Playthrough update as of January 12th 2025.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (Steam/PC) - made it to Chapter 8. I'm really enjoying the story and combat. The boss battles are awesome, love the multiple phases. Also the flashbacks hinting

, I'm loving it.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reviews go live January 24, RTX 5080 on January 30

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5090-reviews-go-live-january-24-rtx-5080-on-january-30

Alleged AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT performance in Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth Wukong leaked

https://videocardz.com/newz/alleged-amd-radeon-rx-9070-xt-performance-in-cyberpunk-2077-and-black-myth-wukong-leaked

The pre-launch Radeon hype train is in full force. I'd take it with huge amounts of salt.

Gigabyte’s custom GeForce RTX 5080 cards listed in EU, only one model at MSRP so far

https://videocardz.com/pixel/gigabytes-custom-geforce-rtx-5080-cards-listed-in-eu-only-one-model-at-msrp-so-far

Alleged NVIDIA RTX TITAN ADA surfaces with 18432 CUDA cores and 48GB GDDR6 memory, alongside GTX 2080 Ti prototype

https://videocardz.com/newz/alleged-nvidia-rtx-titan-ada-surfaces-with-18432-cuda-cores-and-48gb-gddr6-memory-alongside-gtx-2080-ti-prototype

First laptop featuring unannounced GeForce RTX 5050 GPU with 8GB VRAM spotted

https://videocardz.com/pixel/first-laptop-featuring-unannounced-geforce-rtx-5050-gpu-with-8gb-vram-spotted

xx50 class really should really be the only line of gpus that have 8gb of vram

NVIDIA N1x SoC could be coming to Lenovo laptops

https://videocardz.com/pixel/nvidia-n1x-soc-could-be-coming-to-lenovo-laptops

Best Buy Lists Several NVIDIA RTX 50-Based Gaming Laptops, Starting At $1899 With RTX 5070 Ti & Over $4000 RTX 5090 Designs

https://wccftech.com/best-buy-nvidia-rtx-50-gaming-laptops-starting-at-1899-rtx-5070-ti-over-4000-rtx-5090/

Neural Rendering is coming to DirectX – Microsoft Confirms

https://overclock3d.net/news/software/neural-rendering-is-coming-to-directx-microsoft-confirms/

First Monday news of the year:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Marvel Rivals starts 2025 by clobberin' the most played charts, hitting over 640,000 players on Steam alone
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-starts-2025-by-clobberin-the-most-played-charts-hitting-over-640-000-players-on-steam-alone/
If I had a nickel for every time a recently-released live service third-person shooter gained hundreds of thousands of players at the start of the year, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice. As the headline suggests, Marvel Rivals is doing very well for itself—garnering a whopping 644,269 players on Steam at its all-time high as of January 11.
That, as per SteamDB's leaderboards, puts it at a downright respectful number 14 at the time of writing, placing it below other such videogame giants as Baldur's Gate 3 (which had around 40.6% more players at its peak) and above heavy hitters like Path of Exile 2, Valheim, and Helldivers 2.
That's more than enough to be classified as a phenomenon, considering Arrowhead's flagship shooter pulled in 458,700 bug-shooting super patriots at launch. And that's not taking into account its players on other platforms such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Steam starts the week with two new deals:

• Battle Talent, that has a VR only demo, will be 25% off until January 26: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1331510/Battle_Talent/
• The Operator also gets a 25% discount until the same 26th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1771980/The_Operator/

Humble Bundle presents the Monster Hunter New Year Hunting Collection, featuring up to 10 items to get (games, DLCs and coupons) during 11 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/monster-hunter-new-year-hunting-collection.

And Fanatical’s Star Deal is Monster Sanctuary, with an 85% deal. It started yesterday and will last another 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/monster-sanctuary.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Half-Life fan game, Black Mesa: Military, has been fully released
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/half-life-fan-game-black-mesa-military-has-been-fully-released/
Half Life fans, here is something for you today. The Black Mesa: Military Development Group has released the full version of Black Mesa: Military. This is a mod for Black Mesa that lets you experience the events of Half-Life from the point of view of a marine.
In this mod, you and your squad have to secure the Black Mesa Research Facility and eliminate any hostile forces. You’ll see the whole disaster from the villains’ side and even come face-to-face with Gordon Freeman himself.
In a way, this project is similar to Half-Life: Opposing Force. Opposing Force portrayed the events of Half-Life from the perspective of a U.S. Marine, one of the enemy characters in the original game. Of course, you don’t control the same marine. Still, both this mod and Opposing Force share the same concept.
>> The article has a slightly over 2 minutes trailer.

An ambitious Counter-Strike mod to emulate the OG 1.6 experience in Global Offensive has been rejected by Valve after 8 years of development
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/an-ambitious-counter-strike-mod-to-emulate-the-og-1-6-experience-in-global-offensive-has-been-rejected-by-valve-after-8-years-of-development/
The authors of the long-in-development Classic Offensive mod for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have shared a message to Twitter that it has been rejected from release on Steam and its app retired after eight years of development. I have sent a request for comment from Valve and will update this story if I hear back, but the rejection may be due to Source engine workarounds used by the team when creating the mod.
In a post on December 29, the Classic Offensive team wrote that they had submitted a build of the mod for review in October, and that they were still waiting to hear from Steamworks despite a usual turnaround of three to five business days. On January 11, the Classic Offensive team shared a longform message stating that Valve "retired our app without any reason explained. This is devastating as we've worked on the project for almost eight years."

