Brace yourselves, for here come the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

GOG has three Deals of the Day and three sales:

• Here are the three Deals of the Day, available for another 22 hours:
  • Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Adepta Sororitas, a DLC for Gladius - Relics of War, will be 9% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/warhammer_40000_gladius_adepta_sororitas
  • Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon is 50% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/tex_murphy_under_a_killing_moon
  • The third one is Little Nightmares II - Deluxe Edition, 62% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/little_nightmares_ii_deluxe_edition
• The Your Turn for Conquest Sale features strategy titles with up to 90% discounts during three more days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_your_turn_for_conquest
• The Weekly Sale comes with up to 85% discounts during 6 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230410_weekly_sale
• And Frogwares puts its titles on sale with up to 85% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_frogwares_sale

Steam has new sales and weeklong deals:

• Mass Effect™: Andromeda Deluxe Edition is going to be 70% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1238000/Mass_Effect_Andromeda_Deluxe_Edition/
• Let's Build a Zoo gets a 45% discount until April 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1547890/Lets_Build_a_Zoo/
• And here's a small sample of the weeklong deals:
  • Becastled, still in Early Access, is 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1330460/Becastled/
  • Fly Corp, an Early Access game with a demo, gets a 40% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1372530/Fly_Corp/
  • Them's Fightin' Herds is 50% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/574980/Thems_Fightin_Herds/
  • Operation Warcade VR, and VR Only titles with a demo, gets a 60% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/639270/Operation_Warcade_VR/
  • The Guild Collection, with 4 items, is 75% off. The individual games are also 75% off: https://store.steampowered.com/sub/50718/
  • And 2Dark gets a 90% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/435100/2Dark/

The Humble Store has four new sales:

• The Paradox BYOB features hundreds of games and DLCs to build your bundle. The discounts go up to 50% off but if you get 5 or more, the discount goes up to 65%. The sale will last another three days and all the keys are for Steam, except for one that's also for GOG: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/paradox-dlc-build-your-own-bundle/
• The Games on the Go Sale features up to 90% discounts during 3 days. There are keys for Steam, GOG and 1 for EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/games-on-the-go-sale/
• The One Piece franchise is on sale with up to 90% discounts during another 3 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/one-piece-franchise-sale/
• And the Plat-Rogue-Vania-Like Sale puts games of those genres up to 90% off during 6 days. Again, there are keys for Steam, GOG and 1 for EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/platroguevanialike-sale/

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and bundle:

• The new Star Deal is Viscera Cleanup Detail, 55% off during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/viscera-cleanup-detail-game
• And the BYO Easter Bundle 2023 comes with 16 titles for yout 1, 5 or 10 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-easter-bundle-2023

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Take a look at Bloodborne Kart’s Campaign Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-bloodborne-kart-campaign-mode/
In March 2022, we informed you about Bloodborne Kart; a free fan Kart game based on Bloodborne, featuring PSX-style graphics. And today, we are happy to share a new video, showcasing five minutes of gameplay footage from it.

Play as Joel Miller from The Last of Us in Red Dead Redemption 2 & Resident Evil 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/play-as-joel-miller-from-the-last-of-us-in-red-dead-redemption-2-resident-evil-4/
Modders ‘DMCS1917’ and ‘Darknessvaltier’ have released a The Last of Us Joel Miller Mod for Red Dead Redemption 2 and Resident Evil 4 Remake, respectively.
As you may have guessed, this is a character swap mod for these two games. So basically, Joel’s model will replace Arthur and Leon. Now the good news is that there are full facial animations for RE4Remake. And, to be honest, it seems kind of cool.
>> There's a 15 minutes video for the RE4 mod.

