The name alone doesn't sound very promising .

Seriously tho, I'm not into visual novels, I find them quite boring.

It's time for the Friday news:

SALES & DEALS

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has sold two million copies worldwide in just ten days
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-has-sold-two-million-copies-worldwide-in-just-ten-days/
Activision has announced that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has sold more than two million copies worldwide on all platforms in just ten days. According to the press release, and on launch day, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was the #1 viewed game on Twitch.

Origin's Spring Sale has steep discounts on The Sims 4, Battlefield 5, and more
https://www.pcgamer.com/origins-spring-sale-has-steep-discounts-on-the-sims-4-battlefield-5-and-more/
The dust has hardly settled from Origin's EA Publisher Sale last month, but if you missed out on that, you have another opportunity to get some cheap games. Origin's big Spring Sale is live, and there are discounts on dozens of games.
Those of you in the United States can get Battlefield 5 for $30, FIFA 19 for $20, The Sims 4 base game for $10, Madden NFL 19 for $15, Star Wars Battlefront 2 for $4.50, Titanfall 2 for $7.80, and more. Various DLCs and Deluxe Versions are also discounted, like Battlefield 5 Gold for $40 (50% off) and The Sims 4 Get Famous for $24 (40% off).
>> Here's the link to the new sale.

On the Humble Store there are two new deals:

• The game Staxel is 25% off for the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/staxel
• And Capcom is the featured publisher on the weekly sale, with up to 80% discounts: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/capcom-week/

At Fanatical, there are four new deals:

• The new Star Deal is SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition, 90% off for the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/sim-city-4-deluxe-edition
• Hitman Game of the Year Edition is 78% off for the next 2 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/hitman-game-of-the-year-edition
• GTA V is 54% off for the next 3 days. The code is for the Rockstar Social Club: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/grand-theft-auto-v
• And there's a new bundle, the Standoff bundle, featuring 10 games with a 94% off for the next 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/standoff-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Star Wars, Atomic Heart and Justice ray tracing tech demos are now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-atomic-heart-and-justice-ray-tracing-tech-demos-are-now-available-for-download/
NVIDIA fans, we’ve got even greater news for you today. A couple of hours ago, we informed you about the new driver that allows NVIDIA’s Pascal GPUs to run real-time ray tracing effects via the DXR API. And while there are currently only three games featuring ray tracing effects, NVIDIA has released three tech demos for you to try.
These three demos are the Star Wars Unreal Engine 4 demo, the Atomic Heart demo and the Justice demo. From these demos, the most well known is the one for George Lucas’ space franchise and we are pretty sure that most of you will test that one first.

Tim Sweeney says Epic Games Store won't have internal forums or trading cards
https://www.pcgamer.com/tim-sweeney-says-epic-games-store-wont-have-internal-forums-or-trading-cards/
Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney has once again taken to Twitter to discuss the the current state and future of the Epic Games Store. Some of his responses to user questions have already been addressed in the development roadmap last month, but he also touched on a few new features that are, and a couple that aren't, coming to the store.
"We aren’t planning to develop a trading metagame (e.g. cards) around the Epic Games store. Gifting and achievements are on the roadmap. We’ve launched an online support ticketing service developers can choose to use for games across all stores and platforms," Sweeney tweeted.
"Epic doesn’t plan to host third party game forums but we encourage developers to link to independent forums (like Reddit) on their store pages. As with Fortnite, we encourage forums (like Reddit.con/r/FortniteBR) that are independent of stores and platforms."

MODS/EMULATORS

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GAMING NEWS

Octopath Traveler is coming to the PC on June 7th, will be available on Steam and Square Enix’s Store
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/octopath-traveler-is-coming-to-the-pc-on-june-7th-will-be-available-on-steam-and-square-enixs-store/
Square Enix has officially announced that Octopath Traveler will be coming to the PC on June 7th. According to the publisher, this critically-acclaimed RPG has previously only been available on Nintendo Switch, so this will be the first time non-Nintendo owners can experience the game.

Kickstarter & story trailer for STALKER-inspired science-fiction survival horror game, Chernobylite
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/kickstarter-story-trailer-for-stalker-inspired-science-fiction-survival-horror-game-chernobylite/
The Farm 51 has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming STALKER-inspired science-fiction survival horror game, Chernobylite. In addition, the team has also released the game’s story trailer that you can find below.

Blind Squirrel was indeed working on Mortal Kombat Remaster but it was cancelled, first screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/blind-squirrel-was-indeed-working-on-mortal-kombat-remaster-but-it-was-cancelled-first-screenshots/
Back in December 2018, we informed you about the cancelled remakes of the first classic Mortal Kombat games. And while a lot of people believed that Blind Squirrel Games was working on new remasters for these fighting games, it appears that this remastered collection has also been cancelled.

Assetto Corsa Competizione leaves Steam Early Access and will be fully released on May 29th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/assetto-corsa-competizione-leaves-steam-early-access-and-will-be-fully-released-on-may-29th/
505 Games and KUNOS Simulazioni have announced that Assetto Corsa Competizione, the official Blancpain GT Series game, will leave Steam Early Access on May 29th. According to the press release, Assetto Corsa Competizione will allow players to experience the real atmosphere of the FIA GT3 homologated championship, including official drivers, teams, cars and circuits, reproduced in-game with the highest level of accuracy.

Friday news, part two:

Focus teases 12 new games, including three Warhammer titles
https://www.pcgamer.com/focus-teases-12-new-games-including-three-warhammer-titles/
Focus Home Interactive has announced partnerships with 12 game studios at the company’s annual press event, What’s Next. Three of the games also involve partnerships with Games Workshop and are set in the Warhammer universes.
>> Some of them with Saber Interactive.

