One thing I will say about the 6500XT reviews is some of them have some conclusions I don't agree with. As an example, I have seen reviewers say "If a used 580 costs the same a 6500XT, I'd rather buy a 580."

While on Paper that may sound like a good idea because a 580 is better than a 6500XT, a used 580 that's now 5 years old that costs $300 might not be a good idea. Not only do we not know what the used GPU has been through, it's also out of warranty.

So if you can find a GPU that released sooner like a 5500XT or a 16 series from Nvidia that's about the same price, I agree. But buying a 5 year old GPU, while may be a good idea on Paper, might not be the best idea in the grand scheme of things...

Expeditions: Rome Developer Logic Artists Closing Down to Make NFT Games
https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/expeditions-rome-developer-logic-artists-closing-down-to-make-nft-games
There's bad news for fans of the Expeditions franchise -- Expeditions: Rome developer Logic Artists is closing down and joining Dynasty Studios to make NFT games.

The publisher, THQ Nordic, is trying to assuage fears.

Expeditions: Rome will not be affected “in any shape or form” by founders’ NFT plans
https://www.pcgamesn.com/expeditions-rome/nfts
Responding to concerns from fans on the official Steam forums, the community manager of publisher THQ Nordic says that “nothing of this will affect Rome or THQ Nordic in any shape or form, not now or in any future plans that there may be”. A member of the Expeditions: Rome development team adds that “not everyone who worked on Expeditions: Rome will join Dynasty,” and notes that “the Expeditions series has been owned by THQ Nordic since before Rome began development. The creation of Dynasty will not affect the support of Rome nor the DLC plans.”

PlayStation Exec Shares Image of God of War on Steam Deck
https://gamerant.com/god-of-war-steam-deck/
God of War just launched on PC, expanding the audience for one of PlayStation's most beloved games. Some may have forgotten they can soon take it on the go too, but a PlayStation executive reminded players through a picture of them playing God of War on the Steam Deck.

Leaker Says Hogwarts Legacy Development is 'Going Well' and Will Release in Q3
https://gamerant.com/hogwarts-legacy-development-update-news-release-date-2022/
Hogwarts Legacy fans have been on a bit of a rollercoaster lately. A few days ago, Colin Moriarty of the Sacred Symbols podcast claimed that Hogwarts Legacy was in trouble and that the game could very well get delayed to 2023. Developments since then have pushed back against that claim, with the latest news being that Hogwarts Legacy development may actually be going well with the game on track to launch at some point in Q3 of this year.

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga has led to extensive crunch at TT Games
https://www.polygon.com/features/22891555/lego-star-wars-the-skywalker-saga-has-led-to-extensive-crunch-at-tt-games
In late 2017, development studio TT Games began work on Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga at a time when dozens inside the company were at odds with management. Citing frustration over tight development schedules, the company’s crunch culture, and outdated development tools, more than 20 current and former TT Games employees tell Polygon that calls for change over the years had largely been ignored.

Coromon Release Date Announced
https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/coromon-release-date-announced
Coromon, a monster-taming old-school indie RPG, finally has a release date. It will come out on March 31, 2022, for PC and the Nintendo Switch, with releases also coming to iOS, tvOS, and Android platforms.
>>This reminded me that I should play Disc Creatures.

I'd love to punch Kotick in the face. He's the one that milked Guitar Hero so much that it killed the franchise and he's also the one that decided to leave every other IP they had in a drawer and focus only on Cod. And now he has the bal "audacy" of saying something like that? F*ck him!

Not only that, but AMD isn't exactly great at supporting old architectures and, while the 580's GCN 4.0 architecture is still supported with new drivers, all the other GCN archs have been moved to legacy. That's also something to keep in mind.

