Friday news:

SALES & DEALS

On the Humble Store, there's a new publisher sale starring WB. It will last another 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/wb-publisher-sale/

At Fanatical, there are 5 new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Lucy -The Eternity She Wished For-, 60% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/lucy-the-eternity-she-wished-for
• Careful here: GUILTY GEAR Xrd -REVELATOR- (+DLC Characters) + REV 2 All-in-One (does not include optional DLCs) (stop to get some air) is 67% off for the next 4 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/guilty-gear-xrd-revelator-and-rev-2-all-in-one-and-dlc-characters
• Stranger Sims Bundle, with 8 games and 1 DLC, is 95% off for the next 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/stranger-sims-bundle
• Redout Complete Bundle features the game plus 7 DLCs split in two tiers of 3 and 8 products for the next 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/redout-complete-bundle
• And lastly, there's a Kalypso Pick&Mix bundle, with 25 games to choose from in packs of 3, 5 and 10 games: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/kalypso-pick-and-mix

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Epic releases the full length video for Chaos, showing next-gen high performance physics & destruction
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/epic-releases-the-full-length-video-for-chaos-showing-next-gen-high-performance-physics-destruction/
Last week, we shared a video from GDC 2019 in which Epic Games showcased some truly next-gen high performance physics and destruction systems that will be coming in Unreal Engine 4. And today, the team has released the full length video from the Chaos tech demo.
According to its description, Chaos will be coming in early access to Unreal Engine 4.23. The video below shows the full play through of the real-time tech demo, which is set within the world of Robo Recall. With Chaos, users can achieve cinematic-quality visuals in real time in scenes with massive-scale levels of destruction, with unprecedented artist control over content creation.

MODS/EMULATORS

CRYENGINE developer remakes Metro Exodus scene in CRYENGINE V, using the same assets
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/cryengine-developer-remakes-metro-exodus-scene-in-cryengine-v-using-the-same-assets/
CRYENGINE Lighting Artist, Lindemann Matthias, has released some screenshots from his latest Metro Exodus remake project in CRYENGINE V. Now while this is a fan project, it uses the exact same assets that were used in Metro Exodus, thus making it a pretty faithful “remake” to the original material.
Metro Exodus uses the 4A Engine and, to be honest, it’s really cool witnessing the exact same assets being used in a different engine. Unfortunately, though, this remake currently suffers from a really underwhelming lighting system, and it does not take advantage of the real-time ray tracing effects that Crytek showcased recently at GDC.

GAMING NEWS

TOKI remake is coming to the PC in Q2 2019, Asterix & Obelix XXL3: The Crystal Menhir in Q4 2019
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/toki-remake-is-coming-to-the-pc-in-q2-2019-asterix-obelix-xxl3-the-crystal-menhir-in-q4-2019/
Microids has announced that the TOKI remake that was recently released on the Nintendo Switch will be coming to the PC in Q2 2019. In addition, and following the release of Asterix & Obelix XXL2, Microids will bring Asterix & Obelix XXL3: The Crystal Menhir to the PC in Q4 2019.

Conan Unconquered releases on May 30th, gets brand new screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/conan-unconquered-releases-on-may-30th-gets-brand-new-screenshots/
Funcom and Petroglyph have announced that their upcoming strategy game based on the Conan universe, Conan Unconquered, will release on May 30th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also released some new screenshots that you can find below.

F1 2019 releases on June 28th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/f1-2019-releases-on-june-28th/
Codemasters and Koch Media have announced that F1 2019, the official videogame of the 2019 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, will ship a full two months earlier into the F1 season and launch worldwide on June 28th. The game has been under development for two years and will be released during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend and, unlike previous iterations, ahead of the British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix.

First-person psychological horror game, Dollhouse, releases on May 24th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-person-psychological-horror-game-dollhouse-releases-on-may-24th/
SOEDESCO has announced that its first-person psychological horror game, Dollhouse, will be coming to the PC on May 24th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a brand new trailer for this game that you can find below.

