The 5090 sounds like a monster. Not sure, depending on size, if it will fit in my computer case. But I hope it does. It sounds amazing.

We’ve reached the Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Farming Simulator 22 and Warhammer 40K: Gladius – Relics of War are free until May 30th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/farming-simulator-22-and-warhammer-40k-gladius-relics-of-war-are-free-until-may-30th/
GIANTS Software is currently giving away for free Farming Simulator 22. Similarly, Slitherine is giving away free copies of Warhammer 40K: Gladius – Relics of War on Steam. Both of these free offerings will last until May 30th, so make sure to acquire them while you still can.
>> Farming Simulator 22 is available from the Epic Store and I posted it yesterday. Warhammer 40K: Gladius – Relics of War can be found at Steam, as posted in the article, but also at GOG.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Groovy Styles Sale features up to 90% discounts during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/groovy-styles-sale/
• The Warhammer Skulls Festival of Videogames is here and has its games up to 90% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/warhammer-skulls-event-2024/

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a bundle:

• The Star Deal is Besiege, 77% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/besiege
• And the Prestige Collection BYOB - May 2024 has 24 games to choose for your bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/prestige-collection-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

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GAMING NEWS

Activision has officially announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/activision-has-officially-announced-call-of-duty-black-ops-6/
Activision has officially announced that the next COD game will be called Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. And… well… that’s it. The publisher has not shared any new details, screenshots or trailers for it yet. So, this year’s Call of Duty is Call of Duty Black Ops 6. Cool I guess?

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 Gets an Official PvE Co-op Gameplay Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/warhammer-40k-space-marine-2-gets-an-official-pve-co-op-gameplay-trailer/
Focus Entertainment has released a new gameplay trailer for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. This trailer shows off the game’s PvE Co-op Mode that will be available at launch.

Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor – Martyr Just Got an Offline Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/warhammer-40k-inquisitor-martyr-just-got-an-offline-mode/
Neocore Games has released a new patch for Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor – Martyr that introduces to it an Offline Mode. As such, the game will no longer require players to be online in order to play it.

F1 24 Ray Tracing On vs Off Graphics Comparison
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/f1-24-ray-tracing-on-vs-off-graphics-comparison/
YouTube’s ‘Cycu1’ has shared a brand new video that compares the graphical differences of Ray Tracing in F1 24. This video is based on the game’s latest Preview build, though we can assume that all these RT effects will be almost identical in the final/release version.

Friday news, part two:

Gray Zone Warfare's first patch aims to fix over 200 issues, including one that doomed players to never-ending menu music
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/gray-zone-warfares-first-patch-aims-to-fix-over-200-issues-including-one-that-doomed-players-to-never-ending-menu-music/
Despite a shaky launch during which some players reported performance nightmares, Gray Zone Warfare's latest patch has apparently fixed over 200 issues players were encountering.  

Blizzard confirms it's working on a 1-5 player 'story difficulty' for its big raids in World of Warcraft: The War Within, and it's honestly about time
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-confirms-its-working-on-a-1-5-player-story-difficulty-for-its-big-raids-in-world-of-warcraft-the-war-within-and-its-honestly-about-time/
World of Warcraft's always had an issue with its storytelling—I mean, it's historically had a lot of issues if you tally them all up—but first and foremost is the problem that, if you want to cap off the expansion story, then you'll need to get your raiding boots on.
(...)
To keep up with said times, WoW's really shifting how it handles its storytelling in some big ways. Follower dungeons were a huge step forward, letting players experience Dragonflight's story beats without Killzmornn the Death Knight spamming "gogogo" in party chat. Later, I confirmed with both associate design director Maria Hamilton and Ion Hazzikostas that these dungeons (and delves) would be used as story vehicles for the aspiring solo player in the upcoming expansion, The War Within. 

In co-op Viking survival game Aska you can work smarter, not harder, by making your followers do all your chores
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/in-co-op-viking-survival-game-aska-you-can-work-smarter-not-harder-by-making-your-followers-do-all-your-chores/
While you're busy exploring and dying in Valheim's new boiling hot biome, here's a gentle reminder that there's another Viking survival game simmering on the stove. Aska, published by Thunderful Games, will enter early access next month, and while it supports four players in co-op you'll never be alone—even if you play it solo.

A new Shadow of the Erdtree promo image is almost 100% our first look at one of Elden Ring's most mysterious characters
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-new-shadow-of-the-erdtree-promo-image-is-almost-100-our-first-look-at-one-of-elden-rings-most-mysterious-characters/
FromSoftware has finally started ramping up its Elden Ring expansion pack hype train with less than a month to go until Shadow of the Erdtree's release. Hot on the heels of Tuesday's pre-rendered story trailer, FromSoft has shared promo art of a new NPC, and I think we already know exactly who they are.