Battlefield 5 battle royale gets Duo play, but only until Monday
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-5-battle-royale-gets-duo-play-but-only-until-monday/
Battlefield 5's Firestorm battle royale mode currently supports solo action or four-player squads, but this weekend—as of right now, actually—you can try your luck with two-players squads in a new Duo mode. Duo play will be available until 10 am UTC (3 am PT/6 am ET) on April 15, at which point Electronic Arts will shut it down and see what everyone thinks.

Ubisoft apologizes for homophobic slur in The Division 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-apologizes-for-homophobic-slur-in-the-division-2/
Ubisoft has issued an apology for an image in The Division 2 that contained a homophobic slur, and removed it from the game. The multi-story piece of street art, which first came to notice earlier this week, depicted a police officer eating a donut while wearing badge number "FA6607."

Blizzard finally details how it's fixing World of Warcraft's bad gear system, and it looks awesome
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-finally-details-how-its-fixing-world-of-warcrafts-bad-gear-system-and-it-looks-awesome/
One of the biggest issues plaguing World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth since it launched last year is the way players earn and upgrade gear. The Azerite Armor system sounded cool on paper (and was fun at first), but players quickly came to despise the grind of leveling up their Heart of Azeroth necklace just to unlock Azerite traits on new pieces of armor—especially when those traits were ones they already unlocked once before. It was a bad system, and one that Blizzard has spent the last eight months trying to fix with small tweaks and more interesting traits. But World of Warcraft's upcoming 8.2 patch is overhauling the entire system—and it looks so much better.

World of Warcraft to add mount equipment so you can stop using that damn Water Strider all the time
https://www.pcgamer.com/world-of-warcraft-to-add-mount-equipment-so-you-can-stop-using-that-damn-water-strider-all-the-time/
I hate the Water Strider mount in World of Warcraft. I wasn't very active during Mists of Pandaria, when it first released, and I've been too busy to go back and grind to get it (or any of its alternate versions). Every time I'm forced to slowly swim to my destination and some player blitzes by atop his water-walking Water Strider, I silently curse their existence. Thank god for WoW's upcoming 8.2 patch, then, because one of its many excellent features is a new system of mount equipment which includes "Inflatable Mount Shoes" that gives whatever mount you choose to ride the ability to walk on water.

Atlas 'Mega Update' includes a new cooperative mode, more islands, and a submarine
https://www.pcgamer.com/atlas-mega-update-includes-a-new-cooperative-mode-more-islands-and-a-submarine/
Massively multiplayer pirate game Atlas received a 'Mega Update' today, which fills the world with '40% more' islands and unique land masses, and changes the layout of the map. There are also new deep sea environments and submarines to explore them with, plus giant crabs to battle and eventually tame. A trailer for Atlas 1.5 is above.

Here are all the Overwatch Storm Rising skins revealed so far
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-storm-rising-skins/
The next Overwatch Archives event is just over the horizon. Like Retribution and Uprising in years past, this year's event, Storm Rising, will be a co-op story-driven mission featuring a handful of Overwatch heroes. This time around, the story features Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy as they hunt down Doomfist's omnic accountant Maximilian.

Lion will finally be less annoying in Rainbow Six Siege’s next patch
https://www.pcgamer.com/lion-will-finally-be-less-annoying-in-rainbow-six-sieges-next-patch/
As we reach the halfway point of Rainbow Six Siege’s Operation Burnt Horizon, Ubisoft has released its regularly scheduled Designer Notes that lay out every big balancing change coming in the next patch. Alongside the much anticipated reworks of Rainbow Six Siege operators like Lion and Capitão is a surprise buff for Kaid and nerfs for Nomad, Blitz, and Maestro. Ubi also shared updated win rate/pick rate graphs that reflect data from Operation Wind Bastion and the first half of Burnt Horizon.

Raji: An Ancient Quest mixes Prince of Persia with demonic ass-kicking in ancient India
https://www.pcgamer.com/raji-an-ancient-quest-mixes-prince-of-persia-with-demonic-ass-kicking-in-ancient-india/
We first heard about Raji: An Ancient Epic in late 2017 by way of the Nasscom Game Developer Conference, the largest industry event in India. Right around the same time it went to Kickstarter in search of £120,000 in funding, which it did not come close to getting. Despite that stumble, the developers continued to work at it, and in March signed a publishing deal with Super.com. Today the studio released a trailer it put together for GDC 2019, and it looks (and sounds) pretty great.

PUBG has been banned in Nepal
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-has-been-banned-in-nepal/
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is banned in Nepal effective today, according to a report in the Kathmandu Post. The move comes after the Nepal Metropolitan Crime Division filed a Public Interest Litigation with the Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday. A day later, the Nepal Telecommunication Authority has called for all ISPs and mobile service providers to block the game.

Breaker is a great, free bullet hell arcade game with a banging soundtrack
https://www.pcgamer.com/breaker-is-a-great-free-bullet-hell-arcade-game-with-a-banging-soundtrack/
I'm no good at Ikaruga, but I'm surprisingly slightly competent at Daniel Linssen's brilliant, and Ikaruga-inspired arcade game Breaker. Created for the 2018 Fantastic Arcade Bundle, but now available to download separately for free, Breaker is a "blend of Breakout, Space Invaders and Ikaruga", that feels thrillingly original with it.

Rage 2 trailer shows enemy cyborgs and samurai
https://www.pcgamer.com/rage-2-trailer-shows-enemy-cyborgs-and-samurai/
Bethesda has released yet another trailer for Rage 2, due out next month. The latest video details the many enemies you face, as well as the harsh landscape you're forced to survive in.