GSC GameWorld releases official artwork and music track for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gsc-gameworld-releases-official-artwork-and-music-track-for-s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2/
GSC GameWorld has released the first official artwork and a music track for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. From what we’ve heard so far, the game is in a really early development stage and targets a 2021 release.

Borderlands 3 has been officially announced, more details coming on April 3rd
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/borderlands-3-has-been-officially-announced-more-details-coming-on-april-3rd/
2K Games and Gearbox have officially announced Borderlands 3. Unfortunately, though, the publisher did not reveal any additional details other than the game’s official debut trailer that you can find below.
>> We'll have to wait until the 3rd for more info, but it looks good.

Borderlands: Game of the Year and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Ultra HD coming out on April 3rd for free
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/borderlands-game-of-the-year-and-borderlands-the-handsome-collection-ultra-hd-coming-out-on-april-3rd-for-free/
Gearbox has announced that Borderlands: Game of the Year and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Ultra HD will be coming out on April 3rd. The former will be free to all owners of Borderlands while the latter will be available for free to those owning Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
>> Yay! I hope it's easy to get the upgrade.

CRYENGINE-powered action RPG, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, gets new gameplay beta trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/cryengine-powered-action-rpg-wolcen-lords-of-mayhem-gets-new-gameplay-beta-trailer/
WOLCEN Studio has released a brand new gameplay trailer from the latest beta version of its action hack n slash game that is powered by CRYENGINE, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem. Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is described as a dynamic action hack n slash that will not feature any class restrictions.

Friday news, part two:

Risk of Rain 2 makes a surprise appearance on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/risk-of-rain-2-makes-a-surprise-appearance-on-steam/
Hopoo Games said late last year that the multiplayer roguelike Risk of Rain 2 would be released to Steam Early Access in early 2019. Surprise! It's there now.
The Early Access release of Risk of Rain 2 supports solo action or seamless co-op for up to four players, with new and returning survivors, "massive, handcrafted levels," lore, big bosses, leaderboards, and more than 75 unlockables.

Pathologic 2 is coming in May
https://www.pcgamer.com/pathologic-2-release-date-trailer/
The remake (and and partial reconstruction) of disturbing adventure game Pathologic now has a release date. Pathologic 2 is coming to Steam May 23, 2019. There's a new trailer above giving you a glimpse of the creepy world and its sad and sickly inhabitants who you're trying to save in your role as a medic.

Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel are getting free 4K texture packs
https://www.pcgamer.com/borderlands-2-and-the-pre-sequel-are-getting-free-4k-texture-packs/
Announced at today's Borderlands panel at PAX East 2019, Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel are each getting an Ultra HD texture pack as a free download. They'll redo textures across the game, from characters and vehicles to weapons and environments.

Star Citizen is finally getting playable female characters
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-citizen-is-finally-getting-playable-female-characters/
After eight years in development and having raised more than $220 million in fundraising, Star Citizen will soon have female playable characters. Star Citizen boss Chris Roberts described the addition as the "headline feature" of the upcoming 3.5 alpha, and a "huge undertaking" to make happen.

Heaven's Vault, the new game from the creators of 80 Days, comes out in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/heavens-vault-the-new-game-from-the-creators-of-80-days-comes-out-in-april/
Heaven's Vault, the sci-fi archaeological exploration adventure coming from 80 Days and Sorcery! studio Inkle, will be out on April 16.
Heaven's Vault will tell an open-ended story about discovering artifacts, deciphering lost languages, and piecing together the history of a world. Players can progress through it in any order they like, while interacting with "a diverse cast of characters who remember everything you say, and who's attitude to you will change with how you act."

Fortnite players have been digging up bones
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-players-have-been-digging-up-bones/
I was buried under Borderlands yesterday and missed the diligent digging that was going on in Fortnite, specifically in a new excavation site that has popped up north west of Paradise Palms. Players have had to mine dirt and boulders with lots and lots of health to find out what's hidden beneath.

