*** NEW CONTEST ***

HEXUS EPIC Giveaway Day 24: Win one of two Geil 64GB memory kits https://hexus.net/tech/features/ram/147119-day-24-win-one-two-geil-64gb-memory-kits/

The prizes are a pair of Orion dual-channel 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4-4000 kits, red for first prize and grey for the second one.

This contest is GLOBAL.

The news are back!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Football Manager 2021 has sold one million copies
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/football-manager-2021-has-sold-one-million-copies/
The director of Football Manager, Miles Jacobson, has announced that its latest iteration, FM2021, has sold one million copies. As such, Football Manager 2021 is the quickest game in the series to reach 1 million copies.
Furthermore, over 900K gamers played Football Manager 2021 last week.

GOG has a new sale:

• The new Midweek Sale features psychological horror games up to 85% off for the next 2 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210106_midweek_sale
• And two Machineboy games arrive at the store with up to 50% discounts until January 12: https://www.gog.com/news/2_great_games_from_machineboy_arrive_on_gogcom

Steam has a new daily deal as well as three Midweek Madness deals:

• The daily deal is Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark, 66% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/699170/Fell_Seal_Arbiters_Mark/
• The first of the Midweek Madness deals is Baba Is You, 25% off until tomorrow: https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/
• State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition gets a 40% discount until tomorrow, 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/495420/State_of_Decay_2_Juggernaut_Edition/
• And the last one is Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts, 67% off until the 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/973580/Sniper_Ghost_Warrior_Contracts/

At the Humble Store, there's a PC Building Simulator DLC Sale, with up to 15% discounts for the next 25 hours: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/pc-building-simulator-dlc-sale/

And Fanatical has two new deals:

• The Star Deal is F1 2019-Legends Edition, 91% off for the next 24 hours. The deal started yesterday and there's only 27% of the keys left: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/f-1-2019-legends-edition
• And the new Favorites BYOB brings 24 games to build your 2, 3 or 5 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/fanatical-favorites-build-your-own-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Rumor: Ubisoft+ to join Microsoft Game Pass
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/rumor-ubisoft-to-join-the-microsoft-game-pass-system/
In case you missed it, a rumour has been circulating for some time that Ubisoft might add their in-house game subscription service to Game Pass Ultimate. A senior editor at windowscentral.com stated in a tweet a day before New Year’s eve that this suspected merger with Microsoft is very likely.
The editor in question is Jez Corden who has made something of a name for being on the inside of Xbox’s plans and future endeavours, so the community takes his predictions quite seriously. While Corden was not the first to hint at this rumour regarding the French publisher, his tweet adds a unique impetus to speculation on Ubisoft’s intentions.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

You can now play Mortal Kombat 11 in first-person or third-person mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/play-mortal-kombat-11-first-person-third-person-mode/
Mortal Kombat fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘Ermaccer’ has shared a mod via which you can play Mortal Kombat 11 in first-person or third-person mode.
I’m pretty sure that most Mortal Kombat 11 fans will find this interesting. After all, you can finally “become” Sub-Zero or Scorpion. Naturally, it will be really difficult playing this game in first-person mode, however, we are certain that some of you will find it cool.
As always, we suggest avoiding using this mod in online modes. This mod could get you banned, so we highly suggest using it only in offline modes.
>> You can download it from GitHub.

Cyberpunk 2077 mod allows a new, fully voiced romance option for male Vs
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-mod-allows-a-new-fully-voiced-romance-option-for-male-vs/
Cyberpunk 2077's world includes four NPCs that, depending on what type of V you've chosen to play as, can be romanced. Needless to say, if you don't want to know about them don't read on.
One of these romance options is Judy, and in the unmodded game she is only interested in V avatars that have a female body and voice. Modders have now discovered a change that allows Judy to be romanced by male V avatars: you'll need to have the Cyber Engine Tweaks mod installed, and the above video walks through the process.
The surprising element of this is that the scene is fully voice-acted, though the lines spoken by the male and female voice actors are identical. This extends into later scenes that only occur after the romance, and means that some of what the male avatar and others say does not make sense in the new context.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 14 minutes of new gameplay footage from The Medium
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-14-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-from-the-medium/
Bloober Team has debuted an extended look at gameplay from its upcoming psychological horror game, The Medium. According to the team, this video showcases the different perspectives, environments and powers players will experience in the game.

