Yea the scheduling thing is the only thing I am worried about. It's unlikely that spiderman uses more than 8 cores but the difference between running it on Vcache CCD and normal should be noticeable. We will see though once the reviews come out.

I do wonder how much difficult is to make that scheduler.

I know it's not that easy, but my simpleton mind can't help but think o an instruction telling Windows that if an application comes from the My Games, Steam, GOG, Battle.net, etc. folder, then it's a game and the cores with higher priority are the ones with the extra cache. After all, there aren't many new games that have a physical edition, and even less ones where that physical edition actually comes with the game and not a download code.

And before someone tries to correct me, I already said that it can't be that simple.

Yea idk how it really works either. Intel CPUs certainly had their quirks when they moved to big.LITTLE which eventually they got sorted out. Hopefully AMD will be able to do the same but who knows. With Intel, logically it might be easier for the scheduler cause it's like, if an application requires clocks, prioritize P cores. Ryzen is a bit more different because if an application requires clocks, it needs to go onto the CCD that doesn't have Vcache while the application like games that benefit from Cache will need to go into the CCD that that has Vcache.

Likely AMDs plan is to have every application by default choose the CCD with Vcache and any application that scales over 8 cores will also be using the non-Vcache CCD. Cause it's not like Ryzen can do a 5.7Ghz all core. At best it's 1 or 2 cores so the difference is largely unnoticeable compared to the increase in performance for games with Vcache. Windows and light apps will be likely be managed by CCD without Vcache tho.

Personally, I'm still stuck waiting these insane prices out. I skipped the 30xx cards due to the insane prices, but the 40xx series is even worse in this regard. AMD simply isn't an option yet since their RT is lagging too far behind (I'm getting a beast RT machine for 4K this time around). At this rate, I might have to wait another 8-9 months for prices to be less absurd. I can afford the build now as well, but it's just not worth it, there is no market justification for these inflated prices.
Another running issue is the lack of good displays to choose from. Most of the newer ones presented at CES, and as flagship models, are either super-high framerate monitors with low resolutions, ultrawide or superwide formats (I want a 16:9 monitor), or simply too small (27" or below) and with poor HDR capabilities. I can't remember ever having been in this situation before, the only reasonable components right now are RAM and storage - prices on storage have really come down in the past year or so (and I'm in the market for a larger 7000/7000 unit).

I fear I'll be forced to wait even longer unless things change drastically. My rig is begging for mercy...

I used to upgrade more or less for a three-fold increase in GPU performance, which would mean now around 4090 levels. So I'll wait out at least the next generation (or maybe longer... 3 nm is a half-node jump so I doubt 4090 perf will trickle down to the 5070 Ti just yet, unless it's like over a thousand dollars...)

The Monday news (featuring the news I didn't post on Friday):

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

GOG has two sales and four Deals of the Day:

• These are the Deals of the Day, available until Wednesday:
  • Thymesia is 22% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/thymesia
  • Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood gets an 80% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/call_of_juarez_bound_in_blood
  • Red Faction 2 is also 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/red_faction_2
  • And Broken Sword 5 - the Serpent's Curse gets an 85% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/broken_sword_5_the_serpents_curse
• The Winter Classics Sale, that started Friday, brings up to 90% discounts during another 4 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230106_winter_classics_sale
• And the Weekly Sale also features up to 90% discounts, until next Monday: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230106_winter_classics_sale

At Steam, Fireworks Mania - An Explosive Simulator will be 20% off until the 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/

The Humble Store has three sales:

• Frontier puts its games up to 80% off during 4 days. The keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/frontier-publisher-sale/
• The Comic Games Sale also features up to 80% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/comic-games-sale/
• And the Fellow Traveller Publisher Sale features up to 90% discounts during the next 6 days. There are keys for Steam and GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/fellow-traveller-publisher-sale/

Last, but not least, there's Fanatical, with three new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Rover Mechanic Simulator, 67% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/rover-mechanic-simulator
• Aspyr puts its games on sale with up to 85% discounts during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/aspyr
• And the Freedom Games Publisher Sale features up to 92% discounts during 6 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/publishers/freedom-games

