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

[JEMC]

Let’s check today’s gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Overwatch's second weekend of Conquest 'had a higher daily player count' than its opening weekend as Blizzard's FPS gains momentum
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/overwatchs-second-weekend-of-conquest-had-a-higher-daily-player-count-than-its-opening-weekend-as-blizzards-fps-gains-momentum/
The first weekend of Overwatch's overhaul, now known as Overwatch Season 1: Conquest, was by and large a success. Not only did it introduce five new characters, a nice UI change, and signify a shift in how content will be released going forward, but it also dropped the '2'. And all of this was rewarded with some of the best player counts the game has seen since launch.
On Steam, Overwatch reached an all-time player count peak, clocking in over 165,000 players over the release weekend and creeping past both Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty's concurrent player count. Since then, it's managed to keep a healthy number, which has floated between that high point and 100,000 players.
But it doesn't stop there. Most Overwatch players actually use Battle.net to play, a Blizzard-owned platform that doesn't publicly post player numbers. It meant that we can't say for sure just how successful the overhaul has been, but Blizzard has revealed that the players just keep coming back.
"Overwatch Season 1: Conquest had a higher daily player count in its second weekend vs. launch weekend," Overwatch says in an official social media post. "The first time that has happened since Overwatch 2 launched in 2022. Thank you to everyone who's been jumping into Season 1: Conquest."

During the next 7 days, the Epic Store will give away

• Boxes: Lost Fragments: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/boxes-lost-fragments-079041
• My Night Job: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/my-night-job-a416a6

Next week, the free games will be Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms and Turnip Boy Robs a Bank .

GOG has the Atari Publisher Sale,with games up to 85% off during 10 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20260226_atari_publisher_sale

Steam has three new deals (that I see) and one new sale (note that there’s a Capcom sale but, oddly enough, it ends with today’s refresh):

• Keep on Mining! will have a 35% discount until the 4th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3769130/Keep_on_Mining/
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is going to be 67% off until the 7th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2183900/Warhammer_40000_Space_Marine_2/
• ΔV: Rings of Saturn has a demo and a 59% discount (hopefully it’s 60% in other currencies) that will last until March 11: https://store.steampowered.com/app/846030/DV_Rings_of_Saturn/
• And the sale is the Retrovibe’s Spring Forward Sale 2026 with upcoming titles to learn about and games up to 85% off. The deals will end between the 4th and the 10th of March: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40645616/sale/SpringForward2026

Humble Bundle presents its Cartridge Chaoes Bundle, with up to 8 games to get during 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/cartridge-chaos

And there’s also Fanatical with the Prestige Collection - Build your own Bundle (BundleFest 2026) has 21 titles to choose from for your 2+, 3+ or 4+ game bundles during the next 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/prestige-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Intel Arc GPU Graphics 32,0,101.8531 drivers
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-8531

HIGHLIGHTS
Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc B-series, A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:

• Marathon
• Resident Evil Requiem
• World of Warcraft: Midnight (DLC)

Game performance improvements on Intel Core Ultra series 3 versus Intel 31.0.101.8509 software driver for:

• Witcher 3 (DX12)
  • Up to 35% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings

Game performance improvements on Intel Arc B-series Graphics GPUs versus Intel 31.0.101.8509 software driver for:

• Resident Evil Requiem (DX12)
  • Up to 7% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Up to 6% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Ultra settings

Game performance improvements on Intel Arc A-series Graphics GPUs versus Intel 31.0.101.8509 software driver for:

• Resident Evil Requiem (DX12)
  • Up to 40% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
  • Up to 30% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Ultra settings

FIXED ISSUES

Intel Core Ultra Series 3 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• John Carpenter's Toxic Commando (DX12) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
• PUBG: Battlegrounds (DX12) may exhibit intermittent flickers in the game menu.
• Hogwarts Legacy (DX12) may exhibit flickering corruption during cinematics in game.

Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:

• John Carpenter's Toxic Commando (DX12) may experience an application crash during gameplay.

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• John Carpenter's Toxic Commando (DX12) may experience an application crash during gameplay.

