The problem of trying to buy Valve is that it's a private company, not a traded one. No one can buy shares of it to try to force anything. The only option is to convince Gabe to sell and that's also a problem because, as Valve is private, no one really knows how much money it has or makes, so basically Newell can ask anything it wants.

So yeah, the future of Valve is in Gabe Newell's hands, not in MSoft's or anyone else.

Yeah, despite HWU's personal stance on Nvidia, I'd still take their take on this over Techpower-up tbh. TPU makes it sound "objectively better", but there is evidence of there being bad noise samples, or in some cases, complete ghosting/smearing of practical effects like some reflections being completely faded/omitted, or smoke still not functioning normally, road shadows being removed entirely (which actually makes it look like they turned off shadows entirely in that shot featuring the roadside in the distance).

Players are probably not going to notice much of it while on foot, but when you stop and take shots and just stand there to take it all in, you'll notice, and when you notice, it's kinda hard to forget the imperfections. I hope both Nvidia/CDPR address this sooner, rather than never and just assuming it's perfect, when it clearly isn't, and folks like TPU should stop chanting like it is, when their own evidence says the complete opposite, commenters and all.

Despite me not even having access to any RT, let alone RR/FG, what I am seeing via these vids and shots can still be improved upon, and well, I am a guy that likes us to keep pushing the limit and innovate, instead of a normies "yeah, good enough, keep it that way for 5+ years and don't patch it", mentality (because that mentality is the enemy of innovation and general self improvement, and I'm actually starting to really dislike seeing that from ppl who don't want things to get better, when they absolutely can with multi million/billion dollar corps). 

My one true fear, is that the day Gabe dies, there is one scenario I can imagine where his Son doesn't care to take over the company, or someone managing to get Valve to open up and go PLC, and if it ever did, I know damn well that MS would be first in line to buy their way inside, followed very closely by Tencent (I don't see Epic buying any part of Valve).

Either way I hope no one buys Valve out, because that would make for the worst possible scenario for PC gaming and a dark blot on it's history.

Gabe won't be around running Valve forever. He's been doing quite well, as far as I'm concerned, but he, like everyone else, has his limits.

Is anyone familiar with incorrect playtimes suddenly appearing in your Steam profile? Out of nowhere in my Steam profile like a couple months after the overhaul, my playtime for Doom Eternal showed 92 hours even though it was actually 45 hours. But in my Steam library, it showed the correct playtime. I figured the issue would eventually get sorted out.

But as of today, it's now showing the incorrect playtime in my library!!! Only in the games Steam page does it show the correct playtime when it's asking if I want to leave a review it's somehow getting worse with time! Has this ever happened to anyone else? Even shows the incorrect playtime in the Steam mobile app. 

Playing the game only increases both the correct and incorrect playtime.

Very true, but Gabe can decide who or which company he'll want to sell it, or if he's going to leave it to his children and under which conditions, etc.

The point is that nothing will happen without Gabe's consent, at least for the time being.

That's an odd glitch or bug to have.

I personally haven't noticed it, but I don't really pay attention to the playtime numbers, so I could have something similar without realizing it.

Have you checked if there's a discussion about this on the forums? Maybe there's other people with the problem and may have a way to fix it.

Yeah that's what I'm doing next as well as Reddit, but just covering all my bases. 

I double checked my entire library and it's literally just Doom Eternal lol. Probably why it's sticking out like a thorn in my side since it's just 1 game that's having this bug.

Anyone playing The First Descendant beta? Looks great, runs well, solid mechanics. Unfortunately the missions are pretty dull and it definitely wouldn't surprise me if the final game ends up really grindy.

Anywho, now that Cyberpunk is finally out of early access it's finally time for me to jump in tonight!

Well if Valve ever gets sold, there probably aren't that many companies I can respect that also have the money for Valve, so I am concerned about it getting sold, if it ever ends up occurring. It's not something I have to be concerned about right now, or something I can really help, but it's a chilling thought nonetheless.

