The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

Skyrocketing Cyberpunk 2077 player counts prove the Netflix boost is real
https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrocketing-cyberpunk-2077-player-counts-prove-the-netflix-boost-is-real/
"Welp, the Cyberpunk 2077 anime made me want to give the game another shot," said our Wes Fenlon just this week. He wasn't alone, as tens of thousands have returned to CD Projekt Red's 2020 RPG shooter following the release of Studio Trigger's Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime.
Sites like SteamDB put Cyberpunk 2077's peak concurrent player count—on Steam alone—at over 85,000 in the last 24 hours. Those are player numbers it hasn't seen since January of 2021, with daily highs of something more like 10-15K more normal. Not surprising, given that its launch could be politely termed a disaster.

GOG starts the week with 4 new Deals of the Day and 2 new sales:

• The first DotD is RimWorld, 10% off during 46 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/rimworld
• The second DofD is Dead Cells: Road to the Sea, 20% off until Wednesday: https://www.gog.com/en/game/dead_cells_road_to_the_sea
• The third one is Ziggurat 2, with a 25% discount until the 21st: https://www.gog.com/en/game/ziggurat_2
• And the fourth is Tales of Monkey Island: Complete Season, 80% off until Wednesday 21st: https://www.gog.com/en/game/tales_of_monkey_island
• The Weekly Sale features up to 90% discounts until next Monday: https://www.gog.com/promo/20220919_weekly_sale
• And there's a Special Sale featuring games from 2K up to 90% off until the 26th: https://www.gog.com/promo/2022_2k_publisher_sale

Steam has two new deals:

• The new daily deal is .hack//G.U. Last Recode, 85% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/525480/hackGU_Last_Recode/
• And Godfall Ultimate Edition will be 50% off until next Monday, 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/928960/Godfall_Ultimate_Edition/

We find three new deals at Humble:

• The new Humble Bundle is the Total War Classics Bundle, with up to 8 games to get during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/total-war-classics-bundle
• And at the Humble Store we find two new sales:
  • The Komodo Publisher Sale comes with up 80% discounts to during 4 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/komodo-publisher-sale/
  • And Frontier Developments puts its games up to 80% off during 7 days. All the keys are, again, for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/frontier-developments-publisher-sale/

And at Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Iratus: Lord of the Dead, 90% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/iratus-lord-of-the-dead
• And the Spirit Hunter Double Pack will have a 93% discount during 14 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/spirit-hunter-double-pack

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Kill time during long transfers with Lunar Lander in your Windows copy dialog
https://www.pcgamer.com/kill-time-during-long-transfers-with-lunar-lander-in-your-windows-copy-dialog/
There's nothing better than injecting a little bit of fun into the otherwise mundane. Little things, like tossing your trash for a three-pointer or sliding down the bannister add a little joy to an otherwise dull passing life event. We are often by nature fun seeking beings, and that is why it is only natural that someone has developed a way to play Lunar Lander in the copy status box that pops up during a file transfer in Windows.
Unfortunately, this wonderful innovation doesn't come from Microsoft. Instead, you'll have to head over to Sanakan8472's Github (via BetaNews) to download this program and then install the Copy Dialog Lunar Lander. From here copying a large enough file will give you the opportunity to experience this Atari classic while you transfer.
Clicking more details in the copy dialog box will open the larger graph that shows your transfer speeds. These also build the terrain for your Lunar Lander experience. Clicking the graph area begins the game which then plays out in the world created by the transfer data. It's not just wonderful from the perspective of spicing up an otherwise boring task, but the implementation is damned clever.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Half-Life 2 VR Mod is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/half-life-2-vr-mod-is-now-available-for-download/
As promised, the SourceVR Mod Team released today the highly anticipated public version of the Half-Life 2 VR Mod. As the title implies, this mod will allow you to experience Half-Life 2 in VR.
Half-Life 2 VR Mod will allow you to do things that were almost impossible in the non-VR version. For instance, you can spin the blocks in the playground just by hitting them or play tetherball with a corpse in Ravenholm. You will also be able to physically dodge for cover, and manually reload your guns.
For those wondering, Half-Life 2: VR is targeting SteamVR, so any headset supported by SteamVR should be good to go. So far, the mod has been successfully tested on Index, Quest, Vive and Pimax headsets.