The Friday news, all in one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has all these deals:

• The first new flash deal is Intravenous, 30% off during the weekend: https://www.gog.com/en/game/intravenous
• The second flash deal is WARTILE, 75% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/wartile
• The Weekly Sale is filled with Point'n'Click games up to 90% off: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220117_weekly_sale
• The new Midweek Sale brings up to 80% discounts for another 22 hours: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220119_midweek_sale
• The Weekend Sale features games picked by GOG's product team and brings up to 85% discounts until Monday: https://www.gog.com/partner/product_team_picks
• The Akupara Releases Sale, with up to 80% discounts, will last another 3 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220117_akupara_releases
• The Special Sale: True Classic Gems with up to 90% discounts until next Monday: https://www.gog.com/promo/classics
• And the Sekai Project Sale, with its up to 75% discounts, will last another 4 days: https://www.gog.com/promo/sekai_project

And Steam has these ones:

• The first daily deal is Kung Fury: Street Rage, 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/373180/Kung_Fury_Street_Rage/
• The second daily deal is They Are Billions, 35% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/644930/They_Are_Billions/
• The first Weekend Deal is Dyson Sphere Program, still in Early Access, 20% off until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366540/Dyson_Sphere_Program/
• Green Hell will be 30% off until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/815370/Green_Hell/
• The Yu-Gi-Oh! Fest 2022 Sale features up to 60% discounts on the games from this series until Monday 24: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Konami/sale/yugiohfest2022
• The Ghost Recon franchise is also on sale, up to 75% off until the 24th of January: https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/ubisoft/sale/GhostReconFranchiseSale
• Sega presents the Amplified 2022 Sale, featuring up to 80% discounts on titles from this studio during the weekend: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/36333614-Sega-Promotions/sale/amplified
• The Festival of Rail Sale brings up to 80% discounts on your favorite Train Simulator games until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/2022dovetailpubsale
• And of course, there's also the weeklong deals.

Meanwhile, Fanatical has 4 new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, 85% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/icewind-dale-enhanced-edition
• Sega also brings its Amplitude 2022 Sale here, but it features all the Sega games and it will last between 3 and 7 days, depending on the game: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/sega
• Kalypso puts its games on sale, up to 80% off during the next 7 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/kalypso-media-digital
• And the new BYO Slayer Bundle 4, brings 18 games to choose for your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-slayer-bundle-4

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Adrenalin 22.1.2
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-adrenalin-22-1-2
Support For

• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Extraction

Fixed Issues

• While playing Borderlands 3™ using DirectX® 12 with Radeon™ Boost enabled, longer than expected load times may be observed on some AMD Graphics Products such as Radeon® RX 6800 XT Graphics.
  

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Grand Theft Auto Vanilla Vice Mod Version 1.1 available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/grand-theft-auto-vanilla-vice-mod-version-1-1-available-for-download/
Modder ‘yazlow’ has released a new version of the Grand Theft Auto Vanilla Vice Mod for Grand Theft Auto Vice City. In case you weren’t aware of, this mod packs numerous fixes and new features, though it tries to stay as close to the vanilla experience as possible.
For example, Grand Theft Auto Vanilla Vice adds mip-maps for all game textures. Moreover, it adds the ability to use the mouse to control the camera on vehicles. Furthermore, it introduces an autosave after completing each mission.
>> There's a video of the game with the mod (12 minutes long), and you can download it from ModDB.

This Cyberpunk 2077 mod turns it into a survival game
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/this-cyberpunk-2077-mod-turns-it-into-a-survival-game/
Live in Night City is a new Cyberpunk 2077 mod from FonWasH that adds a whole bunch of survival mechanics to CDPR's neon-drenched RPG. One of the slight oddities of Night City, although I suppose you could say this about tonnes of games, is there's food and drink all over the place, but it doesn't really do much: But now you choombas will find those microchipped stomachs grumbling.
The mod allows you to manage your character's hunger, thirst and fatigue, with appropriate penalties if you're not paying attention. The vanilla state of the mod won't kill you outright for completely neglecting these features, but basically make V a bit useless. Fairly obviously, you eat and drink to regenerate V's thirst and hunger, while fatigue is relieved by having a nap in his apartment (or on the sofa).
>> That's a really cool mod.

