One of the better discussions. One interesting point that is not brought up enough or discussed is that sometimes when so many properties come under one umbrella or management. Are they all viable. How many shooters or rpgs would they need. Like a similar thing was asked of Obsidian. They were bought by Microsoft to make Elder Scrolls type game and then Microsoft bought them too. So sometimes there is internal competition. That can lead to consolidation resulting in less output than originally thought so. 

Interesting times ahead. 

Personally I am in the camp of hoping for "no more major purchases" regardless of who it is. While I like modern MS and how they treat PC gamers... Lest we forget the 360 era Microsoft and how they treated PC gamers. While as a PC gamer, I do agree that Sony buying studios is worse than MS buying studios... The big 3 buying studios is bad is general.

As DF said, there is a certain grace period before we see the real pros and cons for acquisitions like this. Cause what we see from Microsoft today isn't their end game. Their end game will be coming in 5-7 years and once all the "Infinity Stones" have been acquired, we will see what happens when they snap the gauntlet and release their next gen console.

Sony would not be taking GTA out of Steam. Be more concerned if EA or Ubi suddenly become Amazon Games or something. Or more Epic/Tencent consolidation...

TLDR: It is embarrassing. 

The "day after the megaton" news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has two new flash deals and the Midweek Sale:

• The first flash deal is The Shattering, 55% off during the next 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_shattering
• The second one is Slay the Spire, with a 60% discount until Friday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/slay_the_spire
• The Midweek Sale comes with up to 80% discounts until Saturday: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220119_midweek_sale

Steam has two new daily deals:

• The first one is INDUSTRIA, 25% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1172650/INDUSTRIA/
• The second one is the Early Access title Nova Drift, with a 50% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/858210/Nova_Drift/

Fanatical has two new deals:

• There are 14 new Flash Deals, 7 of them will last 24 hours and the other 7 48. Check them out here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/flash-game-sale
• And the new 2022 Mystery Bundle comes with 10 unknown games to get: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/2022-mystery-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Make Kratos a good clean-shaven boy with this God of War mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/make-kratos-a-good-clean-shaven-boy-with-this-god-of-war-mod/
God of War is finally here on PC, and is the best version of an already fantastic game. The game is of course a reboot of an already existing series, and part of this is that in the older games Kratos has been of various ages and sported minor differences in his look: In this one, he's aged well beyond the original series and is in a different mythical era.
So: Daddy Kratos has a big 'ol beard and bushy eyebrows. It's a good look! But some fans pine for the days when he was a bit more clean-shaven, a bit more Bronson, and so modder Disable PP has done the lord's work by disabling the shaders that draw Kratos' facial hair. The imaginatively named 'Kratos No Eyebrows No Beard' mod does just this, and you can see it in action below.

GAMING NEWS

GRID Legends will be using Denuvo, PC system requirements revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/grid-legends-will-be-using-denuvo-pc-system-requirements-revealed/
Electronic Arts and Codemasters have revealed the official PC system requirements for GRID Legends. In addition, the teams announced that the game will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.
PC gamers will at least need an Intel i3 2130 or AMD FX4300 with 8GB of RAM. The game will be using EGO Engine 4.0, and will support DirectX 12. Moreover, Codemasters has listed the NVIDIA GTX 950 and the AMD RADEON RX 460 as the minimum required GPUs.

Battlefield 2042 will get a new Scoreboard in February, first WIP look
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/battlefield-2042-will-get-a-new-scoreboard-in-february-first-wip-look/
DICE has announced that it will implement a new Scoreboard for Battlefield 2042 via its Update 3.3 which will come out in February 2022. In addition, the team shared a WIP screenshot from it that you can find below.

The news, the sequel:

Fortnite update reintroduces Tilted Towers, dope dinosaurs
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/fortnite-klombo-tilted-towers-update/
Fortnite update 19.10 is a big one, literally. The latest Fortnite patch adds the Klombo, a new species of How to Train Your Dragon-looking dinosaurs, and reintroduces Tilted Towers, one of Fortnite's most beloved locations.

The gaming industry reacts to Microsoft's megaton acquisition of Activision Blizzard
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-gaming-industry-reacts-to-microsofts-megaton-acquisition-of-activision-blizzard/
Microsoft's remarkable acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is the biggest gaming news of 2022 so far, and a huge statement of intent from the tech giant about gaming: What was once a subsidiary arm of Microsoft now feels like one of its core strengths. (...)
The news was kept quiet until its announcement, and games industry figures have been reacting. While it's a little odd to start with the ultimate insider reaction, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's statements have been notable for their emphasis on workplace culture, showing just how aware Microsoft is of the potential pitfalls here. The ongoing lawsuits Activision Blizzard is facing must have been an element in these conversations and, if I were a betting man, I'd put my house on Kotick trying to settle them before the takeover is complete.

