Sounds like a delay is coming for AC Shadows.

Around 55% PC Users Find AMD Ryzen 9000 “Zen 5” CPUs To Be ‘Mediocre’, Reveals 3DCenter Poll

https://wccftech.com/most-pc-users-find-ryzen-9000-cpus-mediocre/

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K 14 Core CPU Up To 4% Faster In Cinebench R23 Benchmark Leak Versus 14600K But With 30% Fewer Threads

https://wccftech.com/intel-core-ultra-5-245k-14-core-cpu-faster-cinebench-leak-versus-14600k-with-fewer-threads/

NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs See Widespread Price Drops From UK Retailers

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-40-series-gpus-widespread-price-drops-uk-retailers/

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme might feature 8 cores

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-ryzen-z2-extreme-might-feature-8-cores

I haven't bought an AC game since Black Flag. Just lost interest in the series. It feels like COD. Too many, too quickly and they all follow the same cookie cutter template. AC hasn't felt innovative in a very long time.

Elon musk already gave up and backed down  in Brazil.

Yep. Despite selling a million in a few days it's very likely a lot of people held back on Outlaws because an awful lot of people expect a Ubisoft game to be broken at launch. AC is of course a bigger franchise but it must have been extra broken to merit a delay.

AMD Ryzen 9000 “Zen 5” CPU See Further Price Cuts At Microcenter: 9950X $589, 9900X $439, 9700X $319

https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-9000-zen-5-cpu-see-price-cuts-9950x-589-9900x-439-9700x-319/

NVIDIA’s Blackwell To Power OpenAI’s Cutting-Edge o1 LLM Model, Credits To The 50x Uplift In Inferencing Capabilities

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-blackwell-power-openai-o1-llm-model-50x-uplift-inferencing-capabilities/

Intel Arc Battlemage “G21” GPU With 20 Xe2 Cores, 12 GB Memory & 2850 MHz Clock Speed Benchmarked

https://wccftech.com/intel-arc-battlemage-with-20-xe2-cores-12-gb-2850-mhz-clock-speed-benchmarked/

Intel “Nova Lake” with Coyote Cove, Xeon “Diamond Rapids” gets Panther Cove X cores

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-nova-lake-with-coyote-cove-xeon-diamond-rapids-gets-panther-cove-x-cores

Welcome to today’s edition of the news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

I suspected GOG was unto something when there was no new Weekly Sale yesterday, and for once I was right: the Autumn Sale is live! Over 5000 titles are on sale with up to 95% discounts until October 8.

Steam, meanwhile, has two new deals (their Autumn Sake won’t start until late November, and they have other things planned before that):

• Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom, that has a demo, will be 40% off until the 1st of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2011780/Yellow_Taxi_Goes_Vroom/
• Dungeons 4 - Deluxe Edition, but not the regular edition, features a 34% discount that will last until October 8: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1643310/Dungeons_4/

Fanatical presents the Ulyimate Mystery Bundle, with up to 25 unknown games to grab: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/ultimate-mystery-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

