The news, part two:

Avowed was going to be multiplayer till the devs realised they wanted to make 'an Obsidian game and not something different'
https://www.pcgamer.com/avowed-was-going-to-be-multiplayer-till-the-devs-realised-they-wanted-to-make-an-obsidian-game-and-not-something-different/
Obsidian Entertainment has been celebrating its 20th anniversary, two decades in which the studio has created some of the most beloved and intricate adventure-slash-RPG titles ever made. Its current project is Avowed, a game that's destined to be compared to Skyrim but is going for depth over breadth "where Obsidian really shines" and, in the fifth and final part of an anniversary documentary, the studio's creatives reveal that for quite a while it had a multiplayer element.

For the first time in Call of Duty history, everything you unlocked in last year's game will carry over to Modern Warfare 3
https://www.pcgamer.com/for-the-first-time-in-call-of-duty-history-everything-you-unlocked-in-last-years-game-will-carry-over-to-modern-warfare-3/
The last 20 years of new Call of Duty games have worked exactly the same way: you say goodbye to the last 12 months of grinding, buy the new game, and start the cycle fresh. This year's reboot of Modern Warfare 3, led by Sledgehammer Games, will be the first to break that cycle: all guns and virtually every cosmetic earned in 2022's Modern Warfare 2 will "carry forward" to the new game.

It's taken more than 30 years, but Flashback 2 finally has a release date
https://www.pcgamer.com/its-taken-more-than-30-years-but-flashback-2-finally-has-a-release-date/
Flashback 2, the took-your-time-getting-here sequel to the classic '90s platformer Flashback, has a sweet new trailer and, finally, a proper release date: Publisher Microids announced today that after more than 30 years of waiting, fans will finally get their follow-up on November 16.

In the face of player backlash, Dark and Darker developers say they may stop selling character classes
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-the-face-of-player-backlash-dark-and-darker-developers-say-they-may-stop-selling-character-classes/
It was widely seen as a triumph when the PvP dungeon crawler Dark and Darker arrived in a surprise early access launch earlier this week, but some of that initial thrill has given way to widespread criticism of the game's microtransactions. Numerous fans have taken issue with developer Ironmace's decision to sell additional character classes and races through Dark and Darker's in-game store—and the pushback has been strong enough that the studio is considering changing course.

Larian blames localization studio for missing Baldur's Gate 3 credits, says they'll be added in the next hotfix
https://www.pcgamer.com/larian-blames-localization-studio-for-missing-baldurs-gate-3-credits-says-theyll-be-added-in-the-next-hotfix/
Larian Studios says it has been in contact with a localization company that failed to provide complete credits for the Brazilian translation of Baldur's Gate 3, and promised that all missing credits will be added in the next hotfix.

Baldur's Gate 3 wizard accidentally breaks the game by learning too many spells
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-wizard-accidentally-breaks-the-game-by-learning-too-many-spells/
D&D wizards live and die by one rule: you can never know too many spells. The same is generally true in Baldur's Gate 3, except for in the case of one player who has been apparently been wizarding so hard that they broke the game.

Larian founder responds to debate over Baldur's Gate 3 'raising the bar' for RPGs: 'this is videogames, standards just die every day'
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-RPG-standards-swen-vincke-interview/
Baldur's Gate 3 is an exceptional game: a grognardy CRPG with complex and barely-explained D&D rules and a massive mainstream success, even before its console releases. (...)
A handful of game developers, meanwhile, have cautioned against oversimplifying the lesson, arguing that Baldur's Gate 3 is an anomaly that even big studios won't be able to replicate. Online arguing has ensued.
In an interview with PC Gamer earlier this week, Larian founder Swen Vincke weighed in on the debate, which he finds somewhat perplexing. It's a given that not any studio could make Baldur's Gate 3, he said, but he questions the importance of videogame "standards," which he says "die every day" as new ideas emerge and old one are reinvented.

Electronic Arts is closing the servers for even more old games, including Dead Space 2, Crysis 3, and Mirror's Edge Catalyst
https://www.pcgamer.com/electronic-arts-is-closing-the-servers-for-even-more-old-games-including-dead-space-2-crysis-3-and-mirrors-edge-catalyst/
If you happen to be a fan of multiplayer action in Crysis 3, Dead Space 2, Dante's Inferno, or Mirror's Edge Catalyst, you're going to want to start squeezing in what you can, while you can, because Electronic Arts will be pulling the plug on all of them later this year.