Warparty makes zombies and dinosaurs fight in RTS battles
https://www.pcgamer.com/warparty-makes-zombies-and-dinosaurs-fight-in-rts-battles/
Warparty is an real-time strategy romp with some pretty radical theories about the Stone Age. A trio of tribes are vying for control of the era and its limited resources, and they're not doing this just by going around clubbing each other. Each tribe has special abilities, like handy dinosaur taming skills or the power to summon the undead. This is a lot more exciting than learning about the Agricultural Revolution.

World of Tanks is cancelling April Fools' Day and going back in time instead
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-tanks-is-cancelling-april-fools-day-and-going-back-in-time-instead/
Microsoft isn't the only company swearing off mischief this April Fools' Day. Wargaming is promising that World of Tanks will be bullshit-free on April 1, though it's still got plans. Players will optionally get to take a trip back to the game as it was in 2011 with World of Tanks Classic.

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is finally getting a closed beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/mount-and-blade-2-bannerlord-is-finally-getting-a-closed-beta/
The absence of a release date didn't stop me from picking Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord in our PC Gamer 2019 Fantasy Draft, and my decision could soon be vindicated. TaleWorlds very casually slipped the mention of an upcoming closed beta into a recent developer blog update, like it was no big deal after seven years.

Ark: Survival Evolved YouTuber protests exploits by showing how to use them, gets banned
https://www.pcgamer.com/ark-survival-evolved-youtuber-protests-exploits-by-showing-how-to-use-them-gets-banned/
On Tuesday, an Ark: Survival Evolved YouTube channel called H.O.D. Gaming uploaded a video called "2019 GUIDE TO MESH MONKEYS (PART 1). " The owner of the channel, a 27-year old Australian named Luke, told me that it was at least partially inspired by his own personal vengeance. "Each time i would build a base a cheat or exploiter would come and ignore my base defense and exploit my base and steal my work," he said, over email. "Bases take hundreds of hours to build and cheaters can ignore the in game defense through this method."

Time now to check what's in store at GOG and Steam for us this wekend:

+GOG

• To celebrate the launch of Grim Dawn: Forgotten Gods on the Store, there's a Grim Dawn sale, with up to 70% discounts for the next 5 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190327_launch_promo_grim_dawn_forgotten_gods
• There's also a weekend sale, with up to 80% discounts for the next 3 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190329_weekend_sale

+Steam

• The first daily deal is the Early Access horror game Visage, 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/594330/Visage/
• Dakar 18, the other "daily" deal, is free to try for the next 3 days and 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/767390/Dakar_18/
• Dead Cells, the first weekend deal, is 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/588650/Dead_Cells/
• The Elder Scrolls Online is free to try for the next 6 days, and 50% off until April 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/306130/The_Elder_Scrolls_Online/
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance is also half its price: https://store.steampowered.com/app/379430/Kingdom_Come_Deliverance/
• The Darksiders franchise is on sale, with up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/darksiders/
• And of course, there's the weeklong sale.

And with that, we've reached the end. Have a happy and gaming weekend.

Sadly, I was more of a console player back then, so I didn't play them back then .

I'm building a new PC in about 18 months. By then, the 7 nm goodies should be out and readily available at the market, right? And hopefully not packing a premium. But the question here is whether I should go for a SSD-only solution, or if I should also pack in an HDD for mass storage (since I have a LOT of stuff). Right now I'm feeling pretty good about my job as a lawyer. I'm making about twice what I was making a year back, so yeah, maybe I'll be able to afford a little extra for my time-wasting activities.

Bith 7nm CPUs and GPUs should arrive this year from AMD, with rumors about Nvidia claiming that it will go straight to 7nm+ or 5nm. And then there's Intel with its 10nm process...

But yeah, in 18 months all of them would have moved to a better node than what's now available on the market.

As for the storage... well, 1TB SSDs are affordable, and by then we'll have a few 2TB drives with "good" prices too. That said, it you have a lot of stuff, you should probably be better with a traditional. mechanical HDD. Heck, maybe you could have enough storage with one of those massive HDDs that are out there (tho they're crazy expensive).