Elite Dangerous will be more player-friendly after the April Update
https://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-will-be-more-player-friendly-after-the-april-update/
Elite Dangerous' next update, due to land on April 23, will add a whole host of improvements as well as making the space sim more welcoming for new and returning players alike.

Watch the World War Z launch trailer ahead of its release
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-the-world-war-z-launch-trailer-ahead-of-its-release/
Saber Interactive's co-op survival game, World War Z, is set for release next week and we've been treated to an early launch trailer to get another look at the action.

Let's check the weekend deals from GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• The first one is the weekly sale, with up to 80% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190408_weekly_sale
• The Japan themed Midweek sale lasts another 30 hours and also featured discounts that go up to 80%: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190410_midweek_sale
• Lastly, there's the weekend sale, Demons, aliens and worms, with up to 90% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190412_weekend_sale

+Steam

• The first daily deal is Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time, 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/710470/Little_Witch_Academia_Chamber_of_Time/
• The other daily deal is a Beamdog Sale, with up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Beamdog
• When it comes to the weekend deals, the Early Access title ATLAS is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/834910/ATLAS/
• The Reigns franchise is on sale, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/franchise/DevolverDigital/list/46169
• Rebellion Interactive has its games on sale, up to 80% off: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Rebellion
• And of course, the weeklong deals.

That's the end of the news. Next week, more. Until then, have a happy and gaming weekend.

Monday has come, and with it, the news:

SALES & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

1. Risk of Rain 2
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition
3. PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS
4. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
5. Anno 1800
6. Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
7. Anno 1800
8. Outward
9. Sekiro Preorder (Asia)
10. Grand Theft Auto V

Sea of Thieves is 50% off for the next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-thieves-is-50-off-for-the-next-week/
Sea of Thieves has never been in a better place. Samuel played its upcoming PvP Arena mode and story mode Tall Tales this week and was mightily impressed, saying that the anniversary update—which also includes smaller additions such as fishing—will "finally make the game reach its full potential". It seems like the perfect time to take the plunge, so it's a good thing it's 50% off for the next week.
It will cost you $30/£25 over at the Microsoft Store (yes, I know), and the offer runs for the next eight days. You can grab it here.

At GOG we find the Priviet Sale (it's the weekly sale), with more than 100 games from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190415_priviet_sale

At Steam, the daily deal is DESOLATE, 33% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/671510/DESOLATE/

And at Fanatical there are two new deals:

• The Star Deal is Dying Light - Enhanced Edition (plus free Vintage Gunslinger DLC), 70% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/dying-light-enhanced-edition-plus-free-gunslinger-dlc
• There's a new bundle, the Excalibur Games Indie Bundle, featuring 5 games at a 92% off for the next 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/excalibur-indie-games-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS/EMULATORS

Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Jedi Academy – SerenityJediEngine2019 is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-jedi-knight-jedi-academy-serenityjediengine2019-is-now-available-for-download/
As we’ve already said, the next single-player Star Wars game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, will be revealed later today. Until then, though, Star Wars can go ahead and download this mod for Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Jedi Academy.
Originally created by modder Serenity and then further expanded by modder JaceSolaris, SerenityJediEngine2019 is a rebuild of the released 2015 SerenityJediEngine, featuring many code fixes and additional features, and supporting both single and multiplayer.
As JaceSolaris noted, this mod was primarily built with Saber and Gun combat in mind, and its code was built using aspects from the Open Jedi Project and Open Jedi Knight code base. The modder intends to keep the mod very small and will not be adding any extra models or maps, though it will have full support for Jedi Outcast and Academy.
>> You can get this mod from ModDB.

Sekiro costume pack mod lets you dress up as Emma, Genichiro or a giant lizard
https://www.pcgamer.com/sekiro-costume-pack-mod-lets-you-dress-up-as-emma-genichiro-or-a-giant-lizard/
Sekiro's modding scene is really taking off: more than 50 mods have made their way to the game's Nexus Mods page in the past week, with more coming on every day. One of the most popular at the moment is modder ZullieTheWitch's costume pack mod, which adds 25 reskins for Sekiro, transforming him into a samurai, Lady Emma, or a shrieking monkey.
The character models are all taken from NPCs and objects in the game. My favourite is the giant lizard with bulging eyes, which is presumably a stretched version of the poisonous geckos you occasionally come across. I also like the one described by ZullieTheWitch as "man with a basket on his head". It looks exactly as you'd expect—I reckon it should come with an added stealth bonus.
>> You can get it from here, but you'll need the Sekiro Mod Engine to use it.

GAMING NEWS

New The Surge 2 screenshots surface online
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-the-surge-2-screenshots-surface-online/
A new set of screenshots for Deck13’s The Surge 2 have surfaced online. These new screenshots showcase some characters and the visuals that the FLEDGE Engine will display on screen.

New Conan Unconquered official gameplay video released
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-conan-unconquered-official-gameplay-video-released/
Funcom and Petroglyph have released a brand-new video that goes in-depth on the gameplay in Conan Unconquered, with key developers explaining how the game is played and just what it takes to withstand the invading hordes.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – First official in-engine trailer released
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-first-official-in-engine-trailer-released/
Electronic Arts has released the first official in-engine trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This new Star Wars game will be powered by Unreal Engine 4 and this trailer will give you an idea of what you can expect, visually, from it.
>> And will, allegedly, launch on November 15th.