Japanese Voice Mods released for Resident Evil 4 Remake and Deus Ex: Human Revolution
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/japanese-voice-mods-released-for-resident-evil-4-remake-and-deus-ex-human-revolution/
In case you didn’t know, I’m a big anime fan. Not only that but in most Japanese RPGs, I always prefer the Japanese voices over the English ones. Thus, and since no one has really asked for this (you see what I did there?), today we’ve decided to share the Japanese Voice Mods for Resident Evil 4 Remake and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Now I know. Adam Jensen without Toufexis’ voice is blasphemy. However, I had a soft spot for the game’s official Japanese voices. After all, DE: HR is heavily inspired by Ghost In The Shell. So, in a way, it does make sense to have Jensen speaking Japanese.
Similarly, the Japanese Mod for Resident Evil 4 Remake is a great way to replay it. And yes, the Japanese actors appear to have done a terrific job here.
>> There are videos for both mods.

This mod aims to transform The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind into a space robot shooter RPG
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/this-mod-aims-to-transform-the-elder-scrolls-iii-morrowind-into-a-space-robot-shooter-rpg/
Last week, ‘Modding and Development’ released a new trailer for its upcoming total conversion mod for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Robowind Construct.
Robowind Construct will be using brand new custom assets, and will attempt to transform Morrowind into a space robot shooter RPG. The mod will be based on OpenMW, so you won’t be able to run it on the original version of Morrowind.
For those unaware, OpenMW is a free, open-source, and modern engine which re-implements and extends the 2002 Gamebryo engine for The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind. OpenMW comes with its own editor, called OpenMW-CS, which allows the user to edit or create their own mods or original games. Both OpenMW and OpenMW-CS are written from scratch.
>> There's a roughly 3 minutes trailer of the mod.

Modder is working on a DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod for Elden Ring & Skyrim
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/modder-is-working-on-a-dlss-3-frame-generation-mod-for-elden-ring-skyrim/
Now here is something really interesting. PureDark, the creator behind the DLSS/XeSS/FSR Mods for Resident Evil 2 Remake, Skyrim and Fallout 4, is currently working on a DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod for Elden Ring.
Yeap, you read that right. A DLSS 3 Frame Generation Mod appears to be possible in a game that never supported DLSS or FSR. And, from what we know, this will be the first DLSS 3 Mod for any game.
>> Big news if true.

Half-Life Alyx NoVR Mod finally allows you to play the entire campaign
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/half-life-alyx-novr-mod-finally-allows-you-to-play-the-entire-campaign/
And the time has finally come. The “GB_2 Development Team” has released a new update for Half-Life: Alyx NoVR Mod. And, according to the devs, gamers can now enjoy the entire campaign mode.
Furthermore, the team has made the Gravity Gloves fully functional in this NoVR Mod. Not only that, but players will find combine fabricators to upgrade their weapons.
Going into more details, players can now grab any object from a distance including ammo and other pick ups. Moreover, wooden planks can now be broken off doorways and doors. Players can also open cranks, doors, cabinets etc by pressing E once or twice for some.
>> There's a very, very long video of the mod in action.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two is now completely playable in VR thanks to a mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/half-life-2-episode-two-gets-modded-vr-support-making-valves-sequel-completely-playable-in-virtual-reality/
Over the last seven months, the clever bods at Source VR Mod Team have been adding VR functionality into Half-Life 2. The base game got all goggle-eyed last September, while Episode 1 received the VR treatment only last month. Now, the team has added VR support to Episode 2, completing its goal of letting you experience Gordon Freeman's most expansive adventure in stereoscopic 3D.
>> There's a less than 2 minutes trailer of this mod.

This Assassin’s Creed Unity 4K Mod improves all main characters
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-assassins-creed-unity-4k-mod-improves-all-main-characters/
Modder ‘Instanity’ has released a 4K Texture Pack that improves all the main characters in Assassin’s Creed Unity. This is a must-have mod for all those that want to replay this AC game.
Going into more details, by main characters we refer to the characters that also appear in cut-scenes. So, you can expect 4K textures for Arno, Elise and Bellec. In fact, here are also the characters featured in this mod.
>> The article has some screenshots.

