Guys, it looks like Nvidia will unveil their new cards on August 20, a day before GamesCom

NVIDIA announces ‘GeForce Gaming Celebration’ on August 20
https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-announces-geforce-gaming-celebration-on-august-20
NVIDIA has just announced ‘GeForce Gaming Celebration which will take place on August 20th. NVIDIA promises ‘latest GeForce hardware’ and ‘spectacular surprises’.

The event takes place a day before GamesCom, this is when and where invited media will receive their review samples (so I’ve heard).

"We love you guys, so we're announcing the 1180 for only the low low price of £1000!".

Maybe not £1000, but £800 could be a possibility.

Tuesday news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

No Man's Sky pulls in nearly 100,000 concurrent players on Steam over the weekend
https://www.pcgamer.com/no-mans-sky-pulls-in-nearly-100000-concurrent-players-on-steam-over-the-weekend/
It was a big weekend for No Man's Sky. Following the release of the Next expansion, Hello Games' space sandbox drew a peak concurrent playercount of around 97,000 players on Sunday. That's not quite half the total the 2016 launch drew on Steam, which was just over 212,000 concurrent users, but it's close, and not bad for a game that's been out for two years. As a reference point, a Reddit member pointed out that this weekend's surge of players surpassed The Witcher 3's all-time peak of around 92,000.

Inside, Soma, Darkest Dungeon going cheap in Humble's Indie Mega Week sale
https://www.pcgamer.com/inside-soma-darkest-dungeon-going-cheap-in-humbles-indie-mega-week-sale/
Humble's Indie Mega Week sale is live now through Monday, August 6 at 10am PST / 6pm BST. There are loads of great games going cheap and, as always, I've stuck a few of my favourites up there in the headline.
Mentioning that early makes for a nice wee bridge from up there to down here. It also lets me cut to the chase and tell you Playdead's Inside is on sale for £6.74/your regional equivalent, with a 55 percent reduction. Likewise, Frictional's wonderful space horror 'em up Soma costs £4.59 (-80 percent); and Red Hook's Darkest Dungeon is going for £5.69 (-70 percent).

GOG's daily deal is Fictorum, 40% off: https://www.gog.com/game/fictorum

At Steam, there's the daily and weeklong deals:

• The daily deal is Wargame: Red Dragon, 66% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/251060/Wargame_Red_Dragon/
• Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/704450/Neverwinter_Nights_Enhanced_Edition/
• Attack on Titan 2 is 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/601050/Attack_on_Titan_2__AOT2/
• The sexy Early Access title House Party is 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/611790/House_Party/
• XCOM 2 is 67% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/XCOM_2/
• And the last one I'll mention is Ride 2, 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/477770/Ride_2/

And at Fanatical, today's Best of Star Deals week title is Batman Arkham Origins Complete Pack, 92% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/batman-arkham-origins-complete-pack

SOFTWARE

Electronic Arts has launched its new subscription tier for PC, Origin Access Premier
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/electronic-arts-has-launched-its-new-subscription-tier-for-pc-origin-access-premier/
Electronic Arts has announced that players can sign up for Origin Access Premier, a new subscription tier for PC that offers full access to EA’s latest releases for the first time ever. Members will play the full game days before launch featuring valuable extra content including in-game currency, plus all the benefits of the Basic membership that features an ever-evolving library of games 100+ games in The Vault.

MODS/EMULATORS

CEMU 1.14 is now available for download, features experimental texture cache system
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cemu-1-14-is-now-available-for-download-features-experimental-texture-cache-system/
The team behind the best Nintendo WiiU emulator, CEMU, has released a brand new version of it. CEMU 1.14.0 is now available to all patreon backers and features an experimental texture cache system that aims to address most graphical bugs and glitches related to textures.

Electronic Arts shuts down the open source SimCity 2000 fan remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/electronic-arts-shuts-down-the-open-source-simcity-2000-fan-remake/
Electronic Arts has taken down the open source fan remake of SimCity 2000, OpenSC2K. According to the DMCA notice, OpenSC2K uses assets from SimCity 2000 and since these assets are under copyrights, they should not be used in free remakes or projects.
The good news here is that EA is willing to allow this project once the team removes the assets that were ripped from SimCity 2000.

