The Monday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

Remnant 2 attracts twice as many players as the first game
https://www.pcgamer.com/remnant-2-attracts-twice-as-many-players-as-the-first-game/
Things are looking good for Remnant 2, with Gunfire Games' co-op soulslike shooter sequel already doubling the peak concurrent user record of the first game. With a SteamDB peak concurrent count of 109,053 players, more than twice the 48,289 players that Remnant: From the Ashes had online at one time back on its August 2019 release.
As spotted by Eurogamer, that means Remnant 2's launch weekend has peaked higher than recent big-budget AAA titles like Resident Evil Village and Battlefield 2042.

GOG has two new Deals of the Day, available until Wednesday, and two new sales:

• The first DotD is SimCity™ 3000 Unlimited, 75% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/simcity_3000
• The other DotD is Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition, 80% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/planescape_torment_enhanced_edition
• The new Weekly Sale comes with up to 90% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20230731_weekly_sale
• And the Shooter Sale also features up to 90% discounts during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/2023_july_shooters

Steam has two new deals:

• The Pale Beyond will be 25% off until August 6th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1266030/The_Pale_Beyond/
• Broforce wil get a 80% discount until the 9th of August: https://store.steampowered.com/app/274190/Broforce/

We'll find three new deals at Humble:

• At Humble Bundle there's the new Runescape: Paths to Adventure - The Return, with 8 items to get during 18 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/runescape-paths-to-adventure-the-return-bundle
• The Humble Store hosts the Rockstar Publisher Sale, with up to 70% discounts during 4 days. There are keys for Steam, EGS and the Rockstar thing: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/rockstar-publisher-sale/

And Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a new bundle:

• The new Star Deal is Metro Exodus - Gold Edition, 83% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/metro-exodus-gold-edition
• The Ripper Bundle 2 comes with 7 games split into two tiers of 6 and 7 games with an up to 93% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/ripper-bundle-2

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Monolith’s Blood 2 gets an AI-upscaled HD Texture Pack
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/monoliths-blood-2-gets-an-ai-upscaled-hd-texture-pack/
Modder ‘Akven’ has released a new version of his AI-upscaled HD Texture Pack for Monolith’s classic FPS, Blood 2: The Chosen. This HD Texture Pack overhauls all of the game’s textures, and it’s a must-have for everyone that wants to revisit it.
The latest version of this HD Texture Pack fixes PAN animation effect speed for all game levels. Additionally, it tweaks 9 more textures for more readable text, fixes water transparency for 18 textures, and fixes clouds transparency for 26 textures.
>> There are some screenshots.

Take a look at this faithful Resident Evil 2 Remake in Unity Engine
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-this-faithful-resident-evil-2-remake-in-unity-engine/
In April 2022, we shared a fan remake of the first Resident Evil game in Unity Engine. What was special about that remake was that it attempted to recreate 1-1 the classic 32-bit version, using a first-person perspective. And yesterday, YouTube’s ‘Kendozone’ shared a gameplay video from a similar remake of Resident Evil 2.
From the looks of it, there isn’t currently any download link for this project. However, we do know that it’s being created by the same person who was behind the first Resident Evil Remake in Unity Engine.
Now as you will see in the following gameplay footage, PerroAutonomo is going for an old-school art style. Basically, don’t expect this to look as good as the official Resident Evil 2 Remake. Still, this appears to be more faithful to the original version. After all, the creator is basically creating all of the original maps in the Unity Engine. Not only that, but you will explore the game’s environments via a first-person perspective.
>> There's an almost 10 minutes video.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim finally gets some dinosaurs
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-finally-gets-some-dinosaurs/
Modder ‘Birbwalker21’ has released a new mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that brings some dinosaurs to it. This is a must-have mod for all Skyrim dino fans out there, and we highly recommend downloading it.
For the past few years, Birbwalker21 has been working on the Prehistoric Content Series for Skyrim and Skyrim Special Edition. These mods have added a lot of dinosaurs to Bethesda’s RPG, from Tyrannosaurids and Spinosaurids to Ceratopsids and Dimorphodons. However, I was really disappointed by the T-Rex Mod which looked kind of awful. While its no-feathered version is kind of OK-ish, the feathered version looks horrendous. Thankfully, though, the modder is back with a new part, this time adding to the game feathered Raptors.
Going into more details, the mod adds three types of Raptors. These are the Forest, Alpine, and Plains Raptor. The Forest Raptors are based on Velociraptors, whereas the Alpine Raptors and Plains Raptors are based on Deinonychus and Utahraptors, respectively. And yes, players will be able to freely hunt these dinos.
>> The article has some screenshots and a video (1:31)

