As foretold:

https://store.steampowered.com/category/stealth

This won't end well.

Will be interesting to see how Valve handles it with Ubisoft games on Steam... Wont end well if Ubisoft games end up unplayable on Steam.

It looks like it will actually end well:

Ubisoft Accounts That Include Purchased PC Games Are Not Eligible for Deletion, Company Clarifies
https://wccftech.com/ubisoft-accounts-pc-games-not-eligible-deletion/
After a few days of confusion, Ubisoft finally clarified the inactive account deletion situation, confirming the criteria the company takes into consideration before an account is deleted.

In a new statement provided to Wccftech today, it was confirmed that Ubisoft takes 4 criteria into consideration before an account is deleted. These are the gaming activity of the account since its creation, the account's libraries, the duration of inactivity of the account, and the existence of an active subscription tied to the account. Regarding the account's libraries, Ubisoft confirmed that any account that includes purchased PC games is not eligible for deletion. Before the deletion is permanent, three emails are sent to the player, allowing them to restore their account within 30 days.

haha wow, I mean, I now I stopped bothering to buy Ubisoft titles, but hey, if they really want me to delete my account and uninstall their client and just stop owning anything from their end then fine (but it won't stop me vilifying them as scum though). 

They already "updated" Creed Black Flag on Steam and said "update" has been giving people black screens when booting up the game or worse off performance. I feel like ubisoft is deliberately hindering their games on Steam, even since they came back (lack of Steam cheevos and the like). 

Ubisoft tbh, hasn't learned a damn thing in their invisible fight with the open platform, and even after their declining sales on PC since leaving Steam and then coming back, they still don't care to learn the right notes (like how they've come back, but their latest releases are still only on EGS/Ucan'tPlay).

I honestly hope Ubisoft sinks. I have never in my life wanted a company to sink as hard as Ubisoft, simply because they have been at this stupid petty little war for years, while treating their staff like shit, their customers vilified, and their CEO pissing his pants over some super ancient family adversary rivalry (which should have been left in the middle ages for gods sake, but hey, it's the French, they gotta have those stupid family rivalries somehow). 

I'm looking at that criteria and I still think it's a load of utter horseshit.

This is Ubisoft after all. While Blzizard has done shit by PC gaming and console gaming with Overwatch and other games of theirs, Ubisoft has had this petty childish invisible war on PC gaming for years now, and this still comes off as a petty attempt to force customers back onto their client.

I haven't touched that crappy client since the whole EGS crap went down nearly 4 years ago, so I guess I already fit 2 checkmarks already. Ubisoft are doing a damn fine job of not releasing good games, doing exclusivity bullshit, more DRM, and this shit. Why anyone on PC would wanna play their stuff let alone support them is beyond me, since they seemingly hate PC and won't let it go and just adhere to the customer will and bow to be humbled. 

Yes, these are the Tuesday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Steam's Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100).

My favorite offbeat roguelike of the decade is free to keep on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/my-favorite-offbeat-roguelike-of-the-decade-is-free-to-keep-on-steam/
There are currently 3,946 games with the "roguelike" tag on Steam, but I don't think there's a single one quite like Dungeon of the Endless. If there is I certainly haven't played it, and that's pretty remarkable considering just how saturated this genre has become in just the last decade. Dungeon of the Endless's hook is that it's a little bit RPG, a little bit strategy game, and very much a tower defense game, with the randomization of a roguelike to keep it interesting.
I can't tell you how many Sunday mornings I've lost to co-op sessions of this game—for quite a few years it was a game that a friend and I would drop four hours into on a whim and I never regretted it once. It's been dirt cheap in plenty of Steam sales over the years, but if you've never bought it, you're in luck now, because it's free to keep on Steam until July 27th.
>> It's part of the Endless Summer Sale that features up to 80% discounts on other games in the Endless franchise until July 27th.

GOG has launched the POP! Culture Sale, with up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_popculture_sale.

Steam has new games on sale and also new weeklong deals:

• The Total War Historic Sale features between 25 and 75% discounts until the 27th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/TotalWarHistoricSale
• A Way Out is going to be 80% off until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1222700/A_Way_Out/
• The Mini Franchise is on sale because of its 10th anniversary with up to 50% discounts until July, 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/minifranchise
• Among Us will be 30% off until the 2nd of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/Among_Us/
• And these are some of the weeklong deals:
  • Wee Tanks! , that has a demo, is going to be 20% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1797680/Wee_Tanks/
  • Ravenous Devils, that also has a demo, gets a 30% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1615290/Ravenous_Devils/
  • 1000 days to escape is half its price: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1103100/1000_days_to_escape/
  • Abandon Ship can be your with a 60% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/551860/Abandon_Ship/
  • Fear the Dark Unknown is 70% off: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1159540/Fear_the_Dark_Unknown/
  • And the last of this list, SOULCALIBUR VI, has a 90% deal: https://store.steampowered.com/app/544750/SOULCALIBUR_VI/