In 2021 a YouTuber offered $10K to whoever could make a Breath of the Wild multiplayer mod, and now you can play it
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-2021-a-youtuber-offered-dollar10k-to-whoever-could-make-a-breath-of-the-wild-multiplayer-mod-and-now-you-can-play-it/
After nearly a year and a half of work, a small team of modders released a multiplayer mod for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild this week, fulfilling a $10,000 challenge set out by YouTuber PointCrow in November 2021. The mod, which is now available via Discord, makes it possible for up to 32 players to galavant around Hyrule together, sharing progress and competing in some custom game modes added with the mod. Lead modder AlexMangue tells me PointCrow, who regularly speedruns and makes videos about Breath of the Wild, has been a big part of the mod's development.
"He didn't just put the 10K bounty. He has been supporting us monetarily throughout the project in addition to the 10K bounty," AlexMangue says. "Also, he was in some way the director of the project in the way of him doing the creative side of it, like bringing us ideas on what to work on next."
So far, the mod is able to sync an impressive number of things between players, including player location, weather and time of day, enemy health, and progress through discovered towers and shrines. It is still missing some key features to feel fully complete, though, like syncing enemy AI. In the mod's current form, other players will be able to tell when you've damaged an enemy, but it won't be doing the same thing on their screen as it is on yours. This discrepancy highlights the challenge of pulling off a mod like BotW Multiplayer when access to the game's code isn't really available.

GAMING NEWS

FEAR-inspired FPS, Trepang2, will release on June 21st
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fear-inspired-fps-trepang2-will-release-on-june-21st/
Team17 and Trepang Studios have announced that their upcoming FPS which is heavily inspired by Monolith’s FEAR, Trepang2, will release on June 21st. In order to celebrate this announcement, the teams have also shared a new trailer that you can find below.

Here are 30 minutes of gameplay footage from Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Mercenaries Free Mode
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/30-minutes-gameplay-footage-resident-evil-4-remake-mercenaries-free-mode/
Resident Evil 4 Remake will receive tomorrow its Mercenaries free mode. However, it appears that some users have already gotten access to it. Thus, you can find below over 30 minutes of gameplay footage from it.

Neo Berlin 2087 is a new first-person/third-person action RPG using Unreal Engine 5
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/neo-berlin-2087-is-a-new-first-person-third-person-action-rpg-using-unreal-engine-5/
Elysium Game Studio has shared the first gameplay trailer for its upcoming first-person/third-person sci-fi action RPG, Neo Berlin 2087. Neo Berlin 2087 will be using Unreal Engine 5, and currently targets a 2024 release on PC and PS5.

The Last of Us Part I Update 1.0.2.0 released, promises to reduce CPU usage, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-last-of-us-part-i-update-1-0-2-0-released-promises-to-reduce-cpu-usage-full-patch-notes/
As promised, Naughty Dog released a new major update for the PC version of The Last of Us Part I. This latest update promises to reduce overall CPU usage. In order to achieve this, Naughty Dog has updated the game’s texture streaming procedure.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gets a Final Gameplay Trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/star-wars-jedi-survivor-gets-a-final-gameplay-trailer/
Electronic Arts has released the final gameplay trailer for Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars game, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a third-person, narrative-driven action-adventure game that picks up five years after the events of STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order.

Capcom has removed Denuvo from Resident Evil Village
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/capcom-has-removed-denuvo-from-resident-evil-village/
Now here is something cool. Capcom has just issued a new update for Resident Evil Village that removes the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from it.
Capcom has also removed Denuvo from the game’s Steam store page. As such, we are certain that this removal was intentional, and not accidental.

Cyberpunk 2077 Path Tracing Overdrive Patch 1.62 is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/cyberpunk-2077-path-tracing-overdrive-patch-1-62-is-now-available-for-download/
CD Projekt RED has just released the highly anticipated Path Tracing Overdrive Patch 1.62 for Cyberpunk 2077. This update is 19GB in size, and below you can find its complete changelog.

Battlefield 2042 Update 4.1.1 available for download, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/battlefield-2042-update-4-1-1-available-for-download-full-patch-notes/
DICE has released Update 4.1.1 for Battlefield 2042. According to the developers, this latest patch introduces an All-Chat Functionality, as well as some additional Quality of Life improvements.

