The news, part 2:

Todd Howard has been trying to make an Indiana Jones game since 2009
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/todd-howard-has-been-trying-to-make-an-indiana-jones-game-since-2009/
At the start of the year, Bethesda made a surprise announcement: Machine Games, the studio behind the recent Wolfenstein games, would be taking on Indiana Jones in a brand new, whip-swinging adventure. But while this news came somewhat out of nowhere, it sounds like Todd Howard has been jonesing to made an Indiana Jones game for some time.

Magic: Legends is closing down permanently in October
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/magic-legends-is-closing-down-permanently-in-october/
After a tumultuous and largely disappointing open beta, action RPG Magic: Legends will be shutting down permanently on October 31, 2021. In an announcement posted on the game's official Twitter account, executive producer Steve Ricossa said that the Magic: The Gathering RPG "missed the mark" and that its planned Steam and console versions are now cancelled. Players who spent money on Magic: Legends' microtransactions will be receiving a full refund, whether they paid through the Epic Games Store or the Arc launcher.

Remedy is working on a new, 'bigger budget' Control game and multiplayer spinoff
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/remedy-is-working-on-a-new-bigger-budget-control-game-and-multiplayer-spinoff/
If you've ever thought to yourself that what the hit third-person shooter Control really needs is a co-op multiplayer mode, you'll be very excited to hear that one is on the way. Remedy announced today that it's signed a deal with publisher 505 Games to develop a new four-player PvE spinoff of Control, codenamed Condor.

World of Warcraft's long-awaited 9.1 update, Chains of Domination, is now live
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/world-of-warcrafts-long-awaited-91-update-chains-of-domination-is-now-live/
After waiting a staggeringly long time, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands' first major update is now live. Yup, after 218 days (the longest stretch between an expansion launch and its x.1 patch in WoW history), Chains of Domination is finally here.

Apex Legends' trios briefly doubled in size this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/apex-legends-trios-briefly-doubled-in-size-this-week/
A misconfigured server setting briefly saw Apex Legends' team sizes bumped up to five at the start of this week's Genesis Collection Event—and while Respawn was quick to patch the issue, the developer hasn't written off trying larger squads properly in the future.

The ugliest Final Fantasy games are vanishing from Steam next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-ugliest-final-fantasy-games-are-vanishing-from-steam-next-month/
Looks like Final Fantasy 5 and Final Fantasy 6 will be vanishing from Steam next month to make way for the upcoming Pixel Remaster versions.
Both games now have "(Old ver.)" tacked onto the end of them, with a note in the description that reads "this game will no longer be available for purchase after July 27, 2021. Instead, please purchase the pixelated remaster version," (thanks, Kotaku).
>> They're not part of the Summer Sale, in case you were thinking about getting them before it's too late.

Dynamic refresh rate – Get the best of both worlds

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/dynamic-refresh-rate/

Pretty big news for laptop users as lower refresh rate on battery can dramatically improve the battery life.


AMD Radeon RX 6700M appears in 3DMark leak as RX 6700 XT

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-6700m-appears-in-3dmark-leak-as-rx-6700-xt



Colorful’s ultra-premium $4,999 iGame RTX 3090 KUDAN graphics card taken apart and tested

https://videocardz.com/newz/colorfuls-ultra-premium-4999-igame-rtx-3090-kudan-graphics-card-taken-apart-and-tested




Killer 18 games bundle is pretty good

https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/killer-bundle-18

Too bad I have those games already on GOG, otherwise it would really be a great bundle, true

https://www.reddit.com/r/AtariVCS/comments/o8fffd/the_vcs_can_run_windows_11/

I'm baffled by what what Square Enix is doing with the 2D Final Fantasy games. They're replacing the atrocious FFV and FFVI releases with... what seems to be other atrocious ports, judging by the screenshots from the first games. I mean, if you though the font choice in the previous FFVI was bad, have you seen what they're doing now? Who could possibly have though the font choice to be a good one? I hope the ports are salvageable at least otherwise. I'm also really glad I never got the previous FFVI release, because it's not salvageable and it doesn't seem to be getting the new release as a free update either. Pay twice for lazy ports of the same decades old game? Am I glad to not be in that position...

Yea SE can be very facepalm sometimes. Luckily we have emulators and modders so we can make our own remasters... With blackjacks and hookers!

