multiplayer military manshoot Insurgency: Sandstorm won’t be fully launching until December 12th. While partially available now as a pre-order beta, the final release (featuring more maps and playmodes) has been delayed for additional tuning, polishing up and optimisation on top of a bonus round of bug-fixing. Developers New World Interactive have provided a checklist of things they hope to have tightened up and locked down by release, which you can see below.

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