Portal: After Hours mod to launch first episode next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/portal-after-hours-mod-to-launch-first-episode-next-month/
After writing about the 20-map, 30-puzzle-boasting Destroyed Aperture earlier this month, I've had a hankering for Portal 2 mods. After a wee fumble around ModDB, the latest to catch my eye is Portal: After Hours—a " one man passion project" that plans to launch its first episode on August 15, 2018.
Designed to recapture the story-lite "simplicity" of the original Portal, After Hours aims to give players "much harder puzzles that cater to long-term Portal fans first," so says creator ABNTGeneric.

GAMING NEWS

Shadow of the Tomb Raider – New short gameplay trailer showcases some of the game’s environments
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-new-short-gameplay-trailer-showcases-some-of-the-games-environments/
Square Enix has released a new short gameplay trailer for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, showcasing some of its environments. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, players will explore a stunning yet dangerous world full of adventure. And similarly to its previous gameplay trailer, this one is also really short (around 30 to 35 seconds).

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – Official Multiplayer Beta Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/call-of-duty-black-ops-4-official-multiplayer-beta-trailer/
Activision has released a new official multiplayer beta trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The PC open beta phase will begin on August 11th, will last until August 13th and will be exclusive to Battle.net.
This multiplayer beta will offer Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, and Search & Destroy, alongside the new objective-based game mode, Control. It will feature six maps, as well as new and returning Specialists.

Nogalious, retro-style action platformer, has been delayed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nogalious-retro-style-action-platformer-has-been-delayed/
Luegolu3go Studios has announced that its retro-style action platformer, Nogalious, has been delayed. The game was originally meant to hit Steam today, however the development team needed more time in order to further polish it and fix some bugs/issues.

Turn-based tactical RPG, Sword Legacy: Omen, releases on August 13th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/turn-based-tactical-rpg-sword-legacy-omen-releases-on-august-13th/
Team17 and the Brazilian indie development team at Firecast Studios and Fableware Narrative Design have today announced that Sword Legacy: Omen will release on August 13th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publishers has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

First official gameplay trailer for The Sinking City released
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-official-gameplay-trailer-for-the-sinking-city-released/
Bigben and Frogwares Games have revealed a new gameplay trailer for The Sinking City, an open world, action investigation game inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft. This new trailer divulges more elements about its main character’s mental state, his interaction with the immersive sprawling open city of Oakmont and the game’s unsettling atmosphere.

Unreal Engine 4-powered platformer, PLANET ALPHA, releases on September 4th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unreal-engine-4-powered-platformer-planet-alpha-releases-on-september-4th/
Team17 and Denmark based independent developer Adrian Lazar of Planet Alpha ApS game studio have today announced that their mysterious, beautiful platform adventure game PLANET ALPHA, will be releasing on September 4th.

F1 2018 gets a new official gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/f1-2018-gets-a-new-official-gameplay-trailer/
Codemasters has released an official gameplay trailer for F1 2018. F1 2018 promises to offer the most complete Formula 1 gaming experience to date, reflecting the real sport, both on and off the track.

Assetto Corsa Competizione is coming to Steam Early Access on September 12th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/assetto-corsa-competizione-is-coming-to-steam-early-access-on-september-12th/
KUNOS Simulazioni has announced that Assetto Corsa Competizione, the new official Blancpain GT Series game published by 505 Games, will come to Steam Early Access on September 12th. In order to celebrate this announcement, KUNOS Simulazioni has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

New trailer for Shenmue I & II Collection focuses on the storyline
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-trailer-for-shenmue-i-ii-collection-focuses-on-the-storyline/
In order to celebrate the upcoming re-release of Shenmue I & II on new platforms, SEGA has worked with Corey Marshall, the English-version voice actor of Ryo Hazuki, to create a series of videos exploring the basics of the legendary saga.

