It's even worse when you do that to play a game you've already played and beated several times before.

Russia considers legalizing software piracy to combat tech bans
https://www.pcgamer.com/russia-considers-legalizing-software-piracy-to-combat-tech-bans/
The Russian government is reportedly working on a law that would make some software piracy legal. The move would help Russians circumvent tech and software bans that have been placed on the nation since it invaded Ukraine two weeks ago, according to Torrentfreak.

Almost every game from State of Play is coming to PC, too
https://www.pcgamesn.com/exoprimal/pc-state-of-play
Sony gave PlayStation fans a new edition of its regular State of Play broadcast, highlighting a selection of new games coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. However, most of those games are not actually exclusive to Sony’s platform, and as the press releases roll in, we’re starting to learn just how many are coming to PC, too.

• Exoprimal – Steam in 2023
• Ghostwire: Tokyo – Steam and Epic on March 25, 2022
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin – Epic on March 17, 2022 (no PC demo)
• Forspoken – Steam and Epic on October 11, 2022
• Gundam Evolution – Steam in 2022
• TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection – Steam in 2022
• GigaBash – Steam in 2022
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R – Steam in autumn 2022
• Trek to Yomi – Steam in 2022
• Returnal: Ascension – PlayStation 5 exclusive
• The DioField Chronicle – Steam in 2022
• Valkyrie Elysium – Steam in 2022

PC builder that drew fury of small Twitch streamers shuts down indefinitely
https://www.pcgamer.com/artesian-builds-shuts-down/
Custom PC builder Artesian Builds got demolished on Twitter last week after a small streamer complained that the company denied her a sweepstakes prize based on the size of her Twitch following. Giveaway sponsor Intel was displeased with Artesian, as was a considerable portion of the internet: The streamer's complaint was retweeted over 8,000 times. Artesian's CEO later apologized, but the company may nevertheless have sold its last PC.

Square Enix launches official Music YouTube full of soundtracks and mix playlists
https://www.destructoid.com/square-enix-launches-official-music-youtube-live-performance-soundtracks-remix/
Square Enix has launched an official music channel on YouTube. Dubbed the Square Enix Music Channel, the page has tunes available from a ton of its franchises, spanning back years and years, as well as special playlists and remix packs.

Aperture Desk Job code references unannounced Valve projects, including Half-Life: Alyx 2
https://www.pcgamer.com/aperture-desk-job-code-references-unannounced-valve-projects-including-half-life-alyx-2/
Valve is having a good year so far (and also had a pretty great 2021, thanks)—part of which was the announcement of an unexpected new game, Aperture Desk Job, set in the Portal universe. It's called a 'short' by the developer, free for everyone, and a week after release one dedicated data-hound has sniffed out a breadcrumb trail that seems to reference up to four unannounced (even if rumoured) Valve projects at the developer.

'Russia considers legalizing software piracy to combat tech bans' Not much of a change from their norm then lol.

Is...is that a fan held by an arm bracket, inside the case?.

I've never really seen that done before for a case design. Makes me wonder if it actually makes any difference, but it does seem to be aiming for where the GPU fan intake is going at least. 

The Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store is giving away Cities: Skylines: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/cities-skylines
Next week, they'll give away In Sound Mind.

Steam has a new daily deal: Beyond Contact, still in Early Access, is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/877010/Beyond_Contact/.

There are two Humble deals:

• There's a new Humble Bundle: the Ultimate Racing Sim Bundle, featuring up to 10 items (including two coupon discounts for wheels) during the next 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/ultimate-racing-sim-bundle
• The Humble Store has a new Daedalic Publisher Sale, with up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/daedalic-publisher-sale/

And Fanatical has three new flash deals:

• DEATHLOOP will be 45% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/deathloop
• The Jackbox Party Pack 7 gets a 55% discount for 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-jackbox-party-pack-7
• And Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - Obsidian Edition will be 81% off during the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/pillars-of-eternity-ii-deadfire-obsidian-edition

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Only around 10% of Steam gaming sessions are played with a controller
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/only-around-10-of-steam-gaming-sessions-are-played-with-a-controller/
Valve has released a bunch of interesting info in its Steam Year in Review 2021, including controller usage statistics. According to Valve, there are currently 48 million controllers "registered by Steam users," and they're used in over 10% of all gaming sessions. I wonder how many of those are Steam controllers?
Back in February, a Steamworks update added a new controller usage stats page where developers can see a detailed breakdown of how often players are using controllers in their games, and what kinds of controllers they're using. The data includes gamepads, flight sticks, racing pedals, and even dance pads. Basically, anything that plugs into your PC and can be used to play a game (like a banana) but isn't a mouse and keyboard is counted as a controller.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Nothing-

GAMING NEWS

Ghostwire: Tokyo gets a brand new in-engine trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/ghostwire-tokyo-gets-a-brand-new-in-engine-trailer/
Bethesda has shared a brand new in-engine trailer for Ghostwire: Tokyo. The game releases on March 25th and this trailer will give you a glimpse at its visual style.