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

MSI intends 'to continue with Afterburner' overclocking app despite not paying its Russian dev
https://www.pcgamer.com/msi-intends-to-continue-with-afterburner-overclocking-app-despite-not-paying-its-russian-dev/
MSI Afterburner is an app used the world over for graphics card monitoring, overclocking, and undervolting. It's become pretty synonymous with general GPU tinkering, yet the app's developer has suggested it might not have long left to live in a forum post earlier this month. MSI disagrees, telling us "we fully intend to continue with MSI Afterburner."
MSI Afterburner is developed by Alexey 'Unwinder' Nicolaychuk, a Russian national who has kept the overclocking app functioning over many years. Nicolaychuk is also responsible for the development of RivaTuner Statistics Server, which is part of the foundational software layer powering Afterburner.
In a post on the Guru3D forums (via TechPowerUp), Nicolaychuk suggests that Afterburner's development has been "semi-abandoned."
>> To summarize: Afterburner is developed by a russian who, since the start of the war, hasn't been paid despite MSI still operating in Russia. After almost a year without getting a penny, he has had enough.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Here are 125 PS4 games running on the Playstation 4 emulator, Spine
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-125-ps4-games-running-on-the-playstation-4-emulator-spine/
John GodGames Emus shared a new video, showcasing 125 PS4 games running on the PC via the Playstation 4 emulator, Spine. This video is almost three hours long, featuring games such as Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD, Harvest Moon – Light of Hope SE Complete and Garfield Kart Furious Racing, and more 2D/3D games.
Spine is one of the four main PS4 emulators for PC. The other three are Kyty, fpPS4 and GPCS4.
As I’ve said numerous times, these Playstation 4 emulators are in an early development stage. What this means is that you won’t be playing Bloodborne or Ghost of Tsushima on PC anytime soon. Still, the fact that they can already boot and run 3D games is astonishing.

Duke Nukem 3HD will add normal, specular and glow maps to all sprites
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/duke-nukem-3hd-will-add-normal-specular-and-glow-maps-to-all-sprites/
Modder ‘WhiteDove_101’ is currently working on a graphical overhaul mod for the original Duke Nukem 3D game. Duke Nukem 3HD promises to enhance all of the game’s 2D sprites in order to provide a more HD experience.
Going into more details, Duke Nukem 3HD will pack enhancements to the DN3D upscale textures by phredreeke (smoothed out edges and higher resolution sprites). Furthermore, it will include the higher resolution normal, specular and glow maps to all sprites.
Duke Nukem 3HD will also include two variants. The first one will have the original upscaled textures from phredreeke. The second version will add normal, specular and glow maps to the original 8-bit sprites and textures.
Although there isn’t any ETA as of yet, the modder plans to release a beta version of this mod in later January.
>> There are screenshots and an almost 15 minutes long video.

Final Fantasy 7 Classic gets an amazing fully voiced mod on January 13th
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/final-fantasy-7-classic-gets-an-amazing-fully-voiced-mod-on-january-13th/
Final Fantasy 7 fans, here is something special for you. A team of modders have been working on a fully voiced mod for the classic version of Final Fantasy 7, and will release it on January 13th.
The Echo-S 7 mod will add voices to all characters. Not only that, but the team has added voices to all cut-scenes and to battles. As such, this mod will completely change the way you experience this classic FF game.
In order to showcase this mod, the team released the following trailer. And, to be honest, I really like what they have done. I also laughed at some of the voiced lines. Hearing Cloud say “Let’s dance asshole “, Tifa cursing, Reno saying “Don’t take it personal… bitches”… seriously, this will be a cult mod.
>> The trailer is 4.5 minutes long.

Watch Dogs gets a new mod that improves nearly every facet of its lighting system
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/watch-dogs-gets-a-new-mod-that-improves-nearly-every-facet-of-its-lighting-system/
Modder ‘Parallellines’ has released a new cool mod for the first Watch Dogs game. The Fall of Windy City is a mod that overhauls nearly every facet of Watch_Dogs’ lighting system.
According to the modder, the mod features several brand new effects, such as moon shadows. Furthermore, it packs its own unique visual style that “gives the game some much needed color while simultaneously emphasizing its darker tone.”
>> There's a trailer for the game, and it's less than 1 minute long.

New The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project NextGen Edition video shows off Skellige
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-the-witcher-3-hd-reworked-project-nextgen-edition-video-shows-off-skellige/
Last month, modder ‘Halk Hogan PL’ revealed that he’s working on a new version of the HD Reworked Project for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen. And today, the modder released a video, showcasing some of the new and improved textures.
In this video, we get to see the Skellige area. Thus, you’ll get a glimpse at the enhanced textures that will be coming in this upcoming version of this mod.
>> The video is over 6 minutes long.

