Thursday news, part two:

Overwatch unveils its next hero, the robotic Echo
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-unveils-its-next-hero-the-robotic-echo/
After first teasing the character last year, Blizzard's finally revealed Overwatch's next hero. It's another robotic hero, this time invented by one of the creators of the omnics to "help the world." Check out Echo's origin story above.

Hug your spirit friends in the demo for Spiritfarer, a game about the afterlife
https://www.pcgamer.com/hug-your-spirit-friends-in-the-demo-for-spiritfarer-a-game-about-the-afterlife/
A demo for upcoming adventure and management game Spiritfarer is free to download on Steam for a few days as part of the Spring Game Festival, and if you're in the mood for hugging, it's the demo for you.
In Spiritfarer, you play as an infinitely cheerful ferrymaster who shuttles spirits around before releasing them into the afterlife. The section available in the demo is full of activities: You can fish off the back of your ferry, cook up your catches, chat and share meals with your spirit passengers, pet your cat, ring your boat's bell (very important), do some light gardening, and, of course, offer hugs. Having a dedicated hug option in the interaction menu is decidedly charming.

Get ready for Doom Eternal with the Launch FAQ and Known Issues list
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-ready-for-doom-eternal-with-the-launch-faq-and-known-issues-list/
Doom Eternal is now less than 48 hours away, and in case you hadn't heard it's going to be really good. But that doesn't mean it will be entirely without issues when it finally lands in our hot little hands, and so Bethesda has put together a very handy "Launch FAQ" and rundown of known issues.

Ubisoft warns that Rainbow Six Siege development could be slowed by the coronavirus
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-warns-that-rainbow-six-siege-development-could-be-slowed-by-the-coronavirus/
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, many game developers are moving to work from home, as are we—and maybe so are you. (If you're new to it, we can help.) It's a major step toward the effort to combat the spread of the disease, and studios are doing their best to keep on with business as usual: CD Projekt Red, for instance, said earlier this week that the shift to remote work shouldn't delay the release of Cyberpunk 2077.

Sea of Thieves Arena matches will get nastier and shorter in April
https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-thieves-competitive-arena-mode-will-get-nastier-and-shorter-in-april/
Sea of Thieves is all about high-seas swashbuckling: Sailing the ocean blue, digging up treasure, battling supernatural evils, and occasionally mixing it up with your fellow pirates. That's what I like about it, anyway, but players with a more competitive bent can also jump into the Arena, a separate PvP mode that focuses solely on grabbing treasure and sinking ships.

MapleStory 2 is shutting down, less than two years after its western launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/maplestory-2-is-shutting-down-less-than-two-years-after-its-western-launch/
Released in the west in 2018, MapleStory 2 is a free-to-play MMO with a bright cartoon aesthetic. It departed quite radically from its popular predecessor: the original MapleStory was a 2D sidescrolling MMO, while the sequel introduced a 3D isometric perspective and, later on, a controversial battle royale mode.
It seems the sequel has proven far less popular than the original, so much so that it's closing on May 27 - less than two years after its western October 2018 launch (it launched in South Korea in 2015, and then China in 2017). The announcement today was made on the MapleStory 2 website.

Untitled Goose Game and A Short Hike are among the winners of the 2020 GDC and IGF Awards
https://www.pcgamer.com/untitled-goose-game-and-a-short-hike-are-among-the-winners-of-the-2020-gdc-and-igf-awards/
Yesterday, indie darling Untitled Goose Game took home the coveted Game of the Year award at the 20th annual GDCA (Game Developers Choice Awards) ceremony.
House House's goosey hit wasn't the only game to win big at the virtual rewards, which were livestreamed due to the postponement of GDC until later this year. Other major players include Control, Disco Elysium, Baba Is You, and more.

Meet the Mancer faction in a new trailer for The Falconeer
https://www.pcgamer.com/meet-the-mancer-faction-in-a-new-trailer-for-the-falconeer/
The Falconeer is the dream for PC gamers that grew up playing aerial combat games like Red Baron or TIE Fighter and RPGs like Skyrim that play around with politics, culture, and history on a big fantasy stage. It's the best of both worlds.