Modders have recreated Icewind Dale’s prologue in Skyrim
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/modders-have-recreated-icewind-dales-prologue-in-skyrim/
Skyrim and Icewind Dale fans, here is something for you today. Modders have recreated the prologue from the classic 2D isometric RPG: Icewind Dale in Skyrim. As such, you will be able to explore this location in 3D. Not only that but the mod comes with a number of quests to complete.
Going into more details, The Elder Scrolls V: Kuldahar lets you explore the quiet fishing village of Easthaven and the scenic druidic settlement of Kuldahar located in the northernmost regions of the D&D world of Faerun.
As said, the mod comes complete with new areas to explore and a plethora of unique NPCs to talk to across multiple small quests. Players will also find over 15 new weapons/weapon varieties to use. Plus, there are some unique enchanted items to find. Oh, and there is also a functional class system lightly inspired by old DnD rulesets.
Do note that this is NOT a remake of the entire Icewind Dale game in Skyrim. So, don’t expect anything as complex as that. Instead, consider this a lite demo of what Icewind Dale could look like in Skyrim’s engine.
>> There is an almost 3 minutes trailer in the article.

This mod brings Fallout 76’s survey area mechanics to Fallout 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/this-mod-brings-fallout-76s-survey-area-mechanics-to-fallout-4/
Modder ‘bp42s’ has released a pretty cool mod for Fallout 4 that brings to it the survey area, watchtowers, mechanics from Fallout 76. As such, players will now be able to survey their surroundings and gain XP.
All you have to do is climb a minutemen watchtower and look out from the balcony to survey the nearby area. Surveying an area will reveal up to 6 undiscovered map markers in a set distance from your current position. You can survey the surrounding area once per watchtower.
Optionally, you can receive a small amount of experience, and/or a temporary bonus to location discovery experience. This can be enabled or disabled in the MCM.
>> The article has no media.

Marvel Rivals' latest update quietly killed the game's burgeoning mod scene
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/marvel-rivals-latest-update-quietly-killed-the-games-burgeoning-mod-scene/
First reported by IGN, it appears that Marvel Rivals' season one update has disabled mods in the game. Until now, there was actually a surprisingly lively scene of modders creating skins and other cosmetic additions for the NetEase hero shooter.
Users in the Marvel Rivals Discord have said that the update has introduced asset hash checking to prevent client-side modification of the game's files. There was no mention of this change in the season one patch notes, but that's probably because NetEase never saw modding as a legitimate player behavior: Modding is verboten according to the game's terms of use, and NetEase told IGN that players who mod their Marvel Rivals installations risk being banned.
It's kind of a bummer to see, but this felt inevitable⁠—it was far more weird to see a free-to-play, cosmetics-driven, live service multiplayer game allow cosmetic mods in the first place. Client-side skin mods are largely harmless, but competitive games are understandably skittish about any backdoor to creating an unfair advantage. It takes me back to a more innocent time though: I remember when weapon skins were something you downloaded for free in Counter-Strike Source, as opposed to gaudy, multi-thousand dollar proto-NFTs.
>> Don’t be too upset. Modders have found a way to bring back mods.

When 2K removed its annoying launcher it broke a bunch of XCOM 2 mods
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/when-2k-removed-its-annoying-launcher-it-broke-a-bunch-of-xcom-2-mods/
Late in 2024, 2K removed its launcher and everybody cheered. This was not just another bit of obnoxious corporate bloatware, but one that prevented Linux users from playing BioShock and affected Midnight Suns' performance. Unfortunately, it's not all been good news.
Look on the Steam forum for XCOM 2 and you'll see threads noting that some mods no longer work, and having them installed can result in consistent crashing. Similar complaints have appeared on Reddit. Using the Alternative Mod Launcher, a community project that helped players get around the 2K launcher, doesn't help either.
Testing it myself, I found that XCOM 2 would only launch with certain mods enabled, and fail no matter which launcher I tried—both the old and new options provided by Steam and the Alternative Mod Launcher. The unifying factor seemed to be that mods with the War of the Chosen expansion as a hard requirement worked, while those without it did not. Mods like the Armory Camera Tweak, which prevents oversized characters from blocking the UI, were fine, while mods like the Imperial Guard Voice Pack, which lets you give your squaddies voice lines ripped from Dawn of War, did not.
I did find a fix for this, however. (...)
>> I’ve decided to not post the fix. Given that the author has gone through all the work to find a fix, the least you can do is check the article.

GAMING NEWS

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 reportedly runs with 60FPS at Native 4K/Ultra on NVIDIA RTX 4090
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-reportedly-runs-with-60fps-at-native-4k-ultra-on-nvidia-rtx-4090/
Deep Silver has lifted the preview embargo for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and some first benchmarks have surfaced for it. According to them, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 can run it at Native 4K/Ultra Settings with 60FPS.
>> You know what you’ll need now, a 5070.

