Ubisoft fixes Might and Magic 10 DRM mess, it's back on sale with bonus DLC
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-fixes-might-and-magic-10-drm-mess-its-back-on-sale-with-bonus-dlc/
On June 1, Ubisoft pulled the plug on servers for Might and Magic 10 – Legacy, which had the unexpected side effect of rendering the game unplayable. This seemed to catch Ubisoft by surprise: After "investigating the reported issues" after they first began to surface, it elected to remove the game from sale completely while it tried to come up with a solution.

Thanks for the news, Rhonin. Here come some more:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam has two new deals:

• Publisher Akupara Games puts its games up to 90% off until October 26: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/akuparapublishersale
• And HUNTDOWN will be 50% off until the 27th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/598550/HUNTDOWN/

The guys at Humble Bundle has a new deal: the Fighting Juggernauts Bundle features up to 9 games to get during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/fighting-juggernauts-bundle.

Fanatical has three new deals:

• Surprisingly (because the last one should have lasted 48 hours, there's a new Star Deal: Jurassic World Evolution, 76% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/jurassic-world-evolution
• Focus Home Interactive puts its games up to 83% off. Be careful, not all deals will last the same: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/focus-home-interactive
• And the new Indie Legends Bundle XI comes with 7 games and will last 13 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/indie-legends-bundle-xi

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Nothing as well-

GAMING NEWS

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen delayed, will now release in Q2 2022
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-witcher-3-next-gen-delayed-will-now-release-in-q2-2022/
Earlier this week, PEGI rated The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for next-gen platforms. However, it appears that this updated version will not come out soon. CD Projekt RED has issued a new statement, claiming that The Witcher 3 Next-Gen will release in Q2 2022.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Ray Tracing PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/marvels-guardians-of-the-galaxy-ray-tracing-pc-requirements/
NVIDIA has just revealed the official Ray Tracing PC requirements for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. As we’ve already reported, the game will support ray-traced reflections, exclusively on PC. Moreover, it will support NVIDIA’s DLSS tech.

Here are 8 minutes of new gameplay footage from Saints Row
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-8-minutes-of-new-gameplay-footage-from-saints-row/
GameInformer has released a new video, showcasing 8 minutes of gameplay footage from the new Saints Row game. This video packs pre-alpha gameplay footage, and it’s not representative of the final product. Still, it can give you an idea of what you can expect from it.
>> Well, at least this video doesn't make the game look worse.

Crysis 2 Remastered Update fixes GPU memory leak, Crysis 3 Remastered Patch resolves performance bug on AMD GPUs
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/crysis-2-remastered-update-fixes-gpu-memory-leak-crysis-3-remastered-patch-resolves-performance-bug-on-amd-gpus/
Crytek has released the first post-launch patches for Crysis 2 Remastered and Crysis 3 Remastered. According to the team, the update for C2R fixes a potential GPU memory leak. My guess is that this memory leak is the one we mentioned in our PC Performance Analysis article. On the other hand, the patch for C3R resolves a performance bug on AMD GPUs.

Halo Infinite will support Ray Tracing, gets new PC overview trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/halo-infinite-will-support-ray-tracing-gets-new-pc-overview-trailer/
343 Industries has announced that it will add Ray Tracing effects to Halo: Infinite. However, these Ray Tracing effects won’t be available at launch. Instead, the team will be working closely with AMD in order to implement them after the game’s release. In addition, 343 Industries released a new PC trailer that you can find below.

Thursday news, part two:

Blizzard renames WoW character based on musician who made homophobic remarks
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/blizzard-renames-wow-character-based-on-musician-who-made-homophobic-remarks/
Blizzard is renaming another World of Warcraft character, following the re-emergence of homophobic comments made by its real-life inspiration.
Gorge the Corpsegrinder was added back in 2008 as a nod to Cannibal Corpse vocalist George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher (thanks, Metal Hammer). The artist was a self-proclaimed "pathetic nerd" for WoW, talking in length about his passion for the game and his Horde characters in a 2007 interview. But things took a turn when Fisher began ranting about his hatred for the Alliance, using homophobic slurs and telling those who play the faction to kill themselves.

