The news, the second part:

Obviously there should be a city-builder about penguins, so try the demo for this one
https://www.pcgamer.com/obviously-there-should-be-a-city-builder-about-penguins-so-try-the-demo-for-this-one/
An upcoming city builder asks the hard, important questions we all like to ask sometimes: What if penguins built a city? Wouldn't that be cool? United Penguin Kingdom says that yes, in fact, that would be pretty cool. You can try it for free, today, via a demo version on Steam called United Penguin Kingdom: Huddle Up, which includes about an hour and a half of gameplay covering the first year of a penguin settlement.

Factorio pretty much rewrote its world generation to account for new planets—like this volcanic one
https://www.pcgamer.com/factorio-pretty-much-rewrote-its-world-generation-code-to-account-for-new-worldslike-this-volcanic-one/
Factorio's upcoming Space Age expansion and the free Factorio 2.0 update that goes with it means a lot for the factory-building game, especially because the effort on developer Wube Software's part to update many game systems and the underlying code base have made huge changes to what's possible inside Factorio.

Remake of strange, rare R-Type Tactics 1 & 2 to release in Fall 2024
https://www.pcgamer.com/remake-of-strange-rare-r-type-tactics-1-and-2-to-release-in-fall-2024/
The modernized and remade PC version of tactical shoot 'em up R-Type Tactics 1 and 2 is clearly not coming this year as previously listed. Developer Granzella has announced that R-Type Tactics I - II Cosmos is in fact coming in fall 2024, instead, during a recent livestream.
>> The article is one year old... ok, not really, it's just from last Friday.

Buckle up, the developer of Cruelty Squad is making a game about thoughtcrime cops with mechs
https://www.pcgamer.com/buckle-up-the-developer-of-cruelty-squad-is-making-a-game-about-thoughtcrime-cops-with-mechs/
Creator Consumer Softproducts is back, folks, with a creatively upsetting and extremely intriguing idea for another hybrid FPS and Immersive Sim: Psycho Patrol R, a game that has you as a mech-piloting cop with some kind of almost-surely-upsetting superpowers.

Grim fantasy retro-RPG Skald: Against the Black Priory has a new demo ahead of a spring 2024 release
https://www.pcgamer.com/grim-fantasy-retro-rpg-skald-against-the-black-priory-has-a-new-demo-ahead-of-a-spring-2024-release/
After a few years of development teases, retro-style RPG Skald: Against the Black Priory has a release window: spring 2024. The party-based RPG has been touted as an example of marrying a retro aesthetic—Commodore 64 era, in this case—with a more modern style of game and interface design.
To go along with the announcement that it's coming in spring, Skald has released an updated demo that has a lot of really improved visuals and interface elements from what was released in January of this year. That's alongside the new trailer, on YouTube and above, that shows off the updated looks and gameplay.

Delve a hopeless dungeon and die of despair in indie action RPG Into the Necrovale
https://www.pcgamer.com/delve-a-hopeless-dungeon-and-die-of-despair-in-indie-action-rpg-into-the-necrovale/
An upcoming action RPG sends a condemned criminal into the depths of a forsaken land in order to get loot and save and/or destroy the world. Into the Necrovale is listed as Coming Soon on Steam, but it has a pretty healthy demo that you can try immediately.

Hardcore survival shooter Road to Vostok is looking really good after switching engines from Unity to Godot
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardcore-survival-shooter-road-to-vostok-is-looking-really-good-after-switching-engines-from-unity-to-godot/
Highly anticipated (at least around here) survival shooter Road to Vostok has a brand new demo out. It's a lot like the old public demo, indeed the developer calls it Public Demo 1 Version 3, with one huge caveat: Road to Vostok now runs on the Godot game engine rather than Unity.
The in-development post-apocalyptic shooter is set in an abandoned border zone between Finland and Russia, with you as the protagonist trying to cross from one side to another. The game vision requires advanced, fast 3D rendering and a strong physics engine—concerns that mean the underlying game engine is very important.