After Bethesda kicked it off Doom's mod browser for 'real world politics', Thatcher's Techbase creators engage in masterful malicious compliance with a censored re-release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/after-bethesda-kicked-it-off-doom-s-mod-browser-for-real-world-politics-thatcher-s-techbase-creators-engage-in-masterful-malicious-compliance-with-a-censored-re-release/
Bethesda, on the face of it, seems really keen to give off the impression that it's all about modders using its games to express themselves. Unless, of course, you make a mod that consigns the former, late prime minister Margaret Thatcher to "The Tenth Circle of Hell: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." In which case, it's to the dungeon with thee. .
After being served an "educational" notice, the creators of a Doom mod by the name of Thatcher's Techbase had their .wav stricken from the record of Doom + Doom 2, a bundle that introduces cross-platform, in-game mod support.
Good news, though! Thatcher's Techbase is getting a re-release on the official store. I am, however, going to have to call it [REDACTED] Techbase, because I'm worried the characters used in the tweet below might break something on our poor website.
"To celebrate its 3rd birthday, I am rereleasing THATCHER'S TECHBASE for 'DOOM+DOOM 2'! However, in light of the recent Educational Notice received from Bethesda, all real-world politics have now been removed."
The result is an utter masterclass in malicious compliance—something that manages to be an even more biting political satire than the original, which mostly just put the face of the famously anti-union political leader in Hell, and let you blow up demons with rockets while pondering the economic impacts of her decade in power.
Now, in a pleasantly Streisand effect-adjacent move, [REDACTED] Techbase serves as a giant middle finger to Bethesda's staunchly anti-politics stance. Clumsily-pixelated enemies, censor signs with comic sans, haphazard smiley face stickers and—perhaps my favourite addition—the swapping out of a poster that reads "Victory to the Miners" to "Victory for the Gamers". It's about time!
>> The article has some screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered is coming to PC on December 10th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/legacy-of-kain-soul-reaver-1-2-remastered-is-coming-to-pc-on-december-10th/
According to a leak back in July, Crystal Dynamics was preparing remasters of the first two Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver games. And it’s official. Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered is real, and it will be coming to PC on December 10th.

Unreal Engine 5-powered Death Stranding/Dark Souls hybrid, Hell is Us, gets new gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/unreal-engine-5-powered-death-stranding-dark-souls-hybrid-hell-is-us-gets-new-gameplay-trailer/
NACON has released a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming Unreal Engine 5-powered game that is heavily inspired by Death Stranding and Dark Souls, Hell is Us.

ArcheAge Chronicles is a new online action RPG, coming to PC in 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/archeage-chronicles-is-a-new-online-action-rpg-coming-to-pc-in-2025/
Kakao Games has just announced a new online action RPG for PS5 and PC, called ArcheAge Chronicles. ArcheAge Chronicles is set 50 years after the original ArcheAge.

DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS will be released on January 17th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/dynasty-warriors-origins-will-be-released-on-january-17th/
KOEI Tecmo has announced that DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS will be released on January 17th, 2025. To celebrate this announcement, the publisher shared a new gameplay trailer, which you can find below.

Monster Hunter Wilds is coming to PC on February 28th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/monster-hunter-wilds-is-coming-to-pc-on-february-28th/
Capcom has announced that its latest Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter Wilds, will be released on February 28th, 2025. To celebrate this announcement, the team has also shared a new gameplay trailer which you can find below.
>> And it will be either the prettiest game ever, or one of the worst optimized ones, given what that its system requirements ask for.

Here’s the State of Play 2024 gameplay trailer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heres-the-state-of-play-2024-gameplay-trailer-for-dragon-age-the-veilguard/
At today’s State of Play 2024 event, EA presented a new gameplay trailer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This trailer packs 4 brand new minutes of gameplay action. So, make sure to watch it if you are a fan of the series.

Sony officially announced one of the most pointless and unnecessary remasters you can think of
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/sony-officially-announced-one-of-the-most-pointless-and-unnecessary-remasters-you-can-think-of/
At its State of Play 2024 event, Sony officially announced a remaster for Horizon: Zero Dawn. Horizon: Zero Dawn came out on PC in 2020. And, at least in my opinion, this is one of the most unnecessary and pointless remasters I can think of.

Infinity Nikki Reunion Playtest begins on October 8th on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/infinity-nikki-reunion-playtest-begins-on-october-8th-on-pc/
PaperGames has announced that a Reunion Playtest for Infinity Nikki will be launched on October 8th. This Playtest will be available on PC, and below you can find a new trailer for it. This trailer features PC gameplay footage (as you can see the PC keyboard controls at the end of it).

