Not sure what or how you would want to achieve regulating efficiency in computer components. Let's ignore for a moment that those components are already as efficient as possible out of sheer necessity, what would the end goal look like?

Do you want to restrict performance for regular consumers? What about professionals that need the performance? Would they need a license or would they just have to live with stunted hardware? Would you ban overclocking? What counts as overclocking? Set a maximum voltage?

Regulations are usually meant for widespread devices that are used a lot, which does not fit high end PC hardware. If you think about it there isn't a point in restricting power draw for enthusiast electronics because they're just that. Think about what other things people use for their hobbies that would have to be regulated.

True, you do make sense from time to time. 

Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

You can win a copy of dungeon crawler Blightbound on our forums
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-win-a-copy-of-dungeon-crawler-blightbound-on-our-forums/
Addictive-looking dungeon crawler Blightbound hit Steam at the end of last month. It's a co-op loot fest where three heroes murder lots and lots of Blight-corrupted monsters in their mysterious fog. Want to give it a go? The PC Gamer community team is giving away 50 copies of the game on our forums.
Here's how you can win one: Go and sign in to the forums, or create an account. Then, post in this thread about Blightbound, minding the rules, and tell us what appeals to you about the game. Finally, go and put your name in the giveaway widget to confirm you entered. (All hail the giveaway widget.)
There are rules, obviously. You can only enter once, don't quote the original post in your forum post, and remember to put your name in the giveaway widget. (All hail the giveaway widget.) If you're a randomly selected winner, well, you'll get an email with a Steam code. So use a real email for your account, not a throwaway.
>> Good luck.

Phantasy Star Online 2 surpasses one million registered players
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/phantasy-star-online-2-surpasses-one-million-registered-players/
SEGA has announced that its popular free-to-play online action RPG, Phantasy Star Online 2, has surpassed one million registered players. This achievement comes right after the successful launch on Xbox One and PC in North America earlier this year.
The game is currently available in 33 more nations and territories. Not only that, but Phantasy Star Online 2 will be coming to Steam later this month.

Trials of Mana has significantly exceeded Square Enix’s expectations
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/trials-of-mana-has-significantly-exceeded-square-enix-expectations/
During its Investor Q&A with Yosuke Matsuda, Square Enix revealed that Trials of Mana has exceeded its expectations. In case you weren’t aware of, Trials of Mana is a full, high-definition remake of the third entry in the classic Mana series.

GOG sees the release of the game Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game, and it does so with a 20% discount until August 30: https://www.gog.com/game/chef_a_restaurant_tycoon_game

Steam ha stwo new deals:

• The new daily deal is Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1061730/Super_Monkey_Ball_Banana_Blitz_HD/
• And developer Matthew Brown has put its games 70% off until August 26: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/matthewbrown

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition, 82% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/middle-earth-shadow-of-war-definitive-edition
• And the new Very Positive Bundle 4 features 8 games at a 97% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/very-positive-bundle-4

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

EA's subscription service is coming to Steam August 31
https://www.pcgamer.com/eas-subscription-service-is-coming-to-steam-august-31/
A few days ago, EA announced their subscription service EA Play would be coming to Steam. Now we know this is happening August 31.
EA Access, the subscription for consoles, and Origin Access, its PC counterpart, has been consolidated and rebranded into EA Play, offering access to its library of games that include The Sims 4, Battlefront II, Jedi: Fallen Order and more, for as long as you pay. For £4 / $5 month or £20 / $30 a year, you get access to the subscription library, 10% off EA game purchases, and the option to play new releases up to 10 days ahead of everyone else, for up to a total of 10 hours.

The Steam Game Festival will be a recurring event
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-steam-game-festival-will-be-a-recurring-event/
Valve confirmed today that its Steam Game Festival, originally planned as a way for developers to promote their games among the cancellation of gaming events, will be a permanent fixture in its events lineup, with two more planned for the first half of 2021.
This was a decision made following "feedback from developers and players alike", which likely included "Man, playing demos for new and upcoming games sure is neat," "Remember when demos were a regular thing you got with your print magazine purchases?" and "How the hell am I supposed to play 900 demos in a single week? I'm a working adult!"

