It's too weak for RT anyway, i don't see that as a problem...but given that it's 1060 replacement, and that's been 2.5 years since 1060 launched, 30% gain is just miserable.

Of course!

And I also feel a little nervous when turning it on for the first time... and shit my pants when I hear a noise I didn't expect!

Are you just hoping Epic try to make deals with console owners or was there some news or leak I missed?

I actually think later this year we will see Square port KH collection to PC/X1 and possibly Switch with a PC arrival of KH3 first half of 2020, I guess it's Square Enix so they could be dumb and decide they don't want to make more profit though but they have stepped up their PC efforts more recently.

I'm unaware of this myself. I haven't heard or seen any inkling of Epic exclusively dealing specially to japanese devs to bring console games all the way and only to the Epic store. Not even Valve does that, it's just up to Japanese publishers to bring them over to PC.

I could maybe imagine a KH3 PC port, but I bet it'd be asking for more power on the hw side, as well as the full price tag (to which SE can kindly fuck off to both). It'd also be dumb to lock it to just Epic as well. Give PC gamers an actual choice, one that actually benefits them. 

So I decided to nab Dragon Quest I & II for me and my gal to play together, and well, DQ Heroes I honestly plays alright, but it lacks PC features like:
Resolution
AA
AF
Framerate cap option
Now I've tried using Reshade, but DXH is having none of it and using Nvidia CP won't have any effect either, so basically I can't edit the game nor mod it to look the way I'd like it to. Granted it's a port from 2015, but back then we had games like MGS V, which sported and hosted better options than DQH, as well as games like TW3, which boasted more options to mess around with.

Japenese devs like KT and bamco just come off as extremely lazy to me. They don't bother putting in any amount of considerable effort into their PC ports, but they dare to ask nearly £60 for said port jobs. People wish Steam had quality control, I wish there were Watchdogs for PC gaming that prevented the likes of KT/Bamco shoddy ports from being sold, telling both companies to either shape up or get off the platform.

Not being able to change my own resolution in 2019 in just insane, even back in 205 it was insane.

Here we go again: The Monday news!

SALES & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

1. Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm
2. Devotion
3. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
4. Far Cry New Dawn
5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Siege - Year 4 Pass
6. Grand Theft Auto V
7. JUMP FORCE
8. Dying Light Enhanced Edition
9. FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION
10. Far Cry New Dawn

Fortnite revenue declined 48% month-over-month in January, CS:GO digital revenue falls considerably
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fortnite-revenue-declined-48-month-over-month-in-january-csgo-digital-revenue-falls-considerably/
SuperData Arcade has shared its monthly report, stating that Fortnite has dipped month-over-month after a strong end to the year and that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive‘s high engagement levels aren’t translating into revenue gains.
Going into more details, Fortnite revenue on all platforms combined declined 48% month-over-month in January, although sales are still up significantly year-over-year. According to the report, this comes after a peak month in December and points to an increasingly lumpy revenue profile heading into 2019.
On the other hand, Counter Strike Global Offensive’s MAU grew 8% year-over-year in January after benefiting from the switch to a free-to-play model in November. However, digital revenue fell considerably compared to last January as new users showed lower conversion for in-game spending.
Furthermore, consumers spent $8.4 billion on digital games across all platforms in January, down 6% year-over-year. Premium PC had the biggest drop off of any platform with a 29% decline. Meanwhile, console revenue also decreased by 3% even including a favorable comparison from Fortnite due to tepid performance from top Premium Console franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, FIFA and Overwatch.

At GOG there's a new weekly sale, with up to 80% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190225_weekly_sale

At Steam, the daily deal is Depth, 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/274940/Depth/

On the Humble Store, there was a weekend sale that will last another day, the Dark Souls franchise with up to 75% discounts: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/dark-souls-franchise-weekend/

And at Fanatical, we have several new deals:

• The Star Deal is The Longest Journey Pack, 90% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/the-longest-journey-pack
• There's a new bundle, the Dollar Masquerade Bundle, featuring the game Glass Masquerade and 2 DLCs with a 86% discount for the next 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/dollar-masquerade-bundle
• Iconoclasts is going to be 40% off for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/iconoclasts
• And Paradox Interactive has also put its games on sale with up to 80% discounts for the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/paradox-interactive

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

NVIDIA releases optimized Game Ready drivers for Anthem and DiRT Rally 2.0
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-releases-optimized-game-ready-drivers-for-anthem-and-dirt-rally-2-0/
NVIDIA has just released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 419.17 WHQL driver provides the optimal gaming experience for Anthem and DiRT Rally 2.0, and includes support for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics cards.
This driver also fixes a bug that rendered the decals in Doom 2016 (and in Doom Eternal) as black, addresses the screen artifacts in Battlefield 5 that could appear in the game when Texture Filtering was set to High Quality in the NVIDIA Control Panel, and makes Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR) available for monitors with 4k2k timings.
Furthermore, NVIDIA GeForce 419.17 WHQL driver updates the SLI profiles for Apex Legends and Far Cry New Dawn, resolves the Iray GPU acceleration crashes and falls back to CPU acceleration, and fixes random application crash or TDR introduced in previous GeForce display driver 418.81.
Unfortunately for APEX Legends players, this driver does not address the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error message so we suggest using an older driver if you are currently playing Respawn’s free to play title.
>> Available from here.