We are on the cusp of next generation mechanical hard drives as well, so expect some capacity and speed increases on that front over the next year or so.

But SSD+Spacious Spinning Rust is still the way to go in my opinion.

It's Monday again, and that means that here are the news!

SALES & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
2. Risk of Rain 2
3. Survivor Pass 3: Wild Card
4. Outward Day One
5. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
6. Grim Dawn - Forgotten Gods Expansion
7. Tropico 6
8. Generation Zero
9. Grand Theft Auto V
10. No Man's Sky

Agony and Agony Unrated have sold 160K copies, with 100K coming from the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/agony-and-agony-unrated-have-sold-160k-copies-with-100k-coming-from-the-pc/
Madmind Studios has announced that the sales of Agony and Agony Unrated exceeded the total of 160,000 copies sold. The sale of the PC version exceeded 100,000 copies, while the console version sold about 60,000 copies.
The team stated that the sales data from consoles usually have a considerable delay, so the actual number of Agony copies sold on consoles is most likely higher.

Bayonetta is $5 on Steam until Tuesday
https://www.pcgamer.com/bayonetta-is-dollar5-on-steam-until-tuesday/
You can pick up Bayonetta, one of the best action games on PC, for just $5/£3.75 on Steam until Tuesday. If you haven't played it yet, you absolutely should: Phil gave it 93/100 in his review, and it's still on out list of the top 100 PC games.
The price is equal to its historic low, according to IsThereAnyDeal. It actually dipped to the same price earlier this month before going back up to the usual $20, so if you missed out then this is the perfect time to pounce. It'd be a good one to play if you just finished Devil May Cry 5, I reckon.
>> It's one of the daily deals. The other one is Medieval Kingdom Wars. 30% off for the next 7 days: https://store.steampowered.com/app/499660/Medieval_Kingdom_Wars/.

GOG's new weekly sale brings games like Furi, Battle Brothers, Trine and a lot more up to 80% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190401_weekly_sale

And at Fanatical, there are 4 new deals:

• The Spotlight Deal is METAL SLUG PACK, 87% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/metal-slug-pack
• There's a new bundle, the Alicia Quatermain Complete Bundle, with 3 games at a 89% discount for the next 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/alicia-quatermain-complete-bundle
• There's a Konami Sale, with up to 90% discounts: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/konami-digital-entertainment
• And 505 Games also has its games up to 90% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/505-games

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Quixel’s next-gen photorealistic Rebirth tech demo was running on an NVIDIA GTX1080Ti with 60fps
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/quixels-next-gen-photorealistic-rebirth-tech-demo-was-running-on-an-nvidia-gtx1080ti-with-60fps/
Last week, we shared a tech demo from Quixel showing next-gen photorealistic graphics in Unreal Engine 4. Quixel used its Megascans photogrammetry tech in order to create something truly astounding and what’s interesting here is that this tech demo can run with 60fps on existing hardware.
As Quixel noted in a new video, the Rebirth tech demo can run with more than 60fps on a single NVIDIA GeForce GTX1080Ti. Yeap, Quixel did not use the more powerful NVIDIA RTX2080Ti in order to showcase this tech demo, proving that current-gen games can actually look like this (provided developers take full advantage of GPUs like the GTX1080Ti).
>> If they take full advantage of something like the 1080Ti and there's no gameplay at all, of course.

Humble Bundle co-founders step down, replaced by former Double Fine VP
https://www.pcgamer.com/humble-bundle-co-founders-step-down-replaced-by-former-double-fine-vp/
Humble Bundle's co-founders have stepped down from their roles at the head of the company, and have been replaced by the former chief product officer of free-to-play games developer Kixeye.
Jeffrey Rosen, chief executive, and John Graham, chief operating officer, founded Humble Bundle in 2010 and have led the company ever since. They will remain in advisory roles until the end of the year, and potentially "a long way past that".
Taking charge of the day-to-day operations of Humble Bundle is Alan Patmore, who joins from Kixeye. Before Kixeye, he was studio general manager at FarmVille developer Zynga, and he previously worked as a vice president at Double Fine Productions, overseeing the development of Stacking, Iron Brigade and Costume Quest.
>> Ever since they sold the company, it was a matter of time before this had to happen.