Konami has finally fixed Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1 on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/konami-has-finally-fixed-metal-gear-solid-master-collection-vol-1-on-pc/
Konami has released a new major update for the PC version of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.1. Title Update 2.0.0 brings new PC controls to MGS2 and MGS3, and adds new rendering settings. Oh, and you can finally enjoy MGS2 with Keyboard and Mouse.

Wednesday news, part two:

Don't Nod is 'temporarily pausing' work on two new games after sales of Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden fall 'well below expectations'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dont-nod-is-temporarily-pausing-work-on-two-new-games-after-sales-of-jusant-and-banishers-ghosts-of-new-eden-fall-well-below-expectations/
French game studio Don't Nod, best known as the developer of the first two Life is Strange games, is "temporarily pausing" work on two in-development projects and refocusing the design of two others after sales of Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden fell well short of expectations.

Three months after bringing Wayfinder back to Steam, Airship Syndicate announces more layoffs but says future development will continue
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/three-months-after-bringing-wayfinder-back-to-steam-airship-syndicate-announces-more-layoffs-but-says-future-development-will-continue/
Three months after bringing the action RPG Wayfinder back to Steam, developer Airship Syndicate has laid off 16 more employees but says it remains "committed to delivering the Wayfinder roadmap."

Ghost of Tsushima sequel Ghost of Yōtei announced—no word yet on a PC release, but the last one took several years to make the jump
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/ghost-of-yotei-announcement/
Ghost of Yōtei, a sequel to 2020 Sucker Punch samurai game Ghost of Tsushima, was announced with a trailer (embedded above) during today's Sony State of Play livestream.
Ghost of Tsushima came to PC earlier this year, and we gave it an 81% in our review, calling it "a thrilling and engaging samurai epic." Given that it took a few years to find its way to our platform, don't expect to be playing Ghost of Yōtei on PC in 2025, when its PS5 launch is due. As usual for big PlayStation announcements, the console version is the focus right now.
>> And, as it’s usual for my part, I won’t post any more news about this game until it’s officially announced for PC.

Playing PowerWash Simulator improves mood, Oxford researchers find, though not as much as sex
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/oxford-study-finds-that-playing-powerwash-simulator-improves-mood-though-not-as-much-as-sex/
I really appreciate the principled refusal of research scientists to let casual truths remain casual. A group at Oxford has asked, more or less: Do people feel good when they play PowerWash Simulator? And the answer they got was: Yep, over 70% of PowerWash Simulator players feel good when they play PowerWash Simulator.

After 2 years of silence, Hell is Us makes a surprise reappearance at Sony's State of Play showcase
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/after-2-years-of-silence-hell-is-us-makes-a-surprise-reappearance-at-sonys-state-of-play-showcase/
In April 2022, Deus Ex: Human Revolution art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletete unveiled his new project, a third-person descent into awfulness called Hell is Us, in development at Mordheim: City of the Damned studio Rogue Factor. It was supposed to be out sometime in 2023, and obviously that didn't happen—in fact, not much at all has happened on the public-facing front since then. But now it's back, with a 2025 release target and a debut gameplay trailer that appeared at today's State of Play showcase.

The Midnight Walk, the handcrafted-in-clay nightmarish horror game shown at State of Play, is also coming to PC—thank god
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/the-midnight-walk-the-handcrafted-in-clay-nightmarish-horror-game-shown-at-state-of-play-is-also-coming-to-pcthank-god/
I only tuned into Sony's State of Play last night to see if those unfounded rumours of Resident Evil 9 getting shown were true, and while that was obviously a complete disappointment, I was happy to get a look at a new upcoming horror game, The Midnight Walk. 
I'll never pass up on a horror game, but The Midnight Walk looks particularly interesting thanks to it being entirely handcrafted in clay it's really giving out the vibes of if Sackboy was made by Tim Burton. 

