The Friday news:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

It Takes Two has somehow sold an astonishing 20 million copies, Hazelight teases new game with EA
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/it-takes-two-has-somehow-sold-an-astonishing-20-million-copies-hazelight-teases-new-game-with-ea/
Developer Hazelight Studios has announced that It Takes Two, "a brilliant co-op adventure with a wild amount of variety" per our review, has now sold over 20 million copies. The milestone comes roughly three-and-a-half years after the game's release, and is a simply astonishing number for an original two-player experience. It certainly vindicates studio lead Josef Fares' bullish promise to give $1000 to anyone who got bored of it.
It Takes Two has sold well since release, but it has clearly retained momentum long past the point where many games stop selling: possibly because it's such a fun shared experience, and exactly the kind of game I can imagine people recommending to their friends (I know I have). Obviously the critical plaudits didn't hurt either, with the game also garlanded at The Game Awards and the BAFTAS, and it has had some big discounts across the various platforms in this period.
To get down to brass tacks, It Takes Two sold a million copies in the month following launch, with the most recent official figure being 16 million in March this year. So it's shifted four million copies, give or take, in the last six months.

The Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Armored Core Sale features the two editions of Armored Core VI 40% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/armored-core-sale/
• The Hack N' Slash N' Beat N' Shoot 'Em Up Sale has up to 90% discounts during also 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/hack-n-slash-n-beat-n-shoot-em-up-sale/

Fanatical’s new Star Deal is Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, with a 72% discount during 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/totally-accurate-battle-simulator

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

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MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This cool mod adds 80+ dynamic combat styles to Skyrim’s NPCs
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-cool-mod-adds-80-dynamic-combat-styles-to-skyrims-npcs/
Modder ‘Zzyxzz’ has released a pretty cool mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition that adds 80+ dynamic combat styles to its NPCs. Thus, using this mod will make your encounters with your enemies more unpredictable.
Going into more details, the mod distributes the combat styles randomly via SkyPatcher while you play. As such, every combat situation can and will be different. In the vanilla game, a Level 1 Bandit will always have the same combat style. He won’t block much and is not very aggressive, so he’s not a real threat. With SkyTactics on the other hand, every Level 1 Bandit will be different.
Combat Styles also do not persist. They can also change when you reload your save. When dying in combat and reloading a save, it will be less predictable for you, as the NPC styles will change. There are many different combat styles in this mod, each belonging to different categories or factions.
Humans and Draugrs will now have 20 combat styles. On the other hand, Guards and Soldiers will have 10 combat styles. Forsworn will have 14 combat styles. And finally, all bosses will have 4 different combat styles.
All in all, this is a mod we highly recommend using. This will greatly enhance your encounters with the game’s enemies. It will make them more interesting. So, be sure to download it from this link. At the end of the article, you can also find a trailer for it.
>> The trailer is a bit over 3 minutes.

Take a look at Worms Forts: Under Siege with Path Tracing
https://www.dsogaming.com/screenshot-news/take-a-look-at-worms-forts-under-siege-with-path-tracing/
NVIDIA’s Jacob Freeman has shared some screenshots from a WIP RTX Remix Mod for Worms Forts: Under Siege. This mod aims to add Full Ray Tracing/Path Tracing effects to this 3D Worms title. So, let’s take a look at it.
Developed by Team17, Worms Forts: Under Siege came out on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC in 2004. In this game, players can win by either kill the enemy team or destroying the opposing “Stronghold”.
The main features of Worms Forts: Under Siege were its 3D graphics and building system. Players could build forts to protect their team. Each player takes turns to build forts or attack the other team. There are different types of forts, and some give special bonuses that make your team stronger. All the forts must be connected to a big main fort called the “Stronghold.”
There is currently no ETA on when this RTX Remix Mod will come out. Still, it looks promising. Then again, most of the RTX Remix Mods we’ve shared look cool. So, let’s hope that we’ll start getting some of them in the next months.
>> The article has three screenshots.

