It’s time for the Friday news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Fanatical’s new Star Deal is Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG, with a 95% deal during “24 hours”: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/encased-a-sci-fi-post-apocalyptic-rpg.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Noting to see here-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

This Mod Restores Content From Dying Light 2’s E3 2019 Demo
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-restores-content-from-dying-light-2-e3-2019-demo/
Dying Light 2 fans, here is something for you today. Long Jump Collective has released a demo for its project that attempts to restore content from Dying Light 2’s E3 2019 demo. By using this mod, you can finally get a taste of the E3 2019 demo, something that a lot will find cool.
According to the modding team, this mod packs big changes in graphics/postprocessing, gameplay, and weather. It also includes UI/UX, NPC models, parkour, and textures that were present in the E3 2019 demo.
Do note that this demo does NOT include map edits, story, or lore elements. However, the modding team claimed that these features are still under intense development. So, we might one day get the ultimate E3 2019 Demo, complete with story and lore elements.
You can go ahead and download the mod from this link. Do note that this mod is only compatible with the game’s DX11 version. It will not work with DX12 and Ray Tracing. So, make sure to set your API to DX11, and to turn off AsyncCompute. This demo is basically a WIP beta build. Thus, you will most likely experience a number of bugs and glitches.
>> The article has a less than 5 minutes video.

If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/if-you-missed-it-over-the-holidays-this-noir-half-life-2-mod-turns-you-into-a-hardboiled-detective-in-prohibition-era-chicago/
Hear me out. Let's say instead of violent nerd Gordon Freeman wasting alien invaders in City 17, Half-Life 2 was actually about a gritty hardboiled detective fighting corruption in Prohibition-era Chicago. That's the concept behind The Burton Equation, a Half-Life 2 mod you may have missed because it came out on Steam between Christmas and New Year's.
Don't worry, though: Burton does just as much shooting as Gordon Freeman does, only he gets to use a weapon even cooler than the gravity gun: the drum-fed Thompson submachine gun, otherwise known as the Tommy gun. You haven't lived until you've stood in the headlights of a Model T and chewed up a handful of Metro cops with a Tommy gun.
So, what are the Combine doing in Chicago in the 1920s? Don't worry about the finer details of the plot, okay? A crime boss named Fabreen is running the city, and his Combine Metro cops act more like a gang than interdimensional invaders, strolling around the city in fedoras and trench coats. Detective Zachary Burton (that's you) has had enough of Fabreen's corruption, and after a visit from a mysterious dame, decides to do something about it.
Burton's plan is not all that complicated: Half-Life 2 is a shooter, after all, so Burton just starts shooting. In lovely black and white, accompanied by Burton's gritty narration, you make your way through the gloom and rain of gangland Chicago, icing every Combine you see.
But Half-Life 2 isn't just a shooter, it's a sci-fi shooter, and there's a few subtle bits of sci-fi woven into Burton's hardboiled, lead-filled quest for justice. Such as, well, time travel. Fabreen is one slippery gangster, and once you've back him into a corner he starts jumping through time, leading Burton on a merry chase through the trenches of World War 2, the neon-soaked streets of 1980s Miami, and eventually into Gordon Freeman's future where the actual Combine invasion of Earth is under way.
Is it the most logical alternative history I've encountered in games? No. It's not the most ridiculous by a longshot, though, either, and like I said, you get to pick up a Tommy gun and mow down Civil Protection while listening to a detective growl narration. You can untangle The Burton Equation on Steam.
>> There are a couple of screenshots in the article.

GAMING NEWS

Early Gameplay Video for Transformers Reactivate Leaks Online
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/early-gameplay-video-for-transformers-reactivate-leaks-online/
Yesterday, Splash Damage announced that it has canceled its upcoming Transformers game, Transformers Reactivate. And today, an early WIP gameplay video for it was leaked online. So, you can see what the game looked like in its early development stage.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed until March 20th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/assassins-creed-shadows-has-been-delayed-until-march-20th/
Ubisoft has just announced that Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has been delayed until March 20th. The game was meant to come out on February 14th. So, we’re basically talking about a one-month delay.

Friday news, part two:

Even without Assassin's Creed Shadows, next month is so packed with big games that I'd need until February 2026 to play them all
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/february-2025-is-now-absurdly-stacked-with-big-games/
It's beginning to feel like the holiday game release season doesn't end until March. It used to be that the new year meant we could all take a breath, collect ourselves, and catch up on the big launches that piled up just before the holiday shopping rush. But as last-minute delays into the new year have grown more common, heavy hitters that need a bit of extra polish are now routinely dropping into the same release window as the games that set their early-year launch targets to dodge their biggest competition.
It's the makings of a perfect storm, and February's shaping up to be a real tempest. A genuine deluge. A proper Überschwemmung. Here are the games lighting up the radar.

