Yea but I think what the main implications of it if it passes is that it will change the console landscape forever as they will also be forced to use third party app payments and such. But yea, I doubt it will actually pass as that would be nuts.

AMD adds RDNA3 Navi 31 and Navi 33 GPUs to its ROCm dev tools

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-adds-rdna3-navi-31-and-navi-33-gpus-to-its-rocm-dev-tools#disqus_thread

Hopefully RDNA 3 will catch up to Lovelace in Ray Tracing. The Raster performance of both RDNA 3 and Lovelace should allow 4k 144hz gaming without much issues, especially with the higher end of the GPUs. But as the industry continues to move forward with Ray Tracing, spending the bucket loads of money that these upcoming GPUs will most likely cost with poor Ray Tracing performance may as well be a skip. Here's hoping RDNA 3 will be with in 10% of Lovelace in terms of Ray Tracing performance.

AMD’s latest RDNA2 drivers reduce YouTube 4K 60FPS playback power consumption

https://videocardz.com/newz/amds-latest-rdna2-drivers-reduce-youtube-4k-60fps-playback-power-consumption

Valve's Steam Deck ad:

Phil Spencer tried out the Steam Deck

Opinion Piece time!

Valve should make a Steam PC that's subsidized like the Steam Deck

PC gaming these days has become a luxury more so than anything else. No longer can you argue about the concept of Value vs consoles. It's a platform where if you want to play, you need to pay a very high entry fee and imo, that's not going away anytime soon. Crypto is coming back up in price and once again, it is becoming viable to mine. Software like Nicehash makes it so easy to mine these days that anyone with a half decent GPU can do it. And electricity is so cheap that most people in a lot of countries won't care. AMD and Nvidia (to a slightly lesser degree) has all but abandoned the budget market. Intel is still releasing budget CPUs that perform very well but if you can't pair it with a good GPU, it won't be very useful when trying to play AAA games

This is why if Valve or someone were to make a gaming PC that's subsidized to be budget friendly, I think it would sell like hotcakes. The problem with the old steam machines is that not only were they third party only, building a PC with a similar price point would more often than not be cheaper as companies marked up the branded PCs or kept the same pre-built PC premium back in those days. These days however, it's more often than not cheaper to get a Pre-built PC than a DIY PC. And the reasons are companies like AMD/Nvidia gives OEMs discounts that they don't give the DIY market and releases cheaper components exclusively for OEMs. As an example, Dell has a 5800 non X which performs very closely to 5800X but it's obviously cheaper but it's OEM only.

So if Valve were to make a budget friendly PC with Steam OS with great value as they would get the same OEM discount. I think it would work in a market where the pricing is this terrible and AMD/Nvidia is not leaving a lot of options.

My hope would be:

CPU: i5 11400
GPU: 3060 Ti
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB Gen 4

$700-$800

CPU: i3 10105F
GPU: 3060
RAM: 16GB
SSD: 512GB Gen 3

$500-$600

They absolutely can make their own gaming PC's, they just have to do it themselves and not rely heavily on third parties like they did with Steam Machines (where they were the ones being hands off and the third parties were the hands on).

If they can push both Steam deck and their own PC's, both using Steam OS, I think they would have a good shot in the arm for pushing Linux that bit more and becoming a more stable player in the field (unlike Google/Amazon, both of which have seemingly flopped with their endeavours). 

AMD Adrenalin 21.8.1 Driver Lowers 4K60 Playback Power Consumption For All RDNA 2 GPUs

https://wccftech.com/amd-adrenalin-21-8-1-lower-power-consumption-4k60-youtube-playback/


Alleged Intel Core i9-12900K shows up in BaseMark benchmark database

https://videocardz.com/newz/alleged-intel-core-i9-12900k-shows-up-in-basemark-benchmark-database

This holiday season is looking to be a bit interesting with Alder Lake S and 30 Super series of cards. Then early next year, we will get Zen 3 V-cache.


