The Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has two novelties:

• To celebrate the 7th anniversary of The Witcher III, the games of the franchise are up to 85% off until May 22: https://www.gog.com/promo/2022_witcher_anniversary
• And from now and during 127 hours, GOG is giving away The Witcher Goodies Collection: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_witcher_goodies_collection

Steam has lots of new deals, including new weeklong deals:

• The new daily deal is the FMV title Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?, 33% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1628130/Who_Pressed_Mute_on_Uncle_Marcus/
• The first Midweek Madness deal is DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT, 20% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1850570/DEATH_STRANDING_DIRECTORS_CUT/
• Publisher Humble Games puts its games up to 80% off until May 24: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/BirthdaySale
• Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2: Deluxe Edition gets a 75% discount until the 29th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1922560/Plants_vs_Zombies_Garden_Warfare_2_Deluxe_Edition/
• And here are some of the weeklong deals:
  • The recently launched Sokobos is 15% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1655890/Sokobos/
  • No Straight Roads: Encore Edition is 33% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1726190/No_Straight_Roads_Encore_Edition/
  • Insurgency: Sandstorm gets a 50% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/581320/Insurgency_Sandstorm/
  • The Chronicles of Nyanya is 85% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/704200/The_Chronicles_of_Nyanya/
  • And Toki is 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1058320/Toki/

The Humble Store has a new Flash Deal: Immortals Fenyx Rising Gold Edition. The key is for UPlay: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/immortals-fenyx-rising-gold-edition

And Fanatical has a new BYO Festival Bundle, with 24 games to choose your 1, 5 or 10 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-festival-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Need for Speed 3 in Unreal Engine 5 looks retro-amazing
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/need-for-speed-3-in-unreal-engine-5-looks-retro-amazing/
A few days ago, we shared a video showcasing a fan remake of Need for Speed Underground 2 in Unreal Engine 4. And today, we get to see another classic Need for Speed game in Epic’s latest engine.
Created by Dávid Kerekes, the following video showcases Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit in Unreal Engine 5. Kerekes used and imported the original textures and 3D models from Need for Speed 3 in Unreal Engine 5. As such, this project can give us an idea of what a faithful remaster of this classic racing game could look like.
From what we can see, Kerekes has ported two levels (Hometown and Atlantica) and one vehicle. Additionally, there are some basic gameplay driving mechanics.
>> No word on whether this is just for showing or if the author will end launching it for all.

This modder added VR support to Resident Evil Village when Capcom refused
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/this-modder-added-vr-support-to-resident-evil-village-when-capcom-refused/
Modder Praydog, who previously added VR support to Resident Evils 2 and 3, has now brought the headset-based immersive gaming of the future to Resident Evils 7 and Village. Ian Higton at Eurogamer got the chance to sample the nearly-finished mod ahead of its release. Praydog intends to release it for free, but you can also support his future VR projects by backing his Patreon.
Resident Evil 7 had very well-received support for Sony's PSVR headset, but never got a PC version, while Resident Evil Village never even received the PSVR nod. The demand for such a mode remained, however, given how well the games' slow-moving, first person action lends itself to VR play.

While you wait for Dark Souls to be fixed, here's a mod with 200+ community soapstone messages
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/while-you-wait-for-dark-souls-to-be-fixed-heres-a-mod-with-200-community-soapstone-messages/
The Dark Souls games have been offline for (checks calendar) 113 days now, and while Bandai Namco has promised it's "actively working" on a fix, that's a frustratingly vague assurance for those among us who still play these games daily. I know one person like that, and I only know around a dozen people.
Also spare a thought for Souls newcomers, who may be inspired to play the trilogy in a post-Elden Ring bout of enthusiasm. While the game is offline, features like cooperative play are non-existent, and likewise, the ever-useful soapstone messages won't be there to warn of ambushes, or to point out nice places for jumping.
Don't worry though, because modders have come to the rescue. Created by modder KingBoreHaha, the Community Message Mod is available for both Dark Souls Remastered and the old Prepare to Die edition, and as the name implies, it adds over 200 "community-submitted soapstone messages".

GAMING NEWS

Soulstice gets a brand new 11-minute gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/soulstice-gets-a-brand-new-11-minute-gameplay-trailer/
Modus Games has released a brand new trailer for Soulstice, showcasing 11 minutes of new gameplay footage from it. The new combat-focused video demonstrates how sisters Briar and Lute work in unison, using an array of destructive weapons and otherworldly powers to overcome their enemies and save the city of Ilden.