The news, the long (awaited) sequel:

The PC Gaming Show will return on June 11
https://www.pcgamer.com/pc-gaming-show-2023-announcement/
A 2023 edition of the PC Gaming Show will broadcast on Twitch and other video platforms on Sunday, June 11. The PC Gaming Show will follow the Xbox Games Showcase and Xbox's planned Starfield Direct presentation.
We're hard at work assembling this year's show, which is coming together nicely. Host Sean "Day[9]" Plott will return as host and ring leader of the showcase. Look for more details about the games that'll be featured in the show in the coming months on PC Gamer. A broadcast time for the PC Gaming Show will be shared at a later date.

Final Fantasy 14 is giving its second expansion away for free
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14-is-giving-its-second-expansion-away-for-free/
Stormblood may not be Final Fantasy 14's best expansion, but it sure as hell is the cheapest right now. Square Enix is currently giving away the MMO's second major expansion for free, though there's a small caveat.

One of the most influential FPS games inspired the new map in Overwatch 2 season 4
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2-season-4-new-map-roadmap/
Overwatch developers have cited Quake as an inspiration for the hero shooter's design for years. It has jump pads and a hero who can rocket jump. But in its upcoming season, it'll finally have an entire map that looks like it was ripped straight out of the classic arena shooter.

It took 10 years to make it happen, but the sequel to one of my favorite tower defense games is finally almost here
https://www.pcgamer.com/it-took-10-years-to-make-it-happen-but-the-sequel-to-one-of-my-favorite-tower-defense-games-is-finally-almost-here/
Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten is an excellent tower defense game, and so it wasn't surprising that in 2013, a year after its release, a sequel was announced. And then, nothing happened.
But now it's back! A decade down the road, developer Level Up Labs has officially "re-revealed" Defenders Quest 2: Mists of Ruin and said it will be out later this year.

EA unveils FIFA's new look and warns of marketing blitz for the ages
https://www.pcgamer.com/ea-unveils-fifas-new-look-and-warns-of-marketing-blitz-for-the-ages/
EA has begun gearing up for the re-branding exercise of the year, as it leaves football's world governing body FIFA in the dust and moves the series on under the brand of EA Sports FC. A new press release and official site has the logo, a bunch of marketing bumpf about the glory of football, and the promise of a first detailed look at the retitled series in July.

This new Steam game turns Tetris into a dungeon crawler, and it's pretty darn cool
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-steam-game-turns-tetris-into-a-dungeon-crawler-and-its-pretty-darn-cool/
Despite being created nearly 40 years ago, Tetris has never gone out of style. I don't think people will ever get tired of blocks falling from the sky while we frantically try to stack them up. Heck, Tetris just starred in its own sexy movie called Tetris.
So it's not a bad time to play a new game on Steam that turns Tetris, weirdly enough, into a dungeon crawler. In Blocky Dungeon, from developer SquareAnon, you use Tetris-shaped pieces (they're called tetrominoes, by the way) to build segments of a dungeon. Then you take control of a brave knight and move him through the dungeon you just plonked together, battling monsters and earning gold coins along the way.

Quantum Break has been removed from Steam and Game Pass, but it's alright
https://www.pcgamer.com/quantum-break-has-been-removed-from-steam-and-game-pass-but-its-alright/
Quantum Break, Remedy Entertainment's time-bending shooter about an experiment gone horribly wrong, is no longer available for purchase on Steam—but don't fret too much if you were just now heading to the site to buy it, because it'll probably be back soon.
The game also recently disappeared from Xbox Game Pass, a removal Remedy attributed to expiring licenses. More importantly, the studio said it'll be back once that situation is sorted.

Pour one out for Diablo 3 as Blizzard prepares its final new season
https://www.pcgamer.com/pour-one-out-for-diablo-3-as-blizzard-prepares-its-final-new-season/
After 11 years, Diablo 3 has reached the closest thing to an ending a Diablo game can get. Its next season, season 29, will mark the last time Blizzard introduces new features and cosmetics to the game. Future seasons will recycle and remix features and rewards from the last nine years as development resources shift over to Diablo 4.

