StoryOfTheGame

Q3 Update 2026

Hi everyone and welcome to the Q3 Update of 2026.

It IS a HOT summer and i hope everybody is doing great and getting along well with this at times crazy heat. I had a couple of weeks off and really enjoyed my time off the screen. But also getting some new energy for the rest of the year.

The channel is keep growing and i am very greatful for all the old and new followers around this fun project! Some things work better then others but i guess this is just the standard fluctuation throughout all of youtube if you are not fully going the algorithm way. But i like it that way. :-)

In terms of monetization i hope this has settled in now and everyone is somewhat happy with the setting as it is now. I think it is a pretty good compromise that we established now that there is some ad in the beginning but then none throughout the rest of the vid.

As we roll into the third quarter of the year not that much has changed.

Tarkov has thrown tons of new updates and changes at us and the constant events keep slowing our progression down. On the plus side of things is that some of the most annoying tasks got made a lot easier and this makes them doable for us a lot more.
I am still looking forward to finish this thing by the end of the year!
Lets see if we can make that happen. xD

Snowrunner is constantly moving on and we are about to finally finish Season 14.
Progress was getting slow because this season happening in the middle of the summer. So naturally we dont get everyone at it on our sessions and it means we are not pushing at our max capacity. Despite all that i am very proud to finish season 14 and move on to the next which as far as i know has again a bit more to do with "snow". :-)

Our Diablo 4 playthrough is moving along nicely. We are close to finishing the 5th chapter and then chasing the finish of the base game. We then have to move throug the add on campaigns as well but i think these are of a smaller scale overall. Still looking for some great sorcerer build for eternal. So if anybody can point me to one i would be gladly taking the helpt.

We also had some great demos in the recent past and i am looking forward to the releases of the games and see how they perform. I also try to reach out to some of the smaller teams and maybe can aquire a partnership to present one or two games early on the channel as well.

Then we were able to finish some more single player focused games as well.
There was The Payle Beyond that i really enjoyed and playing it a second time off camera to see if i can save even more of the crew. We also could wrap up the Car Dealer Simulator and (Thanks to the GarageMonkey Team Again) fresh tuning DLC Up2You. The racing and modifications were a great addition and keept us going until the final race. We are now in the finale if the game that has won the last vote, Nobody Wants To Die. I try to finish some smaller games in the meantime and have them showing on the weekends after that, giving me enough time to put out a new vote.

The progress on New World is also constant and maybe i have to intensify it to be able to finish it in time berfore the servers go down. Coming into a new region is always a great feeling and there are still plenty to explore and play through.

Star Citizen is still in development. Who would have guessed that right? xD
The last vid was rathe well received and i am planning on continuing that.
Depending on time and difficult of locations to go to there might be more or less vids on that topic. But i have to see into that myself first.

With all that i am really looking forward into the second half of 2026.
I hope to have someting for each and everyone up here from time to time and
plan to stay consistent to provide fresh vids.

Thank you all for the ongoing support and kind messages and comments.
It is such an honor seeing this all growing and developing.
It is such a great joy!

Thank you!

Much love to you all!

Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

StoryOfTheGame

No Tarky Stream Today

Hi all, due to the huge update and the launch of seasons the servers
are under pretty heavy load and connection issues are surely to happen.
Since i dont want to sit in a stream with constant issues we are going to sit this one out and will resume tarkov next week.
The next stream will be on Wednesday with D4.

See you then :-)

Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

StoryOfTheGame

Snowrunner Musical Episode (Country) #170

Hello and Welcome everybody!
I hope you all are doing well and enjoying life!

I had a thought the other day. After playing a bit of Car Dealer Simulator a couple of Weeks back and enjoying the soundtrack of it. I was listening to it while driving in my car too. And there it came to me. WHY not have a dedicated Episode with just music from one genre? Something that fits a smooth chilled driving experience in Snowrunner. And since Car Dealer Simulator has a couple of those tracks in it i thought these could do a start. And then i am going to ask for more potential options here to the viewers.
It surely can deviate a from the country setting but it should stay within that somehow. Maybe leaning into Folk and more but
If possible i will put it all together into a youtube playlist and then i can let that play during the stream of Episode 170.
And we could also make it public after that session so if anybody wants to listen to some pieces of it again you would than had the opportunity to do so.
So here are my first picks for it, just to give you an idea:

Open Road by Chester Malone & Henry Nolte
https://youtu.be/ZGuyKTlJXUE?si=0FzQg...

Witchcraft by Thyra
https://youtu.be/51Zs8ipIq80?si=yrOkI...

This Town by Courses
https://youtu.be/eR9krWD33ac?si=zQSyl...