This mod enables NVIDIA DLSS in Judgment & Lost Judgment
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-enables-nvidia-dlss-in-judgment-lost-judgment/
A few days ago, SEGA released Judgment and Lost Judgment on PC. As we’ve already reported, these two Yakuza games only support AMD’s FSR 2.0 AI upscaling tech. However, there is now a mod that allows you to replace FSR 2.0 with NVIDIA’s DLSS.
This is the exact opposite of what we’ve seen with other games that only support NVIDIA’s DLSS and not AMD’s latest FSR version, like Cyberpunk 2077.

Someone has remade Andy’s Room from Toy Story in Halo Infinite Forge, and it looks glorious
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/someone-has-remade-andys-room-from-toy-story-in-halo-infinity-forge-and-it-looks-glorious/
Last month, we shared some remakes of Battlefield 4’s Operation Metro map and Silent Hills PT in Halo Infinite Forge. And today, it’s time for another insane remake. YouTube’s ‘Red Nomster’ has recreated Andy’s room from Toy Story in Halo Infinite Forge, and it looks glorious.
The mapper was able to really capture the look of Toy Story, and used a lot of toys that were present in the movies. Seriously, it looks like an official Toy Story map for Halo Infinite.
Red Nomster has created this map for Big Team Battle or Capture The Flag, or 5v5 (or generally every other fun MP game mode). The map has two bases, the red base and the blue base, and features numerous destructible objects.

This mod for the original Final Fantasy 7 game updates all 3D models
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-for-the-original-final-fantasy-7-game-updates-all-3d-models/
ModdersHaven has released a complete HD overhaul for the original Final Fantasy 7 game. This pack features high-quality 3D models and textures, created by the members of the ModdersHaven forum.
Going into more details, there are three packs that you can download. The “Main and NPC Model” pack includes the main and side characters and NPCs. This includes field, battle, world, mini game models, etc.
The “Base Model” Pack includes better models and textures for the world, battle, magic, field, mini-game, etc. Every 3D aspect of the game is included in this pack.
Lastly, the “Environment and Magic Textures” includes new HD textures for battle environments, effects, magic, and world map textures. This pack updates everything other than the field environments. Additionally, it manages to remain faithful to the original/vanilla version.
>> There's no video of these mods, only some screenshots.

This Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Mod brings back the original PS4 Peter Parker face
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-marvels-spider-man-remastered-mod-brings-back-the-original-ps4-peter-parker-face/
Modder ‘Daemon’ has released the first version of a mod that attempts to bring back the original PS4 face of Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered.
In case you weren’t aware, Insomniac Games has changed the face of Peter Parker in its remaster. This new face of Peter Parker resembles Tom Holland, and looks younger than the PS4 version. And while Insomniac Games did not reveal the real reasons behind this change, a lot of fans were frustrated by it.
Thanks to Daemon, though, PC gamers can now experience this Spider-Man game with the original Peter Parker face. However, you should keep in mind that this mod is still a WIP. As such, you may encounter some glitches.

Modder brings first person camera to Marvel's Spider-Man
https://www.pcgamer.com/modder-brings-first-person-camera-to-marvels-spider-man/
The coolest part of Insomniac's recently ported to PC 2018 Spider-Man game is its web slinging. Expanding on the system from Treyarch's classic Spider-Man 2 movie tie-in, swinging through Insomniac's open world is exhilarating.
Modder jedijosh920 is looking to up the thrill factor at the expense of your stomach with a first person mod for the game. In a video demonstration uploaded to YouTube, Josh shows Spidey swinging around Manhattan from the new perspective. It's already pretty intense in video form⁠—I got that sense of my stomach dropping that's usually reserved for roller coasters or downhill biking gopro footage.
I'm also surprised at just how well it seems to work. The movement is still legible and I didn't feel confused or turned around at any point while watching. Spidey's animations translate really well to first person too. I especially like how his hands look while climbing or the way his legs come into view at the top of a swing.

