Christopher Livingston
Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.
Latest articles by Christopher Livingston
![An adventurer in a fantasy base](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/isncYeGzqmpNiKnHRKH6y9-320-80.jpg)
The first big Enshrouded update has 'a brand new spooky NPC,' also you can sit on toilets now
By Christopher Livingston published
News The co-op survival RPG gets new dungeons, new enemies, plus all the round doors a hobbit could want.
![A warrior near a walking wooden base](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/c6KMQ2R2n5DLA5LYfM89hW-320-80.jpg)
Developer of survival MMO Last Oasis explains why they're launching a new early access survival game before they finish their last one: 'It was either that or shutting down'
By Christopher Livingston published
News Last Oasis and Bellwright project lead Florian Hofreither says the choices were "fire 90% of my studio, or we start a new game."
![Dave holds up a fish he just caught](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dHFeuQs7XjjM64wScphjFg-320-80.jpg)
'Is Dave The Diver an indie game? I would say no,' says game director
By Christopher Livingston published
news "Everyone says triple-A or indie, but there's so many games in between," Jaeho Hwang of Mintrocket said at GDC.
![Blue Prince](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VUKu7frgka8Eet2CPNAcSL-320-80.jpg)
My favorite game at GDC is a first-person puzzler where you build a mansion of mysteries one room at a time
By Christopher Livingston published
GDC 2024 I only played Blue Prince for an hour, but a day later I'm still playing it in my head.
![Images of developers at the GDScream event at GDC 2024](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RzJeMUSBVAeQxbEZpXcTZ-320-80.jpg)
Watch a bunch of game developers screaming in a public park to protest the state of the industry: 'It feels hard to be here and pretend like everything is fine'
By Andy Chalk published
news Amidst the excitement of GDC, dozens of developers shared a moment of pure catharsis.
![Woman standing with arms crossed](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/BCGRfSwNT9NeSxswTttWPT-320-80.jpg)
Starfield's lead quest designer had 'absolutely no time' and had to hit the 'panic button' so the game would have a satisfying final quest
By Christopher Livingston published
News "It became very clear that we were missing the large final location that was going to tie the story together," says former lead quest designer Will Shen.
![Yes Man, a robot with a real happy face](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xRNDEFUtRWudxHACwtNYP8-320-80.jpg)
The best mods for Fallout: New Vegas
By Christopher Livingston last updated
Updated! Our favorite mods for Obsidian's 2010 RPG.
![Wordle answers](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CPxgbKSs9wG73hXWAtmjr-320-80.jpg)
One of Wordle's most requested features has nothing to do with words
By Christopher Livingston published
News Jonathan Knight, Head of Games for the New York Times, tells us what Wordle players want most.
![Medieval strategy game](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Yr2YAraHj6VJeqod3ATSge-320-80.jpg)
Library heists, bandit bribes, and multiple orgasms: how I became a happy king in medieval strategy sim Norland
By Christopher Livingston published
👑 It's good to be the king... eventually.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WSyif2jjMkfpFTnegZW7xe-320-80.jpg)
The best deals in the 2024 Steam Spring Sale
By Tyler Wilde published
deals We've combed the first big Steam sale of the year for the best deals on new games and older favorites.
![A fantasy hero looking at ruins](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/t8tzHo2fPEbGgq3NRh7vBQ-320-80.jpg)
Enshrouded's new 2024 roadmap has dozens of features players have been clamoring for
By Christopher Livingston published
news Water! Weather! NPCs in towns! (Plus those NPCs will have pets.) And round doors so your hobbit holes will feel more LOTR-y.
![A fantasy character with a huge backpack](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aYHjUcjPBVyX85GWfpuTJ3-320-80.jpg)
Steam's latest big hit is a little game about stuffing a huge backpack full of magic items
By Christopher Livingston published
News Backpack Battles sold over 100,000 copies in two days of early access. After playing a few rounds, I can see why.
![Wordle answers](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iTKBMBnjrHUU9CGH3Mda93-320-80.jpg)
Nearly 2,000 Wordle clones targeted as NYT issues DMCA takedown
By Christopher Livingston published
news NYT says its Wordle copyright includes "unique elements" of its game like "the 5x6 grid" and "green tiles to indicate correct guesses."
![Fallout TV show character](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wFXzSz72XHNS7HZKXfDmXB-320-80.jpg)
Watch Walton Goggins do a bunch of chems and blast a fist-sized hole in a dude in the new Fallout series trailer
By Christopher Livingston published
News See The Ghoul in action… before and after the bombs fell.
![A person wearing power armor from the Fallout games](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VWifF8ThefhPYzAoNmXWbX-320-80.jpg)
Ready to binge? Every episode of Amazon's Fallout TV show will be available at once on April 11
By Christopher Livingston published
News The new Fallout show trailer reveals that you'll be able to binge it if you want.
![A city in the snow](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yLj4jZhMbTbSpu6KfxSuoT-320-80.jpg)
The Frostpunk 2 release date trailer is here, along with two ways to play the survival city builder before launch
By Christopher Livingston published
News Frostpunk 2 is launching in July, but people who preorder can play it earlier. Like... months earlier.
![A map of europe at war](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rhKMriJdw7eryJj9vLysUC-320-80.jpg)
This mashup of city builder and grand strategy will take you from building a capital city to achieving 'total global domination'
By Christopher Livingston published
news In Kaiserpunk, you don't just manage a city, you span the globe.
![A base on a sandy planet](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Cdp5b4Lsnmxve8F8B3HwTP-320-80.jpg)
Why survival MMO Dune: Awakening won't have sandwalking: 'It looked ridiculous and it made you walk really slowly'
By Christopher Livingston published
news Dune: Awakening's creative director Joel Bylos says "we made an attempt at" the Fremen practice of sandwalking, but it wound up being a drag.
![A base on a sandy planet](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8aXQFUvJRoCxehkNHJnh4V-320-80.jpg)
You can claim land for your base on Arrakis in survival MMO Dune: Awakening, but you'll have to pay the Emperor for it
By Christopher Livingston published
News Here's our first look at Dune: Awakening base-building... but there's no escape from paying taxes, even in space.
![A flush in Balatro](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hNTgyxVnZsNntjkMF8B4NC-320-80.jpg)
Poker-themed deckbuilder Balatro gets delisted from some stores after its PEGI rating absurdly jumps from 3 to 18+ over 'gambling imagery'
By Christopher Livingston published
News "I do not condone gambling," says Balatro developer LocalThunk, "nor do I believe that Balatro contains gambling."
![Toolbox, shirt, booklets, bumper sticker](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eTHNuFbw9UAbnJEozEoftJ-320-80.jpg)
We're riding shotgun with Pacific Drive to give away a free copy of the game and a carload of great gear
By Christopher Livingston published
Giveaway! Win a code for Pacific Drive along with a vintage toolbox, a mechanic's shirt with customized name tag, a bobblehead, a bumper sticker, and more.
![A card game](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fthq7iX9rsfkizp94nMvJg-320-80.jpg)
'I don't play poker at all' says solo developer who made the poker roguelike I can't stop playing
By Christopher Livingston published
Big Deck Energy Developer LocalThunk says his deckbuilder, Balatro, is actually based on a game called Big Two, not poker.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AJn5Pc7Gj6EdjE2xxs5gPM-320-80.jpg)
Cities: Skylines 2 boss says lack of mod support is the 'biggest regret we have'
By Christopher Livingston published
news The Colossal Order CEO says the studio has "mountain to climb when it comes to delivering on the expectations."