30,000 FIFA cheaters whacked with retrospective red cards
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/30000-fifa-cheaters-whacked-with-retrospective-red-cards/
Last week EA noticed an exploit in FUT Champions, probably due to a semi-viral TikTok video, which allowed players to exit losing matches without the loss being counted. The developer patched the issue quickly, saying "we resolved an issue in FUT Champions that could allow players to leave a match without suffering a loss," but adding the warning that "we are identifying players that exploited this issue and will be following up with them directly."

Bungie says next year's Destiny 2 dungeons won't be included in the season pass, and some players aren't happy
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bungie-says-next-years-destiny-2-dungeons-wont-be-included-in-the-season-pass-and-some-players-arent-happy/
Bungie has confirmed that the two Destiny 2 dungeons planned for release in 2022 will not be included in their respective season passes, and will instead be sold separately. Traditionally, season passes have been the source of most new content released between expansions, usually in the form of new seasonal activities and exotic missions. Some players thought, as a result, that the new dungeons would follow this trend. It turns out that's not the case.

Starfield's new trailer reveals the 'Settled Systems' and its factions
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/starfield-settled-systems-trailer/
A new trailer for Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield has landed, giving us a quick crash course in the game's setting—a "small pocket of the Milky Way" called the Settled Systems—and the factions who make it an interesting place to live.

This Tomb Raider survival horror prototype almost became the 2013 reboot
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/this-tomb-raider-survival-horror-prototype-almost-became-the-2013-reboot/
When Lara Croft got her origin story reboot in 2013, Crystal Dynamics took her through a story that definitely put her survival to the test. Before landing there though, Lara nearly wound up in a proper survival horror game.

Blizzard boss draws heat for raid boosting, which many players hate
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/blizzard-boss-draws-heat-for-raid-boosting-which-many-players-hate/
Blizzard co-chief Mike Ybarra caused a stir among World of Warcraft players over the weekend when he tweeted about a "heroic SoD [Sanctum of Domination] sales run" he'd be taking part in with his guild. To non-WoW players it's a fairly innocuous invitation to come and watch, but the "sales run" reference is actually an offer to carry other, under-qualified players through the high-end raid in exchange for in-game gold, a practice known as "raid boosting."

Bloodsucker Anti-Terror Squad is a sidescroller that asks 'What if G.I. Joe were vampires?'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bloodsucker-anti-terror-squad-is-a-sidescroller-that-asks-what-if-gi-joe-were-vampires/
Action sidescroller BATS—which stands for Bloodsucker Anti-Terror Squad—answers a question everyone has been asking for years: What if G.I. Joe was composed entirely of vampires?

Star Citizen players are running around giving each other drug overdoses
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/star-citizen-players-are-running-around-giving-each-other-drug-overdoses/
Star Citizen is like EVE Online in one way: It's fascinating to see what elements of the playerbase are getting up to in this semi-functioning, half-built galaxy. The game is infamous for its business model of expensive virtual spaceships that don't yet exist (I'm honestly surprised we haven't had Star Citizen NFTs yet), but those who believe in it do so with a passion and make the best of what there currently is. Or, in the case of the recently added med gun, make the worst of it for others.

The next Chivalry 2 update will add a ridiculous Brawl mode, a new sword, but most importantly: headbutting
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/chivalry-2-update-fight-knight/
Another Chivalry 2 update is due next week, just two months after the medieval dismemberment sim got a couple new maps along with new cosmetics and fixes. (...)
But that's two months ago—ancient history in our fast-paced world of online service games. The new Fight Knight update, dropping sometime next week, will bring more new stuff, developer Torn Banner has shared with PC Gamer exclusively. Here's the quick summary.