MODS/EMULATORS

Mortal Kombat Project Season 2 Final – Patch #3 adds new fatalities and stages, improves AI and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/mortal-kombat-project-season-2-final-patch-3-improves-ai-adds-new-fatalities-and-stages/
The team behind Mortal Kombat Project Season 2 Final has released a brand new patch for this free MUGEN fighting game that is based on NetherRealm’s classic MK titles. According to the release notes, this patch adds new pit fatalities and some new stages.
Furthermore, update #3 revises the koin/treasure system and as such there won’t be any slot machines at the end and players will only have to input the code manually. The latest patch also improves the game’s AI, revises jump arcs and distances, and makes it easier to perform the various combos and brutalities.
It’s also worth pointing out that this patch also improves throw mechanics and introduces “breakable throws”, allows players to disable all smoke/visual effects on all characters at once, adds endings to all characters, and revises the “finishhim” state coding.
>> You can download the game from here or, if you already have it, just download the new patch.

Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption gets AI-enhanced HD Texture Pack, improving textures by 4X times
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/vampire-the-masquerade-redemption-gets-ai-enhanced-hd-texture-pack-improving-textures-by-4x-times/
Modder ‘Ridiculous Death’ has released a new HD Texture Pack for Vampire: The Masquerade Redemption. Ridiculous Death has used neural networks in order to improve the original textures by 4X times and upscales all of the game’s 3147 textures.
As the modder noted, all textures are based on their original versions, meaning that atmosphere is preserved. They were upscaled to 4X resolution with neural networks and then downscaled to meet the 512×512 resolution limit of the engine. As such, they may not look as sharp as they were intended to be (but then again there is nothing that the modder can do as this is an engine limtitation). Furthermore, the UI has a fixed resolution and the modder was unable to replace it.
>> You can download the 1.3GB file from Nexus Mods.

Sekiro mod adds Nic Cage death screen
https://www.pcgamer.com/sekiro-mod-adds-nic-cage-death-screen/
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a brilliant game, and Tom awarded it 92/100 in his review. But if there's one thing it lacks, it's Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage.
Thankfully, modder kasaiji has buckled to overwhelming pressure from fans and created a new mod that blesses you with Cage's face every time you die. It even has two variants: a grey face when you can still revive, and a blood red one for when you're finally, properly dead.

A photo mode's been hacked into Sekiro
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-photo-modes-been-hacked-into-into-sekiro/
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a rather nice-looking game that unfortunately doesn't have a photo mode, but that hasn't stopped avid screenshotters from finding a way. Jim2point0 (recently responsible for the Resident Evil 2 camera hack) has been using Cheat Engine to take some pretty screens of Sekiro, and has shared the table he used to do it. You can toggle the HUD, alter FOV, and now he's updated it so you can freeze time, or just enemies, to line up exactly the shot you need.

Minecraft with path tracing almost looks like Minecraft 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-with-path-tracing-almost-looks-like-minecraft-2/
It's Minecraft, but not as we know it. The latest build of popular shader pack Sonic Ether’s Unbelievable Shaders (SEUS) implements path tracing, a rendering method similar to ray tracing, and the results are stunning.
I love the way the light reflects off the floor in the first clip below, and in the second clip you can see sunlight streaming through a window. It looks better in videos than in screenshots—almost like Minecraft 2.0. Make sure you hit fullscreen on the videos for the full effect.
>> It's for Patreons only, at least for the moment.

GAMING NEWS

Anno 1800 is the next Ubisoft game that will stay exclusive to Epic Games Store and UPLAY, Steam pre-orders will be honored
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/anno-1800-is-the-next-ubisoft-game-that-will-stay-exclusive-to-epic-games-store-and-uplay-steam-pre-orders-to-be-honored/
Ubisoft has announced that after the successful launch of Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 on PC on the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games store, it will be partnering once again with Epic Games for the release of Anno 1800. This basically means that the new strategy game will be available exclusively on these two digital stores.

Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will have a FOV slider, no split-screen or ultra-wide support
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/borderlands-game-of-the-year-edition-will-have-a-fov-slider-no-split-screen-or-ultra-wide-support/
Patrick Fenn, Producer for Gearbox, has revealed some new information about the PC version of Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition. According to Fenn, both the console and the PC versions will feature a FOV slider.

Bethesda will not share any news about Starfield or The Elder Scrolls 6 at E3 2019
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bethesda-will-not-share-any-news-about-starfield-or-the-elder-scrolls-6-at-e3-2019/
Bethesda’s Todd Howard has confirmed that both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 will not be present at E3 2019. Not only that, but the team will not talk at all about these highly anticipated projects as it will be a long time until Starfield and TES6 come out.

Here are 20 minutes of new gameplay footage from Obsidian’s upcoming RPG, The Outer Worlds
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-20-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-from-obsidians-upcoming-rpg-the-outer-worlds/
At PAX East 2019, Obsidian showcased a brand new demo from its upcoming RPG, The Outer Worlds. In this 20-minute gameplay playthrough, Obsidian shows a small quest where the player is accompanied by 2 characters: Nyoka and Felix. This video also shows the game’s multiple choice dialog system, some of the weapons available, the looting and character customization system, as well as the general freedom that players will have in the game.

Yakuza: Kiwami 2 has been rated by the ESRB for the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/yakuza-kiwami-2-has-been-rated-by-the-esrb-for-the-pc/
It appears that Yakuza Kiwami 2 will be soon coming to the PC as the ESRB has just rated this game for our platform. ESRB has recently leaked the PC version of several games so we can safely say that this is a legit leak and not something based on a placeholder listing.

Crysis 4 has been announced, powered by Unreal Engine 4, will be exclusive to Epic Games Store
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/crysis-4-has-been-announced-powered-by-unreal-engine-4-will-be-exclusive-to-epic-games-store/
Crytek has announced that Crysis 4 is under development and will be released in 2020. The team has collaborated with Activision – who has purchased the IP rights of the franchise from Electronic Arts – and will be using Unreal Engine 4 instead of its own in-house CRYENGINE.
>> April Fool's!

Monday news, part two:

Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines 2 pitch was a 'tremendous risk'
https://www.pcgamer.com/vampire-the-masqueradebloodlines-2-devs-say-the-pitch-was-a-tremendous-risk/
When Paradox Interactive acquired White Wolf, hope of a Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines sequel surged again, including at Hardsuit Labs. The studio that was last week revealed to be developing Bloodlines 2 wasn't approached by Paradox, however, and the publisher already had its own plans.
>> And here they speculate about the clans.

Researcher warns of incoming regulations if the games industry isn't more transparent
https://www.pcgamer.com/researcher-warns-of-incoming-regulations-if-the-games-industry-isnt-more-transparent/
Oxford Internet Institute director of research Andrew Przybylski predicts that the videogame industry will face sanctions including increased regulation, taxation, and fines, and says some of the responsibility for that lies with the Entertainment Software Association.

Divinity: Fallen Heroes is a story-driven tactics game with choices and consequences
https://www.pcgamer.com/divinity-fallen-heroes-is-a-story-driven-tactics-game-with-choices-and-consequences/
The next Divinity game, though it features a lot of returning Original Sin 2 characters, isn't a freewheeling, sandboxy RPG. Divinity: Fallen Heroes is a tactics game, but it retains a lot of RPG sensibilities, including being driven by a story with plenty of choices and consequences. It's going to be just as important here as it was in Original Sin 2.
>> And it will bring back one combat feature: surfaces.

Borderlands 3 fans think they've found the release date in the trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/borderlands-3-fans-think-theyve-found-the-release-date-in-the-trailer/
The Borderlands "Mask of Mayhem" teaser was filled with references, Easter eggs, and other half-hidden bits of information. Some of it was simple, like images of popular characters that will presumably be back for the new game, but other stuff, including broken-up shift codes, morse code, and even braille, was really well-buried. It was a veritable cornucopia of references. Would we expect any less from the full Borderlands 3 reveal trailer?