Atomfall gets an official gameplay overview trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/atomfall-gets-an-official-gameplay-overview-trailer/
Rebellion has released the official gameplay overview trailer for its upcoming first-person survival-action game, Atomfall. In this trailer, the devs unveil the dangers and mysteries awaiting you in the game. So, let’s take a look at it.

DEFICIT is a new indie FPS, inspired by Half-Life & Condemned
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/deficit-is-a-new-indie-fps-inspired-by-half-life-condemned/
ITEM42 has announced a new first-person action game, called DEFICIT. DEFICIT is said to be inspired by Half-Life, featuring a Condemned-style combat system. And, below, you can find its debut gameplay trailer.

Titan Quest 2 Dev Build & Gameplay Footage Leaked Online
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/titan-quest-2-dev-build-gameplay-footage-leaked-online/
It appears that a dev build for Titan Quest 2 has been leaked online. Not only that but people have captured footage from it and have shared it on YouTube. As such, you can take a look at it (well, at least until THQ Nordic takes everything down).

The House of the Dead 2: Remake Gets PC Requirements & First Screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-house-of-the-dead-2-remake-gets-pc-requirements-first-screenshots/
Forever Entertainment has revealed an official remake for The House of the Dead 2 which will come out on PC in Spring 2025. Moreover, the publisher shared its official PC system requirements, as well as its first screenshots. So, let’s take a look at them.

Monday news, part two:

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I'm totally not fuming because PC players aren't invited to the party, or anything
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/elden-ring-nightreign-is-getting-a-closed-network-test-and-im-totally-not-fuming-because-pc-arent-invited-to-the-party-or-anything/
You might've heard it said—probably on this website—that PC gaming won the console war, that we've got it so good that other bricks are obsolete. And while I still believe those things are true, being a writer here and having the requisite amount of pride, I'm not afraid to admit that this recent blow stings. FromSoftware's co-op roguelike spinoff Elden Ring: Nightreign is having a network test, and PC players aren't invited.

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with 'the absolute best hat you can get' going for around $40K
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/team-fortress-2s-just-had-the-single-biggest-trade-in-its-history-with-the-absolute-best-hat-you-can-get-in-the-game-going-for-around-usd40k-in-value/
A mere year after Team Fortress 2 players set a new record for a single hat trade, with an absurdly rare Crone's Dome going for approximately $18,000 worth of keys, those crazy cats are at it again. "Good start to 2025" says Team Fortress 2 player and hat aficionado Vytal."Biggest trade in TF2 history."
Vytal is the buyer, and tells PC Gamer that the trade in question was for a total of around 24,000 keys' worth of items plus an "undisclosed lump of cash." TF2 keys currently go for $2.18 on Steam so hang on to your hats: That's $52,320 worth of keys. To be fair, however, we should probably price it to the value of keys on somewhere like marketplace.tf, which are typically around $1.80: So a mere $43,200. Plus cash.
>> Insane.

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/sorry-everyone-minecraft-2-is-cancelled-and-it-might-be-our-fault/
Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson caused a bit of a stir over the weekend when he "basically announced Minecraft 2," after the vast majority of respondents to a poll on X said that's what they want him to make. Not literally Minecraft 2, of course—he's not allowed to do that—but a "spiritual successor," similar to the original. He sounded completely serious about it at the time, but apparently he's now changed his mind.
"Talked to the fellas at the office," Persson tweeted earlier this week (via GamesRadar). "Looks like we're making Levers and Chests! Tipping point was PC Gamer saying it seemed interesting, lol. Yeah I still love PC Gamer."

Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans 'performed below projections'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/piranha-games-will-lay-off-employees-after-mechwarrior-5-clans-performed-below-projections/
Enad Global 7 has announced that 38 employees at its Piranha Games studio will be laid off after the most recent game in its Mechwarrior series, Mechwarrior 5: Clans, "performed below expectations." Separately, the company also announced that Toadman, whose most recent release is the 2024 shooter EvilVEvil, is being closed entirely.

Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/palestinian-developer-raises-more-than-usd200-000-to-make-dreams-on-a-pillow-a-game-about-the-horrors-of-the-1948-nakba/
Rasheed Abueideh, a Palestinian game developer whose previous release Liyla and The Shadows of War followed a young girl trying to survive amidst the horrors of the 2014 Gaza War, has raised more than $200,000 to support a new project called Dreams on a Pillow, "a pseudo-3D stealth adventure" based on a Palestinian folk tale that takes place during the 1948 Nakba.

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/the-sims-begins-its-25th-anniversary-celebration-next-week-with-a-behind-the-sims-episode-of-news-and-announcements/
The Sims series is turning 25 in February, but Maxis is kicking the party off early with a Behind The Sims episode next Tuesday, January 14. The video premiere on YouTube is scheduled for 9am Pacific / 5 pm GMT.

Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/square-enix-launches-new-anti-harassment-policy-to-protect-its-employees-and-partners-from-abusive-fans/
Square Enix has announced a new "group customer harassment policy" aimed at protecting its employees and partners from harmful behavior and actions taken by its followers and fans.
>> We live in a sad world when things like this are needed.

Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include 'any social or political agendas' in its games
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/lords-of-the-fallen-studio-embraces-the-dei-bugbear-says-it-will-not-include-any-social-or-political-agendas-in-its-games/
Lords of the Fallen publisher CI Games says it will not integrate "any social or political agendas" into its games because doing so, it claims, incurs a "high risk" of commercial failure.
The statement was made during a recent investors chat (via Strefa Inwestorów), during which CI Games was asked about its "stance on DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] in gaming." In response, global marketing director Ryan Hill said the company prioritizes "excellent user experience with compelling thematics and characters created specifically for core and adjacent audiences," and then rolled into what I would call a pretty ill-informed take on the current state of the game industry.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less 'like a gas pedal'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/assassins-creed/assassins-creed-shadows-takes-a-run-at-improving-parkour-as-ubisoft-strives-to-make-the-system-less-like-a-gas-pedal/
Parkour has always been a distinguishing feature of Assassin’s Creed. Hooded figures leaping between rooftops and flinging themselves into conveniently placed haystacks is one of the series' most consistent visual motifs. But as the games have evolved from historical action-adventures to quasi-RPGs, on-foot traversal has become increasingly sidelined in favour of more elaborate stealth and combat systems, as well as other travel mechanics like riding horses and sailing boats. Assassin’s Creed Shadows is intent on changing this, however, with Ubisoft making numerous additions to the hallmark free-running system that had me gradually sitting up in my chair as I read about each one.

The Junji Ito collection brings eight new outfits to Dead by Daylight, letting you dress up its killers as cannibalistic supermodels and nail-toothed children
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/the-junji-ito-collection-brings-eight-new-outfits-to-dead-by-daylight-letting-you-dress-up-its-killers-as-cannibalistic-supermodels-and-nail-toothed-children/
Multiplayer slasher and insatiable licensing vortex Dead by Daylight has absorbed yet more horror icons into its all-consuming spiral, this time the creations of legendary manga artist Junji Ito. Earlier this week, developer Behaviour Interactive announced the launch of the Junji Ito Collection, which lets players dress as characters from several of Ito’s most notable works.

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/life-sim/my-summer-car-the-absurdly-detailed-finnish-life-sim-about-vehicle-maintenance-and-drinking-in-your-underpants-smashes-into-1-0-after-nearly-a-decade-in-steam-early-access/
Oddball Finnish life-sim My Summer Car has officially launched out of early access, after nine years spent tinkering with its engine and getting drunk on the sofa.
As noticed by RPS, My Summer Car surprise launched its 1.0 version earlier this week.  Originally lurching onto Steam early access in 2016, My Summer Car defined itself with two key features, namely its preposterous difficulty, and its unrelenting weirdness. It challenged players with building not just a car from scratch, but the engine as well, all while being so dirt poor you’re likely to starve to death before you figure out how to put one of the car’s doors on.

23-year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the 'unpaid software engineers' of its unkillable community
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/23-year-old-d-and-d-rpg-neverwinter-nights-just-got-a-new-update-thanks-to-the-unpaid-software-engineers-of-its-unkillable-community/
I am an absolute freak for BioWare's 2002 D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights, and somehow this unkillable game just keeps chugging along: Beamdog just put out a new, official update for its 2018 enhanced edition re-release that was assembled by members of Neverwinter Nights' still-active mod scene⁠—if that sounds familiar to you, this isn't the first community update that's been officially christened by Beamdog.

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/civilization-7-has-been-steam-deck-verified-ahead-of-its-launch-next-month/
Firaxis has announced that Civilization 7 has been verified for Steam Deck ahead of its launch on February 11. This will be the first entry in the series to get the full green checkmark seal of approval on Valve's popular Linux-based handheld.

Here's a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony ship
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/heres-a-game-about-being-a-depressed-lonely-maintenance-robot-on-a-long-haul-space-colony-ship/
Need something real depressing to go with your seasonal affective disorder, northern hemisphere friends? Well, have I got a game for you!
Endless Dark is "an existential horror game in which you are tasked with keeping a sleeper colony ship intact. No enemies or NPCs share the ship with you - only creaking metal echoes and endless dark."

Activision will send you alarmingly detailed data for every single Call of Duty match you've played in the last 4 years if you ask, and players are using it to figure out their mysterious SBMM rankings
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/activision-will-send-you-alarmingly-detailed-data-for-every-single-call-of-duty-match-youve-played-in-the-last-4-years-if-you-ask-and-players-are-using-it-to-figure-out-their-mysterious-sbmm-rankings/
As reported by IGN, Call of Duty YouTuber TheXclusiveAce has outlined a process to access all the match-by-match data Activision has collected on you dating back to 2021's Call of Duty Vanguard. This data includes a score used for CoD's skill-based matchmaking or SBMM, the behind-the-scenes system by which players are paired with others of a similar skill level.