>> This is a Beta driver.

NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 595.59
https://videocardz.com/driver/nvidia-geforce-game-ready-595-59

HIGHLIGHTS
Game Ready for Resident Evil Requiem
This new Game Ready Driver provides the best gaming experience for the latest new games supporting DLSS 4 technology including Resident Evil Requiem. In addition, there is Game Ready support for Marathon which features DLSS Super Resolution and NVIDIA Reflex.
What’s New in Release 595

• Support for CUDA 13.2
• Adds the latest performance improvements, bug fixes, and driver enhancements.

FIXED ISSUES

Fixed Gaming Bugs

• The Ascent: Intermittent black bar on top of screen on GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs [5859818]
• Total War: THREE KINGDOMS: Green artifacts appear on GeForce RTX 50 series [5745647]
• FINAL FANTASY XII The Zodiac Age crashes with fatal error after driver update [5741199]
• Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) displays image corruption after driver update [5733427]
• Quantum Break: Performance drops significantly on Act 4 Part 1 [5607678]

Fixed General Bugs

• Blackmagic Design: AV1 decode crash with multiple obu in one packet [5671098]

New York sues Valve for 'letting children and adults illegally gamble' with loot boxes
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/new-york-sues-valve-for-letting-children-and-adults-illegally-gamble-with-loot-boxes/
New York state attorney general Letitia James announced on X and Bluesky today that the state of New York is opening a lawsuit against Valve for violating the state's gambling laws through its games.
In the brief post, James says Valve has "made billions of dollars by letting children and adults illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes. These features are addictive and harmful."
In a subsequent press release, the attorney general's office called out Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2 specifically.
>> Good. Loot boxes are bad, no matter if they come from EA or Valve.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout 4 Got a Dynamic Dismember System Overhaul
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-4-got-a-dynamic-dismember-system-overhaul/
Modder ‘Zzyxzz’ has released a new cool mod for Fallout 4 to improve its dismemberment system by bringing an engine-level gore overhaul. This is a mod that a lot of Fallout 4 fans will love. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
The Dynamic Dismember System Mod transforms combat into something far more reactive and brutal. Every time you hit a limb, the game checks its actual limb health. If that limb’s condition reaches zero, it can be severed instantly.
For ranged combat, different ammo types can define how destructive a hit should be. Heavy rounds can tear limbs off. Brutal setups can completely destroy a head.
Melee combat follows its own rules. You can allow every hit to potentially sever a limb, or restrict dismemberment to powerful heavy strikes only. Light swings will remain controlled. On the other hand, heavy blows will feel devastating.
VATS can enhance brutality in multiple ways. Critical hits can push a normal hit into full dismemberment. You can even restrict headshot kills to VATS only for a cinematic execution style. The damage you inflict in you enemy will still matter.
All in all, this is a cool mod that can enhance the game’s combat. So, if you are still playing Fallout 4, you might want to give this mod a go. You can go ahead and download it from this link.
>> The article has an almost 4 minutes video of the mod.