DooM 3 Essential Overhaul HD Pack v2.0 available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/doom-3-essential-overhaul-hd-pack-v2-0-available-for-download/
Modder ‘H3llBaron’ has released version 2.0 of the Essential Overhaul HD Pack for id Software’s horror FPS, Doom 3. As its name implies, this mod attempts to improve Doom 3’s graphics, and it supports the main game and its expansions.
Going into more details, DooM 3 Essential Overhaul HD Pack v2.0 fixes and improves textures, particles and materials for the levels. Additionally, it optimizes assets in order to reduce their size. Not only that, but it reworks and improves details for all levels, mapobjects, characters, monsters and weapons. It also restores micro details and effects from the game’s E3 Alpha version.
DooM 3 Essential Overhaul HD Pack v2.0 also includes all the fixes for materials from Resurrection of Evil in the original campaign. Moreover, it adds the shotgun sound from the BFG Edition and restores the original machinegun sound.
Now what’s cool about this mod is that it packs some optional tweaks and improvements. For instance, you can enable an optional setting so that all the dead bodies can stay on the floor. Bullet shells stay forever in the ground. Additionally, this latest version includes the E3 Alpha Pistol, Shotgun and Machinegun. There area also optional settings to enable Phrozo Particles v2.0 and Self Shadows v2.0.
>> Again, the article has some screenshots and a video (3:36).

I've got even more respect for the modders restoring Bloodlines' cut content after watching these videos about the Unofficial Patch
https://www.pcgamer.com/ive-got-even-more-respect-for-the-modders-restoring-bloodlines-cut-content-after-watching-these-videos-about-the-unofficial-patch/
When I first read about the Unofficial Patch for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, there was division between those who embraced it wholeheartedly for fixing so many of the problems holding back this RPG masterpiece, and those who tempered their praise with complaints about its over-reach. The Unofficial Patch restores cut content as well as fixing bugs, you see, and some of what it resurrects from the grave isn't up to the standard of the rest.
Modder Wesp5 has recently put together some videos on the making-of the Unofficial Patch, and they're full of wonderful little details that leave me even more impressed with what this team of modders have achieved. So much of what they've done has involved restoring unused assets found in the game files, including a model of The General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard that now sits in the museum's car park, but also multiple tracks by composer Rick Schaffer that would otherwise go unheard.

GAMING NEWS

Battlefield 2042 Update 5.2 released, full patch notes revealed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/battlefield-2042-update-5-2-released-full-patch-notes-revealed/
Electronic Arts and DICE have released Update 5.2 for Battlefield 2042, and revealed its full patch notes/changelog. According to the release notes, Patch 5.2 brings a reworked version of Hourglass. Moreover, it adds All-Out Warfare attachments to SMGs and LMGs, as well as Squad Orders & Lock/Remove for Squad Management.

Armored Core 6 leaked gameplay video shows off PVP arena
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/armored-core-6-leaked-gameplay-video-shows-off-pvp-arena/
It appears that a new gameplay video for Armored Core 6 has been leaked online, showcasing over one minute of PVP action. This video will give you a glimpse of the PVP mode for this new mecha game from the creators of Elden Ring and Dark Souls, so be sure to check it out.