Have we just had a glimpse of Steam's new design?
https://www.pcgamer.com/have-we-just-had-a-glimpse-of-steams-new-design/
Steam's About page recently had a refresh and as well as explaining what it is ("the ultimate destination for playing, discussing, and creating games"), there's a gif of someone firing up Portal 2 in the launcher. The thing is, it doesn't look like the current interface design. Sure, it's a vague and abstract series of images, but if you didn't expect Steam users would take this as a sign of what it's definitely going to look like in a future update then you don't know them very well.
Posters on the r/Steam subreddit have already begun making mockups of theoretical new looks. Here's one by u/inteNsE-- with a very flat design that does look a lot like what the gif shows, with believable labels on what are blank icons in the small gif. Bit of wasted space under the list of friends who play CS: GO, though.

MODS/EMULATORS

New beautiful screenshots for the N64 GoldenEye 007 fan remake in Unreal Engine 4, GoldenEye 25
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-beautiful-screenshots-for-the-n64-goldeneye-007-fan-remake-in-unreal-engine-4-goldeneye-25/
Back in October 2018, we informed you about a fan remake of the Nintendo 64 GoldenEye 007 game in Unreal Engine 4, GoldenEye 25. This fan remake is being developed by GoldenZen and a team of modders and we have some brand new screenshots to share from it.
Contrary to GoldenEye: Source, a total conversion mod in the Source Engine that recreated the game’s multiplayer mode, GoldenEye 25 aims to remake the entire single-player campaign, featuring brand new visuals.

This mod transforms Half-Life into a top-down shooter and is available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/this-mod-transforms-half-life-into-a-top-down-shooter-and-is-available-for-download/
Now here is something really cool. Modder ‘Sockman111’ has created a mod that transforms Valve’s classic Half-Life shooter into a top-down shooter, called Half-Life: Top-Down. The modder describes this mod as Hotline Miami or Enter the Gungeon, but with the levels, mechanics, and gunplay of Half-Life, and it’s heavily inspired by Quarter Fraction.
Half-Life: Top-Down comes with two game modes that can be changed in the advanced tab of the options menu. The first one simply places the camera a fixed height above the player, similar to what other top-down shooters do.
The second mode tries to keep the camera in-bounds, offering a clear line of sight to the player. The downside here is that this second mode makes the camera get really close when the ceiling is low, and some ceilings can cause some annoying camera movement.
>> There's a video of the mod, that you can get from ModDB.

Half Life 2 gets an AI-enhanced Topaz Gigapixel Texture Pack that is available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/half-life-2-gets-an-ai-enhanced-topaz-gigapixel-texture-pack-that-is-available-for-download/
Reddit’s ‘TheCynicMimic’ has released a new AI-enhanced Texture Pack for Half Life 2. This Texture Pack uses Topaz Gigapixel in order to improve the textures of every main character, every enemy and ally (alien and human), some weapons, some items and crates, and some vehicles.
The end result is subtle but closer to the developers’ original vision. As such, we strongly suggest downloading it as it will improve the game’s characters and items, and it will also retain the style and atmosphere of Half Life 2.
>> Here's the download link.

This mod brings Halo’s Masterchief to Monster Hunter World
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/this-mod-brings-halos-masterchief-to-monster-hunter-world/
Now here is something cool. Modder ‘Warlord Sieck’ has released a brand new mod that brings Masterchief from Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary to Capcom’s monster hunting game, Monster Hunter World.
Now as you may have probably guessed, this is basically a 3D model replacement and nothing more. Not only that, but Masterchief’s model is a bit blurry (as it’s taken from the Anniversary Edition of the first Halo game). Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool but it would have been better if the modder could export the 3D model from a newer Halo game. It’s also worth noting that the mod also replaces the Mega Man palico armor with the body of a Grunt.
>> Get the mod from Nexus Mods.

This perfect, to-scale recreation of Hogwarts made in Planet Coaster is incredible
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-perfect-to-scale-recreation-of-hogwarts-made-in-planet-coaster-is-incredible/
Harry Potter's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy is a fictional setting so vivid I can close my eyes and picture it, at least as it appears in the movies. That's why it's surreal to see modder Onureth's immaculate recreation of Hogwarts in Planet Coaster. This enormous, to-scale model doesn't just recreate the castle but the entire surrounding area including the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch, and all the other little places littered around the school grounds. It's amazing. To understand how detailed this mod is, you should watch Onureth's video that tours you through every single area. There's so much to see, it takes almost 10 minutes to show it all.
>> You'll need several DLCs to be able to run this mod. You can check which ones and the mod from the Steam Workshop.