GAMING NEWS

Cronos: The New Dawn is a new third-person survival horror game by Bloober Team, coming to PC in 2025
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cronos-the-new-dawn-is-a-new-third-person-survival-horror-game-by-bloober-team-coming-to-pc-in-2025/
Bloober Team has announced a new a new third-person survival horror game, called Cronos: The New Dawn. Cronos: The New Dawn is coming to PC in 2025, and below you can find its debut cinematic trailer.

New trailers for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Eternal Strands and more
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-trailers-for-like-a-dragon-pirate-yakuza-in-hawaii-mouse-p-i-for-hire-eternal-strands-and-more/
At its Xbox Partner Preview event, Microsoft shared new trailers for a number of games. So, below you can find the trailers for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, Eternal Strands, EDENS ZERO, Wheel World, and The Legend of Baboo.
>> There is a seventh video, with Subnautica s teaser trailer.

FBC: Firebreak is a co-op FPS, set in the world of Remedy’s CONTROL
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/fbc-firebreak-is-a-co-op-fps-set-in-the-world-of-remedys-control/
Remedy and Microsoft have just announced a new co-op FPS game that will be set in the world of CONTROL, called FBC: Firebreak. The game will be coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S in 2025, and below you can find its debut trailer.

Souls-like action RPG, WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers, looks amazing in its latest gameplay trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/souls-like-action-rpg-wuchang-fallen-feathers-looks-amazing-in-its-latest-gameplay-trailer/
505 Games has shared a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming Souls-like action RPG, WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers. In this trailer, we get to take a taste of the game’s combat. So, if you are a fan of the genre, you should definitely check it out.

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is another UE5 game that supports Hardware Lumen on PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/articles/a-quiet-place-the-road-ahead-is-another-ue5-game-that-supports-hardware-lumen-on-pc/
Saber Interactive has just released A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead on PC. The game uses Unreal Engine 5 and, to my surprise, it’s another title that supports Hardware Lumen on PC.

Friday news, part number two:

2K reveals free-to-play hero shooter Project Ethos, an extraction game with a minor 'roguelike' twist
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/2ks-first-free-to-play-hero-shooter-is-project-ethos-an-extraction-game-with-a-minor-roguelike-twist/
2K Games has finally joined its competitors: It has a hero shooter. (Aside from the defunct Battleborn, that is.) The company flew a few dozen streamers (and me and a couple other press) to LA this week to unveil Project Ethos, an upcoming free-to-play competitive game that it's calling a "roguelike hero shooter."

The 5 most popular Steam Next Fest demos are all multiplayer because the people thirst for PvP
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-5-most-popular-steam-next-fest-demos-are-all-multiplayer-because-the-people-thirst-for-pvp/
'Tis the season to gorge ourselves on a bunch of demos for upcoming games in the Steam Next Fest and then wait extremely patiently for them to actually launch after Next Fest ends. Steam's twice-yearly demo extravaganza event is well underway this week so I've sneaked a peek at what's popular. It's mostly multiplayer games, which should not surprise me.
>> I’ve tried three, with another one I’ll try later today, and none of them are on that list. What about you?

Former Sony exec says focusing on high-budget blockbusters is 'a death sentence' for the games industry
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/former-sony-exec-says-focusing-on-high-budget-blockbusters-is-a-death-sentence-for-the-games-industry/
Speaking at Gamescom Asia, former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden offered a grim diagnosis for the state of the games industry: AA studios have disappeared, and rising development costs have left the industry in a creative death spiral (via GamesIndustry.biz).

Nidhogg studio 're-reveals' its new project: A stylish action-exploration game where you race bicycles and save the world
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/nidhogg-studio-re-reveals-its-new-project-a-stylish-action-exploration-game-where-you-race-bicycles-and-save-the-world/
Back in 2023, Nidhogg developer Messhof unveiled its new game, a stylish racing game called Ghost Bike that sets players off on a quest to revive the the last of the Ghost Bikes, "magical couriers who rode between the world of the living and the world of the dead." Ghost Bike was re-revealed during today's Xbox showcase with a new title—Wheel World—and, sorry to say, a new, more distant release date: Instead of coming out this year as planned, it's now set for release in early 2025.

