While working on the news, I've come across this PCGamer article that describes the work that tech site Rtings.com, that focus on TVs, Monitors and Headphones, has done with a burn-in test on several OLED monitors and TVs for the last year.

Here's the PCGamer article: https://www.pcgamer.com/one-year-later-this-ongoing-burn-in-test-shines-light-on-oled-displays/

And here's the Rtings video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOcLasaRCzY

The conclusion is that burn-ins will depend on the content you watch, specially if it features bright colours. CoD: WWII did well, FIFA 18 caused burn-ins, and if you watch a lot of news, and CNN in particular...

Tuesday news:

SALES & DEALS

Let's check the Steam daily deal, and some of the weeklong ones too:

• The daily deal is Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, 35% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/731490/Crash_Bandicoot_N_Sane_Trilogy/
• Thief Simulator is 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/704850/Thief_Simulator/
• Life is Strange 2 is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/532210/Life_is_Strange_2/
• Depth is 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/274940/Depth/
• Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is 85% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/307690/Sleeping_Dogs_Definitive_Edition/
• And the Tomb Raider franchise is also on sale: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/squareenix/list/36858/

At Fanatical, we have another 5 new deals:

• The first one is the Fruitbat Factory Bundle, with 12 games and 8 DLCs that can be purchased in 4 different tiers of 3, 11, 16 and 20 products for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/fruitbat-factory-bundle
• Moonlighter is going to be 33% off for 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/moonlighter
• Frostpunk is also 33% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/frostpunk
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance is half its price for another 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/kingdom-come-deliverance
• And Dying Light is 60% cheaper for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/dying-light

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

NVIDIA GeForce 417.71 WHQL driver is now available, adds support for FreeSync/Adaptive Sync monitors
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-417-71-whql-driver-is-now-available-adds-support-for-freesync-adaptive-sync-monitors/
As promised, NVIDIA has just released a new driver for its graphics cards that adds support for FreeSync/Adaptive Sync monitors. This basically means that gamers can install the NVIDIA GeForce 417.71 WHQL driver and start taking advantage of their FreeSync monitors.
As NVIDIA noted, NVIDIA G-SYNC can now be used to activate the VRR features of G-SYNC Compatible displays. G-SYNC Compatible displays have been validated by NVIDIA to not show pulsing, flickering, or other artifacts during VRR gaming. G-SYNC on G-SYNC Compatible displays is supported only with NVIDIA Pascal and later GPU architectures, and only single displays are currently supported; multiple monitors can be connected but no more than one display should have G-SYNC enabled.
>> Available from here.

Valve announces 8 changes coming to Steam in 2019
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-announces-8-changes-coming-to-steam-in-2019/
In a big blog post reflecting on the life of Steam in 2018, Valve detailed some new features planned for the go-to PC gaming client in 2019. Below all the numbers and pie charts explaining growth and infrastructure changes and lessons learned, Valve finally puts a release window on a long-awaited library update built on the same technology introduced with the recent Steam Chat update. With Steam just reaching 30,000 games (not including DLC or software), it's about time.
Among the other updates, machine-learning driven changes to store discoverability are on the way. And thank goodness, too! I swear, I look at one sexy anime game and suddenly Steam thinks I'm the sexy anime game guy. The machines will learn the truth.
>> +1 for the new discover algorithm.

Steam now has 90 million monthly users
https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-now-has-90-million-monthly-users/
In a 2018 year in review post, in which Valve outlined plans for Steam in 2019, the company also provided some rare insight into how many people use Steam every day and every month. And the numbers are, unsurprisingly, big: in 2018, Steam averaged 47 million daily active users and 90 million monthly active users. It also broke the record for concurrent players early in 2018, with 18.5 million.
While Steam is clearly growing fast—it recently passed 30,000 games, and just look at the amount of data Valve has served up—it's interesting that that concurrent users are actually down since it broke that record in early 2018. This chart from SteamDB shows daily users declined through summer 2018, before rebounding to around 17.5 million at the beginning of 2019.
>> And they've also delivered 15 exabytes, or 15 billion gigabytes of data.

MODS/EMULATORS

New gameplay videos released for Quoom and Quake 1.5 mods
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-videos-released-for-quoom-and-quake-1-5-mods/
Quake fans, here is something for you today. Modders ‘bloodshot12’ and ‘Kollech87’ have released new videos for their upcoming mods, Quake 1.5 and Quoom. As its title suggests, Quoom is basically a port of Quake to the Gzdoom Engine and will feature 3 episodes with around 30 levels.
On the other hand, Quake 1.5 is a Darkplaces addon mod for the original Quake that utilizes Seven’s SMC 5.30 as a base and has been expanded to include new features such as weapons, gore, and enemies.

