Thursday news, part two:

The next game from Cruelty Squad's creator, a 'policing and punishment simulator', has dropped a new trailer showing off its gruesome mech combat
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/the-next-game-from-cruelty-squads-creator-a-policing-and-punishment-simulator-has-dropped-a-new-trailer-showing-off-its-gruesome-mech-combat/
Cruelty Squad is undoubtedly one of the weirdest indie breakthroughs of this decade, a wilfully obtuse and unpleasant immersive sim in which you play a corporate assassin in a lo-fi 3D world painted with vomit. But we dug its counter-cultural (and counter-mechanical) approach and, following its success, the developer has since been working on a new game called Psycho Patrol R, which has just dropped a new trailer in advance of its early access launch in a few weeks' time.

Doctor Strange's portals were 'particularly challenging' to add into Marvel Rivals, as they created 'unprecedented performance demand' for Unreal Engine 5
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/doctor-stranges-portals-were-particularly-challenging-to-add-into-marvel-rivals-as-they-created-unprecedented-performance-demand-for-unreal-engine-5/
I never cease to be amazed by portals in video games. Even though the tech is nearly two decades old (and older still, if you include the use of portal rendering for hidden environment transitions in Thief and other early 3D games), Portal's seamless, real-time transitions through holes in space still feel like magic to me, and I love seeing it appear in other games too. One of the better uses of portals lately can be found in Marvel Rivals, where if you're playing as Doctor Strange, you can conjure portals in thin air and drop your entire team of superheroes on the heads of your foes.
It's a fantastic effect which, as explained by Rivals' technical lead designer Ruan Weikang, was extremely difficult to pull off. Weikang recently spoke to Epic Games about how NetEase used Unreal Engine 5 to recreate an Avengers movie's worth of superheroes, and he referenced the good doctor's space-folding abilities as one of the trickiest powers to replicate.
>> The first real challenge for the game was, whoever, the destructible environment.

War Thunder players take a break from leaking classified information to review bomb their beloved game for adding an auction house
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/war-thunder-players-take-a-break-from-leaking-classified-information-to-review-bomb-their-beloved-game-for-adding-an-auction-house/
Gaijin Entertainment's War Thunder is usually in the news for one repeated reason: The people who play this military simulator take it incredibly seriously, and have a habit of leaking classified information onto the game's forums in an effort to win Internet arguments. But when they're not targeting each other, the favourite target of the playerbase is developer Gaijin and in various ways the game's extreme F2P grind: And they have a new focal point.
War Thunder introduced a new auction system on February 3 that, at the moment, allows players to bid on vehicle cosmetics with Gaijin Coin, an in-game currency bought with real-world money. The sense of putting limited time windows on premium currency sales, and the obvious FOMO of mixing that with time-limited items, is where the problems begin.

After The Sims 1 + 2 rereleases stumbled out to mixed reviews, EA issues a patch that boldly declares they 'should now launch in most situations'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/after-the-sims-1-2-rereleases-stumbled-out-to-mixed-reviews-ea-issues-a-patch-that-boldly-declares-they-should-now-launch-in-most-situations/
Some might argue launching is the absolute minimum you should expect from a videogame, a fundamental prerequisite to enjoying the included experience. But I like a little frisson in my basic boot functionality. The nervous excitement of clicking the shortcut, the tense wait as the screen cuts to black. Will the game boot? Will it crash, or freeze? Will it reduce my machine to a smouldering heap of wires and silicon?
Such uncertainty is the secret spice that makes PC gaming so exciting. So I was disappointed to see EA has released a new patch for the Sims 1 + 2 legacy, which among other fixes ensures The Sims 1 "should now launch in most situations". Note it doesn't say "will now launch in all situations", so there's still hope for runtime daredevils such as myself.

Psychologist says 'there's a real sense of effort' to The Sims 4's emotional realism, from Maslow's Hierarchy to personal pep talks
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-sims/psychologist-says-theres-a-real-sense-of-effort-to-the-sims-4s-emotional-realism-from-maslows-hierarchy-to-personal-pep-talks/
The Sims series turned 25 this week and to mark the occasion we've asked a psychologist to take a reality check on The Sims 4. The series is meant to simulate life, sure, but certain things are always going to be exaggerated for comedic effect. You can't really die from laughter, right? Well, probably not.