New Forza Motorsport leaked screenshots show off rain stages
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/new-forza-motorsport-leaked-screenshots-show-off-rain-stages/
A couple of new screenshots for Forza Motorsport have been leaked online, featuring a stage under rain conditions. This is the first time we see rain effects in this new Forza Motorsport game, so some of you may be interested in them.

Path of Exile 2 gets new gameplay trailer at ExileCon 2023
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/path-of-exile-2-gets-new-gameplay-trailer-at-exilecon-2023/
Grinding Gear Games has released a brand new gameplay trailer for its upcoming action RPG, Path of Exile 2, at ExileCon 2023. This new trailer showcases the game’s amazing graphics, and we highly recommend watching it.

Here are ten minutes of new gameplay from Lost Soul Aside
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-ten-minutes-of-new-gameplay-from-lost-soul-aside/
At ChinaJoy 2023, UltiZeroGames presented a new gameplay demo for its upcoming action RPG, Lost Soul Aside, and below you can find a 10-minute video from it.
For those unaware, Lost Soul Aside started as an action Unreal Engine 4 indie game, inspired by Final Fantasy XV. The game’s protagonist was based on FFXV’s Noctis, and the game quickly got everyone’s attention. That was back in 2016.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart July 31st PC Patch released & detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-july-31st-pc-patch-released-detailed/
Nixxes has just released the July 31st PC patch for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and shared its complete changelog/release notes. According to the team, this patch will update your game’s version to 1.728.0.0, implements several bug fixes and corrects some visual bugs.

The second part of the Monday news:

I bet Baldur's Gate 3's shapeshifting latest villain is going to murder and impersonate one of your party members at some point
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3s-shapeshifting-final-villain-is-definitely-going-to-murder-and-impersonate-one-of-your-party-members-at-some-point/
Baldur's Gate 3 is, wait, let me check… 144 hours away, and Larian has just formally introduced the third and final villain of the game's "unholy triumvirate" of bad guys. Orin the Red is a nefarious knife-loving lady voiced by Maggie Robertson—of RE8's Lady Dimitrescu fame—and I think she's going to do a lot of deeply undesirable things to me and the people I love.
>> Those 144 hours were three days ago. Now it's around 70 hours.

MMO releases the sequel to an 18-year-old quest that features such rare drops the developer has to step in and reassure players: 'No need to put nan in the cage as the clock chimes midnight, just kill bosses'
https://www.pcgamer.com/mmo-releases-the-sequel-to-an-18-year-old-quest-that-features-such-rare-drops-the-developer-has-to-step-in-and-reassure-players-no-need-to-put-nan-in-the-cage-as-the-clock-chimes-midnight-just-kill-bosses/
Old School RuneScape has released a sequel to an 18 year-old quest, spotted by GamesRadar+, one which has immediately caused confusion as players rushed to bag the new loot it comes with… and in most cases, didn't get it. Desert Treasure 2: The Fallen Empire is the MMO's first Grandmaster quest since 2019 and is a sequel to, you guessed it, Desert Treasure (released in 2005). It sees players returning to the Kharidian Desert to explore a big old vault and take on the lich-like Mahjarrat.

Dwarf Fortress's publisher is now helping the best early access roguelike across the finish line after 8 years on Steam
https://www.pcgamer.com/dwarf-fortresss-publisher-is-now-helping-the-best-early-access-roguelike-across-the-finish-line-after-8-years-on-steam/
After an 8-year stint in early access, the brilliant Caves of Qud is due to hit 1.0 next year with the help of Dwarf Fortress publisher Kitfox Games. It seems like a good match, with Dwarf Fortress being a big source of inspiration for the indie roguelike sim.

Destiny 2 composer reveals Paul McCartney's tunes are making a comeback
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2-composer-reveals-paul-mccartneys-tunes-are-making-a-comeback/
Bungie composer Ella Feingold, who has been orchestrating Destiny since 2015, has posted an image on Instagram of a score sheet with a notable name on it: P. McCartney (spotted by VGC). The title of the composition has been obscured, while the orchestration is credited to Feingold and Jordan Cox, and lest there were any doubt, Feingold's caption reads "Yeah that P. McCartney. That's all I can say for now."