Neither you nor me missed these, but here’s the third part of the news:

CD Projekt Red boss says 'around 100' Witcher 3 designers still work at the company, while the Witcher 4's story director is 'the same person since Witcher 1'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/cd-projekt-red-boss-says-around-100-witcher-3-designers-still-work-at-the-company-while-the-witcher-4s-story-director-is-the-same-person-since-witcher-1/
Much has happened to CD Projekt Red since the Witcher 3 released 10 years ago. Following its launch, CDPR became one of the most respected game studios in the world, before having its reputation destroyed and then redeemed by the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077 and the excellent Phantom Liberty expansion respectively. And it has grown enormously since Geralt embarked on his culminative adventure in 2015, now employing more than 1100 people with studios in Boston and Vancouver as well as Warsaw.
All of which begs the question: to what extent is CD Projekt the company it once was, and what does this mean for upcoming projects like The Witcher 4? Well, an answer of sorts was provided by company CEO Michal Nowakowski, who stated on X that "around 100" of The Witcher 3's designers are still at the studio.

Valve's Steam page currently lists a second mystery game alongside Deadlock, sending Half-Life 3 theorists into another frenzy of speculation
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/valves-steam-page-currently-lists-a-second-mystery-game-alongside-deadlock-sending-half-life-3-theorists-into-another-frenzy-of-speculation/
The Half-Life 3 speculation mill has been running hot over the last few months. G-Man's voice actor Mike Shapiro rang in the new year by posting a video in which he refers to "unexpected surprises" in the staggering voice of Half-Life's dimension-hopping villain. Before that, evidence that Valve was working on a "Project White Sands" was revealed on an actor's website—White Sands referring to an area of New Mexico where Black Mesa was supposedly situated.
Now, Reddit user Relevant_Basis5444 has spotted that Valve's Steam page currently lists two projects beneath its "Upcoming Releases" tag (via Eurogamer). One of these is Deadlock, Valve's third-person MOBA, which is currently in development, and technically unreleased despite thousands of people playing it right now. The other, however, is hidden from view. It's worth noting that Steam developer pages can hide games from view depending on your filter settings. But this mystery game remains obscured even with all filters disabled.

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/cruel-is-a-frantic-run-and-gun-shooter-where-you-boot-cultists-out-of-windows-in-a-cursed-apartment-block-that-wants-you-dead/
Feeding your dog an entire can of soda normally results in a very sick dog. In Cruel, however, filling your pooch with off-brand Dr Pepper gives you roguelike-style upgrades. In my first run of this frantic run-and-gun shooter, I netted a bonus that gave me extra ammo when deflecting bullets with a melee weapon. To this I responded "Hold on, you can deflect bullets?"

Path of Exile 2's first patch of 2025 is coming later this week, with 'more rewarding' endgame mapping and the rollout of respawns when fighting pinnacle bosses
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/path-of-exile-2s-first-patch-of-2025-is-coming-later-this-week-with-more-rewarding-endgame-mapping-and-the-rollout-of-respawns-when-fighting-pinnacle-bosses/
In an announcement video hosted on the channel of streamer Darth Microtransaction, Grinding Gear Games outlined what to expect from Path of Exile 2's first patch of the new year. Game director Jonathan Rogers characterized it as a quick turnaround update to address common complaints, with more far reaching balance changes planned for when PoE2 gets a new League.
>> By the way, some mad lad has spend 16 days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat works.

Around 66 accounts in Path of Exile 2 were compromised, due to a one-two punch of an old unused Steam account and a backend bug
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/around-66-accounts-in-path-of-exile-2-were-compromised-due-to-a-one-two-punch-of-an-old-unused-steam-account-and-a-backend-bug/
Path of Exile 2 has been carving out a lovely little niche for itself, based on how many hours of monster-smashing my colleagues here at PC Gamer have been pumping into it. But it hasn't come without its roadbumps—like, for example, a recent security breach that saw an estimated 66 (potentially more) accounts compromised.
That's as per a recent interview with streamers Darth Microtransaction and GhazzyTV. When asked whether there was data breach at Grinding Gear Games, game director Jonathan Rogers states that "there has been a situation where someone got access to an admin account," but that the full extent is yet to be seen.

Players are still finding edge-case Baldur's Gate 3 scenes, like one where you play as a kidnapped Astarion even if you made your own player-character
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/players-are-still-finding-edge-case-baldurs-gate-3-scenes-like-one-where-you-play-as-a-kidnapped-astarion-even-if-you-made-your-own-player-character/
As our Harvey Randall wrote, we're all still playing Baldur's Gate 3 more than a year after its release because there's so much to find in it. Gale can write a sad resignation letter if you ignore him long enough, and there's a game over just for people who go out of their way to lose a plot-critical item. When I was playing I triggered an ambush by Astarion's vampire-spawn siblings by long-resting repeatedly in the Lower City, something that apparently a lot of other players didn't experience. Even I didn't notice what happens if you let Astarion get vamp-napped, however.
As documented on the Baldur's Gate 3 subreddit by Soft_Stage_446, Astarion gets taken to his master's torture kennel to be punished by a skeletal interrogator called Godey. An entire scene you'd otherwise never see plays out from Astarion's point of view, whether or not you chose to play him as your origin character. And then you've got the opportunity to escape as Astarion, or switch over to the rest of your party and launch a rescue attempt. There's even dialogue for various companions' reaction to Astarion's abduction.