The 8-player co-op mod for Skyrim is entering closed beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-8-player-co-op-mod-for-skyrim-is-entering-closed-beta/
Bethesda taking the Fallout series online with Fallout 76 was met with, shall we say, mixed results. Modders, meanwhile, have been trying to take Skyrim online for years, and now it's almost a reality. Skyrim Together is a co-op mod that lets you play Skyrim with your pals, and after a few false starts it appears to finally be ready for a closed beta trial.
"Yep, it's finally happening," reads a dev post in the mod's subreddit. "Soon we'll be opening the doors for our loyal patreons for a temporary closed beta - Don't fear, this will shortly available for all."
The closed beta period will be used to test stability and make fixes, and won't last long according to the mod's developers, with an open beta available to everyone following a week or two later. The mod, when released, will feature its own launcher (Bethesda objected to the release of the mod on Steam). The current cap is set at eight players max, though it's possible this may change in the future. Servers for the mod are currently only located in Europe, but again, this may change after launch based on player demand.

This Minecraft mod makes building complex structures so much easier
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-minecraft-mod-makes-building-complex-structures-so-much-easier/
Building anything in Minecraft is an intensive task, and it's frustrating how few tools the game gives you to play with. Thankfully, modder Requios is here to save the day with their Effortless Building mod that comes packed with some incredibly useful tools so you don't have to assemble buildings one block at a time.
Using Effortless Building, players have access to a special menu screen full of options to speed up building by automating the process of placing blocks. The simplest tool is mirroring, which allows you to place multiple blocks at once but in mirrored positions. It's a bit complicated to explain, but watch the video above to see the mod in action. Essentially, if you're building a symmetrical structure (like a house), mirroring requires you to only build one quadrant of the house manually, with the rest being filled in automatically. It's very handy.

GAMING NEWS

Open World Survival RPG, Outward, will release on March 26th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/open-world-survival-rpg-outward-will-release-on-march-26th/
Deep Silver and developer Nine Dots, have announced that their hardcore fantasy adventure RPG Outward will release on March 26th, 2019. The announcement is accompanied by a trailer that highlights the game’s focus on challenge, immersion, and fulfilment.

Tuesday news, part two:

World of Warcraft's best upcoming feature is a big roller coaster
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcrafts-best-upcoming-feature-is-a-big-roller-coaster/
Forget about new allied races like the Kul Tirans and the Zandalari trolls, the most important new feature coming to World of Warcraft with the 8.1.5 update—now available for testing in the PTR, if you can get in—is undoubtedly the Darkmoon Faire’s new roller coaster.

Rocket League players on PC, PS4, Xbox, and Switch can now join the same match
https://www.pcgamer.com/rocket-league-players-on-pc-ps4-xbox-and-switch-can-now-play-together-simultaneously/
No download is needed for today's Rocket League update, which brings it into Sony's PlayStation Cross-Play Beta program. That means that, starting today, Rocket League players on PlayStation 4 can play with Switch and Xbox players.
PS4 players could already play with PC players, but the change does affect us. Previously, we could either match with Xbox and Switch players or PlayStation 4 players, but never a mixed-platform group including all of them. With today's change, players on all three consoles and PC can join the same match. As usual, console players will all be designated as "Psynet" players if you're on PC.

My Time At Portia leaves Early Access with a new trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/my-time-at-portia-leaves-early-access-with-a-new-trailer/
Cheery crafting sandbox My Time At Portia has escaped from Early Access today. The full game is available now, and there’s a launch trailer to give you some idea of the shenanigans you’ll get up to when you take up residence in the disconcertingly happy seaside town. Take a gander above.

Fortnite update 7.20 brings back glider redeploy as an item
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-update-720-brings-back-glider-redeploy-as-an-item/
Fortnite 7.20 is live now and once again lets players soar through the skies after they’ve already landed on the island. It also introduces a scoped revolver as an alternative to sniper rifles, along with One Shot, a new limited time mode.
Epic added glider redeploy to the game last year, but it was eventually removed after it divided the community. Some enjoyed the additional flexibility that it provided and welcomed the game’s continuing evolution, but others were less convinced by the new feature and felt it shook things up too much. It returns, then, with some tweaks.
>> Oh, and they've been sued again for another one of its dances.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 3 is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-walking-dead-the-final-season-episode-3-is-out-now/
The penultimate episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season is out now, picking up Clementine and AJ's story where Telltale left off, before the studio's closure. Clem is getting ready to kick some asses to rescue her friends, while her impressionable charge watches every tough choice she has to make.