Tuesday news, part two (and last):

Cyberpunk 2077 E3 trailer breakdown series introduces cyberassassination
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-e3-trailer-breakdown-series-introduces-cyberassassination/
This Cyberpunk 2077 quest designer says the game is "inherently political". Our everything we learned from E3 2018 and more roundup backs that up—and the FPS/RPG's latest frame-by-frame trailer breakdown talks cyberassassination, the setting's cultural roots, and the Trauma Team. In short: Night City sounds brutal. "The worst place to live in America," indeed.

Monster Hunter: World has a major crashing problem, but a fix is on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/monster-hunter-world-has-a-major-crashing-problem-but-a-fix-is-on-the-way/
While our early impressions of Monster Hunter: World's PC release were largely positive, they've soured over the weekend. After 10 more hours of play, and a plenty more between the rest of PC Gamer, it's clear that Monster Hunter: World has a significant crashing problem. We reached out to Capcom for a statement, and luckily the development team is aware of the issue and a fix is on the way. The exact timing hasn't been detailed, but we'd expect to see it before Monster Hunter: World launches on PC on August 9. Until it's fixed, here's what's up and why we think it's happening.

Former Tiny Metal dev admits Kickstarter embezzlement accusations were untrue
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-tiny-metal-dev-admits-kickstarter-embezzlement-accusations-were-untrue/
Controversy engulfed the turn-based tactics game Tiny Metal ahead of his release last year when Tariq Lacy, a former marketer and PR manager on the project, claimed that funding for the project was actually drawn from money raised for another game called Project Phoenix. Tiny Metal failed to achieve its 2016 Kickstarter goal, but Project Phoenix pulled in more than ten times its $100,000 target—and so, according to Lacy, Creative Intelligence Arts, the company behind Project Phoenix, effectively closed its doors and restarted as Area 35 to work on Tiny Metal, which was the game that director and producer Hiroaki Yura actually wanted to make.

Game accused of scamming Marketplace buyers removed from Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/game-accused-of-scamming-marketplace-buyers-removed-from-steam/
Valve has removed a game called Abstractism from Steam after a "pretty reputable and experienced" Steam Community Market trader reported over the weekend that he'd been "scammed" by an item from its Community Market. He thought—acknowledging that he wasn't paying enough attention to what he was doing—that he'd purchased the Team Fortress 2 weapon Strange Australium Rocket, a rare Team Fortress 2 weapon that can sell for well over $100. But it was actually a visually identical but different item from Abstractism, and apparently quite worthless.

A Steam game was being used to scam people with fake Dota 2 items
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-steam-game-was-being-used-to-scam-people-with-fake-dota-2-items/
An awful-looking game called Climber recently vanished from Steam after several Dota 2 players reported they'd been scammed by Climber users pawning lookalike items.
The scam revolved around a Dota 2 item called the Dragonclaw Hook. The genuine Dragonclaw Hook is an immortal-rarity item for the hero Pudge. It was briefly available in early 2013 and can no longer be obtained outside of the Steam Community Market, where it can fetch upwards of $800.

The Dead of Winter followup is coming, and it's in space
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-dead-of-winter-followup-is-coming-and-its-in-space/
Plaid Hat Games has announced the next game in the Crossroads board game format: Gen7. The new game will take place aboard a generation starship on a 130 year voyage, with players cast as the new command crew of the vessel as a mysterious threat to their mission rises. The vessel itself is the last hope for a doomed Earth.

Bungie accidentally broke Destiny 2's matchmaking, and a lot of players prefer it this way
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-accidentally-broke-destiny-2s-matchmaking-and-a-lot-of-players-prefer-it-this-way/
Due to a bug introduced in a recent update, the matchmaking system for Destiny 2's quickplay PvP mode is currently not following the game's usual skill-based formula. According to PvP design lead Derek Carroll, the bug "results in much faster—but lower-quality—matches than normal." But according to many Destiny 2 players, the bug results in a better PvP experience.

Fortnite reinstates guided missiles, adds 'Fly Explosives' Jetpack mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-reinstates-guided-missiles-adds-fly-explosives-jetpack-mode/
As expected, Fortnite's guided missiles are back. Part of its v5.10 Content Update—which is "all about jetpacks, explosives, and complete cartoon chaos"—the weapon joins its new Fly Explosives limited time mode.