Medieval Engineers leaves Early Access and players are not impressed
https://www.pcgamer.com/medieval-engineers-leaves-early-access-and-players-are-not-impressed/
After a year without any updates, Keen Software House has pushed sandbox engineering sim Medieval Engineers out of Steam Early Access.
Fans are less than impressed, with recent reviews being aggregated as "overwhelmingly negative." According to Steam stats, only 19% of the 199 reviews left in the last 30 days have been positive.

Do we know if Intel's upcoming platform gonna have pci-e 4.0?

I think it doesn't, but I'll check the rumors...

*Edit*

It didn't too long: NO. Intel is supposed to introduce PCIe 4.0 with the 12th gen, if this rumor about Alder Lake is true.

There is a rumor that Nvidia will delay Ampere to wait for Big Navi. Could be a good thing if they see themselves forced to beef up their chips and keep pricing competitive.

That or they could be waiting to see a possibility of AMD tripping up with their high end, followed by Nvidia walking out and going back to charging higher prices. I'd absolutely do that if we're talking business sense. Wait and watch your competitor trip up, coast is clear, take over the stage and demand more.

Well, if AMD is capable of creating a console GPU that can reach 2.2GHz with the limited cooling consoles have, they should abe able to do that with a PC GPU with proper cooling.

An RX 5700 XT with an extra 15% clocks (from 1.9 to 2.2GHz) would be close to the RTX 2080. Add the expected improvements from RDNA2 and it wouldn't be too hard to imagine an hypothetical RX 6700 XT being very close to the current 2080Ti. And that would be the top mainstream card like Nvidia's RTX 3070, leaving room for a better card to compete with the 3080 or even the 3080Ti.

True. And at 2.2Ghz RDNA2 wouldn't even need that many CU to get really dangerous, 48 could already suffice if Ampere isn't a huge jump forward, otherwise 56 would be really dangerous for NVidia.

I just hope Sony didn't overdo it with 2.2Ghz. RRoD, anyone?

I'm late! But here are the Friday news!

SALES & DEALS

Watch Dogs and The Stanley Parable are free on Epic Games Store until March 26th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/watch-dogs-and-the-stanley-parable-are-free-on-epic-games-store-until-march-26th/
Epic Games has announced that Watch Dogs and The Stanley Parable are free on Epic Games Store. From today and until March 26th, PC gamers can visit their EGS pages and acquire their free copies.
>> The next free games wil be Figment and Tormentor x Punisher.

Indie devs on Itch.io are offering free games to help people who are self-isolating
https://www.pcgamer.com/indie-devs-on-itchio-are-offering-free-games-to-help-people-who-are-self-isolating/
Lots of indie developers over at Itch.io are offering their games at heavily-discounted prices—or, in some cases, completely free of charge.
This comes as part of an effort coordinated by both Itch and the developers themselves to help alleviate the stress that comes with social distancing. The Itch-affiliated list, called "Games to help you stay inside," features a variety of titles that are either free or relatively inexpensive.

Offroad Racing – Buggy X ATV X Moto and Deiland are currently free on Steam [UPDATE]
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/offroad-racing-buggy-x-atv-x-moto-and-deiland-are-currently-free-on-steam/
Chibig and Microids have announced that Deiland and Offroad Racing -- Buggy X ATV X Moto are currently available for free on Steam. This basically means that PC gamers can visit their Steam pages and acquire free copies of these two games.
Do note that these are “free to own” offers. As such, and once you acquire your free copy, you’ll be able to keep it yours for ever. [UPDATE] Offroad Racing -- Buggy X ATV X Moto is free to play, not free to own.
>> Pleasure Puzzle:Portrait 趣拼拼：肖像画 (it's just a jigsaw game!) is also free to keep. And keep an eye at Tomb Raider 2013 and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. Just saying...

