That Strix Halo APU has all the numbers to be the backbone of a new range of handheld PCs with those specs. And they'll be powerful.

The rating of the CEOs are interesting, but nothing more than a curiosity. I'm sure Riccitiello is more than used to be so low in the list, and the CEO of Twitter better get used to it soon, because I doubt her situation will improve, at least not for the time being.

Am i the only one who fully expected to see Bobby on that bottom list?.

Wait, Intel will release Meteor Lake-H soon... and then next year replace it with a Raptor Lake-H refresh?

Considering how beefy the system will be according to leaks, I doubt AMD will release Strix Halo with a TDP of less than 35W, at which point it consumes way too much far a handheld system. But Strix Point could already be great for handhelds depending on how powerful (read: how many CU it has) it's GPU part will be.

No, I was thinking of him, too. But considering the bottom list starts at 6% approval, he had some stiff competition this year.

That shouldn't really be a problem. The Z1 Extreme powering the ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion GO already uses 25W in its most extreme setting, but it can be tonned down to 15 and 9W, tho the latter is a bit useless.

Because of that, the Halo could power some new handhelds, just not at its max power... although both devices have docks to connect to a monitor, so it's still possible that they could fully use the APU, but only in docked mode.

Damn, what did Western Digital and Nordstrom do to get 0% lmao

I recently did a total upgrade of my main rig. I went from a 5800X, 32GB DDR4 3600, and a 6900XT to a 7800X3D, 32GB DDR5 6000, and a 7900XTX. TLDR; The 7900XTX was on sale, I had like $60 in Best Buy certificates, and selling my 6900XT made the card cost as much as a 7800XT.

I basically had enough left over parts to build another system out of the old parts with a case and new GPU. I literally had no reason to but I bought an Arc A770 16GB and a Fractal case just to mess around with Intel Arc. Honestly the experience has been pretty smooth. I've, ironically, had more issues with my 4080 laptop (it's a gimped desktop 4070Ti I hate laptop naming schemes). The only game I've tried that runs terrible is Star Citizen. I know Starfield isn't supposed to work well but it runs fine for me to bad the game is mid. I'd be pissed if I didn't get the game for free with GPU and CPU.*. I like having first hand access to all three GPU manufacturers.

I prefer AMD's software by a mile. I only game so I have no insight into productivity tasks. Intel's software certainly looks nicer than Nvidia's but I haven't delved deep enough to it to judge it's functionality. I don't like GeForce experience at all. Am the only that doesn't care about Frame Generation? The games you need it for, games that run at 30-40fps, look smooth but feel like crap. The games that don't need it, games that run 60fpd+, feel fine but it's pointless because I'm already getting a high frame rate.

Side note: Did anyone else have to roll back to the previous GeForce driver? The lastest driver was causing my laptop to hard lock up or crash. I thought I got another bad laptop. I had to RMA the first one. Ended up being a bad CPU. I guess I was due. I've never had a bad CPU in 30 years of PC gaming and only have had one bad GPU

*Gave the second copy away....AMD didn't make easy. I had to do the hardware verification and then give the person my AMD Rewards login info to claim it. Wouldn't recommend that unless you trust the person.

Ugh, now I remember why I never post here from my phone...

The Thursday-Friday combo news!

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

We'll find three new deals at Humble:

• The Humble Bundle brings the Bandai Namco: Fights, Frights and Fantasy Bundle, with 7 games and 2 coupons during 19 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/bandai-namco-fights-frights-and-fantasy
• And the Humble Store has two new sales:
  • The Cozy Square Enix Sale brings up to 90% discounts during 5 days. All the keys are for Steam: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/cozy-square-enix-sale/
  • And the Bungie / Destiny 2 Sale features up to 67% discounts during the next 12 days. There are keys for Steam and EGS: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/destiny-2-sale/

Fanatical has new deals and bundles:

• The Star Deal is The Jackbox Party Pack 9, 50% off. It started yesterday and will last another 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/the-jackbox-party-pack-9
• The Jackbox Quintpack, with 5 games, will be 40% off during 9 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/the-jackbox-quintpack
• And the BYO Triple Pack, Fall Edition, features 14 titles to build your 3 games pack: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-triple-pack-fall-edition