Gorgeous sci-fi platformer Planet Alpha release date set
https://www.pcgamer.com/gorgeous-sci-fi-platformer-planet-alpha-release-date-set/
Planet Alpha began life in 2013 as a side project of then IO Interactive person Adrian Lazar. It popped its head above the parapet earlier this year—under the collective banner of Planet Alpha ApS Game Studio and Team17—and it's now got a release date: September 4, 2018. With its interchangeable environments, hulking robot baddies, and vibrant and varied landscapes, I think it looks gorgeous.

XCOM-style spy game Phantom Doctrine, explained in three minutes
https://www.pcgamer.com/xcom-style-spy-game-phantom-doctrine-explained-in-three-minutes/
Phantom Doctrine is a bit of an enigma. With a secret base you build across a campaign and turn-based combat on an isometric grid, it walks and talks like an XCOM set in the Cold War. But from what we've played, this isn't simply a reskin where sectoids are swapped for Soviets—refreshingly, Russia isn't the bad guy at all, but a secretive group known as The Beholder Initiative.

£100 more than the 1080ti?, not really all that great a deal tbh.

Well, if you take into account that Nvidia would like to get rid of all the remaining 1080Ti cards, that the 1180 will be faster, that the first units will probably be Founder's Edition cards, the newer 12nm process and GDDR6 memory and that it won't have any kind of competence from AMD, then yes, it wouldn't surprise me if they're more expensive than a 1080Ti.

They'll be able to reduce the price later, if they want to.

Looking forward to it. I wonder if this spectacular surprise is something about gaming. Like partnering up with some developer to create a game that shows off all of the latest features like HDR and Raytracing.

Let's go with another round of news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

The Humble Sports Bundle delivers speed, strategy, and donnybrooks on ice
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-humble-sports-bundle-delivers-speed-strategy-and-frigid-fisticuffs/
The new Humble Bundle is all about sports, and despite what you may expect I will not use this as an opportunity to make an obvious, faux-confused "sportsball" joke, because in reality I actually enjoy a number of different sports, including baseball, professional wrestling, auto racing, and super blood hockey.

>>That's the Humble Bundle, because on the Humble Store we have another two sales:

• The South Park franchise will be on sale for the next 3 days, with up to 77% discounts: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/south-park-franchise-sale/
• Codemasters is has its games on sale for the next 6 days, with discounts up to 75%: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/codemasters-sale/

GOG's daily deal is This Is the Police, 67% off: https://www.gog.com/game/this_is_the_police

At Steam, we have the daily deal and three Midweek Madness deals:

• The daily deal is a Night Dive Studios sale, with up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/NightDiveStudios
• Moonlighter is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/606150/Moonlighter/
• Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr is 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/527430/Warhammer_40000_Inquisitor__Martyr/
• Plague Inc: Evolved is 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/246620/Plague_Inc_Evolved/

And at Fanatical, they have two deals to talk about:

• Injustice 2 - Legendary Edition is today's Star Deal, 67% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/injustice-2-legendary-edition
• There's a new Fanatical Anthology Awesome Bundle, with 15 games at a massive discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/fanatical-anthology-awesome-bundle

SOFTWARE

Valve adds scam protection to Steam trades following wave of counterfeit items
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-adds-scam-protection-to-steam-trades-following-wave-of-counterfeit-items/
Yesterday we reported on two games being used to pawn counterfeit Steam Community Market items: Abstractism, which was being used to peddle fake Team Fortress 2 items, and Climber, which was doing the same thing but with fake Dota 2 items. Since those scams were discovered, Valve has instituted new trade protections to protect Steam users from scams like these.
A GitHub archive of the Steam Database (spotted by Reddit user wickedplayer494) shows two warnings which now appear during "suspicious" trades. The first warns players if "one or more of the items you're receiving in this trade come from new games on Steam," which will help filter out slapped-together cash-grabs. However, it's unclear what the cutoff point is for "new games," and in the case of games like Climber, which was on Steam for two months before it was used for item scamming, this warning alone may not be enough.