The Humble Store sees an Ubisoft Publisher Sale, with up to 75% discounts (for UPlay, of course) for the next 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/ubisoft-publisher-sale/

Fanatical's Spring Sale has once again changed the free game they give with purchases over 10 €. And it's... a DLC? How weird. Anyway, it's Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Treasures of The Past.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 driver reveals Vulkan support for Ghost Recon Breakpoint
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-radeon-adrenalin-2020-edition-20-3-1-driver-reveals-vulkan-support-for-ghost-recon-breakpoint/
AMD has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the AMD Radeon Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.3.1 offers optimal gaming performance in Doom Eternal and Half-Life: Alyx. Moreover, this new driver has revealed that Ghost Recon Breakpoint will soon support the Vulkan API.
Going into more details, this new driver improves performance by up to 5% in Doom Eternal (Ultra Nightmare settings) at 1920x1080p on the Radeon RX 5700XT. Moreover, it adds some new Vulkan extensions.
Furthermore, this driver fixes an an intermittent system hang or application crash during gameplay in Doom 2016. It also addresses some performance issues in Monster Hunter World on Radeon RX 5700 series graphics products.
>> Available from here.

Microsoft announces DirectX 12 Ultimate, featuring DirectX Raytracing 1.1, new tech demo video
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/microsoft-announces-directx-12-ultimate-featuring-directx-raytracing-1-1-new-tech-demo-video/
Microsoft has just announced DirectX 12 Ultimate; the culmination of the best graphics technology we’ve ever introduced in an unprecedented alignment between PC and Xbox Series X. Moreover, AMD has shared a new tech video, showing DirectX Raytracing 1.1. in action.
According to Microsoft, DirectX 12 Ultimate supports all the next generation graphics hardware features. These include DirectX Raytracing, Variable Rate Shading, Mesh Shaders and Sampler Feedback. Thus, DX12 will ensure stellar “future-proof” feature support for next generation games.

Steam breaks new record with over 21 million concurrent players, 6 days after setting its previous record
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/steam-breaks-new-record-with-over-21-million-concurrent-players-6-days-after-setting-its-previous-record/
Six days ago, we informed you about Steam coming close – and finally breaking – to 20 million concurrent players. That was a direct result of the Coronavirus and today, Steam has set yet another record.
As we can see, Steam has just broken a new record with over 21 million concurrent players. To be more precise, Steam has peaked at 21,360,226 concurrent players. This number is somehow close to 22 million, so it will be interesting to see whether Steam will set another new record in the following days.
>> With the surplus of weekend players, I think it can reach those 22 millions.

MODS/EMULATORS

Someone is working on bringing the gameplay mechanics of Doom Eternal in Serious Sam Fusion
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/someone-is-working-on-bringing-the-gameplay-mechanics-of-doom-eternal-in-serious-sam-fusion/
Doom and Serious Sam fans, here is something really special for you today. Modder ‘Danny’ has released a demo of Serious DOOM: Hell In Egypt. According to the creator, this mod is a concept of how the Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal mechanics and assets would work in Serious Sam TFE.
Danny has been working on this mod for over 2 years now and was finally able to create a demo version for the public. Thus, people people can do some training and kill time before purchasing Doom Eternal.
It’s also worth noting that Danny will not continue developing this particular version of the mod. Instead, he will focus on a new one that will have even more assets from Doom Eternal.
>> You can get it from Steam.

GAMING NEWS

Ubisoft announces a Splinter Cell Sam Fisher event for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ubisoft-announces-a-splinter-cell-sam-fisher-event-for-tom-clancys-ghost-recon-breakpoint/
While we are not getting a new Splinter Cell game anytime soon, we will at least be able to enjoy Michael Ironside in his iconic role pretty soon. Ubisoft has just announced a new Splinter Cell Sam Fisher event for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint.