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Fanatical has two new Flash Deals:

• Conan Exiles is 74% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/conan-exiles
• And SteamWorld Dig 2 is 75% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/steam-world-dig-2

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.6.2 adds support for Doom Eternal’s Vulkan Ray Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-21-6-2-doom-eternal-vulkan-ray-tracing/
AMD has released a brand new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.6.2 driver adds official support for Doom Eternal’s Vulkan Ray Tracing.
Additionally, this new driver also adds support for three new Vulkan extensions. Not only that, but it fixes some visual artifacts that occurred in MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries.
>> Available from here.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

New Valheim mods add bears, lockable doors, airships, runestones & more
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/new-valheim-mods-add-bears-lockable-doors-airships-runestones-more/
The modding community of Valheim has released some pretty cool mods for it. Below you can find mods that add bears to the game, as well as lockable doors, airships, runestones, sleeping bags and more.
>> There are 7 new mods in the article, all from Nexus Mods.

Goldeneye 64 remake maps in Far Cry 5 are available again with a different name
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/goldeneye-64-remake-maps-in-far-cry-5-are-available-again-with-a-different-name/
A few days ago, Ubisoft and MGM took down the GoldenEye 64 fan remake maps for Far Cry 5. Thankfully, though, these maps are once again available online under a different name.
Titled Golden Cry, these maps are the previous remakes of all the Goldeneye 64 maps with some tweaks. From the looks of it, Krollywood removed a couple of things related to James Bond. My guess is that Krollywood removed names and references to the Bond franchise. And, to be honest, this is a clever way to resolve the copyright claim.

Grand Theft Auto 5 Mod adds support for AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/grand-theft-auto-5-mod-adds-support-for-amds-fidelityfx-super-resolution/
Now here is a pleasant surprise. Modder ‘NarutoUA’ has just released a mod that replaces GTA 5’s upscaler with AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution. As such, both AMD and NVIDIA gamers can now enjoy GTA 5 with this new upscaling technique.
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution is a technique that allows the game to render at a lower resolution and then upscale the results with improved image quality.
This mod supports all FSR Modes. Thus, you can use Performance, Balance, Quality and Ultra Quality Modes. From all of these, the best one is obviously the Ultra Quality Mode which runs the game at a 0.883X scaling mode.
>> You can grab it at GitHub.

The coolest sword ever has been forged, and it's a mod for this VR sword fighting game
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-coolest-sword-ever-has-been-forged-and-its-a-mod-for-this-vr-sword-fighting-game/
Hey, nice sword you've got there. What is it, one long sharp piece of metal? Hm, I guess that's cool. It doesn't turn into a bunch of smaller shards that hover in the air and then reform themselves back into one long, deadly blade at your command, though, huh? You can't turn those shards into a circle of snarling metal teeth and send them spraying into an enemy like a damn flak cannon? You can't enchant it with fire and turn it into a flamethrower, either?
Too bad. Then your sword, nice as it might be, just isn't as cool as the coolest videogame sword ever made, which is called Shatterblade.
Shatterblade is a mod for VR swordplay sim Blade & Sorcery, and it's just straight up the most awesome sword I've ever seen in a game. The sword consists of fifteen shards that, when connected, form a perfectly deadly and cool looking sword. But the magic happens when those shards disconnect, as you can see in this video tutorial from the mod's creator.

GAMING NEWS

Hood: Outlaws & Legends Patch 1.6 brings balance tweaks & general fixes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/hood-outlaws-legends-patch-1-6-brings-balance-tweaks-general-fixes/
Sumo Digital released a new update for Hood: Outlaws & Legends. According to the release notes, Update 1.6 brings numerous balance tweaks and general fixes.

Microsoft Flight Simulator will receive a MASSIVE performance boost on July 27th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/microsoft-flight-simulator-will-receive-a-massive-performance-boost-on-july-27th/
Microsoft Flight Simulator is one of the most demanding PC games to date. And from the looks of it, its next major update will significantly improve performance on all PC systems.

Final Fantasy I, II and III HD Remasters are coming to PC on July 28th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/final-fantasy-i-ii-and-iii-hd-remasters-are-coming-to-pc-on-july-28th/
Square Enix announced today that the HD Remasters of Final Fantasy I, II and III will be coming to PC on July 28th. As the press release reads, the pixel remaster series brings all the magic of the originals combined with quality-of-life upgrades while staying faithful to the retro design of these masterpieces.

Part two of the news:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's elusive new maps are back for good
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-duty-modern-warfares-elusive-new-maps-are-back-for-good/
Back in March, Activision pulled a fast one on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare players by adding two new maps, Al-Raab Airbase and Drainage, in a surprise update—before pulling them a week later. Well now they're back, and the publisher is confident they're here to stay.

Former Dragon Age chief Mark Darrah says 'you are wrong' about game piracy
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/former-dragon-age-chief-mark-darrah-says-you-are-wrong-about-game-piracy/
Mark Darrah spent nearly a quarter century at BioWare in a career that saw him rise from a programmer on Baldur's Gate to the executive producer of the Dragon Age series. He left the studio at the end of 2020, shortly after which he launched his own YouTube channel, where he shares videos on everything ranging from old game swag to console certification processes and business models.
In his latest video, Darrah takes on the timeless topic of videogame piracy.

