Vicarious Visions to drop its name and fully merge with Blizzard, sources say
https://www.polygon.com/22749644/vicarious-visions-blizzard-albany-merger-studio-name-change
Activision Blizzard informed Vicarious Visions employees Wednesday that the studio would lose its name as part of its ongoing merger with Blizzard Entertainment, sources told Polygon.

And another one bites the dust.

NFT developers petition Valve to unban blockchain games from Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/nft-developers-petition-valve-to-unban-blockchain-games-from-steam/
A group of 29 NFT developers and technology advocacy groups, including digital rights-focused nonprofit Fight For the Future, is asking Valve to reverse its ban of blockchain games on Steam. In an open letter, they write, "In the spirit of [Steam's] pioneering vision, we ask that you take a chance on this rapidly growing technology."

Quick someone make a petition to keep them banned!

Sony has formed the ‘PlayStation PC’ label for its PC games push
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-has-formed-the-playstation-pc-label-for-its-pc-games-push/
On Wednesday Steam users noticed that the platform holder’s PC releases had their publisher switched to ‘PlayStation PC LLC’, from the previous PlayStation Mobile label.

Yeah on one hand its (finally) a big jump from 14nm. Onoh their 10nm node is clearly still way behind TSMC's 7nm+. Still the fact they are beating Zen 3 on a worse process is impressive in itself, its just efficiency on ADL is pretty bad when compared to AMD's latest. Still its a return to form from Intel and makes me excited to see what they capable of doing on 7nm and better.

The one major advantage of using in-house chips is that hey don't have to rely on TSMC's capacity to fulfill their orders so they can pump these out in volume.

The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam hosts a tinyBuild Halloween Special Sale, with up to 75% discounts until November 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/tinybuild/sale/halloweenspecial

There's a new Humble Bundle: the Sonic 30th Anniversary Bundle, with up to 13 games to get during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/sonic-30th-anniversary-bundle

Fanatical has two new deals:

• Warner Bros puts its games up to 88% off during the next 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/warner-bros.-games-inc.
• And the new Cryptic Bundle 11 comes with 12 games with a 97% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/cryptic-bundle-11

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fan is working on a VR Mod for all RE Engine-powered games (Resident Evil 7, RE2 Remake, RE3 Remake & Monster Hunter Rise)
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fan-is-working-on-a-vr-mod-for-all-re-engine-powered-games-resident-evil-7-re2-remake-re3-remake-monster-hunter-rise/
A lot of PC VR fans were disappointed when Capcom released Resident Evil 7 VR exclusive on PSVR. However, it appears that a modder is working on a VR project that will support all the PC games using the RE Engine.
Created by praydog, this VR project/mod aims to add support for VR on the PC versions of pretty much all RE Engine-powered games. This includes Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Resident Evil 3 Remake and Monster Hunter Rise.
Although there isn’t currently any ETA on when this VR project will come out, you can find below some videos. From what we can see, this VR Mod appears to be working great. I’m pretty sure that there will be some bugs and glitches. However, and even in its current unreleased state, it looks pretty polished.

GAMING NEWS

Star Ocean The Divine Force announced, to be released in 2022
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-ocean-the-divine-force-announced-to-be-released-in-2022/
Square Enix announced today that Star Ocean The Divine Force, an all-new entry in the beloved action-RPG series, is coming to PC in 2022. In order to celebrate this announcement, the publisher has also released a trailer that you can find below.

Halo Infinite 2020 vs 2021 comparison screenshots and video
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/halo-infinite-2020-vs-2021-comparison-screenshots-and-video/
A couple of days ago, Microsoft released a new single-player gameplay video for Halo: Infinite. This video showcased the improved graphics that the game’s single-player campaign will feature. And below, you can find some comparison screenshots (and video) between the 2020 and the 2021 versions.

Bandai Namco has shared some brand new screenshots for Elden Ring
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/bandai-namco-has-shared-some-brand-new-screenshots-for-elden-ring/
Over the past few weeks, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware released some brand new screenshots for Elden Ring (via the game’s official Twitter account). As such, we’ve decided to collect and share them with you in one article.

Unreal Engine 4-powered Bright Memory Infinite releases on November 12th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/unreal-engine-4-powered-bright-memory-infinite-releases-on-november-12th/
FYQD Studio and PLAYISM announced that Bright Memory: Infinite will release on November 12th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the teams have also released a new trailer that you can find below.

The news, the sequel:

Call of Duty: Vanguard won't be as storage-hungry as previous entries
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/call-of-duty-vanguard-wont-be-as-storage-hungry-as-previous-entries/
Call of Duty's been a bit storage-hungry in recent years. But if your poor drive was sweating over the prospect of squeezing in another gargantuan shooter, rest easy—Activision claims this year's entry will be significantly easier to fit on your PC.