GAMING NEWS

Tekken 8 vs Tekken 7 – Early Graphics Video Comparison
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/tekken-8-vs-tekken-7-early-graphics-video-comparison/
At TGS 2022, Bandai Namco revealed the next part in its Tekken series, Tekken 8. Tekken 8 will be using Unreal Engine, will come out on current-gen platforms, and Bandai Namco showcased an in-engine trailer. That trailer looked incredible and below you can find a comparison video between Tekken 8 and Tekken 7.
>> I don't think a comparison between the CGI trailer and actual gameplay from Tekken 7 will tell us much, but who knows.

Ashfall is a Fallout-inspired post-apocalyptic shooter MMORPG
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ashfall-is-a-fallout-inspired-post-apocalyptic-shooter-mmorpg/
NetEase Games has announced a new post-apocalyptic shooter MMORPG that is inspired by the Fallout games, called Ashfall. Developed by Legendary Star Studio, the game will come out on Steam in 2023, and below you can find its first official trailers.

Compound Fracture, 32-bit atmospheric dinosaur FPS, gets new trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/compound-fracture-32-bit-atmospheric-dinosaur-fps-gets-new-trailer/
Iteria Games has released a brand new gameplay trailer for Compound Fracture. Compound Fracture is an atmospheric horror dinosaur game, featuring 32-bit style graphics and heavily inspired by the classic Dino Crisis game.

CULTIC – Chapter One will release on October 13th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cultic-chapter-one-will-release-on-october-13th/
3D Realms has announced the release day of the first chapter for its Blood-inspired game, CULTIC. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has also released a new trailer that you can find below.

Genshin Impact V3.1 releases on September 28th, and here are its key features
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/genshin-impact-v3-1-releases-on-september-28th-and-here-are-its-key-features/
miHoYo has announced that update 3.1 for Genshin Impact will release on September 28th. In order to celebrate this announcement, the team has revealed its key features, and shared a new trailer for it.

Here are 20 minutes of gameplay footage from Octopath Traveler 2’s TGS 2022 Demo
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-20-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-from-octopath-traveler-2s-tgs-2022-demo/
YouTube’s ‘Spellborne’ has shared a video, showcasing 20 minutes of gameplay footage from the TGS 2022 demo of Octopath Traveler 2. Octopath Traveler 2 is a JRPG, featuring 2D HD character sprites with 3D environments, that will be coming to PC on February 24th.

Monday news, part two:

Microsoft considering buying more studios to stay competitive with Tencent and Sony
https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-considering-buying-more-studios-to-stay-competitive-with-tencent-and-sony/
In a recent interview with Squawk Asia, a markets-focused vertical of CNBC, Xbox head Phil Spencer would not rule out future game studio acquisitions, even as the publisher continues to finalize its mammoth $75 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.
>> They should finish the Activision one before thinking about doing more.

One of 2019's best shooters is getting a surprise sequel from a new developer
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-2019s-best-shooters-is-getting-a-surprise-sequel-from-a-new-developer/
As part of 3d Realms' Realms Deep digital event, the publisher announced Phantom Fury, a sequel to 2019's Build engine FPS, Ion Fury. Replacing Voidpoint LLC in the driver's seat is Slipgate Ironworks, a Danish studio that helped co-develop the great Cyborg Ninja FPS, Ghostrunner.

The Yakuza series will be called Like a Dragon going forward
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-yakuza-series-will-be-called-like-a-dragon-going-forward/
Sega is officially killing off the Yakuza name and will call the series Like a Dragon going forward. That means 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon will, ironically and appropriately, be the last game with Yakuza in the name.

This cartoony cats vs. dogs RTS asserts that humanity's companions cannot live in harmony
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-cartoony-cats-vs-dogs-rts-asserts-that-humanitys-companions-cannot-live-in-harmony/
As part of the 2022 Realms Deep digital event, developers Slipgate Ironworks and 2B Games have announced their collaborative project, Warpaws⁠—a cartoony RTS about a theoretical 20th century conflict between humankind's beloved companions, cats and dogs. It presents itself as a tactics-first, more streamlined RTS with a "focus on unit management, with no resources or complicated base building."