Soothe angry mystical creatures by beating them senseless in a lovely luminous soulslike coming later this month
https://www.pcgamer.com/soothe-angry-mystical-creatures-by-beating-them-senseless-in-a-lovely-luminous-soulslike-coming-later-this-month/
Strayed Lights is a game about a "tiny, growing light seeking transcendence," a state it will apparently reach by beating the stuffing out of large, bioluminescent creatures in colorful soulslike combat.

5,700-word Wild Hearts patch notes promise better performance for 'some CPUs' and other PC improvements
https://www.pcgamer.com/wild-hearts-murakumo-update-patch/
Poor PC performance and a small monster roster were two of the issues our reviewer had with Koei Tecmo's Monster Hunter-like game, Wild Hearts, and the latest patch seeks to make some progress in both areas. Today's update adds a new monster, "the dangerous Murakumo," and according to director Takuto Edagawa, will improve performance for "some CPUs."

Resident Evil 4 Remake gets surprise microtransaction DLC that lets you pay to upgrade your guns
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-4-remake-gets-microtransaction-dlc-that-lets-you-pay-to-upgrade-your-guns/
Resident Evil 4's Mercenaries update isn't the only piece of DLC Capcom's remake received today. Alongside the free new mode, Capcom has added 11 pieces of paid DLC to the Steam store in the form of Weapon Upgrade Tickets.

Sons of the Forest's latest patch notes are more disturbing than I expected
https://www.pcgamer.com/sons-of-the-forests-latest-patch-adds-a-powered-unicycle-and-craftable-electrics/
Sons of the Forest continues its evolution from uncompromising horror survival game to playable meme generator with its latest patch, the headline addition of which is an electric unicycle. Named the Knight V (pronounced "Knight Five"), this discoverable vehicle lets players scoot around the game's vast cannibal island at high speed, like a greyhound with worms. Quite why there'd be an electric unicycle on an uncharted island filled with cannibals is another question, but videogames have never allowed logic to get in the way of fun.

Take-Two dismisses lawsuit against Grand Theft Auto modders
https://www.pcgamer.com/take-two-dismisses-lawsuit-against-grand-theft-auto-modders/
Take-Two Interactive has dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2021 against Grand Theft Auto modders over the reverse-engineered ports of Grand Theft Auto 3 and GTA: Vice City.

In this 'inverse city builder' the island you're building on is slowly shrinking
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-this-inverse-city-builder-the-island-youre-building-on-is-slowly-shrinking/
In most city builders you need to think big by expanding your city and slowly covering the available land with houses and factories. But what if the land you're building on is getting smaller and smaller while you're trying to build bigger? That's the premise of 'inverse city builder' Flooded. The ocean is steadily rising and swallowing the island you're building on, and you'll need to rally your small group of hard-working miners to harvest the shrinking island's resources. The plan is to eventually build an ark so you can escape the flood, but that's not going to be easy: the longer you work and the more you build, the less land you have.

Call of Duty's next season might actually make everyone happy
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-dutys-next-season-might-actually-make-everyone-happy/
Call of Duty is about to get its biggest update since the release of Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 last year. Activision spilled the whole beans on next week's Season 3 update in a voluminous blog post detailing new maps, guns, modes, and features coming to the 6v6 and battle royale corners of CoD.

I can't believe this keeps happening: leaked Ukraine War plans spread in part through a Minecraft Discord server
https://www.pcgamer.com/i-cant-believe-this-keeps-happening-leaked-ukraine-war-plans-spread-in-part-through-a-minecraft-discord-server/
Classified military documents have yet again been blasted out into the world by a gaming community, and for once it's not War Thunder's fault. The documents in question are related to US and NATO plans to support Ukraine's military effort against the ongoing Russian invasion, and according to Bellingcat researcher Aric Toler (via Vice), an early leak point was an unofficial Minecraft Discord server.
>> This is worth a facepalm of epic proportions.

