Maybe Rocket Lake (gen 11) won't be great, but Alder Lake (gen 12) could bring Intel back to form... the question is what will AMD have by then.

The Epic Games Store team has decided that Conan Exiles will not be free, but will be available for purchase on the store at a later date.

— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) July 2, 2020

excuse me for a moment while I

You can court shitty devs like Ooblet's, but ya'll can't make a done 1 week deal with Funcom, who are bigger than all those small indie's you bribed, even bigger fish like 2k/Big Ben. Jesus what a shit show. 

It's not the first time this has happened, a few weeks ago they had to give The Escapists 2, but when the day came the game was nowhere to be seen.

And it will happen again.

Considering how much of a failure Lakefield, Intel's first attempt of such an hybrid architecture, seems to becoming (it's beaten by the Amber Lake Atoms it's supposed to replace by a staggering 67%, and left behind by older Y-type CPUs), my hopes for Alder Lake are pretty dim right now.

I have much higher hopes into Sapphire Rapids, the non-hybrid version of Golden Cove.

This ride is never ending, I swear to god. How are they mucking this up so easily and yet badly.

Billion dollar company...Has the worlds leading graphics engine..I just can't lol. 

We are living in an era where  this sort of thing is predicted ahead of time, even when it nears, it's at least best prevented at all costs, and yet somehow this happened twice. So not only do they lack in the R&D dept of for their storefront, but it also appears their PR negotiations dept is failing too, somehow.

Like, being real here, MS, Sony and Nintendo don't manage to screw a deal up like this so badly, and twice in a row at that, even with smaller fish in the pond, those 3 manage to secure a deal and it's bound by contract beforehand. This makes me question as to what exactly is going on behind those closed doors that we're not seeing, because something must definitely be happening, for them to just screw the pooch twice in a row and not attempting anything at all to rectify it. 

Let's go with the Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store may not be giving away Conan Exiles, but they're still giving away the game Hue. Next week, if nothing happens, they'll give away three games: Killing Floor 2, Lifeless Planet Premier Edition and The Escapists 2.

The Humble Store has a new Anno franchise sale with up to 75% discounts on keys for UPlay during the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/anno-franchise-sale/

Fanatical has a new bundle and three flash deals from the Red Hot sale:

• The first flash deal is Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, 48% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night
• Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! is the second one, 85% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/cook-serve-delicious-2
• And the third one is BlazBlue Centralfiction, 83% off for 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/blaz-blue-centralfiction
• The new bundle is the Rising Star Bundle, with 6 games 94% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/rising-star-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

You can now play as Aerith from Final Fantasy 7 Remake in Resident Evil 3 Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/you-can-now-play-as-aerith-from-final-fantasy-7-remake-in-resident-evil-3-remake/
From one remake to another. Modder ‘SilverEzredes’ has just released a new character swap mod for Resident Evil 3 Remake. As the title suggests, this mod replaces Jill Valentine with Aerith from Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Now it obviously doesn’t make any sense to have Aerith fighting zombies. But hey, at least they didn’t replace Jill with Cloud. However, I suspect that a Tifa mod would make a lot of RE3R and FF7R fans happy.
(...)
This Final Fantasy 7 Remake Mod for Resident Evil 3 Remake features full facial expressions. As such, Aerith is able to talk during cut-scenes.
Still, this mod is not perfect yet. According to the modder, there are some rigging and clipping issues.
>> You can get it from Nexus Mods.

GAMING NEWS

Outriders’ campaign detailed, gets new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/outriders-campaign-detailed-gets-new-gameplay-trailer/
Square Enix today presented new information and gameplay footage from OUTRIDERS, the highly anticipated upcoming RPG-Shooter from People Can Fly. The “Journey and Structure” feature presents an in-depth look at the campaign, side-quests, companions and travel system. Moreover, it reveals several new environments and enemy types.

Ubisoft officially announces Hyper Scape; first details, trailers & PC requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ubisoft-officially-announces-hyper-scape-first-details-trailers-pc-requirements/
Last week, we informed you about Ubisoft’s upcoming battle royale game. And today, the French team has officially announced Hyper Scape.
Now while Ubisoft did not issue any press release, it did release some trailers for this game. These trailers showcase the game’s graphics, and offer some additional details about it.

Here are 40 minutes of gameplay footage from the Dark Souls-inspired action RPG, Mortal Shell
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-40-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-the-dark-souls-inspired-action-rpg-mortal-shell/
The preview embargo for Mortal Shell has been lifted, and a number of gameplay videos have surfaced online. Thus, we’ve decided to share a video that shows 40 minutes of gameplay footage from this upcoming Dark Souls-inspired action RPG.

The Settlers is delayed indefinitely in order to meet Ubisoft’s quality standards
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-settlers-is-delayed-indefinitely-in-order-to-meet-ubisoft-quality-standards/
Ubisoft has announced that The Settlers has been delayed indefinitely. According to the development team, the game needs more polish. And since Ubisoft wants to deliver an exceptional gaming experience, it has decided to delay it in order to meet its quality standards.
>> Well, they already ruined the franchise once, they better don't do it again.

Here are some new screenshots for Dirt 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/here-are-some-new-screenshots-for-dirt-5/
A couple of weeks ago, Codemasters revealed the release date for Dirt 5. And today, the team has released a new set of screenshots for this upcoming racer.

NACON announces Tennis World Tour 2, reveals first gameplay video
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nacon-announces-tennis-world-tour-2-reveals-first-gameplay-video/
NACON and Big Ant Studios have announced their new joint project, Tennis World Tour 2, and revealed the first gameplay video for it. Tennis World Tour 2 is a new tennis game that is coming to the PC in September 2020.