Iron Galaxy lays off 66 employees in a 'last resort' effort to 'enable our long term survival'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/iron-galaxy-lays-off-66-employees-in-a-last-resort-effort-to-enable-our-long-term-survival/
Iron Galaxy, the developer of Killer Instinct seasons 2 and 3, Extinction, and Rumbleverse, is laying off 66 employees as a "last resort" effort to keep the studio afloat.

Less than 4 months after revealing his studio's new game, Michael Condrey has reportedly been given the boot by 2K Games
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/less-than-4-months-after-revealing-his-studios-new-game-michael-condrey-has-reportedly-been-given-the-boot-by-2k-games/
A Kotaku report says 2K Games has removed Michael Condrey, known for his work on the Call of Duty series and Dead Space and as the co-founder of Sledgehammer Games, from his position as president of its 31st Union studio. The decision was made, according to the report, after the lacklustre reveal of the studio's upcoming free-to-play hero shooter Project Ethos.

'No lotteries, and no onerous upkeep': World of Warcraft takes a cheeky potshot at Final Fantasy 14's egregious housing system as it readies up to unleash its own
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/no-lotteries-and-no-onerous-upkeep-world-of-warcraft-takes-a-cheeky-potshot-at-final-fantasy-14s-egregious-housing-system-as-it-readies-up-to-unleash-its-own/
It only took two decades, but Blizzard is finally adding player housing to World of Warcraft, which'll be coming with the Midnight expansion. That's still a ways away, but that hasn't stopped Blizzard from doing a big ol' blog post diving into the developer's core principles for the process, with enough word count to throw shade at one of its biggest MMO competitors.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 honors Elden Ring legend Let Me Solo Her in touching Easter egg
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-honors-elden-ring-legend-let-me-solo-her-in-touching-easter-egg/
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has been out in the wild for just over 24 hours and folks are already finding nice surprises waiting in its huge open world, like an Easter egg paying tribute to Elden Ring player Let Me Solo Her, who reached legend status in 2022 for joining players' worlds and singlehandedly destroying Elden Ring's toughest boss, Malenia, for them.
>> Also, if you’re having problems with alchemy in the game, maybe this will help you.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dev says it deliberately avoids the 'instant gratification' of modern games, channelling the best of Bethesda like Morrowind and Oblivion
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-2-dev-says-it-deliberately-avoids-the-instant-gratification-of-modern-games-channelling-the-best-of-bethesda-like-morrowind-and-oblivion/
I was approximately 3.7 seconds into my playthrough of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 before I muttered to myself 'Huh, pretty Oblivion-y'. This is the second-highest praise I can offer a videogame, right beneath 'Huh, pretty Morrowind-y,' which I went onto say almost verbatim in our KCD2 review.
Turns out I wasn't just seeing old-Bethesda-shaped ghosts in a fit of nostalgia. Games like Oblivion and Morrowind were right at the forefront of Warhorse's thinking when it was making KCD2. In a chat with GamesRadar, the game's senior designer, Ondřej Bittner, said Henry's latest adventure was deliberately harkening back to those brilliant open worlds of old.

Civilization 7 is off to a rocky start as it receives 'Mixed' Steam reviews from its premium backers: 'Comparing this unfinished mess to the Civ 6 release is night and day'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/civilization-7-is-off-to-a-rocky-start-as-it-receives-mixed-steam-reviews-from-its-premium-backers-comparing-this-unfinished-mess-to-the-civ-6-release-is-night-and-day/
Civilization 7's full launch is still a few days away, but the strategy sequel unlocked earlier today for players who purchased its Founders edition. We've been especially intrigued by how this latest entry would be received by fans due to its radical shakeup of the formula. Sadly, the general response so far has been one of disappointment, albeit not for the reasons you might expect.
(...)
Instead, the community's main gripe with Civ 7 appears to be the UI. WillNever writes that "The UI looks and feels like it was created in the alpha stages of development and was never refined". While user Lathium states the interface is "unfortunately very poor here and feels ported over from console in the worst way possible." Other problems the community point to include a limited map selection, the maximum map size being 'Standard', and the lack of quick move and quick combat functionality.