Neon Blight is a roguelike where you sell guns to cyberpunks
https://www.pcgamer.com/neon-blight-is-a-roguelike-where-you-sell-guns-to-cyberpunks/
Want to run a glowing gun store in the future? Like Recettear and Moonlighter, Neon Blight is split between shop management and action-RPG adventures. To get new stock to sell to gun nuts, you need to go out and find guns, most of them seemingly from the corpses of fallen enemies.

Damn it, I thought Outward is releasing in February.

Wednesday news:

SALES & DEALS

Jurassic World Evolution & Planet Coaster have sold more than 2 million copies, Elite Dangerous surpasses 3 million
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/jurassic-world-evolution-planet-coaster-have-sold-more-than-2-million-copies-elite-dangerous-surpasses-3-million/
Frontier has announced that Jurassic World Evolution and Planet Coaster have sold more than two million sales. Moreover, Elite Dangerous has surpassed three million sales, making it the third game that has been successful for this small studio.
Jurassic World Evolution is also described as the most successful game launch for Frontier to date as it was released on June 12th, 2018, meaning that it took the team around seven months in order to hit its 2 million goal.

The new Humble Bundle features Gang Beasts, Everything, Gnog, and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-new-humble-bundle-features-gang-beasts-everything-gnog-and-more/
The Humble Double Fine Presents Bundle is a collection of games that are not made by Double Fine, but are published through its Double Fine Presents indie publishing label. It starts at $1 for Mountain, 140, and Thoth, a trio of minimalist experiments in platforming, twin-stick shooting, and "existential nature simulation," a descriptor which at the very least should have you curious. (Tyler liked it; lots of other people, not so much, although it now has a "very positive" user rating on Steam.)

At Steam, we have another daily deal and three Midweek Madness deals:

• The daily deal is Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/489630/Warhammer_40000_Gladius__Relics_of_War/
• The first of the Midweek Madness deals is Graveyard Keeper, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/599140/Graveyard_Keeper/
• Stick Fight: The Game is also 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/674940/Stick_Fight_The_Game/
• And Pummel Party is 34% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/880940/Pummel_Party/

At Fanatical there are four new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Okami HD, a bit more than 50% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/okami-hd
• That is part of a new Capcom sale, with up to 80% discounts: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/capcom
• There's a new Pick&Mix bundle with Aspyr, with 27 games to pick for the next 9 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/aspyr-pick-and-mix-bundle
• And Redout Complete Pack, with the games and 7 DLCs, is 80% off for the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/redout-complete-pack

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

Influencers are one of the main 'discovery engines' on the Epic Games Store
https://www.pcgamer.com/influencers-are-one-of-the-main-discovery-engines-on-the-epic-games-store/
Epic Games Store’s director of publishing strategy and SteamSpy creator, Sergey Galyonkin, posted some clarifications on Twitter in regards to the role of influencers on the store. This comes after a ResetEra post that purported to summarise statements Galyonkin made on his Russian-language podcast caused some concerns.
The post, which provides a great deal of commentary but almost no direct quotes, made the rounds yesterday. One thing that stood out was the 20 percent figure that Galyonkin offered as an example of what he might expect an indie developer to spend on influencers. It’s an extraordinarily high number, especially when compared to the 5 percent he gave as an example for larger, publisher-backed games.
On Twitter, Galyonkin clarified that it’s not mandatory and that he believes giving developers the option to send referral links to influencers, thereby giving them a share of the revenue, creates more parity between indie developers and big publishers.

MODS/EMULATORS

You can now play Dragon Age: Inquisition in first-person mode with full body awareness
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/you-can-now-play-dragon-age-inquisition-in-first-person-mode-featuring-full-body-awareness/
Created by modder ‘wavebend’, this mod introduces a first-person camera with full body awareness, crosshair, and a toggle feature to switch on the fly between the first-person and third-person perspectives. Naturally, this mod works on both combat and non-combat areas, such as Skyhold.
What’s also really cool here is that in first-person mode, players will be able to manually aim arrows using the crosshair, regardless of whether auto-targeting is active or not.
According to the modder, this realistic first-person mod is not tuned for combat, meaning that players may run into tons of issues while using it. Still, we believe that this is a pretty cool way to re-experience Bioware’s RPG.
>> This mod is available from Nexus Mods.