The Matrix Awakens MegaCity Unreal Engine 5.1 available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-matrix-awakens-megacity-unreal-engine-5-1-available-for-download/
It appears that Epic Games has pushed a brand new version of its latest video-game engine, Unreal Engine. And although there aren’t any release notes of the improvements that have been made to Unreal Engine 5.1, Xenthorx packaged the Matrix Awakens Megacity Demo for players to download.

505 Games has announced Miasma Chronicles, Among the Trolls & Stray Blade
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/505-games-announces-miasma-chronicles-among-the-trolls-stray-blade/
During its first-ever product showcase, 505 Games announced three new games that will release in 2022/2023. These three games are Miasma Chronicles, Among the Trolls and Stray Blade.
>> You'll find the trailers for those new games in the article, or you can watch the Showcase at Youtube (35 minutes).

Tuesday news, part two:

Fall Guys goes free in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/fall-guys-free-to-play/
Fall Guys is going free-to-play on Tuesday, June 21, as well as coming to the Epic Games Store. It will also be making its debut on various console platforms, which matters because the game will have cross-play and cross-progression across all of them—so this should be quite the second wind of players.
After the switch, Fall Guys will no longer be available to new players on Steam, but those who already own a Steam copy will continue to receive the same updates as Epic Store players.
>> Hiku made a thread about this.

Bugs Bunny gets what he deserves in this new MultiVersus trailer
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/bugs-bunny-gets-what-he-deserves-in-this-new-multiversus-trailer/
Nobody really said it better than Twitter user DJMCTV who wrote that the latest MultiVersus trailer was "like mixing cereal." The Smash Bros.-style brawler dumps a bunch of iconic Warner Bros. characters like Batman, Bugs Bunny, and (Ultra Instinct) Shaggy into the same bowl and slides it over to you. In the trailer, we get to see some new additions to the cast, as well as a look into how MultiVersus will try to reconcile their vastly different backgrounds into one, cohesive game.
>> There's a thread about this, made again by Hiku.

Kerbal Space Program 2 is now delayed to 2023
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/kerbal-space-program-2-is-now-delayed-to-2023/
Kerbal Space Program 2, the game about developing a haphazardly dangerous space program and using it to fling little green weirdos into the cold void of space, has been delayed yet again. The long-awaited sequel was most recently expected to be out in the second half of 2022, but is now scheduled to launch sometime in early 2023.

Scavengers studio sold to Dead by Daylight dev
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/scavengers-studio-sold-to-dead-by-daylight-dev/
Midwinter Entertainment, developer of the extremely decent Scavengers, has been sold by parent company Improbable to Behaviour Interactive (thanks, Eurogamer). Behaviour Interactive is of course best-known for Dead by Daylight.
Thanks to the sale, planned console versions of Scavengers have been cancelled, though the PC version remains live. The bulk of Midwinter Entertainment—founded by former 343 Industries folk—is now working on another project. The rights to Scavengers remain with Improbable.

Indie darling Cave Story is now a roguelike
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/indie-darling-cave-story-is-now-a-roguelike/
Daisuke 'Pixel' Amaya, the creator of the original Cave Story, worked on the game for five years before releasing it as freeware in 2004. The game is a deeply charming, tough and imaginative Metroidvania-style adventure that ever since release has been something of an indie touchstone: a great example of what one person can achieve by making exactly the game they want to make.
Cave Story's structure is one of its great pleasures: it features five aesthetically and mechanically distinct environments, plus various hubs and mini-zones, and runs players back-and-forth across them with notable changes. This is not the first attempt at a remix, but now a group of developers have picked up Cave Story and changed it up so you can play the indie darling as a roguelike.

Intel XeSS is not launching with Dolmen this week

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-xess-is-not-launching-with-dolmen-this-week

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 cooling heatsink has allegedly been pictured

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4090-cooling-heatsink-has-allegedly-been-pictured

Well, it would have been weird to launch a game supporting XeSS when there are no GPUs to use it, right?

The news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

GOG has four new sales:

• The new flash deal, only one this time, is the FMV The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, 70% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_infectious_madness_of_doctor_dekker
• The Midweek Sale is full of point'n'click and adventure games with up to 90% discounts until Sunday: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220518_midweek_sale
• Publisher Microids puts its games up to 90% off until May 25: https://www.gog.com/promo/2022_microids
• And developers Animation Arts puts its Animation Arts Collection Bundle, featuring 6 games, 80% off during an unknown amount of time: https://www.gog.com/en/game/animation_arts_collection

Steam has three new deals:

• The first daily deal is Democracy 4, 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1410710/Democracy_4/
• The second daily deal is Furi, also 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/423230/Furi/
• And there's another Midweek Madness deal: Roboquest, still in Early Access, will be 30% off until May 24: https://store.steampowered.com/app/692890/Roboquest/

And Fanatical has a new deal:

• The new Star Deal is Road 96, 35% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/road-96
• And keep in mind that the May Madness event, with up to 90% discounts, will last only 48 more hours. Check them out here.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

EzBench is a new and free Unreal Engine 5 benchmark
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/ezbench-is-a-new-and-free-unreal-engine-5-benchmark/
Unreal Engine 5 has been formally released, and there are many games in development that make use of its stunning capabilities. There are several showcase demos, including the gorgeous Matrix Awakens demo. As gamers know, stunning graphics places a heavy demand on your hardware, and if you were keen to see just how Unreal Engine 5 games will perform on your PC, now’s your chance, thanks to EzBench, a free Unreal Engine 5 benchmark.
It’s available as a free download on Steam (thanks to ComputerBase for the tip). It includes 8K textures, ray tracing support and it goes without saying that it will bring your system to its knees. It’s set on a small island and it’s designed as a demanding stress test of your system, however the developers note that it’s a work in progress and properly optimized UE5 games will run better than EzBench.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

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GAMING NEWS

Bohemia has released Arma Reforger in Early Access, Arma 4 is in development
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bohemia-has-released-arma-reforger-in-early-access-arma-4-is-in-development/
Bohemia Interactive has announced that Arma Reforger is available in Early Access. Moreover, the company confirmed the development of the next part of the Arma series, Arma 4.
Arma Reforger will showcase the studio’s progress on their new Enfusion engine and offer a glimpse of things to come. Functioning as a creative platform, Arma Reforger will provide multiple tools and services for users to modify and adjust the experience.
>> So it turns out that the rumor/leak was legit.

Here is the first image for Techland’s upcoming fantasy open world RPG
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/here-is-the-first-image-for-techland-upcoming-fantasy-open-world-rpg/
Techland has shared the first concept art for its upcoming triple-A open-world action-RPG that is set in a fantasy setting. Techland also revealed that it has hired developers that have previously worked in major games, like The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown now targets a 2023 release
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/test-drive-unlimited-solar-crown-now-targets-a-2023-release/
Nacon and KT Racing have announced that Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will now target a 2023 release. In addition, the teams revealed that they are working on a schedule for closed betas.

NACON has announced GreedFall 2, coming to PC in 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nacon-has-announced-greedfall-2-coming-to-pc-in-2024/
NACON and the development studio Spiders announced today the sequel to GreedFall, which surpassed 2 million sold copies, GreedFall 2. According to NACON, GreedFall 2 will be coming to PC in 2024.

Part two of the news:

Silt is Limbo for people who need the extra terror of the deep sea, and arrives next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/silt-is-limbo-for-people-who-need-the-extra-terror-of-the-deep-sea-and-arrives-next-month/
Limbo's an all-timer when it comes to brutal, unnerving monochrome platformers. But Limbo's almost 12 years old, it's about time someone came to not only knock it off its pedestal, but sink it into the murky, oppressive depths of the scariest place on Earth: the ocean.
We first caught Silt at last year's PC Gaming Showcase, describing it as Abzu meets Limbo. It is, in fact, very much that—with you taking control of a diver swimming through an oppressive, desaturated underwater labyrinth where vision is limited and death comes quick.

The team that brought us sexy Colonel Sanders is working on a Dead by Daylight dating sim
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/a-dead-by-daylight-dating-sim-is-coming-from-the-team-that-brought-us-sexy-colonel-sanders/
Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer game about torture, murder, and unspeakable savagery and horror. But later this year it will experiment with a softer side of its persona in Hooked On You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Sim, which will let players frolic with four dead-sexy psycho killers on the tropical paradise of Murderer's Island.

Blizzard's next Overwatch 2 event will take place in June
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/blizzards-next-overwatch-2-event-will-take-place-in-june/
Overwatch 2 is a little confusing. As Morgan put it last week after spending some time in the first beta, it's not actually "Overwatch 2," in the sense that it's not really a sequel but more like an expansion of the original Overwatch. It's a state of affairs that an awful lot of fans expecting a full-on new game aren't really happy with.

It's really starting to look like Bloober Team is making a new Silent Hill game
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/its-really-starting-to-look-like-bloober-team-is-making-a-new-silent-hill-game/
The likelihood of a return of Konami's much-loved Silent Hill continues to grow. Following last week's leak of images purportedly from a reboot of the series, multiple sources have said that a remake of Silent Hill 2 and a full-on sequel are possibly in the works.

Vampire survival game V Rising is out now
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/vampire-survival-game-v-rising-is-out-now/
Swedish developer Stunlock Studios was the team behind arena brawler Battlerite, and has brought some of that style of action to V Rising, making for a rare combination—a survival game with combat that doesn't suck. You know what does suck? Vampires, with the blood-drinking and that. V Rising is a multiplayer survival game where you're a wannabe Count Dracula, chopping down trees and building a castle when you're not dodging daylight and hunting peasants.