Some not so good news

NBMiner update unlocks up to 70% of NVIDIA RTX 30 LHR series mining performance

https://videocardz.com/newz/nbminer-update-unlocks-up-to-70-of-nvidia-rtx-30-lhr-series-mining-performance

I think we all knew that it was gonna stick for a limited time and it looks like people are starting to find ways around it.


Overwatch & League of Legends fans pay tribute to murdered voice actress Christiane Louise

https://www.dexerto.com/general/overwatch-league-of-legends-fans-pay-tribute-to-murdered-voice-actress-christiane-louise-1631619/?amp

Factor 5 Classics for free: http://www.factor5.com/downloads.shtml

Intel Introduces New High-Performance Graphics Brand: Intel Arc - scheduled for Q1 2022.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/newsroom/news/introducing-discrete-graphics-brand-intel-arc.html#gs.8j2cqp

Rooting for Intel here, hoping they'll break grounds in the GPU space. With Alderlake and DDR5 later this year and another player in the GPU market next, things in the PC space should get a lot more interesting.

Arc is sure a helluva better name than Xe-HPG.

Small teaser of games running on Arc.

The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Half-Life 2 community gets highest amount of concurrent players since literal records began
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/half-life-2-community-gets-highest-amount-of-concurrent-players-since-literal-records-began/
In an event called "Breaking the Bar", the Half-Life community decided to rally together and get as many concurrent players together as possible. The rules were simple: starting at 3pm UTC, everyone who wanted to take part simply had to run (and ideally play) Half-Life 2, while prominent streamers would be playing the game to raise attention. The reasoning is maybe a little more ambiguous, but sometimes you simply have to rally behind something—and they did it, hitting a peak of 16,101 concurrent players at exactly 3.30pm, with an additional 8,630 viewers on Twitch.
>> I'm going to guess that there were more than 16K simultaneous players back when the game launched.

Oh hell yeah, get almost all the Jackbox games for $20
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/oh-hell-yeah-get-almost-all-the-jackbox-games-for-dollar20/
No one seems to be able to agree on the best Jackbox Party Pack. Each collection has at least one gem (and at least one stinker). (...)
(...) The point is, it's really hard to recommend one Jackbox game to buy, so this Humble Bundle is a real treat—I can just say buy 'em all.
The 18-item Jackbox Summer Party Bundle contains six Jackbox Party Packs for $20, which is a steal considering they typically sell for $25 or $30 each. It also includes a bunch of You Don't Know Jack trivia games and the Jackbox spin-off games Drawful 2, Fibbage XL, and Quiplash. The final item is a 40% off coupon for the most recent Party Pack 7.
>> Besides this bundle, that will be available from another 11 days, there are 5 more sales at the Humble Store:

• The Goblinz Publishers Sale brings up to 75% discounts during the next 4 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/goblinz-publishing-sale/
• The Iceberg Interactive Publisher Sale comes with up to 80% discounts during the next 4 days. All the keys are for Steam, except for one that also for GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/iceberg-interactive-publisher-sale/
• The Co-op Sale brings up to 90% discounts during the next 4 days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/coop-sale/
• Publisher Herocraft puts its games up to 90% off during the next 4 days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/herocraft-publisher-sale/
• And Fellow Travelers puts its games also 90% off during the next 4 days. The keys are for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/fellow-traveller-publisher-sale/

GOG has three sales for us:

• There's a Special GOG Mix Sale with games for every taste up to 90% off during the next 3 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20210816_gog_mix
• There's a Special Sale with publisher Sekai Project, with up to 80% discounts: https://www.gog.com/promo/sekai_project_sale
• And the QuakeCon Sale and its up to 85% discounts will another 7 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/quakecon_2021

Steam has two new daily deals:

• The Early Access title Roboquest is 30% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/692890/Roboquest/
• And Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition is 70% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1042550/Digimon_Story_Cyber_Sleuth_Complete_Edition/

And Fanatical has a new deal:

• The new Star Deal is Unrailed, 70% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/unrailed
• Also, the Summer Sale enters its Encore mode, meaning that it's about to end. Here you'll find the top picks you can still get: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/summer-sale-encore-last-chance-save-red-hot-game-deals