*** NEW CONTEST ***

Square Enix's Chocobo Steam Deck is cute, fluffy, and unfortunately gets in-KWEH-dibly warm
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/square-enixs-chocobo-steam-deck-is-cute-fluffy-and-unfortunately-gets-in-kweh-dibly-warm/

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second game in the classic RPG remake trilogy, is finally playable on PC. To celebrate the release, Square Enix has made three feathery Chocobo Steam Decks for UK-based charity Special Effect to give away. 'In-KWEH-dible,' indeed.

Special Effect is primarily known for their work crafting bespoke control set-ups for those with physical disabilities that mainstream gamepads otherwise exclude. The giveaway is in aid of the accessibility charity's upcoming Game Blast fundraising weekend, and at time of writing you've still got one week to get your entries in for a chance to win (so long as you're based in the EU or UK). However, you won't just be entering a draw to win one Steam Deck, but two.

According to a note attached to the giveaway Gleam page as well as a number of Special Effect's Instagram posts, the Chocobo Steam Deck can overheat due to all that fluff and feather. So, winners of the giveaway will receive not just the big bird handheld for display purposes, but another more standard Steam Deck to play as well—though you probably wouldn't want to dive into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on either one anyway.

Nvidia really made a mess with this launch, and the worst part is that it all seems due to a rushed launch, which is weird as Nvidia is the one that controls the timing of t he GPU business.

By the way, there's some talk about the black screen problem also affecting some 4000 cards, which likely means that the problem is in the driver. So, if any of you have updated to the newest one, the 572.16, you may want to rollback to the previous one to be safe.

They already did that during the last crypto boom, but it's still disgusting to see first party card makers like MSI and ASUS play the scalper price game themselves.

That doesn't bode well for you, Cyran, but I hope you can get your 5090 at its original price.

The 50 Series lauch has been a comedy of errors. It's interesting to see the people that are usually seen complaining about AMD drivers in various comment sections go into hiding right now.

Apparently even Nvidia's own staff cannot get hold of those cards, which just makes this the most paper launch I have ever seen. 

It also isn't helping that now due to the tariffs and the ceased production of the previous line, people are resorting to upselling their 4080/90's for way more than what they were originally worth. This is just going to really gut punch people who waited for the 5000 series, saw the signs and wanted to go back and try investing in a 4000 series card, and now they can't really do that due to the limited ones floating around out there being priced higher.

This is why I find it both annoying and super convenient for Nvidia to cease production in advance, so that whatever they threw onto the market just floats around to get bought up by both regulars and scalpers, release a new line and then this situation happens, so you're kinda boxed into buying Nvidia's newer series. 

Once I sell my house, I'll be wanting to create a new rig, but seeing as how the 4000 series is being priced, and how the 5000 series is turning out, I feel like I'm getting fucked on both sides before I even have any money in my hand. Honestly I hate scalpers and I really don't like the folks who clearly own what would be considered a second hand product and trying to upsell it for double/triple the price (it's not a doll or a time piece watch from the early 1900's, that could be worth more in value now and is clearly super limited/one of a kind, but these are GPU's that were created in the hundreds if not thousand, and a few years since production eased does not increase it's value the way they think it would). 

I made some little back-of-the-envelope calculations with the leaked performance of the 9070XT, and if those are correct then the 9070XT should be ~5-10% faster than the 5070Ti (extrapolated by comparing the performance to the 4080, then taking the performance difference between the 5080 and 4080 and then comparing the specs of the 5070 Ti to those of the 5080), while the 9070 non-XT should be 12-20% faster than the 5070.

One question about the price of the 5070Ti (and possibly the 9070XT, though probably to a lesser extent) is that "Will they even sell at MSRP?". Most 5080 and 5090 non-FE models have a frankly ludicrous markup, so if the same happens with the 5070Ti then even a $700 pricetag could be well below the price most 5070Ti will be selling at. But I agree that it would be a bad view for AMD and my price expectations are more like $600 for the 9070XT and $500 for the 9070 non-XT, which if my performance predicitions stay true seem like a good price to me.

Here come the Friday news!