Finally, religion can fight against its true enemy in Civilization 6: Rock bands
https://www.pcgamer.com/finally-religion-can-fight-against-its-true-enemy-in-civilization-6-rock-bands/
Look, Civilization 6 is a cool videogame and all, but it's no Footloose. It may span the breadth of human history, but it's not epic on the scale of a battle between a religious dad and a city boy who just wants to dance to rock 'n' roll. Civilization is tragically lacking in Kevin Bacon. But at least this new mod, "To Hell With The Devil: Religious units fight Rock Bands," is putting us on the right track.
Recent Civ 6 expansion Gathering Storm introduced rock bands as a type of unit. Rock bands pump up the local tourism, can go on tour, and even have a "religious rock" promotion that "Performs a concert that converts the majority religion of that city to the religion founded by the player." But because rock 'n' roll is obviously the devil's work, it seems only fair that religious units could fight back against music's corrupting influence. That's where the mod comes in.

This New Vegas mod adds Fallout 76's mutation system
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-vegas-mod-adds-fallout-76s-mutation-system/
If you enjoyed Fallout 76's mutation system but you preferred Bethesda's singleplayer take on the post-apocalypse, then you might want to check out a new mod called FO76 Style Mutations. It adds most of Fallout 76's mutations into Fallout: New Vegas, complete with all their relevant buffs and debuffs.
With the mod installed, you pick up mutations either by exposing yourself to radiation—the higher the dose, the more likely you'll mutate—or by injecting yourself with serums. You can buy serums from doctors or craft them yourself if you have a Science skill of 100.
>> This mod is available from Nexus Mods.

This Fallout 4 mod creates missions on demand, from assassinations to base captures
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-fallout-4-mod-creates-missions-on-demand-from-assassinations-to-base-captures/
There are heaps of brilliant Fallout 4 mods that give Bethesda's 2015 RPG a new lease of life, and Missions Committee, a new mod out this month, sounds like it's another one worth considering. It's a mission generator that will periodically ping you with one of seven mission types, including target assassinations and base captures.
Best of all, you can customise how often you want to receive missions, and if you want something immediately, you can request a specific type of mission on demand. The mission types sound suitably varied: you'll destroy artillery posts, perform stealthy recon strikes and defend bases against enemy forces.
>> Check the mod and its installation instructions at Nexus Mods.

New Vegas run through a neural network is a psychedelic fever dream
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-vegas-run-through-a-neural-network-is-a-psychedelic-fever-dream/
Deep Style is a neural network based on the Deep Dream thing that did the rounds a few years ago. It takes artwork and alters it to look like a different art style, so you can make a meme look like an impressionist painting, for instance. Modder Jam2go took Deep Style and used it to replace every texture in Fallout: New Vegas after feeding it a wide-ranging catalogue of paintings, in styles from surrealist to post-modern. He previously did something similar to Skyrim with Deep Dream and that's worth a watch too.
Run through his mod (which you can download from Nexus Mods), New Vegas looks like someone ate a gallery and vomited on it. Plus, all the dialogue lines and sound files have been randomized, so it doesn't just look weird it sounds damn eerie. It's hard to pick out highlights, but the cubist blood decals and the way the radio just plays random voice files are pretty special. Cute Brahmin, too.

GAMING NEWS

Fallout 76 Patch 1.0.6.0 available for download, full release notes revealed + free new content
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fallout-76-patch-1-0-6-0-available-for-download-full-release-notes-revealed-free-new-content/
Bethesda has released a brand new update for Fallout 76. According to the release notes, patch 1.0.6.0 reduces the amount of springs required to craft and repair level 25, 35, and 45 Excavator Power Armor Legs, removes Flare Guns from the legendary weapon list and increases the storage limit for the stash from 600 to 800 pounds.

New Left Alive trailer showcases 15 minutes of gameplay footage + PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-left-alive-trailer-showcases-15-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-pc-system-requirements/
Square Enix has revealed an extended look at gameplay for the upcoming release of LEFT ALIVE, showcasing the variety of gameplay mechanics and strategies available to players. As the press release reads, LEFT ALIVE challenges players to enter a war-torn city of Novo Slava and use their skills to overcome the overwhelming enemy forces against them.
>> Xxain made a thread about the video some days ago.

Two new screenshots released for Shenmue 3
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/two-new-screenshots-released-for-shenmue-3/
A few days ago, we shared a new screenshot from Shenmue 3. And today, we are happy to report that Shibuya Productions has released additional screenshots, showcasing a new environment and a new character.

