Timmy ate more than he could chew. He tried to go up against Valve which has been a huge money sink trying to get all the exclusives for EGS. The theory was that if people simply used EGS, they would stick around and not bother with Valve. But that backfired very hard as all that did was waste 100s of millions of dollars with minimal user retention. Then they tried to go up against Apple which ended up with them getting cucked in court. Then with UE5, the engine has largely been a shit show thus far and the games that are coming out are flopping which means little to no revenue coming from game sales. And of course, Fortnite has been going down year over year if I remember correctly.

So now Timmy is at a point where he can no longer rely on the funds of Fortnite and Unreal Engine to fuel his projects. All his prospects have gone to shit and now he is firing people in the hopes that things will change. Somethings might get better like UE5 while other things will continue to go down like EGS and Fortnite. Hopefully he learned his lesson but I doubt it.

Now I don't fully understand how severance packages work from when a company is sold to another, but my guess is that BC will now have to negotiate those package deals with the company they were just sold to, because I don't see Epic covering them on this (because at this point they don't want to spend any more money on those they are letting go, companies and all). 

I also find it quite a coincidence that BC hasn't been unionised for long, and Epic decides to sell them off (usually if it's a few members that form or join a union, they are easy to let go).

If I were BC though, yeah I'd wanna sue, because Epic only owned them for 18 months, basically fucked them around, they unionised, then Epic decided they didn't want them anymore and excused letting them go with "we're spending too much" (Like how much exactly did they spend on BC, because the fact they wanted to form a union is telling that Epic likely didn't spend much on BC to begin with besides the buyout). 

I think because he knew how popular and used UE was, and how popular/loved Fn was, that he thought he could topple Apple/Google in a court fight, and at the same time, fuck over Steam's supply of big hitters and disrupt Valve's organic traffic in the process, killing 3 birds with one stone.

Except none of that really worked out 100% the way he wanted it to go, and now he's having to lose all that weight he put onto the company, and dial down the exclusivity deals (though I am still seeing influencers on YT, so I guess those are cheap ppl to constantly pay per month?).

Timmy claims he's in it for the long-run, but I honestly don't see that happening, not now anyway, not with Fornite alone (it's not going to be nearly as timeless as Minecraft). I guess this is why he's trying hard to make deals with the likes of Lego and Roblox to form this shitty "metaverse" idea, where Epic is at the forefront and the big player running that universe, but again, I don't see that happening, because I frankly don't see Lego/Roblox letting Epic run the whole show and take more than what they think they should earn.

Atm the only saving grace is Unity shitting the bed, losing so much trust in a month, and UE5 being there and boasting new tech. There is a caveat to UE5 though, in that Epic still hasn't worked the stuttering/compiling issues, and well, not every gamer is going to want to put up with those issues for another 2 gens.

Also I'm wondering when the fuck is Valve going to actually do something about Epic's trojan horse waltzing into Steam and fucking over games ppl have bought or owned for years, via EoS (Epic's crossplay), because I'm actually starting to get really pissed that games I've owned for years are slowly being turned into always online coffee coasters, or how some new games are now flat out dumping Steam workshop for Mod.io, simply because Epic cba making their own version of Steamworks modding, so devs get pushed into enforcing Mod.io (and I don't want to fucking use Mod.io, because I ain't making an account for that shit when I was fine with Steamworks and nexus mods, again, don't need another fucking storefront client, and another modding client, because Epic cba putting money into their own client). 

I know ppl want competition, and so do I, but I don't see that coming from Epic, not even remotely in a genuine and caring way, and after they have slowly been eroding my trust in devs and trying to actively fuck over the ecosystems in which I reside, I actually now want them to die off.

And this is why I don't buy from Ubisoft these days. Especially seeing as how they've once again gone back to selling their latest games only on U(can'tplay) and EGS, Steam users having to wait another 2-3yrs again.

Ubisoft continues to just be shit on PC as usual. 

Another 19GB patch to download... I guess I have to play tomorrow.

So, I assembled my new PC last Friday, but the front audio jacks weren't working. I even disconnected and reconnected the connector once, and it didn't do anything. Well, I did it once more, this time trying to position the cable differently. It worked, so I put it where it was originally, and it was still working (and still is). It's a bit of a tight fit, so the cable's a bit twisted, but it's twisted a bit differently now, so maybe that was the cause. I kind of suspect the issue is actually that I didn't line up the connector correctly and missed the other row of pins entirely... twice, since I had one earlier attempt at fixing the issue. I almost managed to do that now too, which leads me to think this is what was causing the issue. Definitely not my proudest moment if that's the case, and also not something I expected to go wrong.

