Nvidia Quietly Prepares to Abandon $40 Billion Arm Bid
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-25/nvidia-is-said-to-quietly-prepare-to-abandon-takeover-of-arm
Nvidia Corp. is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. after making little to no progress in winning approval for the $40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam has two new daily deals, plus four Midweek Madness deals. And there's also some weeklong deals, but not many:

• The first daily deal is Curious Expedition 2, that has a demo and it's 40% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1040230/Curious_Expedition_2/
• The second daily deal is Space Crew: Legendary Edition, 60% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1176710/Space_Crew_Legendary_Edition/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is DJMAX RESPECT V, with a 70% discount until Friday Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/960170/DJMAX_RESPECT_V/
• Publisher Skybound Games puts its games on sale with up to 75% discounts until the 27th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/skybound
• Cities: Skylines is also on sale, 75% off (up to 50% for the DLCs) until FridayThursday 27: https://store.steampowered.com/app/255710/Cities_Skylines/
• The Dishonored franchise gets up to 80% discounts until FridayThursday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/dishonoredgames
• And, when it comes to the weeklong deals, there's so few of them, symptom of the upcoming Lunar New Year Sale that will start this Thursday, that it will be easier if you check them out by yourselves.

Fanatical has the new BYO Tiger Bundle, with 20 games to choose for your 1, 5 or 10 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-tiger-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

The Vulkan 1.3 roadmap could change the very silicon it runs on
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-vulkan-13-roadmap-could-change-the-very-silicon-it-runs-on/
Cross-platform 3D graphics API Vulkan has just announced a much anticipated update. With Vulkan 1.3 available across the breadth of supported platforms, game developers can now enjoy a more streamlined experience, along with a bunch of highly-requested extensions coming integrated into the core API.

Epic's Easy Anti-Cheat system will work on Steam Deck, after all
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/epics-easy-anti-cheat-system-will-work-on-steam-deck-after-all/
As the Steam Deck launch date approaches, Valve and a number of game developers are making a push to smooth out compatibility issues arising from the handheld's Linux-based operating system, which uses software called Proton to run Steam games that don't support Linux natively. One concern has been that anti-cheat software won't easily make the transition, but Valve says it has solved one big chunk of that problem: Epic's popular Easy Anti-Cheat system should now work on the Steam Deck without any big hassle for developers.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Siren is a new cool mod for classic Doom, demo available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/siren-is-a-new-cool-mod-for-classic-doom-demo-available-for-download/
Modder ‘Dithered Output’ has released the demo of a pretty cool total conversion mod for classic Doom, called Siren. Siren appears to be influenced by numerous games, such as Aliens and F.E.A.R.
I’m pretty sure that most of our old-school fans will find this mod interesting. You can go ahead and download the demo from here. Below you can also find a gameplay trailer for Siren.

Demo released for the fan sequel to Dark Souls, Dark Souls: Nightfall
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/demo-released-for-the-fan-sequel-to-dark-souls-dark-souls-nightfall/
Team Nightfall has released a demo for its fan sequel to the first Dark Souls game, Dark Souls: Nightfall. In addition, the full version of this mod will come out after the release of Elden Ring.
Team Nightfall was originally planning to release the full game on January 21st. However, and even though the team has already delayed the mod, it needs even more time in order to further polish it.
>> Here's the download link for the demo (Mega).

A '90% complete' fan-made PC port of Zelda: Ocarina of Time could be ready by April
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-90-complete-fan-made-pc-port-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-could-be-ready-by-april/
A PC port of Super Mario 64 appeared essentially out of nowhere back in 2020 thanks to a herculean effort from fans who decompiled the game's code. A similar decompilation effort for Ocarina of Time was completed last year by the Zelda Reverse Engineering Team, and it seems like we may be seeing the fruits of that labor within a month. Videogameschronicle reports that another fan group has nearly finished turning that code into a working PC port.
>> And now that Nintendo knows about it, they must be getting that C&D letter ready.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 40 minutes of gameplay from GRID Legends’ Story Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-40-minutes-of-gameplay-from-grid-legends-story-mode/
Codemasters has released a video, showcasing 40 whole minutes of gameplay footage from GRID Legends’ Story Mode, Driven to Glory. This video will give you a glimpse at the game’s story mode, so be sure to watch it if you are interested in it.

God of War PC Patch 1.0.3 released, aiming to fix memory leaks
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/god-of-war-pc-patch-1-03-released-aiming-to-fix-memory-leaks/
Santa Monica and Jetpack Interactive have released a brand new patch for the PC version of God of War. According to the developers, Patch 1.0.3 aims to fix an issue that caused leaks in memory allocation which could result in either decreased performance or a game client crash.

Respawn is also working on first-person & strategy Star Wars games
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/respawn-is-also-working-on-first-person-strategy-star-wars-games/
Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm Games announced today that Respawn is working on three Star Wars games. The first game, as most may have guessed, is the sequel to Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order. The second Star Wars game is a first-person shooter, while the third one is a strategy game.

Official cinematic trailer released for Sniper Elite 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/official-cinematic-trailer-released-for-sniper-elite-5/
Rebellion has just released an official cinematic trailer for Sniper Elite 5. Sniper Elite 5 will see elite marksman Karl Fairburne travel to France in 1944 to destroy Operation Kraken.

The Tuesday news, the second part:

Apex Legends' next hero is tooth-spitting freedom fighter Mad Maggie
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/apex-legends-next-hero-is-tooth-spitting-freedom-fighter-mad-maggie/
It's that time in the Apex Legends calendar once more where teasers for the next season begin to drop—starting with a look at our rebellious next Legend, Mad Maggie.