Modders file a Square Enix job application after it ballses up yet another FF7 release: 'Let us help you'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/modders-file-a-square-enix-job-application-after-it-ballses-up-yet-another-ff7-release-let-us-help-you/
The new version of Final Fantasy 7 that Square Enix announced in a boldly detail-free post last January hit Steam yesterday and, well, people aren't happy about it.
In an event scientists are (probably) calling "more predictable than the sunrise," it seems fans rather think Square Enix mucked it all up, so much so that one cadre of modders has decided to use the release as a shoe-in-the-door to angle for a gig at the studio. After all, they reckon they could do better than this.
The new version of FF7—now on Steam and GOG—adds a 3x speed mode, the option to disable random encounters, autosaves, and a "Battle enhancement mode" that lets you "recover HP/MP during battles and max out the Limit gauge." It's worth noting, before we get to the complaints, that if you had the older version of FF7 on Steam, you still have access to it. So at least there's that.
At the time of writing, Final Fantasy 7's user reviews sit at an ugly red Mostly Negative on Steam, with fans taking issue with framerate bugs (though in fairness, some report that Square Enix has at least patched a gamebreaking combat speed glitch), texture filtering, and in general the fact it feels like a worse version of the game than a modded copy of the old version.
"OG 2013 release had modders that did all of this already from controller support and button prompts to frames and cheats, but with better visuals and skins," wrote a player named Jamesie Ghost. "I just don't understand how they tested this and said 'Yes, this is the definitive edition of Final Fantasy VII,'" wrote ehs03y3ol.
You know who else reckons modders did it better? Modders. The Tsunamods team—responsible for various FF-related projects, including the Cosmo Memory and Echo S-7—has been tweeting its impressions about the new FF7 version since it dropped. They're unimpressed. "Why did they need to make the backgrounds look worse!" the team posted on its X account, alongside a side-by-side comparison of some FF7 backgrounds. "It's one thing to release a new version that's worse. But to fully delist the better version is just… ehh. We must fix this!"
So confident is the Tsunamods team that it could do better that it's… turned its dismay at nu-FF7 into a job application. "You know what, I'm taking our shot in the dark here. @SquareEnix, hire us. I'm not joking. Our contact info is in our bio," wrote the team.
"We have Programmers, Musicians, 3D artists, 2D artists, Upscale engineers, and we help keep your older games alive. People trust us. Let us help you."
>> The article has the links to the two projects mentioned for the 2013 version of FF VII.

Sony killed a fan-made Bloodborne tribute last year, as the game continues to languish on PS4: 'Why are you making such absurd decisions, Sony?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/game-development/sony-killed-a-fan-made-bloodborne-tribute-last-year-as-the-game-continues-to-languish-on-ps4-why-are-you-making-such-absurd-decisions-sony/
In November 2024, developer Maxime Foulquier posted footage of Bloodborne Top Down Arena, a fan tribute mixing FromSoftware's relentlessly goth setting with Vampire Survivors mechanics. The project looked kinda cool, if not a little close to its source material.
Foulquier went quiet on the project after posting that video, and as it turns out, for good reason: In March 2025 he received a sternly-worded letter from lawyers representing Sony. Rather than announce straight away that the project was done for, Foulquier decided to wait.
"I didn’t say anything in March 2025 because I decided to repurpose all the assets I had created for that project into a new game set in my own universe, inspired by Bloodborne," Foulquier wrote on X, where he has also posted an image of the cease and desist letter. "My plan was to reveal the letter once the game was ready to communicate.
"Unfortunately, plans have changed. I’d rather speak about it now, as my disappointment is immense. The disappearance of Bluepoint is a tremendous loss for the industry and for the dream of a Bloodborne remake."
Foulquier posted the letter just after Sony confirmed it will close famed remake studio Bluepoint. It has long been hoped—but never hinted at by Sony—that Bluepoint might work on either a Bloodborne remake or remaster. A pipe dream for sure, but Bluepoint did remake Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus, two other Sony-owned games with severely loyal followings.
With the closure, one of the Bloodborne community's most powerful coping mechanisms has been dashed. It was for the hope of a Bluepoint-fronted Bloodborne remake that Foulquier received the cease and desist letter with equanimity.
"I was incredibly excited about this project and worked on it a lot in my spare time," Foulquier wrote. "Then I received the letter you can see here. I told myself, 'Okay… I expected this might happen. Maybe it’s because a real Bloodborne remake is actually in development, with Bluepoint leading it for the PS6 launch?'"

GAMING NEWS

Nioh 3 Patch 1.03.03 Released With Lots of Balance Tweaks
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/nioh-3-patch-1-03-03-released-with-lots-of-balance-tweaks/
Team Ninja has released Title Update 1.03.03 for its latest title, Nioh 3, and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

New Alan Wake Remastered PC Patch Adds HDR, 240FPS & New Camera, Improves DLSS, FOV & DX12 Rendering
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/new-alan-wake-remastered-pc-patch-adds-hdr-240fps-new-camera-improves-dlss-fov-dx12-rendering/
Now here is a pleasant surprise. Remedy has just released Title Update 1.33 for Alan Wake Remastered and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.