CD Projekt RED debunks Cyberpunk 2077’s latest development & post-launch support rumored troubles
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cd-projekt-red-debunks-cyberpunk-2077-latest-development-post-launch-support-rumored-troubles/
A rumor surfaced last week, suggesting that CD Projekt RED had major troubles with Cyberpunk 2077’s post-launch development and overall support. However, the team has responded to that rumor, claiming that it is false.
>> Even if it's true, they won't admit it.

Valve is currently hiring a “psychologist” to help develop future games and its storefront
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/valve-is-currently-hiring-a-psychologist-to-help-develop-future-games-and-its-storefront/
Valve, the studio behind Half Life: Alyx, Team Fortress 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is currently looking to hire one psychologist. As per a new listing posted on their official site, the developer is looking for a psychologist to join their team to help develop its future games and the STEAM storefront.
>> Maybe they'll be able to lose their fear for the number 3.

Outriders has been delayed to April 1st, free demo coming on February 25th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/outriders-has-been-delayed-to-april-1st-free-demo-coming-on-february-25th/
Square Enix has announced that Outriders has been delayed until April 1st. According to the statement, People Can Fly will use this extra time in order to further polish the game.
>> To April 1st? Really? Do I have to believe that?

Tomb Raider 10th Anniversary Edition Remake leaked online, available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/tomb-raider-10th-anniversary-edition-remake-leak-download/
Now here is something truly special. A build from the cancelled Tomb Raider Remake. Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary Edition, has been leaked online and you can download it.
From what we know so far, Core Desing was working on Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary Edition in 2005-6. As the title suggests, this was an official remake of the first Tomb Raider game from the original development team. The game was meant to come out before Tomb Raider Legend, however, it was cancelled in 2006.
You can download Tomb Raider 10th Anniversary Edition Remake from here. Do note that this leaked build is called “Indiana Jones”. In case you’re wondering, this Indiana Jones game was a re-skin version of the cancelled Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary Edition that Core Design was developing soon after it was cancelled.

Thursday news, part two:

Bloks is a cutesy god game by way of Tetris
https://www.pcgamer.com/bloks-is-a-cutesy-god-game-by-way-of-tetris/
Released over the new year, Bloks is an experiment from Dutch indie rascals Sokpop that builds a tiny god-game from the shape-dropping bones of Tetris. With each Tetronimo, you're building up a brand new world—from the sizzling molten core to the oxygen that'll hopefully fill the lungs of a new civilisation.

Pathologic studio's new game is an 'emotional' adventure about life in post-Soviet Russia
https://www.pcgamer.com/pathologic-studios-new-game-is-an-emotional-adventure-about-life-in-post-soviet-russia/
In July 2020, Pathologic developer Ice-Pick Lodge revealed a new project called Know By Heart, although as reveals go it was pretty minimal: Just the title, a single piece of art, and a bare-bones description of a game about a reunion of childhood friends in Russia that's "ruined by something beyond their control."
Last week, however, the studio dropped a new gameplay trailer, and a Steam page with a more detailed breakdown of what's in store.

Minecraft Earth is closing in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-earth-is-closing-in-june/
"Minecraft Earth was designed around free movement and collaborative play—two things that have become near impossible in the current global situation," Mojang announced today. "As a result, we have made the difficult decision to re-allocate our resources to other areas that provide value to the Minecraft community and to end support for Minecraft Earth in June 2021."

The Sinking City is returning to Steam and other storefronts, but the legal battle isn't over yet
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-sinking-city-returns-to-steam-but-the-legal-battle-isnt-over-yet/
The Sinking City is Sherlock Holmes by way of HP Lovecraft: A 1920s detective game set in a flooded, dilapidated fishing town built atop caverns filled with otherworldly horrors and madness. It wasn't great—"an occasionally entertaining detective game blighted by poor writing, rote combat, and a dreary open world" is how we summarized it in our 2019 review—but it resurfaced a year later in an unexpected way when it very suddenly disappeared from most digital storefronts.
Update: Shortly after sales of The Sinking City resumed on Steam, they were halted again: The listing is still present, but it can no longer be purchased. There's also still no sign of it on GOG, but it is now relisted and available for purchase on the Microsoft Store.