Two new gameplay trailers released for Forspoken
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/two-new-gameplay-trailers-released-for-forspoken/
GameInformer and Sony released two new gameplay trailers for Square Enix’s upcoming action RPG, Forspoken. Forspoken has been delayed until October 11th, and these new trailers will give you a glimpse at some of its gameplay mechanics.

Exoprimal is a brand-new team-based action game from Capcom
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/exoprimal-is-a-brand-new-team-based-action-game-from-capcom/
Capcom has just announced a brand-new team-based action game, called Exoprimal. In this game, players will be fighting dinosaurs and you can find its debut trailer below.
>> A new Dino Crisis game, or a remake of the first ones, is all we asked. And what does Capcom do? They give us... this.

Frontier announces F1 Manager 2022, coming to both Steam & Epic Games Store in Summer 2022
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/frontier-announces-f1-manager-2022-as-an-epic-games-store-exclusive-title/
Frontier has unveiled F1 Manager 2022, its major new management simulation game coming this Summer on PC via Epic Games Store and Steam. The F1 Manager franchise will be Frontier’s first foray into an annual sports license, as part of a long-term, multi-title agreement with F1.

Tactical-RPG King Arthur: Knight’s Tale has been delayed until April 26th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/tactical-rpg-king-arthur-knights-tale-has-been-delayed-until-april-26th/
Neocore Games has announced that the full release date of its upcoming tactical-RPG, King Arthur: Knight’s Tale, has been delayed by a month. The game was originally meant to come out on March 29th. However, Neocore Games will now release it on April 26th.

Evil Dead: The Game gets a brand new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/evil-dead-the-game-gets-a-brand-new-gameplay-trailer/
Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games have released a new gameplay trailer for Evil Dead: The Game. This new trailer showcases the new Kandarian Demon, and is being narrated by Bruce Campbell himself.

Rebellion showcases a dinosaur tech demo in Unreal Engine 5, Project Dinosaur
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/rebellion-showcases-a-dinosaur-tech-demo-in-unreal-engine-5-project-dinosaur/
Last week, Rebellion shared a new Showreel, showcasing some of its latest projects. Among them was an interesting dinosaur tech demo in Unreal Engine 5, called Project Dinosaur.
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about this tech demo. From what we can see, this project shows off a T-Rex in a highly detailed forest. In order to create this demo, Rebellion used Unreal Engine 5.

Lost Ark March Update released, full patch notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/lost-ark-march-update-released-full-patch-notes-revealed/
Smilegate has released the March 2022 Update for its free to play MMORPG, Lost Ark. This brand new update adds a new storyline, complete with its own quests, new islands, and cinematic moments. Moreover, it adds a new Raid Boss, and packs a number of bug fixes.

Here are 18 minutes of gameplay footage from Ghostwire: Tokyo
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-18-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-ghostwire-tokyo/
IGN has shared a video, showcasing 18 minutes of gameplay footage from Ghostwire: Tokyo. This new first-person action-adventure from Tango Gameworks will release on March 25th, and this video will give you a glimpse at what you can expect from it.

Thursday news, part two:

'Lucky' Activision stock purchase that led to $60M profit under investigation
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/lucky-activision-stock-purchase-that-led-to-dollar60m-profit-under-investigation/
Three men who have links to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick are currently under investigation for alleged insider trading, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Producer and film studio executive David Geffen, Fox co-founder Barry Diller, and investor Alexander von Furstenberg are said to have purchased around $108 million worth of Activision shares just four days before the Microsoft acquisition was announced back in January (thanks, GamesIndustry.biz). The purchase netted the trio a profit of around $60 million.
>> On one side, his could delay MSoft's acquisition of Acti-Blizz but, on the other, more happier, side, this could put Kotick in real danger.

Believe it or not, Ubisoft is looking for Skull and Bones testers
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/believe-it-or-not-ubisoft-is-looking-for-skull-and-bones-testers/
It's been five years since Ubisoft's multiplayer pirate game Skull and Bones was announced, and it has not been smooth sailing since. (...)
Now, after years of silence and a report detailing toxic work conditions at its lead development studio, it looks like some sort of forward progress might actually be made: Today Ubisoft unveiled the Skull and Bones Insider Program, which will enable a "selected few" fans to try out early builds and provide feedback to developers.