Fullbright drops a surprise horror game on Steam, and it's all about giant spiders hiding in disgusting toilets
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/fullbright-drops-a-surprise-horror-game-on-steam-and-its-all-about-giant-spiders-hiding-in-disgusting-toilets/
Fullbright, the studio behind Gone Home and Tacoma—in name, at least—has dropped a surprise new horror game on Steam called Toilet Spiders. In case the title leaves any doubt, this is one you'll definitely want to stay away from if you have a thing about spiders.

Activision says it fixed a 'workaround' in Call of Duty anti-cheat that banned 'a small number of innocent players,' but a cheat maker claims they could ban anyone by typing two words into chat
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/activision-says-it-fixed-a-workaround-in-call-of-duty-anti-cheat-that-banned-a-small-number-of-innocent-players-but-a-cheat-maker-claims-they-could-ban-anyone-by-typing-two-words-into-chat/
The nice thing about automated anti-cheat tools is they can get a lot of good done in a short amount of time. Take Call of Duty's Ricochet anti-cheat, a kernel-level program that's banned hundreds of thousands of cheater accounts in the years since its introduction. The bad thing about automated anti-cheat is that, sometimes, its deep access can be used for evil. Activision revealed today that it recently "disabled a workaround" in its systems that banned innocent players.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 system requirements have been revealed and you won't need a rig upgrade if you can run (all of) last year's COD
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/call-of-duty-black-ops-6-system-requirements-have-been-revealed-and-you-wont-need-a-rig-upgrade-if-you-can-run-all-of-last-years-cod/
If you've been playing all of last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you should be able to run Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 without needing to buy new parts. Miraculously, it seems to take the exact same storage space too, so you can make just enough room for it by deleting the last entry. You'll be better off that way. 

Galaxy-brained NPCs thinking too much were the source of Dragon Dogma 2's performance woes in towns, say devs
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/galaxy-brained-npcs-thinking-too-much-were-the-source-of-dragon-dogma-2s-performance-woes-in-towns-say-devs/
I'm still pretty fond of my time with Dragon's Dogma 2—it's a banging RPG if you're able to look past those weird day-one microtransactions (that didn't even really give you anything good), one that breeds emergent moments of chaos, like your pawns accidentally blowing up your ride because you had the temerity to equip them with a certain spell before a goblin ambush.
There's one issue I can't really excuse it for, though, and that was the baffling performance issues in town. (...)
Well, turns out, Capcom's got the answer—the NPCs were thinking too hard. That's as per a Famitsu interview in the wake of a recent patch, which tidied up some performance woes (thanks, Automaton, for the translation):

'We apologize for not meeting the community's expectations:' Tekken 8 makes a rare acknowledgement of fan backlash after failing to include a $5 stage in its season pass
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/we-apologize-for-not-meeting-the-communitys-expectations-tekken-8-makes-a-rare-acknowledgement-of-fan-backlash-after-failing-to-include-a-usd5-stage-in-its-season-pass/
Tekken 8's monetisation model has been landing Bandai Namco in hot water for a good chunk of this year. Sneaky cash shop introductions first drew fan ire back in February, with the more recent criticism coming as a result of the newest stage, Genmaji Temple, not being included with the game's season pass. 

Square Enix lawyers elbow in to shut down Yoko Taro fan archive, bafflingly, 6 months after he'd thanked its creators for all the love
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/square-enix-lawyers-elbow-in-to-shut-down-yoko-taro-fan-archive-bafflingly-6-months-after-hed-thanked-its-creators-for-all-the-love/
You know, as a Final Fantasy 14 player—a game which happened to have a Nier crossover raid back in Shadowbringers—I've been increasingly confused and alarmed by the wider blunders of Square Enix as a company, and now I've got one more to add to the list.
Accord's Library, a fan website that gathers and archives lore from the Nier and Drakengard games, has been told to shut things down. This was shared on the site's Discord server (thanks, Gamesradar), which reads:
"These past few years have been a pleasure, but we regret to inform you all that we've been contacted by the Square Enix Legal Team. And after some private communications, based on the outlined requirements we have come to the conclusion that Accord's Library must close its doors by the end of the month. While we are sad to have to go, we also must respect the wishes of the Legal Team.