Here are 20 minutes of gameplay footage from the PC version of World War Z
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-20-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-world-war-z/
GamersPrey has shared a new video, showing 20 minutes of gameplay footage from World War Z. This video shows the first 20 minutes from the game’s campaign mode, and showcases its PC visuals. World War Z will be powered by Saber’s dynamic Swarm Engine and promises to unleash hundreds of fast-moving, bloodthirsty zombies – able to move as one collective horde as well as break off as individuals units – at a time on players.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 Patch 2.1 will be available next week, will address numerous issues
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tom-clancys-the-division-2-patch-2-1-will-be-available-next-week-will-address-numerous-issues/
Ubisoft has announced that a new patch for The Division 2 will be released next week. According to the release notes, patch 2.1 will have a fix for the bench not upgrading to World Tier 5, which will also fix the issue for players that have their crafting bench stuck in different World Tiers.
>> Guess what, it will happen this week.

Demo for isometric RPG, Sin Slayers, is now available on Steam
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/demo-for-isometric-rpg-sin-slayers-is-now-available-on-steam/
Black Tower Entertainment has released a demo for its upcoming isometric RPG, Sin Slayers. Sin Slayers an isometric RPG with roguelike elements, where your choices determine how challenging the fights and enemies will be, and its demo version contains 2-3 hours of gameplay, all major game elements, first story act and one procedurally generated map, that you can clear multiple times.
>> From here.

Here are 15 minutes of new gameplay footage from The Sinking City
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-15-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-from-the-sinking-city/
GameInformer has shared a video, showing 15 minutes of new gameplay footage from Frogwares’ upcoming Loftcraftian game, The Sinking City. Naturally, we strongly suggest avoiding this video in case you want to experience this game for yourselves as it most likely contains spoilers about certain things.

Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition has been rated by the ESRB
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/age-of-empires-2-definitive-edition-has-been-rated-by-the-esrb/
It appears that a Definitive Edition for Age of Empires 2 is currently under development as it has been rated by the ESRB. The ESRB has leaked in the past numerous PC games, such as Catherine, Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Borderlands Game of the Year Edition, so it’s safe to say that this leak is legit.
>> An edition with all the DLCs included, maybe?

DX12 is noticeably faster in Anno 1800 than DX11 on older systems, 10fps performance improvement
https://www.dsogaming.com/articles/dx12-is-noticeably-faster-in-anno-1800-than-dx11-on-older-systems-10fps-performance-improvement/
Anno 1800 release tomorrow and Ubisoft has provided us with a review code for our PC Performance Analysis purposes. This new strategy game comes with support for both DX11 and DX12, therefore we’ve decided to benchmark these two APIs in order to see whether there are any meaningful performance differences between them.

Monday news, the so not long at all part two:

CCP will keep making EVE Online spin-offs, despite Project Nova's indefinite delay [updated]
https://www.pcgamer.com/ccp-will-keep-making-eve-online-spin-offs-despite-project-novas-cancellation/
EVE Online developers CCP have tried to establish several spin-off projects over the years—Project Nova is the most recent—and it seems that the studio is not ready to give up quite yet.
Update: In an official statement CCP has clarified that Nova hasn't been entirely cancelled. Instead it "has been taken back into incubation where it continues to evolve".

Epic Games hires Infinity Ward and Respawn co-founder Jason West
https://www.pcgamer.com/epic-games-hires-infinity-ward-and-respawn-co-founder-jason-west/
pic Games has signed another big name, but this time it's not a game but a person: Jason West, who co-founded Call of Duty studio Infinity Ward with Vince Zampella and Grant Collier in 2002, and then split with parent company Activision (under less-than-pleasant circumstances) to launch Titanfall and Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment with Zampella in 2010.

Fallout 76's new dungeon The Burrows detailed, out next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallout-76s-new-dungeon-the-burrows-detailed-out-next-week/
Bethesda has released more details for Fallout 76's new dungeon, The Burrows, which is arriving next week, as well as the previously announced in-game camera which is due out later this month.
>> *This* week.

Kill wolves instead of people in Tannenberg's new Wolf Truce event
https://www.pcgamer.com/kill-wolves-instead-of-people-in-tannenbergs-new-wolf-truce-event/
The First World War shooter Verdun celebrates the famed Christmas Truce of 1914 with a special in-game event in which players from opposing sides can get together for snowball fights, soccer games, and card exchanges. Starting today and running until April 22, something similar, yet very different is happening in the trenches of its standalone expansion Tannenberg: The Wolf Truce.

Destiny 2's Arcstriders are demolishing everything, and that's kind of a problem
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2s-arcstriders-are-demolishing-everything-and-thats-kind-of-a-problem/
Destiny 2's Arc Week brought some pretty big improvements to the game's pre-Forsaken Arc subclasses, but it may be working a little too well. Bungie said in yesterday's TWAB update that a bug in how damage modifiers are applied means that Arcstriders are hitting (a lot) harder than they're supposed to.

Star Wars: Vader Immortal story and VR lightsaber combat teased in new trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-vader-immortal-story-and-vr-lightsaber-combat-teased-in-new-trailer/
Vader Immortal, the VR Star Wars series that Oculus and ILMxLAB are putting together with the help of Hellblade dev Ninja Theory, got a new trailer yesterday that teases its story and shows us our first proper glimpse of lightsaber combat.

Chris Avellone reveals planned KOTOR 3 premise, and it involved battling ancient Sith Lords
https://www.pcgamer.com/chris-avellone-reveals-planned-kotor-3-premise-and-it-involved-battling-ancient-sith-lords/
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 designer Chris Avellone has revealed what developer Obsidian Entertainment had planned for the next game in the series, KOTOR 3, before it was canned.
>> Go to VG247 to read the interview.