Persona composer leaves Atlus to develop indie games
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/persona-composer-leaves-atlus-to-develop-indie-games/
Shoji Meguro, the fantastic composer behind the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series, has left Atlus to pursue a career in making indie games.
Meguro, who had been at Atlus since 1995, revealed he left the studio at the end of September (thanks, Gematsu). In a statement, the composer said, "I've been creating role-playing games by myself during my spare time for the past five years now, and I applied for a Round 1 Kodansha Game Creators Lab recruitment and was selected as one of the finalists. Then staff from Kodansha was assigned to work with me. I decided to leave Atlus and focus on my dream of developing indie games."

The Division 2's next big content update is set for February
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-division-2s-next-big-content-update-is-set-for-february/
Ubisoft surprised fans of post-apocalyptic urban combat earlier this year when it announced plans to continue supporting The Division 2 beyond the final-sounding End of Watch update that went live at the end of 2020. Not long after that, though, it warned that the next big content update wouldn't be ready to go until late in 2021 "at the earliest." It turns out that the update will actually be even later than that.

Rust will legit let you build your own Frankenstein's monster for Halloween
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/rust-will-legit-let-you-build-your-own-frankensteins-monster-for-halloween/
Halloween is nearly here and lots of games are giving us treats in the form of spooky seasonal events. Jump into one of the games you play regularly and you're bound to find candy, pumpkins, and ghosts galore, plus plenty of new Halloween skins. Survival game Rust is upping the ante, though.

Chivalry 2 DLSS update promises 4K 60 fps dismemberment action on any Geforce RTX GPU
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/chivalry-2-dlss-update-promises-4k-60fps-dismemberment-action-on-any-geforce-rtx-gpu/
One of my favorite multiplayer games of this year, Chivalry 2, just received DLSS support allowing for an impressive boost in performance. How much of an increase? According to the press release from Nvidia, this new update can jack up performance by 45%. Based on my own testing, Nvidia isn't wrong.

Amazon says New World's economy is just fine, thanks
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/amazon-says-new-worlds-economy-is-just-fine-thanks/
Some upvoted player complaints on Reddit and one doomsaying blog combined last week to paint a dire picture of New World's in-game economy. According to a site called PlayerAuctions, a "currency crisis" in the game had led to a runaway spiral of deflation: There's simply not enough money in the game to support stable economic activity, forcing prices for everything down and jacking the value of the currency itself so high that players were resorting to barter in order to acquire items and resources.
(...)
But apparently Amazon doesn't think it needs to anyway. In a post on the New World forums, developer Zin_Ramu said the in-game economy is "performing within acceptable levels," and that despite reports, all servers are actually producing more money than is being removed, "by a good margin." That surplus shrinks as players enter New World's endgame, but it hasn't yet reached a point where direct action is required.

New World vigilantes trap a notorious hemp hogging bot with well-placed tents
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/new-world-vigilantes-trap-a-notorious-hemp-hogging-bot-with-well-placed-tents/
In setting-appropriate fashion, Amazon's MMO New World has attracted plenty of players looking to stake a claim on its territory and hoover up valuable resources to turn a quick profit. Close to launch, we saw the work of automated bots snatching the best fishing spots, which some players solved by luring in boars to kill them. Points for originality, boar-kiters.
The plagues of automated accounts also have a hemp habit, as low-level players are now finding out. Fear not, because vigilante justice has also found a way to protect New World's weed. Players are now putting a stop to these jerk hemp hoggers by trapping them in campsite cages.

Isle of Bigsnax adds a whole new world to Bugsnax
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/isle-of-bigsnax-adds-a-whole-new-world-to-bugsnax/
Bugsnax is getting its first expansion early next year in the form of Isle of Bigsnax, which adds a new biome and a bunch of new bugsnax to capture and feed to grumpuses. These bugsnax, as the name of the isle implies, are big, nay, "supersized," but don't worry because you'll have a shrinking gun to cut them down to size. Oh, and now you can put hats on your bugsnax.
>> For "early 2022".

Aliens: Fireteam Elite Year 1 promises changes that will 'add more enjoyment' to the struggling shooter
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/aliens-fireteam-elite-year-1-promises-changes-that-will-add-more-enjoyment-to-the-struggling-shooter/
Cold Iron Studios has unveiled the year 1 roadmap for its multiplayer bug-hunting game Aliens: Fireteam Elite. New game modes, weapons, perks, and more are all on the way, but the primary focus will be on "quality of life improvements that will add enjoyment to the game's existing content."

Riot backs new studio founded by former WoW designer who was 'unhappy with the state of the game'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/riot-backs-new-studio-founded-by-former-wow-designer-who-was-unhappy-with-the-state-of-the-game/
Chris Kaleiki, a former game designer on World of Warcraft who said he was "unhappy with the state of the game" after quitting Blizzard entertainment last year, has announced the launch of a new venture called Notorious Studios, backed by a few investors, one of which is League of Legends and Valorant developer Riot Games.