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 23.10.1
https://videocardz.com/driver/amd-radeon-software-adrenalin-23-10-1

Highlights

• New Game Support
  • Assassin’s Creed Mirage
  • The Lords of the Fallen
• Anti-Lag+ Support
  • Counter Strike 2

Fixed Issues

• Intermittent app crash while playing Starfield on Radeon™ RX 7000 Series Graphics Products.
• Intermittent driver crash while playing Counter Strike 2 with MSAA or FSR enabled on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 7900 XTX.
• Improvements to stutter experienced while playing Counter Strike 2.
• EA SPORTS FC™ 24 may fail to open on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 7800 XT.
• System freeze or black screen when playing video files on Radeon™ RX 6000 Series Graphics Products.
• The display may intermittently freeze after changing the encode format while streaming select games with AMD Link.

Valve adds new security check after attackers compromise Steam accounts of multiple game devs and update their games with malware
https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-malware-attack-new-security/
The Steam accounts of multiple game developers were recently compromised and used to update their games with malware. Fewer than 100 Steam users had the games installed when the malware was added, and they've been directly notified of the risk by email, according to Valve. The company confirmed details of the story, reported earlier this week by GameDiscoverCo newsletter founder Simon Carless, in an email to PC Gamer today. Although this attempt to use Steam to distribute malware wasn't very effective, Valve has taken a major step to prevent it from happening again. Starting October 24, game developers will be required to pass a two-factor authentication check before updating the default branch of a released game—the version that Steam will automatically deliver in an automatic update to most players who have it installed.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Unreal Engine 5.3.1 Remake available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-unreal-engine-5-3-1-remake-available-for-download/
CryZENx has just released a new version of his The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake in Unreal Engine 5.3.1. This new version of this fan remake allows you to explore Kakariko village, Deathmountain Trail and Goron City.
In this Zelda fan game, you can explore the environments and fight a number of enemies. You can also use your ocarina, break objects, collect items, and speak to NPCs. Not only that but this fan remake of this classic N64 Zelda game in Unreal Engine 5 also has some cut-scenes and an inventory system. In short, it’s more than your typical “remake a map from a popular game in UE5” projects.
As CryZENx has noted, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Unreal Engine 5.3.1 uses Lumen for its lighting. However, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with what I saw in the first couple of minutes of the following video. Something about the lighting felt off. Thankfully, things get a lot better in later areas.
>> There's an over 30 minutes video of the mod.

Starfield's unofficial radio stations have made me want to keep playing
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfields-unofficial-radio-stations-have-made-me-want-to-keep-playing/
Even if you didn't love what Bethesda did to the Fallout series, you have to admit adding radio stations was a great idea. The jarring juxtaposition of doo-wop crooning and post-apocalyptic hellscape was part of Fallout from the beginning, but taking it out of the intro cutscene and making it something you could add to your playthrough at any time elevated Fallout 3 immensely.
I know I wasn't the only person disappointed by the absence of radio stations from Starfield. As always with Bethesda RPGs, modders have come to the rescue. Starfield Radio currently hosts five stations of banging tunes with a sixth on the way, and you don't even need to download a mod to listen to it. You can just play it in a browser window and pretend you're flying the spaceways even when you're supposed to be working.
Of the current assortment of stations, Sol Train: Music from the 3rd Rock is an immediate favorite. Coming to us live from the MAST District of New Atlantis, DJ Black Hole Benny plays a selection of Earth classics from Modest Mouse to Massive Attack, with a fine line in space-themed songs like David Bowie's Life on Mars and The Beastie Boys' Intergalactic. I'm also into The Dust, a lo-fi station out of Neon whose DJ does an amazing impression of the kind of perpetually half-asleep lady who hosts late-night lo-fi shows on community radio stations in our own epoch.
>> Screenshots would be useless for showing the mod, and there's no video to let you hear it in action either.