Mortal Kombat 11 has microtransactions for cosmetics
https://www.pcgamer.com/mortal-kombat-11-will-have-microtransactions-for-cosmetics/
Mortal Kombat 11 will have microtransactions for cosmetic items such as skins, gear, intro animations and victory animations, developer NetherRealm Studios has confirmed.

Assassin's Creed creator says 1666 Amsterdam is still happening 'for sure'
https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-creator-says-1666-amsterdam-is-still-happening-for-sure/
Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets is busy making prehistoric survival game Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, the first game from his Montréal-based studio Panache. But his next project may well be 1666 Amsterdam, the IP he sued Ubisoft for control of in 2013, he revealed this week.

See Total War: Warhammer 2's new doom flayers in action
https://www.pcgamer.com/see-total-war-warhammer-2s-new-doom-flayers-in-action/
The latest trailer for Total War: Warhammer 2 may not be as impressive as their homage to Predator, but it does show off a neat-looking new unit that's part of upcoming DLC package The Prophet and the Warlock. Called the doom flayer, it's a skaven device that's essentially a big metal wheel covered in spikes they ride on like a motorized unicycle of death. In the trailer they make a grunty motorbike rev while mowing down plenty of lizardmen troops. Maybe I'll go back to my skaven campaign after all.

Ashly Burch confirmed to return as Tiny Tina in Borderlands 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/ashly-burch-confirmed-to-return-as-tiny-tina-in-borderlands-3/
While apparently Troy Baker won't be returning to the Borderlands series to reprise his role as Rhys from Tales from the Borderlands, another well-known voice actor is coming back. Ashly Burch will return to portray Tiny Tina (now several years older, as seen in the trailer) in Borderlands 3 as confirmed by Randy Pitchford on Twitter.

Path of Exile devs to address 'clunky' melee combat in next expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/path-of-exile-will-address-clunky-melee-combat-in-next-expansion/
Path of Exile's latest expansion, Synthesis, reworks spellcasting—and melee combat will be given similar attention in the next expansion to fix its "clunky" feel, Grinding Gear Games has said.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is getting an expansion called Onslaught in September
https://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-the-old-republic-is-getting-a-free-expansion-called-onslaught-in-september/
Star Wars: The Old Republic, Bioware's Star Wars MMORPG, will get its first expansion in nearly three years this September, the dev team has announced. It's called Onslaught, it'll be free to all subscribers, and it will add a new story, two planets, a new Flashpoint, a new Operation and new abilities.

Livestream karaoke game Twitch Sings is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/livestream-karaoke-game-twitch-sings-is-out-now/
Twitch Sings, the first game developed in part by Twitch, is out now.
It's a free livestream karaoke game co-developed by Rock Band and Guitar Hero studio Harmonix Music Systems. It has nearly 2,000 songs to choose from, and they're all "in the style of" cover versions rather than the original tracks. The game analyses how well you're hitting notes, rewarding you with loads of XP for a pitch-perfect performance.

Telltale co-founder says crunch was necessary to keep studio afloat
https://www.pcgamer.com/telltale-co-founder-crunch-was-necessary-to-keep-studio-afloat/
Over the past 12 months, multiple former employees of The Walking Dead developer Telltale Games, which closed down last year, have told stories about the brutal crunch culture within the studio. Narrative designer Rachel Noel has spoken of 80-hour work weeks, and this week another former narrative designer, Emily Grace Buck, told GameInformer that last-minute changes to games mandated crunch for a "huge percentage of the studio". Following that report, studio co-founder and former CEO Kevin Bruner told the publication that working at Telltale was "trial by fire", but that crunch was necessary to keep the studio afloat for as long as possible.

Farming game Staxel gains features, leaves Early Access
https://www.pcgamer.com/farming-game-staxel-gains-features-leaves-early-access/
Voxel-based farmlife sim Staxel has left Early Access. There's a blog post summarizing the features it's gained for those who haven't kept up with Staxel's evolution, and they include a magic crafting system, new lands "from the depths of crystal-laiden caverns to floating mushrooms in the sky", an arcade for playing minigames, new dogs and rabbit pets, more festivals to take part in (one involves catching fairies, another exploring caverns for treasure), and changes to everything from the fishing minigame to the calendar.
>> You can get the game from Steam, the Humble Store or direct from the developer.

Sony reportedly wouldn't allow Destiny 2 character transfers between platforms
https://www.pcgamer.com/sony-wouldnt-allow-destiny-2-character-transfers-between-platforms/
According to Jason Schreier during the latest Kotaku Splitscreen podcast (thanks, VG24/7), Bungie wanted to enable character transfers between platforms but Sony wouldn't allow it, citing that it "wants people to associate Destiny with PS4."

Mortal Kombat 11 trailer introduces Kitana
https://www.pcgamer.com/mortal-kombat-11-trailer-introduces-kitana/
Mortal Kombat 11 has released a reveal trailer for Kitana, officially confirming her place on the roster.
Kitana's trailer shows off her trademark fans, along with her blue outfit as she does battle with D'Vorah, We also get a look at her Fatality, which is a suitably gruesome slice-and-dice affair.

Sekiro hacker discovers cut dialogue and alternative Dragonrot system
https://www.pcgamer.com/sekiro-hacker-discovers-cut-dialogue-and-alternative-dragonrot-system/
Dying repeatedly in Sekiro infects characters you've met with a mysterious illness called Dragonrot. You can cure every character's dragonrot at once with a Recovery Charm. Veteran restorer of cut content, Lance McDonald, has discovered that the system didn't always work this way. Using patches to restore lost code, McDonald finds Dragonrot Pellets that let you restore characters' dragonrot one by one.