Creature collecting game wants you to shoot 'em all, catch 'em all, work 'em all to death, dispose of 'em all in a huge corpse pile
https://www.pcgamer.com/creature-collecting-game-wants-you-to-shoot-em-all-catch-em-all-work-em-all-to-death-dispose-of-em-all-in-a-huge-corpse-pile/
Every fresh look we get at Palworld makes it appear more fun and yet more disturbing than it did before. Palworld is a cartoony open world creature-collecting and battling game that is heavily inspired by Pokémon, but it's also filled with machine guns and rocket launchers.

Amid Evil's expansion has magical spiked gauntlets that look absolutely bananas and I can't wait to punch somebody in the face with them
https://www.pcgamer.com/amid-evils-expansion-has-magical-spiked-gauntlets-that-look-absolutely-bananas-and-i-cant-wait-to-punch-somebody-in-the-face-with-them/
Back in 2021, New Blood Interactive said The Black Labyrinth, the prequel to its most excellent Hexen-esque fantasy FPS Amid Evil, would be out—as usual—"Soon™." Two years later, it actually is going to happen soon: New Blood announced today that the long-awaited expansion will finally go live on August 18.

Instead of 'getting rid of a game that people love for no reason,' Path of Exile 2 will now be a standalone release
https://www.pcgamer.com/path-of-exile-2-standalone-game-announcement-2023/
When Path of Exile 2 was announced four years ago, it was going to expand on and overtake Path of Exile 1. The original action RPG's campaign was still going to be playable, but PoE's transformation into Path of Exile 2 would add in a new campaign and alter the endgame—sort of like how Overwatch 2 replaced Overwatch. Well, plans change.
During this year's ExileCon keynote, developer Grinding Gear Games revealed that it has changed its mind, and Path of Exile 2 will now be a separate game that runs in its own client.
>> For those wroyying about the purchased content, it will be both forward and backwards compatible.

Path of Exile 2 pushes action RPG technology to the absolute limit with 'meta gems' that you socket other gems into
https://www.pcgamer.com/path-of-exile-2-pushes-action-rpg-technology-to-the-absolute-limit-with-meta-gems-that-you-socket-other-gems-into/
World of Warcraft has a category of items called meta gems, which go in special gem slots and can only be equipped if you have a specific number of other gems already slotted into your gear. They can have powerful bonuses, but in practice they mostly just make me frustrated enough to yell at my computer as I trek to the auction house to buy another round of color coordinated gold sinks.
Path of Exile 2, shown off in detail today at ExileCon, also has meta gems, but they're part of a revamped skill system that throws away item links in lieu of skill gems that you socket into… more gems.

Build a base to escape an alien world, all while browsing the internet in this quarter-screen idler
https://www.pcgamer.com/build-a-base-to-escape-an-alien-world-all-while-browsing-the-internet-in-this-quarter-screen-idler/
Clickers, idlers, and the like exist for a reason: That reason is many of us want to do two things at a time. We want to stimulate more than one bit of our brain. I'm sure that by now you know at least one person, or are that person, who combines in some way watching shows, listening to podcasts, reading social media, and videogames at once.
This is an urge as old as the first person who was like "we should put a radio in this car."
Enter The Evergloom Team, who're now showing off their second game: Deskape, stylized dEskape, is purpose-built to fit along a band at the bottom of your screen. Crashed on an alien world, your job is to build up infrastructure so you can escape while defending yourself from attacks by an alien hive. It's explicitly designed as a base-building game "allowing you to work, browse, or watch something else while you play. It's idle when you like and active when you want," according to the developers.