Chris Roberts sallies forth to declare 'we are closer than ever to realizing a dream many have said is impossible' with Star Citizen, but I'm sure I've heard this record before
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/chris-roberts-sallies-forth-to-declare-we-are-closer-than-ever-to-realizing-a-dream-many-have-said-is-impossible-with-star-citizen-but-im-sure-ive-heard-this-record-before/
It's been 12 years since the announcement of Star Citizen, the ludicrously ambitious and equally ludicrously overfunded space MMO from developer Cloud Imperium Games and designer Chris Roberts. (...)
The New Year has brought forth a new "Letter from the Chairman" to Star Citizen's devotees, in which Chris Roberts hits a few familiar notes before introducing 2025's big theme for the game: Playability. Stop sniggering at the back. We'll get to the actual content that CIG hopes will make a difference soon, but as Roberts acknowledges performance and stability remain sizeable issues for the game

Well, that falls in line with previous rumors, similar to 4080/S in raster and the 4070Ti in RT.

So, either it has some legitimacy or the fake leakers are improving their game by taking into account past leaks.

PCGH demonstrates why 8GB GPUs are simply not good enough for 2025

https://videocardz.com/newz/pcgh-demonstrates-why-8gb-gpus-are-simply-not-good-enough-for-2025

First Intel Arc B570 performance leak: 12% slower and 12% cheaper than B580

https://videocardz.com/newz/first-intel-arc-b570-performance-leak-12-slower-and-12-cheaper-than-b580

ASUS unveils new 1000W+ GC-HPWR GPU power connector for cable-free BTF 2.0 systems

https://videocardz.com/newz/asus-unveils-new-1000w-gc-hpwr-gpu-power-connector-for-cable-free-btf-2-0-systems

NVIDIA Confirms Updated DLSS Frame Generation On RTX 40 GPUs, Leads to Lower VRAM Usage & Faster Performance

https://wccftech.com/nvidia-dlss-frame-generation-rtx-40-gpus-new-ai-model-faster-lower-vram-requirement/

LG says 22% of gaming monitors are OLED displays

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2575371/lg-says-22-of-gaming-monitors-are-oled.html

The Tuesday news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Steam’s Top 10

(Click here for the Top 100)

GOG has launched the Simulation Promo, featuring up to 95% discounts during 7 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20250114_simulation_promo.

Steam has several new deals:

• Lethal Company, still in Early Access, will be 35% off until the 20th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1966720/Lethal_Company/
• Chants of Sennaar, that has a demo, also gets a 35% discount, but until the 27th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931770/Chants_of_Sennaar/
• Space Prison, that also has a demo, is going to be 40% off until January, the 27th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1865930/Space_Prison/
• The Simulacra Trilogy Bundle is on sale with a 63% discount. The individual games are on sale (with deals between 50 and 80%) until the 27th, giving you an idea of how long will this deal last: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28113/Simulacra_Trilogy_Bundle/
• Publisher Stray Fawn Publishing puts its game on sale with its games being up to 75% off. The length of the deals vary and I’ve seen some ending this Thursday 16th while others will last until the 27th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/strayfawnpublishersale2025
• And of course, there’s also new weeklong deals.

And Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Wasteland 3, featuring an 87% deal during at least 24 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/wasteland-3
• The new BYO Slayer Bundle (2025) comes with 14 games to choose from for your bundles of 3+, 5+ or 7+ titles. It will last 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-slayer-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

Valve dev says SteamOS isn't about killing Windows: 'If a user has a good experience on Windows, there's no problem'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/valve-dev-says-steamos-isnt-about-killing-windows-if-a-user-has-a-good-experience-on-windows-theres-no-problem/
This year's CES saw the announcement of the first third-party device "Powered by Steam OS", the Legion Go S, and if Valve has its way it certainly won't be the last. The Linux-based operating system has been in development at Valve since 2012, though what really catapulted it into peoples' hands was the success of Steam Deck.
Pierre-Loup Griffais is one of the Valve developers dedicated to SteamOS, and told French site Frandroid "we’ve come a long way behind the scenes”. He's been working on the project since its very beginnings, and says the focus at the moment is on compatibility: "All of this work is broadly applicable to the PC platform, and it’s going to continue to expand over time. Supporting multiple platforms, multiple chipsets, controllers for different machines that are out there and even ones that aren’t out yet."
(...)
Valve's goal with the OS is to have it compatible with traditional PCs, laptops, portable consoles and any other formats. The open nature of it inevitably brings to mind Windows, the world's most popular operating system and a closed one: Gabe Newell once infamously described Windows 8 as a "catastrophe" for the PC ecosystem. But Griffais says they're not out to pick a fight with Redmond.
"I don't think the goal is to have a certain market share, or to push users away from Windows," says Griffais. "If a user has a good experience on Windows, there's no problem. I think it's interesting to develop a system that has different goals and priorities, and if it becomes a good alternative for a typical desktop user, that's great. It gives them choice. But it's not a goal in itself to convert users who already have a good experience."