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/hyper-light-breaker-will-cost-usd30-and-for-a-limited-time-come-with-a-free-copy-of-drifter/
Five days ahead of Hyper Light Breaker's January 14 launch, developer Heart Machine has revealed the price of the co-op action roguelike, as well as a nice launch deal to sweeten the pot: Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30, and from launch until January 28, will come with a free copy of 2016's Hyper Light Drifter.

Track down a missing person in this 'Geoguessr-inspired detective game' set on an alien planet
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/track-down-a-missing-person-in-this-geoguessr-inspired-detective-game-set-on-an-alien-planet/
There are a couple distinct vibes in the demo for Locator, a mystery puzzle game from developer Empty Exhibit. It's got some DNA from Geoguessr, as you look at photos taken at ground level and try to suss out the locations they correspond to on a top-down zoomable map. It also gave me a big Strange Horticulture mood since you're examining a journal, diagrams, pictures, and other clues as if they're in front of you on a desktop.
As a final sweetener, you're doing this detective work on an alien planet. An archeologist crashed her spaceship there, so starting at the wreck site you need to follow her footsteps, figure out where she went, and discover her ultimate fate. The full game isn't out yet, but you can play the Locator demo for free on Steam right now.

Deadly LA fires lead to office closures for major game studios: 'Nothing can be said to truly acknowledge the pain and suffering that we are witnessing,' says Riot CEO
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/2025-la-firestorm-palisades-games-industry/
Los Angeles-based game developers are reacting to multiple severe wildfires that overwhelmed LA County firefighters on Tuesday and spread across thousands of acres in the most populous county in the United States, including the Pacific Palisades neighborhood near Santa Monica where Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, and other studios have offices.

The most important tool in Remedy's new co-op FPS is the shower: 'Saving water is essential'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-most-important-tool-in-remedys-new-co-op-fps-is-the-shower-saving-water-is-essential/
When Remedy announces a new game, I expect three things: A protagonist wearing street clothes, third-person shooting, and a pistol. FBC: Firebreak, a first-person co-op Control spinoff, has none of that, and that's incredibly exciting. We haven't heard much about Firebreak other than its 2025 release window, but in a recent interview with GamesRadar, Remedy revealed that a major mechanic in its first FPS is taking a shower.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hope
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/like-a-dragon-pirate-yakuza-in-hawaii-looks-more-like-a-zany-rgg-take-on-black-flag-than-i-dared-hope/
Yakuza in Hawaii launches next month, and I for one am excited to punch up "suspicious men" on the streets of Hawaii as Goro Majima. Today Sega and Ryu Gotoku Studio published a 15-minute presentation outlining everything from on-foot combat through to naval scraps, while confirming that new game plus will feature at launch (and not as a deluxe edition bonus, which was controversially the case with Infinite Wealth).

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn't like the ending either: 'Nothing is resolved'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/deus-ex-mankind-divided-writer-didnt-like-the-ending-either-nothing-is-resolved/
The finale of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided wasn't much-loved by fans, which was surprising because you'd think Deus Ex: Human Revolution would have lowered expectations. (...)
Mark Cecere, a writer on both Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, was recently interviewed by From Script to Life (via Kotaku), and agreed with much of the criticism of the ending. "It's definitely not finished," he said, explaining that final villain Marchenko was originally intended to be "the halfway boss" and after defeating him you'd get to travel to the augmented city of Rabi'ah. "He was never the brains behind the thing, right? He's the muscle. To me that's why it feels unsatisfying."

We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2's bugfix patch notes are funny
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/we-may-not-have-a-roadmap-or-balance-patch-just-yet-but-at-least-path-of-exile-2s-bugfix-patch-notes-are-funny/
If you've been spending all your time over the holidays playing the early access release of Path of Exile 2, you may be eagerly awaiting some substantial patch notes. We've all got our own gripes with the game, which despite an excellent skeleton still needs a lot of work. Thankfully, after weeks of radio silence from Griding Gear Games we're starting to get some drips of bugfixes—and they're hilarious.