Square Enix's new years resolution is to become 'aggressive in applying AI', and I'm very tired
https://www.pcgamer.com/square-enixs-new-years-resolution-is-to-become-aggressive-in-applying-ai-and-im-very-tired/
After singing its fingers on the hot stove of NFTs, Square Enix has decided to go in for another cheeky touch with AI—as stated by the company's new president Takashi Kiryu in a New Year's letter to his employees.
"I believe that generative AI has the potential not only to reshape what we create, but also to fundamentally change the processes by which we create, including programming," writes Kiryu. He's not necessarily wrong. AI technologies could hypothetically aid artists, writers, and programmers—though often in understated and boring ways, a far cry from the revolutionary 'democratisation of art' its strongest advocates dream of.

SSD Prices To Skyrocket By 50% In 2024 As Manufacturers Implement Large-Scale Price Bumps

https://wccftech.com/ssd-nand-prices-skyrocket-by-50-percent-2024/

Thankfully my ssd needs got settled on prime day last year

NVIDIA teases new GeForce cards on the horizon, RTX 40 SUPER incoming

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-teases-new-geforce-cards-on-the-horizon-rtx-40-super-incoming

AMD Ryzen 5 8600G Zen4 desktop APU to feature 2.8 GHz Radeon 760M “RDNA3” graphics

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-5-8600g-zen4-desktop-apu-to-feature-2-8-ghz-radeon-760m-rdna3-graphics

After a mild setback for my PC plans around April or May (can't remember), that's one of the few things I've taken care of because of the news and talk about NAND prices going up this year. I also have to take care of the RAM, that is also expected to rise in price in 2024, and I hope I'll do that soon.

The games for Humble Choice January 2024 have been revealed.

• Marvel's Midnight Suns Digital+ Edition + Doctor Strange Defenders Skin (DLC)
• Two Point Campus
• Aragami 2
• OTXO
• Roguebook
• The Red Lantern
• Hell Pie
• Twin Mirror

A bit of mixed bag for me. On the one hand I am happy with Midnight Suns and Two Point Campus, and on the other I own four of the other games already.

I wouldn't mind a 2/4TB SSD, but the 1TB drive is serving me fine with lots of spinning rust storage to support it.

And with 128GB of Ram in my Desktop and 64GB in my laptop, I have no rushing desire to get more.

I got my Gen 4 2TB SSD last summer for 85€, looks like I bought that one just in time then

The news, all in one post:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store gives away A Plague Tale: Innocence: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/a-plague-tale-innocence.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Krein, a large-scale story-driven DLC-sized mod, comes to Skyrim Special Edition
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/krein-story-driven-dlc-mod-skyrim-special-edition/
In November 2023, we informed you about a cool Skyrim mod called Krein. Krein is like a big, story-filled expansion for the game. And guess what? Now it’s also available for download on the Special Edition.
Krein is a fully-fledged new adventure across various landscapes and worlds. It’s as big as the official Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim. The cool part is, it feels like it’s part of the game world already. Yeap, the modding team has seamlessly integrated it into the game’s world.
According to the team, it includes over two dozen quests. It also comes with dozens of original puzzles and boss battles. Players can also expect various new worlds to explore. Plus, the mod has lots of collectible weapons and armor, and it comes with an original soundtrack.
>> The article has an over 15 minutes long video.

GAMING NEWS

Popular Slay the Spire mod hacked to deliver malware on Christmas Day
https://www.pcgamer.com/popular-slay-the-spire-mod-hacked-to-deliver-malware-on-christmas-day/
A popular Slay the Spire mod called Downfall was compromised over the holidays, and used to push malware to users via a Steam update. The malware in question is called Epsilon and is used to steal information from infected hardware, and was present in the standalone version of the mod on Steam for around an hour on Christmas Day.
The attackers compromised one of the mod's developers' Steam and Discord accounts, allowing access to the mod's Steam account. The Epsilon malware is frequently used on Discord, often packaged with a game executable, and once installed runs in the background harvesting the hardware's cookies, and any saved passwords or credit card information on the device or stored by browsers (everything from Google Chrome to Vivaldi).

