The Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Humble Store has a new flash sale, with OUTRIDERS being 50% off during 26 hours: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/agecheck/outriders.

Fanatical has a new sale (that may have started yesterday) with Disney Interactive putting its games up to 79% off during the next 5 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/disney-interactive.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

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GAMING NEWS

Skull and Bones will support Ray Tracing, NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/skull-and-bones-will-support-ray-tracing-nvidia-dlss-and-amd-fsr-on-pc/
Ubisoft has detailed the PC features of Skull and Bones. According to the French company, the game will support Ray Tracing effects on PC. Moreover, Skull and Bones will support both NVIDIA’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR upscaling techniques.
>> It's FSR 1.0, not the superior 2.0 version, and it will also support XeSS, if the Ubisoft quote from this videocardz article is to be believed. Oh, and here you'll find the system requirements.

Here are 14 minutes of gameplay footage from the gamescom 2022 demo of Wanted: Dead
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-14-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-the-gamescom-2022-demo-of-wanted-dead/
IGN Japan has shared a new video, showcasing 14 minutes of gameplay footage from the gamescom 2022 demo of Wanted: Dead. Since this is a video of someone playing the game, you may not like the way they do it. Nevertheless, this video will give you an idea of the game’s combat mechanics, so be sure to watch it.

New 7-minute gameplay video for Gotham Knights shows off the Harley Quinn boss fight
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-7-minute-gameplay-video-for-gotham-knights-shows-off-the-harley-quinn-boss-fight/
IGN has shared a new video, showcasing 7 minutes of gameplay footage from the Harley Quinn boss fight that will be in Gotham Knights. Since this is a boss fight, it may contain some spoilers so be sure to avoid it if you want to experience it yourselves.

First full match gameplay footage from the wrestling game, AEW: Fight Forever
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-full-match-gameplay-footage-from-the-wrestling-game-aew-fight-forever/
THQ Nordic has shared a gameplay video, showcasing a full match from the upcoming wrestling game, AEW: Fight Forever. While the game is still in development, and this video does not represent the quality of the final product, it can give you an idea of what you can expect from it.

Extended gameplay trailer released for the Nier-inpired game, Phantom Hellcat
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/extended-gameplay-trailer-released-for-the-nier-inpired-game-phantom-hellcat/
All in! Games has released an extended gameplay trailer for its upcoming Nier-inspired game, Phantom Hellcat. This extended trailer showcases a variety of dilapidated environments to explore including a crumbling castle, haunted library, and spotlight stage.

First 16 minutes of gameplay from The Last of Us Part 1 Remake
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-16-minutes-of-gameplay-from-the-last-of-us-part-1-remake/
YouTube’s ‘Tahiday’ has shared a video, showcasing the first 16 minutes from The Last of Us Part 1 Remake. This video shows the entire prologue sequence, so be sure to avoid it in case you want to experience it yourselves. Needless to say that the prologue also has some spoilers (for those that haven’t played the original game).

Official gameplay trailer for Team Ninja’s new action game, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/official-gameplay-trailer-team-ninja-action-game-wo-long-fallen-dynasty/
KOEI Tecmo and Team Ninja have released an official gameplay trailer for their upcoming story-driven action game, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

Official PC system requirements for Hogwarts Legacy
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/official-pc-system-requirements-for-hogwarts-legacy/
Warner Bros has revealed the official PC system requirements for Hogwarts Legacy. According to the PC specs, the game will require 85GB of free hard-disk space, and will be using the DX12 API.

Friday news, part two:

DICE clearly isn't giving up on Battlefield 2042
https://www.pcgamer.com/battlefield-2042-season-2-announcement/
When a developer starts saying stuff like "we hear your feedback," it's hard not to imagine that a clock has started ticking. Any online game is in danger of Antheming out of existence these days, or at least being deprioritized if it underperforms. So far, though, DICE hasn't wavered commitment to making Battlefield 2042 popular.
It hasn't quite succeeded, but the game's average Steam concurrent player count did increase after the delayed Season 1 update dropped in early June. Now the shooter's second season is about to start: A new map, specialist, guns, and vehicles are coming next week, on Tuesday, August 30.

The PC strategy RPG army swells: Absolute Tactics arrives September 15
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-pc-strategy-rpg-army-swells-absolute-tactics-arrives-september-15/
Absolute Tactics, or as it would've been called in '90s California, Hella Tactics, is an indie project that longtime Gearbox Software developer Jason Shields has been working on for the last five years. It's finally almost finished, and landing on Steam and the Nintendo Switch on September 15—right in the middle of the biggest year for the strategy RPG genre in decades.