Battlefield 2042's 'Zombie Survival' mode pulled after it immediately turns into an XP farm
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/battlefield-2042s-zombie-survival-mode-pulled-after-it-immediately-turns-into-an-xp-farm/
Just a day after featuring a Zombie Survival mode in Battlefield 2042, the developers removed it from the official playlist because players were using it to farm XP that can be used to unlock weapons, ribbons, and other in-game content in other modes.

Elden Ring has officially gone gold
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/elden-ring-has-officially-gone-gold/
Elden Ring is no longer a meme nor a dream. It's really coming and, according to an interview with FromSoftware's Yasuhiro Kitao during the Taipei Game Show, will definitely launch on time. Elden Ring had a short delay from its originally announced January date to February, but it sounds like any other pushbacks are off the table now. Elden Ring has officially gone gold. "Please be assured, the title will be ready for sale on February 25th," Kitao says.

Outerverse developers say 'con artists' are using their game for an NFT scam
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/outerverse-developers-say-con-artists-are-using-their-game-for-an-nft-scam/
Outerverse publisher Freedom Games is warning of an NFT scam that's marketing a new cryptocurrency to videogame and NFT communities. The Outerverse Metaverse and Decentralized Platform is offering a token that it says will be earnable and usable in Outerverse—but Freedom Games and developer Tbjbu2 say the claim is "patently false."

New Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin trailer combines fantasy violence with Frank Sinatra
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/new-stranger-of-paradise-final-fantasy-origin-trailer-combines-fantasy-violence-with-frank-sinatra/
Team Ninja's take on the Final Fantasy universe is less than two months away, and while the E3 2021 reveal trailer's use of the words "Kill chaos" elicited a lot of scoffing, there's reason to be optimistic. The prospect of a Final Fantasy soulslike developed by the studio responsible for Nioh is exciting enough, and some of the enemies shown in this new five minute trailer are genuinely spectacular. Sure, protagonist Jack is still heavily reminiscent of a PS3-era generic bro, but maybe some Frank Sinatra will take some of that edge off? There's some Frank in the new trailer, too.

Final Fantasy 14 director says he wants to work on the game for the next 10 years
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14-director-says-he-wants-to-work-on-the-game-for-the-next-10-years/
Final Fantasy 14's producer and director Naoki Yoshida has said that as long as he's in good health, he intends to continue working on the game for the next decade.

Final Fantasy 14 is back on sale after 6 weeks
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/final-fantasy-14-is-back-on-sale-after-6-weeks/
Rejoice, gamers—nearly six weeks after being pulled from digital storefronts, the critically-acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 is available to buy again.

Bad news for Nvidia. We'll see what's their next move now and which part does that CPU group they were opening in Israel plays in it.

Yep and its for the best really. Nvidia having control of ARM would be awful for the tech industry.

Luckily the UK government won't allow that to pass so sucks to be them. Maybe they'll look into RISC-V in their CPU design/s?

Alder Lake Laptop CPU and Nvidia 3080 Ti Laptop GPU reviews are out

Overall pretty insane performance. Still a pretty big power hog but on battery, it's still quite good for the performance you get. Looking at the leaked 6000 series mobile Ryzen CPUs, you won't be getting this kind of performance when plugged in so we will have to wait until Zen 4.

AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX shows up on Geekbench, 33% faster than 5900HX

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-9-6900hx-shows-up-on-geekbench-33-faster-than-5900hx

"According to the latest benchmarks, the CPU scores 1593 points in the single-core test and 10151 points in multi-core. Those are respectively 12% and 33% better scores than its predecessor Ryzen 9 5900HX based on Zen3 Cezanne silicon."

"In comparison to the same class-CPU from Intel, which is Core i9-12900H based on Alder Lake-P with 14-cores and 20 threads, Rembrandt’s performance is not as good. Intel CPU is 7% to 21% faster in single-core and 37% to 42% faster in multi-core. However, we do not know how far up AMD performance might still go Meanwhile, there are quite a few test results of the Alder Lake CPUs, which are now extensively being tested before today’s launch."

NVIDIA, AMD & Intel Announce Day One Driver Support For Vulkan 1.3 API on Windows & Linux Platforms

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-intel-amd-announce-day-one-driver-support-for-vulkan-1-3-api-on-windows-linux-platforms/

If true, then this is a good thing for the industry. Nvidia doesn't need to buy Arm to make Arm CPUs but if they bought them, it would have quite a lot of implications for many companies.

Nvidia used customized ARM cores for its Tegra products, but I don't know if they're still doing it. Maybe they'll use that new center to further develop customized AMR cores for its products. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Blizzard announces its next game for PC and console, set in an “all-new universe”
https://www.pcgamesn.com/blizzard-survival-game
Blizzard has announced a new survival game in development for PC and console that will be set in an “all-new universe”. Aside from those few details and a couple of small bits of concept art, information on the game is light. It looks like it’s very early in development, too, as today’s announcement comes alongside a hiring push for the project.
>> A survival game, how original.

Steam Lunar New Year Sale start time – GabeN gives for the first time in 2022
https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam/lunar-new-year-sale-2022-start-time
Valve still hasn’t officially confirmed that we’re even getting a Steam Lunar New Year Sale for 2022, but as always, the dates have leaked thanks to developers who’ve gotten early word on the discount promotion. So if you’re eagerly awaiting the Steam Lunar New Year Sale start time, here’s when you can expect to commit unspeakable acts of savings.
>>Starts on January 27 at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT and will last until February 3.

Blizzard seems to have some problems with their stablished IPs, so maybe going for something new could be their best way to get back on track.