We've reached the Friday news. Woo-hoo!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

It may be over in other stores, but the Humble Store has launched the SEGA Wonderland Sale, that will bring up to 85% discounts during 6 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/sega-wonderland-sale/.

Fanatical has a new Star Deal is DOOM Eternal - Deluxe Edition, 79% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/doom-eternal-deluxe-edition.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Valve preps SteamVR overhaul as excitement grows for rumoured headset
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-preps-steamvr-overhaul-as-excitement-grows-for-rumoured-headset/
Valve is keeping busy. The company has dramatically increased the number of changes made to SteamVR over the past two months including updates that could be aimed at a new headset. Whether this is Valve placing the groundwork for its next-gen VR headset—it's Valve, we really don't know what that company is up to—it does appear that a major rework of SteamVR is on the horizon.
SteamVR powers virtual reality experiences via the Steam client. The software, which drives the Valve Index among other VR headsets, is currently on version 1.27. Though some expect the recent flurry of updates to accumulate into a major feature release.
News comes from Brad Lynch (SadlyItsBradley) over on X, who has been keeping an eagle-eye on the releases for SteamVR so far. They note a couple of key updates.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Modder Dav0r, creator of the iconic Garry's Mod toolgun, has died
https://www.pcgamer.com/modder-dav0r-creator-of-the-iconic-garrys-mod-toolgun-has-died/
Source engine modder Dave Hunt, better known as Dav0r online, died last week of an undisclosed cause, friends have confirmed. He was 35 years old.
Dav0r, who described himself as a "casual 2D/3D artist," wasn't widely known among PC gamers, but you've likely seen or used one of his creations: the model for the Garry's Mod toolgun, a revolver affixed with an LCD screen and ribbon cable. (...)
>> D.E.P.

Starfield beards just got a whole lot more detailed with this mod
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-beards-just-got-a-whole-lot-more-detailed-with-this-mod/
Bummed that your Starfield character's beard doesn't look nearly as lush and masculine as you'd like it to? Well, worry no more over patchy stubble, because this absolute hero has just raised the bar—or more specifically, the texture resolution—for Starfield beards.
Thanks to creator BulwarkHD on Nexus Mods, beards just got a whole lot more impressive with HD 4K Beards, which appears to have improved some of the issues fans have had with Bethesda facial hair. And I don't just mean there are issues with Starfield beards either, this complaint has been going on for years.
>> There are some screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Here are 19 minutes of new gameplay from the TGS 2023 Demo of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-19-minutes-of-new-gameplay-from-the-tgs-2023-demo-of-final-fantasy-7-rebirth/
GameInformer has shared a video, showcasing 19 minutes of new gameplay footage from the TGS 2023 demo of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.
This video shows off the game’s combat mechanics/enhancements, as well as some of its enemies and environments. Moreover, this video may contain minor spoilers so avoid it if you want to experience the game yourselves.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will use the Denuvo anti-tamper tech
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/like-a-dragon-infinite-wealth-will-use-the-denuvo-anti-tamper-tech/
To the surprise of no one, SEGA revealed that Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be using the Denuvo anti-tamper tech on PC. SEGA has used Denuvo in pretty much all of its latest releases, and Infinite Wealth is no exception. And yes, for those wondering, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name will also have Denuvo.

Armored Core 6 Patch 1.03 released and fully detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/armored-core-6-patch-1-03-released-and-fully-detailed/
FromSoftware has just released Patch 1.03 for Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, and shared its complete changelog. According to the release notes, Update 1.03 improves gameplay stability and applies a number of bug fixes.

METAL GEAR SOLID Master Collection Vol.1 will be locked at 1080p even on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/metal-gear-solid-master-collection-vol-1-will-be-locked-at-1080p-even-on-pc/
Konami has updated the official MC website, revealing that METAL GEAR SOLID Master Collection Vol.1 will be locked at 1080p even on PC.
As we can see, the first Metal Gear Solid will only support 1080p/30fps. The other two Metal Gear Solid games will only support 1080p with 60fps on most major platforms. Additionally, both Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 won’t support uncapped framerates or 4K resolutions, even on PC.