Final Fantasy 14's next expansion has a name and a new job
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14s-next-expansion-has-a-name-and-a-new-job/
Final Fantasy 14's next expansion will be titled Dawntrail and the trailer seems to hint at a new job plucked out of the other Final Fantasy MMO, Final Fantasy 11.
At Fan Fest today, Square Enix showed a trailer for FF14's fifth expansion, following up 2021's Endwalker. Along with a bunch of familiar faces, the trailer shows the player character stand-in taking a ship toward what looks like an island. He fights with a one-handed sword and is wearing a cloak over garb that looks a lot like the pirate-themed Final Fantasy job, the Corsair—a job that debuted in Final Fantasy 11.

Want some Final Fantasy in your Final Fantasy? The FF14 team wants to put old FF games in player housing
https://www.pcgamer.com/want-some-final-fantasy-in-your-final-fantasy-the-ff14-team-wants-to-put-old-ff-games-in-player-housing/
The Pixel Remaster series brought Final Fantasy classics to Steam with a modern rework and an updated look, but the Final Fantasy 14 team wants to add another way for players to go back to the series' roots. If you’ve ever wanted to play a Final Fantasy inside of your Final Fantasy, Yoshida’s got your back—maybe.

This factory game RTS uses programmable drones instead of conveyor belts
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-factory-game-rts-uses-programmable-drones-instead-of-conveyor-belts/
Look, I love a good conveyor belt, but every factory game has them now. What if we had a fleet of programmable drones, instead? Ones we could set behaviors and automatic decision trees for based on the growing needs of our automated empire? That's the goal in Desynced, an upcoming Early Access game that wants to take the best bits of a few genres and mash 'em together

Diablo 4 players are using a trick from 1997 to kill The Butcher
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-players-are-using-a-trick-from-1997-to-kill-the-butcher/
The return of The Butcher, for me, is one of Diablo 4's high points. His randomized attacks are surprising, terrifying, and yes, frustrating for an awful lot of players. The good news for those having trouble taking him on is that there does appear to be one fairly reliable way to do it—it's called cheese.

Diablo 4's next patch will finally give Sorcerers and Barbarians the buffs they need
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-patch-1-1-1-notes-buff-sorcerer-barbarian/
During a Campfire Chat stream today, the Diablo 4 team explained the changes coming in patch 1.1.1 when it drops on August 8. The massive patch follows the game’s controversial pre-season patch, which made substantial nerfs to player survivability and damage output and left Sorcerers and Barbarians weaker than the other three classes.

One of Diablo 4's season blessings is actually more of a season curse
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-diablo-4-season-blessings-is-actually-more-of-a-season-curse/
As part of the Season of the Malignant, AKA Diablo 4 Season 1, players can choose to purchase a season blessing. These are boosts that come in urns, like the Urn of Aggression, which increases xp earned from kills, and the Urn of Malignance, which increases the rate of Malignant Heart drops. Then there's the Urn of Bargaining, which is supposed to increase the amount of gold you earn by selling gear to vendors. And that's where the problem comes in.
You want to be careful not to waste gold in Diablo 4, as it becomes more valuable later on when you'll need to pay the Occultist to shift aspects from one piece of legendary gear to another. That's the source of the first problem with the Urn of Bargaining, which is that it increases the cost of vendor services. You'll end up spending more gold on enchantments at the Occultist, and on repairs at the Blacksmith, and on every other service offered by Sanctuary's shopkeepers.

And yes, today there's a third part of the news:

Buff time wizard Geras joins the Mortal Kombat 1 roster
https://www.pcgamer.com/buff-time-wizard-geras-joins-the-mortal-kombat-1-roster/
The newest trailer for Mortal Kombat 1 reveals its latest challenger: Geras. If you're unfamiliar, he's the keeper of the hourglass of time who debuted in Mortal Kombat 11, and given that Mortal Kombat 1 is all about timeline shenanigans it makes sense he'd appear to tidy things up. (By punching them.)

This little indie platformer has some seriously satisfying movement
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-little-indie-platformer-has-some-seriously-satisfying-movement/
Fans of smooth movement be advised: Schmoovement has been found in new indie release Pseudoregalia, which hit Steam Friday the 28th from developer rittzler. It's an exploration-focused Metroidvania platformer that starts simple with little jumps and develops a lot of cool movement synergy as you unlock new abilities.