'We are a small team with an indie spirit': Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs say the game won't suck up 100s of hours of your life as they spill the beans on price
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/we-are-a-small-team-with-an-indie-spirit-clair-obscur-expedition-33-devs-say-the-game-wont-suck-up-100s-of-hours-of-your-life-as-they-spill-the-beans-on-price/
Preorders for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 recently went live on Amazon for $49.99, while it's not clear if this was a mistake, the developers have just confirmed that this will be the price once the game releases.
"Pricing that you see from your local retailers is accurate, and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on the game," the game's X post says. "We are a small team with an Indie spirit, and we're creating something we believe is truly special. We aren't an AAA studio, this is our first game, and we want as many people discovering our world as possible."

Metaphor: ReFantazio's director does the smart thing, avoids reading comments as much as possible: 'Constantly looking at reactions isn’t good for your mental health'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/metaphor-refantazios-director-does-the-smart-thing-avoids-reading-comments-as-much-as-possible-constantly-looking-at-reactions-isnt-good-for-your-mental-health/
Metaphor: ReFantazio is, more than anything, a game about democracy and the role a leader has in hearing out the public's woes—good thing director Katsura Hashino isn't a prospective monarch, then, because he (quite sensibly) avoids the doom-scrolling feedback spiral of online comments and reviews.

And these are the GOG and Steam deals for the weekend:

+GOG

• There are only five Limited Time Offers that will last 70 hours:
  • The first one is STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator, still in Early Access, 30% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/stonks9800_stock_market_simulator
  • Blocks That Matter gets a 60% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/blocks_that_matter
  • Them and Us Bundle is going to be 70% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/them_and_us
  • Trash Sailors features an 80% discount: https://www.gog.com/en/game/trash_sailors
  • And Urban Trial Freestyle will be 90% off: https://www.gog.com/en/game/urban_trial_freestyle

+Steam

• Europa Universalis IV will be free to try and 87% off until Wednesday, the 23rd: https://store.steampowered.com/app/236850/Europa_Universalis_IV/
• AutoForge, still in Early Access, gets a 20% discount until the 24th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1960480/AutoForge/
• Farthest Frontier is not only also in Early Access, but it’s also 20% off until October 24th as well: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1044720/Farthest_Frontier/
• ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON is on sale, with a 40% discount until October 24: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1888160/ARMORED_CORE_VI_FIRES_OF_RUBICON/
• Dwarf Fortress will have a 20% discount until the 28th of October: https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/
• Spirit of the North will be 90% off until October, the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1213700/Spirit_of_the_North/
• Publisher Abylight Studios celebrates a Strategy & Pixel Sale, with up to 90% discounts until the 31st: https://store.steampowered.com/developer/Abylight/sale/strategypixelsale
• And the Gamescom Asia 2024 Event is live and has a page with upcoming games, demos and up to 70% discounts. The event lasts until the 20th, but some of the deals will last until November 1st: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/gamescomasia24

Nothing else to add. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

Here's a little something so you can greet the weekend with a smile:

Denuvo opens its own Discord server to rehabilitate its image, has to shut it down 2 days later after players flood in to bully it
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/denuvo-opens-its-own-discord-server-to-rehabilitate-its-image-has-to-shut-it-down-2-days-later-after-players-flood-in-to-bully-it/
You know, were I less committed to the noble crusade of videogame journalism, I'd say there's money to be made in a job where you gently cajole widely reviled people and institutions away from any interaction with the public. I bet you could make six figures just telling loathed organisations the real-life equivalent of 'No, they're saying Boo-urns.'

Today's despised company that bafflingly decided to open the door up to unmediated public engagement? Denuvo. Yep, the DRM software that the whole internet is perpetually angry about (and fair enough, at least some of the time) decided that it should clear the air with consumers by opening up its own Discord (via TechRaptor) where curious onlookers could come and ask it questions about DRM tech. There are FAQs about how Denuvo functions, the latest Denuvo news, and, fatally, channels where passersby can ask Denuvo devs questions, chat, and post memes.