New gameplay footage for Fallout 4’s DLC-sized Mod, Fallout London
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-footage-for-fallout-4s-dlc-sized-mod-fallout-london/
Team FOLON has released a brand new development video for its upcoming DLC-sized mod for Fallout 4, Fallout London. This video features some new gameplay footage from this mod, and shows off some of its factions.
Fallout: London is an ambitious DLC-sized mod that brings the player into the nuclear apocalypse all the way to the doorsteps of Parliament. This is a Total Conversion mod that aims to encapsulate the gritty, adventurous nature of the Fallout games with a new world, factions, storylines, NPCs, weapons, creatures, and much more.
According to the team, the world map is about the size of the vanilla Fallout 4 Commonwealth. The mod will also let players experience everything; from the heart of Westminster all the way to the rolling hills on the outskirts of Bromley.
Fallout London aims to bring new and exciting factions. Furthermore, it will bring new weather effects. Not only that, but Team FOLON will introduce a new weather effect, Acid Rain.
>> The video is almost 12 minutes long.

Deus Ex gets an HD Texture Pack for all characters, decorations & items
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/deus-ex-gets-an-hd-texture-pack-for-all-characters-decorations-items/
Modder ‘BerZerker’ has released the Helios Texture Overhaul Mod for the first Deus Ex game. This mod will improve the textures for all characters. decorations and items and all addons for GMDX and Revision.
It’s also worth noting that this mod comes with 40 alternative outfits for JC. While I prefer the original outfit, I’m sure that some Deus Ex fans will find these alternative outfits kind of cool.
>> There's no video, only some screenshots.

This ambitious Dark Souls 3 total conversion will remix the game and add all-new content
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-ambitious-dark-souls-3-total-conversion-will-remix-the-game-and-add-all-new-content/
Dark Souls: Archthrones, an ambitious total conversion mod for Dark Souls 3, got its first substantial gameplay trailer on January 4. The 15-minute video shows off three levels from the mod, as well as the team's approach to combining remixed content from throughout the Soulsborne games with new, bespoke assets.
The gameplay trailer begins in the Rainswept Outpost, Archthrones' own "you have to die in this tutorial before reaching the hub area" level. Fittingly, it ends with a gnarly HD homage to Demon's Souls' Vanguard, complete with oozing bug eyes and spider legs sprouting out of its chest. Upon getting predictably pancaked by the beefy boy, the player wakes up in the Nexus of Embers, a green, warmly-lit redux of DS3's Firelink Shrine.

100% essential Skyrim mod lets you see yourself in the inventory menu
https://www.pcgamer.com/100-essential-skyrim-mod-lets-you-see-yourself-in-the-inventory-menu/
If you came to Skyrim via some of the older Elder Scrolls games, you were probably used to being able to see your character when you opened the inventory screen. It let you know what you'd look like as you tried out each new piece of equipment (a mismatched dweeb), and if you were one of those strict first-person-only players it was one of the few times you got to see your outfit.
While a mod for vanilla Skyrim called Oblivion Style Inventory Character View offered the chance to gawp at yourself in each new set of armor you looted from dead bandits, a bug would sometimes leave the camera stuck that way. Now, an updated version that's compatible with Skyrim Special Edition and Anniversary Edition called Show Player in Menus is out, and after a quick test on a couple of saves seems to be working just fine.

The best Dwarf Fortress mod is nearly ready for the Steam version
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-dwarf-fortress-mod-is-nearly-ready-for-the-steam-version/
Praise Armok, a beloved mod for Dwarf Fortress is advancing to the Steam release as Dwarf Therapist has released a pre-release version that works with Dwarf Fortress' biggest update ever. Dwarf Therapist is well known among the community as one of the cornerstone mods for surfacing information from within the game's formerly labyrinthine, now simply mazelike, user interface.
The basic use of Dwarf Therapist is that it's a dedicated second window to help you find, sort, and manage huge piles of information from inside Dwarf Fortress. Its old primary purpose, to help you assign labors, isn't quite working yet, but it'll still do a big thing: Let you sort through, understand, and manage your dwarves' status far faster than in the core game. Its sortable views include stuff like attributes, personalities, happiness, how long the dwarves have lived in the fort, and more.