The case to mobo connectors are a nightmare to get every time.

Hardware Unboxed deep dive into FSR 3.0

Not bad. A little bit scuffed launch for the tech but there are positives. Less CPU overhead vs DLSS 3.. and works decently itself for generating frames with competitive input lag (though higher than DLSS 3). Downsides.. Image quality still leaves a lot to be desired due to FSR's current upscaling capabilities. There's framepacing issues. Needs a good base framerate like DLSS 3 and there are caviats like not having Freesync and having need to turn on Vsync for a smoother experience. Doesn't really recommend in its current state.

They'll improve on it but meh a lot of things to give up to use it rn. Plus you need to have upscaling turned on for FG to work properly. Then there no access to Reflex for Nvidia users and no Freesync/G-Sync support. Should've just delayed to fix those issues tbh, especially framepacing as that can't make for a good experience..

It's time for the Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

CD Projekt pops the cork on Cyberpunk's big numbers as it revels in the post-expansion victory lap
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-pops-the-cork-on-cyberpunks-big-numbers-as-it-revels-in-the-post-expansion-victory-lap/
CD Projekt is taking a victory lap in the release afterglow of Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty DLC, and the newest stage of it means showing off every big number the company can find. With the CDP Investor Day behind us, CDP has thrown together a bunch of different graphics to brag about the number of people that have bought Cyberpunk and its expansion, including a breakdown by platform and region.
The deliciously round headline number is 25 million, which CDP says is the sum total number of people that have bought Cyberpunk—the base game, that is—-since it careened onto consoles and PC in 2020. That's a big number (and yes, insightful journalism like that statement is why they pay me the big bucks), and means ol' Cyberpunk has sold exactly half the number of copies that The Witcher 3 has despite only having been out for less than half the time. In fact, it took The Witcher 3 four and a half years to sell as many copies as Cyberpunk has sold in two years and 10 months, CDP CEO Adam Kiciński told investors.
Phantom Liberty, meanwhile, has sold 3 million copies in the time it's been available for pre-order and purchase, which the company must be pretty chuffed with. While I want to attribute that to the three original Idris Elba tracks it features, I imagine it probably has more to do with the DLC's quality (it really is quite good) and the 'Cyberpunk is finally properly good now' narrative that's developed around it and the game's 2.0 patch. I mean, that's certainly why I was so keen to dive in.
(...)
Oh, also, there's another boggling number: CDP says it's sold 100,000,000 games—that's everything it's made, Witcher stuff included—across its lifetime.

Fanatical's new Star Deal is Hammerwatch II, 45% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/hammerwatch-ii.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

-Empty as well-

GAMING NEWS

The next Commandos game is called Commandos: Origins and it’s coming to PC in 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/commandos-origins-is-coming-to-pc-in-2024/
Back in 2019, we informed you about a new Commandos game. And today, Kalypso Media has revealed that this new Commandos game is called Commandos: Origins, and that it will be released on PC in 2024.
>> There's even a trailer, with some tidbits of gameplay.

Teyon is looking into fixing the shader compilation stutters in RoboCop: Rogue City
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/teyon-is-looking-into-fixing-the-shader-compilation-stutters-in-robocop-rogue-city/
A couple of days ago, NACON released the PC demo for RoboCop: Rogue City. Developed by Teyon, the team behind Terminator: Resistance, this new RoboCop game has a lot of potential. However, the demo suffered from major shader compilation stutters. And, thankfully, the developers are looking into resolving them.

Forza Motorsport has been fully cracked even though it hasn’t been “released” yet
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/forza-motorsport-has-been-fully-cracked-even-though-it-hasnt-been-released-yet/
Microsoft released Forza Motorsport in Early Access a couple of days ago. And, although the game will be officially fully released on October 10th, it has been fully cracked, allowing pirates to play it before those who have purchased it.
>> It started with the MSoft Store version, but now it's also the Steam one as well.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Hotfix #9 released and detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/baldurs-gate-3-hotfix-9-released-and-detailed/
Larian Studios has released the ninth hotfix update for its latest role-playing game, Baldur’s Gate 3. According to the changelog, this latest patch brings a number of changes and tweaks to the game.