There are two new sales at the Humble Store:

• The You're in Charge Sale features up to 80% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam and EGS, and also direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/youre-in-charge-sale/
• On the other hand, the Trendy Indies Sale comes with up to 90% discounts during 6 days. There are keys for Steam, one for EGS and also two direct downloads: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/trendy-indies-sale/

Fanatical's new Star Deal is Baldur's Gate I & II Pack, 90% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/baldurs-gate-i-and-ii-pack.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4576
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4576
Fixed Issues
Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Remnant 2 (DX12) may exhibit texture corruption during gameplay.
• World War Z (DX11) may exhibit flickering textures during gameplay.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Voxel Doom 2 will release on August 1st
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/voxel-doom-2-will-release-on-august-1st/
In August 2022, we informed you about an amazing voxel mod for the first Doom game. This mod replaced all of the game’s 2D sprites with 3D voxels. And today, we are happy to report that a similar voxel mod for Doom 2 will release on August 1st.
Created by Cheello, Voxel Doom II will replace all monsters, weapons and items from the second Doom game with voxels. Thanks to this mod, this classic FPS will get an incredible 3D overhaul. And, similarly to its predecessor, Voxel Doom II will be using the GZDoom engine.
>> There's a short video of the mod.

GAMING NEWS

Remnant 2 is the first game using UE5’s Nanite to eliminate geometry pop-ins
https://www.dsogaming.com/articles/remnant-2-is-the-first-game-using-ue5-nanite-to-eliminate-geometry-pop-ins/
Remnant 2 releases later today and it will be the second game powered by Unreal Engine 5 (the first one was Layers of Fear). And, surprisingly enough, it’s also the first game that is using UE5’s Nanite in order to eliminate distant geometry/object pop-ins.
>> And the principal designer says that there are a lot of secret.

Square Enix has removed Denuvo from Forspoken
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/square-enix-has-removed-denuvo-from-forspoken/
Well well well, look what we’ve got here. It appears that Square Enix has just removed the Denuvo anti-tamper tech from Forspoken. As such, those that boycotted the game can now purchase it. That is of course if anyone is still interested in this title.
>> You'll see how the sales will skyrocket from now on.

Tuesday news, the second part:

Larian CEO's advice about origin characters has thrown my Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough plans into disarray
https://www.pcgamer.com/larian-ceos-advice-about-origin-characters-has-thrown-my-baldurs-gate-3-playthrough-plans-into-disarray/
From my very first hands-off preview of Baldur's Gate 3, I knew I was going to pick Astarion for my first playthrough. (...)
Astarion caught my eye because he's a sexy vampire spawn with quick wits, sharp fangs and a compulsion to drink the blood of his pals. Tragedy, sarcasm, blood—what more does one need? I also hoped this would allow me to sidestep the hours spent in the character creator. No more agonising decisions for me! But now Larian CEO Swen Vincke has thrown a spanner in the works and I'm second guessing myself.

Huh: superhero series Invincible is getting its first PC game, and it's a visual novel
https://www.pcgamer.com/huh-superhero-series-invincible-is-getting-its-first-pc-game-and-its-a-visual-novel/
Invincible, the comic series created by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, came back in a big way after the success of its animated series, which released on Amazon Prime in 2021. (...)
Skybound Entertainment have sought to capitalise on this renewed enthusiasm by announcing they'd be working on several Invincible games last year. (...)
A mobile game—which kinda buries the lede with its cinematic trailer—was the first announcement. Okay, Marvel Snap did well, makes sense to follow up on that. Their first step onto Steam however flies in from way out of left field—a visual novel by the name of Invincible Presents: Atom Eve, which was first announced at Invincible's 20th anniversary panel during this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

Tencent claims another one, will become 'majority shareholder' of Dying Light studio Techland
https://www.pcgamer.com/tencent-claims-another-one-will-become-majority-shareholder-of-dying-light-studio-techland/
Dying Light developer Techland raised the Tencent flag today, announcing that the Chinese gaming conglomerate Tencent will soon become the company's biggest shareholder.

Blizzard will change a button in Diablo 4 after being accused of 'dark design'
https://www.pcgamer.com/blizzard-will-change-a-button-in-diablo-4-after-being-accused-of-dark-design/
A temporary fix is "in the works" for a Diablo 4 UI quirk which has been accused of being clumsy at best, and intentionally deceptive at worst.
Anyone who buys Diablo 4's Digital Deluxe or Ultimate Edition receives one premium battle pass unlock, which can be used for any season. The button to activate the unlock appears as soon as you open the Season Journey menu—something you'll do a lot while playing—and the cursor is automatically centered on it. It's easy to accidentally select it, which is causing some players to use their unlock by accident.