GAMING NEWS

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sequel is reportedly releasing in Q4 2022
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-sequel-is-reportedly-releasing-in-q4-2022/
Industry insider Tom Henderson has reported that the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is planned to release in Q4 2022. While EA has not officially revealed this Star Wars game yet, numerous reports suggest that this will happen in the next few months. In fact, Henderson claims that a May 4th reveal is incredibly possible.

Witchfire is coming to Early Access in Q4 2022
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/witchfire-is-coming-to-early-access-in-q4-2022/
The Astronauts has announced that its upcoming game, Witchfire, will be entering its Early Access phase in Q4 2022. Witchfire will be a dark fantasy roguelite shooter, and promises to feature fast-paced action.

Playstation-exclusive horror game, In Nightmare, has been rated for PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/playstation-exclusive-horror-game-in-nightmare-has-been-rated-for-pc/
ESRB has rated the upcoming Playstation-exclusive game, In Nightmare, for the PC, hinting at a possible PC release. Maximum Games has officially announced the game will only release on PS4 and PS5 on March 29th, so it will be interesting to see when – and if – we’ll be getting it on PC.

Monster Hunter Rise PC patch addresses save/launch issue
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/monster-hunter-rise-pc-patch-addresses-save-launch-issue/
Capcom has just released a patch for the PC version of Monster Hunter Rise that resolves its save/launch issue. This issue prevented some players from playing/launching the game.

Here are the first ten minutes from Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-the-first-ten-minutes-from-serious-sam-siberian-mayhem/
Devolver Digital has released a new video, showcasing the first ten minutes from Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem. This video will give you an idea of what you can expect from this standalone expansion of Serious Sam.

Hearthstone's next big patch will add 75 'Buddies' to Battlegrounds and nerf a bunch of cards
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/hearthstones-next-big-patch-will-add-75-buddies-to-battlegrounds-and-nerf-a-bunch-of-cards/
Like seemingly much of the Hearthstone playerbase, I consider myself a Battlegrounds main these days. So the big patch that follows a new card set has become the more exciting drop to me. Blizzard has even taken to giving Battlegrounds its own pre-release cycle with content creators doing exclusive reveals. The thrust of those this week has been the announcement of Battlegrounds "Buddies", which will go live with patch 22.2 on Tuesday, January 25.

Blizzard head outlines what 'we are doing to rebuild your trust in Blizzard'
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/blizzard-head-outlines-what-we-are-doing-to-rebuild-your-trust-in-blizzard/
(...)
Following announcement of the proposed Microsoft acquisition, Blizzard head Mike Ybarra has written a blogpost addressing the deal and the company's plans with regards to workplace culture.

Finally. This game really caught my eye when it was announced but it's been practically radio silence for four years since. Glad it's not dead, though I'm a bit annoyed how many games are going roguelike/lite these days.

Played Disc Creatures for a bit, it is an old-school Pokemon game, perhaps too old school. I am not fond of the fact that the default Steam screenshot button (F12) is used to reset the game.

Stealth Horror Game, The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation, Confirmed For Western PC Release
https://twinfinite.net/2022/01/stealth-horror-game-the-bridge-curse-road-to-salvation-confirmed-for-western-pc-release/
Earlier this morning, indie developer and publisher Softstar Entertainment announced that it will be bringing its first-person horror adventure, The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation, to western shores for PC.

Apogee Entertainment Publishing Rise of the Triad Remastered on PC, Consoles in 2022
https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Apogee-Entertainment-Publishing-Rise-of-the-Triad-Remastered-on-PC-Con
AALBORG, Denmark — January 20, 2022 — Rise of the Triad Remastered, a rebuilt version of the 1995 classic announced at 3D Realms’ Realms Deep 2020 digital event, will now be published by Apogee Entertainment, Inc. when it releases later this year on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Game developers aren't interested in NFTs and cryptocurrency, report suggests
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-21-game-developers-arent-interested-in-nfts-and-cryptocurrency
Game developers aren't interested in NFTs and cryptocurrency, according to the latest GDC State Of The Game Industry report. NFTs have already proven divisive in the industry with many big studios leaning into the technology despite criticism from players. However, 70 percent of developers asked for this survey were not interested in NFTs. Meanwhile, 72 percent were not interested in cryptocurrency as a payment tool.

