Thursday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Capcom just had its best year ever, selling 41.7 million games
https://www.pcgamer.com/capcom-just-had-its-best-ever-year/
Capcom's business is videogames, and business is good: Better, in fact, than it's ever been. The Japanese giant published its end-year results on Wednesday, covering the financial year that ended on March 31, 2023, and this has been the best year in the venerable publisher's history (thanks, VGC).
Capcom sold 41.7 million games over the year, a big jump from the 32.6 million it managed the year prior, and this is its new record for games sold in a single year. This in turn led to record high profit, as well as its tenth straight year of income growth, and major contributors were Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (5.45 million units) and Resident Evil 4 (3.75 million, though bear in mind in this context that is one week's sales).
That's still only nine million-ish games though, and Capcom says most of the remainder is catalogue titles (i.e. games not released in this financial year) and spread across the Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, and Devil May Cry series. It says this accounts for 29.3 million game sales total, and the biggest contributors were Monster Hunter Rise (3.7 million), Resident Evil 2 (2.25 million) and Resident Evil 3 (1.95 million).
>> There's no mention of how the sales split between consoles or PC. Maybe we'll get that info in another article.

The Epic Store gives away The Sims™ 4 The Daring Lifestyle Bundle: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-sims-4--the-daring-lifestyle-bundle
The free game for next week is a mystery.

Steam has two new deals:

• The first one is Master of Magic, 30% off until next Wednesday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1623070/Master_of_Magic/
• The second one is Floodland, with a 50% discount until May, 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1336180/Floodland/

There's a new Humble Bundle: the Capcom Heroic Collection, with up to 10 games to get during the next 13 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/capcom-heroic-collection.

Fanatical has six new 24 hours flash deals and a new bundle:

• The first flash deal is Hi-Fi RUSH, 28% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/hi-fi-rush
• Distant Worlds 2 gets a 47% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/distant-worlds-2
• Luck be a Landlord is 50% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/luck-be-a-landlord
• The Forgotten City gets a 56% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-forgotten-city
• MONSTER HUNTER RISE takes a 58% deal: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/monster-hunter-rise
• Sniper Elite 5 is the last flash deal, 64% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/sniper-elite-5
• And the new bundle is the Retro Rampage Bundle, with 11 games with a 98% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/retro-rampage-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Valve overhauls Steam community rules with much more granular prohibitions
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-overhauls-steams-community-rules-and-content-guidelines/
Valve has made some big changes to the online conduct rules and rules and guidelines for Steam, which now break down in much greater detail what people are and are not allowed to do while using the service.
"Beginning today, you’ll see we’ve made some updates to Steam's Rules and Guidelines and Steam's Online Conduct Rules," Valve said in the announcement of the rule changes. "These updates are intended to add context and specificity to how we already apply these in practice to all behaviors and content across Steam."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Screenshots and videos from a new Half-Life 2 Remastered Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/screenshots-and-videos-from-a-new-half-life-2-remastered-mod/
Modder ‘GameROOSH’ is currently working on a remaster mod for Half-Life 2, and shared some screenshots and a comparison video. This comparison video shows off some of the early graphical improvements that players can expect from it.
As GameROOSH noted, the following screenshots are from an early version and do not represent the quality of the final version. As such, consider them as alpha screenshots.
The modder plans to replace most of the game’s textures with brand new ones. In order to do so, GameROOSH will be using 8000×8000 pictures from the city they live in. Moreover, the modder will be using some models and some textures from other Source Engine-powered games.