I wish my tax dollars went to cool stuff like this Canadian government-funded Fallout mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-wish-my-tax-dollars-went-to-cool-stuff-like-this-canadian-government-funded-fallout-mod/
Originally released in 2017, the Fallout Tactics mod, The Sum / Nous Aurons has found newfound attention with Kotaku's reporting that the anarchist art project received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, as well as the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
The Sum / Nous Aurons has been on my radar for a while now⁠—Felipe Pepe, creator of the great videogame history resource, The CRPG Book, singled out The Sum as one of the best games he played in 2022. It takes the familiar presentation of classic 2D Fallout and turns it on its head, showcasing an entirely alien setting with this familiar engine and assets. It's a future wracked by the ecological and technological devastation we now face, as opposed to the alternate history, retro-futuristic nuclear apocalypse of the mainline Fallouts.

People are lavishing praise on this fan-made Whiterun map for Halo Infinite
https://www.pcgamer.com/people-are-lavishing-praise-on-this-fan-made-whiterun-map-for-halo-infinite/
Skyrim has broken containment. No longer content with releasing multiple times on every platform under the sun, Bethesda's opus is now bleeding into other games. At least, that's my understanding after checking out an incredibly detailed recreation of Skyrim's Whiterun created in Halo: Infinite's Forge mode. Finally, you can load up a rocket launcher and show Nazeem what you really think of the Cloud District.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 10 minutes of gameplay from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-10-minutes-of-gameplay-from-wo-long-fallen-dynasty/
IGN has shared a new video, showcasing 10 minutes of brand new gameplay footage from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an upcoming soulsborne action-RPG from Team Ninja that will come out on PC on March 3rd.

The Settlers: New Allies Official PC System Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-settlers-new-allies-official-pc-system-requirements/
Ubisoft has revealed the official PC system requirements for its upcoming The Settlers game, The Settlers: New Allies. According to the company, PC gamers will at least need an Intel i3-6100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 with 8GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 950 or AMD Radeon 550.
Ubisoft recommends using an Intel i7-6700 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD RX 470.
>> There's also a 5+ minutes long video of the game.

The first prototype for Valve’s Left 4 Dead has been leaked online
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-first-prototype-for-valve-left-4-dead-has-been-leaked-online/
And here comes another leak. Following the leaks of of Duke Nukem Forever 2001, PREY 1995, Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded, Halo 3 “Pimps at Sea” build, Mortal Kombat 2 Arcade, Horizon Forbidden West Alpha Build, Blood 1996 and Dungeon Siege, the first prototype for Valve’s Left 4 Dead has been also leaked online.
This Left 4 Dead leak is part of a bigger Counter-Strike: Global Offensive leak that occurred a couple of days ago. And, Wolfcl0ck – Whole was able to make this prototype map playable.
>> There's a 6 minutes video of it.

Official PC requirements for the Devil May Cry/Bayonetta-inspired game, Wanted: Dead
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/official-pc-requirements-for-the-devil-may-cry-bayonetta-inspired-game-wanted-dead/
Soleil and 110 Industries have revealed the official PC system requirements for their Devil May Cry/Bayonetta-inspired game, Wanted: Dead.
According to the devs, PC gamers will at least need an Intel i5 2500K with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GTX1060. The game will also require 50GB of free hard-disk space.
>> There's also a short video, but it's not new.

The Monday news, the long part two:

Warzone 2 helicopters are randomly exploding
https://www.pcgamer.com/warzone-2-helicopters-are-randomly-exploding/
Call of Duty: Warzone 2 has delivered its fair share of amusing glitches so far, as well as the hacked-in flying boats which was probably my favourite bug of 2022, and the latest may be the most show-stopping yet. Helicopters are a prominent part of the game as it stands, and probably the premiere way to zip around Al Mazrah, but now players are running into a bug that will, mid-flight, cause the vehicle to spontaneously explode.

Game companies post absurdly broad salary ranges to 'comply' with new pay transparency laws
https://www.pcgamer.com/game-companies-post-absurdly-broad-salary-ranges-to-comply-with-new-transparency-laws/
(...)
In an economic study of the entire games industry, from fresh college grads to superstar veterans, that half a million dollar salary range may be accurate. But in the case of https://jobs.netflix.com/jobs/220465488">this specific job posting, the comically broad $50,000-$600,000 range is Netflix's way of weaseling out of a new California transparency law requiring employers to list salary bands for new hires. While Netflix may technically be complying with the letter of the new law, which went into effect at the start of 2023, it's certainly not following the spirit. And Netflix isn't the only game company posting comically broad salary ranges as a bare minimum act of compliance.