40K CRPG Rogue Trader reveals more companions and enemies
https://www.pcgamer.com/40k-crpg-rogue-trader-reveals-more-companions-and-enemies/
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an upcoming CRPG from Owlcat Games, whose previous games Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous both came with entertaining companions to recruit and sometimes romance. Who knows whether there will be room for the latter in the 41st millennium (where there is only war, as 40K's tagline goes), but there will definitely be some recruiting going on.

Disgruntled employee spams players of 14-year-old MMO with profanity-laden official notifications
https://www.pcgamer.com/disgruntled-employee-spams-players-of-14-year-old-mmo-with-profanity-laden-official-notifications/
Numerous users on the subreddit of the 2008 youth-oriented MMO Wizard101 shared screenshots of official server messages pushed to players that contained jokes, profanity, and complaints of poor pay at developer KingsIsle.
According to an official support account from the developer on Twitter, the game's servers were taken offline Friday night before coming back on early Saturday morning. The messages are of a shocking character, very NSFW, and readers of delicate sensibilities may wish to look away.

Build villainous lairs and wreck others' dreams in this puzzly tile-placing game
https://www.pcgamer.com/build-villainous-lairs-and-wreck-others-dreams-in-this-puzzly-tile-placing-game/
Newly-appointed lair architect to the evil mastermind, your job is to build the best lair. The competition? The... other minions of the evil mastermind. Whoever builds the best lair wins. That's the setup to Chambers of Devious Design, a recently-released indie puzzler that has you plopping down tiles to delight the boss and destroy the competition.

Rise of the Triad's 'ludicrous' 4K remaster will be out in 2023
https://www.pcgamer.com/rise-of-the-triads-ludicrous-4k-remaster-will-be-out-in-2023/
Following a low-key initial announcement in 2020, a remaster of classic '90s FPS Rise of the Triad has finally been detailed. It's a collaboration between original developer Apogee Entertainment, remaster specialists Nightdive, and retro shooter fanatics New Blood Interactive, and it'll be out early next year.

Now Diablo 4 test footage has leaked online
https://www.pcgamer.com/now-diablo-4-test-footage-has-leaked-online/
It seems GTA 6 wasn't the only game to suffer a major leak yesterday. A few hours after Rockstar's highly anticipated sequel spilled online, around forty minutes of Diablo 4 test footage also leaked onto the net, showing off gameplay of Blizzard's upcoming ARPG.

Resident Evil Village's new DLC will 'conclude' the Winters' family storyline
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-villages-new-dlc-will-conclude-the-winters-family-storyline/
Capcom has revealed that Resident Evil Village's upcoming Shadows of Rose DLC will form the final act in the Winters' family storyline. Speaking to IGN, Village's Director Kento Kinoshita said that Capcom was "creating" the new DLC specifically "to conclude the Winters family Saga."

Take Two cracks down on leaked Grand Theft Auto 6 footage as Rockstar confirms 'network intrusion'
https://www.pcgamer.com/take-two-cracks-down-on-leaked-grand-theft-auto-6-footage-as-rockstar-confirms-network-intrusion/
Yesterday's leak of GTA 6 footage was one of the largest in the history of the games industry, and it was inevitable that the official response to it would be swift and far-reaching. Now, it appears said response has begun. In a statement, Rockstar Games has confirmed the company "suffered a network intrusion" where an "unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto."

AMD RDNA 3 “Radeon RX 7000” GPUs Allegedly Hit Almost 4 GHz Clock Speeds, Refined Adaptive Power-Management & Next-Gen Infinity Cache Confirmed

https://wccftech.com/amd-rdna-3-radeon-rx-7000-4-ghz-cpu-clock-rumor-refined-adaptive-power-mode-next-gen-infinity-cache-confirmed/

Watch The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 GPU Unveil “GeForce Beyond” Livestream Here

https://wccftech.com/watch-the-nvidia-geforce-rtx-40-gpu-unveil-geforce-beyond-livestream-here/