Ever feel disappointed in yourself for abusing fast travel? This Skyrim mod stops you
https://www.pcgamer.com/skyrim-regional-fast-travel-mod/
I hate it when, partway through a fantasy series, the characters start skipping back and forth between locations that used to take three episodes and multiple frostbitten limbs to bridge. Game of Thrones, The Rings of Power, they all do it. And I get it, because I too cannot resist the temptation of fast travel. We already did the 'it's hard to get from this place to that place' subplot. Why do it again?
It damages the illusion a little though, doesn't it? The more the rules of the world are bent, the less weight the whole story seems to have. Some people hated the long boat rides in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. I loved 'em. I used to try to walk across all of EverQuest with low level characters for fun. But like fantasy authors who don't want to describe the same gusty mountain pass for the third time, when I get the option to fast travel in most games, I take it. How can I resist?
One modder has a solution, or at least a sort of nicotine gum for habitual fast-travelers: The Regional Fast Travel mod for Skyrim Special Edition.
"Looking for a method to stop you from fast travelling all the time?" asks digitalApple. "This mod will add more rules to fast travel requests."

GAMING NEWS

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor STILL has traversal & shader compilation stutters
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/star-wars-jedi-survivor-still-has-traversal-shader-compilation-stutters/
Respawn has just released Patch 4 for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC. However, despite its claims, the game still suffers from both traversal and shader compilation stutters.

Diablo 4 Server Slam will support DLSS 3 Frame Generation
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/diablo-4-server-slam-will-support-dlss-3-frame-generation/
NVIDIA has announced that the Server Slam for Diablo 4 will support DLSS 3 Frame Generation. Diablo IV Server Slam will be available from May 12th to May 14th, and it will be open to everyone. As such, all RTX40 series owners will be able to test DLSS 3 before actually buying the game.

Warcraft III: Reforged Update 1.36 released, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/warcraft-iii-reforged-update-1-36-and-here-are-its-full-patch-notes/
Blizzard has just released Update 1.36 for Warcraft III: Reforged, and shared its complete changelog. According to the release notes, Patch 1.36 packs numerous balance tweaks and improvements.

F1 23 will support Ray Tracing and VR on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/f1-23-will-support-ray-tracing-and-vr-on-pc/
Codemasters has released the official PC system requirements for F1 23, confirming that this new F1 game will support Ray Tracing and VR on PC.

The Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update 4.03 released, full patch notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/the-witcher-3-next-gen-update-4-03-released-full-patch-notes/
CD Projekt RED has just released Update 4.03 for The Witcher 3 Next-Gen, and shared its complete changelog. According to the team, this patch brings major improvements to the game’s Ray Tracing effects.

Thursday news, part two:

Want to play Warzone 2's new ranked mode? You'd better meet the level requirement
https://www.pcgamer.com/want-to-play-warzone-2s-new-ranked-mode-youd-better-meet-the-level-requirement/
Call of Duty's big Season 3 Reloaded update hits today, bringing with it new maps, missions, and crucially, a new ranked play mode for Warzone 2. While the ordinary Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer has had ranked play for ages, Call of Duty's battle royale offering has yet to let you compete in a fashion that tells you how bad you are at it in a 100% scientifically accurate numerical way. Well, no more.

The voiceover on this new Boltgun trailer is so bad it made me want to play the game less
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-voiceover-on-this-new-boltgun-trailer-is-so-bad-it-made-me-want-to-play-the-game-less/
Focus Entertainment has unleashed another trailer for its upcoming retro shooter Warhammer 40:000: Boltgun, a game that I was genuinely excited for before I watched it. After watching it, I must confess I'm slightly less excited than I was before. Not because of the game itself, but because the trailer's voiceover is actively off-putting.
>> I don't think it's that bad, but I took it as a tribute/parody of the voiceovers of the old games this game aims to mimic.

PUBG is getting a clan system that doubles your XP bonus when fighting with clanmates
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubg-is-getting-a-clan-system-that-doubles-your-xp-bonus-when-fighting-with-clanmates/
Battle royale trailblazer PUBG is getting a clan system, publisher Krafton has announced. The new system will let players create and join their friends in groups of up to 100 players, unlocking a bunch of new social and progression systems.

Blizzard reveals Diablo 4 seasonal plans and battle pass
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-reveals-diablo-4-seasonal-plans-and-battle-pass/
With Diablo 4 now less than a month away—June 6 is the big day—Blizzard has unveiled the details on its post-launch plans, including its seasonal structure, cosmetic microtransactions, and the "completely optional" battle pass.