Cyberpunk 2077 players furious at other Cyberpunk 2077 players for awarding it Steam's 2022 Labor of Love
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-players-furious-at-other-cyberpunk-2077-players-for-awarding-it-steams-2022-labor-of-love/
CD Projekt's troubled RPG Cyberpunk 2077 won the Labor of Love category in the 2022 Steam Awards, given to the game that "is still getting new content after all these years." But in the wake of the win, it's become clear that not everyone feels that the correct decision was made.
>> I also found it weird and undeserved.

Overwatch 2 introduces chaotic new deathmatch mode and equally chaotic bugs
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-introduces-chaotic-new-deathmatch-mode-and-equally-chaotic-bugs/
Overwatch 2's latest patch introduces a limited time deathmatch mode that makes the game's most absurd abilities even more absurd.
Battle for Olympus, which is available as an arcade mode with unique challenges to complete, is a free for all deathmatch with seven heroes to choose from. Each hero has their abilities tweaked and their ultimates reworked entirely to fit with the season's Greek mythology theme. Reinhardt gains a buff when he uses his ult and is able to charge and pin up to three targets at once. When Roadhog ults, he gets even bigger and shoots giant rocks. And if you look at Widowmaker while her Infra-Sight ult is up, you turn into stone.
Update: Blizzard has fixed the Junker Queen axe bug detailed below.

Bloober on Silent Hill 2 remake: 'We want to stick close to the original'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bloober-on-silent-hill-2-remake-we-want-to-stick-close-to-the-original/
When Konami announced a Silent Hill 2 remake by Bloober Team last year, there was some concern about whether a studio that made its name with streamer-friendly scares in the Layers of Fear series was a good fit for such a beloved survival horror game. Especially when it was revealed that the remake wouldn't have the original's fixed-camera perspective, and was rebuilding the combat.
In a recent interview with DreadXP, Bloober's chief marketing officer Anna Jasińska tried to assuage these concerns, saying that, "Longtime fans shouldn't worry about us 'missing the point' while we're livening up the title. We faithfully stick to the traditional story canon while remaking the gameplay and updating the graphics from the ground up. These are the reasons why Konami entrusted us with the remake in the first place."

GTA 5 players pay tribute to departed rally driver Ken Block in the best way possible: with sick stunts
https://www.pcgamer.com/gta-5-players-pay-tribute-to-departed-rally-driver-ken-block-in-the-best-way-possible-with-sick-stunts/
2023 got off to a tragic start with the death of Ken Block, the legendary American rally driver whose gymkhana stunt videos have accrued hundreds of millions of views in their time. In those videos, Block performed stylish and stylishly-edited routines requiring precise timing and borderline-supernatural talent. So, naturally, a bunch of Block fans in the Grand Theft Auto Online community took it upon themselves to make an in-game gymkhana video (via PCGamesN) of their own in tribute to the man himself.

Dude who founded AGDQ in his mom's basement 13 years ago is moving on after raising $41 million for charity
https://www.pcgamer.com/dude-who-founded-agdq-in-his-moms-basement-13-years-ago-is-moving-on-after-raising-dollar41-million-for-charity/
The founder and managing director of Games Done Quick (GDQ), Mike Uyama, has announced that he'll be stepping down from the role and "taking a break" after the 2023 Awesome Games Done Quick Online event. The current GDQ operations director, Matt Merkle, will take over the role.

Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 features Steven Seagal beating up guys real fast in a never-released game
https://www.pcgamer.com/awesome-games-done-quick-2023-features-steven-seagal-beating-up-guys-real-fast-in-a-never-released-game/
Awesome Games Done Quick Online will kick off on Sunday, January 8, launching a week-long high-speed gaming extravaganza featuring some of the world's foremost speedrunners showing off their skills on an array of games from the past and present—and one starring a hard-to-kill action hero that never officially saw the light of day.