Blizzard fixes Overwatch 2 'bug' that it purposefully added in 2019
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-fixes-overwatch-2-bug-that-it-purposefully-added-in-2019/
Wires crossed at Blizzard this week when the latest Overwatch 2 patch notes indicated that a deliberate feature added almost four years prior was now considered a bug.
"Fixed a bug that allowed Ashe to gain Ultimate while B.O.B was active," reads the official patch notes for Overwatch 2's upcoming Season 4 update.

Supplice is a new retro-FPS made by Doom modders, and it really feels like old-school Doom
https://www.pcgamer.com/supplice-is-a-new-retro-fps-made-by-doom-modders-and-it-really-feels-like-old-school-doom/
The boomer shooter genre grew a little bit larger today with the early access release of Supplice, a game that began life as a total conversion for Doom before evolving into a standalone shooter built in the GZDoom engine by members of the Doom modding community.

The news, the end of this ridiculous trilogy:

Halo creative lead Joseph Staten leaves Microsoft 3 months after heavy layoffs at 343 Industries
https://www.pcgamer.com/halo-creative-lead-joseph-staten-leaves-microsoft-3-months-after-heavy-layoffs-at-343-industries/
Joseph Staten, the head of creative on Halo Infinite and a former longtime writer at Bungie, is leaving Microsoft, the company confirmed to IGN. Staten left Bungie during the troubled development of Destiny and joined Microsoft in early 2014, helping Xbox Game Studios publish a variety of games. In 2020, after Halo Infinite's infamous first showing and year-long delay, Staten joined 343 Industries to see the project to completion.

No Alice sequel, says EA
https://www.pcgamer.com/no-alice-sequel-says-ea/
An update on American McGee's Alice: Asylum Patreon project has revealed that EA won't be taking on a sequel to the 2000 and 2011 Alice series, which creator McGee has been trying to get made for something like six years now. McGee says EA is neither interested in funding the project itself nor licensing the Alice IP to McGee.

This immersive sim will be set in a gas station that might also be hell
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-immersive-sim-will-be-set-in-a-gas-station-that-might-also-be-hell/
"Stranded alone at a gas station in the middle of the desert. Dark Rituals. Demonic Pursuers. No escape," that's the short pitch for Ad Infernum, an in-development immersive sim from Glass Knuckle Games that's rich with strange, occult objects and a kind of horror influence that hasn't yet really taken root in the broader immersive sim genre.

Tekken 8 will have crossplay, a series first
https://www.pcgamer.com/tekken-8-will-have-cross-play-a-series-first/
"Of course" Tekken 8 will have crossplay, says game director Katsuhiro Harada, allowing players on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC to play alongside each other in a multiplayer mode that'll also include fighting games' much-favored system of rollback netcode. Harada made the reveal in response to a fan on Twitter.

Get ready for a culinary throwdown when Cook Serve Forever launches in May
https://www.pcgamer.com/get-ready-for-a-culinary-throwdown-when-cook-serve-forever-launches-in-may/
Supercharged cooking game Cook Serve Forever will hit early access on May 8, news accompanied by a new trailer looking at the next cooking adventure from development studio Vertigo Gaming Inc. The trailer explains the all-new characters and setup for the game, which is similar to but not a sequel to the prior Cook Serve releases.

After complaints about 'free' Ark: Survival Evolved upgrade being sold in a $50 bundle with Ark 2, now it'll be in a DLC bundle for $60
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-complaints-about-free-ark-survival-evolved-upgrade-being-sold-in-a-dollar50-bundle-with-ark-2-now-itll-be-in-a-dlc-bundle-for-dollar60/
Studio Wildcard, creators of poop-harvesting dinosaur trainer Ark: Survival Evolved, has responded to players who were upset the Ark: Survival Evolved upgrade turned out not to be free. After raising the ire of those players by announcing it was going to release the Unreal Engine 5 remaster in a $50 bundle with Ark 2 and then sell remastered DLC for it separately, the studio now says it has "digested the feedback and consulted with our partners to revise our upcoming plans."
In a community update, Studio Wildcard describes those plans: it will instead release Ark: Survival Evolved as a standalone package that will contain several DLC upgrades at launch, and receive more without additional cost (including community-created maps) when they become ready. Also, it'll be priced at $60. Now I'm no mathematician, but that sure does seem to be $10 more.
>> I fail to see how that will please the community, but that's their problem.