I hope these give an idea what we are looking for.
Now please name your favourite songs that you would like to hear during the stream in a comment!
Then i will go on and create a playlist wih all the mentions that fit into that rough genre/direction.

Thank you all for helping out!

Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

StoryOfTheGame

Next Up

Hey everyone,

I hope all of you are doing fine!
It is time for you again to decide what will be next on the channel.
After we will finish The Pale Beyond this weekend we will make another trip to Winston Springs to take a look at the big DLC of Car Dealer Simulator and make a deep dive into the Car Customization and Tuning.

But now is the time to choose what will happen next.

I have prepared 4 Games that couldnd´t be any more different form each other.
And no you are invited to choose what to go through next.

1. Omno:
A single-player journey of discovery through an ancient world of wonders, created by solo developer Jonas Manke.

- This is a great little adventure with a beautiful vibe and a fantastic art.

2. Metro 2033:
In 2013 the world was devastated by an apocalyptic event, annihilating almost all mankind and turning the Earth's surface into a poisonous wasteland. A handful of survivors took refuge in the depths of the Moscow underground, and human civilization entered a new Dark Age. The year is 2033.

- This is probably known for many. But i have never read the Books nor played any of the games. This is a very atmoshperic and dark shooter based on the famous books. We might expand this into the whole series as there are 2 more games after that one. Could make for a great journey.

3. Nobody Wants to Die:
Lose yourself in the dystopian world of New York, 2329; immortality comes at a price that someone has to pay. In this interactive noir story, lead the investigation using advanced technology, as Detective James Karra who risks it all in pursuit of a serial killer targeting the city’s elite.

- This on steps into the Shoes of Bladerunner or the TV Show The Alters. It looks like an amazing Noir experience with a intruiging story and stunning visuals.

4. The Last Campfire:
The Last Campfire is an adventure, a story of a lost ember trapped in a puzzling place, searching for meaning and a way home.

- A side project from the famous Hello Games that is a cute puzzle adventure where the character is on the way home.


So these are the "contenders".
I am very curious about what game will win the vote.
No matter what will be picked the others are not completely out.
The might return in another vote.

Thank you all for the ongoing support and your contribution to the Vote!
Have A Fantastic Day!

Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

2 months ago | [YT] | 2

StoryOfTheGame

A First Thoughts On Vid

Hey everyone,
just wantede to drop a quick note about the now just released vid.

This one is about my thoughts and opinions about a game.
I avoid the phrase review, bevause i have no expertise in games jounalism and probably wouldnt do very well. But i figured many big streamers/creators put out thoughts vids after they finished a game. So i thought i might try that myself.
This is just a first iteration. It is nowhere near how i want it to be but it is a start.
Also to see if there is interest in that or not.

In the future the goal is to be, depending on the game, max 10 minutes and with a more clearer structure to it.
I also should take more notes to provide a more polished and pleasuring listening experience.

As a little extra, i was actually lucky again as the devs of Car Dealer Simulater again reached out and send over a key for the big new DLC "Up 2 You" for the game.
So we will go back to Winston Springs and pay the Dealership another couple of visits to check out all the cool new customisation options.

A huge Thank You to the team at Garage Monkeys for giving me this opportunity!


There will also be another Post in a couple of days where i will ask for your help.
It is related to music. :-)


Thank you all so very much!
Love U All!


Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 3

StoryOfTheGame

The LAN 2026

Hey everyone, its that time of the year again where my friends and i get together to play games while sitting next to each other. I cant wait to just talk naturally and just enjoy a good time together. Of course we will stream many of those sessions again.
I really do not know what we will be playing so let yourself surprise as much as i do.
This time though we dont to any mic or voice at all. I will be ready to hit the chat but the last year showed that without a proper professional setup it is just super annoying to listen to. So we leave it be for good this time. But i will be in chat and happy to reply.

This means of course that there wont be any regular stream this week.
So no Tarkov, Diablo (though might happen xD), or Snowrunner. At least not on their regular spots. But i hope there will be some interesting stuff ti show regardless.
There will be another The Pale Beyond episode coming up as well as my first review in video form. Weekend will take no hits as there again will be another episode of New World and The Pale Beyond as well.

See you out there and have a great week!

Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

3 months ago | [YT] | 4

StoryOfTheGame

Monetization, Ads & Other Ways

Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing great!
As promised I wanted to provide another update on this topic as i got further experience and some statistics. I also have been looking around for how other people handle this and what they offer. If someone remembers i was also trying to get in touch with some of the agency’s in this country but some of them directly rejected me while others didn’t even respond to my request. Well i guess i have to figure it out on my own then. :-)

I said it in the Q2 update I have taken heavy inspiration from another YouTuber / Lets Player and in the end it is pretty simple. He don’t want to interupt the viewing experience by any means. He also wants to stay as independent as possible to not have the need to have any kind of disturbing or annoying additional ads on his channel. And I will go down the same path as I think that is the lowest kind of intrusion possible on YouTube.