Redfall creative director says Arkane's vampire shooter is not like Left 4 Dead 'at all'
https://www.pcgamer.com/redfall-creative-director-says-arkanes-vampire-shooter-is-not-like-left-4-dead-at-all/
Our initial impression of Redfall, the next game from Dishonored studio Arkane, was that it's a Left 4 Dead-style shooter that swaps out zombies for vampires. In a new interview with GamesRadar, however, creative director Ricardo Bare and studio director Harvey Smith said that's really not an accurate assessment.

Monkey Island, Terminator actor Earl Boen has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/monkey-island-terminator-actor-earl-boen-has-died/
Earl Boen, who provided the voice of LeChuck in The Curse of Monkey Island and appeared in dozens of other games, television shows, and films, has died.
Boen's first videogame credit, according to his MobyGames page, was on the 1995 adventure Shannara. He followed that up over the next decade with roles in games including Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Return to Krondor, Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force, Soldier of Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 2, Fallout Tactics, Icewind Dale 2, Call of Duty, Psychonauts, and World of Warcraft.

Three months after release and with no players, Let It Die's sequel is being mothballed
https://www.pcgamer.com/three-months-after-release-and-with-no-players-let-it-dies-sequel-is-being-mothballed/
2016's Let it Die is a F2P brawler developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, which found its way to PC in 2018, and it's a semi-decent game with superb presentation. The title was published by GungHo and, in October 2021, a sequel was announced, being developed by the Grasshopper spinoff Supertrick Games. Deathverse: Let it Die had a beta in summer of last year before launching in October, and was immediately beset by two problems: No-one was playing it and, when they were, connection issues abounded.
The game currently has ten players in it. Today's peak number of players was 33. Deathverse's all-time peak was 1,380 at launch. These are not close to sustainable numbers for a F2P live service game and now, a scant three months after release, a new blog post announces the "suspension" of Deathverse this summer.

EVE Online has two expansions coming in 2023 following a 2022 boom
https://www.pcgamer.com/eve-online-has-two-expansions-coming-in-2023-following-a-2022-boom/
CCP Games, the developers of EVE Online, have released a new years' message with some details about their plans for 2023. The recent Uprising expansion beefed up warfare between EVE's factions by blowing up a whole star, kicking off a big set of changes to warfare between the factions in notoriously-dangerous low security space.

This indie dev made a free, 3D horror version of Minesweeper set in a masquerade ball
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-indie-dev-made-a-free-3d-horror-version-of-minesweeper-set-in-a-masquerade-ball/
First spotted by Alpha Beta Gamer, independent developer Sebastian "aare" Laitila stumbled on a novel idea during the 2022 Haunted PS1 Halloween Game Jam: the classic desktop time waster Minesweeper, but zoomed into a first person perspective and gussied up with low-fi 3D graphics and a gothic vampire horror theme.

YouTuber Dunkey's publisher, BigMode, has revealed its first game
https://www.pcgamer.com/youtuber-dunkeys-publisher-bigmode-has-revealed-its-first-game/
After announcing the establishment of an indie publishing label, BigMode, last September, long-time videogame YouTuber Dunkey revealed the endeavor's first game at the beginning of his Best of 2022 video. BigMode will be publishing developer Shared Memory's upcoming platformer, Animal Well.

Baba Files Taxes is a real spinoff you can play for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/baba-files-taxes-is-a-real-spinoff-you-can-play-for-free/
Filing taxes is awful. 2019 puzzle videogame Baba is You is great. What then am I to take from Baba Files Taxes, a game released this week by the developer of Baba is You about a good thing doing a bad thing? Am I to be disgusted?
I am to be entertained, actually. Baba Files Taxes is a goofy take on the process everyone doesn't like, a free goofy little game mixing both extremely realistic and extremely fanciful questions of the kinds you find on tax paperwork. Questions like "Responder's Home" and "What Are Clouds Made Of?"

Hello Games resurrects Joe Danger as a free browser game
https://www.pcgamer.com/hello-games-resurrects-joe-danger-as-a-free-browser-game/
Hello Games is now known for its epic development journey with No Man's Sky, but the studio's starting point was a stuntman. Joe Danger was a simple, fun, and polished indie game that was initially sold on PC and consoles before finding its way to mobile, and its success saw multiple sequels before Hello's gaze became fixed firmly on the stars.