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

Fanatical has a new Star Deal and a charity bundle:

• The new Star Deal is Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition, with a 79% deal during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/fallout-4-game-of-the-year-edition
• The Safe In Our World Charity Bundle 2025 features 27 games and will be available during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/safe-in-our-world-charity-bundle-2025

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

First-Person Mod for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Nextgen Edition
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/first-person-mod-for-grand-theft-auto-vice-city-nextgen-edition/
Remember Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Nextgen Edition? You know, the fan remake of this classic GTA game in the RAGE Engine that Take-Two and Rockstar attempted to take down? Well, there is now a mod for it that allows you to play in first-person mode, and it looks super cool.
For those unaware, GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition brings all the missions, the whole map, and content from the original game to the RAGE Engine. This is an incredible project that all Vice City fans will appreciate.
(...)
Although Rockstar attempted to take it down, you can easily find links to download it. Not only that but in the past couple of weeks, we saw some cool mods for it.
One of them is the first-person mod. With this mod, you can play this unofficial remake in first-person mode. This is such a cool mod that I highly recommend downloading from here.
Then we have an 80s vehicle pack. Plus, you can download this mod to improve the handling of pretty much all vehicles.
Another cool mod is VC Ped Variety. As its title suggests, this mod brings more variety to the game’s NPCs. As such, you won’t be seeing the same NPC over and over again. Then we have this mod that allows you to sprint inside interiors. Oh, and let’s not forget the ProjectLights Mod. This mod fixes and enhances a number of light sources.
So, as you can see, there are already a lot of cool mods for GTA Vice City Nextgen Edition. And yes, I highly recommend trying them.
>> The article has an over 10 minutes video that shows those mods in action, plus other things.

Here’s your first look at Dark Souls 3 Seamless Co-Op Mod
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/heres-your-first-look-at-dark-souls-3-seamless-co-op-mod/
Remember the co-op mod for Elden Ring? You know, the mod that allowed you to play the latest FromSoftware game with your friends? Well, its creator, LukeYui, is working on a similar mod for Dark Souls 3. And today, we get to see the mod in action.
Seamless Co-op Mod will allow you to play with friends throughout the entirety of the game with no restrictions. According to the modder, it will remove all multiplayer boundaries from DS3. As such, it will allow for connections to persist after death.
What this means is that you can play with friends from the tutorial to the very end of the game, with synchronised progress, and no resummoning or interruptions. Invasions are optional and active by default. Plus, you can adjust the multiplayer scaling of the enemies to your liking.
This is one of the best mods for Elden Ring. And, once it comes out for Dark Souls 3, it will be a must-have for everyone playing it.
Sadly, there is no ETA for when it will come out. Naturally, though, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
>> The video showing the mod is over 7 minutes long.

GAMING NEWS

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Patch 1.205.0.0 Released & Detailed
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/marvels-spider-man-2-patch-1-205-0-0-released-detailed/
After two hotfixes, Nixxes released the first proper patch for the PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. So, let’s see what this update is all about.
Patch 1.205.0.0 packs various crash fixes based on player feedback and data from Nixxes’ crash reporting system. As such, the game should be even more stable now.

Amerzone Remake Gets Free Demo & PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/amerzone-remake-gets-free-demo-pc-requirements/
Microids has released a free PC demo for Amerzone: The Explorer’s Legacy, and revealed its PC system requirements. Moreover, the team revealed that this remake will come out on April 25th.

PUBG: BLINDSPOT is a new tactical 5v5 top-down tactical shooter
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/pubg-blindspot-is-a-new-tactical-5v5-top-down-tactical-shooter/
KRAFTON has officially revealed PUBG: BLINDSPOT, the latest title from PUBG STUDIOS previously known as Project ARC. Moreover, the publisher announced that a playable demo will be available on Steam starting February 21st.

Friday news, part two:

EA CEO says the magic words 'Apex 2.0': It won't happen until after the next Battlefield, but 'this will not be the final incarnation of Apex'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ea-ceo-says-the-magic-words-apex-2-0-it-wont-happen-until-after-the-next-battlefield-but-this-will-not-be-the-final-incarnation-of-apex/
EA's latest quarterly financial call saw the execs wearing something of a hairshirt, with CEO Andrew Wilson having to cop to the underwhelming sales of Dragon Age: The Veilguard alongside the "temporary underperformance" of EA Sports FC 25. "Q3 was not the financial performance we wanted or expected," said Wilson, adding that despite "performing in line with expectations," net bookings for Respawn's Apex Legends were down year-over-year.
(…)
In the last earnings call before this one, Wilson himself claimed there were no plans for an Apex 2.0 and pushed back against the idea. Now? It is very much on the cards.