Resident Evil 3 Raccoon City PC Demo 4K/Max Settings Screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/resident-evil-3-raccoon-city-pc-demo-4k-max-settings-screenshots/
The PC demo of Resident Evil 3 Remake is now available on Steam, and below you can find some 4K screenshots on Max settings. These screenshots showcase the graphics that you can expect from this brand new Resident Evil title.

Doom Eternal may be cracked on day-1, Bethesda added non-Denuvo version in Bethesda Store release
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/doom-eternal-may-be-cracked-on-day-1-as-bethesda-has-included-a-non-denuvo-version-in-its-bethesda-store-version/
Okay everyone, I’m getting RAGE 2 vibes right now. As we’ve already reported, the Steam version of Doom Eternal uses the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. However, it appears that Bethesda has done it again. Similarly to RAGE 2, there is a non-Denuvo executable file in its Bethesda Store version.

Nacon announces WRC 9, releases in September 2020 via Epic Games Store
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nacon-announces-wrc-9-releases-in-september-2020-via-epic-games-store/
NACON and KT Racing have announced the next official video game of the FIA World Rally Championship, WRC 9. As the press release reads, WRC 9 will have multiple improvements and new features for rally gaming fans.

Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee has rated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/korean-game-rating-and-administration-committee-has-rated-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-remastered/
Earlier this month, we informed you about a leak regarding a remastered version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. And it appears that this rumour was legit. The Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee has already rated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered.
>> How come most of this finds come from the Korean office?

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition now available on Steam, free to all owners of base game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/grand-theft-auto-iv-the-complete-edition-now-available-on-steam-free-to-all-owners-of-base-game/
As promised, Rockstar has released Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition on Steam. This new Complete Edition removes the Games for Windows Live service, as well as the game’s multiplayer mode.

The rest of the Friday news:

Cities: Skylines goes to sea with a fishing expansion next week
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-goes-to-sea-with-a-fishing-expansion-next-week/
It's been a while since I last played Cities: Skylines, but things being what they are it feels like a fine time to lose myself in a soothing city management sim. Good timing, then, that a new expansion is on the horizon. Sunset Harbor will arrive next week, bringing a new commercial enterprise with it: the fishing industry. Check out the announcement trailer above.
>> Will this game ever stop getting DLCs?

Sea of Stars is a gorgeous retro RPG from the makers of The Messenger
https://www.pcgamer.com/sea-of-stars-is-a-gorgeous-retro-rpg-from-the-makers-of-the-messenger/
Sabotage Studio and creative director Thierry Boulanger are making the kind of game he dreamed of as a kid: a classic Nintendo-style RPG, but with the crispness, seamlessness, and graphical magic tricks available today. It's called Sea of Stars, and it's still two years away from release, but the core features, art design, and graphics technology look fantastic.

Riot is boosting League of Legends server capacity to handle increased demand
https://www.pcgamer.com/riot-is-boosting-league-of-legends-server-capacity-to-handle-increased-demand/
The Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak has people spending more time at home than many of them are used to. Unsurprisingly, a lot of them are turning to gaming to pass the time. That's putting pressure on game companies in sometimes unexpected ways, including longer-than-usual queue times to get into League of Legends games.
>> Hm. I wonder if WoW Classic is seeing a surge in players.

Players are stockpiling and price-gouging toilet paper in Fallout 76
https://www.pcgamer.com/players-are-stockpiling-and-price-gouging-toilet-paper-in-fallout-76/
Art can sometimes hold a mirror up to society, and that's certainly the case this week in Fallout 76. Some players have begun jokingly stockpiling toilet paper, just as people are doing in the real world. As you can see in the tweet above by a user named... sigh... BloodfartAUS, the toilet paper hoarding in Fallout 76 is in full effect.

Game Developers Conference moves to August 4, which seems optimistic
https://www.pcgamer.com/game-developers-conference-moves-to-august-4-which-seems-optimistic/
The Game Developers Conference was initially supposed to happen this week, but the event was postponed due to health concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. Now its organizers have announced a new date for the event, officially renamed to GDC Summer, which is scheduled to take place on August 4—assuming the world isn't still fighting off the Covid-19 pandemic, that is.