Everspace 2 comes to Steam and GOG on January 18
https://www.pcgamer.com/everspace-2-comes-to-steam-and-gog-on-january-18/
But with Cyberpunk now out of the way, and the pandemic clearly sticking around, Rockfish said today that Everspace 2 will finally make its big appearance on January 18. The initial Early Access release "will be good for at least 25 hours of gameplay," Rockfish said, with core gameplay mechanics in place and English voice acting for the first 12 hours of the campaign and several side missions.

Hitman 3's 'persistent shortcuts' will encourage exploration by making it easier to get around
https://www.pcgamer.com/hitman-3s-persistent-shortcuts-will-encourage-exploration-by-making-it-easier-to-get-around/
Your basic, bottom-line goal in the Hitman games is to kill people, but true mastery of the craft requires something more. It's all about panache: Yeah, your target is dead, but could he be dead in some cooler, more memorable way? As reported by Game Informer, the upcoming Hitman 3 will make it easier to indulge your taste for stylish assassination with a new system of "persistent shortcuts" that developer IO Interactive said is intended to "encourage exploration, reward curiosity, and incentivize replayability."

Sunlight is a hand-painted hike from the creator of Among The Sleep
https://www.pcgamer.com/sunlight-is-a-hand-painted-hike-from-the-creator-of-among-the-sleep/
Sometimes, after scaring yourself silly with a spooky game or flick, there's nothing better than decompressing with a bit of fresh air. Among The Sleep developers Krillbite must certainly think so at least, pivoting hard away from horror with Sunlight's woodland hike.

Dishonored co-creator Harvey Smith is working on a new project
https://www.pcgamer.com/dishonored-co-creator-harvey-smith-is-working-on-a-new-project/
Arkane Austin director Harvey Smith has confirmed he's working on an unannounced game alongside the Dishonored and Prey developers at Arkane Austin.

Call of Duty: Warzone has eaten Modern Warfare
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-warzone-has-eaten-modern-warfare/
Hey, where did Call of Duty: Modern Warfare go? You know, the one with Captain Price and Gunfight and all that? That was a great game—one of the best CoDs ever, even—but after December’s Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War Season 1 update that merged the game with Warzone, it disappeared from Battle.net.
Warzone ate it.

Call of Duty: Warzone's most annoying guns have finally been nerfed
https://www.pcgamer.com/cod-warzone-dmr-14-nerf-diamatti-mac-10/
Enjoy those overpowered DMR 14 loadouts while you can, because Call of Duty: Warzone's latest dominant gun is officially getting a nerf. Raven Software announced today over Twitter that Warzone's next major patch will target the rifle as well as a few other guns causing headaches across Verdansk—namely the MAC-10 SMG and commonly dual-wielded Diamatti pistols.
Update: Raven released the new Warzone balance patch this morning, detailing on Twitter how its most powerful weapons have been adjusted.
>> Even after the nerf, some players still think that it's OP.

CD Projekt says alleged developer post about Cyberpunk 2077's cut content is 'simply not true'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-says-alleged-developer-post-about-cyberpunk-2077s-cut-content-is-simply-not-true/
CD Projekt has officially denied statements from someone who claimed to be a Cyberpunk 2077 developer and said, among other things, that a major overhaul of the game is in the works and could be ready for release sometime in June. The supposed developer wrote that a significant chunk of the game's code has already been rewritten and that large portions of "cut content" will be returned.

Job listings suggest the next inXile game will be a first-person shooter RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/job-listings-suggest-the-next-inxile-game-will-be-a-first-person-shooter-rpg/
Last year inXile Entertainment released Wasteland 3, the latest in its series of turn-based isometric RPGs, and it was quite good. The studio is currently working on "wonderful new RPGs," as CEO Brian Fargo put it, clarifying that "our second RPG is in the infancy of pre-production."
Job listings unearthed by Twisted Voxel hint at what at least one of those RPGs will be like. A call for a lead gameplay engineer mentions the new hire will work on "the studio's next-generation action role-playing game", with "first person shooter gameplay features". The senior gameplay designer role calls for someone who can "understand the moment-to-moment gameplay loops of first-person shooters and RPGs", and mentions "powerful, tactile first-person weapons and unique combat abilities".