Atari vanquishes its most ancient foe by acquiring Intellivision, declares end to 'the longest-running console war in history'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/atari-vanquishes-its-most-ancient-foe-by-acquiring-intellivision-declares-end-to-the-longest-running-console-war-in-history/
Atari has today announced the purchase of the Intellivision brand alongside "certain games" from Intellivision Entertainment LLC. This is a melancholy coda to the early days of home consoles in the West, where in the US market especially the Atari 2600 dominated the late 1970s scene. Intellivision was one of Atari's main rivals, almost entirely because the machine had the backing of Mattel (these were the days when videogames were sold in the toy section of stores), and launched its first console in 1979.

Players unlock unreleased content in live service game ultimate hacker style: setting their system clocks forward a few weeks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/players-unlock-unreleased-content-in-live-service-game-ultimate-hacker-style-setting-their-system-clocks-forward-a-few-weeks/
In the modern gaming era, it always feels like live service games are perfect black boxes only their developers can understand or control⁠—but sometimes, something happens that shows just how ad hoc and fragile all these systems are. Case in point: players managed to access unreleased content in the Genshin-adjacent gacha game, Wuthering Waves, by just moving their system clocks forward a few weeks.

Keith David speaks his first words as Destiny 2's Commander Zavala: 'I used to think I'd give anything to bring him back'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/keith-david-speaks-his-first-words-as-destiny-2s-commander-zavala-i-used-to-think-id-give-anything-to-bring-him-back/
The untimely death of Lance Reddick in 2023 was felt throughout the entertainment world. For Destiny 2 fans, the loss was especially acute: Reddick had provided the voice of Commander Zavala, Vanguard Commander of the Last City, since the release of the original Destiny in 2014. The character's fate in the wake of Reddick's passing was unclear at first, but Bungie opted to keep him around, with Keith David, another widely-respected character actor, stepping in to fill the role.
Eight months after David's casting announcement, we've finally got our first look—or, more appropriately, listen—at his take on the character, and I have to say, it hits the spot.

Relic Entertainment is 'returning to its roots as an independent creative studio,' but it's also owned by a global investment firm now
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/relic-entertainment-is-returning-to-its-roots-as-an-independent-creative-studio-but-its-also-owned-by-a-global-investment-firm-now/
Less than two months after being cut loose by Sega, which resulted in another round of layoffs at the studio, Company of Heroes developer Relic Entertainment says it is "returning to its roots as an independent creative studio" with support from investment firm Emona Capital LLP.

'I'm not a big fan of survival games,' says director of 2024's best survival game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/abiotic-factor-interview-survival-immersive-sim/
My last few weeks with Abiotic Factor have been a cure for survival crafting burnout. I thought I'd never want to look at another crafting bench again, but it turns out, all I really needed was a genuinely fresh perspective on survival crafting to get on board. What first drew me in was Abiotic's setting, a post-disaster underground lab inspired by Half-Life's Black Mesa facility.

It turns out you can find Idris Elba's Cyberpunk 2077 character hanging out and working a regular job in Night City before you start the expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/it-turns-out-you-can-find-idris-elbas-cyberpunk-2077-character-hanging-out-and-working-a-regular-job-in-night-city-before-the-expansion-starts/
CD Projekt Red always brings a special attention to detail in its games: I remember my shock at learning about the Witcher 3 easter egg that takes seven in-game years to find. That same sensibility definitely holds strong in Cyberpunk 2077, where you can actually find Idris Elba's character, Solomon Reed—who was added to the game in the Phantom Liberty expansion—tucked away in Night City minding his own business before you start Phantom Liberty's main quest.

And yes, today there’s a third part of the news:

Dave the Diver's Godzilla DLC is live now and completely free, but after November 23 it's gone forever
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/dave-the-divers-godzilla-dlc-is-live-now-and-completely-free-but-after-november-23-its-gone-forever/
As promised in January, the mighty Godzilla has come to Dave the Diver, and even better, he's free. But there's a catch: You've got until November 23 to add the king kaiju to the game, and after that—like an ancient reptilian beast slowly retreating to the murky depths from whence he came—he'll be gone forever.

Mechanicus, the best turn-based Warhammer 40,000 game, is getting a sequel
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/mechanicus-the-best-turn-based-warhammer-40000-game-is-getting-a-sequel/
During this year's Warhammer Skulls event it was confirmed Space Marine 2 will have PvP multiplayer and a three-player co-op mode separate from the main campaign, which will also have its own co-op mode. So that's nice. But the thing that's got me hot and bothered is the announcement of a follow-up to Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, the turn-based tactics game that placed at number two in our ranking of every Warhammer 40,000 game.