Call of Duty: Vanguard shows what happens when game devs make a music video
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-duty-vanguard-shows-what-happens-when-game-devs-make-a-music-video/
Call of Duty: Vanguard will soon be upon us and in the runup to release Sledgehammer has released what I guess is the game's official theme, 'Taking Me Back' by Jack White. It's the first solo music from the former White Stripe man in four years and, if you like his stuff, has a familiar sound to it (there was also a gentler version released simultaneously).

Nvidia’s GeForce Now gets an RTX 3080 upgrade to take on Stadia and xCloud

https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/21/22738006/nvidia-rtx-3080-geforce-now-features-price-release-date-streaming-option

Certainly one way to experience the power of Ampere if you don't have a GPU.

AMD Posts First Official Fix for Windows 11 Bugs

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-posts-first-official-fix-for-windows-11-bugs

This is one of two fixes that need to happen. We are just waiting on MS to release the official latency fix that's in the insider preview.

AMD Radeon™ RX 6900 XT Halo Infinite Limited Edition

Idk about yall but it looks kinda ugly. Still hopefully it doesn't turn into a Cyberpunk sorta deal where the actual game turns out to be meh. The one thing we know will be terrible is the Ray Tracing as it sounds the game will be AMD sponsored. Light Ray Traced shadows and 480p Ray Traced reflections here we come.

Intel Core i9-12900K already shipping to first customers two weeks ahead of launch

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-core-i9-12900k-already-shipping-to-first-customers-two-weeks-ahead-of-launch

Intel Core i9-12900K Overclocked To 5.3 GHz Across All Cores With 1.44V Voltage, Hits Insane 400W Power Consumption In AIDA64 Stress Test

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-i9-12900k-overclocked-to-5-3-ghz-across-all-cores-with-1-44v-voltage-hits-insane-400w-power-consumption-in-aida64-stress-test/

Heads up for Humble Choice Classic subscribers, you can now choose the remaining 2 games in the period January 2020 - July 2020. Simply go the keys page and hide redeemed ones.

They should give more scaling options.

35 teraflops GPU performance for $100 (6 months), $20 for a single month

70 teraflops GPU performance for $200 (6 months), $40 for a single month

100 teraflops GPU performance for $300 (6 months), $60 for a single month

Sony Patent Lets Viewers Vote And Pay To Boot Players From Games

https://kotaku.com/sony-patent-lets-viewers-vote-and-pay-to-boot-players-f-1847902976?utm_campaign=Kotaku&utm_content=1634762791&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=twitter

"In the patent document, Sony outlined a system in which spectators to a livestream can vote to remove a player from an ongoing game. The player would have no veto power over this decision, and they may be reassigned to a different match. The system would display the skill level of the current players and their statistics for the game, such as time played, ratings, and achievements. All of this would take place through “the cloud gaming system,” whatever that means.

To avoid audience abuse of this system, a 60% voting threshold needs to be met in order to bench a player from a game. Spectators with a higher skill level will also have their votes counted more heavily in the election. Despite Sony claiming that this system would be beneficial for removing disrespectful “griefers” from matches, the patent also includes the ability for spectators to pay a fixed price or bid for the ability to remove players from a game. The text also mentions a system in which spectators can warn active players to improve their gameplay."

Meh, I don't care about this stupid patent. I don't play online and I find watching others playing a game extremely boring.

Maybe there's some merit to that patent, but at least at first glance, it seems just stupid. I know I'd be very hesitant to play a game where a streamer's audience could vote to kick me. I don't exactly trust the masses, especially on Twitch and especially when they could easily be roused by the streamer - or trolling the streamer, for that matter.

Interesting take on the whole NVidia vs AMD GPU front:

Also first time I ever heard someone saying they prefer FSR over DLSS (DLSS causes artifacts and ghosting apparently, but seemingly not FSR).

Seriously, is Tim Taylor now chief of the CPU development at Intel?