Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

[JEMC]

The Tuesday news... and we're back to only one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam starts 2022 with a new concurrent user record of 27.9M
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/steam-starts-2022-with-a-new-concurrent-user-record-of-279m/
Steam is off to a strong start in 2022 with yet another all-time concurrent user record, achieving just shy of 28 million people on the platform all at the same time.
The specific number of 27,942,036, as recorded by SteamDB, was set on January 2, just over a month after Steam surpassed 27 million concurrent users for the first time ever in late November 2021. More than 8.2 million of those people were actively gaming, which is also a considerable jump over the November numbers, although not as a proportion of total users: 8.1 million people were actively gaming simultaneously on April 4, 2020, out of a total concurrent user count of 24.5 million.
>> Conina already took notice of this in his impressive "Monthly Steam hardware survey analysis" thread, but not all of you may have seen it.

The Humble Store has a new Anime Sale, with up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/anime-sale/

And Fanatical's new Star Deal is Crusader Kings III, 33% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/crusader-kings-iii

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Here are the first studios that will support Intel’s XeSS AI-driven upscaling tech
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-first-studios-that-will-support-intels-xess-ai-driven-upscaling-tech/
It appears that the list of the studios that will support Intel’s XeSS AI-driven upscaling tech has been leaked online. Although this list was meant to be revealed at CES 2022, we finally know which studios will support Intel’s answer to NVIDIA’s DLSS.
According to the leaked press release, 505 Games, EXOR Studios, Fishlabs, Codemasters, Hashbane, IO Interactive, Illfonic, Kojima Productions, Massive Work Studio, PUBG Studios, Techland, Ubisoft and Wonder People will support it.
>> This article is based on a Videocardz leak. Yuri, you don't have to post the original article!

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Veronica, Rose, and other New Vegas followers modded into Fallout 4
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/veronica-rose-and-other-new-vegas-followers-modded-into-fallout-4/
It's hard to say goodbye to old friends, so here's a thought: don't do that. Instead of leaving them behind, bring them with you. Even when you start playing a different game.
The New Vegas Companions mod transplants some of your favorite companions (though maybe not your most favorite companion) from Nevada into Fallout 4. And you don't even need to pick them up at the airport, though you will need to venture into another Fallout 4 mod, Project Mojave, to reach them.
Project Mojave, as you might know, is a mod that adds locations from Fallout: New Vegas as playable areas in Fallout 4. It includes the Vegas strip, Nipton, the Good Luck Trailer Park, several casino suites, and more. And if you visit those areas with the New Vegas Companions mod installed, you'll be able to find and re-recruit some of your old friends.

GAMING NEWS

New Haunted Chocolatier screenshots show off ghosts conducting sweets science
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/new-haunted-chocolatier-screenshots-show-off-ghosts-conducting-sweets-science/
Haunted Chocolatier, the next game from Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, is still in early development. As with in-progress Stardew updates, though, Barone likes to share little tastes of what he's working on now and then, and over the holiday he posted a few screenshots of the candy shop and town sim. This time we've been treated to some especially fresh chocolate-concocting ghosts and a school bus turned vegetable plot.

Ken Levine's new game may still be years away
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ken-levines-new-game-may-still-be-years-away/
BioShock creator Ken Levine announced in 2014 that he was winding down Irrational Games, the studio he co-founded in 1997, in order to start a smaller, "more entrepreneurial" project at Take Two Interactive. (...)
Despite all the years that have passed since then, the revamped studio—now known as Ghost Story—still hasn't released a game. A new Bloomberg report claims that much of the reason for that is Levine himself: Current and former employees who spoke to the site said Levine's management style can be difficult, and that he doesn't hesitate to scrap weeks or months of work if he feels it somehow falls short.

Resident Evil Village wins Game of the Year in the 2021 Steam Awards
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/resident-evil-village-wins-game-of-the-year-in-the-2021-steam-awards/
The votes have been tallied and the winners announced, and Resident Evil Village has beat out Valheim, New World, Cyberpunk 2077, and Forza Horizon 5 to claim the Game of the Year title in the 2021 Steam Awards.
>> Only 2 of the games I voted for have won their category.

Elden Ring's graphics team felt pressured by the Demon's Souls remake
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/elden-rings-graphics-team-felt-pressured-by-the-demons-souls-remake/
Elden Ring's greatest competition is apparently its younger sibling, Demon's Souls. The PlayStation 5 remake that launched alongside the new console in 2020 was a lot prettier (and to some, less distinct) than the original Demon's Souls, and the striking makeover put extra pressure on Elden Ring's graphics team, according to creative director Hidetaka Miyazaki, who was recently interviewed by Edge magazine.