Former Dragon Age developers are not happy with EA CEO's suggestion that The Veilguard should have live service features: 'I'd probably quit'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/former-dragon-age-developers-are-not-happy-with-ea-ceos-suggestion-that-the-veilguard-should-have-live-service-features-id-probably-quit/
EA's CEO, Andrew Wilson, recently voiced some bizarre criticism of Dragon Age: The Veilguard during a quarterly financial call. He suggested that the game struggled because it didn't have any live service components.
EA did announce that The Veilguard underperformed, even if expectations were perhaps set a little too high, but blaming this on the game not being a Fortnite ripoff misses the point entirely. I'm not sure any amount of live service elements could've saved this game from the poor writing, pacing, and lackluster companions. It seems that a few former Dragon Age developers agree with this sentiment that live service is not the right move.

Paradox is the new owner of Jagged Alliance 3 and Surviving Mars developer Haemimont Games
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/paradox-is-the-new-owner-of-jagged-alliance-3-and-surviving-mars-developer-haemimont-games/
Haemimont Games has spent the last 25 years knocking out an impressive list of strategy and management romps, including corkers like Tropico 3-5, Surviving Mars and Jagged Alliance 3. It's had a pretty great run, and now it's the latest feather in publisher Paradox Interactive's cap, which just snatched the studio up.

The organizers of E3 announce a new event called iicon, but it's not open to the public and you probably don't want to go anyway
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/the-organizers-of-e3-announce-a-new-event-called-iicon-but-its-not-open-to-the-public-and-you-probably-dont-want-to-go-anyway/
E3 died in 2023 but the Entertainment Software Association is still around, and it's just unveiled its new idea: "a first-of-its-kind event designed to connect visionaries, thought leaders and innovators from across industries to harness the power of interactive entertainment" called iicon.
Two things right off the start: No, this is not a reborn E3, and no, I didn't spell it wrong. Iicon is a snappy abbreviation for the Interactive Innovation Conference, and its goal is to provide attendees "exclusive access to visionary keynotes, engaging discussions and workshops, and elite networking opportunities with executives shaping the future of entertainment, business and technology." Those executives will come from companies including Amazon Games, Disney, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft and Warner Bros.
>> Starting the list of companies with Amazon is alphabetically correct, but it feels like a joke to me.

Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 8 is so big, it needed its own patch before it even released, and we're one step closer to a Permanent Booming Blade Economy
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/baldurs-gate-3s-patch-8-is-so-big-it-needed-its-own-patch-before-it-even-released-and-were-one-step-closer-to-a-permanent-booming-blade-economy/
Larian has published a blog post detailing an update to the Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8, which isn't actually out yet and is still in stress testing. The update includes a few tweaks to the balance of new sub classes in addition to the expected bug fixes, but notably absent among them were any significant changes to Booming Blade, a new cantrip that's set to seriously shake up the game's balance and crown a new subclass king⁠.

As Civilization 7 languishes with a 'mixed' rating on Steam, Firaxis says improving the game's wildly unpopular UI is 'our top priority'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/as-civilization-7-languishes-with-a-mixed-rating-on-steam-developers-say-theyre-looking-into-feedback-about-its-wildly-unpopular-ui/
Civilization 7 doesn't fully launch until next Tuesday, February 11, but it's playable now for people who sprung for the Founders Edition, and so far the response isn't what Firaxis or 2K Games had to be hoping for. There's a range of complaints, as there always is, but most widespread is criticism of the UI, which has grown to the point that developers have now said they're "looking into" it.

Ubisoft's grudging crawlback to Steam continues with achievements for Watch Dogs 2 added a mere 9 years after release
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/ubisofts-grudging-crawlback-to-steam-continues-with-achievements-for-watch-dogs-2-added-a-mere-9-years-after-release/
Ubisoft is currently engaged in what we Brits would call a reverse-ferret: After years of releasing its games exclusively on the Epic Store, the publisher has returned to distributing them on Steam. (...)
This is all because Ubisoft has realised it can't afford to ignore Steam, but would really much rather prefer you bought games directly on its own platform. Such grudging reticence may lie behind another oddity of the publisher's gradual return: Ubisoft is slowly going through its back catalogue and adding Steam achievements, in most cases several years after release.
The latest is Watch Dogs 2, and yes I'll wear Adrian's iconic grey cap before calling it Watch_Dogs 2. Fully nine years after release Ubisoft has just added achievements, so now you too can get a pop-up for *checks notes* petting 10 dogs, buying a pair of pants, or taking a picture of someone vomiting. Really.