'If [money] is an issue, pirate it and buy a copy later': the devs of our favourite surprise horror hit want you to play it spoiler free—by any means necessary
https://www.pcgamer.com/if-money-is-an-issue-pirate-it-and-buy-a-copy-later-the-devs-of-our-favourite-surprise-horror-hit-want-you-to-play-it-spoiler-freeby-any-means-necessary/
Slay the Princess is one of our favourite unexpected hits from this year. It's a choose-your-own adventure style narrative game about a dutiful mission to (you guessed it) slay a princess.
(...)
The devs go on to write: "you can only play for the first time once, and the experience won't be the same if you're looking through the lens of someone else's choices." What's more, they even recommended piracy as an option in case your wallet's too thin. "If $ is an issue, pirate it and buy a copy later when you have money if you liked it!"

The Sinking City legal battle ends with victory for Frogwares, new version of the game 'coming soon'
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-sinking-city-legal-battle-ends-with-victory-for-frogwares-new-version-of-the-game-coming-soon/
Following a drawn-out legal dispute with original publisher Nacon, Ukrainian studio Frogwares has announced that it is now the one true publisher of the Lovecraft-inspired detective adventure The Sinking City, and that a new version of the game "with all the latest bug fixes and optimizations" is coming soon.

Mickey Mouse has been in the public domain for under 48 hours and there's already a horror game and 2 horror movies on the way
https://www.pcgamer.com/mickey-mouse-horror-game-public-domain/
After multiple changes to US law that kept it copyrighted for nearly 100 years, 1928 Disney cartoon Steamboat Willie—which contains the first appearances of Mickey and Minnie Mouse—is now in the public domain.
And what do we do when a beloved children's character becomes available to use in new creative works? We make them into monsters. Three Mickey-themed horror projects have already been announced, one game and two movies.

Disney says Star Wars Outlaws coming 'late this year,' then quickly takes it back
https://www.pcgamer.com/disney-says-star-wars-outlaws-coming-late-this-year-then-quickly-takes-it-back/
For a brief period of time earlier today, it looked very much like Ubisoft's open-world heist game Star Wars Outlaws would be out sometime near the end of 2024. The word came by way of a Disney Parks blog post, and while it's not quite a specific date, it's definitely more precise than what we previously knew—that it's expected out sometime in 2024.

Baldur's Gate 3 completes its Game of the Year sweep with top honor in the 2023 Steam Awards
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-completes-its-game-of-the-year-sweep-with-top-honor-in-the-2023-steam-awards/
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Baldur's Gate 3 has claimed the Game of the Year award in the 2023 Steam Awards, along with the crown for Outstanding Story-Rich Game. It probably would have won even more, but the Steam Awards rules limit games to nominations in a maximum of two categories, presumably to avoid any across-the-board ass-kickings.

'We begged for more information, more details … all flatly declined': former Blizzard community development manager tears into Bobby Kotick over Overwatch 2's Steam launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/we-begged-for-more-information-more-details-all-flatly-declined-former-blizzard-community-development-manager-tears-into-bobby-kotick-over-overwatch-2s-steam-launch/
Activision-Blizzard's transfer over to the growing empire of Microsoft has been a bit of a drama, to say the least—but it's all over now, its curtains called with the departure of the company's former CEO Bobby Kotick, exiting stage right.
(...)
Andy Belford (a former senior manager in community development at Blizzard) took to Twitter a few days ago to break his silence on the man himself, particularly regarding Overwatch 2's disastrous Steam launch. The game's Valve debut came at a time of seething community sentiment, sinking its overall review rating to "Overwhelmingly Negative". A black mark that still hasn't been washed away.