The ESRB wants to start using facial recognition to check people's ages
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-esrb-wants-to-start-using-facial-recognition-to-check-peoples-ages/
Remember a couple years ago, when Chinese gaming giant Tencent began using facial recognition to keep the kids from playing too many videogames? It turns out that the Entertainment Software Rating Board, North America's videogame rating agency, is looking to do something quite similar.
>> Scary.

One of Dave The Diver's boss monsters may return in a future update
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-dave-the-divers-boss-monsters-may-return-in-a-future-update/
(...)
There are about a dozen boss fights in Dave the Diver and a big selection of underwater monsters to battle, like a giant squid, an eel the size of a subway train, and even a prehistoric reptile. Taking them on usually means fighting with something other than your standard fishing equipment.
But according to Dave the Diver's game director, Jaeho Hwang, even if you've battled your way through every boss in the game, you haven't seen the last of one particular boss who may be making a return appearance in the future.

After 200 hours and 44 pages of speculation, one Starfield fan thinks they've found all there is to know about the game's abilities
https://www.pcgamer.com/after-200-hours-and-44-pages-of-speculation-one-starfield-fan-thinks-theyve-found-all-there-is-to-know-about-the-games-abilities/
As spotted by GamesRadar yesterday, a Starfield fan has spent over 200 hours on the game without even playing it—by assembling a full 44-page speculative document on its skill trees.

Your Diablo 4 stash is tiny because a bigger one would fry your PC: 'This isn't a storage concern, it's a performance concern'
https://www.pcgamer.com/your-diablo-4-stash-is-tiny-because-a-bigger-one-would-fry-your-pc-this-isnt-a-storage-concern-its-a-performance-concern/
As we all know, Diablo 4 is in desperate need of the KonMari Method. There's just too much stuff clogging up your inventory and littering the floors, and it's had players crying out for a solution since the game released.
Blizzard has pledged to make things better in Diablo 4's upcoming 1.1.1 patch with the addition of a single extra tab in the game's stash screen—the big chest where you can store all your unneeded knick-knacks—but that's got players asking why the devs don't just add infinite stash tabs with room for infinite items. Problem solved, right?

Yoshi-P speaks out on Final Fantasy 16 toxicity: 'There's a lot of people who just yell at you'
https://www.pcgamer.com/yoshi-p-speaks-out-on-final-fantasy-16-toxicity-theres-a-lot-of-people-who-just-yell-at-you/
Earlier this week, a mini-documentary from Japan was released covering the life and work of Naoki Yoshida—otherwise known as Yoshi-P—along with what it was like to work on Final Fantasy 16. While you might not be able to watch the documentary just yet in your country, some of Yoshi-P's thoughts have been translated, courtesy of Aitai Kimochi on Twitter:
"There's a lot of people who just yell at you, people I've never seen, met, or talked to before. It's weird. What did we do to them? Perhaps they just write it from a place of negativity and malice. It's tiresome."

Call of Duty devs get cheeky after Modern Warfare 3 leaks via an energy drink promotion
https://www.pcgamer.com/call-of-duty-devs-get-cheeky-after-modern-warfare-3-leaks-via-an-energy-drink-promotion/
Hold on to something, folks: The sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will almost certainly be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. A fresh leak—via your friends and mine at Monster Energy—has revealed the game's name, branding, and mutton-chop-with-a-man-attached Captain Price, absolutely none of which should come as a surprise to anyone. In fact, the existence of MW3 has become so obvious that even COD's developers are getting in on the joke on Twitter.
>> I'm sure there has to be a worse way to leak an upcoming game, but I have a hard time coming up with one that more lame than this one.

Chinese PC maker confirms Intel 14th Gen Core CPU series launching in October

https://videocardz.com/newz/chinese-pc-maker-confirms-intel-14th-gen-core-cpu-series-launching-in-october

Intel reveals AVX10 instruction set, an evolution of AVX512 with support for Performance and Efficient cores

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-reveals-avx10-instruction-set-an-evolution-of-avx512-with-support-for-performance-and-efficient-cores

AMD affirms Ryzen 5 7500F availability outside China is exclusively via system integrators

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-affirms-ryzen-5-7500f-availability-outside-china-is-exclusively-via-system-integrators

Honestly I'd just get 7600 with an iGPU. While most people won't use it, when you need it, it will be very handy.

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart On PC Offer Over 200 FPS With NVIDIA RTX Enabled, DLSS 3 & RTX IO Offer Big Boost

https://wccftech.com/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-pc-over-200-fps-nvidia-rtx-enabled-dlss-3-rtx-io-offer-big-boost/

Lots of interesting comparisons but the battery part is interesting. While both have similar battery during high demanding game, when running low demanding game, the Steam Deck has nearly 1 hour 30 minutes extra which is a massive difference despite both running at 15 watts. The ROG ally is running the screen at 1080p but in theory, because it's such a lite 2d game, shouldn't matter too much.

Bought Monster Hunter Rise to my nephew thanks to the promotions on Steam so we can coop. We are still on Gears 5 tho.

I'm sure you'll have a good time with it.