Retro Warhammer 40,000 first-person bullet-hose Boltgun is getting DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/retro-warhammer-40000-first-person-bullet-hose-boltgun-is-getting-dlc/
"The bloody-mindedness, the dogged determination to make the sort of game that I might have sketched on lined paper while I was staring out of the window at school." This is what Andy Edser championed about Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun when he selected the retro FPS as his personal pick of 2023. "You are a Space Marine. You go stomp stomp stomp. We drop you on planet. You go shoot Chaos men now. "
And now, Boltgun is getting even more Chaos men and even more guns to shoot them with. The Forges of Corruption expansion, announced as part of this year's Warhammer Skulls event, revealed a DLC that will send you down into a forge complex with new environments, enemies, and weapons to make big booms with.

Why was Helldivers 2 a smash hit? Not the price, says Pilestedt
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/why-was-helldivers-2-a-smash-hit-not-the-price-says-pilestedt/
Helldivers 2 is a successful videogame by pretty much every measure, but what makes it so? Given the risk-laden rush towards lucrative live service games—and the seeming huge amounts of luck required for them to catch on—it's likely a question many in the industry are asking. Speaking at the Nordic Game conference earlier this week, Arrowhead Games CEO Johan Pilestedt offered up his own thoughts on why Helldivers was a smash hit.
>> It’s also not about being heroes, since you are the bad guys.

Helldivers 2's latest major order promises a mech with 2 entire Autocannons strapped onto it—though there's a small chance it could slip through players' fingers
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/helldivers-2s-latest-major-order-promises-a-mech-with-2-entire-autocannons-strapped-onto-itthough-theres-a-small-chance-it-could-slip-through-players-fingers/
Throughout all the buffs and nerfs that've rolled through Helldivers 2 as of late, the Autocannon has remained—for the most part—beloved. 
(...)
Arrowhead Games has clearly reasoned, then, that what red-blooded Super Earth patriots really want is a mech with not one, but two Autocannons strapped to the sides. I am not immune to intergalactic propaganda because yes, yes I do want that.
As announced on the game's official Twitter, the latest major order sees players headed to Varylia 5 to receive the new bit of bot-smashing kit.

Final Fantasy 14 offers returning players 4 days of free playtime on the house until late June—but you've gotta be real careful about when you choose to start
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-offers-returning-players-4-days-of-free-playtime-on-the-house-until-late-junebut-youve-gotta-be-real-careful-about-when-you-choose-to-start/
Have you heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14? Well, it just got another free trial for returning players—sort of. Under limited stipulations.
As posted to the game's website yesterday, a "Free Login Campaign" will be running from May 23 to June 20, wherein players without an active subscription can hop back into Eorzea with four days of sub time on the house. Rather cheekily, however, the promotional material has an "up to 96 hours!" label tacked onto it.

'Personal best KD at 0.23': XDefiant is handing out participation trophies to players who suck
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/personal-best-kd-at-023-xdefiant-is-handing-out-participation-trophies-to-players-who-suck/
XDefiant is starting to pick up steam post its shaky launch (that was littered with the expected matchmaking issues), with many players finding solace in an FPS that more closely resembles what Call of Duty was back in the day. Some players, however, have found it to be a little less welcoming than they would have hoped. 
A couple of people posted their end-of-match screens on r/XDefiant, and it's not very forgiving. Player Vince_- glumly says, "Thanks for making me feel special,"https://www.reddit.com/r/XDefiant/comments/1cxjxp6/thanks_for_making_me_feel_special/?utm_source=embedv2&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_content=whitespace&embed_host_url=https://www.dualshockers.com/xdefiant-will-mock-you-if-you-achieve-nothing-in-a-game/accompanied by an image that shows "ran around" next to his character instead of the usual Kill/Death ratio. And everyone has agreed that this is absolutely hilarious. 

All Genshin Impact codes from the 4.7 livestream
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/genshin-impact-codes-4-7-livestream/
The Genshin Impact 4.7 livestream codes for this version have arrived. For those that aren't aware, or maybe just started playing Genshin for the first time recently, miHoYo presents a livestream in advance of each new update. This shows off the new characters, quests, and events that are happening, and as a little bonus incentive to watch, there are three livestream codes that get you some Primogems.

As the Sims 4 continues to buckle under the weight of over $1,200 worth of DLC, EA has 'assembled a team' to focus on bug fixes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/as-the-sims-4-continues-to-buckle-under-the-weight-over-dollar1200-worth-of-dlc-ea-has-assembled-a-team-to-focus-on-bug-fixes/
Buckle up Simmers, we're (hopefully) on the cusp of some meaty fixes for The Sims 4. As EA continues to pile expansions and kits on top of a game that's nearing the big 1-0, crashes and buggy gameplay have become part and parcel of The Sims 4 experience. It's become a mighty frustrating time—one that's recently led me to go crawling back into the loving arms of The Sims 2 in retaliation—and it seems like EA is finally realising the problem is too big to ignore.

