Not bad JEMC, buddy, 2 hours a day or so doesn't seem excessive for a nice hobby.

Some other people, on the other hand...

Not watching as many TV shows as others leave me with time to play at night.

Here are the list of games and the hours I've put into them:

@Basil Of those, the finished games are: Black Flag, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Company of Heroes, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Quantum Break, Guns, Gore & Cannoli, 12 is Better Than 6, The Silent Age, Another World, Big Action Mega Fight!

But there are others that can't be "beated" as they have no end, like AoE II, ETS2 or Civ V.

*** NEW CONTESTS ***

+HEXUS EPIC GIVEAWAY Day 23: Win a Roccat gaming peripheral bundle https://hexus.net/tech/features/peripherals/124847-day-23-win-roccat-gaming-peripheral-bundle/

This contest is GLOBAL.

+HEXUS EPIC GIVEAWAY Day 24: Win one of three Arctic cooling bundles https://hexus.net/tech/features/monitors/124850-day-24-win-one-three-arctic-cooling-bundles/

The prizes are:

1. A Z3 Pro desk mount triple monitor arm, an Alpine 12 Passive CPU cooler, 2x BioniX P140 gaming fans, MX-4 thermal compound and a not launched yet Freezer 34 eSports cooler
2. A Z2-3D monitor arm, an Alpine 12 CO CPU cooler, an Alpine 12 Passive cooler, 2x P14 PWM PST CO fans and MX-4 thermal compound.
3. A Z2-3D monitor arm, an Alpine 12 Passive cooler, 2x P12 Silent fans and MX-4 thermal compound.

This contest is also GLOBAL.

+And, for those that are interested, here are the winners of the Guru3D December contests: https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/december-2018-guru3d-contest-winner-announcements.html
I'm not one of them .

Let's go with the first news of the year:

SALES & DEALS

On the Humble Store/Bundle, there are two new deals to discuss:

• On the Humble Store, there's a new CCP Publisher sale, with up to 50% discounts for the next 5 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/ccp-publisher-sale/
• And there's a new Humble Bundle with Stardock that will run another 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/stardock-2019-games

At Fanatical there are three new deals:

• The Star Deal is STAR WARS Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy, 90% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/star-wars-jedi-knight-jedi-academy-aspyr
• Deponia Complete Bundle is 88% off for the next 5 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/deponia-complete-bundle
• To celebrate the new year, they've put a bunch of games on a flash sale. You still have 24 hours to check them out: https://www.fanatical.com/en/collections/new-year-flash-deals

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

Get a free, tiny game every day in 2019 with Meditations, a new indie launcher
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-a-free-tiny-game-every-day-in-2019-with-meditations-a-new-indie-launcher/
Rami Ismail, co-founder of Nuclear Throne developer Vlambeer, has announced a new launcher that will give you a free, small game to play every day in 2019.
It's called Meditations, and you can grab it here. Each game will take around five minutes to play, and took roughly six hours to make. The Meditations FAQ describes the games as "small, experimental, and minimalistic", and they'll only be available to play for 24 hours. The launcher will download one every day at midnight GMT.

MODS/EMULATORS

GeDoSaTo is now compatible with the first The Witcher game, adds Ambient Occlussion
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/gedosato-is-now-compatible-with-the-first-the-witcher-game-adds-ambient-occlussion/
The Witcher fans, here is something for you today. NexusMods’ ‘hub997’ has uploaded a version of Durante’s GeDoSaTo mod that is compatible with the first The Witcher game, adding Ambient Occlusion support to it.
The Witcher is a really old game and since CD Projekt RED has not added support for AO via a post-launch patch, this is a must-have mod for those that want to replay it. Now if only someone could update its textures with ESRGAN in order to provide sharper and more details visuals… but anyway.
All you have to do is download GeDoSaTo from here, extract “GeDoSaTo.zip” wherever you want, run “GeDoSaTo.exe”, change options according to your preferences, minimize and enable the game.