The Friday news, part two:

Valve bans then unbans Counter-Strike skin trader with a $1.5 million inventory and the highest Steam level in the world
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-bans-counter-strike-skin-trader-with-a-dollar15-million-inventory-and-the-highest-steam-level-in-the-world/
Valve has banned a prominent and somewhat controversial Counter-Strike skin trader, St4ck, whose account boasts one of the most high-value inventories you'll ever see: by some estimates it is the third most-valuable CS skin haul out there. Pricing stuff in CS is always a bit of a guessing game, because when we're talking about rare items you're relying on middlemen and third party vendors for valuations, but PriceEmpire values St4ck's inventory at $1.45 million and lists items including a Souvenir Factory New AWP Dragon Lore ($400K), five Katowice 2014 foil stickers ($90K apiece), and a metric ton of guns and knives that go for between $5K to $40K. Update: Subsequent to publication, the ban on St4ck's account has been lifted.

Valve level designer returns to Twitter after lengthy absence to reveal he used a pot to add handles to an electrical box in Counter-Strike
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-level-designer-returns-to-twitter-after-lengthy-absence-to-reveal-he-used-a-pot-to-add-handles-to-an-electrical-box-in-counter-strike/
Magnar Jenssen is a level designer with serious pedigree, starting his career at Grin before stints at Starbreeze, Avalanche, and then from 2013 onwards working for Valve. This was an auspicious year for Counter Strike: Global Offensive, with the Winter Offensive update in December 2013 adding two new maps to the game, Cobblestone and Overpass.
Both maps have become fan favourites, although in Overpass' case it took a fair amount of tweaking, and one of Jenssen's first tasks at Valve was to work on Overpass details. Jenssen doesn't seem like much of a social media type, but for the first time in around 18 months he returned to Twitter to share a development deep dive on an element of the map's design.

Armored Core 6 players meme their way through the stages of grief as new patch buffs nearly every weapon but nerfs beloved shotgun and grenade cannon
https://www.pcgamer.com/armored-core-6-players-hit-with-intense-emotional-whiplash-as-new-patch-buffs-nearly-ever-weapon-but-nerfs-beloved-shotgun-and-grenade-cannon/
They had it coming.
From the moment players started blasting their way through Armored Core 6 dual-wielding the Zimmerman shotguns with two Songbirds grenade cannons on their shoulders, it seemed like only a matter of time until FromSoftware took a long, hard look at each weapon and turned down the heat on them both. Heck, after the last patch in early September, it became a community meme that the Zimmerman escaped unscathed. That dominant run ended today with patch 1.03.1, which buffs dozens of weapons and other mecha parts while laser targeting a few nerfs at AC6's most powerful guns.

In 12 days, your Diablo 4 season 1 characters will be retired and sent back to the Eternal Realm
https://www.pcgamer.com/in-12-days-your-diablo-4-season-1-characters-will-be-retired-and-sent-back-to-the-eternal-realm/
When Diablo 4 season 2, or the Season of Blood, begins on October 17, everyone playing a seasonal character will have to start over from scratch.
Season 1 characters will be kicked into the Eternal Realm, where non-seasonal characters live, with all their gold, items, and crafting materials. Any items that were in that character's stash will transfer into a new withdraw-only chest that they can access from the Eternal Realm. The withdraw-only stash will hold your items until the end of season 2—which should be roughly three months long—before they're permanently deleted. And any Malignant Hearts socketed into your gear or sitting in your bags will disappear in the process.

Cyberpunk 2077 sequel is officially in early development, CD Projekt says
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-sequel-is-officially-in-early-development-cd-projekt-says/
CD Projekt studio head Adam Badowski said during an investors presentation today that the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is officially underway, but still very, very early in the process.
>> First they have to finish and launch the new The Witcher game, so we won't see this game until, maybe, the next decade.

Payday 3's first update is delayed to mid-October 'to ensure its stability,' more server maintenance is coming this weekend
https://www.pcgamer.com/payday-3s-first-update-is-delayed-to-mid-october-to-ensure-its-stability-more-server-maintenance-is-coming-this-weekend/
It's another bump in the road for beleaguered heist-shooter Payday 3 as Starbreeze Studios has delayed an update that was expected to go live today and says it also needs to do yet more server maintenance.

Final Fantasy 14 players study a pair of legs for clues about a new playable race in its next expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/final-fantasy-14-players-study-a-pair-of-legs-for-clues-about-a-new-playable-race-in-its-next-expansion/
It's basically a tradition at this point to try and guess what's coming in the next expansion for your favorite MMO. New classes and playable races arrive with just about every new expansion for Final Fantasy 14 and World of Warcraft, and it sends both communities into a craze over any clues they can find, real or not.
Today, Final Fantasy 14 players are studying a pair of disembodied legs hoping to identify a new playable race coming in the Dawntrail expansion next year. The leading theory is that the legs are owned by a female version of the male Hrothgar race–-who are basically lion men—that already exist in the game.

The Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer reveal was a glimpse into the sweatiest possible future for Call of Duty
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-modern-warfare-3-multiplayer-reveal-was-a-glimpse-into-the-sweatiest-possible-future-for-call-of-duty/
"We are so back" was the rallying cry of Call of Duty Next, Activision's annual event to debut the next Call of Duty's multiplayer. The four-hour stream saw dozens of invited streamers playing Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer live while developers chatted with hosts.

History unfortunately repeats itself as Telltale Games lays off 'most' of its staff
https://www.pcgamer.com/history-unfortunately-repeats-itself-as-telltale-games-lays-off-most-of-its-staff/
Telltale Games has laid off an unknown portion of its staff, in an unfortunate deja vu moment for a handful of its employees.
Word of the layoffs first began circulating when Jonah Huang, a former cinematic artist for the developer, published a series of tweets that claimed Telltale had let go "most" of its staff in early September, adding that he was unable to comment on the status of The Wolf Among Us 2—which was delayed earlier this year—thanks to being under NDA.

Watch the powerful firebender Azula kick the crap out of Stimpy in the final Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 character reveal
https://www.pcgamer.com/watch-the-powerful-firebender-azula-kick-the-crap-out-of-stimpy-in-the-final-nickelodeon-all-star-brawl-2-character-reveal/
The surprise sequel Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 was announced back in July, and it struck us as something of a do-over, but with a heavy emphasis on more: More stages and updates of existing stages, a new campaign mode, more modes in general, crossplay, a visual spit-shine to every existing character, new minigames, and of course new characters. And now we've got the reveal of the final character coming to the lineup: It's the Avatar firebender Azula, princess of the Fire Nation and daughter of Fire Lord Ozai.

More people are playing Arkane's Prey than Redfall on Steam right now
https://www.pcgamer.com/more-people-are-playing-arkanes-prey-than-redfall-on-steam-right-now/
Redfall, the underbaked and doomed FPS from Prey and Dishonored studio Arkane, once sat alongside your Starfields, your Halos, and your Microsoft Flight Sims in the Xbox events of yore (2021), but then, well, it came out earlier this year, and that put paid to that. Between the bugs and limp, lacklustre gameplay, the game felt beyond saving to me, and it feels like Microsoft might agree. Since Redfall's 1.1 patch in June this year, the game has lain dormant, save for the odd chirrup from its Twitter account.
That's probably one of the reasons why (as spotted by PCGamesN), Redfall's Steam player count has been so wince-inducingly low in recent weeks. A cursory check of SteamDB reveals that, since the game's all-time peak of 6,124 players during its release period five months back, its number of players has mostly hovered around the low double digits. But in the last week or two it's been hitting a single-digit player count regularly. Last Sunday, there were two players online at one point. Yup.

Last, but by no means least, here are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• There are only two Deals of the Day, with the first one being Lost Eidolons, 60% off during the weekend: https://www.gog.com/en/game/lost_eidolons
• The second one is Overlord II, with a 75% discount during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/overlord_ii

+Steam

• The One Special Day 2023 Event features up to 90% discounts. Most of the deals will end the 8th of October, but some will last for longer: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/onespecialday
• The MIX PGA Showcase 2023 features lots of unreleased games as well as some already released games with up to 75% discounts, that will last between October 9th to October 19th, depending on the game: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30894338-Media-Indie-Exchange/sale/mixpga2023
• Remnant II will be 20% off until the 12th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1282100/Remnant_II/
• Dome Keeper will have a 60% discount until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1637320/Dome_Keeper/
• Golf With Your Friends will be free to try during the weekend and 67% off until Thursday, October 12: https://store.steampowered.com/app/431240/Golf_With_Your_Friends/
• Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus gets a 77% discount until the 12th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/673880/Warhammer_40000_Mechanicus/
• Publihser Hooded Horse puts its games up to 50% off until October, 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/HoodedHorsePublisherSale2023
• Bandai Namco also puts its games on sale, up to 87% off. Some deals will end in October, 9th, but most will last until the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/BandaiNamcoSale
• The PlayWay Publisher Sale comes with up to 90% discounts until the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/PlayWaySale2023
• And there's also the Crime Story Bundle, with three games and a 44% discount. I have no idea how long it will last: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/31116/Crime_Story_Bundle/

Well, that was all. Until next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.