A TikToker is trying to deliberately make the worst videogame of all time—and now they're trapped in a hell of their own making
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-tiktoker-is-trying-to-deliberately-make-the-worst-videogame-of-all-timeand-now-theyre-trapped-in-a-hell-of-their-own-making/
I haven't played Monster Sniper Season 3—no one has yet, except its creator—but I can already tell you it's the worst game ever made. That's not a value judgement; it's the stated goal of the project.
Starting in November last year, TikTok creator Everywhere Nowhere has set out to deliberately make the worst videogame they possibly can, combining their own pet peeves with suggestions from commenters. Each video in the series shows the developer adding new dreadful features to the game that make it even worse each time.

A fresh easter egg in WoW teases The War Within, double-confirms that yes: the big sword stuck in the planet is still important
https://www.pcgamer.com/a-fresh-easter-egg-in-wow-teases-the-war-within-double-confirms-that-yes-the-big-sword-stuck-in-the-planet-is-still-important/
The War Within arrives this year—promising to finally address Battle for Azeroth's biggest dangling plot thread: the giant bloody sword that's sticking out of the planet. We know this because of some subtle hints from the expansion's cinematic trailer, like when the camera pans to the giant bloody sword. The one that's sticking out of the planet.

The CCP softens its stance on live service games after plummeting stocks, reportedly removes official responsible for the panic
https://www.pcgamer.com/the-ccp-softens-its-stance-on-live-service-games-after-plummeting-stocks-reportedly-removes-official-responsible-for-the-panic/
The Chinese Communist Party—who had taken aim at free-to-play monetisation schemes just before the holidays—softened its stance. This was after "nearly $80 billion in market value" bled from Tencent (League of Legends) and NetEase (Diablo: Immortal).
(...)
Despite analyst's insistence that the draft rules wouldn't be changed, adjustments were announced later in the month, according to a report from Reuters: "China's video game regulator—the National Press and Publication Administration—has struck a more conciliatory tone, saying it would improve the rules by 'earnestly studying' public views."

Samsung unveils new Odyssey OLED lineup: 27″ 1440p G6, 49″ DQHD G9 and Samsung’s first 32″ flat 4K G8 monitor

https://videocardz.com/newz/samsung-unveils-new-odyssey-oled-lineup-27-1440p-g6-dual-4k-g9-and-samsungs-first-32-flat-4k-g8-monitor

AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT’s China release date uncertain amid RX 6750 GRE series popularity

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-7600-xts-china-release-date-uncertain-amid-rx-6750-gre-series-popularity

NVIDIA & AMD Land Huge Profits For Semiconductor Industry, Reaching The Highest Since 2009

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-amd-huge-profits-for-semiconductor-industry-reaching-highest-since-2009/

AMD Ryzen 7 8700G “Hawk Point” Desktop APU Leak: 8 Zen 4 Cores at 5.1 GHz, & Radeon 780M iGPU at 2.9 GHz

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-7-8700g-hawk-point-apu-leak-8-zen-4-cores-radeon-780m-igpu-2-9-ghz/

I'm not an analyst, but I could have also sais that. I mean, how can Nintendo revolutionize the Switch? It's already a console that's both portable and can connect to the TV, with detachable controllers to play as you wish. Where else can Nintendo go from there?

Better, more powerful hardware, hopefully better controllers and a bigger battery life are things that are almost guaranteed to be present. A bigger but not better (we know it won't be OLED) screen is also very likely, but other than that, I don't know what else could Nintendo do... but I don't have enough imagination to design new products or ways to play games, so who knows.

The only things I could come up with was fitting the console with a USB4/OCuLink port and launch a powered dock with an external GPU down the line, or make the body of the console as small as possible to make it able to turn into a VR headset with an add-on. Both options seem rather unlikely.

*Edit* I forgot about the price of the games: I'm sure third party games will be $70, but Nintendo may keep their own games at current prices during the first couple of years, only raising them later on.