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-empty-

GAMING NEWS

Don’t expect any news for The Elder Scrolls 6 or Starfield in 2020
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dont-expect-any-news-for-the-elder-scrolls-6-or-starfield-in-2020/
At E3 2018, Bethesda announced its new upcoming IP, Starfield. Starfield will be a first-person role-playing single-player space-themed adventure game. However, and similarly to last year, Bethesda will not reveal any additional details or news for it in 2020.

Online game retailer MAX has leaked Prince of Persia Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/online-game-retailer-max-has-leaked-prince-of-persia-remake/
It appears that a new Prince of Persia Remake is currently under development. Online game retailer MAX has listed this remake for current-gen platforms, hinting at a possible reveal next month during Ubisoft’s upcoming event.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War to be officially revealed on August 26th, gets teaser trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-to-be-officially-revealed-on-august-26th-gets-teaser-trailer/
After an ARG, Activision revealed that it will officially announce the next Call of Duty game on August 26th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also shared a new teaser trailer that you can find below.

Black Myth: Wu Kong is a new action-adventure RPG, gets a 13-minute gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/black-myth-wu-kong-is-a-new-action-adventure-rpg-gets-a-13-minute-gameplay-trailer/
Game Science is currently working on a new action-adventure RPG game, Black Myth: Wu Kong. Black Myth: Wu Kong will be using Unreal Engine 4 and will release on the PC. The game is based on Journey to the West, and below you can find 13 minutes of gameplay footage from it.

Lost Ark may finally come to the West as Amazon and Smilegate sign a new publishing deal
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/lost-ark-may-finally-come-to-the-west-as-amazon-and-smilegate-sign-a-new-publishing-deal/
Amazon Games today announced it has reached an exclusive publishing agreement for North America and Europe with Korean developer Smilegate RPG. They will collaborate to publish a game releasing next year, with specific details to come at a later date.

First World of Warcraft Shadowlands Ray Tracing Comparison Screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/first-world-of-warcraft-shadowlands-ray-tracing-comparison-screenshots/
Blizzard has finally introduced some new Ray Tracing effects in the PTS version of World of Warcraft Shadowlands. This new build adds support for Ray Traced Shadows, improving all of the game’s shadows with this new technique.
>> The shadows are the same, only softer.

Medieval Dynasty enters Early Access on September 17th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/medieval-dynasty-enters-early-access-on-september-17th/
Toplitz Productions and Render Cube have announced that the Early Access phase for Medieval Dynasty will begin on September 17th. In Medieval Dynasty, players will journey into a world of untouched beauty and experience the life and loves through the eyes of an ambitious and uncommon man.

so wow with RT will only be outside instances dropping from +120fps towards sub 60 is utterdogshit

The second part of the news:

Creepy platformer Inmost gets an August 21 release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/creepy-platformer-inmost-gets-an-august-21-release-date/
Publisher Chucklefish showed off Inmost's haunting pixel art all the way back in August 2018, and released the game in 2019—but for Apple Arcade only. On August 18 this year, the two-year anniversary of the first announcement, Chucklefish has revealed that Inmost is coming to PC via Steam and GOG this Friday, August 21.

The Red Lantern is a roguelite about getting lost in Alaska with your five dogs
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-red-lantern-is-a-roguelite-about-getting-lost-in-alaska-with-your-five-dogs/
The Red Lantern is coming later this year, the story of a lady, her five sled dogs, and the insurmountable Alaskan wilderness. The story-driven roguelite centers around a wilderness mishap, and subsequent survival, on the famous Iditarod sled race. It'll star the voice of Ashly Burch. You might remember Burch from, most recently, a critically acclaimed performance as Parvati Holcomb in The Outer Worlds, or work as Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn. The game also stars five dogs and they look like very good dogs.

New Mount & Blade 2 patch adds autoblock and fixes bandit hideouts
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-mount-and-blade-2-patch-adds-autoblock-and-fixes-bandit-hideouts/
Medieval fantasy combat and/or butter hoarding simulator Mount & Blade 2 has a new update today which significantly improves the game by adding back a much-requested feature and fixing a major gameplay issue.