Hogwarts Legacy's new last-gen port is actually prettier in some ways
https://www.pcgamer.com/hogwarts-legacys-new-last-gen-version-is-actually-prettier-in-some-ways/
We all know that making games is very hard, but the truly unsung heroes of game development are the ones tasked with making new games run on older machines they were never designed for. Sometimes it goes surprisingly well, like Titanfall Xbox 360, and sometimes it's so insurmountable that last-gen editions are cancelled entirely, like Gotham Knights.
One last-gen edition that seems to have gone over pretty well is Hogwarts Legacy, which just released its PS4 and Xbox One versions on May 5, three months after PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Bungie tracks down another Destiny 2 cheat maker, hammers him for $16.2M
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-tracks-down-another-destiny-2-cheat-maker-hammers-him-for-dollar162m/
It's been a heck of a week for Bungie, which has now scored its third multi-million-dollar lawsuit win against a Destiny 2 cheat maker over a span of just seven days. A week ago the studio won $12 million against VeteranCheats, then on Monday it was $6.7 million against LaviCheats, and now it's notched a $16.2 million triumph over Daniel Larsen, a developer whose downfall actually began a year ago, in Bungie's $13.5 million settlement with cheat maker Elite Boss Tech.
(For those keeping score at home, all of the above follows a $4.4 million win over cheat mater AimJunkies in February. Bungie's on a bit of a roll.)

Bungie is brutally nerfing Destiny 2's best Warlock build (but also cooking up some spicy buffs)
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-is-brutally-nerfing-destiny-2s-best-warlock-build-but-also-cooking-up-some-spicy-buffs/
The beauty of live service games, aside from never having to worry about how to spend your remaining minutes on this planet ever again, is that seasonal balance changes can usher in completely different play styles. Major patches represent a chance for developers to hammer down over-performers and buff unloved gear that's languished in virtual closets for years. So it goes with today's tuning preview from Bungie, which details the changes coming to exotic armor as part of Season of the Deep on May 23.

Looks like the new Mortal Kombat game is going to be another reboot, called Mortal Kombat 1
https://www.pcgamer.com/looks-like-the-new-mortal-kombat-is-going-to-be-another-reboot/
About a week after the mysterious exploding grain of sand in a recent Mortal Kombat anniversary video, NetherRealm Studios has released a more concrete teaser. This new video shows a clock ticking down, past 9, 10, 11… and then skipping over 12 straight to 1.
The message seems pretty clear—following 2019's Mortal Kombat 11, the new entry won't be MK12, but rather some kind of reboot or reset. That also lines up a datamined leak that suggests the new game is called Mortal Kombat 1.
>> Lame.

Former Bloodlines 2 developer acquired by Keywords Studios, will form part of its development support business
https://www.pcgamer.com/former-bloodlines-2-developer-acquired-by-keywords-studios-will-form-part-of-its-development-support-business/
Hardsuit Labs, the studio that previously worked on Paradox's troubled Bloodlines 2 project, has been acquired by the Irish video game services company Keywords Studios.

The GN rant about Asus is, in my opinon, exaggerated while well deserved.

Asus is seriously hurting their own image and credibility while they could have actually came out of this reinforced if they had done things right. But I'm affraid it's too late now. Whatever they do now to fix this mess won't come naturally from them, it won't be to help their customers, but it will the result of their fear of losing customers. Which isn't a bad motivation per se, but it doesn't speak well about you if it's the only or main reason to fix the problems you've created.

On another note, hearing Steve saying that if Asus had done thing well the video would have been about Gigabyte or AsRock makes me wish they do a follow-up video focusing on how the other brands are reacting to this problem an what they're doing.

You know, to keep things fare and warn those who bought motherboards from those other brands about the problems and sh*t they may also encounter.