The Devil In Me brings hellish inventory puzzles to the Dark Pictures Anthology
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-devil-in-me-brings-hellish-inventory-puzzles-to-the-dark-pictures-anthology/
The latest addition to the Dark Pictures anthology is officially The Devil In Me, confirming the name leaked last year. This serial killer focused entry is set to be more expansive, according to an interview with VG247, with game director Tom Heaton wanting to frighten players by giving them more agency—and more puzzles.

Flight Simulator is getting helicopters, gliders, and a giant wooden seaplane that only ever flew once
https://www.pcgamer.com/flight-simulator-40th-anniversary-patch/
The Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition patch now has an official release date: It'll be free to everyone on November 11. The update will bring 12 new aircraft, 20 missions from the game's past, 4 big commercial airports, 10 glider airports, and 14 heliports.
Most notably for sim fans, it'll introduce helicopters and gliders, the two things people want the most from Microsoft Flight Simulator and that've been absent since the latest version's 2020 launch. It'll also have a proper full-size airliner, per community demand: The Airb

Phil Spencer says Microsoft really wants Activision for mobile and PC games
https://www.pcgamer.com/phil-spencer-says-microsoft-really-wants-activision-for-mobile-and-pc-games/
It would be reasonable to think that Microsoft's pursuit of Activision Blizzard was driven to a significant degree by Call of Duty. It's one of the biggest game series on the planet, after all, a perennial money-maker that just can't seem to lose, even after over a decade of yearly releases. But in an interview with Bloomberg, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said what really drove Microsoft's interest was mobile games and, to a lesser extent, PC.

You can turn on every apocalypse at once in next Total War: Warhammer 3 update
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-turn-on-every-apocalypse-at-once-in-next-total-war-warhammer-3-update/
Every game of Total War: Warhammer 3's new Immortal Empires mode ends, by default, with some disastrous event befalling the Warhammer world. It spices up the normally staid late game of a Total War campaign. You know: A mass rising of the undead, a vast horde of orcs, the dwarfs getting tired of everyone else's shit.
Update 2.1, which is currently scheduled to arrive on September 6, will add a new feature to the scenario: "Ultimate Crisis Mode," which fires off every single end-game scenario at once if you select all five apocalypses. Creative Assembly helpfully notes that "this may have unexpected results" in modded games, especially those that add even more end-game scenarios.

Retro raygun shooter They Came From Dimension X made me feel like I was in a '90s game ad
https://www.pcgamer.com/retro-raygun-shooter-they-came-from-dimension-x-made-me-feel-like-i-was-in-a-90s-game-ad/
The demo for upcoming boomer shooter They Came From Dimension X is a blast from start to finish. Less than a minute in, I hooted so loud I startled my girlfriend from across the apartment when I stepped into the first room and started walking straight up a wall. The experience felt like it needed to be accompanied by that dude from the old Sega Saturn ads talking about the new millennium.

The Minecraft RTS spinoff is inventing new enemies, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-minecraft-rts-spinoff-is-inventing-new-enemies-too/
Minecraft Legends creative director Magnus Nedfors and executive producer Dennis Ries sat down during the Xbox booth livestream at Gamescom this week to deliver a couple new details about Legends, including info on some new mobs—both friend and foe. As with its past genre experimentations, Mojang and Blackbird Interactive's upcoming RTS spinoff is going to make its own mark on the Minecraft world. Dungeons stepped out of the bounds of existing Minecraft lore to create mobs needed to suit its action RPG world and Legends is doing the same.

Ransomware abuses Genshin Impact's kernel mode anti-cheat to bypass antivirus protection
https://www.pcgamer.com/ransomware-abuses-genshin-impacts-kernel-mode-anti-cheat-to-bypass-antivirus-protection/
Security skeptics and advocates have worried for some time now that exploits able to take advantage of anti-cheat kernel-mode drivers could wreak serious havoc on PC security. Now it seems to have happened: The anti-cheat driver used by Genshin Impact, the popular free-to-play RPG, has been abused by a ransomware actor to stop antivirus processes and enable the mass deployment of their ransomware.