New gameplay video released for Beyond Skyrim: Morrowind
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-video-released-for-beyond-skyrim-morrowind/
The team behind Beyond Skyrim: Morrowind has released a brand new gameplay video. As its title suggests, Beyond Skyrim: Morrowind is a reimagined and rebuilt version of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in Skyrim by a passionate and dedicated modding team.

Halo comes to Arma 3 via the Operation: TREBUCHET mod, now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/halo-comes-to-arma-3-via-the-operation-trebuchet-mod-now-available-for-download/
Halo and Arma fans, here is something for you today. A team of modders has released a Halo mod for ArmA 3, called Operation: TREBUCHET. According to its description, this mod focuses on the struggles of the common soldier rather than the elite spartan warriors, allowing you to experience the Halo universe from a new, brutal perspective.
In other words, Operation: TREBUCHET is a total modification with the intent to bring the popular Halo Universe into a more realistic setting by introducing it into Arma 3. If you are still on the fence, the team has also released an amazing trailer showcasing the mod that you can find below. And I’m pretty sure that after watching it you will go ahead and download its alpha build.
>> Download this Alpha version of the mod from Steam.

GAMING NEWS

Project CARS 3 promises to be a spiritual successor to Need for Speed Shift
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/project-cars-3-promises-to-be-a-spiritual-successor-to-need-for-speed-shift/
Slightly Mad Studios CEO Ian Bell has stated that the new part in the Project CARS series, Project CARS 3, will be a spiritual successor to Need for Speed Shift. Need for Speed Shift impressed everyone when it came out, especially thanks to its iconic cockpit viewpoint and Ian Bell said that pCars 3 will be more of a spiritual successor to Shift, but with all of the sim goodness everyone appreciate.

Star Control: Origins has been removed from Steam due to a DMCA notice
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-control-origins-has-been-removed-from-steam-due-to-a-dmca-notice/
Stardock has announced that Star Control has been removed from Steam due to a DMCA take down notice. According to the developers, and even though there is a legal dispute between Stardock and Reiche and Ford regarding the trademarks and copyrights pertaining to Star Control, the creators of Star Control have issued a DMCA and have successfully removed Stardock’s title from Steam.
>> That's not good for anyone.

Jurassic Explorer is a free game that lets you explore the environments from Jurassic World
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/jurassic-explorer-is-a-free-game-that-lets-you-explore-the-environments-from-jurassic-world/
Dimensional Digital has released a free fan game for Jurassic World, called Jurassic Explorer. Jurassic Explorer gives everyone the opportunity to explore a 3D recreation of the park from the movie in first person, in which players can collect coins, play mini games and explore the movie’s environments.
>> The latest build is "Season 2", from a couple months ago. They'll make a Season 3 during 2019. You can download it and learn more about this project from Game Jolt.

The news, part two:

Fortnite adds a boombox that destroys buildings, players reckon it's overpowered
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnites-newest-item-is-a-boombox-that-destroys-buildings/
Fortnite's newest item is a boombox that destroys structures and, at first glance, it looks like it could have a huge impact on 1v1 firefights.
You find it in chests, and when placed on the ground it will destroy nearby structures every time it pulses its bass, which happens faster than once a second. It will rip through both pre-existing structures and anything that's newly-built near it. To stop an enemy's boombox, you just have to shoot it—but it has 600 health.

China is licensing new games again, ending a nine-month freeze
https://www.pcgamer.com/china-is-licensing-new-games-again-ending-nine-month-freeze/
China's media regulator has ended a nine-month freeze on new video game approvals by licensing 80 games for release in the country.
The list consists largely of mobile games by smaller, domestic developers, but industry analyst Daniel Ahmad told the Financial Times that he expected "to see a ramp up in the number of titles approved starting from next month for both domestic and foreign titles".