It will be tomorrow at 8AM PT

EVGA pulls the plug with a loud bang, but it has been stewing for a long time | Editorial

https://www.igorslab.de/en/evga-pulls-the-plug-with-loud-bang-yet-it-has-long-been-editorial/

TLDR from Reddit

• "EVGA's ~5% margin is amongst the lowest in the business, others are can achieve up to around 10% but sell en mass - which EVGA does not outside NA

• Igor belives EVGA owner wants out after 2 very profitable years (20/21) as alluded by GN's own reporting about owner wanting to spent more time with family

• Other AIC believes EVGA warranty policy, and its own reliability issues makes its business model completely unsustainable, as components became more and more complex

• Igor had been blacklisted by EVGA before when writing for Tom's hardware because he refused to guarantee postive reviews, quote:

I remember how EVGA at the time (this was back in the Kepler days) made the sampling of graphics cards dependent on a positive review of the newly introduced power supplies. Back then, I was still writing for Tom’s Hardware and very stubbornly resisted the “reward for award” system.

• Igor also got yelled at by EVGA PR for exposing its early GTX 10 iCX designs (which caused a big recall) for its inadequacy in board deaign

• Nvidia is so secretive that even its competitors are unhappy because they could not find out what exactly RTX 40 is going to be let alone its pricing (not to mention the AICs)

• EVGA (and presumably GALAX) butted heads with Nvidia because it wanted to do extreme GPUs, but Nvidia on reliability grounds makes it difficult to work with"

AMD Ryzen 7000 series now listed in Spain, 7950X for 852 EUR

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-7000-series-now-listed-in-spain-7950x-for-852-eur

As usual, take it with a grain of salt

Is this referring to Sony and the PSVR2? Cuz previews are saying just the opposite:

https://www.eurogamer.net/playstation-vr2-is-about-to-breathe-new-life-into-virtual-reality-gaming

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That's the word that keeps springing to mind when I try to sum up my time with PlayStation VR2. As a fervent fan of VR for many years now, it's safe to say that my first hands-on experience with Sony's upcoming headset wowed my VR-loving socks off. This sleek and stylish unit was all I could have wanted for an upgraded PSVR headset and much, much more.

In terms of technological and visual quality, this feels like one of the more memorable generational console leaps. Experiencing the difference in visuals between the PSVR1 and the PSVR2 brought back memories of graduating to the sparkly, sharp, high-definition games of a PS3 after spending years playing games on the PS2 in standard definition.

Even the visuals afforded by my beefy PC VR rig seemed to pale in comparison to some of the wonders I witnessed whilst inside the PSVR2 and you can watch me breathlessly gush over it in the video below.

https://youtu.be/j7oN_Q4pbkI

Ah yes i understand now that a 7 year tech upgrade with the upped resolution output is mindblowing.

Haters gonna hate, I guess. You do you.

I have to say that I find that 4GHz figure hard to believe. It feels like one of those too good to be true rumors.

Shameful attitude of EVGA with their antics to get good reviews. That always ends leaking to the public and put you not only in shame, but also as a company that you can't trust, at least in my book.

At the same time, I find it confusing that their warranty policies, some of the better out there from what I read these days (but I could be wrong), are listed as a problem. You have to take care of your consumers, and if you do it well they'll come back. To me it's an investment, not just a cost.

Finally, I've worked in business that operated by the 1/3 rule so seeing how EVGA only managed to get a 5% margin and the "best" did get up to 10% baffles me. In most sectors, that 10% wouldn't even be enough to keep it running.

As a Spaniard, I have to admit that I had never heard about that store, but some of the current CPU prices listed seemed to low to be true and I did a quick search: there are lots of threads in different forums complaining about them because of its consumer support and for recieving "new" parts in opened boxes.

I don't know if those prices are real, it's very unusual to get a direct 1:1 conversion with the added tax on it, or if they're just placeholders to get some attention.

Return to Monkey Island gets some good reviews:

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/return-to-monkey-island

https://steamdb.info/app/2060130/graphs/

Also already over 14k gamers playing it at the same time... which is huge for a point&click game.

Thimbleweed Park had an all-time peak of 2733 players.

It's Monkey Island. Fans were eager to get a new one.