• Epic Games Launcher has been identified as the culprit behind mysterious chimes on users' PCs
• Epic has confirmed it's planning to update the launcher to reduce the frequency of its 'party chimes'
• Users have requested a feature that turns off the chimes altogether

Multiple PC users have recently noticed mysterious sounds playing at random, and it appears the Epic Games Launcher is the culprit.

As reported by TweakTown, a Fortnite news page on X discovered the Epic Games Launcher randomly playing sounds on their PC, as several audio files matching them were found in the Epic Games 'social chimes' folder.

Each sound represents actions in a game party, such as a party user leaving, push-to-talk activation or deactivation, and message notifications, which sounds bizarre as this occurs even when users aren't in Epic Games parties.

Epic has since confirmed (via a FortniteStatus X page) that the 'party chimes' were playing more frequently than necessary, and it is now updating the Epic Games Launcher to 'narrow which events play a sound while the launcher is in the background'.

These party chimes are sounds I've noticed on my Windows 11 system, playing at very random intervals, and sometimes even when the launcher isn't visibly open. The sounds aren't accompanied by pop-up notifications either, which only added to the confusion for me and many other PC users previously trying to pinpoint the source.

TweakTown states that Epic plans to introduce an option to toggle the chimes on or off in the future, but, surprisingly, a toggle option isn't a top priority as of now — especially since user replies berate Epic for not including an option to remove the sounds altogether.

For now, at least, a quick workaround is to delete the files from the directory as follows: Program Files (or Program Files x86)\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Extras\SocialChimes. It's worth noting that this is only a temporary fix, as Epic Games Launcher updates will likely overwrite this and place the files back into the directory.

Perhaps this entire case serves as yet another reason to use Steam for many users, where bugs are rare occurrences — but at the very least, PC users can rest knowing there isn't some unwanted or unknown application running on their system.

It’s been eight years since I last played a match in Heroes of the Storm.

For the majority of my late twenties, though, it was the MOBA my group of friends and I played night after night. Sure, everyone else was on League of Legends or Dota 2 as they were deemed to be the superior games in the genre, but we enjoyed our home in Blizzard’s crossover brawler, battling away as iconic faces such as Thrall, Jim Raynor, Tracer, and Diablo himself.

I fondly remember the nights spent playing HOTS, and our group would regularly reminisce about the hours we spent together on the game. We’d retell the same stories of the incredible plays and frustrating losses that we would experience every session — and never tire of joking about all the times someone would overextend in mid lane.

However, in that time between my last game and now, and following Blizzard’s decision to put the game into maintenance mode in July 2022, I had fully moved on.

But suddenly, that all changed. At this year’s BlizzCon, the opening keynote presentation kicked off with a surprise that no one could have anticipated. Heroes of the Storm is getting a new hero: Xal’atath, the Harbinger of the Void.

Cue a flurry of messages in the group chat, a Robin Williams ‘what year is it?’ gif, and exclamations of “we’re so back.” The game’s subreddit, a near-dormant sanctuary for players still fighting away in the Nexus, exploded back to life as well. The passion and excitement were reactivated in an instant — and I felt the same too.

A surprise return

Naturally, I had to reinstall the game, and over the past week I’ve dived in for a couple of hours nearly every night. I’ve amazed myself at how quickly I’ve picked it up again and how much I’ve remembered about each map, hero, and the flow of a game. It’s felt so good to be back, and it’s reminded me why I think it’s such an unsung hero in the MOBA genre.

See, Heroes of the Storm strips out a lot of the more, let’s say, hardcore aspects that were found in a lot of the top MOBAs of the time.

There’s no last-hitting creeps to get extra resources, no shop at which to spend gold to build your character, experience is shared team-wide to (theoretically) keep everyone on a level playing field, and there are generally fewer secondary features to think about during a match.

That led to some thinking that Heroes of the Storm is a ‘dumbing-down’ of the MOBA, but I’d argue that the game isn’t lacking in complexity.

One way is with the talents that are earned as you level. These allow you to build your character in a chosen way, adapting your strategy to your strengths and countering the team composition you’re facing.

Surprising depth

The main gimmick, though, is that rather than playing in a single arena over and over again, HOTS offers several maps that feature different main objectives. These require you to prepare and be ready for those moments when you need to defend an area, escort a payload, or gather scattered resources.

Achieving these gives you a temporary boon that works towards destroying your opponent’s home base, or Nexus. That might be a giant bone golem that lays siege to any structures in its path, or a barrage of missiles that directly attack buildings. At one point, a player could take control of a massive plant abomination to root enemies in place and smash up the other team’s defences.

These objectives add dynamism and give players a direction to move towards at regular intervals throughout a match. They also encourage more teamfighting, which I find is the most exciting and enjoyable part of any MOBA, where positioning and smart engagements are rewarded over repeatedly clicking on a creep at just the right time to build a pot of gold.