This mod for The Witcher 3 aims to improve numerous character faces
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/this-mod-for-the-witcher-3-aims-to-improve-numerous-character-faces/
Modder ‘Tahril’ has released a new mod for The Witcher 3 that aims to improve the depth and detail of the faces for numerous characters. This mod is being updated almost on a daily basis you can download its latest version right now.
Furthermore, Tahril plans to improve the faces of various NPCs – alongside of course the main characters that interact with – that can be found in the cities or villages. An early version of that pack is also available for download, though it’s incomplete at this point.
As always, some of you may not like some of the changes that have been made in some faces. For example, Tahril has significantly reduced Triss’ freckles (an artistic choice that may disappoint a number of gamers).
>> Get this mod from Nexus Mods.

GAMING NEWS

Forza Horizon 4 Update 5 available for download, full patch release notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/forza-horizon-4-update-5-available-for-download-full-patch-release-notes-revealed/
Playground Games has just released a brand new update for Forza Horizon 4. According to the release notes, the January 15th patch adds a Free-For-All adventure mode, and comes with various wheel tweaks, fixes and adjustments.
>> And apparently, they're learning from what's happening to Fortnite, and they've dropped some dances (that I didn't know it had).

New brand screenshots for World War Z showcase hordes of zombies
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-brand-screenshots-for-world-war-z-showcase-hordes-of-zombies/
Saber Interactive has released a new set of screenshots for its upcoming four-player co-op multiplayer game inspired by the hit blockbuster movie, World War Z. These new screenshots showcase the hordes of zombies that players will have to face in it, showing what the Swarm Engine is capable of.

Call of Duty Black Ops 4’s battle royale mode, Blackout, will be free to play on January 17th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/call-of-duty-black-ops-4s-battle-royale-mode-blackout-will-be-free-to-play-on-january-17th/
Activision and Treyarch have announced that the battle royale mode for Call of Duty Black Ops 4, Blackout, will be free to play on January 17th. This basically means that until January 24th, everyone will be able to download and play it.

Official Far Cry New Dawn PC System Requirements Revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/official-far-cry-new-dawn-pc-system-requirements-revealed/
Ubisoft has just revealed the official PC system requirements for Far Cry New Dawn. According to the specs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel Core i5 2400 or an AMD FX 6350 with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or an AMD Radeon R9 270X graphics card.

Reports suggest that Electronic Arts has cancelled its upcoming open-world Star Wars game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/reports-suggest-that-electronic-arts-has-cancelled-its-upcoming-open-world-star-wars-game/
It appears that Electronic Arts has cancelled its open-world Star Wars game. This Star Wars game was being developed by EA Vancouver and was meant to be a re-imagination of the cancelled single-player adventure Star Wars game that Visceral Games was working on and was cancelled in 2017.
>> Zombie9ers has a thread about it.

Stylish neo-noir action platformer, Katana ZERO, releases this March
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/stylish-neo-noir-action-platformer-katana-zero-releases-this-march/
Askiisoft and Devolver Digital have announced their partnership to bring the near-future samurai story Katana ZERO to PC and console this March. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has released a new trailer that you can find below.

Multiplayer trailer released for GOD EATER 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/multiplayer-trailer-released-for-god-eater-3/
Bandai Namco has released a multiplayer trailer for GOD EATER 3. According to its description, during multiplayer, you and your friends can defeat powerful Ash Aragami online, play with customized heroes, and assemble up to 8 members in Assault Mode.

New trailer showcases Genesis Alpha One’s roguelike gameplay
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-trailer-showcases-genesis-alpha-ones-roguelike-gameplay/
Team17 and Radiation Blue have today revealed a new trailer showcasing the roguelike gameplay of the forthcoming Genesis Alpha One. Genesis Alpha One is the debut game from Radiation Blue, a German based independent developer, compromised of talented developers whose combined game credits include Hitman: Blood Money, Hitman: Contracts, Velvet Assassin, Spec Ops: The Line, SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars, SpellForce 3 and The Settlers.