And now, the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• There are five new Deals of the Day, that will last until Monday:
  • Hero of the Kingdom: The Lost Tales 1 is 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/hero_of_the_kingdom_the_lost_tales_1
  • Stronghold Crusader HD also gets an 80% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/stronghold_crusader
  • Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 is 82% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/legacy_of_kain_soul_reaver_2
  • Tomb Raider: Legend also gets an 82% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/tomb_raider_legend
  • And Tomb Raider: Underworld is also going to be 82% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/tomb_raider_underworld
• The Warhammer Skulls 2024 Festival is here, with up to 90% discounts until the 30th of May. Click here to go to the deals or click here to get more info.
• Also, regarding the Skulls Festival, GOG is giving away a goodie bag. Check it out here: https://www.gog.com/en/game/warhammer_skulls_2024_digital_goodie_bag

+Steam

• The first deal is HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed, that has a demo and will be 20% off until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/523660/HYPERCHARGE_Unboxed/
• Hexarchy gets a 33% discount until May 30: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1356810/Hexarchy/
• Ready or Not is going to be 40% off until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144200/Ready_or_Not/
• Miasma Chronicles can be yours thanks to a 60% discount until the 30th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1649010/Miasma_Chronicles/
• Bugsnax has a 70% discount until Thursday, 30: https://store.steampowered.com/app/674140/Bugsnax/
• Fashion Police Squad will also be 70% off until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1319460/Fashion_Police_Squad/
• The Elder Scrolls Franchise Sale has up to 80% deals until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/TES_Franchise_Sale_2024
• The Cerebral Puzzle Showcase has up to 85% discounts and most deals will last until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/CerebralPuzzleShowcase
• The Warhammer Skulls Festival couldn’t miss Steam, and the games will be up to 90% off until wither the 30th or June 6th, depending on the title: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/WarhammerSKULLS2024
• Planet Coaster has a massive 95% discount (60% for the DLCs) until the 30th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/493340/Planet_Coaster/
• And the last deal comes from Annapurna Interactive, that puts its games up to 75% off until the 3rd of June: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/annapurnapublishersale2024

Still here? Congratulations to make it till the end. Now go, go and have a happy and gaming weekend.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition PCB reportedly split into three parts

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5090-founders-edition-pcb-reportedly-split-into-three-parts

Gonna be nutz

NVIDIA Allocates Additional GeForce RTX GPU Supply To China Ahead of 618 Shopping Festival

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-allocates-additional-geforce-rtx-gpu-supply-china-618-shopping-festival/

AMD Doesn’t Want A Numerical Disadvantage Against Intel’s Core Ultra, Shifts To “Ryzen AI 300” Branding For Strix APUs

https://wccftech.com/amd-doesnt-want-numerical-disadvantage-against-intel-core-ultra-shifts-strix-to-ryzen-ai-300-branding-strix-apus/

AMD Instinct MI300X Offers The Best Price To Performance on GPT-4 According To Microsoft, Red Team On-Track For 100x Perf/Watt By 2027

https://wccftech.com/amd-instinct-mi300x-best-price-performance-gpt-4-microsoft-on-track-100x-perf-watt-2027/

I thought that going with that split PCB would mean a cooler like the one we saw of that leaked 4090Ti, but then one of the leakers says that Nvidia could manage to cool that monster (rumors still say up to 600W, right?) with a dual slot cooler?

If Nvidia manags to do that, I'll be very impressed.

I don't know what bothers me more, that AMD found necessary to go with a higher number so users don't think Intel's models are better... or that I know that their reasoning isn't as dumb as it sounds because there are people are out there that genuinely think that a bigger number means that it's better.

Probably the wrong thread for this comment but **** EA. Why do I need an EA account to play It Takes 2?

For the same reason you need an UbiConnect one to just play their games or a Xbox Live/PSN account to play MSoft/Sony games online. Because they want to tell their shareholders how well they're doing and how many accounts (active or not) they have.

It doesn't make much sense, but there's no other option if you want to play their games.

Luckily I don't have Ubi games.  I have a few Sony games and I don't recall needing an account but they are offline games.  I did need a MS account for Halo, so fair point.  

The PSN account for PC is farily recent, introduced in the worst possible way earlier this month in Helldivers 2, but Ghost of Tsushima also requires it to play the multiplayer part of it.