Blizzard is trying to make Diablo 4 characters look cool while keeping them 'grounded in reality'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/blizzard-is-trying-to-make-diablo-4-characters-look-cool-while-keeping-them-grounded-in-reality/
A new Diablo 4 quarterly update takes a deep dive into the graphical side of the game, with art director John Mueller, lead character artist Arnaud Kotelnikoff, and associate art director Nick Chilano sharing insights into their stylistic goals and the ways they went about achieving them.

People are really pissed at Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster's ugly fonts
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/people-are-really-pissed-at-final-fantasy-pixel-remasters-ugly-fonts/
(...)
Today, we got a good look at the new art style and it's very much improved and looks suitably pixelated. But my god, just look at how awful the font is!
Aside from the fact that it clashes entirely with the new pixel art look, it's also just ugly and does nothing to evoke the high fantasy drama this series is beloved for. It looks especially hideous in dialogue boxes, where words are bafflingly squished together, leaving enormous chunks of empty space.
>> Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of people that think the same as you, Zkuq.

Call of Duty 2021 may have appeared on Battle.net under the name 'Slipstream'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-duty-2021-may-have-appeared-on-battlenet-under-the-name-slipstream/
It's about the time of year when we should be learning more about the next Call of Duty game, and a new leak from the depths of Battle.net itself may point to an upcoming announcement. An encrypted build for what might be the next CoD recently appeared on the client under the codename "Slipstream."

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous dev diary shows off huge home base
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/pathfinder-wrath-of-the-righteous-dev-diary-shows-off-huge-home-base/
The latest Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous developer diary gives us an update on how things are coming along with the RPG where you can become an angel and ride a velociraptor into battle. It's all about the fortress-city of Drezen, "the biggest fantasy fortress we've ever built", as Owlcat Games' video puts it.

Tencent wants to make the 'next great PC RTS'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/tencent-wants-to-make-the-next-great-pc-rts/
Colossal Chinese publisher Tencent has founded a new studio with the modest goal of creating the next StarCraft—so naturally, it's brought on two former Blizzard developers to make it happen.

Build wonky robots and throw them across Mars next year
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/build-wonky-robots-and-throw-them-across-mars-next-year/
There are plenty of games out there that'll let you build janky contraptions out of bits and bobs. But I don't think any have done it with as much style as Aussie developer Ian MacLarty's upcoming extra-terrestrial delivery sandbox Mars First Logistics.

Hunt: Showdown's janky hit registration is getting better, says Crytek
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hunt-showdowns-janky-hit-registration-is-getting-better-says-crytek/
Crytek says its fixes for Hunt: Showdown's janky hit registrations have been "a big improvement."
The underrated battle royale has long suffered from frustrating hit registration, particularly in close-quarters combat. Numerous Reddit and Steam posts over the years have pointed out how shots aren't recognised, even when blood splatter animations are played to indicate a hit.

Microsoft Introduces an Improved Update Process for Windows 11 – OS Will Show You How Long Restarts Will Take

https://wccftech.com/microsoft-introduces-an-improved-windows-11-update-process/



Wait a second... Thoughtful improvements to Windows? Impossibru!



NVIDIA preparing Ultra Quality mode for DLSS, 2.2.9.0 version spotted

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-preparing-ultra-quality-mode-for-dlss-2-2-9-0-version-spotted

Since Quality mode with DLSS can look better than Native in some cases, Ultra quality mode should be interesting.



Alleged AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT leaks in a new render

https://videocardz.com/newz/alleged-amd-radeon-rx-6600-xt-leaks-in-a-new-render





I am assuming this will sit between a 3060 and 3060 Ti. I doubt it will be fast enough to be a direct competitor to a 3060 Ti as the 3060 Ti can perform closely to a 6700 XT. But we will see what happens.



Gigabyte announces AORUS XTREME PCIe4 AIC SSD with up to 32TB capacity and 28 GB/s bandwidth

https://videocardz.com/press-release/gigabyte-announces-aorus-xtreme-pcie4-aic-ssd-with-up-to-32tb-capacity-and-28-gb-s-bandwidth

Sony Acquires Dutch PC Porting Specialist Nixxes; To Provide HQ In-house Tech & Dev Capabilities for PlayStation Studios

https://wccftech.com/sony-acquires-nixxes-playstation-studios/

There is already a thread about it but it is interesting. Sounds like Sony might want to ramp up their ports!

Also, there's tons of GPUs in stock in Japan!

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/obhsn3/what_shortage_not_in_japan_apparently/

We are also getting quite a lot of GPUs in stock in Canada. As an example, with the 6800 XT:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/obgn0f/stock_for_amd_gpus_in_canada_is_great_available/

The prices are still quite bad but this is a good sign none the less!