Yet another day of news:

SALES & DEALS

GOG has updated the weekly sale with the addition of several Ubisoft titles that have received Russian language support: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190416_ubisoft_new_ru_locs

At Steam, there are two new daily deals (of sorts) and the new weeklong deals:

• The daily deal is Domina, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/535230/Domina/
• The other one, that will last another 6 days (shouldn't that make it a weeklong one, Valve?), is the Early Access title Tower Unite, 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/394690/Tower_Unite/
• The first of the 4 weeklong deals I'll mention is the Early Access game Long Gone Days, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/510540/Long_Gone_Days/
• Stock Car Extreme is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/273840/Stock_Car_Extreme/
• Cosmic Star Heroine gets a 60% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/256460/Cosmic_Star_Heroine/
• And lastly, Guns, Gore & Cannoli is 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/322210/Guns_Gore__Cannoli/

On the Humble Store there are two new deals:

• Kathy Rain is 80% off for the next 3 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/kathy-rain
• And there's also a RPG week sale, with up to 85% discounts for the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/rpg-week/

And at Fanatical, the complete edition of For Honor is 55% off for the next 24 https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/for-honor-complete-edition"> https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/for-honor-complete-edition

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.4.2 is optimized for World War Z and Anno 1800
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-2019-edition-19-4-2-is-optimized-for-world-war-z-and-anno-1800/
AMD has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.4.2 driver is optimized for World War Z and Anno 1800.
Going into slightly more details, this new driver improves performance by up to 24% and 19% in Anno 1800 on the AMD Radeon VII and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, respectively.
>> Available from here.

Unity Technologies launches Unity 2019.1 Engine, includes more than 300 new improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unity-technologies-launches-unity-2019-1-engine-includes-more-than-300-new-improvements/
Unity Technologies today announced that Unity 2019.1 is now available to creators worldwide. As the press release reads, Unity 2019.1 includes almost 300 new features and improvements, including powerful, production-ready versions of the Lightweight Render Pipeline, the Burst Compiler, and the Shader Graph, which are helping creators and teams of all sizes more easily build high-fidelity, high-performance experiences on the widest range of platforms available today.

MODS/EMULATORS

This SNES emulator mod makes Mode 7 graphics 'HD' with amazing results
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-snes-emulator-mod-makes-mode-7-graphics-hd-with-amazing-results/
My favorite thing about emulating modern 3D games is the ability to run them at vastly higher resolutions—The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for example, is stunning at 4K. Higher resolution rendering doesn't work so well for older pixel art games, or so I thought. A mod released today for Super Nintendo emulator bsnes, called HD Mode 7, shows how much detail you can get out of the faux 3D mode's graphics.
(...)
Follow this link to see the original and HD graphics for Super Mario Kart, Pilotwings, and F-Zero, with screenshots taken by the modder. A quick mouse-over shows just how striking the difference is.
The mod is brand new, and Redditor DerKoun offers a bit of detail: This mod lets bsnes "perform Mode 7 transformations (incl. HDMA) at up to 4 times the horizontal and vertical resolution."
>> The difference is quite noticeable.

New Resident Evil 2 Remake mods replace Claire & Leon with Quiet & Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-resident-evil-2-remake-mods-replace-claire-leon-with-quiet-big-boss-from-metal-gear-solid-5/
Modders ‘SirLumberjackie’ and ‘George’ have released two interesting mods for Resident Evil 2 Remake. These mods replace Leon’s Arklay Sheriff costume with Big Boss from Metal Gear Solid 5 and Claire’s Jacket costume with Quiet.
Now while this is really cool, I’d really love to also see a mod introducing the iconic Metal Gear Solid theme to Capcom’s survival game. This would make the following mods even better, though I’m pretty sure that die-hard MGS fans will also find these mods cool.
In order to install these mods, you’ll need the Fluffy Manager that you can download from here. Once you have installed the Fluffy Manager, you’ll have to place the rar file into the “modmanagerGamesRE2RMods” folder and then install the Quiet and Big Boss mods.
>> Check the article for the links to both mods.

GAMING NEWS

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order doesn’t have any planned DLCs, cosmetics confirmed, more stuff at EA Play 2019
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-doesnt-have-any-planned-dlcs-cosmetics-confirmed-more-stuff-at-ea-play-2019/
In a series of tweets, Jay Ingram, Community Engagement Specialist at Electronic Arts, revealed some new details about the upcoming Star Wars game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. According to Ingram, Fallen Order is a project that Respawn wanted to make and EA did not force it to the studio.

The Division 2 Patch 2.1 is now available for download, full update release notes unveiled
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-division-2-patch-2-1-is-now-available-for-download-full-update-release-notes-unveiled/
As promised, Ubisoft has released patch 2.1 for Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. This update is now live on the servers and you will download it once you launch UPLAY or the Epic Games Store launcher/clients.

Part two of the news:

Fortnite bomb and drone items may have been datamined from v8.30 update
https://www.pcgamer.com/fortnite-bomb-and-drone-items-may-have-been-datamined-from-v830-update/
Fortnite's v8.30 update has supposedly been datamined, resulting in discovery of two new items. While we clearly have no way of knowing how—or if—these items will be implemented into the battle royale, we do at least have some information, though it's worth taking these leaks with a pinch of salt. Even if the files are present, they might not end up getting used in an update.

Octopath Traveler is coming to Steam in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/octopath-traveler-is-coming-to-steam-in-june/
Confirming the leak that spring late last week, Square Enix announced today that the previously Nintendo Switch-exclusive JRPG Octopath Traveler is coming to Steam on June 7.