Anthem – E3 2017 Trailer versus Retail Version – Direct Video Comparison
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/anthem-e3-2017-trailer-versus-retail-version-direct-video-comparison/
Anthem has just been released and while it’s one of the most beautiful games today on the PC, we can confirm that it was downgraded and it’s not looking as incredible as its E3 2017 trailer. And below, you can find a video that compares these two builds and shows the graphical differences between them.

Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds targets an August 6th release according to Steam’s database
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/obsidians-the-outer-worlds-targets-an-august-6th-release-according-to-steams-database/
Obsidian’s RPG, The Outer Worlds, is a game that a lot of Fallout fans are waiting for. And from the looks of it, its release date may have been leaked by Steam’s database. According to the game’s SteamDB entry, Obsidian targets an August 6th release.

Frogwares’ The Sinking City delayed until May 24th according to Amazon
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/frogwares-the-sinking-city-delayed-until-may-24th-according-to-amazon/
Frogwares’ Lovecrafian open world action investigation game, The Sinking City, was originally meant to hit stores on March 21st. However, and according to Amazon, the game has been delayed until May 24th.

DiRT Rally 2.0 Day-1 update detailed, full patch release notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dirt-rally-2-0-day-1-update-detailed-full-patch-release-notes-revealed/
Codemasters has revealed the changes and improvements that will be coming with the day-1 update for DiRT Rally 2.0. According to the team, this patch will improve visual quality of tracks, and placement of reset lines in tracks, will update car model quality and will add additional sponsors to vehicles and trackside hoardings.

New gorgeous short gameplay videos released for Russia 2055, pre-alpha on February 28th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-gorgeous-short-gameplay-videos-released-for-russia-2055-pre-alpha-on-february-28th/
Invictus Volition has released some short gameplay videos for its first-person game that is powered by Unreal Engine 4, Russia 2055. Russia 2055 looks absolutely incredible for a one-man project and Invictus Volition confirmed that its pre-alpha build will be available on February 28th.

Capcom now considers the PC an important platform, will strive to further expand its PC sales
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/capcom-now-considers-the-pc-an-important-platform-will-strive-to-further-expand-its-pc-sales/
Capcom’s COO, Haruhiro Tsujimoto, has officially announced that the PC is a very important platform for the Japanese publisher, something that obviously does not really surprise us. In the past few years, Capcom has been steadily improving the PC versions of its titles and after the huge PC sales of Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 2 Remake, Capcom appears to be willing to further expand its PC sales.

Monday news, the not long at all part two:

Destiny 2 Season of the Drifter will tweak Gambit, shotguns and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-season-of-the-drifter-will-tweak-gambit-shotguns-and-more/
Destiny 2's new season starts in March, and it's bringing some welcome changes, including a nerf to rapid-fire shotguns and significant tweaks to the excellent Gambit mode. Bungie says that it's tried to address some of the feedback it's received since the mode appeared last year.

The latest Epic Games Store exclusive is a horror adventure with Tesla
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-latest-epic-games-store-exclusive-is-a-horror-adventure-with-tesla/
Art Deco adventure Close to the Sun is the latest game to appear exclusively on the Epic Games Store. It's a first-person horror romp that looks quite a bit like BioShock but contains no combat. You'll be stuck on a boat with Nikola Tesla, and bad news: he's a dick.

The Division 2 will have 50-person clans with their own progression system
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-division-2-will-have-50-person-clans-with-their-own-progression-system/
With The Division 2's launch only a few weeks away, Ubisoft has unveiled the game's clan system. It's a big step up from the first game's non-existent system, letting you make and manage them in-game where you can all work towards common goals and earn clan XP. You even get a wing of the White House to live in, which I'm sure will look lovely once you clear out all McDonalds garbage left by the previous tenant.

Rise of Legions is a fast, free RTS based on an old Warcraft 3 mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/rise-of-legions-is-a-fast-free-rts-based-on-an-old-warcraft-3-mod/
Rise of Legions is a "castle siege RTS" built around "short, intense 1v1 matches" that has players trying to smash their opponent's castle before their own castle ends up similarly schmucked. It's based on the old Warcraft 3 mod Castle Fight, if that rings a bell, it's free, and it's playable today on Steam Early Access.

Death Mark, a horror game released last year for the PS4, is coming to Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/death-mark-a-horror-game-released-last-year-for-the-ps4-is-coming-to-steam/
(...) Death Mark, a horror adventure released last year for the PlayStation 4, PS Vita, and Nintendo Switch. It's apparently quite good: PlayStation Official Magazine UK said it has "beautifully gruesome artwork, clever dialogue, and a classical soundtrack that sends shivers up your spine," and it holds an aggregate rating of 83 on Metacritic, although that only includes four critic reviews, which isn't a lot to go on. We'll have the opportunity to find out for ourselves soon enough, as Aksys Games announced today that it will be out on Steam on April 4.
>> Never heard of it.