Original plan for Assassin's Creed series was for it all to end on a spaceship
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-21-original-plan-for-assassins-creed-series-was-for-it-all-to-end-on-a-spaceship
The original plan for Assassin's Creed - back when the whole franchise was planned as a trilogy - would have seen series hero Desmond blasting off on a spaceship.

Raven Software QA workers unionize within Activision Blizzard
https://www.polygon.com/22894041/call-of-duty-warzone-raven-software-union-activision-blizzard
Quality assurance workers at Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, are unionizing with the Communication Workers of America (CWA). The group, called Game Workers Alliance, is the first group of workers to form a unit under Activision Blizzard. Workers are asking the company to voluntarily recognize the union, which has the support of the “supermajority” of Raven Software QA workers — 78% of the eligible workers, a CWA representative told Polygon.
>>This is wrong or rather highly inaccurate.

Not really PC related or videogame related, but I wanted to share this new height of NFT stupidity with you guys.

NFT group buys rare Dune book, believes it gives them IP rights
https://stealthoptional.com/news/nft-group-rare-dune-book/
Over the weekend, a crypto enthusiast group managed to win an auction for a rare 1975 Dune book created by Alejandro Jodorowsky as part of a failed film pitch. The book was expected to be sold for around €25,000. However, the NFT group ramped up the auction to buy the book for €2.66 million; the equivalent of $3.04 million.
>>Yes they bought a book thinking it gives them ownership of the copyright. They also plan to scan the pages, turn them into NFTs and then burn the book to drive up the price of the NFTs.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 reviews arrive on January 26th, a day before launch

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3050-reviews-arrive-on-january-26th-a-day-before-launch

Now that AMD has shown off how much of a turd the 6500XT is, Nvidia is now confident that their GPU is good enough to be reviewed before launch

Leaked benchmark of Intel Arc Alchemist discrete desktop GPU shows RTX 3070 Ti performance

https://videocardz.com/newz/leaked-benchmark-of-intel-arc-alchemist-discrete-desktop-gpu-shows-rtx-3070-ti-performance

I really hope Intel at least tries to sell their GPUs for reasonable prices

Crypto Price Crash: Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Cardano And XRP Suddenly In Freefall

https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2022/01/20/crypto-price-crash-bitcoin-ethereum-bnb-solana-cardano-and-xrp-suddenly-in-freefall/

It's been down for almost a month now and isn't recovering yet.. Do we see the sparkle of light at the end of the tunnel?

Seems the Hitman 3 Steam launch isn't going too well.

Hitman 3 is Being Review Bombed on Steam
https://gamerant.com/hitman-3-steam-review-bombed/
Hitman 3 officially came out a year ago on January 20, 2021, but the PC version was only released on the Epic Games Store. As a result of this deal, Hitman 3 launched on Steam a year later on January 20, 2022, marking the end of the exclusivity period.

Hitman subreddit temporarily closes following Hitman 3 Steam launch
https://www.pcgamesn.com/hitman-3/subreddit
Hitman 3 finally came to Steam this week, though it isn’t going down well with certain groups of fans. We’ve seen players air frustrations over pricing and the VR implementation on social media, with the subreddit even closing down temporarily as a result.

Intel semiconductor factories are coming to Ohio's Licking County
https://www.neowin.net/news/intel-semiconductor-factories-are-coming-to-ohio039s-licking-county/i
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced that the state’s Licking County will be home to not one but two Intel semiconductor factories. Intel has agreed to invest more than $20 billion by 2025 to build the factories on a 926-acre site which will create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and benefit the state as a whole.