Unusable Starfield mod morphs every ship's reactor into Thomas the Tank Engine, trapping them inside a horrific cocoon—creator says 'Life isn't always fair'
https://www.pcgamer.com/unusable-starfield-mod-morphs-every-ships-reactor-into-thomas-the-tank-engine-trapping-every-ship-inside-a-horrific-cocooncreator-says-life-isnt-always-fair/
It's time. Starfield finally has its most important mod—more important than the script extender, more vital than StarUI—something that changes the game entirely. Thomas the Tank Engine is not, by any means, looming horrifically in the dark corners of my room and forcing me to write this.
Ominously titled "Really Useful Starfield", this mod by the aptly-named Nexus Mods user Trainwiz mutates every ship into Thomas the Tank Engine. This is tradition, a requisite for every Bethesda game—and it's not even Thomas' first foray into the stars, either. Though he's now transcended the body of Vasco, spreading across the galaxy like a locomotive plague.
(...)
This has two implications. Firstly, the Tank Engine hasn't replaced anything—instead, he's just surrounded them like some kind of parasitic shell, trapping them in a point of stasis like AM imprisoning the humans in I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.
Secondly, to properly swallow every ship in the universe, the model for Thomas has to be enormous. This is confirmed in screenshots Trainwiz provides of the shipbuilder (which this mod renders completely unusable), and of the landed Thomas, which looms like a monument built to a dead god.
According to Trainwiz, this also makes ship combat really bad: "Due to the size and shape of Thomas, it can make shipbuilding and flying in third person a big issue. This mod's more of a novelty to begin with, so it's something you have to deal with. Life isn't always fair."
>> The article has a couple of screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Grand Theft Auto 6 has been rated MA15+ on the Australian Classification board
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/grand-theft-auto-6-has-been-rated-ma15-on-the-australian-classification-board/
Grand Theft Auto 6 is the worst-kept secret right now. And although Rockstar has not officially revealed it yet, the game has been rated MA15+ on the Australian Classification Board.

UFO Robot Grendizer – The Feast of the Wolves gets a new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/ufo-robot-grendizer-the-feast-of-the-wolves-gets-a-new-gameplay-trailer/
Mecha fans, here is something for you today. Microids has released a new gameplay trailer for UFO Robot Grendizer – The Feast of the Wolves.

Lords of the Fallen will “never feature the Denuvo anti-tamper tech”
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/lords-of-the-fallen-will-never-feature-the-denuvo-anti-tamper-tech/
Lords of the Fallen will be released later today and according to CI Games, it will never feature the Denuvo anti-tamper tech. Truth be told, CI Games never used Denuvo in its games. As such, we are not really surprised by this news.

Battlefield 2042 is free to play until October 16th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/battlefield-2042-is-free-to-play-until-october-16th/
Electronic Arts has announced that Battlefield 2042 is free to play until October 16th. Interestingly enough, this free-to-play period is the exact same as the Open Beta phase of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
>> It will also be 84% off until October, 26th, in case you like it.

EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 is coming to PC in Spring 2024
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/earth-defense-force-6-is-coming-to-pc-in-spring-2024/
D3Publisher has announced that the latest entry in its popular series, Earth Defense Force 6, will be coming to PC in Spring 2024. As the press release reads, this next monstrous installment is set to deliver an adrenaline-pumping experience for veteran players and new fans alike.

The Friday news, part two of three:

At Activision's internal meeting—inexplicably hosted by James Corden—Bobby Kotick promises a 'new dimension of emotional connection' powered by AI
https://www.pcgamer.com/at-activisions-internal-meetinginexplicably-hosted-by-james-cordenbobby-kotick-promises-a-new-dimension-of-emotional-connection-powered-by-ai/
As reported by Windows Central, sources have shared the inside details of an internal townhall yesterday between Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and Activision-Blizzard employees.

2023's biggest sleeper hit Dave the Diver just got a hefty content update featuring auto farming, new missions, and the electrifying concept of a 'lobster party'
https://www.pcgamer.com/2023s-biggest-sleeper-hit-dave-the-diver-just-got-a-hefty-content-update-featuring-auto-farming-new-missions-and-the-electrifying-concept-of-a-lobster-party/
2023's best game about managing an underwater sushi restaurant is getting even better. The already ludicrously deep Dave the Diver got its first content update yesterday, bringing a surfeit of improvements to the undersea management sim and, crucially, introducing the spellbinding notion of the "Lobster Party".