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Security flaw for unlimited Steam Wallet funds found, fixed
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/security-flaw-for-unlimited-steam-wallet-funds-found-fixed/
With the help of a security researcher, Valve has found and fixed an exploit that would have allowed a user to falsify the value of deposits to their Steam wallet. The exploit worked by—for example—turning a $1 deposit into a $100 deposit. It was accomplished by changing the account's email address to one including "amount100," then intercepting a message to a payment company API.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Final version of the AI-upscaled HD Texture Pack for Grand Theft Auto San Andreas released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/final-version-of-the-ai-upscaled-hd-texture-pack-for-grand-theft-auto-san-andreas-released/
Back in July, we informed you about an AI-upscaled HD Texture Pack for Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Created by modder ‘flyaway888’, this pack aimed to overhaul all of the game’s textures. And today, we are happy to report that its final version is available for download. This final version comes with enhanced and more detailed textures, as well as more illuminated textures for better definition. It also raises the digital
>> Available from ModDB.

Next Crysis Enhanced Edition Update will improve graphics, new screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/next-crysis-enhanced-edition-update-will-improve-graphics-new-screenshots/
The team behind one of the best graphical mods for the original Crysis, Crysis Enhanced Edition, has detailed its next update. In addition, the team has shared some new screenshots that you can view below.
According to the team, its next big update aims to “make the visuals reach another step forward. ” This update will come with reworked TOD on almost every map, as well as thousands of extremely high-quality decals placed on almost every map (to bring more variety and life).

Here's some sick Doom armor modded into Fallout 4
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/heres-some-sick-doom-armor-modded-into-fallout-4/
If you want to do some Bethesda crossover cosplay in Fallout 4, or just want to look like a complete badass, now you can rip and tear your way through the Commonweath dressed as Doomguy. Hell, yeah.
I guess we're actually supposed to call him The Slayer or Doom Slayer these days, but to me he's always been Doomguy, and this Doom Guy armor set by modder AthenaX looks fantastic, especially when paired with a big ol' shotgun. Those mole rats aren't gonna know what hit 'em.

GAMING NEWS

PC classic Blade of Darkness to be re-released in October, won’t have any graphical enhancements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pc-classic-blade-of-darkness-to-be-re-released-in-october-wont-have-any-graphical-enhancements/
SNEG has announced that the action-adventure classic, Blade of Darkness, will make its way to PC via Steam and GOG.com this October.
(...)
This updated version will support widescreen monitors and up to 4K resolution. It will also have new display settings, and stability improvements. And… well… that’s it. Don’t expect any Ray Tracing effects or new HD textures.

First gameplay footage for Abandoned will surprise you, and it’s not Metal Gear Solid or Silent Hill
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-footage-for-abandoned-is-a-5-seconds-gif/
Abandoned is the gift that keeps on giving. After numerous delays, Blue Box Game Studios issued a patch for Abandoned that introduces a… 5 seconds GIF. And that’s it.
>> I'm starting to get tired of this game and what they're doing to promote it. I may very well stop posting anything about it until they actually show a proper trailer or gameplay from it.

Nightdive Studios has announced Powerslave: Exhumed HD Remaster
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nightdive-studios-has-announced-powerslave-exhumed-hd-remaster/
In 2018, we informed you about Nightdive Studios trademarking Powerslave: Exhumed. And today, the team announced that an HD Remaster of this classic FPS game is currently in development.
>> There's a video showcasing the improvements.

Compound Fracture is a retro first-person “Dino Crisis” game
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/compound-fracture-is-a-retro-first-person-dino-crisis-game/
Iteria Games has released the debut trailer for its upcoming action survival horror game, Compound Fracture. Compound Fracture is basically a first-person game that is heavily inspired by the classic Capcom game, Dino Crisis.
>> They say retro because it looks like a late PS1 or early PS2 game, with a 4:3 screen ratio and all that.

CULTIC is a new FPS inspired by Blood, and you can download its demo now
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cultic-is-a-new-fps-inspired-by-blood-and-you-can-download-its-demo-now/
During its Realms Deep 2021 event, 3D Realms revealed a new retro FPS that is heavily inspired by Blood, CULTIC. Created by Jason Smith, CULTIC looks and feels similar to Monolith’s Blood, and you can download its demo right now.
>> You'll find the demo at Steam.