Cyberpunk sidescroller The Last Night runs into 'massive legal and funding issues'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-sidescroller-the-last-night-runs-into-massive-legal-and-funding-issues/
Open-world cyberpunk platformer The Last Night has run into "massive business, legal and funding issues" and is looking to raise more money, its creator Tim Soret has said.

Lego: Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are no longer on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/lego-lord-of-the-rings-and-the-hobbit-are-no-longer-on-steam/
If you were planning a trip to the Lego version of Middle-Earth, hopefully you snatched up Lego: Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit when they were free on the Humble Store last month. Both have now vanished from Steam, along with other stores.
>> That's probably the reason they gave them away for free from the Humble Store, to get rid of as many keys as possible before this.

Fallout 76 has been a nuke-free zone since January 1
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-has-been-a-nuke-free-zone-since-january-1/
Fallout 76 had an unexpectedly peaceful New Year’s Day when players discovered the first major bug of 2019: nuke codes were broken. Survivors searching for nuke codes in the wasteland on January 1 discovered they hadn't been reset, giving the post-apocalyptic West Virginia a respite from the nuclear attacks.

*** NEW CONTEST ***

HEXUS EPIC GIVEAWAY Day 25: Win an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X https://hexus.net/tech/features/cpu/124853-day-25-win-amd-ryzen-threadripper-2950x/

This contest is GLOBAL.

And talking about AMD... this is the latest rumor about the upcoming Ryzen 3000 CPUs (as always, take it with a pinch of salt)

AMD Ryzen 9 3800X “Matisse” listed with 16 cores and 125W TDP
https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-9-3800x-matisse-listed-with-16-cores-and-125w-tdp

Russian retailer becomes the first to list AMD’s upcoming Zen2 processors.

It is hard to determine whether this is a leak or just a placeholder for attention, but it the timing seems quite interesting, considering we are just days away from CES 2019 Keynote where Zen2 are expected to be announced.

The Ryzen 9 3800X would feature 16 cores and 32 threads, twice as many as current Ryzen 7 2700X mainstream flagship. The CPU is listed with 125W TDP, which is 20W more than 2700X.

Probably the most interesting bit of information is the clock speed. According to retailer’s information, Ryzen 9 3800X would boost up to 4.7 GHz, 400 MHz higher than 2700X.

To me, the most interesting one is the 3700X, with 12 cores/24 threads and 4.2GHz base clock and 5GHz boost. That would be a beast.

But remember that this is just a rumor because, even though AMD will (allegedly) announce them at CES in 6 days, there won't be press days for briefings, meaning that the launch is still a bit away, which would raise questions such as why does this retailer know so much about them.

Thursday news:

SALES & DEALS

The UK games market is now bigger than video and music combined
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-uk-games-market-is-now-bigger-than-video-and-music-combined/
Games accounted for more than half of the entertainment market in the UK, dwarfing video and music, according to a new report from the Entertainment Retailers Association. The report attributes much of the success of the industry to console downloads and mobile gaming.
This is despite the fact that the physical market is shrinking, while digital sales grew to a “modest” 12.5 percent. “[T]he sheer scale of the games market is such that it was enough to make it bigger than video and music combined,” reads the report.

CS:GO had one of its best ever months after going free to play
https://www.pcgamer.com/csgo-had-one-of-its-best-ever-months-after-going-free-to-play/
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, having opened the floodgates by shedding its price and introducing a battle royale mode at the end of last year, has seen quite the bump in players.
On Twitter, CS:GO sleuth Nors3 reports that 20,535,709 unique players duked it out in December, twice the number of players the game boasted in the previous month. Popping over to SteamCharts and SteamDB we can see the average and peak player numbers. On December 7, CS:GO shed its initial price and added the Danger Zone battle royale mode, causing a significant spike on the graphs.