Large-scale World War 2 shooter Hell Let Loose releases in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/large-scale-world-war-2-shooter-hell-let-loose-releases-in-june/
Hell Let Loose, the WW2-based multiplayer shooter that pulled in more than double its $100,000 Kickstarter goal in 2017, will launch on Steam Early Access on June 6. Ahead of that, a beta test will run over the weekend of April 5, followed by two more that haven't yet been dated.

Skyrim Grandma Shirley Curry will be in The Elder Scrolls 6
https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrim-grandma-shirley-curry-will-be-in-the-elder-scrolls-6/
YouTube sensation Shirley Curry, also known as 'Skyrim Grandma', will be immortalized in The Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda has announced. Curry will appear in the game as an NPC as the result of a fan petition, as revealed during The Elder Scrolls 25th anniversary stream. The petition recorded over 45,000 signatures (and is still getting more by the hour) and Bethesda clearly took notice.

Valve wants a do-over with Artifact
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-wants-a-do-over-with-artifact/
Things have not gone well for Valve's much-publicized CCG Artifact since its November 2018 release. The player count began tumbling almost immediately, from a peak of more than 60,000 players to a concurrent count, according to Steam Charts, of just over 200. It's a remarkable decline, particularly for Valve, which had positioned Artifact as the vanguard of its return to game development.

Todd Howard: Fallout 76 had 'a lot of difficulties' during development
https://www.pcgamer.com/todd-howard-fallout-76-had-a-lot-of-difficulties-during-development/
Fallout 76's launch was a disaster—one of the worst in PC gaming history, by our reckoning. Its quests were boring and repetitive, the PC version was missing basic features such as text chat, and bugs were making players invincible. This week, Bethesda Game Studios executive producer Todd Howard spoke out on the subject, admitting the developer had "a lot of difficulties during development".

Deep Silver deactivates Metro Exodus Steam keys stolen from factory
https://www.pcgamer.com/deep-silver-deactivates-metro-exodus-steam-keys-stolen-from-factory/
Metro Exodus publisher Deep Silver has deactivated a batch of Metro Exodus Steam keys that it says were stolen from a factory and sold by an "unofficial key reseller".
>> Careful if you find it cheap somewhere.

Super Meat Boy Forever will have 'ridiculously hard' DLC, says designer
https://www.pcgamer.com/super-meat-boy-forever-will-have-ridiculously-hard-dlc-says-designer/
Autorunner Super Meat Boy Forever, due to release next month on the Epic Games Store, will have"ridiculously hard" DLC post-launch, designer Tommy Refenes has confirmed.

The Division 2 in-game posters hint at return to New York City
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-division-2-in-game-poster-hints-at-return-to-new-york-city/
Last month, Ubisoft revealed that The Division 2's first year of updates would be organised into three "episodes". We know the names and locations of the first two—DC: Outskirts Expeditions and Pentagon: The Last Castle respectively—but the third remains a mystery. Thanks to multiple posters throughout the game, players reckon the third episode will involve a return to New York City, the location of the original game.

A former Rainbow Six Siege developer explains why players think hitreg is broken
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-former-rainbow-six-siege-developer-explains-why-players-think-hitreg-is-broken/
When something goes wrong in Rainbow Six Siege, it’s easy to blame the game. And sometimes it really is the game’s fault. But there are many misconceptions about the factors that we often pin our shortcomings on—stuff like server lag, “bad” hitboxes, or ping abuse. That’s where a new video explainer by former Siege developer Dominic Clement may be able to help.

Summer Games Done Quick announces 2019 lineup
https://www.pcgamer.com/summer-games-done-quick-announces-2019-lineup/
This year's Summer Games Done Quick, an annual speedrunning charity event, will be taking place from June 23 to June 30. It'll be raising money for Doctors Without Borders and if you're not in Bloomington for the actual event you'll still be able to watch the livestream, as well as catch up with the highlights when they're inevitably uploaded.