Overwatch's new hero Echo can 'duplicate' enemies and use their abilities against them
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatchs-new-hero-echo-can-duplicate-enemies-and-use-their-abilities-against-them/
Yesterday, Blizzard unveiled the next character coming to Overwatch: An advanced Omnic named Echo who was created by Dr. Mina Liao, the long-unrevealed sixth founding member of the online supergroup. Today, Echo became playable on the Overwatch PTR, and Blizzard revealed more about her history (Blizzard refers to Echo as "her") and what she brings to the fight.

Rainbow Six Siege’s Golden Gun mode is the perfect debut for the Arcade playlist
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-sieges-golden-gun-mode-is-the-perfect-debut-for-the-arcade-playlist/
Start practicing your one-taps, because Ubisoft just surprise-dropped Rainbow Six Siege’s first Arcade mode. Golden Gun, a tribute to the custom GoldenEye 007 mode of the same name, is live today through March 23. The rules are simple: Everyone has a golden Deagle that kills in one hit and must be reloaded after every shot.

American Motorcycle Simulator promises bar room brawls, drunken darts and strippers
https://www.pcgamer.com/american-motorcycle-simulator-promises-bar-room-brawls-drunken-darts-and-strippers/
With a name that evokes the leisurely and delightfully mundane American Truck Simulator, I thought I knew what to expect when I fired up the trailer for American Motorcycle Simulator. I was not anticipating the bar room brawls, and I definitely thought there would be fewer strippers. Take a gander above.

A new batch of forgotten classics is now available on GOG
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-collection-of-forgotten-classics-is-now-available-on-gog/
Ziggurat Interactive announced itself in early March as a new publisher that would focus primarily on bringing "classic console and PC games from the '80s, '90s, and beyond" to modern platforms, including not just remasters but also "new full-fledged sequels and entirely new original games." The company said that it had already signed deals for more than 140 games from several publishers, and had updates of three games already in the works: Forbidden Forest from 1983, Super Huey from 1985, and the 2001 squad-based shooter Deadly Dozen.

EGX: Rezzed 2020 will apparently be returning in July
https://www.pcgamer.com/egx-rezzed-2020-will-apparently-be-returning-in-july/
EGX: Rezzed 2020 was meant to be kicking off this month, but it has of course been postponed due to the coronavirus. Organiser Reed Exhibitions said it would be returning in the summer, however, and it looks like its sticking to its guns, though the new dates might not be realistic.

Time to take a look at the GOG and Steam deals during the weekend:

+GOG

• GOG is celebrating its Spring Sale and you should definitely give it a look, and maybe make your own bundles to increase the discount. And while you're there, don't forget to grab Mable & The Wood, free for the next 46 hours.

+Steam

• The new daily deal is The Messenger, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/764790/The_Messenger/
• There's a GDC/IFA Awards Sale with up to 50% discounts for the next 3 days: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/igfgdca2020
• STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order is 35% off this weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172380/STAR_WARS_Jedi_Fallen_Order/
• The Pathfinder: Kingmaker & Outward is 53% off for the weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pathfinder_outward
• The Darksiders franchise is the other weekend deal with up to 80% discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/darksiders/
• Metal Wolf Chaos XD, one of the Midweek Madness deals, will still be 50% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/820630/Metal_Wolf_Chaos_XD/
• And Devolver Digital has some of its games up to 75% off until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/devolver
• Ubisoft is having a publisher sale with up to 75% discounts until the 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/ubisoft_weekend/
• WayForward0s Anniversary Sale with its 30% discounts will last until the 30th: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/WayForward
• And Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is 25% off until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1118010/Monster_Hunter_World_Iceborne/
• Last, but not least, we have the weeklong deals.

And that's it. I hope you have a happy and gaming weekend and please, take care of yourselves and don't go outside unless you have to. Use this time to clear some of that backlog you have!

It would be hilarious is Sony had a problem of that kind .