Starlight Re:Volver trades out Diablo's demons and gore for magical girls and sparkles, and I couldn't be more excited for it
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/starlight-revolver-trades-out-diablos-demons-and-gore-for-magical-girls-and-sparkles-and-i-couldnt-be-more-excited-for-it/
I don't know why the hell it's taken someone this long to say "What if we Sailor Moon'd the hell out of an ARPG?" but Pahdo Labs has only gone and done it with its upcoming game Starlight Re:Volver. With a delightfully colourful cast rooted in old-school magical girl vibes, it's a welcome change from the usual dark and gritty aesthetic that's so prevalent among the genre.

While Dragon Age: The Veilguard's romances might not reach bear-tier, its game director promises they'll be appropriately saucy: 'You may or may not wake up in a coffin'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dragon-age/while-dragon-age-the-veilguard-s-romances-might-not-reach-bear-tier-its-game-director-promises-they-ll-be-appropriately-saucy-you-may-or-may-not-wake-up-in-a-coffin/
It's a new age for RPGs. Gone are the days of chaste kisses and clandestine hand-holding of our innocent past, now we're rolling around with bears and getting nasty with Gith. I kid, of course. Dragon Age: Origins had plenty of smut back in 2009 and, if you played your cards right, let you saddle for some group fun with Leliana, Zevran, and Isabela.
Still, Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn't going to fall behind in this arms race, even if we don't know whether there'll be even a schlong in it, because that's an industry secret-slash-spoiler, apparently.
That's as per an IGN interview with game director Corinne Busche, who promises a wide variety of flavours of the eligible consort: "Some of them are quite sensual. Some of them are more physical, some are more romantic, some are more spicy," Busch says, before casually dropping the mental fleshbang of "you may or may not wake up in a coffin."

My most anticipated extraction shooter of the year just launched in early access and the community is now fighting over the importance of regular hydration
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/my-most-anticipated-extraction-shooter-of-the-year-just-launched-in-early-access-and-the-community-is-now-fighting-over-the-importance-of-regular-hydration/
We've got a lot of extraction shooter aficionados at PC Gamer, but I've never really been able to find one to float my boat. Then I got to check out The Forever Winter, an ambitious, improbably gloomy PvE extraction romp with heavy survival vibes and a penchant for ruthlessly murdering players—and it turned out that was exactly what I was looking for. 
It hit early access yesterday, and I managed to survive a few scavenging hunts last night. I love it, but like a lot of multiplayer early access ventures, it's still got plenty of kinks to work out. It's sitting at a Mixed rating on Steam at the moment, largely because of performance issues. I've not actually had to deal with any myself, but I'm also running it on a pretty beefy rig with an RTX 4090 and an Intel i9-13900k. 

'Dive into the world of Control through the lens of Alan Wake': The upcoming Lake House expansion is rolling out just in time for Halloween
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/dive-into-the-world-of-control-through-the-lens-of-alan-wake-the-upcoming-lake-house-expansion-is-rolling-out-just-in-time-for-halloween/
We've known about The Lake House expansion for almost a year now, but boy, is it great to finally see it in the flesh. The Lake House is the second expansion coming to Alan Wake 2, and while the first DLC, Night Springs, lets players dive into a fictional TV show, The Lake House will unravel the catastrophic event that took place within the Federal Bureau of Control's research station come this October. 

Yeah, I read that the other day. Quite stupid if you ask me, as the damage is already done. It's why I said if he would do the same in California or will have learned the lesson and comply with the law or if he'll try to make a circus again.

And AC Shadows is delayed to 14 February 2025.

Ubisoft updates its financial targets for FY2024-25
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/25/2953181/0/en/Ubisoft-updates-its-financial-targets-for-FY2024-25.html
Assassin’s Creed Shadows will now be released on 14 February 2025. While the game is feature complete, the learnings from the Star Wars Outlaws release led us to provide additional time to further polish the title. This will enable the biggest entry in the franchise to fully deliver on its ambition, notably by fulfilling the promise of our dual protagonist adventure, with Naoe and Yasuke bringing two very different gameplay styles.

Also

The game will mark the return of our new releases on Steam Day 1.