I do think something needs to be said about mother vendor and their Expo/XMP warranties. Most if not all have a disclaimer that says that if you turn on expo, they may not warranty it which to me is pretty dumb considering Intel and AMD both use Expo/XMP in their marketing. Like I get that it's technically considered overclocking but if the CPU vendors use the feature in their marketing, there should be no question in terms of warranty. So either the CPU vendors stop using XMP/Expo or they should work with the motherboard vendors to keep it under warranty.

Indeed.

When it comes to memory, I think the position of AMD is even worse because they not only advertize it, but also go as far as telling us which is the sweet spot to aim for. It's ridiculous.
But it's quite hypocrital from Asus and the rest to make those claims against overclocking when most motherboards come with several "tricks" enabled by default to make the product perform better and stand above the competition in the fewer and fewer motherboard reviews we get with each passing gen, with some motherboards launching with PBO set on by default.

And because of this, reviewers should start reviewing those products, the CPUs, motherboards and also GPUs (that come pre-overclocked) at stock settings, because otherwise that's not a fair description of what the product is guaranteed to do. Maybe that way we'll actually move on an get rid of this nonsense crap, either in one direction of the other.

Let's not wait any more and go for the Friday news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Humble Store has a new flash deal: PlateUp will be between 20 and 45% off (depends on the edition), during another 26 hours: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/featured-deal-4-spring-sale-48-hour-featured-deals/.

Fanatical has five new 24 hours flash deals:

• Neon White is 39% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/neon-white
• Session: Skate Sim gets a 62% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/session-skate-sim
• Tales of Arise is 72% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/tales-of-arise
• DOOM Eternal - Deluxe Edition gets a 79% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/doom-eternal-deluxe-edition
• And Learn Japanese to Survive Complete Pack has a 96% deal: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/learn-japanese-to-survive-complete-pack

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

New version of NVIDIA RTX Remix Runtime released, improves game compatibility
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-version-of-nvidia-rtx-remix-runtime-released-improves-game-compatibility/
NVIDIA has released a new version of the NVIDIA RTX Remix Runtime. According to its changelog, Version 0.2.0 improves overall game compatibility. As such, players will be able to implement RTX Remix Runtime in more games.
Going into more details, RTX Remix Runtime Version 0.2.0 brings improvements to culling issues. Furthermore, it improves detection of shadow volumes, and adds support for capturing normals in vertex capture path.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This scarily detailed Witcher 3 mod forces Geralt to fight a new foe: long Covid
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-scarily-detailed-witcher-3-mod-forces-geralt-to-fight-a-new-foe-long-covid/
In an incredibly niche bit of awareness-raising, a modder named Stellar7Project has put together a far-reaching mod for The Witcher 3 that, if nothing else, will definitely make your next playthrough a lot different than the ones before it. Long Covid Mode for The Witcher 3 gives Geralt, well, long Covid, turning "real Long Covid symptoms into in-game effects" and generally making the entire game into a big, long, arduous experience.
The mod is a "pro-bono piece of work for Long COVID Europe," says the creator in its description, "created to shed light on how an estimated 65+ million Long COVID patients worldwide are living life on a whole new level of difficulty".
It's a profoundly detailed bit of work, too, as unusual as it is. Geralt's long Covid symptoms (a sentence I can't say I ever imagined having to write) proceed through four stages as his "Exertion Level"—a new addition to his inventory screen—grows.

Here's the latest fan attempt to create Half-Life 2: Episode 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-the-latest-fan-attempt-to-create-half-life-2-episode-3/
Whether or not we see another Half-Life game after the excellent Half-Life: Alyx is entirely down to the capricious whims of Valve, but one thing we can be sure of is that it won't be in the form of Half-Life 2: Episode Three. For starters, simply too much time has passed for Valve to make another straightforward expansion to Half-Life 2. But there's also the fact Half-Life 2's writer, Marc Laidlaw, released his vision for the story of that elusive final episode.
That said, we might, just might, get to see Laidlaw's vision for Half-Life's concluding chapter in videogame form. Enter Infinite Finality, a new Half-Life 2 mod that is based upon the "Epistle 3" plot outline that Laidlaw released back in 2017.
>> There's a 1:35 minutes teaser of the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Layers of Fear PC Demo releases this Monday, PC requirements revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/layers-of-fear-pc-demo-releases-this-monday-pc-requirements-revealed/
Bloober Team has announced that a PC demo for its Unreal Engine 5-powered horror game, Layers of Fear, will release this Monday. In addition, the team has revealed the game’s official PC system requirements.