'The galaxy won't be the same' after Elite Dangerous Update 14, say devs
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-galaxy-wont-be-the-same-after-elite-dangerous-update-14-say-devs/
A two-year-long storyline in Elite Dangerous ended with a bang this month. Actually, there were two bangs in Update 13: the first was the firing of a superweapon in an attempt to destroy the alien Thargoids… quickly followed by the second bang of the Thargoids totally not being destroyed and blowing that superweapon into space-smithereens.

Most of the Hogwarts Legacy Collector's Edition's $300 price tag is tied up in an electromagnetic floating wand
https://www.pcgamer.com/most-of-the-hogwarts-legacy-collectors-editions-dollar300-price-tag-is-tied-up-in-an-electromagnetic-floating-wand/
As reported by our friends at GamesRadar, On August 24, Avalanche Software revealed the very pricey $300 collector's edition version of Hogwarts Legacy.
(...)
Hypotheticals aside, the quality of the goods themselves doesn't seem to be at issue with the Boy Who Lived Supderdeluxe Edition of Legacy, at least. Its centerpiece is a giant cast of a wizardly tome with a map of Hogwarts printed on its open pages. It can be plugged in and powered on, activating the electromagnets under its pages and allowing the included magic wand collectible to float above—pretty neat!

Final Fantasy 14 players are already grinding the hell out of its new relaxing farming mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14-players-are-already-grinding-the-hell-out-of-its-new-relaxing-farming-mode/
nstead of kicking back on the beach like they were supposed to, Final Fantasy 14 players are stripping their pristine new island sanctuaries of every single plant and resource to feed the machine of efficiency.

Creative Assembly teases a new third-person 'action project'
https://www.pcgamer.com/creative-assembly-teases-a-new-third-person-action-project/
Creative Assembly, who you'll mostly know for the impossible breadth and depth of its library of strategy games, have announced that it's working on a new project to "sit alongside Total War, Hyenas and the studio’s other yet-to-be announced project". What's more, it's specifically looking for help from developers "with experience working on third-person titles using the Unreal 5 engine".

Rumours of Amazon bid for EA shot down as the publisher's stock goes on a rollercoaster ride
https://www.pcgamer.com/rumours-of-ea-amazon-bid-shot-down-as-the-publishers-stock-goes-on-a-rollercoaster-ride/
Earlier today a rumour began circulating that Amazon was preparing to make a formal offer to acquire EA, with USA Today's gaming blog citing its own sources that a bid was imminent. This unconfirmed report quickly circulated through the gaming media ecosystem, as well as all the usual channels, and saw EA's stock price begin to shoot up in pre-market trading, at one point rising 15% in value.
It wasn't long, however, until CNBC's stock market team began pouring cold water on the idea. In the below clip, reporter David Faber states plainly, "No, this is not going to happen today. Unless the people who have been involved [in acquisition talks] previously have no idea".
>> There's a thread made by ClassicGamingWizzz about this rumor.

Embracer now owns Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal
https://www.pcgamer.com/embracer-group-now-owns-crystal-dynamics-eidos-montreal-and-square-enix-montreal/
Embracer Group has been on a buying spree frankly so large that it's hard to keep up with all the properties that it owns. Back in May it was announced, however, that the company was in the process of acquiring Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal. Now, a couple of months later, the deed has been done and Embracer now officially owns the lot, among other property too.

And these are the GOG and Steam deals for this weekend:

+GOG

• Let's start with the most important: a new Giveaway! Dex will be free to get during the next 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/game/dex
• The first Deal of the Day is Winter Ember, 30% off during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/winter_ember
• The second DotD is HuniePop 2: Double Date, 45% off until Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/huniepop_2_double_date
• And don't forget to check the numerous deals during this GOG Sale, now with more games. Learn which ones here: https://www.gog.com/en/news/stop_stop_no_more_deals_the_gog_sale_is_growing

+Steam

• The first daily deal is Souldiers, 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1419160/Souldiers/
• The second daily deal is Shift Happens (I hope you read that well), 90% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/359840/Shift_Happens/
• The first Weekend Deal is Total War Warhammer, with all three games on sale with up to 75% discounts until Monday: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/immortalempires
• The Far Cry franchise is up to 80% off until the 29th: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/5583/Far_Cry_Bundle/
• Another franchise on sale is Hitman, with up to 85% discounts until September 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/hitmanfranchisesale
• And the Activision Publisher Sale brings up to 75% discounts until the 5th of September: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/activision2022

And that's it. Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

Intel Deep-Dives Into XeSS Technology: Arc A770 Performance Demo, 3DMark XeSS Feature Test, Over 20 Supported Titles Including COD: Modern Warfare II

https://wccftech.com/intel-xess-arc-gpu-technology-deep-dive-a770-performance-over-20-supported-games-including-cod-mw2/