Paradox says The Lamplighters League sales were 'a big disappointment,' confirms recent layoffs at developer Harebrained Schemes
https://www.pcgamer.com/paradox-says-the-lamplighters-league-sales-were-a-big-disappointment-confirms-recent-layoffs-at-developer-harebrained-schemes/
Paradox Interactive is taking a big financial hit on the turn-based tactics game The Lamplighters League, saying that sales of the game have been "a big disappointment." Paradox also confirmed that significant layoffs had been made at developer Harebrained Schemes, but clarified that those layoffs occurred in the summer, a few months before The Lamplighters League was released.

Ark: Survival Evolved studio settles legal dispute over alleged code theft, and in a surprise twist they're now helping to 're-release' the game they said ripped them off
https://www.pcgamer.com/ark-survival-evolved-studio-settles-legal-dispute-over-alleged-code-theft-and-in-a-surprise-twist-theyre-now-helping-to-re-release-the-game-they-said-ripped-them-off/
A dispute between Ark: Survival Evolved developer Studio Wildcard and the makers of Chinese strategy game Myth of Empires has come to a happy ending, as all parties involved say they're now going to work together to "re-release" Myth of Empires on Steam and other platforms in early 2024.

Bungie is giving Destiny 2 players $45 of in-game currency to say sorry for accidentally banning them from the game
https://www.pcgamer.com/bungie-is-giving-destiny-2-players-dollar45-of-in-game-currency-to-say-sorry-for-accidentally-banning-them-from-the-game/
A common refrain from gamers caught cheating online is that they've been falsely convicted of a crime they didn't commit. It's hard to know who's telling the truth and who's just lying, because of course you'd lie if you were caught cheating. When we're lucky, the lies are exposed in a dramatic, extremely funny fashion. But sometimes the accused are telling the truth, and so it is that Bungie is now forking over 5,000 Silver to "a small number" of Destiny 2 players who were banned from the game for cheating, even though they weren't.

Overwatch fans unite to hate on $40 Diablo skins in its latest season
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-season-7-is-off-to-a-rough-start-as-fans-unite-to-hate-on-dollar40-diablo-skins/
Less than 24 hours since its release, Overwatch 2's latest season has ignited angry Reddit threads and TikTok comments from fans who are unhappy with the value of its paid hero skins.
Most of the criticisms target the $40 Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle which includes two highly-anticipated Diablo-themed skins: Lilith Moira and Inarius Pharah. The skins transform both Overwatch heroes into the deceptive characters from Blizzard's dark fantasy action RPG, and even gives them new voice lines during combat. Of the two skins, however, Lilith Moira is the star of the season, flawlessly capturing Moira's controversial reputation in the community and the game's story.

Overwatch 2's Hanzo was temporarily removed for turning his bow into a machine gun
https://www.pcgamer.com/overwatch-2s-hanzo-temporarily-removed-for-turning-his-bow-into-a-machine-gun/
Say goodbye to Hanzo, Overwatch 2's grumpy bowman and the star of the latest season's battle pass. A bug that allowed him to shoot his bow like an assault rifle has prompted Blizzard to temporarily remove him from the game.
Update: Hanzo has returned!

The wealthiest player in Old School Runescape, with more than 1 trillion (yes, trillion) gold, has been banned
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-wealthiest-player-in-old-school-runescape-with-more-than-1-trillion-yes-trillion-gold-has-been-banned/
Old School Runescape player and streamer BTCs, known as the wealthiest player in the game with more than one trillion gold to his name, has been permanently banned from Runescape over allegations of real-world trading—that is, trading items in the game for anything outside of it, typically real money. It's a stunningly expensive ban: Even though OSRS gold has no official real-world value according to the terms of service (because you're not allowed to trade it for real money), the price of that much gold on grey-market gold selling sites would be in excess of $160,000.

Team Fortress 2 community loses it, decides to 'meme a character into existence through the power of mass gaslighting' while Valve focuses on Counter-Strike
https://www.pcgamer.com/team-fortress-2-community-loses-it-decides-to-meme-a-character-into-existence-through-the-power-of-mass-gaslighting-while-valve-focuses-on-counter-strike/
We need to do some kind of wellness check on the Team Fortress 2 community. Sure, the game might have gotten a big summer update and smashed its all-time concurrent player record in the last year, but it's hardly the apple of Valve's eye in 2023. Players of the venerable shooter were left to gaze forlornly over at Counter-Strike 2 when that game was announced back in March, wondering if TF2 might get similar treatment "in another decade".
I think that loneliness might have driven the poor souls to breaking point. In a fit of nostalgia, players across the TF2 community are reminiscing about better times, the golden old days when the game was a brand new and potential-filled part of The Orange Box. Specifically, they're all singing tributes to the game's missing tenth class: The Madcap. Gone but not forgotten.