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout: New Vegas got a bunch of brand new lore-friendly quests
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/fallout-new-vegas-got-a-bunch-of-brand-new-lore-friendly-quests/
Now here is some free new content for all our Fallout: New Vegas fans. Modder ‘Skidge’ has released a bunch of brand new lore-friendly quests for it. So, let’s see what’s in store for you, shall we?
Skidge’s Quest Pack for Fallout: New Vegas brings twelve new quests to the game. This pack comes with over a dozen new characters, a new follower and a brand new town. Plus, you can expect hundreds of lines of voiced dialogue.
Most quests can be found by just exploring the game. In other words, these new lore-friendly quests are scattered around the world. Thankfully, its NexusMod page has an overview that should help you pinpoint some starting locations.
>> There’s an almost 30 minutes video in the article.

GAMING NEWS

The Blood of Dawnwalker Is a Single-Player Open-World Dark Fantasy Vampire Action RPG From Former The Witcher Devs
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-blood-of-dawnwalker-is-a-single-player-open-world-dark-fantasy-vampire-action-rpg-from-former-the-witcher-devs/
In 2022, we informed you about Rebel Wolves, a new studio formed by former developers of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077. And today, Bandai Namco released the debut trailer of their upcoming game, The Blood of Dawnwalker. So, let’s take a look at it, shall we?
>> HoloDust has made a thread about this game, in case you’re interested.

Take a Look at the Full CES 2025 Demo of Black State
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/take-a-look-at-the-full-ces-2025-demo-of-black-state/
IGN has shared a video, showcasing the full CES 2025 demo of the upcoming third-person action game, Black State. Black State is a game that immediately caught my attention. And, even in its current alpha state, it looks amazing.
>> Personal opinion: great graphics, but other than that, is looks quite bland.

Tuesday news, the second part:

Hatsune Miku is the icon for Fortnite Festival Season 7, and it might be the collab that finally convinces me to become a rockstar
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rhythm/hatsune-miku-is-the-icon-for-fortnite-festival-season-7-and-it-might-be-the-collab-that-finally-convinces-me-to-become-a-rockstar/
Fortnite Festival is rolling out Season 7 on January 14, and Epic Games have announced that virtual pop sensation Hatsune Miku is leading the charge. As someone who has actively avoided most things Fortnite, I hate to admit that this might be the thing that lures me in like a siren's song, but it was only a matter of time before it finally sunk its hooks into me.

Powerwash Simulator studio ends VR development, but at least there are no layoffs happening
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/powerwash-simulator-studio-ends-vr-development-but-at-least-there-are-no-layoffs-happening/
Powerwash Simulator was a surprise hit when it popped up in 2022, earning critical plaudits, enviable player numbers, crossovers ranging from Spongebob Squarepants to Warhammer 40,000 and even an academic thumbs-up from Oxford. Despite all that success, it hasn't been able to crack the thick-skinned nut that is virtual reality, and today FuturLab has announced that it's giving up.

Despite the big Baldur's Gate 3 update in the works, Larian says its 'full attention' is now focused on its next game
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/despite-the-big-baldurs-gate-3-update-in-the-works-larian-says-its-full-attention-is-now-focused-on-its-next-game/
We still don't know how Larian plans to follow the massive success of Baldur's Gate 3, but whatever it is, it's now occupying the "full attention" of developers at the studio.
(...)
Anyway, while all this is going on, Larian has also been unable to stop fiddling around with Baldur's Gate 3. Despite being more than a year old now, developers are still releasing beefy updates for it, including one coming a little later this year that will introduce 12 new subclasses, crossplay, and a photo mode. You might reasonably wonder, then: Is Larian pulling a Haunted Chocolatier on us?
Apparently not. "Swen and the team[‘s]… full attention is focused on crafting their next title," a studio rep told VideoGamer. Unfortunately, we likely won't be hearing much more about it for a good while to come because Larian has also apparently moved into a "media blackout," meaning we'll all be waiting patiently and watching closely for someone to accidentally blab on social media—or perhaps in an awards acceptance speech, as the case may be.

High-flying RPG city builder Airborne Empire has launched on Steam, and it's testing my balancing skills in more ways than one
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/high-flying-rpg-city-builder-airborne-empire-launches-on-steam-and-its-testing-my-balancing-skills-in-more-ways-than-one/
My flying city in Airborne Empire is tilted at a 1 degree angle. That's not a big deal: it's barely detectable visually and it doesn't seem to be bothering my citizens. It sure is bothering me, though. I can't stop imagining one of my residents, after a hard day harvesting resources or battling pirates or working in the iron foundry, coming home, sitting down to relax, placing a pencil on the coffee table in his living room, and watching that pencil slowly roll away.
(...)
You can join me in obsessing over how level your own city is: Airborne Empire launched into early access on Steam today. It's the sequel to 2022's Airborne Kingdom, but there's a much, much bigger world to explore and now there's combat to consider, too: the realm is full of enemy airplanes, ground-based bandit colonies, and other hostile flying structures. Somehow, the game still pulls off a mostly chill and cozy vibe—except when something goes wrong and my flying city starts plummeting toward the ground.