It will be interesting to see the comparisons between DLSS, XeSS and FSR 2.0. One thing is for sure though is that AMD cannot skip on Ai Upscaling with RDNA 3 as XeSS will be falling back to DP4A on Nvidia and AMD GPUs instead of using Tensor Cores on Nvidia GPUs. According to Intel, this will mean they will be using a less complex algorithm vs using Arc and XMX engines. So most likely, RTX users should stick with DLSS if available, Arc users should stick with XeSS if available and RDNA users will get shafted by using FSR or a lower version of XeSS until AMD comes up with their own. Most likely, RDNA 3 will have their own tensor cores but I wouldn't be surprised if AMD also has a less complex fallback method for RDNA 2 users which is to say, best to skip RDNA 2.


AMD Ryzen 9 7950X & Ryzen 7 7700X “Alleged” Zen 4 CPU Benchmarks Leak Out, 16 Core Up To 40% Faster Than 5950X

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-9-7950x-ryzen-7-7700x-zen-4-cpu-alleged-benchmarks-over-40-percent-faster-than-5950x/

As usual, take it with a grain of salt. While the MT looks fine enough, ST is a bit lacking in this leak.

Intel Core i9-13900 Non-K & 65W TDP-Optimized Raptor Lake CPU Benchmark Leaked, Up To 5.6 GHz Clock Speeds

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-i9-13900-non-k-65w-tdp-optimized-raptor-lake-cpu-benchmarks-leak-up-to-5-6-ghz-clocks/

"Recommended: 1080Ti or 5700XT"

"1080p 60 FPS"

"Upscale Quality Setting"

I think this one needs more attention cause the system requirements sounds like it's going to be a terrible port... Afaik, this is Raster Only and on top of that, the recommended settings are using upscaling. That means that a 1080 Ti in a Raster game is not able to get Native 1080p 60fps according to their own recommended setting. Sure it's an old card but that doesn't sound very good... Especially when the game itself looks like a PS4 title.

Getting Arkham Knight vibes from this one.

Sounds like it could be Intel sponsored even if it has DLSS cause otherwise, there's no reason for Ubisoft to not include FSR 2.0 unless they are dumb.

Hogwarts Legacy does have some higher than expected hardware requirements. It will be interesting to see if they put them to good use or it's just very poor optimization.

And while I agree that money can be involved in the inclusion of XeSS in Skull and Bones, I'm not sure the use of FSR 1.0  has anything to do with it. You don't think they're not dumb enough to make that mistake, I'm not as optimistic as you about them.

Both Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel's Avengers are heavily discounted (90%) on the Square Enix store. I managed to buy them from Europe using Paypal.

https://store.na.square-enix-games.com/en_US/product/648323/marvel-s-guardians-of-the-galaxy-steam

https://store.na.square-enix-games.com/en_US/product/648324/marvel-s-guardians-of-the-galaxy-digital-deluxe-edition-steam

https://store.na.square-enix-games.com/en_US/product/563650/marvel-s-avengers-standard-edition-steam

https://store.na.square-enix-games.com/en_US/product/679334/marvel-s-avengers-endgame-edition-steam

AMD & NVIDIA Partners Ready To Offer More Brutal Price Cuts On GPUs In September, Current Cuts Not Moving Inventory As Expected

https://wccftech.com/amd-nvidia-partners-ready-to-offer-more-brutal-price-cuts-on-gpus-in-september/

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti & RTX 4060 Rumored To Feature Over 2.5 GHz Clocks, Top Model Faster Than An RTX 3080 10 GB

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-ti-rtx-4060-specs-performance-rumor-over-2-6-ghz-gpu-clocks/

I'd take it with a big grain of salt since we don't know the reputation of the leaker. Hell it looks like Greymons alt or something with that profile pic.

Let's see what they think "brutal" means. Going MSRP or only slightly lower for the mid and low end cards won't do it for anyone.

I don't think the price of low-mid ranged cards will change much because the oversupply seems to be with higher end cards... Least on Nvidia's end anyway. It's why you have this weirdness where a 3060 AIB costs $414-$450 but a you can find a 3060 Ti FE for $400 at Bestbuy US or 3060 Ti AIB for $465 or 3070 AIB for $500 in newegg US.

AMD's side is a bit different where you can find the 6600XT for the price of a 3050 and sometimes lower.