This gleefully silly FPS takes inspiration from one of Titanfall 2's best levels
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-gleefully-silly-fps-takes-inspiration-from-one-of-titanfall-2s-best-levels/
Remember that amazing mission in Titanfall 2? No, I'm not talking about Effect and Cause, or the one where you battle along a giant, constantly moving assembly line (man, that game is brilliant). I'm referring to Trial by Fire, where you and BT-7274 must fight your way across a convoy of airborne transport vessels, leaping from ship to ship as you gradually work your way to the front. Anyway, there's a rapidly approaching FPS which takes that idea and uses it as the basis for a whole game.

Dead by Daylight kills its new healing system after blowback from players
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-by-daylight-kills-its-new-healing-system-after-blowback-from-players/
Multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight has been experimenting with a new healing system lately, whereby health regeneration was slowed from 16 to 24 seconds. That experiment has proved about as popular as having a meathook shoved through your chest, however, and after receiving substantial negative feedback, developer Behaviour Interactive has reverted to the original system.

Let's Build a Zoo will soon let you build an aquarium, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/lets-build-a-zoo-will-soon-let-you-build-an-aquarium-too/
Let's Build a Zoo, the zoo management sim that lets players cross-breed new animal species, has announced its second expansion. Named Aquarium Odyssey, this slippery slice of DLC will let players build and manage their own aquatic enclosures, filling tanks with all manner of weird and wonderful sea life.

QuakeCon will return in-person for 2023, but with some big changes
https://www.pcgamer.com/quakecon-will-return-in-person-for-2023-but-with-some-big-changes/
After three years of being online-only because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bethesda Softworks has announced that QuakeCon will return to in-person action in 2023.

Riot will let you pay to turn your Valorant guns into Counter-Strike guns
https://www.pcgamer.com/riot-will-let-you-pay-to-turn-your-valorant-guns-into-counter-strike-guns/
Valorant's next cosmetic bundle is looking eerily familiar. The Black Market pack, arriving on April 12, is an unsubtle homage to Counter-Strike conveniently timed with Valve's recent announcement of Counter-Strike 2.

ZeniMax promises 'a proper resolution' after using Elder Scrolls Online fanart in a paid skin without permission
https://www.pcgamer.com/zenimax-promises-a-proper-resolution-after-using-elder-scrolls-online-fanart-in-a-paid-skin-without-permission/
ZeniMax Online Studios says it is working toward a "proper resolution" for an Elder Scrolls Online fan named Relan Daevath after Daevath's artwork was used, without attribution or permission, in the Mercymother's Body Art skin in the game's Crown Store.

One-shot sniper rifles are returning to Warzone this week
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-shot-sniper-rifles-are-returning-to-warzone-this-week/
Season 3 begins on Wednesday in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, and as Morgan observed last week, it might be the first big update that pleases players of both games. One change to Warzone 2 might be mildly controversial, though: one-hit sniping is back.

Crounus cheaters are getting sniped across the biggest FPS games
https://www.pcgamer.com/crounus-cheaters-are-getting-sniped-across-the-biggest-fps-games/
If you're into online FPS games, you'll likely have heard of Cronus. The Cronus Zen is one of many little hardware modules that have been giving cheaters a physical way to skirt anticheat software for years, in top games like Call of Duty and Destiny 2. Now big-name game developers are cracking down on their use, with Activision pushing out a ban. And it looks like Bungie could be soon to follow.
>> Good news!

Portal writer Erik Wolpaw still wants to make Portal 3, but Valve's 'flat structure' makes it a challenge
https://www.pcgamer.com/portal-writer-erik-wolpaw-still-wants-to-make-portal-3-but-valves-flat-structure-makes-it-a-challenge/
Valve's allergy to the number three continues. While the desire for a third Portal game might not be quite as powerful as the hunger for Half-Life 3 (or even just Episode 3), the mind-bending puzzle series continues to have plenty of fans eager to see it continue, including Portal writer Erik Wolpaw. Unfortunately, the likelihood of another sequel remains hard to gauge.