What does that mean you ask? It is simple. There wont be any mid roll ads anymore. I experienced with them. But after reading and hearing what he had to say about it and how many viewers think about them. They are gone. At least I hope I have deactivated them all. It will now stay that way.
Ther will be an upfront ad on any video I am able to monetize, but thats it. No crazy Midroll Ad slots every 15 Seconds. If I can help it, if your on the vid, you can watch it until the end without further disruption! Same goes for Live Streams. There will be a pre roll Ad. But thats it. I still have to figure out how to make YouTube NOT turn them on after the Stream got processed. Right now after the stream ends I can either select to monetize or not. But the extra option for mid rolls is only available once the full stream is processed by YouTube. Might as well just go and ask them directly if there is a way. ;-)
And of course there wont be any offensive sponsoring that might take up some time in every video.
I try to keep this channel clean. I would probably only take these if they really fit the channel or if the subject might be a game that I was about to show on the channel anyway. But if it comes to that I will let you know in advance. I know this all might look a bit of an too early thought on such a small channel but I like to have a long term alignment of the channel so everybody will be able to get what will happen here and what not. Hopefully to benefit the viewing pleasure! :-)

The other rule simply wont be change. If a game has any form of copyrighted material in it and the Vid then cant be monetized so be it. I wont cut anything out or destroy the scenes by ripping music away or any of such things. I the rights owner wants these parts to be muted or anything then of course we have to follow these requests. But since I post vids on YouTube it only occurred a couple of times and the automated system YouTube uses works pretty ok for that.

The Channel Membership will stay as it is. Its the lowest amount possible for monthly support. I cant offer much in return so that is, in my opinion, the most appropriate thing to do. This goes directly into another question. I know things like patreon exist. But are there people willing to support me over there, and not here on YouTube? I know YT takes its share, but I don’t know how this works with Patreon or similar services. And I guess this channel is still way to small to request this kind of support? The thing is that I wouldnt be able to provide much more to these platforms as well. I would only create one membership plan with the lowest cost possible (I guess again 1$ / 1€ a month) and that would be it. Please let me know how you guys think about that. Is there a demand to open up these ways? While writing this I want again to thank those who already became Channel Members and Supporting me for years now. I really do appreciate it! Thank you very much!

Another idea I have in mind comes in the form of Ref Links. But actually I have just one in mind.
I regularly check prices on steam against those of a key shop. Here I often use Instant Gaming. I recently discovered that it is really easy to create a ref link. Whenever someone uses this link and then moves on and buys a game I will be able to get a tiny commission for that. But I thought it might be a pretty clever idea since nobody gets hurt, someone gets a game that was on the wishlist anyway for a bit cheaper and I on the other hand might be able to show off a game or two on the channel in return. Let me know what you think about it!

Also if someone has another idea I should look into please feel free to let me know.

And thats it for now on the subject of Ads and monetization.
I hope this clarify s things and gives you a good feeling for the future!

Thank you for your time!

Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

3 months ago | [YT] | 5

StoryOfTheGame

Q2 Update 2026

Hello & Welcome to the next quarterly update.
The year is in full swing and temperatures are climbing fast over here.
This means things outside require the same amount of attention as on the YouTube side of life.
But as always I plan on manage that and keep up the schedule as good as possible! :-)

I hope everybody is in good spirits and you get to play the game you might have waited for for a long time or maybe find a pleasant surprise amongst all these fresh games and demos.
I´am slowly running out of demos to show but the next Steam Next Fest will surely change that again.

So where are we in terms of things.
I plan to put out a couple of smaller updates for other topics that I wont cover here now.
Those are about the monetization and another one about this years “lan-series” of streams.

Here and now this will go about the things that happened and that are about to take place in the future.

To start things off I slightly start to shift the channel a bit more into an LP Format one.
I am not sure if this will be beneficial but as I seem the best and most running vids have been those demo runs where I basically talk and speak about every step the game wants us to do and think loud about certain mechanics I feel like this is the way to go for the channel. I have taken great inspiration from a long operating German You Tuber/Content Creator/ Streamer/ etc. on how to set up things like playlists and projects and series and all that and what extra bits I could provide to make navigation easier that I will now try to implement many of those as I think it will be great additions to the channel. HOWEVER, this does not mean that there aren’t going to be any new no commented vids anymore. They will only be reduced to those where it would probably wont make a difference at all. I´am thinking about those walking tours in star citizen or some heavily story focused or narrated games where I couldn’t add anything of value to the shown image or would interfere and destroy the vibe of the pictured situation. We will see how this turns out. :-)

This will also mean that I try to slice up the games I cover into more sizable chunks.
Its not like I haven´t done it before but now I try to more stick to it. So pushing out 2hours+ long episodes wont happen as often as they may have before. The aim now is around the 50 to 60 minute mark. This also helps in maintaining a constat flow of episodes which hopefull helps with keeping engagement up a little bit since its not just ONE episode per week. Of course there will be longer vids and if it fits small games that can be finished in a small amount of hours will be done in just one vid. No splitting up there. But this is the rough idea for the near future. It also makes release schedule a bit more predictable for me and you.