3D Realms has shown over 80 game trailers and you can watch them below
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/3d-realms-has-shown-over-80-game-trailers-and-you-can-watch-them-below/
3D Realms has shown over 80 game trailers during its Realms Deep 2021 event. This event lasted 4 hours, during which 3D Realms has bombarded us with lots of game trailers. So, instead of sharing 80 videos in one article, we’ve decided to share the entire event.

BloodRayne Betrayal Remaster slightly delayed, releases on September 9th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bloodrayne-betrayal-remaster-slightly-delayed-releases-on-september-9th/
Ziggurat Interactive has announced that the BloodRayne Betrayal Remaster, BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites, will release on September 9th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

Agony-spinoff, SUCCUBUS, delayed until October 5th, gets story trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/agony-spinoff-succubus-delayed-until-october-5th-gets-story-trailer/
Madmind Studio has announced that its Agony-spinoff, SUCCUBUS, has been delayed until October 5th. The game was originally targeting a July 21st release date. Moreover, the team released a new story trailer that you can find below.

Monday news, part two:

The Steam reviews for Lawn Mowing Simulator are revealing very strong feelings about lawn mowing
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/lawn-mowing-simulator-steam-reviewers-have-strong-opinions-about-lawn-mowing/
Lawn Mowing Simulator is a game about mowing lawns. Andy Kelly found a demo if it to be surprisingly soothing and meditative. I haven't played it myself, but I have found a window into the souls of those who have: the Steam reviews.

Firaxis is looking for a narrative lead with a 'knowledge and passion for world history'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/firaxis-are-looking-for-a-narrative-lead-with-a-knowledge-and-passion-for-world-history/
Firaxis Games, best known for making the Civilization series and XCOM, are currently looking for a slew of new hires—including, perhaps tellingly, a narrative lead with a "knowledge and passion for world history". The listing doesn't mention which game it would be for, only that it would for the studio's "next AAA strategy title". In addition to the narrative lead, Firaxis is also looking for several artists and programmers.

Skate across a burning city for love in Fire Tonight
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/skate-across-a-burning-city-for-love-in-fire-tonight/
It is the year 1990, before mobile phones or internet, and when a fire brings down the phone line between Maya and Devin, there's only one solution: rollerskates. Also the less retro transportation methods of 'car' and 'train', but either way, Maya sets out across the burning city to be with her person. It is also now, that Fire Tonight, the narrative puzzler about reuniting this couple, is out.

Boyfriend Dungeon will update with 'more accurate' content warning about stalking
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/boyfriend-dungeon-will-update-with-more-accurate-content-warning-about-stalking/
Boyfriend Dungeon is about dating and dungeon crawling with swords... that are also people. It had a surprise release on the 11th of August, and despite its goofy premise on the surface, its story explores some sensitive themes, as Rachel noted in her preview: "Dating for many women and queer folk in general is, unfortunately, a huge risk, and meeting in public, having a friend on hand, and checking out the place are just some of the many safety tips used when meeting dates the first time. For a game about smooching sharp weapons, it's great to see Boyfriend Dungeon acknowledge that."

Ladies speedrun for charity in Flame Fatales, kicking off August 15th
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ladies-speedrun-for-charity-in-flame-fatales-kicking-off-august-15th/
The year's next Games Done Quick speedrunning event starts tomorrow, August 15th: Flame Fatales is GDQ's annual all-women charity event, where a team of select speedrunners go as fast as they can in their choice titles for charity donations. This year's Flame Fatales event benefits The Malala Fund, which works for a world where all girls can get a secondary education.

EA might ban beta leakers from Battlefield 2042 after release
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ea-might-ban-beta-leakers-from-battlefield-2042-after-release/
With Battlefield 2042 having kicked off its limited beta testing this week, which EA is billing as a "technical preview," a number of videos, streamed segments, and screenshots began to show up online. The people who are in this beta, however, signed an NDA saying they won't share details or videos of the game. EA has now warned those folks that they may find themselves not just booted from the test, but kicked out of the game entirely, forever.
>> l.o.l.