While I can appreciate there’s a skill to farming creeps efficiently in the opening phases of a Dota 2 or League of Legends game, I’d rather not be spending my time doing that. I’m also not a huge fan of the downtime in those games, going back to buy items and fiddling around in menus to buy a bigger sword or stock up on wards that you scatter across the map to give vision.

In comparison, Heroes of the Storm is a game of near-constant action, with matches that generally last a glorious 20 minutes or so. Sometimes shorter if you go on a tear, and sometimes longer if things are tight, but rarely too long that it starts to feel like a slog — especially in those painful situations where you can see the writing’s on the wall in the first 15 minutes.

This is all before I’ve even dug into the roster, which is a joy for any Blizzard fans and anyone who loves to have a diverse range of fighting styles at their fingertips.

As well as its satisfying selection of tanks, assassins, brawlers, and supports to master from across WarCraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and more, Heroes of the Storm has fun experimenting with all sorts of characters.

Abathur is a classic: a creature of the Zerg who hides in the backlines, but can assimilate with other players anywhere on the map to provide support. There’s Cho’Gall: a two-headed ogre who has its movement controlled by one player and abilities controlled by another — cue chaotic attempts to work together. And there’s the Blizzard deep cut, The Lost Vikings, who challenge you to control three different characters at once, almost bringing the stress of a full RTS experience to the game.

It’s these new and fascinating ideas in its map and hero design, as well as a focus on the more thrilling aspects of a MOBA, that make me think Heroes of the Storm has always been such an underrated gem.

I’m hoping this new spotlight on the game not only brings back a lot of old fans like me, but also introduces it to an entirely new audience so Blizzard sees reason to release heroes and updates in the future.

Indie games have arguably become a cornerstone of PC gaming, even more so with modern-day entries becoming huge hits such as Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hades 2, and a superhero surprise from developer Adhoc, Dispatch.

In comes Blackwood, a cinematic third-person action indie, set in New York in 2012. You play as Anton Blackwood, an ordinary DVD store owner by day and an assassin by night, taking on contracts and dealing with the challenge of balancing two lives at once.

After playing two hours of Act 1 (the only one available so far) during my short preview at Gamescom 2026, I can see Blackwood's promise. It's quite evident what developer AttritoM7 Productions is aiming for with its gun-fu style gameplay, heavily focused on explosive, cinematic enemy takedowns, intense gun fights, and stylish maneuvers.

Blackwood is very clearly inspired by classic martial arts and gun-fu movies, notably John Wick, and even borrows elements from classic games like Dead to Rights and Max Payne. Players can either choose to challenge enemies in a gung-ho play style, rushing out and executing different takedowns you can pick before setting out on a mission.

A more tactical approach is also possible, staying in cover and strictly going for headshots only (fitting for a John Wick-styled game), which would perfectly suit the hardest game difficulty.

Blackwood nails enemy takedowns, which is easily the one aspect that will keep me coming back to replay missions I can once Act 1 is complete. (Video Credit: AttritoM7 Productions)

The takedowns swiftly shifting straight back into gunplay are where Blackwood absolutely shines, and I can't go without stressing how impressed I am with what AttritoM7 developers were able to pull off there. In so many sequences, I was instantly taken back to those iconic moments in John Wick movies, where Keanu Reeves pulls no punches.

Ultimately, what holds Blackwood back is jankiness in combat, especially during hand-to-hand encounters. During multiple scenarios, there are bugs and stiffness in certain animations from Anton and enemies that I couldn't ignore.

Controlling Anton can be a struggle sometimes, as certain button prompts are unresponsive while in cover, and since enemies can flank the player, that unresponsiveness can lead to some pretty frustrating deaths.

The weapon recoil feels great, and I can see that AttritoM7 designed Blackwood's gunplay to have players make every shot count — which is especially important, since preparing for missions requires you to purchase ammunition with dirty money earned from fulfilling contracts.

However, I set aim assist to its lowest level (minimal), and it felt like the reticle was fighting against my control of the joystick — and it also doesn't help that the ultrawide field of view resolution desperately needs adjusting.

The opening street shootout was a great way to kick the game off, and I very quickly learned that enemies are unforgiving, requiring the player to be wary of a gung-ho playstyle. (Video Credit: AttritoM7 Productions)

Some of the audio in both combat and some NPC dialogue feels a bit out of place too, particularly during one of the early contract missions in a subway station. There are many elements like this, especially involving animations (notably Anton's run and other NPCs' movements), that end up impacting immersion.

Fortunately, while Blackwood isn't launching in early access, its remaining Acts will be released later for free (for existing owners), with Act 2 planned for March 2027 and Act 3 in September 2027 on Steam. Hopefully, with the release of the following content, patches can be made to significantly tweak and adjust those pain points.

Blackwood is a very promising game and has plenty of opportunity to shine among some of the best indie games available. However, it's a little rough around the edges at the moment, and a few steps away from realizing its potential.