The Friday news, part two:

Sci-fi Souls-like Hellpoint gets a new release date and co-op gameplay trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/sci-fi-souls-like-hellpoint-gets-a-new-release-date-and-co-op-gameplay-trailer/
The sci-fi horror-RPG Hellpoint, which was delayed earlier this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, has a new release date. Developer Cradle Games announced today that it will be out on July 30, and dropped a new trailer showcasing some very Souls-like online and split-screen co-op gameplay.

Ubisoft CEO promises 'structural shift' to address workplace toxicity
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-ceo-promises-structural-shift-to-address-workplace-toxicity/
A little over a week after Ubisoft said that it is "looking very closely" into allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct made against multiple employees, CEO Yves Guillemot has issued a public statement promising changes including a shakeup of the editorial deparment, a "transformation" of its human resources processes, and better accountability among managers.

Creaks, the next weird game from Amanita Design, is coming later this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/creaks-the-next-weird-game-from-amanita-design-is-coming-later-this-month/
In some ways, the upcoming platformer Creaks appears to be a departure for Amanita Design, which is best known for point-and-click adventures like Machinarium, Samorost, and Botanicula. In others, though, it looks to be very on-brand, because going by the new trailer released today, it's still going to be very weird.

It looks like a new Shadow Warrior game is on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/it-looks-like-a-new-shadow-warrior-game-is-on-the-way/
It's been four years since Shadow Warrior 2 released, which James called a "thrilling looter shooter" with "bad jokes." It looks like more bad jokes are on the way: the official Shadow Warrior Twitter account has teased a teaser trailer, which is a lot of teasing.

Captain America is dropping into Fortnite
https://www.pcgamer.com/captain-america-is-dropping-into-fortnite/
Captain America is doing a superhero landing into Fortnite as part of the game's 4th of July celebration, and you can buy him now from the Fortnite item shop. The new skin also comes with some classic back bling and a new type of harvesting tool that's pretty different from anything I've seen in Fortnite before.

Mars: War Logs and GreedFall devs will reveal a new game next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/mars-war-logs-and-greedfall-devs-will-reveal-a-new-game-next-week/
French studio Spiders make some decent RPGs: what they usually lack in polish they make up for with heart and ambition. Last year's GreedFall was particularly fun: Lauren recommended it "with caveats," which you can read about in her review.
Spiders' parent company Nacon teased an imminent reveal on Twitter earlier today. It's definitely a Spiders game, but aside from a pretty vague image (embedded below), we'll probably have to wait until July 7 for more concrete details.

Microsoft Flight Simulator closed beta will get a release date on July 9
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-closed-beta-will-get-a-release-date-on-july-9/
Microsoft Flight Simulator's latest development update has flung some dates at us for the final alpha and the closed beta, both coming this month.
Asobo Studios said we'd be getting a timeline for the closed beta release this week, which sounds a bit more informative than what we've actually been given. What we've got is a date for a release date announcement. On July 9, with the next development update, we'll finally know when it's happening.

Become the last Juggernaut standing in Warzone's new mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/become-the-last-juggernaut-standing-in-warzones-new-mode/
Call of Duty: Warzone's new Juggernaut Royale mode is not taking a leaf out of Fortnite's book with a comic crossover, but just like Professor X's dickhead brother, you'll be able to take more of a beating and dish out more damage by donning some fancy armour.

Need for Speed's Criterion releases its game jam projects for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/need-for-speeds-criterion-releases-its-game-jam-projects-for-free/
Criterion Games, which recently grabbed the Need for Speed steering wheel again, is giving away a bunch of games for free. They've all been created during one of Criterion's internal game jams, and you can grab all six of them now.

And these are the weekend deals at GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The weekly sale with its classics has up to 89% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20200629_weekly_sale
• The The Witcher sale with its up to 85% discounts will last another 26 hours: https://www.gog.com/promo/20200624_witcher_sale
• The Midweek Sale brings up to 90% deals on space themed games during the next 22 hours: https://www.gog.com/promo/20200701_midweek_sale
• Slitherine celebrates its 20th anniversary with a bundle that will last until July 6: https://www.gog.com/promo/20200702_slitherine_bundle_sale
• The first weekend sale features card games up to 70% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20200703_weekend_sale
• And the second weekend sale is full of Activision classics up to 75% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20200703_activision_weekend_sale

+Steam

• This one is easy: go check the Summer Sale, that will end in 6 days.

And we're done. Until next time, have a happy and gaming weekend.

AMD Ryzen 4000 Renoir PRO Desktop CPUs Listed Online – Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G, Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G, Ryzen 3 PRO 4350G Prices & Specs Detailed

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-4000-renoir-pro-desktop-cpus-listed-specs-prices-leaked/

Apple brings the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X to the Mac Pro

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-brings-the-AMD-Radeon-Pro-W5500X-to-the-Mac-Pro.479511.0.html

Neural SuperSampling Is a Hardware Agnostic DLSS Alternative by Facebook

https://wccftech.com/neural-supersampling-is-a-hardware-agnostic-dlss-alternative-by-facebook/

Intel Core i9-10850K Desktop CPU Spotted, A Cheaper 10 Core Unlocked Chip With Up To 5.20 GHz Clocks

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-i9-10850k-10-core-unlocked-desktop-cpu-spotted/

The x86 Advanced Matrix Extension (AMX) Brings Matrix Operations; To Debut with Sapphire Rapids

https://fuse.wikichip.org/news/3600/the-x86-advanced-matrix-extension-amx-brings-matrix-operations-to-debut-with-sapphire-rapids/

Why would Facebook create a DLSS alternative? Oh, wait, maybe it's the Oculus team, to make it less taxing.