Total War: Warhammer 3's 1.2 update means more siege defences, less towers, free mounts
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/total-war-warhammer-3s-12-update-means-more-siege-defences-less-towers-free-mounts/
The latest update for Total War: Warhammer 3 brings it up to version 1.2 and adds seven Regiments of Renown. These are elite mercenary units who were mostly included with paid DLC in previous games but are now being parceled into updates for free. It's a significant patch in terms of rebalancing and improvements as well, with a lot of changes that should make players happy.

Epic pays for Sherlock Holmes studio to relocate employees out of Kyiv
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/epic-pays-for-sherlock-holmes-studio-to-relocate-employees-out-of-kyiv/
Epic has taken a clear stance with regards to the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war, most notably raising $144 million in humanitarian relief through Fortnite sales. Now, the publisher has awarded a 'MegaGrant' to the Kyiv-based Frogwares, developer of the excellent Sherlock Holmes series, in order to help it relocate and support employees affected by the conflict.
>> Call me cynical but, given that there are a lot of studios affected by this nonsense but they're helping a successful one, this is out of kindness and not a long term plan to buy them.

Apex Legends' newest legend isn't coming to PC
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/apex-legends-newest-legend-isnt-coming-to-pc/
Meet Fade, Apex Legends' newest hero. He's a phase-powered mercenary who, like Tracer Overwatch, can rewind time with his tactical ability, send allies and enemies to an alternate dimension with his ult, and gains a speed boost after sliding. He also has a skull mask ripped straight out of Call of Duty and, oh, right, he probably won't ever be playable on PC or console.

Amazon Games says it's 'fighting a war' against the bots infesting Lost Ark
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/amazon-games-says-its-fighting-a-war-against-the-bots-infesting-lost-ark/
Lost Ark has had a problem with bots for a while now, and publisher Amazon Games has been commendably frank thus far about how it is and plans to deal with them.
(...)
A new blogpost once again addresses the issue, beginning: "We know that bots have been causing frustration within the community, and we share in that frustration."

AMD RDNA 3 Flagship, Navi 31 GPU Rumored To Offer Up To 384-bit Bus & 24 GB GDDR6 Memory, Navi 32 Gets 256-bit For Up To 16 GB Memory

https://wccftech.com/amd-rdna-3-gpus-navi-31-384-bit-24-gb-memory-navi-32-256-bit-16-gb-memory-rumor/

Sounds like RDNA 3 is going to be a beast! But take it with a grain of salt as always, especially as Kopite is getting his RDNA 3 info from Red Tech Gaming.

Alleged Intel Core i9-13900K Raptor Lake CPU-Z Shows Up To 68 MB Cache: Higher Clocks & Increased Cache Designed To Tackle AMD’s Raphael ‘Zen 4’ CPUs

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-i9-13900k-raptor-lake-cpu-z-leak-up-to-68-mb-increased-cache-tackle-amd-raphael-zen-4/

Intel High-End Arc A730M Mobility Gaming GPU Spotted in Machenike Laptop: Features Core i7-12700H & Listed For Around $1200 US

https://wccftech.com/intel-high-end-arc-a730m-mobility-gaming-gpu-spotted-in-machenike-laptop-1200-usd-price/

MIT titles nanoscience building in honor of AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su

https://wccftech.com/mit-titles-nanoscience-building-in-honor-of-amd-ceo-dr-lisa-su/

NVIDIA To Finally Release GeForce GTX 1630, The Successor To GT 1030: Faster Than GTX 1050 Ti In Performance

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1630-graphics-card-in-the-works-gt-1030-successor-faster-than-gtx-1050-ti/

3.5x RT.. damn. I know thats coming from the rather underwhelming RDNA 2 baseline but holy crap.. that's a jump! Assuming this is true, ofc.

Really want to see how Nvidia improved in this regard. Also seeing as there is talks of DLSS 3 incoming too this upcoming generation which could swing the tide either way.

Pretty much. RDNA 3 will be the first time AMD gets viable Ray Tracing performance that might be competitive against Nvidia. I am sure Nvidia will win overall in Ray Tracing but RDNA 3 should be a lot closer compared to RDNA 2 vs Ampere.

So the rumor from that PCGamer article now has spread. Still surprised it's not a MCM design as we expected, but after yesterday's tweet from kopite saying that he was disappointed by RDN3, the new one stating a 2x and x3.5 increase is reassuring. It must mean the he was talking about the price of the cards as we speculated.

If all of this is true, of course.