Genshin Impact is getting a one-off beetle fighting game mode
https://www.pcgamer.com/genshin-impact-is-getting-a-one-off-beetle-fighting-game-mode/
HoYoverse is no stranger to creating bizarre minigames for Genshin Impact's various events, and its upcoming endeavour for the 3.4 update is no different. We've had shooters, rhythm games, and even trading card games—the latter of which has managed to spin off into its own permanent mode. This time, it's a fighting game. A beetle fighting game.

Hideo Kojima had an idea for a Policenauts sequel 'but it never happened'
https://www.pcgamer.com/hideo-kojima-had-an-idea-for-a-policenauts-sequel-but-it-never-happened/
Hideo Kojima is best known for the Metal Gear series, and latterly Death Stranding, but among his early work are two standout games that have never really received much love from publisher Konami: Snatcher and Policenauts. These graphic adventure games are in loosely the same lineage, with the first being basically a Blade Runner riff and the latter a more ambitious adventure-conspiracy built around the notion of police astronauts: the individuals who keep order in humanity's space colonies.
(...)
Turns out, though, that the director did once concept a Policenauts 2. "I was thinking of a sequel where Redwood comes back to earth (home) for revenge, but it never happened," writes Kojima. Tony Redwood is the main antagonist of the game, another high-ranking space cop (who, for bonus evil points, has killed your ex-wife), who at the end of Policenauts 'dies' by jumping to his death with a maniacal laugh. In the game, Earth is called home while the space colony is called Beyond Coast (in fact Policenauts' working title was Beyond, until Konami realised it couldn't trademark the word).

AMD Ryzen 7900/7700/7600 non-X Desktop CPU Review Roundup

https://videocardz.com/147338/amd-ryzen-7900-7700-7600-non-x-desktop-cpu-review-roundup

'

https://www.techspot.com/review/2602-amd-ryzen-7600-7700-7900/

All we really need are motherboard prices to come down. Especially for the "E" series.

MSI Afterburner software without MSI support, “project is probably dead”

https://videocardz.com/newz/msi-afterburner-software-without-msi-support-project-is-probably-dead

That would be pretty bad as I still use MSI afterburner to this day. The other solutions I always felt are just slow, laggy and intuitive to use. Would be very lame.

OBS Studio now supports Radeon RX 7000 AV1 encoding

https://videocardz.com/newz/obs-studio-now-supports-radeon-rx-7000-avi-encoding

RTX Remix Early Showcases Greatly Boost Visuals of Morrowind, Half-Life 2, and WoW

https://wccftech.com/rtx-remix-early-showcases-greatly-boost-visuals-of-morrowind-half-life-2-and-wow/

Gurman: New Apple Silicon Mac Pro will look identical to current model, lacks expandable RAM

https://9to5mac.com/2023/01/08/apple-silicon-mac-pro-look-the-same/

Good old apple, removing features.

The main reason I bought a 4090 is cause I watched to scratch off buying a Halo product off my bucket list at some point. Considering there is no competition against the xx90 series this time around like there was with RDNA 2 and the gap between 4080 and 4090 being so big unlike 3080 vs 3090 and the gen on gen performance leap between 3090 and 4090 being around 70% in Raster, 87% increase in RT and essentially 2x compared to a 3080 in Raster not to mention the Vram increase... Seemed like the best time to do it. Especially as who knows what the future holds for graphics card prices.

So overall, my gaming GPU upgrade path so far has been:

Nvidia 9800GTX+ > Radeon 4870 > Radeon 6870 > Nvidia 970 > Nvidia 1080 > Nvidia 3080 > Nvidia 4090

So, from the little I've seen, the new non-X CPUs from AMD have made the X parts almost redundant as they're within 5% in most tests, much less in gaming, while being cheaper and using a lot less power.

Also, today is a sad day for those of us that grew in a time when motherboards had no sound chips or they were attrocious, and we dreamed of having a Sound Blaster card:

Sim Wong Hoo, founder of Sound Blaster maker Creative Labs, has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/sim-wong-hoo-founder-of-sound-blaster-maker-creative-labs-has-died/

Sim Wong Hoo, who founded Sound Blaster producer Creative Technology in 1981 and remained at its head ever since, has died. A statement (opens in new tab) released by the company said Sim "passed away peacefully" on January 4.

Creative Technology—known as Creative Labs in North America—was a groundbreaking player in the early days of PC gaming thanks to its long-running series of audio cards. After initially launching as the Creative Music System in 1987, the famous Sound Blaster line debuted in 1989, and quickly took over the market (...)