Harrison Ford points to Troy Baker's Indiana Jones for why he's not worried about AI actors: 'You don't need artificial intelligence to steal my soul'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/harrison-ford-points-to-troy-bakers-indiana-jones-for-why-hes-not-worried-about-ai-actors-you-dont-need-artificial-intelligence-to-steal-my-soul/
In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, legendary actor Harrison Ford again took the time to praise Troy Baker's performance as Indiana Jones in MachineGames' The Great Circle. Ford offered Baker's performance as a counterpoint to interest in AI-generated digital actors trained on human artists' past performances.
"You don’t need artificial intelligence to steal my soul. You can already do it for nickels and dimes with good ideas and talent," Ford said in response to a question about digital likeness rights, alluding to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Troy Baker's performance. "He did a brilliant job, and it didn’t take AI to do it."

Rust goes medieval with the Primitive update: siege weapons, swords and shields, and maybe a few jewel-encrusted assault rifles
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/rust-goes-medieval-with-the-primitive-update-siege-weapons-swords-and-shields-and-maybe-a-few-jewel-encrusted-assault-rifles/
It's a great week for going medieval. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 crashed through Steam's gates on Tuesday, and now here comes survival sandbox Rust with its Primitive update. It's got swords, shields, bows and arrows, siege weapons, and a few mild anachronisms like jewel-encrusted assault rifles and electricity-powered autocrossbows.

The Monster Hunter Wilds beta is now live
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/monster-hunter-wilds-steam-pc-beta-download-live/
Fire off those SOS flares, hunters: the Monster Hunter Wilds beta test is now live on Steam.
Anyone and everyone with a PC (or PS5, or Xbox) can join the second Wilds open beta, which began at 7 pm Pacific on February 6th and runs until the same time on Sunday, February 9th. If that timing tragically doesn't work for you, you'll have a second crack at it: Capcom's running a repeat from February 13th to 16th, also beginning at 7 pm Pacific time.

Welp, here’s part three of the news:

A Marvel Rivals player has uncovered 'one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities a game can have' that'll let cheaters take over your PC and find your passwords
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/a-marvel-rivals-player-has-uncovered-one-of-the-most-dangerous-vulnerabilities-a-game-can-have-thatll-let-cheaters-take-over-your-pc-and-find-your-passwords/
Marvel Rivals has overcome a couple of difficulties since it was released at the end of last year. This mostly involved improving performance or sorting out technical issues with the breakable environment or individual hero abilities, but now it looks like its security will be the next hurdle the devs need to overcome.
A YouTuber who goes by Shalzuth revealed that he's found a vulnerability in Marvel Rivals that hackers can use as a doorway to take over your PC. The video details the issue without giving any technical details, which could then be used to harm other players. "Please note, this isn't about fearmongering," Shalzuth says. "It's about understanding how this class of vulnerability works and why it's so important for game developers to design hotfixes and patch updates in a secure and safe way."

Final Fantasy 14 promises crackdown on stalking exploits with actual solutions now, rather than politely asking the plugin creator to stop
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/final-fantasy-14-promises-crackdown-on-stalking-exploits-with-actual-solutions-now-rather-than-politely-asking-the-plugin-creator-to-stop/
Final Fantasy 14 director and producer Naoki Yoshida has commented yet again on the controversial plugin that surfaced earlier this year, which exploited Dawntrail's new-and-improved blacklist system, allowing users to read an account ID and therefore stalk a character and all of its alts.
Thankfully, what Yoshi-P has to say this time is a lot less nothingburger than the forum post he penned a couple weeks ago, essentially saying the team was considering taking drastic measures such as… asking the plugin users to stop. This time, speaking during the latest Letter from the Producer livestream, Yoshida revealed counter-measures would be introduced, starting in Patch 7.2 releasing in late March.

WoW has raised over $2 million for charity CureDuchenne by selling a cute little fox, after being inspired by The Remarkable Life of Ibelin documentary
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/wow-has-raised-over-usd2-million-for-charity-cureduchenne-by-selling-a-cute-little-fox-after-being-inspired-by-the-remarkable-life-of-ibelin-documentary/
Blizzard has raised over $2 million for the charity CureDuchenne, using the seemingly irresistible lure of microtransactions for good. World of Warcraft players accomplished this via The Reven Pack (a cute little fox companion and a backpack to go with it), which Blizzard donated 100% of the purchase price of to CureDuchenne.