One of the biggest twists in Baldur's Gate 3 is blatantly foreshadowed by a humble bit of cutlery and some song lyrics
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-the-biggest-twists-in-baldurs-gate-3-is-blatantly-foreshadowed-by-a-humble-bit-of-cutlery-and-some-song-lyrics/
Before I dive into this little Baldur's Gate 3 revelation—this article contains big, stonking spoilers for the game's third act. I'm talking about twists that are of major importance to a key figure in the game's plot—you have been warned, adventurer. The third act of Baldur's Gate 3 sees a handful of shocking reveals concerning the Guardian, that helpfully dreamy visitor you create at the start of the game.

Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya peels out of Platinum in a Lamborghini after 17 years to start a YouTube channel: 'I'm out of a job. Please subscribe'
https://www.pcgamer.com/bayonetta-creator-hideki-kamiya-peels-out-of-platinum-in-a-lamborghini-after-17-years-to-start-a-youtube-channel-im-out-of-a-job-please-subscribe/
Two weeks after announcing his surprise exit from Platinum Games—the studio he co-founded back in the mid-2000s—Hideki Kamiya has departed in the most Hideki Kamiya way ever. The Bayonetta creator peeled out of Platinum's parking lot in a Lamborghini, announcing that he's "off to the unemployment centre" and starting a brand new YouTube channel.

Battle Royale, but make it WarioWare—this silly demo from Steam's Next Fest lets you rap battle your foes to death as a pigeon (in sunglasses)
https://www.pcgamer.com/battle-royale-but-make-it-wariowarethis-silly-demo-from-steams-next-fest-lets-you-rap-battle-your-foes-to-death-as-a-pigeon-in-sunglasses/
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is flying from the roost later this month, and it's so dumb and stupid I kind of love it. To boil down the concept: imagine Fall Guys, but with rhythm-based minigames in the style of Warioware. You can play a demo of it right now as part of Steam's Next Fest until October 16.

This new indie game mashes up Diablo with Escape From Tarkov in a 'PvPvE fantasy extraction RPG'
https://www.pcgamer.com/this-new-indie-game-mashes-up-diablo-with-escape-from-tarkov-in-a-pvpve-fantasy-extraction-rpg/
Back in February, Elodie Games teased a new co-op action RPG codenamed Project Skies. Today it officially revealed the game, and it's fair to say that things have changed just a little bit between then and now: It's called Seekers of Skyveil, and it's a "PvPvE fantasy extraction RPG" that blends conventional APRG mechanics with an unusual mix of other influences from games like League of Legends and Escape From Tarkov.

Trackmania changes its subs model after belatedly realising it was too generous, dev says it has 'to be realistic'
https://www.pcgamer.com/trackmania-changes-its-subs-model-after-belatedly-realising-it-was-too-generous-dev-says-it-has-to-be-realistic/
Developer Nadeo has announced changes to the Trackmania business model, following the 2020 game's recent re-release on consoles. This iteration of Trackmania was something of a soft reboot for the series (heavily based on Trackmania Nations) and arrived with a free-to-play business model, under which players could access a bunch of the game's features for free and subscribe to access additional community content: "standard" access costing around $10 a year, and "club" access $25 a year.
(...)
In a new post on the game's site Nadeo says the console release has "surpassed our highest expectations in terms of both amount of players and playing time" which means "we need to adapt the quantity of content given for free with the Starter Access". Adapting the quantity of content, of course, means it's been giving too much away. There's even what could be considered a slight backhand at the moaners: Nadeo says it has "to be realistic and compare the situation with the efforts made by the studio".