Gearbox teases more secrets hidden in the Borderlands 3 cover art
https://www.pcgamer.com/gearbox-teases-more-secrets-hidden-in-the-borderlands-3-cover-art/
Some interesting hidden messages and Easter eggs have been found buried in the Borderlands 3 reveal art, but Gearbox says there are still some that haven't been found. To help internet investigators get on with the job, and remind everyone about the gameplay reveal stream coming on May 1, it's shared a high-resolution image of the image "as a hint" for internet investigators.

Amy Hennig discusses Visceral's cancelled Star Wars game
https://www.pcgamer.com/amy-hennig-discusses-viscerals-cancelled-star-wars-game/
Following the reveal of Respawn's Jedi: Fallen Order, Amy Hennig has shared her reaction to the announcement of the newest Star Wars game. Hennig's own game based on the license was cancelled, as EA closed Visceral Games in October 2017.
>> She has done it at Eurogamer.

Overwatch Archives: Storm Rising trailer teases a messy takedown in Havana
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-archives-storm-rising-trailer-teases-a-messy-takedown-in-havana/
Overwatch Archives: Storm Rising is a blast from the past that sees a Tracer-led strike team on the hunt for an Omnic accountant named Maximilian, part of an Untouchables-style campaign to take down Talon's big boss Doomfist. With the action set to kick off tomorrow, Blizzard has dropped a teaser of the takedown, which I have to say doesn't appear all that terribly well planned.

Everything we know about Rainbow Six Siege’s next season
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-siege-year-4-season-2/
With Operation Burnt Horizon chugging along at a steady pace, it's once again time to rigorously speculate about what’s coming next in the world of Rainbow Six Siege. Thanks to Ubisoft’s own teasers, we already know a lot about Season 2. But leaks from reputable sources reveal specifics about operator abilities, their names, and even a sneak peek at Season 3.

A new Lego Star Wars game is reportedly on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-lego-star-wars-game-is-reportedly-on-the-way/
It appears that there's a new Lego Star Wars game in the works, according to a comment made by Skywalker Sound's Matthew Wood at Star Wars Celebration.
During the interview, Wood lists off the projects being worked on in 2019 and ends by saying "There's a Lego Star Wars game we're working on." The moment was tweeted by Jordan Maison and you can watch it below.

Forza Street is free to play and out now on Windows 10
https://www.pcgamer.com/forza-street-is-free-to-play-and-out-now-on-windows-10/
Turn 10 Studios has announced that Forza Street, 'designed to be played anytime, anywhere,' is available now on PC and is free to play. You can download it from the Windows Store here.

The Native American Quinault Nation has filed a lawsuit against Valve over gambling
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-native-american-quinault-nation-has-filed-a-lawsuit-against-valve-over-gambling/
The Native American Quinault Nation in the state of Washington has filed a lawsuit against Valve, stating that it "does not have a license to operate, facilitate or otherwise engage in any form of gambling."
While the Quinault Nation operates its own casino in Washington which is subject to heavy regulations from state and local government, its lawsuit alleges that Valve, which is also Washington-based, has an unfair advantage.

Magic: The Gathering Arena exclusive card reveal: Finale of Revelation
https://www.pcgamer.com/magic-the-gathering-arena-exclusive-card-reveal-finale-of-revelation/
War of the Spark is "the most ambitious Magic: The Gathering card set ever," coming to both the physical version of the game and Magic: The Gathering Arena, the digital release that went into open beta last year. Wizards of the Coast has been sharing the new cards with the world this month, and we've got the exclusive reveal of one of them, a potentially powerful card-drawer called Finale of Revelation.

Two Point Hospital is getting a free co-op feature later this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/two-point-hospital-is-getting-a-free-co-op-feature-later-this-month/
Hectic hospital sim, Two Point Hospital, is getting the Superbug Initiative, a new co-op feature, as a free update arriving April 30 on Steam.
You can check out the trailer above to get a look at what it's all about and there's good news if you don't want to wait; you can try it out today by heading over to your copy of Two Point Hospital on Steam, locating the 'Properties' tab, and selecting the beta branch.

Cancelled Aliens RPG hoped to be 'Mass Effect but more terrifying'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cancelled-aliens-rpg-hoped-to-be-mass-effect-but-more-terrifying/
Aliens: Crucible was an Obsidian RPG, cancelled with little explanation in 2009. In a recent interview with VG24/7 at Reboot Develop, Chris Avellone opened up to talk a little bit about what the game could've been—and how it would have borne similarities to Prometheus—had development been allowed to continue.

I thought Valve shut down all that gambling long ago.

Wednesday news:

SALES & DEALS

Goetia, The Turing Test, and Tokyo Dark lead the latest Humble Bundle
https://www.pcgamer.com/goetia-the-turing-test-and-tokyo-dark-lead-the-latest-humble-bundle/
Square Enix Collective is a platform that enables game makers to share their ideas with gamers, get feedback, maybe get some crowdfunding support, and possibly even sign a publishing deal. It is also the source of the games in the latest Humble Bundle, which went live today with Goetia, Octahedron, and Deadbeat Heroes for just $1.