Another thing that I want to do more again is to implement votes on what to cover next.
Most titles will be pre selected by me but than you are able to give those a preference at which we will take on those titles. I also try to contact smaller studios or publishers now and maybe we can acquire an early access or preview key here and there. It wont happen overnight but I want to work on some things throughout the year that are a bit more recent then what I normally cover.

Now for the games we are at right now we are making huge progress in Snowrunner after finishing that rather long running season 12 in North Caroline. With Season 13 just popping away we are now underway in season 14 in Austria and my god it is beautiful and feels very well balanced in difficult of tasks and terrain issues. It wont hold us for long and maybe! We are finally able to catch up with releases. Thank you to everyone form the community that helped whenever the occasion arose. It means a lot and I try to get the information early of one of my mates might not take part at it and try to update the description when there are seats available from the start. So keep an eye out if you might want to join us here and there. The opportunity will be there.

Our Escape From Tarkov PVE playthrough is making good progress as well as we are zapping through many of the mid term task lines and now moving towards the more difficult endgame quest lines. It will still take a lot of episodes but I can feel that we are on a good path. There are still many of the story related tasks open and we want to take on with these once the majority of the side quest tasks are finished and the others require a long list of kills or items anyway. There are now many fun little events and probably also big ones on the brink where we also try our luck in a run or two.

As for the story throughout New World I would love to get out some longer sessions to finally be able to enter those Raids or Dungeons or whatever these are as there are tasks to be done in there.
On the other hand both starting areas are now mainly finished so we can start focusing on the later regions where things become more difficult but the sheer volume of quests should drop a little? As we explore these regions we hopefully can maintain a steady flow so that we are able to finish through all of it before it gets finally taken down by the start of next year. I know this series is not really popular what I enjoy the world and the mechanics and the main story line is actually quite good.

On another note, Cyberpunk is still planned for this year, but it will probably take maybe 2 to 4 months before the start of that. I hope the autodrive by then works completely flawless as this is such a cool feature to start into episodes or other things. I also think about letting you send my recommendations for music that could play douring theses segments on and to quest locations.

And of course my love hate Star Citizen can hopefully receive a couple of more vids.
I am in the process of assembling a list so I can easily look up which locations I have already visited and to not make the mistake of doing the same one again and again. :-)

Many of those things will get a bot more focus after we finally finished the EFT playthrough as I think I wont do another live project for Mondays to be able to record more and maybe having a free slot to kick in an individual and spontaneous stream now and then might also be a good idea. So finishing this up is a key point for this year, if possible.

Then we have our Diablo 4 playthrough with the boys. It is a lot of fun and I really enjoy the ambient and the story and the great attention to detail. All the small story add up to paint a larger picture of all the bad things going on in Sanctuary. The equipment increases step by step and we become stronger with every session. With the latest DLC just out for about a week there have been some big changes but it will take some time until we even hit the first DLC area and story since we are only in the base game right now and plan to complete that before moving on with any of the DLC.

The Channel now moves slowly to the 1100 Subscribers and I still haven’t done a proper celebration stream for the 1000 Subs. It is not that easy to get another evening free right now but it will happen and I am still looking to do a little giveaway while doing it. As promised in the Q1 Update of this year. Meanwhile I am very very grateful and want to thank you all for supporting the channel on its journey. It means the world to me!

Much Love to you all!


Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

StoryOfTheGame

Slight Change Of Schedule

Hi all! I hope everybody is doing great and will have a bit of time off for the eastern celebration. :-)

Because of this and holidays there is a small change of schedule.
I thought to put it out here just in case anyone wondered.

The Snowrunner stream this friday (03.04.2026) will be moved to monday (06.04.2026).
For the rest of the next week then there wont be any streams at all.

Normal "service" will then be resumed in week 16 on monday with the regular schedule.

And thats it!

Thank you all very much!


Sincerely Yours
StoryOfTheGame

4 months ago | [YT] | 4

StoryOfTheGame

Who would have thought that.......

4 months ago | [YT] | 9