Electronic Arts gets $11M loot box fine overturned
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ea-gets-dollar11m-loot-box-fine-overturned/
Electronic Arts has successfully appealed a €10 million ($11 million) fine levied against it in the Netherlands over loot boxes in FIFA Ultimate Team. A ruling (via Google Translate) by the Administration Jurisdiction Division, the country's highest general administrative court, has determined that purchasing and opening FUT packs "is not an isolated game" but a component of FUT, and thus the game is not required to be licensed.

Russian invasion of Ukraine forces FPS studio to stop work and flee Kyiv
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/russian-invasion-forces-fps-developer-to-stop-work-and-flee-kyiv/
Survarium developer Vostok Games says it has "taken a break" from work on the game as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that some of its team has now left the city of Kyiv, where the studio is based, for safer parts of the country.

4 years after its final patch, Chrono Trigger on PC is getting a new update with 21:9 support
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/4-years-after-its-final-patch-chrono-trigger-on-pc-is-getting-a-new-update-with-219-support/
The venerable Square RPG Chrono Trigger debuted on PC in February 2018, and the port's reception at the time was not good. Patches changed the picture dramatically, however, and it now holds a "very positive" ranking on Steam across more than 5,000 user reviews. The final update arrived in August 2018, five months later, and everyone seemed satisfied—but now it appears that there's another final patch on the way.

Steal VCRs and cassettes from the 1980s in this open world thief sim
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/steal-vcrs-and-cassettes-from-the-1980s-in-this-open-world-thief-sim/
The makers of popular thief simulator Thief Simulator are going back in time. American Theft 80s is the next open world thieving game from developer Noble Muffins, and there's a free demo out now so you can start slipping into houses in the dead of night and filling your backpack with defunct electronics and cold hard cash.

Square Enix is making a new strategy RPG, but it's not Final Fantasy Tactics or Ogre Battle
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/square-enix-is-making-a-new-strategy-rpg-but-its-not-final-fantasy-tactics-or-ogre-battle/
How many tactics RPGs is too many tactics RPGs? I'm not sure there actually is such a number, but after years of letting the Final Fantasy Tactics series lie fallow, Square Enix seems to have rediscovered that people really like these sorts of games. It just released one named Triangle Strategy for the Nintendo Switch and debuted another during a PlayStation State of Play event on Wednesday: The DioField Chronicle, out later this year. A trailer on Square Enix's official YouTube channel confirms it's coming to Steam.

Bungie stops selling Destiny 2 in Russia, makes a free emblem for the rest of the world
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bungie-stops-selling-destiny-2-in-russia-makes-a-free-emblem-for-the-rest-of-the-world/
In February, Destiny 2 studio Bungie promised to donate all of the proceeds raised during the first 48 hours of its Game2Give campaign to humanitarian aid efforts in Ukraine. Today it detailed the results of that effort: $120,000 raised for Direct Relief and the International Rescue Committee.

The Dying Light 2 item that makes weapons unbreakable got nerfed, and players want it fixed
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-dying-light-2-item-that-makes-weapons-unbreakable-got-nerfed-and-players-want-it-fixed/
There are loads of different zombie-smashing melee weapons in Dying Light 2, from axes to hammers to an old pistol welded to a pole (it's called a gunhammer). And while players will constantly find new ones and discard old ones as they rank up, it's hard not to get attached to a favorite weapon somewhere along the way.
The issue is, weapons degrade as you use them and they can't be traditionally repaired. The solution? A well-hidden easter egg trinket, the Korek Charm, which can be attached to a weapon to give it near-infinite durability.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R is confirmed for PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/jojos-bizarre-adventure-all-star-battle-r-is-confirmed-for-pc/
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle was a fighter that released exclusively for PlayStation 3 back in 2014, though it was available in Japan a whole year earlier. It's based on the manga series of the same name (sans All Star Battle) and pits characters from that series against one another in very flamboyant 3D scraps. An updated re-release is on the way, titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R, and it's confirmed to be coming to Steam.

The Cowabunga Collection brings back 13 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/the-cowabunga-collection-brings-back-13-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-games/
Konami has announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, a sepia-tinged feast for nerds of a certain age (me). The Japanese publisher acquired the rights to the series in 1987, just as it began to explode in popularity, and set about producing a bunch of titles across different platforms: probably the most well-known being the 4-player TMNT arcade game.
>> I played some of those back in the day.

Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/
The website MobyGames was launched in 1999, the intention being to create a huge videogame database via crowdsourcing—a goal that it has certainly achieved, being one of the most useful repositories of things like game credits and box art there is. In November last year, Atari announced a potential deal to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million from owner Antstream, and this deal has now been completed.