BioWare reveals more of Anthem's 90-day roadmap, commits to 'lots of work ahead'
https://www.pcgamer.com/anthem-roadmap/
Anthem has been out for a week for some people, and as of today it's out for everyone. And it's not great, sorry to say: It's pretty, but suffers from numerous technical issues, unclear systems, and worst of all, uninspired and sometimes frustrating gameplay.
BioWare's head of live service Chad Robertson acknowledged some of that in an update posted today, saying that "we understand that we have lots of work ahead of us to continue to improve the game," and sharing the first 90-day roadmap that lays out its short-term plans for Anthem's future.

FTC plans a 'public workshop' on loot boxes later this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/ftc-plans-a-public-workshop-on-loot-boxes-later-this-year/
In February 2018, US senator Maggie Hassan called on the ESRB to take steps to reduce the prevalence of loot boxes in videogames, and warned that if it did not, the government step in. Later the same year, the Federal Trade Commission signaled its willingness to get involved in the matter. Now, according to Variety, the wheels have begun turning: A letter sent to Hassan by FTC chairman Joseph Simons said the commission is planning a "public workshop on loot boxes" later this year.

Fallout 76 2019 roadmap includes a new main questline and legendary abilities
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76-roadmap/
Bethesda has unveiled its Fallout 76 roadmap for 2019. And it's a busy one! It's broken into seasons, with Wild Appalachia (including survival mode) coming in spring, high-level Vault raids and a new game mode called Nuclear Winter coming (somewhat ironically) in the summer, and Wastelanders—which promises a whole new main quest—coming this Fall.

Devotion review bombed by Chinese Steam users over Winnie the Pooh meme
https://www.pcgamer.com/devotion-review-bombed-by-chinese-steam-users-over-winnie-the-pooh-meme/
Taiwanese horror game Devotion is excellent, judging by James's write-up—but the game has been review bombed on Steam over a meme that compares Chinese president Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.

Rainbow Six Siege devs tease stealthy Danish operator and proximity alarm gadget
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-siege-teases-stealthy-danish-operator-and-proximity-alarm-gadget/
Ubisoft's latest Rainbow Six Siege teaser reveals that the upcoming Danish operator, arriving in Season 2 of Year 4, will be an “expert in covert reconnaissance and stealth tactics"—and also suggests that a proximity alarm gadget will come to the shooter soon.

Watch 10 minutes of gameplay from The Occupation, the upcoming journo thriller
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-10-minutes-of-gameplay-from-the-occupation-the-upcoming-journo-thriller/
Developer White Paper Games has released a 10-minute video showing some of the ways you can solve the investigative journalism puzzles in The Occupation, which is due out early next month.

Founder of Just Cause developer Avalanche will leave studio in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/founder-of-just-cause-developer-avalanche-will-leave-studio-in-april/
Christofer Sundberg, the co-founder of Just Cause developer Avalanche Studios, has announced that he will leave the company at the end of April.
He founded the studio along Linus Blomberg, now Avalanche's chief technical officer, 16 years ago. The developer is best known for its four Just Cause games as well as 2015's Mad Max. Currently, it's working on Rage 2 alongside id Software.

Respawn 'discussing' fix for uneven Apex Legends hitboxes
https://www.pcgamer.com/respawn-considering-fix-for-apex-legends-uneven-hitboxes/
Apex Legends players have discovered that the hitbox for Pathfinder, the loveable robot, is much bigger than it should be, at least in the game's tutorial. As you can see in the video above from Youtuber SookieSpy, shooting close to Pathfinder's body, or even between its legs, registers as a hit whereas the same isn't true for Bloodhound. It's especially apparent around the feet, and you can harm Pathfinder by shooting a way in front of its toes.
When questioned about the "disproportionate hitboxes between legends" yesterday on Reddit, a Respawn community manager said the development team were "aware of it and we were actually discussing it today".

Chillout fish game Koi released on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/chillout-fish-game-koi-released-on-steam/
Originally released on mobile in 2015, Koi is a relaxing little indie game about a fish who opens flowers and fights pollution. Imagine the opening stage of Spore crossed with Flower (which also recently came to Steam), and you've got a good idea of the basic concept.

Mysterious Bethesda placeholders appear on Amazon
https://www.pcgamer.com/mysterious-bethesda-placeholders-appear-on-amazon/
Over on Amazon placeholder listings briefly appeared for a new product from Bethesda, as spotted by @Wario64 on Twitter. The now-vanished pages were for Standard, Deluxe, and Collector's Editions of something coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and were accompanied by a countdown, which is still up. It counts down from 10 in an old-time projector way, which sure has that Fallout look. That said, we're still expecting Wolfenstein: Youngblood from Bethesda this year.
>> shikamaru317 made a thread about it during thr weekend.