Wednesday news, part two:

Riot Games publishes a new set of company values (updated)
https://www.pcgamer.com/riot-games-publishes-a-new-set-of-company-values/
In August, after allegations of sexism and toxicity, Riot Games apologised and committed to changing its workplace culture. One of the changes it's made since then is to its company values, posted on the official site. After five months of talking to over 1,700 employees, an updated set of values has been published. It amounts to four bullet points.
Update: Riot has clarified that the bullet points quoted in the original story are a summary of how Riot will make its new values a reality, not the values themselves. The page has been updated, with the values placed more clearly at the top. They're split into five categories and cover things like Riot's relationship with players and how employees work with each other.

A massive orb appears in Fortnite, proving cubes are so last year
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-massive-orb-appears-in-fortnite-proving-cubes-are-so-last-year/
Last year, a massive purple cube rolled around Fortnite's map for a long time before blossoming into a transdimensional butterfly. It was a pretty cool string of events, even if they dragged on for a bit too long. In the weeks leading to Fortnite Season 8, I wasn't sure if Epic would be able to top a sentient purple macguffin, the purest distillation of #content. I was wrong. Enter, the orb.

Over 10K Elite Dangerous pilots embarked on Distant Worlds 2, though a few faceplanted into a 3.3G planet
https://www.pcgamer.com/over-10000-elite-dangerous-pilots-embarked-on-distant-worlds-2-though-a-few-faceplanted-into-a-33g-planet/
Distant Worlds 2 is Elite: Dangerous' second organized journey across the Milky Way to the remote Beagle Point, and it's the space sim's largest group expedition yet. Last weekend, over 10,000 players launched from Pallaeni as the expedition kicked off, a number confirmed by Frontier CEO David Braben.
Not all of them will continue the journey.

Small town murder-mystery adventure Rainswept gets a release date and a new trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/small-town-murder-mystery-adventure-rainswept-gets-a-release-date-and-a-new-trailer/
Rainswept, as Austin told us a year ago, is a mystery adventure game set in the small town of Pineview, where detective Michael Anderson has gone to investigate the cold-blooding killings of Christopher Green and Diane Miller. At the time, it was expected to be out later in 2018; now it's 2019 and developer Frostwood Interactive has announced that it will launch on February 1.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr is coming in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-elsweyr-is-coming-in-june/
ZeniMax Online Studios has confirmed that dragons are coming to The Elder Scrolls: Online in Elsweyr, a new expansion that's set to go live in June. Elsweyr, the home of the cat-like Khajiit, will be "similar in size and scope" to the Summerset chapter that launched last year, with a new main story quest line, a new 12-player Trial called Sunspire, "Dragon Attack" world events, and the powerful new Necromancer class, which will have three unique, powerful Skill Lines to develop.

Civilization 6: Gathering Storm's Sweden lets everyone fight over Nobel Prizes
https://www.pcgamer.com/civilization-6-gathering-storms-sweden-lets-everyone-fight-over-nobel-prizes/
If sending soldiers to die over hexes makes you feel a wee bit guilty, Civilization 6: Gathering Storm’s newest civ, Sweden, might be perfect for you. Led by Kristina, Sweden’s best suited to cultural or diplomatic victories, with unique abilities and a new building providing tourism, culture, loyalty and plenty of Great Works and Great People. Check out the trailer above.

Anthem will have matchmaking for every activity in the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthem-will-have-matchmaking-for-every-activity-in-the-game/
Anthem lead producer Ben Irving has confirmed that BioWare’s impending shooter will feature matchmaking for every single activity, unlike Destiny or MMOs like World of Warcraft, which restrict the most challenging dungeons and raids to premade groups.

A new Dragon Ball Z action RPG is starting development this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-dragon-ball-z-action-rpg-is-coming-out-in-2019/
Bandai Namco has announced a new Dragon Ball Z action RPG. The publisher isn’t giving up much beyond its existence, suggesting that the project is just beginning this year. We’ll find out more at the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour finals later this month. On the subject of Dragon Ball FighterZ, it’s getting a new character, also to be announced at the finals.

Hitman 2 developer IO Interactive is opening a second studio
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-2-developer-io-interactive-is-opening-a-second-studio/
Hitman 2 developer IO Interactive is opening a new studio in Malmö, Sweden, it announced today. IOI Malmö will support the Hitman series, but the announcement also teases the possibility of new universes and franchises that the additional studio will allow the developer to explore.

In Malmo.. I hope they have good security.

Don't worry, they know a good... hitman.

Still need to buy Jurassic World: Evolution and FighterZ... Thanks for the reminder. :P

Haha, yes-yes.
But yeah, they should know a thing or two about security by now, you'd think.