House Flipper 2's sandbox mode basically looks like The Sims build mode in first person
https://www.pcgamer.com/house-flipper-2s-sandbox-mode-basically-looks-like-the-sims-build-mode-in-first-person/
I'll admit I passed on the original House Flipper craze because I'm not one for job sim games. But I really like to build and decorate houses, which, it turns out, House Flipper 2 is totally prepared to support. House Flipper dev Frozen District has already announced that the sequel would have a sandbox mode, but now it's been shown off in a new trailer. I'm all in this time.

Diablo 4's poor Sorcerers spot a glimmer of hope for the Hydra to the tune of a 400% damage bump—turns out it's likely just to compensate for a bug fix
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4s-poor-sorcerers-spot-a-glimmer-of-hope-for-the-hydra-to-the-tune-of-a-400-damage-bumpturns-out-its-likely-just-to-compensate-for-a-bug-fix/
Diablo 4's sorcerers have had, uh… a bit of a hard time, the poor guys. While they were super promising in the game's beta—with a ton of sorcerous excitement when the game opened its gates—things haven't exactly been smooth sailing since.
(...)
But for some players, hope shines on the horizon with patch 1.2.0—the Hydra, one of the Sorcerer's skills, has received a 400% buff! Well, you know what they say—there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Sites like WoWHead correctly assert that, yes, the summoned Hydra skill has received a 400% increase (from 12% to 60%), but that doesn't tell the whole story.

The Friday news, the last part:

Starfield pioneer murders the same elite enemy 100 times to reach a damning scientific verdict: The loot is bad
https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-murders-the-same-elite-enemy-100-times-to-reach-a-damning-scientific-verdict-the-loot-is-bad/
You ever feel like Starfield's best drops are a bit thin on the ground? Specifically, that its toughest elite enemies seem only ever to drop fairly naff rare and epic weapons instead of the legendary drops that come with three gameplay-altering modifiers? You're not alone, but now, as spotted by GamesRadar, one enterprising player has applied the scientific method to the conundrum.

Dead Island 2 trades zombie fiction for the everyday reality of Silicon Valley by adding a 'billionaire's secret techno-death cult' in its first expansion
https://www.pcgamer.com/dead-island-2-trades-zombie-fiction-for-the-everyday-reality-of-silicon-valley-by-adding-a-billionaires-secret-techno-death-cult-in-its-first-expansion/
Haus, the first story expansion for the zombie beatdown romp Dead Island 2, promises to take players on a journey through a "surreal, psycho-horror dreamscape" as they investigate a previously unknown cult that's fighting to survive (and spread a somewhat dubious vision for the future of humanity) in an all-new region of undead-infested Los Angeles.

You can still play CS:GO, at least if you consider bizarre custom servers where you fight Final Fantasy summons 'playing CS:GO'
https://www.pcgamer.com/you-can-still-play-csgo-at-least-if-you-consider-custom-servers-where-you-fight-final-fantasy-summons-playing-csgo/
The launch of Counter-Strike 2 has been exciting, but it comes with the disappointing caveat that, rather than succeeding CS:GO, it has completely replaced it. Well, almost completely: It's actually still possible to launch CS:GO, and will be indefinitely, although you get a very limited version that may break in the future.
(...)
If you do find yourself a CS:GO community server to join—and there are many still populated—you might be in for a treat, or possibly just bewilderment. People don't generally run custom Counter-Strike servers just to play regular Counter-Strike. They run custom servers to play maps where you "surf" by strafing into angled surfaces, or fight Final Fantasy summons like in Ze FFVII Mako Reactor, one of many bizarre custom maps that seem to defy all game design conventions. (After running around with Master Chiefs, Scout Troopers, and bananas, I got turned into a zombie for reasons I will never comprehend, and then watched the other players cast Ultima and beat up Bahamut.)
>> The article lists several other servers, some with interesting names.

Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is having a crossover with World of Warships for some reason
https://www.pcgamer.com/heroes-of-might-and-magic-3-is-having-a-crossover-with-world-of-warships-for-some-reason/
Previous crossovers in World of Warships have added ships based on Popeye and Warhammer 40,000, as well as Chuck Norris. And yet there's something particularly baffling about the addition of a cast of characters from beloved 1999 turn-based strategy classic Heroes of Might and Magic 3 specifically.