AMD to discuss ‘next-generation image upscaling’ at GDC 2022

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-to-discuss-next-generation-image-upscaling-at-gdc-2022

This will affect Intel the most as they are the new player in the GPU space. Nvidia has DLSS, AMD will most likely have their Ai upscaling presentation soon so Intel's XeSS will be used by basically no one other than themselves. And because their market share is so low, the adoption will also be low.

AMD just proved they're not your friend

The new Threadripper is OEM only thus the people who bought the new socket for the last Threadripper got screwed because they got only one generation of CPU support. Even Intel didn't pull that awful of a move with their HEDT line.

The Extremely Shady Death of Artesian Builds

The prebuilt company is going out of business after doing some shady stuff so if you are one of those people that bought a PC from them but have yet to receive your order, it's time to do a charge back asap.

Ghostwire Tokyo could have Ray Tracing reflections

As predicted, Ray Tracing is a feature that you should make sure your next GPU purchase is good at as majority of the big games continue to get some sort of a Ray Tracing implementation.

These days, very few games remain exclusive to consoles. thankfully for us.

And it's a shame how that Twitch fiasco has been so poorly managed, to the point of so many people losing their jobs because the mouth of their boss is bigger than his brain.

It's not easy to see nowadays, but it's nothing new. Some older cases were so big that they actually put them because, oftherwise, the amount of air that reached the GPU was too low.

It will be interesting to see how AMD will handle that "image upscaling" tech and if they make it open source or not. Because that will, most likely, be the key to the success or failure of it. Let's hope they keep their good manners on this aspect and make it open so it can be used on Nvidia and Intel hardware.

Of course, it doesn't matter how open it is if it doesn't work well, but we'll have to wait to make any comment until they show it to us and reviewers test it.

And it's a shame their CPU side is pulling this kind of dick moves.

This is why I didn't waste my time going HEDT for the first time in... 15 years? The Ryzen 9 was just the best bang for buck that made HEDT entirely redundant.
The fact AMD potentially only supported Threadripper on one socket is just shit.

Truth be told... It was tempting to get 64 CPU cores, but I am also chasing per-thread performance... I want to be able to run Sins of a Solar Empire at full speed with max game speed... Ryzen 9 got near that... But not yet.

Either way, Intel is bringing some competition now, which is going to be beneficial for us in lowering CPU prices with some luck.

The Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Fanatical has two new flash deals and a new bundle:

• The first flash deal is BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend, 89% off during the next 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/blaz-blue-chronophantasma-extend
• The second flash deal is SUPERHOT VR, 66% off for the next 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/superhot-vr
• And the new bundle is the Guardian Bundle 6, featuring 9 games split into three tiers of 2, 8 and 9 games: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/guardian-bundle-6

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This must-have Elden Ring mod removes the automatic camera re-centering
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-must-have-elden-ring-mod-removes-the-automatic-camera-re-centering/
Elden Ring came out two weeks ago and after spending more than 40 hours on it, I can safely say that the game is playable with keyboard and mouse. However, there is one feature that can completely destroy your gaming experience if you use K&M, and that’s the automatic re-centering of the camera. And while FromSoftware has not addressed this via a patch, there is now a mod that fixes it.
For those unaware, the game automatically re-centers your camera. And while this may be fine for gamepad users, it’s completely unnecessary for keyboard and mouse players. After all, and by using the mouse, you can quickly re-position your camera.
Created by modder ‘TechieW’, this mod removes this ridiculous automatic camera re-centering feature. As such, PC gamers can now fully enjoy the game with the keyboard and mouse. And yes, the game can become easier now as you won’t be fighting with the camera anymore.

Take a look at this amazing Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast VR Fan Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-this-amazing-star-wars-jedi-knight-2-jedi-outcast-vr-fan-remake/
Guido Mariano is currently working on a VR remake of Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast that looks absolutely incredible. And, although there isn’t any ETA on when it will come out, you can find below some WIP gameplay videos.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any additional details about this project. From the looks of it, it’s still in a very early development stage. Still, I’m certain that most Star Wars fans will find it cool.

GAMING NEWS

Overwatch 2 Closed Alpha Testing begins today, Beta begins in April
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/overwatch-2-closed-alpha-testing-begins-today-beta-begins-in-april/
Blizzard has announced that the Closed Alpha Testing phase for Overwatch 2 begins today. According to the team, Blizzard employees, Overwatch League pros, and a few other select groups will help the dev team with the game’s development.

Devil May Cry/Bayonetta-inspired game, Wanted: Dead, gets a brand new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/devil-may-cry-bayonetta-inspired-game-wanted-dead-gets-a-brand-new-gameplay-trailer/
110 Industries released a brand new gameplay trailer for its upcoming high-octane third-person action game, Wanted: Dead. As the title implies, this new trailer features some new gameplay sequences, so we strongly recommend watching it.