(...)

No prizes for guessing the result. Two days after throwing its doors wide and with "nearly 2,000 people on the server," Denuvo sheepishly returned to X to announce that "as you can imagine, the amount of inappropriate content has made moderation quite challenging for our small team, who are doing this alongside our regular day-to-day work. For that reason, we've decided to make some changes to the server, which we'll be implementing over the next few days. Stay tuned!" No one's been able to post on the server for two days at time of writing.

JUST ANNOUNCED at @Marvel's NYCC panel: Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is coming to PC on January 30, 2025! Wishlist now on Steam and the Epic Games Store. 🕷🕸#SpiderMan2PC #BeGreaterTogether pic.twitter.com/TUuJTBy7ZD

— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) October 18, 2024

Well, some have been playing it for months thanks to the leak and the Brazilian modders.

At least this time they haven't put the PSN account requirement hidden in a corner.

The PSN account requirement makes little sense to me. If they made it optional, almost every PlayStation owner would probably use it anyway, leaving the non-PS owners the interesting case. By forcing non-PS owners to use a PSN account, I don't believe Sony has much to gain, since what benefit could Sony possibly get from requiring an account? It's not like Sony has much to sell to non-PS owners, and forcing them to use an account isn't going to make them much more likely to get a PlayStation either. On the other hand, there's going to be a good number of people that aren't getting games they might otherwise be getting. My guess is that this is at best a very minor win to Sony, but the badwill gained from this nonsense shouldn't be worth it.

The PvP demos were mentioned. I don't really care much for PvP, but I did download the Delta Force demo because I'm interested in the game despite the PvP factor. I haven't tried it yet though, but I should have time this weekend (well I'd better have, because I think the demo won't be available much longer).

The best, or least bad, approach would be the one they did with Ghost of Tsushima, were the single player part was open to all while the multiplayer aspect required the PSN account. At least in my opinion.

I still remember how they said that you wouldn't need a PSN account to play single player games. Yeah, that didn't last long.

I guess boasting PSN gains in their earning calls is more important than selling a few thousand extra copies, and who knows what plans does Sony have for those accounts in the future. Who knows, maybe it's the first step for a future streaming service or whatever.

Its all about bragging about the numbers to investors. By adding the requirement for PSN accounts, that tallies alongside the number PSN users on actual Playstations.

Me when PSN required:

I was lucky I bought Days Gone and HZD a few years back before Sony went on their crazy PSN enforcement spree. If they don't want my money, that's fine by me. 

I just think that Sony saw what MS was doing and they thought they could do it, but use Steam instead.

MS has their very own storefront and even App client (one is built into the OS, the other can be downloaded and used optionally), with their account system baked into Windows. Sony on the other hand has none of that, so they've just gone ahead to start sucking on Steam like a bit of a hungry leech.

I say leech, because when you step back and look at what they're doing, stuff like deciding to remove games of theirs left and right, slapping in PSN enforcement on whatever they own, and also slapping on their own Overlay/Trophy/Account system within their games on the Steam platform.

Steam has their own features, their own overlay and such, and that has worked for the majority of us for years, and it even gets updated a few times a year. The last thing anyone asked for on PC, was to have 2 overlays for a game, as well as two account and two achievement systems slapped on top of one publisher's brand of games. If anything I've seen people on Steam forums begging Ubisoft to add in Steam cheevos for their games on Steam, but they have never asked "Ubisoft, can you please slap your UPlay dashboard and trophy system on top of Steam's one?".

Sony adding in an overlay/trophy system and requiring we use PSN on PC, is not going to give us that 1:1 PS experience, why you ask?, because we're playing it on PC, a non Sony platform, a platform that also isn't a closed box owned by Sony, so we're not even playing on their hardware to truly make it "official PlayStation". You're getting a watered down and wonky experience at best, and I've no idea why anyone on earth would settle for that kind of half arsed experience.