Vanished for a year, early access dev returns to announce a crisis taught them 'videogames ain't it' and end development on 'singleplayer EVE' they've been making since 2017
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/vanished-for-a-year-early-access-dev-returns-to-announce-videogames-aint-it-and-end-development-on-singleplayer-eve-theyve-been-making-since-2019/
I've always had a soft spot for Astrox Imperium, an early access game that first hit Steam all the way back in 2019 (though its first YouTube devlog hit two years before that), and that aimed to be, in the words of every other review on its page, a "singleplayer EVE Online".
(…)
My kind of thing, but alas, it's reached the end of the road. Sole developer Jace Masula returned after over a year's absence yesterday to announce that, basically, they were done with videogames. "I've had a few unfortunate things happen that remind me what is really important in life," they wrote "and video games ain't it."

Hi-Rez will only be giving 'minor updates' to Smite and Paladins now it's laying off around 70 employees, but don't worry, Smite 2 is the 'primary focus of the newly streamlined operations'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/hi-rez-will-only-be-giving-minor-updates-to-smite-and-paladins-now-its-laying-off-around-70-employees-but-dont-worry-smite-2-is-the-primary-focus-of-the-newly-streamlined-operations/
Hi-Rez, who some of us on staff haven't exactly forgiven for slowly dropping Tribes: Ascend way back when, has more or less proven that time is a flat circle by doing almost the exact same thing with its current games, Smite and Paladins.
That's as per both a message posted to Hi-Rez's eSports Discord, shared here by Smite pro Hayzer, and comments provided to Kotaku from the studio's president Stewart Chisam. The message, from an admin named Hinduman, reads: "Smite 1, Paladins and Rogue Company servers will remain available for the foreseeable future, but no further major updates are currently planned for these games.

Sports Interactive announces the shock cancellation of Football Manager 25, but fans are weirdly pleased: 'Better to be honest and admit a mistake'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sports/sports-interactive-announces-the-shock-cancellation-of-football-manager-25-but-fans-are-weirdly-pleased-better-to-be-honest-and-admit-a-mistake/
Sports Interactive has announced the shock cancellation of Football Manager 25, an unexpected and in the context of the series unprecedented decision. Football Manager games have been coming out like clockwork since 2004 under SI and SEGA, never missing a year in those two decades, and even the initial delays to FM25 were unheard-of for the series (the release was pushed back twice, and caused considerable fan grumbling). But no-one expected an outright cancellation.
>> Uff. Ka-pi won't be happy about this.

And these are the weekend deals at Steam (GOG has no new deals):

+Steam

• Disney puts its games on sale with up to 75% discounts until February, the 10th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/DisneySale2025
• HELLDIVERS 2 will be 20% off until the 12th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/app/553850/HELLDIVERS_2/
• Dovetail Games celebrates the Festival Of Rail with up to 90% discounts. The Steam page says it will last until the 10th, but some items will be on sale until the 11th and even the 13th, so whatever: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FestivalOfRail2025
• To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sunless Sea, its developer/publisher puts its games on sale with up to 75% discounts until February 13: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/sunlesssea10thbirthday
• Green Hell will be free to try during the weekend and 67% off until the 13th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/815370/Green_Hell/
• For the fans of pinball games the Pinball FX/Pinball M franchise is on sale, with its DLCs up to 80% off until the 17th: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/pinballdailydeal2025
• The Yogacast Games X Gamesky Sale is here with up to 95% deal until February, the 19th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/423471/sale/yogscastxGamersky
• Developer/publisher Devcats (yes, all its games feature cats), puts its game on sale with up to 50% discounts until the 20th of February: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/DEVCATSSALE2025
• And Publisher 2K celebrates its 20th anniversary with a sale, putting its games up to 95% off until February 20: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/2K20thAnniversary

That’s all folks. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

I know from past bundles that these 100% for charity do not last long, I wouldn't be surprised if by Sunday it is already over. So if you are interested in some of the games included buy it fast. I was missing only 12 from it, but it was still a good deal.