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/zenless-zone-zero-1-5-livestream-codes/
The Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 code has arrived. Usually, miHoYo offers three codes as part of its update livestreams, but for some reason ZZZ just gets one big code, which saves a little hassle. For those who don't know, miHoYo puts on a livestream for each of its games every six weeks, showing off what's to come in the next version in terms of new characters, events, and quests. As a little incentive, it also provides a livestream code you can redeem.
In terms of new agents, it looks like we've got Astra Yao—an S-rank ether support—first off, and then Evelyn Chevalier in the second phase; also S-rank, but a fire attack agent instead. There are also apparently reruns for Ellen and Zhu Yuan, with the latter being perfect if you want an attack agent to combo with Astra Yao in an ether squad.

Harrowing report alleges years of horrific abuse at Brandoville Studios, an Indonesian support studio that worked on Assassin's Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Remake
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/harrowing-report-alleges-years-of-horrific-abuse-at-brandoville-studios-an-indonesian-support-studio-that-worked-on-assassins-creed-shadows-and-the-last-of-us-remake/
An in-depth investigation into the working conditions at Brandoville Studios (an Indonesian studio which has provided animation support to games like Assassin's Creed Shadows and The Last Of Us: Part I Remake) has been conducted by People Make Games, and alleges a shocking culture of abuse.

Final Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-communities-panic-as-it-turns-out-change-to-blacklisting-meant-to-help-reduce-stalking-also-lets-players-use-mods-to-track-their-alts/
Final Fantasy 14 communities have been in a bit of a commotion lately—as a recent mod stepping into the limelight has exposed a vulnerability in the way Square Enix has handled its new-and-'improved' blacklist feature. In essence, this solution to the game's stalker problem has inadvertently made it very easy for ToS-violating (but currently untraceable) players to uncover all of their target's alternate characters.

And as usual, let’s end this week of news by taking a look at the weekend deals from GOG and Steam:

+GOG

• There’s only one new deal at GOG and, weirdly enough, it’s the new Weekly Deals, and has games with up to 90% deals during the next 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20250110_weekly_deals_2_january

+Steam

• Starcom: Unknown Space will be 25% off until the 16th of January: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1750770/Starcom_Unknown_Space/
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader gets a 45% discount until the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2186680/Warhammer_40000_Rogue_Trader/
• Hollow Knight is 50% off until January, the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/Hollow_Knight/
• TIEBREAK: Official game of the ATP and WTA is free to try during the weekend and has a 50% discount until, once again, the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2264340/TIEBREAK_Official_game_of_the_ATP_and_WTA/
• Football Manager 2024 has a demo and a 60% discount until Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2252570/Football_Manager_2024/
• Untitled Goose Game is going to be 65% off until Thursday, the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/837470/Untitled_Goose_Game/
• Disco Elysium - The Final Cut is 75% off, and it’s also the last deal to last until the 16th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/632470/Disco_Elysium__The_Final_Cut/
• The Last Flame will have a 40% discount until the January 20: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1830970/The_Last_Flame/
• And Pet Shop Simulator also has a 40% deal, but it will last until the 23rd of January: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2401680/Pet_Shop_Simulator/

Nothing else to add, other than wishing you a happy and gaming weekend.

Intel Vision 2025 Event Scheduled For March 31; Revealing The Future of Team Blue’s Consumer & Client Businesses

https://wccftech.com/intel-vision-2025-event-scheduled-for-march-31/

AMD Discloses The Reason Behind Confined “RDNA 4” GPU Launch; Says the Architecture Deserves a Standalone Event

https://wccftech.com/amd-discloses-the-reason-behind-confined-rdna-4-launch/

More like damage control. There are way more eyes in an event like CES than if they were to do their "own" event. In reality, they probably wanted to do it after Nvidia showed their cards.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 series to have “balance of power and price similar to the RX 7800 XT and RX 7900 GRE”

https://videocardz.com/newz/amd-radeon-rx-9070-series-to-have-balance-of-power-and-price-similar-to-the-rx-7800-xt-and-rx-7900-gre

Intel unveils new Laminar RH2/RM2 CPU coolers for Core Ultra 200 series

https://videocardz.com/newz/intel-unveils-new-laminar-rh2-rm2-cpu-coolers-for-core-ultra-200-series

Hopefully they fix the cpu overhead as they are getting a lot of bad press

We are in an era where, if you don't spend at least half your time talking about AI, you're doing it wrong. It sucks. So of course AMD didn't have time to talk more about its GPUs.

However, they could have handled it much, much better by simply using one extra minute to announce the separate event for them and when it would take place. Now it seems like an afterthought or, as you said, a damage control measure.

Also, for some reason, Azor's comment regarding the price of the new cards makes me more worried rather than reassuring me.

That does, indeed look back. And the little spoiler about the next video makes it even worse.

It also shows that AMD has some homework to do as well in some games, tho we've known that they struggle with DX10 & 11 games for years now.