I'm not sure what this action horror game is about but I love the creepy enemies
https://www.pcgamer.com/im-not-sure-what-this-action-horror-game-is-about-but-i-love-the-creepy-enemies/
"In the sprawling megacity of Sydney3, a young detective becomes the unwilling host of a parasitic gauntlet and gains the power to fight back against the growing threat spreading through the lower levels," begins the description for Samurai Unicorn, an in-development lofi horror game that I am honestly immediately intrigued by based entirely on the strength of the visuals of its enemies, the VRmin. Get it? Vermin, but infected by evil VR headsets or whatever. VRmin.

Infection Free Zone will let you reclaim your own town after the zombie apocalypse
https://www.pcgamer.com/infection-free-zone-will-let-you-reclaim-your-own-town-after-the-zombie-apocalypse/
An upcoming base-building RTS has an interesting twist: It's zombie survival, but you can use map data imported from the real world. Infection Free Zone will let you establish and lead your titular zone in an area of your choosing. Like your hometown, for example.

Total War: Warhammer 3's next DLC gives us our first look at the Jade Dragon
https://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-warhammer-3s-next-dlc-gives-us-our-first-look-at-the-jade-dragon/
Back in May, Creative Assembly showed off the Total War: Warhammer 3 roadmap. First on the list of DLC additions was Shadows of Change, scheduled for summer 2023, bringing new legendary lords and units to Tzeentch, Cathay, and Kislev. The Cathayan lord has now been confirmed as Yuan Bo, the Jade Dragon, via a short story CA is giving away. To read it you'll need to login to your Total War dashboard, and if you have trouble with that try doing it in incognito mode, which worked for me.

Ubisoft says Assassin's Creed Mirage is only 20–30 hours long
https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-says-assassins-creed-mirage-is-only-2030-hours-long/
In June, Ubisoft described the map size of Assassin's Creed Mirage as being closer to that of Constantinople in Revelations or Paris in Unity, rather than the sprawling multi-nation maps of more recent Assassin's Creed games. Now, in an interview with French YouTuber Julien Chièze, lead producer Fabian Salomon has said that we'll be able to roll credits on Mirage in 20 to 30 hours (thanks to PCGamesN for the translation).

Some of the Tekken 8 roster has leaked thanks to Cheat Engine
https://www.pcgamer.com/some-of-the-tekken-8-roster-has-leaked-thanks-to-cheat-engine/
A closed network test for Tekken 8 was held in July, with an initial run that was exclusively available to Playstation 5 owners followed by a broader test that included players on Steam. Letting PC gamers near Tekken 8 meant that someone fired up Cheat Engine because of course they did, at which point they managed to find a partial roster in the game's files that includes six previously unannounced characters.

A bug in Remnant 2 is letting you literally dodge the game's respec cost
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-bug-in-remnant-2-is-letting-you-literally-dodge-the-games-respec-cost/
Remnant 2's respec costs have been a sore spot, post-release. For those not in the know, to respec in Remnant 2, you need to buy an Orb of Undoing from Wallace to reallocate your traits—you only get 60 trait points, so it's vital to have a way to shuffle them around when tinkering with your build.
Unfortunately, this costs three lumenite crystals and 2,500 scrap, which is a lot, especially in the early to mid-game. One savvy player, however, has found a way to dodge the respec tax. Literally.

Gaming's most generous free trial is about to get a whole lot better
https://www.pcgamer.com/gamings-most-generous-trial-is-about-to-get-a-whole-lot-better/
There was a time when Final Fantasy 14's free trial was not very generous. Back when I started playing in August 2014, it was a measly two-week tryout with a cap of level 20. That changed to a level 35 cap with no time restrictions soon after, and then three years ago we were treated to the endlessly memed trial that was the entirety of A Realm Reborn plus its first expansion Heavensward, up to level 60. That's already a good couple-hundred hours for absolutely free, but now that pot is about to get a hell of a lot sweeter.