Oops, a Diablo 4 bug fix just gave Barbarians the power to deal 1 billion damage in seconds
https://www.pcgamer.com/oops-a-diablo-4-bug-fix-just-gave-barbarians-the-power-to-deal-1-billion-damage-in-seconds/
Diablo 4 season 1 players can't stop talking about "the Barber", a socketable gem that can scale your damage up to ridiculous amounts. And Blizzard just made it even stronger.
A bug fix to a powerful Barbarian skill in combination with the Barber's near-infinitely scaling effect has one of the weakest classes now dealing over one billion damage to the hardest boss in the game, Uber Lilith, and killing her in under 30 seconds.

Destiny 2's most overpowered ability is being nerfed because it was 'a skeleton key that solves combat problems against all combatant types'
https://www.pcgamer.com/destiny-2s-most-overpowered-ability-is-being-nerfed-because-it-was-a-skeleton-key-that-solves-combat-problems-against-all-combatant-types/
We knew it was coming—Bungie said it was coming—and now we know exactly what form it will take. Since the launch of Lightfall and its Strand subclass earlier this year, one of its abilities has stood head and shoulders above any other effect in the game: Suspend. With it, you can tie enemies up in suspending green threads, leaving them unable to do pretty much anything except get shot and die. In a year where Bungie wanted to bring the challenge back to Destiny 2, Suspend alone went a long way to nullifying any increase in difficulty.
The nerf was inevitable, and now has been detailed in a new sandbox preview ahead of Season 22's launch on August 22. (...)

Remnant 2's about to make it way easier to unlock its sneakily hidden archetypes on your alts
https://www.pcgamer.com/remnant-2s-about-to-make-it-way-easier-to-unlock-its-sneakily-hidden-archetypes-on-your-alts/
Remnant 2 players have it good, huh? A patch dropped earlier this week, fixing several issues its players were having with the game's economy, providing "more scrap overall" and nipping several other post-apocalyptic pain points in the bud.
(...)
More quality of life upgrades are coming, including some massive changes to the game's archetype system, as revealed by Cureton yesterday.

Intel Saw A 23% Client CPU Market Share Increase In Q2 2023 While AMD Fell -5.3%

https://wccftech.com/intel-saw-23-percent-client-cpu-market-share-increase-amd-fell-q2-2023/

AMD’s Best Selling 3D V-Cache CPUs Get Price Drop: Ryzen 7 7800X3D For $381 US, 5800X3D For $269 US

https://wccftech.com/amd-best-selling-3d-v-cache-cpus-price-drop-ryzen-7-7800x3d-381-5800x3d-269-usd/

AMD Ryzen 8000 “Strix Point” APU Sample Allegedly Spotted: 12 Core Hybrid Zen 5 Design In A 45W TDP

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-8000-strix-point-apu-spotted-12-core-hybrid-zen-5-design-in-45w-tdp/

Intel reportedly planning a dual-core “Intel 300” desktop CPU with 46W TDP

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-reportedly-planning-a-dual-core-intel-300-desktop-cpu-with-46w-tdp

huh? I've spent like $50 on HSR across the monthly sub and a couple of battle passes over the past 4 months which I'm happy to do so for a game I've easily spent 200-300 hours playing and easily do all the hardest content in the game... but $4k for one character that's like my next decade of gaming software purchases.

It will be interesting to see how AMD deals with the hybrid cores and the core allocation problem, if they go with a hardware based one like Intel or rely on the Window's one like they used for their 7950 and 7900 X3D chips.

As for the Intel part... well, I guess there's still room for dual-core CPUs for really chip (office) computers.

Already played Flashback 2 (Fade to Black) decades ago.

True, I don't know why so many people ignore that PSX game.

In any case, let's hope that this one is a bit better than that one.

PSX? Nope:

Back then I played on consoles and that game also launched on the first Playstation.

I would've went with a Ryzen 5 5600. is a 6 core 12 threads at 65 watt just like the intel CPU but it performs better while being cheaper.

Doubling storage is certainly very beneficial considering the size of games these days. I got my 2TB M.2 PCIe4 SSD for just 83€, which is twice the size and is much faster than the one in that build for roughly twice the price. The 2TB version of the chosen SSD is also just $63, so some 30 extra bucks for double the size and probably a slight speed boost.

As for the RAM, 16GB are a bit limiting, but there's also the possibility to add 2 extra sticks later on. So if he wants to save the money for now, that is a possible way to do so.

There's also an AMD version of that build... though it uses a Ryzen 5 7600 instead of the 5600. It gives more upgradeability and more performance than with a 5600, but also comes with extra costs.

And if he doesn't want to upgrade the CPU, I'd go directly to the 5800X3D, he'd be safe for the coming years with that one.