MODS/EMULATORS

The Witcher 3 Next Generation LOD Mod improves distant objects and buildings
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-witcher-3-next-generation-lod-mod-improves-distant-objects-and-buildings/
Modders ‘Boostin4kix’ ‘Linas’ and ‘ScoutBr0’ have released a new mod for The Witcher 3. As its title suggests, the Next Generation LOD mod improves distant objects and buildings by replacing their models/meshes with higher quality ones, resulting in less pop-in. This mod is still in a beta phase and only Velen and White Orchard are currently edited. Also, there are no plans for Skellige or Toussaint at this point. I should also make it clear that this mod does not increase the level of detail or affect the terrain or grass. Still, small details on buildings are no visible and some shadow issues have been addressed.

>>Check the Nexus Mods link and some conditions to run the mod at the article.

Super Mario 64 Unreal Engine 4 fan tech demo is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/super-mario-64-unreal-engine-4-fan-tech-demo-is-now-available-for-download/
Mario fans, here is something special for you today. As promised, CryZENx, best known for his amazing Zelda fan remakes in Unreal Engine 4, has released the first version of his Super Mario 64 recreation project in Unreal Engine 4.
This first version lets you explore the opening area of the game, before entering the castle. Players can swim, jump and run. Mario also features almost all of his moves from Super Mario 64.

>>Here's the download link.

GAMING NEWS

Sea of Thieves surpasses five million players, second free DLC “Cursed Sails” is now available
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sea-of-thieves-surpasses-five-million-players-second-free-dlc-cursed-sails-is-now-available/
Rare has announced that Cursed Sails, the second major free content update for Sea of Thieves, is available now to all owners of the base game. In addition, the team revealed the the game has reached a new milestone of five million pirates that have set sail since launch.

Forsaken Remastered is now available on GOG [UPDATE: also available on Steam]
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/forsaken-remastered-is-now-available-on-gog/
Nightdive Studios has announced that Forsaken Remastered is now available on GOG. According to the team, this Remaster features anti-aliasing, ambient occlusion and motion blur effects, a slicker display HUD, unique levels and enemies previously available only in the N64 version, and several other improvements.
UPDATE: The game is also available on Steam.

Battlefield 1 Summer Update is now available, full release notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/battlefield-1-summer-update-is-now-available-full-release-notes-revealed/
DICE has released the Summer Update for Battlefield 1 on all platforms, and revealed its full release notes. According to the changelog, this patch improves loading times going into the soldier customization screen and reduces occurrence of disconnects when trying to join a server, fixes various match issues and rebalances Shock Operations on Lupkow Pass, Zeebrugge, and Prise de Tahure.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR is now available, free to all owners of the base game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-vr-is-now-available-free-to-all-owners-of-the-base-game/
Ninja Theory has released the VR Edition of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on Steam and GOG. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice support both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive and is available for free to all those who own or buy Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on Steam or GOG.

PUBG patch #19 adds dynamic weather and bullet penetration, improves performance and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pubg-patch-1-09-adds-dynamic-weather-and-bullet-penetration-improves-performance-and-more/
PUBG Corporation has released a new major patch for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on test servers. According to the release notes, patch #19 adds bullet penetration system to arms and hands, improves colorblind settings and adds dynamic weather to Erangel and Miramar.

Madden NFL 19 Official PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/madden-nfl-19-official-pc-system-requirements/
EA Sports has revealed the official PC requirements for Madden NFL 19. According to the PC specs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel Core i3-4350 or an AMD FX-4330 with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA Geforce GTX 660 or an AMD Radeon RX 460.

Yakuza 0 is now available on the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/yakuza-0-is-now-available-on-the-pc/
SEGA has announced that Yakuza 0 is finally available on the PC. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also released a new PC trailer that you can find below.

Bohemia keeps supporting Arma 3 five years after release with new free content
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bohemia-keeps-supporting-arma-3-five-years-after-release-with-new-free-content/
Bohemia Interactive has released the 81st platform update for its combined arms tactical military shooter, Arma 3. As the press release reads, the Encore Update (1.84) delivers a wide variety of free new bonus content to all 4+ million Arma 3 players, such as a NATO destroyer ship, surface-to-air missile systems, radar sites, missiles and bombs.