Resident Evil 4 actor strikes back at critics: 'not the first time an actor of colour faces racist and sexist harassment, for simply participating'
https://www.pcgamer.com/resident-evil-4-actor-strikes-back-at-critics-not-the-first-time-an-actor-of-colour-faces-racist-and-sexist-harassment-for-simply-participating/
Lily Gao, the Ada Wong voice actor who wiped her Instagram after continued harassment last week, has returned to the platform. In a post spotted by TheGamer, Gao hit back at abusive critics, writing that "while criticism is expected, it's not the first time an actor of colour faces racist and sexist harassment, for simply participating."
>> Some people, haters, will always find something to complain about. It's better to ignore them... or make fun of them..

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 matches GeForce RTX 3080 in leaked tests

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-matches-geforce-rtx-3080-in-leaked-tests

Cyberpunk 2077 patch with Ray Tracing Overdrive mode, NVIDIA DLAA and Intel XeSS support is now available

https://videocardz.com/newz/cyberpunk-2077-patch-with-ray-tracing-overdrive-mode-nvidia-dlaa-and-intel-xess-support-is-now-available

Considering a 3090 runs this game at 1080p 30fps and 4090 runs this game at 19 fps at 4k native, you effectively need an RTX 40 (4070 Ti and up) series GPU to run this game at high frame rates due to having Frame Generation. Still quite incredible that not too long ago, we only had games like portal and quake and minecraft being capable of path tracing. From those simple games to something like Cyberpunk is quite a big jump in polycount even if you need DLSS Frame Generation.

AMD Radeon Pro W7900 GPU has been spotted, Navi 31 coming to workstations?

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-pro-w7900-gpu-has-been-spotted-navi-31-coming-to-workstations

RDNA 3 does have a lot of compute capabilities so not suprirsing

I'm surprised AMD is using RDNA3 for such card. Wasn't CDNA cards supposed to be their enterprise/business cards, designed specifically for those markets?

So I will be upgrading to 7800X3D this month as my friend wants to buy my current CPU + Motherboard + Ram setup. So am currently thinking between two motherboards. The ASUS ROG Strix X670E-A or ASUS ProArt X670E-Creator.

The main difference is that the Strix has RGB, an additional USB port and 6 audio ports and is about $50 cheaper where as the creator has 2 USB 4 40Gbps usb-c ports and 10G networking along with it's 2.5G. Which one should I pick or if anyone else has any suggestions on motherboards, I'd appreciate it!

Isn't a 7800X3D a downgrade from your current CPU in terms of productivity? I thought you would go for a 7950X3D to have the best of both worlds.

In any case, I don't think the number of USB ports, of any kind, wiill be a problem, because both have plenty of them. What could be a problem, and you posted it a few months ago, is that both motherboards use Intel's 2.5Gb Ethernet hardware, and those network chips are flawed. Remember?

So, you can pick a third option that uses a netwok chipset from Realtek or other brand, or go with the more expensive ProArt model to use the 10Gb port it comes with.

I was thinking about 7950X3D but I am not liking all of the issues surrounding it when it comes to which CCD the scheduler puts the games into. Cause if it puts the games or application into the wrong CCD, there's a pretty big penalty in performance. And while the productivity will take a hit, my job environment has changed so I don't really need 16 cores anymore.

Also Intel did fix the issue with a later patch:
https://www.techpowerup.com/305356/intel-releases-windows-workaround-and-patch-for-ethernet-stuttering-and-disconnects

So shouldn't be a big deal in that sense.

If you don't need the extra horsepower for productivity, then the 7800X3D is a great CPU for gaming, and extremely efficient at it as well.

And Intel didn't fix the problem. Read the article again and you'll see an update confirming that the disconnecting issues still happen. That update tries to mitigate the problem, making it less common, but it still happens.

Mmm in that case I'll have to see. I think I'll go with the ProArt in that case cause it does come with a lot of goodies including that second NIC. Thanks for your input!