Heroes of the Storm has gone cyberpunk
https://www.pcgamer.com/heroes-of-the-storm-has-gone-cyberpunk/
Blizzard may have cancelled Heroes of the Storm's competition circuit and removed the option to buy loot chests with real money, but they are still updating it. The latest update is a cyberpunk-themed spring event, which is currently live. It gives Heroes of the Storm a neon makeover that makes it look like a Shadowrun game, and tells the story of a conflict in the Caldeum Acropolis in the year 2013. Rival gangs the Azure Dragons and Onyx Turtles have combined forces to take down the Jigoku Cybernetics Corporation and their elite CyberOni.

Epic responds to claim of stolen Fortnite character skin (update)
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-games-respond-to-claim-of-stolen-fortnite-character-skin/
Taro is a new Fortnite skin added to the game's store on November 14. Yesterday, an artist named Ruby Ramirez wrote a post on Facebook showing Taro side by side with a character design uploaded to DeviantArt more than two months earlier. The similarity between the two is striking. The horned mask, the belt, the hair, the shoulderpads, even the overall color scheme resemble each other. Update: DeviantArt user Pyro-Zombie and DingDongVG on Twitter have both declared the accusation of plagiarism by Epic Games to be false. Using Google cache, they say they've found a different image was originally posted to DeviantArt and was only recently replaced with one resembling the Fortnite skin. Here's Pyro-Zombie's blog post explaining the situation.

Assassin's Creed 3 has been removed from Steam and Uplay
https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-3-has-been-removed-from-steam-and-uplay/
Search for Assassin's Creed 3 on the Uplay store and you'll only see the new remaster. The same is true on Steam but the original version's store page still exists. However, the purchase button has been removed and this text has been added: "Notice: At the request of the publisher, Assassin’s Creed® III is no longer available for sale on Steam." If you already own the game on either service you should still be able to download and play it. (I tested it on Uplay today and it worked fine.)

Devil May Cry 5 update adds Bloody Palace
https://www.pcgamer.com/devil-may-cry-5-bloody-palace/
In a rare bit of useful, actual games news on this April Fools' Day, Capcom has added Bloody Palace mode to Devil May Cry 5. In case you were worried Capcom was somehow staging a double-bluff April Fools' gag and it wasn't really in the game yet, PC Gamer's Tom Senior is actually playing it in the office right now, so it's real.

Totally Accurate Battle Simulator makes a sneak attack on Early Access
https://www.pcgamer.com/totally-accurate-battle-simulator-makes-a-sneak-attack-on-early-access/
If, like me, you've been following Landfall Games CEO Wilhelm Nylund on Twitter, you've been subjected to perhaps hundreds of amusing gifs from Totally Accurate Battle Simulator. But when is it coming out, you may have cried, desperate to make your own gifs of wacky (yet totally accurate) physics-based battles.

Final Fantasy 14 director's next-gen project has finished early development
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14-directors-next-gen-project-has-finished-early-development/
Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida is working on a "next generation" project at Square Enix's new 3rd Development Headquarters. Large-scale development has kicked off, and the team's now looking for new designers and programmers.

Type Dreams is a laudanum-fuelled Victorian typing game
https://www.pcgamer.com/type-dreams-is-a-laudanum-fuelled-victorian-typing-game/
A Victorian typing game was not what I would have predicted as the next game from Cart Life developer Richard Hofmeier. Cart Life, which Hofmeier removed from Steam and made open source, is a minimalist simulation that charts the bleak lives of three street vendors trapped in poverty. It's quietly brutal, juxtaposing the mundane with a constant supply of tiny tragedies. Type Dreams is very much not like this at all.

By the way, PCGamer has compiled some of the April Fools jokes, if you want to give it a look. By the way, at least one is not a prank but an actual game mode, albeit temporal.

I got it for free, whe nUbi celebrated its 30th anniversary gifting one game every month.

I forced myself to play and finish it, and I did. The worst Assassin's Creed game I've played.

Why not?