Paradox ARG hints at Vampire: The Masquerade-related announcement in March
https://www.pcgamer.com/paradox-continues-vampire-the-masquerade-teases-in-dating-app-arg/
Paradox's dating app alternate reality game, Tender, has continued its vampire-related teases and promised a big announcement on March 21, which has us more excited than ever at the prospect of a sequel to, or remaster of, Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines, the 2004 RPG.

Epic is exploring a Fortnite respawn system
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-respawn-ping/
Whether Epic took a cue from Apex Legends or not, producer Zack Estep confirmed during a Fortnite AMA that a respawn system for squad play is a possibility and that we'll know more soon.

Fortnite Season 8 will be pirate-themed, judging by latest teaser
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-season-8-teaser-points-to-pirate-theme/
"X Marks The Spot, treasure abound. Loot that has been lost, can always be found," reads the latest teaser for Fortnite's upcoming Season 8, which Epic Games tweeted alongside a picture of a pirate hook, above. It looks like James's prediction that Season 8, which starts in four days, will be water-themed is correct.
>> And when it arrives, the planes will be vaulted.

Puzzle game Baba is You is coming to break your brain
https://www.pcgamer.com/puzzle-game-baba-is-you-is-coming-to-break-your-brain/
Baba is You is a puzzle game that won both Best Student Game and Best Design at the IGF Awards. On the surface it's a game about collecting flags by pushing blocks and crossing obstacles, but what makes it brain-breaking is that the rules of each level are a part of the level you can interact with. BABA IS YOU reads one rule, and ROCK IS PUSH another. But shove the words around to read ROCK IS YOU and suddenly you're controlling a boulder.

Here's some long-awaited footage of Chex Quest HD
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-some-long-awaited-footage-of-chex-quest-hd/
Announced a couple of years ago, Chex Quest HD is a remake of everyone's favourite Doom WAD designed to peddle cereal. If you're too young to know about Chex Quest this is going to seem very strange but here we go. Chex Quest was given away as a promotion with Chex cereal in 1996, a parent-safe reskin of the classic shooter where you picked up fruit, vegetables, and water instead of health and armor while using a sci-fi spoon thing to defeat snot aliens. It was gaming's best cereal-based shooter.

Metro Exodus players use Steam reviews to attack Epic store exclusivity
https://www.pcgamer.com/metro-exodus-players-are-using-steam-reviews-to-attack-epic-store-exclusivity/
When Deep Silver and Epic Games announced that Metro Exodus would be an Epic Games Store exclusive, angry 'fans' review bombed the other games in the series in impotent retaliation. Now, with Exodus out, the opposite is happening; players are leaving positive reviews on Steam, but they're still really mad about the exclusivity deal.

Activision and EA CEOs appear on list of 'most overpaid' in the US
https://www.pcgamer.com/activision-and-ea-ceos-appear-on-list-of-most-overpaid-in-the-us/
Activision's Bobby Kotick and EA's Andrew Wilson are among the "most overpaid" CEOs in the US, according to As You Sow. The non-profit has been revealing, among other things, the pay gaps between employees and CEOs since 2015 and recently published its 2019 list featuring the pair.
>> mild shock.gif

Black Ops 4 loot boxes have been overhauled but still don't sound great
https://www.pcgamer.com/black-ops-4-loot-boxes-werent-part-of-the-original-plan/
Update: Treyarch has overhauled Black Ops 4's new loot box system after it slid into the PS4 version of the game and nobody liked it. Perhaps we're now seeing the benefits of having to wait a bit longer to get updates on PC.
Instead of needing to shell out real money for these 'reserve crates', you can once again earn 'reserve cases', loot boxes earned by playing, at every tier beyond 100. The rate at which you can earn them through playing Black Ops 4 has also been doubled.

Tuesday news:

SALES & DEALS

Let's start with the Steam new daily deal and some of the weeklong deals:

• The daily deal is Valkyria Chronicles 4, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/790820/Valkyria_Chronicles_4/
• Mana Spark, the first of the five games I'll mention from the weekly sale is 33% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/630720/Mana_Spark/
• Rise of Insanity is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/629220/Rise_of_Insanity/
• Chariot is 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/319450/Chariot/
• Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter is 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/350640/Sherlock_Holmes_The_Devils_Daughter/
• And Shadow Warrior reaches a 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/233130/Shadow_Warrior/

On the Humble Store there are three new deals:

• The publisher Focus Home Interactive has its games up to 80% off for the next 2 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/focus-home-interactive-publisher-sale/
• Rebellion has also put its games on sale, up to 80% off for the next 6 days. And if you spend more than $10, you'll get a free copy of Sniper Elite: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/rebellion-interactive-sale/
• And SEGA has also put its games on sale for the next 6 days, with up to 75% discounts: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/sega-week/

And at Fanatical, the new Star Deal is the Dollar Anomaly Complete Bundle, available for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/dollar-anomaly-complete-bundle

SOFTWARE/DRIVERS

GOG lays off 'around a dozen' employees amid report of financial struggles
https://www.pcgamer.com/gog-lays-off-around-a-dozen-employees-amid-report-of-financial-struggles/
Digital distribution platform GOG has confirmed with Kotaku that it laid off roughly a dozen people last week. A reason for the cuts wasn't provided, but one of the employees who was let go told Kotaku that staff were told it was "a financial decision."
"We have been rearranging certain teams since October 2018, effecting in closing around a dozen of positions last week," the company said in a statement. "At the same time, since the process started we have welcomed nearly twice as many new team members, and currently hold 20 open positions."
In contrast to that rosy framing, the former employee said that GOG is "dangerously close to being in the red," and suggested that the trend toward a greater revenue share for developers—the Epic Game Store offers 88 percent of revenues to developers, compared to the 70 percent offered by GOG and Steam—will soon put pressure on GOG's bottom line, or already has.
"I mean, it’s just an odd situation, like things got really desperate really fast. I know that February was a really bad month, but January on the other hand was excellent," the employee said. "We were in the middle of a general restructuring, moving some teams around, not unprecedented. But layoffs that big have never happened before."
>> I hope it's just an exaggeration.

MODS/EMULATORS

-empty-

GAMING NEWS

Bioware producer confident in studio’s future following Anthem’s critical reception
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bioware-producer-confident-in-studios-future-following-anthems-critical-reception/
After Twitter user by the name of HuskersEcho voiced concerns on Bioware’s future in lieu of the disappointing reception received by Anthem, lead producer from Bioware, Michael Gamble, personally addressed the user’s concerns. He responded with the message that his studio’s future is not a matter of concern just yet.

The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate has been released
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-bards-tale-iii-thief-of-fate-has-been-released/
inXile Entertainment, in partnership with Krome Studios, has announced the release of The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate, which completes The Bard’s Tale Trilogy. The Bard’s Tale Trilogy is a complete remaster of the legendary series that helped define the RPG genre and features updated graphics and optional quality-of-life gameplay features.

X4: Foundations – Major Update 2.00 available for download, full patch release notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/x4-foundations-major-update-2-00-available-for-download-full-patch-release-notes-revealed/
Egosoft has released a new major update for X4: Foundations. According to the release notes, patch 2.00 allows players to build and operate their own shipyards, adds support for installing game mods via the Steam workshop and brings balance tweaks for the game’s fight and economy systems.

New screenshots from GTFO showcase environments inspired by Ridley Scott’s Alien movie
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-screenshots-from-gtfo-showcase-environments-inspired-by-ridley-scotts-alien-movie/
10 Chambers Collective, a team that consists of former PAYDAY 2 developers, has released a new set of screenshots for its 4 player co-op action/horror FPS aimed at a hardcore gamers, GTFO. Moreover, the team revealed that the story will not unfold via the traditional story campaign mode, but will evolve through free continuous updates of the game.

Metro Exodus second update released, full patch release notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/metro-exodus-second-update-released-full-patch-release-notes-revealed/
4A Games has released the second patch for Metro Exodus. This is a small patch that will update your Steam game version to 1.0.0.2 and your Epic store version to 1.0.1.2 (you can verify your game version by looking at the Main Menu Options or Pause menu).

Dead or Alive 6 Official PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dead-or-alive-6-official-pc-system-requirements/
KOEI Tecmo has revealed the official PC requirements for Dead or Alive 6 via its Steam store page. According to the specs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel Core i5-4690 CPU with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 graphics card.

Tuesday news, part two:

Devil May Cry 5 has no planned DLC beyond the Bloody Palace
https://www.pcgamer.com/devil-may-cry-5-has-no-planned-dlc-beyond-the-bloody-palace/
Devil May Cry 5 looks like it won't have any DLC, aside from the Bloody Palace and what's inside the Deluxe Edition. The Bloody Palace launches in April and will be free.

'Huge' free Dead Cells DLC coming this spring
https://www.pcgamer.com/huge-free-dead-cells-dlc-coming-this-spring/
Dead Cells is really good: "A stellar action platformer with gorgeous presentation and excellent combat" that earned 90/100 in our review and a place on the list of our favorite games of 2018. Later this year it will also get some DLC, and today you can get an early look at what's coming.