Dr. Dre is making new music for Grand Theft Auto
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/dr-dre-is-making-new-music-for-grand-theft-auto/
Snoop Dogg, who it is always a pleasure to cover, especially when he's having big streaming fails or telling off Bill Gates, has told Rolling Stone that Dr. Dre is working on new music for Grand Theft Auto. Snoop will collaborate on some of these tracks, though it's unclear whether the GTA project in question is for GTA 6, a GTA Online expansion, or something to do with the GTA Trilogy releasing next month.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous gets first big patch
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/pathfinder-wrath-of-the-righteous-gets-first-big-patch/
Hefty big boy of the retro CRPG genre, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous has just hit version 1.1 following several smaller patches since its release in September. Highlights of this update include improved mounted combat in turn-based mode, better performance and visuals in several locations, fixes for reactivity to choices "such as some NPCs appearing where they should not be", and better visuals for some NPCs. There are also changes to crusade management, including an option to control armies from the throne room instead of having to walk out of the city every time like a chump.

Final Fantasy 14 is fine with erotic role-playing—just do it in private, please
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14-is-fine-with-erotic-role-playingjust-do-it-in-private-please/
(...)
Square Enix seem pretty aware of how some emotes can be utilised, calling out things like "using a combination of emotes and motions to mimic grinding against another character" and "using movements that are evocative of sexual activities" as actions that aren't allowed (thanks, PCGamesN).
But ERP is one of the few certainties with MMOs, with guidelines further clarifying that you can get your virtual rocks off as long as you're doing it in private and all parties involved are consenting. Encouraging or pressuring other players to participate won't fly, though.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick takes a significant pay cut amid the publisher's ongoing lawsuits
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/activision-ceo-bobby-kotick-takes-a-significant-pay-cut-amid-the-publishers-ongoing-lawsuits/
In the midst of the company's ongoing lawsuits with multiple government agencies, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has decided that taking home his usual excessive pay wouldn't be a great look. Today, the executive announced he'll be asking the board to cut his salary to the lowest amount legally allowed under California law.

Apex Legends fans are naming Ash's nameless rat sidekick in her stead
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/apex-legends-fans-are-naming-ashs-nameless-rat-sidekick-in-her-stead/
Apex Legends' next hero, Ash, is a cold and calculating killer. A merciless simulacrum with an unfeeling metal heart. But since her reveal, Ash has been frequently shown carrying around a pet rat, feeding it cheese and let it scamper around her metal body. As far as videogame rats go, they're a real cutie.

Gonna be honest, I don't care much for VV, mostly because their games are contracted to third party IP's that they didn't design themselves right off the bat. They also worked on THPS 1-2 remaster, which was EGS exclusive and never made it to Steam, so I could hardly give much of a care for them being eaten alive and merged from within.

Anything Acti touches turns to dust. 

I hope Valve blocks those devs, because they don't sound like actual game devs at all, just those trying to make a quick buck, or thing they can "change the world" with their shitty make believe "metaverse" and NFT's. 

ASUS confirms 12-pin PCIe Gen 5.0 connector for next-gen GPUs, announces new ROG Thor power supplies

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-confirms-12-pin-pcie-gen-5-0-connector-for-next-gen-gpus-announces-new-rog-thor-power-supplies

"The PCI Express 5.0 standard includes a new high-capacity auxiliary connector that packs 12 conductors into a single cable"

"In their presentation, the company even used GeForce RTX 3090 as an example of a very high peak power draw, reaching as high as 940W. New Thor PSUs will be to sustain power without any blackouts during typical (and untypical) usage, ASUS confirmed."

Sounds like Nvidia's 12 pin connector is going to get more traction.

Intel demonstrates XeSS super resolution technology in Hitman 3 and The Riftbreaker

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-demonstrates-xess-super-resolution-technology-in-hitman-3-and-the-riftbreaker

AMD really needs to start innovating in their GPU space. It's nuts that Intel has beaten AMD to an ML up-scaling solution. Luckily for AMD, their console and PC gpu market share are high enough that a delay until RDNA 3 won't matter much but I really hope they can get their act together.

Age of Empires IV is now available on Steam, Windows store and Gamepass

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466860/Age_of_Empires_IV/

I might give it a go when I get a chance

Samsung introduces HDR10+ Gaming with VRR, HDR auto-calibration

https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1635416918

Samsung is a company that PC gamers need to pay attention to now that we have seen how good their Neo G9 is with it's Mini-LED VA panel. I kinda wish they brought that tech to their more conventional monitors instead of limiting it to their flagship 49 inch. But from the reviews, it's crazy good once you install the latest firmware. And the best part is, in some aspects, it's even better than the LG OLED as the brightness that you get from LG OLEDs aren't that high but the brightness from the Neo G9 is much higher. And of course, you don't get any Burn In problems. Here's hoping they will bring some of these features to their G7 line next year.

Impressive month

I was just fantasizing about how if Intel GPU's are super bad for mining. They would be god send for gamers.

I guess shower thoughts.

Sadly they will probably do the exact opposite