Drifters Loot the Galaxy is a high-mobility hero shooter in open beta on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/drifters-loot-the-galaxy-is-a-high-mobility-hero-shooter-in-open-beta-on-steam/
If you're looking to try your hand at something new, Drifters Loot the Galaxy might be just the thing. The free-to-play hero shooter about a strange collection of outer-space weirdos with guns who brawl for cash in 5v5 online battles is now in open beta testing on Steam, ahead of an upcoming launch into Steam Early Access.

In Bear and Breakfast you run a bed and breakfast, but you're a bear
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-bear-and-breakfast-you-run-a-bed-and-breakfast-but-youre-a-bear/
Bear and Breakfast is a charming-looking new management game, town life sim, and adventure where you're a bear that runs a bed & breakfast in the remote woods. Starting with a run-down abandoned shack, Hank (the bear) and his friends (also animals, I guess) turn it into a bed and breakfast to make some cash. The developers describe it as a "laid-back management adventure game," and I expect it'll be one for those of y'all who like the Stardew Valleys and such.

Rocksteady shares employee letter defending its response to 2018 abuse allegations
https://www.pcgamer.com/rocksteady-shares-employee-letter-defending-its-response-to-2018-abuse-allegations/
The Guardian published a report yesterday about allegations of harassment and abusive behavior at Arkham series developer Rocksteady Studios. The report arose from a letter sent to management in November of 2018, which was signed by ten of 16 women working there at the time. (...)
Today, Rocksteady released another letter, received "unsolicited," which it said was signed by seven of the eight (out of ten) signatories of the 2018 letter who are still at the studio. The identities of the signatories were not revealed, as "all involved do not wish to have their identity disclosed publicly under any circumstance."

Valve says the time it takes to download Microsoft Flight Simulator won't affect refund requests
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-says-the-time-it-takes-to-download-microsoft-flight-simulator-wont-affect-refund-requests/
Downloading Microsoft Flight Simulator takes a while: It's a hefty game weighing in at around 127 GB. The Steam download is only a 532MB client, though. The bulk of the game is installed as an 'update' from within the game menu.
(...)
We asked Valve about the issue, and VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi replied. "The time it takes your machine to download the additional content will not be counted against the Steam Refund Policy," he wrote in an email.

Devolver apologises to Fall Guys players whose keys were accidentally refunded
https://www.pcgamer.com/devolver-apologises-in-mistakes-in-handling-fall-guys-key-scammers/
Yesterday, a number of Argentinian Fall Guys players took to Twitter and the Fall Guys subreddit to complain that keys purchased legitimately on the game's official website were suddenly and unexpectedly refunded. "The key you received belongs to a batch exploited by scammers looking to turn a quick profit," read the message sent to players. "As a result, we have disabled all keys in the batch and have issued refunds to all affected customers."

Also, here's a bonus article and a question for you all:

When a game asks you to 'Press Any Key,' which key do you press?
https://www.pcgamer.com/when-a-game-asks-you-to-press-any-key-which-key-do-you-press/
Many of us have been playing Microsoft Flight Simulator this week, looking for interesting places to visit, tweaking settings to improve our performance, and digging through menus to figure out how to turn on autopilot.
But we all start with the same first step: Microsoft Flight Simulator, in an ancient gaming tradition, begins by asking us to 'Press Any Key.'
So, when confronted with this choice, which key do you press? The space bar? Escape? Tab? Right Curly Bracket? Or are you a mouse-clicker?
>> If I have the mousse in hand, I click. If I have a controller, I press whatever key, usually the </em>A<em>(xbox controller). In any other situation, the space bar.

how about Enter like normal people?:P

Given the results, I doubt it will have any effect in performance.

You read very fast.

And I don't know that "normal people" you talk about.

nah it really halves your performance hehehe

Glad Valve is allowing refunds even though the download counts towards the playtime.

There are some weird issues happening with flight sim for some people with various locations. I guess streaming data from the servers are causing some nonsense?



Same highway a few hours later

Hitman 3 will be an EPIC Games Store Exclusive on PC

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-08-20-epic-snaps-up-hitman-3-as-another-pc-store-exclusive

Rip.

Hitman and ShadowRun Collection will be the free Epic Game Store games from Aug 27- September 3

https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/free-games?sessionInvalidated=true