Bobby Kotick to remain Activision CEO 'through the end of 2023' as Microsoft quickly closes acquisition following UK approval
https://www.pcgamer.com/one-of-the-most-drawn-out-tales-in-videogames-is-nearly-at-an-end-as-uk-approval-clears-the-way-for-microsoftactivision-deal-to-close/
And just like that, our shared 21-month slog is over. Long live our new, possibly lifelong slog. In a press release today, titled "Microsoft concession a gamechanger that will promote competition," the UK's Competition and Market Authority (CMA) has announced that it's approving Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, reversing its April decision to block the deal and clearing the way for the deal to close in the very near future.
Update 13/10/2023: Activision Blizzard is officially a Microsoft company. Lightning fast, Microsoft has moved to close the deal after getting the nod from the UK CMA, announcing a grand welcome to "the Legendary Teams at Activision Blizzard King" in a post on the Xbox blog.
In an email to Activision employees uploaded to the Microsoft news site, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick announced that "Phil [Spencer] has asked me to stay on as CEO of ABK, reporting to him, and we have agreed that I will do that through the end of 2023," after which a new, Kotick-less era will begin at the company.

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty used AI to reproduce late Polish voice actor's performance as Viktor Vektor, with the family's blessing
https://www.pcgamer.com/cyberpunk-2077-phantom-liberty-used-ai-to-reproduce-late-polish-voice-actors-performance-as-viktor-vektor-with-the-familys-blessing/
As reported by Bloomberg, it's been revealed that CD Projekt used AI to replicate the voice of the late Miłogost Reczek, who voiced Night City's most reliable ripper doc, Viktor Vektor, in the base game's Polish localisation back in 2020.
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CD Projekt's localisation director Mikołaj Szwed says they had considered hiring a new actor to retroactively dub over Reczek's work from the base game: "We didn’t like [that] approach … This way we could keep his performance in the game and pay tribute to his wonderful performance as Viktor Vektor."
The studio obtained the blessing of Rezeck's family, who Szwed describes as "very supportive" of the decision, to use a voice-cloning AI named Respeecher—meaning CD Projekt likely hired a voice actor to record the character's new lines in Phantom Liberty, then altered it to match Rezeck's original performance.

Diablo 4 will be Steam Deck ready when it leaves its Battle.net exclusivity next week, confirms community director
https://www.pcgamer.com/diablo-4-will-be-steam-deck-ready-when-it-leaves-its-battlenet-exclusivity-next-week-confirms-community-director/
Diablo 4's leap to Steam—alongside other games like Overwatch 2—is welcome news to gamers wanting to keep their rigs launcher-slim. Adam Fletcher, the game's Global Community Development Director, has fully confirmed on Twitter that the game will be coming Steam Deck verified next Tuesday.

Finally, let's check the weekend deals at GOG and Steam:
+GOG

• The only Deal of the Day is Brütal Legend, 75% off during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/brutal_legend
• Publisher Frogwares puts its games on sale with up to 90% discounts during 3 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20231012_frogwares_publisher_sale
• Cyan Worlds also puts its games on sale, up to 90% off until October, 16th: https://www.gog.com/en/games?developers=cyan-worlds
• And finally there's the Microids Publisher Sale, with (once again) up to 90% discounts during the next 9 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20231013_microids_publisher_sale

+Steam

• Carrier Command 2 will be 30% off until the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1489630/Carrier_Command_2/
• Stormworks: Build and Rescue gets a 40% discount until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/573090/Stormworks_Build_and_Rescue/
• Forts will be free to try during the weekend and 50% off until Thursday, the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/410900/Forts/
• The COMPLETE SUPERHOT Bundle, with three games, will be 73% off until October, 19th. The individual games are also on sale, between 60 and 70% off: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/13218/THE_COMPLETE_SUPERHOT_BUNDLE/
• Green Hell gets a 40% discount until the 23rd of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/815370/Green_Hell/
• The Battlefield franchise is on sale, up to 84-85% off until the 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/battlefield-franchise
• The Jagex Publisher Sale features up to 90% discounts, but there's no mention of how long this sale will last: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/jagexpubsale2023
• Also, while the number of games on sale are less than a handful, the PAX Australia 20023 Expo is a good place to find lots of upcoming games you may not know about yet: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/paxaus2023

And that's it. Enough news for the week, now it's time relax, and that's why I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.