The Division 2 open beta dates, start times, and what you'll get to play
https://www.pcgamer.com/division-2-open-beta-date/
Ahead of its release on March 15, players will get another chance to fight their way through the streets of post-pandemic Washington DC. The Division 2 will host an open beta beginning on March 1, and it will run until March 4. Check out the open beta trailer above.
>> And here you can read the changes that it will bring.

Taiwanese horror game Devotion has been removed from Steam (Updated)
https://www.pcgamer.com/taiwanese-horror-game-devotion-has-been-removed-from-steam/
Things have taken a sudden and sharp downturn for Red Candle Games, the developer of the first-person horror game Devotion, which came under fire over the weekend because of the presence of a piece of art that appears to mock Chinese president Xi Jinping. That quickly led to a massive review-bombing campaign (that has now bled over into Devotion's predecessor, Detention), and a multi-paragraph apology and "comprehensive explanation" from the developers.
Update: Roughly three hours after removing Devotion from Steam without warning, Red Candles has issued a statement on the decision:
"Due to technical issues that cause unexpected crashes and among other reasons, we are pulling off from steam store to have another complete QA check. At the same time we'd like to take this opportunity to ease the heightened pressure in our community resulted from our previous Art Material Incident, our team would also review our game material once again making sure no other unintended materials was inserted in. Hopefully this would help all audience to focus on the game itself again upon its return."

Outlaws of the Old West is a survival sandbox cowboy game with 'elaborate morality'
https://www.pcgamer.com/outlaws-of-the-old-west-is-a-survival-sandbox-cowboy-game-with-elaborate-morality/
Outlaws of the Old West is an open-world sandbox survival game set in the American frontier of the 19th century, an unforgiving time and place that challenges players to hunt, forage, mine, and craft—or die!

The Sinking City, the Lovecraft noir investigation game, may be delayed
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-sinking-city-the-lovecraft-noir-investigation-game-may-be-delayed/
It looks like The Sinking City, the Lovecraft-styled horror game of shadows, insanity, and bad shaves, will not make its scheduled release date of March 21. As noticed by OnlySP, the release date for the Day One console editions on Amazon is now listed as May 31, and more tellingly, Steam now says only that it will be out sometime in 2019.

ArenaNet lays off 'a number' of employees ahead of NCSoft West merger
https://www.pcgamer.com/arenanet-lays-off-a-number-of-employees-ahead-of-ncsoft-west-merger/
Guild Wars developer ArenaNet has laid off "a number" of employees as part of a process that will see the company merge with NCSoft West. A company rep confirmed with GameDaily.biz that the cuts too place "as part of NCSoft’s ongoing restructuring of its development and publishing business in the west," although specific numbers were not revealed.

New Overwatch hero Baptiste unveiled
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-overwatch-hero-30-teaser/
Blizzard today released a teaser for the next bit of Overwatch content. It's an in-universe declassified report written by a Captain Cuerva that mentions an encounter with someone named Baptiste. According to the log, a strike team was ordered to retrieve or eliminate Jean-Baptiste Augustin, mentioning that "no one leaves Talon."
Update: Today Blizzard officially revealed the next hero joining the cast of Overwatch: Baptiste, a combat medic. Learn more about his background in the origin story video below.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey update adds New Game Plus and DLC changes
https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-odyssey-update-adds-new-game-plus-and-dlc-changes/
Assassin's Creed Odyssey's new update is out today, tempting players back to Greece with a New Game Plus mode where you'll be able to start Alexios or Kassandra's adventures again. Tweaks have been made to the Shadow Heritage DLC, as well, which previously locked players into a heterosexual relationship despite their earlier romantic decisions.

How to fix Anthem's loot issues, according to a former Diablo 3 designer
https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-fix-anthems-loot-issues-according-to-a-former-diablo-3-designer/
While Anthem might not have launched to the critical reception BioWare and EA were likely hoping for, there are players with some good ideas about how it can be improved. Travis Day, a former senior designer for Diablo 3 who is now working on Dauntless, is one of them. Day made a detailed post on Reddit recently, providing both a player and developer's perspective on the loot situation.

This sci-fi adventure game was built from handmade miniature scenery
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-sci-fi-adventure-game-was-built-from-handmade-miniature-scenery/
Trüberbrook is a sci-fi mystery set in '60s Germany but inspired by TV shows like Twin Peaks, X-Files and Stranger Things. We're also promised dinosaurs. Playing as an American scientist and lottery winner on his holiday, you'll be able to explore a German village during the Cold War and somehow get embroiled in a fate-of-the-world crisis.

Nier: Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition is out today
https://www.pcgamer.com/nier-automata-game-of-the-yorha-edition-is-out-today/
Nier: Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition launches on Steam today. It includes the DLC, six pod designs, an accessory and two wallpapers. To mark the launch, there's a new trailer, which you can watch above.

GOG cannot go under. Legit.
Going to start buying at-least one game from them every month going forward.