GOG has a new midweek sale, Lost in Space, with up to 80% discounts until April 20th: https://www.gog.com/promo/20190417_midweek_sale

At Steam, there are two daily deals (only one of them is actually daily), and 4 Midweek Madness deals:

• The first and real daily deal is RUNNING WITH RIFLES, 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/270150/RUNNING_WITH_RIFLES/
• The other one is Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2, 50% off for the next 5 days: https://store.steampowered.com/app/525510/Guns_Gore_and_Cannoli_2/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is Oxygen Not Included, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/457140/Oxygen_Not_Included/
• Next comes theHunter: Call of the Wild, 33% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/518790/theHunter_Call_of_the_Wild/
• Dungeons 3 reaches a 70% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/493900/Dungeons_3/
• And, lastly, there's Prison Architect with a 75% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/233450/Prison_Architect/

And at Fanatical,

• The new Star Deal is SoulCalibur VI, 68% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/soulcalibur-vi
• That's part of a Namco Bandai sale, with up to 77% discounts for the next 6 days.
• There's an Easter Eggstravaganza sale: https://www.fanatical.com/save-more/easter-eggstravaganza
• And Redout Complete Pack is 80% off for the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/redout-complete-pack

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS/EMULATORS

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion gets a 4.5GB mod, overhauls all its textures to 4K & 8K using AI techniques
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-gets-a-4-5gb-mod-overhauls-all-its-textures-to-4k-8k-using-ai-techniques/
Modder ‘SilverScrublord’ has released a must-have mod for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This mod, that weights around 4.5GB in size, overhauls almost all of its textures by using AI Gigapixel. Since this mod is using AI techniques, the improved textures retain the original art design and direction, thus making it essential for all those that want to re-play this RPG.
As the modder noted, AI Gigapixel was used to quadrupled the size of almost every single texture in Oblivion (with the exceptions being textures with Alpha maps and Bump maps). This basically means that the original 512×512 textures have been overhauled to 2048 x 2048 (4K) and 4096 x 4096 (8K).
>> Download it from Nexus Mods.

Wolfenstein 3D mod The Golden Parrot swaps Nazis for pirates
https://www.pcgamer.com/wolfenstein-3d-mod-the-golden-parrot-swaps-nazis-for-pirates/
Here's a pirate-themed total conversion for Wolfenstein 3D, a sentence that feels particularly wonderful to type. Creator fraggeur's mod The Golden Parrot has just hit version 1.0, and it changes up the base game to a surprising degree. You'll notice that the very grey corridors of the original Wolf3D have been replaced with a colourful, tropical landscape, while its Nazis have shuffled off in favour of pirates swinging cutlasses like there's no tomorrow.
You can wield a blade yourself, as you explore the island and its interiors, and you'll want to, as guns need to be reloaded now—and they're slow to do so. There are a bunch of new weapons drawn from the general pirate milieu, including flintlock pistols and rifles.

GAMING NEWS

No Man’s Sky now supports the Vulkan API on the PC, improving overall performance
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/no-mans-sky-now-supports-the-vulkan-api-on-the-pc-improving-overall-performance/
Hello Games has released a brand new update for the PC version of No Man’s Sky, adding official support for the Vulkan API. As the team noted, Vulkan has replaced OpenGL in this latest update, meaning that players, particularly players with AMD graphics cards, should see a performance improvement.

First gameplay footage for Borderlands 3 to be revealed on May 1st
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/first-gameplay-footage-for-borderlands-3-to-be-revealed-on-may-1st/
2K Games has announced that the first gameplay footage for Borderlands 3 will be revealed on March 1st. This first gameplay footage will be revealed during the “Borderlands 3 Worldwide Gameplay Reveal” event that 2K Games has prepared.

APEX Legends Patch 1.1.1 is now available, brings numerous balance tweaks
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/apex-legends-patch-1-1-1-is-now-available-brings-numerous-balance-tweaks/
Respawn has released a brand new update for APEX Legends. According to the release notes, patch 1.1.1 introduces some balance adjustments for Legends and weapons, increases the speed of the ship by about 50% and fixes a UI bug where the wrong percentage would be displayed for all boost badges.

Wednesday news, part two:

LudoNarraCon is a game convention that's being held entirely on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/ludonarracon-is-a-narrative-game-convention-being-held-entirely-on-steam/
LudoNarraCon is a games convention of a different sort. Dedicated to narrative-focused games, it will feature exhibitions and discussion panels with well-known developers including Inkle, Kitfox, Failbetter, and Warm Lamp. But the whole event will be held entirely on Steam, with a "central theater stream" on a dedicated event page, livestreams and chats on store pages, and playable demos for the featured games.

Apex Legends players are punching supply crates to fly across the map
https://www.pcgamer.com/apex-legends-players-are-punching-supply-crates-to-fly-across-the-map/
Apex Legends may have only been about for a couple of months but already players are finding new and ingenious ways to get around the maps—using the lids of supply crates, of all things.

Gearbox boss: 'Bitch and moan' if you want, but the Epic Store is best for Borderlands 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/gearbox-boss-bitch-and-moan-if-you-want-but-the-epic-store-is-best-for-borderlands-3/
It's been roughly two weeks since Gearbox confirmed that the PC version of Borderlands 3 will be released exclusively on the Epic Games Store, a revelation that led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the fan base. Over the weekend, CEO Randy Pitchford spent a good chunk of time on Twitter explaining why he supports the decision and thinks it will be good for both Gearbox and Epic—and gamers—in the long run.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey DLC heads to the afterlife next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-odyssey-dlc-heads-to-the-afterlife-next-week/
Assassin's Creed Odyssey is kicking off its second major DLC, The Fate of Atlantis, by sending players into the ancient Greek afterlife. The first of three episodes, Fields of Elysium, will launch on April 23.

Rocket League disables Crate Keys in the Netherlands and Belgium
https://www.pcgamer.com/rocket-league-disables-crate-keys-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/
The loot box saga continues as Rocket League developer Psyonix puts a stop to players using keys to open loot crates in Belgium and the Netherlands.
You'll find the announcement buried deep within yesterday's patch notes, which also details the new Rocket Pass and Esports Shop. When you do find it, the update gets straight to the point: "Players in Belgium can no longer open Crates with Keys due to government regulations." The same line is repeated for the Netherlands.