Here's when Rainbow Six Extraction unlocks in your timezone
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/rainbow-six-extraction-release-time-unlock/
The Rainbow Six Extraction unlock times are nearly upon us, unleashing the R6 operators into containment zones across the United States. We've gone hands-on with R6 Extraction and found it to be a pleasant surprise, even if it is surrounded by so many other current co-op shooters with Left 4 Dead inspirations. If you've already committed to playing Extraction, here's what you need to know about when pre-loading and unlock times are happening this week.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is reportedly planning to step down after Microsoft acquisition
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/activision-blizzard-ceo-bobby-kotick-is-reportedly-planning-to-step-down-after-microsoft-acquisition/
One of the big questions left in the wake of Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is: what will become of Bobby Kotick? The beleaguered CEO has been facing pressure to resign over the company's workplace misconduct scandal since at least November, following a report that he'd been aware of complaints for years and had engaged in abusive behavior himself. Neither Microsoft nor Activision Blizzard have commented on his post-acquisition status with the company, but according to the Wall Street Journal he is expected to step down once the deal is closed. A report by Bloomberg says the same, citing a person familiar with the sale.
>> Bye! You won't be missed.

Former Dragon Age producer Mark Darrah says 'BioWare magic is bullshit'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/former-dragon-age-producer-mark-darrah-says-bioware-magic-is-bullshit/
Remember the term "BioWare magic?" Kotaku described it in this lengthy report on the failure of Anthem as a belief within the studio that no matter how rough things look during game development, everything will ultimately come together to make the great BioWare games we used to know and love. In the latest episode of his Old Game Dev Advice series on YouTube, though, long-time BioWare stalwart Mark Darrah expressed a very different perspective on the process.

The Sims 4 is getting customisable pronouns
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-sims-4-is-getting-customisable-pronouns/
Last year, Maxis announced its plans to add gender-neutral language into The Sims 4 through the introduction of options such as pronouns for each sim. This week, the team went more in-depth into how the pronoun system may look during a live stream and revealed it'll be allowing players to fully customise them.

Take Two boss says GTA Trilogy's issues merely a 'glitch' and it's 'done just great' anyway
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/take-two-boss-says-gta-trilogys-issues-merely-a-glitch-and-its-done-just-great-anyway/
The launch of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy was, for a studio with Rockstar North's reputation, something of a disaster. (...)
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick recently spoke to CNBC about the publishing giant's acquisition of Zynga, as part of which the GTA Trilogy's problems came up. Zelnick seemed relatively unperturbed by them, and dismissed it all as a 'glitch'. CNBC's Jim Cramer asked about "some defects in the new Grand Theft Auto" in the light of Take-Two's position that it doesn't release products before they're ready.
"With regards to the GTA Trilogy, that was actually not a new title," says Zelnick. "That was a remaster of pre-existing titles. We did have a glitch in the beginning, that glitch was resolved. And the title of [sic] has done just great for the company. So we’re very excited. We have an amazing pipeline going forward."
>> Does he want to get the title of most hated CEO now that Kotick seems to be on the way out or what?

AMD Radeon RX 6500XT Review Roundup

https://videocardz.com/123122/amd-radeon-rx-6500xt-review-roundup

I think it's official, AMD is worse than both Intel and Nvidia. AMD refuses to launch budget tier CPUs and AMD is not only selling GPUs with less features for the same price as Nvidia ones... They have the audacity to release this pile of shat while giving people BS excuses to justify why it's so heavily gimped. Some AMD defenders claim it's because it's originally supposed to be a laptop GPU and that's why it's so funky but the reality is, AMD just doesn't care. Look at a 3050 from Nvidia, it has all the bells and whistles you would expect. AMD should be ashamed but if they had any shame, they wouldn't be releasing this junk.


AMD removes its blog post claiming ‘4GB VRAM is not enough for games’, right before introducing RX6500XT graphics

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-removes-its-blog-post-claiming-4gb-vram-is-not-enough-for-games-right-before-introducing-rx6500xt-graphics



Vram only matters to AMD until they release a product with shat Vram. They did readd it back after backlash.


Japanese Mystery Boxes Could Make You Win A High-End NVIDIA GeForce or AMD Radeon Graphics Card For As Low As $100 US

https://wccftech.com/japanese-mystery-boxes-could-make-you-win-a-high-end-nvidia-geforce-or-amd-radeon-graphics-card-for-as-low-as-100-us/

That's right, it has come down to this. Real Life lootboxes to potentially win a GPU...

Kodick's severance is $300 million. This is after destroying the company's image, stock, causing distress to employees and mental issues. Turned a varied portfolio into Cod and before that Guitar Hero. Turned Blizzard into whatever it is now. Contract law is just so weird man.

https://www.aroged.com/2022/01/18/activision-blizzard-bobby-koticks-severance-pay-after-microsoft-deal/

This is outside of Acti Stock he owns. He walks away with billions.

Losing against a GTX 1050 Ti in Hitman 3... ouch!

I'd be fine if they put the Blizz IP's on Steam, but knowing MS they can now easily turn around and say "get it on Windows store", and then I'd never play Blizz IP's ever again.

Either they put them on Steam, or leave them as they are (as well as my account I've had for years) on Battlenet. Last thing I want is to be forced into a new pen (one I don't ever want to go into ever again).