Apex Legends developer Respawn is working on a new project
https://www.pcgamer.com/apex-legends-developer-respawn-is-working-on-a-new-ip/
According to a now-deleted job posting, Respawn Entertainment is currently working on a new project. The link to the job listing takes you to a blank page with an error message, but the URL can confirm the EA-owned studio was seeking a 'generalist software engineer' for its 'new IP incubation team'. According to VG24/7, there wasn't much more said about the project, except a mention of 'new, practice technologies to enable 'adventuring forever.''

Biomutant is expected to launch within the next few months
https://www.pcgamer.com/biomutant-is-expected-to-launch-within-the-next-few-months/
Elusive martial-arts RPG Biomutant could be preparing for release within the next few months, according to publisher THQ Nordic.
Described as a "post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu fable", Biomutant is a shockingly ambitious open-world debut for developer Experiment 101. Last year's extended gameplay trailer was a rollercoaster of nonsense—open-world exploration, character introductions, boss fights, shootouts, and a fight between a massive fish and a mechanical squid. It was a lot.

Zachtronics turned a lockdown hobby into a free competitive card game
https://www.pcgamer.com/zachtronics-turned-a-lockdown-hobby-into-a-free-competitive-card-game/
Forget breadmaking or starting a podcast. After the global pandemic shut its studio doors, indie developer Zachtronics has turned the staff's favourite lockdown hobby into free-to-play card game Nerts! Online.

FIFA's Ultimate Team is a 'long way' from gambling, says former EA Sports president
https://www.pcgamer.com/fifas-ultimate-team-is-a-long-way-from-gambling-says-former-ea-sports-president/
Loot boxes and their place in games have been widely debated in recent years. EA in particular has taken the brunt of a lot of these criticisms, with Battlefront 2 receiving backlash for its extreme use of loot boxes. Another EA game to attract criticism and even some regulatory attention has been the FIFA series and its Ultimate Team mode. Some have likened loot boxes, including Ultimate Team, to gambling. But former EA Sports president Peter Moore doesn't think that's the case.

So gamersnexus put out a completly misleading video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCvE4JGJujk

In DMC5 FPS mode, the consoles runs at 4k upscale, not 1080p as he suggest. In dirt 5 digitalfoundry fps mode test, PS5 only drops fps slightly in 1 place, gamersnexus make look like it has terrible low frames.

Same happens in Borderlands 5, digitalfoundry shows just minor frame drops while gamersnexus tries to make it look like it has terrible minimun frames.

He didn't test Call of duty: cold war, which I'm certain both consoles would had beaten all the gpus he was testing, probably with big numbers in fps mode. Cold War has 120fps mode but he decided to skip that 1. Testing with cap frame rate doesn't work anyway as we don't know the real fps unlocked.

This again suggest his entire video was design to mislead.

ACER unveils 4K UHD 144Hz gaming monitors with HDMI 2.1

https://videocardz.com/press-release/acer-unveils-4k-uhd-144hz-gaming-monitors-with-hdmi-2-1

That 31 inch is certainly in the sweet spot of 4k monitors. Too bad it's still hella expensive, especially for HDR400

Meanwhile I'm sitting here with a 65" 4k120 OLED screen for a mere 2000. I hope the new TV offerings will do something about the ridiculous prices monitors have adopted.

Quit making me jelly T_T

Says the guy with a mythical GPU.

I find it amusing that you of all people take issue with Tech Jesus, but then again, you've been putting the PS5 in a better light than other desktop GPU's and basically putting AMD on the pedestal whenever it's against Nvidia, so I guess I shouldn't expect anything different with how you view GN.

I'm now actually wondering if you're here for PC gaming discussion, or you're here to just rabble on about console perf metrics on a PC board, to put down anything PC tech can do (because the way you post about AMD console tech suggests as much).

What's also a bit funny, is how you were basically using someone's video of WoW footage, that wasn't entirely concise and accurate, and Yuri pointed this out and established the inaccuracy of the test results, yet here you are decrying the test results of someone who's in a far better and more knowledgeable field than you are.

You know you can always start up your own YT channel and personally call out and challenge GN with your own findings, because I would very much love to see that happen.

Still doesn't make much sense putting in random tests with no logical resolution pickings as comparison. Plus comparing a GPU with performance around a RX 5700XT (probably moderatly faster) vs a 1060 and putting in CPU bound scenarios where the lower clocked one will likely fall behind is well.. yeah. Wound of been a more interesting comparison for new games like AC Valhalla or Cyberpunk but i think we all know what would happen there :P

Bit click-baity.. which is surprising coming from GN.