Sons Of The Forest Patch 05, and here are all its fixes, changes & improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/sons-of-the-forest-patch-05-and-here-are-all-its-fixes-changes-improvements/
Endnight Games has released the fifth major update for its open-world survival horror, Sons Of The Forest. This new patch introduces some new features to the game, and packs a number of bug fixes and improvements.

Lords of the Fallen rumored to be released on October 13th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/lords-of-the-fallen-rumored-to-be-released-on-october-13th/
A new rumor surfaced earlier today, suggesting that CI Games’ Lords of the Fallen will release on October 13th. This rumor comes from “Aggiornamenti Lumia” who has a pretty solid record regarding leaks.

LEGO 2K Drive has Denuvo, PC system requirements revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/lego-2k-drive-has-denuvo-pc-system-requirements-revealed/
Visual Concepts Entertainment has shared the official PC system requirements for LEGO 2K Drive, and revealed that the game will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech.

The second, and long, part of the Friday news:

Blizzard developers say mandatory return-to-office policy has 'cost us some amazing people'
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-developers-say-mandatory-return-to-office-policy-has-cost-us-some-amazing-people/
Activision Blizzard's mandatory return-to-office policy is causing an unnecessary loss of talent, to the point where it could affect development of major titles like World of Warcraft and Diablo 4, according to some Blizzard developers.

Bethesda adds 27-level megawad to its Doom re-release
https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-adds-27-level-megawad-to-its-doom-re-release/
Bethesda has added one of the best unofficial Doom addons to its re-release version of the 1993 classic. Titled Base Ganymede, this megawad adds a new 27-map campaign to Doom set on Jupiter's largest moon.

D&D's oldest rival is making a comeback thanks to the developer of Sniper Elite
https://www.pcgamer.com/dandds-oldest-rival-is-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-the-developer-of-sniper-elite/
In 1974, TSR released Dungeons & Dragons—the world's first commercially published tabletop role-playing game. In 1975, a librarian named Ken St Andre published the second—Tunnels & Trolls. You'd be forgiven for never having heard of it, but it may be about to take on a new life under an unlikely new owner.
Nearly 50 years after its original release, Tunnels & Trolls has been acquired by Rebellion—the developer behind the Sniper Elite games, and owner of other properties as eclectic as the 2000AD comics and Whitaker's Almanac. In a statement celebrating the game's landmark place in tabletop history, the company says it's working on "the next chapter of Tunnels & Trolls releases".

CD Projekt's Witcher spinoff game is back on track with an 'updated direction'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekts-witcher-spinoff-game-is-back-on-track-with-an-updated-direction/
CD Projekt revealed in March that Project Sirius, the Witcher spinoff game being developed by Molasses Flood, had run into some kind of trouble: After evaluating "the scope and commercial potential of the original concept of Project Sirius," the studio said it was writing off the game's development expenses up to that point and had begun "formulating a new framework for this project." Now, two months later, that work is complete, and Sirius is back on track.

Rainbow Six Siege PC players are accidentally joining console lobbies and absolutely destroying them
https://www.pcgamer.com/rainbow-six-siege-pc-players-are-accidentally-joining-console-lobbies-and-absolutely-destroying-them/
A new bug in Rainbow Six Siege's matchmaking created a nightmare scenario for console players of the game: the PC players are invading console lobbies and wiping the floor with controller players.
>>***Insert evil laugh here***

Arkane founder is working on an all-new game that's even 'more ambitious' than his last one
https://www.pcgamer.com/arkane-founder-is-working-on-an-all-new-game-thats-even-more-ambitious-than-his-last-one/
There's good news and bad news for fans of the action-RPG – immersive sim crossover Weird West: The bad news is that it doesn't look like we're getting a sequel, but the good news is that developer Wolfeye Studios is working on something brand new and even "more ambitious" than its first game.