Minecraft exploit makes it 'completely dangerous' to play with unpatched mods right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/minecraft-exploit-makes-it-completely-dangerous-to-play-with-unpatched-mods-right-now/
Minecraft server admins better lock up their Echo Shards because this newsroom is about to get deep and dark. According to the Minecraft Malware Prevention Alliance (MMPA)—yep, that's a thing—users have spotted a vulnerability affecting a whole lot of Minecraft servers, citing many popular mods able to be exploited by hackers looking to take over players' machines.

New players could skip the bulk of Final Fantasy 14's story in the future, though Yoshi-P is hesitant to encourage it
https://www.pcgamer.com/new-players-could-skip-the-bulk-of-final-fantasy-14s-story-in-the-future-though-yoshi-p-is-hesitant-to-encourage-it/
In an interview with Famitsu yesterday, Naoki Yoshida—director and producer of Final Fantasy 14, also known as Yoshi-P—revealed that his team's been preparing a second starting point for new players. This would allow players to skip the bulk of Final Fantasy 14's story in the wake of the game's new expansion, Dawntrail.

Cities: Skylines 2 is 'roughly 5 times bigger' than the original
https://www.pcgamer.com/cities-skylines-2-map-size/
As we continue inching closer to the release of Cities: Skyline 2 in October, developer Colossal Order keeps feeding us more information about the city building sequel with new videos and dev diaries.
Today's infodump is all about the maps you'll build your cities on, and just how big they are—and the best way to explain the size of the buildable area in Cities: Skylines 2 is to compare it to the original game.

As the games industry freezes out Russia, Russians double-down on piracy
https://www.pcgamer.com/as-the-games-industry-freezes-out-russia-russians-double-down-on-piracy/
Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an exodus of foreign industries from the country, as Western nations unite in applying sanctions on the Putin regime. The games industry is one of the more prominent, with almost every major player now having withdrawn from Russia and closed any regional offices there. What's an ordinary Russian to do when they can't get their gaming fix? Pirate it, comrade.

AMD Ryzen 8000 “Strix Point” APU said to feature 4xZen5 with 8xZen5c cores, “Strix Halo” using 16xZen5

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-8000-strix-point-apu-said-to-feature-4xzen5-with-8xzen5c-cores-strix-halo-using-16xzen5

Unreleased quad-slot NVIDIA RTX 40 GPU cooler prototype had a hidden fan

https://videocardz.com/newz/unreleased-quad-slot-nvidia-rtx-40-gpu-cooler-prototype-had-a-hidden-fan

The 3600 is somewhere between 11-70% faster than the Series X CPU depending in the game. But due to this, it does make sense why some games the 3600 simply isn't cutting it because it has to pull both decompression and BVH calculation duties. A Ryzen 7600 is generally 2-3x faster than series X cpu which generally has enough headroom to do those double duties while maintaining 60+ fps.

AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX idle power consumption drops from 104 to 20 watts on 4K 144Hz monitor once VRR is enabled

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-idle-power-consumption-drops-from-104-to-20-watts-on-4k-144hz-monitor-once-vrr-is-enabled

Big improvements for sure but still a massive gap once you start using the monitor vs 4080

HBM Industry to Witness Growth in Market Share With SK Hynix Holding the Throne

https://wccftech.com/hbm-industry-to-witness-growth-in-market-share-with-sk-hynix-holding-the-throne/

That cooler design with the fan in the middle of it is weird and, in my opinion, stupid. It just seems a nightmare to replace it something happens to it and it looks like it make that monster cooler even wider than it needs to be.

I'm glad they didn't go with this one.

7900XTX power consumption is still way too high. 71W to move a window? With AMD you have to lock the refresh rate to 120 Hz or even 60 Hz to get good power consumption on desktop use.

"Tencent becomes Valve's major shareholder"

Biggest  way to kill your sales on PC lol. Also a sure fire way to get me to never buy the game in my lifetime. 

"Tencent subsidiary buys out Valve"