Zerg Rush! Blizzard drops first cards from its StarCraft x Hearthstone crossover mini-set
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/card-games/zerg-rush-blizzard-drops-first-cards-from-its-starcraft-x-hearthstone-crossover-mini-set/
Hearthstone's "biggest mini-set ever" is set to launch next week, bringing Blizzard's legendary RTS StarCraft to the game with 49 new cards—four Legendary, one Epic, 20 Rare, and 24 Common—split across the three factions you know and love: Zerg, Protoss, and Terran.

Studio Wildcard remains quiet on Ark 2's release date, but just revealed a two-year roadmap for Ark: Survival Ascended
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/studio-wildcard-remains-quiet-on-ark-2s-release-date-but-just-revealed-a-two-year-roadmap-for-ark-survival-ascended/
Back in the olden days of 2020 there was some exciting news for people who love dinosaurs and families: Ark 2 was coming and Vin Diesel was coming with it. Vin Diesel, shirtless, riding a dinosaur? Sounded like a certified bop.
Since then, however, we've heard less and less about Ark 2. The sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved was originally announced with a 2023 release date, which was scuttled and then re-announced for the end of 2024. But as 2024 ended, Ark 2 wasn't released. There wasn't any explanation about another delay from Studio Wildcard (at least none I've seen), no announcement in the official Discord, and no revised release date.

Evidence mounts that Marvel Rivals stealthily places losing players in bot matches, and I know because I'm the loser
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/evidence-mounts-that-marvel-rivals-stealthily-places-losing-players-in-bot-matches-and-i-know-because-im-the-loser/
You might've seen rumblings over the holidays that Marvel Rivals is serving players easy bot matches when they go on a losing streak. That's the sort of claim I usually take with a grain of salt in competitive shooters—yes, bots masquerading as real players are unfortunately common in some of the most popular games around (especially in battle royales and mobile games), but it's also true that players often misidentify actual humans as bots to explain why their team is underperforming.
That was not the case with Reddit user ciaranxy's lengthy post on the Marvel Rivals subreddit called "Everything You Need to Know About Marvel Rivals' Secret Quickplay Bots." They were not crying bot, but laying out the results of over a week of testing. ciaranxy determined that Rivals is more than happy to throw losing players a bone by giving them some easy bots to stomp on, but only under certain conditions

'He was trying his best'—Palworld had a lone server guy trying to keep the game afloat during its 2 million player launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/he-was-trying-his-best-palworld-had-a-lone-server-guy-trying-to-keep-the-game-afloat-during-its-2-million-player-launch/
While Palworld's player count has calmed down in the time since its release, it's still carved a cosy little niche for itself on Steam. SteamDB has it hovering between 20,000 and 50,000 players over the past few months, with a big bump to around 200,000 in December 2024 due to the release of a major update, Feybreak.
Still, that's small change compared to the onslaught of players during its launch. Palworld rose into viral stardom to the tune of 2 million concurrent players in January 2024—which is huge, with other games, such as Helldivers 2, buckling under comparatively smaller weights. In a recent interview with Polygon, John 'Bucky' Buckley, the game's community manager, paints a picture of panic at the studio.

Path of Exile 2 devs acknowledge the endgame is 'too severe' but are sticking to their guns because 'the whole death actually mattering thing is actually important'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/path-of-exile-2-devs-acknowledge-the-endgame-is-too-severe-but-are-sticking-to-their-guns-because-the-whole-death-actually-mattering-thing-is-actually-important/
Path of Exile 2's first major patch of the year will arrive later this week, with developer Grinding Gear Games saying it will address several common complaints about the game, with more improvements to come. One of the big sticking points for players has been endgame maps, which director Jonathan Rogers says it aims to make "more rewarding" through tweaks to loot and monster numbers, and the feel of the endgame in general. The thing is, though, that some of the stuff people are complaining about is also the point of the game.

'I think geniuses come up with terrible ideas, too': Former senior artist at Bethesda likens Todd Howard's struggles with complete creative control to George Lucas
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/i-think-geniuses-come-up-with-terrible-ideas-too-former-senior-artist-at-bethesda-likens-todd-howards-struggles-with-complete-creative-control-to-george-lucas/
I think, with the appropriate amount of hindsight, we can all agree that Starfield didn't take off as the multi-year industry titan that Bethesda was hoping it would be. While I, and plenty of other players, got a reasonable amount of enjoyment out of it, it wasn't quite in line with the studio's other heavy-hitters. The post-launch support hasn't been (inter)stellar either, and its first DLC, according to our Shattered Space review, hasn't done enough to bring it back to life.
There are about a dozen reasons you can cite as to why this was the case, but one that appears to be a reoccurring theme between former developers is the studio—or, rather, the studio's head honcho, Todd Howard—suffering from success. So sayeth Dennis Mejillones, a character artist who worked at Bethesda for over 12 years, including work on Starfield itself, during an interview with Kiwi Talkz.

We already knew that 8GB hurt performance thanks to videos from Hardware Unboxed, but it's still surprising to see how the performance tanks so much in some games.

Also, 22% is a lot of OLED monitors. Too good to feel true, to be honest. But given that it's 22% of "gaming monitors", who knows how much that really means.