Here's who's coming to Summer Game Fest: CD Projekt, Larian, Steam, and dozens more
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-whos-coming-to-summer-game-fest-cd-projekt-larian-steam-and-dozens-more/
There was a time when E3 was the big videogame event of the summer, but that time is long past. These days the Summer Game Fest is the can't-miss show of June, and today organizer Geoff Keighley revealed exactly when this year's festivities will begin, and which companies will be taking part.

Apex Legends player hits top rank without scoring a single kill: 'That is just so dumb'
https://www.pcgamer.com/apex-legends-player-hits-top-rank-without-scoring-a-kill-i-mean-that-is-just-so-dumb/
Is the point of battle royale games to survive, or to eliminate competitors? The latest season of Apex Legends has centered that question with a new ranking system that's stupefying top players. To "prove how bad the system is," NRG pro sweetdreams challenged himself to hit the game's highest rank, Apex Predator, without scoring any kills. After playing for almost 19 hours, entirely livestreamed, he succeeded.

Finally, after 8 years Geralt can no longer eat chicken sandwiches, turkey legs, or pierogies underwater
https://www.pcgamer.com/witcher-3-patch-4-03-underwater/
The Witcher 3's next-gen version continues to receive refinements and improvements from CD Projekt Red, and while I thought the developer could never live up to the audacious excellence of fixing the grass shadows (and thus the game itself), I have been proven grievously wrong. After eight long years, the same gap as between the O.G. Witcher and The Witcher 3, Geralt can no longer get his chow on underwater. Our boy's days of noshing in the briney deep are no more. CDPR also fixed some other stuff too.

New World of Warcraft specialization promises 'a playstyle never seen before'
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-world-of-warcraft-specialization-promises-a-playstyle-never-seen-before/
Associate editor Tyler Colp said back in March that he was convinced Blizzard was about to bring a ranged support class to World of Warcraft. As it turns out, he was partly right: Today Blizzard unveiled the new Augmentation specialization for the Dracthyr Evoker class, a damage dealer role coming to the game this summer that uses "the essence of the Black and Bronze dragonflights to amplify the abilities of nearby allies."

'There is no AI-driven software that I know of that we would put in a shipped game,' says Blackbird Interactive's president
https://www.pcgamer.com/there-is-no-ai-driven-software-that-i-know-of-that-we-would-put-in-a-shipped-game-says-blackbird-interactives-president/
Several members of Homeworld 3 studio Blackbird Interactive recently took part in a roundtable discussion hosted by PC Gamer's Evan Lahti, with AI as the main topic. While all of them saw the value of algorithmic tools in creating videogames, the consensus was that things aren't 100% ready for prime time yet.

Ten years on, we're getting a sequel to Reus
https://www.pcgamer.com/ten-years-on-were-getting-a-sequel-to-reus/
2013 was the goldilocks period for indie gaming on PC, the point at which there was surging interest in games from outside the mainstream publishing sphere, but not so many indie games struggling for prominence that some became lost in the crowd. It was during this period that we got Reus, a 2D sort-of god game that let players assume control of giants so powerful they could reshape entire worlds. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't its biggest fan, but that didn't matter one jot, as it went on to sell a million copies.
Reus' developer, Abbey games, has made a bunch of interesting titles since, including Renowned Explorers and the more typical god game Godhood. Now, it's teaming up with publisher Firesquid Games for a direct follow-up to Reus, ten years on since the original released.