At Fanatical, the Winter Sale has ended and there are five new deals:

• The Star Deal is Evoland 1 & 2 Pack, 80% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/evoland-1-and-2-pack
• Dying Light is 60% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dying-light
• There's a new Anthology Cryptic Bundle, with 10 games at a 97% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/fanatical-cryptic-anthology
• There's a Staff Picks Pick & Mix, with three tiers of 1, 3 and 5 games. You have 5 days to check it out: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/staff-picks-2018
• The Plug-in Digital sale features more than 200 games up to 90% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/plug-in-digital

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

-empty-

MODS/EMULATORS

After two years, Dark Souls receives a mod overhaul; adds new enemies, characters, storylines & more
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/after-two-years-dark-souls-receives-a-mod-overhaul-adds-new-enemies-characters-storylines-more/
Modder ‘Grimrukh’ has released a massive new mod for Dark Souls, called Daughters of Ash. According to its description, Dark Souls: Daughters of Ash features new bosses and enemies, new characters, new storylines, new weapons and items, expanded lore, and plenty of new secrets.
This mod has been under development for two years and has approximately twice as much content as the original game, much of which cannot be seen in a single play-through due to the complex interactions between storylines. The mod does not contain any new game assets (e.g. character models, map assets, dialogue recordings, visual effects) but accomplishes a great deal through modifying the game’s event scripts, placement data, and entity logic.
>> This mod is designed for the original game, not the remaster, and you can download it from Nexus Mods.

This mod brings Kojima’s Metal Gear game to Doom, alpha demo available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/this-mod-brings-kojimas-metal-gear-game-to-doom-alpha-demo-available-for-download/
Modder ‘AutumnAPM’ has released the first demo for Metal Gear: Doom. As the title suggests, Metal Gear: Doom is a stealth based shooter for the iD tech 1 (Doom) engine which will attempt to recreate the gameplay of the original Metal Gear games in a classic 8bit art style.
This first demo is an alpha/base version that works with Zandronum and will give you a very small idea of what AutumnAPM aims to accomplish. Basically, the modder will convert all Metal Gear MSX maps to Doom, will bring a new HUD, as well as some new sprites.
>> Get this mod from ModDB.

GAMING NEWS

New gameplay video released for the upcoming 16-bit platformer, Blazing Chrome
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-video-released-for-the-upcoming-16-bit-platformer-blazing-chrome/
Joymasher has released a new gameplay video for its upcoming 16-bit platformer, Blazing Chrome. Blazing Chrome is a modern take on action platformers that came out in arcades and 16-bit consoles in the 90s, and this latest trailer showcases the game’s environments.
>> It's like Contra.

Do not expect The Elder Scrolls 6 releasing in 2019
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/do-not-expect-the-elder-scrolls-6-releasing-in-2019/
There were some rumours and speculations earlier today suggesting that The Elder Scrolls VI could come out in 2019. However, this is perhaps the most ridiculous prediction we’ve heard so far. And in case you believed it, well… you should not as The Elder Scrolls 6 is definitely not coming out this year.
>> Did someone really thought they would launch it this year?

Ghost Theory is going down as Crytek alters its Indie Dev Fund program, but developers are also to be blamed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ghost-theory-is-going-down-as-crytek-alters-its-indie-dev-fund-program-but-developers-are-also-to-be-blamed/
Ghost Theory is another kickstarted project that will most likely never see the light of day, even though it did meet its initial Kickstarter goal. The game was meant to be a first-person adventure horror game in which players would investigate real haunted places. However, Dreadlocks made a terrible decision to switch engines and that is basically the main reason why the game may be cancelled.

Thursday news, part two:

Fallout 76's nuke codes have been hotfixed
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-has-been-a-nuke-free-zone-since-january-1/
Update: Bethesda took Fallout 76 down for a bit today to hotfix the 'no-nukes' issue we reported below. The servers are now back online and players are busy solving the new launch codes.