A possible Alan Wake 2 is now in "full production"
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-possible-alan-wake-2-is-now-in-full-production/
Remedy has confirmed that their unannounced game project alongside Epic Games "has moved into full production." This is the game that some believe to be Alan Wake 2, following Remedy's reacquisition of Alan Wake in 2019 and announcement last year that the next game in the "Remedy Connected Universe" was already in the works. Remedy said in the same message to investors that they are still in "full production mode" on their second, smaller-scale unannounced game.
>> I'll be honest here: if this news had come out 5 years ago, I'd be *very* excited. But it's been 11 years since the game launched and it will take what, another two until this one releases? Yeah, thanks but it's too late for me, I've already moved on.

John Romero is making Sigil 2, but he's using Doom 2 this time
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/john-romero-is-making-sigil-2-but-hes-using-doom-2-this-time/
Doom creator John Romero is returning to Doom, again, with a sequel to his 2019 expansion mod Sigil. The appropriately named Sigil 2 will be released for Doom 2, taking an appropriate step forward along the Doom timeline to the next game. Sigil 2 doesn't yet have a release date, and it doesn't have a lot of development done either, but I wouldn't' despair of ever seeing it. Romero's been making games for most of his life. He'd be insane to stop now.

Upcoming immersive sim Core Decay's getting a demo this year
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/upcoming-immersive-sim-core-decays-getting-a-demo-this-year/
Here's another titbit of info from this year's Realms Deep event, the digital showcase of retro shooters and the like coming from 3D Realms. Core Decay, an upcoming Shocklike (which is to say, a stealth-action FPS with some RPG elements) being made by Ivar Hill and Slipgate Ironworks, has a new trailer and will have a demo out this year.

There's a scythe that cuts reality in Amid Evil's expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/theres-a-scythe-that-cuts-reality-in-amid-evils-expansion/
(...)
The Black Labyrinth will serve as a prequel to Amid Evil, containing new levels, new enemies, and new weapons as well as "new Andrew Hulshult placeholder music". [Note: Dave Oshry contacted us to clarify that, of course, that's just a joke, saying, "The music is definitely not a placeholder in actuality, heh."] The trailer shows a scythe thing that can shoot a row of purple energy blasts or just slice open reality and strand enemies in the void. I guess if your base game comes with a staff that shoots planets you need to go large for the DLC. There's also a pair of spiked gauntlets. I figure they'll probably let you punch enemies through time so a dinosaur eats them or something.

Looks like Pinhead from Hellraiser is coming to Dead By Daylight
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/looks-like-pinhead-from-hellraiser-is-coming-to-dead-by-daylight/
(...)

Hints about who the next killer would be included audio files posted to Discord that revealed the word HELL via spectrogram, and letters posted to Twitter that spelled out RAISE. Then came a teaser video showing a fuzzy VHS recording of a red flower blossoming (as seen when the Cenobites are summoned in Hellraiser) and the number 1987, the year Hellraiser was released.

Man arrested after Overwatch and Halo voice actor murdered in Brazil
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/man-arrested-after-overwatch-and-halo-voice-actor-murdered-in-brazil/
A man has been arrested by Brazilian police on suspicion of the murder of Christiane Louise, a Brazilian voice actor whose career included such roles as Mercy in Overwatch and Cortana in Halo. Christiane Louise was 49 years old, and her death was announced on August 6 by fellow voice actor Mário Tupinambá Filho on Instagram.
>> D.E.P.

Streamer gets blown backwards into a huge new Metal Gear Solid glitch
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/streamer-gets-blown-backwards-into-a-huge-new-metal-gear-solid-glitch/
A streamer called Boba was having a merry old time playing Metal Gear Solid a few days ago, when along came one of the game's guards and shot Solid Snake—whose model recoiled backwards, and glitched into a sequence skip that will rewrite the rules for this time-honoured classic. Well OK, maybe not all the rules, but the minutes it can save you certainly have the speedrunners thrilled.