Fallout's original co-creator has casually dropped 'the true purpose of vaults' on YouTube
https://www.pcgamer.com/fallouts-original-co-creator-has-casually-dropped-the-true-purpose-of-vaults-on-youtube/
Tim Cain's had a storied career, hasn't he? The man's had a hand in pretty much all of my favourite games: Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum, Vampire: The Masquerade—Bloodlines, Pillars of Eternity, and Tyranny. Now the legendary game designer has a new hobby: Dropping (in the inimitable words of PCG's Ted Litchfield) "heater after heater" of classic RPG development lore over on his YouTube channel.
One of those heaters is the absolutely irresistible "The true purpose of vaults in Fallout," wherein Cain drops the knowledge that—in his original conception at the end of Fallout 1—the vaults were basically testbeds for a starship.
>> So, given that Bethesda owns the IP, does it mean that Starfield and Fallout happen in the same universe?

PUBG's latest patch adds an Apex Legends-style respawn system
https://www.pcgamer.com/pubgs-latest-patch-adds-an-apex-legends-style-respawn-system/
Battle royales have come a long way since PUBG's initial release in 2017, with each new release attempting quality-of-life improvements to iron out pain points in the genre. Dying in group play has always been a design challenge: while it's fun to cheer on your friends from the sidelines, you'll be left twiddling your thumbs while they run, gun, and scavenge.
Apex Legends tackled this sore spot via a respawn beacon, and PUBG is following its example in update 23.2. Death boxes—self–descriptive containers that drop upon death—will now contain Blue Chips on the maps Erangel, Miramar, and Deston.

Bobby Kotick's AI comments perfectly sum up the thoughtlessness behind the large-language model gold rush
https://www.pcgamer.com/bobby-koticks-ai-comments-perfectly-sum-up-the-thoughtlessness-behind-the-large-language-model-gold-rush/
One of the big problems with the tech industry's current obsession over large language models (commonly referred to under the umbrella term "AI"), is separating out the genuine potential applications and implications of this technology, from the marketing hype, misunderstanding, and outright lies proffered by industry leaders and blue-tick grifters pivoting from NFTs. A good example of how the two are easily conflated was recently provided by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, who shared his thoughts on AI's potential applications in gaming.

Amnesia: The Bunker hit with one more last-minute delay, but luckily it's a short one
https://www.pcgamer.com/amnesia-the-bunker-hit-with-one-more-last-minute-delay-but-luckily-its-a-short-one/
Amnesia: The Bunker, Frictional Games' next "why-am-I-doing-this-to-myself" first-person horror game, is going to take a little longer than expected to arrive. It was scheduled to launch on May 23 but the studio said today that because of some last-minute issues, it's been pushed to June 6.

And now, the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend;

+GOG

• The first of the 8 Deals of the Day, which will last until Monday's refresh, is Beacon Pines, 30% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/beacon_pines
• The second one is Shovel Knight: King of Cards, 70% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/shovel_knight_king_of_cards
• Amnesia: Rebirth gets an 80% discount; https://www.gog.com/en/game/amnesia_rebirth
• Frostpunk also features an 80% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/frostpunk
• Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ Definitive Edition is 85% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/middleearth_shadow_of_war_definitive_edition
• Cyberpunk SFX, still in development, gets a 90% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/cyberpunk_sfx
• Dofamine also gets a 90% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/dofamine
• And the last DotD is Cybernetic Fault, still in development and 92% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/cybernetic_fault

+Steam

• The first deal is the Tacticon 2023 Event, with up to 70% discounts until May 15th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/Tacticon2023
• Fuga: Melodies of Steel, that has a demo, will be 40% off until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1357860/Fuga_Melodies_of_Steel/
• The Anno Franchise Sale comes with up to 75% discounts until the 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/AnnoFranchiseSale
• Annapurna Interactive is the star of the weekend publisher sale, and puts its games up to 75% off until Thursday, 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/annapurnainteractivepubsale2023
• The Expeditions franchise celebrates its 10th anniversary with a sale featuring up to 80% discounts until May. 18th: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/THQNordic/sale/expeditionsanniversary2023
• DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 will be 85% off until the 18th of May: https://store.steampowered.com/app/454650/DRAGON_BALL_XENOVERSE_2/
• Paradox puts its games up to 80% off until the 18th, except Cities Skylines, that will be 70% off until the 25th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/paradoxpublishersale2023
• And the last deal is the Team17 Publisher Sale, with up to 90% discounts until May, 22nd: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/team17publishersale