Part two of the news:

GTA Online welcomes Italian DJ duo Tale of Us, new techno radio station goes live
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-online-welcomes-italian-dj-duo-tale-of-us-new-techno-radio-station-goes-live/
"As your new Nightclub sends shockwaves through the San Andreas party scene, English Dave is busy recruiting the best new talent to ensure your club’s reputation is top notch," explains this Rockstar Newswire post. "The latest rumor? Tale Of Us, Italy’s finest purveyors of lush and melodic techno, are available for hire and ready to step up as resident DJs in your Nightclub."

Frozen Synapse 2 'should come out in August'
https://www.pcgamer.com/frozen-synapse-2-should-come-out-in-august/
Last December, a few days before Santa's visit, Mode 7 pushed its lovely-looking, once-due-in-2016 Frozen Synapse 2 back to an undermined date this year. We're still without something concrete, but the developer tells us today that "Frozen Synapse 2 should come out in August." Which is soon. Yay.

Donut County, the game about a raccoon, a hole, and garbage, arrives in August
https://www.pcgamer.com/donut-county-the-game-about-a-raccoon-a-hole-and-garbage-arrives-in-august/
Donut County is a story-based physics puzzle game about raccoon and a hole in the ground that steals people's trash, and based on that description alone you can probably tell whether or not it's something you want to play. If it is, then you'll be happy to hear that publisher Annapurna Interactive announced today that it will be released to one and all on August 28.

This Is the Police 2 goes live three days early, for a weird reason
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-is-the-police-2-goes-live-three-days-early-for-a-weird-reason/
The law enforcement management sim/adventure This Is the Police 2 went live today on Steam. And if you're saying to yourself, "But I thought it wasn't supposed to come out until August 2," then you're pretty much reliving the conversation I had earlier today with the PR rep. As it turns out, the game did come out early—and there is a reason.

Quake Champions is getting new music from Brutal Doom composer Andrew Hulshult
https://www.pcgamer.com/quake-champions-is-getting-new-music-from-brutal-doom-composer-andrew-hulshult/
If you're an attentive Quake Champions fan, you may have noticed that videos released over the past few months have featured music that's not featured in the game. Today, Bethesda finally revealed the secret: Andrew Hulshult, the "sweet metal Viking" behind the music heard in Brutal Doom and Dusk, is creating a new soundtrack for the game.

The Long Dark gets its third story episode this December
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-long-dark-gets-its-third-story-episode-this-december/
While its Early Access period provided an open-ended survival experience in the frosty Canadian wilderness, The Long Dark was always getting a story-oriented mode as well. Dubbed Wintermute, the first two episodes of the five episode series are already out, and studio Hinterland has announced today that the third episode will release this December.

Pixel Ripped 1989, the VR game-within-a-game, is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/pixel-ripped-1989-the-vr-game-within-a-game-is-out-now/
Originally scheduled for release in 2016, Pixel Ripped 1989 has finally launched on Steam today. If you were paying attention to VR games three or four years ago, footage of its quirky premise may stir some memories. One scene has a Gameboy toting schoolkid trying to play her handheld while escaping the notice of her teacher.

Lords of the Fallen 2 is a 'reset' and a 'fresh start', says its new developer
https://www.pcgamer.com/lords-of-the-fallen-2-is-a-reset-and-a-fresh-start-says-its-new-developer/
Lords of the Fallen 2 is still in development, but now a new studio is involved. That new outfit is a New York-based developer called Defiant Studios, and it's rebuilding the game from scratch.
That's according to managing director David Grijns, who tells Eurogamer Lords of the Fallen 2 remains an ARPG in the same Dark Souls-inspired mould of its forerunner, but is "a reset" and a "fresh start".

Darksiders 3 trailer shows environmental puzzles with fire magic and bomb bugs
https://www.pcgamer.com/darksiders-3-trailer-shows-environmental-puzzles-with-fire-magic-and-bomb-bugs/
Darksiders 3 will be out in November, we learned last month, and will feature some head-scratching environmental puzzles. The set pieces demoed by IGN First below look a tad more sophisticated than previous Darksiders games—but nonetheless boast their share of pressure plates, cave networks, and ancient contraptions.