Activision Blizzard is firing its CFO
https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-blizzard-is-going-to-be-firing-its-cfo/
Activision Blizzard chief financial officer Spencer Neumann’s contract has been terminated, the publisher announced this week. Despite a decline in monthly active users and the drop in shares that accompanied the report, Activision Blizzard says that Neumann’s been fired over a "cause unrelated to the Company’s financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures."
The publisher didn’t specify what the cause was, but Reuters reports that Neumann was poached by Netflix and will be the streaming company’s new CFO.
>> I doubt this will have any impact on the company, but who knows.

Fight to become the most delicious snack in party game Cake Bash
https://www.pcgamer.com/fight-to-become-the-most-delicious-snack-in-party-game-cake-bash/
I scoffed lots of cakes, trifles and puddings over Christmas, but there’s definitely no such thing as too much cake, which is why I’m watching this here trailer for delicious party game Cake Bash and unashamedly salivating. Take a look above.
>> And doves are also part of the game, in more than one way...

CD Projekt changes Gwent card crafting, tightens restrictions on 'full mill value' refunds
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-changes-gwent-card-crafting-tightens-restrictions-on-full-mill-value-refunds/
The new year has brought some pretty big changes to CD Projekt's Witcher-based card game Gwent, which will be a little less generous with premium cards than it has been previously. Under the old system, the "scraps" in-game currency was used to create a normal card with static art, while the "meteorite dust" currency could be used to convert normal cards to premium, with animated art. But scraps could also be used to create premium cards directly, "mixing vanity and game economies," which the developers said has diminished the experience for everyone.

14 Days of Fortnite error means a free glider for everyone who completed a challenge
https://www.pcgamer.com/14-days-of-fortnite-error-means-a-free-glider-for-everyone-who-completed-a-challenge/
Today was the last day of the 14 Days of Fortnite, the two-week holiday fun-fest that presented players with unique daily requests and special rewards for completing them. And in fine Fortnite fashion, it did not go entirely smoothly, as Epic apparently provided the wrong ending date for the challenge. The good news is that because of the error, everybody who completed at least one of the 14 challenges gets a glider.

Star Control: Origins removed from Steam after DMCA takedown notice (Updated)
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-control-origins-removed-from-steam-after-dmca-takedown-notice/
Update: The ruling rejecting Stardock's request for an injunction against further DMCA takedown filings from Reiche and Ford has been posted online, and it contains some pretty harsh language for Stardock. The ruling describes Stardock's objection to Reiche's claim to be the "creator" of Star Control as "frivolous," for instance, but says that Reiche's objection to Wardell's "expertise" on copyright has "obvious" merit.

Steam now has an endless supply of hentai puzzle games
https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-now-has-an-endless-supply-of-hentai-puzzle-games/
When Valve decided to allow virtually anything on Steam starting in June 2018, short of games that are "illegal or straight up trolling," we knew it would have a big effect on the kinds of games, particularly adult games, that appeared on the store. But here's a specific look at how that policy plays out when combined with Steam Direct, which allows anyone to publish on Steam with a simple $100 fee. In December, 19 games were listed on Steam with "hentai" in the title, and you'd be hard pressed to tell most of them apart.

Infinity Ward is likely teasing new Call of Duty with spooky gifs
https://www.pcgamer.com/infinity-ward-is-likely-teasing-new-call-of-duty-with-spooky-gifs/
A series spooky gifs posted by Infinity Ward communications manager Ashton Williams could be hinting at what's in store for us with the next Call of Duty. Williams has posted a new gif almost every day since the end of November, suggesting that this is teasing a new game and not someone who was just late to Halloween. The first, now pinned, can be seen below.

Feudal Alloy's release trailer shows off more fish-controlled medieval robots
https://www.pcgamer.com/feudal-alloys-release-trailer-shows-off-more-fish-controlled-medieval-robots/
Feudal Alloy’s setup is pretty conventional RPG fare. You’re Attu, an ordinary farmer leading a boring life growing sunflowers, but then some outlaws attack your village, burn your house and steal your stuff. Obviously they have to be chased down. All pretty typical stuff.
Oh yeah, and you’re piloting a medieval robot.
You’re also a fish.