That's all folks! Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 expected to cost €349 in France

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-7600-expected-to-cost-e349-in-france

NVIDIA’s Top GPUs Are In Big Demand For AI, Places Additional Orders At TSMC

https://wccftech.com/nvidias-top-gpus-are-in-big-demand-for-ai-places-additional-orders-at-tsmc/

TAIDU Launches 32-Inch QD-Mini LED Gaming Display: 2K Resolution & 165 Hz Refresh Rate For $370

https://wccftech.com/taidu-32-inch-qd-mini-led-gaming-display-ips-panel-2k-resolution-165-hz-refresh-rate/

"As mentioned, the TAIDU M32AQH-STA gaming display utilizes an IPS LCD panel with a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1440, making it a 2K design. The backlight offers 3456 full-array backlight beads separated into 576 light control zones. TAIDU's M32AQH-STA supports SDR 800/HDR 1400 brightness, a 1 ms Gray to Gray (GtG) response rate, and a 165 Hz refresh rate."

Sounds too good to be true so it probably is

Crucial T700 Gen 5 SSD Throttles Down to HDD Performance Levels Without a Cooler

https://www.techpowerup.com/308524/crucial-t700-gen-5-ssd-throttles-down-to-hdd-performance-levels-without-a-cooler

Least we know why these ssds come with such beefy coolers

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's Earnings Cut by a Small Margin

https://www.techpowerup.com/308486/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huangs-earnings-cut-by-a-small-margin

"Huang's pay has been cut by almost $2.5 million, so a 10% fall from before - given that he is already a billionaire, going into double digits, this verdict is a minor sting to the proverbial (matching leather?) wallet."

15-20% performance uplift at 15 watts and 40-70% at 25 watts vs steam deck at 15 watts. Pretty meh performance per watt uplift all things considered and since it has the same battery capacity as the steam deck, you would probably want to run it at 15 watts most of the time. The rest of the features are great though, especially the 120hz display and the fan noise along with the very competitive price. But it is lacking the crucial suspend and resume function that the steam deck has,

The quality control on those buttons is a bit worrying however.

The 7600 is a bit overpriced. The 6600 was 329 € at launch (at least in theory), so a 20€ price increase isn't a lot given the inflation of the last couple of years, but the 8GB of the 6600 was ok back then, but it's barely enough for today. It should have matched the price of its predecessor, if not less (299 €).

One of the problems of this AI boom is that it may bring back an "old" nemesis of ours: https://www.pcgamer.com/cryptominers-hope-they-can-find-a-second-life-by-turning-their-mining-operations-into-ai-farms/
F*ck them.

That monitor does, indeed, sound too good to be true. If such panel existed, we would have seen it in other monitors before this one.

Those Gen5 SSDs run very, very hot. Which is why it makes little sense that Crucial sells this one without a heatsink. It makes sense since most of the potential customers are tech savvy enthusiasts that will pair with with a heatsink, but it raises the question about whether the motherboard heatsink some will use is enough or not.

By the way, TechPowerUp reviewed the 2TB model last week, and tested it without a heatsink. It crashes in less than a minute when doing writes: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/corsair-mp700-2-tb/8.html

The Ally looks impressive in some ways and good enough in others. But, given what's going on with Asus right now, the quality control issues need to be taken into account.

I'm seeing comments across reddit, youtube and twitter that are all talking about the lack of suspend/resume feature and it being the biggest deal breaker to them.

Perf uplift or not, the battery being the same is bad, meaning juicing the system to outperform the deck, means you're draining more batter, which means you're plugging yourself to a socket, which defeats the entire purpose of a mobile device.

basically you either juice yourself to less than an hr's experience, or you stay at the Deck's level and still have no S/R feature. Either way I see that device being utterly dead in the water compared to the Deck (and afaik, that device is mainly Windows, not Steam oS, so it's going to miss out on features that can and will come with that OS down the line, so they have to rely on MS to somehow ante up Steam oS).